Interesting place - we tried the beef soup that was okay, the scallion pancakes which were a bit gummy, and a vegetable casserole that was... meh. Â
Shame on us, the vegetable casserole was very bland and was designed that way. Â Other items you create your own sauce by going up to what is essentially a sauce station. Â There, you can mix about 15 different sauces from bbq, vinegar, sesame oil, hot oil, sesame sauce, etc... Â This can be great if you know what you like, but somewhat intimidating when you have a bland dish and you don't know how to spice it up.
It was okay, but I don't feel the urge to rush back. Â Maybe it was just what we ordered...
Service is pretty good for Chinatown here and they have some fantastic dishes.
My favorites are:
shou zhua bing - thousand layer pancake
xiao long bao - dumplings with broth+meat on the inside
I read somewhere that their dumpling chef used to work at Din Tai Fung.
I also had a fantastic lamb dish that comes on a hot plate here once, but I haven't been able to order it again because I don't know what it is called and I can't refind it on the menu :-(
Best soup dumplings in Chicago (which isn't saying much)! I read a rumor that one of the Din Tai Fung chefs now work here, so that goes to show that TRJ must have good technique. I've been to DTF in LA, and these are pretty darn close. Â And if I remember correctly, Joe's Shanghai's soup dumplings in NYC are bigger but have thicker dumpling skins and a little more grease in their soup, just to compare.
We also ordered their beef noodle soup, which comes with two different types of noodles, so you have to specify which you want. Â It was just ok. Â We also got their infamous "shredded pancake," which is similar to roti canai but crispier - a fantastic bread to be used to sop up extra sauces!
Etc...
These tables are meant for individual hot pots, but we didn't get it. Â It's BYOB, really clean and bright with a new interior, but it's cramped in here. Â Don't come here with a party any larger than 4.
The crab roe xiao long bao is the best on the menu, the pork alone is fine, but the broth is not as tasty. Â Service is pretty slow, but if you're patient, its worth it. Â
I've also tried the spicy beef, and the Taiwanese style chive pancake. Â Beef was excellent, the chive pancake too doughy. Â Overall, i'd come back again for the XLB, and just order one after the other -- if/when i can flag down the waitress!
I'm surprised to see poor reviews on this place, esp. on the service. We experienced surprisingly attentive service, especially for Chinatown. The lady gave her recommendations, came by to check up on us with a friendly smile, drinks were always filled, food came fast, etc etc.
We have yet to try their hot pot. Both times, we wanted to have their XLB (xiao long bao aka soupy dumplings), because the chef is supposed to be from Ding Tai Fung. The skin is not thin nor chewy enough, so it really doesn't compare. BUT since we live in Chicago, and can't get good XLB anywhere, I'm willingly eat this. It's at least soupy & flavorful.
This restaurant is known for its hot pot, but I wasn't impressed. Â I got the spicy broth, and it was way too spicy even for me battle-hardened taste buds. Â I picked two veggies of the list, and they both were not available that night. Â The beef came out, and it had a big slivers of fat on it. Â The frozen tofu lacked flavor. Â We also ordered some soup dumplings, and they too were disappointing. Â There was hardly any soup inside, and the pork filling was a bit too chewy/rubbery. Â My favorite dish was the lamb skewers - spicy, lean and generously portioned. The chive cakes were also prepared well. There is also a cold bar in the back. Â The meat did not look very appetizing (who eats cold spare ribs?), but the all the vegetable dishes were tasty.
Review Source:Finally, I found a great Chinese restaurant in Chicago. This place knocked my socks off. Â Tao Ran Ju is now officially my favorite eatery in China town. The decor was nice, but to be honest, who gives a crap about the decor. As we walked in the door, the smells of the Chicken, Beef and Pork were music to my nose. I really wasn't that hungry when we left the house, but about five minutes after we arrived, I was drooling like Pavlov's Dog.
We started out with a couple of appetizers. We did the Chicken dumplings and the rolled pork. The Dumplings were out of this world. They're up there with the best dumplings I ever tasted. They were tender, filled with broth and accompanied with a unique and delicious soy sauce. To be honest, I could have done without the pork rolls. They just didn't suit my palate. The dish was served cold and covered with a hot wasabi sauce. The sauce was good, but the meat was kind of fatty.
Tao Ran Ju is known for their hot pot's. So, what the hell, I went with it. Â The table's come equipped with heaters that warm the hot pot. It takes a good 15 minutes to get the pot boiling. I ordered 4 items to go in my hot pot. Ham, sausage, beef balls and Noodles. The worst freaking part about the meal is waiting for the water to boil. I'm not the most patient person when I'm hungry. The cold food looked so good on the plates that I actually considered breaking the table and starting a campfire to get the hot pot stoking faster, but I decided that discretion is the better part of valor and waited.
Once the broth was boiling, I dumped my goodies into the pot. It took only a minute or so to cook, and then it was grub a grub, grub. The ham turned out tender and juicy. It has that lovely, salty taste that I love about ham. The hot pot literally kept the tasty juices in the meat and the broth accompanied it perfectly. The sausage and beef balls were delicious as well. But the highlight was the ham.
