Chinatown Express is centrally located，in heart of China town，I had been here twice during my stay in DC，first time ordered wonton noodle soup，it was delicious，second time ordered roast duck and congee，too salty，I had been given a bowl of rice for free. Teas and Services need to be updated too. read more

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Came here with some colleagues for dinner. Had a table upstairs - the restaurant is cramped and was busy as all get out on a Friday night. The staff means business - no smiles here - but the busser staff is attentive and you get served really fast - drinks and dinner. Hot tea comes to the table when you sit down and they are ready to order as fast as you can be ready. While the food isn't mind blowing - the dumplings taste like dumplings - they all taste the same no matter the type and the bowls of soup are simple and warm - the environment is entertaining and it's a fun place to take tourists - and wow, it's cheap. So that's why I'm a fan - it appears authentic, the staff means business, the food is good standard Chinese and it's fun to pig out on duck skin and hot sauce and cheap beer. I'll come back here - even alone - to enjoy a bowl of soup, a Tsing Tao and the interesting mix of people who visit. read more

Very decent spot in Chinatown area or DC in general. It's always hard to fins good food at relatively cheap price in DC but this place meets both requirements!! LOVE the fact that it's hand-pulled noodle so very fresh! The lunch options are ok but definitely the soup noodles and stir-fry noodles are the ones to try! My favorite is the duck hand-pulled noodles. My husband also likes the pork and beef options. read more

Tasty and we enjoyed the duck soup and dumplings and fried rice. The folks here were real friendly and helpful, accommodating with our stroller! Some of the reviews here make it sound so bad but it was great. Maybe y'all need to chill out read more

All 3 orders of take out noodles and duck (hardly any in there)were stale and had to be trashed. Wish I had checked these reviews Friday night before ordering. It's disappointing an not expected this from such a busy and touristicarea read more

Chinese food in DC and Baltimore are known to be less than satisfying but Chinatown express was a pleasant experience comparatively speaking. We ordered the duck, kung pao chicken, noodles, dumplings and xiao long bao. The duck was good. Pretty fatty as it should be but they use the drippings from roasting to add more flavor to it. Really hit the spot. Noodles were decent as well. Beef was tender, noodles were well cooked. Dumplings and kung pao chicken were just ok. Probably wouldn't order those again. Would definitely come here for the duck though! Also prices are good. read more

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This place is pretty good, but I should advise you to stick to the items they advertise greatly like the duck and noodle soup. First, this place looks like a walking health code violation. Its dingy, basement like, and the decor leaves much to be desired. The food is pretty stellar, specifically the noodle soup dishes. It really is worth the rave. The noodles are very very fresh and the soup is amply seasoned. It has scallions and bok choy to add some veggies and texture to the soup. The duck is golden brown and perfectly cooked. Its really a near perfect dish. With that being said, I would encourage you to come while its busy as I can imagine if the noodles and the duck are sitting out a bit on a slow day then it looses much of its great taste which is partly attributable to the freshness of the dish. This place may be a one trick pony but boy it's a damn good trick. read more

Chinatown Express - Duck with noodles - Cantonese Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

(Price: 3/5 stars) Fish congee $7.95 Chicken broccoli $9.95 Wonton noodle soup $7.95 Chicken Lo mein $12.95 Steam pork bun $5.95 Duck rice $9.95 Condiments: garlic vinegar, hot red oil, green scallion with oil. Roaming around Chinatown, we were tempted by a chief making steam pork bun in front of he restaurant. Walked in and the restaurant was full of customers, so the waitress brought us to 2nd floor. (Atmosphere: 1/5 stars) 2nd floor atmosphere looked like someone's apartment, poorly renovated. Probably could seat max 20 customers. There's a unisex bathroom with a bathtub next to the toilet. Lmao (Food: 1/5 stars) Fish congee has mini bones, took me 30 minutes to pick out the bones and gave up, not finishing the congee. Chicken broccoli- broccoli was bitter. Wonton noodle skin was thick. Chicken lomein- chicken had a smell. Steam pork bun- In Chinese wording 小籠包, it's not bun. TRICKED Duck rice was okay. Condiment- green scallion oil was not cooked, there was green veggie smell. (Service: 3/5 stars) when I asked for the bill, the waitress wrote total $79.00. Not itemizes. Waitress had to bring food up the stairs. Water was refilled. (Presentation: 3/5 stars) Typical. Wow were we tricked, this is the worst Chinese food in Washington Chinatown. read more

