The brunch is only offered on the weekend and during the week they offer more of a traditional Chinese menu. Be forewarned that the wait for this restaurant can be quite long so it’s good go get there early. We arrived at around noon and had to wait an hour for our table. Luckily, there’s a McDonald’s right next door, so we ate some Dollar Menu apple pies and fruit and yoghurt parfaits to tide us over. The apple pies aren’t as good as they used to be when they were deep-fried, but I guess that’s for a different review.

Once seated, there is very little wait for service. Taiwanese brunch is similar to dim sum in that the food is usually fried or steamed and provided in smaller portions where everyone gets a taste. Each of the menu items is just a few dollars so you can order a wide variety of things to try. We ordered several items and they were quickly brought to us as each was ready.

Favorites included the sweet soy milk and fried dough—it’s kind of like the Chinese equivalent of a long donut. The scallion pancakes were probably the tastiest that I’ve had though slightly greasy. The spicy beef noodle soup was delicious and HOT (you’ll need to fill that glass of water often), and the beef was exquisitely tender and juicy. The pork steamed buns were good though nothing special.

So if you’re interested in trying something different near Boston, try the Taiwanese brunch at Chung Shin Yuan.

After staying with her a week and sampling what Boston has to offer, I'm not sure how much my sister's opinion of the city has changed, but at least we've had some great food and made some lasting memories.