Lucky Seafood Supermarket/Express Deli

Lucky Seafood Supermarket is the very popular Vietnamese Supermarket on Mira Mesa Boulevard.

Once you enter the Market, even though Lucky Seafood is clean and the aroma is kind of kept to a minimum, there is no way you'd confuse Lucky Seafood with the now defunct Lucky Supermarket chain! Maybe the produce department from this view looks just like any other.

But once you look a little closer.....well I don't think you'd find Ngo Gai(sawleaf herb) in one of those Supermarkets.

As with many of these Supermarkets, there is a good variety of produce, from plantains:

To purple sweet potatoes:

Though the interior of these sweet potatoes reminded me of "Okinawan Sweet Potatoes" back home in Hawaii, they were much larger in size, and not as "sweet".

As with World Foods, or Vien Dong III Supermarket, the meat and seafood section occupies the entire rear section of the market.

Today, there was a small crowd gathered around the fish tanks, for the free show called; The Fishmonger versus the Carp. It seemed that the Carp had the upper hand at times, but eventually the Fishmonger prevailed.

After watching all of the splashing, you'll know that the warning sign is for! As I turned to look at the various relatively fresh fish, I noticed some really nice looking "Uhu", also known as Parrotfish, which I really haven't seen in a while.

All of the usual suspects were in view; from the wall of fish sauce:

And the aisle of noodles:

Now what was I doing wandering around Lucky Seafood? Well, it's because of this:

Express Deli, is the not so little Take-out operation located in Lucky Seafood. And with everything from Spring Rolls, to Salt and Pepper Shrimp, to Fried Fish, to Stewed Pig's feet, there was quite a nice variety of Vietnamese and Chinese-style food available. You can purchase items ala carte or get a 2 item combination plate(with starch) for $3.89, or a 3 item combination for $4.89.  But today I opted for the Banh Mi which Express Deli also makes.

I ordered the Banh Mi Thit Ngoui($2.25) and a BBQ Pork Banh Mi ($2.25). The Thit Ngoui, basically a lean pork sausage and "head" sausage sandwich:

I saw them place the sandwich in a toaster, and that created a nice crisp crust, though the bread was kind of soggy and gummy. There was a nice smear of pate', just enough for a nice balanced flavor.  There was also a good amount of "pickles", in fact, just about the most pickled veggies I've had. Two slices of Jalapeno added some nice heat; though I'd have enjoyed a single thin long cut so the heat would be spread through every bite, much like the cucumber spear. The cilantro had stems which were tough, and you couldn't help but pull out all the cilantro when you bit into the sandwich. The sandwich was a bit skimpy on the meat for my taste, the slices were almost paper thin. Still, not bad for $2.25.

The BBQ Pork sandwich was basically more of the same:

This 8 inch sandwich did have a good amount of soy-fish sauce-sugar flavored pork, though there were several really tough pieces of inedible fat in the sandwich. Still, a decent Banh Mi, and it's really hard to complain for a sandwich that costs two-bucks-and-a-quarter!

The Young Lady who manned the cash register, as well as the one who assembled my sandwich were very nice, smiling, and both apologizing for having to wait for a sandwich.

So, you can get some good looking deli food, shop in a clean "environment"(if that kind of stuff bothers you), and wait; it's not over yet! Check out this sign and you'll know what's coming up next:

Lucky Seafood Supermarket
9326 Mira Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92126

As I ate my Banh Mi, I couldn't help but laugh. I'd mentioned Lucky Seafood to someone, who wrinkled Her nose, and said: "that place is so gross, they even have live fish that they catch and clean and chop up, and all of that kind of stuff in that place." She had entered the place thinking that this was one of the other "Lucky's" Supermarket. I was going to ask her if she knew that fish didn't live in the wild in filet form, or in cans.....but I held my tongue! Imagine a beautiful school of salmon filets.........

Comments

[Passionate Eater]

Did that place used to be a "real" Lucky's Supermarket? It is so funny to see when individually-owned ethnic markets that move in to the old quarters of one of those defunct, now non-existent supermarkets. There is a old Smith's and Hughes' by where I used to live in Southern California, and the people that moved in just obscured and removed some of the letters so it became "S_ _ _ Supermarket" and "H_ _ _'s Supermarket!" It looks weird because there are still weathered "shadows" where the letters once were.

[dietchilicheesefries]

P.E., Kikr, "Jons" supermarket is my favorite...

signs are so freakin' expensive that they have to use 30 old shells to recreate them.... it always cracks me up when i see an old Pioneer Chicken sign that's been converted into something like Lucky Chinese Food... BTW, if anyone remembers Pioneer Chicken, you're old...

[joanna]

Kirk
Does the "head" sausage that you referred to really contain meats from the face?

Do you know which of them Viet sandwhiches contain organ/face meat?

