Yen Yen

I was recently invited by the manager and the owner of a quaint restaurant near Santolan. Since the manager was really nice in asking and the place was near, I quickly agreed to visit. The only background I had was that it was a Taiwanese restaurant which just opened a couple of months ago. I’m happy to report to everyone that I found another rare gem of a restaurant that you can visit in San Juan City. Yen Yen might be a small joint now but it has the potential to really grow because of their phenomenal food at very (and I mean VERY) affordable prices.

QUICKIE FACT SHEET
Name: Yen Yen
Location: Along Ortigas Extension a few buildings after Santolan stoplight
Type: Taiwanese
Price Range: P60 – P150 per head

Full review after the break!

Yen Yen offers several rice plates at very good prices. If I remember correctly most, if not all, are below P150. Each plate has rice, a viand, and stir fried vegetables. I had the Pork Chop and I was initially expecting not to get “busog” since it was just one piece but the serving was big and there were a lot of vegetables on the side. They also had fish and chicken variations which all taste equally good.

I can’t remember if this was called Chahan or Chai Noodles. If ever the Yen Yen peeps drop by and visit this blog, please correct me via the comments section, haha! Anyway, this dish totally caught be by surprise. It’s basically flat noodles with sauce, tofu, and vegetables. I initially didn’t want to eat this because I’m not they “healthy food” eater type but man I was blown away. The tofu tasted heavenly! I highly recommend this to anyone and everyone who lives near Yen Yen. You know the best part? This costs less than P70. Boom. Win. Epic win. Oh they have a rice version too (instead of the noodles)!

Here’s another personal shocker. I’m not a fan of green tea. I actually winced a bit when they served me this one, haha! However I was again proven wrong. Their iced tea is one of the best that I’ve ever tasted. I wouldn’t mind going here to buy 1 liter variants and bring it home if ever they do decide to make ‘em.

Yen Yen has great food and service at unbelievable prices. My only problem is that the actual restaurant is a bit cramped and that there’s no available parking (if ever there is it will be hard) during daytime. The owner explained that they usually get filled up at night and parking won’t be a problem then because customers can park at parking areas of the closed businesses beside their restaurant. If they fix the place up and get regular parking, this place will really be raking in big bucks.

SUMMARY

Rating Card
1 – Waste of money
2 – Satisfactory – just okay. Nothing special
3 – Wow, something to remember.
4 – OMGWTFBBQ I WANT MOREZZ PLZZ

FOOD QUALITY: 3
DISH PRICES VS QUALITY: 4
CUSTOMER SERVICE: 4
RESTAURANT CLEANLINESS: 3
RESTAURANT OVER-ALL RATING: 3.5

Highly recommended. Check this place out. Try to go at night when there’s parking. Oh, they also deliver. I’ll try to get the number from the manager and post it here.