Furama Restaurant — Restaurant in Lake View Township

Nope. No no no no no. I had to try this place twice to make sure I disliked eating here to warrant this review. The first time I tried it...was last year. I vowed never to come here again...well looks like I broke that vow so maybe vows aren't my thing I guess. I stopped by here for lunch because I forgot how the dim sum and food tasted. I have been told that this place is the cat's meow for dim sum in the north side and I only wish this was true.

I got the lunch special here for the sweet and sour pork along with a few dim sum menu items. The pork could have just been labeled sweet and sour breading as the massive amount of breading was all I ate. I even dissected a couple to make sure it wasn't just a fluke for the first few bites and yes, cheap and sour pork. The pork also had a slightly metallic tinny taste, wasn't too fond of it. On a side note, all the utensils and plates had food crusted on it but hey, that really doesn't matter to me, just the food.

The dim sum was no fun at all. The "fun noodle" and shumai were the items I ordered. The beef noodle tasted sour, slightly rotten, and had way too much of a citrus taste to it. The shumai tasted like it came out of a freezer bag of shumai. Or to be a little more objective, it tasted as if the fish was slightly rotten and had a odd freezer burned taste to it. I really did try to have an open mind here while eating, I love dim sum. In fact, it is my favorite kind of breakfast. If you want dim sum that tastes fresh try seafood palace which is only a few blocks away. Or just go anywhere else. I am really not always this unreasonable (unless it is Korean food).

The good: the prices are reasonable. The not so good: their dim sum. Maybe it just isn't good on...

Furama is one of those places I’ve passed by countless times, always thinking, “Hmm, looks pretty nice—maybe I should stop in someday.” Well, I finally scratched that curiosity itch, and let’s just say… I’m glad to have that box checked (and closed).

First, credit where it’s due—the service was genuinely warm and attentive. The server was accommodating and friendly, which almost made me feel bad for what was to come. Almost.

We arrived a bit before closing, so I’m not sure if that explains the underwhelming food or if that’s just the regular experience—but either way, the kitchen seemed tired, and so did the flavors.

We started with dim sum—my personal favorite. I consider myself something of a dim sum aficionado, so imagine my disappointment when what arrived barely resembled the dim sum I know and love. The spinach and shrimp combo? A hard pass (though I’ll admit, I’m no spinach enthusiast to begin with). The chicken dim sum and pot stickers weren’t much better. My biggest gripe? The meat. It all tasted strangely uniform—bland, grayish, lifeless. Like someone took the essence of "meh" and wrapped it in dough. If I had to rate the filling alone: 2/10.

Moving on, we tried the udon, which could have been decent if it weren’t painfully salty. Like, “did someone drop the salt shaker into the wok and say ‘eh, leave it’?” salty. The beef chow mein was the one saving grace—a solid 7/10, nothing mind-blowing but at least recognizable as a dish someone cared about.

Overall, Furama didn’t deliver the neighborhood gem I hoped for. Nice staff, attractive exterior, but the food just didn’t hit the mark. It felt more like a closing-time scramble than a crafted culinary experience. I wanted dim sum; I...

I have eaten at a lot of Dim Sum places growing up and as an adult, mostly on the west coast and a few places in chicago. While overall I don’t think this is the best Dim Sum place, there are definitely certain dishes they do very well and others I’ve had better elsewhere. I would have given this 4.5 stars if I could since I just think specific dishes are lacking that I had. Overall, very delicious and satisfying. Portions are a bit smaller than I’m used to though.

To start off, the place is HUGE. Service was very attentive and let us know when other food we were waiting on was going to come out soon. Had traditional Jasmine tea which I love. The pickled cucumber was great, Asian broccoli was also wonderful as well as the pea shoots! Our favorite was definitely the fried crab claw, Sui Mei (Pork version), along with various other dumplings. I think for me one of my favorite dishes is the BBQ Pork Buns in all versions. They were good but there was something lacking in it where it felt like not enough was put into the buns and the flavor lacked depth that I’ve gotten at other Dim Sum places. Salt and pepper pork ribs were okay, had some pieces that were mostly just fat and hardly any meet. The sesame balls, wow! I think these might be the best sesame balls I’ve ever had. I was so pleased with them.

There’s maybe one other place in chicago I overall like more than this place but I will definitely be back for those sesame balls and fried crab legs! Also I was so surprised to see they are open for dinner, many Dim Sum places usually do breakfast and lunch only so it was kind of nice to go for dinner when there were less people and just because I was craving it...