Definitely a fan of this place for a budget meal. This place is in a tiny strip mall with a very small parking lot. It's the last unit closest to the E Live Oak St. side. There's probably fewer than 10 parking spaces in total. There's more street parking on the Live Oak St side. For the budget conscious and looking for a quick take out place for Chinese prepared food you can get a 3-item combination box for about $5.83 at the time of writing this review. The cost of that also gives you a side of rice and a boba milk tea beverage. They also give you a lot of food for each of the three items. You can get other number combinations like 1, 2 and 4, but I've only been getting the 3-items. If you get 3 or 4-items I think they will allow you to get the same item selection. The food isn't overly salted like at some other Chinese prepared food take-out places and the food is usually still hot whenever I pick up dinner around 6pm during the weekdays. It's definitely a solid place I enjoy going to for quick take out for the family when you want to pair it with other food you're making for a family dinner. It's definitely more than enough food for a individual. I believe they also have made to order meals as well if you're eating inside. It's Cash Only. read more

Umm let's get the negatives out of the way first. It's sorta dirty. It's not super tasty. The selection isn't great (lots of protein options but very few vegetables). The ventilation isn't awesome. The parking is horrible. Despite all this, I'm a huge fan, and I keep coming back. Why? It's cheap. It's quick. The portions are huge. Free soup and free milk tea with every meal. It's somewhat tasty. The dirtiness and ventilation issues just make it more authentic. They're open late. To me, this is the definition of Chinese take out comfort food. If I don't know what to eat, I end up here 90% of the time. read more

Don't be turned away just by looks. This is my first time trying this place out. I looked it up on Yelp. So I decided to stop by. Their selection is great, took me a while to make my mind up. So I got the spicy pork chops and crispy chicken, I hope that's what it's called. But never the less, the taste with a good. Good portions. I say give it a try. I will definitely come back to eat authentic Chinese food. But I recommend it. read more

Oriental Express Cafe - Combo meal, crispy chicken and spicy pork. $6 but close for all this. That's a deal. And it good. - Chinese Near Me - San Gabriel, California

As mentioned this place is quiet a deal and even though I mis-chose one of my items it still was a plentiful meal. 3 entree items, a box of white rice, a bowl of soup and a cup of boba milk tea all for $4.60! Beware though all the bones and other nasty remain in the meal, make sure you know it can be quiet messy. I ordered the pork chop, curry chicken and veggie medley. Only thing I didn't enjoy was the curry chicken, it was too greasy. read more

Came here for lunch on Sunday because some reviewers said their food is bomb, cheap and clean. NO WAY those claims are true! First of all, the quality of the food is HORRIBLE. Ordered Kung Pau Chicken and Steamed Veggies. The chicken is not fresh, tasted like some leftover chicken. Even the broccoli is not fresh, what the beep! The free boba (came with the meal) sucks too, try it yourself if you don't believe me. Second, two items came out to be $4.96. All these reviewers said three items for less than $5. Nope! Lastly, the place is filthy. There is no trash can in the dining area. Everybody just left without cleaning after themselves. Piled of dirty leftover on top of tables, flies galore. Never coming back here ever again. Done! read more

4 dishes + soup + Boba = $6 Juicy Who can beat this price. Amazing!! Not even shau may can beat this place with their price and quality food. Really great place to get a variety of authentic chinese dishes that you can't get at other restaurants. I get different types of food here and they always change up the dishes so you don't get sick of the same thing. You can save so much money eating here. I am able to split this with 2 other people plus eat it again for the next day. You can choose porridge or rice and they still give you the soup and boba drink. Other places like shau may does not let you get the soup and no boba drink if you get the porridge. The portions are a lot bigger and better here. I honestly don't know how they have been able to keep costs so low even in this economy. I know they have been in this location over 10+ years and I give them mad props for keeping prices low, giving great service, and being a survivor!! read more

