mmm-yoso – Page 189

Saigon 5

December 27, 2016 mmm-yoso Banh Mi, Pho, Sandwiches, Vietnamese Restaurants

**** Saigon 5 has closed

Along with Krispy Krunchy Chicken, Saigon 5 occupies a space in the new 99 Ranch Market Foodcourt. They also open at 9am, which, with my current wacky schedule makes it quite convenient for grabbing lunch at say; 10am.

My understanding is that this is owned by the same folks who run Saigon on Fifth.

I've found this location of 99 Ranch Market to be fairly empty every time I've visit. At 10am on a weekday; the place looked like a ghost town.

Not sure what to get; folks who emailed me mentioned stuff like Pho Bo Kho, which I believe was a special. There were no specials during my three visits, so I was stuck with the regular menu. On my first visit, I just got a simple Dumpling Egg Noodle Soup ($6.95), which was nicely priced.

I appreciated the nice little addition of the pork neck, which kept me busy digging little bits of meat out of the crevices. Enjoyed the greens in the broth as well. The broth was a bit on the "thin" side for me. I think it could have been a bit richer, but the flavor, while on the mild side, mostly salt-pepper, was fine.

The dumplings were on the chewy side; though each one had a piece of shrimp (no, don't get excited, not a whole shrimp) in it. Again, a little weak in pork-shrimp and light with regards to seasoning.

The egg noodles were done right, a slight pull and crunch.

This was not bad at all.

So I returned and went with the Pho Dac Biet ($8.95). The comparison to the "Mi" was night and day. I think I have a contender for the worst pho in the area.

A couple of meatballs and some tasteless, chewy well done steak….that's what almost nine bucks got me. The broth was insipid, almost like just salt, water, and perhaps someone gleefully waved a beef bone over the broth to hopefully impart some flavor. It's almost like they used the same broth as the egg noodle soup, but with even less flavor. The noodles were all chopped short and mushy, totally over cooked.

Less said the better…..I'm trying to forget this bowl.

A couple of weeks later I returned and decided on the Banh Mi Dac Biet ($4.50) as my tie-breaker.

The bread was starting to go, you could tell by the texture. It was also ice cold. I liked the pate, which was nice. Rich and funky. Though the person who applied had pressed so hard into the bread causing one long divot of mushy bread from one end to the other. The pork belly and a cha lua were fine; but on the dry side. They also really like a lot of black pepper here. The pickled daikon and carrots were shredded fine and quite crisp; but in my opinion had not been pickled well as it lacked zip.

I'm not sure what to think about this place. My first visit was pretty good, but that pho was just not good, and while the banh mi was below average, there are places that do better, and are open early.

The service was fine, Both young women who work here are pleasant, though one seems a bit detached.

Saigon 5
5950 Balboa Ave (Inside 99 Ranch Market)
San Diego, CA 92111

Merry Christmas

December 24, 2016 mmm-yoso yoso-silly

Hard to believe….this is my 12th Christmas post. And while that first one was just a plate of cookies…..well, let's go for something a bit grander. Like maybe Kyoto?

We did our usual Christmas Lights drive between storms…..

And there seems to be more decorations this year……

We also bought Da Boyz some fairly ugly sweaters. Frankie must have really hated his since he ended up rubbing it on the walls until it got stretched out. Looked like he was wearing an "Ugly Curtain".

Sammy….well, just kinda accepted things.

Anyway, from the gang here at mmm-yoso!!! We hope you have a safe, wonderful, and most of all…delici-yoso Christmas!

Clearing Out the Memory Card – The Lion’s Share and Aqui es Texcoco

December 23, 2016 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Gastropub, Mexican Restaurants

Everyone's kind of distracted this time of the year. Here are photos of revisits to two places that I'd like to clear out of my memory card before the year ends.

The Lion's Share:

A Happy Hour favorite of the Missus.

Especially since She's really gotten to enjoy a nice cocktail now and then.

