It's all about Mi - Minh Ky, Tan Ky Mi Gia (El Cajon Blvd & Mira Mesa), and Luong Hai Ky on Convoy

Or so the Missus says.......

Recently, I've been craving Egg Noodle Soup, specifically, the Vietnamese version of this Chinese style noodle soup. After a few bowls, I decided why not do a comparison, much like I've done previously for Pho (quite a while ago) ,  Banh Mi (a while back as well), and Bun Bo Hue. In addition to being quite satisfying, "Mi" is usually pretty inexpensive. An though many, Pho shops make a pretty good bowl, I decided to stick to the specialists.

For the sake of consistency, I went with the combination Won Ton/Dumpling Egg Noodle Soup across the board. Since I was quite curious about the broth, noodle, and won ton/dumpling, I opted for the "soup separate" option. And even though I realize that on any given day, the soup can vary, I was still surprised at my findings. you'll soon see why. So off we go......

Minh Ky:

I thought Minh Ky was a good place to start, since it was probably the first bowl of egg noodle soup I posted on way back in January of 2006. A bowl of the Won Ton/Dumpling Egg Noodle Soup will now cost you $4.95. Up about 20 cents from 2006.

The noodles arrive seasoned with a smear of Oyster Sauce, and topped with a good amount of sliced cilantro and scallions.

    

The noodles were as expected, on the chewy side, but pretty bland on its' own.

The soup here surprised me.

 

I had always been of the opinion that the broth at Minh Ky was on the watery and bland side. Today the broth had a nice flavor. It was the best broth overall. The Won Tons, were the usual hard meatball, but was the best flavored(porky-shrimpy). The dumplings were mediocre; bland and very tough.

Surprisingly, the best overall.

Minh Ky Restaurant
4644 El Cajon Boulevard
San Diego, CA 92115

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Tan Ky Mi Gia - El Cajon Boulevard:

This was the cheapest of the four at $4.75. The noodles here come drizzled with oyster sauce:

 

Other than that, this was quite hard, and raw in flavor, and nothing special. Without a doubt it needed soup, but how was the soup?

 

This soup had the best Char Siu (BBQ Pork), but other than that, this was the worst soup, sorely lacking the previous visits nice broth with a hint of seafood flavor. As before the won tons and dumpling here are hard and fall short on the flavor front. Also, on this visit, many of the wrappers had come off the won tons. Still, it is the most inexpensive.

Tan Ky Mi Gia
5237 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA 92115

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Tan Ky Mi Gia - Mira Mesa:

  Tan Ky Mi Gia had the most expensive Won Ton/Dumpling Noodle Soup - $5.55.

My previous experiences here have been mixed, but this was to be a very surprising dish as well. First off, the noodles:

 

The noodles here were the best overall. They were perfectly crunchy/chewy in texture. I believe the noodles were dunked into broth before serving. There was also a pool of sauce, which tasted like a combination of soy and oyster sauce on the bottom of the bowl. After a quick mix I thought the noodles would have been just fine as a stand alone dish.

As for the broth:

 

I had always had very salty broth here, but again I was surprised. The broth was very mild and lacked "depth". The won tons were rock hard and tough, but the dumplings had a nice amount of shrimp and was pretty good.

The second best overall.

Tan Ky Mi Gia
9330 Mira Mesa Blvd #A
San Diego, CA 92126

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Luong Hai Ky - Convoy:

Which leads us to Luong Hai Ky.

Looking over the menu, I noticed that the Won Ton/Dumpling Egg Noodle Soup was $5... I swear, didn't it used to be $5.50?

The noodles arrived, this seemed to have also been dunked in broth before an oyster sauce based mixture was applied.

 

I really didn't go for the lettuce tossed in with the noodles, and the hard dried/fried shallots and garlic in the bottom of the bowl would have better served in the broth.

Based on previous experiences, I expected the soup at Luong Hai Ky to be the best overall. And peering into the dark and rich looking broth, things seemed to be going in that direction.

