I can't believe its been almost four years since I last returned here. My most recent experience was definitely much more memorable because we ordered the shabu shabu. Â The fatty meat is sooooo good! Overall everything was delicious after it was cooked in the seafood broth.
The food came with tray of different sauces that were deicious. Â Unfortunately, we realized they did not have trays for each table when we were told we had to share our tray with the next table. Â Sharing the sauces with another table was awkward and uncomfortable for us. I definitely recommend getting more trays for the sauce.
The cost for one order of the shabu shabu was approximately $18-22. Â Its really affordable when shared with others. Â We added more food with another plate of fatty meat, cabbage, spinach, mushrooms, and udon noodles. Â We also ordered california rolls and shrimp tempura. Â Between the three of us, all the food with tax and tip came to $21 per person. Good stuff! Looking forward to re-visiting soon!
A Japanese offshoot of the main Joy Yee's Asian style. This place focuses on sushi and shabu shabu (Japanese hot pot). If you're a fan of the traditional Chinese hot pot but think its reserved only for groups of 3 or more than this is perfect for you. Its like a miniature hot pot for 1 or 2 people. Also unlike Chinese hot pot this one basically comes with whatever style you ordered (beef, seafood, fish...etc) If you wanted something extra you have to order it on the side. I personally prefer this style to chinese hot pot because I like drinking the super concentrated broth at the end, its packed with flavor and really intense.
The Setup: Basically you pick one of the two base soup broths they use. The seafood is really rich and tasty and the beef is also just as good. Then you order the set you want, we went with the land and sea so they gave us a preset number of stuff. (1 tray of beef, 2 shrimp, 2 squid, 2 giant oysters...etc) It usually comes with a vegetable basket with some clear noodles and stuff too. The sauce is mix your own so they just give you like10 condiments and you experiment your own way.
My absolute favorite part is the end. I purposely save room for the end where when we are about done we dump a clump of clear noodles into the broth to sop up the flavor and drink the condensed broth that we just cooked all that goodness in. Its awesome.
As usual with Joy Yee's they have their giant selection of freezes and fruit smoothies and boba teas. They recently started offering the spherified juice balls which I think is a neat touch. Â
Also there's a fish pond built into their floor so you can walk over it and stand on top of a bunch of fish swimming around.
Overall, I think this place is an interesting and tasty diversion from the usual fare found in Chinatown (Cantonese, Szechuan, dim sim and whatever BS Tony Hu is cooking up.)
Shabu Shabu is definitely perfect for a cold day.
The food is light and tasty. Â We love it. Â This is the only shabu shabu place we frequent. Â The price is right too. Â
Unsure about other reviewers' comments re the service but I am guessing it is a cultural gap - Chinese servers aren't as bubbly as the American ones. Â The service here is AWESOME. Â
A must-go in China Town.
Love this place. The menu is extensive with plenty of visually stimulating images to keep your palate beckoning and your indecisive mind busy. They carry practically everything from chinese to vietnamese to thai to japanese. I've been here four times and each time I walk away very satisfied and ready for more. Huge fan =)
Review Source:I'm a regular at Chinatown as I live really close by but it was my first time at Joy Yee Plus. We were seated on the second floor which was much more spacious and had much less people than the first floor.
Service was good though, the waiters were very prompt with anything that we asked for, that is except for the frozen yogurt I asked for. I accidentally ate a jalapeno pepper so I needed something cold fast but they brought that up about 20 minutes after I ate my pepper when the flames disappeared along with 4 other glasses of water.
Moving on to the actual dinner, it was very well priced. For the three of us we ordered a combo and a few other sides for the shabu shabu and it was more than enough for us, in fact it took us a while to finish everything because we were so full but the food was very tasty and did not disappoint, can't wait to come back to try other varieties and their ramen.
The only reason why this place does not get three stars is because the short Asian lady in the front  with glasses is always mad when I come in. Yesterday killed me as we had been sat and our waitress said that the table next to us ordered all of the sushi and that the only thing that they could serve was yogurt. WTF?? So mad as I have read incredible things. Service is by far the worst we have experienced in Chinatown.
