This was exactly what I needed in my life. Delicious, and I mean delicious Chinese food, walking…read moredistance from my hotel. Located in the Delmar Loop, there are a lot of good restaurants but I highly encourage you to check this spot out. While I dined in, it seems perfect for takeout too. The 'Three Cup Chicken' was a big time winner with crispy chicken thighs, cooked perfectly and very flavorful. We also tried the chili oil dumplings, and some sort of magical green tea drink. Service was good, vibes are good, and really it's a great spot. I feel like you could probably point anywhere on the menu and find something that sounds delicious, including their boba and other tea drinks. Go check this spot out!

This used to be my fav spot!!! However, over the last year I have noticed food portions have gotten…read moresmaller. Their takeout system is a disaster. I sat there for 30 minutes even though I got a text the order was ready 25 minutes prior. It's a Thursday and they aren't super busy...... I looked at the screen with it saying my order is ready for at least 25 minutes. However they keep saying 10-15 more minutes. The people helping "locate" orders are also very not helpful.

One of my top 5 favorite restaurants of all time in St. Louis. Everything in their menu is…read morespectacular. You cannot visit without ordering the hot crisp fish and sweet and sour pork. I love that every plate comes with unlimited white rice. Very authentic Cantonese food. 10/10 recommend.

We came in about 40 minutes before closing (with the kitchen closing 30 minutes before close), and…read morethe staff was still incredibly welcoming. They got our food out surprisingly fast, and everyone was very kind. Place is kinda small but can seat groups for sure. We tried the sweet & sour pork, crispy shrimp, spicy beef turkey, and steamed buns. The sweet & sour pork was definitely the highlight! The crispy shrimp wasn't my favorite because the coating was a bit dry almost sandy for my taste, but I really appreciated the chance to try authentic regional Chinese dishes. Overall, a great experience, and I'd definitely come back to try more of the menu.

Akar is easily one of my top three favorite restaurants. The atmosphere is calming, cool, and…read moreperfect for a relaxed date night out. Every bite of the food was delicious. I ordered the Thai drunken noodles, and they were spicy, well-balanced, and full of flavor. The service was also very nice and made the experience even better. Parking can be a little tricky, but it's absolutely worth it. I came here for a date night, and it was the perfect spot. Definitely a place I'll keep coming back to and keep recommending.

Akar was one of the best fine-dining experiences I've had in St. Louis. With a small, intimate…read moredining room, Akar feels both cozy and elevated and is a great spot for celebrating a special occasion. With such a small dining room, service is very attentive and it doesn't get too loud. All of the food is delicious and beautifully plated: truly a delight for the senses.

My niece and I agreed that these soup dumplings are the best we've had since tasting them in NYC!…read more The soup dumplings are fantastic, the cucumber salad was crisp and perfectly seasoned. The menu is short, but all you really need to know is they have the best soup dumplings in St Louis. Chicken, pork or beef. We tried pork & chicken and loved them both. Ordering is done at a kiosk and then they bring your food to your table. We loved it and can't wait to go back.

We have tried to come in here mutliple times and I feel like their hours/days they close are so…read morerandom, it's hard to keep up. But we FINALLY got to try them and taste what the hype was all about. We shared some beef and some pork dumplings, and my husband also got the pork meal. The pork meal was meh, and we definitely didn't need it. I would stick to dumplings, and if you don't think it's enough food, get a third order. Both the pork and beef had very different flavor, but both were fantastic. Super fresh, you can see them making them in the back. Definitely look up a video on how to eat them correctly before you come here, because they are SO enjoyable. Definitely a comfort meal. My only complaint is prices seem pretty steep. I get it, inflation, but this is a pretty expensive meal for a couple dumplings. I love having a spot like this close and recommend everyone to at least try it! So unique, fun, and delicious.

This is one of my go-to spots for a hangout, it's wonderful. There's enough seating, and the hotpot…read moreis easily shareable. I flinch whenever I hear the "movoc" and I get so excited I want to throw up whenever someone suggests going to movoc for a hangout. There are lots of toppings to choose from, and I think that the concept of hot pot price by weight just like FroYo is fun and unique. Service is fast, and clean. The hot pot was delicious and not too spicy and the sauces they had to offer were very delicious as well. Not too salty. It's a wonderful place, whether you go alone or with friends.

This was my first experience at a hot pot by the pound restaurant. I've only been to all you can…read moreeat hot pot restaurants, so I was excited to try this place out. Apparently, I wasn't the only one because this place got packed by 6p on a weekday! The line was out the door. It can be a little confusing for a first time goer as you enter the place and grab a bowl to select the ingredients you want to eat. The minimum weight that you have to buy is 0.9 lbs, but you really won't know how much your bowl weighs until you get up to the cashier and put it on the scale. My bowl was underweight my first time through, so I went back to grab more ingredients. If I had to guess the minimum cost for a 0.9 lb bowl, it's probably about $16, which is a pretty good price for a hot pot. My bowl weighed about 0.97 and it was way more than I could comfortably eat. The next decision you have to make after you have selected your ingredients is the base and spicy level. I went with #1 Oil splash spicy soup at medium spice level. Now, I enjoy spicy foods, but this was at the upper limit of enjoyability. Although tasty, I think the oil in the broth got to be too much and I will want to try a different base next time. After you pay for your food, you get a number which you take to a table of your choosing and wait for your bowl to come out (they cook it for you). There is a drinking water station next to the free rice station, which was around the corner from the complimentary pickled vegetable station. Overall, positive experience and I would return for more. .|\---/| | @_@ | ..\_^_/..2026

