Cheap, a ton of food, and fast- that's why I will keep coming back to QQ when I don't pack my lunch. Even when it is packed with the student lunch crowd, I can be in and out within 5 minutes. Don't' expect niceties and sweet hellos.. more likely you would be yelled at "next dish" to select what you want next, but it is okay- fast and efficient! Servings are huge. I'm a small eater and a QQ lunch serving of two dishes + rice/noodles can last me 3 meals. Food is okay, greasy Chinese food, the kind that tastes even better the next day. I like the black pepper chicken, and egg plant dishes a lot. read more

QQ Express - Two dishes + rice/noodles for $6.91 - Chinese Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

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They play weirdest Chinese songs I've ever listened to since I was born. Food is acceptable and location is great tho. read more

This is a Panda Express type restaurant (order white/fried rice or low mein and two main dishes moving down the line and you walk away with a styrofoam container) but with way better food and more of it. I have been here many many times and have rarely been disappointed. I'm pretty sure I have tried every dish but my favorites are the lo mein, green beans, and peanut chicken. During the school this place is packed at almost exactly noon so its best to show up at 11 or a little later in the day (1-2) to avoid the rush. The staff may come off as a little gruff at times but if you go enough you'll know that isn't really the case. They seem to be like most people, generally friendly but have their grumpy days. So don't be offended if they seem to be hurrying you along. The food can be a bit heavy/oily so don't be afraid to space out the frequency in which your visit or save half your meal for later (I know how hard that can be!), your stomach may be thanking you later! Please bring back the vegetable delight with tofu that you replaced with mushrooms! I don't have any hankering typically for tofu as it is a flavorless gelatinous mass, but in the vegetable delight it was very delicious. However, sometime in the past year or so they replaced the tofu with mushrooms and the dish does not taste nearly as good (perhaps they did something else as well...) which is too bad as that was a delicious lighter option. So in summary, this place gives you lots of food for a good price and is a nice place to grab a quick lunch. read more

A place that's been around for a few years now. I used to go there with a Chinese friend and co-worker of mine pretty frequently, and had quite a number of nice dishes including steamed egg and roasted duck. Many dishes are greasy, including the 'main course' of stir-fry noodles or fried rice. So despite being a huge fan of noodles, I opt for their white rice for almost every visit. I find their dishes to be pretty decent actually, though I really wished it wasn't all that greasy. So for that reason I would say select your food wisely, or eat it over multiple meals. Some of the better items I have had in addition to those mentioned earlier are the peanut chicken and their gigantic meatballs. Their beef, tomato and egg stir fry is pretty good too. QQ is an alternative to Ginger Root for Chinese food in terms of location, being just across the street. It gives you a wider selection of items at the comparable price. If you are looking for some variation on campus and don't mind the greasy food or the occasional cravings, this is something to consider. read more

Remember: This is Chinese-American fast food. It is not an exquisite journey of taste into the realms of authenticity. Keep this in mind. Food: Now then. QQ Express is great for what it is. Compared to other chains like Panda Express, this place is way better in terms of taste (Black pepper chicken = highly recommended). The food is much more home-styled and "personalized" in cooking. Large portions are given, and it costs about $6.70, so this place is actually one of the cheapest places to dine. The entrees are very well-seasoned and grilled. It's flavorful, greasy (as expected) and delicious. Service: Very much like street vendors in China, the service is quick and efficient. Some may confuse this as curt, rude, or offensive, but it is actually just their style to give you fast and prompt service. Do try to not take it personally. Majority of diners here are university students, and the student lifestyle is go, go go, now, now, now; lightning fast service is highly appreciated in this environment. Restaurant: The restaurant itself is quite peaceful. There are plenty of white-cloth tables. There is ambient Chinese instrumental music playing in the background. The interior is decorated with simple Chinese paintings, statues, and glass figures. It's a nice place to lounge around. The descent of stairs is a little intimidating, however. When entering QQ Express from the street (University Way), you must walk down a flight of carpeted stairs into the basement of the building complex. Once you get past that obstacle, though, you are greeted by the nice ambiance of the restaurant itself. Good-tasting food, fast service (almost rudely too fast, which can be a good thing), and the environment is relaxing and serves as a good study area. read more

