Revisits – Tasty Noodle House and Prime Grill

Man, when did summer start? I've been craving a few of my "warm weather" favorites recently. Here are a couple more…..

Tasty Noodle House:

Remember, back in October I was craving some Zui Ji (Drunken Chicken) from Tasty Noodle House and they were out of it? Well, it was warm enough that I was willing to brave that horrid parking lot and return to see if I could get some thing time around.

And guess what….they had it.

Now the version here had always had a strong wine flavor and been on the salty side. Today, it was much too salty, as in almost unpleasant to eat. Too bad, because it was fairly tender and almost boneless. But man, this was way too salty.

I also ordered the Chao Nian Gao (stir fried rice cakes), which, while usually a bit undercooked on past visits, had been decent overall.

In terms of flavor, this was fine, a light touch of sesame oil, the mild bitterness of the Jì Cài (Shepherd's Purse). But today this was overcooked and mushy.

Sadly, I'd been waiting for warmer days to return here, but the food just didn't measure up this time around. I think I need to switch things up a bit.

Tasty Noodle House
4646 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

Prime Grill:

One of my favorite warm weather dish is Bibim Naengmyun…something about those chilled and chewy noodles combined with a bit of spice that I find refreshing. Calvin wanted some Korean food for lunch….but not barbecue or anything like that….. So we thought we'd hit up Prime Grill. Funny, Calvin didn't even know what Bibim Naengmyun was…..

The variety of panchan wasn't particularly good this time around; though I think they make the best baechu kimchi. While it's doesn't compare to Korea, it has a touch of fermented flavor and isn't overly salty as most restaurant versions in San Diego.

While a bit under-sauced, I prefer the way the noodles are prepared here in comparison to…say, Buga. They use a thinner version of the buckwheat based noodle; while still chewy, it isn't like eating rubberbands. I'm not sure if it's just me; but I find the cho-jang here to be a bit more sweet than other places. A dash of vinegar a bit more sauce….a touch of sweat on the brow and I feel refreshed.

We also ordered the Yukhoe. Sorry about the photo, the nice lady mixed everything, the egg yolk, pear, pine nuts up right when she brought the dish to the table. The meat was a bit too frozen when the dish arrived, but the texture got better, and we could make out the other flavors especially the hidden pieces of garlic which had some major bite as the dish thawed. Not too sure I'd order this here again though….even though it's a favorite dish of mine.

Just in case this wasn't enough, I ordered the Kimchi Pajun. Since I enjoyed the baechu kimchi here, I wondered how it would taste in savory pancake form.

While this could have been a bit more crisp, it wasn't soggy nor too doughy and you could taste the kimchi. Not a bad dish….though we could only finish a slice a piece. Calvin took the leftovers home.

Overall, a nice meal…..the Missus and I returned a couple of days later and though I didn't take any photos, I thought the Bibim Naengmyun was even better. What was even more interesting was that all the Korean customers were getting that….so I guess it is a nice remedy to the warmer weather we're having!

Prime Grill
4620 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111