We come here quite often since the food is good and it’s generally less crowded than other Chinese restaurants in Irvine (it’s out in the business area on the west side of jamboree). It’s also one of the only places you can get the big warm pots, big sesame bread and good lamb dishes. It’s changed owners a few times, but it’s still pretty good on the whole.

I have been wanting to try this place for quite sometime, but whenever I get my mind to it, I’m either too tired to drive to Tustin from Mission Viejo or my family has vetoed me and we end up getting something else to eat.

Well, this time I won.

Jamillah Garden is located in an industrial park in Tustin off Walnut Ave between Jamboree and Tustin Ranch Road. It’s in a small complex that also houses a sushi restaurant that has changed hands several times as well as nail/beauty salon.

Now Jamillah isn’t the most pretty restaurant. The place is a bit run down and there hasn’t been any remarkable upgrades since they moved in. They have seating for probably around 65 and is lit by florescent lights in a drop down ceiling. I have always been one of those folks that believes that ambiance is part of the equation to good food – but not all of it. In the case of Jamillah Garden, the food fortunately outweighs the shortcomings.

For dinner we had an assortment of dishes:

• Sliced Beef with Green Onions
• Beef with Broccoli
• Kung Pao Chicken
• Crispy Pan Fried Noodles with Chicken and Vegetables
• Fish Filet in a Black Bean Sauce

Now what Islamic Chinese cooking is all about is their noodles and breads. They also use Halal meats and the freshest of seafood. Unfortuantely the family chose to stick with the more familiar Chinese dishes. Jamillah prides themselves on homemade noodles and their famous sesame bread. I will have to dine there, on my own, and sample some dishes that are more traditional in the Islamic Chinese way.

The flavors of the dishes was pretty good. My nephews and nieces tore thru all the dishes, even the fish filet! MY favorite of the night was the Crispy Fried Noodle with Chicken and Vegetables. We poured the a mixture of chicken and Vegetables in a thick sauce over the crispy noodles and gave it time to soak in and “soften” a bit. I will order this again for sure.

I wish we had some different dishes like Chicken Chow Mein made with homemade soft egg noodles or the Oxtail Stew Warm Pot.

I went to their website to reference some of the dishes for this review and was a bit disturbed by what I found. The have pictures of people eating pizza and burgers on the opening sequence. Once you click to enter the rest of the site, we come to a site that is riddled with spelling errors and more pictures of people/staff and fixtures that do not exist in the restaurant itself.

As I mentioned earlier, Jamillah only serves Halal Meat. This is a kin to Kosher meats in the Jewish faith. The meat has to be prepared in a specific manner for it to be Halal. In Islam, Halal means permissible or lawful.

I will write another review when I can dine there without my extended family in tow! :) In the meantime, I will offer 2 stars. I enjoyed the food, but these were dishes you could find in any Chinese restaurant within a 5 mile radius. Next time, will be more telling. The website bothered me a lot. In this day and age, anyone can get a good person to program a well executed site without the need for “flash” or misrepresented graphics.