China Maxim III

Most places have a handful of dishes that they are good at making. After a half a dozen meals from China max I have yet to find a meal they excel at making. The service is quick, which may play into the lack of quality, but for now it will go in the pro column.

Quick service, lo mein was excellent, but wonton soup left to be desired. Other downside is they are really quick with you on the phone and in person. Makes it seem like they don’t like their jobs. Lady is an absolute sweetheart though, and the guy is nice, just not personable

China Maxin is so delightful and a total hole in the wall. It’s a dive chinese joint and other reviewers seem to miss the charm of it. No nonsense, just good chinese for cheap. I’ve eaten here several times and their wontons are always perfect and fresh, their chicken dishes are always well prepared and not full of gross bits you can’t chew, and my vegetarian girlfriend always has options. Great friggin chinese joint

Stopped in for a quick lunch. The chicken teriyaki was some of the best I have ever had!

The food is tasty but not all. Chicken teriyakis are their best. This place definitely need a makeover. I just don’t understand why Chinese folks with these fast food joints never put money into renovating. It looks gross when the wife cooks the food and it’s an embarrassment when they yell at each other in front of customers. The husband, wife and the driver just has their eyes glued to their TV. I hope their children puts their fresh ideas in helping their parents clean up this place. Chinese kids never like to help out their parents in their restaurants. If they know how to manage they can have more business. It’s spacious already. Also I caught the wife picking her nose. People are giving you business and your food is tasty. Renovate the restaurant and have better service. Not even a thank you when you order from them.

I’m not hungry.
I’m not either, but I will be later.
Yeah, me, too. What do you want to do?
I don’t know, what would you like to do?
After a painfully long discussion about what we were going to do for dinner, my friends and I decided to walk over to China Maxim III.
The dining room was nothing fancy. Actually, I think the term «dining room» doesn’t even really fit. It’s more like… the space in front of a deli counter. And there’s a table or two. And pop machines.
The food choices are plentiful, and the kitchen is open. I suppose you could watch your food being made, but we decided to catch up since I was only in town for a short time.
We ordered beef chow fun and a chicken dish. The chow fun was fine, but the chicken wasn’t anything better than what you’d get out of the supermarket deli. (Orange chicken or general tsao’s, I think…)
Best part about the trip? My bf and I giggling about the fly trapped in the menu under the glass at the front desk. Unless it’s late and you only have your feet, I’d suggest trying another Chinese restaurant.

Tried it for the first time recently and here are my thoughts:
Pros:
— Pretty good crab rangoon (how I measure a take out Chinese food place, honestly)
— Flavorful egg rolls, A + on that.
— Fast
Cons:
— The fried rice was almost flavorless without duck sauce on it. Super disappointing.
— The place needs a major face lift. If I had seen the place before ordering I might’ve thought twice about ordering at all.

Nothing special. There are better options nearby.

Pros: Honestly, the name. Every time I talk about going to China Maxim III, everyone looks at me like I’m talking about ancient Confucian texts or something. It also reminds me of Steely Dan III from William S. Burroughs’ esteemed novel The Naked Lunch.
More Pros: Numbered, lettered combos remove human error from the ordering experience. Which, trust me, is really a blessing at this particular restaurant.
Third Pro of the Day: They will give you a virtually unlimited amount of food. Tastes okay, like, two thumbs not up not down.
Con: Every time I eat the food that I get at this place, I can feel the poo rampaging through my intestines like a gumball in one of those complex machines. It’s like the top of the water slide, but a buncha guys broke into the pump room and turned everything way way up, and now they’re tryna make a record setting run, man! But seriously, Cooking Oil. Like, the food here is practically genetically modified to absorb even more cooking oil than should be naturally possible. And what goes in must come out.
If you haven’t felt regret in a while, and would like to feel it at an extremely affordable rate, head in to China Maxim III.

Standard take-​out chinese food, not much to jump up and down about (not that you could after stuffing yourself full of crispy crab rangoon) — but for the price and location, you can’t beat it. FAST delivery!!! I mean like 15 minutes fast. Service is a bit abrupt but if you;ve ever walked into this place you’re not expecting a rose garden. Been eating here for years, will be eating here for many more. Ho hum.

Decent go to Chinese food place, my favorite in Brighton. Nothing spectacular, but always does a decent job on its quality in comparison to other quick Chinese food spots.

You have to keep in mind that it is cheap, americanized chinese food. But if that is what you are craving, then this is a good place. I ordered pork fried rice and wonton soup. I know this sounds silly, but that was the best wonton soup I’ve ever had. It was full of vegetables and tons of wontons, I would go back just for that! The fried rice had good flavor and wasn’t too greasy, as some places can be. The staff was nice and it didn’t take very long to complete my order.

Called these guys up one day looking for a quick lunch, and i gotta say, the food arrived quick, a rarity for a chinese restaurant. The cashew chicken was very flavorful, with good color from the radishes and the peas, but a little too saucy. The crab rangoon, a mainstay for me, were boring. Too much cream cheese, not enough crab, but it was at least fried to gopden perfection. The egg rolls are what youd expect, crunchy, juicy, and a steady choice.
All totaled up, the price was $ 16, so its not a bad price for two people.

