XiXi Fried Skewer

Also known as XiXi Zha Huo Pu and Xi Xi Fried Skewers, Irvine’s XiXi Fried Skewer is one of a growing number of food service businesses that stretch the meaning of the word “restaurant” in various ways – here, by simultaneously sprawling outside its own footprint in a small food court, and sharing a physical space with Ai Yu Fish, a Chinese soup brand that you’re more likely to discover through Fantuan or Uber Eats than exterior signage. XiXi’s open refrigerators spread across its front and some of its shared dining space, offering guests access to skewered meats, seafood, and vegetables, most with handwritten prices. Unlike the full-service Beijing-style grill house Gui BBQ Restaurant and Bar, you hand-pick items at XiXi, and they’re fried in the kitchen.

The concept is simple: take a large plastic bowl, place whichever skewered items you want inside, and bring the bowl to the counter for cooking. Items can be served plain, with additional Sichuan-style numbing spices – mild, medium, or hot – and/or with additional items offered by the kitchen, including various parts of ducks and chickens, fried milk, sweet durian puffs, french fries, and even soups from Ai Yu Fish. While most of the individually skewered items range from $3 to $8, and lamb kabobs are $4 each, bundles of eight beef skewers can be had for $13. As such, meal prices can vary dramatically based on your appetite and particular preferences, but expect to pay around $30 per person for a filling meal.