we love this place !! food is wonderful & the people working there are always so polite & efficient to --- will always go back there, they are the best & have been there for many many years to !! read more

Very small take-out location but incredibly clean and well-kept. The food was good, not great, nothing to complain about but also nothing good enough to warrant a return visit. read more

See all

The take out service was good. The chicken chow main and fried rice were not good. All I could taste was salt. I ended up tossing it all. The prices are cheap so I shouldn't expected it to be amazing. read more

I've been getting takeout from here for nearly 2 decades. It's worth the drive for authentic, flavorful Chinese cuisine. My go to is the pork fried rice. No matter what you order, don't skip the fried rice. The recipes have been the same for years. A few things to note: they are cash and check only. No credit cards. Because of this their prices are very reasonable, especially if you take advantage of lunch specials. Their menu listed online is accurate. I recommend calling ahead to takeout. There's a very small lobby with a few chairs but they rely on pickup orders. read more

Jin's Chow Mein - Pork fried rice. - Chinese Near Me - Crystal, Minnesota

See all

My new favorite Chow Mein!!! I had heard about how fabulous this little restaurant was, so tried it today. I am so glad I did. Everything was perfect. We tried the chicken chow mein, Szechuan, chicken and sesame chicken. So much flavor and so good. This is definitely a takeout place not much room to sit and eat in the restaurant itself, but the food was ready in five minutes. One helpful tip that I was unaware of, you have to pay in cash or check. read more

Jin's Chow Mein - Chinese Near Me - Crystal, Minnesota

Searched for Chinese Take Out with no MSG on Yelp, and Jin's Chow Mein popped up. Ordered pork fried rice, pork egg rolls and pork egg foo young over the phone for pick up which was ready and waiting at the time advised. I was advised to pay cash or check only at order so was prepared ahead of time. Pleasant checkout experience. As for the food...the dishes were well-prepared but lacked depth of flavor...a bit bland. Yes, it is wonderful MSG is not used, but it doesn't have to be bland...I'm no expert in cooking but I know there are many ways to create flavor without MSG. I found the cuisine acceptable, but nothing to write home about. read more

A little hole in the wall take-out place that I've passed hundreds of times. I called in my order, the woman who answered was polite but straight to the point. When I came in the phone was ringing back to back and it was just her taking phone and walk-in orders. I ordered the Young Chow Fried Rice (pork, chicken and shrimp) and cream cheese puffs. The puffs could've had a bit more cream cheese but still decent. The rice was very good! The shrimp were a decent size as well. The only negative thing was they do not have a way for you to pay using a debit/credit card and they don't have an ATM. Cash or check only. Not a major deal but would've been nice to know beforehand. Give this place a try, the prices are comparable to other chinese restaurants in the area. read more

Stopped by and saw the new menu they have now. It looks great and the food is still the same. read more

Jin's Chow Mein - Jin's Chowmein 2025 Menu - Chinese Near Me - Crystal, Minnesota

I had been wanting to try Jin's Chow Mein for a while for a couple of reasons. The first reason was their shockingly low prices - okay, so I do think they raised their prices a bit recently, but still, when you look at their menu you'd think it's the year 2004 - it's that cheap. Honestly, it's how much a cheeky Chinese takeaway ought to cost; the number of takeaways charging near 20 dollars for a single, basic entrée has been getting out of hand lately. The second reason for my curiosity was that Jin's Chow Mein is known for serving up classic Minnesotan-style Chinese food. So what is Minnesotan-style Chinese food, you may ask? I, too, wanted to know the answer to this question. My research revealed that it really comes down to one dish - chow mein. I learned that what "chow mein" means largely depends on your geographic location. For example, on the West Coast, chow mein is a fried noodle dish. On the East Coast, it's a saucy cabbage and chicken stir fry, sans noodles (despite the "mein" in the name meaning "noodle"). The Minnesota rendition of chow mein is similar to the East Coast version in that it is essentially noodle-less. As you can likely tell by reading the other reviews, Jin's chow mein has many local fans. After getting to try it last night, I'm a little bit... perplexed? I have to choose my words wisely so as not to disrespect the local culture, but Minnesotan-style chow mein wasn't really my cup of tea. It's essentially dark brown glop made out of ground pork and celery, served with white rice and those crunchy fried sticks that are sold in cans at Cub Foods also known as "chow mein", which I suppose provide the namesake for the dish. It felt a bit like something I would have been served by the lunch lady in elementary school, bland and unattractive. I could also swear it had a slight maple syrup flavor, like the fake Aunt Jemima stuff, but my girlfriend couldn't detect it. I suspect the fan appreciation for it is largely rooted in nostalgia. Fortunately, I ordered several other dishes that I actually did enjoy. The chicken lo mein came as a generous portion of savory fried noodles and veg. The plain fried rice was one of the tastiest takeaway fried rices I've ever had, despite having no vegetables in it. And the sweet and sour chicken was coated with an almost donut-like batter - it was indulgent but delicious. The wonton soup came with shreds of cabbage and char-siu in it, and the wontons were good albeit a little soft by the time I got home. The takeaway itself was staffed by two friendly women when I was there and it was charmingly old school (from the décor to their ability to only accept cash and checks). Apparently the place has been around for decades, and I hope it stays around for many more. I would absolutely go back to Jin's Chow Mein; if you're not a local, I'd skip the chow mein itself, but their other dishes are the perfect comfort food at unbeatable prices. read more

