Shanghai Lilly

My husband and I went there with another couple. We had a $ 100 pre-​paid discount and had to spend a minimum of an additional $ 100. The atmosphere was lovely. .. very clean looking, uncluttered and comtemporary. The staff was attentive and cordial. However, when I am dining in an upscale restaurant, I expect that plates will not be removed until all diners have finished. Furthermore, my friend was the last one to finish and not only had they already removed all our plates but they served the dessert while she was just finishing her entrée.
Our tab (each couple) was approximately $ 85.00 each. So with our $ 100 discount, the total was actually $ 270.00. The quality of the food was fine, the presentation was good, but there is nowhere in the world that this was as superb as the price would indicate. The food was just «okay» and the only part that was above average were the two desserts that came as part of the fixed-​price menu selection (@ $ 58 each) that my husband and I ordered.
We all were very disappointed. We commented how we have better tasting take-​out food from our neighborhood Chinese restaurant, but of course, no atmosphere!
By the way, we all are local residents, not tourists. If you’re going to Shanghai Lilly and get comped — fine! But. .. you need your head examined to be a paying customer.

Two years since my original review and a half dozen additional visits and the restaurant continues to deliver a good, reasonably priced dining experience for the Strip bound.
The problems with service that once plagued the restaurant are gone. Service is very efficient and friendly, even more so if you’re not Asian (or someone in your group is not Asian). Servers work to put shabu shabu noobs at ease, assisting with cooking and providing friendly tips.
The overall quality of the ingredients remains excellent. The cooking broth is well seasoned and absolutely benefits from the addition of all the ingredients. The price ($ 39 AYCE) definitely not bad for the Strip.
I have still not tried their Chinese dishes. From reading the menu alone, most seem standard and for that, I have my favorites elsewhere.
There are undoubtedly better shabu shabu places off the strip but for the uninitiated or Vegas visitor who can’t be more than an hour away from the tables, Shanghai Lilly is an excellent choice.
Recommended.

Lot’s of atmosphere but just average food. I need to face the fact that the only place to find good Chinese is in NYC and San Francisco.
I went for a business dinner. I was sooo looking forward to having some really great Chinese. It was just average. I’ve tasted better at PF Changs. You’re basically paying for all the fancy décor.
I’d skip Chinese anywhere outside of NY. Really what’s the point.
What was amazingly great were the drinks. WOW! I had a rum drink off the drink menu that I swear tasted like a grape jolly rancher. DELICIOUS! Oh and if you like Boc Choy my colleagues were raving. I had the lemon chicken and the general tso’s and it was dry and flavorless. The noodles were sticky and blah. The meal for me was no way worth the price (I didn’t pay thank GOD).
So many other better places in Vegas to dine.

I found this place on
and decided to try them out. We were very impressed.
Food is very good. Ambiance is excellent. Service is Five Stars!

The wonderful ambiance and service invites you to slow down and enjoy every bite at this restaurant.
The food splits the difference between traditional cantonese and modern asian cuisine. Excellent!

I met up with a friend at the Mandalay Bay and I was hungry. When I was walking towards the lobby to meet up with her I walked past Shanghai Lilly and was intrigued. I was determined to eat here and she was down to grab a quick bite. Win! What really intrigued me was their duck dish I saw on the menu.
We walked in at around 6 and it wasn’t so busy. Our server was nice and treated us well throughout the service. We shared the lobster wrap, fried rice, and dragon boat shrimp. The food was nothing to die for but was flavorful. I really wanted to have the duck but maybe next time.
This restaurant is worth dining in to give a try and I would suggest trying something on the menu that you can’t get anywhere else. Arrghhh should have gotten the duck!

My husband and I came here for Valentine’s Day as a walk in, even though we tried calling a couple days prior to make reservations. On our way to China Grill we decided to stop at the hostess stand to see if they had any cancelations. It was about 10 minutes before they opened for dinner and the hostess said she could accommodate us if we came back right at 5:30pm. So we did, and we were the first ones in the restaurant… and for the next 30 minutes, we were still the only ones in the restaurant. LOL
The food was good, nothing to write home about, but good nonetheless. We ordered the pork fried rice, Mongolian beef and Dragon shrimp (I think that’s what it was called) and everything came out relatively quickly (again, probably because we were the only table there for the first 30 minutes of service). The servers were attentive and kept my husband’s drinks coming.
A bit over priced, but hey, this is Vegas and the Strip so what do you expect?

