Not just a review, but a story... First, don't get me wrong. I do not eat out so that I can write bad reviews about food and service. I eat out because I love good food and service. Also, I like to think that maybe my experience sparked a team meeting, a brainstorming session, a retraining or just a plain old 1:1 conversation at the establishment I reviewed. Which leads me to today's review of China Express. I had been going to this restaurant since moving to Matthews (pre-Pandemic). Moving to the south from NJ and working in NYC (the Melting Pot) for almost 30 years, I was on a quest to find the best cultural, culinary cuisine in my new town. It did not take me long to find my Chinese food love, which was also just around the way from my home (could drive there in 5-mins or take a leisurely 20-min stroll on a beautiful Summer evening). Fast forward to 2019 when we were all orderer to stay home (small businesses took a hit like no major corporation could imagine). Then the reopen... lights came back on, menus were revised and prices were increased. After all, everyone was trying to recoup the gut punch from these past 18-mos to 2-years. To those who made it... Salute! To those who didn't, we mourn. But to those who decided the dedicated customer would pay for their loss, shame on you. I noticed (post-COVID) returning to China Express was a dismal experience. My beloved wings, which we all know the 2x season / 2x fry is what sets the Asian wings apart from any other, had been fried, refried, fried again and laid to the side (like a bad wig) until you ordered them. Only to be microwaved and completely dried out by the time they made it to your home. My detachment and honest review of this experience were not favorable, causing me to date several different Chinese restaurants in the Charlotte / Matthews / Mint Hill area, with no committed attachment. So, today I'm feeling for Chinese food, but worked all day and did not feel like venturing out. Was going to try the restaurant at the Margaret Wallace / Idlewild corner, but wasn't up to trying our something new and decided to go where's closest and familiar. To my surprise, the wings were back to flavorable, full-sized and juicy. Fried rice was fluffy and fresh and my guy's House Special Lo Mein was loaded with the beef, chicken, pork and shrimp he remembers. There was meat in the wontons for the wonton soup (which some restaurants have gotten away from) and the hot & sour soup was loaded with spice. Kudos to China Express for bringing back the feeling and memories of the family run, cultural restaurant. Now off to replace or rekindle with the others that I have lost connection with during the pandemic!
Anthony Conwell
Place is a little dirty but wasn't bad the general chicken was red not use to that but it was good crab rangoon is good corners are kinda hard egg roll on point thanks
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 5
Mireya Gaton
I found this place on my way home and decided to try it. i will be brutally honest: there are better options in the area. The place looks a bit "beat up" especially for the location. From the outside you could see a guide with both of his feet resting on top of one of the booths, once inside, a couple of kids that looks like they belong to the owners, were just screaming soooo loud and that was not pleasant. The food....I ordered a ribs combo with fried rice and a side order of crab rangoon. The ribs smelled weird and tasted like very old. The crab rangoon tasted like raw, i have tried rangoon in many other places and this place does not either fry them well or they need to try a more authentic Chinese recipe. The fried rice was so so, lots of chunks of onions, don't know why ?. Overall, it has a lot of room to grow but I am not coming back. $18 and I am not happy at all. I was very excited to try them but not on my favorites.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 2
Service: 4
Ramon Dominguez
We have been ordering take out for over 8 years and their taste and quality is always the same. ???
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: General TSO
April Mullis
The worst Chinese food I've ever had! Do not eat!
Candace Tackett
Worst Chinese food I've ever had. No flavor. Raw carots & broccoli in the dish. Big chunks of chewy meat. Eggroll left out of order. Hot & sour soup all vegetables & very little soup.
Food: 1
Service: 1
Susan McCarver
Save your money and order Red Bowl or dozens of others. Bare minimum "Chinese Food" They don't even include egg rolls in combo meals anymore. Food is not tasty. Loaded down with MSG like glue texture. We have been customers for almost a decade, and when I called to complain about the 3 hour wait time today, and delivered with 2 combos paid and no eggrolls; the lady said it was my 1st order, NO record of 10 years worth of orders. Red flag. I hung up. The spot is no more, moving on!
