I was recently referred to as a "Debbie downer" in the comments section of one of my posts. Which I actually thought was funny. So, perhaps for a change of pace, here's a more "positive" post!
The Missus hasn't really been wanting Chinese food since we got back from Paris. We found a Sichuan restaurant that served simple, but really enjoyable food. We liked it so much that we ate there three times in two weeks! Go figure. But, on one of our "date night" dinners at EE Nami, we passed Village Kitchen and the Missus stopped as said "maybe we should get takeout from here soon". Which is how I found myself ordering takeout one evening.
The really nice woman who remembers me from when she used to be at Kangxi is Coming was working. She's always been so nice to us and was happy to see me.
I went and ordered three dishes, two oldies but goodies, and because a favorite of the Missus, the La Rou with Cucumber Skin in no longer on the menu, something a bit different that I saw. The woman told me it "was good to come and order" because of the extra fees involved with online ordering.
In case you're keeping score, from left to right, the first two items are the Preserved Radish Skin with La Rou, the Eggplant and Green Chili with Preserved Egg, items which we've ordered many times before. On the right is the Baby Bamboo Shoots with Minced Pork.
The Preserved Radish Skin with Hunan Smoked Pork was quite good, perhaps the best rendition we'd had from VK to this date.
Nice crunchy dried radish, with smoky and surprisingly tender La Rou, nicely stir fried, not greasy, decent spice. This was quite nice.
The Eggplant and Green Chili with Preserved Egg was my least favorite dish of the evening as I felt it was on the greasy side.
The Missus enjoyed all the pidan hidden under the mashed eggplant.
The big surprise was the Baby Bamboo with Minced Pork.
This dish also featured preserved vegetable, which added a nice sour-salty flavor to the dish. Great earthy-soy flavors with a mild spice, this is a new favorite of ours.
We were pleasantly surprised at how much we enjoyed this takeout meal. We'd been doing takeout from Village Kitchen quite often in recent years and this might have been the best yet.
So, a week later, guess what the Missus wanted? It was indeed "rinse and repeat". And wouldn't you know it, we thought that this was even better than what we'd had previously.
Take a look at the Baby Bamboo dish, man, it was nice and spicy this time around!
They sure didn't short us on the chilies did they? And more preserved vegetable which just lifted the dish in my opinion. Great smokiness to the dish, perfect amount of soy and sodium flavors.
The eggplant was better this time as well, less greasy, the mashed and melt-in-your mouth eggplant was quite good. There was definitely more spice in this as well. The Missus loved this.
And to top things off, the radish skin with la rou was better as well! There was much more smoked pork this time, the radish skin was so nice and crisp, this was quite enjoyable.
Not sure who was cooking on this day, but I'm hoping the person will always be there on my visits! And the dishes really brought some heat this time around....maybe it was a new delivery of chilies? The one a sat next to while waiting for my takeout?
We go back a way with Village Kitchen to when they first opened. It seemed like the place had hit a rut for a while and was inconsistent. But while there were differences in the dishes for these two meals, they were both good. Here's hoping that this is how things will be from here on out!
Village Kitchen
4720 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92117
Aaw, don't let those haters get to you! I love your posts, Kirk! This was unusually upbeat though ^^
Posted by: Lynnea Fleming | Monday, 20 March 2023 at 07:25 PM
I agree with Lynnea, unusually upbeat post for you 😄. Are you feeling okay? Ha ha, just kidding, love your blog because you have good taste but mostly because you’re honest and that is surprisingly rare among food bloggers. Keep up the great work. Always liked VK, but gotta stick to certain dishes. We ordered chow mein once and wow was it terrible!
Posted by: RedDevil | Monday, 20 March 2023 at 09:20 PM
agree with everyone, keep up the reviews good or bad :)
Posted by: kat | Monday, 20 March 2023 at 11:11 PM
Haven't been to Village Kitchen, mostly because it's out of the way for me and I'm not familiar with their dishes. Maybe I'll mimic your takeout order, easy on the chilis please!
Posted by: Sandy | Tuesday, 21 March 2023 at 07:42 AM
Debbie Downer?? Hah!!
I'm glad you tell it like it is -- good or bad!
Keeping doing what you do, Kirk!
Posted by: Peter | Tuesday, 21 March 2023 at 11:15 AM
I vote for you to write however you want. If I don't like it I'll hit the road.
Posted by: Soo | Tuesday, 21 March 2023 at 05:26 PM
It doesn't bother me Lynnea. I actually thought it was funny!
Lol RD! I'm definitely not an "Influencer"! It's best to stick to the Hunan style dishes at VK.
Thanks Kat!
Yeah, it might be hard to find non-spicy dishes here Sandy!
I guess the person felt a bit disappointed that I didn't enjoy the food Peter! Thanks or the kind words!
Thanks Soo! I think I'm too old to change! ;o)
Posted by: Kirk | Wednesday, 22 March 2023 at 07:05 AM
Looks good
Posted by: Som Tommy | Wednesday, 22 March 2023 at 11:43 AM
Check them out ST!
Posted by: Kirk | Wednesday, 22 March 2023 at 12:18 PM