 

But I was stymied, the broth had a nice rich texture and tongue feel, but lacked the usual flavor, sort of pork-chicken with a hint of seafood. Best dumplings of the bunch, and possibly the second best won tons. Hard and a bit tougher than I enjoy, but with good shrimp-pork flavor. Strange....I expected a bit more.

Luong Hai Ky Restaurant
4633 Convoy St Ste 107
San Diego, CA 92111

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So there you have it Mi times 4, with lots of surprises for me!  Nice midweek snack, eh??? Hmmm, I'm starting to crave Beef Sate Noodle Soup.......

Comments

[Judy Lee]

I'm eating my morning oatmeal and pretending its wontons and soup.

Perfect post for the cooling weather this weekend!

[Sandy]

We usually go to Tan Ky Mi Gia on Mira Mesa because it's the closest. I don't think I've ever been to Minh Ky, and I haven't been to Luong Hai Ky on Convoy in awhile. I'm looking forward to LHK opening soon in Mira Mesa. So thank you for the comparison!

I usually order wontons/dumplings with no noodles. After a recent take-out from TKMG, I got on a wonton kick and made my own.

[Carol]

Mmmm, wonton and dumpling soup! As the weather cools some more, I'll be ready to eat my fill. I haven't been to Tan Ky Mi Gia on Mira Mesa but think I'll add as a place to try next week. Thanks for a great comparison, Kirk!

[Kim]

I'm a huge fan of the BBQ duck noodle soup at Tan Ky Mi Gia on Mira Mesa. I've never eaten in the restaurant, but have gotten take out there many times. I have this Asian habit that I inherited from my mom to add some boiling water to the soup to stretch it, so I guess the soup is salty after all. Are there anymore notable mi places to go to in SD? I'd like to try them out.

[Dennis]

Hi Kirk, that's too bad about the lack of consistency.. Not a Mi place but the complementary beef soup at Cam Ky BBQ tasted like hot water when i visited last. The duck and crispy pork wasn't bad though. Someone may have already asked once but does the "Ky" mean anything in the names of these places?

[kat]

the weather here is in the single Celsius digits, all this talk of soup has me drooling...

[Kirk]

Hi Judy - It does seem like the weather is going to cooperate with a post for a change.

Hi Sandy - To me, it just ain't right without the noodles....of course, I'm such a noodlehead....

Hi Carol - You chould check it out....it is hard for me to enter that mall without hitting up Pho Lucky though.

Hi Kim - You should try the Roast duck Noodle at Tan Ky Mi Gia on ECB....the last time we had it, it wasn't up to par, and if you want a big, fat, meaty duck, it won't fill the bill, but the flavor is usually pretty good. Luong Hai Ky is opening up in MM, so you'll have another choice in the area.

Hi Dennis - Yes, Cam Ky is pretty good, I've eaten there a few times...not the best BBQ, usually quite moist, but lacking on the flavor front. From what I understand 'Ky' sort of means "family", like Minh Ky Mi Gia - would mean Ming Family Egg Noodle Soup, etc, etc....

Hi Kat - Looks like it's time for some soup!

[janfrederick]

I never thought to order the noodles and broth separately.

I wonder if the consistency issue is due to what meat sold well or what didn't sell well the previous weekend? ;)

[Kirk]

Hi Jan - It could be when the soup was made, how long it simmered, and who put together the soup..... I've just noticed that on any given day.....

[dave]

i love minh ky, although it seems i always get a hankering for it on a wednesday, and forget they are closed on wednesdays.

[foodhoe]

wow those noodles all look delicious. the bowls come with the noodles separate? Or am I confused and you order two different dishes?

[Kirk]

Hi Dave - Oh yes, I forget they are closed on Wednesdays as well.

Hi FH - It's just a way of ordering the Won Ton/Dumpling Egg Noodle soup at these places...you can order the soup and noodles seperate.

[mindless]

I love the shrimp cracker/wonton they give you at Luong Hai Ky, and your photo shows sitting on top of the noodles. The missus loves the roast duck soup that is served dry/split.

[Kirk]

Hi Mindless - Other places do that as well. For some reason, I've never tried the duck at Luong Hai Ky.....another item for my list!