Taiwan Food Express
66 S Dobson Rd,Ste 148, Mesa, AZ, 85202
Taiwan Food Express Menu
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Visit below restaurant in Mesa for healthy meals suggestion.
Visit below restaurant in Mesa for healthy meals suggestion.
Visit below restaurant in Mesa for healthy meals suggestion.
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Address :
66 S Dobson Rd,Ste 148
Mesa, AZ, 85202 - Phone (480) 668-9888
- Website https://taiwanfoodexpress.menutoeat.com/
- Click To Get Directions
Opening Hours
- Mon :11:00 am - 9:00pm
- Mon : 11:00 am - 9:00pm
Specialities
- Takes Reservations : No
Delivery : No
Take-out : Yes
Accepts Credit Cards : Yes
Good For : Lunch
Parking : Private Lot
Bike Parking : Yes
Wheelchair Accessible : Yes
Good for Kids : Yes
Good for Groups : Yes
Attire : Casual
Ambience : Casual
Noise Level : Average
Alcohol : No
Outdoor Seating : No
Wi-Fi : No
Has TV : Yes
Waiter Service : Yes
Caters : No
Categories
Chinese Cuisine
The popularity of Chinese food in America can be adjudicated by the appearance of China Town in many major cities in the United State of America. The popular trend of ordering or opting for Chinese take away food isn't unknown in America. Chinese take away food comes to rescue when you're too tired from work or too exhausted to cook. No one can resist the temptation of eating spicy noodles, shrimp, chicken, beef or pork cooked in the sweet and spicy sauce. The cooking method of authentic Chinese food is a lot different compared to what is served in America.
Generally, Chinese use dark meat small bones and organs to cook dishes but this changes when you are eating American-Chinese fusion food prepared using white boneless meat cooked with broccoli, carrots and onions. Back in China, the food is less spicy and oily as they favor steaming and braising method for cooking the most popular dishes. So, if you have a taste for authentic Chinese food, then try finding a real Chinese restaurant in the city. You can also try the most popular fusion Chinese food like Pecking Duck, Chicken Feet, Hot Pot, Shrimp Dumpling Soup, Mapo Tofu, Wontons, Chop Suey, Egg Rolls and not to forget Fortune Cookies.
There are not many restaurants in America serving authentic Chinese food. A little research on Restaurant Listings directory can help you locate the best Chinese restaurants in the city. Chinese cuisine is continuously evolving, and you can find a variety of dishes categorized as the food for lactose intolerant, gluten intolerant, vegan, vegetarian, and diabetic friendly. So, if you have a group of friends with different taste patterns, save the hassle and visit the nearest Chinese restaurant in your city.
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Kevin C.
This place just tastes GREAT! It seems silly how low their prices too!
(5)Anderson T.
Traditional Taiwanese food, love it
(5)Frank P.
I'm really conflicted about this place. There are not too many Taiwanese restaurants in the Valley and I wish them success. I will probably go back. But our experience was mixed. We ordered quite a few different things to get a sampling and two dishes were outstanding--the spicy won tons and spicy chicken and noodles: cold noodles with chicken, a few veggies and maybe a little peanut sauce mixed into the spice. Carol's seafood soup was unremarkable. The pork chop we ordered for my son was okay. Our niece had one of the Americanized entrees and it was--well--Americanized. The service was decent, not as bad for us as some others here. I think I was overcharged though. My bill was $47 and I could only figure out $37 worth of food and taxes. I think an extra $10 was stuck onto the bill. I'll assume it was an accident. I should have checked when I was still in the restaurant. Mekong Plaza is, overall, a great addition to the Phoenix area. I've loved the restaurants and the grocery is cool also. This is the only Taiwanese place there so I hope they iron out the kinks and have a great run.
(3)Amelia B.
Went into this place yesterday to try their boba drinks. I got a watermelon slush and my boyfriend got a vanilla latte slush. Both were SO good. They used fresh watermelon for mine and it definitely tasted like it. We went back today, I tried Pineapple coconut and it tasted just like a Pina Colada. Haven't tried the food yet but I can't wait to!
(5)Lei Y.
This place is good. We ordered fried chicken,meat balls,beef with egg roll and rice,spicy dumplings and too much for 2person! Especially the fried chicken,better than pork. We will try some other things next time.
(4)Jennifer O.
I went here to 'do a project' with a friend (the project did not get done at all, but I digress) and he's from Taiwan so that was cool. We ordered so much food and it was so cheap! that was pretty awesome. We got the Taiwan noodles, which are rice noodles with some veggies like carrots and sprouts, and it was topped with some ground pork. It was pretty good, the noodles were a little hard to bite through, but the flavor was good. Then we got the pork chops, which were really good. They are breaded and fried and had a lot of flavor. We got the fried dumplings which were really good. They were crunchy on the bottom and soft on the top. It could have been more flavorful, but it was still good. Plus the potsticker sauce had little green onions in it, which is always good. We got green onion pancakes which were the best part! They were crispy, yet chewy, and had a great flavor.... so yum. Finally we got shaved ice with boba, red bean, grass jelly, and condensed milk. I've never had anything like that before, but it was pretty good. So overall, it was good and I would come back. The service wasn't too bad like others have said, but I could see how it might be if the place was busier.
(4)Fred M.
I'm going to start being tougher on my reviews, starting now. This place WOULD NOT give me a water cup larger than a 6 oz Styrofoam cup. We waited 20+ minutes for our lunch orders of orange chicken to come to our table at Taiwan Food EXPRESS. The orange chicken then tasted like liking orange peels. I was unhappy when my bill came.
(2)Trinity N.
Service was less than desirable. It took a long time for the food to come out even though there was only another group of 4 and us 2. The waitress wasn't very friendly at all, or maybe she just had a rough day. I didn't expect much from a Chinese restaurant with "express" in its name, but the food was surprisingly decent. Beef roll was oily, but quite tasty, and good size. Pork chop over rice was just some simple seasoning and soy sauce, nothing spectacular. Taiwanese sausage over rice was good, but I think if you never had similar dish like this before, you might not like it since it doesn't have that much flavor. Soup dumplings were decent, but I think it's the only place in the area that offers this so I can't be picky. 2 of us ordered all of the above which came out to about $10 each including tips
(3)Elizabeth Y.
Good food with a good selection of hard to find stuff. The drink selection is amazing! Love their green tea milk. Would give it more stars if their menu was more uniform. Its difficult enough finding a good place to sit without having to poor through their appetizer heavy menu trying to figure our how much food should be ordered.
(4)Johnson M.
I too stood in line for 20-25mins and gave up, but went back later in the week and was pleasantly surprised. The first time and bad experience was the 2nd day they were open and they were clearly overwhelmed. I had the Taiwanese Rice Noodles and they were fantastic. Great price too, $4.95. I enjoyed my noodles with a lychee slush with boba and was one happy guy. They do not have every item on the menu, only about 1/5 while they are getting started. I look forward to the full menu.
(4)Dan N.
Glorious, utter glory.
(4)Christian Qian A.
I go there often with my kids after chinese school on Saturday mornings. The place is always a mad place on earth. It's a good thing that they have more customers than the seats but there is no organized method to keep track who comes first.we went there today and waited in the front. People arrived late just ignored the people waiting in line and grabbed the table if they saw one. We were cut in line twice today. Finally we got a table but had to call the girl over TWICE to clean up then the third time for the menu. After my older one had few bites, he found a hair in the food, then another one! It was so disgusting! I called over the manager lady( seems like she is the owner?) and she looked at the hair that still embedded in the food and looked at me. She came back later and said all the chefs were men. What the fxxx! I would pull my hair and put it in my son's food? It was a terrible experience! When I got the check, I really didn't want to tip. But I still did. I wrote " worst experience ever. Was cut in line twice; hair in the food " on the receipt . I am not going there agin!!
(1)D L.
I personally love this restaurant, i visit there often with my family. Being the fact that im was born in taiwan it is a great treat to be able to have some authentic Taiwanese food. I highly suggest the spicy wongton, it is probably one of my favorite dish in the restaurant. I really wouldn't suggest ordering any typical dish you would usually order at any regular chinese restaurant, after all Taiwanese food and Chinese food does have it's differences. So skip the Orange Chicken, and Beef broccoli. Because thats not their forte.
(4)Velly O.
Taiwanese foods in AZ is quite a rarity and Taiwan Food Express does an admirable job representing their cuisine. Some stand out foods include Tofu with Eggplant & 3 Cups Chicken (Basil Sesame Chicken). The owners are really nice and friendly & the whole atmosphere feels more like home cooking than a restaurant. They might not blow your socks off but sometimes comfort foods & friendly people is what you need after a long day.
(4)Jen W.
You can get a drink punch card here if you ask. If you buy 10 boba drinks, you can get 1 free. Ask for it! I like to get peach black tea with boba added to it. The total is $3.45 for a small and $4.45 for a large. These drinks seem to have extra sugar in it besides the sugar in the tapioca pearls and the sugar in the tea, so ask for less sugar. Whenever I go to this restaurant, there seems to be a lot of Mandarin-speaking people, and I wonder if they get special deals. I found out about the punch card from someone who is friends with the owner. It seems like most patrons know each other. I have visited a few times, and sometimes there is a variance on prices, so make sure you check the menu and add up everything in your head. I love getting Xiao Long Bao (Steamed Pork Dumplings - $3.95 - #114). These broth-filled dumplings are amazing - obviously, they are not as amazing as ones in Asia or Chinatown, but they suffice for my xiao long bao cravings. I also like Taiwan Food Express for their different kinds of greens, but I would hope they would have that many options being connected to an Asian supermarket and all. So overall, great experience from this informal diner, but not the best I have ever had in my life!
(4)Phil W.
Great little restaurant located in the Mekong Plaza. Loved going there on my lunch break and getting the lunch special. Lot of food for very cheap. Also great food if you're hungover. Orange chicken and any of their noodle dishes are fresh and amazing. Always my place to get Boba too, wide range of flavors and oh so good.
(5)Tye R.
I will be honest they are slow and have been since day one. Now that thats out of the way the food is the best chinese food I have found in Arizona. This may confuse allot of people so I should mention I spent two years living in taiwan so I may be slightly biased. If you want chinese food that isn't changed to make white people happy this is the place to go. Also if you like this I also recommend Lolly Cup at warner and Alma School (NW corner) Better drinks but a much smaller menu.
(5)Alex H.
Looks can be decieving! It looks like a boba/bubble/tapioca drink place but it is much more. It is asian style cafe where they cater to both the togo drink customers and in-store dinning. We were with a Tawainese friend who ordered for us. Everyone really enjoyed the food. Everything was delicious and pretty authentic for Mesa/Phoenix area. I wish they had heavier hand with the spicies to really make the flavors stand out more. I would come back.
(4)Anna M.
Came in for a quick lunch with a coworker. The lunch specials are available on Sunday which is a plus. You get your choice of entree and it comes with egg drop soup (very thick with corn starch), an egg roll and fried rice. The food was good. I could only eat half and the price is under $6. The only complaint I have is that the water comes in a two sip sized styrofoam cup and no refills were offered. This is a good place for a quick lunch or takeout.
(3)Jason B.
There are two restaurants that I tend to frequent at Mekong Plaza when I find myself in the area and this is one of them, the other is the Vietnamese broken rice place. Now as a restaurant let's get this straight, it's basic, it's not artistically decorated, it's a clean basic food joint and they have an alright selection of taiwanese style boba although their taro boba is actually pretty good since it's not too sweet. There are 3 items I tend to order at Taiwan Food Express and that is the Beef Roll, the pork sticky rice, and the Pork Shank soup. The Beef Roll reminds me of a Malaysian Beef curry roll eventhough this one doesn't have curry, the pastry has a similar consistency to Malaysian roti but with the beef in it mmmmm it's greasy and YUMMY. The pork stick rice is usual dim sum fare but I like it better than the sticky rice at Great Wall dim sum in PHX. and the Pork Shank noodle soup brings out the Asian in me, it's good ol shank with a kinda salty soup with bok choy in it. If I told ya to try out Taiwan Food Express I'd say order yourself a beef roll it's just GOOD! :-)
(3)Dan W.
I had to wait 15 - 20 minute. but worth the wait. absolutely great food. dee -licious. great price too. They don't have all the item on the menue yet but they have most the items me and my friends wanted. We will be back soon. super food. Yum...Yum.
(5)Jack L.
Great place for authentic Taiwanese food even though not much by way of atmosphere or service. But who cares when the food is great! Make sure you go with someone who knows what to order.
(4)B B.
I love Boba drinks!!! I even worked as a bartender at a Boba shop for more than 2 years! I know and understand that every place name and make their drinks differently, and that if I want something made a particular way, I have to be very specific and communicate that directly with the person who make the drinks. When I found this place in Mekong, I was excited!!! On a trip to the grocery market, I made a point to stop here for a Boba drink with my husband. We placed our order for 1 Green Milk Tea with Boba and 1 Black Milk Tea with Honeydew flavor and Boba. I was the one that placed the order, so I made it a point to let the bartender know that I wanted Milk Tea and not slush. The server reply "oh yes, it's good you tell me, we make our flavored drink here slush. But I will make sure the Honeydew flavor milk tea is the 'liquid one'." Happy and glad that she understood exactly what I wanted, we sat down at a near by table and waited for a drinks. 5 mins went by, 10 mins, then 15 mins. I saw 2 bartenders make a total of about 6 drinks and sat them on a carrier. Then 1 of them saw I was looking, she said to me "it's for a call-in order." I was thinking to myself, "well... you have 1 walk-in order that only have 2 drinks and a call-in order of 6 drinks, wouldn't it be more efficient if you make my order first, or even between drinks, because I am already here??? Plus we have been waiting for over 15 mins!!! The call-in order is not even here yet... Where is customer service and common sense? When it's almost 20 mins, my husband was about to go up and ask for our money back, our first drink is made. It's the GMT with Boba. We waited for another 3 mins for the Honeydew one, and got a slush!!! I politely told the bartender who took my order that this was not what I ordered; I told her that we wanted the "liquid one", she told us earlier that she will make sure that's what we get. She first looked pissed, probably cussed under her breath, and than insisted that they ALWAYS make their flavored drink in their restaurant slush. Then she grabbed the drink off the countertop, told me she fix it and stomped away. I have to be honest though, the Boba was very good. It was fresh and very delicious. As for the drinks, GMT was good; Honeydew BMT was way too sweet and undrinkable. (I suspected she purposely made it horrible, but I will never find out...) The customer service, on the other hand, is "out of the world" horrifying. Would I pay $10 and have to go through the whole experience again? No thank you. I will continue my search for a decent Boba place with better experience. I heard there is another one just down the street, and it's called "The Street". I am giving this a 2-star. Could have been an easy 1-star but the Boba is delicious and not many places know how to make Boba well.
