Excellent Sichuan cooking
This place is the best. If you like Sichuan cooking, go here. The dishes are both appetizing in their presentation and , more importantly, in taste. The vegetables tasted fresh and were stir-fried just right. Not too overcooked and not too raw.
The Chicken in Dry Pot was AMAZING. The combination of all the different colors of peppers together in the plate and the taste of sichuan pepper is really nice
Also excellent was the Chef's Special Green Beans. If you like garlic and sichuan pepper, this is DA BOMB. Impressive how much garlic they must peel and mince just to make this dish. Extremely tasty.
Also, highly recommend the Walnut Shrimp
I could have eaten much more.. but we were full with these dishes and had to take home leftovers
First up, an announcement: I am doing an Instagram giveaway today! Be sure to follow jinxieats for details on how to enter! :) . It’s been quite a long time since I visited Spicy City, one of the most popular Sichuan restaurants in San Diego. S and I recently went with a couple of friends, and we ordered some dishes that we haven’t tried before – so I thought I’d share them here!
Authentic Chinese cuisine. If you are new to Chinese food and are an Indian, ask for less salt in food. Since the Chinese have the tradition of eating together with all the family members, the quantity of food you get here is huge. You should go with at least 4 people to finish what you order.
Traveling Food Junkie
+4.5
Sichuan Food in full authenticity. The wait out the door was my first indication this was a restaurant worth visiting. Sure the place is small and intimate, however, people were willing to wait an hour. That is dedication, but that is not how this place is every night. But if it is so, walk in and put your name on the list. Its a clipboard hanging on the glass partition. This was a Friday night adventure for me. The owner/manager was very attentive to his guests and many of them seemed to be repeat customers. The wait staff busy and efficient, The food was the reason people were coming here. This is Sichuan pure and simple. Hot, eye watering, sweat inducing, tongue numbing goodness. The Dan Dan Mien was good, I like a rice noodle vice egg and theirs is very spare on meat (and yes Dan Dan has many variations I know). The Boiled beef in Sichuan Hot Sauce was outstanding. Melt in your mouth tender beef and heat. I think I will cry tears of capsicum later. The fish seemed to be what many/most of what my neighbors were eating. I had been recommended the 3 pepper fish by a new foodie acquaintance. But that is for another time, there are so many more things on the menu to try.
The menu is similar to Yunnan houses located in San Gabriel, CA. This is so far the closest one, if not the only Yunnan restaurant we have been in. My husband likes the Boiled Fish! I gotta say, it is simply the best! I like the deep fried chicken cubes and house special soup. I would definitely come back here again.
Greatest Chinese I've Had In San Diego. The won ton soup and hot pot with chicken and no bones are my favs. Reasonably priced.
A party in my mouth and you're all invited. Yes, this is an amazing szechuan restaurant to go to, however, I have one problem with it, consistency. It's changed ownership several times and sometimes the food I get really lacks. They've screwed up my fav. dish before (Spicy Boiled Fish) but generally, when they're on, this becomes one of my fav. restaurants in the city.
It's real authentic szechuan food. I went to chengdu (sichuan province) and there's really just a slight difference between the two. This is going to be about as close as you can get to the good stuff, if you beg to differ, let me know and I'll check it out.
I really like their hot pot here. It comes out already pre-cooked in a claypot (not really how you should do it but hell whatever, it tastes damn good)
I highly recommend the Spicy Boiled Fish, twice cooked pork, and shrimp in garlic sauce. Also a lot of water if you're not into spicy food.
My mouth is watering, I'm going to go get a napkin.
Located in the Convoy Village Shopping Center. There's plenty of parking but it can be difficult finding a spot when visiting during busy dinner hours due to other neighboring restaurants.
We were in the area looking for an appetizing dinner on Friday night and their window menu caught our attention.
We tried their Beef Magic Fried Rice, Fired Noodles, BBQ Chicken Wing Skewers accompanied with Hot Tea. Everything tasted fresh with really good flavor (those Chicken Wing Skewers were so tasty though).
Prices are competitive and portions are generous. Service is amazing, very welcoming and friendly. However, tables could be cleaner (our table was sticky with a messy chili jar).
We had a good dinner experience here.
A friend recommended this place for authentic Chinese food & especially the beef stew which I had. We also had the General Tso chicken & a delicious Cucumber salad. I recommend you use their QR code to see some nice pictures of the food before you order.
I love noodles always, this is the best one I have in San Diego. The noodles are hand made, the sauces was delicious. We all ordered liang pier, the taste wad so good. Will definitely come back and try more dishes.
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Update review: They just launched their late night menu! I ordered from Hungry Panda App and went to pick the food up at their restaurant, the pickup time starts from 8:15pm. It’s perfect time for late night dinner~ All the late night dishes are so delicious and so authentic! You feel you are dining at a real Chinese restaurant back in China!! I recommend the Lamb collar hotpot, the spicy dry hotpot, and fried veggies & meats. It’s hard to describe what they are! You should just go to try! Their price is very affordable and their portion is big.
Previous review: One of the most authentic Chinese foods in San Diego! If you want to try the real Chinese flavor, please come to check it out. First, this restaurant is specializing in Shan Xi food which represents one of the most popular western part of Chinese cuisine. Myself love Shan Xi food a lot, they use a lot of beef & lamb, it’s a little bit like mid-eastern foods. This time, the dishes I tried and loved a lot are Di San Xian, Stir Fry Lotus Root, and hand pulled Biang Biang noodles. My friend said almost all their foods are nice, I’ll definitely come back here for other dishes!
