There are plenty of great dim sum spots in San Francisco, and over time I've made my way through quite a few of them. Yank Sing is one of those places that comes with a few important things to know before you go. First, make a reservation--it's essentially mandatory on weekends. Without one, you can expect to wait around an hour or more. Once you're seated, the experience moves quickly. Order from the carts as they come around, and don't skip qr coding the soup. It's best to go with a group so you can try and share a wider variety of dishes. Be careful with the tea--it's served extremely hot. The service is efficient and fast, which keeps things moving, but it also means you'll want to pace yourself. The meal can add up quickly, so it's easy to over-order if you're not paying attention. Yank Sing isn't cheap, and while the food is good and reliably satisfying, it's not necessarily the most memorable dim sum experience in the city. That said, it's filling, well-executed, and consistently popular with both tourists and locals. One practical bonus: they validate parking in the garage, which is definitely a plus in San Francisco. read more

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I had never been to a proper dim sum restaurant before, and my fiancé had been meaning to take me to Yank Sing for a while. We were just rarely in the city with time to spare before their 3 p.m. closing time. The service was incredibly quick, and it only took a few minutes for us to get everything we wanted. We ordered two servings of the shrimp dumplings, pork shumai, barbecue steamed pork buns, and pork soup dumplings. I honestly wish I had been hungrier because the food was that good. The shrimp dumplings and barbecue pork buns were easily my favorites. As someone who loves soup dumplings, I did find theirs a little underwhelming. They were still good, but the filling lacked some flavor, and I think a little ginger or garlic would have gone a long way. I probably would not prioritize ordering them again, but my mouth is already watering thinking about everything else. read more

Yank Sing - Dim Sum Near Me - San Francisco, California

This places gives off pretty traditional dim sum restaurant. You also know it's a good spot when a lot of locals are eating there too Food was incredible! Very flavorful and had a lot of variety. Only downside was the service. Took us until half the meal to get some drinks ordered. We also ordered desserts and waited 15 mins and it never came. It also took us 10 mins after that to find someone to check out. read more

Came for Mother's Day. Hard to find cart service dim sum anymore. Nice to be in the courtyard when it's busy, less noisy. Dragon Tiger Prawns were our favorite. The scallop dumplings were also good and the bbq pork bao buns had good meat to bun ratio. Lotus sticky rice was really good. Egg tarts were some of the best I've had! Soup dumplings were ok, nothing to write home about. The Chinese broccoli was tasty but cold! Glass tea pots are pretty but get cold fast. Steamed ribs were extra fatty, but tasty. Service was decent but I did order something from the kitchen twice that never came! The carts kept running out before they made it to us. There is a list of items you have to order from the kitchen that no one mentioned till we figured it out at the end. read more

Yank Sing - Mother's Day, round one! - Dim Sum Near Me - San Francisco, California

What a week for dim sum. 1st time twice in the same week: the 1st dim sum chow (last Wed) was fun & near the yacht harbor in Emeryville... stellar! Sooo... yesterday I had to cancel our res for 4 @ 12:30 in the Financial District because our res balloned up to 7 diners & we had to go to The Rincon spot for the time slot we needed After we were seated, the Guk Fa tea I asked for (chrysanthemum) was slow to arrive which nomally is the the 1st...had to remind the staff. Our huge order was rapid shotgun style both from carts & menu but....... gasp!! NO CHICKEN FEET!! and that's my adored fetish dish! boo hoo! (I had to resort of my taste memory of the chick feet I had in Emeryville mmmmmm)The table fav was the Shanghai soup dumplings so much so that Ben reordered another 2 later after our 1st 3. His GF's teenage? daughter (sorry memory lapse) also had a busy hand in the abundant ordering & the orange jello..the finale dish. BTW the staff was pretty damn friendly A few minor quibbles... For me the only food flaws were #1. quite e few of the Shanghai dumplings stuck to the paper lining so that the delicate wrapper would tear & leak away the delicious broth.. the whole raison d'etre of this item & #2.their the rice noodle roll with pork...fine but it didn't hold a candle compared to the similar rendition which was their rice roll wrapped crispy chinese donut & encased shrimp in the East Bay Check out our bill & its way-mo amounts! OH NO! I just noticed a the Choy Sum stir fried with garlic $13.00, that I didn't taste? I don't think we got ..it have to check with my crew before I posting..we did get it I was wrong. onward! read more

