mmm-yoso – Page 314

Road Trip: Shaanxi Gourmet – Rosemead (Los Angeles)

February 6, 2012 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Los Angeles County, Road Trip

**** Shaanxi Gourmet has closed

One of the dishes I really enjoyed during our trip to China was the Yang Rou Pao Mo from Tong Sheng Xiang in Xi'an. Dense, heavy, bread, which folks call "pita" but is not like any pita I'm familiar with is broken into edible pieces by hand. Once you've filled your bowl with enough of it, they whisk it away and fill the bowl with a gamey and flavorful mutton broth. It is heavy enough to keep you all day long and I really was looking for it when we returned from our trip. We tried the version at Beijing Restaurant in San Gabriel which was disappointing. So when I read about Shaanxi Gourmet on Dylan's Blog I got quite excited and a couple of days later we were driving up the I-5, headed to Rosemead.

The restaurant is of course, located in a strip mall off of Valley Boulevard, but is hiddn from the street. Though once you enter the parking lot, you can't miss the Terracotta Soldiers guarding the front door. The dining area is clean, the walls lined with photos of various dishes, and the restaurant is a bit smaller than it looks from the outside. You probably would only need two Terracotta Warriors to guard the place.

The service was kinda, well, slow and a bit disorganized, impatient, and let's just say, suited for the SGV. The menu, at least when we visited is interesting, it seemed that the vast majority of it was not translated into English.

Looking through the menu again I found a page of rather vague translations of some of the dishes. But we pretty much knew what we were looking for and the Missus started scanning the menu…..

Before making any big decisions, She had already gotten us some cold dishes to ward away our rising hunger.

These were adequate, but you can get better elsewhere……

Meanwhile, the Missus had already placed our order and in a matter of minutes our first dish arrived. The weather at that time had been pretty cold so we started with the spicy and sour soup with hand pulled noodles, the meatless version.

I loved the broth, which was light in viscosity, but full of flavor. There was definitely some Sichuan Peppercorn in this as we got some of that wonderful numbing sensation along with a bit of heat. The sour, was just enough to keep you wanting the next sip. The noodles were lovely, with a decent pull to them……I really enjoyed the noodles.

Still, I was waiting for my Yang Rou Pao Mo…..a part of me was hoping that the bread would be provided first for me to tear into bite sized pieces, but I guess practicality ruled here and the soup arrived with the bread diced into small pieces.

The broth was right on, a soulful, hearty, mutton soup. The bread was kind of strange as it was slimy and didn't really absorb the flavor of the broth. The pieces of mutton were pretty tender and had that wonderful flavor of the pasture.

It didn't quite take me back to Xi'an, perhaps as far west as New Guinea, but not quite there. Still this was pretty good and quite filling.

For our final dish, the missus looked over the menu and found something interesting……

I don't recall seeing Fen Zheng Yang Rou, lamb steamed with rice powder. But since we usually enjoy the various versions we've had of the dish, why not give it a try?

What we got this time around was some really tough lamb covered with gritty, grey colored powder. It was super bland and just not to our taste. For some reason, this reminded me of once when a bunch of us went camping at the beach and the guy assigned to cook ended up spilling the lunch into the sand and still tried serving it to us.

Overall, not a bad meal. I'd come back for those noodles and everyone seemed to be getting the Biang Biang Mian, which I think is Ku Dai Mian, super wide noodles the size of a sash/girdle. The service was spotty, one of the young women was really on top of things, but everyone else seemed to be walking in sand. Typical "A-B" (all business) SGV for us.

Shaanxi Gourmet
8518 Valley Blvd
Rosemead, CA 91770

Pho Fifth Avenue

February 5, 2012 mmm-yoso Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants

Man, it took me long enough to do a post on this place……I mentioned the opening of Pho Fifth Avenue way back in Apirl of 2010, intending to check the place out, but for some reason I just never made it. Reading Dennis's post on the place made it sound pretty promising, yet I still wasn't able to get my act together until recently.

The shop, now almost two years old looks like a cross between the "old school" and new style Pho shops. The dishes on the menu are listed in Vietnamese, but the descriptions are in English. The set-up is typical Pho shop, but the area is bright, clean, and well lit.

On my first visit, I ordered the Brisket, Flank, Tendon, and Tripe……I'd seen the rare steak come out and it looked like typical beef top round and folks who've read this blog over the years know how I feel about dry and tasteless "Tai". Why bother……

My bowl arrived soon after ordering, the gentleman working here was very nice and pretty friendly.

