Ian Mae Oriental Store

You talk about Psychotic owners. I have been here before I will never go back again. I was taking pictures for my Unilocal review and the owner asked me what I was doing. I mentioned that I Unilocal businesses that I visit. She started threatening me & said she was going to sue me & asked me to delete the pictures. I deleted the pictures & apologized. Even after this she kept up with her threats to sue me?
ARE YOU KIDDING? I WILL NEVER GO BACK TO THIS STORE AGAIN

Ian Mae has easily moved to the top of my list and earned the title of MY FAVORITE Filipino store. It may be small (crammed full of items) and located in a dingy strip mall, but this place is full of Filipino goodness.
The variety of Filipino brands is better than what I have seen in other shops. And the variety of prepared foods is much better than other shops as well. Meat/​fish pancit (noodle dishes), and different stews, all made in their kitchen.
So what are the things that sealed the deal for me?
Freshly made Turon (think egg rolls, but made with plantain and jack fruit filling, fried in egg roll wrapper with a sticky brown sugar glaze). My aunt’s is better because she makes it without jackfruit just for me. (she spoils me) But I bet IM would make it without Jackfruit if I asked.
And fresh Lechon Kawali (roasted pork belly) that comes with a super rich and mildly spicy sauce. Perfectly roasted peices of pork belly is a no-​brainer.
4 – 5 different kinds of fish – tilapia, bangus (milk fish) and a couple others. Some fried, Some marinated and fried. Some stuffed and baked.
Now we visited Sunday morning, and we were the only customers for a while. But I know the shop can get super busy. So if there’s a particular item you’d like, best to call ahead if you can. They also provide catering for your parties. Hmmm. Lumpia for Super Bowl Sunday… I’m gonna get on that.

I know nothing about Philipino food, but I love lumpia egg rolls. We have been getting lumpia from Ian Mae for all our social gatherings. Everyone that has tried it instantly loves it. After reading all the review, I will now be going back to try turon.

This place has the BEST turon around for a great price. Quick turn around time too! I ordered same day at 9am and was able to pick it up at noon. Pure awesomeness! Turon is a must have at Filipino parties! I can’t wait to try the other food here!

This place has THE BEST TURON I’CE EVER HAD! For those of you who don’t know what Turon is, it’s an egg roll but instead of a meat and vegetable filling, it is a Filipino dessert/​snack filled with plantain and jackfruit, is fried to a golden brown and has a sticky Caramelized sugar glaze on top. It’s awesome. My Tita (aunt in tagalog) always makes Turon for our family parties amd one day when she couldn’t make hers we decided to order from Ian Mae. Long story short that large tray of Turon was gone instantly and she even said it’s better than hers. Oh & the best part is., the Turon is only 50 cents each! Awesome! We also come here for their Lechon Kawali. For those of you who don’t know that, Lechon Kawali is Deep fried pork belly Filipino style served with a sweet and tangy pork liver sauce called Mang Tomas. Their chicken and pork barbecue sticks are good and have a good amount of meat compared to other Filipino stores/​restaurants but are a little on the expensive side in my opinion. Their other prepared foods are just average. Their Pancit needs more ingredients in it. Not enough chicken, and vegetables and too much noodles.
This store also has the basic things you need in you’re kitchen if you’re Filipino. Assorted Mama Sita cooking seasonings and sauces, different noodles for pancit, rice, Filipino canned foods, soy sauces, vinegars, coconut milk, jars of nata de coco (coconut gel), jarred filipino sweetened preserved fruits etc. They also have the Filipino snacks me and my cousins grew up eating.
The refrigerator has assorted ice cold Filipino drinks. There’s also always leche flan but I haven’t tried it yet but hope to try soon. And my favorite… Buko Pandan (a green, creamy Filipino dessert served cool and made with shredded coconut, condensed milk, cream, coconut strings, coconut gel, and jello).
They also have phone cards for when it’s time to make a long distance calls to the Philippines to chit chat with your older relatives that don’t know how to use Skype and facebook haha. I believe you can also send money to the Philippines from here.
Point is… Call ahead and order a tray of Ian Mae’s Lechon Kawali and Turon for your next party!

