Category: Chicken Wings

Mandarin Chinese Restaurant resides in a super busy strip mall across from Southwestern College. As you can tell by the "Mandarin, Szechuan, Cantonese" lettering, this is obviously what I call an "ABCDE" ("ab-cee-dee" – American Born Chinese Dining Establishment). The type of food these restaurants serves is so far removed from, say, what the late Mei Jia Deli used to serve, that it looks like it comes from another universe. That said, just because this is Chinese food designed to please someone other than Chinese…it does not necessarily mean it is bad.

If the store front isn't enough to convince you, the interior is a dead giveaway; it's ABCDE all the way:

So why did we make the drive all the way down here? There was one reason…..Salt and Pepper Chicken Wings. Friends of ours told us that they prefer the Salt and Pepper Chicken Wings(aka "Crack Wings") at Mandarin Restaurant, to those served at the legendary Crack Wing houses Royal Mandarin and Golden Chopsticks. Now that's saying a lot!

As we were seated, the first thing we noticed was the amount of smoke in the dining area. That kitchen sure was working hard, and the ventilation was not the best. Second thing we noticed, was the Guy working behind the register….I recognized him instantly! After checking out the menu, and a quick our Server, my suspicions were confirmed. Mandarin Chinese Restaurant and Mandarin Canton have the same owners. Still, even though the two restaurants have the same owners, and a very similar menu, we were sure that the kitchen staff was different. So we ordered a few of the lunch specials(priced from $4.75-$5.75).

All the specials started with a small bowl of soup…we went for the Hot and Sour soup….which should have been more aptly called Sour, Sour, and Sour soup! Man this really made the Missus and I pucker, it was stunningly sour.

The Missus ordered the Mandarin Soft Noodles(lunch – $5.75):

First off, whoever cooked this really knows how to handle a wok…..there was even a bit of Wok Hay action going on. And to our surprise the pieces of dark meat chicken was very soft and tender. Mandarin Canton still does a better job with shrimp, but the chicken in stir-fries there are just plain terrible. To me, there should have been a bit more soy flavor, I found this on the bland side.

Of course, I had to have the Chicken Wings with Spicy Salt(lunch special – $5.75):

First off, the version here is better than Mandarin Canton…the batter is not as thick and hard, and it is not as salty. But fear not, you can still make out the MSG crystals. I thought these were good, if a bit short on the flavor end when compared to Royal Mandarin and Golden Chopsticks. 

We also ordered the Spare Ribs with Spicy Salt(lunch special – $5.75):

This was a disappointment. The spare ribs(actually pork chops) were on the soggy side, and the marinade was very heavy handed on the ginger, it was also too salty(even for me!).

Even though the sister restaurants may differ a bit, there are a few things that the 2 restaurants have in common; the YMMV factor, very reasonable lunch specials, and overall prices, the crazy parking lot, and the relatively small dining area. With some good timing, and right choices, a good meal can be had here.

Mandarin Chinese Restaurant
945-A Otay Lakes Rd
Chula Vista, CA 91913

**** Panda Palace has Closed

Can you dig the generic Chinese Restaurant name? If it has Pearl, Royal, Golden, Garden, Phoenix,  and Eastern or something similar(dragon, ruby, panda?) in the name, it's likely a circa '70's style Chinese Restaurant, something like "Eastern Pearl Royal Golden Phoenix Garden Restaurant", you'll automatically know it's a Chinese Restaurant. Much like Royal Mandarin across the street Panda Palace Restaurant serves a combination of ABCDE ("American Born Chinese Dining Establishment") and Chinoy Food. However, unlike Royal Mandarin, whose Salt and Pepper Chicken Wings are almost legendary in the Filipino Community, nary a word has been said about it. So the Missus and I decided to see why…..

The bright and generic interior screams last century Chinese.

The menu was filled with San Diego Chinoy favorites, and we proceeded to order a few.

Upside Down Pan Fried Noodles($6.75):

Noodles fried to a crisp, topped with shrimp, chicken, beef, and vegetables. First the good, the noodles were excellent, not over fried to a brittle consistency, the noodles got nicely chewy as the sauce soaked through them. The Beef and Shrimp were well cooked, soft, and moist. The bad? This dish had virtually no flavor, even the beef and chicken had no flavor. Combine these noodles and the cooking technique with the brown sauce from the Upside Down Pan Fried Noodles at Mandarin Canton and you'd have a pretty decent dish.

The Missus has a Shrimp with Lobster Sauce($8.25) fixation:

I have an aversion to gloppy, pale dishes studded with frozen peas and carrots. So I asked the Missus how this tasted. Her verdict? B-L-A-N-D. While waiting for our order we watched in amazement, as a Young Boy poured almost a half bottle of soy sauce on his fried rice. I now understood why. In fact, at this point we were pretty close to needing a refill of our soy sauce.

