Lai Lai Dumpling House

The hunt for Houston’s best dumplings continues! Moreover, the holy grail of the soup dumpling continues to be elusive…
Lai Lai is a smaller, dumpier version of other dumpling places in Houston. The soup dumplings were OKAY. They did manage to have soup inside them, but the skin was tough and chewy– not the delicate skin that I really want. The meat inside the soup dumplings was a little tough and manhandled (probably over mixed).
Sure, dumplings take very little to make me happy. Lai Lai’s pot stickers and pan fried dumplings were pretty good. I tried the Three Cup Chicken from their Chinese only menu, and it was okay only.
The waitstaff certainly are funny. If you are Chinese speaking, they might make some awkward comments about the non-​Asian people you are with.

Ordered the chicken dumplings steamed and green onion cake. The green onion cakes were decent, however the dumplings went straight to the trash. Felt like i was eating wet dog food wrapped in flour. Maybe i ordered the wrong thing but i think there are better dumplings else where. Oh and everyone is right, the portions are huge but thats it…

I don’t know what happen to this place. The food use to be so good.
I usually order the general General Sao beef & the Kung pao chicken. Sad to say my chicken was pink! I had food not throughly cooked before so I checked before I ate. I’m disappointed.
Can we have the old hole in the wall authentic Chinese food back?

This used to be a great hole in the wall, but now I’m going to say it’s average. It looks like they revamped this place and maybe new owners? I’m not too sure because it has been a couple of years since I have returned.
The dumplings are not that doughy as it used to be. They are pretty huge though and you can order them frozen to go. Not that I have done that, but it says it on their menu. I don’t remember seeing soup dumplings on the menu, but if it was there, I would like to taste them and compare it to another restaurant that is within this same plaza.
Another dish that stands out is their general tso’s chicken. It’s crispy and comes with broccoli. Don’t forget to eat those veggies.

Dumplings are the must-​have in my house. Lai Lai Dumpling House 來來餃子館 is becoming my favorite place for dumplings. As compared with San Dong Noodle House, Lai Lai has better choices and friendlier service.
In case you didn’t know, it’s been completely renovated this year, including the owner and its management. According to the business manager Jason, they turned this restaurant around from the ground up.
In additional to dumplings, the new owner added fish balls to the menu — made fresh in house. There are 2 dumpling varieties: thicker dough more vegetables for Chinese audience, which is hidden in the back of menu. Then, there are the ones with more meat in the general menu.
This biz page contains lots of stuff from the old Lai Lai. Prior to 2016, you can see the laced drapes, brown tables, mirrors on the walls, aluminum serving plates and weird looking plants in the front. If you wrote a review before Christmas 2015, I highly recommend you come back and get an update with the new Lai Lai’s dishes and atmosphere.
I am so addicted with the breakfast menu. Some menu items were hard to find as they are originated in 天津 Tianjin and other northern cities. The hot soy milk is made in house. I could taste the freshness of the beans. I wrote a blog about each item on the breakfast menu —

I’m beyond excited to learn as Jason told me they hired a Taiwanese chef, since there isn’t any of this kind at the same mall. So, there will be more stuff to add on the breakfast and regular menus next month.
I just can’t wait to tell you that Lai Lai Dumpling House is selected to be on my Chinatown Crawl UYE list.

The place have a new owner and he did a good job by lightening up the place cause it was dimly lit before. The dumplings are very good specially the shrimp dumplings. I like it and they have traditional Chinese breakfast. The only thing that kind of disappointing for me is there’s not a lot of variety in their menu. Wish they have noodles

I’ve come to this place many times over the years. The food used to be excellent and the place was busy with people searching for an authentic Chinese meal.
I went back a few days ago for the first time in about a year or so and boy do I regret it. I took my wife and friends there and we ordered: dumplings, rice and a few chicken dishes… It was AWFUL and when I mean awful I mean not edible! We ate as much white rice and dumplings as we could since that’s all that was some what acceptable. The chicken used in their dishes however was horrible quality with a texture similar to that of rubber. I was very disappointed because I used to love this place.
I went home after that meal and spent the entire night feeling sick.
Also, I’m not the type to pick on things that don’t directly effect my meal… But I noticed something that I thought sums up the owner and the place. They had these decorative flower pieces on the wall, at first I noticed the price tag still dangling from one of the decorations, not a big deal, they may have missed it, however taking a look at the rest showed they ALL still had price tags on them. If the owner is willing to buy decorations and keep the price tag on them only to return them later and maybe get something else before the return expires is very unethical and I can’t help but feel that his ethics speak highly of his food and it’s quality.