Richard Poole
I had boneless ribs and pork fried rice. Quantity was fine, preparation was bland to say the least.My wife had Crab Rangoon that she was truly disappointed with. Sesame Chicken was over cooked and under seasoned as well.
Eugene Lewis
Food tastes off. Horrible rip off too. They underserved and overcharged. 7.45 for 3 chicken wings they have it listed as 6 but they cut them in half and leave off the tips. Then smile as they tell you they know they’re ripping you off.
Customer service good , the restaurant is actually presentable. The only down fall is the food is okay , but expensive for the amount they give you which is barely anything . Also, if you order the chicken wings you will not get the whole entire chicken wing , they cut it up which I actually was unaware and rather annoyed .
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Ian Wilson
Had the lo mein and the sesame chicken, was very good. I would definitely recommend the spring rolls too- they have shrimp in them and are delicious.
Steve Gomez
CHINA EXPRESS IN MATHEWS WORST CHINESE FOOD EVER TASTED AND EVEN WORST CUSTOMER SERVICE!We order 3 dishes walnut shrimp , fry rice and lo mainThe lo main was burnt and had a smoke flavor to it.The fry rice was the worst I ever tasted and the walnut shrimp was paste together with old walnuts, Stale.Needless to say we did not eat it, we proceeded to call, this proved useless ,they lady who answer was trying to acomódate us ,but the man kept yelling and came to the phone and said no money back ,bye !and hanged up the phone .I will dispute with my credit card and eat cereal for dinner tonight .PLEASE DONT EVER CALL THIS PLACE OR EAT THIS FOOD.
Maritza C.
This has to be one of the worst Chinese restaurants I've been to. We ordered by phone and picked it up. The restaurant seemed clean. Once we got home we found the food was horrible. The chicken was nothing but breaded pieces of fat. We put both meals in the trash and swore never to return there. We go out to dinner frequently but this is the worst.
Thanai _
The egg drop soup was out of this world, and the service was great. I will definitely be visiting again!!
I work here
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Not just a review, but a story... First, don't get me wrong. I do not eat out so that I can write bad reviews about food and service. I eat out because I love good food and service. Also, I like to think that maybe my experience sparked a team meeting, a brainstorming session, a retraining or just a plain old 1:1 conversation at the establishment I reviewed. Which leads me to today's review of China Express. I had been going to this restaurant since moving to Matthews (pre-Pandemic). Moving to the south from NJ and working in NYC (the Melting Pot) for almost 30 years, I was on a quest to find the best cultural, culinary cuisine in my new town. It did not take me long to find my Chinese food love, which was also just around the way from my home (could drive there in 5-mins or take a leisurely 20-min stroll on a beautiful Summer evening). Fast forward to 2019 when we were all orderer to stay home (small businesses took a hit like no major corporation could imagine). Then the reopen... lights came back on, menus were revised and prices were increased. After all, everyone was trying to recoup the gut punch from these past 18-mos to 2-years. To those who made it... Salute! To those who didn't, we mourn. But to those who decided the dedicated customer would pay for their loss, shame on you. I noticed (post-COVID) returning to China Express was a dismal experience. My beloved wings, which we all know the 2x season / 2x fry is what sets the Asian wings apart from any other, had been fried, refried, fried again and laid to the side (like a bad wig) until you ordered them. Only to be microwaved and completely dried out by the time they made it to your home. My detachment and honest review of this experience were not favorable, causing me to date several different Chinese restaurants in the Charlotte / Matthews / Mint Hill area, with no committed attachment. So, today I'm feeling for Chinese food, but worked all day and did not feel like venturing out. Was going to try the restaurant at the Margaret Wallace / Idlewild corner, but wasn't up to trying our something new and decided to go where's closest and familiar. To my surprise, the wings were back to flavorable, full-sized and juicy. Fried rice was fluffy and fresh and my guy's House Special Lo Mein was loaded with the beef, chicken, pork and shrimp he remembers. There was meat in the wontons for the wonton soup (which some restaurants have gotten away from) and the hot & sour soup was loaded with spice. Kudos to China Express for bringing back the feeling and memories of the family run, cultural restaurant. Now off to replace or rekindle with the others that I have lost connection with during the pandemic!
