November 2014 – Page 2

Oahu: Kahumana Cafe (Waianae)

November 19, 2014 mmm-yoso Asian Fusion/Pacific Rim/Hawaii Style Fusion, Oahu, Travel

We decided to head back "home" to Oahu before heading to Japan. The Missus needed to visit Her parents….and I needed to recharge. I love seeing my in-laws, they truly treat me as if I'm their son. The one problem being, and no offense here, I'm a "townie" by nature….for me finding the kind of places and grindz I like is kind of hard in Ewa Beach and West Oahu…..things are getting better…but for the most part, it's trips to Tanioka's for us. And yet, I wanted something different and special for us….the family, to go out and enjoy. Somehow, I'm still not entirely sure, I came across Kahumana Farms and their Cafe, which serves lunch and….great for us, dinner from 6pm – 8pm Tuesday to Saturday.

Over the last 10 years we've been doing the blog, things have changed, we eat less, still enjoy food, but temper things with more healthy choices. Plus, there's just a sort of "hippie" side to the Missus that has come out the last couple of years……let's put that "high maintenance hippie", have you seen the prices of dried mulberries? Yikes. However, there was just something about this place that seemed right.

The whole Kahumana Farms thing was established by Father Phillip Harmon back in 1974. The farm and cafe reside "out there" down the unpaved roads of Lualualei Homestead Road. The land is fruitful, I've been told that there are more than few archaeological sites in this valley. And the Kahumana Organization supports transitional housing and programs for those with disabilities. A big plus, you're getting "stuffs" grown right on the farm. You can read more about this here at their website and other articles.

I called and made reservations……

Like they say, getting there was half the fun. From what I recall, a lot of the area is Hawaiian Homestead land. I haven't really been down to Waianae in almost 30 years or so…..once upon a time, I drove here weekly for work, but it had been almost forever….ok, let's just say a lifetime. We arrived and walked in the door, past the shop area……the place was doing some decent business. Finding that we had reservations….we got a table in the covered lanai area.

The staff here is very friendly….not polished mind you, but they make up for things with their warmth and friendliness. The menu is written on a chalkboard, one of which is delivered to your table. It's an interesting aggregation of dishes…hummus, Pacific Rim, Indian influences…..

We started with some Kabocha Soup.

The Missus loves Kabocha, so choosing this was a no-brainer. Smooth and comforting, a slight heat, herbaceous, perhaps a little too sweet for our taste, this was still quite nice.

The dish we enjoyed the least was the chicken stir fry, which, in spite of the wonderful flavors of the vegetables, had severely over-cooked the chicken.

The Chicken Masala on Brown Rice (yes, brown rice) and stir fried vegetables was very good.

No, I wasn't expecting Punjabi Tandoor, but this was quite good….can I go on about the greens? The "masala inspired" sauce had a bit of zip and nice balanced spice profile….good enough that I actually ate a good bit of brown rice! The chicken was nice and moist on this one.

The Macadamia Nut Pesto with Mahi Mahi was solid.

Call it the "Shandong" influence, but I was not a fan of the noodles, which were kind of brittle and lacking in texture. The "pesto" was very nice, nutty, with a good herb flavor. I'm kind of leary about Mahi Mahi, having worked with it quite a bit in one of my former lives. You need to get it really fresh…it attains a "sour" flavor when at less than optimal freshness. Plus, too many folks just cook it to death….and this one looked unimpressive….until I had a taste…nicely seasoned, moist…..very good! A nice piece of fresh fish prepared simply, but well.

I think it might be hard for folks to understand how a simple salad could be the best dish……

It is, after all, a plate of vegetables…..but let me say, the Missus and I enjoyed this the most. The cucumbers sparkled, crisp, with the flavor of melon…the greens, bitter, herbaceous, taste each separately. The tomatoes were good….but you have to understand, my Mom was from Maui….I still have the flavor of ripe, Kula tomatoes on the brain. The flavor that really got our attention were of the shaved beets, so sweet, so much flavor, I had to ask if they marinated it in any way……the answer? No…….

The Lilikoi Cheesecake….well, I don't do desserts, so you'll have to ask.

