mmm-yoso – Page 281

It’s been a while week: Asia Cafe seven years later……

July 24, 2013 mmm-yoso Lao Restaurants

**** Asia Cafe has closed

Seven years….my goodness. Asia Cafe….aaah, yes, it's been a while, over seven years since my last post if I recall. This wonderful little mom-and-pop-shop once held a place in our rotation and I'm not sure how it just kind of slipped off. Perhaps it was our trip to Laos and our experiencing the depth of the cuisine, the sour-bitter-salty vibrant cuisine. Or maybe it was Vientiane Thai-Laos in Garden Grove that did it. I'm not sure. Even though I haven't posted on this place for a while, I've gone back to Asia Cafe a couple of times, though not for at least about five years or so. So I'd say a revisit post was more than warranted.

If there's comfort in the familiar; Asia Cafe surely hit the mark for us. Not many changes, new banquet style chairs, fresher paint perhaps, and it seemed a lot cleaner than I remembered.

The menu looked to be the same rather worn menu and we decided to order items we enjoyed on previous visits. It had been so long since we visited that the husband and wife who run the place no longer remembered us, which suited us just fine.

Things started off with the Yum Asia; a seafood salad of sorts.

This struck us as being a mere shadow of it's former self. The dressing was extremely sweet, throwing the whole balance of the dish off-kilter. Not enough lime or fish sauce and without a doubt not enough heat. Perhaps we were getting the "gringo" treatment after not returning here after so many years?

See Nam Tok was also another dish we used to enjoy. A simple charred flank steak, well seasoned with a salty-bitter-sweet dipping sauce.

Slightly chewy, this was not bad and an improvement over the Yum Asia. They still do a decent job with this, though it was a bit too charred. The dipping sauce was extremely bitter. Now bitter flavors, as in "sweet makes you dizzy, but bitter makes you healthy", so lets get another spoonful of that water buffalo bile in our Koy or just another piece of Sa-Kahn, bark of the Piper Ribesoides. But this was no fun.

Asia Cafe had always made very good sticky rice and it was nice to know they still do. Perfect in texture, not overly sticky, but perfect for forming that all too important three-finger ball of rice. It had me wishing for some good Jeow (a type of dip) for dipping.

The one item that I thought Asia Cafe made better than anywhere else in San Diego was Nem Khao, one of my Desert Island Dishes.

When made well, this crispy rice salad is a symphony of flavors and textures. Crunch from the rice that is fried….rice are made into balls then fried. The external rice becomes crisp adding that great texture. Fermented sausage adds the sour-meaty layer and the rest is delivered by various seasonings…..places in San Diego, or even Vientiane Thai-Lao doesn't use a whole lot of coconut, but the best version I've had in Laos did. Strangely, this was ok, but not quite as good as I recalled. Not enough sour sausage, it was also missing that "umami" that I enjoyed. somewhere along the line, it seems a decision was made to make this as "crunchy" as possible, which messed up the glutinous and crunchy textures. The Missus doesn't always agree with me, but sadly, this time She did. This wasn't bad by any means, just not as good as it used to be for us. I could tell that this bothered Her as She kept mentioning how sad She felt about the Nam Khao for almost the entire following week.

In the end, the folks here were wonderful as always, the prices so reasonable, unfortunately the food seemed a mere shadow of it's former self. I'm not sure; maybe we were "gringo'd", but that never happened to us here before.

Asia Cafe
4710 Market St
San Diego, CA 92102

It’s been a while week: Sultan Kebab and Baklava revisited

July 23, 2013 mmm-yoso Turkish Food

Ah Sultan…..hard to believe we hadn't been back in over a year. There was a time when we'd make the 20+ mile drive each way a couple of times a week. Like Latin Chef, Sultan inspired us to travel to Turkey, which we loved. The food at Sultan was delicious enough, that it took two trips to Istanbul before we found a place where we thought every dish eclipsed Sultan. I guess the memories managed to last for over a year.

Sultan is a wonderful example of the benefits of blogging. We'd never have found the place were it not for FOY (Friend of Yoso") "KenB" (hope you're doing well), whose email got us to visit, and revisit, many times. One of other wonderful benefits and I'm sure other Food Bloggers will agree, is that once in a while we're contacted by Producers or Story Editors from various food shows and are able to share these wonderful mom-and-pop restaurants. I was lucky enough to be able suggest, along with many others I assume, Sultan along with the next two revisits I'll posting on, to those shows.

