Lai Chen

Very yummy Taiwanese food!
Love their Taiwanese meatball ^_​^ it’s very hard to find any authentic Taiwanese food in San Diego.
***Call ahead to make sure they are open tho. Cuz they might be closed without any notice on the door.

Came here twice this week and both times were closed. Are they on vacation or out of business?

So I came here on a Friday at 1:30pm, but they were closed. There’s no posted hours, so it might be that he Unilocal hours are off. Not sure what the deal is. I really like their food. I’ve only had the pleasure of eating here once, and the other 3 times I’ve been here it’s been closed. Not sure what’s going on. Hopefully they step it up as this is the only real authentic Taiwanese food in my general area.

We came here at 8:15 when they close at 9. We’re told takeout only? What’s the point of driving out for this. Change your hours or stay open according to your hours

Unfriendly, unprofessional, and they are selling fastfood for restaurant prices. The 1 star is mainly for the rice dish that i got and the lack of manners the staff has. The rice which was greasy, and soggy, seems to have been sitting in the open for days, and they portion it way too excessively, the entrée was salty and untasteful. this place is worse than Panda Express. And a disgrace to to food.

Tried this place during the week. The food was average. The reviews about the food on here so far are pretty consistent. There are no good Taiwanese places in San Diego. I might go back to try other items, but unfortunately not a place I’d seek out.

Went there today (Saturday) at 12:30pm; gotta be opened, right? Wrong!!!
Really, what’s the point?

This place looks like it is well on its way out. We went over on a Saturday around 11:45. The OPEN sign was on so we walked right in. Saw a guy surfing on his tablet startled that there might actually be customers, quickly told us they are closed and will not be opening until maybe 12:30 to 1 pm. Looks like our experience is not an isolated incidence as a review above mentioned something similar. Would not be surprised if this place is gone for good shortly. In the meantime, ignore the business hour posted on Unilocal and call before you head over.

When I first started looking for Taiwanese food in the area, the first one I checked out was the cowboy place on Clairemont mesa, they were rated 4.5÷5 and i was completely disappointed and just confused by their theme and the food was mediocre, maybe lower than that.
Lai Chen was fantastic, the food was cooked by the grandma that was very sweet, she even came out and greeted us once our food came out. We ordered the pork chop noodles, oysters pancake, rice bowl, and taiwanese meat ball, they were all very delicious and definitely brought back some memories of taiwan. Definitely recommend this place for anyone to try! Loved it!

As a nominally Taiwanese restaurant, Lai Chen doesn’t have the spices to work with that one would find in Sichuanese or Hunanese places. Without those key spices, what is one to do?
In the case of Lai Chen’s sanbei («three cup») chicken, they solve the problem with a mixture of basil, garlic, and soy sauce. The result was tasty despite the severe dryness of the chicken. The noodle soup didn’t fare as well, being largely flavorless. We added a fried pork chop on the side that improved the soup but yet suffered from the same dryness as the chicken.
Summary: I cannot tell a lai; this place is just so-​so.

Let’s face it. There are no good Taiwanese places in San Diego. Which is sad, considering that there were better places in San Mateo. This place is at least clean and owned by Taiwanese. My husband and I tried some classic Taiwanese dishes:
Taiwanese MEATBALL — 4 stars, the best dish we tried. Slightly under flavored and overcooked meat but otherwise pretty authentic texture and flavors. Too bad it’s not really enough for a meal.
STINKY TOFU — 2 stars. You couldn’t smell it as it arrived to the table — wasn’t stinky at all. The sauce was spot on in flavor… but that’s all that lived up to expectation. The tofu was over fried, the texture was off, and the tofu was overcooked. The pickled veggies were too sour and almost bitter.
GROUND PORK RICE — 2 stars. The rice was strangely dry. The pork, while decent in flavor, was very scant and no more than a tablespoon full. The pickled mustard and radish were authentic, as well as the stewed egg… but again not really the stars of the dish.
Our verdict: «Probably won’t be back, but it’s better than nothing»
Parking: Private lot, with tiny spaces so beware… especially since there’ll be Asian drivers maneuvering…

First thought upon entering the restaurant, OMG turn on the AC! It’s 80 degrees outside!
Moving on, yes the «taco shop» décor is a bit of a turn off, but it didn’t thwart me from trying a «new» Taiwanese restaurant in this little Miramar strip mall. Overall I would say the menu is somewhat limited. Please add some spicy wontons!
Anyway, based on previous Unilocalers here we ordered the «3 ingredient chicken» and noodle soup with fried pork chop. I really enjoyed this chicken dish with the basil flavor and subtle spice level. Bonus points for only having 3 pieces with bones in it. The noodle soup was kind of boring, because the broth didn’t have much flavor. As much as a enjoyed the ground pork bits, it just wasn’t enough to «save» it. The fried pork chop was tasty, and pounded really thin. I wouldn’t say it was one of the better Taiwanese fried pork chops though.
I didn’t encounter any of the parking issues as other Unilocalers have reported, because I came for dinner.
Pros: Affordability and it’s closer to any of the Taiwanese restaurants on Convoy.
Cons: Typical «Asian» service = where is the service?

