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Back to Zona Norte Restaurants
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Mexicali, the capitol city of Baja California, is known for its many Chinese restaurants, as many of Mexicali's residents are descendents of Chinese who immigrated into the Mexicali Valley in the early part of the last century. Tijuana is blessed with only a handful of Chinese restaurants, and to my knowledge, Oriental Express is the only Chinese restaurant in Tijuana's red light district, the Zona Norte. During my many visits to Tijuana, I've passed by the restaurant many times, and I'd always wanted to eat there, as to me, it seems quite bizarre to be enjoying Chinese cuisine in Tijuana. However circumstances had always prevented a visit, but on Monday, December 28, 2009, the moon and the starts must have been in the proper sequence, as I was able to pay a visit to Oriental Express, and enjoy a late lunch of Chinese food in Mexico.
Photo: Oriental Express is located on Av. Revolucion, just south of Calle Caohuila, on the east side of the street, in Tijuana's famous Zona Norte. You walk into the restaurant, and much of the decor is no different than any small, mom and pop Mexican diner. You'll feel at home as you sit yourself at one of the booths, upholstered in gaudy, red, vinyl, and you'll notice the furniture is made of laminated wood, with fake woodgrain. The floor is tile, there's a stand-up drink cooler in one corner, the walls are mostly bare, and when you look up at the ceiling, you'll see bare fluorescent light fixtures, the television with rabbit ears playing a Mexican soap opera; all of these features are found in practically any mom and pop diner in Tijuana. Some aspects aren't typical, such as a smattering of cheap, gaudy Chinese decorations on the walls, Mexican picante sauce gracing the tables, and the menu, which features Chinese entrées, in Spanish. Examples on the menu include Chow Mein Camaron, Chop Suey de Pollo, and Kun Pao Camaron. To add to the bizarre atmosphere, these folks speak a mixture of Spanish and Chinese, with about 90% of the dialog in Spanish, and the gentleman in the kitchen appeared to be half Mexican and half Chinese. I sat myself down at a booth, and was greeted by the waitress, who introduced herself as María, and was presented a menu. She asked me what I wanted to drink, as I asked for a Tsingtao beer, alas, Oriental Express does not serve anything alcoholic, so I had to settle for a Piña de Crush, which is a mighty fine drink. Despite the fact that it was nearly four in the afternoon, I asked María is I could order from the lunch menu... she said that was fine, so I ordered a #1, which featured Oriental Express chicken, a spring roll, fried rice, a fried chili pepper, and a salad.
Photo: The dining room decor is pure Mexican, with small Chinese touches. The wood-paneled door in the background leads to the kitchen. Note the stand-up drink cooler, and the television playing a Mexican soap opera.
Photo: María was quite surprised when I snapped her photo, after she placed my order on the table. The small bowl is the remnants of my "salad" of fried noodles. I must add, like in many mom and pop diners in Tijuana, during the time of my visit, I was the only customer present. How these folks make a living is beyond me... but I've seen Oriental Express in business for as long as I can remember, so they must be making a living. My "salad" consisted of a plate of fried deep fried noodles, placed on my table as an appetizer. I had to stifle a laugh, as this wasn't exactly what most folks would consider to be a salad, but I had to remind myself, like Dorothy, I wasn't in Kansas. A few squirts of catsup on the plate for dipping made the noodles palatable, and I sat munching on them, as the dramatic soap opera droned on from the television in the background.
Photo: Just as I snapped his photo the guy in the kitchen turned away from my camera. The kitchen is quite compact, but seems quite functional, but I doubt that it would pass any U.S. inspections.
Photo: I pose at my booth with the lunch I'm about ready to enjoy. My "Especiales de Almuerzo #1" consisted of a plate with three pieces of Tijuana-style fried chicken, a greasy spring roll, a grilled chili pepper, and a huge glob of fried rice. María also brought a bowl of some sort of mystery sauce, which seemed to be soy sauce, but was golden in color. What the heck, as I spooned the whole bowl of in onto my glob of rice. The rice was truly Chinese-style rice, and I could even find a few green peas and cilantro leaves in it, but I wasn't quite sure if it was steamed or fried... The spring roll, or "chun cun" was brown and greasy, and contained some sort of mystery meat and vegetable filling... The chicken was fried Tijuana-style, in that it's coated with flour and then deep fried in well-used oil in a greasy wok-like pan. Well, I have to admit the meal was Chinese in many ways, yet Tijuana in many ways, so I guess you could best describe it as a cross-pollination of cultures and cuisines, which the restaurant seems to represent. Like any other restaurant, I'm assuming that Oriental Express has adapted their fare in order to cater to the tastes of the locals, and undoubtedly 99.99% of their customers are Mexicans... The service was great, María was friendly, the food was very filling, and the price was right - less than four U.S. dollars ($45.00 Pesos) for the food and the drink. As the old cliché goes, the food may cost money, but the experience is priceless.
Photo: Here's my lunch of three pieces of deep fried chicken, a chun cun roll, fried rice, and a fried chili pepper. I've already poured the unique soy sauce onto my rice... I guess it was Tijuana-style soy sauce. After I paid for my meal, I asked María if I could use the restroom, and she told me that the men's room was out of order, and directed me to the ladies' room. When I finished my business and walked past the counter, with smile on my face, I joked to María, "Ya soy una mujer," which brought a giggle out of her. Oriental
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