Qin West Noodle (UTC)

I know quite a few people who were excited that LA Based Qin West opened in UTC this past February. I figured that the place would be pretty darn busy, so I waited. And based on what I'd heard; 45 minute waits for food, mistakes on takeout orders, super salty dishes. I think waiting for a couple of months was a good idea. Finally, a few weeks ago I headed over to UTC and easily found parking at 1055 in the morning. I parked by Macy's and made the short walk over to Qin West.

It's a pretty simple interior; from the front counter where you order....

To the simple fast-foodish dining area.

The menu is clearly posted; featuring Shaanxi specialties, along with Sichuan influenced dishes.

My timing was good; early in the week and just at opening time. By the time I got my food, about 20 minutes, there was a line to the door.

I purposely ordered too much food for just my lunch.....thinking that I'd take most of it home to have the Missus sample. The one dish I made sure to order was the Yang Rou Pao Mo ($15.99). As you've probably read ad nauseum, I haven't had a decent version of this dish outside of China; Xi'an to be precise. A lot of this has to do with the lack of appropriate bread; which, you break up by hand and place in a muttony broth to soak up all the flavors. The bread looks like this.

All versions I've had whether here in San Diego or in the SGV, all have featured a waxy, slippery starchy "breadish" stuff that doesn't sop up the broth. So imagine my surprise when I unloaded my food and saw this.

I think I actually swore out loud!

I eagerly broke up the bread; it was a little too soft and leavened, but it wasn't too bad. And of course I poured the broth over everything.

The lamb was not very gamy and was leaner than I would prefer, but the broth, while a bit heavy handed with the white pepper, wasn't too bad. 

This is probably the best overall version of yang rou pao mo I've had outside of China. While I've had a decent version with regards to the lamb and broth (which was better than this), Qin West has the most complete "package" overall. I'll definitely have this again.

Man, I'm hoping to have this....the version from Tong Sheng Xiang (同盛祥) again one day....

I also ordered the Twice Cooked Pork ($14.95)....which should have been called "spicy stir fried napa cabbage"......you could count the amount of pork in the dish on one hand.

This was just oily and spicy.......not in the "ma-la" way....as in why not just drink chili oil with salt. I did notice something interesting; Qin West likes to use both dried chilies and huge pieces of jalapenos in their dishes. This was pretty bad.

I also order the combination Liang Cai ($14.75).

 Two-thirds of this was pretty good; the pig ear had a nice crunch and the slices were generous; it went well with the chili oil. The Pai Huang Gua; smacked cucumbers were really bland, it just needed more garlic-soy sauce-salt, you name it. The tendon, while cut on the thick side and was fairly crunchy overall wasn't bad. The Missus did enjoy the pig ear and the tendon.

We actually had the liang cai over the course of three meals!

This was not bad overall....

A week later I decided to check out Qin West again. Same strategy; early in the week, just at opening time, for takeout.

There were already 4 customers in front of me when I arrived, but no one behind me when I placed my order. Maybe they saw the young lady working the register chowing away while she took orders???

Isn't there some kind of food handling ordinance regarding this?

I placed my order which was ready in less than 15 minutes; before anyone else's......

Anyway, folks I knew were raving about the Liang Pi ($10.95), so I ordered that.

   The portion size of this was quite generous. The noodles were still nice and chilled when I got back to the office....of course it's less than a 10 minute drive back. The noodles were a bit thicker than I like my "cold skin noodles", emphasis on "skin" and not as "bouncy" as I prefer. I enjoyed the blanched bean sprouts and the palate refreshing cucumbers, a must for this dish. It was definitely spicy enough, though I do like some black vinegar tones and a hint more garlic. But this is probably the best version we've got in San Diego right now.

I was also wondering about the Cumin Beef ($16.25) and ordered it. And then second thoughts crept in as I recalled the Twice Cooked Pork Napa Cabbage. The beef however, was pretty good.

Notice the QW playbook move of both jalapenos and dried chilies? The beef was adequately tender; the portion size quite generous. While being a bit on the salty side; this really had enough cumin. In fact, when I opened up the container at my desk one of the guys in the office that day happened to be walking by and said out loud:

"What's that smell?"

I immediately apologized:

"Sorry, I ran out of deodorant this morning....."

I might have this dish again; but probably will not eat it in the office.

It does seem like Qin West is a good new addition to UTC. I need to try other items on the menu like the ro jia mo.....

Qin West Noodle
4353 La Jolla Village Drive (In UTC)
San Diego, CA 92122
Current Hours:
Daily 11am - 7pm

Comments

[Junichi]

B.O. Beef! Food looks good! I haven't gone to UTC since the grand opening of DTF.

[Kirk]

Lol Junichi! Yes indeed....I still need to try the NRM here.

[warrior rabbit]

This is near me. I went right after it opened and have been there many times since, enough to establish a favorite item.

The menus on the wall don't have descriptions, which was disappointing. You either have to wait in line and then look at their expanded menu when you get to the counter, with lots of people waiting behind you, or look it up online beforehand.

I have settled on the spicy shredded potatoes. Yes, sounds boring, but is very flavorful. I really like it. I have tried the Zhajiang, and it was fine, but it was like bolognese but with Chinese noodles.

Every time I go back, I intend to try something else, but I usually wind up with the potatoes. ;)

[Kirk]

Hi WR, it's been a while. You like tudou si, huh? That's real Chinese comfort food and I usually make a version at home - in case you'd like to try:

https://mmm-yoso.typepad.com/mmmyoso/2007/09/sichuan-stir-fr.html

The Missus loves that stuff!

It's great to hear from you and I hope all is well!

[Peter]

Thanks for the report -- been curious about Qin West. Unfortunately, it's hard to pick out non-meat-based items from their menu. Not transparent at all. That's one thing I like about Din Tai Fung -- it's super easy to do vegan there. Their menu clearly indicates what's what. They even have excellent vegan noodles using Just Egg in place of IRL eggs. Looks like the Liang Pi is meat-free so might swing by Qin West to give that a try. Guess I'll stick with Green China Grill (another easy spot to do vegan) when I want my dose of cumin!

[Soo]

I noticed the line was fairly short after 1pm.

[Kirk]

Hi Peter - Usually Liangpi has no meat in it, but I'd be careful with places that don't list out their ingredients.

That's great Soo....though I like to eat early.

[kat]

lol cumin:)

[Kirk]

Yes, they sure did put enough cumin in that dish Kat! ;o)

[RedDevil]

We liked Qin, except maybe the Zhajiang noodles. Glad you enjoyed it.

[Kirk]

Yeah, it's a good addition to the area RD!

[Derek R]

Peter, I'm pretty sure that their mapotofu is at least vegetarian if not vegan(although its flavor is unlike any Mapo that I've had. way more sour and lacking in fermented black bean.

Kirk, my favorite dishes so far have been the Guilin Soup (order the extra spicy), spam fried rice (probably the best fried rice I've had in California), and the stir fried chicken with hot peppers (super weird dish and unlike anything I've had. It's been super addicting and something that I crave now.)

[Kirk]

Thanks for the recommendations Derek!