mmm-yoso – Page 163

Shank & Bone

March 22, 2018 mmm-yoso Asian Fusion/Pacific Rim/Hawaii Style Fusion, Chicken Wings, Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants

I was a bit intrigued when I first read about Shank & Bone opening in North Park. A Vietnamese place in North Park? Though this little phrase in that post caught my attention “traditional, authentic cuisine and flavors of Vietnam". Okay! You know what I think about using the term "authentic" when it comes to a cuisine. But "traditional", I can buy into that. Could it be? I decided to visit a few days after the place opened.

Traditional or not; the interior design of this shop is something to see. From the Shepard Fairey print to the bright colors and clean design.

In the category of "something to see", so are the prices on the menu; especially "that" bowl of pho…..more on that shortly.

I saw Beef Carpaccio ($12) on the menu. So I decided to start with that.

I also saw watercress; so thought the dish was perhaps a cross between Bo Xao Xa Lach Xoong and Bo Tai Chanh. Turns out it was closer to the former. I love watercress, so I enjoyed the veggies, the mint really helped; though the nuoc mam was weak on the fish sauce and too sweet for me. The beef was rolled up into balls, not the most visually appealing presentation. Upon unravelling the protein, I realized how large the four slices were. This was basically repurposing beef sliced for pho. It was a bit too thick for my taste.

Still, not a bad dish.

I also got the "Signature Pho" ($17). The bowl, sans soup was delivered to the table, and the broth poured from a pitcher tableside.

I noticed a couple of things right off. The basil and sprouts, the portion size of which was small, were starting to turn brown. The broth had a nice fat content and was dark brown, but gave off no fragrance. It was pretty weak; very mild beefiness, no anise tones, very little of anything. The noodles were too soft for my taste as well.

The two slices of top round were typical; on the dry side, though the flank and brisket were nicely done.

The biggest disappointments were the oxtail, which needed more cooking time as it was dry and tough, and the bone marrow, which sounds really good in theory, but quickly became a rather unsightly globule of fat in the bowl and for some reason had lost all its flavor.

Not my favorite bowl of pho by any means. And maybe "no MSG" might not be a good thing in this case? And I was left over thirty bucks lighter in the wallet as well.

The staff though, were a joy, very friendly, and just a nice group overall. Dishes did take a while, but I wrote that off to having just opened.

I was on my way back from Northgate Market the next day and decided to take a detour and try a couple of other dishes at S&B.

This time, I was seated at the bar. I looked over the beer, sake, and soju list. S&B does not have cocktail license, but I was intrigued at the "Old Pho-shioned" ($10). Which, while a bit on the lighter side…to be expected, was fairly decent. I enjoyed the anise-clove-burnt orange tones of the drink.

As for food; well, this time I went with the "Saigon Chicken Wings" ($10).

These were smaller sized wings; which I prefer for the skin/batter to meat ratio. The batter was a bit on the hard side and the glaze really, really sweet. The wings were also fried a bit too long as the meat was on the dry side. Not terrible.

I saw Banh Mi Bo Kho ($11) on the menu during my previous visit and was curious about that.

The beef stew, while on the thinner side had a nice amount of fat. The broth, while lacking a good amount of tanginess, had more than enough black pepper and beefy flavor. The beef was nicely done; not mushy and over-cooked, but unlike the oxtail not tough. I could have used more pungent onions and some anise tones in the broth, but this was fine. I also missed not having beef tendon. But this was, by far, the best item I had at Shank & Bone.

I was going to quit while I was ahead. But then I read Kirbie's post on Shank & Bone (please check it out) and there was a dish that caught my attention. So I decided to head on back.

The same great crew were present. I went ahead and ordered a "Plenty for All" and the Banh Xeo Tacos ($11).

This riff on banh xeo uses the "crepe" as the taco "shell". Very nice and creative. The filling is a combination of chopped pork, shrimp, bean sprouts (not enough), and jicama (not enough). It was on the mild side in terms of flavor. and the nuoc mam was low on the fish sauce and much too sweet. I liked the lettuce and mint, but missed the basil and tiet to (purple perilla) which adds a nice citrusy-anise flavor to banh xeo. Also, the crepe shells didn't hold up real well; but had a nice, light crunch while they did.

