Chowking

Chowking is to the Philippines as Panda Express is to the US. I only ever went to Chowking once in the Philippines so I might as well have no point of comparison. Can’t quite remember what I ordered and what it tasted like.
My boyfriend and I went to Southcenter because I got my wisdom teeth taken out and couldn’t think of anything better than congee — specifically, Filipino congee (lugaw, goto, arroz caldo or whatever else you wanna call it).
We ended up going here and I order the lugaw with the tokwa (congee with tofu).
It was… not bad. It wasn’t particularly good either. Didn’t care for the bland tokwa. The lugaw itself was fine but I definitely prefer the one from Red Ribbon. My boyfriend got the lomi and enjoyed that. We shared (fine, I ate 95% of it) the taho. Taho is steamed silken tofu served with a brown sugar syrup and tapioca pearls. It’s commonly sold in the mid-​mornings by peddlers and is a much beloved snack for young kids (cuz they’re the ones home at 10 am). The pearls were a little bit too big and the portion was basically a mini vat… But I can’t complain too much! I just wish they had like a $ 2 smaller serving version rather than a bowlful for $ 5.
This place was in many states of disarray. It really busy when we came here. We were barely able to snag a (dirty) table. The tables didn’t appear to have been wiped down all morning. The floor could’ve used some sweeping or mopping. There were no napkins to be found anywhere (so you only have the two dinky ones they provide) to wipe down the dirty tables either. Makes you wonder how sanitary their kitchen is.
Overall, I wasn’t impressed. I’d much rather make my own taho at home.

Guess it’s true that you need to look at how many people are eating at restaurants during their supposedly busy times. I came here during lunch and there were 5 tables occupied considering they had around 30 tables.
I knew exactly why when I tasted the soup. Tastes worst than instant ramen and will probably give you instant edema. If you do have a craving for ramen or soup, you are better off buying the grocery pre packaged ones that are popular among college students.

Ordered the Bola-​bola siopao and was a little disappointed that it was a lot smaller than the one in Cali but when I cut it open I was glad it wasn’t just full of bread. The ratio of filling was perfect with every bite. I very much enjoyed the siopao sauce. Do not eat it without the sauce because you will be missing out on the goodness. We ordered two siopao to go and it took a while… I mean they weren’t very busy because they were waiting for the food to be cooked for the other orders and we were just staring at the warmer hoping by some miracle it would just pack itself but finally the cashier went over to the warmer and got our siopaos. I peeked over the counter and the floor was quite dirty and had receipts on the ground… The workers seem like they hated working there… No smiles or even a greeting when we came up to the registers or even to the other patrons.

Service has gone downhill… I keep giving this place the benefit of the doubt since it’s a filipino business but I am done. We literally waited 30 minutes for my wife’s order of Chinese crispy chicken. This is suppose to be fast food. I swear there must only be 1 person working in the back. The manager was completely indifferent and didn’t give a sh*t. Long ass lines, crappy service, and so-​so food. I’m sticking to Chowking only when I travel to the Philippines. The service there is great, food cheap, and tastes waaaay better. BOOOOOOO!

Pretty good in comparison to the Chowkings I have been to in the Philippines. Tried the laureate combo meal with garlic chicken and sweet and sour pork with rice and pancit canton. The portion size was good and I felt full afterwards. Would come back here again.

I ordered the chef special and the congee it was really good. I think chow kings fried chicken taste better than jollibees. It came out to 12.99 for both meals.

This is located inside the Westfield mall in south center Tukwila by the seafood city grocery. It is across jolliebee. Parking can get really crowded as the Asian community comes here often and it’s the only one in Washington state. I come here for the taho (soft tofu with tapioca pearls & syrup) sadly i didn’t have it today. I ordered the chef choice with two chicken and some egg rice. While the chicken was crispy and all its okay… it isn’t comparable to jolliebee as they have no gravy and it’s more of a lumpia sweet sauce. Again I don’t usually eat their chicken here I normally order taho & bola bola soapao because it’s quick and it tastes good. If you’re looking for a place to try a Filipino common fast food this is one of them. Just try to come when it isn’t too busy.

Always dirty from the tables to trash. Management is horrible and clueless and out of touch. Completely a mess.

I guess it’s hard not to be biased about this place, since I do like Chowking back in Manila. Comparing the taste, they seem to be the same or don’t deviate much from the Chowking back in the Philippines. Although they don’t have the chilli garlic sauce here. :(
I think you pay a bit for nostalgia. Some of the food seem over priced for what is basically franchised filipino-​chinese fast food. But I think some of the meals have better value. The Lauriat has a lot in it’s plate, ulam (entrée), pansit (noodle), kanin (rice), and buchi for dessert. The Silogs with two entrees have great value too.
I also liked the beef wanton soup back in Manila and the one here tastes the same. Although there were a few times that the temperature of the soup didn’t seem hot enough.
–Juan dela Cruz

Filipino’s go crazy for any Filipino related franchises in America. You can only find Chowking in Washington State at Southcenter Mall next to Jollibee, Potato Corner, Seafood City, Valerio’s and Red Ribbon. At first, you might think that Chowking isn’t as good as Jollibee and Red Ribbon because of line difference, but being that I am from the Philippines and visit the homeland often I know that they are all equally good. I suggest ordering Taho (tofu in sugar syrup), Siopao (Filipino version of the Chinese Humbao) and any of the soups on the menu with a side of Tokwa’t Baboy (tofu and pork soaked in Vinegar and Soy Sauce). I personally like eating at Chowking more than Jollibee because Chowking has more than just the typical fast food of the Philippines (Chicken, Rice, Fries, Potatoes and Gravy). They do serve Halo-​Halo (MixMix dessert) here, but I like Jollibee’s Halo-​Halo much better.

Stopped by on way to Portland for family trip. Went to a restroom, inside was a chowking employee who used the urinal and did not wash his hands…:(Nasty

For the price and value. Nah…
I ordered the Halo halo and the dessert was full of ice. I had one in the past where there was more flavor to it. At least more than one scoup of ice cream.
Chowking is a food court style or should be categorized as fast food. It looks like its a restaurant style in some way but not much. This place isn’t busy. Food ok and not like wow. You would be better off walking into Seafood City and pickup food there (which is way more busy)

Wow what happened? The last time we were at Chow King the line was crazy but manageable, upon our most recent visit, it was eerily quiet for a Saturday lunch hour, while the line at Jolibee was pretty long. Our order was taken pretty fast, but the food took a while, and we were afraid we were going to miss our movie. Once we got our food we were pretty disappointed. I got the bangus, with a fried egg, and rice. The fried egg, was not runny as we remembered, and it was cooked like the McDonald’s Egg McMuffin. I was really looking forward to the runny yolk with my bangus (fried milk fish) and rice. The Mr’s meal was disappointing as well, he said the longanisa (sausage) tasted off, and the pancit wasn’t very good, the only thing I liked was the lumpia. We didn’t finish our meals, and left going to the movies feeling more satisfied with a tub of popcorn.

Not impressed. Line was long @ Jolibee, so we thought we’d give them a shot. Garlic chicken was way too salty, fried rice had no flavor at all, hum bow sucked ass. I don’t see a return in my future, pissed I didn’t wait out the line.

I’ve only had a few things here; beef wonton, siopao and the black jelly drink. It’s not the best, but if you have a sudden craving for these items while you’re in the mall… it’ll do. Next time I want to try the taho (silken tofu dessert).

This is a popular Filipino-​Chinese fast food joint. Priced pretty cheap. Their Chinese style fried chicken with fried rice has that tasty crunch, but as soon as you bite into it, oil seeps out. I ordered their popular asado siopao (steamed rice bun with beef) but had to wait 20 minutes since they ran out and were still making some. Beef wonton soup was just ok.
Overall, this place is just «eh, ok.» But, I will still keep coming back over and over again because everything here is so reminiscent of home. :)

Yuk.
Their food is a strange mish mash of flavors, it’s not the best grade of meat, so much so that i could hardly get through my chicken.
The garlic flavored chicken isn’t terrible, but that fancy drink thing that they’ve got is nasty to put it lightly.

Another food chain icon for filipino living abroad… from break fast-​lunch-​snacks and dinner chowking has something for tou to satisfy your hunger… pinoy cuisine… goid merienda (tagalog word for snack) located inside a big mall… neat, quite place to eat mostly filipino clientele, accept cash and crdit cards, huge mall parking. everytime im visiting my relatives in shoreline we always come to this place… all are cravings for pinoy foods will surely be satisfied… lots of oinoy resto inside… the recent visit we had early lunch-​bangus-​tapa and friend rice. and halu-​halo for dessert… they were good… plus a nice looking young filipino guy in the cashier makes our morning just perfect… will visit again…

You can get a surprising amount of food for REALLY cheap here. That’s the main draw of this restaurant, along with the fact that it’s right outside Seafood City. The downside is that the excessive calories may be a concern when you’re eating stuff like fried rice, but prices here are so low that I think it’s okay to cheat every once in a while regarding healthy eating. One bowl of fried rice with three pieces of shumai for $ 5.49 is a steal. I honestly think the food could taste better, but it’s hard to complain when you’re getting such a great deal.

Known in the Philippines as the Chinese themed fast food chain. These guys specialize in big portion combo meals that consists of noodles, meat, rice, dumplings and chips. It’s a full meal for fast food price. Then a few decades back, they hit a home run on their Halo-​halo special.
Growing up, the desert was a summer time favorite. Finishing off a meal with that baby is a definite winner in my book. This restaurant serves the halo-​halo version in the Philippines is laid out nice and fancy in a big glass bowl. Here in the states it’s served in a big tall plastic cup. But I’m not complaining. It’s still good as heck.
They even sell the Taho, which is another childhood favorite in the Philippines. Ask any filipino who grew up there, they’ll tell you without a hint of hesitation that those two are the king of sweet yummy snacks. The thing about taho is that it’s usually served hot, so it’s perfect for the colder season. Hot simple syrup, soft tofu and tapioca beads, yes its that simple for this comfort food to be as destructive as it is.
The place is clean, there’s tables everywhere for you to place your food to eat. There’s chairs for you to sit in and there’s a soda fountain machine in the corner. No its not a fancy joint for you to eat in, but it’s clean and there’s plenty of space.
Life is awesome, come eat here cause its wicked good. Never have I had a bad experience.
Weeeeeeeeeee!