Mama Lee

Food is great and Mama Lee really acts like your mom. Gives us free stuff all the time haha

Really great food and service.
I got the three cups chicken, it was very good, crunchy, flavorfull, great sauce. You get free soup and rice with the meal, that they refill.
I also go the jia jiang noodles, also delicious, it reminded me a litte of mapo tofu, over really soft noodles, great taste, love soft noodles. A great noodle to me can still be eaten cold (does not get hard and gross to eat when cold).
Will definitely be back. And the price was great, two meals, rice and soup for 20 bucks.

Stopped by Mama Lee’s during the aftermath of the snow storm since I was in the area running errands. I decided to try something new and went for the sautéed rice cakes with pork. I was way too hungry to wait to pick up so I asked Mama Lee if I could eat it there. Without hesitation, she said of course! She started bringing out my order and then told me soup was on the way! As I was eating all this deliciousness, she decides to bring me cookies for dessert. Overall, amazing service and food. It’s what every review has been saying, she makes you feel right at home! Also, I wanted to tip her, but she said no, the price included tips and taxes. I am in awe of Mama Lee!

500^th Review! And of course it must be dedicated to a Taiwanese restaurant. Mama Lee really reminds me of home or my aunt’s house in Taiwan. If my family lived in the area, this would be the type of restaurant we would frequent often. The owner is truly such an honest and amazing person. To be honest, the food was just okay. There are a couple of Taiwanese places in Queens that I like a lot better than Mama Lee. In terms of Taiwanese food, it is 4 stars for me, but the warmth and service we received makes it 5 stars.
In terms of the food, I think I over-​hyped myself up because of the number of obstacles it took to get here. The first time we tried, we forgot Mama Lee is closed on Tuesday and Wednesday. The second time, we almost didn’t make it before their closing time at 8pm. But thankfully, last call to order food is 7:45pm and we made it at 7:30pm. The best part about the food is that it’s not oily and cooked more healthily like you would at home. You also have a choice to choose between white rice or purple rice.
Complimentary Chicken Soup — Delicious and warming just like soup at home. It’s full of healthy vegetables like daikon radish, carrots, and burdock root.
Spicy Fish w/​Vegetables (and we requested tofu instead of vegetables) — This was the favorite dish of the night. I thought the sauce would be sweet, but it wasn’t. It was savory and not too salty. The fish was well velveted and tender. I thought it could be a lot spicier though.
Pork w/​Bamboo Shoots & Dry Bean Curd — I’ve had this better elsewhere, but very simple, homecooked taste. Very tasty.
Taiwanese Chicken Roll — Very good Taiwanese chicken roll as chicken rolls go, which by the way is actually made out of pork. The sauce tastes like it’s made with ketchup instead of Taiwanese sweet chili sauce (甜辣醬), but the chicken roll itself had lots of texture from the vegetables.
Chicken w/​Soy Sauce and Basil — I enjoyed this dish because of the abundance of basil and that the chicken was both crispy and tender at the same time. The chicken is conveniently all boneless. It lacked sauce though, which Taiwanese Three Cup Chicken is supposed to have a lot of.
Pork Chop (Taiwanese Style) — Least favorite dish of the night. It was not crispy and had a weird sweet flavor without having the sweet and salty 5 spice taste. I recommend not ordering this dish.
In the Three Cup Chicken dish, we found a little shred of one of those stainless steel pot scrubbers. But whatever, this is homecooking. At home, I would just remove it and keep on eating and that’s exactly what we did. We did tell the owner though, and she immediately went to admonish her cook. Later, she came out with a complimentary plate of Taiwanese chicken rolls from the chef who made it for us as apology. Not only that, she encouraged us to stay and eat/​talk as long as we wanted because they were going to stay until 10pm to clean anyways. As we were talking, she later came out to give us Danish cookies, Starbucks Frappuccino, and the most random thing of all a bar of soap in a really nice box. Wow… what a generous person… but the bar of soap kind of confused me.
When we were paying, we found that the bill totaled to a lot less than the prices listed on the menu. We asked the owner and she explained how she did the bill. You might think prices are higher now, but the cost of produce is also pretty insane right now. The owner told us how cabbage went from a dollar something to 6 dollars something. The day she went, the cost of produce went down a little, so she lowered the cost of the dishes we ordered. She charges fairly. If the market price of ingredients is less that day, she will lower the bill. Fairest business owner I have ever encountered.
Besides that, portions are also huge with tax and tip included. People forget this fact and then complain about how expensive it is. A person’s got to make a living.

