I lived next door to Mon lung for a year. Fresh, flavorful and well prepared Chinese, this is not your average take out joint! The family who runs it put a lot of care from the preparation of the food, to the presentation of your take out "package". I never get the "Chinese Hang Over" when the meal is over. Don't expect them to pile on the food but what you lack in quantity you get back in quality. TIP! Cops love it, so don't make this your munchies spot. read more

You ever get that feeling in your stomach after eating Chinese food and you wish you never ate it? Well this is not the case with Mon Lung. This Mandarin-Chinese restaurant is phenomenally fresh and delicious. I noticed that there are a lot of regulars and police officers that come in a lot and I think it's family-owned. Someone showed me this place and every new friend I bring along with ends up loving this place! Plus they have a great lunch special for a good price so it's definitely worth trying out! Just don't make the mistake and show up here on Monday like I did because they're closed! read more

I'm basing this review off of one meal, but it was so terrible it causes me to gag every time I ride by. I ordered the Moo Shu. All I need to say is instead chinese pancakes, they used tortillas!!!!!!! Talk about a faux pas. I mean, it seems so authentic in there, but why on EARTH would you use tortillas????? Also, the mushrooms were most definitely canned. I was absolutely appalled and could not even eat any of it. I'll never go back. read more

This is my favorite inexpensive Americanized Chinese place ever. You can't beat it for value. Note that it's not "cheap" chinese -- it's damn good. The portions are huge and the prices are superb. Favorites: Hot n Sour Soup -- For my money, it actually doesn't get any better. It's spicy, full of well-seasoned mushrooms, and hearty. I order this as a meal by itself all the time -- try it Egg Roll -- It's HUGE! Nice and crispy outside with real veggies and meat, not just all cabbage or breading like most places. Chow Mein - Nice crispy exterior without being crunchy or too chewy. Every time they cook it to an amazing texture. Aces. Fried Rice - It's really hearty. Stuffed full of egg, meat, carrots, sprouts. Again, love it. Ambience/Service -- it's small and borders on "hole in the wall," but clean and the staff is supremely friendly and responsive. I've been at all-star restaurants with 5 course meals and had worse service than at Mon Lung. Also, Chicago cops eat 4 meals a day there, so you can't find a safer spot. read more

The owner Lane is great, love coming here for their lunch specials. Their orange chicken is so damn good. Will be coming back!

Are we all talking about the same place? Cause, I'm sooo confused by the reviews. I had some awful chinese food here. We called in an order and got the following items: crab rangoon, egg rolls, chicken lo mein, and sesame chicken. I'll give them credit their appetizers were really good. However, the actual entrees were horrible. The sesame chicken was soupy, and what's worse is half of the sauce dripped out of the container and it still was soupy. The chicken basically looked like it was intended to be sweet and sour chicken, but the cook said screw it I'm going to put sesame sauce on it. As for the lo mein, it was rubbery and barely had any flavor. Like I said though, maybe I went on an off day, cause when I walked in I saw two tables with cops, and I doubt cops would go to a restaurant that was horrible. Plus, all these reviews say otherwise. I think I'll have to give them another try, but I'm not going to be in a rush to do that. read more

I really want to find a Chinese-American place in Wicker park that serves good old fried rice and noodles. Nothing fancy, just got old friend food with rice. The food here, let's be frank, isn't Chinese. It barely qualifies as Chinese American. Overly sweet and goopy, with no contrasting flavors, and starched out. The soup had waaaayyyy too much cornstarch. Sweet and sour was all sugar and no sour. Yes, I know I am not in Asia, but I also love Chinese American when it's done well, and this is sub par also by that standard. Also, pet peeve of mine, but they were not friendly to me but super friendly to everyone else (is it because when they see an Asian person they think we are picky?... Well I guess this review is not reversing any stereotypes) Even in Wicker Park, there are better places. Dining room surprisingly clean and nice. read more

This has become my absolute FAVORITE place for Chinese food in Chicago. Everything is made to order, and the ingredients are all fresh. The openers are all of the chain. Whether it is the Hot and Sour Soup, the Pot Stickers (literally the best I have ever had), the Vegee Egg Rolls, or the Crab Rangoon, you can't go wrong. Your best bet is to go here with some friends, and order a bunch of entrees, and everyone get a sample of each dish, sort of a impromptu buffet. They make any of the main courses any way you like, whether, with rice or noodles instead, extra spicy (my weakness) or mild. Go, try, and enjoy. One warning....lay off the soy sauce, or face the wrath of the boss, who wants you to taste the food, not the soy sauce. read more

