Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

A Wei Wei Asian Express Xmas

Chinese take-out owes holiday color to red chili flakes, green onions... strawberry, and basil?

A take out holiday feast of strawberry chicken, vegetable chow fun, steamed pork dumplings, and basil beef
A take out holiday feast of strawberry chicken, vegetable chow fun, steamed pork dumplings, and basil beef

If there’s a fine line between tradition and cliché, no action straddles it better than ordering Chinese take-out on December 25th. Noodles, dumplings, mistletoe — all swirl together in whichever part of the brain nostalgia and hunger meet to cook up seasonal cravings.

Place

Wei Wei Express

6465 University Ave., San Diego

At my house, I was tasked with checking ahead to make sure a close-by restaurant would be open to fuel a two-day binge of takeout and leftovers. And I’m glad I did, because though it would prove to be open, it turned out the place I had in mind streamlines its Christmas Day operation to limited hours.

Only recently did I realize this shop I had been driving past for ages is not a Pei Wei Asian kitchen — the nationwide, fast-casual offshoot of P.F. Chang’s, which has one location here, in the Mission Valley mall. The sign I’d been misreading actually says: Wei Wei Asian Express. an independent, local outfit, operating two counter shop locations: one in Rolando, another in outer La Mesa.

Sponsored
Sponsored
Wei Wei Asian Express in Rolando

Most days, each location offers take-out and delivery from lunch through dinner — its own free delivery service too, not merely third-party apps. But on Christmas, their hours were shortened, from 11 am til 4pm only. Online ordering was turned off, but an efficient Wei Wei machine was turned on.

When I walked into the small shop to retrieve my food, a team of young adults kept busy behind a counter to produce a consistent output of wrapped up take-out orders. White plastic bags filled the counter, packed tightly with the likes of orange chicken, kung pao shrimp, chow mein noodles, and a passably good ramen for under ten bucks.

Wei Wei Asian Express in La Mesa

For those in the know, I would bet most orders included Wei Wei’s crispy salt and pepper wings ($15/dozen, $8/half). All things considered, the breaded and fried wings may be the best menu item, dressed simply with garlic, green onions, and chili pepper flakes, plus a “secret seasoning.” If that secret doesn’t involve the MSG-word, then I’m entirely at a loss for why I can’t get enough of them.

Overall, Wei Wei can be a little hit or miss. I’ve found the noodle dishes mostly forgettable, the best being the vegetable and wide rice noodles chow fun ($10.50). The steamed pork “dragon buns” ($7.25/half-dozen) are fairly standard, comparable to a good grocery store brand. And it’s tough to go wrong with the assortment of Chinese-American restaurant favorites, breaded-and-fried entrees such as walnut shrimp, orange chicken, lemon chicken, or sweet and sour anything.

Salt and pepper wings with red chili flakes, green onions, and a "secret" seasoning

For a holiday twist, I decided to try a similar dish, somewhat unique to Wei Wei: strawberry chicken ($12.20). Yes, it’s basically orange or lemon chicken, but switch the fruit. Rather than a citrus glaze, the fried chicken pieces are coated in, basically, strawberry jelly. It’s a sweeter dish than the others, which I found better with the help of Wei Wei’s red chili paste.

The most interesting dish may be the signature Wei Wei chicken ($12.20), also available as a beef ($13.20) or shrimp ($14.20) dish. It’s a sort of stir fry dish, only coated with basil sauce. I haven’t found basil in many Chinese dishes in my life — or in my research. It’s a pretty interesting dish — I detect a background of more-to-be-expected garlic, ginger, and soy, but the basil clearly wins out. Maybe there’s a bit of Taiwanese influence here? Or Thai?

Whatever the idea or tradition behind the dish, it tastes like Christmas to me now.

