Chef Cao’s II

I knew a kid named Taylor Cao in high school, didn’t like him very much. But I overcame my disdain and tried the pad thai. ¹⁰⁄₁₀ would call again

Came into Chef Chao’s for the lunch buffet and was disappointed. There honestly aren’t very many good Chinese places in the BCS area, so I’m honestly not too surprised. The buffet seemed to have an average selection, but the taste in a lot of the food was just ehh. Greasy and MSG overload. I will say that the pan fried dumplings were awesome and & the egg roll was decent, but the rest was not very good. The price was 6.99, so you’re getting what you paid for, but I’d rather spend that elsewhere. If you aren’t picky about Chinese food, then this place would be acceptable, but otherwise, I’d hold off.

Service was, at best, marginal. Lemon chicken, why did I even order… horrible. Tofu veggies were decent. Chicken mushrooms, not bad. Mu shu pork, salty AND had a awesome little shard of metal from, apparently, a can of something from a can opener.

Disappointed. I have had delivery from them multiple times before and it was suberb, but what they brought me tonight just wasn’t up to par. It wasn’t bad food by any means and it was delivered super quickly, but I have been noticing a decline in quality lately. Hopefully things go back to normal.

First, it is so cheap ! $ 6.99 for buffet and you can also get 15% off if you check in on Unilocal ! Food was great. They constantly make fresh dish and they taste great. I like how they have green tea ice cream :)

I really wanna love this place, but it was just an a-​okay spot. I would highly recommend it for quick take-​out.
Pros:
+ Quick — had my takeout order done in about 5 – 10 minutes.
+ 15% off with Unilocal check-​in
+ Conveniently by HEB — definitely recommend it on grocery shopping night, especially when you’re picking up things late/​end of day, and are too tired to cook dinner.
Cons:
— Food a little bland/​soggy
— Chicken was not spicy enough for my taste
— hard parking in the front; behind the area was a decent spot with plenty of space

This place is ok. Definitely a place to get your Chinese buffet craving taken care of on the cheap. Some of the food seemed a it cold this time. Service is always decent.

This was the most bland Pad Thai I’ve ever had. It didn’t make me sick, but it was almost inedible because of flavor. The wontons had meat in then when it was not mentioned on the menu. The spring rolls were okay, greasy and without flavor, but they were the best part of the meal. Thanks goodness for dipping sauces.
Maybe the food is better in the restaurant, but I don’t recommend getting delivery if you would like to have food with any flavor worth mentioning.

We ordered Hot and Sour soup, Double Cooked Pork w/​Cabbage, fried rice and Pad Kee Mao. All were delicious, the hot and sour soup was the right consistency, had plenty of egg, mushroom and little strips of pork in it. It came out very fast in large portion sizes and at a more than decent price.
Seriously though, the difference between the small and the large soups is four-​fold.
We’ll definitely be back!

My first order here so far tasted great and not rotten. I’m not dissaponted with their food so far.

A shout out to my Unilocal friend Kristina Y. She doesn’t give a lot of 1 star reviews but when she does, I read them.
I’ve eaten here I believe twice and if I am not mistaken the server told me when I asked, that this restaurant has a different owner and is not related to the more traditional style Chinese food on University Drive East.
My impressions of a sit down at the buffet and a take out is that this place looks really nice inside and is exceptionally clean. It seems to cater to the obese with a focus on the lunch buffet where you can fuel your high blood pressure with sodium laced good tasting fare that to me is not special in any way. It’s not bad, nor do I consider it memorable. It’s just a Chinese buffet for Bryan’s flocks of fats.
The staff was friendly if not down right attractive and while I didn’t go in the kitchen (I do that a LOT acting like I am looking for the restroom) here — I would think that as clean as they keep the buffet and dining area, that’s probably what you would find back there. And this local Health Department is HARD on Asian eateries.

