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    The Yin Yin

    3.4 (288 reviews)
    InexpensiveChinese
    Closed 4:00 pm - 8:00 PM
    Updated 3 months ago

    Order The Yin Yin Takeout or Delivery

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    THE YIN YIN ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Casual
    Moderate noise
    Good for kids
    Good for groups

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    Fried Rice
    Leonor R.

    This is one of our favorites in downtown Livermore for years now. The quality & taste of the food has been consistently high. It's the place you go back to when you crave a dish & get it exactly the way you remembered! Cravings satisfied. We have never been disappointed. This time, I want to highlight their Special Dinners for $22.95. We first tried it for dinner when we were craving the staples - fried rice & sweet & sour pork. We tried the Special Dinner & realized that for the cost of those dishes, we could get another dish, appetizers, and soup! Check out the photos for the Special Dinner for 2. Service is always friendly & attentive. The dining room is well lit & decorated with Asian art pieces. It is casual & comfortable. We've always enjoyed it here.

    Beef Broccoli
    Briana V.

    Yin Yin is very delicious and super authentic. Everything that you order taste really fresh and has great flavor. I ordered the chow mein, pot stickers and beef broccoli . You cannot go wrong with anything on the menu. They are very nice and the service is very quick. You don't wait long for your order to come out.

    Pork Chow Mein
    Sara M.

    We've been searching for a new go-to Chinese place that has good prices and good food, and we think we've finally found it with this place! The food was nice and fresh and not greasy. It tasted great, and their menu has lots of choices that we can't wait to try. We ordered delivery through their website and even though the time estimate was 45 minutes, I kid you not 10 minutes later our doorbell rang. We both looked at each other and were like "there's no way".....but yes, it was the food! I guess they have some dishes ready to go and that works well for us lol. Pork Chow Mein ($10.50) - Pork does mean BBQ Pork (we weren't sure it would). This was my favorite of everything we got, it had a nice almost smokey flavor and wasn't greasy at all. It had lots of meat and overall tasted very fresh. 5/5 Chicken Fried Rice ($10.50) - This tasted okay when we had it with everything else. I thought it was a bit bland, and it's unfortunate the only vegetable in it is green onion. But when we had the leftovers the next day just on its own it actually tasted a lot more flavorful. Also it was fresh and not greasy, and you get large pieces of nice chicken. I'd try this again with another meat though to see if it was more flavorful. 3/5 Szechuan Chicken ($12.50) - This was disappointing, it wasn't spicy at all and it tasted more like sweet and sour chicken to me. That being said the chicken was great quality and it came with assorted vegetables which was nice. But I need me some spice and this didn't live up to its name. I wouldn't get this again. 2/5 I also love how much food they give you. For two people we got like two and a half meals out of this. Amazing value. I can't wait to try more things!

    Wonton Soup , Just what the Dr. ordered!!! delicious.
    Carina H.

    The Food is fabulous!! I have now had the Wonton soup. Very authentic!! Just what the Doctor ordered! I also have had the Walnut Shrimp. Best I have tasted. Glad they are back open!!!

    Beef with vegetables, egg roll, fried and chow mein lunch combo
    Henry D.

    I grew up in the Livermore area years ago and happen to be there a couple of times this week. I remember it being the only Chinese restaurant in town and eating there. Amazingly the food is still the same and my two favorite dishes: Won Ton Soup and Fried Prawns. The first time I stopped by I didn't take pictures. I had my favorite dishes. The prawns were large enough to form a circle with a light batter that I think had a hint of garlic and nicely fried. The won ton soup is a pork and shrimp mixture that is blended nicely with a nice flavor. Both dishes are about as close to my all time favorite comfort food restaurant, King Wah which was in Oakland Chinatown but sadly they closed after 50 years in business. They had the best Cantonese comfort food ever. I have not found a place like it but at least I know I can get won ton soup and fried prawns similar to my favorite restaurants King Wah and before that, Lock Goon. I returned again and ordered combo take-outs for lunch. I ordered the Beef with vegetables and my wife ordered Sweet and Sour Prawns. The lunch combo comes with fried rice, chow mein, choice of fried won ton or egg roll and if you dine in egg flower soup or hot and sour soup. While I waited for my order they offered me soup, very nice of them to offer (the hot and sour soup was good). The combo lunches were good, the noodles had a nice flavor, the fried rice was a bit dry, egg roll was good, lots of assorted veggies which I liked with the tender beef with a slight stronger oyster sauce flavor than I prefer and the prawns were great. I highly recommend the Won Ton Soup and Fried Prawns if you like the OG home cooking like Lock Goon and King Wah (both long gone). Great service, priced well and the few things I tried has Yin Yin on my places to hit when I'm back there again.

