Ling Garden Restaurant

02/12/2008 Posted by brookecary

I tried their lunch delivery service and was pleasantly surprised. I called to place my order, but realized my lunch was short of their $10 minimum for delivery. But they were nice enough to do it for me anyway (one-time) and he were here in less than 15 minutes. Very nice and accommodating. The food is good, nice they give you a whole lunch for less than $6. The hot and sour soup is delicious and I am NOT a soup person. I will be ordering again from them, and after my whole office saw my lunch, they plan to as well!!

02/01/2008 Posted by EKJohnson8

I travel for a living and took a chance on this restaurant based on it's reviews.............I'm glad I did. I had an order of eggrolls which were very tasty and jumbo sized. The potstickers were just the right temperature but could have had a little more zing in the taste. I enjoyed the wonton soup. It had great mushrooms, carrots, bamboo shoots and of course extra large wontons. My total bill was $9.00 What a great deal. I'll be back next time I'm in Portland.

Pros: The take-out was quick and easy and the customer service was friendly

Cons: Overall the food was a little bland, but still very fulfilling and appetizing.

08/04/2007 Posted by futurelegend

It may be a bit unfair to rate Ling Garden so high because it is only one of two notable Chinese restaurants in the neighborhood. This is not to say that the food is good only by default, but in any other neighborhood there would be more competition. Still, Ling Garden has to come out tops against the other (let's just drop the hint here: "AM"... think month and outer space). First off, they are much more friendly and accommodating, something that is always a big deciding factor for me regarding return visits. I have lived and worked in this neighborhood for almost a decade and I am often asked for recommendations. Ling Garden is where I send them for Chinese. I've tried several of the menu items and with only one caveat (never spicy enough, no matter how many times you ask!) have nothing negative to say. Check out their health inspection record online and you will feel secure in the quality of food being served. (And, as counter to that, check out the "AM" file. You may make the switch after that.) Take-out is quick, usually ready in ten minutes time. I've almost got the number memorized, as this is how I usually order! They have delivery hours too so you can pretend you are in Greenwich Village. (Heh!) The portions are huge. A thirteen dollar order can last you several days of leftovers, even feeding two.. What more can you ask for with Chinese take-out? I've also noticed that this is THE spot for Portland City's finest, so don't be alarmed if you walk up and see four cop cars outside. I recommend Ling Garden on many levels, but perhaps it all comes down to this, simply: I've never had a bad experience here and have always walked away completely full and quite satisfied by the meal. The lowdown is, this is a good establishment all around, and I am happy to support and recommend it.

Pros: Quick take-out and delivery! Amiable staff!

Cons: If you like it spicy, you will have to get down on your knees and plead.

07/18/2007 Posted by wikmanr

We lived in China and spent several months in Thailand, and, we are always searching for authentic Asian food in the USA/Canada,EU. Our careers take us on the road 30+ weeks per year. We tried Ling Garden on our recent stay in NW Portland. The restaurant is sparsely decorated and clean, but not decorated for ambience. Similar to non-touristy (local) restaurants in China. The food was very authentic - not much Americanizing. Thank goodness. The seafood and vegetable dishes are the best of that which we tried - well flavored and crisp. Try any of them. If you like spicy ask them to add a little heat. We tried several shrimp, fish and scallop dishes - all rate at least 8/10 for authenticity. We will be going back for several meals in August once we return to Portland. Ling Garden is now in our top ten list of best Asian restaurants from anywhere we have traveled in the USA/Canada. From our experiences, any Chinese or Thai restaurant which advertises its ambience and authentic decoration, has Americanized its food. Ling Garden has stayed as true as possible to its roots.

Pros: Food, authenticity, service

Cons: Appetizers a little Americanized

02/12/2007 Posted by sc_ross

Good Chinese food... where have you been all this time! Ling Garden fills your desire for outstanding, well flavored Chinese food. Orange Beef was tangy without being too spicy. General Tsao's was crispy and sweet. We have been back here numerous times and not once did we have a negative comment. If you are jonesing for a good Chinese meal... Ling Garden is your spot. Trust me.

