Welcome back to the food blog called mmm-yoso!!! Kirk is -yes- still on vacation. I know he is eating well and will have some great posts when He and His Missus get back. ed (from Yuma)is -yes- working a lot right now. Cathy is -yes- blogging again about a meal.
Kirk has posted many times about Yum Cha Cafe. Part of a chain based in Los Angeles, Yum Cha Cafe serves small, individual portions of sweet and savory snacks, soups and BBQ meats. It is not 'traditional' Dim Sum in that you point and pay and get all the items on a tray to carry to a table. It also is not expensive.
It is located in the same parking lot as Thuan Phat grocery store and the corner of Linda Vista and Ulrich, which houses many restaurants and has a good parking area. The ability to have parking nearby restaurants anywhere seems to be a plus lately.
Some trays of hot foods-which are served up as a portion of either $1.39 or $1,79.
Steam baskets of Dim Sum.
BBQ duck, chicken and pig. These are sold either by the pound or by the half or the whole.
Pay and find a seat. Hot tea is in a pot next to the door. Three "B" choices. Each is $1.79. The fried chicken wings (7 pieces) have been fried, but are not crispy, from sitting on the steam tray too long. Still the flavor is good. The vegetable seafood dumplings (3) are pan fried and filled with crispy vegetables, shrimp and fake crab. The roll is mainly tofu, with a green leafy vegetable…here's a cross section view:
The outside of the roll is a bit crispy tofu and the rolled up insides are a good texture; not mushy. I like the flavor of this vegetarian savory item…
Below is pictured fish porridge ($3.99), dumpling soup ($1.99) . We almost always order the fish porridge. It is filled with a good amount of a fresh, firm white fish and is a meal in itself.
A close up cross section of one of the ten dumplings served in the broth which tasted very much like fish sauce on this visit. But, for $1.99, ten meaty dumplings and some Chinese broccoli is a nice meal. There are also some dumpling with noodle soups for $2.99. I have ordered that also and the broth was not as 'fish sauce' tasting. 
If you are eating in, you'll get your items in the steam baskets it was cooked in. The shrimp shu mai, 4 pieces, are also $1.79.
Below, shrimp stuffed eggplant (3 pieces, also $1.79) are a nice way to get a vegetable and protein-and it can be a meal…I do like these.
There are items for $1.39, mostly desserts and non-tofu vegetarian. Apparently we didn't have any of those on this visit.
Here is a braised "Hainan Style" chicken, roast duck and char siu pork on rice with preserved vegetables underneath with to-go packets of Sriracha sauce which was less than $5. This was dinner, then breakfast, then lunch. The lemongrass chicken was the best of the three meats, but I did not find the other meats objectionable. Sometimes I just get 1/2 lb of the roast pork…as a snack.
Yum Cha Cafe 6933 Linda Vista Road San Diego 92111 open 8-8 daily. Website