I took last Friday off. I needed to take my car in for service and decided to just take the day off. Amazingly; they finished up my car in half the usual time! I'm guessing they've really dialed back on the amount of appointments. The Missus had been craving the Salvadoran Tamales from El Salvador Pupuseria y Restaurante. So, since things wrapped up early, I decided to expand my Covid-19 "footprint" and head up to grab the Missus some tamales. I was a bit hungry and it had been quite a while sine I'd been to Fredcel so I decided to check them out.
Fredcel had just opened when I arrived. They've blocked off most of the area inside the restaurant and the "steam table" is not accessible by customers. Instead, they post what items are available on a menu sign.
I decided to get the menudo and Bicol Express, along with a few pieces lumpia (of course).
The Styrofoam box felt pretty darn hefty and when I opened it at home, I was surprised at the amount of pancit it held.
The pancit was very plain and bland.....I know why they give you that packet of soy sauce....though the portion size edged on ridiculous.
Opening up the menudo and Bicol Express and looking at the dishes really didn't whet my appetite.
The Bicol Express was more like a greasy curry. It lacked the deep savory-pungent tones of bagoong, wasn't very spicy, and seemed to use a ton of curry powder instead of coconut milk. As I mentioned earlier; it was also quite greasy instead of creamy and didn't have much pork in it.
The menudo was also sorely lacking in protein, was quite tangy, and needed more salt.
To me, both dishes were more like soups, quite thin and watery.
What saved the day was the lumpia; I got six for $3.
This was every bit as good as what I'd had here before. Still crisp and crunchy after the trip home....which is why it holds up well for catering. Not oily, the filling was moist, with a nice porkiness. That neon red sauce is way too sweet for me though.
I must be getting old; after eating the six lumpia, I needed a nap.
So, I guess I'm sticking with the lumpia from Fredcel. There were four people behind me in line as I left, so it seems that the business is doing ok.
Fredcel Lumpias & Catering
3876 38th Street
San Diego, CA 92105
Current Hours:
Tues - Fri 11am - 5pm
Saturday 11am - 4pm
Sunday 11am - 330pm
Closed on Monday
The only thing that looked good was the lumpia. Everything else was watery looking and sparse. The pancit was just noodles too. What happened to the vegetables:(
Posted by: Caninecologne | Wednesday, 28 October 2020 at 10:04 PM
at least the lumpia was decent
Posted by: kat | Wednesday, 28 October 2020 at 11:10 PM
I know CC....really strange.
At least Kat!
Posted by: Kirk | Thursday, 29 October 2020 at 05:32 AM
At least the lumpias were good!
Posted by: Junichi | Thursday, 29 October 2020 at 02:23 PM
I'll have to go and try the lumpia. 8 would make a good size meal.
Posted by: Soo | Thursday, 29 October 2020 at 05:24 PM
At least Junichi!
Definitely get some lumpia from here Soo!
Posted by: Kirk | Friday, 30 October 2020 at 05:57 AM