Our food was ordered on a delivery app so presentation will be ignored. The appetizer was a disappointment. The wonton soup was tasteless and the wontons were very bland, the fried egg roll was greasy, the BBQ pork was dry and there was an English tea sandwich looking item that was inedible. The kung pao chicken was under seasoned and because there was no option for heat level it was tasteless. We had two orders of egg foo young, one shrimp & one chicken. Both contained large chunks of celery and were equally bland and disappointing. The gravy for the egg foo young seemed to be a concoction of soy sauce, corn starch and water. The underlying theme was greasy and a total lack of seasoning and no love of the ingredients was involved. Sadly the best part of the meal was the fortune cookies. We all hope that we don't celebrate the end of our meal with explosive diarrhea. All in all a frozen pizza from the supermarket would have been a better choice for dinner.
Blake G.
The entree in question is almond chicken. While the chicken gravy was nice, the fry batter reacting to the hot oil makes it greasy and puffy. The main drawback is that the chicken is overcooked and dry inside, almost like gnawing on chicken jerky. I would advise against ordering this. - Blake
Lisa W.
Great Chinese food. Friendly service. Hot and Sour soup and Kung pao chicken are excellent.
Brian K.
Best old school classic American Chinese in area. Tacky old restaurant with lazy Susan's and weird bar. Giant koi pond that fascinates my three children. All food is delicious. Never had a bad dish. This is not a fancy Chinese restaurant, it's a strip mall that used to be a theater. I saw Lost Boys there in the 80's. It's wedged between a pool hall and a nail salon. There will be shady guys smoking, but it still will be worth it. Door Dash and Uber crazy, support in person or call in and pick up. They'll let kids feed the fish. I could put some food porn pic up, but I'm 47 and that's g & r. Go yourself and see.
Kai P.
I don't usually give restaurants bad ratings; I'd rather praise good food than punish bad. But this was just so, so bad. The food was greasy and tasted weird. My partner is the child of Cantonese immigrants and grew up in the Bay Area eating Chinese. His favorite dish is beef chow fun, but he couldn't eat this. It was just so greasy and had almost no flavor. The fried tofu and crispy rice soup were okay and edible, but you want your food to be tasty, not just edible. At least it was better than the beef chow fun? We felt sick all evening and part of the next day. We will not be ordering from here again.
Terri B.
We have eaten here several times. We even die dash it. This restaurant has the best food! The service is always on track. They are all very nice
Kathryn D.
Yen Ching had the best fried rice but it was so bad I had to throw the whole thing away. We also bought a few more dishes that were awful.
Jennifer F.
Been there forever. Good solid Americanized Asian food. Service was good and lunch had good portions and fairly priced. The decor could use some love--taped vinyl banquettes, etc. parking free and accessible
The B.
Got take out shortly before closing and we weren't disappointed. Shrimp chow fun, garlic eggplant and fresh mushroom with broccoli and oyster sauce were all very flavorful. The hostess was friendly and attentive in facilitating our order. We didn't dine in but the place looks nice. Yen Ching will probably take a lot of our money in the future!
Phil C.
Love the food. Service is slow, which is nice not to be rushed, but wow, could have sat there all night I think. I still go here. I love that they care about the food and not being trendy and fake.
I normally order through Uber and I love their garlic spare ribs. I've never been asked to prove my order and I left my phone in the car. I was talking to the older man and he explained it but I told him that not everyone asks to see the Uber order. Some lady came from the back and started yelling and saying we're not arguing and I told her that I'm not either. I was just asking for clarification on the site especially if I have my husband pick up the order. She was very combative but unable to give me a refund. I asked the owner/manager and she rudely walked off. In the middle of this, another person walked in and they happily gave her the order without any issues. I'm not sure if it there were racial issues but other people with different ethnicities had a better greeting and interaction than I did.
Melinda P.
I've been coming here since I was a baby. When my parents migrated here, their sponsors would take them here as well. My GO TOS are: Potstickers (the sauce is the best I've ever had), Mongolian Beef, Garlic Chicken, Sweet & Sour, & Mushu Pork with extra crepes! The caramelized bananas are childhood favorite as well!
