Chef Li

I wanted Asian food for lunch and decided to check out this place and I only had about 45 minutes to eat. The first thing I noticed was that all the tables had potted orchids on them so the restaurant had a nice scent. Upon closer inspection all the orchids were able to be purchased. I ordered off their lunch specials menu which came with the soup of the day. For an extra $ 1 you can substitute chow mein instead of rice so that is what I did since a lot of the Unilocal reviews said the chow mein was really delicious. My order came out super fast! I probably should have stuck with regular white rice because presentation wise there was lack of color haha. The flavors were the same and I felt I was eating the same thing. However, the Unilocalers were correct about the chow mein because it was awesome. I would probably come back just to get an order of the chow mein and to try some of their other dishes when I want Chinese food. I live in an area where there is not much Asian food so this is one of the closest.

Lemon chicken and chow mein! Best in San Jose! The orchid plants everywhere provide a nice date night atmosphere.

I wanted to love this place… I really did. It’s close to my place and has some really beautiful décor inside with the Orchid plants. The menu was expensive for a Chinese restaurant (cheapest chicken entrée was $ 11.95). The portion size was good, though. In the interest of saving money, I just ordered one dish to go with no appetizers (most of the appetizers were $ 10+). I ordered the Chicken with Hot Garlic Sauce… chicken was deep-​fried with a nice crispy batter and tender chicken (very chewy when I reheated leftovers the next day, though). The sauce on this dish, though… let me tell ya. It was incredibly uninviting. Heavily doused in soy sauce (dark black in color), too much vinegar, and a SHITLOAD of corn starch. This container of sauce was the consistency of jello after being refrigerated overnight. It was disgusting. There was nothing hot (spicy) or garlicy about it. On top of that, rice was not included with the entrée.
I’ll probably go back at some point to try the Walnut Prawns or Walnut Chicken, but I have no faith that this place will solve my «spicy Chinese food» cravings. Will definitely be steering clear of anything that might have a thick or sweet sauce — my dish must’ve literally had ½ cup of corn starch in it.

This restaurant is at the top of my list for one of the Best Restaurants in the bay area. Food is delicious, always hot even when I call in an order– just let them know approx. the time I will be there. We have celebrated many events at the restaurant. You can’t get any better service, they are tops. Wish I could eat there more often.

I’ve been coming here for years and still think its the best chinese food place around! Their chow mein is to die for!

something’s wrong with their ingredient. Maybe they are using canned chicken. I had 2 dishes with chicken and they are all tasteless and dry. Typical for old or canned ingredient.
Pineapple fried rice was also very bland, and pineapple was not fresh at all as they described on menu.
No specialty food, not-​so-​fresh ingredient, expensive dishes…
Maybe only good for old American people… Or maybe too westernized to call it Chinese food
Sorry to say, but probably won’t go back again.

The restaurant is nicely decorated and clean. The food is very tasty and the service is great. However, I’ve ordered the Vegetarian Moo Shu several times. When I order it to eat in the restaurant, it’s vegetarian. When I order take out, there is meat in it. Not sure why the inconsistency. The restaurant management should ensure that the customer receives what they order. Only three stars because of the meat in the vegetarian dish.

So upon coming in, it was actually more elegant inside then I thought it would be. All the décor was nice, orchids on every table that was for sale if you wanted it. I took my 101 year old grandfather here for our first time. We ordered from the lunch section. I had the kung pao chicken, white rice and it came with an eggroll and a tangerine. He had the eggplant with fried rice and everything I just listed in mine. We also had soup that came with it. I wasn’t expecting great food since I did view the reviews before coming here. It was good but wasn’t great, it was like an upscale Panda Express served on glass plates that’s about it. I don’t see myself coming back.

I was wondering why I don’t go here for Chinese food. Ordered via phone and the phone service was confusing. First got greeted then immediately placed on hold but the hold was just putting the phone down and no hold music. The dude said let me ale your order but was faint so I was doing my order and then he just cut me off and I was like I didn’t finish my order!!! Then to find out he was doing another order on a second line then picked up my line to take my order. So confusing which left me somewhat irritated.
Order food finally, went to pick it up. Long line, must be popular for pick up. So that was a good sign. My order was somewhat ready after 25mim wait a few minutes to get it. Brought food home and the food was decent. Some of the food like the beef chow fun needed a bit more season (bland) but the string bean tofu dish was really good and the sweet and sour pork was good!!! Prob come again but hope to have a better phone experience!

Eaten Chinese food for many years. Can’t think of another one that we know that has such good, fresh and tasty dishes. Enjoyed our meal last night.

I think Chef Li restaurant is just good. I was there with a small group of 10 people and the staff were really friendly with us. The food is not exactly Chinese food but it is good because you can eat a alot! The desserts are delicious!

Because of all the mostly positiv comments, we ordered some take out food at Chef Li’s place.
May be we just picked a bad day but the 3 out of the four dishes we had where extremly disappointing. The meat in the Chefs Li beef was very rubbery, and dry. The taste was boring.
The cashew chicken, was very blend and tasteless.
The best was the mushu pork. No rubbery meat inside.
I also assume, that the food was not fresh cooked. Nothing was hot and the rice was super dry.
I will not try that place again. Once is enough.
The people where friendly
The portions are big.

