It's so-so, but could be so much better. This fast food joint focuses on mostly a mix of Chinese food ie Noodles and Baozi Sandwiches, with some random stuff like fries. I had each of the 3 buns they offered, which include the Pork Belly Bao, Popcorn Chicken Bao, and Pork Sausage Bao. Now the food came out quickly and the texture of both the bun and meats came out nice. The Popcorn chicken and pork sausage both came out as so-so, but for something even less desirable, try the pork belly, which was only slightly more flavorful than tap water. The buns are less oily, but the pork belly and Chicken were cooked with something oily and that texture doesn't leave my mouth very well. From what I saw on the noodles with a friend, it looked way too MSG-ridden with an oily sheen on the top. Anyways, all of them definitely need some work on seasoning or marinade since none of the meats really had any flavor, even with the chili paste. By themselves overall, the bao buns were not salty nor spicy nor...anything with an actual flavor. For 3 Bao buns, the total came out to be $8.20, which isn't too bad but definitely leaves something to be desired if this is marketed as Asian street food. If the meat had more flavor then I think it would be better justified for the price that they currently have for them. read more

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This is the best ramen you will ever have. Plus, Josh is the best server you will encounter. He is so sweet and always makes sure that you have everything you need. Coolest dude ever! The food is so good it has me coming back weekly. Make your way down and try it for yourself. read more

Lao Wang - Mala Tang Dinner - Chinese Near Me - Goleta, California

I've been craving spicy noodle soup but every place I went never satisfied me until I tried Lao Wang they have more option for you to choose but I recommend Mala Tang Dinner if you don't eat spicy they also have original soup or if you vegan they also have vegan soup option for you. I always order Mala tang dinner with spicy soup since I love spicy food their soup is very tasty and very good. Restaurant is also clean and staff is nice. read more

Lao Wang - Mala Tang Dinner - Chinese Near Me - Goleta, California

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Amazing food! Would definitely recommend if you're in the area and are looking to have a big meal for a good price. The broth was super flavorful and overall amazing vibes and atmosphere. read more

Lao Wang's greatest feature is the convenience. Located right on the edge of campus and IV, it's hard to miss. Lao Wang has a large seating area fit for groups and is inclusive in their menu with a variety of meat & vegetarian choices. Plus they serve Coke products (bless). For those reasons I give it 4 stars. Labeling themselves as "Asian Street Food," Lao Wang has three main entrees - noodles, rice bowls, and baos. Having been a few times before writing this review, I have tried all 3 and would recommend getting their noodles. The broth is actually very savory and they provide customizing your add-ins. The rice bowls are my second choice - good for a quick lunch to go, though their meats can be hit or miss (I've had some pretty dry and over cooked pork before). The baos are also hit and miss, but worth a try if you've never had one. read more

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Garlic chicken was incredibly disappointing...overcooked meat, cold vegetables...mushy rice. How the heck does this place get high ratings?

Lao Wang YUMMMmm, this is by far the safest and my go-to option in IV (imo). The food here is always consistent! I got the sweet and sour chicken rice bowl with an add on of garlic tofu and let me tellll you, it's delicious! The chicken is crisp and tender with a coat of their homemade sweet and sour sauce, added on was fried tofu in their yummy garlic sauce, and the bowl comes with egg roll, corn, and Mac salad! I also tried their spam, Chinese sausage and popcorn chicken buns. This was a flavorful appetizer. I highly recommend trying them with spicy mayo and jalapeños that they provide in the dining room. And lastly, for this meal, I ordered the curry chicken fingers. As you bite into this, you can see the coat of curry sitting in between the chicken and batter. It is flavorful in itself, but dipped in ranch is even better! To quench your thirst, they have a variety of beverages like tea in the fridge (my fav is the herbal tea). Josh, the manager, definitely does a great job in recommending which items are good for you, and esp if it's your first visit, he'll eagerly want to present the menu to you. I highly recommend you try this place out and ask Josh for recs. Also it's right outside Pardall tunnel, very close to campus! read more

