Why Is Chinese Food in Irvine So Expensive? Hidden Neighborhood of Chinese Wealth Holds The Key
Several years ago I wrote an article for the now defunct Menuism website on how Irvine, California had arrived as a major Chinese restaurant dining destination with which few Los Angeles area residents in the San Gabriel Valley (40 miles away) or the Westside of Los Angeles (55 miles away) were particularly familiar. So why now has Irvine likely become the most expensive locale for authentic Chinese food in the United States? Chinese restaurants having branches in both Irvine and the San Gabriel Valley often charge $5 or more for the same regular entrees at their Irvine branches than in the San Gabriel Valley. Portion sizes are said to be smaller in Irvine, and while Irvine Chinese food on balance is very good, it is as a whole an obvious cut below the San Gabriel Valley. There are few, if any lunch specials in the local Chinese restaurants. And to top it off, the most expensive Chinese restaurant I’ve ever eaten at in the United States, Chang’an, where $1,000 tabs are sa