Latest Posts

Having the Toroniku Hiyashi from Santouka

Japanese Restaurants, Ramen

Man, it’s been so hot this year….at least to me. It seems like there’s even less of a marine layer as well. I have to say, I’ve never really craved Hiyashi Chuka much….but for some reason this year…..I just needed something with a bit of an aaahh effect. So, I decided to head on over to Santouka which usually has a version every year…and of course they did.

They’re calling it Toroniku Hiyashi now…even though it’s been on this dish for years…even back in August of 2019 when I last had this here. Back then it was $12.50; these days, the cheapest version with Shoyu Tare is $16.50 for the “medium” size. Still, here I was and there was no going back into the summer heat without some Hiyashi Chuka. I got the shoyu version, medium size. I paid and was given the handy-dandy buzzer thing. And when it went off, I went to pick things up.

First thing I noticed was how much more toppings and garnishes there were from what I’d had before. It now featured corn, “krab”, a lot more eggs and kikurage (wood ear). And those slices of toroniku seemed quite large as well….or perhaps there were less noodles than what I’d had here before?

And since I’m doing this a lot these days – here’s what it looked like in August of 2019.

There was basically little or no strategy this time as I piled all the “stuffs” on.

Then did an initial mix….then added the pungent mustard…a must since the broth while slightly savory is on the milder side. Though this time, it had some nice sour tones, which I found refreshing; though I think a hint of sesame oil would be a big plus. The toppings were quite nice; though I leave the ginger out and use to cleanse my palate between bites. That cucumber, scallions, daikon sprouts were nice and refreshing; the corn added a nice sweet-crunch…the wood ear really added some crunch as well. Though there wasn’t enough tomato to make much of a difference and that fake crab really didn’t bring much to the dish other than an illusion of fancy?

The two slices of toroniku were fairly tender. And were quite large.

The noodles were perfectly cooked, nice and chewy the way I like it. I think it could be that that I preferred the ratio of broth to noodles this time around as well?

I don’t know if I’m getting soft in my old age; but I actually enjoyed it much more than I did when I last had this six years ago. It wasn’t perfect, but it did “hit the spot”.

Santouka Ramen
4240 Kearny Mesa Rd.(In the Mitsuwa Marketplace)
San Diego, CA 92111

So, please share what you’ve been dining on to beat this heat!

Sunday Sandwiches – Kearny Mesa Deli and a Revisit to The Sandwich Place

Sandwiches

Well, the recent hot weather has me hitting up those sandwich shops again. But this one was quite random as I’d never heard of it before.

Kearny Mesa Deli:

I was cutting thru Ronson Road to Kearny Mesa Road when I saw this sign.

Hmmm……if you’ve been reading our little blog long enough you know that I have a fondness for these business park type sandwich places. They keep the masses fed. I was thinking it might be nice for an early lunch so I went and parked in the one of the complex’s stalls and walked on over.

Like many of these type of shops, it is a bit cramped, with drinks, chips, and breakfast items being offered in addition to sandwiches.

You know what I decided to go with, right? Yes, I’m so predictable…..I got the California Club, which for these times was priced at a reasonable $11.49.

I took sandwich to the table outside. It seemed a bit “light in the wrap” if you know what I mean.

Two slices of Swiss, a nice amount of thinly sliced turkey, bacon, a smear of avocado, a larger smear of mayo, and lettuce on fluffy, mild sourdough. I do prefer my bread at least slightly toasted, but it held up well.

Nothing really stood out and though the bacon was crisp, there just didn’t seem to be enough of it. So, I went and opened up the sandwich.

Well, yes maybe one whole slice of bacon with some crumbs…..

Overall, just an average, by-the-book sandwich, but enough for a light lunch. Convenient and reasonable prices if you work in the area, but not worth a special trip.

Kearny Mesa Deli
8125 Ronson Rd.
San Diego, CA 92111
Current Hours:
Mon – Fri 7am – 2pm
Closed Saturday and Sunday

I thought the prices at Kearny Mesa deli was quite affordable for these days. But it had me wondering about some of the inexpensive little sandwich places I used to visit. And the Sandwich Place came to mind. Even though I only did one post on the shop…like over 12 years ago…I did visit on a fairly consistent basis until our offices moved a few years later. It was the definition of a little mom-and-pop sandwich shop discreetly positioned on Convoy Court.

