April 2021 – mmm-yoso

Sue’s Korean Kitchen

April 27, 2021 mmm-yoso Korean Restaurants

It was Good Friday and I decided to run out between meetings and grab some lunch. I thought I'd give Nanay's another shot. Unfortunately, Nanay's was closed for Good Friday. So, taking a quick look around I noticed Sue's Korean Kitchen….hmmm…..don't remember seeing this place before. So I thought why not?

It was around 1030 or so; there was just one very kind middle aged Korean woman working. The menu consists of Korean standards; though there was one item that looked interesting. More on that later. There are lunch specials and also a basic menu.

In addition, the coolers are full of various panchan…..the woman told me it's all made inhouse. In fact, while waiting for my order, two older Korean women came by and just bought Kimchi.

There was something about this place that just reminded me of those places "back home" like Gina's BBQ.

And what did I order? Well, the Kimchi Fried Rice ($9.99) with Spam (of course) sounded like just what I needed on this day.

I really enjoyed this. There was a nice fermented tone to the dish…..I think the baechu kimchi might be worth trying. Not overly sour or salty; it had a decent spicy kick and tons of savory goodness. A generous amount of Spam and pork as well. Chunks of kimchi.

This hands down was the best dish I've over the course of my visits. Quite rustic and enjoyable…..like your Halmeoni (grandma) would make.

I returned the very next week to try something else from the menu. I was greeted by the really nice woman who took my order the last time. This time she was working in the back and another really nice woman was working the front counter.

This time around I ordered the Cup Bap (i.e. BiBimBap) Lunch Special with Bulgogi ($9.99).

The portion size was quite generous. I do prefer my bulgogi to be marinated a bit more as this was quite mild in flavor. At this price point, I didn't expect the beef to be of the highest grade and it was indeed a bit on the dry and tough side.

I did enjoy most everything else provided. The rice was perfectly cooked, loved the eggs….I need more veggies in my life so the salad was perfectly fine. The kongnamul (marinated bean sprouts) and sigeumchi namul (marinated spinach) took me down a nostalgic road.

This totally reminded me of the little mon-and-pop Korean takeout places of my youth. The one's where you'd pick a protein and three side dishes (panchan); what I call Hawaii's version of the "meat and three".

That following Friday, I decided to try "that item" I had seen on the menu. It was the jokbal, pig's feet cooked in shoyu and other ingredients. I was quite curious about how a little shop would handle this. I fully intended to put out out the jokbal ($30) and a couple of other dishes in the walkway and share it with folks who could grab a plate and head back to their office. On the funny side; there were only three people in the office on this day! Still, it was full speed ahead. I hedged my bets and got kimchi fried rice and kimchi pajeon (kimchi pancake – $7) to hedge my bets. The same woman was working; alone again, she told me that the other folks start coming in around 1030 or so. She was quite surprised that I ordered the jokbal and very happy as well. She also gave me a container of Kkakdugi (radish kimchi), which I forgot to take a photos of. It was quite good; with some mild fermented tones. The Missus enjoyed it as truly fermented kimchi is hard to come by.

Anyway; the jokbal is premade and kept in the fridge. I brought it back to the office, opened it, and cracked up!

Jesus……this was enough for a large family! It came with some kimchi and the saeujeot (salted fermented shrimp) was pretty good.

And of course the other "stuffs".

And of course the kimchi fried rice and pajeon. I was shocked at the portion size of the fried rice….maybe it's because I ordered it with the jokbal?

The fried rice was again quite good; a bit spicier than on my previous visit with huge chunks of kimchi.

The pajeon was ok; I enjoy mine a bit more crisp than this….but it could have been the 15 minute travel time.

As for the star of the show…..

No complaints from me. While the flavor wasn't quite up there with our favorite version in San Diego; it was far from bland. Nice swiney goodness. Love the contrast in textures. The saeujeot really cut through any collagen stickiness. There was also the actual pig foot; or what remained after all the meat was sliced…..just in case someone wanted to do some gnawing. There was quite a bit leftover; so I split the rest with JeffP….hope they enjoyed it. JeffP told me that he was going to bust out the beers at home with this.

