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Yank Sing
Categories: Restaurants Chinese Dim Sum Arts & Entertainment Arcades Dim Sum, Arcades [Edit]
101 Spear St(between Mission St & Howard St)
San Francisco, CA 94105
Neighborhood: SOMA
(415) 957-9300
- Hours:
Mon-Fri 11 am - 3 pm
Sat-Sun 10 am - 4 pm
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Garage
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Price Range:
-
$$$
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Lunch
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Ambience:
- Casual
- Has TV:
- No
- Caters:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
1225 reviews for Yank Sing
Review Highlights
"Some of the best soup dumplings (xiao long bao."
(in 79 reviews)
"it's so delicious and the shanghai dumplings are so good."
(in 128 reviews)
"a close second for my favorite is the Peking Duck."
(in 102 reviews)
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1224 reviews in English
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Review from Clifford L.
San Francisco, CA
2/4/2012 1 photo
If there was Chinese version of High T, Yang Sing is IT.
Into the maze of tables and rooms separated by partitions of Chinese motif etched glass, hostesses donning the return of the side slit cheongsams lithely escort you to your special table.
Having evolved from it's legendary humble beginnings on Broadway, for its celestial taro croquettes, exquisite Jasmine and Gook Bo teas, and quick & efficient table service, Yang Sing is the pinnacle synonymous with San Francisco Dim Sum, with style and sophistication unparalleled outside of Hong Kong.
Desserts . . . visually as well as tasty tasteful the little gems showcased like jewels on a cart. -the most heavenly, lightest custard cups in the world are made here.
- boldly treading outside the box, serving popularized Shanghainese delights, as well as unique inventions, and even some items traditionally served only at dinner and banquets!
Ultimately, we know how excellent it is when prices are secondary after the fact.
The Atrium adjacent is also available for the POSH posh weddings on a weekend day. -
Review from Jane N.
San Francisco, CA
2/6/2012
Since it's Michelin-rated and all, I was expecting greatness. But sadly, I was disappointed. I'm not sure if it's because I grew up in SoCal where authentic, good, cheap dim sum was at every corner but Yank Sing just didn't live up to my expectations. It's definitely good no doubt, but nothing to rave about and spend upwards of $100 on a couple people.
Good thing the boss paid for this! -
Review from Bradley H.
San Jose, CA
2/2/2012 1 Check-in Here
Really?!?!
$7 for minute serving of chinese brocolli?
$9 for three shrimp and chive dumplings?
$9 for luke warm chicken egg rolls?
$22 for two pieces of cold peking duck?
Granted, the Tea was delicious, the Xiao Long Bao was very good, and the custard tarts were some of the freshest i've had.
I left there still hungry with my Dim Sum budget eaten up for the next 3 months.
This could be the worst food value in the bay area.
Don't buy the hype.
REALLY?!?! -
Review from Christina B.
Redwood City, CA
1/31/2012
The food is pretty good here and the prices are high for dim sum. Whatever.
But the most notable downside to this place are the pushy dim sum ladies who serve you the food. They are like sleazy sales people...they put food on your table even though you didn't ask for it. They literally, set it in front of me. I had to tell two different ladies that we didn't want the food that they tried to leave there.
On the good side...the guys pouring water were awesome. I never had an empty glass. And they were quick to take away finished dim sum boxes/plates. -
Review from Marcie C.
2/7/2012
Hmmm. My mother-in-law took us here last weekend because she knows we LOVE juicy pork dumplings. She said they had the best in SF. So, we went. I was a bit disappointed. I mean, I get the same taste for a fraction of the money at Din Tai Fung. The rest of the dim sum was good, but not any better than I've had elsewhere. I'm glad I checked it out so I know I'm not missing anything.
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Review from William M.
San Francisco, CA
1/23/2012
What a great place to eat! And eat and eat and eat!
On my travels in Southeast Asia my favorite food became dim sum, and this is the place to enjoy having your heart touched by this wonderful cuisine.
Plate after plate of exquisite delights are brought round, sometimes on metal steam carts and sometimes on trays. The variety is wonderful and the preparation excellent. The servers help you out by explaining what is what, and their friendly and smiling. Did I mention the Shanghai soup buns? OMG! The best in the City, bar none. Better than I've enjoyed in Shanghai and I ate my way thru that town a couple of times.