Used to be 4 – 5 stars.
Changes didn’t make anything better. I’m not sure if it’s new management entirely, but it seems so.
Firstly the service was never amazing by any means. But it was hospitable. Last night the staff was wiping down the table cloth before we even got the check. While we were still at the table. They really didn’t want us staying there. There was no wait and it was not crowded.
Aside from the aggressive rudeness, when ordering I did not see the soup dumplings on the menu. Naturally I asked the server if we could get soup dumplings. She pointed to the assorted dumplings option and when I asked her if they were soup dumplings she assured me that they were (soup dumplings were typically pork, not assorted). Soup dumplings are 90% of my reasoning for going to Lai Lai. When the dumplings arrived they were of course not soup dumplings. I guess the server knew she scammed us because she did not come back to the table other than to wipe it down. I waved down the manager and told him we ordered soup dumplings. Instead of empathizing he simply said «new menu no soup dumplings». He didn’t offer to take what we didn’t order back, or take it off the bill, or anything. We were more disappointed that we don’t get to eat their amazing soup dumplings anymore. Even the table set up has changed and there is only soy sauce on the table.
And the soup dumplings weren’t the only thing wrong… The recipes for the food have changed as well. The portions are still large but about half the size that they were before. The delicious rendition of general tso that they used to serve has transformed into a sticky syrupy Panda Express product.
I’m happy I got to experience Lai Lai in its prime. But I fear that Lai Lai has left us for good. Truly disappointing.

Been coming here for years. I always get general tso’s chicken and it’s always awesome. It’s a little hole in the wall and the décor is dated and it’s not sparkling clean but the food is wonderful and the staff are curteous.

This review is solely based on their potstickers. You know that feeling when you’re craving for something crispy, hot, and savory?
Well Lai Lai’s does it for me. Their potstickers are huge! Definitely a good meal for two. I believe the potstickers are pork base mixed with vegetables. It’s hard not to lick your lips after a bite of that crispy dumpling skin… with the inside juices leaking out (man that sounds sensual).
As with most Chinatown places, it is Cash only.

We walked pass by this restaurant and thought that we would give it a try since we love dumplings so much… Unfortunately the dumplings taste pretty nasty and we ordered the soup dumplings and there was no soup inside the dumplings at all… It was very doughy and the meat was very dry. And the worse part was that we saw cockroaches crawling under the table, on the wall and on the floor… I was ok if the food didn’t taste good but I couldn’t stand the filth. Will never come back again.

Awesome dumplings. This is a dumpling house. These are real Chinese people. That is hard to come by here in Houston. Most Chinese restaurants are owned and operated by Vietnamese and have Mexican cooks. The dumplings are big and thick. They come stuffed with meat and with a delicious sauce. I know there are other things in the menu, but why would you want them. Dumpling House! Get dumplings!

Some coworkers and I ate here for lunch and we ordered a bunch of different dishes of the large dumplings. The dumplings were really large. Like too large. But unfortunately, they didn’t taste very good. I was unable. no. Unwilling to finish my food.
It’s also worth mentioning that there was a funny smell that had a «There are vegetables going bad somewhere in here» vibe to it. I’m not sure if that affected how I felt about the food, but no matter how you slice it, I didn’t enjoy this place at all.

This was the worst dumpling house!!! The lady was so rude acted like we owed her Something. The dumplings were doughy and the noodles were really thick I saw roaches crawling out of the walls this place is really dirty the man here was sweet but dont expect service if your not their race I wish I could give a a lower rating.

