Do Chinese restaurants make a dime in profit during lunch hour? In a world where prices climb and climb, there are 2 bargains left: those $1 cans of iced tea at Publix... and Chinese restaurant lunch specials. You get so much food for so little. There's no better example than the $10.99 Yummy House Lunch Special.
I'm a typical Pinellas guy - I hate crossing the bridges over to Tampa. But that's where the best Chinese food is. There are 2 takeout spots that are on my Chinese Food Champions list. There's China Wok at the corner of 301 and Adamo across from Brandon Ford. (Get the honey garlic chicken lunch special.) My other go to is Shanghai Restaurant on West Shore with their super cheap lunch specials. I usually go with the General Tso's chicken lunch deal.
With sit down restaurants you expect to pay more. But at Yummy House is still my favorite Chinese spot in Florida. Sorry Zom Hee. I know I rave about you a lot on my socials. You're the best in Pinellas. But Yummy House still reigns supreme. And their $10.99 lunch special is criminally cheap.
The Yummy House Lunch Special I Get
For $11, the portion sizes are kind of enormous. Then there are the 2 mounds of rice (although it's not fried rice, but maybe they're looking out for my health). Plus your drink is included. You're not going to leave hungry.
Geno / Q105<em>The sweet and sour chicken Yummy House Lunch Special is a bargain at $10.99.</em>
That's all well and good, but how does it taste? Just because it's cheap, doesn't mean it tastes cheap. I've only ordered the Sweet and Sour Chicken Yummy House lunch special - but I doubt you can go wrong with any of their others like Honey Walnut Chicken, Cashew Shrimp, or Broccoli Beef. They're all $10.99. But that sweet and sour chicken just hits the spot. It's not too sweet and there's a great texture and flavor to the chicken.
For a couple bucks more, you can go with the Spicy Yummy Combo with beef, shrimp, chicken, mushroom and asparagus stir-fried in a sweet chili sauce for $12.99. Look at you big spender! Or there's the Bistro Style Fried Rice. That's the one I'll probably try at some point. It's shrimp, chicken, beef, BBQ, pork, cilantro, green onion, and egg mixed in with jasmine rice. That one's $11.99.
There are a few Tampa area Chinese spots with a variation of the name Yummy House so it can get confusing. The one we're talking about here is at 2620 E. Hillsborough Avenue in Tampa. They're open for lunch from 11 to 2:30. Then they close down for a bit before they reopen for dinner at 5pm.
