{"id":246832,"date":"2013-12-20T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2013-12-20T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sdnews.com\/noshing-for-cheap-after-nightfall\/"},"modified":"2013-12-20T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2013-12-20T08:00:00","slug":"noshing-for-cheap-after-nightfall","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/noshing-for-cheap-after-nightfall\/","title":{"rendered":"Noshing for cheap after nightfall"},"content":{"rendered":"

Asian Bistro
\n414 University Ave. (Hillcrest)
\n619-296-4119
\nHappy Hour: 5 to 9 p.m., daily<\/p>\n

Come on Get Happy! | By Dr. Ink<\/p>\n

It was a nippy Sunday night. The streets and restaurants were tranquil as most holiday shoppers had fled home to recover from their day of spending. Yet the Asian Bistro in Hillcrest was hopping, thanks to a daily happy hour that goes until 9 p.m. before verging into other food deals that conclude at 3 a.m.<\/p>\n

Formerly Jimmy Wong\u2019s, the restaurant dates back 70 years and still maintains its golden dragon neon sign, an original landmark confirming you\u2019ve come to the right place for wok specialties and other Asian delights.<\/p>\n

\"Tangerine<\/a>
Tangerine chicken in a rice nest (Photo by Dr. Ink)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The menu nowadays leans more specifically toward Thai. During happy hour, a handful of prettily plated appetizers such as tofu-filled \u201cflower cups\u201d and crispy finger-sized egg rolls cost $3.95 per order. Fuller meals such as pumpkin curry shrimp and seafood pad Thai are priced at $11.95, but with soup and dessert kicked in.<\/p>\n

The drink specials constitute a footnote in comparison, with a small house sake (served hot) and a small glass of beer presented in combination for $6. Outside of happy hour, they\u2019d cost around $8.25 total. The other option allows you to upgrade to larger sizes of each, which cost $10.<\/p>\n

Because it was a \u201cschool night,\u201d only one person in our trio imbibed by ordering a bottle of Sapporo beer at regular price ($3.75). Otherwise, it was one of those rare happy hours where we indulged largely on solids instead of liquids.<\/p>\n

Pork-stuffed gyozas, served six to an order, were plump and served with stimulating soy-ginger dipping sauce. Crunchier and equally satisfying was a plate of vegetarian \u201cyummy sticks,\u201d the bistro\u2019s name for classic egg rolls served with sweet-and-sour sauce. We requested peanut sauce as well, which was thick, sweetly addicting and free of charge. If you\u2019re not sharing, the two appetizers qualify as a light meal \u2014 and for under $8.<\/p>\n

\"Goyza<\/a>
Goyza (Photo by Dr. Ink)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We also ordered the chilled spring rolls, but despite their eye appeal we sent them back because the translucent rice casings were too rubbery and the veggie filling lacked those customary mint leaves found in others.<\/p>\n

Our favorite dish was from the $11.95 entr\u00e9e list, a mound of tangerine-glazed chicken using leg meat and contained in a crispy rice nest. It was plated with white rice molded into the shape of a heart. Miso soup and dessert were included, the latter featuring a choice of mango pudding, a fried banana or excellent coconut ice cream that made a couple of gluttonous rotations around our table.<\/p>\n

For visitors arriving after 9 p.m., the kitchen remains in full swing with a late-night menu of appetizers, soups and specialties that cost only a couple dollars extra compared to the happy hour prices. And chances are that you won\u2019t be dining in a lifeless atmosphere, even if it\u2019s past the witching hour.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CALIFICACIONES:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Bebidas: 3<\/p>\n

The drink specials involve combinations of house sake and beer only, in small or large sizes. Beer choices are limited to several selections from China, Japan, Thailand and Holland.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Comida: 4<\/p>\n

Amid a decent selection of discounted, standardized Thai fare, the \u201cchef\u2019s specials\u201d offer a few unexpected surprises such as pumpkin curry shrimp and slow-cooked pork shanks.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Valor: 4<\/p>\n

Visiting during happy hour will save you nearly 20 percent on select appetizers, three-course meals or the beer-sake combos.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Service: 3<\/p>\n

Our waiter was curt but proficient at handling the fully occupied dining room.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Duration: 5<\/p>\n

Four hours daily effectively covers the dinner hour while obliging to those who don\u2019t mind eating later.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Asian Bistro 414 University Ave. (Hillcrest) 619-296-4119 Happy Hour: 5 to 9 p.m., daily Come on Get Happy! | By Dr. Ink It was a nippy Sunday night. The streets and restaurants were tranquil as most holiday shoppers had fled home to recover from their day of spending. Yet the Asian Bistro in Hillcrest was […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":726,"featured_media":246833,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"11555","_seopress_titles_title":"Noshing for cheap after nightfall","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[11547,11551,11555],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-246832","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features","category-news","category-uptown-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/246832","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/726"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=246832"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/246832\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/246833"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=246832"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=246832"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=246832"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}