Yummy Express

The best Chinese food I have ever eaten!!! The chicken fried rice is soooooo good! We come here at least once a week! My 4 yr old loves the orange chicken! The owner is always so sweet to my child and plays with him each time we go in!

Been here many times and the food is always great and consistent. Huge portions and reasonable pricing. The guy that runs the place is super cool, always happy, and in a good mood. Way better than panda.

You’ll probably go here because (in no particular order):
1. You’re hungry and look for great value in standard fare fast-​Chinese food.
2. You enjoy having leftovers because the portions are large and served take-​out containers, ready to shut and take home when done with your meal.
3. You’re ok with ordering mongolian beef where the recipe uses regular onions instead of green onions.
4. You’re ok with ordering battered entrees where the nuggets are nice and crisp/​crunchy on the outside and once you had enough of the batter you then find your shrimp/​chicken/​etc as a surprise. (Educational-​aside: If you ever travel to New England/​East-​coast, the batter-​to-​meat ratio for deep-​fry is similar.)
5. You’re ok with ordering teriyaki chicken that’s lightly battered and deep-​fried and served with nice flash-​cooked broccoli florets versus having it grilled.
6. You are ok with «no-​frills» dining ware.
7. You are ok arriving after dark with poor lighting around the plaza, with no business signage whatsoever other than a small generic neon «Chinese Food» sign that hangs on the window.
8. You only have desire for the food and no concern about the rather spartan but clean surroundings.
9. You are ok with ordering beverages only available in plastic bottles or cans only.
10. You are ok with not having hot asian tea available.
11. You are ok with not having fortune cookies.
12. You care not to drive around to find the nearest competition (Panda Express).
13. You like friendly staff (once you get past the slight language barrier).
14. You value freshly cook-​to-​order every single time. (There are no heat lamps here.)
15. You are ok in reading the other reviews to appropriately set your expectations before visiting.
16. Your family is not too picky when it comes to fast-​Chinese food.

This place is amazing. Food is great, owner is extremely nice and will make sure you like your food before you leave.

Menu is print only, no pictures. Few pictures on wall are black and white. Service is a little weird… Strong language barrier. But overall nice. Food is great! Portions are HUGE. Price is reasonable.

This place is great. The owner does all the cooking fresh when you order, I get the General Chicken it’s always super delish.

I really dislike having to leave such a low rating on someone’s business however this place has really.really.really bad Chinese food! The man seemed very friendly when we walked in. We didn’t expect much as far as asthetics after reading some of the reviews… but it was uncomfortably hot inside. Like the other reviewers said I broke out in a sweat just waiting for food.
My wife was blown away because I NEVER complain about food (she’s very finicky) but the first bite was over breaded. over cooked and over sauced! I had the sweet and sour shrimp… The dough was still raw on the inside but burnt and rock hard on the out. The shrimp were shriveled up barely noticeable pieces of seabed leather. My stomach is still attempting to digest this stuff as I was so hungry I still gnawed through it.
My wife’s dish was the lesser of two evils. something with veggies and dried up shrimps. The sauce had a funny color and tasted like it was from a can.
Again I don’t like leaving poor reviews on any ones business but the reason I do is out of hopes the owners listen to their customers!
I don’t understand how they got 4 stars quite honestly.

Is this a hole in the wall little spot? Yes.
Is it lacking some things like décor and AC? Yes.
Does that matter? Not a bit.
Yummy Express is the go-​to spot for Chinese food in my neighborhood. While the ambiance or details might be amiss, they get the one thing that matters right. The food here is good. The guy who runs it is a sweetheart, made me try his food right in front of him (even though it was to-​go) just out of pure pride and enjoyment of making sure his customer left happy. We usually get the orange peel chicken, chicken with vegetables and or the broccoli beef – all of which are consistently good, rich, and saucy. Great portions for a reasonable price.

Love this place best take out in town!

