Papa Lee Chinese Restaurant

Great local fast casual Chinese. Decor is nice and modern on the inside for a strip mall location. Standard menu selections and non standard noodle offering was a surprise. No shortage of rice servings with dinner selections. Egg roll and soup included. I would definitely come again.

The good: The food is freshly prepared when you ordered it and the soups are delicious and warm. When you dine in the food is perfect to eat once it cools a little as it comes straight from the kitchen. It was great, so great we came a second time for take out. [All images are from this first visit except the burnt pot sticker image.]

The bad: Take out was not the way to go. They were out of drinks except for diet coke. The eggroll is placed inside of the steaming hot food container, so by the time it was opened, after a 5-7 minute drive, the eggroll was completely soggy. The noodles had become sticky and were stuck to each other in a rather unappetizing ball. One of the 8 pot stickers was burnt. I know just 1, but I paid for 8 edible pot stickers. The restaurant wouldn't throw in 9, so I expect 8 edible pot stickers.

More bad: This is also the 2nd time I've ordered at Papa Lee's and the 2nd time they've gotten the soup order wrong. It is correct on the receipt, so it's not a front of house problem. It's the back that delivers the order incorrectly. The first time it was quickly dealt with because we ate in. The 2nd time I was already home.

Over all, the first impression was really great. The portions were impressive and the food was hot and fresh. I was also really hungry. The 2nd time gave me a good opportunity to see this location for take out and really rate them. It's okay. Nothing I'd rave about, and also not something I'd go out of my way to eat. We probably won't be coming back unless we're really hungry and this is the only place open [and Whataburger on the other side of the parking lot is full].

This place is pretty good. My orange chicken had a good spicy flavor. But, it was a little over-cooked. It was scalding hot (we were burned trying it), dry, and hard. My brothers didn’t have any issues though. Be warned, if you’re going to sit in the drinks are bottled at just over $2 each. Overall it’s about the price point of Panda Express. And the food is good (I recommend the fried rice).