(2)Ellen C.
I'm Taiwanese, so although it's good to have a spot to get hard to find items like oyster omelettes and scallion pancakes. Unfortunately, it's nothing spectacular and it doesn't do justice to how fresh and flavorful Taiwanese food should taste. Dishes are greasier than I'd like and within this plaza, there are better places to grab a meal.
(3)Christopher L.
fantastic for a quick meal, i'd much rather eat here than panda express.. :)
(4)Shimstu S.
We have been living in Arizona for four months and have been desperate for good Asian food. Back in Boston we would eat amazing Taiwanese cuisine all the time and have been missing it. Taiwan Food Express was a real treat! Despite the name it is a sit-down place with table service and has many delicious Taiwanese treats! The lotus salad and eggplant in garlic sauce were especially good. Mekong Plaza is a treasure trove of Asian eateries. Head there asap!
(4)Mark R.
I've been eating lunch in the Mekong Plaza for a long time now and just found a new kickass place for my hungry taste buds to enjoy. The menu here is very large and they have both Americanized versions as well as some more authentic Taiwanese and Chinese choices. Came here for the first time and ordered the House Style Chicken with Basil and a Beef Roll on the side. They both had some really nice flavors and the large portions were probably more than what was needed before going back to work. ZZZzz! There are several ways to get filled up here. Dim Sum, Soups, Appetizers, Sauteed Dishes and a huge selection of Noodles and Rice specialties. Service was friendly and very quick. There are some photos available to choose from or you can just point at a picture on your phone like yours truly. Can't wait to come back and try out some more of their tasty dishes. They even have some really inexpensive choices for those on a budget. CHOP CHOP! 4 STARS
(4)April S.
We stopped by to get a Boba drink before heading to get some Asian groceries. I ordered a Taro Boba milk tea...I have to say...it was a bit too sweet for me. I've been here , however, for dinner. Their prices are reasonable and I do enjoy their food. I will still come here for food but probably not for the Boba drink. Great service though with authentic Taiwanese food
(3)Crystal Claire H.
After such bad experience a couple years ago, now I have become a regular customer for some good boba drinks. They have improved so much from time to time. Comparing to other business around this place is still my favorite. The restaurant is kinda small but doesn't mean it cant attract customers. I have seen numerous people waiting in line just to wait to be served. The service is kinda up and down, depend on the mood of the servers that day. If the shop is busy I can tell they become a lil rushy and annoyed. However, I can put up with it because their drinks are the bombs
(4)Tzarina W.
Like cheap eats? Then this one is sure to keep your wallet/purse/card in shape. You can dine in or order out and your order of a few dishes will take about 15 minutes to cook for under $20 for 2 people, plus leftovers. :) I love the beef roll which is beef rolled in an onion pancake. The steamed rice bowl is a bit of minced pork with chopped cilantro and a nice savory sauce over a bowl mound of gelatinous rice. Give it a try! The house special basil chicken is sure to please anyone. And the chicken noodles is colorfully made with a spicy flavor.
(4)Dwayne O.
Inside the Mekong Plaza serving fast food and boba. Have never had the food there but this is where we get the boba which is always good and fast. I always get the strawberry slush without boba which is so good just be careful not to consume to quick which will give you brain freeze. My daughter lives the milk tea with boba and is addicted to this place. Friendly workers and pretty clean for a chinese restaurant. Will come back again for more
(4)Wendy O.
I love this little getaway, the food is delicious, best potstickers in town, excellent prices for excellent food. :D
(5)Takuya K.
When you need a non-Cantonese fix and the best boba in AZ, go here! We love the milk tea plain boba as much or even more than the food but havin said that the menu offers some great alternatives to our 90% Cantonese bias. Ironic that 90% of my Chinese friends now live and work in Taiwan, so I pay tribute to them each bite of the flaky beef roll and slurp of tapioca! Never a wait for us and quick fast reasonable dishes. The house chicken is another fave as the dominant cumin spices always stimulate our overly soy -oyster sauce dulled taste buds! Lol
(4)Irene W.
I order fried chicken steak combination today. food is good, but the service is kind off. I got in, and sat there for while no one bring manual to me. there is one waitress occupied with other customers, but there is the other one just standing inside the counter, and watching. I looked at her many times...but she still doesn't want to bring the manual to me. I have to wait till the other waitress free to serve me...which took her more than 5mins....not amazed by the services at all.....
(3)William L.
The wife and I ordered a few things from this place based on some reviews from friends. The boba milk tea was good. We had the fried smelt, some fried tofu, the pork rice and a beef roll. The Beef Roll had good flavor but was definitely too oily. The fried smelt was good at first but then all of a sudden some of the pieces were very bitter...not sure exactly why... The fried tofu was good but the pork rice did not have much flavor and was was dry :(. Overall, I would hit up this place for the milk tea boba and some fried tofu, but that's about it...
(2)Lan N.
I've been to Taiwan once already, and am heading back there again in a few months. Mostly, I adore the night market fare. The menu here had me soooo excited. I was with my fiancee, and we ordered the fried squid, tan tan mien, scallion pancake, and a cup of milk tea. The milk tea and squid were very close to what we had at the markets. However, I was extremely disappointed in noodles. I'm not Taiwanese, but of the many times that I have ordered this dish, it has been spicy. This was not...it lacked much of any flavor. The scallion pancakes served only as a belly filler. I may return, b/c there are so many other dishes to try, but will not be repeating any of my last order.
(3)Gehan K.
Not bad for taiwan food. The dumplings were pretty good though. The service could have being better....they need to work on customer service. The eggplant and tofu dish was interesting. The seafood pancake wasn't that impressive. Hey...i was very hungry....so I eat anything.
(3)Eddy Y.
My wife really like their house chicken with basil...that is why we stop by when shopping at the Mekong Market. Their service has never been great. Most of the time, the waitress ignores you. Most people just find a table and grab their own menus. They usually stop no more than twice: once to get your order and drop water off, the other to bring your order. If you need anything else, you will have to flag them down. On our last visit, we went through the motion of getting our own table and menus. We ordered food and dessert, asked the waitress to bring the shaved ice at the end of the meal. Everything was fine until we ask the waitress to bring to-go boxes and our dessert. I told her we wanted to take all the leftovers. She dropped off the containers and proceed to clear the dishes by stacking them on some leftovers we just told her we wanted to take home. I told her we wanted that, she took the dish off and asked if we still wanted it...while laughing. We said no and continued to pack our food. The dessert came...not shaved ice but re-frozen ice that clumped together. My wife tried to make the best of it by breaking the bigger chunks...but still mostly golf ball size. We tried a couple of bites and decided to send it back. We explained the issue to our waitress, she took it away to show the owner. The owner immediately started to say that is how Taiwanese shaved ice is made. After I told her I was from Taiwan, she finally admitted that it shouldn't have chunks of ice and agree to not charge us. Within 30 seconds, she sent the waitress back to say she is going to charge us half the price for taking a bite of the taro. I started to argue...the waitress told us to just pay it and not to worry about the tip. The owner continued to argue with me in front of other customers then when I tried to replied, she said fine and told me to stop arguing. She kept talking about how they gave us a lot of toppings and that we should pay for it. At the time, I was pretty ticked off and didn't look at the tax closely. Since I refuse to pay for the dessert, they added a few dollars to the tax to cover the half of the shaved ice. They hand-wrote the ticket so it was pretty easy to do. The owner is dishonest and all about making a buck.
(1)Steve B.
I tried the Singapore noodles at this restaurant but I was not impressed. The place has kind of a loud vibe too, and there are some language issues although everyone was kind. I just didn't think the food was very good and that's the main thing----and if you are that close to Thai Spices in Mekong Plaza then for goodness sake go get that great Thai food!
(2)Holly C.
Stopped by for some bbtea which was decent. The food looked and smelled really good.
(3)Pete H.
I had the sauteed sliced fish (swai) with green onion and ginger. So good, fresh, wholesome, and filling. It reminded me of my mom's home cooking, or as close you are going to get to it at a restaurant. Service was fun, fast, and friendly. Nice people.
(5)Howard C.
Yum
(5)Kevin C.
This place just tastes GREAT! It seems silly how low their prices too!
(5)Anderson T.
Traditional Taiwanese food, love it
(5)Chheng L.
I was craving for some Taiwanese popcorn chicken and this was the closest place to me that had it at the time. I was on my way to work after coming from a meeting. I had about an hour, give or take. It took me about 10 minutes to get there. I ordered the popcorn chicken plate (comes with rice) and a taro almond milk tea and got my number and waited. and waited. and waited. ........ and zZ Zzz waaaaiiiitttteeed.... for about 30-40 mins! I had to rush it back to work and when I got to work I had to scarf down my lunch. I didn't have enough time to finish it so I saved half for dinner. Despite the wait, the food was tasty. The chicken was well seasoned and exactly what I was craving for. And the rice was good! Hot, soft & fluffy! I love when Asian restaurants use quality rice! You don't get that too often at restaurants nowadays. It also came with sautéed bok choy and a braised egg. Yum! I'll be back to get this again. But I think I will call way ahead next time or order my food and go grocery shopping and come back and pick up. I hope it was a one time experience because I can't imagine people dining in and waiting so long for food!
(3)Catherine H.
It's pretty authentic. I loved the beef roll. However, both my husband and I got stomach issues after our lunch there. I think the oil they use might not be clean. Well, a small dozage can build immunity... That's the way I see it.
(4)Anthony N.
Cheap, good, fast Taiwanese food. Get rid of the Americanized menu and I might give you the 5th star. Note for people expecting awesome service here (and at many other Asian places). Don't. It's a different food/restaurant culture. Want something? Make yourself seen and heard.
(4)Dan Y.
It's a good restaurant, and very convenient for Asian people going there after market shopping. The foods are not that special and traditional, but it is nice though.
(4)Daniel A.
As far as Taiwanese food goes, this place is pretty average. If this place were in a more Asian populated area, I would probably be a bit harsher. However considering this is phx and the Asian food is not as plentiful, this place will get you by if you are absolutely craving something Taiwanese. If you've never tried Taiwanese food before, this would be a reasonable place to give it a shot. Their boba drinks, though, taste just like they're supposed to.
(3)Ali C.
Awesome Taiwanese food! The "Taiwan Spicy Specialty" is so good! Inexpensive and very clean.
(5)Daniel K.
The Taiwanese dishes here are quite good..... I don't know what people are expecting when they go to a Taiwanese place and order Mongolian Beef/Orange Chicken/Kung Pao chicken and then immediately compare it to Panda Express That aside their scallion pancake with egg was scrumptious and their prices here are just what a college student needs. I prefer this place to A.C.E. too downsides~ boba not good as boba house, some dishes are off, service is very hands off asian style..... but you go to a place for what its good for and TFE is well worth the effort
(4)Cara L.
Love this place!!! Best boba and great prices! They have a huge menu to choose from and all the choices come out amazing!!
(5)D V.
My mom and I went here yesterday for lunch and I've been wanting to come for the past couple of months due to all the good reviews I've read. I was a little disappointed with the food some, because I had super great expectations. I loved eating at 3-6-9 in the Los Angeles and Silicon Valley areas and Taiwan Food Express doesn't compare to the restaurants in California. There was another restaurant that did serve this type of food that I loved at Warner/McQueen, but they closed down a long time ago. We had the Steamed Pork Dumplings (Xiao Long Bao) and I thought these were really small. They tasted good and were juicy. However, i'm used to eating these with a lot of sliced ginger. We asked for more ginger, but they really didn't give it to us. The onion cakes were okay, but I felt they were pan fried too much and they were very small and thin. Once again, I'm used to bigger onion cakes that are thicker and flakier. We had rice cake noodles or Nian Gao and the rice cake noodles were a big on the tough side, like they weren't cooked enough. This was the most disappointing dish of all and not as much flavor as I last had it. I won't be getting this again. Lastly, we had Shanghai Noodles and this was good. It tasted like I remembered so of the 4 things we got, this was decent. Oh, and my mom ordered a Papaya Slush and I ordered a Lychee Slush Boba. Both these were delicious and really good. I especially loved the Lychee Slush Boba. The prices were alright, so not an issue. Maybe my expectations were too high, but I guess at least it wasn't too bad, so I'll give it 4 stars. The service was fine, everyone courteous. So that is good.
(4)Meg P.
Horrible service and mediocre food. We had to ask for utensils, napkins, sauce (twice), had to ask where to pay, had to go get our own, then melted, drinks off the counter because they weren't delivered to table and the water cups were shot glass size. The sesame chicken was good, teriyaki chicken was very questionable and the bobas were delicious. It's cheap, so I can't ask for much but it use to be way better than it is now. Will not be returning again.
(2)Dave N.
