Frank C.

Returned to Master Kong after a long hiatus, specifically craving their northern-style potstickers (a rare find around here!). The wrappers were beautifully chewy and delicious, though the meat filling was a bit too tough for my taste (4*). Sadly, the braised beef noodle soup missed the mark--the beef had an odd flavor and the broth lacked depth, tasting mostly of soy sauce (2*). The standout was definitely the jianbing: perfectly crunchy with a well-balanced sauce that didn't overwhelm the dish 5*). ​Ordering is done via a self-service kiosk. It's fine in theory, but the laggy, unresponsive screen made ordering a full family meal a bit frustrating, fortunately nobody was waiting behind us. Staff are courteous, and the pricing remains reasonable. Probably won't make a trip to return, but will drop by when I'm the area and craving for dumplings.

Christine J.

Love this little cute restaurant with big portions! I came in for an early dinner with a big appetite and ordered a bit too much than I could handle... the spicy beef noodle soup was delicious along with the crispy popcorn chicken! That noodle bowl was humongous. The free hot tea was a plus! The staff was friendly, inside was clean. You order at the big screen and sit down. Simply leave when you're done! Will definitely come back.

Hannah G.

Amazing spot. The food arrived quickly, tasted yummy, & was a fun spot to check out overall. They have a nice set menu and lots of options for people who don't eat pork, which I appreciated!! Will definitely be back for the braised beef noodle soup, it was so so yummy!

Ivonne M.

Yes!, Yes!, Yes!, The meat fold his hands down one of their best dishes. Do yourself a favor order an extra one to take on the road. You'll thank me later. It's a no-frills kind of place but the food is so authentic and yummy from steamed dumplings to boa buns everything is delicious. The service they give you is top-tier they want you happy. All the locals go here the ambience is fabulous.

Michael S.

Christmas brunch bliss! Me and the Missus just finished a lovely brunch at Master Kong on 32nd & Hawthorne in SE Portland. Super delicious and a nice mixture of dim sum, self service, and local ambiance. When you walk inside you see the large screen by the bar where you make your order. Such a thing throws us Boomers off a bit (technological intrusion) but once you get some Generation X help (like my sweetie) you quickly adjust and complete your order. Your customer ticket gets printed out and you head to your table where they bring the items out one at a time. We ordered the homemade pork dumplings, snow pea leafs, chicken congee, jianbing, beef brisket noodle soup, plus two kinds of pot stickers (Chinese and regular). Every item was delicious but the chicken congee and the beef brisket noodle soup were standouts. I chose this place because of what customers said about the congee and how much my sweetie misses great congee. As it turns out, one Chinese American Yelper said that Master Kong's congee tasted like back home in Beijing. Well, my wife said it reminded her of the same in Jakarta. She tells me that it is so hard to find great congee in our City so this was quite a treat. I loved the beef brisket soup. The beef was tender with some pieces magically melting in my mouth with the broth soludly supporting the tasty noodles and the egg. Superstar quality taste! The jianbing was also yummy. My wife says it's like a crepe and is typically a breakfast meal. I enjoyed the radishes and scallions blended together with peanuts for a special crunch. The poppy seeds on the outside made the flavor another level of delectable. Finally, the potstickers were crispy on the bottom and warm and fresh on top. The snow pea leafs carried the flavor of garlic delivering a fresh crunch. The ha dmde pot stickers were extremely fresh and tasty. Another yelper said that "Master Kong is the truth!" They were right and we thoroughly enjoyed our brunch and the great service. We will be back!

Iris L.