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Lao wang has been one of my favorite places to eat since moving to IV my first year! I always get the noodle soup because there are vegan options and you can personalize your toppings. I've also tried the buns which are super tasty and perfect if you want something smaller. On another note, the chili oil here is THE BEST. Tbh Lao Wang is a great place to dine in with friends or grab pitchers on thurs night; I highly recommend! read more

This review is strictly for Harry. Super kind guy and helped us with our order. -- read more

This place is pretty tasty. The noodle bowls are delicious! The rice bowls are HUGE and cheap for a quick lunch and fairly comparable to Hana Kitchen (although I'd say I prefer Lao Wang rice bowls to Hana Kitchen). The service is always fast and they also have a great beer selection on tap! I'd say the the noodle bowls are the best part about this place. Spicy is SPICY but everything else is flavorful and delicious!! They have a little area with some sauces which is always welcome. read more

Lao Wang - Chinese Near Me - Goleta, California

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My favorite restaurant in IV!!!! Food is amazing and customer service even better! 10/10 suggest. My favorite dish is the garlic chicken rice bowl, and favorite beverage is the Ace Pineapple Cider. Delish. Cant go wrong with anything on the menu :) read more

Lao Wang - Chinese Near Me - Goleta, California

I finally tried a bowl of noodle here, and it didn't live up to my expectation. Good Sichuan cuisine can be so addictive with ample amount of numbing citrusy peppercorn and fragrant chili oil. I admit the noodles were spicy and numbing. There was also plenty of sodium, so it wasn't bland either. What it greatly lacked was a good base made from simmering pork bones or chicken bones. Imagine this without the spicy components, the broth is actually very watery. I have nothing against MSG, I use it in my own cooking, but you can't rely only on MSG for umami. The richness and savoriness of a well made stock can't be duplicated with a few sprinkles of MSG. I also didn't like the beef being cut into perfectly square meat cubes. The texture would be much better as thin slices. If they can just make the stock better and tone down the MSG a little, the noodles here would be addictive. read more

Lao Wang - Spicy egg noodle with beef, fish tofu, and quail eggs - Chinese Near Me - Goleta, California

This place is awesome, finally some authentic Asian street food! We had the sausage bao, the popcorn bao, and the pork belly bao. The pork belly bao was by far my favorite, it has a yummy spicy sauce with it! I also ordered a small popcorn chicken side for $3.99 and my husband ordered the small pork shoulder rice plate. These were soooooooo good! We are definitely coming back! read more

Lao Wang - Pork shoulder rice plate (we got the small) - Chinese Near Me - Goleta, California

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First of all, the reviews here are manipulated. There's a sign in front that says give us a 5 star Yelp review and we'll give you a half off pint. Very expensive for what it is, and very low quality food. We got the only veg option, a noodle soup, and it was served boiling hot so we had to wait about 40 min to be able to eat it without burning ourselves. All of the vegetables looked and tasted like they were bought frozen, little flavor and weird texture. There was no actual cooking involved to make it, just frozen vegetables thrown into broth with noodles. Not worth the $20 when you can get cheaper and higher quality food and many places nearby read more

Review based on the hot n spicy noodle. The portions were pretty decent on the noodle and some of the toppings but there was very few actual pieces of meat. For 13ish dollars I was hoping for a few more pieces. It was quite spicy, I'm glad they aren't afraid to make it closer to the true spiciness of Chinese food but there was far too much chili oil in the dish. The presentation is exactly the same as the previous Otaco, there's nothing wrong with that. They do a better job of keeping the restroom clean but that might be because it wasn't a drinking kind of night. If there was less chili oil and a few more pieces of meat this place would be perfect. I'll be back to try their other dishes, the place definitely has a lot of potential as it's quite a unique restaurant in IV. read more

Lao Wang - Hot n Spicy noodle, good presentation. - Chinese Near Me - Goleta, California

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The food at Lao Wang is some of the most scrumptious, mouth-watering, euphoria-inducing in Isla Vista. It is my comfort food; whether it's for pitchers, the day-after recovery, or a celebratory meal, this is my go-to spot. The customer service is great, and the environment is warm & welcoming! I recommend their Mala Tang noodles and the curry chicken! Josh is the coolest ever, be sure to stop by and say "hi" to him!! :D read more

I'm actually a HUGE fan of this place! First off, the baos are SO good. My favorite is the pork belly bao ~ it's perfectly seasoned, tender, and just so so tasty. Of course the pork belly is slightly salty and quite fatty on its own, but that's why the fluffy bun is there (which balances out the taste & makes the entire thing taste perf). I'm pretty sure I get these baos at least once a week. Chinese sausage bao is also pretty good. I haven't tried popcorn chicken (it seems a lil' dry) but I will soon~ TIP: I like to add spicy mayo in each bite - it adds a little kick! THE FRIES ARE AMAZING. They're perfectly salted & crispy (when they're fresh...make sure they're fresh!!!). I dip these babies in spicy mayo, too! I also tried the Our Way Choice noodles (substituted beef meatballs for quail eggs), and it was SO filling! The soup also wasn't too bad. But it was a little warm, and I like my soups piping hot. Overall pretty tasty. The spicy noodle one is a little too oily for me, and it's a little bland :( Service is pretty slow, but I'm sure it's because everything is made fresh. I've tried coming in a few mins before work sometimes to get some buns quickly, but it takes a while especially if it's busy (and I'd get to work late). So I wouldn't say it's the place for you to get a super quick lunch, especially during peak hours. But it's great if you want to eat in! read more

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Pretty unimpressed. Def don't get the the popcorn chicken bun, you're better off getting popcorn chicken considering the price. The texture of chicken def doesn't go well with the bao. The pork belly and sausage were aite. Texture of meat was good. Pork belly tasted rather plain, could use some kind of marinade. Sausage was the Asian kind and good, but overall bao felt lack luster. Noodles weren't that great. The soup based just tasted like chilli oil. One of the pieces of beef was good, but the others kind of rubbery. Overall there was a good variety of toppings, but felt low quality. Def not a fan of the egg noodles. Bc they were skinny they didn't soak up flavor, making them taste very bland. MORNING AFTER UPDATE: Both the friend who I came here with and I had stomachaches this morning :'( read more

Lao Wang - Three buns - Chinese Near Me - Goleta, California

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The buns were filled with mostly fat cuts of meat that weren't braised with the right braising liquids and the rice bowls were filled with corn kernels and Japanese pickled radish. Reading the name and the menu, I expected the restaurant to be serving Chinese, but was thoroughly disappointed by the fusion confusion. I'be cooked better braised pork belly than the chefs at Lao wang and i paid less for the ingredients. The noodle broth was not Ma or La and it was extremely under seasoned. The hot sauce at the bottom of the bun was filled with heart burn inducing taco sauce rather than traditional plum or duck sauce. read more

Honestly I really wasn't expecting much out of this place, but man was I surprised! My friends and I came around 9PM to check this place it. It wasn't that busy because it's still in it's soft opening and I don't think many people really knew about it. My friends ordered the craft your own noodles with the hot n spicy base where as I got the craft your own dry noodles with beef, fish meat ball, and enoki mushroom. All the bowls come with cabbage and mushroom. We also all got the steamed pork belly bun. Now, onto the food: Hot and spicy noodles (2 people got the same base and they tasted completely different??) - first one was flavorful and almost overly salty? And it was actually spicy - second one was very bland compared to the first one - both were very oily though, if they cut down the oil for this it would be good Dry noodles: - this was a lot lighter compared to the hot and spicy noodles - it was cooler and really refreshing! - it came with a light peanut sauce that was good Pork belly bao - man they knocked it out of the park with these! - the bao itself was fluffy and the porkbelly was soft and delicious! Overall I was thoroughly impressed with their food. I was stuffed by the time I left and I only had a bao and split the dry noodles with my friend! I know it's their soft opening so things aren't going to be perfect (like the long wait time for food) but with what I've seen I'm really hopeful about this business and want them to succeed! I'll definitely be back again :) read more

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So continues my quest to find good, solid Chinese food in the area. Lao Wang marketed itself as just "Asian street food," which made me sigh because I thought the entire menu was essentially traditional Chinese food, but hey. It's an edible option. Came in just before 5 (off-hours) and it took them quite a while to get the food out. While my single stewed pork belly bao was out in two minutes, the friend I went with had to wait for 10 to get a small serving of popcorn chicken dusted with white pepper and a boiled (or deep fried?) Chinese sausage. None were particularly special -- pork belly and sausage were both fatty, and while the popcorn chicken uses dark meat, the portion is about one handful for $6. Bao was nicely cooked but bland. I found a piece of plastic in my bao, but judging from the rushed/low-key grand opening and lackadaisical attitude of the people behind the counter, I didn't have the motivation to go up to the counter and complain about it. The ma la tang sounded and looked quite a bit like Sichuan dandan noodles with soup, though, and I'd be interested in trying that once they settle down more. On the bright side, they have a massive condiment section. If you cry when you eat red pepper flakes, though, I'd avoid this place. Even their bao has a small smear of chili paste inside (not that you can taste much, anyway). read more

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As a fan of both spicy food and noodles, I was super excited when this place opened up in Isla Vista! The decor of the restaurant was really nice, and had a nice street market kind of vibe. I've been here a few times since it opened, and overall I was pretty impressed by the food, given Isla Vista's reputation for poor Asian food. The broth was very flavorful and not salty at all, which is as really surprising. I ordered the Hot N' Spicy Lunch special which included a free fountain drink. I ordered mine extra spicy, but I felt like it wasn't hot enough. Thankfully they had some chili oil on the condiment tables for you to help yourself. They also have spicy mayo, as well as different seasonings suspended in oil. Overall, the condiment table is a nice touch that allows people to add the finishing touch to their food to their preference. Definitely will be coming back for more! read more

Lao Wang - Hot N' Spicy Special! - Chinese Near Me - Goleta, California

Service was solid- nothing to write home about. I did find a bug in my soup though- could be from the open doors but it threw me off a lot. I ordered the soup and it was not good, it might just be me but it was difficult to finish and I was hungry. The texture was off and the flavors were not correct. Will not be going back except for their cheap pitchers. read more

It's tucked behind habit and Wells Fargo towards Pardall tunnel but it's so good! The buns are super yummy and great to mix and match.

So delicious!!! We got food delivered and everyone at work loved it. Highly recommend everything I got but the spam bun was my favorite Check them out if you are in Goleta/Santa Barbara! read more

Lao Wang - Spam 1 Bun - Chinese Near Me - Goleta, California

The noodle was okay, but I found a bug in my noodle which was really gross. Probably won't go again:( read more

Lao Wang - Chinese Near Me - Goleta, California

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update with a picture! service was great once again. the popcorn chicken and buns were bussin!! read more

Lao Wang - Chinese Near Me - Goleta, California

Had pretty low expectations coming here, but came away pretty impressed! I've been holding off trying this place just because I didn't want to be disappointed, since I was spoiled by dozens of authentic, delicious Chinese food being located in every corner of my hometown. While Lao Wang doesn't necessarily outdo any place, it's still pretty good. Lao Wang can get pretty busy, so depending on when you come, there may or may not be enough seating. Customer service is brief and largely forgettable. There's additional sauces on a table that's self-serve, and the store seems pretty clean overall. I got the build-your-own noodles, and chose the rice noodles. My friend got the small pork rib rice bowl. First off, the noodles were well cooked. Not terribly soft, not too hard. The soup wasn't too salty, and the spicy option gave the broth just enough of a kick for flavors to be interesting. There's actually a good amount of noodles and toppings to offset the high-ish price. The pork rib was braised just like mom does it at home; flavor is pretty authentic and well done. The rice and veggie part was pretty average, though. I can't guarantee that Lao Wang would do well in my hometown given its prices, but compared to everything else in Isla Vista, it's not too expensive. If you can afford to eat in Isla Vista, and you want some Asian food, you should give Lao Wang a try! read more

