Chow’s Kitchen

This is a review of delivery from Chow’s Kitchen.
First comment is that the packaging of the food did not keep the food warm. It was actually quite cool.
Mongolian Beef — Even though it was cool, it was quite good. The ingredients were fresh. It could have probably been a tad spicer but I enjoyed it. There was a good mix of beef, vegetables, etc… I would order this again and I am sure it would be even better in the restaurant.
Vegetable Pot Stickers — Pot stickers are often bland. However, these were exceptionally bland. Basically, I could only taste the sauce I was dipping them into.
Delivery was a tad slow. It came in at just over an hour. I consider anything under an hour to be prompt. The driver could not operate the buzzer for my building so I had to go down. However, he was very apologetic, professional and friendly.
Overall, I considered this a mixed experience. I probably will not have them deliver again but I may eat in there sometime.

We used to order from Chow’s on a semi-​weekly basis. However for the last 5 – 6 orders in a row, the food has been late. Not like 15 minutes late… I’m talking 45 – 60 min after their estimated time.
The last time we ordered the food was ice cold by the time we got it. They promised us a discount, so when we called to find out how much our card was actually charged, all they did was take off the tip.
Sorry Chow’s… while your food is semi-​decent, your delivery service stinks.

what i ordered… general ta’s chicken, wonton soup and chow’s fried rice.
place is tiny, very clean and hip unlike MOST chinese restaurant and the service… decent, maybe because i was the only one there.
general ta’s chicken was awesome, it’s like freakin panda express’s orange chicken infused with ginger. wonton soup need to be renamed… two day old wonton with steamy broth. fried rice, no complaint with it.
a place i’ll go back and try other stuffs plus that general ta’s chx…

Not bad for Chinese take-​out. Taste and quality is decent and price is cheap.
$ 16 for General Tso’s Chicken, Beef Chow Fun and Steamed Rice. I paid the delivery guy $ 20 total to cover tax and tip, as well. It took roughly 30 minutes for food to be delivered. Portions were huge, so we’ll be having some more tomorrow for lunch.
This place will be on my bookmark list for Chinese take out delivery.

Best Chinese Food Delivered to your Doorstep in SF!
They don’t speak English very well so the trick is to speak very Slllloooooowwwly when ordering. Your food will arrive more quickly! I promise. When people don’t speak English, they can HEAR you, they just can’t UNDERSTAND you, so slow your roll.
The food is decent especially for take out, but what I love about Chow’s is that the food doesn’t come in those tacky little Chinatown Togo boxes that leak, they arrive in black and clear plastic containers that are microwave safe so you can store your left overs. Love it.

My friend D really wanted Chinese food after playing the worst couple games of pickup basketball I’ve ever seen in my life. So, he called Henry’s Hunan, which is exactly 4 blocks away from my apartment.
«Do you deliver?»
«Within walking distance. Where are you located?»
«1^st and Harrison.»
«That’s too far. Sorry.»
«Wtf.»
So, we Unilocaled other places that delivered Chinese food to SOMA and happened to be open at 3 PM on a Sunday. Chow’s Kitchen came up, and we used
to order. The order was placed, sent, and confirmed. 30 – 60 minutes was our estimated wait-​time for delivery.
About 30 minutes later, I got a phone call from an
rep. They had tried to fax over my order and call the restaurant, but the restaurant wasn’t picking up. She told me that she was going to cancel my order, and I could just try somewhere else.
«I don’t think it’s in our destiny to have Chinese food today.»
«Sigh.»
After we decided to just walk somewhere to grab something quick, I got another phone call, and it was from Chow’s Kitchen: they’d received the order but just had been too busy to respond, so if I still wanted my order, they could have it in 20 minutes. Score!
The delivery guy was really nice and told me what a cute dog I had. Thank you, but I’ve tipped you enough already. $ 32.90 for chicken fried rice, won ton soup, green onion pancakes, General Tso’s chicken, and egg rolls. We gave him $ 40, since the delivery was free and he was really quick.
Unfortunately, the food really sucked. The won ton soup was absolutely bland (both the broth and the won tons). The green onion pancakes were actually good, but because they were in a little take-​out box, they’d gotten soggy. We later grilled them on the BBQ grill and they were AMAZING.
D had the rest of the food and really liked it, but then again, he was starving and I was just disenchanted. Plus, D is:
a) Asian
b) Not even remotely close to being Asian
The correct answer to that question is B.