This is a super cheap place to get some Chinese food!!! Way better than Kang Kang food court or the scooping ones at Sam Woo. $4.85 for 3 items. Around $6 for four. Comes with soup, rice/noodles, and a boba. I believe they charge a little more if you get the noddles. But I got the 3 item combo and they put the noodles in a separate box, so you get more room for the items. All of this together was under $6. Well worth it! and I couldn't even finish it in one meal. So technically I paid under $6 for two meals. Love it!! Definitely worth the bang for your buck. read more

Seriously a hole in the wall. I judged this place before going in because it looks like Panda Express. Another lesson to not to judge a book by its cover! This place cannot get any better. Rice, soup, fresh milk tea, 3 items for about five bucks! Where can you eat such home made Taiwanese food for five bucks?! Whenever I don't want to cook, I will go here and Togo since I live so close, yay!! Also, I don't taste much msg here which is another plus! Yes, this place can be a little dirty in the dining area, but 90% of the people Togo anyway!! read more

So this is what I would call a late review, I came here ages ago but it looks like things haven't changed one bit except the price went up as expected given the years. This place saved my behind for a few months since I was in CA without a car and on a low budget at the time. Their portions are huge enough that it can easily be 2 meals. There's a good rotation of authentic and semi-authentic Chinese/Taiwanese cuisine from steamed meat patties to Americanized stir fry. My favorites were always the pork stew (belly meat), beef stew, meatballs, and tofu. Don't forget to balance things out with 2 meats and a veggie or else it gets really heavy especially for a lunch. The soup and bubble tea are aiiite, not that good but hey it's no extra charge so no complaints from me. For anyone that thinks this place isn't that not good just remember a dry and nasty subway sandwich is over $5 these days and you don't get soup or a drink. a great local businesses. read more

This place is like the panda express for actual asian people. Tons of variety and super cheap. Obviously with cheap, you get snubbed a bit with quality, but it does the job in a pinch. They probably have around 20+ items for you to choose from. 3 items is about $6 and comes with a boba milk tea, soup, and rice. Boba and soup are terribly watered down but the food is decent and they always give me pretty hefty portions. Nothing has really changed the past 15 years at this place. Just some reliable and cheap chinese food. read more

I love it here! Great tasting food for such an affordable price! And it all comes with your choice of rice or porridge and a boba milk tea. My favorites include: yellow curry with chicken, chicken wings, tomato and eggs, 3 cup chicken, any of the veggies at any given time, and then sometimes I'll just get whatever looks good and it usually turns out well. read more

After so many years, Oriental Express and I have finally been reunited! It's been a good 8 years before I came back to the Promised Land of over-stuffed Chinese food boxes last week. The best part? As aforementioned by other reviewers - FOR $4.60!! AND they give you free boba (granted, the quality is pretty bad, but it's free!) Pros: I love how many different options they give you for your 3-choice meal. My personal favorites are their chicken curry, the eggplant, their bamboo (both the soy sauce based and the sour kind), their squid dish, and the Chinese meatballs. Cons: Like most Chinese places, this is cash only. I don't quite like that... Also, there is limited parking, so you find yourself parking on the street or in the back slanted alley. The food is quite greasy, so it's not exactly your one-stop shop for loads of healthy food - it's your one-stop shop for loads of heavy food. Overall: You want a boatload of food, lots of variety, all for less than an Abraham Lincoln? Oriental Express is for you. I'm definitely coming back more frequently - so much food, no way I can pass it up. Oh yeah! Also as with all Chinese food joints of this caliber, speaking Chinese is always a plus, although the owner/cashier's English isn't all that bad. So why 3-stars? I love the food, but the parking, the cash only, and the big lake of grease lingering after the food is gone takes it from a 4-star to a 3-star. read more