I came to Mai Lee with my cousin after reading about the restaurant in the book Matt's St. Louis…read moreFood Story, learning that it got national recognition when it was tapped as a semifinalist for Outstanding Restaurant by the James Beard Foundation. The expectation was high, and the restaurant delivered outstanding marks. The menu was huge (over 300 items) and we had no idea what to eat. No worries, the daughter of the proprietor, Sarah, was our server and without rushing, she thoughtfully asked questions to narrow down our options to the items she believed we would really like. She was very friendly and her recommendations hit the spot. I ordered a Banh Me Thit (56) and a Com Tom Thit Trung (74). The Banh Me had very fresh bread and I enjoyed every bite. The Com Tom Thit Trung was very good, just what I expected. Throughout our meal, Sarah would stop by to check on us and we also chatted about the restaurant and its' history (since I saw an article in St. Louis Magazine framed to the wall). One of my rules-of-thumb of good hospitality at a restaurant is if leftovers are boxed up for you. At the end of the meal, Sarah's brother cleared the table and boxed up the food. If you want authentic food with great service backed by a rich storyline with 40 years of history in St. Louis, check out Mai Lee!

This is one restaurant that my husband and I can always agree upon when we are out. Couples, you…read moreknow the car conversations, right? Well you can't go wrong here. When you walk in you are always greeted with a smile. The seating is quite close but not so close you cannot walk through. Tables and booths. Very clean and well kept. Your order can be family style or individual. Family style allows you to share tea and big serving bowls of soups. Now for the good stuff. The menu is varied with authentic or Americanized "Asian" stirfry and egg rolls. The Pho is outstanding! My goodness, the flavors of the broth, with added ingredients from chicken and beef to vegetarian. What brings it home are the side dishes of flavor bombs they serve along side: jalapeños, bean sprouts, and Thai basil. Add it to the soup and the noodles seem to envelope it all with an explosion of flavor as you slurp even to the last drop. And grab those last leaves or noodles with your chopsticks. It's worth every bite. I highly recommend Mai Lee, as it is at the top of our all-time favorites list.

My friend and I went here for dinner in Friday evening. We both got pho. We wanted to try this…read moreplace out again since there is a change in ownership recently. The menu is different. We both like the pho here. It has great flavor. The portion is enough for us both to be full. There are a few other noodle options, hopefully there will be bun Bo hue and bun rieu in the future. The owners are both friendly. We definitely will go back here again.

We visited Phoenix Cafe for lunch today. The owner welcomed us with a warm smile. The restaurant…read morewas quite small but cozy and adorable. They have a good menu with great variety from Pho, other noodles dishes and rice dishes. I ordered Pho Dac Biet, and my partner got the Com Ga Xoi Mo ( crispy chicken with fried rice). When the owner brought out the Pho bowl, it smelled pretty good. Pho broth was really flavorful, brisket was tender 8/10. I hadn't eaten Com Ga Xoi Mo at Viet restaurant for a long time. I gotta say they really nailed both the flavor and texture of the chicken 8/10. Both of the owners were very sweet to us. They also gave us sweet potatoes shrimp cake to try. We'll definitely gonna come back to support when I am lazy to make viet food. Highly recommended.

Came here specifically because I kept hearing about the jjajangmyeon so I had to try it. Went with…read morea big group of about 8 people for dinner and we waited maybe 15 minutes for a table which wasn't bad at all considering how busy it was. The inside has a good amount of seating and a separate area for shabu shabu, so it's well organized. We ordered a ton of dishes to share and everything came out so fast. I was surprised by how fast and friendly the staff was. The jjajangmyeon is vegetarian and this was very similar but just slightly lighter than the Korean one. Still so delicious. The fried tofu is an absolute must order. I don't know how they got it that crispy and crunchy, but it was perfectly flavored too. The grilled tofu was also really good and flavorful. The noodles were great, and we also got the cabbage dish which was a nice balance to some of the heavier, oilier dishes. They offer tea for the table only $1 per person. Overall just a really great experience. It's a bit out of the way and not really surrounded by a lot of other things to do nearby, but worth the trip. Would definitely recommend!​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Tai Ke is one of the older kids on the block-- been around before the other players on Olive…read more Overall, I think it still has a place on this block, but I do prefer the others. I've had their 3 cup chicken, fried pork chop, other street snacks, braised beef noodle soup. Our recent orders: Stirfry basil with beef (17.99): our favorite Chili's stirfry chicken (14.99): it was better the more you had it, but it was just strange that the chicken was coated in sauce so it didn't make it quite crispy Five spices tofu (13.99): this was pretty good. It's perfectly crispy on the outside and the dipping sauce was not too bad. Next time we want to try this salt and pepper, tofu and the fried pork chop again There's a 2.79% transaction fee for credit cards