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Oriental Express Restaurant

4.1 (72 reviews)
InexpensiveChinese, Bubble Tea, Soup
Open • 11:00 am - 7:00 pm
Updated over 3 months ago

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ORIENTAL EXPRESS RESTAURANT ATMOSPHERE

What's the vibe?
Casual
Moderate noise
Good for groups
Good for kids

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Recommended Reviews - Oriental Express Restaurant

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Amazing experience and food. Little tucked away gem . I would recommend if you are looking for some comfort food and authentic Chinese food.

a plant in a pot
Manda Bear B.

Nice owner, the place serve quick Chinese good and tea boba too. Located on the second floor, on top of that Greek restaurant, easily misses if you don't look up. We ordered wonton soup, add on veggies, my mother in law enjoyed it. My hubby enjoyed the Singaporean Noddle a lot. I enjoyed the passion fruit tea with jelly and a simple chicken Chow Mein. Very affordable and it was nice to support them during this COVID-19 pandemic, Arizona University cancelled classes and they lost a lot of business. If I'm in the area again, I'll definitely visit them.

Restaurant setting
Kira A.

Best Chinese food in town. I've been going here since I was a toddler until current time. I always order the chicken lo mein or the shrimp lo mein. My parents love the food. They're either bringing home takeout or I'm the one doing the takeout for them. My brother loves eating it. He's a picky eater, but this place is his exception. It hits close to home. Place is super cozy and homey. The view from above is just straight up awesome. There's a lot of variety to the menu. I have yet to try everything else on my own! The food is great no matter the time of the day. This place is #1 for sure. Love to have you guys here in this small corner of the university. :)

Beef Tendon with Rice (as good as I remember from 15 years ago during my days at UofA!)
Ck L.

Mmmm this brought back so much great memories from my days at UofA. Haven't been here for 15 years, but the Beef Tendon and House Fu Young are still the same! Yum! Many other Asian restaurants near campus have closed but OE is still going strong!

Silvia F.

The restaurant is located in the 2nd floor, the elevator is a TRAP!! be very careful if you use it, it hit my mom. The food it's ok but nothing to worth the trip to the place. The restaurant says is family friendly but they don't have 1 high chair, my baby had to eat in my arms.. I won't come back... Many other good places to eat in the university ave.

Sesame chicken with rice.
Megan C.

This is definitely a cheap, divey establishment, but the food was decent enough. I ordered an entree, and it comes with a side of white rice. It came with enough sauce that I was able to get a lot on the rice too. They have some lunch specials, but it would be nice if more entrees were included. They had some limited options with the lunch specials. I went with the sesame chicken, which was about $9. Be warned, there is a 50 cent charge for paying with debit/credit. They have boba as well, along with a few appetizer options. They were a bit slow, but I think it was just the server and a cook in the back. Orders seemed to come out randomly, not in order. However, service was prompt and courteous when the food came out. Overall, decent food for a cheap price. If you're looking for some cheap Chinese, you'll probably be happy.

a plate of rice, broccoli, and beans
Ferdinand B.

Good specials, nice little nook hidden away. It's always been here, even when I came back to Tucson after 6 AWOL years. Has some good items and it beats the corporate place down the street which cost me $13 last time. I used to eat here all during college. The taste is good, not greasy, just above average. But get rid of the styrofoam plates!

Bun

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8 months ago

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9 months ago

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5 years ago

I bought a cherry flavor milk tea to go. Tasted like cough syrup.

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8 years ago

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3 years ago

Love the food and Twee is always the sweetest! Beef lo mein is the best I've ever had and crab Rangoons are amazing!

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4 years ago

Good freshly made food. Reasonably priced for lunch missing these mom and pop Chinese restaurants as there are fewer of them now

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Ume Tea - Merchandise

Ume Tea

4.3(37 reviews)
2.4 mi•Hedrick Acres
•$$

Best service and the Creme Brûlée is off the charts! Wonderfully decorated and Anime legit! Go…read morethere now!

My boyfriend, sister, and I stopped by Ume Tea and unfortunately had a pretty frustrating…read moreexperience from the moment we arrived. We got there about 5 minutes before opening. The door was already open, and we watched another gentleman walk in and order four drinks, so naturally we assumed they were serving customers. However, when we entered, an employee told us to go back outside and wait until they officially opened. No problem. We waited and came back in at 12:02 PM. Once we were ready to order, we asked for a drink with regular tapioca boba. The employee told us it wasn't ready yet and suggested crystal boba instead. We explained that we were willing to wait for the regular tapioca, but we kept getting the impression they really didn't want us to order it because they repeatedly emphasized that it would take a while. Crystal boba is not the same thing as traditional tapioca boba. At that point, the employee was also having issues with the POS system and seemed very stressed trying to make the previous customer's drinks while simultaneously texting their manager for help. We were asked to wait off to the side. About 10 minutes later, who I assume was the manager arrived and helped get everything sorted out. After asking about the available toppings and trying samples of the crystal boba, we finally placed our order. Unfortunately, two of our three drinks came out wrong. One drink was supposed to be a plain Jasmine Floral Milk Tea with lychee jelly and light ice. Instead, it came with no jelly at all and regular ice. Another drink was supposed to be a Strawberry Jelly Watermelon Slush with crystal boba, but it arrived with lychee jelly instead. By that point, after waiting through the opening confusion, POS issues, topping availability issues, and ordering delays, we honestly didn't feel like spending even more time having drinks remade. For nearly $25 for three drinks, I expected a much smoother experience. I understand that opening can be hectic, but it felt like the shop wasn't fully prepared to serve customers when the doors opened. The drinks themselves were fine, but getting two out of three orders wrong after such a long wait was disappointing. Hopefully this was just an off day, but based on our visit, the experience didn't live up to the reputation and positive reviews we saw beforehand.

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Taichi  Bubble Tea

Taichi Bubble Tea

4.0(70 reviews)
4.8 mi•Highland Vista Cinco Via

I came here based on a recommendation from a friend. This is more than a boba shop as the cup says…read more:). They have a wide variety of boba flavors (check the menu photos). They also have appetizers and entrees to order as well. I ended up getting a rose tea with tapioca boba. I asked for it less sweet and I didn't taste any sweetness at all, except the boba. Next time I won't order less sweet. My boyfriend got a taro with boba and it was delicious. I also love the lids, mine had a panda which was awesome (I love pandas). They had one person working on the boba orders and one person working on food today. Because of that and the customized options, it was a bit longer of a wait than normal but it's worth it.

Taichi Tea was a pretty good find while visiting Tucson. It's a cute little boba shop with a nice…read moreatmosphere and a decent amount of seating if you want to hang out for a while. I ordered the taro milk tea, and it was pretty good. Nothing crazy or different from other boba places I've tried, but it tasted good and was exactly what I expected. One thing I thought was kind of cool was the toppers they use on their cups. They're fun and add a little personality to the drinks. They also have a pretty good selection of food options on the menu. I didn't order any food this time, but several things looked pretty good and might be worth trying on another visit. Overall, a solid boba spot with good drinks, a cute atmosphere, and plenty of options. Nothing that really sets it apart from other boba shops, but definitely worth checking out if you're in the area.

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Taichi  Bubble Tea
Taichi  Bubble Tea - Taichi Rice Bowl with 3 proteins: salmon, crab salad and tuna. Comes with up to 3 sauces and many toppings to choose from.

Taichi Rice Bowl with 3 proteins: salmon, crab salad and tuna. Comes with up to 3 sauces and many toppings to choose from.

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Oriental Express Restaurant - chinese - Updated November 2026

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