April 2008 – mmm-yoso

Hanoi: Bun Cha Dac Kim, and We’re Off to Sapa

April 30, 2008 mmm-yoso Hanoi, Travel, Vietnam

Leaving Hanoi without trying some Bun Cha would have been criminal, we just could not do it. The mere thought of Bun Cha is enough to send me into full blown salivation mode. We decided to go with the highly recommended(by at least a half dozen people) Bun Cha Dac Kim(aka #1 Hang Manh). By watching the constant stream of motorbikes parking and leaving, and the foot traffic, you knew that this was the "right" place.

An SRO(Standing room only) crowd of customers, wedged elbow to elbow, on 4 floors no less, speak to the popularity of the place.

All this activity going on in one small space. Check out the cooking/prep area. Somehow, when I read about restaurant designers discussing "Open Kitchens" I don’t think they have this in mind. Check out the heavy duty wristband on the gal manning the "fry station".

You’d better bring your "A" game, when ravenous customers are practically looking over your shoulder!

As good as this Young Lady was, she had nothin’ on the gal assembling the Bun Cha.

Twisting, turning, moving, at a high rate of speed within tight quarters, she had more moves than Richard Simmon’s stunt double!

After waiting for a short while, we were guided up the narrow stairwell that reminded me of the time I toured a submarine, and ended up on the third floor. They managed to squeeze us in at the end of one of the tables, and I sat; "half cheek" style. We placed our orders, well, this place serves Bun Cha and Nem Cua Bể(Fried Crab and Pork Spring Rolls) so there’s not much "ordering" to be done. There was one Woman who ran the floor, with 3 "runners".

And blam-blam-blam, everything arrived in a flash. Fresh herbs and lettuce.

What seemed to be the standard Bun(Rice vermicelli) in Hanoi, mushy and sticky.

A mild fish sauce with pickled papaya.

And the star of our show, the meat! All to complete the ubiquitous Bun Cha, classic street food gone good….

As the grilled ground pork meatballs and thin slices of grilled marinated pork covered in broth arrived, it hit me. Here I was, having what I consider to be one of the 2 or 3 "classic" Northern Vietnamese dishes, what I’ve often times ordered as "Bun Cha Hanoi" on various menus….in Hanoi! Reality was a bit different. The meat was a total polar opposite of what I’d thought it would be. Going against character, the meatballs were very, very soft, like Mom’s best meatloaf, . The slices of pork were much more tender than anticipated as well. The broth and Nuoc Mam Cham(fish sauce based dipping sauce) were very mild, almost borderline bland.

The Nem Cua Bể were nothing like any Cha Gio I’ve ever had.

The very thin rice paper was light and crisp, and without any hint of oiliness. The filling was light, like an airy crab mousse. The Missus dumped all Her meat into my bowl, and went to work on the Nem Cua Bể……

While eating we noticed something that we saw repeatedly in Vietnam and Cambodia; greens and vegetables were eschewed. More than half the people left all the fresh herbs and lettuce untouched. This was explained to us later; "we are a poor country, most times our standard meal is vegetables and rice. When we go out, we want meat." Duh(smack to my forehead)….I shoulda been able to figure that out myself.

Total for the meal 80,000 VND(approx $5 US). This was the most stuffed I felt in Hanoi.

Off to Sapa we go…..

After a full day visiting the Museum of Ethnology and Hoa Lo Prison(aka "The Hanoi Hilton"), we had to head off to catch our train to Sapa. Banh My in hand(that’s a whole ‘nother post) we were dropped off at the train station. As we walked toward the station, the Missus heard me humming:

"What are you humming?"
"He’s leaving, on the midnight train to Sapaaaaaa…"
"Ugh"
"How about…. When my Baby, When my Baby smiles at me I go to Sapa…"
"Just stop it, Okay!"

And this is where our next "adventure" began. We entered the train station, and could find no indication of trains headed to Sapa.

I had remembered reading that there was a separate station for destinations North of Hanoi, so I went outside to look around.

And to the right of the main building stood the "Hall of Passengers Before Entering Into Railway Station for Northern Lines"(what a mouthful). So we walked into the waiting area. We had been told that we needed to "exchange" our tickets for "real" tickets, but couldn’t figure out where. Finally, we saw a group of tourists enter, and their Guide (Danny from Saigon) explained the process to us. Before the train leaves, the Ticket Agent will man the "counter" and exchange our tickets for boarding passes, and he told us he’d give us the "high sign" when the time was right. Just as always, after some confusion, everything worked out. (Thanks Danny…) About a half hour before boarding time, we got the sign….but no one was at the counter! Danny pointed at the stairs:

And there She was, motorbike helmet and all, our Ticket Agent, sitting on the stairs handing out boarding passes. Now here’s where Beach had really helped us out again; even though reservations were tight, he had arranged for us to have an entire 4 berth cabin (all the 2 berth cabins were sold out) to ourselves. Thank God! It seems that all Vietnamese Males like to chain smoke, drink, and talk really loud. And for some reason, our cabin kind of reminded me of something I saw earlier in the day.

Happily, our cabin did lock from the inside, and I wouldn’t have to be worried about getting "shivved" in the night, nor anyone getting "too familiar" with me….. In fact, water was provided, and the bedding smelled like bleach, which in this case, we were happy about. Just be glad none of the photos of the "WC"(No, not that "WC") came out……

Due to the noise factor we didn’t get much sleep, so we were ready to go when we arrived and people were being roused at ~~The Gulag~~ Lao Cai at 5am.

As we had experienced before, the arrival was controlled chaos. It was pitch dark at the Lao Cai train station, and we were herded onto mini-vans for the hour-and-a-half drive to Sapa.(30,000 VND, just under $2/ US)

We had not made plans for Sapa, other than what Beach had done for us. And we could see nothing in the darkness as we drove. We would just be dropped off at a destination of our choosing in Sapa. Would things work-out for us?

Would it be worth the effort?

