Evergreen Shanghai Restaurant

We ordered lunch at this restaurant all the times and they always messed up the order.

Ordered the Shrimp in black bean sauce was very greasy. Also ordered Kong Pow Chicken also very greasy. The scallion pancake was to doughy. Won’t be ordering from them again. There sister restaurant on seventy and first is much much better.

I REALLY wish that I could give this place a higher rating. I was craving something dim sum like so I hit this place. Nice people, good location. The food is just meh. The dough on the dumplings is thick and tough, the shu mai are almost all meat with little flavor and the spring rolls are just ok — a little on the greasy side. I grew up in San Francisco, used to work a few blocks from Chinatown and had a ton of Chinese and Taiwanese friends that would take me to the best holes in the wall. This place sadly isnt. Move on and find a better place.

My fiancé and I were in the area during dinner time so he suggested Evergreen. Soup dumplings in midtown? My Spidey senses screamed to me not to do it — this just couldn’t be good. I hesitantly pointed out that if he wanted Shanghainese there were plenty of amazing options in Chinatown and Flushing. He insisted I was being too quick with my baseless judgements and that food was good when he came with a buddy for lunch. (Apparently the lunch special is a good deal if you work in the area.) After some further arm twisting I figured his soup dumpling craving must have been strong and conceded. (Note: this is how subpar meals begin.) We entered.
Soup dumplings — Arrived at the table small, warm (not hot), and lackluster with the tips of the dumplings slightly dried as if they had been sitting out for a bit. This came closer to frozen soup dumplings you buy at the grocery store and steam yourself than the freshly wrapped and steamed ones found in Chinatown or Flushing.
Shredded turnip shortcake appetizer — do this. This was the best thing out of the entire meal. I no longer remember exactly what was inside but basically good things wrapped inside a flaky turnip pastry shell. Comes with 2.
Crispy shredded beef sautéed in chili sauce — this was okay. No complaints but nothing amazing. It wasn’t very spicy at all if that is your concern.
Shanghai style pan fried noodles — super salty. Didn’t really have any delicious flavors… just soy sauce — a lot of soy sauce.
I knew this was a bad idea.

After 90 minutes waiting for a delivery, we called the restaurant and they said they had no control over when our food gets here. Pretty incredible!

This is an excellent Chinese option in midtown east, and at very affordable prices. Nothing fancy, but they know their food, with plenty of tasty options. At lunch specials below seven dollars (including soup, main dish with rice and, depending on the day a few slices of orange), who can complain? If you want to splurge and order off their regular menu, the soup dumplings are quite excellent as are the noodle dishes.

My guests and I enjoyed dining at Evergreen immensely. I was entertaining guests from Manhattan and Europe. Everybody loved the food!
I lived in NYC for 20 years and frequented the best of the best restaurants in China Town and Mid-​town. The legendary «Canton Village» near Broadway was my favorite back in the 1970’s and 80’s.
Our dinners here at Evergreen were indeed authentic and delicious. Very large portions and very reasonable prices. The lady who served us was so sweet and most attentive.
On the way back to the Restroom, I peaked into the kitchen. It was busy, but it looked really clean and organized.
The restrooms however look so sad, desperately in need of a remodel. Upon closer inspection though the restrooms were actually clean and most importantly had soap, hot water, and paper towels.
Evergreen is Not a fancy restaurant with lots of decorations and frills. It is very basic, casual, and comfortable. The great food is what makes it special. (Perhaps that is why I saw a China Group Tour bus unloading out front as we were leaving.)
If you are looking for an authentic «Old School Chinese Restaurant» with white table cloths, attentive servers, great food, and very reasonable prices… I think you will like Evergreen.
I enjoyed my dinner and will be coming back for more !

Oh geez.
Reading the reviews here thinking that either I have really really bad taste, or am swayed by the handsomeness of the delivery guy (which would, at most, add on one star), or just tip very well. Which is not a bad thing, people. Tip well.
Sure, I live in the same building, so delivery is always fast. So I’m not even taking that into consideration. Also not taken into consideration — for the same reason — is that the food’s always at the perfect temperature, and the sogginess just never happens.
I sincerely enjoy the food. I
’ve no idea if they use MSG, nor do I have any concern they do.
It’s all very simple to me: if I wanted «healthy» (which I don’t), I’d not order Chinese. Some people just want to sit on two chairs with one butt. Newsflash: turkey bacon is not bacon. Deal with it. Same rule applies to Chinese.
For those of you not trying to drag everyone, kicking and screaming, into healthy blah food: this is GOOD greasy yummy Chinese.
It warrants the 5 stars for exactly what it aspires to be.
I would likely take off a star for «not spicy enough when asking for ‘extra spicy’», but in all honesty, I’m not a normal «spicy» person. This, not working out, is MY burn.
I’ve not tried any of the chicken, nor am I likely to. I’ve tried most of the pork (all of the spicy), and I am happy. I have tricks to up the spicy.
I love their stuff for what it is. If I wanted something else, I’d go elsewhere.
Also: hot tall Chinese delivery guy.
Have I mentioned the delivery guy?

