Yank Sing - San Francisco, California

Some people call Yank Sing, the best dim sum restaurant in San Francisco.  Others believe that it never lives up to the hype.  One thing is for sure -- Yank Sing has some unique dim sum offerings and at premium prices too.  Is it worth it?

Stepping through the doorway into Yank Sing find me in some dim sum parlor in Hong Kong, nor does it make me feel like I'm in Chinatown.  Instead, I'm confronted with a sleek, modern interior that looks and feels like fine dining.

As we slowly make our way to the table, a server stroll past hawking her wares -- steamer baskets full of tasty treats like har gau and siu mai.  Once seated, we wait as the procession of carts begins.

Before any carts arrive a server approaches our table and asks if we would like some xiao long pau.  Shortly thereafter, we are presented with a steamer basket filled with six pieces of xiao long pau (Shanghai pork dumplings).

Taking a dumpling out of the basket, I slowly put it in my mouth and awaited the explosion of flavor from the steaming broth as I bit into it.  Sadly, there wasn't much broth here.  The skin was a little thick and just a bit chewy, while ground pork filling was quite tasty.

As our server set the basket of xiao long pau down on the table, I asked if I could have an order of braised chicken feet.  Speaking into her headset, she placed the order for me and in a couple of minutes, the basket of braised chicken feet arrived at the table.

Tender and succulent, if you can call them that, the chicken feet had a hint of spiciness to them.  The skin and tendons, practically melted in my mouth.  After finishing half the basket, I wanted to order more, lots more -- they were that good.

Just as I was about to ask for another basket, a server approached our table and asked if we would like to try the baked sea bass.

As she held out the plate for me to look at, I immediately said yes and smiled hungrily.  Slightly sweet, and a little sticky, the fish flaked nicely once my chopsticks touched it.  The flesh was smooth and kind of reminded me of misoyaki butterfish, which I absolutely love.  Nevermind that this was just a small chunk of a huge fish, I enjoyed every bite.

With a bit of sea bass in still in my mouth, a server approached with a plate of shrimp with honey walnuts.  Since my mouth was full, I couldn't say no (could I?), so I just motioned for her to put the plate on the table with everything else.

There were seven or eight medium-sized shrimps on the plate and they sat next to a pile of honey-glazed walnuts on a bed of shredded head lettuce.  The shrimp were a little soggy -- almost as if they had been cooked a while ago.  The sweet walnuts contrasted well with the shrimp, though I was wishing that the shrimp were hot and crunchy, and that there were just a little more mayonaisse on them.

Finally, this cart here stopped at the table.  The served told me that she was preparing lettuce cups.  Since I had seen this cart stopping at quite a number of tables around the restaurant, I wasn't about to refuse the offer of a serving or two.

The lettuce cup shown here is filled with a mixture of ground chicken and lup cheong which has been sauteed with chopped water chestnuts and bamboo shoots.  Its finished with some hoisin sauce and a generous sprinkling of green onions and pine nuts.

The filling is a bit dry with a texture similar to that of larb.  The crisp texture of the lettuce helped to enhanced this dish, but there was little flavor here.  I felt like this needed some chilli or some more hoisin sauce.

Shortly after we had eaten our fill of lettuce cups, we were presented a plateful of chicken wrapped asparagus (I think that's what our server called it).

Ground chicken was wrapped around tender asparagus spears before being batter coated and deep fried.  It was served with some sweet sour dipping sauce on the side.  This was an unusual flavor/texture combination that didn't really work for me -- the asparagus didn't really go well with the sweet-sour sauce.

Just as I thought I was full, this cart pulled up to the table.  Now I could have gone for one of the desserts -- either the egg tarts or the creamy mango pudding.  Instead, I chose a plate of shrimp toast.

Tiny rounds of hard toast (think stale bread that has been toasted or fried!) was topped with some shrimp paste then decorated with the tiny tail of a shrimp.

Our server told us to use the sweet-sour sauce with these and I thought the flavor combination for this dish was perfect -- sweet, sour with a touch of saltiness -- excellent.  The crunchy toast and the "springy" shrimp ball made this dish interesting texturally as well.

Overall my experience here at Yank Sing was good, though not exceptional.  What I liked was the clean, modern space and the interesting variations on dim sum.  I actually wanted to be "wow'd" by the selection and by the flavors -- neither really happened.  And when you're dining without knowing what the prices are (no menus are given), you might be in for a surprise when the check  arrives.  The 7 dishes here plus a pot of jasmine tea (US$3.00) was almost US$60, not including tax or tip.  Though nothing here was done poorly, in fact some of the dishes were excellent, maybe next time I'll skip the glamour and enjoy my dim sum in more "traditional" surroundings.

Yank Sing
One Rincon Center
101 Spear Street
San Francisco, California
Telephone: 415.957.9300
website

Comments

[kelly]

da buggah looks ono overall..i don't know about the asparagus though brah...da buggah looks all hemajang.

[Clinton]

Now this is classic high-end dim sum! I thought our LA Ocean Star Restaurant in Monterey Park was fancy but this one rivals it big time. Very nice Reid.

[santos.]

when i was going to boarding school in the area, this is the only place my HK roomies would go for dim sum. i don't know if it's completely worth it, but to this day i think the best turnip cakes and coconut pudding i've ever had were here (or the stevenson street location, maybe).

