dim sum at Yang's- delish!

[phoenikia]

Was treated to dim sum at Yang's today- have to say I was very impressed. Everything was delicious.

We tried the nor mai gai, 2 versions of turnip cake (one crispy and one steamed, to compare), vegetable filled bean curd rolls, chicken ginger steamed buns, a green tea lotus bean paste steamed sweet, and an egg custard sesame ball. 7 dishes (1 L, 5 M and 1 S, IIRC ) and tea came to just under $33. The quality was excellent, and the servers were very professional and friendly.

Have to say, this is now my favourite dim sum resto in the GTA (although I haven't visited Grand yet). Still like Empire Court and Casa Imperial, but for the whole package, including service and ambiance, Yang's is now my first pick.

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Yangs Fine Chinese Cuisine
9665 Bayview Ave, Richmond Hill, ON L4C, CA

[kimsweetrose]

Hi everyone, Im new and don't really know how to navigate this website, yet...I can't seem to find the address for Yang's. Can someone please give me the address so I can go try the yummy dim sum, thank you.

[Charles Yu]

The address is 9665 Bayview Avenue, Richmond Hill ( SE corner of Bayview and Weldrick ).
Happy Chowing!

[kimsweetrose]

Lol. Thanks Chales. I just realized that the address was on the upper right hand corner all along. Im such an idiot....hahaahahaa.

[red dragon]

Another great referral from Charles (thank you)!

We chose this place for dim-sum on Tuesday. We were going to give Grand a try, but found this location closer for us (we’ll make it there someday Bok Choi)!

We ordered a lot for two people, but wanted to try everything.

Siu Mai – pretty good (4.80)

Har Gow – yes, they were jumbo, and good (4.80)

Spare ribs/black bean sauce – I never order this item for dim sum so I don’t know what possessed me, preferring my own recipe steamed for over an hour and a half – these were tough and chewy as I had predicted (3.80)

Chicken Feet – flavourful and tender (according to my husband) (3.80)

Beef Tripe – ok (2.80)

Beef tendon (very flavourful, nice large pieces, loved the sauce, I could have eaten in with just a bowl of steamed rice), very tender (4.80)

Fried Sweet Potato bun – the bun was very soft and fluffy but I didn’t care for the filling, which tasted more like pumpkin to me, and I love sweet potatoes, it reminded me a bit of a mild pumpkin pie flavour. I wouldn’t say it was bad, I just wouldn’t order it again (3.80)

Spring Rolls – these tasted pretty much like the ones we have at Dragon Dynasty (our go to place) (2.80)

Deep fried meat dumpling (we thought this was the wai tip, but turned out to be the sweet deep fried version). It was good and we didn’t find them greasy (2.80)

Fried Cuttlefish – I know this dish is supposed to be a bit chewy, but wow, I bit into it and had to pull it off with my fingers. It had a nice soya sauce, slightly sweet flavour, but way too chewy in our opinion (4.80)

Steamed rice roll with beef and enoki mushrooms (the mushrooms were quite absent, roll was pretty good). I’m actually reading the description from our receipt and didn’t even know it had mushrooms until now!! (3.80)

Service was fairly attentive.

The one thing that did turn me off was when we were seated. This is a fairly upscale restaurant and the tablecloth had two extremely large stains on it. I was really annoyed with this, especially when I pointed it out to the hostess, who only then, agreed to seat us at another table (it was only 11 am and not busy). For a restaurant of this calibre, I don’t quite understand why they wouldn’t use another tablecloth in the first place?

With tax, the bill came to 51.08.

We’ll go back again, minus the few dishes that we didn’t like, but it was very good overall.

[Charles Yu]

You are most welcome!!
All these food for just the two of you?!! Wow!!!!!!! You should have called me to join you folks! I'm just a short few minutes away!! Ha!!

[red dragon]

Well, we were looking around and wondering if "Charles" was there!! I'll never understand how my husband can eat so much and remain at a decent weight??

The area is very nice and peaceful as well.

Looking forward to a return visit.

[Hugh]

We went today, Monday, for lunch.
The quality seemed fine but did not blow us away.
The rest of this message is a set of complaints, but our experience really wasn't bad, it is just that the complaints are what seems notable.

The har gow wrapper seemed quite thick and and sticky. The taste was bland. Of course we enjoyed them anyway.

The cha siu baau were very nicely light. A little bit too sweet for my taste but others like that.

Two of our orders were wrong. In one case, communicating in English about the error was not too effective but we didn't mind since we were experimenting anyway. In the other case, we didn't figure the problem out until we'd served most of the dish, so we didn't complain.

