Taste of Korea, 70 Bobcha

Beautifully fried chicken wings...but they didn't inspire me to obsession,
which is what I want in a wing.

Spicy rice cake -- just okay.  We missed the ramen and egg at Chon Ju Jip.

Stir-fried shrimp.

Panchan -- the thing in the upper right corner was VERY fishy.  
Predictably, Miko liked it and I didn't.

Corn cheese!  We thought Gorilla's was better.  
This wasn't sweet enough and the cheese wasn't all the way melted.

Toast and chocolate milk--most adorable menu item ever! 
We really wanted to order it but we were too full.  
We'll probably have to come back just to try it.

Apologies for the particularly bad photos this time--the lighting in here was very...romantic.

Rating: Two sideways thumbs; from guest: one thumb up
Date: 
Time in: 9:05 PM
Servers' recommendations: Chicken with sauce, boneless chicken feet, stir-fried beef tongue, chicken gizzard, spicy chicken with cheese (considered the BEST), steamed pork, pork hock, beef intestine
What we ordered: Stir-fried shrimp, spicy rice cake, chicken with sauce, corn cheese, beer
Number in our party: 3 (with Erik as a guest judge) 
Final check amount: $50.71
Price per person: $16.90 each
  
Notes: 

• The servers were very pleasant.

• The music was at a nice level, not too loud like everywhere else.  We appreciated that the sound on the TV is off.

• It had a relaxing atmosphere.  They would have X-factor if they'd wall off half of the restaurant.  It's too big.  One large portion is pretty much unused, with a few pieces of random furniture and kitchen equipment sitting there. Kind of eerie.

• I did like the squid panchan (which Jenne pointed out as being very fishy).  It reminded me of baby anchovy tsukudani, which I used to eat straight out of the bag.

• We didn't get the dish that was recommended as THE BEST because it had a ton of chili peppers next to it on the menu.  No way could I have handled the spice.

• The chicken and sauce: the breading was light and crispy and yummy, but the actual chicken underneat was mostly gristle and not enough meat.

• I thought that the shrimp was REALLY overcooked. (Erik did like it.)

• The corn cheese needed sugar and a milder cheese.

• We wanted eggs and ramen in the spicy rice cake!

• Guess what -- this was the last restaurant on our route!  We have finished our Convoy Conquest!!! (Although not really, because a lot of places have closed and new restaurants have popped up, but still, we have made it all the way down and all the way back!)  On Saturday, August 24, we shall celebrate CONVOY DAY.

RESTAURANT INFORMATION  

Address: 4805 Convoy St

Phone number: 858.436.4985 

Noise level: 2

Accepts credit cards? Yes
Parking: Parking lot with lots of space!!
Ideal group size: 2+
Available vegetarian options: Corn cheese, toast and chocolate milk, spicy rice cake without fish cake?

Yes! Pingo

Yes!!

Not sure why this needed a lid because it was CENTER-OF-THE-SUN HOT!!

Miko looking glamorous with her tea!!

Best crispy chicken yet!!

Rice tube pudding!!

This is what is in the pudding!!

Taiwanese meatball!!

Peach green tea!!

Pork stew!!

Rice noodles with surprise shrimp!! Which is not good if you don't like shrimp!!

Wheat noodles, also with surprise shrimp!!

Miko's bento thing, which I coveted!!

Messy shrimp with shells!!  Very spicy!!

Dumplings!!  Just okay!!

Rating: Two thumbs up; from guests: one thumb up (Chelsie), two sideways (Jennifer and Hildie), one undecided because there was only one pescatarian option to judge (Heather)
Date: 7/14/13
Time in: 5:43 PM
Time out: 7:50 PM (But we were having a book club discussion and lingered a while) 
Servers' recommendations: Pork ribs soup, combos, snow ice 
What we ordered: Green tea with boba, peach green tea, pickle sour duck soup, crispy chicken, rice tube pudding, Taiwanese meatball, Taiwanese fried noodle, Taiwanese fried rice noodle (not to be confused with the prior item), minced pork stew rice, chicken cutlet combo, boiled dumplings, spicy shrimp
Number in our party: 6 (Chelsie, Heather, Hildie, and Jennifer as guest judges)
Final check amount: $78.69
Price per person: $19.67/person  
Notes:  

