A Meal Fit for a King at Royal Wok?

 Royal Wok

1868 North Tustin St. 

Orange, CA 92865

Birthday meal number two, and this time it's my parents' turn taking us out to celebrate. As usual, it's up to me to choose a restaurant to try. I have three criteria that I use when my parents are taking us out to dinner. One is that it should be centrally located between both of us, which means in Tustin or Orange. Two, it has to be something that they will like, and not too out of their comfort zone. Lastly, and most importantly, it must be moderately priced. Royal Wok in Orange was the perfect fit fresh from my restaurant wishlist. 

Royal Wok took over the space that was home to Yang Ming Garden, which garnered a lot of love from almost everyone in Orange. When they closed a few years back, and eventually moved on to a new address just across the city limits in Villa Park, many wished this spot would house an equally impressive Chinese restaurant. After reading a review in the OC Register about Royal Wok, I think those people might have gotten their wish. 

The Liang family has been in the restaurant business since 1993. They operated a Chinese restaurant in Longmont, Colorado, which is about 40 miles north of Denver. Replacing a favorite among people in the city of Orange was not an easy task, but they seem to be living up to this challenge. Besides the glowing OC Register review, they have garnered a very respectable four and a half stars on Yelp, with over 100 reviews. I was definitely intrigued to see how our early evening would turn out Royal Wok. 

We arrived just before 4pm on a recent Sunday in June. I had never been to this location when it was Yang Ming Garden, but what I found when walking into this space was a sleek and modern restaurant, with minimal Chinese decor, except for what was sitting on top of the bar area to the right of the entrance. The grey walls matched the tabletops, and there was a large row of half booths lining the far left wall, with a "good vibes only" sign painted above the booths, which was the only decor visible on any of the walls. 

I was definitely hoping for some good vibes from the food at Royal Wok. Their menu is just what you'd expect from a Chinese restaurant in the US. It was divided into appetizers, soup, different proteins, chow mein, chop suey, egg foo young, and fried rice. Entree prices hover around the $12 price point, with only a few seafood items exceeding this. There's also plenty of lunch specials to choose from, which will set you back $8 to $9. My family usually picks four dishes and we share them amongst each other. Let's see if Royal Wok is a worthy replacement for the beloved restaurant that graced this address for many years. 

We started off with an order of Egg Rolls ($5.95). They were filled with plenty of cabbage and shredded carrots and came with a sweet and sour sauce which boosted the flavor profile. I'm not a big fan of egg rolls, as I think they are usually quite bland, but at Royal Wok these were fried very nice and crisp but were not as greasy as others tend to be. Not a bad start to our meal. 

We did not order this, but they provided this Egg Flower Soup ($6.95) to the four of us. This was a pretty basic soup, with some carrot and peas thrown in. It was an okay soup, but more of a palette cleanser, as it was not too big on flavor. To be honest, this is not a soup I'd ever see myself ordering, as I'm way more partial to hot and sour soup when dining in Chinese restaurants. 

When Brad Johnson reviewed Royal Wok for the OC Register he raved about this Mongolian Beef. ($11.95), and I'm excited to report that he was correct in his praise of this plate. It was one of the best I've had. It had a large part to do with the very tender sliced beef that was the star of this plate, but the flavorful sauce, along with the sliced mushrooms and green and white onion combined wonderfully to make this dish a winner. I found myself trying to downplay how much I enjoyed this so I could maybe sway my parents and Katie from liking this too much, which in turn would mean more for me. No such luck, as they would not be fooled. 

I have a love-hate relationship with Orange Chicken ($11.95). I'm no fan of the one from Panda Express that most people enjoy way too much. I do find myself liking other versions of this cult favorite that is fried nicely, so each bite has a nice crunch when bitten into. This one from Royal Wok falls into that category. The sweetness was muted a bit too much, but each chicken piece was coated nicely and had a satisfying crunch to each bite. The veggies were prevalent, and the pineapple chunks helped bring up the sweetness quotient of this entree.  

