Thien Hong

12/30/07

Best place for Squid

by pj_5000

This is the best place to find Pepper Salted Squid. We will drive a long way to eat here. Just look on every table, Every diner has this dish sitting there. That alone should tell you how good it is. The rest of the menu is great too. Like their Seafood Tofu Soup

• Pros: Pepper Salted Squid...Seafood Tofu Soup
• Cons: Parking

06/06/09

one of pdx's few late night, affordable options

by beesintheclover

seriously, where else are you going to go from 9pm-12am for chinese or vietnamese food in portland? it's the only place open, so you might as well try it. as long as you avoid the pork or beef, and stick with the chicken, seafood, tofu or vegetable dishes, you'll be pleased. deal with the lady-server-dominatrix by asserting yourself. don't whine about it because you secretly wish you not only owned *a* place but could walk around confident in the knowledge that you were in charge of a tightly run, economical operation! they'll feed you yummy squid plus whatever else you order in about 5-10 mintues, give you free tea, and refused to hover around your table or talk you into ordering more than you really need. take thien hong for what it is- a salt and pepper squid people-feeding factory and be glad that you're not paying for the decor. take your significant other with you if you really need cuddles and emotional support when you go out to dinner.

• Pros: *select* simple, predictably good dishes
• Cons: no frills service, waitress can be intimidating

01/01/09

"No tip", ABSOLUTELY NOT

by torilopez

I had friends in from out of town and they wanted "good" Chinese food. I had been to this restaurant before, and had good food. I was excited for them to try the squid. We arrived and were seated in a both in which one side or our table could see into the women's restroom. Not like, oh hey I can see in there, but more like we had to avoid seeing in there, it was uncomfortable. We ordered noodles and specifically asked if they would be like Lo Mein, and specified we did not want beef, only vegetables. They came out looking nothing like Lo Mein, and topped with beef. We asked to have them replaced with noodles with only vegetables. The lady that was our server almost refused to replace it with what we wanted claiming that is what we asked for. We also ordered two sodas with our order, and had to remind them to bring them. No wait staff even checked in with us while we were eating. We finished our meal, and out waddled the server with our vegetable Lo Mein. We were done eating and didn't want the noodles. The rude and cranky lady serving us refused at first not to return them. After insisting we were not going to pay for them, she stomped away obviously complaining about us in Chinese or whatever her native language is. The squid was great, unfortunately my guests didn't like it. As we were leaving, the round Asian lady that served us came walking out practically chasing my friend who paid, yelling "NO TIP". He turned around and said, "no, you forgot four things." She ignored him and so he walked up to her again reminding her what was forgotten. The service here is TERRIBLE. The people are rude and cranky. How could anyone possibly expect a tip after such rude, horrible service. The purpose of a tip is because of good customer service. I know they try to pull this off as authentic, but if rudeness is part of the authenticity, then FORGET IT!. I will not go here again, nor recommend it to anyone.

• Cons: Rude, Cranky, Rushed, Awful

05/15/08

Great food, less than stellar service...

by TrustMe76

The service here does leave something to be desired, but along with the atmosphere, this isn't somewhere you go for ambiance. The food is incredible however! Fresh, cooked to perfection, fast and reasonabely priced! I would definitely recommend this place as this is the best chinese I've had in Portland! Large groups of asian american's eating there proves that it's authentic! And if the american chinese isn't what you want, ask your server for the authentic chinese food! They'll make it for you!

• Pros: Great food! Fast and well priced!
• Cons: No ambiance and impersonal service.

03/07/08

Sad

by tlcfoodie

I'm a transplant from Seattle who has been looking for good Chinese food. I read the reviews and decided to give Thien Hong a try. I must say that the squid was good but that's all that was good. Things didn't start out well, as I waited for my to go order I saw a woman in the kitchen sneeze into her hand and whipe it on her shirt, then run her hands through the fortune cookies at the counter. She wasn't the cook so I decided to just take a pass on the cookies and give the food a try, I'd already ordered any way. For our group I ordered the ribs with black bean sauce, squid, crispy duck, kung pao chicken, fried rice, beef and brocoli. The duck was indeed crispy it was cooked to death, the rice was gummy, the kung pao chicken was ok the ribs were awful. If you want squid go if not forget it. I should also mention that I have traveled extensively throughout China so I'm not in need of Americanized Chinese food, it just wasn't very good, nor was it clean.

