mmm-yoso – Page 336

Road Trip: Mas’ Islamic Chinese Restaurant – Anaheim (Orange County)

March 15, 2010 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Orange County, Road Trip

I'd heard good things about Mas' Islamic restaurant. Located in of all places Anaheim, not exactly your hot bed of Chinese restaurants. But I'd been missing Muslim Chinese, not that the late Jamillah Garden in San Diego made out of this world food, but I'd had some good dishes there. The Missus and I have a soft spot for Islamic Chinese. When the Missus was going to school, She worked briefly at Tung Lai Shun, long gone, but not forgotten, as I think they served the best Chinese Islamic I've ever had. When the Missus and I were first dating, I still remember our wonderful meal at VIP Restaurant in Rowland Heights, which is still there, though I think they've gone through maybe half a dozen owners since then. That meal, featuring a humongous "Da Bing", as huge as a Chicago Deep Dish Pizza, along with our first meal at ChungKing Restaurant (the original in Monterey Park) really stoked my interest in Regional and various ethnic Chinese Cuisines. So on a recent Holiday Monday, the Missus and I made a drive up to Anaheim, and the fairly odd location of Mas' Islamic, located on a rather industrial looking area of Orangethorpe Avenue.

As you can tell, on a pretty humble avenue, full of generic looking industrial malls and complexes, Mas' sure stands out. The interior is huge, comprised of several large "rooms". The restaurant, empty when we arrived, filled pretty quickly with the Monday lunch crowd, a mixed bag of Asians, and non-Asians. Most folks were ordering lunch specials….there was a whole lotta "orange chicken" going on. Between that, and the standard place setting…. which covers all bases, gave me a bit of a weird feeling.

Luckily, all the Servers spoke Mandarin, and among the Shrimp with Cashew Nuts, Kung Pao Chicken, and Mongolian Beef, we found items that represented Islamic Chinese food. Being a Halal establishment, Mas' is a "no oink" zone, so don't even be thinking about ordering something like Dong Po Rou.

First to arrive was the "Lamb Dough Sliced Chow Mein"($10.95) aka Dao Xiao Mian (刀削麵 – Knife cut, or knife shaved noodles), where noodles are shaved from a block of rolled dough. My photo doesn't do justice on the portion size… those spoons are actually large serving spoons. This could've fed an army!

From a noodle perspective, this was a pretty good job. The noodles weren't too thick and doughy like versions in San Diego (can you hear me Dumpling Inn?). No "wok hay" here, but the noodles had a decent al dente pull to them. The flavor was truly lacking, with only a hint of soy sauce flavor. Not much lamb in this either, egg was used to stretch the protein. The greyish pallor of the dish didn't do much to stimulate my appetite either. There was three meals of leftovers out of this dish, which had to be fixed up with a ton of soy sauce.

The Thin Sesame Bread ($9.95). I saw this thing, a large pizza sized bread being cut and placed on our platter.

This was pretty good, not too oily, tons of sesame seeds, decent light crustiness, but really short on scallions, leaving it on the bland side.

I'll say this much….. Sammy loved the leftovers!

By this time, we were used to the huge portions, so when our Lamb and Pickled Cabbage Soup (Suan Cai Yang Rou – $9.95) arrived in a huge cauldron we weren't too surprised.

I'm a big fan of Suan Cai Yang Rou, and eat it every chance I get. This however, was not very good. Instead of a nice pickled flavor, the broth had an intense, almost pure vinegar sour. It was so unpleasantly sour that my salivary glands are quivering in fear and shutting down as I look at the photos. The soup was big on regular Napa Cabbage, and short on Suan Cai (a simpled pickled made from Napa Cabbage that is reminiscent of Sauerkraut), so I'm wondering if they added vinegar to make it sour enough? We could only tolerate a few spoonfuls of the broth. We did take it home, but the next day, the soup was even more sour…… and we just couldn't bring ourselves to eat it, though I tried. This was not even close to my favorite version from Tianjin Bistro, and would even prefer Northern Chinese Restaurant's version to this.

One of the women who served us, was very nice. The others were pretty military-like and efficient. The portions here are humongous, and we could have fed 7-8 people with what we ordered. The food, however only made me miss Tung Lai Shun even more. I wonder how VIP is under their new(er) ownership…..maybe we'll just have to get back to China Islamic soon.