I think I might order this again……..the leftovers did quite well in noodle soup.

And I'm for sure going to get my Kimchi Fried Rice fix here again….and perhaps try out some other items on the menu. I have a special places for these little mom-and-pop shops and hope they do well. The folks that work here are so kind and warm…they make you feel welcome. No tables in the shop; but lot's of outdoor seating in the Plaza Sorrento Food Court area.

I'm glad that Nanay's was closed on Good Friday, because I found Sue's! Sometimes things just seem to happen for a reason, huh?

Sue’s Korean Kitchen
6755 Mira Mesa Blvd.
Suite 109
San Diego, CA 92121
(858) 352-6511
Current Hours:
Mon – Sat 10am – 9pm

Monday Musings

April 26, 2021 mmm-yoso yoso-silly

**** Just a couple of food photos in this one. So perhaps you might just want to return at a later time.

First off, I want to thank everyone who sent me emails worried that the dearth of posts over the last three months. I was going to reply to each one personally; but thought I'd just go ahead and do a post. I am well, so please don't worry. I'm also touched that folks are concerned, but there's no reason to be.

I've never been fan of working from home. I've always enjoyed the teamwork, conversation, feedback, collaborative spirit that comes with working at our offices. Folks that know me personally probably also know that I like people. Even though I keep a rather low profile with the blog; I think, unlike the Missus, I'm a people person at heart. What I did notice after a few months; on those days I'm working from home….after the 8-10-12 hours of sitting at my desk, I was just not in the mood to spend another 1 or 2, or even 3 hours sitting there to do a post, in fact I've often made it a point not to even look at my PC on weekends. This blog is a fun, labor of love for me…….and I don't ever want it not to be so. So, in essence I was pulling the plug….I needed that break. Also, Frankie's care, the Missus's long hours, and making sure She had lunch, dinner, etc….well, those things have priority. It's funny because when I started working at my current job, I worked remotely for almost 8 months…..back in 2000! But, I didn't have the blog then……there was no pandemic going on……and frankly, I probably had more energy 21 years ago!

Of course, it's been interesting working from home when the Missus works day shift. We have Frankie's "Senior living apartment" set-up. And he'll often just hang (sleep) with me in the our home office. We have a video camera set-up, so when I have to run errands, or am in our home office, I can check on him. I can set-up "pet" motion detection which alerts me to his waking up.

And being home during the day means I've been able to try places nearby that I would usually put off trying.

And then there are those places that I have on my rotation nearby.

Of course there are the places I miss when working from home as well.

Thanks for all emails, I'm really touched, and it just goes to show how great all you F(riends) o(f) Y(oso) are! And yes, more posts are on the way.

Sammy, is that you?

A couple of weeks back, the Missus sent me a text with a photo, saying "I think it's Sammy! He's looking over us!"

Whoa……what do you think? Maybe it's just wishful thinking….but, just maybe Sammy is letting us know things will be ok?

You know, we lost Sammy over four years ago, yet we still talk about him everyday….several times a day.

And yes, hopefully things are really turning the corner. California now has the lowest Covid-19 positivity rate in the US…..even better than Hawaii. Let's just hang on a bit longer!

Paris – Snack Shopping at Le Comptoir de Mathilde, À la Mère de Famille, and Jacques Genin. Cheese Tasting at Le Cheese Geek.

April 24, 2021 mmm-yoso Beer, Cheese, Desserts, France, Paris, France, Travel, Wine Bars/Wineries

After our lunch at Maison de la Truffe the Missus had planned on picking up some "treats" for Her friends and coworkers. Of course, She had already purchased a few items from La Grande Epicerie, but wanted to stop at a few more places. I had done a bit of research the previous night; lookin at options fairly close to where we were staying. So, we headed back to the 3rd and onto Rue Rambuteau for our first stop – Le Comptoir de Mathilde.

