mmm-yoso – Page 253

Roadtrip: JTYH Restaurant – Rosemead

August 23, 2014 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Los Angeles County, Road Trip

One the way back home from a roadtrip earlier in the year, I finally had a chance to stop by JYTH Restaurant. I'd tried to convince the Missus to stop by before, but She declared havung the specialty of the house, mao erduo – ("cat's ears"), too much carbs. Since this was a solo trip, I was able to stop by.

Since this is the SGV, you just knew the place was going to be in….a strip mall of course. The place was quite empty when I arrived, the woman working here was very nice and friendly.

I was only after one thing….. mao erduo (貓耳朵). Which arrived steaming hot.

Very simply prepared, which is sometimes best, the noodle, which resembles Orecchiette, or as my coworker "Lily" who is from Shanxi, where mao erduo is one of the regional specialties says, "no, Orecchiette, resembles mao erduo." This version is quite chewy, almost dense, and hardens a bit as it cools. Quite substantial, it is stir-fried with soy sauce, garlic, a bit of napa cabbage, and a touch of sesame oil. It is topped eggs scrambled with scallions and wood ear fungus. Quite filling, I could only put away half of this before calling it quits. I thought it was fine, but nothing I'd go out of my way for in the future.

I later spoke to Lily about this type of noodle and was told it should be chewy, but also smooth and clean in flavor. This seemed a bit to dense and over-worked.

One really cute thing happened as I was finishing up my meal. The front door of the restaurant opened; two old-timers in wheelchairs were pushed in by younger women and a table was set-up for them.

The women were wearing scrubs, so I'm assuming there's a senior/assisted living facility nearby. Apparently this is a fairly regular thing as the server saw me smiling and gave me a wink! The gentlemen seemed very happy to have the attention, the women were very attentive….I guess these guys are their favorites! For some reason, I found this kind of cute and charming as all four seemed to be having a great time. Other folks I mentioned this to found it creepy…. I guess it's all based on your viewpoint.

Of course, in spite of the attention of young ladies, one must still be able to focus on the business at hand, right? Which means checking out the liang cai (cold dishes). The menu is quite a collection of everything from Sichuan to Northern Chinese, the prices are quite reasonable. The main item of note here are the noodles.

JTYH Restaurant
9425 Valley Blvd
Rosemead, CA 91770

Of course I stopped to get take-out on the way home……

After all, no place even comes close with regard to these dishes in San Diego…

Thanks for reading!

No Burgers at JK’s Burgers and Hot Dogs

August 20, 2014 mmm-yoso Hot Dogs, Sandwiches

**** JK's has closed

I was talking to someone about Chicago the other day and they mentioned a place called JK's in the Renaissance Towne Center….which kind of rang a bell. It really should have as this used to be Chicago on a Bun.

It wasn't the Chicago Dog's that drew me here. As much as I love a good Chicago Dog, heck a bunch of years back I even did a comparison post, I'm sort of an under-dog (no pun intended) kind of guy.. While I love a good Philly Cheesesteak as you can tell by the three part posts I did a while back, with subsequent follow-up posts, it was the Roast Pork Sandwiches that I remember from Philly. The same with Chicago, I really enjoy a good Chicago Dog, but absolutely love a good Italian Beef, with my favorite being Johnnie's Beef with Mr Beef running second. Yep, I was here for an Italian Beef….though I won't be ordering it "beef…juicy…hot" here. That might get me arrested.

I like what they've done with the decor. A nice fast casual look. Service on this first visit was interesting….the young man handing out, "bro'….dude" like Santa passing out candy at a Xmas parade. He was quite nice, if a bit too friendly and rather efficient though.

This was pretty much what I expected. In spite of the rhapsodic praises from my colleague, this was pretty much a glorified roast beef dip. The jus was lacking in beef flavor, the giardiniera seemed mass produced tasting like it had a base of Italian Dressing. The roll was much too hard….I like a little crusty, I appreciate the effort to stand up to wet beef, but this was much too hard. Speaking of hard, those tater tots were really fried "hard"….though it's hard to not enjoy tater tots, right? The onions were weird, heated but not soft….I say either saute them or serve them raw. I did enjoy the roasted jalapeno….not a classic addition to the Italian Beef; it's usually pickled hot peppers, but this did a some interest to the sandwich. I'd say Lefty's makes a better version of the "glorified roast beef dip in processed jus." To me, this really isn't a Chicago style Italian Beef, which I don't think exists in San Diego.