Well, here’s the view from our $15/night (versus the $10/night – no view) room in Sapa:

What’s the verdict???

Pupuseria y Taqueria Cabañas 2: Yuma

April 29, 2008 ed fromyuma Salvadoran Restaurants, What Ed Eats -You too can be like Ed!, Yuma

Kirk still has tales of Southeast Asia. Cathy is roaming about looking for food in San Diego, but today ed (from Yuma) finishes his discussion about the best Salvadoran restaurant in Yuma.

*** I am saddened to write that Pupuseria Cabanas is no more. One of the few cases of a restaurant doomed by its success. At least as I have heard it, the landlord was getting complaints from the towing/repair shop next door that there was no place to park during the day because the pupuseria had too many customers. Lucia was not allowed to be open weekdays, and then on Nov. 1, the restaurant was empty with no sign about another location etc. I will update if (I hope, when) she has relocated *** :-(

When I walked into Cabañas for my second visit, my idea of Salvadoran food was pupusas and tamales. Okay, I'd also eaten some fried plantains at a couple of other Salvadoran places, but I didn't find those interesting enough to consider going out of my way to eat them again.

On that second visit, I was hoping to try some tamales, but it seems that the restaurant only has tamales on the weekend. After some linguistic misunderstandings, I ended up ordering soup – though I wasn't sure what kind of sopa it was going to be. When the soup arrived, accompanied by a hand made corn tortilla, it looked pretty much like most soups look:

With the first taste of the broth, I realized that this was very different. Rarely have I tasted a broth with such depth of flavor and width of complexity. Perhaps the original stock was a chicken flavor (perhaps), but all I could taste was the intense flavor of a multitude of vegetables with a hint of shrimp.

My first bites were of those tasty vegetables. There was onion, carrot, zucchini, potato, and some other squash like vegetable. All of them had contributed to the incredible broth. Hiding underneath the surface of vegetables were numerous fresh tasting pink shrimp:

The shrimp was perfectly cooked for shrimp in a soup – tender and juicy. Also, please notice the rich golden color of that broth. That deep color matched the deep flavors of the soup. I'm not making this up folks; this was ultimate soup.

Since that visit, the soups have become the main attraction of the restaurant for me. Each broth is intensely savory and complex. My culinary heritage tends to be west central Europe, and the standard vegetables that go into most of my traditional soups are onion, celery, and carrot (and cabbage when appropriate). At this restaurant, squashes (and/or squash like items) make a major contribution to the breadth and depth of the flavor. This makes some primal sense as squashes were the very first domesticated crop in the New World – around 10,000 years ago. So these Salvadoran soups have an ancient heritage as well as a great taste.

This is well illustrated by what they call "chicken soup." The soup itself is a rich chicken broth that tastes primarily of zucchini squash. The bowl is full of zucchinis cut into inch and a half slices. There is not a single piece of chicken in the bowl:

The nicely roasted chicken, along with rice and an undressed salad, is served on the side:

The leg and the thigh were mildly seasoned and have a nice crusty exterior. The insides of each piece were juicy and tender:

I advised Tina to dump her rice into the bowl with the stock and the zucchinis, as I usually do when I am served rice with a Mexican soup. The more I think about this dish, the more I believe that the chicken also could have been broken up and put into the soup. That would have intensified the chicken flavor of the stock (as if that broth needed any help) and added nicely flavored chicken bites to it. It also would have been a real chicken soup that avoided the boiled chicken texture and flavor that sometimes mars caldo de pollo.

The least wonderful of the four soups that I have tried at Cabañas was the beef rib soup. You have heard of damning with faint praise; this is praising with a faint damn. It was very good, but just not quite as good as the others.

When I asked about what soup was available that day , the young man said "beef rib soup," but then he had to turn and ask the cook a question, and I suspect that he was asking whether the soup was ready because he was answered with an affirmative and then he assured me that they had the soup.

The bowl was packed with the range of vegetables (potatoes, squashes, and carrots being most predominate) and two huge chunks of beefy rib meat:

Compared with most caldo de res that I have had in Yuma, this was a good soup. The beef was rich and flavorful, with just a bit of fat:

My only complaint (and that is too strong a word, really) is that the soup would've been better with a little more cooking. The beef was tender, but not falling apart. My spoon couldn't break the two huge chunks up into bitesized pieces, so it became finger food. The stock had a nice beefy flavor, but it was the least intense of any of the soups I have had at the restaurant. Maybe another hour on the stove would have changed that.

One interesting note about that soup was the unusual vegetable that I found hiding in it:

Do you have any idea what this is? At first I thought it might be some sort of marrow bone since it had an obvious ring around it. Then I took a small bite and realized that this was indeed a vegetable of some sort, but I had never seen such a thing before (or so I thought). When I asked the young man what it was, he said it was a male banana – whatever that is. Perhaps he meant plantain. In any case, after I popped the piece into my mouth and started chewing, the flavor of savory banana was apparent. Nonetheless, I was totally amazed to have a chunk of banana, skin and all, in a beef rib soup. Another sign that this place is different from anywhere else I've ever eaten.

I have saved the best for last. One day they offered cow hoof soup. When I ordered it, I was warned that it had tripe as well as a cow hoof in it. Rather than deterring me, that excited me. As with many of their other soups, this one didn't immediately look at all strange (though in this pic it does look fuzzier than in real life):

Like their other soups, squashes and potatoes were evident throughout, but a major element in the flavor of the broth was tripe. And the bowl contained numerous pieces of flavorful and chewy cow stomach:

At first, I noticed that this was a different tripe from the little pillows of tender joy that I am used to in menudo. This had more chew – though it was by no means tough – and a good tripe flavor. But then I discovered that the great tender joy of this incredible soup was resting on the bottom of the bowl, a cow hoof:

Having never encountered such a thing before, I wasn't sure what to expect. What I found was a mass of bone covered with the most tender and delectable soft tendon. These gelatinous emanations were just at the edge of melting into soup. This is as close to a religious experience I can have while eating. The words that come to mind are etherial, ephemeral, diaphonous, luxurious, transubstantive. This is how the flesh of angels would taste. Oh my god, what a textural delight.

