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The laminated, coil-bound menus were fun. Not only were the pages shiny, they were also in full pictographic regalia. One knew exactly what one was getting because, not only were the main ingredients pretty much spelled out on the menu, a color photograph accompanied it. It's like 'Chinese Restaurant Menu for Dummies."
Among a bevy of delicious looking treats, I chose the Roasted Pork & Pork Dumpling Noodle Soup because, well, it had the best looking picture on the menu.
Unfortunately, the final product looked like a distant, retarded cousin of what was depicted on the glossy, shiny, coil-bound menu. It wasn't worthy, for instance, of a TwitPic. Yes, it looked that bad.
Fortunately, the noodle soup lived up to the restaurant's moniker. It certainly had a 'good taste' to it. It was the wonton soup flavor that I would immediately recognize and enjoy. But the presence-- and unexpected texture-- of the roasted pork bites, added a layer of unfamiliarity to an otherwise rote dish. I nearly inhaled the entire bowl in under a half-hour.
There were plenty of other tasty looking treats on the menu and, from what I saw other tables had gotten, they appear to be of good portions, too. In fact, at $7.50 USD, the wonton noodle bowl that I had could almost certainly feed two people (or five elderly Asian women).
I'll definitely be back to this almost nondescript establishment in the not-too-flashy Chinatown section of our humble "city." Because, whatever your reason for being in Chinatown, it should at least be in "good taste."
All the buzz I read said to get the roast duck. I trust in my fellow food lovers so that's what we got, along with the BBQ pork (they were out of roast pork) and the house special chow fun. The duck was excellent - the skin was perfect and it was seasoned well. (I find that some places over-do the 5-spice which I think detracts from the taste instead of adding to it.) The BBQ pork was also delicious - perfectly moist and not greasy. The chow fun was not the best I've had but it was not the worst either.
I'm gonna call it in the air and say that Good Taste will definitely be my Chinese joint of choice in PDX.
It's a gold-mine of cheap eateries for Chinese food. You get authentic Chinese food, including the service style. They are very hands-off, and simply get the job done by bring you the meal.
i love the beef chow-fun and won-ton soup.
If you want the love, feel, and taste of real Chinese food, this is it..
A staff member at the Chinese Garden recommended this place to us. I have to say my friend and I really did not enjoy the food. I am surprised by all the good reviews here.
Service was totally casual which is fine. I got the "Super" bowl of dumpling soup, pork, and duck, which was a giant bowl and inexpensive but was not tasty - dumplings were kind of gluey and the meat kind of fatty tasting, with bone in the duck pieces, and giant veggie pieces (bok choy I think?) that were rather tough to eat with just a spoon and chopsticks. My friend got the crispy tofu (bean curd) dish and she really didn't like hers either. Brought the leftovers home to the Chinese-food-loving husband, who ate them and said "ugh" to the soup and "meh" to the tofu dish. I definitely wouldn't go back.
That's a really super superbowl.
Went here for lunch with a bunch of coworkers. I never would have picked it out on my own as it's amongst several other Chinese restaurants that look about the same from the street. Most of us got the superbowl or some variation - a BIG bowl of ramen noodle soup with dumplings, meat and veggies. It's $9 and more than enough for lunch. The meat and dumplings were very tasty. I added hot sauce to the broth to give it and the noodles a bit of a kick. Service was good and we didn't have to wait very long for our food. I'll go back.
In my opinion, their won ton soup with noodles is very authentic and is so reasonable!
My dad knows of all of these little whole in the wall restaurants in Portland from living here for most of his adult life. Some of them are hit or miss, all of them have lunch specials under $5.95. My dad said they were well known for their duck and noodle dishes, but I stuck with the beef and broccoli. Good taste'n it was!!! The dish was huge, could have fed both of us and came with a side of rice.
I have a hard time reading other reviews that say it is in a seedy part of Portland. Our Chinatown is charming and is fighting to keep out all the fratboy night clubs that are looming in closer and closer. As a 25 year old women, I feel perfectly safe in Chinatown,
The waitstaff was friendly and was more then helpful. I wouldn't recommend Good Taste if the following might offend you: they were cutting up ducks in the front of the restaurant the entire time that we were eating.