Stopped here the other night for dinner because two of my wife’s friends recommend it. The décor was above average and the staff was friendly and attentive. The service was pretty fast, as we have come to expect from Chinese restaurants.
With all those things going for it, I just can’t recommend it. The hot and sour soup had so much vinegar in it, it was almost uneatable. The portions of our main dishes were skimpy compared to other restaurants and had very little taste.
Their prices are about average for a Chinese restaurant but considering the amount of food you get and the quality, I think it’s overpriced. I don’t like to give a bad review on just one visit but I can’t justify another. We won’t be returning…

This was our first experience with Chef Li on New Years Eve with a take-​out order to enjoy later in the evening so we didn’t have to cook. My mother-​in-​law had a coupon which provided for a complimentary order of hot and sour soup.
I was greeted right away and my order was placed. It consisted of pork fried rice, mu-​shu pork, honey walnut prawns, moo goo gai pan woe won-​ton soup, Beijing style prawns and of course the complimentary hot and sour.
We got home around 4:30 and had the soups at 6 re-​heated by microwave or cold… same with entrees… re-​heated or cold. Everything was just excellent and presented beautifully, even for take-out…truly cooked with love and great care to ensure the customer had a good experience. Well, this was beyond good and now Chef Li is our new favorite Chinese food restaurant.

I have been coming to Chef Li for over 5 years. Regular take out and special occasions. The food is always good and consistent.
One of our favorites is Egg Foo Young combo. It us filled with chicken, pork and shrimp and fluffy. Have yet to see anyone do such a good job.

Came here on a whim a few nights back with my GF and her brother. We were debating on what to order when we saw the Dinner specials that included 3 courses, soup, appetizer, and choice of entrée. (Each guest picks one entrée).
It was decently priced around 16 – 18 per person (depending on which dinner meal you went with) and the portions were very generous.
The WonTon soup was super tasty and came out a few moments before Egg rolls, pot stickers, and fried shrimp. All were delicious!!!
Entrees we went with: Mongolian Beef, Lemon Chicken, and Cashew Shrimp served with either Fried, Brown or White Rice. Each of us consumed 2 servings of each, item and were very happy with the meal.
In total it was about 60 bucks before tip and we would happily come back for a second visit!!!

My first time to Chef Li, went for dinner with hubby on Saturday evening, it was excellent.
Service was fast and very friendly.
Food was delicious; salt and pepper calamari is the best I ever had, real gourmet Chinese food.
Defiantly coming back and defiantly recommend.

There are so many positives about this restaurant but the food was not one of them.
Positives: Employees/​owners are very nice and polite, which I appreciate. The restaurant was clean, decorated beautifully, gorgeous orchids, and organized. Prices are higher but acceptable due to the ambiance if the food was of good quality and delicious. Good selection of dishes and healthier items.
Negatives: They state they are open until 9:30pm, 7 days a week, but were thinking of not taking us for dinner at 9pm on a Friday night! The door was open and the sign said open. Weird, especially on a Friday night! I’ve been there two other times and food was delicious. Ratings have gone from 4 to 3 on Unilocal,which I was unaware of when I decided to have dinner there again. Also, no salt and pepper on the tables, which this restaurant desperately needs.
We ordered an appetizer, fried rice, and two entrees. The appetizer was fine, the fried rice seemed fresh but was bland, and entrees were unbearable. I couldn’t even eat my favorite dish — walnut prawns! I ate two prawns and picked at the walnuts, and my brother ate one and declined another! SO UNLIKE HIM FOR SURE! Prawns were bland and had a bitter taste. I think it may have been a pre-​made frozen item. Too sad for $ 16 w/​o steamed rice.
Maybe it was because we were the last table of the night and they were already mentally shut down. Anyway, so sad, I use to love this place. I can’t go back and pay $ 35 per person for dinner and hate it.
To give a little perspective, I’ve never eaten a Chinese food meal that I hated in my life. I eat at Panda on-​the-​go often and I’m always quite satisfied.
Oh Chef Li, bring back the awesome food and I’ll review you again with a 5 star eating, since you are doing everything else perfect at your restaurant.
Best wishes.

Decided to try Chef Li today and was pleased with the service and food. We came in at around 2:30 p.m. (after the rush) to a mostly empty restaurant. We were greeted and taken to our table & drink order taken.
Just a note sodas are in the can which is fine with me, not much of a soda drinker. Decided on the Mongolian beef lunch special. It came with hot and sour soup, orange wedges, pork fried rice and egg roll and a portion of mongolian beef. Not very spicy but good flavor. Perfect portion. Was able to take some home for later.
Waitress was pleasant and food came out quickly and without incident. Flavors didn’t blow me away but it took care of the craving. Not feeling bloated like I usually do from chinese. Loved the orchids, which are for sale and add a great touch to the place. Comfy chairs and plenty of room at the tables. Will definitely come again.

This is by far the best Chinese food I have ever had the pleasure of enjoying in my life. Thank god this place is still here going on more than 10 years.
The owner has a kind smile, it shows he cares about how his food is prepared, the quality of ingredients and the most lovely raised orchids which are for sale,.
My favorite menu items are:
1 — Honey Roasted Walnut Prawns/​Chicken
2– Moo Shoo Pork and Moo Goo Gai Pawn
They have the best fried rice in the world.
The same waiter (Juan) has been there for over 10 years and that says something about a restaurant.
The food and ambiance cannot be beat. I wish I could go more often.