mmm-yoso – Page 113

Takeout from Chaba Thai Kitchen

October 12, 2020 mmm-yoso Thai Restaurants

Returning from picking up the ramen kit from Menya, my eyes veered toward Mercury Village Shopping Center….you know, where Sizzling Pot King, Pho Fusion, and the "Sign of Doom" is located. I noticed that Chaba Thai was open and decided to see what their hours were. I really didn't have much luck there when they first opened, but it had been a good number of years since those visits and I thought why not do some takeout.

I went ahead and placed a takeout order online and went tp pick it up on my way home to check on Frankie.

Chaba is currently only doing takeout orders and on my visits, they seem to be doing decent business.

I decided to order the Tod Mun Pla (fishcake – $6.95) and the Nua Nam Tok ($10.95), which I ordered spicy. There was actually five people in front of me when I went to get my takeout, all to pick-up orders.

Here's what things looked like when I unpacked the containers at home.

The Tod Mun was actually not bad; decent chew and texture, nice Kaffir Lime Leaf fragrance and flavor, the pickles really added another layer of flavor and I also enjoyed the fried basil leaves as well.

As for the Nam Tok…..well, take a quick look……

First off, I ordered this "spicy"….you see any chilies? The grey color really didn't add anything to the presentation. There was a lack of roasted rice powder, the meat was rubbery, and had a metallic tinge to it. There was so much insipid liquid floating around as well. All the herbs were starting to brown. This was just not very good at all.

And so; I could have just called it quits after this….but heck, that fishcake was pretty good. And, since it had been so many years since my previous set of visits, I decided to give Chaba another try and I'm glad I did. I looked over the menu and found something I was interested in trying; the Khao Kluk Kapi (Shrimp Paste Fried Rice) with Honey Pork ($10.95).

This was by far the best item I'd had at Chaba to date. The pork was adequately tender; not falling apart, but with a light toothsomeness of well braised meet. The sweet-salty tones went really well with the rest of the dish. The fried egg had been seasoned nicely; it reminded me of a "lightweight" Khai Jeaw, without the ground pork, but there definitely was a touch of fish sauce in it.

And that rice….I ordered it medium spicy and it did have a good "kick" to it. But man, that shrimp paste really made this such a savory treat…….I must be missing Bagoong Rice! The rice was nicely coated…..I really enjoyed it.

And I even enjoyed the slices of green apple with this dish as well as it added a nice tannic-sourness that actually helped to level out the dish.

In fact, I went back for more a few days later. Unfortunately, I received a call after placing my online order telling me that they were out of the Khao Kluk Kapi. Bummer. The really nice young man recommended I try the BBQ and Crispy Pork Over Rice ($10.95)

This wasn't to my taste. The Moo Daeng was dry, tough, and lacked the sweet-salty-savory tones of a good BBQ Pork, you can just tell by the color. There was no caramelization to the meat….in fact; it kinda looked like kamaboko (Japanese fish cake). It came with the standard issue reddish sauce which really didn't do much for the dish. The Khao Moo Krob (crispy pork) was better in flavor, though the pieces were hard and dry instead of crisp. The rice was mushy and the boiled egg dry and overcooked. And it's a good thing I'm not a big eater, because this was barely enough to fill me up.

Well, at last I got one dish I really like from Chaba and as I was going ahead with this post; the Missus was lamenting the fact that Thai Papaya was still closed. And from my discussions with the folks at the Original Sab E Lee, several of the dishes the Missus really enjoys at Thai Papaya aren't on the menu at TOSEL. The Missus was really missing the version of Kai Yiew Ma Pad Kra Pow (Spicy Thousand Year Old Eggs) at Thai Papaya. I recalled seeing that on the menu at Chaba and decided to order that and the Khao Kluk Kapi (which they thankfully had) for dinner.

The Missus really enjoyed the Spicy Basil Chicken with Century Egg (Kai Yiew Ma Pad Kra Pow – $12.95).

In fact, She enjoyed it soooo much that I barely got a whiff (nice Thai Basil fragrance) of the dish. She did tell me that the medium spicy heat level was good. I'm glad She enjoyed the dish.

And She even poached (pun intended) the egg off my dish. Though I managed to keep most of the rice and pork for myself.

I'm glad to have found a couple of "keeper" dishes at Chaba. I'm tempted to try some of the other items on the menu; though my previous experience with the Pad See Ew and Kai Yaang leaves me somewhat gun shy. For now; I'll just be happy ordering the two dishes we enjoy from Chaba.

