The Orient Express

There’s nothing wrong with The Orient Express, and during the temporary closure of The Golden Dragon (Salisbury Road) it provided a much needed Chinese takeaway when required.
The menu is pretty standard and most of the signature Chinese dishes are adequate, tasty versions. I just can’t help comparing it to The Golden Dragon, and it is a comparison that doesn’t favour The Orient. The Crispy Shredded Beef isn’t as crispy, the Lemon Chicken sauce is too sweet and comes in a separate tub, and the fried rice is dry. They also insist on giving Coke free with meals over a certain amount. Really? Coke? I dread to think of the amount of sugar that is consumed in a Chinese meal without adding Coke into the mix.
One thing I will say, it’s incredibly quick. You rarely wait for over 10 minutes (which does worry me a little) and it’s yet to be busy when I’ve been in.
This is a perfectly good Chinese takeaway but lacks the quality of The Golden Dragon.

This chinese is a good takeaway with fast efficient service and great duck dishes. They have no seating so look to pickup or get your order delivered.
Located on Mackintosh place is ideal for students in Cartwright Court accommodation or close to albany road.
Expect your food to take approximately 15−30minutes and you won’t be disappointed.

The Orient Express is a Chinese takeaway that managed to pin down a particular niche in the market with the best possible marketing strategy you can have when faced with the student demographic: being next door. Honestly, there’s no way to compete with that. And considering they deliver, I’m surprised they haven’t gone multi-​national yet.
Whilst I have no doubt that a great deal of their success is based on the fact that students will literally eat anything if it’s next door, or on the way back from the bar to the house, or even if it’s just not moved for fifteen minutes, there is also the fact that The Orient Express does legitimately great food. On a street so close to City Road and Crwys Road, where so many great Chinese takeaways deliver to cater for the student population, you don’t get to hang around for long unless you can compete in the tastebud stakes, and The Orient Express does.
Their sweet and sour pork balls are one of my favourite dishes, and this is the place I come to on the rare occasions when I get the craving for them. They’re well used to dealing with students too, so expect a bit of banter when you head in.