China Lake

This place is so underrated! They have really good food, cheap prices and the staff is very friendly. My personal favorite is the seafood soup

Excellent food. Huge portions, plan on taking some to go.

Joi extremely friendly and professional. I truly appreciate her expediting my order.

The food was amazing. Fresh made crab rangoons were the highlight of an amazing succulent Chinese meal. I was craving Chinese and they hit the spot. Free delivery too

My husband & I tried the lunch special here on 11/21/25. They include the * best * eggrolls with pork. Really, really yummy, not greasy just great tasting and not cabbage only. He tried the lo mein noodles and I had chicken w/vegetables. Fresh, authentic and cooked while you relax. The son said that this place has been run by his family for 35 years! We love supporting family run places and China Lake in Rowlett is a winner !! Older place with some Chinese pictures/ plaques…not fancy but excellent food and value. Try them… you won’t regret it!!

dave 3240

Excellent food. Huge portions, plan on taking some to go.

Pam Hooper

Joi extremely friendly and professional. I truly appreciate her expediting my order.

Carol Plemmons

My husband & I tried the lunch special here on 11/21/25. They include the * best * eggrolls with pork. Really, really yummy, not greasy just great tasting and not cabbage only. He tried the lo mein noodles and I had chicken w/vegetables. Fresh, authentic and cooked while you relax. The son said that this place has been run by his family for 35 years! We love supporting family run places and China Lake in Rowlett is a winner !! Older place with some Chinese pictures/ plaques…not fancy but excellent food and value. Try them… you won’t regret it!!

Karina Lara

This place is so underrated! They have really good food, cheap prices and the staff is very friendly. My personal favorite is the seafood soup

Jackie Cannatelli

The food was amazing. Fresh made crab rangoons were the highlight of an amazing succulent Chinese meal. I was craving Chinese and they hit the spot. Free delivery too

As is the case for so many mom and pops places like China Lake, it totally depends on the day, time, and whoever's cooking/providing service that determines your experience because it can be really night and day here. Sometimes the food is really fresh, hot, flavorful, and has been our go-to for takeout. However, we've also experienced the exact opposite here and there's really no explanation for that. So I'm just going to chalk it up to what I said above: perhaps some of the people here are better cooks than others, more careful about selecting ingredients that are not past their due date (or borderline), and are just friendlier and more efficient than the others. It's a crap shoot, but I would say 75% of the time it's reliable, affordable, and fresh.

Rachel Ashworth

As is the case for so many mom and pops places like China Lake, it totally depends on the day, time, and whoever's cooking/providing service that determines your experience because it can be really night and day here. Sometimes the food is really fresh, hot, flavorful, and has been our go-to for takeout. However, we've also experienced the exact opposite here and there's really no explanation for that. So I'm just going to chalk it up to what I said above: perhaps some of the people here are better cooks than others, more careful about selecting ingredients that are not past their due date (or borderline), and are just friendlier and more efficient than the others. It's a crap shoot, but I would say 75% of the time it's reliable, affordable, and fresh.

China Lake - Rowlett, TX The interior of the restaurant feels a bit run-down and could definitely use some refreshing and a deep clean. I ordered the Mongolian beef, which, unfortunately, was overwhelmingly salty and quite ordinary overall. There wasn’t anything particularly remarkable about the dish—it was mostly rice, with a very skimpy amount of beef. They were generous with the rice, but I’d have preferred a better balance with the main ingredient. I definitely would be a bit apprehensive about what's waiting in the kitchen! A mess, an experiment gone wrong, or a stack of dirty dishes? Or maybe it's something more mysterious, like an unknown "creation" that I would rather not confront. In a nutshell ... my dining experience really missed the mark. It’s frustrating when a place with high expectations doesn’t live up to the hype. Whether it’s the food quality, service, or ambiance, sometimes the reality , or my experience, just doesn’t match the reviews. In my case I will not be returning to this restaurant.

I didn't expect my socks to knocked off but this wasn't good. Portions were big. The spring roll was ridiculously small and soggy. The orange chicken was a weird texture like ligaments. The sweet and sour chicken was good. Maybe ordering on a Sunday night was a mistake. I ordered here after reading other reviews....so this is confusing

John Cassar

China Lake - Rowlett, TX The interior of the restaurant feels a bit run-down and could definitely use some refreshing and a deep clean. I ordered the Mongolian beef, which, unfortunately, was overwhelmingly salty and quite ordinary overall. There wasn’t anything particularly remarkable about the dish—it was mostly rice, with a very skimpy amount of beef. They were generous with the rice, but I’d have preferred a better balance with the main ingredient. I definitely would be a bit apprehensive about what's waiting in the kitchen! A mess, an experiment gone wrong, or a stack of dirty dishes? Or maybe it's something more mysterious, like an unknown "creation" that I would rather not confront. In a nutshell ... my dining experience really missed the mark. It’s frustrating when a place with high expectations doesn’t live up to the hype. Whether it’s the food quality, service, or ambiance, sometimes the reality , or my experience, just doesn’t match the reviews. In my case I will not be returning to this restaurant.

