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    Dragon Express

    4.4 (328 reviews)
    InexpensiveChinese
    Closed 11:00 am - 9:30 pm
    Updated over 3 months ago

    Dragon Express Photos

    Business Info

    DRAGON EXPRESS ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Casual
    Moderate noise
    Good for groups
    Good for kids

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    Recommended Reviews - Dragon Express

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    Reviews With Photos

    Combo C-$10.99( 3 items)
    Nancy K.

    I was craving Chinese food and wanted to check out a new place. Wow, this place gives a very generous portion!! I got chow mien, orange chicken, beef and broccoli as well as king pow chicken. The inside of restaurant is very clean inside despite being in the older part of Escondido. I added a large Thai Ice tea and my bill came up to $15.00. I have food for two days now and recommended coming here if you're craving delicious, cheap Chinese food!!

    Part of the buffet area.
    Deidrie T.

    They have been in business for a few years. And the food is good with a large selection on the menu and specialty orders too. The customer service is always great and when you get an order to go they will give you a good amount to take with you. I'm always happy when I go. And there is plenty of seats in the front. It's a nice peaceful charming place to seat an enjoy your food.

    Combos
    Guadalupe J.

    Affordable Chinese food with big portions and lots of meat. The teriyaki bowl, chow mein, beef & broccoli, and egg rolls all taste great. Definitely worth trying. Highly recommend!

    Front of the store
    Blitz K.

    Its a weird buffet style chinese place like you see in a mall food court. They dont really cook to order, most items are pre-made. Lomein is my favorite dish and theirs was really bad. I had to wait almost an hour total for them to make it and it was very bland. It had no veggies in it at all and the Chicken was in chunks. The chicken wasn't bad, but it wasn't lomein style chicken. The egg rolls (spring rolls) were really bad too. I was really wanting a better experience because of the decent yelp score. I question what people like about this place. It should be on the lower end of scores here. I won't be coming back.

    Bobby D.

    I might be naive, but I assume restaurants across our country are familiar with the foodie app Yelp, but I guess it's possible that not everyone knows about Yelp. Public Service Announcement for restaurants and their employees. If you see a customer taking pics outside and inside your restaurant, please don't assume that something nefarious is happening. It could be a positive thing or negative thing and in this case, thankfully Dragon Express' food led to a strong 3.5 rating. We've eaten Chinese food from Nice Food Restaurant and Dragon Express, which makes two Chinese food restaurants in Escondido that we've enjoyed dining from. Escondido is an underrated food scene that must be tried. Dragon Express is located in the heart of Escondido specifically within the outdoor strip mall called Valley Plaza. This restaurant is located across the street from Ross and Big Lots. It shares the same plaza as Farm 2 Smash, The Wrangler Barbecue, Agrusa's, and Tasty Pizza. There is plenty of parking at this shopping center. I ordered my food to go, so I didn't dine inside, but there is plenty of table top chair and booth seating. The tables are black granite, the decor is spartan, and there were a few diners inside Dragon Express. After the Asian lady behind the counter asked me why I was taking pictures and I explained that I write reviews, she jokingly said to write a good review. I told her I'm not sure after her gruff greeting. The young Latina wearing a mask, who helped me, was professional and courteous. Dragon Express is just like Nice Food and Panda Express Chinese food spots where they have a steam line of food entrees behind the counter and customers choose what items they want to go along with their choice of noodles and/or fried rice. A strong positive for Dragon Express is their value for your money as they stuff the styrofoam containers full with your food choices. Since my daughter craved shrimp, I decided to order three 2-item combos with all three having their house noodles as the side item. For the items, I selected coconut shrimp and orange chicken; orange chicken and jalapeño chicken; and coconut shrimp and broccoli beef. My family enjoyed their succulent and hearty coconut shrimp, which was covered with finger licking sweet glaze. The orange chicken was tasty and yummy. Make sure to select the jalapeño chicken, which were tender, delicious, and not spicy at all. The broccoli beef also was tender, but it was just okay. Their house noodles were good, but they need more seasoning. We also ordered their cream cheese wontons, but I thought they were overcooked. Our first time experience at Dragon Express won't be the last time we order from here based on some of their scrumptious items. Next time you see any of your customers taking pictures inside your restaurant, don't bother them because they could be doing a good thing for your business.

    2 choice combo $9.99
    Devon P.

    This place is the best Chinese food in Escondido. The prices are great, the portions are huge. Everything tastes perfect and authentic. The owner are husband and wife and are super kind and helpful. They also do catering and I cannot recommend them enough.

