Oriental Express

Value for money Cantonese food. Went there twice in a day. First time for dim sum and then for dinner. I liked their Chinese pancake with spring onion, lotus leaf rice, chee cheong fan, and congee with mixed meat. Each dish comes in three. I would rate their dim sum as above average but not excellent.
We had stirred fried vegetable with garlic and sweet and sour fish for dinner. Each main dish comes with a choice of carbs. We topped up 2.50 euro to get the fried rice and fried noodles. The portions were big. The three of us couldn’t finish everything. I noted that many patrons ended up packing their leftovers too.
The tei guan ying tea (spelling?) is better than their chrysanthemum tea.
Their service is good too, which is not a trademark of Cantonese eateries. :p Overall it was two satisfying meals that earn them this 5-​star rating!

We really enjoyed our meal here. This is the first Chinese food I’ve had in the Netherlands that reminded me more of the food we get in Chinese neighborhoods in the US, like in San Francisco. It’s lighter and milder than typical Chinese takeout, here or in the US, but it’s still full of flavor. In fact, it’s more flavorful for not being doused in oil or soy sauce like some other restaurants. The décor is clean, stylish, and comforting, and the service was very professional and fast even though they were busy.
There is a large menu of dishes with more varied tastes. The servers were very helpful in terms of choosing which noodles and proteins to go with which sauces, also for the shakes and bubble teas. It’s worth asking because there are many options, but certain options are more interesting and varied than others. We knew we wanted garlic shrimp with white sauce, for example, but she suggested a nest of fried noodles instead of rice, which was delicious. You’re also free to mix and match, and just do what you like.
We spoke mostly English with our server, and a little Dutch. Language wasn’t a problem at all, but again it can depend on when you go or which server you happen to get.
It’s good both for people who are slightly more adventurous and for those who are used to more standard Chinese-​Indonesian takeout. Either way, you can try alternative combinations, or just find something that’s familiar.
The dishes are slightly more expensive than the cheapest options, at 10 – 15 euros apiece, but it’s worth it. The serving sizes are quite large and they gladly allow you to take leftovers home. The portions are closer to US sizes, and with the décor and service, it is good value for the price. For a lunch, you could serve three adults with two main dishes and maybe an appetizer, which brings the price down, but it’s hard to be frugal. There are so many options we ended up getting 3 entrees and 2 apps which was more than enough for three hungry adults.
From the other reviews, it looks like some people have had less than optimal dishes at different parts of the day. It might help to go when they’re busy (which is often around meal times), since it was still pleasant and fast. Once we go a few more times, I’ll update if we ever have a substandard dish. Our food came out hot and fresh. (Getting served old noodles is a pet peeve of mine, so indeed that would be annoying, but it didn’t happen to us here.)

What lured me in was the prime location by Rotterdam Central and the pictures of Chinese dishes plastered outside their windows. Plus they had English descriptions of everything, that was a plus. The inside is tastefully decorated so I was expecting a top notch meal. Unfortunately, everything fell short of expectations. Our dishes were a little bland and the cha siew in my noodle dish was very fatty, chewy and tasted like week old microwaved meat. Perhaps we came on a bad day or ordered the wrong dishes. There are a lot of Chinese restaurants in this city.. Maybe we’ll give it another try in a few months.
The mango coconut bubble tea was good.
As a side note and not a reflection towards the 2 star rating, no one spoke English. Despite the perception from the partial English menu and signs outside.

Our family fully enjoyed our meal at Oriental Express. We had walked by a few times and saw the restaurant full. It has pleasing décor and clean.
The menus have pictures and numbers along with Chinese, Dutch or English translations.
We had the Vietnamese Spring Roll, Dim Sum and WonTon Soup. All came out hot, fresh and delicious. The wontons were amazing. The best I think I have ever had.
Our main courses were fried chicken, roasted pork and fried pork belly with fried rice and fried noodles. Also curried shrimp and pork with noodles.
We wrapped it up with a sweet mango dim sum.
We would comeback. Great food, great price, great atmosphere.