I needed a companion to my "tacos" and because that was a pretty large fat globule of bone marrow in my pho on my first visit; I decided to try the Roasted Bone Marrow and Banh Mi Crostini's ($13).

This just wasn't a good value as there wasn't very much bone marrow in these rather "skinny" bones. It was all gone with one slice of banh mi. The "chimichurri" had way to much citrus making it too sour….not a great match for bone marrow.

So that's it for Shank & Bone for now. I wish them well, but there's just so many almost $40 dollar solo mediocre lunches and dinners I can take. Still, it's a nice atmosphere, the staff is friendly…..but it's all about the food with me.

Though if you want hipster Vietnamese, well….this just might be the place.

Shank & Bone
2930 University Ave
San Diego, CA 92104
Hours:
Sun – Mon 11am – 9pm
Tues – Sat 11am – 10pm

Clearing Out the Memory Card – More Breakfasts at Aqui es Texcoco

March 21, 2018 mmm-yoso Mexican Restaurants

Just a quick post of the Missus's favorite breakfast spot. We've done so many posts on Aqui es Texcoco over the years. We're usually here early in the morning, when the place looks like this.

And yes; we order the usual suspects.

And while I'm still fairly consistent, or as the Missus says, "boring". She's been changing things up a bit.

Two recent favorites of Hers. The Enchilada Mixto. The Missus usually goes with lamb, pork belly, and beans.

And She's grown rather fond of the Codornices Asadas - Grilled quail.

Of course, She's not able to eat both in one meal; so She'll often get the quail "para llevar" and snack on it later. It's a bit low on the "return on investment" side of things for me, but the Missus enjoys it.

And that's what really matters…….

Aqui Es Texcoco
1043 Broadway
Chula Vista, CA 91911

Kanazawa – Dinner at Iwashigumi, the Sardine Specialist

March 19, 2018 mmm-yoso Japan, Japanese Restaurants, Kanazawa and Ishikawa Prefecture, Seafood, Sushi and Sashimi, Travel

While planning our visit to Kanazawa I cam across an interesting restaurant named Iwashigumi. I first saw photos on Tabelog and was quite intrigued. So I had a friend make reservations for us. We took a nice long stroll down to the Katamachi district, a popular shopping and nightlife area. Iwashigumi is discreetly located fairly close to the main street.

The style is rustic, old school izakaya. I believe you can purchase a red lantern for the wall if you want.

As the name indicates; this place is all about iwashi……sardines. Yep, a restaurant specializing in sardines, everything from iwashi honesenbei to iwashi croquette. The Missus loves sardines (remember Tito 2 in Matoshinos), so She quickly agreed.

The set-up is like a sushi bar, with a few tables to the side. There's a certain charm to this place…..

When you order sake, they bring you a selection of ochoko (sake cups), some of which are rather interesting.

The Missus had sake and I started with some "nama-beeru"….

So, based on some of my previous posts on this trip, you can kind of figure that I just couldn't get enough of honsenbei, fried fish bone ("crackers"). The Missus was totally over it, but humored me ("for one last time").

Crunchy-savory goodness!

First up was the Iwashi-sashimi. You'd think this would be on the "oily" side, but this was very clean tasting.

There was a slight chew; the flavor and texture was reminiscent of Aji (Spanish Mackeral).

The Iwashi Tataki was another refreshing dish.

Nice crunchy vegetables to add contrast to the toothsome fish. Funny, we really didn't need the ginger for both of these dishes.

When we placed our order, we made sure to first request the grilled sardine which takes about 20-30 minutes.

Good salt and crisp skin. This was quite rich and oily, a bit too strong in flavor for the Missus. I did need the oroshi and lemon, to help cut the richness.

The Missus had no such problem with the Iwashi no Mentaiko.

This was our favorite dish of the night. The rich, grilled sardine, met straight up with the briny and spicy cod roe. Salty, but in a good way, this one made our night.

At this point, I needed to help the Missus with Her sake, so I choose the goofiest cup I could find.

Of course one needs rice to complete a meal; so we ordered the Iwashi Oshizushi, which filled us up.

We really enjoyed our meal. The service was friendly and efficient. One of the young ladies spoke pretty good English as well. Along with Kuroyuri, Morimori Sushi, and our breakfasts, Iwashigumi made our trip to Kanazawa a delicious one.

