mmm-yoso – Page 330

Some Revisits: 777 Noodle House, Pho Hoa Huong, Sandwich Emporium, and more……

August 1, 2010 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Pho, Sandwiches, Vietnamese Restaurants

Just some revisits, mostly in photos…..

777 Noodle House:

We’ve visited a couple of times since returning from China. We’ve posted on these dishes in our previous posts. The Missus still enjoys the Thai Style Seafood Fried Rice ($6.77):

There are several dishes that are bargains, one of them is the Egg Noodle Soup with Duck Leg, just $4.77.

The broth seems to be getting even better, not overly salty, but with a nice almost seafood influenced broth.

The duck leg, is fairly small, but for under five bucks I’ll take it. On this last visit it was nicely crisped, and I’ll use whatever sweet-soy is left over and pour that into my soup.

For more info check out my previous posts.

777 Noodle House
4686 University Avenue
San Diego, CA 92105

Pho Hoa Huong:

Man, it’s been a long time since I last visited the “fastest Pho in the West” (not necessarily in a good way). But my last two bowls from Pho Hiep and Grill in the same strip mall had been quite weak. I’ve gotten used to Pho inconsistency here in San Diego, but two in a row was a sign to visit elsewhere.

It’s been so long since I last visited that they’ve gone and changed the dining room furniture, from the red cheapo dining room looking furniture, to something looking more…. like wood….

In terms of service, not much has changed….. much like Pho Hoa on ECB, the menu that’s “dealt” out to your table is pretty much an afterthought. As soon as you sit, someone hovers over you….. as if you should know what to order before even looking at the menu. But what the heck, if it’s good enough for Hanoi, it’s good enough for here, right?

I got the Flank, Brisket, Tripe, and Tendon……which has gone up a measly 15 cents in three years.

On this day, there was no “Ngo Gai for me”…. I asked and they didn’t understand me at first, then they understood, but ignored me…… finally I was told, “no more today…” To add insult to injury, the bean sprouts were getting a bit on in age.

As for the bowl….. the broth was not half bad, mild anise-clove with a beefy finish. Also, it was not too salty. In previous visits, the broth had always been on the dark side, but not today. It was still on the cloudy side. The super quick arrival usually means that the noodles here were sometimes not ready for consumption when they arrive, but today they were perfect. The meat was ok, the flank was decent, as was the brisket. There was one tiny strip of tripe, which actually tasted good. The tendon was on the hard side for my tastes.

Overall, not bad, and I always dig the metal chopsticks….

One of these days I gotta time these guys again, and see if I can get a bowl in under three minutes, which was the old record for this place.

Pho Hoa-Huong Restaurant
6921 Linda Vista Rd
San Diego, CA 92111

Open Daily 8am – 8pm

Sandwich Emporium…. yet again:

My good “FOY” TammyC hit it on the nose when she told me this shop always smells like bacon frying…… it must be some savvy marketing move. Nothing fancy here, just solid sandwiches. Of course, smelling bacon means you have to order something with bacon. Like the Club House Melt:

I’d still like to know what my FOY’s go-to neighborhood sandwich shops are (I still need to check out Royal Mart Lynnea), and what I should order. I’m thinking that’ll be a nice post!

Sandwich Emporium
3054 1/2 Clairemont Dr
San Diego, CA 92117

After having the coldest July since 1916 here in San Diego, things seem to be warming up. Perhaps I’ll be transitioning from Pho to Banh Mi soon….. and eating stuff like this:

From you know where……

Saturday Stuffs: Goodbye Shanghai City? And updates on Baihe (Lily Bulb) and Guai Wei Can Dou (strange flavor broad beans 怪味蚕豆)

July 31, 2010 mmm-yoso Los Angeles County, Markets & Grocers, Road Trip

Goodbye Shanghai City?

On a recent visit to Nijiya, I noticed that the lettering had been taken off of Shanghai City. This grabbed my attention so I walked on over to find this sign.

It says they are closed for "renovation"……. so maybe it's just a freshening up, which Shanghai City has needed for a while. Of course they'll be opening on 8/8….

Then I saw the Application for Ownership Change.

It seems that the place will be under new ownership. It made me a bit sad, at the least I should have gotten one last bowl of Niu Rou Mein.

3860 Convoy St
San Diego,CA 92111

An update on Guai Wei Can Dou (strange flavor broad beans 怪味蚕豆):

I first wrote about Guai Wei Can Dou in this post. The Missus and I love the stuff, and had been allowing ourselves a ration of two to three pieces a day from the stash we brought back from China. Of course it was just a matter of time before we'd munch on our last Guai Wei Can Dou, which happened all too soon. I soon set out looking for these broad beans around San Diego. I found one brand in Thuan Phat Market, but it looked plain wrong. There was one place that I thought we'd find this snack, and we made sure to drop by on a recent trip to our old neighborhood of Rowland Heights……. T S Emporium.

Emporium is a good name for this large shop which sells just about every kind of bottled and canned food item, snacks, and what they are really well known for, the herbs. It used to be that the smell of Chinese Herbal Medicine would hit you smack in the face when you entered. Nowadays the smells are bit more muted, and the apothecary is gone.

There are still endless aisles of goods, though.

And wouldn't you know they had two different brands of Guai Wei Can Dou.

Including one of the brands we brought back from China.

The strange thing about these "strange flavor" broad beans was they weren't nearly as "Ma" (numbing) as what we brought back from China. We noticed that Sichuan Peppercorn items aren't nearly as numbing as they are in China. I'm wondering if the irradiating of Sichuan Peppercorn affects the numbing aspect. And perhaps they irradiate this as well…. or perhaps it's just a bit of a different formula??? That's ok…. I'll take what I can get until we return to China.

