Flames heat iron wok
Noodles char on hot metal
Smoky aroma.
I remember when this mall was built and Woo Chee Chong was the anchor tenant. My uncle was the executive chef.
Every visit I looked forward to getting a quart of pork chow mein. Sometimes I watched as he cooked up a fresh batch in the wok. Big fat egg noodles had a unique flavor I’ve never experienced anywhere else. Noodles and the cabbage and the pork tasted so good. My uncle was always in the kitchen cooking till it closed in 1993. 🙁
Now the Dumpling Inn chefs are cooking in that same prep area.
3 ingredient pan fried noodles. The chicken and shrimp are perfectly cooked and delicious. I don’t eat calamari. I wonder if they would substitute pork next time… Crispy egg noodles and broccoli have a nice flavor. This dish is in my top 10 fav pan fried noodle list.
Pork pan fried noodles is my fav dish here. The noodles are crunchy till you soak them in sauce. Sauce gives this dish a delicious flavor. Pork is tender and has delicious pork flavor.
Wor won ton noodle soup. Chicken, and shrimp was tender and had good flavor. Pork won tons had good flavor. I’m biased towards pork and shrimp won tons though. Broth was delicious and I could have drunk the whole bowl.
Chinese sausage fried rice had contrasting flavors at play. Rice had a mild smoky wok flavor while the sausage had a fresh vibrant savory flavor. The sausage is among the best I’ve found in town.
The last time I had delicious Woo Chee Chong chow mein was a few years ago when I saw my uncle at a potluck. Dumpling Inn has carried on a great noodle tradition in this space. I love how they turned the space into a classy eatery. It is a big improvement over the old Dumpling Inn space. I’ll be back to try the chow mein.
Kirk of mmm-yoso!!! and Faye of Faye’s Fork have visited too.
4625 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111 (858) 268-9638
San Diego, CA 92111 (858) 268-9638
Great story about your Uncle! Lovely food pictures.
Thanks! The food was great!
Nice story Soo!
Thanks Kirk!
Gotta try the place! It brings back fond memories of shopping for cioppino ingredients at Woo Chi Chongs’!
Give the noodles or fried rice a try. That’s what I keep coming back for. 🙂
I’m totally drawing a blank about Woo Chee Chong. I know I’ve heard the name but cannot remember anything (looks, logo, etc) about it. That’s cool your uncle was the lead chef of a restaurant! Did you get any perks for knowing him 🙂 Did he retire?
It was the first Chinese Market in San Diego. You can read about the origins here:
http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sdut-community-leader-jennings-hom-dies-at-87-2011jun18-story.html
I got free chow mein and he did retire.
Cool story! I wasn’t in SD back then but sounds like your Uncle was legit.
Thanks! He made some great chow mein. I usually order pan fried noodles at restaurants cause the chow mein usually isn’t as good as his.
I fondly remember your uncle’s cooking. We lived in SD over 30 years ago, we still speak of it today! We went to the downtown store, Kearny Mesa, Chula Vista. Think tried them all. You know, I ask any chinese restaurant I visit to make chow mein like Woo Chee’s, lots of cabbage! No one has the fat noodles, never seen them. Thank you Soo! Good to know about the news article, it was informative!
Thanks for writing Keldom! I visited the downtown store a lot then we followed him to the Kearny Mesa store. I never visited the Chula Vista or the Oceanside locations. Sadly I’ve tried chow mein all over town but nobody makes it like my uncle Labu made it. OB Noodle House makes a delicious pan fried noodle dish with cabbage.
Soo
I’ve been searching for chow mein like your uncle’s/WCC! I wish we could get the ingredients!
Sadly I have not seen my uncle since the Apocalypse. Hopefully there will be a family get together this year.
I loved your uncle’s chow mein. Any chance you can post a family recipe, if it exists. My father used to buy it on Saturdays for everyone that worked at our store. Incredible noodles.
Ray,
Glad you enjoyed the noodles! I asked my brother if he could get the recipe. If I get it I’ll post it on the blog.
Soo
Hey, just wondering if he was willing to share the recipe. Hope you all made through the pandemic well.
Hi Ray! Sadly I was not able to get a recipe. My brother gave me general instructions but I didn’t get any details like exact amount of ingredients or where to get the noodles Woo Chee Chong used.
Over the years I’ve Googled Woo Che Chong… I grew up on those noodles and I never appreciated it until years later and no one makes them.
Hi! I’ve never found noodles like Woo Chee Chong had but you should give OB Noodle House a try. They have some great tasting pan fried noodles: https://www.hungryones.com/2020/11/ob-noodle-house/
Thank you so, so much! My family frequented the location on 3rd avenue. My dad would pick (steal!) fresh rosemary from the thriving hedge that surrounded the parking lot.
Those chewy noodles were perfection, simple and delicious with the breath of wok before white people knew about breath of wok.. we just new it was yummy and smokey. 😁
My parent sold restaurant and bakery equipment on Main street, and like most business owners, spent the majority of their lives *in* the business and relied on a rotation of favorite, local places to pick up lunch and/or dinner. Back then, La Nena’s was still on Main st., as was Nelson Sloan (locally owned cement company) and a whole community of businesses that have long been replaced. (Thankfully Roberto’s is still doing just fine, and I even see the same woman -from the 90s-working the window on Broadway!)
I am thoroughly excited to try the noodles, well worth the drive (I live near SDSU). The great thing about the preparation (from what I remember) was just the very few ingredients and short and accurate cooking, and you also could barely lift the giant container because it was so packed it would barely close.
I just had my second Vax yesterday and am going to really need some OB noodles, thankfully my spouse is game.
Did you ever write about the recipe? Or could you share the style or origin of the cooking flavor? I read the thicker noodles held up better to sitting in a steam table insert, but they never had food sitting around for very long. The noodle texture is what I’ve never been able duplicate.
Also, I have tried the Whole Foods (Hillcrest location) Chinese food made to order, and they do use a similar noodle, but it’s just not the same.
Thank you for your time!
Thanks for your story! I noticed there are some office buildings with rosemary hedges so I help prune them when I need some fresh rosemary.
I have not seen my uncle since Covid started. I asked my brother for more info about the recipe but he just gave me some generic advice about buying ingredients at 99 Ranch. I’ve never seen those fat noodles at 99Ranch. I’ll have to check Whole Foods.
That’s good you experienced the 3rd avenue location. I’ve always gone to the Convoy ST. location.
Just a heads up the noodles at OB Noodle House taste awesome but they are nothing like the ones at Woo Chee Chong.
Thank you, Soo! Pruning, that is the correct term! lol
Yes, I’ve stayed away from my family and friends, laid off for a year, I have seen people but we’ve been masked up and distanced… And we had takeout maybe 4 times, we have been careful and I’m grateful my Mom is safe… But it’s been hard getting our elders to navigate the system when my mother isn’t really that great at using her fairly basic cellphone.
Thank you for letting me know the noodles are good and different… They do look good (at OB)
Warm regards to you and your family, also in these precarious times, I simply can’t abide the racist BS, I will cut somebody. Again, thanks! It’s a small thing but thrilling to be able to connect with a person that knows the noodles of which I speak (my spouse is an East coast transplant)
That’s good your family is safe. Now that everyone can get vaccinated it’s nice you can eat inside.
You are welcome! It’s nice seeing other fans of the awesome Woo Chee Chong noodles. Another spot with awesome wok flavor is Minh Ky: https://www.hungryones.com/2016/02/minh-kys-chinese-new-year-celebration/
You can see other places I’ve tried by searching for pan fried noodles or chow mein on the blog.