Recently, the Missus and were contemplating a place for lunch. The Missus wanted Chinese food, but had grown somewhat tired of all the "same old places". So, no Cantonese, no Hunan…… Yummy House came to mind; we had done a ton of takeout during the pandemic and our last takeout visit two years ago left much to be desired. But, we hadn't dined in at Yummy House since the beginning of 2020 and the Missus was wanting some of Her comfort food (i.e. Suan Cai) that I thought finally revisiting would be a good idea. So, we headed on over for lunch. We arrived at 1130 and the place was empty.
And though the place was doing some major "fantuan" and "hungry panda" delivery orders, only one more table was occupied during our lunch. Again we wondered how YH has managed to stay in business?
We looked over the menu and quickly noticed that the prices hadn't changed sine our last takeout visit in January of 2023. How could that be possible?
Suan Cai Yang Rou is no longer on the menu; but the Missus ordered the pork version ($18.98).
There was a good amount of pork in this. Some of it was quite tender; other slices not so much. The suan cai had a decent fermented flavor; but of course we added our own super funky home made stuff to the leftovers. Love the frozen tofu which "sucks up" the sour-salty soup. This was better than versions we'd had here before.
The Braised Pork Belly Pot ($17.98) was on the smaller side.
But was quite tasty. There was some black bean in the dish, good soy sauce-savory tones, the pork decently tender. A nice dish.
The Fish Fillet with Pork Intestine ($20.98) was half of a good dish.
The fish filet, which was not of the best quality, was nonetheless perfectly velveted and melted in your mouth….the temperature of the spicy sauce was also scorching hot and would then melt your mouth. I also enjoy bean curd skin in these type of dishes and this was no exception. The pork intestine were not cooked properly and were super chewy….though you did get that nice "bunginess" from it. We would probably just get the Fish Filet Hot Pot when we return.
Yes, I said when. It had been a while since we've had this style of hearty, "Northerny" style of cuisine. This was surprisingly decent and our bill, including rice came out to $60 before tip. I'm thinking this had a big effect on us since we'd recently had breakfast (with JJ in tow) at Parkhouse Cafe and the Missus's Avocado Toast and my carnitas dish with two coffees was also sixty bucks! I'm certain the pork and the fish filet dishes were a bit smaller than I recalled, but this was still enough for 2+ meals for us.
Oh, and the Missus enjoyed listening to the accents of the group of Chinese folks who occupied the other table giggling and telling me their accent is "so Shandong country"!
So I guess we'll return…..
Yummy House
4633 Convoy St.
San Diego, CA 92111
Current Hours:
Tues – Sun 11am – 9pm
Closed on Monday
So now it's time for my question to you. Has there been anyplace you've dined at recently that you'd written off before, but surprised you?
Some Aji Verde was provided, which was much better than the other two I tried on my previous visit; somewhat creamy, tangy, some decent spice.
Speaking of acidity; man, this version was on the sour side. At least it wasn't overly salty. I think it could have used more onions for an added sweet-pungency.
This was a bit different than what we'd had before. The baechu kimchi didn't taster fermented this time around; though the Eomuk Bokkeum, the fishcake panchan had a bit of spice and sour tones and was much better. The heukmi bap was on the mushy side.
The cayenne did bring some decent heat to the dish, but I also did the "typical" loco moco move…..I added a touch of Tabasco; the acidity-spice bumped things up even more. Old "loco" habits die hard I guess?
The hamburger patty was quite lean and chewy, but the beefiness did come thru and completed the dish well.
Haven't tried the pajeon yet, but the Maneuljjong Muchim, the panchan made with garlic scapes was maybe the best I've had! Still quite crisp, decent, but not overwhelming spice and fermented tones, hint of sweetness, and most of all, great, pungent garlic flavor! It was awesome with some rice porridge…which we've been having quite often during these cold evenings. The Missus enjoyed the Mechurial Jjorim, the briased soy sauce quail eggs as well.
First off, let me say that the rice was perfect, just what I’d expect from a good sushi bar. The wasabi bright, fresh, sinus clearing.
The Ika and Salmon were decent; the salmon was decently fatty and the texture of the ika was quite good, not overly chewy.
The wings weren't overly sticky as before, though it was still more sweet, than savory and I really couldn't make out any garlic. The wings were again much more moist and tender than the drumettes which were on the tough and dry side. 