One of the wonderful things about Tao Ran Ju is the selection of different sauces they offer. They have a buffet table set up where you can fill a bowl with sauces that range from a wimpy garlic sauce to a hot sauce that will set your mouth on fire. I tried them every one of them and they were all delicious in their own way.
Not only was the food delicious, the service was wonderful. Our waiter took the time to explain the menu to us and even tried to figure out how much food we should order for the three of us. He was courteous and helpful. I even got him to smile when I asked if I could get a job at Tao Ran Ju so I could eat for free.
The delicious bottom line on Tao Ran Ju is: Incredible food, wonderful service and a comfortable atmosphere makes this gem of Chinatown a must visit for the adventurous eater. The Hot Pot was a fun way to enjoy a interactive meal. The Hot Pot gives you the opportunity to eat at your own pace with out ever overcooking your meal or having your food go cold. This is a BYOB establishment, so you save quite a bit of money on the beverages as well. Not only did I get the chance to experience a wonderful meal, but I had the pleasure of dining with my lovely Wife and the spectacular, Bailey H. It was a fun and affordable experience. The three of us feasted for $20.00 a piece with tip. The next time I get a Jones for some tasty Chinese food, this is going to be the first place on my list. Â I can't wait to go back.
I hadn't been to Chinatown in a while, and read about this place sometime back. Â I knew of hotpot but had never ordered it. Â My two dining companions were totally in the dark surrounding this culinary delight. Â I was initially alarmed at the harshness of some of the reviews here, but I have bucked the system and tried a few places that were similar before and had been pleasantly surprised. Â This was no exception.
If you don't know what hotpot is, the best way I can describe it is like Chinese fondue. You are brought a big pot of broth (in my case the Hot N Spicy, with tons of chili pods floating in an amazing red, fragrant liquid) and then you buy all of the ingredients you want off a list, a la carte. Â There are noodles, and a million vegetable choices, meat and seafood. (also such things as goose intestine and pork blood, but I wasn't feeling all that adventurous to order those). Â I ended up opting for the Golden Needle Mushroom, bok choy, beef, and rice noodles. Â
The broth is placed on a hot plate set in the middle of the table. Once it boils, you add your ingredients (not all at once or else everything will overcook). You then fish out your item and eat it with a sauce that you select over at the condiments bar (which also includes such things as sliced green onion, ginger, and dried chili pods). Â All the ingredients were fresh and wonderful. We also tried the "Garlic Rainbow" which was pork belly wrapped in cucumber and the pork soup dumplings which were fantastic.
Some reviewers had issues with the menu/staff not explaining things in english, but they seem to have corrected this, as the menu was pretty clear, and anything that was in question was excellently explained by our server, who was very adept at english and extremely helpful. Â
The interior is fresh and modern, all white and chocolate brown, with sparkly Zodiaq topped tables all inset with the hot plates. Â
I am not easy to please, but I felt Tao Ran Ju came through with flying colours. I would definitely come back again and again. Â Oh and BYOB! even better, huh!
went there again after my 2 weeks in ireland because i was craving for some good chinese food. boy i was disappointed.
during all my previous visits, i always ordered the 2 dishes i love most from this place, i.e. the crab meat soup dumpling and japanese seafood noodle. although some other food it tried has been really not too good but these 2 dishes never failed me.
first off, they changed the noodle (from the thin noodle to flat thick noodle) of the japanese seafood noodle. and then the soup base is taste-less where it used to be quite flavourful.
the crab meat soup dumpling is still ok although not as good as before but this place still has the best soup dumpling in chicagoland area.
we also ordered some stir friend chili chicken and all the chicken pieces we got are mostly bones with 2 shred of meat on it. the dish cost $9.95 for a plate of "bones".... what a ripped off.
this time i'm very disappointed to the point that i guess i won't be coming back to this place again except if i'm really craving for some crab meat soup dumpling.
Mediocre. From what I ordered, the best thing I had were the potstickers ($5.95). Tao Ran Ju's potstickers are like a cross between the round, thick-skinned, pork-filled potstickers you see at many Chinese restaurants and the oval/rectangular, thin-skinned, meat/vegetable Korean dumpling (mandoo). The bottoms were nicely browned and crispy, and I liked the addition of vegetables (spinach?) to the filling.The scallion pancake beef wrap ($6.95) was acceptable. The beef was somewhat dry, and the cucumbers within the wrap were cut too thick and inevitably fell out of the roll. I also ordered the pan fried bao ($6.95). The server warned that these require twenty minutes of cooking time. I received them about thirty minutes after ordering. The bottoms were crisp, but the top of the bao were undercooked and gluey. I would not recommend this dish. The beef noodle soup at a nearby table looked good, and people praise their xiao long bao. I left Tao Ran Ju underwhelmed, but I'd consider returning to try their beef noodle soup and xiao long bao.
Review Source:I was pretty pleasantly surprised. The interior is impressive and it seems like they invested a lot in terms of decor.
Great selection of cold appetizers. The spicy beef/tripe dish was very appetizing as was the jellyfish and seaweed/beencurd. Not like we needed the extra food but it was a good start.
Beef noodle soup: broth was light, on the sweet side, but they dice up the garlic and pickled sour vegetables so finely that it's so good when it's embedded in your noodles. The noodles are thin and soft but they never became soggy. Beef quality was excellent--tender and easy to chew.
