mmm-yoso – Page 197

Chuan Chuan Xiang (串串香 – aka Mala Tang 麻辣烫) at Private Kitchens

December 20, 2016 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants

***** This location is no longer

It's funny how things work out. I was headed to a dreaded lunch hour meeting, when I was notified that it was cancelled. I decided to head on down Clairemont Mesa to grab something to eat. I noticed that the place I'd recently seen that replaced the Zisu Indian Market named Private Kitchens had opened….at least the sign said open. So I parked and walked in.

I quickly noticed a couple of things; first off, there's a temporary wall put up and there's still Indian groceries for sale. Second, there was only one person in the place that spoke English, a sweet young lady whose English name is "Julie" I believe.

It's an odd set-up, two folks came in, did some shopping and paid for their groceries at the register. There were some interesting communication issues, but everything got taken care of. I think the shop is liquidating the grocery inventory? I mentioned this to the Missus who told me; "you know my peeps……"

Second thing I noticed. In spite of the huge kitchen, the place was set-up with skewers of various vegetables, meats, bean curd, etc. This was a "chuan chuan xiang" ("fragrant skewers") style place; also know as mala tang ("numb and spicy") style place. A real Chengdu specialty where you pick your skewers and they are cooked in a numbing hot broth. I really haven't seen this here since Ba Ren tried their "Yie-Shi" menu years ago.

This style of eating has a special place in my heart. I couldn't wait to grab a basket and have at it. You get charged by the skewers….frankly, I just picked out stuff I enjoy….it came out to about $11. A "small pot" cost $3.99; though I didn't care for the standard noodles…..instant ramen type.

My favorite items were the frozen and fried tofu, the bean curd skin, along with the enoki mushrooms. The rest was pretty routine and basic, but that broth was definitely, legitimately "numbing hot". I did get the "ma-la" and it was that in spades. I left with a nice layer of sweat on my forehead.

Funny thing, a couple of days later, it was pouring rain, everybody had been stuck in meetings and calls and we decided to grab some lunch. So Calvin, JohnF, Renee, and I headed over for some Mala Tang. This style of eating is quite social; except Renee can't eat tolerate anything too spicy; so we got her a milder version…..I got the Boys medium spicy. Calvin just piled stuff on…..

I ordered kuan fen (cellophane noodles) this time around, which goes quite well with the hot pot. Calvin loves his chicken parts; the heart was good; so was the pork stomach. I gotta say though; if you're going to do this, go for the spicy….the medium just didn't do it for me. We left quite satisfied; Renee had never experienced the "ma" before and told me her lips were numb; "but in a good way". We headed back to the office on a spicy endorphin high…..just the thing to take us through the rest of the day.

Now I'm not going to say this is great, nor even really good. The skewers are fine; it's the broth that makes this. It's also comfort food for me. And so far the version here does enough. I'm hoping it gets better. I'm also wondering what happens when the inventory of Indian Groceries is depleted and that temporary wall comes down? Will the menu expand and offer us more Chengdu style dishes?

One can always hope…..

Private Kitchens
5440 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92117

San Diego Restaurants

Cooking the Book – Vegetarian “Eel” in Sweet and Sour Sauce, Inspired by Land of Fish and Rice

December 19, 2016 mmm-yoso Cookbooks, Cooking, Recipes

Yes, you read right…."mock eel"….like really. I've found some time to cook a bit recently and am now going to try to make it through those cookbooks I've got stacked on my coffee table. I've often done riffs on Fuchsia Dunlop's recipes. Her cookbooks hold a special place on my shelves. So when her latest cookbook Land of Fish and Rice was announced, I pre-ordered it.

Being married to someone from China and working with several others, I've noticed something quite interesting; the Missus's Shandong cum Hunan lineage struggles with the sweet flavors of Su-Cai and similar cuisines. As does our former coworker "Lily" who is from Shanxi. Meanwhile "YZ" can't deal with "Yang Rou"….and so one and so forth. Me? I love it all. So while I'm tempted to go for the Dong Po Rou, the Missus wasn't having any of that. While paging through, I found a rather simple recipe that caught my atttention it's called Vegetarian "eels" in Sweet-and-Sour Sauce in the book. I was mainly interested because the recipe didn't use tofu; which would probably have been the easy out. Instead, dried shiitake mushrooms were used.

