Urban Hai

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Warning: Lava-Level Heat! If you like your food served at the temperature of freshly forged steel, Urban Hai is the place for you. My dinner arrived so hot I briefly considered filing for workers’ comp. I took a bite and saw my past, present, and future flash before my eyes. I respect their dedication to keeping food warm, but I wasn’t prepared for a full-on science experiment in heat retention. As for flavor? Let’s just say I had to request soy sauce like a lost wanderer in the desert begging for water. Once I got it, things improved. Service was friendly, the atmosphere was nice, and I left with my taste buds mostly intact. Four stars because I survived.

Phenomenal experience. I had the tofu skins and the three pepper chicken. The tofu skins were such a light, refreshing, and spicy surprise! Adorned with light veggies and herbs, it was a flavor explosion. It is served chilled and it was super refreshing! The three pepper chicken was awesome. Thinly sliced chicken (thigh, I think) in a light chili oil sauce with sliced peppers and herbs. HUGE portion too for the price! The service was good- my only gripe was that our server was really trying to get us to buy a drink other than water. But that’s my only negative comment. We definitely will be back- there’s so much more I want to try from their menu!

My wife and I visited Urban Hai just as lunch hour was ending which was a great time to visit given it wasn’t too crowded. We were instantly greeted by incredibly kind and hospitable staff, and then promptly seated at a table. Browsing the full menu was a joy given there were so many wonderful options. My wife and I started with the Bang Bang Shrimp and Pan Fried Pork Buns. Starting off with a BANG, the Bang Bang Shrimp instantly became a favorite of ours as it was tasty and had more of a sweet taste rather than sour described as described on their menu. Following we tried the Pork Buns which were fluffy and crispy towards the bottom which was great, but lacked flavor from the meat within. The sauce accompanied by it made this dish much better, but without the sauce these Pan Fried Pork Buns leave more to be desired. Shortly after ordering the appetizers we ordered our entrees which we decided on the General Tso’s Lunch Special with a side of Wonton Soup and Crispy Pork Belly. Before even getting halfway through the appetizers we received everything from our entrees which was great as service was quick and on point, but giving more of a break between appetizers and entrees would have been nice. We aren’t necessarily the quickest eaters and like to enjoy our food so given the food came out so quick some of it was getting cold as it sat there leaving us to feel rushed. Back to the focus of food, the General Tso’s Chicken Lunch Special was delicious, had great flavor with a bit of spice which was great. The fried rice and broccoli accompanied with it made for a great value add to the lunch special and adding the $1 extra for the Wonton Soup provided even better value! The Wonton Soup was very soothing and came with plenty of wonton chips which were great for eating alone or putting them in the soup itself. Last but not least was the Crispy Pork Belly which was the HIGHLIGHT of this trip. That dish was absolutely delicious and I’d order it a million times over if I could. It had a nice kick to it and was more spicy than the General Tso’s Chicken leaving you to need to take a sip of your drink after eating one or two. Overall this restaurant has delicious food, amazing service, and a great atmosphere! Although I gave the Service a 4/5 because of how rushed it felt when receiving all of the food it didn’t take away from the overall 5/5 experience we had at the restaurant as we left satisfied and excited to taste more in the future! 😋

Upscale Chinese restaurant in midtown. Offerings are interesting in their flavor palette and presentation. First time that I had Cumin spiced lamb in a Chinese restaurant. Could do better with less salt and less oil.

I've been in a long search of finding authentic Chinese cuisine and this place delivered! Between the fresh ingredients used in the dishes to the high quality taste, the food was outstanding. I ordered the soup dumplings and the szechuan chili beef. Those soup dumplings were so delicious, I was sad there were only 5 dumplings in the container. The dumpling wrapper was perfectly cooked, and with that flavorful broth inside, it didn't overpower the meat. It truly was a magnificent bite and quite frankly, I can eat a ton of those! The chili beef was excellent too! Not only did it meet my spice level, everything in that dish was perfect. From the perfectly cooked beef, chilis and extras, that dish more than delivered. Plus it did make me sweat as well, which is what a true spicy dish will do! As I was impressed with the food, I ended up ordering a few things to go from the bok choy with tofu skins, pig feet and spare ribs to duck soup. All super delicious! All I will say is this, whatever you order here, you will not be disappointed!