mmm-yoso!!!

Harmony Pot Sticker

Last week I read in Eater San Diego that guotie shop had opened on Engineer Road. So, having some time on my hands this past long weekend, I decided to check them out. According to Eater, Harmony Pot Sticker is part of a chain from Shenyang. I showed the Missus photos and She told me it does look like that style of guotie.

The shop takes the place of Korean Meat Market.

The menu is fairly tight, pot stickers, soups, liang cai, porridge, and some drinks.

The pot stickers range from the $8.99 - $9.99 price range, which is definitely not cheap. The young folks working here were very polite and quite a pleasure.

I decided to start with the Smacked Cucumbers ($4.99); which turned out to be a pretty hefty portion.

This was a decent version of the dish; balanced flavors, and not to salty. So, I guess if you're not feeling like making whatever version of Pai Huang Gua (派黄瓜) at home, this might do it for you. It's also quite refreshing and helps cut through any greasiness....which is something I needed on this day with the Pork and Cabbage pot stickers ($8.99).

These did somewhat resemble the Qingdao Guotie that I enjoy; except that these are quite elongated and open at both ends so you can see the filling. The wrapper is decent; nice texture with a bit of "pull". It was pretty greasy and the filling really lacked flavor....to the point that I had to actually pour black vinegar into the pot stickers which added some oomph and helped to cut the grease.

Since I was behind on work; I went in on President's Day and decided to reward myself with lunch afterwards....I thought I'd give Harmony another try.

This time I started with the Jiang Niu Rou; the classic cold sliced braised beef ($6.99).

This was much more moist and tender than other versions I've had recently. Nice beefiness; that sauce added a touch of pungent spice. a very nice dish.

This time; I decided to have the Pork and Suan Cai Guotie ($9.99); to see if the Missus would like these.

The filling was much better this time around; it actually had a bit of flavor from the pickled cabbage which really added to things. And while this wasn't greasy at all; it wasn't crisp enough....notice how the bottoms are too light in color; it just lacked the crunch I was looking for. Also, ten bucks for this was kind of pushing it....we were heading into DTF pricing here.

At this point; I think I'll give this place a rest for a couple of weeks. I think it shows some potential and surprisingly; it's the non-guotie items that I enjoyed the most. And then maybe I'll be able to take the Missus here.

And while this is more of a "snack" type of place; two orders of guotie and one side dish might do it for two of you....if you're not big eaters.

Harmony Pot Sticker
7905 Engineer Rd.
San Diego, CA 92111
Hours:
Mon - Thurs  11am - 3pm, 5pm - 930pm
Sat - Sun    1130am - 930pm

Kangxi is Coming (has arrived as the new Village North)

First off; we here at mmm-yoso would like to wish everyone a wonderful Lunar New Year! Welcome to the "Year of the Pig"!

It was finally getting cool enough to start making Suan Cai again. It had been so hot for so long this past year. Once our first batch completed; the Missus wanted me to pick up some Suan Cai with Pork from Village North to mix up with our really cheesy fermented stuff. I dropped by and noticed that Village North was gone. It had been replaced by something called Kangxi is Coming?

A few weeks later I had an conversation with "YZ" about the new Chinese restaurant opening; she was referring to Taste of Hunan (which we ended up going to and enjoying) and I  Kangxi is Coming...… She had been wondering why I kept referring to some Taiwanese talk show as a Chinese restaurant until I presented her with the photo above. At which time she just cracked up.

Anyway, I waited a couple of weeks before finally visiting. Upon entering there were two things I quickly noticed.....

The first being that the interior looked unchanged. The second, well, the nice lady who worked at Village North was also working here. She was really happy to see me. And chided me for not dropping by sooner. She then told me that even though the owners were new and the menu was now more Sichuan and Hunan focused, the kitchen staff was the same, from Dongbei, trained in Sichuan kitchens.

The menu was an interesting "change" from the now ubiquitous book with slickly photographed dishes. And it there was an interesting variety of items....the really friendly woman quickly pointed out that several dishes I used to order were still on the menu.

Over time, I've made two visits, with a couple of repeat dishes; so here goes.