The broth was low on fat, mildly beefy, not bad overall, except for being too sweet….oddly sweet and being served a little below the temp I consider optimal. I'd also enjoy a bit more anise hints in the soup as well. The noodles were the typical clump, but were decent. As expected the garnishes were farly minimal, I used a good bit of the basil to bump up the anise flavor and a good squeeze of lime to try and balance out the sweetness.

You can really tell how the restaurant deals with perceived restaurant demographics with the ratio of different cuts of meat. There was a good amount of lean flank, a decent amount of brisket, I fished out one piece of tendon, a bit more chewy than I prefer, and one very tiny strand of tripe, which I had to work to find.

Overall, not a bad bowl andI did see something after I placed my order that I wanted to try, so I returned a week later….to have Filet Mignon Pho. Not cheap at $9.25 for a small and $11.25 for a large, but I really appreciate a decent bowl of Pho Filet Mignon.

Based on my previous experience with the broth temperature, I had some reservations, but this time it arrived super steaming hot. Perfect for doing a quick dunk of the precious morsels of beef.

The Pho Filet Mignon here arrives with no other protein in the broth, which was still bit on the sweet side, though not as bad as my previous visit.

The broth was also more salty and had a bit more oil than my previous bowl.

I was surprised at the amount of beef tenderloin(I ordered a small), cut a bit thinner than what I consider the norm to be. It started falling apart as I moved it from the plate to the broth for a quick dunk.

The meat was very tender, a pleasure to eat.

I did find the amount of noodles this time around to be on the mushy side and the portion sized towards small. In fact, two hours after eating this my stomach started to growl.

Still, it was better than what I last had at Mignon Pho + Grill, though I haven't been back in a while and Howie and Jenne told me the Pho has gotten better there. So I guess I need to head back there soon.

Pho Fifth Avenue
3807 5th Ave
San Diego, CA 92103
Hours:
Mon-Thurs 10 am – 10 pm
Fri-Sat 10 am – 11 pm
Sun 10 am – 10 pm

Revists: Hong Kong BBQ & Dim Sum and Birrieria’s la Guadalajara

February 3, 2012 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Mexican Restaurants

A couple of revists on what has been a pretty busy Friday.

Hong Kong BBQ & Dim Sum:

I've been wanting to do a revisit and try some of the menu items since this is one of FOY (Friend of Yoso) "JanFrederick's" favorite restaurants. So I dropped by one evening and looking over the menu decided on a couple of dishes, however, no goat, no Oxtail, no Steamed Chicken with Mustard Greens…so I was kinda grappling with the menu, looking for plan "D". The gentleman taking my order was very patient and nice, though I was getting a bit annoyed…..

Still, it was a nice evening and the restaurant was quiet, even the young children were well behaved….so why should I start whining, right?

Eventually, I settled on the Seafood Hot Pot, though not without a bit of trepidation since my previous visit eating dim sum had not been so good.

I did need something that the Missus would have to eat when She got home and seafood is usually a good choice.

At $12.95 this wasn't a bad deal. I thought it was on the bland side and the fish fillets were a bit past prime, but everything else was not bad. The Missus thought this was decent as leftovers after the flavors had time to meld a bit.

I also ordered the Salt and Pepper Pork chops, which was neither salty, nor peppery, nor much of anything except kind of gummy.

I'd really like to try some other dishes, next time I'm hoping they'll actually have them.

Hong Kong BBQ & Dim Sum
10550 Camino Ruiz(Inside of Vinh Hung Market)
San Diego, CA 92126

*** Birrieria's la Guadalajara has closed.

Birrieria's la Guadalajara:

This place is now a favorite of ours…..we come here to get our weekend "lamb fix". Any I mentioned in my previous post that I wanted to try the Cabeza En Su Jugo, the simmered beef head…..

In a word….beef-a-licious, of course you've got to enjoy a condensed, very rich beef flavor. It ain't low fat, but man this was good. Wrapped in a fresh made tortilla, with some onions and lime to cut the fat, dipped in the broth…….

The Missus, along with the Borrego a la Plancha (She loves the leftovers), got the Spoes with Borrego (lamb).