Of course I adjusted the recipe to suit our (the Missus's) taste, upping the Chinkiang vinegar and soy sauce, adding a bit of five spice, mushroom soaking liquid, and a chili for some heat. And of course, using the Big Kahuna which cut the cooking time to mere minutes. The dish is best made in small batches. Also, do a good job of "scattering" the mushroom while deep frying, otherwise they tend to stick together.

The Missus really enjoys this; the sweet-salty-sour-savory components go together well.

Vegetarian "Eel" in Sweet and Sour Sauce:

10-12 dried Shiitake Mushrooms
About one-fourth of a good sized red bell pepper
About one-fourth of a good sized green bell pepper
Three thin slices of ginger
One medium sized red serrano pepper
Hot Water

2-3 Tb Potato Starch
1/4 tsp Five Spice Powder

2 cups peanut oil for deep frying

1 Tb Shaoxing wine
2 Tb strained mushroom soaking liquid

The Sauce:
1 Tb Shaoxing
3 Tb sugar
3 Tb Chinkiang vinegar
3 Tb light soy sauce
2 Tb strained mushroom soaking liquid

1/2 tsp Dark Soy Sauce (you may also want to try Mushroom Soy Sauce)
1/2 tsp Sesame Oil

– Soak the mushroom in hot water for 20-30 minutes
– Slice bell peppers into thin strips. Julienne the ginger. Cut the serrano pepper in half, remove seeds than cut into strips.
– Remove mushrooms from the soaking liquid, squeeze out excess liquid, remove stems and cut into strips.
– Strain 4Tb of the mushroom liquid
– Combine sauce ingredients until sugar is dissolved
– Combine mushroom slices with potato starch and five spice until coated
– Heat oil and scatter the mushroom, you may need to do in two batches. Fry until slightly crisp and remove from the oil
– Remove all but about 3-4 tb of oil and heat until nearly smoking
– Add peppers into the hot oil and stir fry
– Add Shaoxing, mushroom liquid, and ginger and stir fry until fragrant
– Add the mushroom back into the wok, add the sauce and stir fry until coated.
– Remove from heat and add dark soy sauce and sesame oil. Mix well.

Breakfasts of Champions – El Borrego, Manila Fast Food and Desserts, and the “Moco Loco” at the High Dive

December 18, 2016 mmm-yoso Breakfast/Brunch, Filipino Restaurants, Loco Mocos, Mexican Restaurants, Pubs and Pub Grub

While I might grumble about the food and restaurants here in San Diego from time to time; I do realize that there is a nice variety available to you if you take the time to enjoy things. Take breakfast/brunch for example. Over the last couple of weeks, I found myself getting something different from the usual noodle soup while doing my Saturday morning errands.

El Borrego:

**** As of 12/28/2025 El Borrego has sadly closed

It’s easy to overlook El Borrego. The street parking is limited and it’s in sort of a no-man’s land right before the main City Heights shopping area. Heck; it’s been about four years since I’ve last visited.

But with temps now dipping into the 40’s at night, I just wanted some Lamb Consomme.

The lovely warm embrace of the gamey lamb broth ($2.25) was just the thing I needed to warm me up and get me going. As was the Mexican coffee.

Being a bit hungry, I also ordered two Quesadilla Rellenas ($2.75/ each); one with flor de calabasa and the other with; of course, huitlacoche….I’m thinking that Black Belt Jonez comment on huitlacoche had me craving it.

The huitlacoche here is fairly mild with just a bit of that fungi flavor; the squash blossom goes really well with the cheese; which adds in a slightly milky touch. That salsa roja is no joke either.

Nice and comforting, but not too much food; it was what I needed to get all systems ready for my errands.

