Chicken Wings – Page 10

Cross Street Chicken and Beer (Pre-Soft Opening)

October 4, 2017 mmm-yoso Asian Fusion/Pacific Rim/Hawaii Style Fusion, Beer, Chicken Wings, Korean Restaurants

Cross Street has fascinated me since I first noticed that Your Story was closed back in June. I'd heard that the place was going to do KFC….you know K(orean) F(ried) C(hicken), which was confirmed by Eater a few weeks later.

While driving by last week, I noticed that the place looked open. I sent a text to "YummyYummy" who through her connections verified that they were in "Pre-soft" (???) Opening mode. Soon enough, "YY" and "Xiāng Jiāo" and I decided to meet up.

The place is dressed up in the very modern; industrial style that is popular these days. Lot's of staff on hand….super friendly young folks. This being "before" the soft opening, I expected some mishaps, but there were none. Some scrambling, but these folks seem up to the task.

The menu is mostly made up of fried foods, with Chicken Wings (of course) being the focus. It's basically $11 for 6 wings prepared in one of six "styles".

But first that popular Korean drinking snack, Corn Cheese ($8).

These were pretty dull for corn cheese, not enough cheese, the corn not sweet enough.

And some Beer Battered Fries ($6), which I found to be ok.

I thought these could have been more crisp and the fries got soggy fairly quickly.

So, what about those wings. Well, before folks freak out about the $11 for six wings thing; I'll say this, the wings are pretty large, in my opinion too large as I prefer a small to medium size wing….better skin to ratio. The wings were good quality; tender meat, juicy, no broken bones, no off colors.

As to how these compare to the KFC we had at, say, Mirak or Kkanbu in Seoul? Or even Gala, "Bee-Bee-Q", or Kyochon? Well, let's take a look.

The Original……

I was told these were the "signature" wings, but though while it had enough salt, it needed some zing. The wings are so large that I think the double fry method doesn't work as much magic here as all of the fat under the skin did not render down all the way and the batter got soft rather quickly. This was the only wings we had that were served with a "salad" rather than the traditional mul kimchi….which would have done good in this case.

Salt and Pepper…..

Royal Mandarin, Mandarin Canton, and the rest have nothing to worry about for now as again the coating didn't hold out too long. It also wasn't very light and crisp on this version. The flavor was very mild for S&P wings and was a bit greasy as well.

Here's the classic, very typical, sticky, Spicy Korean style wings you get at many places.

I expected a bit more heat, but we were told that they were worried about it being too hot and scaring away the non-Korean customers. It was sweet and sticky. This got soggy really quickly and the young man who I think is one of the owners really apologized about that and tried to take it off the bill. But that's not our style…..hey, they're not even in Soft Opening mode!

I thought the best wings we had was the Soy Garlic…..

While on the mild side with regards to garlic flavor; it wasn't too sweet, had a decent bit of saltiness, the batter was a bit thick, but held up the best of all the wings. This ain't no Kyochon, but I'd take this over "BBQ Chicken" and Gala.

The owners were very nice and gracious….they asked us our opinion….usually we'd balk, but this time we were very honest. We were thanked for our opinion and told to please return because they're hoping to "get better every day"! There was such sincerity in that declaration, that having to run some errands for the Missus, I returned the very next day…..

They were a lot busier this time around, but the service was still very friendly….everyone smiles here. At least on my visits they did.

This time around I had Max Cream, an all malt beer, brewed by Hite. This wasn't too sweet, very light, unobtrusive, slightly winey (cat pee), easy to drink.

I actually ordered way too much food, but really enjoyed myself.

Starting with the Fried Pickle Spears ($8).

While I thought the breading was really hard; I really enjoyed the tart-sour of the pickles….it really got my attention; especially when I took a big first bite.

The Beer Battered Fries were better this time around.

Staying nice and crisp.

I ordered the Original Wings again.

While the flavor was still rather plain and the wings didn't quite have that signature light crispness of good KFC; in terms of keeping a nice crunchiness throughout the meal; this was much better.

As were the Soy Garlic wings.

A bit more garlic; lighter crisper coating that held out well, this was much better than the previous day. They just need to get a handle on rendering out a bit more fat and I think this is a keeper.

So, I guess the really nice folks here weren't kidding when they said things "get better every day". At least it did for me.

I like these folks, I hope they do well. Though I'll wait until or maybe after their upcoming Soft Opening.

I also need to order the Garlic Parmesan wings that Kirbie enjoyed in her post on Cross Street.

Cross Street Chicken and Beer
4403 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

Vancouver/Richmond – The Alibi Room and the Richmond Night Market

June 10, 2017 mmm-yoso Beer, Canada, Chicken Wings, Desserts, Festivals & Events, Pubs and Pub Grub, Vancouver, Canada

After a nice afternoon nap, we headed off to the Gastown area.

It was a nice day to be out and about, if a bit on the warm side.

The Missus enjoyed window shopping and we stopped at a few places; like at Kit and Ace near the Steam Clock. Where this guy was hanging out.

It was indeed rather warm, so we headed down the street to a place named the Alibi Room. The place was pretty much full. But the nice Server told us that if we weren't eating anything and didn't mind not having table service, we could head on downstairs.

Which turned out to be a comfortable place to grab a few beers. There are over 50 pulls in this place. And they do half pours as well; which we appreciated.

What we had is lost to posterity, but I recall really enjoying the vibe.

A nice stop; we'll be back the next time we're in town.

Alibi Room
157 Alexander Street
Vancouver, BC V6A 1B8
Canada

We needed to first catch the bus; then the SkyTrain to get to our next stop. We had day metro passes and I had the bus stop indicated on my phone. We found our stop and a guy who looked homeless came up to us. I immediately thought he'd be asking for some cash….but instead he told me, "sir, this bus stop has been temporarily moved to the street above." Thanksful, I offered him some money, but he refused, saying "this one is on me." Only in Canada!

We got off at the Bridgeport SkyTrain Station and followed the well marked signs.

So, we followed this group of people who were having a great old time and got to what looked like ticket booths and a gate. A really nice young man came up to us and asked us if we were customers of 'xxx' and had our customer number. We explained that we are from out of town and have obviously found the wrong entrance. The young man pointed across the way to a line of what looked like 200-300 people. He told us "that's the general admission line; this line is for 'xxx' customers, 'xxx' is sponsoring tonight's night market and if you have either a zoom pass or are one of their customers you can come in this way." Now, if I recall a the passes were like $25 a book, good for so many entrances, so that would be a waste. So we thanked him and were headed to the line when he asked us where we were from. We told him San Diego. In a hushed, conspiratory tone he told us to "wait here". A minute later he returned with two tickets. You are now officially customers of 'xxx', if anyone asks you if you are customers of 'xxx', make sure to tell them yes. What a nice gesture….you gotta love Canada.

The Richmond Night Market claims to be the largest Night Market in North America and I don't doubt this claim as the choices, and crowds are staggering.

Now, if you read the blog quite often, you know I'm way behind on some of my travel posts and our visit was during early August of 2016. The Missus had seen a bunch of stuff posting to Instagram……about a dessert…..She just had to have it.

The dessert "du jour" of that period of time was the Raindrop Cake (you can see Kirbie's recipe here). It's based on Japanese Mizu Shingen Mochi. And kind of looks like a breast implant if you ask me.

The Missus got Her confection and we took a seat.

And soon folks started coming around asking what this stuff was….we actually offered them a taste if they wanted one….but most of them just looked kind of, well, puzzled. Anyway, this was "meh", sugar water and agar…..I prefer just straight up Warabimochi coating in kinako to this.

Our table was next to the Prehistoric Park area and while taking a look at the photo of the T-Rex below, it wasn't the replica of the dinosaur that caught my attention; but the sign to right that said, "FanTuan Delivery, Anyone, Anytime, Anywhere"…..I don't think San Diego is included in the "Anywhere" though.

