Delicious Food Corner Irvine

I gave this place so many chances and have returned as it's the only other HK style "cha chaan tang" around. Today may have been the last visit. Ordered the sole fillet and it was at least half the thickness of what you would normally get at a HK style cafe. It was so dry and over cooked, I stopped eating it. Would have given 1 star but added another as most of the staff were attentive and friendly. From previous visits: the pineapple buns here are not what you would expect if you've tried the real thing or at other DFC locations. They are smaller, dry, and often stale. Not remotely as soft as it should be. 3/3 times I've ordered it, it came out room temp at most. Milk tea is water down and doesn't have the strong HK milk tea flavor you'd expect from a cafe. Lemon ice tea is decent. My desperation for a HK style cafe has brought me back here multiple times, but I've been more disappointed with each visit.

I genuinely want to love this HK cafe spot 🥲 The food would not be the main reason you would come here. I would come here for the canto vibes, HK milk tea (with condensed milk🥛ofc), and the 💵budget-friendly set menu prices. 🥪Egg & Ham Sandwich: I loved the egg and ham. The egg was cooked well and really soft but the whole sandwich was just that: soft. Each bite left me feeling like something was missing. I would’ve liked the bread to have been lightly toasted. This would’ve helped the sandwich not feel mushy by your last bite. 🍚 Rice Noodles with Hoisin and Sesame Sauce: I felt like the rice noodles were soft and chewy. The sauces were not enough because even after mixing both in, the flavors didn’t really stick to the rice noodles making it taste pretty plain. 🍲 Macaroni: This dish was probably my favorite. Simple flavors and heart-warming with every spoonful. ☕️ HK Milk Tea: Rich tea flavor mixed with evaporated milk and then you add condensed milk for sweetness. Reminds you of HK for sure ❌ Service: Service was not great when I went. Waited almost an hour for our food to come out. We sat at around 11:15AM and the photos were timestamped 12:13PM. 🏠 Vibes/Ambience: Felt like busy cafe with the canto in the bkgd, dishes clanking against each other and the tableware

While this place doesn't have as many options to eat for breakfast as other DFC locations, its still nice to have one in the first place. The portions are big and designed for sharing, and even for breakfast theres not a lot of people to eating. The parking is alright, but it is recommended to come early since zion market is also in the same plaza.

This place has changed hands so many times, this time it's a lot less formal eating, more Sam Wu but less busy. Big menu so it will take a few visits to get through it and I'm up for that. Pricing was fine, service was fine, it's not a fancy place. The roasted ducks viewable in the lobby area took my eye for future takeout.

We ordered the 3 bbq plate(roast duck,roast pork,bbq pork), beef stew hot pot, yang chow fried rice, chinese broccoli, beef short rib dimsum. Our favorite was the beef stew hot pot. Flavor was good and meat was tender. Fried rice was a little sticky. Short rib dimsum was chewy. Bbq plate was good, roast pork had crispy skin and tasty but on the fatty side. Duck and bbq pork was just ok.