Closed – Page 103

Lucky Star Restaurant – Unlucky Visit

October 29, 2005 mmm-yoso Blog

This morning we decided to pay a visit to Lucky Star Restaurant:

Lucky Star is known for reasonably priced Dim Sum, Seafood, and Cantonese dishes. We’ve been here more then a few times. In fact, we call it the "Big Red Barn", due to its large size, and reddish-shingled roof. The interior is cavernous, and there is a stage and dance floor for those ballroom type events and celebrations. In fact, I’ve recommended Lucky Star to more then a few people. But today, they’ll be no food in this post. Why? Well because we never got to that point. Let me explain:

We got to Lucky Star at around 1045 this morning, and were seated promptly. We quickly noticed that the restaurant was less then a third full. Well, the table we were seated at was covered with a layer of oily residue, which meant that it really hadn’t been cleaned well. But heck, I’ve eaten under worst circumstances. So we sat….at 1050 I looked at my watch, I noticed that most of the staff were busy cleaning up tables, even though the place is basically empty. And no had yet even acknowledged our existence. The table next to us with Four Guys sitting there obviously knew someone, because they were getting their water refilled. Next time I looked it was 1053 and the servers were milling around, and it still seemed we were invisible. At 1055, the Missus flagged down one of the Servers and asked for Tea and Water, she was told "Well, what kind tea?" So we said Jasmine is fine. 1059, our tea was dumped on our table with a simple "Here…tea". Funny, still no Dim Sum carts at our table, and where’s our water? 1105, we noticed people who got seated after us are getting served, tea, water, the carts are there…. At 1109 we had seen enough. As we walked out the Missus had a few words with the Hostess, so I intervened. I explained what the situation was, and she asked if I wanted to speak to the Owner. I asked if it would really make a difference, and she said "No, not really". So we left. I also said if your servers think it’s more important to bus tables in a restaurant that is two-thirds empty, then to get tea and water for patrons who have been sitting and waiting for 15 minutes, you’ve got some problems.

To put it bluntly, Lucky Star will never, ever see, another dollar of my hard earned money. period!

Seoul BBQ Restaurant

October 27, 2005 mmm-yoso Korean Restaurants, What Ed Eats -You too can be like Ed!

**** Seoul BBQ has closed

Before Buga, there was Boo Cho, and before Boo Cho, there was Seoul BBQ:

Nowadays, I mostly go to Seoul BBQ for the lunch specials, which range from $6.99 – $13.99. Seoul BBQ went through a major renovation about a year or two ago, which has made the interior alot more appealing and comfortable. And of course there are those two plasma televisions going:

Seoul BBQ is also home of something else; the infamous “dump and duck”. That is several times I’ve had the Waitress show up take my order, “dump” my food, deliver my check while I’m eating, and totally disappear! Well attempting to go against odds I dropped in for lunch and had the Combination Kalbi/Naengmyun ($13.99). Things go as usual, water is dropped off, my order taken and the panchan delivered without a word:

The panchan was average, the Baechu(Nappa Cabbage) was better than the radish or the namul.

Soon the Naengmyun and vinegar is dropped off without a word:

Truly unremarkable, and fairly bland, I needed to add a ton of vinegar. The portion was rather large, but overall, not the refreshing dish I was anticipating.The Kalbi was also dropped off at the same time, along with the check, and the Waitress was never to be seen again, not that I would’ve recognized her……

For lunch cross-cut ribs are used for the Kalbi, for dinner the more traditional cut is served. Many people I know, enjoy the Kalbi at Seoul, probably because it’s more on the “sweeter” side than most other places. The Kalbi was nice and tender, cooked perfectly. In all there were 6 “bones”, the equivalent of two pieces. I really didn’t think this lunch was worth $13.99, and the “dump and duck” was in fine form on this day. I never even got a water refill!

So just to push my luck, I found myself at Seoul again. Yes, a true glutton for punishment, or perhaps just a martyr to the devotees of the “dump and duck”! On this day I just decided on the Bulgogi lunch special ($7.99), first up, water and my order, then soup was delivered to my table as well as the two tables in front of me – bang, bang, bang!

