Yaso Tangbao

It’s okay. Tastes like typical Chinese food you can get anywhere.
The soup dumplings were really good though! Best if you eat inside and not to-​go, since it will be cold really fast.
Pros: big bowls, great soup dumplings, east to-​go place
Cons: expensive appetizers (4 dumplings for $ 6), very crowded

Fast counter-​served Shanghainese food & Soup dumplings = thank you for coming to Downtown Brooklyn, the hood needed you. When I saw this place while I was in the area, it honestly looked like a 25 year old at a high school dance… «what are you doing here???» — with the other places in the area this one looks much more presentable. I had the vegetable crispy noodle with a side of crispy chicken fillet because there is no way in hell I could ever be a vegetarian. Both were delicious but the prices are a little over the moon. And though pricey, it’s nice to dine in as you are opting for a clean, welcoming, and cozy setting.

I don’t live in the area, but I came here to eat lunch and was pleasantly surprised. We ordered the pork soup dumplings, wonton soup, pork shao mai (not to be confused with shumai — this is more like a sticky rice dumpling with soy-​marinated pork inside), and the garden vegetable crispy noodle. Prices are reasonable here, not as cheap as Chinatown but not expensive either. You order at the register and wait for your food — they have a soy sauce dispenser, hot sauces and utensils near the drinks. The décor is modern and clean, I would come here again without having to make the trip to Chinatown!

I first heard of Yaso Tangbao from the New York City Dumpling Festival back in September 2015 and when I heard they were opening up just ½ block from where I used to work, I was excited!
Yaso Tangbao isn’t like other Shanghainese restaurants, but rather it is a counter-​serve, fast-​casual restaurant. An old colleague of mine tried it before I did because I decided to wait a week or so when it wasn’t so crowded. I ended up coming here on a Friday afternoon for lunch with my boyfriend and boy was it crowded! There’s a few communal tables along with beneches for you to sit and eat as well as smaller tables that are ideal for one person or two people and counters with seats. The service is pretty quick and the staff here are very friendly!
We tried the following —
Pork Xiao Long Bao ($ 8.50) — $ 8.50? That’s quite expensive for the six golf ball sized dumplings we had, but at least the taste and quality was good. They were freshly made, each one squirting out a rich and savory broth with a chunky pork filling. It was absolutely delicious and went well with the soy and vinegar sauce.
Chicken Curry Pan-​Fried Noodles — This wasn’t what we really expected it to be. The noodles were on point and very crunchy! The sauce and chicken on the other hand wasn’t on point. There wasn’t much taste to it and the sauce was so watered down. I don’t think I would order this again.
All in all, I am glad we tried Yaso Tangbao. The xiao long bao were phenomenal, but the chances of me returning here would be ⁵⁰⁄₅₀ only because the prices here are ridiculous and you don’t really get a big portion out of the food you order. However, if your in the area this definitely a place worth checking out at least once or twice.

The place was bright, lots of room, clean, and a short walk from where I live. A good option for the neighborhood but a bit pricey for what it is.
Here’s what I had:
Mapo tofu — lots of rice, lots of tofu and ground pork. The first few bites were fine. I asked for the egg fully cooked since I’m prego… the whites were foamy/​crunchy, you know how it gets when the heat is too high? I also wish the flakes of red pepper were a bit smaller rather than the size of paper shreds, or that you could actually taste the spice (I added a bunch of sriracha to it).
Pork soup dumplings — yummy. They come with the black vinegar and ginger which I put plenty of. The paper spoon it came with fit it just fine. But only 4 dumplings for like $ 5.95??? That’s near highway robbery! There should be 6 at that price, sheesh!
Pork buns — also good, but a little too much bun and not enough meat for my taste. Again — I piled on the sriracha (maybe my taste-​buds are shot?)
Chicken sauerkraut and rice — meh. It wasn’t my favorite.
I would go back to try other things. But I would DEFINITELY go back if their prices were a tad lower — at least for the dumplings!

The taste of the food was spot on. The pork buns are my favorite thing they make, part soup dumpling but with a more filling fried bread. Speaking of filling meals, or lack there of, I really like the soup dumplings but the cost for 4 measle dumplings is… tragic. They really should throw in 6 dumplings for the $ 6 – 7 price tag. I also tried the sweet and sour ribs and although the taste was good, I don’t like the messy cartilage pieces. The ribs that were on the solid one bone were great. I’d pass on them in the future.
Although I want to go here all the time for my soup dumpling fix, providing only 4 will likely cause me to go across the mighty East River to get a proper quantity for the price. Bummer.

Great casual spot for good soup dumplings and other snacks. The place has 0 ambiance, which is too bad – the same menu in a nicer spot could be a great date restaurant. Unfortunately, with it’s fountain soda, lack of waiter service, and fast food feel, this is a lunch spot or quick casual meal only. That said, I love the soup dumplings and ribs.
One request would be to get 6 soup dumplings instead of 4 with the order. For 2 people, you are going to end up wanting 2 orders because 2 isn’t enough (that said 4 is a bit too much).

