J’s Snack House

I hadn't been to Chinatown since the early 2000's, and wouldn't have recognized it had I been dropped in. The pedestrian avenue shoulder to shoulder crammed with tourists, the lines out the door for boba tea served in bottles shaped like donuts, the dumpling and barbecue houses set right in a row with hardly any room for differentiation. I was not prepared for this overstimulation (or to wait an hour to eat hand pulled noodles), and retreated to a more familiar, comforting overstimulation: the basement karaoke mall food court.In much of Asia (if not usually the states) mall food courts can hide some tremendous food under an unpretentious curtain. This was the case here. J's Snack House served me a bowl of fiery House Special Snail Noodle Soup (ordered medium-spicy, so beware) that tasted as though I was still back in China in 2013 at some unassuming train-station adjacent stall that served better food than I'd find in my home city in weeks.The soup comes with a good scoop of black, curled snails, only one of which had any sand to it (a pretty good percentage), thinly sliced crispy bean curd, bok choy, a sprinkling of peanuts, some pickled vegetables, bamboo, and a ton of rice noodles. And like I mentioned, it was HOT, cry-into-your-soup-bowl hot. It contained just a prickling of numbing spice, not enough to take out your whole throat. Most of it was regular chili hot. But it's not only hot, it's also sour and floral and a tiny bit earthy from the snails and just fantastic.I told this to the woman who ran the stall; she seemed relieved and her face broke out in a smile. She asked me if I didn't think it was too sour or 'smelly'... it made me sad that she ever worried for one second about her PERFECT soup.Great Chinese food, the kind of Chinese food that would not be out of place in China, is hard to come by in Chicago; this is a special place.

I ordered the Nanjing Duck Vermicelli Noodle Soup. It is pretty hard to find places that have blood cubes and this was pretty good! I loved the potato noodles. Service was ok. They have super small paper bowls and they gave us 2. I wanted one more for my sibling and the woman said no. So stingy for some cheap paper plates!

House special potato noodle soup was interesting. I has the mild tomato broth. There's something slightly off putting about the jiggliness of the noodles. Imagine the jiggle of a tapioca boba stretched into a noodle shape and then a bowl full of it. I like the texture but there's something inside me that screams "something's not right with this."The flavor of the broth is nice. I liked the flavor and texture of the seaweed and tofu and some other thing I'm not sure what it was (honestly it looked a little like a shoelace). I'm not sure I'd order it again, but I'd definitely come back to try something else.The environment is not the best. A somewhat dingy underground food court. I've been here before and each time it's rather hectic and kids running around randomly, don't come here to relax. Come to eat and gtfo. But don't expect them or anyone else in this food court to validate parking!

I hadn't seen Nanjing Duck Vermicelli soup anywhere in the US, so I felt obligated to order it. Duck is definitely an acquired taste, but this soup was delicious and light yet filling. Very friendly and quick service. Sauces are available at the counter to add to your liking. Hope to be back to try other things off the menu!

oh man this place is amazing!! I got the spicy braised beef potato noodles (level 4 spicy) It came out boiling. It had bean curd strips, quail eggs, scallions, tofu, seaweed, sausage, and bok choy. This dish amazed me. Possible unpopular opinion.. I think Chicago lacks in the Asian food area BUT this place gives ME HOPE!!! It had the numbing taste, but so tasteful :) will be coming back. The worker was also so kind and gave me an extra set of bowls and utensils

Small vendor hidden underground Chinatown food court. The food vendors here are like hole-in-the-wall. We grabbed a snack at this noodle place. Beef brisket noodle soup about $10, really cheap! Bf loves spicy, he ordered extra spicy for it. Flavor of noodle was good. Spicyness gives a numb taste to it. If we had the appetite we would try more food.

Came out so fast and extremely hot. Very flavorful and spicy. Good quality ingredients. Super bouncy noodles. A very abundant hot pot.

I never write Yelp reviews, but this one is absolutely necessary. The potato noodles were absolutely delicious, came out sizzling and steaming in an authentic pot. The owners (I believe a couple) were so incredibly sweet--it was 10 minutes after closing and they still allowed me to order. The extra meat and veggies costed extra, and after some visible deliberation I (a broke college student) decided to not get them. But the owners were so kind and could tell that I was probably really hungry so they added meat and extras in for me :) which really touched my heart. They also made sure I was safe, told me to take my time eating, and showed me to the exit since the place was closing and the front gates were locked.TLDR: Incredibly kind owners, delicious food, absolutely deserve business! Highly, highly recommend supporting their business.

I love this place which is located in the food court basement of the "Heungseng Square," building next to Qing Xiang Yuan Dumplings. The food court has dining tables so you can eat inside. We ordered their House Special Potato Noodle Soup $14.99 and it was mind-flowingly delicious. I ordered mine with Spicy & Numbing soup base and #2 medium spicy. My mouth had a slight Ma La tingle as I enjoyed it and drank the entire soup base. If you love spicy and Ma La, then you must try this soup! The potato noodles were delicious and they put the right amount of noodles. The soup included tofu skin, fried fish balls, and shredded seaweed which were a perfect addition for nutrition and protein. The portion size for just right for adults to finish. We would definitely order this soup again! Service was excellent and the female owner is very nice. In addition, Elitea which is my favorite boba tea spot in Chinatown (less expensive than competitors) - is located in the same food court.

very good potato noodle, with different levels of spiciness that you can choose from. The house special potato noodle soup is good, we ordered medium spicy and it was just right, the only thing is there's no meat in there (only 2 quail eggs and 2 pieces of fried tofu), you would have to order add on meat. The portion is actually good for ladies without meat. The stir fried potato noodle is also pretty good, we ordered medium spicy too, but it felt a lot more spicy than the signature dishthe braised beef noodle soup is really good, with a lot of beef in it, and good broth.the spicy duck neck has great flavor, but i feel like it can be more chewy