Come enjoy! Now (Chinese New Year 2012) is a great time for special treats.
Enjoy! -
Review from Rachel H.
Seattle, WA
1/29/2012
While its fair to say thank Yank Sing will never qualify as a "budget bite" its as good as it gets for dim sum in a city with more than enough to go around.
While I prefer the pricey, ambiance and foodie experience that is the dining room of any Yank Sing, the great "out the door" bites at their Spear Street location will allow you to "take away" some of great flavors in picnic fashion and at comparably bargain prices. Take your to go Yank Sing to Rincon Plaza or at the nearby waterfront facing the Bay Bridge (Aim for the grass near the arrow sculpture along the Embarcadero for a perfect city picnic spot!)
Highlights from the take-away ordering include the Seafood Supreme plate, some shu mai ala carte, and sesame balls for dessert! (If you do upgrade to the dining room, impress and scare your friends by ordering the chicken feet, and eating them!) -
Review from Alice M.
1/18/2012 1 Check-in Here
I usually don't write reviews of dim sum places, because up until 4-5 years ago, I had never had dim sum before! However, since then, I'm frequented many dim sum places across the Bay area, and I have a better idea of what's good and what's not (at least to my palate).
I'd heard a lot about Yank Sing prior to coming. Mainly that: 1. the food was really good, and 2. the prices were really high. Based on how popular it is, I was expecting a long wait. I preferred to sit inside (for fear of getting less attention outside), but even then, the wait was not bad (less than 15 minutes at 11am on a Saturday).
One thing that I noticed right away (and kept noticing throughout) was that the service here was AMAZING. It far exceeds any dim sum place, and is amazing even if you were discounting that it's a dim sum place. All the carts seemed to make sure to stop at each table and get us food right away. Before we had finished sitting down, we had 3 plates in front of us. On top of that, when we asked about one dish, they were prompt to call in another person to bring that cart over to us. As if that weren't amazing already, when we asked about another dish that they had run out of, they made it fresh for us and it came out piping hot!!
Now onto the food. The best things for me were the har gow (the outside of the dumpling was soooo soft and good), the egg custard buns (this was the dish that came out piping hot and they were definitely worth the wait -- best egg custard buns I've ever had), and the egg tarts.
Some of the other dishes were a bit lackluster for me, for instance, the shrimp crepe dish (don't know what it's called in Chinese), which had chives mixed in and had a sweet soy sauce rather than a regular soy sauce -- this is usually my favorite dim sum dish and these two differences made me like it less. The siu mai and the shanghai soup dumplings (a.k.a. xiao long bao; served lukewarm) were also not as good as I've had elsewhere.
When the bill came out, it wasn't cheap by any means, but I've had just about that much at other places (about $33/person including tax and tip). I think that for the service and quantity of food, the price was actually not bad! Had we had a 4th person, the value might've been even better. However, given that it's pricier than other dim sum places, this is probably a "splurge when I can" place.
Thank you Yank Sing for the amazing service!! Special shout-out to Luis, who was the best of them all! -
Review from Tiffany W.
Fremont, CA
1/16/2012
Solid, delicious tasting Dim Sum. Only problem here is, it's SO expensive! All dim sum items are at least $4 and most of them range from $4-$7... Although it is so expensive, food is good - at least they're not serving crappy & expensive food.
The XLB (Xiao Long Bao) here is excellent - like many other Yelpers have mentioned, this is definitely one of the best that I have had in the Bay Area. So if you like XLB, come here for that.
Between my boyfriend and I, we had the XLB, Siu Mai, Shrimp Dumpling (Ha Gow), Black Bean Spareribs, Turnip Cake, and Chinese Broccoli w/Oyster Sauce. We didn't even order that much and our bill w/tip came out to around $70. YIKES!
With that said, I would probably come back to Yank Sing if there was an occasion or I wanted to stop by for a tea and snack (the proper way they eat dim sum in HK). Luckily the bf and I weren't too hungry on this visit, but if we were to order dim sum in the amount we usually do, we would've gone broke! (well, not exactly broke, but ya know what I mean) But if you haven't tried it out, don't be scared to - all of the dishes were very tasty and cooked properly. I also love their Yank Sing chili sauce! -
Review from Cliff T.