Mas' Islamic Restaurant
601 E Orangethorpe Ave
Anaheim, CA 92801

Sunday “Italian” Sandwiches: Jersey Mike’s Subs, Grab & Go, and Philly Grill

March 14, 2010 mmm-yoso Sandwiches

Boy, was it nice out there today…… I’m figuring that you really don’t feel like reading about a hot steaming pot of Suan Cai Yang Rou (preserved vegetable w/lamb hot pot), so I thought I’d dig up a few photos, and put together a sandwich post. This time, it’s a couple of local “Italian Subs”, which, depending where you live can be called a “Grinder, Torpedo, Hoagie, or Bomber” among other names, depending on where you live. Here’s an interesting threesome, 1 from a National Chain, one from a Local Chain, and one from a local independently owned shop. So without further ado:

Jersey Mike’s Subs – Rosecrans:

As far as I know, there are three locations of this New Jersey based chain in San Diego proper. The actual history of Jersey Mike’s is interesting. Yet, it’s still a franchised chain.

The interior is full on national sandwich shop generic…..

I will say one thing about this shop; the two times I’ve been here, the young ladies are always cleaning like crazy……. whomever runs this shop must put an emphasis on this.

I usually will go for one of the combinations featuring Italian cold cuts.

On both my visits, the sandwich was lettuce heavy, and you really couldn’t taste the meats. The dressing is a good amount of red wine vinegar, olive oil, and a good amount of an oregano spice mix, which is the key to flavor for this sandwich. It’s still not the basic “salad on a roll” that is a sandwich from Subway, and they do slice your meat to order.

The one thing I enjoy at Jersey Mike’s is the bread, which is slightly crusty and airy, and has a almost cracker-like flavor.

Jersey Mike’s Subs
3670 Rosecrans Street
San Diego, CA 92110

Grab & Go Subs – Mission Gorge Rd:

**** This location of Grab & Go has closed

A local “chain” with seven locations, I’ve posted on Grab & Go before. A couple of months ago, I dropped by the Mission Gorge shop since I happened to be in the area.

As I mentioned before, my sandwich of choice at Grab & Go is the Spicy Cappocolla, which is toasted, spice added by pickled jalapenos. Toasting the sandwich releases the oil and flavors from the cappocolla, melts the cheese, and makes the roll crusty…. all good things for me.

A couple of weeks later, I found myself at Grab & Go again, and ordered my other favorite, the Italian Village Special, a cappocolla, salami, and pepperoni sub.

On previous occasions, this sandwich had been toasted when I’ve ordered it. This time it wasn’t, and it was truly lacking. Too doughy, lacking in a good contrast of textures. And ice cold……..

Goes to show me that I need to make sure my sandwiches are toasted in the future.

Grab & Go Subs
6435 Mission Gorge Rd.
San Diego, CA 92120

A quick word on shredded lettuce on Italian Subs…… this is the usual way they are made in San Diego……

The Philly Grill:

**** The Philly Grill has closed

Nestled next to El Sol, Philly Grill is a nice little shop that specializes in Cheesesteaks, which I’ll go into in a later post.

Personally, I don’t think the best item on the menu are the cheesesteaks, which are on the skimpy side, and the bread, a very important item when dealing with cheesesteaks just doesn’t cut it. For me, the best thing I’ve had here is also one of the most inexpensive, the Italian Hoagie.

The owner, Suzanne also adds color, with her unbridled enthusiasm, straight forward approach, and sincere concern for what I ate. I’m sure that you, like myself are often asked “how is everything and what do you think” during your meal. I will guarantee you, that 99% of the time, it is just part of going thru the motions. The person asking really doesn’t want you to answer this. In the beginning, I thought that folks really wanted to know “how everything was”, and replied with my opinion. After instances of rapid blinking, “why did you answer”, “did you just slap me in the face” looks, I’ve just stopped. Stupid me, in the beginning I thought that they really wanted to know what I thought. Somehow, when Suzanne asked me “whaddya think”, I just felt she meant it…… so I think she now knows me as the “bread guy”…… And we did have a nice conversation about her bread, her customers, and such. And Suzanne really did really want to know what I thought.

Back to the sandwich. Suzanne asked me how I wanted my sandwich, and I told her, make it the way you like it, but lose the shredded lettuce. What I ended up with was freshly sliced sliced salami and cappacolla heated on the griddle, prosciutto, and provolone, topped with onions, and great pickled peppers.

The balsamic dressing and oregano spice mix added to the sandwich. At this point, it could have been on shoe leather and this would have been great! I do think that thinner slices, with more surface area would add to the sandwich, but I enjoyed this. I was also pretty stuffed…..

This really illustrates the superiority of independently owned and run businesses (and I’m talking about those folks who are hands on). I’m sure if I walked into Philly Grill tomorrow, Suzanne will remember what my preferences were. And in some way, that beats out a five dollar foot long anytime.

Dennis has a post on Philly Grill which you can find here.

