Lily Cafe

I miss this place. Sad to see them closed. Loved their Chef Special (noodles, fried rice, bbq pork, tempura shrimp, and wonton soup). Food is cheap and tasty.

Late post–
Not the fanciest place, I’d even call it a bit of a hole in the wall.
I’ve posted photos of the trays they catered for an event I had. Food was good, especially for the price. I will definitely use them in the future if I’m in that area.

Walked in the restaurant and was met by two cooks who didn’t acknowledge my presence… and when I tried to speak to them, they ignored me twice. I pursued further, and they finally gestured me to speak with the lady who came out from the back room to take my order. Turns out they didn’t speak English, but they could have at least looked up and smiled. They acted like they were pissed that I showed up and couldn’t go home. Cooks were also arguing while preparing the food.
I ordered the three item entrée for $ 19.99. You don’t get soup if it’s a take out order… eggplant with chicken and salted fish (bland, undercooked, lacked seasoning and sauce), curry beef stew (the majority of this dish consisted of of semi-​cooked onions, bell peppers. I had to look hard for the beef though all the bell peppers, onions and tough, chewy tendons. Eventually found a few pieces of beef in the curry sauce which was watery and bland – I poured the «gravy» out of the box and it spouted out like a leaky water facet), and salt/​pepper chicken wings (ok, but soggy… nothing to write home about).
Additionally, we ordered their «special pan fried noodles». There was NOTHING special about it. This dish was also bland, gravy was watery. There were about a few pieces of shrimp, small chewy pieces of bbq pork and a few slivers of chicken. I had a couple bites and tossed the rest. We also had the walnut prawns. Batter was greasy, soggy and the walnuts were plain… not candied-​threw that out. Fried won ton was ok. I didn’t realize there was any meat in them until I ate it… and noticed a small tough rubbery nub like consistency – and realized it was meat. Again their sweet and sour sauce was bland and watery. Also ordered their fried squid. There was more batter than squid in each piece.
Bottom line… we ate a few bites of each entrée and tossed the rest. We spent about $ 60.00 and not one of us ate more than a bite or two. There were six of us and each of us took a bite from our plates and threw the rest out.
We’re not picky eaters but this was the most boring, tasteless, undercooked Chinese food I’ve ever had. Also, with the exception of the bell peppers and onions, I thought they were very stingy with the ingredients.
I remember going there many years ago with my folks and the food was so awesome. Guess times and owner changed. This entire meal was so disappointing. No thanks.

This is one of those small mom n pop hole in the wall restaurants that is worth going to. The décor is not so fancy or modern but recently had walls painted to some hue of orange. If you’re craving for some really good salt n pepper chicken or cod in black bean sauce –this is the go to place. The fam bam has always come here for fresh made to order Chinese food. Menu offers individual combination plates and a la carte. They have a three entrée menu for $ 19.99. Yes, choose any three entrees and it’s good for four people, a la carte. We ordered (a la carte good for 4): potstickers and egg rolls, creamy corn chicken soup, pan fried house noodles, salt n pepper chicken (crunchy, not so salty with the right amount of heat-​so good!), cod in black bean sauce (battered cod salted just right), sweet n sour chicken (sweet but a little on the bland side) with rice for four. Total dinner paid w/​15% gratuity -$ 46! Awesome! Yes, complementary hot tea! Ivy serves it right to you as soon as you take your seat, before ordering.

I been eating at lily’s café since i was young my favorite thing is the fried rice and the Pot sticks .I have seen all the new and old cooks and when they change management. I love this place and would recommend it to any one.

First off, complimentary hot tea!
The waitress was very sweet & personable, but I was beginning to feel frustrated when the first two things I ordered «ran out» (salt & pepper short-​rib & the ginger scallion oysters). However, I made up for it by ordering:
Salt & Pepper Squid — SO GOOD! My go-​to dish here from now on — fa sho! Crispy & salty, with the right amount of pepper that has a slight heat at the end.
Salt & Pepper Porkchop — My whiteboy boyfriend is a picky Chinese food eater, but this was his FAVORITE of all the dishes I picked for him. I was a big fan of this as well. Crispy & flavorful. Mmmm!
Honey Walnut Prawns — Eh. Too much mayo, & if only the shrimp had a fried batter around it, it may have balanced all that sauce.
Orange Chicken — The texture was great, but that sauce had a very intense orange flavor. We took a couple bites & moved on.
Salt & Pepper Chicken Wings — I was sure this would be a shoe-​in for my boyfriend, but I was surprised that he only ate one. I took a small bite of one & was a little taken aback. . it tasted too «chicken-​y» if that makes sense. I even tried to take another bite, but the taste was too strong that I didn’t even touch the plate again.
On my next visit back, I really hope they have the oysters & short-​ribs available, but if not, the salt & pepper porkchop & squid will definitely suffice!

