Chow King- Great Filipino Fast Food in San Diego

mmm-yoso!!! is the blog.  I am one writer of  the blog.  I am Cathy and I am *so* Caucasian as is The Mister.  Kirk and His Missus are  Asian; they can describe stuff better than I can, but still, I know what I like.  Here goes!

Hello one more time.  Chow King is the #1 Oriental Fast Food chain in the Philippines.  It has been around since 1985 and in 2000, became a wholly owned subsidiary of Jolibee, the *other* major fast food chain in the Philippines.  In fact if you Google "Chow King" The first things that pop up are the Chow King website, Wikipedia with a description of Chow King and Jolibee.

Of course, being as Caucasian as I am, I had not heard of Chow King before seeing it in front of Seafood City.

So, it is fast food.  Bright, happy, formica'd tables and chairs and a nice menu above the cash registers.

Here is a take home menu you can use to phone in an order so you can just walk in a pick up.

We decided to try a bit of everything basic. The Mister tried the "personal size" beef noodle soup with a pork Siopao. ($5.25)

The noodles were eggy and not overcooked; the beef was tender, had some fat on it (which we like) as in stew meat ; the broth was rich and very nice, and the vegetables were put in at the end, so were still crispy fresh/not mushy.

The Si0pao was:1. Huge and B) tasted fresh with lots of shredded pork  on the inside. I forgot to take a photo of the cross section.  It was not a skimpy fill at all. A nice, slightly peppery (not very sweet) sauce came with the bun and complimented the flavors, but was not necessary.

There were some large ads by the cash register for a new "hot" beverage- a Taho- ($2.99 for a "classic"- I had ube added for another 25¢).  I thought  when I saw "new" and "hot" it just meant a neat drink.  It was a hot drink- hot soy, with boba on top and sweet ube on the bottom.  It was really nice and I got my soy fix for the day.  Yes, I said "hot" and "boba" in the same sentence; we will explore the entire concept of boba in a later post.

Anyhow..so I wanted to try the fried chicken, called "Mandarin fried chicken".  Just a two piece box, with rice and a choice of sides( Bihon, Canton {egg noodles}, egg roll or pot sticker) I wanted to see how the Bihon (rice stick noodles) were prepared here. ($4.95)

Oh my- that fried chicken is great!.  A light batter, crispy with mild spices, the chicken meat has such flavor and is moist.  If this place was closer to home, I would be buying the 'party pack' every chance I got, and eating it in the car on the way home (and I drive a manual transmissioned car, which would not be a good thing).  The rice was good, the Bihon was fresh and good with several small shrimp in it- a nice surprise. This two piece meal was quite filling. 

A lot is offered in "party pack" or "value pack" sizes, which say they are good for up to eight persons.   There is also a Breakfast menu- part of which is only available from 7-11 a.m., but another part which is available all day ( I know Dale was talking about longanisa at a good price in a note to Kirk the other day- the all day Kings Breakfast  for $4.75 includes 2 main items, plus scrambled eggs, plus rice and longanisa and boneless bangus {milkfish}).

The Mister and I decided to splurge and see what the Halo Halo here was like for our dessert.

Excellent- only $3.25 and made with crushed ice, ice cream, a nice blend of canned sweet beans, canned fruit, coconut gel and what seemed to be toasted rice.  It was one of the better Halo Halo's I have had.

All in all, I was surprised at how fresh and non-Sysco'd the food was, even though it must be in some way standardized.  I know there is a Jolibee just down the way, also on Mira Mesa Boulevard and another set of Jolibee/Chow King restaurants in National City {both are on East Plaza Boulevard}, so I would imagine the supply truck hits all of them with the same or similar stuff regularly. 

The Mister and I were the only Caucasian people in the restaurant and, even though it was a  busy Sunday, the Manager came by several times to ask us if we had any questions and was extremely friendly and helpful as was the Gentleman who took our order at the register.   It was a very enjoyable experience, with food, that did not seem to be fast food at all.

Chow King 8955 Mira Mesa Boulevard (right next to, with a door into Seafood City) San Diego 92126  (858) 653-4977 Open 7 a.m.-9 p.m. 7  days Click here for website.

Comments

[clayfu]

the fried chicken here with gravy and rice is probably the best fried chicken in a 20 mile radius.

if not more!

man now i miss it! i used to live right around the corner, i could walk there in about 5 minutes =(

[Ed]

I do have to say - I enjoyed Chowking when I was in the Philippines two winters ago. And, shoot, Chowking would give the Panda Express in our university center a good run for its money!

