Closed – Page 18

Machu Picchu Bar and Restaurant

January 14, 2019 mmm-yoso Peruvian Restaurants, Seafood

**** Machu Picchu Bar and Restaurant has closed

A few months ago, one of my coworkers mentioned a Peruvian place he and his wife loved. They are, like me, big fans of Peruvian food. I was surprised at the recommendation. It was a place in the Gaslamp, named after one of the places I'll never forget; Machu Picchu. He highly recommended the Pescado alo Macho; so I headed on down soon after.

The restaurant is located on 5th Avenue, next to Rockin' Baja Lobster. The interior is quite wide open and really looks like a sports bar with an additional dining area upstairs.

This being 1130 on a Sunday, the place was totally empty. The person tending the bar told me choose any table and I had a seat. A menu was provided and I started with a Chicha Morada; which wasn't overly sweet, though the cinnamon-clove flavor was also slightly muted. It was fine though.

In a short while my pretty generous plate arrived. The gentleman told me to be careful of the Aji sauce….which he pronounced Ah-Gee, rather than the correct Ah-hee…oh well.

The dish as a whole wasn't too bad at all. The fish, sea bass, was fried nicely, light and crisp, moist flesh with no off flavors.

Machu Picchu Rest 04 The rest of the seafood was a mixed bag; the calamari rings were tough and rubbery and the mussels overcooked. The shrimp edged on being dry and overcooked as well. The sauce was very thin; but quite spicy….it definitely was "macho".

I prefer my sauce for pescado alo macho with a combination of aji Amarillo and aji rocoto; this one was quite one-dimensional and could have used perhaps a bit more tanginess from tomato and some pungent-savory flavors. It wasn't too salty though.

And while the rice was on the dry side and the "salad" was quite simple….looking at it I was thinking some sarza criolla would be a nice pungent, slightly spicy way of helping things along….even though that sauce…and the Aji was quite spicy, it would help to refresh. But it was just a salad with a simple dressing.

Still, the fish was the star, and was not bad at all.

So, a little over a week ago, when I took the trolley and visited the Little Italy Mercato and the Tuna Harbor Dockside Market, I decided to head on over to Machu Picchu. This time, the young man working was obviously Peruvian. Again the place was empty, except for two couples at the bar having mimosas.

This time, I started with the Causa Limena which was huge.

The sauce again had a good amount of spice. It was a bit too cold, the potatoes were on the mealy side. I like the potatoes in my causa to be moist and slightly creamy, this more mealy. The chicken filling had enough celery, but way too much mayonnaise for my taste. Lots of chicken though. Not my favorite version…..though it was quite hefty.

I couldn't help but order the cebiche pescado. The fish again was decent quality, but it had been in the citrus a bit too long and was starting to get mushy. The marinating liquid, the leche de tigre ("tiger's milk") was too thin and was much too sour. I prefer a bit more balance in my leche de tigre, a bit of oceany fish stock, pungent onion, cilantro, you get it. The sauce was again spicy Aji Rocoto based. I asked the young man if this was just Aji Rocoto; or if they snuck in some Aji Limo as well. He told me it was just Aji Rocoto. I wished for a bit more Canchita, but I really wouldn't have enjoyed eating it my favorite way….with a spoon of leche de tigre.

The camote was mushy and lacked the sweet and sometimes cinnamony tones of those in Peru. And corn on the cob replaced the wonderful large kernel "choclo", Peruvian corn.

Not a terrible version of cebiche pescado, but lacking in some of the details that make this dish one of our favorites.

Service was a bit slow, but friendly. The portions are quite generous but with typical Gaslamp prices.

Machu Picchu Bar & Restaurant
314 5th Ave
San Diego, CA 92101
Hours:
Sun – Thurs 11am – 10pm
Fri – Sat 11am – 11pm

After that lunch, it was easy getting on the Green Line back to pick my car up. Perhaps I need to check out other places in the area when my car in in for service.

