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The Fancy Fish (Mira Mesa)

July 17, 2017 Cathy Seafood, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!!, a blog with postings about places in San Diego and beyond, focused on food. Kirk, Ed(from Yuma) and Cathy usually write here. Today, Cathy is at the helm.

It was late March, or maybe April and I was on Mira Mesa Boulevard at the corner with HMart, Daiso, In-n-Out, The Kebab Shop, Go Go Sushi and Ramen and many other places and noticed new signage. Finally, The Mister and I had a chance to stop here; glad we did. Walk in, order, pay. Find a seat and your food will be delivered. Platters, salads, bao and tapas. Everything customizable and made to order. Could be plain, could be fancy.

Customizable: 1. Choose the VIP (very important protein): tilapia, white fish, tofu, swordfish, shrimp, jumbo shrimp, salmon, mani mani, chicken, catfish, albacore or ahi., pick the preparation, pick a sauceWe have tried a variety of offerings already.

2. Choose a style of preparation:Fried, pan cooked, grilled or steamed.

3. Choose a sauce: Cajun dry rub, honey dijon, cilantro lime, lemongrass satay, curry, creamy sriracha, teriyaki, sweet and sour, garlic butter, toasted sesame, hoisin. Each of these sauces are made in house and each that we've tried has been delicious.

4. 5. 6. Choose a salad mix, salad dressings and sides.

Really, many decisions to be made…this is why it's a long post. We needed to figure out what we liked and wanted more of for future visits. We have tried all the preparation styles, which is the focus of this post.
There are a variety of seating areas, some with a great view of the open kitchen. Let's start with fried. The first time here, trying the whitefish platter ($9)with a salad and slaw as the sides- a large piece of fish, perfectly fried. Salad dressing made here, a good ranch. Here's a closeup of the lemongrass satay sauce. There's a touch of heat in it, and it is good. The Seafood Sampler ($9) is interesting in that each seafood is prepared with a different batter for frying. Calamari , Shrimp (wrapped in rice paper), fish bites, shrimp chips and fries. I do so appreciate a good fry. The Bao; "Asian tacos' on the menu. This one is soft shell crab ($6) (it is $4 on Tuesdays). Cute how the Fancy Fish branding is on each fresh made, steamy bun. Shrimp (crispy or grilled ($5.50, $3 on Tuesday) great, large, different than the shrimp on the Sampler. Grilled chicken and grilled fish (an a 'light meal' visit ($5/$5.50). Again, really nice and a different preparation. The bao are filling!

The seared ahi tuna salad ($12) with cilantro lime dressing. Wonderful, fresh, good ratio of tuna to salad. Will order again.
Grilled tilapia ($10) this was meaty steak and really good. Shrimp chips and salad as sides made this a 'healthier' choice.

That first photo of this trio is of the steamer. The whitefish steamed with lemongrass satay was recommended by the owner…we had to. We did ask for the sauce on the side, but usually the fish is steamed with the sauce. Choosing the grilled zucchini and cole slaw made this another nice meal. Both of us really liked this preparation of the fish.

All in all, a great way to get exactly what you want. Great service, nice people and great food.

The Fancy Fish 9430 Mira Mesa Blvd #5B San Diego 92126 (858) 586-6228 Website Open Sun-Thurs 11 a.m.-9 p.m., Fri-Sat 11 a.m.-10 p.m.

Sunday Sandwiches – Carve Modern Deli & Beer

July 16, 2017 mmm-yoso Sandwiches

**** Carve has closed

A few month back, I recall hearing about a place named "Carve". When I asked the person where this was, he said, "Aero Drive". Aero Drive? My old office used to be fairly close by and I don't remember anything named Carve; Aero Deli, yes…. B&B Catering….yes….

A few days later, I had a meeting at that old location, and lo' and behold….Carve.

The shop is located in the new, rather Mission Valley looking Corsair Apartment complex on Aero Drive. Man, the place just seemed to have popped up overnight. And while there doesn't seem to be much parking….there's a ton of retail spaces in the garage as well.

