mmm-yoso – Page 161

San Francisco – China Live

September 5, 2018 mmm-yoso Chicken Wings, Chinese BBQ, Chinese Restaurants, San Francisco and Silicon Valley, Travel

It was funny how we ended up staying in San Francisco over the Labor Day weekend. Both the Missus and I had been working pretty hard and there was no trip in sight for a couple more months. It was a brutal Sunday here with record temps in the high 90's. For some reason, I decided to check to see what the weather was like in San Francisco…..61?!?!? I basically told the Missus "the heck (using a more colorful verb) with this….let's go to San Francisco." And She agreed. It had been quite a while since we visited the city; in recent years we'd stuck to visiting places to the North and the South of San Francisco. And I couldn't remember when we last visited……so I dug into my photo archives and holy smokes! Check out the date on this photo!

We last visited nearly sixteen years ago! It was when the Missus and I took Her parents to visit. A trip was way overdue. So, I booked our flight, hotel, and a couple of restaurants….two had been on my "list" and one was a recommendation of my good friend Candice. Instead of the usual suspects; like Gary Danko, et al….we were going a bit different this time around.

We arrived, caught BART, and managed to check into the Marriott Marquis early, at 10am! Things were looking up. We freshened up and just headed on out. I figured a lot had changed over the last sixteen years…..but of course, some things stay the same.

There's a certain nostalgia to walking through Chinatown, a mixture of old school, somewhat traditional businesses, it was almost comforting seeing Golden Gate Bakery and ducking into various food shops. Along with all the cheesy souvenir stores….good lord' where there always that many here?

One thing the Missus and I quickly noticed….Chinatown seems much cleaner and tidy than when we used to visit in the late 90's and early 'oughts.

I had been fascinated with the opening of China Live. We'd been to a couple of branches of Eataly in Europe….in Florence, Bologna, and Copenhagen. And when China Live was touted as being the "Chinatown" version, well, I just wanted to check it out. I'd also heard that the food; while priced on the high side was pretty good.

There a small shop with a variety of items; some really interesting looking tea and other stuffs. And a rather "hipsterish" looking dining area….you know; all that wood.

I kinda knew what I wanted to order; Sheng Jian Baozi, the "Peking" Duck, and the Pork Belly. They were out of the pork belly, so I went with plan B….which they were out of as well. So, we just decided to try the wings.

Meanwhile, the Missus ordered some tea; not cheap at $13.95….but man; it was really floral and helped to cut through all the richness of the food.

First up; the Sheng Jian Bao ($12)….yep twelve bucks for 4.

The filling was juicy, light, and had a nice porky flavor with just the right amount of ginger to balance things out. The dough was terrible; it wasn't cooked correctly making the dough on the top really gummy, the sides mushy….and the bottom was way too thick. I mean, I really didn't expect anything like we get in China or even what my MIL makes….but that wrapper was a total fail. Still, the filling was really good.

When our duck ($26) arrived, the Missus and I looked at each other, rather disappointed. The color didn't seem right……but we were oh so wrong…..

The skin was oh so thin and crisp; the fat had been rendered….it seems into the flesh of the duck which was supremely moist. The sesame buns were hard and dry and the duck delicately flavored, so we ended up just making cucumber (which was very good quality), scallion, and hoisin sandwiches and just enjoyed the duck on its own. This is the best duck I've had in a very long time. Like I mentioned earlier, the seasoning on this was quite mild as was the duck which wasn't very gamey. This might be the best item we had on the entire short trip.

Based on the previous two dishes we were quite surprised when the "Chicken of the Sea" Crispy Wings ($14) arrived. There were ten wings in this dish.

I bit into one and cracked up…….growing up in Hawaii, one of the must have Chinese Restaurant dishes is Ong Choi with what we call "harm ha" (Shrimp Paste). The wings had been battered with that….it was a bit of overkill and seemed really salty. Though, unlike the usual MSG laden wings we often get; this one didn't bring on thirst……still it was waaaay too salty. The quality of the wings was excellent, no broken bones, no blackening of the flesh….the skin was thin and perfectly fried….the flesh moist, the size optimum for that skin to meat ratio……we'd have really loved this if it wasn't such a sodium bomb.

