Joy Yee - Evanston

Everything was delicious! We got a fairly basic order, and I'm still dreaming about it!Crab rangoons, orange chicken, and teriyaki chicken. All incredible. Will definitely be coming back

Who is giving this less than 4 stars??? Joy Yees remains king. Of all the bubble tea places that continue to open, this is still the only one that does fresh fruit bubble tea, and it reigns supreme! You'll be hard pressed to find a Cantonese/HK style place like this nowadays. Most Chinese restaurants are either mainland, sze chuan, or Taiwanese. The service is fast. The restaurant is big--lots of space for groups--and kid/friendly. They let us park our double stroller in the waiting area. They gave our kids water in plastic to-go cups with lids. They have high chairs where the buckles are on and actually work. We were all very pleased.And portion size! Y'all the portions are so generous. Easily leftovers for a second meal, or even a third if you have excellent self control.What we got:Garlic Noodles and Lemongrass Chicken- Looks boring. Tastes amazing. The flavors are simple but so, so, so good. Our kids love this.Beef Cubes- This is classic. Juicy, tender beef on a bed of tomato rice! Eons ago they used to serve it with sliced tomatoes and cucumbers, which made the presentation prettier and also made you feel a little better like you were eating a rounded meal, but no more. Womp womp. But this is seriously just the best comfort food. So tasty. So rich. So satisfying. We can't not get this when we come here. Also very kid-friendly. Smelt- Seasoned with salt and pepper, lightly battered and fried. With just a hint of jalapeño to give it flavor without making it spicy--this is so perfect. It's crispy without feeling heavy or greasy. Smelt is a tiny fish, but it's not really fishy. Try this--our kids loooove it. They cannot get enough of the crispy texture.Chinese broccoli (gai lon) - A staple veggie, sautéed in a garlicky sauce. This just rounds out the meal. I love that they cut it smaller so it's easier to eat since gai lon is kind of a crunchier, heartier veggie. Mango pineapple smoothie - FRESH. FRUIT. Not canned. Not powder. This is the thing. Any and all combinations are recommended but our favorites are mango + pineapple or mango + lychee.

Haven't been in awhile and I realized how much I missed this place! Their food is always so good and always satisfying with huge servings!Service is great and the place is a typical casual dine in place. Nothing fancy. I ordered the Short Ribs with Kimchi Fried Rice and I was eating it until the day after lol. Kimchi fried rice was good. Itsy bitsy teeny tiny bit of a kick but you wouldnt even really call it a kick. So no i dont think its spicy at all! Short ribs was marinated perfectly. Beef cube in tomato sauce is always a favorite of ours too! If you havent tried it its a must! And of course whats Joy Yee without a drink. So i had my usual Honeydew and Watermelon with Crystal Boba. I missed it so much i had 2! Too bad they didnt have cantaloupe coz i always mix that in there. But theres always next time. Happy eating!!!

Love Joy Yee. Granted, I haven't tried a lot from their menu but, what I usually get, I love!The beef cube tomato rice is so delicious. Idk how they do it. This is the only food I order every time I come. I also get the green milk tea with less sugar. Pretty solid! I would recommend this place to anyone looking for some good Asian food :)

We were seated fairly quickly for it being late in the evening. There were lots of people inside. It was a little hard to hear with so much noise of other people's conversations happening. The menu was very large with lots of items and similar items listed. The options and variety was good. I had the mango freeze. When the drink arrived, it wasn't very cold. After it sat for a while, it got a little cooler. The boba had the right texture and flavor. They were springy and chewy. They were neither hard or mushy. The mango tasted like a blended mango and not like a powder or perfume. Next time I would be interested to try the three berry freeze or the milk tea or the Thai tea. I might choose the lemongrass pork chop over rice too. The basil beef pad sew ew had the right texture as well and normal flavor. The beef was good and not chewy.The tom yum fried rice had a good flavor of tom yum without being too salty. The chicken was pretty salty and but tasted good with the rice. It had a bit of a pan seared sweet glaze to it. Our water was refilled once when it was low. It did taste like unfiltered water. They were very on top of getting orders in and customers served.

I came here for one reason - boba tea. Specifically green tea blended boba tea. The food is great, but Joy Yee introduced me to boba tea, and it still stands as one of the best ones I've had. They have an extensive menu, so get the flavor, style and additions that you want. For me, I'll be back for another green tea boba the next time I'm in Evanston.