I just can’t stop eating here. The foods here are fantastic. I’m so glad my working place is close by, so I can come here for lunch. It’s better to order by phone first, since the cooking takes time. The only sad thing is they are close on Wednesday.
I enjoyed every dish here. The only recommondation I can give to people is if you like good and health food, you should try here.

Being Taiwanese, I’m always looking for new places to try and luckily for me, this is actually right down the street for me!
It’s located in a little shopping center off Miramar Road so it’s kind of in a little weird spot. That being said, it’s a very small restaurant with a few tables. It’s definitely not fancy and the tables look like what you would sit in at a taco shop. However, most hole in the wall places have GREAT food.
I definitely had to try to the stinky tofu as well as the beef noodle soup. Probably my two favorite Taiwanese dishes. There’s not THAT much of a selection but they try to stick to pretty authentic Taiwanese dishes. They do also have a Taiwanese American menu which is probably more like your Panda Express entrees. I really liked the stinky tofu but would have liked more in terms of quantity. The beef noodle soup was pretty good too. The meat was tender and the noodles had great texture. However, I did feel that most of their food was more on the oily side than I would have preferred (we also ordered some vegetables and stir fry and they also seemed a bit oily/​greasy).
The prices are decent and the portions are worth the price for the most part. We had enough for leftovers. I would like to see them possibly relocate or renovate but I definitely would come back to get my Taiwanese craving since it’s so conveniently located for me.

Was craving for some soup so I went on Unilocal & this restaurant popped up…
We came here around 2:30pm… Parking was okay– kind of tight but we were able to find a spot right away. The place is clean with nice Chinese decorations. If it weren’t for the decorations, you would think this was a taco shop (because of the seating furniture).
The fried porkchop noodle soup was right on. The broth was light yet packed with flavor and porkchop was perfectly tender with a right touch of crispy-​ness. I’m a soup (ramen noodle) kind of girl. The noodles were okay in my book.
The beef noodle soup was very rich & the beef was super tender & flavorful. The tendons were super soft & easy to chew, which I loved. Last but not least, the taro balls was a great addition to my meal. Sweet & crunchy!
In conclusion, Unilocal has done it again and helped me discover new places to get good food!

They just renewed the menu, adding more pictures and description in it. A very informative and effective way to promote the food and the restaurant! If you love authentic Chinese/​Taiwanese food with reasonable price, this place is a must-​try! You can also call to order the food and pick it up.

You really can’t compare this place with all the taiwanese restaurant in the 626 area. However, if you are in SD and craving for some authentic/​real taiwanese food, Lai Chen is the place to go.
The moment I went into the restaurant, I feel like I’m actually in taiwan eating at a eatery or food stall. Their Three Cup Chicken is so freakish delicious. The Ba Wan (taiwanese meat ball) that was mentioned in several reviews taste even better than some of those I’ve had while living in Taiwan. I actually don’t find Ba Wan tasty at all until I had the ones at Lai Chen. The skin is really soft and I like how they seasoned the meat. Just try it.
Another thing I really like about this place is that they have dishes such as rice-​noodle soup, oyster vermicelli (uh ah mi sua), che-​a-​mian (some noodle in pork brooth), oyster pancake and they all taste pretty decent~ real good. Those dishes are either hard to find else where in SD or they taste like shit.
On top of everything, the price is very reasonable and the portion is huge.

So… this place is a bit… interesting. Yes the décor is well, terrible– but some items on the menu are pretty good.
The flavor profile of this place in general is on the lighter (slightly bland) side, so if you like hearty flavor in your face food, this is not the place for you.
Some Dishes I liked:
–Stir Fried Bamboo with pork.
–Stewed pig’s blood and intestine
–Taiwanese sausage
As many people have said, DO NOT get the beef noodle soup.
They also sell Ba Wan to go (frozen).
They do not make it in-​house, but it is pretty decent. Makes for a nice snack just pop it in the microwave ~3minutes and drizzle some sauce over.

Lai Chen, you are a travesty to Taiwanese cuisine.
Let’s start with your braised beef noodle soup (niu rou mien), number A22 on the menu. This is a mainstay Taiwanese staple for our hero and you have messed it up big time. Way to make your broth nearly undrinkable. It tasted like it’s 90% soy sauce and 10% vinegar. The braised beef was overcooked and tremendously hard to chew. On the other hand, the greens were undercooked. The noodles were the only thing you could do well in that entire dish. Being big isn’t everything when it just doesn’t taste good at all.
Even your lunch combos suck. $ 7 for a two item combo and you’ve hardly got half the selection of Sam Woo? Your fried rice was so greasy that it turned a diner’s stomach within 10 minutes of consumption.
They even have the Westernized favorites of orange chicken, kung pow chicken, brocolli and beef, and even… a BENTO BOX on the menu. Seriously guys? Bento box in a Taiwanese restaurant?
PROS:
— The restaurant is fairly well lit and relatively clean.
CONS:
— Parking is horrible.
— There’s nothing Taiwanese about the décor here. It looks like they bought all their booths from a defunct taco shop.
— Food is too salty. There’s no balance in spices whatsoever.
— Quantity trumps quality by far.
— Their menu is largely in Chinese and it’s tough to know what dishes are exactly unless you’re very knowledgeable with the cuisine.

