Closed – Page 19

Chicken Wing Wednesday – Krispy Krunchy Chicken Revisited

April 17, 2019 mmm-yoso Chicken Wings

**** Krispy Krunchy Chicken is now a location of Cluck n Sip

Just a short post for "hump day".

I had just finished a meeting and it was nearly noon…..a terrible time for lunch in the Kearny Mesa area….unless you love crowds. It was one of those times when I just wanted something….fried. So, I decided to head on over to the 99 Ranch Market on Balboa, which was pretty sedate as usual and decided to get lunch at Krispy Krunchy Chicken. I'm glad they ditched the terrible ramen here a while back.

I didn't want heat lamp wings, so I did what the young lady who works here told me back when they opened; if you order the ten piece wings, they will be made to order. If you order waffle fries, they will be made to order. So, I did both and ended up with way too much food.

These were hot, moist, and indeed c(k)rispy and c(k)runchy. The seasoning and batter still reminds me of Popeyes, nothing wrong with that. Though I find the meat itself more moist and with a definite "saltiness" without the spice like Popeyes. Just a little dip into Louisiana hot sauce, the vinegar and spice really helps cut any richness….but not the guilt I'm afraid.

While I'm not the biggest fan of waffle fries; these were at least crisp. Though I'll just stick with wedges next time.

One of the folks in the office was the beneficiary of a half dozen wings and a ton of waffle fries.

Well, I got my fried food fix in……..until next time.

Krispy Krunchy Chicken
5950 Balboa Ave (Inside 99 Ranch Market)
San Diego, CA 92111

Charlie’s Best Breads (Pacific Beach)

April 16, 2019 Cathy Bakery, Sandwiches, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is a food blog with posts about random eating places in and around San Diego and the world. Today's post is in San Diego. It's written by Cathy.

On one of those rainy days earlier this year, a client and I decided to meet at Charlie's Best Bread (instead of the usual Starbucks) in Pacific Beach. I hadn't been here since the 'expansion'. In 2011, I had posted about a second Charlie's Best Bread location in Point Loma, which has since closed and is currently Point Loma Fish Shop.This is the same location in the mall on Garnet between Lamont and Kendall as has been for more than 30 years…but it used to just be a small walk up joint where you could get a sample, order and pay and go.

Now, you can walk in, see displays, still get samples AND you can have a seat, some artisan (Cafe Moto) coffee and…
order one of the sandwiches or toasts, displayed behind the glass there and enjoy yourself and a quick meeting with a friend.
On this visit I did grab a loaf of raisin cHalla to go (it's Challah; a 1.8 lb loaf ($8)). This Jewish egg bread is always a favorite for The Mister and I at home; just with butter, sometimes toasted and occasionally made into French toast.

One of the sandwiches this day was turkey, on a (fresh baked) ciabatta loaf ($6.75). A good quality turkey, Swiss, arugula, tomato, avocado and spicy aioli was just the right size and combination of flavors to satisfy.
I brought half home for The Mister and we will be going back soon.

Charlie's Best Bread 1808 Garnet Avenue San Diego, CA 92109 Open Mon-Sat 7-7, Sun 8-7 Website

A Loco Moco from Kona Kakes

April 11, 2019 mmm-yoso Local Kine Stuffs in San Diego, Loco Mocos, Plate Lunch

**** Kona Kakes has moved to Point Loma and no longer serves plate lunches

Recently, I had just finished up my errands on a nice Saturday morning and was heading home down Linda Vista Road. As I drove past the strip mall, you know where Ballast Point is located, I saw Kona Kakes. It had been over five years since I last visited (yeesh!) and tried their plates. I was really hungry, so I decided to stop by. For some reason, the place seemed a bit cleaner and brighter than I recalled.

Being quite famished; I decided to get what is a guilty pleasure these days, the Loco Moco ($10.99). It did take a while to arrive, but I got to watch all of the happy folks coming to pick up cakes for various occasions. The loco moco made its way to my table and was fairly hefty.

