Great Taste Chinese Restaurant

I never write reviews on anything but I was so happy to find Greate Taste Restaruant that I felt that I needed to to this.\r \r My husband and I moved here about 2 years ago and while there are many great places to eat in the Vancouver/Portland area, we only found one good chinese place to eat and it was pricey.\r \r One rainey day we we going to another nearby restaurant for lunch but they had a line going out the door, since we were in hurry we drove by this Great Taste and decided to try it.\r \r OMG! The crab puffs were the way they were suppose to be!! Our entrees were fresh and tasty!.\r \r We liked it so much we went back the next night for dinner. While the prices were higher. The portions were large, 2 can easily share an entree if you get soup and an appetizer to share.\r \r This is a place you do not want to miss!!\r more

This Review is actually pertaining to the Great Taste restaurant located at 5303 East Mill Plain Boulevard. These are sister restaurants, but I have been to the Mill Plain location far more often, and feel the food is better. The food is fantastic! It is always extremely fresh and is very authentic. (you will find an oriental person making your meal) Everyone I have brought here says It's the best they've ever had. I would suggest dishes but it would be literally everything I've tried. The prices are very good and you always get too much food. Service is great and the light oriental music in the background is very relaxing. The only downside is it has a location that doesn't do it justice. It's hidden behind Bank of America, and is tricky to find the first time. Pros: Great Service, Fresh Food, Atmosphere, Good Price Cons: Location more

One of our favorites has apparently been sold, the good news is that the food was very good, the 'three taste chicken' particularly. The crispy vegetable spring rolls were just that, and fresh and hot too. The prices are a little higher than the norm, but the portions are bigger. Fast, attentive service and a widely varied menu. Pros: Under the Same Management as Great Taste - Good Food Cons: None apparent more

We have been going to Tai Pan for years. We discovered it when my kids were younger, and now they take their friends there! As others have commented, the atmosphere is quiet and relaxing, the wait staff is attentive and know their way around the menu: Ask them for recommendations. Aside from consistently great-quality Chinese food, in recent years they have added other Asian selections, including Thai, Korean, and Japanese; but the focus is Chinese. I am fond of the Szechuan dishes, but the Hunan beef is amazing -- very tender and flavorful -- and they have wonderful Cantonese-style food as well. There are a number of house specialties, and the Chicken Trio is great for a group of 4 or more: if I recall, it's General Tso's, Snow Pea, and Orange chicken, all served on a large platter -- and these are not your American versions with tons of gloppy, sugary, food-color sauces! If you are a seafood lover, try their prawns. They have a dry-saute prawn dish that is very peppery and unusual, which I have enjoyed more than once. We love their soups -- Hot and Sour, Egg Drop, and one of my kids loves their large bowl of noodle soup with chicken -- it comes brimming with chicken, fresh vegetables of all kinds, and lovely large noodles. The BBQ pork is tender and flavorful -- not dry and tough as in so many places. We have also really enjoyed the Sesame Chicken (tender strips) and Chicken Curry (one of the Asian varietal dishes). They also have a lot of vegetarian offerings, and my favorite is their spicy eggplant dish. All in all, a wonderful place! more

We loved this place and will definitely return. We found that the service was excellent--the wait staff is friendly and attentive. The atmosphere is nice--very soothing and quiet, great for conversation. The food was fresh and the portions were generous. We ordered the Kung Pao chicken, Mongolian beef, and Yakisoba noodles and each entree was delicious and fresh. The portions are quite large, as others have mentioned. The one thing I would change about our order: I wish we would have gotten a plate of stir-fried vegetables since the entrees are more meat-heavy. Try the hot and sour soup--delicious! Pros: Excellent, fresh Chinese cuisine, quiet and serene atmosphere Cons: None that come to mind more

At last, we found Tai Pan. In May, 2006, lunch was an excellent value, each dish including their special rice, choice of hot/sour or egg-drop soup, choice of spring roll or vegetable roll, and of course ... fortune cookies. The spring roll contents were still fresh. The soups were both superb. The General Tso's Chicken was exquisite, but the Kung Pao Beef was way too salty. The rice was a nice touch, fluffy-white rice with scrambled egg bits, not a sticky mass and not an oily fried-rice. Many of their dishes are spicy (Hunan or Szechuan style); if you say nothing, their default is ""medium"" spicy. They've done a good job of decorating; so, it has a nice ambience, too. It can be a bit hard to find, being tucked in the corner of a strip mall. Try this place. You'll like it. Pros: Food, Price, Ambience Cons: Salty Kung Pao more

FINALLY! High quality, good tasting Asian food that you don't have to drive to Portland for. I read the other reviews, and that got me to go. After moving here from the Bay Area where there is no lack of excellent Asian food of all kinds, moving here I have not found good Chinese food. The previous comments of high cost worried me, but when I saw the size and quality of the portions, the food is a value! You take home at least as much if not more than you eat there, and you have at least two meals for one price. Great service too! I'll go again and again. Pros: Great Chinese Food, Great Prompt Service, Wide Variety Cons: None Significant more

Excellent Chinese food and IT'S NOT A DIVE!!!! Okay, it's in a strip mall by Van Mall (""Westgate"" or whatever) but the atmosphere is really nice I swear. These people have worked hard to make it a nice place. The almond chicken is great, mushu pork convinced me that I like pork when I really don't! Does that make sense?:) Dinner is a little spendy, but I'm cheap so it may not be to others. Go for lunch just the same :) Pros: Food, Atmosphere more

I've spent years scouring Portland and Vancouver for the best chinese food, and Tai Pan is the winner hands down. The staff is very friendly and the food is always fresh tasting, and very good. The lemon chicken here is simply the best anywhere. The prices do tend to be high, but it's worth it. Also, can be kind of hard to find as it is at the end of a strip mall across from Vancouver Mall, and behind the Olive Garden. Drive to Vancouver and check this place out - you won't regret it. Pros: Great Food, Easy to Get Seated, Friendly Staff Cons: Strip Mall Ambience, A bit highly priced more