Oriental Express Cafe - San Gabriel

I used to eat here almost every day, and the prices are unbeatable! The curry is delicious, but I suspect it might be duck meat since the bones are too large to be chicken. Each order comes with a complimentary house milk tea. The milk tea has a somewhat artificial sugary flavor, but it’s surprisingly good. Just let the ice melt completely before drinking it, and it won't be as sweet!

The food was quite enjoyable, featuring a good variety of dishes prepared to order. You have the option to select one to four items, and I opted for a three-item combo. My choices included meatballs, meatloaf with egg, and a pork dish, all for $11. The meal was served in a large container, along with a small container of rice. The combo also included a cup of soup and a regular-sized iced tea. It's worth noting that this is not your typical American Chinese fare; you definitely get better value for your money here. However, parking can be a bit limited.

The food was just mediocre, and the complimentary milk tea wasn't great, so I ended up pouring it out. I had to stop by Bon Appetea afterward to get a boba milk tea instead. No pun intended, but it really wasn't my thing.

So I was looking for a cheap dinner and stumbled upon this place. First off wow! The infinite amount of selections to choose from? Think Panda Express but way cheaper! Secondly they have a deal that you can pretty much bunch the same items together but it needs to be 3 of the 4 items (I got confused and thought it was either 3 or 4) Now for the food reviews, I literally have no idea what most of these are but I am only going off of what I think it is. Curry chicken 10/10 this reminded me of when my mom used to make it when I was a kid and it just threw me back into nostalgia for a hot minute (I kept wanting more of this dish) Kung pao chicken? based off the ingredients and taste this wasn't too bad, had great taste only bad thing I can say was the zucchini was over cooked but that's part of the fast food service. I definitely would get this again Braised tofu and egg the curry chicken sauce was good with this lol, flavor wise is okay but because the curry and Kung pao chicken were overpowering it didn't seem like it had much flavor Fried chicken and broccoli grouping these together because they just seemed standard (and I only got these because I know my son would eat them Spicy chicken and spicy tofu the chicken was definitely another favorite, definitely had a kick to it. It kinda had similar flavors to Kung pao. The spicy tofu was okay, not as much flavor as everything. Overall I definitely recommend this place if you're on a budget! The combos all come with rice soup and a drink and it only cost me about $28.

(FOOD) The food is very taiwanese centric meaning most things will taste either bland or just salted savory. However, I am fine with this as I don't expect much from a local mom and pop shop. For 9.50 on the DOT they will give you a 3 item combo with white rice soup a watered down Quickly's milk tea which is the best way I can describe it. Not at all a bad deal to be honest. They give a lot most times and I usually eat it for lunch and dinner if I'm lazy which is most days. The flavor profile is definitely geared towards an older generation of Chinese. I usually get the breaded chicken breast which they make extra crispy, a random cooked veggie option which varies by day, and the sliced potatoes with a very mild szechuan spice. (SERVICE) It's okay. You're supposed to leave your trash on the table which is an unspoken rule. I prefer a trash can but I'm sure they don't have one for their own reasons. (PLACE) They seriously need to upgrade the interior but knowing Chinese people this will never happen. It would require an idealistic younger business owner to truly revamp the place. Some new flooring and paint would really help. (VERDICT) It's definitely not the tastiest selection of food but for 9.50 I am not complaining especially with the amount they give.