I ordered delivery from
. I tipped 15% because I think that’s pretty reasonable and it’s the amount that is automatically selected when you go to checkout. When the delivery guy got to my office he was harassing me about getting a higher tip. It’s a professional office so it was pretty ridiculous. I said that I didn’t have any cash on me so he put my food bag on the floor and walked away cursing. The food wasn’t great and the experience was terrible so I would never order from there again.

I used to go there sometimes with my coworkers because they have reasonable lunch special. i enjoyed sharing soup dumplings, too. However, as the number of Chinese tourists increase, Chinese tourists group started to occupy this restaurant in lunch time. So this restaurant was almost inapproachable.
I realized I don’t see Chinese tourist group is not coming recently. I think it is off season of sightseeing. I went there recently. I ordered Shanghai Style Noodle. It was comforting in this cold winter. Soup was good and I liked they added green vegetables.

To start off, I am a native Chinese person who will hold every Chinese restaurant I ever dine in to a higher standard. That being said, Evergreen is a great local restaurant that serves good dishes.
As a management consultant, I routinely order delivery, and Evergreen is set as my default for ordering dinner every weekday (and some weekends, though it is closed on Sunday). I routinely order the various house prawns and duck options, as well as chicken and pork dishes (not as much of a fan of their beef dishes). Their xiaolongbao is also great as well (in English, steamed pork buns, a classic Shanghai dish).
My main complaint of Evergreen is that they use too much oil in all of their dishes, which is a flaw common to most Chinese restaurants in America (whether it’s in San Francisco or NY). I’ve repeatedly asked them to use less oil in my near daily orders from them, but they seem to fail to understand (even when I ask them in English).
Evergreen strives to be authentic and despite its few shortcomings in it’s overzealous use of oil and slightly toned-​down offerings for an American audience, I am a regular with Evergreen (if you saw my delivery order history you’d see this). Though nothing exceptional, it is a great place to grab lunch or dinner and a «safe option» as well for out of town guests or whenever you fee like you want some Chinese food around Midtown East.

Not a lot of places sell rice cakes and this place does.
Tried it, liked it, will order again. The soup dumpling isn’t bad either. I think for New York these soup dumplings beats some other shanghai places around. Just make sure they get you fresh ones or else they are going to be a bit tough.

I came here because soup dumplings are my Achilles heel and they feature a drawing of steamed dumplings as part of their logo. Must be their specialty, I thought! I’m normally a vegetarian, but it’s impossible to find vegetarian soup dumplings. I waited a good 5 minutes before I was seated. At 6 pm, they were slammed with large parties throughout the restaurant. Everyone was Chinese – a good sign, I thought. You could see a tour bus parked in front. This was obviously a stop on some tour of Midtown East organized for tourists from China. It really did seem out of place in this neighborhood, more like a restaurant you’d find in Chinatown. Very different from the more westernized Mee Noodle across the street (that don’t have soup dumplings). Long story short, the dumplings came and they were disgusting. Be warned! The tops were extremely hard and rubbery. You bite into them and this extremely salty burst of lard hits you. No crab flavor at all. I could not eat them. So disappointed. The cold sesame noodles were good, however, very soft, freshly pulled noodles and a steal at $ 3.95. The Moo Shu veg was nothing to write home about but I was glad that it wasn’t overly greasy. The egg in it, however, was grey and had the appearance of looking like soft tripe. Weird. Perhaps because their oil is old? The probability of me coming back here is nil. I would rather go across the street.

Had the Shredded Pork & Preserved Mustard Noodle Soup. The Noodle was half cooked. There was little to none soup. The pork had no taste. BLahhhh.

I’m 2^nd gen Chinese American with pretty adverturous tastes. This place is legit. Pan fried dumplings, soup dumplings, Peking duck, lion’s head meatballs, a big menu I can only describe as «hella authentic». All on a lazy suzan, the way chinese food should be served.
I’m kind of baffled by all the low ratings. Well, I guess I could understand if you’re ordering American Chinese takeout, or if you mind the bizareness of having a busload of Chinese tourists flood into the restaurant all at the same time, or if you’re not used to brusque service. This place is not for you. This is pretty much Chinese food for Chinese people, and if you’re looking for that, you’ve find a nice midtown standby.
so I guess a big THANK YOU to that rando Chinese tour company for keeping this awesome place in business.

I’m Chinese — more specifically, an ABC. When my parents were around, I knew the places we went to eat would serve authentic Chinese food (they had the Cantonese flowing with the menus written in Chinese). However, now that I’m on my own, I like to see who the patrons are when I try a new Chinese restaurant (well, new to me). And I gotta say, this is authentic with a capital C. No fail — when you go there, there are a million Chinese people crammed into this pretty big space (okay, not a million, but A LOT). As one of the reviewers below mentioned, this seems to be a standard stop for tourists from China. It can get pretty claustrophobic and noisy. Also, be prepared to get jostled and elbowed (sometimes gently, sometimes not — but never intentionally… I think). Best to come a little before noon — once it hits 12:30 /​1 p.m., the place gets packed. If you sit down and eat, don’t dillydally — you’ll have customers standing over you like hawks waiting for you to be done. (Not trying to sound negative, but just want to put it out there — I come here for the food, not the ambiance).
I love their Bean Curd Soup w. Spinach — (#304), and was delighted with their Steamed Shanghai Style Sticky Rice — (#126). Whenever I look around the room as I wait for my take-​out order (which I prefer and recommend), I see my childhood — home-​cooked meals served family style. The food is not always perfect (last time the soup was seasoned just right, this time it was a little saltier), but hey — it doesn’t have to be. It’s a good meal at a good price cooked the «real» way, you know what I’m saying? Mom didn’t always make it perfect either.

