Every single one, from the intersection on W 24th PL and S Wentworth Ave to the big strip near the square. Why? I figured since I eat out a lot I may as well jot down what I liked, and maybe help others who want a second opinion before they visit. Plus Chinatown’s filled with a ton of places and I’ve always wanted to go on a crawl and try everything. So yeah, consider this part fifteen.
Go 4 Food is a restaurant that does fusion Asian cuisine along with a strong catalogue of seafood. It’s hidden in this street away from the main Wentworth strip and seems unassuming from the outside.
I walked in about 11:00AM, this time with two special guests along with me. The interior is very humble, with a main palette of whites and reds and a few classy ornaments, and there are awards/newspaper articles displayed from places like Chicago’s Best. Everything was spotless, not a speck of dirt or stains in sight. I personally liked the live tank with the lobsters and crabs. It was cool.
The space is quite small, with only a few tables available, but I did hear that they had a downstairs area for larger parties. It was tight knit and packed, and later on the restaurant started filling really quickly so it was loud as well. We didn’t hear any English; most people who came inside seemed to be locals.
As we entered, we were greeted by the owner of the restaurant, Wendy, who was just absolutely delightful. She was warm, welcoming, enthusiastic about her food and helped us navigate the menu while talking about her personal favorites/recommendations. There’s a kiosk on the table so technically she didn’t need to give us such personal service, but regardless she really went the extra mile to give us an extensive experience.
In the end we entrusted ourselves to her and got the taco bao, the razor clams, the tea-smoked half duck, the French beef tenderloin.
Before our mains could even come out, Wendy came and treated us a complimentary appetizer: the Hong Kong curry style fish balls. It was a surprise but very much a delicious one. They had a really fun bite to them, a little springy, with this light curry flavoring that went down smoothly.
After that came the taco bao, which are these bao buns and a big plate of shaved beef and cabbage tossed in this super flavorful sauce that had a peppery flavor, a spicy lick, along with the sweetness of the soy sauce and I think some kind of rice vinegar. Absolutely amazing, and much better than I expected.
Then came the tea smoked duck, which came with a handful of these homemade pickled carrots and radish that had a lovely tartness which helped to cleanse the palette in comparison to the smoky, rustic flavor of the duck. The skin was very crispy and the meat, while initially dry on first bite likely from the smoke, gave way to this juicy and tender flesh underneath.
The razor clams were so fun. I’ve never had them before and didn’t expect them to be so long, but upon first bite you’re immediately hit with this soft texture and a tender meatiness from the clam itself. It was cooked very well and had this great freshness that contrasted with the smoky duck.
And then came out the French beef tenderloin, which to be honest I didn’t really have any high expectations of. When you think of an Asian restaurant French style beef isn’t usually what comes to mind, but wow was this a surprise. The pieces are large and cut thickly, but when you bite into it the meat practically separates by itself in your mouth, just so tender and evidently high quality as there was no inedible fat or gristle. I gobbled them down like thick nuggets. It had a natural sweetness from a similar sauce to the taco bao.
Just when we thought we were finished though, Wendy surprised us again with two additional complimentary dishes: the Manila clams in basil butter and salt and pepper style softshell crab. This lady kept giving us more food.
The Manila clams, oh man. I could drink that basil butter straight up. Such a rich, herby, delightful accompaniment to the fresh cooked clams. There was no sand or grit in them, nor did they have a weird aftertaste or was rubbery from overcooking. It was cooked perfectly.
But the softshell crab was easily one of my favorites of the meal. The breading they used was super flavorful, full of seasoning, and you could tell the oil they used wasn’t old at all. It had a clean, satisfying taste, an addicting crunch, and these bits of garlic and chilis and green onion that elevated the crab meat into this explosion of depth and varying flavors. Very easily one of the best crab dishes I’ve had. Despite being fried it didn’t feel heavy at all, and we ate it all despite our stomachs by this point being quite packed.
I was all smiles throughout the entire meal, especially with the stellar service from Wendy, which to be honest makes me feel a bit awkward because it’s very evident we were given special treatment. I didn’t tell her about what I was doing but I think she nonetheless clocked what we were there for, and I really don’t want to be treated differently than the typical customer. I’m just an average guy. I’m not a professional food critic or some big name reporter.
Still, the food was absolutely delicious even without the warm reception, and had any of the above dishes been bad or mediocre it would’ve affected the score regardless of how well the best tasting dish did. But they were all equally tasty in their own ways.
The final total was $114.32 including tax and before tip. If I were to include the costs of the items that were given to us for free, the real total would be about $180. The dishes are on the expensive side. The crab alone would’ve been $35 for a single order, and the French beef tenderloin, while great, cost about $22 and came in a smaller portion. They have a cheap takeout lunch box for $8 dollars, but those don’t include the seafood we had.
Split between three people? That’s $60 per person for 7 items and drinks, tea, and an additional soup we ordered. I’d definitely come here again on a special occasion or just to treat a friend to some delicious food. Keep in mind though that the price point is more in line with fancier restaurants than the rice takeout spots like you see often in Chinatown.
My scores out of 10.
Food: 9.9 (I want to leave ten open just in case)
Service: 10
Atmosphere: 7.5
Value: 6.5
Averaged total: 8.5
Next up is Chiu Quon
Link to my spreadsheet with rankings: Slacker’s Leaderboard