Honey Walnut Shrimp ($14.95) can either go very wrong or be one of the best things you consume on a particular evening. This one unfortunately fell flat for me. The shrimp was overly breaded and the sauce lacked any real sweet tinge that you'd expect from this dish. All I really got was a heavy mayo flavor which was broken up a bit by the candied walnuts. I was also a little taken aback by the ring of broccoli surrounding this, which seemed like it was just there to bring a little color to the plate. We'd skip this on future visits. 

As we all pick at least one entree when the four of us go out for Chinse food, Katie always suggests something a little out of the norm for my parents. On this evening it was the Moo Shu Chicken ($10.95). This Chinese classic stirfry came with grated carrots, shredded cabbage, onion, and sliced chicken with the plum sauce on the side. We all enjoyed this very much. It was very comforting and not as salty or oily as others we have had at other places. I did not use the provided pancakes, but Katie liked them well enough. 

Even with a few minor missteps, Royal Wok was a pretty impressive Chinese restaurant. I really enjoyed most of the entrees that we had, with the lone exception being the honey walnut shrimp. Everything was fresh and came out of the kitchen piping hot. Even though they were not crazy busy at this early dinner hour, the service was very cordial, and we could feel that they really were happy that we were here. I felt the prices were very competitive and the portion sizes were large enough for the four of us to all be full walking out of there. Royal Wok hit all the right boxes for us and was a great place for my parents to take me out for my birthday dinner. 

Out of five minutemen, (because the largest wok of all-time was a 2,500-pound one that was used to make over 4,000 pounds of stirfry at UMass, and their sports teams are called the minutemen), five being best to zero being worst, Royal Wok gets 3.5 minutemen.  

For more information about Royal wok, head t their website here: http://www.royalwokca.com/

Goldenbox Express Full of Surprises or Disappointments? - CLOSED

Goldenbox Express

21212 Bake Parkway Unit C and D

Lake Forest, CA 92630

If there's one thing I've learned in the past 12 months, it's that some foods are conducive to takeout and many others are not. We've gotten meals from high-end steakhouses that we have enjoyed and were left underwhelmed when we brought them home. French fries don't travel too well either, and they are never quite the same when reheated. Seafood is also a little dicey to bring home, but the worst traveling food by far is naturally ice cream. 

However, many foods travel like champs. Pizza, Mexican food, and hamburgers come to mind right away. You could also add Chinese food to that list. The Chinese takeout container is so iconic that it could not be left off this list of the best takeout foods. I had been feeling like some Chinese food after a long-overdue haircut. A quick Yelp search led me to GoldenBox Express, which had some promising reviews. 

Strike one with my visit to Goldenbox was that they did not answer their phone when I tried to call in my order at half past 11 on a Thursday morning. This is one of my biggest pet peeves about getting takeout. I shy away from using third-party delivery services, as they cut into restaurant profits way more than they should. If restaurants don't answer the phone, it tells me they don't really want my business or would rather I order through a delivery service. 

Undeterred, I soldiered on my quest to have Chinese food for lunch and drove the fifteen minutes to Goldenbox, situated on the corner of Bake Parkway and Trabucco Road. This cramped parking lot was teeming with many people getting an early jump on their lunch from one of the other food offerings at this location; Subway, El Pollo Loco, and Kanji Japanese. I ordered and then waited 25 minutes for my to-go order. Strike two. 

The menu at Goldenbox is dominated by a wide array of bento combination meals. They list 15 on their menu. There are also plenty of single items to choose from, many that you've come to expect at your local Chinese takeout spot, to a little more exotic stuff like duck legs, sea bass, yellow croaker, and pigs feet. Nothing on their menu will set you back any more than $20, and they also have a wide selection of teas, smoothies, and other beverages available. Let's see if they can make up for not answering their phone or the long wait for the food. 

Before we get to my bento meal, I needed to try their Orange Chicken ($12.99). Everyone loves the orange chicken from Panda Express, but I need to tell you that there are better versions out there, and this was one of them. This good-sized portion relied on something other than an overly sweet and syrupy sauce. It was more subtle, with a big orange flavor contrasting nicely with the tender chicken. Each piece of chicken had a nice crunch, which was a feat in itself since the breading here was lighter than most versions of orange chicken I've ever had. This had temperature issues (something that will become a trend as you read deeper into this review). 