Finally, we had to try the Salt and Pepper Chicken Wings($6.75):

So how did these measure up to Royal Mandarin or Golden Chopstick? Not even close. First of all, not enough salt, pepper, or green onions and garlic topping. Secondly, not crispy enough. One interesting thing; I could distinctly taste a sweet component, either sugar or honey, that made these wings a bit different.

One thing I will say about Panda Palace, our Waitress was super efficient, there was absolutely no wasted motion, from taking our orders, to bringing take-out containers along with our check. As for the food? If we crave some ABCDE grub, I think we'll stick with one of the "Big Three".

Panda Palace Chinese Restaurant
1105 E Plaza Blvd Ste D
National City, CA 91950

One final item – one day soon I'd like to set-up a "taste-test", purely subjective of course, of several (4-5) versions of Salt and Pepper Chicken Wings. So Calvin, Howie, and Jack; you Guys game?

We've developed a term for restaurants like Royal Mandarin. We call them "ABCDE", that's pronounced "Ab-cee-dee", otherwise known as "American Born Chinese Dining Establishment". You know those places, no chopsticks to be found; when you ask for them and old drawer will be opened and wooden chopsticks delivered. Royal Mandarin is such a place:

Located on busy Plaza Boulevard, Royal Mandarin serves a mix of ABCDE and Chinoy type of Chinese Food. As is typical with many of these restaurants when you enter, it's as if you've stepped into a time warp; the decor screams 60's Chinese Food. This quite non-descript storefront is deceptive. Many times the restaurant is packed to the gills.

The menu here is similar to other ABCDE restaurants; namely Mandarin Canton and Golden Chopsticks. So today instead of heading over to Golden Chopsticks, we drove one block East to Royal Mandarin. We started with an order of Upside Down Crispy Noodles($7.50):

I've explained my quest for "Cake Noodles" in previous posts, and really didn't expect anything close. And was proven right again. These were just deep fried noodle cakes, with stir fried veggies, shrimp, and beef in a brown sauce, which in this case was pretty tasteless. The broccoli was cooked to perfection, cooked completely through, and still crunchy.

Salted Pepper Shrimp without Shell ($9.95), probably the most expensive dish on the menu:

These shelled and deveined shrimp were dusted with flour and deep fried, instead of being heavily battered like we're used to. So we approached this with some doubt. But the shrimp were very tasty, not overly salty, slightly sweet, and the shrimp were cooked to perfection. A good rule of thumb for restaurants like these; "when in doubt, go for the fried." If they can't do fried well, they can't do anything.

After this visit, I found out that Royal Mandarin is one of the "players" in the Best Salt and Pepper Chicken Wings sweepstakes. In fact we saw trays, and in one case a whole cart of wings leaving the premises while we ate. There is a general consensus(maybe urban legend) that the "original" Salt and Pepper Chicken Wings were first served here. So armed with this info we paid Royal Mandarin another visit.

We started with the Classic ABCDE dish, a favorite of the Missus, Wor Wonton Soup for Two($4.50):

This soup was not half bad, the broth was much better then the usual tasteless watery broth. There was nice plump shrimp and several wonton, bamboo shoots, button mushrooms, and spinach.

And of course those Salt and Pepper Chicken Wings ($6.25):

These have the same "crack-like" addictiveness as the version at Golden Chopstick. This version has less of the garlic-green onion mixture and the chicken is placed on the top of the mixture instead of visa-versa. If I were to do a comparison, I'd say, the RM's wings are more crunchy, obviously from more cornstarch, there are more drumettes instead of wing pieces, and have a more balanced flavor. GS's version has much more "punch", and alot more of the delici-yoso garlic-green onion "topping".

The real hit of the meal was the Salt and Pepper Fish Fillet($7.95):

The batter on the slices of fish had a texture between a beer and tempura batter; crunchy, light, very tasty; and the fish was so moist. Three fried salt and pepper dishes, three different batters. This was by far the best.

Now the guilt kicked in. And in our weakness we went against our normal strategy and ordered Buddha's Delight($5.50):

Blech! This vegetable dish was very bland, though the veggies were cooked well, this was a waste.

Here are a few other fried from other visits.

Salt and Pepper White Meat Chicken($5.95):

Can you say Salt and Pepper McNuggets? Too dry, same batter as fish fillet, but doesn't work here. Very bland. The price – it's cheaper then the Chicken Wings should have been a clue!