JY's honestly has the best boba in the city in my honest opinion. Not only do they use fresh fruit, but their tapioca balls are on 10. They also offer a HUGE variety of boba options along with unique options that most establishments don't tend to offer. Their smoothie size is quite generous as well! Very very good option in you're in the mood for a fruit/fresh smoothie. Their taro flavor is also very good. Never had a bad experience when it comes to their boba

Literally the best place to eat! No other asian restaurant can compare to Joy Yee. Food always hits the spot and the service is always quick. The menu is huge so it's good if you research ahead of time what you want. The new location isn't as cramped as the old location, but I kind of miss how much cozier it used to be. Definitely recommend Joy Yee to everybody who wants good food

Alright, let first start off by saying, I used to LOVE going to Joyees, whether it'd be the location in the city or in Evanston. This place holds special memories with my family, friends and them college days but now.....so much has changed and it's not...good. Gah, pains me to write this but ya girl feels like it's a moral duty to be honest, legit yet still kind. Anywho, I went here to meet my bestie for dinner. When I arrived, there wasn't too many people there, there was a lot of room and I was immediately seated. The interior is definitely bright, semi organized but not the cleanest. The reason I say this was because I was seated all the way in the back at a long table when there was only one person joining me. Why they picked a long table to seat a party of two, I'll never know. The table was clean but the floor wasn't, there were remnants of left over food and like, come on now, clean it up. If you're gonna leave the tables spotless, at least do the floors too and it's not like they were busy at the time anyways. The first thing I ordered was a rose oolong milk tea with tapioca while I waited. The drink itself was tasty. It a was pink, creamy, sweet with a subtle floral taste. It wasn't overpowering which was nice. The tapioca was chewy and soft which is how I like it. When my friend came, we immediately started ordering. We had gotten a side of the veggie spring rolls, my girlfriend got the pineapple fried rice and a small spicy egg drop soup. I got the beef short rib and rare beef pho and the grilled chicken and kimchi fried rice (to go). It wasn't long before we got our food and the service was okay, our waiter didn't really come to check on us throughout our meal as evident from our plates piling up. She was nice though. When I received my soup, first of all, the bowl was massive. I mean it could have fed a small village, I didn't know the bowl was gonna be that big hey! I'm a soup girl so...challenge accepted. It was piping hot and I received two other small bowls to share the soup. My friend took a quick taste of the broth and she was not impressed and I soon understood why. There was one large beef short rib with really delicious meat fighting to stay on the bone. I took a bit out of that and it was delicious. The actually soup itself was nothing to fawn over, sad to say. I think that what makes any type of pho is the broth and this broth was not very tasty, a bit bland for my liking. Additionally, it didn't come with all the usual fixings of bean sprouts, fresh basil, lime and jalapeños which was quite surprising because I've eaten A LOT of pho and it's always served with those condiments so this was a first. The thin slices of rare beef were okay and the noodles were tender. Unfortunately, if the pho broth isn't hitting, the rest of the dish falls apart...and it did. Besides the short rib, I wasn't a big fan of the soup overall. I don't think I would come back to get it again. Unfortunately, my friend got the pineapple fried rice which she normally loves and I know why. It is normally tasty and it's served in a large pineapple so..presentation counts people!!! When she received the dish, it was no longer served in a pineapple. Instead, it had cut up pineapple chunks in the fried rice...the taste was good but the presentation lacked which doesn't make for a fun experience. My friend said her soup was still yummy though so at least she was happy on that forefront. Ah, the veggie spring rolls were good. Nothing particular to stand out besides the sauce.When I got home, I tried a bit of the kimchi rice and grilled chicken. That dish tasted yummy and regarding price, it was a lot less that what was paid for the soup for a much tastier dish. Although the soup quality was bigger, it didn't taste as good as this dish. Quality over quantity guys, remember. The kimchi used with the rice was sour but definitely enhanced the grilled taste and smokiness of the chicken.Overall, joyyees in the evanston location has changed. I understand given the number of years we've been through Covid and a lot of economic changes have been happening too, things were bound to be updated but...it just wasn't the same. I loved my boba and that one short rib but my experience today wasn't what I'm normally used to. Maybe I'll return in the future for a boba and getting my usual (tomato rice and beef cubes) but whose to say what the future holds. Prices are little higher than average but I was prepped for that, I guess I just wasn't prepped for the quality of food. Don't worry Joyees, I still love you but at this time, I need to think about our relationship. It's not you, it might just be me....or maybe it is you.

Joy Yee is tried and true. I've been coming here/ ordering from here for years. My absolute favorite item is the Thai red curry with chicken - best part is they have it on the lunch menu! Each lunch item comes with a delicious hot and sour soup and egg roll. Portions are humongous (1 lunch special can serve 2). The red curry has the right creaminess, heat, and flavor. It's packed full of veggies and the protein of your choice. Their smoothies are also excellent. My go-to is always the mango tropical- this is a mango smoothie topped with tons of fresh fruit. Service is always prompt and food is served piping hot.