Food quality and freshness is lacking. Also, on the take out order they forgot to put Tofu as the order was for Kung Pao Tofu. Too many options available in the area to settle for mediocre food. read more

Food quality has deteriorated in the last few months. From a non Chinese perspective, the food was kind of tasteless and poorly prepared. Chow mein is very bland, pot stickers were bland and doughy, and the sweet and sour pork was also bland and the pork very dry inside a tremendous amount of fried breading. read more

I Love Lai Lai's!!!!! We always get take out from there, they're fast and always friendly!

My family and I dined here tonight for the first time and we thoroughly enjoyed our meal. I'm neither Millbrae historian nor Chinese cuisine expert, but I do love good food, and any restaurant that has operated for 45 years deserves a look. What caught my attention while searching for a spot for dinner was a photo of their crispy pan fried noodles. Of course we ordered it and when it arrived at the table, I was truly surprised. The portion was huge and it was tasty! Our other dishes - Mongolian beef, salt and pepper fried fish, and eggplant and tofu with basil - were also generous, tasty and fresh. Lai Lai reminds me of a place I went to as a kid in central Jersey. Memories of family dinners came flooding back to me, filling my belly and my heart. Thank you! read more

The food and service are great! We highly recommend it. The ambience is simple, but clean spacious. read more

Delicious and healthy food. Started coming in 1984 when we moved to Millbrae.,My 3 little daughter's favorite place to eat; they started coming when the twins were 3 yrs and the oldest 5yrs old. We have moved away from Millbrae 5 yrs ago, but we all come back every now and then. My daughters have moved also to Santa Cruz, San Luis Obispo and San Ramon; we all get together in good old Lai Lai, and miss Jimmy. read more

The food is not good compare to some Asian restaurant around the area. Just many choices.The menu prices in the website is not updated and trick you .. read more

Happy to say we found our go-to Chinese restaurant in the Millbrae area! I like that most of their dishes are not overly greasy with a good selection of mixed veggies in various dishes. Almost everything we've tried has been decent and toddler-approved. Service is super friendly and i appreciate you can order in advance on their website! read more

This place had really rave reviews and I was craving Chinese food so my sister and I decided to try it during their lunch time. The place has plenty of room for family dinners and low key lunches with a friend. They have a couple lunch specials but not as extensive and cheap as other places I've been too. Since the place was big it gave enough room for an intimate lunch to catch up with my sister. I got the Beef with Oyster sauce lunch special which came with rice and soup - $14. It was good - the beef was tender and it came with a bounty of veggies. Big portions as well which is what I usually expect from a Chinese restaurant. I also really liked the soup. After a while though the Oyster sauce got too much for me but it was nearing the end of my plate anyway. We also ordered the Pan-fried Noodles with BBQ pork. I loved it! I can probably just munch on that dish alone next time. Nothing out of the ordinary and what you would usually expect from Crispy noodles which are always my favorite when it's ordered. My sister got the vegetable lunch plate which was also the same price and came with soup. The portion was also as generous but she felt like it was missing something so it was just ok. Service was good and courteous. We were served ice water and tea and the gentleman was always nice and served with a smile. Overall, I was expecting something mind blowing. Although good and I would probably come back if I'm craving Chinese food in the area, it's not different from the other Chinese restaurants I've been to. Maybe I was just ordering the wrong items but I would definitely come back and just order a plate of Crispy noodles all to myself! read more

Lai Lai Restaurant - Oyster Sauce Beef - Lunch Special - Chinese Near Me - Millbrae, California

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My family and I plus friends have been going to Lai Lai's since its opening in 1983. The food is consistently very good. Jimmie has also been very supportive of groups in our community by providing gift certificates used in gift baskets during fundraisers. Just learned that Jimmie passed away on Monday. He always had a big smile on his face and was very friendly to all customers. He will be missed. RIP Jimmie. read more

Having dined at Lai Lai 20 years ago, it pains me to write this review, but it needs to happen. The hot and sour was SWEET. It was absolutely disgusting! Never had i had a sweet hot and sour soup and this was not how I remember it. It should be called sweet and sour soup but there wasn't a lot of sour either. Threw this dish out. The mongolian beef was also too sweet and 85% onions. I know sugar is added to this dish but it doesn't need to dominate. The salt and pepper calamari was way too doughy and chewy...couldn't eat this either. Into the garbage it went. If it wasn't for the honey walnut prawns (which were as good as we remember) and the noodles we may have went to bed hungry that night! read more

I always get the lunch special #1 and have enjoyed every bit of it. Today we celebrated a birthday and our server Sandy was such a joy. I gave it four cause coffee would have been nice. However I did enjoy the tea. read more

Love how I feel the minute I walk in the door. Always a greeting. The food is really good. I like to sit there and eat. Excellent customer service! read more

All I can say.....SO GOOD! I went there for lunch today and ordered the curry chicken lunch special. Delicious!! The service was great!! The two servers were so nice. They were so great I gave them a big tip!! Will definitely be a regular! read more

