mmm-yoso – Page 291

Vista: Spicy King

August 26, 2012 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants

**** Spicy King has closed

It's always great to hear from folks who have new recommendations and such….I don't think I'd still be around if not for the many emails and suggestions I get. A couple of weeks ago, "Big Ron", an avid Chowhound and I guess reader of our blog sent me an email asking me to try Spicy King, which had just opened up in Vista. Now I'd heard a bit about Spicy King, but not a whole lot….I as told that the folks behind Spicy City are somehow involved in the whole deal. Also, my dear FOY (Friend of Yoso), The Food Detective and her husband MrC had eaten there two weeks previous. The place sounded interesting, but when I quizzed TFD, she was less than enthused telling me the place was "decent", the "portions large", but overall a step behind Dede's and Spicy City in her mind. Still, we were missing Sichuan food and having been to every other Sichuan place many times over, why not make the 75 mile round trip, right?

As you can tell by the banner, the restaurant is fairly new and located in a pretty quiet corner of one of the mall complexes anchored by an Albertson's.

hadn't I been explicitly looking for the place, I'd have never known it was here….it would be hard to tell the place was open if not for the "Open" sign.

The place is quite nice, rather simple but tasteful. The young women working….the Missus told me they're all related were friendly and also from Chongqing based on their accents.

The menu is large and all the photos can lead you into overload with over 115 dishes, excluding the…ahem, "classics", items like Cashew Chicken, Beef Broccoli, and such which are hidden on the back of the menu.

The natural way to start one of these meals is with some cold appetizers(3 for $5.99)…..

The best item was the almost Jiangnan ("South of the Yangtze" – Suzhou/Shanghai/Hangzhou) style fish, almost like Xun Yu. It was slighty sweet, bony, but had nice flavor. The spicy bean curd was extremely salty and the Fu Qi Fei Pian, while perfect in texture lacked the buzz of Sichuan peppercorns and a decent amount of heat.

One of the two dishes I truly miss from Ba Ren is the ChongQing Kou Shui Ji 重庆口水鸡 – the mouthwatering (saliva) chicken. So we ordered the Chungking cold chopped chicken with Hot Sauce ($9.99). And good god, this huge bowl arrived….there seemed to be over half a chicken in it.

It did look quite good…..but was fairly flat and surprisingly not very spicy. It really lacked any real depth of flavor…..anything, black vinegar, sesame paste, perhaps a little garlic, mild sweetness….strangely, I took most of this home, the leftovers became almost a whole meal a day later, and this was still not very spicy.

Next up was the Shrimp with Explosive Chili Pepper ($12.99).

I don't think the oil was at the right temp for this as the batter was gummy and the dish was on the greasy side……not oily (oil is the pathway to flavor in Sichuan cuisine), greasy. The shrimp were severely overcooked and rubbery. Not enough Sichuan peppercorn for my taste….especially for ChongQing style Sichuan. Decent heat from the scalded chilies though.

Next up was the Twice Cooked Fish with Hot Pepper ($10.99). God almighty, this was a huuuuge amount of fish. The batter looked the same as the one used for the shrimp, but this time it was lighter and crisp. The fish was nicely cooked, tender and moist.

There was a decent amount of peppercorn in this, the garlic and even the slices of ginger added to the dish. The photo on the right is after the Missus had eaten two pieces and I had eaten three….it's like we hadn't put a dent in this. About this time, the Missus overheard two of the young ladies, one was telling the other, "they are not even from Sichuan and are ordering all spicy…."

We also noticed that other customers didn't seem to be ordering much of the spicy stuff……

Next up was the Pork Intestine with Pickled Chili Pepper (Pa Jiao – $9.99):

The intestines were very "clean" and this was mild with regards to funkiness. The dish was much sweeter than it was spicy. In fact, I had the leftovers three days later, at which time it had become nice and spicy. Not a bad dish.