Chaba Thai Kitchen
8010 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92111
Current Hours:
Daily 11am – 9pm

COMC – Visits “BC” (Before Covid) Cueva Bar, Ma’s House, Hachi Ramen, and Submarine Crab

Well, welcome to March 225th. Who'd have thought 2020 would be like this? For my posts; I usually do multiple visits to a place….after all, everyone can have an off day…..even though it goes against my "fool me once shame on you….fool me twice shame on me" rule, I'm willing to take full responsibility for my poor judgement….though there are many paces where; perhaps we've had absolutely terrible food/service; or the food has been lackluster and the prices quite high….or something in between that'll be just a "one and done". It's pretty obvious in many cases just by the absence of a post on those places.

To be perfectly fair; after a certain period of time; like 6-9 months or so, I'd just as soon start things up all over again. And Covid-19 has just changed things. So here are a bunch of places that I fully intend on visiting again once we're past all this craziness….and I'll just "start the meter" from the beginning with a clean slate, hours, staff, menus, could all have changed, right? But, I thought you'd like to see the photos anyway.

Cueva Bar:

**** Cueva Bar has closed

The Missus and I visited Cueva Bar last year and fully intended of returning in a couple of months, before the pandemic struck. We weren't particularly struck by the food; we enjoyed the Choripapas the most. The flatbread would have been pretty good, but there just wasn't enough Chorizo on the "Norteno" to really make an impact on our palate. I gotta say; really pretty presentations though.

I still need to try the Empanadas.

Cueva Bar Café
2123 Adams Ave.
San Diego, CA 92116
Current Hours
Thur – Sat 4pm – 9pm

Ma's House:

Ma's created a bit of buzz when they opened last fall. I went with Calvin back in November. Even though I know folks who were really excited about Ma's opening…..we'd been to Ma's Islamic in Anaheim and were really not impressed. Perhaps having all those meals at the now defunct Tung Lai Shun (in the SGV) and other places in China has set the bar too high.

Both Calvin and I were underwhelmed.

The cumin lamb was terrible and the deep fried crispy duck was super hard and bland.

The one item that was quite good was the sesame bread. In fact, we brought the leftover bread back to the office (remember those days? When folks worked in an office?) and gave it to "YZ" who loved it.

So, while that gave me a reason to return; I just feel I need to eat in the restaurant and I'm just not ready to do that here. The Missus who tasted the leftovers will probably not be my eating companion here as well, so….I need to wait I guess.

Ma's House
5537 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92117

Hachi Ramen:

**** Hachi Ramen has closed

So….the curse of Hachi Ramen. I had visited a few times when the place was Artisan Bento. I actually used to have quite a few meetings up in the Hillcrest area. So in 2017 the place changed concepts and became Hachi Ramen. Like I mentioned in my Ramen Ryoma post, I'd had two aborted posts on Hachi (also mentioned in Waters Fine Foods post) , just because my visits were spaced a year apart.

So, in February, I decided to start over…..get things going.

And while the noodles were standard issue and the broth a bit on the overly salty side; this was not bad.

Then of course, we hit mid-March. And Hachi has been closed ever since. Though I understand you can order some of the menu items from Azuki Sushi.

So, there are questions; will Hachi ever reopen….AND will the "fourth time be a charm"?

Hachi Ramen
2505 5th Ave.
San Diego, CA 92103
Currently Closed Due to Covid-19

Submarine Crab:

So, this is an interesting one. Back at the end of February, I made multiple visits to Lotus Garden in City Heights. The young man working there; I believe his name is "Tu" is from Little Saigon and we had a couple of nice chats about Vietnamese food in San Diego. Surprisingly, he told me that he and his girlfriend will often visit Submarine Crab for the Banh Canh.

So, at the beginning of March, I grabbed Calvin and we drove over to Submarine Crab.

After looking over the menu a few times; I figured out that the Banh Canh was called "Udon" on the menu.

It was quite a thick/gooey as I like; but this was not bad at all.

The Beef Stew – bo kho, as a bit on the thin side, but not bad either.

We also had the chicken wings.

I understand that the "Seafood Udon" is currently on the takeout menu; but the Beef Stew is only available eat in.

I definitely need to return; but will wait for a bit, and will start things fresh.

Submarine Crab
4647 Convoy St.
San Diego, CA 92111
(858) 987-0333
Current (Covid-19) Hours:
Mon – Thurs 330pm – 9pm
Fri – Sun 12pm – 930pm

And lastly……I'm just adding these photos. We won't be returning here.

Hope everyone is safe and in good health! Have a great week!

