*** Updated and additional posts on Ba Ren - Post#201, an update 06/06/2006, the Huo Guo post, the seasonal menu on 01/02/2008, and other silliness. Sheesh, do you think we eat here enough????
"Forgive me Kitchen God for I have sinned; it's been 3 weeks since I've been to Ba Ren....."
When we first moved to San Diego, we used to make periodic pilgrimages to Chung King in Monterey Park for Szechwan. We lamented the lack of a good Szechwan restaurant in San Diego. We tried a few, but they were utter disappointments, so we would end up behind a steering wheel driving to LA for our Fuqi Feipian fix.
Than in early 2004, we turned down Diane Ave, and saw this sign:
It seemed interesting and several days later we visited Ba Ren and haven't stopped since. Some weeks it seemed like we'd be there 2-3 times during the week mostly for take-out. In a few months we had pretty much worked our way down the menu as well as the all important placard:
The last two dishes on this placard, are probably some of the best Ba Ren has to offer; the second to the last dish is Dry Fried Beef Slivers(Gan Bian Niu Rou Si? -12.99) and the last is the Twice Cooked Fish(9.99) that everyone on Chowhound.com raves about. We also got to know Wendy, one of the owners very well, and she would guide us toward new and interesting items. In August, I went ahead and with Wendy and Bill's(one of the other Partners) help set up a Chowhound get together for a 17 course Szechwan "feast" that turned out really well. San Diego Chowhounds at Ba Ren.
We had been busy over the last three weeks or so, and hadn't had time to visit Ba Ren. So having an open evening we dropped by. Being a Monday at 5pm it was really quiet. I also noticed that the infamous Chinese placard now had a second side and even more dishes. So in the end we decided to order two new dishes and two of our favorites - Rice Crust with Sliced Chicken (9.99) and Hot Pepper Prawns (12.99).
Squares of crisp rice is brought out, than the toppings, in this case sliced chicken, cloud ears, bamboo shoots, mushrooms, sauce, and other veggies is poured on the rice crust creating a sizzling sound. We enjoy the chicken version of this dish the best because the sauce has a nice condensed chicken taste. I think Ed from Yuma describes what makes this dish so good when he says "as the sauce and the rice crisps interact, the rice becomes softer, so the dish's textures change as it's eaten". Yes, every bite of this dish is different!
The next dish was from the placard. Fish with soft jelly noodles(9.99). This was fantastic, not quite a soup, not quite a casserole; perfectly marinated and prepared fish with Konnyaku-like Noodles, red peppers, ginger, lily buds, and pickled vegetables. The taste was hot and sour, imagine the most prefect Hot and Sour soup, peppery, with good sour overtones! Delici-yoso!
The Hot Pepper Prawns were next. This is the prawn version of the Chung King Style Chili with Chicken. Battered and fried prawns covered with fried dried red chili's, you'd think that this would literally blow your head off, but the subtle sweet and salty taste made this highly addictive.
The last dish was Dry-Cooked Lamb (12.99), that is lamb slices cooked without broth or water. This dish was a good example of layers of heat, the chili pepper hit the front of your tongue, the chili oil the middle, and the black pepper the back. This dish can be a bit overwhelming, but the herbaceous taste keeps you eating more! This dish also features Chinese celery, shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced garlic, and what was my favorite part of the dish - the mung bean sprouts. The meal was finished off with a bowl of Eight Treasure Black Rice Porridge to cleanse and clear your palate and stomach.
On the placard the Fish dish is the sixth one down. The Lamb is the second. If you want the dish with chicken it's the first one, if it's beef you want prepared in this manner it's the third; frog is the fourth. All in all another successful visit to our favorite restaurant!
Some notes on Ba Ren - Mandarin is the main language spoken, but don't let that dissuade you. I don't speak any Mandarin and am able to do fine! The staff is very helpful and friendly! The chef from Ba Ren originally was a Chef at a Four Star hotel in Chongqing and was one of the original Chefs at Chung King in Monterey Park (wow, the original chef from our favorite LA restaurant, what a coincidence!!!) and has over 30 years of cooking experience with this type of cuisine.
