Champon (menu says "chow ma mein") This is what you get here. That's the exceptional dish. jja-jang-myun is ok. sweet and sour pork - good, but more bready than it should be. spiced fried chicken wings (kan-poong-kee) - skip it. very heavy on the gochujang. servers will try to teach you Spanish lol. A bit odd, but quite friendly. Cash only! Or Zelle. In 2023. Well then! read more

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A hidden gem in an unexpected area! This was my first time at a jjajangmyeon restaurant in Chicago. As soon as you walk in, there's a sign that says CASH OR ZELLE ONLY. The inside is decorated with a bunch of trinkets and Chinese decorations, and there's a lot of seating. It wasn't busy when I was here so service was fast. The staff are friendly and nice! There were two ladies that spoke Korean, both were so sweet. The food is also very reasonably priced. The menu has a lot of different options - with Chinese and Korean-Chinese dishes. My friend and I both ordered the jjajangmyeon and shared the kkanpoong shrimp. The jjajangmyeon was good - a generous amount of vegetables and pork in the jjajang. I wasn't a fan of the kkanpoong shrimp sauce, but it was very well fried. Their kimchi was pretty good! It was really nice to find this jjajangmyeon restaurant in Chicago. Given the reviews, it seems that there are many others to try out here. I'll definitely be back to try their jjamppong! read more

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Food was worth the wait! It was a busy night so it took some time to get seated, but everything we ordered was delicious.

My love and I recently had lunch at Peking Mandarin, a Chinese-Korean (or is it now Korean-Chinese?) restaurant located two blocks west of the Kimball Brown Line stop. We came to eat on Sunday at 11AM, and we were the first customers that day. They were doing fairly brisk business on this late Sunday morning, with a decent number of dine-in customers and some take-out action as well. Note that they are cash only and they also take Zelle, so bring your dollars if you want to eat. They have two dining rooms, with the main one featuring booths and a diner-style counter with seats, and the second room with tables and chairs. The old-school interiors are festooned with colorful Asian-style artwork and decorations. We have eaten appetizers before at Peking Mandarin (crunchy crab Rangoon and pot stickers) but this was our first full meal here. I enjoyed a large platter of spicy-sweet-saucy wings, which were accompanied by white rice. I ordered the wings "medium" and they were closer to mild, which was fine with me. The wings were crispy, and the sauce was tasty. Even my love liked the wings, and she does not do spicy. She enjoyed her dish of shrimp fried rice, and we both had leftovers. We also had a pot of tea, glasses of water, and fortune cookies. Service was prompt and efficient. read more

As a Great Seas loyalist, I've never actually gone to Peking Mandarin for the many years I was around Albany Park. But I am super glad I finally had the chance to try it! Up front, this place is cash only or through zelle. Service can be a bit slow on refilling water, but they are very quick on getting you your food once you order. The inside looks like a pretty typical Chinese takeout spot, but as a lot of the Chinese spots in Albany Park, they're actually Korean owned so you'll see a lot of Chinese-Korean mixed dishes. Ok onto the food... Spiced Fried Chicken Wings - The lollipop wings were solid and had a nice sweet touch to it, but I think I prefer the ones at Great Seas a bit more since they're a bit spicier. 3 Seafood Chow Ma Mein (jjamppong) - This was great. A good mix of seafood, noodles were cooked perfectly, nice spice to it! Cha Chiang Mein (jajangmyeon) - I prefer Chinese style janangmyeon, but as far as Korean style goes, this was very solid. Definitely veryyy saucy. If you get this as takeout would honestly recommend saving the leftover sauce and mixing it with some noodles you have to extend the fun. Mongolian Beef - Solid! Nothing exceptional, but good sauce/flavors. Maybe a bit on the saltier side, but perfect to eat over some rice. Sweet and Sour Pork (tangsuyuk) - Probably my fav dish of the night. We probably should've asked for sauce on the side, but really this dish is amazing when served fresh. The batter they have with the chicken works perfectly and the sauce really brings it over the top. Definitely a must try if you visit. Overall, really solid! I believe the total was just under $80 so pretty reasonably priced for how big the portions were. Would definitely recommend checking it out during your next Albany Park tour! Definitely gives Great Seas a run for their money! read more

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Food was delicious, but the entrees were mislabeled, causing us some difficulties. Otherwise, we were pleased with the meal, and would consider ordering from there again. read more

This joint has been around for many many years and I just realized I never wrote a review. We come here when we're in need of jjajangmyun and tangsooyook. The crab rangoons were jam packed w cream cheese and crab flava. The tangsooyook came out piping hot and yummy. The jjajangmyun was also tasty. Heads up, they only take cash and zelle! read more

