Master Hu (湖一南) — Restaurant in Irvine

My husband and I had a frustrating experience at Master Hu in Irvine. We arrived around 5:45 pm, placed a small order—just pork intestine rice noodles and braised pork rice—by 6 pm, and then waited. By around 6:30 pm, nothing had arrived, and no staff member checked in to update us or apologize.

Strangely, three or four tables that ordered AFTER us were ALREADY being served, some with multiple dishes.

When we asked about our order, we were told the kitchen was short-staffed and that our food would be out “soon.” After waiting even longer with no sign of progress, we gave up and left to eat elsewhere.

If staffing was an issue, why were later-arriving guests prioritized? Why didn’t anyone suggest we switch to a quicker dish?

Even NO APOLOGY throughout the entire waiting process!

The lack of communication and disregard for first-come, first-served was disappointing. This experience made it clear that equal service isn’t a...

We visited this place for a weekday lunch and we were disappointed. First of all the price for each dish is pretty expensive: about 20 dollars for a dish. The amount does not match the price. we thought the rice would be free or an extra couple dollars but nope, the only way to get rice is ordering that rice dish with few corn in which is 3.5 and it was so little amount of rice. The food was pretty authentic, well with a good amount of oil and salt. The best part is the beef in the rice noodles. Two of us ordered 3 dishes plus rice and it was 60+ before tips and we were not even full. We poured our own water, napkins and chopsticks are already in the table drawer. The waiters served our food from five steps away and cleaned our table in a hurry right after we finished. I was hoping it could be an authentic sit down Chinese restaurant but it seems like just another fast food style but...

Ordered takeout via Fantuan, and overall, it was quite disappointing.

Stir-fried pork – The meat was tough and dry, resembling pre-made food rather than freshly cooked stir-fry.

Braised beef and beef offal – The flavor was mediocre, nothing special about the broth, and the ingredients didn’t seem particularly high-quality.

Century egg with mashed eggplant – The portion was shockingly small, with just one century egg and a tiny amount of eggplant and green pepper.

Overall, the dishes were overly greasy, the prices were unreasonably high for the portion sizes, and the quality did not justify the cost. Would...