This is that chinese joint. Crappy food, but because you get so much of it for such a cheap price, you sort of don't care. I wont take it anymore though. I've decided, I will be reviewing it for the food and not the savings. Although I did give it one extra star for the savings. I will say that this place really sucked as far as eating. I got the orange chicken, and it was like every other piece I had to spit out because it had a weird thingy in it. I didn't enjoy myself and likely will never go back. read more

Not the greatest food, but it's something a lot of people just put up with because there's no other options on that side if campus... but at least it's edible. Really oily, the peanut chicken was gross... beef and radish was disappointing... General Tzo chicken, chicken and broccoli, black pepper chicken, curry chicken, and sweet and sour chicken are probably your best bets. read more

It's hard to convince my friends to join me to eat at QQ as everyone thinks it's unhealthy (they are probably right) but that's what makes it sooo tasty... so I used to go there at least once a week. Fast, cheap, tasty, huge servings. I like the pepper chicken (nice and crispy), the tofu (soft and flavorful) and the broccoli chicken (vegetables = more healthy) :) the best. The green beans are pretty good too. Last year I went on the day of Chinese New Year and they had a special menu, with seaweed soup. read more

Excellent food at an even better price! I'd recommend the black pepper chicken and the General Tso's. I opted for lo mein over fried rice, and was pleased it wasn't as greasy as other place's tend to be. It's a cute little space right on campus, and I am happy to have finally tried it out! read more

The food is technically okay here, but it's nothing amazing. I've ordered a few times here just because it's close to my office on the west side of campus. I've never been impressed, nor have I been utterly disgusted. For lunch, here's how it works: This place is downstairs beneath the building that houses Subway and The Library bar. The only entrance is along University, which leads you directly to a stairway and the basement. You then enter a pretty long line and are served cafeteria-style. First you choose if you want rice or noodles, then you choose 2 items off the buffet. They're pretty clearly marked, which is a good thing. After you are given your items, you pay $6.70, and either sit down at a table or take your food to go. I tend to stick to the chicken items, as the texture of the cuts of beef they use is not the greatest Also, vegetarians beware, as I'm pretty sure the ma po tofu has bits of meat in it. The noodles tend to be a bit greasy too, but the rice options are okay. They also have the deep fried Chinese mainstays of sesame chicken and the like. If I were just grading the service aspect of the restaurant, I'd give them 0 stars. Service isn't as important as food to me, especially when I'm taking the food to go, but every time I've been here I don't really even feel welcomed or thanked because the cashier makes no eye contact nor says a single word to me. The first time I arrived was during a busy lunch period, and there were two women working the front line of the restaurant. The first woman took my order by barking "noodle or rice!" and then, "2 item!", and once I chose my food the second woman took my credit card and handed it back to me with my receipt without saying a single word or making eye contact. Today I visited and was served by the same person because it was not as busy, but yet again she made no eye contact and did not say a single word during the transaction. I don't expect great service, but at least say thanks when I patronize your restaurant? You'd probably get another star. read more

I generally don't write reviews on yelp but my experience at QQ Express ma worth doing it now. I work nearby and decided to try this Chinese place on an unfortunate wednesday. The food being so greasy made me regret my decision as soon as I took the first bite. Half way through, my stomach felt horrible and I decided I had enough. Maybe it was the combination of the dishes I took that made my experience a horror : noodles * peanut chicken * fried chicken. The taste was okay though hence the two stars and hence the possibility that I may try this place again some time. But seriously guys, take a cue from your rivals ginger root nearby and make the food less greasy. read more

Banqqqing food and they work quick! The Ma Po tofu left a lot to be desired compared to the tastier but greasier alternative at Ginger Root in Union South. read more

They have good chicken. Lacking delivery options. Staff is concise and speedy. Great for an in between classes meal.