Up to this point I had not understood why the tripe was the chewy kind, but now I realized the essential contrast that underlies this wonderful bowl of joy. The mouth feel of the various vegetables, the chew of the tripe, and now this miraculous cow hoof covered a gigantic range of pleasurable textures. In my reverie, I involuntarily began the mmm-yoso dance, eyes closed, arms bent, swaying side to side in my seat.The only down side was that I had to explain the mmm-yoso dance to Tina, who was probably wondering if I was having some sort of a seizure.

It seems somehow appropriate to end this post which began with me searching for a tamale with a tamale. Since I have been so blown away by the soup at this restaurant, I have had only one of their tamales – a sweet corn tamal that made a perfect dessert for a meal:

As you can see from the picture, the masa is full of chunks and flecks of sweet corn. What you can't see from the picture is that the tamal came with wonderfully sour crema. With the balancing of sweet and sour, this was a perfect treat. Tina said that she had eaten similar things at fancy restaurants. Of course, she added, then they cost a lot more.

Someday I will have to try more of their tamales, but right now, it would be hard to go there and not order another bowl of soup, particularly if there was a cow foot in it.

Last Sunday, Tina and I pulled up and the place was CLOSED. I almost cried. I stopped by today, and they were open – just had some church festival last Sunday. Woo-hoo! Sometimes life is good.

Pupuseria y Taqueria Cabañas, 3405 8th St, Yuma AZ. Open every day except Thursdays and special days at church. Open for lunches and dinners.

Santouka Ramen – San Diego

April 28, 2008 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants

*** An updated post can be found here.

I had been hearing about the possibility of a branch of Santouka Ramen opening up in San Diego for quite a while. I had heard that Santouka would be opening in the Mitsuwa Marketplace; but after Kayaba opened it's doors; or to be more precise, drew back its curtains, there was no activity for for over a year. But soon enough, word got around that Santouka was opening on April 14th. "Finally, good ramen in San Diego" was the first thought that went through my mind. And though the first few days after opening was a bit too crazy for me, it was just a matter of time before I wanted to inhale some good ramen!

I placed my order, and watched the automated green onion slicer go to work. I dunno, they had 5 people working, do they really need a machine to cut green onions? And just the fact that the Young Man running the contraption stood and fed the scallions one by one through the machine, made it seem somewhat Goldberg-ian!

I usually will just get a Shio or Shoyu Ramen, but on this day, I decided to go for the gusto and ordered the Shio Ramen – Chashu Rice set ($9.48). Which was ready in no time.

Santouka's ramen is a favorite of many food bloggers, from The Rameniac to Miss Oishii-Eats and Daily Gluttony, who made sure to attend Santouka's grand opening in West LA. Recently, "RT" doing a guest spot on The Delicious Life, called it "liquid crack". And having had a few bowls myself, albeit at the Torrance and Costa Mesa locations, I'd be more than happy to join in, singing praises…..

I approached my bowl with eagerness, and that's where the problems started.

The shio(salt) ramen, which according to Rameniac owes it's flavor to the combination of pork bones(done in the classic "Tonkotsu" style) as well as shellfish. For me, there is one key thing about the broth I enjoy; a good oil content. The shiro at Santouka is not as rich as the "good bowls" I've encountered at Daikokuya, but it usually has a nice velvety richness that will wrap itself around your tongue. Unfortunately, this bowl of ramen was served to me lukewarm, which turned it from rich, to greasy, and not as enjoyable. In fact, halfway through my bowl, I had my own little personal Exxon Valdez disaster….which marks the only time that I've never finished a bowl of ramen at Santouka.

Still, I could live with that. Why? Well, for me, it's about the noodles at Santouka, which have a nice springy, toothsome, chew to them. These were undercooked and on the hard side. And being in lukewarm broth would not help, bummer…..

At least the Chashu delivered, as did the boiled soy sauce eggs, an accessory that goes with the ramen at Santouka, like Marc Jacobs with the Missus.

Disappointed with my ramen, I don't even remember what the Chashu Rice tasted like, and frankly it was just an afterthought for me anyway.

I've had enough good bowls of ramen at the other locations of Santouka to give the San Diego location "a pass" for now. I'll assume that they still need to get things straightened out. I'm hoping my next visit will be more successful.

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

Hanoi: Finally, Bun Rieu, and more of Hoan Kiem Lake

April 27, 2008 mmm-yoso Hanoi, Travel, Vietnam

Our time in Hanoi was running out, with all of the activities, and sight seeing, it seemed that our last day in Hanoi just snuck up on us. And still no Bun Rieu. It’s not like we hadn’t tried, it seemed that we were always too late, or too early, as in the case of the food stalls at Dong Xuan Market and Bun Rieu Nam Bo. We even attempted to find the stall at 23 Bat Dan recommended by on of our guides, and the staff at Hanoi Elegance, but to no avail. After walking around aimlessly, we settled for Bun Rieu Cua from the stall down an alleyway, right off of Hang Bac, just a block and a half from our hotel.

This alleyway was usually fairly crowded, but at this time of the morning, it was nice to actually see some pavement.

And it did look rather delicious…..

This lady was really nice….we managed to order using, the point method, and either the "no" nod, or the "thumbs up". After trying to keep up with the process which was completed in a flash, with minimum wasted motion, you could tell she was a pro.

From the rinsing of the bowl, to the heating of the noodles, it was difficult to follow.

But the result was one mighty fine looking bowl of Bun Rieu.

On the positive side; this was one super hot bowl of soup. We’ve had many a bowl of lukewarm Bun Rieu. Also, the crab cake had a nice pungent-briny flavor, and nothing we’ve had approaches the flavor. We found the broth to be very mild, and lacking any real tangy-sour-salty-savory flavor, even the addition of garlic and fried shallots really didn’t help much, and the bun was way too soft. The mix of greens provided was very fresh, and the chili paste was potent.