The Missus ordered something called "Megamillions fish fillet" ($12.99), which was Her favorite dish of the day.

This was Her favorite dish of the day. It put some nice layers of flavor together….the minced ginger, the pickled peppers, the fish was perfect, the tofu added a nice symmetry to the dish. Tasting this, I thought it to be the most balanced in terms of "suan-tian-ku-la-xian", the sour-sweet-bitter-spicy-salty metaphor that Chinese use to compare food to life.

One funny moment occurred during our visit….three of the staff started having a typical "discussion" over the A/C……it started as some chatter and got louder and louder until they seemed to be yelling at each other. Folks in the restaurant put their chopsticks down and seemed to be waiting for the "gloves to come off". I even stopped eating to watch….at which time the Missus reminded me, "you know they are just having a normal discussion over the A/C right……" as She just kept eating. Goodness, I'd forgotten!

In the end, what to say….the food was decent, though not quite worth the 75 mile round trip. The portions are huge and the service very friendly. when the Missus mentioned how big the servings were the young lady said, "oh no, the plates just make everything look so big!" You gotta love that. It's really good to see diversity of cuisine spreading, albeit slowly all over San Diego. It's taking awhile, but it's many miles from how things were when we moved here!

Spicy King
1233 East Vista Way
Vista, CA 92084

Thanks for your recommendation Big Ron! I hope here from you again in the future!

Saturday Stuffs: Gifts from a fellow blogger, we needed a new cleaver, almost impulse buys from Thuan Phat, and recently consumed……

August 25, 2012 mmm-yoso Markets & Grocers, yoso-silly

Gifts from a fellow food blogger:

During our lunch at Moby Dick (insert punch line), fellow food blogger Canine Cologne, "CC" to me, generously gave us a goody bag of swag……

I gotta say….this was some really yummy stuff. The Missus really loved the smoked mussels and the tuna!

Thanks as always for your generosity CC, it's always a pleasure seeing you!

We said we needed a new cleaver……

Actually, the Missus mentioned this to my MIL. So when the D's visited, guess what we got? Well, not one…but three cleavers from China! Thanks to MrD Sr.

One daily use, lighter weight…a medium weight, and one that's super heavy and perfect for chopping up bones among other things. We really appreciate the gifts!

The brand is Wang Ma Zi which is one of those "time honored brands". Really good knives, the Missus loves the everyday cleaver, which I got good and sharp.

Someone asked me how I keep my knives sharp….so sharp that PeterL was kind of afraid to use them. A sharp knife cuts cleanly and is safer to use than a dull one that slips around. I have a Smith Abrasives Tri Hone that I really like along with a steel and a whetstone I've had for decades.

Recently seen at Thuan Phat:

The Missus has taken to shopping at Thuan Phat…..well, at least every once in a while. She likes thevariety; the place is much less "pungent" then Vien Dong was, and we do find items that catch our interest once in a while, helping to make the sometimes mundane task of shopping a bit more fun. I recently used up the last of the palm sugar we brought back from Cambodia, so I needed to restock. It had been so long since I last shopped for the stuff that I was surprised to find jars with tablespoon sized disks of palm sugar available. For those that have wrestled with the large blocks/discs of hard as rock palm sugar, this stuff is great. A drop of water and 10-15 seconds in the microwave and it becomes very soft.

There were a couple of items that caught my eye during shopping. Even though I have no use for it, this was almost irresistible.

First, I wondered if it really smelled like durian…..of course I'm not going to be dumb enough to open it in the store! Can you imagine….or worse, what if I spilled it? Gives new meaning to "clean-up in aisle five". Still, if your coffee smells kind of odd next time…..

Recently Consumed:

I saw some nice watercress at the Linda Vista Farmer's Market and thought it had been a while since I made Luang Prabang Salad (Nyam Salat). That's basically why I needed the palm sugar.

Even though I hadn't made it in a while, it turned out well….the Missus got a kick out of the presentation. It's kind of an inside joke with us.