I brought my family to visit this restaurant after hearing another friend mentioning their Cantonese food was decent, and the result? I don't think we'll go back again. Why? 1. Food We went for lunch but we didn't order any lunch special, as we'd like to order from the menu and enjoy their 'best possible'. We've been living in Guangdong and know how the catonese food should be. Maybe the expectation was a bit high, the real food was not even close to what I think it should be -- not just the taste, but the main ingredients are missing too. Like we ordered a pot with chicken, salted fish and Tofu, and I don't see any salted finish inside. And they cut the children to slices while it really should be diced for this dish. Very non-authentic! We also ordered 'peppered beef on the iron board', and I see way more onion and green pepper than beef. What the owner recommended was 'Eggplant with fish sause', a quite popular home dish in Caton. They must have used the wrong sause (again, ingredient), so the taste was not authentic either, and it was very greasy. In summary, the taste of the food was very OK, and the serving amount of on the light side too. Compared to the serving size, ingredient they used and the taste, and price was surely not that great -- about $10-12 for each dish we ordered. 2. Service We were there for a weekend lunch, and when we got there, we were probably the 3rd table they had. The wait for food was pretty long -- took about 20mins for our first dish to show up, and the last one didn't show up until we were almost all done (and it was too late to cancel that dish). They have about 10 tables so I can't imagine how long the wait will be during rush hours. Also, the owner/waitor certainly didn't help much during the ordering process -- we ordered 2 similar dishes based on his recommendation, and we had a good amount left over after we were done. 3. Parking There is no parking right next to the restaurant, so you'd better have a UW parking permit, otherwise the walk could be long. I can see the students won't mind (as they are used to walk around campus), but if you are bringing family like I did, you may want to keep that in mind. In summary, this restaurant offers some not-so-authentic Cantonese food that is close to UW campus. It could work well for people around campus who wants a switch from Subway, but not for family who knows how Cantonese food should taste like. read more

Good price, tasty food. On the greasier side of things, set up kind of similar to a Panda Express. The staff are quick to get you your food from the display and give you generous portions. If you enjoy Chinese food, I'd recommend you stop by. read more

If I were ever going to write a one word Yelp review, it would be right here, and that word would simply be "Eww!". But I won't do that here. The one time I went to QQ, it was on a Friday night while I was doing late night grind for my job. I needed some edible fuel, and remembered that QQ is the closest place that's actually open and isn't Subway. So I go down to the steps, and come in and see a nearly empty restaurant, with two employees just staring me down. All of the food was before me, as it was just in heated trays, much like what you would see in a food court. At this point, I was considering walking back out to the surface, but figured I may as well trudge on, since I have no other options. So, I look through the options, and come to find that as a vegetarian, I have one option: The tofu. I ask for it to go, and get it in the usual plastic bag and styrofoam box. When I get back to my office, I look in the bag, and a large portion of the sauce was just seeping out of the box, onto the bag, and soon after my desk. I get that mistakes happen, but still, it's a bummer. Now that I have the food and am situated, I start eating. It doesn't take me long after to chuck 3/4ths of my meal in the garbage. The tofu tasted so slimy and bland, even with the MSG filled sauce packets, and it smelled slightly rancid. The noodles that came as a side were really stiff and dry, like they were cooked for maybe a minute. It takes A LOT to get me to throw non-spoiled food away, but QQ managed to do the unthinkable. Hats off to ya QQ, because I might've needed to vomit in said hat if I actually finished that meal. read more

Five star straight for good food, sometime service is good too. It's more like hit and miss for service, most of the server there are just careless, but one server is really good. Their appetizer is good. The important part is not to order noodles there I have tried 3 noodle soups there already but so far no luck yet, so try at your own risk. The beef roll is the bomb, the onion pancake taste good too, and I like the pork rices serve with egg. Dumplings are normal. read more

A good place to eat if you are a nerd belonging to the Engineering College, only having less than 30 minutes between 2 classes in the noon but get sick of Ginger Roots and Subway. Food is really mediocre and cannot really count as REAL Chinese food. Though, I do like the Curry Chicken Rice there. Also, I do like the sir and the madam who run the QQ. They are very enthuastic and nice people :) read more