Lai Lai is tucked inside a supermarket strip next to Jusgo. My husband and I came in around 8 on a Tuesday evening, originally for the BBQ literally right next door, but they were closed so we made the last minute decision to try Lai Lai out. Walking in, there was only one other couple there who seemed to be wrapping up their meal and we were quickly seated. The decoration/​feel of the place was old and dated, though of course to me not really all that important.
First things first, the silverware/​tea cups/​plates on the table weren’t very thoroughly cleaned. The water and tea provided seemed off in taste and smell. This should have provided some warning of what was to come.
We ordered the Pan Fried Dumplings, General Tsos Chicken, Beef with Rice Noodles, and Hot and Sour soup. The soup was okay. Came out hot and tasted much like all the other Hot and Sour soups we’d had. The Rice Noodles were oily with minimal beef. The General Tsos Chicken, which I did not have any of, were deemed alright by husband. More breading that chicken and with a sauce that left a sweet after taste. As for the Dumplings, they were huge but the wrapper overpowered the whole thing and the ratio was just off and as others have mentioned, very oily. The pork filling was non-​descript with an odd texture.
While there, we witnessed the restaurant workers making the dumplings on a table off in the corner. Best part, we saw one of them actually sniff the filling as if to check to see if it was still good.
We will not be coming back.

The general chicken was way too sweet and the dumpling skin was a bit strange… Very doughy. The quantity that they give is huge and the fried dumpling size is really big. Not the best food but I had to try it for myself.

Definitely had better. I’m no dumpling expert or connoisseur, but I do eat them regularly in various places around the world. The dumplings here were larger than I’ve experienced in the past. The wrapper was fairly chewy and the filling wasn’t the best.
I was the only person in the restaurant at 11:30 on a Thursday. Maybe that had something to do with the experience.
I did have the beef noodle soup as well. The soup was pretty good and the noodles appeared to be homemade — which is definitely a bonus.
Overall, I’ll keep exploring until I run out of options

We decided to come here on a whim. We were craving Chinese food and decided to come here. We were so pleased! They should caution you though that the portions are huge! We had no idea but it was okay because we had leftovers! The soup dumplings were yum! We would definitely go back!

Lai lai dumpling house is the perfect place to go to if you want to be emotionally and physically traumatized from ever trying local Asian restaurants again. If it were possible for me to give negative stars, I would.
We ordered 1 order of pan fried chicken dumplings, 1 order of pork pan fried dumplings, and an order of chicken fried rice.
The first bite of the chicken dumpling didn’t even give me any of the filling (which I later found to be a blessing) just a mouthful of greasy dough. About the first 2 inches of dumpling is nauseating, smelly dough. When I finally reached the filling, it was terrible/​terrifying. It was a mashed up tube of unidentifiable greasy mash. I literally pulled it out of the insides in one piece, and not only that, it retained its shape. Didn’t even bother to try the pork cause I was scared.
The fried rice was stinky greasy rice with sketchy looking chicken (??), but it ended up being the best part of our order. Once you got past its layers of oil (there was an abundance), the greasy stench, and gurgling feeling in your stomach it gave you, it was decent (it was probably because of how desperately hungry I was) HOWEVER I stayed away from the chicken at all costs.
What began as a hopeful trip to find a hole-​in-​the-​wall restaurant in the area ended up being a scarring event that has efficiently prevented me from venturing to places other than the nearest Whataburger. The mere thought of Asian food (even Americanized Asian food) is enough to make me nauseous (it’s been weeks).

It’s definitely a family-​run, hole-​in-​the-​wall. Don’t judge a spot by its décor, especially if it can churn out amazing food, but in my experience Lai Lai, is average with potential to be better.
Fried pork dumplings, in terms of filling, were flavorful, but were completely marred by the grease level on the exterior. As others have said, the filling-​to-​dough ratio is off.
Soup dumplings were on-​point — delicate, filled to the brim with rich broth, positively bursting.
Szechaun Cabbage Soup was lacking in heat and broth complexity. A few sad pieces of cabbage floating in chicken bouillon is not soup. Szechaun is intended to be incredibly spicy hot, and this just fell flat.