House of Bing — Restaurant in Hyde Park Township

Well there is some good and some bad comments about the place. I was visiting a friend to drop off something and had always pass by this to me a Mysterious Chinese restaurant in the south shore or south side area. I being a north sider would not consider dining here if I was younger in my 20's because to me the south side is usually scary part of Chicago. You just pass by as fast as you can. Anyways, being older I decided to be adventurous and break out of my familiar territory of eating in restaurants in the south side since I have dine at a Vietnamese restaurant called "Pho 55" in Hyde Park area and left with some hope of good Asian food. The bad part was that as the moment I walked in I notice the central a/c was NOT on and the dining furniture was so out of date. I was flabberghasted but still full of anticipation. I was greeted by a Chinese person serving there and said I wanted a seat for 1. I should have just turned around but again curious. I sat down in a both that was dim lit and with 1980's that the seat was ripped and taped. He offered me water in a plastic glass which looked clean since I used my Android flashlight to see no cooties. So far so good. He handed menu which looked good with illustrations of the food and ordered what I am familiar dishes with at Chinese restaurants up north that are my favorite. I started with hot and sour soup and shrimp toast as an appetizer and the main dish was shrimp egg foo young which to my surprise was a big dish for $9. After I placed my order I wanted to use the washroom to do number 1 and wash my hands. As I went to the washroom I was shocked at the appearance. Old urinals from 1978 that smelled really bad and the dispensers too were old and yucky. I was able to do number 1 and wash my hands with soap and water but with caution using alot of paper towel. As I got back to my table my 1st entree came and it was the hot and sour soup. It was pretty big but I was still hungry. I tasted it and it was just ok. Texture, spice and richness was good but it needed 3 or 2 ingredients. No tofu, no baby corn and no strips of pork. He had bamboo and the fungus that is typical in Hot and sour and other familiar ingredients but not that. I gave the soup a meh or ok rating. As the next entrees I ordered was the shrimp toast and the shrimp egg foo you came I was ready to try. The Shrimp Toast was unique and delicious. It is not typical one I usual taste in other Chinese restaurants but was savory. It tasted more like a french toast with shrimp or crepe with shrimp which was delicious and unusual. Last was the main dish which was really big. That was the shrimp egg foo young. It was cooked very well. The egg, bean sprouts and the shrimp with gravy was yummy. I was so full I decided to wrap the 3rd one to go. All in all the food was good. This is a place to carry out and order but I would not recommended dining here. Thus the reason why I gave it 3 stars. The food alone but NOT the ambiance. Not sure if 2 stars would be fair since I would come back if I pass by. The waiter was friendly too and I had address the issues on the environment inside as I addressed I did not want to be rude or hurt his feelings...

I haven’t been here to this restaurant since about 1989/1990. When we used to go back in the day, we were never disappointed and today was no different. I decided to visit the restaurant based on a yearning for Chinese food. The cashier was friendly and the place was on lock down because of the Pandemic. Meaning you weren’t allowed to eat in but you can still order for pickup or wait until order is ready. I ordered the large chicken fried rice/hot spicy and a small chicken egg foo young. Both dishes were moderately priced and were cooked to perfection. The fried rice had plenty of white meat chicken because I was never a fan of fried rice with dark meat. The same applies to the chicken egg foo young, plenty of meat, tender, cooked soft and the gravy made it for me to want to buy this dish again!!! I am a big fan of gravy and the better the gravy, the better the egg foo young in my book. The man stated there was a twenty minute wait for my order and my two dishes were finished before the twenty. So.....on this go around the service was fast and efficient! Glad I decided to stop in and will be returning back to try other dishes...

Alright this is what it is...

If you are a fan Chinese hood spots, you'll love House of Bing. It's always a good size order of food, fairly cheap and its a neighborhood spot where you don't have to dress up. Just pretty much how you are.

I've been plenty of times just to get some wings or a quick order of beef and broccoli and have never been disappointed. The wings are huge and the beef and broccoli does enough to fill up your stomach. But come into the spot with tempered expectations. Like I said, its a neighborhood place, essentially a diner that serves chinese food.

But the main reason I'm giving it 4 stars is the drinks. The drinks are super strong and cheap. And the dudes who work there are always cool to talk to. So if you aren't trying to spend a lot of cash, want some grease food and a stiff drink, you'll love House of Bing. If you want a more upscale place, you'll be...