November 2024 – Page 3

Thaipan Kitchen (In the Pyramid on Miramar Road)

It's funny how things sometimes turn out. In the comments of my post on the Cuisinery moving to Miramar Road, "FOY" Sandy happened to mention that there used to be a Chinese Restaurant in the Pyramid; currently known as the San Diego Innovation Center. I'm sure you'd recognize the structure if you've ever driven on Miramar Road.

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A few weeks ago, when heading home after shopping at the Cuisinery, I noticed something on the signage for the Pyramid.

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Do you see it? It says "Thaipan Kitchen". Hmmm…… So, after doing a bit of research, I found that it's owned by the same folks as Ping Yang in the Market on 8th. I also noted that they are only open from 1030 to 330 Monday to Fridays.

I like the 1030 opening since I enjoy an early lunch these days. Plus, the Cuisinery now opens at 10, so I could coordinate my visits! A few days later, I dropped by.

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I saw the sign and decided to step into the Pyramid. Funny thing, we've lived in San Diego for over 20 years now and I'd never been in this structure. Never had a reason to visit I guess?

I opened the door and walked on in.

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The bottom floor was a huge space. There didn't seem to be much going on, I'm not sure what the occupancy of the building is right now? There even seems to be coffee stand that doesn't seem operational?

The tiny shop was open and I walked on over.

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The gentleman was hard at work in the kitchen, so I had a look at the menu; which features standard Thai dishes like Pad Thai, Tom Yum, and also Japanese items like Karaage, Gyoza, and Tonkatsu.

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And looking at the register, it seems like they are venturing into Filipino dishes. Right now they do Spamsilog and Tocilog….it seems they also do Katsu Sandos. I asked the guy worknig about the hours and he told me that they tried to open at 830 but things were too slow. All of the dishes are available from 1030 to 330 in spite of what the menu says.

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I mean, there's no way you can do "everything" well, right? So, knowing that the owners are Thai, I decided to stick with that side of the menu.

I wasn't feeling like Pad Thai or a curry; the Ka Prao with Pork Belly ($16.50) sounded good. It was also the most expensive item on the menu. I was given one of those buzzer things and just cooled my heels in the dining area.

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Soon enough, my lunch was ready to go. I had decided on takeout…..I just didn't feel like eating at the cold and empty dining area.

Once home I unpacked the fairly hefty bowl.

Thaipan 09 Thaipan 10 The fragrance really got my stomach growling. In terms of portion size, this was way bigger than the takeout I'd had from Thai Test Kitchen. I got this medium spicy and it wasn't bad, not dumbed down for sure. Loved the crisp, sweet-anisey fried basil. I could make out a hint of fish sauce, it wasn't overly sweet, loved the flavor of the pork, which was a bit too chewy and tough though.

I'm not sure if it was the drive home, but the egg was overcooked for my taste.

The rice was fragrant, but on the chewy side.

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Overall, this was not bad, definitely not overly "Ameri-Thai" and in terms of flavor and all that basil in line with Thai Test Kitchen in my mind.

A couple of weeks later I returned. This time, I went and placed my order then went to the Cuisinery to shop before returning. But that's not before I saw something interesting. If you look closely at the photo below. You'll see the microwave below what looks like a portable griddle. Well, I noticed as I walked toward the entry to the building that a large plastic bag of rice was bein put in the microwave. That explains the texture of the rice.

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Anyway, this time I went with the Thai Omelet over Rice ($13.50). For some reason I was just craving some Kai Jeow!

This really looked lovely when I unpacked it at home.

Thaipan 13 Thaipan 14 It usually has Sriracha drizzled on the egg, but the gentleman nicely asked if I'd prefer to have it on the side. I really didn't even need it. The egg was slightly crisp and quite fluffy. Nice savory tones; the ground meat used, I'm thinking it may be ground chicken was moist and tender. Nice savory tones; quite "eggy" without any off flavors. Quite nice!

The rice though, as you can see was dry and chewy.

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Overall, not bad. In spite of the rice, I enjoyed the omelet enough that it managed to push the dish over mediocrity.