The shop is wide open; high ceilings, the de rigueur wooden paneling. The menu features, seven burgers/sandwiches, four salads, three "make-a-plate" items, "shared plates" (think appetizers), and craft beer. If you think hipster….well, you might be close. The cheapest sandwich on the menu is $10.95, which easily puts it in the same category as BFD, Ike' Place, and SuperNatural Sandwiches.

In terms of sandwiches; if you're not looking for a burger; it's two pastrami, three turkey, and one "catch of the day".

So, I went with Carve 'Strami ($11.95), you get either chips for free, or you can sub out slaw (+$1) or fries (+$2). I just went with the chips.

I really liked the home made chips; just enough salt, crisp, with good potato flavor. As for the sandwich, the bun was nice; perhaps a bit too "buttery" for me, but very soft. There was a good amount of tender smoked brisket pastrami; very smokey, a bit too salty, and too lean. Perhaps ordering this was pretty bad timing because I'd just got back from Montreal and had the smoked meat at Schwartz's….you know; this one.

The bacon was too hard; but fine. I'd have preferred more Dijon Mustard and pickles to cut the richness and do without the Mornay sauce which brought nothing to this sandwich.

Still, not bad, so I went back a few days later. This time I ordered the Turkey Jam ($10.95) with Fries ($2).

I really liked the flavor of the fries, which we nicely seasoned, but they didn't even hold up for the 10 minute drive back to the office.

As for the sandwich? The ciabatta was decently toasted and wasn't too chewy or hard as this type of roll tends to be in San Diego. The turkey was on the dry side and pretty bland; which would usually open the door for the fig jam. which was really mild and needed more "umph". The brie was also quite mild, but did add a small amount of acidity. I thought that there's wasn't enough greens on this sandwich and wish the horseradish sauce was more pungent.

The folks I ate with all said that they thought the sandwiches were on the skimpy side; but I thought these were more than enough for me. They also thought the prices were on the high side, which, based on places I put into the same sandwich category (see the beginning) I sort of agree with. Still, it's nice to see places like this popping up and I'm sure the folks who live around here must enjoy having places like this in their 'hood.

I did try the salads; but that's another post, stay tuned for that.

Also, "greens and plates" are only served from 11am – 3pm; shared plates from 3pm – 7pm, and sandwiches from 11am to 7pm, there are breakfast options from 8am – 11am. Whew.

Carve Modern Deli & Beer (In the Broadstone Corsair)
8583 Aero Dr
San Diego, CA 92123
Hours:
Mon – Fri 8am – 7pm
Sat 11am – 3pm
Closed Sunday

Guahan Grill (Midway)

July 11, 2017 mmm-yoso Guamanian/Chamorro

**** This location of Guahan Grill has closed.

Way back when, the Missus used to make me drive up to Oceanside for Kelaguen from Guahan Grill. That went on for a couple of weeks; until we had two pretty bad meals….which had me making my "Kind of Kelaguen and Fast Finadene" from that point on.

Back in January, Guahan opened a location in the Midway area and I put it on "my list" for a visit. For some reason, it took me like 6 months to finally drop by.

Sorry about the photo of the sign. There was a giant semi parked in front of the place during my entire visit.

I like the set-up here. Bright and wide open, almost looking like a "gastropub" of sorts.

I basically went with the exact thing I ordered during my first visit to Guahan…way back when. The combination Pork Ribs with Kelaguen (of course)….called "Guahan Special", this came with a salad and empanada.

Of course I had to taste the Finadine, which was pretty good. Much better than what we had during our last two visits to the Oceanside location, which was almost all soy sauce, barely a hint of sour. I do like my finadene a bit more sour and spicy. So I asked for some boonie peppers, but they were out. Bummer. There was of course red rice, nice textures, mild in flavor, livened up with finadene. The empanada was not as good as I recalled; crisp, but with hardly any filling, which was very bland. The kelaguen was also pretty bland; I taste ginger in this, no coconut, no spice, kind of dry…..it really needs the finadene. The pork ribs were as I remembered, perhaps even better, as the meat came off the bone cleanly. These were far from bland, edging on salty….but I was pleased with them.

