mmm-yoso – Page 338

Hoai Hue Vietnamese Restaurant

October 4, 2010 mmm-yoso Bun Bo Hue, Vietnamese Restaurants

Over a month ago, I mentioned that Hoai Hue Restaurant would be opening in the former Huynh Hoa Tuu location. A quick check down the street confirmed that they closed up their old shop, and had moved to larger and more pretty digs. Truth be told, I was going to miss having people look for Hung's Tattoo Parlor and the Alcoholics Anonymous to find the place……

And if the recent cold weather didn't put you in the mood for Bun Bo Hue or Bun Rieu……..

The pepto bismol pink interior has been repainted, and a few decorative items added, but "the bone structure" of the restaurant is the same.

The menu here reflects some regional differences in the names of a couple of dishes. For instance, what we usually call Bun Rieu is Bun Tom Cua. Still, there's no mistaking the freshness of the veggies that arrive in advance of your soup.

The brisk freshness of the herbs and greens, and the abundance of mint makes this one of two areas where Hoai Hue is superior to our favorite, Mien Trung.

The Missus's Bun RieuBun Tom Cua ($6.75) arrived first, looking quite nice.

The Missus went over Her key points with regards to Bun Rieu…. the correct style noodles were used, and was cooked perfectly. The flavor of the broth was milder than Mien Trung, could have used a bit more of a pungent-savory punch, and for what is a deal breaker for the Missus, it was served lukewarm. We prefer this style of soup to be very hot, to better soften the usual amount of herbs a vegetables one adds to Bun Rieu and Bun Bo Hue. The usual crab-seafood patty is replaced with what is almost a seafood ball. It has a bit too much "squeak", and wasn't as pleasurable as the soft and tender crab patty.

There are three different Bun Bo Hue on the menu here, the Bun Bo Hue, Bun Bo Hue Dac Biet, and what I ordered, Bun Tom Hoai Hue($7.50), which had the addition of the seafood "meatball".

The second thing that Hoai Hue does better then Mien Trung are most of the cuts of meat. The pork hock has nice flavor. I'm not a fan of the two different "meatballs" served in the soup; the afore mentioned seafood meatball, and the bland meatball that replaces the typical Cha Lua was also not a great addition in my opinion. The broth was milder then Mien Trung's version, and really didn't have that spice, along with a nice lemongrass kick. Less pungent meant the addition of Mam Tom as well. My soup was also barely over lukewarm, but the noodles were perfect in texture.

We did notice that the soups here have changed a bit over the years, and now looks a bit more refined. The young man running the place initially thought we were Vietnamese, and was surprised when we told him we weren't. Hoai Hue still makes a decent bowl, our favorite next to Mien Trung. And it sure has been great Bun Bo Hue weather recently! HoaiHueRest10

Hoai Hue Vietnamese Restaurant
4660 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA 92115

Hangzhou: We arrive, but where’s West Lake?

October 3, 2010 mmm-yoso China, Hangzhou, Travel

We arrived at Xiaoshan International Airport with no real plan in mind. No hotel, no way from the airport, and against what we usually do, no maps. We were just going to wing it. The Missus found us a shuttle bus from the airport into Hangzhou, and while on the bus, the Missus spoke to the inevitable bus attendant, who also sold tours, and of course, had a large list of hotels. We were told of a decent low-mid range hotel, given her card, and told we would get a certain rate. Of course when we arrived at the front desk, the very, very, young woman, had no idea what we were talking about, and quoted us rates 30% more than what we were quoted. The Missus was now in Her element, this was a challenge, and of course She met the challenge head on…… and of course we got the rate we wanted.

The next mission; find West Lake. West Lake, Hangzhou's most famous, and popular tourist attraction shouldn't be hard to find, right? I mean the lake in the dead center of Hangzhou, so how hard would it be? Well, it ended up being more difficult than first thought. Starting at the hotel we were given a set of directions South. A couple of blocks down the street, we had an inkling that we weren;t headed in the right direction. So the Missus started asking around a bit. It appears that there's a bit of "tourist fatigue" in Hangzhou. After being ignored, and waved off, the Missus asked one of the women cleaning the streets….who had no clue! Finally, someone pointed us East. After a few more blocks, I had a feeling we were off track, and we started asking again. This time we were told to head West. When we came to a pedestrian street, head South, then West again on "Old Street". After a while, we finally found the pedestrian street in question.