As I was waiting for everyone to finish "potty duty" after dinner….a gentleman walked up to me and struck up a conversation. He introduced himself as "Robert"…so in retrospect, I assume he is Robert Zuckerman, the Manager/Chef of Kahumana Cafe. He asked us where we hail from…..it was quite obvious, there are the regular customers, and then there were us. It was a wonderful 15 minutes; we had seen kids….well, teenagers eating in the dining room. We were worried these were homeless kids, but no….kids on a 10 day program learning about farming. The young folks we saw gathering a bit later on were the workers, some of which were Woofers, basically a program by which food and housing is provided in exchange for work on the farm. I thoroughly njoyed our conversation and promised to return.

I hope to keep that promise……..I'm looking forward to my next salad!

Kahumana Cafe
86-660 Lualualei Homestead Rd
Waianae, Hi 96792

Qi Wei Kitchen

November 18, 2014 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants

**** Qi Wei in San Diego has closed

Qi Wei Kitchen kinda quietly opened just when we got back from our trip. I asked some coworkers and other folks who are tuned into Weibo and other social media and was warned off. Low quality products, off flavors, long waits (like over an hour), really made me hesitate. In retrospect, I should have done what I usually do, just plow in full speed ahead. The other thing being, it seems that only Sichuan and Hot Pot restaurants are interested in opening in San Diego. Also, unlike how things used to be, it seems to be all about portion sizes now(as in Szechuan Chef)….quantity is in, quality be damned. About 2 weeks ago, "YZ" gave me the all clear on Qi Wei and along with Lily, we headed down the street to Clairemont Mesa Boulevard.

Qi Wewi specializes in one thing; what they call Mala Xiang Guo – Numbing-Hot "dry" fragrant (Hot) Pot, which looks a lot like some of the dry cooked dishes I'm familiar with.

The drill is basically ordering a size of "dry pot"….the $10.99 version is only available for lunch from Monday – Thursday. You then choose the type…well ma-la of course; spice level. The $30.99 special gives you a choice of two protein based items (except for stuff like lobster and fish) to add to the base pot, which has four items….which I thought would be bad luck; but whose counting. Those four items, cauliflower, potato, bean sprouts, and celery. You can add proteins for $10.99 and vegetables and such run form 99 cents to $2.99. I think you get the picture, it can get pretty pricey, pretty quickly.

Anyway, we went with the Combo. Strong flavored and offal type items are a natural for this style, so ordered the duck gizzards and the ox tripe.

This was mostly mushy french fries and cauliflower. What gizzard and tripe existed was very salty. Not very……no numbing Sichuan Peppercorn, very blah. Plus, it took almost 30 minutes to arrive. Not terrible, but quite mediocre.

As it stood, most folks would say "meh" and never return. But you know me…..I just needed to verify. So I returned a while later, solo, since I didn't want to put anyone else through what we'd had before

The woman on this visit was very nice. I ordered the $10.99 deal, medium spicy, with mutton, a favorite of mine. Sadly, what I got was beef……the server was very apologetic and told me, "the beef is very good….my favorite". I'm sure she was embellishing things, but I have to say, the beef, though on the chewy side had some pretty decent flavor….the beefiness and five spice came though nicely. As you can clearly see, it looks much better than on the previous visit.

The celery, which was MIA on our previous visit was here…..the amount of beef was adequate….there was even a some decent heat, though still not enough of the Sichuan Peppercorn numbingness I adore. It wasn't as salty and had some decent flavor. I couldn't finish all that cauliflower and french fries so I took it home. The Missus thought it was decent.

Overall, not a great value, but if you're looking to fill up on potatoes and rice, I guess this might fit the bill. I might try to return for mutton or even better, intestine, though to be perfectly honest, I'd rather have some dry cooked lamb, intestine, or beef from Fu An or even Spicy City…..boy do I miss Ba Ren.

They also have a location in our old neck of the woods; Rowland Heights as well.

Qi Wei Kitchen
8058 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92111

2015 Tournament of Roses Rose Parade Road Test #6-plus. Breakfast at Lucky Boy(Pasadena), Lunch at Tom’s Farms (Corona)

November 17, 2014 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Breakfast/Brunch, Festivals & Events, Los Angeles County, What Cathy Eats!