The soup was a mild beef soup with miso(!!!) and spinach. This was actually a pretty nice combination, though the bitterness of the spinach was amplified. Oh, and the Waitress; well she made me crack up. As she delivered the soup, she said “You’re Welcome”. The only thing was I didn’t even have a chance to say “Thank You”, I guess she was just being proactive…..going down the aisle repeating “you’re welcome, you’re welcome, you’re welcome” as she dropped soup on each table.

The “Bento” style box along with the ubiquitous metal bowl of rice was delivered in no time.

In this “box” were four types of panchan; the baechu and fishcake were decent, the spinach and cucumber were terrible. The “namasu-like” pickles were very, very sour; and I must’ve made quite a face. The Waitress just “happened” to show up when I ate this. In my conspiracy filed paranoiac thoughts, I actually think she did this on purpose. A single drumette was provided, it had me thinking Chicken Alice, but in reality, it was more like Chicken Al. Not quite tasty enough.

4 pieces of Tempura and some dipping sauce were served. The eggplant and potato were very bland and the dipping sauce really did not do anything to help. The shrimp was pretty good, though the batter on it was a bit soggy, but the piece of squid was very tasty, in a oceany, briney kind of way.

The Bulgogi was soft, but could have used more flavor. It tasted under marinated, but overall was fine. I thought when taking into consideration the amount of food provided, that this lunch was worth the $7.99 price. Next time though, I’ll order the Daeji Bulgogi, it looked really tasty. As I was eating our checks were delivered, all in a row again, “bam-bam-bam”. And our Waitress even made an additional pass, going right down the row “You ok? You ok? You ok?” That’s when I got it! Today was “Flight Attendant” day! I must’ve looked strange, sitting there with a stupid grin on my face. But suddenly I understood it all. As I left, I must have looked like a very satisfied customer, with that stupid smile on my face. Two of the Waitresses walked me to the door, and told me “Thank you, come again”, though I was expecting “Have a nice trip……” But no “dump and duck” today, so I guess your mileage may vary!

To be fair and honest, one of the servers spent alot of time with a very indecisive couple, and really helped them out. Seoul BBQ is a very popular dinner destination with some of my Ex-Pat Kama’aina friends, they like the sweeter taste of the Kalbi and (Dak)Bulgogi. During dinner hours Seoul reverts back to the typical Korean gas-brazier type Korean BBQ, it seems that the quality is better during the evening as well. Seoul BBQ’s new menu is almost like an instructional booklet, with pages on “What is Korean BBQ?” and “What is Kim Chee?” for the uninitiated. I don’t quite know what to make of that.

Seoul BBQ Restaurant
4344 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

Sun Cafe and a Little Walking Tour

October 25, 2005 mmm-yoso Breakfast/Brunch, Diner, Exploring San Diego, Farmer's Markets/Night Market, yoso-silly

Ah, yes, another beautiful Seattle morning:

Just kidding…although the drizzly weather this past Sunday sure did remind me of Seattle. When I'm on vacation I enjoy getting up early and watching the City "wake", I especially love going down to Stockton St in San Francisco, or Pike's Place Market in Seattle, early in the morning, and just watch the area slowly come alive. So this morning I decided to head down to our own Gaslamp District and give it the "tourist treatment". Also, I'd received this little brochure and map during one of the movies at the San Diego Asian Film Festival, and took some time to read it. I'd known that San Diego once had a "Chinatown" but didn't know that it had been declared a Historical District. There's also a Sunday Farmer's Market in the same area, so that sealed the deal.

I had no problem finding parking on this misty Sunday morning; but I'd arrived at about 830, so the Farmer's Market stalls were still getting set up. I just decided to grab some breakfast and take a short "tour". I started at the corner of 3rd and J Street, at the location of the San Diego Chinese History Museum.

The Museum is located in the former Chinese Mission Building. As I walked up the street I was fairly surprised at what I noticed; like the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association Building:

These buildings really stood out, standing beside all the downtown Condominiums and development. This area at 3rd and Island Street was the heart of Chinatown in the late 1800's and early 20th Century.

