Mccb Reviews

I didn't have a plan to go anywhere specific while exploring Chinatown. I saw a line forming outside of MCCB and thought it must be good if there was a line. And it was delicious! I asked the server what his favorite dishes were and he recommended the Dan Dan Noodles and the Spicy Potstickers. The best Dan Dan Noodles I have ever had! He even asked if I needed him to mix the noodles together since the sauce was on the bottom. That was amazing and so polite! This restaurant got a nod by Michelin also. And I can see why. SOOOO GOOD!

This BYOB mostly Sichuan but kind of Cantonese restaurant is fantastic. Highly recommend two different whole fish dishes - w/ Chinese Sour Pickle & w/ Spicy Szechuan Sauce. The spicy dumplings are also pretty great. If you're into funkier foods, the definitely give the white soup beef maws & tripe a try.

Amazing restaurant in Chinatown with simple modern decor. Host/Waiter extremely friendly and accommodating. Service in general off-the charts. We are used to ordering from american Phonese Chinese restaurants and needed real help ordering. Szechuan wontons and cucumbers were our 2 appetizers, hot and cold - perfect complements. Crispy Chicken and Dan Dan Noodles were my favorite. Wish we would have ordered an applewood charcoal grill dish - next time! Get on the L or a water taxi and get yourself there! Hot hot hot! If you're tongue is untrained talk to your waiter on what to order.

Good wok flavor, good potion size. Friendly staff and modern, this is not your fathers chinatown restaurant. Get the honey black pepper beef short rib, so tasty. At 6pm on Friday and there’s a line already.

So busy on the day we attend, we sing on the waiting list for an estimated time of 1 hr 1/2. But after 40 min we just get a table… “was so good since my nieces was hungry”. The weiter (he never introduce his self) no offer any suggestion or recommendation, he take our food orders but never ask for the drinks…. Probably he dosnt want to sell drinks. If you go on group keep on mind is a small spot with small tables and big plates! So, if you order to share tell the bring appetizers at the same time, main courses at the same time and so on. Otherwise you are going to have a “table on the plate”. Everything we order was really good taste, hot and good portions. It was our first time on Chinatown and MCCB we will go back for the food, but for the services it doesn’t look to be a Michelin award.

Noodles, Shrimp and cauliflower, spinach and garlic. We ordered too much and took quite a bit home. Nice generous servings. Next time I will get the shrimp and mango. It looked delicious and the cauliflower was difficult to manage. I needed a steak knife.

Delicious food with plenty of interesting Szechuan choices; good and reasonably-priced wine, modern/funky atmosphere (ie no red flocked wallpaper), friendly service. Every dish we ordered for a table of 5 was great. This restaurant is a wonderful find and we will try to return any time we’re in the area.

Found this on TripAdvisor Little very busy Chinatown restaurant. Many people in and out. We wated 20 min to get a table which was ok. The menu card was QR code. Had around 168 items 🥹. We ended up asking the waiter what he recommended. The dishes were shareable so we could taste a bit of everything. The calamari was very good 👍 some of the dishes was a bit similar but everything very tasteful with rich taste Only complaint was that is was very noisy but then the restaurant was also full Recommended

This is a must in Chinatown!!! The food is awesome so is the service. We got General Tso and Orange chicken and veggie lo mien and it was all so good and the portions are HUGE!!! 8 of us were sharing and we had leftovers we'll definitely be back

Great Szechuan food at a decent price. The space is a bit cozy but that didn't really bother us. The service was very good. We needed help removing some of the bones from the whole fish we ordered (it was our first time hahaha) and the server took utensils and helped. We ordered: Dan Dan Noodles: Pretty good, a little bit on the basic side. Dry Chii Chicken: Yum! I loved this dish and the after taste of the peppercorn was the icing on the cake Szechuan Whole Fish: Literally, a whole fish on a plate. Great taste, but be prepared to remove the all the bones as you eat

Chicago’s China town has many great options for Chinese food. MCCB is the best I’ve had yet. They had such an amazing authentic flavor & freshness of the food. The dumplings were the best I’ve ever had.

I enjoyed the Combination Chow Mein dish although I could not finish all the noodles. My spouse had the American Broccoli Chicken dish with lots of broccoli and chicken. Our grandson had the Stir Fried Lamb and his friend had Dry Chili Flank Steak smothered in hot red peppers. We all shared a Crispy Mini Crab Rangoon and a plate of Cheng Du Style Dumplings. All of the dishes were excellent and extremely filling. No wonder they are one of the most popular restaurants in Chinatown.

I requested adding less salt and numb spicy, but waiter replied they can not accommodate, this makes me wonder do they use pre-packed seasonings that can be either toxic or un-fresh? otherwise how request can't be met and food meant for slow cocking was served within 5 minutes??

Green beans with carrots and pork was excellent and tender. We ordered spicy and nice level of heat. American stir fry with beef and broccoli was excellent. Hot and sour soup was ok but not great. Too rich, not enough vinegar, not enough tofu and mushrooms. We rate that a 5/10. I had to put most of my rice in my soup to dilute it enough to eat it. So strong like sauce instead of soup. They need a new recipe. Rice came with main dishes.

We’ve been trying all the restaurants in Chinatown and MCCB is no exception to the great restaurants found here. All the locals gather here for the food, fast friendly service & lively atmosphere. I especially like their soups having ordered two for our table. I’m sure you’ll find your favorites here has well.

The szechuan dry hot pot was excellent. It's a build your own dish thing but the flavors are really strong. The pork with garlic sauce was a little lacking though. Not very much pork and the flavor was pretty muted. Everything else was overall good.

This is the second time I have been here and it was nothing short of amazing. By far the best I be had. Try the rib eye with honey black pepper. It will make your mother cry!

We really love spicy Sichuan food and this is one of our favorites in Chinatown Chicago. In fact, they were recently named to the 2019 Michelin Guide which is a great honor. The food here is simply delicious and authentic. I've traveled and worked in Asia and this is a place I want to eat at every day. I just want to warn you that you will defiantly find a crowd on the weekends, so make sure you set up a reservation. This location has been open for just a year and we've probably eaten here 7 times in the last 5 months and that's about 6 more times then any other restaurant in Chicago during that same time period. It takes a real special restaurant for us to actually return and MCCB has our culinary hearts. Our waiter Kevin is really amazing. His customer service is off the chart here. On the first time we dined here, Kevin recognized we were thirsty from all the spicy food. He stood there and refilled our glasses a second time and then went to get us a cold bottle of water for the table. I've never gotten that kind of attention from server plus he's literally working the whole packed restaurant. We also ordered 5 dishes and I asked Kevin to space them out in a certain order. They all came out in the order, as I requested them. This has never happen to us in Chinatown ever because other restaurants will literally send all your dishes at the same time. In fact, I've had the apps come after our entrees. MCCB just gets it. We started out with the dan dan noodles which is my favorite and they were just incredible. I first discovered them, while working in Asia, unfortunately my family now loves them too. Most places deliver a tiny bowl but this location serves a very hearty portion. I was able to share them with the family and still feel satisfied that I got my fill. The spice level was perfect with just the right about of minced pork on top and plenty of sauce at the bottom. Kevin always offers to toss the dish for me but now realizes I'm a pro. He's even remarked on my noodle tossing style. I also recommend the Cheng Du spicy dumplings in hot chili oil. These dumplings were out of control delicious. Imagine regular dumplings but now in a spicy sauce. My little one was not willing to share these with us but I was able to steal two on our first visit. The spice level was great too. I've really become a huge fan of these fantastic house made dumplings soaking in a spicy chili broth. When it comes to entrees I have two recommendations. The dry chili chicken is a staple at any Sichuan restaurant but the real question can the chef nail a perfect version of it? The chef here at MCCB totally can! I also recommend the spicy boiled flank steak. On our second visit my wife asked Kevin if we were missing any great dishes and he recommended this. Honestly I've never had anything like this. The flank steak is tender and moist. It almost melts in your mouth. I've never had flank steak taste so tender. We always take the leftovers of this dish home. We pour our rice and mix it into the spicy broth. The rice soaks up the broth and we enjoy a totally different dish the next day. I must talk a little more about the dry chili chicken. I loved that this dish was more then just dry red chilies. We spotted fresh green thai chilies sliced along with large garlic slices. Some restaurants do not add these and we loved having the extra additions here at MCCB. This dish is our jam and we have ordered it for every visit. We tried the honey black pepper chicken with white meat on our first visit. It was good but has been replaced by the spicy boiled flank steak in our rotation. This boiled flank steak will blow you away but you must like spicy. We are in love with this place. The service was really good and the food was so fantastic. If you spend over $50 then they give you a gift card for $6 off your next visit. We can not wait to come back here again and again. In fact, we've spent our last two birthdays here. The inside is very modern and the music is always jamming. They have records and CD's on the wall as well as a record player at the front counter. We feel like family here and can't wait to come back. Kevin is very good at what he does and we are always happy to see his face when we arrive. So if you are looking for a hidden gem in Chinatown, then this is the place. I also really love the layout of the menu which includes photos. They have done everything right here. I think we have actually become regulars. I can't say that about any other restaurant.

had the grilled fish here, which was very legit and tasty. they also gave a microwavable box for leftovers.

Very warm welcome, meals taken in the room located upstairs. The dishes parade and we find the flavors of China for those who have already been there. Helpful and available staff.

As soon as I walked in, the wall with the graffiti reminded me of the Sichuan restaurant I ate at in Beijing. The modern vibe was comfortable and the food was amazing-- the flavors are exquisite with the spice enhancing as opposed to overpowering the food. The place was busy and we were glad we made a reservation. The service was attentive, friendly, and prompt. The Mapo Tofu was delicious and flavorful, the spicy garlic eggplant exquisite without being too heavily sauced, and the elbow soup mellow and warming. I can't wait to return to try more dishes. The excellent quality and array of flavors along with the serving sizes (larger than most Chinese restaurants that are this good) provided an excellent value. Highly recommended.

MCCB (which stands for Modern China Cook Book), is one more addition to the high level, authentic Sichuan restaurants in Chinatown. I wish a genuine Hunan restaurant would open. Lao Hunan’s loss has not been replaced. But MCCB is first rate. And there are fine non spicy dishes too. We had a delicately flavored cilantro and tofu soup, with fish fillets added. The broth was lovely, the fish perfectly cooked. The beef and maw appetizer, tingly from peppers and peppercorns, was also superb. Mongolian beef featured beef more tender than the usual, and the sauce was delicate rather than heavy. And the ma la mussels, redolent with peppercorns and generously sized mussels was the best dish of all. A large and varied menu, absolutely terrific service, and prices only a touch above the cheapest in Chinatown, round out the picture. One complaint only: Music that is too loud. They did turn it down when we asked, but before we left it seemed to have snuck up again. But the food is worth it, and if we all keep bugging them about the noise level they might fix it.

Dishes that look good and have a lot of flavor. Large portions, which can be shared with someone else. Chiken Egg roll the best I've ever eaten. Orange dishes were also excellent. Correct and fast service.

This is a new restaurant in Chinatown. They seem like doing Szechuan and Cantonese food. I try their Grilled fish with the numb spicy and Sand ginger fly chicken.Both are taste very authentic and and amazing.Also their staff are very friendly. one of another cool thing is, this restaurant has one whole wall CDs,and you can pick the music that you like,their staff would play for you.

I was exploring the Chinatown with my cousin and we were searching for a nice Chinese restaurant. We found Mccb and It was in Michelin Guide! We were so excited from that moment and It turned out to be rıght! We ordered Crispy Crab Rangoon and I have to say It was awesome! Then we got Honey Black Pepper Steak and General Tso. It was so delicious! I really want to come back to Chicago and visit again!

We dined here as a family and enjoyed the visit. Small authentic Chinese. Attentive staff. Limited drink menu. Good food.

What a little gem in Chinatown. It's a small placed that seems to stay packed. It has been recognized by the Michelin Guide for several years. We were immediately greeted and able to be seated & given a nice cool glass of water. We kept it simple. The Veg Spring Roll-awesome, the Chicken Egg Roll-awesome, the won ton dumplings with a spicy sauce were enjoyed by my family & the three of us shared a bowl of veggie fried rice. We were so impressed that the rice was not greasy, and it had flavor. Again, it is a small place so if you are a party more than four you may have a wait we went Friday afternoon & it was busy. One person was taking care of the whole room, you may have to flag him down but all in all it was a nice lunch, can't wait too visit again. This was in July, it was very warm inside the restaurant, I was glad I had my little fan.

We were recommended to come here. Had no idea about the meaning of the restaurant name, but most importantly the food was indeed very delicious. Followed the couple on the next table, we ordered the Apple Wood Charcoal Grill lamb chop with "Numb Spicy" style. The serving was massive and the taste was delicious. The other dishes we ordered were tasty too.

I preface this with I very rarely give 5 stars. This is 4 and one half stars. We went here for lunch to meet with a friend. Really good food, excellent, really. The Yang Zhou fried rice was the best fried rice I've had in Chicago. We had dumplings that were good. Egg rolls not so much. But this place rocks the food. Kung Pao shrimp was great. There were so many shrimp, it looked like 2 orders. Dan Dan noodles, as reviewed by another post, did not disappoint. Chicken Chow Mian was excellent too. Portions are large. Service was attentive but we were not rushed at all. This is a must stop for those wanting to try Chinatown.

I was staying across the street at the Jaslin and was recommended this restaurant. Trying to decide where to eat in Chinatown is a difficult task because of the numerous top notch food choices and MCCB did not disappoint. The place is small and quaint and the staff was very friendly. I started off with the Hot and Sour soup which had amazing flavor. I then proceeded with the Dry Chili Chicken which was spicy and very tasty. I then finished it out with a plate of fried rice with jumbo shrimp. The rice was nice and fluffy and the shrimp were cooked to perfection! Overall this was a very pleasant dinning experience and I will definitely return when I am in Chicago again.

This place is amazing and the portions are huge. My husband had chicken fried rice, I had the orange chicken. We could have shared our food with two more people.

