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Mon-Sun. 11:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.
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This review is for the Express Side (the right). The restaurant side (the middle) is more of the same, but with such a wider selection of dishes to choose than what you see in the Express warming pans. The Seafood side (the left) has some of the same staple Chinese dishes as the Restaurant but also serve fresh seafood and select signature dishes (Duck served three styles, Chinese winter green snow leaves, the Lobster cooked Hong Kong style or the Scallops cooked in X.O. sauce! Yum....). Note: This is the only side that accepts credit cards. The middle and the Express on the right are CASH ONLY.
Back to the review: The Chinese food here is very authentic and although sometimes a little greasy, it is always very good. Plus, the portions are really great considering how much they stuff into the containers. I like to get half white rice / half fried rice (sorta my yin & yang of rice). The barbecue pork and the duck are really good; juicy and full of flavor. The soy sauce chicken is good too. I usually like to order to Chinese string beans with garlic and the spicy salty shrimp. They leave the shell on so beware if that isn't how you are used to seeing shrimp. They cook it with a light batter before frying and adding thin slices of green onion and green chili pepper as the finishing touches. The place gets packed during the peak lunch and dinner times, but the wait is worth it (and actually the line moves pretty fast). I still go during these times because the chances of getting that first scoop of delightful food from the freshly new pan of food are higher (More people, higher turn over, fresher the food). Really can't go wrong and no other Chinese take out can compare.
3.5 Stars.
This is strictly for the dim sum. (I've had their food at another location, and it was just okay.)
Although I'm used to dim sum ladies and their terrible cart driving, I decided to give this cart-less dim sum restaurant a try. I really liked that we could get the items we wanted all at once and everything was fresh and hot, but I ultimately liked the carts better, because there's more variety, and we don't have to scarf everything down at once to avoid the food getting cold.
The prices are fair for Irvine, but I still prefer the dim sum places in Westminster.
This review is based solely on the wonton noodle soup from Sam Woo's BBQ Express. This side of the restaurant is a fairly plain and unassuming area that caters to diners who are on the go or just dropping in for a no frills meal.
In my opinion, the mark of any good noodle soup is dependent upon the quality of the broth. With that said, the broth in the wonton noodle soup at this particular Sam Woo location is the best I've tasted so far in Orange County. It's hearty and full of flavor without being overly salty. I love that the wontons here are plumply filled with shrimp, chicken and beef. And they don't just give you three wontons like some other "frugal" restaurants. It's a perfect proportion of noodle and wonton... and delicious soup. Combine this with some barbecue duck and you've got yourself some perfect comfort food.
Price per person: $10. Fast, affordable, and tasty
This is a terrific Chinese restaurant. I have eaten here on a number of occasions and always leave happy! The food is great and the service is heplful and nice.
I love the dim sum items as well as their fresh fish. The spicy salted squid is a personal favorite. Don't forget the fish with black bean sauce. Give the BBQ pork a try as well!
I like this place. The duck is good, the entrees are good. I come here if I'm with a friend and I want to wean him off Panda Express.
My favorite Chinese restaurant in OC.
The food:
Roast pork, BBQ duck and soy sauce chicken - my all time favorite
BBQ pork fried rice - awesome
Salted shrimp - eat the whole thing delicious
The Service:
You better know what you are going to order as soon as you sit down!
Fast - really fast service
The Price:
Relatively inexpensive
Cheers,
This is a solid, "authentic-enough," classic, good Chinese Food restaurant in OC. The wait time is quite long for the peak hours. I find there is not much very special or unique here, the menu is quite typical, but the food it's a great balance of quality/taste and price.... I like the food here very much. Service is to be expected of Chinese establishment. Ambiance is very good, very nice, very presentable. It's a great "go-to" Chinese restaurant.
There is a smaller, BBQ version right beside the main dining area that is a great deal if you take out - the food there seems like it is not as good as what you get in the main dining room, it just seems that way. Although I've had better Chinese Food, Saw Woo is A-Ok---- 3 stars.
I'm going to make this short, sweet and sour.
