When does confidence become audacity? Is there a point at which a claim becomes braggadocio? To what extent can you trust a review on a hometown magazine? These were all questions we sought to answer during our inaugural meal at a Rio Rancho Chinese restaurant with the quaint name “Best Lee’s.”Best Lee’s is ensconced in the Southern Plaza Shopping Center in the same suite that held Peking House, a Chinese restaurant so mediocre I chose not to write anything about it during our one and only visit. In truth, we thought Peking House was still happily torturing taste buds until reading the December-January 2007 edition of Rio Rancho magazine (now defunct). A published review practically gushed with effusiveness over a dining experience at Best Lee’s.
Then there’s the menu which proudly proclaims “best food in town.” That’s an audacious claim we were eager to validate or debunk. The menu, by the way, is encyclopedic in its volume, listing well over a hundred items in various categories: appetizers, soup, fried rice, lo mein, sweet and sour, seafood, poultry, pork, beef, vegetables, chow mein and chop suey, chow mein fun, diet special dishes, and the ever-present chef’s specials. Best Lee’s opened for business on February 1st, 2006. It specializes in New York Chinatown and Hong Kong style Chinese food. Its take-out traffic is nearly as robust as its dining-in business. My dear friend and colleague Barbara Boggs (God bless her beautiful soul) frequented Best Lee’s after many an exhausting day at Intel.
The restaurant is somewhat austere in its decor with just a few silk and sandalwood fans and stereotypical examples of three-dimensional Chinese art hanging on the wall. Chinese lanterns hang from the ceiling, but there really isn’t anything “eye-catching” to hold your interest. That’s within the restaurant itself. At the foyer, you’ll espy a framed certificate from the Top 100 Chinese Restaurants site (yes, there is such a thing). Best Lee’s earned a 98.17 score during a “mystery dining” experience from Top 100. You might ponder that as you enjoy the complimentary wonton chips brought to your table while you peruse the menu. The chips are somewhat oily and don’t fare that well with the contrasting taste of Lee’s sweet-and-sour sauce which accompanies them.
12 January 2026: In 2008, Best Lee’s launched a second location, this one just a block north of Paseo del Norte and Wyoming in Albuquerque. Though we hadn’t been impressed by the Rio Rancho instantiation, we thoroughly enjoyed the Duke City version. Alas, it didn’t have the staying power of its elder sibling. After an absence of nineteen years, we returned to Best Lee’s in January, 2026. Not much had changed over the years. Take-out business was brisk during the entirety of our visit. Jenny, a peripatetic presence who’s been with Best Lee’s for eighteen years seemed to be everywhere. She not only cooked and served our meal, she tended to guests picking up their meals.
19 January 2007: Considering my ill-fated luck when ordering traditional Chinese entrees at most Albuquerque area Chinese restaurants, we actually opted to try more Americanized favorites. Though we didn’t stoop so low as to order anything sweet-and-sour, we did lower our standards by trying Best Lee’s pu pu platter. Long before there was Trader Joe’s, there was Trader Vic’s, a Polynesian themed restaurant that popularized the pu pu platter and claims to have invented the Mai Tai. The pu pu platter, as found in American Chinese cuisine is a circular, compartmentalized bowl consisting of an assortment of appetizers, typically including egg rolls, spare ribs, chicken wings, skewered beef, fried shrimp and fried wontons. Sometimes pu pu platters arrive at your table atop a can of Sterno so they can stay hot.
Best Lee’s pu pu platter wasn’t anywhere close to the best pu pu platter we’ve had, but it wasn’t the worse either. It is comprised of the appetizers listed above although the fried wontons are actually stuffed with Crab Rangoon. The chicken wings are probably the best of the appetizers. A crispy coating envelops rather moist and flavorful chicken. The egg rolls are a step above what you get at most Chinese restaurants (you can actually find shards of fried pork in these). You can enjoy your pu pu platter with four sauces: hot mustard (somewhat anemic), duck sauce (the ubiquitous red stuff), sweet-and-sour sauce and a soy-based, salty dumpling sauce.