El Borrego Restaurant
4280 El Cajon Boulevard
San Diego, CA 92115

Manila Fast Food and Desserts:

I was here just a few months back, but decided to get my Longsilog fix since I was in the neighborhood.

Manila Breakfast 02 The Garlic Rice was decent; miost and the garlic wasn’t too burnt and bitter. The steam table eggs weren’t bad; still soft and runny in the middle; though I do enjoy my eggs with crisp edges. The eggs weren’t seasoned, so adding your own salt is a must. The standard issue longanisa was fine; I’d prefer bit more char, but it had a nice snap, wasn’t dried out, and had that sweet longanisa hamonado flavor.

Manila Fast Food and Desserts
8979 Mira Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92126

The “Moco Loco” at the High Dive:

So, I’ve been going into the office during most weekends since we got back from vacation. Some were necessary; on other days, it was just to catch up on admin stuff. I ran to Birdrock on Morena to pick up some coffee beans for the Missus. I’d done my Sprouts – 99 Ranch Market – Nijiya – Costco shopping and was going to grab something quick and head off to the office when I decided to “F that”……I deserved a day off and maybe a nice long weekend nap.

The car took over and parked alongside the High Dive. And my 11am Ommegang Gnomegang clinched the deal.

I haven’t been the biggest fan of the food here, but hadn’t seen the Brunch menu before. THD opens at 8am on Saturday and Sunday and they had something called the “Moco Loco” ($15)….you know me and Loco Mocos.

This really was a mixed bag. The egg seemed kinda small, but was fine, the yolk still runny. The gravy was straight up mushroom gravy which had a decent texture; not overly gluey, and wasn’t too salty. It was just a tad over lukewarm though. The rice had an odd texture……not sure what was going on.

The best item was the burger; which, while being pretty lean and toothsome, had a really nice char with a good beefiness to it.

One word of warning; if you’re ordering this and can’t take something less than medium, I think you should let them know as what I got was pretty darn rare. Though it didn’t bother me.

High Dive Bar and Grill
1801 Morena Blvd
San Diego, CA 92110

Well, at least I actually did take a “day off”. And I got something other than noodle soup for my weekend breakfast.

Dongbei Cai (东北菜) at Village North Restaurant

December 14, 2016 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants

**** Village North has closed

It's amazing how you can sometimes be surprised by the most humble and odd places. Take Village North Restaurant. I mentioned coming across the place when checking to see what was going on in the recently closed Char House space. The sign simply said "Soft Opening Village North".

I decided to check the place out. The space is quite modern, with a nice looking bar area, private rooms, a wide open dining area…..and one of the oddest menus I've seen in a while. It was strangely diverse with everything from Jiaozi to Chuan'r (skewers) to dry pots and other Sichuan style dishes…and yes, gasp, Orange Chicken!

I must have seemed a bit of an oddity to the very, very, nice young man who waited on me. Seeing the name "North" I went straight for the Jiaozi. But confused by the menu I asked where the chefs were from. I was told that the head chef and most of the other chefs were from Dongbei! My goodness, Dongbei. Which you might know as Manchuria and a style of cuisine the Missus and I enjoy; though we'd usually have to go to the SGV to get our fix. The menu's English translations really didn't help me, but with the help of the young man, I found the dish I was looking for.

The Jiaozi arrived first. I'd ordered the basic pork and napa cabbage version. This had a real home made kind of texture to the wrappers; a bit too brittle. The filling was mostly pork; something most folks would like, but I enjoy a nice balance. The flavor was fine, perhaps a bit too salty, but not bad. I did appreciate the entire bowl of Black Vinegar I was given, no scrimping there.

Of course; it was the Suan Cai Hot Pot I was looking for. It's Meat with Pickled Cabbage in Hot Pot on the menu.

This was pretty good; the fatty pork is perfect for this type of dish as the fermented flavors of the cabbage gives everything a clean finish. This was really large; of course I took most of it home. The dish had enough salt, but was missing two things….frozen tofu and enough deep fermented tones, though I'm thinking we like things a bit stronger these days since we make our own Suan Cai. Both were added when we had the leftovers for dinner….making this perfect.