Since getting just downwind of a loco moco is means for celebration these days; I decided to bust out the "Rubio scale", a scoring system originally developed by James Rubio on his now defunct "Big Island Grinds" blog way back in 2005. I modified the scale back in 2005; man, fourteen years ago, and hadn't used it in over six months. So, you ready? Hea' goes……

BURGER: Was supposed to be 1/3 pound, but seemed thinner and smaller than expected. Too lean and tough, but well seasoned. Studded with green onions. Beefy with a decent char. 3.0

EGGS: Perfectly runny, though not seasoned, and it would have been a winnah' if the edges were crisp. 4.0

RICE: A bit on the dry side, but adequate. 2.5

GRAVY: Very dark, though not too gluey, salty, I definitely don't think this is made from scratch. Bitter bits in the gravy. And no Tabasco either! What's up with all these places not having Tabasco???? 2.5

STUFF: The Mac salad was much better than what I'd had before and served nicely chilled. Could have been seasoned and fairly standard. Standard is also the word for the green salad. 2.5

Overall score – 14.5. Decent, but nothing to go out of your way for. Considering that a typical L&L usually scores a 10, this ain't bad, but it's definitely not in the same league as Island Style Café.

Really friendly, nice woman working about my age, who spent her high school years on Oahu. It was nice chatting with her and I got a couple of to go treats for my friends….who loved the guava cake the best.

So, at least I got my Loco Moco fix in!

Kona Kakes
5401 Linda Vista Road Suite 402
San Diego, CA 92110
Hours:
Mon – Tues 11am – 3pm
Wed – Sat 11am – 6pm
Closed Sundays

Medina Moroccan-Baja Kitchen

March 28, 2019 mmm-yoso African Cuisine/Restaurants, Gastropub, Mexican Restaurants, Moroccan Food

**** Medina has closed

During the beginning of March I was driving up El Cajon Boulevard and noticed a little shop had opened right next to Barn Brewery. The name; Medina, caught my eye and memories of wandering the Medina in Kairouan and Tunis flashed though mi cabeza. A few days later I read the grand opening announcement on Eater. The name says "Moroccan-Baja Kitchen", something that seemed to scream "con-fusion" to me. However, I took a quick look at the menu online and while it was small; basically two proteins and a vegetarian option served in tacos, a bowl, and a favorite of mine shakshouka. And while the Missus was somewhat hesitant at first, I managed to talk Her into visiting for two reasons. More on that shortly. So on a nice sunny day we headed on over.

We loved the décor of this wide open establishment. The drill is typical of this type of fast-casual "San Diegish" restaurant. You order at the counter, pay, and head on over to a table or stool at the front. The two young ladies who were working here on my visits were friendly and very nice.

The reason I managed to talk the Missus into visiting was the merguez which is made onsite, we really loved the merguez in Tunisia. And of course Shakshuka is a staple in our house. Just as an FYI; the "lamb" on the menu is actually merguez.

The Missus went with the Lamb Bowl ($13) topped with an Egg, which was a couple of bucks more.

First off; the egg was a perfect easy-over. The merguez was also very tasty, nice spices, with a good gamey, pasturey flavor. It was much better than other versions which we've gotten from various places in San Diego. The veggies were lightly and simply dressed, the roasted corn added sweetness, arugula bitterness, the pickled onions a nice palate cleansing sour-pungency. The couscous added bulk. As a whole, other than the merguez, this seemed like stuff we make at home. But still, it wasn't bad at all.

In the vein of stuff we make at home; the Shashouka ($7) with Merguez (+ $3.50), was decent as well.

A bit less spicy (I use quite a bit of Harissa) and tangy then the version I make at home, this wasn't bad at all. I like my shashouka a bit more broken down and with a bit more red peppers as well. Again the merguez was the star of the show for me and of course that luscious egg.

While the Missus enjoyed the meal, other than the merguez, She thought that the food wasn't much different from what I make at home.

Still, I wanted to return for another visit before doing a post. We'd had two of the three major items on the menu; the bowls and the shakshouka. So, that left some tacos, right?

But first, a Thorn Brewery Barrio Lager, light, clean, with a touch of sweetness.

I thought it would be nice on a bright and sunny afternoon. To go with dos tacos….

First up; the Moroccan Spiced Chicken Asado Taco ($4.50).

While I loved the look of this; it was the least favorite item I had at Medina. The chicken was dry and the seasoning, a combination of Coriander, Tumeric, and the like was too light and the tzatziki and arugula basically overshadowed instead of complimented the chicken. The rustic, thick tortilla looked wonderful, but quickly tore to pieces.