    Yin Yin Chow Fun
    Michael L.

    Over the last couple of months, Yin Yin has supplanted China Garden as my go-to for Livermore Chinese food. The quality of the food ranges from mediocre to fantastic. Our standard order typically includes the Yin Yin Chow Fun, Chicken and Corn Soup, some form of fried rice (either Yang Zhou or Fu Zhou), and a random fourth item. The Chicken and Corn Soup is pretty standard - it's on par to China Garden. The Yang Zhou Fried Rice is also pretty standard - the reason why it stands out is because I can't recall eating it at any East-Bay Chinese restaurants (it's something I would have ordered years ago from Fortune House in Sacramento or random South Bay Chinese Restaurants). I was pleasantly surprised by the Fu Zhou Fried Rice - there wasn't a description on their menu system, but Googling it returns a description of gravy on fried rice; the "gravy" ended up being saucy-seafood mixture, which is absolutely delicious. The Yin Yin Chow Fun is executed well - the noodles are neither mushy nor undercooked, flavors are right, and the ingredients (chicken, shrimp, BBQ pork, and broccoli) are spot-on. The mediocre items are the deep-fried foods. I've tried their eggrolls and salt and pepper tofu - in both cases, it's more fried batter than anything else. We typically order through GrubHub, but it looks like Yin Yin uses their own internal delivery person. He's great! GrubHub usually reports a 55-65 minute wait, but the food has always been delivered within 30 minutes. He's always masked up, and waits (6+ feet away) at the porch until someone gathers the delivery.

    Egg drop 3 Egg Flower Soup
    Corey N.

    Many years of great food and service. Been going to the Yin Yin since the early 80's. Yes. They even used to deliver so our weekend orders were many more then. Still the best Chinese food around. Family owned and always pleasant people to deal with. Today I met three friends for lunch. I had Bocolli Chicken lunch with egg drop soup. Additionally I got two orders of fried prawns for the table and as usually, I ate half of them. YUM! The decor is dated; not changed much since I have been going there. I did notice the goldfish tank of many years is now gone. Likely for the best as those fish outgrew the tank long ago.

    Wonton soup!
    Ron R.

    Wow! I'm pretty shocked with all the negative reviews. I mean granted I've only been here once, but I thought it was decent eats. I'm also glad we didn't run into those issues. Apparently, this is a local Livermore favorite, but with all the Chinese food choices around here, it's hard to decide. Here's a bit of information about Yin Yin: ~ It's located in the heart of downtown Livermore, so you'll likely find good parking outside of 1st St. ~ The dining area appeared old. Not as in dirty old, but just all red and old. I mean I do know the place has been around since the 60s, so you catch my drift? Wasn't a big deal to me. ~ We (table for two) tried a bit of everything, only because we were hungry as hell and have never been here. So here's our order: Shrimp Sizzling Rice Soup ($7.95) - Not bad, but tasted more watery versus brothy. The chunks of shrimp were pretty big with the poop along the back pulled out. The wontons were plump and fully filled with pork. If I'm sick, I wouldn't mind getting this again, but there's a Korean restaurant down the street that serves it tastier. Combination Crispy Pan Fried Noodles ($9.25) - Talks about veggies galore! This dish was stacked with a lot of sauteed greens (broccoli, snow peas, bok choy, carrots, shrooms). Combine that with chicken, shrimp, BBQ pork on top of the crispy noodles, and man you've got one satisfying dish! Bok Choy With Garlic ($7.95) - Perfect! Crispy Fish With Salt And Pepper ($10.95) - MY FAV! It's gotta be the salt, but it's definitely crispy and light. I'd order this again next time if I could. It had a few deep fried jalapeno slices in which I love adding with every bite. If you're looking for a fish dish, this is it, GET IT! Princess Prawn ($10.95) - Surprisingly sweet and delicious with broccoli, onions, and red bell peppers. I'm not normally a princess prawn fan, but I thought theirs was enjoyable. The sauce wasn't over powering, nor did it soften the crispiness of the shrimp that much. So, to sum it up, I'd say Yin Yin is a place worth trying. It's been around for years and for good reason too. Maybe it's the amount of monosodium glutamate that made all the dishes taste and look pretty, but that didn't stop me from eating it. I mean, really it's in everything, so I can't really use that as an excuse not to come by here. But I was super full when I left the place lol. I do feel their ingredients are fresh and that says a lot for a place that's reasonably priced. It's really more of an average 3-star kinda place, but I found it harder to deduct a second star.