We' ve found that taking sometime to make your meal look a little more….well, pretty enhances the meal…even Sun Brand Cold Noodles……

The lemongrass chicken at Yum Cha Cafe is $3.99 for a half chicken and it's probably the best BBQ item they have. It does tend to dry out, so buy it intact and cut it up at home.

Funny thing is…the Missus is starting to text me photos of Her breakfasts when I'm at work……

Honolulu: Fresh Catch, Tamura’s Kaimuki, and Ono Seafood

August 23, 2012 mmm-yoso Hawaiian Food, Honolulu, Oahu, Poke, Travel

During the last trip, I made a couple of stops at various places. I wanted the D's to have a taste of local food. In addition, the Missus wanted me to bring home some smoked fish and tako….so I had to do some sampling, right?

Fresh Catch:

Right across from W&M Burgers, this place used to be a Pizza Hut, back in the day….I'm wracking my brain trying to remember what it was before. Anyway, now there's a friendly looking tako on the front.

So of course, I got some smoked tako……the version here was interesting, it was slathered in mayo. I also got some seaweed salad. I noticed that folks from China really love the seaweed salad. It's not a big deal, for me, but heck, if they like it…..

There was something about the smoked tako MrD really liked….I tried to explain to him it was the mayonnaise, but my FIL said there's no Chinese word for it! So did the Missus….so I guess it need to go down in history as the really great tasting stuff that shall remain nameless? Not my favorite version, but it was interesting to try.

Fresh Catch
3109 Waialae Ave
Honolulu, HI 96816

Tamura's Kaimuki:

The more I visit this place, the more I like it. I actually used to service Tamura's in Waianae a lifetime ago.

We actually stopped by back in 2010, but I guess I never did a post on that one. Anyway, I thought the smoked marlin here was pretty good, so this was pretty much my first choice for a tasting.

Geeez Louise….is that price for Pulehu Tako for real?? It's more expensive than prime beef!

Anyways, I got a trio for tasting. The D's were kind of wary of this stuff….until I told them the pipikaula was "Niu Rou". They ended up enjoying that the best.

My FIL loves smoked food. Both of us thought the marlin was much better than the swordfish…..more flavor, more moist, better texture.

The only thing the swordfish had going for it was that it held together better.

So this was one of my stops on the way to the airport. I bought the Missus a pound of marlin. During that stop I noticed the display on my right….which will probably make my San Diego craft beer buddies smile.

Tamura's Fine Wines & Liquors
3496 Waialae Ave.
Honolulu, HI 96816

Ono Seafood:

One of my other stops on the way to the airport was at Ono Seafood, which I've posted on before.

I grabbed a couple of bags of smoked tako for the Missus. Unfortunately, the poke bowl will just have to wait for a future trip. Plus, it'll be more fun eaqting this stuff with the Missus.

Ono Seafood
747 Kapahulu Ave.Apt 4
Honolulu, HI 96816

Midweek Meanderings: What’s up with “Chef Chin” and H Mart is coming to San Diego

August 22, 2012 mmm-yoso Blog

What's up with Chef Chin?:

Is the question that fellow food blogger Dennis asked me. In case you're wondering, there's new signage up over Chin's Convoy.

I heard through the grapevine that an "Investor from Shanghai" decided to buy the place. So different ownership; different name. I've also heard that the food has severely downhill….I'll have to go check it out one of these days.

Chef Chin
4433 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

H Mart is coming to San Diego:

*** H Mart has opened

I mentioned that possibility in an earlier post about the Zion Market move. I received an interesting email telling me that what I had heard was a bunch…..well the word rhymes with slap. Apparently, what I heard was true. On Monday, my coworker EK told me that H Mart was opening in the place formerly occupied by Ralph's on Mira Mesa Boulevard.

Here's the sign…….

Like the space to be occupied by Zion Market, this is going to be a huge store….the sign also says "food court". Looks like we'll soon have two Korean "super-stores" in San Diego. I wonder how that'll work-out.

