Their famous pork chop is HUGE, crispy, juicy, and packed with flavor…read more I got the pork chop rice combo, plus the spicy wontons and braised combination plate. Popcorn chicken and spicy wontons are so good too. This honestly felt like a meal straight out of Taiwan. Will definitely come back for more!

Came by on a Saturday evening, and they were surprisingly not too busy. The interior design is…read morebeautiful! They have decorative leaves and vines, and it makes you feel like you are in a nice outdoor space. We were the only customers that evening, and service was quick and attentive. This restaurant has been a staple of Irvine for many years and has been able to survive as it consistently serves authentic Taiwanese food. Taiwanese Pork chop rice bowl (8/10, $16) - The pork chop is extra crispy and remained crispy throughout dinner. I only wish that there was a little more meat. - It comes with sides of rice, broccoli, pickled veggies, and half an egg. - Portion sizes are overall mediocre; you won't leave extremely full, but you will leave satisfied. It is probably not enough to share between two hungry adults. Overall, a staple Irvine restaurant serving authentic Taiwanese food. Great pork chops! It is not particularly cheap, but also not extremely expensive.

A&J is an Irvine institution!! Can't even remember how much times I've visited in the last ten…read moreyears because it's probably my favorite Taiwanese spot in the area. It's about time I reviewed them! My number one dish goes to the minced pork rice- it's a pretty simple dish, but it's sooo good here for some reason. I've ordered this dish at other Taiwanese restaurants and nothing compares to the one at A&J- the pork is always SO flavorful, never dry and enough to coat all the rice, the egg is perfection, and all the little garnishes compliment the dish so well. It's also just as amazing takeout which I always appreciate. Other go-tos are the spicy beef noodle soup- the beef in it is always so tender and I love getting the thick noodle option because of the rough texture it adds. Beef roll and pan fried dumplings are always a good option for sharing. Have tried a lot of things on their menu and nothing so far has disappointed!

Went to A&J with a few friends on a Friday night. There was about a 15-minute wait. We checked in,…read moretold them our party size, received a numbered ticket, and were seated shortly after. We ordered a variety of dishes to share, including the beef noodle soup, minced pork over rice, spicy wontons, fried pork chop, and scallion pancake. At first, the portions looked smaller than we expected, but the prices were reasonable and the food ended up being more filling than it appeared. We actually thought we'd need to order several more dishes for our group of four, but by the end of the meal we were completely satisfied. My favorite was definitely the spicy wontons. The wontons themselves were great, but the sauce was flavorful, slightly spicy, and addictive!

Seven Grams is an absolute gem. The food was fresh, flavorful, and clearly made with care. The…read morestaff was friendly and welcoming, and the atmosphere was clean and comfortable. Everything we ordered was delicious, and the quality exceeded our expectations. You can tell they take pride in what they do. The ambiance was warm and inviting, making it a great place to relax and enjoy a meal. The space has a modern yet cozy feel that creates a comfortable dining experience. I'll definitely be coming back and would highly recommend Seven Grams to anyone looking for a great meal and excellent service.

Food - think of this as Din Tai, well you know. But on a better value and still tastes authentic!…read more Love their dumpling, onion pancake, fried rice. Flavors are good and competitive. Service is good but could be better at times. Overall, not bad and can definitely fill and fill your cravings for dumplings and such.

I came here around the end of the day absolutely STARVING. We got seated quickly and everything was…read morehandled promptly. The restaurant itself is a bit on the small side so you'll be close to your neighbors not that it was an issue personally. My buddy and I ordered our items and shared with each other for a good full experience. We got the three-in-one noodles medium heat and the Ma Hu Beef noodles with mild heat alongside the cucumbers with medium heat as an appetizer. Cucumbers were very fresh! However, they really were just cucumbers with a little heat on them so they weren't anything too special. Once the main entrees came in, I couldn't stop myself from digging in! I forgot to take a picture until after some damage was done to our meals. Three-in-one was so flavorful and sweet with the noodles becoming incredibly soft after having mixed it all together. The star of the show for me though was the Ma Hu Beef noodles. The beef was remarkably tender and delicious and the noodles had a firmer texture that complimented with the flavors. Oddly enough, the mild heat on the Ma Hu Beef was spicier than the medium heat three-in-one! If you find yourself in the mood for Biangbiang noodles, this is definitely the spot to go to. On a side unrelated note about the parking which did not influence my review; the parking here is rough. It's consistently packed so watch out for that. There is a structure across the street that allows parking for the food court. I parked in the structure but I had a bad experience because since it's also parking for the residents above, the gate was closed on us after 8pm. I had to wait for a vehicle to come out and open the gate for not only just me but for multiple other people that had also parked in the structure!Just something to keep in mind. Hopefully that doesn't continue being an issue for future guests.

Food tastes good. Service perfect! Ambiance good. Comfortable at all! Lucy's service is very good…read more Definitely will come back soon!