Such potential… but such disappointment.
my friend and i got there at 11am on saturday, right when they opened.
food:
— soup dumplings: both pork and the pork/​crab ones were good. good flavors BUT… the soup inside was barely warm. Usually, i have to be super careful not to burn my tongue from eating soup dumplings too quickly, but this time it was just warm… ugh. it let me eat it quicker/​easier but took away flavor and experience. moreover, we were there at opening time, so they should have their freshest products!
–sweet and sour ribs: this wwas really good. sauce was great. .meat on the ribs was tender and juicy. realllly good.
–mapo tofu over rice: flavor-​wise this was really good. but once again the tofu was mildly warm (but the rice was very hot)
I don’t know why their foods were so lukewarm. My guess is that the food isn’t fresh and they just heated up something premade from last night which would be terrible… i’m hoping this isn’t the issue.
their prices are also pretty high for shanghainese food. For the amount of food I ate, i paid a little too much. probably because they are in brooklyn.
Overall… if they had cheaper prices and actually fresh food, this place would be great! there was a lot of good flavors and potential, but this visit for me was so disappointing.

I absolutely LOVE this place!
I finally tried this place after several colleagues have tried to get me to come here but I was almost positive I would hate it; I was wrong.
I got the beef noodle bowl and I fell in love with their style of food. It’s so fresh and tastes amazing! It is genuine Chinese food («street shanghai») and thats hard to find especially in this area.
I want to come here again because I had a taste of their pork meatballs– MY FAVORITE. It didn’t really taste like pork, which I rarely eat, and I look forward to having their meatball/​rice/​egg bowl.
The quantity of food you get is worth the price. You will pay an average of about $ 13 for a bowl and will be full.
I recommend this place to people in this area, the line always moves quickly!

Ummm… yes the perfect lunch spot!
Came here for lunch with the boyf and ordered the curry chicken soup and the beef soup. We love and are very picky about our asian noodle soups and were very happy with both of our choices. The beef was delicious and the curry chicken had good seasoning. We asked for extra curry sauce since we love the spice :) They also have homemade chili oil that you can get on the side to kick up the spice more (of course we had to get it). We of course got the soup dumplings. Soup dumps are at the top of my favorite foods to eat and these did not disappoint for a fast/​casual restaurant. Yes the spoons are small, but don’t worry about it, just eat them — you’ll be fine!
The ambience/​atmosphere here is also really cute. It’s communal dining, but definitely get’s busy so you will get some eyes if you are lingering.

Soup dumplings fall into two camps for me — sweet or salty. These unfortunately were sweet and not what i’m used to /​like.
we had two of the bowl — mapo tofu & the meatball.
The egg was solid, as in cardboard. Felt like it was cooked very early into the day and left to warm up when a customer ordered a bowl. For the price, would’ve expected them to cook the egg to order.
with no other chinese spot around the area, this place is a needed refreshing meal. but, travel a bit further and you get much better food for better pricing.

My boyfriend and I stopped in here today craving late lunch on Christmas and in true tradition the one Asian spot in our walk, this Shanghai food restaurant was open. I had the N5 spicy pork noodle soup and my boyfriend had the N4 chicken noodle. Both came out piping hot in minutes. We loved them both with preference going to the pork noodle. A word to the wise the spicy pork soup is delicious but very much Asian spicy not American «spicy». I could see this spot becoming a cold weather favorite for my boyfriend and I.
The clientele today I think really was primarily Jewish so I can’t really speak to what the crowd normally is but we really enjoyed the casual vibe and delicious food here.
We will be back.

Being on a poor student’s budget in Manhattan, I’m not exactly surprised I had to come to Brooklyn to find affordable, but more importantly, delicious AUTHENTIC Shanghainese food. I decided to give the relatively new restaurant a go since I really wanted that home cooked feeling that I just don’t have time for myself. Their xlb are excellent, with the soup just oozing out after you take the first bite. Not the best I’ve ever had since the skin could be a little thinner, but sooo good. The black vinegar and ginger came on the side, which was great for me since they were willing to give me extra, while the tourists next to me didn’t even brave tasting it!
I also tried the Braised Pork Meatballs w/​Egg over Rice. It sounds so weird to translate to English… (There’s certain dishes in every culture that have nicknames that just don’t make sense in any other language) My biggest gripe was that there was too much rice and lacked a yellow pickle, but the flavor of the Meatballs were so spot on! It was also quite large. Since everything in the bowl came in twos, I really feel like this could be a shared dish.
Even though I ate in, there were only cardboard spoons and takeaway chopsticks, which I felt added to the authenticity of the meal. I can understand how other people don’t like it, but it feels like home.

