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House of Chen

3.7 (44 reviews)
InexpensiveChinese
Open • 11:00 am - 1:30 pm, 5:00 PM - 8:00 PM

House of Chen Photos

Business Info

HOUSE OF CHEN ATMOSPHERE

What's the vibe?
Quiet
Good for kids
Good for groups

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Recommended Reviews - House of Chen

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Sweet and sour chicken
Mark O.

Service was ok, there was a young man working the front, seemingly all by himself. I hadn't been through here in at least six years but was in the area. It's a complete travesty the house made hot mustard is gone, replaced by the cheap and tacky packers you can find at HyVee. The egg rolls were under cooked. I believe hot tea used to be 50 cents, is it's $2.50 for the pot. The portion was pretty generous, but I certainly wouldn't take the time to get off Hwy 30 or I-35 to come here.

Sauced up sweet and sour chicken
Emily F.

Pretty good food and currently are only pickup/carry out from Wednesday-Saturday's. We tried the sweet and sour chicken and garlic chicken lunch entrees. Everything was fresh and hot upon pickup and service was friendly upon arrival. Sweet and sour chicken had the sauce on the side so it wasn't soggy and the garlic chicken was flavorful and fairly spicy. Egg rolls were decent but definitely had better. Overall, a good lunch deal with lots of options and decent food.

Menu page 2 and 3

Love this place since I was a kid. Their main dishes are great, their fried rice is ok, however the last recipe they used was better... still good though. Soups are good, service is good, never had issues with them..

Smith R.

This is the best Chinese food in Ames and also happens to be super cheap. At lunch you can get really good Chinese tea, a soup, two small egg rolls, rice and an entre for around 8 bucks. There are two downsides that keep it from 5 stars: the location and one of the workers. It's located in a pretty dull industrial area and the inside feels similar. They do what they can, but it's one large room with a curtain blocking the door from the dining room. The worker, possibly the manager or owner, is pretty loud and his sense of humor is somewhat confusing and confrontational. Not offensive really, just hard to get sometimes, and with a restaurant this small and quiet, it made me feel a little awkward. Other customers that seemed more use to it were rolling with the jokes, so maybe it's an acquired taste. Either way, service was fast, so he had that down. I'll be back for sure.

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2 months ago

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7 months ago

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4 years ago

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2 years ago

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2 years ago

Best place in Ames for Chinese. Hot Sour Soup is the best. Plenty of main dishes to choose from that are all delicious.

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2 years ago

Excellent food, for when you eat in as well as ordering for take out yet need to check the hours they are open which are specific

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4 years ago

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8 years ago

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4 years ago

Decent Chinese food. All the basics of an American Chinese restaurant. Staff works hard and food is good. Good portion size and inexpensive.

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3 years ago

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9 years ago

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14 years ago

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11 years ago

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10 years ago

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8 years ago

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19 years ago

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12 years ago

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14 years ago

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18 years ago

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12 years ago

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16 years ago

Love your soup scalded? How about some leftovers from yestarday served as though it was made today? This is the place for you!

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13 years ago

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Szechuan House - 64. Kung Pao Chicken

Szechuan House

3.9(112 reviews)
3.3 mi
•$$

This is my "go to" Chinese Restaurant in Ames. They do many things well such as hot pot,…read moredry-braised, noodle soups and cold and hot appetizers. My all-time favorite is a sour fish noodle soup with pickled mustard cabbage. Try the cold, ox organ appetizer! The service is friendly, but not great. Sel-help is required when ordering and boxing up leftover food. The ambiance is acceptable, but not outstanding. I go there for a quick lunch so my expectations for service are nominal. I go there because I like the food so much.

