Ming Hin Cuisine

On a lunchtime visit to Chinatown with my son and his friend, I wanted to try a new place. So, I threw it out there on Facebook for reservations and another blogger, Alison with RosieDiscovers.com suggested a few spots and one was Ming Hin. Since she put "obviously!" after the name, I figured it must be a no-brainer and a well-known spot that I didn't know about yet. So, as we arrived and parked at the lot at Wentworth and Cermak, I put the address in my GPS and we walked the block or so to get there.

It's been a while since I've been to Chinatown - maybe 3 or 4 years and I'd only been there a handful of times, but somehow I did not even know that Chinatown Square existed. I've always parked in that same lot and hit the same spots - Three Happiness or Moon Palace on Cermak and a few shops and a bakery on Wentworth. I had never ventured over to Archer and was so surprised to see this complete two-story mall was right around the corner. 

We made our way to Ming Hin, 2168 S. Archer, to experience Dim Sum. It is so hard to decide from the many items available - all shown in pictures on the menu you receive. We narrowed it down - to eight items - for 3 people. :) 

For those not familiar with Dim Sum, it is from my understanding usually offered mainly at lunchtime and a quick meal and with small plates that allow you to taste several -- kind of like tapas for Chinese food. I've been to other restaurants where they have Dim Sum on carts that they roll around. You point to what you want, sometimes not really sure what you are getting because there aren't labels and the staff speak only Chinese. Since I don't speak a lick of Chinese, I was happy to have the Dim Sum for Dummies menu ;) - with pictures and descriptions in English. 

We tried a number of items - sesame buns, pork buns, sticky rice, a crab meat and seaweed deep fried roll that was amazing, beef noodles and rice and more. We were welcomed with tea when we first arrived and its nice to sip and wind down while you decide on what to try.

The atmosphere was clean, sleek and modern and although it was bustling at peak lunchtime still transported you to that feeling of tranquility that you often get when surrounded by bits of Chinese culture. 

We ended up bringing quite a few home. Some were hits, others not as much, but it's always fun to try new foods. And on a scale of 1 - 10, I got about a 3 for chop sticks skills. They are really lacking. I watched in amazement at an older Chinese couple sitting near us - she grabbed everything with her chop sticks with lightening speed. 

Should you find yourself in Chinatown, this place gets a big thumbs up for a speedy, yet leisurely lunch where you have the opportunity to try a number of different Chinese specialties. Most had 3 portions or more and they ranged from $3.50 to $5.50. So for all we had the bill was only $38.