Chinese Restaurants – Page 73

Lee’s, Um No It’s, Ly’s Garden, Or Is It?

February 26, 2006 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Vietnamese Restaurants

**** After a very long run; Ly's has closed

Recently, we've been eating at all of our regular Chinese Restaurants; China Max, Ba Ren, and yes, even at the "ABCDE" special, Mandarin Canton. For a change of pace, and for the sake of "material" for a new post, I needed to find someplace new to eat. Just then it came to me, let's try Lee's Garden, we hadn't eaten there in years. The Missus was game, so off we went for a nice weekday lunch. As we took the turn at 54th street, the Missus grabbed my arm and said "turn around, turn around, you just went past it!" Me: "Are you sure?" The Missus:"Turn around I just saw it on our right!"

So I did two U-turns, and drove into the seedy strip mall parking lot. And there it was:

Or was it? This was Ly's Garden…. I mentioned this to the Missus, who responded; "How many Ly's/Lee's Garden do you think is going to be on this street?" "OK, I just thought they were on the other side of the street."

We entered the Restaurant, and surveying the cavernous, but slightly run down interior, I knew immediately, that this wasn't the "Lee's Garden" I was thinking about. But the display of roast pork and duck hanging in the display was calling to me. We were immediately seated by the most cheerful server, and opened the menu. And oh my, the prices….. Just to keep this interesting, let's play a little game. I won't reveal the prices of each dish, and we ordered alot of food, until near the end of the description of each dish.

We ordered a bowl of Won Ton Soup, which came with a plate of bean sprouts and lemon:

The steaming hot bowl of soup was delivered, with a few slices of fishcake, lots of fried garlic, green onions, cilantro, and even some Gailan. And it was a good thing; the broth was on the mild side and needed a little "help".

The wontons were typical Vietnamese-style wontons, very dense pork meatballs. There were 8 wontons in this decent bowl of soup, that cost us…..guess, 4 bucks, maybe $4.50? Well……..

It was $2.75!!! Yes, less then 3 bucks for won ton soup.

The Missus also ordered Porridge with Pork and Preserved Egg:

The porridge was served steaming hot, but was on the watery side, with hardly any preserved egg. Also, the Missus noted that the pork in the porridge was almost like ground pork, not the strings of pork She is used too. The Missus noted a lack of pork flavor and velvety richness that a good bowl of Jook has.

The price? Yep, $2.75……

I ordered one of the most expensive items on the menu. 3 Meats with Steamed rice. While waiting for my lunch this arrived on the table.

I asked the Server what this was, and was informed that it came with the roast meat dish. So hey, another meat. This rich beef-pork broth, along with the soft meat from the pork shank was delici-yoso!!! I'd be happy with just a bowl of this. The broth had the flavor close to that of Pho', but with a bit more "oil" and richness.

As I was polishing this off, my plate arrived:

I had ordered Roast Pork, BBQ Pork (Char Siu), and Roast Duck, all of which came on a bed of Jasmine rice. The BBQ pork was moist, but really too mildly flavored, lacking any of the sweet-beany-saltiness that good BBQ pork has. The duck was also underwhelming and the meat lacked the rich flavor of good roast duck. The Roast pork was pretty good, the skin portions crunchy, the meat slightly sweet and very moist.

This set me back……$4.50!

The Missus, not believing how inexpensive the food was, had to get something else, and went to the deli case and ordered the Shrimp and Chive fried dumplings($2.95):

These were fried up, and arrived on our table a few minutes later. Though a bit on the oily side, the chive and shrimp filling was quite good. And no skimping on the chives either!

In the end we spent $14(without tip), for 4 dishes! Bargain city…….

Some notes on Ly's: The service here was very nice and friendly. The parking lot looks a bit dicey, but there were 2 Security Guards walking around. The atmosphere is quite "divey", but the good service made up for any shortcomings. All prices are for lunch, I think that prices are a dollar more during dinner.

Ly's may not be a "Foodie" destination; but if you're in the neighborhood, and short on cash, Ly's is worth a visit. You will get what you pay for.

Ly's Garden Chinese Restaurant
4350 54th St # B
San Diego, CA 92115

After lunch we drove further down 54th St, and to our left, there it was, Lee's Garden. A Ly and Lee on the same street? Talk about confusion! Guess where we'll be headed next? To Be Continued…….

