June 2007 – mmm-yoso

Madison: Chautara Restaurant

June 30, 2007 mmm-yoso Madison, Wisconsin, Nepalese/Himalayan Food, Travel

*** Chautara has closed

I found out I'd be going to Madison, Wisconsin for business a few weeks ago. So being the typical food obsessed blogger, I did some research on Chowhound and other resources, and made a short list of restaurants and other eating establishments. Now these type of trips are sometimes a bit dicey, since it means several people sharing one car, etc, etc…. Luckily, I was teamed up with two other really laid back guys, who to a certain extent humored me when it came to eating. During the trip all breakfast and lunches were accounted for, so other than travel days, dinner was the only meal where we had a choice.

We flew in to Chicago-Midway Airport for several reasons which I won't go into at this time. And though we arrived at about 4 in the afternoon, due to various technical difficulties, we used the "scenic route" to get to Madison. It was a nice drive, but I think we saw every single corn field between Chicago and Madison. After checking in we headed out and got to State Street around 9pm. After walking with rumbling stomachs for a bit we settled on Chautara.

Chautara

This photo was taken a few days after our visit. Unfortunately, our visit was so very late, on a almost pitch dark evening. This being a fairly warm evening we also chose a table outside with the barest of light provided by candlelight. So my apologies in advance for the really sad and sorry photos. I had considered not doing a post at all, but decided to just go ahead…..

What I found really interesting about eclectic State Street was the variety of restaurant available, everything from African to Thai can be found on State Street or on one of the side streets. This can't be more clearly illustrated than in the existence of Chautara and Himul Chuli. Incredibly, there is not one, but two Nepalese Restaurants located on State Street.

Even though it was almost 930pm we were seated by our perky and very friendly Server Liz. After perusing the menu, we made our selections. I ordered the Khasi Ko Masu($17). The meal started with a nicely flavored soupy preparation featuring Dal. The flavors were balanced in this hearty soup.

The Khasi Ko Masu is basically a goat curry. This version was excellent, the goat meat retained some of the nice gamey wild flavor, and was very soft and tender. There was a nice quantity of meat, I'd expected more bones, but there were very few. The flavor of the curry was excellent and balanced, you could make out the ginger, coriander, and other spices, but none of them was overpowering. The tart tomato was a nice foil and provided a nice contrast. To put it simply, this was a very well prepared meal.

All of my companions enjoyed their meals. Our Server, the ever smiling Liz was a joy. Being somewhat weary, this was a nice start to our trip to Madison.

Chautara Restaurant
334 State St
Madison, WI 53703

State Street, the lively heart of Madison, features casual and varied flavors. There is one thing you must remember. State Street itself is a pedestrian mall. Only Buses, delivery vehicles, and bicycles(and there are many!) are allowed.

In other words, don't be like us….nerdy techies using our GPS system(don't you love modern technology?). We took a turn onto State Street. We're driving along, and I notice that while there are many people eating and walking, I notice not a single car! Of course we come to find out that automobiles are not allowed on State Street. I'm guessing that the clueless are many, for not a single pedestrian stared, nor batted an eye…… Makes me a feel much better, that's for sure!

In case you were wondering….

June 29, 2007 mmm-yoso yoso-silly

Where I was……here are a few hints.

I know, I know, it’s just a big red barn. But I’m sure all you "detectives" out there will start putting it together….

Nifty architecture, and this one looks really familiar….

But it’s not DC.

Or maybe there exists a food cart expert out there…

I’m not quite sold on sushi from a food cart though….

Here’s a version of a regional favorite….

Here is what it looks like in its more "common" form.

I’m sure by now you know…..so this should clinch it.

Flaming Wok- Mandarin and Szechuan in Santee

June 27, 2007 Cathy Chinese Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

Flaming Wok has closed

mmm-yoso, the blog, is what you are reading. Kirk is still not feeling like posting and Cathy does feel like posting.

Hello again. We were hungry, did not want to drive, yet had a taste for something Asian. Down the street, next to Albertsons, for more than 17 years.

Flaming Wok used to be kind of really neat to walk in and watch. The woks were right there behind glass, with flames. Kind of why they named it that way.

They have remodeled. There goes that photo. Now it is just the name of the place.

Nice, decor, but, what is wrong with this photo?

FORKS!!!!

OK. I am done. Just a little pet peeve. The food is good.

I like how the menu has superimposed drawings of the general categories- chicken, shrimp, eggs, cow.

We started with our usual, three ingredient sizzling rice soup. ($6.95) It comes in a large bowl and is ladled out into the smaller bowl seen here. We each got about 3 small bowls of soup from the large one. Sizzling rice squares, a rich chicken broth, shrimp, chicken nd beef, along with water chestnuts, bamboo shoots, mushrooms and pea pods. The peas were crispy fresh and the meats were juicy and flavorful, with the shrimp being quite large and sweet.

I got the vegetable egg foo young ($7.25)- a huge portion, kin of ended up shaped like it was cut on the bottom of the wok, filled with bean sprouts, shredded onions, shredded carrots , crispy crust on the outside and light and fluffy on the interior. Served with a sauce that was gelatinous/made from beef bones. Not salty, but deep rich in flavor. All of this reheated well the next day.

The Mister wanted noodles. Special Upside Down Pan Fried Noodles ($9.75). Thick rice noodles, cooked and fried until crispy.then placed on top of the stir fried beef, chicken, pork and shrimp in a thick gravy with broccoli, carrots, onions and water chestnuts. The noodles had a nice "bite" even when drenched in the gravy.

It is a nice, local, delve into good fresh Mandarin Chinese Food without the drive to Convoy Street.

Flaming Wok 9888 Magnolia (at Mast) Santee 92071 (619)596-3749 open 7 days 11:00 a.m.-9:30 p.m.

La Casita Mexican Restaurant- Good Mexican Seafood in El Cajon

June 26, 2007 Cathy Mexican Restaurants, Taco Shops, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso is the blog, which Cathy is doing today because Kirk isn’t. He just isn’t.

Hello again. Looking at the past few weeks of the blog, it seems that none of us has gone out to eat, except maybe to a "regular rotation" . So, here is one of our favorite places, yet another Mexican Restaurant, in El Cajon. La Casita "Especialidad en Mariscos"-specializing in seafood. If you are at the interesection of Magnolia and Bradley, ready to turn onto Highway 67- the In-N- Out is on your left, so you are facing south…right there behind the gas station …see it? (So, it is basically on the southwest corner at 67 and Bradley)

OK, park and it looks like this. It is also the Radiator Repair Shop parking lot. One row for cars.

You walk in and there is a menu on the wall in front of you. Order, pay, get a tray with chips and some cups for salsa, load up and sit down. Your food will be brought to you. *** The prices on this printed menu are off by about $1 on some items; new menus are being printed***

It was Friday, so I decided on a fish taco ($2.25)

Two corn tortillas, a lightly breaded, crispy fried fish piece,tangy white sauce, salsa, guacamole and cabbage. Fresh tasting and oddly, light.

I also had a craving for a ceviche tostada ($3.50). It is made with only shrimp here and so wonderful. The mix of tomatoes, onions, cilantro and jalapeño was jsut perfect. Some nights though, I htink there is too much jalapeño. It is always this overfilled.

The Mister wanted a salad, and there is only one on the menu- #9, Ensalada la Casita- beans, lettuce, cheese, sour cream, guacamole and olives, with a choice of shredded beef or chicken ($5.50). Substantial food. Not much lettuce. Great shredded beef. The Mister usually likes the Camarones la Casita plate ($9) 5 very large shrimp with a cornmeal breading and rice, beans, salad and tortilla.

As I said, you do pay first, but the food is brought out to you at these lovely tables. There are murals over all the walls, but I like this one on the back wall the best.

Really, The Mister and I come here for breakfast more often than not. All of the items are $6. We go to the Starbucks in the In-N-Out mall, one block North, for coffee after.

La Casita Mexican Food 1503 N. Magnolia El Cajon 92019 (619)444-8228 Open 7 days 6 a.m.-9 p.m.

