![\"Chinese](\"https:\/\/sduptownnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Corner-Cafe-exterior.jpg\")
Located between Hash House a Go Go and The Loft, owner Tony Chan took over the former Poke Go last month to provide people on the run classic, Americanized takes on chow mein, orange chicken, broccoli beef and the like. He admits the food hardly reflects that of his native Hong Kong, but adds with a chuckle, \u201cWe cook it better than Panda Express.\u201d<\/p>\n
For better or worse, the dishes I tried escaped the cloying glazes you\u2019ll find in such cafeteria-style concepts, where chicken shellacked in palm sugar can taste like donut holes, or beef drowning in hoisin sauce can resemble candied figs.<\/p>\n
The oil levels seemed tamer in comparison as well. An order of house-made pork egg rolls could have passed as oven-baked. But they\u2019re actually deep-fried and then finished off in the wok. Packed densely with tasty mulched pork, they were remarkably free of grease and fatty bits, ranking as some of the most satisfying crispy rolls I\u2019ve had in a long time.<\/p>\n
Chan also co-owns Facing East in Kearny Mesa, a full-service restaurant specializing in Asian-fusion cuisine. Though for his Hillcrest venture, he wanted something \u201cfast and easy\u201d despite offering upwards of 85 dishes. Specialty tea and milk drinks, and flavored \u201csnows\u201d are also on the menu.<\/p>\n
The interior features sparse d\u00e9cor and about six tables. The only menus for customers to wrap their eyes around are those taped to the order counter and front window. (Printed menus to pass out would benefit the business greatly.)<\/p>\n Tempted by the \u201cultimate wings\u201d choices \u2014 sweet and sour, honey-garlic, Korean BBQ and more \u2014 I zeroed in on a few lunch entrees that provided me instant gratification onsite before taking most of the food home for dinner with my spouse later.<\/p>\n Black pepper pork was my favorite. The combination of soy sauce, sugar and coarse black pepper is usually reserved for beef in Chinese kitchens. Though as I suspected, it worked beautifully with thin, tender strips of pork, which are stir-fried with onions and bell peppers. A few squirts of Sriracha sauce added the ideal zip.<\/p>\n A dish called \u201cgarlic veggies chicken\u201d featured hearty measures of veggies, including baby corn, and medallions of chicken breast. But the garlic factor was somewhat restrained. I vote for adding an extra clove or two per dish.<\/p>\n Abundant pieces of chicken breast appeared again in a generous order of chow mein strewn with cabbage and shredded carrots \u2014 exactly like it\u2019s been served in Chinese-American restaurants for decades. No surprises or twists. Just fresh-tasting wheat noodles that added a soft greaseless backdrop to the poultry and veggies.<\/p>\n Nowhere on the menu did I see stars listed alongside dishes to indicate they\u2019re spicy. Nary a red chili pepper surfaced in my entrees either. But Chan assured that dishes can be made spicy upon request, which I would certainly prefer for items like the kung pao chicken or garlic-pepper shrimp.<\/p>\n Other choices on the lengthy menu \u2014 which neighborhood residents will surely welcome as they continue to discover the place \u2014 include beef fried rice, barbecue pork chow mein, cashew chicken, honey-walnut shrimp and teriyaki eel.<\/p>\n \u2014Frank Sabatini Jr. es el autor de 'Secret San Diego' (ECW Press) y comenz\u00f3 su carrera como escritor local hace m\u00e1s de dos d\u00e9cadas como miembro del personal del ex San Diego Tribune. llegar a \u00e9l en\u00a0\u00a0fsabatini@san.rr.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Por Frank Sabatini Jr.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":726,"featured_media":253889,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"11555","_seopress_titles_title":"Chinese favorites on the draw","_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-253888","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\/253888","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=253888"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/253888\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/253889"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=253888"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=253888"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=253888"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Chinese](\"https:\/\/sduptownnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Corner-Cafe-pork-egg-rolls.jpg\")
![\"Chinese](\"https:\/\/sduptownnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Corner-Cafe-garlic-veggies-with-chicken.jpg\")
![\"Chinese](\"https:\/\/sduptownnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Corner-Cafe-chicken-chow-mein.jpg\")
![\"Chinese](\"https:\/\/sduptownnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Untitled-1-2-201x300.jpg\")
There are also starters \u2014 some common and some not \u2014 ranging from cream cheese wontons and hot and sour soup to onion pancakes and fried squid balls. Whatever your preference, few will protest the arrival of Corner Cafe in a city that has seen a sharp decline in Chinese restaurants over the past 10 years.<\/p>\n