China Town Deli

FRESH Pressed Sugar Cane Juice right before your eyes!!! $ 3.00 for a cup full of ice and juice or $ 3.50 for easy ice. They have the equipment set up outside where you’ll see a line formed for the juice alone. It’s so tasty and refreshing. Beats overpaying for pre-​pressed juices from trendier parts of town who sell them for $ 10 a pop!

My favorite, hole-​in-​the wall snack shop in Chinatown. I’ve been here many, many, many times, and it never fails to disappoint. I mostly stick to the goodies they sell outside — the fried bananas, sesame balls, freshly squeezed OJ and sugar cane, plus seasonal Asian fruits.
The fried bananas don’t use the typical banana you find at the grocery store — they’re bigger and have a different texture, but the batter and the sesame seeds give it the perfect amount of flavor and crunch. For a dollar, you get 2, and that is such a steal for a dessert so crave-​able. You’d probably pay $ 8 at a trendy Asian fusion restaurant that serves a lesser-​version of this.
Their sesame balls aren’t the best I’ve had. They use mung bean paste instead of red bean, and it comes out a bit more dry than I’d like, but the outer sesame coating is really good, and they’re super cheap!
You see them juicing sugar cane right there in front of you — and for those who’ve never had it, it’s definitely not to be missed!
I also love how they have fresh coconuts and other Asian fruits.
Sure it’s not the cleanest or the swankiest, but hey, sometimes authentic street food is worth the lack of ambiance.

fresh sugar cane juice! fresh. real sugar cane. giant stalks of it pressed by a horrendous machine to extract yummmmyyy
fresh
sugar
cane
juice

Price was ok. Ordered BBQ pork banh mi. They microwave the pork and it was tough. It steamed the cilantro. Egg Rolls were soggy. Drive to sgv instead.

FRESH FRUIT SMOOTHIES BUT BEWARE OF THEIR DIRTY FOOD HANDLING PRACTICES!
came in to order a cantaloupe smoothie but when i saw her pull out the whole fruit. i saw MOLD ON THE OUTSIDE OF THE MELON. .so i QUICKLY switched my order to a honey dew smoothie in hopes for a fresher fruit!
—-$ 3.50 honey dew smoothie was good, love fresh fruit smoothies! they use half & half plus simple syrup
HOWEVER, becareful! i saw her slicing fruit to sell in clear plastic boxes & when FRUIT FELL ON THE FLOOR, SHE PICKED IT UP & PLACED IT IN A BOX REGARDLESS. Eeeekk
NOTE: the sign on the register says chinatown deli, but the door has a sign that says Banh Mi Saigon

OMG I’d give this a 0 star if I could! Why is the rating above average? Because it’s the first freaking food place people see when they walk through Chinatown from Broadway. The Banh Mi is not good at all, and I’ve stopped eating here since they gave me some moldy thit nguoi. Nobody in Chinatown buys food from here, they go to Yummie in the jewelry plaza next door. The fried bananas are greasy and refried over and over, that’s why they are dark brown! $ 2.50 a banh mi is AVERAGE, not cheap.

Jesus Christ. If you people think this is how a proper Banh Mi (vietnamese sandwich) is supposed to taste, I feel sorry for you. Eating a banh mi here was akin to the experience I had in Bulgaria trying to find Tex Mex. a total disaster.
First off, one of the key ingredients is the baguette. It should be fresh and crackly on the outside and soft on the inside. This baguette was not toasted and was completely soft all the way through.
Second, there should be pâté and butter all along each side. Nope. None. Its like forgetting to put mint in a mojito.
Third, the ham should taste good.
Basically I gave my sandwich to some homeless people after a couple bites. I’m not even sure they finished it.

Horrible customer service! Not that you come to chi-​town expecting customer service like you would at costa Mesa mall… but come on! Drinks that were made: milk tea, sugar still stuck at the bottom of the cup, cup was sticky from them pouring onto the cup?!? And not into it? Learn to pour… boba was soggy and flavorless not sure how that’s possible when boba is made with sugar. Store is filthy with flies landing in and on everything. Health code violation? Never again will I spend 3 bucks for boba I can get back at home for 99 cents and it’s more fresh, clean, and rated an A!

I love this ‘hole in the wall’ type place to get my Boba fix! I saw that they had an avocado boba/​smoothie, and being the «andrew zimmern» that I am, decided to try it out! It’s absolutely delicious, and made to perfection! They use FRESH avocados, which surprised me! You’ll find the cheapest prices here, and the great tasting goodies! The reason I am not giving this place a full five is because it is really cramped inside, and sort of dingy; not that I care. The only real problem is the cramped quarters. I visit here everytime I go to Chinatown, you can’t find a better boba/​smoothie place! Check it out next time you’re there, and see for yourself! :) This is definitely one of those secret places only the locals visit, with the best food! =]

They sell Vietnamese Sandwiches here! AND THEY ROCK!
1′ long for $ 2.50…I’ve eaten two in a row… Yum yum yum yum in my tum!

This tiny little store offers a lot of variety per square inch. One could traverse from the front door to the back in three long strides.
On stride #1 you could order up any number of boba fruit smoothies. Choose from watermelon, cantaloupe, strawberry, pineapple, banana, and my favorite, avocado. They’ll blend it for you fresh.
Their avocado smoothie is creamy, not overly sweet and the boba were perfectly chewy with just a hint of sweetness. I would have preferred just a bit more avocado but it was a four star drink. Large, cold, and filling.
On your second stride you can pick from any number of Banh Mi sandwiches, the BBQ Pork being the least expensive at $ 2.50. The pork is beet red and a little sweet. They load it up with hot green crunchy peppers, cilantro, bean sprouts, and sliced carrots. Not bad, but I could only finish half after wolfing down my smoothie. They have chicken sandwiches too.
On your third stride, watch the cook dump a bucket of peeled and halved plantains into a plastic vat of batter, and then fill up a the deep fryer with oil and imagine getting those next time you visit as you step out in to the open market and onto your next adventure.

I’ve never even eaten any of their food, but 5 stars because they have freshly squeezed sugarcane juice… delicious!!! There is just nothing better on a hot day.

can’t believe this place hasn’t been reviewed. this chinatown deli/​cafeteria style joint has been one of my regular destinations when i get a chinese food jones.
i first heard about this place when i had jury duty several years ago downtown and when i asked the judge’s clerk for a take out lunch recommendation during one of our breaks she told me about this place. what a fucking find…
basically this place is set up like a cafeteria with all kinds of chinese foods lined up in heated trays for you to choose from. they have just about everything you might want… veggies, meat dishes, noodles, fried rice, even a selection of dumplings and appetizers. they even have a by the pound butcher section with duck, pork, and chicken.
you can order a combo plate (2 dishes and a noodle or rice) or you can just get any dish you like a la carte. i’ve never been disappointed here and the best thing is that not only do you get food that tastes better than you get at the average neighborhood chinese restaurant in LA, you get better food for the cheapest prices imaginable. a small single a la cart order goes for $ 2 and a large for $ 4. these are portions that will run you between $ 6 and $ 12 respectively at your average sit down or delivery chinese joint. and i think a whole duck runs you under $ 10 while most places charge around $ 12 for a half bird.
for the adventurous or curious i think this place is worth a visit. for what it’s worth, i’m picky as hell and i became a loyal customer and recommend this place highly.
keep in mind that this place is cash-​only and sometimes you get a server that doesn’t speak very good english so be prepared for a lot of pointing and hand signals to communicate what you want.
finally, though there are a few tables this is basically a take-​out establishment so keep that in mind as well.