50 Best Chinese Restaurants near Aliso Viejo

“I just ordered my panda express here at this location. The gentleman Who took my order had such a great attitude he treated me with respect and was able to accommodate to all my needs five star service best service I’ve ever had at a Panda Express I was scared was gonna feel like a burden, but instead, I felt the opposite I felt welcomed and appreciated. I wish I got his name.“

“Came here with a group of friends and it turned out to be the perfect spot for a chill night.

The variety of food is honestly impressive — from juicy, flavorful BBQ skewers to a really authentic bowl of Lanzhou hand-pulled noodles. The noodles were super fresh with great texture, and the broth had that deep, comforting flavor you’d expect.

The BBQ was definitely a highlight — well-seasoned, nicely grilled, and perfect to pair with drinks. They also have a lot of small plates that are great for sharing, which makes it ideal for hanging out, chatting, and just enjoying the night.

The vibe is relaxed and lively without being too loud, so you can actually have conversations while enjoying good food and drinks.

If you’re looking for a place to gather with friends, eat well, and stay for a while — this is a solid choice. Would definitely come back.“

“The atmosphere is very peaceful here. I love the food here 😋. Ive tried at least half the menu 🙃. Food is cooked when ordered so everything is always super steamy hot when it arrives to the table. Portions are very generous and very inexpensive.“

“Haidilao Hot Pot was a very great place for dinner. The service was very quick, employees were patient and respectful. Our server Jacob asked to reopen their kitchen just to make us some dessert even though it was after hours. He also gave us a complimentary food option in case they weren't able to make the dessert for us. The service is unbelievably nice. I would come again for dinner.“

“It was my first time there. Lovely staff and wonderful food“

“I celebrated my birthday here, and I'm so glad I did. P.F. Chang's makes it easy to make a reservation, even with a large party. You can split the bill multiple ways, and staff was accommodating when my guests arrived at different times. There is a variety of delicious food everyone can enjoy. I received a special, sparkling birthday treat at the end. Would come here again!“

“I’m really glad we found this place, and it’s highly recommended if you are slightly adventurous and trying out some ethnic Chinese flavors.

Everything we ordered was excellent. We knew the crispy lamb buns (aka Chinese Burger) was going to be good, but not sure about the $20 fried pork which was #1 chef recommendations, it turned out to be delightful.

The lamb soup came out first, it was tasty and refreshing, Liang pi was cool, you don’t get it in many places. String beans were nicely done, a delicious necessity to balance out the meal.

The first bite of crispy lamb buns was a delightful surprise: crunchy layered thin bread and lamb with slightly cumin, it was an amazing feast.

Fried pork is an even more interesting surprise that I would not spoil. Ha ha. Try it to find out!

Service was fine, we were seats and water was provided quickly. Orders are done by scanning QR code, browsing the online menu, and order directly. I find this efficient but lacking some personal interactions.

We did purposely ordered a lot for the two of us, we obviously didn’t finish. I was surprised the bill wasn’t as much as I expected. We got a lot of leftovers to go and enjoyed rest at home.“

“By chance, my wife and I had stopped for lunch at Hai Master Restaurant and discovered that this restaurant is definitely a cuisine that we HIGHLY RECOMMEND. The prepared food distinguishes their dishes from the regular Chinese restaurant and is a taste that is incredibly delicious. The owner and chef is definitely one of a kind that incorporated the taste of her original province in China with her own spin. Tammy is the owner and chef and she just hired another chef with skills preparing Sichuan dishes if you want spicy food. This restaurant is becoming more popular each day because the restaurant is more packed every time we come there. Introduce yourself to Leo who can welcome you and lead you to the different delicious dishes they prepare and the service you can enjoy. 5 STARS“

“01SEP2024 | Nice to Meet You Skewer Hot Pot is a chic hotpot restaurant. My first impression was that it was clean, with delicious food and attentive service. The prices are just right for the quality of the food and ingredients. I would give it a 10 out of 10, and we will definitely be coming back.“

“The food is good, with vegetarian options available. The servers are attentive and trying to give the best experience. I took one star off service as the order was wrong for a couple of our items, but they did make the dishes again. Nice setting and if you get there earlier in the evening there is no wait.“

“You can enjoy dim sum without having to wait in long lines like at Din Tai Fung. A cozy, small, typical Chinese restaurant. I had beef noodle soup and pan-fried dumplings, both delicious with absolutely no gamey taste. At the corner of the opened kitchen, three old ladies were constantly rolling out dumpling wrappers. No wonder they're so fresh.“

“I tried Yangguofu Mala Tang and honestly it’s such a fun, customizable dining experience.

