Orient Valley — Restaurant in San Diego

Food: 4/5 Setting and Service: 1/5 Value: 4/5

This place has been here forever and just recently have I taken the time to truly get to know it. Even though it is big, I would consider this as a hole-in-the-wall sort of establishment. It’s a little bit dingy, a little bit questionable in sanitation, and a little bit chaotic, but the food is good. The people working are all very nice, but service is honestly terrible. They are all working very hard but the lack of workers and efficiency can make your quick 2 item combo order take around 30 minutes or longer. Orient Valley is always busy when you are hungry and the constant calls and catering orders make it one of the most frustrating places to order when you are in a rush. I hope that they experience greater success to onboard maybe another line server and someone to take the calls!

Sisig: 10/5 I know that my review on their customer service is grating, but this dish alone makes it worth it. I come here every other Saturday (I believe they only do it on Saturday, but don’t quote me) and endure a brutal line of indecisive customers and catering orders of 500 lumpia just to eat this. The saddest part is that they don’t make enough and the freaking auntie in front of me always gets the last scoop and I have to wait an additional half an hour. I am completely illiterate about Filipino cuisine but I have read that sisig is normally a sizzling dish of minced pork and innards. Instead, Orient Valley serves this INCREDIBLE concoction that is made with lechon (crispy pork belly), red onions, green onions, and a salty and sour vinaigrette. The sodium level is insane and will initially burn your mouth but holy moly it is a game changing dish, I would say one of the or the best in San Diego. Crispy, meaty, salty, fatty, sour, fresh, savory, the list goes on and on. The crunchy pig skin and fat in tandem with the onions and acid create an otherworldly experience of flavor and texture. I put some lechon sauce on top (probably sacrilegious) to add some sweetness and cut some of that acid and eat with rice. PLEASE COME HERE, ENDURE THE PAIN OF THEM BEING OUT AND WAITING 30 MINUTES FOR THE NEXT BATCH, AND TRY IT.

Corned Beef: 3/5 The rating on this is not the best because objectively it is pretty meh, but something about is so addicting. Corned beef in America is normally eaten as a hash and is relatively dry, even crispy. This is more like a stew with onions and chunks of potato and tomato. The taste of processed meat is strong and the remaining liquid does eerily look like the water from canned tuna, but something about eating this with piping hot rice just hits different. Don’t expect something radically gourmet, but know that you are eating something uniquely comforting and Filipino.

Coconut Curry: 4/5 Again, I think this dish isn’t amazing, but something about it just attracts me. When I asked what it was called, I couldn’t really understand the auntie who was explains what it was, but she did say something along the lines of “coconut mix or curry”. This is a really humble curry that gives me that green curry vibe just with a lot of coconut milk. Little pieces of dark meat chicken give the curry a savoriness that highlights the light sweetness in the beans and pumpkin that I find addicting. Be warned! They put a lot of ginger in this dish as chunks and I’m sure that people eat it but I find that it is overly fibrous and leads to a bitter bite. Definitely get this as one...

I wish I could tell you how good the food is here, but they never gave me the chance to find out. Tonight, I needed to be somewhere nearby with takeout food absolutely no later than six. I called to place an order as I was leaving work at 5:15. The first time I called they hung up on me immediately. That was a bad sign, but I figured it must have been an accident and called back. They let it ring for a long time but finally answered. After I told them what I wanted, they hung up without asking my name, or even saying goodbye. I arrived at 5:45 and had to describe the contents of my order since they didn't have my name. They finally found the printout of my order, and then informed me that they had just sold the last of the lumpia and that I would have to wait 15 minutes if I wanted lumpia. They also told me that they were almost out of pancit, and so only had enough left for a medium order. I could also see that they had not packed up any of my food at all, even though they were clearly not busy and I had called half an hour earlier. Waiting that long for the food would have made me late, so I just left and went straight to the nearest drive-through instead. They seemed friendly enough, and the place smelled delicious. I suppose that if you have unlimited time to wait for your food, it might be a great...

Let me preface this review by saying I have been a customer for over 15 years. Grew up and raised in PQ. This is a constructive criticism review and hope quality improves. Will give another chance down the line when I am craving Filipino food, but for now I will take a break and travel down the road to Mira Mesa

Quality in food has fallen off. Some days are better than others depending on the cook. Consistency in food is lacking and taste. It's as if food is cooked in batches and reheated the next day if not sold from previous day. I have gotten takeout several times in the past few months and like I said some days are worse than others. 1 out of 3 times have been quality. Will edit or delete this review if consistency returns.

Customer Service:...