Taipei Express — Restaurant in New Braunfels

I am currently on a quest to find Chinese Food that meets what I am looking for as I get settled in New Braunfels, TX. What I found here in the case of Taipei Express was at best a complicated array of items to review as I found myself asking “Do I like this? Do I not? This is good. This is not.” And you get the idea, so here we go on this review. For the record, I would have liked to rate this a 3.75, but three is the only option and I do not feel that I’d put my stamp on a “4 star”.

I started with the “As Delivered” photos as I always do, but in this case, I elected not to take the time to plate the order like I traditionally do. As a result, I am going to try to get this out in an organized fashion where each item is addressed. The first three photos are your basic “It looked like this in the bag” and they did a fantastic job of making sure this was packaged well. The materials were not cheap, but neither was the delivery charge, but that I completely understand as this was not your average garbage Styrofoam. Well done on this. From here, I’m going to hit on each item…

First on deck is the Wonton soup and I have mixed feelings on this as it is a favorite soup of mine. The soup did arrive hot, but the Wontons I found to be slightly undercooked in comparison to other soups that I have had. I did not finish it. On the positive side of things, the broth flavor was excellent and so was the quality of the meat. Not a single complaint there. The chiffonade cut on the produce was annoying and got tangled up as I tried to mix it with the Wonton for an even bite. Flavor was good though.

Next on the chopping block I will quickly address the Chicken Fried Rice, the Steamed Rice, and the Egg Roll. I found the Chicken Fried Rice to be a bit oily and was found wanting looking for Chicken and only encountered one piece of egg. The steamed rice was good, and I enjoyed it much more than the Chicken Fried Rice. Bottom line is that I don’t want a film in my mouth when I’m eating. The Egg Roll. Really good. Cooked perfectly and the taste was great! Well done!

The Pot Stickers left me confused as to whether I received Steamed or Fried. It seemed like a combination of both, but much like the Wonton Soup, things seemed a bit doughy to me, and for that reason I cannot say that I was satisfied with this item. I expected crispy as I did not request steamed. End of story there. Meat quality once again was excellent. Sauce was okay. Scallions maybe?

Now for the Entrée’s which consisted of Kung Pao Chicken and Beef and Broccoli. Quality of the meats was excellent, and I stop there. Flavor was some of the best on the Beef and Broccoli, but the Kung Pao was lacking in any amount of heat and when a drop hits my counter and the color is of oil and there is no heat, I am left to gather that the oily taste I have in my mouth is not from the oils of the pepper itself. Disappointing for what I hoped might be a dish with some semblance of heat. Since online did not allow me to specify, I cannot speak to other than my initial trial of this meal. The Beef and Broccoli was also oily, but at least I was able to eat most of that if you consider half of the tray.

Final Thoughts:

I can be picky, but I’ve eaten a lot of Chinese Food from all over the country. I personally think that things should not only be cooked correctly to provide the desired texture, but also taste like I was not provided a bottle of Olive Oil or any other type (of oil) as a side to garnish my meal with. For these reasons I rated low as I got sick from the oil and found myself very disappointed over what was almost a $70 dinner bill with delivery. I did order on a weeknight though so... maybe a...

We used to really enjoy eating here fairly regularly. In fact, while the dining room was closed I made it a point to drive through at least twice a month and over tip to support this establshment. Tonight was the worst service, including the robot delivery method. Took 3 times to get one plate right. Twice for the other one. First order missed by the lady taking our order where we repeatedly ordered the "regular"dinner plate for both dishes. Robot delivered "small" plates. I was distracted by the novel robot situation. As I was about to eat, then realized it wasn't the usual amount of food. After trying to get someone's attention, the lady who took our order came back over and said she forgot to ask us what size, even though we told her more than once the "regular" plate for each. I pointed this out to her. She took our plates back and said we still needed to pay the difference and to go back to the register. So my husband got up and went BACK to the register where he waited, and no one came to the front to help. So he came back to our table to finish his soup. The lady showed up again and said we had to go back to the register to pay more. So now my husband gets up and goes BACK to the register. I still haven't had anything to eat. After the 2nd batch of food comes out, I notice they forgot to remove bell peppers, even though the first order had no bell peppers. So now I get to to go BACK to the register to tell them#2 round is wrong, and they rudely point out that the 2nd order didn't state no bell pepper. Well, my preference for bell pepper didn't change since the original order. How hard can you make this? Interestingly, the amount of food on the small plate looks about the same as the amount on the regular plate. When we were done eating, I noticed they incorrectly upcharged us. This was my LAST trip to the register taking a picture of our receipt and compared to the menu of what we originally ordered. We made at least 4 trips BACK to the register, not including my request for more tea, to deal with THEIR PROBLEMS and not ours. With PF Changs coming to town, y'all really need to step it up because that's already going to be a better option than dealing with robots and people who don't care about...

Update from a review a year ago. It’s obvious Vincent is no longer there. We’ve noticed a definite decline the past few times we visited. Last Monday was the biggest decline. General Tso’s chicken recipe seems to have changed. Portions definitely smaller. We were the only people dining in and the loud obtrusive music was ANNOYING! One expects soft background music in a Chinese restaurant. It was obvious the music was to entertain staff, not customers. We asked the cashier to lower the volume to which he replied. “I’ll ask if they will.” They didn’t. It was even crazy louder in the restroom. Sad to say our go to Chinese restaurant in NB is no longer one we’ll frequent.

We come here often and food is usually good; above average. Only time it wasn’t good, Vincent wasn’t there. Staff is friendly, restrooms clean, atmosphere nice. Enjoy the music; it’s soft and not intrusive. Not sure why a previous poster said it was expensive. Once they started offering lunch specials, we feel price is fair for what is offered; good portions. We’ve tried most Chinese restaurants in New Braunfels; this is the best and the only one we visit. Once the Pei Wei opens at Creekside, there will be some...