Finally, after over a year, we returned……..

We got there pretty early. This is a little mom-and-pop place, so when it gets busy, you just need to relax, and go with the flow.

The Missus and I decided to share a combination meze plate.

There is of course, those cooked to death green beans which the Missus loves. The patlican salata, smokey, with hints of cumin and oregano, antepezme (acili ezme), mildly spicy-tangy-sweet, the shakshuka with tasty potatoes, eggplant, and red pepper. Along with some lavas….sorry, forgot the photo, but hopefully you've read previous posts.

We also ordered the "mixed grill", Karisik Izgara, which is enough, along with the mezes, for the two of us.

We times things pretty well. You see, we've postulated that the cooking is much better during Ramadan, and this visit adds to that belief. The chicken kebab (tavuk sis) so tender and moist, full of flavor, the standard issue Urfa(ground beef) kebab, delicious and moist. Only the Kuzu Sis seemed a bit too mild, as in not gamey enough for us. The rice was fluffy the haydari (yogurt dip) seemed much more creamy than we recalled. In fact, this whole meal just seemed a step better than previous visits.

Perhaps time does make the heart grow fonder, or maybe we were just missing Istanbul? The reason is probably out of grasp, but that doesn't really matter. The point was, after having so many disappointing meals recently, this was the perfect meal, at the right time. Just what I needed. We gotta get back again soon……

Sultan Kebab & Baklava
131 Jamacha Road
El Cajon, CA 92019

It’s been a while week: Latin Chef 6 years later…….

July 22, 2013 mmm-yoso Latin American Cuisine, Peruvian Restaurants

**** Latin Chef has closed

I’ve been trying to restore my “restaurant mojo” since returning from vacation. After some not very good meals, I wondered how those places that used to be on our rotation was doing these days. So about two weeks ago, I decided to revisit a few that I haven’t been to in a while. And so “It’s been a while week” is born.

Latin Chef used to be a favorite of the Missus and I, we’d often visit several times a week. I could easily have credited the place with fueling the fire to visit Peru in 2007. It held a prominent place in our rotation at one time. But our enthusiasm eventually waned when the original chef moved back to Peru. And though I’ve visited a couple of times in 2011 and once early last year, the food on those visits was quite uneven. Part of what was missing for me was the presence of Freddy, the owner, a friendly, gracious, gentleman, who always had time to chat a bit. I’m sure he was around, but never on our visits, and the food seemed to suffer.

Still, the recent warm weather made it seem just right for some cebiche so I headed on over to Latin Chef.

And lo’ and behold, who was waving at me from the window but Freddy! I hadn’t seen him in at least four years. I had a seat and we caught up on things while I placed my order. While waiting for my food, Freddy sat down and we had a chat. Over the years, the menu had expanded to include Brazilian dishes, which I’d never had. Some folks attribute the uneven food to the addition of that side of the menu. When I asked Freddy about those dishes, he told me that without te Brazilian menu, they would not have survived the last three years. Enough with business….we chatted about how Peru has changed over the couple of years. It seems that everyone there now wants to be a chef! Maybe it’s time to start planning another visit, eh? Though I was also told that prices have soared as well.

As Freddy served me my Anticuchos, he had to take leave to head out and shop.

I’ve always enjoyed the marinated beef heart at Latin Chef and I enjoyed this. Well prepared, with a nice chew but not too tough and rubbery, flavored with a mildly spicy chili-annatto marinade with a hint of acid I thought these were nice.

My cebiche pescado wasn’t quite as good. First, no chanchita? That’s almost a deal breaker for me as I love those toasted kernels of corn.

As much as I enjoy the bracing flavor of a good cebiche pescado, this was way too sour for me. I wouldn’t be slurping up this leche de tigre (the cebiche marinade). The fish was under marinated for my taste, a bit too tough, as if the acid in the leche de tigre didn’t have enough time. As for potatoes, it was a plain camote or sweet potato. Sadly, this was a far cry from the “vintage cebiche pescado” of Latin Chef’s past:

Perhaps it was an off day. I’ll probably be back to (finally) try some of the Brazilian dishes on the menu and maybe the cebiche pescado again. Hopefully, it’ll be back to classic form.

