Chowin' down again at Chow King (National City, California)

Chowking


Of course, no visit to San Diego is complete without a visit to Chowking for some fast food, Filipino style! After Sunday mass with my folks, we trekked to National City for some breakfast.

It seems that fried chicken is the big thing now with Filipino fast food; both Jolibee and Chowking have their own variation. The furs were quite upset with us for not bringing home any.

Half bangus (milkfish) and rice. My dad and I got this one. Milkfish is a mild-flavored saltwater fish. Here, it is marinated and deboned, and is served broiled. Underneath the fish is a little bit of atchara (pickled green papaya). The atchara was bland and way too mild.

My mom got the bihon guisado, made with bihon (rice noodles) and chicken.

Tocino (cured pork), bangus and rice combination.

We got three taho (soft tofu with syrup) and got one free. Unfortunately, it was bland and did not taste too fresh.

My mom picked up a few bags of siopao for us to bring home. The furs liked the egg and chinese sausage flavor and DJKung agreed that it tasted better than the asado flavor.

I think just for the nostalgia factor alone, Chow King easily makes it to our SUPERROTATION. I am waiting for the day a franchise opens up here in the NY/NJ area!

Chow down at Chowking, National City, California

Under food:









Chowking




2220 E. Plaza Boulevard




National City, California 91950




(619) 472-5580




(other CA locations available)




http://www.chowking.com/









No visit to San Diego is complete without a pit stop at Chow King. For the uninitated, this Filipino fast food chain specializes in noodles and dimsum. I particularly like their breakfast items.









This being California, the location was in yet another strip mall.

Chowking, National City.




This chain has yet to open a branch in the East Coast, so the menu was not completely familiar to us. It was hard to pick among their offerings. Close-ups of the menu follow.

Brother D got this soup, I forgot what it's called. Looks yummy!

Moms got the mixed plate (salu-salo). Counterclockwise from top left: tilapia teriyaki, white rice, pancit.

I got the fried bangus with white rice. This is a white fleshed fish marinated in soy sauce and garlic, then fried. You can make this easily at home, but the frying gets messy and does leave a very fishy smell. The fish was salty and nicely marinated; should've gotten it with some fried egg too.

Brother D got the taho. This is a soy custard and syrup, and is usually a snack. He said it was pretty good.

DJKung does not understand my fascination with the Chowking franchise. For a fast food franchise, it has a pretty good interpretation of Filipino food. Nice and salty, and on the whole, not as greasy as in other restaurants I have tried. (I must confess that I have not strayed beyond the pancit and the bangus dishes).