I really feel like Mama Lee loves me. She was so personal, and while I was waiting for my food she told her staff to give me tea. It was cold outside and she told her staff to give me tea. Mama Lee loves me!
Food tasted great, clean. Portions were good, prices were fine. No issues at all, I would definitely come back here take-​out for myself, or with friends dining in — If I can get them to come all the way out to Bayside with me…

Nice little establishment with great service. The lady here is very kind to her customers and does her best to make sure they leave with happy bellies.
The Taiwanese pork chop over rice here is very tasty, the pork chop is crispy on the outside and tender and juicy on the inside. eat dish is accompanied with a nice soup on the side. The menu is massive so i’m eager to go down the list and see how everything else tastes.
This place doesn’t feed large groups well but they do do take-​out so definitely come here if you love eating Taiwanese food.

Sorry mom, i cheated on you.
I went to MAMA LEEs for dinner
Hole in the wall mom and pops restaurat. Only 2 people oparating 4 tables plus phone order /​take out. Of its crowded please be patient.
Got my 3 Cup chicken (boneless) $ 10.50 over rice
she brought me more than 3 cup, she gave me a side dish of cucumbers, and her home made soup (chicken, corn, radish, carrots and ginger).
She came over my table every 5 minutes to make sure i am well fed. (Like a mom).
I wanted to order more but she didnt let me because she said it was good enough for me.
She made me smile!
**** new menu no more combo. Prices are included tax and tips.
**** I believe they accept Credit card now (visa. Master. Discover)

Food is delicious but make sure to call ahead for your food to be prepared. There’s literally one woman making the food, taking the order and ringing people up. My favorites are the salt and pepper fried chicken over rice and the Taiwanese chicken rolls. Defined authentic Taiwanese style food here

A four. one star review for this far away Taiwanese restaurant all the way in Bayside.
I’m not sure if I’d ever get a chance to come back, but I hope I do. Quite thankful a good friend of mine had planned to take me here. When I arrived, I was thinking to myself? Really? A hole-​in-​the-​wall? A hole-​in-​the-​wall that’s not even by the train or by a congested area, but rather all the way out in the burbs? Well, sometimes these hole-​in-​the-​walls are truly the best surprises for anyone to eat at. Ironically, there was also a Chinese takeout in the same plaza that Mama Lee was located in.
At first look, it just looked like another Chinese takeout spot. There were a few tables inside and maybe at max capacity could only seat twelve people. But we were greeted cheerfully by Mama Lee herself? Either way, she was beyond helpful. Surprisingly, and I hated to sound like I’m stereotyping — but her English was great. And yeah, I was surprised… all the way out in the depths of Queens to find one of the few spots that has a host that spoke English well was an astonishment. She was able to recommend items and tell what was popular without a quizzicle tone.
We ended up choosing the pork & onions over rice and the spicy beef strips over rice. We weren’t sure how big the portions were as they came in «half» sizes or «full.» And boy, it’s a good thing that we chose the half. The portions were HUGE. In addition to that, this is the first place in the world that has ever offered me REFILLS on the rice. I wish I were hungry that day because I had more than enough of my pork & onions to keep adding rice to. The pork was tender and it had just enough onions to compliment it rather than over power it. I tried my friend’s spicy beef strips and they had a real good kick to it.
But before we got our entrees, we were also surprised by complimentary chicken soup. The broth wasn’t thick and the cabbage and carrots that were floating in it had just enough flavor to fill and warm you up. The pieces of chicken were fantastic. It wasn’t salty, it wasn’t dry. I probably could have had the whole bowl of soup as my entrée and it would have been a great meal in itself.
Now, I guess the only «flaw» that you can say about Mama Lee is that the prices are indeed higher than your typical takeout dishes. But the fact you can get free refills on your rice and have soup — the prices are worth it. I hope that I’ll be able to come back and try some of the other dishes some day.
It’s also CASH ONLY.

