A & J Restaurant (Taiwanese style), Irvine

[hzrt8w]

A & J Restaurant

14805 Jeffrey Road, #D

Irvine, CA 92620

949-786-3585

There are two A & J Restaurants that I know of: San Jose and Irvine. The one in Irvine is a small outfit but often very busy. They serve Taiwanese/Szechuanese style small eats (noodles, Chinese pan cakes, xiaolongbao and cold appetizers, etc.). Taste of their food is very, very good.

We stopped by to have lunch recently.

A shot of the outside. (Sorry about the glare in the picture.)

The menu: very simple, basically just one page.

Potstickers. 8 in an order. This must be a lazy boy version because they don't really plead the potstickers. Just loosely pinched on the edge. The meat filling is exposed on both ends.

"Hung Yau Chow Sau", Szechuan style wonton (pork filling) with a touch of soy sauce and sesame paste. Green onions sprinkled on top.

Spicy Beef Noodle Soup (Szechuan Style). Your choice of thin or thick noodles. The beef has been braised for hours to the right tenderness and the soup is spicily good.

"Jao Bang", Thousand Layer Pancake. The pancake is plain (no filling) but very tasty.

This dish is very interesting: when done right (as in A & J), you can peel off the pancake a few shreds at a time by hand or with chopsticks. That's how it's gotten its name.

All dishes are excellent!

Lunch for two, about US$17 or so.

[SG-]

The pancake looks a lot like pratha / roti canai.

[savvysearch]

Great pictures. Is this across from China Garden?

[mukki]

This has been one of our regular restaurants for years! Love the spicy wontons.

[hzrt8w]

Great pictures. Is this across from China Garden?

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Sorry. I don't know where China Garden is.

A & J is at the corner of Jeffery and Walnut. The anchor store 99 Ranch Market is right across the street (Walnut).

[SiseFromm]

That pancake looks very interesting. Is it meant to be dipped in a sauce or eaten as the vehicle for a dip or another dish of some sort? I could see it having lots of uses!

[hzrt8w]

The pancakes are usually eaten as is. And they are tasty enough. But you certainly can order them with something else that have sauces and dip the pancakes in sauces.

Edited January 15, 2007 by hzrt8w (log)

[SiseFromm]

We ate last at A & J last night. I would say that the menu is really inexpensive and fairly priced, but everything we ordered needed salt. Our three dishes were uniformly under-seasoned, but the potential was there for great flavor. I wonder if there was somebody different at the helm? By the way, Taiko, the Japanese restaurant a few doors down from A & J, was completely packed to the rafters. I wonder if I should check that place out.

Edited January 16, 2007 by SiseFromm (log)

[hhlodesign]

Taiko, the Japanese restaurant a few doors down from A & J, was completely packed to the rafters.  I wonder if I should check that place out.

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No

[alanamoana]

hzrt8w, can you tell me where the one in san jose is located?

[hzrt8w]

hzrt8w, can you tell me where the one in san jose is located?

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I did some searches and learned that A & J actually have 7 locations in the USA, 4 of which are in California (2 NoCal and 2 SoCal):

A & J Restaurant

7 Locations

CA

1269 E Valley Blvd, Alhambra, CA 91801-5235

14805 Jeffrey Rd Ste D, Irvine, CA 92618-0406

10893 N Wolfe Rd, Cupertino, CA 95014-0605

1698 Hostetter Rd Ste D, San Jose, CA 95131-3333

MA

560 Kelley Blvd Ste C, North Attleboro, MA 02760-4185

MD

1319 Rockville Pike Ste C, Rockville, MD 20852-1437

VA

4316 Markham St, Annandale, VA 22003-3024

The one that I've been to is in Cupertino, not San Jose. Sorry. But they do have one in San Jose too.

A & J Restaurant

10893 N Wolfe Rd

Cupertino, CA

Phone: (408) 873-8298

Here is a review of A & J from someone who had tried their food in Alhambra:

A & J Restaurant

1269 E Valley Blvd

Alhambra, CA 91801

(626) 284-3549

http://www.yelp.com/biz/AtOKIeQCX1RBooueaTZzOw

[hzrt8w]

We ate last at A & J last night.  I would say that the menu is really inexpensive and fairly priced, but everything we ordered needed salt.  Our three dishes were uniformly under-seasoned, but the potential was there for great flavor.  I wonder if there was somebody different at the helm? 

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When I ate at A & J (Irvine), which was a Saturday afternoon, the 4 things we ordered tasted just right. Not too plain. Not too salty. To me they tasted pretty good.

It is possible that a less-experienced cook was at the helm during the time you visited.

The chefs in US-Chinese restaurants typically work 6 days a week. For obvious reasons, they all have to work in the weekends. Typically they take turn to take one day off a week, and that typically is from Monday to Wednesday. The main chef has the choice of which day to take off first, then chef #2, then #3 and so on. It is quite typical that the main chef takes off on Mondays. And I typically avoid eating out on Mondays in Chinese restaurants. In some of the restaurants that I frequent, I can tell the difference.