Chinese Garden Restaurant

February 21, 2006 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants

Don’t you love the name? After all even if there wasn’t the word "Chinese" in the name, all it would need would need is "Garden", "Dragon", "Imperial", or something similar – I’m sure you all will be able to think of a long list, to tell you it’s a Chinese Restaurant. Actually, Chinese Garden is our neighborhood Chinese Restaurant, located in our local, a bit worn, stuck in the 70’s, strip mall, with the usual fast-food(Carl’s Jr, Mickey D’s, Subway), and similar type establishments (Hometown Buffet, Mountain Mike’s Pizza).

Truth of the matter is, I’d only visited Chinese Garden once, right before we purchased our Home in the area. It was raining, and a bit cold, and I thought, I’d grab a quick bite before doing a walk through. I went in a had the buffet($6.45 – lunch), and have never been back since. Let’s just say the food was appropriate in taste and texture for the majority of the customers I saw. See the building hovering above the "Chinese Garden" marquee? It’s a Senior Living complex. ‘Nuff said.

But during a recent afternoon; I needed to return some DVD’s to Blockbuster(in the strip mall), and decided to walk the three blocks instead of driving. And since it’s been a bit on the chili side, I thought I’d give Chinese Garden another visit. Not to punish myself, but to attempt to become one of the "Millions of Happy Customers!"

I always smile when I see that sign. Though the menu says Mandarin, Szechuan, & Chinese Cuisine, I always ask myself, isn’t Mandarin & Szechuan Chinese? Oh well, as you can probably figure with items like Chop Suey and Hawaiian Delight(???), on the menu, Chinese Garden is an ABCDE (pronounced abb-cee-dee – American Born Chinese Dining Establishment).

The decor of the brightly lit interior is pure time capsule 60-70’s Chinese Restaurant, from the large Koi painting, to the faux hanging lanterns.

I decided not to partake of the buffet (with good reason), and instead went for a bowl of War (Wor) Wonton Soup, which was fairly inexpensive at $5.75. I’m not quite sure what the origins are of this soup, to me it’s plain ABCDE.

After a short wait, the Server brought me a pretty large bowl of soup. The first thing I noticed was the abundance of "canned items". Lot’s of bamboo shoots, water chestnut, and button mushrooms. Also the broth was very under flavored. Even more strange, only the whites parts of Napa Cabbage was used. However, the shrimp still had flavor(5 pieces), and there were seven large wontons in the crowded bowl. Even though the appearance of the wontons kind of reminded me of brain matter, they were very soft, not like the dense pork meatball I was accustomed to. I’m wondering if this was due to a larger amount of filler? The flavor of the wontons were mild but acceptable. Overall, an okay bowl of soup for the price. Hey, I may even stop by again, but won’t stray too far from Wonton Soup, or maybe Fried Rice.

The service was very nice, even though they forgot to bring me chopsticks after I asked for them. And even better, I got nice little walk, and a view of Fiesta Island as I walked home. They’ve started working on moving the phone and electricity lines underground in our neighborhood. I can’t wait for the nice unobstructed views.

Chinese Garden
3057 Clairemont Dr
San Diego, CA 92117

Industrial Espionage? Hsu’s Szechwan, and a Case of “Photus Interruptus”

February 18, 2006 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, yoso-silly

*** Hsu’s has since sailed off into the sunset.

Hsu’s Szechwan on the corner of Clairemont Mesa Blvd and Ruffin Road, was the scene of one of my more "interesting" encounters since I’ve been doing this Food Blogging thing. I’d been to Hsu’s once or twice before, but never had the Mongolian BBQ, so a few months back I paid Hsu’s a visit for lunch.

I’m a big fan of decent Mongolian BBQ, where you can grab some really nice thinly sliced meat, pile on fresh veggies, and add flavorings(give me lots of onions and garlic), and various sauces and have it cooked on the super hot griddle. I’ve always hesitated getting it a Hsu’s, and have never been very impressed with the food, which struck me as very generic American-Chinese-Sichuan.