AVOID the BBQ Express take out portion of this dining establishment and just eat at the sit down restaurant portion. It's the difference between having cheap takeout food that tastes exactly how it costs and sitting down and having some decent beef chow mein, wonton soup, lo mein, etc. and ah you get the point. =)
My first dimsum in Irvine!
The bad: No carts. I'm all about the carts...that is what makes dimsum so fun, anticipating what is rolling around the corner. Also, it took us an hour or something before we got the 2nd order of these shrimp rice rolls my friend wanted. The waiters did keep checking up on us throughout, though this made it even weirder that it took so long.
The good: Including tip, our meal came out to...$8 a person (2 guys, 2 gals). That is a record. The other gal did not have much of an appetite this day...that may be why, but I was still pleasantly astonished. I mean, we literally sat at their table for three hours. Three hours of pretty good dimsum, hot tea, fortune cookies, and oranges for $8=WIN.
The food here is actually pretty decent. The peking duck and my all-time favorite dish, the honey walnut shrimp, where actually not that bad. When I first bit into a piece of the duck, juices came oozing out. Mmmmm yum. But the next piece was dry and chewy, which took away the flavorful heaven that I was in.
However, I found myself salivating once again when I had a piece of the walnut shrimp. It was covered generously in the special Asian mayo and the walnuts added to the flavor. I could not help but chow down and finish the dish in what seemed like a mere five minutes.
The cleanliness of Sam Woo is definitely questionable however and really takes away the mood of the meal. When I first came in and sat down at the table with my party, the table was wet as well as the utensils on the table. Don't get me started on the bathrooms. The whole no credit card thing might piss you off too if you aren't carrying cash.
The service was alright though. My party received a decent amount of attention and food came out quickly. Overall, an ok establishment.
I've eaten at Sam Woo Restaurant a few times, but it's been so long, I can't even remember. But I do go to the BBQ Express more frequently when I crave their BBQ Chicken Wings. You pay by weight, but I just got 5 this past weekend and it came out to less than $3. So good, but you have to be able to deal with a few chicken hairs. Also tried their radish cakes which came in the form of a pie, and that was pretty authentic, too. I liked taking it to go because then I came home and grilled them to blackened crispy perfection. They never char them enough at dim sum.
I've been up and down China eating at places of questionable cleanliness without any problems whatsoever even when the rest of my family didn't fare so well. I thought I had an invincible iron stomach.
Until I came here. The food didn't even taste good either.
My BF had the minced beef fried rice and I had the shredded pork chow mein, both were very good. The fried rice had a nice aroma and taste, tho it could have used a bit more seasoning and the beef was not as noticable, so the sliced beef may have been a better choice. The chow mein was delicious, tho the prok was fatty , it gives it great flavor, as well as with the bean sprouts and black sliced mushrooms. The noodles were cooked crispy and the sauce was delectable! Would definitely come back for their other dishes and the noodle soup, which seems to be a favorite.
Sam Woo or San He, meaning something like "Three Peaces" or "Three Harmonies" is the default place for all Chinese people and Jews who are looking for somewhere to eat on Christmas Day.
On the 25th of December, there's more gangly teenage awkwardness here than at a high school academic decathalon. There was a teenaged Sarah Jessica Parker, a Doogie Howser, and a kid who looked like the bumblebee girl from that Third Eye Blind video from fifteen years ago, except with a super curly Jew fro. Then there were the Hongers. Hong Kong kids with their clear eyeglass frames, Jonah Brothers haircuts and gender non-specific jeans. I wish I had a sketchbook with me to capture it all on paper.
An hour wait for the fancy side. 10 minutes for the Express side. We chose the Express side. Our Hispanic host sat us at a tiny table for 4 (we had 5). There was just enough room for our tea cups and plates. The 'rents ordered 5 dishes and we had to eat as fast as possible so that we could clear room for the next plates to arrive. The food itself was rather bland. The Chef's Special fish was a fried flounder. Large enough to feed one, maybe two people. Pops served me the head...Since it was deep fried, I ate it. First time eating eyeballs for me.
