**** I managed to try the Khao Mun Gai and you can read that post here!
In yesterday's post on Sam Woo becoming San Wo I indicated I'd noticed two big changes in businesses within the 99 Ranch Market on Clairemont Mesa. The second one was this little shop, that has taken over the space previously occupied by the longstanding Sau Voi Deli. I walked on over and took a look.
A very nice young lady greeted me and told me they had just opened the past weekend and currently open at 10am. She also gave me a menu to view.
It's a nice and tight menu, just seven items featuring Thai Noodle Soups. Seemed like a nice change of pace for the area, so I decided to return. I arrived at a quarter after ten and there were already three of the five tables filled. I took a seat and the young lady brought me a menu and some water to get started.
I decided to get the Boat Noodles ($15.95) medium spicy, which turned out to be just right as I didn't have to add any chili oil or chilies.
It was nice and fragrant.
It came with a variety of "cuts"; I went for the chicharron right away.
The broth was quite soy-savory, I'd say almost beefy, with a decent amount of spice and anise-cilantro tones. Lots of flavor in this.
There was one large cut; it looked like brisket. I enjoyed the tendon, which looked tough, but was quite tender. There were two whisps of tripe which were nice a crunchy. Even the two pieces of liver were not bad.
The Server recommended I get the rice noodles with this which reminded me of pho. It was perfectly prepared with a nice stretch to them.
Not the largest portion, but enough for me. I thought this was quite good and decided to return for a menu item.
I think it's really hard to find a good version of Khao Man Gai in San Diego, so I was excited to check it out so I returned a few days later. Unfortunately, they were out of the dish, so I had to find something else on the menu to try.
I decided on the Kway Chap ($14.95)
I was happy to note that they actually use the appropriate noodle, the curly-rolled rice noodle sheets known as kway chap in this. Nice and chewy!
Also of note; the eggs while hard boiled weren't overcooked and did not have that greenish-grey tint. Decent soy sauce flavoring as well.
The meats again included chicharron, the rough cut of the tendon, some intestine, various other beef cuts and what tasted like stewed pork.
The broth didn't have any spice, seemed a bit more porky and rich than the boat noodles. I ended up using the chili oil, which also had some nice acidity, and some chili flakes to help cut the richness.
Not a bad soup either.
I appreciated the fact that the portions skewed toward more Thai-sized. They seemed to be doing a pretty good takeout business. The folks working were very nice. I'm glad that we have a place that offers something a bit different in the area and that the prices aren't bad.
Now I gotta try that Khao Man Gai…..
Me Sen
7300 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92111
Current Hours:
Tues – Sun 10am – 8pm
Closed on Monday
While the exterior could have been a bit more flaky and crisp; there was a nice balance of butter and salt flavor. The interior was light, fluffy, and nicely honeycombed. This was a pretty good croissant; and would probably be in the "top 3" here in San Diego.
We enjoyed the Smoked Duck Salad even more this time around; the duck was more tender, had a nice gamey-smokiness. The dressing had a nice acidity and the Missus enjoyed the tart-sweetness of the apples….She usually does not like the addition of fruit to salads, but this changed Her mind. A nice refreshing salad.
We ordered the meat rare. but only the large piece was rare, the rest were medium-well, skewing things to the tough side of the scale. The meat was well seasoned, though the "sauces" really didn't go well with the proteins but was necessary for the really dry "garlic bread" bites in our opinion. The Bloody Mary aioli was interesting, but pretty bland; the BBQ Sauce was too sweet. 
The toasts were again really good. The tomato-bell pepper compote was over processed and runny; I prefer something more rustic and thicker. It also lacked the seasoning I like; cumin, smoky tones, harissa, herbaceous flavors, and garlic. This had a decent acidity, though I'm not quite sure about feta cheese in my shakshuka. I really wasn't expecting anything close to what we had in Tunisia or 
Think fried mochi/manju. The exterior was crisp, giving way to a chewy interior along with a filling that was a bit too sweet for us. We tried one when it arrived and saved the rest for after the main courses were finished. Unfortunately, by that time it had started getting soggy. We ended up taking the rest home to heat in the air fryer. Still, I don't think we'll have this again.
I liked the amount of cilantro and scallion in the broth, it added a nice fragrance and flavor. The meat was tender, though it seemed to not be as beefy as I would have desired. Still, if you're a major carnivore, you might enjoy this. Personally, I like a variety of cuts, texture, and flavors.
Seeing that the ridges were falling off the viennoiserie made me somewhat concerned, but the pastry did not shatter into crumbs upon consuming. The exterior was light and crisp, the interior fairly fluffy and "honeycombed". It was sorely lacking in butter and even salt for that matter. Quite bland overall.
