Can't give OE 5 stars. Only they can get away with only giving me 2 strings of baby bok choy in my noodle soup, because it's so damn cheap and fast! But a combination of knowing what to order, and getting over the angry Chinese lady means consistently cheap meals in a pinch. The secret is to call in and then pick-up your order. Given their magically quick turn-around times, by the time you get there, the food will be bagged. You just pay and go. The Noodle Soups are always a safe choice. They are a bit plain / bland, but that's easily solved with the Sriracha or Chili sauce. Make sure to snag some before you go. There's also always the $5.50 menu. Cheap and enough food to last you 2 meals. I like the Chinese Veggies over Rice. Avoid the bubble tea. The balls are hard. Unfortunately, there really is no good bubble tea in this area. Orient Kitchen(OK) is the sister restaurant of OE. It's owned by the same family, but with a different, friendlier staff. If you want an attentive pamper me all meal experience, go there before slamming these folks. They're just being efficient: OE caters toward starving college kids who could care less about service. Plus, Chinese restaurants just don't do what people here expect to be "good service." Cry me a river. - I'd actually be skeptical if any non-upscale Chinese restaurant's employees were smiling and bowing and fluttering. "Bad service" = decent, cheap Chinese food!
(4)
Albert L.
I had two good reasons to be very wary of this place. 1. Having lived in Charles Village in Baltimore, one of the most notoriously terrible places to seek chinese food was at a place named "Orient Express" 2. I was craving BBQ Pork, and based on the different non-socal places that I've tried, most of these bbq porks would serve a better purpose being adhered to the sole of a shoe to improve its sping factor. Having bad connotations with this restaurant name, however, I tried it per the recommendation of a new friend of mine who had been living in the area for a few years already. We went at 9 o'clock one thursday night after class, and the restaurant was serving 4 other tables. My friends ordered MaPo Tofu, extra spicy, and I ordered a BBQ Pork Noodle Soup. I am quite delighted to say that despite their suspiciously brief time to crank out dishes faster than water could boil on an induction stove (a striking similarity to the old orient express i had been to as well), the bbq pork was one of the most tender pieces i have ever had outside of the freshly made bbq pork at Sam Woo Restaurant back in San Gabriel, CA! It was most definitely a pleasant surprise. The rest of the dish consisted of thicker ramen-type noodles and a few leaves of bok choy. My friends' mapo tofu didn't quite look like mapo tofu to me, but they enjoyed it anyhow. I hope to come back sometime for lunch, when the deals are even better! They split our 3 entree check among 3 cards without complaint.
(4)
Shannon H.
What more can you ask? It is at a convenient location, within walking distance from college campuses. It is cheap with large portions, and fast service. Americanized Chinese food, but as a broke college student, it is great for a college budget! Not exceptional, yet not poor. Food is pretty comparable with Lulu's
(3)
Sarah K.
This place deserves 5 stars because it is some of the best food you can get for your money, and because they mean it when they say express! I have tried many things from this restaurant and my top favorites are the Singapore Rice Noodles, Hunan Chicken and ANYTHING tofu. I'm a really big fan of their fried tofu in general but when served in the orange or the spicy General Tsos variety I am the happiest of girls. Though a friend from work avoids the lunch specials because she doesn't like the egg rolls it is a staple in my order always. I recommend this venue if you are looking for good food and value over a lunch break.
(5)
Rohith S.
"Express" is a good way to describe this. The speed of service here is sometimes a bit faster than McDonald's, Chipotle etc. If you are in the mood for something light - I would highly recommend the Curry Scallion Pancake. I thought they were really good value for money until recently when they increased their prices. They have a lunch menu where they give you an entree, an appetizer (Vegetarian Spring Roll or Chicken Teriyaki) and rice for $7.99. :) Although the quality of food is not that great, I would go back there - especially when I have a test the next day and need to spend every minute cramming.
(3)
Jen K.
First tried the place around 3:00 on a Sunday afternoon. As we walked in, a middle-aged woman sat at a table next to the cash register. She asked us "Here or to go?" We said here. She jerked her head to the left, vaguely indicating the entire restaurant, and said "Sit down." We wondered why she was so mad at us for coming into her restaurant. We sat, ordered and like we do at LuLu's, got out or phones and magazines prepared to wait for a while. The food came out almost immediately. It was hot, fast, and absolutely delicious. Steamed veggie dumplings were a bit bland but the dipping sauce was superb. Mayalysian Satay Chicken was not a peanut sauce but a spicy red sauce. Really good. My Tofu Eggplant Fish Hot Pot (a piping hot clay bowl filled with all of those things plus veggies) was so good I didn't want it to end. Luckily the portion was so huge I had enough for lunch the next day. The Ginger Smoothie was made with real ginger so it had that fabulous bite. Seriously good. The next time we try this place we'll likely get take-out since the service was so ... weird. I won't go into boring details - you'll see for yourself when you go there - I'm just saying the service is bad enough to make us not want to suffer through it again, but not bad enough to cancel out the deliciousness of the food we definitely want to have again. If the service had been friendly, we'd definitely have given this place 4 or 5 stars.
(3)
Aditya M.
Fast and cheap.. not a big fan of the food here.. but pretty good value for money. I really like the curry scallion pancake though.. can't get enough of those. Not the best place for asian food near CMU (that would be lulu's).. but a pretty nice place to come once in a while. Seating is nice.. so good place to catch up with a friend.
(3)
Chloe F.
I will never again go here. I'm tired of the lady that always seem pissed-off taking my order or making me boba. Last time my husband and I went, we checked their hours on the door and walked in (the door was unlocked). The lady yells at us, rather rudely, "DON'T YOU SEE LIGHTS OFF!" First of all... the lights were not off. It was dim. It was our first time going after sunset. We thought it was mood lighting. Second of all... as if the pissed-offed service wasn't bad enough, we had to be yelled at?! I never thought their food was that great anyway. I've heard my Chinese friends say that she's nice. Well as a non-Chinese speaking person, I've only been rudely serviced over and over again. Go to Little Asia for Chinese food and LuLu's for boba... or walk in if you don't see the old lady working there.
(1)
Rishi P.
Quick Service and you get a large quantity of food. I wish the lady behind the counter didn't have such a bad attitude. General tso tofu 4 life
(3)
Keith C.
Well. The good thing about Orient Express was that it was really close to the CMU campus so just walking down Forbes, you can hit it real easy if you don't want chinese delivery. The dumplings weren't too bad and the orange beef was pretty good too. The beef had a decent crunch to it that paired well with the rice. The food came out really really fast and it was nice and warm. The service was decent. They refilled my water without me needing to ask. They also didn't really care if you brought your laptop in and did some work after eating your food either because they were never packed.
(3)
Tanachat N.
The lunch specials are OK, but you get bored of them very fast. There are more expensive dishes which are good, but the price range is comparable to Little Asia and Eat Unique. If you are considering something $~9, OE (that's what many people called) is not the best place to go. Try Little Asia, Eat Unique, LuLu, or Quiznos. However, if you want it cheap and a lot of it, OE is the best choice around S Craig.
(3)
Angela P.
Cheap Chinese food and a lot of it. That's all people are really looking for when they come here. The food is mostly meat in sauce over rice which is $5.50 special during the day. They have more expensive dishes around $8. Boba here is horrid. Never get it. I couldn't finish half of it. Service is impossibly fast. They make it within minutes of you ordering. The waiters and waitresses aren't particularly nice to you- they have a bit of a dismissive, bored attitude, but they don't ignore you.
(3)
Chloe F.