GyroGrill – More Greek Style Gyros, This Time on Miramar

October 8, 2020 mmm-yoso Greek Food

**** GryoGrill has closed

Well, maybe Morton Salt was right when they wrote, “when it rains, it pours.” Back at the beginning of September, I wasn’t sure what to grab for lunch at the office; finally, I just jumped in the car and drove to the strip mall that houses TJ Dumplings. While driving into the parking lot, I noticed that the little Lebanese Shop; Edesia Grill was gone and now replaced by “GyroGrill”.

The sign outside the front door said “Try a Real Gyro”…..hmmmm……I guess I now had the answer to the “what’s for lunch” question.

I walked in and was pleasantly surprised to see that “GG” offered two types of Gyros; pork or chicken! Could it be? After all; I was just celebrating the reopening of Zgara Greek Grill and now there’s this place? And the really friendly guy behind the counter told me that the gyro meat is made inhouse, marinated for 24 hours. The prices seemed really reasonable; $5.99 for a Gyro, $7.99 for a combo, which came with a side and a drink.

Well, it was obvious what I was going to get, right? I also really enjoyed the choice of sides; you could get fries, sautéed veggies, baked garbanzos, rice pilaf, stewed greens. I asked if the stewed greens were “horta”, which we came to really enjoy during our visit to Crete. The gentleman seemed a bit shocked that I knew what it was…….and was told that folks really weren’t ordering it, so they didn’t have any on this day.

Which was ok. I got a Pork Gyro Meal, with Baked Garbanzos as a side ($7.99). It also came with a drink. My package had a bit of heft to it and I was a bit shocked at the amount of food when I opened things up at my desk.

Man, this was quite a bit of food! I tried the garbanzos; which had a really thick, reduced tomato sauce, lovely tangy-acidic flavors, with a touch of spices like almost lemony oregano and onion. The garbanzos were a bit “harder” than I prefer, but this wasn’t a bad side dish at all.

As for the gyros. Well, these were really thick cut; which made it a bit chewier and drier than hat I enjoy at Zgara. The marinade was also a bit on the lighter side and this was much milder in flavor, though it was decently seasoned. You could make out a light porkiness.

The pita was standard issue, but nicely heated on the griddle. The Tzatziki was a bit different; very thick, with a texture close to cream cheese. It was decently refreshing….all that meat after all, though it didn’t have as much of the nice, mild acidity, though the dill comes thru nicely.

While not quite Zgara Greek Grill, it was still pretty good, and as far as I’m concerned a bargain. I also found out that the place opens at 8am each day. Even better for me since I get into the office a bit after 5am and usually start getting hungry for lunch around 10. Also, that parking lot is less of a horror show and there are fewer people around at that time.

I was curious about the Chicken Gyros; so I got that when I revisited a few weeks later (a meal $7.99).

This time I got it with the Hand Cut Fries; which were more like chips. These were really good, nicely seasoned, you can forget about the packages of ketchup with this. Varying pleasant textures, some crunchy, some more potato. This definitely beats out the fries at Zgara.

The chicken wasn’t bad….on this visit I paid more attention to how things were assembled and noticed that both the pork and chicken are precut from verticle spit and held in hotel pans. I think this contributes to the relative dryness of the product.

I did enjoy the crispy bits and the seasoning came through a bit better with this; but it’ll still be the pork for me.

It’s great to have another option for breakfast/lunch in the area. There’s quite a bit on the menu, including breakfast items, mezes, specials like Giouvetsi, and even a burger.

I really enjoy talking to the owner; he’s a great guy and loves chatting about food.

I’ve gone back a couple of times since this visit and the folks have always been really nice and the folks in the office love the portions and prices. I’ll start exploring other items on the menu in future visits. And you really can’t complain about the prices for those fairly hefty (non-mystery meat) Gyros.

Gyrogrill
6780 Miramar Rd.
San Diego, CA 92121
(858) 586-7700
Current Hours:
Mon – Fri 8am – 8pm
Sat 8am – 6pm
Sun 8am – 3pm

I guess I should be glad; that even during these challenging times, we have places like these opening.

More Takeout from Noble Chef

October 7, 2020 mmm-yoso Chinese BBQ, Chinese Restaurants

After having the Roast Duck from Golden Island, the Missus requested dinner from Noble Chef. And of course, that roast duck. Which satisfied Her craving.

But, She also wanted a dish I had hesitated in ordering; mainly because I didn't think it would hold up for take-out. One of the Missus's favorite dishes on our dinner visits was the Fried Tofu with Two Mushrooms. We'd always finish that dish at the restaurant because we knew the fried silken tofu would not hold up after being smothered in that mushroom sauce. But; the Missus wanted it, so I went for it. I was pleasantly surprised that things were packed separately.

