168 Restaurant

*** 168 Restaurant has closed

168 Restaurant, located in the shadow of the 99 Ranch Market sign, is a popular and inexpensive Taiwanese restaurant in the area.

The bare bones atmosphere, and "sticky" tables, along with the faint smell of vinegar in the air take me back to many of the Chinese "coffee shops" in the San Gabriel Valley. 168 specializes in homestyle Chinese and Taiwanese "grub" at very reasonable prices. Forget about atmosphere though, it doesn't exist at 168. We also ate with our "elbows up" and off of the sticky-tacky tables.

Many of the people during our visits were eating Fried Rice, Noodle Soup, or some other noodle dish.

We decided to try some menu items that we hadn't ordered before. Starting with the Smoked Chicken($3.75):

I really enjoyed this cold chicken dish, it had a mild smokey flavor, the meat had a slightly "cured" texture, and though it teetered on the edge of being too salty it was very satisfying on this very hot day.

Pan Fried Egg with Dried Radish($4.25):

This homestyle omelet had strips of dried radish in it. It is really nothing different from what I make at home. The eggs were very salty, though the radish added a nice crunch to the dish

Glutinous Rice in Bowl($3.25):

I enjoyed the gooey glutinous rice that surrounded a "filling" of chunks of pork and dried radish. Here's a look:

Slightly sweet, slightly salty, with a sauce with hints of......well, as the Missus put's it, "It's Five-Spice, okay, F-I-V-E Spice. None of this hints of anise stuff, it tastes like five spice". Okay??? This was not bad, I'd have it again.

I really don't know why I ordered the Xiao Long Bao($5.75), big mistake:

Really big mistake, the wrappers were a bit freezer burnt, and only two or three of the dumplings actually had "soup" in them.

A few weeks later, we found ourselves at 168 again. And in keeping with our previous meal, we decided to try items we'd never had here before.

Since we enjoyed the cold Smoked Chicken on our previous visit, we ordered the Wined Chicken($3.75):

The chicken tasted much better than it looked. The flavor of the chicken was neither too strong, nor totally bland like the version at Mei Long Village. The texture of the chicken was slightly dense and cured, with a slight salty-winey flavor. Not as strong in flavor as the version at Shanghai City, but still quite good.

Of course some Stinky Tofu(Cho Dofu - $5.25):

The Missus has a basic "rule" when it comes to Cho Dofu. If I can smell it, than eat it, it's probably not good. The usual foul, what I call a dark-deep-damp-acrid odor of decomposition was very tame and mild. In addition, the sauce was very mild and weak. I had 3 pieces of the Cho Dofu, which really tasted like fried tofu, with a slight acrid odor. So this brined than fermented tofu dish was not very good.

Goose Meat w/Bean Thread($5.25):

A light clear poultry based broth, had a nice quantity of slightly chewy bean thread. The broth was mild, and the julienned ginger added a very nice clean flavor to what would be a fairly weak soup. The "Goose Meat" tasted strangely like Duck Leg, it just wasn't as rich and gamey as goose is. We thought this was just okay.

Oyster w/"Thin Noodles" Soup($4.75):

This thickened soup was a strange mish-mash of conflicting flavors, and the lack of decent quality ingredients didn't help it in the least. I really like the slightly gooey soup, it had a nice assertive vinegar and white pepper flavor. The Missus thought it was too sour. I really enjoyed the chewy brown wheat based thin Taiwanese style noodles. There were 2 items that ruined the dish. First, the Oysters tasted very bad, like they had been starting to "break-down" with a fishy-bitter flavor. I fished all of them out of the bowl, no sense in spending the night sleeping the bathroom, if you know what I mean. The bamboo shoots had a metallic-sour flavor to them. I'm pretty sure that the bamboo shoots were old, and that when they were removed from the can, the shoots were not drained or rinsed. Too bad, I thought this soup had potential.

The menu at 168 is quite extensive, with everything from Squid Potage and 3 Cup Chicken(posted on he wall) to Fried Rice and Kung Pao Chicken. What 168 does best are Chinese Coffee shop and snack dishes. And those are still a "mixed bag" and quite inconsistent. The service is basic Chinese restaurant in style and quality, you usually need to ask for anything you need. Of course being open till almost midnight is a big plus.

168 Restaurant
7330 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92111

Open 11am-1130pm Daily

Comments

[Cathy]

Oh man, sounds like this isn't gonna be good. We have gone there a few times and it seems more "home made"...the dumplings in hot sauce and House Special tofu anyhow...perhaps from a scary, dirty home...but home made nevertheless....

[Captain Jack]

Jeez Kirk,
Think you ordered enough food? 8 items, holy cow! Nice little snack to tide you over huh?

[Captain Jack]

Jeez Kirk,
Think you ordered enough food? 8 items, holy cow! Nice little snack to tide you over huh?