The Lunch Specials are well priced at Hsu’s, ranging from $5.55(Vegetable dishes) to $6.75(Shrimp w/ Green Beans). The Lunch Special Mongolian BBQ is priced at $5.95 including an Egg Roll(all wrapper, hardly any filling), Won Ton(bleh), Fried Rice or Steamed Rice(Hint; get the steamed rice, the fried rice is D-R-Y soy sauce rice w/frozen peas and carrots), and Soup. On this day it was Hot and Sour Soup which was pretty good, nice and gooey with strip of bamboo shoots, though not spicy at all, the soup was not bad at all. So having ordered I walked up to the Mongolian BBQ, and selected some Lamb. For lunch the meat is pre-portioned in an overly small bowl. You add on additional vegetables, spilling most of it on the floor or counter, and head toward the "sauces".

The sauces are disappointing. All of them are watered down, the garlic is actually a few cloves of chopped garlic in a container of water, and so is really garlic water, same with the ginger. Looking at the "formula" placard explains all.

Try and do this with a group of people waiting in line behind you. Having no one behind me, I doubled everything. And headed over to the high heat griddle, handed the bowl over and the Young Man started cooking. I now understood why the sauces were so watery. The "Cook" just stir fries the ingredients, and doesn’t add liquid(I’ve seen a combo of wine and water used), just mixes around the ingredients and dumps it on a plate.

This is where it gets interesting. As I was reaching for my plate I heard "Hey, you, you no take pictures!" And turned around to find a little older Chinese Lady holding a stick in Her hand behind me. I instinctively raised both hands to shoulder height(guilty as charged Your Honor) and the voice in my head told me to "step away from counter". So I put my camera away, "okay, no problem". "You no take pictures here!" My response, "fine, no problem, my food is getting cold, I’m just going to eat". As I grabbed my plate I asked Her why she didn’t want me to take photos, I’m not placing any individuals in any of the pictures. Her answer? "You going to steal our secrets and open same kind restaurant across the street!" WHAT!!!! Yeah, I’m going to take photos of watery sauce, and a generic Mongolian BBQ, and open up another Mongolian BBQ in the same little strip mall on Clairemont Mesa Blvd???? OK, industrial espionage, I got it….. If anyone requests that I not take photos that’s fine with me, no problemo! But as I was walking to my table the Lady asked, "So what you take pictures for?" So I explained that I had a website(foodblog) about food in San Diego. At this point She smiled and said, "You go ahead and take all the pictures you want". Uh-uh, by this point my food is getting cold, and the dining room is pretty dark anyway, I’ve put away my camera, and it ain’t coming back out.

So the food? A pretty simple plate of stir-fry like veggies and lamb. The Lamb was decent and fairly gamey, the Young Man overcooked the veggies though. I also had to add soy sauce for more flavor. Still, for $5.95, this ain’t that bad. Not that I’ll be back soon, but it’s not terrible, just mediocre.

Some notes: Hsu’s also offers all you can eat Mongolian BBQ during dinner for $9.95 per person. Most of the menu is Americanized Sichuan; Kung Pao Chicken, Mu Shu, and such. Prices are pretty reasonable as a whole. The service overall is professional, though not very friendly. I’m still looking for decent Mongolian BBQ in San Diego, any rec’s?

Hsu’s Szechwan Cuisine
9350 Clairemont Mesa Blvd # S
San Diego, CA 92123

Xin Nian Kuai Le – Happy (Chinese) New Year!

January 28, 2006 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Dim Sum

Just to cover all the bases – Gong Xi Fa Cai!

Not much to say; just a few photos. Can you guess where this is from?

And of course we had to have a noodle dish:

I know it’s not quite New Years yet. But to quote the Missus, "New Years Eve is better; because that’s when we eat!"

Hope everyone is having a fun and safe weekend!

Luong Hai Ky Restaurant

January 24, 2006 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Vietnamese Restaurants

*** This location of Luong Hai Ky is now Phat Restaurant.

I first noticed Luong Hai Ky Restaurant on a visit to Chopstix. On a recent visit I had noticed that all the "Servers" had disappeared; as I was leaving Chopstix I saw half of them sitting and smoking on the sidewalk, and the other half were eating in Luong Hai Ky. The funny thing was, I'd never noticed the restaurant before. Probably due to it's location in the rear of the strip mall.

On a typical "soup weather" day, I dropped by Luong Hai Ky. As I looked over the approximately 100 items on the menu I realized that this was a Chinese-Vietnamese noodle house; in the same vein as Minh KY. The interior of the restaurant was deceptively large, with about 25 tables and large fish tanks lining one side of the dining area. The dining room and tables were also very clean.

