Name：湘村人家  Taste of Hunan

Add：9880 Hibert St, San Diego, CA 92131

Web：https://taste-of-hunan.business.site/

Reviews：

Came here a bit later so no wait (YAY!). The food was amazing! We got the fish fillet with pickled vegetables and chicken gizzards. Gizzards were fairly spicy, in a good way. The fish fillets were yummy and the flavor was addicting. Definitely can't wait to come back to try more dishes!
Everything looked so good. Looking around, a lot of different dishes were out -- which just shows that they had a lot of great selections. I love the way the dishes are presented! A lot of big plates and bowls, definitely meant to share.
The service was lovely. Everyone was kind and attentive. I really love the menu. It is fully colored and every item was pictured. This helps so much with the ordering decision. The ordering sheet was easy to understand as well.
No issues with finding parking in the parking lot either.
Can't wait to return!

How come this place does not have at least 4 stars!
Customer service: the aunty who is definitely from Hunan and welcomed us was really nice; the guys who served us was really chill. Although there were a lot of people we didn't wait long until we got all the dishes.
Food: AUTHENTIC. This place legit looks and tastes like the ones I would find in Beijing, and even better. All the dishes were really good. All my international friends loved it, saying that this is the best Chinese food they have had so far!
Be sure to order the FISH - any fish, especially the house special.
The beef with chili was really really good too. The Fern root noddle inside was really surprisingly good.
Intestines was not greasy but crunchy. Delicious.
The cauliflower was really delicious and not as oily as other places.
I will definitely try to go back again!
 

MEAT! This is the best Chinese BBQ and cold Duck I have had in San Diego. I was impressed by the dishes so much that I had to try something truly spicy. They place a flame on the table and a bowl of bone in meat with spicy peppers and veggies. This is tough to eat without rice so I request a bowl to dillute the spices.
Great restaurant. Glad I found it.

I've been in SD for a few years but haven't found many good Chinese food places. This place is definitely one of the better ones.
My friends and I ordered the ...
-Steamed Pork with Preserved Vegetable & Bun
Definitely recommend ordering this dish. The pork belly is fall-apart tender and the steam buns are super fluffy. The pork belly by itself has a good flavor but the bun tones it down a bit so I wished there was a sauce I could spread on the buns.
-Fish Fillet with preserved Vegetable Soup
I was a bit worried that the soup wouldn't be drinkable since there was preserved vegetables in it but the soup went well with their white rice. It was like a light peppery soup.
-Fried Intestines
It came with a chili sauce and hoisin sauce. Not that big of a fan of intestines since it's really chewy but I liked how the skin was still crispy.
-Sauteed Seasonal Green Vegetable (not pictured)
It was the standard bok choy you can get at any Chinese restaurant. Not much to say about it
Overall I had a good experience and I'd come back again. Saw a lot of Asian families there so it's a sign that the food is actually good haha
 

Just next to Board & Brew, in the vicinity of Trader Joe's, we decided to drop in for an early dinner for 2.
Attentive service, but it can feel a little bit overbearing as the staff seems too enthusiastic before we are ready to order. We could use a little more privacy to review the menu and think of what to eat.
The menu has really interesting and unfamiliar Hunan dishes. I have not had too much Hunan cuisine, so I can't vouch for its authenticity. I think this would be a great place for large group meals as you could order different dishes to experience.
Since there were only 2 of us, we opted for 3 dishes:
1. Pickled cabbage & dried pork belly fried rice. Great plate of fried rice. Not too greasy and the pickled cabbage also helps cut the grease a little.
2. House Pig feet: This was a very tender dish, and much better enjoyed with white rice as the sauce is quite flavorful. Nothing wrong about that. Just better balance with white rice instead of fried rice.
3. Saute veggie of the day: bok choy
We requested that garlic be whole instead of crushed/minced. The veggie was fresh and super flavorful with the right amount of seasoning. Wokness is present.
Prices are a little bit on the higher end, but if the quality delivers, it's well worth paying for.
so far so good! Looking forward to try other dishes in the future.
 