The service was professional, the meal, not cheap at seventy bucks. The place did fill up quite quickly, a mixture of younger Chinese who seemed well off, Chinese tourists, hipster looking folk, and some families. We enjoyed our meal here…..and will likely return for that duck.

China Live
644 Broadway
San Francisco, CA 94133
Hours:
Mon – Thurs 1130am – 10pm
Friday      1130am – 11pm
Saturday    1030am – 11pm
Sunday      1030am – 10pm

Leaving China Live; we headed to Stockton and started weaving our way past the markets and dim sum shops. Near Washington Street, I could here drums and percussion going….there was a Lion Dance happening somewhere…..

We found it happening in this street.

We got there just as the fireworks were going off.

The Missus and I laughed and basked in the noise, smoke, and shower of red paper……

It had been too long since we'd been in this wonderful city.

Lunch Revisits – Okan Diner and Hinotez

September 4, 2018 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants

Here are a couple of revisits for a post-holiday Tuesday.

Okan Diner:

I was headed back to the office from a meeting and decided to grab some lunch. It had been a while since I last visited Okan Diner. Since the restaurant is right off the 805, I decided to stop in. I was fairly surprised to see the place completely empty and it stayed that way during my entire meal!

I went with what I usually have for lunch here, the Katsuni ($11.50). When it arrived; I quickly noticed that the tonkatsu had gotten smaller since my last visit.

There's also less side dishes; more rice, and the miso soup was a lot more watered down.

The pork cutlet was a bit over cooked and dry, the breading too hard. There wasn't enough of the sweet-salty sauce and the eggs were over cooked as well. At least it was hot, right?

There was one thing that kinda bothered me even more than the mediocre food.

Unfortunately, the kitchen was in my direct line of sight and I kept seeing one of the prep cooks constantly stopping and checking his phone. Notice that he's cutting meat. He'd slice some meat, stop, pick up his phone and start texting; put the phone away, do additional prep, grab his phone and start texting, grab some other product, and so forth……without gloves. I just should have sat somewhere else……

I think I'll just go get me my usual lunch at Okan next time.

Okan Diner
5430 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92117

Hinotez:

I've mentioned dropping by Hinotez for a quiet lunch. It's usually fairly empty for an early lunch. And this day was no exception.

The problem being; I didn't know what to order….it was way to hot for ramen on this day. I looked over then menu and even though it was a zillion degrees outside, I went with the Curry Combo……for some reason, I thought back to the time when Taisho was Curry Rice Hinotez. I just went for it and had the Curry Rice ($8) with Tonkatsu ($4) and an Onsen Tamago ($1). It ended up being a pretty hefty meal.

The curry was really thick and full of meat. It was a bit on the mild side so I added raiyu to add some zip. It was very meaty. As you can tell, it seems that the frying oil for the pork was off since the breading was super hard and dark. The actual meat was fairly moist and tender though. That runny egg sure didn't hurt things.

I was stuffed after this meal and had to grab a double espresso on the way back to the office.

Still, it wasn't bad meal. The woman working on this day was very efficient and nice. And I got a quiet and relaxed meal….just what I needed.

Hinotez
7947 Balboa Ave
San Diego, CA 92111

Karami Ramen

August 27, 2018 mmm-yoso Chicken Wings, Japanese Restaurants, Ramen

It's a bit strange; I've heard so much about Ramen Ryoma's opening, but not so much about Karami which opened around the same time. Last week the weather had started cooling off and due to the fact that a lot of folks were on vacation, well……many of my meetings were cancelled, so I decided to head on down to the plaza that houses Nijiya, Spicy House, and Pho Mignon.

I arrived at 1130 and there were only two parties in the place during my entire visit. The lay-out of this tiny restaurant is somewhat neat; in a slightly cheesy kind of way….but it does remind me of some of the ramen places I've eaten at in Japan.

