I got takeout from here - the tofu with crab and the steamed egg with crab. Both were good and stocked with crab. You know it's real because there were bits of crab shells in it.

Food: very authentic and very flavorful. There was not a dish where it needed more salt or spice. The truffle xiao long bao had hints of truffle without losing its identity as a soupy, porky pocket of happiness. The pork belly was tender but not overly so and definitely had hong shao rou written all over it. The eggplant and the shredded beef tasted like dishes a Chinese grandmother made and while there weren't any crazy flavors, it really hit the spot. The true star of the show was the house special fish with pickled cabbage. I've never had a fish dish with such tender flavorful fish and a broth with such clean powerful taste. The pickled cabbage added a slight pungent sour taste and the chilis added a hint of spice without overpowering the dish. Add in some vermicelli and wood ear mushrooms, and you have a dish that'll satisfy and keep people coming back. 100% with a visit if only just to have that fish again...it was unlike any dish I've ever had. Service: we had a reservation but were seated 30 minutes late. During that time, we stood outside where we witnessed not the best neighborhood in New York at play with lots of homeless people and drugs. The owner did comp a round of beers but with a reservation we felt that 30 minutes was a little too long to wait. The service took a long time as well, we had to remind the servers several time about water. Additionally, I wished that the restaurant didn't charge for rice...it's not an expensive thing to provide the customer especially with the New York City prices for the food. Ambience: felt like a Chinese alley in the best way possible. Definitely feels not overdone with the Chinese music playing and it was nice we got a booth tucked away in a little corner.

While visiting NYC, my wife's cousin suggested that we all come to Cheli in east village for dinner. From the exterior, my first impression is that it looks real nice, themed, and I am immediately concerned that the food isn't the focus if the decor was this nice. Well I was wrong. The food was fantastic. The sweet and sour rib was cooked just right with surprisingly large portion for an appy. The XLB was soupy and hot. The highlight has to be the flaming Begger's chicken with the presentation, the taste was solid, moist, and the scent of lotus leaves. The sesame dessert made into calligraphy brush was interesting (can't find the name of the dish on their website), it came with the blueberry reduced sauce which pair well. We had a few different stir fry veggies not pictured, everything tasted fresh. The service was good too, we were constantly being checked and water was refilled. This was a fantastic experience.

Been wanting to try this place for a while! Definitely recommend going with a group to order different dishes to try! Our waiter was super friendly and gave us recommendations on dishes to try. He made jokes with us and checked up on ua frequently! I'd recommend this place!! * Flaming Begger's Chicken ($34): I was not expecting a fire show & interactive dish. The flavor was super yummy and the chicken was sooo tender, literally fell off the bone (5/5) * Sliced Chilled Chicken ($15): Standard Chinese chicken dish. The chicken was super juicy and the sauce that complemented it went so well with the chicken (4/5) * Braised Pork Belly ($27): I loooved the quail eggs that came with the dish, maybe a bit more than the pork belly itself but the pork belly was very tender as well (4/5) * Crispy Eel ($32): This is a MUST GET. I was not expecting to like this dish but it was super flavorful and crispy. GET THIS! (5/5) * Herbal Mixed Mushroom Soup ($19): The soup was strong in herbal flavor and was a good cleanse from the dishes (4/5) * Stir Fried Water Spinach ($16): Standard vegetables, good flavors tho! (4/5) * Eggplant in Garlic Sauce ($16): I love eggplant dishes. This was yummy and had a small kick of spice (4/5) * Stir Fried String Beans ($17): Yummy string beans, cooked well and had lots of flavor! (4/5) * Fried Tofu Bites ($18): This was interesting LOL they look like little cheese balls. I wish there was a little more flavor to them but they were pretty crispy (3/5) * White Pepper Beef with Soft Tofu ($33): THIS WAS SO SPICY. I don't think it was like spicy spicy but like white pepper spicy if you know what I mean... The tofu was very soft tho but my mouth could not handle her (3/5) * White rice ($2 each) & Nabeshima Green Sake ($50): Sake was pretty smooth * Fried Sticky Rice Pancake (free): our server surprised us with a dessert at the end of our dinner (so nice!!) Was super tasty and the presentation was so cute!!

I heard lots of good things about this place so my friends wanted to try. It was honestly pretty good I think portions were very small. The mapo tofu and garlic eggplant were my favorite. Fully staffed and good service. Ambiance was very clean and decorated like a higher level Chinese restaurant. I would come back here to eat!

This is hands down THE BEST hangzhou/shanghai food I have had in the United States. For people who don't know, it's a more sweet and salty type of cuisine in China. We were in nyc for 4 days and had to go there twice because it was that good. My husband whose family is from northern China also loved it. We loved an eel dish, squirrel fish (very hard to find in the US), and soy braised pork belly. Their osmanthus rice cake was also ON POINT! It was that good that I cried at the dinner table lol I have been in the US for 11 years without my hometown food, and this was such a treat! I hope they have more locations in the US!

Authentic and high standard Shanghainese fare. Specially enjoyed the freshly cut eels in oil with the right amount of water bamboo (茭白). The rice cake with shepherd's purse (荠菜) was also Shanghainese standard. The lions head was ok, and the drunken chicken's rice wine sauce was sweet and favorable, unfortunately the meat was a little on the tough side. Also loved the Shuchow opera induced ambiance.

Made reservations for 2 on a Saturday for an early dinner and the place had a few tables eating already. Me and my date got the braised pork belly, which I really enjoyed since I do prefer eating fattier meats. I would recommend ordering a side of rice, just because the flavors can get overwhelming and rice will mellow it out a bit. We also got the sweet and sour tenderloin which was also really flavorful. Both dishes were larger than we expected, and had to take the food home. The pictures make it seem as if the dishes are small, but they have depth! The soup dumplings are on the smaller side, so if you come hungry, I'd recommend getting two orders. The milk tea with white wine was also extremely enjoyable, had a distinct flavor that I really liked.

I absolutely loved this spot! The food was so delicious, ambiance is great, and service was so friendly and efficient. We made a reservation ahead of time for 3 so we were able to get seated quickly. They have some pickled veggies as an appetizer when you sit down. We got quite a few dishes: yang zhou meat ball, the che li "squirrel" fish, qianlong's favorite eel, chinese crispy lava, and green beans. We also ended up getting the osmanthus rice cakes complimentary because they accidentally brought out the fish with pine nuts after we specified that there was a nut allergy. This was super generous of them, and our waitress spotted the error for us immediately. Out of all the dishes, the fish and green beans were my favorite! The fish was so crispy and the sauce that coated it was delicious. The green beans had such a savory yummy flavor. I also really enjoyed the chinese crispy lava for dessert which had a mochi texture and salted egg yolk flavor filling. All the food was fantastic though, and I was so pleased! Definitely recommend this spot for some delicious Chinese food, It's right next to the infamous Szechuan Mountain House, and there's also Mango Mango right next door for dessert too :)