Place was pretty good. We ordered about 8 dishes among 8 people and all were pretty delicious. Each dish was unique in flavor and appearance. The fish dishes were all very good. The food is definitely a 5 star.
As far as service goes, that’s a different story. Servers here really don’t care if your paying $ 25-​$ 35 a dish and ordering multiple bottles of wine. They’ll treat you similar to someone at dim sum restaurant. For a high end restaurant at Mandalay Bay, you would think service would be a little better.
Overall, I would come back. The rude service actually mad me laugh. The food was definitely as good as it gets.

This place totally sucks. We ordered this lobster lettuce wrap but turned out to be a pancake thing. It was cold and lobster wasn’t even in it. It was craw fish that they played off as lobster. We also ordered Lamb with Ginger, Onion, Basil & Chili. It ws just ok. There was no flavor and the fried rice was really bad and mushy. Besides the horrible food, the service was great and I think the drinks made up for the bad food.
I don’t know how they are still open.

Overpriced standard chinese fare but it was decent and if you are looking for chinese on the strip it is ok.

I once organized a banquet from around 24 people at Shanghai Lily– I booked both their VIP rooms and had the partition removed. The décor throughout the restaurant was spectacular and the service was flawless.
There are two things about Asian service. It’s either very laid back and unaccustomed to American standards of service, or EXTREMELY hospitable, like the traditional Japanese restaurants. Shanghai Lily’s lack in food awesome-​ness is made up by their balance in service.
As I worked with the manager to do the banquet, everyone was very welcoming. We had the most amazing hostess and a prompt waitstaff that served our table.
Only thing is, the food was just alright. It was overpriced for what it tasted like. Not that it was bad, but for a restaurant on the strip that prices itself be up to par with other strip restaurants, their food did not deliver that caliber. It had a couple unique ingredients used in general Chinese dishes, and that was about it.
Portions were not family size. This is typical of any Asian restaurant on the strip though.
Ever been to Wing Lei? Imagine something a notch less formal with a menu that has somewhat more familiar dishes, and you’ve got Shanghai Lily.
If you’d like to go on a date for a simple eat, this place will do. But if you’re looking to wow someone, skip it.

After reading the reviews here, I was a little nervous to go. I know that Unilocal is FULL of foodies that really know their chinese food.
I am not SO particular, and I think PF Changs is better than average so I thought this would be ok.
It was good. The service is great. The food was good. I think like a lot of places in Vegas, its over priced. We did not get Shabu Shabu.
We got the Lobster Lettuce rolls, very good but honestly not over the top fabulous. We also got some soft noodle dish, and a beef dish. I am sorry I do not recall. Its been about 2 months since I went.
I would go again. I thought it was good. The service was good. The restaurant is nice /​pretty.

This review is only for Shabu Shabu…
Unique and different. We scored a $ 50
g/​c on sale ($ 4 with the 80% off code). I called the restaurant to verify that we could use it for the AYCE shabu shabu as the g/​c said you must purchase 2 prix fixe meals. She said as long as you spend the $ 100 — no problem. And there was no problem at all…
Made a reservation just in case the place was busy. Upon arrival, we were promptly greeted and seated immediately in a nice comfy booth against a mirrored/​windowed wall.
We order the shabu shabu (2 adults, 1 child — 50% off); which just totaled under $ 100, plus a drink — perfect!
Service — amazing! attentive, respectful and detail oriented.
Food — OMG– too much food! At first we were like «oh we’ll get through this and hit round 2». no go. — epic fail! We cooked and cooked and cooked and could not seem to eat all the food they brought. The server kept asking if we wanted more, but we couldn’t. Tastes were simply and clean. The only drawback was the sauce — not typical shabu shabu accompaniments. Understanding we were in a Chinese restaurant, ok fine, but a black bean/​5-​spice flavor wasn’t what I was exactly looking for. The meats and seafood were abundant and fresh.
Bill — when the bill arrived, the server added the gratuity as outlined on the g/​c, but what I found amazing was that when he ran my card, he crossed out the gratuity line and made it crystal clear that gratuity was included. I have never seen a server be so consumer-​oriented, which was refreshing!
Will definitely go back, but only with the g/​c as it is a bit pricey. Great find in the sea of restaurants in MB.

