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Road Trip – Tropicali (Big Bear)

Asian Fusion/Pacific Rim/Hawaii Style Fusion, Dog Friendly, Poke, Road Trip, Temecula/Idyllwild/Palm Springs - Riverside, CA, Travel

Just a month after returning from Tahoe, we were off again. I really didn’t want to be doing that 7 plus hour drive like I’d done the previous month. So, I got the Missus to agree to Big Bear, which we’d never been to, then a couple of nights in Idyllwild again.

I’d gotten us a nice room at the Marina Riviera, perched right on the shore of Big Bear Lake. It had also just reopened a few months before after some renovations and turned out to be very dog friendly.

Our room was ready when we arrived and we were able to check in. We had a nice view of the lake and beachfront from our room.

Right across the street was a restaurant I wanted to check out named Tropicali. You see, the restaurant had just been named as having the best poke in America (not only on the mainland), by that four lettered website. And you know I don’t take all the stuff from that website seriously, right? Though I understand that it did make some major waves, check out this from KHON and Sam Choy! Ho, like beef, huh? Anyway, that was written a few months after my visit; though this one Reddit stuff…….. I just had to check it out.

Anyway, the restaurant has an interesting entrance. You walk in thru the mouth of a shark sculpture.

So, of course JJ had a photo-op…..

They really go all in with the Tiki-ish sterotypes here…… A bit over-the-top……I can see how some Kama’aina’s can get a bit irritated by the cliches.

You order at one of the very colorful kiosks……

Anyway, I placed my order and then joined JJ and the Missus on the lovely deck.

Soon enough my name was called….they try to be funny announcing names, like “Gunnar xxxx” doing pirate themed thing….so of course when my name was called it was “Captain” you know who…..

Anyway, I had ordered two bowls. The rice for both bowls were nicely cooked.

The first was the “Kraken”, which used unagi sauce and was topped with won ton chips.

At least this wasn’t one of those “chi-poke” places. The fish was of decent quality, not too much “sugi”; though the fish was over sauced and the sweetness really overpowered everything. The sprinkled panko was kind of strange as it added a weird grittiness to the dish.

The Pele Bowl was the better of the two. Again decent fish and rice.

The cucumber tasted like Kyuri Asazuke, slightly pickled, which we thought added to the dish. Especially since this was also a bit over sauced and even though was obviously a version of spicy ahi was also too sweet for us. I think some limu and salt would bring back the ocean to the ahi here.

To me, poke is first about the fish, the sauce enhances the experience. Here it overwhelms the dish. That’s probably why I prefer HFS in San Diego to this place. Honestly, it’s not bad; but to me it’s not in the same class as Tanioka’s or Ono Seafood.

Tropicali
40771 Big Bear Blvd.
Big Bear Lake, CA 92315

After lunch we crossed the street back to the hotel and took a short stroll along the lakeside.

Before heading in for a short nap.

Yuk Dae Jang and Zab Linda Revisited

Korean Restaurants, Thai Restaurants

Two recent revisits the Missus wanted.

Yuk Dae Jang:

Out of the blue; the Missus requested Yuk Dae Jang. So, we headed over for an early dinner. I was quite surprised when She didn’t want what we usually order; the Premium Bossam.

She said she wanted to try something different. And so we got the Prime Beef Bulgogi with Glass Noodle ($33.99).

The panchan was pretty much like it was on our last visit; the Missus enjoys the buchu muchim (chive panchan). The baechu kimchi is still on the milder, less fermented side of the scale for us.

As for the Bulgogi dish. Well, you can kinda tell by the color, right?

The marinade was on the weaker side; not enough sweet-savory tones. The menu says this is Prime beef, but it was pretty chewy. The glass noodles were overcooked and mushy as well.

Lesson learned; stick with our favorites here.

Yuk Dae Jang
7307 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92111

Zab Linda Vista:

Well, the Missus enjoyed our visit back in March, so She wanted to return. Like Yuk Dae Jan, She wanted to try some other items on the menu.

She went with the noodle dish we order to see how simple dishes are executed; Pad See Eew. She ordered this version with duck. This was actually pretty good. We were asked for a spice level; something not very common when ordering Pad See Eew. We said medium spice and it did have a nice kick to it.

