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    Dragon Express

    3.6 (54 reviews)
    ModerateChinese

    Dragon Express Photos

    DRAGON EXPRESS ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Quiet
    Good for groups
    Good for kids

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    Recommended Reviews - Dragon Express

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    BBQ pork steamed buns, combo fried fried, roast pork
    B M.

    Looks questionable outside, but inside, the establishment is beautiful, clean and welcoming. The food was DELICIOUS! The woman working at the time was courteous and our food came out quickly. We just moved to Kansas from Hawaii and were looking for something to solve our Chinese food cravings from home. This hit the spot. We got the roast pork, roast duck, combo fried rice, bbq pork steam buns and everything was great! We'll be regulars.

    Honey bbq pork by the pound and an order of fried rice!

    A hole-in-the -wall and worth finding! Freshly cooked asian dishes and favorites. On weekend there is the honey BBQ pork by the pound! Yum!

    Seafood Delight 1/2 roasted duck Dried tofu with pork
    Tai N.

    Every time I come here, I have to wait at least 30 minute for my food. Last time I visit, I have to wait 1 hour sitting and waiting in hungry Note: there is no server here. Food is pretty decent and very authentic. This is the only thing make me want to come back. The menu is super unclear. Gotta google everything for a better view.

    David N.

    Decent place. Sweet local family owned. Food was pretty good. Takes a while for them to get food out though. Wouldn't mind going again.

    Brad S.

    Next door to Passage to India you might notice the innocently-titled Dragon Express. At first glance, it seems like your average Wichita Chinese restaurant - the first menu you see upon entering is stocked with things like Moo Goo Gai Pan and Kung Pao Shrimp for sale by the pint. That's not the one you want. The menu you want is by the register, and reveals Dragon Express to be far more than just an Americanized Chinese restaurant. When Chinese food was first popularized in the United States, it found success through adaptation and homogenizing its flavors to suit American tastes. Ming Tsai bluntly refers to it as "dumbed down" and "fried vegetables and some protein in a thick sauce," which I think is fairly accurate on both accounts. While Chinese immigrants were finding success with these simplified dishes, they still had a desire to serve the food of their homeland to their fellow expatriates, and thus the secret menu was born. There's at least three secret Chinese menus in town, and Dragon Express has offered one for the fifteen years that the Wongs have owned the place. Their Cantonese heritage is strongly communicated through their food, though with over seventy five items on the Chinese menu and even more on the Americanized menu, their enthusiasm is met with the limitations of the kitchen. Even on the Chinese menu some dishes heavily rely on that protein-vegetable-sauce stereotype. "Pork with dried tofu" sounds more interesting than the bright red char siu turned out to be. In the "braised mushrooms with bok choy and tofu," the undercooked cruciferous vegetables created a thin and watery sauce. The sweet and sour fish was just the opposite: the tender and lightly fried pieces of fish were suffocated by a sickly sweet sauce that was clearly more influenced by American palates than the balanced version of Chinese heritage. Even in a dish with a name like "braised pork with pickled veg," the promised veg was hardly to be found, though it did seem to add a little bit of acidity to the sauce. But the true star of that dish, as it was in every dish in which it was featured, was the pork belly. Pork belly is what bacon would eat if it was anthropomorphic. It's tragically underutilized in Wichita, though it's a fickle thing to execute well. Heat has to be applied in such a way that the alternating layers of fat render properly while the meat cooks to the crispness that makes bacon so satisfying. The pig begins its journey on Saturdays, when the roasted pork belly is sold by the pound. Here, the fat is not only rendered beautifully, but the top layer of meat is broiled to be so crunchy as to have the texture of hard candy. It's a sight to behold, and would be enough to merit a recommendation to Dragon Express in itself. The belly finds its way into other dishes, like that "braised pork and pickled veg," and ends up carrying the dish. There's other delights to be found on the menu, like the barbecue pork buns, the sesame balls, or the roast duck. They sell whole duck, chicken, and fish preparations for a surprisingly small amount of money, and if you want something more challenging, they also offer pork trotters, squid, and shark's fin soup. It's frustrating; sometimes the restaurant's preparations are so excitingly different that it makes me a little giddy when I first open that takeout container and view my spoils. Other times it's simply Chinese foods with American preparations. Even the rice is medium grained and difficult to pick up with chopsticks, though they're certainly not stingy with the portions. There's a lot to like about to like about Dragon Express: its deceptive facade, the Chinese menu, the pork belly, the way Jan is always sure to thank me when I give her my money. Many restaurants labor under a too-large menu, and this one is no different, but with a style of cooking that's difficult to find in Wichita, you can't help but be enamored by the treasures that can be found. Sometimes finding them is half the fun.