Yaso Tangbao serves authentic Shanghainese and has completely changed the Chinese food options in Downtown Brooklyn. You no longer need to hike to Chinatown to get your soup dumpling fix — just head to Lawrence St and the new shiny storefront on an otherwise not notable block.
The crab and pork soup dumplings are perfect, with super super thin dough wraps, delectable soup on the inside, and hearty flavor. They are really good, since the chef is from Joe’s Shanghai, you know they are better than legit.
I’ve also had their pig ear salad (yummy chili oil), the crispy noodles with chicken curry (coconut curry tastiness), the Napa cabbage salad (sweet and sour and refreshing), and the pan fried pork buns, which are tasty, but not as good as the soup dumplings.
The prices however are high relative to Chinatown — $ 7 for four crab dumplings, $ 9 for a plate of noodles. Considering the really welcoming and nice fit out I think it’s worth it to not go to Chinatown and deal with grimy restrooms and loud Cantonese shouting. Also, I think prices are fair relative to similar restaurants of other cuisines. I actually want to sit here and eat my noodle soup instead of take out!
Hipster count here is very high, however, and I will be monitoring Yaso Tangbao for continued authenticity going forward!

The neighborhood is changing for the better. This newly opened little gem just opened up and it’s definitely a breath of fresh air. This is a definite Chinatown style restaurant with more authentic food than you would get at the majority of places around town. An added bonus for it being in downtown Brooklyn which has a bunch of Americanized places.
You can get real soup dumplings here. And I especially liked that they weren’t completely loaded (i.e. no burning hot soup all over the place after biting)
I also tried their veggies over pan fried noodles. Also amazing. This will be my go to place during the cold winter months since it’s close to where I work.

Very good restaurant!
Been there for the first time today, really enjoyed the vegetable soup with noodles, crab dumplings and cury noodles.
Well decorated, clean, very good vibe .
Highly recommended!

Great new Shanghainese restaurant with excellent soup dumplings. They are every bit as good as those at Joe Shanghai (where the chef is from) but without the wait for a table. I also really enjoyed the hot and sour soup. I didn’t have one but my friends really liked the drink selection.
It’s a nice, sleek interior and there is plenty of seating. Highly recommend.

Overpriced Shanghainese food at its best.
Crab pork xiao long baos
Flushing — $ 6.95 for 6 – 8
Yaso — $ 6.75 for 4
Braised beef soup noodles
Flushing — $ 5.95
Yaso — $ 11.50
Bottom line… It’s pricey but the food is decent. The soup dumplings are freshly made and they do taste good.
Not a bad place to eat given the limited options in the area.

Soup dumplings have come to Downtown Brooklyn, and seeing as how I live a very short walk away, this is dangerous to my health. Because soup dumplings combine two of my favorite things in the world (soup and dumplings).
As far as I can tell, Yaso Tangbao is a godsend. The place is clean and comfortable, as well as one of few places in this part of the ‘hood that I actually don’t mind sitting and eating. The xiao long bao (soup dumplings to you whiteys*) are on point, the mapo doufu (tofu to you whiteys) is delicious, if a bit salty, and the counter service is pretty friendly.
I have a few minor complaints, but they are nothing that can’t be fixed or overlooked in the face of delicious soup dumplings:
1. The soup spoons provided are disposable, flimsy things. If we’re eating here, why not provide some real spoons, and reduce some of the waste?**
2. The soup spoons are also too small. They can’t properly hold an entire dumpling, which led to my dominant female overlord (wife to you whiteys) clumsily losing some deliciousness onto the nice wooden tables. This is unforgivable, and I have since begun divorce proceedings.
3. The eggs on top of the mapo doufu were seriously overcooked. Keep the eggs runny, people. A runny egg makes everything better.
4. There’s no alcohol. There should always be alcohol. This includes the bar mitzvah I was forced to attend over the weekend. I don’t care if they are still children in the eyes of the «law,» Judaism says that kid is a man now. At least let me drink to that, even if he isn’t into whiskey just yet.
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*I know I may look like a whitey, but that just shows how much you know.
**I spent my weekend hugging trees (against their will).

Have been so excited for the opening of Yaso Tangbao and apparently I am not the only one — went on a Monday around 12:30 pm and most tables were full. They specialize in shanghainese street food.
This review is for takeout only. My order only took about 5 – 7 minutes, so they are quick, even with lots of other people waiting. I tried the mapo doufu (tofu) over rice. It consists of ground pork mixed with soft pieces of tofu in a sauce, served over rice and topped with two fried eggs (yolks were hard, sadly). It was tasty and a generous portion.
I also tried one of their «bites» — the shaoxing wine chicken or «drunken chicken.» I’ve never had this dish before so maybe I just need to acquire a taste for it but I felt it was mainly fat and bone, making it hard to eat and slightly unappealing. I will absolutely be back for dinner so that I can dine in and try their soup dumplings (dine in only). They have specials going all through october (my lunch was 10% off) so I definitely recommend heading over and giving them a try!