And Her favorite Happy Hour item still are those Deviled Eggs.

$6 during happy hour; the Missus is often tempted to order two. I enjoy the Prosciutto with Truffle Oil the most.

The Rabbit Sausage ($6 – Happy Hour) was nice; but it was the delicious whole grain mustard we really enjoyed.

The wbBLT Sliders ($8 – Happy Hour) are fine; we both enjoy the nice rolls.

The Wild Boar Poutine ($8 – Happy Hour) on the other hand was a disappointment.

Looks like this was placed under a broiler and the fries dried out making it seemed more baked than fried. The cheese was way too gooey and this was pretty salty so we couldn't make out any "wild boar". Also, where's the gravy?

As whole, we really enjoy the good cocktails ($6 – Happy Hour) and good Happy Hour pricing. The rather odd and eye catching artwork is a bonus. The Missus really likes the Lion's Share…to the point that She's willing to head into the Gaslamp.

The Lion's Share
629 Kettner Boulevard
San Diego, CA 92101

Hours:
Open daily 4 pm – 2 am – Happy hour from 4 – 6pm Daily

Aqui es Texcoco:

It's been way too long since we last visited. But our old favorites are still great here.

From the consommé; full of lamb flavor and nice and comforting with a squeeze of lime.

To the salty, but satisfying Chicharron de Queso…..griddled cheese.

And the Missus's favorite; the Plato Azteca……with huitlacoche(of course) and flor de calabaza (squash blossom) of course.

And of course you gotta get some Borrego….in this case the Mixiote.

Something I didn't take a photo of but was pretty impressed with this time around were the tortillas which were excellent.

Aqui es Texcoco never lets us down.

Aqui Es Texcoco
1043 Broadway
Chula Vista, CA 91911

I couldn't help but take a photo of this sweet face…….waiting faithfully for its owner who was probably doing some Christmas shopping….hopefully for the pooch.

More Noodling Around – Revisits to Minh Ky and Pho King

December 22, 2016 mmm-yoso Vietnamese Restaurants

Before the nice variety of breakfasts I had over recent weekends; it was the same 'ol, same old. Yep, basically noodle soup. It was the one thing I missed during our last trip. So between these noodle soup visits and those breakfasts….well, it was more noodle soup.

Minh Ky:

Instead of my usual, I went with the combination egg noodle soup. Not sure what was up on this day; but man, that broth was really weak. The char siu here tastes pretty good; but I wasn't too thrilled with the rest of the stuff….fish balls, fish cake, you know.

The egg noodles were good, slightly chewy with a bit of crunch, the soup was hot.

I'm sticking with one of my usual bowls here next time.

Minh Ky Restaurant
4644 El Cajon Boulevard
San Diego, CA 92115

Pho King:

After that visit to Minh Ky; I decided to stick with the usual at Pho King.

Is it just me; or has this parking lot really become a "horror show" over the last few years?

Anyway it was the Hu Tieu Mi Kho. These days they go a bit lighter on the Chinese celery and bean sprouts.

Still the combination of noodles; the ground pork, both in the bowl and sauce really does the trick for me. A little sweetness, a lot of saltiness, a nice combination of textures. Though to be perfectly honest……it's the combination of noodles that I really enjoy.

Pho King Restaurant
4658 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA 92115

So there you go…..just noodling around on this Thursday.

Chuan Chuan Xiang (串串香 – aka Mala Tang 麻辣烫) at Private Kitchens

December 20, 2016 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants

***** This location is no longer

It's funny how things work out. I was headed to a dreaded lunch hour meeting, when I was notified that it was cancelled. I decided to head on down Clairemont Mesa to grab something to eat. I noticed that the place I'd recently seen that replaced the Zisu Indian Market named Private Kitchens had opened….at least the sign said open. So I parked and walked in.

