Friends and I were in the chinatown area, and this place had good reviews so we decided to check it out. If you are craving good (but maybe not so good for you) Chinese food, would totally recommend. Food came out quick, and is served family style. We tried pretty much every type of food on the menu- fried rice, tofu, beef, noodles, and soups- we practically had to be rolled out the front door. Will be stopping by again! read more

First we started with dumplings which besides being delicious they were very large. I had beef Lo Mein which was out of sight and big enough for two people. Beef lemongrass, was sweet and tender. This was an outstanding meal in a friendly atmosphere. read more

I honestly don't see why such the high ratings, came for lunch and excited at first due to the price and amount of food but the food itself had no flavor, literally tasted bland all around from the Mongolian beef (which was soggy and slimy) to the crab Rangoon that just tasted like plain cream cheese....only reason 2 stars was because they actually give you a cookie for desert and chicken fried rice read more

Stopped here after trying to find dim sum down the road..a lot of places look open but are not. This place was nice and quiet and had booze. Got some sake, beer and wine. I got the seaweed poop with pork. I have never had it before. Wanted to try something new. The flavor was nice. Also got a hit n sour soup and that was very delicious. Did not find dim sum here but the soups were great. read more

Emperor's Choice Restaurant - Hot and Sour Soup - Chinese Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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The best crab Rangoon you will ever have in your life! Mongolian beef was super tasty too and tasted even better the next day heated up. This might be one of my new favorite places in Chinatown. read more

Checked their website and did not see any mention of any special hours. Website says they are open everyday from 11:30 am - 10 pm. Drove down to find a sign on the door that they are open 1:00 pm - 8:30 pm for pick up and delivery only (closed Tuesday). Wish they had updated their website (isn't that what a website is for?) I am still going to hang out till 1:00 pm to order my food as I drove from the suburbs. Aside from this, the food here is delicious. Served hot and quite fast. And if you park in the central Chinatown parking lot by the El, they will validate your parking ticket. read more

Few meals make me dance in my seat and Emperor's Choice is one of them. Consistently the best dinner in Chinatown, can't recommend it enough. To start, you must have one of their blended to order pina coladas. Egg rolls are also a simple yet perfect appetizer - don't miss their sweet sauce with a dash of hot mustard. Entrees are where this resto really shines. Highlights for me are Mongolian Beef, shrimp in lobster sauce, lobster Cantonese and crispy orange peel beef. I want to bathe in the lobster sauce!!!! Go with friends - you will need lots of hungry stomachs so you can sample all their wonderful food. Reservations recommended. read more

Emperor's Choice Restaurant - Dreamy shrimp in lobster sauce, light and flavorful orange peel beef and perfect steamed rice - Chinese Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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If you are trying to decide which restaurant to hit in Chinatown, think no more. I love variety but when I'm back in Chicago I will be eating this delicious Chinese food again! Of the many restaurants I went to in Chicago, this was a very memorable one. My group got several dishes and shared them. All of the were really good but the stand outs to me were the hot and sour soup and the sweet and sour sauce. I have had a lot of both of those and the ones I got here may be he best I have ever had. read more

The food here is really good quality for very reasonable price. My favorite are their fried pumpkins. They are to die for!! Soooo delicious! But of course you will not regret ordering any of their delicious noodles or fried rice! This is one of the best places to eat in Chinatown for sure. I would highly recommend you to stop here. read more

Customer service and food both average. Nothing that made me want to go back. My empress chicken was too sweet and my friends beef was too spicy.. I would try somewhere else. read more

Emperor's Choice Restaurant - Empress beef - Chinese Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Review # 37 out of 365 The best sweet and sour shrimp I have ever eaten. Huge and fried crispy. Lots of sweet and sour sauce with pineapple, green bell pepper and onion. This makes it well worth the trip to China Town. We had Mongolian beef too. It was tasty, no complaints. read more

Great Chinese food! Have only done carry out and have never been disappointed. The food is ready quickly and is always great! Kung Pow shrimp and Moo Shu Pork are awesome. Probably the best Hot & Sour soup in China Town! read more