San Francisco, CA
1/27/2012 1 Check-in Here
Overpriced dim sum. The place was certainly better than most dim sum restaurants. Communicate with the server isn't a problem as well (it happened to me several times that my servers in dim sum restaurants do not speak English). Having said that, the food was not the best. The peking duck was okay and so fried shrimp, pork bun and veggies. The xiao long bao was notably bad. It was really dry. The sesame ball, which made 7x7 Big Eat List, was alright but I had much better sesame balls in other places. The best thing out of all will be the xiu mai but that was about it.
When I pay $40+/person for dim sum, I expected the food to be amazing (considering most dim sum places are not expensive), the table to be slightly larger (so the food doesn't have to be stacked like Tiny Tower) and more space between table. -
Review from Master B.
Costa Mesa, CA
1/14/2012
Yank Sing is a pretty solid choice when it comes to Dim Sum.....who would have thunk it? Financial district? Corporate water garden establishment? to host an amazing quality establishment like Yank Sing....why not. And man was it crowded when we had X-mas day lunch here! It was very convenient for us, since we were staying at the Hotel Vitale, literally 1/2 block a way. Try to sit inside...they have open seating in the Atrium on the weekends.
The staff here are ALL very nice and helpful...(mainly because they want a FAST and SPEEDY turn around..especially when there are 40 families waiting outside to get seated - but at the same time, you don't fee RUSHED). They expedite everything out HOT, well prepared, without skipping a beat on quality. If there was anything that I was looking for, our server Nancy was on top of it. She ran into the kitchen to retrieve anything that we couldn't see rolling around the restaurant..
Highlights:
- Having your own hot mustard and chili sauce dispenser at your own table. Fuckin Genius!
- The tea is very good...they are always on top of it.
- Shanghai Soup Dumplings (5 star)
- Taro Dumpling (5 star)
- Spinach Dumpling (2 star)
- Chicken, Shrimp, Pork, and Seafood Dumpling (4 star) - all staples but were good nevertheless
- Peking Duck (5 star)
- Shrimp Rice Noddle (5 star)
- Turnip Cake (4 star)
- Egg tart (5 star)
Hidden Secret - the Blood Mary was excellent (5 star)
One draw back...it's not priced like your typical Dim Sum establishment (either here or in Hong Kong)....plan on spending between $80-$100 per couple to have an enjoyable meal. -
Review from Tiffany N.
San Francisco, CA
1/17/2012 1 Check-in Here
For their Pork bun: I generally don't usually eat pork buns but the ones here actually are good! The red sauce they use in their bun is very particular and you won't confuse it to elsewhere. It has much more flavor compared to just the general sweet, vinegar sauce like other places.
+ to-go and take out available
Haven't tried the rest of their dim sum but I really need to get myself -
Review from Karen l.
Oakland, CA
1/8/2012 2 Check-ins Here
3.5 stars.
Great dim sum place for a special occasion. Food is good, just a little overpriced, you're basically paying for the ambiance so make sure you get a table near the waterfall like we did. Very Americanized with good service. They validate parking and they take reservations (the wait can be long during the holidays) so those are bonuses! -
Review from Ki E.
Yountville, CA
2/9/2012
Mediocre at best. Can't imagine how it rated high. Not one dish could we say was even very good and we tried enough of them. Lunch for 2 was 102 dollars. Don't mind paying for good food but plan dry and all tasting about the same no way. The best thing was the soy sauce. And we had to ask for water! Makes me wonder how the heck they got the "taj Mahal of Dim Sum" certainly couldn't be because of the food.
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Review from Joycelyn L.
San Jose, CA
1/11/2012 1 Check-in Here
I'd say 4 stars for the food, 2 stars for the price and service.
Came here for lunch just before noon with the bf. I really liked their signature dish, the Shanghai dumpling, it reminded me of won ton soup. A few of their dishes are assembled in front of you, which probably adds to their expensive prices. For the two of us, it cost about 70 bucks without tip and I know we weren't full. Service sucked too, it took forever for the carts to circle around and it seemed like they rarely made it to certain areas. However, you can get free parking if you get your parking ticket validated by the restaurant. They also have a cool looking glass teapot. -
Review from Oski B.
