Thien Hong Reviews

Have been there several time mainly due to proximity and laziness on my part. Every time the owner is always made about something. Food is pretty decent.. fried squids are good but don't go there anymore because of his horrendous attitude towards his own staff...

I have never had a disappointing meal here, and have eaten here countless times over the past 15+ years. You can't come here without trying the salted pepper squid! It is the best I have had. The meal is fairly extensive, and offers a great variety.

The food here is usually good, although I once got food poisoning from their duck, and when I subsequently complained, it was shrugged off without so much as an apology. The finial insult came when I complained that a rib dish was 98% fat, inedible, and wanted it removed from my bill. They did not, but after I insisted, the offending dish was finally removed. But then, as I left, the owner out front started screaming at me like a lunatic, yelling that the meat had cost him $4.50 a pound, that he lost money on my meal, and that I should never order that dish again! When I tried to explain the problem from my point of view, he merely continued his rant without listening at all. It should be noted that in the long period of eating at this place, I had never returned a dish.

Very Good Chinese Fare with many good choices. They go out of their way to Please and address your special concerns, likes, and orders. Have always had a Good Experience here eating with family and friends. Prices are Reasonable and food always Very Good.

Yap, rude staffs that looking forward or really "ask" you of leaving a $TIP if forgotten... It seems that some the owners actually serving as waiters in this place and they are straightforward of how they run their business... If not for their CALAMARI, this place may have been closed a long time ago... If you do not mind about "attitude" and just have a good and delicious "CALAMARI" then this place is for you...(-:

Portland, OR, is a city in search of something. Wider roads; fewer suicidal drivers; less potholes; main thoroughfares (i.e. Burnside) that allow one to make a left OR a right turn from it. It is as maddening to drive in Portland as it is driving in Washington, DC. What Portland DOES have is established, homey neighborhoods full of lovingly tended front yard gardens, an extinct volcano right in the middle of town, Powell's Books, and about leventy million Asian/Latino/ you name it ethnic restaurants. While Thien Hong is not in Chinatown, it's on a corner in what could be called the Little Tigers: Little Bangkok, Little Saigon, heavens, even Little Tibet! The food of Thien Hong is worth every moment of aggravating and white knuckle driving you deal with while driving in Rip City. This place is incredible. The parking lot, like all of Portland, it seems, was built for tiny, tiny little cars. It's very hard to get in and out of. Don't even think of parking your big dually in the lot. Even your midsized SUV is NOT GOING TO FIT. There's plenty of parking on the side streets, it appears. But don't let that faze you. I don't care if you have to take a stage coach, if you love squid, or seafood in general, do not miss Thien Hong. The restaurant is bigger than it looks from the road. It is clean, clean, clean. No music! The service is prompt, friendly, informative. You're made to feel as if you're family. This is a family style restaurant, with booths and, I believe, tables. The food is incredible. We ordered the squid to split between us, as well as a dinner. I had the green beans with shrimp in black bean sauce. My husband had the plate with peanuts and shrimp/beef/chicken. The shrimp was fabulous. The Salted Pepper squid was even better. While a bit on the salty side, it was outrageously good. Despite the menu's asterisk saying it was hot, it was not. The squid was perfectly cooked. The coating was crispy and fresh. My meal was perfect, the shrimp awesome, the green beans just crunchy enough to tell you it was cooked, with just the slightest hint of ginger. Even the tea was perfect. Portions were very large. We took home four boxes. Incredible. It's a ninety mile drive for me, and from now on, when we make a pilgramage to Powells, we will afterwards head to Thien Hong.

Very good meal-large portions. Handy on Sandy. Parking might be a problrm.Run by familyLive lobsters available Many Asian diners

Being a fan of kung pao tofu, gave this a try after moving to the neighborhood - the food is mediocre at best; the service curt. The kung pao had very little of its signature flavor and the order of veggie fried rice a similar disappointment. My second and third to go orders were similar. Id recommend other asian restaurants in the neighborhood - skip this one.

As others have said - this place probably would have shut down but for their salt and pepper calamari which is the best I have ever tasted. I think the owner knows as it is higher priced ($16 when I went) than the other dishes. If you aren't ordering the calamari - don't bother coming here. The other food ranges from average to good. The salt and pepper ribs were also very good and the string beans with garlic sauce was tasty. Others in my group ordered the soup which I heard was bland - so I wouldn't take a chance.