While the Missus went for the sweets; I had one place in mind.

Little Phnom Penh is famous for their Chicken Wings with Lemon and Pepper sauce. So I placed my order and watched them make my wings.

Notice that container with the spoon; the wings are fried, then mixed in a wok with garlic, scallions, and a spoon full of that mysterious white substance….which I'm fairly certain isn't only salt.

The wings are light, though not as crisp as I prefer, the garlic could be cooked a bit more; it's still on the bitter side. The wings are tender and moist, but I'm not a big fan of the lemon sauce; which tastes like bottled lemon juice with black pepper. Still, this was good overall.

There sure was a huge variety of "stuffs" available…….some quite interesting.

This seemed more "County Fair – Carnival" than Night Market and the place was starting to get packed.

As we wove our way around people; we heard this guy……..voice like an old fashioned Carnival Barker, with a Chinese accent of course.

As we walked up; the smell of cumin danced in the air……we both love yang rou chuan and this guy cracked us up.

We got lamb and lamb kidney and while not great, this was pretty tender, though it could have used more cumin.

This "Chef James" had me wondering who he was. If you'd like to find out his story you can read it here.

Overall a fun time for us.

Richmond Night Market
May – October
8351 River Rd
Richmond, BC V6X 1Y4
Canada
Fri-Sat 7pm – MN
Sun 7pm – 11pm

By the time we got back to the apartment, the sun had set. It was a beautiful clear night. We finished the rest of the Roast Duck and Rice and I cracked open a brew…..

And sat in the Solarium of the apartment watching the weekend action on the Street below.

Life was good…..

Lunch Specials at Hui An Garden

May 23, 2017 mmm-yoso Chicken Wings, Chinese BBQ, Chinese Restaurants

**** Hui An Garden has closed

Fu An Garden's short run ended back in January and the place became Hui An Garden. For some reason, I wasn't particularly motivated to visit, but over the last three months I decided to check out some of the lunch specials. Those visits, along with posts like Faye's, would give me some indication whether to make some time for dinner here.

The interior is basically the same….but I find the floors here to be kind of the sticky side these days.

On my first visit, I ordered; or thought I ordered the Shredded Pork with Preserved Vegetable on Rice….but strangely ended up with Pork Fried Rice?

There was a slight bit of wok hay going on as it left a (very) slight smokiness; but as a whole this was pretty bland. Also, when having fried rice; I like to be able to count every grain should I want to. There were several clumps of rice in this.

Not sure about portion size (which was fairly generous), I also ordered the Bok Choy with Garlic.

This was a straight forward, typical stir fry; perhaps on the more oily side. This was supposed to be "baby bok choy", but were pretty large. The cooking was a bit uneven as the lower stalks of the bok choy was almost raw on the larger pieces. It also could have used a bit more garlic and white pepper.

On my next visit I made sure to get the Shredded Pork with Preserved Vegetable on Rice. Man, this was a lot of rice!

And even though I used to make fun of the couple of pieces of plain blanched broccoli or carrots used on these type of lunch special dishes….here it's been replaced by a rather strange stir fried cabbage, flavored with a touch of soy sauce. The pork slices were decently cooked; tender, there wasn't enough preserved vegetable, nor was it very good as it didn't add enough of the nice sour-savory flavors to the dish. I finished all the pork and vegetable and still over half the rice left!

During this visit I noticed two older Chinese customers come in and order roast pork. Well, I figured it must be worth a try.

So I came in and ordered the Roasted Pork Belly on Rice. I told them to give me "half rice", but again something got lost in the translation as again there was a load of rice.

Actually, the pork was pretty good in terms of texture; the skin thin and crisp, the pork belly tender. The flavor was on the milder side and that sauce was not very good; almost bitter to my palate. This is probably the best item I've had here.

The next time I returned I walked into this.

