Lao Sze Chuan: User Reviews

First off, I have live near China Town for 10 years and been disappointed by most every place I have been too. A good dish here and there but overall, its bad food made by bean counters and cost savers.

At Loa Sze Chaun the food was as good as the person who recommended it said it would be. I am eating left-overs right now, and the vegetables are still crisp and fresh, the sauces are not full of MSG. It will be my place going forward. The hot pots looked interesting maybe next time I will try that.

The service, well it was a bit weird more than bad, and I can not figure out why all the places in CT insist on bright flourescent lighting.

But the food was the best I have had in my 10 year adventure with CT.

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Well it is hard to say Good Bye, but sometime is better off not to upset yourself anymore. I have been a regular for Lao Sze Chuan for many years; in fact I keep recommending friends and visitors to go there.
When the owner, decided to expand and established two more restaurants in Chinatown and couple more around the Chicago Land, things are not the same anymore.
The service drop and the quality drop. My reservation got cancel and my other reservation was never even recorded on the book. If you complain, the manager will make it sounds like is your fault with tons of excuses and amke a sense in the in the restaurant, or just standing behind you and listen to your comments toward the other servers in the restaurant.
At least before, I will mamage the service for the good food, but since the main chef is not cooking often anymore, is it worthy???

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Last night we went to Lao Tze Chuan restaurant. We learned they had changed ownership, and wondered what the new management would be like.

We arrived around 6:15, placed our order around 6:25. The food didn't come until 7:00 p.m. When the meal came, a big party (around 16 people) stood waiting for the round table next to us. Obviously, it wasn't big enough, so the management "borrowed" the table next to ours, and put it next to the round one. The took all the chairs except for the two we were using. It was still not enough for the big pary. Next thing you know, the manager said they were moving us.

I had chopsticks in my hands while sitting in my chair when our table
suddenly was removed from underneath us. I was shocked, and the rest of the patrons grew silent and stared at me, expecting something to happen. I continued to eat the food still in my chopsticks as I sat alone in the middle of the open space. I finally got up and walked to our new table location, hearing "Sorry" and "Bu Hao Yisi."

Then, our final dish came--sweet and sour pork. It was basically a breaded, fried pork chop with bones. My guest took one bite and coughed it out. The meat was spoiled. They offered to re-cook the dish. It was 7:15, and we about had enough. They took the dish back, and refused to take the order off the bill.

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I've been here several times eating in, as well as ordered food and had it delivered. My family's from southern China so this is a style that I'm familiar with and like most.

The food itself is quite good. Is it extremely authentic? No. Trying to find authentic Southern Chinese food in America is like finding a needle in a haystack. Some of the proper ingredients don't even exist here (as my own mother has complained to the restaurant manager about). But unless you've been to China and know what it should taste like you'll never know the difference. In fact it'll probably taste great.

The service itself isn't really anything to complain about. At any chinese restaurant like this, expect a meal to take a good 2 hours or more. The expectation is that if you're eating out, you have time to do it properly. Dishes will not be brought out all together, they'll come out as they're made and are expected to be shared by the entire table. Of course this process will probably seem horribly slow to a lot of people, so be forewarned.

The plus of all this is that it's pretty reasonably priced. it's a good deal for solid food that won't break your budget.

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Why are people waiting in line to eat here? The menu is voluminous and has much to choose from for both adventurous and conservative diners. Food quality for our party of 5 was good, not great. The reason to avoid this place is the chaotic and inattentive service. First appetizer came out quickly. That was about it. Fifteen minutes later one soup arrived. Twenty minutes later another soup showed up, ten minutes more for next appetizer and then the main courses came out one at a time with big gaps. No one seemed to care. Avoid this place unless you have at least 2 hours to eat and don't care about service.

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then you HAVE to go to this place. No questions about it - they have the HOTTEST food out there and it's flavorful and delish and every good comment I could think of! Listen, it's a cramped, box-shaped restaurant in a corner of a strip mall. The ambiance is not there but the service is fast, albeit curt, but who cares with food this wonderful? It starts off with them bringing chile-oil infused cabbage shreds. A spicy, crunchy, fresh salad starter. Then I order the potstickers (ok, i know it's very typical of an outsider to order these appetizers b/c it's not off the beaten path but these suckers are filled to the brim and toasted so well - best in the city) and they are accompanied by 2 sauces - a hoisin and a chili-oil. Watch out for that chili oil- it's a scorcher and the most fun to dare others with! The mongolian beef (another usual, almost-lame Chinese dish, I'm aware) is tender and meaty and order it spxiy if you dare. The Spicy Orange Beef is sweet and goes down easy, until a few minutes later when you scream, "whoa" because the heat catches up to you later. This place is not just good spicy Chinese food, this is the best Chinese food place around.

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I used to go there very often. After all, there are not many authentic SzeChuan style Chinese food in town, even in Chinatown. However, recently visits kept disspoint me. Not mentioning the crazy waiting line and the rude or lack/no service (yes, we all know it is not a french restaurant for candle light dinner), their food are not wonderful anymore. it is just plain, with no taste other than spice. I felt they changed the chef now. probably. There are still some good dishes for sure , but I am not going there for some just good food while suffering the long waiting and bad service. I can find good food in other restaurants nearby. It just not worths it. Plus, their portion becomes smaller and smaller

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Exceptional and unique (to Chicago) Chinese dishes,,, note Yu Shaing Pork, Lamb with Cumin, Beef with Leeks.

Best potstickers around. Busy, courteous service... Not Americanized.

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Though off the beaten track, this IS the place to go for very authentic Chinese food (tending on the spicy side -- which is good by me). Probably the best dishes are the "soups" or actually broth-based Chinese-style fondu, where you boil various meats and vegetables in broths and suaces. Lots to eat at very reasonable prices.

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GREAT FOOD--HORRIBLE SERVICE. The hot food is perfectly spicy; the mild food is perfectly mild; both are flavorful. So, the food is unquestionably good.
However, you should be prepared to (a) wait for a table if you go during primetime for dinner, and (b) get pushed out the door whether it's busy or not. On that first point, I've been there a few times where we didn't have to wait for a table. One was during lunch and the other was b/c we got there at 6:30. By the time we left dinner though, there was a line of people out the door.
Either way, the service itself isn't that great. They're not going to let you sit around and chat and they rush you pretty hard to hurry your food and leave.

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