Tim Ho Wan has soft opened Wednesday, May 8 in Irvine

Don?t worry guys, this place is in Diamond Jamboree so doubt any Chinese will know about the soft opening...
 
I want to try it out but I don't want to deal with lines/crowds/wait/poor service.

We didn't eat at Din Tai Fung until last month because I wanted all the hype to go away.

And I feel bad for Paper Lantern, DJ is terrible with its leasing policies... just take whoever can afford it. They would open another Korean market if they had the space. :)
 
irvinehomeowner said:
I want to try it out but I don't want to deal with lines/crowds/wait/poor service.

We didn't eat at Din Tai Fung until last month because I wanted all the hype to go away.

And I feel bad for Paper Lantern, DJ is terrible with its leasing policies... just take whoever can afford it. They would open another Korean market if they had the space. :)

Unfortunately, the DTF hype has not gone away after years of being open.  In fact, it feels even more busy than it used to be.  Even after they keep raising prices, there is no drop off of people coming.  DTF is an example of a very efficient, well run, restaurant. 
 
irvinehomeowner said:
I want to try it out but I don't want to deal with lines/crowds/wait/poor service.

We didn't eat at Din Tai Fung until last month because I wanted all the hype to go away.

And I feel bad for Paper Lantern, DJ is terrible with its leasing policies... just take whoever can afford it. They would open another Korean market if they had the space. :)

Nah...they are fundamentally different.  Don't forget, Paper Lantern while Capital Seafood was still around...THW serves Dim Sum as at premium price.  PL is supposed to the budget alternative to THW and DTF.

THW is an extremely well run business in Asia and do well in NYC...I presume that they are just getting a lay of the land.  It was a soft-opening for a reason. 
 
Irvinecommuter said:
Nah...they are fundamentally different.  Don't forget, Paper Lantern while Capital Seafood was still around...THW serves Dim Sum as at premium price.  PL is supposed to the budget alternative to THW and DTF.

Capital is fundamentally different from Paper Lantern... that's a Chinese restaurant that sells Dim Sum during lunch where Paper Lantern is a dumpling house. THW is a dumpling house and is much closer in menu to Paper Lantern.

Cheaper or not, Paper Lantern's business will be adversely affected by THW opening.
 
irvinehomeowner said:
Irvinecommuter said:
Nah...they are fundamentally different.  Don't forget, Paper Lantern while Capital Seafood was still around...THW serves Dim Sum as at premium price.  PL is supposed to the budget alternative to THW and DTF.

Capital is fundamentally different from Paper Lantern... that's a Chinese restaurant that sells Dim Sum during lunch where Paper Lantern is a dumpling house. THW is a dumpling house and is much closer in menu to Paper Lantern.

Cheaper or not, Paper Lantern's business will be adversely affected by THW opening.

THW is all about Dim Sum...it's the only thing they serve.

https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/tim-ho-wan-irvine?select=CxRNVFsbaWOirk6VQ4J8RA&reviewid=K5Ytfzj98i6-fxKj47u9QQ
 
Sorry IC, you can't tell me Capital's menu is closer to Paper Lantern than Tim Ho Wan's is.

I was just comparing them the other day.
 
irvinehomeowner said:
Sorry IC, you can't tell me Capital's menu is closer to Paper Lantern than Tim Ho Wan's is.

I was just comparing them the other day.

Everything that THW serves, Capital served.  Capital served a lot more for lunch and dinner...they also had a takeout section that was directly within the Paper Lantern price range.

Dim Sum and dumplings are fundamentally different.  Now..if DJ opened a 101 Noodle...then PL would be in real trouble.
 
I thought paper lantern and capital seafood were related as in the same restaurant group owns both of them.
I heard the noodle bar concept makes more money than the dim sum concept.
 
zubs said:
I thought paper lantern and capital seafood were related as in the same restaurant group owns both of them.
I heard the noodle bar concept makes more money than the dim sum concept.

You are correct!

It?s the latest venture from 28-year-old Allan Tea, whose family runs Capital Seafood restaurants. He also co-owns the Hello Kitty Cafe Pop-Up Container at the Irvine Spectrum Center and the Hello Kitty Mini Cafe in Arcadia.

They also did the Capital Noodle Bar in Crossroads.
https://www.ocregister.com/2017/10/...ee-adds-modern-twist-to-asian-dumpling-house/
 
Irvinecommuter said:
irvinehomeowner said:
Sorry IC, you can't tell me Capital's menu is closer to Paper Lantern than Tim Ho Wan's is.

I was just comparing them the other day.

Everything that THW serves, Capital served.  Capital served a lot more for lunch and dinner...they also had a takeout section that was directly within the Paper Lantern price range.

