Mei Lai Wah | Wonton Noodle Garden Reviews Summary

Food Quality

Pros:

• "The food quality is granted along the time, since I occasionally pay a visit on my frequent trips to NYC, and is decisively better than many other similar places in NYC, with a rapid and friendly service."
• "Their soups are deep and flavorful, and the wide variety of noodle dishes will satisfy most palates and dietary requirements."
• "The food was fresh and for the most part very tasty!"
• "One of the best wanton noodles I've ever had in NYC."
• "The food was really good."
• "The wonton was filled with shrimp and so fresh. The beef brisket was tensor and tasty."
• "Everything was fresh, hot, and tasty!"

Cons:

• "The congee is however a bit too salty with too much MSG for my liking."
• "The Fried Dumplings was over-fried and looked like it was fried and re-fried - don't order."
• "It was good but overall oily. Some dishes were salty and some were not that flavorful."
• "The wontons were a bit of a disappointment, it was kinda bland, the shrimp didn’t even look fresh."
• "Fried wontons were not great to me- they were the deep fried, greasy wonton wrapper with almost non existent filling inside."
• "The soup dumplings were filled with pork / and shrimp. The pork had an overdose of MSG. - don't order this"
• "The shrimps with cashew nuts tasted like nothing, not sure if they always cook it this way or they forgot to season it?"

Service

Pros:

• "These people understand that when one is hungry, 'closing time' is not a priority."
• "The service is pleasant, attentive, and swift, and the no-frills atmosphere is great for casual dining, alone or with friends."
• "The employees here are very friendly and are good to check in on you."
• "Friendly staff."
• "Service was friendly and fast."
• "The waiters made suggestions that fit my time crunch."
• "Waiters are bilingual and very attentive."

Cons:

• "Please note that there is an 18% service charge plus another surcharge if you use a credit card."
• "It felt like the waitstaff did not pay much attention to guests seated outside, it took a long time for the waiter to take our order and bring us our bill."
• "I tried to order wanton noodle soup to go. I was told it will take 10 mins. I went back after 20 min, they did not even started my order yet."
• "The service could have been better and the environment cleaner overall, but I would probably return."
• "The service was exceptionally poor. When I went in the waiter gave me an attitude and forced me into sitting at a particular table that was not even properly cleaned up."
• "Service used to be friendly but last time we went, they took forever to take our orders even though it wasn’t too busy."
• "Waiters are very impatient and rude even though the foods are good."

Pricing and Billing Practices

Pros:

• "Mhmmm very affordable and tasty. Only complaint is with the size of the building and overall environment."
• "The food is very reasonably priced and delicious."
• "Fair price for Chinatown for the amount of food - $6.50 including tax."
• "Prices are reasonable."
• "Excellent food and surprisingly inexpensive."
• "Extremely good prices, spend $100 for 5 plates and share with 4 people."
• "The prices are also inexpensive, so you can enjoy many more choices."

Cons:

• "The staff was ok. But the price was not really good (compared to the portion)."
• "The only problem is that they charged 15% of tips although I came there alone."
• "They suppose to inform about the gratuity at the front, not put in the bill without explanation."
• "When I paid with my card, the cashier just rounded up the amount, without checking on how much tip we wanted to give."
• "They automatically add 18% gratitude without informing. It’s like we were forced to pay."
• "They like to add onto the price of dishes without saying anything. Wonton noodle soup combos are usually around $10 on the menu but they charge $12-13 on the Chinese language bill."
• "So they add a VAT by the end of the bill which is not mentioned in the menu. They also add, on top of that price, a 15% which when you ask they explain to you that's their tip."

Ambiance and Cleanliness

Pros:

• "A great Chinese restaurant in Manhattan Chinatown. Well managed, has a seating capacity for 50 to 60 people."
• "Nice and quick service, place overall clean beside bathroom floor."
• "The space is really clean."
• "Location here is typically very crowded although seating is pretty quick. Bathroom here is quite amazingly very clean!"
• "A very casual and small noodle house."
• "The restaurant is pretty small but I liked the atmosphere. The kitchen is fully exposed and you can see them working on food, which I also enjoyed."
• "Great place to eat. They have indoor and outdoor sitting."

Cons:

• "Mhmmm very affordable and tasty. Only complaint is with the size of the building and overall environment."
• "Service is basic, if that’s something that matters to you and everything is served in plastic."
• "Another minus was that they use plastic/ paper dishes and take-away plastic bowl for dining-in, which made the food look really bad."
• "The space is small and there is always a line even on a Sunday night."
• "The soup just doesn't taste as good when served in a big plastic container, and it's just tacky to serve customers in that manner."
• "The Glasses above the 'bar' looked like it been sitting there from day one. It felt dirty in that restaurant."
• "The beams against the wall were visibly dusty. The floor looked like it had never been mopped or cleaned."