Kwan's Oriental Cuisine

This has long been a staple of Salem. I always loved how accomadating they are to veggies, but after discovering real Chinese food many other places, usually in big cities, coming back here was dissapointing. Too much Americanized food here, with goupy sweet sauces. This may appeal to the Salem crowd, but not myself. Good spice levels though, if you ask for it hot, you will get it. I'm also more into tofu than all the mock meats.

We just recently re-located to Salem and read that this was a really good restaurant so for our bi-monthly eating out treat we went here for lunch. We were promptly seated and then had some extrememly mediocre to bad food, barely warm, poorly flavored and with the worst tofu I've honestly ever had ... if that had been the first time I tasted tofu I would never ever eaten it again. In our opinion it's too americanized and reminded us of bland food found on a buffet. We will not be going back nor will we recommend it to anyone.

I went on a date here with my wife 2 days ago. I have to say i love the atmosphere of this place, from the giant wooden Buddha to the traditional clothing and decorations displayed. I had not been there in 12 years and wasn't expecting it to be as awesome. I ordered the mongolian green beans and tofu vegan and my gawd was it good, I even had leftovers for 2 days! They have very friendly service and quick food. Heavenly.

This is a rather unusual place. It is a bit disappointing that there aren't more vegan or vegetarian options in Salem. The majority of the Pacific Northwest is a mecca for our kind. Kwan's is located in a large building but the seating seemed to be limited. They attempted to seat us in a room next to a loud, overbearing group of what appeared to be co-workers. I wasn't having it so we were moved to a booth near a janitor's closet. There were several vegan options and the staff seemed to understand our dietary needs. I've never seen so many types of rice offered either. The food was good and the portions were plentiful. It was just what we needed after a long day of driving. The best part of the evening came when Mr. Kwan himself made his rounds. I've never encountered a more jubilant character and his smile instantly brought happiness to my mood.

Thank the gods for Kwan's! As a recent transplant to the Salem area we were disturbed to find that Salem is wanting badly for a healthy vegan restaurant. Thankfully after some research we found Kwan's where you can substitute mock meat for any of the regular meat dishes. They are more than willing to help you find whatever you may need to satisfy your dietary needs. As an added bonus the water is filtered through reverse osmosis, they have an insane variety of rice, and Kwan is at the front desk to thank you for coming and give you his bad mood-reversing smile. I highly recommend Kwan's as a place where the whole family can eat. Oh yeah...the food is worth writing about. The only complaint I have had is sometimes the service is a little lacking, but that is only when I am reaching for something to complain about.