New Lai Wah - Chinese, Sacramento

5912 Freeport Blvd, Sacramento CA
(916) 428-6183
Parking: in parking lot

Last Visited: December 12, 2010

Food: 3 to 4 stars
Atmosphere: 2 to 3 stars
Service: 2 stars
Price: $ to $$

New Lai Wah isn't much to look at from the outside. If we hadn't heard that the food was good, we might have turned around and left. When you get inside, it's not much to look at either. The room is somewhat L-shaped and we sat next to the windows.

Upon receiving our menus, it was no more than thirty seconds before we were asked what we wanted to order. This was the theme for the service all evening - rush rush rush. When we asked for more time, we had probably another minute before the same waiter came again. And after telling him to come back later, we put in our order thinking that we could take a breath, especially since the place was still pretty empty.

The complimentary soup came in just another minute or two. And even after the dishes had arrived, we were probably only part way done with the meal before he showed up again asking us if we were finished eating. For crying out loud! We were still eating when he asked us this.

- Shrimp with Asparagus - We had a friend who isn't Asian with us and the waiter recommended this dish highly. He said that a lot of people like it. By name, I never would have guessed that everything was fried, but the shrimp was lightly breaded and while it's a little rich, it was surprisingly good. The asparagus was really fresh and reminscent of a tempura preparation.

- Seafood with Glass Noodles in a Clay Pot - Calamari, fish, shrimp, and scallops are cooked with glass noodles in a clay pot so that the juice from the seafood is soaked up by the noodles.  The dish was very flavorful and plentiful.  Presentation may appear a bit sloppy.

- Seafood with Vegetables over Noodles Hong Kong Style - A little bit heavy on the sauce, bok choy is cooked with fish, shrimp, scallops, and calamari.  While the noodles are crispy initially, because of the amount of gravy, they become soft rather quickly.  A few carrot strips would improve the presentation a lot.  Okay. 

- Fish Fillet with Black Bean Sauce and Peppers -  The fish fillet pieces are fresh and flaky, coated with the black bean sauce.  The onions, green peppers, and red peppers are sauteed so that they remain crispy.  I liked this dish the best out of the four ordered.

Each dish was between $8 and $10.  With tax and tip, the bill came to $45 with a lot of leftovers, but also note that we didn't go starving.  The atmosphere is very casual, the prices are reasonable, and the food is good.  Thank goodness for that because the service can feel extremely pushy and aggressive.  However, if you're ever in a hurry, this is a terrific place to go because you'll blink and the food will show up, and the check will show up too.  If you live nearby, I would suggest ordering take out.