We arrived at 11:50am on a Friday and the restaurant was about 80% full. The entrance quickly stacked up as the host tried to get people seated. There was an older lady who stood there and complained (bark bark bark!) for 5 mins straight in Chinese about the location of her table. The host did his best despite the noise (bark bark bark!).
You get a large menu with lots of helpful photos. When you are ready to order, you mark the printed paper with your selections, which also has photos and the prices. Both were helpful to me.
There were only 2 of us so we ordered 3 items.
1. Smashed eggplant and Century egg - very unique and our favorite. It also has roasted green peppers which added a nice spicy depth. Kind of like a spicy hot baba ganoush
2. Pickled fish soup - lots of fish and little filler, compared to other dishes that fill the bottom with noodles or cabbage. This has a pleasant sour flavor with lots of white pepper.
3. Cumin lamb - compared to the other 2 dishes, this one fell short for us. We both love cumin lamb and this one wasn't spicy enough even though it had 2 peppers to indicate spice level. The buns that accompanied the dish were different, but perhaps a little too thick for my style.
Food came out slowly. The first dish took 20-25 mins. The remaining 2 dishes followed 10 mins later.
Parking is a zoo during the lunch rush. There was a steady line of people trying to get seated while we ate. The host offered to call people as tables opened up.
Overall, the staff was friendly and helpful.  I hope they work out the food-to-table timing. I think this will drastically help manage hungry guests and turn over tables.
Will certainly be back to try more dishes.
 

We arrived at 11:50am on a Friday and the restaurant was about 80% full. The entrance quickly stacked up as the host tried to get people seated. There was an older lady who stood there and complained (bark bark bark!) for 5 mins straight in Chinese about the location of her table. The host did his best despite the noise (bark bark bark!).
You get a large menu with lots of helpful photos. When you are ready to order, you mark the printed paper with your selections, which also has photos and the prices. Both were helpful to me.
There were only 2 of us so we ordered 3 items.
1. Smashed eggplant and Century egg - very unique and our favorite. It also has roasted green peppers which added a nice spicy depth. Kind of like a spicy hot baba ganoush.
2. Pickled fish soup - lots of fish and little filler, compared to other dishes that fill the bottom with noodles or cabbage. This has a pleasant sour flavor with lots of white pepper.
3. Cumin lamb - compared to the other 2 dishes, this one fell short for us. We both love cumin lamb and this one wasn't spicy enough even though it had 2 peppers to indicate spice level. The buns that accompanied the dish were different, but perhaps a little too thick for my style.
Food came out slowly. The first dish took 20-25 mins. The remaining 2 dishes followed 10 mins later.
Parking is a zoo during the lunch rush. There was a steady line of people trying to get seated while we ate. The host offered to call people as tables opened up.
Overall, the staff was friendly and helpful.  I hope they work out the food-to-table timing. I think this will drastically help manage hungry guests and turn over tables.
Will certainly be back to try more dishes.
 

Authentic food and fast service. The lady who seems to be managing the place is very cool and welcoming. She is obviously from Hunan with a cute accent. I'm glad I tried this place and will come back.

For Chinese food in San Diego this is pretty good we ordered the pig feet, egg fried rice with chili pepper, cumin lamb, and the green beans. The pig feet is well flavored and has a good amount of fat. It's a classic dish that I enjoyed a lot. The fried rice is a lot spicier than expected and the chilies is well incorporated into the dish. The green beans are fried with garlic and are on the oily side. The cumin lamb comes with buns that is really enjoyable, since the buns help even out the spiciness of everything else.

This place was absolutely delicious. Heads up, the restaurant is best suitable for parties 4 or more. The portions are huge and meant to be shared. My mom and I went during their weeks following their grand opening so it's fairly new to the Scripps Ranch area. Great welcoming service, the food is delicious and I would recommend any family to dropping by during a weekend :) The pictures of the food I took speaks for itself

This place is anazing and very authentic. At lunch and dinner its filled with Chinese people so you know its popular. All their food has been wonderful. I've had beef noodle soup, pork buns, walnut shrimp (they have the best imo), century egg, chow mein, a whole gupper, bullfrog, and sesame balls in rice pudding. I found most of them amazing! Just was never a fan of pork legs bc I grew up eating too many haha.
The thing you should know about the service - they won't check on you - you'll have to shout or wave them over. But this is how it is in China/SE Asia.
 

Back here 7x within 2 months! Still love all the entrees we ordered.  Must say their daily soup is a must have, it is what my mother usually makes! We also tried and love their dessert 湯圓 (rice dumpling). Attentive servers and pretty fast  service.  They get busy during dinner hours so come slightly after like 8ish or before 6 if you dont want to wait...  if you want authentic Chinese food this is it!!!

