Evergreen on 38

— mediocre, nothing particularly memorable
— soup dumplings were on the small side, pork and pork/​crab dumplings were indistinguishable
— fast service
— scallion pancakes were also on the small side but less oily and thinner than those offered at Joe Shanghais
— more expensive than your regular chinese fare

Evergreen restaurant is right downstairs of my job which of course is very convenient. Any time it’s extra cold outside or raining, you can find me here for a pickup. Their service is very quick and the food never disappoints.

When you walked into a Chinese restaurant and it’s full of non-​Chinese customers with suite and tie, it says all.

Cheap and simple workday lunch spot in Midtown. I find this place to be a good option if someone wants a better quality Chinese meal compared to a quick take-​out place.
My friend and I came here to catch up so we shared the pork soup dumplings and I got the beef rice cake. Overall, it was a fine meal. The soup dumplings were well-​made that was unbroken filled with soup. The beef rice cake was plentiful and tasty from the sauce they used. They also offer lunch specials which include a lunch entrée and a side of soup. I would get here on the earlier side during lunch hours as this place does fill up fast.

Another great experience here. The last time I was here was back in August yet when Chris saw me he said «Hi Greg». Unbelievable. He remembered my name from back in August. The service here at the bar is absolutely amazing. This is a must for anyone looking for a great happy hour with even greater service. Truly a step above any other place.

The delivery is way too long!
I ordered lunch special on Seamless from them two days in a row. Their service is the worst I’ve seen.
Yesterday I ordered at 12:56pm, received the food at 1:45. That’s long wait I don’t usually experience. I did like the food, though it’d gone a bit cold by that time. I decided to give them another chance, plus there’s some rain shower today, I didn’t wanna go out. So I ordered again from them, at 11:56am.
Waited for ONE HOUR, no food! At 12:53pm, I called. A girl told me it’s raining so it’s delayed, and the delivery staff should arrive at any minute. Ok, so one hour waiting on a rainy day. 15 mins later, I was too hungry, ate some yogurt. Another 15 min later, the food was still not here. I couldn’t wait any longer. That’s ONE AND A HALF HOURS. Ridiculous! I called again just to cancel the order. The girl on the phone was like ‘Ok. Got it’, didn’t even apologize for keeping me waiting so long. It’s not like I’ve never ordered during a raining day, but 1.5 hrs just made a new record of my whole food order history. Imagine it!
Then on my way to a nearby café to buy food (which I should have done in the first place), I ran into the delivery staff. Told him I canceled this order because I’d been waiting for too long. He explained this place was too far from their restaurant… I don’t know how restaurants would run business in new york city, but this is not how I would imagine. They are at 38^th btw 5^th and Madison; I’m at 33^rd and 1^st. Too far? Don’t make it in your delivery range. If you do, let people receive their food within a reasonable amount of time!
Anyway, I don’t think I will ever order from this place again.

Came here on a Friday night with a friend — we were going to a Karaōke bar in the area and wanted to grab dinner before. Thank you Unilocal for bringing us to soup dumpling heaven. Everything we got was great and fairly priced. It’s surprisingly really large inside. Definitely also recommend getting the tea!

Came here with a few coworkers during our lunch break. We did carry out yet when I got there, I ordered my food, and it took less than ten minutes for it to be ready.
They have a great lunch special which I believe is about $ 8. I ordered the sesame chicken with white rice and chose a soup over a soda. I ordered the wonton soup which was good for what it is. The amount of food you get for the price you can’t beat. I will definitely be coming here from now on for Chinese food.

Stewed beef with spinach for lunch special. Surprisingly it had the home-​made style. Responsive service. The steamed bun looks great too. I should try next time.
Update: Tried steamed bun. Well, it is Okay. I had better ones in other places in NYC :(.

I found this place astoundingly average. There was nothing particularly wrong with the restaurant but on the other hand nothing spectacular that impressed me either. Here are the highlights from my experience.
*Impressively large menu of dinner options
*Large resto with space for groups which means a minimal to no wait time
*Supremely fast service — they have you in and out in less than 30 minutes if that is what you want
Props to the waiter for unsurreptitiously recommending me a dish on the menu. It had just a hint of spiciness without it being overkill.
The only reason I wouldn’t give the resto 4 Stars is because there is such a wealth of great and authentic Chinese food in Chinatown. This doesn’t compare to those spots. But if you’re in the area and in desperate need for a bite, stop by in here for an exceedingly commonplace experience (which is much much better than a terrible experience).

Ok. So I get it. You see a bad review and it’s usually just that this particular person had ONE bad time at the restaurant and got all pissy and blew it out of proportion… etc.
Dispense all notion of this from your head. I’ve been here several times because it’s close to my office and I work with some Asian co-​workers who like to grab a quick meal at a restaurant that isn’t too crowded (hint its for a reason usually). What I’ve noticed (again not isolated incidents, but patterns)
The wait staff could best be described as «prison guard friendly». They are there to take your damn order and throw plates in front of your face and if you try to slow that down, well go sit in traffic, it’s more enjoyable. I don’t even try inquiring on more sauce/napkins…etc…you know like normal things to ask for at a restaurant. I’m too frightened I’ll be shuffled out the front door by my collar and the seat of my pants.
I don’t need George clooney charisma or friendliness when I get my order taken by any means. But bare minimum please. Thank you.
The best thing about this place are the prices. Everything is pretty cheap for mid-​town Manhattan and the food is actually decent as well. Not awarding winning, but good enough and it seems fresh. I usually get dumplings, sesame chicken, Singapore noodles and once the Peking duck. It’s all been good, but it doesn’t make up for Stalin serving me my food.

