Saturday, July 14, 2007

RED PEARL KITCHEN - San Diego

Red Pearl Kitchen is one of my favorite Pan-Asian eateries. The Red Pearl is located in the Gas Lamp District, a revitalized downtown area of San Diego. Exotic, hip, and contemporary can describe this entertaining restaurant. Each of my visits have been as good as the last.

My good friend, Marty, & I arrived early and had martinis in the bar. I had a Lychee martini. It was tasty but more pureed lychee than I remembered & not enough vodka. I moved on to Effen vodka dirty martinis. Now, this was a martini!

Ok, I have to confess. I remember all of the dishes we devoured, but I had 1 too many martinis to put all the details to paper. This is a summary of the dishes we chose to share.

For starters, we had the Chicken Ginger Pot stickers with blackened sesame seeds and a fantastic dipping sauce of passion fruit juice, ginger & soy sauce. So good, we had a 2nd plate. Green Curry Chicken Satay followed. The green curry sauce was a wonderful blend of flavors including coconut milk, coriander, and chilies. Perfect for smothering the grilled chicken.

Odon noodles with mushrooms and Asian greens arrived. This must be the Thai version of comfort food. The combination of mushrooms, garlic, ginger and sesame oil & stock created an earthy, satisfying noodle broth. The Kobe beef with chucks of the sweetest papaya and mint leaves was an excellent recommendation. This Kobe beef stir fried delicacy was superb, leaving me speechless! This does not happen to often.

Yes, after hearing the dessert list, we felt the need to indulge. We had the very refreshing Watermelon Sorbet. The sorbet was served with chunky cherry compote and slivers of toasted almonds. A perfect ending to a perfect meal.

Friendly, helpful and sexy staff adds to the evening! Reservations highly recommended.

Mmm, Mmm, Mmm…
Link
http://www.redpearlkitchen.com/sandiego

$$
++++
✦✦✦✦

Entrée
$ 10
$$ 20
$$$ 30
$$$$ 40+

Staff
+ Stop bothering me!
++ Anyone here?
+++ Stopped when in the area.
++++ As needed and friendly.
+++++ Invisibly perfect!

Overall
✦ “One visit too many!”
✦✦ “Convince me!”
✦✦✦ “I’ll be back!”
✦✦✦✦ “Same table next week!”

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