mmm-yoso – Page 187

COMC: Paris – Restaurant David Toutain

February 7, 2017 mmm-yoso Fine Dining, France, French Restaurants, Paris, France, Travel

I had made plans after we'd done quite a bit of walking and of course shopping during the day. We'd already done nearly 12 miles and would end up at nearly 15. Of course there was the requisite nap and taking a leisurely walk before dinner.

It is indeed the city of light, regardless of what the true story behind that nickname.

Just take a look at Invalides, lights shining brightly even on a foggy night like this.

We meandered our way to our dining destination; Restaurant David Toutain in Arrondissement 7. I picked David Toutain because of the namesake's innovation and skill, especially with vegetable dishes, something the Missus is leaning toward these days. I thought I'd save the heavier and more traditional dishes for Burgundy, where we were headed in the morning. I'm not going to make this a very long post, as while we really enjoyed this meal, and found a wine that we kept searching for throughout Beaune and Burgundy, a fabulous and amazing white from the Domaine Alain Gras in Saint Romain (we even went to the Domain), this meal was over shadowed with an amazing meal from Sola that we'd have on the way back.

Still, that is not to say the meal wasn't innovative, starting with the amazing combination of Salsify with White Chocolate.

Earthy tones with a very mildly sweet and creamy "dip".

It was a show of creativity and the presentation was quite interesting.

This brioche was addictive…..

An interesting variety of textures and techniques; a bit of molecular gastronomy here and there.

Yes, there was quinoa, fried, airy pork skin, thin slices of walnut…..

And one spectacular piece of Cod, that had the Missus and I staring at each other. The texture was so decadent and buttery; I'm thinking this was sous-vide.

We're still talking about how amazing the fish in this dish was…..

Another fantastic dish was the Smoked Eel in Black Sesame; not something I'd generally think would go well together.

But the strong, smoky flavor of the eel really stood up well to the powerful nutty flavor of black sesame. The toothsome texture of the fish and the thick sauce complimented each other as well.

At the end, there was dessert…..a lot of dessert…..

The Entremets (palate cleansing course) was another amazing combination of flavors that worked together; Cauliflower Puree with White Chocolate and Coconut Ice Cream.

Dessert is of course, the Missus's thing and She really enjoyed Herself.

I thought the presentation of the Churros was a bit much…..

The staff here was amazing; professional yet friendly and warm. When the Sommelier noticed we enjoyed the Alain Gras so much, he gave us a second glass, and then matched it flawlessly with a few other dishes to display the fine range of the wine. The actual restaurant is quite discreet, no big signs, just a simple "DT" carved in the doorway.

While I'm not sure we'll be back soon; I'm glad we had the experience.

Restaurant David Toutain
29 Rue Surcouf
75007 Paris, France

We walked back to our hotel, quite happy with our time in Paris. Heck, even the Eiffel Tower surrounded by fog looks quite romantic, don't you think?

Beauty Hunan Restaurant – A First Look

February 6, 2017 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants

**** Beauty Hunan has closed

I mentioned in an earlier post that "Beauty Hunan" had quietly opened in the former Szechuan Taste spot.

Except for some additional decorative lamps and paintings of Biàn Liǎn, those "face changing" masks, the place looks the same as on my last visit. Though, those masks are usually found in Sichuan…..so maybe they were just leftover from the previous restaurant?

Speaking of Sichuan….the menu has a mixture of Sichuan, Hunan, some oddball dishes like Lion's Head Meatballs and Egg Foo Young (?!?), and a whole column of totally "ABCDE" (American-Born-Chinese-Dining-Establishment) dishes.

Go figure. There's one soft-spoken, sweet young lady who works here, but everyone….I counted a total of 9 staff on one of my visits is very nice.

On my first visit; a solo affair, I waned two dishes. I went down looking for typical Hunan dishes and they were out of just about everything. I did get something with La Rou. Though it wasn't my favorite La Rou with Suan Do (or even the three smoked meats – La Wei He Zheng ) which is on the menu, but a version with dried bamboo shoots.

