Formoosa

During my walk down Convoy while waiting for my takeout order a couple of weeks back, I noticed something about that strip mall with horrendous parking at 4646 Convoy. Yes, Red Moon Noodle House was gone, but the parking lot at just after 11 was pretty empty. Hmmm......there are a couple of places I'd wanted to try in that mall. I wondered how parking would be at 11 on, say a Monday. So, I decided to take a chance and arrived right before 11 on a Monday and the parking lot was pretty empty. I could get an end spot which meant a bit more room for my car. I decided to take a chance and see how things were at Formoosa, a Taiwanese restaurant opened by the company who owns Steamy Piggy.

I recall this place being Bao's Awesome Burgers and Sandwiches and then one of Junya Watanabe's restaurants, a concept temaki place that didn't last too long. In fact, it looks like the sushi bar set-up is still in place here. There are a couple of small tables, but it's mainly bar seating. The young man working was super friendly and nice. I took a seat at one corner of the bar and was the only customer in the place until right before leaving.

Ordering was super simple for me; it had been so long since I'd had a Niu Rou Mian  I decided to order that ($14.50). The bowl arrived, fairly hot, the portion size quite large.

   This was a not so good bowl, the best item was probably the boiled eggs which had been decently marinated, nicely cooked, and not overly salty. The broth was mediocre, the beefiness was achieved using the "wave" method....that would be that it tasted like a piece of beef was waved over the bowl to give it flavor. It needed more anise tones and complexity. There was a light spice and a hint of Sichuan Peppercorns, but was super salty.

The beef itself was tough, lacking in flavor, and the interior was cold. On my next visit, I'd notice something about the prep of the beef that was missing on this visit.

    The "knife cut noodles" seemed of the mass produced variety. It was too brittle, lacking in any doughy "pull" and stretch.

Other than the wonderful young man working the front of house, this was quite disappointing. 

Of course I needed to make a return trip. I did so on a Tuesday at 11 and was again the first customer in the place; though this time several more folks came in as I was eating. The young lady working, I believe her name is Kiana was simply fantastic. Friendly, warm, efficient.....and I watched her torch the beef in the Nu Rou Mian before it was served. When I commented on that, she told me that it is supposed to be served that way. Regardless, I don't think torching of my beef would have made my NRM any better.

I started things out with the Popcorn Chicken ($10.50). This was the best item of the three I had at Formoosa, though that's not saying much.

The chicken was moist, but I didn't care for the batter which lacked crispness; the whole thing was rather gummy. It also lacked enough seasoning, no five spice flavor, in need of salt and pepper. Well, here's something interesting, The previous sentence rung a bell...and wouldn't you know it. Take a look at what I wrote about the popcorn chicken in my Steamy Piggy revisit post. I guess it's the same recipe.

Much like Niu Rou Mian, I haven't had a decent Niu Rou Chuan (beef roll) in....well, longer than I can remember. So I decided to order that as well ($10.50). This is what arrived.

 There were two things I noticed right off; look at that puddle of oil the beef roll is lying in. Also, check out all that cucumber.....I thought that this was a beef roll, not a cucumber roll. I really think they're going for something massive here instead of thinking about proportion. The beef was basically the same cut as what's used for the NRM, but with the addition of the fatty parts which are chopped. There was a ton of hoisin sauce. The bread was thin, short on green onions, but fairly crisp...at least what wasn't a greasy mess was.

And check out all that cucumber. Well, at least you'll get your veggies...sort of.

It was kind of a bummer because I really like the folks working here. They can't control the kitchen. I just wish the food was a bit better. As it is, much like Steamy Piggy, it's a concept first business.

I did learn that eating in this strip mall is possible; if you do it early in the day and week.

Formoosa
4646 Convoy St.
San Diego, CA 92111
Hours:
Sun - Thurs 11am - 930pm
Fi - Sat 11am - 1030pm

Postscript:

So, I occasionally go to that "four lettered" site to get address and hours of operation info for places when I'm finishing up my post. I went to that site and was amazed at how many "reviews" (In heavy quotation marks) were available for a place that has only been open about 10 months. I also noticed the super high scores. I wondered to myself "what am I missing here" and then I recalled something I saw on the QR menu.

So, you have to write something and then show it to the Server to get credit. Hmmm.....

I then decided to actually read some of those postings, which I never do. Some of them were interesting.....

And my favorite:

I had a good laugh. As a whole it's not my business. I just thought it fascinating. Interesting business model. Maybe I should read those reviews more often, huh?

Comments

[Peter]

The "wave method" -- HA!

[Loren]

I've actually been looking forward to seeing a review of this place, but I'm sorry you had a bad experience. As someone who knows nothing about good Taiwanese food, even I could tell the beef noodle soup wasn't very good. Wasn't a good broth at all.

The beef roll is usually a bit greasy but I've never had an issue with proportion of meat to cucumber and it's a favorite lunch for my wife and I. The popcorn chicken is usually pretty crispy too and very good. Maybe you just had a bad experience?

[Soo]

That's good you had a great server.

[Sandy]

I had never heard of this place until August when my sister-in-law dined there with a friend visiting from Arizona, who is originally from Taiwan. I don't remember what they ordered, but they were disappointed in the food. The outside of the beef roll looks blistered; is that normal?

[Junichi]

Y3lp reviews are always entertaining. I only use it for business hours and food pictures.

[RedDevil]

I quite enjoyed the “wave” method comment! Don’t think I’ve ever had a decent beef roll in SD. Not sure why because had some good ones in OC. Oh well.

[Kirk]

Yeah, it's a description the Missus and I came up with Peter!

Hey Loren, why don't you check out Steamy Piggy, the execution and I think the food is quite similar. I really did enjoy the folks working here.

And that was about it Soo!

No it's not Sandy. It seems to have been fried in oil.

Pretty much what I use it for Junichi.

Have not had a good beef roll in San Diego either RD.

[kat]

:(

[Kirk]

Yeah, quite disappointing Kat!

[Som Tommy]

I went to try this place after this review and man that beef noodle soup was so bad

[Kirk]

That's a bummer ST.