If you’re looking for the best “chang fen” (肠粉) or rice noodle rolls in Toronto, Scarborough, Markham, or Mississauga, look no further than Yin Ji Chang Fen Rice Noodle Roll Restaurant (銀記腸粉)! This unassuming little chang fen spot is always packed with people, and for good reason – their rice noodle rolls are absolutely delicious!
The best part about Yin Ji Chang Fen’s rice noodle rolls is that they offer a wide variety of different types to satisfy everyone’s cravings. From the traditional beef and shrimp with chives rice noodle roll to the more adventurous pork liver rice noodle roll, there’s something for everyone at Yin Ji Chang Fen!
It’s true that you can find classic chang fen like the shrimp or beef from these top-notch worth-visiting dim sum restaurants in GTA, but we can tell you that no other restaurant does it quite like Yin Ji Chang Fen.
Despite being known as the “King of Chang Fen”, they also serve other popular breakfast and lunch items including signature congee bowls, soup, dumplings, and many more.
They also offer vegetable rice noodle rolls, sweet corn rice noodle rolls, delicious fried doughnut sticks, plain congee, and other non-meat dishes for those of you who are looking for Chinese vegetarian options.
Yin Ji Chang Fen Rice Noodle Restaurant Review
We wanted a nice change from our traditional dim sum breakfast, so my family decided to stop by for a quick morning breakfast at Yin Ji Chang Fen restaurant in Markham for some congee and chang fen. Let’s take a look at their menu before we review and show you what we ordered!
Yin Ji Chang Fen Menu
Here’s what we ordered and our thoughts about this restaurant chain.
Shrimp with Chives Rice Noodle Rolls (虾肠粉) – $6.50
We ordered this because my personal favourite chang fen has always been the shrimp & chives rice noodle roll.
The Yin Ji version was amazing – the chang fen was chewy, smooth, and filled with generous portions of fresh shrimp.
The outside of the rice noodle roll was smooth while the inside was nice and chewy – it was the perfect combination! The shrimp were plump and fresh, and the chives provided a nice crunch and the perfect amount of flavour. Of course, topping it with Yin Ji’s special soy sauce added the perfect amount of sweetness and tanginess.
If you like traditional shrimp & chives chang fen, you will definitely love Yin Ji’s!
Marinated Pork and Beef with Chives Rice Noodle Rolls (猪肉牛肉肠粉) – $6.75
My parents and husband are big fans of pork and beef chang fen, so they ordered this dish.
I’m personally not the biggest fan of pork and beef chang fen because I find the beef to be a little too chewy for my liking, but my family enjoyed this dish. The marinated pork and beef were both tender and flavourful, and the chives added a nice crunch.
The filling was extremely flavourful and the Chang Fen wrapper was smooth and silky. We also like how it wasn’t too thick either.
My parents said that the Yin Ji’s version of this dish was better than most other restaurants because you can tell that the quality of the ingredients was excellent. The beef was also very tender.
If you’re a fan of pork and beef chang fen, you’ll want to order one for yourself too!
Shredded Pork and Preserved or Century Egg Congee (皮蛋瘦肉粥) – $8.75
Whenever we dine out at a delicious Chinese restaurant, I would often be attracted to the congee section. I love how there are so many different types of congee to choose from, and Yin Ji Chang Fen did not disappoint!
I grew up eating century eggs with pork congee a lot, so it remains one of my favourites. I have to admit I try to limit myself from eating this sort of stuff now, but once in a while is okay!
The shredded pork and preserved egg congee were delicious and flavourful, and the century egg added a nice touch of smoothness and creaminess to the dish. The rice grains were also cooked perfectly – not overly watery and not too thick. Although I generally do prefer my congee to be more on the watery side!
Pork Liver Congee – $7.25
If you’re feeling adventurous, we highly recommend trying the pork liver congee – it sounds weird and scary, but trust us (or at least my parents who have a knack for organs), it’s actually really delicious! The liver is cooked to perfection and not at all gamey, and pairs perfectly with the rice porridge.