I really do enjoy the cart regime (of other restaurants) better than ordering from a menu, but most restaurants probably wouldn't have the turnover on a Monday to keep the carts fresh.

[Pincus]

What hours/days does Yang's serve dim sum? I wouldn't mind going there some time to try it out but would need to coordinate with other family activities in the area.

[Charles Yu]

7 days a week from 10.00am to 3.00pm

[aser]

I've actually been served after 3pm quite a few times, although I'm sure they don't want this fact broadcasted. They will bust out the vaccum to clean up though, so all you service sticklers beware.

[garlicandwingnut]

Had exceptional Dim Sum at Yang's today thanks to my Asian experts - Charles, Skyline, Bok Choi and Phoenikia - who have never lead me to anything but good Chow!

Simple but very elegant dining room and informative, friendly staff.

As it was my first visit we ordered familiar items for comparison purposes. Har Gow, Sui Mai, Sin Do Kun, Lo Pa Ko, Sticky Rice in Lotus Leaf, Pi Kwa, Crispy Shimp Dumpling and PieYip (please forgive transliteration mistakes!). So 8 items plus tea @ $39 + tip.

All items were substantially better than run of the mill and a good bit less expensive than other high end places. Next visit I will be more adventurous and at these prices it will be soon!

[chefhound]

Thanks to Charles Yu for turning me on to this wonderful place. I haven't had the chance to go for dinner yet but the dim sum is wonderful. I've been back a few times and recommended it to every one I know.

I'm a big fan of the sesame balls with the custard inside. I also tried the peanut/sesame pastry - so good. My brother always judges a place by it's bbq pork buns and he found them to be excellent. Other recommendations: my friend loves the beef tendon and the chicken pie, my sister-in-law likes the tripe. I found most items to be really great, particularly the squid tentacles. I do agree with previous posts about the size of the har gow these days. Way too big! I also found the ones with the foie gras to be just ok. The amount of foie and the texture after it had cooked was not as amazing as I had hoped.

Overall, a great choice for dim sum. Nice atmosphere, great food, reasonable prices.

[Charles Yu]

You are most welcome chefhound! We are 'fraternity' and I am always glad to help!

[Apprentice]

Yang's was very good, thanks for the recommendation! Their turnip cake was indeed tasty as well as their beef short ribs, shrimp and foie gras dumpling (not as good as LHT foie gras dumpling). We ordered a lot of food and I'll defnitely be back.

One thing I've noticed is the size of har-gow. Is it me or are they becoming larger and larger these days? Yangs version was good but not excellent. I found it a bit "doughy" for my tastes but they did load it with 2/3 shrimps!

[skylineR33]

Yes, I don't really know what's wrong with these places' Har Gow in Toronto area, you can find big Har Gow at Yangs, Regal Palace, Casa Imperial, Empire Court, I guess it means they more or less provides the same level of dim sum ...

[Charles Yu]

I think the skill level of the chef also has something to do with it! It is obviously more challenging and require more skill to make good bite size Har-gow using skin/wrap that is thin, malleable and delicate enough as to not break when formed, open up when steamed and later on, fall apart when picked up by chopsticks. Increasing the size of the morsels would mean one can be less careful and refine by using thicker wrappers and hence resulting in a more 'durable' product!. In Hong Kong, size of Har-gow from good dim sum establishments is always bite size. For bonus, the chef would add one more 'centre' one to make it 5 morsels in one steamer rather than staying with 4 but increasing the size to that of a ping-pong ball! That way, the dim sum chef can show off his true skill!

[skylineR33]

Yes, definitely the chef is not as skillful and taking short cut. Most of the har gow in Toronto area are not durable even at top places here, it is just not elegant and lack of refinement. A good refined har gow should have at least 10 to 12 folds nice and clear on the skin/wrap !

[Apprentice]

Interesting points.

[erly]

We had the Dim Sum at Yangs a few weeks back, as we were going to a Nursery on North Bayview.
This was before I read all of the glowing reviews.
It was excellent with the exception of the Har-gow, as you stated Charles.
It was too big, and fell apart when picked up although it was not overcooked, or mushy..
The other exception was the Bean Curd rolls, which I found bland, and this is always my favorite.
DH thought that everything was delish,
We have just returned from a business trip, and taking your word for it will go for dinner with friends this weekend.
I no longer recommend Elegantview for Dim Sum.
This was our go to place, but the last couple of times, it was more than disappointing.
They must have new people in the kitchen, so I sadly take back my many recommendations.