I did decide to return to try the Chicago Dog, I wanted to see how it compared to Chicago on a Bun. There was a bit of sticker shock with this one. The last time I had a Chicago Dog, it came with fries and a drink for $4.75. This dog was $5.24!

This was actually not bad….I thought it needed more celery salt, but I almost always think that. It was "dragged through the garden" and everything looked in order. The bun was fluffy, nice sport peppers, and of course the neon green relish. Mustard, of course. The dog itself seemed not quite up to snuff. The signs say Vienna Beef, but this was strangely gummy, and lacking in the "snap" I enjoy.

Not sure what to make of that. Overall, a decent Chicago Dog, not the best, not the worst, maybe the most expensive. Still, I think it was a vast improvement over the Italian Beef. I am wondering about the burgers….but I'll wait and see if anyone out there has tried them.

JK Burgers & Hot Dogs
8935 Towne Center Drive
San Diego, CA 92122
Hours:
Open Daily 11am – 9pm

Pescado Zarandeado

August 19, 2014 mmm-yoso Cooking, Recipes, Seafood

I'll readily admit it; I've been in a bit of a rut with regards to cooking lately. The combination of dietary limitations, hours of work, and plain having to come up with something new had made me a bit weary. It was much easier just cranking out stuff I've made over the last nine years or so than making the effort to make something new.

Then into my life walked….or should I say swam some White Sea Bass……whole fish; something I'm really not too thrilled about working with. This is also fairly lean, something I was also not to thrilled with….."the other white meat". The Missus simply said, "why don't you make it like what we had at Godoy."

I dug thru my cabinets and came up with this:

I went through my cookbooks and found a simple recipe from Rick Bayless's Fiesta at Rick's for Pescado Zarandeado. Instead of using the Guajillo Chilies, I went with the achiote seasoning and (of course) made some adjustments……

A bit more garlic, a red habanero from the yard, no salt, everything tasted salty enough…and slightly bitter so I added a touch of agave syrup.

I butterflied the fish, something I hadn't done in forever. I then severed the backbone and removed it from the fish, making for easier pickins'.

A well oiled grill basket is a must.

Achiote Paste:

1.75 Ounces(half a block) Achiote Seasoning

1 – 8 ounce can of tomato sauce

2 Tb grated or finely minced garlic

3 Tb soy sauce (of course I used Aloha Shoyu)

3 Tb Worcestershire Sauce

1 Tb Agave Syrup

1/4 tsp Chipotle Powder Fresh ground pepper to taste

1 Red Habanero Chile (optional)

– Combine all ingredients in a blender, puree to a smooth paste.

Use for a fish weighing about 3 pounds or so. I'm sure you can also use with filets, perhaps half the weight of the whole fish.

When charcoal is hot brush fish with sauce – this will probably be more than enough sauce. I understand that you shouldn't "marinate" the fish as it will change the texture.

When you're ready to go, place a grill basket over charcoal grates. When hot, brush with an oil with a high smoke point. Place fish in basket, close basket and grill, turning every 3-4 minutes until cooked, about 15 minutes or so.

When done carefully open the basket and transfer to a platter.

If you noticed the somewhat conspicuous presence of soy sauce and went, "what the heck?" Well, you aren't alone. According to Rick Bayless, many Chinese settled on the West Coast of Mexico after helping to build the railroad in the late 19th century and their presence can still be found….

I served this with a nice, spicy pico de gallo, lime, and thinly sliced red onion.

The Missus really enjoyed the flavors.

Though to be perfectly honest, She enjoyed the grilled chicken I made the next day with the leftover sauce. It was wonderful with a nice refreshing salad.

I really needed something different to get my juices flowing again. To make me open all those books, to look at an ingredient and really want to do something a bit different…… this was the dish that did it for me.

Revisits: The High Dive, Kayaba, and Island Style Cafe

August 18, 2014 mmm-yoso Beer, Chicken Wings, Japanese Restaurants, Local Kine Stuffs in San Diego, Loco Mocos, Plate Lunch

Some revisits to start off the week.

Tonkatsu from Kayaba:

**** Kayaba has closed

I guess it’s strange that I go to a “food court” when I want my Tonkatsu fix.

But for under nine bucks, this tonkatsu is a favorite of mine in San Diego…….

Crisp, usually moist, love that mashed potato salad.

‘Nuff said.