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Mary Catherine Swanson wants every San Diego student going to college

Where busing from Southeast San Diego to University City has led
Next Article

East San Diego County has only one bike lane

So you can get out of town – from Santee to Tierrasanta
A take out holiday feast of strawberry chicken, vegetable chow fun, steamed pork dumplings, and basil beef
A take out holiday feast of strawberry chicken, vegetable chow fun, steamed pork dumplings, and basil beef

If there’s a fine line between tradition and cliché, no action straddles it better than ordering Chinese take-out on December 25th. Noodles, dumplings, mistletoe — all swirl together in whichever part of the brain nostalgia and hunger meet to cook up seasonal cravings.

Place

Wei Wei Express

6465 University Ave., San Diego

At my house, I was tasked with checking ahead to make sure a close-by restaurant would be open to fuel a two-day binge of takeout and leftovers. And I’m glad I did, because though it would prove to be open, it turned out the place I had in mind streamlines its Christmas Day operation to limited hours.

Only recently did I realize this shop I had been driving past for ages is not a Pei Wei Asian kitchen — the nationwide, fast-casual offshoot of P.F. Chang’s, which has one location here, in the Mission Valley mall. The sign I’d been misreading actually says: Wei Wei Asian Express. an independent, local outfit, operating two counter shop locations: one in Rolando, another in outer La Mesa.

Sponsored
Sponsored
Wei Wei Asian Express in Rolando

Most days, each location offers take-out and delivery from lunch through dinner — its own free delivery service too, not merely third-party apps. But on Christmas, their hours were shortened, from 11 am til 4pm only. Online ordering was turned off, but an efficient Wei Wei machine was turned on.

When I walked into the small shop to retrieve my food, a team of young adults kept busy behind a counter to produce a consistent output of wrapped up take-out orders. White plastic bags filled the counter, packed tightly with the likes of orange chicken, kung pao shrimp, chow mein noodles, and a passably good ramen for under ten bucks.

Wei Wei Asian Express in La Mesa

For those in the know, I would bet most orders included Wei Wei’s crispy salt and pepper wings ($15/dozen, $8/half). All things considered, the breaded and fried wings may be the best menu item, dressed simply with garlic, green onions, and chili pepper flakes, plus a “secret seasoning.” If that secret doesn’t involve the MSG-word, then I’m entirely at a loss for why I can’t get enough of them.

Overall, Wei Wei can be a little hit or miss. I’ve found the noodle dishes mostly forgettable, the best being the vegetable and wide rice noodles chow fun ($10.50). The steamed pork “dragon buns” ($7.25/half-dozen) are fairly standard, comparable to a good grocery store brand. And it’s tough to go wrong with the assortment of Chinese-American restaurant favorites, breaded-and-fried entrees such as walnut shrimp, orange chicken, lemon chicken, or sweet and sour anything.

Salt and pepper wings with red chili flakes, green onions, and a "secret" seasoning

For a holiday twist, I decided to try a similar dish, somewhat unique to Wei Wei: strawberry chicken ($12.20). Yes, it’s basically orange or lemon chicken, but switch the fruit. Rather than a citrus glaze, the fried chicken pieces are coated in, basically, strawberry jelly. It’s a sweeter dish than the others, which I found better with the help of Wei Wei’s red chili paste.

The most interesting dish may be the signature Wei Wei chicken ($12.20), also available as a beef ($13.20) or shrimp ($14.20) dish. It’s a sort of stir fry dish, only coated with basil sauce. I haven’t found basil in many Chinese dishes in my life — or in my research. It’s a pretty interesting dish — I detect a background of more-to-be-expected garlic, ginger, and soy, but the basil clearly wins out. Maybe there’s a bit of Taiwanese influence here? Or Thai?

Whatever the idea or tradition behind the dish, it tastes like Christmas to me now.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Reader writer Chris Ahrens tells the story of Windansea

The shack is a landmark declaring, “The best break in the area is out there.”
Next Article

Mary Catherine Swanson wants every San Diego student going to college

Where busing from Southeast San Diego to University City has led
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader