Best salt & pepper chicken I’ve had in a very long time! The fried pork chop was very good as well. Both were seasoned well and crispy. The side veggies and braised pork had lots of flavor and portion was very generous. You have an option of white, purple and brown rice. Mama lee was attentive, super friendly and like an auntie who always wants to over feed you.

this place is a must try if you are in the area. It is run by the SWEETEST woman. Portion sizes are huge and food is authentic and delicious. Everything is made to order so it’s super fresh. I got the braised beef and the meat was so tender. Eggplant with garlic sauce came with a variety of yummy vegetables. She also included complimentary chicken soup with an entire chicken leg and radish. They also offer purple rice!!! Will be going back to try the whole menu.

After a decade of living in NYC, I've found it. A place where the cooking is as good as my mother's. Got there at ~7:30p assuming we'd have to order carry-out since it was close to closing. Ms. Lee not only welcomed us in, but turned on a space heater and quickly brought out a soul-warming bowl of chicken soup. We ordered the salt and pepper chicken, egg with tomato (iykyk), and two beef noodle soups. She chuckled at us and told us to make it one beef noodle - there was no way we'd finish two. Salt and pepper chicken - nicely fried, golden crust, not overly salted. Egg and tomato - a little bit of preserved vegetable in it for salt, cooked to a perfect consistency. The stunner of the meal? That beef noodle soup. The bowl must have weighed a couple pounds. Beef was fall-apart tender, without being too fatty, and included a good amount of tendon. And that broth - a richness of flavor that may only be exceeded by 永康牛肉麵, where my dad used to go when he was in college. She brought a second bowl of broth because the first (very large) bowl was overflowing with beef and noodles already. And a container of her homemade chili oil. On our way out (with copious leftovers), she gave us a container of purple rice and another of pumpkin soup, refusing tips because "this is a family restaurant". Don't venture to Mama Lee's for the decor, for predictable opening hours, or to have the avant-garde Taiwanese food in town (886, win son, etc.). Go because it's been 10 long years since you've gotten to go back to see your extended family in Taiwan and you want the food you were fed there as a kid when you visited every summer. If you'll excuse me I'll be tucking into these leftovers for the rest of the weekend.

It's a small store with 2 tables. Mostly for take out but we walked in and were able to grab a table. The owner/cashier/waitstaff was helpful but she was by herself. We ordered and self-serve barley tea (light but delicious). We ordered LouRou Rice and Mapo Tofu with purple rice(totally worth the extra $2) This is not your typical Mapo Tofu. It has black wood ear, lotus roots, mushrooms, minced pork... and spices. It's just the right of spicy for me and boy was it GOOD. The purple rice was a perfect match.

The restaurant is not big, but the people here gave us the kind of warm feeling as I’m at home! They are friendly and full of positive energy! The food is delicious and it’s not as oily as other place! Love the family style feeling that this restaurant presents!

Ten stars for service. I was warned the owner was super nice and she was! The food was very good (the braised beef was so soft and the salt and pepper fried chicken was one of the best I've ever had). Everything was made so fresh and to order. The portions were huge! Will definitely come back to try the other menu items like the eggplant, porkchop and meatballs. Seating inside is very limited. There was only two tables but takeout is always a great option as containers are packed carefully anyway. Parking is street parking around the area.

we ordered Buddha's delight and three cups chiken. Both are so yummy and Mom(the owner) is really kind and nice. I was feeling so warm like I am home. Even the prices are reasonable. I'll definitely come here again.

Moma Lee closed at some point but I am glad they are back. It's a hole in the wall but the food is outstanding. The owner is the nicest lady ever and she is always giving me extra food. Large portions, good food and reasonable prices what else do you want. My favorite dish is the three cup chicken with purple rice.

Vegetarian dishes available. Owner is very friendly. She gave us a free dish because she said she didn't warn us the 2 vegetarian dishes we ordered had similar ingredients. Free soup with our order, vegetarian gets vegetarian soup and also special rice. The food was alright, homestyle food. One thing I found a bit odd was that the portions for each dish were pretty big. So price per dish is kind of high, around $15-16. It would be fine if you can have a large group but the restaurant is fairly small, probably can only seat a maximum of 5-6 person group. With 3 people, the owner recommended we order only 3 dishes. We ordered 4 because we wanted more variety. With the extra vegetarian dish the owner gave us, we had a lot of extra food to take home. It would be better if they reduced the portion size and charge ~$10 per dish.