As I walked up Market Street, my stomach started growling. It was time for some grub. It was my intention to grab a bite at the The Field, my favorite Irish Pub. I'd been looking at trying one of their "boxty" breakfast's. But Sun Cafe on Market Street caught my eye:

According to what I read this building was built between 1873 and 1883, and is one of the oldest buildings in the area. The Obayashi family ran a shooting gallery and confectionary at this location, but by 1926 the soup that was served here became so popular that Sun Cafe became strictly a restaurant. The Jeong Family bought the business in 1963, and still runs the Cafe. When you enter you quickly notice the old Soda Fountain counter and the old wooden booths, it's like entering a little retro time capsule diner, circa 1950's:

I sat in one of the booths and ordered Two Eggs, Hash Browns, and Corned Beef Hash ($4.90). The food is strictly diner, and carried out in efficient form. The eggs scrambled, and there was a nice crust on the Hash. And of course, I had to have a good diner quality Cup O' Joe (70 cents):

A bit of trivia; Sun Cafe is featured in several scenes in the movie Almost Famous.

I left refreshed and ready to head over to the Farmer's Market, and so I headed back. On the way back I noticed another Museum on the corner of 4th and Island. It was the William Hearth Davis House, a saltbox style house that was built in 1850. William Hearth Davis was one of San Diego's early pioneers; but did you know he had ties to Hawaii? Well it seems that Mr Davis was 1/4 Hawaiian, his grandmother Mahi was a ward of Kamehameha I. In fact he was known as "Kanaka" Bill. His full given name was William Hearth Ko'olaupoko Mahi-Davis. Amazing what you learn by reading brochures.

At this point, I headed back to the tiny Farmer's Market:

There really wasn't much going on, and only 2 vegetable vendors, and one flower vendor, though the Crepe booth was doing good business. I did get some Dog Biscuits for Sammy and Frankie:

By this time it was almost 10am, and I started seeing alot more people. It was time to leave.

Isn't it amazing what a little pamphlet can provide. I'm looking at the stuff I usually discard quickly, a bit more closer in the future! (Except those that are handed to me in Vegas!)

Sun Cafe
421 Market St
San Diego, CA 92101
Open Daily 7am-230pm

San Diego Chinese Center Sunday CFM
4502 33rd St
San Diego, CA 92116

Golden City Restaurant Part 1 of 3 – Lunch

October 23, 2005 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants

**** Golden City has closed

*** As of July, 2006 Golden City is under new Ownership – posts on the “New” Golden City, can be found here and here.

When we initially moved to San Diego, one of our favorite “budget” Chinese Restaurants was Golden City. They had pretty decent food and a great lunch and late “supper” menu, with great prices. We were a bit sad when they closed down, though we were told that they would probably re-open in the future. So back in July I was very happy to see that Golden City was set to re-open in a new location. On Sept 26th, Golden City re-opened, at it just so happened that I was on vacation that Monday, so it was pretty much a no-brainer!

As I entered the Restaurant at 1110am, I noticed how large and bright the restaurant was, a big change from it’s former incarnation, which was kind of “divey”. I also noticed that I was probably the first customer! I was handed two menus, a “regular” menu, and a “lunch specials” menu. Going through the lunch menu, I noticed that many of the items we used to enjoy like Kwai Fei Chicken and Roast Duck were no longer offered as lunch specials, and that the Beef Chow Fun was now a whopping 7 bucks on the lunch special menu. The one item that was still on the lunch menu was the Pork Chop with Spicy Salt ($5.95); so this is what I ordered.

The lunch came with a choice of Hot & Sour or Egg Drop Soup. I chose the Hot & Sour soup:

This was a good start. I’d always enjoyed the Hot & Sour Soup at Golden City, this version is a nicely balanced salty, sour, and “pepper” hot.

My Pork Chop arrived soon after. I had a slight laugh as it was put in front of me. I guess Golden City is now using the “large plate illusion.” That is, food is delivered on a very large platter, with the food spread out making it look like a huge amount. The lunch came with an Egg Roll(lousy), and a small salad with an Asian Dressing (forgettable).