Review Source:Very affordable and great sushi and Korean dishes.
My favorite is the seafood bibimbop. Must go place in Chinatown.
Wife had korean food for the first time here and she loved it as well.
Love the ambiance and the food. they dont have much customer service but the food makes up for it.
One thing to note is that they will never really help you with choosing your food... you have to make that decision on your own... but honestly whatever i have tried here has been pretty good overall so i m not complaining!
Our friends and I go here often :-)
Go for the tasty food -- despite the lousy service.
First off, this place is really cute on the inside. Â A for ambiance! Â We were seated in the upstairs annex, which involved the host handing us a paper and telling us to leave the restaurant to find their upstairs location. Â (I guess I'd call that quirky?)
It took a while for the waitress to come to take our order. Â When she did, she was utterly devoid of personality. Â She asked if we were ready to order and awkwardly looked off into space, rather than at any us, her customers. Â Oh well. Â Â
We ordered shabu shabu -- 2 pots for 4 of us to share, which ended up being plenty of food. Â Zero effort was made to explain anything to us. Â The pots were unceremoniously deposited on our table and the burners turned on. Â A short time later, she brought 2 platters with a delightful array of vegetables, herbs and some tofu and fish cakes. Â Also, she brought a large condiment tray with probably 9 different sauces and garnishes to add to the hot pot or your own bowl. Â I remember garlic, cilantro, chives, hot peppers, a spicy sauce, a sesame sauce and a fish paste/sauce. Â Beware the hot peppers -- they are not foolin' around.
The soup was great! Â I cooked and consumed 2 bowls before the meat came. Â The beef, pork and chicken were cut very thin and were shaped like fruit roll-ups. Â The shrimp were un-peeled. Â (To me, peeling shrimp is a messy and unpleasant chore. Â I was lucky to get assistance from one of my buddies.) Â The meat cooked really quickly in the hot pot and was a tasty addition!
Throughout the meal, they refilled the pots with broth. Â (There seemed to be 2 kinds of broth, but they were not consistent with which one they poured into each pot.) Â I thought it was fun to try different condiments in each bowl of soup. Â Note that they do take away the condiment tray as some point during the meal. Â I'd recommend making use of the tiny condiment dishes on the table. Â Â Â
One more complaint: Â I'd accidentally spilled my drink and the staff did not offer to help clean at all. Â I had to ask for more napkins, which they brought. Â
Overall, I was so happy with the food that I'm willing with giving 4 stars in spite the service. Â In the end, I don't even remember how many bowls of soup I had. Â It was somewhere approaching the range of shameful. Â :-)
Tony Hu's supposed to be the King of Chinatown, right? I mean...I do love Lao Sze Chuan. Amazing place. And I enjoy eating hot pot there; I've done it several times with many different groups of people. But wait...there's this "shabu shabu" right nearby. I'd never tried it but my girlfriend swore by it...
And I have to say...I like shabu shabu over hot pot. Seriously. The broth is actually edible here as a soup, while I feel like the hot pot broth is just useful for cooking food. Granted, there's probably a butt load of sodium in the broth to make it flavorful, but I expect no less from Chinatown. We split the combination platter, which came with two choices of meat - we went with beef and lamb.
Now at hot pot, I always go for the unlimited choice. I end up happy but super full. Here at JYNP, I didn't get my giant mountain of fish balls or multiple pieces of squid, but I was satisfied. I was especially happy to see that the bill came out to a relatively decent price.
Nothing can compare to the memory I have of doing hot pot with a dozen family members, dunking and fishing out random meats and veggies. But next time...I think I'll suggest we try out several smaller pots as opposed to massive chaos around two of them.
My husband and I biked to Chinatown for dinner the other night...and when you're wandering around looking for dinner, there isn't much to distinguish one place from the next...so we usually judge by the crowd. This place was pretty busy but the most interesting thing was people had steaming bowls of broth and were cooking food at their tables! Yes, please! Come to find out this is called shabu shabu...and to make it absolutely clear, it's like Asian fondue...but BETTER! You can drink the broth (and it's very much like miso soup).
