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    Oriental Express Restaurant

    4.1 (72 reviews)
    InexpensiveChinese, Bubble Tea, Soup
    Closed 11:00 am - 7:00 pm
    Updated over 3 months ago

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    ORIENTAL EXPRESS RESTAURANT ATMOSPHERE

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

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    Amazing experience and food. Little tucked away gem . I would recommend if you are looking for some comfort food and authentic Chinese food.

    a plant in a pot
    Manda Bear B.

    Nice owner, the place serve quick Chinese good and tea boba too. Located on the second floor, on top of that Greek restaurant, easily misses if you don't look up. We ordered wonton soup, add on veggies, my mother in law enjoyed it. My hubby enjoyed the Singaporean Noddle a lot. I enjoyed the passion fruit tea with jelly and a simple chicken Chow Mein. Very affordable and it was nice to support them during this COVID-19 pandemic, Arizona University cancelled classes and they lost a lot of business. If I'm in the area again, I'll definitely visit them.

    Restaurant setting
    Kira A.

    Best Chinese food in town. I've been going here since I was a toddler until current time. I always order the chicken lo mein or the shrimp lo mein. My parents love the food. They're either bringing home takeout or I'm the one doing the takeout for them. My brother loves eating it. He's a picky eater, but this place is his exception. It hits close to home. Place is super cozy and homey. The view from above is just straight up awesome. There's a lot of variety to the menu. I have yet to try everything else on my own! The food is great no matter the time of the day. This place is #1 for sure. Love to have you guys here in this small corner of the university. :)

    Beef Tendon with Rice (as good as I remember from 15 years ago during my days at UofA!)
    Ck L.

    Mmmm this brought back so much great memories from my days at UofA. Haven't been here for 15 years, but the Beef Tendon and House Fu Young are still the same! Yum! Many other Asian restaurants near campus have closed but OE is still going strong!

    Silvia F.

    The restaurant is located in the 2nd floor, the elevator is a TRAP!! be very careful if you use it, it hit my mom. The food it's ok but nothing to worth the trip to the place. The restaurant says is family friendly but they don't have 1 high chair, my baby had to eat in my arms.. I won't come back... Many other good places to eat in the university ave.

    Sesame chicken with rice.
    Megan C.

    This is definitely a cheap, divey establishment, but the food was decent enough. I ordered an entree, and it comes with a side of white rice. It came with enough sauce that I was able to get a lot on the rice too. They have some lunch specials, but it would be nice if more entrees were included. They had some limited options with the lunch specials. I went with the sesame chicken, which was about $9. Be warned, there is a 50 cent charge for paying with debit/credit. They have boba as well, along with a few appetizer options. They were a bit slow, but I think it was just the server and a cook in the back. Orders seemed to come out randomly, not in order. However, service was prompt and courteous when the food came out. Overall, decent food for a cheap price. If you're looking for some cheap Chinese, you'll probably be happy.

    a plate of rice, broccoli, and beans
    Ferdinand B.

    Good specials, nice little nook hidden away. It's always been here, even when I came back to Tucson after 6 AWOL years. Has some good items and it beats the corporate place down the street which cost me $13 last time. I used to eat here all during college. The taste is good, not greasy, just above average. But get rid of the styrofoam plates!

    Bun

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    6 months ago

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    4 years ago

    I bought a cherry flavor milk tea to go. Tasted like cough syrup.

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    3 years ago

    Love the food and Twee is always the sweetest! Beef lo mein is the best I've ever had and crab Rangoons are amazing!

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    4 years ago

    Good freshly made food. Reasonably priced for lunch missing these mom and pop Chinese restaurants as there are fewer of them now

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    Jun Dynasty Chinese Restaurant

    Jun Dynasty Chinese Restaurant

    4.2
    (631 reviews)
    2.2 mi
    $$

    Another fabulous meal at Jun Dynasty. Tried the moo shu for the first time here. Added tofu. Very…read moregood. For vegans- tell them no egg in the moo shu. Eggplant is always good and so beautiful. The homestyle tofu is our go to. The woods ear mushroom is so delicious. Service is always good.