If you are a masa lover, this one is for you….thick and filling, I actually like the smear of beans…..topped with the roasted lamb which has spent time on the griddle (like the borrego a la plancha), this is quite s filling meal. You can get it with the meat of your choice. This is major, "it's Sunday, let eat and roll back into bed" food.

The manager, Jorge, told me that they've received their beer and wine license……so you can have a nice cerveza with your birria now…then roll back into bed!

Birrieria's la Guadalajara
1310 Third Ave
Chula Vista, CA 91911

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Breakfasts of Champions – Oahu Edition: Like Like Drive Inn, Leeward Drive-Inn, and another interesting addition

January 30, 2012 mmm-yoso Breakfast/Brunch, Diner, Honolulu, Oahu, Travel

I developed a bad habit during my trips back home. I found myself taking photos of my breakfasts with my phone and sending them to my friends. And for some reason, I've kept on doing this even after returning to San Diego. Recently, JohnL suggested that I do posts on these, which I thought was a great idea, so here goes….we'll start with Oahu.

**** Sadly, Like Like Drive Inn closed in 2020.

I found myself getting up pretty early, say at 5am or so in the morning during our stays on Oahu. Not wanting to wake anyone up, I'd often take a drive, sometimes with an objective in mind, or perhaps just to fill up gas. On the morning I hit up Nam Fong, the roads were clear with no traffic, so I headed all the way up to a place that's near and dear to my heart….. Like Like Drive In. Talk to any "townie" of my generation and you'll come with a list of places like Tin Tin Chop Suey and Like Like Drive In. Actually, this location of Like Like is not the original from 1953.

Back in the 90's the folks running Like Like swapped the restaurant over from the portion of the building to the right.

Walking in the place at 430 am on Thanksgiving was quite interesting. As I entered, the last of post drinking crowd was leaving and all the old-timers, newspapers tucked under their arm were entering. Still, this being a family holiday, the place was empty. The look and feel, down to the booths really stirs memories…….

I'm not much of a coffee drinker these days….but here, I just needed that cup o' joe……the table just needs a cup of coffee on it.

I really didn't order a locomoco per se, but looking over the menu I just happened to order two easy over eggs with rice and a hamburger patty. The woman serving me said, "you need gravy with that, right?' Not do you want some gravy, you "need" some gravy. And you know what? She was right….I needed some gravy with this.

I usually don't care for burgers that have been pressed down on the flat-top, but this patty had developed a wonderful crust from a well aged griddle and had been seasoned to boot. The gravy was decently flavored and not glue-like and went well with the runny eggs and rice.

It was a nice way for me to start the day……just like old times. Though I'm not doing too much active work nowadays, so I pick my spots.

Not too many of the places I grew up eating are left….Kaimuki Inn, Kuhio Grill, Alakea Grill, Chunky's, Wisteria, Suehiro, King's, McCully Chop Suey (the first air-conditioned Chinese restaurant in Hawaii!), King Tsin, Ebisu, Aotani Fountain, all gone……. Not too many like Like Like left, I'm hoping they'll be around for just a bit longer.

Like Like Drive In
745 Keeaumoku St
Honolulu, HI 96814

Open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

One morning, I went to gas up our rental and drove into Waipahu, which is just down the street from my In-Laws place in Ewa Beach. For some reason, Leeward Drive-Inn called to me.

Man, when was the last time I ate here? The sign said "since 1964" and I think I probably had the fried noodles, which is what they, well, at least in my day, were known for….probably circa 1984. The parking lot has seen it's share of cars, all the lines for the stalls have worn away, though in typical Hawaii style, everyone seems to park their cars as if those lines still existed.

Funny thing, there were a bunch of guys having breakfast before work sitting in back of a minivan parked in front of the dining room. The big guy, sitting on a ne of those handy-dandy folding stools looked me up and down and said, "eh, I thought you one katonk, but you get da' shuffle…." Translation; "Based on your pale and unhealthy complexion, I believed that you were a Japanese from the mainland. However, when I observed your gait, it became obvious that you were not." I guess I still walk like a local? I laughed and told him, "at least you didn't think I was a bobora!" Translation;"you are indeed quite observant. I am flattered the opinion that my country of origin was Japan never entered your mind." It was just an expat local bonding moment…..

The menu at LDI is pretty large and extensive……. but I made up my mind fairly quickly. Once my food was ready, I grabbed my plate and headed off to the flourescent orange tables. The dining area looked kind of beat and no one was eating in the area so I could grind in peace.

