Yat Ka Mein

Called there to place a carry out lunch order on 6−14−16 and the lady on the phone told me they no longer offer their wonderful Chicken Paad Thai for lunch. But the owner Clarence has informed me via email that this is incorrect. I was very happy to hear that and I am updating my rating to 4 stars. This is a great place to eat !!

This little noodle house is right on the main drag in Oakley, yet I never even noticed it. The sign is there for all to see, but I probably would have continued to pass by without a second thought if DLW hadn’t suggested we try it for dinner on a night when she didn’t feel like cooking.
The building was some sort of fast food/​casual dining spot previously, as evidenced by the drive-​through window. It has a pretty big parking lot behind the building, a big plus in this neighborhood. The room is big enough for 80 seats or so, but was totally empty when we walked in. Lunch business and take-​out apparently keep this place going.
We ordered up some Shanghai dumplings, aka soup dumplings, aka Xiao long bao, and a couple of noodle bowls. DLW loves dim sum, and never misses a chance for soup dumplings, but usually the places that have them use frozen food service versions. That was evident here too, as the skins were thick and the insides, while definitely soupy, looked and tasted preformed. At least they were cooked through. Nothing is worse than frozen in the middle dumplings. The noodle bowls were very large and pretty tasty. We had plenty to take home.
All in all, a decent place that should be revisited for the other items before I make up my mind completely.

I’m kind of on a quest to find decent Chinese food in Cincinnati. After hearing mixed reviews about this spot, I decided to grab it for takeout one night. We ordered the Shanghai dumplings, Chinese Ho Fun with Chicken, and Kung Pao Chicken. The dumplings were the best part of the meal– super fresh and delicious! Both of our entrees were ok– as John B. mentioned, they were not spicy at all and I think if they had been we would’ve been way more impressed. The food was fresh and not greasy, definitely not your normal gross Chinese take out.
They are definitely in an old wendy’s or something because there’s a drive through that you can use to pick up your call ahead take out, which I thought was funny. The parking lot is sort of weird and if you miss the turn the next street is a one way going out so you’re kind of in a hard place there.
I probably would not eat in here, but the lady at the counter was very friendly and the food was pretty good.

I like Yat Ka Mein. It’s not the best Chinese (Asian?) food around but it is solid for what it is. It’s interesting that it’s a thing here in Cincinnati where you can get multiple types of Asian food at the same restaurant. The lunch food here is not the most authentic, but it’s tasty and a great value. Seriously $ 7 for a pad thai that you can easily make 2 meals out of (I can eat a lot so I don’t say this lightly).
I also learned recently that it’s a refugee-​owned business, so that’s a really cool addition to the Oakley neighborhood.

An unassuming mom & pop restaurant is a great addition to the vibe of Oakley Square.
The food is a mix of cuisines from Asia, and you should not go in expecting the typical US style Chinese food experience. But as far as I’m concerned, this is a very positive thing.
The food comes quickly and is HUGE, yet it’s tasty and priced very reasonably. In my opinion, it’s much healthier than other typical «Chinese» fast food places that just pack in gooey, sugary sauces.
They have a number of vegetarian options, though it’s perhaps not clear on the menu and you’ll need to ask a few questions to figure it out. The owners were refugees, so you need to keep this in mind when you talk to them.
They have dedicated parking which is a big deal in this area, so feel free to park out back. They also have a drive through.

I really love this place. Been there several times. I have dined in and drove thru to pick up. The service is always good. My daughter and I especially love the Pad Thai and Cream Cheese Puffs. We live a little out of the way. But if we are in the Oakley area, we always try to stop by. Definitely check it out if you can.

This is probably one of my favorite local Chinese Fast Food Restaurants. I say fast food because I’ve never been inside or dined in. I always call in my order and pick up through the drive-​thru, which is super convenient!
The menu is a good mix of authentic and what I would consider «Americanized» Asian food. I don’t claim to be an expert, but I’m referring to the standard General Tso, etc. It’s good here; much better than some other establishments I’ve tried nearby. In addition, they have a lot of unique options which includes pad Thai, Vietnamese food, Cantonese, and so on.
If you’re looking for a quick tasty Chinese meal, try them out!