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It's hard to find restaurants that have Cha Chiang Mein. I've been craving it from my childhood, and this was a decent one. I didn't like the meat, and it was a bit saltier than I liked, but the noodles were bouncy and good portion. The Spiced Fried Chicken Wings were a tad sweet, but they had a little Smokey char. I've tried many Homestyle Bean Curd dishes, but they were never what I wanted. The Stewed Bean Curd was the closest to what I've been looking for- plenty of veggies and great quality. Complimentary radishes and kimchi were a nice surprise. read more

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Not as good as Great Seas or Great Beijing... The sauce for the lollipop chicken was weird. We didn't like it. The chicken drums were also kinda small The sweet and sauce pork was better but my husband thought it was too sweet. There were some chewy pieces of pork too. read more

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I loved my seafood soup with noodles! I even found some scallops! A great meal on a cold winter day. read more

Peking Mandarin - 3 Seafood Soup - Chinese Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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What a delicious place! It's so unassuming but the food is legit. We got jajangmeon, sweet and sour pork ) classic pairing! and also the chicken wings. so yummy! Note that they are cash only or Zelle.. read more

This is a Korean Chinese restaurant that serves good JJamppong and Jajangmyun. This is not standard Chinese food, but Korean Chinese fusion. Their spicy seafood soup is flavorful and delicious. Family operated business, might be slow in service but worth the wait. read more

Peking Mandarin - Jjampong - spicy seafood noodle soup - Chinese Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Food: 3 star. Ambient: 3 star. Price and portion: 5 star. This is a Korean/Chinese American restaurant in a Albany neighborhood. The restaurant is family friendly and not the type of place you would bring your first date. At the first look of their menu, most of the dishes are Chinese American (ex: Mongolian beef) until our friend point out it's korean food with influence of Chinese food since the countries are adjacent. We end up ordering a seafood soup noodles, cold platter, sweet sour pork and lollipop chicken. What I can say is they definitely don't skim on the ingredients sand everything comes in really large portion. We therefore end up with lots of leftover. Price was very reasonable as well. So come hungry but not with too high of expectations for flavors is my advice. read more

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Chinese-influenced Korean food goes crazy, the classic dishes are jjambong (짬뽕), jjajangmyeon (짜장면), and sweet and sour crispy pork (tangsuyuk or 탕수육). If you are looking for this in Chicago, the place is here, Peking Mandarin Express. This place has the classic Chinese takeout dishes, but the real stars are the Korean dishes. I highly recommend trying the black bean noodles jjajangmyeon, I think it's on the menu as cha chiang mien, and also the jjambong, it's on the menu as spicy seafood noodles chow ma mien or something like that. If you've lived in Chicago and you still haven't made it to Lawrence Ave you're not doing it right!!! All those hidden gem lists pass over this amazing neighborhood, check out Albany park, north park, Irving park, for a multicultural food experience!!!! read more

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I absolutely love everything about this restaurant. The food plentiful and tasty. The staff is one top of their game. Run don't walk to this gem on Lawrence. We eat there twice a week quiet environment with family laughter. read more

Peking Mandarin has extremely large portions, so it's best to go as a group. They serve Korean Chinese food which is really its own thing, neither Korean nor Chinese. The employees here actually speak both. The food is nothing particularly special, but it hits the spot and is good value. Parking is bountiful as well. read more

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I'll try anything once (almost anything). I honestly felt like I was cheating on Great Sea's but after reading how it was so amazingly better than GS, I had to try it. It wasn't. Maybe I am bias but I was willing to try something new. I will say, what caught my eye was the pricing. It was about 10-15 cheaper so I had to see what it was about. Stuck with the classic crab Rangoon, black bean noodle and lollipop wings. The goon was just okay. Black bean was cold and lacked flavor. It was also a very small portion. You get what you pay for. I don't even want to discuss the wings. The previous Yelper who wrote it was better than GS since they changed ownership deserves to be slapped. How dare you. Lol. In all seriousness, the sauce was cold, it was not spicy (asked for spicy) and the chicken was not good. It's difficult not to compare the two since they are on the same street just opposite direction. No question it's their competition. All in all, everything looked better than it actually tasted. Sometimes you just have to stick with what you know! read more

At first was slightly disappointed as I had egg foo young on my brain and was craving it. Come to find out this is a Chinese/Korean restaurant, family owned for over 20 years, and I was blown away by the amazing service. The owners daughter told stories, as this restaurant was a hot point for movies with actors such as Vince Vaughn, she took time to be attentive and really make us feel at home. Tea is served before every meal....Had the egg rolls, Mongolian beef, sweet and sour chicken and combination fried rice. While I still have egg foo young on my mind, I was pleasantly it surprised, food was tasty and the ambiance was out of this world authentic, and totally old school. Not one thing has changed or been updated but only in the best of ways. A true classic. Thank you for the great experience!! read more