I didn’t grow up eating this stuff, so when I took the first bite, I thought it was really weird. But my parents and grandparents love it, so I guess it’s just a matter of acquired taste. If you’re into offal, definitely give this a try!
Fried Donut Wrapped in Rice Noodle Roll – $5.50
Another one of Yin Ji’s specialties is the fried donut wrapped in a rice noodle roll. It’s a classic dim sum item that many Chinese people enjoy with their congee!
It also tastes great alone or dipped in soy sauce.
I am very careful about eating too many fried foods, but this dish was too tempting to resist. The donut was crispy and obviously oily, and the rice noodle roll added a nice chewy texture. Delicious! I grew up with this and it’s hard to not eat it when it’s right in front of your face!
My family agreed and said that this dish was one of their favourites as well. If you love fried foods (honestly, who doesn’t), you’ll definitely want to order this!
Deep-Fried Chinese Donut – $2.99
Lastly, we called an order for a deep-fried Chinese donut to share. It’s a pretty long piece, so you can share it with three to four people. But of course, you could easily eat this on your own given how addicted you’ll be to the crispy and chewy texture!
Simply dip this in any of your congee dishes and you’ll feel heaven. Even if you don’t like congee, this combination with the deep-fried donut is worth trying.
Food: 4.3/5
Dim sum items from the best dim sum restaurants in Markham like Skyview Fusion (乙龍天) or in Scarborough are amazing because you get a lot of variety including traditional rice noodle rolls.
However, if you’re looking for a place that specializes in chang fen, then Yin Ji Chang Fen is the place to go!
The shrimp and beef chang fen dishes were both cooked very well and had great flavours. The Chang Fen wrapper was smooth and silky, and the fillings were generous.
The pork liver congee is also a must-try (again, if you grew up with this) – it sounds weird but it’s actually really delicious! – and the fried donuts are also a classic that you can’t go wrong with.
Service: 4.5/5
The servers were like your typical Asian servers at any fast-paced Chinese restaurant. They aren’t like the customer service you’ll get at a Starbucks chain where they like to chit-chat with you, but they were attentive and quick.
Water and tea refills were no problem, and our food came out quite quickly given how busy the restaurant was. A lot of people do take out here based on what we saw.
Very efficient workers who get the job done with the speed and quality that you would want from a restaurant like this.
Even after paying for the bill, they asked if we would still a refill of their hot tea.
Ambiance: 4/5
This place is very clean, updated, and modern. The seating area is spacious and there are a lot of tables.
The only reason why it’s not a 5/5 is because it doesn’t feel like an area where you can sit for a long time and socialize with your friends and family. I mean, you could but it’s just don’t get that same vibe here. It’s sort of like the dine and dash place. Or dine, relax a bit, and leave.
Price: $
We ordered 3 rice rolls dishes, 2 congees, and 1 stick of fried Chinese donut. Our bill came out to be $42.64 after tax but before tips. Including the tips, our breakfast meal for 4 people was $49. That’s only $12.26 per person, which is a really budget-friendly meal considering how much more food you would have ordered if you were at a dim sum restaurant instead.
Not to mention, it also came with fresh hot tea, so we didn’t order any drinks. I was tempted to order a hot cup of Hong Kong-style milk tea, but I stopped myself because I didn’t want to consume too much sugar. Haha!
I’ll save that for another time when I am really craving a large cup of bubble milk tea from the best tea shops in Toronto – which we highly recommend you to check out too!
Yin Ji Chang Fen Rice Noodle Roll Restaurant Rating: 4.4/5
We absolutely enjoyed our breakfast at Yin Ji Chang Fen!
Yin Ji Chang Fen is a great place to go to if you’re looking for amazing and authentic rice noodle rolls. The service is quick and attentive, the food is delicious, and it’s very budget-friendly. I would definitely come back here again!
Overall, we would give this chang fun rice noodle roll restaurant a rating of 4.4 out of 5 stars.
Have you been to Yin Ji Chang Fen before? What did you think of their chang fen (肠粉) rice noodle rolls? Let us know in the comments below!
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