New China

revisited again. just found out they are new owners. they cut Chinese and Vietnamese menu. they only keep some of most popular Chinese item such as orange chickens, kungpao chickens and most previous Korean menus. their main menu is Mongolian BBQ. I am a frequent Mongolian BBQ fan. And this place meet my satisfaction so far. The new owner is very nice person. I want to try the Korean menu again next time to see how good they are. The bibimbab at new china used to a State Senate winner Korean food in Santa Barbara.

This place seems to be under new management now. The menu is a lot smaller and the food is not so good anymore. An extra star for the stellar service we got from the cashier; he was extremely attentive and open to changes.

What’s great about this place?
1. They deliver.
2. They offer a huge menu with different Asian food ranging from Chinese to Vietnamese.
3. If you order the lunch or dinner special, they give you a crapload of extras like egg rolls, rice, soup, etc. — it’s worth the money.
I haven’t tried anything from the Korean menu they offer but the food from the Chinese and Vietnamese menus are pretty tasty. My favorite is their Chow Pan dish.
Only issue I had with the delivery process is:
— The woman who takes your order over the phone has poor English and doesn’t really tell you how much your order is or how long it will take to deliver.
The location itself is really small.

I really like their Phở, to me it has just the right flavor. They also definitely don’t skimp on beef or noodles for it! A nice little selection of add ins as well! I asked for extra lime and was given it no problem!
My fiancé had orange chicken combo thing (or something of the sort) and he really liked it. I had a bite and it wasn’t bad, not exceptional to me but definitely better than most!
Overall yummy and the people there were super attentive and friendly.

Ok for the cheap price, but I thought that my dinner should have had a bit more to it. Their pricing scheme is a little weird, with specials/​dinner combos having different options and prices for different stuff, but it doesn’t really make sense to me. Seemed like the more expensive options/​combos had less food. Hmm.
I had the sesame shrimp which were fairly tasty, but like I said, I wish there was more.
The place was pretty small and dingy, but only $ 20 for two meals. Not sure if i’ll be back unless I’m either super drunk or super broke.

Oh New China! you always make my day (and my girlfriend) with you Phở dishes. I love this place for Phở. I was skeptical about a Korean restaurant with Chinese food and Phở on the menu. I was impressed with the quality and quantity of the food we received.
The broth is fresh and not greasy like most Phở places, the amount of vegetables or items in each bowl is more than enough for one person and better than any other placed I’ve tried. Everything appears and is fresh, that’s always great.
If you don’t feel like Phở, try their Chinese/​Korean Food, very tasty and well priced. If you go during lunch or early dinner, try their buffet.
As always the owners are very friendly, go there enough and they will remember you and what you order!

This is my understanding on how New China’s varied asian menu came to be:
It was first opened by a Chinese family, hence Chinese food. It was then taken over by a Vietnamese family. The Chinese menu became average and a small Vietnamese menu was good.
Now it’s run by a Korean family, and the Chinese food is bad, the Vietnamese food is average and the small Korean menu is good!
So I come here for the Korean food and it’s my favorite in town, not that there are many other options in town.
The menu is limited, but I’ve been happy with what I get. Bibimbap comes in a generous silver bowl with lots of goodies and they will substitute tofu in place of meat if you’re vegetarian.
The ddubbokki is an enormous portion, can feed 2 people. It’s served in a big bowl with rice cakes, fish cakes and mussels, with a hotplate flaming underneath. It’s spicy with lots of Korean chile sauce, but a little too thick and sweet for me. I took the leftovers home, added a lot of water to make it more like a broth, squeezed in some fresh lemon juice and it was delicious.
I tried the yukejang at another lunch, with another friend. We enjoyed this quite a bit, as it was a large bowl of spicy beef soup, with vegetables and glass noodles, and also came with several banchan, and a bowl of rice. Again, there were leftovers.
Most of the Korean food items are around $ 9, and considering that most are quite generous portions, it’s an excellent value.
The irony of this relative cornucopia of Korean food in a town that has almost no other options is that I get the impression they don’t really like making the Korean food. Don’t be sour, guys, this menu is good and I’ll keep sending my friends here for it, no matter how many times you ask why I order just the Korean food.

