Joy Yee’s Noodle Kitchen

Love love love joyees! One of our favorite restaurants! Quick service, great food, great drinks, what else could you ask for? Parking in the Evanston location is hit or miss. Since it’s a popular area it’s sometimes hard to find parking. My favorite dish there is the chicken basil fried rice, my husbands is beef cubes with tomato rice. Favorite drink is the watermelon strawberry fresh fruit drink or the mango peach drink with tapioca. Would recommend this place!

Being back in Evanston after a year I cannot go past joy yees at least once. It’s quick, it’s cheap, it’s tasty and highly consistent. Typically I get the chicken won ton soup, sesame chicken and the spicy kimchi pork, and every time is the same as the first. It is fun and casual and great for catch ups.

Wasn’t impressed at the beginning. After two years living here. I like this restaurant more and more. Food is good, dish size is big. I often come here when I want to eat a big dinner with my family. We like the noise (people talking). It feels more lively than many other restaurant.

The best way to describe Joy Yee’s is good value for money.
No wonder this place is always full — They offer special drinks (bubble tea… yum!), HUUUGE portions of food, endless selection, and really good prices.
This time I tried the seafood noodle soup, which was perfect. I usually don’t like ordering soups as my main course, but it was cold outside and all I wanted was a bowl of soup. and what a bowl it was: gigantic, full of seafood and tasty noodles. It was more than I could ask for from a soup. I was full towards the half but couldn’t stop eating and ended up almost at the bottom!
My husband got the Spicy beef noodle soup but his experience wasn’t as great. The soup was so spicy it was almost not edible (even for a spice lover like my husband).
The last time we were there we tried the Chow Fuun seafood, the chicken Pad Tai, and the basil chicken over rice — everything was delicious and super filling.
If you’re in the area and feel REALLY hungry — definitely go to Joy Yee’s.

I’ve come here 3 – 4 times and have left a happy customer every time. Between the boyfriend and I, here’s what we’ve tried:
–Japanese Beef Dumplings (pretty good, if a bit greasy)
–Lemongrass Chicken Wings (worth getting at least once — they’re molten hot and good)
–Vietnamese Egg Rolls (decent, but this has never been my favorite incarnation of egg roll)
–Sugar Cane Shrimp (I’m glad I tried it, but I wouldn’t order it again)
–Shredded Chicken Vermicelli Soup (straight-​up comfort food to me)
–Won Ton Noodle Soup (a beefier broth, and the won tons are quite tasty)
–Udon Noodle Soup (really nice and comforting)
–Stir Fry Udon Noodle (I ordered without the spice because my stomach was iffy, but then the flavor was sweet… still pretty good)
–A multitude of different bubble teas (the rose flavor has been my favorite!)
Every time I go, I think I’ll try something different (namely the spicier Korean fare, which I have enjoyed at other restaurants), but the Shredded Chicken Vermicelli Soup hits the spot and I end up ordering it. It is the best noodle soup you can get in the North Suburbs outside of Dung Gia in Des Plaines. And you always bring home leftovers. ALWAYS.
As for the ambience, I’ve been pleased with it. It’s a bright, clean, nicely decorated space. The seats are unusually-​shaped, but surprisingly comfortable. You have to remember to bring change for parking, but that’s no biggie. You get a mix of people at Joy Yee’s, and it speaks to how consistently good the food is. This is our go-​to place for comforting noodle dishes, even if we have to drive almost an hour to get here. It’s worth making the trip.

OK for cheap food. Ambiance = 0.
Joy Yee’s is tasty… but very crowded, noisy, rushed and not clean.
Koi restaurant at 624 Davis is FAR BETTER FOR QUALITY AND ATMOSPHERE.
Walk 2 blocks and have a better meal!

I always get their yummy bubble tea EVERYTIME I stop by her to eat with my coworkers or with my BF! The food is amazing especially the ribs!!! GOD! The sizzling sound when they bring it to you on your table! The flavory taste that melts in your mouth! Making me hungry while writing this review!
You should try the ribs!!! It’s worth the price!
The only downside about their menus are the prizes it doesn’t tell you how much! But overall it’s one of the restaurant plus the bubble tea is plus!

