Mandarin Chinese Restaurant resides in a super busy strip mall across from Southwestern College. As you can tell by the "Mandarin, Szechuan, Cantonese" lettering, this is obviously what I call an "ABCDE" ("ab-cee-dee" - American Born Chinese Dining Establishment). The type of food these restaurants serves is so far removed from, say, what the late Mei Jia Deli used to serve, that it looks like it comes from another universe. That said, just because this is Chinese food designed to please someone other than Chinese...it does not necessarily mean it is bad.
If the store front isn't enough to convince you, the interior is a dead giveaway; it's ABCDE all the way:
So why did we make the drive all the way down here? There was one reason.....Salt and Pepper Chicken Wings. Friends of ours told us that they prefer the Salt and Pepper Chicken Wings(aka "Crack Wings") at Mandarin Restaurant, to those served at the legendary Crack Wing houses Royal Mandarin and Golden Chopsticks. Now that's saying a lot!
As we were seated, the first thing we noticed was the amount of smoke in the dining area. That kitchen sure was working hard, and the ventilation was not the best. Second thing we noticed, was the Guy working behind the register....I recognized him instantly! After checking out the menu, and a quick our Server, my suspicions were confirmed. Mandarin Chinese Restaurant and Mandarin Canton have the same owners. Still, even though the two restaurants have the same owners, and a very similar menu, we were sure that the kitchen staff was different. So we ordered a few of the lunch specials(priced from $4.75-$5.75).
All the specials started with a small bowl of soup...we went for the Hot and Sour soup....which should have been more aptly called Sour, Sour, and Sour soup! Man this really made the Missus and I pucker, it was stunningly sour.
The Missus ordered the Mandarin Soft Noodles(lunch - $5.75):
First off, whoever cooked this really knows how to handle a wok.....there was even a bit of Wok Hay action going on. And to our surprise the pieces of dark meat chicken was very soft and tender. Mandarin Canton still does a better job with shrimp, but the chicken in stir-fries there are just plain terrible. To me, there should have been a bit more soy flavor, I found this on the bland side.
Of course, I had to have the Chicken Wings with Spicy Salt(lunch special - $5.75):
First off, the version here is better than Mandarin Canton...the batter is not as thick and hard, and it is not as salty. But fear not, you can still make out the MSG crystals. I thought these were good, if a bit short on the flavor end when compared to Royal Mandarin and Golden Chopsticks.
We also ordered the Spare Ribs with Spicy Salt(lunch special - $5.75):
This was a disappointment. The spare ribs(actually pork chops) were on the soggy side, and the marinade was very heavy handed on the ginger, it was also too salty(even for me!).
Even though the sister restaurants may differ a bit, there are a few things that the 2 restaurants have in common; the YMMV factor, very reasonable lunch specials, and overall prices, the crazy parking lot, and the relatively small dining area. With some good timing, and right choices, a good meal can be had here.
Mandarin Chinese Restaurant
945-A Otay Lakes Rd
Chula Vista, CA 91913
Ah, those ABCDEs... I agree, they really serve a purpose and, sometimes, I crave Chinese food that's been a tad Americanized. The Missus' noodles looked fantastic!
Posted by: geekyfoodie | Tuesday, 12 February 2008 at 09:04 AM
Yes! Another salt pepper wing place to check out! I think my favorite is still at Golden Chopsticks, which I found thanks to you of course.
Posted by: howie | Tuesday, 12 February 2008 at 12:18 PM
Golden Chopsticks wins hands-down on the SaltnPepper chicken wings. But Royal Mandarin wins for their Beef Chow Mein.
**NOTE: There was an email going around about Royal Mandarin this past Dec/Jan timeframe in regards to the health department closing them down for a while. Did you hear about that?
Posted by: Shirley | Tuesday, 12 February 2008 at 08:13 PM
hi kirk, nice to see that you were in my neck of the woods. yes, that parking lot is crazy with the SWC students and people shopping over at (formerly Henry's) Otay Ranch Market and the neighboring stores like JNC Pinoy Foodmart, Yokozunas, etc.
their lunch specials are pretty decent and their wings are great. love those MSG crystals!
shirley - yes, around the end of december, Royal Mandarin was closed down. they had "VERMIN"!
one of my friends at there that week and came back the next week and saw the sign. they were open again soon after. ugh.
Posted by: caninecologne | Tuesday, 12 February 2008 at 10:49 PM
Hi GF - Yes, sometimes it hits the spot....
Hi Howie - Yep, more chicken wings!
Hi Shirley - I'd been informed of that email. I've had some problems with wing sogginess at GC recently....
Hi CC - Boy is that parking lot crazy! Royal Mandarin closed for almost 2 weeks...I dunno, I've eaten at a lot of places with 'C' ratings, and never had a problem....but have gotten severely ill at many of those supposedly wonderful and clean 'A' restaurants...BTW, I've noticed more than few "traps" at other restaurants as well.
Posted by: Kirk | Wednesday, 13 February 2008 at 10:16 AM
I have yet to taste a decent spare rib with spicy salt it always comes out as pork chop with a horrible batter on it.
On a side note Chef Chen in Irvine make some deep fried pork rib morsel in a dark sauce that I think is good.YMMV
http://www.yelp.com/biz/chef-chen-irvine-2
Posted by: nhbilly | Wednesday, 13 February 2008 at 10:25 PM
Hi Billy - Yes, I think they should just call it pork chop with spicy salt....many places do.
Posted by: Kirk | Thursday, 14 February 2008 at 08:40 AM
Hi Kirk, I recently read news of the owner of Mandarin Canton Chinese Restaurant was recently found dead in Tijuana. Was this one of his restaurants?
http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/jun/04/restaurant-owners-death-investigated/
Posted by: Brian Bautista | Thursday, 11 June 2009 at 10:37 PM