Summary- don’t waste your money or time. dumpling skin was too thick and dry, super long wait time & rude staff.We got the Pork & Chinese dumplings which is just one order. It took us 50 minute to get our order and we weren’t the only ones waiting. When asked about a time estimate, the employee just waved my receipt in my face. Once it hit 40 minutes, I started to pour some condiments into the to go containers and grab some chopsticks. That’s when she decided to finally cook our order.There are a ton of good dumpling places in Chinatown. Don’t go to this one.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 2
Service: 1
Celine Xiao
rude service for that old lady!
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Phil S.
02/21/23 - I stopped by @ 88 Marketplace today & grabbed a bite @ Dong Bei Ren Jai. I ordered pork dim sum w/hot chili oil dip (not very spicy). I needed something to curb my appetite. They were just ok nothing to get too excited about but they satiated my hunger
bixuanlin
Absolute best dumplings and bings in Chinatown! I’m northern Chinese and growing up my mom made dumplings and bings (both filling and dough) from scratch, but not as frequently as I liked because it’s a lot of work to do it right. The food here is the closest I’ve found from a restaurant that resembles what mom would make. It’s a bit of a wait to get your food because everything is cooked to order but it’s all worth it! So much tastier and higher quality than QXY. I moved from Chicago last year - this was my last meal before moving and the restaurant that I miss the most in the whole city.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
Amy L.
This place has some really great and authentic northeastern Chinese food! They have two locations one inside of 88 marketplace and another in the basement food court of the Richland center. They're both great but the one in the Richland center has my favorite item that the 88 marketplace doesn't have- the pork face flatbread. It is by far my favorite thing there it's so rich and comes with this delicious and umami sauce. I will say the portion sizes have decreased since I first went, but it's still tasty! Another items that's a must try that they have at both locations is the beef and scallion meat pie. It comes out piping hot and sooo incredibly juicy and delicious!
Mona Tong
Overall Thoughts: Located in Chinatown’s central Richland Center food hall, this spot serves up many wheat-based staples from Northern China. Overall, the food was decent and the owners are super sweet and friendly! I would love to come back to try their other menu items.Food I tried:- Spicy Beef Egg Pancake: It didn’t look as I expected, but it was quite good and flavorful! The outer pancake was thick and crispy (though could’ve had more flavor), and the inside contents featured a nice combination of different flavors and textures. It was hearty and filling. The beef was a little overcooked.- Boiled Pork and Chinese Cabbage Dumplings: These were not bad, but I wasn’t obsessed. I think they’d be better pan-fried or eaten with soup (you can ask them for a cup of the dumpling soup to eat it with!) The price is also a lot better than QXY next door though, and one of the more affordable dumpling options in Chicago’s Chinatown.—Price (relative to peers): 4.5/5Food: 4.3/5Ambience (food court): 4/5Overall Value: 4.3/5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Dennis W.
I was here shopping with family and decided to try out northern Chinese cuisine. The food was overall ok but not my favorite. Quality- the xiao long bao came out hot but a lot of them were already popped and the soup was outside of the bun which is unfortunate. The ones that didn't pop didn't have much soup in it. The siu mai were quite bland too. It had a lot of rice filling and the shrimp was very small. I prefer the traditional meat ones. Quantity - a decent amount came out for the price. It's definitely cheaper than most other dim Sum places in Chinatown. Atmosphere- nice food court area. Could be cleaner. Service- pretty fast.
Farah Y.
We got the scallion pancakes only and it took approximately 20 minutes of waiting for our order to be ready. They were pretty good, but it shouldn't have taken this long. It's a self checkout location so you order on a tablet, and what was absolutely crazy in my opinion was that they added a 'service fee' in the taxes section. For what?! All food they serve is to go, tables were absolutely disgusting, and the wait was ridiculous.
Mona T.