By the way, my heart skipped a beat when I saw that $30 plate of fish. Can it get any better?
Joanna

[Cathy]

We have gone to the restaraunt twice in the past 4 weeks (were in that area and *needed* pho)...when you walk in, you better know what you want to eat...the waiter points to a table, brings over the menus and stands there...I saw this over and over...they don't seem to leave. Always a line inside at the deli place. I swear Kirk, you are following us! (Since I started reading your blog in January there have been at least seven "new to us" places we have gone to and then you have rated)...

[Kirk]

Hi PE - You know what? I really don't know! We've got many taco shops and other restaurants in San Diego that you can tell have been pizza huts, taco bells, and the like. In fact, in our old neighborhood in LA - the El Pollo Loco has become a Real Estate Office...a very odd looking Real Estate Office!

Hi DCCF - I guess I'm old, then.....so old I remember Chicken Delight!

Hi Joanna - I believe so! Here's a post of Vietnemese Sausages from Kiki's site:

http://kikirice.blogspot.com/2006/02/vietnamese-sausages.html

Hi Cathy - Believe me, I pay that Private Detective well to follow you around. It must be that "great minds" think alike, right? :o) BTW, here's a preview of my next post, Lucky Pho' is my current favorite!

[dietchilicheesefries]

kirk,

i remember chicken delight!

miss those small little "broasted" chicken places that served their fries in those red baskets with paper... i'm old...

[clayfu]

hi kirk!
i actually live pretty close to lucky seafood.

I want to give a warning to everyone that sees the deli. The food looks good but they give AWFUL portions.

They have the fatty meat chunks, they gave me ONE piece and an egg.

Quite annoying. Like they count how many pieces thye take out. I once ordered the chicken wings, they gave me 5 and then took one out.

the food is pretty good tho, just such small portions

[Amanda]

Kirk,

I never knew about Banh Mi before I started reading food blogs. Can you believe there is not ONE restaurant in all of Victoria (pop. 350,000) that serves Banh Mi? I'm going to have to make my own, I guess.

[stacey]

kirk,

OH .. you almost gave me a heart attack when you said purple sweet potato.. but it's not okinawan, huh? How upsetting. I'd love to make some PIE outta okinawan sweet potatoes... sigh. :)

[Kirk]

Hi DCCF - "Don't cook tonight! Call chicken delight!" LOL!

Hi Clayfu - The food there does look very good, I've only had the Banh Mi, though. Thanks for the heads-up.

Hi Amanda - It's only a matter of time I'm sure. I do know that there's alot of awesome Chinese and Vietnamese in Richmond and Vancouver.

Hi stacey - Sorry.....you may want to give these a try, but not for pie. Did I just do a rhyme? The flavor is not as intense as the smaller Okinawan version.

[Rachel]

*sigh* I wish I had mega asian marts such as those. *double sigh* banh mi. I have never seen purple sweet potatoes before but now I know why my GBA "Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town" game by natsume (a farming RPG) has purple sweet potatoes :D

[Kirk]

Hi Rachel - If you have the chance, you should try what we call Okinawan Sweet Potatoes.... Reid has a nice photo:

http://onokinegrindz.typepad.com/ono_kine_grindz/2004/10/okinawan_sweet_.html

[Kady]

Wow, I'm so excited to check it out. That blue fish in your picture was beautiful. Thanks for another great supermarket post.

[Rachel]

wow thats cool kirk. That is a very deep purple colour, even more so than yam.

[Kirk]

Hi Kady - You should see Parrotfish in the wild, they are very beautiful!

Hi Rachel - It's interesting that the color of the fish starts fading after they are caught.

[Whitney]

Heya,
I cant tell you how helpful your site is! Even though I was born and raised in San Diego, it is so great to have a site to go to and see all the Asian markets. Until now I have only been to 99 Ranch Market and Mitsuwa and I love both. But I do like an adventure and any other market I can go to and explore is great fun. Just wanted to tell you how extremely informative everything on here is! Thanks!

[Kirk]

Hi Whitney - Thanks for dropping by and also for the kind words. I'm glad this humble blog could be if some use to you. Please drop by and comment more often.

[Lisa Wu]

Hello,
Regarding the post that this used to be a Lucky's Supermarket, I believe it was an old RiteAid or even a PicNSav. Lucky Seafood actually used to be the 79 Supermarket that was over on the other end of Mira Mesa Blvd, by Scripps Ranch. It's the same owner which started the 79 Supermarket chain throughout San Diego. Of course, the only one still owned by the original investors is Lucky Seafood.

And they hired a sign maker to do the sign completely independent of any letterings that were available to them. A few million dollars were spent on the renovation of the space before they opened the supermarket. My parents work there, so if you ever want to know when fresh seafood/veggies/baked goods get delivered there, let me know.

Thanks!

[Kirk]

Hi Lisa - thanks for commenting and the info. Actually, I didn't mean to infer that this used to be a Lucky's, but that I know of people who made the mistake of thinking it was. The Supermarket is very clean, and has a good selection of items.

[Joseph E]

Kirk,

Have you seen Sichuan pepper in this or any other market around San Diego? I've tried all of the places in Mid-City, as well as Vien Dong and 99 Ranch, and I can't find it anywhere. Does Ba Ren order it from LA or straight from China?