Lao Dong Beef Noodles

Awful place… The most pushiest place I’ve ever been to.
The second you walk in. ORDER! The second you sit ORDER!
they give you multiple receipts and PUSH to ORDER. Then pushed to ORDER dessert. They drop the bill and literally tell you pay bill now. Then if you say in a bit. They come back and shake it a bit so you pay attention and then they have the audacity after you paid the bill. To again ask you to buy dessert. I’ll be checking my bill/​credit card in the days to come.

Try the beef roll… along with the Beef Noodle Soup. The best in the plaza if you want it Beijing style w/​cucumber

The place is always empty during lunch time which should tell you something. My buddy at work and I have been here a few times, on a regular basis.
Before they added their lunch specials (failed attempt to revive biz in my opinion), we come here to get their beef noodle soup. I always get the half beef/​half tendon and is delicious. The broth definitely has more taste and heavier than Chef Hung’s (inside Diamond Jamboree).
Used to dig this place, up until recently… they started offering these lunch special dishes, 像
魯肉飯
鹽酥雞排飯
梅菜扣肉飯 (meat was burnt when we tried it, sucks)
The lunch special also comes with complimentary black tea (紅茶)… now I’ve had black tea elsewhere and they taste good… but Lao Dong’s black tea, no uh, taste like crap.
The real reason for the 1 star:
I found a baby cockroach in my lunch. We called the boss lady over (the one that sits in the front and appears to do nothing, but that day their super-​star employee wasn’t there so she had to do the grunt work) and showed it to her… not even an apology, just brought the plate to the back kitchen and scolded the people in the back.
Not even an apology when she came back. We also told her, I didn’t get my black tea, she nodded, not even an apology.
We also overheard another customer from a different table, complained that she charged twice for the black teas. The customer had a complimentary black tea, and had a refill, should have been charged for 1 black tea, but was charged for 2. Boss lady didn’t apologize for the screw up.
Call me a nah-​sayer, but Lao Dong’s officially blacklisted by us for poor management.

This place is wonderful. Please ignore the naysayers dogging this place.
The half-​half noodles (beef and beef tendon) noodles never disappoint. Other places will have on/​off days where the meat and tendons haven’t had enough time to soften up and get really good. Lao Dong’s is alway melt in your mouth tender. Also, unlike their competitors, you can taste the BEEF, as opposed to the soy sauce that is always used to shortcut the color and taste of the broth. The noodles are pleasingly chewy.
My kids absolutely LOVE the beef and tomato noodles. They split and can finish the bowl, even though they’re 3 and 1. I have to admit, I’m always tempted to order it for myself, but the tendons call to me.
Service? This is a Chinese restaurant. Quick/​short/​curt waiters are par for the course. Unilocalers expecting the wait staff to kiss their @$$€$ should stick to French cuisine or something.
The last thing to keep in mind is that this place is for beef noodles. Having grown up in Taiwan, beef noodle places are just that. Don’t order the other stuff; there be dragons.

Beef noodle soup was okay.
It was a bit on the salty side.
Came here for lunch a few weeks ago on a weekday — it was pretty empty/​slow but understandable for a weekday.
The meal did come with sweetened black tea/​green tea — iced. That was nice.
The lady serving me and my mom was very friendly though. Very accommodating.

Love this place! They have Pineapple Fried Rice that is to die for, I get it every week! (I’m a huge pineapple fan) It has huge chunks of pineapple and it comes in a carved out pineapple half that I always get a kick out of! :) It also normally comes with shrimp, but I’m not a fan of seafood so I usually order it without it, I’m not sure if the shrimp helps or hinders it the taste, but I thought I’d throw it out there.
I’m a totally boring American girl who’s idea of good Chinese is Panda Express (shameful I know) so I can’t tell you if the rest of the food is really all that good. Clear noodle soup is good when my stomach’s not feeling awesome, and the sweet bean pancake is also pretty yummy, though it’s very sweet so be ready for it! Honestly I haven’t tried too much else, they’ve got some things that just sound strange to me, like 100 year old eggs… huh? They do have popcorn chicken though, for the less adventurous in your group! (No dipping sauces though, and they had to search for the ketchup… but what do you expect when you go to a noodle house and order popcorn chicken?)
You’re probably asking yourself why I go to this place every week if I don’t like trying weird new foods? Cause my board game meetup meets here every Friday night, that’s why! I honestly think they added the popcorn chicken specifically for people like me that are afraid of foods they don’t know, which is pretty awesome of them! (It wasn’t on the menu when we first started going there) Awesome things like that, where the owners actually go out of their way to try to make you want to come back, is why they get 5 stars from me! Also Sophia (our groups personal waitress!) is super friendly and hilarious, and Richard the owner is a sweet heart!

