mmm-yoso – Page 146

Saturday Stuffs – Scenes from the Little Italy Mercato, Tuna Harbor Dockside Market, and Other “stuffs”

January 5, 2019 mmm-yoso Exploring San Diego, Farmer's Markets/Night Market, Markets & Grocers, yoso-silly

I'll readily admit; my posts are mostly stream of consciousness. And sometimes; it's just better to just post photos. I needed to get my car serviced today. Instead of waiting around; I decided to catch the Trolley, something I used to enjoy, but haven't done in ages…..and just head out and take in San Diego. So; I headed off to the Little Italy Mercato, then walked down to the Tuna Harbor Dockside Market. Instead of some long-winded post; here are some photos of an overcast, yet fun day.

Because of some delays on the Green Line West; I decided to take a round about way; doing the Orange Line to Downtown; getting off at Civic Center and walking to Little Italy. Where I passed an iconic "name" in San Diego….whose commercials you couldn't miss if you lived here in the 90's and "aughts".

I'd heard that Mexican Fiesta; whose existence always reminded me of the Children's book, The Little House had closed. And yes, it has….

I think pooches outnumber children here……

I then walked on over to Seaport Village…..

Man, I haven't been around here in at least a decade….

Things looked a bit depressed; many closed businesses.

Though it's always fun to "pooch watch"……

The Dockside Market was close by; so I headed on over.

A somewhat interesting mix of folks…..

I decided to grab an Americano from here…..

And guess who I saw???

And even coming back around again while I finished my coffee.

Since it was close by; I decided to check out Unconditional Surrender by Seward Johnson.

It was an overcast day; with not too many tourists.

Just like I don't visit Waikiki when I'm back "home"; I really don't get down here to often.

I was glad to have some time on my hands to just reacquaint myself with this area.

And then of course…..it was time for lunch!

Paris – Tomy & Co

January 3, 2019 mmm-yoso Fine Dining, France, French Restaurants, Paris, France, Travel

We had done a good bit of walking during our first day back in Paris and I was ready for a nice meal. Luckily, I had made reservations for dinner for this evening and it was less than two blocks away from the apartment where we were staying.

But first, the Missus wanted to take a walk! Yikes…..so we headed across the Seine for a pre-dinner stroll. It was a lovely evening and the "City of Lights" was indeed that.

By the time we got to Saint-Germain l'Auxerrois, I knew it was time to scurry on over to the restaurant.

After all, the place I'd made reservations at emailed me two confirmations and two reminders about dinner. They really wanted to make sure we'd keep are reservations. And with good reason; since Tomy & Co opened in the fall of 2016, it's been receiving lots of great reviews, some from food blogs I link to. Paris by Mouth ranks Tomy & Co as #1 on their list of list of favorite Modern & Creative Restaurants in Paris. The namesake of the restaurant, French-Cambodian Tomy Gousset has made quite a name for himself in Paris and now has two very popular restaurants in Paris.

I had put in the mileage on this day……..

And was ready to eat. We arrived on time at this little eatery on Rue Surcouf, which incidentally was right up the street from a place we ate at back in the fall of 2016; Restaurant David Toutain. The place was relaxed, but very professional, and we thoroughly enjoyed the experience. We started with a white from Monthélie in Burgundy which the Missus enjoyed.

We decided to forgo the tasting menu and ordering dessert and instead went with 3 starters and 2 mains; which worked out perfectly.

We loved the amuse bouche; a chickpea concoction that was like the best falafel you ever had in terms of flavor, crisp, yet moist, with just enough salt.

Things started off with the Beef Tongue Tartelette with fresh Burgundy Truffle.

To be perfectly honest; the wonderfully refreshing sauce gribiche and the thin slices of turnips that made this dish for us. It was beefy so the pungent and pleasantly sour-acidic tones really balanced things out. The truffle was a bit disappointing as it wasn't very fragrant, nor did it have that wonderful earthy-savory tones we love in truffle.

The Gnocchi, Guanciale, Truffle, and Parmesan Cheese was a nice balanced dish.

