Ching Chinese Express

a moment of silence for the best jajang/​jjampong/​tang so took trifecta in the local Irvine/​tustin/​Santa Ana area.
some good alternatives
arirang shopping center good court
yung pung
Peking gourmet

Best place this side of town. No need to go to garden grove for real good tangsoyook, jajanmyun, and mapo tofu!
Now it’s closed for good!
One very good place where we used to go is Yung pung in garden grove…

So sad. they closed. I wish I went earlier to see if they were relocating n if so. where? T. T anyone know?

Awww… I am so sad this place closed. It was my favorite korean Chinese restaurant and was so glad when I found they were still in business few months and I’ve been coming to the place more often since then. now the place is closed for good :(I’m gonna miss the yummy food and the wonderful family who owned the place.

I’m so bummed! When I took out dinner here tonight, the proprietor told me they are shutting the restaurant down permanently effective tomorrow. :(

Fantastic food at great prices. Probably the best jjang bbong in Irvine and nearby close areas! The portions are also huge (and I eat a lot). The food court is very well maintained, and the service is prompt.
Short of going to Ktown or GG, this is your best bet.

Food was good… Unfortunately, they will be closing soon. At least I got to try it.

Although it says Ching Chinese this place is good for Korean food. It seems the staff and also the customers were all Korean. Seemed a very authentic place during lunch when we went. And you can’t beat the prices.
We had the Combo C7 which comes with black bean noodle and dumplings (6) costed $ 8.50. Also had the 4 which was sautéed spicy seafood noodle for $ 7.25. Both orders came out within 5 – 10 minutes, made fresh. Taste was good and portions are huge.
Will definitely come back for some good cheap authentic eats. The location is a bit odd, follow the other Unilocalers to the Food Court entrance in this shopping plaza that has a Burger King and 99 cent store. You’ll enjoy this gem.

Compared to Korean-​Chinese restaurants in Garden Grove, this place is a solid 3 out of 5. Better than other places near here. If you don’t expect too much, you’ll be somewhat satisfied.

Good Jajangmyun $ 5.95. A la carte dishes under $ 10 each with generous portions. It’s a great place for a takeout.

above average Korean/​Chinese food especially for a fast food type kiosk like this. Of course you can get better food at a fancy sit down Korean/​chinese restaurant but for these prices and when you’re in a rush it just hits the spot.
It is owned by a Korean family and they are so nice and sweet and I wish them much success with their business. Their son is so well mannered and he helps run the restaurant.
Im a huge fan and though I cant give a 5 because the food definitely is not EXACTLY the same quality as the nicer restaurants… this pleace is great.

I finally found a jjanjangmyun place! (That isn’t in Garden Grove or Buena Park.)
Location: Very hidden. A little food court next to a closed down supermarket. There’s an entrance labeled «Food Court» I believe, and once you go through that door, it leads you to the food court area with 3 little Korean places (not really restaurants).
Really hoping these places don’t close down due to the supermarket next door closing down :/​
Service: Ahjummah was really nice and happily helped out with everything that my friend and I needed (scissors, napkins, extra bowls, to-​go boxes).
Food: We got the jjanjangmyun (black bean noodles) and jjangbbong (the spicy one, right under jjanjangmyun on the menu). The portions were really large! Couldn’t even eat half but the food itself was really good. Came out nice and hot within a couple minutes (10 or so). YUM.
Price: $. Very cheap in ratio to portions~
Extra: Has self-​serve COLD water on the counter.

Looking for a good place to get jjajangmyun in Irvine was hard until I stumbled across this random restaurant and it did not disappoint.
*disclaimer — No, I am not Korean, and I am not a jjajangmyun expert so I can’t claim this is legit.
PARKING: It is located in a random plaza (a very dead, random plaza) so there are plenty of spots. It is where the Woori Korean Market is, so if you turn into the plaza you’ll see a little sign that says «Food Court» and go inside the side door. It leads you into the food court where Ching Chinese Express and 2 other restaurants are located. Very random, like I said before.
ATMOSPHERE: Definitely has that food court feel. Came on a Saturday night at 8pm and it was dead. Kind of weird dead too, only one other group eating in the food court. The food court itself is long and narrow, with maybe 15 or so tables.
FOOD: I got the C1 combo which is the jjajangmyun and then sweet and sour beef. They have just plain jjajangmyun for only $ 5, but the combo gives you enough to share with someone else and is only $ 11!
The food takes some time to come out, but you can tell they make it fresh and fry the beef right when you order because it was piping hot when it came out.
JJAJANGMYUN — It was very warm and tasty. The sauce was a little more flavorful than others I’ve had. It had pieces of pork and onion inside, but was more of the saucy side than «chunky» with lots of ingredients. The noodles were pretty good, fairly chewy and fresh, but not the best I’ve had. It was enough to share with someone else.
SWEET AND SOUR BEEF — I liked that it comes with bell pepper, onion and carrots so it was a good combo of beef and veggies. The sauce wasn’t too sweet or sour and I loved that the beef had a nice crunch/​crisp to the outside batter. Don’t expect a TON of food on this plate because it’s part of the combo, but like I said before, when combined with the noodles, it was perfect for two people.
The other two restaurants is a «japanese» place with sushi, soba and udon and then another strictly korean restaurant with galbitang, naengmyun and other korean dishes so if you were craving jjangmyun but other people in your group wanted other food you can get the best of both worlds!
Overall, a good place near Irvine to get your korean noodle fix, probably not the best atmospheric wise but come on a weekday during lunch and I’m sure you wouldn’t be the only one in line.

