Royal Chinese BBQ

Does anyplace in St. Louis offer good, authentic Peking Duck? Not this place. It arrived on a platter with properly crispy skin along with a side of plum sauce and scallions, so far so good. Instead of the traditional pancakes, it came with steamed buns — OK — they would make tasty little sandwiches. But … the duck was not carved off the bone, but hacked into pieces, almost all of which included bones. WTF? Also, service was extremely slow, although we had a reservation. 30 minutes before we saw a waiter and another 30 minutes before appetizers arrived. Food was good, but not good enough to warrant a return visit.

This is a review that is rated 5 stars solely on the food and not the service or décor. The outside of the building itself is nothing special. In fact, I probably would drive by it all the time never entering inside if it weren’t for Unilocal.The décor inside isn’t anything special either. We were seated next to a giant fan in the back as they were probably trying to cool the place down even though it didn’t seem warm whatsoever. I didn’t mind it as I love the sound of the fan in the background. We ordered an appetizer of crab Rangoon and it was a little bland in my opinion without the sauce in the packets they give you. Would of been nice if they had a bowl of the sauce for you instead of packets. I often have crab Rangoon that is too sweet but this had no sweetness whatsoever. Also, there was no crab to be found either. It was more like fried cream cheese. But whatever, I didn’t come here for that. I came here for the peking duck. This was my first time ever trying peking duck. This duck was so delicious! I don’t know if this would be considered good or not by real Asian standards, but that doesn’t matter to me because this duck was so good on so many different levels. The skin was like bacon. It was so thin and crispy like it should be. The meat was juicy and decadent. I will be coming back to have some more peking duck!

I was very disappointed. The wonton noodle soup with roasted duck looked great but only the duck tasted good. The soup had no flavour and the shrimp wonton was really bad– had a gross smell. We also got the General Tso’s chicken — the sauce was okay but the chicken meat didn’t taste good. I suspect they used processed chicken rather than real meat. Will not return.

So I am trying this place out with my Chinese friend Jiu. Walking in I am surprised on how large and clean the place is. The service is quick and I order the Mongolian beef, while my friend orders the human beef.
The presentation is great on both our plates. My Mongolian beef is tangy and matched with the pan fried onions: I am loving every bite. Jiu can only think of one word to describe her plate. Tasty.
I can only think of one negative experience that I had, and that is when I ran out of food. Even Jiu said that this is the most authentic Chinese food she has had in saint Louis. With that said I’ll have to give this place.
⁵⁄₅

My wife and I recently moved to St Louis and have been searching for an authentic style Chinese place, and I think we’ve finally found it. As soon as you walk in you are greeted by the Peking duck, roasted pork, and BBQ Pork hanging in the display case. I’ve always found that if you can’t watch the chef prepare your food, it’s probably being microwaved. Here you can see your duck and pork being chopped and prepped and hear the sizzling of the oil as your veggies and fried rice or noodles is being made to order. I agree with other reviews that it’s not a cheap location but sometimes you have to pay for quality foods otherwise there are dozens of teriyaki/​chop suey shops in your neighborhood.

I’m typically not big on Chinese carry-​out for the greasy feeling I’m typically left with afterward. But my boyfriend loves Chinese food and was raving about Royal Chinese BBQ so I decided to give it a chance. The Szechuan style chicken was fantastic and his chicken with cashews was delicious as well. Both were packed with flavor and lots of veggies and lean chicken. The staff were friendly and efficient. I will definitely «compromise» on Chinese food again soon!

The food was excellent, the service was great, and the experience memorable. My wife and I were very happy to have authentic Chinese food and are looking forward to coming back.

A wonderful surprise lunch at Royal Chinese BBQ! Great potstickers amd amazing DUCK! GREAT FLAVOR! I had a great spicy scallop dish that was cooked perfectly and the fried rice was so fresh and easy and not greasy but super flavorful! Can’t wait to go back and try more items!

This is a regular for my household. We have been here so many times but this is my first review. Here are a few dishes we have had:
Salted Fish and Chicken Fried Rice
Honey Walnut Chicken (King Doc favorite)
Peking Duck (yes, yes and yes!!)
Fire Crispy Chicken
BBQ Duo
Egg Drop Soup
Vietnamese style coffee
Beef Eggplant hot pot (one of my fav’s)
Honey Roasted BBQ pork
All have been great consistently good food.
The location can use an upgrade on some tables and chairs but they keep the lights low enough if you don’t look around much you wouldn’t notice.
As others have said, the service could be better. I remember when i first started going a female server kept trying to talk me out of getting traditional Chinese dishes which made me uncomfortable about ordering those when there… Note to the natives; not all Black people only eat Americanized Chinese food.
And YES to their bathroom, it literally feels like you are in a different restaurant!

Hot and sour soup and cashew chicken my permanant order here! Seriously fantastic food and the employee are excellent at their job! Love this resturaunt my number1!!!

Best Duck is St Louis by far!!!

Our favorite Chinese restaurant in St. Louis. Fast service, authentic food, consistent every time. We get the Peking duck every time, as well as the steamed flounder. Kids’ favorite is the chicken chow mein Cantonese style. I love the fried oysters, but sometimes they don’t carry it. Their bathroom is THE cleanest Chinese restaurant bathroom in St. Louis… and that’s saying A LOT if you’ve ever been to a Chinese restaurant bathroom! I’m Chinese, so am allowed to say that lol.
Their décor is modern with marble tables, and comfortable chairs (though some chairs could use an update. Pleasant ambiance, good food, good service.
Can’t go wrong!

Went here for mother day dinner. We have five people service was horrible, duck was bad, fish and soft self crab was greasy and salty. After all this the owner demand a 18% tips for party of five. This place probably one of the worst Chinese place in stlouis.