I quickly noticed a couple of things; first off, there's a temporary wall put up and there's still Indian groceries for sale. Second, there was only one person in the place that spoke English, a sweet young lady whose English name is "Julie" I believe.

It's an odd set-up, two folks came in, did some shopping and paid for their groceries at the register. There were some interesting communication issues, but everything got taken care of. I think the shop is liquidating the grocery inventory? I mentioned this to the Missus who told me; "you know my peeps……"

Second thing I noticed. In spite of the huge kitchen, the place was set-up with skewers of various vegetables, meats, bean curd, etc. This was a "chuan chuan xiang" ("fragrant skewers") style place; also know as mala tang ("numb and spicy") style place. A real Chengdu specialty where you pick your skewers and they are cooked in a numbing hot broth. I really haven't seen this here since Ba Ren tried their "Yie-Shi" menu years ago.

This style of eating has a special place in my heart. I couldn't wait to grab a basket and have at it. You get charged by the skewers….frankly, I just picked out stuff I enjoy….it came out to about $11. A "small pot" cost $3.99; though I didn't care for the standard noodles…..instant ramen type.

My favorite items were the frozen and fried tofu, the bean curd skin, along with the enoki mushrooms. The rest was pretty routine and basic, but that broth was definitely, legitimately "numbing hot". I did get the "ma-la" and it was that in spades. I left with a nice layer of sweat on my forehead.

Funny thing, a couple of days later, it was pouring rain, everybody had been stuck in meetings and calls and we decided to grab some lunch. So Calvin, JohnF, Renee, and I headed over for some Mala Tang. This style of eating is quite social; except Renee can't eat tolerate anything too spicy; so we got her a milder version…..I got the Boys medium spicy. Calvin just piled stuff on…..

I ordered kuan fen (cellophane noodles) this time around, which goes quite well with the hot pot. Calvin loves his chicken parts; the heart was good; so was the pork stomach. I gotta say though; if you're going to do this, go for the spicy….the medium just didn't do it for me. We left quite satisfied; Renee had never experienced the "ma" before and told me her lips were numb; "but in a good way". We headed back to the office on a spicy endorphin high…..just the thing to take us through the rest of the day.

Now I'm not going to say this is great, nor even really good. The skewers are fine; it's the broth that makes this. It's also comfort food for me. And so far the version here does enough. I'm hoping it gets better. I'm also wondering what happens when the inventory of Indian Groceries is depleted and that temporary wall comes down? Will the menu expand and offer us more Chengdu style dishes?

One can always hope…..

Private Kitchens
5440 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92117

San Diego Restaurants

Cooking the Book – Vegetarian “Eel” in Sweet and Sour Sauce, Inspired by Land of Fish and Rice

December 19, 2016 mmm-yoso Cookbooks, Cooking, Recipes

Yes, you read right…."mock eel"….like really. I've found some time to cook a bit recently and am now going to try to make it through those cookbooks I've got stacked on my coffee table. I've often done riffs on Fuchsia Dunlop's recipes. Her cookbooks hold a special place on my shelves. So when her latest cookbook Land of Fish and Rice was announced, I pre-ordered it.

Being married to someone from China and working with several others, I've noticed something quite interesting; the Missus's Shandong cum Hunan lineage struggles with the sweet flavors of Su-Cai and similar cuisines. As does our former coworker "Lily" who is from Shanxi. Meanwhile "YZ" can't deal with "Yang Rou"….and so one and so forth. Me? I love it all. So while I'm tempted to go for the Dong Po Rou, the Missus wasn't having any of that. While paging through, I found a rather simple recipe that caught my atttention it's called Vegetarian "eels" in Sweet-and-Sour Sauce in the book. I was mainly interested because the recipe didn't use tofu; which would probably have been the easy out. Instead, dried shiitake mushrooms were used.

