No idea.... It's a Japanese diner that serves Chinese food? Great place. Try it. The owners are a Huntington Beach couple and it is always crowded. The missus does fantastic service. read more

Aoki No Chuuka - Ramen Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

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The restaurant itself is tucked in the corner of the shopping plaza. Plenty of parking available. The restaurant itself is pretty small. We were greeted and seated right away. Server is friendly and the food came out quickly. However, the food ...is not great. I definitely won't be back here. Personally, I wouldn't recommend this place. There are plenty of other places in the area with more flavorful food. Sapporo on draft: (5/5) This was delicious! The only thing worth coming here for honestly. Side of fried rice: (4/5) Surprisingly, the fried rice had a lot of flavor. It was pretty good. Steamed dumplings : (3/5) Average, simple but not bad. Probably wouldn't order again. Spicy pork Mabo tofu: (3/5) I love mabo tofu, but was disappointed with the taste of this meal. Chashu ramen: (3/5) The chashu was pretty good, the base broth itself was very plain and definitely needs more flavor. Despite adding chili oil, it still wasn't good. read more

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I would be cautious about supporting this business, especially if you value respectful and fair treatment. The owner's behavior felt dismissive and unprofessional, and some reviews raise serious concerns about how people are treated or how he treats his own employees. If you read through other reviews, you'll notice similar complaints about the owner's attitude and behavior and on top of that the food isn't even good. read more

First time coming to this restaurant with my Japanese friends. It's a small Japanese communities where we can get together eating and chatting! The staffs are very friendly and the head chef/owner is a very passionate person! And he was very accommodate-able person! Love it! read more

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A hole in the wall, neighborhood place where most customers and staff know each other. It was our first time there, but we felt welcome. The food was delicious and the service was great. We came here for the champon, which is difficult to find at most ramen stores. read more

Aoki No Chuuka - Mabo Tofu - Ramen Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

Cute Japanese Chuuka eatery with relatively affordable dishes! My fiancé and I came for lunch on a Saturday, shop is small with table and bar seating. The vibe is a typical Japanese Izakaya. We got the Sapporo draft (small $5 each), yuzu shio ramen ($13), half fried rice ($6) and liver stir fry ($15). The Sapporo draft was icy and cool, very refreshing. Yuzu shio ramen wasn't the best I've had, comes with a piece of chashu, menma, green onions, and bean sprouts, flavor is light so I was able to finish. Liver stir fry was a little salty but portion is generous. The fried rice was the best! Not overly salty and had hint of MSG. Overall solid Japanese eatery with good food and fast service. Would love to try the curry my next visit! read more

Aoki No Chuuka - Yuzu Yuzu Pepper Shio Ramen Noodle - Ramen Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