Nice savory to sweet balance for our tastes. The only complaint was that the noodles were on the mushier side. The duck was quite meaty and flavorful though.

Then She ordered a surprise dish. One that we seldom order unless the restaurant….usually Lao has proven to be a winnah! Mok Pa. We are quite picky with regards to mok pa….I mean, I learned how to make it at the Tamarind Cooking School in Luang Prabang and make a version at home as well.

This was was pretty good; the fish had a slight muddiness, but was very moist and buttery.

Good amount of dill, nice herbaceous tones, light savory touches.

Could have used more fish sauce, though we could make out the the earthy-smokiness that the banana leaves lent to the dish. We’d gladly have it again!

We were quite happy with this meal. It’ll be interesting to see what the Missus tried next time!

Zab Linda
6952 Linda Vista Rd.
San Diego, CA 92111

Tacos Minali

Dog Friendly, Food Trucks, Mexican Restaurants, Taco Shops

I’ve often mentioned my “list” in posts. Places that I’ve listed to visit or revisit….it’s actually a Google Map that keeps getting more and more “crowded” on a daily basis it seems. Well, I only got one stomach so…..

Anyway, sometimes I take too long to visit and places will close before I have a chance to check them out. Case in point Voqozo. And sometimes I’m in for a surprise. Last year an acquaintance recommended a taco stand that opened off of Park named Tacos el Flaco. So, I put it on my map and read that since it’s a trailer set-up with outdoor seating; well, JJ could hang with me.

Recently, I took JJ to Old Trolley Barn Park for a little change of pace. And when things started getting a bit on the warmer side I thought it would be nice to grab some lunch. I initially thought of heading to BFD, since I hadn’t been there since they moved. But, in the end, I thought I’d try Tacos el Flaco. I lucked out and found parking on Park, then went looking for the taco trailer.

Finding this “clue” along the way.

Even though the address listed is for Park Avenue; the place is located on Lincoln Avenue. And even more to my surprise, it’s not Tacos el Flaco, but Tacos Minali!

Hmmm……well now I wasn’t too sure, but then I spied the trompo! Sorry about the terrible photo!

So, I knew I had to try this place out. Next, the prices gave me pause…….the Tripa Tacos were $4.85. The birria and adobado $4.25! Ouch!

Anyway, I ordered and JJ and I had a seat.

And soon enough my tacos were ready. They looked quite good.

I started with the Adobada, which turned out to be the best of the three.

I did find that mashed avocado to be a bit odd, but quickly got past that. I enjoyed the nice crisp and charred edges; really good caramelization. Savory-smoky, a touch of spiciness, I did miss the hint of acidic sweetness….if I ever have this again, I’ll do what the guy who came by as I was finishing up did and make sure to get some pineapple on the taco.

That salsa had some good heat and the tortilla was nice and maizey and held together well.

The tripas was my second favorite.

I loved the crisp and charred pieces, such good texture. The flavor was earthy-savory, not overwhelmingly “offalish”. The onions, cilantro, and other toppings went well with this.

I was not impressed with the birria. I did appreciate the fact that the double tortillas were crisped up; almost like vampiros, thus it held up well.

The beef was a bit too fatty, the seasoning on the milder side, and for some reason, it was a bit weak in the beefiness department.

Overall, two out of three ain’t bad. And JJ enjoyed himself.

Kind of pricey for tacos; especially from a trailer, but I’m glad to have tried it. The 9am opening time might also get me back here…though I’m sticking to Birrieria Enriquez in area for birria.

Tacos Minali
4005 Park Blvd. (actually on Lincoln)
San Diego, CA 92103
Current Hours:
Daily 9am – 11pm

Hongdae Dakgalbi

Korean Restaurants

I first saw that Hongdae Dakgalbi was opening in the former location of Nice 2 Meet U back in November. I then read that this was to be the first US location of the Seoul based chain. Which was quite interesting. Recently, the Missus wanted to try a new place and Hongdae came to mind. So, we drove on over for an early dinner.

This being the parking lot where CoCo Ichibanya, Paik’s Noodle, and Taste of Hong Kong is located….the parking lot can be a horror show, which is why we headed on over early.

