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Big Bowl Chinese Express

2.2 (59 reviews)
ModerateChinese, Thai
Open 9:00 am - 9:00 pm

Big Bowl Chinese Express Photos

BIG BOWL CHINESE EXPRESS ATMOSPHERE

What's the vibe?
Good for groups
Good for kids

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Orange Chicken
Bailey P.

Food is good but it was WAY overpriced ($20) and a much smaller portion than you would get at a real Big Bowl. The food was ready really quickly and was packaged very conveniently if you had to take it to your gate though. There is a food court around the corner (also overpriced) but slightly more reasonable than Big Bowl.

Kung Pao chicken with brown rice (extra charge)
James G.

Too expensive. Food isn't fresh. Rude service. There you go. The food was cold. They charge over $2 more for brown rice. The rice was mushy. Did I mention the food was cold? This cost more than $20! Outrageous for the portion and lack of quality.

Combination dinner
Cheri B.

Don't do it! This place is a rip off. I know you can expect to pay more for airport food but really?! They charged me $24 for a combination plate (orange chicken and kung pao chicken) with brown rice and two pot stickers. As you can tell by my very small to go container (maybe 4 x 8 inches), approximately 60% of it was rice and then there was maybe a 1/2 cup of each entree) along with the two pot stickers. Both entrees had very few pieces of actual chicken. They were both mostly vegetables and very little sauce. What pieces of chicken I had were small and dried out. I also wanted to purchase an egg roll but was told, "We don't do that." I told her I wanted to buy it but she said you can only buy one extra item with each entree ordered. She was not very nice. It's too bad there is very little food offerings in an airport the size of O'Hare. I'll eat chips rather than come here again.

It's worth trying regarding the limitation of options at terminal 5. The sesame chicken was fine and only a bit salty, the rice was meh, the service was good, and it's overpriced like anything else at an airport. It would be better if the portion could be increased.

Drew S.

I had an amazing plate of pad thai at this Big Bowl. The service was prompt and friendly. My meal was truly excellent. They offered chili paste on the side which was excellent. Great ambiance.

Combination bowl with beef & broccoli, potstickers, and chicken bowl, plus sparkling water. All food items tasted bad. :-(

Food was so-so. Potstickers were dry. Rice had dry clumps. Broccoli tasted bad... I tried to get a seat at the bar, but got a server asked me to change to a table further away. Two power outlets under my new table didn't work. I regretted dining at Big Bowl.

Big Bowl
Ernie H.

Be thankful it's here. Choices in O'hare Intl terminal 5 is limited. My orange chicken was surprisingly excellent. It was crunchy but not overly breaded. I can even get a hint of orange peel. Rice was a little dry My wife's mongolian beef taste was spot on but beef like the rice was dry. It is a little pricey but I guess you don't have a choice.

Kung pao chicken bowl
Ann L.

It's airport food...and it wasn't bad! I had the Kung Pao chicken bowl, and while pricey of course due to the airport location, it was flavorful and the portion size was good. A regular bowl with no beverage or appetizers was around $14. They do seem to do a decent business during busy hours, so the food is reasonably fresh given that, like all fast-food Chinese food places, the food is sitting in trays on a steam table. The choices were very limited; I think there were 4 options for entrees the evening we were there, but in my opinion, limited choices probably helps ensure nothing is sitting on that steam table too long. Service was fast and bowls are served with lids so you could bring the food on the plane if you were in a hurry. There is some seating available if you have more time.

Peanuts in Kung Pao and oily noodles with next to no flavor.
Kelsie E.

Could only offer 2 entrees. Kung Pao Chicken and Orange Chicken. The Kung Pao had peanuts in it! There was no sign to signal this nor do peanuts go in Kung Pao. The 2 entrees looked unusual and I thought I would try it but it was not good. It was extremely oily as well. The noodles were tender still, not soft. The noodles also had next to no flavor. I will be putting this under my "Never Again" board.

Lo mein & Orange chicken
Ariel S.

Let me start off by saying, I skimmed the Yelp reviews before choosing to eat here. M terminal has very limited options, so you should probably eat elsewhere beforehand if you can -- if you're not trying to spend a lot, you'll be left w/ only McDonald's. For Airport food, not terrible, but not great. If this were a real restaurant, I would probably give 2 stars for the food. The container is not very sustainable, but nice in the sense that it's fully resealable, so you can bring on your flight w/ you! I got the Orange chicken & lo mein bowl (it came out to $16.70). The low mein was varying temperatures, with some parts crunchy, and other parts soft. This leads me to believe that it had been sitting in the metal dish for a while... the Orange chicken was not the taste I was looking for, but I may have just been expecting the wrong thing. I had no problems w/ the service, but it was nothing special.