Bento boxes are the way to go at Goldenbox Express; as you can see, you get an entire meal for the same price as most of their single-item entrees. This Combo H2 ($16.99) is the one that piqued my interest. It came with a sweet-skinned duck leg, spicy Szechuan chicken, a whole bunch of egg-fried rice, honey balsamic salad, and a drink. Let's start out with the proteins. There were five duck legs in here, and the meat was pretty solid, but there wasn't much of it. The chicken was ice cold when I got it home, but it was much better after half a minute in the microwave. There was some spice with this, but I could go up a spice level on future visits. The abundance of peanuts added an earthiness that detracted from the tender chicken. The egg fried rice is one of the lightest you will find anywhere. It lacked the greasiness that others possess. The salad was a spring mix topped with quinoa and a vinaigrette. I used some of it but switched to the blue cheese in my fridge midway through. Last but not least, this meal was rounded out with a strawberry green tea, which I found a bit too sweet, as I'm more of a black tea with no sugar kind of guy. 

Goldenbox Express showed some promise on this visit, but there were too many miscues for me to rate them too high based on this one visit. Would I go back? Yes, they may have been having a bad day with not picking up their phone, how long I waited for my order, and the almost unforgivable temperature issues with the food. Even with all of this, this was elevated Chinese takeout, lighter than most, and not relying on overly sweet sauces to distract you from the inferior meat that they use. I'll try their online ordering process the next time I am up this way. This is another example of one of the biggest lessons I've learned during these last twelve months, all takeout is not created equal.   

Out of five helmets (because Lake Forest is home to the largest public skatepark in all of California, but you need a helmet to use it), five being best to zero being worst, Goldenbox Express gets 2.5 helmets. 

For more information about Goldenbox Express, head to their website here: https://goldenbox.us/

Another Year Older and Another Birthday Dinner

Meizhou Dongpo

15363 Culver Dr. 

Irvine, CA 92604

I've known my coworker/friend David for close to ten years now. We have a pretty good work relationship. He works way harder than me, while I try to get out of doing as much work as possible. He always comes to work happy, whereas I sometimes show up a little frustrated or moody. He speaks very little, while I'm pretty much talking nonstop. Okay, maybe we are complete opposites, but it's worked for nearly a decade now.

One thing we are not opposite about is food. He loves to eat, almost as much as I do. So when it's our birthday we take the other out to dinner. I usually ask him where he wants to go, and he'll usually defer to my choice. So when his birthday rolled around this year I knew I wanted to try Meizhou Dongpo, which has been on my list of places to go forever.  That's where we headed, along with Katie and David's mom on a recent Wednesday evening.

Meizhou Dongpo sprang to life in 1996 in China. Started by a husband and wife team, Wang Gang and Liang Di, they now have over one hundred locations in China and more spread throughout the world. Their website states that they specialize in authentic and fresh Chinese cuisine, with an emphasis on the Sichuan region. They have also been quoted as saying that they want to bring elevated Chinese food to the rest of the world, including their four Southern California locations; Arcadia, Century City, Universal City, and this Irvine branch.

Mission accomplished with this Irvine spot that is situated in the always busy Culver Plaza, which is also home to the 99 Ranch Market, Tasty Noodle House, and the always-packed Sam Woo Seafood and BBQ Restaurant. Walking into Meizhou Dongpo I was taken aback by the spaciousness of the restaurant. It doesn't look that big from the outside, but they can accommodate a bunch of customers at the same time, which is a good thing since they almost always have a wait. The dining space has high ceilings, lovely hanging lanterns, and eye-catching blue hues throughout the space.

The menu is equally as impressive. It's not even really a menu, more of a high fashion magazine, but instead of models gracing its pages, there's nicely plated food in the professionally done pictures, with a list of ingredients listed per item. Literally taking a page from the menu they have at Cheesecake Factory, with about a hundred items available for your perusal.