9440 Mira Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92126

Local Kine Stovetop Smoked Swordfish

August 21, 2012 mmm-yoso Cooking, Recipes

The Missus requested one thing for Herself on my last trip home….no it wasn't (almost tho') jewelry, shoes, a handbag, or gasp, heaven forbid mac nuts. She wanted some smoked fish. So a small cooler and some gel packs later, She got a pound of smoked marlin and some smoked taco….which She proceeded to wack in a couple of meals.

Then of course came my mission…..She didn't want to wait for our next trip back; it was time for me to make this at home….like pronto. So over the course of the last couple of weeks, I came up with something similar. The easiest fish to find was swordfish, though I prefer marlin. Tasting the smoked fish, I figured it to be a soy sauce-sugar/mirin/honey-H20-sesame oil-granulated garlic-ginger kind of thing. This was going to be a bit tricky since I was hot smoking using my Camerons Stovetop Smoker which had served me well over the years. So after the first try, I had pretty much got the marinade fairly close to a starting point for future fun. You can use this for perhaps 2 – 2 1/2 pounds of fish or more. My smoker can hold about a pound-and-a-half.

So here's the marinade sans the red food coloring……

Marinade:
3/4 cup Aloha Shoyu
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
3/4 cup water
1/4 cup Hoisin Sauce
1 tablespoon granulated garlic
1 teaspoon ground Korean chili powder
3-4 tablespoons ginger juice
3-4 tablespoons good sesame oil
3-4 tablespoons Mulyeot – Korean Malt Syrup
– Combine ingredients, mix well

I was surprised at how much sesame oil and ginger juice this recipe can handle. I'm sure we can bump up both and be perfectly happy.

I sliced the swordfish into strips and marinated overnight in a gallon ziploc bag - about 12 hours or so, before smoking. I used mesquite, because the flavor is somewhat similar to kiawe.

Smoking is interesting. For now I'm at about 35-40 minutes, but may try to cut that down a bit. The longer you smoke the drier the fish will become. Which leads me to the last thing. About 5 minutes before the smoking is complete, I mix 3 tablespoon sesame oil and 3 tablespoons honey and heat in the microwave for 20 seconds.

When the smoking is done, I immediately brush the sesame oil-honey mixture onto the fish. This adds flavor and seals in whatever moisture is left.

I let cool, then refrigerate.

I'd been wondering how the Missus has been eating this…it's usually pupus. I found that She uses it on salads, with even more sesame oil on top and whatever dressing She's feeling like….or even making Her own pseudo temaki.

Hey, who am I to argue. As they say…."Happy wife equals happy life!"

Happy Tuesday to you!

Sushi Tadokoro

August 20, 2012 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants, Sushi and Sashimi

After being married all of these years, the Missus knows when I'm feeling a bit run down…..I'm not sure if it's work, the weather, old age, or maybe a combination of everything, but I think I've been moving at a bit of a slower pace recently. The Missus knows just how to pull me out of it; "why don't you go and get some sushi tonight….have a nice dinner!" I couldn't help but perk up…..plus there was a place I had in mind. A new place called Sushi Tadokoro. Now the first two recommendations I had for the place mentioned rolls and jalapeno rolls…stuff I really don't eat. But when Rodzilla asked if I'd been here yet and mentioned Edomae sushi….well I just had to check it out.

Plus, it's not that faraway from home, just South of El Agave and Old Town.

There are only three or so parking stalls in the strip mall, but this being an early in the week…..a weeknight, I had no problems parking. The restaurant is quite minimalist, but very nice looking. The bar is long, with quite a bit of space. I sat to the very left on the bar and did recognize Take from Surfside Sushi….I'm guessing all the guys form there are starting open their own places.

