by Elizabeth Gariti
With its clean, modern, funky décor consisting of square lines with a Japanese flair, Lili’s Noodle Shop & Grill at 1500 3rd Avenue, is the perfect place for a late-night meal.
I ended up there for dinner on a Wednesday night after my philosophy class with eight classmates. I’d eaten at Lili’s once before and sampled an assorted combination of light, luscious Chinese food and sushi.
Lili’s offers a large menu of Chinese dishes and specialties mixed with an extensive choice of sushi. There is an elaborate Tea menu called “Tea Sensations” featuring Pearl Tapioca Iced Milk Tea with a choice of teas like Coconut Black, Almond Black and Honeydew. There are also Iced Green Teas with flavors like Passion Fruit, Lychee, Honey, Ginger and Mango along with unusual kinds of shakes and smoothies like Tropical Papaya and Ginkgo.
Featured in the Chef’s Suggestions are dishes like Lobster Cantonese with Pan Fried Noodle, Lili’s Pork Shoulder Shanghai Style and Sticky Rice Lotus Leaf Wrapped (the syntax translated directly from Chinese, no doubt). If you have a hankering for roast duck, Lili’s offers a whole, half or quarter of either crispy and spicy or smooth and savory. They even differentiate between Cantonese and Mandarin dishes.
Perhaps the most original fare is the “Little Bit of Everything Noodle Soup,” noodle soup with daily leftovers thrown in, so the dish changes every time. Sounds kind of questionable, but my classmate, Chris, swears by it and says it cures all kinds of ills.
As for the others, Trish and Gladys decided to split a half-size portion of the Roast Duck with Brown Rice. Greg ordered Vegetable Mai Fun with Egg.
The rest of us had Miso soup and a variety of sushi.
A restaurant is only as good as the staff they have on hand, and on this night, Lili’s was a little off. There was an abundance of waiters (three waited on our table), but only two people working in the kitchen. The timing of the food service was disorganized and the food wasn’t as fresh as I remembered. Trish kept saying, “They’re usually more organized. And the food is better.”
When I did get my Miso soup, it was heavy and slightly fishy. Some of the sushi eaters were dismayed that their sushi was served on regular plates instead of wood blocks, and Greg expected more variety of vegetables with his Mai Fun. Also, Gladys and Trish were expecting something else, like veggies, to accompany the Duck. (It was good though, warm, tender and savory, but watch out for the bones!) However, Chris was very happy with his soup.
Lili’s has gotten great reviews by Zagat’s and CitySearch, but our meal was received with mixed success. We enjoyed the company and the atmosphere (jazzy muzak and recessed lighting only added to the noir effect), but really did expect more from the food. Based on the two experiences I’ve had, Lili’s seems to be hit or miss, but I’m willing to try it a third time to discover if this is really true.
| Lili’s Noodle Shop & Grill1500 3rd Avenue (between 84th & 85th)New York, NY 10028212-639-1313 |
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