Thanks for stopping to read mmm-yoso!!! This food blog has been around a while now and most posts are written by Kirk, who is taking a bit of a rest today. Ed (from Yuma) also shares food-based musings here and he is also resting. Cathy is all rested up and so she is writing this post.

Two weekends ago, yet another safety and maneuverability road test of 2015 Tournament of Roses rose parade floats occurred at Phoenix Decorating Company. Only three floats were being tested that day.The Princess Cruise Line float is now completely colored in and those sort of 'tiki' faces (one on each side of the ship) will have small 'waterfalls' within.This super long float (see the viewer way in the back, above the float (second photo up) as well as the one in the front looking out (above photo)?) It's by Honda and the first one you will see after the Banner float on January 1, 2015.You can see the seated Spotter and Driver in the United Sikh Mission float, above.

Here's the 'plus' part: my brother was in town on business last week and I asked him to delay his flight departure so he could see the float barn and a bit of Pasadena.
Welders were assembling rebar, floats were being taped off for coloring and foam additions and we got to see a bit more of the real work on the float building process. Then we all went for breakfast. Yes, a simple breakfast it was… The simple egg sandwich (now $3.50) on rye toast… Along with the slightly more complicated egg sandwich with bacon ($5.55) and cheese (40¢) on wheat. There was a *lot* of bacon on that sandwich; enough to share.

Lucky Boy 640 Arroyo Parkway Pasadena 91105 (626)793-0120 website

We drove and saw things around town (Rose Bowl Stadium, the street markings for the float drivers to follow along the entire parade route, bleachers being set up for the parade (those need to be tested for safety before January 1 too) and the Farmers Market, then started the drive back toward San Diego.
Taking the long way, along Route 66. Then we got to the 15 and headed South, stopping at the ever curious signage for Tom's Farms. (which I wrote about for 2009 Burger Week).
Coincidentally, we ordered similarly to that 2009 post, and inflation has barely batted an eyelash here. The 1/3 lb Tom's Burger is now $3.99 (it was $3.95) and the 1/3 lb chili size is now $5.99 (it was $4.95) The whole onion lightly breaded perfectly fried onion rings are $3.99 ($3.69 back then). The food was as good and fresh as ever (the buns are made here; vegetables same as the ones sold here and the meat was cooked to a nice medium-rare) and the small vacation was fun.

Tom's Burgers 23900 Temescal Canyon Road Corona 92883 (951)277-4103 website

It finally feels like fall – revisits to Hoai Hue Restaurant, Pho Lucky, and Pho Cow Cali

November 16, 2014 mmm-yoso Bun Bo Hue, Pho

Well, fall in San Diego, which means temps for us in the 60's….cool enough for me to go grab some soup. So here's a little round-up.

Hoai Hue Vietnamese Restaurant:

Actually, my first impulse was to head back to Mien Trung, but I'd been there a couple of times over the last couple of months. So, since it had been a while, I thought I'd head back to Hoai Hue.

Geez Louise, it wasn't even 11 and the place was packed…mostly older folks….a category I probably qualify for now.

I went with the Bun Tam Hoai Hue ($8.45), their special version of Bun Bo Hue, that's even more special than their Dac Biet ("special") which is also on the menu. I guess it's their special, that's more special than their special….or something like that.

As with previous visits; this has been quite consistent; not very spicy, not enough lemongrass, lack of any kind of dark savory tones. On the other hand, the proteins are done better than Mien Trung and the crab cake, a staple of Bun Rieu is a nice addition. This was a decent bowl of soup; though as Bun Bo Hue…..well, I'm not so certain, it's much too tame.

Hoai Hue Vietnamese Restaurant
4660 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA 92115

Pho Lucky:

The Missus had to work and I wanted something a bit richer than pho, so I headed up to Pho Lucky for my favorite version of Banh Mi Bo Kho.

I'd had a bowl recently that was too salty, but this one hit the spot. Rich, beefy-anise tones, not watered down like most places. Tons of tendon…..it just hit the spot. The baguette looked kind of weird, but was nice and warm if a bit too crumbly….almost like something from K Sandwich.

I just noticed something….over the years, I've never mentioned the nice supporting role the pungency of the onions, the cilantro, and how a tiny squeeze of lime just lifts the flavor of the beef stew.

