Chinese Restaurants – Page 28

Shan Xi Magic Kitchen Revisited (Convoy)

May 13, 2018 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants

I had been craving Yang Rou Pao Mo for a couple of weeks. I really loved that muttony – thick soup with leaven bread during our visit to Xi'an. Over time, I've accepted the fact that while versions might come close, it seems we just can't get the bread part right. During the recent cooler weather, I finally had a real lunch hour. I wrangled Calvin, who has, over time really developed a taste for the yang rou pao mo. I decided to revisit Shan Xi Magic Kitchen, which I thought was pretty good during my initial visits. Though I believed the place had slipped a bit during the last time I'd had a meal there….but that had been nearly two years ago.

So we arrived at around 1145 and place was almost half full. We got to the door….and were totally ignored, until I got the attention of the young lady working.

The service was quite perfunctory……just like I went back in time and landed in the SGV when we lived there in the late 90's.

I ordered three dishes….pretty much the items I'd enjoyed on my previous visits.

Starting with the Yang Rou Pao Mo.

Good lord this was so bad. The broth was very thin and had too much white pepper in it. There was almost no mutton-ny flavor. Two small slices of lamb, hardly any "bread", which, even though it can't touch the stuff in Xi'an is an integral part of this dish. A few strings of bean thread. Well, at least it was hot…..dishwater.

I also asked for the typical pickled garlic-chili paste and the young man looked at me like I had grown a second head. After a rather uncomfortable pause he told me; "we don't have that here." So much for that. One thing about having had a food blog for a bajillion years….I can always go back and find a photo of the dish I had during a previous visit. Here's that from back in 2016.

I saw the Pidan (century egg) and Tofu back no the menu so I ordered it. I didn't know it was tofu mush….. It looked so sloppy.

So this is what happens when you just carelessly stir tofu up……it's all broken up. I think they did this to hide how little pidan (maybe less than half an egg minced up?) was actually in the dish. Also, too much sesame oil….too little chili-peppercorn oil.

This is what I was expecting.

On my previous visits, I'd thought the Garlic Eggplant here, while on the oily side was quite tasty. And Calvin always needs a vegetable dish…..

This was the best dish of the day; though it didn't have enough garlic flavor and some pieces of eggplant weren't cooked fully through. It needed to be cooked a bit better.

And guess what? It was indeed much more gooey in our previous visits.

Like I said; the service was quite perfunctory. They just wanted us the heck out of there as soon as possible. I had thought this place displayed promise when they first opened; I'm not sure what happened here. Also, I noticed a few more Sichuan type dishes on the menu. I'm wondering if kitchen staff has changed? Whatever the reason……this was a disappointing meal. It also has me wondering how the 99 Ranch Market location on Convoy is doing? I guess I need to check them out.

Shan Xi Magic Kitchen
4344 Convoy St,
San Diego, CA 92111

Lunch at Noble Chef

April 12, 2018 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants

When we are able to escape and grab a real lunch (i.e. no sandwiches, etc) these days, we often look for places were we can get back to the office in decent time. I'd been wanting to try the lunches at Noble Chef since my mediocre roast duck visit. So we decided to make our way down to Balboa.

We arrived pretty much at opening time. So the place was empty and it pretty much stayed that way for the entire meal.

Which I guess doesn't bode well.

We looked over the lunch special menu, deciding what to order. In the end, Big Daniel left it up to us. I ordered three dishes, Calvin two.

It interesting how different folks order….more on that later.

Things started out with a pretty terrible egg drop soup. Super salty, weird flavor to the broth, not quite chicken…. and of course the frozen peas and carrots.

If folks want to eat lunch with me; they are going to have at least try some of the dishes I order. Like the salted fish and chicken fried rice.

This didn't have enough salted fish in this, so the funky-salty-savory tones were minimized. The rice was decently done, the chicken tasteless, no wok hay.

Calvin ordered two items I really don't at these type of places; mainly because you can do better at home.

The first being the Rice Porridge with Pork and Preserved Egg.

