Category: Chinese Restaurants

Our initial visit to the "New Spicy City", was fairly good, so we decided to have dinner there a few nights later. This time, the menu said very clearly; "Si Chuan Garden Spicy City", and the Server told us, that the Owners are indeed the Owners of Yun Gui Garden(or whatever it may be called now…they seem to reinvent themselves more often than Madonna!).

Again we started with a plate of cold dishes(3 items $5.50):

Again with the Chicken Feet, which the Missus said was "even better than the last time". The thinly sliced Pig Ear, was gummy and tasteless, and the Seaweed, was not bad, if on the salty end.

We decided to start out with one of the few Yunnan dishes I’d ever heard of Yunan style Steamed Chicken in Clay Pot($8.99):

This should actually be called chicken bones in medicinal, overly sweet soup. The broth looked rich, but was because the flavor of rock sugar was so strong, it ruined the soup. There was a bunch of wing tips, and some rib pieces, but only about a scant 2-3Tb of actual chicken meat in the dish. Washed out lychee and wolf berries finished up the soup, which the Missus said reminded Her of "Chinese punishment medicine!" Whatever that means.

Fried Lamb with Cumin($9.99):

Cumin Lamb is a favorite of mine…unfortunately, this version of that dish is not. The lamb was cooked over too low a temperature, making the meat mushy. There was not enough cumin, and even though it looks spicy it was strangely not. On the good side, this was not very oily…..

Sheesh, what a difference from our previous visit…….. However, we just needed to give it another go, and recently went for lunch. When we arrived the place was only half full, but there were 2 large parties having lunch, by the time we left, the place was totally slammed, and people waiting for tables. It was an interesting crowd…all of the non-Chinese seemed a bit puzzled by the menu, and there were some interesting things we observed, which we’ll go into later. Right now, let’s get on with the food.

We started with Fried Cured Pork w/Dried String Beans actually, not….we ordered that dish($8.99), but was brought this:

La Rou Chao La – Preserved/Cured pork (think Chinese bacon), stir fried (Chao) with leeks and red bell peppers. When we asked about this, we were told that they were out of Dried String Beans so they made us this instead….how about a sarcastic "how thoughtful" for this one? We’d have appreciated being told they were out of something, instead of just going ahead and serving us whatever they felt like making. As with most La Rou dishes, this was salty…in fact that’s about all it was….salty.

Yunnan Style Dried Beef($8.99):

Thinly sliced, seasoned dried beef (think beef jerky) is  fried to crisp up the edges, tossed with some chilies, and served. Like the La Rou you can see that this was another style of serving meat that had been preserved, before the days of refrigeration. The flavor is like that of a mild spiced, salty, soy flavored beef jerky, there was a mildly "fishy" quality to the beef that the Missus didn’t like, but I enjoyed it. This would be great beer food.

Chungking style fish w/Pickled Chili Pepper($9.99):

Supposedly, one of the "specialties" of the house, there was a nice amount of preserved vegetable,  but not a single Pao Jiao(pickled chili) in sight! Much to our surprise, this wasn’t spicy in the least bit…..not even a sheen of sweat developed on my forehead! The fish was cooked adequately, soft, but not melt in the mouth soft, the preserved vegetable had a decent vinegary-salty punch, but was obviously dumped into the dish and not given a chance to impart any flavor to the broth.

Finally, the dish simply known as Spicy & Spicy(La Chao La – $7.99) on the menu. Since the Restaurant was so busy, a very nice older Gentleman who looked like one of the Owners, or a Manager, took our order….but when the Missus asked him in Mandarin what was in the dish, he didn’t know…he had to ask one of the Servers!

At last, we have a winner! Chopped preserved Pork, preserved vegetable, and smoked bean curd, stir fried, with chilies, this hit on all cylinders….spicy(at last a bit of sweat), sour(kick of the preserved vegetable), and maybe a bit too salty….a little seemed to go with a large amount of rice. This I’d have again, though I don’t know if I’ll be back to Si Chuan Garden anytime soon.

