Cid’s Ma Mon Luk

My husband is always on a hunt for a good Filipino restaurant because he knows I have my cravings. He found Cid’s Ma Mon Luk which is 30 minutes away from where we live. I was never a fan of Ma Mon Luk when I lived in California, but since Filipino food is very limited here in IL, and a good one at that, we decided to try this place. We arrived before 8:45pm (Friday night), Unilocal shows they are open until 11:00pm. But as soon as we parked, I saw that they turned off their open sign! We rushed to the door and and waited for someone to come to the door so we could ask them why they were closing early. The woman (I believe she is the owner) said they are only open until 9:00 pm on Mondays-​Saturdays and until 8:00 pm on Sundays. We showed her the Unilocal page and she said the information must be from the previous owner. But she was very nice and offered us to come in and eat inside if we’d like. We decided to just order food to take home since I am sure her employees wanted to go home already. I ordered the pork liempo, a couple of siopao, their house mami, bibingka, lumpia and some green dessert. I don’t know the name of it but it has green jello, shredded coconut and milk. I enjoyed all of them!!! In fact, the lumpias did not make it home, we devoured them in the car. =D
My only complain is their hours. She advised us to check their facebook page. My husband did and fb shows they are open until 11:00 pm on Saturdays. :(I think they should be open late on Fridays and Saturdays.
Anyway, it’s a really small place and I probably wouldn’t get a chance to sit down and eat here unless I come just before they close. :)

A small Filipino restaurant located within a strip mall right next to a movie theater that seems to have only foreign film features playing. I was excited to come here even though it was quite a haul from Schaumburg where I am currently staying on vacation. The traffic was ridiculous so when we finally made it, I was so happy the place wasn’t busy since I was quite starved.
This place seemed like it’s being ran by a couple or a family. It definitely gave me the feel of a charming, little mom and pop type of restaurant. There were some old Filipino music playing in the background that I recognized. My parents and grandparents used to listen to them all the time and sing along to the music. The woman at the counter did sing while we perused the menu and it reminded me of my grandma who passed away when I was 17.
We ordered some lumpia shanghai to start with. I had some hopes but maybe I just need to quit hoping. I happen to make my own lumpia at home and none of the Filipino places I’ve been to seem to ever make theirs from scratch. It is always the same little pieces that looked like they came from the frozen aisle at an asian or Filipino market. How do I know? Because they all taste the same everywhere — a little bit overfried because it’s fried in frozen state, has nothing but a tiny sliver of meat inside with no distinguishing flavors and are all about the same size. Trust me, when you make your own you can taste the difference.
But enough about that. It really wasn’t a deal breaker. We came here for the lechon kawali and wow! It was so authentic and delicious. Then I also ordered some pancit bihon with chicken which was also very lovely. Both dishes brought back fond memories of fiestas in the Philippines, of hot summer days drinking coca-​cola, eating pancit bihon and munching on some crisp skin from the lechon kawali. When things have that much power to awaken memories of the past then it’s definitely worth writing about.
I wanted so much to try their halo-​halo and siopao but I was too full and didn’t want to make myself sick. I would love to come back here another time in the far away future. If I had a flying broomstick, I would fly up here and eat here everyday. Too bad Siquijor (I’m Siquijodnon) really doesn’t have real witchcraft. Either that or I am just a muggle.

⁴⁄₅
Came here on a Sunday around 2pm and it was packed, granted they only had 7 tables. A table opened up so we sat within minutes of walking in. It’s a very quaint mom & pop shop, so don’t expect anything fancy– water in styrofoam cups. I’m not well knowledge in Filipino cuisine (yet!), but I knew I loved crispy pork (pata??). That was my only requirement and had my friend order the rest.
The beef skewers were very tender, tender enough to cut with a fork. It had a good amount of grilled flavor, and reminded me of Korean bulgogi in their marinade. The mountain of garlic fried rice is simply rice and garlic that had good balance: it wasn’t overbearing with garlic, but definitely not subtle. Now for the highlight of my experience: crispy pork. We ordered the small size and were content on the size, although I honestly could’ve pigged out on the small by myself but would’ve crawled out stuffed. It was so perfectly crisped yet juicy, my mouth is watering as I’m typing this. The sweet sauce they give you compliments the pork very well and cuts that greasy feeling from the heavenly fried meat. Ok, now my mouth is like a damn waterfall.
For dessert, we had plantain wrapped in thin eggroll skin that was fried and drizzled with chocolate syrup and a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Being a mom & pop shop, you can tell the ice cream probably came in those gigantic tubs with a generic vanilla flavor. I didn’t care too much because when you have crispy pork, everything else becomes obsolete there.
Now that I have this on my mind, I’m going to call in and order some crispy pork to add to my dinner plate. hahahaha who am I kidding, this IS going to be my dinner tonight!

