I've posted on all of these places before, so I'll try to keep the verbiage to a minimum.
Ba Ren:
*** Ba Ren has closed
I think it was Joseph who asked if there was anything new at Ba Ren. And yes, there's a new seasonal placard.
We tried a few dishes recently - this is the top item on the placard - Dry Cooked Short Ribs($15.99):
Cross cut beef short ribs are used in this dish.
Lot's of flavor, heat from dried chilies and a good amount of Sichuan Peppercorns. The short ribs could be a bit more tender, but the juices created from this low oil style of cooking were really good. Good contrasting textures from the mung bean sprouts and chinese celery.
Twice Cooked Beef - the last item on the placard($9.99):
In this case it's brisket. A bit too salty for me.
A dish called something like Fish Filet with Mountain Peppers - second to the last item on the placard($10.99):
The pickled green chilies in the dish are known as "Mountain Chilies" (ye shan jiao).
Man was this dish hot, and the vinegar in the dish made it even hotter. As usual the fish was prepared perfectly, soft, yet keeping shape.
Here's something from the regular menu that I don't recall posting on before, mainly because it's so rich I can only bring myself to eating it about once a year. It's also one of Ed from Yuma's favorites. It's innocuously called Sichuan Pot Roast ($13.99) on the menu, and it is indeed served in an earthen pot.
It's a pork shank slow cooked, along with a Lions Head meatball, boiled egg, and Lily Buds. The "soup" is very rich and hearty, not spicy at all.
Links to all my posts on Ba Ren can be found here, here, here, and here. I was initially going to do this as my 500th post, but that occasion just came and went in a flash.
Ba Ren
4957 Diane Ave
San Diego, CA 92117
Speaking of pork fat....ummm, we were speaking of pork fat weren't we? We were having lunch at Golden City recently, and had ordered the usual suspects....when the Missus decided to order another item from the lunch specials...something like Steamed Pork with Minced Preserved Vegetable ($6.95 - lunch special price). And when we arrived we were a bit shocked.
First off this was quite a bit off food.....and I don't think the Missus thought it was pork belly! Better for me, I say..... Minced preserved vegetable in a think brown "gravy", the pork belly was tender, but very mild in flavor.
All my other Golden City Posts can be found here, here, and here.
Golden City Restaurant
5375 Kearny Villa Rd.
San Diego, CA 92123
Open Daily 11am - Midnight
Shanghai City Updates:
*** Update: Shanghai City is no more.
We recently had another one of our regular breakfasts at Shanghai City and quickly noticed something.....all the prices had been raised. It's reflected on the updated placard.
So now everything is $5.95, I guess it was inevitable, the Niu Rou Mein was a great weekend bargain at $4.95.
On this day the Missus had her Eel Noodle Soup.
But I decided to try a few other items. I ordered the Beef Roll - Niu Rou Chuan ($5.95).
For the price I expected a bit more. The bread was very flaky and oily, and there were but two slivers of mildly flavored beef in the roll.
Pass.
"Alex" commented on a previous Shanghai City post that the Shanghai Chao Nian Gao is worth a try, so I ordered it.
The flavors were quite good, nice soy with a sweet edge. I still think that Shanghai City over cooks it's rice cakes a bit.
My previous posts on Shanghai City can be found here and here.
Shanghai City
3860 Convoy St
San Diego,CA 92111
Finally, here's a few photos from a recent visit to Emerald. For Dim Sum.....
The most interesting item was this:
I'm pretty sure that the chicken and shrimp in this "roll" was wrapped with Bamboo Pith Fungus (zhu sun).....especially after tasting it. The Missus, who loves Bamboo Pith Fungus, loved this.
As usual, the items ran the gamut from the mediocre:
to pretty good:
I was glad that nothing suffered from sticky wrapper syndrome, where everything gets stuck. But for some reason it seemed that some of the wrappers were on the really thick side today.
Still, it sure hit the spot.
My previous posts on Emerald can be found here and here.
Emerald Seafood Restaurant
3709 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111
Hope I didn't bore you all too much. We've got some new stuff coming right up.
Hope everyone is having a great weekend!
Thanks for the update, Kirk. I've got to try some of those dishes.
How did the Missus like the eel noodle soup? Is it named that because of the noodles, or because the eel is cut into noodle-sized slices?
It's interesting how American restaurants have only now rediscovered the wonders of slow-cooked pork belly... yum!
Posted by: Joseph E | Saturday, 17 March 2007 at 10:34 PM
That looks interesting Kirk. Hubby is headed down that way, and I'll be sure to give him the address before he leaves me this week. :(
Posted by: Jean | Saturday, 17 March 2007 at 11:28 PM
that's too bad about the niu rou chuan. i tried it last week and from the pictures it looks like you got stiffed on the meat. i definitely enjoyed it more than you. better luck next time.
