This was by far the safest Chinese restaurant in Chicago. I went in and there were 10 cops on their lunch breaks. Those 10 left and another set of 10 came in. Understandable so, the food was inexpensive and delicious. We started out with the pot stickers, which were huge! I love big doughy pot stickers like these, but it's hard to find them in Chicago. We had the BBQ pork lo mein and the sesame chicken for the main course. Both were pretty standard as far as flavor goes. Big portions of course. Even though the place was swarming with cops, my lady and I still got plenty of attention and good service. read more

Ordered pickup last night from the place and I would definitely go back! I live in the West town area and this is the best place in the area. The chicken chow fun and broccoli tofu were up to standards for a fellow Chinese man. Food was flavorful and not too oily. The potstickers were awesome! Homemade chili oil is good as well, personally wish it had a little more kick but I like it spiccyyyy. The establishment inside is nice and clean and the service is friendly. This will be my go to for Chinese if I am too lazy to go to Chinatown. read more

I've been eating here once a week lately, always take-out. The food is inexpensive, and the orders are always ready very quickly. I recommend the hot and sour soup, potstickers, crab rangoon, and cashew chicken. I am taking away one star because they actually charge you for fortune cookies. WTF? Who does that?? read more

It's Saturday night, we're all wearing sweatpants and eating Mon Lung. I can't put it any better than my neighbor when she said of the food, "If we bought frozen egg rolls and microwaved them, they would taste better than this." As another diner said, "There's leftover crab rangoons, when is there ever leftover rangoons?" The group consensus seems to be, this food sucks the big one. When do you go to a Chinese place and have leftover rangoons? Never, unless they are horrible and I am disappointed to say, the food, all around was tasteless, limp, and without any TLC. Seems like the oil they used was old and the ingredients had been sitting around for a while. I've read some of these other reviews and I gotta agree, the lo mein was akin to Ramen, thin, watery and disappointing. Mon Lung seems to be very popular with the Chicago cops, maybe they're tasting something we didn't taste. Either way, I hate giving restaurants bad reviews, but I will not be eating Mon Lung ever again. The fortune cookie says: Take my advice, keep searching for a better place to find satisfying, fresh Chinese food. read more

THE BEST! HANDS DOWN! I've been coming here for what seems like my entire life and it is absolutely amazing. A traditional chinese restaurant that is not anything like Panda Express or other crappy Americanized Chinese places. This place is family owned and it shows. Their love pours out in every single dish. My go to's are the vegetable soup, beef kow, and the mongolian chicken. This place is bomb, CHECK IT OUT!!!!!!!! read more

Wish I had found this place sooner... Perfect for takeout and hang overs. I really like the Low Mein. In fact, it is my favorite so far in the city (in terms of cheap and fast). read more

Disappointing. Really just not good food at all. And I'm not hard to please when it comes to Chinese food. This place didn't even come close to being decent. I should've known when they didn't have General Tso's on the menu. We got three different dishes - 2 chicken and 1 beef, and none of them were good. Like I said, disappointing. Won't ever go back here. read more

Extremely average Chinese food. My boyfriend and I have ordered take-out here a few times and it's always just "okay". It's conveniently located near our apartment so we tried it a few times. After about 3 or 4 tries, we decided to look for a new place to get Chinese. It's also overpriced, especially for the quality of food. read more

I fucking love Mon Lung. We are lucky to have a Chinatown quality restaurant in our neighborhood. And just this week they started delivering too through PostMates. Lots of other Chinese joints in the neighborhood, but this one does what it's supposed to do. The fried rice has lots of color and the texture is right, and the green onion and egg and spicing are properly portioned. Mon Lung gives a shit. The egg rolls are crisp and hot and hot and sour soup is full of goodness, again at the right texture with flavor. Mr. Mon Lung has had this place in this spot for 31 years now, and the food still comes out of the kitchen fresh and delicious like it's opening night. Right on, Mon Lung! Thank you for doing what you do for us, giving us a good quality, respectable Chinese place we can all go into Chinatown every now and then and still get a little cocky about and even trash talk on behalf of if the spirit moves us to do that! read more

