Taste of Hong Kong Revisited

I had been bugging the Missus to return to Taste of Hong Kong for those Chicken Wings I had enjoyed so much and perhaps we'd find something else on the menu that was tasty. Finally, She gave in and we returned early during a weekday. The place was empty when we arrived, but quickly filled up with families and large parties.

Looking at the menu I was immediately struck by this price change.

Good lord, those chicken wings had gone up two bucks in a month! Sigh-n of the times I guess.

Well, we ended up ordering those wings, some Chinese BBQ and two dishes that the Missus enjoys from Noble Chef. The service is a bit slow, but the folks working are very mellow and nice.

Things started out with the combination Roast Duck and Roast Pork.

 The skin on the Roast Pork was slightly crisp, but the flavor was way too sweet and the flesh was too hard and chewy. The skin on the roast duck wasn't bad, the fat had been rendered nicely, unfortunately this too was quite bland and tough.

We also got the Salted Fish Fried Rice.

The rice was hard, not coated evenly, there were clumps of rice, and the flavor was much too mild.

The Missus also wanted to try the Steamed Pork with Salted Fish. When it arrived the first thought in our minds was "where's the rest of it?"

And then there was that scum from steaming on the top off the pork, it tasted terrible and I quickly scrapped it off. Sadly, this had some definite potential as the pork was very moist and tender, but it was way too mild in flavor, the presentation wasn't very impressive, and of course it was topped off with that scum.

Last to arrive were the wings....which I had enjoyed so much last time. 

These were even more crunchy this time around, though there seemed to be less of that umami-salty-sweet flavor I enjoyed. And, it seemed like the quality of the wings had gone down. The flesh of several wings had dark spots and looked freezer burnt. The wings with the dark flesh were also overly dry. I was so bummed as I had really enjoyed the wings on my previous visit.

It seemed like we had an issue with every dish; which was really sad. I guess I'm not going to be able to talk the Missus into another visit to see if this was just an off night. Though I don't think they'll miss our business as the place was packed when we left.

Taste of Hong Kong
4428 Convoy St.
San Diego, CA 92111

Comments

[RedDevil]

Yikes! Haven’t been here yet and after this review not going anytime soon.

[kat]

eep :(

[Kirk]

Those chicken wings were so good on my first visit RD! But on this visit....well, I was disappointed.

I know, such a bummer Kat!

[Junichi]

Oh man. Oh for four meal.

[Kirk]

Yeah, this was disappointing Junichi!

[sdjulie]

Newly opened Ju Feng Yuan Dumpling Cafe off Scripps Poway Parkway/Pomerado is really good, esp the fried rice and xiao long bao. They are still in soft opening so menu items may be limited, but we’ve eaten there 3x and liked the food. Please give them a try if you’re in the Scripps Ranch/Poway area.

[Kirk]

Hi Julie - Thanks for taking the time to comment. I do have the place on my "list", last I heard they still didn't have their "full menu" daily so I was kinda waiting. FOY Red Devil and my buddy Calvin have been keeping me informed. Thanks again for the recommendation!

[Dereck]

Any idea what the scum was on top of the pork? Was the pork simply starting to go bad or something else? That made my stomach turn from your description!

[Kirk]

It was typical protein based meat scum Dereck. I thought it had a metallic-bitterness to it...perhaps it was my imagination. But it has no place being served in a restaurant.

[Soo]

That's terrible the price has gone up and the food quality went down.

[Kirk]

Yes, it was very disappointing Soo!