Pros: Food to remember, service.

Cons: Tired decoration.

01/29/2007 Posted by jackbourbon

We went there based on the all of the good reviews we read on Citysearch. On arriving, we decided to get take out based on overall ambience. The service was good and the staff was very polite, we were offered tea while waited forour food. We got the Kung Pao Shrimp and Vegetable Deluxe. Pretty disappointing.The shrimp was bland and mushy (how does shrimp get mushy?). Worse yet, some pieces were not even deveined (ick). I had high hopes, but I don't think we'll be back.

11/25/2006 Posted by rtd2

I've been going to Ling Garden for 7 years and have never had a bad experience. The food quality is gradeA, especially for the PRICE!! My favorite dishes are the Tropical Chxn, Mother Baby Shrimp, and The Phoenix... oh, and the infamous PotStickers!! Everyone there is so friendly which makes it easy to want to go back again and again. I think it's nice to see the new (1yr old) inside paint colors create a comfortable atmosphere, but sometimes it's just a must-have-at-home takeout kind of night. Thank you Ling Garden staff and friends for all the wonderful years of dining in and out, I look forward to another 7yrs, Kommpadee!

Pros: Service, Food Quality

Cons: none

10/29/2006 Posted by criticritc

I'm a customer of ling garden for 5 years. since the first time I've had my first general tao's chicken there, I've never found any other place that can compete with them. Of course, maybe you can go to some expensive chinese food place in pearl to have some more fancy dinning experience,but for me I would rather go somewhere that have a great service, great taste and fit my budget. and that is what exactly Ling garden restuarant offer. For those who think their food has no taste or not hot enough, you really need to know how to order chinese food. In this family style restuarant, the Key and also the Advantage for customer is Customization. First pick somthing you like, ask for their suggestion , and tell them your preference. I always order wonton soup not too warm because I don't like the wonton too hot to burn my tongue, and I've asked them if I don't want hot&sour soup too hot what would they do, they told me they would do half and half eggflower soup and hot& sour soup so it's not that spicy. brilliant! and I always order half and half :D

Pros: Customization Chinese Cusine

09/27/2006 Posted by mashland

Three of us ate for the first time at Ling Garden. We ordered three different dishes and both the Hot & Sour and the Won Ton soup. None of us ate much of any dish, we were so disappointed. The Won Ton soup was lukewarm, with doughy, uncooked won tons, a watery soup with almost no flavor. The Hot and Sour soups fared better, rating a 5 from the two women in the group. The main dishes were just total losses. Lo Mein had uncooked noodles and a sauce that had heat but no flavor. Same for the Garlic Chicken and the Garlic Pork. We tried everything. Using soy sauce, sweet/sour sauce..mixing rice with soup sauce. We left vowing never to return. A sad ending, too, as our two servers took away full dishes and bowls without asking anything about our meal. There were only a few diners in the large restaurant at 7:00 pm, while every other restaurant in the area was packed. Parking was just awful. A rating of 3 is generous. Cannot recommend.

Pros: Service was fairly quick

Cons: Lukewarm, tasteless food. No parking. Hideous dining exprience.

09/27/2006 Posted by roicinfan

The only reason this place would even register higher than "1" is because the service was pleasant and they did go out of their way to try and accomodate a special request. I ordered the hot and sour soup to be a bit on the mild side. While they were successful in meeting my request, they also succeeded in removing any flavor that previously existed. It was watered down to say the least. About that garlic chicken- if you have to work to find the garlic flavor- there is something seriously wrong. I do not recommend this place if you are looking for good Chinese food. They do cook a mean bowl of ummm rice.. I'd rather eat McDonalds- 'nuff said!

Pros: Service was OK

Cons: Anything eaten there