Ding How

Great place for Chinese food. I'm a vegetarian, so it was heart-warming to have a separate vegetarian menu! Service was good enough, and atmosphere is great, since most people do takeout, so there are not a lot of people there. Has become my comfort place. Would definitely recommend it to everyone.

Updating review to five stars. This is our favorite Chinese food place anywhere in the area. We happily drive over from Woodland to eat here. The soups are good and I have not had a bad entree yet. Our son loves the large fluffy steamed bbq pork buns on their appetizer menu. The egg foo young also has a nice sauce.

There’s some variation in food quality on a day to day, but if you catch them on a good day, you won’t be able to get a better Chinese takeout meal in Davis. As someone who has lived in Hong Kong and whose family is from there, this is my favorite Cantonese-style American Chinese restaurant in Davis. Their chow mein is such a comfort with good wok hei. I also love their orange chicken with real mandarin peel in the sauce. Like any restaurant, if you go in ordering the wrong stuff, you won’t get the most out of your meal. Sweet and sour pork lunch special is solid — more moist and flavorful that the chicken counterpart. The lunch specials in general are such a great deal. I love that we can dine-in again because I enjoy getting a hot & sour soup with my meal. Skip their mapo tofu and west lake soup if you’re looking for something more traditional (they’re not done correctly here). Get to know which chef you like and try to order on the days that they’re working. For the dishes that are tasty, there isn’t a better place in Davis for them. Service is stern, but good. That’s how a classic Asian restaurant operates. I don’t pay money for warm and fuzzy vibes; I pay for the food. That being said, I enjoy dining in. The restaurant interior is calm and relaxing. Bonus: They have an EXTENSIVE vegan menu that includes a plethora of imitation meats (similar to the kind you often find in Asian Buddhist monasteries). It’s a hidden gem, really.

I’ve been coming to Ding How for close to a decade now and they have never let me down. The food is always delicious and the service is always quick and easy. Some personal favorites of mine are the honey walnut shrimp, lemon chicken, and the veggie chow mein. The food tends to lean a little more towards that classic American-Chinese, rich & hearty style, with lots of flavorful sauces and generous portions 😁!

When you’re feeling tired and lazy but craving some Chinese food, Ding How is what you need! The soup and chicken was tasty and filling. There were plenty of leftover food to continue snacking on it later at 3am which were still tasty!! ^.^

Wesley

When you’re feeling tired and lazy but craving some Chinese food, Ding How is what you need! The soup and chicken was tasty and filling. There were plenty of leftover food to continue snacking on it later at 3am which were still tasty!! ^.^

Awesome authentic food from Ding How. I always loved getting the egg here as a kid and coming back the cuisine is still so delicious, the courses I recently tried like the Beef and pepper dish although a little spicy very good. The service is lacking—due to a couple people running the family business and the waitress of the restaurant was also telling me of the fall from covid and that they might close. Support this restaurant!! Although it says mandarin they are superior at cantonese cuisine! The atmosphere is warm and makes me feel at home not to mention the food just taking me to bed as well. Ding How Davis, how I love you.

Great Classic Chinese food restaurant! Went here with my mom last night. Great WonTon soup, excellent broth. Fresh vegetables in S&S pork. I’ll definitely go again! Food was fast, wait staff was attentive, easy on the wallet.

I go here often. My favorite items here are: Broccoli Beef, Chicken Chow Mein, Chicken Fried Rice, Salt and Pepper Shrimp. Its sad to hear they are closing soon.

Always a great place for vegan Chinese food in Davis! We love how large their vegetarian menu is and the food always tastes fresh.

One of the oldest restaurants in Davis always delivers the best Chinese food; authentic and delicious

The food here is amazing. It has been for years. The food quality has slightly diminished since they changed the type of vegan meat they use for the vegan options but other than that, the food is still great. I always get the house fried rice and chow mein.

Samantha Love

I go here often. My favorite items here are: Broccoli Beef, Chicken Chow Mein, Chicken Fried Rice, Salt and Pepper Shrimp. Its sad to hear they are closing soon.