2.0 Stars
(+)
Great service.
(-)
Expensive and mediocre food.
When you walk into Shanghai Lilly you’ll notice it has a very elegant interior. From the high ceilings to the long draping curtains, this is one of the fanciest Chinese restaurants I have stepped into.
If only the food could match the delight of the inside décor. I went into this restaurant expecting this, but I was craving something different after eating mostly American dishes during my stay at THEhotel in Vegas.
I wanted to try their Shabu Shabu after seeing it advertised outside of their restaurant. Be forewarned that you will need to cook all of your own food with this type of meal. They even listed all the different items that came with the Shabu Shabu meal.
For $ 39 you get unlimited meat, vegetables, and rice/​noodles including:
Beef
Chicken
Pork
Meatballs: Beef, Pork, Fish, Shrimp
Sausage
Seabass
Salmon
Scallops
Shrimp
Mussels
Fried Fish Tofu
Lettuce
Napa Cabbage
Fried Tofu
Bok Choy Shoots
Root Taro
Daikon
Romaine Lettuce
Cabbage
Vermicelli Noodles
Lo Mein Noodles
Steamed Rice
Brown Rice
The $ 39 base option includes Chicken broth to cook all the items, but if you want to add another type of broth like the Szechwan Spicy broth you have to add an additional $ 10/​pot. DO NOT GET THIS. It is a really not worth it and it doesn’t add too much more of a spicy flavor to your cooked items. Just ask for the red chili sauce if you like things spicy.
The overall quality of the meats was pretty poor. For instance, the pieces of beef and pork were really fatty. I was sad to see they offered lamb on the menu for an additional charge. The seafood was pretty decent. I ordered mostly shrimp because I saw the fish breaking apart really fast in the pot. The vegetables were mostly pretty fresh and I definitely enjoyed that.
I ended my meal with an almond cookie that was crispy, but had a chewy center.
All in all, the food was sub-​par, but the service was great. My server was very attentive, friendly, and would consistently check-​in with me to see if I needed any additional items. I probably won’t be back to try the other items on the menu mainly because the food here is way overpriced.

Ate her for the 3^rd time on sunday and it wasnt as good as the last time we ate here! Maybe everything tasted a lot better the last time because it was off the menu? My live shrimp was OVER COOKED… 6 of them for $ 74! :(
I enjoyed my egg whites with scallop fried rice though… the scallops were cooked perfectly! As for the drunken chicken, ehh my girlfriend’s mom made it way better!
Next time, have the HOST order!

Excellent service (especially for Mandarin only speakers) but the food was very disappointing. Basically if you live like I do near San Gabriel Valley or overseas than there is no reason for you to come here. The food is expensive, though of very good quality, however there really isn’t any type of specialty here that you can’t get elsewhere for cheaper. This place is mainly for the show and décor rather than the food. Keep in mind I am very critical of Chinese food as I am use to home-​cooked meals and cheap but good in SGV.
Also as a caveat, there isn’t any real Shanghai speciality food here even though the restaurant is named Shangahi Lilly. 0_​o

