Ranch 99 Irvine

Ranch 99
15333 Culver Dr, #800
Irvine, CA 92604

Whenever I visit Ranch 99 in Irvine, I get a bit of Ranch envy.  The bigger Ranch 99 in Irvine (there are two locations), is only about an hour away from San Diego, has the same circular ad, seems to carry almost all the same items, and yet it is so much better!

Cleaner, fresher produce for one.  Cheaper items (local in store specials) And better food!  Their bakery carries almost all the same products, but their baked goods are made by a company called Desir.  The prices on some of my favorite breads like pineapple bun or taro bun are only $.69, whereas they are usually over $1. They also taste so much better.  I used to get my bakery breads from J J Bakery, but the Ranch 99's ones are cheaper and taste just as good in my opinion.  I don't like the pineapple bun, taro bun or other individual breads at Ranch 99 San Diego at all, but I really love the ones in Irvine.

The Ranch 99 Irvine also offers a cooked food section.  In the morning, they serve traditional chinese breakfast items like fried cruller (yu tiao), hot soybean milk, chive pockets, green onion pancakes, rice rolls, etc. I've tried the breakfast items at the San Diego Ranch and I don't enjoy them at all.  The yu tiao isn't crispy, and the rice roll…there are so many things wrong with the rice roll. 

I really like the breakfast food at the Ranch 99 Irvine.  The yu tiao is crispy, not too oily and tastes really good. One of my favorite places to get yu tiao.  And the rice roll is really good too.  The rice is sticky, the yu tiao inside is crispy and not stale, and there is just the right amount of filling.

On this occasion I also picked up a chive pocket.  The chive pockets are really big.  Kind of soggy though. 

During lunch, Ranch 99 Irvine offers different cooked foods.  And it is do it yourself!  You can either choose two items, or mixed combo (which costs about $1 more).  You can fill and stuff your container as much as you want with food.  The food items change often.  On this occasion, I got some stir fried long beans and chicken wings.  I really enjoyed the chicken wings.  They were crispy and slightly sweet.

Here's hoping the Ranch 99 in San Diego will become more like the one in Irvine soon.