Mei Zhou Dongpo Coming to Irvine

I was slightly upset that the Marie Callendar Restaurant in Culver Plaza, Irvine was closed down.  We loved to get the dessert pies from there during their pie-month sale (Feb and Oct).  Unfortunately, they had to go.

The other day, as I was going to have lunch at Little Sheep, I walked past the empty shop.  Quickly, my eyes noticed a poster on the front door.  From it I found out there is a new restaurant coming to Irvine - Mei Zhou Dongpo!



It is all covered up, I am assuming they have having renovation inside the shop.  As I visited the website listed on the poster, I found that it has another location in Santa Monica Century City Westfield Mall.  There is not much information about it on the website beside the menu and the location.

Farther researching online, Yelp reviewers rated the restaurant in Santa Monica with an average of 3 stars.  From the name of the restaurant, probably their signature dish would be Dongpo meat.  This restaurant may have only 2 locations (including Irvine) in US but has 110 locations across China since 1996.  They serve Sichuan / Szechuan cuisine.  

Guess you all have to wait till its opening to find out more about this place.  I am interested to find out how this restaurant will do with the ever high competition among the many restaurants in Irvine.

Honey & Butter Macarons Coming Soon to Irvine Spectrum

It has been a long while since I visited Irvine Spectrum.  But there was a surprise for me.  I was excited to find out that Honey & Butter macarons is coming to Irvine Spectrum.   It says to be open in spring 2016, should be before June, I guess.  I can't wait! 

Honey & Butter started at The LAB in Costa Mesa.  I especially like their character macarons because they are just too cute, to a point that you just want to keep them rather than eating them.  You can view some of their creations at their Yelp Page.

Saks Off Fifth Coming to Metro Pointe at South Coast

Saks Off Fifth is coming to Metro Pointe at South Coast. It is located in the same plaza as Nordstrom Rack and Edward Theater, right next to Marshall.  Don't confuse this with the Saks Fifth Avenue at South Coast Plaza.  Saks Off Fifth is where you want to go to get a good deal. 

This will be the nearest outlet for us living in Irvine.  Currently, for the nearest Saks Fifth Avenue Off 5th, I have to drive up to Orange Outlet (previously known as The Block of Orange), which is about 15 minutes drive.  Now that it will be opening soon at South Coast, it will be less than 10 minutes drive.

UNIQLO Coming Soon to South Coast Plaza

I was at South Coast Plaza this morning for shopping. As I was walking into the mall from the structure parking, I saw this big sign:

    From Tokyo to LA, UNIQLO will be joining the West Coast. They are opening several locations in LA area including at Glendale Galleria, Beverly Center and Northridge Fashion Center.

South Coast Plaza will be their only location in Orange County for now.  The anticipated opening date is September 5th, 2014.  The store at South Coast Plaza is located in front of Sears (near the Lego store).  That location used to be a hair salon, Mrs. Field's Cookie and another clothing store. 

Their online websites already selling items with sales and for now, they offer free shipping for orders $50 and up.

Old Malaya Grill in Huntington Beach

Go guess the acronym for Old Malaya Grill and you will find yourself saying, "O-M-G!" I just love the creativity of the owner. 


Her name is Nur and she is 100% Malaysian and she prepares all the food from scratch with no MSG added.  She gave me a quick tour of her kitchen.  If you do see her when you are at O-M-G, please say,  "Hello!"  She is very friendly and she loves to share her passion about cooking with you.


The restaurant had just opened about a month ago.  O-M-G is located in the small plaza on the southeast corner of Garfield and Beach in the City of Huntington Beach. You can find the address at the bottom of this post.  The interior of the restaurant is very simple but pleasant.  It has seating for up to 30 customers.   


Just because this is still a very new restaurant, their menu may be limited but they are trying to expand with more dishes.  The above picture show you the items they served here.  Most of the dishes here are under $10. 

Are you ready for the food pictures?  Let me start with the appetizer we ordered today.

Chicken Satay  
Roti Jala with curry  
Roti Canai with curry
Next three pictures were our main course.  We had Nasi Lemak with Chicken Berempah (spice chicken), Char Koay Teow and Mee Goreng Mamak.

 Nasi Lemak The sambal is sweet and spicy.  It is very authentic to our local Malaysian sambal for this dish.
The chicken has just the right amount of spice in it.    Char Koay Teow The deal with this dish is you need to right way to stir fry it with hot wok. You also need the right sauce. You get both deals here.  This is not a spicy dish.  You can ask the owner for sambal on the side.    Mee Goreng Mamak The right sauce, the right wok heat. Again, this is a non-spicy dish, but sambal is provided on the side.
Now we go to our last two pictures. The dessert!

 Pisang Goreng (Banana fritters)     Ice Kacang with Rose syrup (shaved ice)
Old Malaya Grill

19072 Beach Blvd #F, Huntington Beach, California 92648

Phone: (714) 963-7319

Tue to Fri: 11:00 am - 2:00 pm; 5:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Sat to Sun: 11:00 am - 9:00 pm
Monday: Closed

**HALAL**
**NO MSG**

Scoop Fest at Baskin Robbins

Swing by your nearest Baskin Robbins today and tomorrow for their Scoop Fest Amazing Deal. You can get the kid's scoop for $1, 2 scoops for $2 and 3 scoops for $3.

What is your favorite Baskin Robbins flavor?  My personal favorite is the Love Potion #31.  I will definitely stop by tomorrow to get a scoop of this deal.  Don't wait too long, this deal will end tomorrow, April 24th, 2014.

Capital Noodle Bar at Crossroad Plaza

As I was shopping at The Crossroads (Barranca and Culver), I saw a sign (picture above) for a new restaurant coming into the plaza. It is the Capital Noodle Bar.  Capital Seafood Restaurant is famous for its dim sum.  It has already two restaurants in the city of Irvine, one in the Diamond Jamboree Plaza and the other in Irvine Spectrum. 

I do not know what to expect for this new outlet at Crossroads which is a "noodle bar", but I will definitely give it a try when it is opened.  Anyone wants to join me for a lunch trip there?