Aside from the waitress being a little slow and forgetting our drinks, this was a great unexpectedly fun date night for me and the hubs. We were served a bowl full of raw veggies, fish balls, tofu and mushrooms to cook in our broth...and that was in addition to the meats. And, with the 10 different dipping sauces/additional ingredients, we were able to flavor our broth to become this spontaneous combustion of yummy that I just couldn't get enough of. And, whenever that broth got low, they were quick to fill you up...so delicious!
And the price was right. Skip the apps, if you order the shabu shabu for two people, you'll have plenty of food. And it's just over $20 for two (minus drinks). I'd say it'd be a great first date place...but you leave stinky. Maybe a great third date place...I'm sure we'll be going again!
I only go here for the fro-yo, and I always order the same thing: green tea fro-yo with mochi. It's delicious and basically the same as all the other Asian fro-yo places, except this is not a DIY and prices are much more expensive. Regardless, this is the most convenient location for me to get green tea fro-yo with mochi, thus I will keep coming back.
Review Source:While my friend was in town and we were exploring Chinatown, we decided to come in here for a quick bite. Â We ordered the spider maki and spicy tuna. Â Both were tasty, but I've had better spider maki elsewhere. Â However, the price for this spider was significantly cheaper than other places I've been to. Â The service was good, but the servers did that thing where they hover over you waiting to take your order, take your dishes, sauces, etc. Â Overall, I'll be back next time I want sushi in Chinatown.
Review Source:The woman manning the cash register has a stick up her butt. Â I ordered their shaved ice dessert from the walk-up window, and she asked me what size. Â I didn't realize it came in different sizes so I asked her how big the different sizes were. Â Her exact words, "Large is larger, small is smaller." Â *scrunched up constipated face* Â No shit, Sherlock. Â How difficult is it to pick up the plastic bowls behind the counter to show me what the sizes are? Â There wasn't even anyone behind us, and the restaurant was half empty. Â I can understand if they're busy, but this was during a slow time.
After we got the shaved ice dessert, we just wanted to sit down for five minutes to eat it, since it's not like a smoothie where you can easily walk and drink/eat. Â The restaurant had a lot of empty tables, and we sat down at one. Â The guy waitor or manager or whatever he was ushered us from the table we sat down at to another table all the way in the back. Â At that point, we were so frustrated that we just went outside and ate it standing up. Â
Poor customer service will get you bad reviews and no tip.
Best broth I've had to date! Fairly priced, quick service, good portions: you can't really ask for much else.
However, the one thing that DOES annoy me is how the waiters hover over your table waiting to take away the sauces. Stop doing that-I'm not done!
The space is small and the tables are right next to each other so don't be surprised if you can hear everything your neighbors are saying.
Other than that, awesome place for shabu shabu.
I love shabu shabu! So after passing this place a gazillion times I finally dragged my sister to come with me. The decor is pretty nice and the place is fairly clean. It is a little packed when it comes to seating and can become loud. FYI- since the tables are so close you can pick up on other peoples conversations. I think we probably witnessed one of the most awkward first dates. Poor girl and he made her foot the whole bill...womp womp.
We decided to split the a combo shabu shabu, 2 sushi rolls and shrimp tempura. Yes, it is a lot of food, but don't judge us! The sushi rolls were meh...nothing spectacular or out of this world. The shrimp tempura was 4 pieces with a million pieces of fried veggies.
Now let's get to the main event aka shabu shabu! The shabu comes with a tray for of condiments. Warning- you suppose to put  these condiments in the small bowls at your table. Our waiter didn't tell us and we apparently got yelled at for keeping the sauces at our table too long. We ordered the chicken and beef combo, instead they gave us lamb and beef. The meat was alright and the lamb surprisingly wasn't gamey tasting. The amount of veggies and meat they give you can be easily divided between three people. Unlike the shabu place in Niles, you do not have a choice between kimichi broth, chicken or beef broth. Here it is well just meat broth??