Baseball Game Food for others- (A day sort of at the ballpark)

June 24, 2007 Cathy Festivals & Events, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso, the blog, never is on vacation. It is a day for Cathy to write about what she ate,and other stuff. Kirk is way busy.

Hi. It’s Sunday June 24. The 2004 National Champion Boston Red Sox are in town. Tickets to this game have been sold out for months. The Mister and I still saw the game, live. But not quite on ground level.

Oh, yes, we were in the new Diamond View Tower commercial building, right next to the ballpark, 15th floor, along with about 100 of our closest friends, some University of Michigan Alumni.

Seems one of our fellow Alums works for Point Loma Bank and the top floor Suite was available we were able to attend this event for a small donation to the University of Michigan San Diego Scholarship Fund.

This is part of the interior view and there is a patio that looks out onto the Ballpark.

Glass windows, floor to ceiling, and six television sets inside. You could hear the bat hit the ball inside the room, while watching the television. You could hear the crowd roar. It was like being there, but with air conditioning and no lines in the bathroom.

Oh, right. It was catered. Quite well.

This is the outdoor Diamondviewtowersum_002 fire pit, clear and colored tumbled glass with a gas line through the center. Beautiful at night. The flames were on during the day, but I don’t think you can see very well (click onto any photo to enlarge). That giant canopied round pillowed chair looked through the glass railings down on to the field.

Food. Right.

Smoked chicken quesedilla wedges topped with a fresh salsa. very nice.

Bruschetta topped with caramelized onions.

Outside, a grill was going.

Soon, these small, yet substantial "Sliders" showed up. Burger, cheese, pickle, caramelized onion on an egg bun. Really tasty, quite enough in four bites and just plain nice.

There was this bow tie pasta salad,

made with a nice basil based dressing.

Also this spinach/artichoke/onion dip, served with a variety of crackers and bread slices.

Then, this sign and setup(click on the photo to read):

Oh. My.

Me and mashed potatoes. and toppings. Life is good. Ballpark food this isn’t.

The Mister’s first "martini"- mashed potatoes, Gorgonzola, bacon, wild mushroom gravy and some fried leeks.

My first "martini"-potatoes, Gorgonzola, parsley and fried leeks.

Oh yes, it was wonderful. Notice I said ‘first martinis’. There were more, a lot more. The chicken curry sauce was wonderful and different, quite tasty, just a little heat.

Oh, sure, there was a coffee set up with some nice dessert bites. The cookies were unique- one seemed to have instant coffee as an ingredient and the other was more of a soft gingersnap. There were diamond shaped brownies, peanut butter topped brownies, lemon diamonds and raspberry oatmeal cookies. All were fresh and tasty, not too sugary.

But, well, if you have paid attention…I am not that into sweets. Remember those crackers outside, next to the artichoke dip? and the Gorgonzola that nobody seemed to be touching? Yep- a nice little cheese and cracker tray.

Then, I just didn’t bother and filled a martini glass with Gorgonzola only.

Hope everyone is having a nice first weekend of Summer!

Oh, Boston won 4-2. The Mister and I have never attended a game the Padres won. Ever. More than 20 years.

Do you ever go back to restaurants? Latin Chef, Tsuruhashi, Asia Cafe, and Izakaya Sakura

June 23, 2007 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants, Lao Restaurants, Latin American Cuisine, Peruvian Restaurants

A question posed in a recent email (thanks CVChow!), and of course the answer is a resounding yes! It’s just that I’m perhaps a little slower on “the trigger” with places I’ve already posted on. But once in a while I still take photos. But questions like this made me realize that I need to update my “rotation”, and I will do so in the upcoming weeks.

So here are some revisits, mostly photos…kind of what Uber OC Food Blogger Elmomonster would call a “photo super shoot”…in my case, it’s just a bunch of photos….

Even More Latin Chef:

**** Latin Chef has changed ownership and moved to Liberty Station

One of 3 restaurants I need to add to our rotation list. The Cebiche Pescado is a current obsession of the Missus:

She craves this once or twice a week, always finishing by sipping the Leche De Tigre (Tiger’s Milk) with a spoon.

