I ordered the pan-fried dumplings and the pork chop with rice. The pan-fried dumplings came with good portions and were pretty great. The golden-brown exterior provided a satisfying crunch, revealing a juicy and flavorful filling (4/5). The fried pork chop on rice left me wanting. The meat was a bit over fried as it was more on the dry side, losing some of its natural juiciness. The rice didn't contribute much to elevate the dish. I wished there were some minced pork sauce drizzled on the rice to connect with the pork chop and enhance the overall flavor of this dish (2.5/5). Service was excellent! read more

A & J Restaurant - Pan Fried Pork Dumplings - Taiwanese Near Me - Irvine, California

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A&J has the best Taiwanese food -- pure comfort in every bite. Everything on the menu is delicious, but my go-to is the Vegetarian Delight, while my son always orders the beef noodle bowl. Their hand-cut noodles are perfection, and the thick ones are definitely the way to go. I recently tried their sesame noodles with the hand-cut thick noodles, and they were just as flavorful and satisfying. The thousand layer pancake is flaky, chewy, crispy, and absolutely delicious, and the pickled cucumbers are the perfect refreshing side. I also love their thousand year old egg -- rich, savory, and prepared just right. The service is always quick, the food comes out fast, and the prices are right. It's the kind of food that tastes like my mom's or aunt's home cooking -- comforting, familiar, and full of love. Every dish here just hits. Comforting, flavorful, and always a 10/10. Highly recommend. read more

Food is great, service was nice and ambiance is a little bit smaller. If you don't eat the soup noodle, the rest of the portion is pretty small. Overall it was good! read more

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I love coming here with my partner for some yummy comfort food, especially on a chilly day. It always warms me up inside and makes me feel good. I usually get the scallion pancake, the spicy wontons with hot red sauce (Szechuan style) and a soup or the soup dumplings. The servers are sweet and friendly. The only thing I would say that could improve is our water could be filled up a little more frequently. Other than that, A & J is wonderful and I think you should definitely check it out! read more

A & J Restaurant - Taiwanese Near Me - Irvine, California

Came on a Sun afternoon and thankfully we were seated right away since we caught the end of the lunch wave. Got the: 1) beef tendon w/ garlic sauce: 6/10 - It's not as good as they used to make it (pre-pandemic, it used to be a 12.5/10, it was so freaking good) - there's absolutely NO garlic in the sauce- I think they changed the sauce because I don't remember it having peppers 2) beef wrap: 9/10 - delicious with lots of spring onion and hoisin sauce - kinda like a Peking beef, lol 3) xiao long bao (XLB) : 6/10: - very disappointing: they did not give black vinegar sauce - the dough was super thick yet broke apart when trying to grab it gently with the chopsticks - soup was good, but could be more umami and have a little more soup - skip it here and get it at Ding Tai Fung instead 4) Cucumbers: 9/10 - now this is like the Ding Tai Fung cucumbers except with a nice kick Service: - we had to flag waitstaff for water a couple times, it looked like they might have been short staffed Ambiance: - your typical Chinese restaurant, and it was really cool to see them hand making the dumpling read more

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Classic taiwanese spot in Irvine. You can't go wrong with the beef noodle soup, but the beef roll was a little dry and small compared to other places. read more

A & J Restaurant - Spicy Beef Tendon Noodle Soup (Szechuan Style) - Taiwanese Near Me - Irvine, California

I came here with my family and friends after hearing about it from another friend and we were not disappointed. I ordered the minced pork on rice and as a table we shared lots of sides like the cucumber salad, pan fried dumplings, steamed soup dumplings, and sliced beef to name a few. Lots of yummy food to share! read more

A & J Restaurant - Taiwanese Near Me - Irvine, California

A&J has been and always will be very authentic. Down to the ordering menu in full traditional Chinese-- I love it. It's a place I wouldn't want to expose anyone to but those very close to me. This is too true to share with people who can bring a hippie crowd. Thousand layer pancake was always one of my dead favorites. So flaky and crispy and just greasy enough to keep you coming back. The green onion noodle is probably one of the only vegetarian noodle on their menu but it's worth trying if you've not had it before. All the little starter dishes are exactly like what I grew up with. Stepping into a place like this is almost like you went back to Taiwan for just half an hour before getting busted table out of this place. Move on and give your table to the next busybody. Nobody is here to chat, but sit, serve and eat. read more