Ever since China Lite closed it's doors I've been unable to find anything good. I've tried Mark's Chop Suey and other places that people rave about. But I've never been pleased. Lucky for me, Mon Lung is right by my house and when my friend and I had cravings, we decided to swing by. First of all, yes Chicago police LOVE this place. They just kept coming in! It was crazy! TIP- if you are walking down Ashland and need a police officer, just run inside Mon Lung- you will be safe there. Usually Chinese food restaurants seem icky inside- I always feel like I'm better off getting delivery without venturing inside. China Lite (on Southport) was nice inside. It looked like a regular restaurant- not like a carry out place with one or two tables thrown in. Although Mon Lung wasn't fantastic inside, it was just fine to go in, sit in a booth and enjoy a meal. I'd return. The guy that waited our table was great. Really fun and outgoing and personable. His wife's family has owned this place for years and years. In fact they have quite a following. While we were there eating, the placed filled up so much that for awhile it was standing room only! IMPRESSIVE! And most importantly, the food was really good! We didn't realize how large portions would be so we (accidently) over ordered. We got eggrolls (oh so good), dumplings, soup, and orange chicken. Now everything was really just fab! The one thing I'd like to point out is the orange chicken. Most of the time orange chicken is dark brown and fried. Sadly often the chicken inside is often very dry. This was more like how sweet and sour chicken is presented... just pieces of fried chicken over which they drizzled their orange sauce. It was really a different presentation than I'm used to. The chicken was not dry at all and the sauce was awesome! And the price was really great! I will def be back! read more

I'm giving this place 5 stars because it's so damn hard to find good Chinese outside of Chinatown, and this place is one of the best. Ignore the ambiance - this isn't a sit down restaurant. But the food is very good. I love spicy foods and the hot-n-sour here is very good. My wife finds it borderline too spicy, but I think it's perfect. If you want it without meat you have to ask for VEGGIE hot and sour soup. Otherwise they put pork in it. I get the Kung Pao veg, or the Hunan veg entrée and they're very good. I can't speak to any of the non-veg options but I hear they're good. If you haven't tried it, give it a shot. read more

it hurts me to write this review a little...because letting others know of one of your fav spots can be discouraging and rewarding at the same time. Discouraging because you should have found this place on your own without YELP and Rewarding because you read my review on YELP. Mon Lung is tasty - maybe even more so than places in chinatown. Wish they did dimsum and then I might never have to go chinatown. Their fried rice is spot on and I like their beef and Chinese broccoli. Their kung pao chicken is good too. Actually, I haven't tried anything there that I didn't like, even the egg foo young was delicious. They make everything lightening fast...every time I order carryout, they tell me 20 mins but I know that it will be ready in 15. so even when I get there after 12 minutes or so, it's ready to go. That's awesome and it's always piping hot and delicious. Just had it yesterday and I wish I had some now. read more

Fast, Fresh and Freakin' Good. I've been driving by this place for about 7 years now and just never went in. It never really looked too appealing from the outside and the word "lung" does not conjure up images of tasty chinese cooking for me. I ordered from here based upon previous Yelp reviews and I was quite happy. I ordered the Spicy Basil Beef on chow fun noodles (instead of glass noodles) and it was top notch. Large portion also. We also ordered crab rangoon, which was good but not great. When I went in for pick up every table was full, and it was a Wednesday night. I took that as a good sign. I do not like heavy or syrupy chinese food or anything remotely resembling Panda Express, so if you just loves' you some runny gooey Panda , this may not be the place for you. But if you like flavorful, clean, and quality give it a try. read more

I saw all of these great reviews for Mon Lung and was all excited to check this place out. It's just a standard Chinese restaurant, ya'll. I mean, the food is fine but it's just like any other Chinese restaurant. I've tried the egg rolls, pot stickers, hunan chicken and chicken with broccoli - all of them were fine but were definitely at the level of any other local shop. And why can't these restaurants use real chicken breasts?!? It always has to be that somewhat questionable, possibly bleached white meat, you know? Note to self: don't cut corners on the meat quality! One item to avoid: anything with lo mein. The lo mein is like ramen. Not that I don't like my ramen. I just don't like it when I order lo mein. If you live nearby, you'll be happy with Mon Lung - it's good dependable food. If you aren't in the area, it's probably not worth the trip. That being said, the main waitress (and probably co-owner, since she's been there every time I've gone) is pretty darn attractive so maybe you would want to make the trip. If you get excited about Asian waitresses at average Asian restaurants. read more

cons: TV is on and over bearing pros: The wait staff serves with the light drifting of long rehearsed professionalism. Perhaps the best egg rolls in the area. Vegetable dishes still a good bot of natural flavor from attentive preparation. Fast- Fast-Fast read more

