**** After a very long run; Ly's has closed
Recently, we've been eating at all of our regular Chinese Restaurants; China Max, Ba Ren, and yes, even at the "ABCDE" special, Mandarin Canton. For a change of pace, and for the sake of "material" for a new post, I needed to find someplace new to eat. Just then it came to me, let's try Lee's Garden, we hadn't eaten there in years. The Missus was game, so off we went for a nice weekday lunch. As we took the turn at 54th street, the Missus grabbed my arm and said "turn around, turn around, you just went past it!" Me: "Are you sure?" The Missus:"Turn around I just saw it on our right!"
So I did two U-turns, and drove into the seedy strip mall parking lot. And there it was:
Or was it? This was Ly's Garden.... I mentioned this to the Missus, who responded; "How many Ly's/Lee's Garden do you think is going to be on this street?" "OK, I just thought they were on the other side of the street."
We entered the Restaurant, and surveying the cavernous, but slightly run down interior, I knew immediately, that this wasn't the "Lee's Garden" I was thinking about. But the display of roast pork and duck hanging in the display was calling to me. We were immediately seated by the most cheerful server, and opened the menu. And oh my, the prices..... Just to keep this interesting, let's play a little game. I won't reveal the prices of each dish, and we ordered alot of food, until near the end of the description of each dish.
We ordered a bowl of Won Ton Soup, which came with a plate of bean sprouts and lemon:
The steaming hot bowl of soup was delivered, with a few slices of fishcake, lots of fried garlic, green onions, cilantro, and even some Gailan. And it was a good thing; the broth was on the mild side and needed a little "help".
The wontons were typical Vietnamese-style wontons, very dense pork meatballs. There were 8 wontons in this decent bowl of soup, that cost us.....guess, 4 bucks, maybe $4.50? Well........
It was $2.75!!! Yes, less then 3 bucks for won ton soup.
The Missus also ordered Porridge with Pork and Preserved Egg:
The porridge was served steaming hot, but was on the watery side, with hardly any preserved egg. Also, the Missus noted that the pork in the porridge was almost like ground pork, not the strings of pork She is used too. The Missus noted a lack of pork flavor and velvety richness that a good bowl of Jook has.
The price? Yep, $2.75......
I ordered one of the most expensive items on the menu. 3 Meats with Steamed rice. While waiting for my lunch this arrived on the table.
I asked the Server what this was, and was informed that it came with the roast meat dish. So hey, another meat. This rich beef-pork broth, along with the soft meat from the pork shank was delici-yoso!!! I'd be happy with just a bowl of this. The broth had the flavor close to that of Pho', but with a bit more "oil" and richness.
As I was polishing this off, my plate arrived:
I had ordered Roast Pork, BBQ Pork (Char Siu), and Roast Duck, all of which came on a bed of Jasmine rice. The BBQ pork was moist, but really too mildly flavored, lacking any of the sweet-beany-saltiness that good BBQ pork has. The duck was also underwhelming and the meat lacked the rich flavor of good roast duck. The Roast pork was pretty good, the skin portions crunchy, the meat slightly sweet and very moist.
This set me back......$4.50!
The Missus, not believing how inexpensive the food was, had to get something else, and went to the deli case and ordered the Shrimp and Chive fried dumplings($2.95):
These were fried up, and arrived on our table a few minutes later. Though a bit on the oily side, the chive and shrimp filling was quite good. And no skimping on the chives either!
In the end we spent $14(without tip), for 4 dishes! Bargain city.......
Some notes on Ly's: The service here was very nice and friendly. The parking lot looks a bit dicey, but there were 2 Security Guards walking around. The atmosphere is quite "divey", but the good service made up for any shortcomings. All prices are for lunch, I think that prices are a dollar more during dinner.
Ly's may not be a "Foodie" destination; but if you're in the neighborhood, and short on cash, Ly's is worth a visit. You will get what you pay for.
Ly's Garden Chinese Restaurant
4350 54th St # B
San Diego, CA 92115
After lunch we drove further down 54th St, and to our left, there it was, Lee's Garden. A Ly and Lee on the same street? Talk about confusion! Guess where we'll be headed next? To Be Continued.......
It was either the heat or the or the unusual flavor combo. This was definately authentic nada!
Posted by: Jo | Thursday, 02 March 2006 at 12:01 PM
who puts lemon and bean sprouts in their wonton soup?? But at those prices who cares! wow that is truly amazing! Comming close to singapore hawker centre prices but not quite yet ;) Looks like a great bargain, and perhaps a great place for soup lovers. That combination roast meat with rice looked to die for!!! *droool*
Posted by: Rachel | Saturday, 04 March 2006 at 05:25 AM
Hi Rachel - I don't know! I found it quite odd.
Posted by: Kirk | Sunday, 05 March 2006 at 12:04 AM
My wife and I went there for dinner tonight after reading this post; we live in Normal Heights, so even mediocre food seemed worthwhile with a short trip and low prices.
It turns out Ly's offers a different menu for dinner. I was disappointed to find no "Three Meats with Steamed rice" or Pho or other lunch items. As menu fatigue set in and our very helpful waiter returned a second time for our order, we took refuge in the $13.50 two-person special: sweet & sour pork, beef & broccoli, egg rolls and egg drop soup. I can't recommend it over any other americanized Chinese food, but on the other hand, it was better than many places that charge twice as much. Most of the dinner soups and main dishes are around $5 to $7 for generous portions; I'm full and we only ate half of what we were served.
We were also surpised look of the place; white tablecloths and linen napkins and uniformed, attentive waiters are not often found at $20 a person in San Diego. If I ever need a huge banquet hall on the cheap, this might be the place.
Posted by: Joseph E | Wednesday, 15 March 2006 at 09:45 PM
Hi Joseph E - Thanks for the info. I had never had dinner at Ly's so didn't know. Soprry if it was a disappointing experience for you. Was it just $13.50 for both of you?
That's like Panda Express....
Posted by: Kirk | Friday, 17 March 2006 at 09:18 AM
Hi Kirk - Actually, we were not at all disappointed; it wasn't bad. And yes, that's $13.50 for the both of us! We had the leftovers last night; quite good with some changes to the sweet/sour balance and some spice added.
Posted by: Joseph E | Friday, 17 March 2006 at 01:42 PM
Hi Joseph E - Thanks, well, that makes me feel better. I'd feel really bad if the info I provided had led you to a bad meal. And geeez $13.50.....
Posted by: Kirk | Friday, 17 March 2006 at 09:04 PM