Here’s a photo of the Tiradito:

Tiradito is, from what I’ve been told a Japanese influenced Peruvian raw fish dish. This version was made using the Aji Amarillo. The fish had been sliced into strips and slightly flattened with the blade of a knife. Hmmm, sounds really similar to some of the dishes a fairly well known Chef and Restaurant Owner named “Nobu” does. Nice, though not a refreshing as the Cebiche. BTW, did you know that the Sushi Bar in Lima that Nobu co-founded is still in business? It’s called Matsuei, and on our list of possible restaurants to visit for our trip to Peru later this year.

You can find previous posts on Latin Chef here and here.

Tsuruhashi, Again:

We’ve been eating there every other week or so. In fact, I need to revise my statement about the manager. From our second visit on, he’s been so very nice, and always comes by to chat or to say hello. In fact, as I left the other day, he stopped me, shook my hand, and in the very formal Japanese way, handed me his business card.

So here’s some other stuff!

The Prime Beef Tongue:

Pork Belly:

A current favorite of the Missus, the Prime Tongue w/Onion.

You only cook this baby on one side…

One of my favorite “cuts” is the Prime Skirt, it is also one of the most inexpensive at $5.25.

Though a tad more chewy than other cuts, it is still quite tender. The payoff is the nice beefy flavor.

Another one for our rotation, the original post can be found here.

Even more Asia Cafe:

**** Asia Cafe has closed

That doesn’t mean we still don’t visit some of our favorites. Here’s a few photos from Asia Cafe during a recent really fun meal with Ed from Yuma.

The Yum Asia:

Nem Khao:

With the full complement of Greens and Herbs.

The See Nam Tok:

As good as I remembered. Previous posts on Asia Cafe can be found here and here.

The $12 Lunch Bento from Izakaya Sakura:

So many posts on this place. Here’s a photo I had lingering around, Clayfu has a nice post.

You can read the Chowhound post here. It is a lot of food, almost too much for a workday lunch, if you know what I mean. I’ve heard complaints about the lunch not being very hot….methinks that person does not know what a “bento” lunch is all about. It’s a box lunch, whose history goes back to the 11th or 12th century. While digging around, I found a nice little post here. Other posts on Sakura can be found here, here, and here.

Finally, a bit of Saturday silliness:

Earlier this week, I was standing in line at the grocery check-out, and you know how some couples talk really loud, and sometimes you learn or hear a bit more than you really wanted. This young couple was in the midst of a conversation….

Young Lady: “I heard a joke that I really don’t understand….I think it’s really stupid, and not funny.”
Young Man: “What what is….”
YL: “Some of the guys were joking around, and said – Milk a bull, and make a friend for life…”
YM chokes and spits his gum out involuntarily: “Gasp…..”
YL: “What’s so funny…you can’t milk a bull!”
By now everyone in line is cracking up, the cashier is turning a nice red color.
YM: “Think about it, if you tried to milk a bull…..”
YL: “Hey, I’m not stupid, I know Bulls are male and you can’t milk them!”
YM: “Say, you tried to milk a bull?”
YL: “But you can’t milk a bull….”
YM, by now somewhat composed: “But if you really tried to, ahem, milk a bull…….”
YL: “That’s just dumb….”
YM, looking around at all the laughing people: “Must be a lot of dumb people in this line….”

Have a nice weekend…….

The 2007 San Diego County Fair, Part 3, which was part of Part 2.

June 22, 2007 Cathy Festivals & Events, What Cathy Eats!, yoso-silly

mmm-yoso, the blog, had some issues last night. Cathy had some issues by wanting to fall asleep. Kirk isn't going to post anyhow. He probably has issues, too.

Hi. I was trying to finish up the post about the County Fair last night and everything kept freezing up on me. Then it was Friday and I had stuff I needed to do. Here is the last of the post, and some general information.

Yep, the newest culinary sensation offered at the Fairgrounds.

I asked you to look at the skeleton on the front part of the grill in this photo.

