At LTH, we ordered the standard Salt & Pepper shrimp (shell on) and we ate it with the shell. I think that if you took the shell off at the table, it would take away from the flavors incorporated there in the seasoning and cooking process. Personally, I might take the earlier suggestion and order shell off next time. While I didn't find the shell offensive, it was a bit unusual for me to eat it.

I think it's somewhat common in ethnic restaurants to find American or Americanized items on the menu -- be it Chinese, Thai, Indian, Mexican, you name it. I'm not exactly sure why they do it, but perhaps they figure if they offer such items, they'll be able to expand their customer base (by appealing to the masses) or appease less adventurous diners who join their more adventurous dining friends for a meal.
[/quote]

I would agree that this is exactly why they offer modified versions of their cuisine. This is apparent in every country I have traveled in - menus carry items that you know people in that country are not eating.

However, as we continue to globalize, traditional foods in each country appear to be affected by outside influences. These influences create interesting new food hybrids. In India for example traditional foods like dosa have been affected by changing tastes and the introduction of food items like cheeses which were not previously available in the mass market. As a result you see dosas with cheese fillings being consumed at street corners. To me, these appear strange but to the "locals" they see it as a positive evolution of their traditional foods.

All part of the fun!

Why complain about having "americanized" dishes on the menu? Are we not in america?

jonjonjon wrote:Why complain about having "americanized" dishes on the menu? Are we not in america?

At one level, you are, of course, right. But there is a difference between 'complain' and 'observe'. It's good to know what places aspire to a style of cooking that is (within the obivous practical limits) more in line with traditional cooking in the country whose cuisine is allegedly being served. And it's good to know which ones are producing Americanised versions of that cuisine's dishes, whether they be good or bad.

I think there are a lot of people on this board who in general prefer, for example, restaurants that purport to be Chinese or Thai or Italian or whatever that tend more toward the traditional and less to the Americanised.

Complaint about Americanised food is, moreover, absolutely legitimate in my estimation when a place tries hard to give the impression that they are producing something traditional or 'authentic' but know full well that they are not and have no intention of doing so. To me, that's false advertising.

Antonius

My partner, my brother and I went to "little" Three Happiness on Saturday for dinner -- in the first visit in almost a year, I'm ashamed to say.

I'm sorry to say that it was a disappointing experience.

The crispy skin chicken was, of course, absolutely the best food in the world. And the salt and pepper shell-on shrimp and pea-shoots with garlic were very good too.

But our other dishes were either just run-of-the-mill or -- dare I say it? -- actually bad.

A whole fried pike was delicious and crispy -- but buried under mounds of gloppy overly cornstarched sauce full of chunks of ham that looked (and tasted) like they came off the salad bar at a Bennigan's.

And the noodles with roast pork were actually quite bad -- a bland gooey sauce and pork that tasted almost like school cafeteria grade mystery meat.

Potstickers were heavy and greasy.

Was it simply a matter of us mis-ordering the wrong dishes? Or just a bad night for LTH? Or have things slipped some?

Anybody thoughts?

DougMose wrote:Was it simply a matter of us mis-ordering the wrong dishes? Or just a bad night for LTH? Or have things slipped some?

Anybody thoughts?

Doug,

This very subject was covered in great detail just last week.
'Little' Three Happiness

Enjoy,
Gary

Restaurants are businesses, "American" Chinese items are there on the menu because people order them when they aren't familiar with the "native" Chinese items, pure and simple, it's all about the bottom line. Most Chinatown eateries aren't out there to set its "dining standard" like say, a typical fine-dinning establishment, just because it's not their "specialty", doesn't mean they won't serve them. If people will order and I assume they order plenty being that we are in America, the item stays.

Just my humble $.02.

I note that LTH serves beer and a limited variety of wine. I have a hankering for a mai tai or two with my rice noodles with shrimp. Will the restaurant allow BYOMT (bring your own mai tais)?

Do they take reservations?

leek wrote:Do they take reservations?

