Golden City

Last bit on my past SD trip. I had the chance to get lunch with several other food bloggers: Kirk and Cathy from mmm-yoso, Carol from CABcooks and Dennis from A Radiused Corner. No shyness this time. Camera was out without hesitation. =) Kirk took care of the ordering.


Some egg rolls and crispy things were served as a part of their lunch special.


Soup or soup? I chose soup. Hot and sour (other choice was egg drop I believe)


Our waiter putting on his gloves and ready to get down to business w/ that duck. The man deftly cut the duck and wheeled the cart away.


The product: slices of crispy skin, compliments of the man's knife skills. Now grab a little of that along with some scallions...


Slap it one of these piping hot buns, fresh from the steamer. Dab a little hoisin sauce on it and...


boom! My sammwich. I have never had peking duck before and found it to be a fun experience. The total was $20, which I was told was a good deal.


The second course of duck: lettuce wraps with duck meat and some water chestnut.


Pork Intestine w/ pickled vegetables. Another new dish for me. It tasted just like you'd imagine it to be. The pickled vegetables were sweet, reminding me of pineapple/sweet and sour, and helped to cut through the offal taste. Overall though, not bad, and I got to try something new.


Steamed pork w/ preserved vegetables. Very fatty and just enough to give you a heart attack. Enjoy!


Beef stew w/ daikon.


Kwai Fei Chicken. Cold chicken in some kind of ginger sauce. Nice to gnaw on.


Fish w/ black bean sauce. I liked eating this over some rice.

So there you have it. If you're not in the mood for Mexican, San Diego is a place with few late night options, but luckily Golden City is one of those place you can go to for some cheap eats. The total for five people came to around 17 bucks/person (?)

Want to read more? Check out Carol and Dennis' take, or check out mmm-yoso for a multitude of posts as well as Kirbie's Cravings, who has recently written about GC as well.


I always liked the colors of this sign. You'll see the plaza right off the 163.

Golden City
5375 Kearny Villa Rd
San Diego, CA 92123

Good company along with trying new food made this lunch a lot of fun, and I hope to do it again sometime soon. Afterward, I saw some new massage place that opened up that had an hour massage for around 20 bucks. So to work off my food coma, off I went. Not a bad deal at all.

Enjoy your Sunday!

J & J Restaurant

Heylo. Lordy, it is hotttt. I've been overworking the Magic Bullet to make so many smoothees. To the hell with Jamba Juice's 4 buck plus smoothees when I can make my own.

Another post from a few months back...I think in March. I came here to meet with a friend who had heard some good things about this place, particularly that they made some good xiao long bao (soup dumplings). The place itself is pretty small, and tea is served in styrofoam cups. Other than that, my memory is quite hazy about this trip, so I will let my pictures do the talking.


I forget what this was, but damn this was delicious. Lots of little garlic pieces in here. Does anyone know what kind of vegetable this is?


Shanghai Noodles.


Xiao Long Bao. We ordered the crab and the pork. I didn't like the crab too much...it just didn't taste real to me. The pork was good however.


Some sesame ____ filled with red beans in a crispy shell for dessert. I wrongly assumed that these were going to be like those sesame balls. What the chinese name for those are I do not know, but it reminded me a lot of the korean chap ssal dduk...

In terms of service, the lady who took our order was a bit gruff, but helpful, and the food was good. I don't know or remember how much the total was, but I do remember that this place is on the cheap side at least compared to Din Tai Fung.

I thought overall, I liked J and J for cheap good food, but as it is a bit out of the way for me, I'm not sure when I will be coming here again.

CASH ONLY my chickadees

J & J Restaurant
301 W Valley Blvd
San Gabriel, CA 91776

This is in a small plaza, and the parking isn't too great. However, I found a lot of open spots on the street on Valley a block or two away. There is a Beard Papa's in this plaza as well, and we walked over there for dessert part 2 (no pics).

The weekend is over...time to plunge back into the rat race...

Happy Wok

Yes, I love this place and am not ashamed to say it. I've been going here since high school and not much has changed besides a slight hike in prices. Your basic Americanized Chinese fast food with heaping portions that puts Panda Express to shame. They say they don't use MSG here...a sign that has not always been there. Tastes the same to me.


