To be honest, even though, I’ve moved to Irvine for more than one year now. I still don’t feel like a local, and am still not very familiar with Irvine and Orange County. My typical route is just from my apartment to work, from work to gym, to South Coast plaza, or to markets and etc. In addition, since I live right by Irvine/Tustin Marketplace, it is so convenience that I can do pretty much everything within few blocks (grocery, theather, shops, restaurants). I rarely need to go outside my neck of woods...
I think City of Irvine has done a good job in planning it’s urban development. The community is very well organized, it was also voted by FBI as one of the safest city in the nation. Every few miles you can see nice community parks or shopping plazas. Streets and traffic are managed well -most major streets have higher than average speed limit of 45-50 miles per hour.
I got a chance to explore the different side of Irvine today – Oak Creek. I had lunch with my co-worker, Judy in Oak Creek – one of the small communities in Irvine near Irvine Spectrum. I’ve never been to this side of Irvine, so it was nice to explore a bit. Not much different than where I live. I think every community in Irvine is the same- New and Clean. We dined at Pei Wei, a Asian/American cafe.
There are a lot of Asian fast food restaurants in OC. However, unlike Panda Express's pre-cooked dinning. Most of the Chinese fastfood is made by order. Pei Wei is one of it. Although this type of Chinese restaurant is targeted at non-Chinese American with fusion Chinese style menu, but sometimes I like it better beucase it has less MSG.
In Pei Wei, you have to order first, get the number and find the table yourself. It's a self service. The place is packed during lunch rush. We waited about 10 minutes to get a table. It has an open kitchen. (what's up with all those chinese wok?)
Judy orded Dan Dan Noodles. I was surprised how authentic it is. Chile garlic soy sauce, mice chicken, cucumber, and bean sprouts - just like those you have at Authentic Chinese restaurant. Judy liked it, she said it's also very spicy.
I had a Japanese Udon Noodles. Soy mirin sauce, shiitake mushroom, veggie, with Beef. I actually like it. The sauce is really good, it's like those cold soba noodle sauce. The beef is good too, taste like BBQ satay.
The portion is just right - a bit small (Maybe I am used to the big portion of Sam Woo dishes).
Overall, it's a nice place for business lunch.
Pei Wei Asian Diner
(949) 857-8700
5781 Alton Pkwy
Irvine, CA 92618
留言列表