I'd enjoyed my meal enough that I tried to return a couple of times; but for some reason the place was closed…..not sure why; I guess it's still the soft-opening, breaking in period.

I drove by recently and peeked down the parking lot and found that the open sign was lit up. So I decided on grabbing some lunch. As before, the dining room was empty….the two large rooms however, were full.

This time, I decided to ask about two classic Dongbei style dishes. I found one easily on the menu; the second one I asked about…..to the same really nice young man. Guo Bao Rou, which I call the "Original Sweet-Sour Pork". I was told that the version here is "modern style" and uses ketchup. Even though I had thought of the sauce looking like the Song Shu Gui Yu we had at De Yue Lou in Suzhou, I thought why not?

This had much more "sauce" than I'm used too. The pork was sliced properly for this dish; that would be thin. The batter; I believe it's usually potato starch based, was very crisp and crunchy. But man, the strong sour and sweetness was quite a shock! It was much stronger than I recalled, having had this dish before, and I didn't care for it at first. Then, bite by bite, I started enjoying it more. I especially appreciated the nice ginger tones which helped keep the sour notes at bay. I really can't eat too much of this, so I took most of it back to the office. I kind of knew who would enjoy this….. I figured this would over power Calvin's taste buds which it did. But had a feeling that "YZ" would like this…..even though she steers toward the Shanghai – Su Cai flavors, I believed that the very forward sweet – sour tastes would be what she liked. She really enjoyed it….. Heck, if you're going to have sweet-sour pork, you might as well have the original version, right?

I needed to balance the very sweet and sour dish and ordered the dish named the "Three Treasures"; Di San Xian.

The classic stir fry of potato, eggplant, and bell peppers. This was actually properly prepared; you basically need to deep fry the potato and eggplant before adding the sauce for thickening. This version kept too much of the cooking oil and the seasoning fell a bit short, I'm used to having it a bit sweeter. This version also seemed to have black vinegar in it, which I kind of enjoyed.

Overall, while the food wasn't outstanding, it was great to reacquaint myself with these classic Chinese dishes. It may not be haute cuisine, hip, trendy, or cool….but this is timeless and traditional comfort food. I took a menu home and started grilling the Missus, looking for more Dongbei-Cai dishes and it looks like they serve jiang gutou – simmered pork bones (probably like we had here) and even La Pi – mung bean sheets on the menu. And perhaps I'll even try some of the Sichuan….because you never know……

Village North
4428 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

San Diego Restaurants

Krispy Krunchy Chicken and Ramen in the 99 Ranch Market Food Court

December 12, 2016 mmm-yoso Cajun, Southern, and Soul Food, Chicken Wings, Ramen

**** Krispy Krunchy Chicken is now a location of Cluck n Sip

While I'd been keeping an eye on the opening of the new 99 Ranch Market on Balboa, I never really made it until a couple of weeks ago. They opened while we were out of the country and when I got back, my schedule was a mess for a while. So, I finally made it over when I needed to pick up something on the way home from work. Krispy Krunchy Chicken is located in the food court on the east side of the building along with Saigon 5 and a location of Shanxi Magic Kitchen (those posts are coming up). I decided to grab something to go and the folks at KKC were really friendly…insisting I sample their chicken tenders.

So, I placed an order for 10 wings….which are currently on special for $7.99. I was told it would be 10 minutes for my chicken, which was perfect as it gave me a chance to dash over and make my purchases in the market.

I got the basic fried chicken wings.

These were indeed (C)Krispy, (C)Krunchy, hot, and very moist, probably since this was made to order. In spite of being fairly hefty sized wings, I thought the batter to meat ratio was quite nice. Both the Missus and I thought a more aggressive Cajun seasoning would make this a bit better. Much like Kirbie, I couldn't help but make the comparison to Popeye's. While you're at it; check out Jinxi's post as well.