Kayaba
4240 Kearny Mesa Rd Ste 119 – In the Mitsuwa Marketplace
San Diego, CA 92111

The High Dive:

So, the Missus has become a big fan of the Tap Hunter app. I guess She’s now an offical Beer Geek. Anyway, there are places that are real good at keeping Tap Hunter up to date and places that are kind of blase’…..Common Theory, I’m looking at you. For all its short-comings, mainly food-related, The High Dive seems to do a good job keeping things updated. Recently, when the Missus was busy with work, She noticed that one of our favorite beers, La Fin du Monde was on tap. I was ordered to head on down and report back post-haste.

And of course, when I arrived, it was there, poised and ready. There’s some flavors with “La Fin” that we enjoy, a mild fruit, with flavors that seem like clove and other spices, which make it fine match with spicy food for us. The flavors seem to go really well with anything I make with ghost peppers, strange as that may seem.

This draft version seemed a bit lighter without the spice notes. Maybe for the first time, I preferred the bottle to the tap….weird.

I Buffalo Wings were adequate and by the book. Nothing to make them stand out, but no complaints.

I thought it was a bit too heavy in the sour end and the wings were fried way past well done, but that would be nitpicking.

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

Getting my “loco fix” at Island Style Cafe:

It was time for my bi-annual locomoco fix……well, strangely, it would be the first “loco” I had this year. I’ve got some catching up to do! Anyway, I went with the Kaloko Loco at Island Style Cafe. A rather unconventional Loco Moco; usually I’m not a fan of fried rice for my loco and this one even has a crepe, but it all seems to work out for me.

Like my good FOY CAB says, there’s an interesting, yet complimentary interplay of sweet with savory going on that I enjoy. The eggs were overcooked for “over-easy” on this visit and I’ve kind of gotten used to jasmine rice so the calrose got my attention….I gotta head back home for an attitude adjustment soon! I think the burger here is still too tough and lean, but that’s nit-picking as this is still my favorite loco moco in San Diego.

Island Style Cafe
5950 Santo Road
San Diego, CA 92124

Yellowtail: Wild versus Mild

August 17, 2014 mmm-yoso Cooking, Seafood

On one of my trips to Catalina Offshore, I noticed two different trays of what was called "Yellowtail", which really didn't resemble Japanese Amberjack or Greater Amberjack (Kanpachi) which I'm familiar with. In fact, the two fish, which I was told are of the same species, did not even look related at all. One tray was the "wild", which was/is running at the time, the other was farmed in from Baja.

I mentioned this to Tommy, which also made it clear what kind of Amberjack this was when he told me the Japanese name….Hiramasa. Since there was a large price difference between the two, I asked him what the real difference was? His response? "You should get some of each and compare…." Which is what I did.

They were nice enough to wrap each piece separately for me…….even telling me which was farmed and which wild.

So, tell me….do these look like the same species?

The farmed sample, on the top, felt like it had more fat, the wild version seemed a bit more firm, but the only way was to actually cook the two the exact same way.

So, simply seasoned, salt, pepper, oregano, smoked paprika, granulated garlic……

Then sauteed in the same pan…..

The difference was quite striking, as you could predict, the farmed fish, being much more fatty, was more delicate, it started flaking off. The flavor was really mild, though it was quite moist….this means, as a cook, you have bit more leeway. This was more of a fish for folks who don't like the flavor of fish….if you know what I mean. In other words, it will take on the flavor of how you season. It's not very flavorful.

As I figured, the wild version was much more dense. You need to be on top of it because it will dry out. The flavor is a much more pronounced "white fish". With mild brine tones, you know you're eating fish.

What is interesting right now is; wild Yellowtail Amberjack goes for half the price of the farmed version! Of course, the season only lasts about three months. As it stands, if I'm cooking, I'll probably go with the wild…….though I'd probably enjoy a good, moist, fresh, sahimi grade Hiramasa at the sushi bar.

This was actually a nice little "project", Tommy comes through with the best suggestions as usual.

Czech Republic – Olomouc: The Plague Tower and Drapal

August 15, 2014 mmm-yoso Cheese, Czech Food and Restaurants, Czech Republic

Ever heard of Olomouc (Oh-loh-moats)? Well, I wouldn't blame you if you hadn't. We here in the states seem blissfully unaware of any city in the Czech Republic not named Prague. The Missus' tolerance for staying in one city is quite low, knowing this, I had to come up with a plan. I thought why not travel to some of the other cities, not the big tourist destinations, but real cities, with real people. The city of Olomouc appealed to me because it is the historic capital of Moravia and is a University town. There's supposed to be quite a bit of history here.

It was quite rainy and overcast during our stay in Olomouc and we were kind of glad to be staying right across the train station.

