Update 03/27/09: My husband and I ate at Yen’s last night. In fact it is one of the places that we continue to return to. Eating at Yen’s is such an enjoyable meal for both of us. The people that work there are so nice. We particularly like the lady who makes the teas. She is always so welcoming. (I know you’ll read this eventually – so Hello!)
The food at Yen’s remains top notch. We particularly like the Taiwanese Pot stickers. You cannot get a better pot sticker in my opinion. Yen’s has a way of just barely burning the bottom of the stickers. Yum – they are just so good.
Another favorite of ours is the Corn & Ham Egg Drop Soup. For just over $2.00 you cannot get a bigger better bowl of soup. I’ve been a bit under the weather this week – and in my my opinion there is no healing like a big bowl of soup. I enjoyed it tremendously last night.
Our favorite entree here tends to be the General Tso’s Chicken but everything is generally good. The menu is a bit hard to understand but the staff is always eager to help. They want you to enjoy your meal – and it shows.
I’d say that the only minor thing that has gone down in quality since we started going there are the plate garnishes. Initially they were really unique and spectacular. Now they are just okay.
Considering they are just a small restaurant – I think it is pretty amazing that they have been able to keep up the quality of everything else. The food is still top notch. The place is till very clean and nicely decorated. And I still have a guilty pleasure in their Jasmine tea. And of course my husband still loves their smoothies – a strawberry and orange juice smoothie warms his soul. 
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Yen’s Cafe
43490 Yukon Dr,
Ashburn, VA #113
703-723-8811
Web Site: Yen’s Cafe
Location: Shoppes at Ryan Park – In the same shopping center as the new Red Robin. Behind the Panera Bread.
I am thrilled to tell you about this new jewel – they opened just a week ago. My husband and I just got back from eating at Yen’s Cafe.
The name of this place doesn’t do it justice. While it sounds like a deli or a cafe, it is really quite an elegant Chinese restaurant with a twist. The twist is that they also offer herbal teas, juice and smoothies.
While this place is a tad small (I would say less then 10 tables.. maybe 7), it is decorated just lovely, including a beautiful bar (no alcohol yet) and a crystal chandelier that is hung right by the door.
Our waitress and the woman who made the tea were both top notch. Very friendly and they offered great suggestions on what to eat and drink.
I ordered a beef satay (although I cannot find it on the take out menu.. so it may have been called something else) and my husband ordered the bourbon chicken. Both entrees were flavorful yet light. And their plates were uniquely decorated with turnips, radishes, lemons and cucumbers decoratively carved – nicer then I have ever seen. The white rice served with the meals was also good – extra warm and sticky.
In addition to our entrees, we also ordered the pot stickers. They were tasty as well.
For drinks, we both had water. I had the jasmine hot tea – extra yum – good quality tea leaves. My husband wanted to have coffee but the tea lady suggested that it was too late for coffee and he should have something else for dinner tonight and to instead come back again at lunch time to have the coffee. Not wanting to buck the system and not liking tea, on our tea lady’s recommendation, my husband had a strawberry smoothie and asked for it without yogurt (as you recall if you have been reading this, he is rather allergic to yogurt). He throughly enjoyed his drink and said that he will get it every time.
Our waitress ALSO brought over free samples of hot tea and smoothies during our meal. I enjoyed both. The smoothie I drank did have yogurt in it – it was great. Very sweet and yet tart at the same time. The tea that was brought over was I believe a lotus flower tea. It tasted a lot like peach. Very smooth.
We had a good time at Yen’s. I hope that they are able to keep up its quality. You could really see the care that they put into picking out the drinks, food, wait staff and decor. We shall return.
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On a side note… I struggle with spelling the word entree. It is always used on menus but spell check never thinks it is right. I found this definition on wikipedia… so I know I have it with the two ee’s:
An entrée (French, literally meaning entry or entrance) is a smaller course that precedes the main course, except in North America, where it is the main course. (Source: wikipedia.org)
First Published on: Apr 15, 2008
