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    AJ's Chinese Express

    3.6 (103 reviews)
    ModerateChinese
    Closed 11:00 am - 3:00 pm, 4:30 PM - 9:00 PM

    AJ's Chinese Express Photos

    Business Info

    AJ'S CHINESE EXPRESS ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Casual
    Quiet
    Good for kids
    Outdoor seating

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    Recommended Reviews - AJ's Chinese Express

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    Shrimp with lobster sauce
    Melissa L.

    AJ's is a fun little mom and pop Chinese restaurant and takeout spot in Ojai. It's nice to have some diversity in the area and I was impressed by how extensive their menu was! AJ's is off the main drag as you work your way up into Ojai. I'm grateful they have their own parking lot as it makes it easy to get over off the busy street. The signage was large and this spot was easy to find. The restaurant itself was impeccably clean inside and on a hot day they managed to keep this spot cool inside which was much appreciated. The customer service here and friendliness of the staff is A+. As soon as I walked in I was greeted with a friendly smile and everyone here was really nice. They value your business and make you feel special. The food was a solid 4/5. It's not the best Chinese food I've had but it certainly hits the spot and tasted very very fresh. I was impressed that I had to haul this food 30 minutes away and it was literally piping hot when I got to my destination. Love hot and fresh food that travels well! The hits: egg drop soup here is so freaking good. Reminds me of the flavors I grew up with. As simple as egg drop soup is a lot of places miss the mark but not here. It was definitely the right texture and super flavorful for such a simple bite. I'll be craving this simple soup from AJs for sure. Also had the chicken chow mein and it was super good. The right amount of oiliness and perfect noodle texture, a really good main dish served with some white rice. The only miss was the shrimp with lobster sauce. It wasn't bad just not my favorite. I like the sauce to be a little thicker and it wasn't as flavorful as some of my other bites here. It's okay though as they had many other shrimp options to pick from and I will be back to try more!

    Boba tea
    Erin K.

    I'm so glad AJ's has reopened. :) I've been there twice since they've come back (after 14 months closed) and enjoy the food just as much as I had before. The atmosphere is improved - the interior and exterior are spruced up and the staff is friendly and helpful as always. Food is still served in to-go containers but they are nicer quality. ;P I'm not sure if they have quick-lunch options like they used to but I always like to get something custom anyway. Now they also have a lot of specialty boba teas and drinks which is nice. I'll probably eat here for lunch today too. Yay!

    Taste Good!!!

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    1 month ago

    Fresh. Lots of veggies. I like the egg fu yong ( which was a surprise) and their veggie moo shoo. Nice, clean flavors

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    1 year ago

    Food Horrible! Put Ash oil in Orange Chicken! Really ? Who does that? 3 pieces of chicken in chicken Caahew

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    2 years ago

    Good food at reasonable prices make me a frequent patron to this roadside establishment.

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    3 years ago

    My go to for authentic Chinese food, no place better then aj's in the whole Ojai valley

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    4 years ago

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    10 years ago

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    3 years ago

    I enjoy the food but I don't appreciate having the gratuity filled out for me when I pick up my order.

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    9 years ago

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    2 years ago

    excellent shrimp egg foo young and egg rolls. friendly staff easy parking. quick service. I'm a regular.

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    3 years ago

    Looking for something different while in Ojai CA, food was good, nice sized portions, place was clean and very friendly staff.

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    5 years ago

    Delicious food, best walnut shrimp I have had. Great price with friendly staff and clean interior.

