Catering Companies, Restaurants
$$, Family-Friendly Dining, Food Delivery, Group Dining, Lunch Spot, Open 7 Days
The Essence of China is a friendly and efficient Chinese restaurant seasoned with diversity. The amazing menu offers new and traditional items. Lightly sauced Cantonese dishes are piled high with pure and fresh ingredients, to ensure the best tasting Chinese food.
Went here because we had a $25 gift certificate; with minimum purchase of $35. The hardest thing was ordering for 2 people a total of a $35 check; as most of their prices here are $10 or less.
The waiter was courteous, quick and helpful. When we left, our stomach's were stuffed full, and it was worth the trip from Milwaukie to get here. Definitely will visit again in the future!
PROS: your plate is full for a very economical price!
CONS: actually, can't think of any...definately 5 stars!!
Posted 07/03/09 | Report Abuse
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Great Chinese restaurant. We really enjoyed the food, the decor, and people. Great price and location. Great service and the price was a good deal. Yummy!!!
Posted 05/20/09 | Report Abuse
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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My wife and i are new to this area and were missing some good Chinese food and we were very pleased we found this gem.The food was really good .we went early for dinner so we had no problem with parking and the service was excellent,We brought my son who cooked in some of the best restaurants in San Francisco and he was impressed with their cook.
Posted 03/14/09 | Report Abuse
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Generally great food, good location tho parking can be a nuisance at times as there is a sports bar in same strip-mall. Nice service, very relaxed atmosphere, friendly people. Very ample portions make great doggie bags
Posted 08/12/08 | Report Abuse
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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This is probably one of the better Chinese restaurant in the West Linn area. The wairessess are nice, the food is exelent, and the prices are cheap. If you go before 3, be sure to ask for the lunch menu.
Posted 08/09/05 | Report Abuse
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We needed delivery in the West Linn area for several lawyers. We weren't expecting much but honestly the food made McDonalds taste high end. The beef was gritty and the sauce tasted as though it had 50 cups of sugar added. All of the dishes were over done with so much sugar to compensate for the lack of authentic taste. This included chicken, beef, shrimp ect. Some people complained about feeling ill afterwards. We will not be ordering from this place ever again, so disappointed.
How hard is it to cook simple dishes?
Pros: fast delivery
Cons: horrible food is an understatment
Posted 12/03/09
I had heard great things about this place through friends and family and finally ventured in. I love hot and sour soup and it was amazing. The perfect blend of spicy. We also shared pot stickers which were good. I tried a combination meal with pork fried rice, almond chicken (I think thats the name) and shrimp. The shrimp was the best I have had and I really enjoyed the almond chicken. Service was good. I will definitely make the trip back!
Pros: Amazing food, good service
Posted 11/09/09
This is by far the best Chinese food we have had since leaving the San Francisco Bay Area.
We are frequent customers of the delivery service. We brought a large family group to the restaurant and everyone was extremely pleased with the service and the food.
Pros: Delicious food
Cons: If there's an occasional 'not so great' give it another try!
Posted 11/04/09
We have been to this little place several times on sunday afternoons for lunch in the last couple of years. People are always friendly, and the food has always been superb. For those that say fheir prices are high, we have never spent over thirty dollars for the four of us, of course that would depend on what you order. They have always had only one server in the afternoons, I don't know if they have more for the dinner hours. We always take about half of our food home, and it makes for a nice dinner the next day.
Pros: Food and people are fantastic
Cons: Could sometimes use a second server
Posted 07/25/09
This is a great restaurant with good food and service, convenient location, reasonable prices, etc. Looking forward to trying more restaurants recommended in CitySearch
Pros: Servic and menu
Cons: Wait times
Posted 05/31/09
Neat old building, but watch your step where it slopes up into the dining room. Standard dishes were good -- sesame beef was flavorful but not very spicy. They have a kind-of "sampler" dish with three types of chicken that was reasonably priced with large portions -- General Tso's, Lemon, Sweet and Sour. Service was fine.
Posted 11/28/08
We read the reviews before we went out because we wanted some good Chinese food. This place has some great reviews from people, dont believe them. I hate to be down on anyone but we were very disappointed. The food was icky, and they had one poor little server on running around like mad.
Pros: Fast
Cons: Not good food
Posted 06/11/08
This place is great. We eat here at least once a month! Good sized, very tasty portions. Get the string beans! As with most of Willamette the parking is not so good, but a little walk never hurts, especially since you're gonna fill up on a bunch of fab food. Remember "hot" means "hot"! The staff is also very nice. Enjoy!!
Posted 05/08/08
Awesome food, large portions great price.
I enjoyed the Orange Chicken and the Noodle soup. I called and it was ready in less than 15 min.
Pros: Very good food
Cons: No take out parking so I double parked.
Posted 03/15/08
It took over an hour for them to deliver a simple order of Genral Tsos Chicken, Fried Wontons and Sweet and Sour Pork.