Thanks for reading!

Back to Golden City

January 11, 2019 mmm-yoso Chinese BBQ, Chinese Restaurants

**** Golden City has closed

Golden City is one of those places that Cathy, Ed from Yuma, and I, have posted on a number of times. I’ve been going to Golden City from my pre-blogging days when the place was on Convoy; to the reopening in October of 2005, thru changes in ownership and so on. It’s always been a convenient place to grab a decent lunch, if you choose right.

And so; right before Christmas, we had some time on our hands and Calvin was starving, so we headed on over to Golden City.

I got my usual favorite; the Kwai Fei Chicken.

Which was sadly, not very good this time around. The chicken was dry and tough and that sauce had way too much scallion in it….it had turned green! Bummer….it had been a while since I’d had this and I was looking forward to it.

We also got the Chee Cheong Fun (rolled rice noodle) with XO Sauce.

Uneven cooking technique doomed this dish. The rice rolls were tender; but weren’t evenly coated in XO sauce. Burnt bits didn’t help things at all either.

The best dish of the day was the Roast Pork.

While not nearly as good as the “Macao Roast Pork” when it was on the menu….I don’t know how many chefs ago; the skin was crisp; if a bit unevenly roasted. The pork was moist; with a good bit of fat, and not overly salted….you could enjoy the flavor of the swine.

You know; I’d always thought that Golden City in some form would easily outlive me……who knows; it still might. But this was definitely not up to expectations. Hopefully, things will be better next time I visit.

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

Kroran Uyghur Cuisine Revisited

December 13, 2018 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants

**** Kroran has closed

I'm not sure if it's because of how I was raised, a cultural thing, or what……but even the Missus makes fun of how important "keeping my word" is….of course I've forgotten things and such….but I also remember stuff like promising to return for a revisit to a place in a few months. Such was the case with Kroran. Right before our latest trip, having some time for lunch, I drove down Genesee and had lunch at Kroran.

What was quite interesting on this visit was how quiet the place was. I was the only customer, which was in total contrast with my previous visits.

And while the Big Plate Chicken (Dàpánjī ) was tempting, it's not a dish for a solo diner. I started with the "House Laghman" ($14.99).

Which was provided in two parts. The stir fried lamb and vegetables in one bowl and the noodles in another.

The noodles were wonderfully prepared; such nice pull, just the right amount of "doughiness". Unfortunately, the lamb was really tough and dry and the stir fry really lacked flavor…I'd expected some tanginess; but this was so bland. It really could have used salt, white pepper, and that all important Uyghur flavor enhancer, cumin.

I also ordered the Lamb Kawab (yang rou chuanr -$11.99), which I'd had on my last visit. This was even worse than what I'd had before.

Tough, dry, and cold, this was too salty and didn't have enough cumin and spice. It was quite disappointing. Kroran Rev 07

While the service was quite nice, having spent over 25 bucks for a very unsatisfying lunch, I don't think I need to return. Unless one of you…my intrepid readers can compel me to do so. It's kind of sad; because I've had good Uyghur food in China.

Kroran Uyghur Cuisine
4310 Genesee Ave
San Diego, CA 92117

Pesto Craft Kitchen (SDSU area)

December 10, 2018 Cathy Italian Restaurants, Pizza, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! welcomes you back to reading about food in San Diego. Kirk has been working a lot of (weekend) overtime and Cathy is writing a few posts., like this one.

