Simply Delicious. This is a home spun but extremely popular family style Chinese restaurant. Those in the know will tell you the the looks on the outside do not do justice to the food that’s going to be coming at you.
The menu is the real deal Chinese fare that I have to assume is traditional as many Chinese families are dining alongside us each time we go. Here’s the best way to go:
Get a group of five to ten people, each order one item and then use the center spinner table to share with each person.
The service is beyond compare. Kind gentle but very busy the food comes at you in large chucks as it’s prepared not in one large grouping so nothing you eat is going to be cold.
Eat. Here. Soon!
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Some of you might remember my review of Dot Wo several months back— place is about as exciting as a dry hand job. My buddies Dave and Marty think it's the cat's meow and go all the time. They think they know good Chinese...
Please.
There's only one spot for Chinese food in this town, and it's called Chow's. With a menu chock-full of delicious entrees, and a staff that turns a blind eye to outside beverages, me and the wife find ourselves here at least once a week.
From the outside, place might not seem like much. This may detract the stuck-up crowd, but any food critic with half a wit knows a shabby building means good food. The second clue is the fact that most folks working at Chow's aren't speaking English. That means authentic recipes and an authentic experience. Third thing you'll notice at Chow's is the crowd— nearly all Chinese families. These folks know what they want, and they flock to Chow's to get it.
So I mentioned the menu— it's got about every Chinese dish you can think of, and most likely a whole lot of dishes you never thought of before. Me and the wife usually stick with the following:
Beef flat noodles, dry style
Pecking pork spare rib
Orange beef
Sesame chicken
Salt and pepper tofu
Steamed Chinese broccoli (yes, I actually eat it)
Egg rolls
Pot stickers
Hot and sour soup
The seafood menu is also pretty extensive, and we've had several of the shrimp dishes. If you'd like, they can yank a live lobster out of their tank and cook it up for about 17 bucks a pound.
When you wrap up with eating and drinking, they bring you a plate of fresh orange slices and cookies. Really can't beat that.
Next time you are heading to town for Chinese food, PLEASE give Chow's a try (also great for delivery). No sense in ever spending money your money anywhere else— this is as good as it gets around here, or anywhere really.
Great work, Chow's!
NOTE: They are closed on Tuesdays.
We have been searching for the best Chinese food in the metro area. I would put this at the top of our list! It seemed to be filled with regulars, some celebrating special occasions, noted by their totes of wine from home. Interesting concept, I like it! Service was attentive and accommodating. The outside and interior decor are not much to look at, but the food was spectacular. We had the "American Chinese" experience. We ordered chicken fried rice, egg rolls, egg drop soup, orange chicken, and beef noodles. It was all hot and fresh. The egg drop soup had made from scratch broth. Egg rolls were fresh and delicious. I'm excited to go back and try some of the more authentic Chinese cuisine.
This is by far the best authentic Chinese restaurant in the city!! Be adventurous and try some of there non Americanized chineese dishes! Excellent service too!
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I found out about this place because it was one of the 5 finalists for the OK Gazette's Best of OKC 2016 contest in the Chinese restaurant category. I am glad that I found it because I wouldn't have been able to pick it out from the street. Most of my travels on May Avenue are north of 39th Expressway. However, now I am going to start coming here more often for Chinese food.
As other reviewers have noted, this place looks rundown on the outside but is well decorated on the inside. There is not much on the walls besides paint. The bathrooms are small but serviceable. There is plenty of light coming in from the east-facing windows on a sunny day. There is a live lobster tank near the entrance. On the day I visited, they were going for $16.95 per pound.
For my first visit, I had lunch with a friend. We both ordered off of the lunch specials menu. These include the standard lunch special items that you find at most Chinese restaurants: entree, choice of egg drop or hot and sour soup, and choice of steamed or fried rice. I wish that more restaurants would provide brown rice as a third option, but that's beside the point.
My friend got the sweet and sour chicken. He liked it; it was comparable to what you can find at most other Chinese restaurants. I wanted to order something I had not seen or ordered before. I got the ma po tofu. I picked it because it was listed with a chile pepper icon to indicate that it is spicy. When it finally came out, I did not find it spicy at all. I added some chile pepper sauce from the container on the table, but even that sauce was not spicy. In the future, I will have to ask about adjusting the spice level upward before it comes to the table.
Ma po tofu was new to me. At this place, it consists of chunks of tofu simmered in a soy sauce-based broth with a little bit of ground pork and a few garlic clove halves thrown in with it. The kitchen served my scoop of steamed rice near the center of the bowl in which the ma po tofu was served. This was a nice touch because the rice started soaking up the salty, savory flavor of the broth. I think it could be spicier and that it could use some crisp-tender vegetables (e.g. green beans, celery), but if this is the recipe, then so be it.
