Well, it's been tough, since having that amazing dinner at Urasawa, I haven't been able to bring myself to eat for over a week. HA, yeah, right! I'm obviously joking. I've got about 5 more posts regarding restaurants in the Los Angeles area, including places like Deerfield Garden, and Santouka Ramen, albiet the Torrance location. But I thought I'd return back to San Diego, and do a post on a few revisits to various restaurants.
Shanghai City
*** Update - Shanghai City has closed and is now Spicy House.
The recent cold and rainy weather was perfect for Niu Rou Mein, so we made our way to Shanghai City. Looking back at my original post, I realized how terrible my photos were, so I brought my camera along.
Every Saturday and Sunday from 10am to 3pm, Shanghai City features a Chinese Breakfast menu, and though prices have gone up a bit:
Most items are still priced at a reasonable $4.95-$5.95 range, and there is no discernable difference in portion size between the weekend specials and during other times. One thing I have noticed, is that Shanghai City is much busier during weekend mornings since we first started coming here in 2001. Also, the crowd is now a bit more diverse, with more than a few Non-Chinese customers.
I of course had my bowl of Niu Rou Mein($4.95):
Just as good as always, the broth is spicy and rich, the noodles still have a nice "pull", and the beef is moist, and tender with a nice flavor.
In order to get me out of the Niu Rou Mein habit, the Missus decided to order a few different items, starting with the Chao Nian Gao(Stir Fried Sliced Rice Cake) with Pork($4.95):
Unlike the version we enjoy at Chin's, this dish was totally overwhelmed with the flavor of Sesame Oil, and you couldn't taste anything else. The rice cakes were very soft, but not mushy, almost like noodles, and I enjoy my Nian Gao a bit less cooked.
The Missus also ordered the Pickled Mustard Greens and shredded Pork Noodle Soup at Chin's so She thought she'd order that($4.95), instead of her old standby, the Eel Noodles Soup.
And though the noodles were good as always, the mustard greens had very little in the way of flavor, ditto the pork, and the broth while it looked rich, was on the mild side.
And of course, we couldn't leave without some Xiao Long Bao($5.95):
And though the quality of the Xiao Long Bao at Shanghai City can be wildly inconsistent, and the wrapper a bit on the thick side, we still think it's the best in San Diego. We have also noticed that during busier periods the XLB at Shanghai City is a bit better, probably due to turnover.
Shanghai City
3860 Convoy St
San Diego,CA 92111
619-278-5883
Closed Tuesdays
*** An updated post on Shanghai City with new prices can be found here.
More Golden City - Yep, again! This time in the mood for some Roast Duck, we ordered a whole duck($15.95, $8.95 - 1/2 Duck):
I was surprised at how good this was! Really. Not oily, and not salty, roasted to perfection, this was much better than what I expected. Many restaurants will pour broth over the duck before serving to rehydrate the meat....no such thing here. It is not cheap, but quite good. I've never really ever gotten into the really sweet and lousy plum sauce that's served with roast duck......And Duck Fried Rice made with leftover duck is always a good thing!!!
The Gailan with Dried Fish($9.95), is Chinese Broccoli stir fried with dried-roasted fish:
The first time we had this, it was sublime; the Gailan had been peeled and so was soft and tender. The crisp dried fish added a salty-sweet flavor, and the garlic added a nice punch to pull it all together. It had been stir fried to perfection. The second time we had the dish was on a Sunday evening, and it was borderline terrible, the fish was hard and almost inedible, the Gailan was not peeled and tasted bitter, and was extremely fibrous, and the garlic was burned, and worst of all the dish had not been cooked correctly and it was slightly oily. We put it down to it being Sunday, and perhaps it was the 'B' team cooks running the show. So third time a charm? Well this was sort of a "tweener", the Gailan had not been peeled, but wasn't very bitter, and had been cooked well, the fish was perfect, but only a scant amount was provided. The garlic was burnt and bitter, I don't quite know what to say. Wildly swinging inconsistency is quite frustrating, and causes quite a dilemma...I mean, how can I recommend this dish if it's never the same twice?