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Stopped by for lunch today Jan 13th 2022 and went for the bowl and a drink $18 a few tiny bits of chicken, fatty cuts of beef (which were inedible) and some spicy bits & pieces / they even cheaped-out on the noodles. Way over priced, left hungry and feeling like I'd been ripped-off..... recommend you avoid this place read more

Finally a place in SB that serves baos! I went there with not so much expectations because I've had really good baos from other places like Momofuku and Baohaus in NY. I tried all three baos - pork belly, chicken popcorn, and the Chinese sausage and I would say that it is fantastic! The Chinese sausage and chicken popcorn are my favorite, the pork belly however needs a little salting and was too greasy and the bun soaked up most of the oil that I ended up not eating the entire thing. Their lunch special is pretty affordable however it's interesting how French fries is included in the combo! Overall I would say that this place is pretty decent, I could see how this place gets busy during peak hours (considering that it is in a college town), fortunately it wasn't that bad when we went. I would come back to this place just to try their noodles. read more

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Honestly am sad that I didn't like the food here. This review is only for their beef belly rice bowl, maybe the other food is better? I ordered the small beef belly bowl and first off, there was three pieces of meat. Second, it was 90% fat. I know that beef belly is supposed to be a fatty meat but it was not a good fat, it was a bad fat. I'm curious to try their buns and soups, so I'll probably come back but I would not recommend the beef belly bowl. Friendly service though and not a long wait at all. read more

My comfort food is their rice bowl with curry and fried chicken. I have never had a chance to try anything else because I only order this one plate every time I go to Isla Vista. The place can be a bit noisy with UCSB undergrads and the music, but takeout is always an option read more

Really convenient location and great for colder days! Two days ago, I got their spicy mala noodle soup with beef tendons, tofu, and fish tofu. They have self serve peanut sauce that tastes like authentic dipping sauces I've gotten in LA. They also have spicy chili oil but I didn't like that as much. There's also spicy mayo and sriracha that I didn't get. I ordered rice noodle and when they brought it out, the noodles were undercooked. I brought it back to the counter and they quickly made me another bowl. Great customer service!! Today, I was in a rush so I ordered a curry chicken rice which was yummy. However, the portion size was quite small. The chicken meat itself was well seasoned and the curried vegetables were yummy as well. They also include two slices of yellow pickled radish which added a nice crunch to the rice set. read more

Lao Wang - Chinese Near Me - Goleta, California

Disappointing--maybe my expectations were just too high. The noodle bowl was mediocre at best. There were four small cubes of beef and a couple of pieces of woodear, which was not a lot. Good toppings like chasiu cost a lot more. The broth was not flavorful. I did not finish the meal because it was not worth eating. Very much not worth the price. It's nice they have the option for takeout available for free. They put the broth and noodles/toppings in separate containers so it is not soggy. read more

10/10 restaurant. Manager allowed us to listen to music, which he played, and the food was amazing. Ask for Josh best manager in SB! Great food as well! Tip him heavy!!! read more

Lao Wang - two trays of food on a table - Chinese Near Me - Goleta, California

Great service and the steamed pork belly buns is a all time flavor favorite! Will be coming back again soon!! read more

Lao Wang - Sweet Potato Fries and two buns (sausage and steamed pork belly) - Chinese Near Me - Goleta, California

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The best noodles in Santa Barbara! The build-your-bowl is a great option to customize your meal. The portions are HUGE, but save room for the buns as well. Cold beer on draft goes great with the food, and the atmosphere is very casual and comfortable. The staff was very friendly and helpful as well. read more

Amazing food and such a great atmosphere! Come here all the time with family and friends:) 10/10 recommend for any occasion!! Get the popcorn chicken!! read more

Lao Wang - My favorite cashier - Chinese Near Me - Goleta, California

Good service. Awesome food reminds me of my hometown back in China. Came all the way from slo just for it. read more

Lao Wang - Chinese Near Me - Goleta, California

The hot and spicy bowl is the best! Love their selection of beers, good atmosphere. Definitely best Chinese food in IV