Latin Chef
1142 Garnet Ave
San Diego, CA 92109

Giving Chaba Thai a couple of lunchtime tries

July 21, 2013 mmm-yoso Chicken Wings, Thai Restaurants

Back in June (sheesh, we're almost to August already!), I mentioned that a new Thai Restaurant called Chaba Thai was taking the spot of Gyro N' Kabob Cafe, which in turn took the place of Aria Kabob. The place opened up pretty quickly a couple of weeks ago and since my office is close by, I decided to check them out for lunch.

The place has been given a mild face lift; brightened up a bit, paint job, stool, basic tables and banquet chairs, nothing fancy, but much brighter than the former places that occupied this spot. Overall, very fast casual in appearance.

The young ladies working here seemed quite friendly and after business. I was taking a look at the photos of the various dishes posted on the glass and was quickly shown a menu.

Unfortunately, the lunch menu consisted of typical, you choose the protein and preparation which is the standard for Thai restaurants in San Diego.

I'm sure folks that frequent Thai joints have their "baseline" dishes. One of mine is the deceivingly simple Pad See Ew, a simple stir fried rice noodle dish that is a lot harder to execute than one thinks. For me Pad See Ew determines the cook's skill with the wok and temperature. Achieving the balance of not overcooking the rice noodles and generating "wok hey" with the right proportion of sweet and salty shows experience and aptitude.

So I went with the Pad See Ew with Shrimp. Things started out kind of plus/minus. The salad with lunch is decent, a over-sweet "Thai-inspired" dressing, but the vegetables were fresh. That soup with coconut milk and cabbage was just plain insipid. I've been finding that this soup with lunch thing has lead to having some pretty nasty bowls recently, stuff I just have spoonful and can't finish.

Now for $7.95, I didn't expect anything like, say, Sab E Lee or Siam Nara. This is what I got…..

I really don't know what to say….but let me try. With regards to the shrimp, I didn't mind 41-50, which I kind of like in stir-fries, but these were overcooked and rubbery. Too long over not enough heat. There was also a bit of grittiness to them and a flavor that was edging on "off". Standard issue "Calabrese broccoli" was used instead of Chinese broccoli. The noodles were mushy and cooked without enough heat for too long (see the pattern). There wasn't enough savory, nor enough sweet, basically nothing but greasy, mushy, noodles.

This came with chicken wings that had very little flavor and a doughy batter, giving it a real greasy texture. The cream cheese won tons……..I won't even delve into that.

This was just kind of sad. I go into meals hoping and wishing for the best and it's always depressing to deal with nice folks who serve food that just seem to miss the mark.

Because of that, I decided to have another lunch at Chaba. Funny thing, I never bothered to turn over the lunch menu here. On that side of the menu is a different world of dishes; grilled pork neck, Thai jerky, and what I ended up ordering, the "Thai E-Sarn Sausage"….Issan Sausage ($5.95).

So this was the roundish "Sai Krok" I've encountered before. What really threw me off was the Japanese Benishoga – pickled ginger that was served with the dish. C'mon…really? I also prefer some cabbage rather than a single leaf of lettuce, but I've had it this way before. The sausage was too mushy for my taste, without enough sour-fermented flavor. It also seemed to be mostly rice. Sadly, this was the best item I've had here……

In a moment of indecision, I also ordered the "Combo Set" ($8.95), which featured BBQ Chicken and not apparent to me until after I ordered, BBQ Shrimp.

In all honesty, that insipid soup was better on this visit. This made me feel that perhaps things were going to be better this time around.

"Not so fast El Guapo!"

What I got was kind of strange and disturbing….the "BBQ Chicken" looked pan seared and like something I'd make at home. It had very little flavor. I love good Kai Yaang, so this was depressing.

The shrimp I was terrified of was cooked decently, but had little flavor.

The fried rice was actually not bad, but also needed a flavor injection.

It was kind of weird in a way. I felt like I was taken back to Thai restaurant food in the 80's, where restaurants were afraid of serving true, traditional flavors. Even in terms of "Ameri-Thai" this was a step backwards.

