Yank Sing Restaurant Review, San Francisco

Yank Sing Rincon Center

Yank Sing Stevenson Street

How does San Francisco’s famous Yank Sing compare to the world’s Dim Sum restaurants?

Since 1958, Yank Sing has been specializing in Chinese Dim Sum. They now have 2 locations, both in the San Francisco Financial District. We visited the smaller Stevenson street location, situated in an alley just off 2nd street. This location has fewer items, but is known for rapid fire service. Yank Sing is known for quality dim sum with very nice service, at high prices. Our last visit was in May 2012 to the Rincon center location.

Be sure to read our Introduction to Chinese Dim Sum.

Decor, Vibe – Clean modern room that filled up rapidly after the doors opened. The Rincon center.

Dim Sum Carts roaming the room. This location is small, the Spear street location is huge. 75% of the folks were non Asians with a blend of families and tourists.

Yank Sing Menu Pictures

Website Yank Sing Menu

Yank Sing Picks:

Seafood dumplings ($5.10) were topped with fish Roe in proved to be pretty solid.

Shanghai Pork Dumpling ($11.90 for 6) was pretty expensive, yet a dish everyone gets. They are constantly refilling the cart with fresh batches of these. Nice tasty soup inside along with a fairly thin wrapper. Surprisingly, one of the better versions in the San Francisco Bay Area. Din Tai Fung has some of the best ones in North America.

Stuffed Lotus Leaf ($4.65 for 1) with glutinous rice was pretty big and full of tasty pork, shrimp, and other goodies. A bit light on flavor.

Seabass ($16.75) was a big chunk of well cooked fish normally served at dinner. Tasty but R&G Lounge does this better.

Deep Fried Pork Dumpling ($4.65 for 4) was pretty warm and full of meat filling. Good but not excellent. Pretty greasy.

Chickens feet ($4.80) probably doesn’t get ordered very much here. We give them an E for effort. Decent, but not stellar.

Sesame Ball ($10.20 for 4) was ridiculously expensive but fresh and hot out of the fryer. In 2012, these were more dark beige in color.

Egg Custard Tart ($10.20 for 4) was expensive but a good and sweeter than usual dessert. Big pieces of crust and delicious custard.

Mango ice cream pie ($7.75) was surprisingly Very Good. Not exactly Chinese, but if you like mango ice cream, order it up.

OK:

Shrimp Dumpling ($5.45) for 4) was chock full of shrimp and had a nice thin wrapper. The shrimp were smashed together, showing that the quality was not very high. Not as hot as it could have been.

Steamed Pork Buns ($4.80 for 2) were hot and filled with pork inside. Not as good as Hang Ah as the bun was to thick.

Black Bean Spare Ribs ($4.35) had a minimal amount of black beans. (If any) Pretty greasy and average.

Peking duck ($5.10) by the slice is a cool little personal piece. The duck and bun were not that hot and flavors were average. They even left a piece of bone on the meat. A nice accessible dish for newbies.

Pans:
None

Service was better than most Chinese restaurants, with people patrolling all the time. It was pretty clear that they train the waiters and bus boys to be extra nice and polite. A Chinese restaurant with actual pleasant service? Keep in mind that the best restaurants in the Asia, like 3 Michelin star Lung King Heen in Hong Kong, all have top-notch service!

Yank Sing delivers a wide range of classic dim sum dishes as well as some items that normally are served at dinner time like the sea bass, Peking duck, or minced squab in lettuce cups. Be sure to not just order off the carts. Waiters can fetch steaming hot items for you too.

Clearly the prices are 2-3 times more than other places. Yank Sing is worth it if you like decent dim sum in a clean Western setting with lots of pleasant English speaking servers. It is no wonder that this place is so popular. Another place with service a couple notches lower, would be Cityview. We would rate the food quality below places on the Peninsula like Koi Palace, Asian Pearl Peninsula. If you like this restaurant, continue your food journey at one of these places.

Also at:
1 Rincon Center
101 Spear Street
San Francisco, CA 94105
415-781-1111

$25 Dining Certificate for $5

Yank Sing Overall Rating: (Very Good 2.5)

Come Back?

Food Rating:	(Very Good)
Service Rating:	(Very Good)
Atmosphere Rating:	(Very Good)
Value Rating:	(Average)

Guide: 0 = poor, 1 = Below/Average, 2 = Good, 2.5 = Very Good, 3 = Excellent , 4 = Extraordinary

Alcohol:	Beer, Wine
Attire:	Casual
Hours:	Mon-Fri 11am - 3pm, Sat-Sun, Holidays 10am - 4pm
Parking:	Street
Reservations:	Yes
Prices:	$4.35 - $16.75