Love= Any place that can produce Peking Duck without an hour wait. Let's do some math now. If the above is true then; Love=Moon Palace I'm in heaven really. It's the only Chinese food that I ever really crave and it's so hard to find (without the hour long wait). Moon Palace is perfect for my craving and serving up Peking Duck in a flash. Also, they have some YUMMY hot'n'sour soup. read more

I love Moon Palace... This is the perfect place to take out of town visitors, or just go with your friends... They have good food and a bar for drinks. They seem to get a good mix of people, local Chinese people, tourists, workers on break, etc. They have "dinner for 4" "dinner for 5" etc etc., so that's a good way to feed everyone without paying a buttload and also you end up getting things you might not otherwise try. If you don't want the family style dining you can also just order whatever entrees you want. They are also very accomodating to substitute items if you want something added to certain dishes, etc. read more

How is it that no one has talked about their black pepper scallops?? I was craving black pepper scallops and the only place I had it before was at Ben Pao (and at restaurants at U of I). However, I wanted to try it at other places too so the bf and I started our quest by looking at online menus for it. Surprisingly, a lot of restaurants we saw didn't carry scallops until we saw Moon Palace's menu. The scallops are soo good! I love scallops since they don't have much of a flavor alone but when paired with a great sauce, they are just delicious and Moon Palace's succeeded. The funny thing is that we've ordered carry out from there twice so far and the black pepper scallops were different. Both were very good but the first one had the crispy noodles while the second didn't and it had a little bit of veggies and more sauce. Very interesting. I wonder what I'll get the next time I order this dish. We also tried the potstickers, xiao long bao, hot and sour soup and mushu pork. Potstickers and xiao long baos were decent but I agree that it is kind of odd to call them xiao long bao when there's barely any soup in them. Just think of them as dumplings and enjoy. Mushu pork wasn't bad but nothing special to me. They really do need to give more wraps like someone else said. And I was glad I got to try their hot and sour soup but I think New Chinatown's is still better. I felt like the soup was missing something...but I couldn't put my finger on what. read more

A great Chinatown staple. My family and I have been coming here since it opened and the food is always good, consistent, satisfying.

This is a nice restaurant in the heart of china town. The drinks and food are great. I have been here several times and they accept reservations from open table. They aren't too crowded when I have been and the servers seem attentive. They have this old candy bowel in the front where you check in that throws me off. The decor is basic and the washrooms are clean. They have a 2.00 parking lot where they will validate for. read more

Pot stickers were great. Need to be patient because they're really understaffed but they're very grateful for the business. Moo shoo pork was also spectacular read more

Moon Palace is one of the few places I have been consistently going to, and enjoying over the past 23 years, btw I am 30, Moon Palace has never declined in the quality and tastiness of the food. Whoever I have ever brought to this place, whether from chi or out of town, always wants to come back and there is one major reason behind this: The steamed dumplings. When I walk inside Moon Palace, the waitresses see me and order 2 orders of steamed dumplings for me before i can say hello. They know how much I love it, and so does everyone else that knows me lol. Anyhow the dumplings are a must, they give you 10 per order they come in a tin tray served over cabbage, and the dumpling is always perfect, pork is basically what comes in the dumpling but you can also get it with shrimp, and the sauce that is in that dumpling is pure crack, and chances are that you WILL be hooked once you eat one, unless your a vegetarian. I have searched at countless other chinese, szechwan, and mandarin restaurants, in cities across the U.S. including NY and S.F., none have compared or even come close, and i find myself always disappointed when i bother trying to find a replacement. Sizzling rice soup, made at the table, also very good, but can be very filling so beware So you've already ate the dumplings and/or soup, now on to the main course, I have always loved the shrimp chow fun, which is wide rice noodles on top of sauteed shrimp with water chestnuts and broccoli, the sauce they use is incredibly tasty, and compliments the dish so damn well, its plain and simple awesome, and very filling. The orange beef, while a bit spicy is also very good, again the sauce is just awesome, makes everything ive had at moon palace taste great. Cashew chicken, while it sounds regular dish type, is also one of the best I have found, tons of chicken, huge portion, water chestnuts and cashews, oh and again huge portions, throughout. Also i don't particularily like kung pao chicken but many have told me it is the best they've had Mongolian beef, is another dish you cant go wrong with, though also a cliche dish, the texture of the beef is very soft and tender, and the sauce is sweet and extremely tasty Expect to leave very full always, with a party of 2 generally spending under $35-40, if you over order you will probably feel like you over ordered and will be taking things home, but I will be willing to bet you wont be disappointed. They have a full bar, Tsing Tao being my favorite beer to drink there, they also have very tasty mixed drinks including pina colada's, mai tai's and other strong drinks as well. Expect to spend about an hour or less there, they are quick but not too quick, and usually moderately busy. Very friendly Chinese family owned sit-down restaurant. A must go in Chinatown, despite anywhere else you have already gone in Chinatown, nothing compares. Enjoy read more

