I had been watching the construction on the corner of State & Hubbard for months, while also reading up on the restaurant that now exists on the corner: IMPERIAL LAMIAN. Yes, the Indonesia-based Imperial Group decided to bring their authentic Chinese dishes to Chicago by means of the gorgeous restaurant, Imperial Lamian. Not only will you find a really well-designed, modern Asian restaurant space, but some of the dishes truly shine.

The word ‘Lamian’ comes from La meaning pull and Mian meaning noodle. Executive Chef Andy Foo is in the middle (at ‘table 8’) of the open kitchen that spans almost the entire dining room, where you can watch him hand-pulling noodles to order! On the other end are chefs pinching dumplings to order as well. Watching the open kitchen and the hand-pulled noodles is truly mesmerizing!

Let’s rewind to last Thursday when I was invited to join some friends at the soft opening to preview the dishes. So.. here they are! My cocktail of the night was “Lost In Translation”. While I can’t remember all of the ingredients, I do know that it was mezcal based and was surprisingly light and delicious – not smoky like most mezcal cocktails are for me. I loved it, and had more than one.

LOST IN TRANSLATION 

MISO SOUP | flowered tofu, vegetables

PUMPKIN PUFFS | filled with duck & butternut squash

STUFFED CHICKEN WINGS | shrimp/veggie stuffed chicken wing

SOFT SHELL CRAB

XIAO LONG BAO | spicy szechuan soup dumplings

Of our first round of dishes, we ordered from the appetizers and dim sum menus. The soup dumplings were very good, and I liked the crab soup dumpling (not pictured). The stuffed chicken wing, however, was the table favorite of these few dishes. Quite unique in how they stuff it – and quite delicious as well! My favorite was the pumpkin puff – inside that pastry dough is roasted duck and butternut squash. SO good! The flavors were similar to a samosa, and I really loved it.

Next, we went on to some noodles, rice dishes and meat/seafood.

PORK LAMIAN 

This is the restaurant’s namesake and the dish was quite good. The hand-pulled noodles are definitely the star of the dish, while the broth and roasted pork are good flavor components. I could gladly have the noodles with some butter :-p

VEGETARIAN FRIED RICE 

OXTAIL FRIED RICE 

STEAMED SEA BASS & ROASTED DUCK 

MONGOLIAN BEEF 

BLACK BEAN BEEF 

The standouts in this set of dishes were: Oxtail Fried Rice, Black Bean Beef, Roast Duck. All perfectly seasoned and executed; all dishes we would happily order again and again.

Needless to say, by the time we go to desserts, we were quite full! But, the desserts are light and two-bites each, so we got a couple to share.

EGG TARTS

SESAME BALLS & SALTED EGG BAO 

Do you see the custardy goodness inside the salted egg bao? I LOVED this little thing. It’s a great ending to an authentic Chinese meal because it’s not too sweet or rich. Just enough to complete a delicious dinner.

IMPERIAL LAMIAN has it’s Grand Opening this week, and I believe is open to the public on Friday, March 4th! So get on OpenTable now and make your reservations. Between the decor, food, drinks, and location, Imperial Lamian is sure to be a trendy spot in River North!

{ Thank you to my friend, Uncle Paul, for the invitation to dinner! We both like to eat}

IMPERIAL LAMIAN | 6 West Hubbard Street, Chicago, IL 60654