Not really. I called and asked, and after establishing that I wanted to come at 7:45 with 4 people, the woman said "come any time, we might have a table." Right

We got there at 8 on Friday and got the last 4 top. The restaurant was filled with a large party celebrating a few birthdays (a few LTHers I had met before were there as part of the birthday party, though it wasn't an LTH party)

We had Clams Evil-Ronnie style, salt and pepper shrimp (w/heads and shells), potstickers, garlic pealeaves, and roast duck. They didn't give us extra jalapenos on the clams, but other than that, I think it was the same (the server noted "you like that - a lot of people order it that way").

We found the shrimp to be good, but quite salty. We could only manage 2 each. Our dining companions were not thrilled with the idea of heads, but accepted that they could tear them off. One tried with head, and said it was better than he had thought it would be, and he'd order with heads in future. I don't like the eyes, which I removed first, and he also did so. You could definitely easily eat the head, shells, etc - it wasn't hard, and though the head was a bit crunchy it was in a good way.

Our top choices of the dishes we had were the pealeaves, the clams and the potstickers. We probably didn't need the duck, which was fine, but nothing special (DH loves duck). We definitely had more food than we could eat, but figured the shrimp and duck would not do well as leftovers, so only took the pealeaves and clams home. I thought the pealeaves were a bit weird - there was something really gummy binding them, maybe rice flour?

It was good, but not transcendant. Perhaps we like the Szechuan style food of places like Lao Szechuan better. Or maybe we've been spoiled by recently having similar dishes to these in the Pacific Northwest and enjoying them more - I guess they might get better access to ingredients and seafood there? Or maybe the sauces were a bit thinner. I can see why Ronnie-style asks for "light on the sauce".

Anyway, we'll go back, but I'm not sure I'd put it in my "must go to" list. That being said, I haven't eaten at boatloads of places in Chinatown, and if the rest of the places do similar dishes poorly, I appreciate that others have weeded them out for me!

CTB wrote:Will the restaurant allow BYOMT (bring your own mai tais)?

CTB,

Yes, though a minimal corkage fee is sometimes (rarely) assessed. I often bring wine, with no corkage, but am a regular customer.

LeeK, as you found out no reservations, though if you have a large group they will (often) take a reservation.

Enjoy,
Gary

leek wrote:

leek wrote:Do they take reservations?

Not really. I called and asked, and after establishing that I wanted to come at 7:45 with 4 people, the woman said "come any time, we might have a table." Right

G Wiv wrote:LeeK, as you found out no reservations, though if you have a large group they will (often) take a reservation.

Twice I have made reservations for groups of 6, although I was not able to make a reservation for a group of 4. So I suspect that 5 or 6 is the minimum for a reservation.

I discovered this forum yesterday and have been reading obsessively ever since. This is great! I'm fairly new to the Chicago area and am always looking for great restaurants that don't necessarily make headlines or appear in tour guides. Living in the far south suburbs makes dining in Chicago an all-day event, though, so I don't get into the city often.

Anyway, I've registered and posted to say that my boyfriend and I had already planned to go to Chinatown this weekend, but the other times we've been there have been so-so. (Unfortunately, I can't remember where we've eaten.) So, I was looking for recommendations and will be going to "Little" Three Happiness. I'm really looking foward to it and will be sure to post a review afterwards.

In the meantime, I'll continue to scour this site, and maybe can meet up with you folks sometime at one of your outings. My boyfriend lives out of state and we don't see each other or go out that often, so maybe I can check out new restaurants with LTH members.

JenG wrote:I discovered this forum yesterday and have been reading obsessively ever since. This is great! I'm fairly new to the Chicago area and am always looking for great restaurants that don't necessarily make headlines or appear in tour guides. Living in the far south suburbs makes dining in Chicago an all-day event, though, so I don't get into the city often.

Welcome to LTHForum, Jen. I hope you'll post about your experience at Little Three Happiness, whether or not you find it suits your tastes. And please do tell us about your dining favorites in the south suburbs -- we need more posts on that region.