I'm glad I didn't get the "Buffalo" version since I saw that it was simply doused with hot sauce…….the chicken would have been soggy by the time I got home. Both the Missus and I used a good amount of Crystal Hot Sauce to add a little kick to the rather mildly seasoned wings. Still these were not bad.

During this visit; I learned that KKC opened at 930am, which made it a perfect spot for a bite between meetings. Curious that the place makes Ramen; albeit a definite Chinese Style (Wuji) ramen; I thought I'd give it a try. So I ordered the Tonkotsu Ramen and was given a free chicken tender.

This had been sitting so while being fairly crisp, had dried out a bit and was quite bland.

The ramen was also mediocre.

The broth is thin, yet has a greasy mouthfeel. The flavor is slightly "tinny". The worst thing was that the broth was served almost lukewarm and was more salty than anything else. The chashu, while well flavored is fairly tough. The noodles were overcooked. The egg was nice and softboiled and might be; other than the very cheerful young Chinese kids manning the booth the best thing about this bowl of ramen.

A few days later, I needed to grab something before a 11am conference call so I dropped by and got a three piece meal with potato wedges.

Unlike my wings, this wasn't cooked to order and it suffered a bit. Especially the breast which was really dry and bland with the batter falling off. The color was also darker than the chicken on my previous visits. The potato wedges were also dry.

If I return, I'll probably go with the wings and hope they make them to order. And while the chicken here is larger than Popeye's, I enjoy the flavor at P's better. Like I said you can't help but make a comparison. Popeye's was founded in New Orleans in 1972; KKC, in Lafayette in 1989 and uses an injectable flavor/brine….which I think they need to use more aggressively.

I really liked the young people working here; they are very friendly, and always giving out samples. I believe they also have a location in the East Village.

Krispy Krunchy Chicken
5950 Balboa Ave (Inside 99 Ranch Market)
San Diego, CA 92111

San Diego Restaurants

Ly’s Garden, Almost 11 Years Later

December 11, 2016 mmm-yoso Chinese BBQ, Chinese Restaurants

**** Ly's Garden has closed

On one of my recent honey-doo excursions in the area; I noticed that Lee's Garden had closed. It was kind of a surprise, since they had always seemed pretty popular. This left me wondering bout the sole survivor of the old trifecta of Lucky Star, Lee's, and the place that I'd always confuse with Lee's; Ly's. It seems that they were still open; at least the sign said so. I decided to check things out; even though the parking lot was completely empty….at 11am on a Saturday!

That might scare some people off; but I decided to forge ahead. After all, it had been nearly 11 years since I last visited.

The place looks pretty much the same; huge and cavernous. Perhaps it had reached the age of equilibrium. You know, it can't really look any older…..

I recalled the prices here being ridiculously low. Well, of course they've gone up (no more $2.75 won ton noodle soup), but are still quite inexpensive. Take, for example, my Roast Duck Egg Noodle – soup on the side, $5.95.

The egg noodles were nicely done; a tad crunchy with a bit of stretch to them. Flavored with a mild, but tasty soy sauce based flavoring. The duck; well, I've had better, but I've also had worst, quite recently as a matter of fact. The overall flavor of the duck was rather mild; lacking in richness or sweetness, while pretty meaty, the skin could have also been more crisp. I had expected a smaller portion and was surprised at the amount of duck I was given.

A bowl with pork neck; flecked with meat and connective tissue in broth was also provided. The pork was well flavored, but the broth had a metallic-bitter flavor to it that was unpleasant. I'm glad I got this with soup on the side.

As I ate three more parties came in……all of them folks older than me. I guess that must be the customer base these days.

The service was friendly and efficient; the prices just can't be beat…..though I don't recall them having Pho on the menu all those years ago. I'm not sure how much longer this place will hold on. All things must pass I guess. As once there were three; large Chinese restaurants in the area….the place for wedding receptions and banquets. Heck, I even went to a wedding reception at Lucky Star. Which just seems like a lifetime ago….

