Uptown's Beijing Duck Pilgrimage
Sun Wah BBQ on Broadway is Uptown's Cantonese roast house — and the kitchen Chicago foodies make pilgrimages for. The format is the proper Cantonese BBQ specialist: roast duck, char siu, soy sauce chicken, the regional roast-meat programme the cuisine is built around.
The signature: the Beijing duck dinner, the multi-course preparation served in the Cantonese tradition. The dish is one of the most recognised orders in the country's Cantonese-American canon.
What to Order
Beijing duck dinner — order in advance, the multi-course presentation is the experience. Char siu, roast duck by the pound, soy sauce chicken from the hanging rack. The dim sum and Cantonese seafood programmes round out the menu.
The Format
The dining room is large, comfortable, and busy. Service is brisk in the proper Cantonese tradition. The crowd is overwhelmingly local plus visiting foodies.
Best Occasion: Team Dinner
Sun Wah handles a Chicago team dinner with the practised ease of a Cantonese institution. The Beijing duck dinner provides the centrepiece for a celebration; the regional roast-meat programme handles a group; the price point is honest. Bringing visitors to the city's reference Cantonese is one of the most-recommended Chicago dinners.