This white girl LOVES a good plate of rice– and this white girl loves the rice at Lily Café!
Lily Café’s rice plates fed me throughout my college career– Shrimp with Scrambled Egg is my personal favorite! And although I graduated from college *COUGHCOUGHCOUGH* years ago, I am still a regular at Lily!
In fact, I ate there today!
Definitely a family favorite, and always a good choice for your quick, filling, scrumptious rice plate fix!

Been coming here for years and still love their food! I normally get the Beef with Scrambled eggs over rice and I am still very addicted to it. I would recommend trying their salt and pepper wings or spareribs because they are both quite yummy.

I have been searching for a decent Chinese restaurant in the area and this is probably the best you will find at a fair price. I go here all the time now. My favorite dishes are the salt and pepper fried chicken wings, the salt and pepper pork chops or spare ribs, Mongolian beef, fried rice, beef chow fun and their beef with broccoli is good too. I think their won ton soup is decent. Definitely go here. Quick and good! You have to ask for soy sauce though… They are not very generous with to-​go sauces.

I’ve been going here for a long time, since I was little. The place is great! Right now there having a mangers special were you get three entrees for $ 19.99 and it includes corn soup. I love to order the Mongolian beef extra spicy, fried oysters, beef and bean cake and many more.
The service is alright. There’s always one waitress and the rest are cooks in the back. The waitress lady is really nice, but I think she should smile way more, but other than that I don’t see a problem with this place. I’ll always be coming back here.

I’ve been going to this place for years. I used to go to the dentist across the street from Lily’s Café and my parents and I always stopped by there to eat after our appointments since we live in Hercules. I only get to eat at Lily’s Café when I’m in the area so I take advantage of it when I can. My 2 favorite dishes are the scrambled egg with shrimp and the beef with bittermelon.
It’s not thee most appealing place to eat but I’m all about the quality of the food and service.

I’ve been having my hasty lunches here for the last 3 years. Whenever I can not think of a good place to eat or if I don’t drive to work, I will just call Ivy on the phone to make my order and pick it up 10 minutes later. Most of the time, my orders are ready when I get there which can be good since I’m always in a hurry.
The service at Lily Café is okay. Almost everyday, Ivy pretty much does everything except the cooking. Despite the fact that she acts as the order taker (both in-​store & through phone), busser, and cashier at the same time, she still manages to do them all in a speedy, efficient manner. Fortunately for me, she has never made a mistake on the dozens of orders I had.
The dining area is okay, a little old, but I can deal with that since I don’t really eat-​in anyway. The kitchen seems on the filthy side, so if you’re sensitive to kitchen cleanliness then this is not the right place for you (or maybe don’t look at the kitchen).
When it comes to food, I would suggest you don’t get the Chow Fun because all you can taste is grease! I personally like their Kung Pao Chicken because the spiciness is just right for my taste. When I order their beef with mushrooms, I would always specify «white mushrooms» as I don’t really like the pungent smell of the other mushroom type that they use. Another plus is whenever I specify my mushroom preference, Ivy would always get it right despite the fact that you can sense that she’s multi-​tasking over the phone.
Overall, I believe that you will get your money’s worth if you choose this little restaurant. For $ 6.00, you can enjoy food with big portions that’s good enough and will get you through the day.

I love their mongolian beef but they put more onions than MEAT

Been there several times for lunch. I don’t mind the down & dirty atmosphere. The food is acceptable and tastes not too bad, though the Mongolian beef was the toughest I’ve ever had, but the service is the worst I have ever experienced at a Chinese restaurant. Sometime I get soup, sometime I don’t. The waitress just doesn’t seem to care. This last time, I never got any attention after the food came, never got the check, never was offered take out box for the left overs, and I had to go to the cash register myself to pay for the food. I will never go there again. Not recommended unless you’re a masochist and like feeling pissed off.

