Yen Du Restaurant — Restaurant in Stockton

**UPDATE 7/6/24:

After a hot day cleaning out the garage, we wanted a hearty meal, so I suggested Yen Du Chinese restaurant, with cooking style from the Szechuan region. My sister, brother in-law and nephews haven't been here before and I wanted them to try the food because we had a great experience during our first visit (review below).

Arrived at an odd hour, about 3:00pm, and there was plenty of available seating. The gentleman who seated us was the same person who took our order. He apologized when taking our order because they were short-handed that day. We didn't mid at all. The guy was working really hard to wait on 4 to 5 different tables doing everything from taking the orders, bussing the tables, and checking up on everyone. He was amazing! He said he's normally one of the cooks, but today he had to work out on the floor. I can't say how much we appreciated his service & help.

We ordered the sizzling soup 🍲, vegatable chow mein noodles 🍜, salt & pepper fish 🐟 (Our favorite!), Mongolian Beef, Mushroom & Greens, crab Rangoon (I think 🤔), House Chicken, and steamed rice. There was 6 of us, and we had tons of leftovers.

I'd highly suggest the sizzling soup, because not only does it taste good, but it also sizzles as the name suggests when the rice goes into the soup. Our favorite is the salt & pepper fish, which is small pieces of white fish that is breaded, fried, and served with garlic & jalapeños. That is by far one of best versions that I've ever tasted.

If you haven't tried this place, then I'd suggest you check it out. You will leave satisfied 😊.

End of update - 7/6/24

1st visit below: My normal hole-in-the-wall chinese restaurant located off of N. Yosemite Ave was closed Sunday, so I had to search for a new place. I'm glad I did, because we stumbled upon a gem that we've never tried. The ambience is great for family outings & celebrations. It's a quaint spot that is very nice. The ceiling decor was really nice. The staff greeted us with warmth & energy. The phones were ringing and restaurant was buzzing!

Let's get to the good part, the food. A patron suggested the sizzling 💤 rice 🍚 soup, and it was tasty 😋.... had veggies, shrimp 🍤, small pieces of pork, and the crispy rice. Portion is good enough for 4-6 people.

Salt & pepper fish 🐟 - my favorite of the entrees. It was hot, crunchy, flavorful. It was garnished with jalapeños, fried garlic, salt & pepper. Try it over rice 🍚.

House chicken - their version of orange 🍊 chicken. It was good, but would want to try other entrees next time

Chow mein 🍜 with chicken - good dish. A little on the salter side, but tasty nonetheless. Large portion.

Black mushrooms 🍄 & Chinese greens (like bok choy) 🥦 - this dish was really good. My 3rd favorite behind the sizzling soup & the 🐟. The sauce tasted buttery and the greens were fresh.

I'd highly suggest trying this place out. We'll definitely be...

Update: Wednesday, January 22, 2025 PM (Take out) Yen Du used to be a great restaurant. Everything you ordered was good. Now, I would just rate them as average. Last night we ordered sizzling rice soup with extra sizzling rice and guess what, we got the broth with no rice! When I called to complain the lady offered to replace it for us. I ordered sweet-and-sour pork with the sauce on the side because I don’t like a lot of sauce. The sweet-and-sour pork was miserable. I do not think it was cooked fresh for us. It wasn’t quite like rocks but it was pretty hard to chew. I don’t know why Chinese restaurants can’t cook the food fresh. Evidently they make it in batches. And then it sits there until it’s sold. I have no desire to go back to this restaurant ————————- Yen Du used to be a family favorite. I don’t know what happened over the last few years but I am not looking to return anytime soon. Tonight everything seemed pre-cooked…not cooked order and barely warm. The sizzling rice soup didn’t sizzle, which left the rice kind of soggy. The deep-fried shrimp were barely warm. The chicken in the chicken salad was hard…precooked ahead of time and left setting. The chicken fried rice was a soggy mess. The lemon chicken was OK. That was probably the freshest and hottest item that we received. Our server, Jason, was the best. He took good good care of us. Next stop will be Dave Wongs or China Palace. Not returning here...

I have been eating here for several years. They offer a lunch menu, a dinner menu and plenty of appetizers. We decided on fried beef, spring rolls and eggs rolls. Everything was delicious. With the fried beef I was given three types of sauces, sweet and sour, soy sauce and another sayce that tasted like a katsu sauce. You order your meal by plates and that is how you are charged. We had the house chicken and the chicken chow mein. Each plate comes with two wontons, rice and soup with tofu and mushrooms. One plate can serve two people. The house chicken is battered and fried and comes in a spicy sauce. It also is served with peas and carrots. The chicken chow mein tastes fresh and there are pieces of chicken throughout. The waiter we had was quick and was checking on us. He made sure our food taste great and if we needed anything. Overall, we only thought the negatice part was the missing napkins. They used to be more "upscale" but with inflation, things must change. The atmosphere is beautuful. Be sure to check out the elobrate celing and the fixtures. They are beautuful. The resturant stats fairly quiet except for conversations. They offer tables and chaurs and also bigger rooms for...