Category: Chinese Restaurants

**** Noodle Hut has closed

Hey, it's "Two Huts" in three days. I hope everyone had a great V-Day. I thought I'd take a short break and return with yet another "hut". Back in December I noticed that Xi'an Kitchen had closed and for good reason. The shop was being replaced with Noodle Hut. So, let's see; remember Nam An, then Jin's Pot, then Xi'an Kitchen. So that makes 4 restaurants in 6 years? Not a great track record.

I decided to visit when the weather was running on the cold side. The place had just opened their doors and I was curious.

Man, they've gone full bore with the wood paneling thing.

Though the light fixtures and the chairs are the same, the table tops look a bit different. There's now a noodle/dumpling making booth in the back corner, though I never saw anyone amking either on any of my visits.

Being a bit chilly; I decided on the Lamb Hand Ripped Noodles ($8.99).

Like Kirbie, I thought the noodles were quite good, a bit of spring to them, good chew, very nice texture all around. The lamb was decent, on the chewy side, and only fairly gamey. For some reason, I didn't enjoy the cabbage in this soup, which was perfectly scalding hot! The broth also had too much white pepper in it, causing it to be too bitter for me.

This was decent, the portion size generous….at least in terms of noodles and soup. So I returned a few days later with Calvin in tow. I'd first introduced him to Yang Rou Pao Mo at Xi'an Kitchen. Turned out he loved it. So he was eager to try out Noodle Hut.

While looking at the menu; Calvin noted that it really did resemble that of Xi'an Kitchen with a few exceptions.

We started with the Preserved Eggs and Tofu a bargain at $4.99.

While not as good as the version we had at Shan Xi Magic Kitchen, this was still decent. The tofu had been adequately drained, the earth-sulfuric tones of the pidan, matched with the scallions and Peppercorn Oil was vey nice. The tofu added a refreshing layer to the dish. I'd been trying to get the Missus to try this at Shan Xi Magic Kitchen, but She wasn't interested. Last time I went, they didn't have it on the menu. I took the leftovers home and the Missus really enjoyed it……..go figure….when will She trust my taste?

Of course we got the Yang Rou Pao Mo ($8.99).

Aside from the waxy, totally wrong bread (hopefully one day they'll get it right here in the states), which I've gotten used to; there were some hard pieces. The broth was too watery and bland. The lamb was nice and tender, but like the broth really lacked the "skatolic" barnyard essense that makes this dish so rich and hearty.

We asked the young lady for a recommendation and she suggested the Spicy Chicken Soup…so to her surprise we ordered the Szechuan "Pork Gut Soup in Casserole" ($10.99)

While there wasn't much intestine in this soup, and what there was didn't seemed to be prepared very well, it sure was spicy….though on the thin side and we both missed the "ma" (numbing) sensation that we enjoy from Sichuan type dishes like this. Again for eleven bucks, the portion size was quite generous.

And so, this would basically be it. Except for all the long days I've been working. At the end of one particularly long day, I told the Missus that I wasn't up to the task of making dinner….so She requested that Pidan and Tofu dish. Take-out on the way home.

The portion size was well worth the $4.99…….until I opened my big fat mouth and said that we could do better just making this ourselves. Sigh. So now it's organic tofu, preserved egg, scallions from the yard, and Sichuan Peppercorn Oil at home.

I also ordered the Cumin Lamb.

Man, this was a good sized portion. Though for my taste, there wasn't enough cumin, nor enough flavor overall. The lamb was thick sliced and rather tough. Thin sliced onion is a nice addition, but the red and green bell peppers seemed like filler. I also missed cilantro in this as well. This was more quantity over quality for me.

Which kind of describes Noodle Hut. I think most folks prefer that. Sorry to say; that's not our preference. Though I'm thinking I need to try the jiaozi here. One of these days.

Noodle Hut
4690 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

 

** Dumpling Hut has closed

I had been wondering what was going on with Dumpling Hut since they closed for a spell. While keeping the Dumpling Hut moniker, the Chinese "name" had changed. The folks at Sizzling Pot King told me they had changed owners, but I hadn't seen any change of ownership notice. Still, even though my meals at Dumpling Hut left something to be desired, I was still curious, so I returned soon after they reopened.