The gnocchi was solidly prepared, fairly light, and not overly chewy. The truffle was again very mild, living in the shadows of the Parmesan and guanciale. The zucchini really impressed us as we could still make out the flavor with all the salty-rich flavors. Great acidity and textures.

Of course we had to have the Egg, Chestnut, Bresaola, Cauliflower Puree, and Fried Onions.

The wonderfully rich egg yolk was the prize in the center of this dish. The fried onions added sweetness as did the cauliflower puree, in a mild way. Loved the greens and the salty and almost cheesy bresaola. This was a lovely dish.

The first main was the Wild Duck "Apicius", Confit Beet Root, with Honey and Date Chutney.

Since Apicius sauce/glaze was going to be used, I expected this to be on the sweet side. But the duck had been studded with fragrant, anise like coriander seed, it was crunchy and added quite a bit of oomph to the dish, giving it almost a Middle Eastern flavor. It also really toned down the gaminess of the wild duck. I'm not sure that was a good thing as I enjoy that flavor. The duck was toothsome as expected. What was not expected was how wonderful the confit beets were….they still held a light crunch; but were wonderfully sweet.

The Stuffed Hare Confit and Foie Gras in Brioche with Fresh Burgundy Truffle was a bit too much.

First off, that sauce was too thick for my liking, as before the truffle just wasn't fragrant enough. The brioche hadn't held up well and had a cardboard like texture. We really couldn't make out foie gras other than it being a bit oily. Oh well, can't win 'em all.

As I mentioned earlier; service was very professional and yet still relaxed. The folks here smiled often and made us feel very comfortable. I can understand the allure of this place; the ingredients and flavors run the gamut, it's modern, yet uses an array of techniques with products that are interesting. The dishes are well presented. We'd gladly eat here again.

Tomy & Co
22 rue Surcouf
75007 Paris, France

We headed back to the apartment, bellies full, and quite happy……

In the "City of Lights"……..

Taste of Hunan (Village Kitchen 2.0?)

January 2, 2019 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants

So, right before Christmas "YZ" and I were having a little chat about a new Chinese restaurants opening……as the discussion went on, I realized we were talking about two entirely different places. I was mentioning "Kangxi is Coming" which opened in the former Village Kitchen location. "YZ" was referring to a place that was just going to open in Mira Mesa named Taste of Hunan. She had seen posts on WeChat about the grand opening. The funniest thing she said was "you should get WeChat…." Heck, I'm not even on Instagram…

Anyway, I did find the photos interesting, so Calvin and I decided to check them out.

It was before the posted opening time of 1130 and the place was already packed!

Apparently all that social media and having some kind of grand opening special (I believe you got credit dollars if you spent over a $100) really pulled people in.

A couple of things I found out upon arriving; first off, I recognized the really nice young man manning the hosts station from Village Kitchen, and he instantly recognized me. I had to laugh. According to him, the owners of Village Kitchen split up and the former partner decided to open this place. I'm not quite sure if I understood clearly, but I was told that either this is the original chef from VK; which will explain why the food there has gone downhill recently, or some other well regarded chef. Also, I saw a couple of dishes that are basically signature dishes at VK; i.e. the Eggplant and Green Chili with Preserved Egg, which by the way I haven't gotten around to ordering yet. And items from my original visits to VK, that are no longer on the menu there.

The menu is that bright and glossy standard; while you use a secondary menu; with photos that you mark off selected dishes on.

The menu is not very large and one interesting thing that you'll find (only in Chinese) on the menu is that you cana bring your own seafood and have it cooked for you.

Interesting touches abound as rice is served in this metal thermos-tiffin kind of thing.

So, I've been here four times already, eating in twice and doing take-out twice. As you can tell; the Missus loved the leftovers, so while not wanting to go out for dinner, She sent me to get take-out….and do some shopping at TJ's in the same strip mall.

I'll go over the dishes from one that I really enjoyed but is kind of a wild card; then to our most favorite to least favorite in order.

With the interesting name of Fried Pork Fat with Green Pepper ($11.99); I just had to order this. The young man who knew me came over and stage whispered "this is the best dish on the menu". This was awesome….as in heart attack…awesome. If you've ever had Chinese fried pork lard; you'll know what I mean.

