So, in part 1 of my posts on the newly opened Hong Kong Kitchen & Dim Sum, I went over two visits, that were basically solo because the Missus just didn’t think the place was worth a visit. So, after some not so bad food, I thought the Missus would be all for a visit. Well, She was not! Calvin however, whom I hadn’t had lunch with in a while was up for it! So we met right at the 10am opening time. Seems that Calvin, who lives in Scripps Ranch and has roots in the SGV has been down on the d-sum North of the 8 in town for a while. So, I thought we’d have some fun….he’d pick 4 dim sum items and I’d go with two mains and we’d have some fun.
So, in terms of the dim sum, in ranking from first to worst.
Scallop Dumplings ($9.50). These were by far the best items I’ve had at HK Kitchen thus far.
The wrappers were adequately thick, with a nice mild stretch to them. The scallops were tender and sweet; this was quite good.
Second was the Siu Mai, which I covered in my previous post. This was even better as you can clearly see….
The filling much more tender, decent savory-porky tones, the wrapper tender as well.
Took a bit into the Cheong Fun ($8.50) that Calvin ordered and went “what the heck”? Calvin had ordered the Char Siu version. I guess I expected the shrimp version.
So this was a bit too sweet for my taste. The rice roll was fine; perhaps a bit too brittle. The sauce was overly salty for my taste.
The Turnip Cake with XO Sauce ($14) was a fail. Both of us lamented the lack of the savory-umami tones and mild spice provided by XO sauce.
In fact, there seemed to be a total lack of the savory punch needed for this. The turnip cakes interior was mushy and this was a bit on the greasy side. Which reminds me that the Missus wants me to make my own XO sauce and it’s been a while since I’ve made turnip cake at home.
As for the two mains.
The Black Pepper Beef ($28) was fine, though not as good as what I get from Eastern Dynasty.
It was fairly tender; though the sauce was on the sweeter side. The sugar snap peas were nice and crisp.
Of only I knew about the XO Sauce when I ordered the Shrimp with XO Sauce ($25).
While the shrimp was adequately cooked, fairly tender, with a slight sweet-savoriness; there was a lack of XO in this dish. Thus not fulfilling the umami potential of the dish.
Still, this was a decent meal. Calvin mentioned that he’d definitely return for the dim sum here….looking out into the parking lot, we noticed that it had filled by 1115! So, if you’re thinking of going for dim sum; I’d suggest getting there early. You can read about Soo’s recent visit here.
Hong Kong Kitchen & Dim Sum
5375 Kearny Villa Rd.
San Diego, CA 92123
Current Hours:
Daily 10am – 9pm
This was pretty bad. The dan bing was rubbery…speaking of rubbery, the skin of the duck was not crisp, the fat hadn't been rendered from the duck properly and it had way too much sauce. This is what happens when you can't "do your own thing" with Peking Duck.
I quickly noticed something about these almost $3 a piece shumai…..do you see it? Well, the wrappers were really too thick, but all of them had 
First off, look how these lack uniformity, second, how haphazardly the wrappers are placed. Third, the filling was hard and dry. It was also overly salty. The shape was like someone rolled a meatball and just threw wrappers over it.
These seemed a bit over-stuffed, but heck, that shrimp was so good, I ain't complaining about proportion this time around.
The weakest item were the Xiao Long Bao. The wrapper was decent if a bit too doughy; but there was barely any "soup" in the dumpling which was quite bland.
This is the Hot Pot menu which looks interesting. 
The Entry for Rotary International, "Clean Water, The Music of Life" was being tested with weight (people) onboard. You can see a rectangular slot at the front end of the 'keyboard'-that is where the 'Spotter' for the float will be watching for traffic and hazards during the parade. He or she will be communicating with the driver, who only looks down and follows the 'Rose Colored Line' painted on the street.
The entry by the City of Alhambra, "Celebrating the Year of the Dragon"was tested in its full open position. 
But every float has a maximum height and width it must be able to collapse down to so it can proceed along the Parade Route. The doorway of the decorating barn is that maximum size. 
"Chimes of Liberty Protecting Our Future" is the 2024 entry by the Fraternal Order of Elks, a Service Organization.
This detailed float will certainly be an eye catcher! You might notice the hands are missing from the Fife and Drum Corps- the faces as well as the hand flesh tones are being decorated with various spice blends/mixes by professionals (not us volunteers).
Lutheran Hour Ministries entry, "Make A Joyful Noise Unto The Lord" passed its third mechanics and maneuverability test and is ready to be decorated beginning on December 2. You can see the rectangular slot for the 'Spotter' in this photo.
Step inside, order and pay. We were directed to a table and soon enough, our orders were delivered. 
Pretty much a standard first time order for us: Har Gow ($3.99), Shumai ($3.99), Crescent dumplings ($3.59) and egg tarts ($3.59) were brought out first. Fresh and warm, great flavors.
The soup dumplings ($7.99) took a little longer and were steaming hot. (I took the photo before asking for a spoon, but there was no leakage) quite a bit of soup and a thin dumpling skin). Tasty.
There were utensils in the drawer under the tabletop-but no spoons. 
Tea was $1 each (so, one green and one oolong) and you could get more hot (as well as chilled) water at the counter.
It's self check-in at a touchpad at the hostess stand. Soon, a text message arrived that our table was ready.
We were seated, hot tea ($2) was promptly brought out and we could order from the photo menu as well as from the passing carts. 
Additional beverages were also available from a cart. 
Shrimp Noodle Roll ($5.99) came from a cart and was filled with large, plump, flavor filled shrimp. Slippery and satisfying.
Our order from the kitchen (each item $5.99) was delivered quickly. The Shrimp Har Gow was filled with the same large shrimp and wrapped in a not too thick nor too chewy tapioca based dough.
The steamed Tofu Skin Roll was filled with pork, carrot, mushroom and crunchy water chestnuts. 
The Black Mushroom Sui Mai was really tasty. The Sui Mai filling (pork/shrimp/ginger/mushroom/scallion/water chestnut) was a large serving size to facilitate holding the large black mushroom. Flavors in every bite! 
We ordered the soup dumplings from a cart. None were leaking. The dough was chewy, especially at the top folds but overall the filling was quite nice. 
The fried shrimp balls ($7.99), ordered from the kitchen, were a great choice. Very large, cut in half and simply a mass of cooked shrimp formed into a paste then rolled in breadcrumbs and fried, this serving could be a complete meal if I could control my cravings. 
The picture menu had this "Sweet Tofu-available only on Saturday-Sunday", so I had to order it. What a great way to end the meal! Soft, warm, fresh made tofu served with a sugar-ginger sauce. It was quite perfect. 
Our Order Card. Seven items plus the hot tea ($49.95). A very nice special meal. 