Philly Grill
2041 University Ave
San Diego, CA 92104

Quick note: the hours are sometimes a bit flaky.

Today was a wonderful San Diego day. Yes, the Northwest winds still had a bit of chill to them, but it was a nice sunny day. The Missus wanted to sleep in, so I took Da’ Boyz to Tecolote Natural Park and Nature Center.

The Tecolote Canyon Natural Park is a series of trails, a twelve mile round trip, which stretches throughout the Clairemont area.

Of course we just kinda meandered around for maybe a half mile or so, just far enough so Sammy could smell every bush….

We turned just a bit after passing the back of USD.

The wild flowers are quite pretty after the recent rains…..

Da’ Boyz and I hope you had a great weekend!

Antigua: Our last evening, Lake Amatitlan, and making it home…..

March 12, 2010 mmm-yoso Guatemala, Guatemalan Food, Travel

On our last evening in Antigua, the Missus wanted to have a nice meal…… She was still thinking about our meal at Churrasqueria Momo's in Copan Ruinas, and asked me if I could find something similar in Antigua. I recalled seeing a sign advertising a Churrasca, basically a steakhouse. And ironically it was located right under the landmark we took the most photos of…… The Arch of Santa Catalina:

The arch was built in 1693 to allow the Nuns of the Convent of Santa Catalina to fulfill the conditions of cloister, out of public view and contact, to access a vegetable garden across the street.

There just happens to be a hotel right under the arch. I had read a sign in front of the hotel, and recalled that it had mentioned the restaurant specialized in Churrasca.

since this was located right smack in the middle of 5 Avenida Norte, we both knew that this would be more touristy, and the prices would reflect that.

Still we knew it wouldn't be that bad with regard to prices, and it wasn't.

I had the Puyazo, basically a marinated grilled skirt steak, which came to about $11/US:

The marinade was not as tasty as the version in Copan Ruinas, but the meat was of higher quality, very beefy, moist, and relatively tender.

The Missus went for the Filet Mignon, which came to about $12.50/US.

The filet was wrapped in bacon and topped with a red wine sauce.

It was a nice relaxing last meal in Antigua…. we sure were going to miss the splashes of color of the town.

Now it's on to Mauricio:

When we first arrived in Guatemala City, we headed out to the feeding frenzy of shuttle and taxi drivers. For some reason, we noticed a clean cut young man holding a sign….. and he spoke excellent English. This was Mauricio. We arrived at his mini-van, and immediately noticed a young woman and a young child sitting in the passenger seat. It was Mauricio's wife and son. This immediately put us at ease. From that point on, Mauricio was our driver…… he was always prompt, so friendly, and flexible. We enjoyed many wonderful conversations on a wide range of subjects. As we found in our travels, folks seem to be just as interested in us, as we were in them. On our return trip from Flores and Tikal, returning to Antigua from Guatemala City, we made arrangements for our return trip to the airport. As he was dropping us off, Mauricio asked us if it was okay to pick us up early in the morning. As he explained to me, "we'd like to show you the town we live in, and a bit of Guatemala City, not as customers, but as friends……" How could we refuse? And so on our last morning in Guatemala, a young man arrived in Maurico's mini-van with a note in hand:

And we were driven to Mauricio's hometown of Amatitlan, and met up with Mauricio's family, including his Mom. After breakfast at Pollo Campero, we were given a short tour of Amatitlan. The heart of Amatitlan is Lake Amatitlan, which had almost been reduced to a polluted mess by being the catchment area for Guatemala City. Luckily, the lake is on what will probably be a long road to recovery. Mauricio's Mother told us stories of swimming in the lake when she was a child, and though I don't think anyone will be able to do that for a while, perhaps in my lifetime, I hope that one day children will be able to……

We snapped that photo after taking a ride on the aerial tram. The views are beautiful, and you a get a good view of the active Pacaya Volcano. You also have great view of the town of Amatitlan.

Mauricio had a few surprises for us…. our next stop was Baños Termales Santa Teresita, location of thermal springs and a spa.

A massage and shower later, and we were relaxed beyond words…….

The last stop on the way to the airport was a drive through Naciones Unida National Park. Located within the park are smaller scale models of Guatemala's most famous sites, like Antigua, and even this:

Yep, it's a mini-Tikal! Who needs to go to Flores! And these were much easier to climb too…..

While driving through the park, we came to an area where the road was blocked…. what was it? Banditos, a bad accident, a hold-up??? Not quite……

There were kids dressed in traditional garb, swaying from side to side enthusiastically, with a woman dancing in front of them……

So what was this…… it was a music video being filmed of course!