Not a whole lot of pidan, the pork was really tough, and this needed more (some) white pepper, salt, ginger, and anything else to just bring up the flavors…….the porridge was really bland.

Calvin also usually orders some kind of vegetable. Selecting the "House Stir Fried Vegetable" is not usually a good pick at places like this though.

On this day; it was a plate full of underseasoned broccoli….the typical "Calabrese" kind, not gailan or anything similar, with maybe a single sliced canned mushroom and some slivers of carrot thrown in. Not a stellar dish.

I ordered the Fish with Black Bean Sauce.

The fish wasn't terrible, no off or muddy flavors. The cooking technique was terrible however, as the fish was dry and lacking the nice velveting of a well prepared specimen. The onions were over cooked, the flavor of the black bean sauce was too mild, and there were gloppy lumps to be found in the dish. At least the rice was decent. As for the portion size……well, we were glad we ordered quite a few dishes.

I also ordered the Salt and Pepper Pork Chop.

Finally, a decent dish! The pork was nicely fried, still moist, the batter crunchy…nice hints of garlic, decent salt, probably a nice dose of MSG as well……but at this point of the lunch…..it was a good thing. I'd have this again.

This "version" of the Noble Chef, while totally different in terms of regional cooking, makes me long for the previous versions. It makes me wonder how dinner is and if the place is long for this world? Not a single other customer than us during the whole meal. That can't be good.

The Noble Chef
6159 Balboa Avenue
San Diego, CA 92111

Sizzling Pot King

April 8, 2018 Cathy Chinese Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is a food blog and Kirk (and His Missus) are on vacation. Cathy is stepping in with another short post.

Spring has sprung in San Diego and the mild, chilly mornings with the resultant pollen count in the air have The Mister and I figuring we either have severe allergies or another bout of the flu about to occur. In any case, the craving for a hearty and slightly spicy meal was predominant the other day.

Kirk has posted about Sizzling Pot King twice mentioning the 'comfort food' aspect of the menu here, which made me curious.

We ordered the medium size dry pot with lamb ($20.99) and were impressed with the amount of food, while enjoying the aromatics released with the sizzle as the pot was placed over a sterno warmed stand. In addition to a good portion of lamb, the sizzling pot contained potato, cauliflower, celery and mung beans. We did ask for a spice level of 'mild' and it was just right; we were able to taste the mild gaminess of the lamb and the potato and cauliflower had absorbed just enough spice to even out each bite. Of course, I do love celery with just about everything and interspersed bites of meat with the crispy mung beans and celery slices.

Of course, I hadn't remembered Kirk's initial post, mentioning that the wonton in spicy sauce ($5.99) weren't that good…but his post was from 2016… The sauce had a pleasant, mild/medium spicy 'kick' and was just enough for the two of us to be able to enjoy without needing to ask for water or some other cooling beverage. I did dip some of the lamb in the leftover sauce and liked the way the flavors melded.

The filling was a good ratio to the noodle wrapper and did have a distinctive (in a good way) pork flavor.

Understanding the comfort food aspect of Kirk (and His Missus') taste buds is expanding my comfort.

Sizzling Pot King 8058 Clairemont Mesa Blvd San Diego, CA 92111 Website Open 11:00 a.m.-10:30 p.m. daily

There were enough leftovers for a great meal the next day- the sauce had been absorbed into the vegetables and the ingredients stir fried into a nice, crispy melange, which went well over rice.

Saturday Stuffs – Rice Noodle King Opens, Boiling Passion Moves a Few Doors Down, and Other “Stuffs”

March 24, 2018 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Exploring San Diego

Just a couple of things for a sleepy Saturday

Rice Noodle King Opens:

Replacing Dumpling Hut.

My sources tell me that it's the same owners as Sizzling Pot King a few doors down.

8046 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92111

The Stories of Boiling Passion's Demise Are Greatly Exaggerated:

Speaking of a "few doors down". I was surprised to see this sign when I recently went to grab lunch at Izakaya Sakura.

Which wasn't in place when I noticed that Boiling Passion was becoming Focus BBQ. Looking like the place is reopening a few doors down from the previous location.

So I guess Boiling Passion is back.

3904 Convoy St Suite 114
San Diego, CA 92111

Just to finish things up. On one of my visits to Con Pane to pick up some bread, I decided to drop by the New Americans Museum.

Mainly for this exhibit.

The photo on display to the right below kind of freaked me out…….that gentleman bore a striking resemblance to my Dad.

'nuff said……..

New Americans Museum
2825 Dewey Rd
San Diego, CA 92106

Roadtrip – Xiang Yuan Gourmet (Temple City)

March 11, 2018 mmm-yoso Asian Fusion/Pacific Rim/Hawaii Style Fusion, Chinese Restaurants, Dim Sum, Los Angeles County, Road Trip

**** Xiang Yuan has closed

**** Xiang Yuan no longer serves Dim Sum

We had one stop to plan on our way back from Santa Barbara last year. The Missus really wanted dim sum. And naturally, Sea Harbour came to mind. But I wanted to try something different. And after showing the Missus a couple of blog posts, I talked Her into stopping at Xiang Yuan Gourmet. The Missus was somewhat skeptical since "Xiang" basically means Hunan.

Still we made the drive to Temple City, to a portion of Las Tunas Drive that I don't think I've ever been to.

The restaurant is clean and modern and was totally empty during our entire visit.

The service was quite good…..and very efficient, though I guess being the only customers might not be the best gauge of that. It seems that the menu serves dim sum during the day, with the Hunan menu coming into play for dinner.

The menu did indeed feature some interesting nouveau style dim sum items.

We ordered some of our favorites, along with some interesting items I'd seen on other blog posts.

Crystal Shrimp Har Gow.

The shrimp were very moist and plump, with a nice "shrimpiness". The wrapper was a bit too think for my liking. I think that the version at Sea Harbour is better than this.

We both enjoyed the nice "pull" of the wrappers on the Vegetarian Dumplings.

The filling had a nice combination of textures and was pretty tasty overall. Surprising for a vegetable based dumpling.

I usually enjoy Chiu Chow Dumplings and this was no exception.

The wrappers, while on the thick side, weren't too gummy, the ingredients, peanuts, chives, mushroom, shrimp, all worked together well. Very balanced.

We also ordered this….

To translate, least you think we're one "k" away from skunk. Bean Curd Skin Roll with Cordyceps Flower.

The broth was delicious, and not overly medicinal. The bean curd skin was nice and crunchy, though the roll was on the bland side.

Turnip Cake is a must order item for the Missus.

Nicely studded with Chinese Sausage, this was very soft. It doesn't hold a candle to the version with XO Sauce at Sea Harbour. The Missus said that She enjoys what I make at home more than this.

The last three items that came out were the one's we were really interested in trying.

The Mushroom Bun……really looks like a mushroom.

The dough was a perfect combination of soft-fluffy, while still having a slight chew and not overly sweet. The filling of mushroom and bamboo shoots had a perfect savory flavor, with just the right amount of crunch from the bamboo shoots and carrots, which added a touch of sweetness as well. My favorite item of the day.

The Crispy Bamboo Shoot Paste Balls really make an impression.

They arrive looking like carrots….I'm not sure why, there's no carrot in this. The exterior is said to be made from bamboo shoot paste, which reminded me of exterior of glutinous rice dumplings. It was overly sweet and chewy for our tastes and the amount of salted egg filling just didn't stand up to the sweetness.

Ever since first having Durian Pastry almost eleven years ago at Elite Restaurant, I always have to try it if it's on the menu. The version here is quite nice, if not as visually appealing as the previous two dishes.

The crust is fairly light, the filling thicker than other versions, but very tasty and not too sweet. As a bonus there's a slice of durian along one edge of the pastry. Very nice in a mildly savory-not overly sweet-custardy kind of way. I'd gladly have this again. Another winner.

The Missus really enjoy this meal. In fact, She told me that we should return as soon as we are able to.