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I really wanted to like A & J more but have had some hit-and-miss dishes. Hits were the pork chop and the noodles in hot and sour sauce (love those thick noodles). Misses include the spicy beef noodle soup (maybe I came on an off day because this one should have been a solid win) and the noodles with ground pork, bean sprouts and shredded cucumber, which was completely flavorless (I've looked at other reviews and think A & J should pull this dish off their menu). A & J is really popular so I'm convinced that I've been ordering wrong and/or getting food on their rare off days. I've been told that their beef roll is a can't miss, so I'll try that next time and hopefully update my review! read more

A & J Restaurant - Taiwanese Near Me - Irvine, California

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Service: not great Food: also not great Their chili sauce was oddly sour and didn't go well with anything. Scallion pancake was thick and stale. Potstickers were also too thick and had no crunch at all. It was also very oily. Beef noodle soup was okay. Service from the younger asian lady was great but the older one was very curt and unfriendly. read more

A&J is an Irvine staple! Parking can be a challenge, but rest assured that once you get parking, the food is well worth the trouble. We ordered the spicy beef noodle soup, the cucumber salad, and the fried pork chop bowl. The broth of the soup was so flavorful and had just the right amount of spice, the pork chop was a welcome dish for us to try, and the cucumber salad similarly had a nice level of spice. The servers are all friendly and your food is made relatively quickly. The place is fairly casual and is the perfect spot for a quick bite to eat or a date night. read more

A & J Restaurant - Spicy Beef Noodle Soup, Cucumber Salad in Hot Garlic Sauce, Fried Pork Chop - Taiwanese Near Me - Irvine, California

A and J restaurant is an affordable restaurant serving up some tasty Taiwanese food. It's one of my go to's when I'm in Irvine. I've come here a handful of times and each time I have a pleasant experience. The service is quick and fast. The restaurant is clean. The food is good. What more can you ask for? Food Consensus: My favorites on the menu are the cucumber salad in hot garlic sauce, the spicy beef noodle soup with skinny noodles, the noodles in spicy sesame sauce topped with peanut powder, and the spicy wontons with hot red sauce. I like that the spicy beef noodle is very light and refreshing in comparison to other beef noodle soups. The cucumber salad is addicting and I usually get two rounds of this. The sesame noodles are a great dish to share and the spicy wontons have a great balance of spice and vinegar. Overall I would highly recommend checking out a A&J restaurant because they are affordable, fast, and tasty. read more

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The food here was very tasty with an ordering system of writing down the items you want and how many. The store is generally always bustling with people with long wait times and looks like a standard Chinese restaurant, but the food is homey and the price is relatively fair. Definitely a spot to hit up if you crave Chinese food in the area. read more

I've been here a bajillion times, this is one of my significant other's and I's favorite restaurants. This is the ultimate comfort food, such a good place to go on a cold day. It was mildly busy today, think a lot of people appreciated the home-y vibes. We got the scallion pancakes, the wontons with Szechuan sauce, and soup dumplings. The soup dumplings were good. The wrapper was a little tacky, it broke easier than I anticipated. The pancakes are perfectly crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside. The wontons are our go-tos. My favorite thing to do is dip the scallion pancakes in the Szechuan sauce. 100% would recommend read more