When the filming was done, the woman smiled, waved, and shouted out her thanks, and all the kids smiled and waved at us as we drove past. Somehow, I just can't see this happening in the states….

As we arrived at the airport, I felt sadness coming over me. We had been blessed again, just as in other trips. Beyond the sights and the food, it's the people we've been blessed to meet that stay with us. I could never thank Mauricio enough, not only for his generosity and kindness, but for also providing us with an anchor, and a sense of security during our travels.

Flying through Mexico City, and "gripe porcina":

This being April of '09, we were around Lake Atitlan when the 2009 Swine Flu pandemic story broke in mainstream media outlets. By the time we hit Flores, and actually had access to a television, things were going crazy… the whole Sanjay Gupta at "ground zero" thing had us glued to the television. The bad thing was, we weren't able to change our flights, as everyone seemed to be in a panic, and we had to fly through Mexico City airport. We were in a state of not really knowing what the heck was going to happen. Mexico City had been pretty much shut down by that point. I had expected the flight from Guatemala City to Mexico City to be empty, but it was packed to the gills. Mexico City airport, usually a mass of humanity had an eerie sober feel to it. And scenes like this were somewhat surreal… as in, is this really happening.

People were making sure not to be too close to one another. And even though we knew that the face masks we got, even doubled up, was no replacement for having TB masks and being fit-tested. We still wore our masks, and took this classic photo of us:

Is that major "sunblock fail" on my forehead or what?

The flight to LAX was almost empty….. only seventeen passengers on a 737!

And even though at first glance it looked like business as usual at LAX, both Immigrations and Customs was a ghost town. We made it through in fifteen minutes….amazing. Two and a half hours later, we were home…….. with some interesting stories to tell.

As always, thanks for reading!

Minh Ky revisited

March 11, 2010 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Vietnamese Restaurants

It could be that all roads lead back to Minh Ky…… every couple of months we find ourselves back in that lousy parking lot on the corner of El Cajon and Menlo.

Minh Ky, like the Tan Ky Mi Gia's and Luong Hai Ky specialize in Chinese style noodle dishes. And though the interior hasn't changed since I first posted on the place back in January of '06, it seems that the food here has gotten better over time. As I noted in my Mi comparison, the broth for the soups has seemed to gain flavor over the years. So I thought I'd just do a short post on some of the other dishes from Minh Ky, save one, which I'm saving for one of those comparison posts.

On one of our visits, we saw a young girl and her mom working through a plate of chow fun….they sure made it look good. So on our next visit we ordered the Seafood Chow Fun, at $7.25, one of the more expensive (ahem, it's all relative) dishes at Minh Ky.

This was a load of food for just over seven bucks. The noodles were cooked adequately, no wok-hay, but not mushy. The shrimp was perfect, still soft and tender, but the squid was a tad over-cooked. The gravy was excellent, nice hints of the savory flavor of oyster sauce, with a touch of sweetness. We enjoyed the dish, and proceeded to order it again…. this time it had less gravy, which tasted a bit off, and my feet started swelling after a couple of bites. I usually have a pretty tolerance when it comes to MSG, and I really don't mind it being used to "finish" a dish. To take it to the next level, but this was a bit too much.

The Roast Duck Egg Noodle soup is a bargain by San Diego standards at $6.25. And the broth for the egg noodle soup is still pretty solid with regards to flavor. I also don't remember there being so much 'Mi' in the egg noodle soups; that alone was enough to fill me up.

The duck was nice and meaty, but very low with regards to anise-savory tones. It was also too fatty, and fairly greasy. And the skin was quite rubbery.

Maybe next time…….

On one of our visits, I decided to order the Bo Kho Hu Tieu (Beef Stew-Hu Tieu):

There was a ton of meat and tendon in the bowl. The beef was cooked well, and though not melt in your mouth, it was fairly tender. The tendon could have been softer, though. As you notice, like most of the 'Mi' joints in San Diego, it rice noodles, aka Bánh phở that's used, not "bánh hủ tiếu". The overall flavor was on the weak side, lacking in the rich-savoriness of a good beef stew.

It was nice trying some other dishes beyond the usual Egg noodle soups…… I'm thinking we'll be going back to the Sate/Won Ton/Dumpling Egg noodle soup. I will give that Chow Fun another try though.

Minh Ky Restaurant
4644 El Cajon Boulevard
San Diego, CA 92115

And yes, there's still that aisle of parking with no outlet….. you either hope that no one is parked in one of the stalls on the west side so you can cut out, or you have to back all the way out. Or you could jump the curb…..

