Maple Leaf Chinese Restaurant

I miss karaōke at the Maple Leaf! I was just discovering how much fun it was and they are right next door to my house! Why’d they have to close? :(Any eastside karaōke peeps say hello I would love to make new friends.

I love this place! The foods is so good, it makes up for the out dated décor. :) the portions are always huge and staff friendly. Karaōke here Wednesday through Saturday. Best selection of songs and great sound system here. Drink specials in the bar on karaōke nights. Gotta check it out! I’ve been dining and doing karaōke for years at the Maple Leaf.
Sadly, the Maple Leaf closed its doors last week. :(

*Bar only review*
Seriously, as good as it gets.
— Cosmopolitan atmosphere.
— Tasteful decorating.
— Lovely and polite bartenders/​staff.
— There’s a limit to the number of Long Islands one is allowed to order. Awesome.
A great place to spend your entire night, or wrap it up. Excellent for groups, but I’m also pretty positive most come alone. I’ve never tried the food, not sure I’m brave enough for that. It’s easy to lose your life, dreams and ambitions in The Maple Leaf Chinese Restaurant. I bet you won’t care.

***Karaōke Bar only***
When I went: 01/​07/​2012, 9:30 PM
Customer service:
Great all the way around. Zero attitude. Bartenders always make the rounds and are pretty observant on empty glasses. Requests are always met, albeit snacks or drinks.
Atmosphere:
It’s be best place I’ve ever gone for karaōke. People are there to have a good time. Can be comical.
The fairness:
The MC-​Karaōke-​DJ circulates and rotates the names of people on the wait list to sing. I also notice, he tunes the song to you so you don’t sound completely bad. That’s s nice touch.
Overall:
I plan on making this my usual spot. I’d recommend others go to that aren’t jerks and just want to have a good time doing karaōke.

What Nancy and Ken said, mostly…
The afterthought décor just makes the experience that much more interesting and fun for a change of things. They don’t have ginger, so no W&G’s… the pot stickers were darn good, just brown and chewy enough with decent flavor. For karaōke, I intended on doing Muse’s Uprising, but when one of the supposedly local regular’s did it before me, I decided to change it up — with Lil Jon’s Get Low.
Ye-​YEAH!
Most star cred goes to my experience being up there and having fun singing/​rapping. :) The sound quality – and especially that deep bass – was great. Feedback wasn’t too big. I wonder if the bass sounded different upstage than when sitting down, ‘cuz when one of our group did Hypnotize by Biggie, it wasn’t so bangin’ from our table. I dunno. It’s all good.
OH, and bonus for Get Low’s Uncensored Version! Rock Box only had the clean one for this song last I went there.
Thanks to Nancy for hosting the event.

This review is for the karaōke only.
It was great!
The songbook is humongous. Every song I’ve ever heard of is in that book, and then some. Some singers went on stage singing songs I had never heard of. Very contemporarly raps and pop. But there was also vintage Tony Bennett, Motown, songs from musicals, etc. The small stage has a fog machine, there’s a disco ball, a teleprompter and background video screen… what else does one need?
The crowd who was present when I went a few nights ago, on Saturday, was welcoming and non-​intimidating. And you can go and only have one or two drinks and stay the whole evening. What a deal!
The lounge, as Ken mentioned, is dated, décor-​wise: dark paneling, stereotypical American Chinese restaurant bar (I know, I know, what are the odds?!). But it was small enough not to be scary for us beginners, and large enough to still hold a lot of people and for the karaōke veterans to want to come back to.
My only suggestion: it would be great if the karaōke started a bit earlier than 9:30pm. I thought that was a late start.

Entertainment for me is watching talented singers and not so talented singers perform on stage. Maple leaf is a fun place to be on Thurs through Sun nights (from 9:30pm to about 1:30am). The song selection book covers most of what I look for as I love the late 80s, 90s and current popular hits. The sound equipment works well in their dated lounge area and it is only a one drink minimum to hang out. If you plan to feed yourself while having a wonderful time, I suggest ordering the safer finger foods such as pot stickers or the crab rangoons. I may just head down there tonight as I remember watching experts imitate Lady Gaga, BoB, and Journey! Must be regulars as they made it look effortless. Overall, if you are low on the dough and need to roll, come on here bro, that’s what I know.