The restaurant is quite large…very spacious. There was one gentleman working the front of house who was quite nice. As the place got busier, he had his hands full as he helped all customers cook their dishes.

Looking over the menu…well, we’d be getting the dakgalbi for sure, choosing the “Fire Dakgalbi” spice level 2 ($29) and also the Gopchang Dakglabi ($37) which features beef intestines along with the original dakgalbi. You need to order a minimum of two items if ordering from this part of the menu. We also got the Gamja-jeon (potato pancake – $12) and of course the fried rice ($7) to finish.

After a short wait, the panchan arrived. The baechu (napa cabbage) kimchi was pretty good; mild fermented tones. The Oi (cucumber) version was kind of weak, but the thin slices of daikon was nice….not overly sweet and refreshing.

The Missus also enjoyed the typical soy sauce based salad dressing for the lettuce as well.

A few minutes later the cold radish and apple soup arrived. Not overly sweet, this was not bad either.

After this is was almost a half hour wait for our main courses. The portion size looked huge; but taking a look and there was a ton of cabbage.

Some slices of potato and carrots. The chicken was raw and just coated with sauce, basically just gochujang, not marinated. The gopchang was the only thing cooked….so the really hard working guy had to mix and get things started. We then kept mixing every few minutes. It took about 20 minutes to cook.

There didn’t seem to be enough sauce of the whole dish.

But we kept trying. We did notice some Tteokbokki (rice cakes) as we stirred things about. The gentleman arrived with some lettuce leaves and Doenjang, bean paste.

So, we had our first taste and…sigh…..man, this was so one dimensional. Yes, it had good spice; but was lacking in just about everything else. No savory; other the the gopchang, for once I actually thought about requesting some salt. How often does that happen? No sweetness, no pungent flavors…..nada. In fact, we took the doenjang and poured it in. Same with the kimchi….we did this on the sly so the guy wouldn’t bust us as he came by every few minutes to check in. We kept getting refills of kimchi to add to the iron plate. And even asked for two little dishes of doenjang which we quietly added to the dish. Basically to no avail.

Right when we decided to ask for the fried rice; the Potaot Pancake arrived.

Well, think of it as greasy, thin hash browns. It lacked the slight chewiness inside and as mentioned above, was kinda greasy. Really bland without the sauce.

The best item was the fried rice, which had a good amount of gochujang, and the nori added a savory layer.

It crusted up decently and at least had flavor.

We had a ton of leftovers….which the Missus refused to eat until after I added a ton of fermented kimchi and even Spam! The portion size looked large, but it was mostly cabbage. The flavor was very one dimensional. Also, things moved quite slowly as dinner took 2 hours!

In the end, this was a one-and-done for us. If you check out Hongdae, I hope you have better luck than we did!

Hongdae Dakgalbi
4428 Convoy St.
San Diego, CA 92111
Current Hours:
Mon – Thurs 12pm – 1030pm
Fri – Sat 12pm – 11pm
Sunday 12pm – 10pm

Roadtrip – Kalani’s Revisited, South of North Brewing Company, and the Echo Lake Trail (Lake Tahoe). A revisit to The Alchemists’ Garden (Paso Robles)

American/New American Restaurants, Asian Fusion/Pacific Rim/Hawaii Style Fusion, Beer, Dog Friendly, Lake Tahoe, Paso Robles/Cambria/San Luis Obispo County, Road Trip, Travel

On our last full day in South Lake Tahoe; the Missus chose the Echo Lakes Trail, which you need a permit for. It was a pretty easy trail.

There’s an area called Echo Pass which has wonderful views.

The trail is basically along the lake.

JJ’s not fond of the heat and direct sunlight, so we’re glad we made an early start.

Another benefit of getting an early start is that we easily found parking. The lot isn’t very big and was full to the brim upon our return. The trail was starting to get busy, so we were happy to leave and head back to the hotel.

For lunch, we just stopped by the Whole Foods and got some prepared food and it enjoyed it on the porch and relaxed. And of course we had a nice nap!

When dinner time arrived, we strolled on over to Heavenly Village. This was a Tuesday evening so things weren’t quite as hectic.

We had enjoyed Kalani’s the previous evening; so we decided to head on back.

