Yi Ping

Here’s another post on the awesome Rue Sainte-Anne, neighbouring with Opéra, Pyramide and Quatre-Septembre areas. I will discuss and recommend to you a very Chinese restaurant just right in the middle of the street. With all the Japanese restaurants in the area, you might have to keep your eyes out for this Chinese place.

While Yi Ping has a massive sign at the front presenting itself as a Japanese and a place for ramen, you could probably make it by the name Yi Ping that the food may lean towards the Chinese end of the scale. By all means, Chinese are great cookers and at times could execute some Japanese dishes such as chahan (fried rice) and ramen quite well.

For my visit to Yi Ping, I tried something very very simple. At first, I was going to order Japanese curry but then had my doubts about how it would turn out. I once had Japanese curry prepared by a chef that wasn't Japanese and it turned out to be a disaster. My brain during that super hungry evening told me to be wiser and order a simply crab omelette. Yes, I repeat, an omelette, with crab. This may sound way to simple for someone with the right mind to order at a restaurant that is cooked really really well is one of life’s best simple pleasures. I have had a few variations of Chinese and they have all been no short of excellent. With my mind set, I ordered a crab omelette with a bowl of rice.

The omelette arrived at the time in no time, as expected. You could see from my photo here that it was huge! Yes, just what I needed after discovering the area on a cold evening. The bowl of rice was not included in the price of the omelette and had to be ordered as a side. But honestly, it’s totally worth it since they do give you a generous serving of rice that’s fit a king. Usually restaurants tend to be quite defensive with their rice and only give so much that it sits nicely in a bowl. But at Yi Ping, they fill it up to the top and create a mountain of rice in your bowl. Yes, a legit mountain that rose to its peak. Omelette and rice, awesome!

The omelette was good, but needed a few more drops of sauce to make it saltier and more flavoursome. It was the first time I had to add salt to my omelette, but that’s more of a personal preference for saltiness rather than the chef failing at this simple dish. One critique of the dish is that it was a bit too oily. I understand that a good Asian omelette could require a good amount of oil to get a desired texture. The chef mastered the texture, as the omelette was crispy on the outside but was still thick and soft in the middle. I would've preferred for the omelette to take a quick seat on a paper towel to soak off some oil because being put on the plate. Otherwise, they did give a good amount of crab, which was nice since I assumed that they might have been a bit greedy with the meat.

I would say that all in all, I had a good meal for the value I had paid. If I’m not mistaken the omelette was around eight euros while the extra bowl of rice was not too expensive of an addition.

The restaurant is very small. I think it could probably fit a maximum of twenty-five people, or absolute maximum thirty if they were to make use of the all the space. They do not take reservations, so you could simply walk in. Check out the menu at the front of the restaurant before you head so you could get the ball rolling right away. One more thing about the restaurant is that the kitchen is right behind the cashier desk, therefore the smell of the food will stick on your clothes and hair if you do sit for more than five minutes. This could be another personal thing but I just dislike coming out of the restaurant smelling like I had just finished my shift in the kitchen.

If you’re interested in checking out Yi Ping after this review and the menu (or at least half of it) that’s just right above this sentence, you can find them at number 42, Rue Sainte-Anne! While I did make some points about Japanese food and the people in the kitchen that prepare the food for you, it’s ultimately up to your tastes and liking. The table next to me had huge bowls of ramen and they seemed to have smashed them.

I hope you find the place and happy eating!

Oh, and one more thing now that you’re in the area. I had a nice walk around the Opéra station after my meal to digest off my feast. It was my first time wandering around after sunset and I realised that the building right behind the main entrance/exit of the station was beautifully lit up. It was beautiful and an Instagram moment indeed! Otherwise continue strolling in the area if you have a quick dinner. There are shops all along both sides of the road, leading up to Madeleine. Not only is this a good exercise, but you might find yourself some dessert too!