Lum-Yuen

The speed and quality of service were superb. The food was exactly what you would expect from a Chinese restaurant. Some dishes were better than others. I was disappointed in the lack of spice from the Szechwan chicken. The flavor was still delicious and made up a little for the lack of heat.

Definitely a lot better since 5 months ago, ate inside and enjoyed my food quite a bit. Glad I came back to give it another shot as I might make the comeback again.
Service was great, inside was louder than I expected but still a good experience. The sweet and sour soup was really tasty as well.

On second go around I dined inside. Food is pretty decent but the service was awesome. Good times

Last night I went to Lum Yuen with a medium sized group – always a challenge for a restaurant. We were seated at two large round tables in a huge room used for parties. We were comfortable but the noise level was loud, with several other groups as well as ours. Hard to hear across the table.
I ordered Sichuan Beef and my portion was large and delicious. All others at my table raved about their food and each portion was double what you might expect. We each took portions home.
Two or three of us ordered gin and tonics – a simple drink available worldwide. When they arrived, they had been made with soda, not tonic. We returned them but the waitress was unable to get us new ones with tonic. She said the hoses had been hooked up incorrectly.
So – good food, huge portions, noisy atmosphere, and less-​than-​perfect bar! Guess it depends on what’s important to you!

Went to Lum-​Yuen for lunch with my cousin on the recommendation of a local businessperson. As it was my first visit, I queried our waitress about the menu — which was fairly small for lunch — and I learned that I could have a dinner menu item prepared as if it were a lunch menu item, which I took advantage of.
I found Lum-​Yuen to be a clean, nicely decorated restaurant. I had ordered my dish extra spicy, and our server offered to have another dish made if it wasn’t spicy enough. Although it wasn’t as spicy as I had hoped, the flavor was very good, and both of our dishes were substantial in size — we both needed boxes for leftovers. But my rating is for quality, not quantity. Looking forward to a return visit.

So let me preface this by saying that we are visiting family from Hawaii and have access to amazing and authentic Chinese food at home. So we came here for a family birthday dinner… and tried to order some of our favorites. When our order came it was not at all what we expected. So if you’re used to authentic Chinese don’t show up here expecting any. But when we didn’t like our dish both the waitress and the owner did their best to try and give us the dish we were trying to order. And they came damn close. I am not giving them 5 stars because this is the best Chinese I’ve ever had… but their service was excellent and the food was pretty good. Americanized… but still very tasty. It was definitely a overall good experience.

I came here in 2006 and loved it, it was our go to cheap date night as the food was soooo good. I have came here twice since i moved back two years ago and have been dissapointed as it has really changed and not for the better. The service is poor and the food is a huge dissapointment as well. Ive learned my lesson and wont be back.

When I lived in Salem, this was my «go-​to» Chinese restaurant. It’s been around forever and for a good reason: they consistently deliver piping hot, delicious fare. We came here so often that the waitresses knew our order!
The other reviews mentioned that the food is «Americanized»…so be it! To me, it’s comforting, Chinese soul food and bless them for that. They use fresh ingredients including all white chicken meat. Their fried rice is still the best I’ve eaten.
I was so happy to see that my favorite combination dish, #6, was still on the menu. It includes «parchment chicken» which is a wonderful treat.
Sure, the décor is a bit kitschy and their location isn’t chichi, but they aren’t trying to be. It’s working-​class and proud of it.
Lum-​Yuen serves up quality and quantity. The waitresses have always been friendly and professional. When I am in town again, I’m making a beeline to Lum-​Yuen and ordering my combination #6.

Very Americanized Chinese food. Found it to be pretty bland and the menu is somewhat odd & limited. The lunch specials are pretty cheap but this is just below even mediocre Chinese. Not that it’s an absolute requirement of good Chinese restaurants but I saw only caucasian employees.
I will say the staff was very friendly and attentive.

I used to like this place a lot but not so much. We are not going to go back unfortunately. Their sweet & sour chicken for pick-​up order is always soggy because they drown the chicken pieces in their sweet & sour sauce, when they really should just serve the sauce in a separate container. Their fried rice is not even fried, it’s steam rice and i don’t like steam rice. Many times when we pick up our orders they always make mistakes and either forget an items, or give us something we did not order. They don’t seem to double check. That really makes me furious especially when i find out they didn’t give me what i asked and paid for and i am back home and it’s too late to return it.

