i tried the crispy chicken, beef pie, wontons and scallion pancake. my favorite was the scallion pancake. it had the perfect amount of texture and taste. the beef pie and wontons were good but nothing special. crispy chicken was very crunchy but soft. the seasoning of it was good but not special either. service was quick. the place is spacious with lots of seating. overall, not bad but would only come here again for the scallion pancakes. read more

Northern Cafe - Chongqing Crispy Chicken - Chinese Near Me - Irvine, California

This is one of my boyfriend's favorite Xiao, Long bao spots! Literally took me here on our second date. And we've been coming back ever since. You can tell the food is not only made fresh but with love. I was also able to take my coworker here and it's nice that you can order it and then sit down and eat or you can order it and take it to go and you can sit in the plaza outside to go eat outside. Service is always friendly and there's even a self-help kiosk in case you wanna take your time and read and see or maybe even take your time depend depending on the situation. But no one ever rushes you, which is nice. Food quality is always on par if not, exceptional. Highly recommend a try. It won't let you down! read more

I came here with family, and really enjoyed their wide variety of shareable dishes. The hot pot was really cool - an individual bowl of soup over some charcoal that the waiter lights upon dropping it off at your table. It was full of a wide variety of meat and veggies, from super tender beef and tofu, to some kind of tempura, lots of cabbage, and mushrooms. The orange chicken was some of the best I've had in a while. It was crispy, with a wonderfully sweet sauce, and tender chicken pieces. I also really enjoyed trying a couple of the dumplings that others at the table ordered. I loved the set up of the restaurant, because you find a table first, look at the menu, and then go to the counter to order. It makes it great for groups, especially if people want to pay separately. They started bringing the food within literal minutes of ordering, it was truly impressive. From there, it was nice that the dishes came out as they were made, so we had time to try everything right when it was fresh. We ended the night with some sesame balls, which were absolutely perfect, served hot and fresh, crispy on the outside, doughy and slightly sweet in the middle. We also felt the prices were really reasonable, and easy to order a good amount of food without breaking bank. I will most definitely be back here to try more dishes (I had wanted to order everything on the menu, it wasn't fair!) read more

Northern Cafe - Spicy Beef Hot Pot - Chinese Near Me - Irvine, California

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Parking: Northern Cafe is located the University Town Center across from UCI. Parking can get rough especially during lunch. Exterior: There is a patio area for outdoor dining. Interior: The interior is spacious and relatively clean. The tables are spaced out in a way where it does not feel too crowded. Service: There is minimal service. They have a kiosk for ordering takeout. For dine in, you will need to order at the cashier. They will give you a number and bring it to your table. Food: Northern Cafe is a decent Chinese chain restaurant. Their food is solid and decently priced. I would recommend their beef noodle soup (both the spicy one and the clear broth one) for those who are going for the first time. Their savory pastries are also good choices. I have never tried their hotpots but will probably do so soon. read more

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The food was good for the price . The portion size is huge and the wonton has a really generous meat filling. The soup base is savory and not too sweet. A lot of Chinese international students choose to dine here. Definitely recommend if you want some semi authentic Chinese food. read more

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Worst Northern Cafe location. We ordered for pick-up over the phone and arrived on time but had to wait an extra 10 minutes for our order. The biggest letdown was that our food came out lukewarm! The dumplings were so bland and dry! The beef roll was oily and the beef was chewy and sweet. They didn't even give us enough sauce to dip our food. Wow. This location is a stark difference from the LB location on 2nd Street. Never coming back to the UCI location ever again. read more

Northern Cafe - Pork & Chinese Cabbage Pan Fried Dumplings - Chinese Near Me - Irvine, California

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If I could rate this a negative I would. After a great experience at the Alton location, we ordered from the UCI location and were shocked at how bad it was and regret ordering from them. Expensive and horrible. Shame on them. The orange chicken tasted like repurposed, old chicken dumped in an overly sweet, heavy sauce. It was soggy, greasy, and literally looked like gooey ketchup sauce, completely inedible. The shrimp fried rice smelled fishy and was afraid to eat from the smell, with tiny, low-quality shrimp. The wonton soup was pathetic , smaller portion and nothing like what we had before. They really take advantage on the takeout. This was worse Chinese restaurants and easily some of the worst Chinese food we've ever had. Completely unacceptable quality. Total regret ordering here. Avoid the UCI location. I would not recommend them to anyone and so disappointing read more

