China Garden - Irvine

China Garden
14825 Jeffrey Rd
Irvine, CA 92618
(949) 653-9988
Type: Chinese restaurant / dim sum
Map

Still in the OC. My girl wanted some dim sum, and although I'm not a fan of it myself, I agreed. I told her to find one on the internet, and she found China Garden. We went during lunch time, so it was a little busy. Most of the tables were occupied, but we got seated next to the aquarium. I'm not talking about the happy-looking, decorated, well-lit aquariums. You know the one I'm talking about. The one where the water's not too clear. The crabs or lobsters or what have you, look like they might either be sleeping or dead. Maybe I'm exaggerating a little. It's just that I feel bad for them, even though I'll end up eating them later. They gotta just sit there and wait til it's their turn. Have mercy on your souls.

After feeling bad for a little, we start getting offers from the food cart ladies. Turnip cake was first. My girl mixed chili and soy sauce together which made the cake taste pretty good.

Turnip Cake


We also got some shrimp shumai and some other shrimp stuff. For me, it tasted like any other dim sum place I've been to.

shrimp shumai and other shrimp stuff



There was this thing that my girl asked the waiter for cuz we didn't see anybody with it. It's like a thick noodle wrapped around some shrimp... again. There was some light sauce it was surrounded in. This thing was okay.



Not being totally satisfied with the various shrimps we were ordering, we got the honey walnut shrimp order ($8.50). This one wasn't part of the dim sum carts. You gotta actually order it from your waiter. The shrimps were good sized, and had a little crunch to them. The sauce was just right. For the price, it was a decent deal.

Honey walnut shrimps


I think you might've been able to tell how I feel about this place just by reading this blog. I'm still not a fan of dim sum. I know it's because I don't eat meat-- just seafood. I'm sure there's nothing wrong with this place, but you might get tired of shrimp after a while if you ate like me. A lot of people go during the lunch hours, and I've read how many love going here. If you like dim sum, and you're in Irvine, you might wanna check this place out. As for me, I gave up shrimp for Lent.

House of Louie, West Covina

House of Louie
124 N Grand Ave
West Covina, CA 91791
(626) 339-7374
Type: Chinese food / dim sum
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When I was a kid, the fried shrimp balls at House of Louie were my favorite in the whole wide world. They're a little crispy/crunchy on the outside, and light and tasty on the inside. They used to cost about $4.25 for 4 individual pieces, but I think the price went up a little since then. Now that I'm older, and had my share of them, I've grown pretty tired of it. It still tastes good, but I'd rather have a dozen other appetizers instead of the shrimp balls.

My former love...


I don't really go to much dim sum places so I can't say if House of Louie is good or not. I read a few reviews about this place on the internet, and supposedly it's just an average place. I think if you're into Chinese food, you wouldn't be too disappointed here. This place has been around for a good while, so there should be a reason why. Some guy said not to come here for dinner, but come for the dim sum, which is served around lunch time.

sum dim sum dishes


Would I go here again? Since I would only eat seafood, I wouldn't really want to go back just for the dim sum. I still have yet to try their regular menu items. So I'll come back here, but I have to be really fiending for some Chinese-- cuz I'm not much into Chinese food that much.