It will probably be a while before I get to ordering ma po tofu again. There are too many other things that I want to try on this menu, e.g. the twice cooked pork belly and the steak with green chile peppers.
The only place that I know that is basically 'bring your own beer.' The portions are massive here and it is a fun family-styled restaurant to dine at, the food is delicious and it comes out pretty quickly. We came here with a massive group of over 30 people, so the problem of seating us was a problem and we ended up not being together. The servers were also not attentive to us, so that is why this place will not receive another 0.50 stars.
Other than that, I'd recommend this place for a large group of friends wanting to have delicious food and BYOB!
LOVE IT! Great food, great service and outstanding overall!
Excellent authentic Chinese restaurant. We ate dinner last night at one of the oldest Chinese restaurant in Oklahoma City (in business for 35 years) at Chow's Chinese Restaurant. There were a lot of locals who were orientals and also caucasians eating there.
Inline image 1- True to form, the recommendation by our friend Mr. Minh Truong was accurate - food was excellent - fast service and quick response time, and most importantly: Excellent in taste!
Some of the dishes we sampled:
Crabmeat & fish maw soup
Soft Shelled Crab w ginger scallions
Lamb w ginger scallion/Eng Chai (Kang Kong or Kong Xing) vegetable (top right corner)
Fish fillet steamed
Spare ribs salt & pepper
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Very Authentic, but something for everyone.. I agree with A. Tevington, this is one of the most authentic Chinese restaurants I've been in---meaning the menu provides a large number of dishes prefered by Asians and more likely to be like "home cooking" to them rather than the "Americanized" Chinese food we find in most restaurants. I had my first visit to Chow's last night and I was fighting a cold so I ordered a bowl of hot and sour soup and some dumplings. The soup, which is about $7 a bowl, is a bowl for an entire family so it is more than a meal for one person. The soup is very good, loaded with meat and veggies and at that price is a bargain. I also ordered an appetizer of the steamed dumplings. They were excellent! Better than I've had at many dim sum places. And the dipping sauce was perfect. I will definitely have to return and try some of the entrees. Notably, almost everyone else in the place was Asian, so I am quite confident of the authenticity of the food. The motif isn't "fancy", but nicer than the strip mall places and fairly typical for Chinese restaurants with a few years under their belts. I highly recommend Chow's.
Don't be deceived by the appearance. The food kinda looks like the same as most Chinese restaurants but to me, once I had some of the dishes it was apparent that this place has the best Chinese food I've had in OKC. I'm a foodie & it was recommended by my foodie neighbors. I concur with them, the best in OKC that I've found.
Best Chinese Food in OKC. Wow. Amazing Chinese food.
We live nearby and we always noticed how crowded the parking lot was at Chow's. Finally, we decided we would have try it and see why it was always so busy. We love good food and are a bit on the picky side and we were literally blown away. This place ROCKS.
Authentic. Good Chinese food - it's more like the food I've eaten in China than other places in OKC. The hot and sour soup is made fresh to order, the steamed dumplings are a good balance of dough and filling, and the entrees are well seasoned and portioned for family style sharing. The snow pea tips and eggplant dishes are family favorites and prepared well - there's a slight crunch on the greens and a good savory taste with the eggplant. They balance sweet with sour with salty well in all their dishes - this is not easy to do, and most Chinese food places load up on sweet to cover up their inability to get the balance right.
I would recommend this restaurant to anyone, and think it's far superior to the larger Chinese food chains (Pei-Wei, PF Changs, etc) that are packed with patrons with alarming consistency.
We LOVE Chow's!! It's our new favorite restaurant! Family friendly, very reasonably priced, wonderful service and excellent food!! We have tried many different things on the menu and are never let down. Even Basics like Egg drop soup and hot&sour soup are perfect, egg rolls-super yummy & crab Rangoon, yummmmm!!! Everything is always excellent and very fresh! Tell everyone we know about Chows and they have loved it Too :))
I love this place. We had takeout last time and it was wonderful and the portions were generous. The fried tofu is delicious, black bean scallops are yummy, and my favorite is the Vietnamese dish bo luc lac. My bf and I love this restaurant.
Superb...... I go here at least once a week. Their seafood is superb but their other menu is also good. So far, I never had a bad food in here, all are delicious.
Wonderful!. Just went here for the first time a few days ago. The menu was really extensive, and offered many authentic dishes. That in itself is exciting, since most of our Chinese eateries are highly Americanized. I had a sparerib and black mushroom hotpot that was soooo good! Fresh tasting for sure. Nothing in my dish was mushy. My boyfriend had salt and pepper seafood, which was also very good and spicy. The service was great! Very helpful and knowledgable about the menu. We even got our glasses filled several times because she could tell the red chilis were getting to us, and brought us to go boxes without us having to ask. Awesome!