Food as authentic and great and you order at self serve kiosk or can get help from servers. The beef stew was very tender and cooked with a savory broth and I tasted five spice in their seasoning so a bit different than the Hk style beef style noodle. Wonton noodle was very good also with a savory broth, perfect for this kind of autumn/fall weather, wontons were delicious with wood ear mushrooms, so that made the texture very crunchy and refreshing to balance out all the meat. Crab & pork XLB came out fresh and steaming hot and very tasty as well. Do be careful if you're not used to eating XLB as the broth inside is steaming out when you take first bite, so use a spoon to scoop it and flip it outside down, poke a small hole to let some steam out then sip on broth to savor the taste or throw the whole thing in your mouth and just know it's supposed to be piping hot! So good though! Very nice to have stumble across this place after Sunday church service and can stroll along a nearby park. It's not DTF style which is very nice to have tried something very authentic and prices are so affordable!! 10/10 would come again Hole in the wall type of dining so you'll Miss it if you're aren't paying close attention, we drove past and parallel parked on the street then pushed our baby and stroller and walked over.

Bruce M.

We visited here on our first day in Portland. The neighborhood is very fun and inviting. You order what you want at the kiosk, but please be warned that you will likely order too much food. The portions are big. We tried several things, and the highlights were the green onion pancake, beef noodle soup, and Chinese pot stickers. I would pass on the popcorn chicken. It wasn't bad, but it was not crispy enough for my liking. In all, excellent food.

Dan R.

I forgot how generous the portions are and ordered too much food. Fortunately the jian-bing packs home easily. The brisket noodle soup has plenty chunks of beef brisket. the broth is unique--a little sweet (star anise), fatty rich with some spice. Love the thicker than pho noodles. Definitely one of my top 5 soups in town. The jian bing is native to some Chinese province that doesn't get much play in restaurants around here--egg crepe over a crunchy layer over vegetables. You order on a machine but there's good personal service. They even have their name on the chopsticks.

Bobby W.

As a whole, Master Kong is a 4.5 for me. Food: 4-5/5 Service: 5/5 Value: 5/5 Ambiance: Casual, mixed self serve. It missed the 5 stars because there wasn't that wow factor, however if you're looking for consistent quality and taste for Taiwanese style food, this is it. We ordered the pork congee (5/5), jian bing (4/5) and popcorn chicken (4.75/5). The popcorn chicken has that authentic salt and pepper taste. Jian bing has good ingredients but lacks flavor. Good thing they have prepackaged sauces. We added beef for $3.50 and it was very minimal in beef, so that was disappointing. It would be good with sliced beef inside. The congee hit the spot with authenticity. Service was very attentive even though ordering is self service. Would come here again when craving Taiwanese style flavors.

Bryan Y.

Our go-to Chinese dumpling restaurant. Very good dumplings, nice selection of different types. The location is nice, the servers are nice, overall a nice experience. The front ordering kiosk is cool too, of course. Nice and efficient. Anyway, never had a "bad" thing here, everything has been within the range of "it was fine" to "it was very good." This place is good for dumplings, veggie sides, and beef roll (jianbing). They have like one rice + entree type dish and it's very good, but don't come to Master Kong expecting the "usual" Chinese fare. This is a niche dumpling, congee, and noodle joint! Side note: I have yet to try their noodles or congee.

Tully B.

Back again 2 weeks later. Wow Master Kong is perfect. Great service, delicious food and customizable options. For example, order extra wontons on the wonton soup and share! The classic lemonade 75% sugar is refreshing too. We love the sauces. The meat folder continues to be a top 5 "sandwich" in Portland. The fried mini buns are so crispy and good. We like sitting by the window for two, but the ambiance is chill across the restaurant. Prepare to feel good at Master Kongs

Cindy I.

Was hopeful to get XLBs and green onion pancakes right down the street but will just have to keep driving to dough zone. The XLB are thick and not as flavorful as almost every other restaurant in town that does XLBs. The green onion pancakes are also very thick and a bit doughy. Didn't finish them and actually ate very little and I normally love these things. Popcorn chicken wasn't spicy so I tried some. Not sure if these are typical or not as usually don't order them but a bit bland and lots of skin so didn't do it for me. We picked up so don't know about the service.

Kathy O.