Of course I got the Lamb (merguez) Taco ($5.50).

Instead of being served in a tortilla, the taco was served on a tortilla sized pita. While the sausage seemed lost in all of the greens at times, the roasted corn and cucumber pico de gallo, along with a nice, but not too overpowering vinaigrette did well to compliment the sausage. The queso fresco added a pleasant milkiness to the spices and the "flavor of the pasture" of the merguez. My only complaint was that this was more of a salad – pita with some merguez than visa versa.

I was pleasantly surprised at the brightness and flavors of the food here; even though it's quite simple. I'm not sure I'll return anytime soon….though if they sold that merguez in bulk, I'd really be regular. Truthfully, I don't find the food here particularly fusion-ny nor innovative. Think swapping out pitas for tortillas; that shakshouka had nothing particularly "Baja" about it, but the ingredients were fresh, decently prepared, the colors pleasing to the eye, the staff very friendly, the hipsterish vibe is great for the area. Still, if you're not familiar with some of these flavors or wonder how well they'd work together definitely give them a try. And if you've never had merguez; this would a good place to try it!

Medina Moroccan-Baja Kitchen
2850 El Cajon Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92104
Hours:
Tuesday 5pm – 9pm
Wed – Sun 1130am – 9pm

Kimae Ramen

March 26, 2019 mmm-yoso Chicken Wings, Japanese Restaurants, Ramen

**** Kimae Ramen has closed

Are you tired of Ramen yet? Well, I hope you have room for one more….or maybe not.

Kimae Ramen opened up at the end of October by the same owner as Poki (poke…please poke, ok) One N Half. It's located in La Jolla Village Square right next to Daphne's and two doors down from a location of PONH.

I finally made it here at the end of December and really liked the lay-out of the place.

The staff, while not particularly friendly, were quite professional on my two visits.

The menu is printed on what is basically a paper "fan" and hangs on the wall around each table. There are four basic ramen with Spicy versions of the Signature, basically a chicken and pork tonkotsu, the Miso, and also have a Veggie and Spicy Seafood ramen on the menu as well. The other side of the fan has appetizers, rice bowls, and drinks.

So, being the old, boring, fuddy-duddy that I am, I went with the Signature Ramen ($10 – of course).

The presentation was nice, but the broth wasn't as hot as I enjoy. It also lacked depth and richness. No fragrance, no tongue coating texture, sorry to say it was like they used packaged tare, as it was salty and had a "tinny" finish.

The tamago….the egg hadn't been marinade properly and was bland and the yolk was ice cold.

The noodles were over-cooked for my taste and the wood ear was cold and really hard. The chashu looked good, but was rubbery and lacked flavor.

I was starving so ate all the noodles and stuff, but couldn't bring myself to have any more of that broth. You know, I thought we had hit "critical mass" with regards to ramen when Karami and Ryoma opened. I was even more sure after mediocre ramen at Yamachan and Isshido opened. But HiroNori gave me hope. I'm now certain we've hit saturation point….

After this rather sad bowl, I wasn't going to even do a post on the place. I really didn't feel like getting another bowl of ramen from Kimae….at least for a while.

But, about 2 weeks ago; Faye did a post on Kimae. Where she tried the chicken wings and enjoyed them. And since I really enjoy wings; well, I thought I'd give them another try.

But no ramen for me. Looking over the menu; well, I got the Crispy Chicken ($8) and finally also went with the Unagi Rice Bowl ($8), basically Kimae's version of Unadon.

The bowl came with a side of the "signature broth"; which was even more salty this time around. I left it as is. The kabayaki no tare (sauce) seemed water down and rather weak, more salty than sweet, very little savory tones…if it's bottled stuff, it's not a good brand. The four slices of Eel hadn't been broiled long enough and lacked the hint of a crisp exterior, it looked like they'd just opened a package, sliced a couple of pieces, and dumped it in a bowl.

I did enjoy the rice, mixed well with furikake and diced veggies. But that was about it.

Soon enough the chicken wings arrived. This was interesting as it resembled some of the double dipped Southern Fried Chicken I'd had in Atlanta when I worked there during the late 90's.

The first wing I ate had a very nice "crunch" and while slightly crumbly was not nearly as hard, nor dry as Furaido. It was super moist, though sadly was lacking in seasoning. And that mustard sauce, which lacked enough "umph", that would be some distinct flavor….pungent, sweet, salty, spice……was so bland. I actually had to add salt and togarashi to the wings….something I almost never, ever, do.