My girlfriend and I came here due to high reviews from Google and Unilocal,and we were not disappointed! She got the Pad Thai, and I got the Goetta Fried Rice. We had an appetizer of the Cream Cheese Puffs (Crab Rangoon).
Our server was very friendly, helpful and attentive.
They brought our food out, and you get a lot of food for your money! The goetta fried rice was the most delicious culinary creation I’ve ever tasted, and my girlfriend regretted not ordering herself some. The Pad Thai wasn’t bad, but it couldn’t hold a candle to the fried rice. We will definitely be coming back!

Our go-​to-​place for Chinese. We started with BBQ pork (char siu) that was just roasted — delicious! Also ordered vegetable tempura — excellent! Light and crisp and the portion was generous. Had the Hong Kong wonton mein tonight — generous pork and shrimp wonton with chewy noodles in a chicken broth. My husband had Kung Pao chicken — both are winners! Oakley/​Hyde Park is lucky to have such a gem in the neighborhood. I only wish it had a bar or at least served beer. But it is in Oakley Square — steps from tons of places to get a cocktail before/​after. Plus, you can BYOB!

Reliably tasty Chinese. Better than the average takeout joint by far, large portions, fair price. Décor is nothing special, but the service is friendly. Drive-​thru window for pickup orders, but definitely above fast-​food quality.
Dishes I’ve enjoyed: Ja Ja Noodles, Singapore Noodles, Fried Rice, String Beans
Dishes that were just okay: Bourbon Chicken, Broccoli Beef

This is the real deal. If you know regional Chinese cuisine you can order off the menu, substitute anything, or simply enjoy what they serve. The proof is also in the clientele. It’s not unusual to hear Mandarin from fellow diners.
They have innovative Cincinnati dishes like geotta fried rice. Eat in or enjoy piping hot delivery. I don’t know how they keep the food so hot.
Double mushroon chicken is a personal favorite.

Excellent service and good prices. So far, the best Chinese food I’ve had in Cincinnati. They also offer a good selection of more authentic Chinese dishes for those interested.

So simple and easy to get carry out, just call it in and spin through the drive thru. Prices are fair, portions are large and the people are friendly. The food is tasty, although never spicy enough for my taste. Decent option for food in Oakley.

A low key Friday night definitely needed some chinese food binges to match my Netflix binging. Yat Ka Mein was close, and much less expensive for delivery than many of the other local establishments. I ordered General’s Chicken, fried rice and won ton soup. The soup was fantastic. Brothy and nothing like the MSG nightmare I’m so used to getting at other places. There were about 4 good sized wontons. They were a little skimpy on protein, but it was such a flavorful change of pace, I looked past it. The fried rice was only okay, fried rice is never really bad, but this didn’t wow me. The General’s Chicken was very warm, fresh, crunchy, saucey, and paired with smartly cooked veggies. I loved every bite of it – which I probably shouldn’t have because it was enough to feed at least two very hungry people.

This is one of the best Chinese places I’ve ever been, so refreshing compared to the typical Chinese take-​out restaurants. My boyfriend and I split the Almond Shrimp and Tofu Lo Mein, with a side of vegetable dumplings. I’m usually the kind of Chinese-​eater that douses my food in soy sauce to mask the lack of flavor — I happily tell you that I didn’t touch the bottle once. The shrimp was fried tempura-​style with a sweet cream sauce and halved almonds, served with white rice and steamed broccoli. The vegetable dumplings were packed with fresh veggies and came with a delicious (what tasted like) ginger and garlic sauce. The tofu lo mein was cooked to perfection; the tofu was crispy on the outside, moist on the inside, and the vegetables still had crunch, so you could tell they were fresh. The noodles were anything but greasy, the food was ultra-​flavorful.
They have plenty of parking, and a drive-​thru window for carry-​out. The staff was kind and super helpful. I will suggest this place to literally everyone.

I’ve only ever had the Pad Thai but it’s good enough I’ve had it several times. The portion is large enough for at least one and a half meals. I’ll be back.