Won ton soup with meat and plenty of fresh veggies! Salt and pepper spareribs, fried just right with onions, and jalapeños. Perfect with white rice. Lastly, seafood crispy noodles. All delicious. I want to give this 5 stars, however the noodles aren't tasty. read more

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I did takeout; ordered in person. The server (owner? manager?) who took the order was very nice and thoughtful. He confirmed my need for utensils, etc. when I mentioned I was visiting and would be dining in a hotel room (in CA you have to ask in order for restaurants to supply forks, etc. which I didn't know). All the food was carefully packaged--a cardboard piece on the bottom of the plastic bag for stability and holes punched in the box so my walnut prawns wouldn't go soggy. I had honey walnut prawns and 1/2 an order of hot & sour soup. Portions are generous. There were 12 giant shrimp and the soup seemed like a full portion. I'd go back for the Honey Walnut Prawns. The hot & sour needed more oomph--seemed light on white pepper and dark soy--but maybe that's just me? Anyway, this was a good meal and I'd go back. read more

Placed an order through Uber Eats the other night, as I had never tried Lai Lai and figured I would give them a try considering the high reviews. Placed an order for the Bean Sauce Chicken and BBQ Pork Chow Mein. While neither of them were bad, they definitely were not authentic. Both dishes had sweet taste to them, indictive of Americanized Chinese dishes. If you're a fan of the Americanized Chinese food taste, then Lai Lai will not disappoint. Otherwise, there are certainly other options out there. read more

Lai Lai Restaurant - BBQ Pork Chow Mein - Chinese Near Me - Millbrae, California

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We went to Lai Lai for my daughter's birthday the other night. I need to say the service was 100%. I didn't even mention that we were celebrating. But they went above & beyond when they found out. The food was delicious. The ambiance was great. I always love to go there. The serve & food were great. We will be back. Thank you for making our celebration great. read more

The food was amazing, it tasted so good with so many different selections to choose from. This place is way better than Panda Express. The service is also amazing too, the food came out quick and it was hot, the orange chicken and walnut shrimp were super crunchy. Their salad is also amazing. The Ambiance is very friendly, it feels like you are eating at home, the owner also talk with the customers very often. read more

Lai Lai Restaurant - Chinese Near Me - Millbrae, California

Ordered online for pickup- (Szechuan chicken) and salt and pepper wings. It took me about 20 minutes after it was ready to get to the restaurant and another 30 minutes to get home. It was still warm when I got home and could enjoy it. Huuuuuuge portion sizes and the flavor is fantastic! I'll for sure have to stop in for the restaurant experience- but man! The food was SO good. read more

We ordered take-out one night. The food was delivered to us pipping hot and it was delicious. We ordered fried rice, kung pao chicken, chow mein, and crab Rangoon. Everything was really good and not too greasy. We absolutely loved the Kung Pao Chicken. It wasn't overly salty. The chicken was cooked well and had a lot of flavor. I would order from here again. read more

First off, the staff is always very nice and my family has been going there for years, but I personally am usually disappointed. I decided to give them a chance for the first time in years and figured you can't screw up Chicken fried rice. It was mooshy and overcooked, very mild flavors (reminded me of a diabetic meal or something), and the chicken wasn't very good either. It is the first time in my life I've found Chicken fried rice to be anything but "fine" at worst, but this was not good at all and I ended up throwing it out after eating maybe 1/8 of a large order. It was so bad that after 3+ hours of cardio and barely eating all day I was so disappointed that I threw it out and went on yelp as I rarely feel compelled to do. Very disappointing. read more

The food is always amazing and so is the service! Definitely my go to Chinese spot! Highly recommended! read more

Its our go to place when it comes to good chinese meal. Price is reasonable and very tasty. I highly recommend them if u are in the area. The waiters are really nice and makes u feel welcome and comfortable. Good place.. ambiance is so casual but homey.. good for group and families. read more

3.5 stars We asked around for good Chinese food in the Peninsula & Lai Lai came highly recommended. Through a delivery app, we ordered: - salt & pepper prawns ($22.35) plain fried shrimp, perhaps honey walnut would've had more flavor - bbq pork ($14.25): he said this was dry with no flavor & seems to have been re-microwaved - bbq pork fried rice ($12.75): needed a bit of soy sauce, but otherwise good - dry braised beef chow fun ($15.95): good, no complaints - sze-chun beef ($21.25), chicken with string bean ($17.65), sweet & sour pork in the Number 1 combo ($15.25), & potstickers ($9.35) were all 4 stars, although I wanted to note that while the potsticker filling was flavorful & juicy, the skin was a bit thick for our liking. On the pricy side & only half of the many items we ordered were winners. *deep sigh* still looking for a great Chinese restaurant I can have on speed dial. I appreciate that our food was packaged with the utmost care. read more

Lai Lai Restaurant - Chinese Near Me - Millbrae, California

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Service 5/5 awesome Cleanliness 5/5 very clean! Food 3/5 average WiFi? Didn't check Pricing? Excellent for the giant portions they serve. Ordered the luncheon menu and it was great :) was so hungry I forgot to take pictures. Next time. Overall experience: very happy. Will be back. read more

