My family loves coming here for our chinese breakfast. We'll sometimes have it for lunch because this place is not close by. It used to be such a good deal. The prices have gone up but it's still pretty good. We love the fan tuan (rice roll), dan bing (egg pancake), xlb, soy milk, and rice milk.
Alan C.
Takeout is slow as f on a Wednesday morning. Outside waiting area is nasty with flys all over the place
Jean L.
Very simple setup but good food especially for the price. Bring cash as they DO NOT take cards at all. Their soybean milk and chinese donut is better to eat dine in. But overall, cannot complain about much
Jonathan H.
This is the local spot for Taiwanese breakfast. Have not been here for ages and tried it recently and it is still good! As noted by others, the workers there speak Mandarin only and don't take kindly to non Mandarin speakers. Got a rice roll, egg omelet, pancake, and sweet soy milk. The soy milk are fresh and different from the ones you get from the super market. It is worth it! Egg omelet taste great as they are not dry and the texture is there: soft and chewy. I got the pancake with egg and they taste OK. With the egg it stands out more. But you can still get the pancake without egg if you prefer. As for the rice roll, it will definitely fill you up! It comes with youtiao that is big , rousong, and Suancai. They taste great overall. Will visit this location again in the near future.
Chen Dow
A very traditional Chinese/Taiwanese breakfast and pastry place, where the decor is old, everything seems a little greasy, food items are spread out onto dining tables where anyone can touch, and they only take cash. However, this is the one place where you can find truly old-fashioned items that are harder and harder to find even in the East Asian food Mecca of San Gabriel Valley. Oh, if you buy 10 of any pastry item, you get another one free.As a Taiwanese breakfast place, you’ll find authentic Chinese fried cruller (油條), sesame flaky bread (燒餅), soybean milk (甜鹹豆漿), green onion scrambled egg pancakes(蔥花蛋餅), and fried cruller stick rice rolls(甜鹹飯糰), pork veggie and veggie steamed buns (菜肉包，菜包).Additionally, they have old style flaky Chinese pastries with green onions (蟹殼黃), radish (蘿蔔絲餅), red bean paste (豆沙餅), or jujube paste (棗泥餅) and many, many other items, from steamed sticky rice in bamboo leaves with pork or red bean paste (湖州鮮肉粽子，豆沙粽), braised beef shanks (滷牛腱), to sweet chrysanthemum drink (菊花茶).
john lin
Great fast food and even greater price.
Ashley H.
Absolutely amazing service and I love the pastries. They have a pineapple shortbread one that is to die for. And the egg omelette is absolutely amazing. The ladies in the front may not know a lot of English but they are so friendly and welcoming. I love this place.
Lesley C.
3.5-4 stars We had not been to Yi Mei in years, until yesterday. Last weekend, a friend brought over a Beef Sandwich with 酸菜 and 包子 from Yi Mei, and it reminded us to stop by when we get the chance. Yi Mei Deli is located to the left of HK2 and has been there ever since I can remember. Since we had not been there in awhile, we went a bit all out and ordered about $30 of food. 2 - 蘿蔔絲餅 (Daikon Radish Sesame Cake) 2 - 咖哩餃 (Curry Pockets) 2 - 草仔粿 (Steamed Mugwort) 2 - 蟹殼黃 (Green Onion Pastry) 1 - 米漿(熱) (Peanut Soy Milk (Hot)) 1 - 飯糰 (Stuffed Rice Roll) 1 - 酸菜牛肉餅 (Beef Sandwich with traditional Chinese pickled Chinese cabbage) Since the Dragon Boat Festival (端午節) is coming up, they also had plenty of rice dumplings (粽子) on sale once you enter the establishment. The inside looks the same as I remembered, nothing has changed, besides not being able to eat inside. After ordering, one waits outside and they call your order through the small side window. Overall, the taste of some items are better than others. Some just didn't taste as great as we remembered. Ordering items here remind us of days in Taiwan and brings back memories but wish the flavors were just as great, or close to match the ones in Taiwan. Overall, they still make items that are not really sold anywhere else or are rarer items these days. Just wish that the flavors and the "skin" (皮) of the pastries were thinner. The pastries had the right amount of flakiness and layers, just too thick and not enough of the inside ingredients. The 飯糰 (Stuffed Rice Roll) was a bit sad looking, and the 油條 (Chinese cruller) was not crispy enough, but the overall taste was okay. Nothing special, which is sad because it's one of my highlights of a Taiwanese breakfast. There are a few items we will return to order in the future, but for others, we'll order less of. We'll still probably order them because other establishments nearby do not make them anymore - especially the Steamed Mugwort. I still remember when this whole plaza was bustling, especially on weekends but it's sad to see it in such disarray these days. Reminds me to continue to support local businesses.