Yank Sing - Dim Sum Near Me - San Francisco, California

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This was our first time here and we had a delightful experience! Fresh carts filled with goodies! Service was fast and attentive. Ambiance was traditional and comfortable. Off to Chinatown next! My favorite bite was the bbq pork bun! So fluffy and fresh! read more

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Larger of the two locations. Great dim sum, the best I've ever had. All the shrimp dishes really popped. The har gow, Cheung fun were standouts. Service is primarily by carts, which I love. You can order things you don't see on the carts and they'll bring it out. read more

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Yank Sing is hands down my favorite restaurant in San Francisco. The food is impeccable, but what really sets them apart is the hospitality. They always go out of their way to set aside a quieter table for us away from the crowds, and every visit feels like we're being welcomed by family. And the food? Consistently outstanding. Their dim sum is, in my opinion, the best in the city by a mile. The egg tarts and jin dui are unlike anything else I've had in SF. The combination of incredible food, genuine hospitality, and consistency is hard to beat. If you're in San Francisco and haven't been to Yank Sing, this is a must-visit. read more

Came here on a Sunday afternoon and it was pretty busy. Waited 25 minutes for a table. Ambiance inside is very nice. They have seating outside in the walkway too, but it doesn't have the same feel and the carts don't come out there as often. They have a decent sized menu and there are some items you can order from your phone through an online menu. They have a good amount of veg options too. Everything we tried was delicious, so no complaints on the quality of the food. Their food is on the pricier side compared to many dim sum places in Chinatown. read more

Yank Sing is one of the few places left in the city that still have cart dim sum even if it is a bit gentrified. They are always busy, so I'd recommend making a reservation, even if you do so the day of. This is not a place you go to have a relaxed meal, the atmosphere is busy and bustling and loud. I'd rate this higher if the food was better - they have limited menu items and if you come later in service they will be out of a lot of items listed. I left unsatisfied. You'd be better off going to City View or Harbor View or a deli style place if you want the full experience. read more

Yank Sing - Dim Sum Near Me - San Francisco, California

Food: the food here is mediocre. Some dishes were served cold, and the sauce was bland and lacked flavor. It looks good and appetizing, but it doesn't taste amazing. Ordered 10 dishes. The total was $124 before tips. Service: The service is a bit slow, hard to get a server's attention. But once you place an order, it arrives quite quickly. Ambiance: There are two locations. The one I visited was inside a mall. It had ample seating and clean. read more

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I haven't eaten here in almost two years (admittedly one time I tried recently and I didn't know they were closed on Monday). For starters we had reservations but didn't get seated for almost 30 min. Yes, it was busy, but what is the point of a reservation. The food itself was good but the ordering was not smooth. They had a QR code you could view that had only a partial menu of dishes but not dim sum to select. They had a paper menu with dim sum selection but no waiter ever came to,table to take our order. The food carts that rolled around didn't come often nor have much variety or what we were looking for. Overall was not an enjoyable dining experience unlike previous visits. Unfortunately I will probably not come back. Used to like this place bc it had tablecloths & were willing to pay for ambience. read more

This place is a classic for dim sum for a reason. Fast efficient servers flying around with carts full of goodies! The red bean sesame balls were amazing! Everything was actually- we Enjoyed chicken feet, shrimp dumplings, soup dumplings, pork rice rolls, fried shrimp, crab claw, pot stickers. And steamed pork buns (lightest fluffiest dough ever) . Great food and fast! read more

Yank Sing - Pork Potsticker Steamed BBQ Pork Bun soup dumplings - Dim Sum Near Me - San Francisco, California

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This is one of the last dimsum places with cart service but it's not worth it even for that, the carts move on too fast and their pushers are very impatient, and I know what I'm ordering and I'm trying to order fast even with them interrupting me after every item to ask if that's it. What would it be like for a newbie? If the food were good I would still return, I care less about service than taste but the food is not even good dim sum, like I left food because it was so bad. It's really expensive too, that's SF prices but even if it had tasted good, the portions were stingy and I would have been disappointed. read more

Absolutely Amazing! Everyone was so nice and food came out very fast. Highly recommend.