You grab a huge bowl and walk along the ingredient bar filling it with whatever you’re craving. There are tons of veggies, noodles, tofu options, seafood, and meats, so it’s easy to mix and match. Once you’re done, they weigh your bowl and you pay by the pound, which makes it feel fair and totally in your control.

After that, you choose your broth. You can go classic, mild, or full spicy mala depending on your heat tolerance. They cook everything fresh and bring it out steaming hot, and the flavors really soak into all the ingredients.

I also loved the drink selection. They have so many options to pair with the spice, which makes the whole experience even better.

Overall, it’s a great spot if you like interactive meals and want something different from traditional hot pot. Perfect for groups since everyone can build exactly what they want. 🌶️“

“Food is very appetising but I find it not spicy enough.
The Lemon Iced Tea used Jasmine based tea which I didn’t quite like. It was not stated on the menu as I would not have ordered that.
Ordering is by scanning the menu which can be switched between Chinese or English. In English mode, choice of Less Salt, Less Oil, Less Spicy was still in Chinese. Staff helped to translate for me.
Pork Belly skewer was a bit too thin. I preferred the Lamb ones which was listed as ‘Beef’.
Eggplant and Braised Pork with Preserved Vegetable were good. I got more hungry as I ate them.
Sichuan style Chive n Pork Dumplings were juicy.
Will come back again.“

“The freshly boiled bone broth here is legit, like super rich and full of depth. You can tell they don’t cut corners—just feels real. Flavor? Totally authentic, reminds me of Yunnan-style dishes I’ve had before. Prices are solid too, which is great for students like me trying to eat well without spending too much. Portions felt generous, and it’s just overall good value.“

“(October 2025 visit): Helen, the hostess and owner, is such a sweetheart! She welcomes you with a smiling face and explains anything on the Chinese-American menu, which is quickly served and abundant. Her plates are beautifully displayed with included side dishes, and full to the top (you'll probably need a take home box).
My only recommendation is she provide Chinese music to set the mood instead of her nice quiet classical music. BTW, the restaurant is in a quiet section of the shopping mall with no loud vehicles racing by. You can have a nice quiet conversation while enjoying your food. The restaurant provides booths or tables for your pleasure, which is a nice change from normal cafeteria-style Asian restaurants.“

“Clean, fresh vegetables in their meals. Excellent dishes, wide choice.“

“Really fun atmosphere, especially since they have live music on Saturdays.
My favorite dishes were the grilled chicken gizzard, perilla frog, and grilled garlic chives. The green tea beer was also very refreshing and paired well with the food.

The whole experience reminded me of the summers when I used to work on projects in northern China and go out for skewers and beer with coworkers. Definitely a memorable spot.“

“Lots of reviews mention Panda Express as comparison.
I see why, as it’s very close to Panda, but with much more generous serving sizes.
The shop certainly doesn’t have the ambiance of Panda nor the number of item selections.
But my Orange Chicken was tasty, noodles very good, fried rice was OK, spring roll yeh. For $9, it’s a bargain.
Recommended.“

“We were excited to try this as Singaporeans! This chicken rice has about 85% similarity to authentic Singaporean chicken rice. The chicken is super soft and flavorful, the rice is the right taste too. The sauces are different, however - thai sweet chilli, 90% similar dao you, and a salty ginger paste.

We were served by a friendly young man with great attitude. Overall, will be back for the chicken rice!“

“Holy smokes, the name does not do this place justice. I’m not overstating when I say the food quality is Tao level. The braised beef is outrageous. Orange chicken and Mongolian beef are both excellent. I wish I’ve tried more entrees but I keep ordering these three. Truly worth a stop. They’ve been in business for 30 years. Beyond supporting a staple in the community, you’re gonna get better food than any sit down restaurant. Give this place a go.“

“I recently tried Show Hotpot and was blown away by the quality of their broth!
The MalaTang here is genuinely the best I’ve had, it’s so rich and flavorful that, for the first time, I finished the entire bowl.
The atmosphere and service were also great, making the whole experience enjoyable from start to finish.
Highly recommend Show Hotpot for any hotpot lover, especially if you’re a fan of MalaTang!“

“The best service ever. Delicious food. 💯 recommend“

“Loved the Golden Soup Beef Noodle here ！the soup was flavorful and the noodles were perfectly chewy. The Juicy Lamb Dumplings were a highlight too, really juicy and packed with flavor.

