Yen Ching Restaurant

Yeah, it feels a little faded – way back from that bygone era when not every town over 500 people had its trademark Chinese restaurant, when most of them didn’t use those ugly yellow signs, or have pictures of each menu item above the cash register. When Chinese restaurants competed with white-​tablecloth American fare… particularly since they’d stay open on the major Christian holidays.
But isn’t that nostalgia trip the point? The fact that Chinese is more ubiquitous than diners and that so many churn out the exact same unmemorable sludge is why Yen Ching has held its own for so many years. Yes, there are finer establishments out there. But the blend of attentive (even caring) service, punctual delivery of the meal items, and consistently good offerings helps explain why it’s such a throwback to childhood for so many Indy Unilocalers. I did NOT go here growing up (lived on the other side of town) but now know it well enough to appreciate its status as an institution in the Trader’s Point area. While the Szechuan Scallops weren’t quite up to standard, everything else at Yen Ching was good to great. And the neon roadside sign, the aging interior and the generous appetizers all add to the feeling that this family-​run establishment is making its clientele feel right at home.
And that ain’t something you’ll ever get in a place with photos of the entrees above the cash register. Or greasy lettuce wraps either!

Best Chinese food in Indy. The proof is in the hot and sour soup. I grew up eating at this local favorite before it was even at the current location, and the good has never disappointed. I’ve probably eaten here or had take out with my family at least 100 times over the last 20 years. No joke. I have never had hot and sour soup this good anywhere else, including NYC or San Fran Chinatown. The other dishes are great too. My favorites are the mu-​shu pork and Singapore noodles. But I’ve never had anything that wasn’t delicious. The Sunday buffet is also great if you want to try a bunch of dishes.
Located near other restaurants and the studio movie grill, another must-​go place on the north side of Indy.
As mentioned above, I’ve known the restaurant owners since I was a child. They are the nicest people around. And the waitstaff are great as well. One of them sounds a little surly because of her accent, but she is a sweetheart!

Awful! Less than par food; there was pieces of plastic in my food, the crab rangoon had way too much pepper and had a weird taste. The place itself has a weird smell. Overall, it’s just all bad.

I also had a bad experience with the server waiting for her tip. Then once one was given, (not a good one because the service was bad). She then asked for more $ saying that her tip wasn’t enough. It was beyond astonishing. We are superb tippers but not with horrible service. Tried to call for 2 days because I felt the owners needed to know. Never got a hold of anyone. Haven’t been back since.

People seem to love this place or hate it vehemently. I must say that I’m in the latter camp, and don’t get how anyone could love it, unless they were drugged. I agree with the people who said their service was scary and crazy, from a creepy older waitress who seemed ready to scream bloody murder (which she did as soon as she turned toward the kitchen!). We had a gift cert. from a church auction, so had plenty to spend, and I went for the duck. She sounded pissed off at my choice and said the kitchen couldn’t make the duck. After several minutes of yelling angrily into the kitchen (just steps from our table) she came back and said they could, but didn’t bring it out for 30 minutes. It was dried up, hard, and cold… I truly felt sorry for the poor duck. My husband had fried rice that was a greyish mass of mush, and my daughter didn’t touch her chicken-​in-​icky-​sauce. Who are these people raving about the food? I have to wonder if it’s the staff, or people they paid to write good reviews.
I agree with the person who said this place had a terrible smell as well. We tried to forgive and ignore all the weirdness of the place (it was empty, crazy muzak, dark place with windows covered in the middle of the day, mental waitress) but just like the folks who got McDonalds after, we had to go over to Costco for a slice of pizza… and to immediately throw away our carry-​out before it made our car smell like a decaying possum. If you go there, hold your nose, don’t eat, and ask for the drugs that make you hallucinate like the reviewers who said they’d come back. It’s so bad, it’s comical. No one would believe it.

