Best food I've had at a Yi Mei. Daikon cake and the scallion pancake especially stood out.
John E.
Call ahead place order. Can be long wait at times when busy
mo 721
We ordered Chinese Donut, Rice Roll, Oyster Pancake, Salty Soy Milk, Wonton Noodle, and Shrimp Noodle. Every dish was low quality and poorly flavored. The donut was soggy, the Chinese donut lacked the crispy exterior, the rice roll was gummy, the oyster pancake was greasy, and the noodles were bland with mushy wontons. Having tried many similar spots across LA, this is by far the worst.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Candice Wang
Really missed Taiwanese breakfast! The meatball and rice bowl were very authentic 😋. The salty soy milk wasn’t quite what I expected — not the same as back home.
David Wushuang Zhao
Excellent place with friendly servers. I highly recommend it!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Kimberly Lundell
Food Order: Beef Roll (牛肉卷餅) $9.00 Sweet Rice Roll (甜飯糰) $5.35 Flatbread & Chinese Donut (燒餅油條) $5.75 Salty Rice Roll (鹹飯糰) $5.75 Soy Milk (豆浆) $4.25
I was going through a phase for Taiwanese breakfast during lockdown & had strong cravings for rice rolls (飯糰). They're essentially rice burritos make from glutinous rice wrapped around fillings: Chinese donut (油條) & dried pork floss (肉鬆), with some variations of pickles & veggies. I found Yi Mei in Monrovia, just a couple of miles from my brother's & asked if he wanted to have brunch with his nephew.
The restaurant is located in a plaza anchored by Good Fortune Supermarket off Duarte Rd. & 5th Ave.; while the plaza offers a moderate amount of parking spaces, I had to circle the lot to find a spot just before lunch rush. The dining space is a tad cramped with a couple dozen seats of 2 or 4 tops, though you can probably join the tables for a larger party. It's quite hot in July & there's no a/c, so it may be an unpleasant meal due to the sweltering heat. There's a unisex restroom on the right in the back so you may miss it with the large refrigerators blocking your view.
I looked at their menu so I knew what I wanted, but had a couple of questions about a couple of items. The cashier is abrupt, not rude, but it feels like he's tapping his feet so you feel a need to hurry up & place your order. I ordered the basics: Beef Roll, Sweet & Salty Rice Rolls, Flatbread & Chinese Donut to see if they're any good. Considering the amount of foot & phone traffic, my order was ready fairly quick.
Both rice rolls were tasty, but the Chinese donut was not as crisp & fluffy as I would like so it was a bit stiff & too chewy (not in a good way). The glutinous rice wrapper:filling ratio wasn't very balanced, I felt there was too much rice & it was a tad dry that I needed to flush it down every couple of bites. The beef rolls were also tasty, but the pancake:filling ratio was also off. The roll is wrapped in a thin, chewy pancake, stuffed with aromatic but skimpy beef slivers that's sweet & savory, offset by refreshing crunch of peppery cilantro. The flatbread & Chinese donut was executed best... the flatbread was flaky, with a crisp crust & soft, chewy interior; the Chinese donut was the same, with a crisp exterior & fluffy interior. Normally, I like dipping it in congee but it would have been too much for the 3 of us. We brought our water bottles so I didn't order any drinks, but we guzzled our waters & M was still thirsty so I added a large soy milk. The soy milk was sweetened just barely enough; it was mild & creamy with a beany, earthy taste. And the perfect thirst quencher on this hot summer day!
I like their menu but the execution could be better. Service is not exactly friendly, but they are fast. The menu is diverse with enough variety at competitive price points. I miss the good ol' days when a satisfying breakfast costs about $10/person. Yi Mei is a solid Taiwanese breakfast place, just a bit far to purposely dine here, but worth repeat visits if I'm in the area.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 3
Tina Xu
Poor service from start to finish. Long waits, dismissive staff, issues processing payment that the team handled unprofessionally. Bad experience. i don’t think they actually want your business
Sue
Really solid Taiwanese food at affordable prices! I really like the turnip cakes and the rice dishes.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
Andy Miller
Ordered delivery. Popcorn chicken is fine, definition of mid. The pork trotters are not tender at all - very chewy - and it tastes like it was reheated in the microwave. Not very good or deep flavor on the marinade either. And the oyster pancake arrived as some congealed mess that looks like egg suspended in ballistics gel.
John Wu
Great little place for Taiwanese breakfast serving soy milk, stem buns, fried pan cakes, sandwiches, and noodles.
Nice and casual spot for breakfast, offering lots of Taiwanese classic foods. The items are simple and made well. Open early so popular for breakfast. You order at the counter or on their website and the food comes out quickly. Staff are friendly and all of the utensils are disposable for quick dining.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Linc Y
The service is truly horrible .one of my dine in order was a hot bun, but after a few bites realized it was cold inside. I pointed out the cashier took it back without any apology and just reheated the same half bun.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 4
Service: 1
Kadijah Means
I had the salty soy milk with Chinese donut and it was phenomenal. I want to make this for breakfast every day. I feel so nourished and energized after eating it I want to run a 5k or something. wow. I also liked the cabbage and pork bun. Great food and reasonably priced. Excellent value. Hidden gem for a tasty brunch in SGV
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 5
t johnson
Everything was so good. I had the cold noodle, pickled cucumber, and green tea. Perfect breakfast and very nice staff.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Rue
Their bento boxes are delicious! Also must try their meatball or xongzi!
Best food I've had at a Yi Mei. Daikon cake and the scallion pancake especially stood out.