Order orange chicken, egg drop soup, and crab rangoons. All three were not up to standards. Egg drop soup tasted burnt, orange chicken was soggy and not crisp, and crab rangoons were just okay. Was super unimpressed with our experience and will not be back. read more

Wanted Chinese and this place was one of few that would deliver late Sunday evening. Used Postmates and food came in about 30 min., which was awesome, as I'm used to seeing close to an hour delivery times. The meat potstickers were decent, as well as the egg roll. The beef fried rice and mapo tofu were both quite bland and disappointing. I already expected this place to be of Americanized Chinese food, but the food wasn't tasty in any sense. Mapo tofu is supposed to naturally be a spicy dish and I asked for it to be more spicy. However, it was extremely mild. There were a good amount of large shrimp, which was nice, but that didn't add much to the dish. As dark as the fried rice was, I expected it to be overly salty from soy sauce but quite the contrary actually. This beef fried rice really had nothing going on. It was very tasteless. Portions were good and expected of a Chinese joint. However, food is quite subpar. Pass. read more

Went here for the company holiday "party" (I use that term very loosely), and it was a buffet so sadly I didn't get to sample my usual faves...in particular, crab rangoon. But, I did have the beef with broccoli and the egg rolls, which were very very good. I would highly, highly recommend if you live in the neighborhood, but I definitely do not think it is worth a trip. There is limited parking, and the interior is certainly nothing special. The waiters seemed a little annoyed, but...lets just say I don't blame them. Get take out if you live in the area! read more

Mon Lung has the best potstickers and eggrolls. Awesome hot & sour soup. We always order takeout and it's always been piping hot and fresh. The staff at the counter is always friendly, and we even had a candid chat about three ballerina tea, which they sell. I like Mon Lung a lot. Perfect for vegging out and watching a movie on Sunday night. read more

I just randomly saw a poor review for this place and had to write a quick review, since I've been going to this place for 5 years. I love this joint. When I moved to chicago, I spent a good couple months trying to find MY chinese joint. And I had some bad bad shit. Seriously. We have got some amazingly awful Chinese in our fair city. When I stumbled upon Mon Lung, I knew I had found my spot. Everything I've ever ordered there has been great. Piping hot, freshly made food, and BIG portions. And it's super reasonable. Everyone that works there (it's a family owned joint) is really friendly. It's kind of like eating in your living room. There's always a tv on too. It's just a tasty, cozy, neighborhood chinese place, that you'd be lucky to live nearby. If they could figure out how to deliver, I'd never leave my house. Update: I've been eating here for 10 years now. I still love it. read more

My family and I love this place! We have been customers for 15+ years, now that is some loyalty! Our favorite dishes here are the potstickers and chicken broccoli extra spicy of course read more

Wow, I like it...now. I was really happy when I moved to my neighborhood because there is a taqueria and a chinese restaurant. Ok, good. Then I go to eat at Mon Lung Chinese Restaurant and I got some food, i forget what. It taste really good, but it made my stomach feel yucky. I thought it was maybe just me. Then i went with my friend and we ate food there but we both had yucky stomach. So I didn't go back for a year. Now, I ate the food and its really good! I ate some fried stuff because I thought maybe the heat will make sure the yucky stomach bugs are killed. It was really good because the breading is not thick or goopy so you don't eat any hard bites of only fried-stiff breading. It reminds me of they way they do the breading at Chef Jia's in San Francisco. Now all they need is some honey chili sauce. I think it is still a good restaurant. You can get small or big portions, which makes for nice variety and a better way to use your dollar. Also there are Lunch specials. They have good variety of foods, including a few vegetarian options. Also, they have some non-chinese food in their restaurant, i think its chicken wings with french fries, for the one jerk who tries to ruin everyone's dinner plans by proclaiming that they hate chinese food. They had a menu update and a very bright, cartoonish sign they put up that makes it look like they do things very fast. Which they do. And their menu is online, www.monlung.com read more

