LHK Noodle Bar — Restaurant in San Diego

I visited this location on July 15th, 2013.

To begin with, the service was less than welcoming as the wait staff didn't even bother to acknowledge my party of 8 when we walked in; they merely stared at us until we took the initiative to claim our own table. As we seated ourselves, one of the employees walked over and literally tossed some menus onto the table. The thoughtless service continued as they merely took our order without bothering to make us feel welcome in the establishment.

Secondly, I could actually excuse this sort of treatment from a privately owned restaurant because they don't really have anyone to hold them accountable to their actions, but what happened next is inexcusable for any one in the food service industry:

ROACHES. NOT ONE, BUT TWO OF THEM. My party and I were alerted to them when the table across from us started screaming, with one of the patrons jumping out of the booth as one of the roaches had crawled onto her skin. Both of the roaches were large, at least 1inch long, and were probably what most people would classify as "Oriental cockroaches" (google them if you need more information); they are large, disgusting roaches.

Well, the first roach that was swatted landed on the floor and ran underneath another booth. The second one ran from the table top and into another booth as well. The table who encountered the roaches went and notified the staff immediately and left in a hurry, no doubt because of their horrifying experience.

What makes this situation even worse was the RESPONSE OF THE STAFF, WHICH WAS NOTHING; NOTHING AT ALL! Eventually, both roaches came out of hiding and went back to the first booth where they came out of, no doubt to finish the Chinese food that was left by the family that ran out of the building. My table and I alerted the staff that the roaches returned and not a single one of them even bothered to come over to the tables to try and kill these disgusting creatures. Eventually, other tables started to notice the two roaches and started complaining as well. FINALLY, one of the waiters comes over and says, "oh it's ok, it's ok, we're good, we're good." BUT, he doesn't even try to kill the roaches! He merely chased them around and when they ran under another table to hide he gave up and just went back to work!

Now, I have been in the restaurant industry as an employee and a Manager for over 15 years. I will tell all of you people who aren't in the industry a simple but harsh fact: ALL RESTAURANTS HAVE PEST PROBLEMS; the key however, is how that restaurant handles it. Quality restaurants have a solid pest "control" program in place and you will almost never see a pest. However, places like THIS ONE where the employees don't even seem to care they're in the presence of food and guests tells me that this is a regular occurence in their establishment. What other sanitation and safety matters are they also ignoring? It's very easy to get sick at a public restaurant if the staff isn't careful about the food they're handling and the pests that are about the place.

Additionally, here's another reason to stay away from this place: there was no hand soap in EITHER THE MEN'S OR WOMEN'S restrooms, which invariably means that the staff may not be washing their hands after using the toilet, or perhaps they're not washing their hands at all.

For the sake of your peace of mind as well as your HEALTH, I strongly recommend not eating at this establishment unless, just like the staff, you don't care about disease carrying cockroaches served with your...

My family and I always come back to this place when we're in San Diego. It's our 3rd time here, the food portion can't be beat given the price. It's delicious too!

Food: The food is really good! It's well seasoned and never too salty or too sweet. My family always ordered the egg spring roll. It's our favorite!

steamed fish fillet: my personal favorite, it's soft and melts in your mouth and so well seasoned. 5/5, hella recommend!

egg rolls: super yummy, crunchy and the sauce is sweet and evens out your taste bud! 5/5, recommend! beef chow fun: there's large flat noodles hidden underneath the beef and vegetables. it's really delicious because the beef isn't tough, just the right amount of chewy! the noodles is sweet and salty! amazing! 5/5, recommend!

chicken chow mein: the noodles were sooo good! i kept going back for this dish and it became my comfort dish. the chicken is chewy and divine! 100/10, get this!

hainan chicken rice: i wish there was soup to go with the rice, the chicken wasn't too well seasoned, not a favorite of ours. 4/5

Atmosphere & service: I love the atmosphere, its slightly cold temperature and warm setting inside. The service is great, they're attentive and gives good recommendation when we first asked!

Parking: It's in a shopping center so we never really struggled to find parking spots. There's always plenty.

Overall, this place is a hidden gem. It should be busier and I hope more people discovers them! Their food and pricing...

This place exceeded our expectations! A group of us went in there and had wonton noodle soup, duck herbal noodle soup, and a rice with roast pork dish - we were all IMPRESSED with the quality of the food! Usually, strip mall restaurants are so-so, so we were all surprised.

The duck meat was fried to perfection before soaked in the herbal soup, which was very flavorful. The noodles were Hongkong style curly thin noodles, classic wanton noodles- texture and flavor on point.

We love the vinegary green chilies on the condiment tray - crisp and just right spicy.

We also tried a small plate of raw papaya with green chilly peppers - not sure if that was complimentary or did it come with one of the dishes. It was refreshing and delicious.

The price was in between a standard pho place and a higher end restaurant ($13/ bowl) but the portion reflects accordingly- the big guys finished their bowls while the ladies in the group with the same orders have left overs to take home.

We were happy with the pleasant and friendly service. The place looks clean.

The only thing if we wish they had was a lunch menu as prices was pretty steep for a big...