A light crispness; gives way to soft fatty…well, fat. It is lovely; this was seasoned perfectly; fermented black beans added that nice salty-savory touch. Slightly, but not overly spicy….this rather old-fashioned homestyle dish; the Missus told me how Her Grandmother made this, seemed decadent. Though I wouldn't have it too often and it doesn't hold up well as leftovers. In other words if you order this….go for it!

Picks:

The Sautéed Beef Tripe with Pickled Radish ($14.99).

I've had this three times. I quickly found that the dishes here aren't overly greasy nor gloppy; which does well in this framework. If you love the symphony of various crunchy textures; from the crisp-briney Chinese celery, to the firm and crisp tripe, and very nice crunchy pickled radish, this one might do well for you. The Missus will even eat this cold. On one of the visits; it wasn't quite as good, lacking in the bright flavors and crispness; but the other three times it did well. A slight amount of spice in this.

One of the dishes that was on the original Village Kitchen menu Hunan Smoked Pork with Dried Long Bean ($15.99).

While ToH doesn't make my favorite version of La Rou; on one occasion it was outstanding as the pork was smokey and not overly hard and chewy and the dried long beans had picked up some moisture and flavor and were perfectly crunchy, intensely flavored, and slightly moist. Still; it's a decent version of this dish, better than what I had at VK when it was on the menu. It does tend toward the saltier side though. On one visit it was quite spicy, on the others just slightly so.

Another good dish if you like "texture" is the Sautéed Dried Tofu with Braised Pig Ear ($14.99).

The slightly soft and chewy dried tofu with the crunchy pig ear….again, it's the Chinese celery that makes this dish adding a palate cleansing element and nice crispness to the dish.

And then our favorite veg; the Country Style Boiled Radish Leaves ($11.99).

We've tried this three times and it would have been four; but they were out of it once. I believe radish leaves are blanched, reducing the bitterness and increasing the mild sweetness. While still crisp it is stir fried with a copious amount of garlic and some chilies. Twice it was wonderful; garlicky, crunchy, pleasantly bitter, just the right amount of heat. Once it was mushy with way too much salt….still this is worth trying.

On the fence:

The time they were our of the radish leaves I ordered the Hot and Sour Chinese Lettuce ($12.99); it's "stem lettuce" also known as celtuce.

Nice crunch, but not much heat, nor sour, just way too much salt.

Pans:

During our first visit we ordered the Braised Beef Shank (way too dry and bland), Pig Ear (super salty), and Tofu with Spices (ditto) – $10.99.

Not great eating; but having this dish made me think that the pig ear and tofu might do well in a stir fry; which led me to order the tofu and pig ear on the net visit.

The House Special Pig Feet ($15.99) was also a non-starter.

Too tough and really salty; this just wasn't pleasant to eat.

Over my visits I've noticed that the food here; while being a bit on the saltier side; is not greasy, and attention is paid to textures.

The place has been very busy on all my visits; yet they've staffed well, though the food might take a while. All the folks working here have been pleasant, if not overly friendly.

The menu is an interesting collection of dishes; which made for an interesting little vignette. On one of the visits; while eating by myself a family; two adults and three adolescent/teen girls were sitting on the table next to me. I watched what they ordered, the girls got Honey Walnut Shrimp, Yangzhou Fried Rice, and jiaozi. The parents got Pigs Feet and Tripe. Ah yes, generations……..

So now with Spicy Hut down the street; it might be that Mira Mesa might be the place for Sichuan and Hunan; much like it tops Convoy with regards to Pho! Hope they keep getting better!

Taste of Hunan
9880 Hibert St. Suite E2
San Diego, CA 92131
Hours
Mon, Tues, Thurs 1130am – 3pm, 5pm – 9pm
Friday 1130am – 3pm, 5pm – 930pm
Sat – Sun 1130am – 930pm
Closed Wednesdays

Happy New Year!

January 1, 2019 mmm-yoso French Restaurants, Markets & Grocers, yoso-silly

Happy New Year! It's another one in the books and it was a pretty chilly (by San Diego standards) and wet one as well.