Prior to visiting Aoki No Chukka recently, I was rather excited to find out there's Chuuka Restaurant available in the area. Where I just moved from, there isn't one. We have tons of fusion restaurants but no Machi-Chuu at all. The food we ordered and got to taste was delicious despite the outrageous and hostile behavior of the servers, menu price and system. The gyoza is nothing to write home about and I would not recommend ordering. Neither are the takoyaki. The place also does not care about what order the food arrives. None of the appetizers arrived prior to our entrees arriving. And my dining companion's meal arrived well before mine, and the appetizers arrived well after both of us were nearly done with our food. The most noteworthy thing about the whole dining experience was the hideous behavior by the server and complete lack of care by the owner who witnessed the whole thing. What's with the rather overt and shameless ethnocentrism and xenophobic Japanese restaurant staff? I am ashamed to ever admit I come from the same tiny a*ss island these folks come from. Let me elaborate. We visited during a Saturday lunch time. There was just one other table being served and awfully quiet for weekend lunch hours. The diners looked not at all happy. That should have been a sign. The interior of the restaurant actually have menu items not listed on the menu that's just plastered on the wall. I wasn't quite sure what I should order. Everything actually sounded appetizing. I asked the Japanese waitress who initially seated us and came to our table to take the order what she recommends ordering. She was speaking to the owner in Japanese, so I spoke to her in Japanese to ask for her recommendation. I didn't think the questions were so cringeworthy for her. It isn't like I was making unreasonable requests or attempting to haggle menu price or something really tacky and ridiculous. "I see that there are many appetizing dishes on the wall and on the menu. Do you have any recommendations? What do you like eating from here? Tell me your favorite dishes. Any suggestions?" To my f*king surprise, you know what she said for response? Are you ready? "ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. THERE IS NOTHING I LIKE EATING FROM HERE. PEOPLE TEND TO JUST ORDER WHATEVER THAT'S ON THE MENU WITH PICTURES. JUST PICK THE DISHES THAT HAS PICTURES IF YOU ARE HAVING TROUBLE DECIDING. THAT'S WHAT PEOPLE ORDER MOST. I GUESS YOU CAN ORDER THE SEASONAL ITEM - HIYASHI CHUKA IF YOU MUST." WTF!?!?!?!? I am fairly freaking used to receiving rude a*s service. Curt. Short. Rude. Expensive. Shamelessly friendly only during checkout type of stinking horrible service. But not quite this f*cking bad. Like I've lived in the US for 24 years and never have I received this kind of downright hostile and seriously rude service. I should have just gotten up and leave. I wish the server could have seen the aghast face me and the owner behind her, my dining companion, the other server, and the two other customers she was serving behind her had. It felt like the whole atmosphere truly froze and we were just.......so appalled. It's hilarious to me when people like that makes assumptions that I must not be Japanese nor do I speak or understand any because I don't look like one. And then act super ugly when I decide to alleviate their emotional discomfort by speaking to them in the said language they assumed I don't speak. I thought I was doing them a favor because they feel uncomfortable speaking English even after being in the US for quite some time. There's no winning with folks like that. Another Aoki No Chuuka surprise? If you order anything that's not donburi dishes, YOU WILL HAVE TO PAY EXTRA $2-$3 FOR A SMALL BOWL OF RICE. I got myself Happosai - that's basically chop suey. It's a heavy gravy with vegetables and meat and seafood type meal. You cannot eat them WITHOUT RICE. Like why the hell would you even not have rice accompany a meal like that? Do they charge for rice if you order Kare Rice too? Like you'd just get the curry but you gotta order rice separately? Do you have any idea how outrageous that is? That's akin to going to places like Jack in the Box and you have to pay extra for burger buns. Like $1 for a top bun and another $1 for bottom bun type thing. You get the picture. Would you be happy if someone legit asked you a question like that? Now the Yakiniku / chashu don was delicious according to my dining companion. I would not mind eating their food again, BUT NEVER EVER EVER EVER EVER AGAIN IN-PERSON. Blimey, the offensive server actually refused to serve our table after I asked about menu item recommendation. It's as if I violated her human rights. She literally stood and glared at me the entire time I ate. The other server was much more friendly but the atmosphere of the restaurant was just utterly painful to eat or enjoy anything. Consider this my warning if you are hesitant to go. Order via DoorDash. read more

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I had ramen and fried rice. Overall, the taste was delicious, and the value for money was excellent.

My friend brought me here and I've been to quite a few places for Ramen granted I am from nor cal and just moved to the OC but man I think I e just been shown my new fav spot read more

Aoki No Chuuka is a small Japanese style restaurant like you would find in Japan. Most of the patrons are speaking Japanese and it would seem the owner is familiar with his crowd. My experience with the service has been great as I've been coming here for around two years. Most of the time I am served by the same waitress. I am 3rd generation Japanese and many dishes remind me of comfort food my grandmother and mom made for me. The shrimp omelette over fried rice with gravy is unique and delicious. The mabo tofu ramen is very tasty and satisfying. The portions are large and the prices are reasonable. I will often get an order of the fried rice to go so I can eat for breakfast the next day and I make my own eggs to put on top. If you want comfort food in a casual and informal setting and you are not demanding "craft" ramen like Kitakata or Kashiwa, this is a place I would recommend. I personally enjoy the familiarity of this place to my heritage and being a person living in an area where I am viewed as different. BTW- the beer is cold and the chilled mugs are a nice touch! read more