Recently, we've been parking in the stall behind, pot holes and all…. but be careful, we've seen two cars hit nails……

Road Trip: Hunan Restaurant – Monterey Park (Los Angeles)

March 9, 2010 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Los Angeles County, Road Trip

Right after the calendar New Year, the Missus and I finally made it to Hunan Restaurant in Monterey Park. Since we'd already eaten at Hunan Chilli King (several times), Hunan Seafood, Xiang Wei Lou, and Hunan Style Restaurant, it only made sense that we should check out the simply named Hunan Restaurant. Hunan Restaurant is located on Atlantic Boulevard; we haven't been around this part of Monterey Park in a while, so it was interesting to see the changes since we last visited.

The restaurant is fairly small, and looks a bit worn. And yes, that is a 'C' letter grade taped proudly to the front glass.

Everything about the place is "all business", and I think the napkins, tossed haphazardly on the tables for use is a good representation of the restaurant.

This place really took me back to SGV service circa late '90s. Perfunctory to a fault….. if I dropped dead and fell on the floor at the foot of a table, the Servers would have no problem stepping over my dead body to complete their tasks. Perhaps a bit later, once the bill had been paid, and rigor mortis had set in(for practical reasons, I'd be easier to move), I'd be rolled out, using the "kick method" until I was no longer on restaurant property. Ah yes, remember the good 'ol days?????

The Missus started with the Stinky Tofu Hunan Style($4.99):

The Missus always says that if I'm able to start eating Chou Dofu without hesitation it isn't going to be any good. And She was right in this case. The tofu wasn't particularly smelly, and the sauce wasn't particular spicy, nor salty, or sweet for that matter. It just plain tasted watered down.

The Missus noticed a dish written on one of those ubiquitous strips of paper taped to the wall. It was bamboo shoots stir fried with La Rou (Hunan preserved pork 腊肉), and was the best dish of the day.

The dish was nice and smokey, courtesy of the La Rou. The Chinese celery did a great job of refreshing the palate. The Hunan ham was very waxy, and there were some bits that were almost inedible, but the flavor was good. There was a severe lack of spice in this dish, even though the Missus ordered it "big spicy".

The Missus listening to what other tables were ordering, decided to order the Steamed Whole Fish Hunan Style ($9.99).

I've had some terrible fish in my life, but this one is right up there at the top. First, there was nothing fresh about this semi-rancid fish. The flesh was mushy, and one bite was about it. Also, not enough hot oil and soy was used, and the fish was parched. Third, this fish was topped with only dried chilies, which combined with a lack of sauce, was still totally dry…..like eating seeds and paper. It was like eating a handful of dried Chilies de Arbol. I think that's enough…. I think you get the point.

The SGV has tons of restaurants, and whether you visited on a bad day, or perhaps the dishes aren't to your taste, you are bound to have a lousy meal now and then.

Hunan Restaurant
423 N Atlantic Blvd
Monterey Park, CA 91754

Luche Libre Gourmet Taco Shop

March 8, 2010 mmm-yoso Hot Dogs, Mexican Restaurants, Taco Shops

For some reason, the interior of this place always has me humming:

"Those magnificent men in their flying machines,
they go up diddly up up,
they go down diddly down down….."

Now why the heck would this bright pepto-bismol pink, "luche libre"(Mexican professional wrestling) themed and decorated (I use that term loosely) restaurant have me humming that tune? Well, if you grew up in Hawaii in the late 60's and 70's you'd recognize names like as Ripper Collins(who once, when I recognized him in a parking lot, asked me "do you want to wrestle?") and Curtis "the Bull" Iaukea. Two of my favorites were Pampero Firpo (aka the Missing Link) and "Handsome Johnny Barend" whose theme song was "Those magnificent men in their flying machine". Barend always had me in stitches with his unhinged, rambling, crazy schtick. Man, those were the days….. My apologies for the somewhat obtuse digression, but the decor is just as crazy as "Handsome Johnny"……..

When Luche Libre Gourmet Taco Shop first opened, I like many others in the bloggersphere went to check out what all the buzz was about. The interior itself is probably good enough reason to visit at least once. On that visit, I got a Queso Taco:

Which was dry, tough, and bland carne asada, wrapped in a fairly tasteless, overly rigid, double corn tortilla, which was saved by the crisp mildly salty griddled cheese.

Of course I got the TJ Hotdog….. A bacon wrapped hotdog, with griddled onions and peppers….seasoned with mustard and (gasp) ketchup. A bargain at a buck-fifty.

I will say that you pretty much get what you pay for. I love TJ style Hotdogs, but I really didn't care much for this version. The first two times I had this, the bun was burnt, and not good eats.

