Lui’s Chow Mein

NOTE: Closed temporarily as of August 7^th, 2015 — they had a small kitchen fire and are doing repairs. Which I wish I’d have known before I set out there for lunch from downtown Minneapolis today. =(

Great inexpensive Chinese food.
Crab wontons (have to ask for them)
Sesame chicken
Egg foo young

Such great food! It’s hot and fresh and tastes amazing! I love this place. Especially the owner, he’s great!

Originally from SoCal where Chinese is in abundance & authentic. This is the best place we have found in the Twin Cities that is close to Chinese back home. Their crab wontons are THE BEST!!! Owners are always there & super sweet! Every time we are in the area we stop by for a meal or at the minimum crab wontons to go :)

A small, family owned joint with food made from scratch. The people working are always extremely friendly and warm. The food is tasty and fresh. Last year after a bad storm knocked power out for days, the owner offered me his phone charger while I ate. Very kind, love this place!

One of the families new favorites. Use more fresh veggies than most places. Better than average standard American style Chinese take out. Don’t plan on eating there.

I think Golden Valley would win an award if there was one for cheap Chinese food. Lui’s and Ju Yang are about a block apart and both can serve up lunch for under $ 7 and not skimp on the food.
For comparison between the two places I opted for chicken kung pao. People who know me know that I enjoy things on the spicy side. Lui’s dish was composed of chunks of chicken, celery, water chestnuts, bits of pepper flake and a whole chili pepper in a brown sauce. Served up with fried rice and an egg roll, total with tax was $ 6.54.
The egg roll and fried rice were average and I’m happy to report that the fried rice was not a big oily mess. The main dish had a bit of burn but not much. I did move the whole pepper to the side, as even with my love of spice I know better than to chow down on a whole one. The dish was on the salty side, so if you have a low tolerance for salt/​sodium Lui’s may not be the best place for you.
Lui’s does classic Americanized Chinese food at a very reasonable price point. For a date night I would probably prefer Little Szechuan or Grand Szechuan but for a quick (that won’t break your budget) lunch Lui’s works for me.

Good food at a very reasonable price. Wasn’t blown away by anything. Very crowded but seems to get most of its business through pick-​ups and delivery.

Yum… love the lo-​mein!

Love, love, love this place. I used to work in the strip mall for over 13 years and Lui and his family fed all of us who worked at Valley/​Merwin Drug before they closed. He is very pleasant, accomodating, and the food us YUMMY. I cant remember ever getting something I didnt like. My favorites (that I have tried elsewhere and cannot compare) are Chicken Fried Rice, Chicken W/​Peapods, and Beef W/​Green Pepper & Tomato. My friend will only eat the Beef Lo Mein cuz they like it that much. Its small inside. There are about 4 tables, so most people get their food to go. In the summer I grab it and go across the street to Brookview Park and eat pinic style. If you ask Lui will give you plates for that purpose.
Again…LOVE this place… oh and their Chicken Wings… yum!