Aloha Hawaiian BBQ

The District at Tustin Legacy, on Jamboree and Barranca, is a rapidly growing entertainment district that will eventually match the Irvine Spectrum.

There are various stores, shops, and restaurants, which surround the new AMC Theater. It is the perfect environment to plan an evening of fun, and if your plans include lunch or dinner, then Aloha Hawaiian BBQ is a good place to go to.


Aloha is a nice little venue on the side of target. The inside has a clean modern Hawaiian feel, which includes nice paintings of Hawaiian beaches. The venue is simple, but relatively welcoming.

Above the counter displays some of the items on their menu. They have different choices of beef, pork, or chicken, or you can ask for a combination. They also have appetizers, which includes spam misubi and other types of spam. There is also salads and soups to choose from. And if you're not too hungry, they have smaller portions for a lower price. Appetizers to entrees will range from $3 to $5 to as much as $7-8, and you get large portions for the price.

I get the Hawaiian mix (below) in the couple times I've been there. The mix includes chicken, beef, and Kalbi short ribs. The quality of the meat is pretty good; it's fairly moist and tender instead of dry or rubbery, and the marinated sauce is very flavorful. If you need more flavor, there is Hawaiian BBQ and teriyaki sauce to dip your food in. It also comes with rice, macaroni, and cabbage. It definitely has a lot to fill me up.

Rating:
Quality: 4.0
Selection: 4.0
Price: 4.5
Service: 4.0
Distance/convenience: 5.0
Overall: 4.0

Final Bite:
Overall this is a pretty good place to eat, especially if you're planning an evening at the District. It certainly beats your UCI Korean BBQ, so if you like that, then you'll like this place.

Address:
2336 Park Avenue
Tustin, CA 92782
(714) 258-1888

Pho Bac Ky

Pho is one of my most favorite foods, and for me, it is definitely worth the late night drive to any pho restaurant in Garden Grove.

I generally don't like to go to Garden Grove during the day. The drive can be time consuming, and I usually will eat something different. Many people have said the same, but the consensus is that Irvine has no good pho places.

But if I am craving pho, my favorite place in Irvine is Pho Bac Ky, right next to the Ralphs on Michelson and Jeffrey.

The pho here is a little bit more expensive, about 75 cents more than place in Garden Grove. The quantity a little less too. But I still like this place a lot because the quality of the pho and dishes are very good, and the environment is very nice. The only downside really is that it closes at 9 pm, but everything in Irvine closes then.

The venue is a pretty small place, but the place is nice and very clean. You can see photographs on the wall relating to Vietnamese culture, and the set up is very welcoming. The service is very quick; the waiters sit you down immediately and can take your order right away.

To start off, there are multiple appetizers to start off with. They have great eggrolls, and you can select four or six (my friends ate three in this picture). They also have spring rolls and other selections too.

Then for main courses, there is the pho. There is a very good selection to choose from, and you have the option to make your own bowl. You can also change from regular noodles to egg noodles if you want to cut down on carbs. The soup is very delicious and the meat is pretty good quality too. Overall, it's one of the better pho places I know, and it is definitely the best one in Irvine.

There are also various value meals and Vietnamese dishes, including different rice and vermecelli dishes, which I'll write another article on those. They also have great drinks ranging from sodas, teas, and bean drinks. And, most importantly, water is free with refills.















Rating Scale:
Quality: 4.5
Selection: 4
Price: 3.5
Service: 4
Distance/convenience: 5
Overall: 4.5

Final Bite:
I can't find any major flaws with this place. The price is decent and the distance is great for people in the Irvine Bubble. I am a regular customer there, because it is definitely the best pho place to find in Irvine.

Address:
5329 University Drive
Irvine, CA 92612
(949) 857-0856

West Coast Seafood Buffet

We try to lead a healthy lifestyle by eating balanced meals and exercising, but sometimes we just need to let ourselves go and pig out. But where's a place that will let you splurge without splurging your wallet?

One place that I enjoy going to is West Coast Seafood Buffet in Hacienda Heights (address below). This place is primarily a Chinese food buffet, although they do have some American food selections as well.

The key for this place is to go during its lunch special, which I think is 11:00 AM - 2:00 PM and is only available during the weekdays. The lunch special price is only $9.99, with a good selection of sushi and other dishes. It is also the best time to eat because that's when they put out the first servings of the dishes where everything is freshest. Sodas and other drinks are not free, but I generally don't get those, and if you do, they're only $2 with refills.


The best dishes are the sushi and fish dishes. They provide sashimi cuts of salmon, tuna or white fish, along with some basic selection of sushi. They do make rolls and handrolls, but the selection is only around four or five basic rolls. The fish are pretty fresh and the rolls aren't bad either, especially for $9.99.

There is also a large variety of cooked seafood and Chinese dishes. Dishes range from simple sweet & sour chicken to various seafood dishes, such as cocktail shrimp, scallops, clams, and oysters.

But there are downsides to this place. If you live in Irvine, then it's at least a 45 minute drive to this location. At least there is a mall next to the restaurant and movie theater if you wanted to chill for a little bit, but it's best for people that live in Hacienda heights or Diamond Bar area.

Absolutely DO NOT go after the lunch special. The price jumps up to $16.99, and from what I hear, the quality is significantly lower (I'm assuming everything is frozen or sits under a lamp). Unfortunately, as college students, we don't have too much luxury to travel so far during midday on weekdays, so it's really best during breaks or holiday seasons.

Despite the variety of dishes available, I advise people to pick mostly the seafood dishes and selectively choose other dishes, in order to get the most bang for your buck. And don't have very high expectations; it is a buffet so it is pretty good for what it's worth.

Rating Scale (1 lowest - 5 highest)
Quality: 3.5
Selection: 3
Price: 4.5
Service. 3
Distance/convenience: 1.5
Overall: 3.5

Final Bite:
The point of emphasis for this place is, if you have the time, go during their lunch special, when the restaurant is serving their food at its freshest. At $9.99 for good sushi, rolls, and a variety of other dishes, you can definitely splurge until your stomach hurts without hurting your wallet.

Address:
1655 S Azusa Ave. Ste D
Hacienda Heights, CA 91745
(626) 581-9893

We are hungry. We have transportation, we have the people...but we don't want to spend a lot of money...

Irvine is a relatively beautiful area. The city is very green and fresh, the weather is very nice, and it is conveniently close to the beaches.

But as a college student, or someone stuck in the bubble, Irvine can be the most boring place. And if you're looking for places to eat, if it's not fast food, it's most likely expensive, and as college students, we don't want to pay a lot of money.

Most people know about D&Bs, Yardhouse, BJ's, Alerto's, and a few other places where you can get good food for great value. But eating at those places so many times can get dull, and sometimes you just need something different, but still cheap, to satisfy your various cravings.

For your convenience, I will be posting recommendations for different places with great food at a great value. I'll evaluate quality, variety, value, and distance from Irvine, and I'll post high quality pictures with my SLR camera.

Feel free to comment and ask any questions you may have about the places I go to. I'll also provide some quick cooking tips for BBQing that'll make cooking any steak easy.

So sit back, read, and get ready to eat.