T S Emporium
1457 Nogales St
Rowland Heights, CA 91748

An update on Baihe (Lily Bulb):

The gentleman at Beijing Restaurant in San Gabriel had told the Missus where to get Baihe. He laso gave us some specific instructions for rinsing and soaking to get rid of the sulphides, how to select lily bulb, and to only purchase ones that are labeled to come from Lanzhou. We purchased some from 168 Market in San Gabriel. We also saw the Xiang Chung Ya (salted shoots of the Chinese Toon Tree) that I believe the restaurant uses. It looked terrible, no wonder we weren't impressed……

The funny thing was, the very next morning "Tenjo" mentioned that we could find Baihe at 99 Ranch Market here in San Diego! I thought that I pretty much knew where everything was at 99 Ranch Market…….. but I was wrong. We found the Baihe stacked above the bean sprouts in the produce section.

I trim a little off the top….mostly the brown and discolored stuff, and just enough off the bottom so I can peel the petals of the bulb. I rinse three times, then soak in water for about 5-6 minutes, followed by another good rinse to remove the sulphides used to prevent discoloration. Many of the brown spots are just superficial, and can be rinsed or rubbed off.

If you've noticed a dearth of cooking posts recently; it's because I've been making this five or six times a week.

Don't forget some ginko nuts while you're at it……

Thanks again Tenjo!

QingDao: The Children’s Park (Chu Shui Shan) and going shopping

July 28, 2010 mmm-yoso China, Markets & Grocers, QingDao, Travel

After our breakfast visit to Pi Chai Yuan and a stop at Beer Street, we headed back to the hotel. We had some good 'ol H2O and a bottle of LaoShan Cola in tow. I gotta say, it seems that folks don't drink much water in QingDao. But with fresh beer everywhere, and LaoShan Cola, I can see why. I believe cane sugar is used for LaoShan cola, as it has the same sweetness as Mexican Coca-Cola. There's also a great complex mix of flavors from a variety of herbs and spices. Good stuff…..

After a short break, we headed off to Fifth Aunt's, to visit with the Missus's Mom's cousin and other stuff. Dinner was to take place at the original family home, and Fifth Aunt had mentioned that there was some chicken sold in the market along the way to the family home that somewhat resembled Dezhou Pa Ji (Dezhou Braised Chicken – 德州扒鸡). This was a no-brainer…. we'd pick up some chicken on our walk to the family home.

Fifth Aunt's street ends at the Children's Park (Chu Shui Shan), a place that the Missus had spent many moments at during her youth.

Though the park had changed during the years, there was still the 108 steps up to the walking paths lining the hill.

We meandered around the park a bit……..

We had been told that in this day and age, because of the amount of labor available, Fifty had become the "unofficial" retirement age. Here in the states, it would be a stagnating death sentence for many people. But China is such a social country that activities keep folks busy, like the "Grandmother Drum Teams" that play at weddings. And this group of women were having a great time……..

The Missus cracked up and told me they were "singing really old Communist songs…."

The men occupy themselves as well.

There's an intense card game taking place on every table.

There was one thing the Missus wanted to see. Firmly etched in Her memory is a grand lake, so we walked around searching for it. The best we could find was this pond……

Such is what the eyes of youth sees…… everything seems so much bigger and grander.

We walked down the path, and made our way across the street…..

Something caught the Missus's eye…….

It was something she "just had to have"…… and these weren't named Jimmy Choo or Chanel. They were roasted yams from a cart that very well could have been around when the Missus was a child.

The older gentleman let the Missus pick the one She wanted, weighing it on an old fashioned hand scale.

I forget how much it cost… it was some minuscule amount. To the Missus this was a priceless taste of Her youth.

This street used to be the "open market" when the Missus was a child. And though there are still many vendors along the street……

It seems the city has done its best to move the vendors that could afford a stall indoors.

The walkway is lined with various vendors…..

And in typical savvy marketing fashion, at each entry is a well stocked stand full of snacks. We ended up spending a good deal of time here as the Missus sampled, and eventually bought some goodies. The peanut snacks to the right was a winner, and the Missus bought some Haw Flakes…. which were the best I've ever tasted.

A bit further down the way was the stand selling roasted chickens…..

Unfortunately, the Missus didn't see the kind of chicken She wanted. After talking to the woman who seemed to own the stand, a cloth was lifted on a pan behind the counter…. and there it was!

After purchasing the chicken, the Missus asked if I could go behind the counter to take a photograph of the chicken. At first the woman was a bit suspicious, thinking that we perhaps a government or new agency. But after telling her I was from America…… well, I got my photo.

The woman happily exclaimed, "oh, good! It's free advertising!" And even moved the chickens so they would look more attractive.

And she even asked me to take a photo of her! You gotta love these folks……

When you visit most of the stands like this one that features different breads (sorry "AZ", still no rice!), you watch the folks working hard in the back of the shop making their goods.

Isn't that how it should be????

Like most fresh and open markets (i.e. Mercado Central in Cuzco or Hang Be Market in Hanoi) , the stands are organized together in sections. For instance the sauces and vinegar section.

And of course, this is QingDao, so there's a large seafood section as well.

As we made our way out the door, we ran into Fifth Aunt and the Missus's Mom on the way to the house.

Here are just a few more photos!

Seeing this reminded me that I still hadn't had "Qsingtao in a bag", which Fifth Uncle told the Missus is quite good.

Not to worry… the Missus had that covered!

I'm aware that this was pretty long post. So thanks so much for reading!

Pho Tay Do

July 26, 2010 mmm-yoso Pho

*** Pho Tay Do is now Pho DaKao and Grill

Weather sure has been a roller coaster ride the last couple of weeks. Roasting hot one weekend, gloomy the next, and even a day when it sprinkled, in July! Mornings have been on the chilly side, then the sun will break through the marine layer, and we'll have bright sunshine during the afternoons. On a recent weekend morning it was cool enough for me to consider having some Pho. I'd recently received an email from "DavidL" who mentioned that Pho Thanh, right before 54th and University was under "new management". Now, I don't recall ever getting emails from DavidL, so of course I wondered if he was part of the "new management"? However, it was a very nice, email, short, sweet, and to the point, so I figured, why not…….

Other then the sign, the place look basically the same. And I was greeted immediately as I entered. I was given a menu, and water was immediately delivered to my table. I recalled that Pho Thanh had pretty decent service with regards to Pho restaurants, and so far it was going fairly well.

I had my sights set on Pho, but was waylaid on the way to my table by a gentleman digging into a decent looking bowl of Bun Mang Vit – Duck and Bamboo Shoot Noodle Soup ($7.45), and I decided to go with that.

