Swung by this spot in the heart of Chinatown - we ordered a few dishes, but the fried rice was definitely the standout. They use a special grain that I haven't bad before - it's chewy in a good way and has great flavour overall without being too oily. The service was attentive and quick - the food came out super fast! read more

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Came on a rainy Monday night at 7pm for four people and were seating immediately. Been wanting to try this new spot since it took over the old Mei Lai Wah location. It was pretty empty the whole time we dined there, just a couple of people. We got: - Honey Glazed Wings: can't go wrong - Young Chow fried rice: they advertised a special grain of rice they use but it just tasted like halal cart rice. A little hard and dry. - Shrimp w/ Walnut: can't go wrong - Five Spice Beef Brisket: tender and good portion - Fried Sauce Noodle: the sauce was mala instead of the traditional Zha jiang mian soybean paste which isn't spicy. Different but still good. Overall, service was fast, interior is nicely decorated. Probably won't return, everything was just ok, I'll stick to my regular spots. They do give a discount on the bill if you pay with cash. Note: they are not affiliated with Mei Lai Wah. read more

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Please permit me a bit of nostalgia. This location used to be the original Mei Lei Wah. Once upon a time you would walk in and see a counter with retro styled stools in front of it. In the middle to the back were booths with green, leather seats. A cat kept the vermin at bay and would hang out on a shelf full of newspaper and keep an eye on the eatery from the back. The smell of some mean coffee and buns wafted throughout the establishment. It was heavenly. As the years (and owners) have gone along, this location was renovated for sit down eating, then turned into take-out only post-Covid. Now it has taken on a new incarnation: a sit down restaurant featuring classic noodle and rice dishes. The buns are gone. If you want those, you need to go to the Mei Lai Wah at 41 Mott Street. This place is purely a sit down joint now and the renovation is the most thorough this space has seen in a decade. The owners have renovated both the exterior and interior. The outside looks like a shrunken down version of an ornate building you would see in Hong Kong or China. The interior is gorgeous, featuring beautiful lighting, dark wood and red colors for luck of course. Decorative items are sprinkled throughout the restaurant and they look great. In a bit of a remnant of its original form, the bathroom is still in the exact same spot it used to be, but you no longer have to ask for a key and it has been thoroughly renovated. The food however was...well...I'll focus on two dishes I had. First up were the Pan Fried Dumplings. They were cooked perfectly but somehow did not have robust flavor. They were okay, but I was surprised they were not more tasty. The second dish I had was the Beef Chow Fun. This is one of my favorite dishes and I have had many (many) versions of it over the years. This dish needs to have a good mix of broad noodles, scallion, sprouts and of course, beef. The color should be a nice brown color which is a combination of the sauces used on it for flavor and some of the charring from the cooking (imparting it with the smokey "Wok Hei" flavor). This dish...did not have that. Instead, the noodles were very light in color. There was barely any "Wok Hei" and I'm not kidding you, I counted seven whole slices of beef in the entire dish. There should be enough beef for there to be at least one slice in almost every bite. This did not have that, and for $18.95 it should have had it in spades. Now, it's important to acknowledge that this place just opened, so it is very possible they will get better in the future. I think I will give it about a half a year before I try it again to let them get themselves more established. read more

Lunch during my professional duties while in Chinatown, Manhattan, NYC all day compelled me to Mei Lai Xuan 美麗軒. I think if I live in Chinatown again, I would be close to 300 lbs. and at risk, disappointedly, repel a man away who is interested in me. My desiderium is love that touches the heart. "My body is different, but my heart is fuller" would be my response as defensive countermeasure for my undesirable weight. The fifteen (15) reviews and the empty unoccupied cafe dining-in area was a wary flag which indicate less interest and least patronized. With precious time, I decided not to be dissuade by the very underoccupied of patrons and dine-in as table for one. There was no wait and no long line as I was promptly seated. Customer service is very attentive and welcoming. The staff speaks Cantonese which is very good to hear Cantonese spoken as it is mellifluous... at long last to continue this vernacular Chinese language. It serves traditional Cantonese cuisine including limited Dim Sum, but without the Dim Sum trolleys. The business name signifies "Beautiful Pavilion," balcony, or a room with a view (often used poetically in Chinese architecture or business names). The decorum is modern. I was offered a large printed paper menu. Restroom facility is relatively clean and gargantuan space abundant to fit a wheelchair. The restroom facility is stifling hot without air conditioning or adequate air ventilation. This business is ADA accessible as it is street level. This business is opposite of the renown Gee How Oak Tin Association. Large printed takeout menus are available for grabs, but no business cards. I did obtain my sales receipt. Customer service is accommodating as my male waiter assisted me who suggested to place my large heavy bag on a dinning chair opposite me. The male waiter have inquired several times "do you want anything else, how about dumplings, how about tea?" I requested cold water to battle NYC's summer plaguing humidity with the added stress of carrying a large heavy bag all day for my professional duties. The Dim Sum dishes are priced extortionate to high heaven. Oh! Noodle soup is listed on the menu. My male waiter was warmly welcoming another party who are non-Asians Americans and standby listening to a man's daughter recite counting numbers from 1 to 10 in Chinese. The girl did recited numbers counting from 1 to 10 in Mandarin and this male server stated his origins are rooted in Hong Kong for Cantonese. I can absolutely relate with my own ethnic geographical and familial roots which is the same origination. Geographic regions impact cultural traits including language and food cuisine specific to China provinces amid it is one unified country, yes it makes a significant difference. Roast duck ramen, 燒鴨湯麵 $13.50 I always prefer Lan Zhou noodles as my default favorite. The noodles were sufficient, but I yearned for abundant quantity. The soup broth oil bubbles are very visible for the high level of cholesterol and fat content. The broth tasted very thick possibly heavily embedded with MSG. Oh! The protein was a delight. The bok choy white vegetable and scallions were fresh and sufficient. This noodle soup did eat my fill to sustain my hunger pangs throughout the day. Nota Bene: There is a 5% cash discount if bill payment in cash as price differential. "Prohibition of Cashless Establishments, as of March 21, 2026, all retail and food establishments in New York State, including New York City, must accept in-person cash payments, banning fully cashless stores." Mei Lai Xuan 美麗軒 complies. At the bottom of the sales receipt there is a suggested gratuity intervals of 18%, 20% and 23% where customers do not have to perform math calculation. I would surely return for dumplings, but not another noodle soup. read more

