So Saturday was Halloween and I knew all the bars would be going nuts. Halloween is kind of like the new New Years Eve these days. I didn’t want to deal with that and I remembered the little bar at Yen Ching, which is one of Peoria’s oldest Chinese restaurants and one of my favorites.

I thought that bar would be perfect to escape from the Halloween madness and so it’s off to Yen Ching’s bar we go!

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Bar Number 250: Yen Ching Chinese Restaurant, Saturday, October 31, 2026

Here we are at Yen Ching Chinese Restaurant just off of University Street. I’ve been coming here since the ‘70’s and have always loved this place.

The entrance is over here, so let’s go in and see what’s happening on this Halloween evening in here.

We’re in the foyer and there’s the bar, but the chairs that used to be there have been taken away.

Here’s a photo and a link to when I did come here back in 2015 and had dinner at the bar in here.

One of the women working here tonight told me that you can’t sit at the bar anymore. I tried to explain that we’re doing a tour of bars on the blog but she had no idea what I was talking about. We finally reached an agreement to where I could have dinner in the dining room and take photos of the bar. That’s good enough for me because I don’t feel like making another game plan at this moment in time.

Here’s the dining room and the booth that I settled into for tonight’s Saturday night dinner.

This is my view from where I’m seated.

Okay, I got a beer, some tea and placed tonight’s dinner order. Now it’s time to take some photos of the bar in here, hey, it’s what I do!

Here’s the bar and the back of the bar. They don’t have beers on tap, but it is a well-stocked bar.

Here’s a couple shots from both ends of the bar in here and the happy cat who’s the only one allowed to sit at the bar these days. And yes, I’m jealous!

Meanwhile, back at my booth in the dining room…

It looks like Saturday night dinner is about to happen!

I started off with a cup of the Hot and Sour Soup and this is always such a tasty broth! There’s mushrooms and tofu and it’s nice and spicy with just the right amount of heat.

For the main course I got the Sliced Shrimp Hunan Style.

This is sliced shrimp with assorted vegetables in a house-made hot sauce.

I seasoned some rice with soy sauce and black pepper and added the shrimp and vegetables on top of it.

This was such a flavorful delight!

The shrimp was juicy and tasty and the vegetables and the house sauce complimented them perfectly. The food here is always fantastic and tonight was no exception!