VIP Restaurant

One of the best places to get Korean-​Chinese in the city. The sweet and sour beef or pork is fried to crispy perfection. In the mood for shrimp? They have the best gampong shrimp (sweet n spicy fried shrimp) around. The jajangmyun (black bean sauce noodles) is a classic and done well here.

We just moved to the area. We tried VIP. Will not go back. No crabmeat at ALL in crabrangoon. Garlic chicken was ok, not much flavor. Fried rice very bland with tough and chewy meat. No fortune cookies!!! Egg roll was bland. Won’t go back.

This place is amazing! 2^nd time here. Huge portions and authentic. So tasty. Staff is super nice. Clean, can’t say enough!

Think you can only get good Chinese food in China town, think again because VIP’s has the sweet and sour pork, Mongolian beef, and black bean noodles (Jjajangmyun aka Cha Chang) down to an art. These Korean/​Chinese noodles are even better than those at Great Seas, which is saying something. Soul warming noodles on a cold winter day is what I’m all about. I’m sure the other dishes there are scrumptious as well, but when I love a dish, it is hard for me to stray from it. Mongolian beef is an absolute must, you won’t regret it.

Words can’t explain how ridiculously good the sweet and sour chicken and beef is, beef fried rice is also phenomenal.

Definitely a tasty option in the neighborhood. I prefer it to the other spots just a bit north.
It seems cleaner, the quality seems superior and their execution is better.
Especially their Hot and Sour soup.
Looking forward to going back.

This review isn’t based on the food, which I will explain why. I always wanted to check this place out and order from them at another time, but I needed to stop in to just get an order of rice to go with some food I already purchased. «Why would you do that?» you ask. It’s too long an explanation, so let’s cut to the chase. I went it and asked for a large order of rice and was actually considering ordering another dish because that’s how I wok n’ roll.
The older woman behind the counter with a industrial-​sized rice cooker clearly behind her, said «we don’t sell white rice». I quipped, «You don’t sell white rice or you don’t have it?» To which she replied, «we don’t sell it». Very sternly I might add. I’m quite sure I don’t match the description of «vagrant», so I’m not sure why the cold reception, except that she really thought I was just buying rice and maybe they really don’t just sell it. Well alright, no reason to be a sour puss about it, just tell me nicely; after all, I am a potential repeat customer but they probably don’t factor that into their business equation.
So, in short, I couldn’t even get to ordering another dish because of the rudeness of the woman keeping me from even wanting to ever step back into the joint. Good luck with that business strategy VIP! Here’s one star for your eagerness to displease.

Black bean noodles, aka, ja jang myeong, or in this menu, cha chang.
Eversince my Korean friends introduced me to this Korean-​Chinese saucy comfort noodle and learning that the best place, Chang’s closed it’s doors, I decided to take the opportunity to stopby the next best spot I could « Unilocal», VIP.
Went with takeout ordering the half-​half, half black bean, half spicy seafood sauce. Both are really good and the noodles look like spaghetti, but has a nice chewier bite. I liked both sauces and wasn’t expecting to enjoy the seafood, I think I liked it more than the black bean and neither were spicy. It’s just perfectly fishy that the noodles were tasty. I also got what most people recommended, sweet and sour pork. Pork is unseasoned, very crunchy, not much meat and comes with a vinegar based sweet and sour sauce. Wasn’t a fan of those, but the portion is amazing and it looked like popcorn overflowing in a paperbag!
They do a great job of packing the whole thing and I walked out with 2 large bags of food carefully wrapped and evenly spaced out by cardboard cut outs containing rice, hot sauce, yellow pickled radish and cabbage kimchee. It’s a good deal of food. I would do the noodles again for a fairly mild and cheap fill up.

Mom and pop restaurant, pretty cheap food but taste is just OK. Service is really slow since they don’t have many ppl working. BYOB with liquor store down the street. I had the half and half jiajiang mein and jjam bbong bowl for $ 7. Overall for the price it’s not bad and it fills you up, but the taste was bland/​just average. It came with kimchee cabbage, the japanese yellow radish slices and raw white onions with a dipping sauce. The sweet and sour pork was NOT good at all. The pork itself was fried ok/​crispy, but the sauce was terrible (greyish yellow color, chunky and not sweet or sour). My dad can make this 10x better with his eyes closed. I wouldn’t mind eating here again for the noodles, but definitely not worth the drive up north.

Had pork tangsuyuk, jjampong, and jengban jjajangmyun. Tangsuyuk was alright and so was jjampong. However I won’t call it great. I always had jjampong at ilpumhyang, Chang’s Chinese Restaurant. The owner had to close the store due to her old age and I try different places that can substitute this place. So far Chef Ping and Chinahouse seems best to me.
On the other hand, jengban jjajangmyun was below average. I tasted sesame oil in the jjajangmyun and it wasn’t good at all. I like sesame oil, but in jjajangmyun? No thanks. It kind of tasted like jjapagheti, korean jjajangmyun instant noodle.
It’s not terrible, just decent. However, I wouldn’t come back.
My recommendation of tangsuyuk, jjampong, and jjajangmyun as of now:
Tangsuyuk: Chinahouse, empire szechwans
Jjajangmyun: Chinahouse
Jjampong: This kind of varies. If you want seafood heavy one, chef ping. If regular korean styled one, Chinahouse.
I must say if you’re trying chef ping, also try pang pang chicken. (Pahng-​pang chicken)

I love Korean-​Chinese food in general. My grandparents owned one of these restaurants in Korea. Since moving to Chicago last month from NYC, I have been looking for a good place to get my cravings for tangsooyuk settled. After seeing all the great reviews, I decided to give it a try.
I ordered Tangsooyuk and Ganpoongki.
First Tangsooyuk. It was… disappointing. It was dry and overly breaded. The key of tangsooyuk is to be crispy on the outside and juicy in the inside. I did not even get to finish the dish.
Ganpoongki (spicy chicken wings) were actually pretty good. I strongly recommend it if you decided to go, and want something sweet/​spicy.

