So, we were having such hot and humid weather, and then "bam", suddenly it's fall? The temps around here plummeted from the low 90s to the low 70's in the blink of an eye. I for one am kinda enjoying the cooler weather as I can get my noodle soup fixes in.
It's kinda strange that my first two visits when doing my noodle soup "rounds" was Minh Ky and Pho King. I didn't realize it at first, but when looking over previous posts, there was a common thread. And no it's not about being across the street from each other, nor is it about possibly having the two worst parking lots in the area; though there are other contenders for that "title".
The strange thing is that in recent years, I tend to do tandem posts on the place. In March of 2020, right before we shut down because of Covid, I visited Minh Ky on March 14th, then Pho King on March 15th! As we all know all restaurants and bars were shut down for dining in on March 16, 2020. Man, has it been over 4 years already? Then in December of that year, I did takeout from both places on back-to-back days! Of course, my last visit to Minh Ky was back in November of last year after the change of ownership. And my recent somewhat mediocre meals at Tim Ky and LHK had given me some motivation to return.
Minh Ky:
It was Minh Ky that I had in my sights. It had been a fairly regular stop from when we moved to San Diego. In fact, my first post was back in January of 2006! Of course my last visit was after the business had changed ownership and I wasn't overly impressed during my visit after the change.
It had been over ten months since that visit; long past the time when I should have returned. As I figured, there was no parking available in the lot, but I managed to find a space on tiny Meade Avenue and walked on over. It was a Sunday, at 930am and the place was already half full!
Though instead of my "usual" from here; I went with the Won Ton and Dumpling Egg Noodle Soup which is now $12.95. Not to beat that long desiccated horse, but I remember when it was was $4.25!
Well, for starters, the broth didn't have the "super clear" look of the previous two versions I'd had recently. There was some nice savory tones; slight pungency, it was a bit on the sweet-salty side. I was quite thirsty for the rest of the afternoon.
I preferred the dumplings; there were three, to the won ton, also three in population. The dumplings had more savory tones; weren't as tough as the won tons. At least the wrappers stayed on for the duration; so no "dumpling disrobing" like at LHK.
The noodles were a bit undercooked and almost crunchy.
You can tell the broth wasn't overly thin as it did a decent job of coating the noodles.
The char siu, like in most versions of this soup was on the leaner and chewier side; but it did have some flavor, even if was a bit too sweet for my taste.
Overall, a pretty good bowl. I'm glad this visit was much better than my previous one.
Minh Ky Restaurant
4644 El Cajon Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92115
Current Hours:
Fri - Tues 9am - 8pm
Closed on Wednesday
Pho King:
"PK" was a last minute decision for me. It was Saturday and I went for revisit to a place that ended up being closed, even though the sign said it opened at 10; it was 1030, and on my one successful visit, I was assured they opened at 10am. So, where to go? Well, I decided to chance a visit to Pho King. It had been a while, over 4 years since I had dined in, as noted above. As for parking; well, there was nothing in the parking lot, but I took a spin around the block; nothing on Meade, but as I came around ECB, there was parking right on the street in front of the place! I guess it was meant to be?
I strolled on in and was told "sit anywhere" by the older gentleman working. I noticed that he knew all the customers on this day; so I obviously stood out.
I looked over the menu and was going to order my usual, the Hu Tieu Mi Kho, but instead I ordered the Hu Tieu My Tho Kho (small - $12.95), which I last had here waaaay back in 2007! Oh, and because I know you're wondering, it cost $5.95 back then. The older guy was kind of worried about me ordering this; telling me first that the "soup is on the side" and that there is intestine in the dish. I told him I knew that.
Once I convinced him that I would not totally freak out at what I'd ordered, the sprouts and veggies arrived. I'd always enjoyed that Chinese celery was included here; though now it's mostly just lettuce.
Soon enough the Hu Tieu My Tho Kho arrived.
I quickly set about tasting the different items. The soup was far from bland, but really had that "San Diego sweet" pho flavor. It was also high in msg as well.
There were two shrimp and one piece of squid, but at least 5 slices of liver and some really tough pork....oh and half a fishball. I wonder what happened to the other half?
One of the first thing that came to mind was the "Hu Tieu shenanigans". You know, the time I ordered the Hu Tieu Mi Kho and got a single strand of Hu Tieu in my bowl! Well, this time around there was a good amount of stretchy hu tieu, along with firm, slightly crunchy egg noodles.
For some strange reason; other than being on the greasy side, the sauce seemed pretty bland. I remember it having a distinct porky-tomato-garlicky flavor. It did coat the noodles well and combined with the super salty broth, at least provided some flavor.
As for the meats; I liked the pork stomach and intestine the best; good chewiness, with a hint of offal-liness. Man, that liver was really bitter-metallic-funky; the guy wasn't kidding. I won't go into great detail about how I mix and eat; it's still the same as noted at the end of this post.
While I'll probably go back to ordering my usual next time; this was an interesting foray into something different from the menu.
And then there was the funny conversation at the end of my meal when I went to the register to pay.
The older gentleman looked at me and said "are you Japanese?"
I answered "Yes, I am."
"No wonder you like the hu tieu, we get it from Japan" he replied.
I countered with "Yes, I know.....I can tell", which got a surprised look from him.
I laughed and said "just kidding", which cracked him up as I walked out the door......
You could say I enjoyed Pxx Kxxg around. (Sorry, couldn't help it)
Pho King
4658 El Cajon Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92115
Current Hours:
Thurs - Mon 10am - 8pm
Closed Tuesday and Wednesday
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