When we went on the weekend, it wasn't busy. There is a self-serve kiosk to order. You can take time to browse the menu without feeling pressured with someone at the register staring at you. Of course, if there are people behind you, I guess you can't to escape that feeling lol. Parking is a pain, but since we were in the area for another shop anyway, it wasn't an extra concern but if you come here specifically for the restaurant, it can be frustrating. We parked down one of the residential streets. The fare was more Taiwanese style (which is part of the description on the kiosk). What was most impressive was the pricing for the quality. It was a breath of fresh air when everything has become so expensive from inflation. I got way more food here than I would have gotten at most other places nearby, I'm sure.. definitely a solid place to eat especially if you're on a budget. Some dishes are easy to share, like dumplings and some of the appetizers. However, we each had a main dish as well (not as easy to share family style). I was so excited to see jianbing on the menu that I had to get it. Most places don't offer it and it was brunch time so a fitting choice. I assume the variant here is what's common in Taiwan as it was different from the ones I had before. I think the outer crepe part I had before had more egg mixed in with it with more crisp/crunch, but this was predominantly a soft flour (not sure what kind--per Google may be mung bean flour). If you're trying to be healthy, and/ or you don't like oil, this dish may not be for you. Seeing me so excited while ordering, my friend ordered the vegetarian version (I ordered the pork version which is slightly more expensive). She's never had this before, but the first thing she noted when it was served was how oily it looked. Interestingly, not much comes off if you tried to blot it with napkins and while eating it, it didn't feel excessively oily. Certainly, that may be different if you were to try and eat it after it cooled down. The difference in textures, with the crunchy middle fried dough sheet, along with the savory and sweet flavors were good as a base, and there are sauces available to the right side of the kiosk. I used the peanut sauce and it was fantastic. I didn't notice that they had chili crisp sauce (?) until after I finished eating. I just assumed it was a more spicy variant and I have a fairly low spice tolerance. My friend ate it with a fork and knife, which gave me a good chuckle. I very happily grabbed it with the provided aluminum foil and ate it with gusto like a burger-- as it's originally street food, it's supposed to be portable. I had some grease on my hands by the end and ended up going to the restroom anyway so it wasn't an issue for me. Admittedly, my friend had no grease on her hands by the end so that is an option if you wanted to keep your hands clean. We also got orders of the vegetable dumplings, steamed buns, green onion pancake to share. Other friends ordered sesame noodles, braised beef dish with rice. I'd say just about everything was a solid pick. Although there are less options for vegetarian eaters, my friend who is vegetarian was very happy with the sesame noodles, and I would have been happy if I had ordered that as well. The flavors were delightful. I was interested in the soup dumplings, but wanted to prioritize getting things to share with my friends including my vegetarian friend. Looking at some of the reviews, sounds like options elsewhere may be better as well. May try that when I come back next time. I felt the green onion pancake was ok...more dough and not enough green onion (though that is usually standard at most Chinese places that I go to--I prefer the Korean version when they don't skimp on the green onions). I like the steamed buns. I'm interested in trying the pan fried buns at a future visit. The vegetable dumplings were also ok; I was definitely using up my sauces for extr flavor but do wonder if the meat versions would be more flavorful on their own. I ended up getting the mango refresher, and even at half sweetness it was quite sweet. I actually had to stop drinking it during my meal as the flavor/sweetness was overwhelming the taste of the food. Ultimatelt, I enjoyed my drink after eating, treating it like a dessert. The restroom was decently clean. Some graffiti, but considering it's by an entrance rather than deeper in the shop to avoid public use, I expected way worse. Overall, a very solid choice for some quick Chinese dishes and perfect for takeout. I was really tempted to get extra orders to take home and later that night was regretting not doing so. The prices are very competitive, especially nowadays when everything is so much more expensive with inflation. I'd happily come back for both the jianbing and to try other dishes. Looks like they may have had roujiamo (the meat bun) which I would probably try next long with some of the other dumpling options.