My family and I tried this small typical Filipino eatery. Glad we did. We ordered the Kare Kare (beef stew), Panict (fried noodles with vegetables) and had some Lumpia (meat egg rolls). The Pancit was good, Lumpia was ok but the winner was the Kare Kare it was an unexpected surprise! deep rich flavor and delicious lean meat. Next to us the table next ordered the Mami (noodle soup) and it looked and smelled gooooood. The staff was very personable and playful with my 16 month old son. In addition, they have Suman (sweet rice dessert wrapped in banana leaf) it was spot on. Overall this is a very simple place with nice people and good solid Filipino food. We’ll be back when were in the area.

We ordered sinigang na bangus and liempo and they were fantastic. The sinigang could be a little salty for my liking though.

It’s been almost 4 years since I’ve been back to this place. They have made plenty of improvements since then. The place has been renovated and it’s more spacious. They added more staff for customers. The food is also better. I recommend the crispy pata and the lumpia.

Love their siopao and pork bbq! I always come here whenever I am in town. Good price, very reasonable.

I like coming here when I’m craving some Sinigang (either pork or beef). I love the way that it has the perfect amount of sour. Then I chase that down with some sago gulaman.

My wife is Filipina and we were in the area, so we decided to stop. The place is small (public/​dining area is about 350 sqft. — smaller than our living room), with a handful of tables for eating in. Food was good, but the service was poor. We had to get our own water from a water dispenser… and the hostess (owner?) was kind of cranky. Filipino TV was on the whole time. The food was pretty good. I had caldereta (beef stew), my wife had bitter melon and the kids had egg rolls and BBQ pork on a stick. We all liked the food… but my wife complained of a headache from dinner and from leftovers… likely due to MSG. Entrees were typically ~$ 10 each. In summary… good food… but not a place to go to impress someone.

Only go if really desperate.
This place should not call itself a restaurant. It’s a snack shop at best. Whoever is cooking the food here is an amateur. On my first visit, I sampled the Pancit Malabon and came away so disappointed. The sauce was so thin it barely coated the noodle. The dish basically consisted of watery sauce and noodles. On another visit I figured I’d keep away from the pancit and tried the Bola Bola Siopao. The waitress asked if I’d like it warmed up. Came back in barely a minute with the bun suffocated in cling wrap. You know what happens to doughy things heated up in a microwave — it had the texture of a doughy smurf ball. Who in their right mind would pay $ 1.85 for a wet bun?
Utterly disappointing. Definitely will not be going back.

Small place with food for big Appetites! Great service and great food. The sinigang and crispy pata are stars here. Great after a long night out if it was open at 2am. As it is I just wish it was closer to Gurnee because the Filipino food up in the North Chicago is absolute garbage compared to this place. You won’t be disappointed.

I give Cid’s Ma Mon Luk no stars! As a Filipina, I have to say I am very disappointed in this place. The food is horrible and overpriced, and they refused to honor my
certificate even when it clearly says it does NOT expire. Other than the fact that that is bad for business, their rice was hard, the portions were very small, the food was old, and possibly the worst Filipino food I have ever had. There are much better Filipino food restaurants in the city that are worth traveling to, such as, «Ruby’s» on Montrose and Pulaski (3740 W. Montrose Ave, Chicago, IL 60 618 (773) 539‑2669) Will never return to Cid’s again!

Good Filipino food.

I LOVE their siopao! I’m not sure what they put in the sauce but they are super good! It’s the only thing I order and I usually take things home by the dozen! My mom loves it as well.