[808650foodie]

When we lived in the Bay Area, we tried Yank Sing once and thought the dim sum was targeted towards tourists and Caucasian tastes. It wasn't bad tasting, just not very inspiring. Koi Palace, in Daly City is where most HKers go for high-end dim sum. Consistently fresh and rivals most places in HK and Vancouver.

[Will Lee]

That sea bass looks ONO!!!

[Gail]

Raymond Siu (of Pah Ke's in Kaneohe fame) thought the dim sum was somewhat overrated but decent. Pricey though!

[TikiPundit]

Reid, glad as always to see new posts and pictures.

The joint and the food look swanky.

When we lived in Alameda, the "word on the street" was that the Bay Area's best gourmet Chinese is in Oakland Chinatown. We did eat some good Sunday dim sum over dere, but then again, we were always starving on Sunday!

[Lajja]

Hiya Reid,
Yank Sing is indeed a nice place to take out-of-towners or for celebrations if someone else is paying :) Another decent alternative is City View (Commercial St.) for really good jooks and yes, Koi Palace is legendary. We once waited half an hour for it to open its doors and still had to take a number!

[umami]

As a Chinese I think it was pretty good last time I visited. But wait, I was a tourist too...

[SactoGuy188]

Whoever said Koi Palace in Daly City, CA has the best dim sum catering to Hong Kong expatriates (like me :) ) is 100% correct. I've eaten there several times and while the price is definitely way up there, the food quality--including the tea!--is definitely first-class all the way.

[Reid]

Hi Kelly,

The food here was pretty good, but I don't think the prices here were justified.

Hi Clinton,

This was some pretty "high-end" dim sum with high-end prices too. Although it was good, I think I'll stick to traditional.

Hi Santos,

Turnip cakes and coconut pudding? I didn't even see those on the carts...*sigh* But then again, I think there were only 6 or 7 carts roaming around the huge dining area.

Hi 808650foodie,

I kind of have to agree with you. I did notice quite a few Caucasians at Yank Sing and actually, to tell you the truth, it was a toss up between here and Koi Palace. I'll be at Koi Palace next year...just for research purposes though! =)

Hi Will,

The seabass was ONO! =P

Hi Gail,

I agree with Raymond. It is good, though some of it much better than others, and definitely pricey!

Hi TikiPundit,

Welcome to the blog!

This was definitely high-end dining and the prices clearly showed that.

I'm glad you like the new pictures. I helped that they were taken with a new camera!

Hi Lajja,

Thanks for the informaition. I'll be at Koi Palace next year. Hopefully I won't have to take a number on my visit there. I'm hoping it's not too bad during the week!

Hi Umami,

Long time no hear! LOL! That was funny... =)

Hi SactoGuy188,

Welcome to the blog!

Thanks for giving Koi Palace a thumbs up. Now that everyone is telling me how wonderful it is, I'm kind of upset at having settled for Yank Sing.

Oh well...there's always next year!

[808650foodie]

Bruddah Reid--

If you thought the prices at Yank Sing were high, you may pay the same amount at Koi Palace, but you get better food IMHO. Do you know any Cantonese speaking persons who could help you order in SF? There are a few dishes I would recommend at Koi but they parade those out with their Cantonese names. Stuff like bo lo wu lai bau, sin jook guen, gwun tong gaau are the foods I miss most since moving to Seattle.

Did you feel Yank Sing was better than the dim sum in Hawaii? I think so...

[Veruca salt]

Hi Reid,

Food looks good but far to swanky for my liking. I prefer places that are down but not too dirty. They tend to have all the classics.

How will your stomach know lunch is over if you don't have dessert?

A good session must involve at least some pai qwait, har gau, garlic chive dumplings and finished off with coconut clouds

[cindy]

Glad to see more posts Reid! I haven't had dim sum in almost 2 months now -_- Nothing decent here in Columbus. Oh, my dad took me to Hong Kong Harbor View this past trip. It was really a beautiful space to eat in, and the food wasn't bad, I liked their Golden Tripe a lot. I also went to Tai Pan. The jook is suppose to be famous, but I thought it was watery :P I like my jook to be homemade and thick!

[cindy]

p.s. I didn't get to go to Fook Lam this time :(

[Reid]

Hi 808650foodie,

Did I think the dim sum at Yank Sing was better? Hmmm...that's a tough one if only because I will always have my favorite dim sum spots (Panda Cuisine and Fook Lam). It sure was different though.

Hi Veruca Salt,

It was a bit swanky, and like you, I like those noisy, crowded dim sum shops you find in Chinatown.

I didn't have any dessert because I visited the Ferry Building and had some gelato instead!

Hi Cindy,

Thank you! It's been a while, hasn't it? Hopefully I can keep things going. Work is starting to get busy again! =(

I thought Hong Kong Harborview was just OK, and I don't like the food at Tai Pan much. I too like my jook thick!

I'm sorry you didn't get to visit Fook Lam when you were here....maybe next time! That will give you something to look forward to.

[808650foodie]

Before I moved from Hawaii to SF, I thought Legend and Panda Cuisine were the BOMB. But, after living in HK for a year and being exposed to SF Chinese Food, Legend and Panda were just OK in comparison. I'm not even bringing up Koi Palace as that's in a totally different league. For example, I believe Fook Yuen in Millbrae and ABC in Foster City or Milpitas locations are better than Legend and Panda. Koi Palace is even better than those two. Haven't been to Fook Lam in Hawaii but from your pictures, it looks OK. Their xiao lung bao looks like it has more wrapping than what I would like.