Man, they've really….really, brightened up the place.

Though looking around a bit you notice some interesting "features"…..

The place was really quiet when I visited. I was the only customer….during my entire meal.

I got to thinking that I'm probably the wrong "demographic" when my water arrived….with a twisted straw.

As for what to order, well, the "new" Chinese name had clay pot in it…..

So deciding to play it safe, I ordered the Pork Chop Rice Clay Pot ($11.50). The young man working recommended getting it "spicy". It came out in a donabe style pot…..which I've seen at Daiso for four bucks….in case you want one.

So, not quite "pork chop", more like spareribs, very tough, very salty, very one dimensional in flavor. The best item was the over cooked boiled egg. The broccoli was basically a garnish as it wasn't seasoned at all. The rice was fine; I think I would have preferred the "regular" as this was basically chili oil on rice; it was very greasy, one-dimensional spicy, some anise, and not much else. A lot of rice though.

Well, perhaps these were new owners, but the end result of my meal was the same…….

It was interesting though, Calvin was kind of interested in the place. And one day, (it was Tuesday) we went to Village North which was closed. So Calvin, JohnF, and I headed on over to Dumpling Hut.

Like my previous visit, we were the only folks in the place for the entire meal. I'm thinking this place is targeting a younger demographic after more snack like food and drinks.

We started with the Shenjian Bao ($7.99).

Liked the nicely brown and crisp bottoms of the buns. The texture of the tops were gummy, chewy, and these didn't seemed like they were steamed right. The pork filling wasn't moist enough and was pretty darn bland.

Next up was the "Guotie", I put that in quotes. So these Pork "Potstickers" ($8.99).

Good lord, basically a wrapper enrobing ground pork, then put into a pan and cooked like basic pot stickers. This reminded me of stuff you'd have from the frozen food aisle. I mean, I really didn't expect, say QingDao Guotie, but this was worse than what I'd had here before. Greasy, too chewy, not good eats at all….

The best item we had was the Spicy Tripe Hot Pot ($8.99).

Not very much tripe in this one; but it was prepared decently; perhaps a bit too hard, but properly cleaned. The broth, while rather singularly spicy, with no numbing tones, looked to be bone broth based.

It was back to the "the norm" with the next item. Calvin grew up in the SGV, a mere short walk from 101 Noodle Express….so of course we had to try the Niu Rou Chuan; the Beef Roll ($6.99), which was just plain tragic.

Very dry, not pan fried enough, with a cardboard like texture; the "da bing" was terrible. What's with the lettuce? Smeared with standard issue hoisin, the thin piece of beef was fine…what there was of it.

Check out the "photo" of the beef roll in the front of the restaurant. Does not even look like the same dish.

And to add insult to injury; we liked the look of the Sam Sun Dumplings on the window.

This is what we got ($11.50).

These were very unsatisfactory; the wrappers were too hard and seemed to be typical store bought wrappers. The 1/3 piece of shrimp was fine, but this was underflavored. definitely not what I expected from a place like this….well based on the meal, I should have expected this.

I think this visit was worse than my previous visits under the "previous management". The food was quite underwhelming. I probably won't be going back.

Dumpling Hut
8046 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92111

**** Beauty Hunan has closed

I mentioned in an earlier post that "Beauty Hunan" had quietly opened in the former Szechuan Taste spot.

Except for some additional decorative lamps and paintings of Biàn Liǎn, those "face changing" masks, the place looks the same as on my last visit. Though, those masks are usually found in Sichuan…..so maybe they were just leftover from the previous restaurant?

Speaking of Sichuan….the menu has a mixture of Sichuan, Hunan, some oddball dishes like Lion's Head Meatballs and Egg Foo Young (?!?), and a whole column of totally "ABCDE" (American-Born-Chinese-Dining-Establishment) dishes.

Go figure. There's one soft-spoken, sweet young lady who works here, but everyone….I counted a total of 9 staff on one of my visits is very nice.

On my first visit; a solo affair, I waned two dishes. I went down looking for typical Hunan dishes and they were out of just about everything. I did get something with La Rou. Though it wasn't my favorite La Rou with Suan Do (or even the three smoked meats – La Wei He Zheng ) which is on the menu, but a version with dried bamboo shoots.