In and out in 45 minutes with a box of leftovers, and $14.50 for two to eat.
I'm a sucker for hole-in-the-wall restaurants with good food. Good Taste serves an important role in the city's restaurant balance: the lack of flair fends off the crowd from The Pearl that needs modern design, the menu and quickness of service melds with the ever-endangered old town charm of Chinatown and yet the food stands apart from the other Chinese restaurants in the area.
The soups and BBQ were great. I always think it's a good sign if the BBQ items aren't that unnatural-looking fluorescent red color. These BBQ dishes look more natural and are super cheap! The veggies were of good quality and tasted fresh.
The place is probably one of the cleaner restaurants in the area. The food comes out quickly, but you may have to take initiative to get your order and check (not too bad, though).
I need to experience more of the food items, for sure, but my lunch today was what I look for in Chinese food.
Good quick service. Try the wonton soup with BBQ pork and veggies. Noodly goodness, and quick!
My only gripe has nothing to do with the establishment... I was dinning alone, and was seated at a large table. PERFECT, as I like meeting new people. About 10 minutes later a couple was seated at the table. No problemo... Until one of them got on their phone and had a 10 minute loud conversation.
Come on now... Put the phones down, and enjoy your food. Or, walk outside if you can't wait. Remember when only doctors HAD to answer their phone?
Enough of my rant. (but tell a friend anyway!)
This is an authentic Chinese restaurant. Cheap but good food. My parents are from Shanghai, and the only place they want to visit when they come here is Good Taste. They love the wonton soup with extra vegetables. It is tasty, has shrimp in it, a big portion, and only $5.50. Chinese don't care about the decor. It's the food that is important.
This place is one of those hole in the wall restaurants that you must try. I think they serve the best roast pork in town. The duck and wontons are also a must try. The prices are very inexpensive and fills me up. This is comfort food, chinese style!! Besides their food, their service is mediocre...not the best out there, but the food makes up for it.
If you go to any other major Chinatowns (Vancouver BC, San Fran, NYC, or in Hong Kong)...these hole in the walls and BBQ food is very common.
The food here was awful. I gave it a go because the reviews on here said it was good and cheap. Pretty cheap, yes ... good, no. I ordered the general tso's chicken, veggie fried rice, and hot and sour soup. The chicken tasted kinda like plastic and the fried rice was so bland I had to drench it in soy sauce and hot sauce. The hot and sour soup also had some weird after taste.
In conclusion, I would NOT recommend this place!! I want my money back!
Good Taste Restaurant?? That name alone is worth 5 stars, but I must be prudent (but my song for it goes like this "good taaaste restauraaant, we're servin' up good tastes FOR YOU!")
I didn't go nuts for the place, but it was totally good enough.
Okay it's mainly the BBQ pork that's worth going back for. It is moist and sweet and savory and has some crispy edges and such. Seriously. I think Wes and I decided it's pretty much the preferred snack food of the future.
Plus the meat is hanging in the front window and who can find beef with that (beef! right?!)
The beef and broccoli pretty much tastes like it should, but i found the kung pao chicken to be sub-par, and the egg flower soup tastes quite strongly of celery. I like that, but you may not.
The people are nice and it does feel good to actually eat chinese food in china town, ya heard?
Food was passable. While I would try it again, not sure its worth going to Chinatown in Portland for this, as the area is rather seedy.
Duck appetizer - ok
BBQ pork chow fun - not that flavorful and could have had more pork
Portions were large and the restaurant seemed clean.
We needed to pick up several crispy roast ducks for a family wedding this weekend and a couple of my Chinese friends at work pointed me Chen's Good Taste. I had been here before to purchase a whole roast pig for a picnic (yes, it was awesome), so I was happy to hear they do roast duck very well also.
I went with a couple friends so we could have dinner there, sample the ducks as well as their other food. First of all, the duck was sooo tasty. I've gotten it at another asian market on the east side, but these guys make it fantastic - the skin is full of flavor, the meat is tender and tasty. When served on the plate to eat, they include a black sauce on the plate that I was making my duck pieces swim in before I popped 'em in my mouth. Yum.