Ba Ren
4957 Diane Ave
San Diego, CA 92117
Oh yummo! You do the pics well Kirk! I hate to confess this but all Chinese restaurants eat the same to me. I'm not happy about this. I'm particularly frustrated when faced with the Chinese placards. I just KNOW I'm missing something but I have no idea what it is or how to go about finding out. I fear that I am not bold enough to ask... =o( It would be easier to gather my courage if it were not for the fact that my husband is completely satisfied with stuff like sweet & sour pork and almond chicken EVERY time we go to a Chinese restaurant. It would be wonderful if we could establish a relationship with the owners as you have. Long time ago we actually did, but then they retired and moved away. VERY sad! So, I'm gonna start working on my arm strength and when I can flap long enough and hard enough... Will you take me to Ba Ren? ::hopefull smile::
Posted by: Jo | Tuesday, 07 June 2005 at 09:02 AM
Jo - I'll be glad to take you to Ba Ren when you're in town! Actually the Missus speaks Mandarin, but most of the time I'm either picking up take-out myself, or am taking friends there.....the staff is really helpful!
Posted by: Kirk | Tuesday, 07 June 2005 at 11:45 AM
ah HA! Yep, having someone along that knows what is being said can be a big advantage. I wouldn't hold my breath for us to show up though =o( I've made it back twice since leaving back in '76. Most recently was when our daughter came back from Iraq. She was there for the start of the "engagement" and had to leave behind our GrandSon who was only 6 months at the time. When she got back she took all of us to Disneyland as a thank you.
::laughing:: I wore EVERYONE out! My daughter, a 22 year old Marine at the time, my husband, and all 3 of the little guys! Yep, Granny get a major case of "The Bunnies" when it comes to Disneyland!
Posted by: Jo | Tuesday, 07 June 2005 at 05:19 PM
Hi Kirk,
I do like Chinese food, and this sounds/looks really good. As you know, most of the Chinese food here is Cantonese. I don't think I know of any really good Szechuan places here. Too bad. I love hot and spicy.
Posted by: Reid | Saturday, 11 June 2005 at 03:47 AM
Reid - This is by far our favorite restaurant! There are layers of heat in the food - though the liberal use of oil scares some people. In Seattle you should try Seven Stars Pepper Szechuan in the ID - I'm told (we didn't try this dish) that they make a mean Szechuan Crab.
Posted by: Kirk | Saturday, 11 June 2005 at 06:02 PM
Went to Ba-Ren finally about a month ago, after realizing it was east of the 805 and not west of it.
My son really dug it but I think we ordered wrong. I found the found very good but not as flavorful as Spicy City or the Dumpling House.
Now that I see what you guys order, I am anxious to re-try.
Posted by: Victor Lieberman | Wednesday, 20 July 2005 at 10:35 PM
Hi Victor - Depends on what you consider "flavorful". I will tell you this much - Spicy City is Beijing Style - so Sichuan as you would get in Northern China - this means alot more liberal use of Vinegar, etc.... I like the food at Ba Ren alot more, mainly because it's what I've had in the "Sichuan" places in Monterey Park - ChungKing & Oriental Pearl. BTW this is ChungKing style Sichuan, not Chengdu style Sichuan.
Posted by: Kirk | Wednesday, 20 July 2005 at 10:41 PM
Kirk, one of my all time favorite regrets in life is that Jim and I were unable to attend your Chowhound feast at Ba Ren. Reading all the descriptions of those dishes you selected makes one realize that eating at such a place with two or four people just will not do. Is there any chance of a sequel?
Posted by: Diana Strain | Sunday, 25 September 2005 at 04:12 PM
Hi Diana - Well let's see what I can set-up ok?
Posted by: Kirk | Sunday, 25 September 2005 at 08:56 PM
You are magnificent!
Posted by: Diana Strain | Monday, 26 September 2005 at 03:47 PM
Kirk, did you know you were mentioned in the recent Nov. 30th review of Ba Ren in the SD Citybeat paper! SUPERSTAR!
off topic: Ever check out this food blog? Whoaaaa!
http://noodlepie.typepad.com/
Posted by: Jay Carli | Wednesday, 07 December 2005 at 01:02 PM
Hi Jay - Thanks so much, it was kind of a kick. Actually, I hope more people try out Ba Ren. IMO Ba Ren is probably one of the few Chinese places in San Diego that would actually do well in the San Gabriel Valley - it's that good. And Graham does have a excellent blog - I'm always lurking there!