As for the Pork Chop:

I guess you pay the price for bring the “first” customer. Though the pork chop looked a nice brown, and there was some garlic and scallions on the pork chop. The meat was not cooked at a hot enough temperature, causing the coating to be soggy and the meat tough. The batter was also falling off the pork chop and the garlic was burnt, not exactly an auspicious start. It also took me about 15 minutes to get my check, no one could figure out what my table number was, but it’s not like there were tons of customers in the place, go figure!

At this point in time Golden City really needed to get it’s act together, so I decided to visit again in a few weeks to see how they progressed, though not at lunch. The lunch menu is targeted at the “local” businesses with items like Orange Chicken, Egg Foo Young, and such. Which is probably for the best, in it’s former life Golden City seemed to have no real identity, first serving Dim Sum, then doing Chinese BBQ and Special Menus, finally ending up with a terrible lunch buffet.

Some notes on Golden City; I’ve always had good service here, and many of the same Employees have been retained. There is a “supper” menu that is served from 9pm to midnight, and has many of our “familiar” dishes.

So can Golden City put it together? Find out in Parts 2 and 3, coming soon!

Golden City Restaurant
5375 Kearny Villa Rd.
San Diego, CA 92123

Open Daily 11am – Midnight

Teri Cafe – You Coulda’ Been a Contenda’…

October 19, 2005 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants

*** Update – This location of Teri Cafe is closed, it is now Katsu Cafe

….For my rotation, if not for food shortcomings. Located in a strip mall on Clairemont Mesa Blvd, Teri Cafe serves up Ramen, Yakisoba, and other standard Japanese fare like Teriyaki(of course!!!).

The decor of Teri Cafe goes for a "surfer – Hawaiian" flavor; with surfboards mounted on the walls, surf videos playing on the two plasma televisions with "Jahwaiian" (Reggae flavored music from Hawaii) music playing in the background, there's a definite tropical influence in the decor. The menu is quite extensive with over 50 items, from Teriyaki and Udon, to Soba.

But what drew me here were the locally made noodles, sold from the Teri Cafes Owners other business, a company called Nihon Seimen. Sounds pretty close to saimin, huh? So I decided to order the Chicken Teriyaki and Yakisoba ($5.70):

The dish consisted of a good portion of noodles, stir fried vegetables, and a small piece of chopped grilled chicken with "teriyaki sauce" on it. The noodles were as advertised, thin, slightly chewy, with a nice pull to it. The problem starts with everything else. The noodles were way over-dressed, making the noodles, cabbage, carrots, et al, very, very, sweet and salty. So salty that I finished my bottle of water with my meal, drank another in the car, and had two glasses when I arrived home. Some of the sauce's personality should have been saved for the chicken, though nicely grilled was basically tasteless, and the teriyaki sauce was the smokey/mild type, that lacked any sweetness or saltiness, in a word; bland.

But those noodles were great! So I thought I'd give Teri Cafe another shot; and this time I ordered the Banzai Ramen ($5.45):

This was a bowl of noodles with "Tonkotsu" style broth – basically deeply and fiercely boiled pork bones, but in this case I'm pretty sure it was made from a "base". Topped with stir fried vegetables and chicken, some Kamabuko (fish cake), and bean sprouts. The noodles again delivered, and if anything was even better suited for Ramen than the Yakisoba. Everything else again was a bit of a let-down. The broth was just plain salty, and not the rich, almost creamy Tonkotsu broth. The stir fry was bland and also some of it was burned; you can see the black specks in the soup. So again I was left with basically mixed feeling regarding this dish.

There's alot to like about Teri Cafe, the facility is clean, well-lit, and I kind of enjoy the atmosphere. The prices are good, and the service is excellent; even though you just place your order, pay, and the food is delivered to your table; there are little things that makes Teri Cafe a bit different. If you purchase fountain drinks, the "Girls" refill them for you for free; they also check on every table at least once during the meal. And of course I think the noodles are very good, even though it's not Saimin noodles, so good that I'm thinking of just purchasing the noodles. Unfortunately, the rest of the food does not live up to the quality of the noodles.