Revisit to The Sandwich Place:

So, I decided to head on over to grab lunch.

The same really sweet couple still run the shop. And prices, while it used to be under $6….most things are still under $10.

I was just going to order a Clubhouse Special which at $9.85 is now priced in “Banh Mi territory”!

There is one personal, ongoing issue I have here though. I even posted on the results all those years ago. I get distracted by the “Today’s Special” board.

And yep…being so easily distracted, I ended up getting the “Bulgoki” Wrap, which happened to be the most expensive item in the whole shop at $13.65. It truly didn’t hurt my wallet much!

Opening the wrap, well lookee here!

Don’t you look like a darling carne asada burrito? Perhaps I need to name you “El Bulgogi”?

Anyway, the mass produced flour tortilla had been decently heated. And wouldn’t you know, other than the meat there’s avocado, a fairly spicy pico de gallo, shredded lettuce….

Not a whole lot of meat in the middle; there was more at each end of the “boo-rit-to” (부리또) umm wrap.

As expected, the meat wasn’t caramelized as I could hear that microwave pinging in the background while waiting. It could have used more sweetness and some sesame oil. But honestly, what would one realistically expect from this little mom-and-pop shop.

At least this wasn’t bland and was quite filling, mainly due to that wrap. In this case, I had a bit of fun trying this out. Now it’s time to move on.

The Sandwich Place
7112 Convoy Ct
San Diego, CA 92111
Current Hours:
Mon – Fri 6am – 3pm
Closed Saturday and Sunday

Road Trip – Revisiting Blue Moon Over Avila and Checking Out Some Other Places

Dog Friendly, French Restaurants, Paso Robles/Cambria/San Luis Obispo County, Road Trip, Santa Barbara County, Travel

After hitting up some of our favorite places the day before, then spending the night in Solvang we headed up the 101 to a stop that we had enjoyed a few months before; Avila Beach.

On the way up, we stopped in Los Alamos. The Missus had always enjoyed shopping at Los Alamos Gallery.

As there were always things that She never knew She needed!

Los Alamos Gallery
515 Bell St.
Los Alamos, CA 93440

Still running a bit early, we made a stop in Pismo Beach, so that the little “crazy guy” could run around on the beach.

With a stick he found of course.

We got to Avila Beach and was able to score an early check in.

And after taking a break, we went to our favorite restaurant in Avila Beach; Blue Moon Over Avila.

Which is open all the way thru from 1130am….so we did a late lunch-early dinner kind of thing. The place is totally dog friendly and we got seats at the rail so we could see what was happening on Front Street.

Since we had a fridge, we ordered more food than we needed.

Like this huge Charcuterie Board.

Nothing fancy mind you; but quite satisfying; I enjoyed that cheese that seemed like Manchego which was nice and milky. We saved a good amount of this to have as an evening snack.

We also got the Beef Bourguignon, which was just as good as on our last visit.

Not overly “winey”, it was quite savory, with the mushrooms adding the perfect earthiness, the lardons saltiness. We saved some of this for later as well.

And I was glad to know that our favorite item from our previous visit; the Croque Monsieur was just as delici-yoso!

That perfectly crisp layer of Gruyere makes this for us. It’s a bit milky-savory, with a hint of what seems like sweetness.

Buttery Bechamel, rosemary ham, and a nice yeasty sourdough completes the set. Man, I wish this place was in San Diego. Totally our favorite Croque Monsieur!

Blue Moon Over Avila
460 Front St.
Avila Beach, CA 93424

Sadly, my favorite stop for a local brew, Locals Taproom was closed because it was a Tuesday, but because it was early in the week; all the kids from SLO and other visitors weren’t around. So it made a nice afternoon; then evening stroll really nice.

Of course we took a walk down the pier with J.

This little town of about 1,600 is quite mellow during days like this. And JJ even met a “cousin”!

We then headed on back to the hotel…relaxed. They had a free wine tasting during the evening which the Missus enjoyed. I had also gone to the little market and got myself a brew to have with the leftover Beef Bourguignon. We enjoyed a nice night of sleep and of course JJ got me up at 430am!