I went there with a few friends for a quick lunch. I ordered a vegetable tofu soup and a Shanghai chicken lo mein with vegetable spring roll and fried rice. I thought the veggie tofu soup would be cleansing and a good balance with my potentially greasy meal. Even though the vegetables were fresh, the soup tasted like chicken broth saturated with MSG, which ruined it. How do I know it has MSG in it? It gave me a headache and a dry mouth. Now comes the Shanghai lo mein. It seems to be no different from the regular lo mein. It was a mistake to order it with fried rice since it made everything super greasy. After finishing the soup, I barely ate any of the main course before asking the waiter to have it boxed. The spring roll was inedible, basically a tube of grease and what seems to be cabbage (I threw it out). I had the rest of the lo mein/fried rice at home the next day. Little did I know, they put MSG in it too, giving me another headache. Thanks a lot, Orient Express. The service was decent. Not coming back, however.
(1)
RC P.
OK food - served really FAST consistently nasty waitress (owner?)
(3)
Jenny Z.
The nearest Chinese restaurant near Heinz. Price is reasonable. Favor is good. I like fried rice and Chow Fan. Can use credit card!
(4)
Ryan Y.
Decent, cheap, and quick pretty much describe O-E. I generally get take-out coming back from a long day of lab work at CMU, and it always hits the spot. It's normally only a 5 minute wait to grab food and go. Outside of a few staples (sesame crispy beef/chicken), I've been disappointed by trying a whole bunch of different options on the menu. This place is better than some other items along Craig Street, but it's certainly not the best. As long as you don't go in expecting anything other than fast Chinese cuisine, you'll probably be disappointed.
(3)
Stacey L.
It's ok, though a bit greasier than I'd prefer. I usually order take-out Beef Chow Fun which comes in an aluminum tray, and I swear the grease seems to leak through the aluminum to the outside of the tray too, which isn't even possible. It's not any cheaper than LuLu's, but they do seem a lot faster. As for the bubble tea.... I tried one of the less popular flavors my first time there (either red bean or taro), and it tasted exactly like that dental office latex glove smell. Definitely stick with the normal flavors, or get your bubble tea from LuLu's.
(3)
Alex R.
A good value in the very competitive neighborhood lunch-place scene. I like the food that I get here, which is mostly in the form of takeout lunch specials. The food is fresh and the sauces not as heavy as they might be; if you get the steamed rice the meal end up reasonably light. I've been less impressed with their soups, which are rather coarse. Still, it's the closest place to my office and the alternatives don't rate the extra 2 mins walk.
(3)
Jenney C.
Though I wouldn't normally give this place 4 stars, I give it for 4 stars in relation to the other eateries right next to CMU(Craig St. Area). The prices are good and they have a decent lunch special. Their noodle dishes are all good like their loi mein(Shanghai style if you prefer the thicker noodles) and chow fan. I think this place is by far better than Lulu's. The service isn't "friendly", but it is competent and quick, unlike Lulu's service which is neither friendly, competent nor quick.
(4)
smriti k.
This place is ok,and i haven't been here more than once.But i've given three stars for this place because my friend always goes there and collects fortune cookies for me. I collect the fortunes,so most of my papers were from Orient Express.So do go here to get fortune cookies :).I'ts close to CMU and its very cheap.It's a good place to go to when you are really hungry and you want to save some money.Saving is good after all :) -Smriti
(3)
Christopher J.
Some amazing shit. Takeout chinese food except it comes out in 5 minutes max, sometimes 30 seconds. I know all Chinese takeout food is unhealthy so I'm not concerned about the health implications OE may or may not have, I just enjoy the food. It tastes delicious and the portions are huge, what more could you ask for?
(5)
Frank W.
Cheap, Fast Chinese food. Food isn't that great, but the price over takes it. I love going here for quick food. It is a good complement for my busy schedule from CMU.
(3)
K E.
Horrendous. I had walked past this place probably a hundred times before I finally decided to give it a try. Bad mistake. I ordered General Tso's Chicken, which was pretty mediocre to begin with (much worse than the General Tso's at Lu Lu's, even). However, I soon noticed a couple of hairs in my food, one of which was actually wrapped around a piece of chicken. I complained to the waitress, who took the food and showed it to the chef sitting in the back. He just shrugged and continued reading his newspaper. Not even an apology from anyone. Would never go back here under any circumstances.
(1)
M Z.
Despite its bad reputation among Asian students, Orient Express remains one of my preferred lunch spots in Oakland. The food is okay and price is quite good. Their "scallion pancake" is among the best.
(4)
Hongyuan J.
never want to come back
(1)
Lauren H.
I enjoy Orient Express primarily for its large portions, cheap prices, and wide array of vegetarian options. Other Chinese restaurants in Pittsburgh (and elsewhere) have a much more limited selection of vegetarian in my experience. Their service might be brusque, but it's incredibly fast, and when I go there, I'm not looking for a fine-dining experience. I usually get take-out, and it takes 10 minutes or less (I often wonder how they make my food so quickly).
(4)
George N.
Good, cheap, and very quick food in the Oakland area. Cheaper and quicker than lulus, but quality is a little less than lulus.
(3)
Sylvia L.
I want to write a good, reasonble review for OE, but I don't have the care to do so...come to this place if you're lacking taste buds. If you want real authentic Chinese food, then try somewhere else.
(2)
Anthony B.
The food is OK, depending on what you order. I'd avoid the cheapest special menu. Compared to the other restaurants near craig st it is pretty good, especially when you take into account it is cheap. The chow fun is good and the service is fast, but not particularly friendly.
(3)
Kit C.
Orient Express has improved in my two years here. If you know what to get, the food can be pretty good. It's not as authentic as Ka Mei (in Squirrel Hill), and the dishes are probably geared more towards CMU and Pitt students -- so expect heavy sauces and lots of vegetables padding each dish. Here are a few dishes I think have a fairy authentic flavor -- (xian yu ji li/xia ren cao fan) Salt Fish and Chicken/Shrimp Fried Rice, (kong xin cai, or ying cai) Not sure how to say it in English, but its the hollow vegetable...I think its called sauteed chinese greens or something on the menu, Baby Bok Choi (always a fav), and the (zha jiang mian) or Pork Noodles. Lunch specials are a good deal. I usually get the green beans (gan cao si ji dou) with steamed rice and the chicken. Dishes I don't like include: vegetable spring roll, mapo tofu -- I have yet to find a good mapo tofu in Pittsburgh. The service (with the exception of the male waiter) is kind of mean, which I think is unfortunate. Oh yeah, and you can get bubble tea here. It's not the best bubble tea in the world, its also not the worst. I like to get the taro (hot), long yen (hot).
(3)
Norman R.
I ate here for lunch with a group of friends and was pleasantly surprised at how good the food was. The service was very fast and friendly and the prices were reasonable. It will now be my "go to" Chinese place for lunch.
(4)
Lynly L.
i am definitely not a fan of orient express. the food is just ok and the boba is disgusting. the tapioca balls served as this place are hard as rock. i might have to add that i am an asian originally from southern ca, where asian food (or generally, food) is just better overall- but i am definitely not impressed with this place. i would rather go to lulu's anyday. however, the review below mine should concentrate more on the specifics of orient express, rather than an attack on asian culture.
(2)
Hue T.
Foods come in great size. Great value. I usually get the lettuce fried rice with tofu. The staff is alright. The owner is very eager to make the customers happy. The water taste kinda bad for me (personal preference because I generally don't like tap water)
(4)
Muyuan L.
Americanized Chinese food. OK price, OK quality, interesting staff here. Either totally empty or extremely crowded with Chinese graduate students. Here's the good thing, it's basically on campus for CMU students. So pretty convenient as an alternative to the God-forsaken Asiana (a horrible CMU dining place). I tried half of their menu. Hot pot is my favorite. Not the traditional Chinese family style hotpot but rather a pot of fishball-veggie-meat-shrimp mixture. Caution: MSG. Fried rice is decent. All the signature Americanized Chinese food are made as they are supposed to be: a little Chinese appearance with the American taste. Bubble tea is really sweet, which I don't mind as some of my friends from China.
