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    Yan Flower

    3.8 (356 reviews)
    InexpensiveChinese
    Open 11:00 am - 9:30 pm

    Order Yan Flower Takeout or Delivery

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    Business Info

    YAN FLOWER ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Casual
    Moderate noise
    Good for kids
    Dogs allowed

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    Recommended Reviews - Yan Flower

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    Pitsticker Pot Stickers, Meat Or Vegetable
    Nina S.

    Yan Flower excels at serving good Cantonese-American food with the freshest ingredients at an affordable price. Take it from me - I lived across the street for years.

    Hot and sour soup

    The hot and sour soup is my favorite. A bowl and a side of rice costs less than $5. Great meal and hits every time.

    Sweet and Sour Pork
    Annie T.

    With the mindset of "cheap eats" in the city, I think Yan Flower meets the criteria for great prices, decent dishes, excellent portions, good service, and good location (easy to get to, plenty of parking). I went during their generous time period of 11am to 4pm "lunch specials". This was nice because most restaurants have a narrow window of time for specials, and they also don't have them on weekends, but we went on a Saturday! My group and I all ordered plates ranging from $8 to $9, and they came with a bowl of rice and a fried spring roll. We ate EVERYTHING! We splurged (haha) and ordered a fried sesame ball appetizer for $6, which looked tiny, but they were hot and freshly fried, so they were 100% worth it. The ambiance isn't much to be desired and some of the dishes are served on paper plates, just like what previous reviewers mentioned, but I didn't mind that at all. You don't come to a Cheap Eats place and expect gourmet dining. Eating out of paper plates to me means they are looking out for the customers' best interest by not contaminating dishes with germs, oils, etc. I'm guessing this started with Covid, and they just kept it. An example of why I'm giving Yan Flower 4 stars: they surprised us with the little customer service details, like asking what we'd like in our water glasses. "Do you want ice or no ice? Lemon or no lemon?" We just wanted tap water, so.... How ever that comes is fine with us. This was as nice surprise. The lady who served us was so sweet. Again, this is a spacious, well serviced, casual restaurant with good food, large portions, and great prices. I heard about Yan through college students... and now I know why they all come here!

    Kung Pao Tofu lunch special
    Marvin A.

    Great price for the lunch special 10 dollars Can't get better than that. Fast and easy lunch Thank you

    Sesame Balls

    Okay keep in mind this place uses No MSG in their food, which is like a enhancer. anyways so the egg flower soup is not good. tasted very watery almost like sink water and it wasn't yellow, the orange chicken was crispy and the meat seemed to be light meat aka chicken breast. NOT dark meat like how some places try to skimp you out on. The chow mein was relatively good and on the thicker noodles side which i like. and the sesame seed balls we're fresh, warm, and overall good ! The service was quick and efficient. Also patient. The place was cute with its little decor, spacious seating and overall vibes were good.

    Hot and Sour Soup
    Sara M.

    High quality food for an incredibly low price. This was one of my favorite places when I lived in Santa Cruz. I was addicted to their hot and hour soup (one of the best). Their lunch specials prices are hard to beat, I haven't seen prices like that anywhere else in years. The food is also delicious in general and the lady who works there is amazing. Would highly recommend!

    Fried rice needed something to kick it up a notch.
    Theresa R.

    We stayed a couple nights in town and tried this restaurant, since it was close to where we were staying, by the Wharf. There were ample, traditional choices that fit our interests. We had ginger beef, shrimp egg foo yung, chow fun chicken, sweet and sour chicken, shrimp walnut, pork fried rice, potstickers and egg rolls. It was all good. Nice crunchy chicken in the sweet and sour, perfectly done shrimp in the shrimp walnut with lots of sweetened walnuts, noodles were perfect and loads of chicken. Good size portions for a family meal. The fried rice could have used some oyster sauce or more meat and veg, but the rice itself was tasty. Overall, a good and satisfying meal, and we would come back if in the area. Almost forgot, here are a few pictures after my teens started to dig in!

