TG Express Cheap “Chinese” Combo Meals in the Heart of Center City

Today Luncher John is getting down with some General Tso’s


For the past few years, the restaurant space at 120 South 15th Street, between Chestnut and Sansom, has had a revolving door of tenants. First, Shank’s Uptown, the Center City expansion of South Philadelphia’s Evelyn and Shank’s sandwich shop, held the space for two years. Next, Enzo’s, a sandwich spot similar to Shank’s, stayed for about a year before closing. The newest tenant is TG Express, a Chinese (Americanized Chinese, that is) lunch establishment. Will it have better luck than its predecessors? The key may be in its combo specials.

As visitors to Shank’s Uptown and Enzo’s will recall, the interior
space at TG is relatively narrow. Counter stools on one side of the
restaurant serve as the only seating available. The other half of the
restaurant is taken up by the kitchen along with a menu board and a
display of the entrees and sides.

What may separate TG from other similar Chinese restaurants is its
lunch combo special. You can select one, two or three entrées from the
lunch bar along with either white rice, vegetable fried rice or lo
mein for $4.25 (one entrée), $5.25 (two entrées) and $6.25 (three
entrées) respectively. In particular, the one entrée combo price is an
absolute bargain.

I started off with the basic order of General Tso’s chicken and white
rice. Considering the value, the food was certainly worth it. The
sauce was as good as General Tso’s at pricier locations, and the dish
comes with ample rice and chicken.

Similarly, the hot pepper chicken with lo mein was also a nice meal.
Plenty of noodles helped fill you up, while the hot pepper chicken
offered some subtle spicy flavors. The slight disappointment was that
the chicken was a little dry, but the dish was still good.

The kung pao chicken with vegetable fried rice featured an array of
vegetables. Peas, carrots and onions were mixed in with the rice,
while the kung pao chicken included carrots, celery, green peppers,
mushrooms and peanuts. The good peanut flavor in the chicken was
certainly evident. Though I initially found that the kung pao chicken
broth a bit excessive, I solved the issue by dropping the fried rice
into it to add flavor to the rice.

While the food at TG Express is certainly not the greatest Chinese
food you’ll ever have, the value of the combos makes the place worthy
of a visit for a quick, affordable meal. In my visits to TG, I noted
there were other repeat customers who similarly recognize and
appreciated the great bargain price. Perhaps, the space may finally
have found a long-lasting tenant.

THE + (What somebody who likes this place would say)

  •   Excellent value of lunch combo meals
  •  Sides of rice and lo mein help fill you up

THE – (What somebody who doesn’t like this place would say)

  •  Not the best Chinese food you’ll ever have
  • On cold, windy days, the wind blows in every time someone opens the door

TG Express, 120 South 15th Street, 215-561-6100

ADVERTISEMENT

Leave a Reply

You must log in or register to post a comment.