*

Awesome authentic food from Ding How. I always loved getting the egg here as a kid and coming back the cuisine is still so delicious, the courses I recently tried like the Beef and pepper dish although a little spicy very good. The service is lacking—due to a couple people running the family business and the waitress of the restaurant was also telling me of the fall from covid and that they might close. Support this restaurant!! Although it says mandarin they are superior at cantonese cuisine! The atmosphere is warm and makes me feel at home not to mention the food just taking me to bed as well. Ding How Davis, how I love you.

Irena Grauzinis

Always a great place for vegan Chinese food in Davis! We love how large their vegetarian menu is and the food always tastes fresh.

Alvin Chow

One of the oldest restaurants in Davis always delivers the best Chinese food; authentic and delicious

Miguel O'hara

Great Classic Chinese food restaurant! Went here with my mom last night. Great WonTon soup, excellent broth. Fresh vegetables in S&S pork. I’ll definitely go again! Food was fast, wait staff was attentive, easy on the wallet.

david

The food here is amazing. It has been for years. The food quality has slightly diminished since they changed the type of vegan meat they use for the vegan options but other than that, the food is still great. I always get the house fried rice and chow mein.

Cute authentic Chinese restaurant really good Chinese food worth the drive

+3

Took my elderly uncle here for a dinner for two. It was excellent. I live in the Bay Area, where we have all kinds of state-of-the-art authentic Chinese restaurants. But sometimes you just want the kind of Chinese food you had as a kid: wonton soup, chicken with mixed veggies and roast pork fried rice. Yum!

I last ate here in 1982. Yes, 40 years ago. Seriously. I lived across the street at a nearby apartment my sophomore year at UC Davis. Used to go here quite frequently. The last time I went was with two friends named Rick and I changed my nickname to Rick for the evening for the fun of it. Rick, Rick and Rick. We thought it was funny. We were also stoned out of our minds. They had good food back then. Can’t really speak for now though.

With lackluster Chinese food competition in the Davis area, Ding How fares admirably. The regular menu is decent, borderline generic for some entrees, but for those vegetarians out there, this place has some amazing (and delicious) offerings. There is a *dedicated* vegetarian menu with soy-based dishes that are respectable mimics of the actual meat entrees. Try the vegetarian mongolian beef and you'll see what I mean.

Great neighborhood joint. Long time personnel. Fabulous hot and sour soup. They even have a separate vegetarian menu!

It's not that this is the best Chinese restaurant out there (or even in Davis), but for the price it just can't be beat. The dishes are large and I always take home leftovers after eating her (perfect for those with a low budget like myself, why not stretch one meal into two for the same price?). Oddly enough, I like the atmosphere as well. The service is good too, patient and helpful. :)

On 12/19/23 I had the Walnut Shrimp lunch special. It was pretty tasty and there were several good size shrimp with walnuts. I have been coming here for over 20 years. Not much has changed as far as the decor and interior. I prefer Ding How over Downtown Davis Chinese restaurants because you can always easily find parking. Not so in Downtown. I also took home a few dishes plus egg rolls and pot stickers. I remembered to take pictures of all of the menu pages.

Generous portions. Tasty food. The service is a little on the rough side, but passable. When we went in on 9/5/2022, we were the only people dining in. A few to go orders came Thru. Get the hot and sour soup! (I would ask for no pork though. Personal preference) Eggplant also very good. Definitely had sugar in it. They had a sign up saying free Hong Kong iced milk tea or free lemon iced tea, but we had to ask about it to get the free drinks. They were not offered. Decor is dated but I kind of like that. On the real, my family has been coming here since the mid 90s and they’re pretty legit. My dad is from Taiwan and he likes this place.

Interesting Chinese cuisine situated in a strip-mall. I guess this place has been around forever. The menu has some of your typical Chinese restaurant items, but has a "house specialty" section with some dishes I've never heard of before. They also have a good selection of vegetarian options with that funny soy-based fake meat stuff. Had such a strange texture but tasted okay. We ordered "Bird's Next Club" or something like that. It came in a edible bowl made of fried shoestring potatoes and had a bunch of vegetables, seafood and beef in it. It was quite tasty. The restaurant looked old, but that only added to the charm. The ornate Chinese chandeliers had so much dust on them it was distracting. The wait staff was helpful and friendly. I would go back there for sure!

