Eastern Dynasty Revisited

We continued our roast duck quest with a visit to a place we had only done takeout from; Eastern Dynasty. We hadn't enjoyed the dishes much from Eastern Dynasty, and the last time we did takeout, other than the Kwai Fei Ji, which the Missus specifically said we weren't going to order, well this was going to be interesting.

Parking at the Convoy Pointe Plaza can get pretty tight during prime time; but we arrived during the middle of the week at 5pm for dinner and had no issues finding parking. Eastern Dynasty had just opened and we were the first customers.

We placed our orders and soon enough the dishes started arriving.

First up, the Roast Duck.

This was totally different from what I'd had from here previously. It as still on the mild side in terms of flavor, definitely in need of more assertive anise flavor. But the skin, while a bit too soft was passable, and the meat was very moist and tender. Not great, but not bad at all.

Previously, when I had tried to order the Salted Fish and Chicken with Eggplant, I was told "not to order it", and when I went ahead anyway, my goodness, it was waaaay too fishy! But here we were a year later.

Whoa, like the duck, this was surprising, though unlike said fowl, it was not in a good way. This hardly had any salted fish in it and was very bland. Did they have a shortage of salted fish? Or perhaps they've changed chefs?

We also ordered the Salt and Pepper Pork Chops.

I liked the seasoning on this, good amount of pepper, perhaps a bit too much MSG. But the pork was tough and the coating lacked crispness.

For the last dish; the Missus wanted the Mei Cai Kou Rou. I reminded Her how greasy and bitter it was the last time we tried it. She was undeterred. And it turned out to be the best dish of the meal.

 Man, this was a nice surprise. The pork was tender, not overly fatty, and braised well. Mei Cai Kou Rou can be overly sweet, but this was nicely balanced, good salty-savory-ginger-anise-sweet balance. It was also not overly greasy and we could taste the preserved vegetable, which added pleasant sour notes, and a slightly crunchy texture to the dish. This also had julienned napa cabbage, which one could complain is filler, but it added a hint of sweetness and a nice contrast in texture. This dish got the Missus to exclaim, "when we're done with the roast duck exploration, let's do Mei Cai Kou Rou!" Be still my arteries!

This was an interesting visit. I'm wondering if there's such a large gap between takeout and dine in here? Or perhaps the kitchen staff has changed since our last visit? I'm hoping that it's not a matter of consistency in the prep of the food.

Have you been to Eastern Dynasty recently? If so, how did it compare to earlier visits? Do tell!

Eastern Dynasty
4690 Convoy St.
San Diego, CA 92111
Current Hours:
Daily 11am – 230pm, 5pm – 830pm