Mark Chiang (left) and Young Ja Kim with the retro sign on the side of the Lincoln Avenue location.
YU MANDARIN FULL
There’s a full bar known for its sweet, potent Mai Tais and Zombies in ceramic tiki wares, and an extensive menu that covers all the classic Chinese American bases and then some.Ĭhiang says little has changed since he bought the business from founder Melvin Gin, a World War II naval vet who mainly served Cantonese food at its original takeout spot and current location, which he opened in 1978. And perhaps the House of Wah Sun representative has had to deal with confusion with Sun Wah (age 35), the relatively young Hong Kong-style barbecue specialist, in Uptown.īoth names roughly translate to “New Chinese,” but the House of Wah Sun is a neighborhood institution that trades in a nostalgic style of Chinese-American food that hardly feels new, but is performed at a level that surpasses its surviving fellow dinosaurs.Ĭustomers are invariably greeted inside the doors by a dizzying dancing wooden Buddha, and in contrast, Kim, whose working method is stern at first but ultimately endearing. But it has remained unremarkable for decades compared to the nearby 95-year-old Orange Garden with its once-dazzling, now-obscured neon sign (now owned by a similarly weathered rock star). The original location of the House of Wah Sun opened in 1947 across the street from the Davis Theater, making it one of the city’s oldest working Chinese restaurants. “Will you leave them alone?” she said as she slid past.
I’ve been here twenty-one years and now it’s finally time.” “I don’t want to go, but I’m taking this opportunity. His wife, Young Ja Kim, had already ridden the spring rolls, crab rangoon, and overflowing platters of crispy chow fun, cumin lamb, and Sichuan green beans, but Chiang was in the process of relocating his Cantonese-Mandarin restaurant to a recently closed Golden Nugget two miles to the west in Irving Park. Last Saturday night, Mark Chiang lingered at the table of some of the last customers of the evening at the House of Wah Sun in North Center.
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