As an added bonus, a refugee from Tan Ky Mi Gia now works here. Folks who used to go there know who I'm referring to. It was nice seeing him…….all was right in the world at that moment!

Pho Lucky
9326 Mira Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92126

Pho Cow Cali:

Well, the guy who has been cutting my hair for 12 years sure does get around; from Mission Valley to Serra Mesa to El Cajon to College to his uncles house (during a bad spell he was pretty much homeless) to Rolando, to Oceanside, and now (though I'm sure I've missed as couple of locations) to Mira Mesa. He is the one person with whom I can trust cutting my hair…..not a big deal I guess, but I have a very loyal streak in me. He is also a great guy……. A nice bonus is that he's now located in Mira Mesa, which gives me another reason to head up there.

Since I'd already had something from Pho Lucky earlier in the week, I decided to drop by Pho Cow Cali since it had been a while.

In terms of pho I think this way; Lucky for the broth, "Da Cow" for the beef……

And I wasn't disappointed. I'm not a big fan of "Tai" (rare steak) in San Diego. It's usually (well always) really low quality top round with no fat which ends up being quite tough even with the slightest sunk into the hot broth. The proteins on this day; though tripe and tendon seemed to be at premium, was fine as always. Now Ralph Waldo Emerson might have said "consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds" but he was referring to a "foolish consistency", of which PCC usually does not participate….at least in terms of meat.

The broth, on the other hand can sometimes be MSG overload….though that was not the case on this day. I will say, that it was a bit more defatted than I would have preferred. Maybe I should be like my fellow blogger Dennis and just automatically do the Nuoc Beo thing (BTW, we miss your posts Dennis – hope you are doing well).

The noodles were also a bit softer than I prefer, but overall, not a bad bowl….better than almost everything else in San Diego.

One thing I never noticed before….the, umm, well, is it the logo, which for some reason I found kind of strange since it looked more like a goat than a cow……and for some reason found strangely familiar….like "do I know you? Have we met before?" I can't put my finger on it right now……

Pho Cow Cali
9170 Mira Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92126

Leaving Tokyo…….impressions, observations, and a pretty good Tori Teriyaki Jyu Ekiben

November 15, 2014 mmm-yoso Japan, Tokyo, Kamakura, and the Kantō Region, Travel

We got up early as is the norm when we travel. We had made reservations for the early train out of Tokyo Station. So we caught the 5:04 train from Yotsuya Sanchome.

We had mixed feelings about leaving Tokyo. We'd had such a great time and loved the vibe and very distinctive personalities of the various districts we were able to visit. We both felt a tinge of sadness….you could live here for decades and still only scratch the surface. It is both crazily busy, but with an order to things. Everyone goes left on the escalators, no one talks above the barest whispers on the trains and subways……"never trust a person who eats while walking". You stop and eat. The cleanliness, for a city this size…..

We had spoken to several folks; Reiko and the couple while having coffee near Tsukiji. They mentioned missing the "last train" out of Tokyo and having to stay up in a coffee shop to catch the first train out in the morning. And the young ladies here seemed to be a prime example of that.

We were amazed to find that folks would just nod off upon sitting…..this is the other side of life here, it can be hard and tiring. Just as quickly as they'd doze off, they'd snap to attention right before their stop!

Man, Tokyo Station was buzzing, even this early in the morning. The Missus went to grab some drinks and this was the check out line.

I was intrugued by the Ekiben stands. Man, the plastic food looked just delicious. The Missus decided we should get one; just to see if the bento actually looked like the plastic food.

You know what….it pretty much delivered….

And did bear an almost eerie resemblance to the plastic version.

I tried to, but couldn't really fit in an overnight trip to Hakone. Next time I told the Missus. She was disappointed in not getting to see Mount Fuji. But guess what……

She got Her photo from the Shinkansen.

Kyoto was up next…..

Returning to Prague: Lunch at U Tri Ruzi and all those familiar places

November 14, 2014 mmm-yoso Czech Food and Restaurants, Czech Republic, Prague

Returning to Prague of the Student Bus, we felt, well, like we were coming home. Returning to a city while on vacation always feels that way. We were staying at the same apartment, we knew where to get what we needed, it just seemed so familiar. After dropping our stuff off, we headed to some of those, by now, familiar places.