Fu Qi Fei Pian, something I always try to order when checking out Sichuan restaurants....and since it was on the menu....

This was an odd dish; the beef was nicely flavored on its own and there was actually tendon served up. It had a weird chili based sauce which was on the sour side and it totally lacked Sichuan peppercorn. Sort like they pulled some meat from the fridge; sliced it up, and dumped some sauce on it....which is what they probably did. It was obviously not marinating in anything.

I ordered the stir fried tripe; thinking it was going to be beef tripe; but it turned out to be pork tripe.

Chewy-crunchy; standard stir-fry, decent wok skills, but nothing special.

The other two dishes I ordered twice on different visits. It was an interesting in that both dishes were different during each visit.

First off; the Mapo Tofu on the first visit was really good.

Wow, it had a nice Sichuan Peppercorn "ma" thing going on along with a pretty spicy kick. It was spicy, the flavors sharp, the flavor of a decent chili bean paste came thru nicely.

On the next visit, the Ma Po Tofu looked totally different (photo to the right); it lacked Sichuan Peppercorn, was strangely sour, but was still quite spicy, with the thicker, more "gravy" looking sauce, and more pork. I preferred version 1.

Of course the item I usually ordered (mostly for the Missus) was the Suan Cai with Pork. On that first visit it looked like this.

It was amateur hour with the wok; no color, too much liquid...like it couldn't decide if it wanted to be a hot pot or stir fry. It lacked the nice cheesy-savory flavor of fermented cabbage and was quite bland.

I decided to give it another try and this time it was better; while it still had more liquid than I care for in this dish; it popped with sour-salty flavor and there was a decent smokiness from "wok hay". It also had much more suan cai this time around. In this case, I'd take version 2.

I also ordered the Spicy Bean Curd Skin.

This was good. A nice crunchy texture, light spice, slight sweetness, good soy sauce, with just enough sesame oil to add a pleasant nuttiness to the dish. I could have gone with more cilantro, but this was a decent dish.

I used to enjoy the pork intestine dishes at Village North, so I ordered the Spicy Pork Intestine, which turned out to be pretty good.

This had a nice spiciness to it; the intestine was decently crisp as well. Good offal funkiness, without being off-putting. It also had a decent amount of Sichuan Peppercorn, something that is often in short supply in Sichuan restaurants these days.

Since Kangxi pushes their Hunan dishes and I'm a fan of La Rou with dried/preserved vegetables; I ordered the Preserved Pork with Pickled Radish.

Strangely; I found the Sichuan dishes here to be more spicy than the Hunan items. The la rou had a very nice texture; not overly rubbery, with a decent smokiness, but was really salty. I really enjoyed the pickled radish; nice crunch, good sour counter-point to the pungent and salty ingredients. I just wish there was more of it used in the dish.

So, overall a kind of mixed bag, and there seems to be; at least on my multiple visits (which is why I try to do several visits before doing posts) some variation in flavoring and cooking of dishes here. I did enjoy several items and the dishes that were spicy; we legitimately so. I did think the dishes here were more spicy that other Sichuan restaurant in San Diego and they seem to use more peppercorn as well. So, I'll probably be back....to try more items on that rather vast menu.

Kangxi Is Coming
4428 Convoy St.
San Diego, CA 92111
Hours:
Mon - Thurs 11am - 230pm, 5pm - 10pm
Fri - Sun   11am - 10pm

Back to Golden City

Golden City is one of those places that Cathy, Ed from Yuma, and I, have posted on a number of times. I've been going to Golden City from my pre-blogging days when the place was on Convoy; to the reopening in October of 2005, thru changes in ownership and so on. It's always been a convenient place to grab a decent lunch, if you choose right.

And so; right before Christmas, we had some time on our hands and Calvin was starving, so we headed on over to Golden City.

I got my usual favorite; the Kwai Fei Chicken.

Which was sadly, not very good this time around. The chicken was dry and tough and that sauce had way too much scallion in it....it had turned green! Bummer....it had been a while since I'd had this and I was looking forward to it.

We also got the Chee Cheong Fun (rolled rice noodle) with XO Sauce.