Iwashigumi
1-7-13 Katamachi
Kanazawa, Japan

Side note: While looking for the address, I noticed that Iwashigumi is on Michelin's Bib Gourmand list. Good for them!

We'd done quite a bit on this day, so we caught the bus back to Kanazawa Station and our hotel. I had some time to relax, catch up on emails, and work on a post.

For some reason, I found the taxi queue, and the patterns for determining which cab was up next mesmerizing……

You could say the same about Kanazawa……

Kanazawa – Kenrokuen Garden, Higashi Chaya District, and Lunch at Morimori Sushi (Omi-cho Location)

March 18, 2018 mmm-yoso Japan, Japanese Restaurants, Kanazawa and Ishikawa Prefecture, Sushi and Sashimi, Travel

After a nice respite at Oyama Shrine we headed out, past the city office and art museum, finally coming to the quiet entrance of Kenrokuen Garden.

Declared to be one of the "Three Great Gardens of Japan", we just had to visit. Kenrokuen was once the outer garden of Kanazawa Castle and was built by the Maeda Clan who ruled the area from 1583 to 1871. In 1871 the garden was opened to the public.

This is Hisagoike Pond.

It was pretty mellow; with tourists having a fun time.

Except for the few knuckleheads who walked over partitions and around the ponds and climbed onto structures like Yagao-tei Teahouse which dates back to the 18th century.

Next to Kasumigaike Pond stands the iconic Karasaki Pine.

According to the story the 13th Lord Nariyasu planted the seed from which this tree grew.

There's a nice plum grove. Plum trees start blossoming before cherry blossoms.

Do you know how to tell the difference between plum blossoms and cherry blossoms? Cherry blossoms have a "split" at the end of each petal, while plum blossoms do not.

We had a nice stroll to the other end of the park.

As we headed put the exit and down the hill we saw this beautiful Cherry Blossom tree in bloom. Or was it?

Yep, cherry blossoms…..

The Missus wanted to visit the Higashi Chaya District, so we headed down the hill.

Along the way we saw a shop doing bustling business. Turns out this was the Ishikawa Prefectural Products Center.

There was, of course, gold leaf products everywhere. I ended up buying some food quality gold leaf. We also sampled a bunch of local delicacies and ended up purchasing dried and preserved fish which was mighty delici-yoso!

I was tempted to buy a couple of bottles of "Lame Spray" for some rather "lame" folks I know……they would never figure out that is should be pronounced "lamé". But they really weren't worth the price tag.

Ishikawa Prefectural Products Center
2-20 Kenrokumachi
Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan

We had an uneventful walk to the Asanogawa River.

And crossed over the Asanogawa Ohashi Bridge, arriving at Higashi Chaya, a district full of historic buildings, faux geishas, gold leaf ice cream shops….

It was quite touristy; but in the low-keyed, mellow, Japanese way. And we ended up visiting quite a few shops.

We had a fun time……and it was the little things that seemed to catch our eye…..

We were starting to get hungry. Not sure where to eat, we decided to walk back to Omi-cho market. There was a Kaiten-zushi shop in the market that always seemed to have a line. I'm not big on conveyor belt sushi here in the states. It's usually of very low quality; but heck, if all these Japanese were lining for it…..

We had a wait of about 30 minutes, not bad….though we were fairly hungry.

You can get your sushi two different ways; by grabbing it off the conveyor (of course)…..

Or ordering from the handy-dandy iPad….with English translations as well!

You get tea from the spigot in front of you; the ginger and wasabi are in discreet containers on the table.

The first thing to arrive was the Aji (Spanish Mackeral). I had expected to be a bit underwhelmed. But I was so wrong. The fish was firm, moist, with a hint of oily-sweetness. The ginger helped cut through any richness and the scallions added a nice bit of sweet-pungency.

We picked the "slime meets slime", the lovely "neba neba" Natto and Okra Gunkan sushi off the belt.

This was quite delicious; the rice was so perfect.

The Hamachi was passable if a bit on the dry side. Good fat content though.

We ordered two different version of Negi-toro.

Both were excellent. The quality for the price was amazing. This is what I truly expect to get in a fishmarket.

We got a three piece combo with Hokkaido Uni, O-Toro, and Ama-ebi.

Based on what we had the day before, I expected the shrimp to be fantastic, and it was. But that uni was so briney, with a buttery texture, and that o-toro…..doesn't it look like beef?

