Rooster Rice & Noodles

**** Rooster Rice & Noodles is now Ju Feng Yuan

Back in the middle of April I heard about a new "Thai" place that had opened in a strip mall off Scripps Poway Parkway on the "coconut wireless". At first I thought it was Takhrai Thai, which I had been warned off of; but no, it was a place named Rooster Rice and they supposedly made Khao Man Gai. So, on a day when I had to return home from the office at around 11, I checked and found the website for Rooster Rice & Noodles, with online ordering......well, it seemed that almost all the items were using English names and there wasn't Khao Man Gai on the menu. Until I found what I'm guessing is one of their signature dishes; something called "Rooster Rice" that came with either steamed or crispy chicken with soup on the side. This seemed like the item, so I ordered it and drove up to find the shop.

Looking for the address and suite number led me to the signage for Wong's Wok; where I found the banner for Rooster Rice.

I believe that the previous place must have been a Chinese fast food joint based on the "decor".

There was a short wait for my food. I was handed a package and headed home.

I was quite interested to see what the Khao Man Gai was going to be like and I opened up the standard issue styrofoam container and.......what the heck????

Sheesh...well, looks like they made a mistake here. I even gave them my name and everything! Grand opening mistake I guess. So, I had the egg noodles with BBQ Pork - Ba Mee Moo Dang. The BBQ Pork was decent, perhaps a bit tough but not bad. The egg noodles were under flavored, though cooked nicely. Standard issue fast food steamed bok choy had no taste. Needless to say, I was disappointed......as I was expecting to get what I ordered. I thought about calling, but the place is nearly 20 miles from home. I decided to just forget about it. This would be a one-and-done and there would be no post.

Until........a couple of weeks later, "FOY" RedDevil sent me an email asking me if I'd heard of a "New Hainanese chicken place" named Red Rooster....... I replied saying that I'd visited and ordered the Khao Man Gai but got something else by mistake.

Thinking things over; I decided to give the place one more try. I had an actual fairly normal lunch  break at the office so I tried again. And again there was a short wait for my online order. This time, I took a peek at my plate and verified that there was actually chicken in it.

 This was quite interesting in a couple of ways. A huge container of scalding hot chicken broth was provided, decent chicken tones, seemed to have a lot of white pepper, in need of some salt, and perhaps a bit more richness.

Secondly, the two pieces of chicken, a whole chicken quarter and drumstick was still on the bone in them, not chopped or boneless; something I'm not used to with this dish. The meat was dry, with very little flavor.....like it had just been put into a pot of water and simmered. This seemed like a mere shadow of the dish.

The sauce provided was a bit different as well.....almost no ginger....seemed more like a a peanut sauce.

I will say that the rice was not bad; a bit on the mushy side perhaps, but at least there was some ginger tones along with the "flavor of fowl".

I don't think I'd order this again.

However, when placing the order for the Khao Man Gai, I saw a couple of dishes that I decided to try. Yes, call me a glutton for punishment.

"JeffP" happened to be in the office, so I thought it would make for a decent lunch to share. I had seen Nem Khao Tod on the menu (for once not just in English -
Nam Khaow Salad $10), one of my favorite things when done well, so I ordered that and the Crispy Pork Belly Rice Bowl ($12).

On this visit; a Rooster Rice & Noodles banner had replaced the Wong's Wok sign.

And this time my food was just getting to the counter as I arrived and the nice young lady repeated my order to me....she seemed surprised I was ordering the Nem Khao.  

So, how was the food this time around?

Well, there was a good amount of sour sausage and a few strands of pork skin. In terms of flavor; it was pretty straight-forward, no hints of kaffir lime leaf/lemograss/shallot/mint/peanut/etc...... The worse thing was that the rice was mushy without that wonderful contrast of crunchy-chewy textures.

The Crispy Pork Belly Rice Bowl had potential.

 It came with standard issue steamed and blanched veggies and the rice was really mushy; though it had been drizzled with a sauce.

The Moo Krob was almost there in texture as it had some crispness but was a bit too soft for my taste. It was fairly bland however, it could have used more salt and seemed to be lacking in the swiney goodness I enjoy. I asked JeffP what he thought and he said about the same thing....close but no cigar. Still, this has some potential. And the portion size was quite generous for the price.

 The pork would have been even better had the Nam Jim (dipping sauce) been a bite more assertive in heat and savory-sweet tones. It seemed a bit watered down.

Rooster Rice & Noodles seems to fill a niche for the area and the prices are quite good. The food seems a bit "fusiony" with quite a few accommodations made. Perhaps I'll return for that pork belly one day.....but I'm going to wait for a while. 

Rooster Rice & Noodles
12265 Scripps Poway Parkway
Poway, CA 92064
(858) 397-2308
Current Hours:
Tues - Sun 1100 am - 3pm and 4pm - 9pm
Closed on Mondays

Comments

[sawyer]

Sigh...just feel like a lot of these Asian posts lately aren't winners ("winnahs") from what I'm reading lately on your blog. Man, there's a spot in Portland for some good nem khao called Cully Central next time you're around there. Where do you like to go for nem khao in SD?

[RedDevil]

I feel bad for mentioning this place. Hainanese chicken is quite rare in SD so I should’ve known. Can I reimburse you?

[kat]

bummer

[Sandy]

There was some neighborhood buzz when Rooster Rice opened, and I had forgotten about it until I read your post. The menu seems to be rather, um, eclectic. The previous place, Wong's Wok, was popular, but I never dined there. It had been in business for many years, and I believe the owners retired and closed last year.

[Sandy]

Forgot to say LOL to RedDevil!

[Kirk]

Hi Sawyer - Around these parts it's probably Ban Lao or Mekong Thai/Lao. Asia Cafe used to make the best, but the owners retired lond ago.

Don't feel bad RD! It's all part of the adventure to me. And you don't owe me a thing!

Yes.....wasted potential Kat!

It's kinda-sorta fusiony-safe trying to ride that line Sandy! Prices and portion sizes are good though.

[Si]

Such a bummer. Their menu has too many varieties for a small shop that could be specialized in a few dishes.

Have you every try nam khao tod from Supannee House of Thai? I had it in a party once and it was nice.

There is another newish thai "street" food in PB. Just checked their pictures on other websites and didn't like it though (except moo ping & fried egg in pad kra praow)

[Kirk]

Man, I haven't been back to Supannee in ages Si! Never had the nem khao....I'm kinda looking forward to that. Thanks for the reminder! Is it Uncle Chai that you are referring to? My sources tell me it's more about price than quality.

[Junichi]

Bummer. I heard some buzz about this place also. I was gonna try it out the next time I hike Iron Mountain but I'll stay away for now.

[Kirk]

You can still try it Junichi! I just found it a bit uneven and underwhelming

[sawyer]

I liked Mekong. You should have gotten the orange chicken haha!

[Kirk]

Man Sawyer...you've got an orange chicken fixation going on!

[caninecologne]

:(

I miss Asia Cafe. It had been replaced by two other businesses which have closed as well.

[Soo]

That's good the pork belly wasn't bad.

[Kirk]

I miss Asia Cafe too CC!

But it wasn't good either Soo!

[Sophie]

What a bummer! The first incident was a bit funny and sad at the same time. They should be more careful with it. Seems the grand opening wasn’t so grand after all. Sigh.