15 Cheap Eats We Love in Chicago's Chinatown
[Photographs: Nick Kindelsperger]
This one should have been easy. Of all the neighborhoods in Chicago, Chinatown should be the easiest place to track down great dishes under $10, right? I mean, isn't almost every dish a cheap eat? I figured that all I needed to do was recap my previous visits into one massive post and that would be it. But while most of the dishes I've written about in the area are undeniably affordable, a surprising number of them—including many of my absolute favorite—were over the limit.

See, most are platters meant for sharing, and I toyed with the idea of adjusting each for the actual serving size. But rules are rules, plus that plan sounded like a lot of work. Sticking under the $10 mark also helped narrow the list down to the truly cheap, and I think it is better for it. These are the dishes to look for if you are really looking for a bargain.
- Macau-Style Roast Pork at MingHin Cuisine ($8.95)
- Baked Egg Tarts at Cai ($3.50)
- Salt and Pepper Shrimp at "Little" Three Happiness ($6.95)
- Hot & Sour Seafood Soup at Go 4 Food ($7.95 for small)
- Laoganma Chili Paste with Beef at Snack Planet ($3.50)
- Barbecue Pork Bun at Chiu Quon Bakery ($.92)
- Spicy Braised Beef Broth at Hing Kee ($6.99)
- Xiao Long Bao (Soup Dumplings) at Lao Shanghai (8 for $5.95)
- Tony's Special Pot Stickers Lao Beijing ($5.95)
- Spicy Cabbage Sze Chuan Style at Lao Sze Chuan (Free)
- Jade Tofu at Lao Hunan ($5.95)
- Salt and Pepper Chicken Wings at Sweet Station ($5.95)
- Grilled Lamb Skewer ($2.00) and Fish Ball Skewer at ($2.00) Lao Ma La
- Salt Miner's Eggplant at Yan Bang Cai ($9.95)
- Cold Appetizer Combo at Lao Yunnan ($4.95 for three)
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