• Pros: Squid
• Cons: Everything else, service, food, ambience

08/27/07

THE place for squid

by pcha72

The pepper salted squid is the only reason we continue to go back to this restaurant. Service is ok; fast, but very impersonal. The only other dish I would recommend is the House Special Chow Fun, otherwise, the food is standard chinese fare. They seem to be consistently busy, so parking can be a pain.

• Pros: Pepper salted squid.
• Cons: Parking, service.

08/02/07

Its all Good

by himhandy

I have been coming here since I was about 15, and have always been happy with the food and service. The pepper-salted squid and shrimp is out of this world. Kung Pao Combo is also great. Don't worry about the service, its fine. Great prices and food keeps me coming back for more.

• Pros: All the food is great
• Cons: None

07/19/07

Best Chinese Food I Ever Ate

by uncahal

I was 57 years old before I tasted the best Chinese food I ever put in my mouth. No fooling. The food is perfect. You can taste and identify and slowly savor each and every ingredient in their dishes.I've eaten there many times since and they have never missed a beat.Just thinking about one eggplant dish makes my tummy moan. The squid is fantastic. I've never had a bad meal there.

Folks in these reviews like to blather about service and attitude and ambiance and other BS issues that have nothing to do with food. I'm hear to tell ya,the food is so good you won't even THINK about the other silly issues people like to rag about. That's the truth. Go there, soon.You're taste buds will thank you.

• Pros: cheap.great food.ez parking.good service.nice folks.kid friendly.
• Cons: none

03/30/07

General Tso's Tofu = MMMMMMMMM.

by pdxfoodfan2007

My dad, who is by no means a high-falutin' food guy, introduced me to Thien Hong. He's a regular for the squid--used to be once every couple of weeks, now he's retired, so goes less often. The first time I went (several years ago), I was dubious. Now it's one of the first places I take out-of-towners or friends who've never been. Rave reviews all around.

Must-have dishes, especially for the vegetarians, or if you're trying to convert meatatarians to the veggie life: the General Tso's tofu is served piping hot in a slightly sweet garlic sauce that perfectly sets off the crispiness of the tofu. People who hate tofu love this dish. The eggplant, broccoli and asparagus dishes off the veggie menu are excellent every single time, full of flavor and cooked to perfection (which isn't easy.) They also serve up a very good avocado milkshake. Yes, those two words DO go together, and it's a combo that results in a refreshing, creamy drink that tastes like spring distilled into a glass. The consistency is smoother and lighter than that of your standard American milkshake, and they are probably made with condensed milk, like a Thai iced tea.

A word on the service, since it's mentioned in other reviews: yes, the owner can seem overbearing, and servers can be brusque. I chalk part of that up to cultural differences, part to a drive for efficiency. And if you achieve "regular" status, the owner is very fun, warm and friendly. My dad orders with a "the usual", and chats with the staff. A few years ago, I went there with a group for my birthday, and the owner recognized me from visits with my dad. She came over to wish me a happy birthday, and was delighted when I shared my birthday chocolates with her.

• Pros: tasty and affordable, fast, lazy Susan tables in back for family style
• Cons: not a terribly romantic place

03/14/07

Decent food but felt like a cafeteria

by chocaholic

I thought this place was good but it felt more cafeteria like. Good service but not as warm and friendly like Zien Hong down the street. We did like the salt and pepper squid that we kept hearing reviews about - totally not spicy like the menu said it would but it was good. Portions are plenty at a good price. But, comparing this place w/ its equivalent Zien Hong, I'd prefer to go to Zien - we just like the cozier, smaller mom & pop feel.