Chen Z

It was OK
Basically you walk in, choose a dish from the picture menu on the wall and order.
We went during a Saturday night, only two other patrons were in the place, so no waiting. We ordered a couple of dishes. One was a special: MaPo Bean Curd and another chicken /​veggies plate. They were not fast Hut again were we didn’t have any expectations for fast service.
Now, neither were spicy, even though the Bean Curd dish was labeled as spicy, it was bland. Nothing to rave about…
We also tried the steamed pot stickers, now they were good. If anything, that was worth visiting
If we go back, I will try a soup…

I LOVE this place. Always happy with my order and the spicy pork buns or my go-​to appetizer every time I visit. Staff is friendly. Noodles and everything is house made! My friends and I have tried almost everything and no one has ever been disappointed.

Sometime I just want to have some authentic Chinese noodles.
Beef noodle soup is much better than hand-​pulled noodle (if you like beef noodle soup, you would know which one I am talking.) Now they put some veggies in the soup, that is what I used to eat in Taiwan. MSG is not too heavy this time. I have to say Chen Z really improved! :)

Ignore the décor reviews. It’s a nice place. Nothing super fancy and yes you order at a bar, but they did have music when I was there, nice seating and decent parking at lunchtime. The food is amazing. I had the Mala Beef Noodle and pancakes. Great dish. I’ll be back to test out the take out soon.

This place serves decent noodle dishes. It is very self serve type. I come here because they are the only place where I can get almost authentic Korean jajangmyeon or chajangmyun in South Austin Texas in Y oak hill area.

A friend and I wandered in here after discovering the wait at VIA313 was 90 minutes. I didn’t know what to expect. With the abundance of Asian food in S. Austin it is rare to find something above mediocre, I swear I’ve tried 10 joints in the neighborhood, but this place was exceptional! A Northwestern China Noodle House with house made noodles! Score!!! I had the Pork Noodles, Pork Dumplings and Onion Pancake. The noodles were different than anything I have tried at Chinese food joints before, a thick gravy gave a stew like quality to the dish. Great flavor. Then the Onion Pancakes, so delicious, I highly recommend trying an order of these. Finally, I had the best pot stickers I’ve ever eaten. I would go back there just for the fried pork dumplings. So delish! Nice guys working their as well, he was friendly and answered all of my questions. Five stars on this unique Chinese Joint.

My Lord, all these haters need to go home. Look, my wife and I hit this place up about once a week (and generally we really prefer to eat at home to save money.) We come here with family and we turn our friends on to it. The owners George and Shirley are always friendly with us and treat us kindly. The food here RULES! I’m kind of a picky eater, but I will eat pretty much anything this restaurant prepares and serves. I was born and raised in South Austin and my wife was born and raised in Ipoh, Malaysia. Needless to say, we come from very different backgrounds. When it comes to Chen Z though, we see eye to eye on the fact that this place is by far the tastiest place to get food from. I recommend the lamb skewers and sesame pockets for apps. My favorite dishes are the spicy lamb noodles, noodles with black bean sauce, beef noodle soup and lastly, the pork and leek with noodles. Forget about the dime-​a-​dozen Americanized Chinese restaurants for once (or many times) and give this authentic Chinese noodle house a try. You’ll be glad you did!

The owner/​person taking order isnt the friendliest but then again I dont expect welcoming atmosphere at Chinese restaurants. This review is purely on quality and taste of food. Basically the dishes are OILY OILY OILY! We Order the beef stirfry with noodles, beef soup, pancake-​like item as an appetizer. Beef stirfry was too greasy and had thick arteries of solid fats. I tried eating it but couldnt get over gnawing thru fat. Beef soup was very bland with oily film on top. Pancake was ok but again lacked taste. They need an awesome sauce to compliment the pancake… The two main dishes were both too oily for consumption. If you don’t enjoy swallowing spoonful of saturated oil, chen z isn’t for you.