(3)
Jane L.
Three of my friends and I came here for a quick dinner in between studying and it was ok. As most people are saying, it's pretty standard American Chinese food. We thought the Malaysian satay chicken dish we ordered would have more of a peanut sauce flavor, but it looked and tasted different from other Malaysian satay chicken dishes I've had before. Tasted ok though. The eggplant dish was good, as were the Singapore noodles. The price was reasonable, since the portions were pretty large and we were doing it family style. I liked that the food came fairly quickly and it was close to CMU's campus, so we could do a quick meal. I'd go back, but only if I was under a time crunch and needed somewhere close by and quick. It was great though that they had no problem splitting the check for us and we were all able to pay separately with credit cards.
(3)
Priyanka N.
The important part about coming here is to realize what this place is good for - a large quantity of food that's quick and cheap and is great for those take-out days when you the college student are overloaded with work and just don't have time to deal with another place. Keeping that in mind, I don't worry about the service quality or authenticity of the food or anything like that. When I come here all I care is that I get my food quickly and that it tastes reasonably good. OE definitely has both of those qualities. Whether I order orange chicken or General Tso's or lo mein or chow fun - the food always comes out quickly and always hits the spot. As a bonus, it's pretty close to CMU campus and definitely better than the Asian options there. If I were still a student, I would definitely keep coming back here for my Chinese take out!
(4)
Joshua L.
I'll eat here again since it is so close to CMU. I wouldn't go out of my way to get here, though. I ordered via phone so I could go in and get out. Nope. They gave me chicken instead of tofu. I had to wait an extra 10 minutes (maybe not that long) but it was annoying since i called in so I could get the food and head back out. The food was GREAT. It was very reasonably priced and the portion was large. I could get two servings out of it. They also did not go light on the vegetables--something other places don't do! The veggies were fresh too, not that frozen, barely thawed stuff.
(4)
Marissa H.
Fast, cheap, and (most importantly) DELICIOUS Chinese cuisine. They offer a ton of dishes, and serve wonderfully varied flavors and styles of boba.
(5)
Eric J.
OE. A staple of my college career. I recently came back during CMU Carnival, and it still has not changed. Service is still super quick, the restaurant is no-frills but relatively clean, prices are still rock bottom and my favorite dishes were still exactly how I liked them. $6 lunch specials still? Seems like inflation didn't really hit them too hard. Hard to beat this kind of value. That said, you have to know what to order here. Some of their dishes are better than others. I usually go with the salt and pepper pork chop, Singapore mi fun, string beans, salt fish chicken fried rice, and beef noodle soup. Again, the food comes out super fast, so you have to wonder if they're keeping it behind doors with heat lamps or something, but regardless, it doesn't taste like it. I would recommend against the bubble tea here, as the bubbles are a bit harder than most other bubble tea places around. Go to the Rose Tea Cafe across the street, or even Lulu's for better bubble tea. Or just get the tea without the bubbles and you should be okay. Quick, cheap, relatively high quality Chinese food at a convenient location? Look no further than OE.
(4)
Sherill M.
OVERPRICED TASTELESS CRAP I ordered the Mongolia beef which was $11 for about 1 strip of beef a box of onions and some crappy white rice! You have to be cray cray to go here!
(1)
Tony D.
Standard American Chinese food. Nothing in particular on the menu stands out to me, and I tend to avoid their greasy MSG-filled food if I can, but credit has to be given to their service catered toward university students. Their food is okay once in a while, especially if you're in a rush. That said, it is strange to me how nearly every time the meal is brought out within 10 minutes (5 if you're taking it to go, especially the lunch specials). I try not to think about how much of the food has already been pre-made in the kitchen. For a sit-down meal, the place is nice in that it usually is not too loud, and there are always available tables; the place is never overbooked. There is always at least one waiter around, so if you need anything they get to you pretty quickly.
(3)
Jack M.
About as average as you can get. It's probably the closest Chinese place you can get to CMU or even Pitt otherwise. Good for takeout or even for groups. The food is okay ... not particularly mind-blowing but also not bad either. Standard Chinese fare ... the Meal Specials are soft on most wallets.
(3)
Jenai A.
The quality of the food here is declining rapidly. I used to order from here all the time, at least twice a week at one point. Now I barely go there and the food disappoints me 90% of the time. The fried rice I usually order is way too salty now and the General Tso's Chicken is topped with watered down sauce and gray on the inside. Budget cuts maybe?
(1)
Kristen H.
I like Orient Express, in fact I'm having lunch here today. This is noteworthy bc I work by Magee Women's Hospital, and I'm willing to walk all the way down to Orient Express (by Craig Street), and it's 4 degrees outside today. Orient Express is a great place to lunch when you want inexpensive Chinese food, fast. Once again my friend argued, "Orient Express is inauthentic!" Okay, we are from Pittsburgh. Has he ever been to China? No, he has not. So I don't know what authentic Chinese food is, but I've seen some people eating some pretty gross food on the travel channels, so I'll pass on it. What I am familiar with is food that is tasty, which the food at Orient Express is. The menu is diverse so everyone in your party will be able to find something, vegan, veg, carnivore, dieter, etc. The food is fast. I mean FAST. It will come out in minutes. I'm going to time how long it takes for the entrees to come out today and update my status. I always get the General Tso's Fried tofu with fried rice and hot and sour soup. It's fantastic. I love fried tofu bc it gives me the illusion of eating something healthy, but it still tastes good bc it is deep fried and covered in sauce. The service is ok. You order at the front and the waiters are only responsible for bringing your food out to you and refilling your drink. I'm pretty sure they don't speak much English, but they have all been pleasant enough. I give Orient Express two thumbs up, in fact I prefer it to Lulu's noodles bc it is nowhere near as greasy as Lulu's is, and a lot less expensive.
(4)
J D.
Don't go here if you want quick service, an attentive waitstaff, a "special" request like rice noodles instead of rice, or good food. Perfect for college kids.
(1)
Ben S.
Absolutely terrible food. The General Tso's checken wasn't chcken, and didn't taste like the General had been anywhere near it. The Teriyaki chicken was cardboard. As other reviewers have mentioned, the food comes out in 5 minutes. However, other reviewers have glossed over the fact that FOOD SHOULD TAKE MORE THAN 5 MINUTES TO PREPARE. Please avoid this place as if your life depended on it....because it might.
(1)
Premsankar A.
Almost Zero wait time irrespective of how crowded the place is which is why I love this place!! Good service and sumptuous Chinese food!!
(5)
Christina A.
Excellent Chinese food! I had the American style dishes. Exceptional hot and sour soup!
(4)
Rebecca H.
Orient Express is a perfect place to go when you're hungry and in a rush. Just like everyone else says- food is always out within 15 minutes. The strawberry bubble tea is awesome, and so is the chow fun. I've never had a bad meal here, and I've eaten here A LOT, seeing as they were so close to my school. They're usually pretty nice about splitting up checks, which is good.
(4)
Mikhail S.
Orient Express serves no nonsense affordable American Chinese food. The decor is pleasant and clean, and the prices are reasonable. The food is also quick and pretty good. Oh and they have really nice plastic takeout containers. I really like the dumplings and the string beans with beef, and the hot pots are always pleasant surprises. A particularly standout attribute of Orient Express is that all the dishes seem to come with a lot of vegetables, which is uncommon amongst American Chinese restaurants and I think separates good from bad Chinese food. While you're not going to find the most "authentic" Chinese food at the Orient Express, the Americanized Chinese food they serve is pretty darn good. And if you can't enjoy a good General Tso's Chicken because it isn't "authentic" - something is wrong with you (and maybe you can have an aneurism at the thought that General Tso's has been exported back to the old country and is being served in Taiwan). The owner, Peter, is a really good guy and isn't above taking orders, cleaning tables, and is almost always at the restaurant. During my student days, sometimes we needed catering for student events, and Peter was always reasonable and willing to work within your budget.