The menu starts off with their signature item, the Roast Duck, which you will see upcoming. There's also plenty to choose from with the rest of the menu as well. Appetizers, seafood, beef, poultry, pork, veggies, noodles, buns, and rice selections are aplenty. Prices hover around the $20 mark for most things, but there are some notable exceptions to that price point, including $68 for short ribs and a $45 sweet and sour fish dish. A little too rich for my tastes, but let's see what we did end up having this evening to celebrate David's birthday.

We might as well get this one out of the way first, as it was my least favorite of the evening. I'm usually a big fan of pork belly, but this Dongpo Pork Belly with Preserved Vegetables ($19.95) started us off on the wrong foot here. I guess I'm more into crisp pork belly, and this one I think was steamed, which left it more on the limp side. I'm also not sure what veggies they had under the layers of pork belly, maybe some kind of greens, but the two flavors did not mesh well with me. I stayed away from this plate for the rest of the night.

Listed under the appetizer section of the menu, our server suggested that we give the Meizhou Dongpo Sausage ($15.95) a try. He also suggested that we try both the spicy and non-spicy. I liked both versions. I did not find the spiciness to be overwhelming, but it was definitely present. The sausages themselves were dense with meaty flavor, and not at all greasy, which is rare when it comes to sausage. They did come out lukewarm, but I'm not sure if that's how they are normally served.

My mom's favorite thing to eat at P.F. Chang's is Dan Dan Noodles ($4.95), (even though they are not on the official menu anymore you can still ask and they will make them for you), but that version could not hold a candle to these at Meizhou Dongpo. This was more of a single serving but was enough for both Katie and me. The noodles were fresh and the pork mixture had some nice flavor to it, but the broth is what tied everything together for me. Katie thought it was on the spicy side, as it cleared out her sinuses, but I liked the heat level of this. It will be hard for me to go back to P.F. Chang's and have their bland version again.

Another of Katie's picks was this Wonton Soup ($4.95). I did not have any of this, but she liked the lightness of this, which she found soothing after the heat she got from dan dan noodles. One of the better versions she has had.

The birthday boy David selected this dish, the Sauteed Beef Fillet with Black Pepper ($22.95). This was composed of cubed pieces of beef, onions, three broccoli florets, and a little garlic. I liked this dish, but the pepper was not present and the beef was not as good as the one I had across the parking lot at Sam Woo for six dollars less. I'd skip this the next time I'm here. 

Another Katie pick, the Meizhou Pork Buns ($4.95). She was generous enough to allow me to have one of these, and just like her, I thought these were unremarkable. Very plain and the outer dumpling really overtook the pork inside. Nowhere near the best dumplings, we have consumed. 

Another David pick, the Spicy Chicken ($17.95) looked really intimidating when it hit the table. It's listed on the menu with three peppers next to it, indicating that it's one of their spiciest items available. I managed the heat fine, but with all of the dried peppers covering this it kind of pushed the chicken off to the side. I did like the addition of the french fries on this. It reminded me of a Chinese version of lomo saltado. 

When you first get to your table, and before you order, your server will ask if you would like to order their famous Meizhou Roasted Duck ($38.90 for the half) since it takes time to prepare. You will definitely want to answer in the affirmative. This was the best duck I have ever had. Sliced in the kitchen and brought out on a serving tray, it truly was incredible. This came with sauce, sliced cucumber and wraps, but I found myself just eating this tender bird by itself. I could not get enough. The skin was nice and crispy and our server suggested adding some sugar to it, which made it even better. This is the duck that will be used to judge all others for me now.

David's mom was pretty quiet when it came to selecting plates for us all to share, except when it came to these Wok-Fried String Beans ($13.95). These were done pretty straightforwardly. They had a nice crunch to them and the sliced garlic and peppers added to this dish. It's always good to have at least one vegetable dish on the table.

