QJ Kitchen 秋金川味小炒

QJ Kitchen is a fantastic new addition to Lake Forest and easily one of the best Chinese restaurants in Orange County! The flavors are bold, authentic, and truly capture the essence of Sichuan cuisine. Every dish is well-seasoned, perfectly cooked, and packed with that signature numbing spice that Sichuan food lovers crave. The service is excellent—friendly, attentive, and efficient. The restaurant itself is spotless, with a comfortable dining atmosphere. Even the restroom is impressively clean, which says a lot about their attention to detail. Highly recommend this place for anyone looking for authentic Chinese food. I’ll definitely be coming back for more!

This place serves excellent Sichuan food! Lots of options, especially if you love spicy food and they also have non-spicy food and fruit smoothies if spice isn't your thing. Great to see more authentic Chinese food in Lake Forest.

This Sichuan restaurant, Qiu Jin Sichuan Cuisine, has been trending among Irvine locals for a while. After my daughter’s Latin dance class yesterday, we finally went to try it out — and it truly lived up to the hype! About the Environment There’s plenty of seating, perfect for all kinds of gatherings. Since the restaurant just opened recently, everything is new and clean. About the Service The service was great — the staff offered helpful recommendations based on our preferences. They were also very efficient in clearing empty dishes, making the whole experience smooth and pleasant. About the Food (Highly Recommend‼) • Pickled Pepper Beef Tripe Each slice of tripe was huge and generously portioned. The pickled pepper flavor was deeply infused — incredibly flavorful and addictive! • Spicy Fried Chicken Made with boneless chicken thigh, fried to a golden crisp. It looks super spicy but is actually perfectly seasoned with a rich, savory aroma. Even the peanuts mixed in were crispy and delicious! • Qiu Jin Twice-Cooked Pork The pork was beautifully marbled and savory, with extra cured pork slices adding even more depth to the flavor. I especially loved the scallions, soaked in the meat’s juices — absolutely mouthwatering! • Qiu Jin Mapo Tofu Perfectly balanced — numbing but not overwhelmingly spicy, making it very kid-friendly. Even my daughter kept saying how delicious it was! ‼‼‼ Besides the signature spicy dishes, we also ordered Corn Chicken, Handmade Sticky Rice Cakes, and Fried Noodles for our little one who can’t handle spice. There are plenty of options for everyone in the family!

Really authentic Sichuan food! As someone from Chengdu, I was so happy to find this place. The spicy chicken is amazing — fried with fragrant chili oil, just like how it’s made back home. The boiled chicken skewers are only available on weekends, made with fresh free-range chicken, and you can really taste the difference. The pickled fish was super tender and flavorful, definitely not pre-made. Loved the twice-cooked pork with garlic scapes — very home-style and perfect with rice. The sticky rice cakes were crispy outside, soft inside, sweet— so comforting. Also recommend trying the strawberry shake; it’s refreshing and balances the spice really well. Went on a weekend night and the place was busy but still comfortable. Will definitely be coming back!

Everything was nice and spiced up. Lots of chili, Szechuan peppercorn, bold flavors on every dish. Glad I live so close, will definitely be back. Dumplings were plump and juicy, rich in flavor. Curry chicken noodles were unique and satisfying. Braised beef and potato rich and spicy, oily in a good way. Beef and mushroom soup was interesting, sour and spicy. To top it off, one of their lunar new year decorations fell on my and I got to keep a red envelop! Lucky for sure.

If you're a fan of bold, spicy flavors, this place is a must-try. The Sichuan dishes here are absolutely delicious, especially the stir-fried spicy chicken and house special chili beef

If you looking for a Chinese restaurant in lake forest, I highly recommend this Sichuan spice one, every dish is different and yummy like homemade! Service is great, definitely will back!

Excellent, mouth watering Szechuan cuisine with great service!! They have a good variety of food to satisfy both the spicy food enthusiasts as well as the non-spicy food enthusiasts!! We really enjoyed their house special chili beef which included tender strips of beef bathed in spicy chili broth, deliciously mouth numbing mapo tofu, FANTASTIC green beans (I can always determine a good Chinese restaurant based on their green beans), and savory black pepper beef noodles to balance out all the spicy food!! Friendly, attentive waitress also provided us with good, helpful service!! This is a GREAT restaurant, we wish them good success and longevity!!