Peking Mandarin Restaurant — Restaurant in Jefferson Township

I read the reviews on Yelp and Google and formed a favorable impression of the restaurant, so I decided to order from here because it's close and my husband and I were dying for Chinese takeout. (I had looked at GrubHub and it seemed that all the Chinese restaurants on GrubHub were dreadful according to Yelpers and Googlers.) I read that the Mongolian beef at Peking Mandarin was fabulous, as well as the Korean dishes, but since I was in the mood for Chinese, I decided to skip the Korean dishes. I ordered over the phone with a menu I found on MenuPages and the woman on the phone at the restaurant was easy to talk to (not always the case with ordering Asian food over the phone). My order was ready and quite warm when I arrived (it stayed hot while I walked it into the grocery store for beer and then home through 20˚ weather) and the lady at the counter was very nice. All the food was well-wrapped... but this was where my joy with the place began to pale. When I got my food home, I discovered that the portions were generous. That's good. What was not so good was that the eggrolls were the standard, probably previously frozen Chinese eggrolls, with that bubbly fried-then-frozen-then-refried gummy shell texture and dull cabbage innards, and the refrying had been overdone, so the eggrolls were burnt to black. Oh, and there was no mustard. The crab rangoons were better-fried (read: not burnt), but while they were well-filled with cream cheese, there wasn't any crab in them. My husband and I are both familiar with the sad but necessary tradition of trying to find at least crab texture in our rangoons, and I can state with confidence these did not have any crab in them. None. At. All. The hot and sour soup was unique and tasty. It had a seafood blend in it that was interesting, plus there was a good amount of tofu, and the soup did not have that typical, bland, vinegar-y hot and sour soup flavor and cornstarch-thickened texture that is so ubiquitous these days in Chinese restaurants. The Mongolian beef (which, according to Yelpers, is the best Chinese thing on the menu and is worth traveling all the way to Albany Park for) was pretty good, but not really worth the Yelpers adulation. It was a very large portion, very meaty, and subtly seasoned (none of that acrid vinegar nonsense here that one often finds with Chinese entrees). The green onions were fresh, and the steamed rice it came with was also fresh and perfectly textured... but I still wasn't wowed by the entree overall. Oh well. Perhaps the Korean there is really amazing, but the Chinese certainly wasn't. One really awesome thing about it is that while my husband and I have delicate digestive systems, Peking Mandarin's food did not attack us in any way, which shows that the food we ate was probably cooked in a clean, well-kept kitchen and not filled with additives. In summary: their wonderful service and propinquity will bring me back happily for a lunch special, but I don't think they're worth the...

Also known as Asawon, my family has been coming to Peking Mandarin for decades. This is one of the few remaining classic Chinese-Korean restaurants that serve a lot of Chinese-American food and a handful of Chinese-American dishes that are enormously popular among Koreans. They also serve excellent champong, a classic spicy seaweed soup that is not too dissimilar to menudo, sans the tortillas. The trio of dishes we usually get are the spicy chicken wings aka lollipop wings (also available in boneless pork here), sweet and sour chicken (tan sauce, vs. the orange sauce in the American Chinese version), and black bean noodles. Last time we also threw in Mongolian Beef, which was surprisingly outstanding. Not sure if it was just a lucky day but the beef was infused with a smoky wok hei, unlike most Mongolian Beef dishes that are usually kind of watery and bland. I also like the black mushrooms & tofu, a classic Chinese American dish. The popular wings can sometimes be a little overcooked but the thick spicy sauce is usually on point. The primary competitor, Great Seas down the street, might have slightly better wings in a thinner more nuanced sauce, but the black bean noodles here are more generously sauced and slightly better, I think. I go back and forth between which restaurant that I prefer. My spouse prefers Great Seas wings but my family prefers Peking Mandarin for the other dishes and overall. They have large tables and are used to serving large groups, especially on weekends. The service is just fair and can be almost non-existent when they are busy. Be patient and bring cash. The decor is outdated but people here are regulars who come for the food, not to be impressed by interior design. This is one of the Chicago pillar restaurants devoted to food, not trends. I feel like those keep closing - let's keep...

The best Korean-Chinese Restaurant in Chicago. Located in Albany Park on Lawrence Avenue aka Korea Town, aka Seoul Drive. There are many familiar Chinese American dishes, but they specialize in Korean-Chinese dishes. These became prominent in Korean cuisine when Chinese immigrants lived in Incheon during the 19th century. It would be a huge miss if you didn't try the dishes they are truly known for.

As a child, I remember coming here frequently as they are known for their delicious, sweet and savory noodle dish, Jjajangmyeon. The dish is just as good as it was when I was a young girl. Their Tangsuyuk (Sweet and Sour Beef or Pork) is amazing, crispy pork with a tangy and succulent sauce. I always ask for the sauce on the side so I can reheat it again at home. Of course, you cannot skip out on Jjamppong (Spicy Seafood Noodle Soup), the spicy seafood broth is soo addictive. All three are usually my go tos when I dine here. My son loves their Jjajangmyeon as well and I'm glad he can go through the same experience as I did.

I love Peking Mandarin not only for nostalgic reasons, but because it is one of the few remaining Korean businesses in Albany Park. The space is always clean and I love that the design is still the same as I remembered it. Seating is limited due to Covid precautions, though carry out is available. The staff is very diligent to ensure everything is packed correctly and neatly. The staff is quite multicultural, as some of the servers can speak Chinese, Spanish, and Korean. Albany Park surely has changed, but going to Peking Mandarin helps me remember my roots as a Chicago Korean...