Hop Li Seafood Restaurant

08/24/09

Avoid at all costs

by DStatland at Citysearch

I was totally turned off by seeing Shark Fin Soup on the menu. This is a cruel and inhumane practice where shark are caught in the wild , their fins are cut off and they are thrown back in the water to die

Boycott

08/05/09

Not as great as I thought it would be

by pb12 at Citysearch

People kept on recommending Hop Li to me, so I decided to try it. It was good, decent Chinese food, but being from San Gabriel Valley, I could've gotten the same meal (amount and quality) at a lower price.

• Pros: Best Chinese food in West LA
• Cons: Pricier than average Chinese food

08/02/09

Stomach churning food, chintzy atmosphere, rude service.

by Pres at Citysearch

We visited this restaurant because of the pictures on its website. I caution everyone to never do this. The waiter looked insulted when we asked to look at the menu before we ordered. He condescended to open the wine we had brought. Three other servers brought our food at three different times. The appetizer was overcooked and greasy. The spareribs were thick and loaded with fat. Then, came the mushrooms stuffed with shrimp. The mushroom had the taste of a dead cow's hide. The shrimp would make a cat sick. My wife wanted to leave. I asked the waiter to take the mushroom terror off the menu. He said we had eaten of it, so we needed to pay for it. I said we had tasted two pieces and that was enough to let us know it was inedible. He said he would call the manager. The manager came with the same argument, since we had tasted it, we should pay for it. I said that we had discovered how awful it was by tasting it. I got up and was about to pay when the manager ran over and gave me a new check with the shrimp and mushroom horror removed. I told him that my wife was not feeling well. He said she ought to go to the hospital.

I give this place he award for the most rude establishment in Los Angeles. Visit it at your peril!

• Pros: None

02/26/09

The Worst Dining Experience of My Life

by nitl at Citysearch

I am new to the LA area and after reviewing the Citysearch reviews, I dined at HOP Li with trepidation. The reviews were inconsistent (some were good and some were bad). So, I hoped for the best. I had the worst dining experience of my entire life at Hop Li for the following reasons:

1) Food Quality and Presentation: I had the Peking Duck which was presented as though someone in the kitchen had hurriedly pull together bits and pieces of duck not eaten by previoius customers. The plate looked disgusting. The skin of the duck was cut off and placed on another plate which contained some multi-colored looking, paper-like objects surrounding by dumplings. I decided to taste the duck, which was disgusting. I tried to add sauce to it to improve the taste, but the sauce was disgusting. My husband ordered hot sake which was presented in a little bottle that was placed in a teapot with hot water (HOW TACKY!!!), This supposed to be a Chinese restuarant...NOT the kitchen of one's grandmother.

2) Service: was terrible. The only ones who appeared to have their act together were the busboys. Our waiter appeared to have an attitude from the beginning, being rude throughout the process. At one point, I reached out to one of the waiter s to inquire about our waiter and was told that he went home --- that turned out to be not true. In fact, our busboy was the only one who seemed to care about the fact that we were paying customers. We had to ask for everything: plates, utensils, rice, etc. My husband wanted to walk out of the restaurant, but I convinced him to stay.l WHAT A MISTAKE!!! We ended up giving the busboy the tip (in cash).

3) Price: Many of the reviews noted that the food was cheap. Well...you certainly get what you pay for. ...bad looking and tasting food, rude wait staff, indifferent manager, cheesy ambiance.

12/22/08

Awesome food, service, and price. terrible valet service/parking.

by rodney_tonya at Citysearch

We love this place. The food is good and the service is quick. Our kids love the food and we feed a family of five for around 35 dollars (before tip). The slippery shrimp and orange chicken are our favorites. They have the same or similar sauces. I have tried nothing that I didnt like on the menu. Kids like the fish tank and the turntable in the middle of the tables. Service is always good with the same group of waitstaff always on.

Worst part about the place is the parking. Street is limited and the lot is small. Off times or lunch usually isnt bad but try to go for dinner you have to deal with the valet. I have been on two occasions with only 1 valet running things in the small lot and there were almost 3 fights over who was first and blocking or trying to pull in next.

• Pros: Food/service/value
• Cons: parking

11/13/08

Expensive but legitimate

by ntdang at Citysearch

Actual Chinese food on the West Side! Nice restaurant. It is unfortunately costly, much more so than for similar food in Diamond Bar. Soups are quite tasty.

• Pros: Real Chinese Food, Nice environment
• Cons: Costly

10/13/08

Not bad at all

by dangnat at Citysearch

It's hard to find good Chinese food in Los Angeles. This place comes pretty close - actually CHINESE, not "Fusion" restaurant, nice setting, good service. You do pay a premium, compared to the authentic Chinese restaurants that I am used to out in areas like diamond bar, but I consider it the price for having actual Chinese food in West LA.

• Pros: Decent Chinese Food!
• Cons: Price

08/29/08

Best Chinise in town!

by HilkManager at Citysearch

This place has amazing food! I don't know what they do to it, but it's so different from any other Chinese place in town. Try: salty shrimp (with shell), peking duck, crab (ask them to put crispy noddles under it). Do family style so you can try everything. Make reservations!!!

• Pros: great food
• Cons: could be cheaper

06/21/08

Ewww, Ewww, and MORE EWWW.

by u8adickup at Citysearch

I don't know which was worse the quality of the chicken used in my dish, or the service. This establishment is dirty, and inhospitable. The waiter tried to rush my party and I right from the start. He gave us nothing but attitude when I attempted to order. The food was extremely poor, and it was overall a terrible experience in which they tried to rip me off by trying not to give me change. (Long story, you can imagine, just some of the scummiest business I have ever seen). WARNING TO CONSUMER, I was a Hospitality Major in College, and I can tell you, CUSTOMER BEWARE.

• Pros: The water guy was nice, and did a good job.
• Cons: Too much.

03/22/08

Good Chinese Food

by tmigs at Citysearch

My wife and I went to Hop Li last night. Pretty good overall. We have eaten dinner in Hong Kong and Beijing before and this was actually pretty similar (in a good way). I recommend the fish and the veggies. The mango chicken was decent but nothing to write home about as it could have had more flavor.

• Pros: A lot of food. Good prices. Good overall.
• Cons: Chicken dish could have used more flavor.