Chinese Restaurants – Page 27

JoYee’s (Chinese breakfast, Jian Bing and cafe) (inside original 99Ranch complex)

August 30, 2018 Cathy Breakfast/Brunch, Chinese Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is a food blog. Cathy is writing today; Kirk is starting a long weekend of relaxing; He's earned it.

A few months ago, E and Drink, located inside the Original 99Ranch complex, closed. Finally new signage came up and The Mister and I were curious.

We read the menu one morning, but decided to go across the hall to Sam Woo for breakfast. When we left there was a line of people ordering and waiting for 'to go' orders and tables. (Click and enlarge this photo to read the menu)
We returned on a weekday morning. You order, pay, get a buzzer and find a seat. For a first visit, we decided to try a soybean milk (no sugar)(warm) ($1.69) and a donut ($1.99). I really liked the soybean milk, the donut was fresh made, very hot and it was oily. Nevertheless, I liked it and tore pieces to put into the soybean milk as well as some of our other breakfast selections.

It was around 10 a.m. and we figured a tea egg ($0.99) would be a nice snack. The egg was hot when brought to the table, but it was pitiful; no tea markings or flavor…a hard boiled egg.

We also decided to try the millet porridge ($2.69) which desperately needed some flavor, although it was not to mushy and quite tasty in a fresh millet sort of way. Fortunately the tabletop condiments helped.

Also on the breakfast menu, a Laver and Egg Soup ($2.69) was ordered and this needed no additions. After we were finished we noticed wontons on the breakfast menu and made a mental note to try those next time…with the mung bean and rice porridge, thereby completing the breakfast menu.

We returned a few days later. The cucumber salad appetizer ($2.99) was a natural choice. It was great to have alone and with the rest of our order as a 'palate cleanser'.
We also ordered the Noodle with Wood Ear and Pork ($8.99) from the far right side of the menu. This was a large serving with some pretty good, stretchy (but clumped) noodles topped with wood ear mushrooms, pork, tofu, carrots and cucumber. The flavor combination was excellent. Near the end, we added soy and chili sauce, just to jazz up the flavors.

When you first see the menu, the far left column is Jian Bing ($5.49, the base price). A savory egg crepe, Jian Bing is usually a breakfast item, but served all day here.
There is a nice lady in the back making the crepes for all to watch (the rest of the kitchen is behind).
The crepe is made with two eggs, green onion, sesame seeds, a 'biscuit' and a homemade chili sauce (I asked for light chili; the chili sauce on the table is different than the sauce inside the Jian Bing. )

The 'biscuit' is that crispy wonton skin. The combination of flavors and textures in this snack was wonderful. You can add on to the Jian Bing: dry meat, spicy beef, lunch meat and/or a Chinese donut. I don't think any of the add ons were necessary, but many people around us did have a big ol' Chinese donut stuffed into their order. You might have noticed on the menu board that the beverages are Buy One Get One during the Grand Opening period. We ordered Liji Matcha with Cheese Foam ($4.75). I've read about cheese foam drinks and wanted to try this. The matcha milk tea was a good quality matcha (I asked for low sugar) with some tannin notes. The cheese foam top was a treat in itself-like light whipped cream cheese topped with matcha powder. The cups are reusable, with interesting lids which I've not seen elsewhere (if you read the article, one Instagrammer (sp?) recommended to not use a straw and let the foam of the cheese blend with the tea.)

All in all, quite nice. We will go back to try more of the menu.

Who else has been here? Kirbie was here in early August (she didn't like the Jian Bing, but I don't know any better and thought it was tasty).

JoYee's 7330 Clairmont Mesa Blvd San Diego 92111 (858) 302-9394 Open Daily 9 a.m.-3 p.m., 5 p.m.-9 p.m.

Sieu Sieu BBQ Revisited

August 16, 2018 mmm-yoso Chinese BBQ, Chinese Restaurants

As a sign of how long I've been doing this blog…..do you remember what was in the spot before Sieu Sieu BBQ opened in this spot in 2008? You'd be right if you said Maui Maui Hawaiian BBQ…funny how it went from one reduplicated name to another, eh? And before that; wasn't it something like Yakimono restaurant…..and for bonus points; do you remember when Sieu Sieu BBQ was in Linda Vista? Sheesh…..

