Khmer Express - restaurant asiatique halal à Laval — Restaurant in Laval (administrative region)

No. of times: Multiple

Dishes tried:

#10 Cha Loc Lac (original orange color rice, or extra fried rice legumes, or extra fried rice Chinese sausage)

#7 Mi Katang (beef)

#6 Mi Cha (beef or chicken)

#5 Pad See Ew (beef)

Note: We like the loc lac here. Also nice texture of vegetables and flat rice noodles/egg noodles in mi katang and mi cha. Generous portion of protein/beef in pad see ew, and a rather healthy option (i.e., not much to nil oil, obviously not salty, not sweet (for gentlemen I suppose) and in general for those who prefer light taste/light seasoning in some modern (Southeast) Asian style cooking, plus the Quebec-signature "ubiquitous chewiness" - not everyone's cup of tea but it is prevalent in our province not sure why). Tasty fried rice especially when the oil is new. Nothing (as far as the food we've tried so far is concerned) has weird continental Southeast Asian smell/taste. Doesn't deceive/trick or mislead potential customers by using terms such as "Hong Kong", (thereby my inferred Toronto/GTA- and HK- style) "Chiu Chow". Nice owner and staff. Situated in a scenic part of Laval which has character. I actually quite like the neighborhood; it's like going on a romantic excursion with Samuel (past anniversary dinners in Vieux-Ste.-Rose (and farther south (Vieux-)Ste.-Do)). Driving/traffic starts to get busy quite early in the afternoon - plan accordingly. 5 stars because of the loc lac, the fried rice, as well as the nice texture and the usually excellent wok temperature of the mi katang flat rice noodles (even take-out), the latter rarely found in Montreal/Laval.

Selected pictures

& 2. Cha Loc Lac (extra fried rice Chinese sausage), Mi Katang beef

7 pics & 6 pics

Cha Loc Lac (extra fried rice legumes), Mi Cha chicken

6 pics

Cha Loc Lac, Mi Katang beef

3 pics

Pad See Ew beef, Mi Cha beef

1 pic

Three most recent orders April, March, February 2023:

& 2. Cha Loc Lac (extra fried rice Chinese sausage), Mi Katang beef

Cha Loc Lac (extra fried rice legumes), Mi Cha chicken

P.S. Unrelated to Khmer Express Laval but just curious - there's this unfamiliar, sometimes offputting/nauseating, typical Mainland Chinese smell/taste/oil we encountered in some Mainland Chinese restaurants in Montreal (even in one "hip" Korean restaurant downtown). Is it a provincial thing? Not Shanghai (nor Beijing) I...

10/10 would recommend. I’ve been several times and have always been pleased. The restaurant is clean, and the staff polite and efficient. The food is fresh and not overly seasoned….they let the food stand on its own merit! The portions are big and fair for the price. I recommend perhaps asking for take-out even if you plan to dine-in as the portions are large and they will charge you a small fee for takeout packaging. The Cha Loc Lac, Pad Thai, and beef soup are my go-to’s snd they never disappoint.

*Edit: I’ve been twice since originally reviewing and I can say I will not be returning after the last time!

The food is inconsistent in quality, flavour, and quantity. The shrimp pad Thai was overcooked including the noodles, the FIVE pieces of shrimp were bone dry and low-quality. For $17, a dish of mostly rice noodles should have more than five low-budget shrimp and you shouldn’t have to Where’s Waldo for the egg neither.

There clearly is no passion for the food and it’s evident after going several times as the dishes are hit or miss. Personally, they can miss me with that as I don’t give my hard-earned money to establishments that don’t appreciate my patronage, and don’t seem to comprehend that in a business transaction the outcome needs to be satisfactory for...

We've been going to Khmer Express for a few years and were very happy to see that they finally reopened. They now take credit cards which is very convenient. The staff is as usual very friendly. However, since the change in owners, the taste on most dishes we used to order is not as good. The fried chicken pieces are smaller, use less batter, and less seasoning than before. The fried rice had almost no seasoning. The imperial rolls are now with chicken and the texture is mushy instead. The ke tirv phnom penh is almost as good as before - but the soup lacks the distinct old school Khmer Express flavor. And lastly the prices have gone up significantly since before the reopening; this combined with the less pleasing food makes us more reticent to come back as often as we did. We're going to probably try it again in a few months once they get their footing; as they...