After being ranked 4th among Yelp's Top 50 Most Prolific Elites of 2025, a distinction recognizing…read moremy consistent community engagement and high-quality contributions, I decided that this year, as an All-Star Yelp Elite, I not only wanted to be the first to discover new restaurants and businesses, and bring them to the attention of the public, but also to go back and write follow-up reviews on those restaurants that impressed me the most during 2025, and Cafe Asia 2, in Roanoke, Virginia, is a perfect example of one of them. This Asian fusion restaurant in the Cave Spring area of Roanoke, is definitely one of my favorite restaurants of all times. And my first visit and review is something that I will always hold very dear. When you finish reading this review I invite you to go back and read that review and view my photographs accompanying that review, for it was a very unique dining experience that I will never forget. From the time you arrive at this restaurant the contemporary building design seems to beckon you to approach and enter. I love their unique logo design made up of letters and a number of a particular font that communicates a certain air of distinction. Once inside, you're like in another world altogether. If the outside of the building was impressive, the interior immediately captures your attention and mesmerizes you with it's beauty. When I arrived today, a very lovely and distinguished lady, dressed very elegantly, welcomed me and led me to the table of my choice. Later did I find out that she was the owner of the restaurant, and I had an opportunity of talking with her about the restaurant, its Sushi Bar, and Sushi chefs. Soon after, my friendly server, who was from Indonesia, came to introduce himself and take my order. To drink I had a Vietnamese Iced Coffee. It was served in a tall glass and tasted marvelous. As appetizer, I had the Dim Sum Platter. It contained 3 shrimp dŕhumai, 3 pork dumplings, 3 pork wasabi shumai, and 2 roasted pork buns. One of those items was extremely spicy, I had to drink water to cool down. The others tasted reasonably good. As my main entrée I had the Lobster Tail Tempura Maki. It was very colorful and tasted, and completely filled me up. My original server did an excellent job serving me the food and coming by to check on me. But then he disappeared and another server, also Indonesian came to bring me my main entrée. I think it might have been a shift change, but feel the first server should have let me know about this fact. But if the first server wad excellent, the second was amazing. He answered all the questions I had about items on the menu, and while delivering special dishes to other customers, he allowed me to photograph this food for the benefit of the readers of this review. Then, at the end, he helped me choose the dessert to have for the Grand Finale of my meal: the Banana Basket. It was amazingly delicious and had slices of bananas, kiwi, mangos, whipped cream, and strawberries. And topped with caramel and chocolate sauces. Considering its friendly and relaxing ambiance, its extensive menu with a wide range of Asian dishes, from traditional Chinese entries to a full sushi bar with raw and cooked options, and its amazing customer service, I definitely highly recommend this restaurant from my own experience. Every time I've dined there I've had an exceptional fine dining experience, and as I'm leaving I'm already looking forward to returning.

Everything we had from here was flavorful, hot & delicious! The restaurant inside is beautifully…read moredecorated, it wasn't crowded when we arrived at 5:40pm on a Monday evening. They were doing a heck of a carry out business, and know I know why. My husband had the wonton soup - he must of enjoyed them because I didn't get to try them, however that broth - oh my delicious- I finished that - easily. I had an order of the crab wontons - mostly cream cheese tasting - wish there was a bit more crab/shrimp, overall tasty. We shared our first hot pot - ribeye, carrots, peppers, stewed tomatoes served with your choice of rice - we chose the fried. Our shrimp tempura roll was yummy! Oh and we also each had a strawberry sangria although they do have other cocktails - I totally missed out on a screwdriver but the sangria was good too. Service was excellent- very nice people. Look forward to returning in the future!

Always great food. Never disappoints. The family that works it cares and always delivers quality…read morefood.

