06/24/07

Are you crazy people???!!

by chiz

I read the reviews and many people seem satisfied with this restaurant. I called in an order for take out. I picked up my food but the food was not what I had ordered. I guess they didn't understand me or something!! The food was not good at all. The fried rice had no flavor and they sprinkled cut up pieces of bbq pork on top of the fried rice; basically it was rice fried with soy sauce, the sweet and sour shrimp had sauce that tasted basically like ketchup but sweetened, and the pork that I ordered was all fatty and gross. Come on people!! This is not a good restaurant. You must not have ever tried real chinese food!

• Cons: everything

09/14/09

Good, Fresh Chinese Food

by Hofner

I have been a customer of Kwang Chow since 1985, having previously enjoyed Lani Louie's and Canton Grill. In my opinion, I have never had better Chinese food than that served at Kwang Chow. Its quality is consistently fresh, hot and flavorful, the portions are always more than adequate, and the service is always friendly. My preference is the Daily Special, something I get to-go - it feeds two, in our case.

The restaurant itself lacks any real identity or ambience - it is a bit on the gloomy side; and the booths are in desperate need of re-padding - at 6'3", I am just short of being at eye level with the table! I don't know where they put their profits, but it is not in the decor.

Decor aside, the food is what is important, and they do it right at Kwang Chow.

• Pros: Food is fresh, flavorful
• Cons: Restaurant atmosphere is gloomy

07/27/09

Great Food!

by SAGS

We have been going here for many years now. (20+)

It's one of our favorite!

Thanks to all that work there! Your food is great!!!!

• Pros: Best Pork Noodles and Sweet and Sour Chicken!
• Cons: None

11/22/08

Not very good food

by psychefolksy

From the high reviews on this site, my girlfriend and I drove 5 miles to eat here.

The restaurant smelled of cigarette smoke, though this was more toward the back of the restaurant. The atmosphere wasn't very appealing. The booth-style seats were low and gave in a fair amount/weren't very supportive. We ordered egg rolls, mandarin fried chicken and sweet and sour chicken. They don't have potstickers. There wasn't complimentary tea. The egg rolls were better than average: they were larger and had some meat inside. We had to ask for sauce (sweet/sour). The mandarin fried chicken wasn't bad but wasn't very good either. It tasted like it had tabasco sauce in it or something, didn't quite taste right. the chicken was pretty soft, which could be good or bad depending on your preference. My girlfriend had mainly the sweet and sour chicken, and she said that it wasn't just not great, she would say it was actually bad (I wouldn't agree that it was bad). She said that she liked the steamed rice a lot, that she could tell when rice was fresh. I didn't like it as much as steamed rice at other chinese restaurants. In addition, the dishes were $10-11, which seemed a little expensive compared to other chinese restaurants I've been to. Compared to 3 other chinese restaurants in Portland (House of Louie, Wong's Garden and Gold Bowl, of which House of Louie was the best IMO) we both agreed that this was the worst.

Can't speak for the food we didn't order, but for what we experienced, I'd say avoid.

11/02/08

Best Food in town

by RangerFerg

Since finding Kwang Chow, my wife and I have eaten there at least once a month for the last two years. The service is average, but always consitant. The food is so flavorful that you will not eat chineese food anywhere else. I suggest the kung pow chicken, and their tastey eggrolls.

• Pros: Tastey chow

09/17/08

Please, try for yourself!

by breathein2811

My first experience at this restaurant was probably about 5 years ago, while I was in high school. A group of my friends were going out to dinner, and invited me along when my previous plans didn't work out (thankfully!!!). My best friend told me she'd only ever ordered one thing because she couldn't bring herself to order anything else, it was so good -- so I copied her order, and have been happily stuck in the same pattern ever since! I always order the Sweet and Sour Chicken -- it is absolutely delicious! The chicken is always tender, and the batter always crispy and fresh, never soggy or greasy; the sauce is sweet and sour wonderfulness -- that's the best way I can describe it :P; and you get a LOT for the price! I also love their Pork Fried Rice (which comes on the side of the Sweet and Sour Chicken), and their hot tea is the best I have ever had from a Chinese restaurant -- and with how much I love the cuisine, I've had a lot!

I took my boyfriend here for the first time about a year ago -- he ordered the same thing I got, fell in love, and has since tried just about everything on the menu, and we've never never had anything less than an awesome experience. (By the way, I'm not much of an egg roll person, but my boyfriend is, and he says these are absolutely the best he's ever had.)

Visually, the restaurant itself may be a bit of a blast from the past, but I actually count that toward its charm. :P The ambiance may be a little funky, but the establishment is always very clean and cozy feeling -- especially with the staff being so friendly and welcoming!

