Meet The One Chicken Dish The Foodbeast Crew Can’t Stop Eating
A couple of months ago, ambitious Chinese fast food chain Yang’s opened up its first USA location in Tustin, Calif. Dubbed by some as the equivalent to the In-N-Out of Chinese food, this restaurant specializes in selling one single braised chicken rice dish, similar to how the cult California burger spot focuses solely on the burger — and the Foodbeast crew can’t stop eating it.
Since its grand opening — which saw over 250 orders flood into the Yang’s kitchen in just 4 hours — every single member of Foodbeast’s editorial team has stopped by the restaurant and devoured a bowl at least once. Most have gone multiple times over the past two months because of how “craveable” the food is, as one writer put it. Our managing editor, Reach Guinto, described the dish as “perfect comfort food,” as the braised chicken rice bowl does bring warmth to those who dig into the tender chicken and aromatic compliments of ginger, shiitake mushrooms, and serrano chillies.
The Yang’s sole item, Huang Meng braised chicken, is built upon a secret sauce recipe that dates back over 80 years. That base provides levels of umami and complexity to a simple chicken dish that accentuates the natural flavor of the poultry. On top of that, you can add chili peppers in multiple levels if you wish, adding “mustache sweat-inducing spice” to the dish for an additional kick.
What makes Yang’s something that keeps the Foodbeast squad going back time and time again, though, is their attention to detail. Every single item is prepared a specific way for a certain purpose. Even the ginger is given special care, as it’s added to the dish in thicker slices so as to allow customers to either pick them out or enjoy its true flavor at their discretion.
Between its comforting appeal, unique and mouthwatering secret sauce, and that extra bit of TLC each ingredient gets, it’s no wonder that Yang’s has become a fast food powerhouse so quickly, with 5,000-plus global locations in just six years. Expect that growth to increase as the delectable dish continues to make its presence known stateside in the near future.