I got Portuguese Sausage, Eggs, and Fried Rice, which was a pretty good amount of food.

This was just passable, the fried rice was very "local style", that is, made with Calrose rice. There were bits of Portuguese Sausage and some funky tasting "faux Spam". The sausage wasn't browned enough for me and tasted a bit off. The eggs were fine….this ended up just being nutrition.

Leeward Drive Inn
94 209 Pupukahi St
Waipahu, HI 96797

Hours: Mon – Thurs 430am – 11pm
Fri – Sat 430am – 12midnight
Sunday 5am – 11pm
Cash Only

This last one is sort of a quiz…….folks who have been to Hawaii will probably know this one. A fairly decent plate of Rice, eggs, which was really hard, Portuguese Sausage, and Spam®.

Quite an artery clogging breakfast……brought to you by:

Yep, Mickey D's in Hawaii serves up Portuguese Sausage, Spam®, or even both, in what they call the "Deluxe Breakfast". Don't remember the last time I actually had food from a McDonald's, but I happened to be close to the Pearl City location early one morning…..

I realize this post has been kinda long….so thanks for hanging in there are reading.

Here's the sunrise as I pumped gas one morning.

Of course I listened to KCCN…..until they kept playing the same songs over and over……what happened to variety?

But a couple of tunes stuck with me…….

Shabu World

January 29, 2012 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants

**** Shabu World has closed

In my post mentioning that Swab ummmm, Shabu World had opened, good FOY (Friend of Yoso) the Zompus told me he'd love to check the place out. So that following week, I met MrZ for a meal at Shbu World. I gotta say, even close up, the sign still looks like it says "Swab World".

We entered the restaurant which is nicely done…..but looks pretty much the same as Shabu Shabu House.

From the counter with offset counters to the metal pots used for the Shabu Shabu……

The standard shabu shabu is basically the same as well….a small piece of kombu in rolling boiling water. I wish they'd just quit the kombu shibai. Mainly, boiling the kombu makes the water bitter….but there's such a tiny piece that it really makes little difference. Just serve straight up water already.

I got the prime beef ($13) lunch. Which was a decent sized serving, perhaps a bit less than what I had the last time I went to Shabu Shabu House.

The quality of the meat was also better than what I last had at Shabu Shabu House, very tender, but not too fatty….you really don't want anything too fatty as it will basically melt and fall apart when you do the brief dip.

There was also quite a bit of vegetables……

It was quite a bit….though disappointingly all the usual suspects, which had me again wishing for some shingiku or shiitakes, which would also add some nice flavor to the water. Too much napa cabbage for my taste…..like they are just trying to fill you up.

In the case of spitting images, and this is without a doubt almost exactly like Shabu Shabu World, I believe one should differentiate oneself, better meat, better produce, and better sauce. In this case, the dipping sauces tasted very artificial, like it was from a bottle.

These were actually pretty bad…… In the end, we were provided a bowl with basic bottled tsuyu base to finish off the udon. I could only imagine how the "miso" and "sukiyaki" broth would be.

It was kind of sad, MrZ and I were the only customers in the place during our entire lunch. As we left, one of the really nice women working there asked me first, if I was Japanese (yes)….then a more problematic question. The always tricky, "what do you think?" I'd say tricky because in my experience, 90% of the time folks running a business really don't want to know what you really think and saying what you think puts everyone in either an awkward or contentious position. But this time I went out on a limb and mentioned that even though the meat was decent in quality and the service was (perhaps a bit too) attentive, I felt the sauce tasted very artificial and processed. The young lady actually seemed concerned and told us that "we are always working on making things better and I guarantee you that the next time you come the sauces will be better." Maybe I should have mentioned something about the vegetables too?

In all honesty, we already have one of these standard grade Shabu Shabu restaurants a few blocks away. I'm wondering if we really need another one? I guess only time will tell.

Shabu World
3904 Convoy St #117
San Diego, CA 92111

Istanbul: Sultan Kosesi, Küçuk Ayasofya Camii, and other stuff

January 28, 2012 mmm-yoso Istanbul, Travel, Turkey, Turkish Food

We had done a good deal of walking so my appetite was in great shape. Not wanting to go far out of the way nor in the mood for anything particularly fancy, we asked the folks at the hotel for a recommendation. They came up with Sultan Kosesi which was just a couple of blocks away and a bit off the main tourist track of Divan Yolu Caddesi.