Dim Sum and dumplings are fundamentally different.  Now..if DJ opened a 101 Noodle...then PL would be in real trouble.

You are deflecting a bit here. Capital's actual menu didn't even have dim sum, and they didn't serve it at dinner. Their core business was Chinese food. Paper Lantern's menu and THW have many of the same things at both lunch and dinner.

I know you will continue to argue your point but if you look at the actual menus for THW and Paper, they have more in common than Capital's.

And I doubt Paper Lantern would have opened there if they knew THW was coming.
 
Speaking of dumplings, how is JA Jiaozi compared to DTF and Paper?

DTF actually was meh for me, esp for the price... I would rather go to Paper... but how is JA?
 
irvinehomeowner said:
Speaking of dumplings, how is JA Jiaozi compared to DTF and Paper?

DTF actually was meh for me, esp for the price... I would rather go to Paper... but how is JA?

JA is not a XLB.  It's a boiled dumpling.  Completely different.  Price of a dumpling should be cheaper than XLB (slightly more labor to make), but JA charges very similar prices.  I tried JA once out of curiosity and would not go back. 
 
irvinehomeowner said:
Irvinecommuter said:
irvinehomeowner said:
Sorry IC, you can't tell me Capital's menu is closer to Paper Lantern than Tim Ho Wan's is.

I was just comparing them the other day.

Everything that THW serves, Capital served.  Capital served a lot more for lunch and dinner...they also had a takeout section that was directly within the Paper Lantern price range.

Dim Sum and dumplings are fundamentally different.  Now..if DJ opened a 101 Noodle...then PL would be in real trouble.

You are deflecting a bit here. Capital's actual menu didn't even have dim sum, and they didn't serve it at dinner. Their core business was Chinese food. Paper Lantern's menu and THW have many of the same things at both lunch and dinner.

I know you will continue to argue your point but if you look at the actual menus for THW and Paper, they have more in common than Capital's.

And I doubt Paper Lantern would have opened there if they knew THW was coming.

Capital Seafood absolutely had dim sum...it's one of the major reason why people went there.  They even had a take out section for dim sum.

There is literally nothing that TWH sells that Paper Lantern does.  TWH sell cantonese dim sum while Paper Latern is selling northern style dumplings and noodles.  The only that remotely overlaps are the rice dishes...the the only similarity is that they are rice dishes. 

Please identify the items that you believe overlap:
http://timhowanusa.com/menu/
https://www.paperlanterndumpling.com/

This was the menu at the takeout for CSF
https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/capital-seafood-restaurant-irvine-2?select=ma-I-IOcVvDGMpzIllqiVw

Here are pictures of the dim sum that they served: https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/capital-seafood-restaurant-irvine-2?tab=food

Heck they even serve XLB for a bit of time.
 
The takeout menu is not the menu at Capital Seafood Restaurant. Show me the Capital Seafood Restaurant menu that overlaps with Paper Lantern... not the picture of the takeout menu at the fast food Capital adjacent.

Did they serve dim sum at dinner time? No.

But, I will agree that Capital's *dim sum* menu has overlap with Paper.  But isn't THW more like the dim sum menu you posted for Capital?

And if that's the case, then wouldn't THW be more of a competitor because they primarily sell dim sum?
 
irvinehomeowner said:
The takeout menu is not the menu at Capital Seafood Restaurant. Show me the Capital Seafood Restaurant menu that overlaps with Paper Lantern... not the picture of the takeout menu at the fast food Capital adjacent.

Did they serve dim sum at dinner time? No.

But, I will agree that Capital's *dim sum* menu has overlap with Paper.  But isn't THW more like the dim sum menu you posted for Capital?

And if that's the case, then wouldn't THW be more of a competitor because they primarily sell dim sum?

They did sell dim sum at dinner...you have to ask for it.  They served dim sum every morning/lunch and was what people went to during weekends.

I can't find the original dim sum menu fro DJ Capital but it is listed here:

https://www.opentable.com/capital-seafood-diamond-jamboree 

THW sells dim sum, which is Cantonese (South China)...that is very very different than Paper Lantern, who sell northern style dumplings.  THW is not a competitor in any way to Paper Lantern...they are fundamentally different in style, taste, and how you eat them. 

My point is that PL opened while Capital Seafood was already there...any concerns regarding overlap was already considered.  THW is solely focused on selling dim sum so any potential overlap is further reduced to the point of nonexistence.
 
I guess we will have to disagree.

Paper Lantern opened because they knew Capital was closing (same ownership right?).

Had they known THW was going to take Capital's spot, I think they might have planned differently.

To people who aren't familiar with North or South China like me... they may consider them the same and just choose THW because of the hype. If you don't think THW will hurt Paper Lantern's business... we diverge.
 
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