Rating: 3.5 Since I was lacking some veges in my lunch box, I decided to check this place out since one of my patient's highly recommended it. Upon entering, you already get a vibe that it is a hole in the wall/ mom and pop shop. I decided to get three dishes: shredded potatoes, eggplant and taiwanese kimchi (cold dish). The shredded potatoes lacked vinegar and was quite bland. Eggplant was on point though! Super flavorful and cooked to a perfect consistency. Taiwanese Kimchi was pickled well and had a nice kick to it. Reason for the .5 round up: A full meal for $6 bucks... such a steal! You get a soup, rice, 3 dishes and a milk tea. WIN !!!! Final Verdict: Thumbs up. read more

This place will always have a small corner in my heart no matter how old I get. It has mad history for providing amazingly tasty food and its so underrated and hard to find. Its truly one of our hidden SGV gems. 4.95 with tax for a 3 item combo (that includes rice, soup, and their boba milk tea) so all u need is a five dollah bill witchu and you're golden. They are also really well known for their hand made spicy sauce, ask for their green spicy paste and you won't regret it. Its a mostly forgotten but amazing addition to the already super filling meal. Literally I save so much money splitting this whole combo into two meals. I ALWAYS GET THE SPICY TOFU, deep fried mini fish (its egg season right now), and their chicken gizzard...just my preferences but they have anything and everything to satisfy each and every one of your taste buds and I can say that they are all so tasty, having tried almost the whole selection. They honestly give humongous portions and those bastards that be giving them 3 stars or less are just snobs that have no real taste for authentic Asian food, not to be a douche or anything but they need to understand the price and location. Its quick and amazing, not designed to be some fancy upscale dining experience... read more

I really don't like this place that much because I eat food from here practically every week (my dad seems to think that the food here is exceptional or something). However, because of the convenience and the quality for the price you pay, I rate it a solid 3. I have never actually eaten in the restaurant itself and I wouldn't really want to because it seems sort of dirty. However, while I get pretty tired of the food, I guess the stuff like the mabo tofu, whatever steamed veggies they might have, and assorted meat dishes aren't too bad. The servers are generous with their scoops of food, and while it's not exactly the healthiest stuff you can eat, it sure does beat eating American fast food for dinner. My family usually gets 3 of the three entree things, which means 9 different dishes, 3 boxes of rice, 3 bowls of soup, and 3 boba milk teas (the boba tastes like crap but the milk tea is alright I guess). For around 13 bucks that's pretty good, and there's always enough for lunch the next day. I don't look forward to eating here, but I can see the appeal that the convenience, variety of food that isn't loaded with fat, the generous portions and additions, and the cheap price that this restaurant offers. read more

I was so hungry but I should of waited until I got because this place gross. As I sit here and type this review I just want to barf. They gave me a free soup and milk tea boba but even then I don't even trust it. read more

Oriental Express Cafe - Chinese Near Me - San Gabriel, California

I ordered party trays for what seemed like a reasonable price but the stir fried chicken with zucchini was less 1/2 chicken. Most of it was potato cut up to pieces exactly the same size as the chicken to make you think it was all chicken. I also got the meatballs, which tasted more like flower than pork. Clearly they have found ways to save money at the customers expense. It was not worth it to pay $35 for these trays which did not have much meat in them. Maybe the other selections are better. read more

I LOVE this place. Its cheap and food is super yummy! The workers are super nice and helpful (like when you're trying to decide what to choose) Boyfriend swears by the spicy tofu, egg with tomato and pork meatballs. read more

ugh!!! They give lots of food and cheap eats and its redeeming quality is its ability to save someone from cooking at home. Methinksnot.

why am i here, my friend Luke L loves this place or something to the point where we came here on his birthday and yet he only gave a 3 star review??? nothing special, cheap stuff, more authentic than panda express....that's not saying much tho dont order teh beef noodle soup here, tasteless they do give you a cup of watered down boba milktea with your order tho.. read more

I have to say the quality has gone down amid covid, the food sits longer and prices has gone up compared to other alternatives. Same day and time, I was at kang kang which was 5 mins away, it had a long line, so i decided to come here instead, it was empty and i regretted after, the fried chicken was dry. I don't think I will be back anytime soon... read more