ashley unboxing
Food was pretty good but the customer service was not good the employees were very rude and instructions were unclear. Its a little pricey and environment was really dirty. But overall food was good. The sweet rice roll was too sweet and had a lot of sugar. Not too happy about it especially because of the customer service. Many workers were yelling around. Thanks.
I was craving some Taiwanese breakfast and came across Yi Mei at Yelp, so I decided to check it out with my sister. My dad had always taken us to Shi Hai (Four Seas) for Taiwanese breakfast so he and my mom never heard of Yi Mei, even though they frequented the Hong Kong plaza. My sister and I ordered a small sweet soy milk, small salty soy milk, a salty fan tuan with tsong dan (scallion egg), and a dan bin (egg roll). I'm glad I had cash because the restaurant was CASH ONLY. We got our ticket number and waited outside for 10 minutes or so to get our food. At this time, indoor dining still isn't open so everything was takeout only. When we got our food, I expected to get the iced sweet soy milk, but I guess the hot one was default. So, if you'd like the iced one, make sure you specified it when you ordered! Anyways, after we brought the food back home, we were ready to dig in. The hot sweet soy milk was delicious, it wasn't as sweet, which is how I liked it. The salty soy milk was also very good, but it was a bit too heavy for me as a breakfast, but I know plenty of people who LOVE it. As for the salty fan tuan, it was SO good. I'm not sure what others were talking about regarding the rice to stuffing ration because I actually think the ratio was perfect. I think because I ordered it with the scallion egg, there was only enough room for a thin layer of sticky rice around the you tiao, tsong dan, the pickled radish, and the pork floss. Each bite was so good, that I was so sad to have finished it! Finally, the dan bin was really good, especially their soy sauce with garlic! I'm sure that when I come back to LA again, I'll definitely go back for a hearty Taiwanese breakfast again! There are so many other things I wanted to try, such as their buns, their wa gui, and their sour plum juice (which I absolutely loved in Taiwan). Until next time, Yi Mei!
Sandra L.
You've ever just eaten something so addictive that you savor the after taste for as long as it will hold? Yeah, that's thanks to the garlic sauce they give you for the Dan bing. It is Delicious. Also, the dish itself holds on its own as well, especially the scrambled egg they add to it. Not over cooked where it's squeaky like most American places, but cooked JUST right that it's soft and melts on your tongue while having that bite- texture. Good place for breakfast. Or any moment of the day tbh
GOLDEN
Super unfriendly front cashier!
Luna S.
Pretty authentic Taiwanese breakfast in the area! My favorites are the egg omelet, onion pancake, radish cake, and the peanut rice drink. I think the garlic sauce is definitely a big contributor in making the food taste extra delicious. Make sure you look up what you want to order before getting to the register. Like many reviews below, the place is often really busy and the workers aren't going to be too pleased when you take your sweet time deciding what you want while you're at the register. Also, Cash only.
Angela L.
I went to pick up Taiwanese breakfast today. I got Chinese tamales, curry pastries, onion pancakes, taro cake, and frozen dumplings. I would have given this place four stars for the food, but the service is so unfriendly! Due to COVID there isn't any indoor seating available. We ordered everything to take home. The food is authentic and tastes homemade. You place your order inside and wait outside for your food. There is a window outside where they call out your order. The lady there slams open the window and slams it shut once you get your food order. It's like the soup n*** from Seinfeld but Chinese style! If you don't have your order ready and you don't speak Chinese, you're not getting any food! It's definitely on the pricier side for food. A bag of frozen dumplings is $26.00. I would recommend this place for an authentic Taiwanese breakfast, but bring a Chinese speaking person with you!
