J. Wok Asian Fusion Restaurant in the East Village Neighborhood of Downtown San Diego

The stagnating economy has sent many familiar local restaurants in downtown San Diego out of business. In the spot at the northwest corner of 8th Avenue and Market Street in East Village area where a Japanese restaurant used to stand is now an understatedly chic Asian fusion (Asian modern mix) eatery, J. Wok. An innovative little cuisine that offers interesting and delicious food for very reasonable price is one of the few new lunch and dinner places in this part of town that I really hope will make it and become a local favorite.

There are many things to love about J. Wok. The location is definitely one of them. It is just 2 1/2 blocks north of Petco Park baseball stadium (home of the San Diego Padres), and right across the street from a large ACE parking lot... with quite a few off the street metered spots, thanks to its corner location. You can actually see the outfield from the dining room (check out the photo above)!

Those who have eaten here when the place was a Gyro/Pizzeria or KOI Japanese restaurant will be very pleasantly surprised at what J. Wok has done to the place, I think. Gone are the NYC wall mural and traditional Japanese decor. The new place is both airy and stylishly chic at the same time: white wall with dark wooden floor and sleek dark color tables and chairs. The west wall is now lined with one long bench served with many little tables. They really did a wonderful job of maximizing the use of space! The east and south walls are mostly see-through windows and that really make the dining room look much bigger than it is. This is the sort of joint to take your date to for a quiet and relaxing dinner!

The menu is kept very small: just a few selections of mostly Thai and Chinese dishes but all with an innovative fusion twist. How would you like a sandwich of Korean bulgogi beef served a la Philly cheese? Or a curry chicken roll that you can almost eat with your finger? They even serve Thai chicken satay on a sandwich. The Pad-Thai noodle really is more of Pad-See-Ew with smaller noodle (not the original thin Chantaboon noodle as you'd find in real Thai restaurant, though not the usual big noodle of normal Pad-See-Ew either)... pan fried with soy sauce with eggs, Chinese bok choy, bean sprouts, and cubed chunks of noodles or tofu... Oh, and peanut, of course (if you are allergic, be sure to tell the server before hand). Serving size is very good. If you manage to finish the thing, you won't be hungry again for many hours.

They also serve a small selection of beers (some imported, like Heineken and Singha) and sodas.... But the thing you should really go for are the Thai iced tea and the Crysothemus tea. At other Thai restaurants in town you can order Thai iced tea for the same price ($2.75) and inhale all of it with 3 sips. Here, they actually give you enough Thai tea per serving that you might just fill yourself up trying to finish the thing even before the food arrives! It's wonderful!

Service is very good - friendly and very helpful. The owners are a pair of easy-going Chinese Americans who have a knack for making you feel at home... They will even pull up photos of their entrees on this little computer they keep at the counter for you to help you decide what to order! A really good lunch or dinner for one here can be had for $15. If you should ever find yourselves wandering around the Gaslamp Quarter (just 2 blocks to the west of this joint) or Petco Park area and crave some good food that would please both your eyes and your taste buds... J. Wok at the corner of 8th and Market IS the place to go.

J. Wok (Asian Modern Mix): 744 Market St (at 8th Avenue), San Diego, CA 92101. Tel (619) 231-1088.