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    Page 1 of 3

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    Little Sama Ojai

    Little Sama Ojai

    4.2
    (140 reviews)
    2.9 mi
    $$

    Little Sama Ojai!…read more Took the wife here thinking to share a dish and order small things before the drive back to the OC. Oh we left filled! Located inside the Topa Topa Brewing Company, as soon as you walk in you will see the tap bar, to the left you'll see where you place your order for Little Sama, even more to the left is the food menu. It was very tempting to try a beer from Topa Topa since it was our first time at both these locations, but also our first time in Ojai, but man the heat destroyed me (when does it not) and I knew the beer would just make me even more hot and bloated too. We were at the location on a Thursday late afternoon, not too many people, few people coming in and getting either their after work brew or shoot maybe one before their shift starts. It was happy hour for Little Sama which we took advantage with one of the dishes which I will discuss in a bit. Plenty of seating inside and outside, as well as two unisex bathrooms, to the right side of the bar. The girl working was very helpful on giving us good recommendations which we went with: Okonomiyaki Tots (Happy Hour Item) - Now most places when they have happy hour and these items are on there, its usually like half the portion or something, they gave us a lot, so I am curious what does the non-happy hour order look like. One thing for sure is I am super glad they gave us this much because these were bomb and dangerous. The tater tots were fried perfectly that it held its crunch even with the Okonomi Sauce and kewpie mayo. I usually don't care for pickled cabbage but that perfectly balanced the whole dish that I found myself poking the cabbage and spinning it like spaghetti, then making sure it stays in place by capping it with two tots. Damn delish! Korean Fried Cauliflower - This is to this date, the best fried cauliflower dish I have had, actually lets expand that to the best cauliflower dish I have had. Again perfectly fried where you had a little bit of a crunch but still had the nice pillow-whe feel of the cauliflower. That sauce though! It was so damn good I obviously finished the dish, but at the end my fat boy habits came out and I scraped the whole plate so all the sauce would combine again so I could use the last of the two cauliflower and drench em down! Can I get this some how over here to the OC PLEASE! Top Sirloin Katsu Sando - I don't know how they did this not only were they keeping the crisp of the sandwich along with the katsu, they didn't clash to where it was just to crunchy, they blended so well together. That miso garlic cabbage slaw just really put everything together into just a umami explosion in the mouth. The Krupuk chips were delicious, I was going to knock a star off my review because either they weren't fried all the way or maybe that could just be the chip themselves, but do check your chips, sometimes in the center is a very hard part while surrounding it is the regular chip like texture. The wife bit into it and the shock of not expecting that hard texture, irritated that side of the jaw for a bit. In conclusion as mentioned above I started off with a 4 star review because of the chip, but that was the only thing. I just think putting out that delicious food, having one of those dishes being the best I have had, it deserved a 5 star from me. Imagine enjoying the beer which without a doubt would have some that pair nicely with each dish! This restaurant will be one of those ones that will make it hard to try anything else in Ojai. Why? Being our first time in Ojai, it is hard to say when is the next time we will return, but when we do, why would I try any other place out when I can finally try this place again! Feast Well Fellow Yelpers! Kaizokuō Ni Ore Wa Naru! - Taicho

    Food looks better then it tastes. Located inside the…read morebrewery. Ordered the lemongrass beef noodle bowl. The beef was actually the best part of the bowl. The dressing/sauce that goes on it was tangy but bland. The noodles were cooked ok. I was expecting a flavor similar to a Vietnamese Noodle bowl and it was not. The chicken Karage.... Was dry and some pieces were just batter no chicken , very hard. Not the usual crispy outside and moist and tender inside. Felt like these were fried too long or refried various times. Small portions. The pickles were okay again no flavor other then sour/tangy. The cucumber pickled in the set tasted spoiled. Didn't eat those. Overall left disappointed.

    Photos
    Top Sirloin Katsu sando
    Top Sirloin Katsu sando
    Chicken wings
    Chicken wings
    Okonomiyaki tots

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    Okonomiyaki tots
    Yunnan Restaurant

    Yunnan Restaurant

    4.5
    (209 reviews)
    33.3 mi
    $$

    Our favorite Chinese food place in Oak Park, Thousand Oaks and Agoura Hills Neighborhood. Here are…read morea few dishes I am happy to recommend: spicy diced chicken, sweet and sour chicken, sechuan fried green beans( this one has a lot of garlic), sechuan braised pork with buns, kimchi fish( request non spicy if you don't eat hot peppers). There are many other options on their menu, feel free to explore. My kids are picky eaters but they absolutely love the Chinese food from here. I of course enjoy the authentic sechuan flavor being Chinese myself. The restaurant is kept tidy and clean, if you want a dine in experience I recommend you to make a booking, walk-in is very welcome but keep note that sometimes it gets really crowded. They have frozen handmade dumplings for sale too if that's something you want to look into.

    Was surprised to find such an authentic spot for Chinese in Oak Park!…read more I came by for a Mother's Day lunch with my family. When we arrived around 1 pm, the restaurant was maybe half full. But clearly it was popular as people were coming in constantly the entire time we were eating. Even though the restaurant is called Yunnan Restaurant, most of the dishes on the menu were more like Sichuan dishes i.e. spicy. All of the food was super solid and portions were ginormous. My recommendation is to order 1 dish per person if you want leftovers, or order one less dish than the # of people if you want to finish most of the food. I don't handle spice very well, so we ordered a mix of spicy and non-spicy dishes. We shared the following: #1 Yunan rice noodles ($16.99) #32 scallion pancake ($8.99) #104 Chong qing fried chicken ($16.99) #107 braised pork belly with buns ($19.99) #109 boiled two items - fish and duck blood ($21.99) Given that the restaurant is called Yunnan Restaurant, we felt like we had to order one of the most popular dishes from that region, the Yunan rice noodles i.e. crossing the bridge noodles. I really enjoyed the silky smooth mixian noodles as well as the flavorful broth. The fried chicken was too spicy for me; I ate one piece and my whole mouth was on fire. Everyone else said it was quite spicy as well, so eat this in moderation unless you can really handle your spice. The 3 pepper signs next to this dish on the menu are no joke! The braised pork belly was delicious, but portions were on the smaller side for this one. Still, I enjoyed making a little bun sandwich with the pork belly and pickled veggies. The boiled fish and duck blood was also super solid. It was just a little spicy, so I was able to manage a couple pieces with the help of rice on the side. Portions were very generous for this dish. We all ate lots of fish and duck blood and still had a ton left to take home. They also have some precooked 涼菜, i.e. cold dishes, on the side you can buy for dine-in or to go. We got 3 of the meats - pork tongue, pork head, and and beef tripe, to go. Paid $16.99 for a huge box of these meats. We thought this was a steal too. Can't wait to try some at home!