Emperor's Choice was my "go to" Chinese restaurant for the last decade. However, after my most recent experiencs there - I probably will not return. Last week, our party of 3 ordered beef and broccoli, sesame chicken and a tofu dish for the vegetarian of the group. The beef and broccoli had NO flavor, the chicken was extremely tough and the eggrolls almost had a stale taste to them. Service was slow, we had to flag down people to get our water refilled and not one person on the staff was warm or friendly. To top it off - the bathrooms were DISGUSTING and dirty. Not good. Take a trip down Halsted and you will find many other authentic, fantastic choices - Emperor's Choice has lost my business. :( read more

I did not enjoy this restaurant. The Mongolian beef came on a big plate but only had a couple pieces of beef, the rest was just vegetables. We ordered 3 entries, and the last one didn't not come out until 45 minutes after the first 2. The fish smelt was not crunchy at all. Go spend your money somewhere else. read more

Emperor's Choice has one of my (former most likely) dishes I'd order if I were getting my final meal on death row. Its "Spicy Salt and Pepper Tofu," which has undergone a slight name change since a fairly recent (last 2-3 years) change in management, is one of my favorite dishes of all time at any restaurant. It's a little more uneven in its execution since the management change, but it's still a super impressive individual dish. The Chinese broccoli with garlic sauce is something else that I order literally every single time I go to this restaurant. Beyond that there are lots of dishes on the menu that you'll enjoy, and most of them will be well executed. There's so much to choose from on his menu and many of these dishes will make you happy to have come to (or ordered out from) this place. It's a super reliable and consistently solid performer in a crowded field of Chinese restaurants. read more

Last night a group of us ventured out to China Town for dinner and boy did we have an amazing meal! This place was great semi authentic Chinese food at a low cost with huge portions! We decided we o be Americans and order way to much food but this means we got to taste a lot of food. Appetizers we had: Egg Roll Pork Dumplings Bean Curd Soup Crab Rangoon's Main courses included: Fried pork intestine Kung Pao Chicken Beef with hand cut noodles Beef Lo Mein We had lots of left overs! My favorites were the noodle dishes. Starting with the pork dumplings! You can tell these are homemade and they have amazing flavor and taste to them. The are massive as well. The beef with hand cut noodles was out of this world good. But was a huge portion and it tasted amazing. The lo mein was awesome as well! I was shocked how good it was! The chicken was good as well but would prefer a little spicer. The bean curd soup was pretty good but not my favorite! The crab Rangoon was okay and the egg rolls are amazing! For all this food split amongst 3 people it was about $30 a person so this was a great deal! Service here was amazing and they did a wonderful job! When you leave they give you homemade cookies and fountain cookies too which is awesome! I can't wait to go back and try more food! I will for sure be back! read more

My favorite Chinese restaurant in Chinatown. Simple, old school joint. Food is always tasty and fresh. Lots of variety. Reasonably priced, too. read more

Decided to head down to Chinatown for dinner and picked this restaurant and it did not disappoint! The place was clean, service was very good, met Ken the owner great guy! Definitely was worth the trip and will be coming back! read more

We stopped here when my wife went the K-pop store to get some CD albums for a friend. We arrived a little after 1PM and the restaurant was a little empty. Soon afterwards, it filled up quickly and we ordered 2 dishes and soup. I got the hot and sour soup with Singapore noodles. My wife got the wonton soup and Shanghai noodles. Within a few minutes, we enjoyed piping hot soup which was nice. Afterwards, we enjoyed our food which was more than we could finish. So, we took back the leftovers. We also got our parking validated so it was only $2 for 3 hour parking. Overall, this is the most authentic Chinese food that I have had in a long time. read more

I was afraid to choose a restaurant without a personal reference but t the online reviews did not lie. Best Chinese food I had for a long time. Crab Rangoon was real crab not just cheese. Egg foo young (sp) delicious and the fried rice yum! read more