This review applies to the boba only, as I haven't had time to sit down and eat their food. As it is for lots of boba places outside California, the boba is mostly focused on slushes rather than teas. The fruit slushes are of varying quality. The strawberry and taro slushes was excellent, while the watermelon slush was plain disgusting. The thai milk tea here is very bitter, tasting more like coffee than tea. Eh, I've had better, but it's decent for Arizona
(3)Rui Z.
pretty decent taiwan food in the valley. We go there every couple weeks, usually order to go and then take our time for the grocery shopping, then came back to pickup. all kinds of delicious food to try
(4)Selina S.
Love the food n the service ;) the lady over there is really nice!!! Try the taro mike ()
(3)W L.
Just moved to AZ and discovered this place. Located right next to the Chinese Mekong market. Food was delicious and service was fast. I had the tofu, mushrooms, and bok choy. Also ordered the pig ears. I know strange but once u try this, you will be going back for more. Make sure to ask for them to make it spicy
(4)Kevin L.
First off. The girl handling food behind the counter was sneezing directly into her ungloved hands, and proceeded to transfer food, utensils, and cash register all without washing her hands once, that is a warning sign of things to come of the low standards of this establishment. Second, the waitress was on her cell phone texting the entire time I was there, even texting while she was delivering drinks and food. I thought okay subpar Chinese restaurant standards maybe the food is stellar, but knowing it might be tainted with bacteria during flu season is not so comforting, and I am by no means a germaphobe. I simply do not understand how this business can receive any positive ratings. Let's talk about the food. Here is a good summary. Lowest possible quality food used, and short cuts to everything. Although this is a casual, low cost restaurant, I expect the quality of their food to be clean and somewhat fresh. Maybe the many rave reviews here cannot taste beyond the thick soy sauce and msg to wash out the low quality food used. The 3 cups chicken tasted ordinary, but the chicken had a bad stench (no, not from the basil) and the meat consistency was simply off. I understand 3 cups chicken is used with chicken chopped with bones in, but this dish was just a mess with broken bones and fragments everywhere. The fried tofu had a unusual crunch on the outside, like the entire layer just broke apart like the sugar on top of creme brulee, very unlike how it is typically made anywhere else with various methods, steamed shanghai buns had no juice, skin too thick, meat was like a hard meatball, no that is not how it should be even, and no I am not comparing this to Dinh Tai Fung. The hot and sour soup had more carrots in it than any other ingredients. Although Taiwanese hot and sour soup is made with different ingredients and consistency as the Cantonese version , they somehow made it all their own, not in a good way. the carrot should be shredded, not big sticks of it. Pork should also be sliced, or minced, not weird shaped clumps. The minced pork rice was totally dry and had no picked veggies or egg. It looked like what I feed my dog. Although the review sounds harsh, this establishment truly needs some major managerial changes. I will be eating at Henry's (either one of the two).
(1)Norm R.
This popular little restaurant in the Mekong Plaza complex serves inexpensive, filling Chinese food fast. I find their food to be quite tasty, though it would have been better if they held back on the salt a bit. Service is friendly and efficient, the whole setting is very informal, and I do enjoy the boba they serve here. I'll definitely be coming back to try the salt and pepper smelt (I love smelt) and other items they serve that are not normally found in most semi-fast food Chinese places.
(3)Rebecca C.
I really like the teas I get from here, I just wish the service was friendlier. They appear incredibly bored and indifferent when I give my order.
(3)Gregorio R.
This one of my favorites for fast Chinese food. Spycy chicken salad and scalion pancakes are my favorites. But they have many great thinks. I cant think. Im about to eat. Bye. Come on porkbelly!
(5)Xidong W.
I ordered salt fried chicken, one bulk of the chicken had a bad smelling inside. I spit the food out. I am wondering if the quality of the food is good.
(1)Jenna P.
There was a void in my life. Having just moved back to Phoenix via Los Angeles, and living with my parents in North Scottsdale for a spell (which has terrific restaurants but lacks any kind of authentic Taiwanese cuisine), serendipitously stumbling upon Taiwan Food Express was exactly what I had no idea I needed. Situated in Mekong Plaza (a little strip mall in Mesa) Taiwan Food Express dishes out tried and true Americanized standards (teriyaki chicken) for your more picky eater, and meals of pig ears, spicy beef tendon, and oyster omelette for people who enjoy how flavorful and amazing dim sum can truly be. The scallion pancake with egg can heal inner pain and sadness you carry from the scars of childhood. So I guess what I'm saying is try it. Try it now. Right now!!
(5)Dylan B.
I found this place on Yelp and figured I'd give it a shot. I've enjoyed the other restaurants in the Mekong Plaza and figured this would be more of the same. Boy was I wrong. For starters it took them 32 minutes to get my food ready. A couple who sat down after me got their order and finished their meal in the same time it took to make mine. I asked at the counter several times about my food and got brushed aside with "it's coming" each time. Once I got the manager's attention it took another 10 minutes to get my food rushed. They clearly forgot my order... I'd probably still be there if not for him. I got a curt, insincere "sorry it took so long" and I was on my way. The food was hardly worth the wait. One spoonful of their bland, flavorless eggdrop soup and I knew I'd wasted my time driving here. I threw that away immediately and gave the entree a try. The orange chicken was decent. Sort of what you'd expect from a frozen tv dinner that you pop in the microwave. I also had some sort of spicy chicken dish which was similar to kung-pao chicken. That was pretty standard fare, but you can get better food just about anywhere. Overall, do not bother with this place. Literally every other restaurant in this plaza is better. Service is lackluster and impersonal. Food is bland and on par with a reheated tv dinner.
(1)George B.
Read about this little gem on New Times and just happened that we were craving Dim Sum on New Years Day. Ordered the Scallion Pancake (good), Spicy dumplings, (really good and 8 to an order), and the beef roll. The beef roll was excellent. Never had anything like it in any Asian cuisine. It's a MUST ORDER. Beef or Chicken with sauce wrapped in some sort of pastry and baked. For the main course we decided to roll the dice and the wife picked out the House style Chicken. Chopped up pieces of chicken and lots of it, with some sort of greens and an amazing sauce. This is a great dish. The red sauce is perfectly seasoned with the right amount of spice. Two things that would have made this dish even better...more greens in the dish and less bones in the chicken. This is a pretty traditional dish so when the chicken is prepared its chopped in random pieces with a large knife. This can cause small pieces of bone to be in the chicken meat. Still a great dish. You won't be disappointed with this place. Definitely not your cookie cutter Chinese restaurant. Especially since they are from Taiwan. For an after dinner treat, take a walk around the Asian market around the corner.
(4)Kelvin O.
Let's talk about the positive - The food is decent. Most of the combination plates are decently priced and the portions are good. Look out for their giant sized onion cuts. They don't believe smaller portion cuts. Overall, the taste is good. The bad - This happened to me numerous times. Since I am a English dominate Asian guy, I find their service appalling. There have been a few times where I don't get served the menu. Those times, I simply walked out. As for the servers, if you are not a Chinese speaking customer, they simply ignore you. I noticed that many of the servers take their time talking to other patrons while I am left alone. This place serves a niche but their service quality should be better for everyone...
(2)Roam J.
I'm writing this review in protest to the 3 star rating. This place has some really great dishes - their san bei ji (house chicken) is delicious and an absolute must try at least once affair. I've sampled numerous other meat an noodle dishes in my many visits and I've never been disappointed. Service is okay, they aren't going to roll out a red carpet but generally won't ignore you either. Prices are very reasonable - twenty bucks covers both me and my wife, with a little bit leftover.
(5)Mark H.
We ordered some typical Taiwaness dishes such as shaved ice, fried chicken steak, and Si-deng pork. However, we couldn't be more disappointed. Their shaved ice was a joke. You wouldn't get any appetite just by looking at it. The rest stuff was just mediocre.
(1)Ruben F.
Won ton soup was decent. House chicken was deep fried pieces of the boniest dark meat covered with a greasy sauce. Each piece of chicken was more bone and gristle than tasteful meat.
(2)Mia J.
I come here for black milk tea boba, extra sweet. You will love it. I go to California to get some boba drinks but i still miss this place.
(5)Adrian B.
Very tasty I had the house chicken and my wife had the kung pao chicken. For desert we ordered shaved ice and the pineapple topping was sour from being too old or left at room temperature too long. So it was good, but the desert was a disappointment.
(3)David G.
Taiwan Food Express is a great local option for quick Asian food. For the same price as a plate a Panda Express you can get an entree, rice, soup, and a spring roll. All of it is made to order, and there is great variety. If you're in the mood for something tasty and spicy, this is a pace to try. No AMEX.
(4)C B.
We used to come here quite often but this visit was just terrible. The manager was yelling at her worker and the food (we had oyster pancake and spicy wonton) was aweful. We won't be back for a long long time!!
(1)Ken G.
Awesome service, food & cleanliness! This is one of our favorites!
(5)zack l.
Horrible cuts of meat, weird almost sour after taste of chicken like its been sitting out for a while. For being in an oriental/asian plaza i thought the quality would be higher. I was wrong not ever going back. BE WARNED
(1)Lin L.
Myself as an international student from china, I was bored in China and grow up all the way from 0 to 18 years old and I know what the restaurant in China looks like and what the food taste like. By looking through the reviews they have of Taiwan food express, I find out something pretty interesting. People from all nations go and try the foods there; they have different ideas of food culture based on their background. Some people may think the service they have there is not very good and even not friendly. That's really funny, in fact the people work there is pretty friendly and they know exactly what they are doing. That is exactly what has happened in the real Chinese restaurant. Mostly, when you go to the Chinese restaurant, the server will gave you a menu and it take time for you to choose the dish you want so the server will not stand next to you all the time and they may leave. After you choose the food you want, you can just raise your hand or call the server and then they will come and write down the food you want. That is the way we do in China, that is one kind of culture. For the food they have there, most people done the review said it taste pretty good and I am absolute agree with that. They order the real Chinese food instead of the American Chinese food or something else. There in one guy said that he feels pretty disappointed when he wants to order the orange chicken and Mongolia beef when he comes there. That make sense to, because most native people may thought what we have or eat in China is orange chicken or something like that. That's not true. In china, we have 8 different styles of food which were from different province. I can even say that different province have absolutely different food. There are more than thousands of foods you can find and eat in China not only the orange chicken and Mongolia beef.
(4)Ali P.
The first time I came here I wanted to buy some boba milk tea but all the servers/cashiers ignored me even after making eye contact so I left. However, I decided to give them another chance because they were pretty busy that day. I got the stir fry beef noodles (beef chow fun) and to my dismay, it didn't even taste as good as the one I make at home. For its price, ($7) the quality was not good. I'm not planning on eating here again.
(1)Bao H.
Got Rice!? Cause I need some now! This place is great if you need a quick run for some rice. That's what happened in my situation. I ordered the Spicy Lover - cause that's what I am; sssssss haha! It was pretty much kung pao chicken with an extra kick! I dig it. It came with an eggroll, side of egg drop soup, and fried rice. However, if you can't handle a lot of spice I would definitely recommend the regular kung pao without the extra PAO - if you know what I mean. All this for the price of $6! Not bad at all. It's like ordering street food, but not actually being on the street. They also serve Boba drinks here, but I rather just run next door to the frozen yogurt boba shop. The place itself is pretty simple and looks like a fast food Chinese joint for sure. Service is good!
(3)Ivy R.
This is the place I take my family to try Taiwanese food. We like their boba smoothie. Sometimes we would drive out of our way to get a cup here because I crave it so much. Most of their dishes are authentic. I usually order stuff I do not want to spend the time making at home. I just wish they would have more Taiwanese snack type dishes that I could never find here or CA. (Like sweet rice sausages!) This is pretty much a diner, so service is basic. To me this is not a deal breaker, since I do not require to be checked upon while I am devouring my food. In case I need anything like a second pair of chopsticks or another glass of water, I just ask for it. The young ladies there are very good at responding to my requests.
(4)John Q.
This place does takeout and has a small dinning area with about 10 tables. For drinks, the Thai iced tea, milk tea, and cumquat juice with boba are nice. For starters, the spicy wontons were very tasty. The meat inside was plentiful and flavored with herbs, while the sauce was excellent. The pork chops were a little greasy, but had a nice five-spice flavor that kept me coming back. The house special chicken pot is an excellent dish fit to feed two or more. The sauce is a tangy, light, and BBQ-like with an Asian style. For sides, the Szechuan green beans had a tasty chili garlic flavor. Overall the meal was very good and fairly priced. I have visited here twice already.
(4)Sandy C.
For authentic Taiwanese food, you wouldn't expect very good service, but the staff was friendly and greets you almost immediately. I took a Mongolian Beef, Steak & Pepper, Beef Roll, Picked cucumbers, 2 small Boba drinks, all for $30- to go! My favorite so far is the Beef Roll since the skin is perfectly crispy and the meat tastes great mixed with the green onions. Food is pretty good overall, and prices are fair. I'll be back to try the other tantalizing appetizers on the menu, as well as the dim sum, begging me to have a taste. FYI, there is a $5 minimum to use your credit card!
(4)Jessica S.
They are very friendly here and willing to accommodate your food order to your liking..only thing is the food was not all that great which we were kinda bummed about because it did look very good. Prob give another dish a shot. b/f tried the Mongolian beef and was not impressed at all. i had the orange chicken and no complaints really. if i don't go back for food.. i WIll and already am becoming a regular for boba drinks. any flavor you want. Im a sucker for a coconut boba drink..yummers!!
(3)Richelle M.
Good food, if all the Taiwanese comes here that means this is really good.
(5)John M.
Great and very authentic-seeming Taiwanese food. Everything was tasty, though if you aren't Taiwanese and are used to standard Chinese-American fare, some of the menu items might be a little strange to American tastebuds.
(4)Yvonne G.