Uneven cooking technique doomed this dish. The rice rolls were tender; but weren't evenly coated in XO sauce. Burnt bits didn't help things at all either.

The best dish of the day was the Roast Pork.

While not nearly as good as the "Macao Roast Pork" when it was on the menu....I don't know how many chefs ago; the skin was crisp; if a bit unevenly roasted. The pork was moist; with a good bit of fat, and not overly salted....you could enjoy the flavor of the swine.

You know; I'd always thought that Golden City in some form would easily outlive me......who knows; it still might. But this was definitely not up to expectations. Hopefully, things will be better next time I visit.

Golden City Restaurant
5375 Kearny Villa Rd.
San Diego, CA 92123

Taste of Hunan (Village Kitchen 2.0?)

So, right before Christmas "YZ" and I were having a little chat about a new Chinese restaurants opening......as the discussion went on, I realized we were talking about two entirely different places. I was mentioning "Kangxi is Coming" which opened in the former Village Kitchen location. "YZ" was referring to a place that was just going to open in Mira Mesa named Taste of Hunan. She had seen posts on WeChat about the grand opening. The funniest thing she said was "you should get WeChat...." Heck, I'm not even on Instagram...

Anyway, I did find the photos interesting, so Calvin and I decided to check them out.

It was before the posted opening time of 1130 and the place was already packed!

Apparently all that social media and having some kind of grand opening special (I believe you got credit dollars if you spent over a $100) really pulled people in.

A couple of things I found out upon arriving; first off, I recognized the really nice young man manning the hosts station from Village Kitchen, and he instantly recognized me. I had to laugh. According to him, the owners of Village Kitchen split up and the former partner decided to open this place. I'm not quite sure if I understood clearly, but I was told that either this is the original chef from VK; which will explain why the food there has gone downhill recently, or some other well regarded chef. Also, I saw a couple of dishes that are basically signature dishes at VK; i.e. the  Eggplant and Green Chili with Preserved Egg, which by the way I haven't gotten around to ordering yet. And items from my original visits to VK, that are no longer on the menu there.

The menu is that bright and glossy standard; while you use a secondary menu; with photos that you mark off selected dishes on.

The menu is not very large and one interesting thing that you'll find (only in Chinese) on the menu is that you cana bring your own seafood and have it cooked for you.

Interesting touches abound as rice is served in this metal thermos-tiffin kind of thing.

So, I've been here four times already, eating in twice and doing take-out twice. As you can tell; the Missus loved the leftovers, so while not wanting to go out for dinner, She sent me to get take-out....and do some shopping at TJ's in the same strip mall.

I'll go over the dishes from one that I really enjoyed but is kind of a wild card; then to our most favorite to least favorite in order.

With the interesting name of Fried Pork Fat with Green Pepper ($11.99); I just had to order this. The young man who knew me came over and stage whispered "this is the best dish on the menu". This was awesome....as in heart attack...awesome. If you've ever had Chinese fried pork lard; you'll know what I mean.

A light crispness; gives way to soft fatty...well, fat. It is lovely; this was seasoned perfectly; fermented black beans added that nice salty-savory touch. Slightly, but not overly spicy....this rather old-fashioned homestyle dish; the Missus told me how Her Grandmother made this, seemed decadent. Though I wouldn't have it too often and it doesn't hold up well as leftovers. In other words if you order this....go for it!

Picks:

The Sautéed Beef Tripe with Pickled Radish ($14.99).

I've had this three times. I quickly found that the dishes here aren't overly greasy nor gloppy; which does well in this framework. If you love the symphony of various crunchy textures; from the crisp-briney Chinese celery, to the firm and crisp tripe, and very nice crunchy pickled radish, this one might do well for you. The Missus will even eat this cold. On one of the visits; it wasn't quite as good, lacking in the bright flavors and crispness; but the other three times it did well. A slight amount of spice in this.

One of the dishes that was on the original Village Kitchen menu Hunan Smoked Pork with Dried Long Bean ($15.99).

While ToH doesn't make my favorite version of La Rou; on one occasion it was outstanding as the pork was smokey and not overly hard and chewy and the dried long beans had picked up some moisture and flavor and were perfectly crunchy, intensely flavored, and slightly moist. Still; it's a decent version of this dish, better than what I had at VK when it was on the menu. It does tend toward the saltier side though. On one visit it was quite spicy, on the others just slightly so.

