Ya Ya — Restaurant in Houston

Updated July 22 2025: We've been sick, and their soups have been good medicine for sore throats and coughs. Flavors remain amazing, and so the overall 5* rating stays. I'm just thrilled that we have this an easy 5 min drive from our house.

Updated May 4:

We decided to order online from the website , and the process was easy, and the order was ready on time and handed over cheerfully.

To keep trying different parts of the menu, we ordered the Roasted Fish Filet, Eggplant and Green Bean, Home Style Sautéed Tofu, and Srsame Balls for desert, because I wanted to see if the expected Sichuan Peppers in the Roasted Fish dish would enhance the expected mildly sweet flavor profile of this dessert.

The resulting meal exceeded our expectations. We understood why the Eggplant & Green Bean dish was so popular. The Fish Fillet had some tofu pieces and potato wedges, which was a surprise. The overall effect was a filling vegetable dish with perfectly spiced fish pieces. This is different than the Kung Pao Chicken dish I had a few weeks ago, which was 95% chicken- delicious and shareable, but not balanced. In contrast, this Roasted Fish Filet dish is a complete meal by itself. The portion is enough for 2 meals for me on most days. Will this be my future go-to take out meal? I've not tasted enough of the menu to tell yet, but I expect I will have trouble picking a favorite fish, and that's a good problem to have.

Original review: This is a new place, and wanting something different, I thought I’d come here for a light meal. What I got was a delicious meal with a portion large enough for four.

I tried their Tofu Vegetable Mala Hot Pot. It’s quite spicy and quite delicious. It’s a huge portion, meant to be shared. On a scale of 1 to 5 on the spiciness scale, I usually go for mild or medium (2 or 3). There were no options because the broth is prepared over hours, and I found the broth to have an intense flavor that I would rate as mild to medium spiciness - exactly what I look for. Once I took out the extra dried red peppers added as a garnish, I enjoyed every spoonful of this new flavor. I took a lot home to share and my wife liked it as well. Her tolerance for spiciness is a bit higher than mine, and together we like spicier-than-average foods.

To see how they do with more common dishes, I took home their Combo fried rice dish and the flavors were superb. No spiciness and a different and richer flavor profile than I’m used to from other Chinese takeouts. I would say that the flavors are almost addicting.

While eating at the restaurant, there was a steady stream of customers getting their sweet drinks (Sparkling drinks, teas, smoothies and more.) I look forward to returning and tasting other items on the menu, and I wish for them to have great success. I am glad they...

⭐☆☆☆☆My friends, coworkers, and I were excited when YAYA Rice Box opened this year and couldn’t wait to try it, but IMHO, it was a real disappointment.

The photos they posted online, on nextdoor, and on this FREE STUFF group were honestly teasing! The pictures made it look fresh, vibrant, and flavorful, but we got the opposite.

All five of us agreed: our meals were bland, served at room temperature, with small portions for the hefty price, dry rice, and chicken so tough it felt like jerky, pork was slimy (according to one of my colleagues) and the food's appearance contradicted what was posted here! Seriously 😑 ... And broccoli. No thank you

The staff seemed rushed and uninterested, avoiding eye contact. When I asked about vegan options, the employee didn’t seem to understand the difference between vegan and vegetarian, which made it hard for her to order safely. She ended up skipping a meal and only having a drink, which was disappointing for her and awkward for the rest of us.

The dining area wasn’t clean, which made us wonder about the kitchen. The tables and floors were sticky, and the bathroom was unacceptable. If the bathrooms and the dining area were unacceptable like this, I wonder what the kitchen and important areas looked like!

To top it off, flies kept trying to join us at our table uninvited while we were eating. That was rude!

Overall, YAYA Rice Box did not live up to expectations, and looking at other recent reviews, it seems we’re not the only ones. I was hoping to support a new local spot, and maybe this review will encourage, the owners, to make improvements so people can feel comfortable having lunch with coworkers, family, and friends here.

I look forward to seeing the city of Houston's food establishment inspection report!

For now, though, there are many better spots in Houston where you can get fresh, clean, flavorful food, friendly service, and a clean environment for the same price or less. Sadly, we won’t be...

After receiving a flyer at my house in the neighborhood, my wife and I were excited about a Sichuan restaurant near us as Mala is our favorite in Bellaire. We walked up to the counter to order but was told to have a seat as we were eating there. Waiting for someone to take our order, the same gentleman took two orders at the counter and eventually got to us. We ordered and it took awhile just to get our drinks and noticed that one of the orders he took while we were waiting was for another couple that sat down and was receiving their food. We got our drinks and when my hot & sour soup came I asked for some chili oil as it wasn't spicy. He asked if I liked spicy food and I told him I love spicy food which is why I ordered the Sichuan Chicken Mala Pot. When my food came out I was very disappointed. There was no Sichuan peppers, no lip numbing spice, no spice at all. I ate probably 5 bites and was too disappointed to finish it (dramatic, I know, but when I'm locked into a flavor it's all I want). He never came back to check on us or refill our drinks which were totally empty. My wife ate hers which she liked and I had to place a togo order for my son. I went back to the counter to order his Orange Chicken and was asked how I liked my order. I told him that it had no spice and nothing like the menu description and I didn't eat it. I don't know if he understood me but he just smiled and took my order. He dropped off the togo order with the bill and saw my full bowl and asked if I wanted a togo bowl for it, oblivious to our previous conversation. I paid the check, for everything, and left not happy but they didn't seem to care. Hope they learn to make real Sichuan food because it is convenient...