XiXi Fried skewer

My wife and I recently visited XiXi Zha Huo Pu, next to YGF in Irvine. Both places offer Mala Tang, but we were eager to try the Northeast traditional sticky hot pot with sesame sauce at XiXi, not the fried skewer. The ordering process was a breeze: we picked our ingredients, chose medium spice level, and soon enjoyed our sticky and gooey mala tang (黏黏糊糊的麻辣燙). This unique style is quite different from the traditional versions at YGF, Zhangliang, and YinTang. We all love it.

The tenders are a little tough and the msg doesnt hit as hard,, but I think it's decent.

Long story short, I love this place! I know Gui Chinese BBQ opened a location in Irvine and I have had skewers from their several times. To me, the Gui Chinese BBQ seasoning is exactly the same with whichever skewers you get, but at XiXi Fried Skewers, they marinate each skewers differently. I ordered chicken hearts, chicken cartilage, fried gluten, mushrooms and a fried milk (I know, I couldn't believe it either). The chicken hearts were well marinated and super juicy! I was pleasantly surprised how tender it came out! The chicken cartilage were my favorite - it was packed with flavor and also super juicy! The mushrooms were nothing short of amazing and to end my meal, I had fried milk. I loved it! The only thing I would not get next time is probably the fried gluten. It wasn't my cup of tea.Pricing was fair and totally worth it! I am going to come here now instead of Gui Chinese BBQ.

Not much selections but enjoyed the flavor of sauce they used for the skewers, favorite was the cauliflower and chicken cutlet. There was a lot of bone in the chicken. A little bit on the oily side. I like the little bit of kick with the spice.

service is really good here! they were able to make my noodle vegetarian and even checked in with me during the meal :)if you like spicy and mala, this is the place as you can customize your bowl they're known for skewers but those are not vegetarian friendly sadly, just their noodles