County Line Magazine - "Worldy delights await your palate."
By Lise Monty
County Line Magazine
February 28, 2012
It happens every time I see the life-size statue of the Chinese foot soldier that greets you in Yangming’s entryway. My appetite automatically kicks in, anticipating the tantalizing and eclectic choices that await.
What new creations will be on the seasonal menu? What zingy dishes make up the list of Szechuan specialties? Will multi-cultural winners like the crab cakes with wine sauce and mango chicken with mirin brandy sauce still be available? Happily, they are.
For my two companions, experiencing Yangming for the first time, the terra cotta warrior triggered memories of their recent visit to China. They savored the Chinese specialties and were pleasantly surprised by the variety and quality of international and American choices. Check this out, they said, noting the winter apple/Vermont cheddar salad, with toasted pumpkin seeds, dried cranberries, and apple cider/maple vinaigrette on the seasonal menu. Not traditional Chinese fare, for sure.
That’s when I told them of the two autonomous kitchens, one Western and one Chinese, each with its own chef. The salad also illustrated their adherence to the local/seasonal standards we’ve come to expect.
The elegant ambiance impressed my guests, too. White tablecloths, stylishly modern lighting, intriguing calligraphy canvases and the beautiful etched-glass panels that divide various rooms add up to a fine-dining feel... To read the full article click here.
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Suburban Life's 2012 Golden Fork Awards
"Portabella, Cremini and Shitake Dumplings"
"This dish is a masterful example of the sum being greater than its parts–the dumpling skin thin and slippery, the mushroom filling rich with melted blue cheese for ballast and an added sense of "funkiness." Along with the likes of the spring roll and the hot and sour soup, the dumplings exemplify what this Main Line institution does best: transforming standard Chinese fare into something fresh and unexpected."
- Suburban Life Magazine
County Lines Magazine rates Yangming
"Best Chinese" 2 Years in a Row!
"This Main Line mainstay continues to please.
With sophisticated fusion cuisine and high-style décor,
it masterfully blends Asian and Western flavors and attitudes.
Savor a perfect Peking Duck, carved tableside, Or try a
wickedly good French dessert like Cappuccino Créme Brulée."
- County Lines Magazine
Click here to read the complete article
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Chef Vince Viola. (Photo by Jared Castaldi)
Main Line Masters
The Bull in the China Shop
August 2011
Yangming may be the only Chinese restaurant in the country with an Italian-American chef...
"I've always been fascinated with Asian food," says Viola. "For years, I would experiment with things like egg rolls and spring rolls. When Michael said he would have chefs from China, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam, I thought this would be an ideal opportunity."
Click here to read the complete article
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Best of the Main Line & Western Suburbs, July 2011
"Chinese with National Clout"
Main Line Today's readers and critics pick their favorites:
Michael Wei and his team at Yangming garnered national recognition
when they placed first in Chinese Restaurant News' seventh annual
Top 100 Chinese Restaurants Awards among 45,000 eateries around
the country. Tell us something we didn't already know.
Source: www.mainlinetoday.com
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Bryn Mawr's finest Chinese restaurant
offers an experience unlike any other.
- Suburban Life Magazine, March 2011
We decided to revisit this Main Line institution following its recent
crowning by Chinese Restaurant News as the top Chinese restaurant
in the country.
The food, as always, was stellar.
Hot and sour soup… actually hits the advertised hot and sour notes with
a balance of flavors that set it apart. The spring roll… stood out for the
freshness of its vegetables, their snappy textures and bright flavors.
Portabella, cremini, and shiitake dumplings tasted like the best fettuccine
ai fungi. The dumpling skin was thin and slippery, the mushroom filing
rich with just enough melted blue cheese. Miraculous.
Chung-king chicken arrives with a delicate slick of chili-glowing oil,
the tender chicken sparked with roughly chopped dried peppers.
The fried batter provides a respite from the heat and highlights the
complexity of flavor... Desserts were equally well crafted, the
homemade green tea – a subtle, delicate way to end the meal.
Extracts from the review by Brian Freedman
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TICKET TO DINING:
Chinese Restaurant News
honors Yangming & Michael Wei
By Frank D. Quattrone
Montgomery Life Newspaper
February 04, 2011
Chinese Restaurant News named local restaurateur Michael M. Wei one of the 20 most influential personalities in the American Chinese restaurant industry for 2010 and Yangming, his acclaimed restaurant in Bryn Mawr, the top Chinese restaurant in America.
Sometimes the good guys actually win.
Such is the case with Michael M. Wei, who was recently honored by the national Chinese Restaurant News as one of the 20 "Most Influential Personalities in American Chinese Restaurant Industry."
Considering the stature of the other winners in this category — such as Martin Yan, the celebrated master chef and TV host of "Yan Can Cook" — Wei has every reason to feel proud.
The Chinese Restaurant News also named Yangming No. 1 in America in its seventh annual "Top 100 Chinese Restaurants Competition." Two years ago, Yangming came in second...
Read the complete article
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"A fantastic all around dining experience."
- Asian Restaurant News, 2009
Yangming is proud to be the cover story of Asian Restaurant News, the authority on Asian cuisine in America. In "Yangming: Setting the Standards in Philadelphia", the magazine praises the innovative fusion cuisine, local and organic ingredients, elegant décor and gracious staff that keep our loyal customers returning.
read the cOMPLETE article
"The best of Chinese cuisine. Amazing jumbo lump crab cakes…nirvana."
- County Lines Magazine
read the COMPLETE article
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LOCAL TREASURE
Yangming: America's No. 1 Chinese restaurant
by Bill Donahue
Suburban Life Magazine
February 2011
On the coattails of having been ranked by USA Today as one of America's "Ten Great Places to dine on fine Chinese food," Yangming received "Best Chinese Restaurant in America" honors at the 7th Annual Top 100 Awards Show in January, hosted by national publication Chinese Restaurant News. The event also honored Yangming owner Michael Wei as one of the most "Influential Personalities in the Restaurant Industry," alongside celebrated TV stars Martin Yan ("Yan Can Cook") and Ming Tsai ("Simply Ming").
Wei is "humbled" at his restaurant being named tops among an estimated 45,000 U.S. Chinese restaurants. The award would not have been possible, he says, without the dedication and creativity of his employees, many of whom have been with him for two decades." Everyone who works at Yangming feels that Yangming is part of their family, so they all work together. It takes a happy employee to make a customer happy."
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BEST CHINESE RESTAURANT 3 YEARS IN A ROW
WINNER, 2007 – 2008 – 2009
- Fox Philly HOT LIST
Our thanks to the thousands of residents who awarded us 5 Stars – the highest possible rating. According to MYFOXPHILLY, Yangming is "widely acclaimed as one of the dozen best restaurants in Greater Philadelphia. A true dining destination [with] a menu of delights, an award-winning wine list, a friendly and expert wait staff, and the finest steaks, poultry and seafood."
BEST OF PHILLY 2008 – CHINESE
- Philadelphia Magazine
"Main Line mainstay Yangming has consistently delivered sweet-and-spicy gunpowder shrimp, saucy sesame chicken and elaborate Peking Duck - with a fork or chopsticks, no judgment - in a comfortable setting that's been host to birthday, anniversary and graduation celebrations for more than 15 years."
"The highest levels of food preparation, presentation and service..."
- Main Line Ticket
"One of the region's best Chinese restaurants...virtuoso cuisine, excellent wine list, first-class service.... The best won-ton soup ever."
- Main Line Midweek
