Lai Lai Express — Restaurant in Charlotte

I'm so sad!! it was really hard for me to give 3 stars, but i had to be fair because the restaurant isn't TERRIBLE. but i've been going here for 3 years, and up until a month or 2 ago, there was this wonderful older woman who worked the counter and, from what i was told by another regular, a popular local chef who worked in the kitchen. and his food was absolute marvelous; the lunch specials that i would get came with fried rice and an eggroll, and you could tell the eggroll was homemade as soon as you bit into it. the flavors were like nothing i had ever had in other Chinese restaurants around Charlotte, and the fried rice was perfectly fried. now, unfortunately, the quality of the food has gone down; not sure if the older woman sold the restaurant or passed it down to her kids, and, don't get me wrong, the staff is fine, but now it just tastes like every other generic Chinese restaurant. the eggrolls no longer have that homemade quality, nor are they as big as they used to be. the portion sizes in general are a lot smaller and the rice just tastes generic. don't think i'll be going here anymore since i can literally taste the change; if you're looking for something special, i can't recommend this place anymore, but if you're looking for a place with decent prices and decent food, then this...

If you’re looking for a go-to Chinese takeout spot this is not it. I’ve ordered from here a few times and it’s been pretty inconsistent (sometimes ok, sometimes bad) but it’s close enough to where we don’t mind it. Tonight was our worst experience and is making me share this review. I ordered a wonton soup, which is a super simple app to make, yet it tasted like dirty water. I couldn’t eat it after a couple sips. I’m convinced I was not served actual broth, which is gross! For entrees, we went with the dinner combo for two and I got the general Tsos and pork lomein and my fiancé got the beef and broccoli. Both meals were cold, and the meat for both had super weird texture. We did not finish either of them. I’ve had better at Panda Express to be honest. Again, it’s never been so bad which is why we’ve been a few times in the past but this visit confirms this place is less than average and we will not be returning. Would...

Tonight I had my first taste of Chinese food here in North Carolina as I just moved here from New York a month and a half ago. I was a little skeptical and looked at several Chinese food establishments, read the reviews and decided on Lai Lai Express. My daughter treated me and told me to order whatever i wanted. I was pleasantly surprised as the food was fresh and delicious. In NY there was only one place I knew of,ordered from and loved there bourbon chicken and decided to order it from here. It was different from NY as it had mushrooms and onions but I absolutely loved it. My daughter ordered the same in addition we ordered Chinese donuts 🍩 😋 and egg rolls. My granddaughter loved the chicken wings. The white rice was delicious as it was sticky rice I believe. The portions were big for the price. I would definitely recommend Lai...