I wasn't quite sure what was going on. Then I realized, it was "all hands on deck" as they were prepping box lunches….like stacks of food, which the tall guy carried out making several trips back and forth then left to deliver them somewhere. It took them a while to see that I was standing there.

I was curious about the Salt and Pepper Chicken Wings on the menu. I wasn't too hungry, so I asked for no rice.

There were eight wings, not bad for $6.99. I thought the batter looked a little bit on the light side; but was crisp, if not especially flavorful. The wings could have used more "salt" and even "pepper". The wings were much better than the drumettes which were on the dry side.

So, tired yet? Just to compare this place to FuAn Garden; I decided to get the Roast Duck….for lunch it is of course on rice. I forgot to tell them to go easy on the rice, though I'm not sure it would have made much difference.

Actually, this isn't as much duck as you might think; it's pretty thin slices. While the duck was nice and moist, the skin decent, not tough, though a bit too flaccid for me. The duck was really short on flavor; lacking in richness or sweetness, without any bean paste flavor, and the cabbage was almost raw to boot.

In terms of pricing; every dish you see in this post was $6.99. So it's hard to complain too much; in spite of the handful of cabbage as the vegetable (not a garnish). The portion sizes, at least in terms of rice is quite large, the proteins, not so much. Looking back, I realize that perhaps I needed to go in a different direction here….maybe in the future. Though I probably should try out Noble Chef again first.

Hui An Garden Restaurant
4768 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

Tokyo – Isehiro Kyobashi Honten

February 20, 2017 mmm-yoso Chicken Wings, Japan, Japanese Restaurants, Tokyo, Kamakura, and the Kantō Region, Travel

After having a wonderful time visiting Kamakura, we were pretty hungry. We arrived back in Tokyo and freshened up. We had one more night left and the Missus still hadn't had Her share of Yakitori yet. Isehiro had been a recommendation I received and we even tried to get in on our first evening in Tokyo, but they were strangely closed. So we decided to give it another try.

My understanding is that all the tables upstairs are usually reserved, but the tables and counter downstairs are not. There was not a single soul in the place when we arrived.

But the gentleman behind the grill was cooking like crazy, then placing items in containers. The Missus and I looked at each other and got a feeling that this wasn't going to be a particularly stellar meal. Items are precooked, then reheated.

Next little thing. We were told that there were two "set" menus available…….you can do extras, but no a la carte. The full course was 6480 ¥ (about $60/US at the time) and the "healthy" course was 5832 ¥ (about $54/US). Man, that's not cheap. Each course had 9 skewers, the healthy course had some vegetable items.

We decided to stay the course and just go for it. Though at this point, I'm thinking this better be good. I decided to get a Highball to start.

After the traditional oshibori, the hot towel, things started coming fast a and furious….I mean why not? Most of it was premade.

We both got the Sasami (Chicken Breast) to start. This has never been a big favorite of mine and this version was dry and needed much more salt as well. I first thought that this might be tori-wasa, which would be tender and medium rare, but this was overcooked.

One item that I thought was good here is the Kimo; the chicken liver. The Missus loves this, but I'm not too fond of it. However, this was very good, not too minerally in flavor, without that mushiness I'm not a big fan of.

The tare added a nice sweet-saltiness that deflected all the flavors in chicken liver that I don't like.

We both also received Sunagimo, chicken gizzards.

I usually enjoy how gizzards really absorb the smokiness of the bincho; but instead of being crunchy, this was hard, and strangely didn't have that smokiness I enjoy.

Next up for the both of us was the negi-maki, thigh meat wrapped in scallion.

The meat was very moist if a bit on the tough side. The bitterness of the incinerated scallions was rather unpleasant.

Next up for the both of us is one of my key favorites when it comes to yakitori; tsukune (chicken meatball).

In complete contrast to other items that were basically burnt, this needed a bit more color. What little tare was used on the meatball brought nothing to it. The meatball was toughr than I prefer and there were hard bits as well.

Next up for the Missus, Cherry Tomatoes.