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During my quick visit to DC for cherry blossoms viewing, I was craving soup dumplings after non-stop seafood consumption. Found this place being mentioned so I hopped on a short metro ride and went to early dinner. Good thing I kept my expectations in check. After all, I've been spoiled by really good ones in my life... and DC just didn't come across as a place I would be surprised by unsuspected awesome dumplings. Small joint, with tables scattered outside and inside across 2 units. Party of 1 is always easy. No wait. But line was consistent even during odd hours, and it gradually grew as dinner time approached. I ordered soup dumplings ($5.50 for 8) and a duck rice noodles in soup ($7.95). Good amount of food for the price. And that's the end of the good news. Dumplings were awful. There's no juice in any of my 8 dumplings. 1 of the dumpling was not even on the napa cabbage, so it's didn't cook right. Meat filling was tiny but tasted good. The dough/wrap was super thick and doughy and almost considered under cooked. I pretty much ate the inside and left all the dough behind. Noodle soup came, but it was with BBQ pork instead of duck. BBQ pork looked good but since that's not what I ordered, I returned it (yup, that's ballsy of me). I got only 4 pieces of duck, one didn't have really any meat. The duck tasted good. The soup base tasted the most legit. TONS of noodles, I couldn't possibly eat them all. Very stingy on the greens. I guess all the awards on the wall were from the better days in the past. Honestly for the value, it's an ok stop. However, it definitely does not warrant the long line or 5 stars (not even 4) ratings. read more

I have to give this place it's dues for featuring AUTHENTIC northern style Chinese food. This is why the lines are long because I saw many Chinese people eating here! If you're looking for Americanized Chinese food like sesame chicken or kong pao pork, you won't find it here. However, just because it's authentic does not mean it is good. Simply put, Everything here is bland---a lot of Chinese still eat here though probably because some people like bland noodles and buns. The little stuffed buns, xiao long bao, (not the pot stickers) are really authentic and fresh but the filling inside could be better. I also ordered beef noodle soup. I really liked the noodles because they are hand drawn and have a distinct chewy texture. The broth wasn't very good though--just some bokchoy, scallions, soy sauce, and water with a few scraggly pieces of meat. The noodles can also be fried but I've never eating hand pulled noodles that way. The people at my table who ordered that seemed to like it. Overall the food was very cheap and a good look at authentic Chinese food, but I would not recommend if you like you foods salt and oil heavy. read more

Are you looking for: 1. Unsanitary food conditions? bugs? roaches? 2. Hardened overcooked dry dumplings? 3. Blaming and discourteous waitstaff? 4. Sticky floors and worn dishes? Then Chinatown Express is the place for you! If you have low standards for mediocre Chinese food and few other options, then this restaurant can fit all your needs. The best that I can say is their storefront of a woman in a chef hat making dumplings is a great way to lure people in... and cheap lunch specials looked convenient as a mall stand. The only redeeming dish was the basic garlic peashoots-- which isn't too difficult to prepare one hopes. The dumplings were disconcertingly dry and sparse in stuffing (both vegetarian and pork ones) and the beef noodle soup was very mediocre and not well-balanced. The staff spilled beef noodle soup while trying to seat other guests and then in Chinese (as if we couldn't understand) muttered "it's the customer's own fault." Did we get dry cleaning $ or any reconciliation for this? Nope. good luck! read more

We went for the sauteed dungeness crab and all I can say is OMG!! It was absolutely AMAZING! They pan fry it with LOADS of roasted garlic, scallions and jalapenos (not alot, just enough for a little kick). The result is sweet, salty and incredibly flavorful. It isnt cheap ($33/crab) but it is sooo worth it! We'll definitely be going back. read more

Chinatown Express - Sautéed crab with garlic, scallions and jalapeño. DELISH!! - Cantonese Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