I don’t know why they put sliced lotus and Chinese yam in Eggplant With Basil and Fried Chicken was too large

As most have indicated, Mama Lee feels like home for those of us missing Taiwanese food. Ordered a beef noodle soup and spicy fish fillet with vegetables to go, and we loved every bite. The portions are huge, so the price is certainly reasonable. The beef was super tender and flavorful, and the fish was so fresh-everything felt like it was a home-cooked meal by your grandparents. Those of you looking for authentic Taiwanese here in Queens need not look any further, as Mama Lee will satisfy your craving.

I had a cold so I came in. Mama Lee took care of me and gave me 2 different chicken soups one for lunch and dinner. Very thoughtful. She’s very kind and held the door open for me as I was leaving. I also got Taiwanese meatballs which was very good. Great service.

MamaLee is probably one of the homiest, cozy restaurants I have every been! Mama Lee, I assume, is so nice, and real. She is like the mom away from mom who would take care of you, love you, and find you the joy of her life while telling you she needs a break. And you want to just go tell her, let me take care of that for you, and you want to serve her and yourself. She would say No, of course, and make you eat your food. At this point, who cares about salt, fat, spice, and sugar. You taste home. P.S. Food was great! (I got the 3 cup chicken.)

Always wanted to try Mama Lee since I've been hearing all the good feedbacks. Well, it is good! Portion is generous and you get to choose white rice or purple rice to go with your dishes.

I am so full right now. Pork chop rice very yum. Flavor great, so many little treasures between the pork chop and the rice, just like how it should be. Pork daikon soup is so tasty too. Thanks mama lee!

Staff is very rude, place is very small don't bring groups bigger than 4. Very unorganized, the main lady is all over the place. Not kid friendly, in fact one of workers yelled at my kid for being too loud. The food was like the staff all over the place. Some too oilly, some too salty, some too spicy, some too bland. They also close early when ever they want, and turn away people when ever they want. The wait is way too long. And to get to the bathroom you need to walk through the kitchen. Never coming back.

Love this home cook style dishes. The beef stew is a must. I have not tried their 3 wine chicken which is a signature Taiwanese dish. Very pleasant from both the husband and wife owner. There are two different menu, one is more gear towards lunch and appetitzer, and the other is more for dinner dishes. Be sure to ask for both regardless.

I don't know what happened. One minute I had a big bowl of beef noodle soup in front of me. Tender beef. Flavorful broth. Generous portions. Next minute it was all gone. So good.

Today was my first time trying Mama Lee Taiwanese cuisine. I am glad we did because it was amazing food. It really had to spot and I could not stop eating. Mama Lee was very patient with my questions on the phone because I did not know what to order. Upon picking up my order the establishment was very clean, and plenty of Purell available. The food was packaged with care, and I was worn that the salt and pepper chicken was not covered completely because if so, it will get soggy and ruined experience. I really enjoyed the minced fatty pork over rice. The pork chop was fried to perfection and the salt and pepper chicken was also a hit. We had complimentary soup, not too salty - just right. If you are local, and love Taiwanese cuisine - you have to give this place a try. I'm not even in a local and we'll definitely come back to try out rest of the menu. Hidden gem!

Really tasty Taiwanese cuisine. Their meatball rice is always sold out. The purple rice is very tasty and their cucumber appetizer is really tasty. The fried pork chop is perfectly cooked, their chicken soup is free and yummy. Think of a caring grandma taking care of you.

I have never left reviews ever, and for the first time, I know I must write this review so that everyone will know how much of a gem this place is! (and it's going to be a long review) First of all the food is amazing! Simple menu, consists of core Taiwanese dishes, everything from taste, freshness, portion is just perfect! Definitely taste like authentic Taiwanese food and only better! Furthermore, the owner of the restaurant is one of the friendliest and caring person we've ever met; She truly cares about her customers and always patient and listens to all of our (complicated)requests when ordering and applies all modifications seamlessly, and this is consider we are not frequent customers as we do not live nearby! This one time we had to place in a request for vegetarian option along with other non vegetarian dishes, and wanted less salt and sauce due to diet restrictions and she delivered it, she make sure to use proper cooking oil for those particular vegetarian dishes and even double checked with me on my vegetarian preference so she could use the proper ingredients; we almost never get this kind of attention and service in restaurants and it's the amount of care she puts into each single dish that really counts; I still remember it was the coldest day in December, when I went to pick up for an order, she saw me carrying so much that she ran out to open the door for me without having her jacket on and said "please get home safe!" with the warmest smile on her face... The place is not big and fancy, it's humble, but it is the most welcoming place(and of course in addition to the wonderful dishes offered on menu!), so for sure, we will be returning for many more times, in the years to come. =)

