Urbanbelly Review

Authors: Jason Frey & Elena Gilbertson Hall

Urbanbelly, from experienced restaurant proprietor Chef Bill Kim, offers a variety of pan-Asian options. Chef Kim is a long-time restaurant owner, having founded the original Urbanbelly in Avondale, as well as bellyQ on Randolph Street and CBK Ramen Bar at Timeout Market (only the last of which is currently operating). The restaurant, located centrally in Wicker Park under the Damen L stop, is aptly marketed as Dumplings! Booze! Bowls! Some quick shopping made us hungry, and we walked up to the glass-fronted building, through which a wall of plants, pendant lights, and industrial design elements were visible. Craving snacks and a light lunch, we set out to explore a selection of the dishes in the open-plan, communal dining-style restaurant.

Edamame Dumplings

We grabbed our tray of plates from the bar and whet our appetite with edamame dumplings. They were steaming, pan-fried, and covered in soy sauce and scallions—which Jason loves. Taking a bite into the middle, we could see full, boiled edamame, which contributed to the balanced texture of the dish more greatly than a standard mashed or processed interior. The interior was lemony and steaming, but the filling could have used some more salt. Granted, it is difficult to make robustly flavored vegetarian dumplings while keeping them bright, and the dish was successful in recreating the warmth of a meat dumpling. The wrapper, on the other hand, was nothing special. A good classic dumpling.

Chicken Red Curry Dumplings

The chicken red curry dumplings were steamed rather than pan-fried. They also tasted of scallions and were spicier, topped with red chili flakes. We enjoyed them more than the edamame dumplings, and even though they weren’t super special, Thai-style red curry with Chinese chili oil elements in Japanese-style dumplings demonstrated a thoughtful fusion. There was something behind these dumplings, as well, that was lemony, light, and delicate. The textures were well balanced because of the fried exterior. More so in this dish than in the edamame dumplings, the East Asian fusion was apparent and continued to get more so.

Thai Fried Chicken

Having enjoyed the small plates of dumplings, we moved on to the Thai fried chicken. Scallions and peanuts topped the dish, which lay on a bed of cabbage. The exterior crunched sublimely, revealing soft steaming chicken. The flavor was somewhat unexpected at first—quite sweet, giving way to a kick on the aftertaste. It wasn’t immediately spicy and had a pleasant flavor progression. The fusion on this dish was very obviously Thai, with a Thai/Korean fry style, due to the texture being similar to that of potato starch or rice flour.

Tofu & Pea Shoots Fried Rice

For our second vegetarian dish, we ordered fried rice with tofu and pea shoots. We started by tasting the tofu, which was very soft, squishy, and had a slight oniony seasoning that was almost reminiscent of French-onion flavors. Although not the best tofu we’ve ever had, it worked with the other parts of the dish. The fried rice itself continued with the motif of delicate flavors, and the elements were well composed. Warm spices, derived from an Indian flavor profile as opposed to Japanese, Chinese, or Thai, featured in the rice. Additionally, the sprouts as a garnish created some textural interest with a crunch. However, the dish itself was a little dry and could have used a sauce—at the very least, soy sauce. It also left us wishing for some spice, since it wasn’t hot at all.

Hot Chicken Bao Buns

We saved the hot chicken bao buns for last, since we’re partial to steamed buns. It must be noted that the composition of the dish presented a beautiful contrast of color amongst the radish, pickles, fried chicken exterior, and the fiery red spice garnish. The chicken had the same airy, crunchy, rice flour fry as the Thai fried chicken, but whereas the latter was sweet, the former was quite spicy. This dish had fantastic flavor interplay; for that reason, it was our favorite thing on the order. A surprising standout was the coleslaw, whose rich flavor yielded a cool contrast to the hot chicken. Once again, the fusion with the Chinese-style flavors and Korean-style fry was subtle and successful. The bao buns are a great comfort dish if you’re looking for hands food and complex seasoning.

It became quite clear to us after the third dish that at Urbanbelly, Chef Kim was particularly focused on creating plates that were light, delicate, and not overly filling. Even though five plates were more than enough to satisfy our post-shopping hunger, nothing left us feeling gross or bloated. Each dish had layered textures and citrusy brightness. However, we don’t think that this restaurant is quite good enough for the price that they charge for the food. Some of the dishes were just standard or slightly underwhelming, so you shouldn’t feel pressured to go out of your way to visit. That being said, if you find yourself hungry in Wicker Park and wanting a wide variety of Asian dishes to choose from, definitely give Urbanbelly a try.