Being unable to hit any of the recommended Bun Rieu stalls was probably our biggest regret of our stay in Hanoi, but perhaps on one of our future trips. Still who’s going to really complain about a 15,000 VND(just under $1 US) bowl of Bun Rieu.

The Missus was intent on visiting the Museum of Ethnology, but it was still much too early. We decided to take a walk around Hoan Kiem Lake. As documented in Wandering Chopstick’s post, it seems like all of Hanoi turns the area around the lake into a giant gym in the morning. In the aprk across the street from the lake, there’s gigantic exercise class going on.

As Peaches and Herb would say: "Shake your groove thing, shake your groove thing, yeah, yeah
Show ’em how we do it now"

Well, maybe not, but they sure had the moves down.

There are several sections that have Badminton going on. From just friendly games (here’s the Missus getting smoked by Grandma).

To some really, very competitive games. We stayed to watch the game for a while, and boy, Mom sure had a nasty forehand!

Of course there’s Tai Chi.

And what was a sidewalk became a place to "pump you up!" I don’t think I’ve seen cement weights in a very long time……

And there were those that gave new meaning to the phrase "no pain, no gain", my neck hurt just watching this guy.

By this time, I, ummm, was getting a bit thirsty. We crossed the still only mildly busy street, and headed over to Highlands Coffee. Not much to say about the place, other than the coffee is pretty expensive by Hanoi standards, and was not nearly as good as we’ve tried in other places.

The best thing about Highlands Coffee, which is situated on the third floor of a building right across the street from Hoan Kiem Lake, is the view. Which even on a hazy morning is quite nice.

Meanwhile, the Missus was preoccupied watching people crossing the street. Her photos don’t convey the abject terror struck in our hearts watching first a dog:

Then a Blind Man crossed the street.

We were a bit late with photos and missed the part where about a dozen motorbikes were zooming around the guy. Amazing stuff.

It seems that Hoan Kiem Lake is the venue for weddings, or at least wedding photos in Hanoi.

We saw at least a half dozen wedding parties while walking around the lake. It made for a pretty surreal scene, the Bride and Groom, surrounded by dozens of tourists. So if you’re the couple in this photo we apologize, but the Missus and I think you were a beautiful couple. We send you both our best wishes for a long and happy marriage!

Hanoi: Cha Ca Thang Long

April 25, 2008 mmm-yoso Hanoi, Travel, Vietnam

During the planning stages of our trip, I started making my list of dishes, and a few places that I wanted to check out. Of course, being a fan of Cha Ca Thang Long(tumeric fish with dill), I had the famous Cha Ca La Vong, made popular by Patricia Schultz’s 1,000 Places to See Before You Die, and seen in every single travel show on Hanoi, on my list. But after asking around a bit, and reading a post or two, we thought that’d maybe we would try elsewhere, and on Beach’s and a NY Time’s article, the lower-keyed Cha Ca Thang Long Restaurant seemed to fit the bill.

So upon our return to Hanoi from Halong Bay, we dodged the endless procession of motorbikes and walked on over to Cha Ca Thang Long.

At first glance it seemed that the restaurant hadn’t taken down the Christmas decorations! But the interior of the restaurant was very clean, and I guess red is the color of choice.

Every table comes equipped with a brazier loaded with heating gel.

And a rather large bowl of scallions and dill.

And in an instant, all of the ingredients of Cha Ca arrive; the wonderfully spicy, but sweet orange chilies, shredded scallions, skinned peanuts(a very important detail…..a gentleman told me the peanuts have to be skinned), a bowl of wonderful fresh herbs…

A plate piled high with Bun….

Both the Missus and I each had an entire set of ingredients……it was turning out to be quite a collection of plates and bowls. Meanwhile, one of Young Ladies, started toward us with 2 little bowls, as she approached our table she spoke to us in Vietnamese. As soon as we replied in English she stopped dead in her tracks and beat a hasty retreat to the kitchen, and came back with two different bowls. These had Nuoc Mam(Fish Sauce) in them.

Laughing, I told them, "no-no, mam tom, mam tom, shrimp paste….please!" "You want shrimp sauce?" "Yes, yes, please……"

And while the fish sauce was quite nice….pungent and biting like a stiff drink of whiskey, the Mam Tom was a revelation. Rich and savory, pungent as expected, but it had been whipped until foamy, making it very light. and there was an unmistakable sweetness, with a mild sour flavor. The Missus went through 3 bowls of this stuff, and 2 little bowls of the chilies during the meal.

The brazier was lit, and our pan of fish arrived. I went to start cooking, and with a smile, the Young Lady, waved me off, and started cooking the Cha Ca for us.

Her own version of quality control I guess. She mixed in half of the dill and scallions, gently mixed everything together, and served us.

Our observations on the meal? Strangely, the dill had almost no flavor, which threw off the overall flavor. The fish was very moist, tender, and without any hint of the dreaded "muddy flavor", but was on the bland side. I had been expecting this to be a tad oily, but that was not the case at all. The Bun was very mushy and sticky. Kind of a mixed bag for a meal. Though the fish was very moist, compared to the version a good friend’s Mom made for us, the flavor came up a bit short.

The service was probably the best we had in Vietnam, amazingly efficient, and generous. As soon as we were out of something, they would bring out replacements until we told them to stop! The price was also quite good 160,000 VND for 2. About 5 bucks each. The based on the what we heard and observed, the clientele was completely Vietnamese.

Cha Ca Thang Long
21-31 Duong Thanh
Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi

Gastronomy eats at Cha Ca Thang Long here.

Pupuseria y Taqueria Cabañas 1: Yuma

April 24, 2008 ed fromyuma Salvadoran Restaurants, What Ed Eats -You too can be like Ed!, Yuma

Kirk is back with pics and stories about Vietnam and Cambodia. Cathy and others are out eating and snapping photos, but today ed (from Yuma) wants to share a recent find.

At the end of last month, a friend and I were exploring Calle Ocho (8th St) in Yuma looking for interesting taco stands and such. After a campechana at Juanita's and some empanadas from Mariscos el Nayarita, I spotted a lit-up open sign in the window of this new pupuseria:

After finding a parking place, Tina and I walked into the small family restaurant (3 booths, one bench and table set, and one larger table that could hold maybe 8 people), and as soon as I started speaking the little bit of horribly gringofied restaurant Spanish that I know, every head in the place turned to look at us as if we were los Migras. I suspect we may have been the first native English speakers to come in looking for a meal.

Since there is no menu and no white board, some conversation is required to find out what is available and to place an order. Fortunately for us on this visit, a friendly young man who spoke perfect English instantly switched the conversation into a language that both of us could understand. He seems to be there on weekends. During the week, ordering becomes more problematic since my poquito español de comida Mexicana is only marginally useful, and the nice ladies' English is only slightly better than my Spanish. Nonetheless, crossing that language barrier is worth it to me.

On our first visit, I ordered pupuses, and soon the two women in the back of the kitchen started patting out thick corn tortillas, much like the woman on one of the wallhangings that decorated the spare restaurant:

Pupusas are two corn tortillas grilled together with a thin layer of filling between them. We ordered bean and cheese, cheese and some Salvadoran green veggie, and pork. They are served with a tomato flavored, marginally spicy red sauce and a large jar of Salvadoran coleslaw, mildly tangy shredded cabbage with shredded carrot and an occasional slice of jalapeno. My first efforts at decorating the pupusas led to things that looked like these:

It's hard to beat hand-made corn tortillas, and they are the primary element in a pupusa. The thin smear of filling inside adds a flavor note, rather than a dominant taste. At first, I luxuriated in the honest flavor of the tortillas, and I used the sauce and coleslaw as accents. Since then, however, I have learned that I like my pupusas more heavily dressed. Starting with a plain pupusa, I cover it with sauce, and then I pile on the coleslaw:

This way, the pupusa is salad, filling, and starch all together. Also, at $1.75 apiece, two properly decorated pupusas make a good $3.50 lunch.

While the pupusas at Cabañas are what first got me hooked on the restaurant, other things keep me coming back over and over. For example, they serve very interesting – in fact downright amazing – Salvadoran agua frescas ($1.50). The first one I ordered contained mango, pineapple, and some mystery Salvadoran fruit:

Unlike any Mexican Agua Fresca that I have drunk, this place serves a handful of diced fruit in each glass. Although I believe I am served a straw each time, these are meant to be drunk without one. That way, each gulp is a mouthful of sweet liquid and chopped fruit.

I have no idea what this critter that looks like a yellow cherry is called, but it does contain a pit somewhat like a cherry:

On another occasion, apple was the primary flavor, and I felt like I'd eaten half an apple by the time I finished the drink:

I have two small concerns about this place. It calls itself a pupuseria y taqueria, yet I have seen no evidence of any taco on the premises. Certainly no one has offered to make me one. In addition, the last time I was eating there, it was over 90 degrees outside, and the tiny wall-mounted 1960s AC in the restaurant was having no perceptible effect on the internal temperature. I may not want to hang out at Cabañas when Yuma gets to 115.

Nevertheless, this little place has quickly become one of my favorite restaurants in Yuma – and I will keep coming back, at least until I can't stand the heat and have to keep away from their kitchen. It is not just that the pupusas and the homemade drinks are outstanding, but the place also has served me some of the tastiest and most unusual soups of any place in town. The soups and other treats will have to wait for part two. Consider yourselves properly teased.

Pupuseria y Taqueria Cabañas, 3405 8th St, Yuma AZ. Phone #? If they don't have a menu, maybe they don't have a phone either.

A Market Comparison – Hang Be Market(Hanoi) and 99 Ranch Market

April 22, 2008 mmm-yoso Hanoi, Markets & Grocers, Travel, Vietnam

"Market….." Nice word. What comes to mind, when you hear the word "market"….or "Asian Market"? If you live in San Diego, it might be this:

But if you happened upon Hang Be Market located on Pho Gia Nhu starting on the corner of Hang Be in Hanoi, instead of fluorescent lights, and tiled isles, you’d see this.

Though it’s more likely you’d get run over by a motorbike than get your shins rapped by a Little ol’ Lady pushing a shopping cart at Hang Be! I thought I’d do a little comparison of sorts, there are a few similarities, and maybe a few differences…….

I know 99 Ranch Market is pretty well known for the variety of veggies and fruits.

Actually, I think the fruits at 99 Ranch Market are not a strong point…many of the offerings are often over-ripe, bruised, or of low quality. Still, there’s always a nice variety. When it comes to "greens" 99 Ranch Market always has a nice selection.

At Hang Be Market, you won’t find the huge stacks of oranges perilously stacked, but you will find a good variety of different items.

You gotta love the Dragon Fruit in Southeast Asia, it is leaps and bounds better than what I’ve had in the States; it is much sweeter, and the Missus ate the stuff by the kilo. And lest you think this is all locally grown; the oranges are from China(quite good), Dragon Fruit and Durian from Thailand.

A note about prices:

You’ll notice quickly that most places won’t post prices, so you’ll have to bargain. The Missus had a very original way of bargaining…..She was especially frustrating for one lady. She would bargain hard…..the lady always wanted something like 25,000VND per kilo, the Missus would start at 15,000 VND….and so forth. Finally they’d settle on 18,000 VND. By then, the Missus was so tired, She would just hand the wad of money to the lady who’d just pull out what she wanted! Why bother bargaining? I guess the "bargaining fatigue" was just too much. Regardless, the Missus bought 2-4 kilos of Dragon Fruit almost everyday.