Soup dumplings, aka XLB. We got the regular pork one and the shrimp one, which were almost identical so I wouldn't get both if you want variety. I thought these were ok. They do make the skin thin but then it's still double DTF's. I wasn't expecting much. Yes, the meat could've been more flavorful but at least each bite had a gush of hot soup.
Beef roll wrapped with green onion pancake. Yum! The pancake was crispy and rightly panfried. I couldn't help but eat two pieces. It just had this great crunch that I was looking for. And it wasn't overly drenched with oil, either.
Some place I'd definitely return when I need noodle/carb fixin's.
Without further delay, the tragedy of my foray into Tao Ran Ju
Prologue: Â Read stellar reviews of their soup dumplings in Time Out Chicago. Â Since I was born three hours outside of Shanghai, I was of course intrigued and delighted. Â
Chapter 1: Â Organize a group trip to Chinatown. Â Make a reservation for 8, then change to 10 as group grows. Â I get hung up on two times during each phone call. Â Finally, I give up. Â You don't go to Chinatown for the service, after all.
Chapter 2: Â Arrive at the restaurant. Â Half empty despite the fact that it is a Friday night. Â Order two baskets of soup dumplings to start. Â Ask server to chill bottle of white.
Chapter 3: Â Food arrives quickly enough. Â We dig in. Â A moment of silence reigns at the table. Â I am flat-out disappointed. Â Where was the tender pork, the flavorful soup, all the good things that made up the soup dumplings of my dreams? Â Thinking that perhaps I got the dud, I have another. Â Same bland taste, though skin is nice and thin like I like it. Â I realize that the ones at Lao Shanghai were ten times better.
Chapter 4: Â Ask server to bring out white. Â They have not chilled it. Â In fact, they have probably just stuck it in the back room for the last 20 minutes.
Chapter 5: Â Entree of Japanese-style seafood noodles come. Â Every ingredient tastes like they cooked it in a washing machine. Â Bland, bland, bland.
Chapter 6: Â Resolve never to come here again. Â Write Yelp review.
I went here for the second time last night and immediately remembered why I love this place so much. Â
To get the bad part out of the way first, the service is pretty terrible and it's the reason I can't give five stars. Â The restaurant was not very crowded but it took roughly thirty minutes for a waitress to take our order and another fifteen to get a wine key. Â We were ordering hot pot and had to move to another table with hot plates that worked which wasn't a big deal. Â However, the table was dirty and was never wiped down for us.
Having said all that, the service is not why you come here. Â It's the magnificent dumplings and soul-pleasing hot pot. Â This time we started with the quail appetizer which was A-MAZING. Â The skin was crispy, flavorful, and slightly spicy while the meat was tender and juicy. Â Next came the steamed dumplings... best thing you can ever hope to put in your mouth. Â The outside is doughy and soft and the soup and pork bits that come spilling out when you bite down is heavenly. Â Had to stop myself from clapping and laughing. Â
On to the hot pot... I ordered the chicken base which I love, however I've tried the seafood base which is equally satisfying. Â Don't order the spicy chili base unless you're prepared to sweat your way through dinner. Â Once you start putting things in the pot like bok choy, watercress, scallops, sliced pork, fish balls, and garlic the broth just gets more and more flavorful. Â For the more adventurous there are things like pork blood, gizzard, and goose intestine. Â By the time you're done you most likely have a stupid smile on your face and a warm feeling in your tummy. Â You've also forgotten how bad the service is and are already planning your next visit.
Ok, so it's not the most friendly place if you don't speak Chinese - guess what? Don't let the fancy marble fool you...you're still in Chinatown! Â So hush about that sort of silly nonsense.
I've actually never had the hotpot here, I always order off the small eats menu...and almost always the same things
Xiao long bao - They're not Taiwan quality even if hearsay about the chef is true, but in my mind they're pretty close if not the best damn xiao long bao this side of the Pacific. Â And you can get the crab yolk option for a little more.
Zwa bing - I don't know what this is in English, it literally translates as grab pastry. Â It's good...much better than the scallion version.
Beef noodle soup - Awesome soup base/broth. Â Great quality beef. Very good! Wish they had taken the time to make proper knife-cut noodles like Ed's Potsticker house instead of the thinnish egg noodle they use though.
Fatty beef skewer - The first few times I came, they seemed to not have a lot of items in the kitchen, but I did order this and it remains my favorite, wrapped around green onion.
Leek "box" - this might be my favorite item on the menu, very authentic, done right. Â In contrast, the deep fried beef pastry leaves you desiring more.
The busy-ness of the restaurant varies greatly even on the weekend, it's still sort of hidden in that new building next to Citibank.
I do think this place has one of the better juicy pork dumplings (xiao long bao) I have had in the Chicagoland area, but then again, they are just about the only place with juicy pork dumplings that I know of here in Chicago.. The dumplings themselves aren't as good as Din Tai Fung's dumplings, but then again, I don't live in California so this will have to do!
They are somewhat seasoned and the wrapper is soft (although I think it could be softer). Tasty.
The service is not that great though. We came when it wasn't even that busy. There were waiters standing around but they did not come by to check on us very often, even when I was making repeated gestures for service! The waiter couldn't understand or speak English very well but I was able to order what I was looking for using my poor Chinese speaking skills. I understand this is Chinatown and most of the crown will be some sort of Chinese, but it kind of alienates any non-Chinese speakers. I guess pointing at a menu would work though. When I was ordering, I learned that there were no vegetables for some reason! Well that just sucks! There goes a nice balanced meal with some greens...