Ate here after looking at all the choices in the Mekong Plaza. Tried their combination menu which included Egg Drop soup, spring roll, fried nice and the the dish of your choice. The soups came out and after two spoonfuls I decided it was not worth eating due to the "unusual" taste and perhaps a bit of sourness such as when food is going bad. I was afraid to eat it and gave it up quickly. My hubby ate perhaps two more spoonfuls than I (his palate is not as quick as mine) and then gave up on the soup. He loves egg drop soup so for him NOT to eat it, you know something was wrong with it. I mentioned to the server that something was really wrong with the soup--that it tasted funny and she gave me a half smile and walked away. Didn't even take the soups away from the table until I visually prompted her to. Perhaps not knowing enough English is the problem--probably. The spring roll was tasty as was the colorless "fried rice". Yes, although it was white with some peas in it, it did have a pleasant taste. The pork chow mein I had was almost all noodle with just specks of pork. Pork is cheap isn't it? I don't get why there wasn't much of it. Hubby's orange chicken was made as spicy as he requested and was not laden with crust--he really liked it. It took a lot of coaxing to get the water glasses filled especially since it was a really hot afternoon. After my first time here, I think that the food is OK and the prices are fair. However, I don't think I will go out of my way to eat here again---especially after the bad Egg Drop Soup (which I believe had the potential to make me sick) and lack of pork in my dish.
(2)Tarrah C.
loooovvveeeee their boba! I come here principally for the tea, but the food is good too. The prices are very good (nothing over 8 bucks, many dishes for under 4) They have quite a variety of dishes, I haven't been too adventurous, but I would like to come back and have some of the noodles. I have had shrimp and broccolli, which was excellent, along with a scallion pancake, which is nothing like a Korean scallion pancake, but it's still good. Our server was very nice, she explained which dishes might be too salty and which dishes are more popular. I like nice people like that! It is a little small in there, but it is sort of meant to be fast food...you can sit and be served though. Anyways, as I said, I ALWAYS stop in for boba after shopping at the market. But every now and then it makes for a good, cheap lunch.
(4)George C.
Their combination boxes are a good value, rice, some protein, vegetables, and an egg for about six bucks. Try the taro milk tea slush!
(4)Michael N.
I really love this place. It's a nice spot to get a little taste of taiwanese cuisine in AZ. They have bubble tea and some typical taiwanese dishes. Get the: -House Style Chicken with fresh basil. (the sauce is a perfect balance of spices making for an interesting flavor combination against crispy pieces of chicken) Also, everything is really cheap, so you can order a couple dishes and walk out of there without breaking the bank. Always wanna come back for a quick, tasty, meal!
(4)Alexander C.
In my search to the ends of the Valley for hidden gems for great food I've found a pocket of Asian ethnicity in Mesa. Mekong Plaza opened in October 2008 on the southwest corner of Dobson and Main. Formerly an empty Target store, it has been converted into an Asian mall with Mekong Market as the anchor. The plaza houses three Vietnamese restaurants, one Thai and the Taiwanese place, Taiwan Food Express. If you're unfamiliar with Taiwanese food, that would make two of us. While Taiwan Food Express does have a China-merican menu with typical offerings, I'd suggest ordering from the regular menu and the specials menu. This will give you food that seems authentic and interesting. This was probably one of the most exciting dinners I've had in quite some time. Taiwanese cooking has many influences including regional, ethnic and cultural influences. So in order to taste the diversity, we ordered as many dishes as the table could hold and then some. If you're not feeling too brave, feel free to ask for suggestions, the employees here know all the good stuff. Our server, Jessica, made some great suggestions as we pulled a feast together. And at these prices - nothing is more than $10 -- feast away! The Spicy Wontons ($2.50) are filled with tender seasoned ground pork then laid to rest in spicy chili oil. They were so tasty we ended up ordering a second plate. Not being able to resist any sort of food challenge, we tried the Simmered Pig Ear ($2.50). It was funny to watch the look on the faces of each of my dining companions as they raised the wiggly sliced ears to their mouths. These were more of a texture food than a taste food. The ear skin was super tender while the center cartilage was on the crunchy side. Challenge won. Less challenging was the scrumptious Beef Roll ($3.95). A tender pancake rolled around tender sliced beef with a slathering of sweetened soy sauce was slightly oily, but nothing a napkin couldn't fix. The Scallion Pancake ($2.25) had a decent crunch and made a great bread to go along with the upcoming entrees. A less adventurous diner might order the familiar Orange Chicken ($6.50). It's good choice here. The tender batter covered fried chicken was accented by a thick and pungent sauce. The portion size was huge and dwarfs any I've seen elsewhere. A favorite was the House Style Chicken with Fresh Basil ($6.50). This dish was made from pieces of bone-in chicken, then covered with fresh basil. It was plate licking good. Pork Belly with Sour Vegetable ($6.50) sounded good, but the sourness of the vegetables was off-putting. Perhaps it's an acquired taste? The boiled Hi-Nan Chicken Rice ($5.95) was tender, and when dipped into the garlic and ginger sauce it was out of this world. Another textural delight was Stir-Fried Rice Cake with Salted Vegetables ($5.95). Each bite of rice cake resembled a large piece of rice and, while subtle in flavor, had an addictive chewiness. There are so many dishes to try that it will take a few visits to get through the menu, but with prices this low and service this friendly, it's worth a few trips.
(4)Su-shien C.
I'm here for the second time within the week and this time I ordered the Taiwan styled stew noodles, green papaya salad, and iced coffee. The Taiwan styled stew noodle was a bowl of egg noodle with scallions, bean sprout, and meat sauce. Simple and tasty. The green papaya salad however was not good. The papaya too coarse and lacked flavor. Portion also small for the price. The upside to this experience is since I was here twice in one week I almost got a smile out of the person helping me at the counter. And I've also decided that I'm going to try each dish on the menu that's not an Americanized Chinese dish. So stay tuned for more updates!
(4)Michael G.
This place is superb depending on what you get. Having grown up and spent 16 years in Taiwan, I stuck with the dishes that made me nostalgic for home; Notably (stewed meat over rice), (beef noodle), (fried dumplings) and the (scallion pancakes). I can easily say that I enjoyed the food and that most of the food was as close to authentic as I've had outside of Los Angeles and New York and other cities with really large expatriate Taiwanese populations. The beef noodle found a little portion of my stomach that had not been satisfied in the 7 months since I left Taiwan. My only criticism about the cooking was that the scallion pancakes were far too doughy. I arrived at a busy time during lunch for them and it took them a while to first notice us and second seat us, but once they'd seated us their service was spot on and surprisingly fast. Despite this, however, the main attraction for this restaurant is the food. Speaking as a person who has been craving this type of food for a very, very long time I find it very easy to brush aside my perceived inadequacies in favor of their spectacular food; it is ultimately your choice to do the same or not.
(5)Aletheia W.
i loooooooooooove me some taiwanese food, and after almost 4 years of living near rowland heights, ca - aka taiwanese food mecca, i think that makes me a pretty good critic. i ordered takeout here - an oyster omelet, the beef roll, and spicy wontons - 3 of my fave taiwanese foods. The servings here are pretty generous, but there were only a couple oysters, and the spicy wonton sauce seemed to be the chili oil from a jar dumped on top (it literally tasted identical to the chili oil that is sitting in my fridge this minute). but the beef roll was DELICIOUS!!! highly recommended. the family that runs TFE are super nice and friendly. i will definitely be back.
(3)John L.
Awesome! It's nice to have a Taiwanese based restaurant close to me. Please save yourself the embarrassment of looking like an idiot by coming here, ordering orange chicken or mongolian beef, and complaining about it on yelp. Come here for the Taiwanese food please (bringing a Taiwanese friend is recommend- go find one). Traditional Taiwanese food tends to use a lot of seafood since Taiwan is an Island with easy access to the sea. I would recommend trying the Oyster pancakes. Their green onion pancake is also good, but a little "fried too much" for my taste. Overall this place has good quality Taiwanese food. Of course this place is nothing comapred to the Taiwanese food I've has in Taiwan, but Taiwan Food Express satisfies the craving!
(4)Jacq D.
After my 2009 visits, the quality has gone down a little bit. I don't know if they have changed chef or recipes, but some of the dishes I usually get did not taste the same started in early 2010. We have not been back often due to the decrease of quality in the food...
(3)Traveler F.
Upon entrance there was no host or clear directions, so it appeared as counter service. However, after ordering and paying at the counter, it was clear that finding a table and sitting down was acceptable also. A server would come over and take the order. Water was given to some guest, will none given to others. There were many authentic Taiwanese dishes at a reasonable price. However, flavors were not quite on point. Mung Bean smoothie was very good. Ba-wan was okay.
(3)Karen W.
My parents, who were born and raised in Taiwan, told me about this restaurant, that it had authentic Taiwanese dishes. I had to venture here naturally, and went here a few times to get some Taiwanese food for lunch. I've tried a myriad of dishes here, both Taiwanese and more generally Chinese- oyster omelet, stir fried napa cabbage with dried shrimp, a fish entree with some chili sauce, Taiwan style rice noodles, Taiwanese sesame oil chicken, and some Hainanese chicken rice. My favorites out of all these dishes were the Taiwanese rice noodles and the Hainanese chicken rice. The rice noodles were full of flavor and were reminiscent of the rice noodles my mom used to make when I was a kid. The Hainan style chicken rice had a nice ginger-sesame oil paste to go with the steamed chicken and rice. The Taiwanese sesame oil chicken was a stewy concoction of slowly simmered dark meat chicken in a flavorful ginger-sesame broth. I loved the broth, but you have to be hardcore Asian to eat the chicken, since it is roughly chopped with a cleaver and you will have to really work at getting all the meat from the chicken pieces, as well as picking out bits of bone while eating the meat. We also had some bubble tea- taro and pineapple coconut. The drinks here are more frothy and light as opposed to the more heavier and dense drinks you might find at other bubble tea shops. I like how they have a good selection of jellies to put in your drink if you aren't tapioca inclined. I'll definitely be coming here again to try more dishes and to get some bubble tea.
(4)Luciana L.
This place probably doesn't compare to the "real deal" in Taiwan but I took my Mom here (who grew up in Taiwan) and we both really liked it. We got the egg plant/tofu dish and that fatty meat with bamboo dish and we thought they were both pretty authentic. For their "small appetizers" we tried the scallion pancakes which was OK. The place is pretty small and we went the week of CNY so of course it was super crowded. I don't know how busy they are during "regular" days. We really enjoyed the service and the food. Would definitely go there again and try different stuff on the menu. Prices were very reasonable, too.
(4)Jacob L.
Saturday night, prowling around the Mekong Plaza. I was sadly disappointed by the Tet festival. Determined to have fun regardless I decided to check owhat else the plaza had to offer. I'm glad that I did because this place is filled with hidden gems. I was drawn in by the window advertisement for boba/bubble tea. I had seen this before on one or another of the discovery/travel channel shows. After staring at the board forever and asking the poor kid at the register for recommendations I grabbed a honeydew with boba. The drink was very fresh and did not taste as if it had added sugar. The boba was a fun experience with a hard to explain the texture. I would say its almost like gummy bear texture but in little round balls. After a few drinks of mine I recruited a friend to come and try another flavor. He got the coconut/pineapple which was the other flavor I almost got. He had zero complaints about his and liked it very much. The food the other patrons ordered looked and smelled amazing. I wish that I had some more room in me so that I could give it a try. Their menu is HUGE and the prices are very reasonable. I want to get back here sometime with a decent sized group to get a large variety of items. The front of the store was manned by a Mom,son, and daughter team who were all very nice. The lady even gave this little girl a free bubble tea while I was there. This could easily be upgraded to a 4+ star if the food tastes as good as it smells.
(3)Maynard G.
Gave it another star because I keep coming back for papaya juice, plus they have very nice food too. So many excellent Asian restaurants around Dobson. It's like being back in CA!
(4)Dan G.
Ate here over the weekend while shopping at the Mekong Plaza market. Was very impressed with both the taste of the food and the staff. I had the Mongolian Beef with a Green Tea Boba drink - fantastic! And very reasonably priced too because I was able to get 2 meals plus two large size Green Tea Boba for both me and my wife for about $20. Don't expect much in the way of ambiance, but it's a great place to eat lunch before your shopping trip. Recommended.
(4)Samantha O.
i got a crazy boba craving tonight at like 9:20. my normal go-to place, the street, wasn't answering their phone and I had no idea if they were open or not. (i like how i call this my 'normal go-to' as if i have been a customer forever, let's be honest, ive been like twice. BUT i like it enough to call it my normal spot). anyway, so i saw this place and decided to check it out. I called at 9:30 and the lady said they close at 9 but still had customers so I could come. i rushed my behind there so fast for my boba. i was not disappointed! this time i decided to get a few different flavors and put them in my fridge for tomorrow. i now regret this decision but what can i say? you do crazy things when you need a fix. so i got the following: red bean- ok green tea- no thank you thai tea- enjoyable milk honey tea- yes please I drank half of the red bean before it was too much and tossed it. it had a chalky texture? i totally tossed the green tea after a sip. and now i have the thai and my milk honey in my fridge for tomorrow. the cons: i spent $18, seriously, what the heck was i thinking?! they charge you $.50 per drink to add boba and I think it was room temperature? my drink was cold but the bubbles were not, i think they should chill them like the street does. it makes them way better. and they charge to use credit so thankfully I had cash :) so, i will go back if they stay open just for me and i am desperate. but if the street is open, that is my first choice. thank you for giving me my fix, TFE. you have a sweet spot in my heart. BTW- boba goes bad in the fridge, it gets hard and gross. don't do what i did.
(3)Cjfj W.
I wanted to try something new and decided to try some Taiwanese food. I really like the area and the plaza the restaurant is in. I ordered a few items of the menu and also added a lunch special for my three year old son. The lunch special was about $6.00 and consisted of Egg drop soup (good), vegetable rice (okay), Chicken Lo Mein (Great flavor, but kind of greasy), and a spring roll (also good). I had the Spicy Wontons which were excellent and the Koah-pau which was excellent as well. The so called "Orange Juice" was extremely sweet and $3.00 (waste of money). Overall I was very satisfied with the food and can't wait to come back to try more of their dishes. Go here for great Spicy Wontons and Koah-pau. Instead of getting the Orange Juice, stick with water or bottled soda.