Posted by: Kirk | Wednesday, 07 December 2005 at 01:29 PM
So,
#1=Dry-cooked Chicken
#2= " Lamb
#3= " Beef
#4= " Frog
#5=?
#6=Fish w/Shirataki Noodles
#7=Dry-fried Beef Slivers
#8=Twice-cooked Fish
Is this correct? If so, does anyone know what #5 is? Thanks very much for the breakdown.
Posted by: Trent | Friday, 04 August 2006 at 09:35 AM
Trent, #5 is a 乾焗牛肉絲 (P:gan ju niu rou si) "dry baked/roasted beef strips"
Kirk, I went to Ba Ren this weekend and just like Friends Korean Restaurant, we got a booth where the table was ridiculously far away from the seats. I will post the picture of the spacing soon. Great place great food! I wouldn't know where to eat in SD without your blog!
Posted by: Andy 食神 | Monday, 28 August 2006 at 01:17 AM
Hi Andy - Thanks for the kind words. You really do get around, don't you?
Posted by: Kirk | Monday, 28 August 2006 at 08:35 AM
I'm going to have to try some of the dishes you mentioned here. I went the other day and was thoroughy impressed. I was watching what everyone else ordered and the most interesting was the pumpkin with pork. They said you have to call 3 hours in advance for them to have time to prepare it. Can't wait
Posted by: Chris the Concierge | Wednesday, 15 August 2007 at 01:23 PM
Hi Chris - Yes, you need to call ahead for that dish...it is not one our favorites, but many seem to really enjoy it. A kabocha squash is roasted, and slices of pork are coated with what I believe is ground rice powder and fried. Once cooked the kabocha is hollowed out, and the meat from the squash and the pork are mixed, and stuffed back into the squash. Interesting flavors and textures.
Posted by: Kirk | Thursday, 16 August 2007 at 05:18 PM
I lived in Sichuan (Chengdu mainly) for 4 years. My wife is from Chongqing.We have eaten there 4- 5 times and each time she has declared it 100% Real and delicious. I'd concur.The problem is that in Sichuan people have a huge list of places that they frequent. Eating out in Chengdu/Chongqing is really inexpensive so the variety is endless. She's bored with their food. She likes it about once a month. If you have never had Sichuan food..by all means..it's the real deal. And yes..it's supposed to be swimming in oil and chilies.Enjoy.
Posted by: Tommylovebottom | Monday, 28 January 2008 at 05:55 PM
Hi TLB - We love Ba Ren, it is by far our favorite restaurant.
Posted by: Kirk | Monday, 28 January 2008 at 08:31 PM
Is Ba Ren closed on Thursdays, or closed in the late afternoon? I ate there for the first time about two weeks ago and it was so fabulous I wanted to pick up some take-out for another great dinner. But the restaurant was dark and uninhabited at 4:45 p.m.
Posted by: Laura | Monday, 28 January 2008 at 09:05 PM
Hi Laura - I think Ba Ren now closes from about 230-3pm until 5pm or so. They were also closed after the long New Year holiday weekend. I have been met with locked doors twice when trying to pick up take out at about 5pm. But usually there's someone there. I usually check to see if there are cars in the back parking lot.
Posted by: Kirk | Tuesday, 29 January 2008 at 08:41 AM
Thanks, Kirk! I was totally craving it again for take-out after only one visit (cold spicy noodles, double cooked fish and the stir fry dried beef)!!
I'll try again tonight!
Posted by: Laura | Friday, 01 February 2008 at 03:46 PM
As good as ever tonight. But note that they have revised the menu (and have one available for takeout) and many of the numbers have changed.
Posted by: Laura | Friday, 01 February 2008 at 08:44 PM
Hi Laura - Yes, they changed printers last year, and revamped the menu, adding in a few items from the "seasonal placards". I've stopped giving "item numbers" and use the descriptions from the menu...except for the Chinese only items on the placards.
Posted by: Kirk | Saturday, 02 February 2008 at 04:59 PM
Many years ago when I visited China I enjoyed their food. Now that I think about it that was thirty years ago. Yours truly was there on a trade mission. Last year I got lost and turned on Diane Street. I noticed Ba Ren and said to myself why not try this out. To my surprise the food was better than I ate in China. Many years ago I quit eating in Chinese eateries because they were fakes. Ba Ren was fantastic!
Posted by: Jerry Drotter | Sunday, 25 May 2008 at 07:40 PM