This was a fairly nice looking Bun Mang Vit……

The soup itself was fairly mild, not enough bamboo to add that nice earthiness to the soup I enjoy. It had a decent amount of saltiness. There was a mild duck flavor to the soup, and later I fished out two pieces of chopped duck wing from the broth, which explains that.

I did enjoy the noodles which had just the right amount of "pull" and weren't over-cooked or too "sticky".

The duck was decently prepared, perhaps a bit on the dry side. Here they try to give you more meat, and less bony parts.

i'd say the portion of duck was about right for Bun Mang Vit in San Diego. Under the duck was a pile of mostly thinly sliced cabbage, topped with fried shallots and peanuts. There wasn't enough Rau Ram (Vietnamese Coriander) for my tastes, but then again, I enjoy the flavor of Rau Ram.

The sauce here is the same as what I recalled Pho Thanh served, sweet-salty-garlic, with a more pronounced ginger flavor than other places.

In what was a really nice touch, the young lady working brought me another bowl of sauce halfway through my meal. Not quite in the league of Chinese Kitchen, but good enough for second place…. which is kinda where Pho Thanh was.

It may not be the best, but I did enjoy my meal, so I decided to return and check out the Pho. On my previous visit, I glanced at what other folks were eating, and determined that the rare steak here is the usual very lean, and very dry top round. I'm still waiting for Filet Mignon Pho to arrive in San Diego! So I ordered the large (since it is just 50 cents more than the small), Pho with well done brisket, flank, tendon, and tripe ($6):

The garnishes were on the skimpy side, though nowadays I'm a bit more spartan. I'm not looking to create a salad in my soup. I had just enough Ngo Gai (culantro) to add some pepperiness, and basil to add a touch of the almost anise flavor that I prefer. This was pretty straight forward, low oil, mildly beefy broth. In my old age, I've noticed that saltiness affects me a bit more, so I've come to depend on the trusty lime to add a bit of acid to temper the saltiness of the broth. If there was anything that stood out about this broth, it would be the distinct flavor of charred scallions and shallots.

The noodles were in the classic "clump in the bottom of the bowl", and were overcooked and mushy.

As for the meats, the flank cuts were abundant, and pretty good, not to dry, nor were the fatty portions too tough. The brisket was in shreds and were hard to fish out, and a piece of tripe was a rare thing indeed. The tendon was too hard… though strangely, I'm ok with tendon served this way in my Bun Bo Hue, but expect more in my Pho.

Again the service was pretty good, they refilled my water without asking…..

I'm not so sure that there been much of a change from Pho Thanh, though that may not be a bad thing. The Pho was passable, and the Bun Mang Vit pretty good.

Pho Tay Do
5296 University Ave
San Diego, CA 92105

Open Daily 8am – 9pm

QingDao – Donkey and Brain Tofu (Doufu Nao) for breakfast at Pi Chai Yuan

July 22, 2010 mmm-yoso China, Chinese Restaurants, QingDao, Travel

We had time to explore QingDaoon our fifth day in the city. Many of the Missus's cousins had to travel back to Shanghai and Shenyang for the upcoming work week. The Missus and I wandered around a bit, checking out the European influenced architecture……

And some of the older buildings which still stand amongst the tall business buildings of downtown QingDao.

That is not to say we didn't have a goal in mind.

I had wanted to check out Pi Chai Yuan food street yet again. There was something specific I was after here, but on our previous visits, the place was always closed.

What was so special about this place? Just take a gander at the sign….. you won't have to understand Chinese to know what they serve here. I really enjoyed the Lu Rou Huo Shao I had in Beijing, and had been looking forward to an opportunity to try it again.

And on this day, the place was open!

The first thing we noticed was that this place really, really, loves signs……. there are signs everywhere.

There was a good variety of donkey dishes. All these restaurants have similar pictures of docile and peaceful looking donkeys on the signs and menus…… it almost makes me feel bad about eating them…. almost.

The Missus placed our order, and one of the little dishes from this table made its way to us.

What I remember the best were the slices of green daikon radish….. very crisp and a bit sweeter than ripe radish.

A bowl of good bean paste was placed on the table as well.

Along with bowls of a clear broth, which I'm assuming was donkey soup. It was fairly bland.

And my very own plate of Equus africanus asinus…….

Along with some "pancakes" for wrapping…. a la duck style……

There's a famous saying; "tian shang long rou, di shang lu rou" (天上龙肉，地上驴肉上), translated as "dragon meat in heaven, donkey meat on earth." And as far as I'm concerned, you can have your dragon meat….. I'll take the slightly sweet, vermilion colored donkey meat. The meat can be pretty tough, and in this case it was a tad drier than what I had in Beijing, but I loved the flavor. The tendon also has a unique flavor, slightly more gamey then beef tendon.

The Missus went with a already wrapped version….

Think of it as a donkey burrito…… or perhaps an a$$ burrito??? It sure didn't taste like, ummm….. well, you know.

While walking back to Zhongshan Lu, we passed this tiny place which was doing some brisk business.

The Missus was intrigued, and walked up to the window in the back of the dining area.

This little shop specialized in Doufu Nao – Brain Tofu. This traditional dish uses a silken tofu, that sorts of looks like grey matter, with a creamy texture like brains as well.

This was really bland……. the Missus had never really liked Doufu Nao, but thought that perhaps time had changed Her opinion. It hadn't….. it's really not to our taste.

The stuffed fried bread, though, was another story……

Stuffed with pickled daikon and scallions, the crust was light and crisp, and it had a decent amount of salt as well.

It was very good. And even though we didn't care for the tofu, the overall price of the Doufu Nao and the bread was 7 yuan…… a tad over a buck.

We left satisfied, and ready for the rest of the day…… and it was to be another pretty busy day!

Royal Mandarin reopens and Honey Pig revisited.