This restaurant is conveniently located near the main parking lot so its easy to get to. The restaurant does validate parking good for 3 hours. Make sure you get the validation to save some money. The dining room isn't huge with approximately 15-20 tables. The decor is modern and clean which isn't always the case with Chinatown restaurants. The servers were nice but when the restaurant is packed, they get overwhelmed and can't seem to keep up. Overall the service was decent, not great. As for the food, appetizers were good. We had hot and sour soup, xiao long bao, and shanghai spring rolls. There are two menus. One in English with your typical entrees and a Chinese menu. We ordered a few entrees from the English menu which included salt and pepper pork chops & fish fillet with peapod sprouts. Both were good. Overall ok service and ok food. read more

Food was not as good as I once remembered :(. The xiaolongbao and fried buns were not juicy at all. And the Liang mian huang was way too salty. It was thanksgiving day so maybe their chef was gone. Hopefully next time it will be better. read more

Had the soup dumplings, steamed prawns and gai lan with oyster sauce (Chinese Broccoli)all were great. Staff was friendly and helpful . Restaurant looked nice plus a full bar I'm sure I'll be back read more

This place is good! One of the vendors that my company works with ordered food from Moon Palace Restaurant while we were at their studio, and it was delicious! We shared an order of their pork pot stickers, and they were really good. Like some of the other reviewers said, they were huge and juicy and awesome. Highly recommend! For my meal, I decided to stay on the safe side and ordered the orange chicken, which came with white rice. Also very tasty. The flavors were spot on, and they gave you a lot of chicken. Definitely recommend! read more

We came here looking for Xiao Long Bao! This restaurant is very Americanized Chinese food, so if you know that coming in, then you'll be alright. We didn't know that, and as a result were a little disappointed. Customer service is very good here, however. But their Xiao Long Bao was a disappointment--no soup inside the dumplings (most of them were torn/popped, but even the ones that were not popped had no soup); the meat itself was tough and dry. I probably won't return here. read more

I had a stomache ache after eating here, and it's probably due to MSG in the food. Pretty good if you can hold it down! Better than the average Chinese food in the burbs but blekh! read more

I went on a date to Moon Palace last night and it was good! My date swore by the place as a favorite in Chinatown. Not only was this my first time in Chinatown, but one of my first real Chinese food adventures since moving to Chicago. Once we walked in, we sat at a table in the sparsely full dining room. There weren't many people there, which was promising to better service. Drink: Glass of Red wine and a blush. Nothing special on taste here, however the first glass of Red wine had some syrup on the inside of the glass as well as a hair. Ew. Food: ---Crab and Pork Dumplings = HEAVEN!!! Beyond perfect ---Shrimp & Scallops with Hot Garlic Sauce = Great! On the spicy side for sure, but the scallops were cooked perfect --Fried Rice with Chicken = Sodium Overload. There was way too much soy sauce in this, but once I got past that, I was good. The pieces of chicken could have been bigger as well. All-In-All it was a good experience. I know the place has great reviews, so I will definitely be giving this place another shot! read more

I had a gift certificate here (barely honored though it had no expiration on it) and finally made it, a different atomosphere than most of the places in the area since it has more of a traditional abstract Western art sunny decor and is completely populated (when I went on a Saturday night) by non-Chinese. I'm not saying that's a problem, just unusual for the other places I have been in Chinatown. The service was quickly in/out with minimal verbiage, effective but somewhat on the cold side. Most of the food was quite good and according to my Asian-ish friends authentic, one dish I simply could not tolerate (picked chicken) so I stuck with the friend chicken and tofu/seafood. More than filling, too much food for 3 people with 3 dishes for ~$50. read more