I rate this Chinese cuisine restaurant 3.76−4. The food is great, the best ones are the over rice specials as they’re meant to fill up one person. Prices on foods are moderate, not expensive or cheap.
Since the remodel, the restaurant looks a lot decent than before… but it could be a lot better. Service is fast and accurate, so tips is well deserved. Parking space is avaiable so dining in is great, plenty of space inside.

Price: Cheap
Service: Not 5 star hotel quality but they try and that’s great!
Place: Honestly… kind of dirty. I saw an automotive tech walk in and cook his own food. Nothing wrong with that… except his hands were filthy and he was touching everything!
Food: I’ve eaten from here before, and this time the beef really tasted super putrid. It was as if the meat was left to rot and then they tried to cover it up with lots of sauce. Then I got a tummy ache with gurgles and all right after. I will not be ordering beef from here in the future if I ever return.
Not everything is bad here, good luck!

3 ½ stars this is a Daly City staple been here I think longer then I have been around, they have done some remodeling the outside still the same but the inside is now wut looks to be a hyper orange color
with this place since it is close to the house we don’t order anything fancy we stick to basics beef and american broccoli, bbq pork, combination fried rice, and sometimes there sweet and sour pork
the cook has been the same since my pops use to take me there for pickup back when I was a lil kid back then there was a large center table next to the kitchen which usually had several news papers the examinier, chronicle, NY times, and asian newspapers all spread out, in the corner the had a small switch tv watching basic cable channels in what looked like full static but able to hear the program clearly this is where most of the staff seated which was usually one waitress a family member and some other customers waiting for there to go orders
food wise you can’t go wrong I am giving this spot a 3 ½ stars simply because it is what I grew up on food was not amazing but I still visit this place maybe once a year. staff is quick and friendly
food ***
price $
service ****
ambiance *** use to be dingy now it is hyper orange and looks clean

On the way to the airport we needed something quick, cheap and filling.
So for dinner we decided on Rice Plate specials.
I got the Salt & Pepper Beef Short Ribs w/​sliced green onions and jalapeños. My wife went with Curry Shrimp and for the girls Beef w/​Scrambled Eggs.
We sipped complimentary tea while the girls worked on their homework.
Soon the food came. I spooned some hot oil over my steamed rice then went into high gear. It’s all good for me! My wife thought her dish was okay and didn’t really care for the curry sauce but said she’ll try something else next time.
The girls liked both the beef and scrambled eggs and almost finished it.
I really enjoy the food here, the portions and the price…

It seems that every neighborhood have one of these:
A ubiquitous Chinese neighborhood corner restaurant that serves dirt-​cheap priced food.
However, they do have staying power since you know what to expect: just OK to so-​so cheap food… but not great. If you’ve tried all their menu, you know what not to order. Yeah, it’s hit or miss if you haven’t. And if you like your food greasy, there’s plenty of that here and you’ll have extra to lube up your engine.
Even though this place is in our neighborhood, it’s been years since I’ve eaten here. If memory serves me right, I believe the year was 1989. That was an interesting year. The Niners won the Super Bowl, the Giants lost to them frakkin A’s in the World Series and the Loma Prieta Earthquake. Wow. I just got totally sidetracked there.
Anyway, decided to grab a quick bite here last week and it’s the same as expected. It fills you up but you still end up unsatisfied.
I’d give them a 2 ½ rating just because of their staying power.

Got lost going 101 north from burlingame to get to serramonte mall [we’re from the east bay area, went to get new car detailed @ camissa motors where i got the car]
. hella missed the exit. We exited off john daly blvd [convoy of 3 cars] and passed the kukje korean market nearby. [never been around this plaza, ever].
decided to check out the eats before going to the mall, and chose lily café cuz of the cheap prices. [house of sisig looked a little pricey but i never dined out filipino cuz my family is filipino and they just cook stuff themselves.]
can’t say much about the place other than hella cheap and good food~!! we all agreed to come back on our next trip when around the area.
the northern dinner felt like a steal. pot stickrs, hot & sour soup, mongolian beef, kung pao chicken, pork friend rice [or noodles]?!!
we even got the mou shu pork and black mushroom w/​snow peas included as part of the dinner cuz there were more than 4 people. Just $ 9.75 /​person. We had some left overs, and gave us the excess soup in a separate bowl from the start.
the food came REAL FAST, omg, delicious~! [maybe i just need to get out more. =P] .but real good for the price. good portions; considering two of our friends got the chef’s special.
JUST GO THERE.
i’ll scan the menu later to post here—