I'll probably be back. As for a comparison to Thai Test Kitchen; I think the overall quality at TTK might be better, though the prices and portion at Thaipan seems better. Thaipan 16

As for the location; well, wouldn't having a food hall in the Pyramid be a great idea? Not sure if it would make it; but I believe there are so many businesses in the area, along with MCAS Miramar that perhaps it would succeed?

I do need to make it down to the Market on 8th one of these days. I tried twice, but the parking situation was terrible.

As for Thaipan; well Sandy, you see, there's an actual restaurant in the Pyramid now!

Thaipan Kitchen
7310 Miramar Rd. Suite 105
San Diego, CA 92126
Current Hours:
Mon – Fri 1030am – 330pm
Closed Sat/Sun

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London – Afternoon Tea at the Terrace at The Dilly, Westminster Abbey, and The Church of St Margaret

November 3, 2024 mmm-yoso British/Irish/Scottish Restaurants/Pubs, Desserts, London, Sandwiches, Travel

It was still fairly early when we crossed the Westminster Bridge. We had afternoon tea scheduled for 230pm, back at the hotel where we were staying.

I had always wanted to check out Westminster Abbey It was just before 10am. Because I wasn't sure what our schedule would be, I didn't purchase advanced tickets. It was just past 10, the line to get in didn't seem very long, so we decided to see if we could get tickets. Surprisingly, there were tickets available. I went ahead and got us tickets for 1030 entry into the Abbey. We decided to check out St. Margaret's Church which is on the grounds of the Abbey.

According to Britannica, there had been a church on this site since the mid-12th century. But that structure was demolished and this church was built between 1486 and 1523. It is the "official" church of the House of Commons (i.e. the Parliament), which happens to be right next door. In fact, Winston Churchill married Clementine Hozier in this church in 1908. They were married for 56 years, until Churchill's death in 1965.

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The church is also known for it's windows. The famous East Window has quite a story.

It was also interesting to see who's been entombed here.

Speaking of entombed. Well, according to Wikipedia, there are over 3,300 people buried or commemorated in the Abbey, which was housing Benedictine Monks back in the 10th Century!

There's so much that has happened here; every coronation, since that of William the Conquerer in 1066 has taken place here; the High Altar is where those take place. This post could be many pages long; so I'm just going to keep it simple.

Of course, I was much more interested in who was buried here. It's a who's who of history.

There are a total of 17 monarchs entombed here. For instance, Elizabeth I and Mary I are buried next to each other.

There are familiar names everywhere and folks seemed to be entombed together in sections.

Poet's Corner features some familiar names.

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Remember I used the term buried or "commemorated" above? Well, I found it even more interesting folks who have memorials or statues here, but are not buried at Westminster.

Like this rather well known fella'…….

I really appreciated some of the "pairings"….for instance, Stephen Hawking.

Is buried next to…..

And nearby resides….

From people I've read about in history class.

To those who future generations will read about in their history classes.

And even those whom I just remember for certain things; like the quote "Doctor Livingston I presume?"

I really enjoyed just wandering thru Westminster Abbey. There's an Audioguide available, but we just decided to "wing it".

I'm thinking we'll return and perhaps do a private or Verger tour. This was a lot of fun.

Exiting Westminster Abbey, we headed up Parliament Street.

Passing the Cenotaph, a memorial to those who died in the First and Second World Wars. Unfortunately, those photos didn't turn out.

My photo for the Monument to the Women of World War II did.

As did that of the Field Marshal Earl Haig Memorial.

Whitehall is indeed a street with so much too see.

At the intersection of Whitehall and Horse Guards Avenue is a very popular gate. This is where one of the ceremonial entrances to Saint James and Buckingham Palace is. This is also where the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment guards the gate. You can figure out what the draw here is, right?

Everyone wants a photo with the Equine Soldier, but like they say for the Tube, you need to "mind the gap" as some of the horses, like the one above enjoy their "personal space". It was quite a crowd.

