New Kam Lai

We had food delivered a few nights ago, 2 out of 3 dishes were inedible. The third just bland. Cold, stiff dumplings with the wrong sauce, and sesame beef was so floury that much of it was just chunks of fried batter in cold sticky sauce without meat. When we called to complain and get a refund for at least the mistake, they said they’d send somebody to pick it up our order from us first. Of course they never came, and our order sat waiting for them by the door for hours.

This is one of my go-​to no frills Chinese takeout spots on the UWS. I usually always get something steamed with chicken and have the sauce modified a bit and they always alter and prepare everything to my liking exactly how I want it.
My friends get the typical chinese dishes and never got any complaints.
I will keep going back here for takeout because of the good food and great service, but don’t bother eating there as their three tables and décor are not worth taking anyone to for a sit-​down meal.

Nasty … on the other hand the one further down on Amsterdam 103^rd is awesome. Really good.

Pretty standard ghetto Chinese food, except we were completely nonplussed by the food. Ghetto Chinese food can be wonderfully comforting, and when you have a hankering, nothing else will allay your hankering. However, this is not the Chinese food you want to be ordering. Kristen R wrote it the best: «Very mediocre Chinese food. Not worth ordering for taste»
Hot and Sour Soup: C
Shame on them! Hot and Sour soup is easy to make… I can whip up a great mock H&S soup in 5 minutes! The shitake and traditionally cut tofu were nice, but there was nothing «hot» nor «sour» about this soup. It was devoid of any and all flavor. No vinegar whatsoever, and if there was any pepper, I certainly didn’t detect it! So bland!!!
Chicken Wings: C
I have to admit I laughed the first time I saw chicken wings on a ghetto Chinese food restaurant, but the joke was on me. Those guys cook some really mean wings! Now, it’s one of the first things I order. These wings, like the H&S soup were flavorless. The breading was completely devoid of any and all flavor. No garlic, no onion, no pepper, no salt, no cumin, no nothing to make it remotely interesting. So bland!!!
Crab Rangoon: B–
This should be a very simple dish. The filling should be nothing more than cream cheese, lightly flaked crab meat (imitation if you’re low-​quality), scallions, garlic, and maybe black pepper. There should be no sweetness in the filling. If the person eating wants sweet, they should *dip* the crab rangoon in a sauce. By making it sweet, you’re taking away our choice of how to eat it. I did not appreciate the sweetness of these at all. My B– might be too kind.
Moo Goo Gai Pan: B+
A fairly competent moo goo gai pan. The vegetables looked and tasted fresh.
BBQ Spare Ribs: C
This breaks my heart, but they were awful. First of all, the cut of ribs sucked. I got the tail end of the rib, but I won’t hold that against New Kam Lai, since someone has to get it. It just sucks it was me. Secondly, the ribs were horrendously overcooked. They were cooked to the point of being dry and chewy. Unforgivable! The meat was no longer marbleized. There was no fat, no meaty flavor. Lastly they were braised with some kind of sweet sauce. Since when do Chinese restaurants slather BBQ sauce all over spare ribs? Christ on a crutch, quit it!!! I was given a dry, chewy, sickly sweet, sticky set of ribs. I hated them, and I wanted to cry.
House Fried Rice: B
Not bad, but I’ve never had bad house friend rice. Tasty, but so is most of the house fried rice I’ve sampled, Average, so it gets a B.

Scallion pancakes were completely inedible. Hard, stale, dry. I almost broke a tooth! Waste of money on those. The General Tso’s chicken tasted old. While it was well-​spiced, the sauce was much too sweet, and the rice was also old.
Pork steamed dumplings were just okay. The wonton soup was good. Husband’s chicken and mixed veggies was also not bad, although very little chicken was included.

The last two times I’ve ordered chicken with broccoli, the chicken tastes and smells like I’m in the chicken coop. The brown rice tastes like smelly feet. I can stomach a lot, but this was absolutely terrible. I had to toss it and go hungry. I tried to give them the benefit of the doubt the first time, but the 2^nd time was enough.

general tso’s chicken
beef and broccoli
crab rangoon
egg drop soup
cheap chinese food
cooked to order.
doesn’t taste too oily
or overly sauced.

My favorite Chinese restaurant in the UWS! The place itself is a little hole in the wall but the food makes up for it. The prices are very cheap and the food is prepared so fast. The ladies that work there know exactly how I like my food, hot and spicy, and they deliver. Five stars all the way!