Innocuous, tart, could have used a bit more time on the grill.

I received another of my usual favorites; "kawa", chicken skin.

The burnt bits were crisp, but the rest dry and gummy. This needed more saltiness, or at least a good tare.

The Momoniku (thigh) was quite good.

Except for the scallion being burnt bitter again. Great sweet-salty flavors for the toothsome but not tough chicken thighs. The slightly smoky flavor lifted the dish.

Next for the Missus, Shiitake.

This was fine, but really didn't have any seasoning….it was almost like it hadn't been grilled. Check out the skewers, no blackening on it. Odd.

I received the Aigamo (Duck).

This needed more seasoning and was overcooked for our taste, making it tough and rather stringy.

The Missus finished up with Nankotsu; chicken cartilage.

This was decently prepared, if a bit on the dry side. The amount of salt used was perfect.

My last dish was another favorite of mine; Teba, chicken wing.

Dried out, rubbery, and too salty. Not my favorite combination of textures and tastes.

The Missus and I left somewhat disillusioned. I've always said that it's hard to get a bad meal in Japan and while this wasn't terrible, it wasn't close to being good. I'm wondering if it was just a bad night? Luckily, we'd get some great yakitori later on during this trip.

Isehiro Kyobashi Honten
1-5-4 Kyoashi, Chuo 104-0031
Tokyo

Trade Winds Tavern Soft Opening, Dudley’s Deli Becoming Tahini Street Food, the Sign for Ramen Ultra is up, Continuing my “Hut Streak”, and Wow, is it Closed?

February 16, 2017 mmm-yoso Chicken Wings, Gastropub, Ramen, yoso-silly

A bit overdue with these odds and ends.

Trade Winds Tavern Soft Opening:

Been watching this spot since Char Hut closed. And was kind of curious when I read the Application for Ownership Change announcing the new business, then the Help Wanted sign mentioning a Asian themed Gastropub. So, does Common Theory have some serious competition? Stay tuned. Meanwhile, enjoy the soft opening prices until the end of February.

Trade Winds Tavern
7765 Balboa Ave
San Diego, CA 92111

Dudley's Deli Becoming Tahini Street Food:

Almost didn't notice this one.

Sadly, Dudley's in Kearny Mesa just never gained any traction. Now it's becoming something named Tahini Street Food.

9119 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92123

The Sign for Ramen Ultra is up:

Been watching this location rather carefully. The sign for the shop is up.

Noticed when I went to pick up lunch at Beauty Hunan. Ready for more ramen?

8199 Clairemont Mesa Blvd Ste M
San Diego, CA 92111

Continuing my "Hut Streak":

So, "Sandy" left a comment on my Noodle Hut post, after I mentioned doing "Two Huts in Three Days". She asked me: What's next – Pizza Hut? Apparently, Cathy read that comment and thought it was a hoot. So, I thought, "ok, why not"? The only problem was…..I don't recall the last time I actually saw a Pizza Hut and let Cathy know. She believes that I just block those places out. So, after doing a Google search, I found a Pizza Hut nearby….doesn't seem to have too many of them left, in Clairemont Town Square. I headed on over……by the time I reached the parking lot, I already had….hmmmm……how to describe it, "buyer's pre-morse"? And upon finding that it looked like a take-out only shop, I decided to turn around and head back to the car.

Yes…you could say that I….."chickened – Hut".

Still, wanting to keep my "hut-streak" going for one more day, I found a place that fulfilled the criteria.

It must have been fate, because I found a parking space in the worst lot on Convoy.

And had some Wings – "Naked"….sauce on the side. Nicely fried.

So there you go. I think three "Hut posts" in a row is enough.

Over and "Hut".

Crab Hut
4646 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

And finally…..

Wow, Is It Closed?:

Well, I'm not 100% sure.

Other than the brown paper blocking things out….the light are still on. Still, if Great Wow did close like this; it would probably fit the rather interesting pattern of how they opened.

