Image Credit: Downtown Brooklyn

After going to school and working in Downtown Brooklyn for over three years, it’s hard to find good, authentic, and tasty Asian foods (in my opinion).  Approximately a month ago,  Yaso Tangbao made their print in Downtown Brooklyn located on a relatively quiet, but very commercial block between Fulton and Willoughby Street. Yaso Tangbao is a counter-serve, fast-casual dumpling restaurant.

I waited about a week after it opened to finally try it because I wanted to hear feedback from my colleagues and on Yelp first. I went on a Friday afternoon with my boyfriend for lunch and it was quite crowded! There are a few communal tables along with benches for you to sit and eat, as well as smaller tables ideal for two people, and counters with seats. The service is pretty quick and the staff here are very friendly and nice too.

The main star of the restaurant are the soup dumplings or xiao long bao. Yaso Tangbao offers two types of xiao long bao – one with pork ($8.50) and one with a mixed blue crab and pork filling ($11.00). My boyfriend and I tried the pork xiao long bao and truth be told, I wasn’t expecting them to be as good as they. The soup dumplings were freshly-made, each one squirting out a rich and savory broth and a chunky pork filling. It was absolutely delicious and goes well with the soy and vinegar sauce.

We also tried the chicken curry pan-fried noodles, but it wasn’t really what we expected. The noodles were on par and crunchy! The sauce and chicken on the other hand wasn’t on par. There wasn’t much taste to it and the sauce was watered down. I don’t think we would order this again.

All in all, we enjoyed our experience at Yaso Tangbao. The xiao long bao are phenomenal and I would definitely return just to try them again. I highly recommend Yaso Tangbao if your in the area and don’t know what to do for lunch. This is definitely a spot/restaurant worth checking out.

What new restaurant/cafe have you tried lately?