Another good dish if you like "texture" is the Sautéed Dried Tofu with Braised Pig Ear ($14.99).

The slightly soft and chewy dried tofu with the crunchy pig ear....again, it's the Chinese celery that makes this dish adding a palate cleansing element and nice crispness to the dish.

And then our favorite veg; the Country Style Boiled Radish Leaves ($11.99).

We've tried this three times and it would have been four; but they were out of it once. I believe radish leaves are blanched, reducing the bitterness and increasing the mild sweetness. While still crisp it is stir fried with a copious amount of garlic and some chilies. Twice it was wonderful; garlicky, crunchy, pleasantly bitter, just the right amount of heat. Once it was mushy with way too much salt....still this is worth trying.

On the fence:

The time they were our of the radish leaves I ordered the Hot and Sour Chinese Lettuce ($12.99); it's "stem lettuce" also known as celtuce.

Nice crunch, but not much heat, nor sour, just way too much salt.

Pans:

During our first visit we ordered the Braised Beef Shank (way too dry and bland), Pig Ear (super salty), and Tofu with Spices (ditto) - $10.99.

Not great eating; but having this dish made me think that the pig ear and tofu might do well in a stir fry; which led me to order the tofu and pig ear on the net visit.

The House Special Pig Feet ($15.99) was also a non-starter.

Too tough and really salty; this just wasn't pleasant to eat.

Over my visits I've noticed that the food here; while being a bit on the saltier side; is not greasy, and attention is paid to textures.

The place has been very busy on all my visits; yet they've staffed well, though the food might take a while. All the folks working here have been pleasant, if not overly friendly.

The menu is an interesting collection of dishes; which made for an interesting little vignette. On one of the visits; while eating by myself a family; two adults and three adolescent/teen girls were sitting on the table next to me. I watched what they ordered, the girls got Honey Walnut Shrimp, Yangzhou Fried Rice, and jiaozi. The parents got Pigs Feet and Tripe. Ah yes, generations...…..

So now with Spicy Hut down the street; it might be that Mira Mesa might be the place for Sichuan and Hunan; much like it tops Convoy with regards to Pho! Hope they keep getting better!

Taste of Hunan
9880 Hibert St. Suite E2
San Diego, CA 92131
Hours
Mon, Tues, Thurs 1130am - 3pm, 5pm - 9pm
Friday           1130am - 3pm, 5pm - 930pm
Sat - Sun        1130am - 930pm
Closed Wednesdays 

Szechuan Chef-again

mmm-yoso!!! welcomes you reading this food blog over the busy holidays.  Kirk is working on some end of year stuff and Cathy is writing.  

The Mister has a new favorite restaurant.  Three times in December (so far) Szechuan Chef was his number one choice.  I wrote about Szechuan Chef in 2017, 2015  and 2016.  Kirk had an unfavorable post in 2013 and a slightly favorable post in 2017.   

