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Da Mao Jia

4.1 (110 reviews)
Closed 10:00 am - 9:00 pm

Da Mao Jia Photos

DA MAO JIA ATMOSPHERE

What's the vibe?
Casual
Moderate noise
Good for groups
Dogs allowed

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Spicy beef noodle soup is good
Diana J.

Overall the food was tasty and had good spice, lots of garlic and black vinegar. I wish they would spend less on fancy packaging and bags so I can spend less on the meal. Some of the custom containers were designed to hold very small portions. FYI the spareribs are cold. They should make that note online when ordering.

Brain
Dennis W.

Food here is great! I liked the spicy pork ribs and the pig brains a lot! Quality- it's definitely good quality food. I was impressed by the cohesiveness of the hot pot dish and how much variety was in it. The rare beef slices, tripe, and vegetables go well together and the only critique is that it is a bit too salty. More rice would have been nice since they only have 1 bowl. I could have had 3-4 bowls easily with it. The pork ribs are delicious and cooked well. Great mix of spicyness and seasoning. Quantity- they give a generous amount of food but not enough rice. I would have liked to have more rice for the hot pot dish. Atmosphere- no dining in. I had to drive to pick up. Service- takes about 30 mins for food to come out

ChengDu Spicy Pork Ear, Chengdu Vermicelli and Pork Intestine Noodle, ChengDu Mixed Veggies and Proteins in Hot Pot
Kangni X.

Finally got to try this restaurant through Chowbus. When I saw brain, intestines and pork ear on the menu, I knew I wanted to try this place. To start, the takeout packaging is adorable!!! The bag is heavy duty and reusable. The food is in paper packaging, so unfortunately not microwaveable but less plastic! Their food fits their packaging perfectly. I appreciate the thought put into this aspect. For the food, flavor is dialed to maximum! The vermicelli and pork intestines was packaged with noodles and soup separately. Great way to keep the noodles from become soggy. However, I did put this in the fridge before trying to reheat and the noodles did end up clumping, but the noodles were still soft, just had to boil and breakup the noodles! The soup was spicy and sour. I added extra vegetables like lotus root and thick kelp. The brains were so tender! Amazing flavor with a melt in your mouth texture. I think it had some cumin too. The pork ears are roasted and then extra dry seasoning added. The slices were thicker than I expected, but because the ears are cooked to a super tender consistency, you get a great jelly + crunch (cartilage) texture that feels hearty. The mixed veggies and proteins in hot pot was great too. Great variety of toppings - intestines, beef stomach, imitation crab, spam, thin slices of fatty beef. Veggies included kelp knots, bean sprouts, woodear fungus. There was also a green thick flat noodle that absorbed flavors really well. This had everything I like in hotpot. The broth is minimal so it's not coated in oil. Pairs really well with rice and the container was stuffed! Last but not least dessert - 3 cannons aka sticky rice balls rolled in a roasted bean powder with a brown sugar syrup. The syrup was in a separate sauce container keeping the roasted powder on the ball dry. Syrup was not that sweet. The sticky rice ball was super soft. Even after I put them in the fridge, they firmed a bit up but still had a good chewy texture. Recommend eating this fresh. Highly recommend this place! If takeout is this great, I really want to try in person and I want to eat the whole menu!!

Noodle
Judy S.

If you are looking for something a little different than you typical Chinese restaurant you will love this place. Be ready, the food has a kick. An amazing kick, but a wow it is spicy. There are some basic noodles that were very good and had no heat to them at all. But leave it to me and my hubby to toss it in the rest of the amazing sauce left over from our other dishes because we apparently need our lips to burn even more. Seriously couldn't not stop eating. So.goooood! We tried 3 of the dishes. The Chengdu Hot & Chengdu Hot and Sour Fern Root Noodles is a cold dish. Excellent. ChengDu Handmade Zhong Dumplings. This one is hot and yes.. spicy! And the water noodles which are very basic, but yummy! At this location there is no seating. There is a very tiny area you walk in to order on a nice sized ordering screen or you can place your order on line and pick up. We ordered and then took home our goodies. My gosh the take out containers are the next level. The bag our food came in was insulated and everything was well packaged. This is a great place! Give it a try!

Pam C.

Review for takeout. I have never actually eaten in but have been a pretty regular takeout customer at Da Mao Jia. For people in the north side they also have Royal Princess Zhu which looks like it has the same menu. I'm a huge fan of DaMao Jia and their numbing / spicy Chengdu flavors. I love that they have focused completely on traditional dishes and flavors. My favorite are the hot pots here which come with a generous serving of proteins and veggies in a spicy broth. All of their options are very tasty. Other favorites include the volcano wontons and their many creative desserts. All of the takeout comes immaculately packaged with very instagrammable contains and cute utensils packs. My only gripe is the containers are NOT microwave safe and will smoke / melt if you try. Really excited to try more of the menu here!