Now for the people watching part….it started with 2 Gentleman with German accents, first marching on in, looking over the menu, and demanding "lunch specials". When told there were no lunch specials, one of the men orders the Fish Fillet with Chopped Hot Chili Pepper….when the dish arrives, he gives the young lady who is just totally crushed with customers a dismissive wave, and tells her, "no-no-no you cannot make food like that it is too spicy, take it back!" Ok, first off, this is a Sichuan/Yunnan Restaurant, not PF Chang’s or Panda Express, secondly, he did order a dish with Chopped Hot Chili Pepper, didn’t he……what did he think this was? And we wonder how food gets dumbed down, or why people get told "you no like that"…. Meanwhile, the last open table was taken by 4 middle aged Chinese Women, who as soon as seated started making demands…."hurry and take our order, hurry up…" as soon as their order was taken, it was "where’s our food, you’re taking too long." Demanding and whining are a deadly duo! The Missus whispered to me; "these are the times when I’m embarrassed to be Chinese…" I simply replied, "remember the Chili’s and Applebees rule; if these ladies were seated in Chili’s or Applebees there’s no way they’d be acting so obnoxious and demanding. Some kind of Darwinistic switch gets turned on when they enter a Chinese restaurant." I remember learning that one of the major differences between Humans and Animals is the ability to feel empathy….guess where on that scale I thought these ladies belonged? This was just 2 of the 3 ringed circus going on as the place was totally slammed……. I think I’ll be eating at my desk for a while!

Spicy City Chinese Restaurant
4690 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

Open Daily 11am – 930pm

Last week, I noticed that Spicy City had a new identity…..as per the new sign.

Yep, the sign still says Spicy City, but in Chinese it says "Across the Bridge Garden"…which made us think it’s referencing the famous Yunnan dish Across the Bridge Rice Noodles(check out the link – it has the story behind the dish). This was great news to the Missus and I, not that the old Spicy City was bad…..we used to be regulars at Spicy City when we first moved to San Diego. In fact we used to eat there 2-3 times a week. However, after a very, very, bad, insulting, and just plain nasty experience, we stopped visiting. For 6 years……

Now under new ownership, the Missus and I couldn’t wait to check things out, even though they  have only been open for less than a week. Things have been rearranged a bit from what I can recall, and though the Spicy City menu is still in use, there is a laminated sheet with mostly Sichuan, and a few Yunnan dishes on it. This menu is pretty large……menu overload quickly kicked in.

The Missus was quickly attracted to something in the cold dishes section, and quickly ordered a plate of various appetizers:

Yep, it was those chicken feet, they didn’t look like much, but were terrific, mixed with Pao Jiao(pickled peppers), seasoned with some sesame oil, five spice, et al…this was very, very good….I called it Kwai Fei Chicken Feet.

The Bean Curd Skin noodles were on the bland side, and the Fuqi Feipian was very tough, and also on the bland side.

The Across the Bridge Rice Noodle(Guo Qiao Mi Xian – $6.99):

Rare chicken, bean curd skin, and other items are put into a hot chicken based broth, followed by rice noodles. The broth had a nice layer of oil, a requirement for this dish. Overall, it is very mild……sort of like Pho Ga(Chicken Pho).

The Chicken with Chilies Airpot($8.95), was brought to the table kept hot by the lit "sterno".

 

This was a very good dish, the chicken was cooked perfectly, it was moist and tender. The heat was just mildly-spicy(by our standards), and a combination of peppers were used for heat. It was very clear that the dishes used a much "lighter hand" when it came to spices and oil in comparison to Ba Ren and Dede’s. We took the leftovers home, where it went well with rice.

Spicy Cold Noodles($5.28):

This was a very strange dish…..it was very tasty with a good amount of vinegar, Sichuan pickled vegetable, minced pork, et al….but the noodles were terrible; hard and brittle, like they hadn’t been cooked. The Missus inquired, and the very friendly Server told her, that perhaps the noodles were a bit "undercooked"…and in the very practical Chinese way, told Her, that "by the time you get home, the noodles will soak up the flavor, and be better!" Which cracked us up…..the same Lady gave us some of  her beauty tips. When the Missus commented on how nice her complexion was, she replied; "of course, because I eat chili peppers everyday…."

