Master Rice Roll 腸粉大王餐廳 — Restaurant in Richmond

[Update: July 25, 2025]

We last dined here over 1.5 years ago. It's time we give this place a second chance. We arrived at 1 p.m. on a Friday, and the restaurant was completely empty. We ordered the same things we had last time we were here: "Pig Knuckle Rice Rolls 南乳豬手腸粉," "Beef Offal and Radish Noodle 蘿蔔牛雜拌麵," and "Assorted Meat Congee 及第粥." Just when we were about to place the order, we noticed it only cost $17.25 if you ordered a congee and a rice roll together. Otherwise, it would cost around $22. The waitress overheard us from the kitchen, and she informed us that the deal is only available before 11 a.m. Monday through Friday. We were stunned for a couple of seconds, and my wife whispered to my ear, "It must be congee left over from last night!" 🤣🤭 Apparently, 1.5 years ago we dined here a couple of times before 11 a.m., and the congees we ordered were hot on the surface but cold in the center. That indicated that the congees were probably leftovers from the night before and that it was microwave reheated. That didn't sit well with us. That's why we stopped returning.

This time we weren't satisfied for other reasons: 1) Wife said her "Assorted Meat Congee 及第粥" was unusual; it's something else unknown. It has fish fillets in it. 🤣🤭 There weren't too many ingredients in it either. She also said her congee was lukewarm. It was 1 p.m., why was it lukewarm?! 2) My "Beef Offal and Radish Noodle 蘿蔔牛雜拌麵" was not the same as last time. It was dark brown, it had a puddle of sauce, and it didn't taste anything like I remembered. It didn't taste good at all.

Wife scolded me, "Are you satisfied now?" 🤣 It was my idea to give this restaurant another try. She added, "from now on, stick to Double Double Restaurant nearby. Its congees and rice rolls are waaaaaaay better." I couldn't agree with her more! It's also in the same price range too.

So long, Master Rolls. It's sayonara forever!

[Original 4-star review, winter 2023]:

Congee/Noodle fast food restaurant with food that you don't often find elsewhere. Have you tried "Pig Knuckle Rice Rolls 南乳豬手腸粉?" Huh? I said to myself. Curiosity kicks in. LOL! (see picture). That's not what I was expecting. I was expecting boneless pig knuckles wrapped with rice rolls, but instead, I got Pig Knuckles with Bones ON Rice Rolls. Haha! Nevertheless, it was delicious. Boneless would be much better but still highly recommended.

I ordered the "Beef Offal and Radish Noodle 蘿蔔牛雜拌麵". Damn, it was delicious. Lots of cow innards, including some things I weren't expecting...cow lungs 牛肺 and cow (small) intestines 牛腸. You don't often see these two ingredients even in Hong Kong noodle restaurants. Lots of noodles and lots of sauce. Love noodles flooded in thick sauce! However, the innards feel soft but very chewy. You've been warned. Again, despite it chewy, wife and I actually enjoy it. BTW, where the hell's my radish!?! 🤣

Wife ordered "Assorted Meat Congee 及第粥". 1) Half an hour past, we enquired about it. The waitress said, "We didn't forget." Oh really?! When the congee finally arrived moments later, the waitress apologized profusely and offered wife a drink free of charge. 2) Obviously, it was forgotten 'cause everything was so overcooked they were inedible. But the worst is 3) Not much meat in the congee. That's 10 bucks, baby! YOU'VE BEEN WARNED! 😝

If it wasn't because of the not-much-ingredient congee, we would have given it 5-stars. Nonetheless, it's still a highly recommended restaurant. Like Arnold said, "Hasta La Vista, Baby....I'll be back!"

PS. Coffee here sucks. The horrible Hong Kong cafe 香港茶餐廳 coffee. Even in Hong Kong, every restaurant has already switched to ground coffee 即磨咖啡. Only these Richmond BC restaurants they still stayed in the Triassic Period with their instant coffee. 🤣😝 Good thing it comes free with the order. Order...

Tables were filthy. Went there at 11:30 and me and my husband were the only customers. And they can't even keep the tables clean. We sat down and noticed there were food particles stuck on the table and had to move to another table. Congee is over priced for the size. I can name several places where congee is the same price but TWICE the size. Ordered sliced beef congee and the slices werent even separated. It was clumped in a ball and when I bit into it the beef was completely raw inside. They should have separated the slices so it will cook evenly. Rice rolls had no flavour. Ordered 2 types and both were bland. There was no customer service at all. Not friendly when they brought the food out either. When we were done we left a tip on the table and went up to the front to pay. Just as we walked out the door, the woman ran out after us and told us we didn't leave a tip. I couldn't believe what I heard. We told her we left the tip on the table. BTW tips are NOT mandatory. Food was horrible, place was dirty, no customer service and not friendly at all, so we technically didn't have to leave a tip but we did anyways and she has the nerve to run out and tell us that we forgot to leave a tip. The nerve of them!!! We had a horrible experience. Will not be returning. And do not...

We went to Lido Restaurant, renowned for its exceptional claypot rice and freshly baked pineapple buns with creamy butter, but it was unfortunately closed on a Monday. As an alternative, we decided to try Master Rice Roll Cafe, which advertised its claypot rice. This was our first visit to the cafe, and we sampled two claypot rice dishes with yuchoy, along with carrot and radish cakes served on one plate. When we asked the staff to identify which was which, Aying was incredibly rude in her response. She slammed the chopsticks down in front of us, which was completely unacceptable for any dining experience.

Despite Aying's terrible attitude, Mandy's service was commendable. She was respectful and even apologized for Aying's behavior. However, regarding the claypot rice, it was bland and needed soy sauce to add flavor. Additionally, the radish and carrot cakes were tough and not worth the price we paid. Be aware that they only accept cash payments, which could lead to significant issues if you're not prepared.

The dining area itself is small and untidy, with dirty dishes piled in a large plastic container at the entrance, exposed and unappealing. I do not recommend this place unless you're prepared to take some...