Yank Sing
Michael Tusk gets to Yank Sing when the doors open, for first pick off the carts the Chan family has run since 1958.
Why go
Alice and George Chan opened Yank Sing in 1958 with 35 seats on Powell Street. The family moved it to Stevenson Street in 1974. The third generation runs it now. More than a hundred dishes go out on carts across a lunch. MacKenzie Chung Fegan of the Chronicle counts two rooms in the city that still push them. The other is State Bird Provisions.
Vera Chan Waller and Nathan Waller keep exotic ingredients off the menu. The money goes into the ingredients and the technique. When costs rose they cut dishes off the menu and kept the standard. The crab claw shows it: the kitchen deep-fries a whole claw and serves it with a crab and shrimp mousse. Tusk watches the carts for the Shanghai pork soup dumplings, the har gow and the siu mai. He also waits for the Peking duck. Servers carve it at the table into steamed buns with hoisin and scallions.
The Rincon Center room at 101 Spear Street closes on 20 September 2026. Its lease ran out after 27 years. Chan Waller told Astrid Kane of the Standard: We will continue welcoming and serving our guests at our 49 Stevenson St. location, just five blocks away.
2 The room holds a Bib Gourmand in the MICHELIN Guide's 2026 California selection. The James Beard Foundation named it an America's Classic in 2009.
Order this / avoid
- Order: the Shanghai soup dumplings and the har gow off the first cart past you.
- Order: the crab claws, and the Peking duck if the table is four or more.
- Avoid: 101 Spear Street after 20 September 2026. The Rincon Center room is closed; Stevenson Street is five blocks away.
What locals & experts say
- Michael Tusk, chef and owner of Quince, Cotogna and Verjus, to Lena Park of The San Francisco Standard, April 2026:
Honestly, if I see anything new coming off a cart, I'm getting it — no question.
1 - Cesar Hernandez and MacKenzie Chung Fegan, San Francisco Chronicle, January 2025, and this is the dissent:
It wouldn't be a round-up of the best Bay Area dim sum without Yank Sing, but not because the food is particularly noteworthy. If anything, the popular tourist destination is resting on its laurels.
They keep it on their list for the carts, becausethe treasure hunt is part of the fun.
3 - Julia Chen, The Infatuation, November 2024:
The xiao long bao are juicy, the turnip cakes have a crunchy char, and the siu mye are generously stuffed with pork and shrimp. Douse everything in their house chili pepper sauce.
7 - Paolo Bicchieri, Eater SF, January 2024:
Quality remains high in both restaurants and on top of steam baskets of char siu bao and shrimp har gow, you'll want to order the roasted duck.
8
Good to know
- Hours: lunch only, Tuesday to Sunday, with earlier doors at the weekend. Closed Monday.
- Getting in: the family's own advice is to come before the lunch rush or after it.
- Price: the family puts it at $30 to $40 a head (MICHELIN Guide, February 2025). The Chronicle paid $15.50 for the crab claws in January 2025.
- Sites: one door from 21 September 2026. This page is 49 Stevenson Street, with indoor tables and a covered patio.
Verdict
should-visit — Come when the doors open and eat off the carts: the soup dumplings, the har gow and the crab claws. The Chronicle thinks the cooking coasts, and the carts are still the reason to be here.