It took 1 hour, 25 minutes for delivery for an order placed at 7:20pm on a Thursday.
The meh flavors were that of really cheap chinese food. They did not match the prices and were definitely not worth the wait.
The chicken is white meat which is nice and healthy. However the eggplant dish was drowned in oil. The corn chicken egg drop soup was extremely bland, but it did come with crispy wontons. Two fortune cookies were given for an order with three large items.
The taste and price were definitely not worth it. Add in the long delivery time, and I’ll guarantee you I’m never going back.

You know how bad, cheap Chinese food is actually good in a bad kinda way? You know you shouldn’t like it, because its probably cutting months, maybe even years off your life but deep down you’re loving every greasy bite?
Yeah, well Chow’s is none of that. It’s bad in a bad way. And it’s not that cheap either considering the amount of food you get.
They have the worst salt and pepper pork spareribs I have EVER had. The only thing worth writing home about (but only a postcard, not a full letter) was the Mongolian Beef.

Grubhub order.
Was originally probably 10 minutes earlier than «expected delivery time» but by the time it was all said and done it took way longer.
I live in an apartment complex where they have a callbox. I give delivery people my code, they dial it, and I buzz them in. Nothing groundbreaking.
I get a call from the delivery person and he says «You don’t have a parking lot» At first I thought I wasn’t sure if I was misunderstanding him but I told him my door code and let him know that no other vendor has had an issue with the situation. The call disconnects so I figure he will dial my callbox soon or at least go park somewhere.
10 minutes pass by. I call him and ask if he had a problem with finding the building and call box. He again says «You don’t have parking!» and HANGS UP ON ME
WHAT DELIVERY SERVICE REFUSES TO DELIVER TO YOU ONCE THEY REALIZE YOU DON’T HAVE A PARKING LOT… IN SAN FRANCISCO!!!
Looking back this jerk probably hung up on me the first time also. Anyway I then call the main number, explained the situation, they said they would take care of it. I get a knock on the door and he is there with an attitude again bitching about the no parking lot situation.
Long story short the food is decent but completely not worth the hassle. I have never had this issue with other food delivery places.
I’m still in shock that I got hung up on twice and the guy REFUSED to drop off my food bc I didn’t have a parking lot for him. Hopefully they’ll either fire that guy or shape him up a bit so you guys don’t have to deal with him!
Guys this place doesn’t have a great rating to begin with. I would go elsewhere for delivery for sure.

I came home one day a few weeks ago and found a menu stuck in my door for Chow’s Kitchen. Fast forward to today: decided a little chinese takeout was in order for dinner, so reviewed the menu and decided to checkout their website to order. Got a sweet and sour chicken and wonton soup. I ordered at 5:57pm and the total was $ 15.06 — Just above the $ 15.00 required for free delivery.
Fast forward again to 6:22, when my doorbell rings. There’s the man standing with my Chinese food all in a bag. I signed the slip, gave a 20% tip and brought the food inside.
Overstuffed box of breaded and fried chicken, a full container of sweet and sour sauce loaded with veggies, a small box of rice, a huge container of soup that was hotter than hell. I plated it up and it really hit the spot.
Good food, fast delivery and a great quantity for the $ 15.00 — all delivered faster than I could cook anything or go get takeout. I’ll repeat for sure.

