Yunnan Kitchen

I've ordered out a single fish dish from here several times (boiled fish in chili oil) but finally had the opportunity to dine in with a few friends and try some different plates.Yunnan rice cakes: a crispy on the outside, soft on the inside patty served with a condensed milk sauce for dipping. Also makes a perfectly absorbent medium for sopping up the spicy sauces! Helpful hint: Wait for them to cool before trying to stuff the whole cake in your mouth. Mint beef: This was a friend's pick for which I had no expectations at all but ended up enjoying so much that I ate most of the bowl. Tender beef cuts sauteed with fragrant mint and with just a bit of a spicy kick. Stir fried rice cakes: I'm a huge fan of these chewy nuggets. Think al dente rice pasta tossed with mustard greens, pork and egg in a mildly spicy oil. Boiled fish in chili oil: A thing of beauty. It's a dish I've had at other restaurants but the tofu skin and baby cauliflower set this one apart for me. It's not half as dangerous as it looks or sounds - the sichuan peppercorns and chili oil just leave you with a pleasant tingly-face. Green pepper and potato fried rice: This was our safety/recovery (non spicy) dish if we needed it, but we liked it as much as everything else on the table. Not at all greasy, almost like broken rice with shreds of potatoes and pepper. Fast and unobtrusive service, as well background music with an actual background volume level to make this one of the rare restaurants where you can actually hold a conversation (THANK YOU AND PLEASE DON'T CHANGE). A unique and delicious experience! So much more to try here.

When I went here for the first time last year, I immediately went again the next day because I wanted to try so many things on their menu! The food is super yummy, the service is wonderful and efficient, and the interior is so cool and unique.I ordered their sautéed choy som, Dali fried mushrooms, Yongping braised chicken (tender, juicy, and warmly flavored), stir fried rice cakes (wish it was cooked through a little more, but the flavors completely made up for it), Yunnan style rice pancakes (great texture and when dipped in the condensed milk it was a perfect level of sweetness), boiled pork in chili oil (the broth was again a flavor explosion), handmade sticky rice meatballs, vegetable stir fried udon, and yunnan potato pancake (so so crispy).Went again more recently and everything remains super delicious! Found some new favorites including their sweet and sour pork (sauce is so so good), mint beef, and their boiled fish filet in chili oil (this might be my favorite). Loved everything here, and there's still more I want to try!

**Yunnan Kitchen Review - Boston** Nestled in the South End of Boston at 1721 Washington St #B, Yunnan Kitchen stands out! **Yunnan Potato Pancake**: A crispy shredded potato masterpiece akin to a French fry pancake. A bit spicy thanks to my brother's heavy hand, but a solid 8/10. **Stir-Fried Beef with Long Horn Peppers**: This dish offers perfectly seasoned thin cuts of beef paired with seriously spicy peppers. It's a mouth-watering 9/10. **Mint Beef**: Thinly sliced beef with crispy fried mint leaves--light but flavorful, earning another 9/10. **Stir-Fried Rice Cakes**: A best-seller for a reason! Tossed with pickled mustard greens, pork, egg, and tomato--this dish is a must-try if you're new to rice cakes. 9/10. **Authentic Yongping Braised Chicken**: Generously seasoned with garlic, tsao-ko, scallions, and whole chili--this dish keeps you coming back for more. 9/10. **Lemongrass Tilapia**: Stuffed with chili herb paste, jalapeños, garlic, lemongrass, and citrus, cooked perfectly to score a flawless 10/10. **Xuanwei Ham and Potato Rice**: Cooked in a stone pot, this dish offers delightful crispy bits of rice. Absolutely delicious! **Ambiance and Experience**: It's a small space, but it packs a huge punch with some of the best Chinese cuisine I've had. And even while we were there someone in another booth said it was the best Chinese food they have ever had. The ambiance is simple, rated 5/10, which lets the food shine even more. **Affordability**: With reasonable pricing for exceptional food, it scores a 7/10 on affordability. **Tip**: Share several plates with friends or family, order a bottle of wine, and prepare for an unforgettable dining experience. **Overall**:- Food: 9/10- Ambiance: 5/10- Affordability: 7/10If you're looking for authentic Chinese cuisine outside of Boston's Chinatown, run, don't walk, to Yunnan Kitchen. You won't be disappointed!

yunnan is a classy place that always seems to be teeming with guests. come at lunch time for less of a crowd. i am fortunate enough to live across the street from such a good establishment, so i frequent here. service is quick, no fuss, and out of the way so you can enjoy the company that you came with. some favorites include the stir fried rice cakes, the beef with peppers, sticky rice meatballs, and dali fried mushrooms. enjoy your time here!!

Fabulous food and service. One of the best Chinese food meals I've ever had.Standouts were the La La Beef, sweet and sour fish and rice meat balls. Good size portions, great for sharing, and best of all reasonable prices.

