Thanks to NetGalley and Henry Holt and Co. for allowing me to read Number One Chinese Restaurant.
Jimmy Han, after the death of his father, struggles to maintain the family restaurant and is convinced opening a new one is the answer to his problems. This book is full of exciting character development, beautiful cultural descriptions, love connections, love breakups, and ever changing character dynamics. The reader hopes everyone finds their dream and is happy in life, but the journey is not always smooth. This book is entertaining and beautifully descriptive of the restaurant and culture.

Plumped in spirit and energy this delightful novel is a tale of families and their relationship with the Duck House restaurant which becomes the pivotal nexus around which all the world turns. Jimmy Han is the central character who wants to leave his father’s restaurant to create a newer utopia in a restaurant of his own design. Other characters include his workers, Nan and Ah-Jack who have a wonderful friendship but hold an undercurrent of surreptitious love. Nan’s son Pat,struggles in school and life, unable to express his emotional needs to his mother, but instead acts out in dangerous ways that lead to a tragic incident. Johnny, Jimmy’s older brother, and Annie his daughter contribute to the turmoil that winds through this family. Rounding this multigenerational saga is their mother, one of the most colorful characters in this terrific novel. Her voice speaks loudly and ultimately holds the power in this story. With black humor, this colorful story exploring the inner lives of the characters is a delight of the senses.

The lives of the employees of the Beijing Duck House in Rockville, Maryland are never dull, and often intertwined. There are marriage break-ups, children who are a disappointment to their parents, parents that are often unavailable when one needs their parent the most. There are angry bosses, incompetent cooks and wait-staff and nights of being blackout drunk. There is also laughter, tears, hope and disappointment. All this and more can be found at the number one chinese restaurant.
I really enjoyed this book. The characters really grabbed your attention and made you feel invested in their story. I look forward to reading many more books by this author!

Loved this book. Didn’t want it to end. Highly recommend.

Love love love. Incredible book. Fabulous book club pick too

I absolutely loved this book. The well developed characters brought life to the story, especially how all of their stories intertwined. Of course, the characters all had the connection of working at the same Chinese Restaurant, but there were more complexities to their individual and combined stories. I loved how it was impossible to root for any of the characters at some points, but you found yourself hoping for them at other points. It was hard to put the book down as it careened through the family dramas of the Number One Chinese Restaurant.

This is a family drama centered around a restaurant, though it really does focus more on Jimmy than any other character. The family dynamics were pretty well-described, but I felt that some of the side characters (Annie, Janine) were a little neglected. Overall, though, an incredibly appealing novel that will find a lot of fans!

Number One Chinese Restaurant is a savory feast of a read about a new generation trying to break free of the old despite the golden chains that will forever bind them to the past. Lillian Li's skill at developing rich, delectable characters creates an immersive experience of clever and lyrical writing fused with intriguing plot turns. Number One Chinese Restaurant is a great next read for fans of Spoonbenders.

Loved the characters, setting and story. Looking forward to more by this author!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read and give an honest review of this book.

Unfortunately, this book fell flat for me. It did not charm me and I just could not seem to care for the characters. I would give the author another chance as the writing was not bad.

I had really wanted to enjoy this book. My family has been eating at the same Chinese Restaurant every Sunday after church and often during the week for takeout. We have known 3 of the owners through the years. Sadly, I just couldn't get into this book. I think the reason is that I just didn't care for any of the characters and the story just wasn't enough to hook me in.

I liked the interwoven storylines, but the climax and conclusion were a real let down. I like a little bit of mystery and not every ending has to be happy, but what the heck happened to everyone? Given the intricacies and the attention to detail of the character descriptions, the conclusion was too inconclusive to be satisfactory. A detailed and character driven book such as this will usually stay with the reader for a time, but this feels like it a random thought that disappeared as soon as you turn the last page. Disappointing.

The author writes beautifully, and I really wanted to like this book. I was engaged and kept turning the page, but I just wasn't as invested as I wanted to be. I found the characters all to be unlikable, and unlike other fictional antiheros and antiheroines, I just wasn't rooting for anyone.

3.5 stars rounded to 4

Number One Chinese Restaurant is a truly original tale of the innermost secrets of a Chinese family-owned restaurant. Behind the accents and the shuffling of Asian flavors is a poignant look at the relationships that build a microcosm of love, loyalty, and interconnection. And the dark side of doing business.

Jimmy Han has his eye on opening a restaurant better than the one left by his father's legacy. Beyond the doors of the Duck House lies a dream of opening the best Chinese restaurant in Maryland. But inside the doors of the Duck House, there is love, control, power but most importantly history. Jimmy is one step closer to opening up Glory, but his loyal brother Johnny has other ideas for the original Beijing Duck House of Maryland famous for its Northern Chinese cuisine. That fateful night where fire engulfs the restaurant will be the twist of fate for many. And change does not fare ware for the characters of this story.

