Chinese is my go-to comfort cuisine as I love the pastas, meats, dim sum, rice all with interesting and unique combinations. The trouble with being a bad food junkie is I've been hooked on certain aspects and my palate isn't happy until that craving has been satisfied. Just like America where you have regional delicacies like Southern shrimp and grits, Pennsylvania scrapple and northeastern lobster rolls for instance, China also has food that is very regionalized. Therein lies some of my issues locating my favorite dishes but when I do it can be a very rewarding experience. For the record they don't have Beef Chow Fun which is Cantonese however I didn't mind this time.
Located off of Ladson Rd in a relatively easy place to get in and out of, Yang's is a typical Asian restaurant with little soul inside. To clarify the establishment looks to be confused if it wants visitors to have the option to sit down and eat vs pickup only. There are a few tables with boxes of condiments next to the register; not even bothered to be put in something more "official" and literally there's no artwork, statues or culture. Therefore, I don't believe sitting down to eat would be that enjoyable however if one is just picking up an order, I suppose it's fine. For me I rather enjoy aesthetics as it brings in my enjoyment even before I eat; phycology does play a part.
As for the appetizers I got spring rolls they were generic as they tasted just like every other one, I've had in my life and sometimes familiarity is a great thing. That said I wasn't exactly jumping up and down, rather they were ok. The pork ribs were decent in that they weren't chewy but they're definitely "American-ized" in that they had no real Chinese flavor to them. They're basically cooked ribs tossed in some BBQ. Perhaps it's me as every summer I have Dim Sum (when I lived in Austin) and I love Mala Ribs (small, ribs fried then drizzled with authentic BBQ sauce), these aren't them. But that said, they're decent.
The chicken Mei Fun is a simple dish yet very affective. Most Chinese restaurants have opted for the "Singapore rice noodle" as their mainstay by adding curry. I like that too but I prefer the simpler option. But let me tell you it was very good! Plenty of green onion, bok-choy, onion & eggs along with thin rice noodles and plenty of meat. The flavor is on point with what I'm accustom to having however I do like carrots in mine. Overall, not bad.
The final dish was the shrimp lo-mein. I have an issue here and it's that pasta shapes create flavor. Yes, the ingredients are the same; wheat flour, water, salt, oil, and sometimes eggs for the basics, but way the noodle hits the pallet is different. Ever noticed macaroni tastes different than spaghetti? Anyways traditional Chinese lo-mein has round noodles not linguini shaped pasta. I get that having less options means easier for ordering but it's breaking tradition and something I hate. The flavors were on point as were was the quantity of food and amount of protein but it didn't do it for me.
Overall Yangs is a decent fast service Chinese restaurant but I was honestly expecting an elevated experience over the "hole in the wall" and "one on every corner" one might get anywhere else and that's exactly what I got, while elevated a smidge. I think most people would rather enjoy the experience however there wasn't anything that stuck with me, ensuring I will add it into my rotation. read more