I-Tea Cafe, Irvine (beef noodle)

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ps99472 said:
USCTrojanCPA said:
Had the spicy beef noodle soup at AJ's off Walnut/Jeffery on Saturday with a buyer....very tastey and hit the spot coming in from the chilly weather.
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Were you adventurous enough to try the steamed sticky rice chitterlings?
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Didn't try those as I was in the mood for soup.  My buyer had the wonton soup which looked good too.  There were a few other things on the menu that looked good so next time I drop by I'll have a go at the chitterlings.
 
USC- Next time order the small cold side dishes and the scallion pancake.  I also tried the friend daikon and it was good!  :D
 
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Was surprised this place has updated their menu, now they have one of my childhood favs...squid potage!  Yes it is an acquired taste...thick starchy soup with satay, shiitake mushrooms, and bonito flakes as its main favors... The squid was a bit chewy for my taste, it should be more snap less chew.  The potage is better then class 302's version, so hopefully they will improve upon it.  Maybe a bit more salt?  The rice vermicelli was also a bit undercooked...but I'm glad I can get my Tainan fix in Irvine again after nice time deli went kaput.

As for the restaurant itself, service has gotten better since the lat time I dined here, this time they served the appetizers/snacks first instead of the entrees...the garlick thickened soy sauce is pretty tasty as well.  shaved ice is always a good finisher.
 
As for beef noodle, you guys definitely need to check out Chef Hung at Diamond plaza. In my opinion, best noodle soup ever!
 
coldland said:
As for beef noodle, you guys definitely need to check out Chef Hung at Diamond plaza. In my opinion, best noodle soup ever!
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o.O;;

How many beef noodles have you eaten?
 
Wow, I am really surprised at the responses. :)

OK, I like spicy beef noodle, so although I haven't tried the noodle places recommended by others in this thread, I would imagine
I will still prefer the spicy beef noodle (with red color soup) over the others by looking at the pics.
And I prefer big chuck of beef (bigger than the beef stew you can buy at supermarkets) to thin slices of beef. 
I like flat noodle.
The Champion Beef Shank/Brisket with noodle in soup has it all.  The beef is really juicy and tender. :)
But I can see that a person who doesn't like spicy or heavy flavored soup would not like it at all.

P.S. I like the side dishes there too. And the restaurant is very clean and nicely decorated comparing to many other Chinese restaurants.



 
I haven't tried Chef Hung, 2.5 yelp stars after 200+ reviews tells me they need to improve on alot of things.  Any TI reviews?  Momo?  Homer?  Menu looks nice for a Chinese place but if the food doesn't hold up, then even the nicest decor won't bring me back. 
 
My two cents, for whatever it's worth, is that the beef noodle soup at Chef Hung is ok.  There's nothing bad or particularly impressive about it.  The decor is a notch above your typical Taiwanese restaurant, but the service is consistently lacking in efficiency and accuracy.  The cost per bowl is about $2 more than other places (25%).  Parking in the Diamond Jamboree center is always annoying.  Bottom line, food's ok, but other factors seem to cause for a subpar experience for one reason or another.  For taste alone in Irvine, my vote goes to A & J or Liang's Kitchen for their beef and tendon noodle soups. 
 
I think I posted this before about chef hung.

I ate here twice, once when they just opened and another time 3 months later.  The noodles were not chewy enough, it fell apart in your mouth too easily... Easily over cooked.  The broth is no where as flavorful as A&J or dare I say Mama Liangs.

My other gripe is the price. What AP4 said was correct, about $2 more per bowl.  I can use that extra $2 for a side dish of pork ear  :P
 
BTW, have you guys tried ??? (101 Noodle Express)? We like that one too, but never tried noodles there. They have very authentic Dezhou chicken, which has been proved
by my husband and his parents, since they are from Dezhou.  :D 
 
coldland said:
BTW, have you guys tried ??? (101 Noodle Express)? We like that one too, but never tried noodles there. They have very authentic Dezhou chicken, which has been proved
by my husband and his parents, since they are from Dezhou.  :D
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Each time I ate at 101 my fried dumplings were raw inside.. Their beef roll is decent though.
 
homer_simpson said:
coldland said:
BTW, have you guys tried ??? (101 Noodle Express)? We like that one too, but never tried noodles there. They have very authentic Dezhou chicken, which has been proved
by my husband and his parents, since they are from Dezhou.  :D
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Each time I ate at 101 my fried dumplings were raw inside.. Their beef roll is decent though.
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I'll second that complaint on the undercooked dumplings.  The stuffing to the dumplings isn't bad, but way too much wrapper.  The beef roll isn't bad at all, although they go really heavy on the cilantro.  The beef noodle soup is average, the soup just seemed a little weak in my opinion.  And yes, Liang's Kitchen=Mama Liang's.
 
Ate at 101 Noodle Express today.. haven't gone back since they first took over Nice Time Deli's spot.  Wife had a craving for fried dumplings and they actually weren't that bad.. It was juicy and unlike the posts above, it was cooked all the way through.  Also got the beef roll and the steamed xlb but of course not even close to Din Tai Fung quality, but decent though for Irvine.  Surprised to find the real star of the place is actually free.. the green jar condiments on each table, the one with chopped cilantro and some sort of vinegary pepper.. it had a really good kick and really jumped my palate for the dumplings.. not sure if it was meant for that.. but it was tasty.. don't even bother ordering the side cold cuts/dishes.. just go crazy on that jar.. but it might get painful tomorrow :)  Here's a pic i stole from yelp.

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I love cilantro!
 
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