I have to admit that I have never had Yunnan food before except one dish (过桥米线) and I do not have too much knowledge on Yunnan cuisine. So we blindly picked beef brisket stew with potato (good but not quite sure this one is an authenticate Yunnan dish), mint fried ribs (good but very spicy), Yunnan potato pancake (excellent), and hand-made stick rice meatballs (excellent, my favor). I have seen several other dishes such as Yunnan style rice pancake, and Grandma's potato that might represent typical Yunnan food. I will definitely come back. I also love the decoration of this restaurant, quite traditional!

My brother really wanted to try this place so we dragged the whole fam to try more dishes. Overall I think they use solid ingredients (especially compared to the typical Chinese restaurant) but the flavors can be tweaked. They have wok air which is nice. I wouldn't feel like my mouth is dry from msg afterwards. Not my type of place but would be open to coming again. Interior We don't like how they kept the previous restaurant's decor with all the dark wood and dim lights. Chinese food esp this type isn't meant to be moody. I literally saw a couple need to use their phone flashlight to read the menu. Booth seating works for me. Heating is uneven across various parts of the restaurant. We ordered: stir fried rice cake, sweet and sour pork, boiled fish in chili oil, yong ping braised chicken, sauteed snow pea leaves, stir fried beef with pickled vegetables Stir fried rice cake It was a surprise that it's not too oily too mushy and has wok air. The seasoning is uneven so some bites are too salty. Sweet and sour pork This was surprisingly still crunchy with sauce coating each piece. Meat is fresh. Flavor isn't the best but the balance of other parts makes this pretty solid. Boiled fish in chili oil The fish is flounder filet pieces but thankfully no freezer taste. My mom requested mild spicy so they eliminated the fragrant oil, and we immediately realized how bland it is without. The guy was nice enough to give us back the fragrant oil, promising that it's not spicy. True it's not spicy and not mala either. It tasted better but still not a flavor I like and found it not intriguing enough. It was a surprise they have a bunch of veggies at the bottom. Yong ping braised chicken It looks so dark and dry but surprisingly actually still juicy inside. The only problem is too salty and oily. Sauteed snow pea leaves We ordered this instead of choy sum because this feels relatively more worth considering the price difference. It was mediocre. We got it only for the sake of veggies. The actual sprouts aren't tender and quite rough. Stir fried beef with pickled veggiesThis was my least favorite. The beef was mushy and thin. I don't like pickled veggies. I read some reviews saying that this is authentic and yummy such that Chinese people would go to. No offense but when I went everyone else was non-Asian. There's so many Chinese in Boston, I 500% bet that if something is authentic enough and proper Chinese social media it'll be flooded with them. I'm not judging their marketing and I'm fine with them staying peaceful. It does look like a family run business. The front of the house does look like siblings. They speak mandarin with each other but know some cantonese as well.

Stumbled upon this and wanted to try a new cuisine. The vibe and service were superb. We ordered the Yunnan Style Rice Cake, Coconut Delight, and Sweet and Sour Fish Filet. The Coconut Delight was a fun and sweet drink/dessert. The Rice Cake was bland but luckily there was condensed milk for dipping. Soon, the rice cake got cold and hard to bite into. The sweet and sour fish filet's batter reminded me of the thick chicken finger appetizer from a Chinese restaurant. It should be not be this thick. Overall, the experience was pleasant but the food was just very very mediocre.

Multiple friends had this spot on their list to try. In my opinion, I think the food was decent. The flavors were good but I expected more of a spice due to the hype around this place. We got here at 1pm on a Saturday and it was not super busy. Not a super upscale place but more like a mom and pop shop. Food arrived quickly to the table and the portions were big. The tomato pork dish (I forget the name) was our least favorite unfortunately. It leans much more towards tomato and sour flavor than a savory meat dish. Overall I probably won't go out of my way to come here again. Maybe if I find something on the menu I can't find elsewhere

We of course had to get the pea jelly salad to start. A classic. It's served cold with nuts and some chili sauce, but it's really not spicy. It has a fresh jelly taste and an umami flavor. The peanuts adds some crunch balanced well with soft jelly. The Stir Fried Rice Cake is a must have. It's soft and chewy with a tangy flavor, and I can eat it all day! We also have the Mint Beef for extra protein. The thinly sliced beef is soaked in pickled pepper and mint sauce. The coconut delight is a must have for drinks. It's a coconut milk based drink with some magical ingredients that makes it doesn't taste like coconut at all. It's sweet and it's just right. And the toasted brioche bread adds so much flavor and texture to it. The service is super fast and the waitress is crazy nice and attentive. The ambiance is peaceful with decor that is not Buddha status but still distinctive East Asian.