Review Visit: November 12th, 2016…read more I wonder if they have a Peoria Buffet in Hong Kong... ha. Ok, lame jokes aside, I may have found a new love at this buffet. Jalapeno Pepper Chicken. Soooo good. I generally get General Tsao's (or Tso's) because it is supposed to have a nice spicy kick to it, but this takes the cake. General is hit and miss at places on spicyness, but I think Jalapeno Pepper Chicken would have a consistent spicy kick due to the... well, peppers. A few of the items on the buffet were meh. The sweet and sour chicken was a bit dough-y. Sugar biscuits had clumps of sugar instead of it being evenly distributed. General Tsao's was not spicy, but was still good. We came here for my friends birthday and I am pretty sure I have been here before to eat. I know my friend comes here at least once a week to get food to go. Yup, they sell food to go. Probably charge by the weight of the container? I don't know. I typically don't add buffets to my travel list. Why exactly? I don't have a specific reason, really. But I've added this and Grand Village Buffet now, so there are exceptions to my rules. This one is a bit pricey. The price for a dinner on a Saturday night was $15 and change. All in all, a pretty good buffet. The service was prompt. Selection was decent and plentiful despite them closing 90 minutes after we got there. Online reviews are hit and miss, but that seems standard for any Chinese buffet/restaurant.

the food was not that great there was like 3 things available when I went that were edible. most…read moreserving trays were empty or burnt for atleast half an hour. Several Food options were put up an hour before closing. Server never refilled my mans drink. Chicken was hard.... and to top it off it cost 80$ for a family of 5... you will pay 25% less than that at world buffet in Galesburg and it is significantly better.

They have the best egg roll rolls! Their Mongolia beef was very good. Their lunch portions are…read moregenerous and a good value.

Good food at affordable prices. You should try them out in a hour. I'm getting my food now and I…read moredon't want a delay. lol. They are fast too.

A few Vietnamese friends said Yen Ching had great pho so thought I'd give them a try. I ordered the…read morecombo thin beef & beef meatball pho, pineapple pork, sesame chicken, and house lo mein to go. I was quoted 25 mins, and it was ready when I arrived. The pho was big enough for two servings for me. The broth had good flavor, and they gave more than enough rice noodles. My only complaint was the thin beef was a bit stringy, random sizes, and stuck together. Everything else was average. It didn't have much flavor. I wouldn't make a special trip to return but might get the pho again, if I was in the area.

Review Visit: March 3rd, 2013…read more Its not Yin and Yang Chinese but Yen Ching Chinese! Yen Ching is not quite your typical 'hole in the wall' Chinese place. Now let me put this disclaimer after that phrase. I don't mean any negativity behind 'hole in the wall'. It's just how I refer to these places that all share the same menu and restaurant layout. Plus, the price is great for the generous portions you end up getting. While it does offer your usual menu that looks very similar between each of these types of places, the difference is that Yen Ching offers an actual dining area. Not just a few tables to sit at as you wait for your food. No, this is a full on restaurant as well as a place to stop in for carryout. On this particular day, my girlfriend at the time and my friend Matt decided to stop in during our usual Sunday shenanigans. With 3 empty bellies, we grabbed a seat at an empty booth and poured over the menu. As this was early in my traveling days, I was sticking to what I knew best. I got an order of chicken fried rice. What Matt and Erin ordered, I don't recall. But it wasn't long after that before we had some plates in front of us. That's the thing I like about these restaurants. You get your food cooked-to-order and the wait is very short. Maybe under 10 minutes for our meal to come out? When the waitress slid my plate in front of me, I knew I was in for a challenge. It was a big oval plate that was just heaped full of chicken fried rice. My stomach growled to let me know that it was ready for the task of trying to put it all away. I can normally eat a bit quicker than the average person but I slowly ate this plate as each bite was full of flavor. I was expecting the average taste and flavor you get from these places (which I love) but Yen Ching was a step above that. Daringly, I would say that Yen Ching is in my Top 5... if not Top 3 list of Chinese Restaurants. It's that dang good. It honestly rivals Ming Shee for favorite Chinese place in Peoria. Bite after bite, I slowly but surely put the entire plate away. Was I impressed with myself? Yes. Did I regret it? Not immediately. Was it worth it? I'd do it again in a heartbeat. If you have a hankering for quick Chinese, try Yen Ching out. Your stomach and taste buds won't be disappointed.

The first two times I came here were mediocre at best, I decided to give it one last chance after I…read morereceived terrible news and messed up cooking my dinner. Worst decision ever. I knew it probably wasn't going to be great being later in the evening. The chicken tasted and smelled microwaved, the egg rolls seemed to be double or tripled fried, and overall everything was inedible. They don't have nor offer traditional sauce options, and I have never received anything even close to decent customer service. I will never return, no matter how desperate I am.

