My visits to Marugame had me wondering how Qin West was doing. They are basically neighbors at UTC. On both of my Marugame visits, I noticed how empty Qin West looked. Or perhaps it was just that Marugame was so busy? Since it had been over 2 years since my visits to Qin West, I made a mental note to do a revisit. And then proceeded to forget about it! Until a couple of weeks ago, when "M" was in the office. We were talking about Marugame, "M" lives in the UTC area and is originally from the Shanghai area. She mentioned Qin West, telling me their family gets takeout from there on a weekly basis! When I asked her what her favorite dishes were; she didn't mention any of the Shaanxi style dishes, but instead named some of the spicier, Sichuan leaning dishes. Quite a surprise for me! The next day I decided to order takeout from Qin West and looked online since the place is pretty much a fast-casual restaurant. I took a look at the online ordering options; and even though "No Service Fee" is indicated, things seemed somewhat expensive. So, I decided to drive on over and place my takeout order in person.
Walking in, I went and tried to use the QR code ordering process, but it didn't work. The guy working the counter told me to come over and place my order. And yes, I was correct about the prices. Each item was over $2 more expensive when ordering online!
I was told to return in 15 minutes to pick my order up. So, I took a loop around the mall, then returned. Qin West has an interesting way of announcing when your order; whether doing takeout or dining in, they use a megaphone to announce your number. The one issue being, is that sometimes they only announce the number in Mandarin! Which is what happened in the case of my takeout order. After waiting around ten minutes after returning to the restaurant, I walked over and displayed my receipt. Guess what? One of the items that arrived at the counter while I as waiting was my order! You gotta love it!
Anyway, I got the Stir Fried Spicy Chicken and the Liang Cai Combo.
When "M" described the Stir Fried Spicy Chicken ($16.25 – $18.75 with online ordering) I thought it was going to be like La Zhi Ji, but this was indeed stir-fried.
As you can tell, the portion size was pretty large. It was indeed spicy with both dried and fresh chilies used to deliver the heat. The chicken was on the tougher side, but what we (the Missus tried leftovers) didn't enjoy was how salty this dish was. It was sodium overload.
I had recalled enjoying two-thirds of the Cold Dish – Liang Cai Combo before, so decided to order that as well. Man, two years ago, this was $14.75; it's now $19.75, what is that, like over a 30% increase in price. And just think, if you ordered this online for pick-up, it would be $21.95!
In case you don't believe me.
It was a very large portion! Though you can see how thick the kitchen is slicing the tendon and pork ear now. Eating some of the pieces of tendon was like trying to bite into your flip-flops! The pig ear was crunchy and manageable. The smacked cucumbers were better than what I'd had here previously, with a decent amount of salt. The chili oil based sauce wasn't quite as spicy as I recalled and it had a hint of sweetness and more soy sauce, which wasn't a bad thing.
The Missus enjoyed the cucumbers.
This was an interesting visit, especially when looking at prices. I know that folks have recommended the fried rice and the shredded potatoes ("tudou si"), and I did enjoy the Yang Rou Pao Mo, so I'll probably return in a couple of months.
Though I'm wondering what prices will be like then?
Qin West Noodle
4353 La Jolla Village Drive (In UTC)
San Diego, CA 92122
Current Hours:
Daily 11am – 845pm