You know when you get really excited to go to one of your aunt’s house who always makes truly amazing food? Well, picture that here, don’t go coming here thinking of this place as a restaurant, think of it as a person’s home that they happen to charge for food. There are two types of food that I adore: people who went to culinary school, has Michelin stars, highly rated by Zagat and Unilocal blah blah blah but also those who cook from the heart and cook really amazing food to feed people because that’s their calling. We often look at restaurants and food as a business, especially in New York, but we kinda forget the most fundamental aspect of food and that is to care for people.
After my meal, I had a chance to talk with Mama Lee for a few minutes and I was genuinely in awe at the way she views food and how she treats people. She treats people like family, like her family and she works really hard to make sure she takes care of people. If people come in hungry and can’t afford food, well heres a little something. If you are a single mother and you have no way of getting food home, well here a little something. I think the idea of her making food and people genuinely enjoying it must makes her truly happy.
And like any home, there are certain things you’d expect in being in one. There was a little boy eating with his family eating and she gave him homemade oatmeal cookies and told him to make sure he washes his hands. She is a warm person, like all mothers but she will also set your ass straight when she has to. She tells us that some of the teens would come after school and sometimes curse or put their feet up on the table, she will not have that here, oh no no no. She sets them straight real quick, you are in her place, show some damn respect! The restaurants does have some crazy hours since it is a 3 person team, she gets up at 6am to hit 4 different markets, she puts time and effort in producing a quality product and it shows. The food is not oily, greasy or heavy, I was kinda shocked at how much I ate and didn’t get that disgusting full feeling. This is by no means supposed to be «restaurant quality» food, but it is food made by someone who loves to cook and it was easily the best Taiwanese food I ever had.
The food:
Chicken w/​soy sauce & basil aka Three Cup Chicken– This is kinda the go to dish in Taiwanese places and I thought this was excellent, the dark meat chicken was cooked perfectly, tender on the inside with a nice give on the on the outside. There was a good amount of basil in the dish and it flavored the dish nicely, I also really like the addition of the stir fried ginger and garlic, they both had a nice char on both pieces.
Salt and Pepper Fish– I am not Chinese, so I was looking at the English menu, I asked her what she recommended and she points out items from the Chinese or Taiwanese menu. She listed a few items and wham, we got a few awesome specials. The fish was cooked perfectly, it was not greasy at all. The fish filets were accompanied with red chili peppers and garlic which perfumed the filets nicely.
String beans with ground pork– This was another item on the Chinese/​Taiwanese menu and it was great as well. The string beans were so tender and the pork paired well with the black bean. The pork did have a slightly weird flavor to me, I wasn’t sure if it was the seasoning or the way it was cooked but still a great dish overall.

Worth the wait! The quality of the food is fantastic and tastes homemade. I’ve been there twice since my first review in August and have brought friends back to try the food. The space is basic, but you’ll feel at home because the host’s hospitality is exactly what you’ll want in a homey gathering. The Lion’s Head (huge pork balls on cabbage) is my favorite. The meat falls apart and its juiciness perfectly complements a bowl of rice.
The price is a few dollars higher than comparable restaurants in the area, but I think it’s a good value.