We enjoyed the personalized service and delicious food on our visit. Garlic Green Beans were delicious. Other members of our party enjoyed Pad Thai Noodles (not typical Thai) and Sweet and Sour Chicken. Everyone enjoyed the food. We were thankful for the off-street small parking lot as Sandy is a busy street.

BEST salt and pepper squid around and their signature dish. Delights all the food senses. Most other menu items consistently good, flavorful, fresh (except for BBQ meat dishes). Great neighborhood place with lots of local Asian diners (always a good sign). Good size portions and very good value.

Calimari is to die for

The most delicious salt and peppered squid in the world, ladies and gents. Can't beat it and we have been traveling everywhere to benchmark. Crispy and addictive, you must try this. Ignore the lobster, fish etc they offer you and settle for nothing than the salt and peppered squid. You see this menu on every table :p it's their signature dish! We travel for miles just to get this, it's so worth the trip! Once we had a few friends traveling from San Francisco just to try our recommendation and they bought a few take aways for the long trip home. Service was so and so, sometimes it is hard to understand what they are saying. Nevermind, bring on the squid!

Good food in general but their hot n sour soup was like curdled or something. Orange chicken good. Kung pow combination good. Pork spare ribs good. Just a bummer the soup was so bad.

While this place is known for its salt/pepper squid, I had it before and found it too chewy and didnt have a lot of tentacles. Having said that, I ordered the snow pea tips and the salted fish and chicken fried rice. The latter is rarely seen and is an acquired taste. Both came out hot. Both were great. Portions were large as well. As a matter of fact, so large that the food came home. Despite its reputation for the squid, there are other good dishes. Service was good. The requested water came quickly. This was for dinner, about 5:45 and there was a steady stream of people coming in. You cant go wrong.

We used to live about 1/4 mile away from Thien Hong, and would walk down once a week to eat. Now that don't live in PDX, we have to make a special trip, but it is always worth it. They serve a variety of Asian cuisines - Chinese, Viet, Thai - and do an great job with all of them. They serve a nice lunch plate which includes an entree, soup, a wanton and an egg roll, but we usually go for family style dinner. Our Chinese exchange teacher who lived with us last year thought this was the best Chinese food she had in America. They are fast and economical. We especially love their salad rolls and broccoli beef, but don't miss their Pepper Salted Squid. Best calamari we have ever eaten - every time we order it!

Casual atmosphere, great pepper salted squid. Service is fast, prices are reasonable. We visit every 30-60 days.

Thien Hong was our family weekend go-to restaurant for salt and pepper calamari and lemon chicken, But since 2007, this place went down hill. Management seems to be the same family buy the taste is No longer there.

Authentic, awesome

We saved some time to visit our favorite Portland Chinese restaurant at the end of a business trip. My wife loves the deep fried octopus, I like their Chinese version of tofu pad thai. Will be back in our next trip to Portland!

Why I'm giving 2 Stars. The Food was GREAT. The Customer Service on the other Hand was RUDE !!!!!!!!! My Husband & I had just gotten off Work at a Client's House that lives in the Area. We were hungry so went decided that since there was a Chinese Restaurant near by, That'd we drop in & eat Lunch, before going Home. It took 30 Minutes for waiting for our Food. Which was what I expected, for all the Food ($52.00 Worth) we had ordered. While we waited, I noticed all the Tables in our Section needed a really good Deep Clean. They looked dirty. I took a Napkin & put it in my Water Glass & had to wipe down my Eating Area. I noticed other Tables were in the same condition. Then I'd say about 10 Minutes later, the Check Out Guy (Manger or Owner) comes over to our Table & asks if we were done. SAY WHAT?!!! We politely said No & he took off in a Huff. Then 5 minutes later, we both hear him & an Old Gentleman (Had to be in his 60's or 70's) arguing very Loudly, The Old Gentleman was on Break & tiring to eat Lunch as well. About 5 Minutes more, the Manager/Owner comes over to our Table & Asks again, if we are done. My Husband says No & this time the Guy storms off. a Minute later, a Female Waitress shows up with the Check. A Minute after that, the same Manger/Owner "Demands" a Tip !!!!! "Excuse Me ??!!!!! No One Demands a Tip & gets One for being that RUDE !!!!!! My Husband Signs the Check & leaves. I quickly pick up the Signed Slip & on the Back Voice my Opinion. Saying he didn't get a Tip for his Rudeness. About 1/2 Writing my Opinion, he grabs the Check Slip & rushes off the the Check Counter. I just politely left. At the Bus Stop & went on Google to give them a Rating. Come to found out, that there are LOTS of other People that have had similar Experiences. My Husband & I are not Baises People. We Love that Asians can bring over their GREAT Cuisines. But, I have NEVER seen such Rudeness in all my Life I felt like an Alien in my own Country. This was our 1 St Time eating there & our last. We'll stick with the Chinese Restaurant, "Jin Whan" over here in Beaverton. The Food might be Okay,. But the Customer Service is a Lot better than at Thien Hong. Hint: To the Owner of Thien Hong. PLEASE, Fire the Manger. I Love the Food but will not return until your Customer Service is Upgraded. Sincerely Dissatisfied Customer

