**** I understand that Shanghai Alley is no longer at King Bistro
I was driving along last week, minding my own business, when I noticed something. I wasn't quite sure what it was, but it looked like a folding restaurant sign, but not with the name of the place generally associated with the location.
Shanghai Alley? Well, that was a new one to me. I believed that I had a pretty good idea of all the restaurants in the area, but I guess I was mistaken? Upon returning home, I went and did that "Google thing". And yes indeed, there was a new restaurant named Shanghai Alley. The interesting thing is, this version of the restaurant does lunches, while the "original" place takes over in the evening. Can you guess where?
Well……
Yes, it's the location of King Bistro, which is in the location of what used to be our favorite restaurant in San Diego, Ba Ren. I'm not going to drone on about how we miss Ba Ren. And even though I had never visited King Bistro, Shanghai Alley had me interested. I noticed online that the place opens at 10am….and you know how I'm an "early lunch" kinda guy these days. So, I drove down and arrived the very next day right after 10am.
In the back of the sign is more info.
I walked in and immediately noticed a chalkboard menu leaning up against the counter.
The prices seemed very reasonable and the young lady working was very sweet and friendly. She told me that Shanghai Alley started business a month ago. She was going to hand me a paper menu, but I just went ahead and placed my order and had a seat.
Looking around I quickly noticed how worn the place looks.
The young woman quickly brought out black vinegar and chili oil for me.
And soon in enough, my Pork and Cabbage Jiaozi ($13.99) and Niu Rou Mian ($14.99) arrived.
The jiaozi was super hot!
The wrappers were good when the dumplings were first delivered, fairly tender, but got brittle and chewier as the dumplings cooled off. The filling was tender, moist, nicely seasoned, and full of pork flavor. This was a pleasant surprise. The filling was more finely chopped than many versions I've had recently. I think this compares favorably with Ju Feng Yuan. And does have a definite "homestyle" edge to it.
I was not as fond of the Beef Noodle Soup.
The pieces of beef were decently tender and nicely flavored, good anise tones, with a hint of sweetness. The soup was of the clear variety and had some five spice and white pepper seasoning going for it, but it lacked beefiness and decent richness. At least it wasn't overly salty. The noodles were overcooked for my taste and lacked the springiness I enjoy.
Overall, a pretty good meal. There was one item I wanted to try before doing a post. So, I returned a couple of days later; again at a bit past ten. This time a gentleman was working. I went ahead and ordered the Xiao Long Bao ($9.99).
It did a take a while for the XLB to arrive, which was fine since I wasn't very hungry. I did notice on this visit that there were quite a few delivery orders being picked up during my meal.
Soon enough, the XLB arrived.
There were 8 dumplings in all, enough for a light lunch. One of the XLB, the one on the bottom had, ahem, an incontinence leakage problem and all the soup had leaked out. The rest were fine. The wrappers, while on the thicker side were again decent, perhaps even better than the ones on the jiaozi. There was an abundance of tasty "soup", the filling was tender, moist, full of swiney goodness. And like the jiaozi, it does have a homemade feel to it.
I was pleasantly surprised with the XLB and the jiaozi here. The prices aren't bad. I'm hoping they'll expand their menu a bit. I'll definitely have the dumplings again and definitely try the intestine and pig feet noodle soups.
Just goes to show; you never know what's "hiding in plain sight".
Shanghai Alley (In King Bistro)
4957 Diane Ave.
San Diego, CA 92117
Current Hours:
Wed – Mon 10am – 3pm
Not much has changed since the last time, or even from 1947, when The Barbecue Pit first opened in downtown San Diego.
Other than the prices and having a daily availability of brisket (used to only be on weekends).
Walk up, order, pay and you walk away with your tray of food. Efficient.
Find a seat.
Go back to the condiment bar and beverage station. Remember to grab utensils!
A bowl of Navy Bean Soup-filled with beans, carrots, celery and bits of ham. An excellent version almost always ordered (except when I really want the Pea Soup)..
This went well with a beef sandwich. (Soup and Sandwich, $11.99). This is Pit Barbecue-slow cooked over oak-not overly smoked (there is a smokey BBQ sauce available on the condiment bar). The sandwiches are 1/2 pound, the bread is lightly toasted. It all comes together in each bite. 
The Mister ordered the chopped burnt ends plate ($10.99) which included two sides. The burnt ends are meaty, not fatty.
We decided to share a slice of pecan pie ($4.99) which had an excellent, flaky crust, not too sweet filling and still crisp pecans. A nice treat. 
The interior (there is outside seating) has 33 HDTV's, most showing local sports and at least one showing PAWS-a channel about animals. I could see 11 televisions from my chair and The Mister could see eight.
The two-sided menu mentions the weekday Lunch specials, as well as a Monday night special and Happy Hour. There's also a Tuesday night special of Sliders which flashed across one of the TV screens. The other side of the menu has weekend breakfast items.
The grilled chicken salad ($12.95) was topped with a still warm/freshly char-grilled chicken breast. The bowl is very large and we did take home some leftovers. The mixed lettuces had tomatoes, onions and shredded carrots and the ranch dressing was a better quality.
The cheeseburger Lunch Special ($14.75) includes your choice of soda, Bud Light, Coors Light or Amberbock. You also can choose the type of cheese and also get a choice of fries, chips or a salad. The burger is large (at least 1/4 lb) and also char-grilled, made with a coarse grind of beef, keeping the meat chunky and moist. The bun is toasted and those fries have a coating and seasoning, making them very crisp and tasty.