A & J Restaurant - Scallion Pancake - Taiwanese Near Me - Irvine, California

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A&J serves authentic Taiwanese food in a homey setting. They have this location in Irvine as well as a couple others in Virginia and Maryland which I found to be a little surprising/random. They gave us an English menu with the numbers on it along with an order form with Chinese words and the numbers. We figured out which items we wanted and then filled out the form and gave it to the server. SPICY WONTONS W/ HOT RED SAUCE (#119, $7.95) - I really liked the sauce but the wontons were just okay. They were small and the meat was dry, but I found myself dipping everything else in the sauce. 3.5/5 CHINESE BEEF WRAP (#139, $15.50) - this was solid and I liked the amount of meat and hoisin sauce in the wrap. 4.5/5 FRIED PORK CHOP (#128, $8.95) - I wished the pork chop was slightly bigger because it was thin but it was still tender and crispy. 4/5 SPICY BEEF NOODLE SOUP (#102, $14.50) - this was by far my favorite dish of everything we ordered. The broth was super flavorful and the beef was tender although I wish there were more pieces. This was delicious and I would order this every time I come back. 5/5 They apparently used to be cash only but when we were here we saw the workers using a card reader so it looks like cards are accepted now. The food gave me a lot of comfort food vibes and those feelings are the ones that I will always continue to chase. read more

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The staff was very attentive, quick, and helpful. We were seated as soon as we walked in. There were 6 of us and luckily there was one table available. We ordered a lot of food, unfortunately everything was just mediocre. The wonton filling was dime size or even smaller. The broths to the noodle soups were either bland, no seasoning/flavor, and/or no spice. The fried pork chop was rock hard and overcooked. read more

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phenomenal food and terrific service! i tried this restaurant with my friend who recommended it and we have been back a few times! the parking lot is an absolute cluster, so just circle around behind the shopping center and take the short walk. it gets packed pretty tight inside but it's worth the wait and the squeeze. my repeatable favorites are: spicy short rib soup, spicy wontons, soup dumplings, cucumber salad, and beef roll - as well as a pot of hot tea! all of those items are so delicious! usually the cucumber salad and tea arrive first, as the salad is cold and i imagine the tea is easy to put together. let your tea pot sit for a few minutes to steep and you can enjoy a better flavor. the cucumber salad has thick garlic pieces and chili, a lovely respite of cool to all of your warmer dishes. i get the impression that the beef roll is one of the more popular items. if you're lucky enough to get a freshly-made roll, it comes out warm and flaky. i love the abundance of cilantro inside the beef roll. if you happen to get the spicy wontons, dip your beef roll into the chili oil of the wontons - it's delicious! the soup dumplings are piping hot when the arrive at your table so be sure to let them cool down before biting into their sumptuous, brothy goodness. adding a little bit of dark soy sauce, chili oil, and vinegar to your dumpling is also wonderful. the extra flavors pair well with the dumpling. and the soup, the soup!the spicy short rib soup comes with beautiful, tender pieces of beef, hearty bok choy, and plenty of thick knife-cut noodles. with all of the other items we order, the soup can be shared by two people. read more

Eaten here over 100 times. They have the best braised beef noodle soup (whether you just get the beef or tendon/beef it doesn't matter - the broth and noodles are awesome). Their scallion pancakes are also better than any I have had elsewhere (and I have tried many other places). What distinguishes the pancakes are they are thicker than most which I prefer in terms of texture. Occasionally they are undercooked because they are thick but in most cases they are out of this world good. read more

I was excited to try this place as I was craving Taiwanese food but was disappointed. We ordered quite a few things and only the fried dumplings were good, everything else was just okay. The onion pancake was way too thick anchovies just not good. It was almost an hour wait for lunch on a weekend. Parking can be hard to find in this plaza. read more

Came back after more than 10 years moving away from SoCal, I encountered the worst experience in dining, definitely set a new low bar. Upon arriving they just opened. No lines. However, we were not greeted. Instead only a question of if the whole party has arrived, interrogating style by an old Asian lady. She then took our order with we owe her billion dollars attitude. Straight $h!t face. Putting the tea pot down like it can never break and never makes eye contact. The food was absolutely under standards, the taste, the price, the presentation. Sick to my stomach we didn't finish at all and did not want to take away any home. Leave this horrible memory at where it belongs. Kudos to the other servers being polite and professional. The old lady killed it all. read more