Starting at the Powder Tower and the Municipal House, one thing was definitely nicer….the weather!

Things were overcast and drizzly when we arrived, but now everything seemed so bright and shiny.

It's really hard trying to get everything in one photo here. By this time, we decided to start things off the next morning with a nice long walk….starting here. So on this day; we'd just, well, according to the Missus, "take it easy".

It was nice to just kind of relax and loaf around. We got a chance to take our time and notice things we missed before; like the House of the Black Madonna, an example of Cubist Architecture. As I mentioned before, each building has it's own personality, and yet, just blends in seamlessly into the city. The building is named after the statue of the Black Madonna mounted it.

Walking down the street and passing behind the Tyn Church, you come to a courtyard. This reminded me of the Hans within the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul.

It's all pretty unassuming, until you learn that this is the Ungelt Courtyard, originally built in the 12th century. This fortified area once housed visiting merchants and their good which would be put on sale at the Old Town Square. Having only two entrances meant things were secure.

Out the other end of the courtyard and you come to the Church if Saint James….which looks rather unassuming on the outside, but the interior is quite stunning.

It's quite a sight. This church is home to the Madonna Pietatis. The Madonna "piety" full of jewels. We never saw it; but according to what I read, there's a mummified arm hanging near the door……it's the limb of a thief who tried to steal the jewels from the statue. His arm instantly froze as soon as he touched the Madonna Pietatis….they had to amputate his arm in order to free him. The arm hangs as a warning to anyone with similar thoughts!

One thing we noticed during our travels, whether it's Hawaii, Greece, or wherever, are the Japanese wedding photos. And why should Prague be any different?

As we left the church, the Missus told me to "hurry up….it's almost time." For what you may ask? Well along with the Charles Bridge and Wenceslas Square, the Missus has a thing about the Astronomical Clock. It was almost noon….the time for the best viewing of the best viewing time. Not of the clock per se….just watching folks, watching the clock.

First the crowd gathers……

So thick that even the folks having their wedding photo taken can't make it past in their limo…..

It's kind of festive…….i'm not the biggest fan of crowds, but I kind of enjoy this.

"Oh look….it's starting!"

"It's the grand finale….ok everyone, all together now….ready….aim….shoot!"

It's quite amusing…..though I hoped no one got their pockets picked….with everyone looking up and all. Then of course, you need to deal with the crowd dispersing.

It was now past noon and we hadn't had anything to eat since leaving Brno in the morning. I'd heard of a place close by; a microbrewery and pub, which supposedly had decent food by the name of U Tri Ruzi.

It's a multi-story restaurant….we never made it beyond the first floor…..we both got a kick out of the wall art.

We both loved the fact that there were several microbrews to choose from; a nice switch from the standard pilsner, light or dark, or half and half. My favorite was the Vienna Red; nice malty-sweetness, it goes down easy, but has some body. The semi-dark bock that the Missus ordered was a bit too boozy for Her. Tons of maltiness in this one, good tongue-feel, thick, bitter finish.

We decided to go light….but not really light….it was the encased meats and meat paste route for us. Starting with the duck pate.

Nice, creamy, not too "livery", good duck flavor….rich. Quite good!

The duck rillette was super……fantastic "duckiness", nice texture, with substance.

This was really good stuff.

The lamb sausages were ok, basically a mild facsimile of merguez. Don't ask me about the cabbage….I never got a shot at those…..

I finished things off with a Dark Lager. Quite a bit of carbonation on this. A bit too bitter for my liking, but not too heavy. At least it had some character.

So let's talk about price….I know I've said that everything in Prague is at least 30% more expensive (usually more) than other places in the Czech Republic. But….it's all relative. I wrote down the price of all we had, 560 CZK. Sounds like a lot, huh? Well, it was about $25 US for this. Not bad at all……try and get those prices in North Park!

U Tri Ruzi
Husova 10
Prague, Czech Republic

Belly full of food and beer, I was ready for a nap….but oh no, the Missus wasn't having any of that. She wanted to check out Her other favorite place; the Charles Bridge.

Another hour had passed while we were having lunch. It seemed like we had to fight tooth and nail to get past the maddening crowd.

Strangely enough, the Charles Bridge seemed strangely sedate. A good amount of people, but not the mob we expected. And the Statue of John of Nepomuk seemed to revel in the sunshine.