**2/​6/​2011**
Ordered take-​out around 8p and the food (chicken roll and Ma-​La pork) wasn’t as good. Perhaps it was close to closing time for the place or maybe dinner isn’t as good? The pork in the Ma La dish was extremely dry and the chicken roll was a bit mushy …
****
It’s not that easy finding an authentic Taiwanese restaurant here in SD. We have 168 (in 99 Ranch), a few Boba places perhaps (Tea Garden, Tea Station, etc). But it’s been tough finding something that just hits home.
My family read about this new Taiwanese restaurant opening in Miramar. I know Miramar pretty well and was surprised to hear this. To my surprise, it’s located in THE worst location EVER in Miramar — the parking lot from über-​hell. It’s in the tiny, congested strip mall that houses Taste of Lebanon, Robertos (?), Subway, an Indian restaurant, etc etc. It took over the old Vietnamese fast food joint in the one corner.
At first glance. as all 6 of us stood outside the restaurant looking like total idiots, we thought, WTH, this isn’t a restaurant. It’s a fast food joint. You could see on their wall menu that it advertised certain standard lunch specials: steak bento, Beef noodle soup, Salmon bento. WTH. Taiwanese my a**. My uncle walked in to inquire and they said that they have a special Taiwanese menu and we can just sit down and someone will take our order.
So we did. A nice Taiwanese lady came by and gave us a one page menu written in ALL chinese. NO english. THIS is a good sign :) Thank goodness everyone in my group knew how to read chinese. (see pic of menu)
We ordered:
1. Pork Meatball soup: nice flavor, nothing special
2. Three spiced chicken (?): all dark meat (w/​bones) stir fried in a nice, pungent sweet sauce and lots of basil. Family liked it
3. Fried chicken roll wrapped in tofu: I loved this dish! It was really light and airy (see pic)
4. Glutinous dough stuffed w/​pork, bamboo, mushrooms (Ba Wan): not sure if it’s home made but it tasted nice
5. Fatty pork, minced meat, sauteed bamboo, pickled veggies over rice: The fatty pork was really melt-​in-​your-​mouth good! The minced meat was a bit salty (see pic)
6. Stir fried green veggies: not sure the name of the vegetable but it was really nicely prepared: just the right amount of fresh garlic, salt, and oil
7. Spicy (Ma-​La) dish w/​stomach, tofu, and cabbage (?): I believe it’s called Ma-​La Du (Spicy stomach): I’m not a lover, whatsoever, of any stomach lining, guts, intestines, etc. So this dish was hard to eat but what i was able to eat, I enjoyed.
And they ordered a few other things that I have NO idea how to translate into English.
Went back alone this week, actually TWICE, and had an amazing experience.
I still ordered the fried chicken roll. But this time, when speaking to the same waitress, I asked her if there were ANY other Ma-​La dishes WITHOUT stomach or guts/​etc. She said no BUT that she can have them make it w/​something else and asked what I like. I said pork? She smiled and said ok, sure, i can have them make the same dish but instead of stomach, they’ll use pork. I forgot to mention that this is a dish served COLD.
What came out was simply beautiful. Sorry to be so dramatic. But for those of you that remember the original Spicy City in convoy (before it was sold to another owner), this dish will make you remember what it was like to taste really authentic Ma-​La flavors (remember their famous Husband/​Wife appetizer?!).
But this dish consisted of freshly cut napa cabbage, fried dried tofu cut into thin strips, hot peppers, pork. And the spices, my goodness, the spices… it just makes me smile in comfort b/​c I realized that this will probably be my favorite dish for a very long time.
Excuse the long post. But I figured someone out there is probably searching for an authentic Taiwanese place just like I was.
A few things:
1. There’s no english menu (for the Taiwanese dishes) so far. But the head waitress is incredibly nice. I’m not sure how her English is as we spoke mainly Mandarin.
2. The place consist of small booths (2 – 4 ppl MAX per booth). It’s not your typical Jasmine/​Emerald style large family seating. I did see one large table that maybe seats 6 ppl
3. They give you a nice (gratis!) cucumber salad before your meal (see pic)
4. Parking sucks major a**. I stood there for 5 min in horror after lunch today watching some poor woman trying to back out of a space that was too cramped
Hope to see what others have to say about this place. But I’m pretty sure this will be my go-​to place for a while :)