TR's Oriental — Restaurant in Travelers Rest

Long story short, this place is nasty! This is no exaggeration. I’m convinced they’re writing their own good reviews. Walking in the front door is a turn off by itself. The restaurant looks like an old dusty storage room from the 80’s. There’s an odd smell in the air that simply stinks. Everyone working there seems so miserable and sad. I don’t think they have “bad attitudes”. I just think they’re unhappy. I read a review saying the portions were nice and the food is delicious. All lies! It’s really a lunch sized portion that you would get any other place. I wouldn’t have any problem with the portion size nor the prices if the food was good. I ordered the honey chicken combination platter. The rice has the same taste that you smell when you walk in the door. The chicken is bland, soggy, and unappealing. The sauce is literally sweet water…like a simple syrup.. The egg roll was fresh, crunchy , but half empty. I usually give places multiple chances before I write them off. This was my second experience and both times…it’s not good. I’m assuming maybe some grandparents started this restaurant and at one point, it may have been decent. But they simply can’t cook. Now I’m on my way to another Chinese place to get food. Hopefully the owners read these reviews and really take heed. …Call Gordon Ramsey, bar rescue , or somebody. I don’t wish any family business to fail but you have...

We’ve frequented TR Oriental since 2006. (Pregnancy cravings in 2006/07 led me to eat there at least 3-4 times a week.) We’ve always been satisfied with the service, food, etc., until the last year or two. The take out portion sizes have diminished but the prices have increased, the amount of sweet and sour (red) sauce provided is comical (they provide a large styrofoam container but only fill it about 1/4 full); they removed the veggies and pineapple from take out sweet and sour chicken, and they now insist on customers paying for homemade duck sauce when they freely supply it when dining in restaurant. The small seating area coupled with our large family makes it hard for us to dine in restaurant, so we generally choose to take out and eat somewhere outdoors within TR City (park, courtyard area above TR Oriental restaurant, etc.....). This evening was likely the final straw. The egg rolls were GROSS and consisted of mostly meat (and I’m not even sure WHAT kind as it was virtually indistinguishable); the pineapple we had to specially request was soured and once again the teenagers @ the counter argued about duck sauce after we had already spent $45+ on take out orders. TR is growing way too fast and has too many restaurants to stick to with this hole in the wall and their nickel and dime...

Update to my old review. I decided to give them another try today. 5/4/2024. I ordered the Shrimp Fried Rice. I took about 6 or 7 bites and bit into a foul tasting shrimp. I spit the entire bite out into the trash. I have felt so sick since eating from there today. I put the rest outside for the stray cats that hang around my house and they would not even touch the shrimp. This is cats that will eat macaroni noodles if put outside. I absolutely will not be eating there again and if you want to avoid food poisoning, I would suggest others stay away as well.

Old review.

Food has really gone downhill. It used to be really good, and then something changed. The rice had burnt looking clumps in it and just didn't taste right. This is not the first time it has happened. This is about the 4th try I have given them and each time has been bad. This used to be my go to place...