Express Cafe

The place hasn’t changed in the past 15 years and that’s what everyone loves. They have good quality food, fast and a reasonable price. They have all your normal take out items but my go to is the Chicken fried rice, they give you a fried egg on top, fresh jalapeños and hot sauce. Want quality food that makes you feel good then come here for your next breakfast or lunch. I’ve been here hundreds of times and have introduced so many people here. If you see this review you need to give them a try.

I love the food from this place highly recommended for anyone around Shady Grove next to the 7-11

I’ve visited this place 3 times. All three times I only ordered 6 chicken wings bc I really don't eat from Chinese restaurants. The first time my chicken was fresh and tasted ok but the second time the chicken was old and refried. You know what I mean, day old or two day old chicken just thrown back into the grease. Of course I threw it away immediately and took the cost that I paid for it as a loss because I wasn’t going to drive all the way back there from my home for a refund. The third time, I kindly asked the Chinese woman could she please make sure the chicken is fresh and started to explain my last experience before being cut off and rudely asked “what do you mean by old chicken”. Instead of going back and forth with her I told her never-mind and stated old chicken is not fresh chicken and exited their establishment. Thank you for making my decision to NOT spend my money ever here an easy decision.

I love their chicken fried rice, and their Teriyaki as well. Great food!!! Service is great and the owner is very nice guy. I plan on trying more of their dishes.

I have been coming here for years and the food is great diner food. It also opens early and you can get a take out lunch early morning. Gyro sandwich combo (includes crinkle cut fries) is a great sandwich… lots of feta, gyro meat, and yogurt sauce. Fries too are amazingly good. I also really like their steak and cheese combo.

Owner was very nice. He assured me they don't use the large pieces of crushed pepper. I ordered combo fried rice with the 2 eggs and it was soo good! I can't believe I never knew this place existed! I love eggs with my food. They do you have ham in the fried rice, but I'm sure you can ask for it to be made without. They are a take-out only place that close after lunchtime. The inside was well organized. The main dishes had accurate pictures. I definitely want to come back to try the chicken teriyaki because they lightly grill everything instead of cooking with oil in a pan. Wish they were open all day! I would come grab take-out every dinner time!

Any spot that does a full, proper menu at 6am is MY kinda spot! And the food is absolute fire!

Great breakfast location! I’m borderline addicted to their breakfast sandwiches! I get the bacon, egg, and cheese on white bread sandwich and it is super filling, always fresh/hot, and they don’t take long to make it! The service is fast and friendly. This is definitely a regular go to for breakfast!

Chicken was fried hard and lacked flavor , when I say hard , it was so chewy it was like eating something very abrasive . The rice wasn't good some parts of the fried rice looked uncooked other parts looked cooked . , all the way around i was disappointed .

This was the worst meal I have had this year. The mushy rice isn't even fried, it's soggy with no flavor at all. The wings are also flavorless. They increased the price from $10 online to $14 in person. It being bad is one thing, this cheaply made meal is worse than buffet food, and they give you less portion size than chipotle. The box is small. DO NOT EAT HERE, ANYWHERE ELSE. SO MANT BETTER OPTIONS. worst Chinese food I've ever had, and I'm Asian, us smaller countries ate Chinese and Indian food growing up, we know.

Love getting the combination fried rice and chicken wing combo with soda. I've been going here for years.

I came here after dropping off a package at the Gaithersburg UPS Customer Center during my lunch. Hole-in-the-wall, total dive! I gave an extra star because the menu was interesting; they had carne asada and teriyaki chicken listed under Chef Specialities, as well as, fried chicken wings (w/mumbo sauce) with fried rice or french fries on the menu. Any QSR establishment that has a Mexican, Japanese, and American Chinese item on the same menu warrants an extra star for the outré offerings. As for the quality of the food: 1. The rice looked and tasted very old; there were clumps that were pretty mushy and other parts that were a bit hard. 2. The teriyaki chicken was pretty good, but it reminded me of bourbon chicken served in a mall eatery. Sarku will remain my go-to for "teriyaki chicken." 3. A side salad was included which was nice. Overall, I probably would not pay another visit if I am in the area. I probably would opt to go to Pho Nam, which is in the same shopping center, instead.

I'd go to this place if I want something quick, filling & affordable. They serve food from American, Asian to Middle Eastern food; Keep in mind that nothing's really authentic. Chicken Gyro Sandwich ($5.75) - Chicken Gyro, Lettuce, Tomatoes & Yogurt Sauce. The taste's just mediocre, however, it's really not bad overall given the big portion, fast service & cheap price. Yes, it's really not a sit down place, but I'd rather go here than Subway next door if I'm in a hurry.