The sautéed bok choy with garlic was simple but super fresh and slightly sweet. Great balance with the richer dishes. Definitely a solid spot for noodles and dumplings in Irvine.“

“Such a great location and amazing experience! The food was amazing and the customer service was out of this world. Something you don’t see every single day and I really appreciate that. I came here on my lunch break and Ed took care of me. I placed an online to go order and he remembered my name and made sure I had all my utensils and sauces. He also offered me a cup of ice for my water which I really appreciated. He goes above and beyond in his work and I really appreciate that. Thank you, Ed. I will be back for sure.“

“During this sweltering winter heat wave in Southern California, it was nice to enter this chic and cool restaurant. The AC was definitely a sigh of relief. This small restaurant had about 12 tables and largest table seated up to 6, so I don’t recommend large groups. The paper menu is just like DTF with similar, popular menu options plus common Chinese restaurant dishes like Kung Pao Chicken. The food was very good and portions were bigger than DTF. I will definitely come back to try their other dishes. If they offer chicken xiao long bao, it would widen their customer base.“

“I have been coming here since they first opened and every time it is consistently made fresh and well as well they have fair pricing on lunch specials. Their broccoli beef is actually packed with beef not just broccoli unlike other Chinese restaurants.“

“What an awesome little restaurant that popped up here. Was looking to try something new and found this amazing little bao spot. The most amazing thing is how they fry these bao. The bottom is hard and crunchy and the top is soft, making a soup filled bao in either seafood, curry or the standard pork. They sell them in quantities of 6 and 2 to 3 is enough to fill me! Highly recommend a quick lunch or dinner here, you won’t be disappointed in the authentic flavors.“

“Very good food. Many choices on menu. Downside is they are very hard to get on phone. Also the hours they have posted online, even on this page, show “OPEN” Sunday, when we found out the hard way they are indeed NOT open. Please change your online presence to state correct days/hours. Including Yelp. This would be very helpful. Other than that, I give it “2 Thumbs up”.“

“I had a wonderful experience dining here on Saturday 4/11 and wanted to take a moment to recognize the outstanding customer service From the moment we arrived, we felt welcomed and well taken care of.

Thank you to our server, Gabby, who was attentive, friendly, and made sure everything was perfect, she had a positive attitude and attention to detail truly stood out.

I’d also like to acknowledge the manager James, who took the time to ensure everything was going smoothly. That extra level of care and professionalism does not go unnoticed.

Overall, the service was great, the food was amazing, the restaurant was clean, and we will be coming back!“

“This place is super convenient for work trips. It's right next to my office!“

“Very family style, large portion and authentic Chinese food featuring various Chinese food options. The cold dishes are good choices.

You sit yourself, choose from the menu, and order from the front. They will deliver food for you. You may need to get your own utensils at very busy times.

Portion size may be too large for 2 people, so expect to get a take out box (or get your own box).“

“Excellent and delicious food. Flavorful. Portions are generous. Great variety for different dietary needs. Some of best food I’ve had in this cuisine in a long time.“

“Some of the best Chinese takeout in OC! Fast, friendly service and inexpensive to boot! The staff are very kind and will make dishes to order if the food you want isn't laid out when you order. Delicious, huge portions, always a great meal with leftovers after. Definitely recommend the Kung Pao Chicken! (They'll make it for you if you ask! ?)“

“So good. I know of no other place near here with Cantonese BBQ, especially duck. I primarily only get the duck but I have had the honey walnut shrimp and the green beans and have never been disappointed.
I use to have to drive to Irvine to get some duck but now that Sam Woo has closed this I the only place. I would argue it is better than Sam Woo was when they were still in business.
So happy this place opened so close to me.“

“I just wanted to take the time to really thank Pick Up Stix at the Lake Forest location. I always have had a great experience here - whether it be for the food or the customer service.

Recently, I decided to venture off my usual choice - Chow Mein - which I think is the best ever. Unfortunately, the new dish I ordered was subpar, I called the restaurant and spoke to a nice lady (I forgot her name unfortunately), she went above and beyond just replacing the meal. And I really appreciated it. Customer service like this is now rare - but she was so nice about it. A) didn't make me feel low or stuck-up (I hate that feeling esp when the vendor makes the mistake) - this was not the case here B) replaced the meal with another of my choice C) And added a generous extra item on the house

Thank you so much! My family loved the dinner - per usual :)“

“4.5/5 - My partner came here with friends and said it was really good, except for the rice. Naturally, I had to try it myself. We arrived around 4:30 a.m., and they had a happy hour dinner special, which was quite affordable. The portions were a decent size!
I ordered the Sichuan beef, which came with your choice of white or brown rice, along with hot and sour or egg drop soup. My partner went for the shrimp chow mein. Definitely ask for the wontons, hot sauce, hot mustard, and chili oil - adding these to the soup makes it sooo good.
We also shared a family-sized salt and pepper calamari, which was huge. I will say, the rice was a bit of a letdown =( more like Uncle Ben’s than authentic. However, our server was super fast, friendly, and checked in on us throughout. They also have a patio, so they’re very pet-friendly! Overall, a good spot if you’re looking for good happy hour deals!“