I have been here four times. No doubt, one of the best Taiwanese food in NY. Feel like home, free extra rice, free soup with fresh ingredient, and just like mom, the Lee would suggest you which dish is better than others. Chicken soup with wine is amazing. However, it’s just really like homemade — not professional enough. Some of the days food was amazing which some of the days food was not good. I saw they put food in bowl on the floor which is not professional practice, beef friend rice — the beef some of them are much bigger than others, bamboo was from he can. I admire the fresh ingredient, family style /​home made style but I also wish them bring the level to the next, more professional and more digital.

I finally got to try Mama Lee last night after having bookmarked this restaurant for months! Upon entering the brightly lit restaurant, you will find it to be quite cozy in there. There are only four tables, each with about six chairs. Luckily for us, there was one table available so we snagged it with the quickness. I hear it is usually packed in here. Even as we were seated, there was a constant stream of people coming to eat in as well as people picking up their takeout.
We ordered the braised pork, tofu, and egg over rice as well as the family value combo meal for $ 35 which comes with three dishes of your choice, soup of the day, and rice. For our three dishes, we picked: large pork meatball (lion’s head), chicken with soy sauce and basil (three cup chicken), and the salt and pepper fried fish fillet. All to share amongst three people. And yes, it is too much food. Insane.
I honestly did not care much for the braised pork, tofu, and egg over rice entrée. The pork was ground pork versus pork belly, which I think would’ve added much more depth to it. Even the egg was kind of blah. I found that entrée to be fairly bland overall and just unremarkable as a whole. It was not a hit for any of us at the table.
The soup of the day was a pork and bitter melon soup. For those who are not fans of bitter melon, not to worry — the bitter melon was not overwhelming at all and honestly, I barely even noticed it. The soup was light and a just a great start for what is to come.
The pork meatballs were awesome. I’ve never had lion’s head before but it was definitely a great introduction. The dish came with two large meatballs served over a bed of napa cabbage. The minced pork meat just melts in your mouth. The three cup chicken is probably the most popular dish here and with good reason. The semi-​sweet glaze was perfect and the flavors were aromatic and bold. The fish fillet was lightly fried and not greasy at all, not overly salty nor overly spicy… just flawless. I honestly cannot even say which dish I liked most. I thought they were all really great.
I’m a fan of this place and I can totally see why it scores such high reviews on Unilocal.All the foods really have a homemade feel to it, nothing overly salty nor oily. Everything seems very healthy. It almost seems weird calling it a restaurant because you really feel like you’re eating in the kitchen of an aunt. The service here is impeccable as well; they treat you like you are part of the family. They will constantly refill your rice and soup (even when you don’t ask) to make sure you don’t go hungry.
Just a warning though: My friend is a regular and had told me that Mama Lee closes at random hours sometimes so it may be wise to call ahead of time before heading over.
CASH ONLY!

Finally got a chance to try the amazing MamaLee out here in Bayside. Last time when I visited was surprised to see they took a long vacation, this time however Mama Lee is back to the kitchen and really cooked up an amazing meal for us to try. I knew the place was small when I read the reviews and luckily when we arrived one of the four tables was available.
They’re a very small operation only about 3 people working in the restaurant, however the food we had were quite delicious indeed and definitely lives up to the hype. We end up getting the 3 dishes + soup for $ 35 tax included. At first the portion didn’t seem much but it was definitely enough for a family of 4 or more. I’ll list out a bit about what we got that day.
Soup of the day — I believe the soup changes daily and when we were there we got to try a variation of the miso soup with chunks of salmon and some picked veggies. A bit more sour than your typical Japanese miso soup but I really quite liked it. The salmon had skins intact so it gave the broth more oily flavor. She was very generous with the soup even offer us extra refills and extras to bring home
Three cup chicken — My personal favorite dish, very authentic and delicious chicken. The sauce is just right and flavorful, I especially liked the hint of the spiciness the chili pepper brought out the dish. Definitely recommended.
Fish fillet w/​Pickled Vegetables — The vegetables weren’t as sour as I usually have which I think is more welcoming to people foreign to traditional Chinese/​Taiwanese dishes. The fish were very soft and tender, making it very compliment to go with white rice. Honestly i can probably eat bowl after bowls of rice with just this dish haha.
Chinese Cabbage /​w Dried Shrimp — Another great dish to go with the white rice. I noticed its a bit sweeter than what I’m more used to for a veggie dish but I think that’s a good choice. Its not overly greasy or oily but quite flavorful. Although if you’re not used to Asian cooking you might find it too slimy or runny :)
Overall it was a great visit, very glad I had a chance to try out Mama Lee’s authentic cooking. Definitely will be back here regularly. Since its in the residential Bayside area street parking wasn’t too hard to find. Also like most small business they’re cash only. I very much prefer coming out here than going to the crowded Flushing for some delicious Taiwanese food!

Basically the paragon of perfection. I came here with a friend for dinner after classes and we both loved every single aspect of Mama Lee’s restaurant. From the simple décor to the cheap and delicious food, everything just came together to form a remarkable dining experience. When we first entered, Mama Lee greeted us warmly with menus as we took our seats at one of the vacant tables. Note that this is a very small restaurant that can probably only sit a maximum of 16 people so try to come in smaller groups. There is no bathroom but there is hand sanitizer and napkins on the table. We decided to get the Jia jiang mein and chicken with soy sauce and basil (3 cup chicken) and the food arrived at our table milliseconds after we ordered… We also got complimentary soup too, which I felt really added to the concept of home cooking.
Radish soup– I was not a big fan of the soup since I don’t particularly like radishes or carrots and I found the soup to be a bit bland but it did remind me of the kind of soups that my mom makes at home.
Jia jiang mein– I used to like Korean jiajiang mein more than the Chinese one because the Chinese one that I had in Chinatown was so bad. But the one here was so delicious! A delicious layer of oyster sauce, pork, braised tofu, woodear, onions, and scallions coated the noodles! All of the ingredients mixed together so well and appealed to my taste buds so much! It’s a little on the salty side but nothing too unbearable.
3 cup chicken– So tasty! The chicken wasn’t dry at all and had a very delicious and crispy soy sauce glaze on the outside. I also really liked the basil that they cooked the chicken with because it reminded me of Thai noodles. When they brought the dish to the table, it smelled really spicy but it wasn’t spicy at all. Comes with rice.
My friend and I were stuffed from the two dishes that we ordered and there were still leftovers for us to take home. The best part is, we ended up paying less than $ 10 for our meal! WHAT. Not only is the food delicious and affordable, but Mama Lee also provided genuine and courteous service that led to a very pleasant meal. I don’t think they use MSG either because I didn’t have to drink any water on my way home (extra points for that). Definitely the best Taiwanese restaurant I’ve been to in Queens! Check this place out!

A quick update– The food is great but the service is not the friendliness compare to a regular restaurant. It is truly a mom & pop shop and they don’t apply any restaurant management models…
There are only 4 sets of table for four and a crowd can build up very quickly.
They may ask you to go take a walk around the block! If you go and come back, expect to wait at the end of the line again. Don’t get too upset with them. If you are willing to wait, you will enjoy a very good meal.
They do close at 3PM-​5PM for a siesta.
The food is still great.
Tip: ask for the purple rice. CASH only.

Quite frankly one of the yummiest Chinese/​Taiwanese food I’ve ever eaten at. Prices are very decent. Mama Lee is very polite and friendly and makes all feel welcomed!
My fave dishes are 3 cups of chicken, 2 mushrooms with vegetables, sautéed rice cakes with pork and the fish noodle dish.

