Joy Yee

Reviews 6

KA

Kaolee Yang

I honestly cant give it more stars because Ive only been here once. The menu selection/picture menu was amazing!!! I love the fusion type food they offer and was pleased with what I decided on. As pictured, I had the Brisket Udon & szechuan green beans? Honestly cant remember the correct names...but the beans was different from what Im used to. Im a green bean fanatic and the flavors theyve created with this dish was spectacular! Definitely add it as a side dish to your meal! The Udon dish could have used more sauce and flavor. I did like the brisket in it, very tender and melts in your mouth! (There was more than that one peice you see in my picture- there was actually pretty good amount) Love that the noodles were actually Udon noodles, usually restaurants think they can pass off regular thin noodles as udon...and thats just so disappointing when you were expecting fat nooodles. Overall my experience was ok, I think it was hyped up too much for me. We went on a Sunday afternoon and it was really really busy so I didnt feel like I had the best service. I felt like I talked to a different waiter/waitress everytime I needed something. I did forget to mention there was a MASS HYSTERIA of people in their TO-GO line outside waiting for bubble tea. I believe if thats all youre ordering, you have to order from their line outside. Inside is for diners. My friends and I did order some bubble teas and a few of them were bland - I would stick to the milk teas. I am assuming either this was the ONLY place that had it, or these people just havent had better. Not being a bubble tea snob, but when you live in an area with bubble tea on every corner, the trend calms down a bit. Would I spend an hour to find parking JUST to go eat here again, probably not. If youve never been and happen to be in the area, sure why not? Definitely worth a try.

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A

A Private User

went to Joy Yees last night for the first time with family, including our 1yr old son. Food was fine, with the exception of temperature (see #1 below). We had a chicken coconut curry, a Malaysian seafood dish, pad thai and a couple appetizers (shu mai, and shrimp egg rolls). All were good; none blew us away by any means....but acceptable. Our problems w/ Joy Yee were: 1) atmosphere was cafeteria like and cold. The cafeteria style "is what it is"....it surprised me, but not a big deal. the cold was a surprise, and impacted the quality of the food (got cold a few minutes after arriving) and our enjoyment of the dinner (most kept coats on). 2) the biggest problem was that we ordered 2 appetizers and 3 main courses and they all came at the same time. This is unacceptable at any sit-down restaurant, but particularly since we couldnt use the part of the table my son could reach (destructive little man). Our appetizers and one main dish came (about 2 minutes after ordering) and we asked that the main dish be brought back later. It came about 1 1/2 minutes later by a different waitress, WITH the other 2 main dishes. So the whole meal was spent juggling 5 cold dishes, our plates, drinks, etc. on a small table. 3) to top it off, when my mother-in-law took the check, our young male waiter asked why we were making the "old lady" pay. not exactly polite. 4) finally, on the way out we noticed the next table telling their waiter that a dish "tasted burnt"......he seemed to be telling them it was SUPPOSED to taste that way....surely trying not to waste another 30 cents remaking the dish. Summary, mediocre cold food, rushed service in a totally uninviting atmosphere. (I notice this review gets more negative as I go on….I tried to be nice, but I guess it was impossible…have to lower rating to 1 star).

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DR

Dre C.

Visited here recently on my first trip to Chinatown Chicago and was definitely surprised at how much I enjoyed the atmosphere and food itself. Their menus are full of nice, glossy pictures of nearly each and every dish they serve. That helps save a lot of time usually spent guessing what to get when going somewhere that mixes up Asian cuisine. Moreover, a good few of those pages are dedicated entirely to their drink menu and with each one looking as colorful as they do, its hard to pass up on ordering one. The atmosphere is vibrant and fun. Groups of six, seven or more people may have to wait a while until enough seats open up as all the tables are joined together like a huge cafeteria, which adds to its charm. Two, three people should have no problem coming in and finding spots in a relatively short amount of time. If youre in Chinatown and starving but are hesitant about which place to try, Joy Yees is a sure hit with enough items on the menu to satisfy any lover of good Asian cuisine. (Recommended: The garlic chicken. It was delicious.)

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SO

Sonny Song

Ive been to many Joy Yees locations in Evanston, Naperville, and the one around UIC, but I gotta say this is the one I keep coming back to. So good! They can get pretty busy so make sure you come early. Heres what I got: 1) basil chicken over rice (crispy basil chicken over a bed of rice with a drizzle of mayonnaise on top) 2) Korean short ribs 3) chap chae with soondubu (noodles with spicy tofu soup) 4) avocado smoothie 5) apple/kiwi smoothie with mango poppings 6) soft shell crab curry stone bowl Everything was delicious especially the avocado smoothie! I was really surprised because Ive only had it in savory preparations. For the price you pay, the portions are enormous! I love it because I always end up taking food home to look forward to. The space is much larger now as they have expanded the space. There is also a window on the outside of the restaurant so during the summer, you can drop by and grab a smoothie when youre on the go! Joy Yees is a Chicago institution that everyone should try!

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EV

Evelyn Mendoza

Walked in with a group of friends and I was amazed with the amount of different smoothie combinations you could get. We heard this place sold amazing smoothies so we figured we ought to try out. When we got seated, the experience went downhill. Our waitress was extremely rude to us! When she came up to us to take our order, we told her we werent ready yet. She said nothing and walked away with a grunt. She came back five minutes later and literally watched us with her foot tapping and arms crossed. She began speaking in her language with another guy and was laughing while looking at us. How rude! After taking our order she never came back! Others gave us our order. When we asked for the bill, they lasted 30 minutes trying to give it to us, perhaps they forgot. When receiving the bill, it had a $5 tip for her. In no way in hell did she deserve that tip! The smoothies are average but the service is completely absurd.

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JO

Johannes Serendipity

Cheese and crackers this place has the biggest menu hitting all the favorites from Thai, Viet, Korean, Japanese (cooked) and even PF Chang style American Chinese dishes. Imagine that Cheesecake factory or Palace Cafe took a menu from each restaurant Chinatown and is now serving the most popular dishes. All 150+ of them. Everything is gigantic and priced at a 1/3 of what youd expect to pay. They do each dish well enough: you wont come back specifically for whatever you got the last time, but you will come back because for under $30 you can get a bowl of soup that is large enough to baptize someone in, a bubble tea served in a 2 quart soup size cup, and a fried whole fish or any one of the other 150+ entrees on their menu. Theres seating upstairs too and the bubble tea only line is served from an outdoor walkup window by the courtyard. Just look for the line of 20 people.

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