Chop Suey Inn

Amazing restaurant if you are looking for tasty Chinese takeout. Be prepared to stand in line a bit but that’s only because the food is so good and everyone knows about it :) This is the best egg foo young in town for sure!

Roach crawled from behind a picture on the wall. A german roach at that in the front by register. Disgusting

If you are looking for amazing Chinese food this is your spot. I drive to Birmingham from Atlanta just to get the egg rolls, wonton soup and shrimp with lobster sauce. You cannot go wrong here it’s always great.

I had heard great things about this «hole in the wall» place, but we were pretty disappointed. Joy Young egg rolls were evidently legendary, and they are said to have and use the recipe. I did not know that a key ingredient was shrimp. Good thing I am not allergic. Portions were huge — we went for lunch. They packaged our food to go, which was convenient because of all the leftovers. You should probably plan to split a dinner portion. There are no kid-​size portions (we asked). There are no fountain drinks, so we got tap water from the back while our kid had a big bottle of Gatorade. Cashews are separate in the cashew chicken, which a lot of cabbage. Sweet and sour sauce was not our favorite. Food was reasonably priced, though they charged us for water.

So… eating in is actually better than just pick up! We ordered the egg rolls and large special fried rice. Delicious! There’s plenty of space here to eat, but most people just pick up. It’s a 15 – 20 min drive to our home, so eating it right away was better than normal. Only complaint is that they do not have a drink fountain so you have to get bottled water or whatever they have.
Between the three of us, it was more than enough food. The little one doesn’t require much… but he loved the fried rice!
Thanks for another good meal chop suey.
Oh – a tip – order while you’re on your way and depending on distance, it may be readt when you get there!!!

Overall very disappointed. I ordered over the phone for pickup and was told it would be 20 minutes. I drove out there and arrived 20 minutes later. The line was out the door and only one person at the register. I stood in line for 35 minutes (NOT EXAGGERATING) to pay and pick up my order. I honestly watched my food sit on the counter for 25 minutes getting cold while I waited to pay. When I got home, they had forgot my crab rangoons and when I called to get a refund on my credit card, they told me to drive back out there for any refunds. Honestly the food wasn’t good and there is no way I was going to drive back out and waste more gas on crappy Chinese food. Had to dispute the charge with my credit card company. Not happy at all and will not be eating there again…

I’ve been getting takeout from Chop Suey Inn for over a decade and think it’s safe to say they offer by far the best Chinese takeout in the city. They are exceedingly reliable; I don’t think I’ve ever had a bad dish. I’m a particular fan of the Chicken Low Mein. I do recommend that you call your order in ahead of time to avoid waiting in any lines (especially around dinner time). Also don’t be surprised if the phone call seems a bit terse, that’s just a side effect of a frantic kitchen operation.

Long wait, food ok.

Made a to go order! It was ready very quickly! Everything was delicious from egg rolls, fried wontons, Kung pao chicken, beef low mein, and shrimp fried rice!!! Definitely will be going back for more soon!

