From trying out the food pre-pandemic to now 5 years later, the food still is top-notch! I always come for the Taiwanese-style breakfast in the morning, so have learned to arrive at least 20 minutes before they open to line up, especially when I come with a large group of 10+ people! Now I always order the following on repeat: * Soy Milk - definitely homemade and tastes fresh. I have to remember not to drink it too fast or it'll go into the wrong pipe! * Tofu Salad - the only place I've had this salad with century eggs!!! They're a surprising combo, and the garlic sauce makes this really savory. * Scallion Pancake with Beef Roll - sooo crunchy!! this is a pretty big dish with 6-7 pieces. * Pig Ear Salad - I really like the crunchy cartilage of this, along with the spicy chili oil kind of taste. * Pan Fried Buns - I appreciate how much meat there is inside the buns! Definitely a dish I would order with a group. * Steamed Spiced Spareribs - every time I order this, the meat is so tender, is just melts right off the bone! I really like the sweet potato at the bottom to balance out all the other flavors. * Taiwan Style Turnip Cakes - every surface area is crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. The sauce gives each piece a perfect finish so it doesn't taste dry. As a group, the cost turned out to be about $20-30 per person, depending on if you ordered the soy milk and/or fried dough and if you shared them. I like coming with a group of people because that means we can do family style and share a lot of things on their menu while still being full at the end and it brings the cost down to the $20s. Definitely will be back again!

We were in the Boston area for only two nights staying in Newton, and came here both mornings! Our friend highly recommended the Taiwanese brunch here. We decided to check out this spot the first morning. The two of us were recommended to start queueing 15 minutes before opening time of 11:30. We were running late and at 11:27 there was an already massive line of people wrapping around the corner of the building. It was baffling to see such a crowd just for some simple foods like doujiang and youtiao. Their judgement and sanity were put into question. We almost drove away immediately in despair but decided to try our luck. To our immense fortune, they have more tables available for small parties and we were barely able to squeeze into the first seating due to bigger parties ahead of us. On Sunday, we came to queue at 11:15 but there was nobody in sight. We thought they might be closed but turns out we were first in line. It was a lot less crowded Sunday, and although people came to queue, the restaurant never was full! Lesson learned. Between the two days, we ordered: - doujiang (sweet soybean milk): this was refreshing to drink given our order of fried foods. The sweetness varies per day but they have sugar at the table you can add if needed. - youtiao (fried dough): I love the taste of the salty yeasty dough, especially dunking it into the sweet doujiang. However, it was a bit too oily and I felt really full for the rest of the day. - scallion beef pancake: The crunch and flake factor on the pancake is superior. The beef is tender too. However, there was a slight lack of flavor and salt. We asked for chili sauce on the side and that was a smart addition. - fried turnip cake: A satisfying crisp exterior juxtaposed with a tender interior. These pieces served as a nice Besse for the savory sauce. - fried chive pockets: The fry on the pastry was good. Light and flaky exterior with a fragrant and aromatic interior. This struck a good balance between the heavier pastry and rejuvenating veggie/tofu filling. - Lu rou fan: This dish tasted fine but wasn't a standout. I wish the ratio of meat to rice was a little more. - steamed sticky rice spare ribs: This was nicely done. The ribs were fall apart tender with flavor that reached the bone. They were steamed atop a layer of pumpkin which was also really nice to eat to balance the oil from other foods. Also shout out to the complimentary tea at the table. It's the most delicious Asian tea I've eve Prices were a bit on the higher side, comparable to NYC but the quality was high. We don't live in Boston but we're definitely interested in trying more brunch items when we come back!

