I got word that the head chef of China Palace went over to Ming Yen but it seems that he has now left and is working elsewhere. The gentleman named Will, he provided great customer service, always treated me and my family well and now he is no longer there too. I never dine-in here anymore due to the service here and how dirty everything is. One day I ordered to-go and let me just say...there is no way in hell that me or my family will be coming back. The owners, especially the short haired lady has issues. Try out Ming Yen if you like bad service and food. Food : 2/5 Service : 0/5 Cleanliness : 1/5 read more

Delicious. Great portions. Great flavor. The chow mein is especially good with really tender chicken.

We came here last minute on Thanksgiving and it was absolutely delicious. We were served and checked on by all 4 of the wait staff. We had noodles, rice and three dishes. Egg rolls were filed with fresh veggies and lightly fried.Yummy! They even gave us a full soup with our doggie bag. All the food was very fresh and great portions. Definitely coming back! read more

Good restaurant, nice people. They are a typical Chinese restaurant open on Christmas day. They have inexpensive wine and good food.

Came in right before closing on thanksgiving evening, and was served promptly and with delicious food. I was even given an extra serving of fried rice on the house for the holidays. Great establishment, will be returning! read more

AMAZING!! food came out super fast. Super friendly and felt like family there. Had a great time, would highly recommend! read more

Ming Yen - Walnut shrimp. Jalapeno wings. Curry noodles. Tofu. Dumplings. Tea. - Chinese Near Me - Novato, California

I've been here so many times and I'm surprised I didn't write a review the first time. I always get the Mongolian Beef lunch special with chow mein. It comes with their soup of the day, which has always been their hot & sour whenever I come in. I'm not complaining because their hot & sour is exactly the name - perfectly spicy and tangy. PAY ATTENTION TO THEIR MENU AND WHEN THERES A SPICY CHILI PEPPER NEXT TO IT! THEY MEAN IT! I heard a lady behind me complain about how spicy it was to the waiter, when the dish clearly has a chili pepper next to it. And yes, she was. Me, however, I love spicy foods. And the Mongolian beef is perfectly spicy in my opinion. Their chow mein is textbook. And their PORTIONS? Love that they're not stingy. Best Chinese food in the Novato area. read more

Ming Yen - Mangolian beef & chow mein lunch special - Chinese Near Me - Novato, California

I had a lunch special with my daughter today, food was amazing with good portions for a good price. Service was friendly, quick in a cute ambiance. Highly recommend! Yummy soup to take home! read more

Ming Yen - Cleared!!!! - Chinese Near Me - Novato, California

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Our go to spot for Chinese cuisine. They serve all the classic dishes, with good quality ingredients. Try the salt and pepper dish. It's our favorite. read more

Food was great, a little bland from last time I ordered the noodle soup; I've been coming to this location for at least 50 years. After I left the restaurant tonight, I looked at some reviews online to see if it was just me with a bad feeling as my experience with the service. I noticed someone speaking of a short woman with very short black hair who spoke significantly loud and rude to them, banging the take out boxes on the customers' table and storming sway cause they said they wanted to scoop their food themselves. Bingo! She gave me an angry face when I said I would fill my leftovers in the container myself, also! Haha! Then scrolling through more reviews I saw someone said they wouldn't be returning because of an interaction with a woman named Peggy who talked rudely when she didn't understand what a kid wanted to order. She snapped abruptly at the kid in the same manner that this woman spoke to me. Claimed she was the owner? I came in at 8:20 and they close at 9:00. At 8:50 she abruptly came over and told me they were closed and I had to leave. I had already paid when she came and I asked for a box. She wanted to take my bowl, but I was still eating. She snarled and stormed off. When I asked for a bag too, I told her because I was walking home, she gave me a continued angry face and started talking Chinese to herself as she went to get a bag. No eye contact, no thank you, she handed me the bag and went back to what she was doing at the counter. Now I remember her from another time I came here. So this is Monday night, 9/29/25. Is anyone going to ask her what's up with this kind of service? read more