• We were supposed to go to nice, safe Phuong Trang with our book club, but at last minute, Jenne and I changed the location to Yes! Pingo because:
1. We hadn't tried it yet, and we've got a conquest to finish!! And
2. We thought the name Yes! Pingo was hilarious.  We like to yell it out loud in the car.  "YES!!!!!!  PINGO!!!!!!"
• The server had lots of recommendations and suggested pork stomach soup to non-Asians!
• They should have had descriptions for the dishes on the menu.
• Some dishes were better than others.  For example, the fried noodles were too salty, and the boiled dumplings were bland.

• But the chicken was beautifully fried and well seasoned.  The pork stew rice was also a favorite. 
• The best deal is definitely the chicken cutlet or crispy chicken combo!  You even get a little bit of the pork stew on the rice.  Veggies and pickles served on the side.
• This place is like Tap Ex, only not so fast-foody.

RESTAURANT INFORMATION 

Address: 4813 Convoy St
Phone number: 858.699.7588
Website: www.yespingo.com

Accepts credit cards? Yes
Parking: A lot with plenty of spaces!!! OMG, it's amazing!
Ideal group size: 1-6
Available vegetarian options: Tea and snow ice
Whom not to bring: Vegetarians who want a meal
Noise level: 2.5

Liang's Kitchen

Here are some weird sodas!  The sarsaparilla was SUPER gross.  The apple one tasted like Peñafiel. Tasty!

Cold noodles.  Look how pretty.

Nourishing wonton soup with seaweed.  Next time I have a cold I'm getting this.

The most giant beef roll of all time.

Rating: Two thumbs up 
Date: 7/10/13
Time in: 6:20 PM
Server's recommendations: Sesame cake with beef
What we ordered: Shanghai mini wonton soup, special house cold noodle, sarsaparilla, apple cider
Number in our party: 2
Final check amount: $24.03
Price per person: $12.02

Notes: 

• Confession: I lost our Liang's Kitchen data sheet.  I could swear I had deliberately put it...somewhere...in...my pig sty of a room.  And though I have since cleaned said room, the little folded square of paper has disappeared, which means this will be the vaguest of vague entries. *12/1/13 update: I found it in my work locker!
• This was yet another restaurant that was pleasantly surprising.  The outside looks so dark and depressing, but once you're inside, it's light and airy and comfortable inside.
• The menu is crazy and the numbers on the order form don't match!  Confusing.
• The food has a homey taste, like they know how to make it all without a recipe.
• YUM, the broth in the Shangai mini wonton soup!  It was clear and full-flavored but not heavy or too greasy.  I wasn't very hungry but I was happy to eat up this soup. 
• The beef roll was GIGANTIC.  Like, twice the size of A Cafe's.  The crispy end is really yummy.
• I wasn't crazy about the cold noodles -- they were a bit too chewy.  I think I'd like it more if they had sliced ham and eggs on it like hiyashi chuka.
• Skip the sarsaparilla and apple cider.  The former, as Jenne said, was so gross.  The latter wasn't terrible, but it wasn't worth $2.
• Liang's Kitchen is like A Cafe, only it's better seasoned and tastes more homemade.
• The bathroom is kind of gross.

RESTAURANT INFORMATION 
Address: 4681 Convoy St, Ste C & D 
Phone number: 858.277.5573
Website: http://sandiegoliangskitchen.com/
Accepts credit cards? Yes
Parking: Shared lot that's pretty tiny, but there's decent turnover, so you can usually squeak into a spot that someone's pulling out of.
Ideal group size: Any
Available vegetarian options: Shaved snow. There appear to be many (snow vegetable with tofu, stewed tofu skins, stewed bamboo shoots, spring onion pancake, cold noodles, etc.) but since there are no descriptions, it's hard to know if there's meat or fish hidden in there somewhere.
Noise level: 2.5