Yum’s Bistro

4.5 stars. Really delicious and authentic Cantonese food close to my house! Finally managed to drag my parents to this hidden gem, after having had it bookmarked for years. The restaurant was a bit dingier than I expected, really a small place with only a handful of tables. Nothing like the grand Cantonese banquet restaurants where food of this quality is usually found. But that doesn’t take away from how good the food is.
We unfortunately didn’t get a chance to preorder any dishes. But there’s still plenty of delicious non preorder dishes. We tried:
Pan fried golden crab with tasty yolk — Delicious! The crab is coated with salty yolk which adds a delicious dimension to the savory crab. My parents both loved this dish and exclaimed about how good the crab tasted. Apparently the chef must have cracked the crab a bit before cooking so that the flavors of the salted yolk seeped into the crab itself.
Sautéed oyster mushroom & spinach — This was surprisingly savory with a huge portion of spinach topped with mushrooms. There was some sauce that made the entire dish come together really well. A nice veggie dish complement.
House special farm raised chicken — This was soooo soft and delicious. The scallion garlic sauce on the side was the perfect complement to the chicken. I loved this. Probably my favorite dish.
Stewed beef brisket and white radish — This was full of nice big chunks of tendon, which happens to be one of my favorite things. This was good although a bit too peppery for me I think.
Food did take a while to come out, but luckily there were very few other patrons when we went for an early weekend lunch. I can see why others might complain about the pacing of the food if they were here for dinner on a busier night. Next time I’d want to preorder the crab meat with egg white and almond broth with egg white dessert.

Quite possibly the best Cantonese seafood restaurant in the bay area.
The Jumbo clam (or short necked clam) was the best I’ve ever had. Seafood is the freshest you can get in a restaurant. We also had jumbo prawn and chilli crab, hard to beat. The Jumbo clam has a scallop as big as it can be and the texture of the soft body is crunchy and sweet just like a geoduck’s neck, seasoned and slow cooked to perfection, never had a jumbo clam this good.
Taste wise I am more of a stronger flavor guy, but other (family seafood «experts» who love them more than me) feel it is just right or even a bit heavier than perfect. So the typical items such as beef brisket stew that many recommended, and the fried rice etc aren’t so much better (but still better) than average good Chinese restaurants, though the beef brisket was also cooked to perfection, I’ve never had one that is so tender (that’s probably why it takes so much time for anything to come out).
The main problem is as many mentioned, slowless, we literally need to finish a dish then wait 10 minutes for the next one, worst thing is that the fried rice (which is supposed to be the fastest to cook) come out last, so we were hungry until the very end.
So it’s better NOT coming in with a hungry appetite, which is weird for a great restaurant. However, definitely become our go-​to Cantonese restaurant.

Very good food!
Ordered: pot stickers (which are chicken and I love that because they are usually pork at Chinese restaurants).
mongolian beef (a little spicy).
Corn chicken egg flower soup (omg so good).
Singapore noodles (tasty, but full of bean sprouts).

Checked this place out due to the salivating Unilocal pictures and high remarks about being the «best chinese restaurant in the bay area». Went in on around 1pm on a Sunday afternoon and the place was quite empty. Scanned through their menu, 65% was live-​seafood and shellfish focused, mostly market price. Since we were only a party of two, it was hard to order the large ginger crab or egg covered lobster. We started out with some oysters as appetizer, veggies covered in crab meat to get our greens in and lobster vermicelli clay pot to count for the «carb & protein» dish. Those dishes tasted bland and oily.
I also inquired if they had the almond-​egg dessert that everyone raved about and the nice server said he’ll check with the kitchen. Then he came back with a «yes» and behold — we had a large soup size almond milk dessert in front of us two. It was good, but not $ 15 good. They did not disclose the price on the menu, so I was shocked «almond milk» costed that much. It tasted like Chinese almond milk with bits of white eggs inside. (didn’t really cared for the egg whites). Since the portion was so big, we packed the rest in a to-​go cup and took it to go.
Overall: I wouldn’t come here with someone who doesn’t enjoy or is allergic to seafood because there’s not much other outstanding dishes to order that is beside seafood. Our quiet lunch for two came out to be $ 109.

