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Chinese/Asian
Reader Restaurant
Recommendations - MidWest
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Illinois
Des Plaines
Chung's Restaurant, 1591 Lee St, Des Plaines, IL, Telephone: 847 297-8888, Fax: 847 297-5975
I think it is the best fine Chinese restaurant in our town-Des Plaines, IL. It takes online orders too.
(Guide Note: their website advertises that the food contains no MSG)McHenry
The Plum Garden, just west of Route 31, on Main Street
- Very "americanized," but has some good offerings. They will modify dishes, if you ask. The waitressing staff is American, and mostly know only what is printed on the menu.
Rockford
Genghis Khan, 2412 Charles Street
I have eaten at many Chinese restaurants in my life and would say that this is the best. It is family owned so the service is very personal and they help you to feel right at home. The food is excellent and authentic. If you have any special dietary needs, they will do their best to accommodate them. We dine there often.The Great Wall, 4228 E State St., (815) 226 - 0982
The Great Wall has been reviewed in Mobil Travel Guide. It specializes in Mandarin, Szechwan, and Hunan. The food is excellent.
Schaumburg
Yus Mandarin Inc., 200 E Golf Road 60173, Telephone (847) 882-5340
If you really want to see the behind the scene's methodology of Chinese cooking, I strongly recommend visiting this restaurant. There are about six wok stations behind the glass partition facing the dining room. Each station is manned by a Chinese chef who cooks in front of your eyes. You can watch the magic of their cooking of an assortment of dishes (seafood, pork, chicken, noodles, beef and vegetables, etc.), and see for yourself how they masterfully handle their wok with one hand and a ladle with the other, adding the ingredients in a predetermined sequence, tossing them together with a flip of their wrists, and delicately scooping up just the right amount of various seasoning with their ladles and blending it into the ingredients in the wok, culminating in a tasty dish. It is truly an art. Review ContinuedWaterloo
China Star, 634 North Market, Waterloo, 62298 (618 - 939 - 9898)
They have a noon buffet from 11:30 A.M. to 2:30 P.M. You must try this restaurant - it's great food and good prices.Michigan
Grand Rapids
Wei Wei Seafood Palace - 4242 Division Street 49548, Telephone: 616 - 724 - 1818
It serves dim sum every day from open to closing, as well as wonderful fresh seafood from their giant aquariums. They also have 1/2 of a barbequed pig and cooked ducks and other fowl hanging in the window that can be purchased by the pound. Also terrific is that they make their own sumptuous noodles, and the taste is devine. When I have been there, there have been few Caucasians, but lots of folks of Asian decent. It always makes me think that the food is authentic when that happens. The whole little mall there is dedicated to Asian stores and is a blast to shop in. The biggest Asian grocery store in Grand Rapids is also located in the mall, so you can pick up ingredients to make your own Asian food - great fresh produce.Lansing
Huapei Restaurant - Near the corner of Mt. Hope and Cedar in Lansing.
(Korean Chinese Cuisine)
It is not widely known, but Lansing/East Lansing has a thriving Asian population due to the Asian Studies Center at Michigan State University. We have more Asian grocery stores than most places have restaurants. The Huapei is the best. Licensed Master Chef Wang Li and family are Chinese, but lived in South Korea for sometime before coming to America, hence the cuisine mix. Master Wang frequently competes and wins awards in Chicago's Chinatown cooking competitions. The restaurant is smallish and has family style. He has numerous standout dishes. I love his dumplings, hot and sour soup, noodle soups, Kampungi, Sichuan beef and many other dishes from his Chinese language menu, which I cannot translate.Midland
Pi's China Palace, 1815 S. Saginaw Rd., Midland, Michigan, 48604
Telephone: 1-517-832-5848
- If you're ever in Mid-Michigan you have to eat here. They make the best garlic chicken and sesame chicken in the world. Their egg drop and spicy sour soups are my favorites. (Posted by Anne Cerva, About.com's Guide to French Cuisine).Saginaw County
King's House Chinese Restaurant, 3649 Bay Rd., (behind Jack's Produce and next to Maxey's Used Bookstore) Saginaw Michigan, 48603
Try them for the best Egg Rolls in Saginaw County. They are so good!Missouri
Chillicothe
Beijing Chinese Restaurant, 327 S Washington Street, Chillicothe, Telephone: (660) 646 - 4112
They have a buffet that is to die for. My family and I eat there all the time and always try to introduce new people to it all the time. Just thought I would let you know about this fabulous place.Kansas City
China Wok, near I-29 on Barry Road (Food for Less Shopping Centre)
We finally found a Chinese restaurant in Kansas City that suits our tastes.