I'd probably only come back for lunch, or perhaps in a drunken midnight haze, like this place is meant to be enjoyed.
Came here with some friends to grab a quick meal before Christmas dinner... Geez was that a mistake. We all thought that dim sum sounded great, one reason being that it was Christmas Day what would be opened? Why Chinese food, of course...
The only thing semi-good was the bbq pork spare ribs, and I couldn't even try the shu mai, not only did it look disgusting it smelt worse I didn't dare eat it. The chow fun was greasy and we actually had to ask for tea when we sat down. I wasn't expecting great service or anything it is a chinese restaurant, but damn at least give us some tea please!
FYI the tea pot had a tea bag in it, no real tea leaves ;0(
Sam Woo Restaurant is mediocre at best if you're looking for authentic Cantonese food. Also, it's pretty pricey at average of about $12 per dish.
2 Stars
The BBQ Express side is better. Fried and soup noodle dishes are decent. The BBQ chicken, pork, and duck are pretty good. But don't expect the level you'd get from a good Chinese chef cooking on a seasoned wok. All in all, fits the bill if you want chinese food but can't make it up to Roland Heights or Monterey Park. 3 stars.
Had lunch here with my coworkers. Ordered some dimsum and lunch specials. The shumai and shrimp dumplings are OK and the lunch special dish are kind of oily.
The staff were too busy running around and never gave us the forks we ask for.
Decent food, decent service, decent prices. Nothing extraordinary. Great for large groups.
Stopped by for 10am brunch with my mom. We were the first ones there so service was good. The place is a lot cleaner than the Alhambra location but the portion aren't as generous. Although it was still plenty.
The porridge with pig kidney and liver is absolutely decadent. The porridge has the perfect milky consistency and the kidney and liver were extremely tender. The gan-tsai-neo-huh (beef rice noodle) is oily as always and the chow mein was pretty good. The porridge is definitely the highlight but it lacks a bit of seasoning that a shake of salt & white pepper easily takes care of.
Dependable joint for Chinese comfort food!
For the main restaurant:
They have the best Peking Duck I have had in Southern California here. It is always crispy and delicious. The other Chinese fare is relatively good as well. Nothing stands out, but nothing is particularly bad either. However, it makes me think less of it when others have mentioned that it serves a form of Orange Chicken...I don't think that is even a traditional Chinese dish.
The low rating is due to the EXTRAORDINARILY TERRIBLE service. I went there with my family [about 12 people altogether]. Before we could even finish our food, one of the managers would harass us as to whether we were done. With our dinner only half-eaten, we obviously were not done. When it happened the first time, we just excused it as typical Asian customer service [we are Asians and are accustomed to subpar service; and will typically overlook if the food is good].
However, the harassment did not subside; we were asked if we were finished 3 more times! Although this place is generally busy, there were still empty tables that day, and it was only 6 pm!!! What is most puzzling is that there was a party of Caucasian diners [about 8 people sitting at a 10 person table] that were there before us, but never got asked whether they were done. WTF???
The topper was that they notified me that there is a mandatory 18% gratuity for 6 parties or more. I am aware this is typical at many establishments. However, [and I am no legal genius] there was NO indication on the menu that there would be a mandatory gratuity applied for large parties! Inasmuch as they disclose to you that menu items cost a certain amount, they also need to disclose to you the terms of their mandatory gratuity. I am not a litigious person, but I smell a potential lawsuit. Posting this mandatory menu at least puts a customer on notice and if you dine knowing this policy then you accept. There was never a mention anywhere!
The bottomline is, I have been here MANY times and have overlooked the poor service. I believe the management are self-haters [i.e. they treat Asians more poorly than other groups]; and I cannot overlook that any longer...especially because I am Asian.
As for the BBQ express:
The service is predictably poor, but you'd expect that. The food is of fair quality. The duck is decent. It gets very busy, so expect a wait if you get here at about 7pm.
Overall, the food at these establishments are only OK [with exception to the Peking Duck]; but the self-loathing managerial style of the establishment makes this place too uncomfortable to come back.