The beach is open to pups before 10am and after 5pm daily. So once the sun was up, we took JJ for some fun on the shore.

And there’s always something “new” to notice!

Our accommodations serves breakfast which is nice. We checked out and then headed back South.

We made a couple of stops on the way to our final destination for the road trip. Since this was in early December, I decided to stop at the Pismo State Beach Monarch Butterfly Grove. Which is a well known migration spot for Monarch Butterflies between November and February.

There were a couple of people on the trail…two folks with major camera gear. But unfortunately we saw maybe 4-5 Monarchs.

I read that there’s been a 90% drop in the Monarch Butterfly population in recent years. So sad…..

We took a short stroll around the Meadow Creek area.

Before heading back to the car and our final destination….we were actually taking a bit of a longer route since there was a place I wanted to stop at!

Stay tuned and thanks for stopping by!

Revisits to Taste of Hunan and Eastern Dynasty

Chinese Restaurants

We recently did some revisits to the Missus’s current favorite Chinese Restaurants here in San Diego. I did manage to take a few photos and in one case we tried a new dish. So, I guess we’ll just “Clear Out the Memory Card” (COMC) on this one!

Taste of Hunan:

Well, the last post I did on Taste of Hunan was actually for the La Rou, which they sell by the pound back in March. Our last dine in visit was back in February! Whoa!

Anyway, the Missus was wanting the La Rou with Bamboo and I always enjoy the Xiangxi Style Beef Entrails, so we headed on over.

And both dishes delivered!

We also decided to order an item we hadn’t had in a while.

Last time we had the Braised Intestines was back in summer of 2024 and it was priced at $18.99! Now it’s $21.99!

This was actually much better than what we’d previously had. The intestines, while on the chewier side, was quite savory with mild offal tones; nicely flavored with soy sauce, and hints of sour tones. Check out the whole garlic! I think it could have been more spicy; but it was enjoyable.

Since I’m doing this quite a bit these days…..here’s what the dish looked like in August of 2024.

Looks like a totally different dish, right?

Taste of Hunan
9880 Hibert St.
San Diego, CA 92131

I know “FOY” Dereck enjoys the food here. Hopefully you’ve had some good dishes recently Dereck!

Eastern Dynasty:

I know I just posted on the place a few weeks for the Roast Duck compare. But, on this visit we didn’t get the roast duck….so here goes…..

The Missus was craving one of Her favorite dishes from Eastern Dynasty; so we stopped by. Instead of going “full force” and getting 4-5 dishes; we stuck with just three.

Speaking of intestines….well, I got my favorite dish here the Sauteed Intestines with Chinese Pickles.

Man, the preserved vegetables had a wonderful sour, umami-ness…good crunchy textures to contrast the rather rich-tender intestines. Onions…a touch of Black Beans all add to the dish.

We got some Soy Sauce Noodles….which even the Missus enjoyed!

We hadn’t had this here in years and it was much better than we recalled. Evenly coated with soy sauce, some crunchy bits……

The Missus was craving the Steamed Blue Diamond Shrimp with Garlic Sauce.

These Blue Diamond Shrimp were a bit larger than on previous visits. The flavor is slightly sweet and mild….if I recall; Blue Diamond Shrimp are of a fresh water variety. The flesh is moist and tender….though it’s quite a challenge to eat them properly with shopsticks….so we just end up going “full hands on”…..

And the Missus really enjoyed this….I guess She got Her fix, right?

Eastern Dynasty
4690 Convoy St.
San Diego, CA 92111

Cherry Blossom Burmese Cafe & Sushi (Carlsbad)

Asian Fusion/Pacific Rim/Hawaii Style Fusion, Burmese Food and Restaurants, Chicken Wings

You know, I’ve been craving some interesting things during this heatwave, starting with that Chicken Tawook and Garlic Paste from Alforon. Anyway, I woke one morning craving Laphet Thoke….yep, Burmese Tea Leaf Salad. So Burma Place immediately came to mind….but to be honest, I was somewhat underwhelmed at the Tea Leaf Salad there during my visits. I’d gladly revisit again; but wanted to try a new place. An acquaintance of mine had recommended a place named Cherry Blossom, but it was all the way up in Carlsbad. He did mention Cherrywine in La Jolla not being as good and told me they actually had different owners even though the name sounded similar. On this morning, I didn’t care if it was an almost 60 mile round trip to Carlsbad Airport Road….I needed my Tea Leaf Salad fix! And traffic wasn’t bad at all. The restaurant is located in a strip mall that features a bunch of chains; Five Guys, Jersey Mike’s, Noodles and Company……..