(4)Nitti L.
Close but no cigar! 6 month after they just started their business, I went with my parents with high expectation, but we were disappointed. The food tasted close to authentic Taiwanese cuisine, but not quite there. We didn't like it, so we never thought of going back. Yesterday, I gave them another shot, but still the same. I won't say the food was bad, but they could do better. I would still go there to eat when I am in the area because it's the only Taiwanese cuisine restaurant in town.
(3)Mayo B.
Well I must have chosen the worst dish that day. How sad, this place has a wonderful set of authentic tiwanese items. I ordered the spicy wonton ( Which strangely had "Ma La" sause/oil poured on top of it. Now I am a sucker for mala so I did like the dish even though the pork and shrim inside was rather bland ( me thinks an addition of some garlic/leek or ginger might do the trick). Also ordered the Taro Boba (without ice) which was fine , a tad on the sweet side for my taste but to each his/her own. The Hainan chicken was however just horrible. The chicken was definitely semi rancid and both the rice and chicken were soaking in oil. I was hoping the ginger,garlic, onion sauce would redeem this but sadly that too was dissapointing. an extra star for the potential. I hope to go back and order a more safer choice and hopefully redeem my impression of this high potential joint.
(2)Jenna P.
There was a void in my life. Having just moved back to Phoenix via Los Angeles, and living with my parents in North Scottsdale for a spell (which has terrific restaurants but lacks any kind of authentic Taiwanese cuisine), serendipitously stumbling upon Taiwan Food Express was exactly what I had no idea I needed. Situated in Mekong Plaza (a little strip mall in Mesa) Taiwan Food Express dishes out tried and true Americanized standards (teriyaki chicken) for your more picky eater, and meals of pig ears, spicy beef tendon, and oyster omelette for people who enjoy how flavorful and amazing dim sum can truly be. The scallion pancake with egg can heal inner pain and sadness you carry from the scars of childhood. So I guess what I'm saying is try it. Try it now. Right now!!
(5)Dylan B.
I found this place on Yelp and figured I'd give it a shot. I've enjoyed the other restaurants in the Mekong Plaza and figured this would be more of the same. Boy was I wrong. For starters it took them 32 minutes to get my food ready. A couple who sat down after me got their order and finished their meal in the same time it took to make mine. I asked at the counter several times about my food and got brushed aside with "it's coming" each time. Once I got the manager's attention it took another 10 minutes to get my food rushed. They clearly forgot my order... I'd probably still be there if not for him. I got a curt, insincere "sorry it took so long" and I was on my way. The food was hardly worth the wait. One spoonful of their bland, flavorless eggdrop soup and I knew I'd wasted my time driving here. I threw that away immediately and gave the entree a try. The orange chicken was decent. Sort of what you'd expect from a frozen tv dinner that you pop in the microwave. I also had some sort of spicy chicken dish which was similar to kung-pao chicken. That was pretty standard fare, but you can get better food just about anywhere. Overall, do not bother with this place. Literally every other restaurant in this plaza is better. Service is lackluster and impersonal. Food is bland and on par with a reheated tv dinner.
(1)George B.
Read about this little gem on New Times and just happened that we were craving Dim Sum on New Years Day. Ordered the Scallion Pancake (good), Spicy dumplings, (really good and 8 to an order), and the beef roll. The beef roll was excellent. Never had anything like it in any Asian cuisine. It's a MUST ORDER. Beef or Chicken with sauce wrapped in some sort of pastry and baked. For the main course we decided to roll the dice and the wife picked out the House style Chicken. Chopped up pieces of chicken and lots of it, with some sort of greens and an amazing sauce. This is a great dish. The red sauce is perfectly seasoned with the right amount of spice. Two things that would have made this dish even better...more greens in the dish and less bones in the chicken. This is a pretty traditional dish so when the chicken is prepared its chopped in random pieces with a large knife. This can cause small pieces of bone to be in the chicken meat. Still a great dish. You won't be disappointed with this place. Definitely not your cookie cutter Chinese restaurant. Especially since they are from Taiwan. For an after dinner treat, take a walk around the Asian market around the corner.
(4)Kelvin O.
Let's talk about the positive - The food is decent. Most of the combination plates are decently priced and the portions are good. Look out for their giant sized onion cuts. They don't believe smaller portion cuts. Overall, the taste is good. The bad - This happened to me numerous times. Since I am a English dominate Asian guy, I find their service appalling. There have been a few times where I don't get served the menu. Those times, I simply walked out. As for the servers, if you are not a Chinese speaking customer, they simply ignore you. I noticed that many of the servers take their time talking to other patrons while I am left alone. This place serves a niche but their service quality should be better for everyone...
(2)Roam J.
I'm writing this review in protest to the 3 star rating. This place has some really great dishes - their san bei ji (house chicken) is delicious and an absolute must try at least once affair. I've sampled numerous other meat an noodle dishes in my many visits and I've never been disappointed. Service is okay, they aren't going to roll out a red carpet but generally won't ignore you either. Prices are very reasonable - twenty bucks covers both me and my wife, with a little bit leftover.
(5)Mark H.
We ordered some typical Taiwaness dishes such as shaved ice, fried chicken steak, and Si-deng pork. However, we couldn't be more disappointed. Their shaved ice was a joke. You wouldn't get any appetite just by looking at it. The rest stuff was just mediocre.
(1)Ruben F.
Won ton soup was decent. House chicken was deep fried pieces of the boniest dark meat covered with a greasy sauce. Each piece of chicken was more bone and gristle than tasteful meat.
(2)Mia J.
I come here for black milk tea boba, extra sweet. You will love it. I go to California to get some boba drinks but i still miss this place.
(5)Lan N.
I've been to Taiwan once already, and am heading back there again in a few months. Mostly, I adore the night market fare. The menu here had me soooo excited. I was with my fiancee, and we ordered the fried squid, tan tan mien, scallion pancake, and a cup of milk tea. The milk tea and squid were very close to what we had at the markets. However, I was extremely disappointed in noodles. I'm not Taiwanese, but of the many times that I have ordered this dish, it has been spicy. This was not...it lacked much of any flavor. The scallion pancakes served only as a belly filler. I may return, b/c there are so many other dishes to try, but will not be repeating any of my last order.
(3)Gehan K.
Not bad for taiwan food. The dumplings were pretty good though. The service could have being better....they need to work on customer service. The eggplant and tofu dish was interesting. The seafood pancake wasn't that impressive. Hey...i was very hungry....so I eat anything.
(3)Lin L.
Myself as an international student from china, I was bored in China and grow up all the way from 0 to 18 years old and I know what the restaurant in China looks like and what the food taste like. By looking through the reviews they have of Taiwan food express, I find out something pretty interesting. People from all nations go and try the foods there; they have different ideas of food culture based on their background. Some people may think the service they have there is not very good and even not friendly. That's really funny, in fact the people work there is pretty friendly and they know exactly what they are doing. That is exactly what has happened in the real Chinese restaurant. Mostly, when you go to the Chinese restaurant, the server will gave you a menu and it take time for you to choose the dish you want so the server will not stand next to you all the time and they may leave. After you choose the food you want, you can just raise your hand or call the server and then they will come and write down the food you want. That is the way we do in China, that is one kind of culture. For the food they have there, most people done the review said it taste pretty good and I am absolute agree with that. They order the real Chinese food instead of the American Chinese food or something else. There in one guy said that he feels pretty disappointed when he wants to order the orange chicken and Mongolia beef when he comes there. That make sense to, because most native people may thought what we have or eat in China is orange chicken or something like that. That's not true. In china, we have 8 different styles of food which were from different province. I can even say that different province have absolutely different food. There are more than thousands of foods you can find and eat in China not only the orange chicken and Mongolia beef.
(4)Ali P.
The first time I came here I wanted to buy some boba milk tea but all the servers/cashiers ignored me even after making eye contact so I left. However, I decided to give them another chance because they were pretty busy that day. I got the stir fry beef noodles (beef chow fun) and to my dismay, it didn't even taste as good as the one I make at home. For its price, ($7) the quality was not good. I'm not planning on eating here again.
(1)Bao H.
Got Rice!? Cause I need some now! This place is great if you need a quick run for some rice. That's what happened in my situation. I ordered the Spicy Lover - cause that's what I am; sssssss haha! It was pretty much kung pao chicken with an extra kick! I dig it. It came with an eggroll, side of egg drop soup, and fried rice. However, if you can't handle a lot of spice I would definitely recommend the regular kung pao without the extra PAO - if you know what I mean. All this for the price of $6! Not bad at all. It's like ordering street food, but not actually being on the street. They also serve Boba drinks here, but I rather just run next door to the frozen yogurt boba shop. The place itself is pretty simple and looks like a fast food Chinese joint for sure. Service is good!
(3)Ivy R.
This is the place I take my family to try Taiwanese food. We like their boba smoothie. Sometimes we would drive out of our way to get a cup here because I crave it so much. Most of their dishes are authentic. I usually order stuff I do not want to spend the time making at home. I just wish they would have more Taiwanese snack type dishes that I could never find here or CA. (Like sweet rice sausages!) This is pretty much a diner, so service is basic. To me this is not a deal breaker, since I do not require to be checked upon while I am devouring my food. In case I need anything like a second pair of chopsticks or another glass of water, I just ask for it. The young ladies there are very good at responding to my requests.
(4)John Q.
This place does takeout and has a small dinning area with about 10 tables. For drinks, the Thai iced tea, milk tea, and cumquat juice with boba are nice. For starters, the spicy wontons were very tasty. The meat inside was plentiful and flavored with herbs, while the sauce was excellent. The pork chops were a little greasy, but had a nice five-spice flavor that kept me coming back. The house special chicken pot is an excellent dish fit to feed two or more. The sauce is a tangy, light, and BBQ-like with an Asian style. For sides, the Szechuan green beans had a tasty chili garlic flavor. Overall the meal was very good and fairly priced. I have visited here twice already.
(4)Sandy C.
For authentic Taiwanese food, you wouldn't expect very good service, but the staff was friendly and greets you almost immediately. I took a Mongolian Beef, Steak & Pepper, Beef Roll, Picked cucumbers, 2 small Boba drinks, all for $30- to go! My favorite so far is the Beef Roll since the skin is perfectly crispy and the meat tastes great mixed with the green onions. Food is pretty good overall, and prices are fair. I'll be back to try the other tantalizing appetizers on the menu, as well as the dim sum, begging me to have a taste. FYI, there is a $5 minimum to use your credit card!
(4)Selina S.
Love the food n the service ;) the lady over there is really nice!!! Try the taro mike ()
(3)W L.
Just moved to AZ and discovered this place. Located right next to the Chinese Mekong market. Food was delicious and service was fast. I had the tofu, mushrooms, and bok choy. Also ordered the pig ears. I know strange but once u try this, you will be going back for more. Make sure to ask for them to make it spicy
(4)Adrian B.
Very tasty I had the house chicken and my wife had the kung pao chicken. For desert we ordered shaved ice and the pineapple topping was sour from being too old or left at room temperature too long. So it was good, but the desert was a disappointment.
(3)David G.
Taiwan Food Express is a great local option for quick Asian food. For the same price as a plate a Panda Express you can get an entree, rice, soup, and a spring roll. All of it is made to order, and there is great variety. If you're in the mood for something tasty and spicy, this is a pace to try. No AMEX.
(4)Yvonne G.
Ate here after looking at all the choices in the Mekong Plaza. Tried their combination menu which included Egg Drop soup, spring roll, fried nice and the the dish of your choice. The soups came out and after two spoonfuls I decided it was not worth eating due to the "unusual" taste and perhaps a bit of sourness such as when food is going bad. I was afraid to eat it and gave it up quickly. My hubby ate perhaps two more spoonfuls than I (his palate is not as quick as mine) and then gave up on the soup. He loves egg drop soup so for him NOT to eat it, you know something was wrong with it. I mentioned to the server that something was really wrong with the soup--that it tasted funny and she gave me a half smile and walked away. Didn't even take the soups away from the table until I visually prompted her to. Perhaps not knowing enough English is the problem--probably. The spring roll was tasty as was the colorless "fried rice". Yes, although it was white with some peas in it, it did have a pleasant taste. The pork chow mein I had was almost all noodle with just specks of pork. Pork is cheap isn't it? I don't get why there wasn't much of it. Hubby's orange chicken was made as spicy as he requested and was not laden with crust--he really liked it. It took a lot of coaxing to get the water glasses filled especially since it was a really hot afternoon. After my first time here, I think that the food is OK and the prices are fair. However, I don't think I will go out of my way to eat here again---especially after the bad Egg Drop Soup (which I believe had the potential to make me sick) and lack of pork in my dish.
(2)Tarrah C.
loooovvveeeee their boba! I come here principally for the tea, but the food is good too. The prices are very good (nothing over 8 bucks, many dishes for under 4) They have quite a variety of dishes, I haven't been too adventurous, but I would like to come back and have some of the noodles. I have had shrimp and broccolli, which was excellent, along with a scallion pancake, which is nothing like a Korean scallion pancake, but it's still good. Our server was very nice, she explained which dishes might be too salty and which dishes are more popular. I like nice people like that! It is a little small in there, but it is sort of meant to be fast food...you can sit and be served though. Anyways, as I said, I ALWAYS stop in for boba after shopping at the market. But every now and then it makes for a good, cheap lunch.
(4)George C.
Their combination boxes are a good value, rice, some protein, vegetables, and an egg for about six bucks. Try the taro milk tea slush!
(4)Michael N.