Golden City Restaurant
5375 Kearny Villa Rd.
San Diego, CA 92123
Open Daily 11am - Midnight
I tried making the Gailan with Dried Fish, purchasing the dried fish from 99 Ranch Market.
I first toasted the fish in the toaster oven, peeled and blanched the Gailan, and thinly sliced a few cloves of garlic. I did a simple stir fry, and ended up with this:
It was okay, but I'm sure that I didn't use the right type of fish, it didn't taste right. Also, I should have used the Big Kahuna to cook this but was too lazy, high heat would've made a big difference. Still, it wasn't too far removed.......
So stay tuned, between the various restaurants visited in the LA area, I'll do a few posts on places like Kayaba, and even this place:
Hope everyone had a great weekend!
Postscript - By request I added a photo album of Urasawa photos, and even did an album from the AKC National Championships.
Kirk,
Thanks for reminding me about Shanghai City; I went there for lunch today to have some Niu Rou Mein. I can't wait to hear about Suzuya BBQ; is that the place right next to Osaka Kitchen? I believe I drove right past it the other day and thought I should like to try it one of these days.
Posted by: Fred | Monday, 18 December 2006 at 12:57 PM
Hi Fred - First off happy holisys to you! Great weather for NRM, huh? And yes, that is the place in the same strip mall as Osaka Kitchen.
Posted by: Kirk | Monday, 18 December 2006 at 09:23 PM
wow, i haven't discovered shanghai city yet! at least i don't think i did!
i'll have to check it out soon! thanks!
Posted by: Annie | Tuesday, 19 December 2006 at 10:26 PM
Who requested the AKC Championship photo album?! I want a photo album of Sammy and Frankie too!
Posted by: Passionate Eater | Tuesday, 19 December 2006 at 10:57 PM
Kirk,
You've got some spicy Chinese action goin' on there. I love it! Niu rou mian is one of the quintessential god foods. Ya just gotta have it.
- Chubbypanda
Posted by: chubbypanda | Tuesday, 19 December 2006 at 11:13 PM
Hi Annie - I thought you've been there? Gotta go between 10am and 3pm on Sat/Sun for the reasonable chinese breakfast.
Hi PE - Sammy and Frankie slipping you notes again! LOL! I'll get that done, but we have soooo many photos!
Hi CP - Yep, NRM...you just gotta have it!
Posted by: Kirk | Wednesday, 20 December 2006 at 08:30 AM
Man, I really have to try that Niu Rou Mein stuff one of these days real soon--looks like great stuff for cold weather. Kirk, where on Shanghai City's menu is it listed? Or is it on a Chinese-only menu? I went to the restaurant once looking for it, but missed it somehow.
Posted by: mizducky | Wednesday, 20 December 2006 at 05:28 PM
Hi Mizducky - You know, I've never paid much attnetion to the regular menu at Shanghai City....but Jim, the Brunchmaster, and Captain Jack have had success by writing down what they want - Niu Rou Mein and Xiao Long Bao, and just ordering it! Though if you really want to save money(NRM is $4.95) go on a Sat/Sun morning at 10-11am. Good thing...everybody there speaks English and will know what Niu Rou Mein is.
Posted by: Kirk | Wednesday, 20 December 2006 at 08:25 PM
Hi there, have you tried the Shanghai Fried Chao Nian Gao instead of the version that you order(ed)? The version pictured is Xue Tsai Chao Nian Gao. The Shanghai Fried version is much better, in my opinion. As far as the XLB goes, I don't think the Shanghai City version is up to par. XLB is supposed to have juice inside! Not so with Shanghai City's take.
Posted by: Alex | Friday, 22 December 2006 at 09:59 AM
Hi Alex - Thanks for stopping by and commenting. I guess I need to ask, up to par compared to what? It's not very good by LA standards(no Din Tai Fung or Meilong Village here), but I haven't found anything better in San Diego(though it varies from visit to visit - on this visit the XLB had an excellent ratio of "soup").....Not Dumpling Inn, which tastes like Jiaozhi, not Chin's which were lousy, not 168, which were really bad, not Mandarin Garden which were not cooked properly, in fact the some of the best XLB in San Diego is buying frozen ones from SDCCI. Or you can make your own:
http://mmm-yoso.typepad.com/mmmyoso/2006/04/the_xiao_long_b.html
we were told that the Shanghai Chao Nian Gao used only napa cabbage....so we passed. I do enjoy the version that Chin's makes better....