I assume all of you correctly identified it as being from a snake, and more specifically a Western Diamondback Rattlesnake, or Crotalus atrox to be completely correct.

Yes, the newest food fad is rattlesnake. Farm raised and costing the owners of this booth $41 a pound.

So, since everyone is in business to make a profit, they are charging $9.50 for rattlesnake chili and $12.50 for fried rattlesnake bites (or, Snakebites) served with fried potatoes and fried jalapeño slices.

For some reason, I do not consider chili to be a Fair Food, plus the idea of eating a tomato based sauce in the heat and sun just was not right to me, so , we opted for more fried food. Snakebites.

There ended up being nine pieces of breaded fried rattlesnake and as many potatoes and only those three jalapeños.

The breading was light and crispy and the Snake meat was not too tough or chewy. There were three of us sharing all of this food at the fair and our Friend, Ms. T, said the Snake tasted more like rabbit, while The Mister said it was kind of like muskrat, better than turtle and way better than seagull.

It was not offensive to me. I did like the breading and added some hot sauce for the potatoes.

We then went in search of cooling desserts.

Ms. T got a strawberry hot fudge waffle cone sundae.

The Mister got the ice cream square dipped in chocolate and peanuts.

I, however, still being adverse to sweets, got the "Still only 25¢" Footsie Wootsie and called it a day.

Do try and get to the Fair and maybe think about participating in some of the exhibits. It is part of our (rather large)community, but still always local.

*****************************************************

Hmmm- Cathy is wearing Cowboy Boots…why would she do that?

Yes, I wear Cowboy Boots. I know a little bit about rattlesnakes. They appear in my back yard every year about this time.

I would like to show you why farmed raised rattlers cost so much. Basically they are larger since they do not have to forage for their meals. Wild rattlesnakes do grow and gain a rattle about every year, but are constantly looking for food and are more likely to be smaller/leaner overall. Being farm raised and not having to slither all over looking and hoping for food makes you lazy and fat (remember this the next time you are sitting in a Drive Thru lane).

I know this about snakes. Because, as I said, they show up in my yard every year.

Here are the skins I preserved from two of the five rattlers I killed (no, not The Mister -me- I killed five rattlers) in 2005. You will notice the rattle in the photograph is 13 in number. Not his lucky year.

If I was not wearing Cowboy Boots, I would be permanently scarred by that one big boy; when I put the shovel on his neck, he really whipped around and hit my calf.

Here are my boots, and the rattler who died this past Sunday- June 17, 2007. Only 7 rattles.

As you noticed, you don't eat the skin. You save it. Also, you have to bury the head. You don't want it to be left out, even in the trash. Yellow jackets will eat the whole head, including the poison sac, and then if those same yellow jackets go out and sting you, well, you get the venom. You should just call your local Fire Department, on their non-emergency line and they will come out right away, kill the varmint and dispose of him properly. They will ask if you want to keep the snake and his skin. You could. Here is what you do with it.

First, nail each end onto a board, belly up. (This is a Cedar fence board from Home Depot, it costs about $1.67; if you buy a "Cedar Plank" for cooking salmon on the grill, it is one of these boards cut into 4 pieces)(it seems to cost a lot to make three cuts with a saw).

Then cut gently down the center, peel the skin off and remove the meat.

You can really see in this photo that this snake, despite being older, is mostly bone and not meat. It would be a bother to have to de-bone all of this animal and then what meat would be left would barely be worth your time and effort.

Then you flatten out the skin as much as possible and pour salt over the whole skin, to aid in the drying out. I leave it in the sun for at least a week. The one from this past Sunday is still there.

After the skin is dry, you do not want it to get hard and brittle or it will fall apart in a few years. Rinse off the salt and then coat the skin daily with glycerin (sold in the Pharmacy Department of most stores) for about another week will preserve the skin and keep it pliable for years to come.

That's it. Hope everyone has a nice first Summer weekend. Enjoy the Fair.

