Taste of Hunan

Taste of Hunan is a new Chinese restaurant that recently opened in Scripps Ranch/Mira Mesa area of San Diego. We stopped in for dinner the other night to check it out.

The restaurant was quite busy, but the host took our number and told us he would call us when it got near our turn.

When we were finally seated, we were greeted with a thick menu with over a dozen pages full of pictures and a large selection of dishes. We were also give an order sheet which was three pages long and in color with some photos (the last 3 pages of menu photos at the end of this post), where we could mark our selections. I was a little surprised by the fancy order sheets and it did seem like a waste of paper and ink since they are only used once.

It took a while before we got a server’s attention but we finally were able to place our order. Thankfully, our food didn’t take too long to come out.

Our rice arrived in this metal container.

Cumin Lamb

The lamb arrived with large steamed buns. The buns were cold to the touch and honestly I didn’t think they were necessary. The lamb itself had a good strong cumin flavor and was nicely cooked. I did think the bell peppers were cooked a little too soft and I sometimes mistook them for excess lamb fat.

Sauteed Beef Tripe with Pickled Radish

I had my eye on this dish after reading about it in Kirk’s post. I really enjoyed it. I did think it was a tad too salty, but I loved the flavors and textures.

Smashed Eggplant and Pepper with Century Egg

One of my favorite dishes from Village Kitchen when they first opened was their Smashed Eggplant dish. I had read from Kirk’s post that one of the former owners of Village Kitchen opened this place, so I was eager to try the Smashed Eggplant Dish.

This looked a lot like the version we had at Village Kitchen, with the food served in an oversized mortar and pestle set. They smashed the eggplant and eggs tableside. I believe they used more green chili peppers, or at least left in more seeds, than the version we had at Village Kitchen because it was quite spicy. Not everything was mashed quite as finely as Village Kitchen, but the flavors were still good.

Hunan Style Lotus Roots

This dish had a lovely aroma. Unfortunately, it lacked flavor. We couldn’t taste the spice despite all the peppers and it was under-seasoned.

Overall, we had a fairly good first meal here. We enjoyed most of the dishes we had and the service (while a little slow) was very friendly and helpful. The restaurant was packed the whole time we were there, so expect a wait on weekends.

You can also check out the dishes Kirk has tried on his multiple visits here.

Menu:

Taste of Hunan
9880 Hibert St Ste E2
San Diego, CA 92131