It’s a very fast-casual looking place…….

The gentleman working was really friendly…..though the menu gave me pause.

An entire page of sushi rolls and a bunch of poke bowls!!! Lumpia? Gyoza??? I casually asked the gentleman if he was from Hawaii; just to kinda see….but he laughed and assured me he’s Burmese. He used the term “Bamar”? So, ok I ordered the “Iconic” Tea Leaf Salad ($15.99).

I cracked up seeing “Wangs” on the menu! I did consulting work in Georgia and other areas in the Southeast in the late 90’s! I hadn’t heard that term in ages!

Since the salad seemed to be priced reasonably and one could order wings by “the twos”….even though they were priced at two bucks each, I decided to get 2 spicy garlic “wangs”.

Soon enough my salad arrived.

At first, I didn’t really get that pungent aroma of fermented tea leaves, but as I dug around I found quite a few clumps of it. Emphasis on “clumps”, as I put in a good almost ten minute effort to break things up and try to get a good “mix” in.

There was an adequate amount of laphet in this, to add that earthy, pungent-atringent bitterness, I enjoy, with a dose of sour. This salad did skew toward sour; though I enjoyed it much more than what I’d had at Dutchess in Ojai and even Irrawaddy in Stanton. The salad also had a sneaky spiciness that I kind of enjoyed as well.

The shredded cabbage added a refreshing crunch; I wish the tomatoes were a bit more ripe as some sweet-acidity would have been great. The nuts are a must. There were a couple of small slices of green beans….a bit more would have great as well.

Still, this was pretty good.

The wings took a while, but when it arrived I was given an extra wing for the wait! Very nice! I liked the size of the wings…many places tend to serve gigantic wings these days. I prefer a good skin to meat ratio.

These were simply fried….I prefer my wings to be more crisp. But man, that chili oil – chili crisp was potent…..combined with an underlying sourness…well, this is Burmese, it got me sweating real good! I really couldn’t make out much garlic flavor…because of that spice.

The meat was tender and moist. Man, if this had a more crisp skin instead of the rubberiness, I’d want to have it again!

While I was eating, several tables were filled…all of them getting sushi rolls! I guess the place fills a niche in the area? I did think the tea leaf salad was decent….though I’m not quite sure it was worth the 60 mile round trip. The gentleman working was so nice, gracious (hey, I got an extra wing!), and friendly. I’m glad the place seems to be doing well as it’s the only mom-and-pop restaurant among all the chains in this strip mall. I’m thinking I need to revisit Burma Place when my laphet cravings rise again.

Cherry Blossom Burmese Cafe & Sushi
2521 Palomar Airport Rd.
Carlsbad, CA 92011
Current Hours:
Mon – Sat 11am – 3pm, 4pm – 8pm
Closed on Sunday

The Pad Thai Stand Revisited

Dog Friendly, Thai Restaurants

Recently, on the way home from one of JJ’s “excursions”, I was feeling a bit hungry. We were passing Carnival Market on Ashford Street when I suddenly remembered the Pad Thai Stand, which I hadn’t been to in a while…..like 5 years! Since they have a covered patio, I thought that JJ could relax while I had some lunch.

As I walked in; I quickly noticed that the place is looking a bit run down.

The woman working actually came out from the counter to take my order. Based on my previous visits, I got the Boran (old style) Pad Thai with Tofu ($15) Medium Heat. My order took about 20 minutes….which was strange considering I was the only customer…..I quickly noticed that they don’t do the noodles over high heat here…..more on that later.

It was a rather large portion.

The chunks of tofu was fine; my favorite item in this version of Pad Thai are the pork rinds. The egg was chopped into pieces and overcooked for my taste. Enjoyed the crunch of the bean sprouts.