Next up was the drumette. I bit into it and got some flavor all right…a weird bitter, almost offal like flavor……freezer burn. Look at all that black marrow leakage. I was done.

So, the wings, well, it has potential, but really needs some flavor….or bring your own sauce, or whatever. I'm hopeful that drumette was an aberration. At least I hope it is. I took the other four wings back to the office….after the first bite, Calvin dumped half a bottle of Sriracha on it. At least the other four pieces didn't seem to have any off flavors…..

In the end, the concept and design is nice. The portions and price are right. Service was good and professional. But that's just the lipstick and I actually want the pig and this didn't do it for me. Calvin actually asked me if I'd rather eat here or at Tajima….he was shocked when I told him Tajima. Heck, maybe I'd even go to Ajisen before Kimae (though I might go back here before Yamachan). I think I'm done with new ramen places for a while.

Kimae Ramen
8657 Villa La Jolla Drive
San Diego, CA 92037
Hours:
Sun – Thurs 11am – 10pm
Fri – Sat 11am – 11pm

Pho Nhu Y (Chula Vista)

March 20, 2019 mmm-yoso Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants

**** Pho Nhu Y is now Pho Viet Noodle

I thought it might be best to get this post done before things starts warming up around here.

I found myself in Chula Vista a couple of weeks back and thought about getting an early lunch; it was around 10am, but I was kinda hungry. I remembered CC's post on Pho Nhu Y (BTW Happy 13th Blogaversary CC!), and wondering if it had anything to do with the Pho Nhu Y that lasted only a short while on Kearny Villa Road. From what I remembered; that place was owned by the original owner of Nhu Y, and without going into the gory details; there was a break-up and the ex-wife kept the restaurant or something like that.

This incarnation of Pho Nhu Y resides on Third Avenue in the same strip mall as Carnival Market. It's a pretty tiny shop; just a few tables.

The menu was typical of most pho shops. I didn't expect to find Bun Mam down in these parts and it was indeed not on the menu.

On my two visits; it was the same guy working; I didn't recognize anyone, so I'm not sure if this place is associated with the now defunct Pho Nhu Y.

The weather had still been fairly wet and rainy, so I just stuck with the pho; I made it easy for myself and went with the Dac Biet; which was decently priced at $7.49.

The herbs and veggies were as expected; the basil just starting to turn color, the sprouts were fresh, and of course no ngo gai.

The pho soon arrived as did an implement wrapped in a napkin…it was, well…."W(hat) T(he) F(ork)"? I mean really. I moved it away from the bowl as if it were radioactive; the older guy working soon swooped in and picked it up. He told me, "sorry, many Filipino's like to eat noodles with a fork"! Okay, so here's something in common with the "old" Pho Nhu Y…remember when I was the "Korean guy who liked bun mam"? We weren't exactly starting on the right foot here, were we? The broth was actually fairly clear, on the darker side, with a decent amount of fat. There was a slightly beefy "nose" to it. It did have a hint of beefiness and slight anise-oniony tones; but also edged on the really salty, M-S-heebie-geebie side.

The noodles were in a dense clump in the bottom of the bowl and more tangled than Medusa's hair. I took a good three or four minutes working with the chopsticks and spoon to loosen things up. Hey, maybe that fork??? Nah….

If you take a good look at the banh pho above; you'll notice the noodles are different shades. That's because some of the noodles were really under cooked and hard. I'm figuring it was the stuff in the middle of the noodle clump.

The rare beef was over-cooked when it arrived and tough, dry, with a metallic taste to it. I was surprised that the tendon was quite good and fairly tender. The tripe was also decently crunchy with no off flavors.

Basically a mixed bag, but not sadly, even with those noodles, not the worst bowl of pho I've had recently.

Sooooo, I decided to return this past weekend. And is it just me; or did we skip spring and head right on into summer?

Anyway; my intention was to have the Bo Kho, but I felt like it was just too darn hot and went with the Bun Cha HaNoi. Which, interestingly, came out in the same style of plate as the defunct Pho Nhu Y and was even priced the same at $7.95.