Overall Thoughts: Located in Chinatown's central Richland Center food hall, this spot serves up many wheat-based staples from Northern China. Overall, the food was decent and the owners are super sweet and friendly! I would love to come back to try their other menu items. Food I tried: - Spicy Beef Egg Pancake: It didn't look as I expected, but it was quite good and flavorful! The outer pancake was thick and crispy (though could've had more flavor), and the inside contents featured a nice combination of different flavors and textures. It was hearty and filling. The beef was a little overcooked. - Boiled Pork and Chinese Cabbage Dumplings: These were not bad, but I wasn't obsessed. I think they'd be better pan-fried or eaten with soup (you can ask them for a cup of the dumpling soup to eat it with!) The price is also a lot better than QXY next door though, and one of the more affordable dumpling options in Chicago's Chinatown. -- Price (relative to peers): 4.5/5 Food: 4.3/5 Ambience (food court): 4/5 Service: 5/5 Overall Value: 4.3/5
Love the food The service is fast and efficient. It's slightly like a street food stand but it taste amazing.
X Y
Called to place order for pickup and they answered and hung up the phone. I arrived in person and there was a lot of sneezing and face masks. Wouldn’t recommend ordering or eating here- even just for take out.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Qianyu G.
Honestly this is the worst dumplings I have ever eaten. All you taste is overpowering soy sauce - it's too salty to the point that you have a taste of bitterness in your mouth. The meat is not fresh because it tastes a bit sour and metallic - I suspect it was meat that had gone bad and they are trying to cover the rotten smell with soy sauce. The pancakes are slightly better but you can clearly taste the overpowering MSG. What baffles me the most is that it took them an hour to cook 3 plates of dumplings and 4 pancakes. Don't waste your money on this restaurant. I would give zero if I can.
MZ
Best dumplings in Chinatown!
Kevin Z.
These pork-filled dumplings were piping hot and delicious. The are filled with umami flavor, and you get 3 of them! Simply amazing.However, their youtiao was cold and not fresh. I think it's because we came near the afternoon, so they stopped making fresh ones.
Summary- don’t waste your money or time. dumpling skin was too thick and dry, super long wait time & rude staff.We got the Pork & Chinese dumplings which is just one order. It took us 50 minute to get our order and we weren’t the only ones waiting. When asked about a time estimate, the employee just waved my receipt in my face. Once it hit 40 minutes, I started to pour some condiments into the to go containers and grab some chopsticks. That’s when she decided to finally cook our order.There are a ton of good dumpling places in Chinatown. Don’t go to this one.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 2
Service: 1
rude service for that old lady!
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
02/21/23 - I stopped by @ 88 Marketplace today & grabbed a bite @ Dong Bei Ren Jai. I ordered pork dim sum w/hot chili oil dip (not very spicy). I needed something to curb my appetite. They were just ok nothing to get too excited about but they satiated my hunger
Absolute best dumplings and bings in Chinatown! I’m northern Chinese and growing up my mom made dumplings and bings (both filling and dough) from scratch, but not as frequently as I liked because it’s a lot of work to do it right. The food here is the closest I’ve found from a restaurant that resembles what mom would make. It’s a bit of a wait to get your food because everything is cooked to order but it’s all worth it! So much tastier and higher quality than QXY. I moved from Chicago last year - this was my last meal before moving and the restaurant that I miss the most in the whole city.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
This place has some really great and authentic northeastern Chinese food! They have two locations one inside of 88 marketplace and another in the basement food court of the Richland center. They're both great but the one in the Richland center has my favorite item that the 88 marketplace doesn't have- the pork face flatbread. It is by far my favorite thing there it's so rich and comes with this delicious and umami sauce. I will say the portion sizes have decreased since I first went, but it's still tasty! Another items that's a must try that they have at both locations is the beef and scallion meat pie. It comes out piping hot and sooo incredibly juicy and delicious!
