New China Express

Yes, it’s true. New China Express has closed, and the new Thai restaurant Noodle Nation is the restaurant that has taken its place, occupying the same location as its predecessor. A new review for a defunct business may seem pointless, and in fact it is, but I still have pictures and memories of this place, so I will give it a go.
It wasn’t the cleanest or liveliest restaurant on the Ave. When you walked in, you felt like you might as well have been in a ghost town, because it was almost completely deserted most of the time. I don’t know why this was the case, and it really doesn’t even matter anymore, but this was still a great place to get a quick meal. Sure, the food may have been heavily Americanized and loaded with MSG, but it sort of made up for it in a few ways.
My favorite thing to get here was always the pork fried rice. For $ 6.75, I was able to get a full plate of some of the most delicious fried rice out there. As the young and impressionable college freshman that I was at the time, it seemed like a fantastic deal. In fact, it’s still something many local restaurants still don’t really live up to. The price was right, but maybe it was because I always tipped so much that they gave me enough so that I was never left hungry after a meal.
For all I know, it may have been because they were setting their prices so low that they had to close down. Obviously, the target audience here had to have been broke college students. But I still don’t know how they managed to hold out, or why so few people liked to come to this place. Their pork fried rice was so good, too. Only Green Village Restaurant in the International District had better fried rice in Seattle.
You really couldn’t complain about the service, either. Since the place was so empty most of the time, you could count on getting your food within just a few minutes. I feel bad for the cooks in the kitchen; they must have always been bored out of their minds. Yet the place was open seven days a week, always until 1:30 AM. If you were up that late and didn’t want pizza, there was always this restaurant. They even delivered within the U-​District for free if you made an order of at least fifteen dollars.
Everything seems to point to this place being very likable, but there are a few reasons I can’t give it five stars. It’s completely gone now of course, but while it was still there, the place always felt kind of old and dirty. Thankfully, this issue has been addressed by Noodle Nation, who did a superb job with tidying the place up. Also, they never brought me the soup that’s promised on the menu! Finally, and also about the menu, they claim that their food is authentic, but you only need to take one glance at the menu items to tell that this is one big lie. It’s contemptible when businesses falsely advertise. Maybe that’s why they’re gone now.

I always forget about this place, and the last three times I’ve been, the restaurant has been completely deserted save for a few other tables, perhaps suggesting that other people suffer the same problem, which is unfortunate because this restaurant is truly a hidden gem.
At first glance I wrote it off as a gross Americanized Chinese restaurant, but each time was pleasantly surprised, everything I’ve had is truly authentic, homestyle cooking. The curry chicken especially reminds me of mom’s, and I don’t think I’m the only person who has the same experience here. Whenever there’s been someone else in the restaurant, it’s always been Mandarin speaking students, and that says a lot.
The food is doused in oil and probably has MSG in it (I can tell by a vague but distinctive after-​texture), but it’s so homey I don’t care. You also can’t beat the prices; nothing over $ 8 even on the dinner menu. Be sure to try the lunch combo as well. In addition to sizable portions, you get an egg roll, steamed rice, and a bowl of soup. Service was especially attentive and polite, and the establishment is always comfortably clean. Definitely a win.

New China Express is amazing. Despite what the emptiness of the restaurant may imply, whatever you get there will be delicious & probably some of the best Chinese that you will find in the U District.
It’s cheap. You can get a large lunch meal for under $ 7, and dinner for only a tiny bit more. And since there typically aren’t many people in the restaurant, the service is extremely quick. I’ve never experienced any sort of long wait here.
The food is well made. I’ve never disliked anything I’ve ordered.
The best part… it’s open til 1:30am every day of the week, AND they will deliver (w/​$ 15 minimum purchase, of course). This Chinese is a much better drunk food choice then Jack in the Box/Memo’s.
I’m a huge fan, and love introducing this little unknown place to friends as broke as me looking for some good food.

I’m a fan of anyone that will deliver, but a bigger fan of a place that will deliver delicious food fast. So far my coworkers and I have sampled several of the favorites…
And my food just came in the door, less than a half hour from ordering!