The 1 item combo: fried rice, chow mein, and teriyaki chicken. Secret: Order the teriyaki chicken, and get a side of steamed vegetables for free. I like to get the sauce on the side. The chicken was a little on the dry side this time, but their fried rice and chow mein were the same as it always had been. Total was $5.14.

I took this home, doused it with siracha, and happily devoured it with some kimchi. Shortly afterwards, I felt horrible physically and was disgusted with myself at killing this plate in one sitting. This is why I only allow myself to come here a few times a year...

19705 Colima Rd Ste 4
Rowland Heights, CA 91748

Guppy Tea House

I heard a while back that there was now a Guppy Tea House in Hacienda. Guppy is a chain that is well known for two things: their popcorn chicken, which is liberally sprinkled with crack cocaine, and the shaved ice. Picture below taken from a blog by the young, up and coming Jomo.


Holy sh!t. Look at that damn thing....

I met up with a friend to get some dinner about a month ago. I wanted to get the shaved ice, but the small is too big for two people. The pictures didn't turn out that great. We opted to sit outside because it was too loud inside the place, and I didn't know how to use my camera that well.


Started with some miso soup that came along with my meal. Pretty good/standard with some pieces of seaweed floating around.


Spicy Dumplings $8.50. I think these were filled with pork. They were not very spicy. I cannot remember if we were asked how spicy we wanted it, but I do remember that our waitress was cute. It was very vinegary and sweet and reminded me almost of a balsamic vinegar.


Superb Meatballs Meal $8.25
2 big ass meatballs in a cabbage broth soup along with glass noodles, tofu, and some cabbage. Sides of corn and "pickled cucumbers" and a big bowl of white rice.


It almost looks like there is a skin over the soup, but that's just the oil/flash. The meatballs were soft, but I thought they had been dredged a little too much in flour before hand. The broth was ok. This is a comfort food like meal.

We also got espresso milk teas, which were delicious, to end the meal.

Lots of food for two people to share. But next time, I'd like to skip the meal and go straight for the shaved ice. And maybe some chicken on the side.

Guppy Tea House
17188 Colima Rd
Hacienda Heights, CA 91745

I'm checking out early for the week. Going to the Mojave Desert for the weekend.

For my next trick...

All you L.A. dwellers, do you know where this? holla holla holla holla! =)

Revisit to Mandarin House

I took out Grandfather again to Mandarin House. The man loves his jjajjangmyun. Read the previous post here. I decided to stray away from the usual and order the seafood udon. I think this was around 9 bucks.


Like their jjajjangmyun, it came in a big bowl that could serve two people. The noodles were fresh and chewy and were the same ones used for their jjajjangmyun. The broth however was weak. A watered down beef broth that could have used a lot more flavoring. Lots of pieces of squid, octopus, krab, a couple of shrimp, along with squash, onions, carrots, and topped w/ an egg.


A picture of their noodles, which I believe they make themselves. If you look towards the back, there is a window in which you can see a table w/ a big bag of flour and some other things that I cannot remember right now that made me reach that conclusion. The noodles were good, but I cared more about the broth, which was no bueno. I've noticed the same thing w/ their jjamppong. The broth has no flavor to me...it's just really oily. So next time, I'll probably just stick with the jjajjang.

Service was same ol. No complaints. We had to wait about 10 minutes to get seated on a Saturday afternoon.

I'm pooped. 4 posts in a row. It's been a while since I've done that. Back to chemistry.

Earthen Restaurant

Got to cross out another place on my "to try list" last weekend: Earthen Restaurant in Hacienda Heights. The commentary will be brief because I was well sauced by the time I stepped foot into this place. All pictures courtesy of Jomo because I decided to take a break from taking pictures that night. I really grew a greater appreciation for food bloggers after starting my own blog. Taking pictures can be tedious work, especially if you are hungry or have ordered a lot of dishes.


The green onion pancakes. I've never had these before, so these were new to me. A little on the oily side, but nevertheless good. It would have been nice to have some sauce with it though. Jomsees told me to dip it in the next dish.


