Introduction to Crying Tiger
Renowned chef Thai Dang’s latest culinary venture is Crying Tiger, a new restaurant in River North with the traditions of Southeast Asian cuisine as the focus. At Crying Tiger, which opened Tuesday, the blending of different cuisines and flavors — some even inspired by Pilsen’s Mexican community — is possible because of chef Dang’s own story. “Coming from an immigrant family, and then to be part of this, is pretty wild,” Dang told the Sun-Times.
Collaboration and Inspiration
The 140-seat restaurant is a collaboration between Dang — who, with his wife, Danielle, is behind the award-winning HaiSous Vietnamese Kitchen in Pilsen — and Amarit Dulyapaibul, a managing partner with Lettuce Entertain You, the Chicago-based restaurant group. Crying Tiger in River North celebrates the flavors and ingredients commonly found in dishes throughout Vietnam and Thailand. Diners can also enjoy dishes inspired by parts of India, China, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, Malaysia and beyond.
Menu Highlights
“One of the dishes that I’m really excited about is this Hong Kong-style roast pork with the skin on,” Dang said. The pork belly dish is served alongside garlic herb nước chấm, a dipping sauce made with fish sauce, sugar, chiles, lime juice and shallot. According to Dang, the dish is inspired by his travels in China. But he also credits the carnitas at Carnitas Don Pedro, steps away from his Pilsen restaurant.
Tour of Southeast Asia
Diverse Menu Offerings
Crying Tiger celebrates the flavors and ingredients commonly found in dishes throughout Vietnam, where Dang was born, and Thailand, where Dulyapaibul’s parents are from. But they didn’t stop there: Diners can enjoy dishes inspired by parts of India, China, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, Malaysia and beyond. The menu is largely shareable, with items such as the prawn toast ($17), made with Chinese youtiao (deep-fried dough that’s similar to a churro), and sugarcane beef wrapped in chargrilled betel leaves ($18). Entrees range from stir fry, curries, rice and noodle dishes to showstoppers such as the whole, grilled branzino with lemongrass ($58) or dry-aged ribeye that can feed four ($115).
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