Gorgeous interior, excellent customer service and less than superb chinese food.
We had dinner reservations for three people. My Fiancé, twin sister and myself. The reason why I gave them a star for excellent service? My sister has a severe peanut and tree nut allergy. She can die in a matter of 15 minutes if she ate any type of nut.
Anyway, we spoke to the manager before we sat down at our booth. We asked if she could accomodate my sister’s nut allergy and she said that they can alter any of their dishes to make it nut allergy friendly. We were a little hesitant, but trusted the manager. My sister was so happy that she was able to eat chinese food in a chinese resturant, but that brings me to the minus stars.
The food was not at the caliber I was expecting. I am not a chinese food connoisseur, but I know good from bad. We had the won ton soup and, hot and sour soup for starters. The won ton soup had little to no flavor, it was bland and lacking a little something. The hot and sour soup was way too peppery. That’s all we could taste, couldn’t find the sour, just white pepper.
We ordered three dishes, the vegetable fried rice, sweet and sour pork and chicken cho mien.
All three dishes tasted like stuff I order from my regular take-​out place back in Fremont, China Chili, except I think China Chili’s dishes are a little better. Anyway, the 2^nd star removal is for the price. Our bill came out to $ 130.00, not including drinks!

I did not enjoy this restaurant at all. We only decided to patronize this place because we’ve been staying at the Mandalay Bay and THEhotel when at Vegas.
It gets one star because of the elegant interior. It’s pretty much Chinese fine dining Vegas-​style.
We went here with family with a reservation and we still had to wait for them to prepare the table. For a restaurant that only opens for dinner for 5 hours at a time and only 5 days of the week, it sounds too pretentious and feels like a fly-​by-​night operation. You get the experience, they get your money and then they close until the next 5-​hour service.
In terms of food, you do get the works for ingredients like Peking duck, Lobster lettuce wraps, Seabass, shrimps. But there’s really nothing that stands out and grabs hold of you. It all tastes like ordinary, clean, non-​greasy cooking in presentable plates over fine table cloth and polished silverware.
The pricing and portions is a deal-​breaker. Unlike Chinese cuisine where you know you’ve definitely over-​ordered for your table, this is the opposite. The dishes are in small portions and the waiter will advise you it may not be enough despite having a dozen on his list already.
Complete with drinks, you won’t leave satisfied from the restaurant but from the great company at your table that you just had.
Being Vegas, there are a lot of authentic places and then there are a lot of pretentious places — you’ll know where this belongs. Skip.

Shanghai Lilly gets one star because the restaurant is beautiful and looked very clean. The reason they didn’t get more stars is the service was terrible, poor presentation and the food was decent but nothing special.
My husband and I were so excited to see that they served Shabu Shabu, in fact that’s the only reason we made the reservation at Shanghai Lilly. The hostess seated us quickly but it took a while for our waiter to come around and when he finally did get over to us he did say he was sorry, he was busy. It was a Thursday and the place was half empty but I guess I could still give him the benefit of the doubt on that one.
Our waiter was not as excited about the Shabu Shabu as we were — maybe because at $ 40 per person, it’s one of the cheaper items on the menu? Maybe because it was all you can eat? I’m not sure. He made a point of saying, «You know that we bring you raw meat and you cook it yourself right?»
Our waiter took our order and told us he’d return to take our drink order but he never did take our drink order and our water glasses were empty most of the night, I think he refilled our water once.
Our Shabu Shabu arrived and I was surprised that such a nice restaurant had such a tacky setup. He brought us this Coleman type burner for the hot pot. A couple hot rocks and a pot would have awesome but I would have even settled for anything that smelled less like propane. Our waiter quickly rattled off the contents of each plate and left rather impatiently.
The food itself was decent but like I said earlier nothing to rave about — an adequate serving of beef, pork and chicken and a small assortment of seafood. A minor peeve, was the fact that even though it was «all you can eat» we were never offered more of anything. I’m sad to say the service, or lack thereof made this the worst meal of our time in Vegas.
Another thing, they charged our friend for $ 3.50 for a 5 cent bowl of steamed rice! Rice should have come with his entrée. I’m almost surprised they didn’t charge us for the stale almond cookies that came with the check.

We came here on an off night, an evening just to rest and relax after an all day affair at one of Mandalay Bay’s beach cabana’s. We both were in the mood for seafood; she chose the Sea Bass, I went with the Halibut.
Started w the Gyoza, which was the highlight. The fish was good, with a nice, clean presentation (see pics) but have had better, both in texture and taste… it wasn’t bad per se, but just not knock your socks off good (that would be what the food was at Sensi, two night later! Wow!!)