I really love this place. It's a nice spot to get a little taste of taiwanese cuisine in AZ. They have bubble tea and some typical taiwanese dishes. Get the: -House Style Chicken with fresh basil. (the sauce is a perfect balance of spices making for an interesting flavor combination against crispy pieces of chicken) Also, everything is really cheap, so you can order a couple dishes and walk out of there without breaking the bank. Always wanna come back for a quick, tasty, meal!
(4)Alexander C.
In my search to the ends of the Valley for hidden gems for great food I've found a pocket of Asian ethnicity in Mesa. Mekong Plaza opened in October 2008 on the southwest corner of Dobson and Main. Formerly an empty Target store, it has been converted into an Asian mall with Mekong Market as the anchor. The plaza houses three Vietnamese restaurants, one Thai and the Taiwanese place, Taiwan Food Express. If you're unfamiliar with Taiwanese food, that would make two of us. While Taiwan Food Express does have a China-merican menu with typical offerings, I'd suggest ordering from the regular menu and the specials menu. This will give you food that seems authentic and interesting. This was probably one of the most exciting dinners I've had in quite some time. Taiwanese cooking has many influences including regional, ethnic and cultural influences. So in order to taste the diversity, we ordered as many dishes as the table could hold and then some. If you're not feeling too brave, feel free to ask for suggestions, the employees here know all the good stuff. Our server, Jessica, made some great suggestions as we pulled a feast together. And at these prices - nothing is more than $10 -- feast away! The Spicy Wontons ($2.50) are filled with tender seasoned ground pork then laid to rest in spicy chili oil. They were so tasty we ended up ordering a second plate. Not being able to resist any sort of food challenge, we tried the Simmered Pig Ear ($2.50). It was funny to watch the look on the faces of each of my dining companions as they raised the wiggly sliced ears to their mouths. These were more of a texture food than a taste food. The ear skin was super tender while the center cartilage was on the crunchy side. Challenge won. Less challenging was the scrumptious Beef Roll ($3.95). A tender pancake rolled around tender sliced beef with a slathering of sweetened soy sauce was slightly oily, but nothing a napkin couldn't fix. The Scallion Pancake ($2.25) had a decent crunch and made a great bread to go along with the upcoming entrees. A less adventurous diner might order the familiar Orange Chicken ($6.50). It's good choice here. The tender batter covered fried chicken was accented by a thick and pungent sauce. The portion size was huge and dwarfs any I've seen elsewhere. A favorite was the House Style Chicken with Fresh Basil ($6.50). This dish was made from pieces of bone-in chicken, then covered with fresh basil. It was plate licking good. Pork Belly with Sour Vegetable ($6.50) sounded good, but the sourness of the vegetables was off-putting. Perhaps it's an acquired taste? The boiled Hi-Nan Chicken Rice ($5.95) was tender, and when dipped into the garlic and ginger sauce it was out of this world. Another textural delight was Stir-Fried Rice Cake with Salted Vegetables ($5.95). Each bite of rice cake resembled a large piece of rice and, while subtle in flavor, had an addictive chewiness. There are so many dishes to try that it will take a few visits to get through the menu, but with prices this low and service this friendly, it's worth a few trips.
(4)Su-shien C.
I'm here for the second time within the week and this time I ordered the Taiwan styled stew noodles, green papaya salad, and iced coffee. The Taiwan styled stew noodle was a bowl of egg noodle with scallions, bean sprout, and meat sauce. Simple and tasty. The green papaya salad however was not good. The papaya too coarse and lacked flavor. Portion also small for the price. The upside to this experience is since I was here twice in one week I almost got a smile out of the person helping me at the counter. And I've also decided that I'm going to try each dish on the menu that's not an Americanized Chinese dish. So stay tuned for more updates!
(4)Michael G.
This place is superb depending on what you get. Having grown up and spent 16 years in Taiwan, I stuck with the dishes that made me nostalgic for home; Notably (stewed meat over rice), (beef noodle), (fried dumplings) and the (scallion pancakes). I can easily say that I enjoyed the food and that most of the food was as close to authentic as I've had outside of Los Angeles and New York and other cities with really large expatriate Taiwanese populations. The beef noodle found a little portion of my stomach that had not been satisfied in the 7 months since I left Taiwan. My only criticism about the cooking was that the scallion pancakes were far too doughy. I arrived at a busy time during lunch for them and it took them a while to first notice us and second seat us, but once they'd seated us their service was spot on and surprisingly fast. Despite this, however, the main attraction for this restaurant is the food. Speaking as a person who has been craving this type of food for a very, very long time I find it very easy to brush aside my perceived inadequacies in favor of their spectacular food; it is ultimately your choice to do the same or not.
(5)Aletheia W.
i loooooooooooove me some taiwanese food, and after almost 4 years of living near rowland heights, ca - aka taiwanese food mecca, i think that makes me a pretty good critic. i ordered takeout here - an oyster omelet, the beef roll, and spicy wontons - 3 of my fave taiwanese foods. The servings here are pretty generous, but there were only a couple oysters, and the spicy wonton sauce seemed to be the chili oil from a jar dumped on top (it literally tasted identical to the chili oil that is sitting in my fridge this minute). but the beef roll was DELICIOUS!!! highly recommended. the family that runs TFE are super nice and friendly. i will definitely be back.
(3)John L.
Awesome! It's nice to have a Taiwanese based restaurant close to me. Please save yourself the embarrassment of looking like an idiot by coming here, ordering orange chicken or mongolian beef, and complaining about it on yelp. Come here for the Taiwanese food please (bringing a Taiwanese friend is recommend- go find one). Traditional Taiwanese food tends to use a lot of seafood since Taiwan is an Island with easy access to the sea. I would recommend trying the Oyster pancakes. Their green onion pancake is also good, but a little "fried too much" for my taste. Overall this place has good quality Taiwanese food. Of course this place is nothing comapred to the Taiwanese food I've has in Taiwan, but Taiwan Food Express satisfies the craving!
(4)Jacq D.
After my 2009 visits, the quality has gone down a little bit. I don't know if they have changed chef or recipes, but some of the dishes I usually get did not taste the same started in early 2010. We have not been back often due to the decrease of quality in the food...
(3)Traveler F.
Upon entrance there was no host or clear directions, so it appeared as counter service. However, after ordering and paying at the counter, it was clear that finding a table and sitting down was acceptable also. A server would come over and take the order. Water was given to some guest, will none given to others. There were many authentic Taiwanese dishes at a reasonable price. However, flavors were not quite on point. Mung Bean smoothie was very good. Ba-wan was okay.
(3)Karen W.
My parents, who were born and raised in Taiwan, told me about this restaurant, that it had authentic Taiwanese dishes. I had to venture here naturally, and went here a few times to get some Taiwanese food for lunch. I've tried a myriad of dishes here, both Taiwanese and more generally Chinese- oyster omelet, stir fried napa cabbage with dried shrimp, a fish entree with some chili sauce, Taiwan style rice noodles, Taiwanese sesame oil chicken, and some Hainanese chicken rice. My favorites out of all these dishes were the Taiwanese rice noodles and the Hainanese chicken rice. The rice noodles were full of flavor and were reminiscent of the rice noodles my mom used to make when I was a kid. The Hainan style chicken rice had a nice ginger-sesame oil paste to go with the steamed chicken and rice. The Taiwanese sesame oil chicken was a stewy concoction of slowly simmered dark meat chicken in a flavorful ginger-sesame broth. I loved the broth, but you have to be hardcore Asian to eat the chicken, since it is roughly chopped with a cleaver and you will have to really work at getting all the meat from the chicken pieces, as well as picking out bits of bone while eating the meat. We also had some bubble tea- taro and pineapple coconut. The drinks here are more frothy and light as opposed to the more heavier and dense drinks you might find at other bubble tea shops. I like how they have a good selection of jellies to put in your drink if you aren't tapioca inclined. I'll definitely be coming here again to try more dishes and to get some bubble tea.
(4)Luciana L.
This place probably doesn't compare to the "real deal" in Taiwan but I took my Mom here (who grew up in Taiwan) and we both really liked it. We got the egg plant/tofu dish and that fatty meat with bamboo dish and we thought they were both pretty authentic. For their "small appetizers" we tried the scallion pancakes which was OK. The place is pretty small and we went the week of CNY so of course it was super crowded. I don't know how busy they are during "regular" days. We really enjoyed the service and the food. Would definitely go there again and try different stuff on the menu. Prices were very reasonable, too.
(4)Jacob L.
Saturday night, prowling around the Mekong Plaza. I was sadly disappointed by the Tet festival. Determined to have fun regardless I decided to check owhat else the plaza had to offer. I'm glad that I did because this place is filled with hidden gems. I was drawn in by the window advertisement for boba/bubble tea. I had seen this before on one or another of the discovery/travel channel shows. After staring at the board forever and asking the poor kid at the register for recommendations I grabbed a honeydew with boba. The drink was very fresh and did not taste as if it had added sugar. The boba was a fun experience with a hard to explain the texture. I would say its almost like gummy bear texture but in little round balls. After a few drinks of mine I recruited a friend to come and try another flavor. He got the coconut/pineapple which was the other flavor I almost got. He had zero complaints about his and liked it very much. The food the other patrons ordered looked and smelled amazing. I wish that I had some more room in me so that I could give it a try. Their menu is HUGE and the prices are very reasonable. I want to get back here sometime with a decent sized group to get a large variety of items. The front of the store was manned by a Mom,son, and daughter team who were all very nice. The lady even gave this little girl a free bubble tea while I was there. This could easily be upgraded to a 4+ star if the food tastes as good as it smells.
(3)Maynard G.
Gave it another star because I keep coming back for papaya juice, plus they have very nice food too. So many excellent Asian restaurants around Dobson. It's like being back in CA!
(4)Dan G.
Ate here over the weekend while shopping at the Mekong Plaza market. Was very impressed with both the taste of the food and the staff. I had the Mongolian Beef with a Green Tea Boba drink - fantastic! And very reasonably priced too because I was able to get 2 meals plus two large size Green Tea Boba for both me and my wife for about $20. Don't expect much in the way of ambiance, but it's a great place to eat lunch before your shopping trip. Recommended.
(4)Samantha O.
i got a crazy boba craving tonight at like 9:20. my normal go-to place, the street, wasn't answering their phone and I had no idea if they were open or not. (i like how i call this my 'normal go-to' as if i have been a customer forever, let's be honest, ive been like twice. BUT i like it enough to call it my normal spot). anyway, so i saw this place and decided to check it out. I called at 9:30 and the lady said they close at 9 but still had customers so I could come. i rushed my behind there so fast for my boba. i was not disappointed! this time i decided to get a few different flavors and put them in my fridge for tomorrow. i now regret this decision but what can i say? you do crazy things when you need a fix. so i got the following: red bean- ok green tea- no thank you thai tea- enjoyable milk honey tea- yes please I drank half of the red bean before it was too much and tossed it. it had a chalky texture? i totally tossed the green tea after a sip. and now i have the thai and my milk honey in my fridge for tomorrow. the cons: i spent $18, seriously, what the heck was i thinking?! they charge you $.50 per drink to add boba and I think it was room temperature? my drink was cold but the bubbles were not, i think they should chill them like the street does. it makes them way better. and they charge to use credit so thankfully I had cash :) so, i will go back if they stay open just for me and i am desperate. but if the street is open, that is my first choice. thank you for giving me my fix, TFE. you have a sweet spot in my heart. BTW- boba goes bad in the fridge, it gets hard and gross. don't do what i did.
(3)Cjfj W.
I wanted to try something new and decided to try some Taiwanese food. I really like the area and the plaza the restaurant is in. I ordered a few items of the menu and also added a lunch special for my three year old son. The lunch special was about $6.00 and consisted of Egg drop soup (good), vegetable rice (okay), Chicken Lo Mein (Great flavor, but kind of greasy), and a spring roll (also good). I had the Spicy Wontons which were excellent and the Koah-pau which was excellent as well. The so called "Orange Juice" was extremely sweet and $3.00 (waste of money). Overall I was very satisfied with the food and can't wait to come back to try more of their dishes. Go here for great Spicy Wontons and Koah-pau. Instead of getting the Orange Juice, stick with water or bottled soda.
(4)Nitti L.
Close but no cigar! 6 month after they just started their business, I went with my parents with high expectation, but we were disappointed. The food tasted close to authentic Taiwanese cuisine, but not quite there. We didn't like it, so we never thought of going back. Yesterday, I gave them another shot, but still the same. I won't say the food was bad, but they could do better. I would still go there to eat when I am in the area because it's the only Taiwanese cuisine restaurant in town.
(3)Mayo B.
Well I must have chosen the worst dish that day. How sad, this place has a wonderful set of authentic tiwanese items. I ordered the spicy wonton ( Which strangely had "Ma La" sause/oil poured on top of it. Now I am a sucker for mala so I did like the dish even though the pork and shrim inside was rather bland ( me thinks an addition of some garlic/leek or ginger might do the trick). Also ordered the Taro Boba (without ice) which was fine , a tad on the sweet side for my taste but to each his/her own. The Hainan chicken was however just horrible. The chicken was definitely semi rancid and both the rice and chicken were soaking in oil. I was hoping the ginger,garlic, onion sauce would redeem this but sadly that too was dissapointing. an extra star for the potential. I hope to go back and order a more safer choice and hopefully redeem my impression of this high potential joint.
(2)Frank P.
I'm really conflicted about this place. There are not too many Taiwanese restaurants in the Valley and I wish them success. I will probably go back. But our experience was mixed. We ordered quite a few different things to get a sampling and two dishes were outstanding--the spicy won tons and spicy chicken and noodles: cold noodles with chicken, a few veggies and maybe a little peanut sauce mixed into the spice. Carol's seafood soup was unremarkable. The pork chop we ordered for my son was okay. Our niece had one of the Americanized entrees and it was--well--Americanized. The service was decent, not as bad for us as some others here. I think I was overcharged though. My bill was $47 and I could only figure out $37 worth of food and taxes. I think an extra $10 was stuck onto the bill. I'll assume it was an accident. I should have checked when I was still in the restaurant. Mekong Plaza is, overall, a great addition to the Phoenix area. I've loved the restaurants and the grocery is cool also. This is the only Taiwanese place there so I hope they iron out the kinks and have a great run.