Hands down, the worst food I have had in recent memory. We ordered delivery via grubhub — order placed around 8 — estimated delivery — 9pm. OK fine — bit longer than normal, but hey it was given 4 stars for quality, right? And quality takes time to prepare.
What we got:
Barely warm.
Microwaved onion pancakes, crab rangoon etc. There is nothing worse than biting into lukewarm, soggy yet spongy grease-​filmed batter.
Walnut prawns insanely sweet.
Pineapple chicken — just tasteless — although a good foil to the sweetness of the prawns.
I don’t think I’ve thrown away the vast majority of a meal before — but last night, we did. It took over an hour to be delivered — I think the food had actually sat out for the majority of that time before appearing our doorstep. Never again.

I’ve been on a 5-​star review streak lately, but here’s where the streak goes on hiatus.
I ordered delivery from Chow’s Kitchen a few weeks ago and, while I have no complaints at all about the service, the quality of the food was so lacking that I ended up throwing most of it into the trash.
The most shockingly awful dish was the pineapple beef. Believe me, I made generous allowances for delivery time AND I have never been all that picky about food temperature, but I still found this dish to be absolutely terrible. It essentially comprised overly chewy and tasteless strips of flabby beef swimming in unseasoned pineapple juice punctuated with chunks of raw pineapple. It appeared that no attempt at all had been made to season or cook down the juice.
The walnut prawns were almost as bland, and while the crab rangoon (granted, not the most «authentic» of dishes) should have been a slam-​dunk simply due to its combination of ingredients, it still managed to be «meh».
This is the first time in a long time that I have immediately discarded a take-​out menu. It would take quite a bit of convincing to get me to try this place again.

Maybe I’m a little biased… I do work right next door to this place. But I love Chows. Here’s why:
1.) It’s literally the only decent restaurant within walking distance of my work, i’m not counting safeway and starbucks…2.) The place is clean (pretty damn important) 3.) He is super fast and accomidating of employees in the area. Busts out my lunch in 5 minutes, and it’s fresh. The kitchen area is open… 4.) Food is always good
5.) its CHEAP. super cheap!
Also, I like the fact that it is a family run business. Chow remodeled the place and did a great job. It was a real sh** hole before him! He’s always nice. I know his wife isn’t the friendliest person on earth, but guys, she’s there ALL day and night. He’s open as long as that lousy nightclub next door! And they have two small kids that come to work with them! Cut ‘em some slack and try him out.

OK, you’ve got me TWISTED. Now, the food here is actually pretty good; however, what they’re forgetting is that pretty good Chinese can be found in SF w/ease…along w/​decent customer service. DON’T ignore me when you see me standing in front of you (mind you, I’m the only one) waiting to order. Do NOT toss my bag as you’re looking in the other direction; don’t NOT doublecheck that silverware, napkins & a fortune cookie are in the bag, and DO NOT NOT SAY THANK YOU… I don’t have to spend my funds in your establishment, THANK YOU very much!!! The only thing that garnered two stars is that the food is pretty good (it would have received a 4 otherwise)…cuz the service can only be described as LOUSY. This specifically applies to the girl with the diamond-​looking bar necklace — JUST PLAIN RUDE!!!
I hope that since you have the « Unilocal Us» sticker in the window, that you actually read your comments!!!

This was NOT what I expected when I ordered Chinese delivery from
. And I was pleasantly surprised!
Delivery took half an hour (quoted 1 hour) and the food was really neatly packed (all the saucy dishes were in plastic containers so there was no spillage!)
I ordered:
Chicken with Fresh Basil– asked for it spicy, and it had a nice little kick to it.
Mango Beef– huge chunks of mango and thin strips of beef in a sweet, tangy sauce… yum.
Pineapple Fried Rice– literally just fried rice and pineapple (with a little bit of egg and scallions). Its good, but usually when I get this dish it comes with some kind of meat, cashews, raisins, tomato, etc.
Crab Rangoons– Wow. These didn’t come with the sweet & sour sauce that I expected, but once I took a bite I realized they didn’t need it! They were crispy on the outside with a creamy, perfectly seasoned filling. Wow.
Add the free white rice and the free green onion pancakes I got for ordering over $ 25, and I was SUPER impressed with what I had expected to be run-​of-​the-​mill Chinese takeout.