3860 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

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

Pho Minh & Grill – Spring Valley

November 30, 2016 mmm-yoso Chicken Wings, Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants

So returning from my trip, I needed a haircut….you know where this is going right? Well, Haircut Guy was now working in Spring Valley! Spring Valley? Like I said before, his moving around allows me to visit areas of San Diego I'd usually not explore. But where to go after my haircut? My first thought was Ranas, since I hadn't been back in years. Instead, having to get back home rather quickly; I saw this place in the same parking lot as a gas station.

I knew of Pho Minh in PB, but didn't know they had a location out here on the fringes of Spring Valley.

So I decided to drop by and have a bowl of pho.

The restaurant is quite tiny, though things are not crowded together. The two women who I've dealt with here are quite friendly and it seems they have a nice regular clientele.

Of course I went with the Pho Dac Biet…..just to see what was up. For some reason, I decided to order the large size ($7.99).

My order actually took a while, but the bowl was huge. I liked that the rare steak, in spite of being the usual rather tough top round, was still rare when the bowl arrived. Most of the proteins; the brisket, et al, were pretty bland, though the textures, especially the tendon was pretty much spot on.

I expected the sprouts and basil to be fairly sparse and it was.

And while the noodles were in the usual clump on the bottom of the bowl, it wasn't soft and mushy, and not cold.

The broth wasn't terrible, a bit too defatted for my taste, and while not very beefy, had a mild sweetness and wasn't too salty. So I didn't need very much lime to help balance things out. I've had much worse in Kearny Mesa.

I've worked every single day since we got back from our trip. Such is the biz. Still, my hair doesn't stop growing, and I needed a fresh trim….I had consultants coming into town and meetings with our customers. So, it was back out to Spring Valley for a rather quick turnaround haircut. So, as is the norm, I returned to Pho Minh. I'd seen Bo Kho on the menu, but when I ordered it, I was told that they don't make that at this location any longer. I had to make some quick choices. I quickly went with the standard spring roll, Goi Cuon ($3.95).

So when I said standard issue; I mean standard issue. Man, look at all that lettuce. Basically a salad in rice paper. And the shrimp was overcooked and rather chewy. Very generic and not something I'd order here again.

I noticed that there was a sign that listed Chicken Wings ($7.40), so I decided to get those as well.

So these were deep fried, then topped with stir fried onions and peppers to give it some umph. These were fairly small wings; which doesn't bother me because I'm more about the ratio of skin to meat. However, half of the wings were slightly burnt, making the exterior bitter, not good eats. Also, these were overcooked and rather dry. The flavor of the wings, the parts that weren't charred, was fairly bland, which explains the need for the "topping". Not my favorite rendition of chicken wings to be sure.

So in the end; possibly passable pho. Really nice folks, though perhaps a stop-gap, but not a destination for my pho-fix. Though I'm glad to have had the chance to visit a locale I usually wouldn't have on my list. As my haircut was complete and I paid my barber, he mentioned that he'd probably be moving on….business here was too slow. So who knows where he'll pop up next?

Pho Minh & Grill
2615 Sweetwater Springs Blvd
Spring Valley, CA 91978

Ma Noodles House

August 23, 2016 mmm-yoso Chicken Wings, Chinese Restaurants

A couple of weeks back, I ran into an acquaintance, it was nice catching up a bit, and of course the conversation eventually turned to food. He told me about his new favorite Chinese spot named Ma Noodles House. Now for some reason I had a slight malfunction, maybe flashing back to Mama's Lu, so I asked him what regional style of Chinese food this place made? And got the weirdest look…..mainly because he wouldn't know a "Baozi from Bao Bao".

This place did indeed make regional Chinese food, from that province 6600 or so miles east of Shanghai, "Ab-cee-dee". Yep, I should have known, Ma's is an ABCDE ("American Born Chinese Dining Establishment"). And he was more of a quantity over quality kind of guy. But he did mention enjoying the Salt and Pepper Chicken Wings here, which is a weakness of mine. So I decided to drop by and check them out.