It was such a bright, but still mild day, our best in terms of weather thus far in Prague. Everything looked just so much better….

Since we were in the Little Quarter, why not visit one of my favorite places…..the Lennon Wall.

Though there were quite a few people here taking photos and selfies on the wall; I was still touched by this symbol of freedon, love, and peace.

Perhaps it's true; "all you need is love……."

Man, Prague on a day like this…….

On the way back to the apartment, we made the decision to self cater dinner. In Brno, we came across Sklizeno Foodie Market and I recalled seeing that in Prague as well. And what do you know…..I'm not (that) senile yet.

The conversation, or should I say, attempted conversation here was hilarious……we all tried so hard and at the end of the day it was mission accomplished. Yes the nap was also accomplished as well.

The Missus wanted to complete the trifecta of Her favorite places before dinner. So we headed out to Wenceslas Sqaure.

We headed out in a bit of a different direction, down some different streets. I have to say, some of the businesses were a bit interesting. I'm still wondering about Erotic City Supermarket……supermarket? One can only imagine what the produce and, ahem, meat aisles would be like. This one is a bit too easy…..so I'll let it go at that.

Wenceslas Square remains one of the Missus's favorite areas and I can understand why. The architecture, the vibrancy….there's such life to everything.

We'd been here several times already, so it was easy enough to take a seat and people watch. Or in this case doggie watch. This little pooch decided that he didn't want to walk anymore. His long suffering owner looked at us, said something in Czech, smiled, shrugged her shoulders, then picked the little spoiled guy up…….I'm thinking this is probably the norm for this pampered pooch.

Before heading back, we stopped at Tesco and got some pickled cheese and the makings for a salad.

We had the last of the charcuterie from the "Mediterranean Festival" in Brno, plus some pate.

The beer we got; we enjoyed the Kocour Weizenbock we had earlier, but the Kubik and the Saurus just weren;t to our taste.

Still, we enjoyed trying things that weren't Pilsners…..

And yes, I needed to try the Paprika Lays…..

Not so piquant, but slightly smokey…..

I sat at the window looking down at the side street below, somewhat worried about the thin woman who looked slightly od'd. Someone came by and got a cab for her…..

As folks poured out of the pub in the basement of the building I was staying in, I thought of the quirky sense of humor we'd encountered here. Not in the daily interactions, but in the stories and….i'm not sure if I should call it public art. Stories that had what I call the "Czech twist"…… There seemed to be a sense of irony and dark absurdity to things. One can't help but get involved…..so, if you're inclined, click on the photo to the right……. It's my contribution….

Thanks for reading!

COMC – The Rule of Three Edition: Tiger! Tiger! revisited

November 13, 2014 mmm-yoso Gastropub, Pubs and Pub Grub

**** Tiger! Tiger! has closed

The Missus had been on a tear since we returned from Belgium. It was beer and sausages at least once a week. It took me a while to get the Missus to visit Tiger! Tiger! with me, but once She did; well there was no stopping Her. So now, we have this huge collection of photos….

Yes, there's the beer, in fact, I don't think I've ever had a bad pint here. Come early and the folks manning the counter will actually spend time with you, trying to find the best fit. Speaking of fit, for us, Tiger Tiger presents us with a pseudo Goldilocks principle. Yes, Blind Lady Ale House has, in my opinion, a better curated selection of beer…Tiger Tiger is fairly short on sours, which the Missus loves, but TT's food is definitely better. Waypoint Public's food, at least to the Missus has the edge and the selection of beers can be really great, but man, it's pricey…$12 for a pint. It seems that TT is just right for us to enjoy weekly! Ah yes, the Rule of three.

So anyway, here's a C(learing) O(ut the) M(emory) C(ard) collection.

Part 1 – Encased meats:

There seems to be a different sausage featured weekly. While I don't really follows fads, it looks like sausages are in right now…..lucky us.

My favorite – The Smoked Kielbasa…oh man….

The Missus' favorite – The Bratwurst. She likes a more coarse cut, or even a gritty style filling.

Honorable mention…I don't think Tiger Tiger serves dishonorable weiners.

The Spicy Hungarian.

Pork and Jalapeno.