Oh Chinatown Express, how this location has changed over the years but I still keep coming back. I give it 4 stars for staying strong in a neighborhood that's supposed to be Chinatown but has only a handful of Chinese restaurants left. The duck any way you can get it is so good. Half of a roast duck or maybe peking duck so you don't have to deal with bones? Do it. You will enjoy it with the different sauces that they have which may be for the dumplings but I use it on everything: 1) ginger and green onion, 2) chilis in oil (always yesss!), and 3) garlic slices in vinegar (?). As for the dumplings, they're just okay to me because I think the shell is a little too thick and the filling is not quite as juicy and flavorful as those NYC Chinatown dumplings. The fresh noodles though...now those are something that you have to try at least once! read more

I came here a few years ago when I was in town for a meeting at the Convention Center. It's gone down in quality since. While the noodles are still fresh made, mine were slightly overcooked and overly soft in a flavorless broth with scarcely any vegetables. I ordered mine with roast duck, and the duck was so drowning in the bland broth that they were relatively tasteless, as well. I'll have to continue my quest for good Chinese food in DC's "Chinatown" elsewhere. read more

Chinatown Express - Noodle soup with roast duck - Cantonese Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

$6.95 duck soup lunch special is probably one of the best ways you could ever spend $7. In such an expensive cost of living city, its quite a treat. Large portions of roast duck in a perfectly flavored broth filled with fresh in house noodles. Wow, I mean WOW! The service wasn't perfect by any means and I did feel a little rushed, but with them not even getting $10 out of me, I didn't care. read more

We ended up here with a group of 6 Saturday night and it only took about 10 minutes to get a seat. Apparently the restaurant is deceptively large! I ended up watching the chef in the window making soup and dumplings and found the 10 minutes went very quickly though. We were seated in a side room, and given menus and brought tea. Most everyone there had been here before, so we ordered quickly and got lots of shareable things. We got dumplings and steamed pork buns and I was surprised with how bland both were. If it weren't for the accompanying sauce, I would not have liked either very much. I think it also bears mentioning, that they brought things out in waves. I didn't expect that, but at one point half us had food and half of us did not, so that was a little awkward. I ordered the Schezuan shrimp as my main and once it arrived I really liked it. I especially loved how big the shrimp were and thought the veggies were perfect; they were still crunchy but nicely coated in spicy goodness. My husband was also very happy with his noodle soup, although I would argue the noodles were too doughy for my taste, he thought they were great. He said you could tell they were freshly made. Everyone else split an assortment of other dishes and I think the overall consensus was that everything was good. In fact, I'm pretty sure my brother's fiancée mentioned this being her favorite Chinese food restaurant in the area. I guess I can see that, honestly, the place is kind of a dive, but it's also kind of charming too. read more

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Solid 3. We ate here before a Wizards game at the Verizon Center. We went on a rainy day so it looked a little dirtier than usual. We both got the fresh noodle soup, one with roast pork and the other with roast duck. The meats were both good but there is less duck than pork. Next time I may get the traditional egg noodle as the fresh noodle is thick and absorbs the soup more. Food came out quick and it is a cheap meal. I'd eat here again but I would not go out of my way for it. Credit card minimum is $20. read more

i dropped in on the strength of a large supporting sign from the Washington Post hung outside. It was misleading. The service was fast, but the food was a bit stale. read more