My Server, a very friendly and pleasant young lady, Brazilian I believe, was a joy.

So yes, I'll be back. I need to try some of the items on the menu. Especially since I don't have to drive up to Oceanside any longer. I'll have to see if I can talk the Missus into coming. With the state of kelaguen in our household, that's going to be a challenge.

Speaking of a challenge….this shop is hidden behind from Rosecrans in the same building as Native Foods and Pick-up Stix, next to Yummy Buffett. Man, talk about setting the bar low in this strip mall….though I know folks who like the Gourmet Bagger.

Guahan Grill
3373 Rosecrans St
San Diego, CA 92110
Hours:
Tues – Sun 11am – 9pm

Returning to Tiger! Tiger!

July 8, 2017 mmm-yoso Gastropub, yoso-silly

**** Tiger! Tiger! has closed

I sure felt the heat the last couple of days. Must be getting wimpy in my old age.

Just a short post for today…..the humidity almost makes me want to head back to the office…..almost.

A few days back we just decided to get the heck out of the house and head to Tiger! Tiger!. We hadn't been back since January.

As usual the Charcuterie Plate was just what we wanted.

Though the cucumber – avocado salad was less than stellar. The cucumbers were old and the skin tough….perhaps they should have been peeled. The avocado was brown; too bad, because that dill based dressing was nice.

Still, it was a nice break.

And yes, I still haven't really ordered anything off the regular menu.

Tiger! Tiger!
3025 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA 92104

It's been tough heading back to Tiger! Tiger! You see the last time we were there at the end of January, was the night we lost Sammy.

It was really strange; the Missus had a rare night off; She's been working like crazy like I have this year. Sammy, who had done deaf two years ago and usually wouldn't hear us when we got home anymore, met us as we returned at the door. I'd recently gotten him some steps so he could hang out on his favorite place on the sofa and we got a kick watching him use it. But you could tell; he was getting up there. He still ate well and his enthusiasm for life was unabated.

The Missus's co-worker knitted this silly looking cap for Sammy and this is our last photo of him on that day….I guess he wasn't amused.

He seemed extra energetic when we got home, running around, bugging me to play with him and his favorite toy of the hour. He just kept going and going….we just cracked up.

I went into the room we use as an office and Sammy took his usual position right behind my chair. I heard a sighing sound, Sammy looked at me, gasped, and he was gone. We grabbed him, ran out of the house and over to the Pet Hospital, but it was for naught.

In way, I think Sammy planned it out…..his Mommy was home, he'd had a great and fun evening, enjoyed his dinner, and got to say goodbye.

Typical Sammy.

Until we meet again.

SammyK

July 5, 2002 – January 25, 2017

Strange, our visit to Tiger Tiger was on the 5th……I didn't even realize it until the Missus mentioned it later that evening…..Sammy would have been 15. Maybe???

Rest well my friend.

Pho 87 Noodle House

July 6, 2017 mmm-yoso Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants

**** Pho 87 has closed

I mentioned this revolving door of a location back in March. It had been Van Hoa for over a decade and Cathy and I had done mulitple posts on the place. And then overnight, they were gone; first replaced by Pho & Banh Cuon Ha Long Restaurant, which was gone in a few months, to be replaced by "Pho Huong Viet"….I saw a sign go up, but don't think the place actually opened. And now, it's Pho 87.

The name sounded familiar. After doing a quick search, I found there's a Pho 87 in LA Chinatown and Las Vegas. So perhaps?

As for this location, they've moved some things around and the place looks even more odd than before. Big gaps between tables and front register with one table on each side….at least you can't complain about things being crowded together, right?