The food here falls somewhere between bad and mediocre. Every single buffet item I tried was covered in oil. This isn't your typical greasy Chinese food. Imagine taking a plate of delicious fried rice and pouring plain vegetable oil over the top of it. That should give you an idea of what this food tastes like. There are also no vegetarian options at the buffet, aside from your typical sides (rice, noodles, fried vegetables). They had one tofu dish, but it contained pieces of beef. I was looking forward to having a place to go for decent Asian food on the west end of campus. I was disappointed. read more

What they do they do great. It's very clean and well-maintained. Super cheap and huge portions for college kids. Solid quality food for the price. read more

Quick, cheap Chinese food. I've only got this when I've forgotten lunch at home and I don't have time to go somewhere better for food. It's certainly not authentic - the flavors are highly exaggerated, but it's not nasty. read more

in good price, but serve horrible Chinese fast food. and the background music is so weird. Won't go there again unless I can't afford others. read more

It's cheap Chinese food. It's around ~7 bucks for easily 2 meals worth of food. Some poor mistaken souls think they're going to feel great after eating here, or expect the servers to leave them emotionally full and happy. That's not going to happen. What can happen is you'll get a ton of food for a relatively small amount of money. They do everything I expected in a relatively nice and clean restaurant which is why they're getting 5 stars. (For context I usually eat fried rice/tso's chicken or something else meat-based, and then steal an extra fortune cookie for myself before leaving. I haven't tried many of the other dishes). read more

I personally like QQ Express for the price and the various side dishes they offer, while I understand there are some people who hate QQ because they think foods here are unhealthy, not authentic Chinese foods. Just keep in mind that this store is comparable to Panda Express. QQ's just a bit cheaper, and I believe QQ gives you more amount. I prefer fried noodles because their fried rice never have the unique smoky taste that you get from authentic Chinese fried rice. Also the rice is very dry. However, side dishes are generally good. My favorite is meat ball and peanut butter chicken. Not a lot of people know this, they also do hot pot and it's $10 per person. The amount of meats and other ingredients you get is good enough. But when the store is super busy that it's packed with people, especially during lunch time and dinner, don't expect to order hot pot because they will probably reject it. If you value price more than the quality, QQ Express is your choice. read more

This is my favorite Chinese food spot on campus. I don't even bother with ginger root. This place just satisfies my chow mein fix and there's always no issues with blandness which I tend to come across in other restaurants in this same category. It's also a really good price for the amount you get! 4 stars only bc sometimes food isn't as fresh as I'd want it to be. read more

QQ Express is the worst restaurant I've ever been to in Madison. The inside looks nice, but you want to stay away from this one. When I went, I asked the server if a tofu dish had meat in it, and he said no. When he brought me the plate, it had low quality sausage or something in there, and I asked him AGAIN if that was meat, and he took it away but didn't say anything. I sat at the table for 10 minutes not knowing what was going on. When he came back, he brought the food but it just looked like somebody had picked the meat parts out (still had some meat parts in it). The food itself had no taste and was really low quality. It was the first time I had never given a tip in my whole life! Do not go here! read more

I have been looking for a reasonably-priced Chinese place near campus in Madison for quite a while and I'm glad this place showed up. After going to all the other places, this is definitely the best. They give large portions, the staff is nice, and the quality of the food is great. The Mapo Tofu and the Chicken and Broccoli are my favorites. I'm really happy the Mapo Tofu actually has pork in it, unlike the low-quality vegetarian crap offered at other places. Would highly recommend! read more

Peanut chicken was great. Crispy chicken on the outside, tender on the inside. Delic!

The peanut butter chicken is my favorite! I wouldn't call it quality food, but for quick Chinese food, I choose this place.