Place is a little dirty but wasn't bad the general chicken was red not use to that but it was good crab rangoon is good corners are kinda hard egg roll on point thanks
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 5
I found this place on my way home and decided to try it. i will be brutally honest: there are better options in the area. The place looks a bit "beat up" especially for the location. From the outside you could see a guide with both of his feet resting on top of one of the booths, once inside, a couple of kids that looks like they belong to the owners, were just screaming soooo loud and that was not pleasant. The food....I ordered a ribs combo with fried rice and a side order of crab rangoon. The ribs smelled weird and tasted like very old. The crab rangoon tasted like raw, i have tried rangoon in many other places and this place does not either fry them well or they need to try a more authentic Chinese recipe. The fried rice was so so, lots of chunks of onions, don't know why ?. Overall, it has a lot of room to grow but I am not coming back. $18 and I am not happy at all. I was very excited to try them but not on my favorites.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 2
Service: 4
We have been ordering take out for over 8 years and their taste and quality is always the same. ???
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: General TSO
The worst Chinese food I've ever had! Do not eat!
Worst Chinese food I've ever had. No flavor. Raw carots & broccoli in the dish. Big chunks of chewy meat. Eggroll left out of order. Hot & sour soup all vegetables & very little soup.
Food: 1
Service: 1
Save your money and order Red Bowl or dozens of others. Bare minimum "Chinese Food" They don't even include egg rolls in combo meals anymore. Food is not tasty. Loaded down with MSG like glue texture. We have been customers for almost a decade, and when I called to complain about the 3 hour wait time today, and delivered with 2 combos paid and no eggrolls; the lady said it was my 1st order, NO record of 10 years worth of orders. Red flag. I hung up. The spot is no more, moving on!
I had boneless ribs and pork fried rice. Quantity was fine, preparation was bland to say the least.My wife had Crab Rangoon that she was truly disappointed with. Sesame Chicken was over cooked and under seasoned as well.
Food tastes off. Horrible rip off too. They underserved and overcharged. 7.45 for 3 chicken wings they have it listed as 6 but they cut them in half and leave off the tips. Then smile as they tell you they know they’re ripping you off.
Restaurantji Recommends
Customer service good , the restaurant is actually presentable. The only down fall is the food is okay , but expensive for the amount they give you which is barely anything . Also, if you order the chicken wings you will not get the whole entire chicken wing , they cut it up which I actually was unaware and rather annoyed .
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Had the lo mein and the sesame chicken, was very good. I would definitely recommend the spring rolls too- they have shrimp in them and are delicious.
CHINA EXPRESS IN MATHEWS WORST CHINESE FOOD EVER TASTED AND EVEN WORST CUSTOMER SERVICE!We order 3 dishes walnut shrimp , fry rice and lo mainThe lo main was burnt and had a smoke flavor to it.The fry rice was the worst I ever tasted and the walnut shrimp was paste together with old walnuts, Stale.Needless to say we did not eat it, we proceeded to call, this proved useless ,they lady who answer was trying to acomódate us ,but the man kept yelling and came to the phone and said no money back ,bye !and hanged up the phone .I will dispute with my credit card and eat cereal for dinner tonight .PLEASE DONT EVER CALL THIS PLACE OR EAT THIS FOOD.
This has to be one of the worst Chinese restaurants I've been to. We ordered by phone and picked it up. The restaurant seemed clean. Once we got home we found the food was horrible. The chicken was nothing but breaded pieces of fat. We put both meals in the trash and swore never to return there. We go out to dinner frequently but this is the worst.
The egg drop soup was out of this world, and the service was great. I will definitely be visiting again!!