Delicious. All around good cuisine. I had BBQ pork and pork intestine to start--wonderfully prepared and absolutely delicious. It was then the chef came out and I told him to prepare me the best fish item on the menu. He placed in front of me a delicately pan fried dish of white fish litely battered with lemongrass and nuts. Superb! The decor is much left to be desired, but I went to eat not look.
Authentic Chinese. This is as authentic as it gets in Oklahoma, the Steak Cube was delicious. If you are not used to "authentic" chinese food, you need to come with an open mind.
Amazing Food. This place is great if you are into REAL Cantonese food, its not a "sweet and sour pork" or "Pu Pu Platter" kind pf place. This is a great place if you order real authentic Chinese cuisines. My favorites Roast Duck, Veggie Hot Pot, Salty Lobster, Salty Shrimps, Steamed Dumplings, Chicken/Shrimp Fried Rice...etc.
Matt McNeil - McNeil Liquidations
+5
HORRIBLE AMBIENCE, BUT INCREDIBLE FOOD. Don't go if you're expecting fancy schmancy. Really. This place has all the ambience of an emergency room. (The owners have updated some, but it's still pretty grim.) Also, the noise levels can be deafening here -- especially if large groups of Chinese or Vietnamese men show up on a Sunday evening. Finally, don't order carbonated drinks here -- it seems as though the CO level is always non-existent in the machines here.
OK, all the petty stuff is out of the way now. DO go to Chow's if you want authentic and delicious Chinese food in the heart of Oklahoma City.
I especially like the crispy tofu with scallions and garlic (yum!) and the Szechuan eggplant (out of this world!). The roast duck is excellent, as are all the clay hot pot dishes. (The salty fish and eggplant hot pot is especially nice.)
There's boring old faux Chinese "white people" food on the menu, too. (Someone's gotta pay the mortgage, and clueless Anglos who buy the Moo Goo Gai Pan crap pretty much do that, I reckon.)
Very modest prices. Very easy to find.
Authentic Chinese Food. If you are looking for authentic Chinese food, look no further. Chow's Chinese make authentic Chinese food. Our food (I had roasted duck and my wife crab) tasted very good. Only the 1st page of the menu has American Chinese food, the other 8 or so pages are all real Chinese dishes.
Chow's don't serve alcohol, but you can bring your own drink. Chow's was open on Thanksgiving Day, 2010.
Well, due to a money crunch, we had to order boring items: sweet and sour chicken and beef fried rice. I thought both were mediocre and my fried rice was a bit burnt, but I'm not ready to write off Chow's yet given the other reviews. Big portions for the money, but from what I've had so far, I'll stick with Golden Phoenix.
Real chinese food!. If u are looking for all kinds of deep fried chicken that dont even taste like chicken, or if u are looking for just some regular sweet and sour pork and egg rolls. please go somewhere else. this is not that kind of a place.
this place has the most authentic chinese in oklahoma, it is family owned, the chefs are actually chinese and they stay true to the real taste. of course they will have sweet and sour chicken and egg roll, but please if u are not open minded and only want some dime and dozen chinese take out, dont come in here and insult the chefs. they are more than that.
i am chinese, so i go in and am able to order stuff off the menu. and the taste is great, u cant get better real chinese than this place.
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Exqusite, authentic. The sight of a dining room filled with Asians is the first good sign - this is their food, prepared for them. Authenticity rules. Preparations are not watered-down Americanized versions. They are creative and delicately seasoned homages to a homeland far removed from Oklahoma City.
A "specials" board lists all sorts of truly foreign dishes even to this trained eye. Chive flowers were on the list - a nuanced member of the onion family lightly stir-fried with shrimp (or choose pork or tofu). The chives retained their crunch while the shrimp were just opaque and very tender.
The mouthful of flavor was a real gift, delicately balanced by someone with a deft hand and a mastery of seasonings. Exquisite.
I just returned from Los Angeles and San Francisco and can attest that this food was at the level of meals found in the finest Chinatowns in America.
Five spice fried quail, an appetizer, also soared. Crunchy and bursting with flavor, it was also a bargain at $6.50 for two whole split quails. Amazing.
On another visit, seafood and tofu soup made with chicken stock was very comforting and hearty. Fresh cilantro enlivened it with flavorful punches of earthiness in contrast to the delicacy of the sea.
The menu is abundant with seafood, and I saw platters of oysters, clams and whole fish on other tables. Given the land-locked location, it's a testament to the kitchen's prowess and ability to source such fine ingredients.
Highly Recommended.