Solid food for price, although tends to be too sweet. Has a "take out taste" to it thay im not sure how to describe. Very kind server. food comes out in very reasonable amount of time even when they have many take out orders. Nice decor.

Long time Chinese restaurant in Davis. Generous portions all around and friendly/prompt staff. Typical Chinese food, Chow mein and wok fried green beans are particular good. Definitely worth a try for those who haven't, would go again.

3.5 stars. Food tastes good and served very very fresh. So so service. Place need upgrade. Busy restaurant. Price typical.

Walter Shwe

On 12/19/23 I had the Walnut Shrimp lunch special. It was pretty tasty and there were several good size shrimp with walnuts. I have been coming here for over 20 years. Not much has changed as far as the decor and interior. I prefer Ding How over Downtown Davis Chinese restaurants because you can always easily find parking. Not so in Downtown. I also took home a few dishes plus egg rolls and pot stickers. I remembered to take pictures of all of the menu pages.

Joey Chang

Generous portions. Tasty food. The service is a little on the rough side, but passable. When we went in on 9/5/2022, we were the only people dining in. A few to go orders came Thru. Get the hot and sour soup! (I would ask for no pork though. Personal preference) Eggplant also very good. Definitely had sugar in it. They had a sign up saying free Hong Kong iced milk tea or free lemon iced tea, but we had to ask about it to get the free drinks. They were not offered. Decor is dated but I kind of like that. On the real, my family has been coming here since the mid 90s and they’re pretty legit. My dad is from Taiwan and he likes this place.

Robert Scott

Interesting Chinese cuisine situated in a strip-mall. I guess this place has been around forever. The menu has some of your typical Chinese restaurant items, but has a "house specialty" section with some dishes I've never heard of before. They also have a good selection of vegetarian options with that funny soy-based fake meat stuff. Had such a strange texture but tasted okay. We ordered "Bird's Next Club" or something like that. It came in a edible bowl made of fried shoestring potatoes and had a bunch of vegetables, seafood and beef in it. It was quite tasty. The restaurant looked old, but that only added to the charm. The ornate Chinese chandeliers had so much dust on them it was distracting. The wait staff was helpful and friendly. I would go back there for sure!

H T

Solid food for price, although tends to be too sweet. Has a "take out taste" to it thay im not sure how to describe. Very kind server. food comes out in very reasonable amount of time even when they have many take out orders. Nice decor.

N Wong

Long time Chinese restaurant in Davis. Generous portions all around and friendly/prompt staff. Typical Chinese food, Chow mein and wok fried green beans are particular good. Definitely worth a try for those who haven't, would go again.

Rhejie Linker

3.5 stars. Food tastes good and served very very fresh. So so service. Place need upgrade. Busy restaurant. Price typical.

Some great dishes, particularly on the vegan menu. Some dishes are mediocre, very American chinese levels of flavor and spice.

Alex Mandel (wildintellect)

Some great dishes, particularly on the vegan menu. Some dishes are mediocre, very American chinese levels of flavor and spice.

Food was a little greasy and very lightly flavored, meat included in each dish we ordered was left in large pieces that needed to be cut up to eat more conveniently. Payment policy with cards is very harsh. So far my least favorite Chinese style restaurant in Davis.

Standard fare Chinese food. The menu is quite extensive. They should watch a few Gordon Ramsay shows and focus on a solid core of killer dishes.

This place would be a five star ⭐️ restaurant but the Girl who works there is always eating on the job, walks around dirty and gives terrible service. However the two older gentleman are always respectful, clean and have amazing customer service skills. They have great menu knowledge and the young girl dose not and she tries to take advantage of you

The most mediocre American Chinese food I’ve ever had. 1 star for not getting food poisoning, 1 star for decent egg roll. 1 star for decent price. The Kung Pao chicken was very meh. The food didn’t taste like it was cooked in a hot wok. The twice fried pork is mostly cabbage and not taste. Also, the fortunes in the cookies are the worst internet crowd sourced garbage.