Springfield
(Home of the Springfield-style chicken invented at Leong's Tea House). I would have to say that it would be harder to find a bad Asian restaurant than a good one. Just ask anyone in town what their favorite is and they'll point you in the right direction. Unfortunately, Leong retired a few years ago, but he left a great legacy of wonderful places to eat in such a small city.St. Louis
Great Chef Garden, 141 & Manchester, St. Louis, Missouri, (314) 394 - 8008, (314) 394-8885
A place with the greatest dim sum. It has a weekend dim sum buffet, 11:30 AM - 2:00 PM.
The Mandarin House, 1820 Market Street, Union Station, (314) 621 - 6888
I think this is the best Chinese food I've ever had! The won ton soup has a delicate flavor, and all entrées are good. The service is excellent.West Plains
Diamond Head Restaurant
There is also one in Mountain Home, Arkansas that is run by a branch of the same family. I've never eaten at the Arkansas location, but I have heard from others that it's just as good.Nebraska
Omaha (within a 200 mile radius)
China Road, 4006 Twin Creek Drive, Bellevue NE, 68123 (402) 291 - 8855 (Located in the area of 35th and Highway 370)
Marvelous Hot and Sour Soup, and entrees.- Ohio
Cleveland
Dragon
Towers
Kamms Plaza 17452 Lorain Avenue Cleveland OH 44111 216 251-6696 Wisconsin
Appleton
The Jade Restaurant, North Richmond Street
The owners are very interested in healthy eating. Be sure to ask for recommendations, as the dishes that are not on the menu tend to feature more exotic and authentic food. They do a fantastic Dragon Fish and make wonderful Fried Rice, complete with Chinese sausage and raisins, as well as Hong Kong Noodles (a must for celebratory events).Milwaukee
China Garden, 330 E. Kilbourn Avenue, (414) 272 - 1688
This is possibly the best Chinese restaurant in Milwaukee. It's pretty convenient for any downtown visitor and has an exceptional buffet. However, its real strengths are in the somewhat innovative dinner menu, especially seafood. One note: if you like dishes such as moo shu pancakes, try elsewhere. Service is sometimes weird but the food is special. There is free parking underneath the building with validation.
The Fortune, in Milwaukee on 108th Street between National and Oklahoma
I feel this is the best Chinese restaurant in the Milwaukee area. Most of the clientele is Chinese, and they have several menus. Be sure to get the "red" menu, the green print version is VERY Americanized, there are also special sheets with seasonal offerings.
The East Garden, on Oakland, a few blocks south of Capitol at Menlo
This is very good also.Peony Chinese Restaurant, 11120 W. Blue Mound Road, Wauwatosa
Peony is one of the newest restaurants in Milwaukee and is unquestionably the best for dim sum items such as Chinese dumplings. Here you'll find a great variety, from ravioli style dumplings to crepes and buns. It is best with several people, so that dishes may be shared. The stuffed bean curd is especially good - far more flavorful than one expects from bean curd. The barbeque ribs with black bean sauce is good as well. It also has chop suey and other American dishes. The restaurant compares to a good metropolitan dim sum house, at a slightly higher cost than in a metro Chinatown but still modest overall.
Lake Geneva
The Temple Garden, on Route 50, in the middle of town
- They are very good, and will cook anything you want, any way you want it.
I highly recommend the Dragon Towers restaurant in Cleveland Ohio. My wife and I have been eating there for years and have never tired of the food. A great variety of entrees. Quality and quantity at a moderate price.
Mansfield
Chinatown Restaurant, 283 Ashland Rd., (419) 524 - 2332
It has a wide variety of Chinese dishes on the menu, along with steaks/chops and ham dishes for those who prefer American dishes. I highly recommend the Egg Foo Yung and the Pu Pu Platter. I have eaten Egg Foo Yung all over the United States and this restaurant has one of the best. The preparation of the food is done by Chinese cooks familiar with this type of cooking and cuisine. If you are ever in the Mansfield area, visit this restaurant. You won't be disappointed.
If you have a favorite restaurant you'd like to recommend, please let me know.
Ho ho sik! (Good eating!)
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Chopsticks image © 2000 by Rhonda Parkinson