In terms of flavor this was much better than what I've had from Village Kitchen. And while some of the pork was on the chewy side, the flavor was spot on; smoky-salty, the rehydrated bamboo crunchy. Peasant food, I took this home and it reminded the Missus of Her grandparents in Hunan…..a bit of salty, slightly spicy La Rou with a lot of rice. The spice level left something to be desired….though we tend to enjoy the heat level at places like Hunan Chilli King.

So I had worked my way through some of the dishes and struck out; so the nice young lady told me to order something called "Pork Belly w/ Preserved Napa in Brown Sauce" ($11.65). Not sure what this was going to be; I chuckled when it arrived at the table….it was Mei Cai Kou Rou; which, correct me if I'm wrong, is more of Hakka dish.

There was one thing fairly true to the Hunan taste. This lacked any sweetness at all. Not much saltiness either….just kind of bland and the mei cai was too hard a chewy. The pork belly had been done decently, it was "chopstick tender", but this was quite bland for my taste. I thought that even Facing East made a superior version of this dish.

Anyway, I took the Smoked Pork dish home and the Missus really enjoyed the left-overs, so not feeling like cooking one evening, we headed back. Looking over the menu for dishes we struck out again. The Missus wanted some Liang Cai – cold dishes, and it was no Bueno; no pork ear, chicken feet, duck tongue….so we ended up with a total routine Bean Curd Skin.

Basically bean curd skin, nice and crunchy, in a decent Chili Peppercorn Oil. Though this tasted like something I'd make at home.

We tried to order the La Rou with Dry Beans again, but still no Bueno and got the version with bamboo, which ironically, is not on the menu.

We wanted a vegetable dish, but after trying a couple of items from the menu that wasn't available; we got the Leek with Shredded Lotus Root ($8.65).

We both enjoyed this simple dish; the lotus root nice and crunchy, though the pungent chives gives the Missus heartburn. I'll probably end up making something similar at home in the near future.

One weekend afternoon, needing a late lunch; like 230pm, Village North was closed so we decided to head back to Beauty Hunan. Where we tried for the Smoke Pork with Dry Beans again….and again ended up with the version with Dried Bamboo, which the Missus enjoyed anyway.

Looking at the menu, I noticed something called "Preserved Egg and Eggplant with Jalapeno" ($11.65). I asked the Missus and She said that yes indeed, this is the same dish that we enjoy at Village Kitchen. Hmmm….I'm wondering…..

This was a fairly large portion size, and while spicier than the version at Village Kitchen, it is not as well executed. Not nearly as creamy, some of the pieces of eggplant were huge and not as tender, and without that nice earthiness of the eggplant and light sulfuric touch of the preserved egg.

Pretty much at a lost, we decided to just get the Dry Cooked Pork Intestine ($12.65) which was much to salty and not very spicy.

The intestine was not cleaned very well and was too rubbery and we did without a doubt miss the "ma" (numbing) sensation of the Sichuan version of this dish. We did enjoy the Chinese celery in this, but that's about it.

So, I'm not sure if or when Beauty Hunan will have it's full on menu. right now it's a "one-trick-pony" for us. The customer demographic is kind of interesting; a lot of guys ordering the "ABC" dishes during my lunch visits, interspersed with young folk ordering stuff like the Dry Pot items. We thought the service was nice, not perfect, but really nice young folk. I'm not sure when I'll be back for a full meal….though I think the Missus is going to want the La Rou from here…..in whatever form the have it.

Beauty Hunan Restaurant
8199 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92111

Lima – Cevicheria Bam Bam

February 2, 2017 mmm-yoso Lima, Peru, Peruvian Restaurants, Seafood, Travel

The recent sunny, post storm(s) weather had me thinking about Lima again. And then I realized; man, I better finish up those posts.

So what to do after having sanguches de chicharron for breakfast, then walking the pork off at Mercado de Surquillo? Well, if you're with the Missus, you'd understand that She'd be wanting more cebiche. There's a shop in the back of the Mercado that I'd heard about named Bam Bam. And upon finding the little shop; it became apparent that Gaston Acurio likes the place as well.