(4)
James T.
Cheap food. Always bustlin'. Hungry for Asian food? Walk down from Carnegie Mellon Uni., and you're there! Closest establishment that had me everyday during lunch..
(4)
Zach B.
If you go here, you're likely a desperate CMU student who's crunched for time and needs to crunch quickly in between classes and meetings and projects and all the other madness in between. And desperate restaurant goers - like desperate people in the love market, the day-before-Christmas market, and so on - don't have very high standards. And let's be real: Why would you have high standards when you're going to a place with the word "express" in its name? And let's be real again: OE does deliver when it comes to express; it puts the express in OE. For good or bad, I've been to this place plenty of times, and I've made it a game to time how long it takes me to get my order as soon as I've placed the order. My record: 1 minute and 47 seconds. Some may be joyous about this time, others repulsed, and I think being both joyous and repulsed simultaneously is more or less what you'll actually be feeling when you enter, eat, and leave OE. And maybe OE was able to put my food on the table so quickly because they already knew my order as soon as I walked through that pointless ten-square-foot vestibule that is the OE entrance: Yeung Chow Fried Rice. The Yeung Chow Fried Rice is likely your best bet - at $6.95 and two-meals-worth of fried rice (egg, peas, and carrots) with shrimp, chicken, and BBQ pork, it's the clear winner when it comes to filling your stomach tastily and cheaply. To conclude: OE has WiFi. I'm not really sure why you would need WiFi when you're going to get your food in less than two minutes, but if you do, the password is (last time I checked) thedarkone. I have absolutely no idea why they made this the password, but there you go.
(3)
Lauren B.
I've eaten here about 3 times for lunch since I started working in Oakland. As others have stated, the food always comes out fast. Good prices and nice selection on the menu. The servers aren't very friendly or attentive and there's not much atmosphere, but the tables are placed well at a comfortable distance from each other.
(3)
Matt C.
The chef here won't ever be in the running for a Michelin Star or a James Beard Award, but Orient Express has some extremely reliable strengths: 1) The service is FAST. Not necessarily stellar or friendly, but fast. They take your order and bring the food out extremely quickly. 2) The food is cheap. It's hard to feel ripped off, especially given the amazing convenience. 3) The experience is consistent. They'll get you to your meeting/class/nap on time, and the food is reliably just-below-average. But sometimes that's just what hits the spot, especially when it fits the schedule and budget as well. If you're looking for a date night place, fine dining, or something absolutely unique or delicious, look elsewhere. But Orient Express certainly has its advantages.
(3)
Tanay J.
It's one of the closest places to CMU, and the fact that I eat there more than once a week speaks loads about its good food. One would get really bored of eating at the same place again and again, but I and my friends end up eating there a lot simply because of the taste. It's not out of the world amazing, but its damn good for the price. Huge portions, lots of veggies and they are willing to cater to your requests (w.r.t. spice, oil etc). The staff is very friendly as well. My favorites are the singapore fried rice, spicy garlic shrimp, spicy chicken leg meat and the lo mien.
(4)
Danielle C.
After four years at CMU, this is one restaurant that I'm not going to miss. Their food is mediocre (usually covered in sauce), and the wait staff always seem unfriendly. However, one upside is that they bring the food out very quickly (usually within 5-10 minutes of ordering), so we just guessed that they have all the ingredients ready on hand and then when an order comes it, just put it in the wok and saute away. Their bubble tea isn't very good here because 1) it's made from powder mix and 2) their bubbles (boba) are soooo hard, I think they never defrost the tapioca or something. Bleh. A good place to go for quick cheap eats especially if you're a Pitt/CMU student, but if you want quality food, definitely go somewhere else.
(2)
Jonathon S.
It is what it is. Tons of reasonably decent-quality food served lightning-fast for cheap. It's basically the Chinese-food equivalent of a diner (only cleaner than your average dive, with Enya or some other Celtic-lite music in the background). The waiters are not particularly friendly--though having observed them chatting with Chinese patrons, I suspect they mostly don't speak much English. But that's ok--decide what you want and tell them, and they'll go away; take a friend or a book and you won't even notice. (Why is gruffness a good thing in waitresses at dive diners but bad in staff at a dive Chinese place?) This place is *fast*. Whether I've come at 5pm on a Saturday or 1230 on a weekday, the food is on the table within 15 minutes, sometimes half that. (They won't hold your dish while they finish your tablemates', though; if something takes a while, you could almost finish before your friend gets to eat. Be a good friend and share.) This place is reasonably tasty--it's not the best Chinese in town, and it's definitely not going to win any awards, except perhaps from the student papers at the universities it's in between. But it's decent, with good balance between meat and vegetables, and there's a lot of it. I usually go early afternoon and order off the $6 lunch-special menu: Skip breakfast, and you'll be set for the day, or eat breakfast and go for lunch, and you'll have lunch for the next day, too.
(4)
Sophia C.
I initially had a very bad impression of this place before I came. A lot of students view this place as a bit sketchy because of the speed that the food comes out. No matter what we order, food is always on the table in less then 10 minutes. BUT despite all these misgivings, my friend decided treated me here, and I'm SO glad I tried it. It is so close to CMU, and although it is not the most "authentic" Chinese food there is, it is delicious, fast, cheap, and has ridiculously large portions :) I've come many times after the first initial time I tried it. My favorite dish isn't on the menu--it's called Crispy Sesame Beef, and it comes with broccoli and rice ^^ NOMNOMS. Oh, and personally, I find OE's pearl milk tea (which comes hot, or cold) a lot better than LuLu's.
(4)
Kristan H.
OE became my unofficial headquarters during the last two years of college. I went mostly for the bubble tea and the tofu dishes, but all the food is pretty good. (Yes a little greasy, but look, that's just Chinese cuisine, folks.) I usually had enough for leftovers too. I loved bringing in my laptop to do work (sans-wifi) and watching people pass by through the windows. The servers were very nice (though not necessarily outgoing) and came to know me. I got the impression it was a very hardworking family/group, and I was happy to support them.
(4)
Laura M.
The service is really good. I got at least once a week and they never disappoint me. My favorite is the special house rice, it is massive so you can share it with two or three people.
(4)
Dylan M.
I think that this is the closest off-campus restaurant to CMU. The price is fine and you get a large amount of food. The service here is quick and efficient, but no one is very friendly. That's fine, as I hardly ever eat in and only stop by to pick up a meal. Their bubble tea is pretty good. I especially recommend the mango bubble tea. Also, the chow fun is pretty good as well. Overall, the food is tasty, the service is quick, and the price is alright. Not bad for a conveniently close restaurant
(4)
Alice C.
CHEAP MEALS AT LIGHTNING SPEEEEEED!!! How do they do it? I'm not sure that I want to know.
(3)
Katie C.
If you're looking for the gourmet experience of a lifetime, this is totally not the place. But if you want fast, cheap Asian food that is pretty good and smells great, OE is perfect. It's also conveniently close to CMU, so perfect for lunch breaks. Also, their bubble tea is way better than Lulu's. Just putting that out there.
(3)
Barry R.
Orient Express is extremely inexpensive, super fast (usually served with your fresh massive portion in under 5 minutes) and quite tasty. The food isn't the best on earth, but for the price and speed it's unbeatable. I especially recommend the hot pot!