We also ordered a dessert of sesame tang yuan (glutenous rice balls). Even though it took forever for the dessert to arrive, they were pretty tasty. I've come to realize that all of them taste about the same, though. I bet everyone just buys them frozen from the store, heats them up and serves them.
I have had the hot pot from here on a previous dinner experience here) and it is alright. Nothing too fancy and nothing too great either.
I guess I would come back if I have a craving for juicy pork dumplings as this is the only place I know that has them in Chicago!
Can we rate in the negative stars and take it away stars???
If there is a place that would have more misleading and falsely advertised specials than this place and worst service from servers who have no clue about the menu and managers that try to pull a bait and switch after you order and waited until they serve all the other customers who came in after you before letting you know that the server made a mistake?? I've been in the Chicago area for over 14 years and never have I wanted to write a negative review on a restaurant until we were here recently with a friend.
They advertised for hot pot meals, but none of the servers really knows how the process works or what was included. Having advised the various servers and managers that we were there to try their concept for the first time, they did not inform us properly what was included and not included, nor did they did tell us that we had to obtain the condiments on our own. Â The female manager came over and accused us of incorrectly ordering the wrong items and we informed her that we told the server that we had not been here before and ordered based on the server's discovery of how the hot pot process worked. She said that if we kept the order the same as we ordered, the price would come out to about the same and she would provide a discount for the mistake -- both turned out not to be true, but rather a bait a switch tactic!!
Water glass was left empty most of the time, the only way that we got anything was to ask the server. The soup base had no flavors whatsoever and you figured it would have after they spend so much time making it as we watched everyone who came in after us get served before us, without the server even informing us that it might take longer with our order.
Several other table had issues with their hot pot orders while were at the restaurant. The servers went back and forth around the restaurant passing occupied table but really didn't interact with tables unless the customers stopped them in their tracks. One male manager was observed yelling at the servers for poor performance.
Don't bother trying to figure out your check because unlike the bilingual menu the check is all in Chinese with lots of unordered and undelivered stuff charged to the check. What's with the 20% discount if you pay cash -- trying to avoid paying your sales taxes folks?
The only folks that seemed to be getting their orders were folks that ordered lower cost pan friend pancakes and soup dumplings. Â One person dining with us had beef skewers that provided a tummy ache later that night.
Overall a miserable meal that cost way too much money with horrible service to boot!
To start off, I received a glass of water which was leaking. Â I used all our napkins to clean up the mess and advised a female server. Â She took my cup and gave me another and never took the pile of wet napkins. Â A friend and I had the hot pot. Â We've never had it before and told the server this. Â Though the vegetables were fresh and meat good, this was one of the most horrible service related meals I have every experienced. Â There was a $16.95 hot pot special banner in front of the restaurant. Â We asked what was included and the male server said he'd have to check with the chef. Â He came back and said we could order whatever is on the menu. Â We ordered, then about ten minutes later, the owner, supposedly, came and told us this was not the case and that if we wanted what we ordered, it would be full price minus 15%. Â We cut back some of the items knowing this, though still ordered a fair amount of vegetables and meats. Â We waited at least 15 minutes for the soup base to arrive. Â One of the servers had to pull the electric cord from our middle table across the aisle to the wall socket. Â This is a hazardous situation. Â The male server never told us how to operate the stove top, a female one turned it on for us and walked away. Â Since we mentioned upfront we were new at this you'd think as a new restaurant there would be some explanation. Â None. Â We received plates of vegetables and one plate of scallops. Â It took at least another 15 minutes to get beef and another long period of time to get the other meats. Â There were no condiments on the table. Â We had to ask and were pointed to the back of the room to get our own. Â When the bill came, the female served asked if we were paying cash, if so we'd get a 20% discount. Â I asked to see the bill first. Â After checking the items, which were all in Chinese, we found we were charged for the items we didn't receive. Â We told them this and also mentioned the 15% discount. Â The items were removed, we were given the 15% discount. Â I asked about the 20% cash discount and was told we could not take it. Â If this was the case they shouldn't have offered it. Â I paid the bill with a smaller than my usual generous tip and advised the server that I would never return to this restaurant again. Â She thanked us for coming and the owners never bothered to come over to say anything. Â The other food items on other guest tables looked delicious, however, there are other restaurants with equal quality food and 200% better service. Â I was very disappointed to say the least. Â I hope the owners take note of this.
Review Source:Came here for the dumplings on a friend's recommendation. Â The restaurant was very nicely decorated. Â The dumplings were decent, but the one thing that stood out was the horrible service. Â Agreeing with other reviewers, we had to resort to pointing to what we wanted on the menu and they were out of all of the vegetables we wanted to order!
