Yu Xiang Yuan Restaurant 豫湘園 (2nd visit)

FIRST POST ON YU XIANG YUAN RESTAURANT 豫湘園 [HERE]

Yu Xiang Yuan is one of the few restaurants that I rave about after only one visit. On my first visit, every dish was above average and really good. Also, the owners and staff were friendly as well! My must orders from memory are the mouth watering chicken, xiao long bao and fried pork with green pepper.

WONTON SOUP ($6.95).

We passed on their housemade noodles since I prefer thick cuts of meat rather than thinly sliced, and went for the wonton soup. The wonton soup has a rich chicken broth which is very light on the MSG as well as salt, and comes with a bit of seaweed, broccoli and cilantro. As for the housemade wontons, the meat tastes moist and tasty.

FRIED PORK WITH GREEN PEPPER ($11.95).

The slices of pork belly tastes tender with a snap and the dish overall has a nice level of spiciness, definitely properly made. The fried pork with green pepper tastes just as good as the first visit, however, it was noticeably heavier on the oil.

PAN FRIED PORK DUMPLINGS ($12.50).

The owner's son was glad to offer us a half order of dumplings for $6.25. Ironically, neither of us are fans of this type of dumpling and my mother made some the same day of. Actually, she made some only a couple of hours before I came here LOL (she was not too happy when I rejected them… imagine if she found out that I paid for the same dumplings at a restaurant!).

The dumpling has a tasty layer of skin and the meat tastes moist. The only issue is that the dumplings are extremely oily, to the extent that there were drips of oil dripping off of each one! No exaggeration. Hopefully this is an isolated incident despite understanding the kitchens' intention of creating a crisp bottom.

XIAO LONG BAO, STEAMED BUNS, PORK WITH GINGER AND SAVORY SAUCE ($4.50).

Unfortunately on the revisit, the xiao long bao are slightly over-steamed and does not taste juicy, despite having moist meat.

BOWL OF STEAMED RICE ($1.00).

We asked for a bowl of steamed rice, not a mountain! What a generous portion (in a good way).

TOTAL: $32.20 + TIP $5.80 = $38.00

Overall we tipped 18% because the owners and their son are extremely friendly, despite not needing much service at a restaurant like this. As for the revisit, the purpose was only for the mouth watering chicken! Seriously. On the way to the restaurant, I was telling BF we have to order one and another to go, but unfortunately, the restaurant was sold out! I was actually really upset. Really. As for the food, the XLB did disappoint but the wonton soup and the fried pork with green pepper was pretty good. Oh well… guess I have to revisit and will remember to call in advance to see if the mouth watering chicken is available!

POSITIVES
- Friendly owners and staff
- Some dishes are above average

NEGATIVES
- XLB is unfortunately steamed for too long
- Dishes are a bit heavier on the grease compared to the first visit

LITTLE THINGS
- First post on Yu Xiang Yuan Restaurant 豫湘園 [here]
- Seems like the only two dishes that I will love from here are the fried pork with green pepper and mouth watering chicken

Food: 2.5/5 (fried pork with green pepper 4/5)
Service: 2.5/5 (service was nothing special this time only because we did not need any)