Customized, wood fired oven pizzas have been a restaurant phenomenon since about 2014. I've written two posts about Pieology and one post about Blaze. Pesto Craft Kitchen took over what originally was the location of Social Life Neapolitan Pizza in 2016. Pesto offers more than customizable pizza and salads.
The menu is visible when you walk in (this is an old photo with old prices because I apparently could not take a clear picture of it in the last year). (Use THIS link to see current prices on the website)
You walk along the ordering line.
A decadent snack served here are these delightful 'garlic knots', you can purchase 4 or 8 as an appetizer.
You can sort of see the fire in the oven through the protective glass.
There is an extensive selection of wines and beers.
We started with the calamari fries ($9.95) These are served with a roasted garlic spicy tomato sauce. Meaty strips of squid, breaded with a herb-y coating. A large portion, apparently meant to be shared or this could be a low-carb meal.
When we do enjoy a pasta dish, baked is preferred.In this case, four cheese ravioli ($13.95) which had craft pesto and was topped with marinara and mozzarella. The pasta, cheese fillings, pesto, marinara and even the side of toasted garlic bread were each distinctive in fresh flavors. This was a filling meal…yet we wanted more.
I went back in line and ordered a smoked ham calzone ($9.95)
Mozzarella and ricotta are the cheeses, the wood fired crust had the char that gave the crust flavor and crunch. The cheeses, the bit of marinara sauce…this was wonderful. We had a bite in the restaurant and took the rest home for dinner. A great day of meals.

Pesto Italian Craft Kitchen 6011 El Cajon Blvd, Suite A San Diego, CA 92115 (619)265-2700 Website Open Sun-Thurs 10:30-9:30, closes at 10:00 Fri-Sat

Perry’s Cafe (Old Town)

December 7, 2018 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Diner, What Cathy Eats!

Thanks for reading mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog. Kirk has a few busy workdays ahead, so Cathy is writing about food and stuff.

The Mister and I have been trying to walk a bit more (a sort of early New Year Resolution) and there are so many places around San Diego which are not filled with tourists now, that's it's nice to avoid crowds.

Old Town San Diego is a State Historic Park and is filled with tourists during the warm months of the year. Parking is free as is the ability to visit some original buildings, all with written explanations of their original purpose.

There is something to see and learn about at every turn. It's a nice place to visit and learn about the History of San Diego, at your own pace.
Just at the Southwest edge of the park (beyond the Trolley) is Perry's.
Kirk wrote about this old school diner for the first time in 2007 and has mentioned it in other posts. We were here just past noon; not in a breakfast mood.
It was crowded on this weekday and we were seated in the large 'back room'. There is a 'proper' Roman numeral clock (the '4' has four sticks, not three) here. (here are a bunch of theories why).
We each chose a soup of the day: beef vegetable for The Mister,
and lentil-pea soup for me. Each was made in-house, quite flavorful and very satisfying. One was a meal in itself…
…combined with this salad, which was blue cheese dressed (a good quality dressing). Just enough for a light meal. (soup and salad, $7.95)
When walking in the white board special of baked fish ($10) had caught our eye, so it was ordered. Two large pieces of firm white fish (maybe it was cod) lightly breaded and baked to a crisp crunch. Mashed potatoes (with a lovely gravy) and green beans completed this dish. There was enough to share.
A good meal on a nice day. {Unlike whatever happened here last night. Rain, floods and power outages!}

Perry's Cafe 4620 Pacific Hwy San Diego, CA 92110 (619) 291-7121 Open daily 6 a.m.-2 p.m. Website

Tea Station (again)

November 15, 2018 Cathy Taiwanese Food and Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog. Kirk and His Missus are enjoying a break from blogging; Cathy is writing another post.

Ever since our first visit to Tea Station, and posts here on mmm-yoso!!! beginning in 2007 until 2016, (Links to Prior posts: 2007, 2011, 2012, 2013) The Mister and I enjoy stopping at the Clairmont Mesa location for quick snacks when we can meet up for lunch or early dinner.

Originally, Tea Station was only the building you see on the left, but expanded out and is a nice space to be able to enjoy a quiet meal. This is important, now that there are several other businesses in this same strip mall.

