Irvine Dining｜CHANG'AN — An Honest & Balanced Review 🍽️

I’ve seen mixed reviews about this place for so long, so after visiting again recently, I wanted to share a completely objective take — no ads here! 📍 Address: 13051 Newport Ave, Tustin, CA 92780 💰 Price per person: $100–150 My ratings: 🏙️ Ambience: 9/10 — Above average in every way, from seating to restrooms. 👨‍🍳 Service: 9/10 — One server was especially attentive; when I didn’t like the lobster noodles, they removed it from the bill right away. 🍲 Food: 8/10 — I’ve been here 4–5 times: some dishes are amazing, others… not so much. The mixed reviews make sense because the menu is hit-or-miss. I’ve had truly delicious dishes here, and also some that were pretty disappointing. I’ll mark my personal favorites and skips at the end! 🦆 Peking Duck In my opinion, the best Peking duck in Irvine — maybe even all of Orange County. Served in three stages: crispy skin with sugar, tender meat, then smoked duck meat. If Si Ji Min Fu (in Beijing) is a 9/10, this is a solid 7.5–8/10. Comes with free duck soup, or you can upgrade to cumin duck bones or duck wonton soup (extra charge). 🌶️ Spicy Chicken Tenders Great value — never let me down! Chicken cooked with Sichuan peppercorns and dried chili, salty and fragrant. At $36, it’s one of their more reasonably priced dishes. 🍤 Special Jumbo Prawns $68 — good if you love shrimp, otherwise skip. Tasty but not extraordinary. 🥩 Charcoal-Grilled Beef Short Ribs $88 — recommended! Tender, not chewy, with a nice sear and rich beef flavor. Even better than some steakhouse ribs. Only downside: portion is a bit small. 🥬 Stir-Fried Celery with Dried Tofu A light, simple veggie dish — nothing special but solid. ✅ My Personal Hits: Peking Duck, Charcoal Beef Short Ribs, Spicy Chicken Tenders, Wagyu Fried Rice ❌ My Personal Misses: Marinated Raw Oysters (fishy), Crispy Pigeon (dry), Duck Wonton Soup Final thoughts: The good dishes here are REALLY good — the not-so-good ones are pretty forgettable (though I can’t recall all the misses now). Stick to my “Hits” list and you should be safe! Feel free to drop your own recommendations or warnings in the comments 👇 #PekingDuck #Changan #IrvinePekingDuck #ChangAnIrvine #IrvineEats #TustinFood 🦆