Ma Noodles House is quite the hole-in-the-wall, quite tiny, and except for the kind of odd out of place swap meet "art" on the wall, could have easily been named something like "New Eastern Pearl Royal Golden Phoenix Panda Garden Restaurant".

The fryer and wok stoves on one side, a lowboy on the other with all the ingredients. For some reason, this place brought back memories of the "old" Noble Chef.

There's a prep area in the back, but this was a one man operation on my visit. The prices are very cheap; figures why "da guy" likes the place so much.

I went with the Pan Fried Crispy Noodle ($7.95) and an side of the Salted (Salt and Pepper) Chicken Wings ($3.50). I felt almost guilty paying so little. The gentleman working here was very nice, though they served me my food with a fork and spoon and had to go scrambling when I asked for chopsticks.

Since this was National City, I had visions of a nice Upside Down Pan Fried Noodle. But while the dish was humongous, it really didn't deliver.

The shrimp weren't bad, they dump them in the fryer briefly so it isn't over-cooked. The chicken, as is the norm with these type of places is quite dry. The "crispy noodles" were more crumbly, powdery, with a rather strong floury flavor. And let's not leave out the bland, gloppy, brown sauce.

For those who prefer large chicken wings; rejoice. I'm more about smaller wings with a great skin to meat ratio. These were pretty large wings; but the batter wasn't very good.

Thick, hard, and crumbly, it just isn't my thing. The flavor was too mild for this sort of chicken wing as well……on the bland side.

Man, I barely made a dent in those noodles. All of this for under $12. Still, I'm more of a quality over quantity kind of guy. So, in spite of the nice service and the cheap prices, this was going to be a one and done. Until one of the guys bought me lunch…..guess from where? You got it…… I got this; the Yang Chow Fried Rice ($7.95). Good god; this was basically three meals for me!

Again, the shrimp were nice, the chicken dry, and portion size huge. Unevenly cooked; the color wasn't uniform, there was no wok-hey, thank god for soy sauce.

And before folks start sending me angry emails again, we do enjoy certain ABCDE/Chinoy dishes, but it has to be done well. Though the prices are good here, there are places that just do it better. I hope they do well though…….this place would keep all those starving students out there well fed.

Ma Noodles House
3108 E Plaza Blvd
National City, CA 91950

Revisits: Myung In Dumplings (Though no Dumplings) and Gala Chicken in Zion Market

May 16, 2016 mmm-yoso Chicken Wings, Korean Restaurants

In the Shan Xi Magic Kitchen post, I mentioned that Myung In Dumplings had moved to the Zion Market Food Court. The reason I knew this is because I went in looking for a quick lunch, and there it was, almost sharing space with Spotted Cow.

I was quite surprised since I had just been there a few weeks before. I thought why not have some Mandu Guk, since in my opinion, that was the best item I'd had at Myung In. Strangely, it wasn't on the menu. Neither was any kind of mandu or dumplings! What the heck? ?I even asked and was told they are not currently making those dishes, but perhaps in the future?

Anyway, it's either a stir-fry, fried rice, or seafood soup…….

I went with the japchae, which was fairly reasonable at $7.99 and strangely, at least for me, came with rice.

In terms of being straight-up food court food, it registered as decent. The soup was insipid and the baechu kimchi and takuan were obviously bought form the market. The rice was on the dry side. The japchae itself was okay, the chicken was dry and chewy, though the dish as a whole had a decent soy-sesame oil flavor. I really didn't appreciate all the inedible dried chilies on the dish, though.

You know; I'm not sure it's still the same owners. Man, from being the "chain made famous by being on Anthony Bourdain's show" to the Zion Foodcourt, without serving your namesake dishes in one year!

**** Myung In Dumplings is no more

Myung In Dumplings (in the Zion Market Food Court)
7655 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92111

A couple of weeks after returning from Seoul, I was wondering how Gala Chicken was doing. I decided to drop by and grab some chicken. I got the extra crispy, which is still priced at $7.99.

