laolao — Restaurant in Vienna

First off, the location is prime; Mariahilferstraße and close to Westbahnhof. From the outside, it has that tourist trap vibe, but stepping inside, it’s a different story. The interior is stunning, warm, and modern. Definitely the kind of place you’d take someone special or even your mom for a nice dinner.

The Food Breakdown: (1) Huang Gua – Cucumber Salad: Crunchy but painfully bland. It felt like the personality had been left in the fridge. Thankfully, the chili oil and vinegar on the table saved it. After some self-assembly, it actually turned out pretty enjoyable. Pro tip: the chili oil is the real MVP. (2) Jiu Cai Xia Ren – Wild garlic, egg, prawns Jiao Zi / Dumplings: Freshly made and you could taste that. They were light, delicate, and worlds better than frozen fare. But the balance? Off. Too much egg, not enough shrimp or wild garlic. The flavors were clean, but it could’ve been so much more. (3) Biang Biang Noodles (Vegan) with mushroom and tofu: These were the star. Hand-pulled noodles cooked to perfection, swimming in a rich, balanced sauce. A dish full of umami. The mushrooms were tender, earthy, and perfectly cooked.

Service: It was a packed Sunday evening, so I understand things were busy, but the pacing was completely off. Drinks arriving 15 minutes after the first appetizer is a misstep, and waiting another 20 minutes for the dumplings after the cucumber salad felt kind of wrong. The delays between courses were frustrating and dragged down the overall experience.

Final Thoughts: The place has undeniable charm, from the ambiance to the freshness of the food. Not every dish landed, but when it did, it was alright. Probably worth a revisit. Or maybe next time I'll just...

I wish I could give 50 stars insead of 5! I had the best noodles-experience of my life! 🍜

I ordered a delivery of Ya and Niu Noodles and as a comment to the order I asked if it was possible to put a tofu in my order, because I always wanted to try it, but unfortunately it was not listed on the delivery website. I did not even hope that the workers would read the comment like it happens in other restaurants working with a delivery, but after a few minutes I received a phone call, with the cook asking me how do I want a tofu to be cooked. I was shocked by such a marvelous service, and also the excellent English knowledge of the team.

The food did not only taste like heaven, but also looked gorgeous, what you also do not usually expect form a delivery. It was beautifully packed and I was so happy with spectacular branded wooden chopsticks and napkins. Also the amount of fried tofu was enormous and it made me fully enjoy the first experience with this amazing dish!

Since today I will never oder asian food from anywhere, but my beloved LaoLao. Can't wait for the lockdown to be over: the first place to visit is definitely going to be this gorgeous restaurant! I swear I can eat from here every single day of my life ❤️

Thank you again and again! You are splendid! I strongly recommend everybody who is reading this to order from Laolao, you will...

Been there twice this month. We, group of 4, loved the serene vibe and the smiling friendly staff made us feel very welcome and comfortable. We loved the dumplings and also the teas with dates and longans and ginger and orange slices. The handpulled-noodle-making was a treat to watch. However, I must say, our Chiao Mian, fried noodles, weren't our favorite. The noodle strands were too thick for our liking. And all of us found the noodles too salty, the soya sauce flavor too strong, i also had an aftertaste of something like strong cooking-soda. It felt like just chewing a lot of soft dough after a while, which wasn't pleasant. The portion size of the noodles was huge! It was served in a large deep-tray, so a tray of noodles would have easily served 2 hungry people. We would have wanted more pieces of the chicken/meat in the noodles, they were on the top but none inside. Also maybe a little more vegetables. We all packed half our noodles as takeaway after eating. However, i loved the piece of indian papad/poppadam (thin lentil cracker) that garnished the noodles. We would certainly come again but not for noodles. We love the dumplings and tea, and will certainly try out all the other dishes. Highly recommend this place but caution on...