Ever since the Korean noodle place closed down at the Marketplace, we have been looking for a seafood noodle soup.
We finally found a pretty good replacement. It was the perfect level of spiciness, fresh seafood, and reasonably priced! The portions are very generous and the service is incredible. We ordered the seafood noodle and the beef chow mein thinking we wouldn’t have enough. It turns out that it was way too much food and we split the noodle soup and took the chow mein home.
I would definitely come back to try some of the other stuff on the menu.

Somehow I forgot about this tiny food court! Agreed to Korean food last night and arrived at 8pm (good thing my sister & I are fast eaters and don’t feel the need to chitchat!!)
We split the C1 special (jjajangmyun & tanksooyuk) for ~$ 11– MY GOODNESS it was filling! Maybe the fact that we ate it all within 20 min didn’t help, but I was painfully full for the next hour. Portions are ginormous for the price!
Jjajangmyun was great with tons of sauce, it also came with a side of pickled radish. The sweet & sour beef came piping out outta the wok and was also really good. I’d probably skip the sweet & sour just because it was soo much food for both of us. The food court closes at 8:30pm and I am hoping this place stays open cause I have no idea where else I would get a quick dukbokki /​jjajangmyun fix!

I actually really enjoyed the jjajjangmyun from this place! It’s also much closer and cheaper than driving to GG and just as good.
I purchased the the Combo1 (jjajjangmyun + tanksooyuk (crispy beef w/​sweet and sour sauce)) $ 11, and honestly this could feed hungry 2 people. Probably not two hungry men, but definitely two hungry ladies – but there would be no leftovers: P
I also saw some people order the jjajjangmyun separately ($ 6) + one Combo1 ($ 11) if you fear that just the Combo1 won’t be filling for 2 people.
The people who own the restaurant were really nice and very generous in understanding my terrible korean. They also DO pack to-​go orders really well. You just gotta see it to understand what I’m talking about :)
I am seriously going to come back. There are 2 other small places there as well taht I am curious to try out. I realllllly hope they don’t shut down since it is next to a shutdown korean market :(

This place is located next to a Korean market that now appears to be closed in some way. It looks like it used to be part of the food «stands» you sometimes see in front or near supermarkets. There are two other food «stands» next to it but this one appeared to be the most crowded and popular when I was there.
They serve a type of Korean-​Chinese food, kind of like a Korean take on Chinese food. I had the Noodles with Black Bean sauce and it was pretty good. The sauce reminded me of black bean, mixed with cooked chopped onions and like a ground meat. The noodles were well cooked and chewy, but not all soggy. The pickles that accompanied the dish added a good variation on flavor since it added a sweet and sour kick that the dish doesn’t really have.
Be wary of wearing too nice clothes, I had a lot of difficulty eating this without getting the Black Bean Sauce all over the place. I tired to grab the noodles slowly, quickly, in unique angles but I couldn’t manage to eat it without spilling some of the sauce on my clothes!

My Korean coworker loves Chinese food. Because of him, I now eat Korean Chinese food.
The Jjampong here is good. It comes with squid and crab and all the usual ingredients. The bowl is supersized with noodles. I could have easily split my bowl of noodles. But, since I had nobody to eat with, I decided to eat the whole thing. Flavorwise, it was okay. But, then again, when food gets spicy for me, I cannot taste anything other than the spice. They also make a decent jjajangmyun. But, everytime I eat their Jjajangmyun, I feel like I am a little kid sitting at the splash zone at Seaworld. I am always getting the secret black sauce all over my face, shirt, and pants.
Ching is located in the food court adjacent to the Woori Market. Also located in the food court is Corea BBQ and Yoko Express Sushi. They do have a person who cleans up the tables after you finish.
I love the prices. I love the big portions that they give. The food tastes good, but, I am no expert on this kind of food. I’ll be back.

Pretty good for Korean market food court jjajangmyun (black bean noodles). Good portions, although I disagree with some of the reviewers saying it can feed two. I guess I’m a pig cuz it filled me up just right…
Will only run you around $ 6 and it’s comparable to the decent restaurant jjajangmyun. 3.5 stars rounded up since this is Tustin of all places!

My favorite (and only) place to go in Irvine/​Tustin for Jja Jang Myun!
CHEAP
BIG SERVING
GREAT QUALITY
I’ve only been able to find 1 or 2 places in the Irvine area that served Jja jang myun, and Ching Chinese Express is the only one that I approve. This is surprisingly a pretty decent place since it is located in a food court (Woori Market).
The black bean sauce here is perfect and the noodles are nice and chewy! The sauce was thick and savory, with the ever so familiar pieces of chewy beef and crunchy onions. This tastes just as I remember eating growing up. They also serve it with the necessary «Dak Kwang,» the yellow picked radish. You can also ask for kimchi and they’ll give it to you.
I also love the Sweet and Sour Beef here. It’s cooked with that tangy-​sour korean glaze, and the fried beef tastes almost like chicken. Cooked and served with onions, bell peppers, and pineapples.
I highly recommend the Jja Jang Myun and Sweet and Sour Beef Combination, because you get a large serving of both for about $ 10! You could share this with a friend and be pretty full. (
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