Yummy express is a YUMMY hole in the wall local spot to get you Chinese food fix.
–nice local spot, support you local mom and pop shop
–food is made fresh
–order: honey chicken, fried chicken wings, and chicken fried rice
–tasty and nice crisp on the honey chicken and fried chicken wings
–chicken fried rice well seasoned and cooked right
–reasonable pricing
–small dining area.
–owner has a little touch and wants customers to sample their order before they leave to make sure it’s good! ;]
WARNING: it’s really hot in here, it feels like you’re in a sauna, I’d advise calling in and ordering food to go and giving it time and coming in once it’s ready… otherwise the wait will make you break a sweat and clear your pores ;P

Not as inexpensive as they claim to be online… Please update your price list.
You all Unilocaled saying the honey chicken and egg drop soup was the best. The honey chicken (more like chicken jerky) was horrible. Small extremely over cooked chicken with mostly breading that was over cooked with honey sauce that might of been good if I didn’t have to naw on it. Egg drop soup wasn’t to bad.
All and all a waste of money. More money then we even expected to spend due to false advertisement on here.
We will not be returning.

Very ghetto looking, slow town… and plaza, that this little hidden gem is in. I’ve actually been a loyal visitor since college days. Never resided near Escondido, but every time I’m in the area, and time permitting, I would come and get food with a friend or two. Three years ago, the owner knew me and what I liked, it was like I was a regular and the whole family who runs this business knew me.
The portions are huge for what you pay. HUGE. I mean, I don’t eat much at once, but what they give me is literally enough for 3 small (but filling) meals.
Fast forward 3 years (I’ve been moved to LA for a while now and haven’t gone here since) — yesterday, my boyfriend & I were in San Marcos visiting his family and decided we’d stop by and give this place a try for dinner. It was my boyfriend’s first time. I ordered what I normally order — shrimp fried rice (I’ve never had fried rice so orgasmic, I swear… and I’m Chinese & super picky with Asian fast food) with no peas, and substitute with extra onions. It’s such an odd request, you would think the owner would remember me, but he didn’t seem to recognize me at all. I guess I look different now? Anyway, my boyfriend wanted some sweet & sour chicken and got that with a side of fried rice. He is a big fan of Panda Express (blegh!) and he liked this place 10x better (thank God!). The portions are still just as generous, though I think they MIGHT have raised their prices a tad bit since I last visited. Still a great value for what you get, and the food is delish! We’ll definitely be coming back to get take-​out when we’re in the area in the future.
One big, big down-​side (but not big enough to knock off a star because I don’t care much about this, personally)… while there are chairs and tables for you to sit to eat in, it is VERY hot there pretty much every time I’ve come! I don’t know exactly why… it was a cool day yesterday, but the restaurant felt like a sauna even with the door open. I would definitely say this is a take-​out place (unless you’re down to eat in a sauna)! Even if you say «for here,» they serve the food in a styrofoam container with plastic forks/​spoons anyway, so you might as well take the food to a park where it’s nice and cool, and enjoy some good scenery while eating.

No A/​C so don’t plan on eating inside. I ordered Orange Chicken, Sweet and Sour Pork, Broccoli and Beef and House fried rice. Orange Chicken was good but, the coating was very thick. Sweet and Sour Pork was a little rough. The pork was VERY cooked. Broccoli and Beef was the best of all. No shortage of broccoli. The fried rice was horrible. It was no longer rice and had become clumps rice paste. No egg, no veggies. Just soy sauce hardly mixed with chunks of white rice. They don’t have Lemon Chicken and you don’t get any fortune cookie, chop sticks, soy sauce or napkins.
Very interesting that they present it to you open and have you try it before you leave (except the rice). Rundown strip mall Chinese food at it’s best.

Service is pretty awesome here. First time ever and the guy was talking to me like I was a regular. He was working the cash box and the kitchen. Food was awesome, Honey Chicken. Had enough to eat for lunch and dinner, two scoops of fried rice and a lot of honey syrup on the tempura chicken.
The chicken was drowning in syrup, but I was into it. The best was when he presented me my meal. I met him at the counter and he had the styrofoam box open to show me my food. He gave me a fork and I started eating there at the counter. I turned around, walked to a table, and ate a few more bites. After the taste test, I closed it and took off.

