Chinatown Express No 45

As of 6÷15÷16 this place had been shut down for a roach infestation. I will never be back here again.

The food was a bit bland, the servings were not that well served, the BBQ pork was hard and had a weird taste. I didn’t even get any utensils, napkins, soy sauce, etc.

Awful. Food taste like it’s spoiled. It’s cold and awful. Trying to give it the benefit of doubt I sample each item on my plate. Thankfully my Husband and I bought one plate to share. Looking like we just bit into fear factor balls we stood up grabbing our mouths in disgust. My Husband turned to get the money back but we left willing to take a loss just to get the hell out of that place. The guy serving up the food had a bad attitude so we should have know something. We gave one star because I could not give a negative star. Thumbs down. This place is gross.

Best place by far !!! Any and all Chicken dishes, vegetables and Orange chicken. I’ve come here with my allowance since I was 8 yrs old and now I bring my daughter and all our friends. .and they’ve just recently added Boba! Mango is our fav. Gotta try this place it’s 100% every time !

This place is 100% ACE!!! The bbq pork and orange chicken and chow mein and cream cheese wontons are my go to every time

I was craving Chinese food. Stop here and saw the A on the door. Plenty of customers so, I was hoping to find a hidden treasure. NO. The chow mein was flavorless. The chicken looked good, but was fried hard and veggies where tasteless. Next time I will save my stomach and go to panda express.

Pros: Large portions.
Cons: Horrible tasting, poor quality food. Must pay cash. No air conditioning.
I should’ve listened to my instincts, but I was craving Chinese food. Chinatown Express offers your typical Chinese fast food setup, you point to whatever you want and the server scoops it up and puts it into a combo plate or separate entrees/​side dishes.
I had Combo A with what I was told was Black Pepper Chicken. It wasn’t, I think it was the Orange Chicken. Whatever it was it tasted like nothing but hard, chewy, fried chicken skin, and there were even bones in what was supposed to be chicken bites. The fried rice and chow mein that came with it tasted like the sauce was diluted.
You’d think that food that low on the quality scale would be cheap, but the place is about average priced. I paid about the same amount a few days ago at Panda Express for a similar chicken dish. The only difference is that the Panda Express meal didn’t have fried rice. So I guess you do get more quantity-​wise, but the problem is you’re not going to want to eat it. I took a few bites and wondered whether I should throw the rest away. I forced myself to eat more rice and chow mein, but then 2 hours later I made myself a second lunch at home.
The atmosphere is nothing special, either. Just simple cafeteria style chairs and tables. No air conditioning.
You have to pay cash, too. But my recommendation is just don’t spend the cash, at least not here. There are other eating options in the same parking lot or across the street. If you specifically want Chinese food, get in the car and make the drive over to Artesia, where there are plenty of Asian strip malls.
Normally I reserve one-​star reviews for places that actively earn it — in other words, the business has to do something like lie, cheat me, be rude, etc. If the business doesn’t do anything against me and just does a really poor job, I give them two stars. Chinatown Express got real close to my breaking that policy.

Mom and Pop Chinese Fast Food — Similar to Panda Express style. Large portions. I’ve come during the weekday dinner rush and they are quick about refilling the dishes.

Please save your money! New to the area. Chow mien was so slimy. Like a layer of sludge. Do you have a portable barbecue? Blah. And the egg rolls literally were mushy and tasted and smelt like rotten cabbage. Orange Chx was weird off tasting. Do t say I didn’t warn you.

If your in a hurry and don’t mind food that looks as if has been sitting out all day then go here. I gave it 1 more try last month. They had everything ready but the egg fo young. They cook the egg fu young while I sat at their table and waited. Now I know why they get below the A grade! I couldn’t even put my arms on the table. It was sticky and so greasy! I rested my hands in my lap. The floor was so dirty. The thing that got me was that they were not busy and the staff were all standing around talking. Geez clean the tables (and floors). Got my food, went home and it just wasn’t good. So disappointed.

Decent, cheap Chinese food. The portions you get depend on who is doing the serving. If it is the older lady (assume she’s the owner) you will get less. Also be warned about getting there in the first hour before they open and the last hour before they close as they will either not have made all the food items yet or will have run out and will not be replenishing.
You have to pay cash but there is an ATM at the location. If you are someone concerned about the security of non-​bank ATMs, note that this one is wireless so your information is being broadcast.