In terms of flavor this was much better than what I've had from Village Kitchen. And while some of the pork was on the chewy side, the flavor was spot on; smoky-salty, the rehydrated bamboo crunchy. Peasant food, I took this home and it reminded the Missus of Her grandparents in Hunan…..a bit of salty, slightly spicy La Rou with a lot of rice. The spice level left something to be desired….though we tend to enjoy the heat level at places like Hunan Chilli King.

So I had worked my way through some of the dishes and struck out; so the nice young lady told me to order something called "Pork Belly w/ Preserved Napa in Brown Sauce" ($11.65). Not sure what this was going to be; I chuckled when it arrived at the table….it was Mei Cai Kou Rou; which, correct me if I'm wrong, is more of Hakka dish.

There was one thing fairly true to the Hunan taste. This lacked any sweetness at all. Not much saltiness either….just kind of bland and the mei cai was too hard a chewy. The pork belly had been done decently, it was "chopstick tender", but this was quite bland for my taste. I thought that even Facing East made a superior version of this dish.

Anyway, I took the Smoked Pork dish home and the Missus really enjoyed the left-overs, so not feeling like cooking one evening, we headed back. Looking over the menu for dishes we struck out again. The Missus wanted some Liang Cai – cold dishes, and it was no Bueno; no pork ear, chicken feet, duck tongue….so we ended up with a total routine Bean Curd Skin.

Basically bean curd skin, nice and crunchy, in a decent Chili Peppercorn Oil. Though this tasted like something I'd make at home.

We tried to order the La Rou with Dry Beans again, but still no Bueno and got the version with bamboo, which ironically, is not on the menu.

We wanted a vegetable dish, but after trying a couple of items from the menu that wasn't available; we got the Leek with Shredded Lotus Root ($8.65).

We both enjoyed this simple dish; the lotus root nice and crunchy, though the pungent chives gives the Missus heartburn. I'll probably end up making something similar at home in the near future.

One weekend afternoon, needing a late lunch; like 230pm, Village North was closed so we decided to head back to Beauty Hunan. Where we tried for the Smoke Pork with Dry Beans again….and again ended up with the version with Dried Bamboo, which the Missus enjoyed anyway.

Looking at the menu, I noticed something called "Preserved Egg and Eggplant with Jalapeno" ($11.65). I  asked the Missus and She said that yes indeed, this is the same dish that we enjoy at Village Kitchen. Hmmm….I'm wondering…..

This was a fairly large portion size, and while spicier than the version at Village Kitchen, it is not as well executed. Not nearly as creamy, some of the pieces of eggplant were huge and not as tender, and without that nice earthiness of the eggplant and light sulfuric touch of the preserved egg.

Pretty much at a lost, we decided to just get the Dry Cooked Pork Intestine ($12.65) which was much to salty and not very spicy.

The intestine was not cleaned very well and was too rubbery and we did without a doubt miss the "ma" (numbing) sensation of the Sichuan version of this dish. We did enjoy the Chinese celery in this, but that's about it.

So, I'm not sure if or when Beauty Hunan will have it's full on menu. right now it's a "one-trick-pony" for us. The customer demographic is kind of interesting; a lot of guys ordering the "ABC" dishes during my lunch visits, interspersed with young folk ordering stuff like the Dry Pot items. We thought the service was nice, not perfect, but really nice young folk. I'm not sure when I'll be back for a full meal….though I think the Missus is going to want the La Rou from here…..in whatever form the have it.

Beauty Hunan Restaurant
8199 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92111

**** Village North has closed

Almost two months since I first visited Village North, it remains a somewhat quirky enigma. I've visited and they've been closed….seems they are closed on Tuesdays. They don't have hours formally posted…..just scribbled on the portable grease board. And what's with the "Soft Opening" sign still up? I asked if they were still in their soft opening period and got an interesting answer; seems that their permanent sign hasn't arrived yet….so they are still air quotes, in "soft opening" mode.

Still, I really like the young folks who work here….they are friendly and very nice. And the décor is no shrinking violet; though the Chinese Rap music can be a bit much and there was the time one of the guys was on the small stage trying out VR gear.

After having me pick-up the Suan Cai Hot Pot to go a couple of times, the Missus finally decided we should drop by for dinner.