It's been a busy year for me; but I still made it out yesterday, to do, as I've done since 2005, to check out the variety of Osechi set out by our local Japanese Markets. Like I noted from back in 2017 these markets have really scaled back and these days they ask folks to put in orders. I started with Mitsuwa….which might have been a mistake as there wasn't much of anything out at 9am.

Nijiya was bustling at 915.

And I ended getting a few items there.

Marukai didn't have much at all.

The Missus wanted something different for New Years Day this year; so I didn't do quite as much shopping….at least at these places as usual.

And, just like last year, we had the New Years Eve dinner at Et Voila! We brought along a bottle of Champagne from our favorite little Champagne House in Écueil. This was our favorite while doing tastings in Champagne. It's from a very small "house"; it's literally under a house and they do not ship or sell, via normal channels in the US.

I gotta say; even though some of the dishes were quite similar to last year; I think Et Voila has stepped up their game. There were a few things we didn't care for; the pheasant was too dry and the mushroom cream sauce too sweet, but as a whole this was a very nice meal.

The Lobster Bavarois with Périgord Truffle Caviar – just plain delici-yoso!!!

Dorade and Hamachi Crudo.

Grilled Blue Prawns and Snow Crab Raviolis – prawns were very tasty but a bit over-cooked.

Seared Maine Diver Scallops – seared perfectly, super tender. The uni espuma was quite interesting.

I'm usually not a big fan of the meat and poultry at ET; but this Beef Tenderloin was perfectly cooked and almost fork tender and that shaved black truffle didn't hurt things at all.

The afore mentioned Pheasant Breast Ballotine with Chestnut Gnocchi.

And of course dessert….which the Missus enjoyed.

Et Voilà!
3015 Adams Ave
San Diego, CA 92116

As for New Years; well, no Nishime this year….instead the Missus wanted Matzo Ball Soup??? Go figure…. So on Saturday I went to Wing Lee Poultry and bought a chicken and made the soup on Sunday. Skimmed and strained on Monday, made the Matzo Balls and let it soak in the goodness, ready for today.

As for me….well, I went fairly traditional.

We here at mmm-yoso would like to send out our best wishes for a wonderful 2019!

Thanks for stopping by!

Minh Ky and Tu Thanh Again

December 30, 2018 mmm-yoso Vietnamese Restaurants

A friend of mine greeted me with an "oh my god….you're wearing a jacket, it must be cold!" Yeah, well I guess I really don't wear jacket and such until it does get a bit chilly. In a way, I enjoy this time of the year since I can make the rounds getting noodle soup.

Minh Ky:

Of course, Minh Ky has been a staple of mine since that first post way back in January of 2006. Recently, it's mainly been for the Sate Beef Egg Noodle "dry". But on this morning, I really wanted egg noodles in soup and I was starving. Having recalled how generous the portion size were for the combination egg noodle was; I ordered the won ton and dumpling combination.

So, while the broth here is still lighter than it used to be; on this day, it had a bit of richness and flavor (other than sweet-salt MSG tones).

The charsiu was decent if a bit on the chewy side. I think that over the years the dumplings and won tons have improved. At this price point; I don't expect perfection….I do expect glorified noodles; but the fillings were tender as were the wrappers.

The noodles were cooked perfectly, just enough crunch-chew.

And yes, I finished the entire bowl.

Minh Ky Restaurant
4644 El Cajon Boulevard
San Diego, CA 92115

Tu Thanh:

Calvin had been wanting to revisit since the last time I took him here. Finding parking was of course an issue; the shop next door has put "Only for Customers of Mucha Fruita" signs up. Though the folks at Tu Thanh say that's not true.

One thing I quickly noticed was that the namesake of the place – Chi Tu Thanh was not in the kitchen. Perhaps she's retired? Too bad because everytime I come here I think of having her come out and go over eating Bun Mang Vit at "Chinese Kitchen" way back in 2006. Of course ordering was a no-brainer….Bun Mang Vit.

This was an interesting visit; some things were the same and I quickly noticed some differences.

The herbs and cabbage still has rau ram; but banana blossom is totally MIA. At least on this day.