Contrary to what you might think, I take no joy in doing this post. Everytime I do a post that is less than positive, I get a couple of emails that suggest I do only "positive reviews". The problem with that being; I don't do "reviews", this is my little space where I post my opinions on what I/we ate. Secondly, I do wish the world was "butterflies and puppy dog tails", but it's not. Then there's those that usually start by marginalizing me, or calling me a name, then tell me something along the lines of, "if you have nothing good to say, you should say nothing at all." These folks I ask to start by setting the example first. Even more interesting, I'll get an email on a post like this one, telling me I know nothing about "REAL THAI FOOD LIKE IN THAILAND"……funny thing was; we'd just returned from Thailand…..go figure.

This is a place where I hoped that the food measured up to the warm service and sadly did not. I'm hoping things improve.

Chaba Thai Kitchen
8010 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92111

Lisbon Day 3: Belem – Monument to the Discoveries(Padrão dos Descobrimentos) and lunch at Restaurante Rosa dos Mares

July 20, 2013 mmm-yoso Lisbon, Portugal, Portuguese Food, Seafood, Travel

Right across the street from the Monastery de Jeronimos is Praca do Imperio, a large well manicured public square that features a beautiful fountain and a nice view of the monastery.

Heading toward the water and crossing under Avenida de Brasilia, you get to the waterfront. You really can't miss Padrão dos Descobrimentos, the Monument to the Discoveries, which celebrates Portugal's glory during the Age of Discovery. This was where all those great sailing ships left from.

Originally, a temporary structure was built on this spot for the 1940 World's Fair. That structure was demolished in 1943. In 1958, a permanent structure was planned and in 1960, marking the 500th anniversary of the death of Prince Henry the Navigator, the structure was completed.

By the way, that's Henry the Navigator leading the way at the point of the structure.

There are 33 figures total on the structure's West and East sides, which include Vasco da Gama, Alfonso the V, and Ferdinand Magellan. Sad, but true story of a recent conversation with a rather young, but highly educated young man. Chatting about our vacation, I mentioned the Age of Discovery; total blank look. I finally said, "you know Magellan, right?" "Of course, he's the person who invented the GPS, right?" Sigh…….

Anyway, Henry the Navigator is holding a sailing ship in his hands…….

It costs a couple of Euros to catch the elevator almost all the way to the top. You walk a couple of flights from there. It's a tight squeeze, but the view is wonderful. The photo of Jerónimos Monastery in my previous post was taken from there.

Here's another panoramic shot of Lisbon and the "25th of April" Bridge in the background (click to enlarge).

We had planned on taking the short ferry ride across the river to Porto Brandao, but having just missed the boat, we decided to just catch the trolley back to Central Lisbon to get something to eat. While walking to the trolley stop we noticed a promising looking restaurant called Restaurante Rosa dos Mares.

The server was very friendly and nice and there was a mix of tourists and locals in the shop. It was interesting, the locals ate in the back of the place while the tourists ate in the front.

The prices really weren't bad and of course the Missus wanted more sardines.

The Missus started with, duh, Caldo Verde (E 1.25), which She enjoyed….though I don't think She's ever met a bowl of Caldo Verde She didn't like!

For some reason, She really took to this simple potato thickened soup with greens.

Of course no real meal is complete without some Vinho Verde, right?

She also got here Sardinas Assadas, grilled sardines (E 6).

These were nicely done, better than what we had at Super Mario's. Moist, nice oil, rich, but not too fishy, good grilled flavor. There's something about the potatoes in Portugal…..it seemed like they had a more intense flavor. Maybe it was just being on vacation.

I got something called Bacalhao Rosa dos Mares (E 12).

Like they say, there's a recipe for Bacalhau for every meal of every day of the week. This was another one for the books. Basically nicely fried bacalhau topped withonions and peppers caramelized in vinegar. A tad too sweet for me, but the texture of the fish was nice and it wasn't too salty. The service was friendly, the Server helpful, and the food not bad.

Restaurante Rosa dos Mares
Rua de Belem 2-4
Lisbon, Portugal

After lunch we headed back to central Lisbon, getting off at Praca do Comerico and taking a walk back to our room/apartment.

As with all trips to large cities, Lisbon had seemed so large upon our arrival, but was shrinking as every day passed. Still, we weren't too sure we'd be able to to find the restaurant where we'd be having dinner, which was located in the tiny, winding, streets of Alfama. One last meal in Lisbon before heading on to our next stop.

