Luong Hai Ky Restaurant

*** This location of Luong Hai Ky is now Phat Restaurant.

I first noticed Luong Hai Ky Restaurant on a visit to Chopstix. On a recent visit I had noticed that all the "Servers" had disappeared; as I was leaving Chopstix I saw half of them sitting and smoking on the sidewalk, and the other half were eating in Luong Hai Ky. The funny thing was, I'd never noticed the restaurant before. Probably due to it's location in the rear of the strip mall.

On a typical "soup weather" day, I dropped by Luong Hai Ky. As I looked over the approximately 100 items on the menu I realized that this was a Chinese-Vietnamese noodle house; in the same vein as Minh KY. The interior of the restaurant was deceptively large, with about 25 tables and large fish tanks lining one side of the dining area. The dining room and tables were also very clean.

On my first visit I ordered a simple bowl of Won Ton Noodle Soup($5.00):

A modest bowl was brought out, with topped with a "shrimp cracker" and green onions. The won tons (6), were almost identical to those at Minh Ky; very dense pork meatballs, with a small slice of shrimp placed on one side. Three small slices of well flavored Char Siu, along with the typical "ball" of crunchy egg noodles occupying the bottom of the bowl. What made this bowl of noodle soup stand out was the tasty, quite dark broth. Obviously a mildly intense chicken based broth, there was a bit more going on; slightly salty, but without the "parching" MSG effect, a hint of sweet, but most of all a interesting savory flavor. When I paid at the counter I inquired as to the nature of the broth. I had a feeling that perhaps shrimp, or some other flavoring was added, but was told that there was no seafood in the broth.

Having enjoyed the soup, I returned for an encore, just to see if the broth was consistently flavored. I ordered the "carb special"; Won Ton & Dumpling Egg Noodle Soup($5.50):

Again, the portion size was nothing to write home about. This time there were 4 won tons and 4 "dumplings".

The dumpling wrappers were a bit thicker than the won tons, and were flat in shape. The filling was ground pork along with crunchy strips of "Cloud Ear" fungus. Though the broth was a tad milder on this visit; it still had alot of flavor. And I never really had to touch any of the condiments provided. Notice the strange bottle of French's Mustard in the background, every table had a bottle. French's Mustard? I don't quite know what to make of that......

On my last visit; not being in the mood for noodle soup, or rice, and being a sucker for thin egg noodles; I ordered the Combination Fried Egg Noodles($7.50):

In stark contrast to the modestly portioned noodle soups, this was a pretty generous portion of egg noodles, along with a variety of stir fried cabbage, carrots, onions, and other vegetables. The meat consisted of a few shrimp, and some really tough beef. The noodles, though stir fried well, were pretty bland, and I ended up reaching for the bottle of soy sauce and white pepper.

So I think I'll stick with the noodle soups at Luong Hai Ky, though the menu is fairly large, and there is quite a bit to choose from.

Service at Luong Hai Ky, is typical for these type of Restaurants; fast and efficient. I enjoyed the tea served here, it was Jasmine. Though on my first two visits, I received a small pot of tea; on my last visit I only got a single cup! At least I was never charged for tea. In the end, Luong Hai Ky, is really not worth going out of the way for, but if you happened to be close by, well maybe......

One other observation; it has to do with the rather odd taste in the Music I heard here. On my first visit, it was the Carpenters Greatest Hits. On my second visit it was a strange cacophony of pseudo-Asian-classical music blaring away so loud, that I swear I was headed upriver with Willard to terminate Kurtz with "extreme prejudice"! On my third visit, it was a strange mandolin-like muzak, imagine a swarm of bees playing The Girl from Impanema, and other elevator standards, quite strange. The hard surfaces in the restaurant, made the music even louder, and it kind of drove me nuts. Though at least there's no music pumped into the restrooms. There's nothing weirder then "doing your thing" hearing Phil Collins singing "Can you hear me....can you hear me calling....."

Luong Hai Ky Restaurant
4633 Convoy St Ste 107
San Diego, CA 92111

Open 10am to 10pm Daily

Comments

[clare eats]

LOL
That is a really nice coloured broth, I much prefer itwhenthe broth is properly flavoured, otherwise Iam always thinking why am I having a soup for?

[Jack]

Kirk, I was peeking in here a few weeks ago when we too were going to Chopstix. It was the first time that I ever had to park in the back. The place had almost all of the tables full. It was one of those rainy nights where soup was the dinner of choice.