My Server was super friendly, with a great sense of humor.

As you can tell by the name; Karami specializes in spicy ramen. I wasn't too sure about having that on my first visit, so I just went with the Miso Tonkotsu and Chicken Karaage.

The Chicken Karaage wasn't too bad; in fact, I think it was better than what I'd had at Ryoma.

It lightly crisp; the dark meat chicken was slightly marinated….too little for my taste; but it was moist and had flavor. Of course, I had to listen to the know-it-all young lady on the next table tell her dining companion that it was all wrong….it should be white meat instead of dark meat. Methinks she got her katsu and karaage all mixed up. It didn't help that she ordered the "tonkatsu ramen"……

Meanwhile; my Miso-Tonkotsu was disappointing.

The noodles were standard issue JFC stuff and overcooked for my taste. The egg was cooked nicely, but ice cold. The chashu had a nice band of fat, but was on the dry side.

The broth was way too salty and very thin for a tonkotsu style broth; totally lacking in the balanced tongue coating richness I enjoy. There was a hint of garlic; but not much else beyond the sodium. It was truly lacking in complexity. You know I'm reaching when I thought to myself; "hey, this menma is pretty good".

You can tell what I thought about the broth……

On the bright side; the server was really nice and that karaage wasn't the worst that I've had recently.

Anyway, Calvin just returned from vacation, and guess where he wanted to eat?

And you know what? I was ready to actually try one of these……

We both ordered some extras. Calvin went with the curry-rice, non-spicy.

It actually had a mild kick, was slightly beefy; but the meat was tough and dry. Not too bad.

I ordered the spicy chicken wings; which was "all show and no go".

It's got to be the blandest; spicy looking chicken wings I've ever had…..hardly spicy at all; it lacked in any nuance of flavor, no sweetness, it seemed to be using something like kimchi base, or something similar mixed into a paste like texture. The batter got gummy quite quickly. At least the wings were moist.

I order the Triple Super Spicy Chashu Shio Ramen…….

Well, this was also underwhelming. Our server, the same friendly young lady as on my previous visit, looked surprised that we ordered this. She warned us several times about how spicy this was……it wasn't. It just wasn't very spicy; and what heat there was lacked nuance. I did think it was better than the thin, salty broth I'd had last time; but I was just surprised that this wasn't very spicy.

The noodles were still cooked more than I prefer; but was better than on my last visit. As you can see; the chashu was on the dry side; and cold to boot, as was the tamago.

The young lady seemed genuinely shocked that we were unfazed by the triple spicy ramen. She said she was worried we'd get sick from the spice. But she really won me over when I told her, "would you like me to call tomorrow to let you know I haven't died?" Her reply was awesome, "ok, but no screaming on the phone…."

Now that witty answer might be worth another visit….maybe…..

Karami Ramen
3860 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111
Hours:
Mon – Thurs 1130am – 230pm, 530pm – 10pm
Friday      1130am – 230pm, 530pm – 1030pm
Saturday    12pm – 3pm, 530pm – 1030pm
Sunday      12pm – 3pm, 5pm – 9pm

Eli’s Peruvian Kitchen Revisited

August 26, 2018 mmm-yoso Peruvian Restaurants

After working on a recent Sunday; I decided to revisit Eli's Peruvian. It's not easy coordinating visits since they have limited hours only open from 11am to 5pm Wednesdays thru Satruday, and 10am to 4pm on Sundays. I'd arrived on Sunday, forgetting that the Sunday Breakfast menu was being served. So no cebiche for me this time around.

I ended up ordering the Adobo de Chancho Arequipeño which was a special on this day.

Adobo de Chancho Arequipeño is a hearty pork stew that originates from the Arequipa (duh) area of Peru. The stew is usually beer – vinegar based; with paprika to add smokiness. With garlic and onions to add pungency.

The pork in this dish was well seasoned and very tender. The stew had a nice tangy-salty-mildly sweet-earthy balance which I enjoyed. It was definitely hearty and the portion size was much larger than it looked. Tons of pork in the bowl.