Lisbon Day 3: Belem – Casa Pasties de Belem and the Monastery of Jeronimos

July 19, 2013 mmm-yoso Desserts, Lisbon, Portugal, Portuguese Food, Travel

On our third day in Lisbon we took a little trip to Bethlehem, no not that Bethlehem, or even that Bethlehem…… Santa Maria de Belem, or just Belem is a district of Lisbon. Belem is translated as Bethlehem in Portuguese, but don't let the name fool you, it's not some quaint Biblical village. Rather , this is where the great explorers during the Age of Discovery, Ferdinand Magellan and Vasco de Gama set sail. Belem district is beset by museums, a large garden, and monuments galore. It is about three miles from downtown Lisbon, so hoofing it would be a bit far; even for the Missus. The Missus unable to resist a "good deal", decided that Sunday would be the day to go since admission to the museums are free on that day. I'm usually a bit wary of large crowds, but didn't want to miss stuff like this:

Or this (click on them to enlarge):

So we made sure to get to the #15B trolley stop at Praca de Figueira rather early, in relative terms since Jeronimos Monastery doesn't open until 10. We're glad that we caught the trolley from Praca de Figueria. By the time the trolley made it to Praca do Comercio it was packed solid and just skipped the stop with a crowd of unhappy people waiting.

Getting off the trolley in front of the Monastery de Jeronimos, we didn't enter right away, instead we walked over a block to the place I really wanted to visit, the legendary Casa Pastéis de Belém. If you're after the "original" Pastel de Nata, which you should call Pasties de Belem here, or be lynched, you need to visit Casa Pastéis de Belém. According to the story, the original pasties de Belem recipe was created by two nuns in Mosteiro dos Jeronimos (Monastery of Jeronimos) and only served in the monastery until 1837 when this shop was established several priests. Since Belem was a central port, the fame of these egg tarts spread to all the Portuguese colonies across the world. If you know my twisted priorities, you'd understand how important it was to check this place out.

Since it was still before the 10 o'clock hour, when all the tourists and visitors would be hitting the area for free admission day, the place was buzzing but not crazy. We decided to do the "local thing" for a quick bite; order at the counter, then move over and eat at the counter standing up, which we'd grown fond of.

While waiting for our espresso and pasteis de Belem I took a walk around the rather maze0like interior of the shop.

Returning to the Missus we had a funny moment; the gentleman to the right in in the photo above was having some pasties with his wife. His wife grabbed the shaker of cinnamon and shook out a mushroom cloud of it on her pastry, causing the gentleman to cough and give her a rather dirty look. The woman could only laugh in amusement. He looked at me, I could only laugh and make the sound "poof", making the motion like a bomb exploding….he shook his head and laughed.

So how were these? Without a doubt the best we had on the entire trip! The pastry was served warm. Even though I read that it should be served cold; I disagree, these were wonderful warm. The crust was light and crisp, the custard wasn't too sweet and was relatively light….it seemed just perfect with a sprinkle (not a mushroom cloud) of cinnamon on it.

There's a reason this place goes through 10,000 a day and locals and tourists alike stand in line for these….they are delici-yoso!

Like most "legendary/cult" favorites there are stories about the the recipe. Supposedly this recipe is a closely held secret, known by only three people. According to Leite's Culinaria, the custard is made in a locked room! Unlike other places we've tried with "secret kitchens/recipes" (i.e. Crustacean) this place delivered. Business was really picking up when we left.

Casa Pastéis de Belém
Rua de Belem 84
Lisbon, Portugal

After this, I was ready to get on that trolley and head back to Lisbon proper….but of course, we weren't leaving without seeing the Jerónimos Monastery.

If you're a fan of ornate and elaborate Manueline Architecture, there's no better example than Jerónimos Monastery.

I recall walking the arched walkways in awe. Eventually, it just seemed like so much excess, just over-the-top……then the Missus looked at me and said, "somebody had to pay for this….." Which was true, the monastery was funded with a 5% tax on commerce from Asia and the Orient.

I will say that the place is one big photo opportunity.

I did want to see the main chapel for one main reason. It was Sunday so services were being held. They did a nice job of handling things. We stood in line and some really nice attendants let us in a few at a time.

The interior of the main chapel is quite ornate. There was one thing I wanted to see. The great explorer, Vasco da Gama is buried here. His tomb is located in the lower choir area.

I remember writing a paper on Vasco da Gama when in elementary school, so this was one of those "meeting history" moments for me.

There's a bunch of museums in the area, but this was all we came to see. We had made some additional plans though…..

Stay tuned.