We walked in, fully intent of doing HH in the bar area again; but strangely, it was quite busy. The wonderful hostess just sat us in the dining room. As it was just past 5pm, we were the only customers.

I only got a mocktail on this evening….which was quite refreshing.

The Missus wanted those Brussel Sprouts again, which were just as good as what we’d had the previous evening.

And of course that crisp; then buttery textured pork belly.

Though we tried it with the sauce again….well, it’s still “no bueno”. The lovely pork belly was just perfect for our taste as is.

The Missus wanted one more dish and decided to try the Baby Back Ribs.

The Ginger-Soy-Garlic sauce was pretty good; if a bit strong in terms of ginger flavor; but the ribs were super tough and chewy. We probably should have stuck with the Miso Chilean Sea Bass.

Still, if we’re in the area, we’ll definitely return to Kalani’s. Here’s some history on Kalani’s if you’re interested. The founders are from Oahu.

Kalani’s
1001 Heavenly Village Way
South Lake Tahoe, CA 96150

On the way back to our room…..well..to give the Missus a break I took JJ to South of North Brewing.

It was a nice outdoor, really mellow area.

And we had a nice Blonde Ale……

And all seemed right in the world…….

South of North Brewing Co.
932 Stateline Ave.
South Lake Tahoe, CA 96150

The next day we had head back home……

But my goodness, a direct 7-8 hour drive wasn’t going to do it for us. So, we stopped in an area we had been to several times…….Paso Robles.

And then, after doing some shopping, had dinner a a place we’d been to many times before….The Alchemists’ Garden.

And while there were other places we’d prefer to dine at; the rail here was so very convenient. And having been here so many times; things were kind of easy.

The cocktails here are “king”….. I had the Nicolas Flamel…nice and spicy…..

The Missus got the Fifth Heaven, Mezcal with Dragonfruit and apricot…..

The last time we’d been here we thought the food was pretty good. So, we had dinner here.

This time though, it wasn’t quite as enjoyable.

The Yellowfin Tostadas were really fishy.

In fact, the Missus had one bite and couldn’t bear with anymore. It was on the very “pungent” side and quite assertive in flavor.

And then there was the Deviled Eggs.

Very strong tumeric tones….on the bitter end of the scale.

At least the bone marrow was still as good as before.

That cherry onion jam went really well with the rich, fatty, savory bone marrow.

Still, one out of three wasn’t really great for us…..we’ll need to find other options next time we’re in the area.

The Alchemists’ Garden
1144 Pine St.
Paso Robles, CA 93446

As for where we stayed….well, the Missus has developed an affinity for boutique style motels….and the Stables Inn really was that.

I mean…..it was a very hipster style motel…..very convenient.

I guess we’ll be staying here whenever we’re back in Paso Robles.

Road Trip – Dinner at Kalani’s, Hiking Big Meadow, and Ha Noi Pho (Lake Tahoe)

Asian Fusion/Pacific Rim/Hawaii Style Fusion, Dog Friendly, Lake Tahoe, Pho, Plate Lunch, Road Trip, Vietnamese Restaurants

We really enjoyed our stay at the Landing Resort & Spa. It wasn’t right in the middle of everything and was still on Lake Tahoe. There was a beach right across the street and like I mentioned in my previous post, we loved the view from our patio.

For hike that morning; the Missus chose Big Meadow to Round Lake. There was a 1,200 foot elevation gain, but it didn’t seem to bad and about 6 1/2 miles out and back.

And JJ of course, handled it like a champ….always making sure that Daddy is not going too slow…..

The starting portion is near a main road, that goes uphill. And yes, the trail goes to a lovely meadow area.

And the lake is indeed “round”.

It was quite a way to start the day.

On the way back to the hotel, I noticed a Vietnamese Restaurant and decided to make a stop for lunch.

We weren’t too hungry, so we went with the pork spring roll and the combination pho.

The Nem Cuon was interesting. The pork was nicely griddled.

It was quite hefty, but lacking in herbs….no mint, basil…..just basically lettuce. The dipping sauce seemed like it was out of a bottle and was much too sweet.

Still, that was much better than the pho……

Broth was made by what we call the “wave method”…where upon you wave beef bones above boiling water….it was so thin and lacking in beef flavor. Lots of white pepper and quite salty.

