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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?
    Casual
    Moderate noise
    Outdoor seating
    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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    4 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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    2 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
    (628 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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    Golden House

    Golden House

    4.2
    (391 reviews)
    9.8 mi
    $$

    Another update! Today we went nuts and ordered the Meat Combo Appetizer AND our own entrees. The…read moreappetizer was so much fun: 2 Egg Rolls, 2 Crab Puffs, 2 Shrimp Tempura, 2 Beef Kabobs, 2 BBQ Ribs. The egg rolls are huge, crispy, and not the least bit greasy. The shrimp tempura is light and crisp. The beef kabobs are well flavored and cooked crispy, which is an interesting and yummy presentation, The ribs are large and flavorful. The crab puffs are amazing! We could have eaten ten of them; a crisp outside is stuffed with a melting cheesy crab mixture. Divine! House -made Chinese mustard (so good and really clears out the sinuses!) and sweet dipping sauces completed the appetizers. I've reviewed our entrees before and they are as delicious as always. I had the Three Delight Moo Shu, a platter filled with fresh vegetables, shrimp, and chicken; accompanied by sauce (hoisin?) and rice pancakes. I enjoy making my little "burrito" bites! My dining friend had the Mongolian Three Delight; shrimp, chicken, and beef prepared with at least three kinds of onions and a mildly spicy sauce, and a large bowl of rice. My friend has a spice-loving palate, and was brought a bowl of hot chili sauce. Visible pepper flakes floated in the sauce and it was pronounced perfect. I love being greeted by name and the food is scrumptious. Golden House is immaculate throughout and it is a pleasure to visit and enjoy their food. See you next month, Ming!

    BROWN RICE lives here, YAY! AND no upcharge to swap for white, already grabbing points here! Golden…read moreHouse also touts No MSG too if that bothers you. (ramen, Doritos occasionally and hidden in so many other seasonings, it's overly criticized, and did you know, made from natural ingredients molasses, sugar beets, starch & sugar) . 2 std dishes Kung Pao Chicken $14.95 and Beef Snow Peas $16.95 were both tasty. KP was a tad too sweet and would make that adjustment in future, had mid level heat as served-- overall 4/5 hubby enjoyed. Snow Peas were a bit tough, chewy vs tender and snappy. Maybe a parboil to tenderize before quick wok hit ? and velveted beef had decent texture and flavor 3.75/5 a bit chewy and garlicky brown sauce aok. Portions are fair, you may have leftovers if you aren't really hungry but hubby easily ate his KP but only 1/3 of a heaped rice bowl. $3.50 for a small single pot of black tea (oolong?) was a bit stee, they got too busy to ask for more H20, but the free upgrade on brown rice more than makes par haha Overall a 3.8/5 for flavor and quality, Golden House is good. But still searching for a Go-to on SE side... Chef Wang still shines brighter for us: authenticity, wok hei, fresh bamboo shoots, tofu skin wraps, clay pot with Chinese dried mushrooms, variety on menu... although, alas no brown rice :/ Thankful though for this family Chinese restaurant, a quickly iconic mainstay of US dining, nearing extinction in many towns. So truly am thankful for GH preparations today!

    Photos
    Crispy noodles
    Crispy noodles
    Golden House
    Dining area

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    Dining area
    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
    (312 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.

    Such a great spot for authentic North-Eastern Chinese food as well as some other Chinese regional…read morevarieties like Sichuan. I love their tofu pot with cabbage, the cold appetizer combo with wood ear mushroom salad and Chinese shredded potato salad, the málà (má: numbing, là : spicy) vegetarian plate and the tea mushroom pot. I definitely want to try more! My general rating system: 1 star: I would stay away 2 stars: Has some good things about it but I generally don't recommend. 3 stars: Pretty good. I wouldn't go out of my way to go back but a decent place 4 stars: Great place. I would go back. 5 stars: I highly recommend stopping whatever you are doing and making plans to try it out! An Evie favorite!

    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!
    New Asia Chinese Restaurant

    New Asia Chinese Restaurant

    4.2
    (131 reviews)
    3.5 mi
    $

    Went in around 2pm today to get some lunch. What a gem! Seems to be a mom and pop family run…read morebusiness including a couple of the kids hanging out. Immediately greeted and offered a booth in the pleasant dining room given menu along with getting my drink order. My drink came out fast and was a neat plastic cup full of ice along with the can - pretty perfect for me. A few seconds later my small order for the hot and sour soup arrived and it was a good sized small bowl but the soup was delicious. I've missed this in Tucson. Shortly, my order of the house special chop suey came out. It was fresh, hot, in a flavorful brown sauce. Full of the chicken, beef and shrimp along with lots of crunchy vegetables. A large portion and so good. This could be the kept secret in Tucson. Go check it out!

    Saw this as a recommendation somewhere else on Yelp and decided to give it a try for dinner. We…read morecalled in an order for pick up and it was ready within 15 minutes! The dinner special was a great deal, the portions for soup and the other items were more than reasonable. Our favorite thing however was the BBQ pork wide ride noodles. We can't wait to come back and try the BBQ pork in something else because it was fantastic. They also already had spicy mustard and sweet & sour sauce in the bad without having to ask. The inside was rather small and warm when we went to pick up. We will be back again, but likely for take out only.

    Photos
    Nice dining room
    Nice dining room
    Crab Rangoon
    Crab Rangoon
    Diet Coke and cup with ice

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    Diet Coke and cup with ice

    Oriental Express Restaurant - chinese - Updated July 2026

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