Yikes, New China gets a one star for their version of bun thit nuong cha gio. The only upside of this dish was the generous serving size, other than that, the herbage was sparse, just shreds of lettuce and a few specks of cilantro with a huge mound of rice noodles. The cha gio was ok, but was also tiny. The pork should have being grilled until the sweet marinade caramelizes and the fat drips onto the fire and perfumes the meat with a light smokiness. Here, the pork was instead fried ahead of time, so the meat was bland, dry, and shockingly bad. Perhaps, they have better dishes, but do not get the bun thit nuong or you will regret it.

I have heard there isn’t good Asian food in the Santa Barbara area, so my expectations were definitely low when I came here.
I have been here twice because all the reviews say the Korean food is good and it’s close to home.
The first time I came, I had the Bi Bim Bap, which I thought was not bad. It was a lot of food and pretty tasty. The item I really wanted to try and had the 2^nd time I was there was the Yukejang.
I was introduced to this soup in San Diego at Friend’s House and it was amazing. Nice, spicy broth, clear noodles and juicy pieces of beef. Although my Bi Bim Bap experience was satisfactory, I wasn’t quite convinced of how the soup would be.
That was a wise decision. The broth is great. It was just what I wanted for the rainy weather, but there wasn’t much meat or noodles… however, if you are a lover of green onions, this is the soup for you! There were about 10 stalks, no joke. It was tasty, but I was really hunkering for the noodles and meat.
The side dishes were also just ok.

I did a take out order here for Phở, because I was super sick and knew that Phở was a noodle and broth soup. It was my first time eating Phở, and I absolutely loved it! Definitely a place to go if you’re a first timer… or sick.
What’s nice about their takeout is that they have the noodles in a separate container, so they don’t get soggy at all. One could definitely order a large and save the extra broth and noodles for later
I got the beef meatball Phở, and I loved how chewy the little meatballs were. Some people may not like that texture though.
I definitely want to come back and try some other things here.

I like it here a lot. The atmosphere is nice and the workers are soooo nice, I even brought the habit in here to eat once because my bf wanted phở but i wanted burgers and they were totally fine with it, no weird or dirty looks haha. And they’re fine with you hanging out too.
The food is good, my bf is a big Phở fan, so he knows good phở, and over here they have good phở. Way better than the place near Kmart and the one IV. I’m vegetarian and I ordered the egg foo young, and wow I had a lot of things to eat, a lot. (it came with fried rice, egg rolls, wontons and soup) lol Which isn’t a bad thing, a lot is really cool and for the price. It tasted good, decent.
Oh and the food comes out SUPER fast, which is very suspicious, but everything is still really good. Great place! Also the hot tea complimentary is awesome!

I came here kinda early today, it was not even 10am yet but they were able serve hot meal, Phở! I had # 91, beef and tendons, yum! I was glad that I ordered large, I wish they have XLarge. It was that good!
Today is my second time coming here, the first was with the family. My wife liked it, too. Usually I don’t get an appetite if I am by myself but today was an exception. A must have! I’ve had Phở somewhere else but so far this is the best. Don’t just take my word for it, give it a try!

We were hella hungry and wanted to try something close by to the hotel. Unilocal to the rescue. This place had chinese, korean and vietnamese food. PERFECTO.
The bf decided to go korean and order the bibimap while I ordered the Mongolian Beef plate. YUM! It’s pretty good for the price we pay. I saw all the rave reviews about the phở but we have phở all the time. Maybe next time.

I don’t understand why people come here for the Chinese food or the Phở. There is Red Pepper a few blocks down and Noodle City across the street.
Why do I come here? The amazing 4 items they serve on their Korean menu poster. Even though they are more expensive then most of the other stuff on the menu, you get little side dishes and a giant entrée. My favorite is the 119 (Forgot the name of it). It comes with sliced beef, glass noodles, egg and this mysterious veggies. It’s perfect.
Only complaint I have about this place is that there is no A/C…so when you order a hot dish like mine… you sweat like no other.