We had a o-toro, which was fine….but not nearly as rich and buttery as the o-toro.

More "neba neba" goodness. Squid and Natto. This was so delicious.

Great textural contrast……

We finished things off with Crab and Crab Butter (Kani Miso). Man, this was so wonderfully savory, briney tones, great richness, the crab was tender and sweet.

At this point we'd had enough. You press a button and they calculate your check based on the plates.

The petite Japanese woman sitting next to us ate as much as the both of us and had a tokkuri of sake to boot!

And you knew she was Japanese….she just left her purse by itself, stood up and went to the restroom, which is outside the restaurant. Yes….this is Japan.

When our bill arrived, I looked at it and blurted out "holy crap"! This Missus was startled and thought something was wrong. And no, nothing was wrong, things were so right. You see, the entire meal came to 3300¥, about $31/US. With toro, real crab, amaebi, uni, real wasabi!!! And in Japan, there's no tipping as well.

Morimori Sushi (Omi-cho)
88 Aokusamachi
Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan

Like I always say; in Japan you can eat for 5 dollars or 500 dollars; it's up to you, and most of it is darn good!

Thanks for reading!

Revisits – Prime Grill and Minh Ky

March 17, 2018 mmm-yoso Korean Restaurants, Vietnamese Restaurants

Prime Grill:

I had seen the sign and also read that Prime Grill had gone to an AYCE format; which left me wondering if they had "jumped the shark". A friend of mine wanted to have some Korean BBQ and I wondered, even though Cathy, Ed from Yuma (oh how Ed loved his Korean BBQ), and I shared an excellent meal there a few years back. It's even a favorite of the Missus; who, while not being a big fan of Korean BBQ these days, enjoys other dishes there. I was worried about those as well……

So I dropped by for lunch. And, as you can see, at least for the Dolsot Bi Bim Bap; there's nothing to be worried about.

Fresh, bright, and vibrant colors. That egg yolk hiding under the shredded nori. The big weakness of the usual bi bim ap we have here is the meat; but it was nicely grilled this time around. While waiting for that nice crust to develop.

Waiting allowed me to go through the panchan. Which was not quite what I had enjoyed here in the past; especially the baechu kimchi (napa cabbage), which really lacked that fermented finish I enjoy.

And while the panchan wasn't up to snuff, I noticed that Prime Grill still has their "prime grade" items ala carte, separate from the AYCE. So, I'd probably be dropping by for Korean BBQ with my buddy; though I'll probably put off the Yukhoe until later.

Prime Grill
4620 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

Minh Ky:

I mentioned needing to revisit Minh Ky in my last post on Tim Ky a week or so ago. This morning's wet and blustery weather was the perfect for that revisit.

So here's the Beef Sate Egg Noodle – Dry.

Man, this was even better than recalled. The egg noodles weren't over-cooked and still had a nice stretch. The sate sauce here is full of shallots and onion; it's has a bit more savory "umph" than the version at Tim Ky. The meat is also more tender, though I thought the broth during my last visit to Tim Ky was better than on this visit. While in need of a bit of spiciness, this was definitely good.

The portion size was quite generous; especially since this is still $6.75. Hard to believe I've been coming here for over twelve years now. And yes; that parking lot is every bit a horrible as it was a dozen years ago. But it ain't so bad at 830 on a Saturday morning.

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

Santa Barbara – Stearns Wharf and Lunch at Barbareño

March 16, 2018 mmm-yoso American/New American Restaurants, Gastropub, Road Trip, Sandwiches, Santa Barbara County

We had driven up to Santa Barbara to relax and enjoy ourselves. It was a bit on the warm side when we visited, but we had really enjoyed the previous afternoon and especially dinner at Yoichi's. On this day; well, I made dinner reservations, but not much else. We woke and decided to drive down to Stearns Wharf; tourist central. But during this time of the morning, it was so peaceful.

Looking around; it's obvious why visitors love the wharf; built in 1872, it was at that time the longest wharf south of San Francisco and North of San Pedro. And the views are lovely.

And on this bright and sunny day, sans the crowds, we got a chance to notice things…..

As we were leaving a vintage car club drove up to the wharf and parked. I loved the license plate on this one……

A lovely visit on a relaxed morning……

We decided to drive around a bit and visited the Santa Barbara Public Market, Gelsons, and Whole Foods. Not very inspiring, but it was a nice way to kill time.