Had a very distasteful visit this evening. First of all, the restaurant was pretty empty and they sat us way in the back and then did what everyone fears when they go to a restaurant and they are sat very far away from other customers, forgot about us. You would think with two toddlers they would want us in and out! Anyways, the food was okay, definitely nothing to write home about (or here), but what REALLY was crazy was that after my husband paid the waitress actually told him that he didn’t leave her a large enough tip. Just to ease your minds, he left more than the «required» amount. She basically bullied a dollar out of my husband! It was insane. Anyways, I am still stunned it happened and just sending out a warning!

WORSE PLACE EVER. Han mei is the worse server ever. We were literally scared of her the whole time we were eating. Not just me but my parents of asian descent who usually aren’t shy at an asian restaurant. Everything we got was terrible but none of us wanted to complain. We didn’t ask for anything extra because her whole demeanor while we were ordering was very standoffish. She barked answers back to us, never smiled, and was as unresponsive as possible. She would wait very uncomfortable wait times after we asked a question before she would respond acting as first like she didn’t hear our request for the straw or the request for chopsticks. We couldn’t find her when it was time to pay the bill and we were the ones she had to wait on in the whole restaurant. I finally had to walk back in the kitchen and walk around and look for her after waiting 10minutes. When she brought the bill back she just stood there waiting to see if we were going to tip her. The restaurant smelled terrible by the bathroom like moldy areas that haven’t been cleaned in years. The general tsos chicken, lo mein, and shrimp were so bad we didn’t hardly touch them. The crab Rangoon were over cooked and almost broke our teeth they were so hard. It tasted like overcooked (re fried 10 times) wonton papers. No fillings, or what was there had all dehydrated. The hot and sour was nothing like it should have been. Just had a cup of black pepper in it and no taste. Please I beg you do not come here for any reason at all. I feel dirty like I need a shower, a hug from the emotional distress, and I had to stop at mcdonalds because I surely didn’t get fed after ordering three meals.
At one point it was a place people would order for weddings. They had an award on their menu from 2007! I think that was the last time someone actually cared about the restaurant or the food.
Dirty diners and the health department should definitely come check this place out!

Like others have mentioned, I’ve been coming to Yen Ching since I was a child, almost 30 years now. I love coming here. Their lunch prices are very reasonable and generous.
The hot and sour soup is the best I ever had-​it is light and it is spicy! Yum!
Crab Rangoon and the pot stickers are my other favorites-​best in town.

SO GOOD.
Service was weird. I forgive, I forget, because the food was fantastic. You will, too.
Everything was light and flavorful, lots of textures, and everything was fresh. No heavy, syrupy sauces here!
Fantastic sweet and sour soup, average crab rangoons (boo), and excellent entrees.
Kong Pao Beef and General Zoal’s Chicken (lol) were some of the best we’ve ever had.
Happy to return soon.

The buffet on Sunday 26, 2014. Had this many months ago, hoping for improvement. No such luck, absolute garbage «chop suey» food. Soups, hot sour and corn egg drop. no flavor. The best hot sour is on E. Washington Yen Ching.
Princess Shrimp? one baby worm of a shrimp and lots of breading. All over could not eat more than one bite taste. Shame on this place, needs to take some lessons from its E. Washington St. sibling.
Cannot recommend this establishment. Months ago, told them their shrimp was «bad»
the hostess owner proceeded to say «ALL OUR SHRIMP IS GOOD», Instead of saying at least, I will investigate.
This is not Chinese food, the authentic food is on the Lafayette Rd. corridor, well worth the drive.

Everyone who reviews or talks about this place always says they went here a bunch when they were kids. That says alot for a chinese place to stay open that long (not sure how many years).
I always feel confident trying something different here and am looking forward to trying the pressed duck and something from the chinese only menu (PS I need someone who speaks chinese to help me order from the chinese only menu).

Very good. They have affordable lunch specials. Try the General Zoal’s chicken. It’s enough for two people.