I also noticed, that though the dog, an all beef "perro" had good flavor(though I'd like a bit more snap), for some reason the bacon is almost a non-entity in this flavorwise. To test this out, I once visited with an acquaintance of mine, a real fan of LL. Since I was buying lunch, I didn't think it would be really bad to play a little "joke" on him. I ordered his dog sans bacon. Our conversation got to the dog at hand, and I happened to mention how important the bacon was to this hotdog…… at which time he said something along the lines of, "yes, yes, of course this wouldn't be the same without the bacon. And this rocks!" Yeah, I guess that bacon makes this TJ Hot Dog, huh? Oh, I still haven't told him that he didn't have any bacon on his TJ dog……

Recently, after almost a year, decided to check out LL, and the TJ Hot Dog again. And I gotta say, even though the bacon is still waaaay back there in the background, this time the bun wasn't burned, and there was a good amount of peppers and onions…. and tomatoes adding a bit of tang to the whole thing.

If you'd like to read a very interesting post, one of my favorite fellow food bloggers, Masa Assassin has a fantastic post on the History of Mexico's bacon wrapped hot dogs. (MA also shares some my opinions of LL's dog….)

Over time, I've gotten a couple of emails extolling the virtues of the Carne Asada Burrito at LL. I don't know if you've noticed, but there has been a serious lack of "CABs" (Carne Asada Burritos) in my posts. If you've been reading long enough, you may remember that Howie had a not so little event called the "battle of the Bertos", a comparison of 10 Carne Asada burritos from places ending in "'berto". I guess you could call it "PTBSS"…. post traumatic burrito stress syndrome. Following the "event" I just couldn't face a CAB. Mention a CAB to me and I'd go though a series of ticks that would make a third base coach proud. But, as they say, time…. and hunger, heals all wounds. And recently, fresh off carne asada burrito rehab, I grabbed a CAB from Luche Libre ($4.85):

This was a good sized, two fisted burrito. And now is a good time to mention the salsa bar, with some good freshly made salsas, a la Mama Testa. My only complaint is a serious lack of "picante".

As for the burrito…. the beef in this was a total 180 from the Queso Taco. It was nice thickly cut what seemed to be flank steak, chewy, but in a good way. I still think it is a bit under-flavored, but I enjoyed the flavor of "the char".

The best thing the guacamole and the pico de gallo did was not to interfere with the beef. So perhaps I'm cured………

A good while back, I received an email from a FOY (Friend of Yoso), who deserves an apology since I can't find his email. He recommended something called the "DDT Loaded Baked Potato"($6.25). Over six bucks for a baked potato!?!?!! And yet, I was intrigued…. And when I picked my potato up, I understood why they called this the "DDT baked potato. The only question was what version of the DDT this poor spud was exposed to?

Was it the "elevated DDT", or perhaps the "spike DDT"? My money's on the "tornado DDT". This thing was a gooey, calorie bomb mess of a baked potato, with carne asada, grilled shrimp, mushrooms, and grilled onions and zucchini (you do need your veggies, right?), enrobed in melted cheese, and topped with a chipotle flavored sauce, much like the thousand island dressing stuff you get at mariscos shops.

Man, this was a mess…. and yet, I couldn't stop eating. I didn't want to admit it, but I kinda enjoyed this…… I did need a cold shower after, and I don't crave it, but I can't lie. This pushed all the guilty pleasure buttons.

I'm not sure I buy the "gourmet" part, as the level of refinement really isn't there. That aside, there are some novel items on the menu, the prices are reasonable, the quality of some of the ingredients is higher. At its best, LL is a notch above the usual San Diego Taco shop(thoughYMMV), and the food is "Gringo safe". And I haven't even gotten to the free chips……

Luche Libre Gourmet Taco Shop
1810 W Washington St
San Diego, CA 92103

Wa Dining Okan in photos….

March 7, 2010 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants

I've been told several times that many folks come here more to see what I ate, rather than to read about my meals! It really doesn't bother me one bit. After all, there are times when a photo speaks much louder, and all of that.

And since we've written about Okan quite a bit over the last two years. I thought you'd enjoy seeing what we ate, more than reading about it. You can of course read our old posts, the oldest of which dates back to September '08, or perhaps something from another blog, and there are quite a few out there for your reading pleasure.

So without further ado…. it's Okan in photos to end this dreary and wet weekend.

Wa Dining Okan
3860 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

Chiang Mai: Doi Suthep

March 6, 2010 mmm-yoso Chiang Mai, Thai Restaurants, Thailand, Travel

On our third day in Chiang Mai, the Missus decided that She wanted to visit Doi Suthep, located about 15 kilometeres from Chiang Mai. So how to get there???? Well, you just flag down a "sawngthaew" one of the innumerable red trucks plying the streets. Bargain, and get on your way…..

