jin wah

dim sum here is ok, service was too attentive to the point of intrusive and annoying - probably because we were one of 3 tables there. the beef balls were better than ocean city, but that was about it. we felt like we were being circled every time the dim sum cart rolled up because all the other carts (buns and fried noodles/turnip cales) followed with like 4 people offering items for you to pick from.

great family dinner. my friend celebrated his birthday by inviting a bunch of us lucky friends to a special dinner at jin wah. we enjoyed an absolutely terrific family-style meal that featured at least 8 different courses. the evening started with probably the best pot stickers i've ever eaten - my wife remarked afterward that they were her favorite item of the evening. my favorite dish was a whole, steamed sea bass. after spooning the tender and flavorful meat away from the bone you are rewarded with the subtle and complimentary flavors of scallions, lemons and other seasonings. that alone was worth the visit. another wonderful dish was roast duck (kao ya) with buns. the duck was tender and full of flavor, the buns sweet, and a really tasty bbq sauce added a lot of flavor. another excellent dish was sauteed whole green beans - the staff was gathered at a table and snapping the ends off the fresh beans when we arrived. the beans had a really terrific garlic flavor. i also enjoyed the "happy family" and broccoli beef, among the more typical chinese-american restaurant dishes but well done here. my wife was very complimentary of what i think were "peking style pork chops." anyway, this place is worth a try and they did a great job of hosting our party of approximately 20 people.

this place has the worst service i've ever encountered in portland. after 20 minutes we were finally approached at our table, then after we started to give our order the lady said "i'll be back" and scooted off. came back after 5 minutes and took the order sans beverages which were never even offered. the lady was rude when asked if the chinese beef stew was good. a snorting sneer was her answer with a chuckling and barely audible yes. we did not order this item. i hope the food we ordered is good, because barring that, i will never be back.

at 11:00am this place was packed. we got the last table and there were probably 50 plus tables. we decided to have dim sum. there were lots of servers with carts and tasty food. i especially liked the curry puff pastry. we got two orders. the shrimp balls and pork shumai were also good. the chinese broccoli was my least favorite because it was steamed without seasoning and spice, but then i love fiery or unique flavors. we will definitely return to try other dim sum options and entrees from the large menu.

raw chicken in entree. ordered a few entrées, i was lucky enough to have been paying attention to what i put in my mouth. there was raw chicken on my plate. gave the place another chance and it happened again. then the manager got on my case for not wanting you pay, are you kidding me?!

mothra says.... warm & filling. on a really cold beaverton day recently, ryan and i met for lunch to go over 2014 business goals. wanting a warm and filling lunch, i suggested jin wah. now ben had suggested jin wah and said that this was the place in beaverton. so now i had to try it.
right on time, ryan grabbed a table and we make a quick decision on lunch. in no time our soup arrived. hot and sour soup, just the way i like it: rich, thick, savory, and on a cold day, just what the mothra ordered. however, while halfway through the soup, our entrees arrived. wow! ryan could not believe how large these plates were.
his chicken and vegetables with rice and chow mien, plus an egg roll, arrived piled high. it looked great. my sesame chicken layered on top of crispy rice noodles (with chow mien & my egg roll on the side) was sweet, yet savory, yet viscous and delightful in its presentation. this may have been some of the best sesame sauce that i have ever had. in addition, the fried rice was good, and the chow mien was tasty.
along with a pot of hot tea, we spent an hour warmed by the delicious food discussing shop.
i will come back once more before i can “likes it” on urbanspoon as i want to try the dim sum. it did look good as it wheeled by steam billowing from the cart.
good meal, good service, great price for lunch at $19.00 with 25% tip, great company. mothra says.....3.35 of 5.0


-----09 nov, 2013-----

mothra says...we'll see.. it's friday night and i am geared up for some authentic asian food to go. i look at the jinwah.com website and there are zero prices. so, i call up to make my order and a not so pleasant gentleman says he is busy and has no time to quote prices for me. "come in & look at the menu." (insert crickets here).

on one hand, this place comes highly recommended. on the other hand, i am the customer. many other places to dine.
mothra says...... we'll see, but not tonight.

i have eaten here about 12 times and come back hoping for the best. it usually disappoints me so i have stopped going there. there really are no good chinese restaurants on this side of portland.

i had to lol at the review titled "horrible", which complained because the restaurant wouldn't let them in because she had a glass of baby formula milk in her hand. for whom was the baby formula? her "18-year-old son"? her husband? herself?

i can see being upset if they had an actual baby with them and they weren't allowed in with baby formula, but who carries an open glass (not a baby bottle) of baby formula into a restaurant with no baby?

or am i missing something?


-----01 oct, 2010-----

always had great service. i don't understand the complaints about jin wah. i have eaten here at least 100 times and have never had bad service. once they get to know you, the staff will even tell you which dishes are really good that day and will even cook up special orders. the owners are ethnic chinese from vietnam, so the chinese food has a strong vietnamese influence. and the vietnamese food is great too. my favorite dishes are the chicken and ginger, pork in spicy garlic sauce, dry sauteed string beans, salt and pepper anything. i think there are better places for dim sum however (like chinatown on walker and murray). i have introduced dozens of people to this restaurant, and all of them have become regulars. try it.

great dim sum. cleaner than chinatown restaurants. always plenty of carts.

horrible. it is very rude and weird that the manager refuses to let my husband and my 18-year-old boy and me in, just because i am holding a glass of baby formula milk in my hand. he says no outside food! i understand what is normally meant when restaurant says no outside food; however, this is baby formula milk. it is a terrible experience!

the dishes we tried were good, not the best i’ve ever had but definitely not the worst. just kind of what you’d expect dim sum to be.

i used to love this place.. rude waiters and repeatedly being sat in bad locations in the restaurant has put me off the rather monotone dim sum here.

love the dim sum!. my family and i go here about every week. they are super friendly and clean. i always get a seat right away. of course most of them speak minimal english. but the owner is always helpful and happy. the salt and pepper squid is really good too. i like this location better than the one on powell. have to try.

rice noodle soup with sliced beef. this soup is so delicious. served with bean sprouts, lime, cilantro or basil, the price is very good. coconut bubble tea is the best i have tried, nice and sweet. the tapioca balls are perfect and don't get hard and too chewy like the ones at chitchat cafe downtown portland.

coconut prawns are also good. i stick to what i like, so i can't speak for other dishes, although they cater and show some really tasty looking dishes on the posters.

i ♥ salt and pepper squid. all of the food here is good, but the salt and pepper squid stands out as the best dish i've had here by far. the squid is a good quality and cooked properly (not rubbery) and the seasoning is perfect. don't expect romantic atmosphere or superior service, but do expect excellent food and a decent value.