Emperor's Choice Restaurant - Menu - Chinese Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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One of my favorite restaurants in the city. I drive from Lincoln Square all the way to Chinatown just to enjoy it. My favorite egg rolls anywhere too. read more

Absolutely in love with Emperor's Choice. My mother and I visited Chinatown two weeks ago on a Sunday afternoon. We got our table just minutes before the lunch croud. *whew* The service here is spot on. Somewhat better than any of the other establishments on this street! We ordered egg drop soup and egg rolls to start. The egg rolls were fantastic and fresh. The house made sauce was also quite great! I did not have any of the soup but my mother really loved it. The portion sizes for our two entrees were HUGE. In fact I had lunch for two extra days at work. Both dishes were deliciously prepared and full of spices, juiciness in the meat, and piping hot. I cannot wait to return. read more

Emperor's Choice Restaurant - Chinese Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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I used to eat at Emperor's Choice back in the 1990's. It was recommended to me by a friend who trained in martial arts. I remember loving it back then, before I became a cocky food snob who deserves the very best. Since then I hadn't been back and I have been trying places all over China Town. There are a few good places, but I find that in China Town even some of the "BEST" places are just so underwhelming... basically drowning in oil or the flavor is mundane and missing those dimensions of flavor. So finally after over a decade I decided to see if Emperor's Choice was anything at all like I remembered. And sure enough, it was, and not only that - now my palate has matured so I can really appreciate it. A simple lunch special brought sunshine into my otherwise gloomy day. I started off with hot tea and the hot and sour soup. The soup had a nice kick, and the consistency was just right. It was hearty. Fresh sliced pork, chunks of tofu, and a beautiful blend of spices and flavors. It was a little hot, it was a little sour... it is what it was supposed to be. Great starter. Then comes the egg roll on a plate. I'm loving how they bring me one dish at a time, waiting for me to complete my first dish to bring me the second one. Maybe the timing was luck, but I felt like I was doing a short course at Arun's Thai. The egg roll looked more than just an ordinary egg roll. The perfect egg roll? And the perfect hot mustard sauce plated on the side for scooping. I'm not a fan of egg rolls in general, but this one did it for me. The perfect crispiness and filling. It tasted hand made in the kitchen, not from frozen. I was like okay they are knocking it out of the park... the entree will just be "OK" Hunan Shrimp and Scallops Extra Extra Hot Spicy. Finally, someone listened. And not only did it burn, but the chef had control, taking me to the point of a runny nose and sweat on my brow. But the layers of flavors punched through in the dish - the sauce, the beautiful scallops (so buttery, BIG and FRESH), the shrimp (average shrimp, but fresh!), black Chinese mushrooms. An amazing gourmet dish full of flavors, prepared and cooked with love and care. What an amazing lunch. I'll be back more often, and I'll never skip a decade again. Emperor's Choice: The Emperor sends his compliments to the CHEF. read more

Emperor's Choice Restaurant - Hot and Sour soup. Very hearty with strips of fresh pork and tofu and spices. - Chinese Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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What's not to love about this place? Service is super-efficient, they use excellent and fresh ingredients, prices are reasonable, the kitchen is quick, but if you want to linger, they don't hurry you out. This is not a place for experiementation -- they mostly focus on the famous Chinese-American dishes, prepared with such care and attention that you have probably never had Mongolian Beef so tender, or Moo Shoo Pork so delicious. read more

My grandmother chose this place for her birthday lunch. I say "birthday lunch" and you think, "aw, cute. A small lunch". No. My grandma rolls in with 50 people for her birthday. We almost took over the whole place. It's modern. It's clean. The bathrooms are lovely. I was worried. How could such a nice place have delicious, authentic food? Are they catering to lo fan? Luckily, the food was AMAZING. Everything we had was fantastic. My grandma ordered banquet style so each table of 10 had the same thing. A steak and asparagus dish that was cooked perfectly was a big favorite. The lobster was cooked perfectly. The noodle dishes were crispy. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this place! get in and try it! read more