Overall Thoughts: Located in Chinatown’s central Richland Center food hall, this spot serves up many wheat-based staples from Northern China. Overall, the food was decent and the owners are super sweet and friendly! I would love to come back to try their other menu items.Food I tried:- Spicy Beef Egg Pancake: It didn’t look as I expected, but it was quite good and flavorful! The outer pancake was thick and crispy (though could’ve had more flavor), and the inside contents featured a nice combination of different flavors and textures. It was hearty and filling. The beef was a little overcooked.- Boiled Pork and Chinese Cabbage Dumplings: These were not bad, but I wasn’t obsessed. I think they’d be better pan-fried or eaten with soup (you can ask them for a cup of the dumpling soup to eat it with!) The price is also a lot better than QXY next door though, and one of the more affordable dumpling options in Chicago’s Chinatown.—Price (relative to peers): 4.5/5Food: 4.3/5Ambience (food court): 4/5Overall Value: 4.3/5
Food: 4
Service: 5
I was here shopping with family and decided to try out northern Chinese cuisine. The food was overall ok but not my favorite. Quality- the xiao long bao came out hot but a lot of them were already popped and the soup was outside of the bun which is unfortunate. The ones that didn't pop didn't have much soup in it. The siu mai were quite bland too. It had a lot of rice filling and the shrimp was very small. I prefer the traditional meat ones. Quantity - a decent amount came out for the price. It's definitely cheaper than most other dim Sum places in Chinatown. Atmosphere- nice food court area. Could be cleaner. Service- pretty fast.
We got the scallion pancakes only and it took approximately 20 minutes of waiting for our order to be ready. They were pretty good, but it shouldn't have taken this long. It's a self checkout location so you order on a tablet, and what was absolutely crazy in my opinion was that they added a 'service fee' in the taxes section. For what?! All food they serve is to go, tables were absolutely disgusting, and the wait was ridiculous.
Overall Thoughts: Located in Chinatown's central Richland Center food hall, this spot serves up many wheat-based staples from Northern China. Overall, the food was decent and the owners are super sweet and friendly! I would love to come back to try their other menu items. Food I tried: - Spicy Beef Egg Pancake: It didn't look as I expected, but it was quite good and flavorful! The outer pancake was thick and crispy (though could've had more flavor), and the inside contents featured a nice combination of different flavors and textures. It was hearty and filling. The beef was a little overcooked. - Boiled Pork and Chinese Cabbage Dumplings: These were not bad, but I wasn't obsessed. I think they'd be better pan-fried or eaten with soup (you can ask them for a cup of the dumpling soup to eat it with!) The price is also a lot better than QXY next door though, and one of the more affordable dumpling options in Chicago's Chinatown. -- Price (relative to peers): 4.5/5 Food: 4.3/5 Ambience (food court): 4/5 Service: 5/5 Overall Value: 4.3/5
Food quality is bad.
Food: 1
Restaurantji Recommends
Love the food The service is fast and efficient. It's slightly like a street food stand but it taste amazing.
Called to place order for pickup and they answered and hung up the phone. I arrived in person and there was a lot of sneezing and face masks. Wouldn’t recommend ordering or eating here- even just for take out.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Honestly this is the worst dumplings I have ever eaten. All you taste is overpowering soy sauce - it's too salty to the point that you have a taste of bitterness in your mouth. The meat is not fresh because it tastes a bit sour and metallic - I suspect it was meat that had gone bad and they are trying to cover the rotten smell with soy sauce. The pancakes are slightly better but you can clearly taste the overpowering MSG. What baffles me the most is that it took them an hour to cook 3 plates of dumplings and 4 pancakes. Don't waste your money on this restaurant. I would give zero if I can.
Best dumplings in Chinatown!
These pork-filled dumplings were piping hot and delicious. The are filled with umami flavor, and you get 3 of them! Simply amazing.However, their youtiao was cold and not fresh. I think it's because we came near the afternoon, so they stopped making fresh ones.