Salt and Pepper Tofu($5.25):

Though a textural delight – cubes of tofu are deep fried were nice and crunchy outside, creamy inside; this dish would be better served with a sauce. Served in this manner  it tasted rather bland. Can you say Tsoh(stinky) Tofu without the smell! Funny thing, on this visit our waitress thought the Missus was Filipino, but thought I'd want chopsticks because I was "Korean", after she found out the Missus was Chinese, they had some very nice conversations in Mandarin. The Missus noticed that a combination of Cantonese and Mandarin was spoken by the Employees. As we were leaving, we noticed a whole aluminum tray of Wings(60 pieces – just $17) sitting on a Lazy Susan on one of the tables with other dishes. There were 8 people just totally "grinding" on the wings, my kind of people! Why bother with plates – just give me a tray; I can deal with that! Also, as we were driving home, we noticed, no thirst, no swelling, it seemed that the amount of MSG in the food is pretty low, which I found to be strange considering the type of dishes we selected.

So the next time you're at a Filipino party in San Diego and the Salt and Pepper Chicken Wings are brought out, you can be pretty sure they've come from either Mandarin Canton, Golden Chopsticks, or Royal Mandarin. And when faced with an ABCDE, go first with the fried. If they can't do fried, I'm pretty sure they can't do anything!

If I can get some volunteers, I'll be willing to do a Salt and Pepper Chicken Wing tasting. Any takers?

Royal Mandarin Restaurant
1132 E. Plaza Blvd
National City, CA 91950

*** 04/03/2011 You can find an update here.

Tucked in a strip mall on Telegraph Canyon Road in Chula Vista is Mandarin Canton, like Golden Chopstick, a Chinese-American-Filipino restaurant.

One night about a year ago, the Missus called from work and told me she thinks she found that "noodle dish" I'd been looking for. What I'd been looking for is called "Cake Noodle" in Hawaii, and I've never seen it anywhere on the Mainland. I've had some dishes that used pan fried noodles, but they were not even close.

Cake Noodles are usually thin egg noodles that are fried until crispy in a pan (thus the cake), cut into squares, and topped with a thick stir fried "gravy" and various meats and veggies. I knew this was a Filipino-American Chinese restaurant when I noticed that no chopsticks are provided and we are served what we jokingly call Chinese Tortilla Chips! Actually these won ton pi chips are very sneaky, served with sweet and sour sauce, you end up eating one after the other….

On this visit I was really surprised that lunch specials were being served on a Sunday! The specials come with soup and either Fried Rice or Steamed Rice and range between $3.75-$4.75. One quick tip – stay with the steamed rice! We ordered one item off the lunch menu, and two off of the regular menu:

We received the Shrimp with Lobster Sauce ($4.75) that the Missus ordered off the specials menu:

I was pretty surprised to find that we got a whole order of Shrimp with Lobster Sauce. Shrimp with Lobster sauce is not my favorite dish, I call it "egg drop soup with shrimp", but the Missus enjoys it. This version was very mild, though the shrimp were large and tasty, ditto with the water chestnuts. It also started congealing as soon as it hit the table.

The Salted and Deep Fried Shrimp with No Shell ($11.00) came up next:

So fried, salty, garlicky, slightly spicy, and crunchy…..I don't think you need to say anything else about this dish. It's probably the most expensive dish on the menu, but it's alot of really large shrimp. I once saw a Young Lady order this with a side of the garlic/green onion/chili pepper topping, and eat a spoonful of the garlic with each shrimp, and loving it! Make sure you order them without shell.

Than came the dish I came here for – the Upside Down Pan Fried Noodles ($6.50). Yes, it's actually called that on the menu:

The noodles are fried to a crisp than topped with veggies and meats in a brown sauce. The sauce is nice and salty, sweet, and gooey, and slowly softens the noodles. My only complaint is that there is not enough brown sauce. The Missus ended up spooning her rice into the empty plate to sop up the remaining sauce. There are large shrimp, beef, and chicken, along with broccoli and snow peas.

So is it Cake Noodle? Well not really, but it's close enough for me.

Some notes on Mandarin Canton: Like many of these places Your Mileage May Vary, there are some really terrible dishes here, so pick and choose based on what you see others eating. There are only ten tables, and a constant flow of people in and out, but the turnaround is pretty quick. Mandarin Canton is a "Player" in the "Best Salt and Pepper Wings" battle going on, but is not as good as Golden Chopstick, though Golden Chopstick's Upside Down Pan Fried Noodles (yes, they have them there as well), is not as good as Mandarin Canton's. I've actually swung by both restaurants on a single take-out trip. Don't eat here if you are afraid of salt and MSG, though I've never had any problems or reactions from the food, I'm pretty sure it's there.

Mandarin Canton Chinese Restaurant
543 Telegraph Canyon Rd
Chula Vista, CA 91910
Open Daily 11am – 10pm