Food was ok. Not worth the price though. Ordered the Subuta. ( sweet and sour pork) with the rice and soup for $3.00 extra. The soup was basically hot water and Ramen base mixed. The rice was dry and hard. Rice for making fried rice. Not really edible as just white rice. The subuta was decent. Wife had Age soba with gomoku ankake. Fried noodles with veggie and pork and shrimp. It was OK. For the price, not really worth it. Service was just there. We arrived at 11:35. Closed sign still up. I saw someone inside and the man that either owns the place or is the cook, not sure. Looks up at us like, "What?". I asked if they are open, he paused and said, "Oh, yeah. Sit wherever you want." He kept reading his newspaper when we sat and were ready to order, a woman finally appeared to taken out order. She was not exactly friendly or rude. Just playing the part I guess. They finally flipped the sign to open after the third group came in. Overpriced, but the volume is a lot. So guess if you really aren't worried about taste and just want volume, this place might be good. If you're into taste, maybe not. I highly doubt we'll be going again. There are several other places that are much better. read more

Love this place! I work next door and their food is delicious and they have a huge variety of options. I get the miso ramen on my lunch and it's the best so flavorful and yummy. read more

It's a small place with big flavors. Everything there is delicious. I love it there because everything comes out freshly made and steaming hot! My entire family loves it there! read more

Hello my friend worked here and when he quit he needed his last paycheck and the manager Tarro threatened to call ice on him instead of giving him his last check I was prepared to report the manager to the "California Labor Commissioner's Office" for wage theft and hire a lawyer for my friend. If a manager has that kind of attitude problem with his subordinates, that's not somewhere i want to give my service too and you shouldn't either. I'm still going to report them to the California Labor Commissioner's Office so there's at least a report in case it happens again. If the owner sees this I'm sorry that the manager you hired for your restaurant is not a good person and i hope you find a good manager to take care of your business. Someone who doesn't try to take advantage of someone else because of the color of their skin. read more

A gem in the Costa Mesa area!! It's been part of the community for years. It's also rare to find a true Japanese style Chinese spot, which also means the menu/flavors are a little different from what most people are used to. We came on a weekend and it was pretty quiet. The staff are friendly and attentive! Food: I got the tenshinhan, which is something I've never had before. While the gravy looks overly thick in the photo, the flavor was actually quite light and not too salty! I ended up taking some home because it was so fillling. The shoyu ramen broth has a clean-tasting quality and isn't too oily. We also ordere the ebichili because we've never seen something like it at a Japanese restaurant. Also delicious! Parking: It's inside a plaza so there's lots of parking available. read more

I must have gone to dinner on a weird night. First off, the food wasn't that good. I got the spicy chicken curry ramen. I counted 3 small pieces of chicken in the whole dish. Secondly, the whole waitstaff and the owners were drinking alcohol and getting drunk with the customers. Some customer even brought in a bottle of tequila. They were chugging beer and doing shots of God knows what. No joke! I wish I took a video as proof. They were getting loud and making a scene. Not a pleasant atmosphere for a first time customer. Will not be going back. read more

I love this place!! Aoki No Chuuka has the best ramen I've ever had! Was working in the area and stopped by to get some food to go! Everyone was so nice and welcoming definitely will be back soon to sit down and try a lot more read more

Aoki No Chuuka - Pork ramen - Ramen Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

super authentic japanese food, and the ambiance is very homey and welcoming. always enjoy coming here with my family.