I’m surprised to admit this, but this place actually has good phở. I heard about from a friend, but after I read Kent L.‘s review, I was sold. He mentioned some notable phở places in SJ, although he did not mention my absolute favorite: Phở Kim Long (how could you not like a noodle with a name like that?!). Bonus points for self-​serve hot jasmine tea «on tap» too.
I tried the following so far:
— Vietnamese Beef Phở #89 (well done flank, brisket, tendon — hold the tripe, ick), regular size for $ 7.25. The broth is my favorite part of phở, and theirs was flavorful, although not quite in the league of Phở Kim Long or Beef Noodle #1 in SJ though. Definitely impressive for SB, no doubt. I prefer a higher broth to noodle ratio, so next time I’ll go for the large bowl.
— Korean Kimchi Soup (aka soon dubu) for $ 8.25. Yuck, all sour and no spice. The lady said it was pre-​made so there’s no extra-​spicy option. Kudos for bringing out the little appetizers and using the traditional silver bowls though. That kinda threw me for a loop being in old town Goleta & all.
— Korean Yukejang (shredded beef, green onion, egg & glass noodles in a spicy broth) for $ 8.75. Thanks to the guy at the register, I chose this recommendation over the Kimchi Phở. The glass noodles were a bit soggy, and the egg was still raw, but that didn’t bother me so much because the broth was deeeeelicious. I just popped the yolk, gave it a swirl and dove right in this HUGE bowl of yumminess.
— Chinese Bean Curd Country Style lunch special for $ 6.75 (basically tofu stir fry in a dark brown sauce). It included egg drop soup, choice of fried rice or chow mein, and a veggie egg roll so it was a good deal. It was nothing special, although you do get a lot of food and it was tasty. It was a bit on the saltier side, but I prefer that over it being bland.
I will be back to try their Vietnamese rice & noodle plates, plus I have been eyeing the Korean Ddukbokki…

I would give this place 5 stars, but every time I have been there, I have only ordered one dish — the kimchi phở. So, I cannot speak to the rest of the menu here.
That being said, NEW CHINA is one of my favorite places in SB. It was recommended to me by my two foodie co-​workers, one of whom is Korean and is more or less an expert on Asian food.
Order the kimchi phở — it’s the best thing ever!

We shop and drink on State St., but we always eat on Hollister Ave in Goleta. We. especially love New China for the phở and the kimchi soup. One bowl always sustains me whenever we drive from SLO to LA or San Diego. They throw in tofu upon request, and extra veggies in lieu of meat.
Don’t forget to pick up dessert at the panaderia a few doors down.

As i check the time on the lower right corner of my monitor, i see an orange tab blnking and think to myelf, great– what do you guys want now? Im sitting at my desk, and lunch time is approaching, i get an instant mesage from my colleague– what’s for lunch? If it has anything to do with Phở’ — this is where you’ll find me.
I have tired every single phở shop in Santa Barbara/​Goleta/​Isla Vista– And this is hands down the most consistent and best phở in SB. Dont let this korean owned, hole in the wall, even has a chinese buffet, crappy part of town fool ya! Indeed, their broth is very tasty, noodles are always cooked to perferction, and service is great! Also, if all you have is a 30min lunch, this is definitely the place to go– i usually get served (phở on table and ready to eat) within 5 – 7 min of ordering.
I have also tried their Korean kimchi soups and Yukaejang — which is not bad for 9 bucks– Its defintiely filling (with all the extra korean stly side dishes that these meals come with), but i’ve had better.
In conclusion, if you are in SB, and want the best tasting Phở– New China is your best bet. Take it from me, I was born and raised in San Jose and Phở Y’ on Silvercreek and Capital was my stomping grounds. I also lived in Los Angeles for 3 or 4 years and checked out Little Saigon’s flavor. New China is no San jose or westminister, but its the closest thing you can get in the 805, Hope this helps!

Awesome! Awesome! Awesome!
I was so happy to find a local place to eat some delicious Chinese food & phở. Of course, it’s cheap and good!
–Mongolian Beef
–Rare Steak Phở
As for appetizer, Vietnamese egg rolls are perfectly fried and you wrap it with lettuce and dip it into a light sweet sauce, which is more awesome. :D
AND…
All the workers are super friendly, helpful, and works really hard.
I LOVE THIS PLACE! :D

I come here not for Chinese food, but for Korean food. I enjoy their Kimchi stew and Bibimbap! Their Yukaejang is decent, but I’ve had better. The side dishes are okay too~
I would recommend this place whenever you need a korean fix~~