Anna S.

Exciting selection of food - I came here to try their spicy tofu soup. It was a bit overpriced for the amount they give. The taste was alright - I've have better Chinese tofu soup. The packing is so fancy I feel like 50% of the charge probably went to the packaging fee. (Kidding) The shop is small. It has no indoor seating. It's no contact order. There is a self-ordering machine in the front. The restaurant is conveniently located in a plaza with dedicated parking spaces. This is a less hectic choice if you can't find parking near China town.

Vegetable Symphony Hot Pot (ChengDu) ()
Amber C.

Very good noodles. Spicy but so flavorful. Dumplings were underwhelming. Service was fast. Ambiance was nice.

Cheng Du Veggies In Hot Pot
Steve A.

Chinese doesn't get any more authentic. Da Mao Jia is a place that is what you think of when you go to a restaurant in Chinatown. It's actually in Bridgeport, but that's just about close enough for those around it. How about some of the craziest things you have ever eaten, as in brains and gizzards. There's luckily also things for vegetarians. A lot of Chinese restaurants have Americanized menus so it's less daunting. It's not like this here. They have a ton of authentic stuff. Forget about dumplings. It has way beyond that. Holy cow, literally, as you can eat cow brain. Of course I haven't, so when we went here I got something from the slim but good vegetarian friendly options. It's not cheap. This place is costly but it's so good though. Both of us got the Cheng Du Veggies In Hot Pot. It's $18, so it's pricy. This has glass noodles, mushrooms, seaweed knots, and tofu skin. It actually was a lot of food. The broth was thick, and it was more like a stew. Go for some authentic Chinese. It's the place to go for Chengdu dishes. The food is on the expensive side but this is one of the rare times it's worth all that.

Chengdu Tofu Bean Curd, I don't like it. Tofu is not smooth.
Yi B.

This is a take out review. First of all, let me just say, their take out containers are sooooo cute! Most of them are paper containers and can be rinsed and recycled. Soupy dishes will have a plastic lid. Food is ammmazing, even for take out. I really enjoyed the Chengdu Beef and Veggie Mix Hot Pot, it is good portion, and fresh ingredients and very yummy. It is very spicy and oily so beware. I'm willing to eat it because it is so good. The pork ear is great too. Large portion and tastes good! This combination is rare for restaurants these days. The tofu bean curd is a little disappointing. Seasoning is good, but the tofu bean curd itself could be better. Overall a great restaurant. I will definitely go visit in person and order delivery again!

Dumplings, wontons, noodle soup, veggies, and face mask!
Cal L.

I hate to start the review with the flex, but my wife is from Chongqing and I'm 1/4 from Chengdu. Haha. We came by this place with super high expectations, especially in light of the menu that had a bunch of more exotic items that many Americans would shy away from. We found the food to be OK. The flavors were pretty good, and the ingredients were fresh. It was very thoughtful that they included a face mask with our order. I think it speaks highly of the staff and the management that in such a weird time, they were so thoughtful about packaging food in a way that would be great for takeout. We got the spicy wontons and the spicy dumplings, and felt that the ratio of rapper/skin to meat was way too high. There was just very, very little meat in our dumplings. The sauce was delicious though, and I almost drank it. I'm glad I didn't (it's straight oil LOL) We also got the beef noodle and spicy broth, and the and the Chengdu mixed veggies in hot pot. Both were on the oily side, which is what one would come to expect in this sort of cuisine, but the oil was not quite as flavorful and fragrant as we expected. It's not exactly fair, because Chicago is a pretty crowded market for good Szechuan food. I think we will give this place another try next month. They have a bunch of snacks, and we can try other entrées as well. Very much excited, and looking forward to writing another review!

Potato Strips - get this
Judy V.