Noodles were overcooked and mushy……

The tripe wasn’t bad at all; but the other cuts of beef were really lean and tough….totally lacking in beefiness.

Man, this was even worse than what we expected.

Service was fine….but this is a no-go pho…..

Ha Noi Pho
3330 Lake Tahoe Blvd.
South Lake Tahoe, CA 96150

We made a couple of stops on our wat back to our accommodations….doing a bit of shopping; then had a nice siesta in our room.

When dinner time came along; we headed back to the very touristy Heavenly Village.

There was a restaurant in Heavenly Village that I’d actually read about….years ago in Bon Apetite…and of all things they served Hawaiian Regional Cuisine…in South Lake Tahoe! The owners are from Oahu and the place is named Kalani’s.

I know…in Lake Tahoe? Anyway, we walked on over…the place is dog friendly and we actually had a table in the bar….named the “Puka Lounge”….now this was getting kinda cliche for us, but still; the Ginger Rye Old Fashion was quite good!

As for food’ we decided on one app, a main, and a side……

First up were the Lemony Brussel Sprouts. You know hoe the Missus loves Her Brussel Sprouts; except She doesn’t care for how most places make it. In most cases it’s mushy, overcooked, and over sauced. This however was quite good.

Not overcooked, this had a nice crunch to them. Not over sauced, simply seasoned, citrus tones, good acid, perfect amount of salt. Well, we found some Brussels that the Missus enjoyed that weren’t made at home!

The one dish that I’d read about here at Kalani’s was the Chilean Sea Bass Miso Yaki. So, you know we had to try this, right?

Decent miso yaki flavor…perhaps a bit on the mild side, with a bit more sweetness than we like, but still nice and savory. It as the lovely, rich texture of the Chilean Sea Bass that made this dish….so lovely, almost creamy….it basically melts on your tongue! The ponzu butter sauce was fine….we expected a bit more fruity acidity, but it wasn’t overly rich. The mased potatoes had nice anise tones from Thai Basil. Overall, a good fusiony dish.

The one menu item we really enjoyed was the Crispy Roasted Pork Belly. Think “crisp and rich”.

The the light crispness of the batter that gave way to the rich and tender pork belly. Nice and porky, perfectly seasoned; it went well with a squeeze of citrus. We didn’t care for the basil puree which almost had a greasy tongue feel to it and just over powered the flavor and texture of the pork belly.

Kalani’s was a totally unexpected, nice surprise for us. We’d end up going back the next evening.

Kalani’s
1001 Heavenly Village Way
South Lake Tahoe, CA 96150

We made our way back to our accommodations. I went to refill our water and saw this.

Interesting, huh?

And of course, just like the night before, we watched the sun set over the lake!

Thanks for stopping by!

Stuff from Nijiya and Tokyo Central

Cooking, Markets & Grocers

Just some odds and ends for today.

Stuff from Nijiya:

Nijiya is probably a twice weekly stop…along with Tokyo Central (see below) for me/us. And I’ll often see some newer items in the deli case. Like this…..

Though there are maybe one or two sushi items I might get at Nijiya, I’m not the biggest fan of most of their fish based sushi items. But this one was interesting.

Especially based on the name and yes, the price as well!

I know…..all you ex-pat Kama’aina’s are thinking “Ohana“! And one that I showed this to, went, “what, baka ohana” (i.e. “stupid family” in pidgin). Well, nooooo….. I think that Ohana Batake means something along the lines of “field of flowers“, probably based on how the bowl looks? I’m sure “FOY” Junichi will correct me if I’m mistaken. Actually, this was not bad….I enjoyed the ikura which added some nice, briny “character” to the dish. And I think the price was quite reasonable for these days.

If you recall, I used to enjoy the karaage from Nijiya. Until they changed their recipe a couple of years ago. Well, last week, I noticed that the karaage looked a bit different.

It’s still doesn’t look like it used to, but I was curious so I bought some. Crisped up in the air fryer, I had it with some soba I made with some Moroheiya (GreeNoodle).

Much better than what I’d had previously, but still not as good as what Tokyo Central now has….so long you get the “correct” karaage. Still, with more shoyu flavor, better texture, this was an improvement.

