Zien Hong Restaurant Reviews

I love this place so much that it's now the only Chinese food I eat in town. Chinese food with a Vietnamese flair. The folks are courteous and zippy--also, open till midnight!

Salt and pepper squid. Yum.

I had chicken chow mein here with pan fried noodles.. really huge portion..very tasty.. wouldn't say service was over friendly just ok..

Visit was in late June, 2012. Got my usual two entrees, this time to go. I was surprised to learn that no rice was included and that I would need to pay several dollars more if I wanted any. That took the price to almost $25. for two take out items. There are many more affordable Chinese takeouts to chose from.

Not much has changed in those 20 years at Zien Hong; the good side of that is the very good food at affordable prices, and the bad side is that the place could stand a facelift. But back to the food. I like their salt and pepper squid better than at any other restaurant, so far, and I've tried it wherever I can find it. Their green beans are excellent, and on even the most ordinary items, you can expect a really good sauce, when it's called for. I also like their hot and sour soup, which is more piquant here than at most places. So, it's nothing fancy but it's consistently good. I'll be back.

Stopped by for lunch. We ordered the lunch specials: Chicken/green beans and Beef/eggplant. Both dishes were served hot and steamy Each dish was $7.25 which includes soup and rice (brown rice is available upon request). The green beans were crunchy-wish I could mimic the same at home.

Shay Shay. You cannot go wrong at Zien Hong. Shay Shay. The staff are kind, especially Tina! "Hello! How are you? Ready to order?" she smiles on through her greetings! Order the salt and pepper chicken wings. Order anything salt and pepper. Also the shrimp with walnuts are a specialty and we love them. You will too. Shay Shay, mmmmk? Go here. Ambience is not Amzing but you are not going for that!

On a trip to Portland, a long-time friend that lives there pretty much insisted that I needed to eat at this restaurant. When we were able to get together for the first time in years, this was the place that he chose. I am so glad that he did. I arrived first and waited outside near some garbage cans. During that time, some of the restaurant's staff came out and emptied some trash and I could not help but notice the aroma. When even the trash smells good, you know you are in for something special. :-D Zien Hong might not look like much on the outside or the inside but what comes out of the kitchen is just amazing. We ordered a wide variety of dishes and not a single one of them was a dud. Even something as basic as sweet and sour chicken was extra good and had a sauce that was obviously not the standard one out of a big industrial-sized jug that most other Chinese places use these days. Seriously...every single dish had its own unique flavor that seemed to be just right (oh that garlic beef!). Even the chicken fried rice was extra good. The service was prompt and friendly. My water glass was barely empty for a few seconds before somebody came around to ask if I wanted more. A dropped cover to the steamed rice bowl was almost immediately picked up and replaced. While the inside is not spectacular, it is certainly comfortable. I can't say much about the prices because my friend insisted on picking up the bill even though I had told him before coming up that it would be my treat. Frankly, after tasting this food that reinvigorated my love of Chinese after most of the good places near where I live went out of business only to be replaced by blandness like Panda Express, I would be willing to pay a little more for the great flavors on Zien Hong.

I just recently went to Zien Hoang. We have been going to the restaurant before my daughters were born. They are both adults now. We went to the restaurant and ordered our normal food. The food didn't look like the normal food that we usually get. The spring rolls were wrapped like it was done by myself. The fried rice was over cooked and had no taste to it. The wonton soup didn't have any taste to it and the broth was watered down and I had to add soy sauce to even get some sort of taste to it. I told my wife. We will not be going back to the restaurant any time soon. It has gone down hill since the waitress Tina passed away.

Ok...so we had visited restaurant 20 years and it was great . The salt and pepper shrimp ...all dishes reminded us of the Chinese we had come to love in SFO where we had moved from. Moving towards MtHood never allowed us the trip in the evening to come back as driving into PDX was not convenient. We were with friends at Moon and Sixpence Pub down the street and we so excited to be close to Zien Hong on31August. Here goes ...hot and sour soup was piping hot but had so much vinegar in it was inedible . Got sent back and the manager just shrugged. Shrimp was not like I remember and was just ok . Kung pao Chicken should have been Kung pao celery as it was literally mostly celery . House special fried rice was a joke. We were starved so ate it and did express our unhappiness with meal so it’s not like we ate and did not say anything. I will look at Shandong or other places that have a higher customer satisfaction.

