Dragon Express

So so sad that this place is now closed. They were the absolute best and the lady behind the counter was so nice and always helpful!

This Place is no longer open, which is so sad. Their sesame beef was the best and this place was extremely affordable :(

This is my go-​to place for Chinese takeout in Durham. The space isn’t terrible for eating-​in, either, but from the looks of it most people do takeout. It’s way better than some of the other local places – not too greasy or sweet. They use fresh ingredients, and you can tell that they make their dumplings and rolls themselves, instead of dropping them in a fryer straight out of the freezer.
It’s run by a husband and wife team; he runs the kitchen and she runs the register and phones. She is incredibly sweet and helpful, provides great service, and makes sure you get exactly what you want. She’ll remember you and your order, and always greets with a smile.

Hands-​down the BEST Chinese food I’ve ever had in my life. The General Tso’s tofu is outstanding, and the customer service is unsurpassed. The lovely people who run this establishment will put a smile on your face, guaranteed!

Mediocre at best. I am Chinese-​American and proprietress was pushy dame that would make any modifications to get you to place an order.
Ordered House Fried Rice as a test. Very cheap version, bland, no vegetables. The fried rice that came with plate dinners was soaked in soy sauce. I specified no soy sauce. White rice with a few meat chips, undersalted. Could not taste any pepper or sesame oil flavoring. One scrambled egg in the quart, so egg was barely detectable. This place does not use Chinese vegetables — no bean spouts, no Chinese white cabbage. Just onion, broccoli and carrots.
As for noodle soups, proprietress said they only use lomein noodle. No rice noodle or other shapes. Will not patronize this place again. There is better quality, more authentic Chinese food at the supermarket hot bars and shopping mall food courts!

I have to say I love this restaurant. I have looked at several in the Durham area, and this is the ONLY one with a consistently high sanitation rating, which is VERY important to me. The restaurant is always clean and the service is spectacular. The owner is so nice and recognizes you on sight and remembers your previous order. How great is that? I have loved everything I have ordered from there. My personal favorite is the orange beef. Always crispy. The spring rolls are crispy, crunchy and never greasy. Very fresh. I highly recommend it.

After reading all the great reviews this place had I was expecting something at least tasty. I tried to order the basics: crab rangoon, beef and broccoli, and some chicken teriyaki (which I know is not actually Chinese, but this hasn’t been a problem in the past). The woman on the phone was very nice, but informed me they didn’t have teriyaki anything. No worries, we left the teriyaki out and got the rest.
I picked it up shortly thereafter and am eating it now. I overheard my husband telling his friend «this might be the worst crab rangoon I’ve ever had.» I tried one. There’s about ½ teaspoon of filling and the rest is empty fried shell. Where’s the rest of the filling? I tried an experiment and I could easily blow the crab rangoon off the plate it’s so light. No filling at all…
The beef was dry and chewy. The fried rice is just dry rice that seems to have been cooked in soy sauce. No veggies, no eggs, no moisture. Nothing, just dry brown-​colored rice.
I’m so disappointed I’m not really sure what else to say. I hope this was just a fluke, but we’re not even going to eat the rest of this food. We’ll have to figure out something else for dinner. :(

So, I kind of love this place. I always make a special request and order something off the menu and twice now I have picked up my order as they were closing. Regardless of me being somewhat of a crappy customer, they have been nothing but nice to me and offered to stay open a couple minutes later tonight so I could pick up my order.
I typically order General Tso’s tofu with fried rice and spring rolls, it’s always good and hot!

Fabulous and fast! Very helpful in special no salt steamed food order! My daughters sesame chicken and egg roll were crispy, not greasy (clearly very hot and fresh oil). The owner was very courteous and kind!

Good food, but my favorite part of going is the lady working counter screaming orders at her husband (I’m guessing) in the back cooking — she’s explosive.

No brown rice. And no fortune cookies. It’s coming down a star.
Yeah, the sauces aren’t a congealed, cornstarched mess, like at other comparable Chinamerican joints. And the owner here is exceptionally nice. And the food never seems like it’s been sitting in a heated vat, preparing to be spooned out, all day long.
But I really need them to add the brown rice option for me to continue to be a customer. And don’t shortchange me my fortune cookie… that’s just cheap :(

Great prices for the dinner menu. The staff was extremely friendly. My Kung Pao chicken was pretty good, but the chicken lo mein that my wife ordered was inedible.

When I am traveling and going to arrive past 7:30 pm or so, I start to dread sitting in a restaurant and I look for nearby Chinese to take to my room. I found Dragon Express 1 mile from the Holiday Inn Express, right off I85, and was really happy. I grew up on Cantonese outside of Boston and stay somewhat disappointed in Chinese south of the Mason Dixon line. One of my main complaints in Chinese below New England is usually not enough sauce on my food. I orderted beef and broccoli here and got PLENTY of tasty brown sauce. YAY!!! The beef was good and plentiful and they added no other vegetables which works for me! The wonton soup was nice and rich and flavorful, unlike the typical oily flat broth. The wontons were yummy and not soggy. The lady behind the counter was so helpful and so friendly. I couldnt decide between beef and broccoli and beef and oyster sauce and she was more than willing to help me decide asking me questions about what I like, what kind of vegetables, vegetable to meat ratio etc., until we collaboratively decided on the beef and broccoli. She made sure I had all the utensils I needed and even a plate. My only two downsides — I like my white rice stickier — this was a bit dry and all the grains separated, and the broccoli could have been cooked a hair less. (but was still good, not soggy)

Surprisingly very good. I ordered curry shrimp, wonton soup and a shrimp roll. The curry sauce is pretty flavorful. Not too spicy, very fragrant and certainly not gloppy. The shrimp tastes like those dry baby shrimp you get from Chinatown. Still, they were pleasant, and the veggies-​onions, zucchini and cauliflower, were fresh and crisp. Their wonton soup comes with a standard salty broth. However, they manage to add crisp, raw scallion, which adds a tiny punch. And the wontons themselves have a nice hint of pork and a nutty, al-​dente skin. My shrimp roll was only okay.
The lady behind the counter is a doll, and the premises are spotless. This is probably one of the best places to eat in Durham, and that ain’t bad.

I’ve had Asian friends tell me that a Chinese restaurant’s hot and sour soup is a good litmus test for the venue’s overall quality. At Dragon Express, I started with that, and – after having what is still my favorite hot and sour in North Carolina (rich broth with a masterful balance of it’s monikers, and generous amounts of succulent pork strips, tofu, mushrooms and other vegetables) – have had just about everything on the menu in the years since with very few disappointments… and those just due to my personal food preferences, not any fault in the preparation or service. Freshly prepared food and friendly, quick service at a very fair price are what you get consistently when you go there.
This is not high-​class Asian dining. It’s your typical counter-​service Chinese restaurant, but it has earned a place in my heart. I encourage you to venture beyond the standard beef and broccoli or sesame chicken, and enjoy the full range of their menu. It is here that I discovered the wonders of sha cha pork, singapore noodles, black bean udon bowls, and many other dishes that I tried there for the first time. I fondly remember many decision narrowing conversations during which Wing kindly guided me to new discoveries…
Me: «I think I’d like to try something new today?»
Wing: «Would you like spicy or not spicy?»
Me: «Let’s go not spicy today «
Wing: «Do you think a brown sauce or white sauce?»
and so on…
I got to know the family owners, Wing and David, well over the years, from practicing reading with their daughters during my dinner breaks on occasion to praying for her mom’s quest to get a tourist visa to come visit. This is a hard working family that deserves the community’s patronage. They prepare their food with the same love and care that characterizes them as a family.