I really wanted to like this place, because it’s convenient, being approximately a two minute walk from my place. It’s also cheap. So, if my primary motivations in choosing a restaurant were price and location, I would eat here all the time. Unfortunately, I also look for things like taste and varied options. Excepting a snowstorm so powerful I can’t make it to the pizza place down the street, I don’t see myself eating here often.
First, I personally find the menu disappointing, because they don’t have my favorite dish (walnut shrimp). But, since most Boston-​area Chinese-​food places have this flaw, I try not to hold it against China Maxim.
Second, the crab rangoon is very good. I really like it. It’s only $ 4.50 for a giant box, and they’re tasty. Crunchy and soft in all the right places, and they reheat well. The hot and sour soup did wonders for my cold, but I admit that I have no basis for comparison. Still, I enjoyed it immensely — and it was only $ 2.25 for enough for two meals, which was nice.
The problem is, I don’t really like the entrees. The lo mien is nice enough, but there’s too much filler (although, to their credit, the mushrooms aren’t slimy). I really don’t like a lot of stuff in my lo mien — I just want soft, delicious noodles with a teeny bit of meat. That’s it. There are very few entrees that have any sort of vegetable involved, and they really aren’t that interesting. The most egregious problem, though, is the sweet and sour dishes. Sweet and sour chicken is NOT chicken fingers with a side of sweet ‘n sour sauce. If that’s what I wanted, I would go to McDonald’s and pick up some McNuggets. Worse, the pork is essentially the same, and «pork fingers» just scare me. All I want is little pieces of pork, chopped up and sauteed, with maybe a bit of onions or something, and a sauce that I don’t have to add myself. Is that too much to ask?

This place is awesome! I’ve came here a few times with my friend because she and I both really like Chinese food. I’m sorta sad to say that I’ve only discovered this place a few months ago but as long as I know now.
The egg fried rice taste really good. The spring and egg rolls are yummy. The beef and chicken teriyaki is wicked good, especially when it’s freshly made. The crab rangoons are like wicked delicious. The crispy beef is also really good. They have the best lobster sauce (especially on white rice) I have had in all my lobster sauce eating years. They have a variety of things on their menu that I have yet to try.
Portions are huge, service is fast and friendly — must come back!

I don’t understand all the low reviews. I almost didn’t order from them based on existing reviews, but I took a chance anyway because I live nearby and they deliver. They were here within 20 minutes of my order with a giant bag of food ($ 28 tip included). Nobody yelled at me on the phone as some reviews indicated they might. The food was hot and as good as any other Chinese carryout with the added bonus of AMAZING crab Rangoon. Quit being a bunch of fussy-​britches Unilocalers, this place is awesome.

I’m not liking all of these negative reviews about China Maxim III!
This is my go to chinese place when in Brighton.
The food (for me at least) is always good, it’s pretty quick and cooked when you order not before hand.
Yes, it is quite greasy, so I do not go as much as I used to, but, its so close to The Sound Museum (our studio space) and so much better than Tin Tin Buffet (yuck!).
The chicken wings are delicious, the house rice is fantastic and the terryaki… oh man!
Thats just my opinion though, try it for yourself.

Okay, the food didn’t kill me, but it wasn’t good.
I don’t remember where I was that it made sense to stop here on my way back to the office once day last fall, but I’d driven by many a time and seen the gaudy sign, and worried about the name ‘China Maxim III’…where were I and II? My best guesses are Framingham and Saugus.
I ordered shrimp in lobster sauce, which was probably not smart.
The door was left open (food service violation?), it smelled kinda funny with a weird mix of chinese food and the scrub-​a-​dub next door.
I basically watched my food being cooked (heated) which was semi gross too.
It tasted nasty, but I should have know as soon as I walked in the door.
With so many other sketchy-​looking chinese options in the brighton area, I doubt I’ll ever go back.

Chi N. said it best: «American Chinese with grease and flavor… generous portions at a cheap price.»
I like this place as a lunch option, and their food is tasty — sometimes really, really tasty. The outfit itself is a little suspect (I mean, is there even refrigeration back there? I don’t know) but my main qualm is that now and then (ok often), depending on who cooks it, there are literally pools of oil at the bottom of my Kung Pao chicken (and lo mein), and it makes me feel all gross and ashamed.
Recently I tried the chicken curry though, and it was super good. Maybe the dish isn’t as prone to the same heavy-​handed oil treatment.

A Chinese food takeout should be judged by how fast the leftovers disappear from your fridge afterward.
After more than a week, most of this food got tossed.
Everything was way over breaded in very bland batter, and soggy on arrival.
The vegetable lo mein was disturbingly bad.
The rangoon were okay, the egg rolls were good.
Generally, the pu pu platter for two offerings were forgettable.