We ordered our menu by phone. There were six of us and each one ordered differently. We asked for extra mustard and sweet and sour sauce but received only one packet of each. The restaurant appeared small and parking is on the street. I don't know whether they have any sort of a bar. My son-in-law ordered additional rice and it was not in the bag. He checked before we left and they corrected that. The food was relatively bland and not what I have been used too. The six of us were full at the end of the dinner. I would rate this average but it was busy so some people must like it. It was still quite warm when we sat down at home so that is a plus.

This was THE WORST Chinese food I've ever had. We called in our take out order and we asked for Pork Fried Rice, and Broccoli Beef. When we got home, I realized they screwed up my order. I ended up with some rice noodles and some vegetables that were floating in a flavorless and soupy "sauce". I'm pregnant and was having a serious craving for Pork Fried Rice so I almost cried when we got home and opened up our food, but it's was too far a drive to take it back. The Broccoli Beef was disgusting. It was very runny and the beef didn't even seem like real beef. It almost tasted like tofu. Even my husband who is SO easy to please thought it was nasty, so that says a lot. I had to drench the entire meal in soy sauce just to make it edible. Dinner tonight was a sad affair. Never again will we eat here. It was a huge waste of money.

2nd time eating here and had orange chicken.. Wasn't so good as my 1st visit.. friendly service.. put me off going again 😕

Good inexpensive food: I was in town on a business trip, and a previous local resident recommended the restaurant to me. I thought it was higher quality than most Chinese restaurants.

Not much atmosphere, really execellent Chinese food. I've never had anything here that wasn't very good.

This was our favorite Chinese restaurant for the past 10 years. But a few days ago we sent in a dinner order for us to pick up. We got a notice that it was ready so we went there and they said that the order was gone and given to a delivery person. We showed that it was a pickup and not delivery. Got home and there was no delivery. We called and they could do nothing for us. I put in a doorpass complaint and heard back from the restaurant that they were sorry for my problem but could not do anything about it!!!

We will come back here when in town to chose differently on their menu. My husband loves a "Sizzling Rice Soup", which they do not have, and he tried to substitute a seafood noodle soup. He thought it was just "okay". I had the S&P Shrimp which was excellent - next time the S&P Squid for me! the Spring Rolls were divine - nice and light and crispy. Service was very fast on a busy Friday night. We were out of town, so tried not to over-order.

We like to eat here about once a month and it is always consistently good! The sizzling chow mein is one of my personal favorites. My daughter, who is 11, loves the honey walnut shrimp. I haven't had a bad dish yet but keep in mind its not the absolute best in town but it is consistently good food and the service is impeccable.

We were visiting Portland from out of town and wanted Chinese food so came across this restaurant with amazing reviews. Service was very quick, food came out in less than 10 minutes after ordering. Sweet+sour pork was fantastic. General tsao chicken was okay. Spicy chicken was not spicy and looked and tasted exactly like General Tsao that we weren't even able to distinguish which one was which.

Typical Chinese restaurant. Generally on the good side, but too much salt/msg(?) for my taste.

I love Ziên Hông Restaurant. The family staff is incredibly friendly, attentive and helpful. They offer some of the best customer service around, and the food is fantastic. So far, this is my favorite Chinese/Asian/Vietnamese restaurant in Portland. My favorites on the menu are the salt & pepper shrimp (which is only very lightly breaded and has a nice heat and great flavor), the chow mein (which is the thin-style, kind of sticky ramen-like noodles) and the green beans. Their green/string beans are the best I've had at a Chinese restaurant.

Among my five top dishes is salt & pepper squid. If I hear of a place serving it, it goes to the top of my "check it out list" That's what happened when a friend told me about two competing restaurants in Portland Oregon on opposite sides of the same street. Having to travel to Portland for business this week I decided to try one today and the other tomorrow. I arrived at Zien Hong for an early lunch right after they opened. Overall the place appeared clean and tidy. The waitstaff was very cordial and friendly and my drink arrived quickly. My usual sides with an order of S&P squid is steamed rice and a bowl of wonton soup. Again the soup arrived very quickly. The wonton soup broth was OK as were the wontons, but they need a bit of perking up and the chili oil on the table took care of this. Almost immediately after finishing the soup, the S&P arrived. From my experience there seems to two main ways this dish is prepared. This one used a thin almost translucent flour coating before deep frying. It was crunchy but not overly so. The dish was topped with chopped green onions. Overall the flavor was good with a good balance of salt and black pepper and what appeared to be a bit of five spice. This dish was not spicy at all. The main drawback what the squid was a bit over done which made it tough and chewy. Done correctly it should be tender. Have experience this dish at other establishments where the squid is coated in a thin tempura batter to which black pepper and salt added. After frying, the cooked squid are tossed with chili slices and red pepper flakes. A much more spicy dish. The bottom line was the dish was OK from a flavor and presentation standpoint, but fell down due to the squid being over done making it chewy. I also wanted more spice, but the chili oil took care of it again. Cant speak to anything else on the menu. Would like to go again to try the other offerings. May be back, 27J

Love their salt-and-pepper squid!