When lunch came around, we parked at where we were staying and decided to walk down to a place on my list, Barbareño. Which was a rather hot and sweaty one mile walk down De La Vina Street. The place only served lunch in the outdoor area, with a limited menu.

Our Server, who was obviously a college student was very friendly, efficient, and really knew the menu. I'm not sure if it's because of the clientele, but the staff at restaurants in SB, really knew their stuff.

I ordered a Tri-Tip sandwich, Brussel sprouts, and "Animal Potatoes" for the Missus and I. I happened to mention that we'd be sharing the sandwich. And when it arrived, we were pleasantly surprised to see that they had split it for us!

This was a perfectly serviceable tri-tip, moist and decently tender, good smokiness, with a pico de gallo type relish and good amount of cilantro. A nice yeasty roll and this was quite good. Don't get me wrong, this ain't Firestone Grill, but it was enough.

It came with a arugula salad.

The Brussel sprouts looked good, but were on the mushy side and a bit too sweet for us. The Missus really enjoyed the Animal Potatoes, the cheddar cheese added a nice saltiness, the caramelized onions a decent sweetness, and the Thousand Island Dressing……not the Missus's favorite, but I enjoyed the creamy-richness it added. The potatoes were nicely crisp on the exterior; though a bit hard in texture.

I don't think Barbareño is serving lunch anymore….too bad, because this was rather nice.

Barbareño
205 W Canon Perdido St
Santa Barbara, CA 93101

What wasn't nice was wanting a nap and having to walk that mile back to where we were staying…..though we did eventually get that nap.

Thanks for stopping by!

Montreal – Jean-Talon Market and Schwartz’s Deli

March 15, 2018 mmm-yoso Canada, Canada Food and Restaurants, Diner, Markets & Grocers, Memorable Meals, Montreal, Sandwiches, Travel

I knew we needed some exercise after our zillion calorie meal at Au Pied de Cochon. So I had planned on hoofing it up to Jean Talon Market but it was drizzling so we decided to catch the metro instead. When we arrived the place was pretty much deserted.

It was pretty quiet and we weren't going to be doing any self-catering during our last evening in Montreal, so we just kind of wandered around.

Nothing caught our fancy, so we decided to head on back to Mount Royal area.

Jean-Talon Market
7070 Henri Julien Ave.
Montreal, QC H2S 3S3, Canada

It was a pretty good walk.

There are some pretty interesting buildings in the area, like this one.

I couldn't figure out what it was, so when we returned I looked up the address and it's named Musée des pompiers de Montréal. It's the firefighters museum; which is only open on Sundays from 130pm to 4pm.

It was still a bit early for our lunch destination, so we decided to grab a cup of coffee and relax. We found this very modern-hipsterish looking shop named Dispatch Coffee.

I got some espresso and they served it up right….with sparkling water.

Dispatch Coffee
4021 Boulevard Saint-Laurent
Montreal, QC H2W 1Y4, Canada

By this time our early lunch destination was ready for business.

I'd heard countless times that you "need" to go to Schwartz's when in Montreal. It's an iconic purveyor of Montreal smoked meat….don't be calling it pastrami in MTL. While similar in in terms of being seasoned, cured, and smoked, classic pastrami is made with beef navel, the front or "ventral" part of the beef plate. Montreal smoked meat like corned beef is made with the brisket. You can read more about the differences at a load of sites; some of them humorously opinionated. I was here to eat.

One quick thing about Schwartz's. You'll see the opening hours listed as 8am; you can get stuff next door to go at that time. But if you want "hot meat", you'll have to wait until 1030.

We got in right at 1030 and sat at the counter. The young man who served us was great; friendly, helpful, in that truly Canadian way.

The place filled up pretty quickly.

The young man pointed out that the "classic" Schwartz's combo was a Smoked Meat Medium Fat, Fries, Dill Pickle, and a Cherry Soda……we got fifty percent of that, the dill pickled, crisp, nicely balanced in flavor and the Smoked Meat Sandwich Medium Fat (9.75 CAD – about $7.40/US !!!). We watched with anxious anticipation as the meat for our sandwich was hand cut.

Man, this was good!