The restaurant was roomy and brightly lit, the menu full of the standards with a couple of interesting items. Most fun of all was our Server…..who was so very nice, but kinda looked and sounded like PeeWee Herman. All angles and twitches, he was unable to remember more than two items and when we had questions we got him thoroughly confused! But he was so genuinely friendly, that whatever he did, we could never hold it against the fellow.

This being Turkey, we were of course provided with an entire loaf of bread……

I went with a cup of ayran, the ubiquitous yogurt drink. It wasn't as light and foamy as other versions, but gladly not a salty either.

The Missus saw a couple of items that interested Her. The first one being sahlep, which She just had to try and turned out being one of the most wonderful items we had on this trip. Sahlep is a warm milk based drink that is flavored with a wonderfully fragrant flour made from Anatolian mountain orchids. It is mildly sweet, a bit thicker than plain milk, and wraps you in that comforting warmness that a great cup of chocolate would.

The other item didn't quite work out as well. We'd seen Kuru Patlican, dried eggplant, hanging from strings in shops and had been wondering about the taste and texture. The Missus order the Kuru Patlican Dolmasi – stuffed dried eggplant.

The filling was seasoned nicely, tangy and mildly spicy like ezme. The texture of the dry eggplant was….well, we couldn't cut it with a knife. It was really hard and had a flavor I could recall from my childhood…..cardboard. I don't know if it wasn't re-hydrated enough or what, but this wasn't the best thing I had to eat on this trip.

I ordered the Sac Tava, in this case a very mild meat was used. The Tava is a steel pan in which the food is cooked….for some reason it sort of reminded me of a hub cap.

Nicely flavored, this was quite good with the bread. The menu said that veal was used for this dish…..I can tell you it wasn't lamb or goat.

Overall, the food was decent, the prices a bit lower than many other places….the Server was so nice and kept us in stitches with his antics……and the Missus discovered sahlep. I'd say that this was a pretty good time.

After dinner we decided to take a walk down these back streets. And like I said before, there's history around every corner in Istanbul. At the end of one of the streets we came across this mosque.

This mosque is known as Küçuk Ayasofya Camii, "Little Hagia Sofia". You know, it does look like Hagia Sofia. This was previously the Church of the Saints Sergius and Bacchus, built by Justinian I in 527 AD, making it one of the first buildings ordered by Justinian. During the Ottoman reign it was converted to a mosque.

As we walked the grounds….we were eagerly welcomed into the mosque. The older gentleman waved us in……the interior is quite striking.

Climbing up the stairs so we could view the colonnades and the rest of the mosque, I noticed how worn the stone stairs were…….

It made me wonder….how many pairs of feet had climbed up these stairs?

History is everywhere here……

Leaving the mosque, we took a different street back to our hotel. And at the corner of Aksakal and Nakilbent we came across a market……

There are few things we enjoy more than explroing the local markets and bazaars…..

The ones like these….the neighborhood versions show us what folks are eating and buying.

This was a nice little stop for us. After a while we walked back to the hotel….we needed to get some sleep, we'd have to get up at 5am for our transfer to the airport the next morning…….

Peruvian Chicharron de Pollo – Fried Chicken

January 26, 2012 mmm-yoso Cooking, Recipes

Speaking of fried chicken…well, we were speaking of fried chicken, right? Recently, I had just deep fried some tofu for the Missus and really wanted to maximize my use of the oil for deep frying. I'd been keeping the Chicharron de Pollo recipe from Copeland Mark's The Exotic Kitchens of Peru marked for a while and this was the perfect chance to try out the recipe.

While Pollo ala Brassa rules the poultry scene, I'd say Chicharron de Pollo runs a decent second place. Though you can't turn a corner without running into a rotisserie chicken joint in Peru, the Chicharronerias have "the sell" down pat. During lunch hours on Pampas de Castillo in Cusco the Chicharronerias will wheel their portable fryers out onto the sidewalk and the smell of frying chicken and pork will create a mouth-watering, almost edible cloud of deliciousness……

The recipe from Copeland Marks is quite basic, but I appreciated the mild "Chifa" influence in the recipe. I've mentioned the wonderful Chinese influence in many posts before, so I won't go into it again.