On my first visit I ordered a simple bowl of Won Ton Noodle Soup($5.00):

A modest bowl was brought out, with topped with a "shrimp cracker" and green onions. The won tons (6), were almost identical to those at Minh Ky; very dense pork meatballs, with a small slice of shrimp placed on one side. Three small slices of well flavored Char Siu, along with the typical "ball" of crunchy egg noodles occupying the bottom of the bowl. What made this bowl of noodle soup stand out was the tasty, quite dark broth. Obviously a mildly intense chicken based broth, there was a bit more going on; slightly salty, but without the "parching" MSG effect, a hint of sweet, but most of all a interesting savory flavor. When I paid at the counter I inquired as to the nature of the broth. I had a feeling that perhaps shrimp, or some other flavoring was added, but was told that there was no seafood in the broth.

Having enjoyed the soup, I returned for an encore, just to see if the broth was consistently flavored. I ordered the "carb special"; Won Ton & Dumpling Egg Noodle Soup($5.50):

Again, the portion size was nothing to write home about. This time there were 4 won tons and 4 "dumplings".

The dumpling wrappers were a bit thicker than the won tons, and were flat in shape. The filling was ground pork along with crunchy strips of "Cloud Ear" fungus. Though the broth was a tad milder on this visit; it still had alot of flavor. And I never really had to touch any of the condiments provided. Notice the strange bottle of French's Mustard in the background, every table had a bottle. French's Mustard? I don't quite know what to make of that……

On my last visit; not being in the mood for noodle soup, or rice, and being a sucker for thin egg noodles; I ordered the Combination Fried Egg Noodles($7.50):

In stark contrast to the modestly portioned noodle soups, this was a pretty generous portion of egg noodles, along with a variety of stir fried cabbage, carrots, onions, and other vegetables. The meat consisted of a few shrimp, and some really tough beef. The noodles, though stir fried well, were pretty bland, and I ended up reaching for the bottle of soy sauce and white pepper.

So I think I'll stick with the noodle soups at Luong Hai Ky, though the menu is fairly large, and there is quite a bit to choose from.

Service at Luong Hai Ky, is typical for these type of Restaurants; fast and efficient. I enjoyed the tea served here, it was Jasmine. Though on my first two visits, I received a small pot of tea; on my last visit I only got a single cup! At least I was never charged for tea. In the end, Luong Hai Ky, is really not worth going out of the way for, but if you happened to be close by, well maybe……

One other observation; it has to do with the rather odd taste in the Music I heard here. On my first visit, it was the Carpenters Greatest Hits. On my second visit it was a strange cacophony of pseudo-Asian-classical music blaring away so loud, that I swear I was headed upriver with Willard to terminate Kurtz with "extreme prejudice"! On my third visit, it was a strange mandolin-like muzak, imagine a swarm of bees playing The Girl from Impanema, and other elevator standards, quite strange. The hard surfaces in the restaurant, made the music even louder, and it kind of drove me nuts. Though at least there's no music pumped into the restrooms. There's nothing weirder then "doing your thing" hearing Phil Collins singing "Can you hear me….can you hear me calling….."

Luong Hai Ky Restaurant
4633 Convoy St Ste 107
San Diego, CA 92111

Open 10am to 10pm Daily

Post #201 – Ba Ren…Again

January 17, 2006 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, What Ed Eats -You too can be like Ed!, What Howie Eats - Where the Foodie from Foodieview Eats

Wow, time does fly. 7 1/2 months and 200 posts later, and I’m still here. Since I missed post number 200, I thought I’d do number 201 covering Our (still) favorite restaurant Ba Ren. I guess I’ve mentioned this restaurant in almost every conversation I have regarding Restaurants in San Diego, to the point that it even got mention in San Diego Citybeat. I really wouldn’t mind at all if you’re all pretty tired of my mentioning Ba Ren. But here we go again.

