Taste of Hunan Revisited

Recently, the Missus wanted some Hunan style food. We'd had our fill of Cantonese offerings here. So, naturally She wanted Village Kitchen, which is perfectly fine. I on the other hand had been wanting to revisit Taste of Hunan. It had been ages since I had eaten there and though we did takeout during Covid, it was not quite the same. Plus, we could hit up Trader Joe's after our meal. The Missus complied and we headed on over.

We went for an early dinner on a weekend and the place was pretty chill.

The menu had changed a bit, but most of the "usual suspects" were there. The Missus was missing those dishes with preserved and pickled vegetables, so it was easy ordering for us.

First to arrive was the Minced Pork with Preserved Green Beans ($17.99).

This was a bit short in terms of minced pork, but there was an abundance of crunchy, briny, green beans, which is what the Missus enjoys in this dish. A bit of spice, a lot of sour tones, the Missus enjoyed this.

One dish that we had enjoyed on previous visits was the Stir Fried Chicken Gizzards with Pickled Long Beans ($18.99). This time though, it was a bit different.

Previously, the gizzards were cut thin, almost shaved, which added a nice, almost crisp-crunchy texture to the nicely sour-salty pickled long beans. On this visit, the gizzards were chopped thick, hard, and the offal-ish-livery flavor permeated the dish. This was our least favorite dish if the evening.

The Missus enjoys La Rou and Celtuce, so the Smoked Pork with Chinese Lettuce Stem ($21.99) was a must order.

While the pork was on the rubbery fatty side; it was nice and smoky. The cucumber-nutty-chlorophyllic flavor of the celtuce, along with the crunchiness made up for that. A simply seasoned dish that highlited the ingredients.

Last to arrive was the Beef with Chives and Tofu Skin ($18.99).

This was interesting as the "beef" was like brisket cut for pho, a bit on the chewy side. It was lightly seasoned with cumin, which lifted the dish. The tofu skin was on thicker side, but added a crunchy texture to the dish. The chives were quite mild. We enjoyed the leftovers of this as a liang cai "cold dish", which was quite good.

I had always preferred what Taste of Hunan served versus Village Kitchen and I think that the Missus now agrees with me.

Taste of Hunan
9880 Hibert St.
San Diego, CA 92131
Current Hours:
Mon - Tues, Thurs  1130am - 230pm, 5pm - 9pm
Friday                        1130am - 230pm, 5pm - 930pm
Sat - Sun                   11am - 930pm
Closed on Wednesday

Comments

[kat]

glad things didn’t change too much here for you

[Dereck]

I grab lunch takeout from Taste of Hunan about once a month, and I would say that I really enjoy it about 90% of the time. I have some new dishes to try now.

[Kirk]

We enjoyed the dished from here Kat!

Hope you enjoy those new dishes Dereck!

[Denver]

Ha, at first I thought it said Taste of Human 😂

[Kirk]

LOl! Yes, we here at mmm-yoso are heading in a different direction Denver! Hahaha....