CHEN’S Family Dish — Restaurant in Medford

I have mixed feelings about this place. The food is undeniably fresh, the portions are generous, and the customer service is excellent. The staff is friendly and clearly cares about their customers, which I really appreciated. However, the food just didn’t work for me.

The flavors didn’t taste like authentic Chinese food—it mostly tasted like light/low sodium soy sauce as the only flavor and the food was just overall bland.

The chow mein noodles were tiny, undercooked, and clumped together with random glumps of sauce, which wasn’t appealing. It reminded me of undercooked top ramen with veggies.

I love potstickers; they’re my favorite…, but even those were disappointing. Kinda soggy. Bland etc.

My husband, on the other hand, thought it was “fine.” Describing it as “I donno it’s Chinese food.” and “Nothing special” but “nothing terrible” That said, his taste buds lean more towards Americanized comfort foods. So if you’re into plain, Americanized Chinese food, with kind of a healthier top Ramen vibe. this might be a great fit for you. But if you’re looking for authentic flavors, I’d suggest trying somewhere else.

We had an issue with our original order. We ordered some gluten-free items for our daughter that they made regular by mistake. I called to double check and confirm those items were gluten free because hers didn’t taste gluten-free. They said no that’s not gluten free and told us we had to order a certain way for them to understand what gluten free means due to the soy sauces. I was just gonna let it go and make her something else to eat because I was over it at this point. BUT… they actually offered to remake everything right away and were really kind and caring about it. Explaining that people get confused when taking orders not knowing soy sauce has wheat. So they DO have good customer service. (But please work out that allergy information. Let’s be real a customer should be able to confidently order gluten free if you offer it.)

The veggies were really fresh, almost “al dente” along with the low sodium vibe I can’t help but wonder if they’re trying to make a healthier menu, but haven’t gotten their recipes down yet. 🤷‍♀️that’s kinda the vibe it was giving.

I can’t bring myself to give this place one star because of the fresh ingredients,(except for the noodles), the portion sizes, and the good customer service. But overall, I personally found it pretty disappointing and not worth the price I paid. Point blank… it was undercooked, unseasoned, not allergen free, possibly top ramen and not authentic tasting Chinese food. While I’m glad they were truly kind and remade everything for my daughter; driving all the way back across town to get my daughter’s food while everyone ate was also kind of a bummer. I appreciate them trying to help teach me how to order, but their staff should also be trained so that I don’t have to be hypervigilant when ordering from restaurants.

While there are some good things happening here. (Hence the mixed feelings.) and this place does have some potential. it’s not for me. Won’t be back… I don’t recommend.

Good luck though I hope things improve with...

For 12 years. I have lived here in Medford Oregon for 12 years and have been terribly disappointed in every Chinese American restaurant in Southern Oregon. I am FINALLY disappointed no more. My wife ordered pork with garlic sauce and I had Kung Pao beef. We also ordered a side of pork fried rice and spicy steamed wontons. From the first delectable bite of fried rice I was frozen in my tracks. Directly from the movie Ratatouille I was thrust through time to my youth. A tear might have fallen if ever so gently across my cheek. I handed the carton of fried rice to my wife, she bit down once and without continued mastication slowly lifted her head and looked me directly in the eyes. I knew at that moment that she knew what I knew and now we both knew. My life is forever changed from this moment. I had forgotten what it was like to actually be satisfied. Not only satisfied by the immense proportions but by the cacophony of love, passion, soy sauce, and happiness. If a new religion forms around this restaurant I will be a disciple. I will lead the lost sheep of the flock to its doors to be anointed in its holy Brown sauces. We will feast on the sacrament of spicy wontons as the flesh and decadent rice as the blood. My only fear was the thought of mortality as I finished my last bites. Was this my deathbed meal? Was this only so captivatingly delicious that it was meant to be my last? I am still breathing enough to type this so I know in my heart I am safe but I cannot shake the feeling.

Thank you. Thank you Chen's for being there. Thank you for embracing me with your multitude of spices. Thank you for giving me something that I feel I can never repay besides my steadfast and continued patronage. As it was written in Sir Charles Dickens literary classic The Terminator starring Arnold Schwarzenegger just know...

Very authentic flavors from southern China. We were traveling to Medford on business from Hong Kong and wanted to recharge with some comfort food, and stumbled upon this restaurant on Google. The soup noodles are very good with a rich flavorable soup base. The noodles are cooked just right with good firmness and texture. I ordered pho from the menu and it was very good, even though it's not authentic Vietnamese pho and more a Chinese rice noodle with slices of beef, beef balls and the tripe (we would call this triple crown). The soup tastes like Vietnamese pho though and despite not being real pho, it tasted very good and close enough.

The spicy Singapore fried noodles tasted very authentic as well. If you can take spicy, ask for a small plate of chilli oil to go with your food.

The staff were very friendly and offered attentive service. I observed that they seemed to know a lot of other customers well so suspect they have a lot of repeat diners. Food comes very quickly and portions are generous.

The large dining room is comprised of booths and regular tables. Decor is comfortable and clean.

Overall a pleasant surprise to find such authentic flavors away from a major city like LA or New York since supply of ingredients may be harder to source. We didn't try many of the other dishes that are more typically found in Americanized Chinese restaurants, but if you want authentic flavors and know what to order, this restaurant can do it. Will surely visit again next time we come...