I came here once two or three years ago. I don’t remember the meal, but I do remember the time I spent in the bathroom afterwards, cursing my poor judgement. And didn’t come here again.
Until now.
Out drinking at Ruby’s across the street, hungry, nowhere to go… oh! What’s this? An ‘OPEN’ sign across the street? Oh, it’s New China Express, my old foe. Well, being drunk and hungry at 1am doesn’t exactly afford the best judgement, so off we went. It was empty (it being 1am and all) but the proprietors were extremely nice and the food was quite good. And no post-​mortem bathroom misadventures.
So I came back again on the 4^th of July with a friend after I learned that China First wasn’t doing combo dinners (what sort of fascism is this!?). We had the pork chow fun and chicken with black bean sauce. All standard and good. Hot and sour soup — good. And despite what the menu said about dinner only coming with steamed rice, it came with soup and egg roll. And our grand total was lower than the menu claimed. And the people working there were so nice. And no more bathroom misadventures. So yeah, consider me reformed. I’m a fan.

I’ve been looking for «my» Chinese restaurant in Seattle for the last 3 years and I think I’ll tentatively go with New China Express while continuing my search in earnest.
I went there for lunch, ordered the lunch special of the beef with mixed veggies. It’s the standard Chinese restaurant lunch configuration, your choice of a small soup (egg drop for me, was good), your main dish, rice (I prefer white), and an egg roll. Unlike most places, the portion of the main dish was generous and filled up my man-​sized appetite.
The dish is what I expected, a beef and veggies stir fry, it was executed properly and the brown sauce was balanced well. I basically eat at Chinese places for that dish, it doesn’t need to be reinvented, it just needs to be done right, and it was here.
The service was fast and attentive. I’m a water drinker at restaurants and it stayed full, that’s all I really need.
I approve.

So… last night I tried the Shrimp & BBQ Pork Chow Fun for the first time. It was SO GOOD! The flavors worked really well together and it had just the right amount of spice. I will definitely be ordering it again on subsequent visits.
Anddd…that makes my review go up a star :)

Oh New China Express, the times we’ve shared…
When I first started dating my man before we moved in together we ate here all the time. We both lived in places with lots of roommates and barren kitchens. The location is convenient for U people, the price is cheap, the size is big, and the food is so good. Oh yeah, and they were pretty much the only place open when we got off work.
My fave is the sautéed broccoli, but the eggplant is tasty and different. The sweet & sour isn’t really done the way I like it, but I’ll eat it. Oddly enough, the chicken wings are really good: slightly spicy (barely) with a nice flavor. Careful, though; sometimes the fried rice is burnt.

i love this place simply because I can get hot cooked after you order chinese food with soup, rice, and an eggroll for under $ 6!
I recommend the meat/​veggies dishes with black bean sauce and not so much for the sweet and sour pork/​fried meats.
really…all i get is mushroom chicken. everytime.

New China Express is nothing new, but it’s definitely express. Not so express as a Panda Express, but still express in terms of a sit-​down.
The inside is nothing crazy or too Asian-​y, but can nicely accommodate a larger party. The staff there is extremely nice, and you definitely get your yang for your yuan here.
The lunch special is a steal (as little as $ 6 – 7), as it comes with a choice of Hot & Sour Soup or Egg Drop Soup, a choice of Fried Rice or White Rice, a choice of an Egg Roll or Crab Cheese (not sure what this is… but definitely getting it next time), and then your choice of an entrée. I’ve tried the Orange Chicken, Szechuan Chicken, and General Tso’s Chicken.
The Egg Drop Soup here is heavy on the corn flavor, so if you like corn soup, then you’ll probably like the Egg Drop Soup here. I’m used to eating this type of soup a little more thickened, so this felt a little watered down for me. The Fried Rice is really heavy on the soy sauce, so choose a less heavy dish to go with it. The Egg Roll is standard, but still offers that nice crisp. The Orange Chicken was a little bit of a disappointment. There wasn’t enough orange in the sauce, so it ended up just tasting like a typical base sauce. The Szechuan Chicken was great though. It’s a lighter entrée, and isn’t so spicy (as is most Szechuan food) that I hated myself for eating it. It was actually the perfect amount of kick, and the chicken was nice and tender.
The thing I like to get here, though, is the General Tso’s Chicken. When I go here, I want to get a nice, heavy meal, which is pretty easy when you already have an egg roll and fried rice. But General Tso brings it all together to create a heavy, delicious formation in your mouth. The sauce is really thick, which is something that I enjoy when I’m grubbing, and the chicken is thoroughly fried, which is also something that I enjoy when I’m grubbing. The General Tso’s Chicken reminds me of a more fried and saltier version of the Orange Chicken at Panda Express. And, surprise, I happen to like those flavors when I’m grubbing.
Again, the food here is basic, cheap Chinese food, but it’s good when you want to stretch that dollar and are itching for some grubbing.
GET: General Tso’s Chicken

This was recommended to me as the best Chinese on the Ave. It was not. My boyfriend and I met here for lunch at 1pm on a weekday and the place was completely empty (not a good sign). But, we stuck with it and sat down.
The water tasted like rust and dirt, literally. Their pipes must be rusty and they must not use a water filter. The waitress was nice enough. The food was just gross. The General Tso’s chicken I ordered had tiny pieces of thigh meat and the sauce was gummy (practically a solid) and jiggled like jello. I basically just ate my rice.
When leaving, it took 10 minutes to pay. The credit card machine wasn’t working and she ran our card through 3 times. She said she cancelled two of the charges, but we were a bit concerned.
I wouldn’t recommend this restaurant.