My sister and brother-in-law took me here for lunch. From what I remember, this is located next to the 99 Ranch Market in a large shopping center. It's an asian area so expect awful drivers and people just walking everywhere and not paying attention to the cars driving by.
There were 2 sides to this restaurant. There was an express side where you can just pick what you want and go home. The food displayed in the express makes you really hungry while you're waiting to be seated. The other side of the restaurant was to dine in. It was kind of crowded. I guess it's because of how close the tables and seats were to each other. They probably did that so they can use as much space as possible to get as many diners in at once. The wait for our table wasn't that long. It was extremely busy during lunch time so the waiters were running around trying to accommodate everyone. We waited about 10 minutes. Since the place is busy and you want something, just get the attention of any waiter so you don't have to wait for yours. You'll get things quicker that way.
It was my first time there so my brother-in-law ordered what he and my sister usually ordered. My brother-in-law ordered the 3 delicacy, which is getting 3 small portions of different items. In chinese restaurants. For the 3 items we got the roasted pork and roasted duck. I can't remember what the 3rd item was. The roasted pork and duck were soo good. I wanted to eat it all, but of course I couldn't since we were sharing. My brother-in-law also ordered a noodle dish, rice, and a vegetable dish. Wasn't sure what the noodle dish and vegetable dish was called. All of the items were sooo good. I would come back here again and maybe order the 2 delicacy dish so I can just get the roasted pork and roasted duck, hopefully it'll be a larger portion.
Let's just say this is a staple for Asians in Irvine.. or at least I have eaten this ever since I moved to Irvine about 5 years ago. I've never dined in here but I have eaten the take-out. It does offer a fair variety for take-out, but the quality can be better. I feel that Sam Woo is such a dominant force (for lack of better terms) that it will continue to have many customers. The menu is very expected-- ducks, cooked string beans, fried chicken.
I like the consistency and how it makes life easier for busy moms after taking their sons to Irvine Chinese Schools. Moms are really too busy these days!
Visit the restaurant for a more upscale experience, and the BBQ express for quick take out. Either way you can't go wrong. Good service and, per my chinese friend, fairly authentic. They have some crazy choices to eat, including, live shrimp. Don't forget to suck the head!
This location should really be for 2 different businesses in yelp. The Restaurant side and then the BBQ Express side.
As of last Friday, the restaurant side re-opened after a brief closure for remodeling. After going here for the last 15 years, other than the bamboo wood flooring, I'm not quite sure what has changed. Btw, the BBQ express side is now closed for remodeling. No more $5.25 3 item combinations, boo! Back to the restaurant... We were there during lunch and we recognized that some of the employees from the BBQ express side were working in the restaurant side. Nevertheless, there were some very serious service issues.
Before the remodeling, the service was predictable and fast! Today's lunch was painfully slow and careless. It took at least 10 minutes after sitting down to get someone to get our orders in. Ordinarily, we would have to tell them to give us another minute. The food came out pretty quickly and we were happy to see that nothing had really changed. Actually, I was hoping that they would up the ante on their dim sum game and start using more carts during lunch, but no luck.
After lunch, the wait for the check seemed like a Chinese eternity. Throughout the whole time, I'm seeing a helluva lot of staff running around in the front of the house. Even more so than before, yet their service was slow! I even overheard several tables talk about the uncharacteristic slowness.
I still love this place and I will always come here. Hopefully this was an anomaly and things will return back to normal. Anyways, get your siu mai on and come on down. Don't forget to order the honey walnut shrimp and chow mein.
Dr. P was craving for some Chinese food, so we went back to San Woo again. Sam Woo has two different sides. One side was for take out and a busy dining area. The other side looks fancy and less crowded. I think most Asians just eat at the busy side. The fancy side seems to be more "Americanized". Do they serve different menu? Or different price?
Honey BBQ Chicken Wings, Chinese style, yum! Those wings were addicting. I also love the Cantonese style salt & pepper wings. I think I'll get that next time.