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8 years ago

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7 years ago

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8 years ago

Overpriced and not that good. Beverages cooler must be broken our drinks were warm. Food was unremarkable

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9 years ago

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7 years ago

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10 years ago

Food was underwhelming, prices are atrocious. I get airports are more expensive, but this was borderline gouging for what you get

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8 years ago

Food is ok, service is pathetic. If you want to observe people who hate their job and their customers, be sure to stop in

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MingHin Cuisine

MingHin Cuisine

3.9
(3.2k reviews)
15.3 mi
$$

This was my first eatery experience in Chicago and it's just steps away from where I'm staying…read more It's located in the Lakeshore East area and, upon entering the restaurant, it appears small, until you walk to the back to find a much bigger, louder area filled with folks eating and chatting. We sat in the quieter area near the front since we only ordered two dishes, which we devoured in short order, then went on our way. Something I'd never seen before was the tablet to order your food! What a great idea!! It had photos of the food items and the prices, just like a paper menu, except you click on the item(s) you want and voilà!! Very cool, I must say. Service from there was quick and efficient and the veggies were crisp and flavorful. If I lived here I'd come back regularly.

Took the family to Chinatown for my partner's birthday and made it a full afternoon. First time…read morebringing the kids, first time introducing them to dim sum, and we came in hot on a busy day with multiple events happening in the area. MingHin was packed, loud, and a little chaotic. Worth it. Dim sum is an experience as much as a meal and MingHin delivers on both fronts. We ordered more than we could keep track of. Soup dumplings that immediately became the kids' personal obsession. Shu mai that hit every time. BBQ pork buns in every form they offered because obviously. Chinese broccoli to balance out the indulgence. Everything was solid, fresh, and exactly what you want from a dim sum spread. The room was packed and buzzing but the service kept up impressively. Servers were constantly circling, clearing empty plates and dishes without missing a beat. Clean and attentive even at full capacity, which is no small thing. Fair warning if you are bringing little ones: this environment is a lot. The noise, the crowd, the overwhelming parade of food arriving at the table. Our kids loved what they ate but the sensory experience was a bit much for them. This is a place better suited for a group of adventurous adults or older kids who thrive in high energy environments. Prices are great for the quality and quantity of food you get. A Chinatown institution for good reason. Just know what you are walking into and embrace it fully.

Photos
Bar area
Bar area
Beef on stick
Beef on stick
Stir-Fried Chow Mein

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Stir-Fried Chow Mein
MCCB Chicago 时尚食谱

MCCB Chicago 时尚食谱

4.5
(1.2k reviews)
15.3 mi
$$

I have been waiting to try MCCB, and it was so good! Even with the 40 minutes wait in a rainy day,…read moreI think it is still worth the wait! We have ordered the spicy fish filet and honey black pepper beef flank. The fish filet dish is huge and there are ton of fish in there, the spiciness is good as well! The beef flank dish is flavory and juicyl!

I was so very excited to try this restaurant that people rave about on social media. Got there just…read morebefore the crowd. Waited maybe 10 minutes. When you arrive, they will ask for your name and a $10 deposit that will go towards your meal. If you decide to get off of the list on your own, the $10 is non refundable. (No problem) We were seated at a table and it took quite a while for the server (don't know his name) to come to our table. When he did come to the table, he didn't introduce himself and he just stared at us. After a few seconds he says "You ready to order?" I tried to lighten the mood and ask his name and he didn't want to tell me. Ok... We order a few appetizers to start. We also ask a few questions, none of which he was able to understand. (We truly thought there was a language barrier so we extended grace and didn't think much of it) Got the appetizers. They were decent.. but... A group of 4 people sat to the immediate right of us, not only did he great them, he gave them several recommendations for appetizers and entrees. (No language barrier in sight) Was very much friendly and attentive to them. Still never came back to the table but continued to take great care of the tables around us. At this point we decided that it would be best to go somewhere else for entrees. In all of my years of dining out, I have put this on top 3 of my worst experiences. Treat ALL of your customers with the same respect and dignity. We had to flag a random employee down to get our check. Paid in cash and had to flag him down for our change.

Photos
Inside
Inside
Eggplant with Spicy Garlic Sauce
Eggplant with Spicy Garlic Sauce
Szechaun style stir fried duck

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Szechaun style stir fried duck
MingHin Cuisine