Anyway, this one has been sitting around for a while. I took a revisit; it had been a couple of years.

I decided to get Ga Muoi – "salt chicken", something akin to Kwai Fei Chicken and Roast Pork with rice ($8.95).

The chicken came with the minced ginger and scallion "dip" and was on the dry side, but was nicely flavored….the ginger was chopped much too coarsely for my taste, making the flavor too strong.

The skin on the roast pork was too thick and hard and as you can see; the meat was really dry. Can't say it was bland though. Too bad, because on my last visit; the pork was way better than the roast duck…..

The rice, night have been the best I've ever had here, moist, hot, fragrant.

Well, even though the price was right…..it'll be a while before I return again.

Sieu Sieu BBQ
7420 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92111

Midweek Meanderings – Guest Kabob Replacing Hunan Kitchen, Isshido Coming to Mira Mesa, and Menya Ultra’s Second Location

August 15, 2018 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Japanese Restaurants, Ramen

So, I decided to take a the REALLY long route to this office this past weekend……well, let's call it what is was….procrastination. I ended driving up Convoy to check on Hunan Kitchen a.k.a. Noodle Hut a.k.a. Tǔjiā Xiāng Cài and here's what I found:

Hunan Kitchen being replaced by "Guest Kabob":

At least that's what the sign says.

I saw the construction on the place a few weeks earlier…..I had hoped that Hunan kitchen would stay….but looks like we're going to have the sixth restaurant in this spot in the last 7 years.

4690 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

Isshido replacing Submarina in Mira Mesa:

I drove up to Mira Mesa….just, well, because. A bit hungry, I turned into the parking lot near Habit Grill and saw this in the now defunct Submarina spot.

I stopped and took a look. I'm not sure what type of restaurant Isshido is going to be. Doing a Google search yielded nothing. So I'm not quite sure what's going on here.

8250 Mira Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92126

I ended up grabbing a late breakfast/lunch across the street….that'll be in a future post. On the way out of the parking lot, I decided to check out…..

Menya Ultra's Mira Mesa location:

Which is right next to Grocery Outlet. With all that brown paper up; it's hard to tell what's going on here.

8141 Mira Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92126

So there you go….one morning of procrastination was pretty productive, even before I got into the office, don't you think?

Monday Meanderings – Benchmark Brewing Company Opens in Bay Park, Ramen Ryoma, Bonchon, and is Hunan Kitchen Closed?

July 23, 2018 mmm-yoso Beer, Chicken Wings, Chinese Restaurants, Ramen

It's been a crazy busy day. I haven't done one of these in a while…so here goes.

Benchmark Brewing Company Opens in Bay Park:

I was driving past last week and noticed folks in the place. This past weekend; the sign was up.

I'm happy for my 'hood.

4112 Napier St
San Diego, CA 92110
Hours:
Tues – Thurs 4pm – 8pm
Fri – Sat Noon – 9pm
Sunday Noon – 7pm

Ramen Ryoma opening in Kearny Mesa:

I had some free time to drive around this past weekend. I was staying away from the crowds. I noticed that Ramen Ryoma is replacing Bangkok West.

I know about the much hyped soon to be Hillcrest location of this Oregon based ramen chain. But hadn't heard they were opening in KM.

9119 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92123

Bonchon Chicken opening on Convoy:

I'd read about Bonchon opening on Convoy in the Eater. It replaces the R&B Crawfish Lounge.

This chain based which originated out of Busan now has a ton of stores in the US.

4690 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

The reason I drove into Plaza del Sol; was that I noticed Hunan Kitchen (i.e. Noodle Hut/Tǔjiā Xiāng Cài (土家湘菜) was closed.

The signs are still up. So I'm hoping it's just for some renovation or temporary repairs.