Overall, it was okay. I still prefer the Shabu House in Niles and I feel as if the quality is better there. Would I go back to Joy Yees Plus..sure...but would it be my first choice...ehhh
I only had the drinks here! I heard this was one of the only places in Chicago to get boba (or, as I guess they say in Chicago, 'tapioca'). I'm from California, so I've had quite a bit of boba in my life, and though I'm not boba-obsessed, I wanted to see how Chicago's measured up.
My thoughts: WAY too sweet. This was my fault, since usually at home I order it with less sugar. I'll try ordering it like that next time. The tapioca itself was of a gummier consistency than I was used to, but I like my tapioca softer/chewier, not hard. It wasn't hard to chew by any means. If anything it was much easier and softer to chew through.
Other than that, it seemed pretty standard. Next time I'll definitely get less sugar + ice (if they offer those options) and maybe I'll try a fruit slush flavor instead!
I would describe Joy-Yee Plus as trendy and fashionable, but lacking soul. Â As a spin-off of the larger Joy-Yee Chicago chain, it has a reduced menu and dining room, with more focus on Japanese cuisine than the original Joy-Yee's attempt at a Pan-Asian orgy. Â Along with the abbreviated menu comes fewer options for vegetarians, which might be challenging if you or friends have dietary restrictions.
The target demographic for this place is teenagers and young adults. Â The interior is all bright colors and sleek (but uncomfortable) modern furniture. Â Chairs don't have supportive backings, so avoid bringing your grandmother here unless she has powerful back muscles. Â Newcomers are almost always awed by the glass floor with a visible koi pond below; as a diner, you'll most likely be annoyed by raucous children who repeatedly jump on the glass floor with aspirations of breaking it. Â Flat-screen televisions are installed at regular intervals across the dining room, but I have never seen them on except during their first month of business.
For appetizers, I've tried the sweet potato tempura sushi roll and vegetable tempura. Â Both are decent and fair for the prices. Â (I think we got more pieces in our roll than most places.) Â The sweet potato tempura roll is definitely an interesting option for vegetarian diners, and not a variant that I've seen commonly at other places. Â Unfortunately, I can't vouch for the quality of the fish in regular rolls.
One of my friends is pretty enthusiastic about the ramen, which is served in a monstrously large bowl. Â The broth is colorful and A-OK. Â Unfortunately, the dish is MOSTLY broth and noodles with scant toppings. Â For its cheap price, I'd recommend the ramen for anyone who's got a big appetite and values quantity over quality.
Of course, the central reason that most people come to Joy Yee Plus is to enjoy the shabu shabu, an Asian version of fondue. Â If you're not familiar with this style of food, here's the gist: you're given a steaming pot of broth, a portable flame, and an array of raw meats and vegetables. Â As the broth heats on your table, you can toss in whatever you'd like, wait a minute or two for it to cook, and then eat it straight out of the pot. Â The best part of this experience is getting to mix your own dipping sauce; the server will bring over a tray with about 8 different sauce "elements" (including chili, garlic, herbs, etc.) and you can mix and match until you get your perfect sauce. Â (This is actually fairly important considering your boiled meat and vegetables won't have much flavor on their own.)
Truthfully, however, I rarely dine-in at Joy Yee Plus. Â I primarily stop by this location for bubble tea when the regular Joy Yee's Smoothie Station has a line out the door. Â (Fortunately, most people don't know that both stores have identical drink lists, though the wait at Joy Yee Plus is usually significantly less.)
First floor was full so we sat upstairs and eventually all the seats were taken by 7:30pm-ish on a Friday.
I ordered the Beef Oyster and Salmon and my friend ordered the Seafood and Beef. Â We also got a side of the fishcake tofu and the homemade cuttlefish paste.
I did not like the broth, tasted very artificial...like way too much msg or sugar or something...had to keep asking the waiter to add hot water instead of more broth. Â My friend liked it though.