I liked the spice; it was hot enough to get my sweat glands going. A bit on the sweeter side for my taste, a bit lacking in in savory tones……which was one of the reasons I got the Boran. Usually the more traditional version has much more umami-savory tones than other versions.

The most “interesting” thing were the noodles; which were super chewy and rubbery. In fact, I took a good amount of the Pad Thai home with me. When I went to heat it up it was all stuck together in a giant clump. I needed to keep heating and mixing to try to get the noodles separated. Then I remembered….I saw the young man cooking the dish over a rather low heat. This would often cause the noodles to clump together.

Kind of a bummer, though JJ enjoyed hanging out.

The Pad Thai Stand
3520 Ashford St.
San Diego, CA 92111
Hours:
Sunday – Thurs 11am – 2pm, 4pm – 11pm
Fri – Sat 11am – 2pm, 4pm – Midnight

Circling Back to Alforon

Lebanese Restaurants, Mediterranean Restaurants

Man, the recent hot and strangely humid weather has got me craving some rather strange things. Typically, I be wanting maybe some Zaru Soba or Chirashi or perhaps some Thai Food during warmer weather. But this time; I was wanting some Garlic Paste? Of course Mama’s came to mind, but I’d recently been there….and boy do I miss the Garlic Paste from Mister Falafel. And then I suddenly realized that I hadn’t been to Alforon in a while. So, I went to the “Big List” to check and oh my……has it really been over 9 years since my last visit? Where does time go????

So, I made it a point to head on over to that crazy parking lot on ECB….which was, of course full. But I found parking close by on 60th Street and walked over.

I was greeted as I walked in by one of the owners; Samia who is a hoot. She pointed me to one of the four tops and told me, “you should sit there…the AC in the other half of the dining room is not working right”.

And she brought me some water and handed me a menu. It had been so long since I’d had my favorite here; the Chicken Tawook, it’s now $16.95….which sadly, is not an expensive price for these days!

Then the ever present Samia told me, “since you sit in the AC, maybe you should try it with the peppers!” Well now…..when did they add that option to the menu? I decided to get the peppers on my Tawook ($2). I then made the mistake of mentioning that the last time I was here, they didn’t have that option. Which made Samia shake her head and say “oooh, you haven’t been back here in a long time, huh? We added that to the menu several years ago!” Yikes; I was so busted!

Soon enough my Chicken Tawook with Peppers and Jalapenos arrived. It smelled so nice and yeasty.

You know, this is still a winnah! The garlic paste here is pungent, though not overwhelming, I really enjoy it with the pickles. I mash the blob down, before folding a slice and have at it. The chicken is mild, with a bit of lemony acidity and more moist than I recall. Nice yeasty, slightly crusty bread.

I did enjoy the spice the pickled jalapenos and sweet-spicy red peppers brought to this as well.

Strangely, I was stuffed after two slices….getting old I guess. Meanwhile, the two young men sitting on the table next to me finished three flatbreads and some falafel! Whoa……

Anyway, as I packed the two slices of the Bajeen, Samia went into full mom mode and gave me instructions on packing….”keep the cover closed so it doesn’t dry out!” You gotta love it!

I really enjoyed this and need to return more often! After all, I don’t want to disappoint Samia, right?

Alforon
5965 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA 92115
Current Hours:
Wed – Sat 12pm – 8pm
Sunday 12pm – 7pm

And lastly, I’d like to thank ChristinaC, who first recommended Alforon to me way back in 2010! I hope you are doing well Christina!

Saturday Stuffs – Dubu San Diego Tofu Company Going into the old Ajisen Space and Banh Mi Express Temporarily Closed Until August 4th

Banh Mi, Korean Restaurants, Vietnamese Restaurants

So here are a couple of things that good “FOYs” recently mentioned to me.

Dubu San Diego Tofu Company Going into the old Ajisen Space:

In the comments of my most recent “where on the road” post, Elle mentioned that Dubu San Diego was taking over the old Ajisen space on Clairemont Mesa. I needed to go to 99 Ranch Market so I passed by the location and the signage is up.