I got the "gravy" nice and hot; the tofu was still warm and surprisingly still had some good texture to it. And of course we finished it off immediately. The Missus also enjoyed the plating.

And of course the usual other dishes. The Steamed Pork with Salted Fish was even better tis time around. More tender; a lot more savory-funky flavors, more sauce.

I'm thinking they are really getting into their groove with takeout now.

And of course, my Soy Sauce Noodles; which I enjoy as leftovers with fried egg on it.

Also of note; I was told that Noble Chef is now adding in a 10% upcharge for takeout. Kind of a bummer, because I was tipping at least 20% on all my visits; but I guess most folks weren't.

The Noble Chef
6159 Balboa Avenue
San Diego, CA 92111

So, tell me, what's been on your rotation lately? Anyplace that I need to try?

Sunday Stuffs – Ghost Pepper Wings from Popeyes, the “Weekender” from Bird Rock Coffee, Harvest Market (Balboa) is Closed, and Stuffs from D’Artagnan

October 4, 2020 mmm-yoso Caffeine Fix, Chains, Chicken Wings, Markets & Grocers

Here are a couple more odds and ends for yet another day where it seems like the wheels on the year 2020 are coming off…….

Ghost Pepper Wings from Popeyes:

I had a few folks ask me about the ghost pepper wings from Popeyes, I guess since even though we haven't grown anything in a couple of years, I'm kinda fond of making stuffs out of ghost peppers. So, Bob and "ST", here goes.

Frankly, even though Popeyes was once upon a time a "guilty pleasure"; it seemed like the quality (and the size) of the chicken started diminishing over the years. Finally, I just tired of it all and I hadn't been to a location of Popeyes in at least 10 years! So, when folks started asking me what I thought about the "ghost pepper wings"…..well, I wasn't sure. So, on a day where I had some time; I decided to try them out…..just to kinda see. I was surprised at the price; though they really push combos; you can get 6 pieces of wings only (they did include a biscuit) for $4.99. Just make sure to bust out that magnifying glass…..as you can see on the right, the drumette was basically the size of a soy sauce packet.

The batter on the wings were really crunchy…in fact it was mostly batter, very little meat, and quite dry……I know I always say that those jumbo sized wings really mess up skin to meat ratio; but microscopic wings that are mostly batter screw up the ratio as well.

As for the spice? Well, this ain't no Quaker Steak and Lube Triple Atomic Wings that's for sure. In fact, this barely registered in the heat department for me…..it was mostly salty, with a hint of spice, lacking in the fruity-fieriness that is the hallmark of good Ghost Peppers. Pass……

Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen
Locations throughout San Diego

The "Weekend" from Bird Rock Coffee:

I had started ordering several cups of cold brew from Bird Rock on Morena, with no ice, a few times a week.

When the really friendly guy working there; the one whose been there for quite a while asked me what was up; I told him that we usually can't finish a whole coldbrew in one sitting so by having it with no ice; we'd just store it in the fridge. This is when he recommended getting something they call the "Weekender"; think of it as a growler of sorts. They cost $20 for 64 ounces so you basically get 5 1/3 portions for the price of less than 4. It's a good deal for us. We've been going thru about 1 every other week; though I'll still drop by in between those visits to get the Missus Her pour over fix. Though in this hot weather; we've been mostly sticking with coldbrew. I am a bit worried about all this plastic; so we're trying to find ways to reuse these when possible.

And I recommended Zgara to the guy…I believe his wife's family is from Greece as payback.

Bird Rock Coffee Roasters
1270 Morena Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92110

Harvest Market on Balboa is Closed:

I had some merguez in my latest order from D'Artagnan and the Missus was eager to have me sauté them with lemon and wanted some pickled veggies, garlic paste, and flatbread from Harvest Market. So we jumped in the car and took the quick drive over and were rather shocked to find them closed:

That "closed due to Coronavirus" sign was really worrisome.

I asked around a bit and one of sources who works with the local government told me that he understands that Harvest Market has probably closed permanently due to lack of business, not an infection. This is quite tragic and I hope they decide to reopen.

Harvest International Market – Balboa
4220 Balboa Ave
San Diego, CA 92117

And Speaking of D'Artagnan:

I recently realized that I'd placed my third rather large order from D'Artagnan. It seems that several items have become household staples. I recall mentioning the duck prosciutto in my Ume Dressing post….but we've been enjoying the charcuterie/pates/etc during the recent heatwaves that have swept through San Diego over the last couple of months.