It's not very often that a place delivers on all the hype and expectations. Schwatrz's did this and more. From the surprisingly tender and moist texture, to the balanced seasoning, not too salty, but with more "umph" than most pastrami sandwiches I've had, the wonderful savory tones really shone. The bread was soft, but stood up well to the pastrami with the flavor of caraway, that malty-nutty-spiciness, bringing things together. The mustard added just enough acidic-pungency to cut any richness.

The Missus is still talking about this sandwich.

There was a line forming outside the deli as we left. I can see why…..

Schwartz’s Deli
3895 Boulevard Saint-Laurent
Montreal, QC H2W 1X9, Canada

A while not everyone would agree, I'd say Schwartz's really delivered. We left, satisfied and not stuffed, just perfectly happy.

Turo Turo Tuesday – R&B Filipino Cuisine Revisited

March 13, 2018 mmm-yoso Filipino Restaurants, Sisig

Here's the last of my posts on the four turo turo places in Mira Mesa. I often say that for most of these type of places timing is everything. Though for all except Mama Cinia I visited at what I consider a pretty good time; right before 11 am.

This might have been my lucky day as it looked like all the lunch items were just coming out.

As per my M.O., I got the sisig and beef kaldereta…..and much like other places, the friendly woman behind the counter laughed when I asked for "half the rice". It was still more than I could finish.

The beef kaldereta was actually still fairly hot when I got back to the office and the slices of rather lean beef was surprisingly tender. Though it was on the greasy side and in need of more onion, garlic, bay leaf, and some acidity. It was also on the thin side; perhaps in need of liver spread?

The sisig was much better than what I had on my last visit. This time it was decently sour, had enough onions, and the lechon kawale wasn't "petrified". Alternating moist and crunchy bits. I still think they chop it much to coarsely here and it could use a bit more spice. But this was pretty good overall.

Even the rice was decent.

Chalk one up for R&B, the best of the four……..for now.

R & B Filipino Cuisine
11257 Camino Ruiz
San Diego, CA 92126

Mi Quang Mien Trung

March 12, 2018 mmm-yoso Bun Bo Hue, Vietnamese Restaurants

**** Mi Quang Mien Trung has closed

I'm sure folks who read our humble little blog knew that I just had to check out Mi Quang Mien Trung when they finally opened in the old Da Nang Food To Go location. I was even more fascinated when the folks at Mien Trung told me they were not affiliated. So, two weekends ago, I drove on up to City Heights fairly early in the morning to find the place open.

I found some parking close by and walked in. Well, the place was half full! All old-timers…I guess I'm one "of them" these days, huh?

The menu is fairly tight, a good 20 items, Canh Bun, Bun Bo Hue, Banh Beo, Com Am Phu ("Hell Rice"), and of course the namesake Mi Quang ($8.50). Which is, of course what I ordered.

But first….some fairly decent tea….

I have to say, they've got the presentation done pat….this looked wonderful.

You have to love the vibrant colors and the symphony of textures; the peanuts, the crisp and sparkling veggies, the perfectly cooked, legit tumeric colored noodles. The shrimp, head and tail removed, but with the shell left on (yes!), was fresh, flavorful, and moist. I took a sip of the broth; in typical style, this had less than a cup of broth…..and how does that sound go? "moah-moah-moah……." It was so watery and tasteless; no porkiness or flavor of dried shrimp, or shallot. And that radioactive looking pork was dry and tasteless.

Man, it had started so well, and looked so vibrant. But in the end it was a bit of a let down. I'm not one who is just happy to "have something available". I'm hoping for better next time I have this here….

While eating, I noticed all the old-timers were eating the same thing. So the following weekend I headed back up to have the……

Bun Bo Hue ($8.50).

I was again taken by how lovely the bowl of soup and especially the bright and crisp veggies looked.

The noodles were cooked just perfectly and his was such a hearty and hot bowl of soup.

The broth had a nice mild porkiness, with a hint of onion/shallot, a touch of funkiness, however……

Yes…however….it lacked spiciness and that nice aromatic lemongrass flavor. Not enough annatto oil to give it that Bun Bo Hue "look" as well. It wasn't bad, but it didn't strike me as really being bun bo hue. The fermented shrimp and chili paste did help.

The pork hock was one pretty large slice of chewy-gelatinous goodness. The slices of beef and especially tendon were really rustic and thick……even chewier than Mien Trung's version. I really kind of enjoyed it in this framework.