Teri Cafe
7305B Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92111

Mon-Sat 1030am-9pm
Closed Sunday

Chicago On A Bun

October 10, 2005 mmm-yoso Hot Dogs

*** This location of Chicago on a Bun is no longer

This past Saturday, I was up in the UTC area around lunch, so I decided to grab a "Dog" at Chicago on a Bun in the Renaissance Towne Center.

Now, I'm not a real "Hot Dog" kind of guy, but I do enjoy a good Chicago Dog. In case you really don't know what a "Chicago Dog" is; it's a Beef Hot Dog in a Poppy Seed Bun, with Mustard, Onion, Relish, Tomato, Sport or Hot Peppers (no jalapeno's need apply), Dill Pickle, and most importantly Celery Salt. No kraut please!

Chicago on a Bun is a Mom and Pop business specializing in Chicago Style Hot Dogs, Sandwiches, and Ribs. It's a little shop crammed full of memorabilia, with a large menu:

So what did I order? A Regular Dog ($3.65), and a drink ($1.35). I placed my order with a sweet and funny older Lady, and had a seat. In few minutes my Dog was ready and I had a seat outside.

Dig that relish will ya'! The dog was a good beef dog, a little on the smaller size, but it could be that I'm affected by the Costco-sizing of the world. I wish the relish was a bit sweeter, and that I had a bit more onions. The peppers were a little spicy, though more pickled than hot. I enjoyed the steamed bun, nice and a bit eggy!

One thing about eating this dog; it's almost impossible to eat it in a neat manner.

You see, in order to maximize the experience, you should get a bit of everything in each bite. Which is nearly impossible, since physics dictates that masses of different sizes and textures will escape through the path of least resistance. In other words, stuff is falling everywhere!

All in all, a nice Chicago Dog, though a bit pricey at almost 4 bucks.

Chicago on a Bun
8935 Towne Center Drive
San Diego, CA 92122
Open Daily – Mon-Sat 11-8, Sun 11-5

Renaissance Towne Center is an interesting place, done to look Old World/East Coast like. Parking is really limited, though there are a quite a few eating places in the mall, it seems like the mall was designed to mainly feed the neighborhood. I really like the Clock Tower:

If you only knew, that at the base of the Tower is a Pizza Hut!

Oh, and by the way; if you're the obnoxious, chubby Chinese Girl stage whispering to your 98 pound weakling of a Boyfriend, "He's so gross", while looking at me eating my Hot Dog. Please take to heart what I said to you; "You want to see gross, try the mirror first!" Try a few servings of class, instead of whatever it is you're stuffing your face with next time, OK?

Do Re Mi House

October 6, 2005 mmm-yoso Chicken Wings, Korean Restaurants

*** Do Re Mi House has closed

***An update on De Re Mi House can be found here.

Yes, I know it's a strange name. Can you guess what kind of food Do Re Mi House serves? Let me give you some help:

Do Re Mi House serves Korean BBQ and basic Korean dishes in a small dining area, that almost feels "homey", or even like a little countryside Inn perhaps. I've never seen this place reviewed or mentioned anywhere, and the only reason I really know about it, is that a Gal at one of those "mailbox" places once told me that she takes Her Family there because it's affordable, and the food is good. So I've been dropping by off and on for the last few years.

The best bargains are the lunch specials, ranging from $5.99 – $7.99(Kalbi). For lunch this past week I had the Daeji Bulgogi ($5.99):

This "box/bento" style lunch consists of a small portion of BBQ spicy pork, rice, a green salad, 2 pieces of mandoo, and some panchan. The pork was flavored well, it's simply pork bulgogi with gochujang, and was moist, tender, slightly sweet, mildly spicy, and well flavored. The panchan is routine,except for the marinated potatoes, which I love. And the mandoo is terrible, a wrapper like thin cardboard, and not worth my time, neither was the green salad.

What sets Do Re Mi House apart was the service. Alot of places have a low-margin lunches going, basically inexpensive lunches in hopes of attracting volume. Many of these places do what I call the "dump and duck". That is once your order is placed, everything is "dumped" at your table, and the server "ducks" out, never to be seen until your check comes. During this lunch, for instance, the Young Lady saw that I plowed through the panchan, so she came by with two more bowls, saying, "you like kim chee, here's some more". Noticing my rice was running low she asked if I needed more, and brought me a bowl, as well as filling my water 3 times. So by the time I left, what started as a small lunch ended up being a little larger.