There's always one king of promotion; though I always look for the free shipping deals. Things are packed well and everything arrives chilled.

So far, our staples are the Duck Prosciutto, Duck Rillettes (the Missus loves making a hash with duck fat potatoes/eggs/rillette) which freeze well.

We've enjoyed the Wild Boar Saucisson Sec and will probably order the duck version next time as well.

The Torchon of Foie Gras and the Mousses of Foie Gras are favorites and I enjoy the Pâté de Campagne.

Not a big fan of the Medallions of Foie Gras and Truffle; the texture is very crumbly and the overall flavor is a bit too much; even for us.

We also didn't care much for some of the pates as well.

And of course, we do need a "bit of cheese" to balance things out, right?

Which we get from Venissimo after all; we need to support local as well, right?

It's easy enough to Google D'Artagnan. I don't do sponsors, freebies, and such and really don't want to be bothered with non-edible Spam, so I won't do a link. I'm sure you can find them easily. When ordering; you may want to set a farther out delivery date to save on shipping; if you're not getting it free.

Anyway, I just kinda always wanted to start a post with Chicken Wings and end with Foie Gras….so, at least that wish has come true!

Hope everyone has a safe and productive week!

The Hilo Loco from Leilani’s Cafe

October 1, 2020 mmm-yoso Local Kine Stuffs in San Diego, Loco Mocos, Plate Lunch

A few weekends ago, I had to head into the office for a few hours to finish some things up…..call me weird in these times; but I find I'm much more focused and productive in an office or a non-home environment. I'm also all for the separation of work from personal life as well……more on that in a future post. Anyway, not needing to go in at 530am on weekends is a plus; though I just wake up when the Missus left for work at 6 anyway. Got my act together; took Frankie for a quick morning walk before things got too hot, headed over to work and decided to call it a day at around 930am…..on some weekends; the Missus will request Her own personal version of "Goober Eats" and ask that I drop off a poke bowl from HFS for Her….but NOT before I have to add kimchi, radish and cilantro sprouts, and avocado. But I'd already done that the day before; so I was free and clear on this day.

I really wanted to treat myself to some "comfort food"….which in this case meant, well……you know me…..a Loco Moco of course. Of course, my first choice would be Island Style Café, which would be open at this time had they sadly, not closed down in August (hope you reopen soon ISC). Da Kine's which is a few miles from home would be the natural second choice; but they wouldn't open until 11…..I wanted to be in a loco moco fueled hibernation by then. So…. it became rather clear after doing a Google search…….Leilani's Café opens at 7am on Sunday. And yet, even though I've been expanding my "roaming range" a little at a time over the last couple of weeks….this one; out in PB was maybe not where I really wanted to be……but then again; we weren't talking about Happy Hour on Garnet Avenue here….this was usually less busy Cass Street. So, I decided to call in an order for the Hilo Loco ($12.75). And headed off from the office.

Of course, I'd forgotten about the somewhat hit-and-miss parking situation in the area; but I did find parking on a quiet street two blocks away.

There were quite a few people eating al fresco when I arrived; but they were nicely distanced and no one was waiting either at the order window (up front) or the pick-up window (to the side). My order was waiting when I arrived and I was out of there in less than five minutes.

The Hilo Loco was in good shape when I got home…..even after I let Frankie out to do "his thing" in the backyard and got my portable table out….

This might be the best loco moco I've had for takeout in a while. The egg was still nice and runny, the rice piping hot….large chunks of Portuguese Sausage in the fried rice; which might have been a tad too mushy for me; but that's splitting hairs. The gravy had a more beefy flavor than I recalled; though was still a bit on the "gloppy" side. That burger was thick, hand formed, moist, with a nice beefiness to it.

And the one big plus? Leilani's stopped having Tabasco available a few years back….when eating this at home; well, I could bust out my own Tabasco.

Leilani’s Cafe
5109 Cass St
San Diego, CA 92109
(858) 361-1280
Current Hours:
Daily 7am – 2pm

So in this case; it was worth stretching my "range" a bit. I didn't run into a single person walking to and from my car and my only contact was thru screen and plexiglass with the chipper young lady at Leilani's.

All was well in the world……

Unitl I ran into this "sign of the times".

Which instantly jarred me back to 2020.