Despite living 90 miles from Chicago and visiting often, we had never been to Chicago's Chinatown. After seeing a play at Steppenwolf, our son (who lived in Chicago for 10 years) suggested this restaurant based on Yelp reviews. The reviews were right, it was great. Since he had read the entrees were huge, we only ordered 2 for 3 people along with 2 appetizers. Everything was wonderful. We especially enjoyed the "signature dry chili calamari" appetizer and "chong king style whole fish." We had made a reservation for a Saturday night and that was a good idea because the place was packed. Our server was excellent and knowledgeable about the dishes. This is real Chinese food, not what you get at a typical Chinese restaurant. Highly recommended.

I’ve been to Chicago about 15 times in my life, but this was my first time in Chinatown. This unique neighborhood is a must see if you come to Chicago. I had various soups, which were EXCELLENT. I did not want to stare, but looking at the other tables the portion sizes here are big. In my pictures the dining room has a unique view of Chinatown with the tops of some of the downtown skyscrapers in the back ground.

Mei and Team continue to deliver! To start, went with my "go to" Dry Chili Fantail Shrimp. I love spicy and this dish packs a punch. The presentation, in the basket, is very unique. On Mei's recommendation, I ordered the Sour Pickle Fish. I was skeptical at first, but this dish won me over. Has nothing to do with nasty American pickles but, an Asian variety. The dish is more like a soup except, you really don't eat/drink the broth. A whole tilapia is cut up and enriched in a beautiful, rich, satisfying liquid. I also ordered the vegetable fried rice and this was the perfect foil for soaking up the rich broth. Keep up the great work and I will continue to come back, time and time again!

We ordered dry chili chicken, Szechuan style cucumber and black pepper short ribs. The flavor for the back pepper beef short ribs was good but the quality of the meat wasn't. It tasted like meat with a lot of meat tenderizer, which was used for poor quality meat. I also received a plate with lots of pieces of bones with little meat. Where did the meat go? Or did I get extra bones? The dry chili chicken was good and spicy. Overall, the food is solid but far from four-star quality based on the dishes we ordered.

Despite our son living in Chicago for 10 years, we had never been to Chinatown. We decided to go for dinner and the reviews for MCCB looked very promising. We were not disappointed. The food was fantastic and tasted nothing like the typical Chinese restaurants that are geared toward American tastes. Two appetizers and two entrees plus one dessert was plenty of food for 3 people. They take a limited number of reservations on Saturday and given the crowd, we were glad we had one. If you haven't had Chinese food in (any) Chinatown, we can recommend MCCB.

Today was my third time eating at this Chicago Chinatown restaurant and it was my best experience here to date. I arrived with a friend around 7 pm without a reservation. We were promptly greeted by a friendly wait staff who took my name and number for their wait list, informing me to expect about a 15-minute wait. After about 8 minutes, I got a text stating that our table was ready. I came back and was greeted by the same wait staff who remembered me and called me by my name. We placed our orders shortly. My friend ordered the chicken in spicy garlic sauce and I ordered the twice cooked pork belly. We also ordered the chicken eggroll for appetizer. All came out piping hot, along with two small bowls of rice, after a short wait. The flavors were well balanced, with good quality ingredients, and not overly salty or sweet that is typical of other Chinese establishments. My dish in particular consisted of finely sliced pork belly reminiscent of Canadian bacon in thickness and appearance, with just a hint of saltiness from the black beans mixed in with it. The waiter came back regularly to take away empty plates and refill our drinks. My friend and I were also the visibly non-Chinese customers at that time (he’s Puerto Rican, I’m Filipino). The fully packed restaurant was full of Mandarin and Cantonese speakers (at least from what I could make out of their conversations). Needless to say, it was patronized primarily by people of Chinese descent, which to me is a good indicator of a Chinese restaurant’s quality. Overall, this place checks all the boxes for a good restaurant - friendly and attentive staff (quite a rarity in Chinatown!), clean tables and utensils, great tasting food of adequate portion size, priced reasonably, and in a good location. I plan to come back here to bring friends and family along as my curiosity was piqued by other customers who ordered what appeared to be a big tray of fish in spicy Sichuan sauce (it was huge and could easily be shared by 4-6 people).

Lunch here was the high point of our trip to Chicago's Chinatown. our waitress was very helpful in choosing our dishes. We shared an eggplant dish that was the most beautiful purple, with a sweet sauce. My choice was honey black pepper chicken, which was full of chicken and fresh veggies. We also enjoyed a lamb curry dish. Rice accompanied all dishes. Every dish was excellent and provided enough for lunch the next day.

This is our third-fourth visit at this restaurant and it is always very good. This time there were 10 of us and we eat and eat until we could do no more! The food was fresh and delicious. I love Chinese food, I have been in many places in China and in the US, and I really appreciate the nuances by which Mccb differs from most. The waiter was friendly with a sense of humor!