Located in the corner of a strip mall on Convoy Street (Next to Shan Xi Magic Kitchen with It's Boba Time also on the edge of the mall), Szechuan Chef has withstood the test of lasting in San Diego for more than five years.   {noting that on one of our visits here, two busloads of tourists were dropped off for a quick snack at the back tables} 
A hot pot of tea is brought out as you are seated, a rarity these days to have no charge.  We ordered a scallion pancake($2.99) on this visit and it was flavorful, flaky, not oily and freshly made. 
The fish filet ($10.99) was not spicy, nicely garlic-y and had a nice crispness to the breading, even though there was a (non-sticky) sauce covering it. 
 The sizzling chicken ($9.99) was quite nice and provided some vegetables with our meal-garlic, Chinese celery, red and green bell peppers.  This was a pleasant dish.  On our next visit, our same waiter came out and took our order without writing it down (as he had the previous visit).  However, after a while, another waitress was poking him and pointing at us...and he walked over with this little plate of snacks from the liang cai- cold vegetable area, near the cash registers.  He had forgotten to put in our order and asked what the second item was...so we enjoyed the garlicky smashed cucumbers and delicious smoked pork pieces while waiting a bit longer. 
The Westlake Beef Soup ($9.99) was out first and was wonderful.  Minced beef, chicken broth, rice wine, tofu and egg with some scallion.  Simple yet hearty and filling.
 We had ordered a braised yellow croaker with noodle ($14.99) and this turned out to be a great choice. A slightly sweet and tangy/sour sauce complimented the meaty whole fish.  The noodles (which we had never ordered here before) were plump and flavorful, a great accompaniment (instead of rice).  Will order again.  The croaker remnants will someday be part of soup stock.  
 The spicy cumin deep fried fish ($11.99)was my choice the other day.  I really enjoy the spice, heat and fry of this dish here.  The onions, Chinese celery, red and green peppers are complimentary and can be tasted despite the heat of the chile and cumin.
 The 'Spicy Beef in a Pot"($12.99) was great-you could taste the (very tender) beef as well as the vegetables in addition to enjoying the (different from the cumin fish) chile heat.There were lots of leftover chiles.
 We decided to order our own liang cai on this visit (it's $7.99) and enjoyed the garlic cucumbers, smoked pork and tofu sheets (which had a nice sesame oil mix).

Szechuan Chef 4344 Convoy Street San Diego 92111 (858) 279-8881 Mon-Th 11:30-3:00, 4:30-9:30 Fri-Sat 11:00-10 Sun 11:00-9:30

Merry Christmas.....and a preview of an upcoming post....

Time seems to go faster every year.....suddenly it's Christmas again!

As always; we here at mmm-yoso wish you a Merry Christmas and the most happy of holidays!

Hope you get everything you wish for.....

And Santa doesn't leave you hanging....or visa versa!

And as I teased in the title; here's a new one for you. Just recently opened.....

You might want to check this place out.

And if you're feeling especially fat deprived (hard to think of that being the case this time of the year); you might want to try the dish called "Fried Pork Fat".

Interesting story behind this one. Stay tuned.

Taste of Hunan
9880 Hibert St
San Diego, CA 92131

Best wishes for a wonderful and safe Christmas!

Thanks for stopping by!

Kroran Uyghur Cuisine Revisited

I'm not sure if it's because of how I was raised, a cultural thing, or what......but even the Missus makes fun of how important "keeping my word" is....of course I've forgotten things and such....but I also remember stuff like promising to return for a revisit to a place in a few months. Such was the case with Kroran. Right before our latest trip, having some time for lunch, I drove down Genesee and had lunch at Kroran.

What was quite interesting on this visit was how quiet the place was. I was the only customer, which was in total contrast with my previous visits.

And while the Big Plate Chicken (Dàpánjī ) was tempting, it's not a dish for a solo diner. I started with the "House Laghman" ($14.99).

Which was provided in two parts. The stir fried lamb and vegetables in one bowl and the noodles in another.

The noodles were wonderfully prepared; such nice pull, just the right amount of "doughiness". Unfortunately, the lamb was really tough and dry and the stir fry really lacked flavor...I'd expected some tanginess; but this was so bland. It really could have used salt, white pepper, and that all important Uyghur flavor enhancer, cumin.

I also ordered the Lamb Kawab (yang rou chuanr -$11.99), which I'd had on my last visit. This was even worse than what I'd had before.

Tough, dry, and cold, this was too salty and didn't have enough cumin and spice. It was quite disappointing.

While the service was quite nice, having spent over 25 bucks for a very unsatisfying lunch, I don't think I need to return. Unless one of you...my intrepid readers can compel me to do so. It's kind of sad; because I've had good Uyghur food in China.

Kroran Uyghur Cuisine
4310 Genesee Ave
San Diego, CA 92117

China Express

mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog.  Kirk is working this weekend.  I'm sure He is eating, but really, He doesn't want to write about it; he'd rather sleep.  Cathy is writing this post.