4690 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

If not; this would be the fifth restaurant in this location since 2011!

It’s Fry-Day – T.P. Banh Bao and Royal Mandarin

June 29, 2018 mmm-yoso Chicken Wings, Chinese Restaurants, Vietnamese Restaurants

Here are a couple posts appropriate for any "Fry-Day".

T.P. Banh Bao:

Have you ever headed out for lunch thinking you want something and then suddenly changing your mind at the destination? Such was the case on this day. I needed to take my lunch at a rather odd hour and thought I'd just head on over to R & B. When I arrived, I just didn't feel that hungry….nor did I feel like having any Filipino food.

Looking down the strip mall I saw TP Banh Bao….well, it had been a while, right? I could just grab a couple of Banh Bao and head back to the office.

In order to get the fried pork, salted egg yolk, and sausage Banh Bao, I had to order three. So I got three of those and two of the steamed pork with quail egg and sausage.

Returning to the office; I immediately gave away one of the fried and one of the steamed.

A lot of folks complain about the size to price ratio of these. And they may be right….to a point. You see; there's a ton of filling to the amount of bread. The steamed bao had started to go soggy; though the filling was porky, though a bit on the mealy and dry side. Not enough sausage for my taste as well.

The fried bao, was still crisp as I sliced it in half. Frying ensures that it holds together. I think the frying also intensifies the sweetness of this as well.

The filling was moist, with a decent porkiness; but man, this was so rich. I ended up giving away that last fried bao.

Now I know…at TP; I'm a two bao guy…..

T.P. Banh Bao 3
11271 Camino Ruiz
San Diego, CA 92126

Royal Mandarin:

At the end of one of my meetings; one of the folks asked me to come back to her office. She brought me a bag…..I immediately knew the smell of Royal Mandarin's Salt and Pepper Chicken Wings. I just started to crack-up. You see, a couple of months back, we were chatting before our meeting and she asked about what to get for an upcoming pot luck. I told her just be like everyone in National City and get wings from Royal Mandarin…..she had no idea what I was talking about! I told her she was the only person of Filipino descent in National City who didn't know about Royal Mandarin!!!!

I guess she knows now…..

She got me an order of Salt and Pepper Chicken Wings and Shrimp Fried Rice…….an nice ABCDE (American Born Chinese Dining Establishment) meal if there ever was one.

This was way to much food for me; so when I got back to my desk, I made myself a plate, and gave away the rest.

The wings looked a pale in color, but was nice and crisp. That's the thing about RM wings; the crispness lasts. The wings seemed a bit lighter than usual; though the salt-pepper-garlic "crack like" (MSG) flavor was still there. I was pleasantly surprised at how well the shrimp was cooked; plump and moist. This was typical ABCDE fried rice; fairly dry, each grain coated.

Man, has it been nine years since we did our great salt and pepper chicken wing comparison? Seems like yesterday. Time sure does fly…..

Here's to you Howie, Candice, Sarah, Jenne, Mr & Mrs Zompus, and Dennis!

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

Hunan Kitchen a.k.a. Noodle Hut a.k.a. Tǔjiā Xiāng Cài (土家湘菜)

June 12, 2018 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants

**** Hunan Kitchen has closed

I was driving around Convoy a few weeks back and noticed something about this sign.

And looking at the photos posted told me this wasn't the Noodle Hut I knew.

And then the electric sign scrolled down…….

Revealing "Hunan Kitchen". I took the photo home and the Missus translated it to Tǔjiā Xiāng Cài, basically Tujia Hunan Cuisine. Still, the addition of "Kitchen" to the name made me wonder……

And so, having some time for an actual lunch a few days later, Calvin and I hit up Hunan Kitchen a.k.a. Noodle Hut.

We were the first folks in the place. The same wood paneling and tables as the old Noodle Hut, but with signs of various dishes on the menu and of course, some chili pepper décor.

I instantly thought of Village Kitchen when I saw this on the menu.

This was going to be an interesting meal…….

First to arrive was the La Rou, Hunan Smoked Pork with Dried Radish.