Maybe not the best place to go on a Friday night when you are tired and just want to get some food: had to wait on the cold sidewalk for 15 minutes until a table opened up in this small little unattractive interior space. The food came relatively fast but the service was slow and didnt get out of there till 1030, with that excrutiating wait for the check that I can't stand. Food was average, better for takeout for sure, or come here during a non-peak time. read more

Living around the corner from this place is like having your favorite beer restocked in your fridge every time you open the door. You don't need it everyday but it's ready to go when you want it. Suggestions: Get the egg rolls (huge), stay away from the soup (lava hot), and go with the chef specials, and you will be happy every time. read more

Went back to Chicago for Thanksgiving and had to go to my childhood Chinese restaurant. I literally grew up on this, since it was on Milwaukee ave and I think it moved to Ashland sometime in the mid-80s. Everything still tastes exactly the same, Egg Rolls, Fried Rice, Shrimp w/Lobster sauce, everything. The service was good and the food was perfect. Never found a restaurant to match this one. I'll be back next time i'm in Chicago. read more

Good, standard Americanized Chinese food. The place is clean, well lit and has decent atmosphere. The staff was nice, although a little inattentive. Our food was prepared quickly and was tasty, ingredients were fresh. Nothing overly exciting, but darn decent Chinese food. read more

Oh Mon Lung -- I'm so thankful you're near my friend's condo in Chicago. I'm so glad that I get to visit you each time I find myself in the Chicago area. You're Hot & Sour Soup tastes like the thing that dreams are made of. In fact, I dream about this Hot & Sour Soup. I've dined-in and had take out from Mon Lung -- each visit has always been fantastic. There seems to be a never ending parade of police officers and other law enforcement types that dine here no matter what time of day or night it is. One, it's a place one can always feel safe and two, I'm pretty sure I'll trust the barometer of a policeman (or woman) for some good, quick, and relatively inexpensive eats any day of the week. read more

The hot and sour soup is NOT that good. People are raving about it. But what is good are: pot stickers (amazing! Everytime!), shrimp fried rice (huge portion, spicy), and Mongolian beef. This place is really cheap and I love to order it. The people there are super nice and they are open till 10. Closed Mondays tho. I look forward to trying wonton soup. Or egg drop soup read more

Just the best. Our family loves it and so does everyone else I meet there. NOT fancy--but good, honest service and delicious food. We just got a large takeout order and it was AMAZING. As always. My favorites: Tofu Chicken, Szechwan string beans and chicken, and my daughter lives for their Broccoli chicken. This is family owned and they know their customers, and will remember you. I can't say enough about Mon Lung. ENJOY and say hi from our family. read more

Worst Chinese food that I've had in a while. It's getting 2 stars only because I could walk to the place. The woman taking my order got it wrong and so white rice was awaiting me when I got home instead of FRIED rice. At least I wasn't charged for fried. The Sesame Chicken? I don't know what the hell that was! It was these funny looking pieces of 'chicken', with some weird sauce on top with sesame seeds BARELY on the mix. Tasted really bland. I expected more. Also, it's kinda uncomfortable filling out a tip when the cashier is standing right there WATCHING you fill it out. Will not be going back here again, and that's really sad because it's right at the end of the block and I was excited to have somewhere to go for Chinese....boooo. read more

Used to be neighbors of this place, been going there for well over 15yrs. The food is what brings me back, even from a far away suburb outside of Chicago. A couple used to manage the place, and we saw their children grow up. Their son is now the Manager. I'm sad to say that we will no longer be going there. We've been seeing the place deteriorate for sometime now. The food had someone's eyelash in it. Another time the food had "no spicey," on the carton as I requested, but had a hot pepper inside. Then, it happened again..and when I decided to call, the Manager said, "YOU GET WHAT YOU ORDER, DON'T LIKE IT I DON'T CARE!" "LET ME KNOW WHEN YOU WANT TO APOLOGIZE FOR QUESTIONING OUR FOOD!" I felt like I was in a Seinfeld episode. It literally was that bad. Don't believe me? I dare anyone to call after they ordered and got their food, just question something, or ask why they did it a certain way. I promise you he will go off on you, and it won't be nice. Sadly, greed has empowered the Manager. High prices, little food, and the worst and I mean degrading customer service will be provided to you. I'm sure Karma will prevail one day. read more

