Revisit to New Mandarin Canton

You know having done this blog for a while....I get the strangest, sometimes humorous, occasionally borderline scary, and a few just plain odd emails. Recently, there seems to be something in the air, first I got an extremely racist, xenophobic, and plain insulting email about my posts on Tunisia, I'll go more into detail in the near future. Then there was the one where someone "ordered me" to add links to my blog otherwise they'd over-run my blog with spam....now that's a new one! And then there was the dude, based on the writing style (all CAPS and full of "textation" short cuts), who informed me, "U R the BGST ***** (sorry racist word deletion) FOOD SNB EVER...." etc, etc, etc..... Wow, who knew I had readers in the penitentiary? Oh, the irony of the email....if they only knew that the Missus and I had just gotten back from Mandarin Canton. The Missus needed Her "ABCDE" (American Born Chinese Dining Establishment) food fix and She enjoys Mandarin Canton......

Anyway, as always, we steer away from anything that looks either radioactive or came out of an old crankcase, is of the protein type beef, pork, or chicken breast. MC seems to do a good job with shrimp and I have a soft spot for old school fried rice......here it's the Shrimp Fried Rice:

Actually, the Missus eats all the shrimp, I eat a bit of it here and take the rest home to have the next day with a fried egg on it. There's a mild sweet-smokiness which is from a pretty well seasoned aged wok, every grain is covered evenly...it's just nice old school stuff.

 The one dish the Missus comes for is the Salt and Pepper Shrimp without shell, which is probably the most expensive item on the menu at about thirteen bucks or so.

These are usually light, fried perfectly, and crisp. The garlic and scallions have been slightly caramelized developing their sugars and add nice flavor....and yes, let's not forget the MSG.....

The Missus decided to order the fish with black bean sauce, which was not bad. The fish was prepared adequately, tender, but didn't have the buttery texture of well prepped fish fillet in the Chinese style.

The big disappointment was the item i'm sure to always order here....the Salt and Pepper Chicken wings, which, over the course of my last couple of visits thought was a good contender for the best in San Diego. This time, they came out really quickly, were lukewarm, dry, and rubbery.....I think these were either crowded in the fryer, not allowing for adjustment to the temperature drop and then was lying around for a while or the oil was just not at the right temp....bummer.

 Well, at least the damage wasn't too bad....MC has lunch specials, even on weekends and everything but the shrimp were lunch specials. Three of four ain't bad.

As usual, the folks here thought I was Chinese and the Missus was Filipino, which I get a kick out of. And as always, I think there a time and place for this kind of food....perhaps in the guilty pleasure category. So long you serve what you say you serve, it's prepared and priced well, I've no qualms about eating ABCDE cuisine. Coming from my background, I don't find attitudes of false superiority, self-importance, pretense, entitlement, or narcissism particularly attractive.... Let's just eat ono food!

New Mandarin Canton Chinese Restaurant
543 Telegraph Canyon Road
Chula Vista, CA 91910

Comments

[kat]

I have to be thankful I don't get hateful emails...

[Kirk]

Hi Kat - It's strange, I don't get very many, but they seem to come in waves...

[Michaela]

So sad that there are such small-minded people. Hope it didn't hurt you!

Rolf & Michaela

[Janfrederick]

Sounds like a couple owners of bad restaurants would rather spend time emailing bloggers than fixing their problems.

[Soo Hom]

How does the fried rice compare to Golden Chopsticks? That's where I usually go for shrimp fried rice.

[Kyle]

Wow, I thought you only had five people that actually read your blog and two of those are contributors. lol. Just kidding Kirk don't let the keyboard warriors get to you. Keep posting I enjoy reading about your journeys and food reviews.

[Kirk]

Hi Michaela - Nah, those things don't bother me too much anymore.....it's just kind of weird.

Hi Jan - I'm not sure if it's that population, but it's strange how it kind of happens in threes.

Hi Soo - I haven't been to GC in over three years, but I recall enjoying MC much more....so long it's shrimp fried rice.

Hi Kyle - No, actually it's six...you forgot to count yourself! LOL!

[Ed]

Man, I'd really go for an ABCDE restaurant right now. The Chinese restaurant scene here in SK is rather - dismal - especially when the majority of menus only offer the same three to four dishes...

[Kirk]

Hi Ed - Wow, I didn't think the variety of Chinese food in South Korea would be so bad.

[Ed]

Yeah, if you want variety in a Chinese restaurant here, you have to really PAY for it through the nose...

[Carol]

Aw, too bad the wings weren't up to par.

[Kirk]

That really sucks Ed.....

Hi Carol - Yeah, i was really disappointed.

[dancing]

argh i can't believe people send you hateful emails. glad to hear it's not that often. your posts are the BEST! so informative and more times than not you will even give local restaurants another chance if your first visit wasn't up to par and if you have good reason to give them another try. i am so thankful whenever i have time to read your blog. and your blogs entries and photos from your travels are way more interesting and informative than many i've seen in published guidebooks. having specialized knowledge in an area (food!), expecting a certain quality when eating out, and stating your opinion about your own experiences in no way makes you a food snob. i can't even believe someone called you that. i always check here first for interesting places to eat and also on new-restaurant rumors and activity. did you see the new rakiraki sign in the "worst parking on convoy" plaza? and the new crepe place sign next door where crepe world was? i wonder if crepe world and coconut tree just decide to renovate and then reopen with a new name (didn't seem like they were there for very long)? but i think maybe not since i saw the crepe place's menu through the window and they don't have the mochi topping that i so loved from crepe world before (???). anyway i told my hubby that if anyone knows what's going on, it's probably kirk at the mmmyoso blog or one of his food-blog friends! even if you don't know, i thought of your blog when i saw the new sign driving down convoy this week. please keep blogging when you have time. your blog is one of my favs!

[Kirk]

Hi Dancing - Yes, Rakiraki is doing a soft opening right now, dinner only from 6pm. They're a Nagoya based. Thanks for the kind words....you know, sometimes it gets a bit weird here. Don't quite know what going with the Crepe place....but I'll find out. Thanks again for reading and commenting!