Yen King

Great food! Nice atmosphere! Friendly people.

Delicious food, great service, very friendly.

Annual Christmas pilgrimage to Nowhereville, Log #3:

So the backstory. My girlfriend grew up in the middle of nowhere about 20-ish minutes from South Williamsport. Yen King has been around for decades and all the locals have stories of going to hit all the time for decades. I'm fairly certain it is the only Chinese restaurant in South Williamsport. Williamsport proper, just north of South Williamsport, has a few others.

The story of Yen King is the original owner was a chef at the UN. He came here for some Little League stuff, fell in love with the area, and opened the restaurant. I have no idea how this really impacts the restaurant, because looking over the menu, it is very much your standard Americanized take on Chinese food.

I believe the current ownership is on its second generation. Other reviews suggest the original owners daughter is currently involved. When I dined there, a younger woman served us and two older workers were in the kitchen.

I'll be honest in that a couple years ago, we actually did take out on Christmas Eve and I was not overtly impressed. But I also recognize that a 20+ minute drive in the cold winter probably isn't the best way to enjoy a dish.

So with some hesitation, and after a nearly 9 hour journey, we arrived and we were the only ones in the restaurant.

Starving, we skipped appetizers and went to the main course. I ordered the San Shen Gwo Ba (basically a variety of meats with some sauce on a steamed plate) and General Tsos.

I have to say I was impressed with the quality of the vegetables. You could tell the carrots were cut by hand and weren't just thrown in frozen from a bag. The meat was good. The sauce was tasty. The food didn't come out right away.

The chicken on the General Tso's was breaded perfectly. While the traditional Taiwanese serving calls for the General to be served by itself, many restaurants ruin this by throwing all sorts of nonsense onto the plate. Yen King does itself a favor by only adding broccoli.

Tea was good, water kept getting refilled, and I got a lot food for a good price.

When the staff bought out their big bowl of...something, we knew that was the indication it was time to leave. It honestly looked pretty good and I wish I asked them what they were eating.

Are you going to be blown away and find a little piece of China here in the Middle of Nowhere? No, but you will find a high quality Chinese restaurant that caters to American tastes but still strives to serve some quality dishes.

Word of warning: While I didn't get a chance to snap a picture, they are only open for dinner.

I've been going there for Chinese food since I was 16. Thirty six years later it's as good as it was then. Best place in our area for Chinese food, bar none.

Extremely good and fresh Chinese cuisine in Lycoming County! It's been honestly 18-20 years since we've been to Yen King. As good or better than the old days. Important to note: not much to look at and very outdated BUT the food is good.