Fantastic dim sum. Their fried items were perfectly crisp without being oily. One of my favourite dim sums in the west coast read more

Yank Sing - Dim Sum Near Me - San Francisco, California

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Food is suburb but the service has really gone down compared to what it used to be. We had to ask for tea, for carts, for bill. The only person who actually took anytime with us was the person who rang up our bill, otherwise we were left unattended. And we realized later in the meal that there was a separate menu for things to order like green beans, duck, and noodles. The Peking duck used to be in a cart but no one explained that they had a separate menu. They just put one down on our table. read more

Came to Yank Sing (Spear St.) around 12pm on a Saturday. It was difficult to find parking despite there being a parking garage nearby. To make it short, the food was not that good. If you are a tourist, then maybe this place is for you. But if you value authenticity and quality then go somewhere else. The menu was small, all of the traditional dim sum dishes were not on the menu. The menu was in all English and that should've been a sign. We ordered multiple dishes and they all came out either cold or room temperature. I did not get the impression anything was fresh except the soup dumplings. Some of the food was just made poorly also, portions were tiny, and the siu mai required brute force to separate the pieces. We ordered char siu, and it came with maybe 10 pieces covered in honey you could hardly taste it. We asked for rice wrapped in the bamboo leaf, and the chicken feet but they were both not available. When the dessert came, our mango pudding wasn't even set. It was like mango soup. I can recommend much better dim sum in the city. Yank Sing used to be good, but not anymore. Service was also slow, seemed like they focused more on the Caucasian tourist than our table. The food they serve here is like for a tasting menu. The portions are for tasting, and the prices are ridiculous. If you want to find a better dim sum, try Harborview Restaurant down the street. read more

Yank Sing - Dim Sum Near Me - San Francisco, California

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Food was decent! Standard and enjoyable with a variety of items to choose from. You can't go wrong with any of the classics, like BBQ pork buns, chicken feet, and shrimp dumplings which were all tasty here. I came here for lunch at around 11:45am with nine coworkers on a Wednesday. We had reservations so we were sat immediately, which I highly recommend. Though it was pretty empty when we arrived, the restaurant filled up noticeably only about 15 minutes later! Our servers were pretty attentive to our party and I appreciated the relaxed ambiance. It wasn't that noisy though we were tucked away in our own corner which probably helped. We did have to follow up a couple times for two kitchen-order dishes. Overall, the dim sum was solid, not too pricey, and I'd consider coming back for lunch again! read more

Yank Sing - Dim Sum Near Me - San Francisco, California

Came here for a work lunch! It was my first time at this location and it's huge. The perfect place for large & extremely large parties. Makes sense since it's downtown so there's a lot of offices nearby. This place still has the dimsum carts! You can order from the menu but they also have dimsum carts come by with different items too. We ordered a bit of everything and everything was delicious! Their dimsum is always great. My favorites were the cheung fun, the stuffed lotus leaf sticky rice, the steamed spare ribs, and the bean curd rolls. The service was pretty good too, they were on top of refilling our teapots. And I liked that they gave our large table 2 pots. read more

Yank Sing - Dim Sum Near Me - San Francisco, California

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Ordered steam shrimp roll, for its value 4/5, flavor 5/5. Taro dumpling, 5/5 flavor, best I've had Sweet rice dumplings, very savory with shrimp inside and not too salty 5/5 Steam sweet and sour pork, fall off the bone tender 5/5 Xiao long bao 4.5/5. I'm use to Taiwanese style, so I may be bias read more

Went here for a work lunch. Didn't have any reservations, they were able to seat about nine people, only waited about five minutes. This is located in the Rincon Center. The place is a good size, it looked like they had a bar area but it wasn't being used. Neat place, good amount of servers with the dim sum carts going around. We had just about a little bit of everything. I wish I had taken pictures. Everything we had was delicious. The dishes were packed with flavor, not bland at all (thank goodness) I would come here again next time I am in the city. read more