Again, I did not know which beverage to order and chose hot coffee-tea-milk ($4.50/pot) (no boba). Each flavor was distinct in each sip. A fresh coffee, a bold, dark tea and warm milk. So satisfying.
On the white board, we noticed a "Fresh Lemon Green Tea"($3.99) and had to order it. The Mister has been obsessed with fresh lemon items this summer. This was a great beverage and unique in flavor (ordered with no sweet; you could taste the tannins of the green tea along with the sour but fresh squeeze of lemon).
Tea flavored meals are why we stop here. We shared this tea flavored marinated chicken plate ($11.75), which is a favorite. The marinade has tea (of course) and the lightly breaded dark and white meat pieces of chicken are quite large, juicy and flavorful. You don't need any condiments. The side plate of three is ever changing and on this day the cold noodles had some meat, the corn tasted fresh and was crispy and the cabbage was lightly dressed and still crunchy. The rice, of course, was a flavorful sticky accompaniment.

The tea flavor dumplings ($9.25) (on the 'noodle' menu) are the reason we stop here; The Mister has cravings for them. The fillings are the same; porky with a slight tea undertone. The skins are on the edge of being too thick sometimes, but on this visit were just right. There is also a slight tea flavor to the dumpling dough.

All in all, a nice place to stop, sip, have a nice meal and catch up.

Tea Station 7315 Claremont Mesa Blvd San Diego 92111 (858) 268-8198 Open daily 11:30-midnight Website

Tako Factory (San Diego near La Mesa) OMG (Original Mexican Gourmet)

November 13, 2018 Cathy Taco Shops, What Cathy Eats!

Tako Factory has closed. It will be missed.

mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog. Today, Cathy is writing; Kirk is enjoying some time off from work and from blogging.

El Cajon Blvd at 73rd. The signal light. SouthWest corner. Since 2013. Not your average Taco Shop. A bit fancier of a menu. Much more quality. A lot of people told me about it. I should have visited sooner.

Walk up, order, pay, find a seat and your food will be brought out to your table, inside or outside.
You'll get some fresh, crispy, thin, salted chips along with three salsas in a cut bag. The green salsa- mild and lime/tomatillo based. The center is a hot salsa-a habanero finish. The salsa on the right is this traditional recipe I saw on Pati's Mexican Kitchen; Chipotle (smoked jalapeño) with sesame seeds and peanuts. Yes, the salsas-each unique, each fresh made, each wonderful.
Our shared light lunch.
The shrimp tako ($4) is very good. Four large grilled shrimp along with grilled bell pepper and onion and topped with cheese and sour cream on a fresh, warm corn tortilla.
The adovada tako ($4) is served with onions, cilantro, tomato and topped with roasted jalapeño sour cream. The marinated pork is lightly grilled and has crispy bits. The marinade has garlic in it as well as a great red chile. The flavor is a new craving.
The asada tako ($4) is served with guacamole and pico on two tortillas. Quite a lot of food. The meat is wonderful- moist with a great marinade.
All day Tuesday, the chicken, asada and adobada takos are $2 each. The chicken is grilled white meat (moist and flavorful) with onions, bell peppers, topped with cheese, pico and sour cream. {These same three choices are available during 'Happy Hour' (3-5) each weekday, also $2 each. This isn't advertised anywhere.}
The asada alambre ($10) traditionally skewered meat and vegetables (alambre means 'wire'), this version is grilled asada, bacon, green peppers and onions…along with cheese and is served with four corn tortillas. Sort of a fajita (with bacon!), sort of just wonderful, quite enough food to share for another light meal.

Way above average; quality and service.

Tako Factory 7287 El Cajon Blvd San Diego 92115 (619)741-4502 Website Open Daily 10 a.m.- 9 p.m., Closed Sunday

Spicy Hut

November 4, 2018 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants

**** Spicy Hut has closed

Back in May; Faye left a comment on my Shan Xi Magic Kitchen post, in which she overheard customers asking if the staff from Spicy King were now working at the restaurant they were eating at. That would be Spicy Hut, you can read Faye's post here. I filed that away for a while. Then a few weeks back; I happened to mention this to "YZ", who lives fairly close by. One morning, while her kids were attending some kind of event she checked the place out. Interesting story; "YZ" actually worked at Ba Ren over one summer while in college, so she probably waited on us during our visits to Ba Ren! small world. Anyway, "YZ" walked on in; it was before opening and asked if "Shifu Hu" was there….and he was! She brought me a menu….