Selina

I didn't expect my socks to knocked off but this wasn't good. Portions were big. The spring roll was ridiculously small and soggy. The orange chicken was a weird texture like ligaments. The sweet and sour chicken was good. Maybe ordering on a Sunday night was a mistake. I ordered here after reading other reviews....so this is confusing

This place used to be so good. I used to live in Rowlett many years ago. And I came back back in December of 2023. I was looking for a Chinese restaurant. And I found this one. They used to give you so much good food. Now it's all vegetables and brown sauce. Last night I ordered the Happy family and all they gave me was the family. Nothing happy about it. Very little meat and a bunch of veggies. And this is the third time this has happened. So the first two times I was like okay let me check and see. But third time's the charm. They don't want to give you any meat or seafood whatever. They just want to give you lots of vegetables and rice. And they charge a ridiculous amount for the vegetables and rice. I'm not vegan or vegetarian. So that probably will work for those people. I need protein and lots of it in my food especially if you give me lots of vegetables. So you give lots of vegetables you should get lots of meat. So for that reason I'm more than likely will never return again. And I was a lawyer customer. But they have really slipped on quality of food and the amount of protein in the food.

serjio stano

This place used to be so good. I used to live in Rowlett many years ago. And I came back back in December of 2023. I was looking for a Chinese restaurant. And I found this one. They used to give you so much good food. Now it's all vegetables and brown sauce. Last night I ordered the Happy family and all they gave me was the family. Nothing happy about it. Very little meat and a bunch of veggies. And this is the third time this has happened. So the first two times I was like okay let me check and see. But third time's the charm. They don't want to give you any meat or seafood whatever. They just want to give you lots of vegetables and rice. And they charge a ridiculous amount for the vegetables and rice. I'm not vegan or vegetarian. So that probably will work for those people. I need protein and lots of it in my food especially if you give me lots of vegetables. So you give lots of vegetables you should get lots of meat. So for that reason I'm more than likely will never return again. And I was a lawyer customer. But they have really slipped on quality of food and the amount of protein in the food.

normally good, but today. christmas eve 2025. AWFUL. TASTED, OLD AND OFF. i threw up

I ordered the moo goo Gai pan.. it's supposed to be a mixed medley of vegetables and white meat chicken breast cuts with side of rice.. this to go plate I was given barely had chicken and tons of dry white rice as if it was the main course.. The egg roll was tiny as all heck... Never seen such a cheap and stingy box of Chinese food ... Will not be returning .. the place across the street Chef Chens really gets it right!!! Sorry Chef Chen I will never cheat on you again . Lesson learned!!!

I usually eat here all the time. But tonight… NO! My food was overcooked and burnt. My wings were burnt and those were a first try. My lo mein had a burnt and Smokey taste like I can taste the oil they used which is gross. They went downhill for sure.

As a party of six we walked in to the restaurant. We were immediately greeted, which was nice. However, as we started to look around the restaurant, we noticed that it was just visibly dirty, no other customers were there, yet several tables had dirty dishes and such all over them. There was a child sleeping in the booth of one of the tables. Nothing about it was appealing, the disarray and uncleanliness was visible everywhere. We kindly told them we were not staying, and turned around and left. When we first approached the parking lot, I had wondered how the inside would be, the landscaping on the outside was also in complete disarray, and clearly had not been tended to in quite some time.

Honestly the food was barely edible. We ordered delivery so can’t speak to service or atmosphere. The food had that weird cardboard stale taste to it. My husband loved his orange chicken and the chicken and broccoli was decent. But the lo mein, spare ribs and fried rice tasted horrible.

I ordered a chicken lo mein... What I got was very few noodles scattered all over the box with barely any chicken in it .. being me . I went up there and asked that they give me what I paid for and for the price.which was actual food on my plate.. $11 for half empty box!!! No way... AND they are very skimpy on the meat... My friend ordered there before and apologized for not giving me a heads up..her meal barely had meat as well but tons of hard white rice. Just so Skimpy... One place that will give you what you pay for is right across the street at Chef Chen. They are amazing.. big portion chicken lomein.. enough for two.. and the taste is phenomenal ... China lake needs to close it's doors if they are resulting to cheating their customers 💯👈🏽

cheryl click

normally good, but today. christmas eve 2025. AWFUL. TASTED, OLD AND OFF. i threw up

Heather Michaud

As a party of six we walked in to the restaurant. We were immediately greeted, which was nice. However, as we started to look around the restaurant, we noticed that it was just visibly dirty, no other customers were there, yet several tables had dirty dishes and such all over them. There was a child sleeping in the booth of one of the tables. Nothing about it was appealing, the disarray and uncleanliness was visible everywhere. We kindly told them we were not staying, and turned around and left. When we first approached the parking lot, I had wondered how the inside would be, the landscaping on the outside was also in complete disarray, and clearly had not been tended to in quite some time.

Mals World

I ordered the moo goo Gai pan.. it's supposed to be a mixed medley of vegetables and white meat chicken breast cuts with side of rice.. this to go plate I was given barely had chicken and tons of dry white rice as if it was the main course.. The egg roll was tiny as all heck... Never seen such a cheap and stingy box of Chinese food ... Will not be returning .. the place across the street Chef Chens really gets it right!!! Sorry Chef Chen I will never cheat on you again . Lesson learned!!!

K murray

I ordered a chicken lo mein... What I got was very few noodles scattered all over the box with barely any chicken in it .. being me . I went up there and asked that they give me what I paid for and for the price.which was actual food on my plate.. $11 for half empty box!!! No way... AND they are very skimpy on the meat... My friend ordered there before and apologized for not giving me a heads up..her meal barely had meat as well but tons of hard white rice. Just so Skimpy... One place that will give you what you pay for is right across the street at Chef Chen. They are amazing.. big portion chicken lomein.. enough for two.. and the taste is phenomenal ... China lake needs to close it's doors if they are resulting to cheating their customers 💯👈🏽

Ashlyn Sinclair

Honestly the food was barely edible. We ordered delivery so can’t speak to service or atmosphere. The food had that weird cardboard stale taste to it. My husband loved his orange chicken and the chicken and broccoli was decent. But the lo mein, spare ribs and fried rice tasted horrible.

Lucille Harris

I usually eat here all the time. But tonight… NO! My food was overcooked and burnt. My wings were burnt and those were a first try. My lo mein had a burnt and Smokey taste like I can taste the oil they used which is gross. They went downhill for sure.