    A solid four star establishment! I wanted to take my wife to a recent discovery, a Chinese…read morerestaurant in Tucson, but I found out they are closed on Tuesdays. So I searched Yelp and I found this gem, Jun Dynasty. We traveled an hour and forty minutes from Maricopa to try this place. I could've traveled to other Chinese restaurants in half the time in and around Phoenix and Scottsdale, but something just intrigues me about Tucson. Jun is located in an older part of Tucson and its location can be misleading. But trust me, you want to try this place. We were immediately greeted and seated after we entered the establishment. We were handed menus and asked what we'd like to drink and I ordered Oolong tea and water. The menu included several authentic dishes not found at other Chinese restaurants. I kept it simple though and ordered Walnut Shrimp for my wife, Steamed Dumplings in Peppercorn sauce, Salt & Pepper Fried Fish, and Bok Choy. Steamed dumplings were the first dish brought out. I ordered this because my wife can't eat anything spicy. Well this had a kick to it even I wasn't expecting. It was numbing, literally! Some restaurants will even list this type of dish as cooked in numbing oil. Soon after swallowing the dumpling, a numbing sensation enveloped our tongues. Sorry honey; I thought I ordered a mild dish. I ended up eating all of them. It was hard tasting the other dishes because of the numbing effect. The walnut shrimp came out next and I have to say, they were probably the best I had; even better than Fat's in Sacramento who set the bar back in the day. My wife devoured them. Bok choy was brought out next and she also loved them. They were served with I think a garlic sauce and it was very tasty. The Salt & Pepper fried fish were delivered last and they were also good. However, my wife preferred the walnut shrimp. I did have better S & P fish elsewhere, but these were still good. I can't speak enough about the staff. They were the friendliest I ever experienced in a Chinese restaurant. Our server always checked on us to make sure everything was fine. They all even said good-bye when we left. Yeah, I picked a good one!

    Photos
    Jun Dynasty Chinese Restaurant
    Pork Dumplings in Red Chili Oil
    Pork Dumplings in Red Chili Oil
    Jun Dynasty Chinese Restaurant

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    Kung Fu Noodle

    Kung Fu Noodle

    4.4
    (398 reviews)
    2.4 mi
    $$

    We had an amazing meal here. It was busy for a Tuesday lunch but service was exceptional and dining…read moreroom was very welcoming with large tables. We ordered spicy pork wontons. It had great flavor and perfect appetizer to start the meal. The garlic vegetable was slightly overcooked but had great garlic flavor and paired perfectly with our cumin lamb. Cumin lamb was our favorite today as it had nice flavor and tender lamb with onion and cilantro mixed in. The beef ho fun was as expected. We had plenty of leftovers since portions were big. Highly recommend!!

    I don't know how many, many times I've driven past Ku Fu Noodles before finally stopping in for…read moredinner, but wow, did I waste a lot of time by not going here sooner! We got an array of standard fare as well as some things that I don't normally see on menus of other Chinese restaurants around town. The dumplings were good, though I was underwhelmed by the lack of spice on the Spicy Pork wonton dumplings. The flavor was very good, but it was not spicy at all. For entrees, we got Curry Chicken and Cumin Lamb. I'd never had Cumin Lamb before, and it rocketed to the top of my favorites list! It was gorgeously flavorful, fragrant, and spicy, warming as I ate. The spiced oil soaked into the rice, spreading the flavor to every last grain. It's really lovely and I highly recommend it. The restaurant is bigger than it appears from the outside, with a bright, cheerful ambience. Despite being busy, it never felt too loud, which was nice. The servers worked as a team and were very attentive. It was a great meal!

    Photos
    Kung Fu Noodle
    Cumin Sliced Lamb
    Cumin Sliced Lamb
    Fatty little shrimp chunks

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    Fatty little shrimp chunks
    China Szechwan

    China Szechwan

    4.0
    (494 reviews)
    2.4 mi
    $$

    Spicy pork intestines are a must try. Other food is decent. Service good, ambiance quiet and dim…read more Clean bathrooms. Food: (4/5) Hummingbird nest or something like that:(4/5) It's a bit bland, but it has a good variety of shrimp, scallops, snow peas, and other vegetables on a crispy shell. Good low sodium option in my opinion. Walnut shrimp: (3/5) I'm not the biggest fan of sweet and salty foods, but it was pretty savory and crunchy despite the sauce. Pork intestines: (5/5) These were so crispy and oily. The spicy aroma from the peppers also isn't that unpleasant. Overall a very oil heavy dish and just as delicious. I did order another dish, but it wasn't that outstanding and I forgot the name of it. Service: (5/5) Water refills were frequent and there wasn't much else to it. Everything was quick and efficient. Ambiance: (4/5) Very quiet and dim restaurant. Even talking normally felt very loud. Decor in the walls definitely establishes the vibe. Overall a very nice experience. Prices are fair and portions are good.

    Keeping this short. Two Beef and Broccolis, one hot and sour, one egg drop, one crispy won ton,…read moreone crab puff. All flavors quite a bit 'off'. Left us questioning the 'freshness' and authenticity. A little generous with my star rating, as we both left more than 75% of our plates behind....settled the bill, tipped, and bounced. Will not return but wish them the best. Regarding service, it was ok, but some of the other comments ring true. For example, in the middle of taking our order - the server asked the gentlemen at the table right next to us who just sat down, "What would you like to drink?" while standing talking to me. Perhaps a little training inside and outside the kitchen would raise the tide across the board.

