Foon Hing Yuen — Restaurant in Lincoln City

I rarely take time to offer online reviews, but on this occasion there’s definitely a good reason to inform others of our experience and also a need to let this food establishment know that it needs improvement.

I reviewed the Food Handling Safety Guidelines prior to writing this review and suspect this Chinese food establishment may possibly be in violation of three of the safety guidelines at the very least on the day of our visit. Advance preparation of food (with a 12-hour or more lapse before service). Improper use of leftovers. Improper hot holding temperatures.

On April 12, 2024 both my parents and I visited the Foon Hing Yuen restaurant located at 3138 SE Hwy 101 in Lincoln City Oregon for lunch at approx 1:15pm. We each ordered from the Dinner Combo’s options the most common menu items served there: Pork Chow Mien, Pork Fried Rice, Sweet & Sour Chicken, Egg Foo Young Patty and an order of fried Shrimp.

Let me describe what we were served that day, why we were so extremely disappointed and why will never return nor recommend this restaurant to anyone else. The egg Flower Soup was flat but good otherwise and hot tea was tasty. The first bite from my plate I tried the Pork Chow Mein which instantly had me wondering what was off kilter with this beloved dish. As I inspected it I could tell the Chow Mien was not cooked up fresh because of how soggy the bean sprouts were, there was no celery or onion in it and it over-whelmingly tasted like green peas while there were no green peas in it; I considered that possibly the cook used water that green peas were cooked in to moisten up the dish, but was disappointed with the strange twist on such a common dish that should be one of the perfected house dishes. I moved on to try the Sweet & Sour Chicken, first piece was too chewy to eat, same with second & third; I believe I found maybe 5-6 pieces that were edible (fresh or not over-cooked). My rice although looked appetizing was tasteless. My mom tried the one bite of Chow Mien and tried putting sweet & sour sauce on it to disguise the strong green pea flavor, but did not like that flavor either, her Egg Foo Young Patty was un-cuttable with fork (hardened) and looked blackened inside & out, it did not look like any other I’d ever seen before. I believe this patty was a left over and micro-waved to become so hardened; Egg Foo Young should be tender cooked eggs with fresh bean sprouts, green onions & brown gravy, this patty was not that at all. My Mom’s stomach was turned at this point & she sent her entire uneaten plate back with the waitress. My dad tried hard not to grumble as he struggled to eat his sweet & sour chicken pieces which most of were hardened like mine were.

It’s quite embarrassing to say the least to squabble with a waitress who is not responsible for the errors of the cook that you truly don’t want to even pay for the left over, messed up & over-cooked foods that they saw fit to serve us.

So we paid the bill which came to $47.95 + $7 tip after a $4.00 reduction on my mom’s plate. When I got home an hour later, I had the runs from either the oil used for the fired shrimp & chicken or possibly the old...

On this particular night, they were short-staffed. We went in to sit and dine at a table. It took a minute to be sat (which usually isn't this way) bit our server who was not only busy with people coming in wanting to go orders but also calling for them. Although a bit frazzled, not once did I witness her lose her cool. In fact, she smiled and laughed her nervous laugh as she, in my opinion (I've been a trainer of many servers throughout my history in the service industry) kept up well and remained extremely professional the entire time. It was because of her heart and willingness to serve without a complaint and with a smile that I'm taking the time to write this. The team she had beside her was amazing as well. All smiles and looking for anything they could do to provide an easier go of it. This restaurant holds a special place in my heart. It's where my son and his girl had their first date October 11th twenty years ago. Sadly we lost her and his son but my grandson who is here taking care of his daddy holds a special place for the establishment, a piece of her still resides here, those who serve, and the amazing authentic Chinese experience. 杯 Cheers...

SO. MUCH. FOOD!! And ALL of it is very, VERY good! There are 2 reasons I did not give this place 5 stars, though, and both have to do with the service (or, more specifically, the lack thereof). First, we asked to sit at the warmest table they had, and the young man at the front desk promptly walked us all the way through a very warm dining room (where there were many table available) to an unheated ante-room in the back, and sat us directly beneath a window. It was freezing! We then waited 30 minutes before anyone came to take our order, and another 40 before our food arrived --- three HUGE platters filled to overflowing with delicious food. Because it had taken so long for our food to arrive (and because we were now late for another engagement), we asked for boxes to pack up the enormous feast before us, and the young man promptly brought us 3 small, square pint containers. We needed 8 before we had enough to pack it all up. However, the very UP side to all of this is that we feasted on really GOOD Chinese food for the next three days!! We'll be back --- and we'll...