Chinese Restaurants – Page 30

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!

Steamy Piggy Revisited

January 21, 2018 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants

An acquaintance recently checked out Steamy Piggy and told me they really enjoyed their meal. While recalling that I really didn't enjoy my previous visits to the place, I did make a note to return.

I found that the interior looks much the same. There's that motif of bright colors with worn and rustic touches like the rusted original walls and such. I'm not really a big fan of such contrasts, but then again, I'm not quite the design maven, right?

The menu has expanded a bit, but is still just occupies one sheet of paper. There's now someone actually making dumplings on the ide of the bar and quite a variety of pan fried dumplings; seven in all. I decided to check out the "Assorted", which was one of each pan fried dumplings.

I also wanted something else; but already having dumplings, decided to stay away from more starch. I went with the Salt and Pepper Chicken ($4.50).

The portion size was generous. This "popcorn" chicken of sorts was nice and hot; the meat moist. I really didn't care for the coating, which was on the soft side. The pieces lacked crispness and was rather gummy in texture. The seasoning was on the weak side; not enough salt or pepper. On the bottom of the bucket were lots of itty-bitty pieces of chicken.

Here's the very colorful Assorted Pan Fried Dumplings ($9.50). Looks like they did the Facing East thing and went with varied colored wrappers.

On a good note; unlike my previous visits, all the dumplings were adequately pan fried. As for fillings, I think the pork and chive was the best as the meat wasn't too hard, the filling moist, and the flavor balanced.

My least favorite was the chicken curry version, which had a rather bitter taste I didn't enjoy.

Many of the wrappers were problematic. I bit into the "pimp shrimp" and the wrapper tore, the too hard filling squirting out from one side.

The flavor of the basic pork and cabbage dumpling was decent, there was a nice amount of liquid in the dumpling. But the meatball was really tough and the wrapper too brittle.

The best texture, in terms of wrappers was oddly, the egg and cheese dumpling.

The bottom was nice and crisp, the wrapper not too thick, the top nice and plump. Though I'm not a big fan of cheese dumplings……eggs yes, in a good vegetarian jiaozi.

So, nearly half a year later, it seems that the dumplings have gotten slightly better here. But, like Facing East, it's more of a concept versus substance type of place. And like I said before, probably more of a place for the younger crowd to eat and hang out in.

Steamy Piggy
4681 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111
Hours:
Sun – Thurs 11am – 10pm
Fri – Sat 11am – 11pm

Midweek Meanderings – Da Nang Food to Go Becoming Mi Quang Mien Trung and Liang’s Kitchen is Now Another Location of Private Kitchens

January 17, 2018 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Vietnamese Restaurants

Just a quick post on a busy week for me.

Da Nang Food to Go Becoming Mi Quang Mien Trung:

I was recently driving on El Cajon Boulevard when I noticed that Da Nang Food to Go and all the other businesses next to the 7-11 had closed down. I took a quick look at the sign and was surprised. Mi Quang Mien Trung? I'll have to ask then next time I visit Mien Trung. On a side note; I've never been a fan of the Mi Quang at Mien Trung, so we'll see.

4745 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA 92115

Liang's Kitchen is Now Another Location of Private Kitchen:

Here's another surprise as I really didn't notice the change in signage. But rather something looked different so I did a quick turn into the strip mall.

Then I looked up and saw that Liang's Kitchen had become another location of Private Kitchens (aka Sister Ma’s Kitchen).

Based on my last visit to Liang's I'm not surprised. But strangely, didn't even notice the change until this past weekend.

4681 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

Finally, on New Years Day; the Missus got called into work. So I decided to take a drive around the neighborhood. It's strange what catches your eye…….I saw this guy sitting at the outdoor table at Seisel's. All the businesses were closed. For some reason I find it sad and kind of haunting.

Roadtrip – Revisits to Qing Dao Bread Food (Monterey Park), Kang Lac Bakery, Lien Hoa, and Song Long (Westminster)

January 13, 2018 mmm-yoso Chinese BBQ, Chinese Restaurants, Los Angeles County, Orange County, Road Trip, Vietnamese Restaurants

Whew; I need to catch up on all my posts! Since I've posted on these places a multitude of times; I'll keep it shirt and sweet.

This one is from back in August of last year. Basically, I had an all day meeting in Irvine. The Missus had the following day and night off; so we decided to stay in the area. We started things off well by having dinner at Sushi Noguchi in Yorba Linda (sorry no post on that one….next time). The next day after my meetings we headed off to dinner and was kind of unimpressed with Sichuan Impression in Alhambra. In fact we basically ate maybe half of what we ordered. Our hotel had a fridge, so I'd end up taking stuff back and then home.

