When I first noticed Khan's Cave I really didn't know what to make of it. Somehow, Genghis Khan, and the phrase "Bar & Grill" just didn't seem to go together. This corner of the strip mall location used to be Hsu's Szechwan, an American-Szechwan-Mongolian BBQ restaurant that must've been around since the gold rush. Perhaps a tie-in with the old Mongolian BBQ joint? Who knows…..
After Khan's Cave opened, it became one of those, "oh, yeah, I need to check it out one-of-these days" places. You know what I mean, you drive by, and go "oh, yeah……" And a few blocks later, the image has receded into the nether regions of your brain. which is what always seemed to happen to me. FOY, Rebecca sent me an email at the end of August, telling me of her very positive experience at Khan's; and yet it still took me almost three months to get there!
Before visiting, I had checked out the menu on the Restaurant's website, which was a mish-mash of Asian influenced dishes from all over the map, and more than a few Fusion items, which left me, well, a bit con-"fused". I also noticed that dinner prices ran from $12-24, with lunch being a better deal. But the best deal of them all, was happy hour, which ran 7 days a week, from 4pm to 630 pm.
Appetizers and selected menu items were $2-3 off, and $1 off all beer in the patio and lounge areas. I decided that this would be a nice thing to try out. The restaurant has been renovated, and the warm looking bar area now occupies the former Mongolian griddle area. The selection of draft beers is pretty good, 20 in all, with 25 or so wines available by the glass.
So I got a nice tall "Arrogant Bastard", and looked over the bar menu.
Rebecca had recommended the Pepper Salt Calamari ($7 – happy hour price), which sounded like a nice beer grub type of dish. It would also be a good test of the kitchen…. to see if they could do two deceivingly simple things right; cooking calamari and frying.
When the plate hit the table, I thought it looked kind of greasy, but these were good. Crisp, light batter, the calamari were cooked to perfection (not hard and rubbery), and the squid rings had that nice Chinese "salt and pepper" flavor. Yes, salty indeed, but my kind of bar grub.
I also had thoughts of ordering the Pepper Salt Chicken Wings, but showing much restraint, I went with the Sriracha Thai Chicken Wings ($7).
The wings had a nice texture, with a bit of the fried crunch remaining, and was well coated with a spicy sauce which slowly got hotter and hotter as you ate them. This was reminiscent of Buffalo Wings in flavor(without the margarine fattiness), and like Buffalo Wings, I'd have enjoyed a nice "foil" for the heat and acidity, a la Blue Cheese dressing. These got a bit mundane after a while, but I was glad it wasn't too sweet.
This was more than I could finish, and I ended up taking a bit of it home with me. Overall, it wasn't a too bad experience. I also found out that the Chef was from Hong Kong.
With that experience in hand, I decided to grab lunch at Khan's. And this time I went with one of the ultimate, "it really doesn't exist in the supposed Country of origin dishes"; Singapore Noodles ($9.95). Really, there is no such thing as what we call Singapore Noodles in Singapore(well, maybe now with globalization…) , which puts the dish in the class of Chop Suey, Crab Rangoon, and Sesame Chicken.
That doesn't mean that I don't like it if it is well prepared. The portion size was on the small side, which in this day and age of humongous portions is not necessarily a bad thing. Several nice sized shrimp were provided as well. The vegetables were hard and undercooked, and though there was a nice curry kick, the dish lacked any other flavor, and was badly in need of soy, and perhaps chicken stock to add flavor. The one thing good about the dish was that the noodles weren't overcooked and mushy, and the dish came off as being less oily. At 10 bucks, I thought it was a bit over-priced, and at almost $12 for dinner……
As I've mentioned before, it's a fine line between Fusion and Con-Fusion food. Pulling off Seafood Pad Thai, Yakisoba, Ramen, and Pasta well, is a daunting task. I think the decor in the dining room at Khan's represents the food well:
Everything from decent tables and chairs to barrels(?) used as a table stand, and nice tile work transitioning to cheap looking carpet. Khan's has also kept the original ceiling from Hsu's, which adds even more kitsch to the equation.
That doesn't mean I won't be returning for a $5 – 22oz draft beer or some nice salty fried things during happy hour. I've filed it away as, "Asian TGI Fridays, meets PF Chang"…..
Khan's Cave Bar & Grill
9350 Clairemont Blvd
San Diego, CA 92123
Thanks for the recommendation Rebecca!
One more thing. For some reason, I think FOY CAB may want to check out this dish:
