For two people, this is my go to order:…read more *Deep fried handmade tofu with special sauce (17.95) *Sautéed lamb with cumin (19.95) *Storm fish fillet (19.95) The lamb has enough of the "wetness" and vegetables to eat and mix with the rice. The lamb pieces used to be small but they are huge now! Appreciate the owners taking the feedback. I think they make the tofu in house. They are huge thick soft pieces with enough crispness on the outside. It's a good introduction to how seriously Chinese people take tofu and how in other countries they have a huge variety of tofu, vs the select few we have in the U.S. And I used to be partial to the spicy fried fish at cate zone, but chilispot has upgrade this dish a lot. It's perfectly crispy and hot!!! Even if you don't like fish, it's a great dish and also makes for great leftovers. I know the fried chicken is popular but I find the chicken pieces are too small. Even with two heavy eaters, we still have leftovers for another meal

We stopped at Chilispot for a family lunch and overall enjoyed our meal…read more The dumplings were a favorite at our table, while the spicy chicken was my personal standout. It was excellent and had just the right amount of heat. I also enjoyed the smoky ham fried rice, although it lacked the distinct smoky aroma I was expecting. Some of the other dishes didn't quite land for me. The fish soup wasn't my favorite, and the beef noodle soup wasn't especially memorable. The cumin lamb, however, was better than expected and ended up being one of the stronger dishes we ordered. That said, the service was friendly, the portions were generous, and there are plenty of interesting options on the menu. I'd definitely come back to try some different dishes next time.

Service is excellent. The environment is clean and above all the employees are exceptional.read more

Takeout is always amazing. Everything correct and carefully packed in an insulated bag. It is…read morealways super busy with many people eating in and tons of takeout orders, but the pickup process is still pretty quick and easy. The chicken stir fry with hand pulled noodles is amazing, as are the soup dumplings. The pork or vegetable bao are good, the taro one wasn't to my taste. The fried chicken shumai I were fantastic, but I would not recommend the rice shumai. The more typical "Chinese" food is okay, the lemon chicken was quite good. But I would recommend not wasting your time with it unless you have super picky eaters. The other stuff is way better.

THE best Chinese I've had in STL, tried it for the first time yesterday and will be going back…read moreoften. Not an expansive dining area, unassuming decor but very clean and well-kept. Friendly/attentive wait staff. Arrived 11:30 for lunch ahead of two other parties. By the time we left, the place was packed. We both ordered the sliced peppered beef entree. It arrived quickly, sizzling hot, tender and so flavorful. Just the right spice (and moreso the next day as leftovers) with onions and green and red peppers added. Portion was HUGE, and the meat/veg ratio was very generous. We also ordered the stir fry noodle to split - massive portion, perfect addition. Noodles were prepared to perfection. The takeaway boxes were sturdy and good sized. Even the rice that came with the beef was next-level. Come hungry!

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.

It was a mistake to try Chinese food on Christmas Day. I hadn't planned ahead and hadn't gotten…read moregroceries, and a Jewish friend of mine mentioned his Chinese food tradition, so I figured I'd give this place a shot. Maybe they're fine on other days, but it took two and a half hours for my meal to be ready, long after the quoted time online. I sat outside in my car for a while when I went to pick it up, and the place was totally packed with people waiting for their food. Perhaps they should have capped orders or something? I'm sure they were exhausted and working nonstop. The pepper chicken was pretty good, except it was missing the egg I paid to add, as well as the rice. After waiting so long, I was really annoyed about the order missing the extras. It was an extra $5 to order online, too. I'm giving them grace because they were way overworked that night, and the food was pretty good. But they definitely need to cap orders or give more accurate time estimates. There were a lot of furious (probably hangry) people there who left without their orders.

So, I got delivery, pretty late...the food was hot and fresh! It was delicious, and I literally got…read morethree meals out of my one order of General Tso's chicken. And they include a free small side! I got crab Rangoon, then ordered another order of it, knowing that a small side wouldn't be enough. To my surprise, in total, even if I had not gotten the extra couple of pieces, it would have been enough! And their crab Rangoon is also delicious! I will definitely be ordering from then again! I've been looking for a new Chinese spot that delivers on Sunday, since that's apparently the only day I crave Chinese food, and most restaurants are closed on Sunday, which is another reason why I really like this place!!!

Akar has been on my list for a long time and WOW! Was I missing out!…read more Akar is one of STL's best restaurants for good reason - the ambiance is perfect for all occasions, the service was so great and helpful, and the food was phenomenal. I have been dreaming about their Roti, General Tso's bites, meatballs, and shrimp noodles! Every bite is filled with so much flavor. I can't wait to go back

Loved everything from start to finish, I only wish the chairs at the counter were more comfortable…read more Maybe it's just me but they seem to have been made for a child or very small bottom. LOL! Next time I hope to score a patio table. All of the food from start to finish was outstanding and service was excellent. If you haven't been yet, what are you waiting for? Get there soon!

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.

Came here on Wednesday night and it was pretty busy but we got a table easily. I've never been to a…read moreplace like this before so it was a little bit of a learning experience. You grab a bowl and start putting in whatever ingredients you want. They have a lot of different items that you can choose from. They have a weight minimum, which I think should be pretty easy to hit. Once you have all your toppings, they weigh your bowl and you pick out your soup broth. I really don't like spice so I went with the tomato soup base and it had a good flavor and a little bit of spice but definitely not too much. my friend got the sweet and spicy soup broth and it tasted delicious, but would've been too spicy for me. The food came out pretty quickly. They have a station for free rice and water which was really nice. They also had some suckers that you could grab as a little treat on your way out. I would definitely come here again, but it is a little bit pricey your bowl is gonna start around $16 and go up depending on the weight. Everything is super fresh and delicious so it is worth the cost.

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.

Our daughter and I were able to visit Mai Lee for lunch today - good call…read more She enjoyed egg drop soup and Canh Chua Thai Lan - soup with shrimp and veggies (#194) - it was good and she really liked it I enjoyed beef egg foo young... first-time I've ever ordered egg foo yung - a fried omelette with goodness inside and outside... lunch special with fried rice and two crab rangoon. So good. Thank you to the Mai Lee bar staff.

Stopped by on our way to the airport for lunch…read more Spacious and clean. Offered both inside and outside seating. Good and fast service. We were greeted and seated as soon as we came in. We ordered pho, Hu Tieu, and two banh mi (sandwiches). Banh mi - was ok nothing special. Pho and Hu Tieu were good portion size but too salty for our liking.

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.

Always delicious food. We always stop here after an appointment at Barnes West. Fresh, beautiful…read moreand tasty food. Great service.

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