My husband and I were recently in Roanoke to help a korean family with a business problem. Spotted this place going down the road, so we decided to stop here before hitting the interstate. First impression was the service.... I will say the waitress was a little off putting!!! The owner also was a little off putting/strange!! What happened was they chatted with us and asked us what we did for work. My boyfriend replied he worked with a lot of chinese businesses, and helped foreigners establish businesses in China. The waitress laughed and said something to the effect of “ Thats just a joke” I laughed and said it wasn't a joke. The waitress just rolled her eyes at us! The owner came over, I assume after the waitress told him that. This guy walks over and kind of jokingly pats my husband on his back and says “you only wish you worked in china ”. I said he really did and he said “no he doesn't ”. I didn't know how to respond to that since I had already told them he did. The owner btw looks really young! He looks 17 years old!! Before the owner left our table, he asked “What do you really do for work ”? My husband told him he really did do that kind of work and why did he care so much. He just laughed, rolled his eyes, then said “Enjoy your meal ” and walked away. Never said they were joking and rolled their eyes several times. They never accepted he did that kind of work. I have never experienced such a thing anywhere in my life except here.... Really strange!! Its the kind of thing that makes you uncomfortable. Other than that, the food was pretty good. It was well prepared on the buffet as well. What I got was pretty tasty, hot, and fresh! I will give them that. This included all of my favorites - kung pao chicken, spring rolls, lo mein, curry rice noodles, and general tsos chicken. Overall I just have to give 2 stars. Mainly because of the weirdness and how uncomfortable I felt! Can only imagine how uncomfortable my husband was!!! He didn't show it but I...
Read moreWhen my wife and I come to Roanoke we used to always try and stop in, or get a take away bag from this Red Palace. We love chinese food and this was in the past, some of the best around at a fair price too. However recently the food has gone downhill and the prices have went up significantly. On our most recent visit we noticed the food is always the same, and hasn't changed for some time. They should add some new dishes. Also the food was not very tasty. The Lo mien noodles were soggy, cold and stringy. I almost threw them out.
The owner, named ? Sky ? a kind of tall chinese guy about 5 ft 11... used to be a pleasing guy to talk to, but he recently has become weird. I don't know whats gotten into him. He first complimented me on my suit and tie, then he asked me not once, but 3 times if I could help him find a place to buy a new car. He also suggested that I should help him pay for the car, since he thought I was wealthy. I asked him if he thought I was wealthy, and he responded to me that if I did not want people to think I was wealthy, I should not come into restaurants wearing suits and ties, or drive my new 2015 Cadillac Escalade. Honestly he kind of offended me on our most recent visit. My wife was also offended by that comment. We handed him the money for our take away, and on our way out he said for us to be sure not to be too flashy while going around town. Weird. I didn't know if I was supposed to take that as a joke or not.
We may return, we...
Read moreRed Palace used to be a pretty good restaurant but its going downhill. The food is getting worse and worse and the customer service isn't very good. I have been coming to this restaurant for 6 years. I would come once a week. Yes for 6 years straight. I told the owner, Sky, my name more than 100 times probably. I came in one day the other week with my wife. I said Hey Sky, hows it going? He looks at me and says "oh im sorry, who are you?" I was shocked. It actually kind of pissed me off.... I no longer consider him a friend. My wife has studied chinese in the past and she heard the owner (Sky) and another chinese guy speaking chinese saying "傻逼 老外" referring to the customers. That basically is " Shabi Laowai". What it means in english is " stupid foreigners". First off they are referring to Americans in their own country as "foreigners". Anyone see anything wrong with that by itself? Then theyre adding "stupid" on the end making it "stupid foreigners". I am appalled they would talk about their customers in this way. My wife recorded them speaking on her phone and it is indeed what they were saying "Shabi Laowai". The young kid manager here (Sky) whom can't even remember his customers is too young and immature to be running this business. They need a real leader here who will do things right and will not refer to Americans as "stupid foreigners". They also need to take customer complaints more seriously and get better ingredients for their dishes. Done...
Read more