For me, Edomae sushi revolves around nigiri, so after Take asked me what I would not eat….basically a non-factor, unless he was planning on doing something with hoya, I asked him to make me whatever he felt. There was an "Omakase Special" on the greaseboard for a very low $25…..but hey……I wanted some good stuff.

Things started off with Hirame (halibut) cured in kelp with some of his own nikiri….his personal soy sauce mixture intended for sushi.

This was a nice start for me….I love shiromi(white fish) and the nikiri, while mild added a nice component to the dish allowing the mild smokey flavor imparted from the kombu (kelp) to come through.

Next up was some Ahi from Hawaii also dabbed with nikiri.

It was a beautiful piece of fish. Ahi (yellowfin), of course has a stronger, more oily flavor than maguro (bluefin). Take-san had given it perhaps a bit more wasabi than I would have appreciated. I did start to notice how nicely shaped his shari was….not humongous carb-blasting pieces of rice, nor huge slabs of protein, but nicely proportioned overall. I did expect a stronger sushi-su(vinegar), but this was mild and nice.

Loved the shari with the hamachi belly….not too tightly packed, not falling apart, it basically exploded in your mouth.

The fish was decent, not as silky smooth as what I would expect, but still good.

The chu-toro was also decent.

It did indeed almost melt in your mouth. Not magnificent, but nice.

The saba topped with a paper thin slice of kombu was just awesome.

Saba is not my favorite thing in the world, but this was just fantastic. The milkiness of the saba was tempered by the kombu, which imparted a smokey, flavor of the sea. This just made my entire day better…..I hope to have it again, soon!

One of the things I enjoy the most about neighborhood sushi places, is that the Itamae gets to know you, understand your tastes…..you can put yourselves in their hands knowing you'll get a good meal. At this point, Take-san started understanding what I enjoyed……and came up with an engawa duet. Engawa is the dorsal fin muscle of the halibut, it's not everyone's cup of tea, but I love it. Crunchy and mildly sweet, it's one of my favorites.

The first piece was typical engawa, a slice of lemon was lightly rubbed against the fish, then a few drops of ponzu, giving it just enough of an acidic touch.

Crunchy, sour, mildly sweet, this was classic engawa.

For the second piece, Take-san brought out the torch and took it to the fish…..I'd never had this before. After squeezing 2-3 drops of lemon on it he placed it on my plate.

Man, this was great. The torching had brought out sweetness that I never knew existed in engawa. While cutting down on the crunchiness, it had developed the fat and collagen, making this a real treat.

Take-san really nailed it for my final item….I usually will have negi-hama to finish things off. I watched him scrape the hamachi belly and combine it with hamachi. It seemed that he read my mind……negihama. As you notice, I ate a piece before I remembered to take a photo…..

This basically melted in my mouth, it was the perfect ending to my meal.

The folks here are very nice. I did wonder how they'd do….Take-san said they don't get many Nihon customers, so having a fairly diverse selection is a challenge, but they did quite well. Plus, from what I could see on this visit, they treat you nicely whether you want a spicy tuna roll or omakase. Something that some places don't do.

Needless to say, I'll be back.

Sushi Tadokoro
2244 San Diego Ave
San Diego, CA 92110

Open
Mon – Sat 5pm – 10pm

Kairouan (Tunisia) – The Great Mosque, A tour of the Medina, and Makroud

August 18, 2012 mmm-yoso Travel, Tunisia, Tunisian Food

Buoyed by our early morning visit to the Medina, we were excited to see what the day held out for us. As would be the norm, our driver/guide Ben was perfectly on time. This morning's agenda included a visit to The Mosque of Uqba, otherwise known as the Great Mosque. Considered to be the holiest Islamic site in North Africa and the fourth most holy in Islam, it is both impressive, yet quite understated at the same time. The walls and buttresses are quite imposing.

While we waited for someone to open the mosque up for us, I noticed that some of the buttresses were strangely bent and none of them really matched. Ben told us that many of these were brought from other sites….roman ruins and places like El Djem.

