West Pac Noodle Bar

This post was originally written to go out in late January of this year, however, I decided to wait it out because I wasn't sure if we would revisit...turns out we didn't, for reasons which will be discussed later in this post...

But hey, enjoy this awesome view of the San Diego skyline while crossing the Coronado Bridge...

Bert and I were off to visit my mom...

who was recovering from knee replacement surgery.  Although she was projected to be released within a few days, that definitely wasn't happening with her.  After visiting, my dad and my brother who also happened to be there, we took off to have dinner before going home.

This was a rarity for both of us since it was a weekday and not a Friday either.

I'd read there was a new restaurant open on Orange Ave (the main drag in Coronado) which owed its influences to the various ports for the Western Pacific deployment program (aka WestPac). As children of Navy men, both Bert and I knew about these six month deployments in various exotic locales. We were curious to try it but in the back of my head, I also figured, "This is Coronado..." meaning it would be Gringofied/dumbed & stripped down fusion.

You can see the menu better through this link:

It was crowded when we arrived but we managed to be seated at a table for six (a couple would later join us midway into our meal).  The server did not give us menus. Bert had to walk over to get one. The server also did not give us waters until asked.  We were also waited on by three different guys.  Keeping in mind that they opened up not even a week prior, we figured they were still learning but wow, no menu before being seated?

This was Bert's red ale, the Charlie Hustle by Mason Ale Works in San Marcos.

It was smooth and easy to drink.

As for our dinner - I asked if there were Happy Hour specials, which I'm glad I did because we were on the tail end of it. Otherwise, if not, we would have spent more, ha ha.  Several of the appetizers were $5 like the lumpia (which we skipped) and the Togarashi shrimp (seen below) and the Korean chicken

Mediocre and man, only three, but then again, I should have kept my standards really low for this. Plus happy hour items are usually small portions, so no big. Shrimp were okay but the Togarashi sprinkles were not enough to give it a kick.

Dandan noodles with ground pork and additional bulgogi.  There was a LOT of meat in this which Bert liked. The bok choy was hard to eat nicely but maybe they draped it over the top for presentation? The bulgogi was also too salty. The white couple next to us ordered the Dandan noodles after seeing ours.


Okay, but not great. It was...edible.

Tame and bland papaya salad.  Was this even papaya at all?  Not even a hint of fish sauce.

The worst thing was this, what I call Bastardized Korean chicken - boneless breast pieces, WTF.  Breast?  They made sure to top each piece with a scallion curl. Sarcasm alert.

The menu for those not familiar with Asian food, is a pale imitation of the real versions.  Their audience here aren't going to be Japanese, Vietnamese, Filipino or Korean people. No, they were aiming for the hapless or random tourist from Podunkville just walking by, "Let's go here honey, wow, it looks so exotic" or whatever the fuck.

Don't get me wrong, I can see how this could appeal to some folks, but for someone who knows where to go for better versions, there will be no repeat visit for yours truly.  Servers were nice but service was very spotty.  After reading the recent article in the SD Reader, it only solidified my opinion that after all of these months, they are still not that great (in otherwords SUX).  One and done.  And for those who haven't gone? Seriously, don't bother.

It's also a shame that most people won't get the reference to the variety of foods on the menu since it's not explained that those particular countries are port of calls for the US Navy. Unless you have a navy background, you won't know this. My dad served in the US Navy from the mid-60's to the mid 80's and did a few West Pac tours himself. Many of these tours were six months long, during which my mom served as both mother and father to me and my two younger siblings. It was hard not having my dad around during those months when he was out to sea. But again, the reference to the restaurant's namesake and how it ties in with the menu items not that important than wowing the tourists with crappy pseudo-Asian dishes and stereotypical decor.

Articles:
"Asian noodle bar comes ashore in Coronado" SD Eater, Dec. 29, 2017
"Asian noodles, dumplings and small plates landing in Coronado" SD Eater, Aug. 17, 2017
"Crowed launch at West Pac" SD Reader, Jan 10, 2018 (Ed Bedford)

Plus  this recent article by SD Reader's Ian Anderson confirms the shitty mediocrity of this place:
"These noods are for nubes" SD Reader, July 6, 2018. One particular sentence stands out, "tourists aren't coming back, so why bother to impress?" (which goes without saying for pretty much every place in the Gaslamp Quarter and near the Hotel Del).

West Pac Noodle Bar
1166 Orange Ave
Coronado, CA 92118
(619) 313-6003

bluebridgehospitality.com/west-pac / fb page + reviews from that four lettered site (14 at time of this post's publication---and now six months later, 78)