BellyBowl Kitchen & Boba Bar (Southloop) — Restaurant in Chicago

Week later update lol: I decided to try the tofu roll fried, and it was good but I definitely prefer it the original way- the flavor is outstanding and that seems to get lost in the frying process.

Next day update: I ordered dinner again, seriously I’m so grateful to have another option for a yummy meal in the south loop. This time I got the creamy tofu udon noodles, tofu roll with no eel (vegan friendly), raspberry cake and almond cookies. The udon is addicting! I enjoyed my leftovers for lunch and was already considering ordering it again for dinner lol. The tofu roll was the best and freshest roll I’ve had in a really long time. And I was happy at how filling it was! Sometimes sushi isn’t filling to me, but this was very satisfying 😋 And what stood out to me about the raspberry cake was the sweet smell of raspberry as soon as I took the lid off the container. It was just as good as the mango cake, but somehow more fragrant 😍 and the almond cookies were yummy, I haven’t had them in many years so it was nice to have them again.

Original review: Wow I should have been ordering from here sooner! I like their online ordering system lets you pick a time other than ASAP. Since this restaurant is right next to the Roosevelt station, it’s perfect to place an order on the train and it be ready when I arrive.

Also, the pics don’t do the portion sizes justice! I was so surprised at how large the containers are (fork for size in my pictures). Great value in price, serving size and deliciousness 😋

I got the tofu Mapo rice bowl, veggie pancake and mango cake. I’ve only had a veggie pancake two other places and this is by far the tastiest! The rice bowl was so yummy and made me look forward to trying the tofu udon bowl which I almost ordered this time, but decided to go with the rice bowl instead. I will say for the rice bowl I rarely if ever use soy sauce but ended up using the soy sauce that came with my veggie pancake in the rice bowl because it felt like it needed a little extra flavor or something. The soy sauce is really good though so I don’t think it was a bad thing lol. And the mango cake was so good I had a piece for breakfast the next day 🤭

Great prices, yummy food, vegan friendly, and convenient location- happy they are here in the south loop and I recommend you...

I must say that entering this little place, ordering food reminiscent of Chinese takeout, sitting mindfully at our table for two, being greeted by the young men behind the counter, and chatting about the food and the day mindlessly, was a feeling almost like I had been placed back in college in this busy metropolis itself. It is like a square pocket on a shirt. You do not come on special occasions; you come for lunch on a rainy day when there is nowhere else to go. It's here that you stuff the day in your square and eat your fill.

I was pleasantly surprised at the flavor of the food, even. We each ordered a rice bowl - orange chicken and bulgogi beef. Both ended up filling and warm, with a variety of flavors. The low jazz piano was a great touch. If you're looking for sanctuary and you need to eat...

Trash! I ordered the chicken ramen with veggies and added an egg. They put the chicken under the noodles! Why is this a problem? Well the chicken is fried so it was all soggy. The egg was a mangled mess and I could barely find it. There were barely any vegetables in the ramen. When I asked to speak to a manager, the manager was not in and the staff didn’t even care. The woman staff member with the eye patch said the orders come with exactly 3 pieces of broccoli 🤨 and they said normally the chicken is on top. I asked them why they served it to me this way and she said the chef made a mistake. This place is either too cheap to remake food that is incorrect or too lazy, either way I would not suggest...