Fact is, I rarely ever bring my camera to Ba Ren anymore. Recently, we had a "meeting of appetites" at Ba Ren, with Ed from Yuma, mizducky who posts on Egullet, and the wonderful Gayla, who wrote up our Chowhound Feast at Ba Ren. And guess what? I didn’t even bring my camera; though I can tell you we had Ed’s favorite Rice Crust w/Three Delicacies(#181-$11.99), Gayla’s favorite Fish Flavored Eggplant(#201-$7.99), mizducky chose the cold appetizers – FuiQiFeinPein, Smoked Pork Tongue, and Dried Beef w/Sichuan Peppercorn(3 items-$5.99). You can view a few of them here. I got to choose the Sichuan Pot Roast(#127-$12.99), a not very spicy but very rich stewed pork shank and broth served in a clay "cauldron". The most amazing pork meatball also occupied the clay pot, oh yes, and Gayla, the round fishcake looking item was actually a boiled egg! Ed was looking for a fish dish that I figured out was the Liangfen fish (#409-$10.99), a spicy casserole with fresh red peppers, vinegar, and black pepper providing the palette of flavor.

So on this visit I brought my camera along; and guess what? We order almost the same items as my first post on Ba Ren. Oh well, here goes, I’ll just do photos without too much text:

Rice Crust w/Sliced Chicken(#184-$9.99):

Hot Pepper Prawns(#426-$14.99). Ba Ren’s Shrimp version of the Chongqing Style Chili with Chicken:

Don’t let the chilies scare you; yes it is spicy, but the smokey flavor of the seared chilies, and a slightly sweet flavor comes through.

Stir Fried Dry Beef(#324-$12.99). Ba ren’s version of the famous Sichuan dish Gan Bian Niu Rou Si, that uses the distinct gan bian ("dry frying") technique, unique to Sichuan cooking:

The heat hits you on all three parts of the tongue. The Sichuan Peppercorns numbs the front, the dried chilies the middle, and the chili oil gets you right in the back. Nice layers of heat.

And the meal is finished off with Eight Treasure Black Rice Porridge(Ba Bao Hei Mi Zhou):

Refreshing and soothing, a nice way to complete a spicy meal. The food at Ba Ren is Chongqing style, much hotter, and with a much more assertive flavor then food from the much more refined Chengdu style. Some other of our favorites at Ba Ren:

#135 Cold Chicken w/ Spicy Sauce
#141-#148 The classic dishes Boiled in Hot Sauce(often called "Water boiled")
#151-#158 Dry Cooked Dishes
#161-#171 Dishes cooked with Pickled Pepper
#193 Fish Filet Casserole(not spicy)
#403 Fish Flavored Chicken
#410 Twice Cooked Fish(A totally awesome dish)
#501 Ma Po Dofu
#552 Sichuan Cold Noodles
#563 Won Tons w/Hot Sauce

And many more……

But to quote a saying in Fuchsia Dunlop’s wonderful book Land of Plenty:

"China is the place for food
But Sichuan is the place for flavor"
"Shi zai zhong guo
Wei zai si chuan"

Ba Ren
4957 Diane Ave
San Diego, CA 92117

Finally, I’d like to send out a most sincere Thank You to everyone who takes the time out to read my humble posts, I realize I’m not a food writer or food critic, and it’s not my intention to be one. I’m just a "food eater". I hope I’m able to keep this up for another 200, or more posts. Once, during an exchange of Emails with Howie of A Foodie’s Eye View, I mentioned my worry that I may actually run out of Restaurants in San Diego that I’m interested in. His response was, "You’ll never run out of restaurants in San Diego, but you may run out of good restaurants, but I hope not". I hope not either……

Mahalo!!!

Minh Ky Restaurant

January 5, 2006 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Vietnamese Restaurants, What Howie Eats - Where the Foodie from Foodieview Eats

Minh Ky is a small Chinese-Vietnamese Noodle and Soup shop located on the corner of El Cajon Blvd and Menlo Avenue. In fact, Minh Ky shares the same strip mall with A-Chau, and a Vietnamese Market.

About 12 tables are lined against the walls and through the middle of the spartan interior of Minh Ky, and Chinese or Vietnamese music is a always blaring away. The one thing Minh Ky could use, is a revolving door for the steady stream of people entering and exiting the Restaurant.

I normally pay Minh Ky a visit during weekend mornings when I’m in the mood for some soup. Minh Ky is a good choice since they open at 8am on weekdays, and 830am during the weekend. And as strange as it may seem, I do enjoy a nice bowl of Combination WonTon Soup($4.75):

The Combo Soup, comes with a good portion of veggies, fishcake, shrimp, char siu, chicken, and most of all won tons. Today’s soup had 10 Won Tons in it! The fillings of the won tons at Minh Ky are pretty dense pork meatballs with a slice of shrimp; and are almost like siu mai in texture. The broth is a clear and mild chicken broth, I usually add a touch of soy sauce and some white pepper. Overall, a pretty good start to a Saturday for me.