More than 20 beers on tap!
Here is the breakfast menu from a few months ago. Lunch and dinner is also served here.
Well, look at this from the breakfast menu- avocado toast, which comes with two eggs any style and a side of fresh fruit (or hash browns) ($13.49). A good quality multigrain toast topped with freshly sliced avocado and roasted cherry tomatoes. This was a surprisingly tasty and filling breakfast.
The Mister chose a Waffle Combo ($16.49). A strawberry cheesecake topped Belgian waffle with two eggs (over easy), two sausage (or bacon) and hash browns. I liked the waffle (plain). The batter was crisp on the exterior and had a malt/vanilla flavored fluffy interior. The strawberries were very flavorful-see the pink (not white) inner part? The sausage was standard with a nicely crisped skin and the hash browns were not watery and also had a good crisp. 
Coffee is $3.99
Mr. and Mrs. Takeda, who opened Hogetsu in 1983, have retired and passed along their knowledge to a younger couple. The name, Hogetsu, was given by permission of the prefecture when the store opened. The name now must be retired. 
What's that in the top left corner?
They've added a neon sign! Modern times are coming…
There is always a good variety to choose from when I stop in, and everything is always fresh. 
I have purchased the frozen Komochi so I can have a savory snack at home. The container is about one pound. The texture is similar to the suwama (chewy mochi).
Here are a few of my recent purchases. Yes, one day I was able to walk in and only order one coffee and one green tea-each were gentle flavored at first bite and ended up so flavorful at the end. 
The new owners have been experimenting with the name change and did tell me that they have settled on Thank You Very Mochi and will be ordering signage soon. The Takeda tradition will continue.
Step inside, order, pay and your name will be called. There are 18 seats inside and tables out in front.
The Monte Cristo Breakfast sandwich ($14.99) is served with warm syrup and a side of fruit. 
Made with Boar's Head oven roasted ham, Havarti cheese, mustard and mayo on egg-dipped white bread which is pan fried, this hefty sandwich is enough to share. 
There are four soups available daily, all home made: tomato basil, chicken noodle, clam chowder and chili (Cup $5.49-5.99, Bowl $7.49-7.99). The clam chowder is my favorite, although all are wonderfully flavored.
The cheesy flatbread ($11.99) is a meal in itself. A thin, made in-house crust topped with roasted garlic tomato sauce, provolone and mozzarella. Simple and good.
The garlic-cilantro jumbo shrimp plate ($16.99) includes a cup of soup or small salad, sautéed broccoli and asparagus and ten jumbo shrimp which are marinated in the house garlic and pepper sauce and lightly cooked (still meaty and firm).
On the bottom of the wall menu there is a section "Pepper Farm Special" ($7.99). A choice of four cold half sandwiches, chips and a fountain drink. (for $11.99, you can get a choice of four hot half sandwiches, chips and a drink). This is the Bovine: roast beef, havarti cheese, garlic aioli, mustard, red onion, tomatoes, banana peppers and spring mix on a hoagie roll. It's a large half sandwich. 
There are desserts, too.
A lot of the business is take out, but we managed to grab a seat at one of the five tables inside.
There is a menu on the front window and we were handed menus when we sat down. There are lunch specials!
The Mister ordered a lunch special, which came with a chicken based, thick egg drop soup. Complimentary 'crunchies' were brought out with the silverware.
Soon, our orders were brought out. Egg Foo Young (because it was our first visit and I always order EFY on my first visit to any Chinese restaurant-everyone makes EFY uniquely). Lunch Special #23- Salt and Pepper Fish.
The Lunch Specials are $11.95. The Special comes with steamed jasmine rice or fried rice and a vegetable egg roll in addition to the soup (choice of egg drop or hot and sour). You can substitute steamed vegetables and chop suey for additional fees. The batter and fry of the fish was excellent- not greasy, light and crisp. The fish was light and flaky. This was tasty and a good portion.
Mixed Vegetable Egg Foo Young ($14.95)-what a delightful version! Three large patties, filled with bean sprouts, broccoli, peas and carrots and so eggy, fried nicely with a light and crisp crust and topped with a proper (not thick, not salty) brown gravy. One waitress brought us more gravy halfway through- which was just enough to take home with the leftovers.
The southernmost 'anchor' building used to be a small grocer which had a small restaurant connected. Now, the grocery building is another location of Keg 'n Barrel, a beer and liquor store. The restaurant is walled off and a separate business, Sangucheria PSF (Peruvian Street Food), which opened in January 2022. Kirk posted about it 
The small shop has seating for about 35 and is walk up, order and pay. Your food is brought out to the table.
The simple menu has a good variety of choices.
We decided to share. First, a cheese empanada ($6). Thin, flaky crust filled with a hefty amount of warm, firm (not gooey) Oaxaca cheese. This was very satisfying.
The Choripan sandwich ($10) was served with two house made chile based sauces (that one on the left is catsup; the green one had a pleasant heat and that yellow one was spicy, probably habanero or a cousin).
Served on a thin/ crisp crusted, warm bread which was light and airy (and crushed down easily), this weighty sandwich was enough to share.
Two split then grilled chorizo links topped with a house made chimichurri sauce (with distinct parsley, garlic and oregano flavors). You know I am picky about chorizo (see 
That catsup was for the sweet potato fries ($4.50) we ordered. We also shared an Inka Kola ($2.50); the familiar vanilla soda flavor brought back good memories.