Rio Rancho magazine boasted that Best Lee’s fried rice “sets the standard” and is “nicely seasoned and perfectly moist” as well as “the best we’ve ever tasted.” In truth, the fried rice is pretty good, albeit not a standard setter by any means. If you’ve lamented the fact that in most fried rice you practically need the Hubble telescope to locate a protein, you’ll enjoy Best Lee’s fried rice. Not only are small bits of pork plentiful, you’ll also find peas, carrots and onions. Our one complaint about this fried rice is that it doesn’t reheat well.
19 January 2007: About General Tso’s chicken, Rio Rancho magazine said it was “outstanding and delicious.” Ironically, while General Tso is a military warrior of significant historical repute in China, the chicken dish named for him is unknown in China. This Americanized sweet-and-spicy, deep-fried dish is, however, a good example of Americanized Hunan and Szechuan-style cooking. As at most Chinese restaurants in America, General Tso’s chicken is listed as a “chef specialty” at Best Lee’s allowing the restaurant to command a higher price for this entree. Best Lee’s version of General Tso’s chicken is described on the menu as “cruncby (SIC) chunks of juicy chicken battered and sautéed in a hot and spicy sauce.” The entree consists of tidbits of battered chicken, lightly steamed broccoli and what looks and tastes suspiciously like a Vietnamese chili sauce. If there are any scallions and hot chili peppers (as called for on a standard recipe) floating around in the sauce, you’ll be hard-pressed to find them.
12 January 2026: lists most of the usual suspects: egg rolls, spring rolls, crab rangoon, won tons, etc. My Kim’s early favorites are the boneless spare ribs. Much as Americans have embraced this popular Chinese appetizer, boneless spare ribs are not true ribs. Instead, they’re cuts from the pork shoulder or loin. These cuts are sliced and prepared to mimic the texture and flavor or ribs. They offer a tender, boneless bite that makes them easy to eat. At Best Lee’s, the boneless spare ribs are lacquered in a thick, gooey, cloying sauce. These “ribs” may be very popular, but not with me.
12 January 2026: Your best bet for dinner is to order one of Best Lee’s combination plates which include an egg roll (or your choice of egg drop wonton or hot and sour soup) and the aforementioned fried rice. Do yourself a favor and order the soup instead of the egg roll. As is all too often the case, the egg roll is mostly veggies. Considering China invented egg rolls, we’ve found very few restaurants whose egg rolls are barely more than edible. Most of the combination plates are showpieces for American favorites (sweet and sour). Every once in a while, I actually crave orange chicken, particular when it’s got a kick. Best Lee’s orange chicken does kick back, but it’s primarily chicken (and not necessarily the best parts) in a sweet sauce with the viscosity of orange jelly. The orange chicken is heavily breaded and somewhat mushy.
12 January 2026: Every once in a while when we don’t feel like cooking or going too far to dine out, my Kim asks me to pick up teriyaki chicken from Panda Express. Aargh! What I do for my Kim! For some reason, she only likes Panda Express’s version. She won’t order teriyaki chicken anywhere else…until our visit to Best Lee’s. Instead of the usual bite-sized bits of overly sauced (lacquered) sauce, the teriyaki chicken arrived on skewers similar to Thai satay. Sadly, the chicken was on the desiccated side and not nearly sauced enough for my sweet-toothed bride. She loved the fried rice and agreed with me that the egg roll was beyond mediocre.
Best Lee’s certainly does not serve the “best food in town.” In fact, it may not even serve the best Chinese food in town (Heaven Dragon might have something to say about that). It is what it is–a popular local eatery offering relatively inexpensive Chinese food that may not appeal to the most discriminating and savvy aficionados of authenticity, but will be liked by the masses who appreciate the familiarity of its food.
Best Lee’s
2003 Southern Blvd, N.E.
Rio Rancho, New Mexico
(505) 892-7887
Website |
LATEST VISIT: 12 January 2026
1st VISIT: 19 January 2007
# OF VISITS: 1
RATING: Good – good food, decent service, and a clean environment; provides a satisfactory, dependable, and standard experience
COST: $$
BEST BET: Chicken Wings, Fried Rice, PuPu Platter, Teriyaki Chicken Combination Plate, Orange Chicken Combination Plate, Boneless Spare Ribs