See all

The hot food melts the styrofoam container. To me, the food touching the melted styrofoam is a health concern. They charge extra cost to put food in paper containers. read more

My family has been enjoying Jin's takeout chow mein for seven decades and five generations. It is always a requested meal when family returns to the Twin Cities. Jin's can accommodate any size order, we have ordered for forty people with a call a few hours in advance. Otherwise orders for just a few people are always cooked to order in 10-15 minutes! Our favorite traditional order is chow mein with sides of pork fried rice, pork egg rolls and pork egg foo young, but the other fancier items are all good too! read more

Unassuming take-out only restaurant in a strip mall belies the fact that the food is delicious, the kitchen is fast, and the prices are reasonable. They don't take credit cards, so bring your cash and your appetite, and you'll leave happy. read more

Cheap and nasty! Unsanitary. Don't waste your time! Go someplace good. Try WOK in the park,won't regret...

I got the pork Fried Rice. I like it a lot. You have to pay cash. Fast service waited on me right away.

Food is wonderful!!! Their fried rice is so good have never had bad food ! Thanks for a great dinner. read more

Best Asian food around- Found them after Asia chow mien closed. Went to many places trying to find a place like my old place and none were even close until I found this place! read more

Was visiting after almost 20 yr and went back to our favorite Chinese restaurant. Was very pleased was still great! Tried Lemon chicken, was very good white meat & great sauce. The chicken chow mein was still good. Only difference is now served with fried rice instead of white rice. Hope to be back sooner. read more

Picked up food for my sister and I after church!! It was so tasty!! Had chow mein and and egg rolls!! Warmed it up in oven later that day and it was very flavorful!! No complaints here! Was a nice steady stream of customers coming in!! The young man waiting on us was very polite and friendly!! TY read more

the best Chinese food ever. I grew up on Jin's, it is the restaurant to which I compare all other Asian food. Jin's will forever remain #1 in my heart. Recommend: Fried Rice read more

Great chicken egg foo young. Potstickers dough iss too thick Same with other dough Love the EFY read more

I'm really pleasantly surprised by this place. I've been having trouble finding good takeout lately. I called at about 5:30 on a Friday for takeout and was told the food would be ready in 20 minutes. It was packaged and ready to go when I arrived. I made sure to bring my checkbook (weird, I know) since they only take cash or check. Everything tasted fresh. We ordered egg rolls, cream cheese wontons, steamed dumplings, sweet and sour chicken, sesame chicken, beef chow Mein, and Jin's special chow Mein. The sesame chicken and beef chow Mein were hits with everyone. The egg rolls were also devoured quickly. Everything also heated up really well as leftovers. Lots of food for a reasonable price. I'll be back for sure. read more

The service was good but the food was subpar. The take out option was easy and quick. I ordered chicken chop suey but could only manage to eat a few bites. I understand that chop suey is supposed to have a sauce on it, but this was soup-like and the sauce tasted like water and salt. The meal was overall bland and slimy. I was disappointed. I feel bad writing a negative review because I love supporting local Chinese restaurants, but unfortunately this place just isn't it. read more

Jin's Chow Mein - Chicken chop suey - Chinese Near Me - Crystal, Minnesota

Ur chow mein shod have bean sprouts plus your egg fo young u are cheap .and raised price your food not worth that price.chow mien so plan .I make better chow mien at home read more

Will you walk in they only take cash no card I don't know if they take card over the phone either I got wonton chicken wings and sugar donuts Chicken wings have no flavor and bad quality and the Cream cheese wonton we're very hard couldn't even eat them the only good thing is the sugar donuts Are so addicting when fresh. read more

Jin's Chow Mein - Chicken wings ,Cream cheese wonton , sugar donut - Chinese Near Me - Crystal, Minnesota

Cash or check only . Fast service I'm in and out. Food fresh and plentiful. Ive had egg foo young house special rice sampler platters.

