Chopstick Express — Restaurant in Richmond

I generally associate Chinese takeout with the following words: greasy, heat lamps, unhealthy, flimsy utensils. That being said, I was pleasantly surprised by my experience at chopstick express.

Located in the food court at Yaohan, ordering is a breeze thanks to the kiosk on the left side of the counter, providing service on English and Chinese. Meals are modestly priced with rice bowls priced at $10, or you can make a combo that includes your choice of one of three soups for under $12.

Their takeout packaging is quite impressive for a food court shop. They provide a reusable plastic bag that looks like something you'd get at cactus club. Their cutlery package includes a small napkin (the weakest part of the utensils), a toothpick, a fairly thick spork, and a thick pair of chopsticks. I really have to praise the chopsticks because these aren't those cheap short chopsticks that you have to break apart yourself - these full length chopsticks are thick, enough that you could easily wash and reuse them for a long time.

The food itself is good, but not great. Instead of flavor, I appreciate the fact that it's not greasy, and they give a ton of veggies in the rice bowl. The ratio of rice to side dishes is perfect, and they give a ton of food in the bowl. I was really curious as the bowl had some weight to it, so I put my rice bowl (#4 - chicken breast with cucumber) on a scale and it measured 1.2kg. I was so stuffed by the end of the bowl that it was a struggle to drink my soup. It's honestly quite a lot of food for a combo that only cost me $11.55 - drink not included, my own can of coke used for reference.

I feel Chopstick Express is healthier than some of the other options in this food court and also provides good...

ACCEPTS CARD

Was craving dry noodles and went for the Stir-Fry Lamb w/Cilantro dry noodle. The flavouring and taste was amazing - strong cumin ✨A very generous portion of noodles and lamb. However, I was expecting the noodles to be different. I briefly saw some illustrations on the counter about making noodles so assumed they would be homemade. The noodles felt like spaghetti noodles. All in all, still thoroughly enjoyed my meal and would come back for this, maybe try to change the noodles.

I went to grab cash before coming to the food court only to find they have a self-serve machine that takes card. Made the whole ordering process easy and smooth. There were also photos on the machine. Pleasantly surprised. Human service was mediocre but we didn’t come here for...

I really like quail eggs so when I saw photos of their rice bowls with the 3 quail eggs I decided to give them a try. I got the #1 bowl (stir-fried sausage with eggplant, kidney bean, cauliflower on rice). It also came with some tomato with egg, mung bean sprouts, a chicken drumstick and the quail eggs. It's a nice variety of foods for the price. I didn't notice any kidney bean, and I was kind of hoping the sausage was lap-cheung but it's European wiener which tastes good too. There was a bit of spiciness but I found it to be mild-medium. The food seemed fresh and the serving time was pretty quick (I had time to grab a pre-made mango drink and waited a couple more minutes before I got my food). The quail eggs were good, I saved the last one for...