Since our original dinner plans fell short, my coworker and I found this place through Yelp and decided to brace the -12 degree weather and walk there since it was only .3 miles away. Honestly, those 0.3 miles felt like a 1 mile in the cold Chicago weather so it was a good thing we were going to restaurant that specializes in all spicy food. All that spice helped us warm our bellies after all that walking in the cold. Here is what we ordered to share between two people.. Don't judge us, we were extra hungry and figure everything was tapas style. - House special spare ribs: NOT tapas size. The meat was tough, chewy and too spicy. 1/5 stars - Handmade sweet and spicy noodles: THICK noods and the only none spicy dish we ordered. It was good but super fulfilling. 3/5 stars - Spicy soft bean curd: LOVED this dish. I only had soft tofu in sweet form so this savory version was a pleasant surprise. 4/5 stars - Potato strips: Tasty but also spicy. I loved how the potatoes were not crispy and so it tasted great with rice. 5/5 stars - Wontons in hot soup: Spicy! The skin of the wontons were soft but the meat fillings were bland. 3/5 stars - Dumplings in spicy sauce: Also vey spicy but the dumpling wraps were so silky smooth. This was really tasty! 5/5 - Ice water combo: The perfect dessert to cool down the palate after eating all that spicy food. I liked the brown sugar one better than the fermented rice one since it had more flavor. 3/5 Overall, this place is pretty legit with its spiciness. So if you like spicy Chinese food, definitely check out this place. Also, it was a pretty cheap meal, our total was less than $60 for all the food we ordered!

Fantastic spicy braised dish with pork ear, duck tongue, chicken gizzards. This dish is on the amazing tasting menu.
Anthony M.

A TASTE OF AUTHENTIC The food here is simply amazing and very authentic. If you think Panda Express is authentic then don't come here. We recently carried out during the pandemic and ordered two of our favorite dishes. The Spicy tofu pudding which is a Tofu bean curd with soy bean, pickle, green onion and mouth numbing spices. We also got the hand folded wonton in a volcano broth with pork wontons, bone broth & Szechuan peppercorn. If you can't handle the heat then don't even go here. These two items aren't on the menu, as of last week. We actually had to call Chef out of the kitchen because the order taker told us they didn't exist. Chef came out and punched them into the computer. It was so cool like we knew the secret menu. We love being in the culinary know. Please get out there and support our local Mom & Pop gems. This is a review I started prior to the pandemic and I need to share the amazing experience we had here. Are you ready to take a culinary adventure to Chengdu, China? If you said yes, then look no further then here! Chef Damao has created a brilliant 10 course tasting menu that is simply amazing! We enjoyed the Volcano soup and yes it's spicy. This fantastic broth will not only warm your body but it warms your soul. The dish has hand folded pork wontons in volcano bone with Szechuan peppercorns. Someone call 911 because I want another bowl. This dish is going to be our family's cure to get through the cold Chicago winter. Chef Damao is a talent delivering home made authentic food from her city. If you truly want an authentic taste of Chengdu, then this place is for you. The tasting menu has 10 incredible courses. (Hopefully it returns after Pandemic) I have to be honest and say that it's a deal because I walked out feeling very satisfied. Chef will also share stories about each dish which makes the dinning experience even more enjoyable. Here's a peak of what we ate! Spicy braised dishes like pork ear, duck tongue & chicken gizzards. This is so unique and authentic. You only love once so dive in and try these. Spicy tofu pudding. I highly recommend this authentic street food. It will make you actually love tofu. This is our family go to dish. Wolf tooth potato - Fried potato strips, pickle, spices & green onion. It's like very good and unique fries. Golden fried pork -Deep fried battered pork, side dry seasoning. This is magical and some of the best pork you'll ever have. House Szechuan sausage - Cured pork shoulder. This is different and hard to describe but I couldn't stop eating it. Bell dumplings - Pork dumplings, double-brewed soy sauce, chili oil, fresh garlic. I love dumplings and the house made dumplings here are fantastic. Hand folded wonton in volcano broth Pork wontons, bone broth & Szechuan peppercorn. Another family favorite. It's a perfect broth. I believe it cures all. Roasted pork trotters - Braised pork feet, peanuts, cilantro, sesame & green onion. Yeah I ate pig foot. I couldn't let chef down. It was good and mouth numbing. Beef and tomato soupy rice - Beef and tomato broth, braised beef shank & jasmine rice. This is Chef's lunch and I encouraged here to add it to the menu. I was excited to see it on the menu when I ordered last week. Ice jelly dessert - Ice jelly, molasses & raisins. I must say that Chinese deserts are interesting. I'm not a huge fan but I'm willing to try. The food here is hot and I love it. I believe it's called Malo. Hot is not the right word. It is more mouth numbing spices, where the numbing taste comes from Szechuan peppercorns. These are just magical. We literally have a 5 lb bag in our pantry that we use for our Sichuan cooking at home. This place will not disappoint. Please get out there and support our Chicago restaurants.

ChengDu Wonton in Volcano Broth, ChengDu Beef & Veggie Mix Hot Pot, Golden Fried Pork Strips, Spicy Chengdu Fries
Tracy L.