Which turned out to be a nice meal. This time we ordered the Stir Fried Version of Suan Cai and Pork; simply called "Sour Cabbage" ($12.99) on the menu.

Man, this was good. The textures and seasoning; with garlic and star anise was just the way the Missus likes this dish. It was pleasantly slightly gooey and comforting. These guys really know how to stir fry. The Missus had a new second favorite.

I say second favorite because She really enjoyed the Pork Intestines in Dry Pot ($12.99).

I really hesitated in ordering any Sichuan here; but man, this was really good. Every ingredient had been nicely prepped and seasoned separately. The intestine had been expertly cleaned and even had that inner "fatty" layer. I've never had them ask me "how spicy" here; something I like and respect. This was nicely "ma-la". The Missus immediately said that this was a level above Sizzling Pot King in prep and execution. I've now had this a couple of times with other folks and they all agree; this version is quite good.

Lily and I decided to take "YZ" out for a celebratory lunch and they (as usual) let me pick. My choice….Village North. We had some of the usual suspects; but also ordered a couple of more traditional Dongbei style dishes. Starting with one of the classic dishes; Dongbei La Pi; mung bean sheets in sort of a salad, Multicolor Clear Noodle ($11.99) on the menu.

Again very nice prep; everything from the thinly sliced vegetables to the pork and egg was seasoned separately. The dressing; a sesame paste black vinegar concoction; with a touch of wasabi tasted like a lighter version of what I make at home; though without as much sesame paste. It's a nice combination of nutty-sour-sweet. Pretty good overall; this will go well during hotter weather.

We also tried something simply called "Stewed Assorted Delicacies" ($18.99 – 农家一锅鲜) on the menu.

Basically a dish of stewed/braised pork ribs; which is then stir fried with corn, potatoes, and green bell peppers. This wasn't very good; it was basically too salty; the pork ribs were on the tough side. The best items were the corn and potatoes.

Still we'd had some of the other dishes and both Lily and "YZ" really enjoyed things….especially the suan cai.

Hearing that this place had the Missus's approval; my "Food Gang" decided we should have dinner here. We ordered a bunch of stuff I'd had from previous meals; the suan cai, intestine dry pot, guo bao rou, di san Xian, and a couple of new ones. Our young server recommended something simply called "Flank Steak" ($15.99) on the menu. It arrived looking all the world like Chinese Black Pepper Beef.

The was another winner. The beef wasn't tender per se; it was toothsome without being tough, with a nice display of the stir fry skills, which in this case seems to be velveting.

We also ordered some chuan'r (skewers), which were fairly sub-par.

The lamb really needed much more cumin….the mantou….was topped with sugar…if this were Beijing; I think it would be brushed with a sweet bean sauce. I know this is what Xiāngjiāo was hoping for. Alas, it was not to be.

During one of my take-out visits; the really nice young man who works here named "Victor" told me his favorite item on the menu was the Fried Shrimp with Dried Red Pepper ($14.99). So when I recently dropped by for lunch; I ordered it.

This was pretty good; crunchy shells, the whole numbing-hot ("ma-la") thing going on. Nicely prepared….like I said…these guys do real well with a wok.

Though in terms of seasoning; the Zi Ran Yang Rou – Cumin Lamb ($14.99) left much to be desired in terms of cumin-spicy-salty tones.

So, in the end, we have a nice new option. I'm still not quite sure of everything on the menu…….but perhaps that's the fun of exploring. I think there are dishes on the menu to entice the beer-drinking, young crowd…..but then again, there's some serious cooking skills on display with some of the dishes.

Village North
4428 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

**** This place is no longer

Since my first post on this place a few weeks back, I've been back a couple of times. On a stormy night, a group of my friends got together….we managed to steam up the windows on half the restaurant.

And we got to sample the won ton soup here which Eater San Diego mentioned as well.

It seems like they are slowly adding things to the menu.

The Missus and I went once. But as She says, it can get pretty old after a while. What doesn't get old, at least on cold nights for us is the "tang", the bone based broth. What we found out was that they sell the broth, it's $4.99 for the large version. We really like the "extra spicy" version of this bone based broth.

Which ends up being 2-3 meals for us…..

