Revisits to Kim’s Deli and Sandwich Island Deli

It's funny how the mind works. I was getting some takeout from Sue’s Korean Kitchen, when suddenly I was wondering how Kim's Deli was doing.

Kim's Deli:

So, a couple of days later at around 10am, I drove down Arjons Drive to see what was going on.

I parked in the cul-de-sac and walked on over to the little shop located in the business mall. The two older Korean women were hard at work putting together takeout orders when I arrived.

I thought about having a sandwich, but what reminded me of Kim's when visiting Sue's was the Bulgogi Bowl, which was pretty straightforward and simple, but was priced at reasonable $9 back in February 2021. It's now $12. Regardless, with prices these days, it still seems like a bargain. So that's what I got.

    Calling this a "bowl" is a definite misnomer as it's pretty hefty. There's the standard green salad with a sesame dressing plus some fairly standard and kinda mushy and pretty salty japchae. The rice was nicely done and the portion size seemed a bit larger than before.

The bulgogi, was better this time, not as tough, though flavor wise, it was edging on the sweeter side. I saw the woman in the back actually cook the meat in what looked like a combo pizza oven – broiler. The sauce on the side tasted like bottled stuff and was super sweet in flavor. 

Like I mentioned before, this really gave me old school "lunchwagon" vibes. It's not great, but considering the price at $12 and the portion size, in this day and age it's worth it. Plus, I actually had some leftovers….there was a ton of rice under the meat and japchae.

Kim's Deli
8515 Arjons Drive
San Diego, CA 92126

As I was having the bulgogi "bowl" my mind drifted off and thoughts of Sandwich Island Deli entered mi cabeza. Though it wasn't the sandwiches I was musing on; it was something else.

Sandwich Island Deli:

Which of course, had me driving down Trade Street a couple of days later to see what was going on.

Again, it was just past 10am and the place seemed pretty quiet.

Everything seemed peaceful at the counter.

What you don't see is the Asian couple working like crazy putting together orders. By the time the woman saw me and came over to take my order there were six packages on the counter!

As for what I ordered, well, like Kim's I was going to have a sandwich on another day. The "bento box" which is what I had on my previous visit had gone up a mere 75 cents in nearly 2 1/2 years! 

Something else caught my eye. There's Chicken Yakisoba on the menu. And it's priced at only $7.95. I was wondering what the heck a $7.95 dish would look like here? All sandwiches, save one (the Egg Salad Sandwich – $6.99), are more expensive than the yakisoba. Heck, most everything at Nijiya is now more expensive than that! So, I had to try it.

That bag felt pretty heavy. I opened it up and cracked up.

This looked like something I'd throw together when I was 12 years old, trying to make use of dry, packaged ramen noodles.

And actually, there was more sautéed cabbage, than noodles. Or anything else for that matter. And it was quite bland in terms of soy-savory-sweet tones.

There were a few pieces of chicken, mushrooms, and zucchini. The seasoning was very mild and also tasted like it was poured from a bottle or gallon container. Perhaps I should have followed the lead of the guy who came to pick up his yakisoba….I'm guessing he's a regular because the woman gave him two containers of sauce for his order.

Truth be told; the teriyaki-ish chicken bento is better than this. Though it's hard to complain about something that costs $7.95. Heck, remember I got a second-rate Banh Mi for $9 recently? And I got my daily requirement of cabbage with this meal to boot.

Sandwich Island Deli
7350 Trade St.
San Diego, CA 92121