Our last dish was the Beef Fried Rice ($12.95). A nice side dish, but it could not really stand on its own. Again, it was not as greasy as most others, but the beef did not star and the rest of this was a tad salty. We probably would have been better off just getting plain steamed rice.

Not everything wowed us at Meizhou Dongpo, but the duck, dan dan noodles, and the sausage made up for the slight misses. With a menu as varied as this, we would definitely come back and try more items. Prices are about five dollars more per plate than you'd pay elsewhere, but I'd argue that the quality and ambiance is better than your typical Chinese restaurant. We experienced wonderful service this evening, as our server answered all of our questions, and guided us as to some of his favorites. It was probably our best dinner while celebrating David's birthday and we can't wait to do it again next year.

Out of five pandas, (because the Sichuan region, where this restaurant is from is home to a majority of these iconic black and white bears), five being best to zero being worst, Meizhou Dongpo gets 3.5 pandas.

Meizhou Dongo does not have a website, but you can check out their Yelp page here for more information: https://www.yelp.com/biz/meizhou-dongpo-irvine

Third Time the Charm at This Address?

Asian Kitchen

30271 Golden Lantern Suite D

Laguna Niguel, CA 92677

I know I've been doing this restaurant blog for a long time when I have reviewed three different restaurants at the same address. My trifecta of visits to this address started way back in 2010 when we had a pretty unforgettable meal at Chaparosa Grill. We then ate here again in early 2018 when it became breakfast spot Stacks and Yolks. They lasted only nine months, as they were plagued by mediocre food and some scathing reviews about their service on Yelp.

Fast forward to September of last year and there's a new restaurant that opened up to try to break the curse of this address, Asian Kitchen. From what I've been able to find out online, this place is owned by a couple who used to manage Little Kitchen Asian Cafe in Dana Point. Although they have similar-sounding names, they are not related. The couple, Lauren and Chris decided to branch out on their own and try their hand at ownership.

Asian Kitchen is located at the corner of Golden Lantern and Marina Hills, in the same shopping plaza as Albertsons, CVS, and McDonald's. We had made reservations for our party of five at 6pm on a recent Saturday evening. Good thing we had made those reservations, as the restaurant was pretty full when we arrived.

The dining room was nice and spacious, with a higher than I remembered ceiling. The center of the restaurant has a u-shaped bar in the center, with tables scattered around it. The chairs are not the most comfortable, as they are hard metal, but we made them work. The menu at Asian Kitchen is pretty much what you'd expect to see at any mainstream Chinese restaurant in OC. Fried rice, pork, beef, poultry, and noodle dishes dominate, but there are also house specialties, soups, and salads for lighter eaters. We were excited to see if Asian Kitchen would become one of our favorite Chinese spots in south OC.

Starting things off on this evening is the equivalent of chips and salsa in a Chinese restaurant, Fried Wonton Strips with Sweet and Sour Sauce. Yeah, chips and salsa are way better, but I can never resist eating more than my fair share of these before the food arrives. I wish the fried wontons were in bigger pieces, so you could get more of the sweet and sour sauce across more of the surface area of the wonton. They also offered spicy mustard, but I forgot to snap a shot of it.

We started our culinary journey at Asian Kitchen with some Eggrolls ($11.50). These were filled with veggies only, were fried really well, and lacked the greasiness that you would expect from your typical eggroll. They were, however, very bland and even the provided sweet and sour did not help out too much. To be honest, I've always thought of eggrolls as a placeholder before the real food hits the table, so I was not expecting too much here.

As is our custom when eating in a Chinese restaurant, we eat family style, with everyone choosing one dish from the menu. I'm pretty sure this was my uncle Jerry's choice, Orange Chicken ($13,50). This was a good version of one of the most American of all Chinese dishes. The chicken was nice and crispy, while the orange-tinged sauce was sweet and tangy. The green onions and chilis did a great job of cutting the sweetness a bit. Not an overly thick sauce on this either. Way better than the version at Panda Express.

