Working late one evening, I was craving some Beef Sate Noodle…..of course Tan Ky Mi Gia has closed (I've been to Tim Ky – that post is upcoming), so despite some pretty unimpressive visits, I decided to give them another shot……you know, the place that claims to be the "The Original Chinese Noodles"……which means they'd have been around for like 4000 years, heck this isn't even their original location.
It's was prime dinnertime, but the place looked kind of empty. There I stood, promptly ignored by the three guys milling around, when the young guy practically screams at me "SIT!" pointing to one of the booths. And just in case I didn't hear him, he goes "SIT!" again. Now I may talk this way to Sammy and Frankie once in a while; but they have four legs……
Menu promptly flies onto table and the guy hovers over me. Now the last time I was here, I looked high and low for Beef Sate Noodle and the Server who was hovering over me just like this guy practically ordered me to have something else. This time I was going to find that damned dish even if took all night. Much to the dismay of the guy hovering….who finally let out a sigh and left me to concentrate on my meal. And wouldn't you know….I finally found it on the bottom of the menu. So the guy comes back and simply says "what???" Man of few words, or would that be word……
Anyway, here it is in all it's glory Beef Sate Noodle – Dry ($7.30). By the way; it's on the bottom of the noodle soup page.
It looked pretty decent; until you went to mix it and found all that iceberg lettuce hidden by the noodles, which were basically raw and still sort of powdery. There was not enough sauce and the beef was tough.
The broth was basically MSG water….really salty.
Sad really, since in the good old days LHK did a pretty good job. However, since the MM location opened and the failed attempt at reopening on Convoy, it seems the prices have gone up rather quickly, the flavors have gone down, and the Servers here only speak in monosyllables. Actually, the young man spoke perfect California English….there was a table with a couple of guys whom I'm thinking were his friends….they were talking about football. Which was great for his buddies…..though perhaps I would prefer just single word sentences from him……
So this is my third post on the place. And unless someone has some compelling dish to try, I think that's it for "The Original Chinese Noodles".
Luong Hai Ky Restaurant
10606 Camino Ruiz #2
San Diego, CA 92126
🙁
That’s too bad. The waiter we usually get is much nicer, taciturn, but much more patient. Then again, I’m usually there at lunch. And I do stay away from their Mi dishes for the reasons you describe. Kind of tough to get through.
Sounds like a really fun experience for those days you are indecisive and can’t decide what you want to do…
Cool. It looks like 2 of the worst Asian joints are located in Mira Mesa – Luong Hai Ky and Viet Cali
Hi Kat – Yeah….
Hi Jan – This was pretty terrible service.
Hi Soo – I have the Missus to do that for me already….
Yikes R……..that’s pretty harsh, but you’ll get no argument from me right now.
Wow, that broth looks pathetic…and lettuce to boost up the noodles?!?
Viet Cali is no more. I forget the new name. I haven’t been there yet and I’m not sure if the new name = new owners.
It was Jack……..that about sums it up.
Hmmmm, I’ll have to check it out Jan.