Of course I adjusted the recipe to suit our (the Missus's) taste, upping the Chinkiang vinegar and soy sauce, adding a bit of five spice, mushroom soaking liquid, and a chili for some heat. And of course, using the Big Kahuna which cut the cooking time to mere minutes. The dish is best made in small batches. Also, do a good job of "scattering" the mushroom while deep frying, otherwise they tend to stick together.

The Missus really enjoys this; the sweet-salty-sour-savory components go together well.

Vegetarian "Eel" in Sweet and Sour Sauce:

10-12 dried Shiitake Mushrooms
About one-fourth of a good sized red bell pepper
About one-fourth of a good sized green bell pepper
Three thin slices of ginger
One medium sized red serrano pepper
Hot Water

2-3 Tb Potato Starch
1/4 tsp Five Spice Powder

2 cups peanut oil for deep frying

1 Tb Shaoxing wine
2 Tb strained mushroom soaking liquid

The Sauce:
1 Tb Shaoxing
3 Tb sugar
3 Tb Chinkiang vinegar
3 Tb light soy sauce
2 Tb strained mushroom soaking liquid

1/2 tsp Dark Soy Sauce (you may also want to try Mushroom Soy Sauce)
1/2 tsp Sesame Oil

– Soak the mushroom in hot water for 20-30 minutes
– Slice bell peppers into thin strips. Julienne the ginger. Cut the serrano pepper in half, remove seeds than cut into strips.
– Remove mushrooms from the soaking liquid, squeeze out excess liquid, remove stems and cut into strips.
– Strain 4Tb of the mushroom liquid
– Combine sauce ingredients until sugar is dissolved
– Combine mushroom slices with potato starch and five spice until coated
– Heat oil and scatter the mushroom, you may need to do in two batches. Fry until slightly crisp and remove from the oil
– Remove all but about 3-4 tb of oil and heat until nearly smoking
– Add peppers into the hot oil and stir fry
– Add Shaoxing, mushroom liquid, and ginger and stir fry until fragrant
– Add the mushroom back into the wok, add the sauce and stir fry until coated.
– Remove from heat and add dark soy sauce and sesame oil. Mix well.

Breakfasts of Champions – El Borrego, Manila Fast Food and Desserts, and the “Moco Loco” at the High Dive

December 18, 2016 mmm-yoso Breakfast/Brunch, Filipino Restaurants, Loco Mocos, Mexican Restaurants, Pubs and Pub Grub

While I might grumble about the food and restaurants here in San Diego from time to time; I do realize that there is a nice variety available to you if you take the time to enjoy things. Take breakfast/brunch for example. Over the last couple of weeks, I found myself getting something different from the usual noodle soup while doing my Saturday morning errands.

El Borrego:

**** As of 12/28/2025 El Borrego has sadly closed

It’s easy to overlook El Borrego. The street parking is limited and it’s in sort of a no-man’s land right before the main City Heights shopping area. Heck; it’s been about four years since I’ve last visited.

But with temps now dipping into the 40’s at night, I just wanted some Lamb Consomme.

The lovely warm embrace of the gamey lamb broth ($2.25) was just the thing I needed to warm me up and get me going. As was the Mexican coffee.

Being a bit hungry, I also ordered two Quesadilla Rellenas ($2.75/ each); one with flor de calabasa and the other with; of course, huitlacoche….I’m thinking that Black Belt Jonez comment on huitlacoche had me craving it.

The huitlacoche here is fairly mild with just a bit of that fungi flavor; the squash blossom goes really well with the cheese; which adds in a slightly milky touch. That salsa roja is no joke either.

Nice and comforting, but not too much food; it was what I needed to get all systems ready for my errands.

El Borrego Restaurant
4280 El Cajon Boulevard
San Diego, CA 92115

Manila Fast Food and Desserts:

I was here just a few months back, but decided to get my Longsilog fix since I was in the neighborhood.