[Kady]

That's a lot of food. Is that just from one visit?!

[liverbomb]

I've always found their stinky tofu to be lacking in stink and complexity of flavor. I haven't come across anywhere in the area with the intense sewage smell that's indicative of good stinky tofu.

[FoodieFriday]

Hi,

I love your blog and reference it often! Thank you for your finds and opinions!

Anyway, I am cannot wait for your review. On July 28th I took a Great News cooking school tour through 99 Market and then to Dim Sum at Jasmine. Anway, I asked the tour guide about 168 at 99 and she said she never sees anyone in it--as was true that day. So, can't wait to hear!

Cheers, FF

[26chickys]

I remember eating here with a good friend about 2 years ago. The food was not good and the bathroom was filthy and disgusting. My daughter then asked me what the "C" rating meant. Scary!!!

[honkman]

168 is one of the restaurant which helps most post-docs (including myself) to survive in SD because it is open till 12pm and close to TSRI, cheap and wuite good. Normally it is crowded around 10pm-11.45pm most evenings. It still go there from time to time and though it is not the best food in SD I like it (but by experience from your food blog I expect that you won't like it too much)

[Selina]

I really like your blog - it's like Asian Zagat for SD. How do you order so much food all the time??

[Kirk]

Hi Cathy - As usual, you hit it right on the nose....

Hi Captain Jack - Just enough to tide me over! LOL!

Hi Kady - Nope, two visits, actually.

Hi Liverbomb - You are so right. Talk about tame stinky tofu, something is just wrong about that! We haven't encountered any good Cho Dofu in San Diego.

Hi FoodieFriday - Thanks for stopping by and commenting! There are usually a few people eating there in the early evening. But the place really gets bust after 8pm, since they are open quite late.

Hi 26chickeys - Yes, for the uninitiated the sticky tables, and the somewhat untidy surroundings can be scary. I haven't been in the restrooms, but I can imagine. BTW, when we lived in LA we used to say 'B' meant Better, and 'C' meant Chinese eat here.....

Hi Honkman - Well you never know....I've eaten here quite a few times, and it is what it is. I don't mind the food at all. Am I that much of a picky eater?

Hi Selina - Welcome and thanks for commenting! Sometimes we make several visits over the course of weeks(even months), and I do partial draft posts for my notes. I have a pretty good food memory...though I can never remember where I park my car. Pretty weird, I know.....

[Rachel]

hehe those ppl who commented on "all that food" obviously haven't read your blog for very long!

I like how you blog about these interesting hole in the wall places that have gems amidst all their nondescript food. I think you were very brave to have eaten the oyster noodles despite your description of the oysters and bamboo shoots in them! :)

[Kirk]

Hi Rachel - Yes, you're right....he-he-he! I really enjoyed the broth and the noodles, but those oysters were a disaster waiting to happen.

[Jack]

There have been many a late night I have spent at 168 after working late at the lab. It's been years though since I have last been there. The glutinous rice looks interesting.

[Fred]

My martial arts group likes to eat there after class because it's one of very few places open in the area after 10pm. I don't think the food is that great, personally, and the dirtiness is kind of scary.

I do like the Chinese Green Onion Pancakes there, though.

By the way I dropped by Sammy's Sushi for lunch today. Pretty good sushi, and I want to go back for dinner one of these days and meet Sam.

[Kirk]

Hi Jack - We'll they are still there.....

Hi Fred - I don't think the food is great, but it's not as bad as some will say it is. But I'm sure the somewhat unsavory conditions affect the basic opinion of the restaurant.
So Sam wasn't working today? Hmmm, I though He works every shift, every day.

[Andy 食神]

I went there about two years ago. I've got pretty much the same assessment. I've yet to find any desire to come back.

[JC]

BUG IN DISH! HORRIBLE SERVICE!!

When we noticed a bug (it looked like a fly) in the dish, we called the
owner over to see it. She stood there looking at us for a few seconds,
without saying a word and just left. No replacement of the dish.
Not even an apology!! When we refused to pay for the dish, she gave
us the money back with a nasty face. Still, no apology. Even though the food wasn't good and one of the dish had a bug inside, we still left tips. Shortly after we left the restaurant, she came after us, told us "You people don't pay for the food you eat?" (she said it in very rude taiwanese). We were all confused until she told us we
did not pay for an appetizer which was only $2.50. We told her it is their mistake that they forgot to include that on the bill. And she replied that it is customer's job to go through the bill and point out anything missing. She then took the $3 we gave her, without giving us changes back, without a word, and just left. This is just an awful experience for us. The food tasted just OK, though high priced for he quality and definitely horrible customer service. After talking about this incident with friends, it turned out that we are not the only ones who found bugs in the dish and greeted with poor service. You might want to think twice before your visit.