Best Chinese-Japanese restaurant I've had outside of Japan. Genuinely great food with my favorite being Stamina Ramen. The vibe is incredibly fun with the owner using himself in photos as part of marketing and the staff are extremely friendly. Respectfully for those reviews commenting negatively about the taste, you all have muted tongues and should stick to your steak and potatoes. Just because you can't appreciate the taste doesn't mean it's not good, the problem is with you and your uncultured taste bud read more

Aoki no Chuuka is a Japanese-Chinese cuisine restaurant, which means it serves Chinese food through a Japanese lens--a rare breed in the USA indeed. Japanese-Chinese cuisine is a unique style in its own right, akin to American-Chinese food. It predominantly draws from Cantonese and Sichuan influences, favoring the mild and balanced flavors of Cantonese cuisine along with some adapted, less spicy versions of Sichuan dishes. The Japanese variant sticks to milder, less oily, and more subtly flavored dishes, focusing on noodle soups, gyoza, lightly seasoned fried rice, sweet and mildly spicy seafood, savory tofu dishes, and omelets with sauce. Aoki no Chuuka has some excellent dishes such as Ebi-Chili, a prawn in chili sauce dish that can be traced back to being invented in Yokohama by Kenichi Chen. Their version strikes just the right balance of flavors--neither too sweet nor too spicy, leaning more towards the savory side. Their chashu, as many reviewers rave, is delicious. And one cannot go wrong with their Chahan--I personally adore any variety with Takana in it. The service is friendly enough and competent, and while the environs are a bit cramped, the cozy atmosphere is reminiscent of a local neighborhood joint in Japan. One must, however, beware of the inconsistency that can happen here. The food can vary at times in flavor and quality--catch the chef on a bad day, and you might end up with a less-than-stellar meal. I recall one particular incident where our group was served karaage that had been fried until it nearly turned black. Not exactly appealing. However, it seems these issues have gradually become less frequent, giving hope that the inconsistency is being addressed. Aoki no Chuuka offers a delightful experience with a touch of Japan's unique take on Chinese cuisine. Just hope the chef is having a good day when you visit. Rating: 4 out of 5 stars--As Kajii Motojiro wrote in "Winter Days," "I wish I could sleep through winter and wake up in spring." Much like waiting for the chef's good days at Aoki no Chuuka. Lucien Bramard. read more

Place is nothing special -pricing is to high for japanese street food- better off going to eat at Mitsubishi food court

My first time eating here, it was good yummy Japanese cooking. I had Chukadon and pan fried gyoza, both were delicious. Will come here again to try on different menus. read more

Aoki No Chuuka - Pan fried gyoza and Chukadon - Ramen Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

Garlic fried rice was sooooo good! I was watching a lot of youtube about "machi-chuka" and was craving for it. There is no Japanese style chinese restaurant where I live so I was happy when I found out about this place. They didn't disappoint. I will go back when I go to OC/LA again. read more

It's hard to find a Japanese restaurant in the US that specializes in Chuuka style food. That's because Chuuka essentially means "Chinese food." It's a Japanese take on Chinese cuisine, or Japanese-Chinese fusion. Chuuka takes popular Chinese dishes such as mapo tofu and twice cooked pork, and adapts the flavors to suit a Japanese palate. I decided, therefore, to go to this restaurant, which has the word "chuuka" in it. The menu does have expected Japanese fare such as ramen and curry, but it also has Chuuka cuisine such as mapo eggplant and hiyashi chuuka. I love sweet and sour pork at Cantonese restaurants, so I went ahead and ordered subuta, which is the Japanese version of the dish. While most people think of sweet and sour pork as having a reddish sauce, the Japanese variant has a darker brown sauce. This restaurant's version of subuta uses pork belly instead of pork loin. I actually prefer pork loin, given that it's deep fried, but the pork belly was still good. The veggies were all cooked, and the sauce was the classic sweet sauce I expect from the Japanese version of sweet and sour pork. My wife got yuzu pepper shio ramen. I noticed the broth here was thinner and soupier than ramen I'd expect from places like Daikokuya and Tsujita - meaning that this place tries to stick closer to a Chinese style ramen soup broth. Very nice. It's a pretty long drive for me, but if I am ever in the area again I would consider stopping by again. read more

Aoki No Chuuka - Subuta - Ramen Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

I thought these kinds of places did not exist here. I'm happy to have found this amazing Japanese cafe style restaurant! We ordered a mapo tofu, curry omukeshi, and a char siu bao. All were very delish and really gave me that hone cooked feeling I have been longing for in Japanese comfort foods. Will be coming back to try more dishes! Restaurant also has a selection of beer and sake! read more