Posted by: Kirk | Friday, 22 December 2006 at 10:08 AM
Kirk - Thanks for the XLB making tutorial. Seems long and arduous but worth it in the end. Have you had the NRM at Meilong Village? I love it there. I actually grew up going to that restaurant. As far as my tastes go, I like the Dumpling Inn XLB's the best. Whenever I've gone to Shanghai City, their XLB's weren't that great. As for the Shanghai Chao Nian Gao, you should give it a try! Let me know what you think.
Posted by: Alex | Friday, 22 December 2006 at 01:13 PM
Hi Alex - The hardest part was making those wrappers....I think the Missus has retired from XLB making! I haven't had the NRM at Meilong Village, yet. You are lucky to have grown up in the area and have so many choices!
Posted by: Kirk | Saturday, 23 December 2006 at 08:08 PM
Finally got the Niu Rou Mein at Shanghai City. My God - what a dish. That broth has layers of flavor. First you taste the carmelized darkness. Then the beefy tastes come to the front as you realize that it is beef that has been carmelized (not burnt). Then 5 spice accents dance in your mouth followed by a mellow chili finish. Wow! The beef ranges from slightly chewy to meltingly soft. The chunks of baby bok choi provide a nice green contrast to other flavors/textures though cut in chunks so large as to be hard to eat in one bite. The homemade noodles are wheaty and chewy and flavorful. Probably the best noodles I've had in SD. My only problem was that the noodles aren't limp like pho noodles and I found it hard to get them into the small eating bowl, so I was spilling noodles and broth all over the table. Fortunately, the very friendly waitstaff brought me extra napkins instead of just standing around laughing at me.
Oh, the roast duck at Golden City is very good too - very fresh tasting.
Posted by: ed (from Yuma) | Sunday, 24 December 2006 at 11:08 AM
Hi Ed - Good stuff, huh? We did find out, that the noodles are purchased...but they have that home-made feel to them.
Posted by: Kirk | Monday, 25 December 2006 at 06:02 PM
Had the Peking Duck at Golden City today! It was excellent; skin was crispy with just the right amount of fat and meat. Really one of the best, and at $18 bucks, what a deal!
Thanks this blog for recommending this & the various Bun Bo Hue places, my gf's favorite!
Posted by: Herbert (from Escondido) | Monday, 25 December 2006 at 10:34 PM
Purchased noodles? I was going to say that the friendly person at the register (and all the staff at Shanghai City were very friendly) assured me that they were homemade. But then I realized I had probably asked a leading question like, "those noodles are homemade, aren't they?" What's the person to say to me - "No, you idiot, we get these from . . . ." Well anyway, they tasted good enough to be homemade.
Posted by: ed (from Yuma) | Tuesday, 26 December 2006 at 10:33 AM
Hi Herbert - Thanks for stopping by and commenting. I'm glad that you're able to get some useful info from mmm-yoso! Happy Holidays!
Hi Ed - We were a bit surprised as well, we had thought that the noodles were made at the restaurant as well....the texture is very good.
Posted by: Kirk | Tuesday, 26 December 2006 at 08:07 PM
Hi, Kirk:
Your blog is the first real entry for Google under "'Shanghai City' restaurant". I agree with your assessment of the Smoked Tea Duck; it is excellent.
I also found the wait staff patient with someone who was not particularly fluent in Mandarin, but wanted practice. Must now have the beef noodle soup.
Did you see their open hours? (10 am-midnight, 7 days) That's remarkable!
Posted by: Klug | Monday, 05 March 2007 at 12:37 PM
Hi Klug - Yes, Shanghai City is one of those rare finds in San Diego...they are open til rather late. I'll be doing another post on SC soon, we went and had breakfast again, and there are a few changes.
Posted by: Kirk | Monday, 05 March 2007 at 09:21 PM