Ming’s Cafe

I came here on my lunch break and I had to wait 40 minutes to get my food! They were extremely disorganized. The food is not worth it!

This place is set back off the Drag and honestly I might not have chosen to go there had I not just had about a half dozen beers at the Local. But Ming’s was close, and we needed food. We ordered at the counter, had a seat, and our food was ready in mere minutes.
I had chicken and veggies. A couple bites of my boyfriend’s noodles. As I recall it was good.
Seems like a pretty good place in a pinch.

I’m pretty particular w/​my chinese food. This was not bad. My friend raved about their dumplings – they are really good. But what is also tasty is the sauce they make. Really tasty.

This place looks really sketchy on the outside and inside, but don’t be fooled! I was pleasantly surprised to find out the food is actually good and relatively cheap!
Got the pepper steak and hunan beef to-​go. They came in large styrofoam boxes, half of it filled with meat/​veggies and the other half with two scoops of rice. Pretty generous portions! I’ll be back next time I’m craving Chinese.

Ming’s boasts Chinese food, but this, by no means, means that it allows the best spread of Chinese food. In fact, it cannot quite make up its mind in what kind of grub it actually wants to offer. The one thing they are encouraging is the sale of their spicy dragon sauce.
With respect to its location, its longstanding reputation, and the humble décor, you will find that it is inviting. In fact, I had a friend from Taiwan who moved here in the last few years. As he was on campus, he often craved… white rice. So, he would hop right behind his dorm into Ming’s to get a bit of Asian starch staple.
Though the menu is far too varied, their Pad Thai (which, in fact, is not Chinese at all) certainly sits well. For $ 7 and no tip necessary for counter-​ordering, you get an enormous pile of long-​stranded starch. And, unfortunately, far too much mediocre chicken. The chicken was chewy, maybe a little too much corn starch. At least for my liking.
Their dragon sauce is actually tasty. Chunky, rustic, and spicy. It will undoubtedly hold the ability to doctor up any bland grub that may come out of the dynasty known as Ming’s.
Ming… I don’t think I’ll return, but I think we had a good one-​trip stand.

I discovered this place while searching for Chinese delivery to my new home in the Rosedale neighborhood. Delicious food!
Pros
–Very clear on the phone, they made sure they got my order correct by repeating it back to me before hanging up with me.
–There are quite a few vegetarian options, and their tofu is awesome!
–The delivery time was less than 45 mins.
–Flavors and veggies were amazing!
–Very affordable.
Cons
–They did not ask me upon ordering if white or brown rice and I forgot to ask for brown rice, which is what I would have wanted. So their default must be white rice, if you want anything different make sure and mention it!
–There were no fortune cookies.
–There is a $ 15 min for delivery orders, but it’s not too hard to reach that amount.
I highly recommend this place!
Fresh yummy local food!

Moving around from apartment to apartment this summer made my friends and I HUNGRY! Granted the close proximity of this place to our apartments and a good word thrown in about this place from a friend, we decided to give it a try.
Parking is quite tricky. make a quick turn off from Guad right before turning into 7 Eleven and work your way through a 3 point turn to get into what I would consider a poorly planned «parking lot».
Upon entering the restaurant I noticed how the place was a bit down to earth. I didn’t like how it was a bit hot inside the place. We each ordered various fried rice dishes. I had the chicken fried rice. It was definitely bland; requiring quite a bit of hot sauce. I guess the large portions made up for it. Note: We came in starving and left the place with to-​go boxes.
All in all:
The food isn’t that great. 2-​stars. I’ve definitely had much better fried rice elsewhere.
The portions are generous and the waitress was really nice, but its not enough to save this place. Sadly I think this place is going down hill.

In my quest for a new Chinese take out spot (My beloved China Buffet closed!) I have come across Ming’s Café. I ordered the Sesame Chicken with eggroll. The eggroll tasted like it had cinnamon in it… not too appeasing. The Sesame Chicken was decent. Plump, white meat, not overly fried. Not bad, I compare it to Pei Wei in that it’s almost that «fresh» type of Chinese food.
Problem is I don’t want «fresh» Chinese food. I want that «nasty but good», MSG dripping, late night, less than 10 bucks is going to make you full Chinese food. This did not satisfy my craving for what I wanted and my search will continue.

4 paws for this oriental delight.
It wasnt an upscale place but still tasty. The curry I had wasnt as spicy as I wouldve liked, but nothing some siracha sauce couldnt fix!
It was meaty and with lots of vegies.
I went with my friend who had the pork friend rice (I secretly wanted to try it)
It looked and smelled good. Very nicely sized portion too.
If im ever in that area I would definitely try it again.

