China Express
Chinese · Alameda
About China Express
At China Express, we're proud to serve authentic Cantonese cuisine in an unassuming atmosphere that belies its exceptional quality. Our friendly staff and attentive service will make you feel at home as you indulge in our delicious entrees, including signature dishes like chicken chow mein and Hawai...
At China Express, we're proud to serve authentic Cantonese cuisine in an unassuming atmosphere that belies its exceptional quality. Our friendly staff and attentive service will make you feel at home as you indulge in our delicious entrees, including signature dishes like chicken chow mein and Hawaiian chicken. We cater to a variety of tastes with vegetarian options and a quick bite menu, making us the perfect spot for families, solo diners, or those looking for a convenient meal on-the-go. Our commitment to freshness and quality is reflected in our plentiflul vegetables and speedy service, ensuring that every visit is a delightful one.
What Customers Say About China Express
China Express is a local favorite for Chinese takeout, known for fast service and friendly staff. Standout dishes include the Hawaiian chicken, chow mein, and prawn dishes. Some find the quality inconsistent, but many praise the fresh vegetables and generous portions.
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Tip: This is more of a to-go place than eat in. Lunch specials are a great value.
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Explore the area around China Express
China Express is located in Alameda, surrounded by cultural and historical points of interest. Here are some of the most notable places nearby.
Parks & Gardens
- Franklin Park (A 156m) — park in Alameda County, California, United States of America
- Buena Vista Park (A 713m) — park in Alameda County, California, United States of America; geonames ID = 5331622
- Rittler Park (A 863m) — park in the United States of America
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Frequently asked questions about China Express
China Express Alameda Reviews
Wonderful local spot for Chinese take out! Food is great quality and is always piping hot at pickup time. The lunch specials in particular are great value. Staff are kind and attentive.
Little Joe's is the sleeper neighborhood restaurant. A very unassuming sliver of what appears to be your run-of-the-mill greasy Chinese spoon establishment actually turns out some fantastic Cantonese cuisine. With a 5 year old, our standard test Chinese fare (to see where this particular restaurant falls on our scale) is fairly, well, standard, but they are executed well here. The house special fried rice comes with diced bbq pork, sections of chicken thigh meat, slices of beef, and 3 or 4 large prawns. The dish isn't too greasy, didn't taste of stale cooking oil, and doesn't leave a pool of oil on the plate, which means the chef is cooking with high heat and a swift hand. Cashew nut chicken and broccoli beef are our other yardstick dishes, and Little Joe's are served with satisfyingly fresh ingredients. The cashew chicken had evenly cooked vibrant zucchini, celery, and a few button mushroom halves. No old, yellowed celery stems or squishy squash past it's prime, and a very generous scattering of cashews that didn't force us to ration each scoop. The beef with broccoli had tons of fresh, crisp broccoli (almost too crisp, could have used 30 seconds more cooking time!) And thankfully, slices of tender beef that hadn't been given the usual Cantonese treatment of baking soda to puff it up. I'm not a fan of pillowy puffy beef so they win points for leaving the beef and chicken unadulterated! The establishment is small and very bare-bones; we ate under a flourescent light with a tv showing a sportsball game so the gemütlichkeit, or ambiance was not supreme, but the food was done very well and we knew what to expect. Take-out seems to be the preferred way of enjoying their food, but don't be dissuaded by their sparse dining room!
If you are hungry for gourmet Chinese food, and you need to feed a family of hungry little monsters on the fly, Little Joe's Express is just the place for you. I was driving kid #1 home from music class when I got a call from mom to pick up dinner ASAP. I pulled over and made an order on the convenient Mealkeyway app, and 10 minutes later I was on my way home with two bags of piping hot food. Conveniently located on Encinal near Franklin Park, the owner is an absolute sweetheart of a man. Food is 10/10 on the delicious meter. Picky eater #2 absolutely loved the wonton soup. Little Joe's is my family's new go-to for Chinese takeout!
Fast, friendly & good food. I tried what the server recommended: Prawn in lobster sauce chow fun; it was good!
I had a delicious dishes and wonderful series. Transition Chinese style food. Thanks
Wonderful local spot for Chinese take out! Food is great quality and is always piping hot at pickup time. The lunch specials in particular are great value. Staff are kind and attentive.