Sauteed Beef over Hollow Vegetable, one dish, got both protein and vegetable. Beef was tender, and the vegetable was fresh.
Seafood with Celery in Hot Pot had a lot of seafood in it. Fish, squid, scallop, and imitation crab (ok this is not really seafood). The flavor was good.
Food at Sam Woo is decent. We always get lots of leftover to take home. We also tried their 3 item combo and it was pretty good. We'll be back again soon.
We just moved to Irvine last month and didn't really know the area at all. I found the 99 Ranch… Read more »
Since there were both good and bad sides to my most recent experience at the massive institution known as Sam Woo (or "San He," etc.) I will begin my review with a relatively neutral three stars and go from there.
My brother was visiting with his gf recently, so my family and I all got together on the Moon Festival and spent the afternoon in Laguna Beach to watch the sun set and the moon rise. Afterwards, we decided we should cap it off with some roast duck before heading home for mooncakes, so someone came up with the bright idea of going to Sam Woo in Irvine.
Of course, about a hundred Chinese families all had the same idea (no big surprise there) We ended up standing there for a long while with our number, watching in dismay as someone on the takeout side ran off with the last roast duck. Fortunately, the clever folks at Sam Woo saved some roast ducks especially for the customers who were patient enough to wait for a table and we ended up getting one right away. Plus one star. There was some pseudo-sketchy behavior from the manager - after we ordered half a roast duck, he ran back and shouted that he only had half a duck left (which I think he also yelled to a couple other tables) - but I guess that's just the cultural "flavoring" you get at any good Chinese restaurant. ;)
Be careful before you stick those chopsticks in your mouth, though. I uploaded a photo for all to see (I even made sure to include the Sam Woo menu behind it :). Oh snap. Fortunately, my plucky and slightly health-crazed Mom brings her own chopsticks for occasions just like this. I think of it as the next evolution of the whole "wiping your plate and teacup with your paper napkin at a Chinese restaurant" thing. Minus one star for dirty chopsticks.
All our food was pretty damn good. Roast duck, beef hot pot, ying yang fan, shrimp with glazed walnuts, etc. I guess this is the heart of the matter, and they didn't disappoint. It came out quick, too. Although I'm never really sure if that's a good thing. There needs to be some balance, sort of like... waiting two or three days to call after you get someone's number? Don't bring it out right away... I start to imagine hearing the microwave going "ding!" Anyway... plus one star for the food.
As we were wrapping up, my Mom decided she was going to wonder out loud - and in the direction of the server who was packing up our food - at why a Chinese restaurant would serve macaroni. I don't understand why should we say such a thing, after having been married to a Cantonese man all these years, but she decided to let that one loose. The server adopted a tone of voice that made me happily reminisce of my days living in Hong Kong when I was yelling at cab drivers. It was the classic tone that was probably taken by our ancestors centuries ago when someone suggested your fish wasn't fresh. But to bring that back to defend macaroni? Come on. Everyone knows that Cantonese appropriations of kitchy "American" food are indefensible! Minus one star.
At the end of the night, just before we got into our cars, my grandma realized that somehow the gemstone on her ring had fallen off. We searched high and low and finally found it in the ladies' room sink. I don't know whether to award a star for this or not. No one stole it... but it might've been just cause no one had seen it yet. *shrug*
Final score: three stars.
OMG....this is what I love about California! Delicious and reasonably priced Chinese food!! This place is what it is...a good seafood and BBQ restaurant.
Service: It's what you would expect from every other large Chinese dine in restaurant. I will say that it is cleaner than most places (but I guess it just reminds you that you're in Irvine). Can't comment on their restrooms though. The waiter we had was nice and helpful. It was my uncle's bday so they DO give a complimentary dessert for the birthday guest and they take a family polaroid picture for you to take home. The food came out within a reasonable time despite a packed place too and all of the dishes are spaced out pretty evenly.