The place was just opening when we arrived and we had no problem getting seats at one of the tables. The woman who served us was nice and professional; though the chips and the canchita tasted like they were mass produced. Still, we weren't here for those items; we wanted some cebiche and perhaps tiradito….and heck this place is known for the conchas negras, so why not get the combination?

Which is precisely what we did. Not being super hungry, we decided on splitting this; just getting a taste of four different items.

The best by far was the conchas negras; the perfect texture, toothsome, but not tough, the bitterness of the clams muted, with the brininess just perfect, nice acidity, the onions adding just enough pungency. This was very, very good.

The cebiche classico was next.

A nice rendition, we still prefer the version at El Veridico de Fidel, but this was solid; balanced acidity in the leche de tigre, the fish perhaps a bit too stringy for my taste, but a nice even flavor. And of course; the Missus can never get enough choclo.

That scallop in the cebiche mixto was delicious and the texture of the squid was amazing.

But the leche de tigre here just wasn't enough and this came off as being strangely mutes in taste. I even think it could have used some salt….more acidity. But the textures of everything except the shrimp, was fantastic.

I found the fish did much better texture-wise in the tiradito, but found the aji amarilla based sauce to be too thin.

It seemed like the basic house leche de tigre with some aji amarilla paste in it. This could have used a bit more oomph.

While we preferred this to La Mar and Punto Azul, it lagged behind El Veridico de Fidel in our minds. I'd still eat here again in a heartbeat…..man the conchas negras…I've never had them taste so good and the texture so perfect.

Cevicheria Bam Bam y Sus Conchas Negras
Jr. Luis Varela y Orbegozo 213
Lima, Peru

In he mood for taking a nice long walk before our standard afternoon nap; we walked all the way from Surquillo back to Parque de Alfredo Salazar.

And while it turned out that we preferred the newish Courtyard by Marriott to our previous favorite place to stay in Miraflores, the JW Marriott, we still enjoyed the vibe around here.

From checking out Larcomar…..

To the views of the Pacific.

It's just that Miraflores "thing" I guess…..

Thanks for reading!

Revisits – Villa Manila and the Missus’s Favorite Poke Spot (It’s Zarlitos!)

February 1, 2017 mmm-yoso Breakfast/Brunch, Filipino Restaurants, Poke

A couple of revisits for you.

During the short week between Christmas and New Year, I decided to take Calvin and JohnF out for lunch. We usually eat along the rather close confines of Kearny Mesa….but this was the Holiday Season, so why not relax a bit (even though they had to stay at work even longer on this day)? John is from NorCal and Filipino…..the big joke with him is that when it comes to food, he says, I'm "more Filipino" than he is. He is also a pretty big eater, so I thought a visit to Villa Manila would be fun.

Ordering was to the point; bagoong rice (sorry no photo, though JohnF said his wife loved the leftovers), and of course Crispy Pata (a small portion).

From the looks I didn't think this was going to be as good as previous versions I've had here. But man, this was worth the "meat sweats". The skin was crisp, all that gelatinous goodness was there, the meat was moist, what more could you ask for?

I had to order the Bicol Express….which is not quite what is used to be.

There's not quite the same amount of bagoong alamang, so the flavor while still on the salty side, doesn't have as much of that savory finish. The pork is still tender, though the portion size has gotten smaller.

And then there is the Nilagang Baka, the beef shank soup. Calvin, whose Missus is Vietnamese really enjoyed the beefiness of the broth. You should have seen the look on his face when they came to refill the broth!

Overall, still a nice meal. Even though VM is not quite what it was before.

Villa Manila
500 East 8th Street
National City, CA 91950

**** Bummer; Zarlitos no longer serves poke

So, the Missus didn't believe me when I said that Zarlitos made some decent poke. But an interesting thing happened. During the nice Bitter Brothers Anniversary dinner, Candice mentioned the poke at Zarlitos to the folks sitting with us. Turns out it was Keoni Simmons (and yes, his dad is from Hawaii), who confirmed my belief that the poke Zarlitos makes is legit. And so that conversation with the Missus went on as we headed to Hogetsu Bakery. So She relented and we decided on stopping at Zarlitos.