The bread was a standard issue banh mi that was toasted but was already going flaccid.

I enjoy the chica morada at Eli's; for some reason, it doesn't strike me as being too sweet. It did a good job of cutting the richness of the stew.

I was asked my opinion of the adobo and said that it was quite good. They told me they're thinking about adding it as a regular item on the menu. I think it would do fine.

Seems like the food here is improving. And the service is always nice……even if the area is a bit on the shady side.

Eli's Peruvian Kitchen
4979 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA 92115
Hours:
Thurs -Sat 11am – 5pm
Sunday 10am – 4pm

Paris – The Pantheon and a Revisit to Arnaud Nicolas

August 25, 2018 mmm-yoso France, French Restaurants, Paris, France, Travel

After finishing up shopping and eating near Saint Germain; the Missus and I decided to just wander around a bit and ended up at the Pantheon.

Though we'd visited the area before, we decided to actually enter and check the place out. There was one thing I really wanted to see……in February of 1851, physicist Léon Foucault, assembled scientists at the Paris Observatory and using a simple pendulum and his newly derived sine law to prove the earth rotates. A month later; Napoleon III requested that he repeat the demonstration in the Pantheon in the central dome.

The Pantheon was originally built to be a church to dedicated to the Patron Saint of Paris; St Genevieve, who is said to have saved Paris from the armies of Attila the Hun in 1451. The church was completed in 1790, which coincided with the beginning of the French Revolution. In 1791, the National Assembly determined that the structure be turned into a mausoleum.

Internment can only be presented by the President and approved by parliamentary act.

On the day we visited there was a special exhibit of the works and career of Marie Curie.

Who was the first woman enshrined in the Pantheon in 1995, over 200 years after the first internment. I was especially interested since one of my Mom's favorite movies was Madame Curie.

We decided to check out the crypt and walk among the remains of France's "National Heroes".

We then walked back to the 7th and took a nice break (nap) at the apartment. It was dark when we awoke. We headed off to dinner…..we had enjoyed our meal at Arnaud Nicolas the previous evening so much that we booked a return visit.

You can read my previous post on Arnaud Nicolas….. Let me just say that it was just as delicious on this visit as well.

It's the charcuterie that's the star here. And the service was just as friendly and gracious as the night before.

Arnaud Nicolas
46 Avenue de la Bourdonnais
75007 Paris, France

Our train to Strasbourg wasn't leaving until the next day at 2pm; as is the norm when on vacation, we woke rather early. With no plans we decided to pack, then just start walking.

We ended up strolling down Rue du Commerce in the 15th Arrondissement. It was a less touristy and quite diverse section of the city.

We turned around near the Eglise Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Grenelle.

We walked back and found the Rue de Grenelle Market…..where we just wandered and browsed for a while.

And had a quick coffee and croissant at the corner shop.

Then headed back to the apartment….packed, then caught the metro to Gare l'est…….

Next up….Strasbourg!

Denali State Park Milepost 135 and Revisiting Twister Creek Restaurant & Denali Brewpub (Talkeetna)

August 23, 2018 mmm-yoso Alaska, American/New American Restaurants, Beer, Gastropub, Travel

There was still a lot of daylight left when we completed our flightseeing and glacier landing and the Missus wanted to do something. So we decided to head out and take the short (by Alaskan standards) one hour and change drive up to Denali State Park. Don't confuse Denali State Park with the enormous and much more popular Denali National Park. The park is known for the views of Denali and the Alaskan Range; especially from the stop at milepost 135 of the Parks Highway. And even though it got overcast and drizzly, the views were still breathtaking.

We also loved the signs.

After lingering for a bit; the Missus was getting hungry, so we decided to head back to Talkeetna. We did make a brief stop at Denali Brewing Company on Talkeetna Spur Road….just in case they'd have that Single Malt Whiskey in stock. And while we were greeted by a very friendly pooch; there was no whiskey to be found.