Honestly, if you don't try this place for yourself, you're really missing out!

• Pros: Wonderful food, service, and experience in general.
• Cons: Outdated decor -- but I kind of like it.

06/07/08

Always a Pleasure-Always a Treat!

by JimKahn

Do you remember the first time you had Chinese food and why you fell in love with it? Kwang Chow IS that reason why! The atmosphere is simple and the food is simply terrific. They treat you like family because they?re always happy to see you again, so treat yourself to some good memories and bring a good appetite! ?and the Daily Special makes a great To Go Order when you can?t quite make up your mind!

The people who complain are usually those people who complain about everything, (and they like to see their names in print) so I don?t take their comments very seriously.

We?ve been going there for years and they?re #1 on our speed dial. And now I?m getting hungry!

Jim

Portland

04/11/08

Worst food ever

by als704

This is the some of the worst food I have ever had, and not just at a Chinese restaurant. My boyfriend and I tried it because it is just down the street from his apartment and got several good reviews. We normally love asian food, but this was awful. The food was greasy and tasteless. The sesame chicken was essentially chicken nuggets with sesame seeds in the batter. The lo mein was in a bland sauce. We went for take out and had to wait in the restaurant for about 25 minutes. They also don't take credit or debit, so we had to use the ATM, adding about $3 in fees to our bill. The food was average in price, but for the quality of food was way overpriced.

• Pros: It's close to home
• Cons: The food

03/31/08

SIMPLY AWFUL

by EPICUREBILL

I love Chinese food and the various ways to prepare Chinese cuisines. I am also adventurous and keen to try new and different restaurants ranging from Mom & Pop working class eateries to elegant dining rooms.

KWANG CHOW RESTAURANT is the worse Chinese venue I have ever visited.

I visited this restaurant on a Sunday night at 845PM. It closes at 11PM. I was "jonesing" for basic Chinese fare.

The waitress was pleasant. She greeted me cordially (I was the only diner) and sat me at a booth and quickly served me hot tea. I must mention that this restaurant is in dire need of redecoration. I literally sat "in" the orange vinyl booth. The seats sunk into the frame. The table was covered with vinyl cloth and a hard plastic cover over it.

I placed the BBQ Pork order first. I always order one thing at a time because my experience in Chinese restaurants has shown me that if I order my entire meal all at once, it is served all at once.

The BBQ Pork came very quickly and it was a cold heaping mass served on a tiny tea-cup plate. I sent it back and it returned heated in the microwave ... dried out, grey, and unappetizing, The typical red rind along the sides of the sliced pork was brown.

I was going to leave but my stomach decided to give an entree a chance. I ordered the Almond Chicken Chow Mein.

It was served within 5 minutes on a small platter. It was a tasteless mass of celery, green peas!, carrots and diced water chestnuts with very few pieces of dark-meat chicken served over hard noodles. Seriously, this dish had absolutely no taste at all. Dreadful. I tried to doctor it with a little soy sauce. Didn't work.

The total for both items with hot tea was $14.30. Rather pricey.

I would NOT recommend this restaurant.

P.S. I should have paid attention to the previous reviewer who called his experience "GROSS".

.

• Pros: I can not seriously think of any highlights.
• Cons: Awful Food, Dreadful Ambience

01/13/08

GROSS!!

by cp503

This restaurant is old and the food is terrible. The prices were expensive and the food was so gross. I ordered four dishes for two people and we barely touched any of it. The restaurant needs some serious updating, I think its still stuck in the sixties.

• Pros: Non
• Cons: bad food, super bad ambience

11/01/07

GOOD FOOD, GOOD SERVICE, WHO NEEDS MORE?

by l1a1h1

I AM A LOCAL GOURMET CHEF WHO IS VERY FOND OF CHINESE FOOD. I HAVE EATEN AT KWANG CHOWS FOR OVER 15 YEARS NOW AND HAVE NEVER HAD A BAD DINING EXPERIENCE THERE. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THEIR KUNG POW SHRIMP. I GET IT AT ALMOST EVERY VISIT. BEWARE, IT IS VERY SPICY. YUM. THEIR FU YUNGS ARE WONDERFUL AND FILLING, AND THE FRIED RICES HAVE ALWAYS BEEN DONE TO PERFECTION. TRY IT, YOU'LL SEE HOW IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE COOKED.

• Pros: GOOD VARIETY, GREAT TASTES, EASY ACCESS
• Cons: WHAT THEY LACK IN DECOR, THEY MORE THAN MAKE UP IN FLAVOR