The street looked new, and most of the shops were closed. There were several stops along the way that displayed excavation below the streets, and went into detail as to the different historic locations on the street.

Even though most of the shops were closed, the ones open were the shops selling the very popular Jinhua Ham.

This dry-cured ham has been produced in Jinhua, about a 2-3 hour drive from Hangzhou. The dry-cure process used for this ham was first documented around 713 A.D. In fact, in what amounts to a potentially volcanic, but humorous discussion, folks in China claim that along with pasta and tomatoes, Marco Polo brought the technique to salt, then dry-cure the legs of pigs back to Europe with him in the 13th Century! I'm staying away from that one……

Unfortunately, we ran out of time before tasting Jinhua Ham, but since you can get it everywhere in China, I'll not let another chance slip away.

A few blocks later, and we had arrived at Qinghefang Historical Cultural Street. Which seemed to me to be made up of tons of silk and souvenir shops. There was of course, the tourist entertainment thing going on. These folks were handing out fliers…..

Parallel to the pedestrian walkway is a street full of restaurants. Most of them seemed to have just about the same menu….Dong Po Rou and West Lake Fish.

I'm sure that the Muslim Chinese stand must be really good since the line went down the street.

But we just didn't feel like standing a long line.

So we opted for one of the many restaurants lining the street.

And here we had the first of many experiences with apathetic service. When you enter a restaurant that is manned by wholly by young people in China; chances are you'll receive little, if no service. Most times, the kids are not from the area, they are simply in that city to make money. With little incentive, and a pretty demanding audience, it's human nature to try to do the least amount possible for the most reward. I really don't blame them, but man what it took to get a simple pot of tea……

Even though the Missus and I were hungry, we didn't want anything too heavy. After spending the previous week and change in Beijing, QingDao, and Jinan, the combination of temperature (it really wasn't that hot) and humidity was getting to us. We decided on two seasonal vegetable dishes, we loved the wild mountain vegetable we ate in QingDao, so we looked forward to our dishes.

And so our dishes arrived. First the two vegetables.

Notice the difference between the two? Or perhaps no difference? Well, we couldn't taste the difference. And these were pretty dry as well. And when the Missus asked, we were assured that these were two different vegetables. I'm fairly sure however, that none of these two were "Crown Daisy", aka Shingiku, something that I'm familiar with….

The Missus also ordered the Stinky Tofu Hot Pot.

Oh my….. Oh my…. To me, this smelt like sewage. And placing a spoonful of this concoction in my mouth confirmed that it was. The Missus however, thought this was a wonderful savory ambrosia, and She wiped out the whole pot, along with our first bowl of rice on this trip. I've often mentioned that the Missus says: "If you can eat ChouDofu (smelly tofu) then it's no good." In this case She is 100% correct. Recently, during the course conversation with a good FOY (friend of yoso), the topic of Chou Dofu came up. This FOY, a frequent traveler to China, told me that she loves Chou Dofu, but her relatives in China won't let her eat it. The reason? Because, whether documented or not, or perhaps basing judgment on anecdotal data, she was told that restaurants and producers were using fecal matter to produce Chou Dofu. I could only nod in agreement…… I could understand where they "were coming from"…..

For some strange, or perhaps not so strange reason, I left the restaurant not very hungry at all. And we made our way back down Hefang Street.

We had still not found West Lake…….

Still, undeterred, we kept headed West. As I looked up on what I was later to learn is Wushan Hill.

And told the Missus, "that's interesting, I wonder what that is?" I heard a voice talking to the Missus……

To be continued……..

Saturday Stuffs: Manna Korean BBQ opening in San Diego? Yakitori Koubou set to open, and other stuffs….

October 2, 2010 mmm-yoso Sushi and Sashimi

Manna Korean BBQ opening in San Diego?