For dessert we ordered some Sesame gluttonous balls, which while tasty, took about ~25 min to come out. Â The tea also tasted like it had been brewed in rice water for some odd reason. :(
DISCRIMINATION!! Â I went with 3 friends on a recent friday night. Â It was very busy and we put our names in with the hostess. Â We are not chinese, but a long line of chinese patron gathered behind us in line. Â After waiting at the head of the line for about 20 minutes, we watched in complete disbelied as the hostess pushed past us and waved for the other parties to be seated. Â She sat 2 groups of 6 patrons. Â We had to wait another additonal 10 minutes for a table to clear. Â
This woman was middle aged, and chinese with dyed blond hair. Â She was incredibly rude and never tried to make eye contact with us or apologize for so rudely overlooking us. Â
The only reason we stayed to eat was to try the fare, which was good - but we were so angry about what had happened to us, it was hard to enjoy the food.
NEvER AGAIN.
Restaurant has my surname (Tao) in their name... maybe the owners and I are related by a few degrees of separation... (+1/2 Star)
Hot Pot + Dim Sum snack menu, the Chinese in me says double woot woot! Â (+2 Stars),
Wow, place is full, all Chinese, and people are waiting, good sign! (+1 Star),
OK, it's Mother's Day, probably every restaurant in town is going to be full tonight (-1/2 Star),
Marble-slab table tops with personal induction burners in front of each seat... induction is totally cooool!!! Â (+1 Star),
Boy who takes our order has trouble understanding us in either English or Mandarin... we have to resort to finger-pointing (-1/2 Star),
Prices for the a la carte Hot Pot seem reasonable... $2-3 for veggies, $3-4 for meat/seafood... (+1 Star),
Hot pot ingredients are pre-portioned, wrapped in plastic wrap, and come straight to your table from a refrigerated case sitting to the right of the entrance... um, ewww. Â (-1 Star),
Ma La soup base is like a Diet Coke version of Lao Szechuan's authentic and atomic-level Ma La soup... not spicy enough, not enough flavor, way too oily. Â (-1 Star),
Meat slices are fresh and served frozen, rolled into cigars for easy chopsticking, not all stuck together in an icy block or all bloody all over the plate and ripping when handled. Â (+1/2 Star),
Fen tiao (glass wide noodles) instead of Fen si (glass thread noodles) was an unexpected change-up (+1/2 Star),
Boy waiter forgets 1/4 soup bases, our puffy fried tofu, both appetizers, and doesn't offer rice, refills of tea kettle, or any other beverage options... (-1 Star),
Xiao Long Bao (aka soup dumplings) looked pretty dry and sad, but actually had soup in them (a Chicago-area revelation) and the meat had good flavor. (+1/2 Star),
Scallion Pancake had good texture, but was over-saturated with oil and was neither salty nor oniony (-1/2 Star),
Check was a very palatable $65 for 4 hot pots, a bevy of ingredients, 2 appetizers... not bad (+1/2 Star).
Next time, I'll lean more toward trying dishes off the snack menu and leave the mediocre hot pot behind.
I had pretty high expectations for this restaurant because my friend said that you could have your own individual hot pot. One of my friends wanted hot pot, and the other friend and I didn't want hot pot so we figured we could order other items. So having your own hot pot seemed perfect for us.
Between my other friend and I, we ordered: xiao long bao dumplings, pancakes, and beef noodles to share. The xiao long bao dumplings were pretty decent. The pancakes were good too but oily. The beef noodles were pretty good -- probably my favorite part of my meal.
The menu is a bit of a mess too. They have bad translations. It'd be a good idea to bring someone who can read Chinese with you (I can only read a little bit and at one point I asked our server to read the item to me in Chinese because I can understand Chinese). They have appetizers, some kabob style meat, and lots of noodles. No rice. They have congee though. Oh and they serve desserts, but I'd save room for desserts at another place...
My friend claimed that a friend of hers said the xiao long bao dumplings are compared to a famous dumpling place in Taiwan. Um, I've never been to Taiwan, but if it is, it's not that great. I actually prefer the xiao long bao dumplings I had in Koi Palace in Daly City, California... Oh, and by the way, Tao Ran Ju doesn't have red vinegar (I asked).
I already know who I want to take to this restaurant -- namely, my friends who don't eat meat, my friends who eat fish but not meat, my friends who eat only meat but no veggies, etc. You know who I'm talking about! We all have friends like that who we feel we can't really invite them to family style eateries because it'd be a huge mess.
The beef noodles were good, but I normally don't crave Chinese-styled noodles. I think the next time I come here will be in the winter time for their hot pots with the friends I mentioned in the paragraph above. I think it's a neat concept so I'm hoping the restaurant will survive until we meet again.
I came to this restaurant with very low expectation, as I thought it was just another hot pot place. Â The interior decor is what you would typically expect to see if you are in a restaurant that serves traditional Chinese food in China or Taiwan. Â
Service is just like the average Chinese restaurant in Chinatown, in other words, you get what you ordered and nothing more.
For places that serve hot pot, you can't really say they serve great food. Â As like Flat Top Grill, you are the one who are mixing up the stuff. Â If it is really bad, it is very likely your own fault. Â The only food-related matter that you can criticize about boils down to the freshness of the food and the base of the soup. Â Sadly, we ordered only appetizers, so that is what my 4 stars are based on. Â What we ordered were mainly stuff people from Northern China would eat. Â The steamed dumplings, chives pockets, shrimp dumplings, "pancakes", beef noodle soup and sweet-bean-curd cake. Â They are not to the level of "to die for", but I can safely say that the quality of these appetizers are way above par, compared to restaurants that serves the same stuff in Chicago. Â
First of you can tell that they are freshly made. Â Secondly, they are relatively (compared to nearby restaurant) delicately-made, especially the "flour skin"/dough is well made and also the soup in the dumpling is good too. Â On the other hand, like other reviewers have mentioned, the pork filling is alright, but still better than those served in nearby restaurants. Â Though, one thing that I have to add is that, these steamed dumplings are not comparable to those served in Din Tai Fung Dumpling House in Taiwan, which they claim they are.