The La Rou was a bit tougher, less smokey, but definitely spicier than VK's version. The dried radish was crunchy, but not hard and the dish wasn't too salty. I thought this was better than the version at VK.

And then, this.

So, think about the signature eggplant, preserved egg, and green chili dish at VK. Without the eggplant. The peppers were fairly tender and there was a large amount of pidan in this. It was also pretty darn spicy. The portion size of this dish was also deceptively large. We enjoyed it and it was the best dish of the day by far, but man, there was no way we could keep on eating this. I think my Hunan Chilli King days are behind me. Even the Missus thought this was quite spicy….though She had it the next day, when it was even hotter.

The Cumin Lamb was so-so.

Calvin's wife can't stand lamb so just about the only time he gets to eat it is with me. Too little cumin, in need of more onion and cilantro, though the lamb was tender enough. And strangely, for once, I wished the dish was more salty. I'd have loved a bit more color on the lamb as well.

Calvin was fascinated by the Baby Cuttlefish with Four Chilies.

This was quite one-dimensional in flavor. Yes, it was fairly spicy, but other than that, not much else to say. The cuttlefish was very rubbery and had no flavor. This was bean sprout city…..

The service was typical and we ended up with a bunch of leftovers.

A few weeks later we were both craving that century egg and green chili dish. So we returned. This time; I did all the ordering.

Starting with a favorite of the Missus; the Steamed Preserved Meat.

Usually, it's smoked pork, duck, and fish. Here it was pork, duck, and chicken, which made me wonder how dry this was going to be. It was however, quite good, very smoky, nice textures, chewy, but not tough. While not among the best version of this I've had, it was a notch above decent. The Missus loved the leftovers.

Of course, there was one basic reason we returned to Hunan Kitchen. The Pounded green Chilies and Century Egg. If anything, this was even better than on our previous visit.

It was even more tender and buttery, with more pidan.

Oh, and perhaps even more spicy. Man, I had the leftovers two days later and it was pretty darn hot.

Still, I think this dish is a winner, spicy, yes, but the texture of the preserved egg, the dish was nicely seasoned both times we had it. Typing this out makes me want it again. You get that nice endorphin high. Like I said….my tolerance must be pretty low these days.

We finished with the Mao Style Pork in Brown Sauce.

This was a decent, but not outstanding dish. This version of Hong Shao Rou was a bit lacking in complexity of flavor (no anise) and the pork was bit tough. It also lacked that nice glistening color I love in other versions of this dish. While I though it wasn't too spicy, eating the leftovers two days later had increased the intensity of the heat.

While not everything at Hunan Kitchen was a "keeper"; I actually enjoy the more rustic preparations and flavors here more than VK. As does the Missus….whose Father is from Hunan province and really enjoys more traditional, earthy preparations of Xiāng Cài. Still, while I'm thinking we need to head on back to the SGV for our Hunan fix; we'll be dropping by whatever the name of this place is once in a while.

Hunan Kitchen a.k.a. Noodle Hut a.k.a. Tǔjiā Xiāng Cài (土家湘菜)
4690 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

And, if you're keeping score; back in 2011 this was Nam An, in 2014 Yunnan food was served at Jin's Pot, in 2015 Xi'an Kitchen, then in 2017 Noodle Hut, and now this place. Let's see if they have a bit more staying power.

Kroran Uyghur Cuisine – A First Look

June 5, 2018 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants

**** Kroran has closed

I've had several inquiries regarding the opening of Kroran, one from "FOY Black Belt Jonez" and two via email (I heard ya' SomTommy). The place opened while we were away on vacation. So, on the weekend we returned, I decided to drop by. My visits were solo because, as I noted a few years back, the Missus isn't a big fan of Xinjiang Cuisine, unless it's as good as we had in Beijing. That's a rather tall order……..

I arrived on a Sunday. The place looked empty, but the restaurant was pretty busy.