Love this place. I rarely get down to Chinatown, but when I do, we always go to Moon Palace! As other reviewers have said, it's probably not the 'best' place in Chinatown, there's lots of competition, naturally. I'm ok with that, I'm a creature of habit, and this is our go-to. It's very clean, the staff is friendly and the service is prompt. I'll def be checking out other reviewers' suggestions for other places, but I do really enjoy Moon Palace's food. We went for lunch today, ordered sweet and sour chicken (my go-to, honestly not the best though. May skip next time) sesame chicken, really tasty, it's served on these little puffy white crunchy noodles I adore, chilled edamame (green with every meal!) and chicken fried rice (my dining companion's go-to). I didn't care for the fried rice, it tasted like old cooking oil :/ the sesame chicken was the clear winner here, the sauce was delicious...I almost asked them to scrape it into my carry out with my white rice! One item we didn't get this time was the golden rice soup. It's is delicious, and I highly recommend it in the cooler months, and if you have a cold! It's like Chinese chicken noodle, has that same warming/comfortable effect :) read more

+ : affordable, quality food, abundant portions - : slow and inattentive service moon palace is good food and it's conveniently located right by the el. the waitress was a little "hands-off" with our party, and was having a bit of an issue with getting our order right, but ultimately i would say it was a deal. the 3rd star is for the entree, rice and soup, all in generous amounts, for $6. read more

Holy crap! How did I not know about you when I lived less than 2 miles away? I thank my boss for demanding the office join her for her birthday lunch within your quaint but classic walls. I will cherish the memory of sitting around your lazy susan enjoying your crisp salt and pepper fish, your luscious pot stickers, and dear god, your perfect shrimp dumpling soup. I think I may love you, I think I may love you a lot. read more

I've never had orange chicken quite like this. Its crispy without heavy breading. Flavorful with just enough sauce. You can actually tell by the taste and texture that it's actual chicken. Take that McD's cardboard all white meat! The service is meh but the real gem is the FOOD! read more

We came here for only one reason the soup dumplings. Since soup dumplings are scorching hot and a little difficult for a 4 year old to eat we ordered him some Shanghai style BBQ pork, he loved it. I tasted a little and the sauce had good flavor with a little bit of sweetness. These soup dumpling are little meatier than, I am used to, however, the pork inside was excellent. Where they fall short for me was the lack of broth. There was only a little bit of broth in each dumpling and some of the broth was leaking from some of the dumplings. What broth you did get did taste good, they just need to do a better job keeping the broth inside the dumpling. A big knock off on this place, for the little Buddha beer they charge $6.95 absolutely ridiculous. read more

We really had a nice time at this place. The soup dumplings were delicious and two dishes really knocker it out of the park, the soft shell crab and the shrimp and Scallops with hot garlic sauce. I loved the shredded ginger on the table and the service was very friendly and spot on. My daughter also had a zombie drink that was very well made. We will be returning to this spot especially because it is a short walk from the red line and the main parking lot for Chinatown. read more

This place was mentioned in a Chicago magazine and was a Michelin recommended restaurant, and so the bf and his parents and I visited to see what the fuss was about. They are very friendly here, but one thing I did notice was that no matter how much Chinese I spoke they would always respond to me in English, which made me somewhat uncomfortable. Am I not speaking Chinese well enough for you to converse with me in it? Do I look funny? Anyway, the food itself was pretty good. The dumplings I have to say were probably the best part of the meal. We got potstickers and the steamed variety and the filling inside was just plain tasty. The skin was thick, which I usually do not like, but this time it gave it a good texture and chew. The potstickers were better than the steamed, but then of course they're fried, oil makes everything better. And they followed that line of reasoning to the end. We also ordered the sauteed peasprouts, the chicken nest, and the shredded pork with onion. Everything was greasy to the nines - way greasier than I'm used to. Thankfully we had some tea to cut through the fat, but it was pretty greasy overall. The pea sprouts were "old" and was not the tender variety, which just means that it requires more chewing and is kind of more like chewing on grass. But the flavor was good. The pork with onion was very tasty, authentic, but it was SUPER oily. And the chicken nest had some great flavor; although it was greasy it tasted slightly healthier than the pork since it was just a leaner type of meat. They finish the meal by giving you fortune cookies and almond cookies. The prices are decent but more expensive than I would like to pay for at a place like this. Next time I will be trying some spicy dishes! read more