This is also where the entry to the Household Cavalry Museum is located, along with the Horse Guards Parade. It had quite a line on this day.

We walked thru the passage to Horse Guards Avenue. And came upon the Guards Memorial.

Like I said. There's so much to see that it can be overwhelming. By this point we had seen so much that it was time to head back to the hotel and take a short break before Afternoon Tea.

I put my phone away and we took a nice stroll back to the Dilly.

I had made reservations for Afternoon Tea at the hotel's restaurant, the Terrace. One thing I did learn was the difference between High Tea and Afternoon Tea. Afternoon Tea is earlier with supposedly lighter fare….you'll see why I say "supposedly" soon. The Terrace is a lovely, somewhat stylish, very bright restaurant.

Since we wouldn't have time for dinner until later this evening; I thought 230 might be a good time for Afternoon Tea. The restaurant was busy, but not super crowded. We thought the prices were quite reasonable as well.

We really weren't prepared for how much food this was. That said, nothing was memorable; the sandwiches dull, the scones quite bland….

The "sweets" tasted like mass produced chocolate; though we thought the theme and presentation was charming.

The service was quite attentive; though we were underwhelmed at the quality and flavor of the food. Still, you were in London, you had to do Afternoon or High Tea, right?

Terrace at The Dilly
21 Piccadilly
London, United Kingdom

London – Le Deli Robuchon and a Walk Around “the Mall”

November 1, 2024 mmm-yoso Bakery, Croissants, Desserts, London, Travel

One of the main reasons the Missus wanted to stay in the Piccadilly area was to check out Le Deli Robuchon. She had been following a ton of influencer/social media posts hyping up the "Cube Croissants". I really don't follow those, but the Missus really wanted to try them. Which is why I went and booked the Dilly for our initial stay in London….though I'm fairly certain the Missus would have preferred the Ritz.

On weekdays this location of Le Deli Robuchon opens at 7. We walked on over and arrived at about 730am. The place was fairly busy, but not crowded.

Ordering is via a line, first past the regular pastries; I decided on some Gougeres and Coffee, Double Espresso for the both of us. You then go to a separate counter for the "cubes".

The Missus decided on the Pistachio version of the Cube which went for 9£; about $12/US at the time. We took our pastries to the table and soon after our espresso were delivered.

The espresso was a nice "jolt" to the system. The gougere were too doughy and sweet for my taste.

As for the "beast"…..

Well, I wasn't a fan, it was too sweet and doughy for me. I'm for lighter, flakier, less sweet desserts. The missus agreed as well.

On the table next to us, the woman, exclaimed in the finest British accent, "My god! This is terrible!" So, I'm guessing we weren't alone in not caring for this. At least on this morning.

In case you're wondering what story is behind the "cube", you can read this article. We would go to several places hyped up by the "gram" and the "tok" during this trip and not enjoy any of those meals. Since then, the Missus has double checked places hyped up on these sites.

Le Deli Robuchon Piccadilly
82 Piccadilly
London, United Kingdom

This being our first full day in London, we decided to just enjoy and explore before our reservation for high tea.

We headed down St James Street to Pall Mall……

Then headed toward Buckingham Palace, making a stop at the Queen Victoria Memorial.

And taking a quick look at the Royal Residence; Buckingham Palace.

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We then turned around and decided to head down The Mall, the ceremonial route to Buckingham Palace. This is where you'll see all the royal processions on television.

Lots of lovely ornate gates and a wide tree lined road.

And on this morning; not only were the police marching down the avenue….but it seemed like the ducks were as well!

Down the street we noticed this column.

This is the Duke of York Column, a monument to Prince Frederick the Duke of York, the second son of King George III. It is said that Prince Frederick was King George's favorite son and did much to reform and modernize the Army.

In fact, shortly after Prince Frederick's death, in 1827 all British soldiers donated one day’s wage for the building of this monument which was completed in 1831.

We took a right on Northumberland Avenue and headed toward the River Thames. There's just so much to see in London! From the Golden Jubilee Bridge we had an awesome view of the London Eye.