Elle also mentioned that their Rancho Bernardo location has already opened. You can read more on their Instagram. It looks like they have a variety of dishes….which is good, since I don’t know about you….but I’m not really in the mood for Soon Dubu with this current heat wave!

7398 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92111

Banh Mi Express Temporarily Closed Until August 4th:

A couple of weeks back Sage sent me an email letting me know that Banh Mi Express was temporarily closed until August 4th. I always appreciate these emails as with the warm weather, Banh Mi is definitely on the list. I stopped by and took a look on my way to a different sandwich spot recently.

And yes, they are temporarily closed….does not state a reason though.

Banh Mi Express
9353 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92123

So there you go! Hope everyone is keeping nice and cool this weekend!

And thanks so much to Elle and Sage for letting me know about these happenings! I appreciate the time you both take out to let me know!

Me Sen Revisited

Thai Restaurants

In the comments of my post on Arbor Sushi & Grill Express, “FOY” Loren asked if there are any decent Grocery Store Food Stalls in San Diego. Junichi answered with an excellent example; Santouka. But, I also had an example of what I thought was a pretty good Super Market Food Stall; which was also located within 99 Ranch Market; though the Clairemont location. I had thought the food at Me Sen which had taken the place of the banh mi shop Sau Voi Deli was decent. I thought the Khao Mun Gai was pretty good….and I found myself at 99 Ranch Market at around 10am……and Me Sen, which has gotten a bit of “influencer visits” was open. I thought I’d drop by to see if that’s had any effect on the food.

It was quite chill when I got there, though it filled up fast. I ordered the Khao Mun Gai and sat at a table.

Soon enough, my order arrived.

It was pretty much the same as on my previous visit. The soup was white pepper forward, piping hot, though not particularly “fowl-ly”, it was as salty as on my previous visit.

The chicken was pleasantly toothsome and very moist. I kind of appreciate that it’s been deboned as it makes it easy to eat. The flavor is quite mild though. As with my previous visit; my favorite part of the dish was the rice, which had so much savory-chicken flavor. Like I said before it like the broth used for the rice “had stolen the soul of that chicken”. Man, that rice is so good.

This time around, I appreciated the Khao Mun Gai sauce, which had a nice “kick” to it, along with savory tones….though I’m thinking that it could use a bit more fermented bean paste and pungency. Still, it did add a lot of flavor to the chicken.

Overall, a decent meal. Which I’d be happy to repeat again in the near future.

Me Sen Thai Noodle Shop
7300 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92111
Current Hours:
Daily 10am – 9pm

So, my good “FOYs”, what are your stand by Grocery Store Food Stalls in San Diego? I’m excited to read all the responses!

Where on the road were we?

Road Trip, Sierra Nevada, California, Travel

Well, we’ve just done our sixth (!) road trip of the year! Go figure….this is actually a sort of a repeat of one we did a couple of months back and also a few times last year. We headed back home early, totally expecting the usual 6-7 hour drive….unfortunately, the Rock Fire closed the I-395 South right past Bishop for a couple of hours this morning; leaving us sitting and waiting. I had totally expected to get home and do a short post on a place in San Diego…..but, well it was not be….as I’m kinda beat.

So, I’m just gonna do one of the “where on the road” posts!

Like I mentioned earlier; these places have become regular stops for the Missus, who loves the hiking and paddleboarding…and now JJ, who loves the hiking and wouldn’t you know, the lakes and swimming! Remember last year, when I “taught” JJ to swim the way I did “back home”? Well, guess what? JJ remembers the lake and needs no prompting to jump right in now!

And of course, there are the hikes.

Not too many choices around here….and there’s a lack of dog friendly dining choices as well….so we packed quite a bit of food to prep and did takeout for other meals.

We spent four nights here….and JJ did two swims at the lake everyday!

Our next stop was only for two nights…..on an interesting note; we were here for the Reggae Festival weekend again!

And since our last trip here; thanks to “FOYs” Karen and Kenneth, we have two new dining “stops” which we ate at again during our two days here.

And of course we did the hikes…..

And took in the views!

All in all, a busy six nights! And after that 9+ hour drive home….well, it’s time for something simple to eat in the warm weather we’re having here and then catching up on things!

So, we’ll see you tomorrow for another SD post!

Thanks for stopping by!