Walked in and then walked out after looking at the food at this place.
Seriously. I wasn’t going to spend «cash» on this place when the food look somewhat suspect.
I said it. Suspect.
I don’t need to spend money to Unilocal this review when I was here in person and the «food» did not look right.
I walked out and won’t be coming back anytime soon. I should do this more often to places where I can see the food up front and able to determine if it’s worth my $.
Nuff Said.

When you are in a pinch or tired of regular fast food chains but want something quick, this place is cool. I like the crispy skin on their teriyaki chicken. Decent portions for the price. A good food on the go type of place.

I’ve been a regular customer for the longest. Their Spicy Chicken is extremely delicious! I would highly recommend this place.

O.K. been coming here for years and peoples’ reviews are getting me mad. Its a great place. The serving sizes for a combo A or B are huge! I love it. Combo B, which I always get, comes with 2 sides. its $ 6.97 exactly. I get the Mandarian chicken and black peppered chicken. (The Black peppered chicken comes with bones in them!!!) So that review that said he found one inside his chicken was dumb. Anyways if you like Panda you’ll like this more because it doesnt taste as fake in my opinion. Only down side is that its cash only! Hence 4 stars

Have been coming here since I was a little kid, thought I’d finally leave a review. I love this place, it always hits the spot and they are very generous with the portions. I hope they stay here until I’m too old to chew. Screw everyone who left bad reviews, probably the kind of people that would kiss Gordon Ramsay’s winkled ass.

Despite recent negative reviews, I decided to try this place out since I was heading to Pavillions for some groceries. Not bad. As I heard two older ladies exit, I think I better understand the negative reviews. This place seems to be hit and miss by the conversation I overheard. The customers walked back up to the counter after eating and told the server that the food was much better today than yesterday. They wanted to make sure the chef knew that whatever he did today was done correctly. The server said they have two chefs, and the chef today is different than the one yesterday. I’m not sure if their schedules change weekly, but maybe customers can try on a Wednesday evening for better results??? This place had a steady flow of customers for the half hour or so that I ate there.
I was happy with my food. Yes, it is greasy, which is standard for chinese. I made the best choices I could with Veggies (Chop Suey) & Egg Foo Young. (I still was craving some type of protein but didn’t see any tofu on the steam table.) All that atop steamed white rice & viola… it actually lasted me for two meals. The egg foo yung is $ 1.65 and made to order, but it came out fairly quick. I’d be back. I had to dock a star for cash only.

Letter grade B!!!
I see more and more restaurants around the greater LA area than I ever have in San Diego. Either LA County is very strict with their protocol or these restaurants really try hard to get that B and just don’t cut the grade A benchmark.
Needless to say I tried the place before I noticed their grade… wasn’t real happy with the food… everything does taste the same and there is a nauseous amount of grease on some (not all) of their entrees. I know Chinese food is pretty bad for you anyway… but I probably should have just drank a cup of vegetable oil.
Awesome people work here though! They are happy, friendly and don’t rush you when you’re choosing between greasy orange chicken or greasy Kung pao chicken.
0 stars for the food (–2 if at all possible).
4 stars for the staff…
Average rating: 2 stars

Went here a ton during high school since it was a straight shot down the street, and remembered it being a solid choice when craving Chinese food. When I moved back to the area I was pleased this place was still around and still good!
It’s pretty standard fare here, which to me isn’t a bad thing. The best bet is to go Combo A or B. I always do half rice, half chow mein (but if you only want to go with one, the chow mein has the edge for me. I agree with the Unilocal-​er who advocated adding soy sauce to the rice.) Their orange chicken is good. I like that if you order beef & broccoli they seem to always give pretty equal portions of both. (I happen to be that girl who orders beef & broccoli only to eat the beef, and then pawn the broccoli off on whoever else I’m eating with. I admit that without shame. So you can see why the ratio is important here.) They also make pretty tasty egg rolls.
One big thing to know when you go here… cash only! They do have an ATM machine in the shop, but come on, paying superfluous charges from the machine and your bank would leave a bad aftertaste on what should be a cheap, tasty meal.

Food is mediocre. Every dish tastes the same.
They started using much smaller boxes.