Lian Won Cafe

I love the food over there taste delicious… If any one want to come here and eat I would recommend you to call first and hold a spot so then when you come over you don’t need to wait that long because they are very busy there lol

This place doesn’t even deserve a one star. We made reservations for 7:15pm, arrived early but when we got there they gave our table away to someone else. They even told us not to come early. The lady even ignored us. BAD SERVICE! Would not recommend this place to anyone. NO CREDIBILITY! Will not come here ever again!!!

Plan to spend New Year’s Day with the family. Made reservation for 7:15. We got there at 7:07 and was told table was given to another party. Staff did not give reason or explanation or ashamed. Very poor service and very untrustworthy when I made reservation. I would not recommend this place because of poor service and the lack of responsibility. It’s not like the food is great or need to try. We go here because we can make reservations but even that isn’t trustworthy.

Made reservation and even came early but table was given to another party, no explanation was provided too, so we had to go somewhere else 0/​10-​IGN

We made reservation and we weren’t even late. They gave our table for someone else because the table is available. Bad service, no credibility at all. Don’t come

We got lucky when we arrived as they have a table for us right away. We sat down and yes nothing special about the atmosphere. Actually kinda ghetto but that’s what you expect if you want amazing traditional home style food.
We ordered a few dishes: pork chop Peking sauce, oxtails, sizzling short ribs, some veggies and the main event, the eel casserole, a traditional Taishanese dish, which was amazing! The best part being the crunchy rice bottom.
If you want some authentic Taishanese food, check this place out, I’ll Def will come back to try other stuff, just hope we will get lucky w the wait again!

My review rating is based on the food as the front service deserves ZERO stars.
The food is good but a bit greasy. I had the fried pork chops and the taste was very good.
Agree with other reviewers about the servers being bad. I noticed that the tall female server steals food from each to go order. Plus this server is very rude.

Good food, not so good service.
I absolutely love the yellow eel claypot rice dish at this place. For me it’s a very homey and comforting dish. It’s similar to fried rice but instead of being stir fried in oil over high heat, claypot rice is cooked in a single pot until the rice is done. This dish is usually hard to come by in restaurants because the authentic way to make the dish takes a long time to cook. The chef needs to be experienced or the rice might be undercooked or come out burnt.
If you order any of the claypot dishes, be prepared to wait a long time or for ordering take out, call way in advance. It is made by the order. The claypot dishes here are large, they have two sizes and both are meant to be shared.
I was also impressed with the 5 spice duck and I usually do not like duck from Chinese restaurants which are usually tough. The duck at this place is braised in a sweet and salty sauce, the meat is succulent and almost falls apart in your hand.
The thing that really irks me about this place is the service, really bad and long estimate of wait time or pick up time. Some of the employees here are also rather rude with no hesitation to giving you an attitude. You’d think for an establishment where their most popular dish is the claypot rice, they would have a better estimate of how long it takes to have the order ready. Because the wait time can take so long we prefer to just do take out but even then, more often than not we still end up waiting for the order. The upside, at least the food is hot when we get it.

Traditional authentic Taishanese food. Not for people who want egg rolls and General Tso’s Chicken type of Chinese food.
The 5 spice duck definitely is the star. I’ve had Eel clay pot rice many times and this one is pretty authentic.
I also enjoyed the clams with black bean sauce alot.

Only 1 dish that worth trying. The rest are just mediocre.
I ordered :
Eel clay pot rice
5 spice duck
Golden broccoli
Clam in soy sauce
Service is bad
Pack
Tables are too close to one another. Not comfortable to move around.
Price is great!
Overall: 2
(Last time I ordered fish neck & lamb with lotus was really good)

Said no seats when theres seats, asked how long i have to wait, looked around and didnt gave me an indefinite answer, hinting our group to go somewhere else.

Great Cantonese place. Everything on the menu is good. We went for lunch and had the amazing ell hot pot rice. It was good and different from what I normally have. And another lunch dish. Just from teasing the two I know they have good wok heat that makes all the dishes they could really good. I saw someone come out with steam oysters black bean sauce, I will definitely order that next time. And the potion size is big.

Never ate in the restaurant but we got take-​out a few times here.
The first few times were good, BUT this time changed our mind completely.
Best food here is the yellow eel rice casserole, it’s still good but somehow today there’s a lot more crust (the dried/​burnt part from the bottom of the claypot) & there was a metal piece in one of the order we got. We suspect that the metal piece probably came from the stainless steel sponge to clean the wok.
We didn’t feel good after the meal & we didn’t see that piece till we are ²⁄₃ way into the order.