This was my first visit to Moon Palace in many years. We were a party of seven for lunch today, all Chinese except for me. Oh, what a treat was in store for me! My DP is Hong Kong Chinese and I have had the pleasure of eating Chinese all over the world, in some truly fine restaurants. I would have to say that, based on today's meal, this is as good as I have had any where else in the world. You should know that Moon Palace is not the place to order your Cantonese usuals. This is a place to go for Shanghainese food. If you're not familiar with the difference, I suggest you take a look at their website before you go. You also might want to talk to the host or hostess or ask for the owner and talk things over before ordering. They can be a good guide for non-Chinese customers and can make sure that you get the right level of spiciness. I won't recommend any particular dishes here; you know what you like and don't like, so talk it over with the host and place your order with confidence. I don't think you'll be disappointed. I understand that the place had a bad fire last year (they are right next door to a fire station, so that was convenient!), and they have done a wonderful job of remodeling. In fact, theirs is one of the nicest places in Chinatown now. The spent some big bucks, and it shows. Service was good for us, but maybe that was because one of my group knows the owners. From reading some of the other reviews here, it seems as if service is sometimes an issue. If you're not getting the service you need, maybe you should ask to speak to the manager. I suspect if you are nice about it, they will do their best to make your meal a good experience. Parking is always an issue in Chinatown. However, Moon Palace is only about half a block from the public parking lot on the corner of Cermak and Wentworth and they will discount your parking for you--just give them your parking receipt. read more

This used to be my favorite restaurant to get soup dumplings, sweet and sour soup, and noodles. I used to faithfully go on a bi monthly basis. However... I finally went after their much expected reopening after renovation. The restaurant looks classy and expensive. Dark wood and fancy tiles everywhere. We order sweet and sour soup, noodles, and, for the first time, peking duck. I asked the waitress several times BEFORE i order the duck to make sure that it is made the day of and wrapped in steamed buns. She assured me of both and placed our order. the soup was SUPER sour. The noodles were SUPER salty, and the duck was super dry and OLD. It was hands down the WORST peking duck, or any duck, that I have ever had. it was dry and jerky, without an ounce of fat anywhere, AND it came with chinese tortilla wraps that were obviously frozen then microwaved. I was in shock and I asked the waitress why the duck was so dry and if it was really made that day. She said that ALL AMERICAN ducks are dry, and if i had juicy peking duck, it must have been in China. I replied that I had excellent duck in Phoenix, and she didn't have anything to say. Then I overheard her talking to the owner, who said loudly that "of course the duck is dry, because the meat sucked up all the fat." The fact was, the duck was days old and kept in the fridge, then microwaved quickly before served. No complimentary dessert, no waive charges for horrible duck. As a duck lover, this is the worst duck and worst attitude/lies I encountered at any restaurant. I will never return to the restaurant for anything. They have lost a faithful customer. read more

OVERPRICED, OVERPRICED, OVERPRICED. SO I WENT here tonight and got an order of beef fried rice for $9.50 when i could've went across the street to 3 happiness and got the same container with double the tender beef and taste for $6.50. I also ordered chicken and chinese broccoli which was extremely bland and small. Guess how much that ish was, $12. Talk about wtf. Im pissed and angry at this highway robbery i experienced tonight. I will be sticking to my norm, the lovely 3happiness across the street. Btw, you should too read more

Moon Palace Express - $12 for this small ass container - Shanghainese Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

See all

Anniversary lunch! Food was very good. The egg rolls rocked and the sweet and sour sauce was like no other. My husband was not impressed with his kungpow chicken but my guess is this was the closest traditional Chinese restaurant he has ever eaten in! Lol it was good and I would go back read more

Horrible experience. I was the first customer in on a Friday at 11:30 am. The food was lukewarm, and obviously left over from the day before. The service was virtually non-existant, and when you did get a chance to ask for something you got an attitude. I watched in amazement as one of their regulars felt as though the food was not a chicken dish, and instead of apologizing and immediately offering a replacement, 3 employees argued with them. Needless to say, I won't be returning. read more

