When I was younger, I would take a trip to the city of Chicago every summer. Sometimes, we would go to Millennium Park, other days, the Field Museum. However, since COVID-19 hit, I haven’t been back since last summer. This time when I went, we decided to take a trip to Chinatown. In all honesty, there aren’t a ton of activities or tourist-y attractions, so naturally, the only thing left to do is to eat. I’ve visited Chinatown 3 times in the past 6 months, eating at many different kinds of restaurants, and many different kinds of food. Below, I have documented my top 5 restaurants/eateries that I have visited:

1. Mango mango 

Now, normally, people wouldn’t really consider this food food, but I have a sweet tooth so I would definitely consider this to at least be a sweet treat at the very least. Mango Mango is a restaurant that serves a variety of foods and drinks, from teas to waffles. Their classic desserts are the frozen desserts with ice cream and a variety of toppings. The most popular ice cream is their mango (hence the name) which is topped with sago, fresh fruit, boba, or any other topping that is included within their menu description. Both times I went, I was NOT disappointed. Each of their fruity desserts or drinks are made with real fruit, so I would consider it to be a healthy dessert. The only downside to Mango Mango is how busy it can get and how hard it is to find a seat during the busy hours. I mean, I guess this just demonstrates how good Mango Mango is then.

2. Kajiken

Prices: reasonable. Food: delicious. Kajiken is a Japanese restaurant that specializes in noodles, specifically soba noodles. This restaurant seemed relatively newer and it was clean and renovated. The restaurant isn’t too crowded since it’s in an area with multiple other, more popular restaurants. The soba noodles I ordered were delicious, full of the flavor and the noodles cooked perfectly, not too hard and not too mushy either. Prices were also extremely reasonable for being in the center of Chinatown, so if you’re looking for some soba noodles or ramen, this is the place to go.

3. Qing Xiang Yuan Dumplings

In all honesty, this restaurant was a bit disappointing. Still very good quality food, yet the price just wasn’t worth the wait, or the food. The restaurant is a decent size, yet when we entered, it was completely packed- and it wasn’t even peak lunch hours. We were given a 30 minute wait, and so naturally, with there being that many customers, we thought that this restaurant would have the best dumplings I’ve ever tasted. Yet when we were finally able to sit down, order, and eat, the dumplings were mid. Don’t get me wrong, they were delicious, but nothing special that would make it worth the wait. The price of the dumplings was also unreasonable. I mean, if you’re willing to wait and pay for overpriced dumplings, I would definitely recommend it, but if you’re looking for something cheaper, there are definitely other hidden gems around the city.

4. Feida Bakery

I visited this bakery so that I could have a small snack, so I wasn’t expecting anything mind blowing or world changing. Feida Bakery is a tiny, family owned bakery hidden within the streets of Chinatown. They only take cash, yet everything they sell is extremely cheap and definitely worth the price. We were able to get a barbecue pork bun as well as an egg tart for the price of $3, no tax, cash. I will say that the food wasn’t the best, but it definitely wasn’t bad, and it was the perfect snack that I needed for a cheap price.

5. Ume Tea

Being completely honest, the only reason I tried Ume Tea was because it became popular on TikTok. They had a unique touch to their cafe in which you were able to order a small plushie with your drink. It would come in the same cup as your drink in a small cupboard like area on the bottom of your drink. The tea was just average, so the price really wasn’t worth it because they marked the prices up extremely high. The plushie was cute but wasn’t worth the hype. Good experience, but probably would not go again.

Overall, I have loved my experiences in Chinatown- especially the food. In the future, I hope to continue expanding my knowledge of the best places in Chinatown to eat at a reasonable price.