Pho Fifth Avenue revisited

July 16, 2013 mmm-yoso Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants

I know, we've been having a bit of a heat wave, what the heck am I doing having pho? Yeah, I guess I've gone around the bend in my old age. Actually, I was recently in the Hillcrest area for a meeting that ended at 1030. I was hungry and having not been back to Pho Fifth Avenue since February of last year, I was kind of curious to see how the place was doing……..

The place served up what I considered to be a decent bowl of pho….and yet I wondered, had they "jumped the shark" or was the pho here still pretty good?

I decided to take my chances on the hope that there would be an open parking space nearby. I lucked out and got one right outside the shop. This must be a good omen, right?

The pho for me here is the filet mignon version. It's not cheap at $9.95 for a small and $11.95 for a large. The other protein offerings seem to favor the gringo's….lot's of meaty cuts and not so much tendon and tripe.

The herbs and bean sprouts were kind of scarce, I asked for some additional basil to bump up the anise flavor in the broth and was gladly given more. The broth had a nice hue and was low-oil. As I previously noted, to me the soup tends to be on the sweet side, though unlike other versions elsewhere, there is a beefy component to it.

You must get the beef on the side for this and the broth must be at the right temperature to lightly, barely cook the meat. Check and check on this visit.

Even the noodles were prepared well, nice chew without being overcooked.

I hate to beat that ol' dead horse, but even the pho in Hillcrest is better than what I've had in Kearny Mesa? There's something just wrong about that.

Pho Fifth Avenue
3807 5th Ave
San Diego, CA 92103

The second location of Paris Bakery opens

July 15, 2013 mmm-yoso Banh Mi, Sandwiches, Vietnamese Restaurants

Back in April, I mentioned that Paris Bakery was taking over the old Thanh Son Tofu location. Two weeks ago, I noticed they were open. So having to work this past weekend, I decided on dropping by for a "breakfast/lunch" take-out visit.

Having not set foot in this shop in about six years, I'd forgotten just how large the place was. There seemed to be so much open space. It's a far cry from the other location. Yes, I said other location. I recognized the older woman, who was always so chatty. She and the young woman making my sandwich, her daughter, were very talkative on this morning.

Apparently, they've been in need of much more space for a while now, so this location fills the gap. I was told that the other location will still be open, which I found odd since you can literally see the other Paris Bakery if you walk out to the street. Her son will be running that location, her daughter gets the new shop. I mentioned that parking….oh boy…..that triggered a discourse about how bad the parking situation is/was at that location. "People come in to buy a bread and spend two dollars, they walk outside a minute later to find a ticket on their car….it was bad!" No wonder those little old Vietnamese ladies would rush out of the place practically running me over. You don't mess with them; they're tough. In their hands, a simple baguette becomes a deadly weapon.

I ordered two sandwiches ($3.50/each) eating half of each for breakfast than lunch.

Starting with the Dac Biet. The bread for this sandwich was decently crusty and slightly bready as is standard for their baguettes. If you've had a Banh Mi from any shop that makes their own, you've either had it from here or Le Chef Bakery. It's still a bit more dense than I prefer, but not bad.

I'd forgotten that Paris tends to be somewhat heavy handed in the application of mayo at times, which was the case with this sandwich.

With regards to that most enjoyable game of jalapeno roulette….this one was pretty spicy!

There was a good amount of pickled vegetables, which were nice and crisp, though on the mild side. The meat was decent for a banh mi, except that it as ice cold. In terms of proportion, I thought it was good.

I also ordered the Jamon, which I thought was better than the "special" for a couple of reasons.

Apparently the young lady started on a new baguette for this sandwich as the bread was still warm when I got to work. It was nice and flaky/crusty and fairly light.

The amount of "Jamon" was on the small side and it was also very cold, but the flavors of the meat, pickles, cilantro, and pate blended pretty well together. All in all, a decent banh mi.

I actually thought the sandwiches here were better than I remembered. Which means I'll be returning soon. Heck, at the least you'll know that the bread is fresh…or should be fresh. I was told that both shops have the same hours, which means opening early, like around 5am and closing in the late afternoon as well.

Paris Bakery
4616 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA 92115

Now I've got to check out the Thanh Son Tofu in their new location! Stay tuned!