Same great food and goo value, lovely place for breakfast and lunch, I never have any complaint here! Totally recommended.

My daughter and I ordered the Teriyaki Chicken and the Combination Fried Rice (chicken, ham and shrimp). Both dishes were delicious! They tasted homemade fresh and the service was friendly and fast. I would definitely come back.

Terrible, I only went here because I have had such great success with other restaurants in this strip mall. The menu is all over the place, and it was confused. Are you a fried chicken place? A sandwich place? A Chinese place... What are you? I'm not sure the cooks know either, because the Asian chicken lunch I got was disgusting. It was old rice (I know because it was dry in some places and stuck together in hard clumps) and overly sweet ambiguous pieces of chicken that had clearly been around a while because they were incredibly tough and stringy. The salad that came with it was roughly chopped iceberg lettuce with dressing that was just a hard mayonnaise... You would literally need to spread it with a knife. And even though I was eating there, my food came in a styrofoam Togo container. What a waste of money for them, and it's terrible for the environment. I have a picture of my meal, just look at the stringy chicken. They asked if I wanted "spicy" and I said yes, so they just sprinkled some raw crushed red pepper (the stuff at the pizza place that comes in the shaker) on top before they closed the lid. Also notice the terrible salad... In retrospect I should have stuck my fork in the dressing to illustrate how thick it was (my fork would have stood straight up). There are so many other great restaurants I. That area... Choose one of those.

I have been coming here for years, in fact over a decade now, Same owners, lovely folks. Never had a problem with the food. My go to is Pollo Asado, rice with chicken on top. Never fails

The husband and wife who own this are so nice and treat all their customers with an equal amount of respect. The food is always ready in 10-15 minutes, never a long wait but I like ordering ahead of time. I work close by and have been going here for 5 years now, everything thing has increased in price since then but you definitely get what you pay for in terms of portion. Okay: Steak and Cheese(too much bread). Good: Club Sandwich, Carne Asada GREAT: Chicken and Shrimp Fried rice, Combination fried rice, Gyro, Gyro Meat on rice. If you get breakfast, it's really good here as well, the platter comes with a bunch of food and it's SO cheap.

This place is better than it looks. Sandwiches/wraps are just ok, but the teriyaki chicken is actually quite good. It's a grip of food for the price too.

This shop is always deliver the consistency of their food. I dont know why people don't like the food. They are fast and convenience. I ate here and never once I had a complain. Their food always too much because the portion is huge.

I absolutely LOVE this place! The owners are so sweet and the food is fast and delicious! Perfect place to meet a friend for lunch or to grab on the go! Perfect for someone like me who can't ever make her mind up...sometimes you want a burger, sometimes you want fried rice, sometimes you want a gyro....they have it all!

Awesome customer service. Great food. Decent prices for this area. Close to work. I visit regularly.

First to start my review I would like to state, THIS IS NOT a "hole-in-the-wall". I was in New York between 2009-2010 and there are places there that are actual holes in the wall. This spot has been around 10 years. Props AND extra star for being an original restaurant. The food comes out quick, its a Mom and Pop store and they really try to produce good tasting food. I get different things when I come here, and usually they give me a bottle of water for free which is really nice of them. I've been coming here for almost 4 years. I always eat here and when its not busy the owners will talk with me. They are both Taiwanese and work very hard. I respect mom and pop spots more then anything because its a lot of work, and usually they put in so much time/energy. I had the chicken cheesesteak, and a cheesesteak to go. There are a few tables for you to dine in, and parking is a bit harder to find now that there are a lot more active stores in the shopping center. They serve breakfast here, starting at 6:30, and they close at 5. Their closed on Sundays. This is my type of comfort food, I hope you give it a try!

Omg once again she never fails me!!!! I'm not sure what the negative hype is, but this place is the bomb at 7am, soem of these pics I see i dont think there from this place!

Nice place to eat. I like their chicken wings and salmon burger. They also make a decent gyro. Very friendly.

My coworkers and I eat here regularly as it is a nice and close. The food has always been very consistent and filling with a portion size that usually leaves you with left overs. We've always gotten very quick and friendly service and our food has been great in the ~3 years we've been going here.

What can I say... GREAT FOOD ... well priced... I enjoy the going there when I get a chance.