4 Seas

Hello all. As most of you have been able to tell, I have let the mantle of responsibility slip from my grasp yet again. I apologize for this. Recently, the Krapp-Liu family has frequented a Chinese breakfast/brunch place called 4 Seas, which is near the Jeffrey and Walnut Asian shopping mall that I have posted about before. It is with great reluctance that I post a Yelp link to my page, but I guess it is a must do. So click here for exact directions and comments and criticism of 4 Seas.

    But now to the critique. It is a very authentic Taiwanese brunch place. One of the stars of the menu is a Taiwanese dish called Dou Jiang Yotiao, which is essentially sweet or normal soy milk, with a fried stick of dough that one can dip in the soymilk. It is a very big part of Chinese breakfasts, and I would be shocked if it isn't on 4 out of 5 Chinese breakfast places. It is very good here, and just might be a must eat. Sticky Rice also gets an honorable mention, and is also one very authentic, very popular, and very good dish in Chinese cuisine. My personal favorite is something called "Scallion Pancakes", which is basically what it sounds like. It is also fried, so f you are looking to lose weight, this might not be the place for you. At this particular restaurant, they serve it with a fried egg on top, and a little can of hot sauce which one can dole out onto this dish with generosity or stingyness. To me, the hot sauce is a holds a key spot in making this dish what it is.

      There is a main menu, like all the restaurants you know, as well as a sort of pastry bar, filled with little fried delights. They also "serve" take out very well, so it is very good for lazy weekend breakfast runs, or lazy weekend morning brunches. They have a very normal, relaxed atmosphere, with a wonderful, almost Miyazaki-like painting on one of the walls. They have a water bar, which is unusual, but is actually quite efficient. Over all, this is very good place, with authentic, homey food, and a pleasant atmosphere. To some, it may be a little too authentic, but others may appreciate it. 

P.S Keep in mind, that it is not a dim sum place, so if you are looking for Chinese brunch, but don't want to spend more calories waving down carts than you get from eating your meal, this is an ideal place. It only takes cash!

101 Noodle Express

on Jeffrey and Walnut offers comfort food for those from the colder climes of china. succulent little dumplings filled with lamp, shrimp, pork and fish. Don't skip the beef rolls. Marinated beef wrapped in a fried pancake stuffed with cilantro.  The five spice should transport you to remote sichuan province: one of the spices in the five spice combo has a famous numbing effect. It coats thin sliced tendon. sublime. the dumplings are filled with everything from lamb to squash (they call it pumpkin on the menu). our favorites are the classic pork and cabbage dumplings. each delicious morsel slides down your throat with ease. it's better if you speak bad chinese, and pay cash. if you can't do either,  you will still be able to take home made chinese food with some attitude to boot.

Happy Family

Happy Family does make families happy, everybody that goes to them and knows them that is. Happy Family is a very new restaurant located in what was once known as May Garden at 1400 Bristol St. Costa Mesa (telephone 714-668-9288). They serve a Buddhist, vegetarian, taiwanese fusion version of Chinese food. My dad said after going for the first time "it was almost good enough to make me vegetarian." The first time we went we avoided the fake tofu substitute meats like mock duck and mock chicken, but the second time we had to give in and we were pleasantly surprised. If you have been to Taipei, you know about Buddhist vegetarian Chinese cuisine, but if you haven't, this style of Chinese cooking is very delicious, based on Northern Chinese cuisine, with its hearty mantou or or steamed breads. Mantou are called Fried Bread on the menu is a a Northern Chinese classic and it is very good. Home style tofu was my personal favorite. My mom liked the deep fried oyster mushrooms and chicken with mushrooms. If you like Kung Pao Chicken, you'll enjoy the veggie version. The two greens we had were very good. Snow pea tops are our favorite, but they ran out the second time we were there so we had stir fried chinese romaine lettuce. It's called "A-cai" AY TSAI. if you want to order it. In other reviews that aren't as good as this one, they claim that the lotus flowers are great, but me and my parents did not like them. However, if you are a newcomer to this restaurant, they are a must try. The food is well spiced, light and balanced. According to Buddhist cuisine, garlic and onions make people quick to anger, so they are not used. You wouldn't know it though, because the dishes are so varied and savory. We ordered hot and sour soup on our first visit and tofu and glass noodle soup on our second visit. If you want to eat like the Chinese, never skip soup with your meal. You won't be disappointed by Happy Family's selection. This restaurant is also a GREAT deal. Everything is very reasonably priced. The two problems that we encountered were -- very slow service and not very special atmosphere. They are renovating the restaurant, so we hope for improvements soon. They don't serve alcohol, but my mom asked if we could bring our own, and the owners said that wouldn't be a problem. Excellent dumplings! Please give them your business. They are close to Irvine and really serve a very distinctive and authentic not to mention healthy Chinese food.

double header!

Sorry for the delay - I have been on vacation in Mexico! Today, I'll update you on the two restaurants I went to since I got back: China Garden, a dim sum restaurant in Irvine (on Jeffrey); and Cafe Beau Soleil, in Newport Beach (in Fashion Island). One was good, one not so good!

China Garden has dim sum on weekends. It's usually pretty full. This time, we did not have to wait long at all because we got there earlier than usual, around 11. Don't order the soft tofu! If you don't have a sauce on it, it's plain - but with the sauce it's way too sweet. I can recommend the congee - it's a rice gruel, nice on a cool winter day. The shrimp dumplings were okay, but the deep-fried shrimp wrapped in seaweed was better. Some dishes were not great, and we even sent one back... Don't over-order, because often there will be something good coming by when you're too full! We haven't ordered anything from the menu there yet. Definitely get some greens.

We went shopping in Fashion Island, and ended up waiting forever for the food we ordered at the French cafe in American Rag. The soup was okay, the quiche of the day was very cheesy and soft, but the shrimp fettuccini was excellent. They have nice big salads, but not really what you expect. My mom had a coffee, which the bill calls "black gold"! Weird. The bored water took ages to turn on the heater, or bring water, or bread, or menus, or stop by at all (even though we asked). I ended up getting myself a menu! When we got there, it was mostly empty - but soon all tables were full, and the kitchen was overwhelmed. My mom ended up going inside to complain... Not kid-friendly, either.

crispy shrimp,beef sandwiches what else?

Chef Chen is a good Chinese restaurant  located in Irvine in a mini mall on Jeffrey and Walnut. (5408 Walnut, near the 99 Ranch). Their top dishes are the 5 spice crispy shrimp and the chinese style beef sandwiches. The braised tofu I expected to be good like the other tofu dishes I had but unfortunately it  was too bland. The restaurant in its self has a moderatly warm atmosphere although there are not many children. The bitter melon is a little bit too bitter, but the green beans and meat were delicious. The soup was that we had was a little bit bland and the wontons were nothing special. The hand made potstickers were crunchy and had pork inside. They were delicious. My parents were not satisfied but I still think its the best chinese restaurant in Irvine. Chef Chen is moderately priced!

Kid friendly☺☺☺

quality ψψψψψ

xiao long bao and more!

Din Tai Fung is a great restaurant for Shanghainese cuisine. In Shanghai, it wasn't so kid friendly. There weren't a lot of kids and you didn't hear the babies crying and kids playing like you could in another Chinese restaurant.

Xiao long bao (shal lung baul) is Din Tai Fung's speciality. They are dumplings with different kinds of soups and meat inside. To eat it, first you take a little bite and suck the hot juice out. Then pop it in your mouth and taste the rainbow of flavors. The American branch is in Arcadia. For dessert, there are black sesame buns and red bean dumplings. The New York Times listed it as one of the ten best restaurants in the world!