Lots of positive reviews on this place and yes we tried the Biang Biang noodles just like everyone else. Everything is tasty, but a bit heavy on the sauce for my taste. The veggies were really tasty as well, but again with quite a bit of sugar. I understand the situation of being short staffed and I don’t mind using the app with a QR code where I can order my own food. But the expected tips boxes go from 18% - 25%? Something I keep pondering 🤔
Amazing, spicy, unique dishes. I wanted to order everything on the menu. The highlight of my East coast to San Diego trip.
Phenomenal hand pulled and torn noodles! The spicy tomato and egg noodles, spicy cumin lamb noodles, biang biang noodles, and brisket noodle soup were all fantastic. Great spice level and chew on the noodle. Highly recommend!!
Beef brisket hand pulled noodles worth the price of entry. Great Szechuan peppercorn spice flavor. The lamb skewers though tasted almost of rotten lamb. Ordering is pretty convenient using a table specific QR code though it would have been easier if we could also pay through the website.
Great food, high prices, okay service. Fine overall experience, just make sure you get what you order. Not all pics on the menu resemble the plate they serve you.
As of Summer 2022, they have a new system for ordering using your mobile device. It helps avoid miscommunication and food is delivered to you promptly after submitting your order. This has very much improved the dining experience, so I updated accordingly.
It is very pricey, but pretty damn good food. I would rate the place 4.5/5 if flavor was the only thing that mattered. Seeing prices increase on an already pricey restaurant leaves me expecting more in service and quality and they just don't hit the highest mark yet.
Figure out your priorities while dining out and plan accordingly.
This food is killer. Everything we got was just amazing. Biang-Biang noodles with cumin lamb was spicy and delicious. The friend rice was a bit different than the typical fried rice...in the best way. Definitely exceeded expectations for my lady who is a fried rice addict, and we couldn't stop eating the shrimp pork and leak dumplings in the spicy vinegar broth. Staff is very friendly and extremely helpful finding you a dish you will like, especially if you are trying to branch out to try something new. This place is truly magic!
Food good. Went with friend. New cuisine for me from a section of China I'm not too familiar with. Not very busy when I went in. Tea costs extra so does rice. You order from your phone. Portions big, decent for post-COVID pricing. Would return.
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Overall: like the sign says, it truly is magic! One of the best authentic Chinese food places in San Diego. The only thing is that the service is not that good, which dented the overall tastiness of the food. If I could, I'd give it 4.5 stars
Food: Note that We actually ordered way more food, but ate most of it before I remembered I Yelp haha +1 .
Cucumbers: YES! Get it you won't regret it
Lotus: Lacking in flavor and felt really oily, but was crunchy and crisp. I don't get to make this often so this is somewhat of a treat
Lamb skewers: the mixture of mala and spices made it soo good! I didn't like the special home style lamb though
Sweet and sour fish fillet: Are usually don't like sweet and sour anything... But this was really good! I eat like seven pieces. My friend was so mad because he ordered it from himself but I ate most of it
Beef noodle soup: how many noodles are always the best! They were so good that they wouldn't break apart easily in the soup. The beef was also really good along with the stock. I'd recommend this whole dish overall
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Sweet and spicy wontons: it missed the mala flavor for me and felt just like oily wontons
Location/ Ambience: wasn't much of an ambience. It reminded me of a regular Chinese restaurant with a typical Chinese paintings and decorations. It is in the middle of a Shopping Center so there is Boba nearby and other stuff which is cool. +0.5
Staff/Service: I can understand that they were busy because we got there at Sunday at 5 o'clock. But the staff who served us just seemed rude and we had to ask for water multiple times for a table of six. When I got takeout the lady who serve it was very nice so not sure where the discrepancy is . +0.5
I am always on a quest for hand pulled noodles and I finally found some! The thick, chewy biang biang noodles here are the stuff of my dreams. The dumplings were also hand made and so bouncy and unctuous. I'm so glad I found this place. It's definitely authentic and if you like thick noodles, you gotta try this place! So delicious!
Second time we’ve been here during our visits to San Diego. We love the food.
First time trying the Beef Pao-Mo Soup and love flavor ! Interesting texture with the small cut pieces of noodles. On the other hand, loved the intesting soup the most 😀 It has cilantro on it so if you dont eat cilantro make sure to ask to take them off when ordering.
Came here after a recommendation with my brother and cousin for lunch. No long wait. Ordered the hand-pulled noodles with cumin beef, beef brisket hand-ripped noodles, and a veggie dish. A lot of spices in all three plates—much stronger than I’m used to—but the flavor was special. This type of cuisine is more reminiscent of Northern style Chinese food; it’s an acquired taste. Couldn’t finish everything in-house so was able to pack the leftovers to-go. Would recommend for groups.
This place has great, authentic food. We got the eggplant with garlic (amazing!!!!!) Biang biang noodles (amazing!!!) Lliang p w sesame (better than I expected, delish) and Cumin beef with hand pulled noodle (too high price point IMO, but noodles were great). Overall, a little pricey but worth it. We got 4 dishes for 3 people and we were stuffed. Very introvert friendly don’t come here for people to talk to you, come for the amazing food and quick service. Thank you so much! We will be back!
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