The 2007 San Diego County Fair, Part 2-It’s open, it’s been open

June 21, 2007 Cathy Festivals & Events, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso is the blog. Kirk just wrote about food from a local Vietnamese Grocery store and a Whiskey Soda Lounge in Portland, Oregon, Ed just wrote something about food from taco trucks in Yuma and now Cathy is writing this, food at the San Diego County Fair. Variety, you know. You don't have to go to a sit down restaurant in San Diego for food.

Hi again. The San Diego County Fair has been going on for a few days now. If you recall, from my previous post, it opened in June 8. It goes on until July 4. Here is what it looks like, what some exhibits look like and, oh, what we ate.

When you enter the Fairgrounds, you are always greeted by the statue of Don Diego, who is dressed in the theme of the Fair, this year, " A Salute to Heroes".

As with all County Fairs, there are Livestock – cattle, calves, sheep, goats, chickens, turkeys mainly. There are small animal competitions and on June 30 the animals for food are auctioned off.

In the Home Arts section, there are displayed the winners of many of the competitions- Preserved Foods, quilting, collections, various craft competitions, cookies and cakes.

The Fine Woodworkers Association had a vast array of hand made furniture and accessories as well as demonstrations going on all day.

There are also competitions of High School and Junior College students, a Gem and Mineral Show, Photography and Fine Art. There is a Newsroom at the Fair with the local newspaper having staff there to answer questions and.

There are some celebrities- musical performers at night, and the day we were there, the Roloff Family of the Discovery channel television show "Little People, Big World" .

Oh, then there is the Midway with Fun Zone rides, games and general "Fair" diversions…

There is that Chair Lift that carries you from the one gate to the Bing Crosby Hall , where sales of gadgets abound…

Oh, and look at that- there is food. The reason for the blog. Let's get into it.

A sample menu, of pretty much everything you might want to try…and I have, in prior years- Deep fried Twinkie, (Twinkie dipped in batter then fried), Deep fried Snickers Bar (I like how the caramel is warm and oozy) and then new- this year. The Chicken sandwich on a Krispy Kreme donut. Yep; had to.

Not a plain Krispy Kreme, nope- a jelly donut. Salty, yet juicy and flavorful preformed chicken served on a fresh jelly donut. I liked the mix of sweet and salty, for two bites anyhow. They give you honey as a condiment, in case the jelly and glaze isn't enough. This cost about $6. I don't know. It doesn't matter.

The rest of the stuff we got was pretty much the usual. The falafel sandwich, with avocado, which is always my favorite food.

Mushrooms on a stick (eh); artichoke hearts on a stick (yum).

There are also available the turkey legs, Sdcf2007_028 the "Ten Pound Loaf" of bread slice, topped with cheeses and garlic butter, the grilled corn, grilled peppers (stuffed with nacho cheese, I might add).

The Cinnamon Roll Truck-if you look closely, they list all the locations the truck will be this year- the County Fairs-

The cream puffs, fried sweet potatoes, and so much else.

But, there was something new and different this year, oh yes…

See those bones on the front of the grill?

That post will show up soon. Unfortunately, Typepad is doing something odd and I cannot finish this post. I have been trying for the last 30 minutes. This one is done and Part 2 of The County Fair Part 2 will be up before you know it!

The San Diego County Fair, now until July 4 www.SDFair.com

Portland: Pok Pok Whiskey Soda Lounge

June 20, 2007 mmm-yoso Portland, Oregon, Thai Restaurants, Travel

*** The Whiskey Soda Lounge has closed

Before our recent trip to Portland, there was not enough good things I could say about Pok Pok. And as time went by I became even more excited. You see, from the little "shed that could", the Whiskey Soda Lounge had evolved, with a more interesting and diverse menu(no worries…Pok Pok "to go" is still there). I could hardly wait. As I noted in my previous post, this was mainly a trip for my In-Laws, but the Missus and I made plans for at least one meal in each city just for us. And for us, this meant catching the #4 bus, and getting off on SE Division.

Knowing that the Whiskey Soda Lounge didn't accept reservations, we made sure to get there as early as possible. We saw the sign, and the path that traveled down a short cement path to the basement and the Whiskey Soda Lounge. It was quite interesting, the last time I visited this was just a ditch!

