He’s Noodle Zone

In 2022, a small restaurant named He’s Noodle Zone opened in Irvine’s Heritage Plaza, close to Baekjeong Korean Barbecue, Nep Cafe, and the Japanese supermarket Mitsuwa, offering Sichuan food at entirely reasonable prices. The service model was minimalistic, almost to a fault: Staff pointed guests to order dishes from a comprehensive digital menu accessible from smartphones, and had little interaction beyond bringing dishes from the kitchen to tables. It didn’t feel like traditional “hospitality,” but the service was quite fast during our meal, and all of the food was very good.