🇺🇸 Baltimore Food Review: Water Song Yunnan Kitchen 🌿🍜

When it first opened, Water Song was a revelation – after all, it’s not easy to find Yunnan cuisine in Baltimore! Though its reputation dipped for a while, recent buzz and some delivered lunch boxes to JHU brought me back for a dine-in visit. This time, the experience was pretty good! 😊 📍 21 E Cross St, Baltimore, MD 21230 Let’s be real – parking here is a pain 🚗😅. I went on a weekend off-peak hours, and the bar next door was packed with Ravens fans cheering loudly – fun vibe though! 🏈🔊 🍽️ What We Ordered: Stir-Fried Er Kuai (Rice Cakes) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ So good! Like savory, saucy stir-fried rice cakes but even softer and fully infused with flavor. The veggies were delicious too – we finished it clean! Zhanyi Spicy Chicken ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Strong fermented bean flavor – boneless chicken deep-fried till crispy. Spicy and fragrant! Huge portion, very bold seasoning. JHU folks can try the lunch box version first! Chef’s Special Beef (Name Forgotten) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A recent special – deeply braised beef with a rich sauce and a bit of tendon. Super tender and flavorful! Smaller portion compared to the chicken. Baked Tofu in Leaf ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Loved the texture! The tofu inside was soft like Japanese tofu, and the dipping sauce gave a stinky tofu vibe 😄🧡 Kunming Fried Potatoes ⭐⭐⭐⭐ A classic here, though this time the potatoes weren’t crispy – just soft and not fully seasoned. Had to eat them with the sauce. Still great for potato lovers like me! 🥔 Small Pot Rice Noodles ⭐⭐⭐ Pretty disappointing for a Yunnan restaurant – the noodles weren’t flavorful, and the broth was bland. 💮 Bonus: Their fresh flower cakes are a must-try! Totally different from store-bought ones. You can take them home, freeze them, and reheat in an air fryer – still delicious! (But not always available 🥹) #BaltimoreEats #DMVFood #YunnanCuisine #FoodReview #JHU #WeeklyFoodAdventure 🥢🌶️📸