Beijing Noodle House — Restaurant in Lake Forest

I have mixed experiences twice here. First time I tried it yesterday was good. 4/5. Today 2/5... avg 3/5. But portions—wise I was able to have late dinner and 2 lunches from left overs that I gave it 4/5 for price points. The shrimps and leeks dumplings with mild spicy sauce was great.. fills the craving for real Chinese foods that’s not msg filled or Americanized. The food doesn’t have the fancy look or style like that other famous restaurant chain that’s so hard to get a seat or an order in or long waits. Beijing’s braised beef noodles fills the cravings but the beef is ok.. a bit tough chew. Today I made the mistake out of not stating my spicy level so the wonton spicy sauce was wayyyy over the top spicy 🌶 for my liking.. and first time trying it too. It didn’t have the vinegar and uniqueness taste and smell of the toasty burned chilies sauce I had yesterday with the dumplings and trying to fill the craving I am used to having another restaurants that had dish. I guess Taiwanese and Beijing wontons are different? The wrapping here is too soft it seem like I’m eating... meatball wrapped inside dough. All in all over $60 and over 20 today. I am full and got many meals from leftovers Would I come again out of my way? Nope. Would I eat here if I’m in the area and hungry needing something fast . Sure!! 3-5 dishes were good-ok. A few are just bad.. like desserts were meh. Plum Drink were weird..not worth it. BNH hit the spot so no more cravings but also not craving it.. to want to go back just for that! Definitely a fast food type eatery.. and that’s great. We need this kind of place to fill after work hunger and quick...

My actual overall rating for this place is 3.5/5 stars, but Google Reviews doesn't let me half stars. I just picked to give it a 4-star in the system since it's still something worth mentioning as a food option, but I'd recommend a few places over this one if you have easy access to transportation.

I visited this location about a week ago and had their Braised Beef Noodle since it was listed under "Chef's Recommendation" and they had a lot of advertising for it. First off, the noodle soup was good and the portioning was enough to be filling, but I wouldn't really call it authentic since it felt/tasted more like an imitation (maybe another way of saying it is that it felt "white-washed" similar to how people refer to Panda Express as Chinese food). It was good enough to satisfy my hunger and cravings, but I'd rather commit an extra 10 minute drive for something that tastes more authentic at the same...

To go review only and first time here. Ordered in person, their popular Braised Beef Noodle soup. Had a separate soup container and a noodles bowl, were easy to mix the two together. The beef cubes were tender and noodles are cooked well- not too hard or soft. I asked for spicy level 1, which was just right with slight spiciness. You could also order it non-spicy as well. The soup could have been more flavourful and hotter temp though. Took about 5 minutes to get it as promised in the early afternoon hour, no one was dining inside, but the restaurant seems to be clean and they have different delivery options and takeout order machine if they are busy. There are outside general tables in the plaza you can eat at, but they don't...