Takes Reservations : No Delivery : No Take-out : Yes Accepts Credit Cards : Yes Good For : Lunch Parking : Street Bike Parking : No 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 : No Waiter Service : Yes Caters : No
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.
Susan L.
Can't give OE 5 stars. Only they can get away with only giving me 2 strings of baby bok choy in my noodle soup, because it's so damn cheap and fast! But a combination of knowing what to order, and getting over the angry Chinese lady means consistently cheap meals in a pinch. The secret is to call in and then pick-up your order. Given their magically quick turn-around times, by the time you get there, the food will be bagged. You just pay and go. The Noodle Soups are always a safe choice. They are a bit plain / bland, but that's easily solved with the Sriracha or Chili sauce. Make sure to snag some before you go. There's also always the $5.50 menu. Cheap and enough food to last you 2 meals. I like the Chinese Veggies over Rice. Avoid the bubble tea. The balls are hard. Unfortunately, there really is no good bubble tea in this area. Orient Kitchen(OK) is the sister restaurant of OE. It's owned by the same family, but with a different, friendlier staff. If you want an attentive pamper me all meal experience, go there before slamming these folks. They're just being efficient: OE caters toward starving college kids who could care less about service. Plus, Chinese restaurants just don't do what people here expect to be "good service." Cry me a river. - I'd actually be skeptical if any non-upscale Chinese restaurant's employees were smiling and bowing and fluttering. "Bad service" = decent, cheap Chinese food!
(4)Albert L.
I had two good reasons to be very wary of this place. 1. Having lived in Charles Village in Baltimore, one of the most notoriously terrible places to seek chinese food was at a place named "Orient Express" 2. I was craving BBQ Pork, and based on the different non-socal places that I've tried, most of these bbq porks would serve a better purpose being adhered to the sole of a shoe to improve its sping factor. Having bad connotations with this restaurant name, however, I tried it per the recommendation of a new friend of mine who had been living in the area for a few years already. We went at 9 o'clock one thursday night after class, and the restaurant was serving 4 other tables. My friends ordered MaPo Tofu, extra spicy, and I ordered a BBQ Pork Noodle Soup. I am quite delighted to say that despite their suspiciously brief time to crank out dishes faster than water could boil on an induction stove (a striking similarity to the old orient express i had been to as well), the bbq pork was one of the most tender pieces i have ever had outside of the freshly made bbq pork at Sam Woo Restaurant back in San Gabriel, CA! It was most definitely a pleasant surprise. The rest of the dish consisted of thicker ramen-type noodles and a few leaves of bok choy. My friends' mapo tofu didn't quite look like mapo tofu to me, but they enjoyed it anyhow. I hope to come back sometime for lunch, when the deals are even better! They split our 3 entree check among 3 cards without complaint.
(4)Shannon H.
What more can you ask? It is at a convenient location, within walking distance from college campuses. It is cheap with large portions, and fast service. Americanized Chinese food, but as a broke college student, it is great for a college budget! Not exceptional, yet not poor. Food is pretty comparable with Lulu's
(3)Sarah K.
This place deserves 5 stars because it is some of the best food you can get for your money, and because they mean it when they say express! I have tried many things from this restaurant and my top favorites are the Singapore Rice Noodles, Hunan Chicken and ANYTHING tofu. I'm a really big fan of their fried tofu in general but when served in the orange or the spicy General Tsos variety I am the happiest of girls. Though a friend from work avoids the lunch specials because she doesn't like the egg rolls it is a staple in my order always. I recommend this venue if you are looking for good food and value over a lunch break.
(5)Rohith S.
"Express" is a good way to describe this. The speed of service here is sometimes a bit faster than McDonald's, Chipotle etc. If you are in the mood for something light - I would highly recommend the Curry Scallion Pancake. I thought they were really good value for money until recently when they increased their prices. They have a lunch menu where they give you an entree, an appetizer (Vegetarian Spring Roll or Chicken Teriyaki) and rice for $7.99. :) Although the quality of food is not that great, I would go back there - especially when I have a test the next day and need to spend every minute cramming.
(3)Jen K.
First tried the place around 3:00 on a Sunday afternoon. As we walked in, a middle-aged woman sat at a table next to the cash register. She asked us "Here or to go?" We said here. She jerked her head to the left, vaguely indicating the entire restaurant, and said "Sit down." We wondered why she was so mad at us for coming into her restaurant. We sat, ordered and like we do at LuLu's, got out or phones and magazines prepared to wait for a while. The food came out almost immediately. It was hot, fast, and absolutely delicious. Steamed veggie dumplings were a bit bland but the dipping sauce was superb. Mayalysian Satay Chicken was not a peanut sauce but a spicy red sauce. Really good. My Tofu Eggplant Fish Hot Pot (a piping hot clay bowl filled with all of those things plus veggies) was so good I didn't want it to end. Luckily the portion was so huge I had enough for lunch the next day. The Ginger Smoothie was made with real ginger so it had that fabulous bite. Seriously good. The next time we try this place we'll likely get take-out since the service was so ... weird. I won't go into boring details - you'll see for yourself when you go there - I'm just saying the service is bad enough to make us not want to suffer through it again, but not bad enough to cancel out the deliciousness of the food we definitely want to have again. If the service had been friendly, we'd definitely have given this place 4 or 5 stars.
(3)Aditya M.
Fast and cheap.. not a big fan of the food here.. but pretty good value for money. I really like the curry scallion pancake though.. can't get enough of those. Not the best place for asian food near CMU (that would be lulu's).. but a pretty nice place to come once in a while. Seating is nice.. so good place to catch up with a friend.
(3)Chloe F.
I will never again go here. I'm tired of the lady that always seem pissed-off taking my order or making me boba. Last time my husband and I went, we checked their hours on the door and walked in (the door was unlocked). The lady yells at us, rather rudely, "DON'T YOU SEE LIGHTS OFF!" First of all... the lights were not off. It was dim. It was our first time going after sunset. We thought it was mood lighting. Second of all... as if the pissed-offed service wasn't bad enough, we had to be yelled at?! I never thought their food was that great anyway. I've heard my Chinese friends say that she's nice. Well as a non-Chinese speaking person, I've only been rudely serviced over and over again. Go to Little Asia for Chinese food and LuLu's for boba... or walk in if you don't see the old lady working there.
(1)Rishi P.
Quick Service and you get a large quantity of food. I wish the lady behind the counter didn't have such a bad attitude. General tso tofu 4 life
(3)Keith C.
Well. The good thing about Orient Express was that it was really close to the CMU campus so just walking down Forbes, you can hit it real easy if you don't want chinese delivery. The dumplings weren't too bad and the orange beef was pretty good too. The beef had a decent crunch to it that paired well with the rice. The food came out really really fast and it was nice and warm. The service was decent. They refilled my water without me needing to ask. They also didn't really care if you brought your laptop in and did some work after eating your food either because they were never packed.
(3)Tanachat N.
The lunch specials are OK, but you get bored of them very fast. There are more expensive dishes which are good, but the price range is comparable to Little Asia and Eat Unique. If you are considering something $~9, OE (that's what many people called) is not the best place to go. Try Little Asia, Eat Unique, LuLu, or Quiznos. However, if you want it cheap and a lot of it, OE is the best choice around S Craig.
(3)Angela P.
Cheap Chinese food and a lot of it. That's all people are really looking for when they come here. The food is mostly meat in sauce over rice which is $5.50 special during the day. They have more expensive dishes around $8. Boba here is horrid. Never get it. I couldn't finish half of it. Service is impossibly fast. They make it within minutes of you ordering. The waiters and waitresses aren't particularly nice to you- they have a bit of a dismissive, bored attitude, but they don't ignore you.
(3)Chloe F.
