Sam Woo Express - Irvine

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A post shared by MonsterMunching (@monstermunching_oc) on Aug 11, 2019 at 11:35am PDT

This is Sam Woo Express, proof that you can still go somewhere that isn’t fast food and get enough to feed two people for under $7 in Irvine.

I should rephrase that last bit—it is “fast” food. You won’t spend longer than the drive-thru here. It’s just that it’s not processed food. For at least the last quarter century, everything is made from scratch and then dumped into steam table throughs.

Since it’s all cooked in the same kitchen by the same chefs using the same ingredients as the restaurant next door, those still unfamiliar with this Irvine landmark might operate on the assumption that the food here is just as good. This isn’t always true.

The chow mein is always greasy. The fried rice is near inedible. And some items tend to crust over the longer it sits under the heat lamp. As such, my strategy has always been the following:

Take the white rice and pick whatever looks like it just came out of the kitchen, which, when I was there, was the fish in black bean sauce.

Pick only one entree if you want a double portion of it for no additional charge.

Ask for the complimentary chili oil. It will correct any of the meal’s deficiencies.

And for those millennials who are reading this, bring cash. It’s the only form of payment accepted and no one who works there has heard of Venmo.

Sam Woo Express
15333 Culver Dr Ste 720
Irvine, CA 92604
(949) 262-0688
samwooirvine.com

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