One evening I stopped by and ordered the Dak Bulgogi ($10.99):

There was a good variety of panchan, all totally routine, except the potatoes which I enjoyed. The portion size of the chicken seemed deceptively small, I say deceptively because I couldn't finish. The chicken had a bit of a sweeter taste then I'm used to, but was perfectly fine. I enjoyed the carmelization and the onions on the bottom. The chicken was also well marinated, I've had many instances where the chicken is quickly marinated than cooked, with sauce added at the end, leaving the chicken somewhat bland. As I was eating the Waitress came by and said, you liked the potatoes, right? And brought me another little bowl of the potatoes:

Do Re Mi House fills a niche right below Boo Cho and Buga, in price and quality. I've seen groups of students and families coming in for dinner. The BBQ is not done at the table. Lunch is much more inexpensive, though the portions may be a little on the small side, I've always left satisfied, if not stuffed. Service has always been good.

One short funny story. One night I was just having the Chicken Wings ($6.99), which were fine, but they had changed the recipe since I last had them. They used to be battered and spicy, and now they were just deep fried:

I was having this with some rice and panchan, when an older Lady sitting and eating at the front table, watching Korean Soap Opera, would get up every so often. She would grab a fly swatter and start killing flies in the front area with extreme accuracy. She would eat a few bites while watching the television, get up, and "whap-whap" get a few flies, clean up, and go back to eating and watching her show. I'm assuming she worked there, but am not quite sure…… So I guess there's free entertainment on certain nights? BTW, the flies never really made it into the restaurant with her around; she was deadly accurate!

DO Re Mi House
8199 Clairemont Mesa Blvd Ste M
San Diego, CA 92111
(858) 565-2085

San Tong Palace

October 5, 2005 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Niu Rou Mian

**** San Tong Palace has closed

San Tong Palace is a little Sino-Chinese Restaurant located in Plaza Del Sol on Convoy St. This Korean-Chinese Restaurant specializes in Shandong style Chinese Food; that is, Northern Chinese cuisine. I've also seen Northern Chinese style Korean owned restaurants back home in Hawaii as well. I really don't have an explanation as to why this is, other than Korea is located right across the coast of the Shandong Province. Maybe someone will have a historical explanation.

The Missus is originally from Qingdao(Tsing Tao) a major coastal port in Shandong, so naturally when we moved to San Diego a few years back we were excited when we found this restaurant. The food, however was not very good, so we hadn't bothered to go back. Recently, I was told that San Tong Palace made a good Niu Rou Mein (Beef Noodle Soup). So one evening, when the Missus was working I decided to pay San Tong Palace another visit.

As I entered the restaurant, the employees were speaking in Korean. But they greeted me in Mandarin; unfortunately I speak neither. I was delivered a pot of tea, unfortunately it was lukewarm, so I had them get me another pot, still lukewarm, so I just decided to forget about the tea, not a good start. A plate of Kim Chee was delivered, along with the sauce for the dumplings I ordered:

Actually, it was a cross between kim chee and Shandong style pickled cabbage. Spicy like kim chee, but with a hint of the vinegary sweetness of pickles. This would turn out to be the best dish of the night!

The Niu Rou Mein was delivered ($5.95):

Looks ok doesn't it? Well, looks are deceiving. If you look a little closer, you'll notice that the beef is sliced sirlion, that along with green onions and onions, had been stir-fried and then dumped in a flavorless broth. These tough pieces of "beef" had no business in this soup, the beef also had that slightly "metallic" taste of old meat. Now I've had Niu Rou Mein with sliced brisket ala' pho', but this was no brisket, it was more like two dollar steak from the nearest market. I've had better tasting beef broth from an envelope. The noodles were ok, though. But this "soup" was nothing like the decent bowl of Niu Rou Mein from Shanghai City. Well at least it was piping hot!