My partner and I got the Taiwan style turnip cake, youtiao (Chinese fried dough), shao bing five spiced beef sandwich, sweet soybean milk, spicy beef noodle soup, and spicy beef tripe salad - TASTE: 4/5 - favorites included the turnip cake, fried dough, and spicy beef tripe salad TEXTURE: 4/5 - loved the crisp crust and density of the turnip cake, as well as the classic fried dough PRICE: 3/5 - more expensive than expected and compared to other dim sum spots. Total came to $78 SERVING SIZE: 4/5 - good portions for the two of us sharing lunch SERVICE: 4/5 - actually tried coming in late March but learned, per the sign on the door and a subsequent call to their voicemail, that Chung Shin Yuan was closed for a ~month's break. We were super bummed and witnessed other folks make the same mistake. This time, we called to check they were open first lol. Meant to arrive at/before 11:30am opening, but actually got there at noon on a Sunday. Waited just 20min and got seated on the other side of a table that had a party of 3. Food came out 5-15min after ordering ATMOSPHERE: 3/5 - plant-filled, homey, and tight space. Overall glad we tried their Taiwanese style brunch PARKING: 4/5 - some dedicated spots in their lot, otherwise there are enough street spots along California St

Not sure why people are complaining about pricing. Everything costs so much now. Normal working citizens can't eat out like they did pre-Covid. With that said, this place will never replace the now closed, Shangri-La in Belmont but it scratches that Taiwanese food itch... without having to go to Taiwan... The food is good for what it is. That fried turnip cake, intestines, soy bean milk, oil fried ghost, beef and "scallion" roll are good. The beef noodle soup is solid too. Its always busy, no reservations and last time we went, the AC was down and it was hot!

My friend told me months (if not a year) ago about this random Chinese place in Newton that served Taiwanese dim sum breakfast on weekends (as a Taiwanese person myself, I don't think 'dim sum' is the correct term but I suppose it encapsulates the correct sentiment). I was honestly quite suspicious at first, not most of all because of the seemingly isolated and dilapidated exterior that is featured on GoogleMaps street view (lol). However, I was still keen on giving it a shot, and I really do quite like Taiwanese breakfast foods, so my friend and I decided to stop by for lunch (brunch?) on a Sunday. I was incredibly pleasantly surprised when we went inside; the interior was flush with a very distinctive energy and decor that made me feel welcome, and just had, overall, a very uniquely Chinese-restaurant-in-America vibe. The scents of beef noodle soups, scallion pancakes, and so much more wafted out to the front of house, where there was a growing queue to be seated. We got there at around 12pm (they open at 11h30), and fortunately we were seated in just 5ish minutes, but I did see some people waiting for much longer. For the two of us, we ordered fried dough and soymilk (油條, 甜豆漿) - super delicious soymilk and perfectly crispy youtiao. It's really rare already to find this type of Taiwanese breakfast in the West, let alone of this quality and authenticity, so I was already absolutely elated with this. The scallion pancake beef roll (牛肉捲餅) was amazing - such a large (maybe too large,,) portions with juicy and tender cuts of beef. We had pan-fried buns (生煎包) which were soo good - soft, fluffy exterior that captured the rich aromas of the pork filling inside. Finally, we had the sweet tofu jello (豆花) which is one of my personal favourite desserts, finishing off the meal with me in a great mood. The cherry on top was the crazy low prices overall for this wonderful meal. Chung Shin Yuan honestly exceeded all my expectations, and I'm so glad that I came by this time! My one regret is that it is a little out of the way, especially if you live closer to downtown and don't drive - otherwise you'd find me munching on my youtiao and and turnip cakes here every weekend :)

A solid place for Taiwanese brunch in Newton located next to McDonalds and across the fish market and small bakery. They only serve their Taiwanese dim sum on the weekends, so plan accordingly. Every time I go or pass by there's always a long line of people waiting to get in. I would recommend going early to be seated first or calling ahead to order for take out. I've tried a variety of their items including the Chinese fried dough, shao bing five spiced sandwich, sweet soy bean milk, Taiwan style turnip cake, pan fried buns, pork rolls, steamed spiced spare ribs, stir fried scallop rice sticks, and peking meat sauce noodle. The fried dough was great to dip in the soy bean milk, which has a very subtle taste that isn't too sweet. The shao bing sandwich bread is very flakey and packed full of meat. The spare ribs are flavorful and underneath them you'll find sweet potatoes as well. My favorites were the pork rolls and the stick sticks. The fried buns aren't small and can fill you up quickly. Overall, a great place to try out different small dishes with a group of people.