On the good side, it was easy finding our hotel, after staying in apartments staying in a rather corporate hotel felt like a nice change of pace.

Especially when you can get a suite for under a hundred bicks a night!

Did I mention that once you get out of Prague, things are really inexpensive?

The down side? Well, it only five tram stops to the center of the city….but, if you decide to walk it, like we did, it's at least 20-25 minutes, which seemed much longer with the cold wind and intermittent showers.

Still, we found the City Center with little difficulty. The Royal Town is made up of the Upper Square with the Town Hall and the Lower Square, where several churches and the market is located.

One of the main sights on the Upper Square is the Plague Tower (Column of the Holy Trinity).

This striking, yet ominous looking spire was built in the 18th Century as a monument of thanks for surviving the plague that ravaged Moravia between 1713 thru 1715. It is the tallest tower of it's kind in Europe. Master Stonemason Václav Render designed and donated his entire fortune to build this tower. As we found, the Czech people love a little "twist" or tragedy….so they'll quickly add, unfortunately, he died before its completion and thus, never saw the beauty of what he designed.

We found Moravian folks to be quite friendly, yet quite proud….there also seemed to feel a bit of competition with Prague. They'll be quick to tell you, "our tower is a full six meters taller than Prague's". Astronomical Clock? "Ours runs for a full six minutes at noon, not a mere few seconds like Prague!"

Both sights are next to the Town Hall. In fact, on the day we were here, there was a wedding party taking photos in front of the Plague Tower. Which I found odd for some unknown reason.

I also quickly noticed how empty the town squares were….I'm not sure if it was the weather, or what, but after Prague, this just seemed so quiet.

After checking a few sights out, we went looking for lunch. Unfortunately, our first choice Hanacka Hospoda seems to have closed down so we had to go to "Plan B". Walking through the Lower Square and outside of what seems to be former city walls we found Drapal, which, like Kolkovna is a Pilsner Urquell Restaurant.

I'm not sure what it was, but we followed a sign at the door around the corner, only to find it led to nowhere….the door was actually where the sign was posted, duh.

You usually don't hesitate in most places in the Czech Republic. You see an opening and go get the table, waiting around will draw stares.

Our server was a very nice young lady who didn't speak a lick of English. The menu however, was translated into English. There is a little "local secret" with many of these restaurants; they have a very cheap lunch menu. Mainly for locals, this list is never written in English. Here in Moravia, it's actually written in the local dialect. Here in Olomouc, it's the Hanakian dialect.

Of course this being a Pilsner Urquell restaurant we needed to start off with a couple of brews. A pilsner for me, a Half and Half for the Missus.

I had done a bit of research before our trip and there were a few regional specialties we wanted to try; starting with Hanácká česnečka – Garlic Soup. If you've read long enough, you know I love garlic, so I couldn't wait to try this.

We tried this just about everywhere we went in Olomouc. This was probably the best one as it wasn't too salty and the beef based broth didn't have a strong artificial flavor to it. I enjoyed the garlic flavor, which (of course) I didn't think was very strong at all. There's a nice heartiness to this soup which had croutons, sausage, and some Olomoucké tvarůžky – Olomouc stinky cheese in it, making it actually Loštická česnečka.

Speaking of stinky cheese; Olomoucké tvarůžky, we needed to try this.

This is classically eaten on bread with butter, and no kidding onions! I really didn't think the cheese was particularly smelly, it did have a mild smell, sort of like feet, so I'm thinking Brevibacterium is used to ferment the cheese. Brevibacterium linens is the bacterium which causes foot odor….don't you just want to out and grab some Limberger right now. The cheese is very waxy and low in fat, it has PGI Status in the EU and only cheeses from Lostice is allowed to be called Olomoucké tvarůžky. One other little detail, this cheese is supposedly aged under meat…..

For my main, I chose the Spicy Pork Neck in potato pancake.

The pancake was really salty which really knocked the dish off kilter.

The Missus went with the standard pork neck with cabbage and dumplings.

The pork was adequately tender and moist. It had a decent pork flavor. The fermented cabbages was not bad, though the Missus is a sucker for these.

We still weren't sold on the waxy potato dumplings, nor the rather dense bread dumplings, and this did nothing to change our opinion.

In the end, this was a really inexpensive (like under $25 with beers) and hearty meal, which went well with the rainy and windy weather. In spite of not being our first choice it was still and enjoyable meal. We were now ready to head back out into the rain and wind.

