Yen Ching House — Restaurant in Englewood

This is our go-to takeout place these days!

They have a drive through for picking up takeout orders which is great! The staff has always been very friendly and efficient. Also it isn't very expensive and you get a lot of food, so it's a really good deal!

One of the reasons we go here so often (in addition to the value) is because it's not greasy and heavy like some Chinese takeout (or really any takeout) can be, it's more like home cooking style (not that we could cook anything like it at home!). So sometimes it needs a little salt to bring out the flavor (for us at least, we like our salt!), but it is fresh and delicious and we don't feel gross after we eat a lot of it.

Another reason we come here is because they serve tofu (bean curd), which is kind of rare! The only place they offer it on their menu is in the "vegetables" section, and when we first started ordering from here I tried the 2 non-spicy items in that section, but they were a bit too umm ..healthy.. for me (but perhaps the spicy options in the vegetable section would be more flavorful!).

So instead they have been kind enough to substitute chicken for tofu in several dishes for me! My favorite is the szechuan bean curd :)

If you want something delicious but you're burnt out on takeout and don't want to cook, this...

Yen Ching House was the best Chinese food I have ever had in my life! The moment my husband and I walked in I noticed how amazing the food smelled and the cute, clean, cheerful atmosphere of the restaurant. And the experience only got better from there! The service was friendly and fast, but perfectly paced for a date and not rushed at all. The food was all deliciously and authentically seasoned - absolutely no need to touch the seasonings at the table for any of the 5 menu items we tried :) You can judge a Chinese restaurant pretty well by how good their wonton soup broth is - and it also was the best I have ever had out of many many tried! You can tell they take care in preparing food for their customers. The portions were appropriately sized for the price and the plates, and they have sturdy carry-out containers (Good to keep in mind as they also serve carry-out/delivery). There was yummy hot tea served in the traditional style too, with no extra charge. I feel so blessed to live near this GEM of a restaurant and can't wait to come back, try more menu items and share with more friends...

Had a great first experience today. Great atmosphere, hot tea that I believe is complimentary from the start, and a very friendly staff. My party all got the chicken lo mein from the lunch menu, where each entree comes with a bowl of soup, large piece of honey chicken, and a crab rangoon as an appetizer, and fried or steamed rice as a side. For the price ($6.50) the portions were phenomenal. Every member of the party had to take half of their meal to go. In terms of food quality, the crab rangoon and egg drop soup were fantastic (most flavorful egg drop soup I’ve had) and the flavor of the lo mein was on point. Detractors from the meal were quality of chicken (small piece of bone found and some gristly pieces) and attentiveness of the staff near the end of the meal (although with so much food left, they may have thought we were still eating!). Planning to stick to more vegetarian choices in the future, at least with regards to the entree (got to love that crab rangoon) and definitely visit here as often as we can afford, which should be very with how great...