I'm not sure what it is, but I really didn't feel comfortable eating here….and I've eaten in some pretty strange places over the years!

The menu is very straight forward; spring rolls, egg rolls, rice, hieu tieu, bun….and pho of course. Just about all the combinations had rare steak, no combination featuring both tendon and tripe, though I'm sure I could have asked….but why be a pain in a place I'd never been to before?

So, I went with the combination; in these days, $6.50 for a small bowl of pho is cheap these days. Soon enough, my basil, sprouts, and lime arrived.

At first glance, this looked fairly sparse and the sprouts were starting to brown. Then I noticed something and turned the basil over.

This was definitely not going to be used.

My bowl arrived soon after.

The broth looked low in fat; which it was, and had quite a bit of onions. And in fact, the broth had a strong, rather pungent onion flavor…not overly sweet as many bowls seem to be these days; but somewhat on the bitter side. It was scalding hot though. As for the meats; well, the tendon was decent, a bit on the hard side but not bad. The rare steak was far from "rare" by the time the bowl hit the table and it looked like beef that had scum on it that congeals when cooked; not the most appetizing looking thing. I hesitated in trying it; but as is not the norm, it was pretty tender and not dried out. It did have a bit of a metallic taste to it though.

The noodles were in a giant clump in the bottom and terribly overcooked and mushy. The worst I've had in a while.

The young man serving me was very nice as was the young lady…..but I really didn't think I'd be back or even do a post on this place.

However, a few weeks later, I went to check out a new restaurant in the area, but it was closed. After pondering my options, I recalled seeing an interesting fried rice dish as I left Pho 87. I asked the young man what it was. He told me Bo Luc Lac Fried Rice. So, I decided to give it another go.

And got the Com Chien Bo Luc Lac; a bargain at $8.95.

That's a good portion of beef for the price. The beef was surprisingly tender, though very salty and lacking in any sweet or even sour tones….very one dimensional as a whole. The stir fried vegetables looked nice, but were too raw, and not stir-fried properly. The fried rice was somewhat old school; the rice nicely separated. I didn't expect much and got just that, with the peas and carrots from the frozen food isle. The fried rice was also quite salty and I ended up chugging a good amount of water after I got home.

So what to say about Pho 87? Well, it's very inexpensive. Do you get what you pay for? Perhaps. The folks here are on the quite side but nice enough. Me, well, I think I need to move on.

Pho 87 Noodle House
4016 54th St
San Diego, CA 92105
Hours:
Mon – Sat 8am – 8pm

Emily’s Taco Shop & Birrieria (Spring Valley)

July 5, 2017 mmm-yoso Mexican Restaurants, Taco Shops

**** Emily's is no longer at this location and does catering only

I've gotten some great recommendations over the years. In fact, I don't think we'd still be around and heading toward 3600 posts of not for all the recommendations I receive. This one, is from "KenB" who always sends me interesting emails a couple of times a year. Last week, he shot me an email after saying: "Excellent food. Birria de chivo was fantastic." Birria de Chivo? Man, there are places I enjoy for Birria de Res; but Birria de Chivo. So, even though I needed to go into the office this past weekend…..I kinda took….the long way…yeah…that's what I did….take the long way….

To this little shop on the corner of Grand, where Jamacha Road becomes Apple Street. Cathy's done a post on the place on that corner, La Sinaloense. This one is named Emily's Taco Shop & Birrieria.

A very humble looking shop, in what looks like an apartment conversion, which shares a tiny parking lot with a laundromat. This is the kind of place you'd miss if you blinked.

And yet, it seems there's a steady flow of regulars, couples, and families. This is a real mom-and-pop operation; the nice young gentleman is named Christian and I'm assuming the very friendly young lady is his wife. I was told by the young lady that Emily is her daughter, who was busy watching a movie on one of the tables.

This is one of those order at the counter and have a seat kind of places. I pretty much knew what I wanted….birria and consommé of course, so ordering was a breeze.