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this place feels strangely nostalgic. there is a vibe here that only exists in places that make you want to just bask in the moment of that moment. me and my girlfriend got food for take out. while we waited i noticed many nuances of the place. it is a place fitting of memories. the food here was quite good. what i noticed was that the food had a certain essence to them that clearly took them above others in the market. salt and pepper tofu was actually very interesting. the way the tofu is fried and textured but was softer in the inside but this degree of seperation was alarmingly pronounced. there was also a good amount of garlic which made the food exceptional. the scallions were the most delicious scallions i ever had. the sweet and sour shrimp is everything you want chinese-american food to be. the egg drop soup was painstakingly nostalgic in the most gritty way. the crab rangoon actually has a strong crab taste to them which was surprising. the food here is exceptionally good. when it comes to service they are also impeccable.
large lazy susan, family style seating. The orange peel beef is one of my favorite dishes. I've ordered this dish at several restaurants in CA, GA, OK, FL and London. Chow's is one of only two places that makes this dish near perfect! Other great dishes are the Water spinach stir fried w/ garlic and Crispy Chicken. The wait staff speaks English and Vietnamese.
I want to give it 5 stars. The staff was pleasant. The atmosphere is good. The portions are large. My only problem was that I ordered the crispy chicken. I realize, now, that it takes longer to cook, like fried chicken. It would have been helpful if they had mentioned that. My husband was almost finished eating by the time my chicken arrived. And then, it was not well done. The thick parts were still pink and cool to touch. I had to take the rest of it home and finish cooking it. Otherwise, it has good flavor, etc. I was just worried about getting more from the chicken than I had asked
Update 4 years later: Chows is one of my all time favorite restaurants. Their salty fish fried rice is one of the best fried rice dish I've ever had here in OKC. The prices are very reasonable and the portions are huge. Perfect for family style eating.
Chow's is the best Chinese in Oklahoma City. Service is always on point. I've been coming here for years and have never been disappointed and last night was no different. 3lb Lobster 🦞 in Ginger with a ton of other flavors. We added white rice and it was plenty of food for two people. Best place for full lobster in my opinion
What a gem! I have never had food like this before, and looks can be deceiving but this place is a real show stopper. If you love asian cuisine this is the best place in Oklahoma to get it. I see myself coming here every time I am down and it is just so good every time. The staff is sweet and the food is fresh and hot. I seriously cant wait to come back, and the prices are wonderful you just cant beat it.
I called ahead of time about an hour and into Vance and I booked a table with a big spinning table top for 2:30 PM. I arrived around 10 minutes early and they were expecting us. The atmosphere was quiet and the waiter was very helpful with the menu, this was during lunch special and we had Kung pow chicken, two of those came to $20 and really filled us up. We took home leftovers.
We had three other friends with us and they enjoyed the meals as well. The whole ticket ended up being $75.
The waiter. Kemper drinks filled in the food, came out, very hot and delicious. It also came with the soup of the day which I had egg drop soup, and it was very very good!
This is hand down the most delicious Chinese food I've had. Freidnly staff, cozy and quiet.
I drive all the way from Tulsa (about 2hours for me) to eat here.
If you're in the area, give this place a visit.
Absolutely delicious! We started with the crab rangoons, fresh and amazing! My fiancee ordered the general tso's chicken, it was so delicious. I ordered the Peking spare ribs and such a good choice! Can't wait to try more items on their menu! Our server was amazing, the service and atmosphere were great. Thank you for being kind!
10/10 first time eating here just picked up some Steam Dumplings,Orange chicken, Asparagus with chicken. It’s so good and taste so Healthy and homemade. Will bring my family here.
Nothing short of WOW! The chef here is amazing...ALL food comes to the table steaming hot! Wait staff is so helpful and attentive in being sure we are happy with everything. Ask for Kim! Best place in Oklahoma for fresh lobster! 3lb lobsters flown in fresh weekly from Boston! 3lb display lobster meal like nothing you've ever had before. $50 Served several ways. Worth every penny! A DO NOT MISS DINING EXPERIENCE! Cannot Recommend Highly Enough!
Food was Excellent! Portion sizes and customer service was great. Very Covid safe, have full plastic between between tables. Highly recommend!
Orange beef, lo mein, and jasmine tea. To die for. Very authentic. Could use some work on the egg drop soup. Was a bit bland. But don't let that discourage you. They really aim to please here
So I drove past this restaurant and something about it screamed good food lol. Told my sis about it and we were there. Combination fried rice we both had, sis had sesame chicken, I had crispy quail and lemonade. Now when I tell ya the food is good, it is GOOD. And they had a full house. You should try it.
Be patient, it's not a fat food restaurant. It's a ma and pa restaurant. Good food. We had a going away party here. Excellent choice.
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