Restaurant Review: Pick Up Stix

Pick Up Stix - lunch on January 25, 2014, Valencia, CA

A few weeks ago, I drove my parents down to Southern California to visit one of my cousins in the hospital. It was just a short weekend trip since I had work but we wanted to see my cousin in person so we decided to make the 5-hour drive over the weekend and come back the next day. I had another cousin in the area and my sister was flying in the same morning; we were going to meet at my other cousin's place so we could all go to the hospital together. We left early Saturday morning and got there around noon. Now, in Filipino culture, unless you're arriving with food for your host, it's typically bad form to come at mealtime, hungry and expecting to be fed. Which is why we stopped off at a strip mall on our way to get lunch first.

Pick Up Stix appears to be a chain but they seem to be primarily in Southern CA as their website locator doesn't show any in the Bay Area, only in So Cal. I'd never heard of them before but when we walked in, it seemed like a fancier Panda Express with similar price points and open seating. But instead of pointing to your order behind glass displays that hold trays of food, you actually order it at the register and they bring it to your table.

House Special Chicken with rice and potstickers

They offer lunch combos with rice or noodles, an entree and either potstickers, cheese wontons or an egg roll. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. It's not haute cuisine but for under $10 a combo, it was good enough. I got the house special chicken combination with potstickers and I thought it was decent. The chicken was in bitsy pieces and I would've preferred larger chunks but at least it wasn't breaded and the sauce was tasty, albeit a trifle sweet.

Shrimp and Vegetables with rice and egg roll

They do offer a good selection of entrees so there's something for everyone. Not sure how authentic it is for Chinese food but for a fast, cheap place, this is a good option. The people behind the counter were very friendly and polite which was nice. All in all, it served its purpose well.

Mongolian Beef with cheese won tons