So, I decided to check them out a few days later.

This is in the former location of Golden State Seafood….man, the last time I was here must be over a dozen years ago!

The interior is clean, there's the de-rigueur cold case with the liang cai; cold dishes.

Chef Hu's wife, whom I met while shopping at 99 Ranch Market and on that final visit to Spicy King was working the front of house and quickly called Chef Hu out. He looked to be in good health and we quickly shook hands…..my Mandarin is non-existent and his English is limited, so we mostly smiled and had a short conversation.

So, of course I was anxious to try some of the dishes. During both visits, I went with more or less the Sichuan dishes I long for and miss.

But first, some Liang Cai.

The Fu Qi Fei Pian ("husband and wife lung pieces", lung = offal or tendon in most cases)was nicely cut; though not spicy enough, and can you tell what's missing? Yep, the tendon. It's sort of like the "husband" decided to leave the "wife" and try to make it on his own. I missed the textural contrast of not having something other than brisket in this. The pig ears were nice and crunchy, with a good amount of sesame oil, but could have used a bit more spice. The pickled long beans were good, nice and briny.

Of course I had to have the Sichuan Liang Mian; I haven't had a good version since Ba Ren closed.

The actual noodles, were passable, not over-cooked, not hard and brittle, but still lacking that nice al dente pull I like. This had a ton of garlic and vinegar, it was a bit too sour for me. The amount of soy and saltiness was perfect, but this needed that savory punch from sesame paste and more spiciness. Still, not a bad version.

Another go-to dish; Ko Shui Ji ("saliva/mouthwatering" chicken). So was this "drool worth"?

This was the best version I've had in a while! The chicken was prepared well; it had a nice toothsomeness, without being tough. The sauce had some nice heat; with decent ginger tones, a touch of sweetness, and some spice! I would have enjoyed a little "ma" (numbing) tones as this was a bit short in the Sichuan Peppercorn department.

My least favorite dish was the Ma Po Doufu.

While the texture of the tofu was excellent; this dish was sorely lacking with regards to several key ingredients; chili bean paste, Sichuan Peppercorns, not enough fermented black beans. It was, to put things mildly very one-dimensional; truly missing that "suan-tian-ku-la-xian", the sour-sweet-bitter-spicy-salty metaphor for a flavorful, yet balanced dish the Chinese use. I brought most of it home and the Missus thought it wasn't very good either.

A few days later; Calvin and "Daniel from Georgia" wanted to grab something to eat. We actually had time for lunch! I mentioned Spicy Hut and Daniel had never had traditional Sichuan food before; so it was a go. They decided that I should do the ordering. So lunch commenced as such.

Liang Cai. The duck gizzards in chili and sesame oil were pretty good, nice and crunchy.

The Shui Zhu Yu (the classic "Water Boiled Fish") dish, which Faye really enjoyed, was quite good, if a bit short in the Sichuan Peppercorn and Doubian Jian department.

The texture of the fish was good, tender, moist, with no muddy flavors. Daniel just loved this and told he'd never had anything like this before!

The Shrimp with Dried Red Chilies was next.

The batter was light and crunchy; though I prefer it more lacquered and not as "thick". It also could have used more Sichuan Peppercorns as this wasn't particularly spicy in spite of all those red chilies. I don't think the fried shrimp was finished correctly with the chilies.

I wanted to temper the spice with one dish and we got the Rice Crust with Three Delicacies.

While a bit on the milder side; the texture of the sauce was good, not too thin and not too gloppy. The fish was prepared well; but the shrimp was a bit on the over-cooked side. Still as this got more and more gooey, it became quite comforting.

