Ling Long Xuan — Restaurant in Jersey City

For anyone who likes relatively authentic Chinese food, Ling Long Xuan is worth a visit!

I came here specifically to try their Mapo tofu dish because I’m a fan of it. And I’d say it was better than average: I’m used to ones that are bland, or too oily, or very heavy on the peppercorns. While this version does have sauce it didn’t seem overly oily and seemed to mix well over rice.

And that’s all I tried haha - I ordered 2 dishes of this because friends were curious too! If I’m around area and craving Chinese food I would give one of their other dishes a try too.

Note that they are currently closed for indoor dining. Parking seems to be street. And bonus props for not changing their name to something more easily pronounceable or recognizable! At least they’re true to what they’re about.

— 2025 visit: Good thing I write reviews because I forgot I’d already visited. By now they are fully open.

I ordered their mapo tofu lunch size, with a hot and sour soup.

The tofu is still good, though the serving size is a bit small for my preference.

The hot & sour soup is dark and very gelatinous, with the sour taste coming through clearly from the first sip. Not my favorite version of this classic soup, next time I’d opt for...

I place an order for pick up and the person on the phone tells me the wait time is 20 minutes. After waiting 20 minutes, I walk to the resturant and there is two individuals waiting before me. One customer is already upset because he's been waiting for 40 minutes on his two orders. I asked the rep if my order was ready and he says "I dont know, there's a lot of orders". That already upsets me and the person with the two orders. Then the employee gets upset with me after I told him he failed to be realistic with their customers and they dropped the ball. I waited an additional 20 minutes to get my order. After walking back to work, I take a bite of my food and its not cooked properly and you can taste the potatoe starch all over my order since it wasn't cooked correctly and rushed. I understand Covid-19 has affected many businesses but being truthful and realistic to your customers will go a long way. Never coming here again and this was my first time ordering. I am NOT recommending this place to no one. Eat...

Amazing: authentic pan-Chinese fare in the deadest dead zone to ever die.

Our best dishes were the Xinjiang Style Lamp, the Fried Loofah with Gluten and the Filet Sole With Vegetable Hot Pot. This last dish is a rarity even at Szechuan restaurants. The fish was buttery soft while being perfectly fried, the mala seasoning was hot and flavorful, and all the veggie accompaniments were perfectly cooked. On this one dish alone, I'd schlep back to this slice of urban wasteland.

Our just okay dishes were the Sliced Spicy Beef Noodle Soup (too oily and bland) and the Chinese Burger with Lamb--the bun was perfectly crispy and the lamb well made, but someone clearly forgot to season the dish because it was way too bland. I felt bad because they were clearly proud of their "authentic" Beijing burger, but without salt....No?

We also got some complimentary spicy pig ears to try. No idea why, but I'm not complaining. I love pig ears.

Still, that mala fish dish. It slaps harder than whatever BTS releases next. Go here...