China Garden Express

It’s been lots of years since I’ve tried this primarily drive-​thru/​takeout Chinese restaurant. But I was in need of my standard «sick» fare: egg drop soup & steamed rice. Since Bamboo Hut has closed, China Express has become the closest quickie Chinese. So I decided to give it a try.
Normally I’m a drive-​thru girl, if there is one available. But today something told me to park and go inside. The voices in my head gave me wise counsel. Had I gone through the drive up window I most certainly would have run out of gas.
Steamed rice and egg drop soup are Chinese restaurant staples. So I expected the order to come quickly, even though there were a few people waiting. Not so. I wrote a Unilocal review while I waited, complete with reading, reading and re-​reading it until I was satisfied with the final result. That process takes quite some time.
Finally, being the only person remaining, I knew the brown bag being brought to the counter was for me. I left with my purchase in hand and drove home, expecting the standard Chinese fare. Egg drop soup and steamed rice are consistently the same, regardless of restaurant. But not this time!
I sat down to the best egg drop soup I have ever tasted. The consistency was slightly thicker, the color a deeper yellow, and the taste awesome.
Normally on a sickie day a quart would serve two meals. But the soup was so tasty that half wouldn’t suffice. I can’t wait to try other items on their menu.
Don’t expect décor or ambience. This is a tiny place with only two groups of plain metal tables, strategically placed for those waiting for their orders,
There was one person working the counter. I suspect, based on the lengthy wait, that there was also only one kitchen employee. The time was mid-​afternoon. Maybe at regular meal times the staffing is different.
The location is the west side of Independence Boulevard, shortly before its intersection with Pleasure House Road. There is ease of entrance and exit if you are driving south. But heading north, towards home, it requires making a turn across sometimes heavy traffic.
Having spotted dumplings on the wall menu, another «sick» food choice, I suspect a return trip tomorrow. But it also must include the yummy egg drop soup. Hold the door open for me. I’m coming back.

One of those places you wish you had tried a long time ago Pork fried rice was amazing. Lo mein cooked perfectly. Huge servings. Make sure you plan to share with someone.

So I go to this Chinese restaurant strictly on the strength of the Unilocal reviews. What are y’all talking about? The food was nowhere on par with other Chinese restaurants in town.
Now it could have been because I went at closing time, but the General Tso chicken was hard to choke down. The rice was good, but the chicken, egg roll and the egg drop soup (which they gave me for free) was not that good. They were better than Panda Express, but not by far.
I’m really not sure if I will give it a second chance. I might have better success going at lunch time when they aren’t ready to roll out and rushing thru the food. But I have to get my mind right before giving this a second thought.
Oh yeah, customer service is huge with me, and they were happy to serve me (at least I felt that way) even though I arrived 5 minutes before closing.

Very good Chinese, best boneless spare ribs and I really like their egg drop soup. Very fast service, and orders are always correct.

Fast service, but mediocre food. We have tried them a few times, but are never satisfied with our food. Prices are fair and staff is friendly. I wish the food was better tasting with their convenient location from home. The search continues…

My husband and I decided to try this place last week because we were seriously craving some Chinese food and hadn’t yet found a place we really liked in the Virginia Beach area. After browsing the reviews on Unilocal,we decided this place was close and sounded like it might be a little bit of a hidden treasure. We definitely weren’t wrong, because the food was fantastic! While the other reviews about the look of the place are very accurate (it looks pretty tiny and rundown), you definitely shouldn’t let that deter you from giving it a try. While it is of course the Americanized version of Chinese food, it’s definitely the best I’ve ever had. The sesame chicken was incredible, I’m already craving it again! And the crab rangoon was equally delicious. The prices are great, and the tiny little drive through is a pretty cool feature that you don’t usually get at your average Chinese place. We’re definitely going to be making this our regular go-​to place when we’re craving Chinese food from now on.

Oh My God one of the best Chinese Places around. The prices are great along with the food. I get their chicken Lo mein all the time. They also have free delivery. Overall great quality.

Had the Mongolian beef. (Hot) Got to go. It was delicious and it was only $ 8. Came with egg roll and fried chicken and fried rice. Not bad for diner combo.

Solid chinese take out very fast service. Don’t let the look of the place turn you off. Beef Teriyaki was great shrimp toast was the bomb! Need a little help in the dumpling department little over cooked and sauce was to thick

I drive by this place often, and I admit that I judged it by its cover. Saw the positive reviews on here so decided to stop. What really got me to try it was the drive-​thru. When you have kids in the car and just want to grab something quick and somewhat fresh, but you don’t want to get the whole gang out and in the car, this option is nice.
I was really surprised. We stopped on a Sunday so there wasn’t any food already prepared, so they prepared it fresh, and it only took about 7 minutes. We got pancit, chicken chow mein, general’s chicken, cashew chicken and egg rolls. All pretty good (especially the chow mein), and although I’m not 100 percent sure, I think the egg rolls were home made (not frozen).
So it’s not super authentic Chinese food, but it was much better than a lot of the Americanized Chinese food on every corner. I didn’t love the fried rice so I’ll ask for plain next time.
Portions were great, prices were even better. Lady who took my order was nice. Clearly, a hard working, family-​owned joint.
Don’t let the exterior fool you like I did. I think if they added a coat of paint and a few signs, they could double their business… at least.

Not bad! You already know what you’re getting… Chinese food! I’m serious though, if you have a craving, these folks will take of it. Delicious!

Oh-​em-​gee!!! This place is fantastic. I love the vegetable lo mein and the orange chicken. It’s very fresh and they use good meat… doesn’t taste gross like some other Chinese places where you’re left wondering if it was really chicken lol!!!

Had the Lunch Curry Chicken special… I love it. I love spicy food and this was amazing… they were so friendly. Wish they could deliver on base, but it was worth the little drive.
Gave my egg roll to co-​worker, I’m not a fan of egg rolls… he said it was one of the best he’s had.
New lunchtime spot!

Chinese food as easy as it gets. Roll up to the drivethru window, order some Gen Tso’s, hand over some cash, wait a few moments, and your treasure is passed back through the window.
I have gone inside a couple of times, very typical takeout Chinese experience with a non-​stop buffet. Of course there are other traditional options on the menu and in the steam tins, but me and the General seem to have a thing going on. Why argue with success?

I have purchased take-​out at this family run restaurant many times over the years, and have always enjoyed the food and friendly service!

This place is the best chinese takeout that the Norfolk/​VaBeach area has to offer. My friends and I regularly make trips to this restaurant and are never disappointed. I also rarely wait in line and the prices are fantastic.
I recommend the General Tso’s chicken and the house fried rice. The eggrolls are also amazing.
Tip well, the family that owns the business is super friendly and deserve all the kindess they can get.

This is my favorite chinese takeout place. I live in Ocean View but drive over here, past a few other places, to get to this place. The teriyaki is delicious. The orange chicken and General Tso is delicious. You can tell they don’t use Grade B meat, it definitely is quality stuff and the price is unbeatable for what you get.