Mandarin Cove
| Address: | 111 SW Columbia St, Portland, OR 97201, USA |
| Phone: | +1 503-222-0006 |
| Site: | mandarincovechinese.com |
| Rating: | 3.8 |
| Working: | 11AM–2PM 11AM–2PM 11AM–2PM 11AM–2PM 11AM–2PM 12–9:30PM 4–9PM |
Location
Photos 46
Reviews 7
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A Private User
I purchased a Groupon deal for their restaraunt. I feel like this was a bait and switch and less food on the plate as they knew I was a groupon customer and they made me make a reservation so they could weed out the groupon users. Needless to say it was not busy and didnt need a reservation. I ordered 3 dishes.Garlic Chicken on their menu states the vegetables as green peppers and and water chestnuts only. I told them please no green peppers. When the dish came there was not 1 ounce of water chestnuts and they put broccoli stems (not the heads) in the dish! So nothing like what the menu said it had. I also asked them what the green vegetable in there was and he said broccoli which is just as bad as green peppers and cant stand. They put in whatever they want regardless of what the menu says. Then I also ordered the Cashew Chicken. It was to have in it Green Peppers again with only the water chestnuts. They made it the same as the other dish with the broccoli and no water chestnuts (which are my favorite and healthy) and both dishes had big chunks of onion. They sell these dishes based on the water chestnuts and the green pepper which they left out at my request. The last dish was the chow mein soft noodle with shrimp. It was to be noodle and shrimp only but got some very undercooked vegetables in that and hardly any shrimp. I was looking for the rice since I spent over $30 total and no rice either. After looking at other tables portions being served and the items I ordered, my seemed smaller by alot. I was really upset that what I ordered was not what the menu says it is. Needless to say I will never eat there again. With tip and everything I still paid $25 and it was not worth it.
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A Private User
My husband and I live in Maryland but when we are in Portland we never miss Mandarin Cove! We just love love this place! Not just the atmosphere but the food is amazing! We especially love Jentai Prawn, what an incredible taste. Their Mandarin Scallops are to die for. We also tried their Mongolian Beef and it was so tasty we wanted to take some home with us if we could. But what we really enjoy the most whenever we are there is their Sizzling Rice Soup. I dont know why but their Sizzling Rice Soup is like no other. We have been to so many Chinese Restaurants and by far Mandarin Coves Sizzling Rice Soup is the best we have ever had! Not even in the east coast can we find such soup with so much flavor and texture! This place is #1 by far, food, service and of-course $$ ( great price) also.Which is why we always visit Mandarin Cove whenever we are out there. My only complain is that we dont have this restaurant in Maryland and would love to ask the owner to maybe opening one up here in the east coast so everyone can have this wonderful dining experience! Thank you Mandarin Cove! We love you!! From, Julie & Chris Your #1 fan from Maryland! We"ll be back!! P.S. Make sure you dont miss the ultimate dessert - fried ice cream, Its out of this world!!
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A Private User
Ive had lunch from the Mandarin Cove a few times and the food was a good value, if unremarkable. We recently went there for dinner and was pleasantly surprised by the food we had. The restaurant has a relaxed atmosphere and our server was very attentive. I had the sizzling rice soup, Mandarin scallops and kung pao chicken. The sizzling rice soup had an exciting presentation with the hot, browned rice added to the soup at the table creating a sizzling sound and inviting smell. The broth had a very light chicken flavor which seemed too insubstantial at first but turned out to be perfect for presenting the flavors of the seafood and rice without getting in the way. The kung pao chicken had a solid but not overpowering spiciness and not overly greasy as is too often the case with this dish. The highlight though was the Mandarin scallops which were lightly breaded with a spicy, tangy sauce. This is one of the best scallop dishes Ive ever had. The scallops were huge and would just melt in your mouth. Ill defiantly be back for this one.
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A Private User
Im not that picky when it comes to chinese food, but I like my food cooked for me, not heated up after sitting around all day. The atmosphere was good, they sat us by a window toward the back and it was eerily quiet. The place is very clean and the service is good.. but the food just didnt make the cut. They brought it out not even 5 minutes after we ordered.. we ordered 6 dishes, including chicken, pork, shrimp, etc-- no way in hell they cooked this for us. They just threw some sauce on it and handed it to us. The kung pao chicken was bland and not spicey.. the sweet and sour pork was tough, overcooked, and overall some of the worst ive ever had. The chow mein was OK, but everything seemed like itd been heat up in a microwave. At $10.95 a dish, this stuff was by no means a bargain. The portions were typical, not generous, and overall I wouldnt recommend this place to anyone. You can get better chinese food for cheaper at a hundred other places.
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A Private User
I happened to order 5 dishes, (14) Sizzling Rice Soup, was amazing had a very interesting taste to it. Will definitely order again. (A1) Chicken in Lettuce Wraps, Pretty similar to what I ate at another restraunt, but still great flavor. (72) Mandarin Scallops, These were pretty spicy with the peppers, and definitely are addicting. (45) Crispy Duck, I would love to have this on my plate every time, Kind of like a fried chicken but still amazing. And lastly, (60) Jen Tai Prawns, Has a very unique taste and the mixed vegetables with it made the taste blend in together. Great food. Overall, the place was great and would recommend it to anyone, I honestly think it would be better if people walked there instead of driving, but the place is amazing!
ME
Melanie Johnson
I can only speak for the express lunch take-out specials, but man, that is some delicious, junk-foody Americanized Chinese food. From 11 AM to 1:30 PM, grab their daily special for $6. A pile of noodles, rice (or "fried rice", which is kinda just rice with egg and canned peas mixed in), and whatever the chicken of the day is (Kung Pao on Monday, Orange Chicken on Thursday). Throw in a fortune cookie, and you have a mess of deep-fried goodness for less than most food carts. Hard to beat, especially if its nice enough to walk over to the Keller Fountain to eat. EDIT: The express lunch is now $7! Wandering dangerously close to "not worth it" territory, but still good for a super quick, super starchy lunch.
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A Private User
AMAZING!!! The food was very good. Chinese food has always been my favorite and this place won me over within the first 10 minutes. The sizzling rice soup was to die for and so were the lettuce wraps. We also tried a shrimp dish, a specialty chicken dish and a beef dish. They were all so good. We had plenty of leftovers because the portions are so big. The owner/manger is also the nicest man on the planet. He took the time to check with tables and make sure they were satisfied and he actually took the time to really talk to us and get to know our table. The prices were good for the amount of food you got and I will be going back here quite often. Bring your friends and family. You wont be disappointed!!