Where she proceeded to eat a pound of poke. Now, even though I make Spicy Tuna Poke for the Missus, I'm not a big fan. The Missus enjoyed the version here.

First off, the quality of the fish is decent, no fibrous "suji". I think this would do fairly well "back home". These days, I put a bit of wasabi in my spicy tuna poke and that's what the Missus was missing….no major complaints on this though.

The Limu poke was a bit more problematic. The fish was of decent quality, but there was too much sesame oil in this…and yes, it wasn't salty enough…when was the last time I mentioned something not having enough NaCl?

Also, this version of "limu" poke used wakame….I mean, really? Even Poke Etc down the street used Limu Kohu. Still, this was much better than those "Chi-Poke" places that have sprung up everywhere.

Of course the Missus needed some rice; so I ordered the Longsilog.

Which was passable.

In the end, while it's not Tanioka's, Fresh Catch, Suisan, or Ono Seafood, it'll do until we get back home again…..hopefully soon.

Zarlitos Family Restaurant
505 East 8th St.
National City, CA 91950

Village North Restaurant Revisited

January 30, 2017 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants

**** Village North has closed

Almost two months since I first visited Village North, it remains a somewhat quirky enigma. I've visited and they've been closed….seems they are closed on Tuesdays. They don't have hours formally posted…..just scribbled on the portable grease board. And what's with the "Soft Opening" sign still up? I asked if they were still in their soft opening period and got an interesting answer; seems that their permanent sign hasn't arrived yet….so they are still air quotes, in "soft opening" mode.

Still, I really like the young folks who work here….they are friendly and very nice. And the décor is no shrinking violet; though the Chinese Rap music can be a bit much and there was the time one of the guys was on the small stage trying out VR gear.

After having me pick-up the Suan Cai Hot Pot to go a couple of times, the Missus finally decided we should drop by for dinner.

Which turned out to be a nice meal. This time we ordered the Stir Fried Version of Suan Cai and Pork; simply called "Sour Cabbage" ($12.99) on the menu.

Man, this was good. The textures and seasoning; with garlic and star anise was just the way the Missus likes this dish. It was pleasantly slightly gooey and comforting. These guys really know how to stir fry. The Missus had a new second favorite.

I say second favorite because She really enjoyed the Pork Intestines in Dry Pot ($12.99).

I really hesitated in ordering any Sichuan here; but man, this was really good. Every ingredient had been nicely prepped and seasoned separately. The intestine had been expertly cleaned and even had that inner "fatty" layer. I've never had them ask me "how spicy" here; something I like and respect. This was nicely "ma-la". The Missus immediately said that this was a level above Sizzling Pot King in prep and execution. I've now had this a couple of times with other folks and they all agree; this version is quite good.

Lily and I decided to take "YZ" out for a celebratory lunch and they (as usual) let me pick. My choice….Village North. We had some of the usual suspects; but also ordered a couple of more traditional Dongbei style dishes. Starting with one of the classic dishes; Dongbei La Pi; mung bean sheets in sort of a salad, Multicolor Clear Noodle ($11.99) on the menu.

Again very nice prep; everything from the thinly sliced vegetables to the pork and egg was seasoned separately. The dressing; a sesame paste black vinegar concoction; with a touch of wasabi tasted like a lighter version of what I make at home; though without as much sesame paste. It's a nice combination of nutty-sour-sweet. Pretty good overall; this will go well during hotter weather.

We also tried something simply called "Stewed Assorted Delicacies" ($18.99 – 农家一锅鲜) on the menu.

Basically a dish of stewed/braised pork ribs; which is then stir fried with corn, potatoes, and green bell peppers. This wasn't very good; it was basically too salty; the pork ribs were on the tough side. The best items were the corn and potatoes.

