YongChuan

Place is organized and their seats are well situated. The staff from the front to server and even the bartender they are all awesome! Really friendly and made the experience relaxing. They have accommodated us even though we are 10mins past our reservation. This place also was also booked during the NYE. So we are glad that we are able to secure our table. The food was really good, love every bite we had aside from one. We had Dim sum Platter, Fried Dim sum, Dan dan noodles, Yong Chuan Fried Rice, Mapo Tofu, and the Duck! The fave of the table were the duck and fried rice. Unfortunately the mapo tofu didn’t hit the spot. But aside from that everything was totally worth it!

YongChuan, Lower East Side NYC-Started with a taro soup which I found to be very interesting, I’ve never had any soup quite like it, has almost like a porridge consistency, hearty, flavorful and full of umami. This restaurant is known for its Peking Duck, slices of crackling skin and tender meat serve along side with cucumber, scallion and hoisin sauce. Also love the fact that they layer each wrapper with parchment paper for easy separation. The whole branzino was fried to perfectly golden brown, crispy, moist and topped with a well balanced sweet and sour sauce. Last but not least, thanks to our amazing server Barbara for such a wonderful dining experience!

The food here is shockingly bad. The home-style braised fish looked appalling—the rice cakes were so unappetizing I mistook them for chunks of pork fat. Aside from the soft-shell crab, the dim sum was terrible, and the rice even had a revolting, musty cockroach-like smell. It’s no surprise we were the only table in the restaurant on a Friday afternoon. A truly horrific experience.

Yongchuan offers a comforting and well-executed take on Ningbo cuisine in the Lower East Side. The food focuses on clean, balanced flavors rather than heavy oil or spice. Highlights include the warm and soothing taro thick soup, and the savory stir-fried long beans with preserved vegetables. The tofu skin rolls are crisp and satisfying, and the light citrusy cocktail makes for a refreshing start. Overall, Yongchuan feels authentic, home-style, and thoughtfully cooked—a great choice when you’re craving subtle, comforting Chinese flavors.

*Afternoon tea experience review I had a reservation for 3:45 p.m. a few days before my friend's birthday. On the day of the reservation, I received a message from the restaurant stating that their last call for the day I made the reservation was 3 p.m. I spoke to my friend, and we were able to get to the restaurant on time. The scones were good, but they were not served with proper clotted cream, nor even butter, but whipping cream, which was quite disappointing. The sandwiches were a bit odd, too. They were very thin and slightly dry, with no dill in the cucumber or salmon sandwiches, and capers in the egg sandwich for some reason. The tea was good, but the petit fours were meh. The pineapple buns we ordered from the dim sum menu were tasty. We were just happy to catch up because we l