China Ocean

Mediocre greasy Chinese food, it tasted even worse when I found a long curly piece of hair in my fried rice. When I told them about it, they said «oops! its only hair» Will never eat their food again.

Cheap, decent Chinese food. It’s actually pretty tasty. I like it better than Wok & Roll. Even the fried rice and lo mien are yummy (most fast food fried rice has no flavor). HOWEVER — DO NOT order the dumplings. I eat here pretty regularly and finally decided to try the dumpling special today. GROSS! Not sure if it was the dumplings themselves (which were very wet and slimy) or the dipping sauce. If you want good dumplings —- go to Doozo in Houston Center. You won’t be disappointed. I took away one star because they would not accept my $ 10 bill today… thinking it was counterfeit. I could see if I was trying to pass off a $ 100 or a $ 50. Come on!

I ate here again today. It was better than I remembered. I like that dishes are not swimming in suace and are not soggy. Everything I had today was really good, the blackened chicken, General Tsao, green beans and spicy cabbage. I will be back.

It’s a decent place to grab lunch when you are craving greasy, fried, american chinese food (mall chinese/​panda express). It’s not the best «chinese» place, but it’s enough to satisfy the cravings.
lomein/​rice, vegetable, n 2 meat come out to be about $ 8. I usually get general tso n bourbon chicken. portions used to be very generous but recently seem to have decreased. overall everything is a bit on salty side.
in the end, it’s just a «chinese» place in the tunnels. don’t expect too much from it n you will be satisfied.

It’s really all been said.
Not healthy, but tasty.
Friendly service.
Shared seating with the hibachi place next door. (By the way, how’s the food at that place?)
You get very generous portions for a low price. I can usually stretch the food for three meals unless I’m being greedy.
I’ve been coming here for about 4 years. I’d say once every couple months. On my last couple visits I noticed they did away with the spicy potatoes and now have green beans (which is totally fine) and 2 different kinds of cabbage (blech!).
In conclusion, I love orange chicken. Don’t trade it for more cabbage!

The good: $ 6.25 for rice, veggies, two meats? That’s a steal for the tunnels. That’s like, legit mall foodcourt prices. Nice! Jeffrey C. is spot in in saying it is like Cajun Grill and Panda Express had a baby. And named it China Ocean. I’m not sure why there is an ocean because I didn’t see any seafood. Whatever. Pretty tasty!
The bad: It’s kind of hard to find, hiding next to Schlotzky’s. Also, everything was a bit salty. Even the green beans. Weird
The ugly: Sweet sassey molassey, food coma galore. I think the msg went straight to my brain and said «if you don’t get a glass of water soon, you’re going to fall asleep.» I didn’t get a glass of water soon, so I fell asleep at my desk. My door is still closed just in case I start dosing while someone walks by.
Consensus: If the cookie monster ate at China Ocean, he would say: China Ocean is a sometimes food. And then he would gobble up all of the Bourbon Chicken. China Ocean, I’ll eat you sometimes, but if I eat you every day, I’ll either get fired or have a heart attack or get fired then have a heart attack.

I think this place is indeed called «China Ocean» — that’s what it says on my receipt!
If rated on food alone, it’s definitely only a 3-​star at best. I just don’t quite like the overuse of MSG in American Chinese food, and China Ocean’s mass production falls victim to this shortcut practice. That said, I like the broccoli that’s always cooked just right… the chicken is tender… that’s about it!
Why am I giving a 4 star then? It’s the fact that I find myself going there on a weekly basis and the reason: it’s cheap and its serving generous! A lunch set of rice/​nooodle with 1 vege and 1 meat comes to only $ 5.60 nett — and did I mention the portion is ginormous?! My colleagues and I have come to call it the Cheap Chinese Place (not that i’m complaining)
Oh the line is quite speedy too.

I guess I don’t share Jeffrey C’s review — I just found it to be just «okay». While the veggies are fresh and cooked right in front of you, I wasnt really happy with the taste. I had the chicken and fried rice along with the spicy sauce. It was just okay — nothing special, nothing to write home about (except for maybe a Unilocal review :)
Anyway, the food here is okay — but there are many, MANY other places in the tunnels to get grub.

I believe this place is called «China Ocean,» but the name is apt. China Ocean is indeed a fusion of Cajun Grill (an old favorite of mine in First Colony Mall) and random Asian restaurant name (Asian-​sounding word such as Panda or Hunan + Something that sounds like quick but good food such as Kitchen or Chopsticks).
This is one of my absolute favorite places to eat downtown. The feature a 2-​meat combo for $ 6 (including tax), which for the amount of food you get is a practically unbeatable deal. You have your choice of white rice, fried rice or stir-​fry noodles; I always go with the fried rice. You then have your choice of veggies; I stick with the cajun potatoes, just like Cajun Grill used to make it. Finally, you pick two meats that are featured that day. They always have their staple bourbon chicken, General Tso’s chicken, and orange chicken. The rest rotate. Finally, ask them to top of your rice with the bourbon chicken sauce. That’s a must.
Did I mention this dish is only $ 6 bucks? Seriously, save your money from the Schlotzsky’s next door and go to China Ocean for twice the food. This place is totally shooting to the top of my downtown dining list.