Talk about doing a double-take. I'm driving down Convoy when I see this sign:

Wow….. I hadn't heard a thing. For those who haven't heard of Manna in LA, it's a very popular AYCE (All you can eat) Korean BBQ restaurant, or more precisely restaurants in the Los Angeles area. Not known for the best quality meats, the prices when I visited were excellent. I'm still not sure if this restaurant is affiliated with the Los Angeles restaurants(maybe someone out there knows the answer?). And what's even more funny was, when I visited Manna, I was the only Asian in the joint……. so I don't know whether to be excited or not. After all, we have enough of those type of places in San Diego…..

But hey, at least there's some business activity in the area.

Yokohama Yakitori Koubou set to open:

While walking to Izakaya Sakura a couple of days ago, I noticed that the signs were up for Koubou. this morning while I drove by, I read a note in the window stating that they'll be opening on 10/07.

Hmmm….. is that it? I feel like I'm short-changing you with such a short post. So here are some photos from a recent meal at Sushi Yaro.

There, I feel better now……

I hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Road Trip: Dim Sum at Sea Harbour – Rosemead (Los Angeles)

September 28, 2010 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Dim Sum, Los Angeles County, Road Trip

Today, stewing in my triple-digit-temperature sodden juices, I had the evil idea of doing a post on my latest bowl of Bun Bo Hue, or perhaps another Pho post. But just the thought of looking at a photo of a steaming bowl of Pho, was just a bit too much for me. So instead, let's just go directly to our current favorite Dim Sum Restaurant, Sea Harbour in Rosemead. When folks say they're going to LA, and want a recommendation for Dim Sum, I'll usually recommend Sea Harbour. Heck, when Ed from Yuma, wanted a couple of recommendations for Seafood Restaurants in LA, Sea Harbour was on that short list. And based on his post, Ed really enjoyed his meal at Sea Harbour. And if you needed another seal of approval, during our visit to Urasawa, Hiro-san himself told me that his favorite restaurant is Sea Harbour. Need I say more? You probably notice a dearth of posts on Dim Sum in San Diego…… that's mainly because the wild swings in quality and mixed experiences over the years have made us a bit "gun shy", after all, the usual layout of funds for a good dim sum meal, exceeds the risk associated with a good bowl of soup! Especially when the return on investment for dim sum in San Diego during the last few years have crashed faster than the stock market…..

On weekends there will usually always be a wait at Sea Harbour….. even if you arrive before the 1030 am opening, it's likely you'll be standing behind someone who got there even earlier than you. Still, if you get there before 11am, on a normal weekend, it's likely the wait won't be too long. Turnover is very quick here…..

Like Elite and Happy Harbour, Sea Harbour does Dim Sum the upscale "menu style". The check off list is quite large at about 130 items….

It's always quite an effort to decide on what to eat. As much as Siu Mai would seem a "no-brainer", a visit to Sea Harbour is something of a special meal for us, so I've yet to have that here. The standard Char Siu Bao, is usually persona non-grata during our Dim Sum meals, as the Missus hails from Shandong and Beijing, and the dough is much too sweet for Her tastes.

So we tend toward the dishes that are not quite the norm for a typical Dim Sum meal. On this day, things started off with the Baby Pak Choy with Ginko and Bean Curd Sheets:

This was almost an entree sized dish. The pak choy was prepared perfectly, still crunchy, not saturated. We both love bean curd sheets. The broth was a light, but tasty chicken stock. The only negative for us in this dish were the ginko nuts. They were very bitter. I have been using ginko nuts a lot recently, and immediately knew these were not prepared well, the texture was mushy, and the flavor unpleasant. Still, the pak choy was good, even as leftovers.

The Shrimp, Dry Scallop, and Chinese Celery Dumplings were excellent.

Over the years, I've resigned myself to either overly sticky, or brittle and ripped wrappers for steamed dumplings. These on the other hand were perfect; with just enough pull. The amount of Chinese Celery was just right, adding that wonderful palate cleansing effect. The size of the cut was good as well; you knew you were having Chinese Celery. The shrimp was flavorful; and even though we really couldn't make out a dried scallop umami, the proportion of the other ingredients was just right for our tastes. We really should be having more of the steamed dumplings at Sea Harbour.

