Hong Wah Restaurant

bad customer service. the food was ok. just bad service.

My husband and I dined there for the first time last night. We were not impressed. My husband had beef and garlic sauce and I had sesame chicken, they were just OK. and not enough food. We felt like we were being rushed and our server was not the best. The place was packed and I don’t know why. I don’t think we will go back anytime in the near future. We miss Taste of China on Ridge Rd E. not the same since they retired and sold the restaurant.

We have both dined in-​house and bought carry-​out several times and enjoyed both the friendly service and delicious food. Things have gone downhill, though, since our last visit sometime last year. Last week, I bought nearly $ 50 worth of take-​out food. The first container I opened at home contained a long black hair. Eeew. I promptly closed the container and returned to the restaurant. That was a mistake. Oh, they refunded my money after I refused a replacement, which is to be expected. My mistake was that I should have checked the remainder of our containers. My daughter found MORE HAIR in another of our containers. I’m not talking ONE hair… but what looks like a deliberate, substantial hunk of hair. I’m so grossed out, even several days after this occurred! When I returned the first container to the restaurant, the owner apologized and said «it was a mistake.» WHAT? A mistake is giving a customer white rice when they ordered brown rice. Is it a MISTAKE to not wear a hair net? No. That’s a health issue. I will never go back to Hong Wah.

The food is better than average and there is plenty of it. The prices are low. The staff is friendly and my water cup never gets below half full before getting filled again. Really quick service too, food is almost always out in less than 10 minutes.

Excellent food, and appropriate portions for the lunch time appetite. And it’s not often you do a double take on the bill to be sure you were charged ENOUGH! The prices are incredibly reasonable for such a high quality meal.
Atmosphere was clean and bustling! I will definitely go back

The owner is friendly and was able to sit us quickly. The customer service stopped there. The waiter came to take our order and we asked for hot mustard sauce with our appetizer. We had to ask three more times for it, after our meal had already been served and he came back to ask again if we needed anything. I ordered spicy chicken and vegetables and the dish was not a flavorful spice, but more garlic. I love garlic, but it was not what I was expecting with the dish. We asked for to go boxes with the check and he forgot and said he was bringing them. Ten minutes later, we asked him for the boxes and he asked if we were in a rush. Not the best food and rude wait staff = will not return.

We heard the buzz about this place being ranked among the top 100 Chinese restaurants in the country, so we had to check it out. We were sadly disappointed. The food was bland. I ordered the eggplant with garlic sauce and it was mushy and cold. My boyfriend’s sesame chicken had a strange consistency as well. We also ordered crab rangoon, and it honestly tasted as though it had been steamed in the dishwasher – soap and all. Not impressed. We won’t be going back, especially for the price. Too expensive for no taste and questionable consistencies.

The food is really delicious, easily 4 star but I just can’t say the same about the service! I’ve been coming here for years and it never fails on busy nights they only have 2 – 3 servers working the entire place. If you’re in a rush or expect great service this isn’t the place for you but if you’ve got the time and are in the mood for fresh well prepared food I would recommend.

Three stars = A-​OK according to Unilocal.We keep returning to Hong Wah primarily because the food is generally good, you can get the home-​made duck sauce (instead of that awful stuff in the packets) and they are very nice. We’ve dined in but more often take out. This would be a 4-​star if they left the sesame chicken alone. As other reviewers have mentioned they stopped using white meat chicken and now use thigh meat. This went from one of their best dishes to not so good. The hot & sour soup is still pretty good. They provide a fair amount of veggies in the dishes that have them but they don’t seem as fresh as they used to.

Excellent food and service. We were there maybe 5 minutes after ordering and our food was already coming out. Great tasting food and awesome prices. Would be great for a large group too, since it’s pretty big inside.

A great place for lunch. The service was lightning fast and friendly. The price points are very reasonable. I had the shrimp with garlic sauce. It was served within 5 minutes of my ordering and came hot with the right level of spice as ordered. I highly recommend Hong Wah. It’s an excellent, inexpensive and tasty place for lunch that I will definitely continue to patronize.

