Four Belly Asian Street Food

The apps are tasty and the Ramen is solid, not the best but like the vibe and variety.

For me, this was a no-​brainer, five stars easy. I literally loved everything that I ate there and I was really happy with the service as well as the décor.
We decided to eat there on a Wednesday night after getting a manicure and pedicure (my first ever). When we walk, We were immediately greeted and given a choice of wherever we wanted to sit as it was basically still dinner time for grandpas. I immediately noticed the giant happy Buddha on the wall as well as the beautiful cherry blossoms along the back of the wall booths.
After taking a sneak peek at all the Unilocal reviews (thank you Homies!) as well as taking advantage of the check in to get a free dessert, we decided on the Kimchi fries, Fried chicken Thai Larb, Black garlic Ramen, tom yum ramen, and lychee ice cream (which was free).
The kimchi fries came out and they were delicious. I love the fact that it was not trying to be all «hey look at me, I got kimchi» but more about being delicious french fries with kimchi mayo sauce. We could not stop eating them they were so yummy yummy in my tummy tummy.
The fried chicken Thai larb was very different. And probably my least favorite thing of the meal but it was still good. I usually eat Thai larb with some type of chopped or ground protein but what I love was how I got authentic Thai flavors that should be in larb and not a dumbed down version for Americans.
It was now time for Ramen. I am very picky about Ramen and while this is not traditional Japanese Ramen I loved how you could get Ramen and miso flavors with authentic tom yum and black garlic soups. That Tom Yum ya’ll, flavor explosion BOOM! And I love the black garlic broth and FYI black garlic is good for you so basically I am bout that healthy life.
As a cherry on top, the lychee ice cream was served in a traditional Thai bowl which I thought was a great idea to keep the ice cream cold.
All and all, everything was great had an amazing dinner I will be there again and also if you want to see an Asian Star Wars poster and Power Ranger poster go there.

Never coming back to this place. Food was terrible, only the ramen was OK…
Waste of time and money!

A friend wanted to come try this place out. Food is not great, which I’m used to since I’m a traveler and like to try new food at places they actually come from. But on top of that service sucks as well. They do this thing I call «drop off with no eye contact» service so you can’t ask for anything else.. . sigh… service is key at any restaurant and this place does not have it. I don’t think I’ll come back anytime soon.
It was nice they had a tv thou. Could watch the game.

Ambiance is rustic with wooden décor and interesting artwork. The spicy udon noodles were packed with flavor and full of crunchy fresh veggies! The veggies also made the dish colorful and the appearance alone makes you want to eat it. My girlfriend devoured her pad Thai and was raving about how tasty it was. The thai tea was refreshing and not overly sweet. The mason jar was a cute touch. The prices are phenomenal and there’s such variety here! will definitely return!

It’s a cozy space. Great to get out of the cold for some noodles or soup. Most of the dishes are either Thai or Korean with a few Japanese things mixed in. If you’ve got a craving for some southeast Asian street dish this is the place.
Had the fourbelly bibimbap, it was pretty good! Also, check in, they give you free ice cream.

I had pretty good hopes for this place. The menu read as being interesting but the food didn’t match up. Started with the Wasabi Shumai and the beef asparagus skewer. Both were mediocre. The Shumai was very hot (temperature not spice) and the flavor was meh. The beef was tough. I think personally it was just the quality (low) of the meat. Then had the Korean Bulgogi. Again, the meat was tough. The flavor was actually ok but it was basic late night Asian food.
The real kicker was the Thai Iced Coffee. This was super sweet. I mean killer sweet and this is from a person that thinks donuts are an actual dinner. The result was not good physically. The combo of foods resulted in a really nauseous feeling and has put me off of this place.

The chicken dumplings are really good. Also took the Kara-​age chicken and enjoyed it as well! Got a free green tea ice cream when I checked-​in, the texture is great and it actually taste green tea!

First time here and i can say they have goood food! I love the takoyaki! The best they have exotic food too like fried caterpillars. Price, reasonable and the serving is big. Will go back for sure!

One of the best Asian fusion restaurants I’ve been to in this city. Unassuming, we went in solely for the fact that they are Byob to hard liquor as well as beer and wine. Turns out, we were all pleasantly surprised by the food. The atmosphere is casual and nothing to be wowed by. The food, on the other hand, is. We started with the wasabi fries which were crispy fries with a somewhat spicy wasabi dipping sauce. We had two for the table and in a matter of minutes, they were gone. I personally ordered the Panang ramen, which has to be one of the best dishes I’ve had to date. Coconutty with a hint of heat… yum. I tried a sip of the regular ramen which was tasty as well as the pad Thai. The prices are also extremely reasonable. For 7 people we spent about 68 total. Not bad at all for a Saturday dinner out.

I ordered the spicy ramen and I love the spicy sauce so much!!! It tastes exactly like a kind of sauce I loved the most when I was back in China.

I actually think Four Belly is one of the more underrated Asian fusion restaurants in Lakeview. Though I can’t say that I’ve tried their menu extensively, I did appreciate what I had on my visit there awhile back.
Sweet Corn Tempura — Fantastic little nuggets of joy. Definitely my favorite! If you like corn, please get this. The light batter of tempura around the corn is fried really well and if memory serves me correctly, it was a very reasonable portion for only $ 4.
Tom Yum Ramen — This is basically exactly what I expected when I heard Tom Yum and ramen put together. As with tom yum soup, you can expect the ramen soup to be more sour and Thai flavored rather than the usual savory with a hint of sweet that you’d get with a Japanese based tonkatsu or shio soup. I loved that it came with a variety of ramen toppings and that the soup was spicy enough. Outside of flavors, the quantity and price were right where it was supposed to be.
And…yes, my daredevil friend did in fact try the fried silk caterpillars. I could barely watch him eat it without gagging. He said that there wasn’t enough flavor but it was an interesting try if you want something different with the meal.
Four Belly is a mash pot of various Asian flavors so it’s a good place to come when you can’t decide which Asian cuisine you’re in the mood for! I definitely think I’ll return for more.