I’m very picky about Chinese food. Once I find a place that has a dish I like, I stick with the place and the dish and rarely (if ever) order anything else from anywhere else.
Right now (and for the last several years), my place has been Our Evergreen and my dish has been the Chicken with Garlic Sauce (extra spicy, no water chestnuts). The chicken is cooked perfectly, the vegetables (usually peppers, celery, and 2 types of mushroom) retain their crunch and flavor, and the sauce is damn tasty.
The rice (either brown or white) is always cooked perfectly as only a Chinese place can.
Sometimes I’ll compliment my meal with a spring roll or scallion pancake. The spring roll is crisp, but often a tad greasy. For me it’s usually that satisfying greasy that puts a smile on your face, but that’s a personal preference. The scallion pancake is good, but not the best I’ve ever had.
I have never eaten at the restaurant, but the delivery is almost always damn quick. 10 minutes would be considered a slow day. though I am only 2 blocks away.
I’m not going to tell you that this is the best Chinese you’ll ever have, but it’s the best for me right now and I don’t see that changing anytime soon.

I really should have Unilocaled before coming here, could have saved myself a negative food experience. I ordered takeout around noon.
The fried rice is terrible, it took soy sauce and sauce from what I assume to be the sesame chicken (which I was only able to force down a few chunks of) to make it palatable.
The lady was nice, and the food was fast and cheap (lunch special) so I’ll grudgingly give two stars, but good lord. There are literally dozens of other options within a one block radius, try something else.

I give it a go because I work in the area and sometime still come here. I like the Chicken with Broccoli when I get it with extra sauce Lunch Special status. It is weird the place is usually filled with chinese tour bus people, the other person got that right. I also was impressed by the Fish Filet with Hearts of Pak Choy. That tasted really good. I give it three stars because sometimes the fried rice is really nasty. You can tell it was not freshly made, it was probably just sitting out there. I guess it depends on what day you order it If it is a saturday or day like today filled with snow day and not to many customers. Some other dishes i feel they do not know how to make well. I guess that is the same with most chinese places, certain things definitely taste different at other places.
I only order the lunch special here, it is all the way till 4PM and comes with soup or soda and Fried Rice with Egg in it.

My sister and I live in the same neighborhood, and we’ve been joking for years about Our Evergreen Shanghai, that it must be a front for some Chinese Triad operation. It’s been there for years, virtually always empty save the occasional shadowy group seated in a table at the very rear of the restaurant that, furthermore, never seems to be eating anything.
What I’m saying is, this joint is shady in a way that Midtown East usually doesn’t engender. Poorly lit (just as well, with décor that uncannily recalls a highway rest stop’s public bathroom), outfitted with frankly decaying lazy Susans, and, again, deserted. The place should’ve been in «I Am Legend» somewhere.
Despite all this, or maybe because of this, we finally decided to try it for takeout. And, well, it was kind of okay! I mean, a glance at my Unilocal reviews quickly reveals I’m willing to go to extraordinary lengths for authentic Chinese — from Flushing to Sunset Park to the intidimating Fujian warrens of east Chinatown — but there is something about eating takeout Chinese in your own apartment that is unduplicatable in any other context. Our Evergreen Shanghai may lack, say, the antic energy of nearby Hop Won’s steam tables, or the sheer bizarrity of the Chinese/​Mexican counters that dot 2^nd Avenue. But its wide-​ranging menu actually has some intriguing entries.
One of these was the «Duet Prawns» off their specials section. It turned out to be fried shrimp prepped two ways: one with Grand Marnier sauce and one with peppers. The sweet mayonnaise-​y Grand Marnier sauce was as painfully addictive as it usually is in this prep, glopped on top of generously sized shrimp. The pepper shrimp, on the other hand, was very underwhleming. I was irked for a while that half the portion was that way and not Grand Marniered until I realized that I could just rub those shrimp in the death-​hastening mayo anyway. Mmmm. Chylomicrons.
Meanwhile, the less expensive lunch specials, hovering just above $ 6, gave pretty good portions for Midtown. A sliced beef with vegetables was kind of bland, but the chicken with garlic was weirdly tasty, in that Chinese takeout kind of way. Included soups were inoffensive — sure, the wonton soup contained one measly wonton, but the egg drop soup had just the right touch of viscosity.
Anyway. I can’t believe I’ve written a review this long about this place. I also can’t believe I actually sort of want to try their soup dumplings.
Probability of return within 1 year: 40%