When I think about great places to get Asian food, I’ll keep it 100 with y’all.  My first thought isn’t San Diego but more L.A.  However, we in San Diego are no slouches.  Whether you visit parts of town like Little Saigon or the Convoy Business District (btw, locals can just say “Convoy” and we all know it means one of the largest Pan-Asian business districts in the entire country with legendary, next-level food) but there’s also places outside of those communities offering up some great stuff.  There’s no advertising quite like word of mouth and I need to give a shout out to my friend Onkeo who recommended this week’s place, Qin West Noodle.

While there are 6 other Qin Noodle Houses in SoCal (Westwood, Chinatown, Arcadia, University Park, Irvine and Culver City) we’re obviously focusing on the San Diego Location in the neighborhood of University Town Center (Think like a younger slightly less elderly wealthy Cousin of La Jolla).  This location of Qin West Noodle, like 3 of its other locations, is located in close proximity to a college.  In this case, UCSD, home of the weird upside down Dr. Suess library.  Billing itself as a “Fast casual noodle house”, I can see the appeal to college students.  Such excellent and varied food options were not my college experience.  I lived on flat cherry coke and pizza flavored Combo’s from the gas station next door to my college dorm because only rich people could afford Fudruckers across the street.   It was a different time; a lawless wasteland called the 1990’s.  I was young, destitute and couldn’t dress myself for shit.  I could grow hair on my head but not my face.  We walked around saying words that young people today wouldn’t understand like “Fruitopia”, “Snapple” and “Attainable college loan payoffs”.  Good times.

Qin West Noodle is nestled into the UTC Westfield shopping center, once a small, humble outdoor mall that underwent a renovation that transformed it into the largest, most complex set piece from the MCU Avenger’s Campus you’ve ever seen.  It’s all lights, LED screens and roughly 89 levels of parking lot and over 230,000 stores.  It’s massive.  I’m sure you can download a 20-page pdf detailing how to park and find Qin West Noodle.  Just, park near Macy’s.  One thing that made this review unique is the night we went found my fair city in rare form; cold and rainy from scattered thunderstorms that afternoon, which NEVER happens here.  While this made outdoor seating impossible, it did make for absolutely perfect noodle weather.  I huddled inside to the walk up counter with my own band of unwilling human space heaters:

Aimee-Roommate since the 90’s, BFF, allergic to hot dogs and therefore labeled a commie by many

Chris-Attorney, lifelong food snob, loves sandwiches.  Like, a lot.

David-Wonder Woman superfan, musical theatre enthusiast, the narrator’s love interest

Harry-The I.T. guy, equal parts Type A and goofy as all get out, He probably knows how to fix that.

Joseph-Music educator, loves just about every food I won’t touch, masterclass Dad joker

Shannan-Medical examiner, pumpkin enthusiast, drives the coolest car you’ve ever seen

The menu is varied but not very descriptive at all.  If you know, you know.  And we did not know.  I was delighted to see so many spicy options available (although I found that claim to be a bit erroneous on some of the selections)  I ordered the Spicy Wonton Soup.  I don’t see spicy wonton soups on menus very often but my favorite one was from this little steam table chain place that no longer exists in San Diego called City Wok.  I’ve never found one that has even come close, which is strange because (with all due respect) a lot of those steam table places aren’t really known for killer homestyle dishes.  To liken it to fast food seems wrong and inaccurate.  It’s just…not the same, y’know? Friends, the Spicy Wonton Soup at Qin West Noodle is my new favorite.  It had an option to add ramen noodles, which seemed like a dream come true to someone like me who loves both wonton soup and ramen.  I have to say, it wasn’t necessary.  The wontons were tender, full of flavor with a spicy kick.  The broth was light and totally handed the wontons the proverbial mic.  The ramen noodles almost threw the balance off for me but were still great.  This dish needs no help from add-ons.  This is my rainy day go-to (Hey Alexa, play “From Now On” from Greatest Showman)

Harry, Shannan and Aimee all ordered the steamed dumplings (Were they pork? Veggie? Oops all Crunchberries?  Pocket change?  Help us, menu!!!!)  They did not get high marks.  I tried one and I can see why.  A little too large and dry to be served without a sauce.  Better dumplings can be found many other places.  Oh, and they were pork.

I got two entrees because my next dish was too fascinating to not try.  I ordered the spicy shredded potatoes.  Again, with absolutely no guidance from the menu, I only had these 3 words to go off of and I like all 3 of those words, so I was ready to give it a chance.  Thin sliced blanched potatoes with a light starchy sauce and fresh jalapenos (my favorite).  I’ve never had a potato dish so light.  The fluffy julienned potato slices were the perfect counterpart to the spicy kick of the jalapenos.  The portion was huge so the latter half of that came home with me.

Among my other favorite bites was, by far, the biggest hit of the evening; The Mongolian Beef (ordered by Aimee, David and Shannan). They found it tender, well sauced and a good crisp to the onions.  More than one person called it the best Mongolian Beef they’d had.  In addition to great flavor, Shannan praised the size of the entrée as a great value for the price. A winner.       

Joseph had the Guilin Soup which offered a light but complex broth with a nice addition of peanuts and thin sliced beef, which he found to be super rich and delicious.  He said the sour beans, cilantro and broth created a great balance of savory, herbaceous and acidic tastes.  Joseph and Aimee both tried the Spicy Mo; he opted for the beef while she had the pork remix.  Savory protein inside chewy grilled bread, Jospeh ruled it ridiculously delicious.  Aimee echoed those sentiments, calling the sandwich her favorite thing of the night.  She loved the rich, tender pork and is determined to figure out how to make this bread at home. 

Chris ordered the Zhajiang Noodles with chopped tomato, pork, cucumber (Think Chinese ragu/bolognese).  He found the portions to be generous with dense noodles, clinging together without sticking but a little tough to pull with an interesting texture.  He said it reminds him of the food he’d had while in China. 

Harry and Shannan shared the Chicken Chow Mein and SPAM Fried Rice.  Both got high marks for the proportions of ingredients and flavor.  Shannan enjoyed the balance of the rice; the tender and not-too-salty SPAM, tender vegetables and fluffy egg.  The chicken chow mein offered moist, flavorful chicken and perfectly cooked thin noodles.  Great taste and textures.

The atmosphere was giving traditional noodle bar, where people quietly sit and eat without talking.  We all spoke with lowered voices like we were in study hall, partly out of self-induced peer pressure and part fear that we wouldn’t be allowed back.  I can’t lose another spicy wonton soup.  I just can’t.  The only exception to the quiet was the family behind us with a baby who, from the sound of it, they had set on fire.    Some housekeeping should-knows:  This is not a traditional sit-down restaurant, seating is limited.  A good number of the orders coming out of the window were for pick up and delivery and I can see why.  There is outdoor seating but it was also raining the night we went, so delivery might be the way to go.  This food would travel extremely well.  Also, they don’t validate parking so you want to make sure to get in and out of there in under 2-hours before Westfield starts charging you.  I assume the lion’s share of that two hours would be spent trying to find a wizard with a list of side quests you must complete before unlocking the map and beginning to great journey back to your car.  All told, should take about 4 films and a couple of 3-hour prequels to complete. 

But the journey, much like for Frodo, was worth it to find my new favorite Spicy Wonton Soup and a host of other great dishes.  I will be back to Qin West Noodle, rain or shine.