YIN JI CHANG FEN

Steamed rice noodle rolls (or Cheung Fun) is one of my favourite dim sum dishes. I love the slippery texture, the sweet and salty sauce and the savoury fillings. Yin Ji Chang Fen is a long standing chain from China specializing in the dish that recently opened up in Markham. They’re famous for their handmade sheets of rice noodle and rolling technique that results in a super thin wrapper, which still has a great chewy texture. I’ve been wanting to visit for awhile and finally dragged along Stephens’s family while his siblings were home over the holidays.

Atmosphere: Although we arrived around 1pm on a weekday, it was hard getting a table together for 6. Quite a few tables for 2 and 4 opened up, but the restaurant was small and there was only 1 or 2 spots where a large party could be accomodated. Located in a strip mall on the corner of Warden and Steeles, the restaurant was popular and stayed full, far past the usual lunch hour. I noticed quite a few solo diners as well enjoying a quick meal and generally no one lingered over their plates.

Service: Being a more casual spot, service reminded me of most Hong Kong style cafes uptown. Not exactly friendly, but efficient. If you need something you need to flag someone down, otherwise the servers circulate the room and go where they’re needed. Each table had a slot for menus, a great idea, but they were often empty. Our initial order came out very quickly, each dish in succession. However, we added a few dishes near the end of the meal and ended up having to wait for them.

Food: Between the 6 of us, we tried a good 6-7 of the rice noodle rolls an two bowls of congee. In general, I really liked the soft and thin texture of the rice noodle wrapper and how stuffed with filling each roll was. It was a but challenging to pick up pieces, but each bite was delicious. I also liked how generous Yin Ji Chang Fen was with their sauce. Often at dim sum places, if the rice noodle is thicker, it soaks up the sauce like a sponge and there isn’t enough to for every piece. Hoisin and peanut sauce were also served.

Of the rice rolls, we did try their special egg variety where the rice roll is steamed with a layer of egg on top. I quite like steamed egg, so for me this was a tasty and interesting take. Some of my favourite fillings were the liver, shrimp and chive, and dough fritter. The liver was sliced thin, tender and tasted very fresh hile the shrimp were also large and plump. The dough fritters were so good, rolled and plain. They were crispy with a pillowy soft inside and not at all oily. This was one of the dishes we ordered a second plate of to finish off our bowls of congee. As for the congee, I thought both flavours were ok and a nice to round out the meal, but not the main attraction.

Overall, I really enjoyed our meal at Yin Ji Chang Fen and am looking forward to a return visit and trying out their Hong Kong milk tea. For one person, a meal can be pricey if you’re ordering a congee and a few rice noodle rolls ($15-$20), but it’s perfect for two people or if you stick to just one or two dishes.