MingHin Cuisine

4.0
(1.2k reviews)
14.9 mi
$$

I haven't been to a MingHin location in over 6 years, and after having dinner here last weekend, I…read morewish I could come back again tomorrow already haha. We ordered like the PERFECT amount of food and best variety. Roast duck: I honestly don't know if I've ever had duck before, but I'm a duck believer now. The skin on theirs was the perfect crispy shatter texture and the duck was sooooo juicy! I don't know why I was always so worried about it being gamey. They give you fluffy steamed bao buns, a sauce, and scallions on the side as well as duck fried rice! Turnip cake: Obviously a must any time I come to dim sum. I've never seen turnip in any other form than this. Japanese salt & pepper tofu: My FAVORITE dish ever. Any fried salt & pepper tofu always makes me happy. They use a creamy egg-like tofu and the outside is lightly crispy with amazing aromatics stir fried in. Steamed white rice on the side is perfect with this. Loved everything else my dinner buds picked and we were super full by the end! Service was good and food came out fast and scorching hot! ***Parking in the area is treacherous (not the restaurants fault, but reconsider driving if possible bc cell signal can be zero to none around the garages if you get lucky) ***Their website allows you to request a reservation as long as it's 3 hours before your desired time. We came on a Saturday evening around dinner time and there was plenty of room for us to get a table immediately as walk-ins!

This place is average at best. I have read some of these reviews and I wonder if we had eaten at…read morethe same place. I will start with the ambiance, since that was the best thing about the place and what kept it an overall "3." It was nice enough. Not perfect but above average on the ambiance. Second, I will talk about the service. I hate to say it but it was pretty poor. Staff was inattentive. Never offered a single refill on my drink nor my water. I don't like a hovering server but these folks were AWOL. Third, the Food. I started with the hot and sour soup. Again, it was below average Maybe the worst I have ever had. The best part of the meal was the pork and shrimp Siu Mai and the Shrimp Dumpling with Green Chive. These dishes were "5's." Finally, I ordered a Beijing (Peking) duck. i have eaten this dish from coast to coast. Of all the peking duck I have had in all my travels, this was the worst. Flavor was fine. Wings and drumsticks were cool and a little dry. The skin of the duck was crispy and had good flavor, but the meat was non-existent. I ordered a whole duck and took back a lot of leftovers. But here was the deal. I truly believe that they cobbled a duck together so to speak from remnants of other ducks they had served this night. Several of the pieces were nothing but skin. No meet whatsoever. It was really the worst presentation of duck I have ever had at a restaurant that claims to do this dish well. Who knows, maybe tonight was an off night. But I will not be going back. Enter in at your own risk!

Photos
Restaurant interior
Restaurant interior
Fish and tofu in clay pot
Fish and tofu in clay pot
Tea & Tea

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Tea & Tea
Sun Wah Bar-B-Que

Sun Wah Bar-B-Que

3.9
(2.1k reviews)
11.4 mi
$$

This was my first time trying a Chinese barbecue spot in Chicago, and it definitely won't be my…read morelast! I went with someone who knows the city well, and they recommended the duck fried rice. I had never tried it before, and it was absolutely delicious so flavorful and satisfying. We also ordered the wonton soup and egg rolls, and both were really tasty. Everything came out quickly, and the service was warm and efficient, which made the whole experience even better. The prices were very reasonable for the quality of the food, and I'm already looking forward to bringing my friends and family here next time. Great food, great service, and a place I'm excited to come back to!

This is a tough one. Not happy at all. With all of the wonderful legendary Chinese places closing…read moreover the past few years (Kow Kow, Hong Min, Pekin House, and even the best egg rolls at Mee Mah), Sun Wah has been solid over the years- their whole duck is legendary and incredible. BUT, as wonderful as the food is, the last 5 visits have been dreadful. The angry waitresses are part of the deal, but when we're spending a few hundred bucks on dinner, enough is enough. Asking for extra sauce and being told NO- asking for extra bao wrappers and being told NO, asking for extra daikon for the duck when we're given a half full dish in the first place in unacceptable. And like I said, that's part of the deal. And the food is so good that you put up with it. But what happened last week was the last straw. We ordered egg rolls, 2 large dumpling soups, pot stickers, a whole duck, medium ribs, sweet and sour chicken, and for an appetizer, a medium BBQ pork. When the server brought the pork, first, it was cold. I guess that's also the deal. Sometimes it's hot, sometimes totally cold. But this time, and I'm not exaggerating, more than half of the order was pure white fat. Not fatty pork, white solid fat. we tried chewing git to see if there was any meat, but no. So, I finally got the servers attention and showed her. She looked at it, and then walked away. I assumed she was going to bring us a new order. Instead, the owner walked over. I showed her the 2 plates- 1 plate with half of the solid white fat, and the other plate with chewed up fat pieces. Instead of apologizing and bringing over a new order, she said "sometimes the pigs we get are very fatty". So I replied something like "sure I get that, but you can't serve this to customers" and " can you please bring us a new order of actual pork and not just a plate of fat"??? and she then looks down at both plates and says "you already ate it so we can't do anything. I tell her that, no, I didn't eat anything- you can see a plate with chewed up and spit out fat, but she literally WALKS AWAY. So then of course we wait for her to bring a new order over, but that never happens. And we're loyal customers for many many years, and she knows us. This extreme lack of care for your longtime customers is nauseating. Like I said, we've put up with it for years because we love the food (as well as putting up with the many health code violations over the years), but after this huge fuck you from the owner over a few bucks worth of pork? We're done. And our friends are done. This rude pathetic refusal to admit that you're serving inedible food and take care of your loyal customers with a few dollars in pork will now cost you THOUSANDS of dollars every year, because we have now told 20 of our friends to stop going, and they all agreed with us. Bad move Momma SunWah..........

