Minh Ky is a small Chinese-Vietnamese Noodle and Soup shop located on the corner of El Cajon Blvd and Menlo Avenue. In fact, Minh Ky shares the same strip mall with A-Chau, and a Vietnamese Market.
About 12 tables are lined against the walls and through the middle of the spartan interior of Minh Ky, and Chinese or Vietnamese music is a always blaring away. The one thing Minh Ky could use, is a revolving door for the steady stream of people entering and exiting the Restaurant.
I normally pay Minh Ky a visit during weekend mornings when I’m in the mood for some soup. Minh Ky is a good choice since they open at 8am on weekdays, and 830am during the weekend. And as strange as it may seem, I do enjoy a nice bowl of Combination WonTon Soup($4.75):
The Combo Soup, comes with a good portion of veggies, fishcake, shrimp, char siu, chicken, and most of all won tons. Today’s soup had 10 Won Tons in it! The fillings of the won tons at Minh Ky are pretty dense pork meatballs with a slice of shrimp; and are almost like siu mai in texture. The broth is a clear and mild chicken broth, I usually add a touch of soy sauce and some white pepper. Overall, a pretty good start to a Saturday for me.
There is a really amusing thing that happens to me at Minh Ky. Because most of the clientele is Vietnamese, I kind of stand out. And because I only eat here during the winter and spring, there is a "cycle of familiarity" that occurs during my initial visits. It usually starts with "Are you Korean?" And a short and fun conversation normally takes place, where I explain I’m Japanese, and so on….. It happens with most of the Employees, one by one. "But you look Korean……" And sometimes ending in "so you don’t speak Japanese" with a smile and a short negative shake of a head.
Once in a while I’ll get the Won Ton Egg Noodle Soup($4.25):
Again, a simple broth, lettuce, nappa cabbage, green onions, char siu, won tons(8), and thin crunchy egg noodles. A decent bowl for the price.
On this visit, the Young Lady found a novel way of taking my order. She was filling chili oil containers on a adjoining table and saw that I was ready to order. She proceeded to lean back on her chair, balancing on two legs, with a container of chili oil, smiling and turning to me said "combination won ton soup?" Okay, call me a creature of habit! "Um, no just wonton egg noodle soup, today." Show them who’s predictable….. And a free acrobatic/gymnastic show to boot!
On a recent visit, I even opened the menu past the first page and went over some of the 225+ dishes, and ordered the Combination Crispy Noodles($6.25):
I should’ve stayed with the soups, the thin egg noodles were over fried, powdery and brittle instead of crunchy. The beef was really tough, and there was too little of the sauce, which was very bland. 
I’ll stick with the soups.
It just so happens that Minh Ky is also a favorite of Howie of A Foodie’s Eye View of San Diego’s Restaurants. When I Emailed Him and asked what he enjoyed at Minh Ky, Howie stated: "I pretty much just order the rice porridge. It’s far and away my favorite porridge in SD. I always get it with the Chinese donut. It sounds boring, but it’s more flavorful than most Chinese congee. The broken rice, ginger, & fried shallots really help it. Great comfort food." So it looks like Jook and Youtiao for Howie. Thanks for taking some time to reply to my Email Howie. In appreciation, I’m starting a new category, called "What Howie Eats", I’ll include places we’ve discussed, and any recommendations that Howie has.
Some notes on Minh Ky: The strip mall that Minh Ky is located in has one of the worst parking configurations in San Diego. One of the aisles has no outlet, you have to back out of the parking stall, which leads to some interesting situations. I’ve seen a car trying to back out, while a car is waiting for the parking stall but because of the single aisle, the waiting car is essentially blocking the exiting car in. Nothing like a nice little showdown between two 3-4 thousand pound vehicles to start off the weekend! Many times vehicles will exit right over the sidewalk, straight onto El Cajon Boulevard. I usually park in the back, though you’ll need to avoid the large potholes and abandoned furniture. The back parking lot can also be quite scary at night. I usually order "tea" with my meals and they serve me a whole pot, and I’ve never ever been charged for it.
Oh, and as I was at the register paying…."Are you Korean?" You gotta love it!
Minh Ky Restaurant
4644 El Cajon Boulevard
San Diego, CA 92115