Though it's really hard when you see stuff like Foie-Gras Minced Beef with Spinach on the menu.

I was surprised that you could really make out the flavor of goose liver in this. The spinach was good quality, and not bitter in the least. A rich, but good dish.

We were split on the Cheong Fun with Bittermelon and Chicken.

The Missus thought that while the bittermelon was perfectly cooked, it was much too bitter for Her. I on the other hand enjoyed this. We both thought that the sauce for the Cheong Fun had a good salty-sweet balance to it.

The biggest disappointment of the day were the French Style Goose Liver Won Ton.

Very bland won tons (where was the goose liver?), in an insipid broth. This dish was very disappointing, as both the won tons and the broth lacked flavor.

Second place for most disappointing dish was the Fish Cake with Corn and Peas.

Which also suffered from the blandness bugaboo. This one almost got me to request soy sauce and chili paste, which is not provided on each table like the typical Dim Sum Restaurant. I can understand the desire to have each customer taste the real flavor and quality of each item ordered. But man, this was fairly tasteless.

The Missus and I were split on the Pan Grilled Spinach Pork Bun.

The Missus thought these were too sweet (of course), and too light and fluffy (???). I thought the sweetness wasn't over-powering, and really enjoyed the shrimp in the Buns. I'd have these again, but don't think the Missus would allow me to order them.

As a whole, we really enjoyed this meal, and ended up with some leftovers. And even though we ordered several of the most expensive items on the Dim Sum menu, our bill came out to a tad over $40, much less then we had expected spending.

Leaving, we noticed the huge crowd waiting outside the restaurant, braving temperatures that were surely approaching a hundred degrees. It left me wondering if I'd be willing to wait in this heat. Perhaps not, but we still think of Sea Harbour as one of the better spots for Dim Sum.

I'm always attracted to the "Chicken in the parking lot" here, and am racking my brains to recall what this place was before Sea Harbour. Maybe you'll be able to tell me…..

Sea Harbour Seafood Restaurant
3939 Rosemead Blvd
Rosemead, CA 91770

Scenes from A Taste of Korea Harvest & Wine Festival

September 26, 2010 mmm-yoso Festivals & Events, Korean Restaurants

I'm sure you could tell from this post, that I was fascinated with the "Taste of Korea Harvest and Wine Festival". So yesterday, I parked in Old Town, and took the trolley down to the Gaslamp.

And got off at the Convention Center stop, which is but a few steps from the San Diego Wine & Culinary Center.

The event was combination of a wine tasting, cooking contest, and a celebration of Chuseok, the Korean Harvest Festival.

The schedule looked pretty jam packed, with the tasting of three wines, entertainment, food, and three culinary challenge matches.

Arriving early, I had a chance to chat briefly with Cathlyn Choi. Energetic, with a great sense of humor, Cathlyn managed doing several things at once, all while dressed in a formal Hanbok on one of the hottest days of the year!

There were three different wines featured during the event; first a Makkoli, a rice wine.

Which was quite refreshing. This wine is made by fermented rice and water, and looks very much like Nigori Sake. It is not quite as sweet, and the alcohol content in Makkoli is a bit lower than Nigori. In fact, I like this a bit more than Nigori Sake. It is easy to drink.

The second wine was a Bek Se Ju, made from glutinous rice flavored with ginseng and other herbs, this was quite medicinal, but ok overall. The last wine was a Bok Bun Ja, a raspberry wine that was a bit too sweet for my tastes. It was fun trying these out, and I think I'll be getting some Makkoli for the Missus one of these days.

Of course there was food……

My favorite item was the Dduk Boki which Cathlyn made, there was also food provided by some pretty familiar names……

There was also entertainment, which included a Gayaguem performance.

And a very enjoyable performance by Fairfax High School's Korean Drum Group.

Of course, I was most interested in the cooking contest. Even though the six Chefs competing aren't quite household names, by the end of the evening it was pretty obvious that they all had some cooking chops.