A&J is a old classic taiwanese cafe that has been around for a a looong time. I'm from norcal and everytime I go down to Irvine this is my go to place to visit (aside from the boba spots lol) Any of their dishes that have the minced pork is a must have and their side dishes usually are solid choices. Their beef roll or beef noodle soup is also good if you're feeling that. Tea is $2.50 per person just a fyi During peak hours there will prolly be a wait but they're pretty efficient on that so shouldn't be too long. Parking might be hard but still manageable in the plaza Its a must try! read more

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Best Taiwanese food in OC! The #119 Spicy Wontons with Hot Red Sauce were so delicate and tender. The sauce was excellent and not too spicy. The #139 Chinese Beef Wrap had a perfect amount of Hoisin sauce inside. Not too dry. The #140 Steamed Soup Dumplings (Xiao Long Bao aka XLB) were packed full of bold soup broth inside. In fact the most broth I've ever experienced in an XLB. Excellent! read more

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Ever since A&J closed in Arcadia, it's hard to find a solid Taiwanese spot. I actually made the trip to Irvine for A&J. If they're busy or opening, you have to get a number and make sure your whole party is there. Everything is very solid and home made. The highlights are the minced pork on rice and the spicy wonton with hot red sauce (red oil wontons). Everything is packed full of flavor and the highlight were the red oil wontons - it's a perfect balance of vinegar and flavor. Also they aren't spicy at all! Service is awesome as the aunties are super friendly. They take card too! read more

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(IG: @foodwithdeni) #dEATs *Visited A&J Restaurant right when they opened and let me tell you about their FAST SERVICE! Right when they seat you, they give you a menu with pictures & a paper to select what you want to order. Within 10min after ordering you'll receive your food NO JOKE! My parents and I were impressed how fast our food got to our table and we ordered a lot *We tried their Beef Rolls, Beef Noodle Soup (thick noodle), Chinese Style Fried Pork on Rice & A scallion pancake! Favorite dishes : Beef Noodle Soup for their THICK noodles and clear broth and Beef Rolls for the classic savory meal *Make sure to get here so you're not waiting out the door ! Parking lot available *This my parents' new favorite so we'll definitely be back Address: 14805 Jeffrey Rd Unit D Irvine, CA 92618 read more

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Old school restaurant, hard working employees. Nice service, organized and clean, food was quite tasty, nice experience

If you want authentic Taiwanese beef noodle soup, this is the spot! I love this restaurant with all of the sweet Taiwanese aunties running it. There's always a wait but I personally haven't had to wait longer than 20-30 min on its busiest days. The staff is efficient and accurate and the restaurant is clean! Make sure you get extra of their pickled mustard cabbage for the beef noodle soup! read more

A & J Restaurant - Taiwanese Near Me - Irvine, California

One of the better Taiwanese restaurants down in Irvine, specializing in beef noodle soup. They also serve Chinese staples such as rice, dumplings, beef roll, and cold appetizers. The beef noodle soup is the most popular item here and it's good. Worth the wait (often a line with waiting number given) - lots of beef/flavor boiled down in the soup, just the right grease layer, and the noodles are thick and chewy. The beef is also mostly meat, not just tendons. Other items seemed about on par or normal, especially if you're used to SGV area food. The dumplings and beef roll were ok, good but not mind blowing. read more

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If you want a quick and savory food, come to this place it won't disappoint. The pork chop with rice paired with a spicy beef noodle soup is the way to go. Service is always on point. This is a no-frill and no shiny bells and whistle restaurant-- you come for their authentic and a tasty/flavorful meal. read more

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Hey Beautiful People! I know, A & J has been around for decades & still has a line on a weekday night! How dare I give it only 3 stars?! Because. That's what it deserves now that the dishes are small expensive, and not as high quality! ( ^_^;;) Did I know my beef roll was going to be $15.50 for a few bite? No. But now you know, and knowing is half the battle...GI Joe! Anyway, there is a dish that I still recommend and felt was worth $12.50: The pan fried dumplings! I think it's #134, but double check, because the ordering menu is only in Chinese. Also, service was very bad--rushed and rude. But maybe it was just an off night for them. Well, guess you need to try it out and let me know! Cheers! read more

