Good Chinese restaurants in san diego ?

[areynolds]

Hey anybody know any really good Chinese restaurants in San Diego we are driving down there for our anniversary this week and i wanted to find somewhere really good

[Cerberus]

Hey anybody know any really good Chinese restaurants in San Diego we are driving down there for our anniversary this week and i wanted to find somewhere really good

AR,

 

I have been living in San Diego for about two years plus. There a ton of Chinese restaurants, but some are average, and some are very good. What province is your wife from, and I will go from there as to specific recommendations for the best food and restaurants.

 

BTW, what is your budget? Since for an anniversary; "throw caution to the winds? or some thing a bit more budget-minded?

 

Dave

[Cerberus]

AC,

 

 

 

Here are few good recommendations that I may make. The special dinner is up to you.

 

 

 

• Red Pear Restaurant is one of the best in San Diego, but very expensive, and I meanly hugely so. We are talking $85 to $150 a total dinner for two. This is the crème of the crème. It is in the Gas Lamp district. Bring your AMEX Card with you, since will need it! My wife damned killed me when she saw the bill. Food is awesome; but so are the prices. http://www.sandiegor...RedPearlKitchen
• Emerald Restaurant in our own “China-town” http://emeraldrestaurant.com. Very good food, does serve dim-sum on carts (when I was last there.) Moderately low-end to high-end prices, depending on selections and how much food is consumed. Service lacks a bit, but the food quality more than makes up for it.
• Jasmine Restaurant http://www.jasminese...ml/entrees.html Very good seafood selection and generally fresh (one day) from the ocean. They also have clay pot dishes. I should mention that all of Items 1 & 2 are on Convoy street. I eat Vietnamese, Korean, Japanese, Chinese food in this district. This is our China-town in San Diego.
• There is a hole in the wall place that does hogo (hotpot). It is not nearly as great as in China; but satisfactory even to my wife as a Sichuan Province native. She complains that they don’t serve goat. This post is a bit short notice and I will follow up with a PM, when I find the exact name. It is also in the Convoy district in Clairemont , CA.
• If your wife is into the ocean and ocean fish like Yin is; go at La Jolla Cove (Don’t go to La Jolla Shores and a totally different place), and wants true fresh seafood, then I would suggest a hole-in-the wall place as http://elpescadorfishmarket.com. It is very small and they only have six tables inside, and 4 tables on the outside. However! They sell fresh seafood directly from the ocean (and I mean 4 to 6 hours old), and run a lunch/dinner menu. The clam chowder is awesome, and you purchase the big bowl of chowder. I would suggest for a main entrée; thresher shark, white sea bass, abalone, or finally yellow-fin tuna. All are grilled over charcoal, with a Mexican accent of cilantro and lime oils, with a salad. Fresh grilled toriatias are optional. The staff, really does an excellent job of cooking the food. Hot sauces are optional, and you do have the choice of American or Mexican style sauces. They do have shrimp and rock lobster. However, watch the prices! They will skyrocket, since these items are premium. The average price is moderate with a it of smart buying, and perhaps $50 for dinner/lunch for two. However! I caution you to get there very early, and I mean at about 11:00hrs. This place packs in so quick you can’t believe it, and is the go-to place in La Jolla, CA. Yin and I go here often, and the first time we were there, there was just us. 20 minutes or so later, the place was filled with people for lunch and buying fresh seafood. Obviously, after living in SD and being in this restaurant, many times, I don’t understand this place! (Laughing) This is where I do open ocean swimming. BTW! The parking is an absolute bitch; unless you get paid parking, and walk everywhere. Generally Yin and I get there at 06:00hrs, camp out, read the newspapers, and enjoy the shores. Sunday is your only free day to park, and you had better be early.

There are many, many more. This is just a start, and should help the both of you start. All of the restaurants, previously mentioned, I have been in, and sometimes I can be a bitch as a customer. For breakfast; may I suggest Perry’s? http://www.tripadvis...California.html. Your wife won’t be able to finish one of their omelets. Yes! They are that big! Beats Denny’s hands down.

 

This is a pretty comprehensive list, just to get you started. If you want more I will provde more suggestions.