It's nice to see restaurants of unique dishes! I enjoy spicy and just about any Asian cuisine, so I was excited to try this place. The wontons in volcano broth was my favorite- tasty broth, not too spicy. The fries tasted good, but I wish they were a little bit crispy. The fried pork strips was good, but I wish there was more seasoning. Lastly, the hot pot was good, but a little greasy/oily. The wide glass noodles were the best part, so I would've wanted more. The other ingredients were just okay, a little overcooked and salty. Maybe that just wasn't for me, but I'd be willing to try other dishes instead!

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Lao Sze Chuan

Lao Sze Chuan

3.4(1.2k reviews)
3.4 miNear North Side
$$

It has been a few years since I have been here, but I am pleased to see the same great service and…read morefood quality are consistent with my past experiences. We arrived just as doors were opening for lunch, and sat at the bar for apps and drinks. The lycheetini here is my fave, but be aware it is a potent drink. The lychee in the glass is a treat for the finish. Steamed Dim sum and crab rangoon are good and generous portions. You cannot go wrong with anything shrimp. Our bar tender/server (Fiona, I believe?) surprised my daughter with a birthday treat, sesame balls with a candle, which was so sweet! We had early dinner reservations so we did not stay for lunch, but I look forward to returning for a full meal. Great location on MI Ave!

Came here mainly for the duck and it did NOT disappoint…read more The vibes were better than expected for a Chinese spot. Nice sit-down feel, pretty comfortable. 7.5/10. Service was fine, nothing standout but about what I expected. 6/10. The Peking duck was the highlight. Crispy skin, juicy meat, and tasted super high quality. Only thing is the cucumbers weren't the freshest and I wish there was a bit more seasoning, but still amazing. 9.7/10. Easily up there with some of the best in Chicago. The other dishes didn't hit as much. The cumin lamb had great flavor but was way too fatty and oily. 4/10. The dry chili chicken had a nice crispy texture but also too oily. 6.5/10. Both weren't very spicy either. Overall, come here for the duck and you'll have a great time.

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Lao Sze Chuan - View of Food Court inside Building - March 7, 2024

View of Food Court inside Building - March 7, 2024

Lao Sze Chuan
Lao Sze Chuan

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Szechuan Corner

Szechuan Corner

4.3(88 reviews)
6.3 miLakeview
Grab-and-go
Free parking

So good literally everything was amazing, perfect fried rice and chicken!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!read more

Since there's no three and a half star rating, I had to give this a three star rating. I was really…read morecraving some good Chinese food but did not want to go into downtown first to pick up and then head back home so I looked this place up and had decent reviews and decided to try it out. What really impressed me was they had a specific section of the menu which was titled "Salt and Pepper". Of course I was super excited to try the salt and pepper tofu so here's what we got: - we got the salt and pepper tofu - we got the American garlic broccoli - got the mala lamb. - Got a pair of complimentary vegetarian spring rolls. When I went to pick up the take-out order, I was shocked at how heavy it was. This was clearly a lot of food. I'll start with the lamb. Very well thought out packaging, to be straight. Because the lamb had a lot of oil and liquid in it, they put it in a plastic container, which they knew is going to leak. They put that entire container in a separate tiny plastic bag and wrapped it so that the juices from that would not come all over in the main bag. Really appreciate that. Now the lamb, while cooked okay, the flavor was just, you know, it did not do it for me. Add to that they really kept the lamb as relatively big pieces. They were thinly sliced but they were just large pieces. They could have been smaller for it to be easier to eat. Flavor-wise there was just too much black pepper, which is what I was expecting, but to match that there was no flavor as such. The salt and pepper tofu was a disaster. I got it from other places. The flavor just was not doing it. It was not crispy at all. Yes I have them take out salt and pepper tofu from many other places. It does leave its crunchiness to some extent. This one had zero crunch. In fact it was weird. Every piece that was stuck to the next one had something gooey on it. Just overall the flavor was very underwhelming. The American garlic broccoli was overcooked to the extent it did not have the firmness one would expect and was overcooked to the extent where some of the smaller pieces just disintegrated. The spring roll is wild. The casing was phenomenal. It was perfect for a spring roll even after opening it after one hour. Really appreciate that. The filling, however, there really weren't many vegetables in it at all. That was very disappointing. Overall I don't think I am going to grab food from here again. The reason they get the 3.5 stars, though, is they did a phenomenal job on the packaging of all the food. The quantity was well beyond what I expected. The food, however, I have to say, was a disaster. And maybe this is my taste. It may be it's a bit too Americanized and I have not been used to eating very Americanized Chinese food for the last many years. That might be the problem.

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Szechuan Corner
Szechuan Corner
Szechuan Corner

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Dongpo Impression - Crispy duck after eating half of the plate already.