    Authentic menu 1
    Lan N.

    I came back and ordered the pork belly with pickled vegetables, the pork with bean curd, and stewed duck. The stewed duck was as good as the roasted, but saucier. The other two dishes were alright, but I won't be ordering them again. The flavor or something was off for the belly. It's quite a famous dish, and Dragon Express just didn't nail it this time. O, I also got the plain steamed bun, which were tiny. I was hoping that these buns would be good enough to replace the rice that they serve there (it's not jasmine), but they did not. I'll add back the half star if other menu items turn out as good as the roasted products. Still a very good solid restaurant.

    Tony S.

    Nice restaurant in Wichita. It's a smaller place that serves family style. We had a big group so we ordered a bunch of different things. We had the roasted pork which was amazing and crunchy. The crispy shrimp was delicious. The owner was extremely nice and took great care of us

    Fried fish & spicy chicken!!! Lots of FLAVOR!
    Kibbe K.

    Best quality Chinese food in Wichita. I mean it! Get the fried flounder fish! Foreigners love this place too & say it is most authentic. Food takes time, call ahead. Prices are a bit higher than other Chinese places but the portions are huge and the food is QUALITY!

    Roast pork and fried shrimp. Was so good almost forgot to take pics before eating all of it.

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    6 years ago

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    9 years ago

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    9 years ago

    Food and service is always great. Love the dumplings and shark fin soup! When we crave Chinese we come here even if it's a 20 minute drive.

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    6 years ago

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    12 years ago

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    11 years ago

    Excellent authentic Chinese food. Full of flavors and the place is very clean compared to those other Chinese places

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    8 years ago

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    10 years ago

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    12 years ago

    Visited over lunch. Food bland and uninspired. Typical Wichita Chinese. Nothing special here worth going back for a second time.

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    10 years ago

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    Ask the Community - Dragon Express

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    Tianluo Bistro

    4.4
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    We popped in, a group of 10, and they were able to accommodate us last-minute, gave us a large…read moretable (for 14) and though they were a bit short of staff, were able to get us a delicious meal through the evening. Let me start by saying - we were super pleasantly surprised to find a Szechuan place in Kansas. Secondly, the spice wasn't too spicy, so it's more manageable. And lastly, for 10 people, we shared 10 dishes, and it came to only $150.... plus tip, we were still less than $20 a person! That's amazing... that's probably only 5 dishes in NJ/NY, at most. Favs: - Stir fried cabbage, a little spicy but solid. - Veggie lo mein was a hit with the kids, didn't even get to try it. - Egg fried rice was solid, good flavor, enough soy - Hot & spicy fish fillet in chili oil was excellent, not too spicy - Beef in hot sour broth - probably my favorite with the sour pickled veggies - Braised eggplant w/ garlic & chili was solid Just ok: - Braised pork was fatty, and the sauce wasn't as savory as I wanted - Sizzling beef - a little too long on the sizzling plate made it hard by the time I tried it, so probably need to revisit when the dish first comes out and the kids don't delay it - Spicy pig's blood w/ tripe & veggies was ok; I've had better versions but this included a good mix of the offal and veggies. - Potato w/ vinegar flavor - I get the feeling they probably didn't hear that we wanted the one that was spicy; this lacked that peppery ma-la kick. They ran out of the sauteed water spinach, but that's ok... we were full up! Definitely a delicious surprise and good spot to grab food. That being said, service was very slow, so make sure you're aware of that before you go in at a busy time... temper your expectations on speed of service.

    I went into town with my husband and we wanted to grab something quick for our drive back home in…read morekc. We decided to place an order. We had fried rice, chow fun, and chicken wings. The service was a bit slow and looked like they could use more help in the restaurant with host up front and serving. The food was a bit bland.. which isn't a bad thing because if we needed to sauce it up, we could to our own palette with soy sauce. I was expecting the fried rice and chow fun to have two different flavors, but it was very similar flavoring. Felt like I was eating the same thing, just different textures. Fried chicken wings was okay, a bit more batter than what I'm used to. The ambiance on the inside was a nice sit down style.