Part 2 – There's a rotation of meat paste, ummm, Pate as well.

Our unanimous favorite; the Chicken Liver Pate.

Smooth and rich, this did well with the sweetish chutney.

The country style pate with pistachios is tied for next.

With the country style pate flavored with smoked paprika.

This country style pate was good, but really didn't do well with the sweet flavor of the chutney.

Part 3 – Mom always told me to eat my veggies. So Mom would be pleased to see me eating the wood fired vegetable offerings.

My favorite would be the Padrons…well because we like them so much we grow them.

The Missus enjoyed this eggplant dish more than I did.

We both enjoyed the roasted brocolini…..

The Missus hates spaghetti squash and it's really not among items I seek out, but this version was pretty good.

So there you go; our meals at Tiger Tiger in 3 parts…..

You know, it took us three (yikes, there it is again!) visits before I got the Missus to even try something from the regular menu; the Puerco.

Which She really liked, but She was right back to Her trilogy of sausage-pate-veg on the very next visit. I gotta say……I really can't complain.

Tiger! Tiger!
3025 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA 92104

Midweek Meanderings: 85°C Bakery Cafe (supposedly)opening this Friday, Rita’s coming to Bay Park, and what’s up with

November 12, 2014 mmm-yoso Blog

So some quick items for a nice Wednesday.

85°C Bakery Cafe opening this Friday:

At least that's what I, ahem, conveniently overheard twice when I went to the ATM this past week.

If this is true, it's going to be a zoo. Funny thing, we've been to 85C cafe's in Suzhou and Xi'an and both were pretty good! Back here in the states, we've been to the Irvine and Rowland Heights locations….and I dunno, it's not quite the same. I'll leave it up to you folks to decide.

85°C Bakery Cafe
5575 Balboa Ave
San Diego, CA 92111

(Another) Rita's opening in Bay Park:

I noticed this a couple of days back. This used to be the Same Old Grind….which I guess folks got tired of?

Lovely, more corporate shops…. I say another, because I noticed that Kirbie just posted on Rita's opening in Mira Mesa. Not sure how they'll do here…..

3077 Clairemont Dr
San Diego, CA 92117

What's up with LW’s SD BBQ:

I noticed that lights had been out for almost a week. So I walked on over.

When I walked up to the door I noticed the sign…..

Uh-oh, the infamous closed for repairs sign with no activity going on in the place….all too often this is the kiss of death. I hope it's not. I'm not the biggest fan of the BBQ here; but it's a bit better than typical BBQ in San Diego and I'm all for family owned businesses.

LW’s SD BBQ
3057 Clairemont Dr
San Diego, CA 92117

Tokyo Day 2: Sensō-ji and tongue eight ways at Tanyaki Shinobu

November 11, 2014 mmm-yoso Japan, Japanese Restaurants, Tokyo, Kamakura, and the Kantō Region, Travel

Even though we'd done a good bit of walking already, the Missus wasn't done. After our light lunch, the Missus decided She wanted to visit Sensō-ji. So we headed back onto the Ginza line, getting off at Asakusa. It was no problem finding the temple, you just follow the crowds! Man was the place packed. There's a long street leading to the temple gate lines with small shops called Nakamise-dōri. It would have been quite charming if things weren't so crowded. To get to the temple, you need to pass through the impressive Kaminari-mon, the "Thunder Gate".

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Sensō-ji was founded in 645, which makes it the oldest temple in Tokyo. According to the story, in 628, two brothers, Hinokuma Hamanari and Hinokuma Takenari pulled their nets out of the Sumida River. Caught in the net was a statue of Kannon, the Goddess of Mercy. The village chief, Hajino Nakamoto, recognized the importance of the statue and turned his home into a temple to enshrine the statue.

The area is quite impressive. If we ever get back to Tokyo, I think an early morning visit might be in order.

As things stood, it was a bit too crowded for us. We wandered a bit, before sneaking out a side street.

We got back on the Ginza line, transferring to the Chuo line back to Yotsuya. We strolled the neighborhood a bit before heading back to the apartment to do some laundry and take a short nap.

