Asia Express

I was going to SF State this one semester, but this one particular day, I had to use their library extensively for class research project. I was there for two hours at least. I was famished and went to Student Union building to eat. There was their cafeteria on main level, a Thai restaurant upstairs but this time I wanted to explore downstairs. Thus I finally settled on Asia Express.
Now I had no issue with employees as other commentors had complained. I don’t speak Chinese, only German, Dutch, and some Japanese (other than English of course). But I have had many instances elsewhere of VERY rude Chinese people in restaurants — even on Clement Street near where I live. Here at Asia Express, I had no issue.
I got my food and portions were decent (many places only give ‘samples’ this so-​called ‘nouveau-​cuisine’ of so tiny portions that one has to put under electron microscope to find food! I proceeded to sit down and consume my meal. I have to say that it was not freshest on this planet for Chinese fare. But I was hungry and it was plausable and filling.
The ‘fun’ part happened when I left. I returned back to library to continue my research. As I was ‘cruising the stacks’ for the books I needed, I suddenly got this unwanted sharp stomach pain! I thought ‘uh oh!” A few moment later I felt this load down below. As I am one who has very sensitive intestinal tract, I can get the runs very easily, thus I thought to myself, better find a loo and fast!
I went into loo and wound up experiencing explosive diarrhoea! It was NUCLEAR! It was radioactive, ten billion Sv (sieverts)! (Probably would have even glowed in dark!) I sat on toilet until my guts most likely totally emptied out! I thought that I was preping for colonoscopy! I finally left loo as I really felt very sick, and gave up on my project for the day and went back home. It was a struggle on MUNI (San Francisco’s public transport system for those of you that don’t know) as I had to go again. (I had to find access to some loo at transfer point en route).
To sum up: I wound up with mild to moderate gastroenteritis for FOUR F-​ING DAYS! In other words, I was, as American expression goes, ‘sicker than a dog’! (uh.are dogs always sick?) Seriously, I have to say that as service there was not issue, health issue definitely IS! The food is NOT safe and as I can speak from direct experience, The Health Department for SF should revoke their licence! I highly recommend that you PLEASE avoid this place at all costs! There are other alternatives at Student Union, as well indeed at Stonestown proper. Asia Express might be cheap and generous on serving size, but not worth the serious diarrhoea experience thereafter!
Thanks

Damn. I thought this place is bomb for a campus Asian food joint hands down. Price isn’t ridiculously high, they’re nice to you if you don’t come off rude.

after eaten the sweet and sour chicken, i got diarrhoea for a whole night. the food must be very dirty.

Absolutely horrid food. I don’t care if the portions are «generous» the food is nasty and no amount of hot sauce or soy sauce can fix it. Stay away. I had the chow mein, orange chicken and chicken broccoli and I tossed it half way through. I never waste food but I knew I would be sick if I took another bite. The chow mein was bland and everything tasted old and greasy. Yuck.

I give this place three stars. They’re not terribly bad, but they’re not insanely good either.
Pros:
+ Line moves fast.
+ Simple ordering process
+ Very friendly cashier
Cons:
— Lack of variety
— VERY, VERY greasy food
— Not very fresh
If the line for Ike’s is long (which is usually the case on any given day), this isn’t a bad place to go to instead.
3 stars

The service was bad and the food was sitting in a warmer for who knows how long. The quality of the food is lacking significantly and gave me an upset stomach. For my 8 hard earned dollars this place was most def a mistake.

If this wasn’t one of the best priced for the amount food place on campus, i would not eat here. Now it is even worst with 7.00 min for credit card use and WTF no credit card use during 11am to 1pm.

Good prices with many choices of tasty and healthy food;
Also, always nice service with smiley face;
Love their tea eggs and curry chicken!

The porridge is perfect. Always change delicious food. It is good for the Chinese student when you just come here. It is really suitable for mainland taste.

Prepare to get sick, they put returned food back into serving tray. Barf.

You’re better off going to Panda Express at Stonestown. For the price the food really is not worth it.
Don’t even try the tapioca. Trust me. Just don’t.