Maple Leaf has consistently delicious food and some great, friendly waiters. I especially recommend their weekday lunch specials — they’re a steal and the service is really quick. We celebrate my birthday there every year and the staff is always great about serving our large and somewhat difficult crowd (think babies and toddlers running around).
You should definitely try this place if you’re looking for some tasty American-​style Chinese food on the Eastside.

I actually want to give this place a bad review in hopes that it won’t get so crowded. Alas, that would be doing a disservice.
The food here is not my favorite, but I love the crab rangoons and their drinks are awesome. If you want to try something new, ask for the Blue Leaf. So good!
The main reason I come here is the karaōke. There is a HUGE selection of songs, and I love watching the other people get up and sing their hearts out. There are definitely some regulars that you will begin to recognize if you come often, and you can tell that they love karaōke.

My review is on service rather than food. Our sweet-​n-​sour chicken was good as was the cashew shrimp. My egg flower soup was also pretty tasty. Ok on to why they only get two stars.

We waited by the desk for about 10 minutes with two energetic children so somebody could defiantly hear them. We decided to see what they had and looked at a take-​out menu. A gentleman approached us and right away asked what we were ordering, when we said we wanted to eat there he looked annoyed. it wasn’t to busy and he sat us by the fish tank. It took awhile for someone to come and see what we wanted to drink, even longer to bring us our drinks and twice as long to ask us what we would like to eat. When we weren’t sure n our second entrée choice he said he’d be back, a suggestion would have been nice. Later after we had ordered we got our apps, that came with the dinner choice. 2 tiny egg rolls and 2 tiny crab ragoon with a tiny cup of soup. I was a bit disappointed that the meals come drenched in sauce with a lot of veggies, but not much meat. It was good just skimpy. After the food was dropped off by a different server no one ever came back to check on us or anything. We had to flag them down for the bill and practically walk out the door so they noticed us wanting to pay. After my friend paid the man called her back over and asked if she had written 35.10 and she said «yes that’s how much it was.» He asked her where the tip was. He wasn’t even our server. At this point I realized I forgot our leftover veggies and went back to the table, he followed me and when he still didn’t see a tip, he glared at me and asked me why no tip. Well usually I leave something but I was very unhappy that he had the «balls» to ask that I decided not to. Talk about rude. I have worked as a server and know that it is not fun to get stiffed, but I also know what great service is and this was not.

While I can’t really vouch for the food, I can DEFINITELY vouch for the karaōke. Don’t underestimate this place. it’s a great place to hang out if you’re looking for a good time!
The Maple Leaf is kind of the place to be on a Thursday night. Jason Starkey is by far one of the most entertaining and awesome karaōke hosts I’ve come across in my time.
The layout of the bar is a bit awkward and the décor is a bit dated, but I prefer to consider it kitschy — I’m pretty sure this bar has been here for a very looong time.
I have had tried few things off of the menu — mostly appetizers. It seems like pretty standard Americanized Chinese fare. I was neither impressed or disappointed.
The only thing that bums me out about the Maple Leaf is its limited variety of beer on tap (3 kinds) and lack of pitchers. I’m just not one to pay $ 5 a pint and feel good about it. But, the fun karaōke and atmosphere make up for it.

Our family used to go in all of the time. However, we are now on a major boycott. My husband’s elderly Grandpa went in a few months back. They accidentally put something into his food that he was allergic to, even after he was very specific. He had been going there for years and had no problems. He began to have a hard time breathing and the staff totally ignored the situation. His daughter had to take him out of the restaurant and get medical help. They never apologized or helped in any way; they totally ignored the entire thing. Disgusting!