 As for the rest of the appetizers we ordered, I would say they are pretty darn good except for the shrimp dumplings, I tasted no shrimp at all.  Overall, I highly recommend ordering their appetizers.  As for hot pot, I would suggest you go to other places where they charge you $15 for a hot pot (with so-so steamed dumplings) buffet, as they charge you $168+ for a 8-people hot pot, which is $21+ for each person.
Clean exterior and nice decor. Certainly stands out in Chinatown. Â Individual hot pot is the focus of this place. Â Can't speak to that as I had the beef noodle soup which was pretty good, but not something I would recommend coming just for. Â The xiao long baos were typical despite the hype of a Din Tai Fung chef in da house. Â What I really liked was the sauce bar in the back where you can really mix up garlic, cilantro, sesame oil, satay sauce, chili pepper oil, spicy sauce, etc etc. to your heart's delight.
Review Source:we were going to get hot pot at Tao Ran Ju but with temperature at 80s, it just doesn't seem like the weather for hot boiling food
so instead, we opted for several appetizers (beef and maw, pickled woodear and rib tips), beef noodle soup, soup dumplings and a couple skewer dishes (quail and calamari).
the noodles definitely was the highlight, the noodles were toothsome and the soup was beefy and fragrant
the soup dumplings were one of the best in chinatown but definitely not comparable to hong kong
the skewers were fine but the cumin taste was really strong, so if you are not a cumin fan, i'd suggest you stay away from that
all in all, its a clean decent restaurant, but i wouldn't say its my go to place in chinatown
i am sad this place has such low reviews, because i like to think of myself as somewhat of a chinese food snob, and i enjoyed my food here mostly.
we did not get the hot pot, even though their induction table tops were calling to us (at one point the hubs tried to test out the magnetic "on" with his wedding ring. it did not work).
we ordered a bunch of their small plates and this is what i would recommend:
- beef noodle soup (apparently their noodles are handpulled, so eat it quickly before the hot soup overcooks them)
- thousand layered pancake (a tad greasy, but still delish. dip it in some sauce, i recommend the beef noodle soup)
- beef scallion pancake rolls (i love these bc they remind me of taiwan)
- soy bean/pickled greens/tofu small dish (i could eat a whole bowl of this)
i had high expectations for the soup dumplings (xiao long bao), bc an ex-chef from the famed din tai fung is supposedly at this place. Â and i love din tai fung. Â unfortunately they were a bit disappointing. Â even though they were at least soupy inside, the texture of the skin was not bitey enough. Â they also looked sad in their steamer. Â i don't like eating food that looks sad. Â i'm thinking it might have been an off night, because i've seen pictures other people have taken, and their xiao long bao looks perfect.
i plan on going back soon to at least give the XLB a second chance, and order all the dishes that were yummy (see above), hopefully they'll still have their 15% "grand opening" discount.
Think of hot pot (this restaurant's specialty) as Chinese fondue and substitute the cheese with flavored broth. I was really excited when I received notice about this place opening because there aren't too many hot pot restaurants in Chicago and basically none that offer individual pots for each patron. I usually have hot pot at a friend's house or at my own and after this visit, I should have continued to have it at home. You start off with choosing a broth, and some of the options were: seafood, mushroom and hot and sour. The pots were indeed really cute and the electric stoves were easy to figure out. The broth itself didn't taste like much of anything. My friend's seafood soup had one tiny shrimp and I had absolutely no mushrooms in mine. It could be that they just offer the broth and not the ingredients in it, but honestly I think my water had slightly more flavor. None of the meat is marinated so you have to "create" your own dipping sauce with the ingredients provided in their little buffet cart. BAD IDEA to not have any of the ingredients labeled in English...even for those who are able to read Chinese had a hard time figuring out which sauce was which because some of them got switched up. I got up about 4 times to change up my sauce because every single time it ended up tasting like vinegar and I swear I didn't put a drop in based on the assigned sauces. The raw dishes of meat, veggies and seafood you can order ranged from $3-$6 but the portions were very small...meaning one person can put an entire plate of veggies into their own pot and eat it up in a second. We each ended up paying about $25 each for the night and if we put out the same amount for an at home hot pot dinner, we would have been eating lobster, crab and marbled beef. Of course, eating at a restaurant saves you the hassle of clean up and washing all the vegetables but the service wasn't stellar either. The dumplings or "siu long bao" was pretty good and this place is BYOB, saving it from it's one star review.
Review Source:Maybe I'm just not cut out for hot pot, but this was TERRIBLE! I was really excited when I walked in and saw individual burners for each person. I ordered the soup base and a few items to add. Everything came out raw and slightly foreboding, but my soup was boiling soon enough.