Tasha F.
Yen Ching is one of the most authentic delicious Chinese restaurants in Tacoma. The sizzling rice soup and shrimp with green onion cannot be beat.
Patrick C.
Yen Ching has been our go to Chinese since the late 80's. I have never had a bad meal, our go to have been Mongolian beef, Almond Chicken, Sweet and Sour Pork, I could go on but I'm getting hungry. The service is great as well, they are very responsive, but also don't rush you out the door. Lots of space and OK if you have a larger group as well.
Virginia O.
About a week ago I ordered take out and the food was pretty good but there was an odd problem. The young gal who answered the phone seemed to not be able to hear me and eventually hung up. So instead of my cellphone I used my MajicJack phone and she still seemed to have a problem hearing me; she said there was a buzzing sound after pointed out I was using a different phone and all I could say was it must be their phone that was the source of the problem. She talked to me at length about how I should just go there and give my order but couldn't tell me how long I would have to wait around for my order until after I arrived to give them my order. I realized she could hear me just fine since we were having this conversation. I pointed out the fact she could hear me and she paused then said the buzzing went away... so why was she trying to make me wait for my food there? After I gave her my order by phone she said it would be ready in 20-30 minutes. I'm glad I didn't sit there and wait that long for takeout! I arrived to pick up my order and she was a bit curt but not outright rude. She seemed irritated but I couldn't figure out what the deal was. She did say she was new and needed help from an older man (whom I recognized and is possibly an owner) in order to receive my payment. It might be she was overwhelmed by a new job and was discouraging me from buying food at all but the restaurant didn't seem that busy. Another possibility is they're having problems with people not showing up to pay for their orders but then why not just tell people they're not taking orders by phone anymore? just read other recent reviews about the poor customer service and I suspect she is the problem. She isn't cut out for the service industry or she needs better training. I have dined in there; the decor is great and there are beautiful huge Koi in a pond right there in the restaurant but if the service stays poor I would advise people to only order take out there for a while. Their saving grace is they have great food!
Our food was ordered on a delivery app so presentation will be ignored. The appetizer was a disappointment. The wonton soup was tasteless and the wontons were very bland, the fried egg roll was greasy, the BBQ pork was dry and there was an English tea sandwich looking item that was inedible. The kung pao chicken was under seasoned and because there was no option for heat level it was tasteless. We had two orders of egg foo young, one shrimp & one chicken. Both contained large chunks of celery and were equally bland and disappointing. The gravy for the egg foo young seemed to be a concoction of soy sauce, corn starch and water. The underlying theme was greasy and a total lack of seasoning and no love of the ingredients was involved. Sadly the best part of the meal was the fortune cookies. We all hope that we don't celebrate the end of our meal with explosive diarrhea. All in all a frozen pizza from the supermarket would have been a better choice for dinner.
The entree in question is almond chicken. While the chicken gravy was nice, the fry batter reacting to the hot oil makes it greasy and puffy. The main drawback is that the chicken is overcooked and dry inside, almost like gnawing on chicken jerky. I would advise against ordering this. - Blake
Great Chinese food. Friendly service. Hot and Sour soup and Kung pao chicken are excellent.
Best old school classic American Chinese in area. Tacky old restaurant with lazy Susan's and weird bar. Giant koi pond that fascinates my three children. All food is delicious. Never had a bad dish. This is not a fancy Chinese restaurant, it's a strip mall that used to be a theater. I saw Lost Boys there in the 80's. It's wedged between a pool hall and a nail salon. There will be shady guys smoking, but it still will be worth it. Door Dash and Uber crazy, support in person or call in and pick up. They'll let kids feed the fish. I could put some food porn pic up, but I'm 47 and that's g & r. Go yourself and see.