Dongpo Impression

4.0(199 reviews)
0.9 miChinatown
$$
Locally owned & operated
Established in 2017

Was looking for some chinese food late on a windy night in Chicago and came across this hidden…read moregolden gem in Chinatown. Went in their expecting regular Chinese food and was blown away by the amazing chinese food, attention to detail oriented waiter and no frills but perfected Chinese food. Ordered heavy, starting with egg drop soup, dumplings, shrimp and broccoli, crispy duck and pan sheared green beans. Each of the item was fabulous, highlight being succulent crispy duck that would rival any duck place in the states(not peking duck) but it was full of flavor, perfectly rendered fat and crispy skin which even made my partner who doesn't like duck change her opinion If i could give 50 stars I would and the enthusiasm and energy shown by staff at 11 pm just showed how each member of this place absolutely knew what they were doing.

I would say Szechuan is at this my point my favorite type of Chinese cuisine. I love the flavors, I…read morelove the heat. So when I saw what Dongpo had to offer, I knew I had to try this place. They definitely didn't let me down. We ordered their dry chili chicken, Dan Dan Noodles, and Sichuan wontons. All three were amazing, all three came with some heat and would order them again without hesitation. The dry chili chicken had the perfect amount of heat, the chicken was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, the Dan Dan noodles were very flavorful and the wontons came with the same spiciness just a different texture. Overall we enjoyed our lunch here at Dongpo. The service was great. Very quick and the food came out hot. Will definitely be returning.

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Dongpo Impression - Interiors

Interiors

Dongpo Impression - 麻婆豆腐 / Mapo Tofu

麻婆豆腐 / Mapo Tofu

Dongpo Impression

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Dai Yee's Asian Kitchen - Shrimp Broccoli, Beef Tofu (hot), Egg Fried Rice

Dai Yee's Asian Kitchen

4.4(223 reviews)
8.1 miNorth Center

Dai Yee's Asian Kitchen is the underground emperor of late-night Chinese food in Chicago, the spot…read moreyour Uber driver, your bartender, and every chef in the city whispers about when they're truly hungry. Tucked into a no-frills corner on the South Side, Dai Yee's looks modest from the outside, but step in after 10 p.m. and it's pure magic. The room is packed with everybody--sneakerheads, nurses coming off shift, club kids, cops, and couples on first dates who somehow heard the legend. The vibe is chaotic in the best way: woks roaring, orders flying, and that unmistakable perfume of sizzling garlic, ginger, and chili filling the air. The food is straight-up stupid good. The Hong Kong-style salt & pepper smelts are crackly, spicy, and gone in 30 seconds. The beef chow fun has that elusive wok hei (breath of the wok) that most places only dream of, wide rice noodles slick with smoky char and tender flank steak. The black pepper beef tenderloin is velvet-soft, glossy, and aggressively peppery in a way that makes you order extra rice just to survive the happiness. The Singapore noodles are bright curry perfection, and the Mongolian beef is saucy, crispy-edged, and borderline addictive. Portions are straight out of the 90s--massive trays that could feed a family of four for under $15. Cash-only, BYOB, and everything comes out blazing hot in under ten minutes even when the place is slammed. The ladies running the show are legends: fast, funny, and they'll roast you (lovingly) if you can't handle the spice level you asked for. If you leave Chicago without hitting Dai Yee's at least once (preferably at 1 a.m. with a six-pack), you didn't really experience the city. This is real-deal, no-filter, soul-satisfying Chinese food that reminds you why we fall in love with restaurants in the first place. Dai Yee's isn't just a restaurant; it's a Chicago institution in the making. I'd wait in line in a blizzard for those smelts. See you at midnight.

11/26/25 - I drove by here w/my wife today to eat lunch based on the reviews only to find that this…read moreis a pop up restaurant where you go & pick up your food & go. Dam I was disappointed we went away empty. Based on the reviews I really wanted to try this place but alas it wasn't meant to be. How do you give a rating to a restaurant you didn't eat at? Sorry I can't give you a 5 star rating but it's hard to judge on not eating your food

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Dai Yee's Asian Kitchen - Chicken Lo Mein, Yu Shin Beef (Hot), General Tsos Chicken (Hot)

Chicken Lo Mein, Yu Shin Beef (Hot), General Tsos Chicken (Hot)

Dai Yee's Asian Kitchen - Mocha Lava Bao Bun

Mocha Lava Bao Bun

Dai Yee's Asian Kitchen - Sesame Chicken and Beef Fried Rice

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Sesame Chicken and Beef Fried Rice

Da Mao Jia - tapasmallplates - Updated May 2026

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