First and foremost, the nuoc mam cham was really watered down, which basically killed the whole dish. The daikon and carrots weren't pickled enough; there was just two leaves of lettuce, and the only herb provided was mint. The bun was nicely cooked, good stretch. The meatballs had a mild beefiness and weren't too bad, neither was the marinated pork, which was tender, if a bit too salty. Still; this dish felt incomplete.

Overall, a mixed bag. I've had much worse recently, but that's not exactly a seal of approval and sets the bar pretty low, doesn't it? Still, the flawed pho, was still better than what I'd last had in the Kearny Mesa area, except for Pho Duyen Mai, which coincidentally took the place of the old Pho Nhu Y. Man, it like we've got three degrees of se-pho-ration….okay, that's enough with the puns for today.

Pho Nhu Y
864 3rd Ave.
Chula Vista, CA 91911
Hours:
Open Daily 9am – 9pm

Chicken Wing Wednesday – Furaido

March 13, 2019 mmm-yoso Chicken Wings, Korean Restaurants

**** Furaido has closed

Back in the comments section of my Bonchon post, "RedDevil" asked me if I had been to the new KFC place that opened in Atlas Market. I'd already heard about the place and had in on my list; so on holiday weekend, after working the morning I headed over.

The good thing about Furaido is that they open at 1030 in the morning; so I could easily beat the crowds.

Located in the Food Court area; Furaido claims to serve gluten free fried chicken; which means it's probably using rice flour and the texture of the wings reflected that. The wings come from the market and are Halal as well.

On both my visit I got the 10 piece wings; because; well, I'm all about wings. You get two choices for a glaze or "dip" or dust..

I went with the Devil Garlic and like Kirbie (please check out her post), I was fascinated by the having Furikake on my wings as well.

A couple of observations that were true for all the wings and drumettes I had here. The batter is obviously rice flour based and on the crumbly-hard side than crunchy. It is not oily and the fat has been rendered nicely on these wings. The batter is also quite dry and is not seasoned; more on that below. I believe they also over fry the drumettes which make them tough and dry. The wings are large; which can through off moisture, and skin to meat ratios….I prefer my wings smaller; bigger is not necessarily better, and these tend toward being over battered….I mean you work hard to render the fat and develop a nice light crisp skin; why cover it in a ton of batter?

The Red Devil (thinking of you RD!) Garlic; while not quite turning the wings a shade of red was my favorite here; it wasn't too sweet, slightly spicy, and best of all, the wings weren't just drenched in sauce.

The Furikake wings needed a kick up in flavor as; like I mentioned before, the initial product is not seasoned, so this was bland; there's no moisture from a sauce or glaze; so these are even drier.

Overall; plus – minus.

Between visits; "SomTommy" emailed me and said he enjoyed the Garlic Soy Wings and "Top Secret" Dip on his wings and so on my follow-up visit….

Man, these were fried even harder and was even more crumbly. Can you tell which one has the Garlic Soy? It's the one on the left; it was very lightly sauced which I would usually appreciate, but the unseasoned and dry wings needed more.

As for the Top Secret……with a tip of the hat to "FOY" CC, do you remember what the "secret sauce" at Bronco Burger was? Yep, that was this.

So, in the end; the Devil Garlic Glaze is what I enjoyed the most. The wings here have too much batter for my taste; even more than Cross Street. If you like a thick batter and larger wings and drumettes; you might enjoy Furaido. But get a glaze or Dipp; or enough "dust" because the chicken isn't seasoned enough on its own. As for me; well, I wouldn't go out of the way to visit Furaido.

For a different perspective please check out Soo's post along with the afore mentioned post by Kirbie.

Furaido Premium Chicken Company (Inside Atlas Market)
14837 Pomerado Rd.
Poway, CA 92064
Hours:
Open Daily 1030 – 8pm

Harmony Pot Sticker

February 19, 2019 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants

**** Harmony Pot Sticker has closed

Last week I read in Eater San Diego that guotie shop had opened on Engineer Road. So, having some time on my hands this past long weekend, I decided to check them out. According to Eater, Harmony Pot Sticker is part of a chain from Shenyang. I showed the Missus photos and She told me it does look like that style of guotie.

The shop takes the place of Korean Meat Market.

The menu is fairly tight, pot stickers, soups, liang cai, porridge, and some drinks.