Joe

The most mediocre American Chinese food I’ve ever had. 1 star for not getting food poisoning, 1 star for decent egg roll. 1 star for decent price. The Kung Pao chicken was very meh. The food didn’t taste like it was cooked in a hot wok. The twice fried pork is mostly cabbage and not taste. Also, the fortunes in the cookies are the worst internet crowd sourced garbage.

Food came out fast and undercooked. The greens on the green onions were slimy and the white parts were raw. And most of the vegetables were raw as well. The place was empty at the time and the employees were sitting around. Paper bits and small items were on the floor too. Tables appeared clean and the staff were mildly helpful if not just disinterested.

This place used to be great for vegetarians, now you're likely to find meat in things that used to.be veggie without mention. Ordered hunan tofu which I think had the wrong sauce on it, it was not hot and sweet. stuffed tofu that was stuffed with something gross. Egg rolls veggies tasted bad and smelled fishy. In the back you could see the cooks eating while preparing rhe food nasty!

My 1st and last time going here. I ordered seafood chow mein and got 2 shrimp, 2 scallops and 2 calamari. I'm thoroughly disappointed

Jane Doe

My 1st and last time going here. I ordered seafood chow mein and got 2 shrimp, 2 scallops and 2 calamari. I'm thoroughly disappointed

I love to support small family owned restaurants and was in the neighborhood with my daughter and needed to grab some food. We stopped by between lunch and dinner. The atmosphere reminded me of stepping back to 1999. We were the only ones in the restaurant and the service was very slow. We enjoyed watching YouTube shorts on the dining room t.v. with the employee's children who were watching t.v. and in the restaurant during summer break. That did not bother us at all. However, the food was disappointing. The hot and sour soup was good but the friend rice was the worse I have ever had. It smelled burned and spoiled. My daughter and I tasted it and could not continue eating it. The honey walnut shrimp was delicious. I am not sure if the rice was leftover and they tried to re-cook it or if the wok they cooked it in was burned already. If they improve their food, I would give them a chance again.

Dorena G.

I love to support small family owned restaurants and was in the neighborhood with my daughter and needed to grab some food. We stopped by between lunch and dinner. The atmosphere reminded me of stepping back to 1999. We were the only ones in the restaurant and the service was very slow. We enjoyed watching YouTube shorts on the dining room t.v. with the employee's children who were watching t.v. and in the restaurant during summer break. That did not bother us at all. However, the food was disappointing. The hot and sour soup was good but the friend rice was the worse I have ever had. It smelled burned and spoiled. My daughter and I tasted it and could not continue eating it. The honey walnut shrimp was delicious. I am not sure if the rice was leftover and they tried to re-cook it or if the wok they cooked it in was burned already. If they improve their food, I would give them a chance again.

Absolutely terrible service. Employee was incredibly rude and disrespectful. He didn't want to take my order, didn't want my business, wouldn't tell me how long it would take, and gave me a negative attitude in every aspect of our interaction. When we finished and I told him he might want to check his attitude, he forcefully said "NO THANK YOU." This is the second time I have received disrespectful service here. The quality of food has also dramatically declined in the past few years. This used to be our #1 spot in town for Chinese food but they will never, ever get my business again.

I'm so bummed that Ding How is no longer a place where anyone would want to eat Chinese food. I used to go there as a kid, and it was great. Now it's not even close to being tasty.

We used to come here pretty often, and have enjoyed their food as takeout. That all changed today, when we were told it would take 25 minutes for our food to be ready for pickup. My mom got there right on time, and they kept her waiting an *additional* 30 minutes. When she asked what the problem was, their little teenaged boy "manning" the front desk gave her a horrible attitude and told her she was the one in the wrong. We waited an hour in total for food and my mom was verbally harassed. We will not be returning...ever.

This is the worst restaurant I have ever seen. I went in Sunday April 10th to have an item remade without egg that I purchased at closing the previous night, and asked for it to be vegan. The employee there was the same one from the night before. He was very rude and even passive aggressive. He said nothing, then left for a while. When I asked if they were remaking it he just said no, then gave me the silent treatment as he helped another customer. I just gave up and left. The place is filthy and the food is pretty poor quality, I have no reason at all to give it another try. All in all, I have never had a worse restaurant experience. For vegan options you'll be better off getting a bunch of bananas from Savemart.

