A & J Restaurant

This is a Taiwanese joint located on Live Oak, the same shopping plaza as Rite-Aid.

It is a small joint with slow service. It appears only 2 people are serving regardless of how many people are lining at the door.

The food is just ok. I do like how their noodles are thick, that is just my personal preference. My sister got the beef noodle, which was well spiced. Mom got the fried pork noodle, its broth very bland, nothing more than water in noodles.

They also got the little pork dumplings; its skin is thicker than that from Din Tai Fung; its meat inside was decent; they skimp on the ginger.

The name of the place, lack of customer service, and quality of food completely puts the Taiwanese to shame.

I'd rather go elsewhere.

Bun Bun Tea House

Looking for Genki Living? Look no more. The former Asian crepe place has been turned into a Taiwanese burger joint. The food served tastes better than the name sounds.

Mom ordered the Black Pepper beef rice bun which is more like a pita pocket bread. They even added an egg. My sister got the Spicy Chicken burger which also had an egg and a peanut butter spread. I got the Peanut Butter Cheeseburger with no ketchup and it was also amazing. I love how they put a fried egg in each one cooked just right so that the yolk doesn't get all over the place but at the same time is not overcooked.

The burgers come with fries and one potato ball. You could substitute for something else for 50 cents extra.

We went the other day to get an order of potato balls. One order comes with 6 and they were buttery and delicious with a dollop of cheese in the middle. Well today, the potato ball seemed to be missing flavor of any kind, no butter, just the cheese in the middle.

Their drinks are also delicious. I got the iced green tea with no sugar. And my sister got some coffee tea with freshly made boba, so fresh, it was still warm in the icy drink.

The atmosphere is pleasant. It is served by 2 Asian dudes. They are friendly but sometimes is hard to get their attention, especially if there are other customers. The place is really big enough to hold about 6 tables. You also have a choice of sitting on a sofa with a low coffee table. Flip through old Asian magazines on a shelf while waiting.

They have a tip jar. They were not coming over when we wanted the check so I gave them the money on the counter. They came over to give the change. And I was walking over to the tip jar on the counter as they came by to clean the table. They collected the tray the bill was on and gave me a funny look but looked relieved just as I put the tip in the jar before I left.

The only disadvantage of the place is that it's CASH ONLY!

99 Ranch

I am typically skeptical about the fast food sold at supermarkets, but the breakfast 99 Ranch offers is the best.

You have a nice selection of Taiwanese type breakfast items such as steamed pork-veggy buns, preserved duck egg pork porridge, rice roll with a crispy crueller inside and an egg wrapped inside a tortilla, and more.

The porridge is light yet filling, not greasy like a McDonald McMuffin; the rice roll is one of the best, much tastier than what J.J. Bakery offers. The turnip cake comes with a yummy sauce, similar to soy sauce but thicker with a hint of sweetness.

Each item is made with care, pleasing to the eye and tastbuds. And for those who do not like Taiwanese style foods, they also offer egg rolls and chicken wings to the discriminating American palette.

The staff is quick and efficient with your order. The only problem is arriving early to avoid crowds and getting good parking. Hungry customers can become rude and pushy.

Guppy Teahouse

I have been to the Guppy House twice in Irvine. It is in the same plaza as the 85 Degree Cafe. I usually go during the day like after lunchtime and there usually isn't much of a wait and I get seated rather quickly. However, I feel that the staff is more attentive to customers seated inside than those outside. Also they are more attentive when there is a larger group. The first time I went back in 8/2/10 with my sister. We ordered the minced meat with rice dish which comes with a lot of other side dishes (corn, cucumbers, etc). We also got an extra side of fried pork.

The presentation is excellent for a teahouse and the quality is good for the price. They also give you pretty generous portions. I far prefer the food here than that from Ten Ren's (which is expensive and subpar).

I have not had the chance to try the teas and ices here as I usually get here after ordering a little something at the 85 Degrees Bakery to justify the ridiculous wait over there. I will need to come back for the desserts next time.

Closeup of the minced meat with rice

85 Degrees Cafe

The first time I went to the 85 Degrees Cafe, the line went out the door. This time there weren't that many people, and for a good reason too. None of the bread I got was hot! I went at around 2:30pm on a weekday.

I got the Hawaiian Pizza bread. I am typically wary of breads that call itself a pizza but there were several suggestions for it on yelp. Unfortunately, it was not fresh and not even warm at all. It was tough and chewy, not soft like I'd expect. I only took a bite of it; it wasn't very tasty either. I decided to save the rest to be nuked in the microwave at home.

The garlic bread was good even when not warm and fresh. How can bread not be good when it's full of garlic buttery goodness? It had a decent enough texture as well, slightly crunchy, but not hard and stale.

The coconut cream bread was the best out of the three I chose. It definitely does not need to be warmed up to be enjoyed. The bread was wonderfully soft like a sponge and the coconut cream was not too sweet. However, it would have been nice if they put more coconut flakes or coconut milk. The cream kind of just tasted like whipped cream otherwise.

There were advertisements for their iced sea salt coffee, so I ordered a medium of that. It's decent enough for a typical non-coffee drinker. Reviews on yelp had been good for the sea salt coffee. It's a bit bitter for me. Added a pack of brown sugar.

My major complaint was that you have to wait for the drinks to be made. They call out your number, but they don't call it very loud. You have to stand right next to the counter, staring into where they display the cakes and sweets, where a lot of other people are standing around (some waiting for drinks, some just staring at the sweets). So, someone had called out some numbers and a guy had asked me what numbers they had just called and I repeated "122, 123". And he asks me "they said 123?" and I said "yes". Well, then he asks the guy at the counter again the number. I hate it when people do that, makes you feel all self-conscious, like your answer isn't good enough for some reason. And on top of that the girl he was with pointed to the label stuck on the cup which also had the number. It's like how many sources do they need to check their numbers.