The food is decent but the service is awful. Mad awkward trying to have a nice dinner but the boss lady is complaining and angrily failing to manage the business side of the restaurant in front of customers, inaide the seating area.
It didn’t matter that the food was ok, the overall experience was crummy. Just didnt feel like i could enjoy my food, man :(

This is one of the worst beef noodle place that I have been to. The broth is tasteless and bland and the service is horrid. She promote us to order the oyster egg saying it taste really good and we ordered but to our surprise it was prepared in a way that we never seen oyster way was prepared before. Being a Asian and frequently ordered oyster egg before, it was made of flour and hardly any egg and oyster. When we asked the lady server to come and told her if we could change the dish as it taste horrid, she was defensive and said that it can’t be changed or return since we have already touched the food. I answered how do we know the taste if we didn’t taste it! She say it was prepared by the Taiwanese chef and the taste is authentic.
Anyway we didn’t wanna argue and just paid and left. Will never come here again and wanna warn other against it too.
Ordered the beef roll too and it was equally bad. Noodle express is so much much better.
Please do not waste time and money to come this place!
It was my first really review and it was so bad that I had to warn others.

Their pork soup dumplings (XiaoLongBao) s*cks!!!
I don’t like their beef noodles… Tasteless…
Their service really good but we came here for food right?
So~ Not recommend this place

Went there with my friends who are from Taiwan. The beef and tenders are REALLY GOOD in the noodle. The soup tastes good to me, OK for my friends, and the noodle itself is just ok.
I like the 5-​item combo for appetizer, especially the tofu.
We also ordered the bamboo shoots, it’s ok, and should have let them put mayo on the side.
In general, I think my friends from Taiwan like the place. Plus, it’s pretty big and won’t be too crowded and that’s actually nice sometimes.

Came here with my grandma, uncle, and my girlfriend, all who are Taiwanese except my girlfriend who is Chinese.
My uncle raved that this is his favorite beef noodle soup place, touting that their broth is the most legit.
We went before the dinner rush so there wasn’t too many customers there so the service was prompt. My uncle actually knew some of the people who worked there so it maybe biased.
We got some Taiwanese small dishes as appetizers. The pickled cucumbers were fresh and had the right amount of vinegar to it. The tofu was like all the other tofu I have eaten. The pig ear was crunchy. The intestine was one of the better intestines I have had.
My uncle got the dry beef noodle with mala spice in it while we just got the beef noodle soup with half tendon and half meat.
When the food came I was surprised on how much meat and tendon they gave me. The meat was tender and flavorful. The tendon was probably one of the best tendon I have had in a long time. It was flavorful and just melted in your mouth. The noodles were on point! Had a nice snap to them and a good chewy texture.
The only thing I felt was not present was the broth. It didn’t seem flavorful? Like a typical in your face beef noodle soup broth. But it still had enough presence to bring everything together.
I had a taste of my uncles dry mala noodle and it was awesome! It had that numbing spice and then it kicked you in the face with another different type of spice. Definitely a must try for those who want a spicy adventure.
Big bowls, generous portions of meat, and pretty cheap. Definitely worth a try

Where do I start with this review… First, I was not intending to go to this place and really wanted to go to 101 Noodle Express in the same shopping center but their wait was over an hour. I figured, how bad could this alternative place be? Well, it can be REALLY REALLY BAD.
I ordered the Shanghai steamed dumplings, Beef Noodle Soup and Beef Rolls. The dumplings were dry and there was no juice inside of them. The beef rolls did not taste right… they were lacking in the amount of beef, the wrap was not that crispy… it was just off. The beef noodle soup also had a funny taste to it… maybe like an intestine taste… again something off about it.
The other thing that bothered me about this place was there were tables that had not been bused yet and had obviously been sitting there for longer than it should have. Since there were only 2 ladies there serving, I’m guessing they didn’t have time to clean the tables.
Overall, avoid this place. I’m pretty sure it won’t last.

