Ba Ren's Latest Seasonal Menu

**** Ba Ren has closed

Over the last few weeks we've been checking out the latest seasonal menu at Ba Ren. So I thought I'd do a few posts on the items we've tried. There are 8 items on the menu; one of them, the first item listed is a carry over from the previous menu. It's the Corn with Pine Nuts dish.

So here we go:

#3 on the placard, Chopped Chicken with Ya Cai($10.99):

Ya Cai is a famous Sichuan pickle that uses just the leaves of a specific type of mustard green. It is unusual in that it uses a "dry preserve" technique. I love the salty-sour, and slightly sweet flavor of Ya Cai. Combined with uniformly chopped chicken, green bell peppers, and jalapenos, this was by far our favorite dish on the menu(looks a bit like La Chao La, doesn't it?). It is spicy and salty and goes well with a good amount of rice. In fact, as I was writing this I had to run to the fridge to grab a few spoonfuls of it, just to jog my memory...you know...right?

#5 on the placard, Hand Torn Chicken($10.99):

Sesame oil was front and center in this cold dish. The chicken had a flavor similar to that of Kwai Fei chicken. I guess you could think of it as Kwai Fei Chicken Salad. The chicken was chopped leg meat, thankfully boneless, and mixed with bean sprouts and strips of scallion. The Missus is not a big fan of cold chicken dishes, so I got much more enjoyment out of this than She. I did think this was a bit on the pricey side.

#6 on the placard, Steamed Fish Slices with Don Cai($12.99):

As with all the fish dishes we've encountered at Ba Ren, the filets were soft, moist, and tender. We were told that Don Cai is a  Zhejiang preserved vegetable, it was less salty, more moist, and milder than the Ya Cai. What I really enjoyed about this dish was the bean thread on the bottom, which managed to soak up the wonderful soy, oil, and black pepper flavor...along with the Don Cai, of course. This was a good dish.

#7 on the placard, Tan Zi Huang Men Ya($15.99):

This Clay Pot(Tan Zi) Stewed(Men) Duck(Ya) dish looked positively volcanic. "Men" is one of the 56 classic Sichuan cooking techniques, in which ingredients are first fried or stir-fried, and medium amount of liquid is added before the pot is closed and everything is cooked. The duck in this case was duck leg and neck, which added a nice "ducky" fragrance to the whole shebang. This broth, or gravy if you will needed a good stir to mix the super-spicy oil with the rest of the broth below. Otherwise you'd be in for a sip of chili oil. The taro in the dish was not very good; mealy and mushy, it reminded me of Chuño. It was obviously prefrozen. Sliced leeks and large slices of ginger were also along for the ride. When I first viewed this dish, I had flashbacks of my previous encounter with "Beer Duck" at Ba Ren. But this was much better. Still, the Missus enjoyed this much more than I.

I realize that I have a ton of posts on Ba Ren, but I hope you enjoyed seeing some of the dishes from the Chinese placard. Of course, the old favorites are still available.

Ba Ren
4957 Diane Ave
San Diego, CA 92117

Comments

[Jeff C]

Kirk, I gotta go to San Diego again and eat at Ba Ren. mmmmm...
Okay, revery broken. Just wanted to let you know the latest issue of Saveour has a nice little blurb on the different Sesame Oils used in cooking. I believe its the issue with the American crab on the cover. It also does a really nice writeup on vietnamese crab filled spring rolls.

Cheers.

Jeff

[Carol]

It's been a long time since I've been to Ba Ren. I think it's time for a visit.

[foodhoe]

dang, everything looks delicious! It's tuff being illiterate sometimes, cuz you miss out on a lot of interesting dishes...

[sawyer]

i love that place, and i miss it ...i try to go there whenever i'm down in sd....and the seasonal dishes look great...theres so many things on the menu that i had yet to try...

[Derek Ray]

Kirk,

Yum, that all looks really good. I took your advice and tried the Mapo Tofu there the other day to day, really yummy stuff and they give you a ton of well cooked rice. Really nice mapo flavors and good fresh tofu.

I'm heading out to Mo's tomorrow for dinner, my favorite place for plate lunch thanks to you "good sir" I'll eat some Korean Chicken for you.

-Derek

[Kathy]

Based on your posts alone - I already feel like I'm a regular at Ba Ren, hehehe ^_^

[Kirk]

Hi Jeffrey - I'll need to check it out. In that issue they also make Bun Rieu.

Hi Carol - Yes, maybe it's time.

Hi FH - I understand what you mean.....I've been missing out on stuff for years.

Hi Sawyer - The menu is quite huge, and we enjoy trying the seasonal items.

Hi Derek - I'm glad you enjoy the Ma Po Dofu. I hope you enjoy Mo's as well.

Hi Kathy - Well, if you're ever down in these parts!

[Captain Jack]

I love it, time to copy down the placard, and freak out the server, as the big white dude seemingly reads Chinese again. Thanks Kirk!

[Kirk]

Hi CJ - Yep, another chance.....

[yummieyummy]

Uncle Kirk, I can't wait to go here =PP

[Kirk]

Hi YY - I'm sure you'll enjoy it.