That wonderful Nuoc Mam Gung; the gingery-slightly sweet-tangy-savory concoction is still present and as good as ever.

The noodles were decently prepared; no complaints there.

The duck was prepped decently, but the chopping job was just shoddy. Compare what it used to be like:

To today……

As is the norm for me here; I leave the broth for last as it's very mild initially. But after having those dried bamboo shoots release it flavors and all of the dunking and such it gains traction. On this day; it was sneakily salty…..like I need a couple of glasses of water salty. Not quite as good as before.

I'm sure I'll return. I just hope things return to how they used to be.

Tu Thanh
4804 University Ave. #A
San Diego, CA 92105

Modena – Mercato Albinelli and Lunch at Trattoria Il Fantino

December 26, 2018 mmm-yoso Emilia-Romagna, Italy, Italian Restaurants, Italy, Markets & Grocers, Travel

In the end we were kind of sad that we only spent two evenings and one full day in Modena. We really enjoyed the relaxed and friendly vibe of the city.

We woke in the morning and decided just to take it rather easy. We'd visit the Mercato Albinelli, wander around and bit, have some lunch, then take a nap. Our location and the apartment was beyond awesome; modern, clean, and right around the corner from the main street in Modena, via Emilia. A just short walk; maybe a half mile or so down the street is Piazza Grande and the Duomo, Modena Cathedral.

Head down via Luigi Albinelli and you'll run into Mercato Albinelli.

Which is quite a traditional market. It was pretty quiet on this day as we browsed the aisles.

With all the standards. We really wanted to check out all the hand made pastas and weren't disappointed in the varieties…..

And we got a nice little treat when we were ogling the pasta at this stand.

The really nice woman saw us checking out the pasta and suddenly appeared with two tortellini on toothpicks for us to try. She smiled and passed it to us over the counter….the Missus and I looked at each other since the pasta wasn't cooked. But we couldn't turn down this kind gesture and ate it…..it was delici- yoso!!! Tender, cheesy, some nice savory-saltiness from the salumi…..man, it was good! The shop owner obviously knew we weren't going to buy anything, but just wanted us to try her product. It made our morning.

We ended our visit by having some espresso at a little shop around the corner from the mecato.

The name of which escapes me. But it was a nice little break.

We then walked back to Piazza Grande. The cathedral really stands out; as does Torre Dell'Orologio, the clock tower.

When you walk along the south end of Piazza Grande to the west and Corso Duomo; you pass through a really neat building that crosses over the street.

This will being you around to the front of the cathedral.

Right down the street is another Piazza. this one is the Piazza della Torre; the Torre Ghirlandina, the bell tower of Modena. Which rises 290 feet above the city. work started in 1167 and was completed in 1319. It is considered one of the symbols of Modena.

The cathedral, Piazza Grande, and the towers is considered a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We should have spent more time exploring; but I'm certain we'll return one day.

The statue in front of the tower is of Italian writer Alessandro Tassoni who was born in Modena.

At this point, the Missus was off shopping…….

She enjoyed exploring the shops in the area…… Meanwhile, I just took in the sights.

This is the Church of San Giovanni Battista.

This is the Monumento a Ludovico Antonio Muratori a famous historian.

This church is the Chiesa del Voto.

Before we knew it; it was almost past lunch time….well, at least lunchtime for us, it was edging past noon.

Where to go for lunch? Well, there was a place fairly close to the apartment I had on my list. I'm not sure where I first heard of the place. Located on a tiny side street, Via Donzi we found Trattoria Il Fantino.

The clock had just struck 1230 and the place had just opened.

The folks here were very friendly. I'd read that the ribs were a specialty, but we decided on just some pasta since we had major dinner reservations.

The Missus picked a real winner; the Strigoli con Funghi Porcini e Speck, only 9 Euros.

Strigoli, sometimes called stridoli….which I was told meant something like "fat worms", were noting of the sort……worms that is. This wonderfully toothsome and substantial pasta had an amazing chew. You weren't looking for anything stretchy here, the closest I've had in terms of texture is the Strozzapreti at Maestoso. Nice woody-earthy tones from the porcini; the speck added a touch of saltiness to the dish. Very nice.