This was the first time here for my mom and I. Although they had signs up saying that due to being…read moreshort staffed, please order at the register, they must have been slow enough that a server did come to our table to take our order. We had several questions about the menu and she knew each item and was able to explain the ones we asked about. We were in a noodle mood and stuck with the basics. We started with an order of pork potstickers. They were pretty good and my mom really liked the dipping sauce they came with. It was good, but I prefer straight soy sauce - which the server brought us. We ordered Chicken Lo Mein, Pan-Fried Thick Rice Noodles with beef, and Pan-Fried Vermicelli with pork. Each dish had a good amount of meat which was great since each of the meats were the most tender pieces I have ever had from a Chinese/Tai/Asian place in Ames. Even the white meat chicken was so tender and not dry at all. Every piece of meat was so soft and flavorful! We cant' wait to go back and try some more adventurous dishes.

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Joy's Mongolian Grill

Joy's Mongolian Grill

3.8(51 reviews)
2.5 mi
•$

My girlfriend and I wanted to try something new in the area and stumbled across Joy's from a quick…read moreGoogle search. We started off with the egg rolls and crab ragoons which were some of the best I have personally had. Ordered the sweet and sour chicken and a combination lo mien which we shared and ended up having leftovers the proportions were so hefty. For the amount of food you get, it was a very very reasonable price. For the mid-western taste buds, the lo mien had the perfect amount of spice to it to make it enjoyable while still getting a good kick. The sweet and sour chicken was okay, breaded chicken pieces with provided dipping sauce. Being a student at ISU, I will definitely be going back to Joy's with friends for some good Mongolian food.

Really wanted to love this place but it was just ok…read more Overall food was average but good Chinese in my opinion but the service was where it was more disappointing. Did an order ahead that said it would be ready in 30 min. Showed up 40 minutes later wasn't ready. They were decently busy so I was fine waiting longer. Then they forgot I was waiting for a pickup and tried to serve us in house. Seemed like very nice people just didn't have a good set up for when it's busier. Got our food after about an hour and 15 min after ordering. Other people were there for close to 2. pepper chicken was the best- rice that it came with was cooked perfectly. Wontons were decent. The spring roll was soggy and the gyoza was a little dry. The reviews kept showing a dumpling sauce that people used for the gyoza which I asked for but they didn't give me any and I think the sauce would've made it better

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888 Restaurant

888 Restaurant

3.2(64 reviews)
2.4 mi
•$

4/16/26 6:00 p.m…read more Online Order for Pick Up Food: Everything was absolutely delicious! We ordered orange chicken, sesame chicken, chicken with green beans, 8pc crab rangoon, 4pc teriyaki chicken, bar-b-q spare ribs, chicken lo mein, and a side of sweet and sour sauce. For starters, the teriyaki chicken is my new favorite lol. It's not dry or overcooked and it's cooked thoroughly. The bar-b-q spare ribs are super tender and smothered in sauce; so good! We were pleasantly surprised with the orange chicken as well. It's not overly in your face orange flavored nor is it too sweet. The sesame chicken is also really well flavored. The noodles in the lo mein were firm and soft at the same time with great flavor. The chicken in it was tender and thankfully, the noodles weren't overloaded with veggies. Honestly, I'm not big on crab rangoon, but these are good! They're filled to the brim and really creamy. Chicken with green beans exceeded my expectations and it will definitely be on my "always order" list lol. Portion sizes were more than I expected as well. They really pack the to-go containers and the meat itself is good, large chunks. I can't wait to try more of the menu! Service: We were promptly greeted when we walked in and the wait time was minimal. The staff was pleasant and greeted us with a smile as well. While ordering online, it was a bit of a pain and it tells you to add a tip before checkout, which was almost not an option to opt out if you wanted to. Our order was correct and done quickly, even though they were busy. Ambiance: It's not the biggest inside, but that didn't stop others from dining in. It was packed for dinner rush and smelled amazing. Overall, it was kept clean, no debris or old food on the floor or tables. The menu is large and easy to navigate. While it was full, it wasn't uncomfortable; not elbow to elbow.

We have never had a bad dinner here the takeout was always correct and the food was deliciousread more

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House of Chen - chinese - Updated May 2026

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