[Rachel]

Well glad you found a good soup place! I am really into soups :) Although the guy said that there was no seafood in the broth, the way you described it made me think of some HK places having dried scallop or fish as a base for such a rich tasting broth. MMM I do love the crunchy egg noodles. Its not often that you find that over here *sigh* Its often the soggier or softer versions.

[Kirk]

Hi Clare - Yes, the broth was nicely flavored, though the portion size was not very large.

Hi Jack - You know, I've never seen more then 6-7 people in here at any given time, and had been wondering how they were able to stay in business.

Hi Rachel - Maybe they are just "guarding their secret" broth formula! Soggy, overcooked egg noodles are terrible.

[kristy]

So. Hungry. Right. Now. =( Another hour before lunch...may sneak in a snack. Great photos!

[Christine D.]

Mm, i haven't had "Mi" or egg-noodle soup in at least a month! Maybe i'll ask my dad to make it tomorrow. Actually, that won't happen because I don't think we're gonna cook anything until Tet (New Year's).

Btw, why do you capitalize "KY?" I think it's supposed to be "Ky." You made me think of dirty things because I thought that you would say that the noodles were slippery as if they'd put KY Jelly in it!! HAHA sick...

[Kirk]

Hi Kristy - LOL! If you have a snack i hope it's a good one.

Hi Christine - Hope school is going well. I actually edited and changed the name after doing a Yahoo search(didn't have the correct address), and that's how it's spelled:

http://local.yahoo.com/details?fr=dd-local-tl1&id=20876415&stx=luong+hai+ky&csz=San+Diego+CA&ed=9yocE6160Sx999V63jMf7QMaBCd7kVB0X8swPmHDs4EtQgZsL3qMfchtgOEDdpgYx649PNpFQiFMz_VQ2BY-

So I changed all the spelling in my post to reflect that! Actually the full name of the restaurant is Luong Hai Ky Mi Gia!

[milgwimper]

The broth for the soups looks really delicious. I find a lot of the broths here are either bland or just ok, once in awhile you run into a place where the broth is flavorful. Sorry about the egg noodles.

Rachel,

I have never had the crunchy noodles! I am intrigued. :)

[milgwimper]

hmmm my comment has been lost to cyber space.

Summary:

Nice looking broth Kirk. It is really a treat when you find a place with good broth.

Rachel,

Tell me more about the crunchy noodles.

[Rachel]

LOL ok milly, these noodles are egg noodles as you know them : yellow and quite fine. And you use them in soups as well as stir noodles eg. not in soups but stired together with char siu or wan tons with char siu sauce. When you take a bite of them, the have a firmer texture than the normal noodles eg hokkien noodles. and because there are so many strands you are able to pick up at once bein quite fine, they have a unique "crunch" to them. Not crispy at all, by any means, almost al dente but a bit firmer than al dente :)

mmm i love noodles.

[milgwimper]

Rachel,

That sounds so good. I have to agree I love noodles way too much! LOL :)

[Kirk]

Hi Mills - Yes, you're right! Most of the time the broth at these type of noodle places are just pretty much clear.

Hi Rachel - Well said! There is a nice slight crunch and pull to egg noodles that have been cooked correctly.

[Pam]

LOL on the Phil Collins!!!

[Kirk]

Hi Pam - I heard that playing in the "loo" over a decade ago, and I still remember it! Strange how the mind works.....

[Nancy]

Great Blog!

I just wanted to let you know what the mustard was for. If you put a little bit of mustard on the noodle dishes (not the soup, but the chow mein) it really enhances the flavor. Bon Appetit!

[Kirk]

Hi Nancy - Thanks so much for commenting and the kind words as well. Wow, that's a new one to me, French's mustard, huh? Interesting.

[sean]

Maybe you should try it one more time...

[Kirk]

Hi Sean - Actually, I did, they were under new "management", I heard the former owner had passed away, and it was a whole new group of people I had never seen before. And the food was worse. Now I heard that the "old" crew is back, and the food is back to how it has been...so maybe in the future????

[Sean]

Maybe I am biased, but having spent years traveling from city to city, I miss the food dearly. Throughout the transitions from one estate administrator to another, the original recipes (which contain secret ingredients) were manipulated. Now, the person who knew my father's recipes best is back in charge and whipping things back to their original standard. I hope your next visit will be more pleasant.

[luong]

hmmmm well just to let u guys know the new management is under my half sister.....she took over the restraunt and no the food was not worse then before......it tasted the same people say that it taste differant when my sister took over......well anyway cant belive it made it on here