Get the Peking duck! Whether on a bao bun with a nice tamarind sauce or just on its own, you will not be disappointed.

This place makes the best roast duck, & pork in St Luois. Everything else in the menu is mediocre or average at best. They should limit the items in the menu & stick to what they know best. Be proud of your Cantonese cooking. There’s so much offer. Not crab Rangoon & Peking ducks etc. come now!

This is probably the most authentic Chinese place in St. Louis.
I was born and raised in China, you can trust my words on «authentic». Well, this does bring a down side: you probably need a Chinese friend to translate the menu and simply know what is good. The menu does have English translation but not super accurate.
Most people mistaken this place for an average Chinese restaurant and order the typical Americanized Chinese food like Sesame chicken (to be honest, never in the twelve years I lived in China have I seen this anywhere). I suggest you take a friend who has had experience with legit, real Chinese food (well, likely a Chinese person) and let them do the ordering. I promise you will experience a different meal than your typical takeout or Chinese delivery.
Yeah yeah, service is not their strong suit here, because they are having a hard time hiring people that are willing to work there (I got this from the owner, and in fact, her son is a waiter there). The family tried really hard to bring real Chinese food to St. Louis yet some reviews here failed to appreciate it.
I am going to warn you it is a bit over priced. The bottom line sits at 20 dollars per person from my experience, and we have had 40 per person once, so we don’t come here too often. Only for big events, or important dates we visit the place.

Of all the chinese restaurants I’ve been to (all over the West Coast + Midwest), the Royal Chinese BBQ is truly the best. Service is impeccable, food very reasonably priced and the chinese food is really authentic. I highly recommend the Hunan Beef dish.

I have been on a 6 month project in St. Louis around the Maryland Heights area. Being Chinese American, I enjoy an appropriate mix of both western, Korean, and Chinese food (especially Cantonese style Chinese food). I’ve tried out most of the restaurants up and down Olive at University City. Eventually, ended up at Royal Chinese BBQ as my all time favorite. It’s the closest to the Cantonese food that I’ve grown up with in the San Gabriel Valley in California, and my previous project in Toronto, Canada.
Love their roast pork rice, along with their garlic sautéed vegetables. Have tried their black bean clams, wonton noodle soup, and dry stir fried beef with flat rice noodles. I also love their roast duck and rice for lunch as well.

Worst Chinese restaurant ever. They refused to turn on the air conditioner because there were a few customers. Service is just so so. They were not very attentive. We had to ask many times before we could get a spoon. Price is way too high for the quality. Never come back again.

It is a clean restaurant. Hong Kong style BBQ is so good. Not too sweet, not too salty. We really enjoy it.
½ roasted duck. $ 13.95. Worth it! I think it is the must order one. The duck’s skin was crispy, and inside was juicy and soft. Very delicious.
Honey roasted BBQ pork $ 9.5 was also very good.

Ok. Seriously, the thing that absolutely sticks out here, is their duck. Honestly, I’ve only dined in here once, but I’ve taken out a whole duck a multitude of times. Potluck? Party? bring a duck, it’ll spice up the environment and people will be super surprised.
You can even ask for the bones too if you want and use it for a stew or something, but yeah. This place is really good. (especially the duck) nuff said

I came with my hubby’s grandparents and parents and was a bit nervous because they like and prefer authentic Chinese food. Luckily, the food did not disappoint them! We ordered a set menu of 7 – 8 dishes and my favorite was the eggplant dish. The roast duck is also delicious. I would say that the authenticity of their Chinese food is comparable to LuLu Seafood restaurant’s food just down the street. They are a little bit pricey though. We came early on a Friday around 5pm, so it was a bit empty at the time.
The restaurant itself is very clean and has beautiful décor. You can also order Chinese roast meats to take home (hence the hanging ducks and chickens – the mark of a true Cantonese restaurant).

I ordered the salt & pepper flounder and it was too salty for my liking. Now before you ridicule me for complaining about salinity of a dish called salt & pepper flounder, let me say that the salt on this fish was overboard. I couldn’t taste fish at all. My tounge was raw after trying to eat through it. The roof of my mouth felt like I just ate a bowl of honeycomb cereal. Kim Son down the street makes a much better salt & pepper crab. I’d reccommend that.
We also ordered a hot pot of pork and oysters. It was a bit better but it too was salty. I will say that the oysters in this dish were huge and tender (I actually thought it was just going to be an oyster sauce).

This place is all business. It’s maybe the nicest restaurant along this stretch of Olive, although you wouldn’t thinki if from the gaudy red and yellow sign out front. It’s very nicely decorated, granite tabletops and clean, clean, clean… probably the most suitable for an evening of all the «Chinatown» restaurants. Here’s the thing, though: Don’t go with a fun group. Not that I’ve tried it, mind you, I wouldn’t. They run a a tight ship, and I don’t think levity would be appreciated. Maybe it’s just the feeling of doom I get when I walk iin and the first thing I see is a row of smoked ducks that paid the ultimate pice, hanging by the neck. Is it a veiled threat? I don’t want to find out. Do I need to add this is no place for vegans?
And the employees seem a little on edge. I felt bad when they brought me steamed rice instead of the fried rice I asked for. «No problem.» I said. «Are you sure?» «Yeah, it’s fine.» I didn’t want to make a scene. There was a very serious-​looking man standing behind the ducks with a sharp knife.
I’ve been three times, getting the pork and duck barbeque special twice and kung pao chicken, I think, the other time. The prices are a little higher than some of their neighbors, but the quality if definitely there. One complaint is that the duck is cut up with a the bones in it and there’s no spare plate to put the bones on. The taste is really good, though, and pork is excellent.
Business was slow the three times I went. Maybe they do better at night. I’ll be back, with my game face on.