Chinalite: Great Neighborhood Chinese

We just got back from a few days away in North Carolina visiting Win’s family. It was a fun visit, and as always, we had the chance to sample some really delicious food in our travels. I’ll save the reviews of some Carolina cuisine for the next couple days though. Tonight I want to talk about a great place for Chinese food in Chicago.

Chinalite is an excellent Chinese restaurant. It’s gotten terrific reviews from WGN, the Chicago Sun-Times, and the Chicago Reader and I can absolutely see why. The food is consistently high quality, delicious, nicely presented and reasonably priced.

We’ve ordered takeout from Chinalite on numerous occasions and have always found their delivery service to be friendly, efficient, and accurate. Tonight, back from a trip and with nothing too exciting in the refrigerator, we decided to dine in at Chinalite and check out the in-person dining experience.

Our waiter was terrific and he made sure we always had everything we needed. Chinalite seems to do a bustling takeout business, so I always pictured their interior as a very basic Chinese place…perhaps more of a storefront to service their takeout customers than a beautiful dining room. Chinalite’s dining room is quite spacious, attractive, and welcoming, however, and we enjoyed the peaceful atmosphere.



We ordered Hot and Sour Soup to start. The hot and sour is so delicious at Chinalite. Warm, spicy and full of all the unique ingredients that make hot and sour such a treasure. I love their hot and sour soup.



After our soup, we selected Shrimp with Lobster Sauce, which is shrimp stir fried in a black bean sauce with egg. This was served with broccoli. We also chose Governor’s Chicken, also known as General Tso’s Chicken. A fairly common dish, this is slices of chicken breast glazed in a ginger and garlic tomato sauce with baby corn, carrots, and green peppers.

Both dishes were outstanding. Fresh tastes, bold flavors, and generous portions.

While Chinalite is basically just a neighborhood Chinese restaurant, it’s worth a visit for its delicious, high-quality food, efficient and friendly service and good value. It's also worth noting that you can download coupons from their web site and place takeout orders online...a helpful convenience.

Chinalite
3457 N. Southport
Chicago, IL
USA
Telephone: 773-244-0300
Web Site: http://www.chinalite2go.com

OK, so I guess it’s time to make the shopping list to get the refrigerator restocked for the week. Back to cooking tomorrow…

Next time At Our Table: Sumptuous Southern Treats