LILI'S NOODLE SHOP & GRILL

So disappointed with the quality of food here. I ordered an item on the menu that said "sticky rice, pork with vegetable" - it turned out to be a sauce-drenched dish, with no rice on the side to help soak up the massive amount of sauce, just a platter of pre-fab white disks of who-knows-what, strips of meat that looked like broken shoe strings, and mushrooms. There was a spongy, processed, boneless piece of chicken floating on top of the noodle soup. The "honey bubble tea" turned out to be an overly-sweetened fake honey dew melon flavor that tasted like green shampoo. This area of Manhattan has some wonderful reasonably priced Asian food: Tiny Thai, Veatery, Tangs Garden, China Fun just to name a few. I don't understand how this place exists here.

Dim sum, yes please! Everyone wanted to sneak inside for a hot bowl of noodle soup but the dim sum was top of mind for us. (Besides, I'm not a soup gal)Everything was made to order and came out hot and fresh...no little carts full of unrecognizable dishes. Plus the place is so tiny there is no room for a cart.We had the Asian version of vegetable samosa, even better than the Indian kind in my mind. The scallion pancakes fell flat, no pun intended. I thought they would be thicker but they were just thin slices of fried dough, not that great but not that bad. The hot sesame dumplings were the bomb and actually kind of peanutty. We had to save that sauce for dipping. I'm not a fan of sticky rice but my friend LOVED their version which cam wrapped in tea leaves. The crabmeat shumai was so so and the shrimp rolls OK.The place is really busy so the service was a bit slow but overall a great inexpensive meal.

great find, good food, good portions, attentive staff, an owner that works the table as well, I like this place, this is going to be a weekly jaunt for me. try the juicy buns and the double sauteed pork.

OK so this isn't the best Chinese food I've ever had, but it is the best in UES.Lili's has a solid regular menu, as well as a separate, great, authentic menu (the yellow one). I have tried several dishes from both menus and nothing has missed. The sizzling platters and vegetable dishes are fresh and more thoughtfully presented than in most Asian restaurants in the UES. The lo mein and chow fun are both spot on, but not too heavy on the oil.The authentic menu is the real prize here. I'm confident Lili's is the only place I can satisfy my dry sauteed pork intestine and fish filet in hot oil (sui zu yu) cravings. As a transplant from Flushing, my taste buds were being ruined by the generic take-out flavors of the UES. I want to make sure people don't write this place off as another Chinese take-out spot (though sesame chicken is pretty money here).This place is an easy recommendation to people who are looking for "real" Chinese food in UES.P.S. I've noticed a number of complaints about the Thai dishes not being good and the sushi being sub-par. These dishes are just part of the hustle of being an Asian restaurant in UES. I wish they would/could embrace their identity as a true Chinese restaurant, but I understand why they don't. Try the Chinese food guys.

I tried this place for lunch recently, and there was nothing redeeming (usually, I can find some redeeming quality with any restaurant). I ordered a seafood dish, the fish was tasteless and undercooked. I barely touched the food, and was surprised why not the manager, server or anyone else seemed to notice and ask why I did not touch the dish. The place was empty (it was around 2 on a weekday), and not particularly clean.While my experience may have been an anomaly, I will not be dining there again.

Nice mix of Cantonese, Szechuan, Thai and Japanese. Enjoyed their Thai Shrimp Fried Rice (with pineapple, raisins, cashews and egg) and Chicken with Mango (and snow peas, green and red peppers). Spacious, pleasant atmosphere. Reasonable prices.

Food is average for their prices. We got one roast duck soup, one order of beef skewers appetizer, one steam dumplings appetizer and one eel-avocado roll - all of this came up to $32. This would have been fine, but there was no soup in soup dumplings and beef on skewers had weird color and was extremely salty. The roasted duck soup was good though.Just another regular Asian restaurant that has a regular mix of Chinese, Japanese and some Thai food, nothing special.

Perhaps it was a bad day. Perhaps it was a bad month. Perhaps it was a bad year. After weeks of making excuses, I can only see one explanation: bad food.I have been going to Lili's Asian Cuisine for a number of years and their food was wonderful. Quick service, friendly atmosphere, and food that made stolid businessmen drool. The food was always well-cooked, evenly seasoned, and even unique among the 5 different Chinese food venues in the neighborhood. However, in the past two years, everything changed.My past dining experience at Lili's was unappetizing. Their hot and spicy dish lacked flavor, the sizzling platter had no sizzle and the waiting staff was not too friendly. The huge dent in my wallet did not sit well in my unsatisfied stomach.Maybe it was a change of management, but whatever changed was not for the better. My money will be well-spent elsewhere from now on.