I cannot rave enough about their bubbletea! It is absolutely the best I have had to date. The tapioca pearls are perfectly chewy, soft and so so flavorful I always ask for extra.
Parking sucks so good luck finding it I usually just take the food to go and call ahead.
The food is good. There are just wayyyyy too many options to choose from the menu is so overwhelming. Any type of fried rice is a must and I am a regular of their chow funn noodles. I like them because they’re soft yet cripsy at the same time. Their beef is just a little too chewy for me so I’d say stick with chicken or veggie dishes.
Service is super fast. Once you order your food comes out while you’re still eating your appetizer. If you’re a fan of potstickers stick with the beef, we had the chicken and pork combo potstickers and they weren’t amazing just okay. One thing I will say is sometimes you can feel rushed by the service. I don’t know if they’re being friendly or they just want you out as soon as you came in-I’d say the latter.
I prefer the Chinatown location but this location is way closer and less of a drive and is overall pretty decent. Good food, great bubbletea-​a must.

This is one of my favorite comfort Asian food places. The place has a tremendous amount of options to choose from. The bubble teas and smoothies are all made fresh with fresh fruits. I really like their fish dishes as well. They use good quality fresh white fish.

I like all sorts of restaurants for Chinese food. Honestly, I’m not picky. I haven’t found anywhere around here that has fresher smoothies than Joy Yee’s. You can really taste the difference. I think a lot of places use a drink mix blended with ice.
A tip for anyone who’s using delivery services: Price Check! I used Doordash to deliver the last time I ordered from Joy Yee’s and it did come out cheaper with a promotional code, but they inflate their prices. Grubhub came very close to Joy Yee’s online posted prices, but doordash will screw you if you don’t have a code. I didn’t price check the other delivery services.

Did not dine in here, but ordered dinner delivery using GrubHub. For a party of 4, we got:
1) Thai Spicy Basil Chow Fuun with Chicken
2) Beef Cubes in Tomato Sauce
3) Stir-​Fry Udon Noodle with Beef Brisket
Our order arrived earlier than we expected (less than an hour). We thought everything was very very yummy. No complaints. We particularly enjoyed the taste of the tomato sauce in the rice in the Beef Cubes in Tomato Sauce (we also did not see any tomato sauce in the dish). There is plenty of basil flavor in the Thai Spicy Basil Chow Fuun with Chicken for any basil lover to appreciate. The udon was thick and chewy with the tender beef brisket. The food did not taste too much like American-​Chinese food and we would definitely go back to order again. The portions of these 3 dishes were generous enough for 4 people that there were still leftovers.

I FINALLY got a chance to come in here, but sadly, my appetite was not big enough for a nice bowl of Phở as I have been dreaming about for months. After perusing the menu, I finally got a small bowl of chicken wonton soup, and it’s perfect. You know when you get chicken in a soup, and it’s usually hard, dried, pieces of cooked chicken? Well, lemme tell YOU, this chicken was perfect. And the pieces were NICE. The wontons were great — had some nice meatiness to the filling and the noodle was nice and slippery and thin. Since this place is 2 blocks from school, I will hit it again, but next time bring classmates in tow and eat a lot more.
It was Dec 29, so it was holiday family time. There were a lot of medium to large groups of families with very well behaved kids enjoying their lunches. I don’t think I have ever seen that many well behaved little kids, eating, and not squirming in their seats.

I love this place. I love their drinks with tapioca crystal, and I definitely love their red snapper dish. From their noodles, to their meat dishes, this is definitely my default place to eat. Especially because I can walk to this location. They get 5 stars from me because of their quick, friendly service, and quick with bringing out my dishes. Portion is quite bountiful. I have yet to finish a dish on my own. The food always tastes and looks great. They maintain the same menus in all their locations (or at least at the Chinatown location). Joy Yee definitely maintains a similar standard between locations. I have been to both Evanston and Chinatown location, and I have not been able to find any differences in their food.
And all their fruit drinks are made fresh which is amazing. I definitely get my daily dose of fruit here for sure…

What can I say that hasn’t already been said? This place is the best and my favorite bubble tea place. There is an incomprehensible amount of combinations you can make. Whenever I visit Chicago, I make sure I stop here several times during my trip. I wish they would open up some locations in New York, they would make a killing! It’s so hard to find places that use real fruit and not that disappointingly gross powdery flavor mix in NYC.
Joy Yee, you continue to be the gold standard that I compare all my bubble teas to!

I really enjoyed my orange chicken from this location. It was full of flavor and the broccoli were a nice addition. However, I was a little disappointed at a few inedible pieces. Also, the price was a little higher than other similar options in the area. Although these aren’t hugely negative reasons, with the caliber of competition in the area, it is enough to make me prioritize other locations like 527 Café first.
However, it is important to note that a meal at Joy Yee’s Noodle is going to be an overall positive adventure.