Don’t bother ordering to-​go. They told me to come in 15 minutes. I arrived 5 minutes later than that and when I gave them my name, they had no record of an order for me. And then they pretended as though no mistake was made, didn’t apologize, or own up to it. Not very good customer service in my opinion, and I think everyone can agree on that.
Chinese food nonetheless… I’d go somewhere else (there are plenty of Chinese places in Austin) for the same food but better service.

I ordered takeout from Ming’s on Sunday when I had some friends over to watch the Oscar’s. This was my first time eating Ming’s and am very pleased with the experience.
I ordered the sesame chicken and fried rice. While the deliver was about 15 minutes past the upper quoted time (a little annoying, but it was during peak hours), it still arrived nice and warm. The food was very light — it didn’t seem as oily and unhealthy as usual Chinese food. You could tell the quality was better than typical Chinese takeout, and the food was very flavorful. My only complaint was that the fried rice did not include vegetables — just fried rice and eggs.
Overall, I would recommend Ming, especially if you’re looking for a «healthier» Chinese option.

Mings is awesome from the small orders of pan toasted dumplings with a sauce that would make grandma mad she didnt make it. To the full bodied wonton soup.
both can be eaten at the same sitting and nothing else should be ordered with those 2.
The other dishes are equally good .
Its a self service type place and orders are made after you pay for them. The plates are brought to your table after they have finished being prepared .
I have read some of the other reviews on Unilocal and the reviewers were confused about things as they ordered at the counter and got their own drinks then I guess were thinking that a microwaved 2 minutes later a fresh $ 15 plate would appear.
Mings isnt fast food. Its great food and fresh!

Go Local: yes
Your mom would be proud of you for eating here.
I like Chinese food (the Americanized version). I also like healthy food. Rarely do these two mix, especially when located near a highly populated university campus. One of the great things about Austin, however, is that you’ll happen upon an oxymoron every 20 feet.
Ming’s Café is the only place I go to for Chinese food now, mainly because I don’t feel like a gelatinous blob of grease and oil after eating it. I actually feel like a healthy human being. The white meat chicken is juicy and comes in large shaved chunks, the shrimp is fantastically fresh tasting, and each serving includes little mountains of fresh vegetables mixed in with the protein. Their lunch specials are also quite a catch, providing large helpings of food to constantly hungry, money-​strapped students.
I recommend the fried rice, Moo Goo Gai Pan, Sauteed Chicken with Black Bean Sauce, and Shrimp with Lobster Sauce.

For years now I have warily eyed the line of Suzukis parked outside Ming’s Café and the reddish halo that hovers over the place from the nearby Diablo Rojo, concluding that it could never actually offer decent Chinese food. I am happy to report that I was quite wrong, and it looks like Dobie’s Hoa Hoa finally has competition for my on-​campus-​Chinese-​food-​craving dollars!
Ming’s has a very East Village, grungy Chinese restaurant atmosphere, live music, a fitting clientele, and eclectic outdoor seating. A sufficient amount of parking in the back, which is refreshing for West Campus. You order up front and the food comes fast. While there is certainly nothing mind-​blowing about the food, it definitely hits the spot as far as Chinese food cravings go. Your classics — the Kung Pao, Curry Chicken, Sweet & Sour Chicken — all pretty satisfying and at a reasonable ~$ 7! The serving sizes are satisfying, and they totally employ those delightful wire handle Chinese take-​out boxes.
Very much a change from the blah blah chain sandwich shops on the Drag!

VEGETARIAN REVIEW:
Only a few veg options here and only 2 I think with any protein, which is why I ordered the General blah blah on the specials menu (it had bean curd). They were actually out of bean curd but let me order anyway and I was served, albeit very politely and promptly, a greasy flavorless proteinless plate that I had to doctor up with soy sauce and any other sauce I could acquire. An extra star for the fresh green veggies but minus a star b/​c I was charged a buck for adding broccoli. When I politely asked for soft tofu in place of the missing bean curd (I rarely complain and wasn’t upset per se but just needed a little protein), they were very helpful and attentive (added a star for the hospitality).
All in all not awful but just not a place for us veggies. Especially considering this is the same building that was home to the most wonderful poet’s plate at my beloved Little City *le sigh*…

My coworker and I ventured over to Ming’s for lunch the other day, the first time either of us had been (the last time I walked into that building, it was a coffee shop).
I ordered the Tangy & Spicy Chicken lunch special, and enjoyed every bite of it! With the lunch special you get a side of fried rice and sweet and sour chicken plus a drink. Any of their spicy meals can be made less spicy, so I requested «a little less spicy» and it turned out not spicy at all. While I appreciate the option, maybe next time I’ll keep the spiciness level as is. The fried rice was just rice with no meat or veggies, but it was SO good. The sweet and sour chicken was amazing — the breading on the chicken had the right amount of crunch, and the meat wasn’t chewy or stringy.
I wish I lived closer to campus solely so I could frequent Ming’s. Fortunately, it’s just a walk down the road from work, so I foresee myself going there more often.