Won't be going here again.... look at the meat in the chicken ball.... It should be breast meat...and to be honest the service wasn't friendly either

This place has great food. It’s clean and always consistently good.The pepper salted squid is the specialty.I like mine cooked alittle extra and it’s good.My family loves the fried shrimp, BBQ pork and lemon chicken. Only thing I wish they had was crab puffs. I know people that visit Portland and this place is always #1 to eat at first. Also make sure to tip well.

We've been coming to this restaurant for years now as we've made it a tradition to have lunch here after hearing mass at The Grotto, which is about a mile away. The place has not changed. The food has not changed - still very good. However, don't be surprised that their plates and bowls are not as clean as you expect them. It's always the same issue every time we come so I'm not surprised with that by now. That's the only reason why I am giving them 4stars. If I don't have to return a single plate, I'd give them 5 stars.

Overall this restaurant very good food taste. About cleanness it’s not the best and attendance is Poor.

Went in to have dinner with my family the owner made me write down my own order... they brought us soup bowls and spoons (all dirty) then they brought out all the wrong food. then I went to pay the waitress told me the total didn’t include the tip... duh! Y would I tip if I took down my own order and had to correct everything you brought to my table.. as we left I saw the waitress run over to our table take the money and didn’t even clear the table so unprofessional and rude! I Still left a small tip but honestly I shouldn’t have left anything but as a server I know the struggle never again will our family go back!

Had dinner here recently and ordered 2 items. Duck was good and reasonably priced, but awful sauce. I followed this with a chow fun that was pretty flavorless. Service was pretty good.

Best salt and pepper squid

We went on a friend's recommendation. Worth it. So many choices and many were not your usual fare. We arrived at about 2 pm on a weekday. There were two others dining. Service was attentive if a bit perfunctory. We had the recommended pepper salt squid. It came out with tentacles. Always a good sign. The body was not cut in rings as usual but in short strips about and inch and a half. We also got string beans with black bean sauce. A difficult dish to get right as too much black beans and it becomes overwhelmingly salty and unpalatable. They got it right. Lastly, and my favorite, the salted fish and chicken fried rice. Authentic and I have only seen it in one other place. Salted fish is an acquired taste. Cured with salt and minced and then mixed with the other ingredients. Parking is available for about 10 cars.

It's really all about the salt and pepper squid. I was being polite the first time friends insisted I go because calamari was never more than decent and now, it's my first stop when I arrive since it's so close to the airport. I've heard other people rave about the spring rolls and pea tips but after getting the squid, I won't waste belly space on anything else. I've offered money for their recipe, which would seem pretty simple, but my attempts have been disappointing and they aren't giving up a thing. Good for them. And they will continue to be my first stop. :)

This slogan, the by-line on their business card, is an apt description of the excellent food you will find at Thien Hong. We were fortunate enough to go with Portland friends who dine here frequently, so they ordered 5 or 6 of their favorite dishes. We were delighted with the "deliciousness" of each and every dish. There are already lots of reviews talking about the salt & pepper squid, and we agree completely! They also do a lovely whole steamed fish, we enjoyed the General Tso's chicken, asparagus chicken (crisp-cooked just perfectly), a pad-thai kind of noodle dish -- all excellent! My favorite, perhaps, was the walnut shrimp. Very unusual, very delicious white sauce over the shrimp, and served over shredded lettuce, so you sort of get the hot & cold thing (candied walnuts are on the side). Unique, I don't believe I've had anything quite like that in an Asian restaurant before. Service was prompt, efficient. The owner is strolling the floor, I always like to see that someone's in touch with their operation and their customers. Overall, a really wonderful meal, and we took enough little boxes home to enjoy it all again the next day. We have already recommended this restaurant to all our Portland relatives -- and we will be going back again on one of our next visits here. Give it a try, I believe you won't be disappointed!

i come here every few months for the past 6 years just for salt pepper squid and shrimp. 2 months ago i complained to them about how unevenly spiced and tasteless, stuck-together squids were and how soggy the shrimp were due to excess piling of yellow onions. the orders usually come out quick, hot, crispy with green onion garnish. last week's squid were bland and not crispy and took a long time to arrive. the sauteed green beans was swimming in corn starch. the sauteed asparagus used celery as filler. it was even sliced diagonal to look like asparagus and yes it was swimming in corn starch. they have been turning up the heat in that proverbial water, the cooked squid did not know it.