I had also ordered the Fish Dumplings ($6.95):

There were 10 handmade dumplings filled with minced white fish, chives, and green onions. The fillings were ok, moist, and so mildly flavored that it could've been chicken or pork. The wrappers, though handmade, really didn't have the "home-made" texture. The wrappers didn't have the slight "resistance" and elasticity that I look for in Chinese dumplings, these broke up too easily. The sauce was pretty weak, so I just made my own with soy sauce, vinegar, and chili paste.

Well, I really don't think I'll be going back, no matter who recommends San Tong Palace. If you do visit San Tong Palace, stay away from that bogus Niu Rou Mein!

Some notes on San Tong Palace; most signs are in Chinese, including the Restroom signs, so it'll be best if you know what the Chinese symbols are if you're looking for the restroom. The dining room is well lit, and the service is efficient.

San Tong Palace
4690 Convoy St Ste 105
San Diego, CA 92111

(858) 571-6837

Shanghai City Restaurant

October 2, 2005 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Niu Rou Mian, Xiao Long Bao

*** Update: Shanghai City has closed.

*** Updated posts on Shanghai City can be found here and here.

When I mention to people that I enjoy eating at Shanghai City, I get some weird stares. I guess it's because most think of the American Chinese Food on the menu, or the $5.99 Lunch Buffet. Not necessarily great Chinese Food, though I do enjoy the Buffet once in a while.

There are some "hidden treasures" on the menu, but the days to go to Shanghai City are between 10am and 3pm on weekends, where there's a menu with Chinese "specials" available:

Today we decided to order the Wine Marinated Chicken ($3.75):

In the most basic form, this cold dish is prepared by rubbing a chicken with salt and letting stand and drain for 6 hours or so. The chicken is then steamed, and cooled, and cut into large pieces which are marinated in a combination of chicken stock and Shao-sing wine overnight. This gives the meat a dense, brined texture, with a taste reminiscent of ham. Because of the wine, the first bite of this mild looking dish can really catch you off guard, but you'll soon be munching away at piece after piece of this dish.

The main reason we visit Shanghai City is the Niu Rou Mein ($4.25):

I'm positively addicted to Chinese Beef Noodle soup, there are several versions, but my favorite is the numbing-spicy Sichuan style soup. Unlike pho' this is a dark, beef broth, flavored with star anise, soy sauce, sugar, wine, chili pepper, garlic, among other things. The meat is usually a stewing cut like beef shank with some tendon and fat. When cooked well, the meat is tender and holds it's flavor. The soup is usually garnished with cilantro, green onions, and a green vegetable, in this case bok choy, though I use spinach in my homemade version. The broth here at Shanghai City can vary wildly, but the noodles are superb. The noodles have a great "handmade" texture, doughy with elasticity. A large portion of noodles is always included at Shanghai City. Today, the soup was good, not great, but mildly rich and beefy, really spicy, but the noodles were great as always. On a great day this dish is really delici-yoso!!!

We also usually order the Xiao Long Bao ($5.95), those ever popular "soup-dumplings".

Shanghai City is one of the few places where you can get XLB in San Diego. These dumplings are filled with a pork based filling, along with alot of "juice", thus the name soup dumplings. The way to eat them are to place some sauce in the spoon, then place the dumpling in the spoon (do not break the dumpling) and eat in one perfect bite. Today the wrappers on these were a bit on the "dry" side, though filled with delish slightly sweet, salty, "soup".

Shanghai City does a decent rendition of many dishes, like Smoked Fish (Su Shih Hsun Yuu – $4.75), not really smoked, but actually a fried than marinated dish, that gives the fish a smoked look, The Tea Smoked Duck here has also been good on occaision ($7.95). Most dishes are are between $4.75 to $8.95, so the prices here are not too bad.

Shanghai City
3860 Convoy St
San Diego,CA 92111
619-278-5883

Closed Tuesdays

We've done a revisit post on Shanghai City on 12/17/06, it can be found here.

