Yuan 元

Stopped by on accident! Supposed to meet friends at a dim sum place on Jefferson… but they stopped serving dim sum. So we found this place because it happened to be close by. WE ARE SOOOOO LUCKY! This place is amazing! We ordered about 10 different kinds of dim sum + entrees. The combination came with soup and fried rice… enough for 4 people. Everything was fresh and tasted so different! We even asked to see the chef, John and complimented him on a job well done! He was very nice and thrilled that we liked his food!!! The staff was very attentive and we never needed anything! Please come try this place out! Amazing! Wonderful! Fresh beyond fresh! I will never even go to the other place now… if it ain’t broken, don’t fix it!

This is an update from my first review of this restaurant — we have gone back about 3 – 4 times since then…
My wife and I really love this place and the food is very, very good. There have been several dishes where we have boldly stated «This is the best ‘x» I have ever had!”. Among these are the salt/​pepper calamari (my wife, who orders calamari a lot, said this was by far the best she has ever had); crab cheese wontons; and the combination fried rice. This last one is a MUST each time we go. How does it differ? First, the rice is excellent (we order ours with brown rice instead of regular fried rice) and it comes loaded with large, juicy pieces of pork (delicious pork too), chicken — tender large breast meat slices, and sliced beef, that is very flavorful (not these time little mini-​cubed pieces you get at most places). It is the best I have ever had and a favorite (can you tell?).
My wife gets the chicken Pad Thai — it’s different than the typical Pad Thai you might be used too, but very tasty. I really enjoyed the Mongolian Beef, but then I came across their Orange Peel Flank Steak… two words: Un believable! Truly delicious. One of the great things about this dish, and others, is that they do not heavily coat or bread their food… so you really get to taste the item you ordered.
Another favorite, and what I start each meal off with, is the Hot & Sour Soup. This is made-​to-​order — as all of their food is — and perhaps the best H&S soup I’ve ever had.
The ONLY «criticism» I have with Yuan is that they bring the food out ‘as it becomes ready” — not necessarily a bad thing, but sometimes one item is brought out for someone and the other item might follow 5 minutes or so later. But, they really want to serve the food freshly made and hot, so it is difficult to really find too much fault with this — and not enough of an issue to take away a star rating.
Try this place — not easy to find as it is located in the back end of a shopping center… but a treasure once you finally do.

Wow, I don’t know how they get 4 stars. After looking at all the reviews there are quite a few one and two stars.
I agree with a few other reviewers that the dim sum is horrible, even when adjusting the scale for not being San Gabriel, Rowland Heights or OC. We ordered eight dishes of dim sum. Most of the flavors are not on point. The har gow shrimp did not taste fresh. Portions were small for the price. I would not recommend this restaurant.

We wanted to like this place. We really did. The beeping of the microwave should have been our warning to turn around, not try something new, and go to the nearby sushi place that never disappoints. But that nice lady exiting the place when I popped my head in to see what was up said it was «delicious» food. Why oh why did I not read the reviews?! Frozen food, nuked to luke warm. Bowl hot, soup not. Bizarre bland boring overpriced dim sum.

I know it’s Temecula and that we are not in LA or the OC… With that all in mind. This place is a one star for the quality of food. Never mind the price (it’s expensive if you’re thinking of regular dim sum prices), it’s just bad food.
Dim sum items are definitely previously frozen whether they made it or not. All items are small and bland. We had also had the hot and sour soup and the egg soup. Bland and just awful.
We were the only people in there and the service was so slow. They were nice but slow. And it doesn’t make up for really bad dim sum.

LOVE this place. We tried about 5 different dumplings. The big puffy one (I forget the name) was REALLY good! They even accommodated our daughter’s dietary needs because she’s allergic to a bunch of stuff.

My sister took me here for my birthday. She had a Groupon which she read thoroughly before purchasing. When we mentioned we had a Groupon we were given a different menu on plain paper. There was nothing about a limited menu in the Groupon description. You can even click the menu link from Groupon and it gives the full menu not the paper one your given in the restaurant. We both ordered wine. Mine tasted like it was mixed with prune juice. So I guess it was a pruno noir. My sister’s was very watered down. We did complain and they offered to bring new glasses but by then we’d had enough nonsense. They cut the wine price in half. They were as nice and polite as they could be while not agreeing with us. Glad my sister is such great company otherwise my birthday dinner would have been ruined. Really not recommended.

Amazing everything! I have had lunch and dinner at Yuan about 10 times or more and it is time I share my experiences. This has been consistent every time and today I placed an order for DELIVERY and they surpassed my expectations!
First my previous experiences:
Upon entering this hidden gem, you can instantly see this is a very clean and well-​maintained restaurant. This has been the case every time I eat here. The décor is elegant and tables, chairs, and booths are all nice and new.
My first few times I came in for dinner with my kids on Sunday nights – there are large square tables which seat us all and lots of room for food on the table. (I’m fully vegan, and they are very accommodating) The kids love the Dim Sum Dumplings and Rock Lobster Tempura. We also ordered a few other dim sum items and they were all fresh and delicious. They ordered Fried Rice, and I ordered the Country Style Tofu dish with Steamed Rice. My dish was loaded with vegetables and a delicious gravy that was not too salty but packed with flavor! There is a large flatscreen and we have caught a few games while dining!
I have also brought my parents in for lunch and we always sit at the first booth. It’s a relatively small but cozy dining room and there is also a bar. A large patio is also available although I prefer the ambiance inside. As another post said: everything is immaculately clean from the walls, to the seats, to the floors and tables. My parents have ordered a chicken dish, Peking Duck, and the Whole Sea Bass, once soft & tender, and once crunchy/​fried. We always leave saying, wow, that was delicious! The prices are not cheap, but I don’t come here expecting cheap food… it is 100% Worth the price, just expect that this is mid-​range prices, not super expensive but not cheap. The fish was around $ 30 and the whole duck also around that range. It is expected – good quality food. My Tofu dish is $ 11 and Fried Rice is $ 10 which is perfect for the portion size!
Ownership seems to really take pride in their restaurant and it shows. I noticed a lot of business people come in for lunch, and on Sundays this is a great spot to bring in a big party because it is rather slow.
NOW today’s experience! I called in to see if they deliver and they DO! I placed an order for delivery and the lady who answered was quick and efficient! I thought I would have to wait 30 – 40 minutes! My food seemed to arrive within 15 minutes! The driver was one of the servers who is very nice as well.
Don’t miss this hidden GEM! It is in the far west end of the Stater Bros shopping center in the corner near Dollar Tree.

Awesome food, fabulous service, beautiful restaurant. Best crab wontons I’ve ever tasted. Howie was our servicer and awesome service. Thank you!

Confucius say… who cares this place is good! I don’t know about you but I love the explosive power of dumplings. Be careful though because that explosive power can be lava like death to the Inside of your mouth. This place has more than just dumplings. The menu is large and full of your favorites, like orange chicken, and some original unique chef specials. The drinks are good, get the Jasmine tea it is excellent and smells great.
The service is a bit slow but that could be OK depending on the circumstance. The ambiance suits most occasions but is really good for date night. So being in a hurry on date night isn’t a big deal. I mean explosions in your mouth are a great aphrodisiac! I am convinced everyone who eats here will enjoy it. However, I am only giving 4 stars due simply to price. After all Confucius really did say «damn this place is expensive, but worth it»! Xiangshou!

Me and my husband always order takeout! Thier food is delicious! Excellent customer service!

Very delicious. Went there two days in a row. Perfect fried rice. Full of flavor and lots of wonderful dim sum. New favorite Chinese place to dine in Temecula.

I decided to try this place because of the good Unilocal reviews but honestly, this place is horrible.
We haven’t even finished eating and a huge part of me just wants to leave but our last order hasn’t come out yet and we don’t want to be rude.
The dim sum is definitely not authentic. It looks and tastes as if they bought it frozen and pre-​made from the market and decided to steam it up in the kitchen.
The Lo mein was flavorful but salty and the shrimp from the cheung fun was not fresh shrimp. It was tiny and looked like the small frozen shrimps that comes in packages.
Over all, this place is over priced, their dim sum is small, the ambience is dead silent and although the interior is beautiful it can’t make up for the lack of quality with their food.

I was skeptical. When we first walked in, there were no other customers. The interior was beautiful. The folks were kind. We’d read some reviews, they were positive. We decided to go ahead and stay.
Chad wanted to try the dim sum. We’d read it was not authentic due to the way it’s served, but he decided to go for it anyways. Guess what? It’s better made to order! It doesn’t roll around in carts and get chewy. It was fresh and tender and crisp and perfect!
I ordered the pad Thai and like it a lot. It was very savory, slightly salty. Tangy and a tad sweet. Chad really enjoyed this dish too.
I hope as a immunity we can support them and keep a tasty restaurant in business on Temecula Parkway.

My husband and I were pleasently surprised to see this place open on Christmas day. It was our 1^st time there, and we were so impressed with the elegant décor, friendly service and the delicious dim sum. We ordered so many dim sum plates, but my favorite was the custard bun We will definitely be back!

YUAN –ah know what I think about this place? haha
Right when you walk into Yuan, you will enter a whole new atmosphere from the outside view. The restaurant itself is beautiful and immaculate. From the walls and ceilings to the table settings are just superb.
We tried dim sum on this visit. The dumplings and gyozas were fresh and tasty. I really enjoyed the Rock shrimp tempura and the chicken lettuce wraps as well.
We tried jellyfish for the first time here. The flavor was okay but I didn’t like the texture enough to finish it all. The miso soup was good. They have a variety or specialty alcoholic drinks sake and wines to choose from. We tried a watermelon drink and one called Sake sunrise I personally didn’t think their was enough alcohol in the sake sunrise that I received but the flavors of both drinks were good.
The customer service I received was great. The quality of the food was fresh and delicious. Next time I would want to try other things off the menu like the pad thai and chicken dishes they looked and smelt so good coming from the other tables.

Happened to be in Temecula on a Saturday around lunchtime, and wasn’t sure what I had a taste for. I was on Temecula Pkwy, so there were lots of options. I was thinking maybe sushi, but then I saw Yuan Dim Sum. I am always looking for memorable Dim Sum, but that can be a challenge. I am totally spoiled, having lived in Hawaii for a bit… as the dim sum there is amazing. Anyway, I digress.
Yuan has a very colorful menu w pictures, prices are reasonable and they even have Sake and Shoyu Cocktails! I had a Sake one called Tokyo Night which had pink grapefruit juice in it… mmmmmm! Just hit the spot at lunchtime. Their Crab Cheese Wontons were my favorite food item, and unlike many, the inside was perfect in both consistency and flavor! Yummy!
My favorite dim sum was the Shanghai Style Pork Dumplings… inside each was wonderfully flavored pork with a little surprise!!! A half teaspoon or so of broth was nestled inside each dumpling… but i just missed putting a sizeable spot on my new sweater when i attempted to cut one in half w my fork!!! Oops! Their Egg Tarts and Sesame Balls were excellent also. They have lots of booths here too, always makes trying a new spot feel more comfy somehow. Well off I go back to the high desert… and the land of no dim sum and not much sushi! Til next time… enjoy life one tasty day at a time my friends!

These guys are cool
Location is a bit awkward
But as soon as you walk in
It’s a whole different atmosphere
Their dim sum is EXCELLENT
as well as their egg foo youn
THEIR egg drop soup was a bit flavorless
But I’m willing too look past it.
If you are looking for a cool place to take your bae
I would def recommend YUAN

Amazing dim sum– duck was on point! We had fried calamari, hot and sour soup, egg droplet soup, shu mai, shrimp (flour?) roll, fried noodles, and pork dumplings. A bit pricey but duck had good portions and we left stuffed! $ 76 bill for two of us eating our hearts out — I don’t regret the bill!

I did not dine in but ordered my food for pickup.
Got mainly dim sum dishes. I’m Chinese and have eaten dim sum all over the country. The place looked a little short staffed on for a weekday night. As I waited for my food I saw a handful of patrons come in and have to wait to be seated. Just have patience. Good food isn’t always fast.
The dim sum overall was pretty good. The haw gow (shrimp) was very tasty but a little smaller than I’m use to. Same with the sui mei. The pan friend dumplings were good. Some places like to cheat with pan fried dumplings and simply flash fry them. One thing I was a little disappointed with was the cha siu bow. I ordered thinking it would be the baked version with a golden baked top to it. Instead I got the steamed version which I never order. Always get the baked one if you can. It has more flavor. They could distinguish this better on the menu.
I was also a little disappointed with the lack of vegetables. I tried to get an order of Chinese broccoli but was told they were out. Even bok choi.
Another dish I got was beef chow fun which is a wide noodle dish. It was very good and flavorful and had quality pieces of beef. Some places use low quality beef that’s fatty.
Other than a few miscues I liked this place. Would eat in next time and try the food when it’s even fresher. The décor inside is very nice and nothing cringe worthy. The price for the dim sum was also fairly priced even with some of the smaller dim sum pieces as noted.
And looking at the menu they have plenty of Chinese American dishes if you are not too adventurous on trying authentic cuisine. Get it a try. Something for everyone!

The service here was great, the food especially was nice. Our server made sure our water filled, it never reached under half a cup. The dim sum here is amazing I would suggest it highly. I would really give it a 4.5 if I could but Unilocal won’t let me. Overall this place is really good for some nice cheap dim sum.

The dim sum here is excellent, especially the Shanghai pork dumplings. We also had the har gow, which were perfect, and the beef chow fun was garlicky, reminiscent of garlic noodles at Ahn’s in SF — pungent and sweet! Definitely would order it again. We’ll be back. In fact, it’s now my go-​to for dim sum in lieu of driving to Chinatown in LA.

This is probably the best and nicest (appearance wise) Chinese restaurant that we’ve been to in the area — wish we had found it sooner. A bit upscale, but very comfortable and accommodating.
We went in for an early dinner last week. Some of you know that I have been searching for a Chinese place in the area that makes good Mai-Tai’s — I FOUND IT! Excellent, very tasty, not too sweet. And they have a full bar and a very nice wine list.
They have a very large dim-​sum/​appetizer menu. Could easily make a meal. We ordered Steamed Pork Dumplings and Duck Spring Roll. I liked both, but «she» thought that the spring rolls had too much chopped scallion. (Of course, I eat raw scallions with salt regularly…)
We then ordered the Orange Peel Flank Steak, the Ginger Shrimp and the Combination Lo Mein. They were all DELICIOUS! Lot’s of flavor, crispy where needed, but still tender inside. And there was a lot of food — had leftovers for a couple of days!
The problem that this place has is that it’s a bit out of the way. It’s in a shopping center, off to the side, and there isn’t much traffic. So the good thing (for customers) is that it’s not very busy; unfortunately, this is bad for their business.
We will do our best to help them keep their doors open — you should as well!

As far as the dim sum it is not up to par with the many other dim sum restaurants I’ve had. The dim sum is overpriced for it quality.
I ordered a Chicken Chow Fun and the noodle is either not cooked well or they used the wrong noodle and salty. The chicken is chewy, dry, and hard which is indicative that the chicken is not fresh and was cooked, frozen, and recooked again.
My little niece had a dumpling and she usually eats anything but she ended throwing up.

4 Stars ****
Pro’s:
— Dealapalooza deal was good! We almost didn’t go to this restaurant based on the 2 star rating from another Unilocal member BUT after speaking to Howie about our dealapalooza, everything was perfect!
— We got the $ 22.99 shrimp dealio and everything was good.
— The reason I rated it 4 stars is because my «go to» place for Chinese food is Red Ginger in Temecula.
Con’s:
— We had $ 1.47 that was due on our bill and we wanted to place it on our credit card since we never carry cash and Howie said «It’s only $ 1.47» luckily I had cash and said «it’s ok, we’ll pay cash»
— We need to try more dim sum and also other menu entrees to see if it deserves a 5 star.
Conclusion:
We’ll eat here again if we’re craving dim sum since San Diego «Jasmine» & «Pearl» is too far away.

The only AUTHENTIC SHANGHAI-​STYLE CHINESE RESTAURANT in Southwest Riverside County. A very rare find in the valley. You got to check this out!
First-​Class, high-​end ambience and food service. The typical way of serving, one dish at a time, not altogether. How i know? I dine in these type of establishments… they let you savor each dish and bring out the next soon after the current is consumed. Timing is impeccable. I compare them to Nobu in LA.
DimSum: because this is a high-​end restaurant, they do not serve dimsum in a cart. You can always ask them to add more sauce before they bring out the item.
Main Entrée… Rock Cod Fish platter — freshly caught, crispy outside and very tender juicy inside. Roasted Peking Duck — very moist and flavorful.
House Special Fried Rice — indeed special… with coconut water (or milk), not greasy at all.
We will be back to try more.
The best part… prices are very affordable for a fine-​dining experience.
Good location for business meetings and romantic dinner. They also have a bar area.

I’ve had dim sum in Boston’s Chinatown, New York’s Chinatown, in Toronto, Florida, etc. so for me, I know what to expect of dim sum and this place was good, but not impressive.
First off, let me say that this place is beautiful inside, the décor and the walls are all just stunning. Everything is clean and the waitstaff are very kind and quick with wonderful smiles on their faces when they come by.
However, a few things irked me…
First off, there were a table of 6, a table of 4 and us, so for us to be seated by the back door, was weird. We didn’t mind it until we smelled the cigarette smoke coming from outside. The staff were smoking and we were inhaling it.
Second, the dim sum looks great, but there was nothing unusual or different. I know that they’re playing it safe considering this is in Temecula but the food options weren’t impressive.
Third, dim sum is not served in carts, but rather you order them and they come out one at a time. I rather that they come out together and to get the genuine experience.
Lastly, for what we got, it was rather pricey but I would never be against paying more for good food, I just felt it was pricier than most dim sum places I’ve been to and we didn’t get much either. They also ran out of things we wanted and it was noon, so that kind of took away from the experience.
I think I’ll give this place another try, just not for their dim sum.

I came here with my mom because I was craving dim sum sooo bad, and this came up when I Googled, «Dim sum in Temecula.»
Now I’ve grown up eating dim sum from SF & Oakland’s Chinatowns. Heck, my boyfriend’s even half Chinese and when I go to his family get togethers, it’s always dim sum in LA’s Chinatown or some place in the OC. So I know my dim sum pretty well, and I know what it’s worth, or at least should be worth. Considering this place is called Yuan, the freaking currency of China, and after seeing the prices of dim sum… well, oohhh yeah, I was about to spend a lot of Yuan here… I mean, dollars.
After reading some of the reviews, I kind of had high expectations. Then again, this is Temecula and there isn’t much to rave about this area when it comes to food that isn’t American or a chain… (sorry not sorry).
My mom and I were their first customers for the day and the whole décor of the place is NICE. Honestly, one of the nicest Chinese restaurants we’ve been to. This place is fancy and beautiful.
The customer service was excellent. Our server was very friendly and prompt. The reason why it gets 3 stars is because of the overpriced dim sum and it lacked a certain authentic taste to them. :(Definitely not what I’m used to having. I appreciate that all the dim sum is hand made, but there was definitely a lack in flavor. I ordered the har gow, which has always been my absolute favorite, and I didn’t enjoy it as much as I would. I also got the egg tart and cha siu bao. The cha siu bao was great — then again, can anyone really mess up cha siu bao? lol. Maybe I’m just used to the B & C rated places where I grew up getting my dim sum, haha or maybe I’m too much of a dim sum snob.
Overall, I’m glad that there is a place that sells dim sum in Temecula. However, I may just have to make the drive out to OC/​LA for cheaper and more authentic dim sum. :/

So wanna give 4 star. Maybe, if they had the dish that I wanted, Char Sui BBQ Bao bun (forgive the white girl spelling please), maybe I could give 4. But for now, 3 star.
The place is absolutely BEAUTIFUL! I mean, gorgeous stone walls, sexy wall waterfall, slick modern decorum, just a beauty! The menu looks impressive enough, but the prices and portions dont add it IMO. We sampled quite a few things: eggrolls (pass), crab rangoon (pass), spare ribs (decent), sliced pork tips (good), pork shumai (Delicious), pork gyoza (good), flank steak with broccoli (delicious brown sauce, meat was kinda eh). I’ll try again when I’m in town, for sure, because I really want those bao buns. I’ll also try some other stuff too. Service was very good.

Yuan is a beautiful restaurant located in a somewhat unassuming location. It is in the corner of the business park with Dollar Tree and Stein Mart. The restaurant itself is very fancy looking inside for a Chinese restaurant and you certainly don’t find a lot of restaurants like this in Temecula. They offer Dim Sum which is the reason why we came in the first place.
This isn’t your typical Dim Sum that comes in carts. You order off the menu which has most of the typical Dim Sum items. We tried the Chinese Broccoli, Shrimp Dumpling (Har Gow), Pork Dumpling (Shu Mai), Shanghai Style Pork Dumpling (Soup Dumplings), Hong Kong Style Dumpling and BBQ Pork Tips. The food was delicious and pretty comparable to Dim Sum you’d get in San Diego. It tastes less greasy which is a good thing to me. My favorite had to be the Shanghai Style Pork Dumpling. I would not get the Hong Kong style dumplings again just because you only get 3 and didn’t really wow my taste buds enough to justify the qty/​price.
Hopefully this place gets more business. We were the only customers in there when we ate. The service was good but that is because we were the only ones there. I can’t say what it’d be like on a busy day. I also knocked down a star for the pricing – its a little more pricey than a typical Chinese restaurant, but does make up for it with the aesthetics. I saw that they offer breakfast here as well – they open early at 9:30 which is also something I’m not used to in a typical Chinese restaurant.