CASH only. Parking is around the neighborhood. Your meals (when you dine in, I don't know how it works for carryout) includes rice (white or purple), soup of the day and the spicy Chinese cucumber/squash. Don't expect to dine and chill around as this is a smaller establishment. I mean your conscious should feel bad seeing a line of people at the door. 😉

Great Taiwanese food! It is home cooking so I find that every time I come there are differences in the side dishes and/or presentation - not in a bad way, it makes for a nice surprise! If you have the misfortune of coming right after a large pickup order is made, you may have to wait to be served since it is just Mama and 1 staff. The longest I have had to wait is around 30 minutes.

I'm a Taiwanese person and this is the most authentic Taiwanese restaurant in New York. Mama Lee's is a fracture in the matrix, a rare establishment that tries to resist the gentrification of Asian food by steadfastly offering the best home cooked meals, all prepared by Mama Lee herself, with Taiwanese songs and warm staff. The restaurant feels like a hug. Please keep it alive as proof that Asian food does not need to be bougie or fusion to survive. They're redoing their menu but are currently offering a $55 flat price per person where they take some of your preferences and Mama Lee just whips you up whatever tf she wants, which is so badass. It's really like my mom is cooking for me. ALWAYS CHOOSE MAMA LEE'S!

Authentic Taiwanese homemade dishes, especially three cups chicken and slow cooking minced pork. The portion is HUGE, always have leftover to take home, free homemade soup, and choices of white rice or purple rice. Need to wait for table when dinner time. One of the most popular place in bayside area

A cozy atmosphere with some great home cooked reminiscent dishes. The portions are generous and the service super friendly. Be warned that seating is extremely limited and you'll most likely end up ordering to go.

Great and delicious food, I liked the mood the place has, and the employees were very kind. I will definitely come back.

The food is great, if you can get it. The meatballs were my favorite, the fried chicken was my son's favorite. Be very careful about depending too much on this place. There are only about 6 small tables, and even that overwhelms this restaurant. Mama Lee actually started turning away other diners after about 4 of these tables were filled because she "ran out of dishes". A lot of people left disappointed. Assume that if you show up during prime dining hours there's a better than 50% chance that you won't be eating anytime soon.

I was very impressed, we went in not knowing what to expect but we were very pleasantly surprised. She (the owner who I assume is Mama Lee) is the nicest lady, she gave us an extra soup at no charge only bc we don't eat meat. We had rice with tofu, soup and noodles with cabbage. Everything was so delicious and the feel and vibe is so homey. We had a great experience and would be definitely coming back soon.

I visited Mama Lee four years ago when I lived in Flushing, and I remembered it being an incredible mom-and-pop restaurant. After working in Seattle and moving back to New York City, I spent a while trying to find this restaurant again. It's just as good as I remembered! The food is amazing, and very reasonably priced. Mama Lee is in there, actively involved with the customers and ensuring people are satisfied with their meal. While we were waiting, Papa Lee brought out hot tea for us, and during our meal, Mama Lee additionally brought out a delicious cooler of iced tea, for free. We ordered salt and pepper fried chicken over rice ($10.50), and a Jia Jang Noodle with pork and tofu ($8.50). The portions were big - for $19, two people were fully fed, and we took some of the Jia Jang Noodle back home. Mama Lee told us all charges (including tax) were already incorporate with the menu price, but I insisted she keep the change. I encourage others to do the same - Mama and Papa Lee work incredibly hard to make sure their customers are fed and happy.

It's a small and lovely restaurant. We were given a generous portion and couldn't actually finish! The food was delicious - I would definitely come back again.

Picked up three cup chicken and an eggplant dish for dinner. Big portions as always. Lee Mama is so friendly. The last time I visited Mama Lee was pre-Covid. My dad and I love their dishes especially the 3 cup chicken. It appears they have changed chefs though. The 3 cup chicken dish is super saucy with broccoli and woodear mushrooms which is not typical. I hope this was a one-off situation! 🙁

Mama lee's is such a great place. Mama lee is one of the nicest owners you will ever meet and really makes you feel at home. It is takeout only for now since they don't have a big location. One of my favorite things to order is there pork chop. By putting it in a brown bag and not covering it, the pork chops don't get soggy

We got the braised pork, tofu, tea egg and rice. It was very good! Although the dish was not as juicy and soft as other places, it was healthy, had a lot of veggies, not oily, full of flavor, BIG AND FILLING for its price (could have eaten it over two meals) and they even gave us a FREE tea egg just because I asked if there was tea eggs in the dish. Talk about great customer service. A great option for work lunch for anyone whos working nearby

mama lee (the owner) is the kindest person ever. So welcoming and nice, felt like I was enjoying a meal at home. Portions are fantastic (if not too much). The spicy eggplant dish is excellent.