Driving through and pleasantly surprised. Fast, fresh, and very reasonably priced. We had curry and spicy vegetable tofu. Both yummy. Beer half price. Win.

i have been very disappointed the last few times there and after today, never again…
lunch buffet was ICE COLD and when i asked about it the owner/​manager was rude and dismissive, I think the food was cold because it was the food left over from theday before and it was not heated properly before they served it.
I would have understood had they offered to cook something fresh for me but they did not. what i cant agree to is the bad attitude and snotty reply even when I was paying my check and she asked if everything was OK and i said no, the food was cold. the cashier was very rude… no worries — not going again!

Much better than the chef Cao in college station! And best orange chicken I ever had in BCS!

I often hear people say they don’t like Chinese food, I respond by asking them if they have been to Chef Cao’s. First off, I am originally from New York, meaning that I have basically been raised by an assortment of Chinese food cooks all throughout the city. New Yorkers love Chinese food, it is very much a part of the culture. If you believe you don’t like Chinese food, it likely has to do with the fact that people in Texas have a limited exposure to this type of food. If you are in the position of wanting to eat Chinese food for the first time or just want to find some quality options, this is a place that you really should go. I have tried all of the Chinese food options in BCS quite a few times, spending hundreds of dollars. This place is superior to a majority of them,
Positives
food is high in quality, fresh food (never reheated), friendly service, food is full of flavor
What You Should Get
— Honey chicken– This dish is literally amazing, I would literally lick it off the floor.
— Sesame chicken– very good
Figure out a way to get as much fried rice as possible. do this and you will love me.
= The ice cream is also really good with exotic flavors
^ You can try all of these things and more if you find your way to the lunch buffet. It is 6.99 before tax and totally worth your money. I have also ordered all of these as take out options, but the buffet is a win. The selection is not vast, but what they do have will be fresh and full of flavor. Freshness and they are also really nice. I did take off one star because of the limited buffet selection. Anyone that rates this low is crazy, you get high quality food with endless portions, the prices are low and everything is cooked just before putting it out. If i were down to $ 8 as a human I would come here.

Ambiance food and staff are the best. Friendly fast service. Clean to the max, highly recommended.

This place is okay. Huge disappointment for the spring rolls. I can barely eat them, if it wasn’t for the peanut sauce I probably wouldn’t have eaten them. And this entire meal was inspired by the crab puffs and they were also not that great.
However my entrée (sweet and sour chicken) was okay and the thai tea was yummy. I’m not exactly sure though if I would eat here again.

Good selection, acceptable quality, okay service, and good value for your money. I would go again.

Meh.
Have been to this Chef Cao’s numerous times, and every time I go that is my reaction afterwards. If Chef Cao’s was in a larger city like Houston or Austin, I wouldn’t have even come back after my first visit, but in B-​CS, dining out options can be somewhat limited. Typical menu fare, and they also have a lunch buffet which you can eat-​in for about $ 7 or you can do a ‘buffet-​to-​go’ for $ 9 where you shove as much as you can into a to-​go box. Overall impression? Mediocre food, decent prices.

Let me start with this: I love Chef Cao’s. I think it is one of the best Chinese places in town. However, their second location in Bryan is a big disappointment. I do not know how the main restaurant can be so good and the second location so bad.
The first time I decided to try the second location, I had their honey crispy shrimp, one of the dishes I love in the main restaurant. However, what I got was completely different than the original, and it was not yummy either. It was basically shrimp soaking in a whole lot of honey.
This last time I tried them, hoping maybe the first time was a fluke, I ordered the cashew chicken dinner special for delivery. To bump up the price to delivery range, I added on fried pork dumplings. The best part about the meal was the rice. The wonton soup was next best, at just okay. The one crab Rangoon that came with it was a little too fried, and the cream cheese filling was starting to separate. The cashew chicken was ruined by the fact that the brown sauce collecting at the bottom had like a centimeter of oil sitting on top of it (so gross). Then finally, the pork dumplings did not have any pork in them! Seriously, it was like dumpling with a very little bit of some sort of paste in the middle.
After giving them a chance to redeem themselves, and them royally messing that up, I have decided to ALWAYS use the main restaurant, even if it is farther away.