We are normally Din Tai Fung loyalists, but found ourselves in Irvine craving some beef noodle soup and dumplings. Quick Yelp search took us to Northern Cafe Chinese Kitchen. We hadn't heard of it, but decided to trust the Yelpers. You know, not too bad. It's hard when you have a certain expectation of flavors and textures in your head. Still, that beef noodle soup was "bussin" as the kids like to say. As for the soup dumplings, the thin dough texture wasn't there, but the flavors were good. And the green beans were delicious. If you're actually searching for authentic Taiwanese food (versus the mainstream orange/kung pao chicken stuff), this place hits. read more

Northern Cafe - Legit beef noodle soup! - Chinese Near Me - Irvine, California

Food is amazing, they are always ready to accommodate your special request if they can

Stopped by on a weeknight and found the restaurant relatively full but I get it! The restaurant itself is open and clean. The service is fast and friendly. Given so many people I was happily surprised how quickly the food came and how attentive the service was. The food, honestly, loved it! The portions are a good size. The flavors are spot on. They offer a grilled menu after 5pm, which is fun to eat! read more

Northern Cafe - Zha Jiang Noodle - Chinese Near Me - Irvine, California

This is my favorite restaurant at UTC! At some point, I was going once a week to satisfy my szechuan cravings. It's easy to order at the kiosks in front, your food gets delivered within 5 minutes of ordering, and they clean tables pretty quickly so you can sit down fast after another party leaves. I love the mala premium beef noodle soup - a rich and spicy staple! It's always nice to sip on some hotpot in their comfortable booths on a cold day. read more

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Their beef soup is sooo good! The popcorn chicken is perfectly crispy every time. One of my favorites places to come to when I'm in Irvine. read more

Northern Cafe - Beef 3.Golden Soup Beef Pot - Chinese Near Me - Irvine, California

I ordered online to bring food for the end of the school year potluck. Food ordered was: beef roll, chicken fried noodle, Yangzhou fried rice, juicy pork dumplings, Chinese pork pancake, eggplant with garlic sauce, and rice. Pickup was scheduled for 3:00 PM to 3:15 PM. Restaurant was busy. Order was ready and on the pickup shelf. Food was piping hot. The beef rolls went very quickly. Daughter wasn't able to get one. Only a spoonful of fried rice and a forkful of the fried noodle was left. It was our first time ordering Chinese pork pancake. Everything tasted delicious. We will have to order from Northern Cafe again. read more

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Food was great in the moment. Wasn't busy and the food came out quick. Large portions but the meat kind of has a sweetness to it. If you like that. After leaving we felt very full which is good because it was worth the money. However, it has been hours since we ate there and my stomach is not feeling too well. Maybe it is the spices and oil in the Dan Dan??? read more

Northern Cafe - Dan Dan - Chinese Near Me - Irvine, California

We wanted some good Chinese food and we've been having trouble finding some authentic places around sosouth OC. We happened upon Northern Cafe and wre excited to try it out! We ordered 3 items. Orange chicken, beef roll and bbq pork steam buns. The steam buns had good flavor. Although there was too much sauce and we couldn't taste the pork. The bread in the steam bun was very dry and dense. The beef roll were also good, but we felt it had too many herbs. It tasted like pho in a roll. If that's your jam go for it, it wasn't bad, but we were expecting something else. The orange chicken. The one item we were both craving for days it looked so yummy and flavorful! Unfortunately it wasn't that great. The chicken was dry, way too much sauce, and made the breading soggy instead of crispy. This was disappointing. I'd like to try Northern Cafe again, maybe it was an off day? There are so many other options when it comes to asian cuisine that I don't know if I'd have the opportunity to return. I believe this location is known for their soups as everyone in the restaurant had one. I'll have to try it out if I do come back here. read more

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I love northern cafe!! Esp since it's close to campus and at UTC! My favorite thing to order is the shrimp wontons, they're so juicy and flavorful! I would skip out on the noodle dishes tbh and the pork buns but you must try the spicy wontons! It's an order at the register type of restaurant so very casual! We usually order family style and the portions are pretty good. It's one of my favorite Chinese places :) read more

The food served here is similar to Din Tai Fung/Mama Lu's and it reminds me of my childhood. My friends and I came here and shared 7 dishes, family style. It was about $120 and we had leftovers to share! You order and pay at the counter before getting the food. The food came out quick and had big portions! Some of the table favorites were the chongqing crispy chicken, the beef roll, and the sauteed string beans. Every dish we ordered was super yummy! My only complaint was the thai tea. It was premixed and very bland, would not get again. read more

