Lucky Cheng's Sucks

I had my first really terrible experience at a Manhattan restaurant on Friday night. Having been asked by my husband on Thursday evening to book a table for six for dinner on Friday night, I scrambled for reservations on Open Table. We were in the mood for a fun and festive Pan-Asian experience so opted for Lucky Cheng's in the lower east side. It advertises itself as the "drag queen capital of the world" so I thought it'd be fun to check out!

When we arrived, we seemed to be the only group of couples amongst large bachelorette parties. That should have given us a hint about the kind of crowd this place attracts. The atmosphere was definitely festive with large red lanterns hanging from the ceilings. A gorgeous waiter(ess) greeted us and directed us to a table at the far end of the restaurant, a little away from the main stage where all the raunchy action was unfolding. Drag queens, dressed to the nines in the most colourful and outrageous outfits, were shaking their booties and totally embarassing the guests by their wild moves. We laughed and soaked in the atmosphere thinking we were in for a fun night.

Unfortunately it was all downhill from there on. The cocktails with fancy names like "Joselyn's Lucious Lips" promised far more than they delivered. The food was sub-standard (should've checked Zagat) and not upto the mark at all. We had to scream to have a semblance of a conversation. The only saving grace was our gorgeous waitress whose enhancements we were all admiring, wondering how in the world a guy could be so endowed ;)

I did some research on the net on Saturday and found that Lucky Cheng's had sued Zagat's because the guidebook gave the restaurant a 9 out of 30 for the quality of the food! Only in American does such a thing happen.. Apparently, LC has really suffered business since its poor scoring in Zagat's Guide. Well, no matter how fun the experience can be, people will never flock to restaurants where the food sucks. Right now, LC is thriving on innocent tourists, bachelorette parties and newbies like us who don't know better.