Trieu Chau - The Meal

In Part I of this post, we made our way to Trieu Chau, and sat, only to open the menu, and discover that most of it was not in English (there was a handwritten section with stuff like pork fried rice). So as the Missus tried to decipher the Chinese portion of the menu, and little plate of Youtiao(Fried Dough, "Crullers") found it's way to our table.

These were cold and dense, not crunchy and light; a very inauspicious start. At this point, the Missus had gotten through much of the menu, but still could not figure out what some of the dishes were. This is when our intrepid "guide" Kathy appeared. She patiently explained that the dishes we were having problems with were dishes with specific types of noodles. She started in English, went to Cantonese, and finally was able to explain some of the dishes to the Missus in Mandarin. At one point, she thought that the Missus was Laotian, so she started speaking in what I think was Lao. Talk about a humbling experience, I barely speak one language well (that would be English), and Kathy just jumps from language to language without hesitation. Needless to say, we were impressed. Finally,  the Missus decided to go the "small plates" route, instead of ordering noodle soup and ordered a few dishes that She had already picked out, and Kathy helped fill out the menu.

First up was the Missus selected the Beef Stew:

The Missus picked this out, because she knew how much I enjoy a good Beef Stew. This was almost a hybrid Chinese - Vietnamese style Beef Stew. Beef colored by annatto oil, nice hints of anise, cinnamon, and garlic. The meat was pretty tender, and the fat content was pretty low. What I really enjoyed about this dish, was the large amount of buttery, melt in your mouth tendon, cooked to perfection. Also, the usual layer of oil coating the top of the sauce, was minimized. An average dish, brought up to good by the delici-yoso tendon.

The Missus also selected the Soy Sauce Duck:

Nice, meaty and tender, soy sauce flavored duck leg, served with pickled vegetables. What made this dish work was that the salty duck was tempered by the pickled vegetables and pickle "juice."

Kathy had selected the rice noodle with seafood for us:

I could smell the fragrance of this dish as it was cooking; thinking to myself; "that must be for us...." Wide rice noodles, egg, bok choy, and seafood, in a brown sauce. First off the shrimp were over-cooked and tough, and the squid was like rubber. The sauce though a tad on the sweet side had quite a bit of garlic which balanced it out a bit. The interesting thing was that I could taste a hint of a slightly smokey flavor in the noodles; I think there was a bit of Wok-hey going on.

Strangely, Kathy also ordered Lup Cheong(Chinese Sausage) and Shrimp Fried Rice for us. I think she was hedging her bets a little, just in case we didn't care for anything else we ordered.

This was the weakest dish of the meal. Again the shrimp were over-cooked, and some of the Lup Cheong were charred, and nothing about the dish stood out. As we were eating, the Missus, said "didn't you make this last night." I had indeed made fried rice with leftovers the night before, and this was no better then what I had thrown together at home. But still, nothing terrible about the dish.

All told the "damage" was $20, for 4 dishes(we had the leftovers for dinner) and tea, not bad at all! The service was very efficient, and Kathy was very patient and helpful. While the Missus went to the Ladies Room, I chatted briefly with Kathy, who recommended the Lemongrass Chicken, and a few other dishes for our next visit. Though I'm sorely tempted to try some of the Beef Stew Noodle Soups......

Trieu Chau Restaurant
4653 University Ave
San Diego, CA 92105

Comments

[Joseph E]

I always love a happy ending. I've driven by this place a number of times, but always thought it looked like the sort of place with 300 menu items and none in English. It sounds like it might be worth a try, if Kathy or someone else could translate!

[Kathy]

Ahh, you and your beef stew noodle soups. I distinctly remeber it being all your niu rou mein posts that got me ordering that one dish everything I went to a restaurant with it on the menu! Just goes to show how influential your blog is :)

[Reid]

Hi Kirk,

Sounds like you had an interesting experience. So are you going back?

[Kirk]

Hi JosephE - Your assessment is pretty much correct, but the people there are quite helpful.

Hi Kathy - Yeah, me and my beef stews.......

Hi Reid - I'll probably be going back. I was going to post later, but am on our way to LA, so thought I had enough to create a post.

[clare eats]

After such a good start it is sadening to be let down by mediocre food *sigh*
So now you are not only tease but you don't even come through with the good stuff afterwards!

[elmomonster]

Eventhough it sounds so-so, I'd still hit that...I mean $20 for 4 dishes! That just doesn't happen often anymore...especially in O.C.

[Keri]

Hi Kirk,

So glad to hear that things ended up being okay. =) Love your blog! Can't wait to hear more!

[howie]

This sounds like a promising place to go for some cheap eats. The beef stew looks pretty good, and sometimes I don't mind a lighter version if I'm watching my weight.

By the way, I only speak one language too, which is a constant source of shame for my Chinese family.

[jackt]

note to chef: no self-respecting fried rice has PEAS and CARROTS. =)

[Emily K]

Hi Kirk,

and happy Easter!

In my enduring quest to figure out what's what in Asian food I've been paying attention recently and so I'd really appreciate it if you would provide an answer to my questions (from a newbie so please forgive me if they are dumb).

First what's the deal with pho and tendon...what is tendon? I cruise lots of food sites and this word "tendon" keeps coming up. Sorry for my ignorance but since I'll be in Bangkok/Vientiane/Luang Prabang in August I really want to be able to judge good "tendon".

And secondly "wok-hey"...so what's the deal? Please let me know and perhaps, since my blog is taking a decidely Asian turn, I will be able to use this phrase in the future.

And so, excellent as always, biz de Paris, Emily

[Kirk]

Hi Clare - The Beef Stew and the Duck were not bad - and the prices are pretty good.

Hi Elmo - We thought the prices were very reasonable - but then again we just back from Rowland Heights, so........

Hi Keri - Thanks for stopping by, and the kind words. Though, it was a bit hit and miss, the prices were very reasonable.

Hi Howie - Actually I'm the one that is constantly embarrassed by my lack of lingual prowess. The Beef Stew is good, if you like alot of tendon.

Hi Jackt - Don't know, maybe they were trying to make me feel "safe"?

Hi Emilyk - Well let's seeee, tendon which seems so hard and almost inedible in it's raw state, can become very tender, gelatinous, and almost buttery when cooked correctly. If you enjoy gelatin, you may enjoy tendon.
Wok-hey(Wok Hay) is the somewhat mysterious "character" of the wok, a somewhat smokey flavor that a well used, seasoned, and maintained wok will impart on food if used with the combination of (usually) very high heat and good technique. There's a wonderful book by Grace Young, called The Breath of a Wok that goes into this in much detail. An excellent book, and fun read.

[Jack]

Nice find Kirk. It sounds like it has possibilities.

[Kirk]

Hi Jack - Yes, there are enough possibilities to fill several visits.