July 20, 2010 mmm-yoso Chicken Wings, Chinese Restaurants, Korean Restaurants

Royal Mandarin reopens:

I thought it would be fun to do an ABCDE (American Born Chinese Dining Establishment) post, in the midst of my posts on China. And the reopening of Royal Mandarin would do just fine. I first posted on Royal Mandarin waaay back in 2005. Most folks who have been in San Diego for a good number of years tell me that Royal Mandarin was the first place to sell the very popular version of Salt and Pepper Chicken Wings in San Diego. These wings have become a staple at Filipino (and other) parties across the South Bay. Of course popularity breeds imitation, and now there are many imitators. By the time I held a Salt and Pepper Chicken Wing comparison in June of 2009, Royal Mandarin’s rings had seemed ot have lost some luster. Then, on December 30th, “Johari” left a comment, and a link which detailed that Royal Mandarin had burned down. I dropped by during the beginning of January, and the sign posted said that Royal Mandarin had not given up the ghost, and was to reopen in March. On April 3rd, I dropped by and found that while the place was being worked on, the sign now said the place would reopen sometime late in April. Of course I was gone from late April through the end of May, and since returning, the last thing I really wanted was ABCDE food…. Then on June 21st, FOY “Sandy” commented telling us that Royal Mandarin had reopened. So about a week later, the Missus and I decided to drive down and see how, or if things had changed at Royal Mandarin.

The front counter looks the same, and they’ve even rebuilt the divider/waiting area that blocks the view to the dining area. For some reason the interior, though it has been brightened up, with new tile, and some strange paintings of fruits and vegetables (c’mon, when you think of Royal Mandarin, do you really think about fruits and vegetables?), it still looks like Royal Mandarin. It is, without a doubt, a good example of “lipstick on a pig”.

The Missus had some concerns about the food. You see after Mandarin Canton reopened following the tragic murder of the owner. The Missus took some friends to eat there, and was disappointed. The one strong point of many of these restaurants are the fried items, and everything seemed very pale, and underflavored. After mulling theories, the Missus came up with the possible reason the food lacked color and flavor. She told me, “they must’ve changed their cooking oil!” In Her mind, there’s a vat of well seasoned cooking oil that has seen batches of shrimp and chicken wings, and like a good wok, it had become well seasoned. Actually, if you think about it…… that would be kind of scary. But since that day, we’ve called examples such as that “changed oil syndrome.” We both truly hoped that Royal Mandarin didn’t suffer from changed oil syndrome.

Frankly, there’s only one thing I really like at Royal Mandarin….. and you know what that is, right? The Salt and Pepper Chicken Wings:

I was very pleased, these were even better then the last few orders of wings I’d gotten before the fire. It’s like crack I tell ya’……… it was also crisp and fairly light. And yes, the full pleasures of salt and MSG is brought to it’s ultimate glory…..

The Missus ordered the upside down pan fried noodles which I found disappointing.

It suffered from too little “gravy”, and the noodles had a strange, almost powderiness to them. They were also too tough and chewy, and the afore mentioned lack of sauce meant that the noodles never got softer. I also can’t recommend anything with chicken that’s not fried. The Missus in total contrast to me, liked this.

One of the Missus’s favorites here, the Salt and Pepper Shrimp with Shell, was much lighter than I recalled.

The flavor of the shrimp came through, and it was cooked well, still soft and tender, and not overcooked.

So there you have it…… Royal Mandarin…. you can still get your ABCDE Fry-o-rama on here.

Royal Mandarin Restaurant
1132 E. Plaza Blvd
National City, CA 91950

Honey Pig revisited:

*** Update: Honey Pig has closed and is now Old Village ***

Recently, the Missus wanted some Korean BBQ. And She really didn’t want to spend fifty bucks, which seems to be the usual lay-out at Buga. We both thought that it would be a great time to revisit Honey Pig.

Not too much to say that I didn’t cover in my previous visit. The portions are about 1/2lb, Honey Pig serves Certified Angus Beef, prices run from $8.99 to $15.99 – which is for the bulgogi which is a double portion.

There’s a bit more in terms of panchan served, and the service has gotten better. All the items for “bossam” are delivered on time, and seconds are brought out on request.

The bulgogi here is decent, fairly tender, not overmarinated.

By San Diego standards this was pretty good…. not too sweet.

The one surprise was what FOY “YY” recommended. On the menu it is called “Natural CAB Finger Meat”, and reminds me, in flavor of Tsuruhashi’s Prime Skirt, a usually tough cut. In this case, it dies have a good chew, but has a nice beefy flavor to it.

The food is perhaps a step (or two) behind LA standards, but is a good alternative to the higher priced Korean BBQs in town. And it seems to be getting better everytime we visit.

Honey Pig
4681 Convoy St Ste B
San Diego, CA 92111

QingDao: Dinner at Sixth Aunt’s

July 18, 2010 mmm-yoso China, Cooking, Memorable Meals, QingDao, Travel

Our day which started with breakfast at Pi Chai Yuan, the Wedding Banquet for lunch, was not quite done. After a visit at Fourth Aunt's son, the only boy cousin's very nice home, we arrived at Sixth Aunt's for dinner. While some of the younger members of the family got a well deserved break.

Sixth Uncle, the artistic one, gave us a "tour" of sorts of his collection of various works. One of his many talents is woodworking, which is displayed through out the condo.

All of the ornamental lattice work, paneling, and doors had been created by his hands.

Barely having the ability to draw "stick figures" I admire hand crafted work of any kind. Sixth Uncle also has an eye for form and function, as he displayed with a rock he found and polished.

His keen eye discerned the resemblance to a traditional drinking vessel, so he carved a base, and mounted the stone. and there's the stone that looked like a drinking bottle……

Along with the article he helped research on the evolution of Chinese writing, those were two of the most impressive items I recalled.

It's no wonder that their daughter teaches art…….

One quick thing about hospitality in China. When you visit a home, there's always a good amount of food brought out to snack on. This is true everywhere……. even after a large dinner; if you were to visit a home, snacks would suddenly appear out of nowhere. It's just the proper thing to do……

By now the entire family understood my interest in food…… there are folks here in the states who find my interests strange. But here, it was accepted….. good local food is appreciated. There were more then a few times when the Missus was told that, "we feel bad that 柯克 cannot get good food like this in America!". Of course I snuck into the kitchen to see what was on the menu….

