A couple of revisits for today.
Pho Hut and Grill:
Back in January, I had a decent bowl of Dumpling Egg Noodle Soup at Pho Hut and Grill. So, on a recent weekend morning, returning home after the weekly shopping mission, I thought I'd drop by and grab a bowl of the Mi Sui Cao. This time around I noticed that there were forks in the chopstick dispenser….I guess it speaks to the clientele?
And while my last go around with Pho Hut wasn't bad; this was disappointing.
Well, at least the egg noodles were decent, not overcooked. But the broth was basically MSG water, lacking any depth, the char siu was tough and tasteless, and as with previous visits, the dumpling fillings just floated away from the wrappers….I guess you could look at the wrappers and say it's just another noodle and this should be pseudo meatball egg noodle soup.
Pho Hut & Grill
5252 Balboa Ave
San Diego, CA 92117
Ramen Yamadaya (Clairemont):
**** Ramen Yamadaya has closed
So, my coworkers, JohnF and Calvin were having a discussion about Ramen and Ramen Yamadaya in particular. And while my recent visits to Yamadaya have not been particularly delici-yoso, I still thought you could get a decent bowl if you followed a specific "template". That would be Kotteri Ramen, noodles "katame" (extra firm), with kakuni pork. So we decided to see if this worked out.
And it did to a certain extent as the chashu was low on flavor and tough, so the kakuni pork did quite well. The noodles were nice and firm. Calvin loves the fresh pressed garlic with his ramen, while I think in this bowl it kills all the other flavors. I still think the broth could be hotter as it cooled quite quickly. The egg was decent, but the broth is not what it was when Yamadaya first opened…..lacking in flavor and richness.
The guys really enjoyed the Tori Nanban; the "Chicken Tartar" more.
Crisp, nice ginger tones, with a dose of vinegar……..really good this time around.
As a bonus, John and Calvin treated me to lunch! Thanks guys!
Ramen Yamadaya
4706 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92117
🙁
Yeah kind of disappointed in Pho Hut Kat.
I peek inside Pho Hut when I got to Rite Aid but I never see any Asians dining there….
Yamadaya is pretty bland now. Stopped going there a while ago. Used to go quite often. Now I’m back at Santouka.
I tried Ikkousha in Costa Mesa a few months back. Solid bowl of basic Hakata style tonkotsu.
Hey Junichi – I’ve seen Asians eating at Pho Hut….but there’s always more Asians working here than eating, if you know what I mean. This visit to Yamadaya was better than previous visits, but it’s still not as good as when they first opened. Seems like they’ve jumped the shark a bit.