I was glad to see that unlike my previous two visits, that chicken hadn't been cut into during the cooking process. It did taste a bit off, sort of in a rancid oil kind of way, though the chicken was very moist. This time around, the coating was more like my first visit, really crumbly, than crisp like my second visit.

I can see the potential here and the guy working here is very nice, but the place just can't seem to get all the planets lined up. Though I don't get the grumbling from some folks I know about having to wait 15-20 minutes for the chicken. Hey, at least they are making it fresh and to order……

**** Zion Market has moved and Gala did not make the move with the market

Gala Chicken
7655 Clairemont Mesa Blvd (Inside of Zion Market)
San Diego, CA 92111

K Cuisine

May 9, 2016 mmm-yoso Chicken Wings, Korean Restaurants

I'd had K Cuisine on my list for a while, even when the place was "Gorilla Korean Fusion Restaurant"…..really. The last time I was here, the place was still Korean Hometown Restaurant ages ago. So when an acquaintance said that the place made some really good mandu, spicy chicken wings, and haemul pajun, I had to check them out.

I'd just returned from Seoul and wanted some straightforward Korean food. So I decided to give K Cuisine a try. The shop was pretty quiet on both my visits, spaced about 5 months apart. The place has a mom-and-pop feel, real down home, unpretentious with the smell of sesame oil permeating the air…..

K Cuisine 02 You do need at least a beer (perhaps more) with food like this, and I'm not a big makgeolli fan, so I had a Hite. Strange, but it tastes much more dry and bitter here in the states than Korea.

I'd ordered quite a bit of food, beyond appetizers, so I got some panchan.

Nothing amazing, and yes, those are pickled forcemeat sausage, much like hot dogs. While I'm a big fan of pickled sausages like utopenci, this was way too salty. The baechu kimchi was taken out of a plastic container….like you'd get at Zion or H Mart, but actually wasn't bad. So perhaps they do what we do……I let the kimchi ferment in a cool hallway for about a week after buying it.

The Fried Mandu ($6.99) wasn't bad.

Light and crisp, the wrappers weren't overly gummy like other versions. The filling was rather mild in flavor, but I thought this was a decent version.

I wanted something hearty so I went with the Gopchang Bokkeum ($16.99).

Basically a stir-fried small intestine dish, with perilla leaf, onions, and other veggies. This was surprisingly tame in flavor, at least it wasn't salty, nor was it very spicy. The intestine could have been cleaned better as it had a good bit of musty, dank flavored, "grey matter" in it. Quite a strong offal flavor. It actually smelled even stronger the next day when I took it out of the fridge.

I fully intended to return to K Cuisine, but somehow the place just slipped my mind. Five months later, I returned. I decided to order the other two items recommended to me, starting with the Haemul Pajun – the Seafood Pancake ($7.99).

In terms of texture, this was the best version I've had in a while; light and crisp. It was a bit short in the seafood department and perhaps in flavor, but the salty, soy-sesame oil-onion-scallion dipping sauce handled that. Not bad, I'd have this again.

I also went with the Spicy Fried Chicken Wings ($9.99).

After having versions of this in Seoul, I should have known that it would be more sweet and sticky than spicy. I really needed that pickled radish to revive my tastebuds. The batter was on the thicker side, but decently crisp, the chicken seems to have been fried a bit too long as the meat was dry. This was just too sweet. I think I'll need to return and try just the plain fried chicken wings one day.

So there you go. Two visits over 5 months….I took long enough. Nice folks working here. Things tend to take a bit of time, which I find rather nice in these type of places. it ain't fast food. K Cuisine is only open during dinner to the wee hours of the morning (I think like 1-2 am). So next time you want some makgeolli, or perhaps a Hite and a bite to eat, you might want to check this place out. I'll probably return to try the straight up fried chicken wings and maybe even some kimchi jigae sometime during the winter.

K Cuisine
4688 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111