Lai Lai Restaurant - Half Size Wonton Soup (24 oz) - Chinese Near Me - Millbrae, California

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I have only doordashed this place, and while I do not think it's bad by any means, its also not great. I do really like their fried rice. Their egg drop soup has way too much thickener in it (I was pulling out large pieces of clear goop from the soup, but the flavor is okay. read more

Nothing but great things to say about Lai lai. I have celebrated many of my birthdays here and while they where open for "take out only" I did for Mother's Day and Father's Day. I love the food, the staff. It's always so comforting to eat at a location where it's friendly and happy. We get *wok fried stringbeans *wonton soup *calamari *honey walnut prawns *steam/fried rice *egg plant *beef and broccoli or orange chicken *fried wontons read more

Always a local American / Chinese Favorite. Unfortunately,they have increased their prices to rival others in the area. Wonderful and The Kitchen will be my go to spots in Millbrae. read more

my favorite restaurant! we go as a fam all the time. They remember our order and everything is served so kindly. We love the extra mile they go to take our plates and box our leftovers. Its always quiet and calm inside, too. read more

It's was okay the general chicken is really good, the restaurant is really nice the service is really good but the fried rice Is not good my advice save your self, some money. read more

This is the Chinese place in a many-mile radius that consistently gives out coupons. I didn't use such coupon (maybe I should have..), but one day the mister just decided to walk in to take a look. One look at the clientele and you'll realize this restaurant is very different from all the other Chinese restaurants lining Broadway. Mostly older, white patrons, and one look at the menu made me realize this is not the stuff people eat in China, but the Americanized version of it. I'm not against the idea of it, and I do crave a good orange chicken or egg foo young (albeit usually at 2am), so I ended up staying and getting the Mongolian beef and the egg foo young. Well! The portions were huge, for sure! The mongolian beef isn't too bad, but isn't like any other mongolian beef I've had. Same for the egg foo young - it looked different from every other egg foo young I've had (mostly on the east coast). This one was two giant generous omelets covered in ample amounts of brown sauce with mushrooms -- looked promising but ended up being very single noted. I just tasted salt, salt and salt. In all, if I wanted Chinese food as Chinese people would eat it, I would visit any other place down the street. If I wanted American Chinese food? Well most places here serve something that looks like it but unfortunately no one has anything similar. I bet it's something you can only get in non-coastal elite cities :sadface: Note: what's with the name? It's the name of an old hotel in Taipei but this sure isn't a hotel lol read more

Our waiter, Gary, was so friendly! The food was very good. We enjoyed the quiet atmosphere so we could visit. My only suggestion was to lower the volume on the music(80's) as it doesn't add to the ambience. I would go again and enjoy trying some other dishes too! read more

I've gotten takeout here twice, and I believe I'll be a repeat customer. Some notes on the dishes we've gotten: Garlic chow mein: It's purely chow mein noodles stir fried with a ton of garlic. Great portions and kind of addicting. Garlic fried rice: Very clear garlic flavor. Simple but yummy! Egg and basil chow fun: Ordered this out of curiosity because I hadn't seen a dish like this in other Chinese restaurants. It was really good! Reminded me a little bit of pad kee mao, but lighter. Portions were generous. Sweet and sour fish: Delicious! One of our favorites. String beans with tofu: Garlicky, the tofu had a fried exterior and very soft interior. Scallion pancake: Flakey, with green onion chunks in between the layers. During each visit someone came to help me right away. The service was friendly and I got my order quickly! There's a charm to this place and the food that makes me want to come back. read more

Food is always fresh never disappoints Service is pretty quick and more so when you pick up food is always ready read more

The food is tasty at a reasonable price. Clean and nice. It has our money's worth. Consistent for over many years. Loved by the local people read more

Been going there for years, went last night and is was not good at all. I'm wondering if it changed hands. The ceiling was dirty the waitress was nice but never have seen her before I know Jimmy has been gone a while but the guy who took over for him was not there. The food was not good, we love the green onion pancakes and it only took a few bites to give up on them. The bill was 75 bucks the waitress said she would box it up so I could take it and I politely told her we were not going home afterwards so I couldn't take it. She looked at me like really? Sorry to say after 25+ years of going here I won't go back. read more

Best Chinese chicken salad! Great little spot, great people and even better food! My family has been going here for years

This Chinese Restaurant has been in business for 30 years. Quite an accomplishment! I tried out their honey walnut shrimp last year and any time I'm in the Millbrae area I head for LaiLai! I've eaten in the building - picked up take out - and had their food delivered to my friend's house in the neighborhood. Without a doubt - the best walnut shrimp ever!! Their staff is helpful. friendly and polite. Can't wait till I'm in the area again. read more

First time there, and the food was very good. The honey walnut prawns was delicious, and they were very courteous and pretty fast. I highly recommend it. read more