You know what I got, right?

The Tortellini en Brodo of course! I just couldn't get enough of this dish. Bless the hen who gave her life….and by the deep chicken flavor of the broth her soul for my pleasure. The Tortellini had just the right amount of cheese and salumi. It was cooked perfectly.

And as a digestif…..well some Nocino – walnut liquor.

The place had totally filled up by the time we were half way though our meal. We'd lucked out as they had to turn people away……

This was a very nice meal; friendly service, priced right. I'd like to return to try out those ribs….and another bowl of tortellini en brodo of course!

Trattoria Il Fantino
Via Donzi 7
Modena, Italy

We were enjoying our time in Modena.

Merry Christmas…..and a preview of an upcoming post….

December 24, 2018 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, yoso-silly

Time seems to go faster every year…..suddenly it's Christmas again!

As always; we here at mmm-yoso wish you a Merry Christmas and the most happy of holidays!

Hope you get everything you wish for…..

And Santa doesn't leave you hanging….or visa versa!

And as I teased in the title; here's a new one for you. Just recently opened…..

You might want to check this place out.

And if you're feeling especially fat deprived (hard to think of that being the case this time of the year); you might want to try the dish called "Fried Pork Fat".

Interesting story behind this one. Stay tuned.

Taste of Hunan
9880 Hibert St
San Diego, CA 92131

Best wishes for a wonderful and safe Christmas!

Thanks for stopping by!

Breakfast at Hinotez Again

December 23, 2018 mmm-yoso Breakfast/Brunch, Japanese Restaurants

I'm a bit under the weather, so just a short post for tonight.

So, you know that Mien Trung was my first meal after returning from France. The other thing I was craving was Japanese Breakfast; I wasn't looking for anything particularly fancy; just a simple workmanlike (or Salarymanlike) breakfast would do. Something I've already waxed nostalgic about before. The only show in town for this is Hinotez.

And while I do enjoy the Japanese Breakfast here there have been changes over the last couple of years; on the good side; you can now get Japanese Breakfast everyday from 8am to 11am. On the bad side; and this has been true for a while…..you need to order 2 items from the entrée category. Kind of a bummer; because I really wanted natto-egg-tororo.

I enjoy the karaage at Hintotez, so that was an easy choice….it's the second choice that had me in the grips of "analysis paralysis". In the end; I just went with the Gyoza and with everything, this came out to $12……..

I keep forgetting to tell them to give me "half rice"…..this is just a load of rice and it's totally out of proportion,when mixed with the tororo, natto, and egg.

The karaage could have been more crisp; but the savory-soy flavor was perfect….the gyoza was not bad, crisp and the filling was decent. The miso soup was better than on previous visits; not watered down.

But, of course I was all over the natto-tororo-3 minute egg……gooey-fermented loveliness.

It did hit the spot. I left not feeling like super-hero….but in need to return to bed……a perfect weekend day indeed.

Hinotez
7947 Balboa Ave
San Diego, CA 92111
Breakfast now served daily from 8am – 11am

777 Noodle House Again

December 20, 2018 mmm-yoso Vietnamese Restaurants

Right before we left on our last vacation, I had to do a bit of shopping in City Heights. It was 8am, still fairly early for most places, so I decided to drop by 777 Noodle House since it had been almost a year-and-a-half since my last visit. On that visit; I noticed that the food was not as good as on previous visits It seems that 777 had maybe hit a bit of a slump? My favorite Servers were working; the woman and gentleman always make me feel so old when they call me "sir".

I did notice that the place looked a bit more run down in the morning light; but it was doing some good business on this morning…..you can't beat the prices here. I usually go with the Hu Tieu Nam Vang; but this time, I felt like egg noodles so I went with the dry "Mi" ($6.97) version.

This ended up being a nice surprise. The MIA lime was there; though the bean sprouts weren't blanched. The egg noodles were perfectly prepared; just enough stretch, no mealy or mushy textures, enough soy in the sauce, the noodles were nicely coated. The toppings were simple, with an abundant amount of ground pork….kind of on the chewy side, but fine; the shrimp were nicely cooked with no muddy or off flavors…the fishballs….well, I'm not a fan of squeaky fishballs. The soup provided on the side was decent, slight savory flavors, not too salty. That pork bone was quite good; full of flavor, the pork tender, not falling to pieces.