Very large portion of food, lots of veggie, plenty of meat too. Â HOWEVER, i did not like any of the meat except the homemade cuttlefish paste, which was very delicious and had chunky cuttlefish in there. Â The beef and salmon were very dark in color and not much taste...as if they had been in the freezer for way too long. Â Also, the salmon was very "colored"..very reddish orange looking, kinda scary. Â Oyster was completely frozen, so I got a plate full of oyster ice blocks. Â
Service was pretty good and the place is bright and clean.
So overall I just didnt think the meat was very fresh at all, quite disappointing as I rarely not enjoy hotpot since it is so hard to mess up. Â Price is cheap for the amount of food for sure, but I'd much rather pay a lil more for something fresh and tasty unless you are just going to eat veggie.
I came here for a "Pre-Vday" dinner, since my friend had plans with his gf on actual V-Day -.-.
Anyway, we both ordered some ramen, and a cooked maki.
The Ramen was heavily dosed with MSG (not surprised), I felt super dehydrated for that evening and even the next day!
The Maki was very oily and nothing special, I would definitely NOT order that again.
I would give this place another shot only because my friend likes the ramen here... but who knows, maybe we just have different palates, it was way too salty for me!
Not bad for a simulated type of japanese shabu-shabu. I always order the combination of beef and lamb, with an extra order of premium wagyu beef. I make my own sauce as well-- always ponzu loaded with negi and garlic. :) It's not authentic, but it's not bad either (it still makes me go back). Also, they give a generous amount of vegetables which never fails to make my tummy happy.. I just love how all the flavor comes out when I let it boil for minutes.
I ordered the yakitori set too. It came with about 20 pieces of yakitori, I think, and most of it did not put up to my standards. Some of the meat was dry and dry, others were soft and tasty. The maki wasn't good either.. It left me with a stench of fish, it certainly did not taste fresh, plus, it was falling apart.
Having said that, if you are to dine here, it's best you order shabu-shabu (only).. It's what they're known for anyway. :)
Oh! And royal milk tea, almond milk tea, or red bean milk tea! :)
Shabu-shabu was fun for my first time. Can't compare to anywhere else. The soup and the spices it came with was delicious. This is a good place  for the beginner.
The yakitori sampler was HUMONGOUS. It was below average. The different kinds of meat tasted the same.
The tables felt flimsy, like those found in kindergarten class.
The customer service was surprisingly attentive considering it's Chinatown.
I too have noticed the decline of my once adored Joy Yee's restaurant. Â But still, I decided to give their shabu shabu joint a try and I was ultimately pleased.
It is hit and miss here, but the hits are really hits, so order carefully! Â That's why I give it a 3.5 stars.
Hits:
Shabu shabu combination will feed two easily for just $15. Â That's pretty dang good. Â The broth is tasty, and if you are skilled at creating your own sauce, you will be just fine here. Â The vegetable/tofu/fish cake staples are solid, and if you stick to the beef and lamb for your meat selection you won't be sad (just remember not to let it cook too much if you want it to be tender!). Â I don't think the pork or chicken have much flavor, so I would skip these. Â
The misses:
Baby octopus is hard to get right in hot pot, you will inevitably leave it in too long and it will get rubbery and gross. Â They don't treat it any better at the back of the house either though, so don't get the grilled version on a stick, which is like eating plastic. Â
Cramped tables make it hard to spread out and enjoy.
The grilled meats are decent, but not excellent, so don't fill up on them, focus on the soup.
A note for first timers-- I always think of hot pot as the perfect meal to have with friends for long talks and catching up-- you can eat forever and just relax. Â I still believe this is true-- but only if you have done shabu shabu before. Â If it is someone's first time in your group, it can be sensory overload to deal with the plates flying everywhere, the noisy atmosphere, and having to cook your food, which makes for less engaging conversation.
My mom was in town visiting, and having recently gotten her hooked on sushi, we decided to head to Chinatown in hopes of finding some raw fare. Our first trip was phenomenal: the spicy tuna tempura and namesake Joy-Yee rolls being particular highlights. Before she left town, we decided it was absolutely necessary to revisit, and we came back for an equally fantastic meal.