Now for the interesting part. We know that this is an extension of a Los Angeles Restaurant, we weren’t quite sure which restaurant is the one in question, is it Yun Gui Garden (formerly Hua’s Garden and Yunnan Garden), or Hua’s in Arcadia…this would become clear in a future visit.

Spicy City Chinese Restaurant
4690 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

Part 2 can be found here.

I’d like to dedicate this one to FOY JeffreyC, whose Pao Jiao search remained fixed in my mind as I ate!

In part 1 of this post, I went over some of the lunch specials available at Little Sheep, so it’s about time to post on the hot pot. Just the subject of Huo Guo can be a vast universe of choices and personal preferences, so I’ll divide this post into little chunks…..all the better for digestion!

What is this sheet?

Yes, the menu at Little Sheep is a sheet……actually more of a checklist, makes things pretty easy, you just start checking things off.

The list is divided into sections for meat, vegetables, seafood, various "grilled" dishes(not for the hot pot), tofu, and other items, along with the prices. If you’re having Hot Pot you check off what type of broth you desire($3.75 per person), be it only the "Original" (non-spicy), "Spicy" (Ma-La Guo),  Vegetarian, or "Half and Half" (Yuan Yang Guo), which gives you the best of both worlds……

Is it soup yet?

Soon after taking your order the pot of "broth" arrives at your table, and the heat is turned on. This pot soon becomes a boiling cauldron, with all sorts of "bits" floating around…..

Something like a total of 32 different flavorings is used for the two broths, probably to make the Colonel feel insignificant for using only 11 herbs and spices…… You’ll find everything from whole garlic cloves, ginger, to longan floating in the broth. Flavor wise, I much prefer the milky, rich, and tasty mild broth, I think the spicy broth, though nice and spicy, to be a bit "flat". It also depends on what various items you’ve ordered for your hot pot, some ingredients tend to go better with the spicy broth. One other note, having visited several times, we noticed that the flavor and oil content of the broth varied from visit to visit. So it is probably a good idea to get the combination. The hot pot also has 2 different eating/serving utensils for each person, one is simply a spoon, the other is a strainer, for fishing out all the good bits.

Where’s the Beef?

Now comes the fun part, all the "stuff". You should be served meat first, because meat will add flavor to the broth, and to everything else that comes after. Once we were served all our vegetables and noodles first, which is a faux pas. Our favorite items are…well since this is Little Sheep, not Little Pig, or Small Cow…..Lamb of course.

There are two different cuts of Lamb available; the fatty "Supreme Lamb" Shoulder Cut(above – $6.50), and the "Premium Lamb Leg"(right – $5.95).  The premium cut is a bit leaner, and does well with the spicy broth. Our favorite is the fatty lamb, which is divine after a light dunk in the original broth. As you notice all meats are cut thin…and when the quality of the Supreme Lamb is good, it almost melts in your mouth(if you don’t over cook it).

Overall, we have the found the quality of the meat to usually be pretty good, from the Premium Beef(right – $5.95), to the Pork Belly, to the Beef Tendon (below – $4.95), which I thought was going to be really tough, but ended up being pretty good. While I’m on the tendon(no pun intended) one quick note; at Little Sheep you aren’t served the usual array of sauces, like the leek sauce or fermented tofu. The belief is that the broth has so much flavor you won’t need it. If you want sauces, you’ll be charged for them. There were a few items like the tendon that would be much better with the addition of some leek sauce.

One item we didn’t enjoy were the Lamb Meat Balls($6.95).

Rubbery and bland, I’ll pass on these in the future.

To Dunk or not to Dunk, is that a question?

Among the cornucopia of items available are glass noodles($2.95):

As much as the Missus loves these, they have to cook for a short while, which means they have to be "dunked" in the broth. Fishing these out can be problematic, the noodles become a net for all the herbs, and other detritus. So if you don’t mind eating a bunch of herbs stuck in your noodles…..Otherwise, stick with something a bit thicker in girth. Also, glass noodles get mushy when overcooked, which I don’t care for, but if it floats your boat……

Frozen tofu acts like a flavor sponge, and left to it’s own devices will absorb wonderful flavors from the broth. Which leads to the question, do I dip, or do I dunk? Well there are items that have to be dunked and cook, or like the frozen tofu benefit from a leisurely bath. One of my favorite items is the Lamb Wontons($4.95):

These taste better in the spicy broth. The nice wildness of the lamb stands up well to the heat. And of course these babies should be left to simmer until they start back-floating across the steamboat…..