Always great service & friendly staff! Food is always hot & fresh! And love that the meals come with egg drop soup. I love coming here with my family.

We tried Lum Yuen first time customers and found it to be yummy with huge portions! Ordered crab puffs, fried rice, special chow mein, shrimp chow yuk and Szechuan chicken. Service was friendly and food was tasty. I posted my pic.

It’s been years since we ate here. And it’s still the same atmosphere with large portions (for dinner) for the price. The waitresses were really friendly, we invited friends and celebrated two birthdays born on the same date. One turning 79 and the other turning 35.

I’ve been a regular here for years. The service is always really friendly and (almost) always quick. You get a lot of food for your money. They are always willing to make changes or substitutions for you. The place is very roomy and they have a huge back room for parties. It’s a great place to take groups.

Very friendly staff, even after my 9 month old makes a complete mess all over the floor! This place is great during for their lunch specials! I usually get the Friday special which is pork fried rice, diced almond chicken, and friend shrimp for $ 5.95! good deal since I always leave with a box. :)

Tried for the first time and wasn’t disappointed! Between the three of us, we had general tso’s, house fried rice, shrimp and beef in oyster sauce. Tried them all and no complaints on any (except hot is definitely not hot! :)). Will be back and add a little variety next time.

Lum-​Yuen? Lum-​No.

We ordered last night, dinner to-​go. It was super easy! I just went to their website and ordered off there just like you would shop online. I really appreciated this option. I sent my husband out and he was back very quickly with our food. :)
We ordered the chicken lo mein, fried shrimp, szechwan beef, bbq pork fried rice and steamed rice. It was all piping hot and fresh.
I prefer to order my food to go from here, however I don’t mind dining-​in as I have never had a bad experience.

Okay, so the good things first.
The service is great, very friendly staff instant service, and always with a smile.
And now the bad.
The food is just awful. It’s bland. Lacking spice even when asking for extra spice, and very greasy. Even when you order a meal with veggies, they’re greasy and seem once frozen or canned– not fresh.
I’ve always thought this place was dirty, but I assumed that was just my mind because of how dated the location is.
Well, last two times I came in there were little sugar ants all over the table. The first time, the lovely young lady said «oh my god gross!» And moved me to a different table. Last time I went, (forgetting about the ants last time) the table had a solid black lime from the seam in the wallpaper to the sugar. I pointed it out, the person this time just used an already dirty damp rag, cleaned some up (made them go ALL OVER the table) then asked if I was ready.
I left. Won’t be back again.

Although my mom loves this restaurant, the lunch plate I ordered didn’t taste very good. Sorry, mom, but I thought it was downright awful. I grew up in Hawaii where Chinese food, even Chinese-​American food, is much closer to authentic. The standard for Asian food is pretty high with the huge Asian communities that call Hawaii home so my review can’t help but be based on a comparison to all the many Chinese meals I’ve been fortunate to have enjoyed at (at least) 30 Chinese restaurants, both hole-​in-​the-​wall, Chinese-​American, as well as high end authentic Chinese restaurants.
Although the server was fantastic, quick, friendly, and provided iced water and hot tea along with being cheerful and quick, the food was pretty bad. The pork fried rice was awful, both the flavor, texture, and it’s lack of ingredients. It appeared to be seasoned with soy sauce and something sweet, with no meat or vegetables in it except for a tablespoon of sliced ham or cold cut meat that was placed atop the rice. I swear to you I can make pork fried rice that is 100% better, and I am no culinary wonder. They should start with a base of chopped onion at the very least.
I don’t like it but I understand the batter fried chicken and shrimp in sweet red sauce which would have greater appeal to non-​Asian palates. However, the chicken chow mein was so foreign looking that when it was placed in front of me, I asked my mom what it was! I really thought i had been given the wrong item. Where was my mein? There was a layer of dried, deep fried noodles that looked identical to La Choy’s crispy noodles, topped with stir fry vegetables in a mild tasting sauce. The veggies and sauce were okay but when I order mein, which means noodles in Chinese, I really was expecting fresh, not crunchy deep fried or possibly canned, noodles.
Very sad face. I’ll give Lum Yuen another try and order completely different items and hope for the best and maybe be able to update this review. I feel a little more educated about Chinese fare in Salem. Maybe this is the norm here and I’ll grow to like it? Nope, don’t think so but at least not be bitterly disappointed?
At least the server was very friendly, cheerful, helpful, and she made my visit there quite pleasant. Thank you for great service!