I go every time I'm in town. I love the salt and pepper squid. It is so yummy. I eat it all the way home because it is best hot. I also like the Mongolian beef but last time the portion size was small.

It is hard to no much else about the restaurant, because I can't get past the salt and pepper squid - it truly is the best ever. However, we did have the chance to try the hot and sour soup and it was also top notch. A strong recommend for Portland.

The food here is very delicious especially the Pepper Salted Squid. It's a little pricey, but service is good.

salt and pepper squid

we enjoy this restaurant a lot. we loved the food especially their peppered squid. there is nowhere else in this world that has this yummy squid. It's almost like potatoes chips but with a seafood texture and flavor. I loved it and so does my family

On the way to the airport or the Dalles taking Sandy Blvd is a good bet. We are from out of state and have a taste for real Asian food. As a Vietnam Vet I always look for good Vietnamese places, which we just don't have in the sticks. This place fills the bill and is quality food. We have been back many times.

This Vietnamese restaurant is really good when it comes to preparing squid. Both calamari and salt & pepper squid is delicious. They must have some kind of secret spice or something. The squid is so crunchy and tasty. Even it's a little bit pricy, I'd love to come and have those dishes again.

This is hands down my favorite place to get any kind of Asian food. Everything we try - pepper salted squid, general tso's, catfish - is divine. They cook everything perfectly to order, most of the staff is either bilingual or trilingual, and they work hard at making your meal and pleasant experience.

We love going here for the peppered salted squid it's one of the best in the country! The staff is friendly and will accommodate special food requests, as in changes to the menu.

Thien Hong came highly recommended both online and by a couple of friends, so I stopped by for lunch today while in the neighborhood. I asked my waitress what the 'Spicy Chicken' was on the lunch menu, and it was described as deep-fried chicken pieces in a spicy brown sauce with broccoli. Thinking it would be something difficult to get wrong (basically a spicy General Tso's chicken, instead of sweet), I ordered it with the Hot n Sour soup on the lunch special. The soup was unnecessarily hot without a hint of sour, but had a nice array of the standard add-ins for Hot n Sour. The main course arrived and it was basically inedible. The broccoli had barely been cooked at all. The large pieces of chicken were so dry that I had to literally get a toothpick to get the stringy pieces of what I had tried to chew out from between my teeth, and it had a slightly off taste. The brown sauce had virtually no spice at all. The fried rice was basically white rice tossed with too much egg and little else. When my server came by to ask if I was enjoying my lunch (after my having pushed the plate away, leaving ¾ of it untouched), I explained that I found it far too dry, and showed her how stringy the chicken pieces were. Her reply was to blame me for having ordered a fried dish. "If you wanted something juicier, you should have ordered something steamed or barbecued". There was no offer to replace the dish with anything else, and my bill was placed on the table on a tray (a universal indicator that you pay at the table). I left cash on the tray and headed for the door, while a man near the front appeared to bolt towards my table to make sure I wasn't a runner. Needless to say I won't ever be returning to Thien Hong. Complete waste of time and money.

The place was not super busy, but it was a mid-week dinner hour. I believe the staff has taken to heart some of the service complaints that appear on Yelp, because they seemed to be pretty attentive. We were quite satisfied with the food and the service. My only issue was that the pepper salted squid was ordered as an appetizer, but it came out after some o fthe other food came out. I had to wait an additional 5 minutes for my food after everyone else was served. I ordered the spare rib clay pot, but was brought fish! At that point, I didn't care, because I was starving and I really love fish, so it was a good thing! Our waters were refilled as needed, we were brought additional pots of tea as needed and they were awesome about packing up our leftovers (and there wasn't much, believe me!) My daughter and I are both servers, and neither of us felt that there were any service issues other than the inability of the kitchen to time the delivery of the food.

It's a tradition for my family to travel to Oregon each year and part of that tradition is to dine at Thien Hong because of their great cuisine. They have the ability to capture culinary interest and amazingly consistent they are in their seasoning. To our surprise this August, we drove to their location only to find out that they are gone, baby, gone! Are they gone forever? I hope not! Otherwise, tradition will be lost.

