Yang's

Yang's delivers solid Sichuan-lite and Cantonese food in a corner of town where very few decent ethnic eateries exist. Lunch specials are under $7, and it’s easy to have a full dinner for under $20 per person.

Its ma-po tofu, kung-pao chicken, and barbecue pork with fried tofu, snow peas, and Napa cabbage are all stellar, capably cooked, and well seasoned. Sesame chicken, a Chinese-American staple, is as tasty here as you could ask for—nuggets of white meat crusted with a sweet-tart sesame-spiked glaze.

Not only are all the ingredients recognizable in each dish, they are of high quality—a rarity these days. White and dark meat are used appropriately, all the beef items I tried are made with beefy and tender flank steak, and the pork in the dumplings had a melting richness that’s absent from most versions of the dish.

Some dishes, such as hot and sour soup and beef with garlic sauce, arrived Minnesota-mild, despite the “medium heat” response we gave to the annoying “How spicy?” question that follows every order. Still, service is friendly and efficient.

For the rapacious and experienced Chinese restaurant diner, Yang’s menu contains noticeable absences in the duck, pork, and seafood categories. And it doesn’t offer any of the authentic dry-style Sichuan cooking, vegetable offerings, or hot pot dishes that define the region’s cuisine—and make Plymouth’s Tea House our best in class. Nonetheless, Yang’s should be a regular stop for any east metro Chinese food fan tired of driving half an hour to get a decent bowl of wok-tossed barbecued pork with tofu and snow peas.

1568 Woodlane Dr., Woodbury, 651-731-3212, yangswoodbury.com