There is a really amusing thing that happens to me at Minh Ky. Because most of the clientele is Vietnamese, I kind of stand out. And because I only eat here during the winter and spring, there is a "cycle of familiarity" that occurs during my initial visits. It usually starts with "Are you Korean?" And a short and fun conversation normally takes place, where I explain I’m Japanese, and so on….. It happens with most of the Employees, one by one. "But you look Korean……" And sometimes ending in "so you don’t speak Japanese" with a smile and a short negative shake of a head.

Once in a while I’ll get the Won Ton Egg Noodle Soup($4.25):

Again, a simple broth, lettuce, nappa cabbage, green onions, char siu, won tons(8), and thin crunchy egg noodles. A decent bowl for the price.

On this visit, the Young Lady found a novel way of taking my order. She was filling chili oil containers on a adjoining table and saw that I was ready to order. She proceeded to lean back on her chair, balancing on two legs, with a container of chili oil, smiling and turning to me said "combination won ton soup?" Okay, call me a creature of habit! "Um, no just wonton egg noodle soup, today." Show them who’s predictable….. And a free acrobatic/gymnastic show to boot!

On a recent visit, I even opened the menu past the first page and went over some of the 225+ dishes, and ordered the Combination Crispy Noodles($6.25):

I should’ve stayed with the soups, the thin egg noodles were over fried, powdery and brittle instead of crunchy. The beef was really tough, and there was too little of the sauce, which was very bland. I’ll stick with the soups.

It just so happens that Minh Ky is also a favorite of Howie of A Foodie’s Eye View of San Diego’s Restaurants. When I Emailed Him and asked what he enjoyed at Minh Ky, Howie stated: "I pretty much just order the rice porridge. It’s far and away my favorite porridge in SD. I always get it with the Chinese donut. It sounds boring, but it’s more flavorful than most Chinese congee. The broken rice, ginger, & fried shallots really help it. Great comfort food." So it looks like Jook and Youtiao for Howie. Thanks for taking some time to reply to my Email Howie. In appreciation, I’m starting a new category, called "What Howie Eats", I’ll include places we’ve discussed, and any recommendations that Howie has.

Some notes on Minh Ky: The strip mall that Minh Ky is located in has one of the worst parking configurations in San Diego. One of the aisles has no outlet, you have to back out of the parking stall, which leads to some interesting situations. I’ve seen a car trying to back out, while a car is waiting for the parking stall but because of the single aisle, the waiting car is essentially blocking the exiting car in. Nothing like a nice little showdown between two 3-4 thousand pound vehicles to start off the weekend! Many times vehicles will exit right over the sidewalk, straight onto El Cajon Boulevard. I usually park in the back, though you’ll need to avoid the large potholes and abandoned furniture. The back parking lot can also be quite scary at night. I usually order "tea" with my meals and they serve me a whole pot, and I’ve never ever been charged for it.

Oh, and as I was at the register paying…."Are you Korean?" You gotta love it!

Minh Ky Restaurant
4644 El Cajon Boulevard
San Diego, CA 92115

Jamillah Garden

January 2, 2006 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants

*** Jamillah Garden in San Diego has closed. It is now CrawDaddy’s

When we lived in Los Angeles we enjoyed more then a few Islamic Chinese meals at either VIP Chinese Restaurant, which was located just two blocks from our apartment, or Tung Lai Shun in the humongous San Gabriel Square(Focus Shopping Center). In fact it was at VIP Restaurant where I started learning that there was much, much more to Chinese Cuisine then the usual Cantonese fare. I distinctly remember a Chicago pizza size Da-Bing(sesame bread with Green onion) being delivered to our table, as I stared at it in amazement.

So we were obviously thrilled when Jamillah Garden opened up.

Unfortunately, our experiences at Jamillah Garden has been quite a "roller-coaster" experience. The flavors of dishes have fluctuated wildly, and the same dish would vary wildly from day to day. We’ve already given up on the Dao Ko Chicken(Home style roast chicken), one of my favorite dishes. At Jamillah Garden it’s so mildly flavored, a mere shadow of what Dao Ko Shao Gi should be. We’ve pretty much settled on a few dishes that Jamillah Garden does well, and stick with those. So, on this rainy New Year, we decided to pay a visit to Jamillah Garden.