(3)Amelia B.
Went into this place yesterday to try their boba drinks. I got a watermelon slush and my boyfriend got a vanilla latte slush. Both were SO good. They used fresh watermelon for mine and it definitely tasted like it. We went back today, I tried Pineapple coconut and it tasted just like a Pina Colada. Haven't tried the food yet but I can't wait to!
(5)Jennifer O.
I went here to 'do a project' with a friend (the project did not get done at all, but I digress) and he's from Taiwan so that was cool. We ordered so much food and it was so cheap! that was pretty awesome. We got the Taiwan noodles, which are rice noodles with some veggies like carrots and sprouts, and it was topped with some ground pork. It was pretty good, the noodles were a little hard to bite through, but the flavor was good. Then we got the pork chops, which were really good. They are breaded and fried and had a lot of flavor. We got the fried dumplings which were really good. They were crunchy on the bottom and soft on the top. It could have been more flavorful, but it was still good. Plus the potsticker sauce had little green onions in it, which is always good. We got green onion pancakes which were the best part! They were crispy, yet chewy, and had a great flavor.... so yum. Finally we got shaved ice with boba, red bean, grass jelly, and condensed milk. I've never had anything like that before, but it was pretty good. So overall, it was good and I would come back. The service wasn't too bad like others have said, but I could see how it might be if the place was busier.
(4)Fred M.
I'm going to start being tougher on my reviews, starting now. This place WOULD NOT give me a water cup larger than a 6 oz Styrofoam cup. We waited 20+ minutes for our lunch orders of orange chicken to come to our table at Taiwan Food EXPRESS. The orange chicken then tasted like liking orange peels. I was unhappy when my bill came.
(2)Trinity N.
Service was less than desirable. It took a long time for the food to come out even though there was only another group of 4 and us 2. The waitress wasn't very friendly at all, or maybe she just had a rough day. I didn't expect much from a Chinese restaurant with "express" in its name, but the food was surprisingly decent. Beef roll was oily, but quite tasty, and good size. Pork chop over rice was just some simple seasoning and soy sauce, nothing spectacular. Taiwanese sausage over rice was good, but I think if you never had similar dish like this before, you might not like it since it doesn't have that much flavor. Soup dumplings were decent, but I think it's the only place in the area that offers this so I can't be picky. 2 of us ordered all of the above which came out to about $10 each including tips
(3)Elizabeth Y.
Good food with a good selection of hard to find stuff. The drink selection is amazing! Love their green tea milk. Would give it more stars if their menu was more uniform. Its difficult enough finding a good place to sit without having to poor through their appetizer heavy menu trying to figure our how much food should be ordered.
(4)Johnson M.
I too stood in line for 20-25mins and gave up, but went back later in the week and was pleasantly surprised. The first time and bad experience was the 2nd day they were open and they were clearly overwhelmed. I had the Taiwanese Rice Noodles and they were fantastic. Great price too, $4.95. I enjoyed my noodles with a lychee slush with boba and was one happy guy. They do not have every item on the menu, only about 1/5 while they are getting started. I look forward to the full menu.
(4)Dan N.
Glorious, utter glory.
(4)Lei Y.
This place is good. We ordered fried chicken,meat balls,beef with egg roll and rice,spicy dumplings and too much for 2person! Especially the fried chicken,better than pork. We will try some other things next time.
(4)Christian Qian A.
I go there often with my kids after chinese school on Saturday mornings. The place is always a mad place on earth. It's a good thing that they have more customers than the seats but there is no organized method to keep track who comes first.we went there today and waited in the front. People arrived late just ignored the people waiting in line and grabbed the table if they saw one. We were cut in line twice today. Finally we got a table but had to call the girl over TWICE to clean up then the third time for the menu. After my older one had few bites, he found a hair in the food, then another one! It was so disgusting! I called over the manager lady( seems like she is the owner?) and she looked at the hair that still embedded in the food and looked at me. She came back later and said all the chefs were men. What the fxxx! I would pull my hair and put it in my son's food? It was a terrible experience! When I got the check, I really didn't want to tip. But I still did. I wrote " worst experience ever. Was cut in line twice; hair in the food " on the receipt . I am not going there agin!!
(1)D L.
I personally love this restaurant, i visit there often with my family. Being the fact that im was born in taiwan it is a great treat to be able to have some authentic Taiwanese food. I highly suggest the spicy wongton, it is probably one of my favorite dish in the restaurant. I really wouldn't suggest ordering any typical dish you would usually order at any regular chinese restaurant, after all Taiwanese food and Chinese food does have it's differences. So skip the Orange Chicken, and Beef broccoli. Because thats not their forte.
(4)Velly O.
Taiwanese foods in AZ is quite a rarity and Taiwan Food Express does an admirable job representing their cuisine. Some stand out foods include Tofu with Eggplant & 3 Cups Chicken (Basil Sesame Chicken). The owners are really nice and friendly & the whole atmosphere feels more like home cooking than a restaurant. They might not blow your socks off but sometimes comfort foods & friendly people is what you need after a long day.
(4)Jen W.
You can get a drink punch card here if you ask. If you buy 10 boba drinks, you can get 1 free. Ask for it! I like to get peach black tea with boba added to it. The total is $3.45 for a small and $4.45 for a large. These drinks seem to have extra sugar in it besides the sugar in the tapioca pearls and the sugar in the tea, so ask for less sugar. Whenever I go to this restaurant, there seems to be a lot of Mandarin-speaking people, and I wonder if they get special deals. I found out about the punch card from someone who is friends with the owner. It seems like most patrons know each other. I have visited a few times, and sometimes there is a variance on prices, so make sure you check the menu and add up everything in your head. I love getting Xiao Long Bao (Steamed Pork Dumplings - $3.95 - #114). These broth-filled dumplings are amazing - obviously, they are not as amazing as ones in Asia or Chinatown, but they suffice for my xiao long bao cravings. I also like Taiwan Food Express for their different kinds of greens, but I would hope they would have that many options being connected to an Asian supermarket and all. So overall, great experience from this informal diner, but not the best I have ever had in my life!
(4)Phil W.
Great little restaurant located in the Mekong Plaza. Loved going there on my lunch break and getting the lunch special. Lot of food for very cheap. Also great food if you're hungover. Orange chicken and any of their noodle dishes are fresh and amazing. Always my place to get Boba too, wide range of flavors and oh so good.
(5)Tye R.
I will be honest they are slow and have been since day one. Now that thats out of the way the food is the best chinese food I have found in Arizona. This may confuse allot of people so I should mention I spent two years living in taiwan so I may be slightly biased. If you want chinese food that isn't changed to make white people happy this is the place to go. Also if you like this I also recommend Lolly Cup at warner and Alma School (NW corner) Better drinks but a much smaller menu.
(5)Alex H.
Looks can be decieving! It looks like a boba/bubble/tapioca drink place but it is much more. It is asian style cafe where they cater to both the togo drink customers and in-store dinning. We were with a Tawainese friend who ordered for us. Everyone really enjoyed the food. Everything was delicious and pretty authentic for Mesa/Phoenix area. I wish they had heavier hand with the spicies to really make the flavors stand out more. I would come back.
(4)Anna M.
Came in for a quick lunch with a coworker. The lunch specials are available on Sunday which is a plus. You get your choice of entree and it comes with egg drop soup (very thick with corn starch), an egg roll and fried rice. The food was good. I could only eat half and the price is under $6. The only complaint I have is that the water comes in a two sip sized styrofoam cup and no refills were offered. This is a good place for a quick lunch or takeout.
(3)Jason B.
There are two restaurants that I tend to frequent at Mekong Plaza when I find myself in the area and this is one of them, the other is the Vietnamese broken rice place. Now as a restaurant let's get this straight, it's basic, it's not artistically decorated, it's a clean basic food joint and they have an alright selection of taiwanese style boba although their taro boba is actually pretty good since it's not too sweet. There are 3 items I tend to order at Taiwan Food Express and that is the Beef Roll, the pork sticky rice, and the Pork Shank soup. The Beef Roll reminds me of a Malaysian Beef curry roll eventhough this one doesn't have curry, the pastry has a similar consistency to Malaysian roti but with the beef in it mmmmm it's greasy and YUMMY. The pork stick rice is usual dim sum fare but I like it better than the sticky rice at Great Wall dim sum in PHX. and the Pork Shank noodle soup brings out the Asian in me, it's good ol shank with a kinda salty soup with bok choy in it. If I told ya to try out Taiwan Food Express I'd say order yourself a beef roll it's just GOOD! :-)
(3)Dan W.
I had to wait 15 - 20 minute. but worth the wait. absolutely great food. dee -licious. great price too. They don't have all the item on the menue yet but they have most the items me and my friends wanted. We will be back soon. super food. Yum...Yum.
(5)Jack L.
Great place for authentic Taiwanese food even though not much by way of atmosphere or service. But who cares when the food is great! Make sure you go with someone who knows what to order.
(4)B B.
I love Boba drinks!!! I even worked as a bartender at a Boba shop for more than 2 years! I know and understand that every place name and make their drinks differently, and that if I want something made a particular way, I have to be very specific and communicate that directly with the person who make the drinks. When I found this place in Mekong, I was excited!!! On a trip to the grocery market, I made a point to stop here for a Boba drink with my husband. We placed our order for 1 Green Milk Tea with Boba and 1 Black Milk Tea with Honeydew flavor and Boba. I was the one that placed the order, so I made it a point to let the bartender know that I wanted Milk Tea and not slush. The server reply "oh yes, it's good you tell me, we make our flavored drink here slush. But I will make sure the Honeydew flavor milk tea is the 'liquid one'." Happy and glad that she understood exactly what I wanted, we sat down at a near by table and waited for a drinks. 5 mins went by, 10 mins, then 15 mins. I saw 2 bartenders make a total of about 6 drinks and sat them on a carrier. Then 1 of them saw I was looking, she said to me "it's for a call-in order." I was thinking to myself, "well... you have 1 walk-in order that only have 2 drinks and a call-in order of 6 drinks, wouldn't it be more efficient if you make my order first, or even between drinks, because I am already here??? Plus we have been waiting for over 15 mins!!! The call-in order is not even here yet... Where is customer service and common sense? When it's almost 20 mins, my husband was about to go up and ask for our money back, our first drink is made. It's the GMT with Boba. We waited for another 3 mins for the Honeydew one, and got a slush!!! I politely told the bartender who took my order that this was not what I ordered; I told her that we wanted the "liquid one", she told us earlier that she will make sure that's what we get. She first looked pissed, probably cussed under her breath, and than insisted that they ALWAYS make their flavored drink in their restaurant slush. Then she grabbed the drink off the countertop, told me she fix it and stomped away. I have to be honest though, the Boba was very good. It was fresh and very delicious. As for the drinks, GMT was good; Honeydew BMT was way too sweet and undrinkable. (I suspected she purposely made it horrible, but I will never find out...) The customer service, on the other hand, is "out of the world" horrifying. Would I pay $10 and have to go through the whole experience again? No thank you. I will continue my search for a decent Boba place with better experience. I heard there is another one just down the street, and it's called "The Street". I am giving this a 2-star. Could have been an easy 1-star but the Boba is delicious and not many places know how to make Boba well.
(2)Ellen C.
I'm Taiwanese, so although it's good to have a spot to get hard to find items like oyster omelettes and scallion pancakes. Unfortunately, it's nothing spectacular and it doesn't do justice to how fresh and flavorful Taiwanese food should taste. Dishes are greasier than I'd like and within this plaza, there are better places to grab a meal.
(3)Christopher L.
fantastic for a quick meal, i'd much rather eat here than panda express.. :)
(4)Shimstu S.
We have been living in Arizona for four months and have been desperate for good Asian food. Back in Boston we would eat amazing Taiwanese cuisine all the time and have been missing it. Taiwan Food Express was a real treat! Despite the name it is a sit-down place with table service and has many delicious Taiwanese treats! The lotus salad and eggplant in garlic sauce were especially good. Mekong Plaza is a treasure trove of Asian eateries. Head there asap!
(4)Mark R.
I've been eating lunch in the Mekong Plaza for a long time now and just found a new kickass place for my hungry taste buds to enjoy. The menu here is very large and they have both Americanized versions as well as some more authentic Taiwanese and Chinese choices. Came here for the first time and ordered the House Style Chicken with Basil and a Beef Roll on the side. They both had some really nice flavors and the large portions were probably more than what was needed before going back to work. ZZZzz! There are several ways to get filled up here. Dim Sum, Soups, Appetizers, Sauteed Dishes and a huge selection of Noodles and Rice specialties. Service was friendly and very quick. There are some photos available to choose from or you can just point at a picture on your phone like yours truly. Can't wait to come back and try out some more of their tasty dishes. They even have some really inexpensive choices for those on a budget. CHOP CHOP! 4 STARS
(4)April S.
We stopped by to get a Boba drink before heading to get some Asian groceries. I ordered a Taro Boba milk tea...I have to say...it was a bit too sweet for me. I've been here , however, for dinner. Their prices are reasonable and I do enjoy their food. I will still come here for food but probably not for the Boba drink. Great service though with authentic Taiwanese food
(3)Crystal Claire H.
After such bad experience a couple years ago, now I have become a regular customer for some good boba drinks. They have improved so much from time to time. Comparing to other business around this place is still my favorite. The restaurant is kinda small but doesn't mean it cant attract customers. I have seen numerous people waiting in line just to wait to be served. The service is kinda up and down, depend on the mood of the servers that day. If the shop is busy I can tell they become a lil rushy and annoyed. However, I can put up with it because their drinks are the bombs
(4)Tzarina W.