Sometimes restaurant reviews can be deceiving, especially when you see a review with no photo of…read morethe reviewer and with very few reviews done by that person. I went to this restaurant because of one review that said: Best Chinese Food in Roanoke and many other good reviews from reviewers with no photos of themselves and with very few reviews done. And wow was I disappointed. First of all the location of the restaurant is not in a nice area. But that is no problem because sometimes you can find restaurants with great food in not so nice areas. The interior of the restaurant looked presentable with booths with table cloths and a mini Chinese Market next to the cashier counter. The menu looked fantastic, even with Hibachi. The lady who greeted me and took my order was very nice and friendly. The food was served in real plates with real silverware not plastic ones, and was brought to my booth by the lady who took my order at the counter. The place was clean. I ordered the Four Triple Combination, which had shrimps, scallops, beef and chicken. And came with Fried Rice. The dish looked very good when it came out. In fact too good to be true. When I started eating it I first noticed that the sauce was not cooked well enough with the food items, the chicken was tasteless, the beef was tough, the shrimps and scallops were better but very few, and the broccoli were frozen broccoli and many were still cold in the dish. Then when I went to taste the Fried Rice that looked so good, it had a horrible taste. Like if the wok where they cooked it had been washed with dish soap but not rinsed well enough. That really got me. I stopped eating and left the restaurant. It was the worst Chinese Restaurant that I have ever eaten at. What a bad sensation. I hope you learned something from this review like I have, and though I don't like to write bad reviews, I feel obligated to do so because I don't want any others to go through the horrible dining experience that I went through at this restaurant.

I happened to go to Tanglewood Mall to pick up an order I purchased at Belk's website of an Izod…read morePolo Shirt which was on sale. And after I did so I decided to go try out the Red Palace Tanglewood Chinese Restaurant. Now there is another Red Palace Chinese Restaurant in the Roanoke area: The Red Palace Valley View, which is actually my favorite Chinese Buffet Restaurant and at first I thought that they were from the same owner, but I found out they're not and should not be confused. I invite you to go read my review of that one and view my photographs after you finish reading this one, and you will immediately notice the great difference between the two. Just go to The Red Palace Valley View. This Red Palace Tanglewood is located next to Kroger Supermarket at the Tanglewood Mall. When I arrived I parked my pearl white Lexus in the parking lot located on the right side of the restaurant and then went walking to the front door. The building structure of this restaurant didn't look as magestic as the other one, nor the entrance either. As I entered there was a nice size fish tank with the water not too clean the Gold fishes color white.Then there was a nice looking counter station behind which was a friendly young gentleman cashier and To Go order taker and the place for customers to pick up their Take Out orders. The counter had an impressive golden Buddha on top. A friendly young lady came to greet me and take me to my table. She took my drink order and told me to go ahead and enjoy the Buffet. I ordered a Dr. Pepper to drink which was brought to me with very little ice and I was never asked if I wanted a refill. The few ladies filling up the trays got in the way of the customers, without even smiling or saying excuse me and would put a new tray of food but then would throw the old one right in with the fresh one and Mixed them together. The Buffet stations themselves were old and refurbished. Most of the food looked luckwarm from having been sitting there too long. The shrimps looked tiny, as well as other of the food items. The fried rice lacked color, ingredients, and flavor. The sauces were watered down. And there were not to many food items to pick from. The items lacked flavor and even though they were edible, they were not enjoyable to anyone who knows what genuine, high-quality Chinese food is all about. Even the elephant ears with the desserts were stale. What a difference from the Valley View Red Palace, which is actually not associated in anything with this one. If anything I got from trying this one out was not to ever return and to let all those who read my review know that it's not worth it. Save yourself from going through a horrible dining experience and go dine somewhere else.

Quick and easy, great options on a buffet . Service was so good, cleaning up dirty plates…read morerefilling drinks all top rate.