Since we'd only had a couple of scones for breakfast; we were getting hungry. We drove back to the lodge and walked the half mile into Talkeetna. We just decided to head back to Twister Restaurant & the Denali Brewpub for dinner.

Just like the previous evening, this was the busiest place on the street. And we were in for another surprise; the Hostess Stand was manned by one of the folks that worked at Talkeetna Air Taxi. We'd often see folks working multiple jobs…..we were told it's normal during the high season….though it was somewhat funny….I think there's a sitcom hidden here somewhere. We also saw our favorite Server from the night before. She made sure to stop by and tell us hello.

I started with a Mother Ale; a very light almost Pilsner like brew. Very easy to drink.

We started with the item they were out of the night before; a monstrosity named "The Gourmet" ($15).

Candied Pork Belly in a mess of too sweet BBQ sauce, topped with a relish with jalapenos, red and green bell peppers, and even more pork belly…in the guise of bacon. This is one of those dishes that look great on a menu….but is just a bit too over-the-top for us. At least we'd be amking up for missing out on lunch, right?

We decided to share a dish and went with the Fish and Chips with Sweet Potato Fries ($16), which the Missus thoroughly enjoyed.

The batter on the fish and chips was fine, it was crisp with body, the seasoning perfect for our taste, the fish was moist, though it wasn't of the best quality…..still, not bad, and more than enough for the two of us.

Of course, one of the main reasons for returning here was "dessert"; or more appropriately a digestif; the wonderful newly released single malt whiskey. It was wonderful.

We loved the service and the prices were quite reasonable.

Twister Creek Restaurant/Denali Brewpub
13605 E Main St
Talkeetna, AK 99676

After dinner we walked around Talkeetna a bit….the Northern Lights Gallery was awesome…..I chatted with the owner of ne of the gift shops….he mentioned visiting San Diego in the 80's and the "Gaslight" (Gaslamp) district. We loved the folks here; friendly, but not overly so……just good people.

Just as on the previous evening, I sat by the window of our room and watched the Susitna River rolling by. And of course, I'd bought a bottle back from the Denali Brewpub.

This was a very nice Belgian Strong named One Tree Birch Beer made with birch syrup. This was very smooth, bready, with light citrus tones, and the sweetness of a typical Belgian Strong. I really enjoyed it.

It was 9pm but it looked like 4. I watched the river roll on by and though about what a great day it had been.

And there was still much more to come.

Thanks for reading!

Chicken Wing Wednesday – Gala Chicken

August 22, 2018 mmm-yoso Chicken Wings, Korean Restaurants

**** Zion Market has moved and Gala did not make the move with the market

I had to drop by Zion Market to pick some stuff up….mainly beef knee bones. Yep, beef knee bones. At the end of my "smoke session" I'll do the knee bones and give them out as gifts to folks who have dogs……the pooches really love the stuff.

Anyway, it nearing lunch time and I decided to grab something to eat. Gala Chicken had moved from their original location in the market, to the spot that Myung In had before they recently closed.

I decided to order the Chicken Wing combination….though in retrospect; maybe I should have just ordered wings.

In terms of wings; this might have been the best I've had at Gala. I'm glad they don't cut into the chicken anymore to test doneness and the batter wasn't too crumbly; like I've had here twice. The chicken was very moist; though it wasn't evenly coated in batter….it was also slightly greasy, but not in a bad way. In terms of seasoning; I still like some hot sauce on the wings….though not the overly sweet stuff that's provided.

Overall; all that rice seemed like overkill to me; they were quite heavy handed with the vinegar in the mac salad; but it was nicely chilled and along with the shredded cabbage helped to cut any greasy tones and richness. And the shredded cabbage made me feel like I was actually getting some vegetables…….along with cutting the richness, it helped to cut the guilt as well.

Not the best wings; but still decent, and better than I'd had here in the past.