San Francisco, CA
1/20/2012
In a city full of good dim sum Yan Sing holds its own. It's food is good but not amazing when compared to other excellent dim sum restaurant in SF (particularly in the Inner Richmond).
What Yang Sing can boast that no other dim sum restaurant has in the city is its amazing ambiance. The space Yang Sing has in the Rincon Tower is pretty impressive . . . especially the ceiling to floor water fountain.
I would absolutely go back to Yang Sing again and definitely encourage fellow Yelpers to check it out. -
Review from Karen Y.
1/4/2012
C'mon. Really. It's like $1.50 per dumpling! No matter how good, I cannot see any justification for the prices they charge. ROBBERY! I'll take my dingy $1.99 for 3pc dim sum in Monterey Park any day over this.
Why is it so crowded?! Is it just pure fame? Cause there was a 40 min wait on a weekday at 11:30am.
Then you have to pay for parking. They validate for 2 hrs but it takes that long to wait for a table. Then it's still like $4 to park with validation. -
Review from Lynn C.
San Francisco, CA
12/26/2011 1 Check-in Here
These stars are for the xiao long bao (shanghai dumplings) and nothing else. These XLBs were goooood. But it goes downhill after this...
My number one pet-peeve about restaurants is an underestimation on the wait-time. We were quoted 25-35 minutes, and of course, we waited an hour plus.
The dim sum was cold, salty, and the flavors were not very good.
Also, it's pretentious, overcrowded and wayyy overpriced for dimsum. Definitely go elsewhere. -
Review from Akvile H.
12/17/2011 1 Check-in Here
It has been WAY too long since I have had Dim Sum in my life. I recently moved to the Bay area and realizing that there is such an abundance of amazing asian food, I just knew there was some Dim Sum deliciousness available to enjoy!
My friend from NYC was visiting and we used to Dim Sum it up all the time together last weekend, since we used to all the time on the East Coast. This place had some great reviews so we decided to commandeer a larger group of friends and check this place out.
The venue was spacious, definitely packed on a Saturday, however, the perfect thing about dim sum is that it's instant, the food is on every cart just at arms reach. They have tons of food options! So many delicious options, however, we were very surprised with how expensive our bill turned out to be. It was delicious, don't get me wrong, but yowza, why so pricey?
Service was great, we may return again, but for the price it was, I was a bit shocked that it wasn't the best dim sum I've ever had.Listed in: San Fran Food Fanatics
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Review from So H.
Los Angeles, CA
12/15/2011 1 Check-in Here
Dim sum for snacksgiving? Why, yes!
Location kind of threw me off a little bit, it's in a food court, inside of an office building, that happens to have a waterfall-ish fountain that falls from the sky. Weird.
ANYWAY. Food was really good. Service was excellent. If you wanted something the lady didn't have, she called some other lady and BAM, it was at your table. Kind of pricier than what I'm used to... but I think it's well worth it! -
Review from J W.
Elk Grove, CA
12/29/2011
One word: overrated.
More than one word: I grew up in Hong Kong and ate at many famous dim sum places there as a little kid so I developed a critical tongue when it comes to dim sum and Yank Sing doesn't make the cut. The place is nice, fancy schmancy, good for wedding banquets, I suppose, although the one time I came for a wedding banquet, I wasn't impressed by the food, it was not memorable. The atrium is pretty and the water fall from above creates an ambiance of sophistication but I'm here to eat.
The dim sum fare are standard and none of the regular fares (har gow, siu mai, etc.) was impressive. The prices seem on the steep side for what they give you in quality and quantitiy although I didn't pay, but I'm sure my in-laws felt it. In any case, I prefer a more authentic experience at a less pretentious place and will not return here if given a choice for dim sum next time I'm in SF. -
Review from Julia P.
12/26/2011
This review is about a battlefield. You vs. food...good food.
Enter a large dining hall with tables spilling over to the outside atrium. Walk in to be seated at your standard white clothed Chinese restaurant table. Be prepared to be bombarded with dim sum dishes back to back to back. It doesn't stop. Before you know it you have over 8-10 items on your table as you hurriedly try to devour each delectable treat in order to make room for more.