First time ordering from this place. We had it delivered. Surprisingly good — and while I have no way of proving it, it seemed a little less greasy than other delivery Chinese places we’ve tried. Delicious mango beef. Lots of beef — lots of sweet, sweet mango. Walnut shrimp — batter was a little thick, but it was ok. Pineapple fried rice. Mu shu pork — good, but it came with tortillas (? huh ?) Chicken with basil — great flavor, slightly spicy. And finally — because our order was over $ 40, we got 4 veggie spring rolls free. Those were good! We also got an extra box of white rice for free too.
Everything was good. Glad there’s another option for delivery now. We decided to try this place only because our old favorite is closed for renovations right now.

I don’t care if it tastes like boiler plate American style comida de china, you’ve got to check out the 4 yr old hustler running the joint. It’s a family affair and the youngest son cracks my shit up. He runs around clearing tables, yanking the wet rag from his back jean pocket, and wiping anything resembling a spot. He shouts at his little sister to stop crying after she runs into walls/​doors (I think she has an inner-​ear disorder), Unilocal for his aunts to re-​fill table 6’s waters …
Who needs to pay a bill to watch Teattro Zinzanni? Order a $ 5.95 non-​MSG lunch dish, and watch this little hustler run it.

Dude the eggplant in garlic sauce lunch meal RULES!
So your to go box is divided into 3 parts. ½ garlic eggplant + steamed rice + steamed veggie (+ and a slice of orange + couple of fried wonton strips) all for 5 BUCKS.
Probably one of the more popular places amongst my colleagues at work, which portions like that and prices that low, it wouldn’t be very good for my figure if I went to eat there everyday.
As for the garlic eggplant, its not spicy at all (I don’t know why they added that little pepper next to it on the menu), and I wish there was more eggplant, b/​c they added a lot of other stuff into the mix.
Will I come back? Yes, with pleasure (only for to go lunch).

I can’t believe this is the same restaurant I gushed about when it first opened in the winter of 2007 because not only did I feel ripped off, but also my dining experience at the restaurant was anything but enjoyable.
I ordered the Vegetable Chicken Chow Fun from the lunch menu for $ 5.50. First off the kitchen was super slow in bringing my food order to me, and then when I got the food I was taken back by how small the portion was. On a nine-​inch dinner plate the chow fun took up less than half of the plate. A miniature dish of a sugar sweet dipping sauce and eight tiny pieces of deep fried won ton skin took up the rest of the plate. If this were an upscale restaurant the fancy presentation and the small portion might be acceptable, but let’s be honest here this is not an upscale restaurant.
The only vegetables in the chow fun were four wilted pieces of bok choy each about the size of my pinky and several thin slices of carrot. The chicken thigh meat pieces were more like scraps, but the most disgusting part of the dish was that the rice noodles were mixed in some wet, sweetened sauce that had the faint taste of Chinese fermented fish. Yes, it tasted as sick as that sounds.
To make my visit much less enjoyable the waitress had her three small children in the restaurant and they were running back and forth and up and down the stairway as if the restaurant were their own little playground. If I wanted an experience like this I’d buy cheap Chinese take out next time and eat it next to the children’s playground at Portsmouth Square.
This experience totally sucked, and Chow’s is loosing two stars from my original review.

Probably the best Chinese food restaurant in outer SOMA that’s walking distance
A young family took over the older, beleaguered hole in the wall and turned this place around.
They have chow fun (wide) ride noodles and also make a great singapore style dish (curry noodle) and they seem to be fresh and not mushy every time I’ve ordered from there
If you like pad thai, Indian and like noodles got for it (see pic)
Place has made my outer soma A list