I could be nice and give this spot 3 stars...but I guess I'm just not that nice. I asked for some knives...The server came over and dropped each knife on our empty plates. If my dad was there to witness this, I'm sure he would have let her know she messed up. While dropping the 2nd knife down, she splilled my water....then she came back and dropped a napkin on top of it, to soak the water up and walked away. The mongolian beef was ok at best, the chow mein noodles were pretty burned and chunks of ginger small enough for us to miss yet large enough to bitch-slap my tastebuds everytime I'd bitten into a piece. YUCK! The pork fried rice was the best thing we'd ordered. I knew I should've braved the elements and walked to the secret spot!! read more

Pre-Covid this has been one of the best restaurants in Chicago. However, we have ordered take out a couple times in the past several months and what a disappointment. The prices are extremely high and the portions are smaller. The food is still good, but the staff struggles to get the orders correct. read more

When did Moon Palace start using MSG?! Don't get me wrong the food is still addictively good but as I was sitting there enjoying my spicy shredded beef I noticed a tingly sensation in my legs and a dull headache coming on. If you're not a fan make sure to request no MSG. Everything is really good though...hot and sour soup, crab rangoon, all your traditional American-Chinese food favorites. Bonus you get a fortune cookie AND an almond cookie with your check. The place is still one of the nicest most American-style Chinese restaurants in Chinatown. If you're new to the area and a little apprehensive with trying some of the other more traditional restaurants than Moon Palace is the right choice for you. read more

I used to love this place but it has been gradually going downhill. I had to edit my original review based on my experiences in the last year. The food was consistently above average but has recently been greasy. I can;t say the same for the orange chicken or beef, it is still the BEST in the city (that I've tried). The eggrolls are great and the shrimp toast is perfect with their house mustard. My wife swears by the cashew chicken and I have no complaints. I love going with friends and discovering new dishes. read more

I experienced what could have been an average to good Chinese restaurant with nice atmosphere, moderately high prices on dinner items, and pretty good service. However, I encountered THREE very BAD food QUALITY issues the day I went! Moon Palace does NOT at ALL live up to the 2 Star Rating Chicago Magazine gave it. If you're curious about checking it out because of that, and expecting that level or excellence, you may wish to save your self a trip that perhaps shall disappoint you. I did not see many Chinese people in there, and I guess there may be a reason for that. The service is not refined per se, but it is very friendly, shows great effort, and is just very diligent and timely. Drinks are always refilled quickly and dirty empty plates disappear like lightening. Most dishes were nice and soups and appetizers were at a reasonable price point. Dinners were definitely higher priced than most Chinatown restaurants. They just were not better. The clams in black bean sauce tasted very far from fresh, and they were a huge disappointment. The clams were also overloaded with what appeared to be too much ground pork in the sauce. The Hunan fish recipe was delicious but even under the mask of what was a nice recipe, the fish quality did not seem good enough, and I occasionally detected an older fishy taste when eating the dish... maybe there was also quite a bit of MSG / Sodium to hide the not so fresh fish taste I detected at times? You also need to watch out for the Pot Stickers. They were served a little too soft and thick, with too much grease, oil, or fat oozing out to the plate, and that is not what I hoped for. If that is what I wanted, I would order xiao long bao or soup dumplings. Also, the meat in the pot stickers were not prepared carefully enough, as I tasted hard strange objects while I chewed them (that scares me about the meat quality inside). That was really gross... If I lived close, I would perhaps go and try some other lunch specials, but it is hard to justify a special trip to the area just for that restaurant. On the weekend, lunch for 2 can quickly set you back for $60 with tip, without any drinks. It was Ok in some ways, but simply not that good to justify the trip. read more

So we as a family made it down to China Town in Chicago, and the corner Dim Sum place on the second floor was closed (I guess indefinitely); Being a Firefighter, what do you do? Why go by the Fire Station and ask them where they go for good asian & dim sum... they recommended next door, the Moon Palace Restaurant. Sure enough they were spot on. Family of Five, they were very accommodating and the staff was very nice & friendly. We ordered many variations of their Dim Sum and also one order of Peking Duck with extra pancakes & sauce, to be shared among us. The tea was refreshing. They also validated our parking ticket. Definitely well advised by the Brothers. Another great spot to get to! Cheers! read more