Back here 7x within 2 months! Still love all the entrees we ordered.  Must say their daily soup is a must have, it is what my mother usually makes! We also tried and love their dessert 湯圓 (rice dumpling). Attentive servers and pretty fast  service.  They get busy during dinner hours so come slightly after like 8ish or before 6 if you dont want to wait...  if you want authentic Chinese food this is it!!!

I had an early dinner here late afternoon on a Saturday. Great fresh fish and stir-fried marinated beef, friendly service, beautiful menu design, soothing music, tasteful decor. Highly recommended.

This was the best Chinese food I have ever eaten. From the whole steamed grouper to the glass noodles with shrimp everything was excellent. The food was fresh and authentic, one of the people I was dining with had recently returned from a trip to China, and he was very impressed. I saw many dishes on their menu that I will definitely be trying on future visits. Do yourself a favor and try the sauteed shredded potato with vinegar.

This was the best Chinese food I have ever eaten. From the whole steamed grouper to the glass noodles with shrimp everything was excellent. The food was fresh and authentic, one of the people I was dining with had recently returned from a trip to China, and he was very impressed. I saw many dishes on their menu that I will definitely be trying on future visits. Do yourself a favor and try the sauteed shredded potato with vinegar.
 

Authentic Hunan cuisine. Testy spicy food full of flavors. Friendly no fuss quick service. Love it, will be back again soon.

Verdict: Delish! I'll be going back whenever I have the craving!
Details: I am coming out of my elite hiatus of 2 years to write a review because the reviews for this new place made me hesitant to want to try it. I'm glad I ignored the star rating. I am giving a most thorough review to clarify because I don't want this awesome place to shut down due to potentially unreliable reviews.
I read complaints of being too full, too oily, must be a native speaker, not spicy enough, too adventurous. So I will address these comments first.
-Too full: order less or take it home for lunch leftovers. This is a family style restaurant, not Panda Express. Please know the difference.
-Too oily: know the difference between grease vs lard vs butter cooking vs natural oils being cooked out. There is actually more oil in most other cuisines because you are adding grease, lard, butter into a food item. The oils you see in the soups, are natural separation from cooking, braising, etc. If you cooked straight chicken in water with nothing else added, your broth would have the same signs of oil.
-not spicy enough: there's literally hot sauce condiments at every table for you to add to. It's way better to under spice and you adjust it yourself than to burn out of half of your other customers.
-too adventurous: yes frog and blood may seem exotic but the menu selection is HUGE. Don't order IT if you're not into it. Also I'd like to point out many people in the south eat those things. Americans from the south eat those things. It's not exotic. Texans eat armadillos. Get over it or avoid it. Just don't complain about it and claim its too ethnic or exotic.
-must be a native speaker: no. The menu is in English and you can ask them questions. Just be patient. Otherwise READ the English descriptions. Order as "safe" as you need to. Don't blame your inexperience of the cuisine on the restaurant.
My actual experience. Food was authentic, delicious, with a great selection. Their soup of the day tastes like mom's homemade soup that I cannot get anywhere else. We finished the cauldron with only 3 people, it was THAT good. Pretty sure that pot is meant to feed a big family. For lunar new year dinner we also had dumplings, lamb cumin, noodles, and the trio cold appetizer plate. Cold dishes were very authentic and great with a beer. Lamb was way to spicy for me but I'm pretty weak. My friends loved it. I could eat more dumplings. Like right now....
The staff spoke Mandarin, some Cantonese and English. We spoke all 3 at our table. They checked on us regularly and refilled out tea promptly. No wait on lunar new year!
In conclusion, awesome place will be back regularly. Don't knock it till you've tried it. Please try not to be so close-minded. Or stick to your narrow lane and only review what you know. If you wanted to complain about the service then fine. Otherwise if you admitted that you don't know, don't base a rating on food you straight up don't know. Do I rate BBQ joints on their spicy food when it's too spicy for me? No! I give you what my friends told me cuz I'm obviously spice biased. And the star rating is for what I did enjoy and overall experience, not food I ordered wrong or don't know much about.
 

Hunan food. Pretty awesome n authentic Hunan style. Hard to find good food. Not salty, not light, right balance.

By yelp