Ming Yen is BACK! We are thrilled with the new chef, now that he has settled in. Amazing Cantonese and California Chinese cuisine! Appetizers are all tasty, nice variety of veggie and meat laden dishes, and I do live the roast pork slices with veggies. Mmmm. Fish combo was yummy, fresh, and plentiful. This may be our newest once-a-week place in Novato. If you haven't been in a while, check it out again! read more

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We had heard the Chef from China Palace left to work at Ming Yen. So we went there a couple months ago and the food and service was great. We took our daughter and her husband on August 2, 2025 and the food and service sucked. Hopefully they'll get back to good food and service. read more

I am being generous with 2 stars as the food was good and I must admit we came at an odd time of 3:30pm. But they did seat us. Order went ok and food came pretty fast. Even while waiting we saw some tiny flies at our table, then when the food came we saw more. After eating for 10 min my wife and I killed about a dozen, see photo of several that landed in food and died from suffocation. I asked her if we could maybe get a fan and they said they didn't have one and also that she had suggested that we do takeout. Also that she knew of the flies. Maybe more extreme because of the warm weather, the hostess started spraying insecticide that was the end, we got some boxes for our remaining food and left. Humorous moment was that one of our fortunes in the fortune cookie spoke of flies. Confucius knows all. Note: We had not done takeout because we are not from the area, I would assume this place is reasonable for takeout though I do wonder if there are that many flyers in the dining area why would the kitchen be so much different? read more

Ming Yen - A half dozen killed or dying flies, I would be cautious on dining in. - Chinese Near Me - Novato, California

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Let me set the scene: We entered the building from the back of the dining area (because handicap parking is there, no problem) to a dining room which was completely empty - 3 staff on the floor, one olde guy watching YouTube videos that couldn't even make eye contact and two ladies eating a huge pile of noodles looking at us like our presence was annoying. I asked if they were open as they just stared at us. Ya.They respond. My mom being a wheel chair, I was trying to find the best spot to suit her which was the room 8 feet away.. reminders, no one was there other than us. The waitress literally shouted NO, sit there! I asked again she again demanded we sit there. Im thinking, okay:: I get it, I work in the service industry - but they aren't working on sections right now and there are only certain places this wheel chair fits in this establishment. So why are we crammed into the shady cold corner? Ugh. Moving forward, she literally tosses us hot tea, my mom ask what it was she barks TEA! She puts the house soups down, I ask what the soup is, she shouts ITS IN FRONT OF YOU!! Uhhh my mom has allergies, I was just trying to figure out what pile of mushroom saucy questionable goo we were asked to consume. Simple question, Dr. Give us 10 seconds later, demands us to order, we all stuttered our order out- she stomped away. I looked at my mom so scared, asking me what we did wrong, I couldn't FATHOM sitting in that establishment one minute longer. Let ALONE give them our money. I walked immediately to the manager, told him to cancel the order (it had been 90 seconds at that time) and we left. No apologies. Thus was noon on a Thursday . Party of 3, out. read more

Ming Yen is an established Chinese restaurant in Novato. The owner is always there giving personal service to customers and oversees the operation. A couple months back the restaurant had to terminate employees who didn't work out for business reasons. It appears that one of the former employees is avenging on the owner and keeps posting negative but non specific false information about Ming Yen. read more

I called in an order and when they asked if I would use Doordash/Etc. since their delivery guy was out sick so I said sure. So I gave them my order and waited. Well Doordash just left the food on my step and didn't even knock on the door. By the time I checked the food was cold AND it wasn't even what I ordered. So I called up and explained what had happened and the lady owner starts ranting & raving (I admit I did my share of yelling) and she says that if I don't bring the food back, that she's going to call the police on me. Well, I had my husband bring the food back, make sure she cancelled my credit card debit (with receipt as proof) and I've NEVER been back since! I wish people would boycott the restaurant, maybe then she would learn about Customer Service when no one patronizes her place. read more

The food is absolutely delicious, and the service is top tier! Peggy is a wonderful owner and always delivers 100% of the time. The restaurant ambiance is nice and family friendly and I cannot recommend Ming Yen enough! We celebrate every birthday here :) read more

I am saddened to see that people will harass and try to tear down a family business because of their own petty nature. The four 1 star reviews written on 11/20/2023 are 100% false. I eat at this establishment twice a week and have never seen employees getting treated badly, flies/pests/roaches, or even the owner(s) throwing a teacup (this is laughable). Also, if you're going to be making fake reviews about roaches in the food, at least use a less common picture that can't be reverse image searched. You guys are hilarious! Everything about this place is great. Food portions are large and the food is always hot, fresh and delicious. One of the best Chinese food spots in Novato and I would recommend this to anyone, any time. read more

Peggy and her family know how to run a successful business! Their food is always fresh. My family has ordered take out and the food is yummy even to go. We love dining in because of the good service. If you're in Novato and craving Chinese food, do yourself a favor and come see Miss Peggy at Ming Yen! read more

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Will never go there again. The meat tastes sweet like a piece of candy and intolerable., the whole meal is horrible taste. told them, they said, oh maybe put too much sugar in marinate. She talks like it's some other restaurants not them . Not even a sorry. Will never be there again. read more

Ming yen is consistently delicious. Our go to order of beef chow fun and tomato beef chow mein is always well prepared, not greasy and hot and fresh. Peggy and her crew of employees offer courteous and quick service, whether dining in or over the phone. We had our Chinese New year dinner here, worked with Peggy on the menu. She made and took suggestions for the meal. We were a group of 20 and dinner went flawlessly. Ming yen and Peggy are the best in town! read more

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There's crack in this Chinese food. I have had it for four days in a row now and I have leftovers to eat later today that I'm excited about. General's chicken, veggie chow mein (mix the general's chicken and veggie chow mein together - INCREDIBLE), Mongolian beef, crab puffs, walnut shrimp. You can tell the veggies they use are good quality. The noodles are thick and just delicious. The sauce these items come in is soo tasty. read more

The is a fantastic Chinese restaurant in this area,with the fresh food and friendly service .The prices also is unbeatable good deal.I've been visited here with my families couple times where from San Francisco. It is a best suggestion to come here for the party or catering. Thanks. From Paul IGS Motor. read more

Heavy on Oil, Light in taste Typical tourist trap type Chinese food. No chop sticks laid out. The food took forever to come out. The recipes aren't accurate: Ex: the Peking Spare Rib was sour and heavily fried. My friend commented they had never had it taste so bad Extra star for nice staff. . read more

Ming Yen - Peking spare ribs, not worth finishing - Chinese Near Me - Novato, California

This was my spot for Chinese food in Novato. Everything they make is more of a Hong Kong style so it's not only nostalgic for me, it's delicious. Not many places make hot and sour soup in a way I like and they nail it perfectly every time. Whenever I was sick I would order a large portion and it would slowly bring me back to life. Also the owners are really nice. Peggy always checked in on me and remembered things going on in my life to ask me how things were going. I also love their portion sizes--always way too much for me to eat in one sitting, but it was always nice being able to take some home for meals later. I highly recommend their lunch special since they have delicious choices and the portions are really big for the price you pay. read more

This is my favorite restaurant in the Bay area. It's the best Chinese food I've ever had. The people who own the place are so kind, they make you feel like family. The food is all made from scratch, which is evidenced not only by the fact that it's fresh and a little different every time, but also by the table in the dining room that they use to make things like their crab and cheese puffs and their pot stickers, both of which should not be missed. I promise you won't find more flavorful Chinese food anywhere. This place is a true gem! read more

Ming Yen - Ming Yen's potstickers in the process of being filled - Chinese Near Me - Novato, California

Consistent, fresh, reliable, and always ready on time. Generous portions with vegetarian-friendly menu options with a good array of tofu dishes. Easy parking in the back and open most days and holidays. Been eating in and taking out from here for years. Plus, their chili sauce on the side is good with some crunch, unlike some other places that have a more watery hot sauce. All and all a solid spot! read more

Delicious food, fresh, and so tasty. I loved everything was perfectly seasoned. I have not had Chinese food this good in a very very long time. Try this spot next time you're in Novato CA. Thanks Ming Yen read more