Overall, the food was pretty good, better, at least for now than other Sichuan options in San Diego. It's also better than what I'd previously had from Chef Hu at Fu An Garden and Spicy King. I'm hoping they can hold the course. And perhaps it's about time for me to "make the rounds" of the Sichuan shops in San Diego.

Spicy Hut
9460 Mira Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92126
Hours
Mon – Fri 11am – 3pm, 5pm – 930pm
Sat – Sun 11am – 9pm

Sunday Sandwiches – Al Calozzi’s Cheesesteaks

October 28, 2018 mmm-yoso Cheesesteaks, Sandwiches

**** Calozzi's Cheesesteaks has closed

After my last couple of Cheesesteak posts; I got a couple of recommendations. Strangely, both of them are in PB. I thought I'd try out Calozzi's first.

Calozzi's is a tiny little shop squeezed in right next to Latin Chef. There's basically two sets of counters with chairs; inside you can watch your cheesesteaks being made.

Or you can dine outside and watch PB roll on by…..

The menu is simple and straightforward; a handful of cheesesteaks, in Philly style they come "wit" or "witout" (fried onions). The folks working here; especially the young lady are very friendly.

Of course I just went with "The Cheesesteak" ($10.75). Man, this was totally a meat-bomb.

When I broke apart the two pieces; "meat-shrapnel" flew in all directions. Of course, much of the meat was piled on the top. The White American Cheese provided just enough of the volcanic creamy-gooey texture to provide enough lip searing moisture and milkiness to the sandwich. There was a decent beefiness; with little seasoning, which was just fine in my book. Since I had this "wit"; I quickly noticed that the onions were really stringy, not a big deal, but still noticeable.

For me; it was that bread, there was just too much of it, that took away from this sandwich. I'm fond of the crusty, with gritty textured Italian Hoagy bread of places like Amaroso, which have a nice yeasty flavor, and stand up to all the meat juice and gooey cheese.

In the end; just too much bread.

Still, not a bad sandwich. And you'll need to familiarize yourself with the "condiment" rack….not necessarily for the peppers and such; but that's where the napkins and forks (should you need them) are assembled.

After this meat-bomb; I needed a month to recover. So, I recently revisted and had myself the "Donnie"; Calozzi's version of a Mushroom Cheesesteak.

This version; with provolone was much drier; the meat much more caramelized. It was a bit too dry for my taste as there was so much bread. The mushrooms were chopped in large pieces; I'd have preferred a more finer chop and more integrated into the cheesesteak. It was again; a huge amount of beef, so I'm sure it'll impress those who love this portion size.

For me, Calozzi's, which also has a location in Seattle, is more about quantity….you will get your money's worth here. If you want that "meat-bomb" this might be the place.

It's not necessarily my favorite cheesesteak as proportion and the right "roll" matters; at least for me.

I will say; I don't think you'd go hungry here.

Recently; I went searching for photos form that long ago trip to Philly; waaay back in the nineties; when we still used a thing called "film" for photos. Hopefully, I'll find those one of these days. I'll surely scan them and perhaps do a post.

Al Calozzi's Cheesesteaks
1146 Garnet Ave
San Diego, CA 92109
Open Daily:
11am – 9pm

Popcorn Chicken

October 22, 2018 mmm-yoso Chicken Wings, Taiwanese Food and Restaurants

**** Popcorn Chicken has closed

Interesting how things go. One day I noticed this place had opened in the same strip mall as Lolita's and Katsu Café.

The sign said "Taste of Taiwan", so I was somewhat intrigued. I did a brief search online and figured out that this is a Taiwanese "snack/street" food chain with two other locations; one in LA and the other in the OC. So, I decided to walk in and check them out.

They seemed to be doing some decent business; also looked like sort of a Taiwanese Fast-Casual place in the same vein as any number of Tea/Boba shops that are scattered around San Diego. It seemed even more strange that Tea Station was just a few doors over.