After picking up the broth, head to the new 99 Ranch Market. The Missus favorite items? Wintermelon, daikon, a variety of bean curd products, bean thread, various vegetables…you name it. Because the broth is nicely rich; it seems like we go mostly vegetarian on this.

Talk about a warming meal that will leave you with a nice sheen of sweat on your forehead (the extra spicy is not super spicy), with a nice "ma" (numbing) to go along with a slight chili induced endorphin high. Can you say "aaaah".

It's worth the slight communication thing…..I had the Missus spell out the broth in Chinese, but just tried to order "tang". The sweet young lady, thinking I was speaking English hilariously pointed to the duck tongues.

The folks working have always been quite accommodating and friendly to us.

So as the next storm moves into San Diego….maybe grabbing some of the hot pot broth and your favorite items (I saw them packing 10 portions of broth and fixins to go during my last visit) might be a nice option for spending a "night in".

Private Kitchens
5440 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92117

**** FuAn Garden has closed

During this past summer FuAn Garden officially changed course and owners. Going from Sichuan to Cantonese fare. One of the main players was a former manager of Jasmine. I tried the place and had a terrible meal. Then according to what I understand, there was a major kitchen revolt and the manager was booted. And then I noticed a sign while driving by announcing lunch specials.

Man, $6.99….how good could the food here be now? Well, with the help of Calvin, several visits were made and we got to try out a good amount of the lunch specials.

In case you're thinking that the $6.99 specials were basically going to be egg noodle soup, porridge, and vegetable dishes, you'd be wrong. I was surprised to see some seafood item, though I remained somewhat skeptical about the quality of the dishes.

So here's a rundown of the items we had; best to worst.

In terms of texture, the Salt and Pepper Squid might have been the best overall.

Notice I didn't say technique. Though the squid was impressively tender and decently seasoned, batter was peeling off the squid, showing some lack of good technique. It was also not very crisp; like the oil used for frying wasn't at optimum temp.

Coming in a close second was the Stir Fried Pork Stomach (intestines) with Chili Pepper.

Edging on being too greasy and with little or no spiciness; this was still a decent dish. The intestines were nicely prepped; just the right amount of funk and chew, the vegetables were crisp, and this was mildly seasoned, so you could make out all flavors of the peppers, scallion, intestine.

The Missus's favorite dish; at least for two of the four times I bought it was the Gailan with Preserved Pork (la rou).

This was the first lunch special item I ordered on a solo visit. The portion size was large enough that I ended taking half of it home. The Missus loves La Rou and on this first visit the gailan was perfect; the stalks cooked but crunchy, and the leaves not over cooked. The seasoning was simple which suited this perfectly. So, during my other lunch visits; I'd order this to go for the Missus. The second time it was decent; but the last two times the gailan was blanched too long and was rubbery. After which, the Missus stopped requesting it.

It's hard to mess up simple Soy Sauce Noodles. Which might be the only thing over priced on this $6.99 menu.

The noodles were on the hard side, the presentation left something to be desired, and this was bit too salty.

The Eggplant in the Eggplant with Fermented Bean Curd; basically Yu Hsiang ("Fish Flavored"), was much too sweet and this was on the greasy side.

Though the texture of the eggplant was fair.

The Bittermelon with Black Bean Sauce was terrible.

An overcooked, greasy-gloppy mess, displaying some haphazard wok skills. Way too salty; bitter garlic….'nuff said.

Perhaps my least favorite item here…mainly because of flavor and portion size, the Roast Duck Rice.

Well geez, look at all that broccoli. This was basically the bottom two thirds of a duck leg with the meat and skin splayed out to make it look like more than it was. This was mostly bone. The skin was pleasantly crisp, but had very little of the beany-salty-sweet tones of a good roast duck. The meat was super bland. The rice was on the hard side and I wish they'd put a bit more jus on the rice. Well, I made fun of the broccoli, but that might have been the best item on this plate.

It's hard to complain too much about a $6.99 lunch item. Some things were decent and a good value; others rather uneven. One of the women who works here is very nice. I'd say while your mileage may vary, it might be worth checking out the lunch specials here. It might even be a good alternative to Golden City once in a while. It's even cheaper too.

Fuan Garden Seafood Restaurant
4768 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111