Ate here for the first time this week. I got the Lion's head meatballs. It's a big multi meal portion, very tender and delicious. Comes with cabbage and rice so you don't feel super unbalanced about the meal. Also comes with soup! I know nothing about making lions head meatballs but I do know about the soup and the soup was impressive. Chicken soup that came with a tender hunk of the chicken, jujube, and some ginger. It's the type of soup that my mom would make for me. There's tea and water to a side table which you can self-serve as you wait for a takeout order as well. The owner is super sweet. Definitely going to try and come back

Amazing homemade food

The owners are so nice, they gave us an extra dish just out of kindness! And the food is excellent and reminds me of home.

Mama Lee is very warm and inviting; she runs her restaurant like her home and treats you like her family and close friend. We have been here numerous times and every time we are hungry and about to over-order, Mama Lee will tell us that we are ordering too much (and she is always right!). We also always get complimentary soup and purple rice, which Mama Lee claims is much healthier than white rice. We love the basil chicken, braised pork, and pork chop.

small place run by the nicest woman. amazing food; the "large pork meatball" is one of my favorites. water and tea is on the counter for you to help yourself. lovely service; the lady at the counter asked "how many people are eating?" and packed another container of rice into my bag. sometimes packs extra food at the end of the day if she has any.

I really love the food and customer service, awesome location right next to my residence. The employees are always very welcoming. Will come visit again.

Best Taiwanese food in Bayside. Mama lee is like going to mom's home to eat. She is very personable and sweet.

Great and fresh food, I love the atmosphere this place has, and the staff members were welcoming. I will surely eat here again.

My wife had a craving for Taiwanese pork w/ bamboo shoot for dinner tonight. I was about to place an order with a place a block away, which I ordered few times before. While Googling for a menu, I came upon Mama Lee with a 4.6 star rating. Decided to give this place a try. Happy with the decision I made tonight. Delicious Taiwanese home cooking, not oily or overly salted. You can taste the love in all the dishes that came out of this place. This will be my go to place for Taiwanese food. Thank you for the food and great service. Thank you for the Christmas ornament for my son.

Beef noodle soup still fantastic. Mama Lee sweet as ever. Such good food on a cold day.

Good food, NO MSG

Amazing Taiwanese food in generous portions. A bit hard to catch Mama Lee since she’s always taking a vacation!

Had a awesome experience here with my friend. The food comes out fast and the service is just good. Prices are affordable.

The best Taiwanese food in New York. ❤❤❤

small place but really good home cuisine from Taiwan. BE THERE EARLY before mealtime so you dont run into congestion or outright refused service because of crowd.

OK, way too oilly, not original taste. Always like deep fry. Force you to order more, even you are only 2 persons. Each dish way too expensive "even included tax" if not no soup and not very good attitude.

My friends had the Beef Noodle and they said was good. I had the pork chops over rice was just SoSo. They don't even have the sour veggie which go along with the dish. Place is small and only 2 people working in the restaurant.

Great food! Support the local mom and pop shop!!

Great food the owner is extremely nice!

Excellent food.

Clean ambient and good food

Mama Lee is so nice and their food is awesome

(Translated by Google) Very poor experience (Original) 非常差体验

Would give five stars to this restaurant for their amazing Chinese and Taiwanese foods. Some include Fried Pork Chops, Purple Rice, Minced Pork Over Rice, Salt and Pepper Chicken, etc. There are no table reservation and no food delivery has take out service.

This place is great when they are open. Owner spends half her time here and the other half in Taiwan. The food is awesome and the prices are good. Especially considering that you are not expected to tip on your bill total. This is one of the best Taiwanese restaurants in Queens. It just stinks when you want to go and they are closed. Definitely call ahead before heading over to make sure they are open.

Delicious, quick and clean. Authentic Taiwanese flavors.

Friendly feels like eating at home atmosphere. Food definitely has that home cooked appearance and taste!

Very good taste and unforgettable memories, thank you

Great food. I will go there again soon.

Amazing food and atmosphere! Took my taiwanese girlfriend here and she absolutely loved it! It reminded her of her grandmother’s cooking. We ordered the Beef Noodle soup, three cup chicken, string beans, and ribs! We will definitely be back! S/O to Wei for the good service!