China Fun Express

Cheap, basic, quick Chinese food. Nothing fancy or gourmet but it get the job done.

I think the 3 Star rating is SPOT on.
I knew what I was getting myself into when we went here as we just wanted some cheap Chinese food.
It was fine for what it offers in terms of value, but like what other reviewers have mentioned, temperature of the food varied wildly from dish to dish (which can pose a health hazard if food is contaminated) as we were there for dinner.
Thankfully I had no issues.

If you’re looking for a gourmet meal this is probably isn’t your spot. For the price you can’t beat the variety or the tastiness of the food. Also the staff is very friendly.

After 4 check-​ins, I’ve decided that this is my lunch buffet go to place. Here are just two reasons why: the char siu (BBQ Pork) is fresh, which is very often not the case with other Chinese buffets. Typically other place’s BBQ pork can taste off/​old and this is 4 times in a row where it is tender, generally lean and very enjoyable.
The greens and string beans are not overdone. they are bright and (in the case of the green beans) still have snap to them.
No I don’t expect authentic Shanghai/​Hunan/​etc. Chinese food but I’ve been to my share of sad Chinese buffets that are just meh. There are non-​deep-​fried versions of dishes or ones where the chicken in not coated in batter. And they have very good stir-​fry vegetarian options at the farthest end (away from the door) of the buffet.
I can get as much/​little rice/​noodles as I want, which bodes better for low carb (yes you will need to contend with corn starch), but I like the wide variety and consistent quality I’ve found here.
Keep it up China Fun!

For this kind of price at a location this central, you’ve gotta have the right expectations. This buffet serves food made with fresh ingredients, non of that droopy discolored vegetables. There’re many premium items you can select to make a tasty meal. Honestly authentic american chinese food with some tasty actual asian/​chinese food. The singaporean noodles were seasoned perfectly. They have very well made chinese broccoli. The chicken was so tender. The broccoli beef was also amazing. There is even dim sum. Albeit not made from scratch like at a dim sum restaurant, it’s still tasty and fresh. It also only cost $ 6 for a pound. Their hot and sour soup was a miss. But it’s free!
Verdict, if you are looking for a quick and cheap food to grab, china fun is the perfect place. Will definitely revisit.

First time here convenient to my job and was having a craving for greasy Chinese food and it certainly hit the spot. Buffet style and you pay by the pound. I got fried rice, chow mein, broccoli beef, tofu with black mushrooms (the most delicious) sweet and sour chicken then shrimp dumpling and egg roll and a pot sticker. It was ok I don’t know if I would go here again the egg roll and pot sticker were really dried up, sesame chicken good, beef and broccoli– ok sweet and sour chicken pretty good. I think if you go with the attitude it just so so Chinese and don’t expect to get great Chinese then you’re ok it’s simply a convenient place when there’s not much choice on a Saturday downtown !

We stumbled upon this place after our original choice was closed. They do self serve food by the lbs @ 5.99/lb. The food was average nothing super special. The building is older and the age is showing. The tables are mostly 2 sweaters. I would come back here for a quick bite. The staff was frisky and welcoming.

Chinese Fun Express is a quick and easy fix for satisfying that Chinese-​takeout craving. What makes this underrated restaurant so great is its self-​serving, pay-​per-​pound model. Theoretically, this means you can have a taste of over 20 different Chinese dishes for under $ 10. The food is pretty greasy and tastes typical, but the freedom to choose what goes on your plate redeems this. For the freshest quality, it is best to go for lunch when the chefs have just prepped everything.

Super cheap and quick. Great for a snack. Went at 11am and the fried rice, chow fun noodles, sesame chicken and General Tso’s chicken all tasted fresh and delicious.

If you are looking to satisfy you craving for quick, Chinese takeout style food, this is the spot. In and out, to go or eat in, this place is easy, casual, and has plenty to choose from. Granted, it all looks and taste roughly the same, but you’re not coming here for a 5 star restaurant experience.
Come here if you want a quick, American Chinese lunch. Pay for food by the pound!

What’s so fun about China Fun Express? Are we having fun yet? Perhaps it brings joy to the indiscriminate FiDi working drone who would prefer working in the ‘burbs where he or she could gorge at a Panda Express. At least that’s who I’m guessing is the target customer here. Otherwise I’m not sure why this Chinese cafeteria continues to survive amid the more dietetically conscious selections on Kearny. I don’t know what prompted me to come here, but I have noticed I’ve been to the dungeon, I mean the International Food Court, a couple of times recently for new places that opened. Perhaps it’s a bad trend I need to stop. Actually there’s no perhaps about it. I need to stop feeding my curiosity about Asian fast food spots.
Because if it quacked like a duck, it probably ended up here in the warming trays in a pool of sweet-&-sour sauce. Whether it’s kung pao, General Tso’s, Mongolian or cashew nut, it’s probably here. Fried rice, chow mein, wonton… it’s here. Even chow fun. Oh wait, is that where the name comes from? Nah. At $ 5.99 per pound, it adds up if you’re on a carb binge. I tried to load up on Szechuan eggplant, mapo tofu and cauliflower, but I still failed because I scooped up Shanghai noodles, pork fried rice and a few steamed dumplings (photo:
). The scale creeped up over $ 11. I was screwed. At least there’s a lot of open tables in the mezzanine area above where you can have a panoramic view of the warming trays (photo:
). Are we having fun yet?
FOOD — 2 stars… a lot of stuff to pile on your plate but it’s fairly greasy no matter what you get
AMBIANCE — 2.5 stars… the food is monitored with some frequency and the second floor has tables
SERVICE — 2 stars… couldn’t tell ya
TOTAL — 2 stars… like being at an urban Panda Express during a red egg & ginger party… definitely adds up