I got a taco de birria de res and de chivo (beef and goat $4.25 each). Which took a while but when it arrived, I knew it was worth the wait.

The wonderful, sturdy, corn-y tortillas, were up to the task, soaked and griddled (dorado), they held up and had so much flavor. The birria de res, was tender, with a decent amount of seasoning, but seemed a bit too mild to stand up to the thick, smokey, salsa….a nice slow back of the throat burn. I think Fernandez does better. But the birria de chivo was excellent….just a perfect balance of that distinctive "flavor of the pasture" and seasonings. The texture was tender. A squeeze of lime and bit of that salsa and I could eat this everyday.

As much as I enjoyed the tacos; it was the consommé de chivo ($2) that really got my attention. First off, it was served in a wonderful cup.

The cup had both form and function as it kept the broth molten hot for the entire meal. I took a couple of sips that burned a path down my esophagus. Deep flavors, nice gamey up front, comforting, very balanced…you know you were drinking broth that came from goat….but it wasn't screaming that fact to your taste buds. Lime did a great job of smoothing out the edges. This was delici-yoso…..

There's and interesting crowd here. An older guy came in and ordered in Spanish and took a seat. I was surprised to see that he ordered Carne Asada Fries! And he looked like he was enjoying them. KenB also recommended the carnitas.

So there you go. You might find it interesting that I'm doing a post on a newer place with one single visit. Well, I know I need to take the Missus here soon or She'll kill me. So, I can't visit again without Her. I'm sure this will be soon enough. Here's hoping that consommé is just as good.

Emily's Taco Shop & Birrieria
1015 Grand Ave
Spring Valley, CA 91977
Hours:
Tues – Sat 10am – 7pm
Sunday 10am – 3pm

Thanks for the recommendation KenB!

It’s been a while week-Sima’s Grill and Deli

June 30, 2017 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Greek Food, Salads, Sandwiches, What Cathy Eats!

Here you are, on a lovely Friday 'cool down' day, reading this food blog, mmm-yoso!!! Kirk and Ed(from Yuma) are preparing to enjoy the Holiday weekend and Cathy is writing.

The last time I posted about Sima's was in 2013. The Mister and I haven't driven on Miramar Road unless avoiding traffic. There has been a three week period in the last month when we had to be at daily appointments West of here and taking various routes to get lunch on the way home became a priority. When Kirk mentioned he was writing 'It's Been a While Week', I knew what my contribution would be.

This unassuming end building in a mall anchored by a McDonald's, across from Miramar Marine Corps Air Station has been here since 1984, providing breakfast and lunch six days a week. Run by a husband, wife and their daughter, it's another 'local' place that has withstood the test of time.

The interior has remained the same, the menu has also, although there have, of course, been price increases.
The gyros salad ($9.95) is served with warm, fluffy pita bread with house made tzatziki. The wonderful house made, herby salad dressing is so fresh and perfect with the crispy fresh Romaine, cucumber, tomato, onion and olives. The grilled gyros is just crisped on the edges and there is plenty of it on this salad.

The hot pastrami sandwich ($8.75) is toasted and served with plenty of grilled, smoky, peppery, flavorful (it is Boars Head brand) meat topped with Swiss. The fries are quite good. The char-grilled cheeseburger is still my favorite (window special #1- $9.95, 1/2 lb, includes fries and a drink) burger. It is made from fresh (not frozen) Angus Pride beef and…well..that char grilling is what makes it for me. I was alone one day and decided to stop in again, opting for a cold/deli sandwich (roast beef) ($7.95) on an onion roll (light toasted). It's served simply, with lettuce, tomato, a smear of mustard and of mayonnaise…and plenty of the Boars Head roast beef as well as a very good dill pickle. Just right on a hot day.

Have a great Independence Day weekend!