Soon enough, evening rolled around. On the night we arrived, we had walked to a little place in Yotsuya. Somehow, using just the handful of Japanese I knew, I managed to get reservations for dinner. Finding out that our friend Reiko was free, I told her to call the place….there's just no way I'd be able to communicate effectively over the phone, and have her added to our reservations. We walked over to Yotsuya Station and met Reiko. Getting to the place from here was a short 7-8 minute walk; though if it was up Reiko, who walks at the "Tokyo pace"….very quickly, we'd have gotten there in five!

Our destination was a little shop named Tanyaki Shinobu. Yep, this place specialized in beef tongue.

The interior of the Izakaya is small, rustic, and sorts of wraps you up in itself. There is counter seating, or like what we had tiny tables, with stump-like stools….if you had less than six in your party, you shared the table, which didn't bother us at all. Luckily, the cigarette smoke was kept to a minimum.

A big plus was having Reiko with us…..she told us, there are 8 tongue dishes on the menu……so we ordered all 8.

Things started off with the very simple sounding "Boiled Tongue". Which was simply amazing.

The pure beef flavor was so pronounced that you almost expected the dish to bellow out a strong "Mooo…" The tongue kept its form until it hit your tongue, at which time it just melted away. The was just perfectly flavored and simmered. In fact, we had another order of this.

The Missus just adored the ponzu pickled yamaimo.

I'd never had mountain yam this good. The "ponzu-zuke" really added a nice flavor to the yamaimo, the sour seemed to bring out a bit more of the background sweetness, it also seemed to make the yamaimo less slimy. There's a nice crunch to this very refreshing dish.

The Tan Stew was very tender, with what tasted like a red wine based demi glace.

The Tan no Shogani – ginger stew, brought all those familiar comforting flavors to me.

The salty-sweet-ginger flavors in this shoyu based braised dish was just perfect. Nice texture, not falling to pieces, but with a light chew. We also had an additional order of this.

The tongue stewed in miso was also delicious.

The scallions added just enough pungency and the konnyaku a nice textural contrast. Very balanced flavors and not as salty as I thought it would be.

The pickled cucumbers were a bit of a surprise.

Pickled in shoyu and garlic, with a mild chili kick, both the Missus and I immediately thought of Pai Huang Gua (派黄瓜) – the "Smacked Cucumbers" that I make.

Strangely, the dish the Izakaya is named after; the Tanyaki – broiled tongue was probably our least favorite.

A bit too thick and rubbery for our tastes. It was also on the salty side.

The miso cured tongue (on the left) and the salt cured tongue (on the right) were nice.

I preferred the salt cured version. Eaten with onions and a squeeze of sudachi it was chewy, yet pleasant, and yes, cured, not cooked.

The Kinoko no shioyaki – salt grilled eryngii mushrooms were fragrant and earthy. The texture, nice and meaty.

The meal ended with Tan Soup, which was so good. The soul of the cow condensed into this wonderful, clear broth.

Man, this was a great meal…one main ingredient, beef tongue presented a different ways. When I first told the Missus about this place, She wasn't too thrilled. But now, She was sold.

Tanyaki Shinobu
16 Saneicho
Shinjuku, Tokyo

It was great to see Reiko, it had been a while. Nice to know she is happy and healthy, and we hope to see her again soon!

We walked back to the apartment feeling a bit sad. We had really enjoy our time in Tokyo. Tomorrow, it was off to Kyoto!

COMC: Wa Dining Okan with Friends (again)

November 10, 2014 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants

I realize I've done a post like this before. But heck, it's been nearly four years since then. I've really missed my good friends…..you get busy with work and life in general and sometimes having that get together kind of falls by the wayside. We were supposed to have lunch last week, but things just got too crazy, so I was glad to be able to connect with TFD, YY, Xiangjiao, Mr C, and Quanito for dinner at Okan.

As always, the company trumped the food, which wasn't too shabby.

It's quite easy to fall in the trap of chasing he latest and greatest…especially with a food blog. I think of the blog as sort of a food diary of sorts, so I try not to let that happen…which means there are quite a few revisits. But that's sort of how I eat.

And of course, there's friends….and we did have a nice meal. I can't believe we haven't touched bases in months! I'll try not to let that happen again.

There are items that Okan does well and items I try to avoid, you can read about it in more detail in our older posts or even here.

Hope you're having a great week!

Wa Dining Okan
3860 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111