Northern Cafe - Juicy Pork Dumplings - Chinese Near Me - Irvine, California

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You always love the places the local embrace. Driving by, you would never stop in the middle of the this strip mall. We asked the manager at the hotel and he said we had to try this place. He was not wrong. Clean and unpretentious inside with an eager staff. We struggled with a few questions and a language barrier so she sent over another member of her team that was very educated on each menu item. We started ordering food and then added a few items after we were half done the first two dishes. Taste - amazing. Flavor - incredible. Freshness- magical. I have no idea what we ordered, what we ate or how it is supposed to taste, but every dish was way beyond my expectations and the others in my party, always know what could have been done better, had nothing but praises for the place. read more

Northern Cafe - 2 different types of dumplings - Chinese Near Me - Irvine, California

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Really really wanted to love this place!! We came with high expectations from the amount of people inside and the good reviews. Got seated right away which was nice, and our food was brought out quickly, no complaints there. We ordered the Kung Pao Chicken and the Beef Noodle Soup. Maybe I was just comparing the Kung Pao Chicken to Paradise Dynasty or something but I would not order this again. It was so slippery and fatty. Every bit was really chewy and it was almost slimy. I don't know my boyfriend and I just wernt a fan and If I came here again I would not order this dish. I've had way better. The presentation of the dishes was great though!! They looked really beautiful and yummy. The beef noodle soup was okay. Again the beef was a little fatty (which I must say I am particular about personally) but it was also super tender! The noodles were yummy and the broth was good it just wasn't like amazing. It needed some more flavor and add ins. Overall I wasn't impressed and we just didn't love our food unfortunately. We did look around and saw that no one ordered what we ordered so maybe we just ordered the wrong things. I wanted to love this place as I have heard good things. I mightttttt come back and try other dishes. The dumplings did look amazing read more

Northern Cafe - Beef Noodle Soup - Chinese Near Me - Irvine, California

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First time at northern cafe after seeing countless recommendations for it come across my social media pages (I don't know if they pay for that ad space but, it worked lol) They're located within the University Town Center, located across the street from UC Irvine. As a result, depending on when you go, you can anticipate not only the restaurant but the plaza to be busy and packed with students. On the plus side, there is plenty of parking in a private lot. The parking is limited to 2 hours although it doesn't seem to be enforced heavily after school hours (there are signs throughout the parking lot noting that students found parking there will be towed, hence the parking limits) Now let's move onto the food and service. The restaurant is small but still roomy. You get seated but will need to place and pay for your order at the counter. You are then given a number to take back to your table and the food is brought to you. Here's what we ordered: Chingqing chicken (4/5 stars, fried well, could have been spicier) Spicy shrimp wontons (5/5 stars, really enjoyed the wonton skin, thicker than what you get at din tai, filling was good) Green beans (5/5 stars, super fresh, green beans were kept long and not cut into pieces, super flavorful) Beef roll (5/5 must get! It's a very large portion, compare it to the size of a Taco Bell grilled cheese burrito, served cold, ingredients were fresh, flavor profile of a banh mi with daikon and carrots) Overall the pricing and food were great. The atmosphere was nice and casual. The only thing I would have liked would be bigger cups for water (which is self serve, along with a table holding all to go containers for you to grab after your meal if needed which was convenient) It's a good in between of casual and sit down, we saw tons of people ordering their hot pot so we will be back to try that next! read more

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You have to order at the counter. There is basically no table service, yet the system still asks you to select a tip, with a minimum of 18% shown on the screen. The restaurant had an unpleasant smell inside. I ordered a beef roll and unfortunately found a piece of a blue glove in my food, which is completely unacceptable. I asked for a replacement and specifically requested it to be packed in a to-go box. However, it was still served on a plate. I had to request again and clearly told a female staff member that I wanted it in a to-go box. She did not respond, walked away, and later came back with a box, which she dropped on the table without saying a word. This experience was extremely disappointing and unprofessional. I will never come back, and I strongly recommend that anyone reading this reconsider, as I would not want others to experience the same issues I did. read more

delicious food. I had mouth surgery and I really craved soft savory food. The cashier made me a tofu dish non spicey and it was perfect! I'm hooked. Thank you cashier lady! read more

This place is the definition of comfort food. With great prices and great-tasting food with lots of different options. Many places lack a variety of options, but this place has it all. We tried the beef dumplings, which were stuffed and tasted great with the sauce they offer at the table. The chicken wontons were also one of my favorites, full of flavor and very juicy. One thing I would definitely stay away from is the shrimp wontons they were ok and they just seemed to fall apart. The beef noodle soup was also a great pick, nice and hot with lots of meat; I would definitely order it again. And lastly, the green beans tasted amazing, and they are just as good as any other in the area. read more