Saturday Stuffs: What going on with the old Zion Marketplace (U Mart?), where Voltero’s is moving to. Blue Korea House? I hadn’t even noticed. how I pack for 3 weeks of travel and a Xiang Chun Ya update.

July 13, 2013 mmm-yoso Cooking, Korean Restaurants, Markets & Grocers, Pizza, Travel

Here's a far ranging edition of Saturday Stuffs for you.

U Mart? What's U Mart?:

I had been wondering what was happening with the old Zion Marketplace site. I don't recall seeing some of the old food court shops in the new Zion and thought perhaps they were hold-outs? So imagine my surprise when I drove past that location and saw this:

No, there weren't any businesses in the empty shell of a location, but what was U Mart? After calling around a bit, the best info I could find was that the folks behind First Korean Market will be running this place. Not sure why "U Mart" for a Korean Market….but I guess "K Mart" is already taken, right?

4611 Mercury St
San Diego, CA 92111
Between Engineer Rd and Dagget St

Where Voltero's is popping up:

Not sure if you folks have noticed, but that strip mall on Balboa where Einstein Bagels used to be is going to become a Chipotle and a Five Guys. I was wondering what happened to Voltero's? I did a post on the cheeseseals there, during my cheesesteak round-up that started in 2010. Voltero's is pretty much your generic neighborhood pizza joint, nothing amazing, but they had a pretty loyal following, and if I recall were owned by local folks.

So I was fairly pleased to see this sign when I ate at Szechuan Chef.

4344 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

It's now Blue Korea House:

Did you even notice?

Haven't been here in over a decade, as I didn't care for the food. An acquaintance of mine used to call this "Baegin-gyp", 'nuff said.

Anyone eat here since the change?

4620 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

What I wear for three weeks of travel:

"David" emailed me about my comment on only taking about 6-7 kilos in a carry-on for over three weeks of travel. He asked how much did I really pack….well, other than what I wore, that was it. If we didn't have a couple of more formal dinners, I'd have lost the two dress shirts. I was actually going to take a jacket, but didn't in the end. I use Eagle Creek packing cubes and a packing folder. I went for it and actually used a $30 Campmor Essential Carry-On, which weighs about half a pound. The packing folder gave the rather floppy bag structure and I had no problems with the bag, nor laundry either. What about wrinkles? A spritz from a spray bottle, a good shake, and a steamy bathroom does wonders…irons are perfectly fine as well of course. I did end up buying a "hoodie" from H&M, which are everywhere in Europe for about 10 Euros.

I'm now sold on One Bag Travel….until I have to go home or visit relatives…you know, the "gifts" thing, right?

The Missus favorite new "pet" – Xiang Chun Ya:

One of the dishes the missed most by the Missus is eggs with shoots from the Xiang Chun Ya, the Chinese Toon tree. This was one of Her favorites growing up and was one of the first things She wanted to eat when we visited QingDao.

We finally got a plant this year….thank "SL"! Sadly, SH left the tree in her hot car that day and it looked dead. But, after transplanting and some TLC, shoots are coming out which has the Missus going nuts…..you see, it's the tender shoots of this plant which are used for scrambled eggs:

The Missus has told me that She's going to pick these shoots already and buy some eggs…I said, "based on the size of these, it better be quail eggs….."

I also told Da Boyz that they aren't Her favorites anymore….they've been replaced by a tree!

Seriously, it's about time we actually used the space in the backyard to grow some stuff.

Anyway, I hope everyone's having a great weekend!

Lisbon Day 2: Using the “Lisbon Rule” at Pastelaria 1800 and dinner at Assinatura

July 12, 2013 mmm-yoso Desserts, Fine Dining, Lisbon, Portugal, Portuguese Food, Travel

It seems that in recent years we're always travelling on the Missus's birthday, which She says is the "second" best gift She could get (the first being a Chanel something or other…). This year, I wanted to have a nice, a more fine dining type of dinner, something special. So I made reservations several months in advance at Assinatura, which seemed to be a rising star of a restaurant in Lisbon, supposedly elevating traditional Portuguese cuisine. This seemed like the perfect spot for us.

One could easily question our sanity having started the day with a "pork-fest (and beer) for breakfast sandwiched between pastel de natas, then having some Frango Assado for lunch. Still, this was way more walking than I'm used to, which left me with a good appetite.

