Shang Yuen Chinese Fast Food

My favorite Chinese food place in Des Moines! I always get the general tso chicken with extra sauce and extra chicken with a side of fried rice and two crab rangoons with an order of two egg rolls. I usually call before and pick it up to take home because the atmosphere there is a little depressing but it technically is a fast food joint so you can’t blame them for that. If you haven’t ate here yet I would highly recommend it!

I absolutely love this place! My favorite is their Egg Drop soup with crunchies and their Shrimp with Lobster sauce. I have yet to have a bad meal from here.

food in general is pretty amazing but they only have one kind of soup but their hot in sour is pretty decent but low on the tofu and mushrooms and their crab rangoons are terrible, barely any crab flavor you know what I’m saying no crab. lame.

I stopped by Shang Yuen for the first time tonight. It’s a Chinese fast food restaurant where you place your order at the counter and sit down wherever you want.
I ordered the Mongolian Beef to go and it was around $ 8.50 with tax. It was out in less than 5 minutes so it’s pretty fast! It came with 2 crab rangoons and a scoop of rice. I wish it would have came with 2 scoops, since there wasn’t much rice and I like to mix everything together when eating or maybe even an egg roll or soup would have been a nice combo. Also if there would have been a second scoop of rice my crab rangoons would have been sitting on top of the rice and not soaking in the sauce and getting soggy. The beef was seasoned well and was tender, but it seemed like it needed a little more «oomph» to take it to the next level. There was actually a lot of beef, so I was happy about that. There weren’t alot of onions but I was fine with that. So if you’re a fan of Mongolian Beef because of the onions then you might want to go elsewhere or request extra onions.
Overall the food could have been better but I did enjoy the polite staff and fast service.

My go to take out. My family and I have been eating here for almost 15 years. It’s extremely fast, good quantity of food and reasonable prices. I never have to wait long. You come here when you want comfort food. Im sure there are healthy items but I always get the crab rangoon, mixed fried rice (has beef, shrimp and chicken) and kung pao chicken. Usually I can get 3 meals out of it. Never disappointed.

Our go to spot for Chinese. As good as it gets in the neighborhood
Great tasting food. Very fresh dishes
We like the lo mein noodles with shrimp and general tso’s chicken.
Very clean place. That’s important to us!

Very good and fast food. Come here often. One of the best in town. Stop in you’ll enjoy it my favorite is the Empress chicken very good

My go to Chinese in the Merle Hay area. Always fresh and hot, with big portions. The food always has a lot of flavor. The only thing I don’t like, is that they only serve one type of soup each day so you either only can get hot and sour or egg drop, BUT, I like them both, so it’s not that big of a deal. Also, very quick. My go to is the Kung Pao chicken.

This joint is awesome. Des Moines doesn’t have shit for Chinese food and I can tell you this — this is about as good as it gets for Chinese in this town.
I always get the general tso’s chicken. They definitely have it spiced correctly, it has the spiciness and ginger tang that makes me happy.
Their crab Rangoons appear to be hand made and not frozen which is a huge plus. And like others have said, the sweet & sour sauce has an apple saucey consistency to it. I actually love it.
Funny thing about the restaurant is, they keep the Asians out front but once they slide open the dark tinted window that the food comes out of, you can see Mexicans in back lol, it’s good food though.

Hot, fast and delicious! Pot stickers are delish! We call ahead and in 15 minutes it’s ready to be picked up. We get it home and its still Hot! I hate my food cold and they have never given me cold food. Must try!

awesome food at a awesome price!
been coming here for over 10 years and the food never disappoints!

The fried rice was different from any other I’ve ever had, as it appears they do not mix in soy sauce or any other condiment when preparing it – it was almost steamed rice with vegetables. Certainly more healthful and perhaps less Americanized than most other restaurants. They were also happy to accommodate my request for spicy chicken with broccoli, which was appreciated. The sweet and sour sauce they serve is interesting – its in a squeeze bottle on the table and didn’t seem to carry very much flavor and was very gloppy. Actual hot mustard didn’t appear to be available, only packets of the sub-​quality Chinese mustard every inexpensive Oriental restaurant offers.
The portions were very generous for $ 8 and each dinner meal comes with two crab rangoons as well. With many similar (and slightly better) options nearby, I wouldn’t make a trip out of my way to eat here, but if you’re in the area and want a quick bite, this would certainly be a reasonable option, if you keep in mind that it is Chinese fast food and not gourmet dining.

Best place… I order from here often. We like are food spicy. They always make it spicy for us… nice people. Feed a family of five for under $ 45 — love it!

Pretty good. Szechwan wasn’t very spicy but good
Sweet and sour sauce (a apple sauce concoction,) was something I didn’t care for but overall a good meal and good price.

Best Fast Chinese I’ve had. Empress Chicken with a cup of hot and sour soup is my go to. Perfect level of spicy mellowed with a pinch of sweetness. Friendly and fast service. She doesn’t deliver, but with call ahead, it will be ready when you get there.

My go to spot for Chinese in Des Moines. Pretty quick too-​only bummer is that they didn’t deliver last I knew… still great Chinese

Shang Yuen is one of my favorite Chinese places in Des Moines. Nothing earth-​shattering about it, but the staff is always friendly and has never gotten my order wrong. The lunch special is a great deal, about $ 6 for an entrée, soup, and an egg roll (although I always substitute for 2 crab rangoon). The food is just what I want Chinese fast food to be — delicious and fresh. I just wish that they had delivery!

The chicken fried rice is delicious. Large portions and very filling. I usually get my food to go and the wait is very short.

Generous helping for the price (hence 2 instead of 1 star)
I’m not so sure about the fresh bit.
Egg drop soup pretty good — otherwise exactly what two stars says «Meh, I’ve experienced better.»
Pork + Veggies ok
Sesame chicken not so great

This is one of my favorite Chinese places in Des Moines. I’d never been there before this year, but go about once a month or so now, and I’ve never had a bad experience. The food is inexpensive, but well-​prepared, and very tasty. Compared to some place like Red China Bistro, the décor is certainly lacking, but I’d choose Sheng Yuen’s food over almost every other Chinese place in town.