Yao's kitchen is now closed. A new Chinese restaurant took place in the same location.
Trace C.
What the heck Yao's??? Sure, get people addicted to your "crack fish" , soups and other wonderful dishes, then just pack up and disappear overnight without so much as a goodbye! No "hey, we're selling the business and will be gone in two weeks- FOREVER!" No nothing. Good luck, "Spice Workshop". I miss my Fish with Cumin AKA "crack fish".
Kristen Timms
Food was terrible. The place was dirty and the heat wasn't on.even the waiter had to wear a jacket
Raoul Farrell
Consistently great Szechuan dining experience
Torie Lee
Great service, waiter is really nice and attentive. delicious fooood! I will definitely return :)
Corbin de Bruin
Shared hot pot with friends. Excellent experience!
Marisa D.
Great authentic cuisine!! Dine in or take out is amazing. I can not recommend this place enough.
Meredith T.
Doesn't look like much from the outside but the food is great. Bring friends and make sure to try as many items as you can. Don't miss the Hot Pot!
raymond lizzol
A friend shared this place a few years ago, and we continue to go back and enjoy their food Everytime.
Longislandsurfer C.
After reading some reviews I was looking forward to dining here. I was in the area on a Saturday afternoon a few weeks ago so I stopped in, intending to order a take-out lunch. I was told they didn't offer a lunch menu on weekends, so I told the fellow behind the counter that I would come back on a week day. That day came recently and I decided to dine there for lunch. Since I had been there before, I wasn't surprised to see the sparse interior, but did notice the wall next to my booth was dirty and that the whole place could use a bit of sprucing up. Getting past the décor, I was presented with a clumsy, over-sized menu that had a hand-written sheet inserted which described a fish dish that I could not make heads or tails of. I asked my waiter to explain this dish but it was a difficult exchange, so I the flipped through to the "Lunch" menu and ordered a dish. I asked if it could be made spicy and the waiter acknowledged that I wanted it spicy and he noted it in his pad. I asked if soup came with lunch and was told lunch dishes did not include soup. I was surprised because 99.9% of Chinese restaurants include soup or other option with lunch. Anyway, I decided to order Hot & Sour soup because I like it a lot, and each restaurant has its own variation. When my soup arrived I was eager to try it, hoping it was similar to what I remember Homer's used to serve. (Anyone remember Homer's?) Well, this soup tasted unlike any other Hot and Sour soup I have ever had, and never want to taste again. My dish came a minute after my soup arrived, which I also thought was odd. I pushed aside my soup and sampled my dish, which was tasty, although the sauce seemed to be a bit "gooey". I did notice that there was not one chili flake in the entire dish and it was about as spicy as a glass of milk. I asked for tea, which was served in a nice, large ceramic cup. I then asked for a glass of ice-water and was presented with a cup of cold tap water. I also asked for a fork and the waiter brought me one with tines that had more curves than Mae West. So, I ate my meal, paid my tab, thanked the waiter and wished him a good day, but I don't believe I will ever be dining here again.
Excellent food, unique dishes not generally available at a suburban Chinese restaurant. Service was inattentive but not bad
Gary
Food and service was good. The place really could use a facelift.
Dawn A. Martin
So authentic, delicious and also very accommodating and helpful wait staff . Can't wait to go back again
Benjamin R.
We were excited to try this place after it was ranked on the top 100 restaurants of LI, and after trying it I do not understand HOW that is possible. First I will start with the service. We ordered for takeout and were told to pick up in 15 minutes. We arrived after 14 minutes and waited an additional 20 minutes at the restaurant. When we arrived home we realized that they had forgotten one of our entrees. We called the restaurant who told us we would have to come pick it up or wait 50 minutes for it to be delivered. While my father left to pick up his meal, we tried our dishes. The General Tsos chicken was mostly batter with very little chicken and the chicken that was there was dark and tough. The "sliced sautéed chicken with chili's and peppers" was a bowl of dry chicken bits mostly filled up with dried chili peppers, nearly inedible. My father's entree, the fish with cumin was dry as well, and cold by the time it got home. The restaurant has refused to refund our order and only offered a free entree which we did not accept.
Jennie O.
I almost didn't want to try this place because I was being a snob about the 3.5 star review on Yelp but a friend convinced me to try, and I'm glad I did! It's my favorite Chinese place around Stony Brook. I've been here 3x and have not been disappointed. While it's a bit hole-in-the-wall, the service is friendly enough. The food is definitely the star. Scallion pancakes, schezuan peppercorn chicken, and gourmet beef are the highlights. There's never a wait, and they accommodate large groups. Also it's BYOB!