In fact, She told me that "this might now be my favorite dim sum restaurant". I'm not sure. I think I still prefer Sea Harbour. I'm going to need several revisits to both. You know; for research purposes……

Xiang Yuan Gourmet
9556 Las Tunas Dr
Temple City, CA 91780

Uniboil

February 20, 2018 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants

**** UniBoil has closed

It finally feels like winter around these parts. Which means that I'm back in hot pot mode. Starting with Uniboil. I actually first saw Uniboil during one of my trips to Rowland Heights last year in Hong Kong Plaza (in fact its in the 9th photo in that post). Uniboil opened in the old Beauty Hunan location back in August. Sheesh, that place only lasted half a year or so and its predecessor Szechuan Taste only lasted a couple of years. Intrepid Hot Pot lover Kirbie visited right after opening, before the actual signage for the shop went up. I'd thought about it, but man, August was just too hot for me to have hot pot.

So I waited until the weather cooled down, right around the end of December to make my first visit.

Uniboil is based in Monterey Park and has locations in Monterey Park, Rowland Heights, and Davis. The restaurant claims to use no MSG and source most of their proteins from Snake River Farms and the broth base is made from chicken.

Much like other hot pot shops of the same style; there are several "bases" and you choose the protein.

There are also a couple of featured item and various noodle selections…..which I decided to avoid once I saw another table's dish come out. For a place that touts it's quality of product; they served the noodles dish with instant ramen type noodles…..

The item that caught my attention was the Ma-la Pig Feet Soup (lunch price – $14.99).

I got this with the vermicelli noodles, which was a rather small portion. There were three good sized pig's feet in the soup; which were nice and gelatinous, not overly tough, and tasted pretty good. The rest of the items in the hop pot were routne; one lonely clam, two slices of kamabuko, two pieces of surimi, a whole lot of cabbage, a slice of corn, and the item I enjoyed the most (next to the pig's feet) frozen tofu. The broth, while on the salty side, had a nice numbing-spice to it. I just needed a touch of hot bean sauce to adjust the flavor a bit.

This was the best item I had on my visits by far.

Of course I returned a few weeks later. Calvin had recommended the Sate broth with Lamb ($12.99 – lunch). I also ordered the Spicy Lotus Root ($4.99), which wasn't very good.

Not enough spice, way too much sesame oil, uneven cutting technique. Definitely not worth five bucks.

I wasn't particularly enamored with the Sate Broth either. I even added on additional Frozen Tofu ($2.50.).

Can something be both salty and bland at the same time? Perhaps one-dimensional might be the appropriate description. I added at least a quarter cup of sate to this in addition to the hot bean sauce….which helped, but made things even more salty. The thinly sliced lamb was nice and gamey, but other than being hot this wasn't very satisfying at all.

On a rather chilly evening, I decided on a tie-breaker visit.

I was fascinated by the "Healthy Tomato Hot Soup", that I decided to try that with Kurobuta Pork ($13.99 – dinner) with Extra Frozen Tofu ($2.50).

The pork was sliced very thin and I wasn't able to separate the slices. It was also too lean and turned into a white, dry piece of pork.

Man, if I thought the sate was salty and nothing else, this was even more salty and had even less flavor….just a hint of tomato. Perhaps I'm just not lucky with things described as "healthy" on the menu? I added like half the container of sate and a ton of the hot bean sauce, just to be able to consume this. I took most of it home and the Missus had one spoon of it and told me to dump the broth….which is interesting since we hate to waste food. Hey, but at least this time there were two fishballs in the broth versus only one last time.

To be perfectly honest, I prefer the soup at Tasty Pot. And with all of these hot pot places open or opening, I think I've had enough Uniboil (I always accidentally call the place Uni-Brow for some reason) for now.

Uniboil
8199 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92111
Hours:
Open Daily 11am – 10pm

Sunday Stuffs – Shu Dao Opens, Hui An Garden Closes, More on Mi Quang Mien Trung, and Shabumi Hot Pot Coming Soon

February 18, 2018 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Vietnamese Restaurants

A bunch of "stuffs" for a quiet Sunday.

Shu Dao Opens:

I was a bit puzzled when the banner said a Sichuan Restaurant was opening in the former San Tong Palace location, right next to Spicy City.