Aoki No Chuuka - Curry omukeshi and charsiu bun with a side of quail eggs - Ramen Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

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This is only my first time here at Aoki Ramen, but I really enjoyed it. There are so many ramen restaurants with heavy thick broths, but I really appreciate the traditional shiyo or shoyu broths. This restaurant also has a wide variety of other menu items such as Mabo tofu, tenshinhan, kaki-fry, happousai, curry and more. I like the bar setting, though I miss the kitchen setups in Japan where the chefs making ramen are out in the front behind the bar. The Japanese pop music is great too. Very nostalgic! I'd say this restaurant is doing it right. I plan to come back often. read more

Aoki No Chuuka - Kaki-fry - Ramen Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

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The bedt chinese japanese restaurant you can find in costa mesa. Chilled beer mugs and fresh hot food served with a cute and warm atmosphere read more

Aoki No Chuuka - Mabo Tofu - Ramen Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

This place has become part of our lunch rotation these past few months. We've tried several dishes, and they've all been good. Our favorite are the chashu don, the agesoba, and several of the side dishes. Usually pretty prompt service. read more

Aoki No Chuuka - Ramen Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

Found this gem through Yelp. Ramen here is a gomoku ramen style. It is suppose to have more vegetables and seafood in them. I ordered the yuzu pepper ramen while the kids got the kids special. Just like Japan the kids prefer came on a cute segregated plate with several sides. Kids loved it and that plates were shaped like little fire trucks. This is a small locals stop with limited number of seating. The atmosphere is fun and even have manga books by the front door. Not sure if you are allowed to read them as the shelf is open to the public. Overall the family had fun and look to return and try née ramen dishes. read more

My go to Chinese-style Japanese restaurant. Everything is really good and they have unique dishes found nowhere else. Highly recommend.

Went back again, very authentic Japanese and Chinese food, I ordered the beef sukiyaki which did not disappoint, but it does have too much rice, and also ordered the Mabo tofu, very spicy for my tastes, but still very tasty. read more

Another little hole in the wall hidden gem. Service was amazing the lady was very attentive and friendly. Spicy garlic edamame was full of flavor, just wished it was spicy. I ordered the spicy miso ramen and it really hit the spot. But it seems like their type of spicy isn't spicy? Or maybe I have a high tolerance. Also ordered strawberry mochi.. $4 for basically 2 mochi's cut in half.. they are good but dam ok. The tempura fried ice cream on the other hand tasted amazing. The blueberries they added melted in my mouth. Definitely try it. The place itself is small and cozy. I would call ahead to see if they're full or make a reservation since seating is limited. Two spicy miso ramens, edamame and the dessert all came to around $43. read more

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I ordered a pork cutlet curry katsu ($13.50) and a seaweed soup ($2.00) off the UberEats app. The order arrived in a timely fashion, so this is a review strictly for the food. By far, the absolute worst pork cutlet curry katsu that my taste buds have had the unfortunate chance of meeting. While the portion size was huge, the curry sauce was tasteless, and the pork cutlet was like bland cardboard with a terrible overused frying oil taste to it. The seaweed soup was okay, just a little too salty for my taste. I couldn't even finish my food. read more

Aoki No Chuuka - Pork cutlet curry katsu - Ramen Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

Aoki is my favorite place to go for ramen, or Japanese food in general. Before quarantine, I came here about every weekend with a couple members of my family lol. I honestly don't think I've ever had a bad meal or experience here and cant find anything to complain about. The staff is always very nice to us. What we've ordered from here: Chashuu, Shoyu, Gomoku, Tenshin ramen Pan fried gyoza Yasai Itame w/ seaweed soup pork fried rice kimchi Meatball dish (idk what its called lol) All of these items are delicious or was told they were delicious by my family members. The ramen has a great flavor, the gyoza is some of the best gyoza I've had at a restaurant, the pork friend rice is really good, and the yasai itame has an amazing flavor for mostly being stir fried vegetables. I ordered to-go a week and a half ago and my order was correct, ready very fast (~15 min) and everything tasted amazing. Would definitely recommend this place! read more

