Oriental Cafe

This is my first order from Oriental Café. It was a delivery order in the early afternoon.I had their general tso's chicken lunch. when I added soup, fried rice versus steam rice and an eggroll the total came to almost $23.That's why I didn't call it a lunch special because $23 is not very special for a small portion lunch.Let's start with the hot and sour soup.It was visually pleasing, very good viscosity, but very little flavor.I was looking for woodear and there was none. Possibly two very small pieces of mushroom, and Julienned carrots. The bulk of the soup was finally chopped tofuTo make the soup more pleasing, I added hot chili oil and white pepper. That perked the soup up a bit.I would give the soup a three, and with my additions may be a fourFried riceThe fried rice was dull and tasteless. Fortunately, it wasn't overwhelmed with soy sauce, but there was no other flavor at all. It desperately needed seasoning.I would give the rice a 2General tso's chicken The pieces of chicken, covered with a very average sweet sauce, were mostly breading. it wasn't awful, but it certainly was not one of the better General Tso's chicken that i have had in the DMV. I would give this a three, two for the chicken, and one extra point because they had steamed broccoli in the dish Overall, I would give my order a three rating.

If you come here with expectations that this place is fast-casual American Chinese food that would satisfy a college student on a budget or a day worker grabbing a quick lunch, it's not so bad! This isn't exactly a place you would bring to impress your in-laws, but those $9.95 lunch specials that include rice + an egg roll makes for a quick and filling lunch. My go-to order is just the typical sesame chicken with rice and the portion size is reasonable with a few pieces of broccoli. The sesame chicken is a bit too bready but overall fine, and the rice is pretty warm and fluffy. They are also incredibly fast at pick-up orders, I called in my order and then my food was ready in under 10 minutes. The service is efficient and a bit brusque but polite enough, and the ambiance is pretty much what you would expect of a fast-casual Chinese restaurant mostly specializing in takeout, although there is a small dine-in area.

I decided to pop by to pick up dinner on my way home. I tried entering from the back but it's closed, likely because they closed the dining area. It's just a takeout place it seems. Upon entering, the menus are laid out for you to go over at the counter. Unfortunately the prices are not on the menu and the prices I saw on their online menu are not updated. There's a 5% discount if you pay with cash. I ordered and was told the food would be ready in 15-20 minutes, but I think it was done a lot sooner. The sauces and utensils are on the side beside the counter. I ordered the Szechuan Beef, combination fried rice and black boba milk tea. The food was good but ordinary, like any other Chinese spot. The Szechuan beef dish came with more onion, carrots and green pepper than it did the actual meat; also, it wasn't spicy at all. There's a chili pepper next to it on the menu to indicate that there's some spiciness there but it's ok, I'll just let them know to make it spicier next time. As a boba fanatic, I ordered the boba because any time I see it somewhere, I have to get it. The tea they used tasted like authentic Chinese tea so it was pretty good! Boba texture was also good, but the boba side was small so it definitely could've been a choking hazard. Overall the tea was good but a bit too sweet for my liking.

Worst hot and sour soup I have ever had. Tasted of uncooked cornstarch. I dumped it. 1 Star. Steamed dumplings were merely inoffensive. Flavorful sauce. 2.5 Stars. Beef with string beans- OK. Large portion, fed 2 easily. 3 stars.

Ordered a large of beef & broccoli, paid 15 bucks for this small container (looks like a lunch special), and it was not even full. There is more broccoli than beef, taste just okay, price is not justified with portion size.

Not much worthwhile here; but I'd never say that, unless I'd given this place a shot. I read a decent review of this establishment's orange chicken and thought why not try a few other staples to see if I'd like this restaurant - I didn't.The orange chicken with white rice was tasty with the proper seasoning. However, the orders of steamed dumplings seemed to be immersed in a sauce that was based on nothing but sweetener.On the flip side, the hot and sour soup might as well been nothing but hot water and peppering for "heat." No fortune cookies came with the order. Strange, that final straw threw me. Never again... Do yourself a favor and go elsewhere.

Ordered from here a few more times before figuring out that some veggie chicken dishes were amazing, others were bad. The general tsos and sesame veggie chicken are great. Pass on the kung Pao and veggie chicken with rice noodles. Learned lesson, the fried veggie chicken dishes have been good, the rest are meh.

If you are craving some good tasting Chinese food, I highly recommend this place!!! We always order take out here and it never disappoints.

Loved their chicken fried rice. It was perfectly hot without burning your mouth and tasted so good. It wasn't salty or bland. The honeydew bubble tea I got was a bit too sweet, and when I finished drinking the tea, there was a residual substance at the bottom all over the pearls. I think it's the powder mixed together with the tea, but in a more solid form. It was a bit phlegm-y in texture. Sorry for the graphics. It was not a pleasant texture when I consumed a part of it. The pearls were ok. Slightly firmer than I'd like but it's consumable. This cafe is located across the Japanese restaurant.

Not sure about other reviews but I personally like this place better than the many other places I've been in Montgomery county. They are always nice and quick with the order. I always get General tsos chicken and is always really good and always consistent compared to others. I go out of my way for this place.