At our midnight snack last night,* in 2.0 megapixel glory:



We call it short rib in XO sauce, they call it something like "baby rib with black fish sauce." This was dessert.



Gary's signature noodles, which are "chow fun, extra crispy, with barbecue pork and duck, light sauce, extra vegetables." I've ordered this three times on my own and never received what had been pictured upthread; it was wonderful to finally have it.

The chili oil flowed long into the night. Or som'n.

Thanks for the enlightenment; looking forward to the next group dinner in Chi-town (perhaps a progressive, here for appetizers, Double Li for entrees?)

*nr706 has some nice pics up in that thread of the crowd and dishes, I'm stealing his little panorama of the Elite Eight:

After my initial mediocre experience here I have been back twice and amply rewarded both times; I must say I have found THE place for chow fun noodles since Hong Min closed, I've missed them so much. And the salt and pepper shrimp has been outstanding.Tonight the Mrs. and I had the best wonton soup I've ever had. Who'd a thunk such a run of the mill item would be so tasty? My soft shell crabs were top notch, and her beef with black mushrooms terrific. I'm hooked, and will check it out in depth on many more returns.
Bonus tonight: displayed on the wall an October 2007 article in the Sun-Times about the LTH Forum,with a photo that includes Cathy, Gary, GWiv and someone else I can't remember.

Met up with a few LTH'ers earlier in the week for another enjoyable meal at the namesake. A few in the group thought the meal may have been slightly below the normal standard but I thought everything was deliciious and -- of course -- the company was stellar . . .



Shrimp Toast



Potsticker



Eggroll



Clams 'Evil Ronnie' Style



Crispy-skin Chicken



Dry, Stir-fried Crab with Ginger & Scallion



Salt & Pepper Wings
Never knew about these before this meal but they were great. Another 'discovery' by (not really) Evil Ronnie.



Duck & Pork over Crispy Chow Fun



Beef Shortribs in X/O Sauce



Salt & Pepper Shrimp, shell-on



Ong Choi With Fu Yee



Pork Fried Rice
Never had this before at LTH but the kids who were with us wanted it, and it was a terrific version.

=R=

I took two people from work to the LTH for lunch. Nothing fancy, beef and green pepper chow fun with black bean sauce, extra crispy (and they made it crispy indeed) a mellifluous won ton soup-who thought such a wheezy old standby could be so tasty-and veggie egrolls for the vegan in the group. The guests were sold. Only problem is I needed a nap after we got back, and I had to teach two classes. Fun in the summer.

Oh, why do I click on threads I know contain pictures of food that are going to make me want to rearrange my weekend for a side trip to China town?

I've been down there twice this summer (once with one set of my future in-laws, the second time with my parents), and both times were as delicious as every time I've been there. Particularly since both sets of parents assigned me to order for the group, so I made sure to get everything I wanted.

I've been going to LTH quite a bit lately for lunch,it's not that far from work and I can't stay away from the chow fun noodles. It's also become a favorite dim sum destination, it's as good as anything in that department. I had the biggest, tastiest shrimp stuffed green peppers I've ever had there today, and with one entree and a few dim sum dishes it was less than $20 for two.

A note: the Chinatown parking lot is now auto pay only, but the restaurants now give you a discount ticket rather than a stamp that you put in the machine after your ticket, with it it's still two bucks.

Valentine's Day (yet another holiday we don't really celebrate) is coming up - and Sparky was given the assignment of addressing a valentine to everyone in his class. Generally annoyed with Quick-Stop-At-Target traditions, I was bothered - until I remembered the Chinese tradition of giving red envelopes for New Year's, just a week ago. With that in mind, off to Chinatown I went, Sparky and his slightly bewildered playmate in tow.