Over the past few months, it seems as though the cute little restaurant (check out the koi pond in the floor) has been undergoing a few changes. First, our favorite spicy tuna tempura roll was upped from the half-rolls to the larger, doubling the price, but in turn doubling the quantity. Fair trade. However, their sushi chef has changed more than once, and each time I bring friends, we find it harder and harder to recognize our favorite rolls. With each new chef comes variations and personal touches, but the core ingredients seem to have changed dramatically, and the presentation has suffered.
It's hard to watch a place you love slowly become less impressive, but my friends and I have started to look for new hang-outs. Highly recommended: Toro in Lincoln Park.
I will definitely be back to Joy Yee's/Shabu Shabu, but without the sheer excitement I felt before.
Joy Yee I love you but really please stick to what you know.
Ok, You do a little bit of every asian dish out there. Â There's something for everybody. Â Thank you. Â But you don't do Shabu shabu well. Â Who ever is in charge of your business plan is doing a bang up job. Â I totally get how profitable shabu shabu is but... Â i feel like you're selling out for profit, and it's diluting the brand and trustworthiness of the Joy Yee name.
Example. Â You guys are the best I have ever come across for fruit smoothies and tapioca drinks. Â Even your Froyo at this location is outstanding but it's all in the little details isn't it?
We ordered your awesome froyo with strawberry, mochi and azuki (sweeten japanese red bean). Â We got RED KIDNEY BEANS! Â The kind we find in Chilis and salads! That was a slap in the face and we tossed the beans out. Â Totally unacceptable! Â We were so upset and disappointed. Â Restore your name! Bring up your game!
Two words on my mind when it's cold: HOT. SOUP.
Add on in the mix when it's the coldest day of the season so far: Asian.
Not knowing if I wanted pho, udon nabe-yaki, hot pot or chabu-chabu we headed to Chinatown, pretty sure we would figure things out once there.
Oh - and it was my saint-day as well (hehehe....gotta love the European Catholic traditions!) and so I was in for a treat.
Score.
If we hadn't already known about Joy Yee Noodle Plus the glitter and light coming from it would have been sufficient to drag us in. I mean - it's serious stuff going on there: shiny tiles, floor aquarium, digital menus....there is more bling than Mr T's family in this place!!! Kind of festive, and season appropriate. I dig it.
Five minutes later I was slurping with delight on a big steamy bowl of one of the best udon I have ever had. The best? ummm....maybe. Seaweed, spinach, mushrooms, fishcake, mirin, a raw quail egg resting on a spoon on the side (sweee-eeet!) and two tempura shrimps all swimming happily in a soy-based broth.
Bliss.
The seafood hot pot across the table looked quite yummy too, and I managed to snatch a scallop, a piece of surimi and a bit of broth. Holy cow. Um, mackerel. Anywho - so glad to have stopped there last night. So many options. So many wonders. So many cold nights to come.
I am glad not to live in Miami.
I went here with a couple friends last night after dinner. We each got a small green tea frozen yogurt which was actually pretty big! It's real yogurt...not the ice cream kind...but it's soft serve and so tasty!
It was palette cleansing and exactly the cool, sweet treat we needed after dinner. For $3 you can sit inside by the super cool Koi walkway & in the modern decor or outside if the weather's nice.
They had many different flavors, as well as shaved ice. I will def be going back to try more flavors...but green tea will always be first to me.
Service was actually quite good for Chinatown, too! :D
So far I have only stopped in for fro yo or smoothies. I really like the original flavor with some berries on top. It's got just the right balance of sweet/tang. It is also reasonably priced, way better than of the fro yo places in the loop.
The only thing I don't like, is to push more customers over here, they stopped serving the ice cream stuff at Joy Yee Noodle. Which is annoying because sometimes I'd rather have ice cream over fro yo.
The Chinese characters on the door read "Japan style hot pot" which is what Shabu Shabu is. They seem to be pressing it pretty hard. I only came in here to have some shaved ice for desert, though.
