Back in September, I got word that a new Cantonese Restaurant opened in the spot that formerly housed Mama Cinia Rice & Noodles. Some quick checks noted that the placed supposedly served Cha chaan teng, classic Hong Kong style Cafe Cuisine. Which includes touches of various Western and other regional style cuisines, along with (usually) serving inexpensive food. Some of the classics we've had when we lived in the SGV include variations on pork chops, off course egg tarts, lots of won ton, and even macaroni soup, jook, pineapple buns, and of course milk tea.
My friends warned me about the lines when the placed initially opened and FOY "CY" also mentioned that he and "T" were not impressed and also, believing this was a classic HK Cafe, were shocked at the prices. Though it seemed like Soo enjoyed his visits there.
Recently, the Missus and I decided to head on over for lunch arriving right when the place opened at 11am.
There were three groups ahead of us when we arrived, but things didn't get too busy other than a steady flow of food delivery folks picking stuff up.
The menu was an interesting mix of Cantonese specialties….no jook or Spam items though and the prices were not cheap. I know CY complained about spending $25 for half a duck. We looked over the menu and settled on three dishes.
Also, unlike a typical Hong Kong Cafe, it took a while for food to arrive. The three older women next to us, ordered before us, but their dishes didn't start arriving until after we got our three dishes.
We started with the Geely Fried Pork Chop ($14). ?We had always enjoyed Hong Kong style pork chops, whether they be marinated and fried or served with spicy salt, but this was different.
Take a look; with the shredded cabbage and breading; doesn't this almost look like tonkatsu? The pork had been pounded quite thin and was chewy, the breading separating from the meat. This was on the bland side and very dry.
We also ordered the Shrimp in XO Sauce Noodle ($17), which was served with Silver Needle (aka "Mouse Tail") Noodles, something you don't commonly see in San Diego.
There were quite a few shrimp in this; which were nice and tender. The noodles; if you've never had silver needle noodles, it's sort of like noodles made with wheat and tapioca starch, much like har gow skin. This was on the mushy side, lacking in the nice, slight, "stretch" that we enjoy with this type of noodle. The XO sauce was lacking and this was rather bland overall.
And of course, we needed to try the Roast Duck (half – $25).
I'd seen several photos of the roast duck from Mom Kitchen and this looked a bit different. Especially from the version that Soo had. The fat had not been rendered enough, thus leaving a rubbery sub-layer, the skin was on the rubbery side. The meat of the duck was moist and had a pleasant "fowlness" to it. It was sorely lacking in anise based flavors and the sauce was on the sweet side instead of being the duck fat based wonderfulness we enjoy.
Well, as you can guess, the Missus was not very happy with this meal. I did want to return to try something else on the menu, but knew it would be a solo trip.
So finally, a few weeks after our initial visit, I returned. I wasn't quite sure what to order; but decided on an item that I've not found a good version of in San Diego; Hainan Chicken.
I ordered the Hainanese Chicken Rice Combo ($17). After ordering, I wondered if I was subconsciously setting Mom up to fail by ordering something that I've not found a good rendition of?
Well, in terms of the chicken and sauce this was a pleasant surprise! The chicken had been nicely sliced, only two pieces with bones were on the plate; one wing and one part of a leg. The chicken was so moist and tender. But the highlight was definitely the sauce. It's usually too watered down; but this one had a good amount of ginger, but was both aromatic and not over-powering. It had a good amount of seasoning, but the star was the ginger. The chili sauce was way too sweet for me.
As for the other parts. Well, just by looking at that boiled egg you can see the greyish tone to the yolks which means it had been boiled too long. So yes, there was a bitter-sulfuric tinge to the dry and crumbly yolk. If you look closely, you'll see a piece of white-grey matter in the yolk. I took that out and didn't eat it.
As for the rice…well, usually with this dish I'd get the rice moistened with the chicken soup stock or sauce. This one had a mere drizzling of the ginger based sauce on it, which was easy to remedy by using a couple of spoon of the dipping sauce. The rice was also over-cooked and super hard.
On the positive side, this was a decent Hainan Chicken (without the rice). I'll probably order that as takeout. I think "FOY" Red Devil might enjoy this version, which is much better than what the short lived Rooster Rice & Noodles served.
Overall, one out of four dishes isn't that great. But there are some other items I'd like to try….perhaps in the future.
Mom Kitchen
9178 Mira Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92126
Current Hours:
Tues – Thurs 11am – 230pm, 430pm – 830pm
Fri – Sun 11am – 230pm, 430pm – 9pm
Closed on Mondays
Well, the flavor was on the milder side. The skin kind of rubbery. It did better brushed with the jus and put into our air fryer. It was, as with many versions of roast duck these days, very meaty, but quite dry. 
And yes, more pineapple cake to carry back with us. 
The dish came with two sauces which we didn't need. I expected the goose to be gamier than duck, but it wasn't. It did have some nice gaminess, was super tender and moist, and nice and rich. The "smoked", which was more like roasted to me had a stronger flavor profile, though the salted version seemed more moist. Both versions were tender and I'd have this again in a minute!
Man, this was a nice surprise. The pork was tender, not overly fatty, and braised well. Mei Cai Kou Rou can be overly sweet, but this was nicely balanced, good salty-savory-ginger-anise-sweet balance. It was also not overly greasy and we could taste the preserved vegetable, which added pleasant sour notes, and a slightly crunchy texture to the dish. This also had julienned napa cabbage, which one could complain is filler, but it added a hint of sweetness and a nice contrast in texture. This dish got the Missus to exclaim, "when we're done with the roast duck exploration, let's do Mei Cai Kou Rou!" Be still my arteries!