Nijiya Market
3860 Convoy St Ste 109
San Diego, CA 92111

Speaking of Tokyo Central……

I was doing some shopping at Tokyo Central last Sunday morning and walked over to the deli case. I must not pay enough attention because I never really noticed that they sell Yakitori. Not that I would really get some….but on this morning it was 20% off. I’m guessing that it was leftover from the day before? A no-no with regards to most items….but since we have the air fryer…..

So priced at $6.39, I thought it might be worth a try.

It looked fairly mediocre, and I had a taste of the tare, which was ok….truly bottled stuff, but decently salty-sweet.

What I did was microwave the skewers for a minute…then rub in whatever sauce had dripped off and what was left in the container…then went full blast in the air fryer. The result of which was definitely worth the six dollar price.

I thought the “momo” and negima…both the chicken thigh skewers were pretty good. The Missus actually enjoyed the very chicken-y tsukune.

Well, with prices these days, I’m going to be on the lookout for those 20% off specials.

Tokyo Central
8125 Balboa Ave.
San Diego, CA 92111

Like I said, current prices have had an affect on our shopping and eating. Have they had the same effect with all of you?

Sumo Go

Japanese Restaurants

Remember back in February I noticed that a place named Sumo Go was taking over the spot formerly occupied by Bunny Chow? Recently, I was having lunch with my wonderful friends “LL” and “JP” and I mentioned this place. They live close by and told me the shop had actually opened. So, I made sure to put it on my “list”. And then, by fate, I decided to check out what was going on with Gourmet Artisan…which had closed. So, I thought it might be the right time to “go” to Sumo Go.

Even though it was before eleven, the shop was open. Walking in was interesting as this was obviously an offshoot of the “konbini” craze. You know, those Japanese convenience stores like Lawson or 7/11, now all over social media, much of it thanks to a certain gentleman who loved the egg salad sandwich at Lawson. Now, it seems like we’re getting our share of similar places.

Walking in, I noticed shelves full of Japanese snacks…..

And the typical cold case with cakes and such. Two types of sandos….katsu and tamago (of course).

What’s interesting….and really not typically “konbini like” was the menu of rice bowls and sides as these were made to order.

In the mood for something a bit more substantial than a katsu sando and having just had a pretty mediocre donburi in National City; I decided on the Gyu Don, not cheap at $18.

It turned out to be a pretty hefty bowl.

First thing I did was do a “rice check”. The rice was hot and fluffy, quite acceptable.

The beef was decent; perhaps on the sweeter end of the scale, but the texture was good, slightly toothsome, enjoyed the flavor the onions, which were quite tender, brought to the bowl.

Pretty much by-the-book, but better than what I expected based on previous experiences elsewhere. And better than what I can get from the cold case at Nijiya or Mitsuwa in my opinion. Though it is eighteen bucks and in some ways makes Tenkatori seem quite reasonable.

A few days later, I dropped by again….this time much earlier. On this visit, I took a photo of the eating area hidden behind the shelves.

I decided to get the Katsu Sando ($8.95), which was almost half the price of the version at Momo Sando.

And, to be perfectly honest, not even half as good. Starting with the Shokupan…the bread was too dense and lacking in the rich-mild sweetness I enjoy. The crusts were still on as well….a quick sign when looking at a typical sando.

The katsu had really dried out and was too chewy; though the panko still had a bit of crunchiness to it. The cabbage was fine and it wasn’t overly sauced.

Perhaps I’m too picky about my sandos….but I wouldn’t get it again. The gentleman working was very nice, and had me wondering about the background of this place. So, doing a bit of digging, I came across this.

I’ll probably return to try the karaage and other hot items. It’s good to have some options for an early lunch in the area. Next time I go to “Sumo Go”.

Sumo Go
7128 Miramar Rd.
San Diego, CA 92121
Current Hours:
Mon – Fri 9am – 7pm
Sat – Sun 11am – 7pm

Thum SD – A Soft Opening Visit

Lao Restaurants

A few months back, I noticed a Cambodian – Lao Restaurant was opening on ECB just East of the 15 right past Vallarta Taco Shop. I wasn’t quite sure of the name since the sign made it kinda hard to read. Then in my Donburi Rice Bowls post; “FOY” Elle who is nice enough to keep me informed of new openings in the City Heights area mentioned that Thum SD had opened! So, I made sure to check the opening hours and made time to visit at around 1115 on a Thursday…to find that the place was closed….sigh….. I did wait around until 1130, but there was no activity within the place, so I left. Still, I did want to try the place out so I returned on a Saturday, to find that they were indeed open.