There's a really nice guy who works here. He sat me quickly, a really sweet young lady was my Server….though things did take a while. But they have just opened after all, so I'll give that a pass. I believe the gentleman is Pakistani, the other front of house folks are a mix of Chinese and Middle Eastern ethnicity. I was told that the kitchen staff is from Xinjiang….which boded well.

Though a quick look at the menu was interesting…..there were a few classic Xinjiang type dishes, Laghman (lāmiàn), Chuanr (kebabs), Dàpánjī (Big Plate Chicken) and so forth. Somewhat puzzling was the addition of a bunch of Sichuan dishes and the lack of some of my favorite mutton preparations.

They were also out of a bunch of items…either it had been more busy than anticipated or the kitchen just wasn't ready for those dishes.

Not being physically able to put away Big Plate Chicken, I went with the Spicy Laghman. Supposedly the spicy version of the traditional hand pulled noodles of the region. Other than the noodles looking to have been chopped to smaller pieces, it looked good.

The texture of the noodles were pretty good as well, doughy, with a decent pull and chew. The flavoring though was way off; the beef was extremely salty and strangely dry. I expected tomato on the dish, but it was a bit too much…..and quite salty as well. And this had basically no spice….at least for me it didn't. The portion size was quite large.

Still, the texture of the lamian was pretty good. I made it a point to follow-up the next weekend. I invited some friends to join me, but got no takers. So it was me solo again.

The restaurant was even more busy this time around.

Same really nice folks working as well. Though as with the previous weekend, there were many things not available.

I started with the standard Uyghur Nan.

This was really dry and flavorless…..like it been sitting for a while.

I guess I was kind of expecting something closer to this…..

I really enjoy a good yang rou chuanr; so I figured the Lamb Kawab would have to be good, right?

First off; these arrived in like five minutes, so they were predictably cold. The texture wasn't bad; I expect some toothsomeness and this was fairly tender as a whole. I would have appreciated the meat being a bit more moist, more cumin, and while most are usually fairly salty, this was in need of more salt, and more seasoning as a whole.

For your reference…..

I also got just about the only item available (other than the nan) form the appetizer menu; the cold beef salad. Please note that the description mentions a "homemade chili sauce"……..

The beef shank was very beefy in flavor. It was as you can tell as dry as heck, though pretty tender. It did need much more in terms of seasoning to bring out the best in the product….like maybe more anise tones or even a "homemade chili sauce"?

So here's the deal. I like the nice gentleman and the young lady who work the front of house, the food is not terrible, but as I've mentioned before, as much as I like Xinjiang Cuisine, I'm not just "happy to have it". I'm going to give the place a "pass" for now. I'll drop by again in a few months.

Kroran Uyghur Cuisine
4310 Genesee Ave
San Diego, CA 92117
Hours:
Tues – Fri 11am – 3pm, 5pm – 10pm
Sat – Sun 11am – 10pm

Revisit – Shann Xi Magic Kitchen (99 Ranch Market Food Court)

May 31, 2018 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants

**** This location of Shann Xi Magic Kitchen has closed.

My terrible revisit to Shan Xi Magic Kitchen had me wondering how it compared to the location in the rather desolate 99 Ranch Market on Balboa.

And I mean desolate….as in this was noon on a Sunday……..

Anyway, I went with the Yang Rou Pao Mo, which has gone up three dollars in price since the place opened. It's now $11.99.

The young lady working here fit right into the mold….she was more concerned about stuff on her smartphone than customers.

While being just mediocre, a bit too thin, lacking richness, this was much better than what I had at the Convoy location. The broth wasn't overly seasoned with white pepper, the lamb was nice and "muttony". Still not a fan of "paomo" in the states. In China it's leavened bread…..here it waxy, dumpling like dough. A few random pieces of tofu….a few strands of bean thread.

At least it wasn't as bad as this:

Still, not very good at all.

Shann Xi Magic Kitchen
5950 Balboa Ave (In the 99 Ranch Market Food Court)
San Diego, CA 92111

As for those wondering how this location of 99 Ranch Market survives……it looks like there's some attrition going on. Looks like Mr A Café has closed….