The perfect three-star Chinese restaurant. Picture the most average, satisfying Chinese restaurant you possibly can. Congratulations! That Chinese restaurant now exists, and it is Mon Lung. You will not be let down. It seems that police like to chill out there a lot, which is sort of neat but I guess a warning sign if you, I don't know, deal drugs? Don't deal drugs at Mon Lung, I guess. read more

This place is great! Best food/service that we have had since moving to Chicago. Service - five stars Food - five stars We had the hot and sour soup, crab rangoon and sesame chicken. Bonus - The guy who appeared to own this place was a lot of fun to interact with. He spent most of the evening entertaining my two year old which was much appreciated. At the end of dinner, he noticed that my son got very excited for the fortune cookies. He quickly went back to the kitchen and got us 5 more cookies for the road. Awesome experience. read more

For under $7, I got a huge plate of beef egg foo young, an egg roll and a plate of chicken fried rice as part of the lunch specials. This is way too much food for a normal human being...which means it's a great deal. Appeared to be reasonably authentic and there was a good mix of culture dining in the restaurant when I visited last week. The interior felt like someone's house (in a good way) and the staff moves really fast, especially when it comes to water refills. Since I live one block away, I'll be back...but I feel good bringing friends too. read more

Finally! I have found an excellent Chinese delivery restaurant. I have been ordering Chinese delivery in my area for a long time and have always been at least relatively disappointed with what I've gotten. Now, at last, I have a place to order from over and over again. Everything was great and the hot and sour soup might just be the best I've ever had. read more

OK, so after reading a number of gushing reviews I thought maybe I'd finally, FINALLY found a good Chinese place in my neighborhood. So I gave it a shot one night a few months ago. I got a won ton soup and a chicken entree; I don't remember which one, but it was mentioned as being good in the reviews. First, the won tons in the soup had shrimp *gag*! I hate shrimp! My fault, I should have asked, no penalty there. But then my chicken entree was very bland and uninspired. It wasn't bad, just had nothing to set it apart or make me order it again or even remember what it was. A couple months passed and I tried again with a different dish. Sesame chicken this time. It had a decent flavor but was swimming in sauce, which meant the breaded chicken was a total sog-fest. So hoping that the third time was a charm (and lacking in quick dinner options) one night I tried hot & sour soup and chicken chow mein. This was the best of the three. I ordered a small soup (which would easily have passed for a large soup at most restaurants) and a large entree. There was a ton of food, and I got two meals out of it--for about $11. (For the record, portion size wasn't an issue for any of the previous meals either). The soup was tasty...definitely hot. The chicken dish had big slices of good quality chicken and lots of veggies & sauce. The chow mein noodles themselves were nothing special, but when combined with the chicken & veggies they lent a pleasing crunch to the meal. Now, the flavor wasn't amazing or anything. I had to add soy sauce & hot sauce, but once I did it really hit the spot. Speaking of hot sauce, one thing to note is that unlike most Asian restaurants I've encountered, Mon Lung charges for hot sauce. I'm generally too cheap to pay a restaurant for a condiment! Fortunately, I had a fresh jar of cock sauce in the fridge, and everything turned out OK. But my quest for truly good Chinese in my area continues. P.S. Yes, there were cops eating here all three times I went in to pick up my food. I've never dined in so can't address the service. read more

The food and service were HORRIBLE. My chop suey tasted like dirty dishwater. You'd have better luck with Chinese food in Jewel's freezer section, which happens to be a block away. read more

After two visits, I feel confident giving this place a four. The dumplings? Fried, and delicious. Different than you'd necessarily expect, with an excellent sauce. The smoothie? I had pineapple, and it was clearly made with fresh fruit and a LOT of sugar. Again, delicious. Boba. Wonton soup? Huge portions, many wontons. Very good. The first time I walked by this place, a guy walked out, told me, "this is the best Chinese in [Ukrainian Village]. Come inside." I didn't then, but I did later, and I did not regret it one bit. Seriously though. This is the best Chinese in Ukrainian Village. Come on in. read more

Mon Lung is a great restaurant cursed with a bad name. Seriously, it took me months to cross the threshold just because I couldn't see the word 'lung' and think 'tasty.' I regret waiting so long. This is a great Chinese restaurant, the kind we're lucky to have in the neighborhood. The space is more clean and spare than plush and inviting; but I think that's because the owners focus more on the food than the decor. Their menu is a combination of Americanized Chinese food and more authentic dishes that you usually only see in Chinese neighborhoods. My go-to dish is the Chinese broccoli with beef; but everything I've ever had here was fresh and perfectly cooked. Don't let the name discourage you. Go. Eat. read more

