Chen's Noodle House — Restaurant in Tempe

There are two dishes I crave on a regular basis: chimichangas and beef noodle soup. Chen’s has been on my list for quite awhile and I was pleased to finally give it a try.

The restaurant is small but bright and clean. I wouldn’t say it’s cozy, but it’s a whole lot nicer than the curb appeal might suggest.

Service was a little confusing. I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to seat myself, order at the register, or wait for instructions. Eventually I was seated. But after my meal no one came with a check, so I figured I was supposed to go up to the register. I wish they’d clear this up.

As for the Beef Noodle Soup itself, I opted for the Taiwanese style, which isn’t as spicy as the regular version. Presentation was a little lacking, with the half-hard boiled egg being face down and tricking me into thinking I had a whole egg. The noodles are your standard boxed noodles, nothing to write home about, which was a letdown considering it’s called Chen’s “Noodle” House. I enjoyed the beef, as it was very delicate, and there was a fair amount of it. But a soup is only as good as its broth; a respectable beef noodle soup should have a nice fatty sheen on the surface and a lingering sensation on the tongue. The broth felt thin to me; my palette begged for more.

Confusingly, there was no cilantro or pickled veggies, but to my shock, I did eventually find pickled veggie scraps at the bottom of my bowl after I’d slurped down all my noodles. In my opinion, this is the biggest mistake with how they serve their beef noodle soup. I think we’d all prefer to see the accoutrements at the top of the bowl, as is often done with a bowl of ramen. And a little fresh cilantro sure would add some needed depth of smell and flavor to the bowl.

I wanted to like Chen’s. To be fair, I didn’t dislike it, I’d probably come here again, but Chen’s isn’t likely to be the first place that comes to mind when those cravings for beef noodle soup come...

I strongly recommend any Chinese person to eat there. The food was authentic and close/same to Chinese casual family owned restaurants in China. For the typical diner however, I do not think you will like this place. The tastes are made to match those in the streets at China, so the food didn't taste the greatest to me. The drinks were also sold in actual cans/bottles which was first for me. They also have a fast food section there. All the food decor was basic and a little lazy, making you really feel like someone you know just cooked for you.

The staff there were very friendly, and if you have a complaint/request they will do it. The waiter could tell that I didnt seem to like the cold duck that much, and when she asked why I told her it was because I didnt like cold meat that much. So she offered to warm it up forme andnit tasted so much better. The prices there also felt a little bit pricey compared to the taste but not really anything to fret over, plus quantities served were a bit huge/oversized too. Again I strongly recommend this to the Chinese exchange students in ASU who want to be reminded of home. The workers there were also fluent in Chinese andlots of customers were also Chinese so you can also meet your...

I will definitely never order from Chen’s noodles house again. Service was fine and place seemed clean but the food is not great.

I ordered wonton soup, duck bao Shanghai style, chow fun with chicken, crab puff, steamed dumplings, and general Tao’s chicken.

The only reason they didn’t give 1 star is because the general tso’s chicken was good. But they didn’t give me white rice with it.

The duck bao was not really duck bao but just a plate of dry, chopped duck with the bone chopped up in it. It was terrible and I threw it away.

The chow fun was not chow fun at all. It was sloppy lo mein noodles with chicken. Some the the worst I’ve had.

The steamed dumplings and wonton soup were edible but not the best. I ate them because I needed to eat.

Overall I was very sad I paid $75 for this food and I will...