The standard taste test of any dimsum place is the shrimp dumpling...because it's a simple dish that is easy to make. Forget the complicated soup dumplings and the radish cakes - those are give and take. This place was good. The rest of the dishes followed suit. Throw in a little hot mustard, vinegar and hot sauce and you've got yourself a dim sum weekend.
I give this place 4.5 stars but only because the line is long and it's a far drive from me. I would definitely take out of towners here and Norcal friends from out of the city...but I still hit up Ton Kiang for my own fix.
It's weird that I lived in LA and went to dimsum less than 10 times over the 3 years I spent there but I've been almost every weekend since moving here haha. -
Review from Jacque R.
San Francisco, CA
Updated - 12/22/2011
Good food but small portions for the price. But where else you gonna go when your down that far on Market so far away from China Town. And God help ya if you need to park a car in that area.
Where oh where...cha ching! Watch yer wallet...1 Previous Review: Show all »
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1/17/2007
I give it a 4 on food and variety but a 1 on price -it's bloody EXPENSIVE. "One time at band… Read more »
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Review from Mikki M.
San Francisco, CA
1/6/2012
By far the best dim sum place that I have tried, but you really pay for it. The Shanghai Little Dragon Dumplings are the best I have had in the U.S.
They have a very large selection of dum sum and it usually get to your table pretty fast. You can always order directly for the waiter if you don't want to wait.
The only down side to this place is the wait; so, I recommend get there early or have a late brunch. -
Review from Rodrigo C.
Fairfield, CA
Updated - 1/9/2012
........ and no Jennifer c "Smiling is sexy" P.'s I am not cheap and I have a very good paying job but thank you for your concerns with my finances.
I always thought different from people from the city. But this is not the case Jennifer c "Smiling is sexy" P is very rude to an insulting extent.... wow. She obliterated me with nosy, insulting and rude compliments and then she blocks me. Wow the maturity!1 Previous Review:
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1/6/2012
Good Dim Sum but very very expensive. For 4 of us the check came out to be 100+ so be forewarned.
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Review from Lauren N.
Burbank, CA
1/3/2012
Might be the best dim sum place in all of S.F. Inside famous Rincon Center, the atrium features a waterfall in the center courtyard and diners can eat around it (outside of the main dining hall.)
There is always a large wait, but it is so worth it. Service is no less than on point, friendly, and attentive without being pushy. They have perfected the art of serving tea, loose leaf of course. And the dan-tat, baos, shu-mai, ha-gao, and xiao long baos are my favorite. I grew up eating these and hold every other dim sum restaurant from then on to Yank Sing's standard :)
Next time I'm home, of course my first stop in the city is Yank Sing, naturally! -
Review from Jenn Y.
San Francisco, CA
1/1/2012 2 photos
Probably the best dim sum place in SF and it's not even in Chinatown. They have xiao long boa (Shanghai pork dumplings), which are amazing and my Chinese father tells me only hardcore dim sum places serve.
I'm not giving 5 stars for the extremely long wait-1.5 hours for a table for 2 and this restaurant is HUGE. Also, I know dim sum is generally considered for lunch, but this place is missing an opportunity by only staying open until 4. Plus, it is located in Rincon Center and nothing is open around it since its the edge of the financial district. We had to walk a few streets over to find a coffee shop to kill some time in.
Plan ahead for the wait and you won't be disappointed! -
Review from Phat T.
12/20/2011
This review is for dim sum only. Yank Sing is a solid 3 stars.
The Good:
-Good variety of dim sum
-Ambiance - one of the nicest Chinese restaurants, I've been too
-Good service
-A good solid Xiao Long Bao
The Bad:
-Pricey, $5.50 for a piece of Peking duck and bun, wowzers
-During dim sum hours, get the dim sum item, I would suggest straying away for the nontraditional dim sum items
Overall, Yank Sing is good for dim sum. However, be prepare for a big bill. -
Review from Matthew T.
San Francisco, CA
1/28/2012
This place is terrible!! All the dumplings taste like cheap soggy microwavable shit you can buy in packages of 100 at any bad grocery store. If youre a vegetarian, dont consider coming here under any circumstances, I wouldnt wish any of the veggie options on my worst enemy. Even more shocking than the insanely disgusting food was the bill- the pot of tea in the middle of our table which they continued to refill without asking cost us $16! After spending $45/person for lunch, we actually had to go out and get lunch AFTER we ate here because we were still hungry and totally grossed out. San Francisco has amazing 4 and 5 star restaurants you can eat at for less than the price of this sad wet garbage. NEVER AGAIN.
