Taste of Hunan Revisited

A few weeks back, even with all the new Chinese restaurants that have opened in San Diego recently, Calvin and I headed off to revisit Taste of Hunan. One of the main reasons is that Calvin's Missus just doesn't eat offal or lamb.....nor anything with Sichuan Peppercorns. So, Calvin wanted his "pig fix" in a way. And so, we pulled "all the hogs" out.....

First thing I noticed was that the place isn't quite as busy as it was on my previous visits to the restaurant.

We placed our orders and items started coming out rather quickly.

First, the Sauteed Pig Stomach, for those who have seen pig maw on Chinese menus and wasn't sure what it was....no it's not a mother pig, but the wall of a pig's stomach.

It was as expected quite chewy, with no off flavors. Very straight-forward soy-sauce saltiness and kind of greasy.

The texture of the Crispy Intestine was excellent. Crisp, light exterior, creamy interior.

Slight, pleasant offal flavor, but the addition of salt and pepper would have made this dish even better. As it is; just straight-forward hoisin or chili oil just added one simple layer of flavor...in other words; pun intended, it was just "lipstick on a pig".

Easily the best dish of the day was a favorite during my previous visit, the Smoked Pork and Preserved Green Beans Fried Rice.

Though there was less preserved green beans and La Rou this time around. Still, almost every grain was coated; the smokiness and mild sour flavors came through nicely. Though easily the best item of the day; it was not nearly as good as on previous visits

Another favorite from previous visits; the Wild Mushroom with Pork, was a far cry from what I'd had before.

It was more spicy this time around, much more salty, with a very faint mushroom flavor, and the pork was tough. Bummer, as this was a really nice dish vefore.

So, what's happening with Taste of Hunan? Can't say I haven't seen this pattern before; the honeymoon's over and things settle into a pattern of cost cutting, lowering of standards, and malaise. I'm hoping this is not true...so we'll see.

Taste of Hunan
9880 Hibert St. Suite E2
San Diego, CA 92131

Comments

[kat]

hope they aren’t cutting costs.

[Junichi]

Oh no! Hate it when that happens. Went to Tatsuki the other day and they don't have Jiro-style ramen anymore. Talked to the owner and he said customers hated it. Noodles too thick, soup too fatty, too much bean sprouts......

[Kirk]

I don't know Kat......I hope not.

Oh man, that sucks Junichi!