Now it's just Ly's……

Ly's Garden Chinese Restaurant
4350 54th St # B
San Diego, CA 92115

Saturday Stuffs – Private Kitchen Opening on Clairemont Mesa Boulevard and Coastal Crave Closes

December 10, 2016 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Gastropub

Things get quiet around here during the holiday season, but we keep rolling along. Here are a couple of things I noticed in my travels.

Private Kitchen:

I was driving between meetings and dropped by Havana Grill for some take-out and noticed something strange about the Indian Market location.

Sure doesn't look Indian – Middle Eastern to me. Something named "Private Kitchen". A good friend had mentioned a chef from Chengdu was looking for a spot around here. Could this be it? While it seems that the "wave" of Sichuan places has come and gone; we could always use a good Sichuan restaurant!

Over the last couple of years the place has changed several times, so here's hoping for some stability.

5440 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92117

Coastal Crave Closes:

Man, with Kiel's, Hometown Buffet, Rita's, and now Coastal Crave closed; this strip mall seems very deserted.

It looks like fixtures and even the inventory is still in place. I don't see an eviction notice nor an ABC notice so am not quite sure what is going on here.

3065 Clairemont Dr
San Diego, CA 92117

COMC: Lima – Mercado de Surquillo

December 9, 2016 mmm-yoso Lima, Markets & Grocers, Peru, Travel

We had a nice stroll after our Sanguches de Chicharron at Dona Paulina. We then headed off across the freeway to the District of Surquillo.

After crossing above the freeway you come across Mercado Surquillo No. 1.

And while we didn't intend on spending much time checking out the market we just couldn't help ourselves. I'd forgotten how much we loved the Mercados in Peru. Though it looks like things have changed up a bit as the largest crowds here were for the "Bioferia"; the tents selling organic items.

The rest of the market was also fairly busy; especially the food and drink section.

Though we were almost waylaid by the "Festivo Gastronomical".

Which had a neat "food court" kind of feel to it.

Where some of the smells were just plain intoxicating…..

We were tempted but the Missus had Cebiche on Her mind and there was no stopping Her.

It was nice being back in Peru. It had been too long.

Mercado Surquillo No.1
Paseo de la Republica block 53
Surquillo, Lima, Peru

And there was some Cebiche calling our name from behind the market!

Seville – Mercadillo de la Alameda and Basilica de la Macarena

December 8, 2016 mmm-yoso Markets & Grocers, Seville, Spain, Travel

On our last full day in Seville we got a bit of a late start. But it was Sunday after all. As we stumbled out of our apartment over to the Plaza del Salvador we could hear the crowd before we actually saw it.

Good lord, all these young people, many having beers, at 830 in the morning! On a Sunday! I guess Saturday night just wasn't enough.

We decided on something a bit more suitable for breakfast. I mentioned my growing fondness for the simple tostada de aciete (toast with olive oil) in a previous post.

We just stopped at a corner shop and got our tostadas and espresso and were ready to go.

As we passed the very humble exterior Capilla de San José (Chapel of San José), which was open as we passed. The interior however, was a whole 'nother story. As you can see by the elaborate Baroque altarpiece.

My goodness!

From here we headed back in the direction of La Alameda where we had passed the night before.

This park was originally built in 1574 and was once the oldest public garden in Europe. I really like the Roman Columns. Hercules stands on the left and Julius Caesar on the right.

We saw tents set-up. Apparently there's a Sunday Market in the Plaza. So we decided to check things out.

It was a charming little "Mercadillo", full of locals…….

We even bought a very nice bottle of olive oil from one of the vendors. Then had a seat at one of the cafes to enjoy some espresso and watch the world pass for a while We even saw a character from the previous night; the "Smug Pug" making his way around; as smug and oblivious to all who gave attention as the night before. As we strutted from tree to tree, I again automatically started Overture to the Barber of Seville. I should have taken a photo, but we were just having too much fun.

Hard to believe that in the late 80's and 90's this area was a drug infested neighborhood that was once home to 35 brothels. Yes, gentrification, now it's one of the most trendy neighborhoods in Seville.

We headed North to the Macarena District.

The main reason for walking up here was to visit the Basilica de la Macarena.