Just a warning, I am writing a review as a person who’s already graduated from the U. If I was still a college student, barely getting by, with a crappy 8×8 studio apartment, I probably would be giving this place an extra star because of their large portions and flavorful food.
Lunch is a popular thing for most people since this is probably the cheapest way to get a filling meal — for about $ 6 (back then, I think it was a little cheaper), you can get some meat of your choice, rice, a spring roll, and soup. Ah, and a stale fortune cookie. The other great thing about lunch is that you can order lunch anytime you want.
Particularly, when I was still in college, I would usually order any of the breaded chicken dishes, the beef with mushroom, or the sweet and sour pork. But I’ve also tried their house special special fried rice or chow mein — both are really good. For a place like this, they put some pretty awesome juicy shrimp in these plates! Too bad they only put like 2 or 3 shrimp in these though. :(
Since I needed to stop by the area to pick something up, I went here to buy some dinner for old time’s sake. The food comes fast — in about 10 minutes, a roast duck rice and house special chow mein is ready to take home. And I commute, so when I got on the bus, the bus immediately starts to wreak of Chinese food since all the windows were closed and the AC was on.
Everything still tastes the same, but halfway through my dish, I realized that I used to eat A LOT back then. I mean… I couldn’t finish my meal. I guess I could have but knowing how unhealthy this food was, I decided to pass. So, for all you college kids, keep telling yourself «FRESHMEN 15» when you’re here and eat with caution. Moderation, moderation!

Blech. I wish they would have given me the pre-​cooking raw ingredients and sent me on my way — I’ve never cooked Chinese-​style, but don’t see how I could have possibly been worse off. Actually, I think they just ladled all our food out of one of those used grease disposal bins in the alley.
This is the slimy Chinese food that movie /​sitcom scripts always make corny jokes about sucking, not the cheap tasty Chinese take-​out that has generally been my reality.
To add, this was the first time anyone in our group had been here — and we hadn’t read the Unilocal reviews — so we didn’t know that you could order lunch at 8 PM. Our entries were like 10 bucks. Double suck.
And why do all these decent reviews start out with, «Yeah I know the food’s not that good, but its so cheap»?? I can mix some leaves and dirt together, top it with used motor oil, and have a pretty cheap meal — does that necessitate a three star review? Especially when good (maybe cheaper) food is within peeing range of their front door…

My first date with my fiancée was here. We had already been together for a while but this was the first place a traditional date took place. That’s just the kind of place New China is.
This is one of our go-​to places on the Ave, and not for minimal sentimental reasons. The prices are rock bottom for a plentiful tasty meal. We have always ordered off the lunch menu (you can order off lunch all day) which comes with a choice of soup (hot & sour or egg drop) and the side of crab roll or spring roll all for about $ 6. This deal is UNBEATABLE. I am guaranteed leftovers.
I love you new China!

It’s cheap and plentiful. It’s less than five minutes from campus. It has the delight known as «crab cheese,» and my favorite Hot and Sour soup. This is Americanized Chinese food in all its greasy glory, but it’s not the worst option on the Ave by any stretch.
I had a huge lunch [to the point I couldn’t finish it] of pork with fresh [definitely not canned, they were too delicious!] green beans, rice, the aforementioned hot and sour soup, and crab cheese. And after tax, the total was just $ 6.60. Yeah, with tip it was only $ 10, and I’m still full, like five hours later.
Large enough I can spread out my textbooks and read, and comfortable enough I don’t mind eating alone. For some reason, this seems to be the female-​students-​eating-​alone destination at the moment — there were five of us sitting at separate tables enamored by the television dramas. Yay.
There’s a new server who says she’s only been there a month, and she’s super duper sweet — in the past I’ve had issues with getting my water refilled, but this server was super on top of things, which is a plus.