The first time ever being in this restaurant. I ordered broccoli and beef, fresh broccoli is used along with very tender beef. The staff are very polite and the restaurant is immaculate. I recommend read more

Just solid Americanized Chinese cuisine. And of higher quality. My dad and step mom ordered pot stickers for the appetizer, hot tea, and hot n sour soup. Pot stickers were nice and fat, and can easily be a meal. Hot n sour soup was on point too. For the main course, I ordered the spicy beef with jalapeños, peppers, chili peppers. The heat factor is on -- as my taste buds were along a roller coaster. It's really hot! You've been forewarned! Dad ordered the nest of noodles. His own beef dish, and vegetable with shrimps and squid. I had a little bit of everything side from the squid because I'm not a fan of it. Great place in old Chinatown. read more

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The Emperors egg rolls and beef with broccoli was awesome. The service was attentive and great. read more

If you're in the mood for a great meal, clean restaurant, and excellent service, this is the place to go to. Starting with fresh and hot egg rolls and Crab Rangoon appetizers, we knew we were in for a treat. Our main meals were some of the best that we have had. Our meal here was one highlight on our weekend visit to Chicago. Thank you Emperor's Choice! read more

Chicago's Chinatown is one of the best culinary assets of our city. If you have never been, please do so even if just to walk the streets. I've enjoyed regular family dinners in Chinatown ever since I can remember. There are two places we always visited, Emperor's Choice and The Phoenix. Since it had been an unusually long time between Chinatown visits, we made Emperor's Choice the destination for dinner with Erica and her her mother Jean. I could end the review now and simply say if you want great Chinese food go to Chinatown and enjoy. We all have our favorite spots and our favorite dishes, but now you can see mine. Ask my friends and you'll hear that each meal with me must start with pot-stickers, the doughy dumpling filled with pork (or chicken or veggies depending on location). I have always loved the pot-stickers at EC, and especially love the dipping sauce. I prefer mine steamed, some choose pan fried. Since there were only three of us, we limited our ordering to three dishes (with healthy leftovers). My family Chinese dinners normally involved a serious dose of over-ordering because we love our Chinese food. The staples at EC are schezwan string beans and kung pao chicken, and then any other dishes that spark interest. That night we ordered a tasty and healthy scallop and vegetable dish. The string beans are one of my all time favorites, especially from EC. They were on the spicy side this time, unfortunate for Erica, but I loved them. Kung Pao Chicken is also a go-to, and they did not disappoint with little pieces of chicken in a moderately spicy peanut kung pao sauce. There are lots of vegetables too. Our scallop dish was the nice complement to all the other flavors. It was a flavorful but subtle garlic sauce, scallops and steamed veggies. Everything was great, especially the next day at home. If you want delicious and authentic (Americanized) Chinese food, head to Chinatown and look up Emperor's Choice. It's nice to order from your local delivery guy, but every once in a while it's worth the trip for the best. read more

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This restaurant is a long-time favorite of mine, and I especially appreciate its seafood dishes. It is neatly maintained with friendly and efficient service and wonderful food. I highly recommend any of the lobster dishes. They are outstanding and well-worth ordering when you want to indulge a bit. It is only better with more people so you can order more dishes! read more

The salt and pepper tofu was quite tasty. There is no sauce, so be prepared. This does not take away from the flavor, however. It seems like salt and pepper is their niche, so you may order salt and pepper shrimp, salt and pepper chicken, etc...it all tastes good. We also had pea shoots in garlic sauce, eggplant and Chinese broccoli in garlic sauce. Brown rice is available, upon request. If you have dietary restrictions, they honor them. The servers are friendly and attentive. read more

Don't know why this place has a 4 Star rating - very misleading. Food was too salty. I ordered corn soup which was average. The pan fried noodles and hor-fun was SALTY as hell. Fried dumpling's skin was too thick and the sauce paired was weird. Not the usual sauce. I don't think the local Asians actually come to this place. This place is mostly for the gway los (non Asians). They give you fortune cookies and some sweet Asian almond cookies which are typically given to tourists. read more