The razor clams really got my attention……

Soon enough, dinner started, and we gathered around the table.

One real change the Missus has noticed, is the amount of raw vegetables eaten nowadays. This was a nice plate of Daikon Sprouts with a nice black vinegar and sugar "dressing", which does well to complement the pungent sprouts.

Here's something interesting. We first had this at the Pig's Feet Banquet. I really enjoyed the herbaceous flavor, but had never figured out what it was.

I thought it was some kind of purslane, but before doing this post, I the Missus sent out an email to Her Mom and Dad, and pretty soon the answers came pouring in. From Fifth Aunt, and Sixth Aunt's Daughter, I found out this is Tian Qi(田七)or Shan Qi(三七), also called Pseudo-Ginseng or Notoginseng. It is supposed to be an amazing blood remedy. In fact, while I was doing a bit of research, read that during the Vietnam War, Vietnamese Soldiers carried the powder of this herb with them as a field treatment for gunshot wounds until they got real medical care. I'm not sure if that's true or not, but it does make for a great story.

It was also during this meal where we first encountered bittermelon that had been shaved. The bittermelon in China already seemed to be sweeter and less bitter than what we have in the states, and this was even less bitter. Here they served it with honey for dipping. But to be honest, I just loved it raw and plain.

The Missus had always claimed that the crab She grew up eating in QingDao were the sweetest She's ever had…..

You know, I have to agree…. The Missus, and cousin Long Hui were just in crab nirvana. The one I ate was especially good…. it was the only female with eggs….. which Sixth Aunt picked for me. Man, this was good….. good crab doesn't need anything else added to it, no sauces or condiments……. it's so sweet and delicate.

The one dish that really got to me, was the simple braised fish. It was just a basic soy sauce and ginger braise, but it really tugged at me. The reason being, it tasted like how my Mother made fish….so it took me home. And personally, I loved this more than any fish I had during any banquet in QingDao. This was comfort food to me……

Speaking of comfort food. Next up was a plate of perfect Xiang Chung Ya (salted shoots of the Chinese Toon Tree).

The Missus had two bowls of Green Bean and Rice Porridge, and most of two plates of the Xiang Chung Ya. For Her, this is real comfort food…..

Razor Clams….so sweet, so delicious…..

There was one last big surprise. At the end of the meal, a bottle of Laoshan Cola was broken out. This Missus let out an "ooohh", She had forgotten about Laoshan Cola. I had a taste, and well a bit more…. it was really good. Great flavor, much better than the NFCS Coke here in the states. In fact, made with mineral water with additional herbs, it was really good stuff, like a good boutique cola. Of course, with the packaging, I heard that there's an ongoing trademark dispute going on with Coca-Cola.

We rolled out after dinner, and caught a cab back to our hotel…. full and happy. There's nothing like family and food…….

Say Cheese……steaks. A comparison of cheesesteaks in San Diego – Gaglione Bros., Alex’s Brown Bag, Eddie’s Philadelphia Steaks, Hoagies, and Burgers, Pop’s Jersey Style Cheese Steaks, Olde City Grill, Giorgino’s, and The Philadelphia Sandwich Company

July 14, 2010 mmm-yoso American/New American Restaurants, Cheesesteaks, Sandwiches, yoso-silly

***You can find some additional Cheesesteak Shops in this post. And part 3 can be found here.

Whew…. talk about some major calories….. so maybe we should start at the beginning. At the end of last year, I was having my usual, at my… usual. That would be an 8" Mushroom Cheesesteak at Gaglione Bros in Point Loma.

I was sitting, enjoying a typical San Diego winter day…… 70 and sunny, eating on the patio, and feeling empathy with this guy.

Whom I believe belongs to one of the managers or owners of the place. Can you imagine, being a carnivore, and having to endure the glorious smell of animal flesh charring??? It must be pure torture, so I hope he/she gets some nice "samples" once in a while. The lab looked down at me, and with a tilt of the head seemed to tell me "you think you like this so much, why don't you do a post comparing cheesesteaks?" Now before you think that I'm headed toward wrapping "mi cabeza" in aluminum foil to prevent Aliens from outer space…. or other food bloggers from reading my thoughts, and am headed with a "ho ho hee hee ha ha to the funny farm." (Though I heard life there is beautiful all the time) Perhaps the lab didn't speak to me, maybe the idea just popped into my head…. but I thought it was a pretty good idea.

Thinking this over a bit, I decided to try to order my usual, and let's be clear, this ain't a "Philly Cheesesteak" comparison… it's basically a Mushroom Steak comparison. It's not that I haven't had the "real thing" though. Over a decade ago, the major vendor of the company I was with was headquartered in Philly. I managed to attend conferences there twice. I had made a few friends, and one of them took me down to the intersection of 9th Street and Passyunk, home of the cheesesteak icons, Pat's who claims to have invented the Philly Cheesesteak in 1933, and Geno's. My favorite cheesesteak of the trip was not from either iconic shop, but from a shop in the Reading Terminal Market called Rick's Original Philly Steaks. Unfortunately, Rick's Steaks' lease was not renewed, which caused quite a flap, and Rick left the market, but has opened elsewhere. By the way, "Rick" is the Grandson of "Pat" Pasquale Olivieri. It is the grandson of Harry Pasquale, Pat's brother who owns Pat's. And then there was the lawsuit… man, the stories themselves are more juicy than the steaks at either Pat's or Geno's. Let's not go into the Cheesesteak I had in another place in Downtown Philly, yuck. Oh, and I actually enjoyed the Roast Pork sandwich from DiNic's more than any of the cheesesteaks…. go figure.

Next question would probably be, "where's the Whiz?" Strangely enough, the faux cheese "whiz" was not invented until 1953. Before that, it was probably American cheeseor provolone. And personally, I'm not a big fan of Whiz…. and prefer the mild milkiness and texture of melted provolone. So onward to the cheesesteaks…..

The Best Cheesesteak I had: Olde City Grill

**** Olde City Grill has closed

I first read about Olde City Grill's Cheesesteaks in Captain Jack's post……

The first thing that struck me about Olde City was how the place looked really sports bar-ish, or just plain Pacific Beach bar-ish.