Woo, basic American style Chinese food. I love it.
It’s cheap and you get a lot of food. It is guaranteed to fill you up.
It can be a bit too greasy cometimes. Once I had it and it made my stomach turn so bad I didn’t go back for an entire year.
It’s also funny to see the TV get worse and worse everytime I go. It used to be in full color, now it’s just shades of red.

This is my fav chinese on the Ave for sure! The décor is, well there’s no décor. But the food, is just great!
Lunch specials are my favorite. It comes with big portion of fried rice/​steam rice, crab with cream cheese or egg roll, and choice of soup. You get to choose all diff entrees like kung pao chicken, honey walnut prawns or even sizzling beef. All of this for less than $ 6! The only complain I have is that they dont have any fish.
I’ve been here many times and never had any problem with food. The noodles are really delish with big portions. Hot and sour soup is just ok here. My favorites are any shrimp entrees, kung pao chicken, and house specia lo mein. Definitely worth every penny.

Hum diddely dum ~
I have to say I wasn’t impressed at all. But nor was I as vehemently disgusted with all the food served as some of the other Unilocalers here. And that pretty much sums it up.
I love that you can get the lunch combo any time of the day though ~ that makes me pretty darn happy. I got the Sichuan Beef lunch special (which was tasted fine, although it wasn’t spicy at all and had a weird pungent smell to it) my sister got the mapo tofu (that was actually pretty decent) and my little brother got the mongolion beef (too sweet for my taste). But other than that it was pretty … unmemorable and I would much rather go to any of the other places in Chinatown. Oh oh! One thing thats really good though is the Roast Duck Bowl ~ its pretty much roast duck over rice with some steamed bok choy smothered in a crazy chili sauce. yuuummmm ~ ! but then, I think its as good as it is because the roast duck is probably purchased from Chinatown.
Service was a little slow but they were pretty friendly I guess. They don’t really check up on you at all though.
Also, if you need something just ask. Don’t sit there, looking expectantly at the waitress — its not like she can read your mind and magically know that hey, you want more tea or that you need a to-​go box. Let’s try and keep in mind this is a Chinese restaurant — Chinese servers are like that. And a lot of Chinese customers have absolutely no qualms about getting up and rummaging for napkins, utensils and to go boxes themselves. (Yes, I can say this — I’m Taiwanese, which is kinda sorta close to it but not really).
Oh! I liked the egg rolls, they were pretty fried goodness. And even if you like hot and sour soup you should always get the egg drop because it tastes so much better.
Sighhhhh ~ it always makes me so sad that Americans are like [OMFGHLKJS! THIS IS THE BEST CHINESE FOOD EVAHHH!!!1?! ]
its really not :(

I love going to New China Express for all my cheap Chinese food cravings. They have a hot & sour soup that only gets better as the night goes on, the spicy cashew chicken stir-​fry (kind of like kung po chicken) is magnifique, and best of all: lunch combos at lunch prices all day until 1 a.m.
With a lunch combo, you get a main dish, crab cheese or an egg roll, fried or white rice, along with hot & sour soup or eggflower soup. All this generally adds up to two meals for me, all for under $ 6. Tea is free if you ask for it.
They also have the fastest take-​out service in the city. I called from three blocks away on the UW campus, ordered my food, and 7 minutes later when I appeared at the door it was already waiting for me at the cash register.
One thing of caution: do not order the curry chicken. It tastes like chicken-​flavored top ramen, which isn’t bad in and of itself, but you’ll feel cheated. I’m also not fond of the eggflower soup because it has a bland taste. Friends have enjoyed the mongolian beef and other dishes, but I swap between the general tsao’s chicken (decent. a little too sweet) and ordering the cashew chicken with four stars (perfect).

We had takeout from here for dinner tonight at work. The good thing about this place is they will sell you off the lunch menu at any time of night or day. The bad thing about it is the food.
I had the egg roll, Hot & Sour soup and Sichuan Chicken with no rice. The egg roll was tough and chewy. The Hot & Sour Soup was out of whatever mix the really bad Chinese restaurants use. Some places will give you a bit extra food when you order with no rice. Here they gave me extra overly salted sauce. Did I say the over cooked onions, bean sprouts and actually cooked about right green peppers and chicken were swimming in a salty brown sauce. I am glad I had been at work, had I been drinking, this place would have pushed my stomach over the edge!
This place is barely one step above Safeway & Top Foods Chinese Deli fare and every bit as bad as Panda Express and the wretched Emporer’s Palace in the Olympia area. Those places deserve 0 stars and so this rightfully deserves ½ a star. It was definitely some of the worst Chinese food I have had outside of a «Chinese American» restaurant.