Tried this place out on a walk recently. The entrance was a bit confusing (maybe I was weak with hunger and a bit stupid? IDK), but once I was in, everything was great. The dining area was pretty, if a bit dated, but I don’t tend to choose restaurants for the aesthetic; I go for the food. And the food was excellent.
I had the jjajangmyeon (Cha Chang Mien) and what was called sweet and sour chicken. Both were great and had fairly large portions. Jjajangmyeon is fairly hard to get in the area, and it was what I specifically went for. Happily, it was excellent and I’ll definitely be going back.

Not sure how this gem flew under my radar especially since I live less than a mile away. But the food here is absolutely wonderful. I chose the fried beef dumplings and the half and half (cham pong cha and chang mein). Both were excellent. Looking forward to going back and trying more delicious treats from VIP.

The food is really good at VIP. I had the crab rangoon and orange chicken.

Very disappointed with the burned egg rolls, the Shrimp chop suey was really bad. The Food was insulting and so was the price.

VIP has the best Jajangmyun and Jjambong in the city of Chicago, comparable to only Chef Ping’s in my opinion (but that’s in the suburbs). But DON’T order the regular Jajangmyun and/​or regular Jjambong but get the Gan jajangmyun and ask for the Jjambong with more seafood (trust me they are better).
But if you want to get the half and half with Ganjajangmyun and ‘Jjambong with more seafood’, then you have to have another person also order it, because unlike for the regular Jajangmyun and regular Jjambong they don’t make half portions of the Gan jajangmyun and ‘Jjambong with more seafood’.
And if you are up for it, get the Pork Tangsooyuk (sweet and sour pork) with the meal. My friend from Korea said it was the closest Tangsooyuk he tried in Chicago that tasted like Korea.

Ok, Ok… so ignore the fact that there is no music inside. And get ready to tackle an onslaught of noodles and sweet and sour pork. (But really, it feels like eating in an Asian library from the 90’s. A delicious library.)
Have you ever had the feeling of indecision that burns from the inner realms of your soul? Or do you hate deciding on ketchup or catsup?
Well, VIP has the noodle remedy.
The half and half bowl provides the best of both worlds:
Jjambbong (spicy seafood noodle soup) and
Jjajjangmyung (black bean noodles)
Split within one unified bowl — like battling nations coming to a beautiful truce.
:NOODLES:
But both noodles have great chewiness and I reqeust my jjambbong a little spicier than the norm. The broth is always well layered with spices and has almost an innate creaminess from the richness and heat.
The jjajjangmyung sauce gathers the flavor of bean, beef, and the finely chopped vegetables and is thick enough to coat the noodles well without being too dry.
:SWEET & SOUR PORK (or BEEF):
A traditional recipe with a solid mix of vegetables and crispy deep fried pork slathered with sweet and sour sauce. Having the pork crispy and producing that satisfying crunch when biting into it is the key. Anything less would be uncivilized.
The Mongolian beef and other dishes seem solid too, but if it is your first time I would NOT pass up the half and half.
And since the majority of Chicagoland’s quality ‘Chinese/​Korean fusion’ restaurants reside in the suburbs, this is a much appreciated establishment.

I didn’t even realize that this place existed. I am shamed, given my love of 1) eating 2) Chinese Korean food.
And yes, I’m a fan. The tangsooyook and the jjajangmyun are both very good, particularly the former. We opted for the beef tangsooyook (korean style sweet n’ sour) this time, and the batter was so perfectly crisp without being overly greasy, the sweet n’ sour sauce wasn’t overwhelmingly sweet like it tends to be at other places. Everything about it made me want more.
The inside of this place is definitely cleaner with newer furniture than some of the other Chinese Korean joints in the area. I’ll definitely be heading back here again to try the wonders of the jjajangpong and kangpong saewoh (sweet and spicy fried shrimp).

I came here with am group of friends on a Wednesday night. I’m going to tell you straight up, there is a grocery store 2 blocks away in case you forget to bring alcohol since it’s BYOB! You’re welcome.
We ordered black bean noodles, seafood noodles, appetizer of fried shrimp and another of fried beef. The black bean noodles were alright. I’m not a particular fan of them anyways, but the boy seemed to like it. I liked my seafood noodles and they were decently spicy. Thank you!
The restaurant is quiet. I mean, we were whispering because we didn’t want to disturb the other two tables. But as soon as they left, volume up! There was no music playing and as a matter of fact, the chef was watching something on his laptop after our food was served. Very laid-​back. The waitress didn’t really understand English and we don’t speak Spanish, so that was a bit awkward.
Overall, I just tried this place because the boy wanted it. I haven’t tried any other place for black bean noodles or seafood noodles, so I can’t compare it to anything else. Very average.

This is a Korean-​Chinese restaurant, and this place is known for their ggangpoongi and their tangsooyook. Their ggangpoongi is the Korean-​Chinese version of a Kung Pao Chicken; the wings are nicely fried, and their sauce is thick and savory; the leftover spicy sauce can be smeared over your white rice to chow down (this can be a hit-​or-​miss). Their beef tangsooyook is basically your battered Sweet & Sour Beef — it’s battered, and don’t forget to ask the sweet & sour sauce separately as a side (with the veggies and the fruits) — having it topped off will make the beef soggy. It comes with a soy sauce/​vinegar mixture that you dip in after scooping some of that sweet sauce. Parking can be a pain, but you can try squeezing in the residential areas off of Montrose.
+tangsooyook (get sauce on the side)