Call ahead place order. Can be long wait at times when busy
We ordered Chinese Donut, Rice Roll, Oyster Pancake, Salty Soy Milk, Wonton Noodle, and Shrimp Noodle. Every dish was low quality and poorly flavored. The donut was soggy, the Chinese donut lacked the crispy exterior, the rice roll was gummy, the oyster pancake was greasy, and the noodles were bland with mushy wontons.
Having tried many similar spots across LA, this is by far the worst.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Really missed Taiwanese breakfast! The meatball and rice bowl were very authentic 😋. The salty soy milk wasn’t quite what I expected — not the same as back home.
Excellent place with friendly servers. I highly recommend it!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Food Order:
Beef Roll (牛肉卷餅) $9.00
Sweet Rice Roll (甜飯糰) $5.35
Flatbread & Chinese Donut (燒餅油條) $5.75
Salty Rice Roll (鹹飯糰) $5.75
Soy Milk (豆浆) $4.25
I was going through a phase for Taiwanese breakfast during lockdown & had strong cravings for rice rolls (飯糰). They're essentially rice burritos make from glutinous rice wrapped around fillings: Chinese donut (油條) & dried pork floss (肉鬆), with some variations of pickles & veggies. I found Yi Mei in Monrovia, just a couple of miles from my brother's & asked if he wanted to have brunch with his nephew.
The restaurant is located in a plaza anchored by Good Fortune Supermarket off Duarte Rd. & 5th Ave.; while the plaza offers a moderate amount of parking spaces, I had to circle the lot to find a spot just before lunch rush. The dining space is a tad cramped with a couple dozen seats of 2 or 4 tops, though you can probably join the tables for a larger party. It's quite hot in July & there's no a/c, so it may be an unpleasant meal due to the sweltering heat. There's a unisex restroom on the right in the back so you may miss it with the large refrigerators blocking your view.
I looked at their menu so I knew what I wanted, but had a couple of questions about a couple of items. The cashier is abrupt, not rude, but it feels like he's tapping his feet so you feel a need to hurry up & place your order. I ordered the basics: Beef Roll, Sweet & Salty Rice Rolls, Flatbread & Chinese Donut to see if they're any good. Considering the amount of foot & phone traffic, my order was ready fairly quick.
Both rice rolls were tasty, but the Chinese donut was not as crisp & fluffy as I would like so it was a bit stiff & too chewy (not in a good way). The glutinous rice wrapper:filling ratio wasn't very balanced, I felt there was too much rice & it was a tad dry that I needed to flush it down every couple of bites. The beef rolls were also tasty, but the pancake:filling ratio was also off. The roll is wrapped in a thin, chewy pancake, stuffed with aromatic but skimpy beef slivers that's sweet & savory, offset by refreshing crunch of peppery cilantro. The flatbread & Chinese donut was executed best... the flatbread was flaky, with a crisp crust & soft, chewy interior; the Chinese donut was the same, with a crisp exterior & fluffy interior. Normally, I like dipping it in congee but it would have been too much for the 3 of us. We brought our water bottles so I didn't order any drinks, but we guzzled our waters & M was still thirsty so I added a large soy milk. The soy milk was sweetened just barely enough; it was mild & creamy with a beany, earthy taste. And the perfect thirst quencher on this hot summer day!
I like their menu but the execution could be better. Service is not exactly friendly, but they are fast. The menu is diverse with enough variety at competitive price points. I miss the good ol' days when a satisfying breakfast costs about $10/person. Yi Mei is a solid Taiwanese breakfast place, just a bit far to purposely dine here, but worth repeat visits if I'm in the area.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 3
Poor service from start to finish. Long waits, dismissive staff, issues processing payment that the team handled unprofessionally. Bad experience.
i don’t think they actually want your business
Really solid Taiwanese food at affordable prices! I really like the turnip cakes and the rice dishes.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
Ordered delivery. Popcorn chicken is fine, definition of mid. The pork trotters are not tender at all - very chewy - and it tastes like it was reheated in the microwave. Not very good or deep flavor on the marinade either. And the oyster pancake arrived as some congealed mess that looks like egg suspended in ballistics gel.
Great little place for Taiwanese breakfast serving soy milk, stem buns, fried pan cakes, sandwiches, and noodles.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Beef Noodle, Salty Soy Milk, Pork Belly Sandwich 刈包, Noodle Soup, Beef Soup, Beef Noodle Soup, Sandwich, Sour Pickle, Crumpet, Nikuman, Turnip Cake, Pan Fried Dumplings 8 鍋貼 8, Salted Rice Roll, Xiao Long Bao, Scallion Pancake with Egg 葱油饼加蛋
Restaurantji Recommends
Nice and casual spot for breakfast, offering lots of Taiwanese classic foods. The items are simple and made well. Open early so popular for breakfast. You order at the counter or on their website and the food comes out quickly. Staff are friendly and all of the utensils are disposable for quick dining.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
The service is truly horrible .one of my dine in order was a hot bun, but after a few bites realized it was cold inside. I pointed out the cashier took it back without any apology and just reheated the same half bun.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 4
Service: 1
I had the salty soy milk with Chinese donut and it was phenomenal. I want to make this for breakfast every day. I feel so nourished and energized after eating it I want to run a 5k or something. wow. I also liked the cabbage and pork bun. Great food and reasonably priced. Excellent value. Hidden gem for a tasty brunch in SGV
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 5
Everything was so good. I had the cold noodle, pickled cucumber, and green tea. Perfect breakfast and very nice staff.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Their bento boxes are delicious! Also must try their meatball or xongzi!
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