There's an understated grandness to the place. The courtyard look huge in the early morning sun and the minaret soaring over a hundred feet over the mosque.

On the South end, the dome of the portico catches your eye.

The mosque styles here are totally different from what we had got used to seeing in Turkey. But they are no less beautiful.

Since we're not muslim, we aren't allowed into the prayer room. But we were able to view it from the doorway.

Notice the wood topping the pillars. That's because they are of different sizes. These were brought here from places like Carthage and the soon to be seen in an upcoming post, Sbeitla.

As we left the mosque, Ben introduced us to a nice young man who would be our guide through the Medina. We really enjoyed this…..unlike the very touristy…..or to say it like Ben does, "touristic", the medina in Kairouan seemed to be a very functional medina. The winding roads, some of which were fairly wide, housed a number of homes and mosques. There seemed to be quite a few families living here.

We passed many fruit and vegetable stands along the way.

Along the way little details were pointed out to us. Like the "Hand of Fatima" on the doors. You can tell how many families lived in back of these doors by the number of "hands" on the door.

We were also pointed to the different door knockers on each door. Each was indicated for different family members. You could tell who was at the front door based on the knock.

We got to sample some Berber bread…..

During our breakfast in the hotel and earlier the previous day the Missus sampled the semolina based confection called Makroud. Stuffed with a date mixture and drenched in honey, this eggless confection can keep for months. The Missus and I decided that makroud just might make it through our trip, so we decided to get some. Instead of taking us to one of the bakeries along the front of the medina, we were lead to a tiny little shop down one of the alleyways of the medina. In it, a gentleman made makroud by hand, the old fashioned way….probably for decades.

We watched him roll out and fold the confection with an economy of motion.

We didn't realize that once formed the makroud is actually deep fried then drenched in honey.

While our makroud was being made we were taken Dar Hassine Allani an example of a 18th century house in the medina. This was actually quite interesting and fun.

I really enjoyed ducking down the tiny "rabbit hole" of the stairway to the food cellar. The temperature here remains very stable, which helps with the storage of the olive oil and honey.

We were treated to mint tea and makroud on the roof of the museum.

The view wasn't too shabby either…..

There was one last stop before picking our makroudup. We were led up a wide stairway to this contraption.

This is a camel driven "Noria" a water wheel. we were told that if we came back a few hours later, they would be a camel up here working the water wheelof the Bir Barrouta, a holy water well.

Really neat!

A few minutes later we wound our way back to pick up our makroud….which the folks at work actually enjoyed…..almost a month later!

COMC: Keeping Cool at Izakaya Sakura, Buga, and Yakyudori Ramen and Yakitori (plus a bonus)

August 15, 2012 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants, Korean Restaurants, Pakistani Food

Man, it was pretty hot and humid there for a couple of days, wasn't it? It sure does dampen your appetite. I don't know about you, but we tend to go with the tried and true when eating during weather like that. Here's places I've posted on a number of times, so we'll go the COMC (Clearing Out the Memory Card) route with this one.

Izakaya Sakura:

Well, the Missus has been cutting down on a bunch of things and Sakura is one of those places, with a la carte ordering where She can just get a couple of small items to eat. With the recent weather I'd go with something like Zaru Soba or Tempura Zaru Soba.

While the Missus can get any number of protein items like…..

Shishamo

Or a number of Shioyaki or Misozuke preparations…..

And even perhaps one of the few creatures She still eats that walks on land…..

Izakaya Sakura
3904 Convoy St #121
San Diego, CA 92111

Buga:

The other day, the Missus wanted to go to Buga, but not for Korean BBQ, even though She was craving some beef. Instead She went with the Yukkwe Bi Bim Bap.

So I guess She won't eat beef cooked, but will raw? Anyway, it was heavenly with a nice amount of Chojang…..very refreshing.

I went with the Bibim Naengmyun……

Of course there was panchan…….

