Liyin Rice Roll Brookline 荔银肠粉 — Restaurant in Brookline

A hopeful 4 star place once they get the ball rolling and into their groove! We went on the 2nd day of opening (per one of the waiters) at around 12. Liyin was open already, and the small waiting area had a group ahead of us. A waiter came by to ask us how big our party was and then let us know it would be a 40 minute wait as they had just opened. A few more parties came behind us after, and eventually someone from the restaurant had to tape a closed now sign to the door as they seemed quite overwhelmed. They also originally didn’t take down names, have a waitlist, or give us numbers which led to a little confusion on which parties came first. We noted food came out quite slowly as we waited for our table and there were many seated parties that still had not received food. When we sat down, the service was friendly and efficient with them again letting us know it might be a wait for our food. We ordered the Red Rice Roll w/ shrimp and Three Treasure Rice Roll alongside combo C. The beef pan fried noodle was fine at best, with the beef being heavily salted but still unable to clear the gamey taste. The congee base was great and thick, but the fish and shrimp in our Signature congee a bit fishy. Additionally, I was a bit surprised at the small size of the congee although we did order combo size. The soy milk was good and sweetened, and the milk tea had a strong tea base, I would get it again! Our waiter was kind enough to let us try the milk tea for free while the soy milk came w/the combo. Finally, the rice rolls were pretty good. I would recommend the Red Rice Roll as it came paired with siracha mayo and has a crunchy interior to complement the shrimp. The three treasure combo had no crunch and so it relied on the cheung fun which for both orders was on the sticky and softer side. Service was kind and informative, although everyone seemed a little bit confused on what orders had come out for what tables. All in all, I am excited to see how this restaurant fares once it’s been...

Liyin Rice Roll is a new restaurant that has popped up in the area right near the Brookline HMart, expanding from its location in Boston Chinatown and a future location planned in Allston.

We came during lunch and the restaurant had a few guests, but not too many. Service was quick, and the food was brought out within 10-15 minutes.

The menu is pretty expansive with the number of rice roll options, with a decent price for the portion.

We got the rice roll that came with pork. One downside is that it isn’t cut up when it’s made, so it’s hard to share easily. The rice roll was decent, filling could’ve had more but for the price it was good. We also tried the beef jook. Personally the jook was good, but I dislike ginger in my jook and they put ginger inside it. The portion size was also pretty big, with the bowl filled to the top with jook and the price being pretty reasonable for the size. We also got youtiao to dip into the jook, which was a nice addition.

Overall a good place to go for a quick bite of HK breakfast...

Got the Combo C.

The signature rice roll is easily the best rice roll I've ever had. No dim sum place Ive gone to makes a rice roll that makes a rice roll that even comes close to this place. As soon as I tried it, I knew I had to recommend it to my friends and family to try it.

For the porridge, I got the signature porridge. It's solid. The porridge itself could be stronger tasting for my personal taste, but I think if you want something less salty/strong, this is a good fit.

For the drink, I got the hot milk tea. It was personally a bit too on the bitter side. If you like your milk tea more straight tea tasting, you'll like it. It's not as overly sweet as milk tea you get from a bubble tea shop.

For the beef chow fun, it was above average compared to most Chinese food spots.

Overall, I really like this place and this is now my #1 go to place...