“Best Chinese food ever! My family and I have been coming here for over 20 plus years and we would never go anywhere else to get Chinese food! Amazing food and amazing people who work here!! Anne and family are the most amazing people we have ever met! You must try!! Best Chinese food there is!! Thank you for everything you all do we love you guys!! 💕🥰🥳😁😋“

“Amazing place! The food is absolutely delicious—fresh, flavorful, and clearly made with care. Portions are great for the price, and everything feels very reasonably priced, especially for the quality you get. Another big plus is the parking: plenty of space and no hassle at all. Overall, great food, fair prices, and convenient parking. Definitely coming back and highly recommend it!“

“Our food was very good, both traditional and Americanized menu items. On our last visit I think there was a staffing change over just after we ordered our food. Our server took our order, delivered most of our food and then was gone. After the meal we waited for over 45 minutes for someone to check in on our party. When we asked for boxes and the check it felt like the server was irritated that we had asked. I'm not sure there was communication between the staff going off shift and those remaining on site. With so much competition in this area, this kind of misstep is unfortunate.“

“Amazing Food. We ordered quite a few dishes and everything was delicious! The Peking Duck and green beans were my favorite!“

“We had take out. It was prepared quickly and ready to go when we showed up. We were feeding six so we had a good selection of food to share. Everything was great and servings were generous so we will be enjoying leftovers for a while. We will be back next time we are in California.“

“Great food, friendly staff and clean atmosphere.“

“The cauliflower rice is a great option. Great menu....“

“Great service and the best food. One of our favorite places to go for many years.“

“Unexpected great food, very unassuming place. They don’t serve alcohol, but we got a beer at Ambers to go and enjoyed it with our meal. They didn’t have music playing but since we were the only ones there at the time, we played our own. Hot and sour soup and Szechuan Beef were 👌👌👌“

“Michael and Kayla helped me tonight at the front. Two of the most positive people I've ever been helped by! They asked me if I need anything additional and created such a welcoming environment.

Kayla and Michael ate careful to keep things stirred and package everything so it stays warm. As soon as Kayla asked for something from the kitchen the kitchen team was on it and by the time I was stepping out after paying it was ready. Food looked super fresh and well stocked. No dry chicken or dull eggrolls. Its rare to see such a cohesive team keeping everything going! These guys are great!!“

“I had a strong craving for Chinese food for dinner, so I decided to take a chance and order takeout from this place. I was pleasantly surprised; the chicken fried rice and mushroom chicken were absolutely delicious. Everything was spot on, and if you're looking for authentic Chinese cuisine, this is definitely the spot. They even included some white rice, crispy chow mein noodles, and almond cookies, which made me feel really appreciated as a customer. I can't wait to come back and try more dishes soon! 10/10“

“Golden Dragon is always my go-to spot for Chinese food! The food is consistently fresh, and the flavors are spot-on. My favorite is their beef Mapo Tofu—crispy, flavorful, and perfectly balanced. The service is always friendly and fast. It’s a cozy and clean environment, making it a great place for both family dinners and quick takeout. Highly recommend!“

“kindness. Moved to Irvine from the San Gabriel area. In comparison, the food here is delicious and the price is very reasonable. It feels cheap and the food tastes delicious. Of course, it may be that I am too hungry. Overall, I am very satisfied with this meal. Good reviews. Will come again.“

“This Place is an exciting experience for fans of authentic Sichuan flavors. We chose the half-and-half hot pot base with spicy mala broth and a milder herbal soup. The spicy broth packs a punch with a complex blend of spices, while the herbal soup is a comforting balance. The ingredients, like the thinly sliced beef, shrimp, and vegetables, were fresh and flavorful.

What we ordered:

- Spicy mala broth - 5/5
- Herbal soup - 4/5
- Thinly sliced beef - 5/5
- Shrimp - 4/5
- Vegetables - 4/5
- Tofu - 4/5

Service was attentive, though it can get hectic during busy hours. The staff were friendly and helpful. The restaurant can feel crowded and noisy, but it adds to the lively atmosphere. Prices are reasonable for the quality and variety. If you love hot pot and can handle some spice, YinTang Spicy Hot Pot is worth a visit!“