The pot stickers range from the $8.99 – $9.99 price range, which is definitely not cheap. The young folks working here were very polite and quite a pleasure.

I decided to start with the Smacked Cucumbers ($4.99); which turned out to be a pretty hefty portion.

This was a decent version of the dish; balanced flavors, and not to salty. So, I guess if you're not feeling like making whatever version of Pai Huang Gua (派黄瓜) at home, this might do it for you. It's also quite refreshing and helps cut through any greasiness….which is something I needed on this day with the Pork and Cabbage pot stickers ($8.99).

These did somewhat resemble the Qingdao Guotie that I enjoy; except that these are quite elongated and open at both ends so you can see the filling. The wrapper is decent; nice texture with a bit of "pull". It was pretty greasy and the filling really lacked flavor….to the point that I had to actually pour black vinegar into the pot stickers which added some oomph and helped to cut the grease.

Since I was behind on work; I went in on President's Day and decided to reward myself with lunch afterwards….I thought I'd give Harmony another try.

This time I started with the Jiang Niu Rou; the classic cold sliced braised beef ($6.99).

This was much more moist and tender than other versions I've had recently. Nice beefiness; that sauce added a touch of pungent spice. a very nice dish.

This time; I decided to have the Pork and Suan Cai Guotie ($9.99); to see if the Missus would like these.

The filling was much better this time around; it actually had a bit of flavor from the pickled cabbage which really added to things. And while this wasn't greasy at all; it wasn't crisp enough….notice how the bottoms are too light in color; it just lacked the crunch I was looking for. Also, ten bucks for this was kind of pushing it….we were heading into DTF pricing here.

At this point; I think I'll give this place a rest for a couple of weeks. I think it shows some potential and surprisingly; it's the non-guotie items that I enjoyed the most. And then maybe I'll be able to take the Missus here.

And while this is more of a "snack" type of place; two orders of guotie and one side dish might do it for two of you….if you're not big eaters.

Harmony Pot Sticker
7905 Engineer Rd.
San Diego, CA 92111
Hours:
Mon – Thurs 11am – 3pm, 5pm – 930pm
Sat – Sun 1130am – 930pm

Ramen Yamachan (Formerly Ramen Yamadaya – Clairemont Mesa)

February 11, 2019 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants, Ramen

***** Yamachan has closed.

Last weekend I noticed that the Ramen Yamadaya turnover had been completed; they've kept the "RAMEN" and added a "chan" to the end.

The interior looks the same; though the patio is closed at this time.

The menu is simple and to the point; Tonkotsu, Spicy Tonkotsu, Miso, and Shoyu (chicken based). Additional toppings and a few sides, something called Okinawan Onigiri; basically Spam Musubi, Gyoza (note to staff: discretion might help…as in don't make it so obvious you're serving packaged frozen gyoza….I saw you bring out those two red bags out of the freezer), and such.

The young lady working was very nice and I decided to just stick with the Tonkotsu Ramen and made it a combo with karaage and a salad for five bucks more.

The broth was thin and lacking richness with no tongue feel, very bland, even what little black garlic oil was added did it no favors. The chashu was nicely torched but quite bland as well. The egg was really salty and cold. The broth was barely over lukewarm…..like Yamadaya at the end of its run.

On the plus side??? Well, the noodles were decently prepared and still had a decent pull to them.

Soon enough the karaage and salad arrived. The karaage was strangely lukewarm in the center and really needed a flavor boost as it was really bland. It was slightly crisp.

The greens were nice and crisp; but the dressing had way too much vinegar in it.

So….hopefully things will get straightened out….but the overall meal really reminded me of Yamadaya near the end.

Ramen Yamachan
4706 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92117

Kangxi is Coming (has arrived as the new Village North)

February 6, 2019 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants

**** Kangxi is coming has closed

First off; we here at mmm-yoso would like to wish everyone a wonderful Lunar New Year! Welcome to the "Year of the Pig"!

It was finally getting cool enough to start making Suan Cai again. It had been so hot for so long this past year. Once our first batch completed; the Missus wanted me to pick up some Suan Cai with Pork from Village North to mix up with our really cheesy fermented stuff. I dropped by and noticed that Village North was gone. It had been replaced by something called Kangxi is Coming?