Lao Dong! Your beef noodle soup is good but it can be far greater if you just put some more flavor in it!
There are only a handful of Taiwanese restaurants in Irvine, a few being in this same plaza and the one across. Personally, I prefer the beef noodle soup across the street at A&J but alas, I somehow made my way to Lao Dong instead. Prices are rather steep but it is to be expected when in Irvine.
Tendon beef noodle soup — My order came out surprisingly quick. They got my order wrong and still included green onions inside. Okay, only mildly miffed at this point but not a problem. I easily scooped it all out. Oddly enough, I saw some broccoli floating on top. Not bok choy, not the sour vegetables but broccoli. Hm.
Although, I did get a pretty good amount of tendon. Thumbs up to that. Love the ooey gooey texture of tendon. The noodles were cooked al dente. I love it when the middle of the noodles have a slight firmness to it.
The bad part — The broth lacked depth. It had little to no flavor. It looked and tasted like watered down soup. I don’t normally drink much broth but I like to take a sip before and after the noodles. Not so great. They either need to add more of the spices and cook it longer or jazz it up somehow. It has potential to be so much better!
XLB — Decent but definitely not the best. They came out looking like plump raisins. There wasn’t much of the infamous XLB juice squirting nor was there much flavor. The meat had an odd taste to it, like it had a lot of onions and pepper.
Lao Dong, bai tuo, do something about this!

What the phở? Not sure when but this place took the spot that used to be a big phở restaurant. It still looks the same but inside they have a little window where you can watch the chefs play with dough.
As the name implies, this is a place for beef noodle soup. Supposedly they have locations in Taiwan and their soups have won awards.
I had the braised beef with cellophane noodles for $ 8. I also added a soft boiled egg for an extra $ 1. I love a warm egg with a soft gooey center and theirs was almost hard boiled status. I can do without it next time. Back to the soup… the broth was flavorful and the beef was tender. The cellophane noodles were good but I tried someone else’s regular noodles and liked them better. They’re thicker and had a nice chewiness. I believe they’re made in house.
If you’re feeling sick or just prefer a lighter broth, I’d go with their «famous» champion beef noodle soup. But if you’re looking for more flavor go with braised beef.
They also serve xiao long bao aka little soup dumplings. Right now they have a special going on… $ 5.99 for an order of 8… or 10? I ate them too quickly to count. They were surprisingly good! Get the pork and skip the beef, they’re not as juicy.
The food was good and the servers were prompt and helpful. My only issue were a few tiny flies that kept flying around our table. Annoying! Keep the place cleaner and I’ll be back.

Yes I have to agree… service is not up to par… but what LEGIT ASIAN/​CHINESE/​TAIWANESE restaurant IS?! CLOSE TO NONE!
Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely LOVE A&J, but I would NEVER order beef noodle soup there. Actually I refuse to order beef noodle soup ANYWHERE because my mum makes the BEST (I’m not even exaggerating)! If ya’ll think A&J has really tasty beef noodle soup, it’s very unfortunate because you have don’t know how to appreciate TRUE Taiwanese beef noodle. A&J pours a crap load of soy sauce into their soup base, it’s SUPER dark and SALTY.
Since I don’t EVER order beef noodle soup anywhere except at home, it really says a lot about Lao Dong’s recipe. It’s the closest thing I can get to homemade beef soup. The soup base is NOT masked with soy sauce or salt. It’s herby and you can definitely tell it’s been cooking for hours on a stove. Though it’s not close to my mum’s recipe, it definitely satisfies my fix away from home.
I found my perfect winter food for 2013 :)