The biggest food disappointment on campus.
I really don’t understand how people can enjoy the food here, bleh. But the biggest question is how can they mess up on Chinese food this badly?
I’ve tried this place several times ordering different items hoping it was just a fluke, and I kept insisting that I might’ve went on an off day, but NOPE. Time after time, the food was horrid. Nothing was edible to me, and nothing was ever finished. Or more like I take 3 bites max and it goes into the trash. What a waste…
Problem: Food is either too bland, or it tastes funky… I can’t even really describe it.
Never gonna eat here ever again.
They’re always stingy about giving plastic utensils here too.

Ugh, I love chinese food, even the gross kind. It’s good for hangover cures to junk food benders. But this place is bad. I got the two item combo with rice, the food itself was only okay. The reason why it receives a low rating is the nickel and diming they do. First, it’s a $ 10 minimum for credit/​debit cards, even if you ordered a rather large meal for 2, you still wouldn’t go near $ 10. Second, they charge for forks/​spoons, this is dumb. Try eating rice on a flat plate with chopsticks. Unfortunately, this place will never close (an hopefully a better business to take its place) if people keep going to it.

Yeah, I’ve run the gamut of Chinese food, from downright spectacular to «holy lord that was bad.»
This place pretty much falls somewhat above the latter category.
Generous portions? Yes. Generous portions of disappointment? You got it.
Being a poor, starving college student means making some sacrifices, including where food is concerned. If I’m on campus and want something quick and cheap, Asia Express is the place to go, but don’t come expecting anything spectacular or even decent. Someone used the word «passable» to describe the food here — that about sums it up.
I was going to describe some dishes in particular, but frankly it’s not worth the effort and everything I could say about one dish could be said about another. I tried this place a couple times, once out of curiosity and the second time purely to give it another shot. I’ve since sworn off Asia Express.
Third time’s the charm?

Last year this place was an OK quickie stop for some passable teriyaki chicken and chow mein. Would have been a solid three stars then just for giving a big heap of food for under 6 bucks (when Panda Express is the only other Chinese option and charging 10 bucks for the same.)
Seems that they dropped the teriyaki chicken from their rotation this year, however … and the rest of the food ranges from Meh to downright Ugh. Also seem to have switched up their cooking oil for some no-​fat (read: no-​flavor) stuff, so even the chow mein isn’t any good any more.
Should I even bother trying the Thai place upstairs?

Once in a while, I get a craving for Chinese food. It’s not the best, but it’s a familiar taste that I like every now and then.
Generous portions, forgettable food. It’s better than Panda Express because it’s cheaper and they give you more food. It’s honestly just as salty and lukewarm.

So far, the only item I like from here is the preserved egg and pork porridge. Service is okay, staff members are friendly and the porridge is good. I’ll definitely come back when I crave for porridge.

not as bad as i thought it would be. i would come back for lunch when im on campus and in the mood for chinese.
i ordered the 2 item combo with broccoli chicken and chow mein, and an order of an onion pancake.
i would come back, especially for the onion pancake. it was hot, crispy, and a bit peanutty (peanut oil?).

I don’t know why I keep coming back here… I have my craving for Chinese food once in a while on campus and this is the only choice available.
I came here a few days ago and it was the most disgusting food I have ever ate and this is coming from a guy who ate a cookie after dropping it on the seat while riding Bart. I ordered the fried rice, pork ribs and beef and broccoli. The food was not fresh at all. When I bit into the pork ribs, the bone shattered and turned into dust. This only happens when the meat has been cooked over and over again and the bone becomes fragile. The beef and broccoli was nasty also. The beef tasted like rubber and broccoli was really soggy. All indication of old food. The lady at the counter is also obnoxious. My total came out to 5.95 and they require a 6 dollar minimum and she insisted that i buy something else. I asked if she could just charge me 6 or add tax and she said no, buy something else. After I bought a drink, I asked her for a bag and without even looking at me, she threw a bag. How hard is it to make eye contact or at least crack a smile.
Worst place on campus. I will never be back after this experience.

The ladies are always super nice to me! And they always pack in the food whether I get it to-​go or eat in! No such thing as too greasy Chinese food… the greasier it is, then you know it’s closer to being the real deal. Mrmmmmmmmm.
Chow mein is always packed with veggies, fried rice is good, white rice could be softer, soy sauce chicken is gooood, mongolian chicken is yummyyy and they even have hot oolong tea!