Sometimes in the least expected places one can find the most exquisite restaurants. Looking for a…read moreplace to eat after an upset with 419 West Restaurant for not having enough parking spaces to accommodate their booked customers, after canceling the reservation that I made through Open Table, I drove off to a tiny strip mall next door, and there I found this place called Szechuan Chinese Restaurant. After being awarded the NC Triad Yelp Squad Yelper of the Year 2024 Award at the Yelpies Award Ceremony last year, an event that honored the highest-performing Yelp Elites, celebrating their contributions and accomplishments throughout the year, I decided that this year, as an All-Star Yelp Elite, I not only wanted to be the first to discover new restaurants and businesses, and bring them to the attention of the public, but also to uncover those found in hidden paths that for one reason or another have not reached the public in its totality. And Szechuan Restaurant in South Roanoke, Virginia, is a perfect example. As I was walking towards the restaurant after parking my car, since I hadn't had an opportunity to research it to find out if it was good, I asked one of their customers who was also headed that way and he replied: "After more than 40 years of being their customer, I haven't found a place with better Chinese food." What an outstanding live testimony to the place, I thought to myself. Then as I got closer, Their windows were displaying framed articles about the restaurant. Inside, the owner was seated at his open office located in front of the restaurant, and the walls around him were inundated with framed awards and photos related to the restaurant. The owner, very friendly and hospitable, greeted me, and explained how since Covid they no longer had table service. But you would look at the menu, order and pay there, and then the food would be taken to your table in take out containers by a young lady server. As I went through their beautiful and extensive menu, he was able to notice that I was not too familiar with many of the items on the menu, so he helped me by asking me some questions of my likes and providing some recommendations. I ended up ordering a Coke to drink. A Vegetable Spring Roll as appetizer, as well as a Scallop Roll from the Sushi Bar. And as my main entrée I ordered the Pork Szechuan Style with their Fried Rice. And for dessert they had only three options Cheesecake, Chocolate Cheesecake, or Donuts. I went for the Chinese Donuts because I always wanted to try them. After ordering and paying with my credit card, I went to their dining room to look for a table to sit at. I picked a booth next to a window to provide enough natural light to be able to photograph the food nicely. The server brought me a plastic bottle of coke with a styrofoam cup with ice. The dining room was very nice and had the most beautiful and elegant fish tank that I've ever seen in a restaurant. It's a pity that they hadn't return back to regular table service since Covid is now under control. While waiting for my food to be prepared, I walked over to the Sushi counter to watch the Sushi Chef prepare my Scallop Roll. I invite you to view my photographs and videos accompanying this review to get a better sense of the place and the quality of their food. Finally, the friendly young lady brought my food to my table on a tray which she placed on the table. Both her followed-up to see how I found the food and to see ifvI needed anything else. What can I say, the food was amazing! From the Sushi to the Pork in the Szechuan sauce, to the Spring Roll, and Fried Rice. By the time I ate the donuts they had cooled down and hardened and were a bit dry inside. While I was enjoying my meal, several customers stopped by to pick up their To Go orders that they had ordered by phone or through their website. Others came with the intention of eating in but when they found out the situation, they ordered for Take Out instead. And a family who came to eat in, left when they found out the dining situation. The dining experience is not the same eating out of plastic containers. It's like drinking wine out of a plastic cup is not the same as drinking it out of a Baccarat wine glass. I highly recommend that the owner return back to the normal way of operating a restaurant. The inside of the restaurant is much too beautiful and the food much too exquisite not to do so.

service. Even on Christmas Eve when half of Roanoke wants Szechuan and things get a little busy,…read morethey are uber-professional. Dumpling SAUCE is amazing. I think it's made fresh. I would LOVE the recipe.

After closing their lunch buffet due to COVID-19, Szechuan Restaurant in Salem, VA has reopened it…read moreas of 10/01/2025. They serve the same delicious selections they originally offered with their crispy General Tso's Chicken being a favorite of most. While being a buffet, the service is still great as always. The atmosphere is a little calmer than other buffets, which is a plus. As for the price, it is roughly $13 a person, which is a little high for lunch, but better than some similar places in the area. All in all, I'm glad Szechuan is offering its buffet again.