The narrative is told by multiple characters, Jimmy, Johnny, Ah-Jack, Nan, Pat, and Annie. The stories are told in the present tense but each waiter, manager, son, daughter and business owner have their own cards that fall on the floor. Jimmy is struggling to find his own path through the restaurant business but his family always tempers his full ability. Ah-Jack, a full-time waiter, is tired and suffering from his ailments and old habits. Nan, the manager is trying to raise a teenage child while hiding her affection for Ah-Jack. And then there is Johnny, the brother who comes back into the picture with his own interest in mind.

This story is an emotional journey from beginning to end. Its pace is fluid and shifts from present tense to past rememberances. It is not clear initially how the chapters will be set up but this is part of the uniqueness of the story. Several aspects of this story are confusing but the relationships between the characters are most poignant.

The interactions between waiter Ah-Jack and manager Nan is endearing. From their first meeting at her new job at the Mayflower, the slow courtship, to the reversal of roles at the Duck House, we see the love build slowly and confoundingly. But Ah-Jack has a picture of another in his wallet. His wife is at home being treated for cancer. But Ah-Jack can bearly pay for her treatment or keep his job. Time has ravaged his life, his marriage, and his dignity.

And the Han family has their own traditional Chinese dynamics. Feng Fei, the mother of Jimmy and Johnny is a caustic, matriarch who is self-absorbed and hard on her children. Jimmy always wanted to be a chef, but in his struggle to fit in he always found a way to be an outlier. His desire to be his own story with his own restaurant will resonate with anybody living in another's shadow. And Jimmy and Johnny who are always at odds have a co-dependent relationship as two brothers, one the rescuer of the other's calamity. However, with all the friction between the characters, loyalty and family reign most important.

The pulse of the Duck house is controlled chaos. Waiters parading dishes, catching their breaks, takings nips from the bar after a long shift. Each of these characters carries a past and a distinct personality and clearly longstanding relationships with other employees. The combination of all these aspects makes the narrative lively.

Lillian Li has composed a novel blending the right amount of humor and charm with tradition. There were at times where the novel felt unbalanced but the story and the characters provided enough entertainment to push through those parts. Overall, a good novel.

Thank you, NetGalley, Henry Holt and Company, and the author for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and Henry Holt & Company for the ARC

When I opened this book I almost read a few pages and put it down. I am so glad I didn’t quit on this book. The Duck House in Rockville, Maryland holds more than just a restaurant, it has friendships, love, and family secrets. The workers have all been employed there for most of their lives and have become what makes the restaurant so successful. The stories of all the characters suck you into this book and it becomes a page turner. Ah-Jack and Nan are two of the main characters and following their story and understanding their friendship is beautiful and heartbreaking at the same time. Trust me stick with this book and you won’t regret a page of reading!

I really wanted to enjoy this book. I love food and anything that combines food and reading I will try. This one fell short.

I received this book as an advanced copy through NetGalley, and while I thought there were really well-written passages, much of the book feel short for me.

I enjoyed the idea of a book set in a Chinese restaurant and was sucked in immediately by the conceit of the restaurant founder's youngest son hoping to branch out on his own, and his struggle against his own limitations, loyalties and those around him. I also enjoyed the story of Nan and her son, a struggling teen, very interesting, but often Nan's behavior was confounding to me.

I just felt the book drug in places, and I found some of the point of view switches very confusing.

This just was not the book for me.

My thoughts:
With the high praise and "Most Anticipated Book of 2018" label, I was hoping for a more entertaining novel. I really was craving for either the humor, angst and melodrama of a Joy Luck Club or a foodie book like The Last Chinese Chef. The issue was that I could not find any character that I wanted to root for. I could not find a character with enough redeeming qualities to care about.

I know it is supposed to be darkly funny, I just don't get the humor. I think what I wanted to do was read this book to be entertained, but bitterness is a hard pill to swallow, even in fiction.



Publication date: June 19, 2018



Advanced digital copy provided by Net Galley and the publisher for an honest review.

This book was just not that interesting to me. The characters were well-developed and intricately interwoven into the plot of the story. I just did not find myself connecting with, respecting, or caring for any of the characters. I pushed through the book because I really did want to find out the ending of the story. The author is truly a terrific writer. This book just didn't do it for me. Thank you for the opportunity to read and review an advanced copy.

This is a wonderful book. It really has all the ingredients of a smash hit. Lovely lovely story line with great characters who live their lives! Really a fun book.