**** Yes! Pingo has closed
For some reason the name of this place just didn't motivate me to visit. After reading posts by Kirbie and Jinxi, I did feel a bit more motivated. I really hadn't had decent Taiwanese food in San Diego, so I recruited my buddy Candice, to see if Yes! Pingo would fill the bill.
For some reason, the name of the place makes me think of the Hello Kitty gate at Taipei Airport. the interior has that fast-casual, boba/tea shop look.
I liked the menu which was full of standard Taiwanese "snack" items, many of which were familiar to me having spent five years living in the SGV.
So where to start? Well, I thought the classic oyster pancake (omelete) would be a decent choice.
My preference is for a bit more egg and a bit less flour/starch, which made this gummy. The usual ketchup based sauce could have used some flavor as this was kind of bland and runny. The oysters were decent, though rather sparse.
I like a good Ba-wan, pretty much a glutinous meatball, called Taiwanese Meatball on the menu.
This had a couple of large chunks of pork, tasteless and tough. This also lacked flavor and was rather disappointing. I never thought I'd be wishing for something from the now defunct 168 Restaurant.
Looking to improve our luck; I went with another Taiwanese standard that almost never fails. The fried pork chop.
Loved the texture, crisp and light. But whomever seasoned this must have dead tastebuds because this was extremely salty....unpleasantly salty.
One of my favorite Taiwanese dishes is Three Cup Chicken......
Loved the color, but this was also way too salty...almost bitter in flavor. I was wondering who was in the kitchen?
We met our final dish with trepidation.....Niu Rou Mian, beef noodle soup.
The best thing about the broth was that it was hot......other than that...well where to start. The noodles were overcooked, the beef tough, dry, and cold in the center. The worst was the soup, which was insipid, tasting like a beef bone was merely waved over it. This needed more of everything....
At the end of the meal I asked Candice what she thought the best dish was. Her response? The pickled vegetables that came with the pork chop! I also asked an acquaintance of mine who is from Taiwan about the place. He laughed and told me the owner is a well intentioned recent University Grad with no restaurant experience and that the kitchen doesn't have much either. It just seemed that the dishes here were really skewed on our visit; either very bland or way too salty. It wouldn't be too bad if one or two of the dishes were this way, but all five were. I know other folks really like the place, so perhaps it was a bad day. I really don't know what to say.....
Yes! Pingo
4813 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111
I'm not sure why, but I was surprised to see you review this spot. I actually like my oyster pancake to be on the starchy side so it's about the only dish I've liked here. They actually make pretty good snow ice and some decent boba drinks, but I haven't really enjoyed their savory food dishes.
Posted by: Kirbie | Thursday, 19 September 2013 at 11:59 PM
Definitely not PINGO!
It's been awhile but I use to visit this joint often when I was in CalPoly. Q Noodle House - 18930 Gale Ave
Rowland Heights, CA 91748
Have you been to it?
Posted by: nhbilly | Friday, 20 September 2013 at 07:04 AM
You are far more diplomatic than I would have been. To start, the title would have had the word "No" in it... My first thought was that the chefs must be smokers...and their tastebuds are dead.
Posted by: Cathy | Friday, 20 September 2013 at 07:21 AM
It's probably because I'm past the age demographic for places like Tea Station Kirbie! Though I thought I'd give the place a shot.
Hi Billy - So it's in the same plaza as Sam Woo, huh? I think this place opened up after we left Hacienda/Rowland Heights. I'll have to give it a try.
Hi Cathy - The cooks looked like young kids.....so I'm thinking undeveloped tastebuds.
Posted by: Kirk | Friday, 20 September 2013 at 07:24 AM
i went here once and didn't like anything that i ordered. bawan was the worst offender of them all.
Posted by: sdf | Friday, 20 September 2013 at 11:07 AM
Hi SDF - So I'm guessing our experience is not just a "one-off" then......
Posted by: Kirk | Saturday, 21 September 2013 at 09:08 AM
I think it is in the sam Plaza as Sam Woo. I never really tried anything else beside Q noodles. FYI its a cash only joint. I love there mince pork and simmer boiled egg and there wonton soup.
Posted by: nhbilly | Saturday, 21 September 2013 at 07:32 PM
The ba wan (actually, everything there) is pretty inconsistent. First time I had it everything was great, second time everything was off. Haha. When the food is good I'm always like "why don't I come here more often", and other times it's just a slap on my forehead.
Posted by: Jinxieats | Sunday, 22 September 2013 at 12:16 AM
Hi Billy - Having lived inthe area for a good amount of time....I usually pay cash everywhere.
That's not a rollercoater ride I'd like to be on Jinxi.
Posted by: Kirk | Sunday, 22 September 2013 at 01:24 PM
Even after your review, my gut is still telling me to give it a shot ( i know, I'll probably regret it but I feel some weird urge to still try it out). But yeah, it's unfortunate to serve bad Ba Wan and Niu ro Mien :(
Posted by: Faye | Monday, 23 September 2013 at 03:58 PM
You should check them out Faye. Who knows, you might get lucky! ;o)
Posted by: Kirk | Tuesday, 24 September 2013 at 06:18 AM
The day we reviewed it for Convoy Conquest it was kind of all over the place, some things great and some not so. I went back recently though, and even the crispy chicken that I liked so much before was not very good.
Maybe Pingo? Maybe not...
Posted by: Jenne | Thursday, 26 September 2013 at 07:34 PM
Not so Pingo! Jenne??? ;o) We need to get together again soon!
Posted by: Kirk | Thursday, 26 September 2013 at 07:40 PM
Yes, let's plan it!!
Posted by: Jenne | Wednesday, 16 October 2013 at 05:03 PM