Typical neighborhood Chinese takeout. Food is good enough, but not exactly made with love. It’s great considering the price… seems like the other Chinese restaurants in the area with «$$» are actually more expensive than expected. I refuse to pay more than $ 10 for fried rice!
Keep in mind that the ma po tofu has no meat and the «chow mein» has no noodles. If you’re looking for stir-​fried noodles, then you’re looking for lo mein. It’s not the most authentic place, so I will stop fussing about their version of the dishes.

Very mediocre Chinese food. Not worth ordering for taste and especially not worth ordering for the service. My fiancé and I have ordered delivery a few times and they messed it up. We called the restaurant to get them to send us a new order. 20 mins later, nothing. Called again — they said they needed to verify our address and order again — which they should have done the first time, and it seemed like they had no intention of calling us back to clear their confusion, so thank goodness we called a second time. They also told us they had actually run out of one of the things we ordered. After the second call, it took them another 20mins to get the order to us. They gave us some almond cookies to try and make up for it, but the cookies aren’t very good.
Overall, combine the food and service, and I will not be going back.

If the review was based on price alone, I’d give this place 5 stars. There’s not many cheap places to eat on the UWS so if you’re trying to save a buck or two — this is the place you want to order from. It’s your standard Chinese food and everything I’ve ordered has been very good (boneless spare ribs, fried chicken, plantains, happy family, chicken and broccoli, and the list goes on). I consider it a bit healthier because you can always order veggies, meals without the sauce and substitute your white rice for brown rice.
I also like the service here. I usually do pick up and call 10 minutes in advance. The one girl who works most night shifts remembers your number and face so that’s always a plus (maybe I just order too much). They also deliver. If you dine in — it’s probably good for a group up to 4 people. Total seating is about 10 inside and gets very busy during peak hours.
Reminder: make sure you get your freebies. $ 10 gets you a soda or egg roll, $ 15 gets you 2 sodas and $ 20 gets you an egg roll, a pint of fried rice or fried wontons.

NEVER order from this restaurant through delivery. I was just cursed out and threatened by the delivery guy at my apartment door. Seeing that I am a woman and was home alone at the time I felt very unsafe and had to close the door on him while he continued to curse and flail his arms.

Classic cheap greasy good chinese. Quick and good portions. I did pick up so I can’t speak for delivery but the cashier behind the counter was nice.

Omg I love this place. It’s so cheap and the steamed menu is the best. I can see myself getting lunch here. Everyday. I can live of the vegan options in the steamed menu. It’s enough to make me content. They even have brown rice! Yay!

This restaurant is great place for To Go. I walked by many times and saw a lot of customers. «A» grade from NYC health department. Let’s try it. It is tasty and inexpensive. I like noodles menu. Also they have the steam option on the menu as well.

Solid Chinese takeout.
I had been looking to try a new Chinese takeout place and this New Kam Lai really hit the spot.
It seems like your typical cheap Chinese food with the same menu as anywhere else. But, they have a lot of people cooking your food fresh to order with good quality ingredients. Everything I had was very tasty and served up quickly. The staff was very friendly and helpful.
If you live in the area, be sure to try takeout from here.

The UWS used to have so many reliable great tasting Chinese take-​out/​delivery places. Most of them have moved or simply closed.
New Kam Lai is the go-​to take-​out place in this neighborhood. The classic specials like the Orange Chicken is great, without being too gloppy on the sauce, and there’s broccoli included. The Lake Tung Ting Shrimp had a lot of jumbo shrimp and plenty of fresh crunchy vegetables.
Portions are large, inexpensive, tastes fresh, and this place is busy. Free soda with purchase over $ 10. Always ask for the hot chili oil not the packet hot sauce.

Chinese restaurant take out not much to expect

This is our «go-​to» Chinese place in the neighborhood. The staff is always really nice and they make an effort to remember us. The four star rating is relative – this is not gourmet by any means but as far as take-​out goes I give this a thumbs up.
I usually stick with the lo mein– vegetable is my favorite but I also get the house special sometimes. My wife gets the steamed shrimp with broccoli and garlic sauce on the side– a healthy option. Portions are large and the prices are cheap. Egg rolls are standard– very greasy but delicious. If your order is more than $ 10 usually you can get a free egg roll or a soda.

Pretty standard take out Chinese food. Friendly staff, good prices, and big portions.