So, when I noticed the place was open, I dropped by a few days later.

Turns out Shu Dao is a Sichuan Hot Pot place. So, yet another hot pot place….in the same strip mall as Tasty Pot too.

4690 Convoy St #105
San Diego, CA 92111

Hui An Garden Closes:

On the same evening as I noticed the lights on at Shu Dao. I noticed the lights were off at Hui An Garden.

So, I made sure to drop by a few days later. And yes indeed, that hand written sign says "closed" It seems the place really never gained any traction.

4768 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

More on Mi Quang Mien Trung:

I know folks were wondering if this shop, which is replacing DaNang Food to Go is associated with Mien Trung.

So, a few days later, I dropped by Mien Trung. Luckily, the really nice guy who has been working there as long as I can remember was working. So I asked him. He told me that a few regular customers had been asking the same thing. But no, this place is not associated with Mien Trung.

By the way; Mien Trung is basically the name of the Central Region of Vietnam.

It does look like the place will be ready to open soon.

4745 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA 92115

Shabumi Hot Pot Coming Soon:

Because we do need yet another hot pot/shabu shabu place in the Kearny Mesa area, right?

I noticed the place when I went to pick something up from CVS. Located in the same strip mall as 85 Degrees, Ototo, et al….

Looks like this one is an "all-you-can-eat" place.

I believe the first indication that this was going to be a Shabu Shabu place was when I noticed something called "Yummy Shabu" was coming to this mall. I guess now it's Shabumi?

So that makes how many of these places in the area….including Shu Dao?

5500 Balboa Ave
San Diego, CA 92111

Saturday Stuffs – Boiling Passion Becoming Focus BBQ, Emerald Reopens, and Happenings at Taisho

February 10, 2018 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Japanese Restaurants

A trio of things I noticed around Kearny Mesa.

Boiling Passion becoming Focus BBQ:

Well Boiling Passion made it nearly two years. But I'm sure with all of the hot pot places opening, other would be closing.

The Missus told me this looks like a skewer and drinking place.

If you're keeping score since 2012; Viet Bakery and Pho (2012-2014), V Bakery (2014), Pho Paradise (Dec 2014 – Jan 2016), Boiling Passion (2016 – 2018)

3904 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

Emerald Reopens:

I noted in the comments of my post on Emerald closing; that I'd heard they were reopening under new ownership. And so I drove by earlier in the week.

And yes, they've reopened under new ownership. Be interesting to see how things are.

3709 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

Interesting Happenings at Taisho:

Without a doubt a favorite of ours. On a visit with the Missus last month, we thought we noticed a familiar face helping Taka out.

And yes, it was this familiar face!

Apparently, the really great guy from Yakyudori in Nagoya got his work visa and will be grilling up here in San Diego! So that means two classically training Yakitori Chefs.

We were so surprised to see him, and he us. Really friendly and nice guy. The last time we were in Nagoya and Yakyudori was full, he called and then walked us over to Hinotez 2.

For now, my understanding is that he is working on his English. Then Taisho is thinking about expanding their hours.

It's great to have him in the mix….though there's that thing about saying, "me better than Taka" when we were in Nagoya! Lol!

Yakitori Taisho
5185 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92117

Last Call at Spicy King (Vista)

January 30, 2018 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants

**** Spicy King has closed

So, a funny thing happened after the former assistant chefs from Ba Ren gave up the ghost at what was Fu An Garden. I saw Chef Hu twice at 99 Ranch Market. I guess we used to go to Ba Ren so much that these folks all remember us. Anyway, I was told that they'd taken over Spicy King in Vista. And while I really missed Chongqing style Sichuan food, I wasn't super impressed with what was being served at Fu An Garden. Not enough to make a drive out to Vista.

However, I had an all day meeting in Orange County and really just wanted to take my time on the drive back home…..with all that lovely San Diego rush hour traffic. I thought it would be a great chance to see how Spicy King was doing.

The place was empty when I arrived….and for my entire meal. Chef Hu was surprised and pleased to see me. Then his wife, who speaks English quite well told me that, "we have sold the restaurant, today is our last day". Whoa, talk about some weird timing!