You know, this was better than I've had here in a while. Now, I gotta get back to Ly Heng.

This really did hit the spot on this morning.

777 Noodle House
4686 University Avenue
San Diego, CA 92105

San Francisco – Kin Khao

December 19, 2018 mmm-yoso San Francisco and Silicon Valley, Thai Restaurants

I wanted something interesting for our last meal in San Francisco. We'd had dinner at Mourad the night before, so I thought following that up with a Michelin Star Thai Restaurant might make a nice pairing for this trip. To make it more interesting; the owner of the restaurant is former uber blogger Pim Techamuanvivit; who ran the super popular food blog Chez Pim. The restaurant claims to create Thai Food that is seasonal, sustainable, and yet stays true to its roots.

The rather tiny restaurant is located in the Parc 55 Hotel. The place was pretty packed when we arrived; luckily, we had made reservations.

There's a certain "hipsterness" to the place and the menu. Our Server was wonderful, sweet, friendly, and while not quite displaying what we'd call Michelin Star service, was very nice. She helped us make some decisions on dishes. We were looking for items with some spice….when we mentioned enjoying Issan-style dishes, she told us she is from Issan and helped us select items for our meal.

Instead of going with some of the heavier or entrée dishes; we kept it rather light and tried four different items.

Starting with the Yum Kai Dao ($12).

To be perfectly honest; we were drawn to the "Wok Fried Duck Egg" in the description and it definitely delivered a perfectly runny, richly flavored yolk. We both enjoyed this elevated Yum Kai Dao; basically a fried egg salad. There was a nice variety of sliced and torn vegetables; cilantro, mint, shallot, kale added a mild bitterness, and there were a few slices of sneaky sliced Thai Bird Chilies. This was very lightly dressed which suited us just fine as we could make out all the ingredients.

Next up was a dish I'd read about, being a fan of Nam Tok (I still make Neua Nam Tok on occasion); we both thought the Nam Tok Beans ($14) would be worth trying.

The earthy flavor of the Rancho Gordo Cranberry Beans came through nicely, but was quite dry. This dish really lacked the savory-sweet flavors along with having not enough herbaceous (mint-lemongrass-cilantro), nor enough spice and lacked enough nutty rice powder to suit our tastes.

One of the things I really enjoyed about Chiang Mai was the nam prik; basically dipping sauces for your sticky rice. So I just had to order the Nam Prik Ong ($18) a take on the classic Tomato and Pork dipping sauce. We also got sticky rice to have with this; sorry no photo….sadly the rice was too soft and wet.

The pork rinds were nice; crisp, light porky goodness. The nam prik was much too thick for our taste and just had too much pork. The acidic tomato goodness was missing……along with having enough spice. This really did seem to taste more like a "ragu" we had in Emilia-Romagna than a nice spicy-garlicky-tomatoey nam prik ong.

If you've read our little blog long enough; I think you'd be able to predict what our last dish would be; the Sai Ua and Nam Prik Noom ($19).

Finally, there was something that brought on the heat (I'm glad we weren't asked how spicy we wanted things – this place served items the way they thought it should be)…..the fruity-fragrant and spicy chili paste – nam prik noom; had a nice variety of chilies. Our wonderful Server told us that this would be the dish we should order and she was right. It actually tasted great with those pork rind strips. This version of Sai Ua was very dense with a definite porkiness to it. It really didn't have as much herbaceousness as other versions we've had, but was quite good. The perfectly ripe cucumber was just the right foil to cure the richness of the sausage and temper the heat of the nam prik.

Overall, while kind of a mixed bag, it was a fun meal. The dishes try to keep a modern edge and a Thai soul, while creeping close to being fusion. While I don't think we'll return the next time we're in San Francisco, I'm glad we tried Kin Khao.

Kin Khao
55 Cyril Magnin St. (In the Parc 55 Hotel)
San Francisco, CA 94102