Beef noodle soup (Niu Reu Mein?). My second time trying this. Too much talking was going on at this table and not enough eating. All I remember was trying to help dish out these long noodles, and the broth tasting a bit like anise.


House Chicken. I thought this was a hot dish, but what do I know. I'm just a kid. A good amount of cold chicken with plenty of minced garlic and small pieces of cucumbers below in some kind of soy/sweet/garlic sauce.

Overall, a positive experience where Yelp reviews came through and some good times w/ friends.

As I walked out, I noticed that all the tables were pretty much eating the same things we did, so it seems those three dishes, along with the dumplings seem to be the most popular items. We had gotten there at 5:45, afraid of the "long waits," but when we arrived, the small restaurant was only partially full. We put our names on the list, said we would return around 6:30, and were promptly seated then. By the time we got back, the list had grown to about 8 parties, and as we left, there was a good amount of people standing outisde waiting to get a seat. So try to get there early if you can.

Service was quick and efficient, and there were no problems even though none of us spoke Chinese.

1639 S Azusa Ave
Hacienda Heights, CA 91745

Yeah Chicago lost. Damn. One hell of a crazy series...

I leave you with a clip of the young Rose, Rookie of the Year against the Sixers:

Campus Eats Part 2

TGIF MANG!!!!

Oh lordy lordy, I am so glad this week is over with.

A quick caveat to the reader. These pictures were taken w/ my phone, so I apologize for the bad quality. I don't always carry around my camera and sometimes forget to bring it with me. With that said, let us continue on from yesterday's post...

Revisited Krazy Noodle Thai BBQ and ordered the Pad Thai w/ tofu ($6.50)


I suppose I should have tried it with chicken, but I've never had a good experience at any place when ordering it, as it always turns out too dry. The tofu was fine though and cooked nicely. My only real complaint was that I wished I had gotten more egg in it. Overall, I liked it although I've never really had a pad thai that blew my socks off...

Krazy Noodle Thai BBQ
20795-3 E. Amar Road
Walnut, CA
Monday - Sunday 11:30 AM - 9:00 PM

I also tried Peking Deli for the first time a few weeks ago and ordered the Fish Fillet with Tofu in Hot Bean Sauce ($10.95).


Tea and rice were quickly brought out.


The container was big, but there wasn't as much rice as you'd think, but still it was a good amount for my friend and I. They used a little too much water when cooking the rice though.


You get a bowl of soup along with your entree. I'm not sure if they do a soup of the day type of thing, but that day, I got the egg drop.


The food came out really fast. I don't think we waited more than 10 minutes. I'm not sure if this is a good thing, but there was only one other person in the restaurant besides us, so maybe that was why... I wasn't sure what kind of fish they used, but it did have a familiar fishy taste that I enjoyed. The heat level was lacking though. They marked it spicy on their menu, but it was more of a mild. My friend ordered the beef noodle soup ($5.95), which you can see in the background.

They have a pretty extensive menu, and a lot of the dishes are in the $6.50 range, so you could come here with some friends and have a nice little feast together for cheap. And the food's not bad either.

Peking Deli
1247 N. Grand Ave.
Walnut, CA 91789
Mon-Saturday 11:00-3:00 PM and 4:00-9:00 PM
Sundays closed

dinny dun got himself dumped. dayam!

Been meaning to do this post for a while now, but kept delaying it.
Din Tai Fung @ Arcadia. Famous dumpling chain around the world. I went a few months back to try it, and then went again Thanksgiving weekend.


It used to be just here, next to Life Plaza, but they got themselves an expansion in the back.


It is a lot nicer/modern than its counterpart. What was funny was that I noticed a lot more Asians outside the old place than here. I've ate at both, and foodwise, nothing is different.


A look in the inside of the new place.


To the left when you enter, you can watch Mexicans (the modern Jack of All Trades) making the food.


Shanghai rice cakes. We ate family style, so it's just a small portion on my plate. I had this before for the first time here a couple months back, and I thought it was okay. It was kinda like the Korean dduk boki, but not spicy, and a lot more oily. The cakes provided a pleasant chew, and the chili sauce perked up the dish a bit. Overall, I thought this dish was okay.


Chicken noodle soup. Very simple broth of chicken and ginger. It was definitely comfort food.




