It's an interesting concept in fast food with a techie modern twist. I really wanted to like it, as it's the first of its kind, and it's in Baybridge Commons with ample parking. Unfortunately, I cannot. If this restaurant was located in an airport, I could see it doing well for a captive clientele. But given it's Queens where there's a plethora of fantastic restaurants, this misses the mark in so many ways.
Upon entry, you order your food on 2 kiosks, pay, then proceed to the counter to pickup your order. There are some dim sum options, some Shanghainese options, some Cantonese style clay pot casseroles, some stir fry options, Louisiana fried chicken, bubble teas & yakult type beverages. A bit of a strange hodge podge of offerings.
Expect some sticker shock for what it is. For example, chicken shu mai is $8.95 for 6 pieces, a small portion of stir fried string beans for $11.95, and a single small lotus leaf wrapped sticky rice will set you back $6.95. IMHO, the food is pricey for what it is, pricey for the portion sizes, and also pricey for the quality.
You can watch behind the glass as a lady makes dumplings, and further back there are electronic stir fry machines being operated by staff. We waited about 25 minutes for our number to be called, and you can watch the progress of your order numbers on a TV screen.
Once you find a seat, (most are taken by people sitting and waiting for their food), there's a self service area with a hot/cold water machine, paper plates, shot glass sized paper cups, and toothpicks. Everything is served in cardboard to-go containers with plastic lids or plastic takeout containers regardless if you are dining in or taking out. Note: this does NOT work for fried dumplings which were soggy. You get prepackaged disposable utensil packs with chopsticks, a soup spoon, a fork and a napkin. Very wasteful all around.
The food itself was lackluster and the flavors were off putting. Lotus leaf rice had a gritty texture, our dumplings were soggy (shouldn't have been covered), and the clay pot rice was sad with like 4 pieces of dried out pork belly. Oddly enough, the rice itself was both undercooked AND burnt on the bottom. How?!? The string beans were supposed to be Shanghainese style, but they were sour and lacked the crispy, salty, crunch you'd expect.
Like I said, I really wanted to like this concept, but sadly, I don't see it surviving long when there are so many other delicious restaurants to choose from in Queens. read more