Upon entering, I quickly noticed that this was one of those order at the counter places…..the menu board only had around 8 items on it. The really nice young lady working also informed me that they were out of several items as well.

And as far as I could tell, there was only one menu item that was Cambodian; a soup made with Kroeung, the foundational Cambodian seasoning paste that we had run into when visiting Cambodia all those years ago. In the end, I decided to just order two of my favorite Lao dishes to go. Nem Khao (of course) and Sai Oua….Lao sausage. With regards to the sausage, you have two choices, regular or spicy. This was when the really nice woman working on her laptop chimed in saying “I prefer the spicy version”. Turns out she was one of the owners. Her husband, who is Thai-Lao and co-owner is also the chef. We had a nice little chat while I was waiting. Turns out that she is Cambodian. She was so very friendly and sweet. She apologized for not having a full menu at this time, saying that many of the ingredients they needed were still in transit. She did say however, that the week of May 3rd will be grand opening, so they should have a full menu by then.

Here’s the Nem Khao.

Nice sour tones and there was actually some coconut flavor in this; something missing in most versions we’ve had here in SD. There’s also some thin slices of pork skin as well.

On the other hand, the rice was too soft and fluffy’ lacking the crisp crunchy bits and also was devoid of sausage.

Rice was not evenly coated as well.

The Spicy Lao Sausage on the other hand was a winnah! The filling was so porky, moist, and tender. It also had some good spice to it. The casing had a bit of “snap” to it.

While the Missus thought it could have used even more herbs and Makrut Lime leaves, I thought it was fine. The Missus also loved the dipping sauce which along with typical fish sauce flavor had a ton of garlic in it.

It also came with a large portion of rice.

We’ll definitely have that sausage again, though I’m going to wait to revisit until they’ve been opened for a bit.

As I mentioned above; I was told their grand opening will be this week.

Thum SD
4151 El Cajon Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92105
Current Hours:
Tues – Fri 11am – 7pm
Saturday 11am – 5pm
Sunday 11am – 4pm

Thanks again for the heads-up Elle!

Sunday Stuffs – Coco Bomb replacing Juewei, La Perla has replaced Super Mario, and Gourmet Artisan has closed

Chinese Restaurants, Mexican Restaurants, Sandwiches

A couple of things I’ve noticed while doing my “rounds” recently.

Coco Bomb is now replacing Juewei:

Well, while doing a recent takeout revisit to Eastern Dynasty, I noticed that the “coming soon” sign over what used to be Juewei had changed. Back in March, I noted that LA Hot Duck was replacing Juewei, but I guess that’s gone awry. Now it says that Coco Bomb….which I believe has a location in Linda Vista is replacing Juewei.

Which leaves me wondering if the opening of Spicy Duck in the 99 Ranch Market Food Court affected this decision? Kind of a bummer, because personally, I think we need more of those types of businesses here.

4690 Convoy St. #103
San Diego, CA 92111

La Perla has replaced Super Mario’s:

On my most recent shopping trip to Nijiya, I noticed a “Under New Ownership” sign over what was….for a short time Super Mario’s…and for what was for a longer time Palomino’s. Kind of a bummer….

So, it looks like the La Perla empire is expanding. We’ll see how this goes; because it seems, at least to me that La Perla has been quick to open….then suddenly close their shops….

3860 Convoy St. Suite 10
San Diego, CA 92111

Gourmet Artisan has closed:

It had been a while since I’d been to Gourmet Artisan…so I thought I’d order a sandwich; but strangely, their website wasn’t working. So, I thought I’d drive past to see what was up….well…it seems that they have closed.

I guess I shouldn’t be overly surprised as the last time I visited, they were using their location as a pseudo commercial kitchen of sorts. Still, it’s a place that I had visited on a regular basis before….but I guess just not often enough.

7094 Miramar Rd.
San Diego, CA 92121