Min Chef

My all time favorite Chinese restaurant in OC right now. It's located in a very unassuming and quiet plaza with plenty of parking. Food is always solid and the staff are always nice and attentive. One thing to mention about this spot is that they really know how to stir fry. I have yet to try a restaurant in the States that has nailed stir fry dishes like this one.Braised Eggplant - stir fried to perfection. Flavor profile is solid and love that they add some tomato and bell pepper. House chicken - recommend this dish for a chicken dish! Flavors are strong. Peanuts are a nice addition. Meat pie - best way to describe this imo is that it's most similar to dumplings but with a different outer skin. I thought the skin would be crispy like green onion pancake but it's just single thin layer of dough. Stir fry cauliflower - a little mild spice and stir fried in a black bean sauce.

Came on Christmas and they were open! Every dish we had was good and service was good.stir fry cauliflower: delicious Chinese cauliflower that was cooked well and savory.stewed beef with potato in brown sauce: there was a mix of beef cuts but it was mostly lean. The potatoes and carrots were soft and delicious in the sauce.sweet and sour house meatball: meatball was deep-fried then covered in a sweet and sour savory sauce. really liked this dish.yuxiang shredded pork: lean shredded pork that was covered in a tomato based sauce.smashed cucumber salad: refreshing appetizer and was super crunchy.deep fried starch with garlic sauce: my friend said this was a staple Beijing street snack. The texture was chewy inside and crunchy outside. Pair it with the garlic watery sauce and it was super delicious.

TLDR; pork hock too salty, food made to-order was awesome, service was fastI've been looking for a nice Chinese in Irvine for a while now that isn't too expensive, and min Chef does a reasonable job in doing that. The food came fast, and the stir fry dishes had a lot of wok hay (breath of wok taste, almost smoky). Shrimp was very good too --crispy on the outside, tender on the inside. The stewed pork hock was too salty though and could use a couple more hours of cooking, but overall decent food and service. Bathroom was gross though.

The food tasted authentic Northern Chinese and came out fast. We went in as soon as they opened and the restaurant was fully seated within 30 minutes. Recommend going early to avoid crowds. The service was typically what you would find at Chinese restaurants.

This is a little gold mine of a restaurant. It is small and cramped. You might have to wait for a table. The menu is limited to the kind of food we who are not Asian expect from a Chinese restaurant. When the food comes, all those inconveniences fall away. The food is excellent! The taste is hot, fresh, and cooked to order. Their veggie dishwith clear noodles is so good! Be aware that their spicy dishes are very spicy. We will return and explore more dishes. Only one suggestion of wish, that they include more green leaf veggie dishes. This place is a hidden gold mine.

Favorite dish here was the cauliflower dish, the cauliflower was super crispy and the sauce was a blast of flavor with just the right amount of mild spice in it - we also ordered chicken which was super flavorful and juicy, and tomato egg which had the perfect amount of creaminess - very authentic dishes

The restaurant is small, but it's cozy inside. The food is authentic and delicious. The green beans and pork intestine were my favorites. The meat pie and sesame paste pancakes were also delicious. Definitely a must-try!

It's a very decent and authentic Northern China style restaurant and you can find many rarely founded dishes here than anywhere else. We went at a dinner time so the food came a little bit slowly, and the service is just fine. We really like the stir fry assorted vegetables and flat beans with pork. They both tasted delicious and good to eat with white rice.We actually came here for the dough drop soup-- a very special comfort food for people from the North China. It's made of tomatoes and flour.

Love a good Chinese place, one of the best around.Seems like a local favorite.Check it out if you are in the area

4 Visit ReviewUnassuming spot with world class food. I stumbled on this spot accidentally my first visit. And I've gone back twice in a week. The flavors are well balanced, and dishes are unique. The type of dishes should belong in a typical Chinese banquet, but the hole in the wall atmosphere is a strange background for this level of detail in their menu offering. Stir Fry Assorted Vegetables (5/5)Fresh, well balanced, crunchy vegetables.Meat Pie (4/5)Solid execution. Flavor varied across my different visits. I would ask them to pan fry is crispier. Pan Fried Chive Pockets (5/5)Amazing. Delicate in taste, well executed. Stewed Tofu w/ Cabbage & Shrimp (5/5)Must get! This dish is simple but difficult to execute. Many other mainland style restaurants can't get this dish right. Min's does it so well! House Special Pork Hock (3/5)Every table ordered one of these. For me the flavor was too strong and too salty. Sichuan Spicy Shrimp (1/5)This is a miss for me. I ordered this twice on two separate visits. The shrimp isn't fresh and the flavor overpowered the natural sweetness of the shrimp.Sautéed Prime Beef w/ Ginger Scallion (4/5)Very tasty but also very oily. I'd go back as much as I can cause I want to try everything. The service is your standard local Chinese spot, with the inpatient order taker. But everyone who brings out the dishes seem to be good spirits. There was once, I came right at opening and allegedly the owner was yelling at everyone is the kitchen, but food was still good.