**** Fusion Eats is now White Rice Morena
Back in July of last year I noticed a shop called Fusion Eats had opened off Linda Vista.....I believe it was a Vegan Vietnamese place previously. FOY "Som Tommy" mentioned in the comments of one of his posts that a couple of folks who lived in the area liked the place; especially the banh mi and wings; though I wasn't really keen on the name.
The menu had everything from "Banh Mi" to wings, to poke bowls, to "burritos", to curries, beef and broccoli, kung pao/orange chicken and fried rice........you name it.....
Still, the place had online ordering; though the prices seemed on the high side, and it gave me a break from stewing in my home office for the entire day. So I placed an order and headed off to the strip mall on Linda Vista that houses Ballast Point, Buta Ramen, and formerly International Deli and Cafe and Da Kine's.
During my first visit, there was an outdoor dining area set-up. My bag was on the counter next to the register for pick up when I arrived. The young lady working was quite cheerful.
I ordered the Angus Beef Bulgogi "Banh Mi" ($9.95) and the Garlicky Wings ($8.95).
The banh mi looked standard issue.

And came with a side of what was described as won ton chips; but seemed more like pseudo plantain chips to me. Actually, that was my favorite thing about the dish.
In terms of a standard banh mi set-up this wasn't bad. The bread was decent standard issue, with nice yeastiness and crackly. The pickled veggies were abundant, not overly sour. Boy did this place like their cilantro, though I wasn't a fan off all the hard stems in the sandwich.
Where this didn't fare well was the "Angus Beef"; which was under marinated, and a bit too chewy for my taste.

The beef was just on the tough and bland side.
When I opened my wings, I quickly noticed globs of what appeared to be boogers fat on the greasy looking wings.
Which apparently were globs of butter? The wings were slippery and greasy. The batter was hard instead of crunchy-crispy....maybe it needed to be that way to stand up to all that garlic-butter? The flavor was kind of off as well; way too much butter, giving it kind of a rancid taste to me. The wings were decently fried and moist, but it was hard for me to get past the greasy texture and I wasn't fond of the taste.
In fact, I almost never went back.....which meant that I'd never do a post. Finally, a couple of months later, after taking into consideration how smoothly the online ordering went and how nice the young lady working was, I decided to give Fusion Eats another try.

Same drill as the last time; ordering was a breeze, my order was ready within a few minutes of arriving, and the young man working was very nice. By this time, things were open for 50% indoor dining and the outdoor area had been cleared.

This time around, I ordered the Lemongrass Chicken Banh Mi (sorry, just couldn't order the Orange Chicken/Won Ton Soup....and of course not the poke bowl) and something that "ST" mentioned to me called Crispy Avocado Rolls.
The Lemongrass Chicken Banh Mi ($8.95) wasn't quite as good as the Bulgogi Banh Mi.
The bread was starting to go stale. Good amount of pickled veggies and cilantro as before. The lemongrass chicken had been stir-fried and while being a bit chewy was nice and moist, but quite bland. Also, there were almost inedible pieces of lemongrass mixed in with the chicken that made the whole process of eating somewhat ponderous.
Again, my favorite item were the won ton chips.

The Crispy Avocado Rolls ($8.95) were basically Avocado Lumpia
I'm not quite sure what to think of these. Perhaps these need to be consumed right away as the oil was starting to seep through the wrappers after my less than 15 minute drive home. There was a kind of greasy mushiness to the fried avocado....I've had fried and tempura avocado before....but perhaps because it was coated in panko/batter before frying....I had enjoyed it. Here it just seemed bland and greasy. Not enough corn/black beans/cilantro to actually make a difference in flavor. Imagine an eggroll/lumpia wrapper folded over a glob of fat......then biting into it. The garlic sauce could have used more garlic as well.
The menu just seems a bit all over the place; more "con-fusion" than fusion in my opinion. Perhaps it's more suited to the palates of USD students? Or maybe I've just tried the wrong things....I did try most of the items based on recommendations. Like always, I'll depend on all of you to lead me to the best items on the menu....though don't count on me going for the Orange Chicken. While the prices seem to be on the high side; I do want to like this place as the staff is so nice and the online ordering - pick-up process has been seamless.
So, any recommendations on what to try?
Fusion Eats
5299 Linda Vista Road
San Diego, CA 92110
(858) 633-2974
Current Hours:
Tues - Thurs 1130am - 8pm
Friday 1130am - 830pm
Sat - Sun Noon - 8pm
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