A few weeks later I had an conversation with "YZ" about the new Chinese restaurant opening; she was referring to Taste of Hunan (which we ended up going to and enjoying) and I Kangxi is Coming…… She had been wondering why I kept referring to some Taiwanese talk show as a Chinese restaurant until I presented her with the photo above. At which time she just cracked up.

Anyway, I waited a couple of weeks before finally visiting. Upon entering there were two things I quickly noticed…..

The first being that the interior looked unchanged. The second, well, the nice lady who worked at Village North was also working here. She was really happy to see me. And chided me for not dropping by sooner. She then told me that even though the owners were new and the menu was now more Sichuan and Hunan focused, the kitchen staff was the same, from Dongbei, trained in Sichuan kitchens.

The menu was an interesting "change" from the now ubiquitous book with slickly photographed dishes. And it there was an interesting variety of items….the really friendly woman quickly pointed out that several dishes I used to order were still on the menu.

Over time, I've made two visits, with a couple of repeat dishes; so here goes.

Fu Qi Fei Pian, something I always try to order when checking out Sichuan restaurants….and since it was on the menu….

This was an odd dish; the beef was nicely flavored on its own and there was actually tendon served up. It had a weird chili based sauce which was on the sour side and it totally lacked Sichuan peppercorn. Sort like they pulled some meat from the fridge; sliced it up, and dumped some sauce on it….which is what they probably did. It was obviously not marinating in anything.

I ordered the stir fried tripe; thinking it was going to be beef tripe; but it turned out to be pork tripe.

Chewy-crunchy; standard stir-fry, decent wok skills, but nothing special.

The other two dishes I ordered twice on different visits. It was an interesting in that both dishes were different during each visit.

First off; the Mapo Tofu on the first visit was really good.

Wow, it had a nice Sichuan Peppercorn "ma" thing going on along with a pretty spicy kick. It was spicy, the flavors sharp, the flavor of a decent chili bean paste came thru nicely.

On the next visit, the Ma Po Tofu looked totally different (photo to the right); it lacked Sichuan Peppercorn, was strangely sour, but was still quite spicy, with the thicker, more "gravy" looking sauce, and more pork. I preferred version 1.

Of course the item I usually ordered (mostly for the Missus) was the Suan Cai with Pork. On that first visit it looked like this.

It was amateur hour with the wok; no color, too much liquid…like it couldn't decide if it wanted to be a hot pot or stir fry. It lacked the nice cheesy-savory flavor of fermented cabbage and was quite bland.

I decided to give it another try and this time it was better; while it still had more liquid than I care for in this dish; it popped with sour-salty flavor and there was a decent smokiness from "wok hay". It also had much more suan cai this time around. In this case, I'd take version 2.

I also ordered the Spicy Bean Curd Skin.

This was good. A nice crunchy texture, light spice, slight sweetness, good soy sauce, with just enough sesame oil to add a pleasant nuttiness to the dish. I could have gone with more cilantro, but this was a decent dish.

I used to enjoy the pork intestine dishes at Village North, so I ordered the Spicy Pork Intestine, which turned out to be pretty good.

This had a nice spiciness to it; the intestine was decently crisp as well. Good offal funkiness, without being off-putting. It also had a decent amount of Sichuan Peppercorn, something that is often in short supply in Sichuan restaurants these days.

Since Kangxi pushes their Hunan dishes and I'm a fan of La Rou with dried/preserved vegetables; I ordered the Preserved Pork with Pickled Radish.

Strangely; I found the Sichuan dishes here to be more spicy than the Hunan items. The la rou had a very nice texture; not overly rubbery, with a decent smokiness, but was really salty. I really enjoyed the pickled radish; nice crunch, good sour counter-point to the pungent and salty ingredients. I just wish there was more of it used in the dish.

So, overall a kind of mixed bag, and there seems to be; at least on my multiple visits (which is why I try to do several visits before doing posts) some variation in flavoring and cooking of dishes here. I did enjoy several items and the dishes that were spicy; we legitimately so. I did think the dishes here were more spicy that other Sichuan restaurant in San Diego and they seem to use more peppercorn as well. So, I'll probably be back….to try more items on that rather vast menu.

Kangxi Is Coming
4428 Convoy St.
San Diego, CA 92111
Hours:
Mon – Thurs 11am – 230pm, 5pm – 10pm
Fri – Sun 11am – 10pm