Out to eat in Sioux Falls: Yummy House deserves near-perfect rating

On a quiet corner on South Sycamore Avenue, right across from Hy-Vee, sits Yummy House, a family-owned Chinese restaurant. 

After the Holi celebration on campus, my friend and I decided Yummy House would make for the perfect spot to wind down and satisfy our hunger. We had played hard and were ready to eat harder. 

As we entered the restaurant at 8 p.m. on a Friday, we saw boba tea and dumpling murals, which we found rather cute.

We were impressed with the wide selection of items on the menu. The menu contained pictures of the food items, which is helpful for anyone who is unfamiliar with the cuisine. Chicken feet and pork intestines caught our eyes, but we weren’t feeling very adventurous that night and decided to stick with the options we were familiar with.

For appetizers, we ordered spring rolls. For our main dishes, we decided to go with Yangzhou fried rice, orange chicken, sizzling beef fillet with black pepper and steamed chicken buns. 

As we waited for our food to arrive, the decor attracted my attention. The restaurant supported a red and gold theme with murals on one wall. I am usually not a big fan of red, but the red walls fit the vibe of the place really well. The walls were also decorated with traditional Chinese items, including bamboo hats. 

It wasn’t much later that our food started arriving, and the spring rolls were up first. I was completely famished by this point and ended up almost burning my mouth. As I bit into the crispy roll, flavors burst in my mouth. The pork and vegetable filling was just the right amount of spicy — spicy enough that you feel the flavor but not spicy enough to make your nose run.

Next arrived all of our main dishes.

The Yangzhou fried rice was an absolute delight. Served with shrimp, pork sausages and chopped-up carrots, onions and peas, the rice had a lovely “wok hay.” The rice was perfectly cooked — not too dry or mushy — and the vegetables provided a nice texture. 

The sizzling beef fillet is definitely not a dish for introverts. All eyes were on us as the dish was set on our table, served on a hot plate, still sizzling. The tender slices of beef were cooked in a savory sauce and served with bell peppers and onions. I was so lost in the beef that I almost missed the orange chicken.

The orange chicken was amazingly delicious, or in the words of my friend, “the best orange chicken I have ever had in my life.”  The crispy battered chicken pieces coated in a tangy-sweet orange glaze were the right balance of sweet and tangy. I have tried orange chicken many times before. It often ends up being nauseatingly sweet, but that was not the case with this orange chicken.

The chicken steamed buns were soft, pillowy delights. As I bit into the gooey, flavorful goodness, I felt like someone was giving me a warm hug. The delicate dough encased a filling of juicy chicken. These buns are definitely my new comfort meal.

Final ratings:

• Food: 10/10: The food was expertly prepared, flavorful and left us completely satisfied.
• Service: 10/10: The staff was attentive and friendly as they answered our questions.
• Vibe: 100/10: The cozy atmosphere, decor and energy lifted our spirits. We were tired from a full day of classes, work and hosting an event, but the restaurant’s atmosphere energized us.

As we walked out of the restaurant with our full bellies and happy hearts, we were already planning our next visit.