Irvine Restaurant Review | Jiangnan 🍽️

I used to dine at Jiangnan often when I was in New York — it was nearby and rarely had long lines. Now that they’ve opened a location in Irvine, I couldn’t wait to try it! Here’s my take. 📍 Address: 5406 Walnut Ave, Irvine, CA 92604 Price per person: $40–60 💰 Ambience: 7/10 The restaurant looks nice, but the tables are arranged quite closely together. When it’s busy, moving around can be a bit tricky. 🪑 Service: 6/10 Service felt a bit lacking. Servers mostly stood by the wall, and we even had one dish entered incorrectly when ordering. 🤷‍♀️ Food: 7/10 To be honest, it wasn’t amazing, but it wasn’t bad either. Having frequented the New York Chinatown location, I felt there was still a noticeable gap in quality. 🍲 🦆 Half Roast Duck The portion felt a bit small for half a duck. The skin wasn’t very crispy — seemed like it might have been pre-made and reheated 😕. The meat itself was fine, not gamey, and tasted better with the sides and sauces. Compared to other places (yes, even that $98 duck nearby), I’d probably head back to Chang’an for duck instead. 🥣 Duck Bone Soup (+$15) Includes cabbage, tofu, and duck bones. The broth was light in flavor — nothing special. 🍖 Sweet and Sour Pork Again, tasted like a reheated dish. The pork wasn’t crispy, and the texture was soft. Mostly just sweet, lacking balance in flavor. Still, since not many places in Irvine serve this, it might be worth a try if you're craving it. 🌶️ Smoked Hand-Held Beef The beef was a bit dry and tough, with a heavy-handed salty-spicy seasoning. Portion was decent for the price, so if you like spicy food, you might still enjoy it! 🥬 Garlic Stir-Fried Water Spinach A solid, standard veggie dish — no complaints here. 🥟 Crab Roe Soup Dumplings I didn’t detect much crab flavor, but the dumplings were juicy with generous filling. Tasted pretty good with the vinegar provided. Final Thoughts: This newly opened Jiangnan felt like it relied on some pre-made items, and the roast duck was just okay. Compared to other locations, I’d say it’s below average — maybe still finding its footing as a new branch. 🏮 Might be worth revisiting after they’ve had more time to adjust and improve. #LAEats #IrvineFood #IrvineEats #ChineseFood #JiangnanIrvine #FoodReview #OCFoodie #IrvineRestaurants #SoCalDining #FoodieLife #TryItYourself #CaliforniaCuisine