 

 

San Diego and what we have down here, is the reason that I seldom ever have to go to LA. To be honest; I lived for 5 years in LA previously, and the both of us hate it, I agree with her. You can’t get me out of SD with dynamite. Here is a link I posted once and my wife is about halfway through the list. She wanted to see all the places in the photos: http://www.city-data.com/forum/san-diego/4...-san-diego.html. The nicest part that I enjoy is; that I still can live in San Diego and afford it.

 

Dave

Edited August 3, 2010 by Cerberus (see edit history)

[areynolds]

AR,

 

I have been living in San Diego for about two years plus. There a ton of Chinese restaurants, but some are average, and some are very good. What province is your wife from, and I will go from there as to specific recommendations for the best food and restaurants.

 

BTW, what is your budget? Since for an anniversary; "throw caution to the winds? or some thing a bit more budget-minded?

 

Dave

 

my wife is from guangzhou but grew up in fujian and as for budget we dont want to spend a ton of money maybe $40 tops

[Batmaniac]

If you went to Little Sheep in China, there is one in San Diego. Franchised I guess. Not quite the same taste, but familiar enough. I couldn't get over how quiet it was!

[Cerberus]

AR,

 

Now I understand what type of food you are exactly looking for. The following restaurants Yin and I have been in before and would recommend to any visitor to San Diego. This is done with consideration; to overall cost, service, value of food, quality, and finally taste.

 

 

 

Please understand that San Diego doesn¡¯t have a ¡°properly defined¡± Chinatown like San Gabriel, Diamond Bar, Monterrey Park, etc. Most of the restaurants I¡¯ll be listing are generally located in either the Kearny Mesa or Clairemont Mesa neighborhoods. When you see the San Diego address of in the restaurant¡¯s address; it tends to throw a visitor off.

 

 

 

VIP Oriental Buffet

 

5541 Clairemont Mesa Boulevard, San Diego, CA 92117-2342 (Clairemont Mesa neighborhood) This buffet is approximately ¾ mile west from the 99 Ranch Market.

 

 

(858) 571-8473

 

***Unfortunately no Hyperlink, so you will have to use Mapquest.com to get exact directions.

 

Yin and I have both eaten here numerous times. Food reviews are kind of akin to a love/hate relationship. Either it is fantastic and/or it sucks! However the reviews seem to be written primarily from a Western view/taste. Yin and I only have had one or two complaints over 1 year or so. Food is primarily Canton and Fujian, interspersed with some dishes in Hunan-style. Very easy on the wallet at $12 a person, and is all you can eat.

 

 

 

 

Dumpling Inn

4619 Convoy St, Suite F (between Dagget St & Opportunity Rd), San Diego, CA 92111 Neighborhood: Kearny Mesa

 

(858) 268-9638

 

dumplinginnmenu.info

 

This place looks like a hole in the wall, and you will need to look carefully for it. It can be easy to miss. However the food was very good, service was below excellent, moderately expensive and this is dependent on how much you eat. (Laughing) Yep! I gonna¡¯ make the chefs earn their damned paycheck. (Sigh) Yin had a soft heart for the chefs, and drug me out of the restaurant.

 

 

 

China Max

4698 Convoy Street (between Engineer Rd & Opportunity Rd), San Diego, CA 92111 Neighborhood: Kearny Mesa

 

(858) 650-3333

 

www.chinamaxsandiego.com

 

Very good mixture of food of several Chinese styles, and is bit more than moderately priced. However, the food IMHO was excellent and well worth the money which we spent. The dining area is smaller, so there may be times you have to wait for a seat. In addition, since you are on your anniversary and might be staying at a hotel, they do offer take-out. You just have to be a bit picky about what Chinese food will taste like after a microwave at the hotel, and in my case at home.

 

 

 

The Peking duck my wife absolutely loved, and as she described it was the right crispy texture outside, but with soft cooked meat within.