The tall gentleman met us at the little portable metal desk, and said simply, "this way", and walked us into the Whiskey Soda Lounge.

I liked the dark and "divey" interior which does play on the imagination, I could almost imagine being in a foreign land.

This is where we hit a bump in the road. I can understand the close proximity of the tables in the WSL. I mean, it is a basement. When we arrived, only 3 tables were occupied, and there were several booths against the back wall, each unoccupied. We were taken to what must be the second tiniest table in the restaurant, right in front of the window where you could see some of the cooking done in the yard. Because the booths were empty, the Missus asked if we could have one of the booths. The tall gentleman looked down at us, and crossing his hands said, "no, absolutely not, the booths are for parties of 3 or more." Which was fine by us…EXCEPT, that not 5 minutes later a couple walked in, and was seated. They asked to sit at the very booth that we had been denied, and the host told them, "ok, no problem!" Go figure…..the Missus, a bit perturbed told me, "okay, you got your restaurant…we're going to eat, and leave, A-S-A-P!" She obviously felt slighted, and didn't appreciate the Host's somewhat gruff attitude.

So off to the food. Of course we started with the Papaya "Pok Pok" and requested Blue Crab…oops, correction, we were told Salted Black Crab($7.50 + $2.50):

As good as I remembered, very balanced in flavor, a nice refreshing salty-sweet-sour in flavor. Still one of my favorite versions of this classic dish.

The Kung Op Woon Sen($14.00). We could watch this clay pot dish cooking over charcoal through the window.

A nice dish, at the bottom of this clay pot was a layer of pork belly, nice and slightly charred, and several very large shrimp, though very mild in flavor, cooked to perfection. The flavor of soy came through quite well.

I was very excited to see Cha Ca "La Vong" ($14.00)on the menu. This dish is one of those, "to have before I die dishes." Of course it would have to be at Cha Ca La Vong in Hanoi.

In retrospect, I should have probably ordered something else, perhaps the Pork Ribs or Chicken Wings. I did enjoy the dill and all the herbs, but I found the "tumeric scented" catfish to be very dry, and the version of nuoc mam cham tasted very weak. I had expected some Mam Tom – fermented shrimp paste to be provided, but should have known better. Some friends recently had their Mom make some Cha Ca for the Missus and I, and it is an amazingly good dish. I did notice that the Cha Ca is no longer on the menu at Pok Pok WSL.

Would I return to Pok Pok? Of course, I think the food here is quite good. Though it'll probably be a solo visit. It seems that Andy Ricker's hard work has paid off, I found out courtesy of Guilty Carnivore, that The Oregonian has named Pok Pok it's restaurant of the year.

Pok Pok
3226 SE Division St.
Portland, OR 97202

You know, I think that what happened to us at Pok Pok was magnified, simply because of how nice people were in Portland. Case in point, we were waiting for our cab to Union Station from the Embassy Suites. It was raining pretty hard, and we had been waiting for about 15 minutes. Before you knew it, the Shuttle Van for the Embassy Suites pulls up, and the nice Bellman comes out and tells me, "we're going to take you to Union Station, your cab is taking too long!" Talk about service!

Return to Vien Dong III – Part 2 Following Up

June 19, 2007 mmm-yoso Markets & Grocers

*** Vien Dong Market is now Thuan Phat Supermarket. And updated post can be found here.

I know that those of you who commented on the first part of this post have been wondering when I'd get around to doing the follow-up. Following the initial email from Daniel, I made several visits to Vien Dong, research I guess you could say.

Daniel provided a "list" of several key improvements, and I thought I'd verify them.

"The pungency factor is no longer a factor"

This one was strange. Each time I entered the market, there was the standard issue smell, not quite as strong as before, but it was there. But strangely enough, as I walked toward the meat department the smell would dissipate, growing more and more faint. Each visit was during a different time of the day…mornings are always the best, but there it was, the slight meaty-fishy smell. But several steps later, it was gone.