We also had a bit of roast pork - very tender and crunchy skin. We also ordered both the house special fried rice (very unique and wonderful smokey flavor - everyone at the table loved that) and house special crispy noodles (don't you just love getting the mix of crispy noodles with those that have softened in the juices all on one fork that you stuff into your mouth - I love the mixed textures).
The gal who served us was fast and helpful, and once she understood our playful teasing, she seemed to laugh with us. It's a pretty typical Chinese restaurant, well worn but clean. As soon as you pass under the Chinese gate on 4th coming from Burnside, it's on the right, next door to the adult bookstore.
It was a really good meal and one I'll both recommend and return to myself.
This place came strongly recommended by the woman working at Cacao. She said it was one of her top 5 favorite places to go in Portland. To top it off we were already headed to Portland's Chinatown for the day. Sounds good so far, right?
We sit down and find that the tables next to us contain:
a) a group of 5-6 teens involved in a "scared straight" type youth program with their 3 counselors who lectured them through lunch about the merits of living on the straight and narrow.
b) two men whom at first blush appear to be a gay couple but upon further inspection turn out to be two devoted christians praying, talking about jeebus, and sharing a plate of leafy greens over white rice.
Food was fine, nothing remarkable. Ordered the pork chow fun and the chicken chow fun and a side of the bbq roasted duck. The amount of food was enough for a group of six - the waitress raising an eyebrow when we ordered the side of duck should have been a tip off. I've now transported the leftovers across the Oregon state line and it's still with me. That's probably as good an indicator as any of a three star chinese food.
I've been going here since before forever. This is Cantonese comfort food at its finest. When traveling in San Francisco, Vancouver, New York City and anywhere else, I always look for comparable funky Chinese restaurants. There are some as good, many not as good, and an occasional one better than Good Taste.
This restaurant is a gem that we are lucky to have. It's a little distressing to find people giving this restaurant poor reviews. After looking at what many of them order, I can only conclude that they are missing the point. This is a Chinese BBQ restaurant. They specialize in BBQ pork, roasted pork, and roast duck. This is NOT the place to order sweet & sour! It is not a seafood restaurant, either.
I think the best dishes are the noodle dishes although I am not a fan of the chow mein. Try house special chow fun or chicken green onion noodle. The wonton or dumpling soups are excellent. Don't miss the Chinese broccoli with oyster sauce. Of course, best of all are the meat side dishes. One last recommendation; if you have a group of four people, try the special dinners written on the side wall.
Good Taste is one of my favorite places in Portland. It's a hole in the wall place in Chinatown. They serve authentic Chinese food and their BBQ meats are spectacular. Roasted ducks, roasted pork, and bbq pork are their best dishes here.
Try their dry noodles with the bbq meat of your choice. For $5.25 per plate is really good price. If you aren't that hungry and love porridge/congee, try their porridge. With a price of $4 per HUGE bowl, it's a perfect dish when your pocket is tight.
Definitely a perfect place when you are on a budget. :-)
I was looking forward to going to this restaurant. I am a fan of the chines/Asian style dive restaurants with their poor service, unclean dishes and good cheap food.
I gotta say I was a little disappointed. The prices were average, the food (wonton soup and roasted Duck) was average and the service was average. (get and excellent roast duck at the Malay Satay Hut in the Fubonn shopping plaza on 82nd)
Thats all I have to say about this place: average. I probably wont go back unless I happen to be right there and get really hungry.
roast duck and bbq pork noodles zomgwtfbbq
For simple won ton soup and other real Chinese dishes this is the place to go.
Roast duck. BBQ Pork. Greens. Won tons. Black beans spareribs with rice. All excellent meals here and remind of my childhood trips to Vancouver BC back when there was no decent Chinese food in Portland.
On top of all that it has the one feature that makes a place truly Chinese....its cheap!
Lets be real-- this is a hole in the wall lunch/dinner spot in Chinatown. Some people are expecting gourmet dishes and spot on service. Please don't expect that when coming here.