I don't usually give restaurants bad ratings; I'd rather praise good food than punish bad. But this was just so, so bad. The food was greasy and tasted weird. My partner is the child of Cantonese immigrants and grew up in the Bay Area eating Chinese. His favorite dish is beef chow fun, but he couldn't eat this. It was just so greasy and had almost no flavor. The fried tofu and crispy rice soup were okay and edible, but you want your food to be tasty, not just edible. At least it was better than the beef chow fun? We felt sick all evening and part of the next day. We will not be ordering from here again.
We have eaten here several times. We even die dash it. This restaurant has the best food! The service is always on track. They are all very nice
Yen Ching had the best fried rice but it was so bad I had to throw the whole thing away. We also bought a few more dishes that were awful.
Been there forever. Good solid Americanized Asian food. Service was good and lunch had good portions and fairly priced. The decor could use some love--taped vinyl banquettes, etc. parking free and accessible
Got take out shortly before closing and we weren't disappointed. Shrimp chow fun, garlic eggplant and fresh mushroom with broccoli and oyster sauce were all very flavorful. The hostess was friendly and attentive in facilitating our order. We didn't dine in but the place looks nice. Yen Ching will probably take a lot of our money in the future!
Love the food. Service is slow, which is nice not to be rushed, but wow, could have sat there all night I think. I still go here. I love that they care about the food and not being trendy and fake.
Restaurantji Recommends
I normally order through Uber and I love their garlic spare ribs. I've never been asked to prove my order and I left my phone in the car. I was talking to the older man and he explained it but I told him that not everyone asks to see the Uber order. Some lady came from the back and started yelling and saying we're not arguing and I told her that I'm not either. I was just asking for clarification on the site especially if I have my husband pick up the order. She was very combative but unable to give me a refund. I asked the owner/manager and she rudely walked off. In the middle of this, another person walked in and they happily gave her the order without any issues. I'm not sure if it there were racial issues but other people with different ethnicities had a better greeting and interaction than I did.
I've been coming here since I was a baby. When my parents migrated here, their sponsors would take them here as well. My GO TOS are: Potstickers (the sauce is the best I've ever had), Mongolian Beef, Garlic Chicken, Sweet & Sour, & Mushu Pork with extra crepes! The caramelized bananas are childhood favorite as well!
Yen Ching is one of the most authentic delicious Chinese restaurants in Tacoma. The sizzling rice soup and shrimp with green onion cannot be beat.
Yen Ching has been our go to Chinese since the late 80's. I have never had a bad meal, our go to have been Mongolian beef, Almond Chicken, Sweet and Sour Pork, I could go on but I'm getting hungry. The service is great as well, they are very responsive, but also don't rush you out the door. Lots of space and OK if you have a larger group as well.
About a week ago I ordered take out and the food was pretty good but there was an odd problem. The young gal who answered the phone seemed to not be able to hear me and eventually hung up. So instead of my cellphone I used my MajicJack phone and she still seemed to have a problem hearing me; she said there was a buzzing sound after pointed out I was using a different phone and all I could say was it must be their phone that was the source of the problem. She talked to me at length about how I should just go there and give my order but couldn't tell me how long I would have to wait around for my order until after I arrived to give them my order. I realized she could hear me just fine since we were having this conversation. I pointed out the fact she could hear me and she paused then said the buzzing went away... so why was she trying to make me wait for my food there? After I gave her my order by phone she said it would be ready in 20-30 minutes. I'm glad I didn't sit there and wait that long for takeout! I arrived to pick up my order and she was a bit curt but not outright rude. She seemed irritated but I couldn't figure out what the deal was. She did say she was new and needed help from an older man (whom I recognized and is possibly an owner) in order to receive my payment. It might be she was overwhelmed by a new job and was discouraging me from buying food at all but the restaurant didn't seem that busy. Another possibility is they're having problems with people not showing up to pay for their orders but then why not just tell people they're not taking orders by phone anymore? just read other recent reviews about the poor customer service and I suspect she is the problem. She isn't cut out for the service industry or she needs better training. I have dined in there; the decor is great and there are beautiful huge Koi in a pond right there in the restaurant but if the service stays poor I would advise people to only order take out there for a while. Their saving grace is they have great food!