I first noticed that a shop named "Fish With You" was opening in the former Shentang BBQ (remember when it was Pho Paradise for a minute?) location back in July of last year. I took the Missus to have a look at the sign and She got kind of excited, telling me the place specialized in Suan Cai Yu – literally "sour vegetable fish". She also mentioned the "fun-pum" in the Chinese name.
If you recall; the Missus, being from QingDao grew up eating Suan Cai and it is a staple in our household. So I was pretty excited to try the place once it opened. And after reading this post on Eater, I was even more interested. It's a chain from China with many locations around the world. Looking at the original posted ABC notification, the business name was supposed to be "Wei's Fish" which is located in Cupertino, but I guess eventually the place took on the name of the chain. It has the same owner as Yin Tang Hot Pot and Zhengxin Chicken Steak (which I need to return to) two other chains that have entered the Convoy "sweepstakes".
The restaurant finally opened in March and I was excited to try it. Except, for some reason, the Missus was suddenly not? Go figure. But I finally talked Her into visiting during a weekday at an odd hour figuring the place would be busy. And of course, that parking lot at 3904 Convoy, the strip mall with The Original Pancake House, Izakaya Sakura, Tsuruhashi, Bistro Kaz, Yakitori Koubou, Mekong Cuisine, and several more restaurants is no vehicle's friend when it comes to parking.
We did find parking and entered the brightly lit restaurant. There were still several tables filled, even at this odd hour. Ordering was done via QR code and phone.
Though the really nice folks working will bring you a paper menu if requested. We also noticed the nice young lady taking the order for a four top with older Chinese folks as well.
There are four versions of Suan Cai Yu, a version of fish with lemon, a version with tomato, several versions of beef soup, and one chicken and tomato stew. Along with several side dishes and desserts. You can add sides to dishes. Two types of fish are available; except for the "Signature Soup" which will have Snakehead, which are quite popular in Asia, but an invasive species and illegal in California and and cannot be imported, transported, or possessed without a permit. The other fish available for the soup is Basa, which to me is more commonly known as Swai, not a favorite of mine.
On this visit; the Missus was interested in one of the desserts, a side dish, and two versions of the Suan Cai Yu. So, we placed our order on our phone.
Strangely, the first item to arrive was the dessert! The "Sweet Pumpkin Cake ($6.95).
Think fried mochi/manju. The exterior was crisp, giving way to a chewy interior along with a filling that was a bit too sweet for us. We tried one when it arrived and saved the rest for after the main courses were finished. Unfortunately, by that time it had started getting soggy. We ended up taking the rest home to heat in the air fryer. Still, I don't think we'll have this again.
We also ordered the Crispy Pork ($6.95). The Missus thought the portion was on the smallish side, but I thought it was ok based on prices these days.
It was crunchy, more tender than similar versions I've had recently. Crisp-crunchy, the Missus didn't care for the seasoning which She said didn't have enough spice and was on the sweeter side for Her.
All the soups come in two sizes. We chose the smaller size so we could try two different versions. In what was a surprise for these days, one bowl of rice is included for each soup free! Yes, you got that, no two-dollar charge for rice. The rice is supposedly Wuchang Rice from China; though it wasn't as fragrant as I would have liked, it was ok. Things can get pricy quickly though as every "extra" you add is $3.99 – like what looks like 4 quail eggs???
Our favorite of the two soups was the Signature Suancai & Fish (regular size – $17.95) that came only with Snakehead. The portion size was quite good.
Don't let the chilies fool you; this was pleasantly spicy (with one caveat I'll mention later) but not overwhelming, you could make out the fermented cabbage flavors, good salt and acidity, and every once in a while you'd get a peppercorn to wake you from your slumber. It had that suan-tian-ku-la-xian thing going. The fish was tender, with a mild flavor, and absorbed the taste of the soup nicely. We both really enjoyed this.
We also got the Laotan Suancai & Fish (regular size – $14.95) with Basa. We didn't care for the fish, even though it was meatier, the texture was mushy and the flavor had hints of muddiness.
Don't let the photo fool you. The bowl is quite shallow; seems like just over an inch deep. We didn't care for this soup as much either; the flavor was fairly straight forward, the spice level not bad, but for some reason we really couldn't make out the flavor of suan cai in this.
The Signature Soup was quite good and the service very nice. And the prices were quite reasonable for these days. Heck, the bowl of pho I had before this was more expensive than the Signature Soup!
And more importantly; the Missus was sold! So we returned a few days later. It was Sunday and I lucked out and found a parking space right before they opened.
There were already four tables full when we arrived. They had seated people, but no one was able to put in orders until 1130.
This time around we wanted to try a beef dish; so we got the Golden Soup Beef ($16.95).
The sliced beef was the typical thin sliced stuff you can get at the Asian grocer, not a big deal. The soup had very little spice and was actually on the bland side. It was also not hot when it arrived to the table, thus giving the broth a greasy tongue feel. Not sure what happened with that.
Luckily, we got the Signature Suancai & Fish again. And just like before it delivered!
And lunch, with leftovers for the two of us was less than $40! A note regarding the Signature Soup….you see all those chilies? Well, they add them right before delivering the bowl to your table; so there's a decent spice. If you do have leftovers however and are not having it until the next day; I'd remove the chilies, cause it gets quite spicy!
Anyway, we found a dish we really enjoy and can't wait to try out a few more items from the menu. In spite of wanting more mom-and-pop restaurants in the area, we're glad to now have Fish With You and Juewei. I see both as fairly regular stops for us in the land of endless Hot Pot, KFC, AYCE K_BBQ, and Cantonese Restaurants.
If you do try Fish With You out; let me know what you think and what are the dishes you enjoyed!
Fish With You
3904 Convoy St. #101
San Diego, CA 92111
Current Hours:
Daily 1130am – 10pm
I know "FOY" DerekR was wondering about this place – so here's the post!