I had to do some shopping at Thuan Phat Market and was feeling a bit hungry. It had been quite a while since I'd had the Banh Mi from Avian Sandwiches and Water. In fact, I believe the place was still named Flavaful Yogurt/Avian Water at that time. The fro-yo side of the business is long gone though.
As I walked toward the shop I noticed several gentleman sitting facing the front of the store and then noticed that they have a television facing the parking lot, so folks can watch from outside of the place! Funny thing. Though I'm quite used to the Vietnamese Men "doing coffee" thing…..I don't ever recall seeing them watching Paw Patrol before, which is what was streaming at the time I entered the shop.
The shop is, well….they do pack things in pretty tight. With all the lottery stuff posted everywhere; it seems that it's a big part of the business here as I saw fours guys come in to buy lottery tickets while I waited for my sandwich.
Because of how tight things were in the shop, I waited outside for my Banh Mi Dac Biet now priced at $6.95. It took about 15 minutes for my sandwich, after which I headed home.
The bread seemed to be at that overly dry, almost stale stage as it was quite crumbly and hard. Check out all the cilantro, that wedge of cucumber, and all those pickled veggies! I guess they wanted to make I was getting my daily allowance here! Of course that threw the balance of the banh mi off a bit. The jalapenos weren't overly spicy, the pate nice and funky, the Cha Lua sliced super thin, and the Thịt Nguoi standard issue.
This was ok, but not something I'd go out of my way for.
Avian Sandwiches & Fresh Drinking Water
6937 Linda Vista Rd.
San Diego, CA 92111
Hours:
Daily 8am – 7pm
On an interesting note, while waiting for my sandwich I saw the hours posted which threw me off at first…..
Sun-Mon 8am – 7pm…….but open 7 Days????
Yikes. Well, the chicken was nice and moist, but the skin lacked color, was really rubbery, and worst of all the whole thing lacked flavor. I mean it really lacked flavor. Like I've said before, I really can't call this Kai Yaang. Strange thing is, I've made recipes from Su-Mei Yu's cookbook and things have turned out well. In fact, there's a "Gai Yang" recipe in 
They closed on August 21st and the signage is already down.
And I've got quite a history with them; from the days at 
It's the unit between 
At the curve in the alleyway stood a little gelato shop. The Missus and I decided to take a short break here.
Good lord, this was so delici-yoso, perfectly roasted, the bones were bursting with buttery-beefy marrow, which just melted in your mouth. A perfect amount of salt and the herbs added layers of flavor. This was so darn good, that we immediately made reservations to return on our last night in Guanajuato.
The Missus enjoyed the wine selection and the service was professional and accommodating.
The eggs were perfectly cooked, nice tanginess, a bit of heat, a nice, hearty breakfast.
Most of this museum is dedicated to it's former resident; 
If you walk in the entrance on the right, you'll be at the proper area. 
If you had walked in the entrance to the left and counter-clockwise through the store, you'll see this overhead signage.
Grab a container and choose from the hot/steam trays
as well as from the chilled trays. At the end of the line are canned and bottled beverages and the cash register and seating area. Everything is $10.99/lb. {there is also a water fountain with cups in the seating area}
The fried items seem to be fresh when we are here; lightly crisp and not greasy. The squid and whole shrimp are a favorite (as you can see from these separate visits). The chilled trays always hold something wonderful. Each of these packed full trays weighed a little less than one pound.
You can also order something from the kitchen- the menu board is right above the trays.
The Bibimbap (mixed rice with meat and vegetables) has been a special taped to the bottom of the menu board for a while now ($9.99). Steamed rice topped with a variety of vegetables and marinated tender, thin sliced beef (you can also get the beef in the per-pound steam tray) topped with an egg. It's served with pickled radish, Kimchi and the mildly spicy, slightly sweet gochujang sauce. A spoon is necessary for mixing the ingredients together. You can have all of this served in a stone pot (dolsot bibimbap) so the rice is sizzling and brown/burned (in a good way) for $2 more (#10 on the photo menu).