Mon Lung is definitely one of the better Chinese places north on the north side, but it's still just slightly above average overall. The menu is big enough and has all the staples one would expect. I've tried the mongolian chicken, lo-mein- and chow fun dishes. I was disappointed in the mongolian because it was prepared in a very different manner than most places. It resembled hunan chicken more than mongolian. The noodle dishes are good though, and I would definitely recommend those. Prices are average, 8-9 per entree, $10 for the special dishes. Portions are large, probably larger than most places in the area. Overall, I'd give it 3.5 stars, better than Papajin which is in the area. read more

I always get take-out from this place when i crave Chinese. Why? Because i live near-by and most importantly because they have amazing Mongolian Beef. I get it 99.9% of the time i oder and i think it's great. You have to watch out for the hot chillis cause in that brown sauce you might mistake them for a piece of beef... (yes, i did that once). I have tried other house specilties - like the entree with black mushrooms and bunch of other stuff. IT's good - but nothing beats Mongolian Beef. read more

This place is disgusting. Even the vegetable fried rice is nasty. It tastes cheap & the smoothies are like water with foam on top! Ew just save your money. They don't know what they're doing. read more

Mon Lung is a pretty solid place. Some of their stuff is hit or miss, but I've tried enough things to know what is good. I love the spicy chicken fried rice and their ginger and onion steamed fish. Everything else is pretty much as good as you'll get at a decent chinese place. read more

Standard fast-food Chinese place with standard food. They try to make the inside look decently nice though. BYOB. Service is pretty good. There is usually a cop car outside (parked illegally) with the officers eating inside, so you know it's pretty good. Lately whenever I walk by all the tables are usually full, so that's a good sign for them. I typically go in and order takeout, and it never takes very long for the food to come out. Dumplings aren't the best (they are soggy by the time I get home), but everything is pretty tasty. Good size portions. Street parking is pretty easy, but also try non-meter parking on Augusta. read more

What can I say? I actually really like this place. I never get cravings for Chinese food, but since coming here, I have gotten cravings for Mon Lung. The food is not going to blow you away, but you know what? I don't really think any Chinese food here in the states is going to blow anyone away, as it is so different from (and not as good as) real Chinese food, in China. That aside, everything seemed very fresh, unlike many other places in the city where the food just seems all frozen and nasty. The wonton soup was actually really good, again something that can be sooooo bad at many Chinese restaurants. Egg rolls were standard, and I've had the hunan chicken and cashew chicken, and both were fine by me, though a little bland in my opinion (and I don't mean spiciness, I mean flavor). I think what makes this place for me is that it is family owned, and everyone there is extremely nice. They are always sitting at one of the tables hanging out, and it just has a very casual feel. I feel very at home there, and that's not something many restaurants can accomplish. Definitely worth checking out. read more

I ordered from here because of the high ratings and my coworkers that orders from there were very happy about their food but I found a band aid in the bottom of my orange chicken. It was so gross. read more

Mon Lung - There was a bandaid in my orange chicken - Chinese Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Listen, I gotta tell ya, I've been reading some of the reviews on this place and I've never seen so much off-base dribble about a gem restaurant in a while. I was born and raised in this city. I've been to many Chinese restaurants over the years and this place is hands down THE best Chinese food I've had in Chicago. I've eaten at the supposed best places all around Chicago, in China Town, the burbs you name it and there's no comparison. Every friend I've brought there for the first time swears by this place. All their meat is fresh, they use NO msg, it's BYOB and the staff is always friendly there. Not to mention their prices are beyond fair. There are cons... It is definitely not the biggest place and they don't deliver but that doesn't impede their business one bit. The place is packed from open to close with a line of people out the door waiting for their pick ups. And if my only complaint is that it's hard to find a table or that they don't deliver... I'll live. read more

Love the food. Service is friendly, atmosphere is family-like and the prices are quite fair. Their take-out is almost always ready in like 10 minutes, and I've never had to wait for more than 30 seconds once I arrive to pick up the food. I love the sesame chicken! It comes with steamed broccoli and has always been fresh. Deeeeeeeee-lightful. read more