I don't know if my sense of smell made an adjustment, or if there was an environmental or other reason for this. One thing I did notice was that the cashier area is much brighter, and there's a feeling of "space".

Raised our ceiling added skylights and brighter energy efficient lighting

I'm wondering if the raised ceiling has in some way contributed to the pungency issue. Perhaps all of the smells collect in one spot. Still, on my 4 visits it was not nearly as bad as before.

Renovated the seafood department with newer more accessible tanks and freezers.

This one is quite obvious.

But there was one thing I wanted to check, what was in those vats. I was pretty impressed, the water is well circulated, and very clean. Usually most live seafood lives in poorly circulated, murky, sometimes filthy water. As you can see this wasn't the case.

Expanded produce department to include wider variety and volume of produce

I always thought of the produce department at Vien Dong to be quite good, though somewhat cramped and claustrophobic. I can't even begin to tell you the number of times I've been rapped in the ankles or almost run over by durian laden shopping carts pushed by little old ladies…..

Now the produce department has been spread out a bit, and the aisles are a bit wider, and it seems that the department has been brightened up a bit as well.

And then there's my favorite part….

Resurrected the food to go + deli and bakery area

I know it's really just steam table stuff, but you can't beat the prices (2 items and a starch – $3.50, 3 items and a starch – $4.50). And sometimes there some pretty good stuff to be had.

I'm partial to the fried chicken…it's not bad.

It's nice to get a hearty meal for the price of a burrito….

Thanks for restoring my faith in customer service, Daniel!

One last thing

Daniel sent me the URL for a website Originalpho.com that is being developed by Daniel's Company. Usually, I don't do stuff like this, but because Daniel was generous enough to let me reprint his email in my earlier post, this was the least I could do. So check it out, you can request free samples. And here's something interesting. Our very own Cathy actually requested some samples…..

And in her own words:

You sent me the *very nice* letter from Dan, dated April 28, on Sunday April 29, where he mentioned www.originalpho.com to request product samples, and I immediately checked it out. I know companies send out samples because they want you to try and buy. Good business.

I got to choose a flavor (savory chicken, traditional beef, garden vegetable and succulent seafood). I was torn, thinking I would get a chance to try one small "Cup O' Pho" (as in the photograph) and wasn't sure if I shoudl play it safe with vegetable or go for what I know- beef. I expected one of those Styrofoam "Cup O's" to show up someday in the mail. I know whenever I request a product sample, I end up forgetting about it and eventually, months later, it shows up and I am pleasantly surprised.

You can see from the photo that it was sent on April 30 (I requested it Sunday night) and I got the whole pack, like they sell in the store- 6 cups, 70 gram cups. WOW! I certainly did not expect that much at once. It was a *very* pleasant surprise.

The Mister and I got to try the Cup O' Pho in the plain, unadorned sense- eating it as it came from the packaging (after adding the boiling water to cook the noodles, of course)…and then following the recommended add ins- add 1.5 ounces beef, 0.5 ounce bean sprouts, and red onion with the 'optional' (like it is optional) add ins of lime wedges, fresh chilies, cilantro and basil.

I combined two of the cups/ingredients and the add ins from home and made a very nice meal for the two of us one night. (There is a beef bullion-ish seasoning packet; a dried vegetable packet with garlic/onion/chervil/carrot and a spicy oil packet -shallot oil, soy bean oil, garlic and onion).

The foldable fork is helpful and I always save them from wherever I get them. You never know. I have chopsticks and foldable forks in my car side doors at all times. (really)

I sent Daniel a follow-up email asking him if Originalpho.com really did always send out a 6 pack of samples, and here's his reply:

We plan to slowly introduce more products on the internet and this is sort of our first run at it. We are able to ship very quickly because we've setup a good shipping operation out of our warehouse and are able to ship very inexpensively to commercial addresses. We think it makes sense to send out 6 pack samples because they are already well packaged for shipping and are light weight. We also hope that people will share them, especially come lunch/snack time in the work place, and that people will really understand first hand how convenient and tasty they can be.

So all you instant noodle fans – Free Pho!!!