Tried some of the cooked food, so far everything was good. Kareoka and turon was excellent but one of the older ladies on the cash register was blabbing away on the phone while tending to customers often getting some things wrong. Customer service definitely needs to be seriously improved. Would have given this store 4 stars.

Another good reason to move to the suburb! :-) We live in Park Ridge so we’re close to Niles and we frequent this little place — full of great food. We get food catered there all the time, and we’ve yet to be disappointed. Ian Mae rocks! :-)

i love their turon! the ladies that work here are really nice and they were very accommodating during the holidays even though they are super busy filling orders. If its around the holidays, good luck calling to place an order ⁴⁄₄ times i called, the lines were busy. My aunt ended up stopping by to place an order.

This place gets 5 stars for one reason they carry ASSAM Black tea!
You’ll find unique Filipino products that you will never find at your local grocery store.
Their Turon and BBQ chicken is amazing and reminds me of home.
definitely check this place out!

This review is strictly for the turon. Otherwise I probably could go off on a ranting spree. Ian Mae is the only place I will get turon from aside from my mother’s. They’re hot, sticky, and delicious. This turon has made it to several family gatherings over the years. Some don’t like the jackfruit added, but I’m part of the bigger crowd that loves it.

I’ve never been inside this joint, but my mom always picks up some turon on her way back home… and man this turon is awesome!!!
AND YES THATS 5 STARS FOR THEIR TURON!
A short description of what turon is…
Filipino turon consists of a plantain wrapped like a spring roll and then deep fried — sort of like banana lumpia.
The most common turon filling is the saba variety of banana. Jackfruit is also added as a filling. The rolls may be dusted with brown sugar before frying.
I will check back and see how the rest of the store is sometime soon… and re-​review this place :)

My parents buy food from this place and it’s always good. I decided to go see this place for myself with the intent of buying tons of Filipino junk food. The place is pretty small/​cramped and super dirty. I was turned off. I decided not to buy anything because I was not sure how clean the kitchen was where they prepare the food. If the store front is that dirty, makes you wonder what’s in the kitchen. Yikes!

If you’re looking for the best turon (plantain and jackfruit eggroll in caramelized brown sugar) in the Chicago area, this is the place to buy them!
Ian Mae is one of the cheapest Filipino/​Asian goods stores in the Chicagoland area. Not only do they sell staples such as pancit noodles, assorted Filipino snacks, mango juice, and tropical fruits in jars, they also sell freshly cooked food such as turon, vegetable lumpia (eggrolls), chicken and pork barbecue on a stick, and other types of meat dishes. The dishes are at least $ 8 each, and are a good portion. I also like buying their freshly made sweets such as yema.
This is also a great place to order catered Filipino food for your party. The prices aren’t bad and the food comes in big pans that you can easily put into wire serving racks.
The only complaint I have about this place is that they don’t always have all of the tropical fruits in jars I need to make a good Filipino fruit salad. Namely, nata de coco (coconut gel).

Okay, here is where I go to get Filipino/​Asian goods.
This store is a grocery, with fresh, dry, and pre-​packaged selections imported from the Philippines. There is also a selection of baked goods, imported candy, and snacks.
This place also offers turo– turo (prepared cooked Filipino dishes pre-​packed).
I usually see fried fish, fried pork chop, barbecue on a stick, and their version of a vegetable egg roll.
They also offer fresh Pampangas longanisa (Filipino sausage) one of the best. There are many varieties of longanisa, but my family and I love this brand.
The store also offers catering of Filipino dishes. I have ordered many times from this store and have found the Lumpia (Filipino egg roll), and the Turon (fried plantain bananas with brown sugar wrapped in egg roll wrappers). I believe their version of the Turon also has slices of jack fruit along with the plantain bananas. Another tasty item is Pancit (noodle dish) made with chicken.
These three dishes are always a hit at parties and there are never leftovers. Call first to make your order, I have never seen a «menu» of the items they make, but just ask and they try to accommodate. Prices vary depending on the size you want.
They have a parking lot, but spaces are tight. They are open 7 days a week. Hours vary so call first. The space in the store is also tight, so the double stroller has to stay in the car. Enjoy!