It's funny how we become our parents as we get older. After two days of vacation, we started to crave Asian food. So where do you go to find the best food of your people? Chinatown!
Chicago's Chinatown is located just below south loop. We started our tour with Chinatown Square Plaza, which is a neat pedestrian-only area filled with restaurants and shops. We arrived by Uber super early so it was pretty quiet with only a few places open.
For breakfast, we decided to get dim sum! There are a handful of dim sum restaurants in Chinatown but we went to MingHin Cuisine, which has six other locations around Chicago. The restaurant was quite modern and pretty spacious.
Since we were only ordering for two, we stuck with the classics. Shrimp dumplings ($6.95), sui mai ($6.95), deep fried taro puff ($6.35), and shrimp crepe ($6.95). The shrimp were pretty large and bouncy and overall, the taste was solid. Not the best dim sum I've had, but I would say it's above average.
Almost directly across from MingHin was TE'AMO Boba Bar. They're a local bubble tea shop with several locations. Their packaging and branding is super cute. All of the drinks are sealed in pop bottles complete with a functional tab. We got their strawberry lemonade ($5.95) which came layered in a beautiful ombre. The drink was really sweet and lightly fizzy. Wish we could've adjusted the sugar level.
We walked further down to explore the rest of Chinatown. This spanned several blocks with more restaurants and shops.
Chinatown is always a great place to pick up cheap souvenirs. I'm a magnet collector myself. The kitschier, the better.
After finishing up in Chinatown, we took an Uber over to explore River North. This view is specifically from DuSable Bridge.
One of the activities that I was most excited to do was an architecture river tour! Chicago is known as the birthplace of modern architecture. The skyscrapers are so diverse and the history behind them is immense.
There are a few river cruises you can take, but we went with Wendella Tours. Cruises run every half hour or so, and you can choose between 45 or 90 minute rides. During our time slot, we got to go on the 90-minute lake and river architecture tour.
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The cruise also took us out onto Lake Michigan where we got amazing views of the Chicago skyline. But we were not prepared for how cold and windy it was. They don't call it the windy city for nothing! We had to go down to the lower deck cabin to warm up a few times.
After the river cruise was finished, we began walking down Michigan Ave, also known as Magnificent Mile. We were lucky to be in town when tulips were in bloom! Every year, Chicago plants tens of thousands of tulip bulbs down Michigan Ave. The result is spectacular.
We popped into the Starbucks Reserve Roastery, the largest Starbucks in the world! The Starbucks is 5 stories tall and each floor has a different concept. The main coffee bar, a bakery & cafe, an experiential coffee bar, a cocktail bar, and a roof terrace.
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For lunch, we had to hit up Portillo's! A name synonymous with Chicago, they're known for their Chicago-style hot dogs, Italian beef sandwiches, and homemade chocolate cake (which you can also get blended into a milkshake). Although locals will tell you there are better places to go, Portillos is a good one-stop shop for tourists to try all the classics.
LT got the regular Portillo's beef hot dog ($3.99). A Chicago-style dog includes mustard, relish, celery salt, chopped onions, sliced tomatoes, a kosher pickle, and sport peppers, all on a steamed poppy seed bun. Absolutely no ketchup allowed. Seriously, you might get kicked out. Truthfully, I'm a closet picky eater and couldn't fathom eating so many of my least favourite ingredients in one hot dog. So I passed on trying this.
Instead, I ordered a regular Italian beef ($7.39), extra gravy. An Italian beef is thin slices of roast beef served on a French roll. The sandwich is usually dunked whole into au jus, so the bread just soaks up all the flavour. It's usually topped with giardiniera or sweet peppers, but I went a little sacrilegious and got grilled onions (+$0.50) on top. To be fair, the cashier mentioned that she tried it with grilled onions the day before and loved it.
Opening up the sandwich was quite a messy experience. Be sure to have lots of napkins and hand sanitizer ready. I didn't have high expectations but it was actually really good! The sandwich was loaded with soft, tender beef. It wasn't too salty and the grilled onions added a nice sweetness.
Next on our itinerary was Trader Joes! No trip to the states is complete without a Trader Joes run. We must have hit the after work rush because it was super busy. I swear we walked down every aisle twice just to make sure we didn't miss anything. Somehow I walked out spending $107. Trader Joes is good for the soul, but dangerous for the wallet.
We rested back at the hotel for a couple of hours before it was time for our dinner reservation. Another restaurant just a couple minutes from our hotel was Aba. The restaurant is located on the third floor, which means it has its own rooftop patio. We stayed inside the dining room which was equally, if not more, gorgeous with live trees and fairy lights. Aba, which means father in Hebrew, serves Mediterranean food with influences from Israel, Lebanon, Turkey, and Greece.
Aba boasts nine different hummus and spread options, served with housemade pita bread. It was such a hard decision but we went for the crispy short rib hummus ($17.95). The hummus itself is really creamy and smooth. The crispy pieces of short rib were great and the beef jus made everything really savoury. We also loved the pita bread. So warm and pillowy soft. They sprinkle the pita with a magical spice blend that reminded us strangely of pizza. Make sure to ask for seconds (it's unlimited!).
For our main, we got the grilled chicken kebab ($18.95). Served with basmati rice, sweet peppers, and zhoug, an herby, spicy cilantro sauce. This was fine, nothing out of the ordinary. The chicken was not dry but not super juicy either. The rice was also quite dill-forward.
On the side, we ordered the brussels sprouts ($13.95). The best sprout is a crispy one, and these were amazing. They sprinkle almond and cashew dukkah (blend of nuts, seeds, and spices) over top as well as a drizzle of harissa honey. A perfect blend of salty and sweet. These were super addicting. I would take these over fries any day.
I can never pass up creme brulee, and Aba puts their own twist on it by making a creme brulee pie ($11.95). The texture is definitely a bit more stiff than a regular creme brulee but the signature sugar crackle and custard flavour still come through. The strawberry-rhubarb syrup was delicious and a great accompaniment.
We walked back to the hotel, stomachs full and hearts happy.
- CT
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