Increased rating from 3 to 4 stars. First off, we didn’t experience a loud owner barking in our faces but a more proper waitress taking our order. The beef stew and bean curd dish was pretty good so we ordered it again. We also ordered the eel casserole (medium) for $ 30. The casserole was enjoyable but much better with some hot sauce. We got sizzling steak this time but I liked the sizzling veal better.
Complimentary cilantro and tofu soup.
Improvements still needed:
1. Invest in real cups for guests requesting water. Styrofoam cups are not environmentally friendly and gives off a cheap impression.
2. Get diet sodas.
3. Get a second server. The place gets packed even on weekdays.

Cantonese food! Hurray! The Duck is luscious and caresses your lips as you slurp it to devour. I don’t even like duck that much, but this duck. ON PAR.
I don’t eat eel, so I didn’t know that the rice claypots were always assumed to be with eel. They should probably say something to the people who aren’t aware. I don’t even eat eel.
The décor is nothing fancy. Old-​schooled Chinese restaurant with only a few big round tables.

Really great, simple Cantonese home-​style food. It reminds me of my grandma’s cooking — authentic Cantonese. It’s cheap and portions are very satisfying!

Today just went there for dinner to celebrate my wife’s birthday~
I am from taishan in canton~and i really like this place bcoz it brings me back the memory of eel rice ~the restaurant is mainly for taishan local flavor cantonese food~~the way they cooked the clay pot eel rice is very authentic~plus we also ordered some common cantonese courses~such as stir fried vegs~iron plate beef filets~they all well done by the che~the flavor + the price + big portion~
if you are native american~and wanna taste some authentic cantonese local food~~must come here!!! Also must try eel rice!!! dont worry~i know u think those eel looks disgustin~but not when cooked with rice~~the important thing is~it taste very good with the rices~‘and eel has high protein~Very nutritious！！！！
one more thing~dont make reservation call~i dont think they can hold u those tables bcoz is just too much people waitting to eat in front of the restaurant~just go there as early as you can!! is worth it~~!!!
below is chinese version:
我猜應該有很多人會來看yelp關於這間黃鱔飯餐廳~我就順便打中文啦
我自己身為台山人~很喜歡這樣的地道台山風味的餐廳~難得有台山黃鱔飯~肯定多多來品嘗~
今日又去一次~因為老婆生日~~除了點了必叫的黃鱔飯~還叫了一些廣東特色的小炒~例如腐乳炒通菜~鐵板牛肉~蒸鱸魚~都十分不錯~廣東話叫左“夠鍋氣”~如果你懂我意思~
總的來講有國內大排檔的感覺~只不過是在室內~
如果你想吃地道的台山黃鱔飯和廣東小炒~十分建議來這裡噢~又便宜又大份
還有不要嘗試打電話來預訂桌子~因為餐期實在是太多人在等位子~盡量早點來吧！！

Quick, testy, simple, not expensive. We enjoyed having lunch. The food was served quickly. It looked very appetizing and it was delirious. Yes it is adapted to American taste — not like in China but we love it.

Okay, so this restaurant may not win the award for most nice looking restaurant, but it is all about the delicious food. Mainly the Eel Rice casserole.
This is a very small family style restaurant, so you may have to wait a while to get a table depending on how many people you are with. In my opinion its worth the wait. Fortunately, we were able to get table for 4 as soon as we got there. Lucky for us because it was very cold outside.
Our dishes for the night:
1. Eel broth Tofu Soup– Perfect soup to start out with to warm up your body since it was such a cold chilly night. I believe this comes with the eel rice casserole.
2. Roasted Duck– The duck was very tender. The sweet sauce marinated on top of the duck really makes the duck very delicious.
3. Lamb with bean curd thread– Served in a clay plot. This dish was pipping hot. This came out of the stove, as you will see it still bubbling. This dish has lamb, bean curd, mushrooms, and lettuce in it. The lamb was cooked perfectly. Lamb easily came off the bone. I liked it.
4. Veggies– All I have to say is… Eat your vegetables!!! If you are going to go eat Chinese Family style, you got to have some veggies. I love vegetables. I would’ve been satisfied with just the eel rice and the veggies.
5. Eel Rice Casserole– The main reason you should be coming to this restaurant. They are known for this dish. This dish is also served in a clay plot. This will definitely fill you up just by itself. Tons of eel meat and a generous amount of scallion. This is a great dish. It’s very filling, flavorful, and awesome!
Service was a bit slow, which is bit surprising considering it’s such a small restaurant. Yet not surprising to me because if you’re expecting some good authentic Chinese cooking. I expect service to be slow at times.
But Hey, It’s all about the Delicious Food here. Yummy!!!

Despite the worse-​than-​usual cleanliness of this restaurant, and the crampness you have to bear while dining here, the eel with rice casserole is pretty decent.
Served in clay pots that look like they’ve seen their fair share of use in a Chinese family’s household, the authentic, home-​y taste of this dish reflects this as well. Definitely the star that is keeping this questionable establishment alive. All other dishes are pretty average.
The waiters were also attentive, which is a huge plus for a Chinese restaurant! Good for them for going that extra mile.