Review Visit: December 16th, 2012…read more Jade Garden, or as the locals call in, 'Jah-day Gar-deen' (with a french accent). Maybe it is just my circle of friends that call it that, but it's a fun take on a pretty delicious Chinese restaurant. This one is a pretty well-known place in East Peoria that almost everyone has as it is not only delicious, but one of the few Chinese places to get food, up until recently. Being a local favorite among a lot of people I know, we decided to go there and get some food. At it's core, Jade Garden is your typical 'fast food Chinese place'. It has the dated light up menu, it has the giant paper menu and it has the kids running around. Now these aren't negative things. But if you never been to one of these places, those are the things you can expect. I can't remember this trip verbatim. We got there, ordered food and sat down. They were nice enough to bring our food out to us as we were seated around the corner from the cashier counter. Typically these places do not have a ton of seating and this place is the same, if not having a bit more than what I am used to. Now I have visited a lot of these style of restaurants and for the most part, they are all about the same tasting. But Jade Garden is a notch above. Not sure what the difference here is. Everything just tasted a bit better. Even my friends agreed that it was super good. Even on sub sequential visits, I have had great food. To wrap up the first visit though, we all enjoy a great meal and even hung out for awhile afterwards to relax, chit-chat and let the food settle. Since my first visit, East Peoria has acquired a Panda Express and a Jun's Chinese Restaurant (which has unfortunately closed). I am kind of jumping around here but Jade is a notch above your typical fast food Chinese place. If you find yourself in the East Peoria area and need some great Chinese, give 'Jah-day Gar-deen' a chance! Photos are a bit lacking for this place, so I will try to get more when I go back in the near future.

Great little Chinese food joint. I had the Singapore noodles and my wife had the beef and mushroom…read more Only problem they made the Singapore too spicy. I like mine mild. But I ate it anyway, I can feel my heartburn getting ready to hit me tonight. But I did enjoy getting it

Review Visit: September 29th, 2014…read more Ming Shee is good. Ming Shee is delicious. Ming Shee is a must try. In my quest to try any and all 'hole in the wall' Chinese restaurants, I convinced my friends to come to Ming Shee's for lunch one day. One of my friends had been here before and vouched for the deliciousness. Another friend and I were first timers. So off to get food we go. The locale is off of fairly busy University street, so it's an easy place to access. Upon getting there, we were greeted by a lovely staff who sat up promptly. The interior decor was pretty cool. It is more than your typical 'order and leave' place that has 3 tables. They do have carry out, but this is more restaurant-like. So the interior is more spruced up and has a lot of Chinese charm to it. We ordered our food and it came out fairly quick. I got your plain chicken fried rice and it was pretty dang good. My tastes have expanded since visiting here, so I am curious to try their General Tso's some day! I think they also had beer available, but I am not 100% sure on that. But, all-in-all, it was a pleasant lunch with friends and good food. What more could someone want?

The sweet and sour chicken was not good. The chicken was over cooked and they did not give the…read morepeppers or pine apple just rice?

Not sure what has happened in the last few months, used to be my favorite takeout spot but now it…read moreis not nearly as good. The fried rice has no flavor and the chicken lo mein was sour, the chicken itself was horrible and almost every piece had a bad texture.

Review Visit: February 25th, 2015…read more Three things make me happy, calorie-wise. Pizza. Coffee. Chinese. This happens to be one of those three and happens to be incredibly delicious. In my quest to try all the Chinese restaurants in my local area, I happened upon this place. Inside, it is your typical small restaurant with limited seating and a large menu. General Tsao's was my choice of meal and was it a good choice. Everything was delicious! I feel the General could've used a bit more 'bite' as I tend to love General Tsao's with a nice bite... but regardless, it was delicious! Most Chinese places tend to taste the same generally, but this one was a small notch above the others.

Yummy and delicious. I have ordered a number of different items on the menu and everything is…read moregood. They are definitely our go to spot!

Review Visit: March 17th, 2015…read more What's that? Eating Chinese on St. Patty's Day? Yup! My friend and I wanted to get authentic Irish food on St. Patty's Day, but every place was packed and we wanted food ASAP. So we settled on a nearby Chinese restaurant that we both had never tried. All these reviews/descriptions are going to sound the same. Friendly staff, small restaurant, limited seating, good food. That pretty much sums up Chinatown Kitchen. Would love to had tried it while hammered. Maybe another St. Patty's Day!

I walked in to order curry chicken. I asked for the curry to be spicy. I also ordered the small…read morewonton soup. The food was adequate but I wouldn't say it was good. The wonton soup was OK. The main flavor was provided by salt accompanied by a weak chicken broth. The wontons were pretty much the same The curry was bland with no spice at all. It was disappointing but if you want bland quick chineese food this is your place. At least the prices are reasonable.