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Review from Jennifer S.
Redwood City, CA
12/16/2011 1 Check-in Here
Honestly, I"m not sure what all the hype is about. I have to admit the XLBs (Xiao Long Bao) are really good, but this place has nothing on the XLBs at Shanghai Cafe (in New York)..
There was a bit of a wait, but luckily we had a reservation for our team. They are pretty intense about you not flaking on your reservation because seating is definitely in-demand...but if you're coming with more than 4 people, MAKE A RESERVATION and DON"T BE LATE. (They will definitely give your table to someone else)
Siu Mai - Shrimp/Pork is not very ground up..so I didn't like how chunky it was, some people like that though..
Xia Jiao - Shrimp Dumplings - were pretty standard in terms of taste, may have been slightly more shrimp in there than the ones you would get at all the other "high end" dim sum places.
Xiao Long Bao - The only thing that is worth ordering more than 1 of...
The team liked the spring rolls here...I didn't try it, but I guess that means they were pretty decent.
Coconut Mochi - They have MOCHI ROLLS..this was interesting to try. I don't know if i'd order it again..
Egg Tarts - These flakey buttery egg tarts were right up there on my list of best egg tarts. They're smaller than the ones you get at Golden Gate Bakery..but they are reaaaalllly yummy.
Next time I'm here, I'll just order Egg Tarts and XLBs. :) -
Review from Annie c.
12/15/2011
Dim sum in a food court setting (if you sit in the outside tables).
Food is decent with all the usual suspects and I really like how they take reservations. That's a BIG plus
Parking: 3 hrs free with validation! BUT garage spots are *really* cramped and need help getting into and out of spots -
Review from Mel S.
Chicago, IL
12/30/2011
Came here after landing from Chicago on Christmas eve- and can I just say that this place has both real authentic Asian food and a very attentive staff. Like super attentive! If you frequent dim sum/Chinese restaurants, you will know that attentive rarely belongs in the same sentence as dim sum. My water was always filled, I received all the orders I asked for, and the employees were all really pleasant. I guess the only reason NOT to come, would be the price. It is definitely more expensive than other dim sum restaurants. Think about spending $5.00 or so per dish. Their special Shanghai soup dim sum is amazing- but it's $10 or so for 4 pieces.
Bottom line: it's a very good restaurant... if you can afford it.
BTW- on the weekends, park in the garage! It's free with validation! -
Review from Grace C.
Oakland, CA
1/19/2012
4 stars for the food and atmosphere
1 star for the service
My family and I are from HK and have a critical tongue for all Chinese food, especially Cantonese cuisine. Yang Sing is one of the few places we will go for dim sum. Although it IS overpriced and they offer a lot of westernized dishes aside from the traditional dim sum items, the taste is stable and of good quality (for America). The ingredients are fresh and the taste is better than most dim sum places in the Bay Area. The environment is also very comfortable, clean and classy, another reason why I would choose to go here.
BUTTTTTT!!!!!!!! The service is no bueno.....unless you speak English and English only. Or at least that was what was carried across during my last visit. While the manager and servers were courteous and friendly, the majority of the dim sum cart ladies were rather rude when they talked to us in Cantonese (our mistake for letting them know that we knew the dialect; I cannot understand dim sum items when they're "translated" to English, so I had to ask what it was in Cantonese). No smiles, no thank you's...just a bunch of glaring, shouting and frowning. It would be more understandable if we had been difficult customers with ridiculous demands or rude attitude - no, we were perfectly civilized people wanting to enjoy dim sum with our out-of-town guests. Oh I'm sorry, I wasn't aware that only non-Cantonese speaking individuals (indeed the majority of their customers) deserved your respect and attention.