We arrived at the 309 steps up to Wat Doi Suthep….. and it seemed like everyone else in Chiang Mai decided to visit as well.

There's quite a bit to see, more than I could possibly cover in a post.

Lest you think just tourists come to Wat Doi Suthep, you'd be mistaken, as there seemed to be many who came to worship.

We spent a nice morning wandering the grounds.

We could only imagine how beautiful the view would be on a clear day.

Walking around sure stirred up my appetite….. so we had the sawngthaew drop us off across the Three Kings Monument, and went lookng for something to eat. I noticed a Khao Soi shop on the corner. I'd already tried Khao Soi twice, and was relatively unimpressed. This place looks busy, so I decided to give it another try. The Missus had already decided that Khao Soi wasn't Her thing, and stuck with just a soda.

I don't know if it's the fried noodles that is rather powdery and could have come from a can. Or if it is the watered down curry flavor that can't be rescued by lime, shallots, or even the only item I enjoy, the pickled vegetable. It could be that I didn't have a good version of this dish. But I really didn't care for the three versions Khao Soi I tried….. maybe next time….

As we walked down the street, we noticed another shop full of people. It looked like satay was the specialty here.

A woman walked down the aisles taking orders. As she took orders she'd bark them out, and the orders would hit the table.

Then things stopped…… the woman announced something, and half the people got up and left! The woman told us that they had run out of chicken, and only had pork left. I guess this place made a mean satay chicken. We decided to stay……

And indeed the pork was fine, but nothing to write home about.

I thought it was strange that each of us got two servings of rice. One on a plate, and the other in a bowl.

No matter, the rice had been cooked in chicken stock, and I would have been happy with just the rice alone.

Even better then the rice was the bowl of chicken broth, rich and vibrant with chicken drippings, great oil, with just the right amount of salt, and a touch of ginger to cleanse the palate.

That was worth the price of admission……

Like the rest of Thailand……… food was everywhere…….

Food aside, I found this little pup adorable.

Antigua: Miscellaneous stuff

March 5, 2010 mmm-yoso Guatemala, Guatemalan Food, Markets & Grocers, Travel

I really need to finish up my Guatemala, and for that matter my Thailand posts. After Copan Ruinas we returned to Antigua, to spend our last nights of our trip.

We really loved the colors of Antigua, from the cobblestone streets to the colorfully painted buildings, this is one photogenic town.

After some research I booked our room at the Hotel Casa Florencia. Our usual "M.O." is to book a room for the first night or two and take things from there.

As for how we enjoyed the Casa Florencia…. I ended up booking all our nights on our return trips from Lake Atitlan and Copan Ruinas at the Casa Florencia. The rooms aren't very large, in fact, they are on the small side. Though on our last night, we were given the larger "triple" room on the second floor. I'm guessing that the folks at CF were being nice to us for making the place our base of operations.

What we found most impressive about Casa Florencia, was how clean the place was…..the floor shone and squeaked under our feet. You felt like you could almost eat off that floor.

Hotel Casa Florencia
7a Avenida Norte #100
La Antigua,Guatemala

On many nights, we'd sit on one of the benches outside our room, and have our snack of fried chicken from Pollo Campero, and a cerveza or two. One evening we decided to taste test two of the very popular beers….. Brahva and Gallo.

Brahva is a light lager, very effervescent. Gallo, which is the more popular beer is also a lager, but has a weird "skunkiness" to it, that wasn't very enjoyable. It wasn't just a bad can…. all of them tasted that way. Needless to say, we stuck with Brahva from then on……

On the west edge of Antigua is the market which we only briefly visited. We did spend enough time to take some photos.

If I were to go over all the sights in antigua…. well, I'd have a ton of posts. Instead, here are two of our favorites. On the north side of central Antigua is La Merced, a beautiful church.

And though La Merced is known for what is often called the most impressive fountain in Central America….

And the views from the top of the church…. I found walking the hallways more interesting. The lights and shadows give the place an interesting feel.

La Merced is an interesting way to spend an hour wandering the hallways, checking out the views above, and of course the fountain.

To the Southwest, is one of the oldest churches in Antigua, the Iglesia de San Francisco. Dating back to 1579, the church and the large monastery was destroyed in the great 1773 earthquake.

The church has been rebuilt, but the grounds of the monastery, which once included a library, and even a hospital has not. You can walk and explore the ruins.

And of course, since this is a food blog, I need to include some food. During the evening, you can find vendors outside of La Merced, selling various items that is a good change of pace from all the tourist food.