This is a great place to go to for value but I'm not so crazy about it now that I've had the food here for so long. Maybe if they showed their shaved ice up at the counter (like Kang Kang Food Court's), maybe this would spice up the place & bring in more customers. I love the value & the inexpensive prices, but their tapioca balls are chewy & aren't that great. On top of that, the milk tea seems watered down. But all round, this place is still good. read more

Authentic Chinese taiwanese take out. One item-2.95 Two item-4.10 Three item-4.85 Four item-6.05 What a deal for the three item! The flavors are good. Free soup and boba milk tea and rice. A killer deal, a killer steal. Trrry it out, you'll probably come back if it reminds you of your childhood. read more

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A totally different kind of fast food dining unavailable outside of the deep Chinese neighborhoods, this joint appeals to my most Chinese sensibilities... Imagine a panda express that cheaper, dirtier, and serves hardcore authentic home-styled Chinese dishes, and you'd be about right. Food: The food is obviously Chinese, and as implied above, it is very authentic, albeit lower-classed. That means no orange chicken - everything is stuff from the old country but things are pre-cooked and ready to serve. Picky western-leaning diners beware, the flavors are different, and there aren't a lot of meats, and much of the meat options are bony! But for those with more Eastern taste buds, you'll find dishes here you'll never see in Panda, or pick-up sticks, and you'll get more than 20 dishes to choose from. For someone like me (immigrated at the age of 10, now 30), this was a treasure trove! Service: It's over-the-counter service like any chinese fast food joints. The servers generally are frriendly, if a bit rushed. Their English varies from fairly fluent, to terrible :) But at the end of the day, you can simply point to what you like and the job gets done. Price: The highlight of these kind of places - For under $5, you get rice, 3 dishes, soup, and a watered-down boba. That's enough for 2 meals for most people, and will more than satisfy! The Rest: No decor to speak of. Place isn't dirty or messy, just not exactly welcoming... I usually take mine to go to avoid the stark atmosphere. Conclusion: Super super recommended for the traditionalists or the cheap eaters. If their boba tasted better and if they just touched up the dining room a bit, I'd have given 5 stars. read more

Great value and good food. $5 for 3 item combo with a drink The crispy chicken is very good read more

One of my favorite quick and dirty lunch places. What I like about this place- cheap ($5), to-go, and healthy. You can obviously choose for the deep fried eggrolls and heavy meatballs, but as a health-conscious eater, I like to go for the vegetables. Their eggplant was pretty bomb (albeit somewhat oily), and chicken and vegetables were on point. You will be satisfied, and it is one of the most affordable lunches you will ever find anywhere. read more

I like to come here to get my lunchbox. There are many dishes to choose from. The deal comes with a small soup and boba drink. They don't taste much but it completes the meal. read more

The young waitress in this restaurant has serious attitude issue. She was rude to a old poor grandmother age customer today. She looked irritated when customers trying to order food, and left no time for customer to think what to order. I won't recommend any of my friends to go there and I will not go back anymore until she got fired! 今天去這家自助餐，裡面有位算是年輕有點肥的服務人員對一位推著大行李箱可憐的老太太態度非常惡劣。只要我去買便當時候，她都很大聲問客人到底要點什麼，跟沒沒讓客人有時間選菜色。我再也不會去這家自助餐直到她被開除！ read more

BEST DEAL ALERT!!! Best boba I've ever had in my life, and I've practically had every single boba in the entire San Gabriel Valley!!!! It has chewy, sweet, but not super sweet boba, with a light authentic tasting milk tea! And its...get this...$1!!!!!!!! No tax, nothing, simply $1! And it's free with your meal!! Their food is amazing! I usually get their mapo tofu, chicken ( the one in brown sauce), and their fish! So good you won't regret it! And the meal is so cheap! $5 for 3 food items, soup, rice, and boba milk tea! Come on! No better deal than this one!!!! read more