Emperor's Choice Restaurant - Interior - Chinese Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Stopped in for take out. Staff was friendly, food came out SUPER quick. Even after driving back to our hotel, the food was still hot. Everything tasted great. My favorite was the kimchi fried rice (w/ chicken). read more

PERFECTION!!! My husband is the Foodie, so he'll eat almost anything from any country. Me on the other hand...BUT, this was really good. He had salt/pepper seafood, egg drop soup, egg rolls and steamed rice. I had orange peel chicken and vegetable fried rice Beware, the dishes are served as a family dish. At least two people can eat the vegetable fried rice and any of the meat dishes. This spot is highly recommended. Service is excellent. read more

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YES best chinese take out in chicago at a fairly reasonable price! I'm so happy I found this place because honestly I was so disappointed with the chinese food in this city! I always always get the beef and broccoli here- the meat is SO TENDER. I've gotten this dish at other take out places like (cough yu choy and chi cafe) and it was so tough and the sauce was weirdly sour!! definitely definitely get this dish here. the sauce here is so good- probably the best beef and broccoli sauce I've had- not too salty but not too bland, not too thick but not too watery- just REALLY good. The shrimp ho fun here is my other go to! LOTS of veggies and noodles and shrimp! sometimes I find that restaurants skimp on the shrimp so I have a habit of picking at the veggies and noodles and saving the shrimp- however, the dish from here had SO MANY SHRIMPIES I was so happy and was able to have a shrimp piece for almost every bite of noodle. The general tso's chicken here is also really really good- nice thick batter coating a juicy chicken piece. DELICIOUS sweet/sour/spicy sauce coating the crunchy batter exterior of the chicken YUM YUM YUM. I would say this place has a better general tso chicken than lao sze chuan (and I think it's also slightly cheaper! win win) The chicken lo mein was also very good and they are very very generous with the chicken pieces! I almost wanted more veggies in it because there were SO MANY chicken pieces (which i think is always a good thing) and again, the chicken was very tender and not tough (which can be an issue sometimes with this dish) Overall, very very yummy place. I hope more people discover this place and give them more reviews and business because they deserve it!!! (also, along with fortune cookies they give you these sweet biscuits- if you've been to ming hin, it's essentially the same biscuits they give out there- which are also a delicious treat to end your meal with!) read more

Amazing service and excellent food that was ready quickly. They had very reasonable lunch pricing.

This is a nice Chinese restaurant to eat food. There is usually not a big line even on the weekends. The staff is very friendly and has quick service. We got the Kung Pao chicken (which surprisingly was not spicy), mangolian beef and the half roast duck with bone. I would recommend eating here. But don't expect fireworks. It's a normal Chinese restaurant. read more

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Had dinner here last night. Ordered 2 lobsters at $38.50 each. Mushroom/tofu dish. Sweet & sour chicken. Roasted duck. Yang Chow fried rice. We were served 1 dead lobster mixed with a live one. We told the manager about their trickery and at first, he denied it. In our receipt, we were given a 10% discount. They should not have served us a dead lobster at all! Don't go to this restaurant, it will be guessing game for your hard-earned money! We did not leave any tip. We paid our bill $140 and left. Very read more

I love Chinese/ Cantonese food and this place did hit the spot. My son and daughter in law joined me for this one and agreed with me that they would come back. We ordered Chow Fun which is a thick noodle that is pan fried with Beef and vegetables. The flavors were over the top, we definitely wanted more, which was not a problem since the serving was generous. We also ordered salt and pepper shrimp that came with green and orange bell peppers a beautiful presentation which was very flavorful with a hint of spice, not requiring a fire extinguisher, but just enough to say wow the flavors really work together. We also ordered a combo Lo Mein which again had good flavor and a hefty serving. We all agreed that if time permitted we would come back. One last thing the tea left a wonderful aroma in your mouth after a taste or two it really just added a nice touch. The service was prompt and attentive. read more