Yang Sing lies a step to the side of Chinatown, in a beautiful Victorian building. The restaurant owns the whole building with one floor set to be transformed into a cookery school, two floors of private dining and event spaces as well as two floors of Cantonese fine dining.
Choose upstairs for a traditional space with big tables, white clothes, mocha and black, tan and gold elements brought subtly up to date with oversized, stained mahogany Venetian blinds. Downstairs is sumptuous, bringing to mind supper scenes from Wong Kar Wai films or the monochrome decadence of Chanel adverts. Ruby lacquer and oversized, vintage prints set the tone.
Food here is Manc-Cantonese and traditional, honed over 35 years in the trade. Suitable for romance, family, party or work meals, there are dim sum, a la carte and banquet menus. With myself, Manchester Confidentialâs Mark Garner and my son in tow, dim sum was our main choice, with a few additional main courses, just to make sure that the menu was everything we remembered from lazy Sundays gone by, snacking, passing dishes around and, well, luxuriating in the good vibrations.
Happy memories
I love Chinese food, as, like many British folk, Yang Singâs chicken noodles and stir-fried prawns, dressed in a rich, sticky, chilli-infused sauce here are familiar to me from my first dining out experiences. Just the right (ie comfortable) side of extraordinary, these favours and spices speak of adventures at the table and new passions. Cherished memories for me.
The dim sum are particularly special, presented like gifts in bamboo boxes and scallop shells. Steamed beef dumpling with ginger, steamed scallops with green bean vermicelli, topped with garlic, cuttlefish balls (solid and golden with sweet, chilli sauce) and steamed prawn parcels â like soft wontons â packing face-lifting ginger punch all offered moments to savour. Combined with a dish new to me, comprised of tender pork pieces, pan-fried with five spices, I took a moment to savour these classic dishes afresh â before my son and Mr Garner hoovered up the remaining pieces.
Dim sum
Mooli pastry parcels (pictured) were a surprise favourite. As you can see, they resemble little croissants and came infused with savoury stock, turning almost-mash in their shells. An airy, almost-perfect fusion.
We had chicken, noodles and a delicate, steamed pot of sticky rice, expertly blended with mushroom baby shrimp and Cantonese cured meats for the main course. The Yang Sing Special Chow Mein (£8.90) was a lesson in the classic arts of British-Cantonese cooking, all smooth sauce with just enough soy, dense with garlic and scallions, real savoury flavours.
Dressed in trademark peppers, a portion of Szechuan prawns was mouth tingling (as is should be) and timed well. We didnât have desert, as weâve had so much and so many experiences already. The beef parcels, in sweet, cake-soft dough are sweet enough in themselves, and the mealâs close, I was already thinking about coming back with my mum and dad, perhaps, or for a work meal.
Iâd book ahead next time though. Despite arriving in good time (ie 6pm) families, couples and business folk filled the upstairs floor. Yang Sing is that rare thing: a restaurant with waiters for life and timeless dishes that â particularly on the dim sum menu â executive chef Harry Yeung is not scared to modernise. Home to a proper cellar and perfect tableside manners, I wonât leave it so long next time.
Yang Sing, 34 Princess Street, M1 4JY. Tel: 0161 236 2200 www.yang-sing.com