It advertises Taiwanese shaved ice but...it didn't taste like Taiwanese shaved ice to me :/ Either way, the shaved ice was good, though. It really hit the spot for some after-hot-pot-desert. I ordered mine with red and green bean as well as kiwi, lychee and mango. It was really flavorful and bursting with sweet, citrus taste(something that hits the right spot in summer). The shaved ice comes out in a huge bowl that is enough to serve four people. They pile on the beans really heavy, too! Overall, I say it was a great deal for only 6 dollars to get such a huge serving. It was good, too! Although not authentic Taiwanese style.
Fro-yo girl here. I think this is the only fro-yo in Chinatown and it's inside a pan-Asian restaurant with plastic food on display. Â They have smoothies, Taiwanese shaved ice and fro-yo.
Fro-yo flavors of the day:
* Green tea
* Original
* Passionfruit tart: it's nice, smooth and refreshing. Â It's balanced between icy and creamy which is where I like my fro-yo to be. Â And it's very flavorful and tangy.
They had plenty of fresh fruit toppings, jellies, flavored mochi, plain mochi, dry toppings (candy, cookies, chocolate chips), coconut, and even taro bits.
Fro-yo prices: Small ($3)/ Medium ($4)/ Large ($6)
They also had "Blend Yogurt" which I might be a mix-in style fro-yo. Â I asked about it but the explanation wasn't clear.
The plain mochi was different than the usual kind, it looked like small squares and was chewy and soft. I only got four blackberries but they didn't leave room in the cup for toppings and had to apply each blackberry individually. Â
Joy Yee has other locations but this seems to be the only one with fro-yo.
You know you love me. Â X0 X0, fro-yo girl.
I was introduced to Joy Yees by a friend a few months ago. Â I must say this place has surpassed pho noodles as my favorite hangover-cute spot after a long night out. Â
Pros:
- Great variety of Asian food (Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese, Korean, Japanese)
- Menu with pictures of every dish
- Very affordable (most dishes are under $10)
- Plenty of seating so you will rarely have to wait
Cons:
- Large menu can be overwhelming for those that are indecisive such as myself
- Typical Chinese restaurant service, meaning slow water refills (not good if you are hungover)
Favorite Dish:
When in doubt, get the Beef Cubes over Tomato Sauce Rice - it's the most common dish among everyone I have gone here with and my personal favorite.
Thoughts:
The best way to describe Joy Yee is the Chinese version of the Cheesecake factory. Â It has quite a large variety of different Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, etc food. Â It's a little hectic of an environment at times because of the large amount of traffic but it's a good restaurant to go to for lunch with your friends to share stories from the night prior.
Why do they hate their patrons so much? Â
What other explanation could there be for: Â seating us and not giving us any water, not asking for our orders when there were only about 15 people in the restaurant, and waiting until my bf had almost (apologetically) finished his meal before giving me mine (I think they forgot I ordered food too).
Oh, and there was a fruit fly in my shabu shabu, which by that time I was so hungry that I actually ate around it, as disgusted as I was. Â
I'm still giving them two stars for the big portions and the yogurt. Â But for anyone with frail self-esteem, you probably shouldn't pay money to be ignored and slighted.
The food is ehh, at least within the first week of opening. Had some soba noodles and yakitori, and it just seemed overpriced and unimpressive. However, it looks like they might have made some menu changes since then. Also, I can't articulate why exactly, but I just don't know if I trust getting sushi here.
What saves this place is the fro-yo. The fro-yo itself gets 4-5 stars. The original and green tea flavors are both really good. What makes their fro-yo unique is that they have a lot of Chinese toppings, like taro, lychee, longan, grass jelly, papaya, etc. You can't find this at any other fro-yo place in Chicago. I personally love the taro....comes in nice big chunks. Pricing for 3 toppings seems about equal to Berry Chill for the original flavor. Green tea flavor is more expensive, just like the Berry Chill non-original flavors.
As with Joy Yee's other stores, the drinks are excellent. I still want to try the shaved ice sometime.
