5 Best Chinese Restaurants Near Marion, Illinois

Nothing else will satisfy your craving when you’re in the mood for authentic Chinese food. If you live in or around Marion, Illinois, you won’t have to go far to find a restaurant serving up the food you desire. You’ll find everything you want and more, including lo mein, dumplings, egg rolls, and wontons. Read below for Ike Honda’s guide to all the best Chinese restaurants near Marion that’ll keep you coming back for more.

Asian Star

Image by Drew Taylor is licensed with Unsplash License

Comfortable seating and a casual atmosphere await you inside Asian Star. The friendly service here will make you feel right at home. But it’s the exceptional Chinese cuisine that’ll tantalize your taste buds. Start your meal with a bowl of egg drop, hot and sour, or wonton soup, or get yourself some crispy egg rolls, spring rolls, or dumplings.

You can order combo meals with a main course, fried rice, and an egg roll or two-piece crab Rangoon. Some of the main course offerings include orange chicken, shrimp with lobster sauce, sweet and sour pork, and beef with mixed vegetables. The house special chow mein is another popular option, as is the roast pork egg foo young. You can dine in, but if you prefer to take your food with you and eat it at home, work, or anywhere else, you can use the convenient online ordering system.

Location: 1000 N. Carbon St., Suite W, Marion

Hours: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Sunday, closed Tuesday

China Wok

If you’re looking for a restaurant that uses high-quality, fresh ingredients that always taste great, then look no further than China Wok. It’s at a convenient location on Main Street, so you can easily eat in the dining room or take your food to go. You’ll love the excellent service and authentic Chinese cuisine. Of course, the prices are also wallet-friendly, so there’s nothing bad about this excellent Chinese restaurant in Marion.

China Wok serves up an amazing wonton egg drop soup that’s a must-try, but other soup options, aside from the standard egg drop and hot and sour, are bean curd with vegetables, chicken and rice, and seafood. You’ll find all the classics on the menu, including appetizers such as egg rolls, fried wontons, steamed dumplings, and crab Rangoon. The menu includes several unforgettable main courses, but those highly recommended include the house special chop suey, sweet and sour shrimp, and kung pao chicken.

Location: 709 W. Main St., Marion

Hours: 11 a.m. to 8:50 p.m. Monday through Saturday, closed Sunday

Hunan

With a warm and welcoming atmosphere, excellent service, and mouthwatering Chinese food, you can’t go wrong making the drive to Carbondale to eat at Hunan. It’s been serving the local community for 30 years, so you know it’s doing something right. No matter what your taste buds are craving, you’ll find it on the menu at Hunan. It has all your favorite appetizers, including pork fried dumplings, hacked shrimp, spring rolls, and satay beef. Add a jungle salad to your order. It features a spring mix of greens with strawberries topped with a Southern Asian peanut dressing.

For your entree, you can get a variety of Chinese dishes with chicken, pork, beef, or seafood. You can also choose from rice and noodle dishes, such as pineapple fried rice and Singapore stir-fried rice noodles. Make sure you save room for a mini cheese cupcake, fried ice cream, Chinese rice pudding, or the warm strawberry delight.

Location: 710 E. Main St., Carbondale

Hours: 11 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. daily

New Kahala

Serving both Chinese and Taiwanese dishes, New Kahala is a casual, counter-serve place that you don’t want to miss. For nearly 30 years, New Kahala has been creating savory Asian food for the people of Marion, Carbondale, and all the surrounding areas. If you’re looking for your new favorite restaurant, New Kahala is it. The most popular menu items include fried rice, General Tso’s chicken, and lo mein. For starters, you can get pork belly sliders, fried wontons, or egg rolls. If you love soup, try the fish ball, wonton, or tofu and vegetable soup.

This place has so many incredible main courses we can’t possibly list them all here. To give you an idea of the variety it offers, here’s a short compilation of a few favorites:

• Rainbow shrimp.
• Empress chicken.
• Pineapple chicken.
• Egg fu young.
• Sweet and sour pork.
• Pork with Peking sauce.

Location: 600 E. Grand Ave., Carbondale

Hours: 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Friday and noon to 11 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday

New China Star

Simple digs and delicious food define what New China Star is all about. The family-friendly atmosphere and buffet option make this a place where everyone is sure to find something they like. You can choose from the chef’s special or combo plates that’ll leave you full and satisfied. Consider ordering the Happy Family if you’ve got a big appetite. It comes with fresh shrimp, chicken, beef, roast pork, baby corn, broccoli, and Chinese vegetables and comes with rice. If you’re not quite that hungry, other options include Hunan chicken, moo shu pork, shrimp lo mein, and chicken with black pepper.

If you go at lunchtime, you can order from the lunch menu, which features many of the same dishes as the dinner menu but in smaller portions. All lunch options come with an egg roll and fried rice to make it a complete meal.

Location: 705 W. Main St., West Frankfort

Hours: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday

So, that’s Ike Honda’s list of the best Chinese food restaurants near Marion. Do you know of other great Chinese spots in the area that we didn’t include? Contact us and let us know where your favorite place to get Asian cuisine is so we can go check it out. We love having an excuse to go out to eat in Marion.