**** I understand that Shanghai Alley is no longer at King Bistro
I was driving along last week, minding my own business, when I noticed something. I wasn't quite sure what it was, but it looked like a folding restaurant sign, but not with the name of the place generally associated with the location.
Shanghai Alley? Well, that was a new one to me. I believed that I had a pretty good idea of all the restaurants in the area, but I guess I was mistaken? Upon returning home, I went and did that "Google thing". And yes indeed, there was a new restaurant named Shanghai Alley. The interesting thing is, this version of the restaurant does lunches, while the "original" place takes over in the evening. Can you guess where?
Well……
Yes, it's the location of King Bistro, which is in the location of what used to be our favorite restaurant in San Diego, Ba Ren. I'm not going to drone on about how we miss Ba Ren. And even though I had never visited King Bistro, Shanghai Alley had me interested. I noticed online that the place opens at 10am….and you know how I'm an "early lunch" kinda guy these days. So, I drove down and arrived the very next day right after 10am.
In the back of the sign is more info.
I walked in and immediately noticed a chalkboard menu leaning up against the counter.
The prices seemed very reasonable and the young lady working was very sweet and friendly. She told me that Shanghai Alley started business a month ago. She was going to hand me a paper menu, but I just went ahead and placed my order and had a seat.
Looking around I quickly noticed how worn the place looks.
The young woman quickly brought out black vinegar and chili oil for me.
And soon in enough, my Pork and Cabbage Jiaozi ($13.99) and Niu Rou Mian ($14.99) arrived.
The jiaozi was super hot!
The wrappers were good when the dumplings were first delivered, fairly tender, but got brittle and chewier as the dumplings cooled off. The filling was tender, moist, nicely seasoned, and full of pork flavor. This was a pleasant surprise. The filling was more finely chopped than many versions I've had recently. I think this compares favorably with Ju Feng Yuan. And does have a definite "homestyle" edge to it.
I was not as fond of the Beef Noodle Soup.
The pieces of beef were decently tender and nicely flavored, good anise tones, with a hint of sweetness. The soup was of the clear variety and had some five spice and white pepper seasoning going for it, but it lacked beefiness and decent richness. At least it wasn't overly salty. The noodles were overcooked for my taste and lacked the springiness I enjoy.
Overall, a pretty good meal. There was one item I wanted to try before doing a post. So, I returned a couple of days later; again at a bit past ten. This time a gentleman was working. I went ahead and ordered the Xiao Long Bao ($9.99).
It did a take a while for the XLB to arrive, which was fine since I wasn't very hungry. I did notice on this visit that there were quite a few delivery orders being picked up during my meal.
Soon enough, the XLB arrived.
There were 8 dumplings in all, enough for a light lunch. One of the XLB, the one on the bottom had, ahem, an incontinence leakage problem and all the soup had leaked out. The rest were fine. The wrappers, while on the thicker side were again decent, perhaps even better than the ones on the jiaozi. There was an abundance of tasty "soup", the filling was tender, moist, full of swiney goodness. And like the jiaozi, it does have a homemade feel to it.
I was pleasantly surprised with the XLB and the jiaozi here. The prices aren't bad. I'm hoping they'll expand their menu a bit. I'll definitely have the dumplings again and definitely try the intestine and pig feet noodle soups.
Just goes to show; you never know what's "hiding in plain sight".
Shanghai Alley (In King Bistro)
4957 Diane Ave.
San Diego, CA 92117
Current Hours:
Wed – Mon 10am – 3pm
So, how was this? It was more flaky then what I’d had before, though the texture is on the chewy side. Decent salt and mild sweetness, though it seemed to lack a nice yeasty nose and could have used more butter….at least for me. This was decent in terms of San Diego croissants; though I wish Izola was open for a comparison….maybe I need to head back to 
Same location, same way of ordering, another success story of making it through Covid-19.
Similar menu with higher prices.
Choose your items by looking and pointing while walking along the order line.
Watch your order go into the fire filled oven, pay and find a seat. Soon items will be brought to your table. 
I wanted to try the 'new' Folded dough garlic cheese bread ($5.95). Garlic herb butter, Mozzarella and Romano on freshly made dough, folded over. This was kind of a perfect bite for me. Tasty and filling…very cheesy with the garlic butter making a perfect condiment. 
The 3 Topping Signature Pizza ($11.35) on the original crust, house made red sauce, mild Italian sausage, pepperoni and mushrooms was our choice for a pizza. I gave The Mister most of my pepperoni and sausage and enjoyed the cheese and mushrooms on the crisp, chewy yet fluffy light crust.
Which was cooked perfectly in that stove. 
The Mister and I made the trek West, to Old Town, a few months ago, so that I could have the breakfast I was craving and He could fulfill His cravings.
His order was F10- the Italian sausage frittata ($15.99). A simple baked (in cast iron; thicker than an omelet) egg dish of Italian sausage, tomatoes and mixed cheese. A nice, mild sausage, fresh tomatoes and plenty of cheese and eggs…filling and tasty.
Instead of toast, He chose biscuits and gravy- house made, fluffy inside with a crisp crust covered by a creamy, breakfast sausage filled gravy.
Also part of the meal were hash browns. Nice and crisp.
Here's my Fish and egg meal ($16.99)-cod fish, lightly floured and pan fried, two (properly) poached eggs and crisp Home fries. The fish was served with the appropriate condiments of tartar sauce and lemon. 
Instead of bread, I chose the muffin of the day (blueberry). It's light and cake-like and filled with fresh, plump blueberries.
That's what things looked like when I opened up the boxes back at the office. I did a quick taste of the tomato topping which was super bland, you couldn't even really taste tomato. The version of Mul Kimchi provided was weird as it had a real strong anise/clove flavor that wasn't very pleasant.
And not a hint of truffle flavor to be found.
The wings had held up better this time. I tried the sides first. The corn slaw was terrible, the "dressing" was really watery and this lacked flavor. Very little corn, you might as well just give me raw coleslaw mix.
The batter had peeled away from two of the pieces, which had been turned face down in the box. The sauce was not overly sweet, but I still would have preferred a bit more saltiness, this was much milder than the versions at other places. The chunks of chicken were on the dry and tough side.
I'm not going to beat a dead horse about that Mul Kimchi. I just don't care for the flavor.
