Sam’s Fine Food Egg Rolls

This place is awesome! Sam and crew are friendly and make sure you are taken care of. The food is phenomenal and I have never had a bad experience here!

Nice little mom and pop shop small sitting area so I suggest you do carry out. I had the orange chicken it was delicious and fresh because you can see the chef in the back making it. I also had the crag rangoon which was good with the right amount of sweetness most places are either two sweet or not sweet enough this was just right. If you want quick and good Chinese food this is the spot!

While the location is not great and has a tiny seating area, the food is fantastic! I have had the General Chicken on multiple occasions and it never fails. The egg rolls are great as are the crab rangoons. They do deliver, but they can get really backed up so it’s often faster just to go in to get take out. I have friends from West Des Moines who come over to Sam’s for their food.
The staff is also friendly and they’ll customize something if you’re looking for a change in heat or content.
This is my favorite Asian food place in town so far!

Good Chinese food in the Midwest is very hard to come by. There is of course the ubiquitous PF Chang’s (over priced), the fast food Panda Express (barely recognizable as Chinese), then there is Sam’s Egg Rolls. Thanks goodness for Sam’s.
To be fair Sam’s isn’t exactly authentic either, its closer to Laotian or Cambodian but regardless it’s good. The restaurant is hidden away next to some animal furniture place (why is there always an animal shop of some sort next to Chinese restaurants?) and an Iglesia ni Christo. Don’t let the weird location turn you off. It’s a bit tough to find and the place is small but you will be happy you persevered.
OK…I’m being verbose. For my text centric friends here’s the review:
1. Lots of freshly made Chinese food. Cooked to order, no sitting around in a chafing dish for 45 minutes — 5 Stars
2. Huge portions, although the protein to carb ratio is insanely weighted towards protein — 4 Stars
3. Mixed reviews on the potstickers… they are the size of a child’s fist or a small man’s. They are stuffed with chinese sausage and wrapped in thick dumpling dough. I loved it… some of my kids didn’t — 3 stars
4. Incredible Vegan Pad Thai, they made a Pad Thai with crunchy tofu, perfect for my Vegan boy — 5 stars
In short. Good Chinese food, Good price, freshly cooked. Order extra rice though because the portions are a bit skewed. Also if you are a large party order ahead because the restaurant only seats about 8 at most.

Stop in here before your flight! Great food and friendly service! Ignore the location. This is a mom and pop style shop that won’t disappoint. Stopped in before a flight with only a few minutes to spare. The food came our quickly, piping hot and delicious!

Best egg rolls in Iowa, the rest of the food is great too. Sam and the group aim to please and are very personable. The place is the very definition of a diamond in the ruff or dare I say a hole in the wall. I recommend you take out as the dining room is tiny but like I said the food and service are second to none! 5 stars all the way!

This is the absolute best place in Des Moines for egg rolls. Their Mongolian beef is DELICIOUS.
We always split a meal and an order of egg rolls! It’s the perfect amount of perfect flavors.

I ordered delivery from this place. Misheard the total and thought the person said «$ 20.20», but got a bill for «$ 28.20» — which seemed steep for two meals, egg rolls, and a large side of rice.
I called to ask about the bill — $ 3 delivery charge, which I forgot about, which was fair, and $ 4.50 — for the side of rice.
$ 4.50? Seems a bit much. I told the restaurant I thought it was overly expensive, but not (I thought) in an aggressive or mean way at all. The guy proceed to lecture me about how I should have checked the price beforehand and that he treats all customers equally and I shouldn’t expect special service.
Well, fine. I treat all restaurants equally too — and any restaurant that lectures me gets one star.
Oh, and the food’s just eh.

I usually order do pick up and this place is always consistant with flavor and good service. My husband and I love the pad thai and crab ragoon. This place has good prices and the food is always hot when I go to pick it up. If you are ever on the south side, check out this area favorite.

We just got takeout from Sams. As a NYER in Iowa, it’s really hard for me to find Chinese food that is even close to what I’m used to. We’ll, Sam’s is. That’s all I got.

everything is always perfect. the ingredients always fresh and never soggy like other places. thanks Sam for creating my favorite place to eat. the hot wings seem to be my favorite, as i always get two orders. I live south of county line rd. and as a regular customer they still deliver to me although i would drive there and pick up if i had to. once they forgot my two cans of coke and the driver went up to the local station and brought me back a 2 liter instead. not many places are happy to make sure the service they provide is nothing but excellent.

Great service. They told me 20 min and it was only 13. I got orange chicken for the kids; it was gone. Yummy crispy egg rolls. I got sesame chicken, it was good but not my taste because it wasn’t saucy. The Mongolian beef though– wow. No cheap fatty meat and great sauce with perfectly cooked onions. They have huge portions, I’m a fan.

First off they earn some stars for a quick delivery! I wasn’t planning to inhale 1000 calories tonight but when the craving hit they were here in less than 30 minutes.
The food was impressive for Chinese take out. Delivered piping hot and tasty. If you like soy sauce, ask for extra. I do wish they had veggie egg rolls but my thighs are greatful they didn’t.
In traditional Chinese food joint fasion, you get 2 packets of soy sauce unless you ask for more. :) I will be bookmarking this place for the next time I’m up late answering emails at the Fairfield by the airport.