I came here for dinner with my boyfriend this week because we got a deal from "groupon now" . I was a little skeptical about it at first, but we settled on this since we both couldn't think of another place to go. The decor is definitely on the fancier side compared to most restaurants in Chinatown. The dimmed lights and posh menu covers, added to the trendy feel. So anyway, we ordered the Singapore Chow Fun and the Fresh Squid with Salt and Pepper. I must admit, that the food was really tasty. The squid, especially, was just the right crunch and texture. Also, the portions were really large and filling. In the end, I'm glad we stumbled on this place. read more

I went to Moon Palace a few weeks ago to meet up with a friend I hadn't seen in over twenty years. I was very pleasantly surprised. I have had some really ugly experiences in China Town, there are a lot of really dirty restaurants with bad food. Moon Palace is not one of them. First of all let me say this place is CLEAN. This is not something that can be taken for granted in this part of town. The staff were friendly, there to take the orders when we were ready for food and drinks, didn't hover, came back when we needed them. The food was really good. Had the scallion pancakes that get mentioned a lot and they are note-worthy. The entrees were good, well made, well seasoned. The food at Moon is not the typical slap-dash found nearby. It is made with concern by people that know what they're doing. My only complaint was the bar and wine list are a little limited but I will say the server took the time to make several suggestions. I will most definitely go back. This is above average service and food in a part of town not exactly known for either. read more

The service was good. However, the food was not great. Everything we got was mediocre and didn't really have much taste to it. Disappointed that my little hometown "Chinatown" in the middle of nowhere was so much better than this read more

Hmmm. Nothing special. I did appreciate having a relatively sustained conversation with the waitress about their gluten free options. Despite that, we didn't get the jasmine tea we had ordered, my chicken with vegetables was ok, slightly over cooked and my husband's crispy duck was adequate. Again nothing outstanding. I'll go to Lao Sze Chuan next time. read more

Sonya that left a 1 star review. Thank you for posting your pictures with your review. It appears the owner may have a valid concern about your loss of taste/smell from covid. I have ordered the dishes pictured and it has looked like your pictures. I've never had bland Chinese food here .. and I've never had Chinese takeout from anywhere not have flavor smells when out of the bag and uncovered. I hope you are well. Ordering some Moon Palace .. will let you know if the food is not flavorful.. read more

I visited Moon Palace after a seven year hiatus (lived in San Francisco), and the food is the same, which is to say great! Well, let me be more specific, the crab and pork xiao long bao (XLB) (Shanghai soup dumplings) are great. I think the flavor in the dumpling is quite good, and the amount of soup is sufficient (could be soupier). The one shortcoming is the wrapper, which can be charitably described as "rustic" and less charitably described as "thick" and "doughy". BUT: each dumpling is on the large end of the scale, slightly larger than a golf ball, a "two bite" dumpling. So having a thick wrapper is necessary just because of the bulk of the filling. I have eaten a lot of XLB in Asia and the States, and these definitely have the right flavor. They are not the dainty, one bite perfection you will find elsewhere, but this is the Midwest, bigger is better. Also, one order of six dumplings is sufficient for a meal. I never remember this and always order another dish, with the end result that I take home 75% of said other dish. I am not a light eater by any stretch of the imagination. Finally, the regular XLB are fine, but spend the extra two bucks for the crab and pork versions. Money well spent. read more

I'm surprised that I haven't reviewed this restaurant after two holiday parties here over the years. It's your average Chinese restaurant with a small bar in back and about 10 tables or so. I've attended holiday parties here. Let's just say that they don't skimp on portions for their parties. The meal started with crab rangoon, bao, and hot and sour soup. That was just the appetizers. Then, came what felt like the whole side of a menu of other dishes ranging from Kung Pao Shrimp & Chicken, Sliced Beef Shanghai Style, Orange Chicken, Hot Plate Black Pepper Beef, Shredded Pork with String Beans, Shrimp with Asparagus, Salt & Pepper Squid Fried Rice Combination. It was a crazy amount of food. I ate about half of the choices hoping to keep within my points range for the meal. The dinner ended with almond cookies and fortune cookies. For a holiday party, you get a huge bang for your buck here with lots of food. The decor is basic, modern, and not outdated or anything. Overall, it's a solid choice for parties. read more