Joy Yee Noodle, a “tapas” style restaurant, is a Pan-Asian restaurant that serves everything from spicy curries, fried rice, hot plates and soups.

The restaurant recently expanded and renovated to look and feel like a modern restaurant in the city. There’s a calming ambience because of the white, gray, and bright green furniture and decoration. Customers are immediately greeted by the host, seated, and given a menu as long as a table.

Before the actual meal, the menu offers milk tea and smoothie options to choose from. The drink section alone takes up about three pages in a very intricate menu. I ordered a pomegranate-peach smoothie with strawberry flavored popping boba. Popping boba are small, juice-filled balls that have a similar consistency to Gushers but thinner.

I’ve visited to Joy Yee multiple times with family and we order the same thing every time: Korean Kimchi Beef Hotplate, pineapple chicken fried rice, and chicken wonton soup. I couldn’t bring myself to stray from my regular and happily ordered as usual.

In the Korean Kimchi Beef, Joy Yee thinly slices their beef into strips and marinades it in kimchi. The menu described the dish as spicy, but for me, it could’ve used a bit more fire. The beef came to the table cooked perfectly and the kimchi complimented it with a slight crunch. I ate it atop of the white rice and only managed to finish about half before I realized there was too much for one person to finish.

Service worked efficiently, we barely waited 30 minutes before our food arrived. A large bowl of white rice accompanied my meal and for the table to share. Because it’s a tapas style restaurant, there was enough food on my plate to feed at least three people.

I would recommend Joy Yee to anyone who enjoys exploring different flavors and spending time with their friends and family. My experience has earned Joy Yee Noodle a solid 9/10, losing a point for being a bit on the pricey side as most dishes are $12-$18.

They have locations in Naperville, Evanston, Tinley Park, and three locations in Chicago.