Being somewhat disappointed in driving all this way, we decided to make a short stop. The Missus was really missing good jiaozi, so we decided to make a stop at….

Qing Dao Bread Food:

Man, it's been a good long time since we've been here.

The place is starting to look even more run down and the folks working a bit older. Though it's fun to get a smile out of the Missus when She hears the "Qingdao Hua"; the accent of Her hometown.

Two orders for us. The lamb versin; which doesn't have as much "soup" as before; but is still very gamey. And the vegetarian, which on this occasion was really good. The wrappers were nice; with that pillowy-pull to them.

The Missus had really been missing jiaozi it seems as She put these down in no time.

There was one rather sad moment during our meal. It was when the traditional garlic condiment came out. I've called this the Missus's "little dish of memories". Her job when She was a child in Qingdao was to pound the garlic for jiaozi in a mortar and pestle. Something She used to hate, but now loves…..in fact She did it with such relish the last time we were in Qingdao. Looks like they now put the garlic in a blender….very sad; because you really get the most flavor out of the garlic when you pound it; you release all the oils…..this really didn't have the "umph" we were used to. Perhaps the folks here have gotten old and tired of pounding garlic.

Qing Dao Bread Food
301 North Garfield Ave.
Monterey Park, CA 91754

The next morning, we got up rather early. Instead of just hanging out at the hotel until check-out and heading off to Sea Harbour, we decided to check out early and just do the usual two-fer of Lien Hoa and Song Long. We hit a snag as when we arrived at Lien Hoa; the place wasn't open yet. I had an idea. You see, years ago, "Beach" took me to the place right over in the next parking lot for a snack…..

Kang Lac Bakery:

The Missus had never had the Bot Chien here and it was right next door to Lien Hoa. So why not?

Radish and Taro cakes coated in crisp egg.

Man, that sauce is still good!

Tea for the Missus, some Vietnamese Coffee for me. The cost was like ten bucks. A very nice start to our morning.

Kang Lac Bakery
9301 Bolsa Avenue
Westminster, CA 92683

By now…..

Lien Hoa:

Was open.

And I got our roast duck; which I've posted on a number of times.

Lien Hoa BBQ
9311 Bolsa Ave
Westminster, CA 92683

And then it was time for "our real breakfast"……

Song Long:

Ever since "Kha" recommended this place to us years ago; it's become a real favorite of ours.

And I have to say; it's still a big favorite. Hmm……maybe we have some time next weekend?

Song Long Restaurant
9361 Bolsa Ave Suite 108
Westminster, CA 92683

Thanks for stopping by!

Midweek Meanderings – End of an Era? Emerald and San Tong Palace Close and Taking the “One-Chip Challenge”

January 3, 2018 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, yoso-silly

**** I know most of you know that Emerald has reopened.

Emerald Closes:

As mentioned earlier today in Eater. Emerald suddenly closed their doors on New Year's Eve. My understanding is that it was rather sudden. I've heard from two sources who tell me that Pearl in RB is also on the market.

According to the posted letter they have "closed their doors due to retirement"……

3709 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

San Tong Palace becoming a Sichuan Restaurant?:

Now that our office has relocated, I don't get down to Kearny Mesa quite as much as I used to. But I did notice this on New Year's eve while returning from grocery shopping.

Man, San Tong Palace had been there forever. I heard that the owners had decided to retire. The sign is interesting….doesn't say much. And Spicy City is in the same strip mall.

4690 Convoy St #105
San Diego, CA 92111

Doing the One Chip Challenge:

I brought a couple of packages to Paqui Ghost Pepper Chips to my friends one evening. I kind of enjoyed it; but it is pretty spicy. Which gave "Al" the idea that we should…..yes we….but not her, should do the one chip challenge.

So the arranged night arrived….but only three of us showed up! Talk is cheap.

Yep, this chip is no joke. One of the guys actually threw up later on.

It is really hot….as with really spicy stuff; I got the hiccups, sweated profusely, but made it through without any other ill effects. The agreement was five minutes without yogurt. Which I did.

It does feel like you've chewed up a hot iron and are gargling with battery acid. The heat starts slowly; the first 10-15 seconds are not bad. Then it gets really hot and kind of hangs around for about 15 minutes or so. I felt like I ate a couple of uni…….shells…..

There's actually a video of this….which will hopefully never see the light of day.