This Chinese restaurant is actually very good. Their food is delicious and comes in large portions! Their menu is pretty extensive too with very good prices. I only gave three stars because they gave up their BYO-status, which is one of my most favorite things about them. When I went I was in a room full of cops and the service went to the Chicago Police Department before everyone else, but their service is still pretty good. This is your run-of-the-mill Chinese place - I would recommend ordering for take-out. read more

I've been coming here pretty frequently over the last 6 months or so. It's consistently delicious. Only dined-in once. Normally get carry-out...so this review is strictly based on the food and not on ambiance or quality of service. My food is always ready within 10-15 minutes and has never disappointed. Seasonings are spot on and it's obvious the food is made to order (hot!). Definitely give it a shot. Oh - the veggie egg rolls, Singapore vermicelli (I get it without pork, but I'm sure the pork is A-plus), and shrimp lo mein are a few of my personal favorites. read more

The food is not out of this world, but it is certainly good. I was in there last night for the second time. The first time there were four cops. Last night there were 12. I always trust food recommendations from cops, teamsters, and cabbies. So, you don't have to take my word for it. The only dish I have had there that was not up to snuff is the beef chow fun. It was not terrible, but it was not very good either. Not much beef in it. I highly recommend the sesame chicken and the black mushroom combo. The won-ton soup is also very good. The staff is very friendly. During both of my visits there seemed to be regulars that the staff knew fairly well, and they managed to be very attentive even while chatting up the regulars. I agree that Mon Lung may not be a restaurant worth traveling to, but if you live in the area or find yourself nearby, it is worth checking out. read more

Don't let the bulletproof glass behind the counter scare you. The area has changed a bit since they first opened. Plus, there are always at least 5 cops or detectives in there eating. I have always sticked with the lame midwestern chinese: Egg drop soup, egg roll, and cashew chicken. It's really good. Highly recommend. If you get the large size it is easily big enough for two people to have a great meal. *Not BYOB anymore. They do however sell some Asian beers and some other wines. read more

My wife read that Mon Lung was good, so we went there. Not disappointed. Food was excellent, with very nice flavors. I've been eating Chinese food for 62 years. It has always been my favorite cuisine. I've been to the best and the worst. The food at Mon Lung is top tier, authentic Chinese. And the wait staff are very nice and accommodating. It's not fancy, but it's exactly what a Chinese restaurant should be. read more

Some of the best Chinese food I've had in the city! Love the vegetable mooshu (they are prewrapped, which makes it easier to eat). Also love the chicken and broccoli. Would recommend! read more

Second time i ate there and got extremely sick. I don't know if was the beef, egg roll, or fried rice. But I'm officially done with this place. Could be new owner, not sure. read more

Best Chinese in the city, no contest. This is further from my house than I would like, but it's much better than anything else near me. Chinese broccoli with ginger is the best. I could eat it everyday. read more

Pretty bad. Sesame chicken was just sweet and sour chicken with sesame sauce dumped on part of it. Egg roll was soggy. I wouldn't eat here again read more

I love this place. The food is good, the vegetables and meat always taste really fresh, and the people there are always very nice. The eggrolls are awesome, and I love the vegetable fried rice-it has tons of really good veggies in it. I hate it when you order fried rice and all they put in it is egg and frozen peas. Yuck. We've ordered a little bit of everything from here, and we've always been happy and satisfied, if not always wowed. And they're quick... my food is always ready in less than 10 minutes. Mon Lung is always a solid choice for take-out. Side note: They have fried chicken on the menu... I'm curious.... read more

I happen to be chinese, and this is my go-to neighborhood place. Haven't had anything here that wasn't good. I probably wouldn't dine in the restaurant though. Its not terrible, but the ambiance isn't exactly great. Carryout will work for me. read more

Yes, yelp, I am a fan. I have enjoyed all of my food that has come out of their kitchen. I really liked the mushroom fried rice. Definitely worth a try if you are craving Chinese and don't want to have that greasy feeling. read more

As many have mentioned, it may be the most well protected chinese restaurant in the city. But the old adage is true, you can follow those cops to some good food. This place is leaps and bounds ahead of the plexiglass-shielded chinese joints that are all too common in the city. I've never had a fresher tasting chinese meal for under $10. Great for takeout but not a bad place to sit and stay, it's quick & clean and there is sriracha on every table. I especially recommend the chow fun, or anything with the house "mon lung" sauce. read more