I snagged a seat at the table right behind the judges, the most well known to food folks might be Myung Sook Lee, who is most well known for Her appearance on the original Japanese version of Iron Chef. You can see a video of her match against Chen Kenichi in the "Liver Battle" here. Chef Lee, is also the Executive Chef of Soban Restaurant in Rancho Bernardo. She is also a force of nature, and was all over the place during the matches, often stepping behind the counter to sample and sniff sauces, give advice, and watch what the chefs were doing up close.

She also looked like one tough customer who could snap me in two over her knee should she so desire. Folks in San Diego would probably also recognize C S Keys.

My personal favorite judge was FOY (Friend of Yoso) Candice Woo.

The rules of challenge itself was fun. Each of the six chefs picked a slip from a bag. A different traditional Korean Dish or food item was on each slip. The chefs were divided into twos with thirty minutes to make the dish. A basket of ingredients was provided for each chef. What was very entertaining was that several of the chefs had never seen nor eaten the dish assigned to them!

The first two up were Jean-Michel Gottlieb who owns Bella Catering and Phillip Soriano Sous Chef at the Marine Room.

So how's this for a challenge, Chef Jean-Michel was to make Japchae, but he had never even heard of the dish! Given the ingredients, Chef Jean-Michel made what looked like deconstructed Japchae, with all the ingredients prepared seperately. The two other Judges, Sookhee Jung, Food Columnist for The Korean Times and Ena Yu, Columnist for The Korea Daily, found his dish a fascinating take on Japchae.

Chef Phillip was to make BiBimBap, and by the look of his dish, it was quite apparent that he's had his share of BiBimBap as his version looked the most like the traditional dish.

The next pair up were Lance Roll, aka The Flavor Chef, who is quite a character. He had selected KimChi…… and had to pull that off in 30 minutes! Alongside Chef Roll was Pam Schwartz, CIA Graduate and Program Coodinator for Sur La Table.

Chef Pam used a handy dandy Vacu Vin Instant Marinator to get her selection of Bulgogi ready in fifteen minutes. She got positive nods from the Judges for her addition of Sesame leaves for wrapping the bulgogi.

Chef Lance, who had the task of making KimChi, used a quick saute with garlic and oter seasonings to get his Kimchi started. He also added bell peppers, utilized the freezer to bring everything to temp, and a creative presentation to complete his dish.

His dish was most surprising, as I got a taste of it. It was quite good, and tasted like good tsukemono! Pretty amazing for something made in 30 minutes! He really got the judges attention with his effort.

Next up were Chef Maria Sparks, co-owner of Cork and Platter, and Rene Fernandez. Chef Maria had Dak Galbi, and had no idea what that was! Still she was a very good sport, and seemed to have fun with the dish.

She added a very different ingredient to her chicken stir-fry……. Curry! Which drew some ooohs from the Korean women sitting on the table behind me.

In the end, the finished product was very tasty, and I really loved her presentation.

Chef Rene had Dduk Boki on his hands……

And I enjoyed his hearty, soulful version of this dish the most of what I was able to taste.

I'm not going to tell you who won…. since this is going to be televised, I'll ask Cathlyn if I can reveal the winner.

Though the event ran pretty long, I hope Cathlyn does this again…. and lets me know about it!

So I can let you all know about!

Purple Cabbage Slaw with Sesame Dressing

September 23, 2010 mmm-yoso Cooking, Recipes

This was the purple cabbage dish we were served during the family dinner in Jinan. It really caught our attention, and it has become a pretty regular item at home. It is very simple, and can be put together in just a few minutes.

The dressing itself has basically five items, but everything comes through real well. The key item is using a good, pure sesame paste, which provides a wonderful savory – nutty flavor. The oil in the sesame paste also acts like an emulsifier. Chinese black vinegar and white sugar are the other two key components. The surprise is the addition of wasabi, which gives the dressing real zip. Everything is balanced out with some sea salt, and that's it.

I start with 3 tablespoons of well mixed sesame paste (remember to mix the sesame paste well, since the oil has usually separated in the bottle). I add an equal amount of white sugar, then 1/3 cup of Chinese Black Vinegar, and combine well. I taste and make adjustments to our taste(you may need to add sugar or vinegar), and suggest that you do the same. The "dressing" needs to be pourable. I then add some wasabi paste to taste, and finish up with sea salt. It's not the prettiest looking concoction.