Like cheap eats? Then this one is sure to keep your wallet/purse/card in shape. You can dine in or order out and your order of a few dishes will take about 15 minutes to cook for under $20 for 2 people, plus leftovers. :) I love the beef roll which is beef rolled in an onion pancake. The steamed rice bowl is a bit of minced pork with chopped cilantro and a nice savory sauce over a bowl mound of gelatinous rice. Give it a try! The house special basil chicken is sure to please anyone. And the chicken noodles is colorfully made with a spicy flavor.
(4)Dwayne O.
Inside the Mekong Plaza serving fast food and boba. Have never had the food there but this is where we get the boba which is always good and fast. I always get the strawberry slush without boba which is so good just be careful not to consume to quick which will give you brain freeze. My daughter lives the milk tea with boba and is addicted to this place. Friendly workers and pretty clean for a chinese restaurant. Will come back again for more
(4)Wendy O.
I love this little getaway, the food is delicious, best potstickers in town, excellent prices for excellent food. :D
(5)Takuya K.
When you need a non-Cantonese fix and the best boba in AZ, go here! We love the milk tea plain boba as much or even more than the food but havin said that the menu offers some great alternatives to our 90% Cantonese bias. Ironic that 90% of my Chinese friends now live and work in Taiwan, so I pay tribute to them each bite of the flaky beef roll and slurp of tapioca! Never a wait for us and quick fast reasonable dishes. The house chicken is another fave as the dominant cumin spices always stimulate our overly soy -oyster sauce dulled taste buds! Lol
(4)Irene W.
I order fried chicken steak combination today. food is good, but the service is kind off. I got in, and sat there for while no one bring manual to me. there is one waitress occupied with other customers, but there is the other one just standing inside the counter, and watching. I looked at her many times...but she still doesn't want to bring the manual to me. I have to wait till the other waitress free to serve me...which took her more than 5mins....not amazed by the services at all.....
(3)William L.
The wife and I ordered a few things from this place based on some reviews from friends. The boba milk tea was good. We had the fried smelt, some fried tofu, the pork rice and a beef roll. The Beef Roll had good flavor but was definitely too oily. The fried smelt was good at first but then all of a sudden some of the pieces were very bitter...not sure exactly why... The fried tofu was good but the pork rice did not have much flavor and was was dry :(. Overall, I would hit up this place for the milk tea boba and some fried tofu, but that's about it...
(2)C B.
We used to come here quite often but this visit was just terrible. The manager was yelling at her worker and the food (we had oyster pancake and spicy wonton) was aweful. We won't be back for a long long time!!
(1)Ken G.
Awesome service, food & cleanliness! This is one of our favorites!
(5)zack l.
Horrible cuts of meat, weird almost sour after taste of chicken like its been sitting out for a while. For being in an oriental/asian plaza i thought the quality would be higher. I was wrong not ever going back. BE WARNED
(1)Eddy Y.
My wife really like their house chicken with basil...that is why we stop by when shopping at the Mekong Market. Their service has never been great. Most of the time, the waitress ignores you. Most people just find a table and grab their own menus. They usually stop no more than twice: once to get your order and drop water off, the other to bring your order. If you need anything else, you will have to flag them down. On our last visit, we went through the motion of getting our own table and menus. We ordered food and dessert, asked the waitress to bring the shaved ice at the end of the meal. Everything was fine until we ask the waitress to bring to-go boxes and our dessert. I told her we wanted to take all the leftovers. She dropped off the containers and proceed to clear the dishes by stacking them on some leftovers we just told her we wanted to take home. I told her we wanted that, she took the dish off and asked if we still wanted it...while laughing. We said no and continued to pack our food. The dessert came...not shaved ice but re-frozen ice that clumped together. My wife tried to make the best of it by breaking the bigger chunks...but still mostly golf ball size. We tried a couple of bites and decided to send it back. We explained the issue to our waitress, she took it away to show the owner. The owner immediately started to say that is how Taiwanese shaved ice is made. After I told her I was from Taiwan, she finally admitted that it shouldn't have chunks of ice and agree to not charge us. Within 30 seconds, she sent the waitress back to say she is going to charge us half the price for taking a bite of the taro. I started to argue...the waitress told us to just pay it and not to worry about the tip. The owner continued to argue with me in front of other customers then when I tried to replied, she said fine and told me to stop arguing. She kept talking about how they gave us a lot of toppings and that we should pay for it. At the time, I was pretty ticked off and didn't look at the tax closely. Since I refuse to pay for the dessert, they added a few dollars to the tax to cover the half of the shaved ice. They hand-wrote the ticket so it was pretty easy to do. The owner is dishonest and all about making a buck.
(1)Steve B.
I tried the Singapore noodles at this restaurant but I was not impressed. The place has kind of a loud vibe too, and there are some language issues although everyone was kind. I just didn't think the food was very good and that's the main thing----and if you are that close to Thai Spices in Mekong Plaza then for goodness sake go get that great Thai food!
(2)Jessica S.
They are very friendly here and willing to accommodate your food order to your liking..only thing is the food was not all that great which we were kinda bummed about because it did look very good. Prob give another dish a shot. b/f tried the Mongolian beef and was not impressed at all. i had the orange chicken and no complaints really. if i don't go back for food.. i WIll and already am becoming a regular for boba drinks. any flavor you want. Im a sucker for a coconut boba drink..yummers!!
(3)Richelle M.
Good food, if all the Taiwanese comes here that means this is really good.
(5)John M.
Great and very authentic-seeming Taiwanese food. Everything was tasty, though if you aren't Taiwanese and are used to standard Chinese-American fare, some of the menu items might be a little strange to American tastebuds.
(4)Chheng L.
I was craving for some Taiwanese popcorn chicken and this was the closest place to me that had it at the time. I was on my way to work after coming from a meeting. I had about an hour, give or take. It took me about 10 minutes to get there. I ordered the popcorn chicken plate (comes with rice) and a taro almond milk tea and got my number and waited. and waited. and waited. ........ and zZ Zzz waaaaiiiitttteeed.... for about 30-40 mins! I had to rush it back to work and when I got to work I had to scarf down my lunch. I didn't have enough time to finish it so I saved half for dinner. Despite the wait, the food was tasty. The chicken was well seasoned and exactly what I was craving for. And the rice was good! Hot, soft & fluffy! I love when Asian restaurants use quality rice! You don't get that too often at restaurants nowadays. It also came with sautéed bok choy and a braised egg. Yum! I'll be back to get this again. But I think I will call way ahead next time or order my food and go grocery shopping and come back and pick up. I hope it was a one time experience because I can't imagine people dining in and waiting so long for food!
(3)Catherine H.
It's pretty authentic. I loved the beef roll. However, both my husband and I got stomach issues after our lunch there. I think the oil they use might not be clean. Well, a small dozage can build immunity... That's the way I see it.
(4)Anthony N.
Cheap, good, fast Taiwanese food. Get rid of the Americanized menu and I might give you the 5th star. Note for people expecting awesome service here (and at many other Asian places). Don't. It's a different food/restaurant culture. Want something? Make yourself seen and heard.
(4)Dan Y.
It's a good restaurant, and very convenient for Asian people going there after market shopping. The foods are not that special and traditional, but it is nice though.
(4)Daniel A.
As far as Taiwanese food goes, this place is pretty average. If this place were in a more Asian populated area, I would probably be a bit harsher. However considering this is phx and the Asian food is not as plentiful, this place will get you by if you are absolutely craving something Taiwanese. If you've never tried Taiwanese food before, this would be a reasonable place to give it a shot. Their boba drinks, though, taste just like they're supposed to.
(3)Ali C.
Awesome Taiwanese food! The "Taiwan Spicy Specialty" is so good! Inexpensive and very clean.
(5)Dave N.
This review applies to the boba only, as I haven't had time to sit down and eat their food. As it is for lots of boba places outside California, the boba is mostly focused on slushes rather than teas. The fruit slushes are of varying quality. The strawberry and taro slushes was excellent, while the watermelon slush was plain disgusting. The thai milk tea here is very bitter, tasting more like coffee than tea. Eh, I've had better, but it's decent for Arizona
(3)Rui Z.
pretty decent taiwan food in the valley. We go there every couple weeks, usually order to go and then take our time for the grocery shopping, then came back to pickup. all kinds of delicious food to try
(4)D V.
My mom and I went here yesterday for lunch and I've been wanting to come for the past couple of months due to all the good reviews I've read. I was a little disappointed with the food some, because I had super great expectations. I loved eating at 3-6-9 in the Los Angeles and Silicon Valley areas and Taiwan Food Express doesn't compare to the restaurants in California. There was another restaurant that did serve this type of food that I loved at Warner/McQueen, but they closed down a long time ago. We had the Steamed Pork Dumplings (Xiao Long Bao) and I thought these were really small. They tasted good and were juicy. However, i'm used to eating these with a lot of sliced ginger. We asked for more ginger, but they really didn't give it to us. The onion cakes were okay, but I felt they were pan fried too much and they were very small and thin. Once again, I'm used to bigger onion cakes that are thicker and flakier. We had rice cake noodles or Nian Gao and the rice cake noodles were a big on the tough side, like they weren't cooked enough. This was the most disappointing dish of all and not as much flavor as I last had it. I won't be getting this again. Lastly, we had Shanghai Noodles and this was good. It tasted like I remembered so of the 4 things we got, this was decent. Oh, and my mom ordered a Papaya Slush and I ordered a Lychee Slush Boba. Both these were delicious and really good. I especially loved the Lychee Slush Boba. The prices were alright, so not an issue. Maybe my expectations were too high, but I guess at least it wasn't too bad, so I'll give it 4 stars. The service was fine, everyone courteous. So that is good.
(4)Meg P.
Horrible service and mediocre food. We had to ask for utensils, napkins, sauce (twice), had to ask where to pay, had to go get our own, then melted, drinks off the counter because they weren't delivered to table and the water cups were shot glass size. The sesame chicken was good, teriyaki chicken was very questionable and the bobas were delicious. It's cheap, so I can't ask for much but it use to be way better than it is now. Will not be returning again.
(2)Holly C.
Stopped by for some bbtea which was decent. The food looked and smelled really good.
(3)Pete H.
I had the sauteed sliced fish (swai) with green onion and ginger. So good, fresh, wholesome, and filling. It reminded me of my mom's home cooking, or as close you are going to get to it at a restaurant. Service was fun, fast, and friendly. Nice people.
(5)Howard C.
Yum
(5)Daniel K.
The Taiwanese dishes here are quite good..... I don't know what people are expecting when they go to a Taiwanese place and order Mongolian Beef/Orange Chicken/Kung Pao chicken and then immediately compare it to Panda Express That aside their scallion pancake with egg was scrumptious and their prices here are just what a college student needs. I prefer this place to A.C.E. too downsides~ boba not good as boba house, some dishes are off, service is very hands off asian style..... but you go to a place for what its good for and TFE is well worth the effort
(4)Cara L.
Love this place!!! Best boba and great prices! They have a huge menu to choose from and all the choices come out amazing!!
(5)Kevin L.
First off. The girl handling food behind the counter was sneezing directly into her ungloved hands, and proceeded to transfer food, utensils, and cash register all without washing her hands once, that is a warning sign of things to come of the low standards of this establishment. Second, the waitress was on her cell phone texting the entire time I was there, even texting while she was delivering drinks and food. I thought okay subpar Chinese restaurant standards maybe the food is stellar, but knowing it might be tainted with bacteria during flu season is not so comforting, and I am by no means a germaphobe. I simply do not understand how this business can receive any positive ratings. Let's talk about the food. Here is a good summary. Lowest possible quality food used, and short cuts to everything. Although this is a casual, low cost restaurant, I expect the quality of their food to be clean and somewhat fresh. Maybe the many rave reviews here cannot taste beyond the thick soy sauce and msg to wash out the low quality food used. The 3 cups chicken tasted ordinary, but the chicken had a bad stench (no, not from the basil) and the meat consistency was simply off. I understand 3 cups chicken is used with chicken chopped with bones in, but this dish was just a mess with broken bones and fragments everywhere. The fried tofu had a unusual crunch on the outside, like the entire layer just broke apart like the sugar on top of creme brulee, very unlike how it is typically made anywhere else with various methods, steamed shanghai buns had no juice, skin too thick, meat was like a hard meatball, no that is not how it should be even, and no I am not comparing this to Dinh Tai Fung. The hot and sour soup had more carrots in it than any other ingredients. Although Taiwanese hot and sour soup is made with different ingredients and consistency as the Cantonese version , they somehow made it all their own, not in a good way. the carrot should be shredded, not big sticks of it. Pork should also be sliced, or minced, not weird shaped clumps. The minced pork rice was totally dry and had no picked veggies or egg. It looked like what I feed my dog. Although the review sounds harsh, this establishment truly needs some major managerial changes. I will be eating at Henry's (either one of the two).
(1)Norm R.
This popular little restaurant in the Mekong Plaza complex serves inexpensive, filling Chinese food fast. I find their food to be quite tasty, though it would have been better if they held back on the salt a bit. Service is friendly and efficient, the whole setting is very informal, and I do enjoy the boba they serve here. I'll definitely be coming back to try the salt and pepper smelt (I love smelt) and other items they serve that are not normally found in most semi-fast food Chinese places.
(3)Rebecca C.
I really like the teas I get from here, I just wish the service was friendlier. They appear incredibly bored and indifferent when I give my order.
(3)Gregorio R.
This one of my favorites for fast Chinese food. Spycy chicken salad and scalion pancakes are my favorites. But they have many great thinks. I cant think. Im about to eat. Bye. Come on porkbelly!
(5)Xidong W.
I ordered salt fried chicken, one bulk of the chicken had a bad smelling inside. I spit the food out. I am wondering if the quality of the food is good.
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