In summary, the food didn't excite me but might deserve a second chance. Do try the fro-yo, especially if you wanna get unique Chinese toppings.
We didn't try any of the sushi but maybe will be back for that some day.
The Pork Miso Soup we got was really tasty and I though the little dumplings we got were tasty too.
The Heart-attack, essentially jalapeno poppers stuffed with Tuna were just o.k..
Frozen Yogurt with fresh mango on top was the jam.
I am super excited that there is a place that serves frozen yogurt south of the loop. Â This is currently the only other place in Chicago to have froyo besides Red Mango and the BerryChill franchise. Â It is also cheaper than those 2 aforementioned locations.
There's 3 flavors: original, green tea, and hmmm (something yellowish that wasn't mango). Â I wasn't a big fan of the green tea flavor - I don't think the tartness of the yogurt goes well with the bitterness of the flavor. Â (And I'm normally a huge fan of green tea ice cream.)
The serving sizes were very generous. Â They more than just "top off" the containers with froyo and toppings. Â I would however advise against getting the lychee topping, since they come whole (in huge chunks), and overpower the taste of the frozen yogurt.
Perhaps the most impressive thing was the decor. Â There's a glass pathway when you walk in, with a koi tank installed in the ground. Â That is insane! Â There's also a lot of wave-shaped boards hanging from the ceiling, for that "walking-into-a-fish-tank" feel.
Went here after dinner at Happy Chef for an after-dinner dinner... :) Ordered an order of uni, chicken skin yakitori and chicken meat ball yakitori. Uni was meh, tasted kinda wierd. The rice was loose and over vinegary. Chicken skin yakitori was good. Crispy skin, well grilled. Chicken meat ball was bleh. Tasted machine made... Not a fan.
The bill was $16 before tip. $16!!!! I don't think I will be back...
Just had sushi at this new joint that I've waited for months and I'm very disappointed on the unreasonable pricing and the variety of food here.
I walked out with a bill of $80 for 3 people and all we had was 4 rolls, 2 pieces and 3 drinks. The fish was fresh thankfully, but the rice is not quite there yet. It fell apart when we picked it up and its missing a little vinegar.
The waiter asked if it was enough and joked that I can go next door for more food. GUESS WHAT? We literally DID go eat again cause it was not nearly enough for the price we paid.
They did suggest trying their curry and yakitori but I really didn't want to go to a sushi place to eat Thai curry or paid $6 for 8 tiny meatballs on sticks.
Don't get me wrong, we usually pay that amount for sushi for 2 people and every penny would be well spent. I guess we just had high hopes for this place since their regular restaurant next door is usually decent.
Sigh. I can put money on it that we will NOT be returning for dinner.
PRO: Nicely decorated...
For now, I'm going to give it 3 stars, maybe 4 if they improve a few things.
I've had it a few times already, and I've received pretty much the same experience. Haven't tried the sushi yet. The yogurt itself is good, nothing out of the ordinary. Less milky than Red Mango, but still has a nice creaminess to it. It's under 5 dollars for a small with 2 toppings. Portions are much larger than a normal "small" than other yogurt places for one reason only: Chinese people will not eat there if you skimp on the size. So it's not a bad deal. You won't find anyone weighing the yogurt to the exact ounce here. Â The fruit topping (strawberry and mango) was a generous portion and since mango is in season, its sweet and tender. Â
The reason for knocking off a star is that they still haven't worked out all the decor kinks yet. Because there's a "river pathway" fish tank inlaid within the floor, it creates a fishy, Shedd aquarium smell effect that isn't pleasant. They need to clean it more often. The first time I saw it, it had clear water, but within a few days, it had already become murkier. Also, the bench style seating is cool looking, but the furniture is heavy and cumbersome so its tight to move in and out of the benches. It's also made of metal and the edges haven't been smoothed out, so watch out or you'll snag your shirt or cut yourself.
Otherwise, for those who live in the area, this is a nice alternative to Red Mango and/or Berry Chill if you don't want to make it out to the burbs or downtown.
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