It's the new Chinese fast food buffet that took over Coreana's old space. As a transplant from Hawaii who is very used to quality Chinese food, I've been SUPER disappointed in the Chinese food in Madison. Not to mention as an employee near this establishment, I've been bummed at the lack of decent lunch options. SEARCH NO MORE. This is the best mediocre Chinese food I've found in Madison. It's not the best ever of Chinese, the rice was just a tad under-watered in the cooking, my friend who had the noodles wasn't super impressed... but the entrees were just fine. Price is very reasonable. I'm happy they're part of the neighborhood. =) They're definitely better than Coreana, whose food sucked, imho. read more

It's good to have another place to get a quick lunch around that part of campus, if anything just to avoid having Subway every day. But the food is only OK. There's two or three things I like and they're quite tasty, like the General Tso's chicken and the black pepper pork, but otherwise the options are lacking, and their beef and their seafood tend to be too chewy. Overall, an upgrade over Coreana, the restaurant that used to be there, which had some good food but terrible service, so it took ages to get lunch. read more

My new favorite lunch spot. I was in and out in under a minute and got a ton of food for under seven bucks! The fried rice and chicken was on point! read more

I tried QQ for the first time, having a vegetable medley and ma po tofu. I've never had ma po tofu before, so I have nothing to compare this dish to, but I found this flavorful with the squid cooked nicely. The fried rice was a bit soggy. My lunch cost about $7. read more

Updating again: Visited for the first time since my previous review in October and I think I am done with QQ express as I once again got a weird dish- the black pepper chicken was hard as a rock. I am also consistently turned off by the rude woman who works here and rushes you through the line. I'm sad to say I'm done with this place. read more

The food was terrible. I have never gone to a restaurant and ordered 2 different dishes because I'm super hungry and need to eat something. I ordered the first meal and it was not tasty at all. I tried adding soy sauce and still nothing so I had to order another meal. It wasn't that great either but edible. I informed the waiter in a polite way about the taste and my reason for ordering another meal. Any good restaurant would have at least took the first meal out of the check but they proceeded to charge me for both meals. I paid and left. I will NEVER come back here or recommend it to anyone. There are 2 other Chinese restaurants right next to it, try them instead. read more

Great for grabbing lunch when you're hungry and on the west end of campus by engineering. Not a bad place to actually sit down to eat if you can tolerate their music. Many frequenters, serves a heap for cheap! read more

The food here is good. Slightly on the oily side, but most Chinese dishes will be. Authentic Chinese food is known for its oiliness, complimented by some light, steamed vegetables and soup. It's the 3 dishes, 1 meal that's very popular in China. The owners do not speak Chinese, and it's a rush here most of the time so service isn't the best. However, for the people who say they "bark", Chinese is a harsher language than most languages. Especially Cantonese, which is what the owners speak. Thus, loud volume, busy bustle, and a sharp intonation is what usually transfers over from their native language. I personally think that the food here is good for its price.It's fast food, and you're not going to get the super fancy dishes, but after visiting most Chinese restaurants in Madison, I can say that the food and price is one of its best. If you come here during the rush hour, you can assume that the food is fresh because they're constantly running out and refilling. You can tell by how the chefs seem to be constantly moving around. read more

This is definitely the best place for fast Chinese food. The peanut butter chicken and lo mein are so good I regularly walk 40 minutes just to get a fix. For around $7 you really can't go wrong (or get more food anywhere else...). Plus, everyone loves the QQ lady that's always whipping up the famous white styrofoam boxes of heaven! A must have for any self respecting UW Madison student. read more

Decent fast inexpensive food. Large portions. Good value. It was cafeteria style so the service is fast. The lo mein was pretty good. The general zhos chicken was OK (small chicken, big breading). Pepper chicken and bbq chicken good. Not fancy but fills you up. read more

Don't confuse QQ Express (which is the University Ave restaurant ) with the QQ Asian Buffet on the North side. Owner Lin Guo Zhi (who started the northside restaurant but left to start Express) is an excellent chef. While this establishment has an extensive buffet, we order off the menu. Ask for the string beans with pork, the hot and spicy chicken ding or the pork bao-zi. With a large Chinese student body during the school year, more traditional Chinese dishes are available, but you have to ask. If you know you will be going a certain time, call ahead to try to get a whole steamed fish--as good as I had in China. Table service gets a little hectic during normal meal times, so if you're going to order off the menu instead of the buffet, it can be a little slow but definitely worth the wait. read more