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Kind, fast sevice, great food in generous portions, convenient parking, yummy tea, and spicy sauces... these are a few of my favorite things (for a school night dinner with a hungry, picky middle schooler). We had shrimp chow mein, calamari, potstickers, shrimp with green beans, and sliced pork! We ordered a lot, intending for leftovers for the next day, and with tip we were at $60. (The spa type music with occasional birds chirping was interesting ). read more

Ming Yen - Shrimp chow mein, calamari, potstickers, shrimp with green beans, and sliced pork! - Chinese Near Me - Novato, California

I had one of the best experiences in a long time, food delicious and a great service. I heard that they have a new chef (he was the chef from china palace). Very nice a clean restaurant. Thank you !!! read more

Really friendly service. Peggy automatically greeted as my party walked in. Wilson was really helpful with picking recommendations and promptly asked us what we would like to drink. Food was really flavorful. Favorite dish was salt and pepper wings. read more

We went to Ming Yen to celebrate my brother's birthday, and as always, it was an outstanding experience. This place never disappoints; we frequent it regularly. The food is consistently delicious, and the owner is always super nice and welcoming. I love this place! read more

Unbelievable experience. We were violently yelled at by the owners. We called to order take out. Called at 5:50, ordered 2 items, informed the male owner that we will arrive at 6:30. He told me to call again at 6:15 (because they were busy and it only takes 15 min to make the food? Doesn't make much sense but whatever). I called again at 6:15, and this time a woman picked up the phone. I gave her my number and orders; she just said "the food is still cooking" and hung up. When we arrived at 6:30, there was no food. This was fine, but the woman denied ever picking up the phone and started yelling at us. She literally was yelling at us while there were two tables eating in the restaurant. I've never been to any place that the owner would yell at a customer. Mind blowing. Very unfortunate experience- we moved from the Bay to Novato. It's hard to find decent Asian food here and we were hoping that this could be one. TLDR: if you don't want to be yelled at by t he owner and lied to, don't go here. read more

Novato and Marin more broadly doesn't really have a wide variety of Chinese food, so I was quite pleased with the food at Ming Yen. Menu is fairly standard Chinese restaurant fare but is probably one of the more/most authentic ones I've tried in Marin. Prices are reasonable and portions are quite generous. read more

Outstanding food!! Wonderful service. Great ownership. We have had excellent Chinese food in the past, but this place exceeds all expectations. You will not be disappointed! The owners have a servants heart who make you feel like you're a guest in their home. read more

tonight was our second time here at ming yen. water glasses and a pot of tea showed up immediately. teabag though, i miss the loose leaf but i can be okay with a teabag in the pot. crabmeat cheese puff... delicious. orange chicken, bbq pork chow fun, house fried rice. all palette pleasing enough for my daughter and i. the staff running around the restaurant were all attentive. the room was decorative and comfortable. i don't see why we won't make it there again when the desire for chinese food tempts us once again. read more

friendly people,great food,close to my house...what's not to love. We like to order twice cooked green beans, eggplant and tofu,and mongolian beef.15 minute wait time,food is hot. Our new goto for chinese food in novato four stars. reccommended read more

Ming Yen is just the most beautiful place I have ever been to. The ambiance is amazing and the food was delicious. The owner was kind enough to serve me and my friends complimentary dishes and were so nice to us. Would definitely recommend. read more

Ming Yen - Chinese Near Me - Novato, California

Pot stickers were the best in Marin, in my opinion. Very flavorful and not overwhelmed by the wrapper. Going back for more of those. The food was quite good overall, and the service very friendly and efficient. A very pleasant experience. read more

I don't often go out of my way to write negative reviews for local business but this was pretty bad. My family and I placed a pickup order on doordash but our order was given to another customer. I get it, mistakes happen. The staff however was very very rude, took zero responsibility for giving our dinner to the wrong person and refused to remake the order for us. On top of all this, the staff had left out a batch of raw food at a dining table which was alarming in itself. We choose to do pick up rather than delivery because there are less fees to our local businesses. What a shame. read more