This is the definition of an "OK" Japanese/Chinese fusion style restaurant. There's a decent variety of options but given that Costa Mesa is kind of a loaded city related to Asian food you can get better ramen, mabo tofu, fried rice, katsu, etc just about anywhere. read more

Delicious. I can't wait to go back. It is so hard to find "Japanese Chinese" in America. Love it! read more

Aoki No Chuuka - Beef liver, bean sprout, and garlic chive stir fry. - Ramen Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

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Delicious little Chinese/Japanese spot with tasty dishes! The spicy garlic edamame is a must try. read more

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Plenty parking in strip mall. They have various rice, noodle and entree dishes here. Chasu don- chasu was mildly sweet and tasty. I liked that they had added a handful of veggie and provided a small bowl of seaweed soup. Yuzu pepper shio ramen- love the spicy lemon yuzu flavored broth but a little underwhelmed by the egg. The chasu was good but wish they gave more than 1 slice. read more

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

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We came for an early dinner on a Monday afternoon and it was fairly quiet. Because of that we received fantastic attentive service throughout. This place gets raves for their ramen but since I'm not much of a ramen person I ordered pan fried gyoza and the fried chicken meal (comes with salad, rice and soup). The gyoza was very good, just a notch below the best. The chicken was also very good although the coating was a bit too crispy-hard. The chicken itself was juicy and good quality - not a single piece of gristle to be found. They serve plenty of chicken, so much that I had to take a few pieces home (admittedly I was saving room for dessert!). We shared a dessert - the tempura ice cream - which seemed a fitting close to my fried-food meal (I'm sure my cardiologist would disapprove). I've always loved the idea of deep frying ice cream. A big thumbs up on dessert. This place easily and most definitely goes onto my Japanese dining rotation. read more

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Terribly disappointed with our first take out order from Aoki No Chuuka. We ordered 3 orders of the beef tongue stew and what we received were nothing like what was advertised. The beef tongue stew we received was more like curry water with floating pieces and bits of shredded beef. My kids will be so very disappointed when I bring home the orders of the beef tongue stew; they were excited when I shared with them I found a place that serves beef tongue stew. Bummer... read more

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I still love this place. I tried first time having a ramen to-go at Non-dine in time. I finally got to dine in. I've ordered Stair fried Nira and Liver making it to a combo of rice and soup. The menu listed on Yelp pic are old. If you see one from Mar 2020, the price on items went up by $1. The dish came out less than 10 mins. There were 6~9 customers while we were there. Liver was seasoned well and bean sprout and Nira were stair fried enough to be crunchy. Perfect dish that goes well with white rice. Customer service was perfect. She paid attention to all the tables and provided service even before we were asking for check and containers. I'd definitely go back there to try it out more dishes. This place is the Gem as other reviewers mentioned. read more

Simply delicious. I have been eating a lot of pho in the past year....really getting into the bitter veggies and delicious broth. It took me a while to appreciate the sharper taste in comparison to the ramen I was wolfing down the last few years. I was jonesing for some old school ramen and found this place on Yelp with some killer reviews. It was pretty easy to find and they had plentry of seating in the lunch hour. They have a really big menu of both Chinese and Japanese option but I was in the mood for a big bowl of traditional ramen. I ordered a large bowl of chashu ramen. No appetizers, no Chinese food, no extra toppings. It was fantastic. I only added a bit of chili oil for a kick. No soy sauce, nothing else. Just a killer, complex, multilayered soup. It was just wonderful. Delicious and fresh veggies and an excellent pork. Sliced thick with a nice charred edge but moist and flavorful. A freakin' perfect bowl of ramen. read more

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

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My go-to ramen spot! Love how they offer classics like Shoyu or Butter Shio while also offering unique options such as Mabo Tofu or Curry Ramen. Regardless of what you order, you will leave satisfied! For those adventurous eaters, they also have an eating challenge where you have to finish 6 ramen servings I'll stick to eating my 1 serving, but shall always wish to hit that gong.... Pro tip: ramen is always best fresh. So when you UberEats from a small ramen shop, it's best to enjoy with an open mind. Support Small Businesses!!! read more

