Bill Rapaport's Buffalo Restaurant Guide

Alphabetical Listing of Restaurants: Y

Yings Wings Things/Depew
[a+] Young Chow
Yukiguni 2

Key:

[—], , ,	Bill's rankings
[XXX]	recommendation from contributor whose initials are XXX
[a+]	on UB Amherst Campus (in the UB Commons)
[a]	near UB Amherst Campus (within 2 miles)
[m]	near UB Main St. Campus (within 2 miles)

(For more info on locations, see Geography)

All phone numbers are in area code 716, unless otherwise indicated.

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[] Yings Wings Things/East Amherst.
9380 Transit Rd. (north of Casey, in Pines of Amherst plaza--same plaza as Teta's and Coffee Grind), E. Amherst.
639-0031

The strangest restaurant I've been in. I must admit that the first time I heard that a "Chinese take-out" was replacing Rita's Crystal Palace, I was very disappointed, and avoided it. Then I walked by one day and saw that the interior was quite elegant, a far cry from a "take-out place". So we tried it [3/03]. And liked it. Why is it strange? Because it's a cross between an elegant, high-class, and highly global cuisine and...a fast-food take-out joint. The interior is quietly elegant: The theme is Oriental, with ebony the dominant color, punctuated by light pastel shades. The menu is complex, with lots to choose from, mixing cuisines from all over. I started with Coquilles Sauce Verte: cold scallops in a (white, not green) cream sauce, served over romaine lettuce; very good; [MER] started with a shrimp cocktail consisting of 6 HUGE shrimp. For the main course, I had Thai chicken in a curry sauce: basically boiled chicken and potatoes in a sauce that was more Indian curry than Thai curry, but quite tasty. [MER] had Three-Way Chicken: three full servings of sweet-and-sour chicken, chicken souvlaki, and chicken teriyaki, served with white rice, and each one equally good. And my 7-year-old son opted for good old chicken fingers. Notice the combinations of cuisines and styles. The food is brought out on a serving trolley, even if you're having fast food: The folks at the table next to ours had subs, also brought out on the trolley. For dessert, I had a capuccino "bande": a sort of layered mousse cake, with a cake layer, on top of which was a layer of some sort of crunchy chocolate stuff (that was the waiter's description), on top of which was a capuccino mousse, on top of which was a crème-brulée-style crisp layer. (There were also chocolate and praline bandes to choose from.) My son chose the 6-layer, cream-cheese carrot cake. On top of all this, they have a completely separate take-out menu featuring all the things you might expect and more: a full Chinese menu, tacos, Italian dinners, Greek dinners, hot dogs, subs desserts, pizza, etc. You name it, they probably have it. On the other hand: The service was slow; they were fully packed, and the waiter admitted that they weren't prepared for everyone to be there at once (so he offered to do a song and dance to entertain us while we waited). Oh yes, one other thing: It's expensive: Dinner for 4, including drinks and tip, came to nearly $150!

Ying's Wings Things/Depew.
1460 French Rd. (at Transit), Depew.
656-7566.

[GS, 1/04] says: "We (a party of four) had the misfortune of dining at Ying's for Chinese New Year (1/22/2004). All four of us are devotees of oriental/Asian cuisine. This is the worst representation we have encountered. We were unaware it was primarily a "buffet", and this is by far the worst of the many we have sampled. All the food items were lukewarm at best and generally pretty bland, even the purported "spicy" items were not as stated. Further insult to injury is that this is by far the most expensive buffet. It would be far more enjoyable to partake of a traditional Chinese Restaurant and much cheaper, too."

[AWJ, 4/04] says, presumably of this branch, but possibly of another (see their website for a list of all their branches), "It recently changed its name to Yings Wings Things & Bar. Not being a local, I was fairly ignorant of some facts, but a friend of mine took me there and said that the interior has completely changed. It has a definite "bar feel" to it. Notably, I have only eaten nachos there, and they were about average."

[a+] Young Chow.
UB Commons. 689-6303, 6305.

Chinese. They deliver.


[MEL, 5/99] says: "Not the worst Chinese place I have ever been to, but certainly worse than most. I had some vaguely evil-tasting lo mein and, after eating half of it, I wasn't hungry any more, so I threw out the rest (by contrast, normally I would bring the uneaten part home). Next time I am marooned at N. Campus at night, I will go to Burger King."

[TP, 2/04] says: "I've had good and bad Chinese food. This was not the good kind. My 11-year-old son and I were at UB for an event and decided to grab dinner on the North Campus. After much debate, we settled on Chinese, since we both like it, and it isn't pizza for the fifth time that week. Big mistake. I should have gone for a taco at Taco Bull in the Student Union. The sesame noodles were covered in a big glob of what I suppose was sesame sauce, cold, congealed, and tasteless. The egg rolls were so greasy that they slipped from our hands when we picked them up. I don't even remember what else we had--we tried to put it out of our minds immediately afterwards. I remember what it was like to be a student and captive on the North Campus. For once, I was not envious that the Commons was built after I graduated."

Yukiguni 2 Japanese Restaurant.
660 Garrison Rd. (near Thompson), Ft. Erie, ON, CANADA.
905-994-8506.

[JWa, 5/06] says: "If you like sushi, you should come to Fort Erie and try Yukiguni 2. It's on Garrison Rd., across from a bingo hall. It's the only sushi I"ve tried, but I really enjoy it."

[MCS, 8/06] says: "We ate there last week 8/7 for about the 4th or 5th time. The food is excellent, particularly the bento box, which has tempura veggies, 2 skewers of chicken teriyaki, 2 gyoza (fried filled dumplings), 6 pc. California Roll, rice, small salad, and Miso soup. They offer sushi, sashimi, and a good variety of cooked dishes, all at reasonable prices. Highly recommended."