[thess]

Hello Cathy!

you made miss chow king! i'm so green right now w/ envy *greeeen*

i want some halo-halo right now! =)

thanks for sharing these photos, Cathy, 'next best thing

regards to Kirk

[Janfrederick]

Wow, now I need to try it. I've passed it many times while shopping at Seafood City. I was wary of it because it seemed like, well, a fast food joint. Thanks for the review.

[Cathy]

Hi Clayfu- Oh my,yes. That fried chicken is the best. I could kick myself for not trying it sooner.

Hey, Ed... I see they are in CA and NV so far, maybe AZ is next. Panda Express would so go out of business if Chowking showed up.

Hello, Thess! Glad I could help, a little, anyhow. The halo halo was unusually good.

Good Morning Jan! Yes, don't be afraid. As I have said, if there are crowds, there is a reason. I just wasn't talking to myself enough lately... :)

[The Office Goat]

A good halo-halo place near me ... just in time for Summer. Thanks a million for this report!

[nhbilly]

I wonder if there is a joint in OC.
I'm so hungry! ;-)

[Cathy]

Hi OG- Oh yes. The bakeries next door may have some interesting stuff also. I'm going to be trying all of them soon.

Billy- Looks like the closest ones are in Carson, Cerritos, West Covina and Panorama City...not exactly OC at all...There is a Jolibee in Eagle Rock. I suppose you have to do a road trip-soon.

[Dee]

Hi Cathy! I love Chow King, but the last time I ate there the rest room was horrendous! It's the only thing that's stopped me from going back. *Shudder* I really hope they fix it...I live too far away just to do take-out...

[Cathy]

Hi Dee. I know, the usual test is the cleanliness of the rest room. Did not check out Chow King, though. Fortunatley I have a keen lock on the location of every Starbucks in the county, and know I can count on the bathrooms there to always be clean.

[Liz]

woohoo west covina. it is very close to where i live. I need to head over there and give it a try.

[Cathy]

Do try it, Liz. I was so pleasantly surprised. Thanks for commenting. I like your blog, and assume today's "incident" turned out for the better, except, you know, for the chair.

[Chubbypanda]

The name makes me think Chinese steam table. If I hadn't read your review, I probably would have avoided it. Looking forward to trying it if I get the chance.

[Cathy]

Glad I could help, CP. I'm not afraid to take one for te sake of the blog. Usually, I end up winning, like here.

[Rey]

Nice write-up. The Chow King in the US pales in comparison to the ones in the Philippines, but will satisfy if one is looking for quick eats. BTW, the tapioca pearls found in Filipino drinks are usually referred to as "sago" and not "boba."

[Cathy]

Hi Rey- This place is excellent by any standard and I am *so* glad I tried it. The nice lady who was trying to describe the Taho beverage to me was, I suppose, trying to put it into a more familiar description to me and called the tapioca balls 'boba'. Thanks for telling me the correct terminology, and for writing in.

[Maricar]

The rest room has been taken cared of. We've placed a token operated lock system. Unfortunately we are the only one in the area that has a restroom that is why some non customers would use ours.
Thanks guys for the feedbacks.
Late reply just saw it now.
Hey Cathy please contact me I will treat you at Chowking!

[cathy]

Hi, Maricar-and welcome! I didn't realize you had the only restroom around, just figured the Grocery Store had one also. I'll contact you by e-mail. Thanks for the offer. Kirk and I don't want to get anything in return for the blogging, but I will definitely talk to you next time I stop in. I love the fried chicken -and everything- at Chow King.

[RightCowLeftCoast]

For God sake, don't have their lumpia! I don't know what it is, but this is the worst lumpia I have ever had. There Tocino was pretty good though. SO It's hit and miss. But for God sake, stay away from their lumpia. The outside was underdone, and the inside taste like it was in the freezer to long.

[cathy]

Hi,RLC- The manager on duty of the Mira Mesa ChowKing seems to be constantly concerned about all the patrons eating there and has always asked how we are doing and if the food is OK. You really should have told her that something was amiss. They do aim to please and I have never had a problem. Perhaps you were there during a particularly hectic time of day (or holiday week?) and the quality control was abent. In any case, I would let the manager know the date and time I was there, so they can speak to the kitchen workers on duty then and assure it would not happen again.