However, if you are looking for a no-frills lunch, that will cost under $20 dollars for two, this is the place to come to. I love roast pork, BBQ pork,and duck, and so seeing these meats hang from the window was enough for me to come in. Basically got what I expected-- those three meats on rice, with some vegetables to go with it. Quick service. In and out in 30 minutes, and would go back again for a quick lunch.
Reading many reviews giving this place 4 and 5 stars just amazes me. To its credit my partner ordered half a duck and some hot and sour soup, and he loved both dishes. I ordered "House Special Chow Mein" because several others had recommended it on here. It was just dreadful. First it came out with vegetables and a couple of shrimp and pieces of chicken on a bed of dried rice noodles. That was not what I had ordered, and they gladly replaced it with a mixed dish that was so greasy and salty I couldn't eat but a few bites.
The place is very dirty looking, and in a really not so great neighborhood.
As others have said, service was good. I was really disappointed, as we both were really looking forward to a "wow" meal given all the wonderful reviews.
Located in between vegetarian house and an adult bookstore, some how i never ventured in here. the roasted ducks and pigs hanging at the window should've called my name years ago, since i love to eat the quack and the oink and i haven't found anywhere else with this kind of advertising. if you know of another, please let me know.
the place itself reminds me of a bigger version of the hole in the walls in san francisco, except more than 6 people can sit in the restaurant. the prices are awesomely cheap and the portions are huge. i had the bbq pork wonton noodle soup for $5.95 and they were not shady with the meats at all! the bbq pork flavorful and the wontons were fat little golf balls with egg noodle and soup. we also ordered a small side order of cai lan (chinese broccoli with oyster sauce) and it was delicious, especially for $3.95. they have specials posted around the walls so be on the lookout for those.
if you want a waiter/waitress to consistently ask you if everything is ok and slave over your big head, don't go here. if you can't stand the sight of flies flying around the restaurant (its not in my food so thats ok), don't go here. if you feel you need dim lights and some kind of decor to keep you entertained, again don't waste your time and the cook's time. keep away.... then people like me who are just there to eat can just eat. thanks!
I love their roasted pork and BBQ pork. It's the best in Portland. Their noodle soup is excellent too!
"MAF seeking succulent roast duck & pork. bbq pork a plus. no fatties."
tried the roast duck egg noodle soup & roast pork with dry egg noodles. both had very fatty cuts of meat with little flavor besides grease. don't get me wrong, i'm not of the "my body is a temple that must be fueled by tofu & organic sprouts" society but i'm also not a card carrying member of the triple bypass club either. food needs some fat to give it flavor & keep it from getting dry but when it's so lardaceous you're struggling to keep it from sailing across the table into your amigo's eye there's something wrong here. the broth fortunately was savory & not greasy at all but at least 320 kelvin.
"starving MAF looking for roast duck & pork in all the wrong places. i still believe in love at first bite, how about you?"
Some of the best BBQ duck and cantonese style wonton noodle soup in Portland.
Don't be put off by the sparseness of the restaurant or the duck and pork hanging in the window. This will be some of the best soup you will ever have.
The best place in Portland for bbq pork, roast duck, and cantonese style wonton noodle soup. Comparable to the best places I've gone to in Los Angeles for this stuff.
They actually have two locations now. The other is across from Easgate on 82nd ave. Parking is much easier and the restaurant is cleaner on the inside at the other location.
I find the food to be more consistent in the china town location tho. The 82nd location is great too, but every once in a while when I go to that location, the bbq pork isn't as flavorful as it usually is.
Oh my... Probably one of the least passable Chinese food experiences I've had. This makes me miss Chicago's Chinatown and Chicago's Chinatown is not something to brag about.
This hole-in-the-wall is the best kept secret in Portland, and was recommended by a Chinese friend. We've gone there six times now to enjoy the _real_ Chinese food.
Good Taste serves the best barbecued meats of any Chinese restaurant in Portland, and the prices are ridiculously low. The food is authentic Cantonese, and so are the servers and cooks. Some know only limited English (your banter will be lost on them), but know enough restaurant English to do a good job. The servers don't waste time, and the place is efficient and quick.
The barbecued meats include roast duck, roast pig and barbecued pork (yes, the last two are different).
