Sun Wah BBQ

For seven years the image of ducks has been of those trolling Belmont Harbor looking for sandwich scraps, or the infamous Mr. and Mrs. Mallard of Robert McCloskey’s classic “Make Way for Ducklings”. That is no longer the case.

Included now, ducks, heads still attached, hanging in the window of Sun Wah BBQ on Broadway, followed by the duck brought to our table and carved masterfully into slices. Kate, having no qualms about animal consumption, immediately helped herself, piling the thick slices onto the bao, small buns for sandwiches. Kate loved the sauce, described as “a little bit sweet and a little bit not, but not at all spicy”. Both she and her father found the duck “phenomenal”, a bit crispy and with really great flavor. The duck remains were quickly removed to the kitchen and then rushed back to the table in the form of duck fried rice and duck soup, which Kate thought was “fantastic”.

Beyond the large duck, we ordered shrimp dumpling soup, mixed vegetables with tofu and pan fried noodles, and Mongolian beef. Mary, who is the soup lover, devoured her bowl of shrimp dumpling soup, and always is thrilled to find the “fancy” Chinese spoons which do, in fact, make soup eating so much more fun. She ate two helpings of the tofu and vegetables, sharing a morsel or two with me.

The “spinner” or lazy susan, was fun for the Taste Buds, who enjoyed spinning for their food. This family style presentation made it very easy for children to make their own choices, and help themselves to more when they found something especially tasty. The novelty of a duck being carved tableside was engaging for curious minds, even if some of the excitement was given to a crowded and busy Saturday night dining room.  Mary liked the waiter, and commented that he was patient, liked to smile, and didn’t talk too much. Agreed, dining with children on a busy Saturday night is made much easier with the help of a friendly, and smiley, patient waiter.

Call ahead if you would like the duck; orders can be placed when making reservations and the price, for the duck and all accoutrements, is $37.00. The duck, plus two entrees and one very large soup, was more than enough for the Taste Buds parents and their parents.

The large restaurant, just north of Argyle on Broadway, was a bustling place on Saturday night, even though our reservations were for 6:00. We were seated immediately which is very helpful when dining with children.  Kate’s final note, “dinner was awesome!”, sums up quite well the consensus of the group. Sun Wah is a great choice for families, even those with children not quite ready to explore tableside duck carving. The entire meal was excellent, well presented, and easy to sell to young epicureans.

Sun Wah BBQ
5039 N. Broadway
Chicago, IL 60640
www.sunwahbbq.com

Nha Hang Vietnam

Perhaps if was the spring like weather that drove the request, a light and refreshing dinner of Bun Kho and fruit smoothies, an almost perfect choice when the weather is warm. Or possibly two children, worn and dehydrated from a day of field trip'ing, knew that nothing refuels a depleted sodium supply like Vietnamese fish sauce; the request was for a trip to Argyle Street. Parents happily agreed, and we agreed to try a new place, Nha Hang Viet Nam, on the east end of Argyle, recently reviewed  Tasting Table.

Nha Hong sits in a tiny space on the corner of Argyle at Kenmore. The girls immediately took note of the bright and thoroughly decorated interior: Mary thought "the ambiance is fantastic, colorful and small" and Kate concurred, "very colorful". 

While the restaurant may be small, the menu is huge, a bit overwhelming for young children (and occasionally their mother). While our standard order in Vietnamese restaurants is Pho Noodle Soup, the warm weather, and a quest to try something new, necessitated a full review of the menu. We started with Goi Cuon Tom, a shrimp spring roll (#17), Cha Gio Chay,  a vegetarian egg roll (#21),  and Banh Hoi Ho Nuong Tom, a woven rice cake (#27).  Everything was good but the standout, for the Taste Buds, was the woven rice cake, which was really a "make your own spring roll" spread of deliciousness. Three components: one very large platter piled high with grilled shrimp, beef, lettuce, mint, rice vermicelli; one plate of the hard and very thin spring roll wrappers; and two tubs of warm water (non aesthetically pleasing to go containers used for water happily overlooked by a mother enthusiastically dipping wrappers for children), all combined to create a very interactive and tasty treat for the Taste Buds. The beauty is this, they can put whatever they want inside their spring roll; Mary opted for noodles, mint and shrimp  as Kate filled hers with everything available. A picky eater could dive in with noodles only and still get the experience of trying something new.

We shared three entrees: Co'm Chien Bo, beef fried rice (#129), Mi Xao Tom, crispy egg noodles with shrimp and vegetables (#136), and Hu Tieu Xao Chay, large pan fried rice noodles with tofu and vegetables (#153).  All three choices are very easy introductions to Vietnamese food: nothing spicy (although easily doctored by sharing parents prone to splashing Nuac Chom, spicy fish sauce, over their personal plate), nothing terribly scary looking and all available interchangeably with beef, chicken, tofu and shrimp, for individual preferences. The girls really enjoyed the crispy noodles although Kate felt that the broccoli was "overcooked" which I will amend to being slightly overcooked and fully doused in a very tasty and light sauce.  The only real miss here was the Co'm Vit Mam Gung, a steamed rice dish with duck and a ginger fish sauce (#116), ordered by the dad who wished he had stuck with his regular Pho, finding this bland, tough and boring.

Two strawberry smoothies, quite large, were slurped away with vigor. Mary found them "creamy, fresh and good" and can't wait to go back and try watermelon.  Adults please note Nha Hang is BYOB and there is a liquor store in the block to the west.

Hoping to end our Argyle evening with a stop at an Asian bakery, we walked west towards Broadway, finding that at 8:00 pm all bakeries had closed. Thankfully finding ice cream at Thai Pastry, just south of Argyle on Broadway, appeases even the most disappointed bakery hunter: red bean, mango, cotton candy, lychee; all given a thumbs up by the most discerning ice cream eaters, or, more accurately, children who really love all kinds of ice cream, even without Vietnamese fish sauce.