For some reason I didn't find this very promising with regards to a cheesesteak. But, knowing Captain Jack, whose large heart is only exceeded by his appetite, this place had to be good. You can build your own steak, but I chose the 6" "Aristocrat ($6.99). It's a mushroom steak with sharp provolone and onions…. and oh, the beef is supposed to be "American" Kobe, which is, I suppose Wagyu? Anyway on to the steak:

The roll was a true Amoroso, which has truly become a "marketing" thing. You see, Amoroso now sells their bread through such "boutique" purveyors as SYSCO and US Foods…. so much like how a somewhat unscrupulous Itamae can charge a Gaijin a super high price for sushi telling them the fish "came from Japan" (I've seen this done….in fact twice from a specific Itamae) when indeed that most "farm raised" Hamachi and other fish comes from Japan, it's exactly what all the other upper-mid, and high end sushi bars are selling. Back to the cheesesteak… at first I was a bit hesitant about all the "brown bits" on the sandwich, but I gotta say, it was delicious. The beef actually melted in, or was it just plain melted my mouth. I also didn't notice any cheese at first, until I bit into the sandwich and almost melted my tongue off. I do think that a bit more cheese wouldn't hurt this sandwich, and the roll could be a tad better toasted/heated, but you can't beat the earthy flavors of mushrooms, the beef, and onions that have been grilled to the "sweet zone". Captain Jack mentioned that perhaps the sandwich was not quite as messy as a true Philly, but this oozed onto my hands, causing the loss of several layers of derma….. This 6" was enough for me……

Olde City Grill
967 Garnet Ave
San Diego, CA 92109

The King is Dead: Alex's Brown Bag

**** Alex's Brown Bag is no longer

We've been ordering from what many of the "old guard" believe is the best Cheesesteak in San Diego, Alex's Brown Bag for years. We've cut down on our orders over the years, because even though they deliver, we've noticed some deterioration in portion size, and I've gotten more than a few dry steaks over the last two years. In fact, I've started ordering the Pizzaiola – a cheesesteak sandwich with pepperoni, but more importantly, marinara sauce (which we get on the side) which helps moisten everything. Heresy perhaps, but a guy's gotta do, what a guy's gotta do to avoid a dry cheesesteak. I did tell myself that the cheesesteak lost something (that would be moisture) in transport, and I had to eat at the shop to actually see, which is what I did.

Finding the brick and mortar Alex's can be a bit confusing……it is located in the well known Mr. A building on Banker's Hill.

Here I went with the "Philadelphia Cheesesteak"($7.75), which automatically comes with mushrooms, onions, bell peppers, and mozzarella. I'm sure you can get it with Whiz if you really wanted it.

The best part of the sandwich was that the Amoroso Roll was perfectly toasted, not too hard, not too soft. It could also be that the juices didn't saturate the bread because, well, frankly, it was pretty darn dry. The cheese was too mild for the sandwich, though it added a nice gooey stringy texture to everything.

It's sad to see King's lose their luster, though the sandwich still had a well flavored beefy "soul", for me this was like seeing a mid-seventies Elvis, fat, drug addicted, over-gorged on Peanut Butter-Banana-Bacon sandwiches trying to strut his stuff. It's hard to settle for less from the "King".

Alex's Brown Bag
2550 5TH Ave, Suite 171
San Diego, CA 92103

Long live the King: Pop's Jersey Style Steaks

**** Pop's has closed

I've often spoken to folks about the difference between the "best", and our "favorite". We have our favorites because of a combination of factors, and on the visits I did over the course of eight months, my visit to Pop's was my favorite.

And it's all because of family…. you see, on the day I visited "Junior" was running the counter, and seemed to know every customer. His brother(Tony) and "Pop" were manning the flat-top, "Mom" was in the back. I ordered my steak with mushrooms, and had a seat. Junior brought the food out to me, and asked me how I heard about Pop's… and of course, it was through another of Captain Jack's posts. Let me tell you CJ, if you still read this blog…. you're a celebrity here. Once I told him I knew you, Junior insisted on bring out Pop to talk to me. Which is how I found out that this family, the Guadagni's used to own Alex's Brown Bag!

As for the cheesesteak itself…..

There are fliers tacked up around the restaurant telling us they now use Amoroso's. I like the crust, but the bread portion was toasted a bit too hard for me. Pop had told me that he doesn't do gooey and messy steaks anymore because this is "California, and we should be healthy, and why not have the steak evolve…. like the burrito!" He produced old photos from his time at Alex's…. can you tell that I just loved this guy?

The beef here is the most highly seasoned, great pepper flavor. Pop's was worried because some folks think the steak is a bit too highly seasoned, and Pop's gets his beef shipped in from New Jersey.

Which leads me to a photo on CJ's post. I was wondering about the beef that Pop brings in, and CJ happens to have a photo of the box…… I had to laugh. Among the ingredients is Autolyzed Yeast and Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein….. great umami, which of course, we call something else. I'll still keep coming back because the beef does taste really good…. and of course there's the family!

Pop's Jersey Style Cheese Steaks
1730 Garnet Ave.
San Diego, CA 92109

My standby: Gaglione Brothers

**** This location of Gaglione Brothers has closed

There are a few changes since my original post in 2005.

There's a hot and sweet pepper bar which allows you to pep up your sandwich if you so desire.

I still usually get the 8" mushroom cheesesteak($6.95) with provolone. It's not out of this world, but satisfies my cravings. Prices have gone up a bit, but my capability to eat has gone down with regards to quantity.

It seems to me that the bread is not an Amoroso, but a reasonable facsimile. I could be wrong, but it doesn't have as much "bread" as a typical Amoroso. It is essentially moist, gooey, and beefy for me. The provolone cheese is always totally melted, and gives a faint milkiness to the entire sandwich.

And yet, feet to the fire…. it could be that the real reason I eat at Gaglione Brothers are the garlic fries….. I've never eaten here without ordering garlic fries.

The Missus actually asked to have garlic and parsley added to a sandwich here…. and they did it! Which made Her very happy……

Plus, you never know I'll run into that dog who telepathically "talks" to me!