Oriental Express Cafe - Boba milk tea $1 no tax, best boba ever! - Chinese Near Me - San Gabriel, California

The best place to get a meals on the run. Cheap, tasty and plenty of food for the price in 2020. Got 3 sides with rice, soup, boba drink for 6.68. Where can you get with this price in 2020. read more

Literally my childhood fast and cheap low budget Chinese food here. I love to eat the tofu and eggs here, and definitely recommend for people who like fast Chinese food. It's definitely not the highest quality in terms of food or location but it has arguably one of the highest value for money spent. Huge portions and they really try to help stuff as much entree food in your box. read more

When my salary was still in 5 figures, gas was only $1.30, Oriental Express was synonymous to choice - the only choices with so many choices, while you don't have to make choices between preserving your stomach and your pocket. The food is AUTHENTICALLY Chinese and mediocre at the same time - does that make any sense? It should. This place operates on the principle of economy of scale. They give you soooo much food for so little money, they can't possibly give each dish the same personalized attention. Rising food prices have driven the price up to $4.60 or so, but it's still a screamin' bargain. The staff at this place also has a very low turnover rate - a remarkable achievement in this tumultuous time. read more

Seriously, I'm no longer going to recommend this place. I used to eat here almost every week and occasionally buy lunch boxes for my workmates. But now it is a complete turnabout. I ate lunch here last June 8, 2018. I ordered 3 items: white radish, a scrambled egg dish and fried battered salmon, along with the free boba tea and rice. While eating, I noticed the salmon tasted somewhat metallic, (as if it came from a can). Being hungry and all, I ate the radish and the egg, but I only ate probably a quarter or half of my order of the salmon. It was until 2 hours that I realized I was food poisoned. I was nauseous and having headaches. I felt the taste of the fish in my mouth and my body wants to expel it. I was vomiting for 2 days. I was thinking about the worse. Good thing, I didn't contract diarrhea. I'm seriously thinking of calling the city health department and reporting this issue. As of today, I'm out of commission. A message to the proprietor: please practice proper food preparation, handling and serving practices. People like your food so they deserve to enjoy the best and cheapest Chinese food in the city of San Gabriel, without threatening their health. read more

Food is tasty and cheap! People in the store are really nice, which is not very typical in a express Chinese food place!

$5 bento?! Accompanied with rice, milk tea, and soup?! The deal can't get any better. They have a large variety of items: tried the fried fish (reminds me of the BCD tofu fish), the steamed chicken, beef, pork, seaweed salad, and a few more... I am raving about this place because it seriously is a great deal. Beats Panda Express any day. read more