Gala Chicken
7655 Clairemont Mesa Blvd (In the Zion Market Food Court)
San Diego, CA 92111
Hours:
Tues – Sat 11am – 730pm
Sunday 11am – 630pm

Cali Banh Mi (Garnet Ave)

August 21, 2018 mmm-yoso Banh Mi, Sandwiches

I was heading to the I-5 North after filling my tank at Costco early one weekday morning. I decided to head to the I-5 North from Morena, over to Garnet….something I'd usually never do because of the amount of traffic on this street. And that intersection; Garnet and Mission Boulevard is always so crazy. But it was before six in the morning, so things weren't going to be too bad. As I drove towards Mission Boulevard I noticed that Cali Banh Mi, the same folks who took over the former Cali Baguette on Convoy, had just opened a new shop.

So, one evening when the Missus was busy at work I decided to drop on by.

The shop is bright and clean…..

And the menu was quite telling……

With "American Deli Style" Banh Mi……"Cali Bowls"……

And the three surfer dudes sitting and eating….I hadn't heard so many "Bro's" slung around in ages. "Like bro…this sauce…is bro'….so….saucy." "Bro….what is this…meat thing…bro…it tastes funky…."

Anyway, I went ahead and ordered the Dac Biet….which, by the way, was basically the only thing named in Vietnamese on the whole board as far as I remember…..and just four bucks.

This was a nice long baguette……a single thin slice of cha lua and thit nguoi. Now, I'm all about proportion in my banh mi; but man, that tiny smear of pate was very chintzy. Lot's of pickled daikon and carrots though…which were not pickled enough for my taste.

All of this would have been ok; except for that pale, doughy, and dry bread. It was slightly crusty, but only around the edges. What's going on these days, as it seems like these places that bake their own bread have been quite disappointing lately? Are they par-cooking the bread…..has the proofing process changed?

As I usually will do; I went back that weekend in the morning on the way to the office. Though once I walked in…..well….based on my previous banh mi, just didn't know what the heck to order. Since it was breakfast time; I went with the third most expensive banh mi on the menu……the Spam and Egg ($6). The slices of Spam were nicely browned and crisp.

The bread was better this time; but was still too chewy and not crisp/flakey enough for my liking. It was much better than my previous sandwich, though nothing really stood out.

The eggs were scrambled….I'm wondering if they'd even make it "op la" if I asked.

Well, even though this is the closest banh mi shop; I'm not sure I'll return anytime soon. It's fine if you want a sort of Americanized Banh Mi. The prices are reasonable; which I'm sure will draw in folks looking for cheap eats. Folks working here are nice and friendly. Personally, I'd rather go out of my way for a good banh mi…..though they seem to be getting harder to find these days.

Cali Banh Mi
2830 Garnet Ave
San Diego, CA 92109
Hours:
Open Daily 8am – 8pm

Sarap Filipino Kitchen (Soft Opening)

August 20, 2018 mmm-yoso Chicken Wings, Filipino Restaurants, Sisig

**** Sarap is now Gaya Gaya

While on my "procrastintion drive" to the office over the weekend; I noticed that "Sarap Filipino Kitchen" had taken over the former Capetown Bar & Grill/Malted Diner location.

I was going to add that to my post for last Wednesday; but then on Tuesday; Eater mentioned the place was in Soft Opening Phase. I mentioned this to Calvin who got quite excited so we ended up going…..and I ended going for three days in a row! The last culminating with a group of six to celebrate one of the folks in our team actually surviving second anniversary.

As folks who've been to Capetown/Malted know; this is a huge spot. The folks working; especially the really kind and friendly Server named Lloyd were really nice; but I don't think they were ready for word getting out so quickly. They seemed a bit under-staffed and on my second visit; I saw folks actually change their order to take-out after waiting quite a while for their food. I'm hoping this will be remedied. I also heard folks grumbling about the portion size……sheesh, I guess they want this to be Tita's?

The menu varied from day to day; the first two days there was no Lechon Kawale; therefore no Sisig, also no Crispy Pata. Before our third visit; I mentioned this to Lloyd who promised me that "tomorrow we will have it….I will make sure we do." And as promised, we had our sisig, lechon kawale, and crispy pata.