It's quite a beautiful church.

But there was one thing we both wanted to see. During Semana Santa (Holy Week) in Seville, there are processions of floats (pasos). On Good Friday, the most popular and beloved is La Macarena – the Virgin of Hope of Macarena.

The "Weeping Virgin" has tears made of crystal, real human hair, looks down upon you with a handkerchief in her right hand and a rosary in her left. She wears five emerald brooches donated by The famous Bullfighter "El Gallo". In fact, I read that after Joselito El Gallo was gored to death, La Macarena was dressed in black for the only time in history.

And she moves many. I saw a couple of women start weeping at the sight of her. We saw women give up their babies to the staff to be brought in front of the statue.

You can actually walk in back of the statue as well. I gotta say; for some reason I really felt kind of spooked.

Still, this is pretty impressive. So impressive that many babies in Seville are named Macarena. Which does of course have ties to this song.

So yes, we've come from the Virgin Mary and Semana Santa to Human Hair to El Gallo the Bullfighter to Los del Río in a few sentences.

Seville does that to you.

Soup Weather – Revisits to Mien Trung and Pho Hiep and Grill (Linda Vista)

December 6, 2016 mmm-yoso Bun Bo Hue, Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants

If there was one thing I missed during our last trip abroad, it would be noodle soup. That's the first thing I wanted when we got back. After a pretty warm start to November, we finally got some cooler weather, then even some rain.

Mien Trung:

So, having to work that weekend morning; I dropped by Mien Trung on the way to the office.

Admittedly, some of my last few visits to Mien Trung have been less than stellar. However, hope springs eternal, right? The place had been so good for so long. Plus, there's really not much open at 8am on a Sunday morning.

The place was empty and would stay that way for my entire visit. Except for three sets of customers coming in, to get pots of Bun Bo Hue for catering. I hadn't seen the young man at the counter in ages; it was nice seeing a familiar smiling face.

Then he told me that "Mom and Dad are on vacation"….uh-oh. In the past this was a bad sign. I be certain that the quality and the flavors of the food would be sub-standard.

I'm happy to say that this was not true.

The broth wasn't overloaded with MSG and the distinct lemongrass flavor came through. The spicy buzz of chilies on my tongue lasted through the entire meal. The broth was scalding hot, a must when it comes to these type of soups since, if you're like me, that entire pile of greens and sprouts will end up in the bowl. The noodles were firm and slippery, and the meat, which is usually rustically cut thick and rather tough seemed a bit more tender. Granted, it's not the same bowl I first had over a decade ago, but I think it's still the BBH in San Diego.

I left the place, having built up a nice sweat……not having spicy food in a while had kinda lowered my tolerance. But that nice little chili pepper buzz kept on going.

So perhaps I'm not worried about the day that "Mom" retires any more.

Mien Trung Restaurant
7530 Mesa College Dr
San Diego, CA 92111

Pho Hiep and Grill – Linda Vista:

Along with all of these weather changes comes some side effects. In my case, my biennial raging sinus infection. After stopping off at the nearby drugstore to get meds I decided some hot soup might help clear things up a bit. And Pho Hiep and Grill was right around the corner. It had been almost a year since I last visited.

Anyway, I went with #4 – small sized.

The broth was a lot more clear than what I'd had on my previous visit. It also wasn't overloaded with MSG this time. It was however, pretty darn bland, lacking in beefy flavors, anise, or a even a slight sweetness. Perhaps my olfactory system was on the fritz, but I'm usually pretty good with regards to tastes even when I have a sinus infection. I added a bit of lime and I could clearly taste that.

The herbs and sprouts were turning brown, something I often see during the winter, but the portion size, something that has been quickly shrinking at most places was decent.

The brisket and tendon were quite good, though the fatty flank was very rubbery and there were but a few shreds of tripe.

The noodles fine and decently stretchy.

Kind of a mixed bag, but definitely not as good as I've had here before.

Pho Hiep & Grill
6947 Linda Vista Road
San Diego, CA 92111