I'm finding that in the dead of winter, I've become a huge fan of noodle soups. Pho is pretty awesome, but when there's no decent Pho around, my next asian noodle soup that I'll look for is Hong Kong Style Noodle Soup (I refuse to pay $11 for a bowl of Pho). I originally tried to go to Full Kee, which was unfortunately closed for Tuesday lunch, so I ended up going here. I saw that they were making fresh noodles, this was sort of appealing to me, but a little bit of a disappointment too. Here's a brief scoring of my Hong Kong Roast Pork Noodle Soup: Broth - 6 Char Siu (Roast Pork) - 3 Wontons - 8.5 Noodles - 6 Vegetables - 6 Overall: 6ish The broth had a decent flavor to it. Not bland, but not flavorful either. About par for the course (which is not good enough for me). The broth didn't have much time to soak in flavor from bone/meat, nor time to mellow out either. Edible nonetheless. The roast pork was super super super disappointing, which was a shame considering the fact that you can see the chinese BBQ hanging in the front window. The texture was rougher than usual, and it tasted like it was older than it should have been. They couldn't even do a good job of masking the old flavor via overseasoning. This part fell flat. The noodles are probably what most people look forward to, but in all honesty, it didn't have the amazing taste that fresh noodles/pasta typically does. Texturally, it was fine, but for the type of noodle it was, it's not hard to get it right. The flavorlessness was enough to make these take a sort of backseat. Also, these are rice noodles. They don't make fresh egg noodles (which is a shame). But I would suggest getting egg (yellow) noodles with your HK style soup, even if they're dried. The rice noodles really just fall flat in terms of taste. The vegetables were decent. I ate next door and their soup was so terrible because it had lettuce as the vegetables. At least these people use the real deal chinese vegetables. (It's not bok choy, I would describe this as being longer and less tender, but still enjoyable in flavor and texture. The best part of the whole dish were the wontons. The wrappers for the wontons were fresh, and here it made a huge difference. You could tell these puppies were fresh. Even the meat/shrimp texture was really on, and so was the flavor. I'd give these dumplings a 9, but there was half of a shrimp shell hiding in one of my wontons. But hey, with mistakes like that, I'm lead to believe that these dumplings are handmade in the kitchen, not by some machine in a chinese factory. The portion was huge, and for $8.95 (with tax) I'd say you're getting your money's worth. I got four wontons, and about 8-9 pieces of pork. They really stuff in the noodles though, which I would say is to the dish's detriment. On a cold day, this soup is pretty good, but still not the best. About the middle of the bell curve. I'll have to try other chinatown digs and see how they stack up. Restaurant Itself: Atmosphere: 6 Cleanliness: 2 Value: 7 Solo Dining: 7 Dining in Groups: 4 Service: 4 Location: 7 Overall: 6ish This place is pretty decent for solo or small group dining especially during lunch. For what it's worth, it's not a bad place, but I think I will try other chinese restaurants before I return to this one. The main draw of this place is that they make fresh noodles in the window, which like I previously indicated are not really worth it. On a weekday during lunch hour, there was no line. I would say it's "easy-in, easy-out" but actually, the tables are really crammed together, so it's not so easy to get in to your table. Once you're seated, it's fine, especially considering how it wasn't busy, but if it were to ever be busy, I might avoid this basement restaurant. Open on Tuesdays, Full Kee is not. If you're running in for a quick spot of take out, they also have take out service, which seems to be pretty quick. The take out service mostly consists of standard Americanized chinese dishes (e.g. beef + broccoli/sesame chicken). Didn't look like the worst thing. This place also has live seafood, which I have yet to try. Fish tanks right up front. read more

Chinatown Express - Fresh noodles with roast pork + wontons. $7.95 lunchtime - Cantonese Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

Worst chinese food ever. The decoration make the restaurant look like an authentic traditional chinese noodle restaurant with roast duck and roast pork. The atmosphere is like a chinese restaurant you'll see from a old Hong Kong movie however the food was awful. Order the soup dumpling but there was no "soup" at all, very dried. Also tried the "hand pull" roast duck noodle but the soup base is very bland, and the noodle doesn't taste like a "hand pull noodle" at all. Worst part, the roast duck is the worst roast duck i ever have, its dried, and hard to chew. Overall, don't be fool by its exterior, it's definitely not a traditional chinese food. No waste your time and money there. read more

If I could give this place 2.5 stars, I would. But based on the given scale system, I would choose a 2 over a 3. As far as real Chinese food is concerned, this place isn't that great. The hand-pulled (lamian) noodle soup was okay, stuff that my parents could easily make at home. I could tell that a lot of the seafood and tofu items within the soup were store brought frozen or prepackaged. The steamed soup dumplings (xiaolong bao) was just awful and not fresh. Perhaps I chose a bad time of the day to order them, it seemed like they were sitting out for a while. As far as faux Chinese food is concerned (American Chinese food catered to the Western palate), this place is decent and comparable. In general, on a separate occasion when ordering a family style meal, the portions were rather small and the food was okay, not great. What has gentrification done to DC Chinatown? read more