    Photos
    Front of the house
    Front of the house
    Orange chicken
    Orange chicken
    China Szechwan

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    The 81 Hong Kong Cafe

    The 81 Hong Kong Cafe

    4.2
    (290 reviews)
    4.0 mi
    $$

    Stopped by for an early afternoon brunch today. Big mistake…read more But first, let me say that our server was friendly and attentive and could not have been more helpful. Promptly seated, drinks brought out, order taken and food delivered fast, hot and correct. The background music was some chinese music tv station playing modern easy listening tunes and, along with the comfortable chairs and solid table made for a relaxing environment. The food? meh. You can see our order in the latest photo and how expensive it was. the Lo Mein was mostly tasteless and certainly lacking in thast "lo mein flavor." Although the meat was tender, the sauce was just a sticky brown sauce. Surprisingly, the Spicy Pickle Tofu was essentially the same sticky brown sauce as the Lo Mein but with some fried tofu in it and without the noodles but nothing otherwise remarkable. You can tell by looking at my earlier picture attached. The old picture shows a bright and colorful plate. The dish today was a dark brown (you could hardly see the tofu from the beef) as everything was just dark. Eggplant seemed to have a similar brown sauce as well but the eggplant was otherwise tasteless. Nothing popped. Chicken bites were bland and not at all crunchy. Just fried to soft texture but no real flavor. According to our server, the menu was just recently updated about a month ago. We noticed because one of our favorites was the Fried Taro Pie which is now gone from the menu and the server said yes, that's right. Maybe this place has a new owner or chef, but it's no longer in my top asian restaurants for Tucson.

    Talk about food quality and quantity, 81 HK cafe is very good and on top of it!!! Having a mint…read morepork rice with egg Taiwanese style!!! It's an excellent and good quality of Chinese foods!!! Services were rushing due to I was here on Saturday night!!! Everything is perfect here especially when customers want Taiwanese Chinese foods!!

    Photos
    Tomato Beef Rice Bowl
    Tomato Beef Rice Bowl
    The 81 Hong Kong Cafe
    The 81 Hong Kong Cafe

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    Chef Wang 状元楼

    Chef Wang 状元楼

    3.9
    (315 reviews)
    1.4 mi
    $$

    Driven past Chef Wang for nearly a decade and finally decided to give it a try! Called in an order…read morefor pickup during my last trip down to Tucson and waited for several minutes while my food was being completed (which meant my order was hot and fresh), so got a preview of what dining in would be like. Service was attentive and everyone inside was incredibly kind and respectful. Ordered Crab Rangoons and Beef Chow Fun, a couple of staples of mine trying new Chinese restaurants. Rangoons were perfectly crispy, while the chow fun had a delicious wok hei flavor. The noodles and beef were tender and the dish had plenty of onions/green onions/etc. The only thing I didn't care for - and this is a personal preference - is that the chow fun did have a little more star anise/five spice flavor than I care for. Otherwise, the food was hot, fresh, and delicious! Definitely looking forward to returning for a dine in visit to try out the full, very authentic looking menu.

    I ate here January 31st 2024, alone, for the very first time when I was attending the Tucson gem…read moreand jewelry show. I got introduced to the existence of this Chinese restaurant that serves pretty authentic Chinese food for being in Tucson from a non Chinese doctor who hangs out with Chinese doctors at his Tucson hospital and they brought him here to eat REAL Chinese food in Tucson. I know this restaurant serves Chinese authentic food because they have a dish that is nothing but "cut off duck heads.". Just so that you know they have non-authentic Chinese food on the menu that only white people know as Chinese food such as gungbao chicken and broccoli beef, as well, if you don't want to order something as strange as the pile of duck heads. I ordered one of my favorite Szechuan dishes here. It is whitefish fillets with pickled vegetables in a soup. It is like a hot sour stew. It was a generous portion for $16.95 that year. But the reason why I am giving this restaurant two stars is because something happened that never happened to me ever in a restaurant in my 73 years of dining experience, Chinese restaurant or other wise. What happened was I like well lit tables. I don't like to sit in the dark. I was dining alone and like to read while I am eating and I said I want this brightest table which was the first one next to the waiting area. It was a table with four independent chairs. After I sat down and was already eating my food the restaurant asked me to move to another table which was a booth in the corner which was the darkest table in the restaurant. I like bright well lit tables because I read while I eat and I always dine alone. The reason why they asked me to move was because four very obese men couldn't fit in that darkest booth in the far corner of the restaurant, because there was no room in the booth for their bellies to fit. They had to sit in the independent chairs at the table where I was sitting and I was only one person eating at that table for four by myself. They could have waited till I was done eating. So I did move when they explained why and I saw the 4 men waiting there, but honestly I don't think this request that I move when I was ready eating at that table would have happened if this were not a Chinese restaurant, and I say that because I am Chinese. That was my first time eating there and I never went back.

    Photos
    Inside
    Inside
    Spicy Beef Noodle / 麻辣牛肉麵
    Spicy Beef Noodle / 麻辣牛肉麵
    Spicy boiled fish!

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    Spicy boiled fish!

    Oriental Express Restaurant - chinese - Updated August 2026

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