Getting there was easy, perhaps too easy, just a straight shot on the Blue line getting off at Marques de Pombal. Up the street and a few blocks later we passed the street Assinatura was located on. Over an hour early. It was breezy and there was a chill in the air, and we had time to kill, so now what? Well, it seemed to be the perfect time to initiate the "Lisbon Rule", whenever you start getting a bit confused and frustrated, it's time for some espresso and a Pastel de Nata. We walked up the street for a bit and found this shop near the Rato stop on the Yellow line.

It was warm and full of local color. This was a place to chat and take in the folks having a snack here. There were the three older women, dressed so primly, who sat by the front window, and were obviously locals who did this quite often, having quite the conversation. A gentleman and his daughter, stopping for a snack, talking in that animated, conspiratory tone that only fathers and daughters have, lively, tinged with laughter and teasing. After walking out of the shop, he hoisted her on his shoulder. And the quiet gentleman, beret tilted slightly on his head, who periodically opened the portfolio placed precisely aligned to the corner of the table, occasionally removing a pamphlet or a letter which he would open and read with what seemed like scrupulous detail.

We found this so refreshing….there was no texting, no iPads, no cellphones going off, no hipster, machiatic-soy latte-grande on my acai-kale drink thing going on. It seemed so organic and real that it felt like we had been beamed back to another time.

I don't remember much about the espresso, nor the pastries. What I do remember is really taking in the atmosphere which was priceless. Just the perfect break we needed at the right time.

Pastelaria 1800
Largo do Rato 7
Lisbon, Portugal

Fortified, we headed back to Assinatura arriving at about 720. There was already a line in place, of folks who had reservations! It seems that a good number of folks were with a large party who were seated downstairs near the kitchen at the Chef's table.

The dining room at Assinatura was just our speed; nice, but understated. The service during our meal was good, our Server, a very professional young lady really knew her stuff and managed her staff well. The timing was perfect, no extended delays. Just what you'd expect out of a restaurant of this caliber.

Assinatura has a regular menu and several tasting menus, three of which are "tasting menus", where you put yourself in the hands of the chef, which was fine with us. You can't mix and match, so we both had the same menu, the seven course (61 E), with one set of wine (35 E).

I have to say that things started out rather inauspiciously for us as the bread was cold and not particularly remarkable, though the olive oil from Alentejo was marvelously grassy and full bodied.

The amuse, which we were told was not "an amuse" since that is French, was a very nice pastry stuffed with wonderfully creamy and rich bacalhau. The salt cod really stood up well to this rich preparation.

Next up was an Octopus Terrine with Peanut Sauce.

There was also pineapple in this dish, which to our tastes was rather disjointed. The peanut sauce, was pretty much peanut butter and the octopus kind of had a chewy texture (we've had more tender octopus) which made for a kind of weird mouthfeel for us. The pineapple was too sweet without enough acid to cut through all of this and nothing stood out in terms of flavor.

Even worse was the Sardine…..

Which was so fishy, even the tomato couldn't cut it. Sadly, it was sardine season and this was probably the worst sardine we had during our entire trip.

Next up was a White Gazpacho of sorts with Bacalhau.

Unfortunately, nothing really stood out here. The salt cod was very mild, which I guess might be a good thing. The"gazpacho" was quite weak and didn't bring anything bold or acidic to the table.

The next dish was my favorite of the evening. It was swordfish with pea puree…which really doesn't sound that great……but it was possibly the best piece of swordfish, something I'm not fond of, that I've ever had.

The fish was so very tender and moist, meaty and perfectly flaky. The caramelized onions brought a perfect sweet-acidity. The prawns added an umami touch. But the one item on the plate that really surprised me in this combination of flavors was how the sweet and earthy pea puree just grounded the dish. Man, this was good!

Next up was another well done dish; what seemed like a homage to the Francesinha.

The crisp bread. the milky cheese, and that wonderful pork flavor that I associate with a good Bifana. This was a lovely dish.

After having a good share of tasting menus, I've found that dessert doesn't often live up to the savory dishes offered. This was an exception as the Missus totally loved it.

Along with dessert we were served a very, very good selection of three cheeses. Now if I was really on top of things I'd tell you what cheeses they were. All I can say is that they were really good with the aged Port I had!

All in all a good, but not great meal. I kind of think that if you're spending over two hundred bucks you'd expect a bit more, but perhaps that's just us.

Assinatura
Rua Vale do Pereiro 19 A
Lisbon, Portugal