Ying Du

I come here by 9 am looking forward to buns which are incredible –slightly warm and moist with delicious fillings such as red bean, coconut, roast pork (on the salty side). Too bad this place is too far for me to try lunch. I’d like to try dishes on counter but one is always rushed due to long lines and the folks behind the counter are not too accommodating — this is the down side. Otherwise, coffee and bun are only 1.80 and I think it tastes more homemade than Chinatown.

Place is sketchy but very cheap. Lunch time rush of all the chinese workers in garment district. I had never seen so many chinese people in one place in midtown before. This is where they all gather to get lunch.
Food is okay, hits the spot when youre hungry, but the quality of ingredients are pretty low.

Cheap and fast lunch. The food can be a little oversauced/​salty (I guess because they think white people prefer it that way), and you are pressured to choose your 3 items very quickly. I’ve read reviews talking about their baked items but I didn’t see anything – I guess you have to visit after lunch?

Quick lunch in the city and you pay no more than $ 6. Can you beat that in this location? Not at all!
I tried their duck and vegetables, it was good! Tried the bun another morning and it was also good. This place is cheap but looks a bit sketchy.

I been coming here for lunch for 2 years now. I also get the pineapple buns, which are amazing and sometimes sold out, but they constantly are making them. For $ 5.50, you get lots of rice and 3 dishes, can be 3 meats if you want. Some items may have like $ 0.25 or $ 0.50 extra (premium meats like roast duck, etc). An unbeatable deal for midtown and pretty good Chinese food (was $ 5.00 last year when I moved here), only drawback is that the stuff isn’t the healthiest because of all the oil they use. Make sure to come between 1200−100pm because all the lunch items will start to dwindle after that and may be sold out before 200pm

It’s a hole in the wall kind of place but for a $ 5.50 lunch in Manhattan, it is hard to beat.

This place is my savior! I just started my new job at midtown for 2 weeks and have been visiting this place for breakfast and lunch for over 5 times!
For breakfast, I often get the coffee or milk tea, their Cantonese style milk tea which I am totally addicted to it is only 90 cents, and they have many kinds of fresh made breads are sold for just $ 1.
For lunch, you can pick any 3 dishes (either veggies dish or meats) + white rice for $ 5.50, this price is sick, I don’t know if I will be ever to find any price cheaper than this, and they give you a lot, when I mean a lot, I am totally serious!
So I totally ditch the idea of bringing my lunch after I discover this place. Be aware, there are so many people there during lunch time, some popular items will be running out before 1PM, so try to be there earlier so you can have more choices.

This review is for breakfast pastries only.
Stumbled upon Ying Du on my way to work. The smell of fresh baos lured me in and before you know it, I was ordering one of everything. The cha siu, pineapple, and scallion were all deliciously warm and soft. The size is generous and the flavors are also on point! By the time I paid and walked out, there was a line out the door.
This is a hole in the wall so *cash only* and don’t expect any ambiance.
I can’t wait to try their cheap lunch specials.

Cash only but always worth it. Buns are now $ 0.90 and are baked daily. Scallion buns look different and don’t taste as good as before, but their plain sweet bun and red bean buns are good. The red bean is really subtle. Doughnuts are too heavy for me.
I love their lunches. Get there at 11am to beat the lunch rush and have all their options. My absolute fave is the steamed egg and their vegetables. Both are seasoned perfectly. You can get a third option. Chicken is good as is the roast pork, which is a bit sweet. Lunches are $ 5.50. White or fried rice only — no brown rice.
Must do a lot of pointing. Their English isn’t very good.