My boyfriend and I were in the mood for Chinese take out so we figured we’d try this place out. We got the scallop shrimp lobster sauce, a combo fried rice, and pork buns.
When we ordered we hadn’t looked at the menu so we asked on a whim if they had pork buns. The owner said they weren’t on the menu but that he would be happy to make some for us. Success! !
The food was ready pretty quickly, they said it would be ready in about 20 minutes. When we got there they had a special pick up window and the woman at the window said they were finishing up our order (we’d gotten there about 10 mins after we placed our order). While we waited, the owner apologized for the wait even though we had gotten there early and gave us complimentary fountain drinks.
The food was really good and flavorful. You know how at some Chinese places the quality of the meat is kind of iffy and the chicken barely looks like chicken? This was not the case here, the chicken and beef in our rice was really good and our pork buns and lobster sauce were delicious! Overall we have dubbed this our new favorite Chinese take out place. The quality and flavor of the food is great and the customer service is awesome.

standard Chinese place that is friendly and quick. There is plenty in of parking behind the restaurant. I recommend the Singapore street noodles and General Tso’s Chicken.

We were hankering for some ethnic food and Yat Ka Mein was nearby. After reading some reviews we felt a little unsure but ordered our carryout anyways. I ordered the Buddha Delight. It had a lot of brown sauce which needed to be spiced up at home with copious amounts of sriracha sauce. I do not think I would order this again and instead would go for their Udon noodle dishes. The service was excellent with the nice lady explaining all the ingredients and the food was prepared very quickly. I really enjoyed the window decoration/​mural of Hong Kong.

I thought I would wake up this morning with less anger about my experience here, but as it turns out, I can still taste the bitterness from wasting my money.
Housed in a former Arby’s this so called «Noodle House’s» décor leaves little to the imagination. There are weird dusty family photos hanging on the walls. The table tops are covered in cracked plastic, and the bathroom seemed like it was straight out of a horror film. I have NO idea why this place is getting such good reviews.
We came in for an early dinner on yesterday (Sunday) at around 5:00. The place was empty except for one elderly group. However there were several «drive thru» take out orders. We sat down and after perusing the menu we decided to go with the «Traditional Chinese Meal.» Only to find out later there is NOTHING traditional about this meal…
The meal included an app which came with: one deep fried shrimp, a Vietnamese spring roll, and some type of wonton. This was one of the most rancid displays of food I have ever witnessed. The shrimp was a hockey puck and clearly flash fried straight from the freezer, the wonton was solid as a rock and the meat in the middle looked like astronaut food that had been dehydrated and turned into beef jerky. I had to spit this out it, and needless to say it was not a good start to our «traditional Chinese meal.»
Moving on we ordered the General Tso’s as part of the three course meal, and combo lo mein ($ 11.99) with shrimp, beef, and chicken. I will admit the food was hot, but that is where the excitement ended. The General Tso’s chicken that was ordered at a spice level of 8 tasted more like grocery store teriyaki sauce that had been sitting on an abandoned shelf in big lots for years until it finally turned into syrup and clotted. No spice, and one of the worst sauces I have ever had. The texture of the chicken was so stringy I found myself pulling strings up out of my throat as I went to swallow. The lo mein was dull, sad, slimy and lacked any flavor whatsoever.
Now for the big hurrah! Our dessert to complete our «Traditional Chinese Meal.» The server was friendly but had absolutely no idea what was going on the entire meal. She came back to double check our order at least twice, and brought out our check before bringing us dessert. When we asked, «Don’t we get a dessert too?» She responded, «Oh yeah. I guess. No one ever orders the traditional Chinese meal.» So we were presented with the weirdest dessert menu of all time and ended up going with the «Lotus Flower Cheesecake Bites» because it was the only thing that remotely made sense.
We here her yell to the chef «Someone needs dessert! Cheesecake bites!» As if she was saying, «Um…do we have anything back there to serve? No one has ever ordered dessert before!» He literally comes out of the kitchen so confused, they chat, then he walks back in and out comes the dessert.
You can imagine, my boyfriend and I are pretty scared to eat this dessert they just last minute created for us to end our «Traditional Chinese meal.» There was no lotus flower to be found, instead four plain as day orange slices and four cut squares of cheesecake. There was a weird residue on the top of the cheesecake bites, but just to say we did it, we took a bite… now I wouldn’t wish this on my worst enemy. There is no other way to describe this other than sour and rancid. We both spit them out in our napkins and folded them up.
Outraged, unsatisfied and frankly, afraid that I am going to be sick, we reluctantly paid the $ 30+ bill and got the hell out of there. I am still in shock that this place has not been shut down because of the quality of food they are serving to people. Maybe because we came on a Sunday when no one else was there I don’t know. But unless you want to have Chinese food ruined for you, I implore you — never visit Yat Ka Mein.