The menu consisted of various Taiwanese snack type dishes; chicken wings, sausages, a whole slew of fried stuffs, and basically many of the same dishes with rice and veggies, called "bento boxes".

The prices of the bento boxes seemed quite inexpensive, like six bucks, so I ordered the namesake Popcorn Chicken Medium Spicy Bento Box along with the Chicken Wings Spicy ($5). This is what I picked up when my number was called.

That little bag held the popcorn chicken, fried a bit too hard, more crunchy than crisp, unevenly breaded and seasoned. I actually enjoyed the fried basil the best, the crisp, with anise tones. The seasoning was quite simple and the spice level was decent. Very straightforward.

In that plastic "box" was a very generous portion of rice, with a drizzle of a soy sauce – pork – mildly sweet sauce. And a few small pieces of meat.

The boiled egg was on the over-cooked side for my taste, the yolk was d-r-y, but it was mildly seasoned and not terrible. The veggies were simple steamed zucchini, corn, and a green bean and carrot mixture….the corn and the carrots seemed fairly straight from the frozen food isle.

I was looking forward to trying the chicken wings which was decently fried, but on the dry side.

I really didn't care for the powdery, bitter, seasoning….it was fairly one-dimensional, just adding spice to the chicken and not much else.

Still, I thought this was well worth the price; six bucks for the popcorn chicken and five for the wings (well, maybe not the wings).

I happened to mention this to a few of my coworkers…..they love fried food, donuts, Chik-fil-a, you get it. So, they wanted to check the place out and I said ok.

By this time the Bento Boxes had gone up by $2 and was now eight bucks. I got the fried pork chop.

I noticed that the zucchini and corn had been replaced by sautéed cabbage. The boiled egg was much better this time around and there seemed to be even more rice.

That breading on the pork chop would have been fine if most of it hadn't peeled off the meat when placed in the bag. The seasoning on this was decent, enough salt and pepper, and probably a good amount of MSG. The pork chop was a bit on the chewy side but not bad.

The folks from work, especially "Pam" really enjoyed the place. We returned a few weeks later.

I tried the Popcorn Chicken Bento again.

The chicken was even drier than before though I preferred this to the spicy versions as you could actually taste the chicken. The breading was more crisp and lighter than before, though there was less fried basil than before. Notice that it's just a drizzle of pork based broth on the rice now; no hint of meat or anything else. The rice was moist and there was a lot of it. The egg, while decent on the previous visit, was back to being over-cooked.

Still, my coworkers……

I figured I'd had enough, but with things cooling down a bit here in San Diego, I was in the area at around 1130 on a recent weekend, so I decided to try the Niu Rou Mian….which they didn't have on this day. So, I went with the Braised Beef with Rice ($9). Man, did they give me a lot of meat.

Which was barely lukewarm, bland, and on the drier side. At least it wasn't tough, but could have really been braised in a more flavorful liquid. The egg was really nice this time around, while hard boiled, it wasn't dry and didn't have that ugly purple ring. The rice was moist, fluffy, and the best I've had here. And guess what? Zucchini was back in style; at least for today.

The most surprising item was the broth….well stew or more appropriate "gravy" as it was quite thick and almost gluey; not the most pleasurable texture, but it had a nice peppery tanginess; with a hint of spice, and was hot. It edged on being too salty (with a mild sweetness – MSG?), but that actually helped all the beef which I plopped into the stew. The carrots were a bit undercooked, but not terrible.

After this visit; I think I'm done with Popcorn Chicken for a while. I'm sure Kirbie is laughing about these visits as I'm probably the wrong demographic. I will say this; yes, it's basically fast/snack food and in spite of the uneven cooking, seasoning, serving, and the ever changing portions, if you're more about quantity over quality, this place might do it for you. And to be perfectly honest; I'd take this over food from one of the corporate mega-chains any day of the week…..just not for a while……

Popcorn Chicken
7309 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92111
Hours:
Open Daily 1130am – 930pm