Manila Breakfast 02 The Garlic Rice was decent; miost and the garlic wasn’t too burnt and bitter. The steam table eggs weren’t bad; still soft and runny in the middle; though I do enjoy my eggs with crisp edges. The eggs weren’t seasoned, so adding your own salt is a must. The standard issue longanisa was fine; I’d prefer bit more char, but it had a nice snap, wasn’t dried out, and had that sweet longanisa hamonado flavor.

Manila Fast Food and Desserts
8979 Mira Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92126

The “Moco Loco” at the High Dive:

So, I’ve been going into the office during most weekends since we got back from vacation. Some were necessary; on other days, it was just to catch up on admin stuff. I ran to Birdrock on Morena to pick up some coffee beans for the Missus. I’d done my Sprouts – 99 Ranch Market – Nijiya – Costco shopping and was going to grab something quick and head off to the office when I decided to “F that”……I deserved a day off and maybe a nice long weekend nap.

The car took over and parked alongside the High Dive. And my 11am Ommegang Gnomegang clinched the deal.

I haven’t been the biggest fan of the food here, but hadn’t seen the Brunch menu before. THD opens at 8am on Saturday and Sunday and they had something called the “Moco Loco” ($15)….you know me and Loco Mocos.

This really was a mixed bag. The egg seemed kinda small, but was fine, the yolk still runny. The gravy was straight up mushroom gravy which had a decent texture; not overly gluey, and wasn’t too salty. It was just a tad over lukewarm though. The rice had an odd texture……not sure what was going on.

The best item was the burger; which, while being pretty lean and toothsome, had a really nice char with a good beefiness to it.

One word of warning; if you’re ordering this and can’t take something less than medium, I think you should let them know as what I got was pretty darn rare. Though it didn’t bother me.

High Dive Bar and Grill
1801 Morena Blvd
San Diego, CA 92110

Well, at least I actually did take a “day off”. And I got something other than noodle soup for my weekend breakfast.

Dongbei Cai (东北菜) at Village North Restaurant

December 14, 2016 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants

**** Village North has closed

It's amazing how you can sometimes be surprised by the most humble and odd places. Take Village North Restaurant. I mentioned coming across the place when checking to see what was going on in the recently closed Char House space. The sign simply said "Soft Opening Village North".

I decided to check the place out. The space is quite modern, with a nice looking bar area, private rooms, a wide open dining area…..and one of the oddest menus I've seen in a while. It was strangely diverse with everything from Jiaozi to Chuan'r (skewers) to dry pots and other Sichuan style dishes…and yes, gasp, Orange Chicken!

I must have seemed a bit of an oddity to the very, very, nice young man who waited on me. Seeing the name "North" I went straight for the Jiaozi. But confused by the menu I asked where the chefs were from. I was told that the head chef and most of the other chefs were from Dongbei! My goodness, Dongbei. Which you might know as Manchuria and a style of cuisine the Missus and I enjoy; though we'd usually have to go to the SGV to get our fix. The menu's English translations really didn't help me, but with the help of the young man, I found the dish I was looking for.

The Jiaozi arrived first. I'd ordered the basic pork and napa cabbage version. This had a real home made kind of texture to the wrappers; a bit too brittle. The filling was mostly pork; something most folks would like, but I enjoy a nice balance. The flavor was fine, perhaps a bit too salty, but not bad. I did appreciate the entire bowl of Black Vinegar I was given, no scrimping there.

Of course; it was the Suan Cai Hot Pot I was looking for. It's Meat with Pickled Cabbage in Hot Pot on the menu.

This was pretty good; the fatty pork is perfect for this type of dish as the fermented flavors of the cabbage gives everything a clean finish. This was really large; of course I took most of it home. The dish had enough salt, but was missing two things….frozen tofu and enough deep fermented tones, though I'm thinking we like things a bit stronger these days since we make our own Suan Cai. Both were added when we had the leftovers for dinner….making this perfect.

I'd enjoyed my meal enough that I tried to return a couple of times; but for some reason the place was closed…..not sure why; I guess it's still the soft-opening, breaking in period.

I drove by recently and peeked down the parking lot and found that the open sign was lit up. So I decided on grabbing some lunch. As before, the dining room was empty….the two large rooms however, were full.

This time, I decided to ask about two classic Dongbei style dishes. I found one easily on the menu; the second one I asked about…..to the same really nice young man. Guo Bao Rou, which I call the "Original Sweet-Sour Pork". I was told that the version here is "modern style" and uses ketchup. Even though I had thought of the sauce looking like the Song Shu Gui Yu we had at De Yue Lou in Suzhou, I thought why not?

This had much more "sauce" than I'm used too. The pork was sliced properly for this dish; that would be thin. The batter; I believe it's usually potato starch based, was very crisp and crunchy. But man, the strong sour and sweetness was quite a shock! It was much stronger than I recalled, having had this dish before, and I didn't care for it at first. Then, bite by bite, I started enjoying it more. I especially appreciated the nice ginger tones which helped keep the sour notes at bay. I really can't eat too much of this, so I took most of it back to the office. I kind of knew who would enjoy this….. I figured this would over power Calvin's taste buds which it did. But had a feeling that "YZ" would like this…..even though she steers toward the Shanghai – Su Cai flavors, I believed that the very forward sweet – sour tastes would be what she liked. She really enjoyed it….. Heck, if you're going to have sweet-sour pork, you might as well have the original version, right?

I needed to balance the very sweet and sour dish and ordered the dish named the "Three Treasures"; Di San Xian.

The classic stir fry of potato, eggplant, and bell peppers. This was actually properly prepared; you basically need to deep fry the potato and eggplant before adding the sauce for thickening. This version kept too much of the cooking oil and the seasoning fell a bit short, I'm used to having it a bit sweeter. This version also seemed to have black vinegar in it, which I kind of enjoyed.

Overall, while the food wasn't outstanding, it was great to reacquaint myself with these classic Chinese dishes. It may not be haute cuisine, hip, trendy, or cool….but this is timeless and traditional comfort food. I took a menu home and started grilling the Missus, looking for more Dongbei-Cai dishes and it looks like they serve jiang gutou – simmered pork bones (probably like we had here) and even La Pi – mung bean sheets on the menu. And perhaps I'll even try some of the Sichuan….because you never know……

Village North
4428 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

San Diego Restaurants

Krispy Krunchy Chicken and Ramen in the 99 Ranch Market Food Court

December 12, 2016 mmm-yoso Cajun, Southern, and Soul Food, Chicken Wings, Ramen

**** Krispy Krunchy Chicken is now a location of Cluck n Sip

While I'd been keeping an eye on the opening of the new 99 Ranch Market on Balboa, I never really made it until a couple of weeks ago. They opened while we were out of the country and when I got back, my schedule was a mess for a while. So, I finally made it over when I needed to pick up something on the way home from work. Krispy Krunchy Chicken is located in the food court on the east side of the building along with Saigon 5 and a location of Shanxi Magic Kitchen (those posts are coming up). I decided to grab something to go and the folks at KKC were really friendly…insisting I sample their chicken tenders.

So, I placed an order for 10 wings….which are currently on special for $7.99. I was told it would be 10 minutes for my chicken, which was perfect as it gave me a chance to dash over and make my purchases in the market.

I got the basic fried chicken wings.

These were indeed (C)Krispy, (C)Krunchy, hot, and very moist, probably since this was made to order. In spite of being fairly hefty sized wings, I thought the batter to meat ratio was quite nice. Both the Missus and I thought a more aggressive Cajun seasoning would make this a bit better. Much like Kirbie, I couldn't help but make the comparison to Popeye's. While you're at it; check out Jinxi's post as well.

I'm glad I didn't get the "Buffalo" version since I saw that it was simply doused with hot sauce…….the chicken would have been soggy by the time I got home. Both the Missus and I used a good amount of Crystal Hot Sauce to add a little kick to the rather mildly seasoned wings. Still these were not bad.