The pork was fried and tasteless, the sauce (that I had to add myself) was too sweet and instead of wontons we received crab rangoon. When I called to tell them, they said that wontons are always made like crab rangoon.
Also, it cost way too much for the poor quality.
Cons: too expensive, poor quality, slow delivery
Posted 12/08/07
Excelant customer service! Great food!
We had our meal delivered and it was extremley fast and still hot when it arrived. The food was super yummy and fresh! Some of the best Chinese food we have had in a while. I would highly recommend this restaurant and we will be eating here often!
Posted 12/08/07
I have always enjoyed the Essence of China Restaurant. They have friendly service, and although at times it maybe difficult to understand them, they make sure you are satisfied and do their best to accommodate. I have tried many different Chinese restaurants around the area, but I seem to run into a very common problem, and that is most of the restaurants tend to be very Americanized for me. It seems that they all get their food from one distributor, and rather than focusing on authentic flavors they focus on creating monster portions that all seem to taste the same. Essence of China is the exact opposite, even though they do have large portions they also focus on making the food taste authentic. Their food seems to be made from scratch and therefore has a unique, yet pleasant, variety of tastes and flavors. The only dish that I wasn?t big on was the pork fried rice, and for some this maybe an issue, but since I am a big fan of steamed rice it?s not that big of a deal for me. I know not everyone will agree with my review, but I believe that people?s experience at Essence of China will, more often than not, be an enjoyable one.
Pros: Authentic Taste
Cons: Parking maybe difficult at times.
Posted 07/01/07
Wow, I totally disagree with these negative reviews! Are you sure you have the right restaurant people??? I love this place and come to eat here at least a few times a month. So do my coworkers and they love the food as well! This place is small; they have maybe 10 to 12 tables here and so they have few workers. The workers have great customer service skills despite their poor english. They give you anything you ask for and check up on you many times to make sure things are ok. The food usually comes out fast but at times when its busy, it can take half an hour to come out. The food has always been excellent! I love the food here. I am asian and I love eating out so I know what is good asian food! This place definitely serves it. They may not have a long menu but the food has never disappointed me. Oh and the prices are excellent. Their prices are at least a dollar cheaper on the same dishes that could be ordered at chinese restaurants in Portland (like on 82nd) and the portions are bigger. This restaurant is definitely on my top 5 list of good chinese restaurants!
Cons: small area
Posted 06/24/07
Everything they serve here tastes bland and undercooked. White people should stay away from Chinese food and stick to what they do best: imperialism.
Posted 01/05/07
Oh my god. I can't believe that cost me money. If you're the type of person who eats your sesame chicken with a fork, then maybe this place is for you, but for the more discerning customer, it's the blandest, most un-chinese food you'll ever eat. Furthermore, it foster creepy, obnoxious, pedophilic guys who will stare at you throughout your meal and awkward waiters who speak so softly you can't tell whether they asked if you wanted chopsticks or the check. If you're looking for real Chinese food, you'd be better advised to make the trip to 82nd.
Cons: Bland food, Bland Ambience
Posted 01/05/07
Well, I don't know precisely what I was expecting, but it wasn't this. The Chinese food at this restaurant is unexceptional at best. The kung pao chicken had no kung pao, the garlic chicken had no garlic, and the crispy tofu..well, it was crispy, but it tasted like a deep-fried salt lick. The ambience was middling, and the service was not terrible. I would avoid this restaurant if you like to eat for purposes other than mere survival.
Posted 01/05/07
I have dined here since the restaurant opened 6 1/2 years ago and there some must haves you must try! The Egg Foo Young is terrific (ignore last post) especially if you have it with chicken, the Hot and Sour is great and the overall favorite for me is the Happy Family! Try those three and you will not be disappointed!
Pros: Great food, friendly service
Cons: Parking can be tricky
Posted 10/24/06
Even the steamed white rice was bad -- hard and dry! The egg foo young was a hard bread patty with funky yellow sauce, the mu shu pork was gross and the pancakes were stale and hard. The sweet & sour combo was chewy-gooey. The General's chicken was way too sweet. Actually, everything was too sweet ... very odd indeed. We had the order delivered and it was 1.5 hours until it arrived and then they forgot our sauteed green beans. A complete waste of $41 bucks!!
Posted 08/26/06
My wife and I tried 5-6 Chinese restaurants in the WL/LO area before finding Essence of China, and deciding it would be "our" Chinese restauarant. Quality, flavorful food, and friendly service. Basic, but clean and comfortable dining area. Highly recommended.
Posted 05/13/05
We have experienced several different Chinese restaurants in Portland and have to say that this is the best! Service is prompt. Food arrives fast, and it is very fresh! You can't go wrong with any dish. We have moved farther away from West Linn and still make the distance to enjoy their amazing food!
Posted 09/27/04
