Miss Yip – Chinese Cuisine in Miami

After a long day of sightseeing with Dawn in the Miami area, we decided to just grab dinner somewhere close to Dawn’s condo in the downtown area.

We chose Miss Yip’s Chinese Café.  It’s right on Biscayne Boulevard, close to the southernmost bridge leading over to South Beach and just a couple of blocks away from the AmericanAirlines Arena, home of the Miami Heat.  I thought that the exterior was impressive and yet welcoming…

(Yes, running the words AmericanAirlines together when referring to the Arena is the correct way to do it.  Some local sportscasters regularly refer to the arena as the “Triple AAA”)

The interior of Miss Yip’s Chinese Café is well decorated…perhaps even a little bit plush…with dark woods and red accents.  They make the restaurant a little cozier by keeping the lighting at a low setting.  That made reading the extensive menus just a little challenging though…

I guess that they kept the doors open just to show passerbys on Biscayne Boulevard that they were open for business…

One item prominently featured on the menu was Dim Dum.  There were 18 choices.  They ranged from Pan Fried Chicken Dumplings (5 for $8.00) to Spinach or Custard Bao (3 for $6.00), or Steamed Shrimp Dumplings (4 for $7.00) and on up to the Miss Yip Platter (an assortment of 8 dumplings for $11.00)

I personally really like pan fried dumplings.  You can verify that truth by the fact that I ate 2 of my 5 Pan Fried Pork Dumplings before I remembered that we had to take a photo.  The dumplings were very good! ($8.00)

Instead of Dim Sum, Laurie went with her favorite ‘starter’ in a Chinese restaurant…Hot and Sour Soup ($6.00) Miss Yip describes their version of Hot and Sour Soup as containing “tofu, bamboo shoots and wood ear mushrooms seasoned with hot white pepper and simmered in a scrumptious chicken broth, vinegar and a touch of soy sauce”. 

While I think that the use of the word ‘scrumptious’ in reference to chicken broth is a bit of hyperbole, Laurie did enjoy the soup.  I tasted it too…and it was very good.

For her dinner, Dawn ordered the Kung Pao Chicken ($16.00).  This is described as “diced chicken breast stir fried with onions, water chestnuts, dried chili, peanuts and red and green peppers in brown sauce.”  Dawn described her dinner as OK…nothing special…but just about average.

Miss Yip is open 7 days a week for lunch and dinner.  The lunch specials all cost $8.88 and there are no less than 44 choices for the customer!  All “Shanghai Express” lunches come with a veggie spring roll and rice where appropriate.

Laurie’s entrée was the Curry Chicken ($16.00).  This is described as ‘boneless chicken cubes stir fried with chili paste, garlic, finely diced onion and bell pepper mix flavored with coconut milk and curry”.   Miss Yip’s kitchen staff must define ‘finely diced’ a bit different than we do… Note the chunks of onion and peppers.  Laurie did not really care for this rendition of curry chicken…and it’s normally one of her favorites.

Entrees at Miss Yip cover the complete spectrum of basic Chinese cuisine in America.  They include a variety of dishes under the headings of Fried Rice, Noodle, Chicken, Duck, Beef and Steak, Pork, Fish plus Shrimp and Squid.  Prices generally range from $10.00 to $26.00.  Miss Yip does offer Peking Duck as an entrée. ($44.00)

I stayed safe, ordering one of my standard favorites, General Tso Chicken ($15.00).  This is described as “bite size chunks of lightly battered boneless chicken, fried to golden brown then stir fried with chili pepper and Chef’s special sauce”.  I asked for extra spicy…but like most Chinese restaurants, they didn’t get it spicy enough and I had to ask for pepper sauce.  I would rate this rendition of General Tso Chicken as average…and it lacked the usual generous (and healthy) portion of broccoli that I’m used to with this dish)

Miss Yip Chinese Café was OK…not great.  It is convenient for downtown Miami diners but, due to the location and the cost of real estate, the food, (except for lunch), is a bit expensive.  Laurie had a Dirty Martini with Grey Goose Vodka and it cost $14.00!  Dawn had chamomile tea…and it wasn’t very good…and it cost $6.00…for tea!!

Miss Yip Chinese Café is located at 900 Biscayne Boulevard in Miami Florida.  Phone: 305-358-0088.  Website: www.missyipchinesecafe.com.

Just click on any photo to enlarge it…

Thanks for stopping by for a little Chinese food!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave