Over the two years or so, my rice intake has really decreased. I'm not so sure if it's age, environment, or what. These days, Da' Boyz are the biggest consumers of rice in the household. It used to be that when we were on vacation, I'd be missing rice after a couple of days….but this time… nada. In fact, the Missus specifically asked me a couple of times if I was missing rice, and strangely I wasn't. And as a matter of fact, it wasn't rice that I was missing. So was rice still nice? After a couple of weeks, I had ample time to see with some revisits:
Homestyle Hawaiian:
I hadn't been back around these parts since last year. The plate lunches here are still pretty much a bargain at around $6 – $6.50. And Mo will always try to make what you want. Even though it isn't on the menu per se, I wanted a Chicken Cutlet…..
Basically a chicken katsu plate with gravy….there's a whole scoop of…yes, rice under that chicken and gravy. It did hit the spot, though I wasn't able to finish it off. An acquaintance of mine just can't figure out why I like this….. the main issue being the chicken starts getting soggy under the gravy. Of course this person loves chicken katsudon??? Go figure….
The one complaint I may have about the plate is the mac salad…. I still think Mo needs to add more salt to it…. it's kind of bland for my taste.
Homestyle Hawaiian Island Style Food
7524 Mesa College Drive
San Diego, CA 92111
Point Point Joint:
**** Point Point Joint has closed
When you're in need a rice fix, one usually never needs to look further than a good old Filipino "turo-turo" (point-point) joint. And where better to go then a place actually named point-point joint, right? Actually, I wasn't intending a visit to PPJ…… earlier in the weekend, my good FOY (friend of yoso) TammyC just happened to mention sisig, which suddenly had me craving it. I initially went to Conching's since I really like their sisig. TammyC and I always joke about buying a tray of sisig for one of our potlucks, but we're afraid that we'd be the only ones who'll eat the stuff, which is not necessarily a good thing. You'll die with a smile on your face though! Anyway, Conching didn't have any sisig, and what they had looked terribly greasy on this day. I hadn't been to Point-Point in a couple of years, so I thought I'd drop by.
It had been about four years, but not much has changed. Seven bucks got me a huge plate of rice, three scoops of sisig, ginisang ampalaya thoughtfully put into a separate container, since I told the friendly woman (and surprised I order this, "OOOoooh, you like this?") I obviously wouldn't be able to finish off the whole thing. Along with the freebie sinigang…..
The lechon kawale used for the sisig had almost a jerky-like texture, I'm fairly certain it was fried twice. Not necessarily a bad thing since it didn't get soggy. I'd prefer it a bit more crisp.
There was a good ratio of pork to onions, but the flavor was very mild. I enjoy a more bracing sisig; a stronger vinegar flavor and more spice. Not bad, but nothing to write home about.
The bittermelon was strange…….
Both oily and bland, a strange adjective to use when a dish uses bittermelon. The bittermelon wasn't very strong in flavor, which sometimes is a plus. But in this case the dish had almost no flavor, too much "soup", and a oiliness that coated your tongue in a rather unpleasant way.
The sinigang at PPJ has always been pretty good. The Missus used to want this when She wasn't feeling well. This wasn't bad, but it had almost a pure vinegar flavor… almost like the vinegar hadn't been simmered.
Point-Point Restaurant
916 East 8th St
National City, CA 91950
I guess in the end, rice is still nice (I'm sure you'll enjoy that AZ)….. I just don't have the capacity, nor crave it quite as much anymore….which may not be a bad thing.