MingHin Cuisine - Lakeshore East — Restaurant in Chicago

I came here for dinner one night while in Chicago. I was with a party of four and we decided to walk here from our hotel and enjoy the evening air. After quite a few twists and turns, staircases and a few elevators we arrived at the restaurant which is tucked away in a small alcove between buildings. I'm an explorer, so the roundabout way of getting there was right up my alley. Looking at the restaurant from the entrance it almost looked like it was closed at first. Upon walking in, there was a bar and some seating available in a small dining area. It seemed so empty and I wondered if it was closing soon, as it looked so neat and quiet with no staff to be seen other than one person behind the bar.

I was in for another twist and turn as the person behind the bar greeted us and took us around a corner into a dining area that was packed with people and very vibrant. I caught a glimpse of the skyline through some windows across the dining room. Unfortunately, we were seated on the opposite end of the restaurant.

We were brought complimentary tea, which was really good. Instead of a hard copy menu, we were brought a tablet to order off of a digital menu. It's an interesting concept but between multiple people trying to order off of one tablet, it felt a bit cumbersome. Unfortunately, the party I was with, was not in the mood for dim sum or a family style dinner, so we ordered separate plates. We did order some egg rolls for the table which came out quickly and tasted freshly made.

I opted for the Beef Brisket with Eggplant and an Avocado Smoothie. The Avocado Smoothie had a good flavor and was not too thick or too runny. It wasn't overly sweet either. The Beef Brisket with Eggplant was also good. The brisket was tender and the eggplant was juicy. The sauce was thick and had a strong but good flavor. It was a large portion, so it was a challenge to finish by myself. After the main meal, we ordered some Baked Creamy Egg Yolk Buns, which were delicious.

The service is very minimalist which is not an issue. The waitstaff did not come to the table very often unless called over. The food was good, service quick and the ambiance was vibrant and family friendly. When I'm in Chicago again I'll have to stop by again and sample their...

We made a reservation for 11:30am today. When we came, we saw a huge line. Apparently they still weren’t open yet even though their business hours said they were supposed to be open at 11am. The one thing they did accommodate was they seated us first since we had a reservation. However, once we were seated around 11:35am. Every table after us received their orders before us, and some of the tables even finished eating already. At 12:10pm, I asked one of the waiters when our order would be ready. He told me rudely that the order was already put in and it’ll be ready when it’s ready. At 12:20pm I flagged another lady down and she went to check on our order. I would have to say they probably forgot our order because shortly after the 1st dish out of 10 dishes we ordered came out. Then we waited, and waited. At 12:35pm I was already pretty hangry by then so I had to flag someone down again asking if any of our other items would be brought out. They started bringing 1-2 dishes out every 10 minutes after that. By the time we received our check we still hadn’t received 2 items we ordered. We were so tired we just gave up on those orders. We didn’t leave until 1:20pm. It just didn’t make sense to me why we would even bother reserving a table when every other table without a reservation would finish eating before our first dish came. And there was just no apology or anything, they were...

We had a hard time finding this place because Google Maps routed us through the park, and being late at night we didn't want to walk through the park. So we tried to get there via the streets and didn't find it easily since it's off the main road.

We've been to the MingHin in Chinatown, and this is one of six locations in the Chicago area. The ambience and decor are very nice, and you don't feel crammed in next to other diners. It's nice to enjoy a leisurely Cantonese meal in an atmosphere like this.

You order off a tablet on the table. While that took a bit to figure out, in the end it's efficient, and the food came out quickly. The menu is very extensive, so there is definitely something for everyone.

For our late-night dinner, we ordered beef rice noodle and stir-fried chow mein noodle with soy sauce. For the price, the rice noodle dish seemed on the small side, while the chow mein noodle was more than we needed. Flavors were good, and the dishes really hit the spot on a chilly autumn night. We also tried a red bean pudding, which was light, refreshing and not overly sweet.

Service was sufficient, though not warm and friendly. You do need to hail down a server if you need something since they don't come by to ask if you need anything. All in all, a good experience, though on the pricey side, and we'll back if we're...