I went there with a few friends for a quick lunch. I ordered a vegetable tofu soup and a Shanghai chicken lo mein with vegetable spring roll and fried rice. I thought the veggie tofu soup would be cleansing and a good balance with my potentially greasy meal. Even though the vegetables were fresh, the soup tasted like chicken broth saturated with MSG, which ruined it. How do I know it has MSG in it? It gave me a headache and a dry mouth. Now comes the Shanghai lo mein. It seems to be no different from the regular lo mein. It was a mistake to order it with fried rice since it made everything super greasy. After finishing the soup, I barely ate any of the main course before asking the waiter to have it boxed. The spring roll was inedible, basically a tube of grease and what seems to be cabbage (I threw it out). I had the rest of the lo mein/fried rice at home the next day. Little did I know, they put MSG in it too, giving me another headache. Thanks a lot, Orient Express. The service was decent. Not coming back, however.
(1)RC P.
OK food - served really FAST consistently nasty waitress (owner?)
(3)Jenny Z.
The nearest Chinese restaurant near Heinz. Price is reasonable. Favor is good. I like fried rice and Chow Fan. Can use credit card!
(4)Ryan Y.
Decent, cheap, and quick pretty much describe O-E. I generally get take-out coming back from a long day of lab work at CMU, and it always hits the spot. It's normally only a 5 minute wait to grab food and go. Outside of a few staples (sesame crispy beef/chicken), I've been disappointed by trying a whole bunch of different options on the menu. This place is better than some other items along Craig Street, but it's certainly not the best. As long as you don't go in expecting anything other than fast Chinese cuisine, you'll probably be disappointed.
(3)Stacey L.
It's ok, though a bit greasier than I'd prefer. I usually order take-out Beef Chow Fun which comes in an aluminum tray, and I swear the grease seems to leak through the aluminum to the outside of the tray too, which isn't even possible. It's not any cheaper than LuLu's, but they do seem a lot faster. As for the bubble tea.... I tried one of the less popular flavors my first time there (either red bean or taro), and it tasted exactly like that dental office latex glove smell. Definitely stick with the normal flavors, or get your bubble tea from LuLu's.
(3)Alex R.
A good value in the very competitive neighborhood lunch-place scene. I like the food that I get here, which is mostly in the form of takeout lunch specials. The food is fresh and the sauces not as heavy as they might be; if you get the steamed rice the meal end up reasonably light. I've been less impressed with their soups, which are rather coarse. Still, it's the closest place to my office and the alternatives don't rate the extra 2 mins walk.
(3)Jenney C.
Though I wouldn't normally give this place 4 stars, I give it for 4 stars in relation to the other eateries right next to CMU(Craig St. Area). The prices are good and they have a decent lunch special. Their noodle dishes are all good like their loi mein(Shanghai style if you prefer the thicker noodles) and chow fan. I think this place is by far better than Lulu's. The service isn't "friendly", but it is competent and quick, unlike Lulu's service which is neither friendly, competent nor quick.
(4)smriti k.
This place is ok,and i haven't been here more than once.But i've given three stars for this place because my friend always goes there and collects fortune cookies for me. I collect the fortunes,so most of my papers were from Orient Express.So do go here to get fortune cookies :).I'ts close to CMU and its very cheap.It's a good place to go to when you are really hungry and you want to save some money.Saving is good after all :) -Smriti
(3)Christopher J.
Some amazing shit. Takeout chinese food except it comes out in 5 minutes max, sometimes 30 seconds. I know all Chinese takeout food is unhealthy so I'm not concerned about the health implications OE may or may not have, I just enjoy the food. It tastes delicious and the portions are huge, what more could you ask for?
(5)Frank W.
Cheap, Fast Chinese food. Food isn't that great, but the price over takes it. I love going here for quick food. It is a good complement for my busy schedule from CMU.
(3)K E.
Horrendous. I had walked past this place probably a hundred times before I finally decided to give it a try. Bad mistake. I ordered General Tso's Chicken, which was pretty mediocre to begin with (much worse than the General Tso's at Lu Lu's, even). However, I soon noticed a couple of hairs in my food, one of which was actually wrapped around a piece of chicken. I complained to the waitress, who took the food and showed it to the chef sitting in the back. He just shrugged and continued reading his newspaper. Not even an apology from anyone. Would never go back here under any circumstances.
(1)M Z.
Despite its bad reputation among Asian students, Orient Express remains one of my preferred lunch spots in Oakland. The food is okay and price is quite good. Their "scallion pancake" is among the best.
(4)Hongyuan J.
never want to come back
(1)Lauren H.
I enjoy Orient Express primarily for its large portions, cheap prices, and wide array of vegetarian options. Other Chinese restaurants in Pittsburgh (and elsewhere) have a much more limited selection of vegetarian in my experience. Their service might be brusque, but it's incredibly fast, and when I go there, I'm not looking for a fine-dining experience. I usually get take-out, and it takes 10 minutes or less (I often wonder how they make my food so quickly).
(4)George N.
Good, cheap, and very quick food in the Oakland area. Cheaper and quicker than lulus, but quality is a little less than lulus.
(3)Sylvia L.
I want to write a good, reasonble review for OE, but I don't have the care to do so...come to this place if you're lacking taste buds. If you want real authentic Chinese food, then try somewhere else.
(2)Anthony B.
The food is OK, depending on what you order. I'd avoid the cheapest special menu. Compared to the other restaurants near craig st it is pretty good, especially when you take into account it is cheap. The chow fun is good and the service is fast, but not particularly friendly.
(3)Kit C.
Orient Express has improved in my two years here. If you know what to get, the food can be pretty good. It's not as authentic as Ka Mei (in Squirrel Hill), and the dishes are probably geared more towards CMU and Pitt students -- so expect heavy sauces and lots of vegetables padding each dish. Here are a few dishes I think have a fairy authentic flavor -- (xian yu ji li/xia ren cao fan) Salt Fish and Chicken/Shrimp Fried Rice, (kong xin cai, or ying cai) Not sure how to say it in English, but its the hollow vegetable...I think its called sauteed chinese greens or something on the menu, Baby Bok Choi (always a fav), and the (zha jiang mian) or Pork Noodles. Lunch specials are a good deal. I usually get the green beans (gan cao si ji dou) with steamed rice and the chicken. Dishes I don't like include: vegetable spring roll, mapo tofu -- I have yet to find a good mapo tofu in Pittsburgh. The service (with the exception of the male waiter) is kind of mean, which I think is unfortunate. Oh yeah, and you can get bubble tea here. It's not the best bubble tea in the world, its also not the worst. I like to get the taro (hot), long yen (hot).
(3)Norman R.
I ate here for lunch with a group of friends and was pleasantly surprised at how good the food was. The service was very fast and friendly and the prices were reasonable. It will now be my "go to" Chinese place for lunch.
(4)Lynly L.
i am definitely not a fan of orient express. the food is just ok and the boba is disgusting. the tapioca balls served as this place are hard as rock. i might have to add that i am an asian originally from southern ca, where asian food (or generally, food) is just better overall- but i am definitely not impressed with this place. i would rather go to lulu's anyday. however, the review below mine should concentrate more on the specifics of orient express, rather than an attack on asian culture.
(2)Hue T.
Foods come in great size. Great value. I usually get the lettuce fried rice with tofu. The staff is alright. The owner is very eager to make the customers happy. The water taste kinda bad for me (personal preference because I generally don't like tap water)
(4)Muyuan L.