One of the really good mom and pop/​hole in the wall Chinese restaurants in Escondido. Is the food yummy? It sure is. Is it express? Oh yes, even when there’s only two people working there to get the orders and make the food, which is the usual.
My favorites to order there is the honey chicken (like honey shrimp but great for us with shellfish allergies), orange peel chicken, sweet and sour pork, egg drop soup, and BBQ pork fried rice. If egg drop soup is what you want on a cold day or when you’re feeling a little ill, I recommend getting a large order so you can either share with someone else or save leftovers for later. The prices are really inexpensive as well. Combo plates come with your protein of choice, a vegetable egg roll, and two scoops of rice (fried rice or steamed, and you can substitute with lo mein for $ 2 extra).
The main chef makes the food you ordered and allows you to taste before bagging it up in case you request it to be less spicy of some of the more spicier menu items or change to your liking (I haven’t seen anyone change their order yet).
When it’s only two people working there the wait time may be just a few minutes longer than usual especially if there’s a party order in the mix. This place is open 6 days a week (with Monday being the only day I can’t get my Yummy Express cravings like when I only get cravings for Chick Fil-​A on Sundays…) and open late hours. It’s in a small strip mall near the Vons supermarket and a laundromat (Laundeland) on East Valley Pkwy in Escondido.
The décor isn’t much inside (some hanging Chinese lanterns, a plant, wall scrolls, and some artwork) with the basic tables and chairs but the food speaks for itself. Stays pretty clean inside. I’ve even seen a customer accidentally drop some food and the main guy comes out quickly to clean it up and talk with other customers.
You can order a la carte, by entrees, side dishes, and party trays (there are 4 sizes – small, medium, large, and extra large) via phone or in person.
Highly recommend getting some food from here unless it happens to be a Monday, then make a long sigh and weep a little, and then go somewhere else.

Great for what it is, express chinese. The honey chicken, bbq pork fried rice, beef and broccoli, sweet and sour pork and cheese wontons are delicious.
The orange chicken, honey shrimp and Eggrolls are so so.
Good for quick inexpensive takeout. The staff is super friendly.

Don’t pick up your to-​go order in 20 minutes and it gets sold to the next customer. Hope you enjoy waiting an extra 30 minutes to pick up an order while they recook your mediocre Chinese food!

I got the broccoli beef combo and my fiancé got the Gyoza and BBQ pork fried rice. My broccoli beef was terrible. The beef was severely overcooked and crispy, the broccoli was undercooked and crunchy, and the «fried rice» was just soy sauce mixed with white rice. There were no carrots, green onions, peas or egg. Not sure how it can be called fried rice without it.
My fiancé’s BBQ pork fried rice was actually decent. The pork was overcooked but the fried rice was amazing. It had all Of the items listed above that should be in fried rice!
The only reason this place gets 3 stars is because the service was good (they were very friendly), the price is low and the pork fried rice was good.
I don’t know if it was just an off night but if I go back it will only be for their fried rice. Also, if you eat here, get it to-​go because the restaurant is really, really hot with no air conditioning.
Finally, it didn’t take too long for the food to be made. I’m not sure why people think that all Chinese places are like Panda Express and that it’s basically ready to go. If you’ve ever made stir fry at home you know it takes around 5mins per dish. Plus, there is only one chef here. Order over the phone if you want it ASAP when you arrive.

I should start by saying that I grew up with the best Chinese food place, and since that time every place i go to has to measure up to my childhood favorite.
This place surprised me. It’s a little hole in the wall place with one chef and it is very unassuming. The first impression is under whelming. Do not let this fool you. The food is really good. I had the Orange Peel Beef, and it was so tasty. My boyfriend had more of my entrée than I did! Which is fine because the servings are really big. Everything we tried was really delicious.
One thing you have to keep in mind is that there is one chef there at all times. He is it. So do not come there in a rush, it will not happen fast, especially if it is busy. But like many good things it is worth the wait.

Even though hot and sour soup does not exist in china it is a really good measure of a good Chinese restaurant. It’s one of those things this American girl loves. Ordered 2 large soups and I was pretty disappointed. The soup didn’t have much in it and it was super gelatinized; too much corn starch. I bet if it cooled down it would be a nice block of what used to be very dense soup.
Also tried the orange chicken (too heavily breaded, not a lot of chicken) and the chicken wings. (Too salty)
The restaurant also did not have AC and I worked up a sweat trying to drink my soup which was steaming for ½hr due to the starch content. In general I’m not a fan. It’s fair to mention that service was extremely friendly, so that’s why the two stars instead of just one.