Sima's Grill & Deli 7160 Miramar Road San Diego 92121 (858) 578-2582 M-F 7:30-4:30, Sat 10-4 Closed Sunday

It’s been a while week – Ranas Mexico City Cuisine

June 26, 2017 mmm-yoso Mexican Restaurants

**** Ranas has closed

For some reason, it was Ranas that came to mind while having breakfast at Fernandez Restaurant. I'm not sure why, perhaps is just a natural thing since it seems that I do a post on Ranas on a five years cycle. Guess when my last post was on Ranas? Yep, 2012. It's nice to see the "progression" with Ranas, from a simple shop with green walls and banquet chairs, to a much nicer restaurant.

To now……. Ranas has now taken over the entire building. The left door is the "Cantina", on the right is the restaurant.

One thing seems to be constant, it's the same really nice guy from my previous visits! He told me that they took over this side of the building two years ago.

Things started, as always with some chips and salsa.

There's one item on the menu I really enjoy here; the Pork Entomatado. I usually get the "plate", but this time I went for the Huarache ($11).

The pork was spicier than I recall; I kind of remember a nice heat, along with a nice smokey-tangy flavor. This was more front of mouth and lips and the flavors didn't seem as well rounded and complex…..I'm wondering if they've changed around the chilies a bit on this? Thick, rustic bed of masa, nice an full of corn flavor. I enjoyed the beans, though perhaps there was a bit too much of it, as it kind of wiped out what flavor the nopales had; though I still enjoyed the textural contrasts of all the players. The pork was tender and this did fine by me.

Still great service…..

Though I think next time I'll go for the plate.

Hopefully, I won't have to wait another five years……

Ranas Mexico City Cuisine
9683 Campo Rd
Spring Valley, CA 91977

Trying to Beat the Heat – The Original Sab e Lee and Golden City

June 21, 2017 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Thai Restaurants

Man, it has been pretty hot the last couple of days; at least for us, as Cathy says; “wimpy San Diegans”. On the good side; this means revisiting some of my favorite places for dishes I enjoy during hot spells. I really do miss one of “staples”, a good Sichuan Liang Mian, which just doesn’t seem to exist in San Diego anymore. So, I stuck with other standbys.

The Original Sab e Lee:

**** TOSEL is now Zab Linda

I really haven’t been much since they’ve relocated. Like I said previously, I’ve not a clue who the folks who work here are these days….except for the one young man who has been there for a while. Went with one of the guys from work….he said he could eat spicy, but then decided to order it a heat level three. I told him he needs to order at least a five or he just can’t eat with me anymore. And so we did, and he did fine.

Nahm Tok.

Best dish of the day; though I think this needs more rice powder and I should have ordered it at least a 7 or something. Good citrus, nice fish sauce, not overly sweet….nice with sticky rice.

Issan Sausage:

Solid as always.

Nice sour and pork flavor….like I said in my recent Thai Papaya post; “while there might be better versions of Thai/Lao style sausage in San Diego these days….this is still a staple…..” Some peanut, a sliver of ginger, wrapped in cabbage, yields nice porky-sour tones.

Koi Neua:

Sorry to say they’ve done something to what was once a favorite of mine. I had been hopeful that the version I’d had here on my last visit was a fluke, but sadly, it was not.

The texture was off and it seemed to have been “cooked” in citrus too long.

It was not nearly as good as in the past.

I remember the joy that Koby expressed when I asked about this dish way back when. I do miss Koby at times; things were simpler, the menu was there to please a smaller sampling, but times do change. I guess I’m sticking with Thai Papaya. Perhaps I’ll run into Maylee one of these days and I can ask her about some of the SeL staples that are no longer on the menu.

The Original Sab E Lee
6925 Linda Vista Road
San Diego, CA 92111

Golden City:

**** Golden City has closed

So, one afternoon I had to buy a bunch of take-out for the Missus’s coworkers. This netted me a $10 off card for Golden City.

With the Missus at work; I decided to get an old favorite, the Kwai Fei Ji….which, after the coupon was $3.49.