Chinatown Express - Front window view of noodle-making action. - Cantonese Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

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Lovely family-ran restaurant in the heart of Chinatown. Food has always been good and the portions are well above average. Most authentic Chinese restaurant found anywhere in the District. read more

Food: 1 star Service: 2 star Value: -1 star Why did I trust you - those who wrote review saying "must try dumplings", "authentic" or "best food". Obviously they don't know anything about dumplings and may not even know what Chinese food is. The BBQ pork, soy chicken, and the roast duck all tasted weird. And this place has the worst dumplings I've ever tried. Not only the wrap was thick and hard like stone, the taste was totally unacceptable. Yes, I know it is purpose to be the Northern style that the skin is a little thick, but this is nothing close to the real Northern style dumplings. I have no offense... but having two "sad and lazy looking" Mexicans standing by the window making dumplings... how authentic can this place be??? The only eatable food was the handmade "hand cut" noodle soup, but that didn't make me come back again. As for the price, they ain't cheap either. If this place really is one of the best Chinese restaurants in DC, I feel very sorry for those who live there because they really miss out a lot. Anyway, please just STAY AWAY from this place. I don't want people to have a wrong perception and think this is what Chinese dumpling should be! read more

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Food was bland with sauce poured on top. 3 separate dishes. All absolutely bland. The chicken in the Chicken Garlic was pre-boiled and dry with bland veggies and sauce. Steamed dumplings must have been freezer burned. I've had better Chinese food from the freezer section at Walmart. Not what I expected from a Chinese eatery in Chinatown, Washington, DC. Save your money and time. Go somewhere else. read more

Taisty Food! This place gives good ordering ideas for tourist wile I appreciate late evening take outs. A friendly outside. Congratulation DC, this place serves food to stay eaten. A tad more $ with less fat then another okay ChinaTown eatery. read more

Chinatown Express - Cantonese Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

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Food was good, but nothing to go crazy about. It was cool trying authentic food. Prices are great and food comes out quick and hot. read more

Chinatown Express - Duck and noodles. Cheap and tasty. The protein portion was small... - Cantonese Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

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We were walking around Chinatown on a Saturday, looking for some lunch and came across this restaurant. It was packed inside, so we decided to stop here. They served us iced water and some tea. I ordered the roast duck. The seasoning was very tasty and the meat was tender. The broccoli that came on the side was a little cold and tough, but let's be honest, that's not why I ordered the meal. We also got a side of dumplings. They did taste good, but unfortunately were completely cold on the inside. read more

Chinatown Express - Roast duck - Cantonese Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

One of the few remaining Chinese restaurants in Chinatown, this restaurant is small, cozy and serves up hand pulled noodles. The portions are generous, the hot tea served promptly, the atmosphere friendly and comfortable...this is the best! Recommendations: Singapore rice noodles, egg drop soup, steamed dumplings, duck. read more

Honestly I don't even want to give any stars, it wasn't worth the money, don't get tricked by the women making noodle by the window, go somewhere else. This place wasn't very clean but that was expected from most small Chinese restaurants. The utensil wasn't clean, there were still hardened leftover food on the spoon. I didn't like that the server had to keep getting the water from behind me. The food they advertised the most was the pork stem bum and roasted duck wonton noodle soup with hand made noodle. It was gross. The duck smells nasty and I only got the fatty part there wasn't even any meat on it. The hand made noodle was thick and very hard. And the steam pork bums were just okay, the lettuce bed looked brown, looks like they have left the bums in the steamer all day. Although their service was quick, I dont think it's worth the money to eat there, the food was a disappointment. Plus the parking was so difficult to park, and the only nearby garage overcharged it!! read more

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I may even slightly intoxicated, but this was the best Chinese food I've ever had in my entire life. Chicken came out so crispy and the service was great! Egg rolls were huge and delicious too read more