Yao's kitchen is now closed. A new Chinese restaurant took place in the same location.
What the heck Yao's??? Sure, get people addicted to your "crack fish" , soups and other wonderful dishes, then just pack up and disappear overnight without so much as a goodbye! No "hey, we're selling the business and will be gone in two weeks- FOREVER!" No nothing. Good luck, "Spice Workshop". I miss my Fish with Cumin AKA "crack fish".
Food was terrible. The place was dirty and the heat wasn't on.even the waiter had to wear a jacket
Consistently great Szechuan dining experience
Great service, waiter is really nice and attentive. delicious fooood! I will definitely return :)
Shared hot pot with friends. Excellent experience!
Great authentic cuisine!! Dine in or take out is amazing. I can not recommend this place enough.
Doesn't look like much from the outside but the food is great. Bring friends and make sure to try as many items as you can. Don't miss the Hot Pot!
A friend shared this place a few years ago, and we continue to go back and enjoy their food Everytime.
After reading some reviews I was looking forward to dining here. I was in the area on a Saturday afternoon a few weeks ago so I stopped in, intending to order a take-out lunch. I was told they didn't offer a lunch menu on weekends, so I told the fellow behind the counter that I would come back on a week day. That day came recently and I decided to dine there for lunch. Since I had been there before, I wasn't surprised to see the sparse interior, but did notice the wall next to my booth was dirty and that the whole place could use a bit of sprucing up. Getting past the décor, I was presented with a clumsy, over-sized menu that had a hand-written sheet inserted which described a fish dish that I could not make heads or tails of. I asked my waiter to explain this dish but it was a difficult exchange, so I the flipped through to the "Lunch" menu and ordered a dish. I asked if it could be made spicy and the waiter acknowledged that I wanted it spicy and he noted it in his pad. I asked if soup came with lunch and was told lunch dishes did not include soup. I was surprised because 99.9% of Chinese restaurants include soup or other option with lunch. Anyway, I decided to order Hot & Sour soup because I like it a lot, and each restaurant has its own variation. When my soup arrived I was eager to try it, hoping it was similar to what I remember Homer's used to serve. (Anyone remember Homer's?) Well, this soup tasted unlike any other Hot and Sour soup I have ever had, and never want to taste again. My dish came a minute after my soup arrived, which I also thought was odd. I pushed aside my soup and sampled my dish, which was tasty, although the sauce seemed to be a bit "gooey". I did notice that there was not one chili flake in the entire dish and it was about as spicy as a glass of milk. I asked for tea, which was served in a nice, large ceramic cup. I then asked for a glass of ice-water and was presented with a cup of cold tap water. I also asked for a fork and the waiter brought me one with tines that had more curves than Mae West. So, I ate my meal, paid my tab, thanked the waiter and wished him a good day, but I don't believe I will ever be dining here again.
Restaurantji Recommends
Excellent food, unique dishes not generally available at a suburban Chinese restaurant. Service was inattentive but not bad
Food and service was good. The place really could use a facelift.
So authentic, delicious and also very accommodating and helpful wait staff . Can't wait to go back again
We were excited to try this place after it was ranked on the top 100 restaurants of LI, and after trying it I do not understand HOW that is possible. First I will start with the service. We ordered for takeout and were told to pick up in 15 minutes. We arrived after 14 minutes and waited an additional 20 minutes at the restaurant. When we arrived home we realized that they had forgotten one of our entrees. We called the restaurant who told us we would have to come pick it up or wait 50 minutes for it to be delivered. While my father left to pick up his meal, we tried our dishes. The General Tsos chicken was mostly batter with very little chicken and the chicken that was there was dark and tough. The "sliced sautéed chicken with chili's and peppers" was a bowl of dry chicken bits mostly filled up with dried chili peppers, nearly inedible. My father's entree, the fish with cumin was dry as well, and cold by the time it got home. The restaurant has refused to refund our order and only offered a free entree which we did not accept.
I almost didn't want to try this place because I was being a snob about the 3.5 star review on Yelp but a friend convinced me to try, and I'm glad I did! It's my favorite Chinese place around Stony Brook. I've been here 3x and have not been disappointed. While it's a bit hole-in-the-wall, the service is friendly enough. The food is definitely the star. Scallion pancakes, schezuan peppercorn chicken, and gourmet beef are the highlights. There's never a wait, and they accommodate large groups. Also it's BYOB!