    BBQ pork and orange chicken two item combo

    Small cafeteria style Chinese restaurant on E. Valley Parkway, although they do have certain items that they cook fresh to order. The line was long when I arrived around dinner time, but it moved quickly. Huge portion sizes at a fair price. I do advise checking your receipt before leaving. I was told that my two item combo would be $10.86 after tax, but my receipt says $12.17. I wasn't told that there would be an additional cost to use credit card or that any of my items cost extra, so it was a surprise and my own fault for not paying attention. Thankfully, the portions were well worth the extra charge. EDIT: went back to order the same combo and confirmed that the BBQ pork has an extra $1.20 charge that I missed the first time.

    Prices 3/23/25
    Bianca V.

    The restaurant was incredibly clean and had a variety of booths and tables which is always nice. The staff was very kind and patient when answering questions, steam table was being constantly cleaned, and the condiments table was well organized. The prices are such a great deal we spent $30 for three people (Combo Bs) and the portions were really generous. I wasn't a huge fan of the noddles : they weren't thick or had much vegetable but that's just my personal preference. There wasn't a lot of variety out but it might have been because it was a little slow. The food was pretty average but it's a great choice if you want large amounts of food for an affordable price.

    Thai tea

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    3 years ago

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    5 years ago

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    2 years ago

    The food was good and you can't beat a great price. The service was quick and easy. I'll definitely come back.

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    3 years ago

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    2 years ago

    Excellent service, Delicious authentic food, outstanding and friendly employees, get your moneys worth, clean restaurant

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    2 years ago

    Everything is so good ! And the portions are big , they can barely close the plate from so much food that they give you.

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    3 years ago

    The people are really nice and the portions huge, but the food not so good. I won't return.

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    3 years ago

    So good, yummy but not greasy we love dragon express. Great local business to support

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    2 years ago

    great place to eat . large portions and very clean. Lots of choices, love the place. You will leave full all the time.

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    2 years ago

    Great food for great price. Friendly people and great service. I'll be coming back for more.

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    4 years ago

    Customer service is great! Food is amazing! This is definitely my spot out here for Chinese food! Thanks again

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    Page 2 of 9

    Ask the Community - Dragon Express

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    Gourmet Wok - (devoured) sweet and sour chicken, wonton soup

    Gourmet Wok

    3.6(163 reviews)
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    Ambiance good. Service horrible. Came in for the lunch and they told us we had to leave in 20…read moreminutes because they were closing at 2:30 even if we were going to sit down and eat at that time. This is bad practice for a restaurant if you're already eating in the restaurant they shouldn't kick you out because they are closing for an hour. This should allow you to eat at your pace. We decide not to stay we went to Chin's instead

    Gourmet Wok is easily one of my favorite Chinese spots in all of California. It's family-owned,…read moresuper clean, and feels like the kind of restaurant you'd see in a movie and think, "Man, I wish that place was real." We ordered orange chicken, combo fried rice, wonton soup, and cream cheese puffs. Every single thing was delicious. The orange chicken had the perfect crispy texture with a sweet, tangy sauce. The fried rice actually had flavor, not just soy sauce dumped on top. Wonton soup was clean and comforting. And those cream cheese puffs? Golden and addictive. The prices are very fair, especially considering how good the food is and how generous the portions are. You can tell the family running it takes pride in what they're serving. The decor is authentic in that classic and comforting way. Now here's the thing. It might show up as a 3.5 star spot, but don't let that fool you. This place is a perfect example of the "3.5 star rule." It's the kind of place that's actually better than a lot of those hyped-up influencer-approved restaurants with inflated ratings. You come here once and you'll get it.

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    Escondido has scored another gem in their up and coming dining scene. My husband and I came in for…read morelunch last Sunday (04/19/26). We were greeted and seated promptly. Our server was very friendly and explained a few menu items for us as he dropped off our water. We ordered: The Smashed Cucumber Salad, Eggdrop Soup, Pork and Scallion dumplings, and Kung Pao chicken. First out the cucumber salad. It was so good, I could have eaten my own weight in it. It was amazing. The egg drop soup my husband ordered, he said was very delicious, but as I personally dislike egg drop soup, so I'm taking his word for it. The pork and scallion dumplings and kung pao chicken were so good! I can highly recommend these dishes. We loved the food so much we revisited today (4/26/26). We ordered the hot & sour soup, dan-dan noodles, and the 3 delight fried rice. Once again everything was amazing! The Dan Dan noodles were the best I've ever had! The dining room is a bit lackluster and plain, but I'm willing to overlook that since the food was amazing. I will be visiting Dumplings N More again and often! If you love really excellent Chinese cuisine, this place is definitely worth a try!!!

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    Dragon Express - chinese - Updated June 2026

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