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The food is mostly pretty good -- not the best Chinese I've ever had, but pretty good. My wife had the spicy beef hot pot and it was quite good: a wide variety of ingredients and indeed very spicy and tasty. The fried rice was just ok though: cooked well but a bit bland -- could use some more soy sauce and butter. The fried noodles were fine but could also use a bit more seasoning. The service was very good and people were very friendly. Funny thing though ... It's not quite a full service restaurant: for example, when we asked for and extra bowl all they could offer was a to-go bowl and when we asked for a spoon ask they had was a cheap plastic spoon. Still, pretty good food with good service at a very reasonable price. read more

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Good Chinese food sold here. Came here with my family and my kiddos love the orange chicken here because it's quite saucy. My brother loves the golden beef hot pot soup. Quite delicate flavors and a little bit spicy. The scallion pancake is ok. Sautéed green beans is loaded with garlic which is tasty. The chicken noodle soup is very Chinese tasting as you can tell the chicken broth is cooked for a long time. And the rice cake chicken stir fry is ok. Overall good place to come and grab some good Chinese food. Located at University Center with plenty of parking. You have to order at the front and then pick your own table. Service staff brings you the food but that's it. You have to get your own to go boxes and complimentary water. Overall price is reasonable and food is cooked fresh. Will be back here often as they have a wide selection of dishes. Note. Only one restroom stall so you have to wait in line if this cafe is busy. read more

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Northern Cafe Chinese Kitchen sits in the University of Irvine, California, vicinity. An easy sit and eat situation, they have a variety of dishes that is best preferable if you have a group of friends to eat with. The place is fairly clean and the people there are friendly. You order food at the counter. The utensils are made for self-service and someone will bring the order to you. Some dishes our group of friends ordered includes yangchou fried rice, juicy pork dumplings, sautéed green beans, lychee shrimp balls, chongqing crispy chicken, and popcorn chicken. The spices used in these dishes were fantastic. It was bursting with flavor. I thought the lychee shrimp balls would be sweet, but the taste was better than I expected. I think the chongqing crispy chicken caught me by surprise. I liked the seasoning but I didn't like that it was cold. Maybe it was meant to be served cold? I wished the menu had said that since I thought it was a hot dish. My favorite was the juicy pork dumplings. It is perfect to eat on a cold day. read more

I've come here two times so far and both times have been very lovely experiences! The times I went there were empty tables with utensils on them already so we sat ourselves there. The menus were already on the table as well so it was nice to look at them right away and you order and pay at the counter! They'll give you a number and you can take it back to your table. The food came out in a reasonable amount of time and was also priced reasonably. We had to serve ourselves water at the dispensers but it is not a big deal. The spicy beef hot pot wasn't as spicy as I expected it to be but was still very yummy! The rice was a little dry but it wasn't like the end of the world as I just put my broth on it. My favorite was definitely the tomato soup however, the broth itself was very good and came with lots of noodles (it was like never ending). I also got the thai tea but it was okay, wasn't really anything memorable but it tasted like as you expect thai tea to taste. read more

Northern Cafe - Spicy Beef Pot - Chinese Near Me - Irvine, California

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Came here around 5:30. I recommend coming earlier before rush hour because by 6 there was no more indoor seating. There are a bunch of seats outside that they serve to if you don't mind sitting outside though. Chinese pork pancake 3/5: Took longer to cook than other pancakes. Was fried so it was crispy on the outside and had 3/4 layers on the inside. Golden soup beef noodle 5/5: Both me and my sister liked this dish the best. The soup was savory and had the perfect amount of spiciness to it. The noodles were also cooked perfectly. Cold noodles 5/5: This cold noodle dish was savory with the sesame sauce and so refreshing. The only thing is i wish there were more noodles, there was quite a bit more cucumbers to noodles. Assorted cold dish: The pig ear was super thin, very good texture. The beancurd and lotus root were all very good. Was a bit expensive though for the amount given. Stir fried rice cakes 4/5: Pretty standard, tasted average and didn't really stand out. Durian cakes 5/5: i recommend this for durian lovers. The outside is so crisp with all the little stringy textures on the outside and so flaky. Came with 5 pcs in a basket and was quite good. Service was pretty good as well. Overall, a very good place. Would come back again to try some other dishes! read more