Why does Irvine keep getting these crappy beef noodles joints popping up everywhere? First it was Chef Hung, now, Lao Dong. I went with several friends and ordered 3 different noodles and the xiao long bao.
The most ironic thing is, the restaurant’s been open only a few weeks and already, two items on the menu has been ‘blacked out’ with duct tape. Then, we tried to order the shrimp and loofah melon XLBs and the server said «they are not ready». Hmmm, you know you open at 11am, it is now 11.30am, why is it not ready? We then pressed harder as to WHEN they’ll be ready only to be told they are not available until further notice. I just don’t get it! Why do you put it on the menu if you’re not going to have it?
I did sneak a peek at the reviews on here before I went and I noticed everyone talking about the service. Yeah, the restaurant was empty (we were the 3^rd table in there) and the four servers were chatting away rather than focusing on whether we wanted to order or not.
The #2 beef noodle soup with tendon and tripe arrives. The broth is okay, but not rich and meaty enough.
The $ 9 beef tendon and beef brisket with glass noodles (fun shir) was bland and tasteless. One would think that the #2 and #9 would have the same broth but I guess not. The brisket and some of the tendon were not braised long enough so it was still hard and chewy. I did manage to get a few pieces of very tender and melt-​in-​your-​mouth tendon which is how it should all be.
The #1 champion beef noodles had a broth similar to pork ramen. One of my friends is a chef and the first thing he said is «that is pork broth for your beef noodles». Mind-​boggling actually. The beef in this bowl of noodles were tasteless.
The noodles come with a very small dish of ‘suan cai” or sour pickled veggies which you add to your noodles for added flavor. The ‘suan cai’ here is not flavorful and they give you so little it barely makes a difference. Most restaurants leave the jar on the table for you to add according to your taste. I asked the server for extra and she said «how many more dishes». Hmmmm, I don’t know, bring us a BIG enough portion so we don’t have to keep asking you for more???
The XLB did possess a small pocket of soup inside, but the meat filling was dry and hard and underseasoned.
Just as I said this about Chef Hung, I will say it about Lao Dong. If your beef noodles were the champion and won awards, I wonder how the runners-​up noodles tasted.

Over the years, I have seen this ill-​fated location change hands several times. And each time, the shiny new eatery with its gaudy neon-​lit sign ends serving up vessels of woefully mediocre phở. Perhaps this spot is cursed for phở, I would say to myself. Perhaps someone needs to bring in something totally different.
And so now we have the arrival of Lao Dong Beef Noodles. And why not? If not the Chinese, then who? But sadly, the curse remains, and this time with a vengeance, for the #1 Champion Beef Noodle Soup is, without question, the worst beef noodle soup I have had in my entire life!
Am I being too subtle here?
It’s pretty bad. No, it’s worse than bad. It’s egregious. Whoever in the kitchen thinks that this bowl of dishwater containing the solidified remains of what was probably last night’s chow mein — not to mention the stingy afterthought of half an egg — needs to be shipped by slow boat back to Taiwan where he can be summarily executed for the shameful crime of making an utter mockery of a treasured national dish.
As if that wasn’t bad enough, when I asked one of the doe-​eyed servers for an extra soup spoon, he came back with one of those small plastic take-​out spoons. Really? I mean, really?
I don’t wish any ill will on this owners here; I really don’t. But I do wish this place would burn down. Maybe then the curse of atrocious noodle soup will be forever purged from this location.

It seems like this place is trying to copy Chef Hung’s restaurant in Diamond Jamboree but is not as good. The Champion Beef Noodle Soup is clear and bland.
When we asked the waitress for her recommendation on which soup to try she gave us attitude and said the clear soup. «Well the Champion one duh!» (when a mean girl voice.) Okay, Chick if you say so?
They only have two different kinds of XLBs but show a variety of them of the menu. Why show so many when you only serve two?
The staff is super confused and the tables are too close together, so the waiters butts keep hitting your arm or the end of the table when you’re eating. When asking for another soup spoon the waiter brought us a little plastic spoon. We both started laughing like, «are you kidding me?» That is exactly what this restaurant is – a joke. I am not sure if it’s because they are new or what but it was pretty bad.

This place is just A-​OK
At the moment, its only their SOFT OPENING… so not everything is available on the menu.
Upon arrival, we noticed that there was a GUUD number of people in there, but the SERVICE WAS VERRRRRY SLOW. We had to ask your waiter TWICE just to get ORDER!
Anywho…it quite understandable, for all of the servers are new to the establishment. Going on… I ordered the Champion Beef Noodle Soup and the Soup Dumplings.
Champion Beef Noodle Soup: YUMMY! Clear soup is definitely the way to go! I personally hate the salty soup taste. Beef texture was ok… and it came with an egg? interesting
Soup Dumpling: they were out! They said their dumpling machine was out of order!!!
Anywho.this was place was A-​OK. Ill probably give it another go once things have settled at this location.
UNTIL THEN! ^-^

A rather popular chain brought over from Taiwan, with this being their first Irvine location. Replaced a phở restaurant I was never really fond of. Never been to the one in Rowland Heights, but have been to their location in Taiwan.
They didn’t have a dumpling chef on my visit. Beef noodles arn’t as good as their Taiwan location, but that is to be expected. Overall the quality was decent, perhaps more flavorful than A&Js.
Definitely worth a try once the full staff is hired. I’m gonna give it a few weeks then will hit the menu like Jabba the Hutt after Ramadan.