mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog. Kirk is working this weekend. I'm sure He is eating, but really, He doesn't want to write about it; he'd rather sleep. Cathy is writing this post.
Tucked in the middle of a bunch of storefronts (many of which Kirk and I have blogged about; some are still there and most are gone-it's the mall with the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf and a Carl's. Jr. closest to the street) at the South West corner of Clairmont Mesa Boulevard at Ruffin Road (the other side of Ruffin from the new Kaiser Hospital which used to be the Registrar of Voters office) is China Express.You might notice the sign above the entrance with the "3 items & 1 side order w/soup or canned soda $6.49". The small print at the bottom is "choose only from steam table"- this seems to be what most people order.
The steam table is kept fresh, the side orders consist of steamed rice, fried rice or chow mein. The egg drop soup is excellent-very eggy and fresh. There is also wonton and hot and sour soup.
All the meals are given in 'to go' containers, even if you are eating in. This is what the three item combo looks like. The dark meat is 'spicy chicken'-it has those jalapeño-looking chilis, which are a bit spicy as the heat component. This chicken is also sweet, I think it's honey. The top left corner is chicken and mushrooms; this was very good. The bottom left is Szechuan chicken-a different, dried chili, lots of vegetables(bell peppers, those little canned corn things and mushrooms) and quite nice. Not a bad meal for $6.99 (with tax).
There is also a six page menu...two of those pages list 30 Monday-Friday lunch specials (all $5.25) and 21 party trays and 30 combination specials. Under the 'Chef's Specials' portion of the menu, the Hunan Beef ($10.99) was a good choice. It wasn't crazy spicy, despite the small chili on the menu indicating heat; it's pleasant. Since it is made to order, the vegetables are freshly stir fried, still crispy. There is bok choy, celery, onion, red and green bell pepper. The beef was thick cut, tender and plentiful (that container is large). This was a great meal.
The spice and sweet on the General Tso's Bean Curd ($7.50), combined with the light breading and crisp fry made this (very large) serving a new craving.
You may recall that The Mister and I like to try Egg Foo Young from each menu where we see it offered (because no two are ever the same). The chicken Egg Foo Young ($6.75) version here was yet another new experience.
The chicken was cut in strips. The egg and onion mix had peas and carrots and scallion bits. The gravy was nice-not too thick and not salty. There were no bean sprouts. This version was great.
It's always fun to find a new (to us) place. I hope your weekend is going well.
China Express 9353 Clairmont Mesa Blvd San Diego CA 92123 (858)277-2388 Open Mon-Fri 10am-9:45 pm, Sat 11 am-9:45 pm, Sun 3 pm-9:30 pm
nice find:)
Posted by: kat | Sunday, 09 December 2018 at 09:25 PM
No ambiance, not fancy, just great food, Kat. A happy find.
Posted by: cathy | Monday, 10 December 2018 at 04:07 AM