Ba Ren Seasonal Menu

**** Ba Ren has closed

I think it's been about nine months since I even mentioned Ba Ren. So hopefully it's safe to just do a quick post on a few items on the seasonal menu. Ba Ren usually has a few items in Chinese on the placard at each table. Most items are seasonal, or just "experiments" that the Chef and Owners decided to try out. Some, like the Dry Cooked Short Ribs and Twice Cooked Fish become regular menu items...others like the Bamboo Pith Fungus and Egg have (thankfully) disappeared.

The Missus and I have quite a few dishes that we enjoy, sort of a rotation within our rotation, so it is often difficult for us to make room for new dishes. But since there were a few items that looked interesting, we went ahead and spoke to Wendy, one of the Owners about them.

The first item on the placard, is a sizzling short rib dish($12.99), but Wendy told us to try it with lamb, which is what we did:

The lamb was prepared well, very soft and tender, if a bit on the "mild" side with regard to gaminess. The peppers were super spicy, but the brown sauce, with lots of black pepper, was more on the sweet side. This dish, a bit heavy on the oil, was just okay by Ba Ren standards.

The third item on the placard was a revelation, and by far the best of the items we had. It was a slight riff on the Beijing style Sweet Corn with Pine Nuts($9.99):

Instead of stir frying corn kernels and pine nuts, this version had the kernels enveloped in a light batter that seemed to enhance the sweetness of the corn. Toasted pungent and buttery pine nuts were sprinkled on the top, an excellent foil to the sweet corn. One thing interesting about this dish, as light as the batter seemed to be, it was very rich, and not only from the pine nuts. We felt stuffed after 4-5 bites! The Missus mentioned this to Wendy, who told us that 5 boiled duck egg yolks, and 2 boiled chicken egg yolks are whipped into the batter to give it "body" and richness. So filling we could barely finish half of it....funny thing , it was still pretty good after spending a night in the frig, something that you really can't say about most fried foods. This one is a keeper.....

I found the inclusion of Kwai Fei Chicken(6th item on the placard - $10.99) to be fascinating. Kwai Fei Chicken in my previous experience has been a cold chicken dish, served with a ginger-scallion dipping sauce. This version was totally different:

This version was a stir fry in a black pepper-brown sauce. I thought the flavor was fairly good, the chicken, though the bones made eating somewhat ponderous was fine. I really enjoyed the large slices of garlic, which tasted very sweet. This was not a spicy dish in the least.

And finally, as a follow-up to this post, the duck tongue. The dish listed on the placard(the last item), is duck tongue with ginger, but Wendy told the Missus to try it with Red Peppers($16.99). And so enter the tongue.....

The dish, prepared much in the manner of Chongqing Chili dishes had a good bit of heat. The duck tongue on the other hand, was ummm.....interesting. First off there's a very hard cartilage in the middle of each small tongue, so be careful or you might break your teeth, or otherwise injure yourself. You wouldn't want to make a visit to your local ER, with a duck tongue stuck through your tongue....it might make for an interesting story though. The flavor is a bit kidney like, dark, oily, and gamey...a bit too gamey even for me. Another item off the I'll try anything once list.

There are a few other items on the placard, like Beef Tendon with Tomato Sauce, so if those items interest you..... We have so many favorites at Ba Ren, sometimes it's hard to break away and try something new, but you never know......

Ba Ren
4957 Diane Ave
San Diego, CA 92117

Comments

[Kathy]

Happy New Years Kirk! The corn and pine nuts dish looks AMAZING - I've never seen anything like it! Heck, it doesn't even strike me as an Asian dish, though delicious nonetheless!! :) hehe, I like that bit on all the egg yolks...no wonder so rich! =)

[Jeffrey C]

Happy New Year Kirk and send my well wishes to the Missus too.
Hope you have been having a nice holidays.
After eating at Yunnan Gardens, and Chong Qing, I can really appreciate how good Ba Ren is. I think that what is great, is their willingness to showcase dishes that we usually don't see.
I admit I am now totally addicted to "pao jiao" style dishes. I've been trying to find recipes but they are elusive. None in the Fuschia Dunlop book but hopefully I'll ask my wife to check out chinese sites.
Take care Kirk,Kathy, Ed and all the others on MMM-Yoso. May your New Year be as delicious and fun as you have made it for us this past year.

[jeffrey c]

Sorry I meant Cathy, though I will say Happy New YEars to everyone who posts comments regularly here too.

[cathy]

It's OK, Jeffrey- I have been called and told I "look like" a Cathy/Kathy/Catherine/Kathleen/Cindy/Sherry/Cherry and Sandy. I have also been told I have red hair and blue eyes (blonde and green, BTW). In any case, I answer to anything, wherever I am and thank you for your good wishes. Right back at you, too!

[elmomonster]

That deep fried corn dish intrigues me. I had no idea Ba Ren "experiments"...that is awesome. I don't know of any Chinese restaurants that does that here.

[Kirk]

Hi Kathy - It does kinda look out of place, doesn't it? Very tasty though!

Hi Jeffrey - Happy New Year! I hope your trip went well. Let me know if you find any good recipes.

Hey Cathy - LOL! There are a few people at work who still spell my name K-U-R-T, and I've been there for almost 8 years!

Hi Elmo - Yes, there are 3-4 "seasonal" menus a year, and some of the "good experiments" end up on the menu. I think there are restaurants in the SGV that do this, it's just a matter of having someone who can decipher what's on the walls/placard!

[foodhoe]

What an interesting feast! You are lucky to have such an exciting restaurant, I'm jealous. I've never had duck tongues, sounds a little offputting... I tried duck feet once and didn't like it much.

[Kirk]

Hi FH - LOL! I kinda like duck feet, but don't think I'll want duck tongue again.