Usually, there's no one at Buga before 5pm on weekdays, so we didn't have to be worried about all the essence of Korean BBQ. It was a nice meal…….and I didn't have Sammy and Frankie following me around the house afterwards.

Buga Korean BBQ Restaurant
5580 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92117

Yakyudori Ramen and Yakitori:

One evening, I didn't feel like crowds…..so what the heck was I doing going to Yakyudori? Well, they don't start yakitori until 530, so if you get there early, it's easy enough to get something light, like some Natto Gohan.

And some chicken karaage……

Which on this trip was pretty good……

And slink on away as the crowds start pouring in.

Yakyudori Ramen and Yakitori
4898 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

House of Khan pop-up:

Candice had been trying to coordinate a dinner for us here….unfortunately, a crazy schedule, which included my trip home and other stuff prevented me from attending until the last evening of this Pakistani pop-up.

I'd usually do a full on post, but since this was the last evening……hopefully, these photos will do until perhaps we get another run or the really nice young lady Selina gets a permanent location for a restaurant. This one was located in the California Kebab location off College.

Sad to see that we were just about the only folks there to enjoy the food.

I've been to a couple of pop-ups, but usually go myself and after seeing all the folks with their posse's and busting out all this gear…..I just keep to myself and try to enjoy the food.

There you go….I hope you're having a great "hump" day!

Cumin, Sichuan Peppercorn, and Five Spice Chicken

August 14, 2012 mmm-yoso Cooking, Recipes

This has been my go-to recipe for a while. The Missus and Her ever changing eating habits….chia seeds, hemp seeds, sprouted raw almonds, no red meat, no cooked red meat, no chicken or turkey, but duck, coconut oil, agave syrup……..I'll never know what might appear when I open that refrigerator door. So on those nights when the Missus has Her meals set…..right now it's tons of salmon and having me perfect smoked fish, I'll often go to this pseudo-recipe, inspired by Yang Rou Chuan, those grilled skewers of lamb you'll find on street corners in China.

I'm lucky to have my own stash to go to……..ground cumin from Xinjiang, soon to be replaced by the good stuff from Penzey's, smoked salt, sea salt, Sichuan Peppercorn from Chengdu, Five Spice from QingDao, Korean ground chilies, good quality granulated garlic…….

I get my chicken skin on and dust the skin side with some potato starch before first searing, skin side down in my cast iron pan with some grapeseed oil. I found that you can get grapeseed oil for pretty reasonable prices at places like North Park Produce. For some reason a smear of Hoisin Sauce just brings everything together.

Of course, it's not for everybody….the flowery-anise-armpit smells can be a bit strong for some. For me, it's my go to chicken dish….for now.

This past weekend the Missus wanted some Grilled Tamarind Shrimp to eat in lettuce cups….oh, right now, carbs are persona non grata as well.

So I bought a couple of boned chicken legs from Nijiya and decided to see if these would really taste good over charcoal.

I seasoned these more heavily, especially with salt. I tried to keep the skin facing all one way……so I could start over the hot coals skin side down…..perhaps crisp them up a bit.

In spite of thinking that I had seasoned these pretty heavily; I think I could have used even more salt. Still, there was a nice savory-buzz(from the Sichuan peppercorns), with a touch of heat.

The Missus even went ahead and made the little lettuce and herb garnish for my plate….cute, huh?

I think I'll do these again…….

Breakfast of Champions – Oahu edition Redux: Kapiolani Coffee Shop, Harry’s Cafe, and Diner’s Waimalu

August 13, 2012 mmm-yoso Breakfast/Brunch, Honolulu, Loco Mocos, Oahu, Travel

Even though my first "Breakfast of Champions" post is probably the most spammed (somehow appropriate) post on our blog, I couldn't help but do a follow-up. Here's the breakfasts I had during my last trip home.

Kapiolani Coffee Shop:

I really got a kick from the very old-school atmosphere at Kapiolani Coffee Shop during my oxtail soup stop, that I went back just to see what breakfast was like.