Original Restaurant Drapal
Havlickova 1
Olomouc, Czech Republic

Midweek Meanderings: Little Piggy does Karaoke and Thanksgiving in August

August 13, 2014 mmm-yoso BBQ, Filipino Restaurants, Memorable Meals, yoso-silly

Little Piggy does Karaoke:

I've often mentioned what a great bunch of friends I have. We all get along and always have great time. These guys are up for anything; like the "Amazing Graze" and our Porcine Party. Sadly, I haven't been to help plan or attend many of the recent events, work has kept me busy over the last year or so. So when one of our gang said she wanted to do karaoke for her birthday, it was naturally a "yes, of course." But there was a catch, she also wanted a whole roast pig as well! Not a big deal, right? I mean, I see folks dragging swine into karaoke rooms all the time….yeah, right? Anyway, it was easy enough to get the assignments done; YummyYummy with her connections and persuasive manner would talk the place into letting us bring an entire hog into one of their rooms, I swing the swine, and the rest would be gravy, or is that sauce.

Anyway, after polling some of my acquaintances, and my "Filipino Mom's" in the office next door to us, one porker rendered its way to the top, Porky's Lechon. Now, I gotta say, based on my visits and meals at the place this was a major leap of faith. But I gotta say, this was a very moist fifty pounder.

In case you don't believe that we actually brought a whole pig into a karaoke room, here's "Xiang Jiao" doing the honors as the disco lights dance around it's roasted body…… To paraphrase the lyrics on the screen…."This pork has taken its toll on me……"

Thanks to JohnL for sacrificing his van to transport said swine…..I hope it doesn't still smell like pork heaven. Big thanks also to TFD and MrC for getting the Hen Xuc Banh Trang and baking the cake, and of course "YY" and Quanito for coordinating the room.

Thanksgiving in August:

Recently "XJ", "YY", and their family moved into new digs. they've been wanting to do sort of a house-warming type of thing. "XJ" had also gotten a Weber Smokey Mountain…she's really BBQ Grrrrl I guess, and wanted to put it into service. So I brought my WSM over and we did a little BBQ kinda thing for the gang.

Of course BBQ takes a while and needed our strength, so their mom was nice enough to make us a delicious breakfast.

We timed things pretty well and everything was ready by 2pm as we had planned…..tri-tip, salmon, ribs….

And a whole lot more…..charcuterie and cheese board, TFD's mom made a delicious pork and jackfruit salad, roasted vegetables, salad, and of course dessert.

Around the time we were setting up, someone said "this is like Thanksgiving, but better!" And so it came to pass, Thanksgiving in August. I think we'll make this a tradition. A pretty good idea, don't you think?

Nothing like the power of pork to bring people together!

Hope you're having a great week!

The Haunted Looking Aisles of Hana Mart

August 12, 2014 mmm-yoso Markets & Grocers

**** Hana Mart did not last long either.

Well, U Mart sure didn't last long, did it?

By the end of the first quarter a change over was already occurring. I felt really bad for the folks who started up U Mart, who used to have small, mom-and-pop First Korean Market. Just think, you close up a shop that has been surviving for years, taking a shot at the big time….and going down in flames. Kind of sad. I asked around a bit and one thing really stuck out…..I was told that among the really bad decisions made, the worst was putting all the produce in plastic…folks like to touch, smell, feel, and I guess sometimes even throw the fruits and veggies around? Anyway, I was told that the former owner of U Mart was still in the picture helping to manage Hana Mart.

The Missus and I visited one weekend afternoon and the place was deserted…..as in, "you could hear a fish fart" quiet.

The prices, even for produce was competitive and I'd say of better quality that Zion Market, where I've been less than satisified as of late.

I felt kind of sad, which soon turned to creeped out….this seemed like a set for an Asian horror flick. I expected to hear a young girl laughing, catching a glimpse of a pony tail and school uniform which turns the corner. Curious, I'd follow only to be startled by a faceless apparition, making strange clicking sounds, which then sucks the life out of me! Yeow…..

There was not a single customer in the place…….

Eerie, yeah?

Finally, I saw a flash of yellow….what was it? Some kind of alien creature that feeds on human flesh? No, it was only the cashier…whew….

We ended up buying bunch of stuff, including some baechu kimchi which was better than the stuff we get at Zion. It's kind of sad, I'm hoping that business picks up.

Hana Mart
4611 Mercury St
San Diego, CA 92111

We heard a bunch of laughing when we were paying for our groceries. At least Happy Family, which Cathy posted on seems to be doing well.