Very disappointed — I’ve been going to Joy Yee’s ever since the first tiny shop in Chinatown and this location may look fancy with a huge menu and modern décor, but lacks any of the things that make Joy Yee great.
In terms of décor, this does look similar to other Joy Yee locations with a clean, sleek appeal. However, the tables are crowded closely together, there is no easily accessible 2^nd exit without walking through the entire restaurant, a huge amount of space is wasted by the entrance, the bathroom is difficult to reach at the very back of the corner, and the seating is relatively uncomfortable.
In terms of service, I was both rushed at the very beginning of the meal (asked to order within a minute of receiving the menu) but then later received the second dish over ten minutes after the first (which created an awkward waiting time with my friend as we ended up completely finishing his dish before I even got mine).
The bubble tea did not impress. It does not have the same great flavor (and probably not the same amount of fruit) as the ones in the Chinatown location, despite being more expensive. I tried a mango watermelon with tapioca and strawberry kiwi with mini tapioca. Although the tapioca and mini-​tapioca were prepared well, both really lacked the pleasant fresh fruit flavor I’ve come to expect from Joy Yee.
I tried two food dishes here. The beef cubes were overcooked with excessively salty rice and could’ve contained more meat for its price. The chicken teriyaki and sea eel dish did not have the same great pan fry flavor that the Chinatown location is able to produce. and was 17.95 with much more rice than meat.
Overall, a very disappointing visit — I’d definitely spend the extra effort to visit the Chinatown location.

I love Joy Yee’s.
It’s Chinese food. Expect to taste… Chinese food. The menu is overwhelming in a good way, with all of the pictures. The service is very fast, which is great, since I’m here for work lunches a lot.
Those bubble teas… it would take years to try them all. I’ve heard the quality varies depending on which you get. I’ve had the jackfruit with the tapioca, though, and it was great. Glad to have this place in the neighborhood.

I went here after the Bottle and Bottega Unilocal event. We originally went for just bubble tea, since Joy Yee is know for their amazing beverages. But we decided to hang out a bit and order some food. I think they encourage you to eat quickly with how uncomfortable the metal chairs are. Next time I might just do carry out for this reason!
It took a little bit of time to get attention, so we seated ourselves. No one came up to us until I started waving. I ordered a bubble tea which was amazing as always.
For snacks, we ordered a dumpling appetizer (10 potstickers for about $ 5!). These were some amazing potstickers and I’m glad we tried them out. I was t super hungry, so I knew I wanted a soup. I asked for a recommendation and was told the beef and tofu soup was good, so that is what I got. There were a lot more ingredients in it than I expected. It also had mushrooms and cabbage which I am not a fan of (but that’s my own fault for not asking). I just picked most of it out. The soup itself was really good! I will be back to try some other food items!

Yes Joy Yee! Oh how I love thee. From your gigantic glass mugs of sweet and well cooked boba to your delectable diversity of Asian dishes served in all kinds of bamboo and other contraptions.
Reasonably priced food with huge portions. You don’t need to eat a second dinner, although i can’t say that I didn’t nonetheless.
I first tried the one in Chinatown and have enjoyed it ever since. This Evanston location is just as great.

The bubble tea is officially the bomb dot com here — seriously. I’m not allowing you to go here without ordering the bubble tea (unless you absolutely hate bubble tea, of course). They have the absolute biggest selection of bubble tea I’ve ever seen… there’s this phenomenon in Psychology called the choice paradox which states that with more choices available to you it becomes difficult to make a choice — I think it’s impossible not experience that here, but do try because the bubble tea is so good. On top of that, the bubble tea is huge… you definitely get what you are paying for. The same goes for the food — rest assured that when eating at Joy Yee’s Noodles you won’t leave being mad at your money.
Like others have stated, the menu is enormous! My eyes were bigger than my stomach when I ordered (partially because I hadn’t eaten all day) so of course I ordered more than I could eat. The portions are so large that it is advisable to split an entrée with another person. My fiancé and I ordered the teriyaki chicken and the shrimp Chow Fun which was more like a pad see eew. We split both entrees and ended up bringing a good portion of it home for leftovers… but this girl loves leftovers so I didn’t mind. Anyways, the teriyaki chicken was the best I’ve ever tasted and I would highly recommend this dish.
The only complaints (which may be a little picky) I have about this place are that the chairs are super uncomfortable, although very feng shui. The tables were a little tight so I probably overheard several people’s conversations and lastly, the waiters all gathered in the front of the restaurant and stared at everyone eating. Believe me, I completely understand that they have to to keep watch after their tables but I was slightly uncomfortable being stared at while I slurpped noodles into my mouth.
Despite that, I do recommend this place, especially if you’re looking for good food on a bargain budget.
P. s. it’s really bright and funky looking in there so it’s near impossible to get upset when lime green walls surround you. It is actually very cute in there.