My first time having Chinese food as a kid, I can remember being blown away by Sweet and Sour Pork ($12.95). It was like nothing I had ever eaten before. That was at the now-departed Yen Ching in Orange and is still my benchmark for this dish. This version was fine but not as good as the one from my childhood. The pork cubes could have been a little crisper and the sweet and sour sauce was not as striking as others.

Not usually something that I'd order, but my aunt Hiroko has shied away from meat the last year, so she opted for this Garlic Eggplant ($10.50). This had a whole bunch of veggies in it, red and green bell peppers, onions, bamboo shoots, carrots, mushrooms, and of course eggplant. The vegetables were fine, even though I'm not the world's biggest fan of eggplant, but what made this dish was the very good brown garlic sauce. Very flavorful and I found myself poking around the eggplant near the end of our meal.

This Black Pepper Steak ($16.95) was my selection this evening and ended up being the best dish of the night. I'm not sure what cut of beef they used to make this, but it was very tender. The mushrooms, bell peppers, and black pepper sauce rounded this plate out wonderfully. I ate more than my fair share of this. I hope no one noticed.

Katie is always down for a good time, so it was no surprise that she selected the Vegetable Chow Fun ($11.50). This big pile of flat rice noodles was joined on the plate by a lot of veggies and a light brown sauce. It was good, but I tended to leave it for the meat-centric dishes that we had on this evening.

I left Asian Kitchen pretty full and content. I'd say this is in the upper echelon of Chinese food we have had south of Irvine, but I think nearby China Moon edges it out as the best we have had around these parts. Everything was freshly made and came to the table very hot. The service was very good during our stay on this evening. This is definitely the best restaurant we have been to at this address, and it should be around for a while. If not, then maybe they should just turn this building into another Chase Bank. There seems to be one of those on every corner.

Out of five shopping carts, (because four of the top 10 biggest employers in Laguna Niguel sell groceries), five being best to zero being worst, Asian Kitchen gets 3 shopping carts.

Asian Kitchen has a very bare-bones website, but you can check out their menu and hours by clicking here: https://asian-kitchens.com/

Far from Classic Chinese Fare

Classic Chinese Restaurant

23565 Moulton Parkway #C

Laguna Hills, CA 92653

There are few things in life that I look forward to more than the end of the holiday season. Yes, I know, bah humbug and all that. I used to like holidays, but that was before I got a job, paid my own way, and had to do a bunch of running around from one family function to another. Once the new year begins, it's like a big weight is lifted off of me.

One of the things I totally look forward to is getting back into my regular groove of venturing out to restaurants again, and this time we were taking my good friend David out for his birthday. He had just recently visited Classic Chinese in Laguna Hills and claims that they serve some really good food. We decided this is where we'd have his birthday dinner this year, and also celebrate another year of making it through the difficult holiday season.

Classic Chinese is situated on Moulton, in the same shopping plaza as the DMV, Polly's Pie's, Big Lots, and Kosher Bite Deli, which I definitely need to hit up soon to get my pastrami fix. Classic Chinese has been around for three and a half years now. They replaced Long River Restaurant, which was another restaurant that served Chinese food in this spot for a good many years.

We arrived at Classic Chinese at just before 6pm on a recent Thursday. This part of the shopping center was pretty quiet outside, but that was a stark contrast to the bustling energy inside this crowded restaurant. Even with a nearly full restaurant, we were seated right away near the back of the restaurant. The menu here is pretty overwhelming with 183 items listed, but thankfully they are separated by sections. All of your favorite Chinese-American dishes are present here, but there are some more exotic offerings for those of you that like to get a little more adventurous. Think squid, jellyfish head, duck jaw, and six varieties of porridge, which I did not even realize was a thing in Chinese restaurants. We stuck to pretty much the basics, so let's see how David's birthday dinner turned out for us.

I guess I did not get the memo when Katie and David agreed that we were going to get these Crispy Fried Wontons ($6.95) to start out with. These came six to an order and came filled with cream cheese. Both David and Katie assumed this when the order was placed, but it came as a jolt to me when I bit into one when it came out. I'm not a big fan of cream cheese, so I finished that one and let them have the rest. Some meat filled wontons or a better name for this on the menu would have made me happier.

