Mao Chinese Restaurant

My girlfriend and I were looking for some lunch at the Source and we stumbled upon Mao at the food court. You order via a kiosk and the food comes out relatively quickly, we had the Beef Jjampong and it was decent! Smoky, spicy, and the portions are large. Prices are a little high but the food is decent nonetheless. Service is nonexistent so don't expect any of that.

Influenced by TikTok, I decided to give this place a try. My friend said her dad comes here for the 2. Seafood Jjamppong, so that's what I went with. The flavor of the broth was good and there were plenty of seafood, but when I couldn't finish the rest (not sure how anyone can at one sitting), I asked for a container and the owner wanted 50 cents for it! Come on now...really? They make you pay an additional 50 cent for each item you take to go. As decent as food is here, I probably won't be coming back and getting food somewhere else at the Source.

Located on top floor (4th floor) food court. This place is one of my favorite places to get jajangmyeon. They make the sauce fresh so it can take some time for them to get your food out but it will be worth it. Trust me and try it out for yourself.

Located in the fourth floor food court of the Source OC, Mao is a convenient place to get Korean Chinese staples like black bean noodles, jjampong, and tangsooyook. And it's especially nice if your friends and family are not craving it because there's plenty of other options and you can all share different things! The highlight for me here is the jjampong which has great portions, a good amount of toppings and actually spicy broth - a non-negotiable for me. I recognize that service is important and this place really really lacks in that category, but it's good food with reasonable prices and considering it's a food court, I'm willing to sacrifice. :')

Located inside one of the food court in The Source, service can be a little slow during peak dining hours, but that is understandable. There are plenty of seats but again, because of the peak dining hours, they can be limited due to being shared with other restaurants in the food court. I ordered the jajangmyeon. Portion was huge for the decent price and very shareable for two people. Compared to other places, I would say that their black bean noodles were more on the sweet side and the sauce was thicker--I enjoyed both a lot. The dish was very flavorful and the noodles were perfectly cooked. The meat, however, was dry and hard to chew. Overall I enjoyed it though and would definitely come back!

Food is mediocre at best, people are rude, prices went up but don't include rice when it used to. They don't even provide water...excuse is it's due to Covid. I would not come here again. Why pay for mediocre food with very rude service. Purchased a pork dish that used to come with rice, now it doesn't. When I saw that it didn't come with rice, I tried buying rice for $1, didn't have cash, she said credit card would make it $2.00. She said I should have known it didn't come with rice.

Ordered the Jajangmyeon (black bean) noodle with pork and vegetables. Was greeted with friendly service with the total amount being about $13.95 with tax. Portion sizes were plentiful and the sauce was a nice compliment to the dish. Really liked the pork and vegetables ( radish and potatoes ) with the addition of the soft and stringy noodles. I felt that they were a good consistency and that I was able to share it with my girlfriend and still be full. Eating can be through takeout or at the food court. Don't understand the hate for this place, highly recommend!

We came on a Wednesday at 12 PM and there was no wait in line. The ladies were very attentive to us and food came out within 10 minutes. The jajangmyeon was very filling and delicious but I do believe it could've used more pork. Portion size was great though. This is located inside the food court so it can be very noisy depending on the day! Jajangmyeon - 7.5/10

Ate their fried rice while visiting The Source last week. Bland, predictable food. Very little taste. The soy sauce they give you that are in those little packets really tore up my stomach and I spent the rest of the day holed up in my bathroom. Very low quality soy sauce. Lots of other options for food nearby so I'll skip this place in the future. I ordered right when they opened so service was reasonably quick. It's a food court so atmosphere is a little loud and energetic.

Worst JJaJangMyun I ever had... I believe the owner of the restaurant was trying to save JjaJang sauce or doesn't know what is Jjajang sauce is supposed to taste like... It was so bland, it really felt just like I was eating plain packaged noodles without any sauce ... I asked the owner if I could have any more sauce and they were extremely rude about it even after reluctantly giving me extra. Wouldn't come here again. Save your money.