**** Chef Zhu is now a location of Chin's
With the Lunar New Year quickly approaching, my coworker "YZ" decided that we should go out and grab some lunch. I knew she had been missing dishes from her hometown of Shanghai, so I suggested Chef Zhu, since it had been a while since I last visited. Since YZ has been in san Diego for a while, she had also eaten at the owner's previous restaurant, Shanghai City, and was curious as to how the dishes would compare.
As I mentioned before, the previous "ABCDE" (American Born Chinese Dining Establishment) menu is in place and folks come in calling the place "Double Happiness", so it's an interesting crowd.
"YZ" let me do the ordering, just like when we were in Madison for business.
We ended up ordering three dishes, all of which I've had before and thought were the three strongest on the menu. They did not disappoint.
Starting with the Yin Doo Xin, which is my favorite item on the menu.
A deceptively simple pork + (preserved) pork based broth. Clean, just salty enough, satisfying.
With the New Year on the way, I thought we should order the Chao Nian Gao.
Nicely texture, not too chewy or soft. I thought it could have a bit more saltiness….but YZ and SJP who joined us for lunch sure enjoyed it. SJP who is Korean seemed surprised to see that nian gao was essentially "dduk"….or perhaps visa versa.
We needed a bit of meat……well, just because. I went with the steamed pork with preserved vegetable which was better than I recalled.
Not too salty, balanced sweetness which cut the richness of the pork, this was pretty good overall.
In the end, we all had a nice meal, and even better conversation. I wish our busy work schedules allowed for more lunches like this..
Chef Zhu
1011 Camino Del Mar
Del Mar, CA 92014