Hello! I just want to do a quick check in and tell you about my delicious date night dinner 
I was craving either Thai food or Chinese last night and since we had Thai a few weeks ago I decided we should change it up this week. I started to “Yelp” places, but told Ben just to drive in toward Irvine. Irvine is the city right next to us with a huge Asian population and an even bigger population of amazing authentic restaurants.
We ended up at Chef Chen and they brought hot tea and peanuts to the table as soon as we sat down. 
We started with the scallion pancakes. They are thin savory pancakes fried up with scallions, flour and egg.
And for some reason I ordered some steamed rolls. It is fluffy rice dough steamed and served like bread. But, it’s completely tasteless. I know I’ve tried this before and liked it, but that time they were stuffed with flavored meat. The texture of these is so interesting – I can’t decide if I love it or hate it.
Ben ordered some combination hot pot…
I ordered the General Tsoa’s chicken because it came with broccoli. Turns out the brocs were raw, but it worked. Everything was served up with white rice.
The place was small, but busy – a good sign for a restaurant, no?
I love that they took our order in Chinese (you can see it on the receipt). That ish is legit.
I drank 22 little cups of tea. I’m a fan.
Then, we went a few doors down to get dessert from a small bakery (even though there is the original Yogurtland across the street!).
But, I’m not exactly their target audience so we left empty handed…
I ended up sipping some port wine and enjoying a little dark chocolate (from my shoe egg) for dessert. Now I’m off to run and eat…
I loveee the green tea at Chinese restaurants 🙂
Sounds like a super tasty dinner. I love chinese food. This is making me rethink my dinner decision for tonight…
I’ve only ever seen those steamed buns in Chinese restaurants in Nigeria and LOVED them….especially dipped in soy sauce & vinegar! It’s probably not the most healthiest thing to eat but it’s too delicious to pass off…and hey it’s a runner’s dream: sodium & carbs ;)!
Exactly what I thought – sodium and carbs!
I think you could have dipped the bread in sauces of one of the dishes and also put a piece of meat/veg etc in between the bread. Something of a DIY. I know there are Chinese dishes served this way with “mantou”/bread dough.
MMM, I love scallion pancakes! It’s weird that they brought out completely raw broccoli :/
Whoa, I just found this blog and I’m from Irvine! Small world
Ha! Very cool! How did you find me?
Glad to see you’re still plugging away at that humungo chocolate egg. I love sweets (and the savory) from authentic Chinese bakeries! I can’t believe you didn’t find anything there, though I will admit, it’s definitely not everyone’s cup of tea.
That totally reminds me of when I was living in Taiwan – I miss the food there!
Yum! Dinner looked good, way to feed the craving! That shoe egg is going to feed you for years to come 😉
Raw broccoli with a hot dish seems odd! I’ve an ever heard of a restaurant doing that(?).
We always add ‘in bed’ at the end of our fortune cookie messages. LOL Makes for some pretty funny dinner table conversations some times. 😀
The library we now frequent here is right next to a Chinese restaurant. It’s torture! Every time we go to the library, I want to eat Chinese food!
Look like a great night! I love trying new places, too! Your food looked awesome and I LOVE tea at Chinese restaurants-can’t get enough!
Ahahaha, “dried shaved mackerel w/dried pork bread.” Classic frozen yogurt flavor.
I agree, Irvine is THEE place to go for ethnic food, unless I want Pho (then I go to Westminister). I love that they served you peanuts and tea as a little appetizer!
Looks like an amazing dinner. No soup?
The Kidless Kronicles