Okay I found the best Chinese restaurant in Fremont, me and a couple of boys wanted crab, our order
Salt and pepper shrimp– good and not to salty
Shelter clams– great pan or deep fried with rub type of seasoning
Pan fried crab with tasty yoke– first time having it this way, great and taste a little more favor than salt and pepper style.
Logan beef– great sweat and favor like bbq sauce
Fook kin fried rice– great with gravy sauce over the rice with seafood, vegetables and meat in the sauce.
Steam cat fish with black been sauce. Great whole fish prepare well cut easy to eat.
All that for $ 126 bucks.
Definitely hands down the best Chinese seafood restaurant.
Note take long time for each dish to come out

Very good food. Well prepared. Standard very consistent. Spoke to Chef Yum and he is very friendly. We have the same last name but from different cities in Guangzhou.

The owner picks fresh seafood daily from Oakland, and the chef was once the head chef at Mayflower. You simply cannot go wrong with the calibre of food offered here.
Just had lobster and fish and am stunned. Just do it.

I have eaten here about 10 times. There is a reason I kept coming back. I’d say all their seafood dishes are solid, especially their live seafood and pre-​order stuff. Never once they overcooked my seafood. Their meat dishes are not as consistent though. My favorite is their steam egg with clams and wine and any live seafood dishes. Service is average, as expected in this type of restaurant. Servers are always nice and helpful. Seating is cramped and not very comfortable, especially that table next to the back door…

I thought I submitted review for Yum’s bistro before, but seems not.
This is a traditional Hong Kong style family running restaurant. We visited this place so many times although we live in the South Bay is sort far to here. It was recommended by another Guangdong friend and we feel indeed this is the best Cantonese restaurant in the Bay area.
Only one tip: It’s better to ask for the recommendation dishes. The only dish that disappointed us were the salted-​egg crab. Other crab and lobster dishes we tried so far are pretty good.

After three visits, I feel an update is warranted. While all my original reviews are valid, I still feel that Yum’s Bistro is very likely the best Chinese restaurant in the entire Bay Area.
While challenges like location (Fremont??), wait times (I’ve tried both during busy peak times and during empty off-​hour times and waits can be similar), and pre-​order requirements for certain special dishes, I feel that if you want the very best Chinese (specifically Hong Kong cuisine) that you won’t find it anywhere else but Yum’s in Northern California.
A few other tips: Dinner is much more crowded than lunch. We’ve gone on several occasions for lunch and found the crowds to be entirely absent. Nice in terms of seating, but unfortunately it does not make as huge a difference in wait time as expected. Expect a 1 hour to 1.5 hour meal here at it’s quickest.
The pre-​order menu is very special and you only need to read Ken K’s review to find a few gems. Downsides are knowing what you want beforehand and that pre-​order items can typically extend the length of meal time. I’d say the seafood (specifically crab and lobster) preorder items are much better than those you can order without advance notice and that the dessert (almond with egg white are superb).
I’d also give kudos to excellent items available on the regular menu. Clay pot items are in particular outstanding and better than any I’ve had outside Hong Kong. The Clay Pot beef brisket is full of such flavorful and tender beef brisket that I’m convinced they are doing magic in the kitchen. But then again, clay pot items are among the slowest to arrive to the table, so it could just be old fashioned great cooking. Comfort items like steamed pork with salted fish and the roasted squab are outerworldly.
Overall, I’m a huge fan of Yum’s. While I always grumble about the drive from the Peninsula, the SLOW food times (even if you preorder, arrive super early, or the restaurant is entirely empty), I still can’t disagree that it’s the best Hong Kong Chinese restaurant in the Bay Area (including SF, Berkeley and down to San Jose) and it’s not even really that close. For those seeking further validation, both my parents agree.
Yum’s accepts credit cards, but not American Express.

