Chen's Oriental Cuisine

A few years ago, I asked an intern that I was supervising what would be a good Chinese restaurant near the University of Waterloo that I could get lunch at. My manager and I were conducting interviews, and we needed a place to eat. She said that Chen's was my best bet.

We never got around to doing Chen's (Kenzo Ramen and Bao Sandwich bar have been our go-to places).

The other night, I decided to order some takeout from Chen's. I ordered the following items:
- Honey garlic chicken wings (eight)
- Boiled dumplings (ten)
- House special fried rice (beef, pork, and shrimp)

The food was packed with care. Nothing leaked. My food was hot.

I absolutely loved the honey garlic chicken wings. The sauce, especially the chunks of pineapple, made this appetizer stand out. The chicken wings were crispy even drenched in the honey garlic sauce.

The boiled dumplings were good. They weren't horrible. They weren't outstanding. I liked them. They taste best with soy sauce, of which I got plenty of packets.

I would pass on the house special fried rice. The veggies clearly came from a frozen pack from a grocery store. The fried rice was not fried enough. It tasted like someone had taken steamed rice, added yellow food colouring, heated up frozen veggies, and put equally flavourless protein in the mix.

Frankly, if you are under the weather and your tastebuds are dead, the house special fried rice is for you.

The Chinese food at this place is okay. I would stick with ordering the appetizers.

(255)

Ahhhh...haven't been here since about 3 or even 4 years ago, and nothing has changed. The menu, interior, and service are all the exact same except much more worn down (yes, even the service lol).

Was looped into dining here by a friend who is a huge fan of their boiled fish (spicy), which apparently is the most "legit". I'm not a connoisseur of this dish, but if "legit" means ugly looking, odd tasting, and small portions, then Chen's has certainly hit the mark. We also ordered a vegetable dish and the fish congee, neither of which was impressive.

No A/C here. Service is slow. Wait staff is pretty much expressionless, though I guess I can't blame them - see previous point about lack of A/C.

This place has not closed. Curry fried rice ftw! Please support this establishment! It is a Waterloo hallmark

Went to Chen's for dinner on Friday night. There was a wide selection of Chinese food on the menu, from congee to Hunan style dishes. Ended up settling for the chicken fried rice which tasted decent. The flavour was on point, and it was pretty standard to yeung chow fried rice served at other Chinese restaurants. The only con is that the chicken in my rice was cold, so I think it might have been precooked and tossed with the rice at the end. Overall, portions were good, service was prompt and the prices are budget-friendly. I'd come back to try other dishes. Try this place out if you're looking for a quick, filling meal!

The only great thing about this restaurant is the price point. Most of the furniture is old and there were flies around. It's not the most "clean" feeling. In terms of food quality it's definitely dropped the past few months. I normally get the sweet and sour chicken or house special fried rice. Both dishes are cheap and filling. However you won't get a full feeling of satisfaction from this restaurant. It's fast and cheap but ranks very low compared to other fast food.

Pretty standard Chinese food place in the UW plaza. I've been here multiple times and the quality of food here is usually consistent. Last time I came here we ordered the chefs special fried rice, pad Thai, and sweet and sour chicken. The fried rice and sweet and sour chicken were good! I especially liked the chicken and crunch it had. We had the pad Thai last year at Chen's which we found delicious, however this time around it was not.
It kind of smelled like wet socks and the taste was not quite far off. Wouldn't recommend this dish. I'll be back for the sweet and sour chicken though!

I don't like physically walking into this store because it doesn't inspire confidence in the health inspection system, but I get one thing (and only that thing) from here every so often -- the XinJiang Spicy Chicken Casserole -- and I love it. Most recently, I just ordered it from DoorDash so that worked out quite nicely for my squeamishness about ordering right at the store.

Also I made the mistake of accepting their free bubble tea once -- don't do it, especially if you actually LIKE BBT; it tastes like bathwater.

Honestly crap. It's slow and not worth it, even if you can get a meal under 10$.

I got the veggie pad thai, since I see so many people eating it for lunch- an I make jokes they are ketchup noodles. Honestly ketchup noodles would have at least some flavour. This just tasted like oil, green pepper, and a faint memory of chili. Also most other places where you order a veggie pad thai they add, tofu- but there was nothing. If i was eating nothing it would be better. The only thing remotely decent of the dish was the broccoli was cooked well.

I was wondering why I never came here after one time in 1A, and I was reminded why. There service literally takes ages. It took almost 20 mins to receive 1 order of pad thai. Like table service at a regular restaurant where you order cooked meat comes faster. I don't get how quick frying noodles and veggies takes this long.

0/8 Do not recommend. If you want pad thai, just go elsewhere. Take the longer walk anywhere else. I can't speak for their other dishes, but save your time and go elsewhere. There's no quality for it to be even worth any money or time.

The prices are cheap, but the food is very delicious! Definitely the best place for students with limited budget who want a delicious Chinese takeout! I've been there many times, and I still enjoyed the food there. Don't expect too much on the customer services though.

The only good things about this place is that its close to campus and they accept credit card.

Their food is not bad but I had sour vegetables multiple times. They try to attract more dinner crowds by offering free "bubble tea" which is water mixed with colourful sweet powders.