To be perfectly honest, I might like this version more than what Hoai Hue offers, which I think is a bit on the overly sweet and lacks spice.

The gentleman working here is very mellow. I don't think the food is bad at all and will try out some other items in the future. It's nice to have places like this and Phuong Nga 2 opening up. It just makes "noodling around" that much more fun. Check them out and let me know what you think!

Mi Quang Mien Trung
4745 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA 92115
Hours:
Wed – Mon 8am – 8pm
Closed on Tuesdays

Roadtrip – Xiang Yuan Gourmet (Temple City)

March 11, 2018 mmm-yoso Asian Fusion/Pacific Rim/Hawaii Style Fusion, Chinese Restaurants, Dim Sum, Los Angeles County, Road Trip

**** Xiang Yuan has closed

**** Xiang Yuan no longer serves Dim Sum

We had one stop to plan on our way back from Santa Barbara last year. The Missus really wanted dim sum. And naturally, Sea Harbour came to mind. But I wanted to try something different. And after showing the Missus a couple of blog posts, I talked Her into stopping at Xiang Yuan Gourmet. The Missus was somewhat skeptical since "Xiang" basically means Hunan.

Still we made the drive to Temple City, to a portion of Las Tunas Drive that I don't think I've ever been to.

The restaurant is clean and modern and was totally empty during our entire visit.

The service was quite good…..and very efficient, though I guess being the only customers might not be the best gauge of that. It seems that the menu serves dim sum during the day, with the Hunan menu coming into play for dinner.

The menu did indeed feature some interesting nouveau style dim sum items.

We ordered some of our favorites, along with some interesting items I'd seen on other blog posts.

Crystal Shrimp Har Gow.

The shrimp were very moist and plump, with a nice "shrimpiness". The wrapper was a bit too think for my liking. I think that the version at Sea Harbour is better than this.

We both enjoyed the nice "pull" of the wrappers on the Vegetarian Dumplings.

The filling had a nice combination of textures and was pretty tasty overall. Surprising for a vegetable based dumpling.

I usually enjoy Chiu Chow Dumplings and this was no exception.

The wrappers, while on the thick side, weren't too gummy, the ingredients, peanuts, chives, mushroom, shrimp, all worked together well. Very balanced.

We also ordered this….

To translate, least you think we're one "k" away from skunk. Bean Curd Skin Roll with Cordyceps Flower.

The broth was delicious, and not overly medicinal. The bean curd skin was nice and crunchy, though the roll was on the bland side.

Turnip Cake is a must order item for the Missus.

Nicely studded with Chinese Sausage, this was very soft. It doesn't hold a candle to the version with XO Sauce at Sea Harbour. The Missus said that She enjoys what I make at home more than this.

The last three items that came out were the one's we were really interested in trying.

The Mushroom Bun……really looks like a mushroom.

The dough was a perfect combination of soft-fluffy, while still having a slight chew and not overly sweet. The filling of mushroom and bamboo shoots had a perfect savory flavor, with just the right amount of crunch from the bamboo shoots and carrots, which added a touch of sweetness as well. My favorite item of the day.

The Crispy Bamboo Shoot Paste Balls really make an impression.

They arrive looking like carrots….I'm not sure why, there's no carrot in this. The exterior is said to be made from bamboo shoot paste, which reminded me of exterior of glutinous rice dumplings. It was overly sweet and chewy for our tastes and the amount of salted egg filling just didn't stand up to the sweetness.

Ever since first having Durian Pastry almost eleven years ago at Elite Restaurant, I always have to try it if it's on the menu. The version here is quite nice, if not as visually appealing as the previous two dishes.

The crust is fairly light, the filling thicker than other versions, but very tasty and not too sweet. As a bonus there's a slice of durian along one edge of the pastry. Very nice in a mildly savory-not overly sweet-custardy kind of way. I'd gladly have this again. Another winner.

The Missus really enjoy this meal. In fact, She told me that we should return as soon as we are able to.

In fact, She told me that "this might now be my favorite dim sum restaurant". I'm not sure. I think I still prefer Sea Harbour. I'm going to need several revisits to both. You know; for research purposes……

Xiang Yuan Gourmet
9556 Las Tunas Dr
Temple City, CA 91780