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4.5 for me. i really like the menu. huge selection. everything fresh and hot. food comes out quick. mix of noodles, dumplings, entrees. orange chicken good here. typically i'd expect this one to be worse since its at UCI and you presumably have college kids working, but no difference between here and the other irvine location for me. read more

Living in OC, I frequent this branch of Northern Cafe whenever I have a craving for their cold dishes as not many restaurants have it in the style they serve anymore within the county. Normally, I quite enjoy my meals here and never have an issue but after witnessing today, I was very disappointed. We came in the afternoon around 3pm so the restaurant was mostly empty. While the food was very salty today (ironic I know), the reason I'm writing this review is regarding the service. For the most of our visit, we were serviced by the morning shift just fine and to be clear, what I'm about to say has nothing to do with them but rather the evening shift that clocked in when we were mostly done with our meal. We were almost finished with our meal when a party of four walked in, three adults and one sleeping child. They were promptly seated in a booth by the morning shift and at this time, the evening shift came to clock in. A few minutes later, I saw one of the adults move to another table on the other side of the restaurant where the benches were to lay the sleeping child down and essentially switch tables. Please keep in mind that the restaurant is still basically empty at this point, with my party and one other party dining. In the span of a few minutes, I saw the evening shift server walk over to them, stare at them with an annoyed look and then tried to tell them to move back. The adults tried to tell him that the spot was uncomfortable and they moved to a more comfortable spot. The waiter then proceeded to stare at them again in annoyance, looked at the empty 2 spot table next to them, seemed to complain about how it doesn't work that way and then give them the nastiest look before leaving in a huff. The adults obviously noticed, were upset (for good reason) and then left the restaurant before I could speak up. Not once did I see the party give the server a hard time. Could they have asked to move before actually moving? Yes. But in an almost empty restaurant, there was no reason for the behavior the server showed, especially at the beginning of his shift. Do better please. read more

Northern Cafe pleasantly surprised me. I was a bit weary before coming, but I am so glad I tried it. To order food, you go to the counter and order, but the servers will bring out the food to you after. My friends and I got the orange chicken, juicy pork XLB, and the beef rolls. The beef rolls came in 6 big pieces, and it was pretty good, but there was alot of scallions (like the most I've seen on a beef roll) and not that much sauce. I personally would have preferred more sauce and a bit less scallions. The orange chicken was good, even good the next day heated up! The juicy pork XLB was definitely juicy as well, pretty solid option for dumplings. Overall, it was a good experience, I would be curious to come back and try other options. This place does get quite busy at peak times! read more

Northern Cafe - beef rolls - Chinese Near Me - Irvine, California

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Good Chinese fast food in the University Center next to UCI. You order at the counter and they bring the food to your table or you order takeaway. Place was clean and food was good but nothing special. read more

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I ate at this restaurant during Chinese New Year and it was packed. The line was really long, but the service was really fast and the food was flavorful and delicious. We ordered the fatty beef with scallion which was one of the newer dishes we have ordered and was the best. The meat was very tender and so fragrant and flavorful. The green and white onions added a nice sweetness and crunch to the dish. We also got the eggplant which was perfectly cooked and not too mushy and had a nice firmness to it. The sauce was nice and garlicky and had a nice caramelization on the eggplants. We got orange chicken which was my least favorite. It didn't have the orange flavor I wanted and I thought Panda Express was a lot better. The texture wasn't crispy and some pieces just had batter. The last dish we ordered was the yang zhou fried rice which is always a staple. It has a nice combination of Chinese sausage, chicken, shrimp, spam, carrots, and peas. I like to put their chili oil on top for extra flavor. Overall, this is a great Chinese restaurant if you are in the Irvine area. There are multiple locations so I would definitely recommend checking this place out. Another perk is that their dishes are very affordable and give big portions! read more

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If you're like me, and you like a good bang for your buck, you'll want to come here. I got a total of 7 dishes and it all totaled til $107, which easily could feed 4 people. There was a mix of appetizers, entrees, and a dessert. Upon entering the restaurant, I was surprised to see how seamless the process of ordering and receiving the food was. There was plenty of seating with high ceilings so the atmosphere felt very welcoming. Service was quick despite it being crowded. If you're dining on your own, they also have tables facing the window so it doesn't feel weird at all, which I can appreciate! If I were only to pick a handful of dishes to recommend, I would choose the appetizer chicken with chili oil, which you lao gan ma chili crisp lovers will love. I also loved the pork soup dumplings, where there was plenty of soup inside the dumplings and the skin wasn't too thick either, which I enjoyed! I would also order the green beans, which were cooked well and the portions were huge. I had leftovers for an extra two meals afterwards! read more