Tucked in the middle of a bunch of storefronts (many of which Kirk and I have blogged about; some are still there and most are gone-it's the mall with the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf and a Carl's. Jr. closest to the street) at the South West corner of Clairmont Mesa Boulevard at Ruffin Road (the other side of Ruffin from the new Kaiser Hospital which used to be the Registrar of Voters office) is China Express.You might notice the sign above the entrance with the "3 items & 1 side order w/soup or canned soda $6.49". The small print at the bottom is "choose only from steam table"- this seems to be what most people order. 


The steam table is kept fresh, the side orders consist of steamed rice, fried rice or chow mein. 
The egg drop soup is excellent-very eggy and fresh.  There is also wonton and hot and sour soup.  
All the meals are given in 'to go' containers, even if you are eating in.  This is what the three item combo looks like.  The dark meat is 'spicy chicken'-it has those jalapeño-looking chilis, which are a bit spicy as the heat component.  This chicken is also sweet, I think it's honey. The top left corner is chicken and mushrooms; this was very good.  The bottom left is Szechuan chicken-a different, dried chili, lots of vegetables(bell peppers, those little canned corn things and mushrooms) and quite nice.  Not a bad meal for $6.99 (with tax).

There is also a six page menu...two of those pages list 30 Monday-Friday lunch specials (all $5.25) and 21 party trays and 30 combination specials.  
 Under the 'Chef's Specials' portion of the menu, the Hunan Beef ($10.99) was a good choice.  It wasn't crazy spicy, despite the small chili on the menu indicating heat; it's pleasant.  Since it is made to order, the vegetables are freshly stir fried, still crispy.  There is bok choy, celery, onion, red and green bell pepper.  The beef was thick cut, tender and plentiful (that container is large).  This was a great meal. 
The spice and sweet on the General Tso's Bean Curd ($7.50), combined with the light breading and crisp fry made this (very large) serving a new craving.
 You may recall that The Mister and I like to try Egg Foo Young from each menu where we see it offered (because no two are ever the same).   The chicken Egg Foo Young ($6.75) version here was yet another new experience. The chicken was cut in strips.  The egg and onion mix had peas and carrots and scallion bits.  The gravy was nice-not too thick and not salty. There were no bean sprouts. This version was great. 

It's always fun to find a new (to us) place.  I hope your weekend is going well.

China Express 9353 Clairmont Mesa Blvd San Diego CA 92123 (858)277-2388    Open Mon-Fri 10am-9:45 pm, Sat 11 am-9:45 pm, Sun 3 pm-9:30 pm 

Bei Jing Kao Ya (北京烤鸭 - Peking Duck) From Yummy House

In the comments section of my most recent Village Kitchen post; "Elle" asked me if I had been to Yummy House, which had just opened in the former Nolbu and Soho spot on Convoy. I'd seen the spot; but wasn't quite sure what this place was. A quick text to "FOY" Candice and things got more interesting as she mentioned Bei Jing Kao Ya....aka Peking Duck. so I decided to escape for an early lunch down to that little parking lot. The place was empty when I arrived; the Servers seemed really nice, but somewhat "green" and unorganized. But still, they were friendly.

The menu was kind of all over the place and I tried to get a bead on where the owner and chefs were from. All I got was "Northern China"...so immediately, the Hunan and Sichuan dishes were ruled out. And of course there was the Peking Duck on the menu.....two courses for $45.98...….not cheap by any means and you had to order one hour ahead of time.

I decided to order a couple of things.

Starting with the Sauteed Green Beans; which was decently pan fried, somewhat wrinkly, really mild in seasoning, but the green beans were fresh and crisp, so I didn't need too much in terms of seasoning. Though how this was flavored seemed quite "Shandong".

I also ordered the Crisp Intestine with Pancakes. The pancakes were fairly thin, with a bit of stretch and weren't bad at all. The intestine wasn't crisp enough, being more gummy and chewy, but was quite funky in flavor and barely seasoned.

The best item by far was the Suan Cai Yang Rou.

While the suan cai; the "fermented" cabbage was really mild, much too mild for our taste, the lamb was quite tender, and nice and gamey. The broth was also mild and in my opinion in need of star anise and more white pepper; though it did have frozen tofu. This wasn't bad at all. Needless to say; when I brought this home, the Missus stated how mild it was in flavor.