#20 on the menu is 'pork cutlet' ($11.99). Topped with teriyaki sauce and served with rice and salad, this is quite a large meal. We were sad that on this visit, the pork was fried just about 30 seconds too long, leaving it a bit dryer and more chewy than usual. 
Depending on the time of day, the shelves may be filled with fresh donuts or not. 
A Raised Crumb and an Old Fashioned ($1.50 each) along with a large up of coffee ($2.49) is a nice treat.
The owner offered us a slice of 'bread pudding', a sort of experimental item which might be offered someday. It was wonderful, rich and milky and topped (as well as filled) with butterscotch chips. I would buy this. But, what kind of bread?
The croissants which are made here, of course!
When you walk in, the Coffee Bar is in front of you.
Also when walking in, the window art lets you know there are more than donuts sold here. 
These menus are displayed straight ahead.
And so that's what we were served! 
I must say, the sandwich had to be cut anyhow to fit onto one plate. 
The Toyota dealership, where I took in the car for service in July. Free coffee and free donuts. 
There is no seating; there is no soup; there is a "Cash Only" sign. There are 12 steam trays and each item is $2.39. (You can choose rice or lo mein or half and half for the $2.39).
So, we chose and paid and drove home. 
The styrofoam containers are the 'small' size, but are packed full. This one included 1/2 lo mein and 1/2 rice, chicken and vegetables and orange chicken. 
This box was all rice (leftover for breakfast), pork with vegetables and ginger chicken. Total price with tax $15.68.
Here's my plate: the pork with vegetables (onion, bell pepper, celery and peanuts)(not spicy); rice; lo mein; ginger chicken; orange chicken; chicken with zucchini and onions. Everything was very fresh; no mushy vegetables (the line was constant and the steam trays were kept full). 
Kirk wrote about Chopstix 
Menu selections are consistent; no need to change what is good. The most recent 'change' is that hot tea is now $1. 
An order of mixed tempura ($11.95) is, as always, perfectly fried and includes three shrimp along with eight pieces of in-season vegetables.
I was craving Hiyashi ($13.95) on this warm day and did select the 'traditional' egg-ramen noodles (being able to select udon or somen is always an option). The colorful bowl, anchored with chilled noodles and cold, crisp vegetables (cucumber, sprouts. ginger, seaweed and corn) and shredded egg/omelet along with the moist, perfectly crisp pieces of chicken karaage and pieces of imitation crab when mixed with the tangy, sesame/soy vinaigrette dressing is very refreshing.
The Mister was craving both the sweet and spicy flavors of Mabo (stir fried ground pork with tofu) ($10.95) and also Ton Katsu (deep fried breaded pork) ($2), so He ordered the Mabo Don set which includes the miso soup and a small salad. A full meal for $12.95.
Located at the 'corner' of the 
Walk up, order, pay and wait about five minutes. All items are made fresh.
One day, I had ordered my meal at another Food Court business and decided that my 'side dish' should be a cheddar-mozzarella ($4.45). This is probably now my favorite item here; quite large and wrapped in the delicious, slightly sweet fried dough. The condiments of 'cheddar cheese' and 'cheese mustard' are tasty additions to add a variety to each bite (I add condiments on the second half of most menu items, enjoying the intended flavors on the first bites).
One day I decided to try the Sausage Kkwabaegi ($3.25). Not very large, a good sausage surrounded by the same light, sweet dough. This was a nice snack. 
Of course, the traditional Kkwabagi (two for $4.49) are what most people order. The Mister chose matcha and ube flavors, saying he thought they were 'photographable'. Very true and very nice flavors. The matcha mixed with sugar had a nice 'background' flavor of green tea/tannin and the ube was lightly flavored but still the starch of ube was discernible. The light crunchy exterior and chewy interior of these yeasty, twisted doughnuts is enhanced because they are still warm when served. 