Its Two Star 2uesday again (or Chuuka, you Suuka)!!! I saw some of Yelpies reviews of this new ramen place in Costa Mesa, and I wanted to try it out. I wish I hadn't. Aoki is on Mesa Verde E (near Harbor) in a strip mall, and also serves rice plates & curry plates. For an app, we ordered fried chicken ($8). Secondarily, for our ramen , I ordered a large chanpon ($8 | shrimp, clams, squid + 1.50 for large). My friends ordered chasu ramen, shio butter ramen, and miso ramen. Ramen bowls are about $8, and $1.50 extra for large (no pics for the latter). First of all, the chicken tasted odd (almost mediciney). It paled in comparison to Kitakata in CM: 2 Stars. Likewise, we all thought the ramen was big portions, but lacked in flavor. Additionally, my noodles were overcooked. Lastly, my stomach was aching later, and I had to go to the bathroom several times that night. Aoki pales in comparison to Gomen in Stanton, Kitakata & Santouka in CM, and economy-minded Shin-Sen-Gumi in FV (in that order): 2 Stars. The ambiance is nice, although its a small place. There are a few tables, and a counter that resembles a sushi bar (although they don't serve sushi). However, a big downside is there is no ventilation. We were sweating our asses off and we came at night: 2 Stars. On the other hand, the service was bad. The app came out after 3 orders of ramen, and 2 orders of ramen came out 10 min after the others. In addition, the waitress was inattentive, and never checked on us til close to the end of the meal. It was busy, but it was not packed so there was no real excuse. Lastly, she also didn't refill our water until the end of the meal: 1 Star for the kitchen, 2 Stars for the waitress. While the portions are big, the broth lacks depth, and the noodles & service are inconsistent. Plus, I was the only one that had stomach issues, so there was definitely something wrong w/ that seafood I ate!!! read more

Aoki No Chuuka - Large chanpon ramen ($9.50 | and oh so $hitty) - Ramen Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

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I almost don't want to post this because this restaurant has been a "must go once every week" place for my family and I don't want it to get too crowded since it's such a gem. You will not see it if you are not looking for it. It hold about 20 people max and we love it because not a lot of people knows about it and they knows us by a first name basis. The food is fantastic. I have taken my Japanese friends and they say this place is legit! Tomoko and Taro are the best at what they do. All their dishes are very good but when I go to a Japanese ramen place, I always look at their Big 3. Ramen, gyoza (pan fried dumplings) and Cha-Han (fried rice) and let me tell you, these guys have the BEST Triple Threat. read more

We came to try Aoki for the first time on a bad night. It didn't have to do with the food. There were two large parties and two smaller ones when we arrived. The food took a long time to come out because of the other parties. That being said, I will definitely come back and try this place again. At 8:00 on a Saturday night, they ran out of chashu so we couldn't get the chashu ramen or chashu rice bowl. We opted for the curry fried rice omelet and garlic ramen along with pan fried dumplings. The dumplings were lackluster. They were smaller than expected and not crispy enough even though they looked pretty fried. The curry rice was very delicious. The curry flavor is light but still present. They top it with a BBQ sauce that is tangy. The garlic ramen was not what I expected. I was thinking about ramen more along the line of Shinsengumi or gomen. This garlic ramen is very different, but still tasty. It was a large portion of noodles with almost the same amount of cabbage, onions, carrots, and meat. The veggies are grilled or something, so you get a great smoky flavor in the soup. While the ramen wasn't what I expected, I still enjoyed it. It reminds me of Vietnamese noodle soup. The other parties there ordered entree items to share alongside alcohol. It seems like a place that people come to hang out and drink. Next time I come back, I'd like to try the chashu ramen. read more

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Food is delicious & authentic! Miso soup brought me back to Tokyo... and Chasu Don was so so Oishi!!! First timer, but you can bet I'll be back! read more