Personally, I think high quality, thinly sliced meats should not be left to their own devices, but need adult supervision. Once cooked to just below your desired doneness they should be removed from the heat and consumed. If left to become stew meat they get tough, or break-up into little pieces in the broth….well maybe your Glass Noodle net will be able to catch a few pieces….. Like I said, everyone has their own technique and strategy.

Most of the veggies on the list, like our favorite Watercress($3.95), will do okay if dunked:

Is it just me or is it getting hot in here?

Ah yes, the social aspect of Huo Guo. Much like the dishes that Hot Pot is often associated with, Fondue and Shabu Shabu, Huo Guo is a social event of sorts. Groups of people gathering over a communal cauldron of of boiling liquid adding flavorful ingredients, while chatting and laughing, is a fun time.

Whenever we’re eating at Little Sheep, I always make several trips to the washroom, not because I need to go, but just to check out what’s going on at the other tables…..one table of three young guys, with 6 plates of meat, and the only green item on the table are the beer bottles. Another table of a older Gentleman and a Young Man, having dinner with a Young Lady. The older Guy and the young lady are having a nice conversation, while the Young Man(obviously the guy’s son) staring into the bubbling stock, looking very uncomfortable, is just stuffing himself silly so as not have to talk. Looks like some matchmaking going on here… A group of middle aged women having a raucous time at one of the larger tables in the back, while piling  handfuls of Napa Cabbage into the pot…..

A young couple, who, you can tell by the mannerisms(there ain’t no slurping going on here), and very controlled movements, have probably been dating for a very short while, or maybe for the first time. People watching can be half the fun……..

Just remember to have some broth at the end of your meal…after all, you had a hand in creating it.

Ah yes, the prices…those familiar with Hot Pot in Los Angeles are in for a bit of sticker shock, all items reflect the "San Diego premium", which in most cases is about $1(or more) per item. That said, the quality and portions are about the same as we’ve gotten in LA. Service is generally good (except for the time we were brought our veggies first), and there is one hard working Woman(who seems to be there all the time), who doesn’t say much, but now recognizes us, and always gives us a smile.Which is what I’m usually doing after a nice meal at Little (Fat) Sheep……smiling, that is.

Little Sheep Mongolian Hot Pot & Grill
4718 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92117

Mon-Sun 11:30am -3:00 5:30pm – 9:00pm
Fri-Sat 11:30am -3:00 5:30pm – 10:00pm
Sun 11:30am -3:00 5:30pm – 9:30pm   

Here’s Candice Woo’s article from CityBeat.

And Professor Salt did a nice post here.

What the heck was I doing at a Chinese Fast Food joint on Miramar Road you may ask……

Well, over the last 2 years, I’ve received at least 5 emails extolling the high quality and flavor of the Char Siu at Chung Hing. One of them said, "don’t get anything but the BBQ pork", another perhaps less reliable person said "gotta get that BBQ pork, and really good old school Chinese stuff like egg foo yung and cream cheese won tons." Egg foo yung and cream cheese won tons? Still, when I thought about it, I don’t consider those Salt and Pepper Chicken Wings I love so much, Chinese Food, but that doesn’t stop me from enjoying them. And who knows, maybe the Char Siu at Chung Hing might be really, really, good.

The interior of Chung Hing is cramped, with tables squeezed in to maximize capacity. The offerings at Chung Hing are like an encyclopedia of Chinese Fast Food. Beef Broccoli, Egg Rolls, and yes, a hand written sign, "BBQ Pork, $7.95/lb." I walked up and ordered the pork from the lady who eyed me with some suspicion. "BBQ pork, huh?" "Yes, BBQ pork….." She brought out several steaming hunks of meat and chopped them for me. I headed home, since a large pot of rice was waiting for me.

I must say, the Char Siu was very fresh, still steaming. But, though the meat was soft and juicy, the flavors were much too mild, not sweet enough, not rich enough, not enough fat. It had the texture of a regular pork roast, and lacked the mild beaniness and the complex depth of sweetness of good char siu.