They both looked tired and worn down. And you know……so did the restaurant to a certain extent.

They were both so very gracious. I decided to order some favorites from the Ba Ren days. Here's how it went.

Sichuan Cold Noodles was and is comfort food to me. Ba Ren's version was a favorite of ours.

I really wasn't inspired by this when it arrived at the table. But upon mixing things together I found that all the "good stuff" was on the bottom of the bowl. The noodles were like what I'd had at Fu An Garden, really hard and brittle. And while there was enough black vinegar, spice, ginger, and peanuts in this; it really lacked the sesame paste and garlic from versions I enjoy. The texture of the noodles actually got better over time and was much better the next day.

Ko Shui Ji (saliva/mouthwatering chicken), another old favorite. When I ordered it, I was told that they were no longer making this. However, Chef Hu was peeking out of the kitchen and insisted making this for me.

And while the chicken had the perfect texture and the heat was really good….it was quite spicy. It just seemed to be missing something. Not bad though.

I got the Spicy Fish and Tofu. This was actually pretty good.

Good heat, nice and richly oily. The fish, while not a velvety as I prefer was still tender. Nice combination of flavors, though missing a bit more savory-complex seasoning. The Missus really enjoyed the leftovers of this one.

Sorry to say the Shrimp with Chilies was the most disappointing dish of the meal.

It wasn't fried right, the batter was gummy and the shrimp overcooked. Liked the Sichuan Peppercorns in this, but the dish was a bit mild in spice….I know, all the chilies, but it didn't seem very spicy to me. The texture of that shrimp just wasn't pleasant to me.

All in all, a decent meal. And the timing of my visit seemed like some strange act of fate. I had promised to drop by. The couple told me they were going to take a break and go back to China for two months, then return and see what opportunities are available in San Diego. I did appreciate the effort with the chicken and how very friendly and happy they were to see me. I wish them well.

After almost six years, I still haven't found a dependable Sichuan restaurant that could stand up to Ba Ren.

As to what's next for Spicy King, well I'm not sure…..

Spicy King
1233 East Vista Way
Vista, CA 92084

Revisits – Green China Grill and Pho Duyen Mai

January 23, 2018 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants

A couple more revisits before we moved offices late last year.

Green China Grill:

It had almost been a year since my last visit. So, on one of those cooler days, I decided to drop by.

The place was as green as ever. And the menu seems to keep expanding.

Looking over the menu I realized that I'd always had the Lamian (牛大碗 – hand pulled noodles) here. I decided to try the Dao Xiao Mian; knife cut noodles, with beef brisket.

While the flavor of the broth was still on the mild side; it didn't seem to be too heavy on the MSG side of things. It was also decently textured, a decent amount of fat/oil in the broth. The beef had a nice texture, not falling apart, but not too chewy. There was a nice soy sauce-anise-light sweetness to it that was pleasant. Man, this had a ton of noodles in it! The noodles were pretty uniform in terms of width and I prefer my Dao Xiao Mian a bit thicker. It seemed a bit too processed in texture; tearing easily, lacking tenderness and "pull".

All-in-all, not bad. Though not quite worth the $10.99 price tag for some rather routine noodle soup.

Green China Grill
4688 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

Pho Duyen Mai:

**** Pho Duyen Mai is under new ownership

Of course I had to have some of "Them Bones" again.

The pho broth here has hit a certain level of consistency; a bit too sweet and salty, but not terrible, light in beef flavor and anise tones. Still there's much worse to be found in the area. Noodle were perfect, proteins in the soup decent. And then there were the xí quách bò – the simmered beef ribs. I was kind of disappointed this time around as the meat was really tough. I had to use the knife to cut it off the bones. On previous visits, I could just scrape them right off the ribs with a spoon. The beefiness was there, but it was just too hard to fully enjoy.

And no talented pooch this time around either. Oh well, Duyen Mai is still better than other pho places in the area……for now.

Pho Duyen Mai
5375 Kearny Villa Rd
San Diego, CA 92123

Thanks for reading!