Being part Filipino, with my ma born in Pampanga (stereotypically great cooks), my expectations for Filipino restaurants are set high. Coming here, there are about 6 tables. My ma and I sit down and order (sorry ahead of time for my terrible tagalog spelling!) lumpiang shanghai, kare kare and pancit bihon. White rice is extra, but who can eat kare kare without white rice?
Lumpiang shangai was ⁴⁄₅ stars (⁵⁄₅ stars are dedicated only to my ma’s eggrolls, lol)
Kare kare is COMPARABLE TO MY MA’S!!! You can taste the peanut butter they use. ⁴⁄₅ for me.
We got the chicken pancit bihon and it too was pretty good. Not as good in my book as their kare kare. Yummmmmmm, their kare kare. Pancit ³⁄₅ rating from me.
The sweetest server. She was so cute.
My ma got mini ensymadas (ube and plan with butter and sugar) which she liked.
Now, if you think I am a tough critic, my ma understandably so is the epic toughest critic. She had nothing negative to say about the food
One star deducted (this will be a good star deduction), because they should open a bigger restaurant. If you aren’t searching for it, you may miss it off of Golf. I love this restaurant!!!

I am on vacation staying in the Chicago area. I searched and asked for a good Filipino restaurant and this seemed to be the one. We travelled 15 miles to get to this place. When we walked in, the place seemed warm and inviting. Such as you were eating at Lola’s house. No sooner did we get in, we were told — we are closed. HUH? I said to them — Unilocal told me that you were open until 11 p.m. and it is only 9:30 p.m. They said that business is slow so we close. Don’t you call a family of four business that will drop an easy $ 75? Don’t want to leave the single star, although you earned it !

Negative five below and I want some soup. Beef nilaga at your service. Even with the 20 minute drive and a 10 minute walk, this was piping hot when packed opened! Savory broth with chunky soft meat. Ample servings of potatoes and cabbage. Is that enough detail?
To accompany this was 2 chicken siaopao’s. Perfect bread consistency. The filling inside was well seasoned, not too wet and not too chunky of chicken. Their version of siaopao has definitely turned me into a believer as I was never a fan of this bakery good until now.
And because I can NEVER go somewhere with just trying one thing, I also picked up some sago gulaman. This place was hitting all my cravings! The Filipino drink filled with a sweet tea like flavor with tapioca calls on the bottom and mixed jellies throughout hit the spot despite the cold weather.
Also purchased was a small container of buca pandan. The greenish condensed milk with mixed jellies and yellow coconut made me such a happy camper.
I’m sold on this place! And now it looks like I have my regular order for future cravings!

I missed my flight at Ohare so we got a hotel room by the airport! I got a big time craving for pinoy food! Checked with Unilocal and I got this place! I was so excited but then the excitement went down after I tasted the diniguan and pork sinigang! Both were so salty! And you have to pay for rice! What??? It was not worth the trip !!

This was my first filipino restaurant I’ve ever been to, obviously I cannot compare it to anywhere else, but I must say it was pretty good. We had some garlic fried rice which is just amazing, how can you mess up garlic fried rice? We also had some crispy pata, oh man, I love the crispiness to it! It was very much like chicharron. Really tasty! As for the pancit, I’ve definitely had better at friend’s houses, it just left a weird taste in my mouth… not sure it seemed too sour? Maybe that was the lemon my friend squeezed on top of it.
Do keep in mind that it is a very small restaurant with limited seating, but the people that work there are super nice! I think I would go back!

I love Ma Mon Luk! I generally don’t go to Filipino restaurants. It seems so dumb to pay for Filipino food when my mom makes the best Filipino food ever for free! Buuut I can’t stay away from Ma Mon Luk’s lechon kawali – it’s ridiculously good – crispy, fatty, golden. When I go, I usually go with the same friend (who introduced me to the place and whose family has been going there for years). We get the same thing every time: an order of lechon kawali, pancit, mami/​lomi, and sago’t gulaman. Their pancit is delicious — we usually ask for extra limes. I’m not a fan of mami/​lomi but my friend loves it.
The other day, I took one of my other friends here for lunch. We ordered lechon kawali, house fried rice, pork shumai and sago’t gulaman. The house fried rice was okay/​average. The pork shumai was delicious and I would get it again.
I admit that the food is a tad overpriced and I wish the rice was included in the price of the entrée (for example, lechon kawali + a bowl of rice =$ 10) which i why I’m rating 4 out of 5 stars.