    Kung pao chicken. EXCELLENT!
    Elizabeth S.

    This is a wonderful, low-key Chinese place I visited with a dear friend for the first time this past spring (she's behind on her Yelp reviews!). I had one of the best kung pao chickens I've ever had -- and I've had this dish all around the US. As others have commented, food is served on paper plates/in containers. Great! If you're expecting a high-brow dining experience with probably mediocre food, definitely go elsewhere. If, however, you want excellent Chinese food, go to Yan Flower. Be patient -- it has limited staff, and so if it takes a little longer to get your dishes, especially during peak hours, know that it will be worth the wait!

    Veggie Egg Foo Young
    Jamee S.

    This is your average Chinese restaurant. Food is okay. Service was fine. Ambience is average. Menu is simple. Food was served in paper plates. The only time we got really dishes was for soup. The serving bowl was real and so were the little bowls and soup spoons. The fork was metal. Otherwise, everything was disposable including the water cups. Thank goodness they used paper. The Wor Wonton soup was a little bland but the wonton and meat had a lot of flavor. Loved the amount of veggies in the soup. The salt and pepper tofu was good but slightly over fried. My favorite dish of the night though. We ordered the orange chicken with the sauce on the side. That was sad looking but it was okay. Nothing fancy. I'm wondering if this entree would've looked better plated on a dish. The egg foo yung was a little flat. Reminded me more of Korean veggie pancakes. The beef chow fun was decent. Overall it hit the spot for our Chinese food craving.

    Fried rice. Shrimp in Lobster sauce-

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    30 days ago

    Affordable, quick, and delicious. I recommend the general chicken, garlic string beans, and vegetable chow mein! Portions are large!

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    5 months ago

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    3 months ago

    Crazy portions, so delicious with the nicest staff best Chinese food in Santa Cruz. S

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    1 year ago

    Great food and value for the price. Solid lunch selections. Very glad a place like this exists downtown sc

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    Page 1 of 9

    Ask the Community - Yan Flower

    Any vegan dishes?

    YES. This is actually a veg friendly menu even if it's not shown in print. Try the kung pow ? tofu (extra p?w). The eggplant curry on the lunch menu ? is nice too. I am vegan and I’ve been going there for years. They will make almost anything on… Read more

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    Shun Feng - 水煮魚,又麻又辣。

    Shun Feng

    3.5(372 reviews)
    1.0 mi
    $$

    We stopped for lunch today after doing a little post holiday shopping and returns. We were greeted…read moreand seated immediately. Shun Feng has a large lunch menu with items ranging from $12 to $15. We had the Prawn Chow Mien and Hot & Sour Chicken. The food was fresh and delicious. I love how the staff is consistently friendly and helpful. They check in on you often and keep things moving. They have a computer set up by the register to make take out orders easy and efficient. It's easy to use and our orders always come out in a timely manner. If you need to place an order to go, it's fast and effective. It's a great place to grab lunch or take out!

    Special Noodle is widely regarded as the most popular Chinese restaurant in the city but we wanted…read moreto try another area that would serve authentic Chinese food. We decided to give Shun Feng a chance and were not disappointed! It's a nice cozy restaurant with traditional feel and decor. We were seated at the round table and had an amazing family style Chinese dinner. The owners and managers are all from China so it makes sense the food was authentic. We ordered a full slate of items including chicken feet, mapo tofu, beef cold cuts, and much more! Food was good and came out fast. Owners were very kind and provided great service. Pro tip: Traditional Chinese folks can look at the menu by the register for a more authentic menu

    Photos
    Shun Feng - Food sitting out, exposed. Next to an open back door.

    Food sitting out, exposed. Next to an open back door.

    Shun Feng - Sweet and sour pork lunch special

    Sweet and sour pork lunch special

    Shun Feng - Por stickers

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    Por stickers

    Yan Flower - chinese - Updated May 2026

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