Normally we are chill customers and rarely complain to the managers. But one lady in particular was so bad that we felt it was necessary to report her (if that does anything?). I closely observed her - she gave every table a bright smile and almost bowed when she thanked them. As soon as she came into proximity with our table, the cheesy smile disappears and turns into a frown - before anything was said. In one instance, she was carrying pan-fried buns, which are traditionally made with pork. The ones she carried were chicken, and my dad, who doesn't eat beef, did not hear her and politely asked if there was any beef in the buns. To all of our surprise (dismay), she shot my dad a scornful glare and shouted (in English) "CHICKEN!" before proceeding with a look of annoyance. It sure did not sound like she was reiterating but instead it sounded like she was scolding him for mistaking (or so she thought) "beef" in Chinese for "chicken" in English. Needless to say, it pissed her off even more that we did not order the buns (evident by the rolling of her eyes.) Later on, she skipped our table a couple of times and made a face every time she inched close. SERIOUSLY? We did NOTHING wrong.
LASTLY - the manager's initial reaction to our complaint was "Really? But she has been working here for a really long time!" .....umm are you trying to imply that we are making up the story and that there is no chance for a long-time employee to act so rudely to its customers?
Of course, there were some ladies who were polite and treated us the same as everyone else. But overall, I was disgusted by how certain employees favored and sucked up to a particular crowd of customers. Though we thought the food was good, we did not feel welcomed by the restaurant at all.
I don't know. My pride says this place does not deserve any more of our business....but my stomach still prefers their dim sum over any other place in SF/East Bay. Rawr. Damnit. -
Review from Nora C.
San Francisco, CA
11/29/2011
Let's talk about my love-hate relationship with Yank Sing. Every time I leave there in a tizzy, I vow to never go back. This time was no different. After a long night of schmoozing and boozing, I often wake up in the morn with a hankering for some dim sum. Who doesn't?
Their dim sum is divine. Hits the spot EVERY time. What leaves me with a nasty taste in my mouth is the horrible service. To start off with, the manager/owner/whoever he is moves like molasses. We gave him our credit cards to split the bill and he came back about 20 minutes later. Then I gave him my parking ticket to get validated and after 10 minutes I was forced to chase him through the restaurant to get it back so I could get the hell out of there. No wonder the place is always packed!! I can't figure out the servers either. I asked one of them for a diet coke and she laughed and walked away. Huh?? One of my friends asked another lady walking by with a big cart of pot stickers if we could have some and she BARKED back at her that she would come back. She walked back 5 minutes later with an empty cart and a smile on her face. Exsqueeze me??
I just don't get it. Maybe I never will. I'm sure I'll wind up coming back again in a weakened hungover state. They're lucky their food is so damn good!!!!!! -
Review from Chris M.
San Francisco, CA
1/27/2012
Having eaten dim sum more than 100 times in the Bay Area, Yank Sing is NOT worth the hype. There are many other great places in San Francisco where you can find great dim sum at an affordable price. Unfortunately, Yank Sing is not one of them.
While Yang Sing has a great variety of dim sum options, the price for what you get is a little mind blowing. When you go to a place where an average dim sum dish costs more than $5 and goes up as high as $11, it's disappointing when the dim sum is not the best you've ever had. At most dim sum restaurants in San Francisco or throughout the Bay Area, you can expect most dishes within the price range of $2-5. At that price range, you can expect very high quality dim sum with reasonable service and hot dishes. Yang Sing costs at least twice as much and it's not worth it, even if the service is great.
Pros:
- Great setting and ambience
- Wide variety of dim sum options
Cons:
- Price (Way overpriced!)
- Small portions
- Poor value
If you have never had dim sum and have the money to spend, go ahead and try Yank Sing.
If you want great dim sum but want to watch your wallet, try dim sum restaurants in the Richmond District in SF, Oakland Chinatown, Millbrae, or San Mateo . You'll be more than satisfied with your dim sum meal and service. -
Review from Flip F.
Lafayette, CA
1/27/2012
Favorite Dim Sum in the City. In the Bay Area too. on weekends, it is fantastic for kids, as they open up the atrium for seating. With the waterfall from the ceiling, it is fantastic. The Hargow, Shumai and the pork bunds are great. As are their Signature dishes. Must go!
-
Review from Tiffany V.
San Francisco, CA
11/19/2011
Came here on a spontaneous date today. I was recovering from a fever and refused to spend another day in bed wasting away. We were going to go for dinner but I found out they closed at 4pm so we came at 1pm instead because we were both craving dim sum at that point and refused to settle for anything else. I was kind of on the fence since I've always heard mixed reviews about this place and theres nothing worse than paying a high price for shitty food but that was not an issue.