The recipe calls for chicken breast, but I prefer dark meat and a good skin to meat ratio so I went with boneless chicken legs from Marukai. I also added some oregano and cumin for a more complex flavor, though I think I'll pass on the cumin next time. The recipe also uses both lemon juice and white vinegar, which turned out to work fairly well. The chicken is dredged in cornstarch which gives it a lighter, very crisp coating which doesn't take anything away from the skin.

Anyway….here goes….

Chicharron de Pollo:

1 1/2 lb boneless chicken leg (chicken prepped for karaage is good)
1 Tb premium Chinese soy sauce
1 tsp lemon juice
3 cloves garlic finely grated
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper
1 tsp white vinegar
oregano and cumin if desired to taste

cornstarch
canola oil

– Mix all ingredients except for cornstarch and marinate chicken for 20 minutes
– Dredge chicken in cornstarch and fry in 350 degree oil until cooked

I made a little Salza Criolla and used some rocoto paste to add some zip….this brand is just ok.

Man, I was just thinking, has it almost been five years since we visited Peru. Looking through my posts, I noticed that I never posted a photo of anything in Lima's Chinatown aka Barrio Chino. Looking though my photos, I only have a couple of photos from the area, here's one.

You know, I'm kinda missing Peru right now…..

Oahu: Cousin Long Hui’s Jia Ji (Fried Chicken) ratings

January 25, 2012 mmm-yoso Honolulu, Oahu, Plate Lunch, Travel

As I mentioned before the Missus' cousin Long Hui is quite a character, she lives life in a carefree way, loves bright colors, wears high heels to the beach, and basically keeps the Missus in stitches. Even though she doesn't speak much English (though it's better than my Mandarin), what little she says still cracks me up. Whenever I take a photo of her, she'll assume a faux glamorous pose, one hand on her hip the other raised behind her slightly tilted head, eyes looking off in the distance. Once the photo is snapped, she'll tell me "YES or No, yes or no!" Basically, she needs to give her approval before the photographic evidence lives in perpetuity. Oh, she also loves to eat….and as I found out, really loves Jia Ji….fried chicken.

So here's her rating of the three different fried chicken she had during her stay:

1 – Tanioka's Seafoods & Catering

During our stop directly from the airport we picked up some of Tanioka's boneless fried chicken. Little did we know how much Long Hui loves her chicken……..

Man, did she love this…… Not sure why, I'll have to have some on my next trip. Long Hui is not sure either telling the Missus maybe it's because this was the first she had.

Tanioka's Seafoods & Catering
94-903 Farrington Hwy
Waipahu, HI 96797

2 – Fukuya Delicatessen

One early morning, I went for a visit to my Mother's gravesite. I stopped by Fukuya one of my favorite, albeit expensive okazuya's. My Mom loved their fried chicken so much that I ended up using them to cater her wake.

Love that Fukuya has the old-fashioned okazuya hours – open at 6am (or earlier). The place has been around way longer than I have (founded in 1939) and will probably be going strong long after I'm gone.

In the typical local-style, it's all thighs, all the time. Temptingly salty, this is really good stuff….not sure why it didn't make numba' one though…..

Fukuya Deli & Catering
2710 South King Street
Honolulu,Hawaii 96826

Open Wed – Sunday 6am – 2pm

I did leave a piece for mom……….

3 – Zippy's

The stuff we picked up from Zippy's in Ewa Beach just didn't measure up. But Long Hui wasn't complaining……

After all, someone had to finish last……

The Missus tells me that Long Hui is very witty, using puns and rhymes skillfully. It almost makes me wish I understood Mandarin. I'm hoping she'll visit again….this time we know she loves fried chicken, we'll be better prepared.

To quote cousin Long Hui: "we are all middle aged, too old to care, we should just relax, have fun, and eat!"

Convoy Yakitori Story Part 3: It’s Yakyudori versus Koubou

January 24, 2012 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants, What Howie Eats - Where the Foodie from Foodieview Eats, yoso-silly

During one of our too infrequent meals together, Jenne, Candice, Howie, and I discussed doing a two stop comparison of Yakyudori Ramen & Yakitori and Yokohama Yakitori Koubou. Jenne is partial to Koubou, Candice and I, Yakyudori……Howie, being the mellow un-confrontational guy that he is, was on the fence. I also thought that this final comparison would be a nice part 3 to the two posts I had done before. Plus, I do love meat on a stick. The only way we could really do this was to actually compare apples to apples, so Candice asked me to pick several menu items that are yakitori "standards" if you will. Items that would put the "tori" in Yakitori.