Part of a chain of shops and franchises across the country.

By this time; the Missus was focused on caramels and chocolates.

Quite chain like and commercial….but fun to stroll thru.

Le Comptoir de Mathilde
42 rue Rambuteau
75003 Paris France

Less than a block away we were now in the 4th, was another popular chain; this one based in Paris named À la Mère de Famille.

The woman working was so nice and friendly that we bought a couple of boxes of chocolates.

À la Mère de Famille
23 Rue Rambuteau
75004 Paris, France

The shop I saved for last was Jacques Genin also in the Marais. You can read more about the Chef and his shop on David Lebovitz's post. Anyway, just looking at the place tells you quite a bit.

I just hung back and let the Missus do Her thing.

She put together quite a lovely (and expensive – but of course you can tell that, right?) box for Herself.

Jacques Genin
133 Rue de Turenne
75003 Paris, France

After which we headed back to our accommodations.

For our last evening in Paris I wanted to do something fun. I had read about Le Cheese Geek on a wonderful post from Madame Fromage and ended up booking a cheese tasting.

Our tasting took place at Fromagerie Saisons which was pretty close to where we were staying. Everything about our booking was easy. We ended up at the cheese shop a few minutes before our tasting and were quickly welcomed in. The tasting took place in the "cave" below the shop….but first; we had to pass all the tempting cheese for sale.

Our guide thru this tasting was Fabrice; who was engaging and had a great sense of humor. Our group of ten was diverse; from "curd nerds" to their friend who just came along for the ride.

Typical question – "is it ok to eat the rind?"

Fabrice – "yes, of course…" and he went on to to explain.

My remark – "just don't do that with the babybel, ok….unless you like rubber…."

We had a nice selection with a nice pairing.

First up was a farmer's cheese made from raw goat's milk in ash named Le Roumé. This was so very light, with a mild acidity, with a nice clean finish.

It was a nice start.

This was paired with a very nice and clean Sauvignon.

Next up was a wonderful Brebis.

This amazing Brebis d’Estive from the mountains of the Aspe Valley is from the farm of Maxime Bajas whose entire herd consists of 100 sheep! It was so wonderfully savory and nutty to my palate, with a mildly rich finish.

This was served with Candied Piment d’Espelette and was served with a nice Gamay.

This was an amazing duo of Comté, a Comté Jeune aged 8 months and a Vieux Comté aged from 36 – 42 months. Both from Montmorot. This was nice example of a difference in taste and texture of aged chesses.

Next up was my favorite duo of a wonderful Camembert de Normandie, so deeply savory and earthy, made from a maker whose entire herd consists of 80 cows; paired appropriately with a nice apple cider. And the Munster, very ripe and "footy" from Alsace.

The last cheese was a wonderful Roquefort, made by a small producer Maison Carles which works with mold from the local rye bread. This was served with a Tawny Port….something I hadn't tried before this tasting, but has now become part of my routine with Roquefort.

Our tasting with Fabrice and Le Cheese Geek was delicious, educational, and most of all a lit of fun. Since our visit, Le Cheese Geek now has a permanent location in the 10th Arrondissement. As with most of these type of events, things are currently paused due to Covid; but by all means give them a try once we're over this pandemic.

Le Cheese Geek
31 Rue Sainte-Marthe
75010 Paris, France

This being the end of May (2019), it was still quite bright outside as we walked back to our accommodations. And though we had initially thought that perhaps we'd grab a small bite to eat on the way back, we were pretty full.

As is kind of my tradition on my last night in a locale, I purchased a beer on the way back to the apartment.

Where we just packed up, caught on emails and messages, then relaxed.

I'm always so thankful that we're able to travel and have these wonderful meals and experiences. And even more thankful to be able to share them with you.

Yes, we may still be stuck at home right now; but one day, hopefully soon, we'll be able to travel again. And we'll make the best of it.

Thanks for stopping by!