The interior of Jamillah Garden is clean and bright, and very "warming" on this cold rainy day.

And started with our "Green Onion Pies" (Scallion Pancake,$2.25), a very basic Northern Chinese "bread":

Today ,this was rolled very thin; almost like Naan, and in a large rectangular shape, not the pancake "oval" that we were used too. But it was fried to a perfect crisp. We tasted, but waited until this arrived; our Lamb Stew "Warm Pot"(Lamb Hot Pot, $15.95).

The Lamb Warm Pot is the dish we usually order at Jamillah Garden. Though we’ve had the quality vary, from very bland and watery, to superbly gamey and rich. Today, it was the latter, both with the earthy flavor of lamb, with a touch of anise flavor, cubes of tofu, thick sliced cellophane noodles, cilantro, nappa cabbage, and most of all, lot’s of lamb! The Missus and I both love the gamey and somewhat "wild" flavor of lamb, and today’s dish was no disappointment. If it’s lamb, it should taste like lamb, one of my pet peeves is lamb that "tastes like chicken".

Today, it’s rated as Delici-yoso!!! And oh, so comforting.

We also ordered the Homemade Noodles – Three Flavor Dough Slice Chow Mein(!!!) – $6.95. This is actually a classic Northern Chinese dish – Knife-Cut Noodles. In short, dough is prepared and rolled into a "ball", and the noodles are cut by hand right over a bowl of soup, or right before stir-frying.

Without sounding too strange, I’d just say, that this type of noodle has "body". The noodles are of varied width, and lengths; I’ve been told to represent the uneven, rough terrain and life in Northern China. The noodle is chewy and doughy, much different from the typical noodle. It can also be an acquired taste. Though the Missus grew up eating this type of noodle, I prefer it more then she. The dish itself is very simple, a stir fry with beef, eggs, shrimp, and green onions; with the flavor of sesame oil, soy sauce, and black pepper. The portion size was quite large, though those who are looking for alot of "meat" will be a bit unsatisfied with the dish; it’s mostly about the noodles. I’ll do the Niu Rou Mein from Jamillah in a future post!

To its’ credit; Jamillah Garden serves "Halal Meat", prepared in accordance with Islamic requirements that I’m not really sure of. And in keeping with that, Jamillah Garden aims to provide appropriate Chinese food for the Islamic Community. This means that Jamillah Garden tries to cook all types of Chinese, from Beef with Broccoli to Kung Pao Chicken. Many times with limited success. And even though the "classic" Islamic Chinese dishes have been inconsistent, today they were excellent; and worth a try. Just stay with Northern-Beijing Chinese, and you’ll do fine.

Jamillah Garden Chinese Islamic Restaurant
4681 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

Rickshaw Corner

December 8, 2005 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants

*** Update – Rickshaw Corner has closed

The mention of Rickshaw Corner to many people I know elicit comments such as "you'd never catch me dead eating there", and "WHAT, that's like one step above Panda Express". I guess part of the problem is the sign that says "Chinese & Japanese Cuisine", that scares people off, and smacks of fast food.

The interior doesn't really do anything to change your opinion. Nor does the plastic "menu", a plastic sheet with "Chinese Menu " printed on one side, and "Japanese Menu" printed on the other.

So what makes Rickshaw rise above the usual neighborhood generic Asian restaurant? I usually visit Rickshaw once or twice a year, when the weather gets a bit colder, and only get one dish. The spicy Chow Ma Soup Noodles(Chow Ma Mein-$5.95):

Now I haven't had this at any other restaurant, so have not developed a "baseline" for comparison. The Missus has heard of Chow Ma Mein, but has never had it. So what's to like? The nice spicy broth has a real "Korean" flavor, like the broth in Soon Tofu. I'm not a real fan of food being first stir-fried and then dumped on top of a soup, but in this case it's not too bad. Mainly because the pork, shrimp, bamboo shoots, and other vegetables are stir fried with dried chilies that adds another layer of heat. In addition there are large slices of garlic and several pieces of Zhacai (Sichuan preserved vegetable) that help give the soup even more "zip". The Bad? Well the noodles pretty much suck, no better then brittle "spaghetti" in broth. And of course there the bad side of stir-frying ingredients, then adding them to a soup often times mean that flavor that can be imparted to the soup never makes it. I thought it was rather ironic that one of the most inexpensive items on the menu, is probably the best. Another funny thing; every time I order this, I'm asked if I'm Korean……

