I knew I was seeing my friend Parker last night for drinks, but unfortunately I didn’t do my due diligence and scout out a place beforehand. After wandering around Murray Hill for a bit, I remembered the new Chinese restaurant that I had passed a few times on the way to work. Yan Yan just opened and it was advertising some pretty good ‘grand opening’ specials, so I thought I’d try it out. The special that caught my eye was $8 for two beers and an appetizer. I’m not sure if the special ends at a certain time, but for your reference we got there around 7:30.
Maybe it’s because it’s new, but Yan Yan was empty. We were the only two diners until another couple joined us half way through our meal, so I wouldn’t say the place is exactly hopping. Decor was fine, pretty standard fare with empty walls, minus the large flat screen TVs which don’t really fit in.
A free pot of hot tea greeted us when we sat down – a nice surprise considering we trekked across Murray Hill in the cold to get there. We each went for the deal so we could try two different appetizers. I opted for two Coors Lights, while Parker had two Chinese beers, and we split the steamed pork dumplings (6) and the hot peanut noodles. Both were pretty good, but they weren’t outstanding. I’d venture to say that you could find just as good, if not better, dumplings at Trader Joe’s. The one thing that threw me a bit about the noodles was how wide they were. They’re usually like spaghetti, but ours were closer to fettuccini. Oh well, it doesn’t really matter. The peanut sauce was fine – I don’t remember anything in particular about it, so it couldn’t have been too good or too bad. I haven’t had Chinese food in almost a year, so it’s hard for me to compare the food to other places, but I definitely liked it well enough.
All in all, we got two decent appetizers and four beers for $17.55, including tax. Can’t complain about that. Due to the lack of business, it was certainly quiet enough for us to catch up, and the wait staff was good about not making us feel like we were on display because we were the only diners there. So if you’re looking for a low key place to catch up while staying on a budget, definitely hit up Yan Yan. Parker – please add your two cents.
The Basics Name: Yan Yan Location: 3rd Avenue between 26th and 27th Streets, East side of the street Who to take: Friends, Coworkers, a Date Price: $ Even a homeless guy could afford it. (not sure about the regular menu) Overall: Put it in the rotation. 4 Stars for value.
When we first walked in the hostess said, ‘sit wherever you want, everyone is family.’ I thought this was a strange thing to say outside of say, a soul food restaurant, until we sat down and realized that the three other people in the restaurant were, in fact, the hostess’s family. She sat down and ate with them later.