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have you ever loved a restaurant? i mean really loved a restaurant?
the food is excellent all of the time and it’s never too crowded to get a table. you feel right at home there, you know the staff and the menu is great but most of the time you just have the chef make you whatever he’s feeling that day. a restaurant like this comes along once in a lifetime and when it’s closed and torn down, it leaves a serious hole in your heart. and stomach.
the restaurant i’m talking about is chinese village, formerly located on high street near lane avenue. when they closed around 2002 they promised they would reopen, but years went by and… nothing. until recently i got a tip that they indeed had reopened last year under the name yuen’s restaurant.
this weekend we visited yuen’s and were not disappointed in the least. the menu and staff are the same and the new location is attractive and comfortable. the menu is expansive and we ordered our favorites from the vietnamese and chinese menu.
we started with the beef tendon. i didn’t really know what to expect and it was a nice surprise. it was pleasantly spicy and the texture was unique, as firm as meat but gelatinous like fat – in a good way.
we also had the vietnamese spring rolls, which in addition to being delicious were very beautiful. they were cool and fresh with veggies, rice noodles and two plump little shrimp in each one. they were served with a brown sauce (hoisen?) for dipping with crushed peanuts.
the rice noodle soup with seafood was exactly as we remembered it. the squid, fish cakes, shrimp and crab are fresh and delicious in the best seafood broth i’ve ever tasted. the scallion and cilantro add just the right crunch of freshness.
i had the egg roll with rice noodles and grilled pork. i love this dish because even though it had lots going on, everything worked really well together. the sauce served on the side was sweet but really thin. i do wish that after pouring it over i’d been able to taste it throughout the whole bowl. the egg rolls were warm and made with pork and served over rice noodles, over lettuce. the grilled pork was flavorful and savory.
the kind folks at yuen’s are not messing around. the food is fresh and authentic and never disappoints. check them out for the best chinese and vietnamese food columbus has to offer.
5720 cleveland avenue
columbus, ohio 43231
614.823.8880
Terrific! Thanks for the info. I’ve been missing Chinese Village’s szechuan chicken; now I know where to find it again…
Thanks for the review – Ate there last night and was not disappointed!
That pork and egg roll thing looks fantastic. I want that for lunch!!
That seafood soup looks exactly like the one I miss so much from Dong Nai in Kingston! I need to get out there and try it.
Thanks for posting…I never would have heard of this place otherwise, as I moved to Columbus after their campus location closed.
for the review. We need more good Vietnamese food here in Columbus. At the moment, the stand at North Market is my favorite. A really good bowl of pho for $5. Can’t beat that.
Yuen’s DOES rule. I have eaten there several times. Chicken with black bean sauce is excellent.
That place looks incredible. If I ever feel like riding out that far east on my bike, it’ll be to go to Yuans.
I agree, this place is very good. My only problem is that it is in the same plaza as Nazareth and Mi Mi !!
That’s too funny… see, last night I went up there for Mi Mi’s Banh Mi, but got there too late. Considered Nazareth, then figured out where Yuen’s was and decided to try it.
Had the eggroll with rice noodles and pork (bun cha gio), it was pretty good. They don’t skimp on the fish sauce, and to me that’s a good thing. The only oddity was that at the bottom of the bowl, besides the usual veggies, there was… iceberg lettuce? Didn’t really affect the flavor much, just seemed like an unusual choice.
Gotta say, I still think the best Vietnamese in town is at China Jade (strip mall location near Busch blvd & 161.)