Sun Wah Restaurant - Chicago
Slinging Chinese barbecue--and so much more--for 24 years
Need a Friday-night date spot before heading out Uptown? Go to Sun Wah for the four-course Beijing duck feast.
An afternoon gathering of the extended family? Load the table with lacquered barbecued pork, tangles of lo mein, and black-bean- and garlic-covered clams.
An easy Tuesday-night dinner? A simple plate of gai lan (Chinese broccoli) studded with house-made bacon will do.
The 24-year-old family-run restaurant is as remarkable for its versatility as for how beloved its food is by the legions of North Siders who travel to Broadway and Argyle, instead of Chinatown, for Hong Kong-style barbecue.
Sun Wah sacrificed intimacy when it moved around the corner to its new location last year, but it gained an airy and expansive brick-walled dining room and a smart new kitchen, and kept its endearing habit of posting specials on paper plates.
On a recent visit, the gai lan (pictured; $11) was listed on a plate, its bacon shimmering and nearly translucent, with all the sweetness of a marinated spare rib. We paired it with thick chow fun noodles with slices of fried fish ($11), Mike's Chicken–a slick-skinned, flavorful bird that's roasted and fried–and a selection of Goose Island brews.
The result: a meal fit for any night.
Sun Wah BBQ, 5039 N. Broadway; 773-769-1254 or sunwahbbq.com