I love dim sum. Love it. If it came down to a last meal, it'd be a cage match between har gow and lobster Cantonese. So when I stepped into Yank Sing and saw actual carts rolling through the dining room, I felt a little flicker of joy. That sound--the soft hush of steamer lids being lifted--used to mean Sunday mornings done right. The classics came first: Shu Mai that had the personality of a banquet-hall leftover, dense and dry like it was waiting for a wedding that never happened. The lotus-wrapped sticky rice? Easily the best of the bunch, even if "best" here just means "the one I finished." The famous soup dumplings showed up thin-skinned and joyless, more pocket than soup--like someone forgot the gelatin on the prep list. The jasmine tea was hot, I'll give them that, but as flavorless as a politeness between strangers. The spare ribs were textbook, no thrill, no regret. And the priciest dish--whatever it was--left my memory before the check even hit the table. Seventy bucks later, I walked out wondering if nostalgia had padded the bill. Live and learn. read more

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Been here twice Nothing special. Space: clean and spacious Service: very good. Not too pushy. Refilled water and hot tea regularly. Price: higher than most other dim sum joints Food: so so Choy sum with garlic was lukewarm at best. Lacked flavor. Pork potstickers: lukewarm Rice wrapper with shrimp: rice wrapper texture was mushy. Shumai: good Scallop shumai: good. Full of scallop Shrimp & chive shumai/harrow looking thing: good Jasmin tea: had no Jasmin flavor. Water temperature was good though. read more

I love yank sing! I've been here a couple of times already and it never disappoints. The place is always packed and It's well-decorated which makes the whole place feel even nicer. They have a dimsum carts so you can pick what you want as it passes by your table. The food is always good. Consistently fresh and flavorful. The service is okay. Not amazing but they get things done. Overall, Yank Sing is one of my go-to dimsum spots. Always worth it. read more

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A fun, chaotic dining experience in downtown sf. Servers are pushing carts around with an assortment of different dishes e.g. one cart has dumplings, the other has fried food etc. You can also order off the menu. Lots of vegetarian options from steamed dumplings to noodles and fried rice. The long life noodles in particular were really good. They're stir fried noodles with a soy sauce based sauce with a slightly sweet taste served with some mushrooms, cabbage and other veggies . My favorite of the dumplings were the spinach and the mushroom ones. They have tons of seating inside and just outside in the common space of the office building. Service is good, not great or anything special. A fun dim sum experience! read more

Finally eating here after soooo long. I think maybe back then it was good because there weren't that many dim sum spots? Or also cause I didn't know any better. I do understand they have been awhile for some time and it's a known name. However, we went here today because my mom had a gift certificate (thank goodness). I'm all for paying the money as long as it's worth it and the quality is good. Here's what we got: Har Gow - actually good Pork & Shrimp Siu Mai - what is this tiny looking thing? Looks like siu mai from the frozen section at the Asian market BBQ - was super dry Beijing Ribs - there were quite enjoyable Chicken Spring Roll - now that I'm looking at the receipt, it tasted mostly like veggies and I thought it was just a veggie spring roll Phoenix Tail Prawn - not bad. Could have done without it Pan Fried Chicken Bun - it was pretty tasty. Not mind blowing, but good BBQ Pork Bun - didn't get to try it, but we have some left over So, the reason for this review is the jasmine tea we ordered. We asked for tea with two cups for my parents. They brought out the clear glass teapot which was full and good enough for all 4 of us. My husband suddenly decided he wanted some tea. We asked for another cup. I look at the receipt....they charged for an extra cup and per cup actually. BUT WHY? if you're going to give us a whole tea kettle filled with tea already, why are you charging for a cup?? It needs to be drank anyway and it's already here. How does that make any sense?? Other places that isn't yank sing just charge once lol I wasn't planning on writing this review until I saw that tea charge. Honestly, I would rather go to Harbor View over at Embarcadero 4. I don't mind the cost, but their food is better. I'll never understand the appeal of this place. I mean I guess it's good for people not from SF coming from the ferry bldg. But, if I were you, go find a better place. This place is EXPENSIVE for what it is. We have never spent $200 on 4 of us. It's serviceable dim sum but the price doesn't reflect quality. read more