My husband grew up going to eat out at this restaurant. We went to check out the place. Let me just say we will never go back. We had egg drop soup it was tasteless as if they opened a powdered egg drop soup. Beef and broccoli they just put a hip of garlic it was horrible. Sizzling beef was the bad.
They deserve ½ a star. Worst chinese food

I’ve been eating at Yen Ching since the 1980’s – in fact, ever since I can remember dining out. As a child, this was my favorite restaurant. At that time (and until the late 1990s or early 2000s), it was housed in it its former-​location in Nora. Anyone who can remember the Nora location will certainly agree that it made for a much more unique dining experience. Fortunately, despite being in its newer and more strategically-​placed location, directly off of I-​465, Yen Ching’s food has remained unchanged. As an admitted Chinese food addict, Yen Ching gets my vote for the best Chinese food outside of China. That statement is bound to anger many pretentious foodies, but I’m entitled to my right opinion.
From my more than 25 years of dining experience at Yen Ching, here are my recommendations:
Start with the sizzling rice soup and the appetizer platter. The appetizer platter is large, and the serving size that is recommended for two is suitable for four. It includes chicken and beef strips that are flame roasted at the table, egg rolls, pot stickers, crab Rangoon, and fried chicken wings (with hot mustard/​sweet and sour sauce).
For entrees, above anything else, try the cashew chicken. In my opinion, it is, far and away, the best item on the menu. The chicken Lo mein and the Mongolian beef are other sumptuous choices. My suggestion is to order all three dishes and share them.
One of the most outstanding aspects of Yen Ching is the service. Many of the restaurant’s workers have been employed there for decades. Several of them still remember me from when I was a child. The staff is not satisfied until the customer is satisfied. I’ve never left Yen Ching dissatisfied or unsatisfied. Not once.

More of a authentic vibe compared to some of the chains down the road. Large seating area, and the portions are huge

This is as close to homemade Chinese food as I’ve ever had in Indy. I had some of the basics: egg drop soup, crab rangoon, and garlic chicken. The soup was made from scratch; not that yellow crap. Awe-​some! The crab rangoons were, of course, delicious. I know there’s more cheese than crab in those things, but I don’t care. And the garlic chicken was great. All in all, a wonderful experience. I left happy.
— Homemade egg drop soup
— Old Chinese guy, who probably owned the place, was cool
— Crab rangoons ROCKED
— Great lunch menu
— Huge dining room, great for any number of people

The order was wrong. Dishes dirty. The table was not served at the same time and finally… we just received a slip of paper with a total written down… not the normal detailed bill. We will not be going back!

One of my favorite Chinese restaurants in metro Indy. Food has flavor unlike most around town.
Best Hot & Sour Soup in the Indy area!
Great value for lunch.

Our waitress was a little grumpy during lunch time when we politely asked for a dinner menu to look at since we were planning to share a meal. I didn’t really want any of the lunch specials, but the chicken and broccoli looked alright. Probably not the best I’ve had but you can’t beat a $ 6 lunch. We ordered fried chicken and Singapore style chow mei fun. I didn’t think you could mess that dish up. It «was» supposed to be pan fried dried curry rice noodles with mixed vegetables and meat like I’ve had at other Chinese restaurants, but this version was very soggy in a brown sauce and not a tad bit spicy. A little heavy on the salt or MSG since I went home drinking gallons of water. Quite disappointed. Probably won’t be returning anytime soon. Just stick to the lunch specials since its what they do best.

I grew up on the east side of Indy and going to the Yen Ching on east washington street was one of my favorite things to do. We even went not too long ago, and it was still very high quality. Much to my disappointment, this Yen Ching does not live up to it. The potstickers ARE very good, but the garlic chicken I had was barely average, and also kind of slimy tasting. I have higher quality Chinese takeout on a regular basis. Also our waitress was just kind of tossing our plates down on the table, while complaining about other customers that were staying too long. We just kind of smiled and nodded. Then when we were about to leave she all but demanded a tip.
Maybe we just arrived at a bad time, but I don’t think I’ll be going back to this particular location.