It was fun seeing uncommon(for us here in the US) items for sale, like Betel nuts.

Buddha’s Hand anyone?

99 Ranch Market has a pretty large meat department.

And though the signs are sometimes unintentionally humorous; looks like the "prok for stew" has been selling pretty well today. There is a nice variety of items from the butcher counter and prepacked trays of meat.

No white coats and hats, or the "singing of the saws" at Hang Be.

Just fresh meat on metal tables, meat is ground to order.

And some items screaming "I dare you to eat me"!

It is all fresh….

Ah yes, the Seafood Department at 99 Ranch Market.

For many people I know, 99 Ranch Market is the place to go for fresh and live seafood in San Diego. There’s always a good variety, and the prices are reasonable.

At Hang Be Market, the variety might not be quite as large, but as with the beef, everything is fresh.

And most of it is caught locally.

And if it’s not still alive…..

It’s still "breathing". These were bought up in an instant.

Someone requested a photo of Rice Paddy Crabs.

Here’s one of my favorite photos from Hang Be Market.

Even more stuff. Teas and spices from 99 Ranch Market.

Teas and spices from Hang Be Market:

A pretty large variety…..

And of course there is that staple; rice. We found the rice in Vietnam to be of very low quality….full of grit, lots of "brown bits", and unpolished.

But why have rice when you can have……..Bun!

Fresh Bun looks wonderful; pure and white as the new fallen snow, it is brought to the market in baskets lined with banana leaves.

One of our Guides told us how Bun was made; rice is first fermented, then ground and sifted. Water is then added to form a dough that is kneaded. The dough is then pressed through an aluminum sieve with tiny holes into boiling water. The Missus’s verdict? "Too much trouble, why don’t you just eat rice?"

And then there are those things that catch your eye:

So what’s going on here? This gentleman is burning the hair off a pig’s feet.

And those items that would be pretty hard to find in the states.

One constant we found in every market, was a barber!

We visited Hang Be Market 3 times, once during each period of the day, during the morning, afternoon, and evening. Each visit offered something different. And on one of the visits, I started comparing the market set-up of Hang Be Market with 99 Ranch Market. Strange, I know……

Miss Oishii Eats visit to Hang Be Market can be found here.

Someone tell the ~~Ham~~ Missus not to quit Her day job….

Pho Cuong(Hanoi) and Halong Bay

April 20, 2008 mmm-yoso Hanoi, Pho, Vietnam

During our trip to the Handicraft Villages around Hanoi, we spoke to our guide Mr Hung, regarding food in Hanoi. Among the places recommended, was a place for Pho, Pho Cuong. We mentioned that we hadn’t enjoyed our previous encounter….but Hung assured us that this place was "the best", and very close to our hotel. As with all the recommendations we received, whether by people we knew, or by people we met in Vietnam, this rec’ was seconded, this time by one of the staff at the hotel. I was still not sure if I was ready for another bowl of Pho, but we went to the alley right in front of Dong Xuan Market, and found the Bun Rieu booths weren’t ready yet…so I thought what the heck. And ended up just up the street from Pho Thin.

As we arrived, we realized that we had walked past this place yesterday, and I had remarked about how busy the place was…. The Missus, walked right up to the cooking area; fascinated at how quick the whole process was.

The young man with the pad and the pencil is right at your table when you sit……I now know where all the Pho places in San Diego get this…..

The photo on the right is one of the Missus’s favorites; She always cracks up when She sees it….."You could place that Guy in any Pho place in San Diego. He has the universal Pho gear….white shirt, pad, with pencil at the ready. We should take photos as all the places we go to, and do a line-up, and see if people can figure out which one was taken in Vietnam!"

Meanwhile, the Missus was checking out the entire process. You gotta give it to these guys….they didn’t even blink when the Missus walked over and watched them make my Pho Bo Tai Chin.

First the noodles go for a dunk in the boiling water:

Then the meat….rare beef, and fatty beef(like brisket), is given a dunk.

All covered by the broth, scallions, and a sprinkling of pepper. Meanwhile, even though your Pho is ready in a flash….your check hits the table even faster!

The broth, was darker than the version I had earlier….

I really like that all soups are served scalding hot. The broth was just mildly beefy, but very salty….very salty…..

The rare beef was a slightly chewy, but not bad. I enjoyed the fatty beef, nice flavor, if a bit high on the fat-sinew scale. The noodles were a bit wider than noodles in the US, and the texture was more like Bun…it had no elasticity. Better than Pho Thin…….

After finishing my bowl(16,000 VND – $1), I told the Missus; "ok, no more Pho, no matter who recommends it……"

Pho Cuong
23 Hang Muoi St
Hanoi

When we got home, I found a post by Stickyrice on Pho Cuong, which can be found here.

The Missus waited to eat(other than the Banh Gio we had earlier) until we returned to the hotel. Right outside the Hanoi Elegance 2, on Ma May Street were a group of street vendors.

One of whom sold this….red bean porridge.

Which the Missus couldn’t wait to get Her hands on…….it brought back many childhood memories…..and She even waited around until the woman finished making the Glutinous Rice Dumplings with Mung Bean Filling.

She grew up eating these in China….brought back nice memories for Her. We also, met a nice young lady who worked across the street, and had a delightful conversation. She practiced English, and asked many questions, and we got to ask about life in Hanoi.

All of this happened before 8am! Soon enough our van loaded us up for our trip to Halong Bay…..

In Vietnam, they don’t tell you anything, Part 1:

After the 3 1/2 hour trip, we entered a crowded parking lot……hundreds of people milling around.

The driver pulled up, and simply said, "ok, you get off now…." And every question asked was answered with that statement, "you get off now…." So we all got off, and kind of huddled together, and just waited….. the driver drove off……and we waited. Eventually someone came around to meet us, collect out passports(!), and walked off……and we waited…..and finally we were herded onto a boat that ferried us out. But it was a fairly disconcerting hour and a half…. When we returned from our overnight boat "cruise", we watched the same thing happen to the next batch of "wide-eyed and confused" travelers….