Aoki No Chuuka - (This was taken back in January, before quarantine). Chashuu Ramen! One of my favs 6: - Ramen Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

Don't let the direct English translation fool you (Japanese Chinese food) ..this is a little hole in the wall gem. It's home style Japanese comfort food. We live 2 hours away and we'll be back. My wife ordered Ramon. It came in a huge bowl.. I forgot mi foods name. It's pic is on the bottom of the menu. It was a scrambled egg with shrimp and rice. The sauce they covered it was delicious. Normally we eat half and take home the rest. We kept eating until air plates were empty. The waitress was good. She spoke Japanese to my wife another bonus. Go there and be brave and try anything. You'll love it! read more

I think this is the only place to get Tenshin Chahan (Tenshion Fried Rice in their menu) in OC. If you grew up in the south like I did and like gravy over everything for no reason, go here, get this. It's fried rice with a shrimp omelette on top. As if that's not enough, they pour gravy (ankake) over top. So good. I'm sure their other stuff is great and authentic, but I can't not get this when I go here. It's a little confusing but make sure to note, they close after lunch hours (11:30am - 2pm) then open again for dinner (5pm-8:30 mon & thurs, until 9pm fri-sat, until 8pm sun), make sure to check before making an online order. read more

My beloved Tabento closed down and this spot took over in its place. I was a bit upset at first, but decided to give them a shot to see if perhaps, something better took over. I'd like to think so and it's a spot I would not mind returning to! It's tucked in a corner away from the main street, so it can be a difficult find, but this gem is worth uncovering if you have the time. There's not a whole lot of restaurants around there either, so parking is typically a breeze. The interiors is very comforting, warm and friendly. Chalkboard menu for specials, ramen specialty that mixes tradition with unconventional flavors and a family environment that welcomes all. The bf loves shoyu based broths, so he stuck with his usual fare. However, I was feeling a bit more adventurous! I decided to get the Shio Butter Corn Ramen. It came with chashu, menma (bamboo shoots), green onions and bean sprouts. The salt (Shio) based broth wasn't very salty at first sip and it had a light sweetness from the blend of broths (chicken & pork). The butter added a creamy complexity balanced by the sweetness of the corn. It was surprisingly delicious and I thought the butter was truly a nice touch. Another item on the menu caught my eye - Yuzu Pepper Shio Ramen, but they have a few others I have yet to see anywhere else! Mano Tofu Ramen, Sanratanmen, and Gomoku Ramen just to name a few. Looks like I'll have to return to try those out. Until next time! read more

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Aoki no Chuuka isn't really a "ramen joint". To clarify it's a Japanese Chinese restaurant that serves ramen. So if you're looking for your typical ramen place, this might not hit the spot. (Their ramen isn't bad.) But as a Japanese Chinese place, it's not bad. Menu consists of noodle dishes like ramen, stir fry dishes like subuta, rice dishes like shrimp fried rice and tenshin han (seafood omelette with gravy over rice), and other appetizers. Boiled gyoza and meatballs are good. I've tried different things each visit so try something new/different if you don't know what to get. Majority is on the more flavorful side (salty) so if you want a lite taste you can ask for it that way. If you have young children their kids plates are super cute and my daughter loves it. Very typical set up that you would find in Japan. Comes on a cute place with fried rice, karaage and other things kids like!! Brings me back to my childhood!! read more

I love everything about this joint! The food is excellent. I'm a huge fan of chuuka style and Aoki no Chuuka does not disappoint. Whether it be champon, niraleba, gyutan kare or really anything else, it always hits the spot. The owners are great people and I always look forward to seeing them. I'm not sure if you call a place with younger owners a "mom and pop" shop, but the sense of community invokes it. read more

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Authentic Japanese Ramen. Authentic Izakaya small plate fare. Excellent service. Ambience is great.