Good Chinese food, really good price. Come early. Had it twice already — rice and 3/​choice of meat or veggies. China Town style

Whenever I miss my mom I go here because the ladies here treat me like a son. Like my mom they feed me till I am fat.
Ying Du is by far one of the cheapest food options in Mid Town West. For $ 5 you get 3 delicious sides and rice. You have a choice of roast pork, broccoli, Chinese cabbage, salt and pepper pork, pork ribs (my favorite), scrambled eggs, duck and an assortment other Chinese vegetables. To my surprise the food quality here is very good just don’t be put off by the store’s shabby appearance and you will be fine. The portions are also quite generous.
Lastly Ying Du is only open for lunch on weekdays, so if you are feeling a little budget conscious during the work week check out this place! You won’t regret it =)

It looks dingy and questionable — it probably is as the sanitation has shut it down many times (for some kind of water problem, according to the owner but then who knows…). But after having tried Fuji which is not too far from the neighbourhood, I started to appreciate that this place actually has ok-​food and staff who knows how to work.
Service:
If you are a regular they are usually very nice to you; all smiles and etc. But when you are new or you just come here at times —- ummm good luck. There are some ladies who don’t really care about your experience at all. The current owner of the place though is a lot more friendly than the last one — they actually care about customers returning. Not so much with the previous owner; I actually witness a name-​calling cussing showdown b/​w the owner and a customer before. I can’t say it was all the owner’s problem but it was über ghetto. I do hate the fact that the staff there let people cut lines; this is really aggravating. But at the end of the day, even though some servers aren’t as friendly, they are at least efficient and actually know what they are doing (and will do it).
Food:
Well, obviously they are greasy but not the greasiest I’ve had in Chinese take-​out place. The food is cheap, it’s unbeatable. The pastries are decent too but again, very greasy. But beware that they do cooked with ingredients FAR from fresh (ummm for some of the meals I’ve had, they really should have dump that veggie). And some of the dishes were obviously from the previous day. With these places you’ll have to really put the bar at a different place.

Don’t let the dingy exterior and outdated décor fool you, the food here is delicious. It’s authentic, cheap ($ 5 lunch box, other made-​to-​order dishes are less than $ 8), and fresh. Though they have your Chinese BBQ staples, such as roast duck or pork, I find that I enjoy their homecooked style dishes the most (I mean, where can I order salted pork with bean sprouts unless I’m at my grandma’s house?). The ladies can seem intimidating and loud but they’re really helpful and give you heaping portions.
So be adventurous and try this place out. Note: cash only, so bring those Georgies (the Jackson’s can stay at home).

3.5 STARS
Like Brenda L said this is New Li Yuan not Ying Du. One of the few places in the Midtown/​time square area to buy chinese pastries. The place is not the nicest looking in the inside, but they sell inexpensive chinese pastries. I go here to get my sesame ball with bean paste fix or the breads with custard and other flavors of delicious sweet chinese breads and pork buns.
I have never ordered the lunch food only sweets. They are decent not the best pastries in NYC, but for someone who is in the area and needs their fix, this is the place to go.

Ok, it’s back now.
I will return once again,
when in Manhattan.

From the outside and inside for that matter — you’ll be second guessing if you even want to step foot in here but trust me the food here is great and for the price, unbeatable in midtown. The name is also not Ying Du but rather New Li Yuan.
They’re known for their $ 5 lunch box specials in which you get a ton of rice and 3 side items. There’s your popular americanized items like general tsao’s chicken and beef and broccoli but there’s also a lot of other more traditional homestyle items like braised radish and spicy tofu. Go there early to get the pick of better items. Is it the best food I’ve ever had? no but for a cheap filling lunch — not bad.
You can also order items on the menu — the soup noodles were quite good — a bit salty and possibly msg filled but it was very tasty. The best part of the place though? The bakery items — they bake a variety of fresh roast pork buns, pineapple buns, raisin twists, sponge cakes, etc — each item is only 80cents!
Unbelievable prices for fresh baked goods — rivals that of chinatown! If you see any roast pork buns available — grab them all — it’s absolutely delicious and one will not be enough — the filling is flavorful and moist, the bread is fresh and doughy with a perfectly glazed shell. No wonder they always sell out of them.
O and the roast duck is also pretty good here too — you can even place an order for a full duck (you’ll have to order a day or few hours in advanced). This place is awesome — like my aunt’s kitchen or something — if you ask, and they have the ingredients — they’ll probably make it for you lol.