We were looking for some place to eat in Chinatown when we spotted a couple people in a window that protruded out onto the sidewalk making something. We walked over to the Chinatown Express, and those people were making dumplings, and there was a picture of a newspaper writeup of a noodle maker and his talents of fresh made noodles. I love fresh noodles, and there were roast ducks hanging in the window too! The was tender, and the 'fun' noodles were fabulous, and that dish was delicious. We also had Tsingtso Chinese beer too, and the tab was under $50 before tip. I would definitely come back, and highly recommend! read more

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Awesome duck noodle soup! My friend and I came in on a saturday night around 6:30pm and were seated immediately. We had already had some apps/drinks at 801 and were just craving some noodle soup. As per my friend's recommendation, I ordered the duck noodle soup (their specialty). For only around $7-8, the meal was incredible, and the serving size, especially for the duck meat, was very generous (5-6 sizable pieces with minimal bone-age). I haven't had such delicious duck in a long time (my favorite duck is beijing kao ya IN Beijing and the french-style duck at Bistro du Midi in Boston - I have been searching for some good duck in the DC area for a while to no avail, even though I've gone to places that supposedly specialize in duck...) I will definitely be back when I am in the Chinatown area. This place rocks, and for the price, it can't be beat! read more

Food was very good and more authentic when ordering the package dinner for families. Staff very friendly and helpful.

OK. It's definitely a dive. Our server speaks no English and I have basically pointed at pictures to order. Cold Chinese beer. Anna ordered to homemade noodles and she loves them. The duck-noodle soup. It's a hype. The service set a new low standard for us. If there was a never ice star rating I would choose it. read more

Chinatown Express - Dumplings! Yummy. - Cantonese Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

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Love the food , we visit every year and always have best food and great service. This is the real deal, fella like we are in China. Don't miss this restaurant read more

AVOID AT ALL COSTS. Came here 45mins before closing because it was the only thing around that was still open. I ordered: -Xiao Long Bao -Duck Noodle Soup ("fresh pulled noodles") The Xiao Long Bao was horrible, skin was thick, meat was flavorless/bad texture, there was no soup. I literally didn't even finish them. I don't know how a "chef" can live with themselves serving food this crappy. I've literally had better frozen XLBs (Wei Chuan brand at Asian grocery stores). To top it all off, I was given what tasted like soy sauce. Seriously? Any real Chinese person knows XLBs are to be served with vinegar. As for the duck noodle soup, the duck was good/as expected, however, the noodles were terrible. They were either overcooked or were kept in boiling water waiting for the next sucker. Definitely not freshly pulled. I don't know why people rate this place highly, have you not tasted real Chinese food? read more

so well priced and such good authentic soup. perfect and exactly what i needed. very attentive service and peaceful environment. read more

Chinatown Express - their signature Roast Duck Noodle Soup - Cantonese Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

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Great Chinese food in downtown DC prices are great and the duck is amazing. Can be busy in the evenings so plan ahead if you must have it.

If I want chinese food in chinatown I go to Chinatown Express no question. One of few places left in this area of DC you can get some good greasy noodles and not just some chain with chinese lettering out front read more

Chinatown Express - Beef Chow Foon () - Cantonese Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

If you're in The Chinatown area and are looking for a refreshing bowl of freshly spun noodles for under $8, this may very well be your spot. Nestled less than a block from the Verizon Center, this restaurant's claim to fame is its freshly made pork dumplings and fresh soup (or fried) noodles with your choice of beef, roasted duck, roasted pork, or seafood. The noodles were noticeably firm and fresh. The broth, however, was bland even with the addition of sriracha and red pepper paste. Roasted pork slices were succulent, not sweet like the ones I'm used to at other Chinese bbq's. Bok Choy was crisp and fresh. The place had plenty of tables for dining in, but the tables were arranged close to one another, making the place quite congested during busy hours. The waitresses were attentive and had it party of 4 seated quickly, considering we were coming in with a large group of Capitols fans after a game. Might try this place again for the fresh dumplings. Watching them make the dumplings from scratch reminded me of home :) read more

Chinatown Express - Noodle soup with roasted pork - Cantonese Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia