Tasty Pot, 4698 Convoy Street, Suite 107, San Diego, California 92111
By Sandi Masori
SAN DIEGO — Convoy Street in the Kearny Mesa area is known as one of the Asian epi-centers of San Diego. One of my favorite past times is to explore the area and visit its authentic ethnic restaurants. So when my dad and I met for our regular father/ daughter lunch, we thought it would be fun to try a new place.
We ended up at a Taiwanese restaurant. I liked that the menus were in both English and Chinese, and that the majority of the patrons looked to be Asian.
The specialty of this restaurant is a variety of boiling soups with various meat/ veggie options. Basically you pick your pot, the spicy level, and whether you want rice or vermicelli as a side. There are only 12 items on the main menu.
I chose the Beef hot soup which had Napa cabbage, beef slices, vermicelli, enoki mushrooms, taro, tomato, tofu, tempura, corn, meatball, kamaboko, fried tofu skin, imitation crab, fish cake, cilantro and scallion. I ordered it at a level 2 spiciness with the vermicelli noodles. It had a very pleasant flavor, but since they serve it boiling and over a cup of sterno, it was really really hot.
My dad, who is trying to eat healthier and avoid processed carbs had the Healthy Veggie Hot Soup with featured Taiwanese cabbage, Enoki mushrooms, tomato, corn, lotus root, fried tofu skin, Chinese string bean, king oyster mushrooms, broccoli, seaweed knot, brown beech mushroom, taro, bamboo shoots, soft tofu, zucchini and black mushroom. He seemed to enjoy it very much, though I’m not sure if it was the flavor or the discovery of so many new vegetables such as lotus roop and enoki mushrooms that was exciting to him. He also ordered it at spice level 2. He had his vermicelli side dish boxed up for me to take home.
The service was good, not too hovering, and not too far away. The restaurant though fairly busy didn’t feel too loud or crowded. It’s definitely a place that is frequented by an “in” crowd, as it’s somewhat tucked inside a strip mall. The name isn’t on the marquee over the square, although the restaurant is a pretty good size.
If you are an “American meat and potatoes” type person, you may not like this restaurant, but if you like trying different cuisines and having different experiences, I highly recommend giving it a try.
All in all, I give them an 8.75.
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Sandi Masori is the restaurant reviewer and food critic for San Diego Jewish World. If you there’s a restaurant you’d like her to review, email her at sandimasori@gmail.com. Please note, though she may try the restaurant, she will only write the review if she feels it deserves a 7 or higher.