Well the soup was bland and the meat lost all taste once I boiled. You know what, I can't even finish this review. It was that bad.
Tea was good. Service not great.
We decided to try Tao Ran Ju because it has been rumored that one of the chefs from Din Tai Fung (the famousest xiao long bao evarrrrr) opened this place.
For this reason, we did not get hot pot items. Â We got items similar to items we'd get at din tai fung.
First though, let's discuss the complimentary appetizers. Â I'm not sure if they are only complimentary during their "grand opening" phase, but they are delicious. Â Well, one of them is just pickeled radish..but the other was so good.. it was beans and veggies and tofus... I could drink that stuff. Â Gulp it down. Â So delicious!!!!
On to what we ordered- almost. ... because first I want to discuss the tea. Â The tea was good. Â It was better than typical restaurant tea. Â
Now, for real, this is what we ordered:
Xiao long bao-(regular pork): Â I forgot the english word they call these on the menu, but it's probably something like dumplings or soup dumplings. Â
They were placed on our table looking a little stressed out. Â I could tell from the time I first laid eyes on them that they would not be amazing. Â The soup was pretty good, but the dumpling skin and inner pork was quite average, if not below average. Â I wasn't pleased.
Shrimp dumpling: Â We also got the shrimp dumpling...which strangely...was the same as the pork dumpling (either they just gave us two orders of regular XLB or the line between shrimp and pork is starting to blur).
Thousand layered pancake (zua bing), I think they called it flaky pancake or something: Â Pretty good. Â I liked it... my only problem with it is that it made me want to eat it at A&Js in cupertino and/or irvine because it was way better there.
Beef roll-ups: Â I am not a good judge of these because no matter where I've gotten them, I have not felt them to be greatly delicious. Â It's just beef and a pancake...and maybe a cucumber. Â Really.
NiRo Mien/Beef noodle soup- (They call it Niro Lamien which I guess means they hand-made the noodles): Â This was my favorite part of dinner. Â The noodles were REALLY good, the beef was perfectly tender, there was lots of cilantro and other goodies. Â The sad thing was that as the soup sat there, the noodles overcooked so my last taste of the soup wasn't nearly as good as my first.
Nian gao/ Stir fry noodles (i think that was the english name on the menu): Â The english name is misleading. Â If you know what nian gao is, it's not really a noodle. Â It's like a rice-cake oval. Â Anyway, I've definitely had better nian gao. Â I had a couple helpings because I love rice cakes, but really it wasn't that good.
In summary...
I will definitely come back for the niro mien. Â I will also order the thousand layered pancake and the delicious appetizer. Â I will probably try some new stuff too.
The XLB was not impressive. Â Lao Shanghai has better XLB (on a good day). Â However given the scarcity of XLB in chicago, I'd say this place ranks #2.
P.S. 15% grand opening discount. Â I hope their grand opening is forever.
3.5 stars.....very neat concept, each place at the table has it's own induciton stove plate, you can order individual soup pots or share. Â My BF and I choose to share a pot. Looks BYOB from all the wine bottles on tables, FYI there is a liquor store across from Citibank just in case. Â Read the other reviews about the selections, but over all everything is very fresh. Â My only gripe is that
1. we had to sit at the table by the door which gave an annoying draft each time  it opened.
2. The sauce bar is not english friendly and I had to ask for help to identify all the options avail.
Friendly service, they have staff that are bilingual, for 2 ppl our bill came to $34 and we ordered 9 items
How did I discover this place? The conversation went something like this...
Me: Dad, a large group of friends are visiting from Missouri - any ideas of good unique places where I could take them in Chinatown.
Dad: Yes, I saw a 15% off for a grand opening!
Me: Is it good?
Dad: 15% off !
Me: Oh ok... I'll check it out....
When a restaurant starts to advertise a 15% off Grand Opening in newspapers and on their front door, I'm usually down. Â I never ended taking the large group here but I did go with my sister a few days ago. This restaurant is located near the Citibank on the new Chinatown side. Â It's located in the Richmond Center (the new chinatown mall/plaza) on 18th and Archer. Â
The staff/service is surprisingly nice for a Chinese Restaurant and the service isn't bad at all. Â They refill your free hot tea without asking and take away dishes when you are done. Â The menu is in plain English and Chinese, so don't worry about not being able to speak.
HOT POT
The place is known for its hot pot (a boiling soup base) and you order side dishes of raw veggies/meats to cook in your soup. Note that I didn't eat the hot pot, but it works like this below.
1) Order a Soup Base are $3.00/person and include a few different broths.
2) Order your Veggies and Meats: range from $3.00 to $6.00 per dish.
3) Each participant will have their own pot of soup that is cooked on the actual table which has "Hot Pot" electronic plates built in. Pretty neat.
DISHES
Instead of hot pot, we ordered their "Daily Specials" as we weren't in the mood for hot pot. Â A few of the specials included beef noodle soup ($6.95), japanese noodle seafood soup ($6.95), congee, $(4.00), green onion pancakes ($3.95), and about 4 different dumpling choices. Apparently they have a former chef from Ding Tai Fung and the Xiao Long Baos (Steamed Dumplings) are supposed to be good here ($5.95 for 8). Â
We ended up ordering the seafood potstickers (6 for $5.95), seafood dumplings (17 for $6.95), Beef noodle soup, and the green pancakes. Â We also got 15% automatically deducted! (no coupon needed)
Overall, the dumplings/potstickers were great, moist, and had shrimp and pork inside. The Beef noodle soup wasn't anything to rave about. Â Pancakes were great as well... however, we didn't receive them until the meal was over pretty much - (minus one star). Â Next time, order the Japanese Seafood soup as it looks much better/larger than the beef noodle soup.