Kid tested, Asian-​immigrant mother approved! Mama Lee serves up authentic Taiwanese food that’s not too salty or greasy. If Taiwanese food is new to you, I attached a picture so you can know what to order. Clockwise from top left, there’s the mugwort sticky rice patty, pork intestine noodles, Taiwanese chicken roll with my favorite dipping sauce of all time (mostly sweet, but a tad spicy), and pork mushroom soup.
Prices are incredibly reasonable as well and there’s a family special where you can order 3 dishes for just $ 35. There’s also some Korean food on the menu (e.g. jap chae, kimchi beef) since that’s where Mama Lee grew up.
The restaurant is really clean and Mama Lee greets everyone with a smile and friendly conversation. She even speaks fluent English, Korean, Mandarin, and Taiwanese! It’s pretty amazing.

Took my family here for my brother’s post-​graduation celebratory dinner on a weekday after a random search for Taiwanese food on Unilocal.We normally go to Nan Bei Ho which is in the same neighborhood but I’d been wanting to try a new place. Luckily my family trusted me enough (I’d never been here myself), and at the end of the meal it was a consensus that Mama Lee was a good find, and trust me, this is rare considering my mom ALWAYS rags on Taiwanese cooking outside of her own kitchen.
We got the 3-​dish family combo plus an additional dish: the 3-​cup chicken (labeled as «chicken w/​soy sauce & basil» on the menu), onion pork chop, sauteed beef w/​black pepper and sweet & sour fish fillet. The latter two are on a separate smaller menu (see pic) that’s unfortunately w/​o English translation but for your reference, it’s #23 and #37, respectively.
The 3-​cup chicken wasn’t as thickly cubed as those served at Nan Bei Ho, but tender and savory nonetheless. Everything was much closer to homemade Taiwanese food compared to most restaurants; that is, without excessive salt, grease, or sugar. My mom cooks very light which cultivated a relatively light palate in me, and we both approved of these dishes. The taste is distinctly flavorful and goes well with rice, yet it doesn’t sit heavily and linger in your stomach as it otherwise would if packed in a pool of grease, nor does it stick to the back of your tongue that you’d be compelled to rinse out your mouth with tea before tackling a different dish.
Rice and soup come with the family combo. There’s even a choice of purple rice, a perfect alternative for health fanatics. Tea is served as per usual, but there is also self-​serve water in a water cooler near the counter.
Service is pretty efficient for such a small establishment run by two people; we didn’t have to wait long for our food. Even if there happens to be a wait, there’s papers available by the windows to pass time (Mama Lee actually handed my dad a copy of World Journal). I believe her husband is the cook and she mainly mans the counter and manages the guests. She’s conversational in Mandarin, English and Korean.
Price is comparable to most dine-​in Chinese restaurants. Our bill came out to be about $ 10 per person.
Mama Lee is seriously one of the most hospitable restaurant owners/​servers I’d ever encountered in the US, if not anywhere. She’s so exceedingly friendly, attentive, and goes the extra mile for each of her customers. When we asked for to-​go boxes and my mom mentioned I’d be taking the leftovers for office lunch, Mama Lee actually offered to also pack me a container of rice (!!!). That’s like extra five miles she went right there. She made us feel right at home — as in Taiwan — and the quality of food as well as service attitude gave us a reason to return.

I happen to love this place. My own mom didn’t cook Taiwanese food, so I can’t compare it with my own mother’s cooking. The place is small. 4 tables to be exact. Did I love everything we ordered, no, but then again I don’t usually like Taiwanese food. But then again not all their food is Taiwanese.
What I did like is the chicken roll which was served with ketchup, Jia Jiang Mein and the chicken with soy sauce and basil which is made with dark meat. All three dishes were yummy. They served us the bittermelon soup with our meal. I hate bittermelon but I gave it a try… it was delicious!!! It was not bitter at all. I would drink that soup again!
What I didn’t like was the braised pork, tofu and egg over rice. I felt the egg was dry and the tofu marinade was not my thing… but I think it’s a Taiwanese flavor to the tofu that I didn’t like.
I would come back and try other things though. I would probably try the family combo where you get to chose 3 dishes and comes with rice and soup for $ 35.
If I have cravings for the food, then it must have been good for me. I can’t wait to go back.