So, here's a rundown on my favorite; to least favorite items so far….some of which I've now had multiple times.

Picks:

Everyone I've brought to Sarap has enjoyed the Bagoong Fried Rice, even those who had no idea what the flavoring was. It's very balanced in flavor; with garlic tones balancing out the shrimp paste. It's also not overly salty. They mango mostly added a nice textural contrast.

When I first had the Salt and Pepper Chicken Wings; I sent a photo to my friends, "these wings are good….when was the last time I said that about a new place?" I got a bunch of entertaining emoji's as responses; so I'm guessing it's been a while since I enjoyed fried chickens wings from someplace new.

These weren't the best quality wings; but were perfectly fried; moist, light, and crisp. The seasoning was nicely balanced; the wings had just enough salt. Like the fried rice; everyone who tried this, enjoyed it.

The Crispy Pata was very good.

Perfectly fried; very moist, porky, goodness, the seasoned vinegar helped to cut through the richness. Nice crunchy bits….though not as much gooey parts. Still the folks loved it. At one point no one was finishing up the pata…..they thought they'd finished it. I then got my paper towel; put the pata on end; grabbed the spoon, and proceeded to scrape off a pile of meat. I told everyone to finish things up…..I grabbed the bone as the reward and gnawed off all the good parts. Little "ND" cracked up and told me; "you clean the pata like my mom and you eat the bones like my dad." Now talk about a compliment.

Nilagang Baka:

This wasn't a particularly large portion and rather difficult to share for two people as they don't provide adequate spoons…plus we had to ask for bowls.

Still, this was pretty good; especially the meat, which was very beefy and tender. It's not quite as good as the version at Villa Manila; as the broth was on the mild side in regards to beefiness and the sodium level was a bit too high. Still; this was not bad.

Beer Break – We didn't notice the beer list on our first visit. On my second visit, I saw it on the table and took a look….and cracked up. When was the last time I saw Red Horse on tap? It would warm the hearts of my friends "back home" in Hawaii.

Here are the items I'm on the fence about…..

On my second visit; I ordered the Daeng Bangus….the milkfish.

In terms of flavor; this was great; from the vinegar tones, the milkfish had no off flavors. I especially liked the tomato-onion-chili relish; making this more like Daeng na Isda. I wished that this was fried a bit better and the flesh; though tasty was on the dry side.

The Liempo was too much on the burnt side for my taste; making it a bit bitter.

Beyond the charred-bitterness; the texture of the pork belly was quite good; a bit toothsome, but decent.

The pans……

We had high hopes for the Lechon Kawale, but were disappointed.

I will say the lechon sauce was lighter than other versions, but very tasty. The flavor of the pork was swiney goodness. But the skin wasn't prepped correctly and was super hard; most folks didn't even try eating it. It was fried to death and had lost a good amount of moisture in the process. This was a bummer.

When I was told the sisig here used pig ear and head, I was thrilled. I haven't had a good, more traditional sisig since we visited Gapo Resto a few years ago.

That it had the terrible hard lechon kawale in this didn't help…too many hard bits. For some reason this was also quite bland; we ended having to use the vinegar from pata to raise up the flavor. Good Sisig Kapampangan to me should always have combination of crunchy, soft, and chewy bits….this was mostly hard, had no spice in it, and no sour tones.

The worst item I've had at Sarap was the Garlic Rice. I ordered this with the Daeng.

You can tell by the photo. Hard, dry rice; bitter burnt garlic, it was almost inedible. I brought half the daeng and almost all the rice back to the office. Folks would have one spoon of the rice and that's it…… I'm hoping this is just a "one-off".

Overall; I'm glad to have a place like Sarap in the area to go with Mariscos Miramar, giving us two good choices for lunch.

At the end of our last lunch; a very nice older woman came over chatted. I asked about Bicol Express, something specifically mentioned in the Eater post. I was told that the main chef, from the Phillipines, is starting this week. And he is supposed to make a mean Bicol Express. So, it looks like another visit will soon be in the books for me.