Yank Sing - Har Gao, pan fried dumplings, fried tail prawn, siu mai - Dim Sum Near Me - San Francisco, California

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Truly delicious dim sum. Appealed to the vegetarians, pescatarians, and meat eaters in the group. Everyone liked their food. The fried shrimp on a stick and the snap peas were faves. One star off because it was hard to get the cart back over. Food disappeared from our table as soon as it arrived. Would definitely go back. Keep in mind parking is a hassle. The inside of the parking lot is reverse directions and very narrow and dark. And the restaurant only validates one ticket per table. read more

I came in with high expectations, and felt really let down by my experience here. Firstly given no reservation sat in an odd spot in the back with foldable, less nice chairs -- which is fine, but detracted from my perception of this as a more high end dim sum. Really did not enjoy the xiu mai -- was small with an unappealing skin/wrap color, well flavored but just not very visually appealing. Spare ribs were tough, a bit on the chewy side, and didn't feel steamed enough (or overcooked?) Shrimp and crab har gow was also a miss with the family -- again weird appearance, not what I was expecting for dim sum. The chicken feet and sticky rice ended up really the saving grace of this experience. Both were delicious and I'd recommend trying. Also their jasmine tea was served in a very lovely glass pot and was of good quality. Overall, I'd be willing to give their main location another shot, but this left me feeling disappointed to start my day. read more

Yank Sing - Jasmine - Dim Sum Near Me - San Francisco, California

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Our favorite dim sum restaurant. Every time we go to SF Yank Sing is one our favorite places to eat. Another year another 5* meal. Egg custard tarts are our absolute favorite. They come to the table warm & yummy. read more

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decent but not outstanding dim sum. reasonable selection but not broadest I have seen. Do enjoy the carts. come early for open seating, or make a reservation; can get very busy. read more

35 minute wait on a Sunday around 1pm Pork bun was really good The roasted pork rice roll was good too Everything else was pretty mediocre (the shrimp Har Gow and pork & shrimp Siu Mai) or less (the stuffed crab claws)/disappointing Ambiance Same as everything other dim sum cart place you'd been read more

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High end price push cart traditional dim sum place with quality food and service. Price spelled out in the menu, choose what you see. You can ask if don't see. Else you can order from the QR code on the table. Clean, quick service, good food, reservation are the pros. Price, limited choice, less innovative, questionable quality in some items are the cons. 5% employee health plan surcharge plus 18% gratuity auto added to party of 5 and over. Validated parking Rincon plaza is a plus. We ordered hacao xiumai kailan steam rice noodle roll (very good) spinach dumpling, xlb (not top choice) fried wonton. All are good with the steam rice noodle roll is the best. read more

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Yank Sing at One Rincon Center is well-known for award winning dim sum experience. We came on a Saturday afternoon around 2:30pm and there was still a 25 minute wait. They close at 3pm, but will still seat people that are waiting. We chose oolong tea and although they have an English menu, we ordered off the carts. The food was good, but a little pricey. I liked the Phoenix tail prawns, Seabass sweet potato roll, and the xiao long bao (Shanghai Pork Dumplings). The pork and shrimp siu mai and shrimp noodle roll were good also. We tried to order the Peking Duck but they said it was sold out. The restaurant itself wasn't as fancy as I had imagined, but it was a decent dining room. The service was decent also. Since it was near closing, most of the carts were saying last call and there wasn't a lot of choices left. Overall, it was a nice dim sum dining experience. read more

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Maybe the best or at least some of the best dim sum in SF. The lower reviews are about service and I think there are cultural differences at play, which actually makes it more authentic. All the food was more than delicious and exceptional, I highly recommended if you are in SF and want the real deal read more

Not the best I've had, also not the worst. The dim sum was solid, but I found dishes like the fried rice and chow mein to be very oily. It's also hard to grab a servers attention. It's a very popular place though, we waited 30ish minutes for our table and it was pretty busy the entire time we were there. read more

