Sky Express - Costa Mesa

Sky Express is the only Chinese restaurant in the Costa Mesa Mitsuwa Marketplace, providing a unique alternative among the predominantly Japanese dining options. The only other non-Japanese establishment in the food court is The Loft Hawaiian. Sky Express features a diverse menu that includes Boba, Dim Sum, and a variety of Cantonese dishes.

This restaurant is located within Mitsuwa Market Square, situated behind the grocery store where you'll find a large Japanese food section. It features authentic Japanese food products and specializes in dim sum, bao buns, and some Chinese dishes. The pork shumai is quite tasty and made fresh when you order it. However, the Xiao Long Bao are just average, lacking sufficient broth inside. The BBQ pork bao buns are excellent, and the orange chicken is top-notch—just be sure to ask for extra garlic. The chow mein is decent, but it falls a bit flat in flavor; it could use more soy sauce, and the chicken tends to be a bit dry. You have the option of thin or thick egg noodles with the chow mein, and I personally prefer the thin noodles. The egg drop soup is delightful. The only downside is that they only accept cash, which is why I’m deducting a star.

I was pleasantly surprised by the Hainan chicken, which was surprisingly good for a Japanese restaurant. The dim sum was decent, but it definitely falls short compared to some of the better and even average places in the San Gabriel Valley. To be honest, the chicken dish won't compete with the top-tier restaurants, but I still found it to be a nice surprise!

Good drinks. Netter Server. Appropriate price.