The ginger-scallion-sesame oil sauce was spot on; though the chicken was on the tougher side. Still, I whacked the whole thing……no rice, nothing….just Kwai Fei Chicken for dinner.

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

So, what have you been eating to beat the heat?

Lunch Specials at Hui An Garden

May 23, 2017 mmm-yoso Chicken Wings, Chinese BBQ, Chinese Restaurants

**** Hui An Garden has closed

Fu An Garden's short run ended back in January and the place became Hui An Garden. For some reason, I wasn't particularly motivated to visit, but over the last three months I decided to check out some of the lunch specials. Those visits, along with posts like Faye's, would give me some indication whether to make some time for dinner here.

The interior is basically the same….but I find the floors here to be kind of the sticky side these days.

On my first visit, I ordered; or thought I ordered the Shredded Pork with Preserved Vegetable on Rice….but strangely ended up with Pork Fried Rice?

There was a slight bit of wok hay going on as it left a (very) slight smokiness; but as a whole this was pretty bland. Also, when having fried rice; I like to be able to count every grain should I want to. There were several clumps of rice in this.

Not sure about portion size (which was fairly generous), I also ordered the Bok Choy with Garlic.

This was a straight forward, typical stir fry; perhaps on the more oily side. This was supposed to be "baby bok choy", but were pretty large. The cooking was a bit uneven as the lower stalks of the bok choy was almost raw on the larger pieces. It also could have used a bit more garlic and white pepper.

On my next visit I made sure to get the Shredded Pork with Preserved Vegetable on Rice. Man, this was a lot of rice!

And even though I used to make fun of the couple of pieces of plain blanched broccoli or carrots used on these type of lunch special dishes….here it's been replaced by a rather strange stir fried cabbage, flavored with a touch of soy sauce. The pork slices were decently cooked; tender, there wasn't enough preserved vegetable, nor was it very good as it didn't add enough of the nice sour-savory flavors to the dish. I finished all the pork and vegetable and still over half the rice left!

During this visit I noticed two older Chinese customers come in and order roast pork. Well, I figured it must be worth a try.

So I came in and ordered the Roasted Pork Belly on Rice. I told them to give me "half rice", but again something got lost in the translation as again there was a load of rice.

Actually, the pork was pretty good in terms of texture; the skin thin and crisp, the pork belly tender. The flavor was on the milder side and that sauce was not very good; almost bitter to my palate. This is probably the best item I've had here.

The next time I returned I walked into this.

I wasn't quite sure what was going on. Then I realized, it was "all hands on deck" as they were prepping box lunches….like stacks of food, which the tall guy carried out making several trips back and forth then left to deliver them somewhere. It took them a while to see that I was standing there.

I was curious about the Salt and Pepper Chicken Wings on the menu. I wasn't too hungry, so I asked for no rice.

There were eight wings, not bad for $6.99. I thought the batter looked a little bit on the light side; but was crisp, if not especially flavorful. The wings could have used more "salt" and even "pepper". The wings were much better than the drumettes which were on the dry side.

So, tired yet? Just to compare this place to FuAn Garden; I decided to get the Roast Duck….for lunch it is of course on rice. I forgot to tell them to go easy on the rice, though I'm not sure it would have made much difference.

Actually, this isn't as much duck as you might think; it's pretty thin slices. While the duck was nice and moist, the skin decent, not tough, though a bit too flaccid for me. The duck was really short on flavor; lacking in richness or sweetness, without any bean paste flavor, and the cabbage was almost raw to boot.

In terms of pricing; every dish you see in this post was $6.99. So it's hard to complain too much; in spite of the handful of cabbage as the vegetable (not a garnish). The portion sizes, at least in terms of rice is quite large, the proteins, not so much. Looking back, I realize that perhaps I needed to go in a different direction here….maybe in the future. Though I probably should try out Noble Chef again first.

Hui An Garden Restaurant
4768 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111