Cheap Eats: Mapo

By Monica Eng | Tribune reporter

February 5, 2009

If you think of the 'burbs as a wasteland of bland food, readjust your tongue. And Mapo in Naperville is an excellent place to start. Until two years ago, the restaurant operated as Old Peking. But it got a spicy makeover when Kevin Wu bought it and hired chefs from Szechwan and Hunan to fire up the kitchen. Wu had been a partner in the now defunct Palatine Lao Sze Chuan and brought some of that spice to this Naperville venture.

The large, handsome dining room is illuminated with track lights, lined with colorful Chinese street life murals and packed with Chinese-American customers, especially on weekends.

They come for the hearty beef rolls ($8.50), featuring slices of marinated beef rolled in a savory pancake, covered in foil and sliced into wheels. We liked it too, but it cries out for a spicy-sweet dipping sauce. The cold mung bean gelatin noodles ($5.95) boasted plenty of ma la (tingly and spicy) flavor but could have used a tangy accent.

Yu Shan pork ($9.95), sesame tofu ($10.95) and kung pao chicken ($9.95) all proved passable, if unexciting, versions of the classic Szechwan and Taiwanese dishes. But they are no reason for non-Napervillians to return.

Three dishes, however, that would bring us back include the beautifully balanced don don noodles ($7.50), featuring fresh, hot linguine-like noodles curled into nests then topped with spinach, pickled vegetables, pork, garlic and a chile-laced sauce. Another is the Taiwanese rice box ($7.50), starring rice, preserved vegetables, braised tofu, ground pork and a thick slab of rich, sweet slow-braised pork belly that mimics the slab of tofu in preparation.

Finally, the star attraction—and reason enough to return often this winter—is Mapo's signature spicy beef noodle soup ($8.95). Pliable noodles and slow-braised beef shank are nestled in a rich, intense anise, chile and clove accented broth along with baby bok choy, fresh cilantro and green onions. Taiwanese or Szechwan friends have taken me somewhere to try the "famous beef noodle soup" (both groups claim it as their own), only for me to say, "Sorry, I don't get the big whoop." Mapo's version finally opened my eyes to what a complex, satisfying delicacy it can be done right.

meng@tribune.com

Mapo Restaurant

1563 Naperville Wheaton Rd., Naperville

630-420-1388

maporestaurant.com

Hours: 11:30 a.m.-9 p.m. Sun.; 11:30 a.m.-9:30 p.m. Mon.-Thur.; 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m. Fri.-Sat.

Credit cards: V, M, A, D

Noise: Conversation friendly

Delivery: No

Parking: In a lot

Price: Entrees are generally $7.50-$15.95.

Don't miss: Spicy beef noodle soup, Taiwanese rice box, don don noodles.

Take a pass: Nothing we tasted was bad, but the yu shan pork and kung pao chicken didn't excite us much.

Best for: Authentic Szechwan food lovers.