Juicy Pork dumplings. Haha, like you can even tell right? Sorry, but I just don't have the patience yet to take a bite out of something, and then take another picture. But you'll just have to take my word when I say, Que sabroso! There are directions on the chopsticks wrapper on how to eat this tasty little morsel. From what I remember: 1. Take a small bite. 2. Drink the soup. Be careful now, you don't want to burn your lips! 3. Dip into the soy sauce/ginger mix. 4. Eat whole. And close your mouth when you chew!

We also ordered some other stuff, but I didn't take any pictures. We tried shrimp and also vegetable. I'm not a fan of the veggie. It's dry and makes me feel like I'm munching on tea leaves.


For dessert, red bean dumplings.


I lied. I took a bite and took a picture, just for you. Red bean sweetened with honey. A nice ender to a delicious meal.




Mom also picked up some to go for me once. Trip from Arcadia to Diamond Bar + Traffic = fail. They were still good, but you really can't beat them fresh.

Service was pretty quick, as I can imagine they got a production line going on in the back. There is a break between lunch and dinner, where the restaurant is closed, and we were waiting in line for the place to open. However, the wait wasn't that bad. When I went to this place before, we had to wait, but it was about 10 minutes at most. With the expansion opened, lines won't be as long, and I think there's a second story too in the new one because I saw some people going up some stairs.

Overall, a good place to try, but it is pretty pricey, and you'd have to pay a good amount to get full, if you're a glutton like me. I'd advise stopping by In and Out or Hot Dog on a Stick before going here if you're strapped for cash...

Din Tai Fung
1108 S Baldwin Ave
Arcadia, CA 91007

Before dinner, we stopped by the L.A. County Arboretum and Botanic Garden.


Got a shot of this beautiful caterpillar chillin and munchin on a leaf.

Man the weather has been so great lately. I wanted to take a nap on the grass in the sun today, but turns out the library has some comfortable sofas.

Lazy Sundays are hot hot hot!

Oh me, oh my! I am loving my break so much! Onto my SD adventures...

Ba Ren is a Chinese restaurant off Clairemont Mesa that specializes in Szechuan/Szechwan/Sichuan cusine. After a friend told me about Ba Ren, discovered through Kirk's blog, I learned a new level of what spicy meant, and it quickly became a favorite to eat at with friends . They have a huge menu here, and I'm not even close to trying it all yet. It was nice to come back and see that everything was still the same.


Dry cooked beef. Lots of red peppers and peppercorns in this one that combine to give one helluva spicy punch, and the chili oil creeps on you, like a surprise kick in the nuts. Underneath this was a good amount of soy bean sprouts, which you mix all together. Sometimes, I find that the spiciness level fluctuates here. Although the dish was spicy, it didn't have me downing water like I usually do. But then again, I steered clear from a lot of the peppers after suffering on the john the night before. I noticed that there were some jalapenos, which I hadn't seen before...


Chicken with pickled peppers. Chicken with some peppers, green onions, mushrooms and celery. This wasn't too spicy, and we had no problem finishing this up quickly.


Double cooked fish in chili sauce. (Honestly, I always get confused with this dish and the boiled fish.) This was delicious, and looking at it now makes me want it again. Large pieces of fish along with black bean, slices of garlic, and peppers. I find it always nice to order one dish that isn't spicy to give your mouth a break. Their double cooked pork is also pretty good.


As we were halfway into our meal, one of the ladies came out with some complimentary bowls of chicken noodle soup. Woohoo! I thought the noodles were kinda gummy, but the broth was quite good. It kinda tasted like the same soup base as a wonton or three sizzling rice soup. Why the free soup? I read on Yelp that they were celebrating their 6th year anniversary and that this dish was called "mi xien."

I don't remember the exact prices, but the total came out to $40 for three dishes + rice. It is a little pricey, but I think it's worth it. I also recommend checking out their little display in the front for some appetizers. Service has always been friendly, and this visit was no exception. And if you can't handle the heat, you might want to bring your own water bottle...


Ba Ren
4957 Diane Ave
(between Clairemont Mesa Blvd & Conrad Ave)
San Diego, CA 92117