Main Kwong | Chinese Restaurant — Restaurant in Charleston

Update: I have since revisited Main Kwong and I can say it is one of the best Chinese restaurants I've been to in terms of the food. I still believe the portion sizes are small for the price, but what you get really packs a flavorful punch that isn't matched by any other Chinese restaurant I've been to.

At the recommendation of my coworkers, I visited Main Kwong for lunch today. I was let down.

When I came in, it was deafeningly quiet and every sound echoed throughout the place. There was no decoration on the walls and the signage with pictures of the food was faded and difficult to read.

It was at least a minute before the woman acknowledged that I was there, and when she finally started talking to me, she wasn't friendly at all. She asked what I wanted, so I grabbed a menu and read it over. I ordered the general tso's lunch special and she asked which soup I wanted and what I wanted to drink. I got wonton soup and water, which was in a bottle.

When it was time to pay, the guy beside her said the amount and reached for my card. She knocked his hand away and reached for my card, saying an amount that was about $1.20 higher than what the guy said. I'm not sure if the water I got wasn't supposed to be part of the price of the lunch special or if she just didn't like me and decided to charge me more. If they charged more because of the water, it shouldn't have been $1.20 higher in my opinion.

The woman started coughing terribly right before she took my card and she made no attempt to cough into her elbow/away from her hands. Very unsanitary.

After I paid, she gave me my soup (in a styrofoam container) and I stood around because I wasn't sure what to do - most Chinese restaurants take your order at the table, but this place doesn't offer to take you to a table before you order. The guy told me I could sit down anywhere and they'd bring me my food, so I went into the dining room.

The dining room was depressingly bare and had the same echo problem as the front counter area. The walls were an ugly shade of pistachio green and had a lot of scuffs and dirt on them. They weren't playing music and the other people in the room weren't talking, so the mood was quite sullen.

When I got to the table, I looked around for a spoon to eat my soup and saw that they leave a container of plastic flatware on the table. It was mostly forks, but I found a spoon after digging through it. I couldn't help but think how unsanitary it is to leave the flatware out in the open like that, where everyone has to dig through it to grab their utensils.

After a very short wait, they brought my food to me. It was in an aluminum takeout dish, with the plastic lid on the bottom. Not what I was expecting, but handy if you have leftovers and want to take them with you.

The wonton soup was okay, but didn't have much flavor. The wontons were especially bland, but I guess no flavor is better than tasting bad.

The general tso's chicken and rice also weren't anything to write home about, but the chicken was extra crispy and had a ton of sauce on it. I think you can never have enough sauce on the general tso's chicken, so I was pleased to see that it came with plenty.

The portions were generous, overall, and I left feeling full. I would say the pricing wasn't bad, but I wasn't a fan of being told one price and being charged more than I was initially told.

I think this place has the potential to be as great as I've heard it is, but they should start by improving the atmosphere in their restaurant. Some decorations and music would go a long way. Cleaning/repainting the walls would also be a step in the right direction.

Something else I think would improve Main Kwong is the use of reusable supplies. Everything I received while dining at the place was made to be thrown away - investing in reusable flatware, plates, cups, and bowls would not only improve their carbon footprint, but it would also lower costs for the restaurant in the long run.

Based on my experiences today, I can't...

This place has really gone downhill since I've been here last. Which was about two years ago, maybe more. I normally ordered the general tso chicken or crispy chicken. I really wanted some thicker noodles instead of rice, so ordered the chicken lo mein lunch special. Was a total waste of money. There was maybe 4 little chunks of chicken and the lo mein noodles looked basically like cheap ramen and we're about the same quality. They only filled half the container with it then filled the rest with really dry fried rice. I guess I was expecting a while bowl of lo mein, and really confused why they'd put that on top of rice. It was just a grid combination. But maybe others like it like that and I misunderstood. All of it lacked any real flavor too. I had to put a ton of duck sauce and soy sauce on it to get any flavor out of it and that's not even the right sauce to go with it so it was gross. The egg roll didn't have much flavor to it other than a bit sour. I don't drive and rarely get over to that part of Charleston anymore, but when I do I know I won't be trying here again. It feels like going out anywhere anymore you pay double what you used to but barely get anything that is decent quality. I think frozen quick meals come out better and cheaper than this would have. But I wish I'd have just bought udon noodles and some type of sauce at Kroger and heated it up. Would have cost only about 8$ for two...

For as long as I can remember, Main Kwong has been a Charleston landmark. But now, apparently, they have become at least a partial victim of covid & the economy. The very Spartan dine-in part of the restaurant has been closed completely. The "restaurant" is now à carryout place only. You can either phone in your order for delivery or self pickup... or you can walk in, place your order at the counter, & then wait on a bench while your food is prepared. Trust me, it is worth the wait because this is where you can still get the best Chinese food in town.

Waiting for your food in this small, bare-bones eatery is quite an experience just in itself. While the staff are busily working at a cookstove with giant woks steaming away, they are constantly yelling back & forth in some form of Chinese dialect. Between the sounds, the smells, the atmosphere... it doesn't get much more authentic than this. During colder winter weather, the front windows are always steamed up from the cooking heat, & waiting inside is bearable... almost comforting even. During warm summer weather, that same heat is practically unbearable & waiting in an air-conditioned car is the best choice.

Hopefully, Main Kwong will be a Charleston mainstay for many, many more years because, imo it's not only about the truly delicious food they make but the entire...