Still we'd had some of the other dishes and both Lily and "YZ" really enjoyed things….especially the suan cai.

Hearing that this place had the Missus's approval; my "Food Gang" decided we should have dinner here. We ordered a bunch of stuff I'd had from previous meals; the suan cai, intestine dry pot, guo bao rou, di san Xian, and a couple of new ones. Our young server recommended something simply called "Flank Steak" ($15.99) on the menu. It arrived looking all the world like Chinese Black Pepper Beef.

The was another winner. The beef wasn't tender per se; it was toothsome without being tough, with a nice display of the stir fry skills, which in this case seems to be velveting.

We also ordered some chuan'r (skewers), which were fairly sub-par.

The lamb really needed much more cumin….the mantou….was topped with sugar…if this were Beijing; I think it would be brushed with a sweet bean sauce. I know this is what Xiāngjiāo was hoping for. Alas, it was not to be.

During one of my take-out visits; the really nice young man who works here named "Victor" told me his favorite item on the menu was the Fried Shrimp with Dried Red Pepper ($14.99). So when I recently dropped by for lunch; I ordered it.

This was pretty good; crunchy shells, the whole numbing-hot ("ma-la") thing going on. Nicely prepared….like I said…these guys do real well with a wok.

Though in terms of seasoning; the Zi Ran Yang Rou – Cumin Lamb ($14.99) left much to be desired in terms of cumin-spicy-salty tones.

So, in the end, we have a nice new option. I'm still not quite sure of everything on the menu…….but perhaps that's the fun of exploring. I think there are dishes on the menu to entice the beer-drinking, young crowd…..but then again, there's some serious cooking skills on display with some of the dishes.

Village North
4428 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

Sunday Stuffs – Szechuan Taste is now Beauty Hunan Restaurant and FuAn Garden becomes Hui An Garden

January 29, 2017 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants

Seems that the Kearny/Clairemont Mesa area has been a hot spot for changes recently. Here are two more switcheroo's.

Szechuan Taste is now Beauty Hunan Restaurant:

I never really had much luck with Szechuan Taste and gave up on the place after a couple of tries. So I wasn't really surprised to see a change when I went to check out what was happening in the old Do Re Mi house location. A day later "Cathy" sent me a text with a photo. I guess she passed by and noticed the change as well.

So it's now "Beauty Hunan"…..interesting……I'll report back soon.

Beauty Hunan Restaurant
8199 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92111

FuAn Garden becomes Hui An Garden:

I almost missed this one while driving by. I did a double take; and yes, it seems the ill fated FuAn Garden has changed yet again.

Hmmm……

Hui An Garden Restaurant
4768 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

Never a dull moment on "the 'Mesas" it seems.

Noodling Around – Revisits to Green China Grill and Pho Kitchen

January 24, 2017 mmm-yoso Bun Bo Hue, Chinese Restaurants, Vietnamese Restaurants

All this rainy weather meant…..well lots of noodle soup. Here's a short round-up of revisits.

Green China Grill:

Heavy drops were coming down and I was dodging pot holes on Convoy. I just decided to give up and turned into ever evolving Plaza del Sol (BTW Tasty Pot is now open). It had been over a year since my last visit to Green China Grill, so I decided to drop in. Looking at the dining area; this place should be called blinding green China grill. I was the first to arrive but withi minutes, the dining area started filling up. That woman sitting with a group seems really familiar too.

They now have a rather large menu with grilled items; various noodles, liang cai (cold dishes), and even yang rou pao mo? Go figure…. I went with the Beef Noodle Soup with Sour Cabbage ($9.99).

Man, that broth was blasting hot, which was good thing on a cold and rainy day. It was also deceivingly spicy and was quiet numbing (ma) as well. The amount of MSG has been toned down a bit since my previous visits; though I think it could still use a bit more beefiness. The preserved vegetable was your basic standard issue xue cai; like what you get at T&L. The noodles were nice a slippery; but is still missing that little bit of pull I enjoy in good "Lamian" (牛大碗). It has gotten better though.