Oh well; I'd rather just think about this……

Takeout from Taste of Hunan

September 29, 2020 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants

The Missus had been wanting more Chinese food recently; and in the mood for something on the spicier (here in SD it's all relative, there's northing even close to Hunan Chilli King here). Her natural choice would be takeout from Village Kitchen, but we'd just done some takeout visits a few months back. I was wondering how Taste of Hunan was doing. It seemed that Taste of Hunan had started pretty strong; but on our last visit, they seemed to be slumping after that start.

So, we decided on Taste of Hunan…..the online ordering made things easy. We ended doing takeout a total of three times over the last month.

The front doorway is now blocked off by a table, with some Plexiglas hanging down as a shield. There was a short wait on all three visits and the young lady working on all those visits had fits trying to pronounce my name….it was funny; by the third visit, it had become some kind of long playing joke. The menu during this time is rather limited; so it's best to see what's available on their website.

So, I thought I'd go over the dishes we had from our (the Missus's) favorite to our least favorite.

The Missus favorite – The Minced Pork with Pickled Vegetables and Bamboo Shoots ($13.99). The Missus's Dad is from Hunan province so She has a fondness for the pickled, dried, and preserved vegetables of the region.

While not being particularly spicy; the Missus really enjoyed the earthy, mildly sour flavors with a hint of spice, and the pork was pretty tender. It wasn't overly greasy and the flavors came thru rather cleanly.

We had this twice and it's the current favorite of the Missus.

On our last visit; I decided to order a dish that I had enjoyed at VK initially, but not on recent visits; the Stir Fried Chicken Gizzards with Pickled Long Beans ($14.99).

The shaved chicken gizzards were springy, yet tender. The Missus loved the preserved long beans in this dish; which had been sliced crosswise, while not super strong in fermented flavor, wasn't overly salty as is the tendency. There was a mild heat to the dish, though nothing too strong. While a tad on the salty side, the Missus said that this dish of all we had is the closest to the flavors She remembers from Hunan.

On our first visit; I got the Changsha Smelly Tofu ($12).

There's was a hint of that decaying vegetable matter, though it definitely wasn't wasn't the stuff the Missus loves. You know, like She always says, "if you can eat it; it isn't stinky enough". Nice savory tones, decent spice, a strong cumin flavor….lovely with rice. Sadly, this was only available on our first visit and not on subsequent ones.

Speaking of rice; I had to try what was my previous favorite dish at Taste of Hunan, the Smoked Pork and Preserved Vegetable Fried Rice ($10.99).

While definitely not as good as the version we had during our earlier visits; there's a lot less preserved vegetables and la rou these days. There's still enough of the smoked pork to give it a pleasant smoky; almost "bacony" flavor. And having the smoked pork finaly chopped minimizes our issue with the la rou at ToH being too hard and tough. While evenly coated with soy sauce; it was a tad on the drier side the two times I got the dish. It is a winner as leftovers with easy-over eggs on it. Which is the main reason I got it in the first place.

The classic Hunan Smoked Pork with Preserved Green Beans ($15.99) was a disappointment.

Village Kitchen still wins out with regards to La Rou in our opinion. The pork as dry, really tough, super salty. The preserved green beans were too hard and there was too little of it in this dish.

The other dish that VK wins out with is the Smashed Eggplant and Pepper with Century Egg ($14.99).

While we found the version from VK to be on the greasy side; this was the polar opposite; too dry and stringy. It also lacked the wonderful smokiness of a well roasted eggplant and was strangely quite bland. We'll stick to the version at Village Kitchen.

Overall, it's now kind of a toss-up between ToH and VK. VK's dishes tend to be more greasy; but the eggplant with pidan, dishes with dried cucumber skin, dried radish, and the Hunan Smoked Pork there gets my vote there. Here at Taste of Hunan; it's that Pork and Bamboo Shoot dish, the Chicken Gizzards, and the fried rice which we enjoy. We didn't order the fried intestines and such since I didn't think it would hold up real well. So, we'll see when we turn the corner on the pandemic and we feel comfortable about dining in again.

When Taste of Hunan first opened, the food was definitely better; though the same could be said for Village Kitchen as well. At least we've got our favorites at each place.

Taste of Hunan
9880 Hibert St. Suite E2
San Diego, CA 92131
(858)-860-5118
Current Hours:
Mon -Tues, Thurs – Fri 11am – 230pm, 5pm – 830pm
Sat – Sun 11am – 830pm
Closed on Wednesday

A Taste of “Home” for Sunday Lunch

September 27, 2020 mmm-yoso Cooking, Local Kine Stuffs in San Diego, yoso-silly

I'm kinda surprised at how busy I can be on a typical weekend morning.

