Back in April, I noticed that a restaurant named Tasty House was replacing Tealightful Cafe in that strip mall on Clairemont Mesa Boulevard that houses EE Nami and Village Kitchen among others. I was interesting in what they would be serving. One day, while driving past, I noticed that the open sign was lit. It was around lunch time, so I decided to dive on in and visit.
The place was completely empty when I visited.
There was a really nice woman working. She pointed me to a seat and brought me a menu.
The nice lady didn't speak much English, but I saw the older woman behind the counter making jiaozi. Looking at the menu, it seemed like Northern style cuisine. There are even suan cai ("Sauerkraut") dishes on the menu.
The prices seemed quite reasonable, so I ordered three items. I think there was a communication mix-up, as to my surprise I was brought a takeout order! Perhaps because I ordered so many items she thought it was to go? I had ordered three dishes so I could take the leftovers home to have the Missus sample. I just had to crack up and took my order to go.
The Red Oil Pig ears were cut too thick, making it hard rather than crunchy. It was also served hot….which was a bit strange as I thought it would be a cold dish.
It wasn't particularly spicy and cold have used more seasoning.
Of course I got some jiaozi. I had pointed to the menu and asked in my terrible Mandarin "jiaozi???" and the woman laughed and said "SanXian" (三鲜 – three delicacies).
It came with some chili oil and the appropriate (for the region) black vinegar.
The wrappers on several of the dumplings were broken, thus H2O had leaked in during the boiling process nullifying a lot of flavor.
The wrappers were too thick (I still think Dongbei style jiaozi has thicker wrappers) and on the hard side.
As was the filling. Really chewy and tough.
I saved two for the Missus, who took one bite and said "you can have it….."
The best item was the Suan Cai with Glass Noodles. Which also came with pork.
The main feature of this was the very sour-fermented tones of the suan cai. This was definitely not a "shrinking violet"! The glass noodles were overcooked and mushy and the pork on the chewy side. But man, that sourness….whoa!
Well, this was interesting. The Missus was even a bit interested….so much so, that while driving past the place She determined that we should stop in, take a look at the menu and perhaps order some takeout.
By this time, the Grand Opening sign was in place.
While talking to the very nice woman, the Missus determined that their from Dongbei and She proceeded to order two very typical Dongbei Cai dishes that are quite hard to find on menus here in San Diego.
First was the Dōngběi Luàn Dùn which is on the menu as One Pot Out of the Farm ($15.90). It's basically whatever veggies you have stewed with pork.
A large portion size, very home style, potatoes as the base……..quite a bit of pork.
This was kinda bland…versions I've had before also used Doubanjiang or something similar to add a nice savory component, this was very plain. A very generous portion though.
The other dish was Páigǔ Dùn Dòujia on the menu as Pork Ribs Stewed with Beans ($15.90).
Man, as if things couldn't get more bland……
Very much simple country cuisine. The beans were still crisp; the pork tender, but the dish was really in need of flavor.
All in all very much like home cooked, simple, country dishes.
The Missus was done with the place…and I was kinda not impressed. But, I thought the folks working here was so nice, that I decided to do one more visit and to actually try to dine in.
It was quite charming; the woman saw me parking my car and actually waved at me….you know I had to give the place one more try, right?
On my previous visit, I saw this sign. A quick Google translate and it said "noodles"…..
Which, along with the dumplings, they make inhouse.
So, okay…….this time, I did have a seat and actually dined in.
I really enjoy Zi Ran Yang Rou – Cumin Lamb, so I decided to try the version here. I noticed that the price on the menu had been reduced by a dollar.
This was by far, my favorite dish that I've had here.
While on the salty side; the lamb was decently tender, there was a good amount of earthy-savory cumin. This was by far my favorite dish.
And of course I wanted to try a noodle dish and saw this.
No, it's not the savsage, ahem, probably sausage noodle….but what the heck was Spam Fried Noodle? Well, I was really interested to find out!
Well, this was another "interesting" dish. The noodles were a bit too mushy for my taste. The simple seasoning, soy sauce based, was just like home cooking. As for the "Spam"…well, it was this.
It was beef! I sent the Missus a photo of the menu and She said it said beef in Chinese…..I'm guessing that whatever translation tool was used for the menu….like the "savsage", was perhaps a bit off? The beef was on the chewy side and could have been a bit more "velveted". It lacked the wok hay that I expect with restaurant level food.
In the end; well, to repeat things once again, this is like home cooking and lacks the attributes that separates what one makes at home with what one expects when dining out. It's kind of a bummer since the folks that work here are so nice and the prices are quite reasonable…but really, I'm not going to spend that amount for something I can make at home!
Tasty House
4726 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92117
Current Hours:
Wed – Mon 11am – 930pm
Closed on Tuesday
There was a good amount of decently cooked rice. I could have done without the "wasabi aioli" and the overly sweet unagi sauce. I guess I just wanted some good shoyu poke? The fish danced close to the edge of being over-sauced, but avoided falling off that cliff. I did enjoy the creaminess of the avocado and the mild sour-spice of the cucumber.
We had a fun time on this tour.
My dishes arrived and it was interesting noting the changes since my last visit and the things that have stayed the same. First off, the Hu Tieu Nam Vang Kho is still served in a shallow, almost pasta bowl, which is fairly unique for the places that serve the dish round these parts…..tho' perhaps things have changed at other places. Also, the bean sprouts served here aren't blanched so are quite crunchy.
There were two pieces of rather tough shrimp, which at least had been deveined, the squid was well "squid pro quo", a large piece of "krab", and as usual a slice of Hainan Chicken….which is the reason I don't get the Hainan Chicken here as it is pretty flavorless. The ground pork does have some good flavor though. The dish is not protein deficient….
I must have hit the lottery on this day, because the bread was still slightly warm. It was yeasty and somewhat "crackly". Maybe the best bread I've had here.
This actually had two eggs, bacon, cheese, and a very mild chili. Basically a brushing of "beans", some bacon, mild cheese….if not for the two eggs, it might have been a bit too much bread for me. But this did fill me up.