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Great wings and service! Definitely a great place to chill and server soup was amazing as well

very calm would recommend great customer service left very full clean bathroom fast service

What a gem in Chicago! Local, authentic Korean-Chinese fusion food. The go to place for jjajangmyeon (black bean noodle) and tangsooyuk (deep fried sweet and sour pork)! Their chicken wings are also phenomenal. Prices are super affordable and portions are generous. No frills ambiance and service. Hope this business stays around for a very long time ! read more

Peking Mandarin - All amazing. Jja jang myeon, pork tangsooyuk and Hot Bean Curd - Chinese Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Day 3 Chicago Trip: the weather was windy and rainy and I was somehow craving Korean Chinese food. Upon search, cane across this place and decided to check out based on high recommendation. This place is located in somewhat suburban community, but inside is very spacious. We got jjajangmyun and Nu-rung-ji soup (serves 2). The price first of all is very reasonable and portion size is enough to fill 2. The taste was authentic as well and delicious (tastes like old traditional style jjajangmyun). Overall enjoyed this place and recommend checking this place out when you crave Korean Chinese food! read more

Peking Mandarin - Jjajangmyun - Chinese Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

As a Chinese, I almost walked out when I first see the menu, I thought it will be an American Chinese restaurant again. But I'm soooo glad that I stayed. Everything is soooooo good. The three dishes we ordered are all fantastic, it was so good that I said at least 20 times "sooooo good", "oh my god", "I love it" during the meal. The Three Seafood Chow Ma Mein(without noodle) is my favorite, taste very fresh and clean at the same time flavorful. Sweet and Spicy Fried Chicken wing is my boyfriend's favorite, a little bit smoky flavor, crunchy outside, tender inside. Cha Chiang Mein is very good too, we both liked it, even a person like me who don't like noodle will keep eat it. The crowd is very diverse, I believe you will find the dish you like no matter what food culture you have. read more

Peking Mandarin - Three Seafood Chow Ma Mein/ Cha Chiangmai Mein/ Sweet and Spicy Fried Chicken - Chinese Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Order, on July 19, 2015mthe following: Pot stickers which were over fried and content was well mostly veggie little pork; egg rolls, again over fried; and the entrée Cha Chain Mein (pork onion, zucchini and black bean sauce which was salty, no zucchini, few pieces of pork and lots and lots onions. This was very poor and probably so because it was a delivery...Shame on them!! read more

This rating is for one thing only: Spicy noodle soup or Jjampong. The best in Chicagoland. Same cook still in the kitchen since they opened back in early 80s... read more

Peking Mandarin - Chinese Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Takeaway: Great hidden gem, hole-in-the-wall restaurant with huge portions and fair prices - my favorite Chinese-Korean spot in Chicago! Context: Dined in for dinner with a few friends. What I Got: Mongolian Beef (7/10) A pretty standard-tasting Mongolian Beef you might find at a Chinese-American restaurant (basically slices of beef sauteed with scallions, soy sauce, & sugar). Only major difference is that the texture of the beef has a lot more bite than a typical Mongolian Beef - where they go heavy on the corn starch to tenderize the beef. I don't really have a preference between the two so was nice trying something that felt a bit "natural" Sweet & Sour Pork (8/10) Highlight of the meal for me! Pork pieces in fried dough drenched in a sweet and sour sauce. I really enjoyed the texture of the pork - instead of a glutinous rice dough it seemed closer to something you might find on a pastry. Worked really well for me and stayed crispy throughout. The pork is tender and the sweet and sour sauce is nice and balanced. Black Bean Noodles (7.5/10) Personally, I've never been a big fan of this dish or any of the variations of it. If you haven't had it before, it's wheat noodles tossed in a thick fermented black bean sauce (savory and sweet) with pieces of cucumber, zucchini, onion, and pork mixed in. They do a good job of it here and the portion is quite substantial, but nothing about it really stood out to me. read more