My family loves coming here for our chinese breakfast. We'll sometimes have it for lunch because this place is not close by. It used to be such a good deal. The prices have gone up but it's still pretty good. We love the fan tuan (rice roll), dan bing (egg pancake), xlb, soy milk, and rice milk.
Takeout is slow as f on a Wednesday morning. Outside waiting area is nasty with flys all over the place
Very simple setup but good food especially for the price. Bring cash as they DO NOT take cards at all. Their soybean milk and chinese donut is better to eat dine in. But overall, cannot complain about much
This is the local spot for Taiwanese breakfast. Have not been here for ages and tried it recently and it is still good! As noted by others, the workers there speak Mandarin only and don't take kindly to non Mandarin speakers. Got a rice roll, egg omelet, pancake, and sweet soy milk. The soy milk are fresh and different from the ones you get from the super market. It is worth it! Egg omelet taste great as they are not dry and the texture is there: soft and chewy. I got the pancake with egg and they taste OK. With the egg it stands out more. But you can still get the pancake without egg if you prefer. As for the rice roll, it will definitely fill you up! It comes with youtiao that is big , rousong, and Suancai. They taste great overall. Will visit this location again in the near future.
A very traditional Chinese/Taiwanese breakfast and pastry place, where the decor is old, everything seems a little greasy, food items are spread out onto dining tables where anyone can touch, and they only take cash. However, this is the one place where you can find truly old-fashioned items that are harder and harder to find even in the East Asian food Mecca of San Gabriel Valley. Oh, if you buy 10 of any pastry item, you get another one free.As a Taiwanese breakfast place, you’ll find authentic Chinese fried cruller (油條), sesame flaky bread (燒餅), soybean milk (甜鹹豆漿), green onion scrambled egg pancakes(蔥花蛋餅), and fried cruller stick rice rolls(甜鹹飯糰), pork veggie and veggie steamed buns (菜肉包，菜包).Additionally, they have old style flaky Chinese pastries with green onions (蟹殼黃), radish (蘿蔔絲餅), red bean paste (豆沙餅), or jujube paste (棗泥餅) and many, many other items, from steamed sticky rice in bamboo leaves with pork or red bean paste (湖州鮮肉粽子，豆沙粽), braised beef shanks (滷牛腱), to sweet chrysanthemum drink (菊花茶).
Great fast food and even greater price.
Absolutely amazing service and I love the pastries. They have a pineapple shortbread one that is to die for. And the egg omelette is absolutely amazing. The ladies in the front may not know a lot of English but they are so friendly and welcoming. I love this place.
3.5-4 stars We had not been to Yi Mei in years, until yesterday. Last weekend, a friend brought over a Beef Sandwich with 酸菜 and 包子 from Yi Mei, and it reminded us to stop by when we get the chance. Yi Mei Deli is located to the left of HK2 and has been there ever since I can remember. Since we had not been there in awhile, we went a bit all out and ordered about $30 of food. 2 - 蘿蔔絲餅 (Daikon Radish Sesame Cake) 2 - 咖哩餃 (Curry Pockets) 2 - 草仔粿 (Steamed Mugwort) 2 - 蟹殼黃 (Green Onion Pastry) 1 - 米漿(熱) (Peanut Soy Milk (Hot)) 1 - 飯糰 (Stuffed Rice Roll) 1 - 酸菜牛肉餅 (Beef Sandwich with traditional Chinese pickled Chinese cabbage) Since the Dragon Boat Festival (端午節) is coming up, they also had plenty of rice dumplings (粽子) on sale once you enter the establishment. The inside looks the same as I remembered, nothing has changed, besides not being able to eat inside. After ordering, one waits outside and they call your order through the small side window. Overall, the taste of some items are better than others. Some just didn't taste as great as we remembered. Ordering items here remind us of days in Taiwan and brings back memories but wish the flavors were just as great, or close to match the ones in Taiwan. Overall, they still make items that are not really sold anywhere else or are rarer items these days. Just wish that the flavors and the "skin" (皮) of the pastries were thinner. The pastries had the right amount of flakiness and layers, just too thick and not enough of the inside ingredients. The 飯糰 (Stuffed Rice Roll) was a bit sad looking, and the 油條 (Chinese cruller) was not crispy enough, but the overall taste was okay. Nothing special, which is sad because it's one of my highlights of a Taiwanese breakfast. There are a few items we will return to order in the future, but for others, we'll order less of. We'll still probably order them because other establishments nearby do not make them anymore - especially the Steamed Mugwort. I still remember when this whole plaza was bustling, especially on weekends but it's sad to see it in such disarray these days. Reminds me to continue to support local businesses.
