Snow 28° » 5-day

You are not logged in

New York Magazine

Skip to content, or skip to search.

Skip to content, or skip to search.

Home > Restaurants > Yumcha

Yumcha

29 Bedford St., New York, NY 10014
at Downing St.  See Map | Subway Directions Hopstop Popup
212-524-6800 Send to Phone

  • Price Range: $$$

    Key to Prices and ratings

    Upscale
    • Almost Perfect
    • Exceptional
    • Generally Excellent
    • Very Good
    • Good
    Cheap Eats
    • Best in Category
    • Excellent
    • Delicious
    • Very Good
    • Noteworthy
    • Very Expensive
    • Expensive
    • Moderate
    • Cheap
  • Reader Rating:

    7.7 out of 10

      |  

    11 Reviews | Write a Review

  • Cuisine: Chinese
Enlarge Image
Stefano Giovannini

Official Website

yumchanyc.com

Nearby Subway Stops

1 at Christopher St.-Sheridan Sq.

Payment Methods

American Express, MasterCard, Visa

Reservations

Recommended

Profile

This venue is closed.

In the gifted hands of Ten Vong, who grew up in family-owned Chinese restaurants in Baltimore, Yumcha is more Chinese and less Pan-Asian. Vong dreams up Chinese dishes for the 21st century—the same sophisticated new cuisine celebrated now in Shanghai and Beijing. Vibrant evidence are the luscious udon-noodle salad with citrus sorbet, and delicate lobster shumai with crème fraîche and caviar making calligraphy on the plate. The challenge, Vong says, was divining menu prose to evoke a Chinese aesthetic. Such blatant cuteness might annoy if the food weren't so good. A smartly tart pomegranate-and-vodka Red Dragon puts me in the mood to be amused by "Concubine's forbidden pleasure" (those noodles), and "Fisherman wanders hither," ethereal scallops in a water-chestnut broth with pork belly. What we are eating is impressive and reasonably priced: maple-glazed five-spiced quail; Peking duck revisited ("Red Emperor returning North"); and ginger-lacquered veal cheeks, a.k.a. "Maiden contemplating fields of eternal spring."

Recommended Dishes

Maple-glazed five-spiced quail, $11; Peking duck, $23; ginger-lacquered veal cheeks, $23

7.7 "Recommended"
Average Reader Rating
on a Scale of 10		 Write Your Own Review
81% Would you go back?
81% Would you take a date?
36% Would you take kids?
81% Would you go on business?
81% Would you go on a special occasion?
Food: 7.6
Service: 8.2
Décor: 8.5
Value: 7.6

Overpriced and Awful

jeremiah from | Posted on 7/13/05

Overall Rating: 1 (Not Recommended)
Food: 1
Service: 1
Décor: 4
Value: 1

Service - Very rude and insufferable host. Food - Completely overpriced and underportioned. The halibut was the size of a snapple bottle cap for $23. The beef tenderloin was no bigger. They also do not give rice. A restaurant that's trumpets "asian" cuisine with no rice? Also my beef was "Sichuan" but had none of the spices or flavors indigenous to Sichuan food. In fact all it had was black bean past that you can get for $2 a gallon at chinatown. The "shanghai shoots" that accompany my dainty tenderloin is bok choy (again $0.50 a lb in chinatown) The bartender was very nice and made a good green tea martini. The martini is only thing worth is sticker price. The restaurant is very fake asian-fusion. The chef obviously has no idea what real asian flavors are. Even the name is wrong. Yumcha is the mandarin pronunciation of dim sum. Nothing remotely similar to dim sum was on the menu. That's like opening a pizzaria but not serving pizza or dough.

so yummy

hope918 from | Posted on 6/17/05

Overall Rating: 8 (Recommended)
Food: 8
Service: 9
Décor: 9
Value: 8

Ate at Yumcha early on a Sunday evening and by 7 o'clock the place was full of people... definitely a good sign for a new restaurant! The mussels were served in a yummy broth--a nice light appetizer and the portion size was perfect to share with another person. The Szechwan Dusted Beef Tenderloin was very good served on top of bok choy with a side of spicy(!) eggplant. The Steamed Yellowtail Snapper was also a nice light choice. The side of mixed vegetables was served in a sauce so ask for it on the side if you're expecting plain steamed vegetables. The Peanut Butter Cheesecake desert was incredible--very unique-- more of a mousse with chocolate shavings and hint of fruit sauce at the bottom. Great presentation! Worth the trip down to Bedford St. if you don't live in the neighborhood. Enjoyed watching the chef in action--the open kitchen set-up (similar to sushi bar counter w/seating) looks out to the entire restaurant. Check out the beautiful bathroom too

Read All 11 Reviews >>

Advertising

Latest News Near

Advertising
Advertising