**** Que Huong has closed
I'm enjoying getting back up to City Heights again, so here's another revisit post.
Can you imagine that it's been nearly 10 years since I first walked through the door of Que Huong. Little did I know that "Jay" and his sister had just taken over the spot. I've revisited quite a few times over the years, though strangely, the visits always seem to be spread apart. I will say that the place sure looks a lot different these days.
There sure aren't specials written on the mirror anymore!
If you're going to have one item here, it should be the fish sauce wings. Since I first tried them in 2008, it's been a beloved item. In my article in the Reader, I noted how Jay told me he was going through as much as a thousand pounds of wings in a month.
It's still a wonderful, sweet, salty, and sticky.......
The Jackfruit Salad is another standby.
Over the years, I've noticed that they've somewhat refined their dishes a bit. In this salad, I noticed that the whole, hard peppercorns were gone and on this visit the nuoc mam cham was more savory, heavier on the fish sauce than sweet and watered done, which was a welcomed change. Nice amount of veggies, the somewhat citrusy-pungent-cilantro tones of rau ram, shrimp, and pork.
This made for a very satisfying meal.
It's good to know that the food here was just as good when Jay wasn't on the premises. It's also good to see Que Huong last when so many haven't.
Que Huong Restaurant
4134 University Ave
San Diego, CA 92105
sounds like a gem!
Posted by: kat | Wednesday, 22 April 2015 at 08:55 PM
Que Huong is my favorite Vietnamese restaurant in San Diego, hands down! We like going there for special occasions and Jay is one of the nicest guys around.
Posted by: caninecologne | Thursday, 23 April 2015 at 06:49 AM
I do like the place Kat.
Hi CC - It's really nice that Jay remembers his customers and even their tastes. He'll often recommend specials or new items we might enjoy as well. Can you believe it's been almost ten years!
Posted by: Kirk | Thursday, 23 April 2015 at 08:57 AM
Man, what the heck is going on across the street? https://www.google.com/maps/@32.750255,-117.105692,3a,75y,63.19h,62.02t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sI5BnwP3VMoWusE-lzO--ag!2e0!6m1!1e1
Posted by: janfrederick | Thursday, 23 April 2015 at 09:46 AM
I have heard that they serve wild boar, snails, crocodile, etc. Ever try those offerings?
Have you ever tried the Ca Kho To?
What other dishes would you recommend?
Posted by: buddha | Thursday, 23 April 2015 at 07:57 PM
Funny that you posted this as I just went here a couple of weeks ago after many years. All I ordered were the chicken wings and was more than happy with my singular order!
Posted by: jack | Friday, 24 April 2015 at 12:27 PM
That's crazy Jan!
I did like the snails at Que Huong when they have them - Ốc len xào dừa
http://mmm-yoso.typepad.com/mmmyoso/2011/09/que-huong-revisted-yet-again.html
In that post is the wild boar salad. Most of the other "exotic" stuff I just leave alone because I don't think they go through enough of it.
Hey Jack - I know.....I get an itch for those wings every now and then.
Posted by: Kirk | Friday, 24 April 2015 at 04:03 PM
I've tried the crocodile. It was in a coconut curry broth that was the same as the fish with the snails. The crocodile looked like chunky pork pieces but tasted fishy. Wasn't a fan.
Posted by: caninecologne | Friday, 24 April 2015 at 10:54 PM
Hi CC - I've had relatively fresh alligator and croc and it's pretty good. I noticed as the reptile meat gets older it tends to get sour and fishy. So unless I know it's fresh it's no bueno for me.
Posted by: Kirk | Saturday, 25 April 2015 at 06:57 PM