This place is legit… real authentic and delicious Cantonese style Chinese food. Definitely call ahead for reservations… and do order some of the items that are pre-​order only (Wintermelon soup, and the almond egg white dessert). Also, do expect this meal to take some time, as we were there for about 2 hours for just six of us… but the wait is worth it. We had the steamed sea bass, cold chicken, sauteed string beans, wintermelon soup, roast duck, and salt fish chicken tofu clay pot. All were amazing and delicious. Definitely give this place a try if you’re in the area, but make reservations. The place is a bit small and your chair may get backed up against someone else’s but it is for SURE worth the wait.

To sum it up, if this place has some dim lights and professional waiter, they can expect a Michelin Star or two. the restaurant can seat about 60 people very cramped and the food can take some time to come out to the table as they’re made fresh. For our meal, we started at 5:30PM and finished our 8 dishes at around 8:30PM; for a Chinese style meal, this is a marathon.
For the real good food, they have to be pre-​ordered and there’s a reason for this; the pre-​ordered is because they don’t fastrak or load up on MSG. We had the Wintermelon soup and you can taste it’s been simmered for hours. Their almond soup (dessert) was made fresh with grinded real almonds, not some «box-​mix with water». You can taste the slight hint of the bitterness from fresh almonds. Another worthy dish is their stuff glutinous rice fried chicken.
The seafood is also fresh and you get what you pay for. If you’re not that adventurous you can still opt for the typical «chinese» type food but this is not what this place is for.
Take my advice and go and look at the menu (don’t worry they have pictures for you) and choose from the «pre-​order» menu; then make a reservation and enjoy!

idk if i was tired, or sleepy, or not feeling well, but the soup gets me tired.
order
—
hot and sour soup
–spicy, really hot (it burned my tongue)
salt and pepper spare ribs
–just the right amount of salt. kinda bony.
most places have a decent hot and sour soup. this place was no different. i had to add some home made rice to digest the soup but it was still good. the salt and pepper pork was really good. after reading the reviews, i had to have it and see for myself. and yes, they were right. not bad for a place that’s down the street from my house.

Simply skillful. That is the level of cooking that is going on here. I dine here about once a month now, and I just am always amazed at the balance and simplicity of the dishes here. Not that I’m saying the dishes are «easy» to pull off, so that just says what type of skill level is here.
Last outing wanted to do a more «adventurous» outing. Started with their pork intestines (though it is not listed that way on the menu). After being well cleaned and sliced on the bias, the meat is skillfully dry sauteed in a hot wok with garlic, scallions and dried chiles. The result is a crisp exterior similar to a crisp roast where the skin blisters a bit and the garlic-​chile is the perfect tie-​in. Great as an app with Tsing Tao.
Then tried their Fish-​2 ways ($ 30ish) and it is a whole rock fish butchered and served two ways. First the bones and carcass are made into a rich fish soup. How it is presented surprised me. First a nice bowl comes out with nothing but a rich fish broth (cloudy but smooth and rich, no chunks). It is perfectly salted, a tinge of ginger and a legitimate viscosity.
Then a separate plate arrives with most of the bones and fins, some vegetables, all from the making of the broth, somewhat artistically composed back onto the plate. I was somewhat confused at first. But you can simply nibble on the bone pieces (nice fatty, gelatinous pieces) or put some back into your cup with the broth. It is a little daunting if you aren’t used to eating fish with bones, but for me, it was a winner. I just really applaud full utilization of food products.
Then the snowy white flesh that is skillfully filleted and sliced comes stir fried with snowpeas, ginger, mushroom and scallion. The chef here loves that combo (cuz I’ve had it in other dishes) and as it turns out, I completely love it in return.
Sure we had to wait 45 minutes for the first item to arrive, due to 4 large tables being served multi-​courses. But once our food arrived, all was forgiven.
Simply skillful.

Easily one of the best Cantonese restaurants in the entire Bay Area.
For those of you who are old enough to remember, the 80s and the 90s were the heydays of Cantonese food in the Bay Area. Many quality chefs fled Hong Kong and moved to the Bay Area out of the fear of China’s takeover in 1997. Many of them gained employment in renowned Bay Area Chinese restaurants like Hong Kong Flower Lounge, Fook Yuen, and ABC Seafood. The food those chefs made during that era rivaled the best in Hong Kong. Unfortunately, like many good things, those days came to an end in the early 2000s, as many of those chef either retired, moved elsewhere, or hanging out with Elvis in the big Chinese restaurant in the sky.
By chance Geoff G., a respected Unilocal friend of mine, and I were talking about Cantonese food in the Bay Area yesterday and he mentioned Yum’s Bistro to me. He told me YB serves legitimate Canto food. After reading the positive reviews from Geoff and a couple other respected Canto food connoisseurs (Ken K. and George F.), I decided to have our Mother’s Day dinner there tonight.
My family and I arrived at YB at 5:00pm. We had to look hard for this place since it’s located in the back of a quiet strip mall. As we entered the restaurant, servers were busy moving tables around. We were seated at a table near the cash register counter. As I looked around, I couldn’t help but notice how small the restaurant was. I counted nine tables all in total cramped into the tiny space. Not much decoration was seen in the restaurant, but a picture of Chef Yum and George Lam, a legendary Canto pop star in Hong Kong, did catch my eyes.
One of the servers brought us tea and a plate of complimentary peanuts while we looked over the menu. After a few minutes of deliberation, we decided to get the following:
— Grouper Two Ways (soup and sauteed)
— Steamed Farm Chicken (½)
— Spicy Salt and Pepper Pork Chop
— Stir Fried String Beans and Pork Jowl
— Beef Stew and Daikon Clay Pot
The soup was the first to arrive. It was made with the grouper meat and bones, tomato, and tofu. The soup and its ingredients were served separately. The soup tasted like homemade and was fantastic. It had a slight hint of sweetness from the tomato and was fishy in a good way. 5 stars out of 5.
The grouper sauteed soon followed. We noticed the dish had great «wok hay» (breath of the dragon, only achievable by using high heat). The snow peas and celery pieces retained their colors and crispness. The grouper pieces were seasoned well. Only knock was that I thought the serving was rather small. 4.5 stars out of 5.
The steamed farm chicken showcased Chef Yum’s skill in controlling the cooking temperature. The chicken was served with a light drizzle of sesame oil on top and a plate of grated ginger and scallion oil on the side. The chicken was steamed to perfection as the meat was moist and tasty. The grated ginger and scallion oil was the perfect compliment to the dish. 5 stars out 5.
The spicy salt and pepper pork was the best I’ve ever had in the US. Enough said 5 stars out 5.
The stir fried string beans and pork jowl was order on the recommendation of the server. The string beans were crisp and and pork jowl meat was rich and well seasoned. The dish was slightly spicy since the chef added sliced jalapeño to it. 4 stars out of 5.
Beef stew and daikon clay pot…0 stars! Not that the food was bad, it’s just that the food never came! Midway through the meal, the server informed us that they were out of beef stew. But wait a minute. We were the first customers during the dinner rush so what’s up with that? We theorized the restaurant only made so much and parties who had made reservations all ordered it. I was really disappointed.
The service was decent. Jason, who runs the operation, was friendly and chatty. I found out that Chef Yum used to work for Hong Kong Flower Lounge in Millbrae. I’m glad he brought his culinary prowess to the East Bay. The entire meal (minus the beef stew) cost only $ 82 (with T/​T). It’s a bargain in my opinion!
My family and I were sold on this restaurant. We will definitely be back!
BONUS MATERIAL:
— Knowing Chinese will definitely help
— We were the first customers and apparently took the last available table… so please make a reservation!
— Set menus available
— The restaurant is closed on Tuesdays
P. S. Thanks Geoff G. for the great tip!

This place was very hard to find. It is tucked in a quiet residential strip mall. We were very impressed with the extensive menu they had which included some specials you need to pre-​order. We tried steamed fish and green pea sprouts. Their service was great and staff were friendly.
We also saw many other customers ordering crabs. We will go back again to try this.

Tucked away in a strange strip mall in the middle of a residential area is Yum’s Bistro. This center has a couple of Indian restaurants, grocery stores and an Animal Hospital. The restaurant space is even weird. You walk in and it’s a hallway with live tanks and restrooms. Then you walk past a bunch of special boards and the cashier counter. The room then opens up to a cramped main dinning room with several large round tables. Forget the décor and ambiance go for the food. We got there late 9:20 pm. The menu is Cantonese Seafood. We ordered the following:
Special Hong Kong Style Soy and Garlic Lobster 5 stars excellent sweet and savoy.$ 58
Sauteed Geoduck Clam 4 stars nice portions for $ 26
Braised Beef and Daikon Claypot 3 stars Ok large portions
Crab and Fish Maw Soup. 4 stars lots of crab and toppings
A couple of other interesting seafood dishes that I will try next time. Service was good. Plenty of Parking in the strip mall lot.

Why all the low reviews? Maybe there’s a lot of competition in the East Bay. My family and I think the food here is pretty delicious and have been several times on our various trips out to California. We love the ginger onion lobster, crab, fresh vegetables, steamed fish with ginger and green onions, soups and ying yang rice.
Apparently the waits are a little long but I promise the food is well worth it!

I’m taking a star off because of the extremely long wait for dinner. Everytime I come, it’s an average of a 3hr long dinner. I hope you have good company and have a lot to talk about. You get 40mins between each dish to catch up on your whole week and more — absolutely ridiculous. Their food is good, but the wait… ugh… it really kills the mood. Our family comes here a lot, but I think we’ll have to switch a special chinese holiday dinner spot because of the extremely long wait. You begin to lose your appetite, and mood by the time food comes.
Think about the wait time for your food before you come. The past few times I’ve been here, I am not impressed with the wait or service, but their quality and flavor of food is still there.

This place is small. Has a small kitchen. Your wait time for food can vary. Hell, I’ve waited over 45minutes during Lunar New Year for my first course to come out and it was well worth it (even though I ate 2 baos from 85* while starving during the wait)
However, if you have the right amount of patience, the right amount of understanding, and have awesome dinners where you ordered the best, then yeah this can definitely be a 5 star meal.
Having dined here a small handful of times, I can finally write this review. Well deserved 5 stars. I know what many of you are thinking. WTF 5 stars for this hole in the wall joint? Well, look at the food I’ve had here. It’s damn amazing. Of course I’m a lucky gal to have such wonderful «foodie» friends to know what to order and set it all up.
When it is crab season, I highly recommend you get a crab dish here. I have thoroughly enjoyed crab in all the various preparations I’ve had here. Soy sauce supreme stir fried (the wok hei is amazing here, chef definitely knows his $hit), steamed Dungie w/​sticky rice underneath (sublime because the crab fat drips down a ll over the glutinous rice making it more rich), steamed w/​Shaoxing wine and egg whites (crazy intense rich flavor from the shaoxing wine trust me!) Typhoon shelter style, etc.
I will fight you for crab head.
Another big hit for me here: pork intestine with pickled radish and carrots, deep fried oysters w/​sliced preserved duck egg. Although I’m not a big fan of fried oysters, the breading was right and it went well with the fried pork intestine.
I can’t even begin to tell you how amazing the soups are here (although I sad I missed out on snake soup)
The pièce de résistance at Yum’s is a dessert. Yes, you are reading that correctly. DESSERT at a Chinese restaurant. This is something you MUST pre order in advance. Ground Chinese almond, egg whites, and rock sugar. I don’t even know what this thing is called in English but it is the most delicate amazing silky smooth hot soup dessert I’ve ever had.
Exceptional Chinese food that could damn well be high end, but with no frills and won’t break your bank.