Lion City Chinese Cafe
- Price Range: $
- Accepts Credit Cards: No
- Attire: Casual
- Good for Groups: Yes
- Good for Kids: Yes
- Takes Reservations: Yes
- Delivers: No
- Take-out: Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
- Outdoor Seating: No
- Alcohol: None
9 Reviews for Lion City Chinese Cafe
Definitely as people say, one man show. The service is really yourself. You get the curry puffs and bbq pork cakes yourself. You flag down the owner to get your order in.
Laksa Chicken Noodle Soup is served on weekends during lunch only. I would prefer more noodle and more spicy broth. Maybe I need to ask the chef to make it more spicy but probably will need to do it myself. The mio tin noodle is pretty good.
This place reminds me of the eating places on the street in Asia, but at a marked up price for the same thing. His dished should be about 3 USD (generous) max in Asia.
People thought this was:
Useful (1)
Finally got to check this place out. Unlike some of the other reviewers I have not been to Singapore or Malaysia, but I know good food when I have it..right?
As other reviewers have mentioned this place is a true mom and pop shop. My friend is a frequent patron and gave me the backstory on the restaurant.
Basically, a the owner and his wife would come out to the U.S. to visit their kids and everytime they were home they loved to throw parties and make a ton of food and invite people over and just enjoy! Their kids and friends finally asked, why don't yall just open a restaurant!?
So they did..and that is Lion City.
Mom is in the back cookin up a storm while dad is running around the front trying to take orders and bus tables. My friend said that many times people who know them will even just go into the kitchen themselves and pick up their own dish!
You seriously feel like you are in Asia..it's hot, it's not about service or atmosphere, it's just about getting food with your family and friends.
I only ordered a curry puff, yum! good savory filling and flaky crust, but I took a few bites of Flor V and her friends noodles as well. Flor had the mee goreng with shrimp which is a medium sized yellow noodle with veggies and eggs. It basically tasted like noodles, ketchup, and spices to me..not so good.
Her friend had the kue tiao which are the flat noodles. They were tasty. I liked them. But no big deal.
Anyway, it's a neat place to try, my other friend suggested just to go there for the spicy crabs..and take them home and eat them! So maybe I'll try it next time.
oh yeah it can be tricky to find, the sign is not noticable or anything. if you plan to go you can msg me first or make sure you look to the east of the DPS.
People thought this was:
Useful (6)
Cool (1)
1 Previous Review:
-
06/29/2008
I wanted to try it..but it's CLOSED until JULY 10. uGHH
People thought this was:
Useful (3)
Funny (2)
Cool (2)
Hmmm... I just have mixed emotion about this place. Where do I begin...
Let me say, first of all, I am from Singapore (born & raised), and when a place say they serve Singaporean food - I can be quite critical. I look for the authenticity of the flavor, the presentation, and price.
If you want to have the "hawker center" concept, then Lion City should at least give patrons a heads-up what it feels like eating in Singapore.
Don't get me wrong, Singaporeans like that concept - but Americans don't. So you can throw the nice dining experience out of the window on this one.
Consequently, I felt sorry for the owner/waiter/server/cashier running in and out of the kitchen multi-tasking like he's on a one-man ring circus. The food was predominantly Malaysian style - why I say that because...
1. If a Chinese man can speak Malay to me, that is a tell tale sign he's not Singaporean.
2. I had Nasi Lemak (And I can make some kick ass nasi lemak) and it was quite disappointing. I can't taste the flavor of ginger, coconut milk, pandan leaves, and so on in the rice. And I think they use a wrong kind of rice for that.
3. It's all about cash. Suffice to say, this establishment is catering towards immigrants that felt home sick after taking their driver's license test around the corner to satisfy their cravings.
I am usually not harsh about restaurants, and I know Lion City can do so much to it. Sad to say I was quite disappointed by the food. Did not heal the homesickness...
But if you're up for an eye-opening adventure... (as Singaporeans say) die, die must try!
People thought this was:
Useful (5)
Funny (1)
Cool (4)
Apparently this is the only place around DFW that has Singaporean/Malaysian food. As such, I had to make my way over to Plano to check it out. I'm definitely glad I did.
This place is a place for authentic SE asian food. It doesn't focus on its decor or atmosphere- just the food.
The chicken rice is good, as is the belachan kang kong (spicy veggies). The portions were hearty- my only complaint was that the rice wasn't the best I've had. To be fair, I have been to Singapore and grew up in San Francisco, so it's gotta be damn good to rank in my top 3.
As this was my first time, I haven't sampled their other dishes, though I can't wait until I return so that I can try some of their other stuff.
People thought this was:
Useful (4)
Cool (2)
I have been frequenting this place for about 5 years and am always satisfied with the food. When you go here, don't expect any good service. It's more like self service. The owner will take the order and deliver the dish. You will have to get your own drink, utensils, etc.
Some of the Singaporean dishes I recommend are kue-tiaw siram (fried flat noodle with sauce), crispy fried chicken, kangkung belacan (stir-fried water spinach with shrimp paste), nasi goreng sambal (spicy fried rice), sambal udang (shrimp and pineapple with spicy sauce), and Hainan chicken rice,
Been to this place a couple of times after someone recommended it, not too bad for a quick bite. Self-service, however that's the style, pretty much like a street-side vendor kind of feeling
However not too long ago I had a very very bad experience there. I had diarrhea continuously for two days after eating there, never in my life did I feel so weak. I had to be confined on bed most of the time during those two or three days, no appetite, aching stomach and a really bad fever. I think it is very typical of food poisoning.
Later I did go to the place and talk with the usually very friendly owner with no intention of asking for a compensation or anything. I just wanted the owner to know about this and be very careful with the hygiene. I even lowered my voice so that I would not "make a scene" to the customers there. However what he told me was unbelievable. He barely said maybe you need go see a doc. and find out if you're sick because of something else. Man, I could not believe my ears.
Anyway I think at least I need to write this review so people are aware of it. For me, never again!!
haven't been there in a long while, but I still remember their awesome food. The place is a bit bland but this is a restaurant you go to have great food and not to hang out.
Like I've mentioned, food is the main attraction here, their Mee Goreng and Kwehtiaw are the best you can get outside of actually being in SE Asia. Ask for extra Sambal if you're into the whole spicier food = better food idea.
Everything else are equally good too but the creme de la creme has to be their curry puff. These little golden, warm snack will make a new craving for you!
Definitely one of the places to stop by when I'm in town.
People thought this was:
Useful (1)
This is one of the restaurants my husband and I frequent A LOT. We love the hainanese chicken rice, the spicy kangkong dish, homemade chicken curry, fish in black bean sauce, the list goes on! The only downside is that service is extremely slow since the owner is also the cashier, waiter, server, cleaner. This doesn't prevent us from coming back for more authentic Chinese-Malaysian-Singaporean food though!
Btw, resto is on cash basis only.
People thought this was:
Useful (1)
Cool (1)
Haven't been there since I moved in Oct 05. I used to go to Lion City Cafe a lot. Good South East Asian food. The most authentic I've eaten in US. That includes the plethora of S.E. Asian food in San Francisco. Service is lacking, but it's a mom and pop place, self service works as long as we note down what we ate and pay for it.
People thought this was:
Cool (1)
People Who Viewed This Also Viewed...
Hot and New
- Polished
2 reviews
Plano, TX
- Fadia's Deli
1 review
Richardson, TX
- Super Target
1 review
Plano, TX
- 3rd Base Sports Bar & Grill
4 reviews
Frisco, TX
- Premier Wines of Plano
1 review
Plano, TX