There were no customers when I arrived, and was directed to exactly the same table I had sat at before….funny, yeah?

I got a cup of coffee while I looked over the menu…..yep, this place is old school all right, the cup o'joe tasted like it had been sitting around since I was in high school! Man, it was like mud….the real friendly guy kept wanting to refill it, but I just kept telling him, "no need" and making up some excuse like, "my docta' said I got to cut down on da' caffiene, no good fo' my heart" and stuff like that. Yeeeesh……

I hoped that my loco moco fared better and it did.

The kitchen bouquet gravy could have used a bit more salt and the eggs were a bit past how I want my easy-over eggs to be, but this wasn't bad at all. The hamburger patty had been pressed on the griddle developing a nice char, but the gravy balanced out the possibility of a dry burger. Not bad at all.

But what I enjoyed the most was the mac salad.

it had just the right amount of salt and mayo and was nicely chilled. I actually wanted to order more mac salad…..but how would I explain, since I supposedly had "one bad ticka'"…..no coffee because of a cardiac problem and I'm there eating like three scoops of macaroni salad??? Would have been a bit odd….so I decided just to enjoy what I had.

Kapiolani Coffee Shop
98-020 Kamehameha Hwy
Aiea, HI 96701

Harry's Cafe:

Harry's Cafe, on Waimanu street, just a block and a half from Kapiolani has a bit of a cult following. The place is a total hole-in-the-wall and very divey….the type of places that "butt crack guys"…you know, the fellows who work the trades, stop and devour a ton of calories before heading to work.

They are also famous for a 99 cent breakfast……..

I was a bit late for the special, but decided to drop by for breakfast anyway. The place was pretty busy when I arrived. Four movers were eating a massive amount of food on one table….at the bar, a pretty seedy looking couple talked toeach other real loud….the woman kept half running out of the place to get "some fresh air"….yeah, right. They ended up sharing two pancakes and one cup of coffee! Every time they spoke real loud, the movers would all turn and give them the "stink eye".

I really got a kick out of the labeling for the sugar dispenser……makes me wonder if someone once mistook this for salt ot visa-versa???

I believe that "Harry" retired a while back and sold the place to the very nice Korean woman, whose name is Christy if I recall.

I was pretty hungry and went with the Corned Beef Hash Loco Moco.

Honestly, not the best breakfast I've ever had….the yolks of the eggs had broken, the gravy was somewhat gluey, and the corned beef hash was too soft and mushy, with no caramelization. It also tasted kinda funky……after reading this post on Kat's Blog, I'm pretty sure it wasn't my canned corn beef of choice either.

But heck, it was reasonable and gave me more than enough calories for the shopping I needed to do for the Missus.

Harry's Cafe
1101 Waimanu St
Honolulu, HI 96814

Hours:
Mon-Fri 6am – 3pm
Sat 7am – 2pm
Sun 7am – 12pm

Diner's Drive In Waimalu:

**** This location of Diners has closed

On the day I was to leave for home, I left the in-laws pretty early. I still had some shopping to do and I wanted to hit up at least one place for lunch. Anyway, I wanted to check email and stuff and needed a wi-fi connection so I stopped in Waimalu at Starbuck's. As I walked to Starbuck's, I could hear Diner's calling me. It was early, I was a bit hungry so why not?

When I entered, I noticed two of the "bruddah's" each eating on a different table had two styrofoam containers open and were eating from both. It didn't register until I opened up my $6.95 breakfast.

Do they sell "small" eggs? Check out the size of the eggs compared to the three, fairly thin slices of Portuguese Sausage. No wonder those guys were eating two plates!

The woman working the counter was very nice though……not much else to say…..

Diner's Drive-In
98-1277 Kaahumanu St
Aiea, HI 96701

So there you go…….a trio of breakfasts and a ton of calories….and I still lost weight! Go figure!