Our first stop - lunch. Lately, we've been eating at Spring World, but I decided to ask the kids, since they outnumbered me. "Shrimp eyeballs!" said Sparky instantly, (his personal name for salt-and-pepper shrimp) and off to Little Three Happiness we went, Sparky explaining to his now completely bewildered buddy all the way. "Little Three Happiness is really called Three Happiness, but there's two places called Three Happiness - that big one that nobody really likes and the little one across the street that's run by a Chinese Grandma...And Little Three Happiness is what LTHForum is named after, get it: L T H, Little Three Happiness, except it should really be BIG Happiness, because they are all these people who love to get together and eat weird food." So we settled in, Sparky ordering his Salt-and-Pepper Shrimp, while I ordered off the Dim Sum menu and some soup, and Sparky's buddy settled for white rice with soy sauce (a staple of his.)

Pork and Crab dumpling


Chicken Feet in Black Bean Sauce


Silver Noodles (also called Needle Noodles)


Duck Soup with Wonton and Wide Noodles


This turned into a ridiculous amount of food for essentially two people. The clear winners were the duck soup, a flavorful and very ducky broth with big chunks of roast duck, wontons, and big chewy noodles, and the silver noodles, a delectable pan-fried combination of chewy handmade noodles, tiny shrimp, BBQ pork, ham, sprouts and onions. The crabmeat dumplings were really more like a pork shiu mai, a very thin wrapper around a porky filling that had crunchy onions inside. The chicken were well-prepared, but I'm discovering I'm just not fond of fried things covered in sauce - the black bean sauce was good, though, a nice salty counterpoint to the rich skin and different from the spicy red sauce they're usually in. Sparky's Salt-and-Pepper Shrimp was a lot harder to eat than I remember it: maybe it was an off day, but the shells were really obstinate. Fortunately, this didn't matter as we had more than enough food, and ate staggering amounts of it.

It was a beautiful day in Chinatown, and we ended our visit in the Square with the Chinese Zodiac. Sparky and his buddy charmed the crowd of tourists so much that they will be appearing in photo albums from New York to Bangkok.

Mhays wrote:... and Sparky's buddy settled for white rice with soy sauce (a staple of his.) ...

LOL.... White rice and soy sauce holds a special place in my heart. Whenever my brother and I misbehaved, my Dad will order my mom to only let us have white rice and soy sauce for dinner! But instead, we will walk to the nearest hawker center and get sirloin steak from the western food vendor!

CrazyC wrote:

Mhays wrote:... and Sparky's buddy settled for white rice with soy sauce (a staple of his.) ...

LOL.... White rice and soy sauce holds a special place in my heart. Whenever my brother and I misbehaved, my Dad will order my mom to only let us have white rice and soy sauce for dinner! But instead, we will walk to the nearest hawker center and get sirloin steak from the western food vendor!

That does not surprise me in the least!

Mhays wrote:Our first stop - lunch. Lately, we've been eating at Spring World, but I decided to ask the kids, since they outnumbered me. "Shrimp eyeballs!" said Sparky instantly, (his personal name for salt-and-pepper shrimp) and off to Little Three Happiness we went, Sparky explaining to his now completely bewildered buddy all the way.

Were you there just yesterday?

My family and I got there at about 1pm. I'm actually the only one in my family of non-LTHers who isn't crazy about LTH--my mom and sister adore it--so we had to stop at Sun Wah for my sake before driving down to Chinatown. I was feeling under the weather, so I enjoyed LTH even less than I usually do. That said, my mom, the chicken feet aficionado in my family, who rarely has anything negative to say about LTH, commented that the feet were a little off the mark yesterday. I ordered the duck over chow fun and was overwhelmed by the amount of bean sprouts. The rest of the meal is somewhat of a blur...it was a long day with my family. It would have been fun to see you, Sparky and Mr. Soy-Sauce-Over-White-Rice.

happy_stomach wrote:Were you there just yesterday?

My family and I got there at about 1pm.