Americanized Chinese food. OK price, OK quality, interesting staff here. Either totally empty or extremely crowded with Chinese graduate students. Here's the good thing, it's basically on campus for CMU students. So pretty convenient as an alternative to the God-forsaken Asiana (a horrible CMU dining place). I tried half of their menu. Hot pot is my favorite. Not the traditional Chinese family style hotpot but rather a pot of fishball-veggie-meat-shrimp mixture. Caution: MSG. Fried rice is decent. All the signature Americanized Chinese food are made as they are supposed to be: a little Chinese appearance with the American taste. Bubble tea is really sweet, which I don't mind as some of my friends from China.
(3)Jane L.
Three of my friends and I came here for a quick dinner in between studying and it was ok. As most people are saying, it's pretty standard American Chinese food. We thought the Malaysian satay chicken dish we ordered would have more of a peanut sauce flavor, but it looked and tasted different from other Malaysian satay chicken dishes I've had before. Tasted ok though. The eggplant dish was good, as were the Singapore noodles. The price was reasonable, since the portions were pretty large and we were doing it family style. I liked that the food came fairly quickly and it was close to CMU's campus, so we could do a quick meal. I'd go back, but only if I was under a time crunch and needed somewhere close by and quick. It was great though that they had no problem splitting the check for us and we were all able to pay separately with credit cards.
(3)Priyanka N.
The important part about coming here is to realize what this place is good for - a large quantity of food that's quick and cheap and is great for those take-out days when you the college student are overloaded with work and just don't have time to deal with another place. Keeping that in mind, I don't worry about the service quality or authenticity of the food or anything like that. When I come here all I care is that I get my food quickly and that it tastes reasonably good. OE definitely has both of those qualities. Whether I order orange chicken or General Tso's or lo mein or chow fun - the food always comes out quickly and always hits the spot. As a bonus, it's pretty close to CMU campus and definitely better than the Asian options there. If I were still a student, I would definitely keep coming back here for my Chinese take out!
(4)Joshua L.
I'll eat here again since it is so close to CMU. I wouldn't go out of my way to get here, though. I ordered via phone so I could go in and get out. Nope. They gave me chicken instead of tofu. I had to wait an extra 10 minutes (maybe not that long) but it was annoying since i called in so I could get the food and head back out. The food was GREAT. It was very reasonably priced and the portion was large. I could get two servings out of it. They also did not go light on the vegetables--something other places don't do! The veggies were fresh too, not that frozen, barely thawed stuff.
(4)Marissa H.
Fast, cheap, and (most importantly) DELICIOUS Chinese cuisine. They offer a ton of dishes, and serve wonderfully varied flavors and styles of boba.
(5)Eric J.
OE. A staple of my college career. I recently came back during CMU Carnival, and it still has not changed. Service is still super quick, the restaurant is no-frills but relatively clean, prices are still rock bottom and my favorite dishes were still exactly how I liked them. $6 lunch specials still? Seems like inflation didn't really hit them too hard. Hard to beat this kind of value. That said, you have to know what to order here. Some of their dishes are better than others. I usually go with the salt and pepper pork chop, Singapore mi fun, string beans, salt fish chicken fried rice, and beef noodle soup. Again, the food comes out super fast, so you have to wonder if they're keeping it behind doors with heat lamps or something, but regardless, it doesn't taste like it. I would recommend against the bubble tea here, as the bubbles are a bit harder than most other bubble tea places around. Go to the Rose Tea Cafe across the street, or even Lulu's for better bubble tea. Or just get the tea without the bubbles and you should be okay. Quick, cheap, relatively high quality Chinese food at a convenient location? Look no further than OE.
(4)Sherill M.
OVERPRICED TASTELESS CRAP I ordered the Mongolia beef which was $11 for about 1 strip of beef a box of onions and some crappy white rice! You have to be cray cray to go here!
(1)Tony D.
Standard American Chinese food. Nothing in particular on the menu stands out to me, and I tend to avoid their greasy MSG-filled food if I can, but credit has to be given to their service catered toward university students. Their food is okay once in a while, especially if you're in a rush. That said, it is strange to me how nearly every time the meal is brought out within 10 minutes (5 if you're taking it to go, especially the lunch specials). I try not to think about how much of the food has already been pre-made in the kitchen. For a sit-down meal, the place is nice in that it usually is not too loud, and there are always available tables; the place is never overbooked. There is always at least one waiter around, so if you need anything they get to you pretty quickly.
(3)Jack M.
About as average as you can get. It's probably the closest Chinese place you can get to CMU or even Pitt otherwise. Good for takeout or even for groups. The food is okay ... not particularly mind-blowing but also not bad either. Standard Chinese fare ... the Meal Specials are soft on most wallets.
(3)Jenai A.
The quality of the food here is declining rapidly. I used to order from here all the time, at least twice a week at one point. Now I barely go there and the food disappoints me 90% of the time. The fried rice I usually order is way too salty now and the General Tso's Chicken is topped with watered down sauce and gray on the inside. Budget cuts maybe?
(1)Kristen H.
I like Orient Express, in fact I'm having lunch here today. This is noteworthy bc I work by Magee Women's Hospital, and I'm willing to walk all the way down to Orient Express (by Craig Street), and it's 4 degrees outside today. Orient Express is a great place to lunch when you want inexpensive Chinese food, fast. Once again my friend argued, "Orient Express is inauthentic!" Okay, we are from Pittsburgh. Has he ever been to China? No, he has not. So I don't know what authentic Chinese food is, but I've seen some people eating some pretty gross food on the travel channels, so I'll pass on it. What I am familiar with is food that is tasty, which the food at Orient Express is. The menu is diverse so everyone in your party will be able to find something, vegan, veg, carnivore, dieter, etc. The food is fast. I mean FAST. It will come out in minutes. I'm going to time how long it takes for the entrees to come out today and update my status. I always get the General Tso's Fried tofu with fried rice and hot and sour soup. It's fantastic. I love fried tofu bc it gives me the illusion of eating something healthy, but it still tastes good bc it is deep fried and covered in sauce. The service is ok. You order at the front and the waiters are only responsible for bringing your food out to you and refilling your drink. I'm pretty sure they don't speak much English, but they have all been pleasant enough. I give Orient Express two thumbs up, in fact I prefer it to Lulu's noodles bc it is nowhere near as greasy as Lulu's is, and a lot less expensive.
(4)J D.
Don't go here if you want quick service, an attentive waitstaff, a "special" request like rice noodles instead of rice, or good food. Perfect for college kids.
(1)Ben S.
Absolutely terrible food. The General Tso's checken wasn't chcken, and didn't taste like the General had been anywhere near it. The Teriyaki chicken was cardboard. As other reviewers have mentioned, the food comes out in 5 minutes. However, other reviewers have glossed over the fact that FOOD SHOULD TAKE MORE THAN 5 MINUTES TO PREPARE. Please avoid this place as if your life depended on it....because it might.
(1)Premsankar A.
Almost Zero wait time irrespective of how crowded the place is which is why I love this place!! Good service and sumptuous Chinese food!!
(5)Christina A.
Excellent Chinese food! I had the American style dishes. Exceptional hot and sour soup!
(4)Rebecca H.
Orient Express is a perfect place to go when you're hungry and in a rush. Just like everyone else says- food is always out within 15 minutes. The strawberry bubble tea is awesome, and so is the chow fun. I've never had a bad meal here, and I've eaten here A LOT, seeing as they were so close to my school. They're usually pretty nice about splitting up checks, which is good.
(4)Mikhail S.