Food: Everything was ON POINT!! We had their "family meal with their infamous roasted duck, crab with spicy salt, veggie dish, fish (which just melts in your mouth), walnut shrimp, and a beef dish. I'm telling you, EVERYTHING was delicious and that's really hard for a restaurant to do. So why did I only give this place five stars then? I strongly believe that everything tasted so good because it was loaded with MSG. Afterall, that's what makes food taste so darn good. If you're thirsty three hours later...u know it's because of that. However, it is one of the best Chinese restaurants I've been to in a long time.
The chicken/BBQ pork noodle soup I ordered the other day really sucked.
Also, the floor was hella wet, dirty, and covered with food morsels.
Not coming back here for a while...
We come here for the Alaskan king crab. Period. OFF THE HOOK. The crab is steamed and prepared with butter & minced garlic, served atop a large pile of noodles with same flavorings...mmm makes my mouth water! Also great is their peking duck and whole fish. A must!
For the BBQ Express side - 4 Stars
Only drawback is that it's cash only. My favorites are the cold chicken with a gingery lemon oil sauce and the lobster with gingery noodles. For five platters of food and rice the total came to $59. Not bad and plenty leftover to pack up and enjoy later at home. My friend's Chinese, Hong Kong born mom said that she feels this is the place to find the most genuine tasting Chinese food.
For the Restaurant side - 1 Star
The quality of the dim sum doesn't bother me at all; however, all my Chinese friends say this place sucks for dim sum. I think the food in general would be more appealing to me if I hadn't seen the microwave tucked in a corner which at one point was used by a waiter before serving the food to a nearby table.
I think this is where I'm going to get my porridge fix if I'm too lazy to make my own at home. We have tried the fish, pork & egg, and roasted duck. Fish and duck wins! Porridge costs about $5.50-6.00 a bowl (a huge bowl!). Also if you want a drink on the side, they have a new buy one get one free deal with boba drinks (Thai tea, coffee, and regular milk tea) --$.2.50 each. Not bad, right?
I forgot I never wrote my experience about eating at the second section of Sam Woo's, the area… Read more »
I don't think that they aim to be unfriendly, but that they're all about speed. Get people in, fed, & out as soon as possible so the seat clears up and they can finish and go home faster. & I'm okay with that!
The food is tasty! I haven't been able to find another place with as good beef chow fun. I wish the portions were bigger for their price, but nonetheless, it's still tasty. I like the sit down side much better than the express side but that's just me. The express side takes cash only so keep that in mind. The food court-ish side is fast and good if you just want some fast take out.
Try to take someone on their birthday. They play this awesome song that goes along the lines of "happy bursday to you, happy bursday to you~" -love it!
Another opportunity to rave about the greatness of orange chicken. At Sam Woo in Irvine they take Orange chicken to a level not reached by many Chinese restaurants. Instead of the standard, they use the peel of the orange, creating an orange peel chicken that is up there with the best. Paired up with some walnut shrimp and monglian beef and you have a feast fit for the song dynasty itsself.
I was shocked by the amount of negative reviews given to Sam Woo but i guess not everyone has the appreciation for this sweet citrus chicken as i do. It has become a tradition to go to Sam Woo at least once every few months and i have never been disappointed.
The food here is GOOD Overall... =) but service here can be a LOT better.. I swear that those lil' ladies with the Dim Sum food carts zoom past by you sometimes when you aren't looking & are really wanting something from their carts... =) The lines for the Dim Sum on the weekends can be a pain to get through but the whole experience is not bad average compared to the other Dim Sum Restaurants in the area..the best Dim Sum Restaurants are all in Alhambra/Monterey Park areas... =)
The food to go/ take out @ the BBQ Express section has a very GOOD selection for very GOOD prices... great for students on a budget.. =)
I've eaten on both sides of this restaurant, let me explain. One side is more of a Chinese deli, serving duck,chicken, pork, fresh but fast food. It's pretty good and usually busy. Service is the same at all Sam Woo's, and there are several. Not to friendly but you get your food fast and served hot.
