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

[steve schoenberg]

i have only eaten chow king in the philippines and it was great, fried chicken is crispy light and juicy not greasy. all the dishes i tried were very good not like fast food at all.
does anyone know of a chow king in the s.f. bay area or anywhere in north california? i would like to taste the difference.

[cathy]

Hello and welcome, Steve. I looked at the U.S. Store Locations on the Chowking.com website and see there is one in Sacramento at 6501 Mack Road. Maybe that is close to where you are located? I know what it is like to miss the flavors we loved.

[Filipino Grocery]

Thanks Cathy, I will have to goto Chowking when I head out to San Diego next month.

[jeff c]

Cathy, thanks for the writeup on this place. I think filipino food gets a bad wrap because people don't know enough about it. SO Kudos to you for letting us know about this place. Love the Halo Halo.

[Cathy]

Hi, FG- Welcome to the commenting side of the blog. There are a few locations of Chow King, each with its own Jolibee nearby.
Thanks jeff c. I had a had some thought of a New Year Resolution, then remembered this place..so the resoution was then broken. I love halo halo too (and I don't crave sweets that often).

[Kye]

I'm wondering if anyone knows of any Chow Kings on the East Coast. Most of them seem to be on the West Coast. I live in Maryland but I'd travel to New Jersey or New York if there is one. I wouldn't necessarily drive all the way up there only for Chow King but it would definitely be one of my major stops!

[don facundz]

I HATE CHOWKING AMANG RODRIGUEZ... WHEN THE CLOCK STRIKES 9PM ALMOST ALL ITEMS ARE NO LONGER AVAILABLE.. CREWS MUST BE TRAINED ON HOW TO HANDLE CUSTOMER INQUIRIES... SPECIALLY THE CASHIER!

[grocery philippines]

That was one of my favorite past food, I love eating halo halo after we buy some groceries at the super market.