Hometown Taste

By dce88 on September 28, 2024

I checked out Hometown Taste in Rancho Bernardo and was somewhat impressed. The restaurant is bright, clean and thoughtfully adorned with subdued Chinese décor, lanterns and whatnot. I found the service to be most pleasant and nice. Parking was surprisingly easy considering they share a lot with Jack in the Box and Carl's Jr. Wine glasses were clean and generously filled. Egg Drop Soup to start was tasty. Prices here are quite reasonable all things considered! I will be back for sure. I appreciate the option of fried rice with my lunch special dishes and was most delighted to see no extra charge for that. I asked about ordering a Fried Wonton Appetizer and the server stated that the lunch special comes with a spring roll. That's nice, but it's not what I asked.

I ordered Kung Pao Chicken and it was decent, although not the best you'll find in about a 5 mile radius from here. I think the most off-putting thing for me was it not being spicy. The menu calls out "spicy" however when I got the itemized receipt at the end, it was marked "mild". I didn't know I had a choice! I wish they would have asked. I know at Thai restaurants they have their arbitrary numerical scales of spice they're always quizzing me on when I order. Sometimes it's 1-10, or 0-5, I can never keep track. I've never been asked about spice levels at a Chinese establishment. Either the dish is spicy or it's not. Anyway, the Kung Pao itself was good in that it did not contain any extra unnecessary fillers like water chestnuts, mushrooms, etc. However the wok sear was not as pronounced as I like. The mouthfeel was just a little too flaccid for me. The orange slices were pretty but it did make me feel like a toddler.