After a few bites, I decided to let the Char Siu "rest" until the next day. And yes, the next day, the flavors were better, the texture of the meat had more of the tighter texture I’m used to in Char Siu. Not bad……not great, but not bad at all. I still miss the Char Siu and Roast  Pork at places like Oahu Market and for some reason Island Manapua Factory in Manoa, and several other come to mind……

Chung Hing
7160 Miramar Rd
San Diego, CA 92121

So now what to do? Well, I decided to make one of my carb-loaded easy dishes. Stir Fried Egg Noodles, with Soy Sauce and bean sprouts. Really easy stuff. The only thing I do a bit different, is that I don’t boil those noodles, they get really mushy, and the texture is all wrong. Instead, I give them a quick rinse, than steam them for 8-10 minutes before stir frying them.

Just an easy stir-fried noodles dish…..

 

We were pretty excited when we first spotted the sign for Little Sheep. Though for some reason, once the restaurant opened we just never made it. Perhaps it was the weather being a bit too hot, or maybe we were just in a rut following our return from Peru. Than came a really hectic period, I got sick, the wildfires struck, I got food poisoning, etc, etc, etc……..

Whatever the reason, we finally got our act together, and made it over to Little Sheep. And though the selection for hot pot items looked very tempting……

A FOY (friend of yoso) had sent me an email regarding the lunch specials listed on the placards at each table. We found the restaurant empty except for one other table. And after giving the regular menu sheet a quick once over, and ordering a few things, we checked out the lunch time offerings.

Cold Pork Jelly ($4.95), this was from the menu sheet. If you’re a regular reader, you already know that I enjoy "jellied meats", tender connective tissue, head cheese, et al…..

This was pretty solid and chewy, served in a little pool of a soy mixture which added just about the only discernible flavor, other than the cilantro, to the dish. The Missus said, that in most versions She’s had, the jellied meat is topped with minced garlic, which would have been a welcome addition here.

Lamb Skewers($4.95), also from the menu sheet.

The lamb meat had some chew, but wasn’t overly tough. What was lacking was flavor, not enough cumin, not enough salt killed this street food favorite. We had ordered these "spicy", but the skewers were still very, very mild.

Beef Noodle Soup with Hand Sliced Noodle (Dao Xiao Mien – $6.95).)

I had been for warned by our FOY, that the Beef Noodle Soup was very bland. But since I love Dao Xiao Mien(Knife Cut Noodles) I had to give this a try. And yes, that broth was lousy, totally devoid of flavor, it was not even salty. I added chili oil, salt, soy sauce….uh-uh, not very good. The 3 thin slices of beef were flavorless, dry, and tough. Too bad, because the noodles were not half bad, much better than the Late Jamillah Garden’s doughy version. This version had a decent chew, along with some pull, and wasn’t shaved too thick. One more thing, we couldn’t believe how much noodle was in this soup……it seemed like an endless amount. Talk about a carb fest…….noodles upon noodles.

The Cumin Lamb Stir Fry($8.95):

This should have just been called Salted Lamb Stir Fry. Again, not enough cumin, and too much salt. Not even close to the version served at Dede’s.

House Casserole($12.95)

A light, but flavorful broth, with "Thousand Layer Tofu"(aka frozen tofu) soaking up the flavor, this was by far the Missus’s favorite of the day. It tasted even better as left overs. The bean thread in the dish along with the Napa Cabbage added substance, though the meat was on the tough side. Still, I’m not quite sure this is worth almost $13…….

I’m sure we weren’t the only ones wondering how Little Sheep will survive the warm, and sometimes downright hot summers. If this is any indication, it may be tough. But for now, as it gets cooler we will enjoy the Hot Pot at Little Sheep.

Little Sheep Mongolian Hot Pot & Grill
4718 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92117

Mon-Sun 11:30am -3:00 5:30pm – 9:00pm
Fri-Sat 11:30am -3:00 5:30pm – 10:00pm
Sun 11:30am -3:00 5:30pm – 9:30pm   

In Part 2 we’ll do the Hot Pot……