Hinh Ky Mi Gia

Want to meet the Missus's favorite "duck" of the moment? Well, "hang"(like a roast duck) in there......

Hinh Ky Mi Gia is located in the same strip mall as Pho Ca Dao, right next to World Foods Supermarket on El Cajon Boulevard. In fact it's kinda tucked away in a corner and pretty easy to miss.

As you can tell by the sign, this used to be an outpost of Tan Ky Mi Gia. Apparently an ownership change occurred back in October....I'm sure there's an interesting story behind this! This is a bare bones Mom and Pop operation, as you can see it's now June, and the Tan Ky Mi Gia sign still hasn't been replaced. The interior of the restaurant is bright and pretty clean, and though we've never seen the place packed, there always seem to be at least a few tables occupied, and a stream of take-out orders.

We first visited Hinh Ky a few weeks back, when it was still unseasonably cool for May. I was in the mood for some Egg Noodle Soup, and as you can tell by the name (Mi = Egg Noodle), this is one of those Chinese Vietnamese Soup joints. Which usually means decent portions at low prices.....

As we grabbed a seat, the Missus noticed that several older gentlemen were all having the same thing. With typical aplomb, the Missus asked the Owner, a really nice guy, "what are they eating?" He pointed out the dish on the menu....and this is what She got, the Egg Noodle Soup with Roasted Duck ($5.50):

Well that's the soup portion, nice medium broth, not overly salty, with a mild hint of seafood (i.e. slight almost shrimp like flavor). The noodles were serviceable, nice and crunchy, but will get slightly softer as time passes...so the Missus's solution? "You have to eat faster if you want crunchy...o-KAY!!!"

Want to meet the Missus's latest duck obsession? This is the duck that came with the noodles:

Not the most beautiful roast duck, the skin perhaps not as crisp as I would like. But, man this duck had some flavor! It was also doused with a good amount of "drippings" making it extra moist. The flavors of five spice were very "upfront", and the fat to meat ratio was good. I don't know if they make this inhouse, but whomever makes it sure knows what they're doing. This was a very pleasant surprise, especially for less than 6 bucks.

I decided to order the Beef Sate Egg Noodle Soup($5):

When this bowl hit the table, I thought this was going to be really good. It wasn't bad, but very weak in flavor, and not the least bit spicy. The beef was nice and soft, and had a decent flavor, but this was overshadowed by the duck.

I've detailed the Missus's "obsessions" in an earlier post, so in typical fashion we were back a few days later.

This time I tried the Dumpling and Won Ton Egg Noodle Soup($4.75):

The broth was the same as the Duck Noodle soup on the previous visit, the Char Siu had good flavor and was pretty tender. The dumpling and won tons were not as good, I'm used to dense dumplings in Mi Gia restaurants, but these were extra hard, and lacked flavor. Still, I find it very difficult to complain about a good sized bowl of noodle soup for under 5 bucks.....

This time the Missus ordered one of the "most expensive" items on the menu. The Roast Duck on Rice ($6).

Along with the nice plate of duck on fragrant jasmine rice, and little bowl of "broth"(same as the noodle soup) arrived. And a few seconds later, a bowl of duck drippings with lily buds. The Missus enjoyed this, to the last bite...to the very last bite, I'm talking about every bite. In other words, I never had a shot at it. She did tell me it was good.......let's see, "good", "wife", "duck", all very nice four letter words, but believe me I could add a few four letter words of my own!

So on to our next (yet another!) visit. The Missus had Her Duck on rice, which She said was not quite as good as on previous visits(so I actually got to have some), but also asked the Gentleman if we could just have a side order of the Five Flavor Duck. By this time he was used to seeing us, so he smiled and said, "yes, yes, anything you like, we make for you........"

This was just ok, basically a soy sauce duck, nothing really special. Lacks the rich flavor of the Roast Duck.

I ordered the Beef Stew Rice ($5.75), which was a nice bowl of Beef Stew.

As Beef Stew goes this was just okay, I thought the flavor of the stew was very mild and lacked "richness", though the beef was soft. The generous amount of tendon was just a tad too hard. It was still a good amount of food.

So on our most recent visit(still with me out there???), the Missus had Her Roast Duck Egg Noodle Soup, but I had to try something new, and decided on the Pork Rib Egg Noodle Soup($5):

I really enjoyed the broth, flavored with tomato, beef stew seasoning, and colored by annatto oil. The broth also had a mild touch of spice. The pork ribs looked kind of strange, very pale, and I expected the ribs to be tough, but they were pretty soft. The ribs did not have a great deal of flavor though. The shrimp, were well, shrimp in soup.......