Another winning meal at Evergreen. One of our favorite Chinese restaurants in the city. The food is very fresh tasting and perfectly seasoned. We’ll be back… Must get the soup dumplings!
W

A favorite pre-​theatre spot for my family and me. The service is so lovely and quick. They always remember us when we come in. Always nice.
The little palette cleansing free apps they give you are so nice and fresh tasting. A great pre-​cursor.
All of the dishes I’ve had here have been above average. The soup dumplings are great and the desserts will knock you out too.

I have been craving Shanghainese Rice Cake dish for a while now, and finally got to satisfy my craving at Evergreen on 38^th. The restaurant is located in Midtown — a convenient walking distance from my office — and I ordered the food for pick up and ate at Bryant Park.
I had the Chicken Rice Cake ($ 7.95) sautéed with cabbage, while my friend ordered the Lunch Fried Rice with Wonton Soup. The Rice Cake dish falls under the «Noodles, Rice, and Rice Cake» menu. You can basically order any fried/​sautéed dish with chicken, beef, pork, vegetables, or shrimp and different carb (lo mein, Shanghai noodles, rice noodles, rice cake) to go with the protein.
The Rice Cake was so chewy without being mushy from being overcooked. I also specified no msg and less oil, and the dish certainly wasn’t as greasy as some other fried noodle meals from a Chinese restaurant. I was happy that they put big pieces of white meat chicken rather than thinly cut slices of chicken. The sauce was also seasoned well without tasting too salty. I wished they had put more veggies though.
My friend also enjoyed the fried rice, but similar to the rice cake, there wasn’t enough vegetables. I had the Wonton Soup, and there were two pieces of wonton whose skins were a bit too thick.
Evergreen obviously can’t top other Chinese restaurants in Chinatown, but it is a pretty good spot for quick Chinese food when you are in midtown!

SMFH… why oh why Evergreen you have gone from really yummy to serving your customers very oily food. I stopped by today and ordered a take-​out of my usual Beef and Broccoli with a soda. I hurried back to my office which is 7 blocks so I can fulfill my tummy.
I took off the plastic cover and was completely disappointed that the chef dumped the beef and broccoli into a pool of fucking dark sauce and lots oil. Seriously I forced myself to swallow my lunch because I am not paying another $ 7 something.
I am totally never ever coming back here!

It was just your average Chinese place nothing special… nothing bad but nothing really great. Mainly we are here because it was quiet…
The service is kinda bad… the server spilled water, soy sauce all over the table and didn’t really bother to try to clean it up. The hostess is really eager to seat you… maybe because the place is a touch empty… ok really empty.
The portions are small-​and overpriced for what it is-you’re better off ordering from your favourite hole in the wall carry out place.
I’m not going to seek this place out to dine at again

6 of us on a Friday night, with no reservation.
They were able to seat us. The restaurant was not too full.
The service was generally good. It is one of those places where you are half ordering your food and half being told what you should and should not do. The food is delicious, an empty plate sets on your table for no more than a minute before it is whisked away, and some of the waiters have a good personality (and despite you having one dedicated waiter you do interact with most of the wait staff.
The drunken duck is good, but a little weird if you don’t want to try a different type of appetizer and diet cokes are by the bottle (FYI). Definitely worth trying if you’re in the area.

We ordered for lunch. They missed an order but brought it quick enough. This place was super fast.
I got eggplant with garlic sauce. It was suppose to be spicy, but tastes more like a teriyaki. Decent. But not as expected.
They only have white rice which I usually don’t like, but theirs was pretty good.
Everyone else really liked their food.

The man friend and I were strolling around midtown looking for dinner with 2 requirements: A place with a TV so he would watch Monday Night Football but nice enough that I wouldn’t feel overdressed in my work clothes. A strange request but Evergreen unexpectedly fit the bill. The Maitre d’ kindly sat us just past the archway so we could see the TV at the bar. The dining room is formal but we found the service warm and friendly, attentive without being overbearing. The menu is pretty big but eventually we settled on the «choose your own» veggie plates. The waiter was honest with us that there were a lot of complaints that adding the jumbo shrimp was like 4 shrimp for $ 7 so we went for chicken instead. Bonus points to him for honesty and helping us make informed decisions.
I wasn’t thrilled with the ginger scallion sauce (too bitter for my personal palate) but loved the man’s spicy garlic. The shrimp dumplings were delish. Our meal started and ended with complimentary plates of picked veg and fruit, respectively. It’s pricey, especially compared to Chinatown, but the food was fresh and abundant and the service and décor were pleasant. I wouldn’t mind going back.

Not that great and over priced for Chinese food. I only come here because there aren’t many choices in midtown for Chinese food. I usually order the lunch specials and they’re ok. I dined in for lunch today and was super disappointed and underwhelmed. We ordered scallion pancakes and peanut sauce noodles as appetizers. The noodles were so soggy that I didn’t even want to eat it. The oyster king mushroom and baby bok choy dish was totally over priced! It was basically boiled in water and drizzled with oyster sauce on top! Come on, my baby cousin could’ve done a better job cooking vegetables. At least give a few more pieces of the mushroom. After tax and tips, that dish alone was about $ 30. Then came the fish fillet. It was over $ 20 for six pieces and it tasted frozen! Yuck! The sauce on the 3 sauce chicken was actually tasty. It was well balanced but the meat was way over cooked and my coworker won’t stop complaining about the bones! Lol.
Even though the food was bad, service was great. They’re fully staffed and very attentive. The place is clean. They also gave us a fruit platter at the end.
Overall, I would only come back for their lunch special. Nothing more.