A few minutes into my meal and I felt a tap on my shoulder....good lord; it was Candice! Great minds think alike I guess? It was nice chatting and catching up on things a bit; I gave her a taste of what I was eating. I had to get back to the office so I soon left. Candice did mention that the best item they had was the Beef Tendon Hot Pot; so I returned to try that.

This was by far the best item I had on my visits. The tendon was so tender and buttery, the beef shank tender and full of wonderful beefiness, the tomato based broth was thick, rich, and tangy, with just enough white pepper tones. This was a good, rustic dish....full of that "aaah" affect.

The really nice young lady working recommended I have the gailan which she said was fresh. It was fresh, though a bit under-cooked and under-seasoned.

A few weeks back a couple of the folks I'm really close to at work; "YZ", "SJP", and Calvin decided that it had been a while since we'd had lunch together. We decided to check out Yummy House and try the Peking Duck. "YZ" called the day before and made reservations and ordered the duck.

We arrived right past eleven am......there was some confusion about the duck but it got straightened out....we were told the duck; even though we had ordered ahead and our time was set at 11 was going to take a while. And then we tried ordering......well.....they were out of the Tendon Hot Pot....no Ong Choy, no Spicy Clam....no Hot Tea!!!! Say what?

We ordered a couple of items including the Green Beans and rice.....to find out; they didn't have any rice?!?!?! Did somebody forget to press the "button" on the rice cooker? When was the last time you went to a Chinese Restaurant in San Diego and they were out of rice? The poor woman who was serving us felt so bad and embarrassed. So; it was going to be a "lower carb" lunch then we had planned on. The green beans were fine....soon enough the duck made its way to the table.

The legs of the duck were served separately and were actually the best thing about this dish. The dan bing; the pancakes were decent; thin enough with a light stretch. The second best thing about this dish was the cucumbers....because that duck meat was so bland and dry; the duck skin wasn't crisp enough and didn't have much flavor....I mean, I wasn't expecting it to compare to Quan Ju De or even any number of now defunct and still open places in LA/OC....but good lord; I was expecting better than China Max!

The soup that arrived was also disappointing.

Shades of Seolleongtang; while the tongue feel of the broth was decent with a mild duck flavor, this really needed some salt, white pepper, star anise...… "YZ" also quickly noticed that it seems the tofu hadn't been drained properly as it had no flavor. It's really sad; because I believe I can do better with a leftover duck carcass. Sad.....forty-six bucks worth of sad.

We laos ordered one of the few items actually available; the "Dong Po" Pork Hock.

"YZ" who is from Shanghai and I mentioned that the chef is definitely from the North since this had no sweet tones; like dong po rou. The brown sauce was gloppy and glue like, the skin was fairly decent as it had a bit of stretch and the connective tissue was somewhat buttery in texture; but in a good pork hock, the meat under the skin will be quite tender; this was fairly dry and flavorless. This could have used more saltiness and savory tones as well.

In the end I felt really bad for our Server and somewhat embarrassed for suggesting lunch here. Though we did have fun time catching up on things other than work. Still; how can you not have rice or tea? I was tempted to run over to Chopstix and buy some rice. Actually; if the folks running the place actually had some sense; they'd send the tall young man who was just standing behind the bar to purchase some rice for their customers.

My understanding is that the owner/cooks are from either Shandong or Dongbei; depending on who you ask. They really need to work on a whole lot of things here......without even considering the food; there are many gaps to close. And it seems there's a severe lack of restaurant experience and common sense.

Yummy House
4633 Convoy St.
San Diego, CA 92111
Hours
Mon -Fri  11am - 230pm, 5pm - 10pm
Sat - Sun 11am - 10pm

Spicy Hut

Back in May; Faye left a comment on my Shan Xi Magic Kitchen post, in which she overheard customers asking if the staff from Spicy King were now working at the restaurant they were eating at. That would be Spicy Hut, you can read Faye's post here. I filed that away for a while. Then a few weeks back; I happened to mention this to "YZ", who lives fairly close by. One morning, while her kids were attending some kind of event she checked the place out. Interesting story; "YZ" actually worked at Ba Ren over one summer while in college, so she probably waited on us during our visits to Ba Ren! small world. Anyway, "YZ" walked on in; it was before opening and asked if "Shifu Hu" was there....and he was! She brought me a menu....

