Richland Center

AWESOME place in Chinatown to go when you’re low on $$$! There’s a variety of different food counters you can go up to… sushi, dumplings, noodles, and it’s all extremely cheap (but still pretty decent, and big portion sizes!) Just make sure you bring some cash, because some of the counters don’t take card (or they have limits on the card).

Several friends and I frequent this food court on a weekly basis. In a year, this review will go down as the last review before this place blew up and people start raving about this place and there are Zagat/​Chowhound/​LTH forum/​Steve Dolinky’s picture all over the front. For $ 12 you can be sure you’ll get your fill of authentic Chinese food.
For a no frills, authentic dining experience, be sure to visit here. Most of the items have english on them with picture, except for the dumpling place, which only has a chinese menu. There’s also a foot reflexology place, and a random minimart that sells really random stuff.

I went. It wasnt bad or good. It just… was. That is all

This place is a pretty awkward building with a bunch of little shops in it. I’d call it a mall, but it’s more of a food court with a couple random stores thrown in.
It’s super clean (even the bathrooms) and all of the vendors seemed really friendly. Lots of different food/​drink choices. There’s also what appears to be a food reflexology shop. There’s a large area to sit and eat your food, with lots of TVs. It never seems to be too crowded. It’s a nice place to stop at and get a quick bite to eat, but if you’re looking for a sit down meal, there are at least 100 other places you could go within a two block radius.

This hidden gem found on the basement level of the Richland center has some of the cheapest food you will find in Chinatown let alone Chicago. The food court set up makes it convenient to mix and match small plates from different vendors. The majority of the vendors sell the typical Chinese fare consisting of rice boxes and noodles dishes, but there’s also a Filipino food vendor. This review is specifically for the takoyaki at Kyu Lin. When you come down the stairs, walk straight then to the shop furthest to the right in the corner. The takoyaki comes in two sizes: 6 or 12 pieces. I recommend getting a dozen because it’s cheaper and you can’t just eat 6 — they’re that good (I mean, the best you’re gonna find in Chinatown)
For those who aren’t familiar with takoyaki, «tako» means octopus and «yaki» means cooked/​grilled/​fried. These octopus balls are a popular Japanese snack made with a wheat flour batter and stuffed with octopus, scallions, pickled ginger and tempura bits. They are brushed with a Japanese Worcestershire sauce and mayo then covered with bonito flakes and a seaweed powder. Love at first bite — the exterior is golden brown and crisp while the inside is creamy studded with chunks of octopus. I’ve tried their okonomiyaki, which is a savory Japanese pancake, but it was mehh. Skip it and use that money to buy more takoyaki!

Been here twice in a row last week. The first time I only tried the noodle shop up front and tako yaki (octupus balls). The noodle was toothsome and broth flavorful, though I wished the brisket could be just a tad more tender. Takoyaki were spot on with big chunks of octopus.
Second time I tried the szechuan hotpot from the kabobs place. Most of the items in the broth were vegetarian, so they really push people to order their kabobs. The hotpot broth was not for the faint of heart! I had to fish everything out of it halfway during my meal because I couldn’t handle the heat, but if you like szechuan style spicy then this is for you. We went for the takoyaki again, as well as the japanese pancake. I’ll stick with takoyaki next time. Ended with fried ice cream, which was an interesting concept but overall meh. So it looks like while there’s a good collection of items, you need to know what to order. Still can’t beat the price.

I have to say I like the concept of it, but it’s just not really popular. It’s like a food court with a few shops. I think if they filled all the spots, it might be a bit busier, but it’s always almost dead in there.
They have sushi, bahn mi sandwiches, noodles and quick snacks. Food is ok, but it’s quick and cheap.
I like how they have cameras around the bathroom since it’s hidden behind the water fountain.
Hopefully more shops open and it gets more popular.

Did you know? The Richland Center is a newly opened shopping center that holds shopping + a food court in the basement.
It’s actually kinda hard to tell that there’s anything in this plaza. However, if you walk in and pass the fountain to go downstairs, you’ll find a number of hidden treasures.
From what I can remember, here are the restaurants:
(1) Vietnamese sub/​sandwich + phở noodle place
(2) A Taiwanese snack place (that sells takoyaki a.k.a. octopus balls), bubble tea, and all sorts of things
(3) A Chinese food/​noodle place — will be opening soon
(4) A Japanese sushi place
(5) A teppanyaki/​hibachi place???
From what I can remember, here are the shops:
(1) A souvenir shop
(2) A household shop
All of the prices in this whole plaza are so cheap. You can get a bowl of wonton noodles for $ 4.00 (which they sold out today at 4pm bc its so cheap, so go early), the viet sub/​sandwich meal is like $ 3 or $ 4 (drink included), a whole meal (3 sides?) from the teppanyaki place for like $ 4 as well, 2 kids pants for $ 5, summer scarves for $ 2, and much much more from the other stands!
It’s a pretty new place. The lobby/​food court is set up with brand new chairs and tables. There are 2 large LED displays to watch while you’re eating. It’s still a little bit un-​busy when I had visited, but definitely increasing in customers each time I go. The word is out. 4 stars for a definite must visit. Go and check it out for yourself!