 

Yum Cha Caf¨¦

6933 Linda Vista Road, San Diego, CA 92111-6305 Neighborhood: Kearny Mesa<br style=""> <br style="">

 

(858) 268-9988

 

***Unfortunately no Hyperlink, so you will have to use Mapquest.com to get exact directions.

 

This particular place is a bit hard to explain but I will take a crack at it, and the two of you can form your own opinion, and berate me later! I¡¯m a big guy! I can take it! (Laughing)

 

This particular establishment is 50 meters south of the ShuFat grocery store in Linda Vista. Many times the prices at ShuFat are approximately 25% lower than 99 Ranch Market, hence my wife shopping here to save money, and not forgetting to mention the freshness of the fish. And I mean, one to two-days old. The fish¡¯s eyes aren¡¯t sunken and still shine, akin when the fish are first taken from the water, and iced down. Might I suggest a cooler in the trunk of the car, just in the case your wife wants to save money?

 

This is a most recent restaurant, which we have eaten at, and just happened see out of the corner of my eye. I told Yin; ¡°What the Hell? Let¡¯s try it!¡± Yin gave me a baleful wary eye, and I¡¯m sure that you have seen it before yourself, more than once. When we tried the restaurant, she was delighted, and has become a mainstay when we go shopping.

 

I will digress for one moment and attempt to be brief. The lifeblood of any Sichuan Provincial woman; is congee, and all the variations of congee that there are! This is the one dish, which she has not been able to find properly prepared in San Diego. Generally, she makes her own congee at home.

 

Back to where I was previously. We went in to the caf¨¦, and much to her delight, they had four separate pots of prepared congee. My wife began gorging herself, extolling the virtues of this restaurant. They have very good prices, but it is serve yourself, bus your own table. Drink selection is minimal, and forget about waitresses. The table service is up to you, however; the meal and/or desired dishes were served very quickly and efficiently. I should mention; bring cash! They don¡¯t accept credit/debit cards, and don¡¯t have the means to process them anyway. The prices are absolutely dirt cheap as compared to what we normally pay in California. The food quality and freshness was above reproach. However, this is a nice place for a lunch/brunch, etc. Not a dinner type of place.

 

Here is the hard part to explain. They employees are a 50/50 mix of Vietnamese and Chinese (primarily Cantonese). However, the Vietnamese do speak a lot of Guangxi dialect, albeit with a heavy accent; but they do understand. The food is a mixture of Vietnamese and Chinese. The Chinese has the congee, small dim-sum dishes freshly steamed and hot. The roasted ducks, chicken and pork, is cooked Chinese style; but has a mix of Chinese and Vietnamese spices. We both tried the roasted meats, and we both liked the spice mixture. However YMMV. They also offer take-out. I walked out with 4 Styrofoam containers with a mixture of meats, to be made later for the both of us. Several Western people a5t my workplace tried it out of my lunch and they are now converts too.

 

AR since this is your anniversary; why not have your wife, try something different? This is my final recommendation. Hell! You eat at all the Chinese restaurants I have recommended; you wont have time for the beach. You will spend your entire time in a hotel, being bloated from food.

 

This is a world famous place, and was recommended in the cable show of ¡°Man vs. Food,¡± and I believe ¡°The World¡¯s Most Famous Hamburgers.¡± Try this place:

 

HODADS

5010 Newport Avenue San Diego, CA 92107-3010 Neighborhood: Ocean Beach <br style=""> <br style="">

 

(619) 224-4623

 

http://www.hodadies.com

 

This particular restaurant is a mainstay with San Diegian¡¯s, and is extremely well patronized.

 

The food is simple, large, a lot of meat, very well priced as to what you receive for your order. Service lacks, but what did you expect from a hamburger place, anyway?

 

However! Take this as a serious piece of advice. Get there damned early! And I mean 30 minutes before they open up, and you better be in line too! There have been fistfights between patrons about people cutting in line. I have seen the line at 1120hrs (my lunch time) extend for a city block and ½ waiting to place an order. As a side note between us as men! Order light for your food! I saw your photo of your wife in your avatar. She will never finish one complete meal. This means you have to eat for two people! Yin has already tried this challenge with bacon, double-cheeseburger deluxe, with all the fixings. Yin didn¡¯t even come close! Guess who was called ¡°to arms?¡±

 

So much as to my recommendations to you regards to restaurants and food. There are one or five more items, which I will add to make your anniversary go well.