The noodles are made from scratch. I think this is the best Chinese food in the area. The chicken is good quality. I’m really big on food since I do natural bodybuilding — this stuff is legit. I’ve never been at lunch, but it’s never crowded at dinner. I think the owner works the register, and he’s really cool — nice guy. Great little gem! I’ll be back! :-)

First time here. Huge fan of the original Chens on Spicewood. Wasn’t much a fan of the new Chen Z concept off Anderson, still really good. But I loved this new place. Tasted like old Chens. Tasted great. Must always have the Lamb skewers and green onion pancakes. Everything else ordered was spot on. Cold beef, oh my.

The da pan chicken noodle is delicious. Cold beef doesn’t have much flavor looks like a lot of chilli but it’s nowhere near spicy. Not sure why they charge so much for the tea that was not even a good quality. Those kind of tea they usually offer for free in other Chinese restaurant. The cashier could be a little bit more friendly. Not great value for the price we pay.

Updated once again!
I eat here quite frequently. Recently the Chef has been putting out a list of his off the menu specials. I have had them all and they are excellent! The place is very simple, minimal décor, does not make the plates look fancy, but the flavor of Northern China is so much better than the typical American Chinese Food, which I cannot eat. The prices are kept low, so many local Asian workers come here. Do not expect egg rolls, General Tso, or even rice. This is a noodle JOINT and I hope it stays that way. The Cold Beef Plate, the Cold Pork Plate and the Cold Pork Skin Aspic Plates are wonderful on a hot day!

Very very good !!! The cold beef
And the pork noodle!!! And is very cheap

I have eaten here a few times it seems to vary a little on consistency. Its good authentic Chinese food for Austin. The noodles are good and have that nice toothiness to them.
One thing I just cant over come is the ice chest for the diners. There is a community ice chest that everyone uses. The ice scoop that is IN the ice chest has been touched by every person in the restaurant that arrived before you. It freaks me out. This has to be a health code violation. I used the ice scoop just like I do on every visit and I didnt wash my hands right before I used the scoop and neither did any other person I saw getting ice out of the ice chest. And get this. I was eating a scallion pancake, with my greasy hands, and I got up and got MORE ice. Just like the other patrons.
Chen Z Owner. I hope you read this. Just think. I had my hands on the door handle of your front door. I then had my hands on your counter. Then I touched one of the pens in the cup to sign the receipt. I then touched the ice scoop handle and placed the ice handle back on top of the ice in the chest. About 3 minutes later the male person taking orders at the register got some ice too from the chest and he didnt wash his hands either right before doing so.

3 stars A-​OK.
I can’t comment on the authenticity of the place since I’m not big on this type of chinese food but even I could tell the homemade noodles were top-​notch. The fried dumplings were also 4 stars. The steamed/​boiled ones not so much, just plain and maybe I’d barely be able to distinguish them from standard HK market frozen ones. The Pork and the Lamb dry noodle dishes were also good but light on the meat.
I was warned when I ordered the mala beef noodle soup that it would be really spicy. Honestly for me it might have a spiciness level of ²⁄₁₀. Where’s the Mala? Just red and very one note broth. Nothing like the spicy beef noodles I got in Taiwan and doesn’t come close to matching the depth of flavor of bun bo hue.
I live downtown so I probably wouldn’t take the time to drive 15 minutes for this. If I lived 5 minutes? Sure.