    Singaporean noodles

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    6 months ago

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    4 months ago

    I always love the food at Yin Yin, fresh and their service is fast!, but they are the best Chinese food in Livermore!

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    I've been a loyal customer of Yin Yin for going on 10 years. Still great food, and always great customer service!

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    Canton Village - Our dinner food spread for a table of 4.

    Canton Village

    4.0(343 reviews)
    0.7 mi
    $$

    Ordered for to go in the restaurant. We noticed how big the place is and nicely decorated. Seems to…read morebe a good place for larger parties. The prices are a bit high for my liking, but maybe this is a norm out here in Livermore. We ordered 3 items: Combo fried rice, Orange Chicken, and Chicken Corn Soup. Spent about $50. The food would have been only enough for 2 people. Food was good, soup was a bit salty and had a bit too much cornstarch. Orange chicken was delicious, I would go back for this anytime. The fried rice was okay, a little too dry, but not too bad. Overall the food was good and service was quick. We didn't wait too long for our order.

    We had dinner at Canton Village in Livermore, California, and it was a wonderful experience. My…read moreaunt, who lives in Livermore, brought us there since it's one of her favorite restaurants, and now I understand why. The three of us shared the House Special Dinner, which was a fantastic spread. It included fried prawns, egg rolls, barbecued spare ribs, Mandarin orange beef, prawns with snow peas, honey walnut prawns, and house fried rice. Everything was fresh, flavorful, and beautifully prepared. The honey walnut prawns were especially memorable, and every dish had great balance and taste. The variety made it perfect for sharing, and we left very satisfied. The service was friendly and welcoming, and the overall dining experience was excellent. It's not exactly light on the wallet--the price is $32.95 per person as of March 2026--but considering the amount and quality of food you receive, it felt like a very good value. I would absolutely recommend Canton Village to anyone looking for delicious Chinese food in Livermore.

    Photos
    Canton Village - Back is the banquet area

    Back is the banquet area

    Canton Village - Plenty of food for leftovers

    Plenty of food for leftovers

    Canton Village - Inside

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    Inside

    Grand Cafe - Beef chow fun

    Grand Cafe

    4.1(162 reviews)
    4.7 mi
    $$

    Amazing food to dine in or take out. My favorites are the pork ribs in Peking sauce, garlic pea…read moresprouts and honey walnut shrimp! Parking is a bit tight during lunch and dinner time. Customer service is wonderful!

    Grand Café is still good even though they have changed their name. I heard that the chef is still…read morethere. It's kind of pricey, especially compared to the original location in Oakland, but the food is authentic Hong Kong/Cantonese style cuisine. This will definitely satisfy your carb/MSG cravings, lol! We got takeout for a weekday lunch. This is our usual order now: Fresh sliced fish porridge, $14.95 - they always do a great job with this. This is the Cantonese equivalent of chicken noodle soup. The texture is just right, there are plenty of fish pieces, and the flavor is classic, right down to the ginger slivers. Shrimp rice noodle roll $9.50 - DH's favorite dim sum item. It is tender, and the shrimp are large and crispy. Comes with the classic soy-based sauce. Crab meat braised E - fu noodle $24.95 - DH's favorite noodle. This type of noodle is very soft and absorbs all of the flavors from the crab pieces and sauce. Great choice for seafood lovers! Shrimp silky egg chow fun $24.95 - little one's favorite. This one just has such a great combination of flavors. The velvety "gravy" really ties everything together and makes it go down smoothly. This one has flat noodles (cheung fun), like the classic beef chow fun. Comfort food for sure! Sautéed Chinese green $22.95 - this looks to be pan seared choy sum. Seems kind of expensive, but they actually pack a lot of greens into the box. They don't have the veggie clay pot anymore, Barbecue pork $15.95 - they do a pretty good job with this one too. The flavors are really good and interestingly enough it comes with these little beans on the bottom. Pork tends to be a little bit on the lean side. Portion size seems okay. We didn't get the beef chow fun because we didn't need that much food. But that one is a classic here and they usually do a great job with it too. Food is usually ready very quickly and everything was steaming hot. Staff are efficient and friendly. Give it a try; this place is consistently good and I highly recommend it!