Photos
Sun Wah Bar-B-Que
Fried rice
Fried rice
Fried rice with duck

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Fried rice with duck
Lao Peng You

Lao Peng You

4.2
(445 reviews)
11.9 mi
$$

Worth every ounce of the hype…read more The staff is incredible, the food is even better some how, and the ambiance is intimate, small, and laid back. This is a spot I love to take myself on a solo date to. There will almost always be an hour long wait, so prepare for that, or opt for takeout which is also amazing and holds well on the way home. This is one I wish I had more regularly in my rotation and when I move back to the West Town area you will probably find me tucked away here quite often.

Pure comfort food. We went on a Sunday around 4pm and were quoted a 45-minute wait, but ended up…read moregetting seated in about 15 minutes. Worth the hype! The vibes were chill with pop music playing in the background. Service was solid. Our server was knowledgeable, explained the menu well, and answered questions without rushing us. The Pork & Chive Dumplings tasted like something my mom would make at home. The broth they sit in adds a lot of flavor and makes the dish even better. My only nitpick is that I personally prefer a thicker, chewier dumpling wrapper. The Dan Dan Noodles were the standout. Creamy, nutty, crunchy from the peanuts, packed with flavor, and not overly spicy. It was my first time trying dan dan noodles and now I totally understand the hype. 8/10. The Xian Bing took about 25 minutes to come out, which makes sense since they're made fresh. The lamb filling was flavorful and the outside was super crispy, almost like a scallion pancake. The bread itself was softer and thicker than I expected and could've used a little more flavor. Overall, this felt like authentic, comforting food that leaves you completely satisfied when you walk out. Next time I'd absolutely order the Dan Dan Noodles again and try the beef noodles, scallion pancakes, and beef dumplings.

Photos
Dining room
Dining room
Beef and green onion dumpling soup
Beef and green onion dumpling soup
Dining area

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Dining area
Duck Duck Goat

Duck Duck Goat

4.1
(2.2k reviews)
13.4 mi
$$$

This was my favorite stop at my visit to Chicago earlier this month! Duck Duck Goat checks all the…read moreboxes from gorgeous interior and sultry ambiance offering different looks for each room, to mouth-watering dishes and stunning cocktails. We had the Dan Dan Slap Noodles, Crab Rangoon and Xiao Long Bao that had us wishing we came hungrier to try more dishes. The chef offers a new, fun twist to Chinese favorites; the pineapple and mascarpone-almond filling in the Crab Rangoon was excellent! Our wonderful server recommended the Dan Dan Slap Noodles, it being his favorite dish, and it did not disappoint! The Chai'd and True cocktail had me rethinking my opinions on bourbon it was so delightful. Come hungry!

I really wanted to love Duck Duck Goat as it was recommended by a friend. The atmosphere was great…read moreand the drinks were good. A few dishes, like the Duck Fried Rice, Pork Belly, and Beef Noodle Soup, were actually pretty solid. But the rest of the night was just so frustrating that I wouldn't recommend this place to anyone. The Jiaozi were the first big letdown. The menu said they were beef short rib and bone marrow, but they didn't taste like that at all. The filling was just super mushy and the flavor was just weird. The manager and the food runner were nice when we mentioned it, but our actual server was a disaster. When we tried the Goat Noodles, all we could taste was cumin. It was so overwhelming that it covered up everything else. We couldn't even tell if there was actually any goat shoulder in there. When we told our waiter, she couldn't care less. She got totally defensive, wouldn't even listen to us, and just said, "Oh, I told you when you ordered that the dish is cumin forward" and walked away. It got worse when the bill came. She was holding on to the payment machine so hard and almost yanked it right out of my friend's hand. She was staring at it to see what we were tipping. It was so awkward and incredibly rude. No thank you, no nothing. She just grabbed it and left. The place has potential, but they really need to fix the food and retrain the staff. A cool vibe doesn't make up for bad food and awful service.

Photos
Join us for Dim Sum every Saturday from 12pm to 3pm.
Join us for Dim Sum every Saturday from 12pm to 3pm.
Join us for Dim Sum every Saturday from 12pm to 3pm.
Join us for Dim Sum every Saturday from 12pm to 3pm.
Duck Duck Goat To Go - Order via Caviar or Tock.

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Duck Duck Goat To Go - Order via Caviar or Tock.

Big Bowl Chinese Express - chinese - Updated July 2026

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