[aser]

The skin on the har gow is delicate, you have to be good w/ the chopsticks to extract it w/o breaking. Like all dumplings in dim sum, it sticks to the parchment, so you have to remove it very slowly to ensure non-breakage. The common mistake I see everybody do is to try to yank it out quick in one motion. Guaranteed breakage.....

It's a delicate balance, do you want it more durable for easier pickup, but sacrificing texture? Or do you want it thin for good texture, at the risk of breakage?

[skylineR33]

Right, agree completely. They are two different classes. Making a Har Gow from beginning to end is not a easy process, not easy to make it right ! And I think LWH and Yang's Har Gow are the better ones in Toronto, with LWH having a more reasonable size.

[Thaithechef]

I like go there for lunch but not dinner. Their dim sum is among the best in town.
Last time I went with my friend for dinner, we order a chicken dish which is ice cold. Most asian resto serve this dish in room tempeture. The most impressed dish is the seafood fried rice, a lot of different kind of seafood but the taste of uni is a bit off. $38? a fried rice? Should be a lot better, right?

[Charles Yu]

This is one of the thing I really love about Chowhound! The sometimes total diversification of opinion and taste from fellow foodies! In my case, comparing with some of their competitors, I find Yang's Dim Sum pretty good but their dinner is better! I've eaten dinner there about half a dozen times. Never had a disappointing episode! Interesting?!

[red dragon]

Looking for a new dimsum place that has good quality and good price. Will give this one a try. Are there any carts or is it order only?

[Charles Yu]

Yang's is pretty high end so no carts roaming around to spoil the ambiance.

[Apprentice]

Will be heading to Yangs for dim sum, are there any specialties that I should not miss?

[juno]

It's one helluva drive north for me to get to Yang's, which seems to be somewhere on the edge of the Canadian Shield, but everything I've tried on the dim sum lunch menu - and I think I've been through most of it - has been first rate. I particularly liked the two versions of the turnip cake. Add to that the clean, modern lines of the pleasant room and good, knowledgable service, and you've got a winner in the dim sum sweepstakes. Reasonable prices as well, given the quality of the goodies - two can nosh extremely well for $35 or so, tax and tip included. For comparison's sake, I also tried another fancy dim sum joint - called, I think, Emperor, or some such, in a plaza on Bayview Ave. somewhat south of Yang's, which also got good mentions on another dim sum thread - and found Yang's substantially superior. Emperor hits a double or triple, Yang's hits a home run. It's the best tip I've picked up on Chowhound so far this year.

[skylineR33]

I will go to Yang for dim sum or dinner over Grand any day.

[BokChoi]

Yes, we all know that to be a very true statement. For me, it would be the reverse (and everyone knows that to be a very true statement as well). I would have to say that Yang's is one of the few places I take many of the DC's to since it is in the neighbourhood.

[skylineR33]

I am happy for Grand to have such a die-hard fan. But pretty much Grand's prime time is long gone and it is now just a hotel restaurant serving good to average dim sum and cantonese cuisine as seen by many people, with such quality that can be found in many restaurant in RH.

[BokChoi]

To each their own. I think we've gone into quite a discussion on a previous thread. No point opening up old wounds.

[skylineR33]

Sorry, my bad.

[BokChoi]

No problem skylineR33.

[aser]

My friend told me he went to Grand recently and tried to order a stir fried noodle or rice dish during dim sum hours. They didn't offer any!

I found that quite odd as pretty much every dim sum joint will have a place card menu on the table offering at least several fried rice/noodle dishes.

My friend wasn't pleased, he also said his bbq pork bun felt microwaved. He is HK born btw, if that matters, and says he much prefers Yang's.

Don't shoot me, I'm just passing on the message. I would still like to try Grand for myself. It's just that it's hard to justify the drive when dim sum of high quality can be found near me in Markham/RH.

[BokChoi]

Interesting, because I know for a fact that they steam all their buns as I have gotten a few kitchen tours during the dim sum hour. Not at all going to shot you aser :). To each their own, am I right? I just know that they don't use the microwave, so I just wanted to clarify that.

Kneading the dough: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bokchoi-snowpea/3031523545/in/set-72157606514697691/
Here they are rolling the buns out: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bokchoi-snowpea/3032362786/in/set-72157606514697691/
One of several giant steamers they use: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bokchoi-...

[szw]

I've seen you write that many times but...what is a DC?

[pinkprimp]

My guess is dining companion!