I understand it gets busy, especially during lunch time but this place just doesn’t have their sh*t together. Its pouring down rain today so I think that soup sounds like a good plan. I walk in and the line is like 10 people deep. Oh well, I don’t feel like getting back out in rain right away so I stand in line. For 30 minutes. To place an order for beef noodle soup.
Another 30 minutes later, I’m still waiting at a table for my soup. I see there are other people waiting who were in line before me but for some reason people who ordered after me are getting their food. I go up and ask the cashier how much longer. She says almost ready. 10 minutes later and 2 other people get their food. i’m pretty sure they ordered after me. I tell her that I have to go back to work and could I now get it to go. She runs back and I hear lots of yelling in the kitchen. then she brings out other people’s food. At this point, I’m late for a meeting and its just not worth the $ 9 I spent, or the $ 2 for tea, and definitely not worth the $ 2 tip I pre-​paid expecting some delicious soup and somewhat fast service (since soup is generally cooked in advance, right?)
I walked out without even getting a refund.
Total of 1 hour and 15 minutes and no food.

First Visit…
My first impression was a bad one and if I followed that instinct, I would’ve never entered the grease-​streaked front doors. It was 4:30 or so on a Wednesday so it was understandably empty. The lady behind the counter was friendly enough. My wife and I were surprised to see a serve yourself bus station near the register with a Coleman ice chest and silverware stand. The interior was dark and dingy and none-​too clean which was surprising because no customers were there and they had the staff to clean up if it was a priority which it clearly wasn’t. This was like a cross between restaurant and tacqueria-​style take out fast food joint but whatever it’s all about the food right?
We ordered the steamed dumplings, wonton soup and pork belly buns. The steamed dumplings were incredibly bland and the sauce they were served with was missing on all cylinders. The pork belly bun was quite possibly the worst thing I have ever paid to consume. It was as if their marinade consists of only soy sauce and they soak them for a few days and then halfway stir fry them before pairing it up with a sliced cucumber (maybe nice if it was actually pickled) and putting it in a bun. We each took one bite and then proceeded to the wonton soup. The soup was barely palatable because it was so salty and I’m someone who prefers a lot of salt. It was probably from the day prior and they forgot to cut it with more water.
Fast forward a few weeks… My mother had some Chen Z leftovers and encouraged my wife and I to try it again… We’re soooo glad she did. She ordered the pork belly buns and they must’ve received some quality feedback because they cut way back on the soy sauce marinade, and they were delicious. Instead of the steamed dumplings she had the pan friend dumplings and it made all the difference in the world. The pork and leek noodle dish is perhaps my favorite of all. I am blown away by the quality of their handmade noodles, they are simply delicious. I’m so glad we gave Chen Z another chance because once you know what to order, the food is really incredible. I’ll take one star away for the restaurant setup and cleanliness from our first visit but even still this place may finally break the curse of this location and we easily made it our go-​to noodle spot.

Hand cut and delicious! The noodles here are very good. There aren’t many Asian restaurants around here and this one hits the spot.
The price is decent and serving size is acceptable. The parking lot is big and not packed unless you go at lunch time during the week.
The intersection on 290 and William cannon however is terrible at all times.
Definitely recommend this place!

Very nifty place with home-​made noodles. My boss is Chinese, and he eats here so often he has to hide it from his wife. I also see a lot of ethnic Chinese people eating here, so I assume that means it’s pretty authentic and good.
The one thing I don’t like about the place is their lack of description when it comes to the menu. Yes, they have pictures on the wall that give you a pretty good idea, but it would be much more helpful if they also included a proper written description.
I’ve tried a few different soups, entrees and appetizers so far and have been very happy with everything I’ve tried. The neat thing is that it doesn’t taste like anything you have tried from most Chinese restaurants that cater to a mostly American clientele. The spices are very interesting. Plus, this place is so close to work that I will probably hit this up quite often.

We ordered the following:
Mala beef noodle soup
Green onion pancake
Pork stir fry noodle
Pork stir fry noodle is hands down really good. The fresh made noodles made it so worth it. It has a great sauce too. I wouldn’t order the beef noodle soup again not because it’s bad but because I rather eat the homemade noodles. The need noodle soup is spicy too so be careful. It’s not like phở where the broth is addicting and you can drink the whole bowl.
The green onion pancake was a bit weak. I would definitely come back but would order their hand made noodle dishes. You can taste the freshness.