Posted by: daimyo | Sunday, 18 March 2007 at 07:05 AM
Those pictures are fabulous!!! Even if all of the dishes didn't meet your expectations--they sure look good to me!
Posted by: sher | Sunday, 18 March 2007 at 10:10 AM
Hi Joseph - I think it's because there's thinly sliced eel and noodles in the soup. Pork Belly is good stuff....in moderation!
Hi Jean - Shoot me an email if you or the Hubby has any questions!
Hi Daimyo - Since it seems like every Northern Chinese restaurant in the SGV has Niu Rou Chuan on the menu...we kinda thought it would just be a matter of time. The Niu Rou Chuan here was on the oily-greasy side.
Hi Sher - Thanks so much...I'm still trying to figure out how to take some halfway decent photos.
Posted by: Kirk | Sunday, 18 March 2007 at 07:35 PM
Nice to hear that Ba Ren is still rocking. And that pork belly from Golden City looks fabulous. Pork belly rules! :-D
Posted by: mizducky | Monday, 19 March 2007 at 01:26 AM
Man Kirk,
I want to back to all three restaurants again after seeing your post. It will be fun to order off the seasonal specials placard at Ba Ren. The server's expression is priceless.
Posted by: Captain Jack | Monday, 19 March 2007 at 03:39 PM
Hi Mizducky - Ditto that one....pork belly rules!!!
Hi CJ - You want to pull that ol' trick on 'em again, huh? I'm thinking I should mix the numbers up on purpose so you'll end up with frog with bamboo pith fungus, but I can't deal with the guilt! ;o)
Posted by: Kirk | Monday, 19 March 2007 at 08:49 PM
We went to Ba Ren this past weekend with my mother-in-law. The women who's always working there remembered me and I've only been there twice before and haven't been for months! Anyway...I can't thank you enough for turning us onto the place. It's truly our favorite restaurant. Last time we tried their smoked duck and while it was a bit too salty for me, the flavor was excellent. Otherwise our favorites are some of the ones in your previous posts. Now that I'm cooking a lot of Sichuan food at home it's not seeming spicy to me anymore. I wish we had seen this post before we went. Guess that means we'll have to go again soon!
Posted by: Kady | Tuesday, 20 March 2007 at 12:53 AM
Hi Kady - The folks at Ba Ren very nice. I'm glad you enjoy it there, I'm also glad that you are finding time to get out a bit!
Posted by: Kirk | Tuesday, 20 March 2007 at 08:21 AM
pictures of food is never boring!! shanghai city looks like they have some pretty interesting stuff i never had before... emerald is not bad... just kind of pricey for the quality of food they offer!
Posted by: Anne | Wednesday, 21 March 2007 at 10:31 AM
Kirk,
I cruised over to Golden City today and had the steamed pork w/ preserved vegetables. Even that picture you have posted doesn't do it justice; I was impressed with how much there was as well! It was not the greatest pork belly I've ever had, but it's pretty good for $7 and 15 minutes of waiting. I only ate half of it before pork fat guilt set in, so I've got half of it waiting in the refrigerator for me to eat at dinner. This motivates me to make some Dong Po Rou of my own one of these days!
Posted by: Fred | Wednesday, 21 March 2007 at 04:21 PM
Hi Annie - Yes, we do pay the San Diego premium for many things here....
Hi Fred - That portion size was a surprise....especially for under $7! Luckily, I had my camera with me!
Posted by: Kirk | Wednesday, 21 March 2007 at 07:18 PM
oh... that eel noodle soup looks like that popular stirfried eel thread dish, but on top of noodles!
Posted by: Andy 食神 | Friday, 23 March 2007 at 05:10 PM
Shanghai City can be a little inconsistent, but we've eaten well there many times. There are a number of excellent dishes that you didn't mention, including the green onion cakes, the pork with dry bean curd (tofu), sizzling beef or shrimp, and many more. There's no restaurant in San Diego closer to real northern-style Chinese food. The staff are all friendly. I just wish they'd update the decor!
Posted by: Don | Thursday, 11 December 2008 at 10:16 AM
Hi Don - Some of the dishes at Shanghai City are pretty good - they are unfortunately, as you did note - inconsistent. Northern Cuisine over-simplifies what Shanghai City serves. As Shanghainese food(part of the amended 10 great traditions of Chinese cuisines) is concerned - you should try Chin's Sat-Sunday Chinese "breakfast". As for Jiaozi (Shandong - even farther "North" than Shanghai), I'd take Dumpling Inn's version over SC any day of the week. I don't think you've read my other posts on Shanghai City.....the Red Cooked Pork "Pump" is good though!
Posted by: Kirk | Thursday, 11 December 2008 at 10:54 AM