I am an Chinese American here in town; this is the worst Chinese restaurants I have ever met in California. Neither the food nor the service are worthy for you to go there. The price is way higher than they deserve. Horrible place!!! I shall never go there again and they should feel shame to bring the Mainland Chinese rude culture to here. They are spoiled by Chinese students here. Too bad they don't have too much choices, I meant the Chinese students here!

Find somewhere else to get your food! Worst CHINESE FOOD. Ordered for pick up and of course food wasn’t ready even though the General Chicken was very overdone and tasted like it was a day old. The Honey BBQ pork appetizer was tasteless and try. The sweet and sour pork was not much better. This restaurant has been here for quite awhile and I expected better. Never again will we order here.

Sigh. I want to love this restaurant. This place does have an expansive vegetarian and vegan menu, and the dishes I've tried tend to be quite tasty. However, three times now I've gotten meat in my order despite ordering vegetarian items. One time was probably a misunderstanding (mistaking a veggie soup with the meaty version), but the other times were obviously due to a lack of cleanliness and/or attentiveness (scraps of meat in the item - they didn't mistakenly make a meaty version, they just didn't clean the wok). It's disappointing that the restaurant with the "best" vegetarian menu in town has such low standards. I can't recommend this place.

Absolutely terrible experience to do online ordering with this restaurant. I placed an order that was confirmed at 9:27 AM, the delivery driver showed up ~ 11:40 AM, the order was not ready until 12:46 PM. The meeting I had scheduled was only an hour so there was no lunch for the meeting. ALSO, the order was not packaged correctly and when I called the restaurant they were not helpful in the slightest and hung up on me. Perhaps the food is delicious, but the service and timeliness were atrocious.

Low quality food! Ding How has never had the best tasting food, however, over the past few years, the quality of their fare has declined. On top of having unappealing food, their service is horrible, and they are rude. If you ask them a question, they appear irritable and are short and dry, and I’m talking simple questions like, may I please have a few packets of soy sauce. If you ask for special requests like sauce on the side, or no lettuce under your shrimp and they forget to meet your request, they are not courteous in correcting their error. I can no longer support this business. The egg fu young was burnt, the pork in the fried rice was old, the chicken was undercooked, and overall, not even a subpar dining experience.

LL Rean Loo

Low quality food! Ding How has never had the best tasting food, however, over the past few years, the quality of their fare has declined. On top of having unappealing food, their service is horrible, and they are rude. If you ask them a question, they appear irritable and are short and dry, and I’m talking simple questions like, may I please have a few packets of soy sauce. If you ask for special requests like sauce on the side, or no lettuce under your shrimp and they forget to meet your request, they are not courteous in correcting their error. I can no longer support this business. The egg fu young was burnt, the pork in the fried rice was old, the chicken was undercooked, and overall, not even a subpar dining experience.

Amy Fletcher

Absolutely terrible experience to do online ordering with this restaurant. I placed an order that was confirmed at 9:27 AM, the delivery driver showed up ~ 11:40 AM, the order was not ready until 12:46 PM. The meeting I had scheduled was only an hour so there was no lunch for the meeting. ALSO, the order was not packaged correctly and when I called the restaurant they were not helpful in the slightest and hung up on me. Perhaps the food is delicious, but the service and timeliness were atrocious.

Casey Miller

Sigh. I want to love this restaurant. This place does have an expansive vegetarian and vegan menu, and the dishes I've tried tend to be quite tasty. However, three times now I've gotten meat in my order despite ordering vegetarian items. One time was probably a misunderstanding (mistaking a veggie soup with the meaty version), but the other times were obviously due to a lack of cleanliness and/or attentiveness (scraps of meat in the item - they didn't mistakenly make a meaty version, they just didn't clean the wok). It's disappointing that the restaurant with the "best" vegetarian menu in town has such low standards. I can't recommend this place.