Gaglione Brothers
3944 West Point Loma Blvd
San Diego, CA 92110

A worthy contender: Giorgino's

I had been waiting to check out Giorgino's for a while. After all they claim to make the "Best Cheesesteak in Town".

On my visit, I ordered the Mush Steak ($6.90), which came with White American Cheese, mushrooms, and onions.

To me, perhaps the best bang-for-the-buck. They use Amoroso rolls. But what really made this sandwich stand out was the pronounced garlic flavor, which I enjoyed. when the young man asked me how I liked my sandwich, I mentioned the wonderful flavor of garlic, and asked him if they use "garlic powder" which seemed to irritate him, and he replied snippily, "no… we use only fresh ingredients, it's fresh garlic." Ooops…. though it did make me wonder, if they use only fresh ingredients, it sure seemed like canned mushrooms…. but perhaps they were "fresh" canned mushrooms?

For me, the one "best" that Giorgino's has is the relaxing seating outdoors during a nice day in South Park.

It makes everything taste better…..

Giorgino's
1237 28th St
San Diego, CA 92102

It's not the Cheesesteaks that bring me back: The Philly Grill

**** The Philly Grill has closed

It's Suzanne, the Owner, who has loads of character, and can always bring a smile to my face.

Like I mentioned in this post, the reason I would return to The Philly Grill are not the Cheesesteaks, but Suzanne, and the Italian Sandwiches, which she douses with a mildly bracing balsamic dressing.

The Cheesesteaks here just don't do it for me.

The beef is decent quality, and pretty freshly cut, but there's not enough of it. The bread on my visits was from Gibaldi's and there was too much of it, too doughy, and the crust was not up to the task. The one saving grace was the addition of pickled peppers, much like Giardiniera with added some flavor to the proceedings.

The Philly Grill
2041 University Ave
San Diego, CA 92104

It could have been better: Eddie's Philadelphia Steaks, Hoagies, and Burgers

**** Eddie's has closed

I like the location on 30th street of this place. My good FOY (Friend of Yoso) Howie told me that even though he prefers Giogino's, Eddie's has slowly gotten better over time.

This converted house has a porch, and different rooms where you can have your meal. The menu itself is pretty large with everything from (of course) Cheesesteaks to Prime Choice (what is prime choice???…. is it the prime cut of choice grade meat, or a choice cut of prime grade meat) Rib Eye…. you can see it on the menu yourself here. Of course, it says "Angus Beef" which is a branded beef, but not "Certified Angus Beef" which is a special industry designation. Enough of that, I was here for a Mushroom Steak & Onions with Cheese ($7.75). I of course, ordered mine with provolone.

There were a couple of things that held this cheesesteak back in my opinion. First, the roll was ice cold and flaccid, it could have used a bit of heat or mild toasting. Second, there wasn't enough cheese to create a nice gooey texture, and not much of the milky flavor I want from provolone. The portion size was good, the beefy flavor rather mild. mushrooms sparce, but at least they weren't canned.

Eddie's Philadelphia Steaks, Hoagies, and Burgers
3501 30th Street
San Diego, CA 92104

And there was one: The Philadelphia Sandwich Company

What can I say other than I dreaded coming here. I've never gotten anything better than Tasty Kakes from here. And yet, this place has been around since 1979.

I ordered a 6" Mushroom Steak with Provolone ($5.84). And to be honest it was the most inexpensive of the cheesesteaks I ordered. That's all I'm going to say. The photos speak for themselves.

You can come to your own conclusions.

Philadelphia Sandwich Company
3904 Convoy St. Ste 112
San Diego, CA 92111

I hope you enjoyed this post on various cheesesteaks joints in San Diego. And perhaps you have a few that I missed. It did take me eight months to make these visits…..

Beyond the narrative, which are, as always based on personal preferences, perhaps you'll get out there and try a few of these places!

I hope everyone is having a great week!

Road Trip: Beijing Restaurant – San Gabriel (Los Angeles)

July 13, 2010 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Los Angeles County, Road Trip

**** Beijing Restaurant has closed

A couple of days after my post on Huguosi Snack Bar in Beijing, I received an email telling me about the recently opened "Beijing Restaurant" in San Gabriel. The person made note of Chao Ge Da (炒疙瘩) and Ge Da Soup on the menu. Personally, after having both dishes in Beijing, I wasn't really going to Beijing Restaurant for the Ge Da(flour knots), but to check out what else they had on the menu. Beijing Restaurant on the second floor of the strip mall that houses Green Village Restaurant on where else? Valley Boulevard……

The interior looks like a hundred other restaurants in the area, but the menu itself has some interesting items, such as the afore mentioned Ge Da. Some of the dishes on the menu, and the style of the menu looked suspiciously familiar, which I'll get into later on.

There were also a couple of what seemed to be Moslem/Shaanxi style lamb/mutton dishes. A couple of which we had in Xi'an, like Rou jia mo(meat sandwich). The Missus was pleased that there was the classic Xiang Chun (shoots of the Chinese Mahogany tree) with Bean Curd dish ($4.99):

This was prepared decently, but the Xiang Chun Ya was very old, and the usually profound flavor was sorely muted. It's kinda sad, but if you were to have Xiang Chun Ya for the first time here, you'd wonder what the heck was so special about it. We noticed that several tables of folks coming in after us were ordering this, so I figure it's not very common in the area.

As soon as I saw Lily Bulb (Baihe) on the menu, I had to have it. In this dish it was Celery with Lily Bulb ($3.99):

As I expected, lots of celery, and the sum of one bulb of Baihe in petals. We both didn't care for the cut of the celery which was too large and didn't look right for the dish. The Baihe was delicious, though, as I mention before it was rather scarce. Flavoring was simple, salt and sesame oil. On the plus side, the Missus engaged the gentleman who seems to run the place in conversation, and he told us where to get the Baihe, right down the street (an update on getting Baihe in San Diego is coming up soon).