    Photos
    Grand Cafe
    Grand Cafe - Grand Cafe Pan Fried Noodles

    Grand Cafe Pan Fried Noodles

    Grand Cafe - Cantonese style cashew chicken (Jan 2026)

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    China Villa

    China Villa

    3.5(149 reviews)
    1.2 mi
    $

    We've fallen in love with this place since someone recommended them to us for their Salt and Pepper…read morePrawns. We love that they have Szechuan cuisine as well as American Chinese, and it's not too salty, too oily, or too bland. The spicy dishes we've been getting our excellent. And while they don't have a traditional twice cooked pork, they do have excellent cumin lamb/beef and dry-spiced chicken! Next we plan to try the Dan Dan noodles and mapo tofu. The man who answers the phone is always really nice and helpful when I call in an order, and has helpful advice and suggestions, like when I accidentally order all spicy dishes (and I'm feeding kids always) or if I just ask (do you have something with this and this?). I love how friendly and helpful they are here! They have a dedicated easy to access parking lot which I love over downtown places, and the interior looks nice and comfy although I've only ever done takeout. Everything is always hot and fresh, we've never had anything taste stale or old like Peking did in the end on Las Positas. The wonton soup also was delicious on last visit! Plenty of flavor but not too much oil, and my kids loved the broth. I was excited to learn you can swap in almost any entrees you want for the family meal, making it a good deal! I especially love the whiteboard menu of specials at the door. This is how our old favorite restaurant back home always did it, and I'm now taking it to mean the mark of a good restaurant. Try something off that menu, it's got the best dishes!

    The food was great, portion sizes were really nice. The service is prompt and good. We had ours…read moredelivered so no ambiance but great service , piping hot upon arrival, very tasty food, first time ordering from china villa. We will be back again. We had string beans, combo rice and orange chicken. Recommend this place, no question!

    Photos
    China Villa - China Villa

    China Villa

    China Villa - Very cool guide to ordering.

    Very cool guide to ordering.

    China Villa - Beef with Black mushrooms and Bamboo shoots (left) and Snow White chicken (right)

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    Beef with Black mushrooms and Bamboo shoots (left) and Snow White chicken (right)

    88 Bao Bao - Chili Oil Wontons(10)

    88 Bao Bao

    4.1(1.1k reviews)
    4.7 mi
    $$

    Friendly owners/servers who genuinely care that you're happy with your service and food. This is…read morewhat keeps us coming back here. It's an order-sit down and eat kinda spot, which is fine, but I like that the clientele seem to get that, so they don't linger. Perfect ambiance for this type of meal. First timers will feel very welcome, and will enjoy the thrill of eating "soup dumplings." The mushroom salad with its sautéed onion umami has grown on me, so it's ordered every time. They do things right here.

    I don't even know where to begin other than to say how disappointed I am with this restaurant…read more While I was seated and looking over the menu, a worker who I believe was a chef came up to my table, pointed at the beef noodle soup, and told me it was 50% off. My friend and I heard the same thing! However, when it came time to pay, I was charged full price. When I brought it up and even pointed out the worker, the staff claimed they had no idea what I was talking about. At that point, I just let it go but honestly, it didn't get any better from there. Every dish we ordered was bland, lacked flavor, and wasn't consistent at all. To make matters worse, I noticed something concerning near the cashier. They were refilling the water jug using what looked like a used plastic container that didn't appear clean or sanitary, which was really off-putting. Overall, this experience was disappointing from start to finish, both in terms of service and food quality.

    Photos
    88 Bao Bao - View of counter and kitchen

    View of counter and kitchen

    88 Bao Bao - Pumpkin Pancake(4)

    Pumpkin Pancake(4)

    88 Bao Bao - 18. Sesame & Scallion Pancake

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