Ordered take out, sesame chicken, pork lo mein, egg drop soup and beef on a stick.
The sesame chicken was watered down and slimy with no flavor at all. For almost $ 10 I would have expected at least white meat but all of the chicken was red and bloody (obviously thigh meat, which is the cheapest) with a very small portion.
The pork lo mein was bland as well. And a LOT of mushrooms. I personally don’t like mushrooms.
Egg drop soup smelled so bad that I didn’t taste it but my husband said it was bland as well.
Beef on a stick was tender but had a very odd flavor to it. It didn’t taste like «beef».
Was craving good chinese food so bad and thought by their claims of being «the best» and in the «top 100» on their website that we were in for a treat. Instead we threw out everything and ordered a pizza.

We saw the ads that claim this place has been rated one of the top Chinese restaurants in the country and figured it was just a marketing ploy. And it was. This place is just OK and here is how many stars I am giving to each aspect of our experience:
2 stars for ambiance or lack of… this generic white space probably had been a Greek diner in its former life. Pretty boring
2 stars for their Zombie — the price was right but I could not detect any liquor in it and if you’ve ever had a Zombie that is never the case. Perhaps they made me the Shirley Temple Zombie.
2 stars for service — blunt and almost rude waiter (not unusual for many Chinese restaurants in town) though it was funny in its own way.
3 stars for the Sesame Chicken — good price and decent portion but a bit bland.
4 stars for the Happy Family — very tasty and better than other places as were the fresh shrimp spring rolls.
Given all of these factors when we want an old school Chinese food experience we will go to Chen Garden where the Zombies are strong and the atmosphere is cave-​like!

I finally found a few favorite dishes if ordered medium spice the chicken and eggplant with garlic sauce or the beef with onions and broccoli are pretty darn tasty. The veg chow fun and veg chow mein were pretty bland.

Fairly good. Consistent. Not the best I’ve had but better. There really isn’t anything better than 3 stars in the eastern suburbs.

My wife and I love chinese food but have found it difficult to locate a place where the food taste as good at take out as dining in. With two young kids it’s very hard to go out to eat. This place is by far the best Chinese food as far as quality and price. Take out or dine in. Would definitely recommend to all.

Hold your horses waiter man… When a girl asks for more sweet and sour sauce, she means MORE. The @ss had the audacity to tell me «you have enough.» So being the kind forgiving soul that I am, I waited a year and tried for a 2^nd time. Bad Idea… BAAADDD. Same a#$hole waiter, same bad attitude. Listen funny, if waiting tables isn’t your «thang» get a better job. It’s not the customers fault you are stuck at a job you hate. Food is mediocre at best. Dragon house down the road has much better service and the Kung Pow Chicken is not full of celery.

I am Chinese and I am used to Chinese food real authentic Chinese food. I went to this place feeling a little scared. However they offer a lot of selections and it caters to the American palate. They offer some special dishes including shrimp scallops and lobster. I would not say it is authentic but I think real asian people will enjoy the food. The waiter recommended sesame shrimp, and it was delicious. It was sweet and spicy and very good. I would come back here again. The prices were fair hostess dishes ranged from $ 8 to $ 12. The service was good and the people were nice.

No thank you! I can’t stand a Chinese restaurant that doesn’t use real ingredients, and my chicken dish was definitely made with ingredients that had the least amount of chicken possible. With a wide variety of Chinese restaurants to choose from, I definitely won’t be heading back to Hong Wah. No thanks!

4.5 but I’m rounding up to off-​set these other reviews, since I’m baffled by their low scores.
I first tried their steamed dumplings (pork) and was blown away by the quality. I asked the staff why they were so good and was told that they MAKE EVERY DISH FROM SCRATCH! INCLUDING THEIR DUMPLINGS AND THEIR OWN SAUCES! That is unheard of for what at first glance appears to be a run of the mill Americanized Chinese restaurant. The staff are always kind and accommodating; even when my girlfriend and it accidentally showed up 10mins before closing time asking to dine in.
I’ve been told that they rotate chefs & each chef has their own approach for cooking, so perhaps that could account for some of the inconsistency, but every time I’ve eaten here it has been stellar. Right now I’m enjoying some leftover eggplant with garlic sauce and ma po tofu, both are insanely good. They also offer some more authentic dishes; which I still need to try but so far I’ve loved everything about this place.
Please support their efforts to avoid being just another clone of 99% of Chinese restaurants in the states!