One of my favorite Japanese restaurants in Orange County, been coming here for years. Their chashu is excellent. Fast and friendly service, always a good meal here. read more

As the new ramen place in town, all the local ramen peeps have been blogging about this place, so of course I had to try it! We went on a Sat. night at 5pm, as I was afraid it would be super busy, being the "new kid in town" and getting a lot of press. They are located in a strip business office area, off the beaten path. Plenty of parking. While they only have 8 tables and a "ramen bar", there was only one other table occupied when we first arrived. We reviewed the menu and I settled on the Chashu Ramen and my husband got the Garlic Ramen. My ramen came out first, about 10 minutes prior to his. It was strange that they didn't time it better. I was half-way through my ramen, when he got his (after we asked about it). It wasn't busy at the restaurant, so I'm not sure what the hold up was? The chashu ramen was good. The broth was flavorful and the chashu was very generous, however the chashu was a bit "chewy" and hard. My husband got the garlic ramen. I need to preface this by saying that he cannot handle any kind of spice. They finally delivered his ramen, and it was too spicy for him. I tried it and it was "mildly spiced" to me, however for someone who does not like spice, this was too much for him. The description should say that there is some type of spice added to it. There was nothing of the sort. He was literally sweating. I felt bad and offered to switch ramen bowls with him. His noodles were also thicker than mine. Needless to say, it was not what either of us expected. The service was pleasant. We didn't try any of the other dishes, so this review is solely based on the 2 ramen dishes we tried. Perhaps if/when we try other dishes, I may be able to bump this review up. I'd actually rank it 3.5 stars, but since there are no options for half stars, I'd have to give it a 3. There are so many other ramen places in Costa Mesa, and I can name several others that I prefer to this one. On the good side, the prices are very reasonable. read more

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Holy moly......... ANC is delish. Unique ramen with the yummiest of broths. If you know anything about ramen, you'll appreciate the tastiness of their broth! And well, one of my good friends who is like the ramen queen LOVES ANC..... and she has had a lot to compare it too. The salt n pepper ramen sounds weird to some maybe. But it was so good. Her chashu pork ramen was delectable too! I'll have to get that next time. If only it was closer to me. I could really stop in weekly! The takana fried rice is a MUST. Friendliest of waiters and vibe is pretty chill. Price point is reasonable for the quality and tastiness of the grub here. Dreamin about my next visit.... read more

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I have been there 7 times ever since I moved in to Costa Mesa in April 2021 because my son likes their chasu. I am tring diffent dishes every time to frontier my favorite one, but so far nothing exceeded my expectation. Hopefully I will be able to find my fave soon. read more

I was a little disappointed. It was pretty expensive for ramen, so I guess I expected it to be better... read more

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

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We went to Aoki n Chuka last month. First of all, Their taste was OK. We don't have amy complain about that taste. But We really disappointed and I wanted to make 0star for their customer service. We went to there at lunch time and some lady worked at front. It was first time to visit there so we didn't know anyone else. the lady seems like so grampy or mad for something. She came to us for take our order and she didn't say anything when we said what we want. we didn't care about her at that time but she put our order on the table hardly with say anything when she brought our dishes! after that, she didn't come to us for asking something or filling water until she brought the bill. That was worst customer service ever for my experience. I never come back again. read more

I absolutely love eating at AoChuu. It's a really unique spot because it serves some dishes that also have a chinese influence. Their beef tongue curry is amazing and their Tenshin Fried Rice (Shrimp fried rice with an omelette on top and smothered in a light sauce) is an absolute must try. The service is really fast and of course friendly. They also serve fantastic Japanese shaved ice. I go here at least once a week and I've introduced a bunch of my friends to this spot. Great pricing and great portions. read more

This is place is a hidden gem, I hardly find any Japanese style Chinese food in the states. The shrimp fried rice is very old school Japanese style, fried chicken is super juicy and tender, the katsu curry is the best curry I ever had in the states. I will definitely come back and try other items on the menu. read more

This is our favorite local ramen place and is a great low key vibe for dine in. Their garlic fried rice is also amazing.