We’re going to have to try this again with friends who can recommend better menu options. We ordered our first dishes from the house specials section of the menu, and found four of the five dishes really mediocre. Add to that two of us who’d eaten the chicken dishes had some digestion issues (we’ll leave it at that) and a poor night’s sleep.
We found the Honey Prawns were heavily breaded and not very tasty. Also mediocre were the Lemon Chicken and Szechuan Chicken. The Moo Goo Gai Pan and Green Beans with Black Bean were both good and rated a solid ⁴⁄₅.

Ugh, pretty sure I got food poisoning here a few weeks ago with their hot and sour soup. Last time I go there.

I love Maple Leaf and have been going there for over 10 years for lunch. You could say I’m a regular and have introduced it to many of my friends to «The Leaf» as well. We love the mongolian beef, the po-​po platter, schezwan chicken, chicken with snow peas, Asian Fried Rice and the Asian chow mein.
The place looks really shabby from the outside, but I think of it was part of it’s charm now.

We drove by this restaurant every day for two years and thought it was nothing more than a run-​down karaōke bar with poor-​quality Chinese food. The sketchy-​looking characters standing around outside in the middle of the night and the worn-​out readerboard that only advertises karaōke and happy hour were not doing them any favors.
We were WRONG!
Now, if you are looking for excellent authentic Chinese food, don’t come here. It’s not the most amazing thing I’ve ever tasted and it’s VERY Americanized. However, for those of us Americans who like it this way, be prepared to be impressed.
The inside of the restaurant is nothing like the outside. Like other reviewers said, it looks like it had its heyday in the 80s. Beautifully upholstered pink booths are surrounded by acrylic and fabric plants in bonsai fashion. Yes, they have real fabric tablecloths that they don’t cover with glass, so you can spill on them if you’re a klutz like me. And the napkins are folded into the stand-​up triangles.
The service was great. A well-​dressed gentleman came by every so often and politely checked in on our progress. We were treated like honored guests the whole time.
Oh, the food? They do almond chicken just how I like it — covered in sticky gravy. It’s not to die for, but it’s quality food. The broccoli beef had a tasty brown sauce and the beef was tender and marinated. The won-​ton soup had a chicken broth base that reminded me of something out of a can, but you can’t win everything. And the rice was a bit dry.
Good comfort food in a surprisingly nice place.
Overall, I was really impressed with the presentation. Even the food arrived arranged nicely and the broccoli beef was sprinkled with sesame seeds in a way that told me the chef really cared. It’s really unfortunate that the place is so quiet. It ought to be a full house on a Friday night.
Do me a favor and eat there, and then tell your friends to eat there. It’s too nice a place to go out of business.

I finally found a Chinese restaurant that prepares Wor Su Gai (Almond Chicken) with a thicker sauce like I like it! Since this was first recommended I’ve been there about once every two weeks. Highly recommended.
The building itself needs a lot of maintenance and has a rather strange smell as you walk through the front doors.

This is one of the better American Chinese places in Bellevue. I usually go for the sweet and sour or orange chicken.
Got a friend who loves the Kung Pao Chicken too.

Service was fantastic, with some wonderfully «easy on the eyes» waitresses. Food was good, but nothing «spectacular». A good place to try once or twice, but I know cheaper places just as good to go more frequently.

This is a shaky three stars… because when you enter through the front doors, you are welcomed by the pungent odor of chlorine (as if you were at the YMCA). My dining companion begged to differ, stating that it smelled more like wet dog. The chlorine/​wet dog aroma in the dining area isn’t as overwhelming, but still noticeable.
Now on to the food. Today I had the Empress chicken, consisting of fairly good– tasting pieces of deep fried white meat. Served with rice and vegetables. Unfortunately, they pour a whole bunch of their «special brown gravy» on everything but the rice. Too too much, and not so great in flavor.
The Penster, my dining companion, had the moo goo gai pan with chicken. They drenched it in the special brown gravy too. Her appraisal: just so so.
On a previous visit, I had the Mongolian Beef, which was quite good.
Egg drop soup is strictly pedestrian.
The best part of the meal was the small side salad that came out first. Had a really wonderful dressing!
Reasonably priced.