Ordered two mains and some spring rolls for pickup. Cost us almost $50. This was a solid, convenient, restaurant we Could count on for quality food and have gone to over the years many times and enjoyed the food. The last time we went was during the pandemic and the food was lacking but we attributed to what was going on in the world around us. Obviously, that is not the case any longer and for some reason, the quality has now gone downhill as well as the taste—of which there was none but heat. My husbands’ dish was inedible, slimy and tasteless. Mine was not much better, coated meat pieces hard and hurt to chew without flavor. The spring rolls were slimy inside and no flavor. Glad we made our own rice. We will be ticking this place off of our list for the future. Disappointing.

Delicious food. Quick service. Reasonable prices. My kids default dishes are - Sautéed string beans - Pepper salted squid - Spicy chicken

I've been eating at Zien Hong for years and recently returned for dinner. They do a range of the standard Vietnamese dishes, including excellent salad rolls, alongside Chinese dishes. Their green bean dishes are amazing, and we always get the Pepper salted rock cod alongside the walnut shrimp--both dishes are to die for, and the shrimp doubles as dessert. The service is efficient and friendly, and the atmosphere is laid back and basic. Tey have consistently delivered a positive, good experience over the last 10 years--recommended!

First time visitors to Zien-Hong after a blazer game. Ordered spring rolls-Kung pao chicken,-orange chicken-sesame chicken and a sea food entrée. The food arrive from the kitchen without delay. Everyone seemed to enjoyed their food. I did not like that there was an additional charge for RICE....

I lived in the Hollywood neighborhood for years before going to Zien Hong, my mistake. Now it's my go to place for Chinese food

For the first time ever in a Chinese restaurant, I finished every bite of my entrée. I had the Mongolian beef and it was spiced perfectly and too delicious not to finish. The portion size was very generous. Granted, I skipped the rice, but I did have a spring roll. This restaurant has been a favorite with my Portland family and I now know why.

We came here as it was very late 11:33pm and we wanted Chinese food so we were very pleased this place was open , we promptly ordered and delicious food arrived , staff were friendly throughout despite the fact we were late diners

food is pretty good

Next to Wong King's Seafood on Div/80th-area, this unassuming restaurant offers authentic, super-yummy Chinese fare at decent prices. We love this place for its shrimp in mayo, salt an pepper chicken (anything really, even the squid if you are so inclined), and the service is awesome. Interior could use a face-lift but it is Portland and people here judge a restaurant more by its food than its wallpaper and carpet selection. Our favorite server is Tina - she greets you with a big smile and hustles that food to you like no one's business. Visit this place and get ready for a wonderful experience! Shay shay!

I have been going to Zien Hong's since the early 90's, and the food is consistently on point. I prefer take out to eat in style, I keep a portable menu in the car, with heights of the favorites, call before I leave the office, and it is always ready and hot when I get there. I have been going there so long that they know me there (love that) and they usually give me a little sump-sump extra for being a long time customer...love that too! The restaurant is nothing special, as a matter of fact the decor is the same from all those years ago, but it doesn't matter, it is about the food, and the food is very, very good.

Very reliable, reasonably priced, fresh produce, good value. I have had nearly everything on the menu by now (over a period of several years as it is within walking distance of my house).

WAY too expensive. Spent 27 dollars on these 12 pieces of shrimp and a portion and a half of fried rice. Good for them though I guess. They’re doing a good job of ripping off new, wealthy Portlanders lol.

I've gotten a bit spoiled when it comes to Chinese food, having traveled extensively to the far east and living in San Francisco and Miami. Since moving to Oregon several years ago I've tried every Chinese restaurant in Portland and most in all of Oregon. Yes, I'm a huge fan of Chinese food! Without a doubt, Zien Hong has the best Chinese food in the state! Every dish I've had there has been perfectly prepared, seasoned and presented, with portions larger than most others and equal or lower prices. I've eaten there dozens of times and literally every dish I've has has been significantly better than anywhere else around here. The staff is prompt , attentive and friendly. The restaurant is meticulously clean. Ingredients are incredibly fresh (green beans, for example just picked from the vine). Anyone who likes authentic Chinese cuisine will love this place!