One of my favorite deals at Good Taste is the Dinner Special for Two. You have to read the white board to see it. It includes two barbecued meats, salt and pepper prawns (my absolute favorite), vegetable, rice and soup. The dishes are absolutely yummy, and the portions are generous. For $22, two can eat like Chinese gentry, and still have food to take home.
Don't come here expecting ambience, just good chow. My only wish is that they served beer.
This place is run by hard working immigrants. They should charge more than they do, so we always tip well. It seems to be more popular as a lunch place, and closes at 8 PM in the evenings, so get there early for dinner.
wonton noodle soup with char siu=yummy affordable tummy filler
the wontons were fatty and tasty
noodles were perfect texture
good service!
Oh my. This place is wretched. I went on the recommendation of Yelpers, and I hate to say that I disagree with everyone who said it's good. I'm not trying to be an ass, but it was horrible. "Crispy" fried tofu that was soggy and sloppy. Super heavy-on-the-pepper-and-MSG hot and sour soup. Almost good roast duck. Super nasty seafood fried rice - shimp that tastes like floor cleaner. Yes, it's typical chinese food, but it was SUPER BAD. Service was fine, but the food was gross.
Good wonton soup and rice porridges. Cheap. Will return to try the rice plates and bbq meats.
The wonton soup is horrible! But I saw a lot of people order it.
The wonton is not fresh. It taste mussy and smelly. The BBQ Duck is making my kid sick. BBQ pork is great. Yangchow fried rice is good.
Nice hole in the wall spot with authenticate chinese dishes. I recommend the duck and wonton noodle soup.
I ordered the roast duck over rice. Shared the chinese broccoli. We eventually received service but the waitress did not look happy about taking our order. I kind of like that, though. She definitely had attitude. You rarely see attitude like that in a Portland restaurant. A colleague had the wonton soup. He approved. I had a bit of order envy when I saw those plump wontons floating in its broth. Great spot. And I love the restaurant's name. Awesome.
Hole-in-the-wall place with authentic Chinese food. I'm impressed with the fact they have roasted pork. Porridge could be thicker. A bit heavy on the MSG and salt. Quick service. Props for staying put in Chinatown when everyone else has moved out to 82nd.
If you want a hole in the wall Chinese noodle shop that can make you wonder what continent you're on, this is the place.
Try a dish with one of their BBQ meats. The broth in the wonton soup will warm you up. And the Chinese broccoli with oyster sauce is just about perfect.
Head down the back hallway to the bathroom and you might get a glimpse into the kitchen. Very cool.
maybe i went here on an off day but his was one of the worst dining experineces i've endured. the duck??!! gray, slimy and horrible. the wonton soup tasted like fridge and the meatsies inside as well. why eat the stale bbq, window pork here when it's drier then cardboard and also, obviously old? yuk!! and i paid for it in more than just cash if you know what i mean... seriously...wong kee is just next door. go there, be safe and be happy. scouts honor.
ok let's be really clear here. the five stars are not for decor, or even for the perfectly competent but not luxurious service.
What I enjoyed was the dumpling soup, also available with noodles and various acoutrements, but sampled in its essential simplicity by me. Big fat dumplings with a thin skin, filled with pork, slivered wood fungus mushrooms and shrimp. What I found remarkable was the quality of the meat; often dumplings are a dumping ground of fatty ground meat, but these people took the trouble to put actual protein and very little if any fat in their dumplings. A $4.50 bowl of the stuff could feed two people with normal appetites. That did not stop us from ordering chow fun with barbequed pork. Again, very honest meat, devoid of excess fat; in fact, devoid of fat altogether. A serving is not super-cheap, but could easily feed two. You could order the soup and the chow fun and easily feed three people for less than $13. So to be clear: what it lacks in elegance it makes up for in the simple honesty and the generous quantity of its food.
Neighborhood: Southeast Portland
Category: Chinese
Neighborhood: Old Town
Category: Chinese
Neighborhood: Southwest Portland
Category: Chinese
Neighborhood: Southwest Portland
Category: Chinese
Neighborhood: Southeast Portland
Category: Dim Sum
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