In case you were wondering what the Missus's strategy is: "In these types of Asian restaurants, I look to see what the older men are eating" Why, you may ask? She will look directly at me and say, "most times, older men are losing their sense of taste, and will order stuff with lot's of flavor......just like you, heee-heeee-heee......"

So our suggestion? Try out the roast Duck here, I don't think it's for everybody, because the flavor can be on the strong side, and it's the fatty drippings that really contribute much of the flavor, but the Missus loves it. This is a real Mom and Pop shop, run by a very nice couple, there are times when a Young Lady who I assume is their daughter very, very, reluctantly helps out. It cracks us up. The Ladies in the kitchen are also very nice. Once one of them came out to tell us they were out of something and apologized! What can I say about the prices............

Hinh Ky Mi Gia(The business card I have says Hing Ky Mi Gia)
5237 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA 92115

Open Daily - 8am-8pm

This story always "quacks" me up:

The Missus actually used to believed that ducks naturally had the roast duck five-spice flavor. Really! Because that was the only way She had ever had duck, Chinese Roast Duck or Peking Duck, so She thought that all ducks tasted that way! After having duck in a "European" restaurant, She still believed that most ducks tasted like roast duck. So what was the difference? She told me "must be because it's free range!!!" he-he-he

I hope everyone is having a great week!

Comments

[nhbilly]

Mi soup - base is compose of either chicken or pork bones or both, whole white onions, and either dried squid or shrimp which usually gives it the fishiness and of course some fish sauce for flavor. Well that's how my mom makes it.

[wildricegurl]

Hehehe, for the longest time, I thought the same thing. It wasn't until I bought a duck (at Whole Foods Supermarket right there) and roasted it myself that I realized that it didn't naturally have that 5-spice flavor. I'll have to check this place out.

[Ray]

What an appetizing and amusing post. Mmmm, nicely spiced duck with drippings! I had a really tasty roast duck from Shamu, I mean Sam Woo, recently - when I ordered it the guy behind the counter nodded at me and told me it was really fresh and good today, and he wasn't kidding; the five spice was really pronounced and it was excellent.
I love your Missus' old-man-order-copying strategy and I am going to try it myself!

[Pam]

Kirk, your Missus cracks me up! And isn't it great when the most expensive thing at a restaurant is only $6? Gotta love it!

[Captain Jack]

Man that place is inexpensive. You could eat like a king for under $25 bucks including tax and tip.

[Kathy]

The Missus has a good strategy going on there! I'll have to give it a try next time I visit a noodle shop. There's one place on King St in Chinatown that does super awesome roast duck noodles, but it's $9! You got a really good deal there! :)

[dave]

hey kirk,
Thanks for the "mi" definition. Now what does "ky" mean? Minh Ky, Hinh Ky, etc...

[Annie]

this looks really delicious. we always get "siu-ap won ton wor mein" whenever we go to those butcher shops!! we'll have to check out the roast duck here!

[Dee]

This place sometimes has customers waiting outside at eight in the morning, before it even opens! I'm glad I finally know what it is they serve here; maybe I'll check it out one day...

[Kirk]

Hi Billy - Thanks. you want to hear something interesting? One of the places we visit, has a really nice rich broth with strong seafood flavor - but everytime I ask, they tell me that no seafood is used to make the broth!

Hi WRG - Thanks for dropping by and commenting. I'm sure the Missus will feel better knowing She's not the only one in the world who thought that!

Hi Ray - Yes, the Missus has Her own various strategies for places....some of them are quite odd.

Hi Pam - It's really hard to complain when everything is sooooo inexpensive!

Hi CJ - If you add up everything I ate during the four visits, it would be $20.75....so with tip, about $25! So I guess, you could eat like a king....or a family! ;o)

Hi Kathy - You must be warned, there are certain times when that strategy does not work.

Hi Dave - I sent an "expert" I know an email regarding your question, so let's see what turns up!

Hi Annie - We were surprised at how good the duck was....

Hi Dee - Really? I've never been there that early in the morning, but when we have lunch or dinner, it's never very crowded. I'm glad they are doing well.....it means more duck!

[nhbilly]

Are you freakin serious they said no seafood was used in the broth? Stinkin trade seceret! Every mi soup has to have either dried shrimp or squid or both, period or it ain't the real deal. LOL I Like! mine a lil fishy.

[Kirk]

Hi Billy - Yep, they told me no seafood flavoring.....but it was hard to believe.