But Halong Bay is lovely!

The classic photo…….

It was overcast, but that just added to the sense of mystery.

And some of it was stunning….

If a bit crowded….

One of our favorite parts was the walk to Hang Sung Sot(aka "The Amazing Cave").

We enjoyed the walk through the cave, and our Guide Lan, was amazingly kind, and very patient, especially with a very demanding, rude, and borderline bi-polar visitor….who would be making demands and being very rude one minute…and a second later would be sweet and nice! One of the features of this cave, which is comprised of 2 huge chambers is the "phallic rock"…which is illuminated by pink lighting!

The view from the cave is simply beautiful……it’s where the first photo was taken. Also, off to the right is a view of an enclosed lake.

Which I found beautiful.

This merchandising lady was very resourceful.

She was on one end of dock when we arrived….and moved to the other end as we left.

Our cabin was cozy…..we thought it funny that the shower is in the middle of the bathroom….how do you keep the toilet paper dry??? ;o)

And even though it was near the engine room, and the kitchen, that wasn’t an issue, because we were up early anyway. Lan was an excellent guide……She had spent time in China, and was fluent in Mandarin, and had a blast chatting with the Missus.

Everyone anchors in the same spot for the evening, and it almost seems like a city on the water.

Thank God for jet lag……we got up at 430 am, and managed to have a few moments of peace. No sunrise because of the overcast skies, but we’ll take the wonderful solitude….most everyone else had been up late, except us.

The following morning we moored at one of the floating villages.

As mentioned by Sharon in Her Blog, the variety of items being sold (Pringles anyone?) is quite amazing.

Kayaking around the village and bays was enjoyable.

Even with the intermittent drizzles…..

The Missus was proud of Her "kayaking classes", "aren’t you glad I took kayaking classes? NOW ROW…."

And She did take some nice photos….

Sorry, no photos of the food….which wasn’t bad, 6-10 courses every meal, with some interesting items, many of which seemed Thai-Khmer influenced…and some odd things like French Fries. Most of it was mild as to appeal to the most pedestrian of diets, which we expected. I did manage to take a photo of the galley…

We also got to know a couple from Minnesota, currently living in Singapore, visiting with their son, who was impressively well mannered and behaved. Thanks to them(thanks Tomi!) we got a lead for a driver in Siem Reap.

Someone did email me, asking if Halong Bay is worth it….I’d say without a doubt, yes! Perhaps just once…..the Missus and I thought that things were a bit crowded(many, many boats), lots of fumes, and when you actually get close to the water you notice the amount of oil…and plastic bags/bottles in the water. I’m hoping this is eventually addressed, because it is a treasure.

The crew of the Santa Maria were very nice, and the price of $97/each is very reasonable. There are only 8 cabins on the Junk, so you are able to carve out your personal space.

Saturday Stuffs: Santouka opens in San Diego, and Fourth Grade Teriyaki Beef

April 19, 2008 mmm-yoso Cooking, Recipes

After doing several days of our vacation posts, I kinda feel like an over-enthusiastic Dad showing off picture after picture of his kids…..so I thought we’d give it a break for a bit…..

Santouka opens in San Diego:

I enjoy the ramen at Santouka, and have been wishing they would open here in San Diego. In fact, about the time that Kayaba had opened, I had heard that Santouka was to open in the spot next door. But time passed, and I had pretty much given up; until I saw the sign that announced Santouka’s Grand Opening on Friday April 18th. So yesterday(April 18th), I thought I’d wander in at about 11am to check things out, and possibly grab a bowl……and was met with this loooong line of people.

It stretched from the order window….around the dining area…into Mitsuwa! Being that I’m not quite the "Rameniac" as the Rameniac, and not even as dedicated to my noodle as Jeni who waited in line when Santouka opened on Centinela, I just didn’t have the 2 hours to wait in line, place my order, wait for my order, and probably eat on the floor since I don’t think the dining area has enough seating. But, I think you need to know; I was told that Santouka was giving away coupons for a free bowl with a purchase through today(April 19th). Me? I’ll wait till next week some time.

Santouka – Now open in the Mitsuwa Marketplace

4240 Kearny Mesa Rd
San Diego, CA 92111

Now here’s the scary part: By coincidence, The Delicious Life has a post on Santouka dated April 17th. If you scroll down to the bottom of the post, there’s a section with links……and there’s a link to my post on Santouka. Now that would be a nice coincidence, but read what it says:

"~ Kirk of mmm-yoso wants a Santouka in San Diego (Feb 2007)"

Scary….very scary……….

My Fourth Grade Beef Teriyaki:

Since returning from vacation we’ve been eating at home a lot….nothing fancy; lots of stir-fried vegetables on the Big Kahuna. But I’ve been craving some really weird stuff…things I haven’t even thought about in a while…..for some reason, I just wanted the BBQ Beef(teriyaki beef) from Rainbow Drive-In. I ignored it, until the "want", became a "need". So I decided to just make some reasonable facsimile.

While shopping for the meat at Zion Market (#3 sliced Rib Eye), I realized that I’d been making this for the better part of my life…..in fact it is one of the first things I learned to make…right around the Fourth grade or so.

So, I decided to make it just the way I remember…….down to the "grated garlic" – no knives for a 9 year old, better some grated knuckles, than lopping a finger off. No mirin, which I use now, quite rare, and very expensive in those days, just good old Dark Brown Sugar. Not quite as sweet, with nice ginger overtones. Much of which, Food Historian Rachel Laudan attributes in her wonderful book The Food of Paradise, to several factors; Japanese "teriyaki"(or course), the Chinese influenced ginger and garlic, and of course, "King Sugar". I think every family has a recipe like this….in fact, if you wonder what Hawaiian BBQ really is…….

