Portland, Oregon's Republic Cafe Chinese Restaurant Serves Delicious Food

My family recently spent the day walking the streets of downtown Portland. Our walk helped us to work up an appetite, which led to a search for an affordable restaurant downtown. We decided to head over to Portland's Chinatown district and browse the selection of Chinese restaurants available. Most of the Chinese restaurants located in Chinatown offered passersby the chance to view a menu along with pricing. One of these restaurants was called the Republic Cafe, where we finally decided to eat. The prices of this Chinese

When we entered the restaurant appeared to be perfect for my family's "middle income" wallet, which was one of the factors we were looking for when deciding where to eat.Republic Cafe we were immediately greeted by a friendly hostess who quickly found us a table. Upon observation the Chinese restaurant appeared to be scarcely populated, usually a sign which indicates that a restaurant isn't quite so popular to the Portland area locals. However, the timing of our visit to this Chinese restaurant was most likely the cause, as we showed up on a quiet Sunday afternoon. (There was a Chinese restaurant across the street which was almost full however.)

When we were seated we were placed in a quiet, dimly lit area of the Republic Cafe Chinese restaurant which housed just two booths. I almost felt as if I were on a date with my boyfriend who I was cheating on my spouse with. The area was on the opposite side of a hallway; the other side housed approximately ten or so tables in a room lit mainly by sunlight, a rarity in the Portland area. The only other customers, three couples, were seated in the sunlit area and so we enjoyed the privacy of the detached area. I do have to note that we have a baby just under one year of age and most restaurants we visit tend to stick us in a far off corner away from other customers. Usually we have to speak up if we want a decent seat. The difference between the Republic Cafe Chinese restaurant and the other restaurants is that we could easily gain the attention of our server and were attended to equally as much as the other customers. Perhaps this was due to the fact that there were not many customers that day but, I find that even with the lack of customers other restaurants have not treated us as well.

Another positive for the Portland area Republic Cafe Chinese restaurant is honesty. My family decided to order a "family meal" which meant we would receive a combination of food set in the center of the table and serve ourselves. Most Chinese restaurants in the Portland area would have brought out enough Chinese food for four (the size of my family minus baby) bringing up the cost of our meal as well. Only our waitress informed us that we would receive enough food by ordering a two person combination meal instead. As restaurants and similar businesses are interested in making a high profit I found this type of honesty a rare and valuable thing, making Republic Cafe Chinese restaurant an honest Portland area business.

Chinese restaurant allowed us to substitute without problem. I have found that when dining at certain other establishments the substitutions usually come across as a hassle or are not allowed. This flexibility made our review of the When ordering a "family meal" or "combination lunch or dinner" the cost is usually decided per person and comes with a preset menu. When we viewed the meal choices we asked if we could substitute a few of the items for other food. Our waitress at the Republic CafeRepublic Cafe in downtown Portland an even more positive one. The only gripe that I had was that I could not order Wonton soup as a substitute to the Egg Flower soup. In fact the Wonton soup was only orderable as a family sized bowl, which we would have done if our daughters enjoyed the soup.

When our family goes out for Chinese we often visit buffets as they allow us to fill our plates with a variety of items and generally cost less than many other sit down restaurants. We were happy to see that the cost of our "family combination meal" at the Republic Cafe Chinese restaurant was less than we usually spend at a Chinese buffet in the Portland area. In fact our dinner complete with a $2 add on (one of our substitutions cost more than the item we substituted), two extra bowls of Egg Flower soup, and two virgin Shirley Temples cost my family rounded up to $37, tip included. Without the special drinks and extra soup, which we will not be ordering on our next visit, we would have only of spent around $29.50. A dinner for four at a local Chinese buffet would have cost my family approximately $40, not including a tip.

After ordering our meal we were brought our soup in little to no time. When dining with children and babies the short amount of "wait time" is a plus. My family's review of Republic Cafe Egg Flower soup however wasn't as big of a hit. My family usually enjoys Chinese "Egg Drop" soup over "Egg Flower" soup. The difference between these two types of soup is that "Egg Flower" soup tends to have a variety of vegetables added in whereas "Egg Drop" soup contains just the eggs. My family enjoyed this soup, though not as much as other Chinese restaurants' Egg Flower soup. As soon as our bowls of soup were empty we were brought our appetizers.

The "family combination meal" we ordered at Republic Cafe Chinese restaurant came with an appetizer on top of the soup and main course dishes. For the two person meal we were given two Chinese chicken wings as well as six fried Wonton skins. We also received Sweet and Sour dipping sauce for our Wonton skins which came in a shallow dish and included on our small platter of appetizers. Personally I would have like to of seen more chicken wings included with the appetizers, especially when the waitress knew that there were four of us sharing the meal even though we only ordered for two. The Chinese "flyboy" chicken wings were delicious according to our daughter who usually eats several of them whenever we visit a Chinese buffet.

The appetizers went quickly and so my daughters enjoyed their virgin drinks while my husband and I enjoyed the hot tea that was set on the table in a stainless steel tea kettle. As a child I can remember enjoying the hot tea, especially because of the small handless cups they were served in, whenever my parents took us to a sit down Chinese restaurant. The hot tea at the Republic Cafe Chinese restaurant was delicious and reminded us of heated Lipton tea. There were plenty of packets of sugar, as well as sugar substitutes, at our table as well (something I like to see as my husband loves sweetened ice tea and most restaurants in the Portland area do not serve it). We actually had to wait a good bit, I'd say just under ten minutes, to be served our main course dishes. The wait is actually decent compared to certain other sit down restaurants and at least lets us know that our food is "most likely" prepared fresh.

The "Chow Mein" here includes soft noodles. When we lived in Florida the "Chow Mein" and the The amount of food we received when our food finally arrived at the table was enough to feed my family of four. If your family is full of "healthy eaters", unlike the "light eaters" my daughters are then you may want to order a three rather than two person "combination meal". My family was able to eat the entire meal with minimal leftovers. Our main dishes included in our meal at the Republic CafeChinese dish was the Chicken Chow Mein served over crunchy noodles. One thing I have noticed about most of the Northwest ChineseChinese restaurants we ate at were prepared the same way as at the Chinese restaurant included: Chinese Spareribs (in place of their ABC Salad), Chicken Chow Mein (in place of the Mar Far Chicken), Sweet and Sour Pork (original to the meal), and Pork Fried Rice (original to the meal). My family's favorite Republic Cafe. The Chinese style Spareribs were also delicious, mild in flavor, and an interesting twist to the more popularly known barbequed or sweet and sour spareribs. The Sweet and Sour Pork was crunchy rather than soggy which earned two thumbs up from my family. Finally, the pork fried rice was delicious as well. It wasn't too dry or too soggy, a problem I often find with most Chinese restaurants' fried rice. My only complaint was the minimal amount of pork strips included in the fried rice, though this problem isn't unique to Republic Cafe Chinese restaurant as it is commonly served this way at most Chinese restaurants in the Portland area.

My overall view of the Republic Cafe Chinese restaurant in Portland is a positive one. I would recommend this Chinese restaurant as a place for casual dining. If you are looking for atmosphere and ambience I would recommend you go elsewhere. As for me the food and service is what matters most. I have found that the Republic Cafe passed both tests with flying colors. I would rate the Republic Cafe Chinese restaurant four and a half stars out of five and recommend you give it a try if you are ever in the Chinatown District of Portland.