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Good food! Good service (altho they talked minimally to us). Food came out quick and all at once. The mapo tofu was more sweet and less spicy than expected. read more

Randomly picked this place off the street because it looked new and it ended up being FIRE even though we just wanted a quick dim sum lunch. Everything was so good I kinda can't figure out what was my fav. The Char Siu Rice Noodle Rolls were INSANE, so soft I couldnt believe that those were noodles like literally melted like pudding and the meat was so flavorful. The Beef and Cheese Egg Tarts were so freaking good too, crispy pastry with a well seasoned filling. And lastly the Pan Fried Soup Pork Buns which ive only ever had steamed XLB so having soup inside of a fried bun was amazing thats my new favorite way to have a soup dumpling. Hong Kong Milk Tea was tasty too. read more

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My colleagues and I were craving dumplings, and this definitely hit the spot. It's a small, unassuming restaurant, though there was a noticeable cigarette smell, which isn't something you encounter in restaurants very often. The shrimp dumplings were delicious, but I wasn't a fan of the shrimp roll it was a bit too doughy and didn't seem to be steamed quite enough. The real star of the meal, however, was the mixed vegetables. Who knew celery could be so good? I'm still dreaming about that incredible sauce. read more

The service was excellent, the soup dumplings delicious, the house fried rice, the best I've had in NYC. The chocolate dumplings? Let's just say we should have ordered two! In the heart of Chinatown, it would be easy to miss this place but it's definitely worth the stop. The interior is a bit small so we felt lucky to snag a table without a wait. I would definitely come back! read more

Mei Lai Xuan｜美麗軒 - Chocolate dumplings - Cantonese Near Me - New York, New York

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This place is smaller than I was expecting, but tables are not cramped together. The decor's nicer than most places in Chinatown. Service was good too. The menu, at first glance, made me worried because it's heavy on American Chinese. We tried a variety of dishes and it's hit or miss. The dumplings were good but the noodles were kind of meh. Not that they're bad but they're not what they advertise to be, if you know your Chinese food like I do. read more

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Space is tight. Not that many tables. Skip the HK milk tea. Tea is Not strong enough. More like diluted milk. Crab soup dumplings were decent. Chicken pan fried noodles was good! Fried chicken wings were also good! I would come back to try other items. read more

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The service consider Friendly, good Environment and food just good..i hope in future thery can have more varieties..Thankssss read more

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Excellent service and superb Sheng Jian bao I will come back next time read more

The food was delicious and the service was so attentive and quick! The dumplings were even better than we anticipated! read more

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Wonderful new place. Very clean and friendly staff. Unique style of cooking . Pictures already posted shows the nice environment and calm place to talk and relax while enjoying your meal. read more

My experience was wonderful, the atmosphere when you enter is not crowded and the aroma was incredible. I felt comfortable choosing this place although the area was packed with tourists. The staff was incredible and the menus was sensational. I enjoyed the food, it was not salty and the flavors was authentic. When you stepped inside the restaurant the outside world is not a distraction. I had a comfortable and relaxing meal and did not feel rushed. I will recommend this restaurant with confidence of taste, quality and excellent service because I'm a picky connoisseur of food and I love Asian cuisine. read more

Order the beef Chow fun. OMG. It was excellent. A little spicy but not hurtful. Also had the half duck. It was ok, but the Chow DD in was gospel. S were r ice was nice. We're everyone was nice. read more

The food was delicious! I would definitely return. We had the soup dumplings which were so good I forgot to take a pic- the mains were Beef Ho Fun, Young Chow Rice, and Chicken with Broccoli. I drank Lemon with Honey drink which I recommend! read more

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Everything from the food and service was great. We ordered chicken wings, pan fried pork dumplings, orange chicken and beef fried rice. Each dish was cooked right when we placed our order and was so good and flavorful. Will definitely be going back! read more

Stopped by on a food tour and had the Chinese Pineapple Roasted Pork Bun. It was so so good! It looked like they had a lot of great things on the menu - wish I was able to try more. I would definitely love to go again! read more

I have not been to Chinatown for a very long time. Today is Chinese lunar new year, our family came to Chinatown for Chinese New Year celebrations. Chinatown is crowded as any other Chinese new year, fireworks, lion dance, parade, etc. we were very tired, we found a near by restaurant. The decoration presents a very warm and oriental feeling. The food is phenomenal. We were not very hungry, so we just ordered a few dim sum dishes and fried rice. They are so good that even my mom said she can't resist to take a few bits even though she is full. I hadn't have such a delicious fried rice. I highly recommend the meat tarts, fried rice, Xiao long bao, sheng Jian bao and the shrimp dumplings. read more

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