This was my first time going to this location. I went to Yank Sing this Friday at 11am when they opened. The staff in the front were friendly. I was sat right away. The restaurant is spacious. I recommend going early. That way you get to order what you want and not have to worry about flagging down a cart person. There were few people in the restaurant. The staff were attentive. I ordered tea and immediately a person with a cart came to my table. I ordered the soup dumplings, barbecue pork bun, Chinese broccoli and har gow. The soup dumplings are good. I added some vinegar, chili oil and soy sauce which added more depth of flavor. My dumplings were severed lukewarm. I would give them a 4/5. If it was served hot I would add a Star. I ordered the Chinese broccoli. It's served cold and oyster sauce is added to your table. The dish was okay. The texture could have been better. Some pieces were a bit slimy. I give it a 3/5 The har gow were good. Pretty standard. 4/5 The barbecue pork buns were perfect. The filing was delicious. This waa my favorite dish 5/5 The cart people went around and I asked for pork and shrimp shumai. It was a good thing I checked the shumai before I ate it. There was a mushroom on top. I asked the act person if there was mushroom inside. She said yes. I gave it back because I am allergic to mushroom. Had I known there were mushrooms inside, I would not have ordered it. Another cart person came to my table. The table was full of fried food and desserts. I asked if anything had mushrooms. He said yes and that the oil used to fry the food is the same oil used for everything from spring rolls and desserts. I decided not to order anything else. I asked a waiter for a box to take some food home. He asked me if I wanted the check too. I said yes but after I box my food. He gave me the box and bag. Then he stood next to me wanting to charge me with a portable machine. I told him to give me a second because I wanted to box my food first. The waiter did not move and watched me box my food and place it in my bag. It was awkward. I told him " can you give me a minute? I need to get my wallet." He just stood there and waited for me to get my wallet from my backpack. It was very awkward. The waiter could have walked a way for a minute to give me time to bag my food and then when I was ready come back to charge me. It was weird. Overall. The food is good. A bit pricey. The customer service was good until the hiccup at the end. read more

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We stopped by Yank Sing recently for a late dim sum meal and it was a great experience. Unfortunately, the brunch restaurant I initially reserved did not work for the group, so my dad suggested that we try out Yank Sing instead. We didn't have a reservation and showed up 10 minutes before closing and luckily they were able to accommodate us. The restaurant is nicely decorated with several tables and chairs and had an overall cozy/comfortable vibe. We were in a slight rush to order as the kitchen was going to close, however we were able to order multiple items and have a filling meal. We ordered har gow dumplings, chicken spring rolls, steamed rice noodle roll, shrimp wonton soup, crispy tofu, honey walnut prawns, eggplant with hunan sauce, sautéed string beans, sesame balls along with fried rice and noodles. We enjoyed majority of the dishes, but I felt the honey walnut prawns were a bit lackluster and didn't have enough sauce. I really enjoyed the har gow, shrimp fried rice, and noodles, which were all tasty & delicious. Customer service was attentive and they were prompt and responsive to our requests. It was a great, last-minute meal for a group of 6. I'd definitely return to try out dim sum here again. The Spear street location is easy to find, and close to the Embarcadero area, so parking can possibly be challenging depending on when you go. Overall, the group I was with was happy and satisfied with the meal & dim sum options. read more

Slow service and overpriced dim sum. Had better dim sum experience at Harborview. They have the push carts here but they skipped some tables. Asked for utensils and the waiter forgot so we had to ask another waiter so then proceeded to do other tasks with the utensils in his hand instead of just dropping them off at our table first. read more

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We ate at Yank Sing for lunch. We had pork buns, pork pot stickers, pork and shrimp shu Mai, mushroom steamed noodle roll, chicken and mushroom dumpling, chicken spring rolls, shrimp dumplings, and fried prawns. It was all excellent and fresh! I didn't take any photos because I was so busy eating. But, if you haven't ever had dim sum, I would definitely recommend Yank Sing. It's not intimidating, the staff will accommodate you, and if you have food allergies, they will help steer you to foods you can eat. read more

Yank Sing - Dim sum - Dim Sum Near Me - San Francisco, California