We started at Yakyudori, already almost in crisis mode even on an early Sunday evening; folks waiting in line, servers running madly, perfunctory service and all. Ending at Koubou, mellow, friendly, where they give you a shot of milk with your first beer to help coat that tummy……

So why not start with the Tsukune? Basically grilled chicken meatballs dipped in a sweet tare. Candice had never had these at Yakyudori before and was kind of freaked out by the almost mousse like, creamy texture.

Jenne thought the tare on Yakyudori's version was too sweet and preferred Koubou's, which was more like the standard issue Tsukune. I thought the tare at Koubou was still way too mild, but was in the minority on this one, 3-1 Koubou.

Score: Koubou 1, Yakyudori 0

Next up was the "momo", this was simple thigh meat, there would be no hiding quality, seasoning, and skill here. The clear winner was Yakyudori, simply seasoned with a very tasty sea salt, the flavor of bincho came though…perhaps a bit strong for some, not for us.

Yakyudori was also the moister and more tender of the two, while Koubou's version had been dipped in tare, you could barely taste it. The chicken was a bit dry as well…..good thing we didn't get breast. I recall Howie rhetorically asking, "why does the salt from Yakyudori have that almost sweet complex flavor, while at Koubou it just tastes salty….."

Score: Koubou 1, Yakyudori 1

Third comparison was the easiest….all I have to do is show you the photos of the Teba – chicken wings. First is Yakyudori's:

Next Koubou's……

Yikes!!! One thing I noticed when passing passing the grill at Koubou is that they grill on a grate placed a pretty good distance from the bincho charcoal. It seems perhaps a bit too far from the binchotan.

Score: Yakyudori 2, Koubou 1

Next up was the Negima, your basic chicken with scallion. Same result as the momo. Yakyudori's was moist, smoky, wonderfully salty…….

While Koubou was dry, tough, and looked haphazardly put together……

One looks like the straight, well maintained teeth of a super-model, the other, "meth-mouth". Which would you rather eat?

Score: Yakyudori 3, Koubou 1

Candice thought (rightfully so), that we should include at least one non-chicken item for comparison and the unanimous choice was Gyutan – beef tongue. Personally, I preferred Yakyudori, which was thinner, more evenly grilled and seasoned. Still, I prefer my beef tongue cut a bit thinner, so the edges are crisp and the center is chewy, giving you a nice contrast.

Jenne preferred the thicker slices at Koubou…….

Though you can tell the grilling was uneven. My skewer was sorely lacking in salt, while Howie told me that his had way too much. Don't know what to say, but I'm satisfied with this being a tie.

Score: Yakyudori 3, Koubou 1, 1 even.

One last item I feel needs to be included. Execution and quality were not the only two ways the restaurants differed. The atmosphere at Yakyudori is very, well…."urban". You feel like you're in a big city robata restaurant; the lights are bright, folks waiting in line or sitting elbow to elbow on the bar, plates of meat-on-a-stick and bowls of ramen flying pass you. Hustle and bustle……. not all the time mind you, just most evenings after 530. Koubou is more relaxed, the lighting is darker, folks seemed to be hanging out having beers with their friends. I'm not sure it's always that way, but that's what I noticed the three times I've been there. It's really obvious once you visit both on the same evening.

Conclusion….well not too much really….this being totally anecdotal and all. But the way I look at it is; if I'm after decently executed yakitori, it's Yakyudori. If it's a chill good time and some drinks I'm after and food is secondary to relaxed conversation, Koubou might fit the bill.

Here's some of the other items we had…….

Yokohama Yakitori Koubou
3904 Convoy St.
San Diego, CA 92111

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

Convoy Yakitori Story Part 1: Yakyudori Ramen and Yakitori can be found here.

Convoy Yakitori Story Part 2: Yokohama Yakitori Koubou can be found here.

Liang’s Kitchen

January 22, 2012 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Niu Rou Mian, Taiwanese Food and Restaurants

** Liang's has closed

There was a bit of a buzz when Liang's Kitchen first opened during the fall of last year. Not so much for us though, since a couple of years back we had a most horrendous meal and service at Liang's in Irvine…so bad that I wouldn't do a post on it. So even if I'd be willing to visit Liang's here in San Diego, the Missus will not.