The cakes look pretty good as well. Coffee creme brulee anyone?

The Chocolate Marble cake isn't very tasty by the way.

A curious thing is how come the branch in Taipei has bread and pastries that are always piping hot and the crowds don't act quite as crazy as those in the US?

I have also realized that there really isn't a wide selection of breads. It's just garlic bread, multi-grain bread, that black squid inked break, the blueberry cream one, coconut cream, some Danish, Pizza, pork sung, some French cheese bread, hot dog, and that is it! That is what they have one one wall and they have the exact same thing spread out on 2 other sides! Why is there such a freaking long line on the weekends? How is this place different from Cloverleaf or JJ Bakery?? Is it because they don't have the traditional red bean paste bread! They also don't have curry bread, one of my favorites from other bakeries.

Din Tai Fung

Mom and I went to Din Tai Fung today for lunch. We got there around 1pm and it was about a 45 minute wait. So we went around the corner where the 2nd establishment is at and only had to wait 10 minutes for a seat. We sat on the 2nd floor.

I have been to Din Tai Fung plenty of times. The first few times I had it, I was fairly impressed, but now it's just kind of...eh.

They are known for their Juicy Pork Dumplings which are petite and delicately wrapped in thin dough. The first bite you take in squirts out a hot liquid like an incontinent pig pissing inside your mouth. Yeah...it's that good.

The Pork Chop Noodle Soup came rather quickly after that. It has a light flavor with chopped green onions, good for those who don't like heavy oily stuff; not good for those who do and don't like onions. I would have prefered that the pork chop be put on another plate instead of soaking inside the soup like a wet soggy kitten.

Next came the Shrimp and Pork Shiaomai. It is decent enough, not too shrimpy, like some places whose dishes reeks of dead fish with any seafood related foods.

Mom ordered a 2nd Juicy Pork Dumpling. It was much hotter and fresher than the first one that came out.

Service was overall pretty fast and efficient until then. We still had a dessert dish. Mom had to ask at least three times if it was coming and they kept saying they were checking on it. Mom went to the bathroom and the dish still hadn't arrived when she got back.

At first I was thinking how efficient the service typically is. They give you a menu to fill out while you wait so that by the time you're seated, your food is being made; and hence is brought out fairly quickly. I think this may be an illusion though considering that the first set of dumplings that were brought out was mildly warm, not really piping hot. They would have to constantly make the dumplings because that is their most popular menu. Virtually everyone gets it; so that in fact that dumplings aren't really custom made. And if they ran out of something, then they've ran out and the chefs aren't going to bother making them just for you.

Therefore, for dessert items, which aren't as popular, does require a longer wait as we had experienced.

While we waited for our dessert, mom wanted to inform me that normal urine color is the color of tea. Maybe a little lighter. I had told her earlier normal urine color should be clear. If it's too yellow, it means you're dehydrated. Mom doesn't like drinking water or tea, so naturally I was a bit concerned.


Our dessert arrived eventually. It's the Red Bean Rice Cake. It's a white spongy cake with red bean inside. They tried to cheer it up by adding red and green jelly dots on top. It tastes ok. Those who have a serious sweettooth wouldn't enjoy it though. It is not sweet at all. I like the fact that it was made fresh, even though we had to wait awhile (I think they forgot about us), soft and dry on the outside...and soft and oozy (but not too oozy) on the inside.

I've noticed that at this new establishment, the servers are not as friendly and attentive as the first. The table next to us were a couple with two young daughters. The couple wanted water and kept trying to get the server's attention. They finally succeeded by waving their hands frantically and calling out "hello!" The server turned her head, said "hello" back and walked off. The couple gave each other a "wtf" type of look. The server then walked back to the table and they said they wanted water, that they had asked for it three times already with nothing. I think they only get the male server to get the waters because I didn't see any of the females serve water. There were like 3 female servers and 1 male server.

All the servers except one (maybe she's the head manager) are all equipped with microphone head sets. I'm assuming this is to communicate with the cooks in the back and with each other to see if people's dishes are ready. They didn't do too good of a job with checking on our desserts though.

This place doesn't provide water unless you ask. They do provide a pot of tea though which I do enjoy. They don't offer to pour it for you though.

Look who makes the dumpling dough!

The restaurant attracts all types of people. Screaming babies are not my favorite type of people though. I noticed that the baby that was screaming was screaming out of satisfaction. He didn't look angry or upset or anything, so that is what I'm concluding. And I've realized that happy screaming babies are the worst because the more you appease them, the more they will scream and there really is nothing you can do in public about that. Whereas, if they were screaming out of anger and hate, there is hope you can quiet them down by bribing them and such. Just thought I'd share that bit of baby insight as I'm on the topic of babies in resturants.


Overall, the food is ok. However, for food that is just ok, it is a tad bit pricey. They could attempt to improve the flavor by mixing spices in or something to justify the cost.

They give you all the soy sauce and vinegar you need. However, they are stingy with salt and pepper- there are none to be found.

The decor consists of some framed Chinese pictures and characters. The only plants are some cat nip looking grass in pots.

My initial thought was that DTF is a convenient place to eat out at because it's local and so close to home. But because of the crowds, it is not that convenient due to the long wait. And the only time when there isn't a crowd is when it's not during peak hours (ie lunch time between the hours of 10:30 am and 2pm; and between 5pm and 7pm is packed!) which means you would have to wait until everyone's eaten first, not a problem if you're not hungry; but if you're not hungry, why would you be eating? What a Catch-22.

I think during the early days, DTF was worth going to because there wasn't another dumpling place like it around. Now, with all the crowds and other restaurants with decent food popping up as alternatives, it is definitely overhyped.