Zen Mei Bistro

I love this place. I come here all the time whenever I crave some good Chinese food :-P.

simple little mom and pop place — on a quiet Chinatown street in the residential part.
Food was really quite good — probably my new favorite restaurant in C-​town, away from the SGV area…

This is an excellent example of a small mom and pop place with good food and affordable prices, best dishes for us was the fried salty fish, orange chicken and the garlic snow pea/​sprout!!, friendly staff aswell, definetely a repeat!

It’s a perfect mom and pop place for your cheap Chinese food fix. Everyone seemed to love the house lobster, so maybe not your standard cheap fix. Every table had one as did every to go order the lady boxed.
The prices are very good though and some of the cheapest I’ve seen in Chinatown for the quality and the waiter is so darn friendly.
I ordered the beef in pepper sauce and fish congee. I’d order the congee again except not with fish since I thought it tasted a bit off (and I do believe it’s tilapia, which isn’t my favorite) but the congee base was amazing as was my other dish.
The chicken congee isn’t gummy like it is at Pheonix. Their fish and lettuce congee costs $ 6.95 and this place costs only $ 5.00. Most of their rice soups only cost $ 4.55−5.50 while Pheonix’s prices are $ 6.95−7.50.
Most of their other dishes are under $ 8.00 and they’re all large sized. Best bang for your buck without sacrificing taste and quality. And it’s a lot better in quality than more expensive a places I’ve ate at in Chinatown.
Cheap, exactly what you want and expect for the price.
Parking is metered and free after 8pm on weekdays. If you come before 8 do pay. The meter maid is waiting by the restaurant and gave me a ticket after only being in the restaurant for 5 minutes to pick up a to go order.

Pricey. Regular Chinese food. But wayyyy over priced. Not worth the 7.50 $ for hot and sour soup. Its good but not price wise. Mooshu chicken for 10 $ 4!!! Rolled up wraps with nothing in them. Barley anything. I love Chinese and this place was dissapointing. Lower price and it would be 4 stars.

Delicious Chinese Restaurant in the heart of ChinaTown. They are so friendly here economical bargain pricing and genreous portions! I had Chinese fried chicken half portion; I didn’t even finish it, and also the House Lo Mein!
. This even had squid and fish within it. Was delicious. I added a bit more spicy red chunk sauce. Yummy. See yah soon Zen Mei Bistro.

Rock solid. Exactly what you want and expect in Chinatown. Good price, happy fast service, clean place, food is great. The interior is dated and plain. Parking is hard to find anywhere in the area. But it’s what you want when you’re hungry for Chinese food.

Absolutely delicious! One waitress, but she was as amazing as ever. The second we walked in, she had a fresh teapot ready to go and was very sweet. The dishes look a bit different and rice isn’t included on the main entrees, but it was excellent service and near to no wait time on our meal. Also a choice of hot tapioca (different) or a fortune cookie for dessert!

Excellent Chinese food at a great price!
Food:
We usually order Tangerine Beef, Fried Sole Fish, Chinese Broccoli with Oyster Sauce, Singapore-​style Chow Funn, Eggplant with Spicy Garlic Sauce (name?), and the Shrimp with Spicy Salt. The Tangerine Beef is crispy beef with a delicious garlicky, vinegary sauce. It’s so flavorful! The Singapore-​style noodles are perfectly seasoned; one of my favorite noodle dishes. They also make it with the regular thin rice noodles, which is really good too.
Service:
Two ladies wait the tables here and they’re both so nice and always smiling. Always running around and pretty quick when you ask for something. They usually give you hot tea when you sit down, but if you want water too, you can just ask for it.
Parking:
Street metered parking (credit card) Monday-​Saturday. Sunday parking is free.
Highly recommended!

One of the best deals in LA! Great service and food. The Orange Peel Chicken was crunchy on the outside and tender inside. Kung Pao Chicken came with ample veggies and peanuts. Served with rice and soup as part of lunch special. Will definitely be back and recommend to folks looking for a quaint low key diner type restaurant in Chinatown.

I have been coming here for years and the food is consistently good!
No make that great!
Lately I cannot stop ordering their orange beef, you cannot beat their lunch deal, you walk out the door spending about $ 7 including your tip.
The Decour is deafly not upscale although I find it quite comfortable. If you’re in the area I would highly recommend you coming by and giving it a try.

I’m normally skeptical of Chinese restaurants with an A rating but this was pretty good.
Price: Really cheap
Food: Good basic Cantonese food — got braised string beans, singapore mei fun, baked pork with salt.
Service: Very friendly, lovely waitress (owner?)
Coming back.

+ Welcomed immediately and served complimentary hot tea
+ Diverse patrons; great for groups of 2 – 4 ppl
+ Healthy choices
+ Metered street parking
+ Fair priced for large portions
+ Worth the drive to Chinatown
Chinese food is the American go-​to ethnic cuisine with Orange Chicken as the most commonly ordered dish. So, like a proper American, I Unilocaled, Chinese food in Chinatown and came across this little gem, Zen Mei Bistro. Who has a few accomplishments that are rare in ChinaTown, Los Angeles:
1.This business carries A from the Department of Health;
2. Accepts cash and credit card payments
3. Food is made with very little oil
4. Diverse patrons eating meals
Upon entry, my best friend and I were greeted by Michelle, who immediately acknowledged us then directed us to our seats. She brought menus over. And, her assistant provided the table with hot green tea.
We noticed the most popular items had pictures on the walls, but Michelle also let us in on the house special — a one pound lobster for $ 10. We ordered:
— Braised string beans
— Sweet and Sour soup
— Lobster Special
— Orange Chicken
— Rice (1 serving)
* Note all dishes are served family sized portions except rice is in an individual portion
Each dish was well seasoned, freshly cooked, and overall light in additives like butter, salt or oil. It was the first Chinese meal of main dishes that I felt was a healthy choice to eat for people like myself, who prefer «healthy choices».
The Orange Chicken was a joy to eat. It was aromatic with orange zest notes bouncing off my taste buds. The chicken was lightly battered and crusted, to maintain the integrity of the dish, yet allow the orange flavors to stand as the star.
The Braised string beans was tender and snapped upon bitting and chewing. That’s difficult to do — they have good timing on keeping the vegetable firm and enjoyable.
The Lobster Special was well-​seasoned. The meat was tender to pick out. My best friend killed this dish during our chat. It’s a bit messy to eat.
Service was polite, quick and friendly. Michelle was proud of the food they put out and echoed my perception of recipes with little oils and additives.
The (tiny) restroom is aside the kitchen. I thought it was cool because I was able to gage the cleanliness of the kitchen and cooks. Thumbs up. The restroom was clean as well, which speaks volumes.
instagram: Taranika_​Tionna

You’re welcome. There so when you thank me for telling you this place is delicious. It has a great bang for your buck. My moms favorite restaurant and it isn’t the most clean which is why it is a four but don’t get me wrong this is a place that needs more recognition. The service is also amazing and makes me feel like family even though I go there like once every few months. Anyway enjoy :) Thank you