If you blink, you’ll miss it. This hidden gem is at the end of a strip mall off of Park & SW 9^th. Crab Rangoon is my fav food so I know exactly what kind of Chinese I like. I wouldn’t dine in, clearly its a takeout hot spot; only a few tables inside. I wouldn’t go back for the crab Rangoon, it was too soft for me; I like it crispy, but everything else was delicious. Egg rolls are great, and the Mongolian Beef was amazing! I prefer it sweet rather than hot, and this place delivered! I will definitely go back — such a great option for the Gray’s Lake/​Druid Hill neighborhoods and south side of Des Moines! Thanks, Unilocalers, for pointing this new resident in the right direction!

A small hole-​in-​the-​wall place I really would have never chosen or found this place if not for Unilocal.I was passing through Des Moines, on my way to the airport and was looking for something quick and delicious to get me through a flight back to Massachusetts. Don’t be turned off by the small, typical Chinese food restaurant store front!
I had the sesame chicken, which usually comes with soup. I asked to sub an egg roll (that’s what they’re known for, of course!) and Cookie the front-​of-​the-​house man was happy to oblige.
The chicken was good – a nice sauce, crispy, but pretty typical. The real star here was the egg roll. Really quite tasty. I wish I had ordered more! Plus, upon hearing I was «all the way from Massachusetts» Sam (the cook and presumed owner) added soup and a crab Rangoon to my order. To say I left stuffed is an understatement – with leftovers to boot!
The food was pretty good, but the 5 stars is because of the incredible service and welcoming attitude I received from the second I walked in the door. Some regulars were eating lunch, and even they were quick to say hello and praise Cookie and Sam. I chatted with Cookie and Sam on my way out, and they are just a genuinely nice guys. I’ll be back next time I’m in Des Moines!

This place lives up to its name. It’s tucked away in a corner and isn’t much to look at (inside or out) but the service was nice and food was good.
There are actually a few tables there, but I imagine that actually eating there wouldn’t be a great experience (just take it home and watch Netflix in your underwear instead — you won’t regret it).
The egg rolls are genuinely good and I’m a fan of their fried rice (although it could still be better). For Chinese food, I feel like the prices are just slightly higher than they should be (random chicken dish and a side of egg rolls was $ 10 and change).
Best part about the whole trip was hearing/​watching the cashier yell back to the cook, «Shut up man! I want this young man to think that I’m cool. I want him to like me.»

After trying and failing on a paleo diet, I googled «laos food» last night. This was the first result I got. I thought it was worth a try when I saw all the five star reviews on Unilocal for Sam’s. Y’all found an absolute gem. Service is very friendly, including the crazy and funny counter guy, which I think is Sam’s dad. Huge portions and absolutely delicious. The egg rolls have glass noodles in them – these might be the first ones in Des Moines I’ve had that contain glass noodles. Instead of the «traditional» red sweet-​and-​sour sauce, a large bottle of hot mustard and a very light-​colored dipping sauce accompany them. I ordered the Angry Beef and was told that they would add «more spice» if I wanted. After it was served, I decided it was nearly the perfect amount of hot, though I considered adding extra. Entrees come with a choice of soup – I had the hot and sour soup which was some of the best I’ve had. Pronounced flavors while leaving the basics of Hot and Sour soup in.
Only down note is I did my math incorrectly when computing the tip. I’ll add extra next time. As Bill and others have mentioned, the restaurant is tiny, I think I counted four tables. Brisk takeout business. They mentioned their limited delivery area– I think it spans to downtown, but doesn’t go any further than SE14th to the east or 42^nd St. to the west unless its a large party. Also as others mentioned, there’s only about 45 items on the menu; not the 100+ you see at other places. I can only assume its for the reason others have alluded to – they do these items right. I had been going to a place up the street from me because it was pretty good and nearby. I have to say that Sam’s will like replace that place, even though its about 15 – 20 minutes away.

A hidden gem in Des Moines! Awesome food and even better customer service. Sam is a great guy who remembers you every time you go back. The sesame chicken and Empress chicken are both great & make sure to order some egg rolls as an appetizer. If you order lo mein or fried rice as your entrée you get a mountain of food (easily enough for 2 meals).
The place is very small, so I’d recommend ordering it for pick up. They have kind of goofy hours too so make sure to call ahead first or check their Facebook to make sure they’re open.

I only discovered this place a year ago and glad I did. It is a bit hard to find this place because it is tucked back in the plaza. I am glad my coworkers introduced me to Sam and his fine establishment. This is a model restaurant for a owner-​cook who takes pride in his restaurant and food quality.
One thing you should know, there are only about 2 small tables in this area so seating is limited. You order at the window and will be able to see Sam, the owner and cook, waiting in the kitchen with a smile ready to feed your stomach. The menu is small which is good because they are about quality of food not variety. Their portions are big and price cheap.
I have stopped by here multiple times and ate in. It is a very comfortable environment because it is pretty much you, Sam, and a couple of other staff. I have tried many items and everything is great! Always looking forward to my next stop by.

Great customer service, one of the best I have ever experienced. Very friendly staff, really like how genuine they are.
Food was great had the Pad thai which is a very big portion, like the chicken they use and how they prepare it.
The Egg rolls are the best ive had, they are unique from anythign I have tried. They are a must try, thisa great place in the middle of town.