Little Joe's is the sleeper neighborhood restaurant. A very unassuming sliver of what appears to be your run-of-the-mill greasy Chinese spoon establishment actually turns out some fantastic Cantonese cuisine. With a 5 year old, our standard test Chinese fare (to see where this particular restaurant falls on our scale) is fairly, well, standard, but they are executed well here. The house special fried rice comes with diced bbq pork, sections of chicken thigh meat, slices of beef, and 3 or 4 large prawns. The dish isn't too greasy, didn't taste of stale cooking oil, and doesn't leave a pool of oil on the plate, which means the chef is cooking with high heat and a swift hand. Cashew nut chicken and broccoli beef are our other yardstick dishes, and Little Joe's are served with satisfyingly fresh ingredients. The cashew chicken had evenly cooked vibrant zucchini, celery, and a few button mushroom halves. No old, yellowed celery stems or squishy squash past it's prime, and a very generous scattering of cashews that didn't force us to ration each scoop. The beef with broccoli had tons of fresh, crisp broccoli (almost too crisp, could have used 30 seconds more cooking time!) And thankfully, slices of tender beef that hadn't been given the usual Cantonese treatment of baking soda to puff it up. I'm not a fan of pillowy puffy beef so they win points for leaving the beef and chicken unadulterated! The establishment is small and very bare-bones; we ate under a flourescent light with a tv showing a sportsball game so the gemütlichkeit, or ambiance was not supreme, but the food was done very well and we knew what to expect. Take-out seems to be the preferred way of enjoying their food, but don't be dissuaded by their sparse dining room!
If you are hungry for gourmet Chinese food, and you need to feed a family of hungry little monsters on the fly, Little Joe's Express is just the place for you. I was driving kid #1 home from music class when I got a call from mom to pick up dinner ASAP. I pulled over and made an order on the convenient Mealkeyway app, and 10 minutes later I was on my way home with two bags of piping hot food. Conveniently located on Encinal near Franklin Park, the owner is an absolute sweetheart of a man. Food is 10/10 on the delicious meter. Picky eater #2 absolutely loved the wonton soup. Little Joe's is my family's new go-to for Chinese takeout!
Fast, friendly & good food. I tried what the server recommended: Prawn in lobster sauce chow fun; it was good!
I had a delicious dishes and wonderful series. Transition Chinese style food. Thanks
We got the veggie egg rolls(so great) chicken chow mein (so good) and Hawaiian chicken (other wordly) so good!!! I'm a vegetarian who buys meat just for my kids but I had to nibble at the fried edges of the Hawaiian chicken it was so great. It stays crispy somehow even tho the sauce is creamy. wow. And the folks were so nice to us!
One of the BEST food places in alameda and one of my favorite chinese takeouts in the oakland area. So good, freshly made, the staff are always super kind. and so SPEEDY! we go once a month and it is always stellar
My coworkers and I ordered a large amount of food today from this place and it was absolutely delicious. It was so tasty. I ordered fried prawns, chicken fried rice and shrimp chow mein. I can’t stop eating. I highly recommend Little Joe. The owners are very nice. Delivery was seamless. We will be ordering again.
Highly recommend this spot. This is the style I grew up eating and I’m so glad I live walking distance. Prices are also very reasonable! There is only one table so I would expect to just take out instead. This isn’t really a dine in place.
The food is great. Bring this to-go to someone born in Shanghai 90 years ago. He says it’s the only food that tastes like what he remembers. The team is very attentive and thoughtful. Very accommodating of vegetarian requests. This is more of a to-go place than eat in. Highly recommend.
Best Chinese food. Can't go wrong with any choice. But I highly recommend the chef specials 👌 😉
This place is hands down my favorite Chinese spot in Alameda. The owner and employees are friendly. The entrees are delicious and made quickly and the vegetables are always super fresh and plentiful! You get a lot of food for the price, so it's a great option to feed multiple people or if my partner and I order 2 (or sometimes three) entrees, we have several servings of leftovers to enjoy the next day. Love the place!
Highly recommend this spot. This is the style I grew up eating and I’m so glad I live walking distance. Prices are also very reasonable! There is only one table so I would expect to just take out instead. This isn’t really a dine in place.