Photo credit goes to the birthday boy for this picture of the Sizzling Filet Mignon ($15.95). He got the better shot because the steam coming from this flew right into my direction. This fajita inspired plate was the best beef dish I have ever had in a Chinese restaurant, hands down. It came out on an iron plate, filled with chopped onion, a couple of mushrooms, red and green bell pepper, and some melt in your mouth filet mignon. As other dishes came to our table, this is the one that I found myself coming back to over and over again. It did not have an overpowering sauce, so the beef and veggies were the stars of the show. A very good start to our meal.

This is when it had started to turn for us at Classic Chinese though. We had wanted the Shredded Pork in Garlic Sauce, but they brought out this BBQ Pork with Pan Fried Noodles ($11.95) instead. This was probably my least favorite entree of the evening. Too many veggies, pork that was very tough and resembled beef jerky, and the crispy noodles added an awkward feel to this plate. We should have asked for our original selection to be brought out instead.

This Chicken Pan Fried Noodle ($12.95) was better, but not by much. It was colorfully presented with plenty of red and green peppers, a better-fried noodle, and plenty of strips of the chicken running through it. The sauce was a little better here but did not wow any of us.

Rounding things out for us on this evening was some Chicken Fried Rice ($11,95). We had wanted to try the house special fried rice, but it has shrimp in it, and Katie does not handle shrimp too well, so we went with this version instead. It was one of the most boring fried rice dishes I have had. Very bland and after my initial scoop, I kept my distance.

I guess it's safe to say that David's birthday dinner was kind of a bust when it came to the food on this evening. With the exception of that awesome sizzling beef dish, the selections that we made failed to impress. Maybe if you stick with the traditional dishes like beef and broccoli, sweet and sour pork, or orange chicken you might have a better experience than we did on this evening. The wait staff was not very friendly. They seemed like they were just there to move things along and get people in an out of the place. No checking up on us, no drink refills until we asked for them, and no smiles from any of them. Even though this restaurant failed to live up to our expectations, I'm still excited that the holiday season is over and that we can get back into a regular routine again.

Out of five eye charts, (because this restaurant is situated in the same shopping center as the DMV, and eye charts are an important part of getting your drivers license), five being best to zero being worst, Classic Chinese Restaurant gets 2 eye charts.

Classic Chinese Restaurant does not have a website, but you can find plenty of information about them on their Yelp page here: https://www.yelp.com/biz/classic-chinese-restaurant-laguna-hills

Going Back in Time at Yen Ching - CLOSED

Yen Ching Restaurant

574 S. Glassell St. 

Orange, CA 92866

Yen Ching was the very first place where I ever experienced Chinese food. The year was 1982. My family was conservative regarding the food we ate when we sporadically went out to eat. We had burgers, pizza, and hot dogs, and if my parents were feeling a little crazy, we might even go to Don Jose for some Mexican food. My mom had just started a new job in Orange, and she went to Yen Ching for lunch with coworkers, and that's how I eventually got introduced to Americanized Chinese food.

This was before there was a Chinese restaurant in almost every other shopping center. Kind of crazy to think that there are now 1,800 locations of Panda Express doting the US and several other countries. Orange chicken, beef with broccoli, and honey walnut shrimp are now commonplace with American consumers. I had wanted to return to where my Chinese food journey had begun to see if it was still as good as I remembered when I was eleven.

For as long as I can remember, the rumors are always flying around that Yen Ching will be closing in the not-so-distant future, so just in case this happened, I wanted to make it back to Yen Ching. Supposedly, the land this restaurant is on belongs to the Catholic church, and there are whispers that they want to expand the nearby Holy Family Cathedral complex. But, for now, this A-frame restaurant that has been here since 1978 shows no signs of moving anywhere, and they are just as busy as they have been for the last 40 years.