Wow, weird, I was there with Ellen and a couple of nieces at 4pm. I think 'Little' Three Happiness was having a small bump in the road Sunday, couple of our dishes were stellar, crisp rice noodle a symphony in crunch, shrimp toast an old school cliche done proud, and dry stir fried blue crab with ginger and scallion a roe enhanced monster platter of fresh flavored deliciousness. That said, crispy skin chicken was uncharacteristically dry and salt and pepper shrimp, while tasty, was not quite as bright flavored as I've come to expect.

I have no problem with off moments at places I love, be it 'L'TH, the occasional dry tip at Honey 1 or less than crisp ong choy at TAC. I am more than willing to trade the occasional fumble with the promise of greatness for the stupefying mediocrity of absolute consistency.

Enjoy,
Gary

trpt2345 wrote:A note: the Chinatown parking lot is now auto pay only, but the restaurants now give you a discount ticket rather than a stamp that you put in the machine after your ticket, with it it's still two bucks.

LTH validates parking in the lot? I didn't know that! Good to know for future reference.

We missed you both - were there on Saturday, but I had a busy weekend and didn't get to post until now. Would have been fun to run into friends (and I know Sparky would have been completely thrilled to see you, happy_stomach!)

You're right, Gary - if your expectation is for things to be exactly the same every time - go to McDonalds, homemade food is not for you! I do highly recommend the silver noodles; I will be getting those again.

I made my first trip to LTH Sunday for lunch. It was an unplanned visit, so I didn't have a chance to look through all the posts here to guide my order. Considering the size of their menu and that it was just me, my wife and our 4 year old, we decided to stick to dim sum items. We enjoyed everything we had and definitely plan to make it back to try more of their regular menu. But the real point of my post is their turnip cakes. Turnip cakes are probably my favorite dim sum item; I love the smooshy middle, crisp outside and rich, slightly funky flavor. Most places have a few bits of "stuff" in their turnip cakes, but they're small enough to not know what the bits are. I've always known they weren't vegetarian, but never really knew what kind of meat was in them. LTH's turnip cakes had whole small (dime sized) dried shrimp and chunks of pork belly about the same size. (I think there might have been shreds of BBQ pork too, but I was too busy closing my eyes and sighing to investigate further.) Combine that with the perfectly crisp exterior and they were hands down the best I've ever had. I'd come back for the turnip cakes alone.

Saturday nite found me @ the video store planning on a much needed nite home on the couch. One phone call by a hungry friend enticed me drop our plans and meet for dinner. Rescued from the fate of a chick flick my girl was leaning towards we happily biked to Chinatown instead.

We opted (w/some mild contempt on my part) to go very standard Cantonese. Shrimp toast were gone and reordered so quickly I was shocked. Round two were dispatched in the same manner. I don't know if it was Gary's chile oil but it was almost all chile, no oil and an excellent foil for the shrimp toast (along w/the ubiquitous mustard and duck sauce). Some fried oysters were a bit bready for me and too fishy for my girl. Our friend enjoyed the remainder. Crispy chow fun w/pork and duck contained the crispiest noodles I've ever enjoyed there. They literally snapped in 1/2. You could hear them as I laughingly picked them up and broke them between my fingers. The thought of chix fried rice bothered me @ first. Then I tasted it. Wok toasted flavor that you only get from 150,000 btu's was evident, lending it's personal umami footprint. An excellent rendition that made me rethink my ordering habits which boarder on bullying.

Sometimes, other people can order what they want and I'll still enjoy it in spite of myself.

My wife and I made to Little Three Happiness last night for the first time. We loved it. The trip brought back a lot of memories of my buddies and my frequent late-night trips to Hong Min when we first got our drivers licenses; trips that drove our parents crazy.

At LTH, we started with shrimp toasts. Then we had salt and pepper shrimp, clams in black bean sauce, and bbq pork and duck with crispy chow fun. All of these were excellent, but we especially loved the shrimp and clam dishes. We ended up taking most of the pork/duck home and it was actually better reheated the next day.

Thanks everyone for the great recommendations.