Best Chinese food. Can't go wrong with any choice. But I highly recommend the chef specials 👌 😉
The food is great. Bring this to-go to someone born in Shanghai 90 years ago. He says it’s the only food that tastes like what he remembers. The team is very attentive and thoughtful. Very accommodating of vegetarian requests. This is more of a to-go place than eat in. Highly recommend.
This place is hands down my favorite Chinese spot in Alameda. The owner and employees are friendly. The entrees are delicious and made quickly and the vegetables are always super fresh and plentiful! You get a lot of food for the price, so it's a great option to feed multiple people or if my partner and I order 2 (or sometimes three) entrees, we have several servings of leftovers to enjoy the next day. Love the place!
One of the BEST food places in alameda and one of my favorite chinese takeouts in the oakland area. So good, freshly made, the staff are always super kind. and so SPEEDY! we go once a month and it is always stellar
We got the veggie egg rolls(so great) chicken chow mein (so good) and Hawaiian chicken (other wordly) so good!!! I'm a vegetarian who buys meat just for my kids but I had to nibble at the fried edges of the Hawaiian chicken it was so great. It stays crispy somehow even tho the sauce is creamy. wow. And the folks were so nice to us!
My coworkers and I ordered a large amount of food today from this place and it was absolutely delicious. It was so tasty. I ordered fried prawns, chicken fried rice and shrimp chow mein. I can’t stop eating. I highly recommend Little Joe. The owners are very nice. Delivery was seamless. We will be ordering again.
I've been wanting to go here for a while but I finally got to try it. I will say they were super nice, and quick. I got regular chow mein which was about 12$ . I would say the portion size was slightly smaller than I expected but it tasted yummy. I would just prefer mine with a tad more soy sauce( just added my own) . Their chili oil was just the oil no actual chilies in it but it was spicy. I think ill go back test some other things.
I've been wanting to go here for a while but I finally got to try it. I will say they were super nice, and quick. I got regular chow mein which was about 12$ . I would say the portion size was slightly smaller than I expected but it tasted yummy. I would just prefer mine with a tad more soy sauce( just added my own) . Their chili oil was just the oil no actual chilies in it but it was spicy. I think ill go back test some other things.
I love salt and pepper pork chops. I've ordered them at about all the Chinese food joints on the island. For some reason Little Joe's Express makes them completely different. They make them out of spare ribs instead of pork chops. But all in all the food was always on time when I'd come to pick it up. Parking usually isn't a problem because there are only a few stores that flank it.
This spot is walking distance from me, so on the days I feel lazy it’s affordable and the menu has healthy options. 3 stars because the quality could be better. I usually like to order a lunch special - the soups could be more generous with the egg drop. Also every now and then I bite into an egg shell in my egg fried rice - I get it happens sometimes with cooking eggs esp if they’re moving fast but not the most pleasant thing to experience when you’re eating. The service is friendly, and they pack the meal nicely to go.
This is a nice cozy place. The food is fresh and some of the dishes are very good. But what I really like about the place is the waitress their, who always greets us with a smile and is very professional with her service! She always checks on us to see if everything is fine and refills the water and that is awesome, when you do not have to ask!! So head on down to get your Chinese food grub on ! Later!
I've ordered from here 2 times and had a different experience both times. The first time everything was oowee delicious! I got shrimp egg foo young, some kinda Hawaiian chicken dish I think, fried wings and something else. It was all very good. The second time I got shrimp egg foo young again, honey walnut shrimp and chowmein and it was all pretty average. The egg foo young the first time was very flavorful but the second time it was pretty bland. The same with the honey walnut shrimp dish; it was very plain lacking flavor; the same with chowmein. Tbh the second time it tasted like there was no MSG on my food; I don't have any problem with cooking with MSG and I think it's a wonderful flavor enhancer for dishes; my dishes the second time all seemed to be lacking umami. Maybe they left off the MSG the second time? I'll still go back again though. The people who work there are also very friendly.