A nice, trendy place with good service AND CLEAN bathrooms. Â You can take a poo - without being grossed out, those who frequent Chinatown know what I'm talking about.
Study the menu, watch what others order, and you probably won't be dissapointed. I will update my review when I go back.
Hot pot is the perfect meal for those bitterly cold winter evenings. Â I was therefore thrilled about Tao Ran Ju's opening in Chinatown.
The decor is nicer than your typical Chinatown restaurant. Â It is well lit, the chairs are solid wood, and tables had solid surface tops. Â In front of each sitting is a built in induction cook top, which allows everyone to have their own hot pot (=everyone chooses their own broth + no saliva sharing!). Â
For hot pot, there were a number of broth offerings, including a hot and sour and a seafood base. Â These were the ones that my wife and I chose. Â As for the side ingredients, there are a wide variety of meats and vegetables. Â In addition to the standard hot pot offering, Tao also offers a variety of dim sum style appetizers, grilled meats, along with some noodle dishes. Â Rumor has it that they have a chef previously from the famous Ding Tai Fung to make their xiao long bao (steamed mini buns), so I knew I had to try some.
So what was the verdict? Â Hot pot ingredients had very small portions. Â Though they are not expensive, it quickly adds up. Â It is almost as if each dish is not meant for sharing. Â It sure made me want to run down to the grocery store and smuggle ingredients in. Â Vegetables are supposedly prepackaged, so they might be a bit dry (though we did not have this problem with ours). Â What we did like were the frozen tofu (which has a rather unique texture) and especially the broths. Â Indeed, both broths exceeded our expectations, and we ended drinking them all! Â They also have a self-serve sauce bar, though getting what you want from it is a challenge, due to the ridiculous placement of the sauces (they are placed down low in a ledge).
As for the xiao long bao that we ordered (you get 8 or 9 of them), they were pretty good, with a bit of soup inside each one of them (a signature of good xiao long bao). Â Perhaps some of the best I have had in Chicago, so definitely recommend getting those a try. Â We also got the grilled fatty beef, which was small and completely forgettable.
We ended up spending about $20 per person, which is on the high end for Chinatown. Â Granted, you are paying for the nice, clean decor. Â But their tasty broths might well make another visit worthwhile. Â Now, if they could only increase the size of the portions...
I was very excited to hear that there was a new place in town for hot pot. Â Unfortunately, after giving it a shot, I think I'll stick to other places. The two stars I'm giving it is erring on the side of generosity.
In their defense, Tao Ran Ju hasn't been open for very long, so maybe they'll get the kinks worked out, but my experience was not good.
First of all, the staff speaks almost no English. Â I couldn't ask questions about the menu without getting a blank stare. Â They clearly WANTED to be helpful, but they just didn't understand my questions.
The more vexing language problem was the fact that the sauces in the sauce bar were not labeled in English. Â There were 12 choices or so, but I had no idea what they were. Â If one of the other patrons hadn't given me a quick explanation, I would have left in the position of picking sauces randomly as the staff didn't know enough English even to explain what the sauces were.
Each place at the tables has its own induction heater for the bowls of broth. Power to the tables in the center of the restaurant is provided by thick electrical cords snaking across the floor, which is a tripping hazard and probably a violation of OSHA codes.
I had the mushroom soup base; my dining companion chose the spicy. Â The mushroom base was fine, if a little bland. Â The spicy base was pleasantly spicy, but a thick layer of chili oil will do that. Â Compared to other hot pot places in Chinatown, the add-ins seemed a bit expensive. Â We were relatively conservative, but the bill still added up quickly -- this was more of an issue than it might have been otherwise, as the place is cash only.
Lastly, based on the headache I got immediately afterwards, I would say that one thing this establishment provides in abundance is MSG, which, for obvious reasons, I normally try to avoid.
Since Tao Ran Ju just opened, I will very likely wait a few months and give it one more try to see if they get their act together, but if they don't improve dramatically, I'll steer clear of this place.
New hot pot place in Chinatown. Individual pots of broth ($3 each), and you order a bunch of things to cook. Plates of beef ($4), fish, vegetables, tofu, etc. Small portions and they do add up! The best item I thought were the house made fish patties which is chopped up fish mixed with cliantro and hand formed. All these plates were pre-plated and stored in a cooler case up front, which is not really a good idea for vegetables and the seafood, because they got a little dried out. And the squid was precooked, which led to it being overcooked and rubbery when we cooked it in the hot pot.
They also have xiao long bao (Shanghai soup dumplings) and the chef is apparently from Din Tai Fung (Taiwan). Crab Roe Soup Dumplings had broth and are well made. A little lacking in flavor though. Wasn't crabby or porky enough.
They have a skewer section in the menu and we tried the lamb. I am not a lamb lover, but this was not too gamey, and well spiced.
I will definitely return for the dumplings and the skewers.
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