Awesome foods !! Prices are reasonable!!$$ Waitress was very nice!! Go at once and eat delicious foods! Thanks Aoki staff! Shoji Konishi read more

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We came here for lunch and ordered the following: 1) Chasu ramen - this was decent; not the best i've had but OK. the noodles were thin and not as chewy as I would have liked; the chasu is basically slices of pork belly. the flavor of the broth was light and not fantastic. the nice part is that it wasn't super salty. 3.5 stars. 2) Garlic ramen - my husband really enjoyed his ramen bowl; said the flavor was great, veggies were delightfully cooked, and only drawback is that the broth is too salty to drink, 4 stars 3) deep fried gyoza - this was ok; 2 stars according to my husband; he didn't think it was anything too special. (Written by husband) read more

Aoki No Chuuka - Charsu ramen, garlic ramen, deep fried goyza - Ramen Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

Here on vacation and we were in the mood for some authentic ramen, This wasn't the best place. We ordered Large sized ramens and there was honestly nothing "large" about them. A half an egg and a small sliver of chashu was ALL that was in there. For $20+ ramen you'd think they'd AT LEAST give you 2 slices of chashu. The broth was spicy but flavorless. Shrimp rice was okay. Fried chicken plate was also flavorless. $100+ dinner and it really wasn't worth it. read more

Everything I ordered were great, but... chopped green onions are must for fried rice... , standard ! should come with fried rice. Why should I pay $2 for it? I think that's messed up, just my opinion read more

Best broth ever. I order the spicy miso base with my ramen. And the pork buns are also amazing.

HUGE PORTIONS along with massive servings of MSG. Service is friendly and the dining area is cozy and clean. Menu is diverse and offers several comfort food options. Prices are low and quantity is shockingly large. Everything here tastes fine but it stops at fine. You'll get full for sure but you're not going to experience any sort of quality here. It's like the Claim Jumpers of Japanese/Chinese food. I don't remember what we ordered but I do remember being painfully thirsty for the entire day even after brushing my teeth and drinking two liters of water. If you want a big meal for a small price and don't mind a bit of compromise, then you'll love this place. I'll even admit that if I weren't so sensitive to MSG, I'd come here more often, so give it a shot. =) read more

Aoki No Chuuka - Katsu curry. - Ramen Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

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Good point We can have Temahindon . It rare to have it in USA . Taste was good Bad point I told server pay separate but she brought us together And one of server out my friend food badly not kindly My friend got mad to her . I am not a dog !! Don't put Custer food like that Japanese Kawage is huge but too big to eat . They need cut read more

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

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First impression: This is a small restaurant located in a strip mall. Fairly small 7 tables and 7 counter seats. Mostly Japanese patrons. More people speak Japanese than English around us. We are the only 1 of 2 tables speak English. Waitresses all speaking Japanese to the customers. Food: Not a typical Japanese sushi restaurant we seen around every other corner. It's not even the Ramen restaurant we would expect. It's more of a cross between Chinese and Japanese cuisine. The Ramen soup dishes are similar to Ebisu Ramen in Fountain Valley but has more flavor. The Ramen is good but very different. If you are expecting Chasiu Ramen salt or soy source bases, you will be disappointed. Generous portion so you won't leave hungry. Service: It is ok but food is coming out on the slow side. Everyone seems to know each other. It has the family restaurant feel if you speaks Japanese. Customers knows the chef so you know they are regulars. A lot of customers knows other customers too. The food alone is 4 stars but combined with service, it's a 3.5 stars. read more

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This is one of my favorite Japanese restaurants I can eat "Japanese Chuuka" dishes. I disagree with some of the negative reviews. As a native Japanese who misses Japanese authentic Chuuka, this is my hidden gem! I highly recommend this place. read more

Solid ramen choice in OC. Basic offering but complex flavors - had the miso and tenshin and both were excellent. read more

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

Food is spectacular. Great service in a quaint space. We love coming here. We've tried many different dishes and all of them have been great. read more