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    Chili garlic eggplant - so good
    Chili garlic eggplant - so good
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    Oh Yeah! China Bistro

    Oh Yeah! China Bistro

    4.1
    (164 reviews)
    1.6 mi
    $$

    I have been in this city for 22 days and I am mad that it took me this long to try Oh Yeah!,…read morebecause their food made me say, "Hell yeah!" Customer service was great. We arrived about 50 minutes before closing time, but they didn't seem annoyed, nor did they rush us. (Even though I rushed us. I didn't wanna be THAT customer. lol) SALT & PEPPER POTATOES Thinly sliced potatoes seasoned with magic, and cooked with savory jalapeños and onions. Simple yet divine. I'd eat this everyday if my hips would allow it. 10/10 SALT & PEPPER TOFU Firm and crispy tofu cubes supremely marinated with the same magical seasoning, so every bite is bursting with flavor. Seriously delicious. And they give you a LOT (2 or 3 days worth of food with these appetizers)! 10/10 THAI SPRING ROLLS - (vegan version) fresh, crispy, made with veggies. 10/10 ORANGE "CHICKEN" - my vegan version was made with soy protein. Although it wasn't spicy (the menu indicates that it's a spicy dish), it was still delicious. The sauce is amazing. The soy was cooked to perfection: not too hard or too chewy; a light crisp on the outside. Excellent vegan option. 9/10 My friend got the Ma La with real chicken and the Crab Rangoon and she loved it. This place is very vegan and gluten-free friendly. I have 2 more weeks in Wichita, and I plan to revisit multiple times to try more of their vegan entrees. There are no fully veg restaurants here, so this place is a must try for veg*ns (and non) in the area.

    I love moo shu. One of the few things that you can do to make me not like it, is to give me a flour…read morewrapper instead of a rice wrapper. Oh yeah, gave me a flour wrapper. Then they made the moo shu filling with stocky broccoli that ripped through the flour wrapper. The egg blossom soup had no flavor and did not come with any crispy crackers. The fried rice was exactly that rice that was fried. I couldn't say any onion, peas, egg, or anything else. Everything was bland. Part of my order was missing. I have enjoyed Oh Yeah in the past. Not today.

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    Inside
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    King Buffet

    King Buffet

    3.7
    (36 reviews)
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    Food: 5; Staff: 4.5; Ambiance: 4; Location: 3 Will give this…read morean overall rating of 4 of 5 - however, my "points off" from a 5 have nothing to do with the food. I've read a few reviews on here that complain about the food. The fact is that EVERY buffet diner will have some food that sat out a little too long from time to time. You will never avoid that. The good news here is that this staff is very attentive to the food lines and in the 30 plus times we've dined there, it is RARE that the food is cold, or "unappealing" (according to one reviewer). We have always found the food to be warm-hot, tasty and of good quality. There is a nice variety and for me, I specifically love the coconut shrimp and Onion Shrimp. Everyone won't like every food they present - I, for one, don't like the Japanese style chicken they serve - but that is an individual taste and doesn't mean the food is "bad". Dessert line is limited but sufficient - and unlike other buffet's we've frequented, the ice cream machine has never run out. Another nice benefit of this buffet is their takeout. You can come in and, for a fixed price, fill a takeout container with as much as you can grab. They will have a bag, utensils and fortune cookie waiting for you when you are finished. The staff is usually very attentive and efficient. Yes, one or two people that work there aren't "talkative", and some language difficulties can appear to be "anger", or "rudeness", but the fact is they do their job. They will ask children their ages - because they have an age cutoff for their pricing - and unfortunately many adults will lie to get the cheaper price. The children are most always honest. It's not "badgering" like one person reviewed - it's their right. Now - why I reviewed as a 4 and not a 5? The location is in an awkward place. It is one block over from the "red brick" main street and near the southwestern outskirts of the town. This is mainly an industrial area, and the roads around the restaurant are less than ideal. The building is older, and their popularity has out-grown their space so many times it gets crowded there, and parking becomes limited (although there is a parking lot area across the street from them). This is actually great for the food turnover, keeping it fresh and hot. It would benefit them to look into moving to a larger facility within the main area of the town (maybe buy out the Hidalgo's building?). The ambiance is nice, and there are TV screens usually showing some sports event. Overall, you are missing out on a hidden Chinese buffet gem if you don't visit this place. We've lived in many different states, and King Buffet resides in the top 3 or 4 of our buffet lists.

    Food: 2/5 The line was hot enough but nothing on it was very good. It's as if they made food that…read moreneither looked nor tasted very good and then said, eh that will do. The cold foods were grouped together really weirdly. I don't feel that seafood should be that close to dessert. If it was the only restaurant in town, I would probably drive to another town to eat. Service: 1/5 The waitress was not attentive at all's Ambiance: 3/5 The bathroom was so dark I could barely see to lock the restroom door. They only have two dim fan lights, but it did smell ok in there. I literally couldn't tell you if it was clean or not, which might be the point.

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    Plate #2. Sample of each.
    Plate #2. Sample of each.
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    Dragon Express - chinese - Updated July 2026

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