Food was pretty good but the customer service was not good the employees were very rude and instructions were unclear. Its a little pricey and environment was really dirty. But overall food was good. The sweet rice roll was too sweet and had a lot of sugar. Not too happy about it especially because of the customer service. Many workers were yelling around. Thanks.
Bad service and extremely over priced
Restaurantji Recommends
I was craving some Taiwanese breakfast and came across Yi Mei at Yelp, so I decided to check it out with my sister. My dad had always taken us to Shi Hai (Four Seas) for Taiwanese breakfast so he and my mom never heard of Yi Mei, even though they frequented the Hong Kong plaza. My sister and I ordered a small sweet soy milk, small salty soy milk, a salty fan tuan with tsong dan (scallion egg), and a dan bin (egg roll). I'm glad I had cash because the restaurant was CASH ONLY. We got our ticket number and waited outside for 10 minutes or so to get our food. At this time, indoor dining still isn't open so everything was takeout only. When we got our food, I expected to get the iced sweet soy milk, but I guess the hot one was default. So, if you'd like the iced one, make sure you specified it when you ordered! Anyways, after we brought the food back home, we were ready to dig in. The hot sweet soy milk was delicious, it wasn't as sweet, which is how I liked it. The salty soy milk was also very good, but it was a bit too heavy for me as a breakfast, but I know plenty of people who LOVE it. As for the salty fan tuan, it was SO good. I'm not sure what others were talking about regarding the rice to stuffing ration because I actually think the ratio was perfect. I think because I ordered it with the scallion egg, there was only enough room for a thin layer of sticky rice around the you tiao, tsong dan, the pickled radish, and the pork floss. Each bite was so good, that I was so sad to have finished it! Finally, the dan bin was really good, especially their soy sauce with garlic! I'm sure that when I come back to LA again, I'll definitely go back for a hearty Taiwanese breakfast again! There are so many other things I wanted to try, such as their buns, their wa gui, and their sour plum juice (which I absolutely loved in Taiwan). Until next time, Yi Mei!
You've ever just eaten something so addictive that you savor the after taste for as long as it will hold? Yeah, that's thanks to the garlic sauce they give you for the Dan bing. It is Delicious. Also, the dish itself holds on its own as well, especially the scrambled egg they add to it. Not over cooked where it's squeaky like most American places, but cooked JUST right that it's soft and melts on your tongue while having that bite- texture. Good place for breakfast. Or any moment of the day tbh
Super unfriendly front cashier!
Pretty authentic Taiwanese breakfast in the area! My favorites are the egg omelet, onion pancake, radish cake, and the peanut rice drink. I think the garlic sauce is definitely a big contributor in making the food taste extra delicious. Make sure you look up what you want to order before getting to the register. Like many reviews below, the place is often really busy and the workers aren't going to be too pleased when you take your sweet time deciding what you want while you're at the register. Also, Cash only.
I went to pick up Taiwanese breakfast today. I got Chinese tamales, curry pastries, onion pancakes, taro cake, and frozen dumplings. I would have given this place four stars for the food, but the service is so unfriendly! Due to COVID there isn't any indoor seating available. We ordered everything to take home. The food is authentic and tastes homemade. You place your order inside and wait outside for your food. There is a window outside where they call out your order. The lady there slams open the window and slams it shut once you get your food order. It's like the soup n*** from Seinfeld but Chinese style! If you don't have your order ready and you don't speak Chinese, you're not getting any food! It's definitely on the pricier side for food. A bag of frozen dumplings is $26.00. I would recommend this place for an authentic Taiwanese breakfast, but bring a Chinese speaking person with you!