A & J Restaurant - Potstickers - Taiwanese Near Me - Irvine, California

Delicious Taiwanese dishes from beef roll to various noodle dishes! Our go to place for breakfast of champions :) We usually get their house made soy milk, spicy wonton, porridge, seaweed salad, pickled cabbage, sweet and sour noodle, and chicken noodle soup. Friendly service and lively ambience during the busy hours. read more

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This is, without a doubt, our go-to restaurant in Irvine. The food is consistently outstanding and incredibly authentic. You must try the Beef Noodle Soup--it's the real deal and the reason we keep coming back. For appetizers, our standard order is the trio of deliciousness: the refreshing Spicy Cucumber, the perfectly textured Fried Tofu, and the savory Braised Eggs. If you're not in the mood for beef, their Fried Chicken Noodle Soup is also a fantastic choice. read more

Loved this place the first time around, so decided to revisit. This time we sat in the back of the restaurant on the bigger side. Still had great service everyone there not just one server took care of us. I had my daughter with me because I raved about this place and wanted her to try the food. She's a picky eater so I'm glad I got to bring her out. We ordered so many dishes. A few were repeat dishes from the first time we were there. Just as good if not better than the last time. The cucumbers were crisp and the spicy sauce they were in was delicious the wontons, and the spicy sauce which I had been craving were absolutely out of this world. I can't even describe the taste and the texture of these delicious wontons. The scallion pan cake was just the same crispy flavorful the pan, fried pork dumplings, just as good. The other dumplings were soup dumplings so they were bursting with flavor because of the broth inside! Magnificent!! The Chinese beef roll was fantastic. Love that they put the thin pieces of green onion inside. Absolutely bake the flavor of the beef and everything else pop! My husband and granddaughter loved the pork chop. It was crispy and cooked perfect, and the flavor was amazing. I didn't get to try the beef noodle soup we ordered, but I know that my husband loved it and so did my granddaughter. My daughter's absolute favorite dish was the cold noodles in hot and sour sauce. I do have to say they were absolutely perfect. The flavor was sweet and spicy and the noodles were perfect perfection. The onion noodle dish that I ordered was actually a hot dish and loved that they put almost an onion paste on top so when you mix it in it distributes the flavor to all of the noodles I ate the whole bowl it was Heaven. The biggest surprise was I am a big tofu fan, so decided to order the bean curd rolls with mushrooms. Wow that's all I could say this dish was amazing. I absolutely love whatever flavoring they put on that bean curd and the mushrooms were bursting with flavor. What an incredible little dish this was. I have to say when you order new dishes at a place that you go to and find your favorites. It's always touch and go, but I was pleasantly surprised that everything that we ordered came out amazing and we stuffed ourselves completely full. This place definitely is a fave and I will be back again and again!!!! read more

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Ni hao, and welcome to A & J restaurant, the absolute goat of Chinese/Taiwanese food in Irvine. It gets busy, so get here early, and take a gander at their menu while you wait! We've explored up and down the menu, but there are some standouts that everyone comes back for! First off, if you're a beef roll person, get it. It does not disappoint! I'm not, so we opted to skip it today. I ordered some minced pork noodles, and they were awesome. This minced pork usually comes over rice, but the noodle variation offers that bouncy texture along with slurpability! I got the thin noodles, but your choice between the thiccys and thinnys. We also got a shredded bean curd salad with celery and carrots. A really refreshing appetizer that was light and crunchy! The kings of the menu are the spicy beef noodle soup, as well as the spicy wontons! The beef noodle soup never disappoints, especially when you get it with the thick noodles and beef tendon. What a killer dish. Savory, rich, and warming! Add soy sauce, vinegar, and chili oil to your liking! These spicy wontons are sweet, sour, and so satisfying. Meaty and light at the same time. There's so much going on here, that it's tough to put into words. Just know that you're basically losing money if you're not getting these. It's criminal to skip these. A & J has been around so long for a reason. It's an Irvine classic made for those moments when you're lookin for some easy eatin! read more