"New" Spicy City aka Si Chuan Garden (Guo Qiao Yuan) Part 1

Last week, I noticed that Spicy City had a new identity.....as per the new sign.

Yep, the sign still says Spicy City, but in Chinese it says "Across the Bridge Garden"...which made us think it's referencing the famous Yunnan dish Across the Bridge Rice Noodles(check out the link - it has the story behind the dish). This was great news to the Missus and I, not that the old Spicy City was bad.....we used to be regulars at Spicy City when we first moved to San Diego. In fact we used to eat there 2-3 times a week. However, after a very, very, bad, insulting, and just plain nasty experience, we stopped visiting. For 6 years......

Now under new ownership, the Missus and I couldn't wait to check things out, even though they  have only been open for less than a week. Things have been rearranged a bit from what I can recall, and though the Spicy City menu is still in use, there is a laminated sheet with mostly Sichuan, and a few Yunnan dishes on it. This menu is pretty large......menu overload quickly kicked in.

The Missus was quickly attracted to something in the cold dishes section, and quickly ordered a plate of various appetizers:

Yep, it was those chicken feet, they didn't look like much, but were terrific, mixed with Pao Jiao(pickled peppers), seasoned with some sesame oil, five spice, et al...this was very, very good....I called it Kwai Fei Chicken Feet.

The Bean Curd Skin noodles were on the bland side, and the Fuqi Feipian was very tough, and also on the bland side.

The Across the Bridge Rice Noodle(Guo Qiao Mi Xian - $6.99):

Rare chicken, bean curd skin, and other items are put into a hot chicken based broth, followed by rice noodles. The broth had a nice layer of oil, a requirement for this dish. Overall, it is very mild......sort of like Pho Ga(Chicken Pho).

The Chicken with Chilies Airpot($8.95), was brought to the table kept hot by the lit "sterno".

 

This was a very good dish, the chicken was cooked perfectly, it was moist and tender. The heat was just mildly-spicy(by our standards), and a combination of peppers were used for heat. It was very clear that the dishes used a much "lighter hand" when it came to spices and oil in comparison to Ba Ren and Dede's. We took the leftovers home, where it went well with rice.

Spicy Cold Noodles($5.28):

This was a very strange dish.....it was very tasty with a good amount of vinegar, Sichuan pickled vegetable, minced pork, et al....but the noodles were terrible; hard and brittle, like they hadn't been cooked. The Missus inquired, and the very friendly Server told her, that perhaps the noodles were a bit "undercooked"...and in the very practical Chinese way, told Her, that "by the time you get home, the noodles will soak up the flavor, and be better!" Which cracked us up.....the same Lady gave us some of  her beauty tips. When the Missus commented on how nice her complexion was, she replied; "of course, because I eat chili peppers everyday...."

Now for the interesting part. We know that this is an extension of a Los Angeles Restaurant, we weren't quite sure which restaurant is the one in question, is it Yun Gui Garden (formerly Hua's Garden and Yunnan Garden), or Hua's in Arcadia...this would become clear in a future visit.

Spicy City Chinese Restaurant
4690 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

Part 2 can be found here.

I'd like to dedicate this one to FOY JeffreyC, whose Pao Jiao search remained fixed in my mind as I ate!

Comments

[Liver]

Kirk, you are really causing my salivary glands to go into overdrive -- they are hurtin'!!! Hmmmm...I wonder why my complexion isn't like a baby's bottom...

[Liz]

I haven't been back there in a while so I'll have to check it out sometime. What's up with Chinese restaurants having different names in English and Chinese?

[Kirk]

Hi Liver - Sounds like you need a loading dose of chilies! And here I thought high collagen meats were the way to go.....

Hi Liz - There probably were some business decisions for keeping the old name. This is common practice in the SGV. Spicy City has a better ring than Across the Bridge Garden.....I don't think many people other than Chinese would understand!

[nhbilly]

LoL - Better eat more chilly.

[kat]

everything looks so good (well, except the feet, sorry!)

[janfrederick]

Please do tell if the spicy cold noodles were better as leftovers.

[Sandy]

Chinese restaurants in the Bay Area are also notorious for having different names in English and in Chinese. Often, my mom has to give me a physical description of a restaurant in San Francisco because the Chinese name that my mom knows it by is nothing similar to the English name on the outside.

[the office goat]

Wow, I thought that "rare chicken" was pickled ginger the first time I glanced at the pic. I'm afraid that's a little more rare than I like my chicken. :-/

[Kirk]

Hi Billy - Lots and lots of chili.....

Hi Kat - But the chicken feet was the hit of the meal! ;o)

Hi Jan - Not much....I think they forgot to cook the noodles...it was very odd.

Hi Sandy - Some of those English names can be quite funny...I recall one that was something like Lovely Lovely Chinese....

Hi ToG - LOL! The hot broth is supposed to "cook" the chicken.

[Tommylovebottom]

Does this place compare favorably in overall taste and quality to Ba Ren? Or are they too different to make a comparison ?

[Kirk]

Hi TLB - They are similar but different....here's my observations so far - I reserve the right to change my mind after more visits. Spicy City, uses less oil, and a lighter touch with various flavoring components (not as much garlic). Less Sichuan Peppercorn, but more vinegar, the food is not as spicy. It's not bad...so far! By all means check it out.

[Kathy]

Ahhh, no wonder my complexion has been acting up lately...i haven't been getting my biweekly doses of SoCal sichuan food! ;)

[Tommylovebottom]

I will.BTW, I'm from Portland and I enjoyed your blogging of your visit there.

[Kirk]

Hi Kathy - Better hit them chilies!!! ;o)

Hi TLB - I hope you enjoy your meal. And without a doubt; Portland is one of my favorite cities.

[Tommylovebottom]

Kirk were you there for "The Rain??" It's a bummer but it has many good things to recommend it.If you have plans to go back I have some recommendations for ye.

[CharSiuBao]

Hi Kirk!

i hope you didn't get sick from eating that chicken. it looked like it was still clucking.

btw HK takes bird flu very seriously. public service announcements on tv and informative flyers were everywhere when i was there. thank goodness we need only worry about west nile virus and killer bees here... ever plan on trying killer bee honey?

[Kirk]

Hi TLB - I'll make sure to let you know next time I'm planning a trip.

Hi CSB - That photo was taken before the broth cooked the chicken. Bird flu does scare us a bit. Killer Bee honey??? Hmmmm......