📍 Irvine’s Best Bang-for-Your-Buck Eats

Turns out half my go-to spots are Southeast Asian – guess my taste buds know what’s good! Here are 4 wallet-friendly Irvine staples: 1️⃣ NEP Café (Vietnamese Brunch) 📍 14346 Culver Dr | 🇻🇳 🍳 My #1 brunch spot (despite the eternal lines). 🔥 Must-orders: Egg Coffee (addictive), Crab Toast 💰 ~$30pp 2️⃣ Siam Station (Thai) 📍 92 Corporate Park | 🇹🇭 🥭 Came for the legendary mango sticky rice, stayed for the spot-on tom yum. 💡 Pro tip: Blind ordering works here – everything’s authentic. 💰 ~$20pp 3️⃣ Seven Grams (Chinese) 📍 1086 Irvine Blvd | 🇨🇳 🥟 Din Tai Fung’s chill cousin – soup dumplings + beef rolls hit the spot. 🍜 Kimchi beef noodle = fine but not mind-blowing. 💰 ~$25pp 4️⃣ Belacan Grill (Malaysian) 📍 17460 17th St | 🇲🇾 🍗 Hainanese chicken rice could feed two (save that curry dipping sauce for your rice!). 🥬 Garlicky+ beef satay = perfect combo. 💰 ~$30pp #IrvineEats #OCFoodie #SoutheastAsianFlavors