Food was ok. Sesame chicken looked awful, but the flavor was good. Vegetable fried rice had real vegetables in it (not frozen). Flavor was a little bland, but ok. The Mongolian beef was spicier than I was expecting, but decent flavor. About 49 minutes from order to pick-up, food was ready on time. Overall a decent experience. Perhaps not a new favorite, but I will likely order again. read more

This place has been a family favorite for years. The quality is consistent, and sometimes I'm surprised by how "unusually better" the food can be. The staple meal in our household is the Jin's Special Chow Mein for 4, chicken egg foo young, and egg rolls. If you have a special request, they will honor it, like ordering an entree that is not featured on the menu. The worst experiences involve when old oil is used to fry foods, but even then, the food is still edible. read more

I love the food at Jin's so I take reviewing them very seriously. I look at what we ordered tonight and I'm disappointed. 3 entrees and only 1 container of rice. That's definitely not enough rice. Their portion of chow mein noodles keeps getting smaller. I've stopped ordering the wontons as they have almost no filling in them now. Overall, I still really like the food but they need to increase the amount of rice. Will I get takeout again from Jin's? Yes but I'll make sure to make rice at home first. read more

My family has been going to Jin's for 40 years. Delicious traditional chow Mein. To go orders only. Not the friendliest of service but you don't have to deal with them much for to go pick up. If you like Chow Mein it's worth a drive. read more

Love their food - they're always consistent - great tasting, lot of it! Have been going there for many, many years. I would recommend this 100%. read more

The menu is limited but it seems they will adapt to make things you may want. The fried rice was great. We ordered "house special" fried rice which didn't appear to be on the menu but was done well and fresh. I'd stay away from the cream cheese wontons as there was barely a taste of cream cheese in them. read more

We've been a long time customer of Jin's over 20 years easy. I'm not one who enjoys giving a sad review of a restaurant but in this case I have to say save your money. Today's experience was one of extreme disappointment, even my 86 year old mother who never had a bad word to say about anything said "it was not very good". The chow mein was so so at best, by far and away the worst cream cheese puffs I've ever had, couldn't even finish one. My wife said the egg rolls were not good either. I was very disappointed in the 8$ schechuan shrimp, I counted 5 total tiny shrimps. The one bright spot of the meal was the fresh vegetables and spice level of the schechuan shrimp. I want my money back but I just won't patronize this place again. read more

Literally the best Chinese takeout in the city. Fried rice & egg rolls are peerless. Service is fast & this takeout only restaurant is clean. read more

Not good despite all the so called excellent reviews. The China Dragon in Albertville does it better - much better. They don't take credit cards either so REALLY inconvenient. Fries dumplings were stale and tasteless. The pork fried rice was okay but I've had better. The Szechuan shrimp didn't have much flavor and wasn't very spicy. The shrimp were small and very few in number. Not happy because I just moved into the area. I will not be back!! read more

Love the Pork Fried Rice. It's always good and inexpensive. Living out of state, I always get Jin's when I'm in town.

Best chow mein in the twin cites! Good fried rice, sweet & sour pork, and great hearty noodle soup. Has very reasonable pricing and is a great take out if your looking to have a really nice and easy dinner. My wife & I Love this place and tend to pick up here for whenever we like to celebrate something without breaking the budget too much. read more

I grew up with Jin's. Was a little taken a back going in the store seems they have not updated the store front in years... Food quality was not what I remember. I have not lived in MN for over 5 years so it has been at least that long since the last time I ordered. Also was very surprised by they only take cash and check??? Not so sure I will be back. read more

Their chicken lo mein is my favorite! I've tried it other places, but it is the best, by far, at Jin's!

At first I was a bit sketched out by this place. Jin's Chow Mein in the gross Crystal strip mall? In a moment of desperation and not wanting to cook or travel to Minneapolis to get something decent to eat, I broke down and ventured in to see what this place is all about. Oh my god, I am hooked. For under $5 you can get quality chow mein or chop suey that will be enough for lunch and dinner. They give you a good balance of meat and vegetables with sauces that are very flavorful and not so MSG laden. The service is super fast and while you're waiting, you can read their thank you letters from donating to the community from the 70s to today. This is the ONLY thing I'll miss about living in New Hope. read more

WOW!!! Jin's is still the best. Delicious sub-gum chow mein with cashews & tender white chicken. YUM!! I now live in Texas and drove past Jin's by accident - I was just looking at the changing neighborhood. I never imagined that Jin's would still be here in the Crystal Shopping Center. My dad discovered Jin's waaaaaaaay back in 1958!!! How many places stay in business that long??!?? Well, it is EXACTLY the same as I remember as a 7 yr. It is "old-school" Chinese take out. My dad loved the fried rice and eggs foo young. They taste even better than I remember.The portions are huge, the prices are low, the uality high. Thank you Jin for making my day!!!! .................dave & family from austin, texas read more