Circling Back to Phuong Trang

August 10, 2014 mmm-yoso Vietnamese Restaurants

Here's the latest in my "circling back" series, where I revisit places that many folks really love, but, well, I'm not quite as impressed.

I've always considered Phuong Trang to be very "middle of the road" Vietnamese Food….as in Pho not to offend. Toning down the flavors, creating a "safe" experience with regards to Vietnamese food in San Diego. There are those who disagree, which is fine, to each his or her own. I've had some decent meals at Phuong Trang and I believe they do a few items rather well…..though it really is a short list. So what I decided to do was to try items that folks have recommended to me. In some cases I also ordered items that I had enjoyed here in the past. I'm pretty sure you're tired of my posts on the pho here…no worries, I'm not going to keep beating that dead horse.

It's probably a good time for a revisit to Phoung Trang as they recently unveiled an updated sign. The interior still looks the same.

I decided to start off with probably the one dish that I think they do well here; the Butter Wings…..though the last time I ordered those wings, they were terrible, greasy, bitter burnt garlic, just plain horribly made.

This time it was back to what I was used too. Perhaps these were even better.

Light, crisp, moist, nice MSG and all that…….

At least two folks had mentioned the Bo Luc Lac here, so I decided to order it.

In some ways this was a typical PC – PT dish. The steak was nice and tender, I do like my Bo Luc Lac with watercress, but the sizzling plate makes a nice dramatic presentation. The flavors were really weak; lacking anything else than a rather salty flavor….no deep savory tones from fish sauce or even oyster sauce, no sweet tones, no black pepper…… The fried rice was decently prepared, though again the flavor was really muted.

Well, it was a one 'fer two….though picking those wings which I've had many times was kind pretty much a ringer.

The next time around, I just stuck with a single dish, Suon Ram Man. Basically spareribs marinated, then browned in a base of fish sauce and sugar, it is then braised in water, coconut water, or Coco Rico….which by the way, is a winna'. These however were not….

The ribs were on the tougher side, but not inedible. Again the flavors here were less than satisfying. In spite of the looks, this was on the bland side…….gloppy, bland, chewy spareribs.

I was going to stop at this point, but decided on one more meal. It had been pretty hot so I wasn't going for any soup nor anything really heavy.

I started with some Cha Gio, egg rolls. These were usually pretty good as they use the appropriate rice paper. It's also good that, like the wings, they'll do half orders of these.

I think there was a bit of glitch with oil temperature today as the egg rolls were on the hard and chewy side, lacking any crispness, making eating this rather unpleasant. Man, these were disappointing since they are usually pretty good.

Looking for something refreshing, I decided on the marinated beef salad called Bo Tai Chanh.

Where to start with this one? First off, this was a huge salad….it was also really bland, really needing more herbs, and the "dressing" was really watered down. The beef, "cooked" in citrus was actually pretty good, and there was a lot of it. Overall, this really needed a flavor boost, it didn't help that the tomatoes were under-ripe and had no flavor as well.

Well, this one was an "O" 'fer two……

Right before this meal, I sent a text to "YY" telling her that I was going to Phuong Trang one more time, just to do my due diligence….she told me I was nuts. Why would I punish myself like this?

In the end, I did change my opinion of Phuong Trang a bit. Instead of thinking of the food here as being dumbed down; perhaps I should look at the place as being the "gateway Vietnamese Restaurant". One that will lead the more adventurous eater to a wonderful cuisine. Yeah, maybe that's the ticket…..

Phuong Trang
4170 Convoy St.
San Diego, CA 92111

Roadtrip COMC: Sea Harbour

August 8, 2014 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Dim Sum, Los Angeles County, Road Trip

A few weeks back we finally had some time to return to the SGV….we hadn't been back since we got back from our trip. I gave the Missus a list of places and She decided to forgo those choices and just return to Sea Harbour for dim sum. I've posted on the place a couple of times already, so I decided to do one of my C(learing) O(ut the) M(emory) C(ard) posts.

So it'll be mostly photos from here on…other than commenting on that "interesting" menu item to the right. I felt if I ordered this, it would try to hump my leg…..or something like that.

Still our favorite dim sum in LA.

Sea Harbour Seafood Restaurant
3939 Rosemead Blvd
Rosemead, CA 91770

Strange what you notice when waiting for take-out. Here's the sign right next to the front door of Shufeng Garden. I thought it was a kind of odd location….unless of course, this is a common occurence here.

I hope everyone has a great weekend! No choking allowed!