So without further ado……my Fourth Grade Teriyaki(BBQ) Beef – don’t blink, you’ll miss this uber-easy recipe:

3/4 Cup Shoyu(soy sauce)
3/4 Cup Dark Brown Sugar
1-2 cloves garlic grated
1-2 tsp grated fresh ginger
1 1/2 – 2 lbs sliced rib eye

– Combine ingredients.
– Combine with meat, coating well. Marinate overnight
– Over medium heat fry/saute in a skillet

Like a said, don’t blink or you’ll miss it.

A few other things:

– If you over marinate, the meat will end up being mushy. Depending on the meat, you can get away with a little as 4-6 hours.

– Great on the grill, this’ll cook really fast.

– After thinking about it…yes, this is very Bulgogi-ish, so throw that in as a point of reference as well!

– Great as a sandwich! I love the BBQ Beef Sandwich at Rainbow Drive-In, though they tend to slather on too much mayo. Leftovers in the pita for me….

– My current recipe uses mirin, sake, and sometimes something to give a bit more zip.

– And yes, this is soooo easy, that you may be wondering why you’re wasting your valuable time reading this!

One more thing:

I didn’t know Rachel Laudan has her own Blog, She now lives in Mexico, and her posts are always entertaining, so check it out!

Hope you’re having a great weekend!

Hanoi: Banh Cuon, Bia Hoi, and what to do in Hanoi at 430am……

April 18, 2008 mmm-yoso Hanoi, Travel, Vietnam

We were still pretty full after our wall to wall multi-course snake meal, and pretty wiped out as well. We had been running on adrenaline since arriving in Hanoi, and it was starting to catch up, we were tired, and needed to slow things up a bit. Luckily, making a decision for dinner wasn’t very hard, on the previous evening we had seen a lady making Banh Cuon right around the corner on Hang Bac….and it looked pretty darn good. So we walked on over and had a seat on the little plastic stools, and decided to share an order of Banh Cuon. It was fun watching our sheets of rice flour being turned into, nice elastic noodles.

Speed and economy of motion were in full display…..

While the noodle was cooking, a full complement of side dishes and garnishes were set out, including some fresh herbs, a hot soupy nuoc mam based dipping broth with Chả Quế(cinnamon pork sausage), limes, and sliced orange chilies, which, in addition to being mildly spicy, had a nice sweet flavor.

Several times during the process, the Missus made a play for the Banh Cuon.

But the Woman would shake her head and make the international sign to stop……I guess no Banh Cuon was to be eaten until it’s time!

These noodles(almost like Cheong Fun – but more delicate), though not the best we had on the trip, had a generous amount of minced pork and cloud ear filling, and the fried shallot topping was quite tasty. It is also deceivingly filling……total cost 20,000VND(about $1.25 US – I’m pretty sure we were charged "tourist price" on this, but that’s fine).

Bia (A)Hoi……..

Sufficiently satiated, we decided that we just needed to try Bia Hoi, aka fresh beer, brewed daily without preservatives, and low in alcohol content, we thought this would make a nice little night cap. We stopped at a little stand, full of plastic kiddie seat and tables, and had a seat, knees tucked almost to our chins, on a little corner of Hang Buom.

This light, highly carbonated beverage is a microbrew in name only…..the fragrance is that of beer, but the taste is very close to that of non-alcoholic beer. It is very cold and refreshing, and best of all, a glass costs about 20 cents US! In spite of what we read, all of the Bia Hoi places we passed were full of tourists. We chose this one because, even though it was full, it didn’t look as packed as others….and there were a few locals having a brew. We sat next to a table fo 4 Asians, 3 guys and a woman, and wouldn’t you know…they start talking in Chinese! Turns out they’re from Guangzhou….. The Missus was having a nice conversation with them, when the young man to our right starts talking in Chinese as well. He’s from Taiwan……what are the odds????

As the Missus’s conversation passed from one topic to another….I managed to sneak in 3 more glasses of Bia Hoi, and finished off the remainder of Hers. 5 glasses of Bia Hoi – 15,000VND(less than a buck!). You know….maybe I can get really used to this……

What to do in Hanoi at 430 AM…….

Yes, jet lag was rearing its ugly head….it was 330am and the Missus and I were wide awake. So what to do? Well, Hanoi seemed a very safe city…we decided to take a walk at 430 in the morning…there’s no way I’d do this in most places, even at home in San Diego, but there were people out and about…many of them Women. The great thing was how few motorbikes there were on the road. But what the heck was going on at 430 in the morning? Well, after walking all the way up past Dong Xuan Market, we noticed some activity on one of the streets just East of the market….taking a left on Pho Nguyen Thien Thuat we stumbled onto a street live with activity….

So you’ve heard of all those early morning wholesale markets, that sell to the various restaurants….. Welcome to Hanoi’s much smaller version of Tsukiji Market. Except instead of fish….

It was full on, wall to wall beef…..

The street was full of hacking, haggling, and hurrying, as beef and pork was divided up, bought, and driven off on the backs of motorbikes. Bones were cracked and chopped right on the asphalt.

And purchased for what could possibly be todays or tomorrows Pho.

And since we need to give pork equal time. This little piggy went to market….

And never made it back home…..I saw one of the ladies divide this guy up in less than 5 minutes! I wouldn’t want to get on Her "bad side".

Around the corner is the produce section.

All headed for a food stall, and possibly a small plastic table near you……

It was quite a sight, the chilies were beautiful, and the veggies fresh. What else would you expect from a wholesale food market anywhere? All while the rest of Hanoi slept…..

I hope you’ll excuse the photos….we took all of them without the use of the flash……

Fish sauce or hot sauce anyone?

We felt so lucky to have stumbled onto this lively impromptu market…a few hours later, you’d never have known this place even existed.

As we walked back toward our spot for Banh Gio we noticed these ladies hard at work dividing up, and bagging charcoal.

Talk about hard, dirty work!

We were on our way……to breakfast, and later to Halong Bay…..but the memory of the women bagging charcoal somehow remained on my mind for a while.