 

1) The water has been abnormally cold as of late. I mean that, I do open ocean swimming at La Jolla Cove and wear a 8mm wet suit. It is still bone chilling at times for myself; and I¡¯m used to these waters.

 

2) This same abnormal cold, is also applicable to on-shore flow in the mornings. Numerous times, and even in the middle of July, I had to actually turn my windshield wipers on going to work, since there is a mist. And yes! I work approximately 10 meters from the Pacific Ocean itself. Tell your wife to bring a light jacket, and a light sweater(s), so she can layer herself against the on-shore flow in the AM hours. In the afternoon, she can shed the layers as the afternoon temperatures warm up.

 

3) Fish counts are very low due to the same water temperatures I mentioned in items 1 & 2. You will be wasting your money, if the both of you decide to go charter fishing; and this does include going into Mexican waters. Please; don¡¯t waste your money.

 

4) If you want to have your wife see some fantastic surf, with clean sharp waves; go to La Jolla Cove one hour before low and high tides. This is when the most massive amounts of water are being moved. Your wife; should be enthralled by this scene alone. Don¡¯t forget the camera!

 

5) The seals are still at Children¡¯s Pool and are protected. However, if you swim to them at approximately 200 meters off-shore from Children¡¯s Pool in the seals feeding times; the seals will actually approach you/her out of curiosity, and see who you are, and they do this out of genuine curiosity on their part. No big movements, and I have never heard of one swimmer being bitten. Just enjoy the moment.

 

6) There is only one danger right now. Here is the hyperlink: http://www.city-data...-stingrays.html. You will understand the name, which we have "coined." as the ¡°stingray shuffle!¡± The largest stingray I have seen is about 14¡± or so. However! I can damned-sure guarantee that they have a ¡°punch.¡± And NO! Wearing tennis shoes isn¡¯t going to stop the barb, when you surprise a stingray. Steve Irwin found this out the hard way. BTW! We have been getting some black jellyfish coming ashore at San Diego. No jumping on the jellyfish. Their stings won¡¯t kill you. However their tentacles will put a hurtin¡¯ on the person that is this stupid. Here is the link: http://www.signonsan...beach-san-diego .

 

AR, I do apologize that we can¡¯t meet in San Diego. I have emergent work has arisen. On this Friday AM; I will be on my way to Chinhae Navy Base in South Korea, for about 7 days or more.

 

Besides¡­. The last thing that your wife or you need is a 55-year old ¡°stick-in-the mud,¡± and ¡°fifth wheel,¡± complicating this special day between the two of you.

 

There is one more issue between us! And finally! I¡¯m ahead of everyone else: Congratulations, to both of you on your first anniversary. Please consider my information, as an anniversary gift to the both of you. I do so hope that you enjoy yourselves, and my information made your special day go a bit better.

 

I can only truly hope, that the both of you have many more to come.

 

Dave

[areynolds]

We went to the emerald palace for dim sum today we liked it alot it was really good and not to expensive got out for just under 40 for both of us...we went to another place yesterday night called Peking restaurant which is on university close to the san diego zoo it was pretty good having a great weekend

[Cerberus]

We went to the emerald palace for dim sum today we liked it alot it was really good and not to expensive got out for just under 40 for both of us...we went to another place yesterday night called Peking restaurant which is on university close to the san diego zoo it was pretty good having a great weekend

AR,

 

Glad you enjoyed Emerald Palace. My wife and I enjoyed their food also. Even though she isn't crazy about this style food (she refers to as being too sweet) she did like the taste.

 

The other restaurant I have never tried. I will take YOUR recommendation, and try it when I get back from Korea.

 

I do hope that you took her to the beach in La Jolla? This is a photo-op not to be missed. Again, congratulations on your anniversary. I hope that there are many more still to come! In the meantime, I'm being called back to work. We are in the the middle of monsoon season right now, and it sucks.

 

Do CFL members get a "blow-by-blow," scenario, excluding nighttime anniversary presents between the two of you. I think that we can fill the blanks here all by ourselves!

 

Dave

Edited August 11, 2010 by Cerberus (see edit history)