On one of my recent visits, when looking up at the pictures of dishes above the counter I noticed what was called Chef's Special Beef Noodle Soup. I asked the Young Lady if the Beef Noodle Soup was Niu Rou Mein, and in a very surprised manner said "yes…". I guess I wasn't supposed to know that? So I thought I'd make a return visit and try the Niu Rou Mein($5.95):

Well, I had a feeling it was going to be the stir fried beef dumped into soup; but I just had to find out for myself. And unfortunately it was just stir fried beef dumped on top of the soup. The soup was nice and spicy, but was rather weak in the "beef flavor" department. The beef was fairly tender, but didn't have much flavor. And I really don't know what to do about the stir fried tomatoes. The same lousy noodles really didn't help this dish very much.

So that's about it, right? Well not quite; as I was paying, a Gentleman walked up to the counter and picked-up his order, and was conversing in Mandarin. He was the first Asian I recall seeing here. As I left I held the door open for Him as he was carrying a pretty large order. So we struck up a brief conversation. Seems that he's been coming here for over 10 years! He made some recommendations of a few items I should try. So I made one more take-out visit.

Hot and Spicy Won Ton($4.25):

More like Won Ton in teriyaki sauce. Not spicy, quite sweet. Won Ton skins were really thick.

Szechuan Chicken($8.25):

Basically, battered and deep fried chicken strips with a gooey brown sauce. The sauce was too sweet and very one-dimensional. The chicken were expertly fried and moist. But not really worth the eight bucks.

And lastly, the menu item that came with a strong recommendation. The Chicken Wings in Hot Garlic Sauce($8.25):

This chicken was puzzling to me. There were chilies, but not very much spice. I really couldn't detect much garlic flavor. The chicken was obviously fried, but not crunchy. There was not much of a soy sauce flavor, and though it was slightly "sticky", the wings were not very sweet. I truly wish that there was something taste-wise that stood out, but nothing really did. Call it non-committal wings. Not bad, not great, not what I'll order again.

I'll still go to Rickshaw, but I'm sticking with the Chow Ma Mein. If anyone knows of any other restaurant that makes a good Chow Ma Mein here in San Diego, I'd like to know. Rickshaw is a nice neighborhood Chinese/Teriyaki joint, and is a step above those Chinese Fast Food joints.

Rickshaw Corner
10428 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92124

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

November 24, 2005 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Dim Sum

Happy Turkey-Day All. Since we already did our Chinese Roast Turkey. We decided not to do another Turkey for this Thanksgiving, though the thought did cross my mind. So instead we did "brunch" at Pearl.

And an excellent brunch it was. Of course we started with some Dim Sum:

The shrimp and chive dumplings were the same as the last visit, not fried enough and a bit greasy, and lacking enough chive, but the Taro Gok was also just as good as the last visit as well. Perfectly fried, salty masago on the top, and with a nice sweet scallop in each one.

The Haw Gow, though on the small side, were filled with plump shrimp, and very tasty. The shrimp siu mai, were better then expected, and again though on the small side, were very nice.

But the reason we decided to make the drive to Rancho Bernardo was this:

Currently, Pearl is running a special. Peking Duck for $18, quite a bargain! The duck was prepared well; each slice consisted of a skin and a bit of subcutaneous fat and meat. A dozen "buns", hoisin sauce, and slices of cucumber were provided. Overall pretty good, not oily, slightly rich, and the duck went well with the Pu-Erh tea we ordered.

Of course this was the typical "two dish" preparation and it came with the minced duck meat in lettuce cups:

The nice rich savory duck meat with diced water chestnuts, and other items, made this delici- yoso!!! What a bargain for Eighteen Bucks! The service at Pearl was again superb, our Host(ess), Jennifer made sure that our water was always filled, and even "comped" our tea, telling me Happy Thanksgiving. So I guess our last experience here was not just a one time thing. Our bill came to $34.

We had a very nice Thanksgiving meal, but it was missing one standard Dim Sum dish. One of the Missus’s favorite. So on the way home, we decided to make it for ourself! Can you guess what it is?

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!