Da Kine’s

September 25, 2005 mmm-yoso Local Kine Stuffs in San Diego, Plate Lunch

**** The La Mesa location has closed and Nelson is currently only doing catering

*** As of June 2022, Da Kine's has reopened in La Mesa – you can find a post here

*** Update – Da Kine's in Pacific Beach has closed, you can find a short update here, near the bottom of the page. The Mira Mesa and National City locations are still open, and a new location in Point Loma is coming soon.

Warning: Pidgin English has Been Liberally Used in the Creation of this Post

When I first started coming to San Diego on a regular basis back in the late 90's, Da Kine's was pretty much the "only show in town". Partially because of that reason, Nelson Ishii has carved himself a pretty loyal customer base. In addition, I've found that DaKines' plate lunches are a bit lighter, with items such as Grilled Fish and the Teriyaki Chicken here is skinless. I visit DaKine's usually only the Autumn and Winter months because of the crowds and traffic in Pacific Beach.

DaKines has their own share of detractors, especially from some of the Ex-Pat Kama'ainas' that I know. A recent phone conversation went like this:

"Eh, you wanna go Dakines"
"Dakines, nah, laita's"
"Why not?"
"First, too many make-pretend, wanna be surfa's, two, they are tight with the portions, and three, they dip the chicken"
"They dip the chicken?"
"Yeah, they precook the chicken, put em' in a pan, and when there's an order they put the chicken on a plate and squirt sauce over it!"
"Oooh-kay, next time then?"

One of the things I do like about DaKines is that they have some "classic" plate lunches that the plethora of Hawaiian BBQ places in San Diego don't(and no it's not the grilled Mahi), like Beef Stew. Also, many of the employees at DaKines speak pidgin, and I'm almost sure of a "pidgin" conversation there.

Two items on the menu at DaKines gives me a problem; it's the attempt at humor in using pidgin for the "mixed plates" there. The 2 item(2 entree) plate is called "Da Bugga" and the 3 item plate is called "Wop Yo Jaws". Which can lead you to interesting little exchanges like:

"What you like?"
"I like Wop Ya Jaws"
and
"Can I help you"
"Yeah, I like Da Buggah"

For those interested in a translation you can go here: to a Pidgin English Dictionary.

Today; looking over the menu, I noticed that the Beef Stew had been covered over; the Counter Person told me that it was due to lack of demand. Bumma! So I ended up ordering a " Two item Mixed Plate" (sorry still can't make myself say "I want Da Buggah"). With Chicken Katsu and Grilled Teriyaki Chicken ($7.00):

While waiting, I noticed that I was the only customer in the whole restaurant wearing slacks; everybody else were wearing shorts! Took my plate lunch home and got ready to eat. A couple of first impressions, the portions are on the smaller side, but this didn't bother me. All this meant was no "Kanak-attack" (food coma) after eating. The chicken katsu was very good, nice and crunchy and not oily, and best of all, good old Hawaiian style Katsu sauce was provided – ketchup based, not a watery sweet sour icky L&L sauce. Though not even close to say, Grace's in portion size and taste, this was good. The Teriyaki chicken consisted of two skinless pieces; one small thigh, and one smaller thigh, or knee, or maybe ankle – it was a really small piece of chicken! Though the chicken was obviously grilled, it was very bland, and flavorless. DaKines has a bad habit of serving mushy rice, though this time it was fine. Even though the macaroni salad had celery, carrots, the one item it needed was some "umph", it was very boring.

On my last visit, I just got the Chicken Katsu plate($5.75):

This time the Katsu was okay though a bit burnt, with some bitter pieces. The rice was cooked with too much water and mushy, and the macaroni salad was still bland. I think I'll wait a while before my next visit!

Some notes on DaKine's. There are two locations of DaKine's, one in the Promenade Mall located in Pacific Beach, right above Tony Roma's. There is validated underground parking. The other location is on Sweetwater Road in National City. Everybody at DaKine's is very nice and friendly. The PB location has a nice "patio" where you can have a plate lunch and check out the beach. There are daily specials; Laulau is served on Sunday. The usual suspects like, Kalua Pork and Cabbage, Saimin, and Spam Musubi, are on the menu.

DaKine's
4120 Mission Blvd. #208
San Diego, CA 92108
858-274-8494