I love the food here. Very authentic Japanese style Chinese food. Must try's are the subuta and the chasudon. I can't wait to go back and try other items! read more

Delicious apps, they have takoyaki which is a major plus a and the chasu ramen won't disappoint you! Delicious all around. Service is top notch and if you're lucky and Taro is doing his rounds say hello! He's a great fellow and of course a very talented chef. Happy we came to say hi to an old friend and enjoy a delicious dinner. Please be sure to check it out! You will be pleasantly surprised. read more

Aoki No Chuuka - Ready to dig in! - Ramen Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

My first time trying this restaurant. I had the tonkotsu ramen and it was delicious. The broth, chashu, and egg were so flavorful. I will definitely be back. read more

Aoki No Chuuka - Tonkotsu ramen with added gyoza - Ramen Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

So I've been here a few times and each time with different people. Everyone is surprised at how good the food is. My favorite is the miso ramen -- it's different to other styles of ramen, but it is SO good. The broth is hearty and rich, and there is a lot of toppings. This is Japanese style Chinese food so if you're expecting Japanese Japanese food, you're gonna be disappointed. The chicken karaage is delicious. If you're feeling under the weather, order the Yuzu Pepper Shio Ramen. The cold noodles are perfect for summer weather, and the grilled seabass is melt-in-your-mouth delicious. I'm ready to try something new, but can never tear myself away from the spicy miso ramen with the stir fried toppings! read more

Food is good and prices are reasonable. The reason why I leave 2 stars is their customer service. I have been here at least 5 times but a waitress there seems to be always grumpy, or cannot wait for customers to take some time to place an order. She is always pushy, no smile and makes me uncomfortable. I was going to leave 1 star but the additional one is my hope that they find what a good customer service is. read more

Portion size 5/5 Flavoring 2/5 Pork 2/5 (would be much better if they sliced it more thinly--way too fatty) Service 3/5 (takes your order, brings your food, brings you the check) Egg 1/5 (perfectly runny, but sour...) This place is the best bang for your buck because a large bowl can easily serve four portions. It's mostly noodle, broth, and veggies, but it's massive. If you're a broke college student, this place is for you. I ordered a large, barely made a dent in the bowl while there, took a full container to go, and still had some left. Minus major points because they had food just sitting out. For the longest time I was debating if it's decorative or not because they meat looked rubbery, but I could've sworn I saw someone take a piece from the tray just sitting out. read more

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Edit: After posting my review showing sympathy to what I thought was a struggling chef/business. I read through the other reviews and saw a different picture emerge: one of a petty individual who rewards those who find favor and punishes those he doesn't with poor service and food. On our last visit to the restaurant, about a year and a half ago, as I left I turned to wave and say thank you to the staff who, as usual, been very kind and helpful. He come out of the kitchen and stood arms crossed glowering at me angry at something. Was it the tip? Though 20% sometimes it felt small compared to the quality/portions, but that was all we could afford! My mom was battling both Parkinson's and ovarian cancer (which she died of about this time last year). But, I was always certain to write my gratitude on the bottom of the bill to let the chef know how much we enjoyed his food! A year and a half later, I'm sent home with two day old noodles and half a serving of soup (what quality? don't know, threw both out). Unlike other ramen restaurants where the chefs are working in open kitchens and greet you along with the wait staff, this chef hides away in a cave brooding over whims and prejudices. One day this stunt will backfire, though and he'll serve the wrong person crap food and try charging them for it. Partial original: Before the pandemic, I took my mom there a couple of times which she really enjoyed. The portions were generous and the staff helpful and friendly (the ramen itself was incredible! Chef had to be very talented!) Today I thought to revisit one of my favorite ramens, yuzu citrus. Called and asked if I could order over the phone and pick up. Could, so did. First surprise/disappointment how little ramen soup was in the styrofoam container. Next when I got home and eventually checked the noodle/topping container, my first thought was that it was sitting in the fridge for a day or two, as the noodles looked a bit dry and caked together. read more