I'm still on a search for good greasy chinese food. You know--the typical chinese take out in New York. I suppose I should give Mon Lung another shot, but if you're reading this and you thought "sesame beef sounds good" or "sweet and sour pork sounds good"..no, get something else. The sweet and sour sauce is good. That with white rice is good. In hindsight, I'm pretty sure I only ate the pork because I was so hungry and didn't want to eat the beef. When asked if the beef could be cooked a bit more than usual (a strange request from the other half), they said "sure but that means the sauce is on the side". What we ended up getting was something that looked like sweet and sour beef, but instead of the sweet and sour sauce, it was the sesame sauce--very odd. read more

This is the best Chinese-American food you can get in Chicago. There's a time and a place for Chinatown (or the Furama), but this is the perfect Friday/Saturday "chinese takeout" fix. I love the chow fun -- the wide fat noodles. read more

Mon Lung is my go-to Chinese place. Their orange chicken is delicious - and unique. A bit more actual orange and some pepper than typical orange chicken. I like to order it sauce on the side. Great crab rangoon, fried rice... Don't usually deviate from these three but haven't been disappointed when I have. All inexpensive price point, too. Closed Mondays. read more

So the Chinese spot we usually order from work was horrible so we thought we would try something a little different. First off, lunch specials at most Chinese spots seem to be pretty bad anywhere you go. You usually get a stale tasting egg roll, generic form of some type of goey rubbery meat in pretty much a sugary or salty sauce. Tons of oil, tons of msg. And let me tell you this place is not any different. Like many spots in this area, the fried rice is bland. Not much else to say. Better then New China, but that's not saying much read more

Mon Lung - Mon lung orange chicken lunch special - Chinese Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Why 5? Because it's the closest Chinese joint near me. And its pretty dern good. I like the "house" fried rice which is basically everything in it friend rice. I take it home and it will feed me for a few meals. Can't go wrong for Under $7. read more

I love Mon Lung! My boyfriend lives next door and we decided to go one rainy night. I have to say I was kinda sceptical bc it 's sorta a hole in the wall kinda place which is always hit or miss when it comes to Chinese food. Well honestly it was one of the best restaurants I have been to in a while. The experience was just enjoyable. It is a very small quite place. The lighting is just right, not too bright or stark white but not too dim. There is a tv on which just kinda makes you feel like you are eating at home. The owner was sitting at a table next to us reading and doing bills. It just felt homey and comfortable. In regards to the food I had the shrimp lo main which was good. It was not the more typical long spaghetti noodles but rather ramen like noodles which made it a lighter dish. We had the sesame chicken which was good and the pot stickers which were great. The pot sticker portion was huge which makes it great if you are sharing with a few people. Honestly I can't wait to go back. read more

There's nothing exceptionally remarkable about the food at Mon Lung. I've had better but, this is not the worst. Very middle of the road. The rice which normally is very fluffy at most Chinese restaurants as I wonder why mine doesn't come out so perfect. Mon Lung's was like my rice, just Ok, not fluffy. This place does not deliver which is a drawback if you don't feel like going out to get it. So, I will go along with most Yelpers here and say that Mon Lung is just average Chinese fare. read more

Only tried this place once but I'll definitely be back for more. I agree with some of the other reviewers that you have to compare this place for what it is, a Chinese-American takeout restaurant. I ordered a small shrimp with lobster sauce and a small sweet and sour chicken which came to less than $12.00 There were about 8 shrimp that were really fresh and more than enough for a meal for one. I didn't love the sweet and sour chicken, as I don't particularly love that dish (I was envision orange chicken when I ordered sweet and sour) but it was good as far as sweet and sour goes. It wasn't as syrupy sweet as others I've had which I thought made it better. Also, the chicken was lightly battered and fried and was quality moist chicken. If you can get past having to pick it up, it's definitely worth a try! read more

First time ordering from this place, also used delivery through POSTMATES because they don't deliver. They ordered the wrong items, I asked for dinners and they ordered dishes then I still was missing an order of rice and when I called the place the guy told me they aren't responsible that I should contact POSTMATES. Even if they ordered dishes instead of lunch specials I was still missing an order of rice and he said she couldn't help me. read more

Very rude. I don't think you want to know what's going on that kitchen. I fell very bad after eating it. Never ever again. Be careful!!

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