Delicious Chinese food and great for family style! Near full house each time I visit but no worries…read more- got seated quick. Casual restaurant with a selection of cold dishes displayed up front. Lemon water in pitcher is provided once you get seated. Order via QR code. A standout dish was the pork pancake, which was layered almost like a savory crepe. The exterior was crispy and slightly oily. Plenty of flavor packed into each bite mmm I also ordered the spicy sauerkraut lamb hot pot. It comes with flames & reminded me a bit of Boiling Point. Lots of napa cabbage in the broth. The lamb was excellently fatty... tender and soft! I've recently had another hot pot place with lean lamb so this was on point. Portions were generous and the price felt very reasonable. My favorite dish of the meal was the fatty beef with scallions. The beef was indeed fatty and rich flavor, with what I think was a nice subtle Shaoxing wine or cooking wine flavor. The natural sweetness of the onions balanced the savory, salty sauce nicely.

I have said it time and time again and I still stand by it... northern cafe gives din tai fung a…read morerun for its money!! The food is always prepared to perfection. Their menu is much more extensive. Their portions are much larger. The flavors are much bolder in my opinion. And they have fried chicken on the menu (say less) The ambience is always lively, fairly loud but no louder than any other sit down restaurant you'd visit. Their servers are quick and efficient. If you haven't tried northern cafe, highly recommend you give them a try!

This is a pickup location for many ghost kitchens. There were many places you can order. I had…read moreordered a pork rice from this kitchen. The order was placed online and just stop by to pick up the food. Just push a button for the staff of the respective restaurant to provide the food prepared. There is no seating inside to eat since it's pick up only. There was some open benches available outside if needed. The pork rice as tasty and made well where the pork was tender and skin was chewy. Will have to try another item next time.

What a hidden gem! It's part of a bunch of ghost kitchens. We are so happy we gave them a try…read moretoday. The soup is so flavorful and the abalone chicken rice and abalone iberico pork rice are all so full of delicious flavors and are made with high quality ingredients. It's so good, my son started to dance while he was eating! My husband said he hasn't had such delicious multi-layered flavors in food in a long time! Not greasy, not overly salty but still packed with flavor! It is pricey but it's because the ingredients are really high quality! The iberico pork is so tender and fresh. We will be back very soon to pick up another dinner meal!

I always saw Noodle Nest in DJ but this was my first time actually going in (definitely not my…read morelast). I didn't realize how big the portions are, because we definitely had a ton of leftovers. I would say we had 0 misses -- we would order everything again. If I had to really pick, the chicken dumplings + orange chicken + beef roll would be my go-to order. The beef noodle soup + xiao long bao + dumplings if I was with more people because it's HUGEE!! I forgot which fruit tea I ordered, but it was SOO good & refreshing - 10/10! It is located in DJ so parking was pretty intense on weekends!

When I told my daughter that this place has scallion pancakes and beef rolls, she wanted to come…read morehere instead of Kura. We came for early dinner and the place was pretty empty so I was able to get a full video clip of the restaurant. We ordered our usual beef rolls, scallion pancakes, and beef noodles. The beef noodles with eggs was the first dish to show up. It's slightly salty for my taste, otherwise it's decent. The scallion pancakes were very layered, probably one of the best looking ones we've ordered. The beef rolls were also one of the nicest presentations I've seen. They were perfectly wrapped and not a single green onions or cilantro fell off. Service was excellent. Granted there was only one wait staff but he was very attentive and observant. I saw a black dot on my plate, he immediately went to get a new plate for me without me asking. He constantly came to check on us and add more water. Overall, it was OK. It does have a huge variety of selection. Next time I would like to try more dishes and maybe skewers too.

Bafang Dumpling is a fast and casual Taiwanese restaurant chain to get good dumplings, noodles &…read moresoup. Our favorite is their Bafang noodle. Always consistent with texture and flavor. If you like a bit of a spice this noodle is a good choice. They have steamed & fried dumpling and all very good and satisfying. You can even get it to go - they have bags of frozen ones you can grab and take home. This location in Irvine is spacious, has plenty of seating. The only thing is it's in a busy plaza and their parking is limited.

Saw this place when they first opened, and we finally got to try this Taiwanese chain for the first…read moretime the other day. Respectfully, I'm not a stranger to Taiwanese comfort food, which I love! This place will hit the spot if you're super hungry like we were...lol. Their menu is straight forward. You place and pay for your order at the counter and snag a table if it's not too full in there. Fortunately we came around 4pm, which is perfect for those who like to eat dinner early like us. There were open tables everywhere, so I was surprised by the lack of cleanliness in there that day. A few table tops weren't wiped off (food and water marks left over), and the trash can was overflowing (my pet peeve, so had to minus a point!!). Hopefully they'll be on top of it for next time though. Okay 'nuff said about that... Order up (4 stars for their food): - Pork Chop with Braised Pork Belly Rice (not pictured...my husband said it was just a tad sweeter than what he's used to, but he still enjoyed it!). - Combo #8. Old Fashioned Noodle with Bafang Pork Chop (great flavor and perfect chew on the noods for me. The pork chops were so tender and juicy!). Saw someone order the Beef Noodle Soup...super huge! I heard their dumplings are what they're known for in Taiwan, so I'll have to try that for next time. Yes, I'd still come back since the food didn't disappoint. LOL! CHEERS and happy eating till next time...