Photo: Brittany Hewing
On the corner of 99th and Kedzie, diagonal from Evergreen Park High School, is a 7-Eleven, nail salon, and a Baskin Robbins. However in between the Baskin Robbins and the nail salon is an extremely small shop, what would look like nothing more than a few tables in your typical Chinese restaurant with a large emphasis on carry-out. This is Lucky Bamboo.
Upon entering Lucky Bamboo, one might find the size underwhelming. To say it is small is an exaggeration. Do not let the size deter you; Good things can come in small packages. There are menus placed on the window next to the door, and next to the window where you order your food.
There is a wide variety of Chinese options, such as pork selections, chicken, beef, seafood, vegetables/tofu, and various cooking styles for each category.
I had the moo shu pork and the crab rangoons. The crab rangoons were perfectly fried and are actually very large in size.
The filling is more of the cream cheese filling than actual crab, but it was very rich and very good. The crab rangoons come 6 to an order that fills up a whole take-out box, and you can get them for only $4.50. The moo shu pork was a somewhat adventurous pick for me, since I am not really used to hands-on eating.
With moo shu pork, you are given 4 rice pancakes which are used as a tortilla would be in Mexican style cooking. You fill the pancakes with the pork and veggie mix, add the plum sauce and voila! A Chinese fajita! All joking aside, it was extremely good. I found the plum sauce to be a bit too tangy and sweet after a few bites, though. After what would soon be my last bite of the pork with the plum sauce, the tanginess of the sauce hit the back of my throat, sending me into a small coughing fit.
The pork itself was very good. It was juicy, tender, and although a little stringy, it was very tasty. The mix of the pork and veggies was excellent. I actually found myself ignoring the pancakes and plum sauce all together, and just diving in with a fork for the pork and veggies.
My friends who accompanied me had the wonton soup and the chop suey with beef. I had the chance to sample a wonton as well as some of the chop suey. The wonton was very good. Normally, wontons for me have a sort of chemically taste to them, but this wonton did not. It tasted very fresh. The chop suey beef was superb. It had a very rich taste to it, and the mushrooms in it were cooked to perfection.
I have to say that of the 3 dishes, the chop suey beef is my favorite, although if I were to have any of the three again I would not go hungry. The portion sizes give you a lot for a little money. The small chop suey beef was plenty for a dinner, let alone a lunch. My friends and I did have to wait a bit for our food, which my friend who recommended Lucky Bamboo to me initially said was because everything is fresh.
If you don’t mind a little waiting for your food, I would definitely recommend Lucky Bamboo to any college student looking for a cheap meal of traditional Chinese food. The food tasted fresh, tender, and very well prepared, and did I mention that Lucky Bamboo uses 100% vegetable oil? No MSG in any of their dishes.
Photos: Brittany Hewing
You can find Lucky Bamboo at 9852 S. Kedzie, Evergreen Park, Illinois. Their hours are Mondays 5:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m., Tuesdays through Thursdays 11:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays 11:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m., and Sundays Noon – 9:00 p.m.
By: Sam Cotugno
Features Correspondent
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