I had a craving for Chinese takeout and I wasn't sure I'd be able to find anything decent in…read moreRoanoke. On its face, it seemed okay. A heavy bag greeted me, and ample customization was available online. However, I found the dishes I ordered somewhat bland. The Buddha's delight dish had a strange off taste to it that caused a bit of an allergic reaction in my mouth and then made me violently ill when I tried it again. Not sure what was in it but nothing good. Even if I didn't have that experience, it was a good quantity of food but nothing that I would have been in a hurry to return for. Unfortunately, my search for Chinese food in the region continues.

Chicken with almonds was great. General Tso's was pretty good, not the best. Beef and Broccoli…read morenot very good at all. Hot and sour soup was great, on the sweeter side and not that spicy though. Fast and courteous staff, very clean establishment.

I hadn't been here in over 10 years. Was very pleased with my moo shu pork and will definitely be…read moreback!

For some time now I was looking forward to try out the Panda Express next toTanglewood Mall, and…read moretoday I had the opportunity to go there for an early dinner. Previously I had the opportunity to attend the Opening Day of the one on Valley View and I was very impressed with the food and service there. After being awarded the NC Triad Yelp Squad Yelper of the Year 2024 Award at the Yelpies Award Ceremony last year, an event that honored the highest-performing Yelp Elites, celebrating their contributions and accomplishments throughout the year, I decided that this year, as an All-Star Yelp Elite, I not only wanted to be the first to discover new restaurants and businesses, and bring them to the attention of the public, but also to uncover those found in hidden paths that for one reason or another have not reached the public in its totality. And this Panda Express next to Tanglewood Mall, in Roanoke, Virginia, is a perfect example. As I arrived to this Panda Express, I was very impressed with the architectural design of the outside of its building. It was a simple yet elegant contemporary design. I was eager to go inside to once again discover the flavors of American-Chinese cuisine at this Panda Express. The interior design was also a similar contemporary design with superb use of lighting. I received a warm greeting by my server Jaxon who was very friendly and hospitable. I ordered a Plate with 2 entrees and 1 side. The Black Pepper Steak and another dish that had Beef & Shrimp as the entrees, and the Chow Mein as the side. And a small drink of Cherry Coke. I scanned my app to collect Panda Rewards Points for this purchase and went to a table to enjoy my food. I invite you to view my photographs accompanying this review to get a better sense of the place and the quality of the food. The meat and shrimp were very tasty with the sauce they were cooked in. And the Chow Mein was also amazingly delicious. And I also enjoyed their complimentary Fortune Cookie and the fortune it contained. As I was leaving the entire staff wished me goodbye outloud, which provided me with a good feeling to want to return soon. I definitely highly recommend this restaurant for its consistency of quality food, relaxed environment and friendly service.

Food was excellent temperature and taste . Presentation was excellent Service was courteous and…read moreattentive. Unbelievably the experience gets better with each visit

The new ownership of the restaurant is fantastic, I really appreciate that they brought back this…read morerestaurant, but did it in a better way and more consistent. The last owner a year ago would close randomly and not make good food consistently. I highly recommend you ask the owners what they have on special! They make a lot of variety of things, but if you go with the American Asian standard food, they also make that really well

This is the WORST CHINESE RESTAURANT EVER!!!! I got food poisoning from eating this mess. The egg…read morefoo young is more like egg foo yuck. Even the sodas taste funny. Three days of vomiting and diarrhea. Don't mean to be graphic. Just wanna save a life.

Delicious buffet with ample supply and all of your favorites. Ambiance is good and servers are…read moresuper attentive. Love the food and service.

This place was just down from where we stayed. The first night we passed by on our way to another…read moreplace but noticed lots of cars and thought it must be good. The next day we saw lots of cars again and thought the same thing. This place was very clean and the food was fresh. You don't see many buffets with egg foo young on them. It had the gravy to add and was really good. Green beans were nice & crispy as was the crab rangoons. My only criticism would be the fish. Tasted like Mrs. Paul's. Added a little soy & hot chili oil and it worked.