Northern Cafe - Chinese Near Me - Irvine, California

The beef noodles are my favorite and also the soup dumplings are amazing if ur looking for good Chinese comfort food this is the spot they also have a lot of delicious cold dishes :) this place is amazing I'd go everyday if I could :) perfect date place me and my fiancé love it :) read more

My daughter and I went here after a show at the Barclay and this is a good spot for a quick late night bite to eat. You can order online (with extra fees) through food services to have your food ready close upon arrival. If not, you can order at the counter and they bring your food out to you. They also have togo boxes near the front that you can grab yourself for leftovers. It was a little pricy with all the fees, so I would recommend ordering at the restaurant if you can. We shared 2 orders of soup dumplings and she devoured them! Toddler approved! They also have booster seats available. I would come again! read more

Finally got a chance to come back and try the Big Plate Chicken with Noodle - which I think is an awkward translation of what could more accurately be referred to sizzling/skillet/stone plate chicken stir fry with noodles. I really liked this dish. (5/5) It's not too greasy but is loaded with really tender chicken and a visually appealing and tasty accompaniment of crunchy veggies. I like a stickier noodle, which adheres to the sauce better, and the curly edges are a fun touch. The flavor is a subtle (but by no means bland!) combo of soy, cumin, and red chile, plus the umami of wood ear mushroom and the chicken itself. Satisfying and generous portion enough for 2 if you order a side/app - makes it a fair deal. Overall rating still 4/5 because one dish does not a restaurant make read more

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Really good! The service was so quick. It might be harder to find a table during rush hours so just beware of that. The dan dan noodles were very good. The broth was where the peanut flavor was but I think the broth sank to the bottom so it wasn't getting coated on all the noodles. This meant that it lacked the peanut flavor in some bites. Overall, it's a nice place and the prices are great! read more

Northern Cafe - Dandan Noodle - Chinese Near Me - Irvine, California

I cannot resist a Northern Chinese restaurant, so not surprisingly, we wandered into Northern Cafe on Thursday during the holidays. Pretty no nonsense - put your name on the list for a table, order at the counter, grab a number and wait for your food! After we ordered, my son must have waited for over 15 minutes for the restroom - they only have a one person restroom for both mens and womens. Recommended dishes - Garlic Pork Ribs - super crispy and garlicky. Definitely get this if you're sharing with a few people. Beef Roll - packed full of meat and well seasoned. The roll itself is nice and crispy. Spicy Beef Pot - I thought this was a good amount of spicy. Not over the top except maybe the cabbage in there sucked up a lot of the spice. Thinly sliced beef and lots of different things in here to mix up the texture and flavor (the menu lists 15 ingredients). Broccoli - nice stir fry and well salted Pork Potstickers - nothing particularly special, but if you want potstickers, this should satisfy your craving. Potstickers here have pretty substantial wrapper thickness. Dishes that were ok / needed improvement - Sesame Pancake - this dish almost never meets the expectation of my fond memories eating Da Bing as a child. This thing is very dense. I haven't tried all the options in the "pancake" part of the menu, but I would take the field. Juicy Pork Dumplings (Soup Dumplings XLB) - skin was both thick and fragile - had some soup casualties as we were picking them up. Boiled Pork and Cabbage dumplings - way overcooked and soft. My guess is they hold up better steamed or pan fried. Certainly a little hit or miss on dishes. Looking forward to coming back some day and trying some of their other options. read more

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I was so busy eating good food tonight that I forgot to take pictures! I'm so glad to have found a Northern Chinese restaurant in the area. I'm not a spicy person so this review will be mostly on the non-spicy food options. The food items you must get are the beef roll, the potstickers, and the garlic pork ribs. The other items that are pretty decent are the soup dumplings, broccoli and sesame bread. My friends got the spicy beef pot and the golden soup beef pot and were pleasantly surprised by both. The only dish I was not satisfied with was the pork rib green bean pot. The ribs were very tough and I was expecting them to be fall-off-the bone tender. You need to wait to be seated and once seated, you can go up to the register to order your food and they'll give you a number to place on the table so the servers know where to deliver the food. The doggy bags are self service. As this restaurant is located near the university, service is quick and parking is plentiful. I would definitely return to try the other menu items. read more

Northern Cafe - C1. Beef Roll - Chinese Near Me - Irvine, California

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