If you can find street parking, go for it. The parking lot is a never ending clusterfuck of a labyrinth. Theres seriously cars going in every and all directions and half the parking lot is parallel parking and the other half doesn't even look like a parking lot and forget about it if you have a big car. If it weren't for the super nice parking lot attendant, we would've given up entirely. Apparently you can park on the first floor reserved parking. Then you just take the elevator up to the restaurant. Oh and make sure you get your parking validated!
The place was pretty packed, never an empty table. Make sure to make reservations if you don't want to wait. The restaurant was filled with mostly white people if that tells you anything. I didn't even notice until my date told me to be honest.
I watched in horror as my date dumped out all the soup in his Shanghai Dumplings and I laughed at myself when I told him to bust out some Chinese and then realizing they speak Cantonese in dim sum places and not Mandarin.
We also got the shiitake mushroom dumplings, shrimp dumplings, shrimp rice rolls, egg tarts, giant thing of baked cod, sticky rice, and some other stuff. Everything was good except the cod was kind of overcooked and cold but it was still good. The egg tarts and shrimp dumplings were my favorite.
Service was good, especially for a Chinese restaurant. It came out to be $70 for the food and around $8 for the tea and his Coke. I thought it was going to come out to be way more since I didn't know the prices of anything we were ordering and we kept getting plate after plate of food and all the other reviews freaked me out about the end price. I think it averages out to around $7/plate. I don't know how I feel about spending this much for dim sum (or as they like to call it, deem sum) but I would definitely take my parents here the next time they're in town.
Oh and props to them for using compostable take out boxes!
*fun fact edit: I just found out my mother had her wedding banquet here way back when with my dad! -
Review from Elma C.
San Francisco, CA
1/4/2012 10 photos
If you're not a fan of crowds, avoid Yang Sink on weekends at all costs.
Yang Sink website states: "On weekends Yank Sing's tables spill out into the elegant surrounds of the Rincon Atrium and the 49 Stevenson Arcade; filled with friends and family, laughter and conversation."
My version of the statement above would be: One weekend we booked a table for two, showed up early and still had to wait way beyond our reservation time (great, the food must be delicious right?) I have to say-despite the "spilled out tables", guests were packed like sardines. It gets better. The rooms "are filled with loud conversation and laugher" simply means you won't be able to have a dialogue at the table. Even if you come by yourself I'm positive you won't be able to have an inner dialogue either. Oh well, you can enjoy your meal instead but you'll have to convince servers that "no" means "no" first. They push steaming hot carts around the room with various dim sum dishes and they try to place them on your plate before you even know what they offer. Our mission that day at Yang Sink basically got boiled down to- eat quickly and get out of there. This is NOT exactly what people want from a restaurant though, right? Right.
Good news? They offer food to go. -
Review from Shannon E.
San Francisco, CA
After reading all of the reviews about the Shanghai dumplings, I'm so disappointed that I couldn't give them a whirl! Since I don't eat meat, my spread was a bit more limited but still so, sooo good:
- Shrimp dumplings: my favorite option on the menu, hands down!
- Snow pea dumplings: not worth the money; mediocre at best.
- Seafood basil dumplings: very good, though second to the shrimp on the dumpling scale.
- The crab 'pops': not sure what these are really called, but they're pretty delish! Kind of pricey, though... not sure I'd order them again ($12 for 2)
- Green beans: great for a dose of vegetables.
- Soft shell crab: good but pricey!
On top of that, my boyfriend munched on the BBQ pork buns (mediocre per his review) and the Shanghai dumplings (on point).
The service here was great and the seating was plentiful. While I knew it wasn't going to be cheap, I was actually pretty astounded by the bill we managed to rack up! My advice would be to peruse the menu before just picking stuff off the carts as they go by -- that method adds up and you unless you get to see EVERYTHING they have, you could miss out on some great options. -
Review from Kevin M.
Monterey, CA
12/11/2011 1 Check-in Here
This place is in a great location, and it's huge there's always a ton of food moving around on the floor.
I enjoyed everything I tried, and the service was fast and friendly.
A little on the expensive side, but the food is fresh and great.
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