So — a couple of weeks ago I had a sudden craving for delivery. After scouring the web for no less than 30 minutes, and having an intense craving for the duck dish from Chinatown (which I couldn’t order btw — they’re not open on the weekends), I located Ming’s Café here on Unilocal.
I was REALLY feeling this so I studied the menu and other reviews at length before finally placing my order, which was delivered fairly promptly considering how far away it was.
A4 Pan Fried Dumplings — delicious — the covering was as tender as you would expect for pan fried and the sesame peanut garlic soy sauce was delicous.
Hot and Sour Soup — I do love me some tasty hot and sour soup and this was no exception. Delicious.
Curry Beef — I was a little bit disappointed with this. I for one love my curry dishes to be really strong. However, this WAS super tasty and I would order it again, although I’d order it with less broth & extra curry. Lots of fresh veggies in this.
Overall a great experience. Thanks Unilocal

A fulfilling 5 star Ming experience. It was the weekend, I’m being lazy, I wanted Chinese delivered, and in the end Ming’s Café over-​delivered.
It’s been a while since I’ve had Chinese food, and for some reason I was craving fried rice or stir fry but didn’t want to go get it. I started a search on Unilocal for Chinese places in my neighborhood that deliver, and, much to my surprise, they weren’t plentiful in the North Campus area. Ming’s popped up, so I read the reviews and gave them a call. The guy said their delivery was running late, about 45 min to 1hr. Yikes! That’s not feasible, I’m feeling inpatient, so I told him I would have to think about it and hung up.
After unsuccessfully trying to find something else at home to satisfy my craving, I soon called Ming’s back to ask how their delivery was running now — — the guy said they were back on track, about 30 – 45 min estimate. Okay, let’s do this.
I got the Jow’s Chicken, Pad Thai, and a little Pork Fried Rice. I wanted some choices, plus I figured I could have some leftovers for the next day or work week if it keeps well. Now remember — the guy said 30 – 45 min, so I was expecting the worst case scenario. But you’ll never believe it — I heard a knock on my door and it was the Ming’s driver… the time? 23 minutes!!! Now that’s what I call a fast delivery!!!
After a generous tip I tried to dive into my entrees but was halted — by — you’ll never guess — — the heat! That’s right, the food was so hot I had to wait for it to cool down. Now when’s the last time you can recall when you had food delivered that was piping hot — as if you were in their kitchen? Seriously, I couldn’t even touch the fried rice for several minutes.
Everything tasted great, the Pad Thai was awesome, not too greasy, something I would get again. The Jow’s Chicken has a nice gingery zing to it, and the Pork Fried Rice really topped off my Chinese craving. Ming’s came through for me on a weekend night — — a reliable, fast, and tasty decision! For 23 bucks and change plus tip — — it was well worth it to me… my go-​to for Chinese delivery!

When I was sick, I decided chinese delivery would make me feel better. I was right. I called Ming’s to ask if they had a menu online somewhere– and indeed they do. It would be nice if the top part of this could reflect that. It’s
.
I ordered crab puffs, egg drop soup, and chicken lo mein. Of course I didn’t eat it all at once, but it was all delicious. The soup was a wee bit salty, but not too bad. The delivery starts at 5:00… so I called on the dot and it was at my apartment by 5:30. $ 15 minimum on delivery orders.
I’d recommend it.

Listen up, folks. A new bar has just been set for what a 5 star review should be, and it was set by Ming’s. Holy moley! There is a part of me that wishes I had never rated anything as 5 stars before, so I could set this review apart.
Let me begin at the beginning. Last night, a friend of mine threw a couple’s shower for my fiancée and I at Ming’s. She contacted the owner, Fay (the awesomest man ever!), and told him what she was planning. HE OFFERED to cook something special for us. And, boy, did he! He cooked us his specialty, which isn’t on the menu, but is was this steamed, fresh tilapia in a delicious soy and garlic sauce. So good!
He took care of us all night! He came out several times during the meal to make sure everything was perfect and ask if we needed anything. Then, when we were finished, he came out and had a beer with us. He’s a wonderful man!
Also, one of the best parts about this restaurant is that it is BYOB! You can have a great meal AND keep costs down.
GO THERE!!!