    Photos
    Free tea upon arriving
    Free tea upon arriving
    Salt & Pepper Chicken Wings
    Salt & Pepper Chicken Wings
    Pineapple Fried Rice

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    Pineapple Fried Rice
    Peking Restaurant

    Peking Restaurant

    4.1
    (513 reviews)
    11.3 mi
    $$

    Peking is so good! I forgot to take photos but got the honey walnut shrimp ginger scallion fish…read more Amazing.

    My go-to has always been Lee's in mid town, but moved to the East end so placed an order to go on a…read moreWednesday at about 4pm. 2 mid priced dinners plus an order of bbq pork rice. I hate to leave a bad review because I know restaurants are struggling like all of us, but with the price of everything these days, this almost $80 meal for 2 was going to be a treat. Choose wisely where you spend your hard earned $ these days. The soup choice was incorrect, the paper wrap chicken was ok but the 2 fried shrimp and egg rolls were bar b doll sized! Included fried rice had nothing but brown color. Our 3 flavor chow mein was greasy but dry?, gummy and mostly flavorless, lacked any discernible vegetables and had just a small amount of meat. Craziest of all, the sweet and sour chicken came as 2 flavorless sliced, battered and fried chicken cutlets and a container of a small amount of basically raw veggies in what tasted like a cornstarch slurry with ketchup and a bit of pineapple juice added. My Sis called the restaurant and they offered to comp an item with next order, but with the amount of restaurants in Ventura that go above and beyond on a consistent basis, there won't be one. We both have spent some time in food service so this almost double hurt knowing that we would've been a lot happier with a big order of Panda Express!!

    Photos
    Interior
    Interior
    Dim sum menu
    Dim sum menu
    Imside

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    Imside
    Tasty China

    Tasty China

    4.4
    (579 reviews)
    12.7 mi
    $$

    With the cyclospora in mind, Chinese food seems like the safest bet. This place feels like a hole…read morein the wall type of restaurant. There were a couple couples that look like they're on dates. Service is really good here. And we ordered all the food we wanted to try. It seems like they tried to limit the chances of the cyclospora parasite since no one has a definite source yet (Mongolian beef usually has raw green onions but they subbed wok fired yellow onions). But some stuff they kept the cilantro and green onions (bc they were cold dishes) The pan fried dumpling would have been good if it didn't have so much Ginger.. I'm not too into Ginger but the dumpling was nice because it had the juice inside of it and the texture was nice The refreshing woodear is a cold dish that has a chewy/crunchy texture. The soy sauce/vinegar flavor makes it refreshing when the other foods get heavy. Spicy beef slices were not that bad, but I prefer more of the spicy szechuan flavor (numbing/tingly feeling). The cilantro and green onions also provided good flavor The beef and onion pancake reminded me of mushu beef, it had the same wrap, hoision sauce flavor with meat and veggies-green onions. It also had good amount of meat Hunan beef was ok but wife enjoyed it. Wife's cooking prepared me for the peppers...is it a jalapeno or a green pepper...Russian roulette if you can't handle spicy. The Mongolian beef had reg onions instead of the green onions. Lots of onions..but I can't be mad bc the onions had the wok fire flavor, which I enjoy and not many places do it. The spicy eggplant with hot garlic sauce had lots of woodears, the eggplant was a little more on the sweet side, and the eggplant had a little bit of a crispyness to it. The salt and pepper shrimp almost reminded me of fried cake batter. It had some sweetness to it so it confused me cuz I was expecting something savory. At the end of the meal we had our fortune cookie, which seemed like it was more of an ad than a fortune.. sneaky Fortune Cookie company. Overall this place was pretty good and worth trying, especially since they have great service

    Two days ago, I was here. My dandan noodle came out super late, ended up taking it for to go…read more Today, I came back to eat the dandan noodle. I want it fresh and hot. Well indeed it's really good. Pack with flavor not spicy but just enough kick. Very well. Now, this place has the best Dandan noodle, even better than the one in Monterey Park or Alhambra. Best part is, its even good when it's cold. Garlic pork ribs. I was thinking like a riblets but it's more like garlic fried pork chop. Not what I expected but it's delicious. Fried pork dumpling. The meat inside is very succulent. Thumbs up. Can't skipped the XLB. I must say that the staff are very hard working and efficient. Thanks. Will be back soon.

    Photos
    Tasty China
    Pork XLB.
    Pork XLB.
    The counter

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    The counter

    AJ's Chinese Express - chinese - Updated August 2026

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