This is one of the dozens of lunch places on Kearny and it’s surprisingly good.
There are the usual tables to sit at should you so chose but it’s one of the easiest places on Kearny to get in and get out.
The food buffet style self served, what you see is what you get, priced by the pound. A careful eater could make out quite nicely here price wise. I didn’t go that route alas as I was quite hungry having missed breakfast.
I ate everything.
The food is decent if not outstanding-it’s fresh, hot and there is a lot of it. The style is more panda express then street stall bejing, with the usual suspects-​orange chicken etc. The most authentic items are the veg options.
Cans and bottles for drinks.

After just a few visits to this place, I am completely sold. It’s priced by weight — $ 5.99 per pound — which comes out to about what any other Chinese restaurant would cost. But what I like about this place is that you can help yourself. You can have as much or as little as you want. If you want to sample everything, you can. If you just want a little snack, you can just get a little. If you only like sweet and sour pork for the pineapple — like me — you can TOTALLY JUST GET PINEAPPLE. It’s amazing.
And it’s all super fresh too. Everything looked like it had just been put out. All the condiments are out too, so you don’t have to ask for extra hot mustard or chili oil or anything. This place also has a ton of variety. It’s quick and delicious.

Not fun.
There is a woman who, while you are walking past, will make you feel like your looking for something in a dark ally in Bangkok.
Everything looks good but taste horiable. I come at least once a week because it’s only $ 6.00 for lunch but afterwards my tongue is always burning from the salt.
On the upside, only once in the dozens of times I’ve eaten here have I had food that tasted so bad I was unable to eat it!
Try the fresh green vegetables! I always get the Chinese broccoli.

Interesting that so many reviews are from people out of town or out of state. This place is great! They are super friendly, the food is buffet style, but is fresh and tasty. They have good sweet and sour chicken and a variety of rice options. Plus, lunch comes with Soup! Very good value for the money.

We were determined to eat chinese in Chinatown… never mind the San Francisco Rice-​a-​roni treat. This place was near the main gate and we just wanted something light to go for simple dinner after an ample cioppino lunch. Buffet styles so i got several meat/​veggie mixes, some noodles, dim sum, veggie egg rolls and sesame balls. As in most such buffets, every thing had been steamed/​heated to a limp mass, but all items were decent, and the per-​pound price of $ 5.99 is hard to beat. Tables and chairs were available but mostly to-​go customers and quick check-​out.

Don’t understand the complaints. Maybe it is not a prefect restaurant, but pretty cheap and tasty. After I red comments, I did not want to go there. But today I tried first time.

Terrible… chicken was rubber and couldn’t penetrate it with the plastic fork we used. It was cold and chewy too; the place was empty.
Would never go back. Don’t waste your time.

I got Salmonella!!!
If I can give this place zero star — i would! — I’ve passed this place many times during my usual afternoon stroll and I said to myself — this would be a «last resort» kind of place for me. So one rainy day with only a few minutes to spare, I thought i’d give it a try since It was quick and cheap. I got the Singapore style noodles and the Chicken Wings. The food was OK, the chicken wings were soaked and covered in sauce. The flavor and taste was typical. Nothing special.
Later that night — i started to feel sick. Initially I thought maybe I was coming down with a cold or flu. However, the discomfort became severe as cold sweat, cramping and nausea ensued. When I got a 102 fever I knew it was something serious. I went to the doctors and took some tests. The fever was gone after a day, however, the discomfort from stomach cramps continued. I couldn’t eat and i was dehydrated. I realized I’ve been food poisoned which was later confirmed to be Salmonella. 6 days later and i’m still recovering from it — i was finally able to eat a full meal. I had to miss 2 Holiday Parties because of this. I guess the only good thing to come out of this experience is I lost about 7 lbs :-)
Next time you go to this place — just be careful.

So there’s nothing overtly wrong with this place, you can get decent Chinese here for $ 5.88 a pound.
That said, the only thing worth getting is the Chinese Style Chicken wings, they are off the chain…
I got 30 egg rolls for a pot luck, they were soggy and tasted like they came out of a Costco package,
Come here when you need a cheap lunch. Don’t stay and eat as the place looks grimy.