The soup warmed me up and the spice had gotten the endorphin thing going and a nice sheen on my forehead. From that point of view, the noodle soup did its job. I need return more often.

Green China Grill
4688 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111
Open Wed – Mon 1130am – 3pm, 5pm – 9pm

Pho Kitchen:

Last week it was raining cats and dogs….and I almost stepped into poodle! Ok, not funny….though that one is so bad the guys at work cracked up. I really didn't want to head out too far, so I decided to check into Pho Kitchen to see how they were doing.

The kids who work here are really nice. Looking over the menu I noticed they had Bun Bo Hue….hmmm….what the heck; it was pouring outside. I went with the "regular" ($8) bowl of Bun Bo Hue.

Pho shop BBH is a crapshoot and I let out a sigh when the typical pho sprouts and basil arrived…..

And just as quickly, they were removed from the table and replaced with this….ooh psych!

Purple cabbage? Not quite legit, but better than what it replaced.

So what to say? There was lots of shredded lemongrass, though not too much of that flavor in the broth. You could make out the slight, funky taste of mam nem, which added a bit of savories to things. The spice was pretty basic, all front of mouth heat. At least it was steaming hot. The noodles were done adequately, though for once there didn't seem to be enough of it in this bowl. The meat was quite good. The thick cut beef shank had excellent flavor and there was a good amount of it, the tendon was decent as well. Nice thing about the pork hock; they'd removed the bones for easy eating. Though sometimes sucking on that bone is one of the best things about a bowl of BBH.

While not terrible, in terms of spicy, sour, salty, savory, and sweet flavors this was kind of lacking. I'll stick with the Pho next time.

Pho Kitchen
5375 Napa St
San Diego, CA 92110
Open Daily 11am – 9pm

The Bitter Brothers Annversary Family Dinner

January 23, 2017 mmm-yoso Beer, Fine Dining, Pubs and Pub Grub

*** Bitter Brothers has closed

I've been asked a couple of times why I don't give "more love" to my neighborhood? To be perfectly honest, I hadn't been too inspired by places in my neck of the woods. But over the last year and a half or so; things have changed for the better…who'd have thunk that we'd go out for a New Years dinner; a tasting menu even….right down the street. So when Candice mentioned that Bitter Brothers was having an Anniversary Dinner; I decided to go for it. And I'm glad I did as it was quite an enjoyable event. I'd been to Bitter Brothers a couple of times, but always regret not visiting more often. So this was a nice way for me to get reacquainted.

There were just 50 seats available at $70 a crack, and things started fairly promptly at 5pm. Though at first it was just folks mingling. I'm not really a super social kind of guy so I just kinda took things in; perhaps a bit too hard, because I missed my chance at the amuse; a version of Lumpia Shanghai. That's ok; I did enjoy the Czech Pilsner. Crisp and refreshing, it did remind me a bit of what we had during our time visiting the Czech Republic.

What might be my favorite dish of the night was the Porcini Dusted Cauliflower, I loved how all of the flavors went together so well; from the hazelnuts, to the celeriac, to the slightly acidic, yet very tasty homage to celery a la Grecque.

The Missus surely would have loved this dish by Tim Kolanko. This was served with one of my favorites here; the Brotherly Love Dunkelweiss.

Phillip Esteban's dish was an eye catching version of the rolled and tied chicken Ballotine. Instead of forcemeat, this was stuffed with a black garlic based mixture. I'm not a big fan of items on the plate without a purpose; and those dollops of what I'm assuming is sort of a Nasturtium pesto really had no flavor. And the buttermilk leche de tigre added no real acid to the dish. The chicken itself was a bit on the salty side; but the black garlic paste added a nice amount of sweet, complex tones, which really balanced things out. This was paired with the Black Sheep Coffee Porter on Nitro.

Ami Cisneros's dish was a beautiful version of….well, Carnitas.