Now for the other side, it serves a better class of chinese food. The live seafood kind. I've had the Alaskan king crab, peking duck, steamed whole fish, sauteed pea leaves, live steamed prawns, and several hot pots. All where very good. It's a nice change for Orange County to have a authentic chinese restaurant
Good Food. Bad Service.
If you want a more authentic version of Panda Express, come here. It's virtually the same concept. 1, 2 or even 3 item combos are served here. Except instead of just orange chicken, beef and broccoli or teriyaki chicken....SW has much more. They have other items like Mabo Tofu, Pork with green beans, Fish with black bean sauce, Fried Shrimp etc.
Just expect short responses from these employees. At most they will ask, One or Two Item Combo? What else? That's it?
I've been coming to SW BBQ Express since my 'ol college days, but on a recent visit something happened for the very first time... I received genuine, good customer service with a smile. Either the ladies were simply in a good mood, or I was the only customer, or my Mandarin has dramatically improved, but it was unbereevable!
I would always get the 2-item combo, and bring the exact change, which was in the vicinity of around $4.17. The portions were more than enough for both lunch and dinner. Nowadays, it's gone up a bit but it's still very reasonable. I still don't know how anyone orders the 3-item combo, because 2 items already stuffs that styrofoam box to the max.
I would always stick with the chow mein, and either rotate with the pork chop, shrimp, green beans, or the tofu if I feel like getting jiggy wit it. The included egg drop soup is always a nice bonus. From the to-go menu, I like their salted fish fried rice and the rice porridge (congee or jook, whatever you prefer) with minced beef. It's the perfect comfort food for a cold day or when you're feeling under the weather. It warms the belly.
They are mean but the food is good when I'm too lazy to cook. :)
After a not so fun hair exp- I needed to drown my sorrows with food.
Cash Only - Got dried bean curd with pork (Sooo goood with HOT rice- yumm Yumm)
If you don't mind the busy lines and pushy people- this is a good place to get fast Chinese food. :)
Hmmm, I can't believe I haven't written a review for this place yet. I've been here several times and it's always busy. I can't remember what I've ordered in the past, except for the seafood chow mein (I love seafood chow mein and the one here is pretty good). On this occasion, I felt like noodle soup and ordered the Roast Pork Noodle Soup. When it was brought to the table, I was very pleased to see a big chunk of pork in it. It was really meaty and the skin was still had a good texture to it. The noodles were plentiful and just right. The broth itself was a little too much on the salty side. I don't know if it was because of the pork or if that's just the way they make it. I didn't finish the it. Even so, I liked it and it was exactly what I was looking for to eat. Plus, it was very reasonably priced.
I kind of wished I was more hungry because I was looking around at what everyone else was ordering and it looked damn good! I'm trying to cut down a bit on eating too much because this site is making me pack on some pounds. I'll just have to wait until next time to try more dishes.
+++++
On another occasion I tried the take-out combo side of the restaurant. The first time I came here to eat, I recall waiting for our table and watching all the people getting the combo and seeing the workers piling the food in the styrofoam trays and just thinking to myself 'Wow. That is a lot of food for the price! I have to come back and try it for myself.' About a week or two after that I did come back. Yes, they did pile the food on and yes it was inexpensive, but I found it to be really greasy. I don't think anything was dry. Everything was soggy. Disappointing and I haven't been back since to try it again. So, for that side of the restaurant -1 1/2 stars.
Dessert was cupcake cake, fortune cookies, and lychees. For my friend's graduation lunch we had beef with broccoli and cashew chicken. Fried rice was almost tasteless. Her parents also ordered BBQ chicken, fried noodles, jellyfish, and walnut shrimp. I didn't care for the soy sauce chicken appetizer even if there were four different sauces on the lazy susan.
I wish we were having dimsum. I'd take my boyfriend somewhere else. The mu shu pork was okay. They stuffed 13 places into one table so most people weren't using chopsticks. We had to ask for glasses of iced water.
Irvine, CA
Category: Barbeque
Irvine, CA
Category: Dim Sum
Irvine, CA
Category: Chinese
Irvine, CA
Category: Chinese
Irvine, CA
Category: Chinese
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