This spot is walking distance from me, so on the days I feel lazy it’s affordable and the menu has healthy options. 3 stars because the quality could be better. I usually like to order a lunch special - the soups could be more generous with the egg drop. Also every now and then I bite into an egg shell in my egg fried rice - I get it happens sometimes with cooking eggs esp if they’re moving fast but not the most pleasant thing to experience when you’re eating. The service is friendly, and they pack the meal nicely to go.
I've ordered from here 2 times and had a different experience both times. The first time everything was oowee delicious! I got shrimp egg foo young, some kinda Hawaiian chicken dish I think, fried wings and something else. It was all very good. The second time I got shrimp egg foo young again, honey walnut shrimp and chowmein and it was all pretty average. The egg foo young the first time was very flavorful but the second time it was pretty bland. The same with the honey walnut shrimp dish; it was very plain lacking flavor; the same with chowmein. Tbh the second time it tasted like there was no MSG on my food; I don't have any problem with cooking with MSG and I think it's a wonderful flavor enhancer for dishes; my dishes the second time all seemed to be lacking umami. Maybe they left off the MSG the second time? I'll still go back again though. The people who work there are also very friendly.
This is a nice cozy place. The food is fresh and some of the dishes are very good. But what I really like about the place is the waitress their, who always greets us with a smile and is very professional with her service! She always checks on us to see if everything is fine and refills the water and that is awesome, when you do not have to ask!! So head on down to get your Chinese food grub on ! Later!
I love salt and pepper pork chops. I've ordered them at about all the Chinese food joints on the island. For some reason Little Joe's Express makes them completely different. They make them out of spare ribs instead of pork chops. But all in all the food was always on time when I'd come to pick it up. Parking usually isn't a problem because there are only a few stores that flank it.
It is hit or miss here. But once you get to know the menu you figure out what is good and what to skip. Service and delivery is always 5 stars. My favorite Chinese is sweet and sour anything, SKIP THIS HERE. They use mayonnaise. I'm not sure why but it's a terrible thick sticky goo and not the good kind lol. Meh, the egg rolls are greasy but the taste is good. So if you don't mind a LOT of grease go for it. Our favorites, Shrimp, chicken or bbq pork fried rice. BBQ Pork Chow Mein Crispy Shrimp Pot stickers Beef and broccoli We pretty much stick to these items and then occasionally throw in something new just to try it. Enjoy!
Would have been 5 stars, because the food tastes good, but there was very little (5 small slices) of beef in my Mongolian beef. Didn't really want just onions for lunch :( I ordered a dish with more veggies so that the lack of much meat (which I'm fine with, I prefer lots of veggies and little meat in general) didn't leave me with pretty much just onions and it was much better. I will be going back; just careful to order things that will be good with smaller portions of meat.
It is hit or miss here. But once you get to know the menu you figure out what is good and what to skip. Service and delivery is always 5 stars. My favorite Chinese is sweet and sour anything, SKIP THIS HERE. They use mayonnaise. I'm not sure why but it's a terrible thick sticky goo and not the good kind lol. Meh, the egg rolls are greasy but the taste is good. So if you don't mind a LOT of grease go for it. Our favorites, Shrimp, chicken or bbq pork fried rice. BBQ Pork Chow Mein Crispy Shrimp Pot stickers Beef and broccoli We pretty much stick to these items and then occasionally throw in something new just to try it. Enjoy!
Would have been 5 stars, because the food tastes good, but there was very little (5 small slices) of beef in my Mongolian beef. Didn't really want just onions for lunch :( I ordered a dish with more veggies so that the lack of much meat (which I'm fine with, I prefer lots of veggies and little meat in general) didn't leave me with pretty much just onions and it was much better. I will be going back; just careful to order things that will be good with smaller portions of meat.
This is not a consistently good place. Loved it the first time but the last two times were inedible. Just waisted $50 on some undercooked prawns with the most repulsive batter that was like a slimy thick mayo. Also some garlic green beans with no sign of garlic or flavor. Horrible.
This is not a consistently good place. Loved it the first time but the last two times were inedible. Just waisted $50 on some undercooked prawns with the most repulsive batter that was like a slimy thick mayo. Also some garlic green beans with no sign of garlic or flavor. Horrible.
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1410 Encinal Ave, Alameda, CA 94501
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1410 Encinal Ave, Alameda, CA 94501
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park in Alameda County, California, United States of America
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