Golden City (still underrated) another revisit

May 26, 2018 Cathy Chinese Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!!, a blog centers around food. Kirk and Cathy write posts here. It's Cathy's turn today. Kirk is on vacation.

Kirk first wrote a three part post about the original Golden City in 2005. New owners took over in 2006. I first wrote a post in 2014, even though there had been many visits, trying the menu. About a year ago, I wrote another post. Golden City is really part of our 'regular rotation', where we bring friends and out of town guests for a good meal.It's an 'anchor' business of the mall at the SouthEast corner of Claremont Mesa and the 163, which also has Anny's Fine Burger and Pho Duyen Mai (which Kirk has posted about several times now).

The interior is spacious and a good place for large groups/families to have a meal.
We ordered from the 'Lunch and Late Dinner' menu (available seven days) and each of us received a fresh fried vegetable egg roll served with that tangy-sweet red sauce along with our complimentary loose-leaf tea.
The large bowl of chicken-corn soup ($9.95) was indeed large and we had to take home leftovers, which heated up quite nicely the next day. {Usually with a lunch special, a choice of egg flower or sweet and sour soup is offered; not necessary with this choice, which could be a meal in itself}
The soup was thick with egg, sweet corn kernels and minced chicken, all in a chicken broth. It really hit the spot on this overcast day.
The Mister craves egg foo young, chicken, $8.95) and really likes the version here. The omelette portion -beaten eggs mixed with bean sprouts, cabbage, carrot and onion is fried perfectly and placed on a (very large) platter then topped with the gravy and minced chicken (same as in the soup, above) as well as some green onion. The crispiness of the omelet is what I like, along with the taste of gravy and chicken on the 'soggy' parts. Such a great meal.
The lemongrass fish filet ($9.95) is always good here. Served with a bit of matchstick cut pickled daikon and carrots, the flavor meld is just right. The batter fried crisp over the meaty fish portions is just a perfect amount of textures in a bite.

We have never been disappointed with the food and are always happy to be able to bring others here.

Golden City Restaurant 5375 Kearny Villa Road San Diego, CA 92123 (858) 565-6682 open daily 11 a.m.-midnight

…everything has to have nutrition facts these days, even the fortune cookies…

Village North Revisited

May 15, 2018 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants

**** Village North has closed

I had these photos sitting around for a while. In my Shan Xi Magic Kitchen post, "FOY" Derek asked if I'd been to Village North recently.

Well, yes……many times. You see, since we've been making our own Suan Cai over the last three years, the Missus has me get the Suan Cai with Pork take-out and will eta that mixed with our funky, fermented suan cai over the course of three or four meals. So there hasn't been much to write about since I haven't been eating it.

A couple of weeks ago, we decided to head on over and actually have a sit down dinner at Village North.

And of course the Missus got the stir fried Suan Cai with Pork.

This is the Missus's favorite dish here by far. The sour-mild anise-slightly salty flavor goes a long way. It's even better now than when they first opened. They sure know how to make this dish. The Missus would only allow me one serving of this…..She needed to have left-overs to take home.

One of the dishes we really enjoyed in the past here was the Pork Intestines in Dry Pot.

This wasn't as good as what we had in the past. There wasn't much intestine; which was really tough and chewy. Though this was decently spicy, the seasoning was off and it was too salty, and a bit on the greasy side.

The Black Pepper Flank Steak was another favorite here in the past.

The portion size of this dish has definitely gotten smaller and they used much more green bell peppers this time around. This was much more spicy than on previous visits. The beef was toothsome; though the velveting technique was not quite as good as on previous visits and this lacked that smoothness. Not bad, though not as good as on previous visits.

We found our meal to be decent. I've got to come by more often and try other dishes rather than just doing take-out for the Missus. The nice woman who works here knows me already and is always very friendly. Once she saw me waiting in the parking lot; the Missus wanted Her suan cai and it was a few minutes before opening time. She smiled and waved me into the place; unlocking the door for me. So I'll obviously be coming back.

Village North
4428 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111