Recently, I was craving some Beef Sate with Egg Noodles "dry" (Mì Bò Sa Te Kho) and since I was in the office, I decided to head on over to Tim Ky, which used to be a fairly regular stop for me back in the day. Strangely, while I had done takeout from Tim Ky during Covid, I hadn't actually eaten in the place since back in 2019! A revisit was long overdue!
And since all these noodle shops open fairly early, I could roll on in for a 10am "lunch".
There's some construction going on in the parking lot and the shops look like they've got some new signage. There's now a menu outside the restaurant, I'm guessing to help folks do takeout, but the interior looks basically the same.
Another thing that's not the same (of course) are the prices. The Beef Sate Egg Noodle is now $15.69. I remember when it was less than seven bucks.
My dish arrived very quickly.
And I proceeded with my "standard process" of mixing the dish to my satisfaction. I quickly noticed that there wasn't any "sauce" at the bottom of the bowl, it was merely a touch of sate sauce squirted over the egg noodles. This was not nearly enough to coat all the noodles and would not provide enough of that savory-nutty-pungent flavors for the dish. I ended having to add a rather large amount of the broth on the side to the bowl creating more of a soup, which kind of defeats the purpose of things. Also, the broth was quite MSG heavy, but at least wasn't bland. It was good in a soup spoon with a slice of meat and onion in it. The noodles were also undercooked and hard as well.
The meat was adequately tender and nicely coated, but the overall dish really didn't have that shalloty-garlicky-savory-lemongrassy-mild spice I enjoy.
Needless to say, I was disappointed. Sigh…..
Which led me to wonder if this was the norm? So, I decided to head on back over and try one of the more "basic" items from the menu. When I arrived, the old timers were going full blast in the parking lot.
At the restaurant I had a bit of a dilemma; what to get won ton noodle soup or the dumpling noodle soup. Well, luckily all of these "Mi" places have combo, the Won Ton & Dumpling Egg Noodle Soup ($14.79). Which is what I got.
The was a definite difference in the soup, it was way lighter and thinner than what I'd had here in the past, really lacking in savory tones; more like white pepper-salt water. There were 2 won ton and 3 dumplings….yes, I counted. The wrappers were very soft and tender; really enrobing the fillings. In fact, doesn't the won ton look like brain matter?
The fillings, while being more chewy than I recalled, as nicely flavored, porky, hints of seafood, sesame oil, and so forth. The char siu was hard and very tough and weak in the sweet-porkiness I enjoy.
The noodles this time around had just the right amount of crunchy-al dente pull for me.
This wasn't bad, but that soup was on the weak side. Hmmmm…..is this how things are these days?
Perhaps it was time for me to "make the rounds" and find out?
Tim Ky Noodle
9330 Mira Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92126
Current Hours:
Daily 9am – 8pm
So, how did this match up? Well, the wrapper was not as tender and more brittle than what we'd had at DTF. The "soup", the aspic based liquid was porky and flavorful. The filling was tender, though not quite as flavorful as DTF in our opinion. Though, it could be that having been to several locations of DTF around the world we've been indoctrinated?
It was a very large portion! Though you can see how thick the kitchen is slicing the tendon and pork ear now. Eating some of the pieces of tendon was like trying to bite into your flip-flops! The pig ear was crunchy and manageable. The smacked cucumbers were better than what I'd had here previously, with a decent amount of salt. The chili oil based sauce wasn't quite as spicy as I recalled and it had a hint of sweetness and more soy sauce, which wasn't a bad thing.
Well, so that gentleman I ran into while 
Along with some Veggie Eggrolls. All part and parcel of the lunch specials we ordered.
The wrappers were good when the dumplings were first delivered, fairly tender, but got brittle and chewier as the dumplings cooled off. The filling was tender, moist, nicely seasoned, and full of pork flavor. This was a pleasant surprise. The filling was more finely chopped than many versions I've had recently. I think this compares favorably with 
The pieces of beef were decently tender and nicely flavored, good anise tones, with a hint of sweetness. The soup was of the clear variety and had some five spice and white pepper seasoning going for it, but it lacked beefiness and decent richness. At least it wasn't overly salty. The noodles were overcooked for my taste and lacked the springiness I enjoy.
There were 8 dumplings in all, enough for a light lunch. One of the XLB, the one on the bottom had, ahem, an 
A lot of the business is take out, but we managed to grab a seat at one of the five tables inside.
There is a menu on the front window and we were handed menus when we sat down. There are lunch specials!
The Mister ordered a lunch special, which came with a chicken based, thick egg drop soup. Complimentary 'crunchies' were brought out with the silverware.
Soon, our orders were brought out. Egg Foo Young (because it was our first visit and I always order EFY on my first visit to any Chinese restaurant-everyone makes EFY uniquely). Lunch Special #23- Salt and Pepper Fish.
The Lunch Specials are $11.95. The Special comes with steamed jasmine rice or fried rice and a vegetable egg roll in addition to the soup (choice of egg drop or hot and sour). You can substitute steamed vegetables and chop suey for additional fees. The batter and fry of the fish was excellent- not greasy, light and crisp. The fish was light and flaky. This was tasty and a good portion.
Mixed Vegetable Egg Foo Young ($14.95)-what a delightful version! Three large patties, filled with bean sprouts, broccoli, peas and carrots and so eggy, fried nicely with a light and crisp crust and topped with a proper (not thick, not salty) brown gravy. One waitress brought us more gravy halfway through- which was just enough to take home with the leftovers.
