"Ok, that's an order of Yakisoba and Chicken with Lemongrass - be about 15 minutes". Now normally when I hear something like this; I'd be afraid, very afraid. The kind of fear that is associated with signs that say 'Authentic Cantonese, Szechuan, and Mandarin Cuisine'. Except in this case I overheard this at Dao Son Noodle House on El Cajon Blvd. Dao Son, I'm told literally means 'Hot Chef', and he's not kidding. There's even a little neon sign above the restaurant sign that say 'Hot Chef'.
The spartan interior could be dropped into any number of Asian restaurants, but the aroma, ooh the aroma, garlic, chilies, "shoot me now and put me out of my misery..." The service was friendly, and the Chef himself let us in the front door. We looked over the menu and placed our order, and an entire carafe of water was placed on our table.
Our first dish was the Special; Fried Catfish with Eggplant - ordered medium-hot ($6.99):
This dish was a winner! The catfish was battered and fried perfectly. Crunchy on the outside, moist and tender on the inside. The eggplant seared on the outside, with a wonderful molten, creamy interior. The sauce was nice and spicy, and the peanuts added a nice textural component to the dish. This was the best dish of the night.
The next dish was the Garlic Chicken - ordered medium hot (5.99). Boneless, Dark Meat chicken was marinated, than battered and fried and served with a nice and spicy garlic/chili sauce, and is topped with scallions and tempura "bits". The chicken was tasty, and the sauce (seems like it was sambal based) was hot enough to bring sweat to my brow. The scallions and tempura bits added a nice counter-point to the whole meal. The only gripe I had about this dish was that the chicken pieces were pretty large and we only had chopsticks so there were some problems managing the pieces. Also, the batter was very savory and crisp, but very hard, almost like a shell, I'm thinking that this was a corn-starch based batter. All of this is relatively minor. If the chicken were smaller and bite-sized, the crunchy texture would be viewed as a positive attribute.
The last dish was Garlic Fish - also ordered medium hot ($5.99). I had thought that this would be the same as the chicken dish, but was pleasantly surprised. First off, the fish was coated with bread crumbs, and there was the distinct taste of lemon grass all through the dish. Other than the addition of lemon grass this was essentially the same as the chicken dish. The fish was prepared well, though the fish was relatively bland, the toppings and sauce made up for any deficiencies.
We left Dao Son, satiated, and looking forward to another meal. The flavors had been unique and distinctive, and the food well prepared.
So tonight we did Dao Son part 2, this time we did take-out, and decided to order a few other dishes. We ordered the Red Chicken ($5.50) medium hot. This is almost a perfect dish! Chicken stir fried over high heat, in a spicy "red" sauce that is both 
sweet and spicy, with tomatoes, red peppers and chili. This dish is a keeper! On a whim we ordered the Yakisoba ($4.95). This dish was not bad, flavorful, with the distinct taste of sesame oil, and well prepared, but unremarkable except for one thing; the noodles. The noodles were great, they had a nice crunch and reminded me of "fried saimin" 
. The last dish was Shrimp w/Lemon Grass and Garlic sauce ($5.99). Basically the same sauce as the Garlic Fish, but this was one spicy dish, nose bleeding hot! There's no slow-burn here, it's in your face!
Dao Son, has interesting, and very well prepared, flavorful food. The price is also right! We've added Dao Son to our "rotation" and will be going back often. The menu is varied with everything from Yakitori and Yakisoba, to Sate Chicken and Lemongrass Shrimp. This range of dishes would usually scare me away, but in this case, the "Hot Chef" does a good job with preparing all the dishes that we've had so far. The service is fast - I was unable to get through on the phone for my take-out order, so walked in and ordered. I was told it would take 15 minutes???? Now the restaurant was half-full, and the phone was ringing off the hook. I got my food in 10 minutes, and all the tables were also being served. Impressive.
The bottom line? Good hot and spicy food from the "Hot Chef".
2322 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA 92103
(619)291-5051
Lunch:
Mon-Fri 11:00am-2:00pm
Dinner:
Sun-Thurs 5:00pm-9:00pm
Fri-Sat: 5:00pm-10:00pm
I've been a regular at Dao Son since a month after opening in 1994 (original location was on Park Blvd), although my relocation to the Bay Area a couple of years ago limits my visits to a couple of times a year now. They've been solid since a few months after opening and little has changed since (including the prices). It's a great family-run place and definitely worth trying out. Some of the dishes are fried, many are spicy, but there's definitely something for everyone. Some of my personal favorites are the Vietnamese spring rolls (fried, pork), fresh spring rolls (shrimp, wrapped in rice paper, not fried), chicken rice pot, katsu don (K.D.), katsu curry (or curry chicken if you're avoiding fried), soba yakisoba (very mild), garlic chicken (I have ordered garlic chicken all except for once in the 100+ times I've eaten at Dao Son), tasty red chicken, 5-spice game hen, lemon grass chicken, chicken with black bean and garlic sauce, chicken rice pot (mild), tofu with spice sauce (very spicy - I usually order mild). I know it sounds like I'm reciting the menu, and are others I like that I didn't mention, but this should show you that there's a lot to choose from. Please give this place a try if you haven't already and keep a great family-run restaurant going! You'll be happy you did.
Posted by: Dan | Friday, 17 August 2007 at 10:53 AM