So, I decided to check them out a few days later.

This is in the former location of Golden State Seafood....man, the last time I was here must be over a dozen years ago!

The interior is clean, there's the de-rigueur cold case with the liang cai; cold dishes.

Chef Hu's wife, whom I met while shopping at 99 Ranch Market and on that final visit to Spicy King was working the front of house and quickly called Chef Hu out. He looked to be in good health and we quickly shook hands.....my Mandarin is non-existent and his English is limited, so we mostly smiled and had a short conversation.

So, of course I was anxious to try some of the dishes. During both visits, I went with more or less the Sichuan dishes I long for and miss.

But first, some Liang Cai.

The Fu Qi Fei Pian ("husband and wife lung pieces", lung = offal or tendon in most cases)was nicely cut; though not spicy enough, and can you tell what's missing? Yep, the tendon. It's sort of like the "husband" decided to leave the "wife" and try to make it on his own. I missed the textural contrast of not having something other than brisket in this. The pig ears were nice and crunchy, with a good amount of sesame oil, but could have used a bit more spice. The pickled long beans were good, nice and briny.

Of course I had to have the Sichuan Liang Mian; I haven't had a good version since Ba Ren closed.

The actual noodles, were passable, not over-cooked, not hard and brittle, but still lacking that nice al dente pull I like. This had a ton of garlic and vinegar, it was a bit too sour for me. The amount of soy and saltiness was perfect, but this needed that savory punch from sesame paste and more spiciness. Still, not a bad version.

Another go-to dish; Ko Shui Ji ("saliva/mouthwatering" chicken). So was this "drool worth"?

This was the best version I've had in a while! The chicken was prepared well; it had a nice toothsomeness, without being tough. The sauce had some nice heat; with decent ginger tones, a touch of sweetness, and some spice! I would have enjoyed a little "ma" (numbing) tones as this was a bit short in the Sichuan Peppercorn department.

My least favorite dish was the Ma Po Doufu.

While the texture of the tofu was excellent; this dish was sorely lacking with regards to several key ingredients; chili bean paste, Sichuan Peppercorns, not enough fermented black beans. It was, to put things mildly very one-dimensional; truly missing that "suan-tian-ku-la-xian", the sour-sweet-bitter-spicy-salty metaphor for a flavorful, yet balanced dish the Chinese use. I brought most of it home and the Missus thought it wasn't very good either.

A few days later; Calvin and "Daniel from Georgia" wanted to grab something to eat. We actually had time for lunch! I mentioned Spicy Hut and Daniel had never had traditional Sichuan food before; so it was a go. They decided that I should do the ordering. So lunch commenced as such.

Liang Cai. The duck gizzards in chili and sesame oil were pretty good, nice and crunchy.

The Shui Zhu Yu (the classic "Water Boiled Fish") dish, which Faye really enjoyed, was quite good, if a bit short in the Sichuan Peppercorn and Doubian Jian department.

The texture of the fish was good, tender, moist, with no muddy flavors. Daniel just loved this and told he'd never had anything like this before!

The Shrimp with Dried Red Chilies was next.

The batter was light and crunchy; though I prefer it more lacquered and not as "thick". It also could have used more Sichuan Peppercorns as this wasn't particularly spicy in spite of all those red chilies. I don't think the fried shrimp was finished correctly with the chilies.

I wanted to temper the spice with one dish and we got the Rice Crust with Three Delicacies.

While a bit on the milder side; the texture of the sauce was good, not too thin and not too gloppy. The fish was prepared well; but the shrimp was a bit on the over-cooked side. Still as this got more and more gooey, it became quite comforting.

Overall, the food was pretty good, better, at least for now than other Sichuan options in San Diego. It's also better than what I'd previously had from Chef Hu at Fu An Garden and Spicy King. I'm hoping they can hold the course. And perhaps it's about time for me to "make the rounds" of the Sichuan shops in San Diego.

Spicy Hut
9460 Mira Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92126
Hours
Mon - Fri 11am - 3pm, 5pm - 930pm
Sat - Sun 11am - 9pm