Lai Lai — Restaurant in Maine Township

For me, this is THE best Korean-Chinese spot in Chicago. Sure, there are places like Yu's Mandarin, Chef Ping, Great Sea, Great Beijing, etc but they don't focus only on Korean-chinese food like Lai Lai do, hence in my opinion, Lai Lai serves the best Jajangmyeon and Jjambbong.

Now, Jajangmyeon comes in many varieties, but most people aren't aware of the differences:

Regular Jajangmyeon: All ingredients are stir-fried, then water and starch are added, resulting in a familiar starchy texture with added sugar or salt.

Gan Jajang: Cooked with just oil, it tends to be more oily and has a stronger "fire" taste from longer stir-frying, often more salty.

Uni Jajang: Ingredients are minced, so the dish lacks visible ingredient shapes and texture but brings out most flavor.

Sam seon Jajang (precious ingredients from sky, land, and sea): Originally with expensive items like shrimp, abalone, and pork, now often substituted with squid and cheaper ingredients.

Tray Jajang: Essentially +2 portions of Sam seon Jajang without the expensive ingredients.

I mention this because in Chicago, there are very few places offering these varieties, and even fewer doing it well. No one specializes in it quite like Korea, and the closest I've found to matching Korean taste is regular Jajangmyeon from Lai Lai.

I can also go on about Jjambbong and the chicken as you see on the picture but perhaps on...

Legit champpong/chajangmyun spot. The best I found. Not saturated with grease/oil nor sodium nor glucose. Very clean taste and light yet not bland or just a bowl with water-soup As a Korean and a foodie I have high standards for Korean cuisine and Korean-Chinese fusion food. This makes the list for regular visits. Unassuming mom & pop shop with solid quality. Price is great. Personally I like champpong with more spice and heat but I can do this light and less spicy version. I could tell it was made with care and attention. Chajangmyun could use tiny more of the paste but again no tummy ache afterwards so that is a win. Every time I eat these type of food I get tummy ache due to the high content of fats and sodium (stir fried) but this time I had no such symptoms. Wow We must preserve...

We ordered the shrimp fried rice, orange chicken, and honey shrimp. The fried rice was really good — flavorful with a generous amount of shrimp. The orange chicken was excellent, almost perfect — crispy, saucy, and packed with flavor. The honey shrimp had good flavor too, but the texture was way too hard, likely from being over-battered or double-fried.

Overall, it’s a solid spot for Chinese takeout — good portions, tasty food, and friendly service. Definitely a place I’ll keep in my back pocket for when we’re craving...