Where you can get stuff like this….

The Missus always cracked me up when ordering these….. this type of small tamal are called "chuchitos". The term tamale is saved for larger tamals. So the Missus would point and go "tamales…tamales?" And the woman manning the cart would go "no, no, no tamales…. chuchitos!" And the Missus would point again and go, "tamales…." And the woman would go, "no…chuchitos"……. he-he-he….

And of course there was always someone selling tostadas…..

Which always hit the spot……..

Thanks for reading!

Chin’s on Convoy – A first quick look.

March 3, 2010 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Xiao Long Bao

**** This location of Chin's has closed

As I noted previously, we managed to drop by the new Chin's this past weekend for a quick bite. Lucky for me, FOY Candice managed to get word out to me, because just looking at the place, I really couldn't tell they were open.

We arrived at just about 11am, and the place was empty except for one table. I thought the interior was pretty nice, just hitting the edge of tasteful Chinese restaurant decor. The dining area is small, but the tables are spread out pretty well. There is a bar area, with plasma televisions as well.

A very cheerful, and undoubtedly proud young lady sat us, and handed us the menus…. which looked like a combination of the typical ABCDE Chin's menu, along with items on the Miramar Chin's menu. This was interesting since I know there's something going on between the two Chin's. On our last couple of visits to the Miramar location, the folks there seemed to distance themselves from this location, saying they have nothing in common with this Chin's, other than the name…… We were a bit disappointed since after reading the coming soon banners, I had been under the impression that this place would be serving "Chinese breakfast" much like the Miramar Chin's. The young lady informed us that such a menu is in the works, and will be implemented after things in the kitchen gets straightened out, in about a month. Of course, knowing how long it took this place to open, that may be two, or perhaps three months.

We really had wanted maybe a few small dishes, so we stayed the course and ordered just a couple of items. For some reason, the Missus wanted Zha Jiang Mian, which is not my favorite dish in the world. What's even more funny, is that several Korean friends and acquaintances of mine, don't even know that Zha Jiang Mian, or as they know it Ja Jang Myeon is Chinese in origin. I've even been called a liar to my face! Such has this noodle dish been culturally etched in their society.

This version was different from any I've had before. First off was the soy beans, something which I've never experienced. Second, the "meat sauce" lacked the strong savory presence of bean paste. It also wasn't as salty, or greasy as many version I've had were. This was fairly bland, the noodles were decently prepared, the boiled egg was inhaled by the Missus, who dismissed this as "terribly bland".

We also ordered the Five Spiced Beef, one of my favorite dishes at the Miramar Chin's.

On the good side, the beef had a nice texture, neither too soft, nor too tough and sinewy. The flavor really fell short though. There was a serious lack of five spice flavor, and the sauce, instead of being that classic Shanghainese sweet-soy, was watery and tasteless. Too bad, this dish has potential.

The last item we ordered were the Xiao Long Bao. Now Candice had mentioned something interesting to me. I was told that the Chef was the original chef of Mandarin Garden in Mira Mesa. And when the XLB arrived, I was suddenly reminded of Mandarin Garden.

You see, the two times I had XLB at Mandarin Garden, all the "soup" had leaked out of the bao. Guess what….. like Yogi Berra said: "It's like deja vu all over again." In addition to lacking soup, the skins were too thick for me, and the fold on the tops were really tough.

While we were eating, the young lady approached our table, and dropped this off, telling us, "this one is for you, free, so you can try." I'm not sure why we got the dish, whether all the customers that day were getting something free, or maybe it was all the questions, or perhaps she spotted my camera (I've gotten pretty good at being discreet over the years. I've actually had meals with folks who didn't notice I took photos). But we got a plate of Cold Roasted Duck:

And you know what….. this was the best dish of the day! The duck was nothing to write home about, but the sauce was a pot on rendition of the typical sweet-soy reduction typical of these type of cold dishes. The presence of soy was tasted, but the saltiness deferred to the sweetness, which was nicely restrained from sending the dish into "candyland". Now this dish displayed enough for me to return.

Meanwhile, a small army of Servers poured in the door, and the place had become fully staffed. The young women asked all the customers as they were leaving if they wanted to see the room in the back.

The banquet area is about 2/3 the size of the main dining area, and could probably hold up to perhaps 60 or so people. It's a short hallway down from the main dining area, and has two plasma televisions, and the young woman even pointed to a machine and said "Karaoke"……

I'm pretty sure we'll be checking this place out again once they start serving breakfast. The chef at tis Chin's has a good deal of experience so It'll be interesting to see how they match up with Shanghai City down the street.

Chin's
4433 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111