The number of times this place has changed their name recently: Ming Du, Ying Du, and now New Li Yuan. If you look closely, you can still see the white tape over the prior restaurant names. I avoided this place at all costs, but recently, I saw the DOH gave this restaurant an A rating. There was a very large crowd inside, mostly of Asian ethnicity. My colleague took a peek and nodded that he was going to try it out. I reminded myself that I wouldn’t be a true Unilocaler if I wasn’t adventurous and daring, at the expense of many possible bathroom breaks. So while I stood on line, the lunch billboard was simple: 3 items and white or fried rice for $ 5.00. If you want Roast Duck, it will up the price to $ 5.50.
When I finally made my way in, I was handed a numbered token. Hold onto this as it will serve as the number that is on your take out tray that you will give to the cashier at the end. My guess is that they implemented this so that people don’t get each other’s take out tray confused. Quickly looking up and down the steam tray buffet layout, I noticed most dishes looked quite authentic as compared to the $ 5 Lunch Box Buffet on 34^th St., or your typical Chinese takeout restaurant. Things were chaotic as people were shouting what dishes they wanted and nothing was labeled. A lot of it was asking what each dish was or just pointing to the one that you wanted. For my first encounter, I wound up getting 3 items on top of a plentiful bed of white rice. Portions were very generous, easily weighing 2 – 3 lbs. in total.
— Braised Pork Belly with Zha Cai (pickled vegetables) — Fatty and delicious pork belly with sour vegetables. This dish was spot on. Yum! My arteries can thank me later.
— Mapo Tofu — Your usual not too spicy mapo tofu. Soft silky tofu that flows texturally through the mouth. Comfort food for me.
— Kung Pao Chicken — tender cubes of chicken mixed with celery and almost transparent peanuts. A delightful dish traditional in its own way and far from what you’d expect at an Americanized Chinese takeout restaurant.
All in all, I enjoyed my dish very much without any gripes. The 3 items + rice is a lot better of a value in quantity and quality as compared to such places as 34^th Street’s $ 5 Lunch Box Buffet. I found myself really full, so much more than your typical $ 5 halal (lamb or chicken) platter. If you haven’t checked this place out, I highly advise you to if you’re looking for a more authentic experience for Chinese cuisine.

This place changed (back) to New Li Yuan
They were out of Pork Buns (next time) so I had a custard bun
Oh my, this were as good as the best places in Chinatown and it was 80 cents. Amazing flavors.
Also had the rost pork noodle soup, roast pork flavor was OK, noodles had a proper texture, massive portion for 6.50, soup had OK flavor (everything could have used a bit more sweetness/​heat.)
I give the bun a 5.0÷5
I give the soup a 3.0÷5
I give the service a ⁴⁄₅ (better than normal)
I give the cleanliness a ²⁄₅ (but I wouldn’t have it any other way)

I think I ate here one day before they shut down…
Went back the next day and they were closed for cleaning… they were washing the floor, cleaning the tables everything. I guessed to myself that they must be preparing for the Hygiene people to come.
Came back a week later and there was a Chinese sign that indicated that they were temporarily closed. Must have failed the hygiene test!

If you Chinese, you need a fix, you come here for cheap lunch. You pretty boy gangsta who wants to shell out bigger bucks, you go elsewhere!
Had a beef stew noodle soup today for $ 5.50 with a few pals. You gotta bring a Chinese person if you wanna order off-​menu. ;-) It wasn’t bad, but something was missing. I think it was tendons or it just didn’t taste fatty enough or something. Noodles didn’t have a real bite like Chinatown places have. But it’s still a good fix nonetheless. The baked goods looks real good, but you have to come back around 1pm for the roast pork buns. Will try the buffet next time.