Uptown's Beijing Duck Pilgrimage
Eric Cheng opened Sun Wah in Uptown in 1987 and learned Hong Kong-style barbecue the long way; his children Kelly, Laura and Michael Cheng have run it since 2008. The kitchen took a James Beard America's Classics award in 2018, and the dish to come for is the off-menu Beijing duck dinner: a whole bird roasted days ahead, carved tableside, then turned course by course into fried rice and a final duck-broth soup. It is at 5039 N Broadway, roast meats hanging in the window, around $25 to $45 a head.
The Kitchen
The Beijing duck is the clearest read on the kitchen. Each bird is started days in advance — the skin has to dry and tighten so it crisps rather than steams — and Sun Wah refuses to pre-carve it; the duck is wheeled out whole and cut at the table whether you are one diner or ten. The first course is the meat in steamed gua bao with house hoisin and pickled daikon. Then the carcass goes back to the kitchen: lingering meat becomes duck fried rice or duck noodles, and the bones are rendered into a wintermelon-and-egg broth to finish. One bird, three courses, nothing wasted, the discipline of a proper Cantonese roast house. The rest of the hanging rack, char siu, soy-sauce chicken and roast duck by the pound, is among the most authoritative in the country.
What to Order
The Beijing duck dinner is the reason to book; reserve it a day ahead. Beyond it, pull from the rack: char siu, soy-sauce chicken, and roast duck by the pound, with the dim sum and Hong Kong dishes filling out a bigger table. See the wider Chicago dining guide.
Best Occasion: Team Dinner
Sun Wah handles a Chicago team dinner with the practised ease of a Cantonese institution. The Beijing duck dinner gives a group a tableside centrepiece, the roast-meat rack scales across a big table, and the bill stays honest. Bringing visitors to the city's reference Cantonese roast house is one of the most reliable group dinners in town. See more team-dinner tables.
Not for a quiet, lingering dinner or a tablecloth occasion. This is a large, busy, brisk dining room built around roast meat, and Thursdays it is closed, so plan the duck for another night.
Frequently Asked
What is the Beijing duck dinner at Sun Wah? An off-menu, multi-course feast built from one whole duck. The bird is started days in advance, roasted, and carved at your table; the meat comes first in steamed gua bao with house hoisin and pickled daikon. The carcass then returns to the kitchen for duck fried rice or duck noodles, and the bones are rendered into a wintermelon-and-egg broth to finish. Reserve it a day ahead.
How much does Sun Wah cost? Genuinely affordable for the quality, roughly $25 to $45 a head depending on whether you take the Beijing duck dinner. The off-menu duck feast is the splurge and the reason to come; roast meats by the pound, dim sum and Hong Kong dishes keep a casual meal lower. For the value alone it is one of Chicago's best-loved tables.
Do you need a reservation? For the Beijing duck dinner, yes, call ahead, since each duck is prepared days in advance and busy weekends sell out of more than 150. Walk-ins are fine for the regular menu of roast meats, dim sum and noodles. The restaurant is at 5039 N Broadway, a few doors from the Argyle Red Line station.
Is Sun Wah good for a group? Yes, one of Chicago's best team-dinner rooms. The dining room is large, the Beijing duck dinner gives a group a tableside centrepiece, and the hanging roast meats scale easily. It won a James Beard America's Classics award in 2018, so bringing visitors here is a safe, memorable bet.