Kat's 9 Lives

Last Monday was a hellish day in So Cal. Even people in San Francisco got to experience some heat in the 90's while people down in So Cal was burning and melting away! We were looming around 110 and above! **just the thought trigger heat pains** These are the days where you run to the mall, theaters, or restaurants to hide out. It was the start of OC Restaurant Week so I thought that I should try Crystal Jade since it was on the cheaper side and would satisfy my Mom's criteria. An EPIC MISTAKE! They didn't have the AC on and the restaurant was HOT! As you walk into the main dining area you feel two fans going and then POW! The HEAT hits your skin and the muddy stuffy feeling. This should have been a big sign of get the heck out when you see other customers fanning themselves with the menu! WHAT THE HECK! Okay I know Asians are cheap but COME ON! I didn't pay $30 for lunch to sit and SWEAT! What the heck!!?!? I BAN THIS PLACE! I am so upset at them that I refuse to edit or touch up the photos as well as put up more than needed because they really don't deserve the effort. I am only posting about them to warn future customers!
So OC Restaurant Week seemed like a great deal for $10 but once you get there you realize it is a piece of crap! The dishes they offer are really $7 and you pay $3 more to get soup that you already get free or a crappy dim sum snack they give and a pathetic dessert! I am never willing to pay more than I have to so I opted to get just regular lunch and order something I like... or so I thought... First off was the Hot & Sour soup that NORMALLY comes with all lunches anyway. It was decent in flavor & taste.For my main course I wanted the Honey Walnut Shrimp, $9. This was PUTRID! The shrimp was way over fried and crappy. I mean I like fried food but not when it looks like it was fried in dirty oil and dry. Shrimp is nasty when overcooked and it was bad. They totally glopped on the mayonnaise that makes it so gross and heavy. The walnuts were nicely caramelized and the best thing out of the whole dish.I wanted a dim sum dish. I had to have the Rice Noodle Roll with Shrimp. The rice noodle paper was not over cooked to the point of being soggy, but they were close. There's 2 shrimp in each roll and the soy sauce went well. This is not that hard of a dish to mess up, but I have had bad ones so at least this was decent.
The best dish of the day was the Black Pepper Beef Tenderloin, $9.95, also known as French-Vietnamese Style Beef. This was the only saving grace and item that was really edible. I thought the meat was nicely cooked and tender. Loved that they were thicker chunks and the sauce was flavorful. I wished they gave more onions and raw ones to give that extra kick.All in all this place is the DUMPS! Being that they are located in Quail Hill, a nice rich area, they should be more classy. Their prices are more on the higher end and their store is actually nicely decorated. You would think this is a classy place but they cheap out on AC? Service sucked too. Only one dish was really edible and they almost melted all their customers on the HOTTEST day of the year! Forget this place! I am sorry I even walked in and more sorry that I didn't walk out!!! >_<###

Crystal Jade
6511 Quail Hill Pkwy
Irvine, CA 92603
(949) 725-3368