Pressed and nicely seared; perhaps a bit too lean for my taste, it was nicely seasoned. The kabocha puree was quite rich, creamy, and slightly sweet. To be perfectly honest, I really loved the pear with chamoy and tajin. It went so well with the Prickly Pear Family Tart Berliner Weisse, which almost tasted like a version of agua de sandia (watermelon agua fresca) paired with this dish. I even enjoyed the slice of black radish which was so crisp and had some of the pepperiness toned down….I'm thinking it must have been soaked in ice water for a bit before being dried.

My next dish was a sentimental favorite; since it was created by the one and only Travis Clifford; remember Travis likes food? Anyway, it was nice to see him cooking again….it's been a while since I've tasted his cooking. Funny thing; I've made a career out of being quite non-descript. I'd been to BB a couple of times and had actually spoken to Travis, but I'm fairly certain he doesn't remember me. I kind of like it that way.

Nicely blackened prawns; loved the "Travis made" Andouille, great texture, good smoke. The flavor of the grits, while they had hardened by the time it hit the table had a nice rich and sweet flavor from the marscapone. All of these big flavors were tempered with the Big Brother Double IPA.

I'm not a big dessert/sweets guy and was worried about the Espresso Crème Brulee made by "Bitter Bill" Warnke. I shouldn't have, this was not too sweet, but very nicely balanced with mild coffee tones.

Paired with a nice bittersweet chocolate and espresso sable, which was just perfect. Very good, grown-up flavors. This was paired with the deceptively boozy (only 5.2 abv) Barrel Aged Little Sister Russian Imperial Stout which made it a nice way to end the meal.

The Barrel Aged Little Sister Russian Imperial Stout is BB's first ever bottle release; so I bought a couple. The Missus will love it. And I'm sure to be there the next time BB has another "Family Dinner".

Bitter Brothers Brewing
4170 Morena Blvd
San Diego, CA 92117

T. P. Banh Bao 3

January 17, 2017 mmm-yoso Vietnamese Restaurants

T.P. Banh Bao 3 quietly opened on Christmas Eve. I decided to drop by right after the Christmas Weekend to bring some of the Banh Bao to work. So I grabbed Calvin and we headed off.

This is the third shop of the T.P Banh Bao family, the first opened in Houston, which is where I first heard of the place from “FOY” Xiāngjiāo. The second location opened in Garden Grove. And now we have this shop in the rather odd location on Camino Ruiz in Mira Mesa. Go figure. And no, that’s not my Ferrari parked in front of the place!

There are 17 varieties of Banh Bao available. For an extra $2.50 (minimum 3 Banh Bao) you get the Banh Bao of your choice fried up. Now I’ve had Banh Bao, Charsiu bao, Manapua ( both the classic version and baked), Siópao, Hmong Galapao, Thai Salapao and even Samoan Keke Pua’a. Even different versions of Chinese Baozi; in the North, the dough is not sweet, the Missus’s preference. I grew up eating manapua and siopao; heck, I remember the “manapua man”! But I’d never had fried banh bao.

Anyway, we got the #1, pork, sausage, and egg fried and wanted to get the Pork and salted Egg, but they were out. So we decided to just get the Regular Pork, egg, and sausage version steamed as well. Just so you know; they’ll steam your banh bao to order, so it means a short – 10 minute wait, so be prepared. So steaming banh bao in tow we headed back to the office and busted it out on the back table.

This was pretty good; the exterior crunchy, the dough a bit less fluffy than I prefer, but fine. Not too sweet, the filling very moist and soft. Nice porkiness, really couldn’t make out any sausage, and the banh bao signature egg yolk was rather dry. As with most Banh Bao, the filling to bread ratio sided on the meat. Frying makes this rather rich and one is enough for me. This was much better than the steamed version and folks in the office really enjoyed this.

This was on the gummy-soggy side, though the filling, like the fried version was very moist. The texture of the dough made this less pleasant to eat than the fried stuff and there were 3-4 of these still left at the end of the day.

Hoping for a better selection and going into the office on New Years eve, I stopped by to pick something up for breakfast.