Food is good but customer service is so horrible to the point I don't ever want to dine there again, I dred going there just to pick up food for my husband! If you dine in they pretty much pressure you to leave a tip even though service sucked! Greedy freakin people!

My wife and I have been going here for years. They truly do have the best pepper salted squid anywhere. It seems that at least half of the orders coming out of the kitchen are the squid, which speaks volumes. On the other hand, I don't know how they ever pass Health Department inspections. My complaints are that they never bring out all of your orders at the same time. I get my order.... five minutes later, my wife gets hers. When you are done eating, they will never take away your dirty plates. However, as soon as the tip hits the table, they greedily run by and scoop it up. The most disgusting thing though, and it is so obvious, is the recycled rice. The only thing that they will scurry to pick up is the rice, so they can put it back in the kitchen, to be brought out to the next customer. Just watch them, and it will make perfect sense.

If you love CALAMARI (fried squid) then there is no place in Portland that can cook the way the chef of this place can...They are served crispy and tasty and with grace and smile from the server...I reviewed and heard some customers are complaining about the TIPPING procedure of the management but those people came with no intention of giving tips anyway...The staffs are nice and it was clouded by cultural differences and understanding...Just do and treat people right within your heart and you will appreciate this place as my family does...

Great salt and pepper squid....hot and sour soup is a good choice too. A busy place with hit and miss service.

I love Salt & Pepper Squid. Since I travel a lot on business, I get to try it in many venues. On the advice of a business associate I tried Thien Hong the next time I was in Portland. My preference is for tender squid with a batter tending to crunchy bit not thick along with enough spice to let you know its there, but not overwhelming. You can tell a lot a bout the cook's skill by how tender the turns out. Squid goes from tender to the toughness of shoe leather very quickly with too much heat or cooking time. I arrived after the lunch rush and the place was fairly empty. Greeted at the door and shown to a table with almost no conversation. The server seemed happy that I knew exactly what I wanted and departed with the order. Water arrived quickly as did tea and a small bowl of wonton soup. The S&P squid with a side of steamed rice appeared before I could finish my first cup of tea. I doubt five words were spoken so far. So how did Thien Hong do? EXCELLENT!! probably the best S&P squid I have had in a long time. The dish was hot with no evidence of excessive fryer oil, the squid was very tender, The batter just right. What was interesting was that they also served the entire squid. Most places don't serve the tentacles. They were here, and they were great. Thien Hong is now my "go to place" for S&P squid in Portland. Cant speak about the rest of the menu, I have no clue. Also based on this visit, don't expect any small talk from the waitstaff. They were all about silence and efficiency from what I could see. Not a bad thing at times in my opinion. Entire meal of S&P squid, rice and a small bowl of wonton soup came to $14. Absolutely I will be back!!

Just like old times. I was told the old chef is back with new owners. It was just like I remembered although about double the price from 20 years ago. Well, what hasn’t ? Friendly fast service and not crowded when I went.

Every time I visit Portland I HAVE to come here. Just the pepper-salted squid is reason enough. I love it! Near the airport. Food comes out quick. But, service needs a help.

Thien Hong is famous for its salt and pepper squid and that fame is well deserved. How the chefs manage to make the breaded, spiced, and fried squid tender and succulent, I'll never know. A full order easily serves two. Other dishes, like the Hot and Sour soup are also delightful. Enjoy!

Three times out of 5 take outs have been wrong. Whoever takes phone orders messes up what I ask for, and I do not discover it until I open cartons at home. Once I ordered 3 orders of shrimp but got one. Another time fries rice tasted very old. Another time Sichuan beef dinner came with no rice. Another time I got 2 orders of some strange dish I did not order or recognize. Take out there us very iffy.

Ordered to-go the Salt & Pepper Squid and General Tso Chicken. Rice was in the cooker at home. Ten minutes later I'm home. Have been ordering this treat for 35 years as a take-out on busy days. Always excellent. Gagged on the squid. The batter had no seasoning, it tasted like chewing paste and was not freshly made. It was dried out, and obvious it had been sitting for a long time. Opened the chicken container and the sauce was considerably watered down with approximately 1/4" inch oil at the top. Also not edible. $40.00 meal went to the garbage. My family has been going to Thein Hong for 37 years, three generations. Spread the word that the restaurant had taken a turn for the worse, and to find a new restaurant.