Lao Sze Chuan Chinese Restaurant in Chicago

If you love Chinese food and you crave spicy food than Chicago's Lao Sze Chuan is an absolute must. Lao Sze Chuan has grown in popularity among Chinatown's locals, Chicagoans and out of towners with good reason; it features the most authentic Chinese food in Chicago. The best part is all the entrees are affordably priced and you can easily feed a family of seven, I know because I did, for less fifty dollars.

Lao Sze Chuan is located in the new Chinatown Square pedestrian mall and has around thirty tables in its dining room which are always packed. If you are planning on dining out at Lao Sze Chuan there are a couple things you need to know before you go. First, be ready to wait for a table. Lao Sze Chuan fills up, and it fills up fast no matter what night. To beat the dinner rush try arriving around six thirty and the wait will be minimal if at all, since there is no waiting area the doorway will be full of hungry diners so ask to be seated away from the door if at all possible. This is twice as important during the winter months when the doors are held open for long periods of time as people try to all cram into the entrance.

Once you have snagged a table your knowledge of Chinese cuisine is put to the test and hopefully you have plenty because Lao Sze Chuan has a menu that goes on for pages and only lists the names of each dish. Not being familiar with some of the dishes we asked the waitress what each entree included but only got a blank stare back and then the number listed on the menu next to the dish, item number 267, was scribbled onto her pad. Unable to get over the language barrier on that first trip the rest of the dishes ordered were all familiar Chinese entrees such as shrimp fried rice, Mongolian beef, sweet and sour chicken and Chinese hot pot. Even though the dishes were common Chinese fare they did not taste common at all, every last grain of rice and vegetable at our table was gone.

The second and third trips proved to be a little easier becuase the restaurant owner was circulating and was able to recommend different entrees that we were curious about. Among those was the Peking duck which was excellent and very spicy which is common among the entrees on the menu. If you do not like dishes that are very spicy you can request that they not include the spice like we did for the children in our party and they will prepare a dish special. Aside from the initial language barriers the service is excellent, all the waiters are very attentive and constantly on the dining room floor. Our dishes always arrived less than twenty minutes after ordering and whenever we were low on white rice a new bowl was there to replace it.

Lao Sze Chuan is definitely the place to go if you are looking for authentic Chinese food in Chicago. I recommend it to college students, families and large groups because the entrees are affordable and huge and each can be split among two or three people.

Lao Sze Chuan is at 2172 S. Archer Avenue in Chicago