At Lunch Now: Cheap Chinese Craving Takes Me to Yips
That’s a lot of brown
All that talk about Panda Express in the comments made me hungry for some bad steam table Chinese food, and for that there is really only one option… Yips (on 52nd btw. 5+6th.) Hing Won & Sun Yip are pay the pound, Ying Du is too authentic, and that place in the Rock Center concourse is so bad even I won’t go there. So Yips it was… the general tso’s chicken had just come out fresh, so how could I not? Fried rice and fried pork chops round out the lunch, and for $5.95 how could anybody possibly complain.
Ever since they went from 3 steam tables to 2, I assumed Yips was on its way to closing up shop after 30+ years (their sign says “Since 1974″ I think). But after today’s lunch, I think they may be better than ever. Perhaps getting rid of that 3rd steam table improved the overall freshness. It’s still crappy Chinese food (and enjoyment can fluctuate wildly depending on what you end up choosing)… but my general tso’s/pork chops/fried rice combo was the best Yips I’ve had in 3 years of Midtown Lunch’ing. Craving satisfied.
Posted by Zach Brooks at 1:50 pm, March 26th, 2009 under At Lunch Now, Chinese, Yips.
15 Comments | RSS comments feed for this post
15 Comments
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@RB — I thought that, but didn’t know how to put it since DocChuck is carefully ‘moderated’ on the New Yawk City blogs.
But, your comment was brilliant! ROFLMAO!
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Yips is good for what it is. I like it quite a bit actually. They’re one of the cleaner looking steam tables out there. Definitely leans on the side of American-Chinese food as opposed to Chinese food. But I love that stuff. Cheap too.
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Sun Yip is not all buffet/by the pound. The counter in the back has steam table, including general tso’s and daily specials and chinatown options as well.
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what about LunchBox? it’s steam tables, you get more for less!
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For me Yips is very hit or miss. The last time I went around 2:45pm and the garlic shrimp was so bad I vowed to never return (rice was god awful and 6 pieces of shrimp for $6!).
I’d rather call ahead and get the general tso’s (white meat) from China Gourmet on 8th ave: you get 50% more food and it is delicious!
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Wow, almost ran into you today Zach. I walked by Yips, almost went in, but instead went to the Halal cart (53rd & 6th)
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I have to defend Zach here on the love for the general Tso’s chicken or sesame/orange chicken. All so so good! damn I want some now!!
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You can not resist a Yips craving. It’s kind of odd because Yips cravings are rare, but they are the strongest kind.
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I think that Chinese food place in the Rockefeller Center Concourse might have closed. I agree, it was one of the absolute worst Chinese places I’ve ever been to. Every time I went there, I swore not to go back!
Also, I think the “Fast Food Chinese” on 47th Street off 5th might have also closed. -
And now Yip’s has closed, according to Eater. They have been a go-to quick lunch for my 7+ years in the adjoining building, and while they weren’t going to win awards, the food there was typically a solid bridge between American Chinese and Chinatown Chinese. I’ll miss it.
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In fairness, the last 15x I walked by it was kinda empty and it’s been dirtier and dirtier. I will miss how close it was for my “cheap Chinese” but I guess I can hoof it to… what’s that place that’s related to Hing Won, but on the East Side – like the 60s? Haha, that place. Kar Won!
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The scaffolding seems to have cut into the lunch crowds lately, and maybe they priced themselves too high. But it was reliable and while the place seemed dingy, the food remained the same quality. I can’t wait to see what could possibly occupy that tiny space.
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looked very tasty
Not compared to 3 hours from now.