[mukki]

Well, like I said earlier, I've eaten here many, many times over the years. Sometimes the food is just off, particularly with the spicy won tons. The beef noodle soup has its ups and downs, as well, and the broth can taste insipid. Overall, though, I find it to be very good.

[SiseFromm]

The beef noodle soup was one of two dishes we ordered in addition to the pancake. I thought it had great spice but with a weak, unseasoned broth. The soy sauce on the table helped punch it up a little, but it could have been much better. I might give it another try but the location in Irvine isn't really that close to where we live and with so many great ethnic choices right here in Costa Mesa, particularly on the West Side off 19th Street, it's hard to get out to the 5 fwy at Jeffrey.

[alanamoana]

thanks for the research hzrt8w. it seems that the A&J in cupertino is in cupertino village. there's a 99 ranch market and a bunch of other chinese restaurants. it is about five minutes from where i live, so i'll go check it out.

[leviathan]

Ooh, I used to love this place; it was one of my favorite chinese places to eat. But, for some reason, I just don't feel the same love for it. Maybe, I've eaten there too many times. And, I think they made their tripe less spicy too.

[joeyz34]

Ooh, I used to love this place; it was one of my favorite chinese places to eat. But, for some reason, I just don't feel the same love for it. Maybe, I've eaten there too many times. And, I think they made their tripe less spicy too.

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it has changed I think...

currently, when I want taiwanese food, I end up going to formosa resturant in lake forest.

[FlyingRat]

I know it's been ages, but I just came across this thread and had to add my love for all things A & J. I used to live in Annandale and their restaurant there (right next to the big Chinese supermarket) was one of my favorite places to grab a cheap, tasty meal.

Last time I ate there (back in December or thereabouts, before I moved to Thailand) the menu looked almost identical to the one posted above! They did start serving brunch/breakfast foods on Saturdays and Sundays: warm soy milk (savory or sweet), fried breads, sticky rice with pork floss, etc. (Sorry, I don't know all of the proper Chinese names). They also had bubble teas of various types. One of my favorite meals was the Vegetarian Delight "set" served with rice and a bowl of broth-- a perfect amount of food for me.

It did have its ups and downs a bit, but it was the only restaurant of its type that I was personally aware of, and I really miss it.

(Note: the use of past tense above implies that *I* am gone from Northern Virginia, not A & J!)

[hzrt8w]

Unfortunately it seems that not all A&J are created equal. I think they need to do a better quality-control job.

I found that list of half a dozen A&J locations. I have tried the one in Cupertino and I was disappointed. The red-braised beef noodle soup was okay. But the potstickers were inferior than the ones made in Irvine (the filling does not taste as good and the wrappers fell apart). The General Tso's Chicken was horrible.

[mukki]

Unfortunately it seems that not all A&J are created equal.  I think they need to do a better quality-control job.

I found that list of half a dozen A&J locations.  I have tried the one in Cupertino and I was disappointed.  The red-braised beef noodle soup was okay.  But the potstickers were inferior than the ones made in Irvine (the filling does not taste as good and the wrappers fell apart).  The General Tso's Chicken was horrible.

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Agree on the comparison. We tried the Cupertino restaurant for the first time a few weeks ago. The beef soup started out fine, but the meal quickly deteriorated. The spicy won tons were a huge disappointment. None of our regular dishes from the Irvine location were any good. Won't be back anytime soon.

[LoriZig]

This sounds wonderful and I'll have to make a special trip to seek one out the next time I'm in CA.

Sadly, the one listed in North Attleboro, MA is a mom & pop breakfast place and not Chinese food.

[Kent Wang]

I'm going to be in Irvine next week. Is this the best Chinese in the area?

[hzrt8w]

I'm going to be in Irvine next week. Is this the best Chinese in the area?

A&J is good for a quick meal, especially lunch.

The best in the Irvine area, IMO, is Sam Woo (Irvine Center Drive and Culver). Both the Seafood side and the BBQ side. Cantonese BBQ items are great. Stir-fries are good. The Seafood side serves some dim sum items too.

[Kent Wang]

I was just there on 21 Feb and liked it a lot. Very simple, well executed dishes that are often hard to find elsewhere.

The smoked chicken was very interesting. As far as I know, very few Chinese dishes are smoked.

Didn't have a chance to do Sam Woo -- there was so much other Asian food to eat.

[hzrt8w]

The smoked chicken was very interesting. As far as I know, very few Chinese dishes are smoked.

Looks like you had a fantastic meal.

I agree smoked dishes are not common. I have always seen Smoked Fish offered in Shanghainese style restaurants. And Smoked Tea Duck in SiChuan style restaurants. Not in Cantonese though.