For example; today, after waking Frankie, taking him for a short walk:

1 – Make food for Frankie and his Cousin Auggie – basically 9 pounds of simmered chicken thighs, carrots, sweet potato, and quinoa (yes, F is a hipster I guess). Freeze. Enough for about two weeks.

2 – Meanwhile; finish off making duck confit in the oven. (I made the duck fat yesterday and cured the duck overnight) We've got a heat wave coming this week; so I'm not going to want to have that oven on.

3 – Go grocery shopping

4 – The Missus requested Niku Tofu; so I made that

5 – Make a batch of Ume Dressing

6 – Put together the Missus's salad for Her lunch tomorrow

7 – Put duck into storage pan and wait to cool – this'll keep for months

8 – Clean

Whew; it ain't even eleven yet and I'm bushed.

I really wanted some comfort food……so I made this for lunch.

I'd been missing "home"….the untold toll of Covid-19 is the mental side of things…..no normalcy, we're not able to do many things that were part of our usual way of life. I think not being able to travel has been especially taxing, beyond all the days of work, inability to head out for dinner, the social distancing, the exhausting politicization of the pandemic.

I didn't really expect this to be good….it was an impulse buy when I went to pick-up poke for the Missus at Hawaiian Fresh Seafood Fish Market…but seeing the Chili Pepper Water…I just had to get that…..and so why not grab the laulau and kalua pork?

And it did the trick….especially the fragrance of the luau (taro) leaves…..just the aroma takes me home and back to when, still in high school, I was working (full time by the age of 16). My manager, took me under her wing, and sort of adopted me, they were part of a large family….in fact, my Mom knew the family; the Kukahiko's from growing up in Honolua! Carol would take me to family gatherings in Waianae….introducing me as her "Japanese son". She was quite a character…..all her nieces and nephews called her "Auntie Tita". Food was the best part of these gatherings; at least for me, and they had one of these huge, round metal, steamer things that looked like a buoy. All full of bombucha home made laulau….the best I've ever had. I could put away five jumbo laulau! A little 112 pound Japanese kid!

So, while there was no salted fish in the lau lau, but there was a nugget of fatty pork – in this case pork belly. It was fine…….just the aroma was worth the price, as was the condiment of choice.

And soon after, I was ready to join Frankie as the "Kanak Attack" settled in……

The power of food and our memories of it……..

We hope that in spite of these challenging times, that you are safe and in good health!

Takeout From Golden Island

September 24, 2020 mmm-yoso Chinese BBQ, Chinese Restaurants, Dim Sum

Back in May, I noticed that Fung Fung Yuen had apparently changed ownership and was now something called Golden Island. Couple of weeks later, I did a online search and noticed that Golden Island took online orders. But oh my, the sticker shock….Har Gow at $6.19? Though I have to say that I recently did takeout from Jasmine; which is only about 20 cents cheaper. I went ahead and placed my takeout order online; it was accepted and I was given a time for pick-up.

I arrived precisely at my designated time and the very nice gentleman whom I believe is the manager greeted me. There was a makeshift able set-up for to-go orders….unfortunately, I had to wait an additional 20 minutes for my order…good thing I didn't have any meetings planned.

I had ordered three items; Har Gow ($6.19), Shrimp Siu Mai ($6.19), and because I thought the Missus would appreciate it; the half Roast Duck ($15.99).

The siu mai were of good size; the shrimp filling a bit on the tough side instead of a nice firmness; but the shrimp had a decent slightly sweet-savory-briny flavor….while mild; it wasn't bad at all.

The Har Gow was terrible.

First off, the wrappers were too thick and brittle. Two of the dumplings were already torn open when I opened up the container. Secondly; the shrimp were dry, tough, with some gritty bits and there was a definite muddiness to it as well.

I also got the Roast Duck.

Which wasn't too bad. I think you can tell that the skin is not quite as laquered and crisp as I enjoy. Also, if you look closely; there some feather remnants on a couple of pieces. The meat was quite tender and moist and the flavoring, while on the mild side wasn't in the same class as…..say…..Noble Chef. I took most of it home and prepped it using my toaster oven hack; but the Missus was unimpressed.

I had indended on returning, but kinda forgot about the place until "RD" mentioned (mainly about the prices) in the comments of my TJ Dumplings post. So, I decided it was time for a revisit. I again placed an order online and the same really nice guy; I think his name is Michael (??) greeted me. It seems that things were getting straightened out as I waited less than five minutes for my order this time around.

This time I got the Pork Siu Mai ($5.39), Ginger-Scallion Tripe ($5.39), and seeing Salt and Pepper Chicken Wings ($10.99) on the menu, I had to get that as well.

