Gung Hei Faat Choi!
Mango Mama was in Chicago last week during Chinese New Year. If there’s one thing Mango Mama loves, it’s a good parade. Empanada Boy and I decided to take her down to the one in Chinatown that afternoon. And what better way to prepare oneself for a parade than with a breakfast of dim sum? I briefly considered trying a few places in Chinatown before I realized the wait would be far too long to make it worthwhile. EB and I decided to stick a little closer to home with Furama in Uptown.
Furama’s upper level had been rented out by a private party, so the lower level was filled to the gills with people enjoying dim sum. But they were herding people through quickly: we put our names down on the waiting list and were seated soon after. Our table was directly inside the door in front of the hosts’ booth, a fact which we would later come to regret.
The food was fine, but not exceptional— just like most dim sum places outside of San Francisco and China itself. Chinese broccoli, spinach and shrimp dumplings, steamed barbecue pork buns, and sticky rice were among the numerous dishes delivered to our plastic-coated table. (After each set of diners leaves, bussers just peel away a layer of plastic tablecloth to reveal another clean sheet below.)
But as we sat there, people waiting in the foyer gradually started coming into the dining room to wait. A substantial crowd soon gathered near the door and started winding its way between the tables. Empanada Boy and Mango Mama were repeatedly bumped by hungry diners literally breathing down their necks. To make matters worse, the carts had to continue to squeeze through the crowds to deliver food to the various tables in our area. The manager feebly tried to tell the crowd that the room was at capacity, but no one seemed to think he was talking to them. Parents, children, grandparents, friends, all stood in eager anticipation directly around our table. No one left.
Half amused, half annoyed, we tried to ignore them as we finished up our meal. Then something happened that tipped the scales toward the totally absurd and ridiculous. A water pitcher had been placed on our table by a server. Another server passed by our table with a glass of water and poured the water from the glass into the pitcher, leaving the pitcher on our table without saying a word! Then, yet another server saw the pitcher on the table and came to reclaim it, pouring in another glass of water before he did so. By this time we were all laughing uncontrollably.
We took the train south to Chinatown for the parade. There were a few distinctly Chinese displays in the parade, including a couple dragons, some children from a Chinese school playing drums and some women dressed in elegant, traditional garb. There were also a few commendable high school marching bands. But a good part of the parade was taken up by politicians running in Chicago’s upcoming municipal elections. Oh, Chicago, you and your blatantly pandering politicians! At least some of them were waiving Taiwanese flags to help them blend in.
After the parade, we walked over to a wonderful outdoor Chinese mall, filled with shops selling everything from dried fish products, to housewares, to traditional herbal remedies. We stopped in at a magnificent store, which sold some of all of these things. We looked at the dried skate and fish cartilage and then bought a variety of candies. Among these were tomato and cucumber flavored chews.
Finally, unable to resist the call of the bubble tea, Empanada Boy braved the line at the wonderful Saint Anna Bakery to get himself an avocado bubble tea. For those of you who have never tried bubble tea, it’s like a milkshake or smoothie with round globes of gummy black pearl tapioca at the bottom. EB loves the avocado because the fruit’s creaminess adds extra richness to the drink. St. Anna’s version was sweetened with honey instead of sugar, making it lighter and a bit more savory that others we’ve tried.
EB and I will be back to sample more of St. Anna’s delectable-looking baked goods. But until then, have a wonderful year of the boar. Gung hei faat choi— congratulations and be prosperous!
Furama
4936 N. Broadway St.
Chicago, IL 60640
773.271.1161
Saint Anna Bakery
2158 S. Archer Ave.
Chicago, IL 60616
312.225.3168
Flava Flav said,
February 25, 2007 @ 11:06 pm
When I was in Chicago Mango Lassie and EB took me to Furama. I will agree from my experience that the food was just like any other dim sum and after that ridiculous water story the place just seems a little absurd. I have to say, Furama is pretty much the funniest name for a restaurant I’ve ever heard of, and so appropriate for the Mango Lassie.
Sous Chef said,
February 26, 2007 @ 9:07 am
Ok, so Furama may not be particularly special, but on a normal (non-Chinese New Year) day, you can get a table right away for a large group in their upstairs dining room. Have decent-to-good (or even better) dim sum, watch the kids playing on the dining room’s built in stage, and get out in less than an hour if you want. And free parking in the restaurant’s adjacent parking lot, too. You can’t beat it for those times you want dim sum but don’t want to deal with the trip down to Chinatown.
Mango Lassie said,
February 26, 2007 @ 7:28 pm
You’re right, Sous Chef. I shouldn’t be so hard on Furama. The dim sum may be just OK, but it’s still dim sum, which puts it right up there with my top breakfasts. And sometimes the food shows glimpses of even greater potential. It’s also a wonderful place to go with a large party and get served quickly. Even on Chinese New Year, we were seated in less than ten minutes.
Mango Mama said,
March 3, 2007 @ 10:52 am
First I want to thank the Mango Lassie and Empanada Boy for showing me a great time in Chicago – though the weather left a bit to be desired. In fact, the HIGH temperature on the day we went to Furama and the Chinese New Year parade was just 20 degrees F. I’ve got to give it to Empanada Boy for going for the cold bubble tea even in such freezing conditions. Did you notice the very thick glove on his hand in the picture? Anyway, I haven’t laughed as hard in a long time as I did during the water incident at Furama!
The ML and EB took me to a few other Mango Lassie-type establishments, including Erick’s Tacos, which is right across the street from their aptartment. The food there is delicious, really cheap and very convenient. Another really good meal was eaten by the ML and me at an upscale grocery called Fox and Obel. The sandwich and soup we had there were truly delicious and all the other food on the menu looked wonderful as well.
Our lunch at the restaurant at the Art Institute was definitely NOT great, but the art was very fine.
So many places to eat, so little time!
Empanada Boy said,
March 3, 2007 @ 11:14 am
Sous Chef is right. It is possible to have a very good experience at Furama. But you never know because, by and large, kids are the one bringing the food around on the carts and probably don’t when to refresh the cart. On another occasion, one of the server kids gave us some shrimp toast that was ice cold and stale and must have been HOURS old. I think a mature server would have known that he didn’t have to walk around until every item on his cart was consumed before going back to the kitchen. But on some not-so-busy days, when the older ladies are doing most of the serving, I’ve had excellent dim sum there. And seeing my niece (Sous Chef’s daughter), The Reading Corndogg, running around on the stage and pretending to give concerts is priceless.
EB
p.s. Try avacado bubble tea, it’s the opposite of gross.