I never like to tell readers where NOT to go. But this time I must. Don’t waste your hard-earned euros on a meal at Lily Wang, the trendy terraced Asian-style restaurant in a charming corner of the 7th arrondissment. I wanted to love it, really. There’s an honest terrace with a hedge of bamboo that can be heard rustling in the city’s breeze. Inside, a décor straight out of the postcard pretty Vietnamese village on Hoi An, with its vibrant display of paper lanterns. And the menu is appealing, dim sum and Shanghai dumplings, Iberico pork (photo), salt and pepper shrimp, and a green vegetable trio of broccoli, snow peas, and asparagus. Alas, 168 euros poorer and barely sated, we left wondering what this place was all about. Food no better than any Parisian Vietnamese carryout. Rubbery pork dumplings, dipping sauces that tasted like ketchup, tasteless shrimp, and pork so fatty as to be inedible. Vegetables totally limp, overcooked, and underseasoned. Add to that the diffident service. Sorry, Lily, I won’t be coming back again.
LILY WANG, 40, avenue Duquesne, Paris 7. Telephone +33 1 53 86 09 09. Open daily. Metro: Saint-Francois Xavier. A la carte, 70 euros.