All skeptics, you have a lot of hurdles to overcome. But trust me, jump those hurdles if you like Chinese take-​out. If you are looking for a fancy, expensive Chinese place, this is not for you. Strictly a stereotypical take-​out place. But the best I’ve eaten if you order right. You can see a WIDE range of people waiting in line. Which is a great indicator to me of well priced, good food.
Like I said, you have to order the right thing to make this a five star experience:
Egg Rolls! I repeat, Egg Rolls. I don’t even like Egg Rolls. But I order these 100% of the time. I was not around for Joy Young’s. But my mom says they are right on par when she comes to visit.
The Shrimp Fried Rice is phenomenal. If you have ever been to a restaurant and feel like they are cheap with the small quantity of shrimp they put in their dishes. This is NOT the case. Full of shrimp and on point.
Mongolian Beef is also INCREDIBLE. It has a little more spice to it than normal. But I think that is what makes it more appealing to me. I would take on a Mongolian Horde to get this stuff.
We also had the hot and sour soup on our last visit. I thought it was very good. But my wife was not as big of a fan. Not like other hot and sour soups I have had. Definitely worth your own try to see if you like it.
Things to avoid: We haven’t ventured out too much. But occasionally we like to test if some of those typical American/​Chinese take-​out dishes are also this good. The sweet and sour chicken (sauce already on it) and sesame chicken had a sauce that was a little too thick for my wife and my tastes. We also LOVE egg drop soup. Theirs is not great. We added some salt, and it definitely helped. But not the best we have had.
So the hurdles I spoke of:
1.) Know your order very well before you call. You might be rushed, yelled at, and it sounds like they are throwing pots at each other in the background. Very fast paced. So don’t get grandma to call with 100 questions. But you can call, order, and in your car in 2 minutes. Definitely call ahead though. If you go in to order, the whole process could turn into a time consuming ordeal.
2.) When you drive up to it, put the façade out of your mind. You wouldn’t even pick up this book if you looked at the cover. I haven’t been for lunch. But at night, no one sits at a table unless they are waiting for their order. So it seems a bit sketchy upon first arrival.
3.) There is usually a long line that moves fairly slow if you go at peak times. Even if there are 5 people in front of you, it could still take a a few minutes till you get to the register. Not dreadfully slow. But the phone service speed doesn’t indicate the line movement.
When we were first timers, we wondered if you could cut the line with a call-​in. Don’t do it. Even if the 20 people in line don’t say anything (which they still might), the death stares will cut right through you. But this line is a good sign for first timers. If you go at 7:00 on a Friday, the line to the door speaks for itself.

I eat a lot. Generally in a restaurant I can eat everything I got. At here, I eat half of them.

This is the poorest quality Chinese food I’ve ever had. You’re much better off going to Mr. Chen’s, Red Pearl, or ming’s. The only thing that is fairly decent here at chop suey are the egg rolls.

They are the best in town, and I think they know it too, they are a lil snappy, but the food is the
. I drive all the way from across town, passing 10 Chinese restaurants just to come to this one. The egg rolls are to die for.

Chinese food in Birmingham area is very limited, but this place was okay if you want fast, cheap, decent food. I ordered the lunch special (kungpao chicken) for 5.75 plus tax. And the portion was quite big, I couldn’t finish my food. It gets really busy during lunch hours, atleast 6 people lineup.

Disappointed. Greasy. Tasteless. Soggy. Slow. Makes PF Changs seem decent. I recommend trying somewhere else.

The best carry out Chinese food in town that I’ve found. The restaurant dining room has much to be desired. It’s kind of a dive. Most all get it to go.

I had high hopes based on the other reviews and the look of the place: kind of dingy, kids watching TV in the corner, not right on the beaten path. It didn’t disappoint.
I had the pork wonton soup, the hot-​and-​sour soup, and egg rolls. Each soup – a small – was larger than I expected it to be and an excellent deal for $ 2. The H&S soup was very good; the wonton soup was a little blander than I expected. The egg rolls were also good: you get three for $ 3.45, and they’re also quite good. They have very cheap lunch specials (which I didn’t try), but after tax and tip I was able to get a very good, very satisfying meal for less than $ 10.

Chop Suey is a complete dive. It’s a hole in the way in a non-​descript little shopping center. There is seating but nobody eats in.
The egg rolls a phenomenal. I could eat them for a week. Word is, they are Joy Young’s recipe (if you are old school Bham you’ll remember.). Everything is made fresh.
Staff is a little on the «nazi» style. Hold back and read the menu before you get to the counter. They are a little snippy if you aren’t ready. But the food is so worth it.
We’ll get enough food for 8 out of 2 – 3 egg roll orders and 2 entrees. usually enough to last another day. Spend about $ 24. Absolute value for $$.