Orient Express serves no nonsense affordable American Chinese food. The decor is pleasant and clean, and the prices are reasonable. The food is also quick and pretty good. Oh and they have really nice plastic takeout containers. I really like the dumplings and the string beans with beef, and the hot pots are always pleasant surprises. A particularly standout attribute of Orient Express is that all the dishes seem to come with a lot of vegetables, which is uncommon amongst American Chinese restaurants and I think separates good from bad Chinese food. While you're not going to find the most "authentic" Chinese food at the Orient Express, the Americanized Chinese food they serve is pretty darn good. And if you can't enjoy a good General Tso's Chicken because it isn't "authentic" - something is wrong with you (and maybe you can have an aneurism at the thought that General Tso's has been exported back to the old country and is being served in Taiwan). The owner, Peter, is a really good guy and isn't above taking orders, cleaning tables, and is almost always at the restaurant. During my student days, sometimes we needed catering for student events, and Peter was always reasonable and willing to work within your budget.
(4)James T.
Cheap food. Always bustlin'. Hungry for Asian food? Walk down from Carnegie Mellon Uni., and you're there! Closest establishment that had me everyday during lunch..
(4)Zach B.
If you go here, you're likely a desperate CMU student who's crunched for time and needs to crunch quickly in between classes and meetings and projects and all the other madness in between. And desperate restaurant goers - like desperate people in the love market, the day-before-Christmas market, and so on - don't have very high standards. And let's be real: Why would you have high standards when you're going to a place with the word "express" in its name? And let's be real again: OE does deliver when it comes to express; it puts the express in OE. For good or bad, I've been to this place plenty of times, and I've made it a game to time how long it takes me to get my order as soon as I've placed the order. My record: 1 minute and 47 seconds. Some may be joyous about this time, others repulsed, and I think being both joyous and repulsed simultaneously is more or less what you'll actually be feeling when you enter, eat, and leave OE. And maybe OE was able to put my food on the table so quickly because they already knew my order as soon as I walked through that pointless ten-square-foot vestibule that is the OE entrance: Yeung Chow Fried Rice. The Yeung Chow Fried Rice is likely your best bet - at $6.95 and two-meals-worth of fried rice (egg, peas, and carrots) with shrimp, chicken, and BBQ pork, it's the clear winner when it comes to filling your stomach tastily and cheaply. To conclude: OE has WiFi. I'm not really sure why you would need WiFi when you're going to get your food in less than two minutes, but if you do, the password is (last time I checked) thedarkone. I have absolutely no idea why they made this the password, but there you go.
(3)Lauren B.
I've eaten here about 3 times for lunch since I started working in Oakland. As others have stated, the food always comes out fast. Good prices and nice selection on the menu. The servers aren't very friendly or attentive and there's not much atmosphere, but the tables are placed well at a comfortable distance from each other.
(3)Matt C.
The chef here won't ever be in the running for a Michelin Star or a James Beard Award, but Orient Express has some extremely reliable strengths: 1) The service is FAST. Not necessarily stellar or friendly, but fast. They take your order and bring the food out extremely quickly. 2) The food is cheap. It's hard to feel ripped off, especially given the amazing convenience. 3) The experience is consistent. They'll get you to your meeting/class/nap on time, and the food is reliably just-below-average. But sometimes that's just what hits the spot, especially when it fits the schedule and budget as well. If you're looking for a date night place, fine dining, or something absolutely unique or delicious, look elsewhere. But Orient Express certainly has its advantages.
(3)Tanay J.
It's one of the closest places to CMU, and the fact that I eat there more than once a week speaks loads about its good food. One would get really bored of eating at the same place again and again, but I and my friends end up eating there a lot simply because of the taste. It's not out of the world amazing, but its damn good for the price. Huge portions, lots of veggies and they are willing to cater to your requests (w.r.t. spice, oil etc). The staff is very friendly as well. My favorites are the singapore fried rice, spicy garlic shrimp, spicy chicken leg meat and the lo mien.
(4)Danielle C.
After four years at CMU, this is one restaurant that I'm not going to miss. Their food is mediocre (usually covered in sauce), and the wait staff always seem unfriendly. However, one upside is that they bring the food out very quickly (usually within 5-10 minutes of ordering), so we just guessed that they have all the ingredients ready on hand and then when an order comes it, just put it in the wok and saute away. Their bubble tea isn't very good here because 1) it's made from powder mix and 2) their bubbles (boba) are soooo hard, I think they never defrost the tapioca or something. Bleh. A good place to go for quick cheap eats especially if you're a Pitt/CMU student, but if you want quality food, definitely go somewhere else.
(2)Jonathon S.
It is what it is. Tons of reasonably decent-quality food served lightning-fast for cheap. It's basically the Chinese-food equivalent of a diner (only cleaner than your average dive, with Enya or some other Celtic-lite music in the background). The waiters are not particularly friendly--though having observed them chatting with Chinese patrons, I suspect they mostly don't speak much English. But that's ok--decide what you want and tell them, and they'll go away; take a friend or a book and you won't even notice. (Why is gruffness a good thing in waitresses at dive diners but bad in staff at a dive Chinese place?) This place is *fast*. Whether I've come at 5pm on a Saturday or 1230 on a weekday, the food is on the table within 15 minutes, sometimes half that. (They won't hold your dish while they finish your tablemates', though; if something takes a while, you could almost finish before your friend gets to eat. Be a good friend and share.) This place is reasonably tasty--it's not the best Chinese in town, and it's definitely not going to win any awards, except perhaps from the student papers at the universities it's in between. But it's decent, with good balance between meat and vegetables, and there's a lot of it. I usually go early afternoon and order off the $6 lunch-special menu: Skip breakfast, and you'll be set for the day, or eat breakfast and go for lunch, and you'll have lunch for the next day, too.
(4)Sophia C.
I initially had a very bad impression of this place before I came. A lot of students view this place as a bit sketchy because of the speed that the food comes out. No matter what we order, food is always on the table in less then 10 minutes. BUT despite all these misgivings, my friend decided treated me here, and I'm SO glad I tried it. It is so close to CMU, and although it is not the most "authentic" Chinese food there is, it is delicious, fast, cheap, and has ridiculously large portions :) I've come many times after the first initial time I tried it. My favorite dish isn't on the menu--it's called Crispy Sesame Beef, and it comes with broccoli and rice ^^ NOMNOMS. Oh, and personally, I find OE's pearl milk tea (which comes hot, or cold) a lot better than LuLu's.
(4)Kristan H.
OE became my unofficial headquarters during the last two years of college. I went mostly for the bubble tea and the tofu dishes, but all the food is pretty good. (Yes a little greasy, but look, that's just Chinese cuisine, folks.) I usually had enough for leftovers too. I loved bringing in my laptop to do work (sans-wifi) and watching people pass by through the windows. The servers were very nice (though not necessarily outgoing) and came to know me. I got the impression it was a very hardworking family/group, and I was happy to support them.
(4)Laura M.
The service is really good. I got at least once a week and they never disappoint me. My favorite is the special house rice, it is massive so you can share it with two or three people.
(4)Dylan M.
I think that this is the closest off-campus restaurant to CMU. The price is fine and you get a large amount of food. The service here is quick and efficient, but no one is very friendly. That's fine, as I hardly ever eat in and only stop by to pick up a meal. Their bubble tea is pretty good. I especially recommend the mango bubble tea. Also, the chow fun is pretty good as well. Overall, the food is tasty, the service is quick, and the price is alright. Not bad for a conveniently close restaurant
(4)Alice C.
CHEAP MEALS AT LIGHTNING SPEEEEEED!!! How do they do it? I'm not sure that I want to know.
(3)Katie C.
If you're looking for the gourmet experience of a lifetime, this is totally not the place. But if you want fast, cheap Asian food that is pretty good and smells great, OE is perfect. It's also conveniently close to CMU, so perfect for lunch breaks. Also, their bubble tea is way better than Lulu's. Just putting that out there.
(3)Barry R.
Orient Express is extremely inexpensive, super fast (usually served with your fresh massive portion in under 5 minutes) and quite tasty. The food isn't the best on earth, but for the price and speed it's unbeatable. I especially recommend the hot pot!
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