Here's our monthly dose of revisits……
Pinoy Fiesta:
It had been a while since I last visited, so I thought I'd drop in and grab a bite. Nothing really called to me and I wasn't super hungry, but then a tray of lechon kawale came out of the kitchen, so I went for that.
It was hot, the exterior hot and crisp, but there was something strange about this…..the meat was on the spongy side and very bland….actually the texture of the meat wasn't very pleasant. I just can't quite put my finger on it.
Pinoy Fiesta
550 E 8th St
National City, CA 91950
Grandma's Tofu & BBQ:
I know, I just did a post on the Heokyumso Jeongol – the black goat stew a couple of months back. But the recent rain and colder weather had us craving this again. Instead of going on and on about the dish, I'll let you in to a little secret….our "goat strategy" if you will. As good as the Heokyumso Jeongol is, it's even better when spiced up a bit….so when the panchan comes, we quickly, but sneakily dump all the baechu kimchi and the sauce from the cucumber instantly into the broth….it makes it that much better! The nice ladies then bring us refills…we eat the kimchi, but make sure to dump the sauce into the stew….and so forth. We usually take home about 2/3 of this…..and we hit Zion on the way home for sesame leaf or wild spinach, then I'll get some tofu from Nijiya on my way home from work the next day….we always have Korean bean paste and gochujang and this ends up being two more meals.
Which is why we'll usually get something like the Kimchi Dolsot Bi Bim Bap with our meal.
Sshhh, don't tell anybody……
Grandma's Tofu & BBQ
4425 Convoy St.
San Diego, CA 92111
Tan Ky Mi Gia:
**** Tan Ky Mi Gia has closed
Here's another one we've posted about in the last couple of months. Work has been brutal, but I've been enjoying the challenge. Still, I had been feeling a bit run down, meaning I needed something on the salty side to give me that "aaaahh" effect. During that time we hit up Tan Ky Mi Gia.
For me, this is comfort food……
For some reason, the Beef Sate Egg Noodle "dry" does the trick for me
Though the Bot Chien really wasn't worth the effort……
I guess I'm still chasing what I had at Kang Lac Bakery in Westminster. Instead of being crisp on the outside and soft on the inside, this had a hard exterior with a cardboard like texture and flavor. They probably bought it at Lucky Seafood next door.
The Missus strangely had a Banh Xeo which She enjoyed…….the pork in this version is braised which makes it more tender than others…..still, it's far from my favorite.
We came back a couple of nights later and I had the Egg Noodle Soup with Roast Duck…….
The duck can be hit and miss….on this visit it was super tough, definitely a miss, but the hot and salty soup really did the trick.
Tan Ky Mi Gia
9330 Mira Mesa Blvd #A
San Diego, CA 92126