I'm hoping they can overcome all the timing and staffing issues before their Grand Opening.

Sarap Filipino Kitchen
7580 Miramar Rd
San Diego, CA 92126
Hours:
Open Daily 11am – 3pm, 5pm – 9pm

Flightseeing and a Glacier Landing (Talkeetna Air Taxi), Talkeetna Roadhouse, and Concsious Coffee

August 17, 2018 mmm-yoso Alaska, Bakery, Travel

***** Not very much food in this one – some lovely photos though. I'll be back tomorrow with another post.

We headed off from our lodge at around 830 in the morning. We had scheduled a "Flightseeing Tour" with a Glacier Landing, another of the Missus's "bucket list" items. We decided to "hoof it" and first find out where the offices of Talkeetna Air Taxi was….it was an interesting walk past the train tracks. The nice folks in the office confirmed that we should report back by at least 10 or so.

What else to do but head into Talkeetna and grab something small (remember, we'd be flying) to eat and perhaps some coffee.

And while we weren't too impressed with our lunch the previous day at Talkeetna Roadhouse, we really enjoyed the bread. So we just bought some scones……the best one was the Jalapeno and Cheese scone which was savory-yeasty-slightly spicy-mildly cheesy goodness.

Talkeetna Roadhouse
13550 E Main St
Talkeetna, AK 99676

Just a few yards away stood Conscious Coffee, and rather busy coffee and crepe shack. We got a couple of Americanos; things take a while here, but you get used to that.

We had our pastries and coffee on the bench out front.

Conscious Coffee
13521 E Main St
Talkeetna, AK 99676

We then headed on over to Talkeetna Air Taxi where things didn't look very good; at least for the Glacier Landing. We decided to just take whatever the Alaskan weather would give us….they say it changes by the minute here. We were also quickly refunded part of our payment. We loved the staff here, they were friendly, and professional. Because of the cloud cover, we were asked to "wait and see". and we just kinda hung out until past noon. Until finally, we were given clearance.

We got on the plane….we'd most likely be doing just flightseeing….which would be fine, Alaska is so lovely.

Then there was a problem with the steering mechanism on the plane. We were picked up on the tarmac and taken to another plane. As much as we loved our previous pilot; she told us she was a mother of two and chatted with each of us before trying to taxi, she had to stick with her aircraft.

Our new pilot was quite friendly and chatty. One of the other folks on the flight is an amateur pilot and was welcomed to take a seat upfront.

And soon we were in the air.

Once you get in the air, you see Alaska, as beautiful as it is, in an even more spectacular way.

I really don't recall the names off all the places; I was just in awe of the majesty and pure beauty of the Alaskan Range.

I do remember a few things….this is the Kalhitna Glacier.

We actually saw folks hiking down from the Denali on the glacier. It was so amazing and humbling.

As you can see; we were lucky; the weather had cleared up, and we were cleared to land on the Pika Glacier. Here's an awesome post on hiking the glacier. The pilot was so skilled; we touched down so gently……and then, we were on the Pika Glacier.

We were told to not wander too far from the place. There were areas where the snow was soft and we'd easily sink up to our knees. My goodness, here we were……another moment for the books. And then it started snowing!

There such an amazing feeling of awe and yet peacefulness…..things are very quiet except for the wind blowing past you.

And here's the photo I want on my tombstone.

One of the guys at work saw this photo and did this…..it cracked me up…..

You gotta love it……

The Missus; who first rode on one of these smaller aircraft for the first time just a few years ago, had a blast….I guess after the Nazca Lines; this was a piece of cake.

Our take-off was just as smooth as landing. When we got back to the Talkeetna Air Taxi Office, we offered to pay back what we were refunded; but they basically told us, "no worries, we hope you enjoyed yourself".

Enjoyed ourselves? Are you kidding?

I often go back and look at these and many other photos from our trip to Alaska. The size and scale of things is amazing, the stark beauty took my breath away. It's an humbling experience.

It may have been another item off the bucket list for the Missus, but it's something I treasure and will never forget.

Thanks for reading!