The tripe wasn't braised long enough and was really hard….not crunchy, but hard.

The flavoring was quite mild as well; very light hints of ginger and there's usually a mild chicken flavor to this dish as it's usually braised in chicken stock…..but that was quite mild as well.

I did not enjoy the Pork Siu Mai.

The pork was really, really hard and too chewy. There were some rather large pieces of celery in the filling, The shrimp was over-cooked and had that same muddy flavor to it…similar to the shrimp in the Har Gow I had on the previous visit.

The Salt and Pepper Chicken Wings could have been fried a bit more as it was on the mushy-greasy side.

It could have used more seasoning and I think the oil used was a bit old as there were hints of rancid oil in some of my bites. Wings had some black spotting on bones; so perhaps it had been in the freezer for a while?

Not a great meal…..

And in most cases; I would have left things at that. But the gentleman working had been really nice and I wanted to see if Golden Island could really pull off a Shrimp Siu Mai that was worth over six bucks. Plus, there was one more item on the menu that I wanted to try.

So, a week or so later I placed another online order. By this time outdoor dining was picking up and Golden Island had some al fresco tables ready for customers, along with taped marks for social distancing and lining up….which seemed a bit too close to tables if you ask me. Not that it mattered on this day since no one was eating at the time.

On this visit the timing was perfect as my order was ready to go just as I arrived.

I had ordered the Shrimp Siu Mai again, the Bean Curd Roll with Abalone Sauce ($5.39), and seeing Imperial (Empress) Chicken on the menu (aka Kwai Fei Ji) I decided to order that ($14.99).

While the prep job on the shrimp in the siu mai wasn't quite as good this time around; there some overly large chunks, the siu mai was steamed nicely as the shrimp was tender and moist, the wrapper had a bit of stretch to it and the oceany-sweetness of the shrimp could be made out.

The Bean Curd Rolls on the other hand wasn't very good.

The bean curd skin was strangely unevenly cooked; some spots mushy and falling apart; other parts too hard and brittle. The fillings had a nice crunch, but lacked flavor. The sauce was oh so bland and gloppy. I brought two of them home. After heating the Missus took one bite and told me to eat the rest.

So, how was the Kwai Fei Chicken?

I was so pleasantly surprised by this. While the skin of the chicken was a bit on the chewy side; the meat itself was tender. The chicken had been steeped/simmered nicely and just the chicken alone had good flavor, a hint of anise, a bit of a winey-ness, nice savory tones. And the best surprise was the sauce….take a look at it; full of scallion and ginger, not overly full of oil, it was perfect. Mild pungency, a hint sesame oil…….man, this was better than what my old standby, Golden City makes.

I'm glad I did that third visit. Things ended on a high note for me. Aaaaand, I have new place for Kwai Fei Chicken. Though I'm still not sold on paying Sea Harbour prices for routine Dim Sum.

For another view on things; check out Soo's post on Golden Island.

Golden Island
10660 Camino Ruiz
San Diego, CA 92126
858-578-8800
Current Hours:
Mon – Fri 10am – 9pm
Sat – Sun 930am – 9pm

Monday Meanderings – A Requiem for Tiger! Tiger!

September 21, 2020 mmm-yoso Caffeine Fix, Chains, Chicken Wings, Gastropub

Last week Thursday, I got a text from my good "FOY" Candice….it's always great to hear from her….but this time she was the bearer of bad news. She knows how much the Missus and I enjoy Tiger! Tiger! She knew that the Missus and I loved "TT" and we were actually "stalking" the place……..we'd drive by to see if they had reopened, only to have our hopes dashed when we saw that they were still closed.

She wanted to make sure to let me know that Tiger Tiger would not be reopening; before I read the news…….that's what good friends do. And based on the emails I've gotten (thanks KarenM/Bob/ST) once the story broke in Eater (please read the Eater post), I guess a lot of folks were going to miss the place too.

As much as I was sad that Toronado closed; I kinda saw that one coming. This one however, really kinda sucks as you probably can tell by all my posts on the place. I'm surprised by how many of those posts has "back to the routine" in it. And of course the place is inextricably tied to Sammy.

I think this says quite a bit.

We're sad to see you go Tiger! Tiger!; you were an big part of our rotation in San Diego. I wish we had a chance to thank the folks for all the wonderful meals and beer we've had there over the years.

I actually made a special trip to take that first photo above on Saturday to pay my respects.

3025 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA 92104

Just when I thought that 2020 couldn't get any worse………….