That's why we decided to meet my parents at 4pm on a recent Saturday for a quick dinner to avoid the sometimes-hour wait to get a table and what my dad calls one of the loudest restaurants in OC. I'm not sure about that, but the dining room was only a quarter full at this early bird dinner hour, so it was quiet enough for my dad's sensitive ears. The dining room has gotten a modern update since the last time we were here a good many years ago. It was lightened up with a paint job and white linens on the tables.

I'm not sure about your plan of attack when eating in a Chinese restaurant, but I like to do it family-style by ordering a bunch of dishes and sharing everything. The menu at Yen Ching is pretty good sized, with plenty of seafood, beef, chicken, pork, and noodle dishes. There's also a prix-fixe menu priced at $23 per person, which includes soup and appetizer, but there are only five entree options to choose from, and we wanted to pick our own, so we went the a la carte route. Let's see if Yen Ching is just as good as when I came here as a kid.

Katie is always up for an appetizer, and even though I knew we would be having a lot of food coming our way, we tried these Potstickers ($9.75). These pan-fried dumplings were filled with pork and vegetables and were just okay. However, the outer dumpling was rubbery, and the pork and veggies inside failed to make any impression on my taste buds. These were boosted a bit by a plum sauce, but not enough for us to order these again.

Entrees came out in waves all of a sudden, and the first to hit the table was the Mongolian Beef ($16.95). This Chinese classic is a favorite at Yen Ching. The sliced beef is served with green onions and a thin brown sauce. I'm always a little partial to this dish. The meat was tender, and I liked the way the green onions added a tinge of flavor to this. The sauce adds sweetness but does not overpower the overall aura of this entree.

Our noodle choice this early evening was this Chow Mein Combo ($12.95). This big mound of noodles included shrimp, chicken, beef, and veggies. I liked this chow mein as it was not too greasy and had plenty of shrimp and meat. A nicely done version.

Not the most popular of chicken dishes here would probably be the flaming pineapple chicken, but we got the Yen Ching Chicken ($16.95). Tiny cuts of chicken are coated in their signature sauce, which is equal parts savory and sweet, and then sauteed with chopped green onions. I liked this as well. It came out nice and hot, the chicken was tender, and the sauce kept me interested. They also offer this sauce with their Yen Ching Beef.

My dad has always inspired to be a hand model, apparently, and here's another one he can add to his portfolio. I used to love the Sweet and Sour Pork ($15.25) here, but it kind of fell flat on this visit. The fried pork was not very tender, and the sweet and sour sauce was lackluster. However, I liked the pineapple pieces in this, as I tried to sneak a few extra bits for myself while no one was looking. 

Shrimp with Walnuts ($18.95)  has always been my favorite, so we tried it at Yen Ching. Like the pork dish, this one kind of disappointed us. On the plus side, the shrimp here were pretty good-sized and cooked well, but the sauce was not very sweet and could best be described as drab. Minimal flavor to this entree. When this dish is executed well, it's magical with the briny shrimp, sweet sauce, and nutty walnuts. Unfortunately, this plate was let down by the sauce.

Dessert is almost always complimentary when dining at Yen Ching, even though the Golden Caramelized Apple is listed on the menu for a dollar each. They always bring these and the plastic-wrapped fortune cookies with the check for as long as we have been coming here. The apple is baked inside a very thick caramelized crust with a nice sweet sauce. A sweet ending to our meal and even sweeter because it was free.

This visit brought back many memories of our numerous family dinners at Yen Ching. The food seemed the same as I remember eating as a kid. Most items we had this early evening were solid but did not blow me away. I'd call this above-average Chinese food, but I know there is better. My parents thought the prices here were a little on the high side, but with the food only, we paid $23 a person and had plenty of leftovers for the next day. A pretty good bargain, I would say. The service was polite and professional but not overly friendly. I'm glad Yen Ching is still around, as it's part of my food history that has led me to my love of reviewing restaurants.

Out of five hungry hippos (because the tabletop game Hungry Hungry Hippos was first made available in 1978, the same years as this restaurant), five being best to zero being worst, Yen Ching  Restaurant gets 3 hungry hippos.

For more information about Yen Ching, head to their website here: http://yenchingoc.com/