During this visit; I learned that KKC opened at 930am, which made it a perfect spot for a bite between meetings. Curious that the place makes Ramen; albeit a definite Chinese Style (Wuji) ramen; I thought I'd give it a try. So I ordered the Tonkotsu Ramen and was given a free chicken tender.

This had been sitting so while being fairly crisp, had dried out a bit and was quite bland.

The ramen was also mediocre.

The broth is thin, yet has a greasy mouthfeel. The flavor is slightly "tinny". The worst thing was that the broth was served almost lukewarm and was more salty than anything else. The chashu, while well flavored is fairly tough. The noodles were overcooked. The egg was nice and softboiled and might be; other than the very cheerful young Chinese kids manning the booth the best thing about this bowl of ramen.

A few days later, I needed to grab something before a 11am conference call so I dropped by and got a three piece meal with potato wedges.

Unlike my wings, this wasn't cooked to order and it suffered a bit. Especially the breast which was really dry and bland with the batter falling off. The color was also darker than the chicken on my previous visits. The potato wedges were also dry.

If I return, I'll probably go with the wings and hope they make them to order. And while the chicken here is larger than Popeye's, I enjoy the flavor at P's better. Like I said you can't help but make a comparison. Popeye's was founded in New Orleans in 1972; KKC, in Lafayette in 1989 and uses an injectable flavor/brine….which I think they need to use more aggressively.

I really liked the young people working here; they are very friendly, and always giving out samples. I believe they also have a location in the East Village.

Krispy Krunchy Chicken
5950 Balboa Ave (Inside 99 Ranch Market)
San Diego, CA 92111

San Diego Restaurants

Ly’s Garden, Almost 11 Years Later

December 11, 2016 mmm-yoso Chinese BBQ, Chinese Restaurants

**** Ly's Garden has closed

On one of my recent honey-doo excursions in the area; I noticed that Lee's Garden had closed. It was kind of a surprise, since they had always seemed pretty popular. This left me wondering bout the sole survivor of the old trifecta of Lucky Star, Lee's, and the place that I'd always confuse with Lee's; Ly's. It seems that they were still open; at least the sign said so. I decided to check things out; even though the parking lot was completely empty….at 11am on a Saturday!

That might scare some people off; but I decided to forge ahead. After all, it had been nearly 11 years since I last visited.

The place looks pretty much the same; huge and cavernous. Perhaps it had reached the age of equilibrium. You know, it can't really look any older…..

I recalled the prices here being ridiculously low. Well, of course they've gone up (no more $2.75 won ton noodle soup), but are still quite inexpensive. Take, for example, my Roast Duck Egg Noodle – soup on the side, $5.95.

The egg noodles were nicely done; a tad crunchy with a bit of stretch to them. Flavored with a mild, but tasty soy sauce based flavoring. The duck; well, I've had better, but I've also had worst, quite recently as a matter of fact. The overall flavor of the duck was rather mild; lacking in richness or sweetness, while pretty meaty, the skin could have also been more crisp. I had expected a smaller portion and was surprised at the amount of duck I was given.

A bowl with pork neck; flecked with meat and connective tissue in broth was also provided. The pork was well flavored, but the broth had a metallic-bitter flavor to it that was unpleasant. I'm glad I got this with soup on the side.

As I ate three more parties came in……all of them folks older than me. I guess that must be the customer base these days.

The service was friendly and efficient; the prices just can't be beat…..though I don't recall them having Pho on the menu all those years ago. I'm not sure how much longer this place will hold on. All things must pass I guess. As once there were three; large Chinese restaurants in the area….the place for wedding receptions and banquets. Heck, I even went to a wedding reception at Lucky Star. Which just seems like a lifetime ago….

Now it's just Ly's……

Ly's Garden Chinese Restaurant
4350 54th St # B
San Diego, CA 92115