The first time I came here was from a recommendation I saw for ramen places in Chicago. Unfortunately, I don’t recall what I ordered before, but this second visit I ordered the Spicy Kara Miso Ramen.
The serving was a good size for one person, and I liked that they don’t skimp out on the noodles (since some places that serve ramen tend to add more soup than noodle). The pork slices are fair sized as well. I did enjoy the flavor and heat, but did not get as deep of a broth that I usually like with my ramen. Additionally, the menu indicates that there is red pickled ginger and my bowl had regular non pickled ginger, which can be less palatable. Otherwise, I thought it was decent ramen.
The restaurant itself is pretty interesting – it has a Thai/​Japanese 80’s and 90’s theme to it with lots of vintage decorations, trippy lights and interesting wall paintings. I liked that the soy sauce bottles were fashioned from old Buddha-​shaped beer bottles. The service was great – they were polite and quick with bringing out the food.
The menu is pretty expansive, having Thai, Japanese and Korean fusion items, so I’m probably going here again to check out what else they have to offer.

I found out about this place from Groupon and came here for dinner on a weekend. It was easy to find street parking and the restaurant was practically empty. I ordered the tonkotsu ramen… which was interesting. The egg was completely cooked, the noodles were soggy, and the broth had a strong ginger and mushroom taste. It just seemed like some sort of noodle soup with a bunch of toppings to me. With all the different ramen shops popping up in town I will not be coming back to Four Belly.

I’ve been back a couple times since my first review and I have to say, the food has always been delicious so I’m upgrading my rating — I’m a huge fan of having Ramen a block away from my house.
The one caveat I would make is that it can take quite a while to receive your food. It’s BYOB so bring wine and have a bit of conversation while you wait.

My friends and I came here on a Wednesday night and most of the tables were available. I ordered the Garlic & Pepper Frog Legs, Original Silky Tonkotsu Ramen, and Mango Rice dessert.
Don’t be scared to try the Garlic & Pepper Frog Legs! It was seasoned well and tasted like chicken, but it was quite boney. The ramen broth was so so, and there was not much meat. I would recommend paying extra for more pork if you’re hungry. The mango rice dessert was delicious, a great way to end the meal.

Starving and a bit hungover from a night of bar hopping around Boystown with my friends from out of town, we crawled about three stores down to Four Belly and had lunch.
We were immediately served with mason jar waters and placed our orders. The food took a bit long to come out, maybe because I was so hungry already.
My tonkotsu ramen was decent, nothing too special about it but it wasn’t bad. It did get a bit salty towards the end so I couldn’t finish the ramen. I asked for the free ice cream with Unilocal check in while my friend got sticky rice with banana. Note: the sticky rice w/​banana is the dessert that is wrapped in banana leaf, it’s not the one that’s white stick rice with mango type dessert.
I ordered a ramen and a Japanese tea drink and the total after tax and tip came out to almost $ 20. I thought this was a bit pricey for just decent ramen. This is a good place if you have a big party since it is pretty spacious but other than that, there’s nothing too special here. I can compare it to Joy Yee with the variety of Asian food that they offered.

The menu is a hodge podge of popular Asian and southeast Asian snacks and street food. I’ve been here twice. they have a wide selection and offers a unique menu that you don’t see often in Chicago. This is the part that probably has people coming back.
We had:
Moo Ping: awesome choice. can’t go wrong
Takoyaki: these were good octopus balls. reminded me of Tai Sho in NYC east village.
Pok Pok salad: I like any spicy thai-​style papaya salad. it was tasty though not too spicy or fresh as it would be served in a real thai place.
Tum yum Ramen: not too bad. I have had their ramen before. it’s more instant tasting but tasty.
Sawagani Crab — this was scary! I assumed it was going to crab croquette but it was literally 5 fried tiny crabs. think like you are eating a beetle. we opted to be adventurous and try. kinda hurts your mouth. see picture I posted.
Garlic and pepper frog legs — this was our 1^st time trying and it was only okay. tastes like chicken :)
Service is super friendly. BYOB with no corkage fee was awesome too.
Overall it’s okay… I wont mind coming back. I just think authenticity is lost when a menu caters to Pan-​Asia.

Average. Mediocre. A range of choices on the menu though, from izakaya snacks (takoyaki) to roasted skewers. But cute interior with pig caricatures. Okonomiyaki came out charred with a slab of bacon on top and was rather thick and pasty.
The chashu BBQ pork was thinly sliced. I got the black garlic ramen with a century egg in it and that was quite a creative use of the fermented duck egg, however I wasn’t that impressed with the broth nor noodles. The noodles were *so* obviously instant ramen type-​texture that my partner and I couldn’t finish them. I would pay more than $ 14 for a bowl like that.

We liked this place and plan to go back soon. BYOB, btw.
We got:
Appetizers: Frog legs and caterpillars. They were… interesting. I’m very open to trying exotic things so, of course, these were must try items for me.
Entrée:
Tonkastu ramen: pretty good; broth wasn’t extremely salty or anything
Moo Ping: Pork shoulder skewers served with sticky rice. Pretty good.
Skewers: Shishito peppers, shittake and tofu, scallops, scallops wrapped with bacon, baby octopus, squid. They were all very good especially the squid and the scallops (very tender).
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Dessert: We ordered 3 different ones because they were only like $ 3 each and out of the 3 I liked the Thai banana sticky rice the most.