Restaurant Review: Chicago’s AAPI Restaurant Week celebrates Asian culture and cuisine
In 2021, during the Pandemic, Chicago’s restaurant community was coming up with creative ways to stay afloat and keep their mission. Thus, Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Restaurant Week was created. In 2025, AAPI Restaurant Week runs May 16-25.
As Axios Chicago noted, what started as a way to help ailing Asian restaurants in the middle of the pandemic became a celebration of Asian food culture known as Chicago’s AAPI Restaurants Week, with 58 area-wide restaurants participating, offering specials on Asian food ranging from Filipino Pancit to Taiwanese Mochi Doughnuts. (BTW…yum!)
For example…
Lincoln Park’s Aloha Eats, 2534 N. Clark Street, features Hawaiian treats such as Chicken Katsu, a boneless, skinless chicken filet breaded with premium Japanese breadcrumbs, fried and chopped into smaller pieces, and served with two scoops rice, one scoop mac salad, and house-made sweet & tangy katsu sauce on the side. Their monthly specialty for May is a Chef Ortega’s Burger, a house-made hamburger patty, served with an egg any style, grilled onions, lettuce, tomato, and Sriracha mayo. Mochiko Chicken has dark meat chicken pieces marinated with garlic, ginger, sweet rice flour & deep fried. Subtly sweet and savory with a slight sticky chew, served on a bed of shredded cabbage. Loco Moco is a distinctly Hawaiian dish, with two house-made hamburger patties, two eggs any style, and brown gravy, served with two scoops rice, one scoop mac salad. An Island Breakfast (Mini Plate) features four slices of Rego’s purity brand Portuguese sausage, one slice of grilled Spam, two eggs any style, and two scoops of rice. Roxy’s Breakfast (Mini Plate), is two slices spam katsu (ie., breaded and deep-fried,) one egg, two scoops rice, sprinkled with furikake (Japanese seasoning.) No reservations are necessary.
Flamingo Tea in Lakeview, 843 1/2 W. Belmont Avenue, is offering Value Meals including a sandwich, drink and fries starting at $10.99, including Tso-Good Chicken Sandwich, which is a hand-battered chicken breast dipped in sweet and spicy Tso Good Sauce with shredded romaine, fresh tomato and Japanese mayo on a buttered brioche bun. Or, try a Tamago Katsu Sando; a panko-breaded Japanese omelette, shredded cabbage, Japanese mayo and okonomi sauce on a buttered brioche bun. No reservations are necessary.
Uptown’s Hon Kee Bbq & Seafood Restaurant, 5009 N. Winthrop Avenue, is Chicago’s oldest Chinese bbq restaurant. For 44 years, they’ve served specialties like bbq roast pork, roast ducks, noodle soups, and rice plates to fresh seafood like Hong Kong-Style Crab, Clams, Lobsters and more. For AAPI Restaurant Week, you can enjoy BBQ Pei Pa Duck, butterflied and roasted flat, with house plum sauce. Vegetarians can enjoy specialties such as Stir-fry King Oyster Mushroom & Peapod Tips, Stir-fried Chinese Broccoli with Ginge, and Stuffed Eggplant with Taro & Black Pepper Sauce. They’re offering a three-course Beijing duck dinner featuring roast duck with buns, duck stir fry and soup for $54. For information, call (773) 878-6650.
Sunda New Asian, with locations in River North, 110 W. Illinois Street, and Fulton Market, 333 Green Street. They’re offering Baked Oysters, Coconut-Braised Collar Green “Laing”, with bacon, pickled chili, and toasted panko. Sisig, a mix of braised pork belly, honeycomb tripe, red onions, shishito peppers, crispy egg, chili lime vinaigrette, and roti prata. Short Rib Kare Kare arebraised beef short ribs, achiote peanut sauce, bagoong chili crisp, and fresh herbs.
Up to four guests can share a $180 Kamayan Feast , which includes Adobo Pork Belly, Crispy Pata, Chicken Inasal, Garlic Shrimp, Lumpia Egg Rolls, Green Beans, Jasmine Rice, and dipping sauces. Reservations can be made by clicking here for River North, or here for Fulton Market.
For a complete list of participating restaurants, click here.
Alison Moran-Powers and Dean’s Team Chicago