Earlier I mentioned that there was something familiar about many of the dishes on the menu. It really looked as if many of the dishes were lifted straight off the menu at Tianjin Bistro (which I've posted on twice). One of my favorite dishes at Tianjin Bistro is the Yang Rou Suan Cai – Mutton Soup with pickled vegetables, and since it's almost always better the next day( I even had it on Christmas Day) , we decided to order it, have a good taste, and take the rest home.

After tasting this, I'm certain that Tianjin Bistro and Beijing Restaurant are somehow connected. This was quite good, very nice balanced sour flavor. The Suan Cai has a taste profile similar to Sauerkraut, and works well with the fattier pieces of mutton in the soup. Good, gamey mutton flavor without overpowering the dish. Frozen tofu acts like a flavor sponge and soaks up the wonderful flavor as well.

There was one dish in Xi'an that I wished we ate more than once; Yang Rou Pao Mo. Out of curiosity more than anything we decided to order it. When this arrived at the table, both the Missus and I laughed.

We wondered how many folks had ordered this, and sat puzzled when the ice cold, hard unleavened bread was plopped on the table. Basically Yang Rou Pao Mo is a mutton soup dish. A few "Cakes" of unleavened bread is delivered to your table. You then break (crumble would be inappropriate because the bread is pretty tough) the bread into bite sized pieces in your bowl.

Once you've broken up the bread, the bowl is whisked away, and returns covered in a slightly thick and rich mutton broth. It is topped with a few pieces of mutton, you add some cilantro, top with chili paste, and perhaps munch on a couple of cloves of pickled garlic as well. The bread in Xi'an has a nice, almost Naan like flavor. This one tasted like really bad, stale hardtack.

Here's what we had in Xi'an:

A rich and hearty, almost soulful bowl.

This is the Yang Rou Pao Mo ($6.99) here:

It was not bad by any means, but the bread was lousy, and stayed hard for the entire meal. The broth is basically the same as the Yang Rou Suan Cai, but without the sour vegetable flavor. So we basically had two almost exact soups…. which was our fault for ordering, but as a whole it was a disappointing dish.

The bread didn't soften until the next day!

The service was somewhat scatter-brained, and the younger kids who work here really aren't into it, and could probably care less about serving you. The prices are quite cheap, and the menu very interesting, so we'll probably return.

Beijing Restaurant
250 West Valley Blvd. #B2
San Gabriel, CA 91776

Open 11am – 10pm Daily

Kiki Sato’s Teriyaki and Burgers – Oceanside

July 11, 2010 mmm-yoso Loco Mocos, Plate Lunch

*** Kiki Sato's has closed.

Like many I know, when I first moved to the mainland, I really missed my "local kine grindz". So finding April Hiraki-Morris's Southern California Plate Lunch Connection back in 1998 was a godsend for me. On occasion, April will send out one of "update" style emails, it's good to know that "One Scoop Mac, Two Scoop Rice" is still going strong…. for ova' ten years now! I recently received an email from April announcing that a new place called Kiki Sato's had opened up in Oceanside. I read it, but still, it was up in Oceanside. A few days later I received an email telling me I needed to check this place out. It was a "one-off" email from someone I hadn't received anything from before. This would usually set off the "shill alarms"….. and depending on interest, I'd usually just ignore. But there was one thing in the email that made me think that it wasn't a shill. The person kept misspelling the name, typing "Kinky Sato's" instead of Kiki Sato! A few days later, April forwarded an email from someone who ate at Kiki Sato's, and extolled the virtues of the Loco Moco. That triggered off something in my head….. after all, how long has it been since I'd had a Loco Moco? Which is why I set off on the 35+ mile journey to Ocean Ranch Plaza, and Kiki Sato's…. so new, that a banner still announces that you've arrived.

The interior suits the mall, which houses a Roberto's next door. It is of course, brand new, and quite colorful, and fast-foodish in character.

The menu is fairly small, which can be a good thing, and as you can tell by the "Teriyaki" in the name of the restaurant, there's a definite Japanese slant to the menu. I'm thinking FOY Dennis, being the big time Mapo Tofu fan might be interested in the Mapo Tofu and Pork.

There was a moment of levity when the very nice young lady asked me if I wanted brown rice instead of white rice with my Loco Moco. Laughing, I replied, "brown rice would kinda defeat the purpose, wouldn't it?" Which made her crack-up as well.

All plate lunches comes with Miso Soup…. a pretty large bowl of miso soup.

Which tasted pretty much like an after thought. Not that I expected anything more.

Here's the Loco Moco ($7.49), which I chose with a hamburger (you can have it with Spam if desired):

So how did this measure up? The portion size is on the smallish side, again, based on the artery clogging potential of the Loco Moco, this ain't necessarily bad. The rest I'll leave up to the "Modified Rubio" scale, which I first described here. So here goes:

BURGER: Hand formed, pressed really tight which made it tougher than it needed to be. The grind is really fine, and there's a strong black pepper component to the flavor. Still, this heads above the typical "Hawaiian BBQ" mass produced burger – 4.5

EGGS: Or should I say egg? It was just ok…. I'd prefer a softer, more runny yolk, and some salt on the egg. 2.5

RICE: Excellent, you could count every grain if you wanted to. – 4.5

GRAVY: It's a onion brown gravy, as with much of the dish, a bit lower in the sodium department . There was not enough of it to cover all my rice, and even more strange, it seemed that the rice was placed in the gravy, instead of being poured over the rice. I know, leave it to me to complain about gravy placement. Still, it does matter. 3.0

STUFFS: Plate lunches here come with both Mac Salad and a choice of a green salad or a spicy edamame salad. I got the edamame which was ok, not very spicy, but at least the edamame wasn't cooked to death. I thought the Mac Salad was very good; nicely chilled, not over-mayo'd. It could have used a bit more of a savory presence, but it was quite good. 3.5

TOTAL: 18 which is pretty good. Way above all the Hawaiian BBQ places, but still below, say the Kaloko Moco.

The service is very friendly, and I'd surely try other dishes on the menu if I lived, perhaps 10-15 miles away. As it stands, I may drop by again if I'm in the area, after all…. I want to see what the Wasabi Burger is all about….

Kiki Sato's Teriyaki & Burgers
3617 Ocean Ranch Blvd.#105
Oceanside, CA 92056