I was determined to get the pork and salted egg banh bao. The young lady working was very sweet and even marked the box to let me know where each banh bao was situated in my container.

Nice touch, yeah?

Unfortunately, the pork and salted egg banh bao had suffered from some leakage. The bottom was just mush and when I removed the paper at the bottom it just all came off. The filling was a bit on the dry side; probably from all the “good stuff”, the juices leaking away. This is a very “egg forward” in terms of taste and might have been quite good if not for the poor handling of the dough.

I’d take a pass on the BBQ Pork.

While the dough was nice and fluffy on this version and the meat to bread ratio quite good, you can easily see how dry this was. Also, this really lacked the nice sweet-salty-savory tones that make for a good BBQ pork filling. The texture was mealy and dry.

For some reason, I decided to try the vegetarian Banh Bao. Now this one had a greater bread to filling ratio. The textures of the filling; mushroom and so forth was fairly pleasant, but like most vegetarian baos, the overall flavor was on the bland side, to the point that the sweetness of the bread over shadowed the filling. The dough on this was nice and fluffy.

At this point I thought this enough, time to do a post. But my good friend “YummyYummy” sent me a copy of the press release on the right. Wow, talk about a mea culpa! After reading, I forwarded this to CC, who had recently also tried out TP Banh Bao. I then read Kirbie’s post and decided to give them another try.

After all, I really like the woman who runs the place, she’s very friendly, and the folks working for her, who seem to be a bit lost at times are also very nice.

I ended up getting three pork, salted egg yolk, and sausage Banh Bao, fried. You can tell the difference with these.

Notice how the filling is nicely centered, that golden orb had a nice concentrated “yolky” flavor….now I’m not a big fan of moon cakes; but here, combined with pork, surrounded with slightly sweet dough, with a nice crust around it….now this was good, if a bit rich for me. One was all I could handle.

I also ordered the BBQ Chicken and Taro and Pork Banh Bao as well.

I have never been a big fan of chicken in Bao and that still stands.

This was like an even blander and drier version of the BBQ Pork Banh Bao.

The Pork and Taro Banh Bao was not bad. You can tell how much better made and steamed these were compared to my previous visits.

This might be a bit too “mystery meat” in texture for some. But the taro adds heft and balances out the porkiness of the filling.

As things stand, I’ve had more banh bao in the last three weeks then maybe in the five or six years! I think it’s time for a break from banh bao for now. My recommendation is to go with the fried versions (call ahead). I think they’ll be great for groups of folks or parties….so long you eat them fairly quickly. I’m also glad that I usually try a new place a couple of times before posting. In this case it paid off. I hope they keep on improving.

T.P. Banh Bao 3
11271 Camino Ruiz
San Diego, CA 92126

Funny thing, this post had me reminiscing about the neighborhood manapua man, who used to carry two old shoyu tin cans on a bamboo pole over his shoulder, full of manapua, pepeiao, and pork hash, yelling out “peh-peh-yao…man-a-pua” walking down the street. Eventually these folks graduated to trucks…….and these days, the Manapua Man (or woman) drives a Manapua Van! Here’s a really nice video….a real slice of life from “back home”.

Happy Tuesday!

San Diego Restaurants

Monday Meanderings – Little Sheep Coming to Mira Mesa, Steamy Piggy Replaces Lemon House, and the Menu at the Soon to Open Tasty Pot

January 16, 2017 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants

Here's a few things for a quiet MLK Day.

Little Sheep Coming to Mira Mesa:

Yes, that's right. After almost ten years since the Clairemont Mesa location opened, it looks like Little Sheep is expanding to Mira Mesa.

I believe the Scripps Mesa Retail Center.

9841 Mira Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92131

Steamy Piggy Replacing Lemon House:

Well, Lemon House opened and closed so quickly, I never got a chance to check them out. My sources did tell me they really didn't enjoy their visits; so perhaps it's for the better. So now, we welcome a Steamy Piggy into the spot. I think the folks from Lemon House are still running this new concept as well.