I came here for the first time on the recommendations from my coworkers that this place offer cheap Chinese food and they have a decent selection to choose from. They weren't kidding. I think I counted something like 20 different rotating selection of meat and veggies that you can choose from. This place is more of a Chinese takeout joint that it is a sit down diner so don't come here expecting any kind of great service. It's basically like Keung Kee BBQ in Chinatown where you rush to the front and hope a worker behind the counter notices you so you can place your order except that this is in San Gabriel and the food is supposedly "authentic Taiwanese" food according to many reviewers. Whether it's Taiwanese or Chinese, I don't really care. If the people in there speak Mandarin, (and they do), it's Chinese as far as I care to know. I ordered the two item combo, which came to be $4.96, taxes included. Before tax, I think it's $4.55. You can choose up to four items for the combos. Each additional item costs you a bit more and you get steamed rice, a small cup of veggie and egg soup, plus a small cup of watered down boba milk tea. In my particular order, I stuck with what was familiar: fried chicken and tomato egg. Tomato egg? Not bad. Not bad at all. Not too salty and not too bland. Just right. I'd get it again. Fried chicken? It's chicken. It's fried. It's unusually salty. But it's good for what it is. They gave me four big pieces. Amongst the other selection that particular Friday afternoon, I think I saw deep fried tofu triangles, some kind of curry chicken, some kind of stir fried pork chop, some kind of beef cube in black sauce, mixed green beans, broccoli beef, steamed Chinese broccoli, what looked like watered down ma po tofu, mixed deep fried tofu cubes with mushrooms, and a bunch of others whose animal species I can't make it out because it was covered in sauce. I got there at 12pm. Long line of 10+ people already in front of me. Most of the patrons are Chinese. I believe there were some poor Taiwanese students ahead of me so it would seem that this place really does draw in all the poor college kids. (Or just poor people in general). Cash only. Service was slow. Female attendants up front understand and speak basic English. There were some tables and chairs, all wooden ones with no cushion whatsoever so you know that they don't want you to stick around and loiter there. Just get your food, eat, and go. Or, get your food and go. There was also a free water dispenser but...I can't speak for the cleanliness of it as the exterior looked old, moldy, and grimy. The Chinese patrons certainly didn't seem to mind but if it were up to me, I wouldn't drink from it. A couple of the reviewers mentioned the cleanliness of this place and I'd have to agree. This place really does fit the stereotypical uncleanly Chinese takeout. No joke. Patrons do not clean up after themselves. They just finish their food and leave all their trash on the tables and leave. And don't take this as me being partial but its closest equivalent is Kang Kang Food Court yet they don't seem to have this problem and the food is roughly just as cheap. KKFC though is out of my way so I guess that's the price one has to pay for being closer to work? All in all, cheap spot for some not-so-quick Chinese food. I waited 30 minutes before I got to the front. But otherwise, if you're trying to penny pinch and you're not terribly concerned with waiting and/or general cleanliness of the place, this is a good spot for some A-OK Chinese food. (It's my first time here and I haven't had food poisoning yet. Knock on wood). read more

I dig this place even if my coworkers complained about some of the entree options being mostly breading and not much meat. Like, don't choose breaded meat entrees. Everything I ate was awesome (kung pao, broccoli beef, fried rice). So much value for what you get. read more

I've been going here since I was little. They have been open for a very long time and they never fail to satisfy me. It is a very economical choice and the food is given in an excellent portion. If you are craving Chinese food, I would suggest stopping by here. read more

Try to order dinner bento $5, but waiter said cannot order 3 same kind food, if need to order same kind food, they ask me to buy party tray $7-9, bad service read more

I'm surprised this place is at 4 stars, cause 4 stars is pretty damn good imo. The food is OK (choose wisely though, some of it is wayyyyy too salty), but it's also really cheap so it's understandable. But the thing is, the bad food I've had here seems easy enough to fix (just watch how much salt you put into your recipe). Also, tons of reviews talking about this cheap free boba milk tea that is supposedly the bomb, IT IS NOT lol. What in the world, we live in San Gabriel, this boba (although free with your meal) is horrible. I would rather not have the free milk tea. It's a luke warm milk tea that has been sitting on their counter the entire day with the boba soaking in there and becoming mush. But despite my hate for their boba, I came here 3 times. First time, good experience because I was surprised at the amount of food for the price. I think it's less than $6 for 3 choices + rice + soup + boba milk tea. Second time, bad experience, I don't remember what I ordered these 2 times, so it's not helpful, but I know that whatever I got was really really salty. It wasn't just one dish either, my entire order was just salt salt salt, so I had to just toss it and get something else to eat. Surprisingly, I came back for a 3rd time (but like months later), just because the food is so cheap and I didn't feel like spending much. I was kind of dreading it because I remembered how salty the food was, but I started to get really picky with the food I chose. I got the fried chicken, the tofu, and some veggies. The fried chicken was really dry, but at least it wasn't too salty (and I love fried chicken). The tofu was really good actually. I had a feeling it couldn't have been too salty because tofu really would balance it out, so it was a good choice. The veggies I got were pretty good also, made sure to choose something that didn't look too salty. Overall, I would come again, but not for awhile. Once a month maybe? At most? It's also CASH ONLY, and parking is usually not a problem. read more