Actually, the Chinese name of the restaurant, translated as something like "Mama Liang's home style military dependant village kitchen, is perhaps a more apt description of what Liang's serves. Now before you go off and think this will be something reminiscent of mess line slop, stop for a moment. When the KMT retreated to Taiwan, housing had to be built for those fleeing. Settlements were funded by the military and built with the intent of being temporary housing. It was believed that people would only have to live in these villages for a short time until the ROC defeated the Communists and folks would move back to their homeland. This of course, never happened. Over time these villages comprised of people from all over China developed social networks and a sense of community. A nice article on these villages can be found here, I particularly enjoyed the story of "Ho" from Shandong:

"After Ho retired from the military, he opened a breakfast store in the village selling traditional Shandong dishes like steamed buns, fried dough sticks and salty soybean milk which became quite popular among villagers and even nearby Taiwanese residents."

Liang's claims to serve the diasporic cuisine of those villages, using the sentimental value to draw folks in.

Since Liang's first opened, I've visited five times with mixed results. In the beginning, the prices seemed to change, always in the "up" direction…perhaps three times on items like the Niu Rou Mian and Niu Rou Chuan. Once I was served by a young lady wearing flip-flop like sandals and grey sweat pants. I will say that my last two visits have been the best, as the prices and service have finally evened out a bit. Not quite sure about the food yet….

The first two times I had the Niu Rou Mian (Beef Noodle Soup), I was less than pleased.

On the first visit, the broth had been flavored by what the Missus calls "the wave method", as in the soup tasted like someone had waved a beef bone over it to flavor it. The beef was fairly tender, but dry and cold in the center. I selected the regular noodles, which were prepared nicely. On the second visit, the broth was better, but too sweet, the beef was still pretty dry, and the "Lapian Handmade Noodles" tough and gummy. The broth also seemed low with regards to anise flavor as well.

However, on my last visit, I ordered the Beef Tendon version and was rewarded with a decent bowl.

Even though the broth still didn't have enough anise or beef flavor for me, it was hot, not too sweet, not overly salty, and most of all, not bland. The beef tendon was very nice, soft and almost buttery. The pieces of beef were still the same, too dry and stringy for me. Ditto for the handmade noodles, too gummy and over-worked.

Still, I felt pretty happy about the whole situation, until FOY (Friend of Yoso) the "Zompus" asked me, "since when is one out of three good, other than in baseball." I'm hoping that I improve on that slow start during future visits.

On one of my visits, I had the Niu Rou Chuan – the Beef Roll, which was then something like $6.50, but the last time I looked at the menu was up to $7.25.

The sesame bread was too dry as was the beef. I did enjoy the addition of what I believe is Ji Cai, pickled mustard greens, which adds a nice palate cleansing salty-sour component to this, but overall, I didn't care much for it.

When I mentioned this to another FOY "Liver", I was instructed to order the Pork version instead. Which is what I did on another visit with my good friend Candice.

The fat and the flavor of the pork added to the dish.

During our visit we tried a couple of other items.

The Special Red Pork Cutlet($5.25) had a nice light-crunchy texture.

Mild sweetness, though not much else that stood out.

The stuffed squid ($6.99) served cold.

Would have been a real winner if they removed the quills from the squid before they stuffed them. Biting into the squid, then being stabbed by the plastic like quills makes for a rather unpleasant experience.

The Stewed Pigs Feet ($6), in my opinion could have been stewed much longer and needed a flavor injection.

It was like eating hard rubber……

And that's kind of how it's gone for my meals at Liang's. I'd try something like the Salty Pork Stuffed Chili ($5 when I tried it, now $5.50).

Which was indeed salty, but in a good way. You'll also play a bit of chili-roulette with this one as some of the peppers were hot, but other not. The roasting of the peppers also adds a bit of sweetness.

Then I'd order something like the Salty Duck ($6.75). If I'd gotten something 1/10th of what I had in Nanjing or even half-way close to what I get in the SGV, I'd have been happy.

But this was very dry, tasted salty, but also a bit "refrigerator-rancid"……I tried to explain to the yong lady working, but she either didn't, or pretended not to understand. I opted to cut my losses and retreat.

If you like variety, you'll get it here. Is the NRM the best in San Diego? In a town of blind men, is the one-eyed man king? Ditto the Beef Roll….. They also say "nothing ventured, nothing gained", here's hoping that your ratio of gains to ventures is a good one. For balance please read Kirbie's posts and Gastro-bits post on Liang's.

Liang’s Kitchen
4681 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111