Yang’s Dumpling Richmond Review | Best Sheng Jian Bao in Vancouver?

Let's eat some dumplings! Or more specifically, Sheng Jian Bao (pan fried buns). These are a specialty from Shanghai, China and are similar to the traditional soup buns (xiao long bao) that are more popular and commonly known. The only difference is that for these sheng jian baos, the bottom is pan fried so that these dumplings are half soft, half crispy. Both do have soup inside.

Yang's Dumpling is a new restaurant that opened at the tail end of last year. It is a Chinese brand of restaurants that has a family recipe dating back to 1947. The business was established in 1994 and now has 400 locations worldwide. Their location in Richmond is on Alexandra Rd, a popular street for ethnic food in the Greater Vancouver. Yang's had a brief soft opening with long lines but it's fully operational now. With incredible hype from social media posts, this place was worth a try.

Upon entering the establishment, we were seated promptly. The service here is quick and all of the ordering is done via phone; you just scan the QR code on the table and place your order. We were able to find parking at the plaza easily and dined in to try the food for dinner. We ordered two combos and a side of the wontons with sesame sauce. I felt that was just enough food for 3 people but a combo is definitely enough food for one person to enjoy.

Our favourite dishes were the sheng jian bao. They were the highlight of the meal because there was a lot of juice that came out of the dumpling filling and it tasted fresh and crispy. You could tell these weren't frozen or pre-manufactured. I could probably eat 10 of these if I went again.

Part of the Combo (4 pcs for each combo)

There are two types of sheng jian bao at Yang's: the shrimp, and the pork. The pork is more traditional and naturally juicy, though both were good. The shrimp dumpling was very good and unique as well, with a bouncy texture coming from the shrimp. Condiments are on the table if you need a bit more spice for the dipping sauce.

The noodle dishes that accompanied them were pretty basic, fine, and filling. We liked the Hot and Sour Sweet Potato Noodle Soup with beef better than the Tofu Skin Roll Vermicelli Soup. The former was more spicy, flavour and had that tang in the soup (sourness) whereas the tofu skin soup was more basic, timid and clean tasting. Two different types of broths for different palates. We would order the sweet potato noodle soup again.

The Large Wonton with Sesame Dressing dish was good as well. The sesame flavour was noticeable and present in the sauce, though we felt it was a bit sweet. The wontons were mainly filled with vegetable inside. Again, while these were good, they were pretty average overall, you could find these at other restaurants. 

Overall, it was a good experience and I get the hype around this place. The service was quick, and the 'diner' environment was unique. It was a reasonable price for 3 people and all dishes together cost around $80. If I were craving sheng jian bao, I would definitely return just for those, but it's best eaten in person and not takeout. I see on Google Reviews that there seemed to be issues with takeout orders and for sheng jian bao, these are best eaten fresh. The establishment also only accepts cash or Canadian Debit.

Hits:

• The Sheng Jian Bao were great, crispy and juicy inside (easy 5/5)
• Service was quick; we got all our food within 5-10 minutes
• Plenty of parking

Misses:

• The other dishes (noodles, and wontons) were good but not outstanding
• Need to use phone and have internet access to order
• Limited menu; didn't have the other typical Shanghainese dishes and just focused on sheng jian bao, wontons, and noodle soups

Final Rating: 4/5 --> It was a good meal and a spot trying out. What's next in our food adventures?