As an accommodation to the Chinese tourists who were offended by the lack of authentic Chinese food on the Universal premises, Citywalk is now home to the third local branch of the Meizhou Dongpo empire, called Dongpo Kitchen. Since it will attract a mix of Chinese and non-Chinese clientele the menu more resembles the Century City location as opposed to Arcadia. Also this is a more of a fast casual type of operation than the other two branches. Since I spent all my money on parking, I only had the chicken fried noodles, which was a little on the bland side. Given that they’ve only been open two days, I’ll give them a pass for now.
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Thanks for touching base on this. I will be close to this spot for lunch soon, and I hope it’s good bc nothing else seems that great around there.
22 pics on Yelp. Looks surprisingly legit.
If it’s anything like the one in Century City, it should be legit. Meizhou Dongpo CC is a little overpriced but serves very solid food, especially if you stick with the Sichuan stuff. Easily the best Sichuan on the Westside, though that’s a low bar I realize.
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Huh. What have you tried and what didn’t you like about it? Because I’m pretty picky about my Sichuan, and classic dishes like Chongqing Spicy Chicken and Mapo Tofu compare favorably with what I’ve enjoyed in the SGV.
Lazi Ji was not spicy enough, and Ma Po Tofu was too salty. And the tofu cubes were too large.
I’m with you. Given the WLA location there has to be some accommodation to the local crowd, particularly at lunch. But there’s always a good crowd of Chinese diners, especially at dinner, and if the alternative is driving 1 1/2 hours to the SGV (which is the typical weeknight drive time), Meizhou Dongpo serves its purpose extremely well.
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Disagree. CC location is busy but chaotic with atrocious service. Hot dishes arrive cold, rice never arrives, it’s just a Chinese fire drill Keystone Cops joke right now. I hope it improves because I actually like many of their dishes when the experience isn’t marred by the amateurish execution.
I order those two dishes at just about every Sichuan place I visit. The Lazi Ji (chicken with hot peppers) could be spicier but is still in line with what I’ve tasted elsewhere. Milder than some, spicier than others. I also appreciate it’s an authentic dry-fried preparation.
The oversalted Mapo Tofu is a fair criticism. I have noticed they sometimes don’t dilute the bean paste enough. However, the cube size complaint strikes me as a nitpick. The cubes are on par with what I’ve had elsewhere. Larger than some, smaller than others.
The service is admittedly spotty, but the food is very legit. I’ve never had any dishes arrive cold but I usually get it to go.
While I don’t necessarily disagree with this (nor really agree with this), it doesn’t necessarily make the food at Dongpo all that good.
To use a phrase you coined, this is like finding the tallest midget at the circus. Yes, you might have found the tallest one, but he’s still a midget.
Yes, but Mrs. Chandavkl likes it, and there are probably fewer than 10 Chinese restaurants in the Los Angeles metropolitan area that she likes.
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while i am not as versed in chinese food as ipse, i thought the century city dongpo
pretty darn tasty; more refined, perhaps, than your sgv choices, but still delicious.
while your sgv sichuan favourites have tastier, funkier and cheaper food, the elders
rarely felt like taking the big ol drive out there.
dongpo served its purpose for us as a place for (occasionally large-ish) family gatherings where the
quality was high enough to enjoy the food as well as the occasion.
never had service issues, although maybe they weren’t the fastest.
bonus points for being able to hork down a ballast point or two during the meal.
p.s. i am hard pressed to think of a “nearby” chinese food restaurant that was up
to the tastiness of dongpo. although i have not been to pine and crane.
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In the land of the blind the one eyed man is king.
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Assuming that eye works.
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fair enough. always wanted to try it, but have not been there.
But this place is just about average height.
I’ve always gotten the impression ipse doesn’t like Sichuan food very much. But perhaps I’m mistaken.
My eyes work just fine, as do my taste buds. And I eat a lot of Sichuan food.
I’m no optometrist but if he had one eye and it didn’t work wouldn’t he be blind? Sorry for this odd tangent.
Anybody know when Dongo is opening in Irvine? We went to Sichuan Impressions in Tustin the other day. The food was ok. Not as spicy and flavorful as Chengdu Taste. Pretty crowded for lunch though.
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