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Finally, a place with jjajangmyun (짜장면) that's actually GOOD. We came here for lunch and got that plus the jjambbong (짬뽕). We skipped the tangsooyook (탕수육) in case we're wasting our stomach space on crap food. The side dishes were correct for jjajangmyun. Kimchi, onion, black bean paste, and pickled radish. The kimchi was fresh. Fresh like, it was cut right before the store opened fresh. That ain't right. So that gave me concern this was again, a miss. When the bowl came, it looked like it would be good, and going for the first few noodles, it became clear very quickly this was it. Would I say it's as good as what I'd expect to find in Korea? Probably not for top tier. But it was clear this is what I'd been looking for. The sauce took to the noodles nicely, and had the right mix-ins. It was an easy eat, and there's a lot of it. I did not have the jjambbong, but was told it's definitely more a Chinese flavor than a Korean style. The pricing is good too, not an expensive disaster like Han Mi Jeong or Ajumma's Apron. Being cash or Zelle only is probably what helps that happen. Also, the two owners appear to be Chinese and Korean, and able to speak four different languages in some capacity. That's pretty cool. If you need a jjajangmyun fix, this place is recommended. We will certainly be coming back, and checking out the tangsooyook as well next time. read more

I've been going to Peking Mandarin since I was a toddler -- this restaurant serves amazing food. Try their spicy chicken wings -- AMAZING! Their food is my comfort food, and I always order the chicken fried rice with the chicken and broccoli. They are cash or Zelle only. read more

Definitely my favorite Chinese restaurant in the area! The food was just so dang good and the presentation was surprisingly awesome too. The Mongolian Beef was fantastic and a must get. Love eating in the restaurant because the staff is great. read more

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Great food, huge portions, excellent service and that good old world ambiance. Gina in particular is extremely knowledgeable, friendly and courteous. Get in here, you won't be disappointed. Hint: try the spicy chicken wings! read more

Peking Mandarin has a special place in my heart because my parents have been getting Chinese-Korean food here ever since they were kids. This is really my go-to if I'm looking for some great Mongolian beef, Kung Pao Chicken, or Sweet and Sour Chicken. The workers are always so nice and the food is prepared very quickly. The food here is incredible and there hasn't been anything I've tried that I do not like. Other things: -There's plenty of seating available -Fair pricing -Street parking may be slightly difficult to find -Seriously, their mongolian beef is delicious -200% recommend read more

Peking Mandarin - Mongolian Beef - Chinese Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

This place has been a solid neighborhood staple since the 80s. The jjajangmyun and jjambbong are solid at a 4/5. I would say that thought the kkanpoongki used to be better, there are far better places nearby that doesn't douge the chicken lollipops in sauce rather than getting a savory batter and balanced sauce. The service is always slightly off here but I still think that it checks off all the boxes for a neighborhood Chinese-Korean place. read more

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Ordered the cashew chicken and a fire something shrimp dish and an order of egg rolls. All were not very good. Service was ok, not exceptional. I won't be returning. read more

I speak for myself and my experiences, the spicy noodle soup is why I visit From my youth to adulthood to this day. Hopeful of better changes for the restaurant as the area develops. read more

My new go-to place for jjajangmyun and sweet and sour pork! Parking is tricky in Albany Park in general but I was able to find metered parking on Lawrence without too much difficulty. Side note, they don't have delivery. read more

I love their sweet and sour chicken and kung pao. Granted the kun pao is really spicy but so tasty.

I've been coming to this restaurant since I was probably in grade school, and it hasn't changed a bit. The waitresses haven't changed either. They're able to speak Chinese and Korean. Pretty sure they can speak a bit of Spanish as well. Whenever our family want Chinese food, we order here. We ordered our regular Jjamppong (Seafood Noodle Soup), Sweet and Sour Pork, fried dumplings, Spiced Fried Chicken Wings, Sautéed Happy Family, and Black Bean Noodles. Everything came out within 10 minutes. The Spicy Fried Chicken Wings aren't actually wings. They're more drumsticks except where you normally place your fingers to hold the drumstick is just bone. It wasn't that spicy to me, but my mom said it was really spicy which is a bit unusual. I believe you can ask for it less spicy. I haven't been back in a few years because we just haven't been near by. However, everything tasted the same as I remember. I think I unconsciously compare all the Jjamppong to this restaurant's because I realized how much I enjoyed it that day. read more

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Excellent filler up Chinese food. Really a god send today after walking down Lawrence trying to find a place to eat Plenty of leftovers. Place was very busy so we had to do some flagging down to get boxes and check, but waitress was kind and appreciated that we paid in cash. read more

This restaurant has the best Mongolian Beef. Their Spicy Chicken wings are to die for. Save the sauce from the wings and use it on other things. I love cooking shrimp in it. read more

This is my go to place for Jajangmyeon and jjampong. I've tried these two dishes at other restaurants around the country but I keep coming back to this place for more. This corner restaurant has been a staple of the Albany Park community for many years and it is one of the hidden gems in Chicago. read more

Peking Mandarin - Seafood Jjampong - Chinese Near Me - Chicago, Illinois