I finely shred/slice half a head of purple cabbage. The Missus likes the cabbage sliced finely. In Jinan, the cabbage was blanched, but we've found that a fine slice does just fine.

I combine the cabbage with 3/4 of the dressing, mix well, and put in the fridge for 15-20 minutes, to let the flavors meld. After the short chill, I add about a handful of chopped cilantro leaves and 2-3 bunches of finely sliced scallions (green parts only). I mix, then adjust with more dressing if necessary and more salt. I add a sprinkle of sesame seed to top things off. This will keep for a day or two, (or maybe three) if refrigerated.

Easy, huh? I feel almost guilty doing an entire post on this, but it is quite good.

A couple of notes; I quarter the half of the cabbage I use and cut off the tough core. If you can't get good quality Chinese Black Vinegar, you can use Japanese Rice Vinegar, but cut the sugar in half before combining, then add more if necessary. We were told that finely julienned and blanched carrots are a good addition. I'm sure you can think of other good additions to this. We also had a version of this in Beijing, so stay tuned for that post.

Jinan: The Family Dinner

September 22, 2010 mmm-yoso China, Jinan, Memorable Meals, Travel

While we were being chauffeured around on our whirlwind tour of Jinan; the Missus's Foodie Uncle and Aunt were hard at work in the kitchen of the Missus's Grandmother's Sister. Well practiced hands were at work, creating dishes for a family dinner, moving with a well coordinated confidence that indicated a familiarity with the kitchen and the dishes that were being created.

There were a couple of dishes that were delightfully surprising; and one that brought back great memories for the Missus.

Everything started with Tofu with Xiang Chun Ya, a light coating of sesame oil adding a layer of flavor to the herbaceous Xiang Chun.

This started a parade of dishes……

I never got the name of this green vegetable…. fried in a light and crisp batter….it was so good!

The Xiang Chun Ya deep fried with a tempura like batter was amazingly good!

There were some really great dishes appearing out of the humble kitchen……

But there were two that were remarkably memorable for us.

I seem to pick up at least one dish from almost everywhere we travel. Something that becomes a fairly regular item in our household. This was such a dish. It looks very simple, and actually is, but the flavors are wonderful…..

Yes, it is purple cabbage. But the sauce used was fabulous; sesame paste, sugar, and black vinegar, hits on the savory-sweet-sour flavor profile. But it was the addition of one surprise ingredient that got my attention……. wasabi! I remember taking my first bite, and telling the Missus, "this is great….. but I swear there's wasabi in this." Which the Missus verified. In this case the cabbage is blanched; when we've been making it at home, we just slice the cabbage a bit thinner, and serve it raw. We had this dish at a restaurant in Beijing a bit later on, but this was a better, more complex version. Now that I've done this post, I can share the recipe in the near future.

The Missus reacquainted Herself with a dish that had faded from Her memory.

These cakes are made with glutinous corn meal, studded with dried dates, and steamed. Sweet and savory, it's like a moister-sweeter wo-wo tou. The fragrance is memorable, as is the density of these cakes. It was so filling I could only manage half a cake…… but no worries, the Missus finished Hers, and then put my remaining half away with no problem. The Missus later told me that these are even better the next day, when they are sliced, fried, and covered in sugar! I can only say that these were way better than anything resembling a wo-wo tou I've ever had.

There was something I learned in our time in QingDao and Jinan, it was the strength of family. You see, I was brought up in a single parent household, and my mother never did keep in really close contact with our relatives. Over the years I have come to treasure my good friends, they are like my family, and I have been blessed to know such wonderful people. But here, in a country six thousand miles away from home, the power of family was taught to me. Distance and time are just numbers, a strong sense of family supersedes all numbers……….

While sitting in the airport in Jinan, the Missus and I lamented the biggest mistake we made on this trip…..

Which was only spending one night in Jinan. We both wished that we had planned for more time. It's a mistake we won't make next time!

Pho-raging around Oceanside: I Love Pho and Mr Pho

September 20, 2010 mmm-yoso Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants

A couple of weeks ago, DavidD emailed me asking me why I'd do a post on Pho in Rancho Bernardo, and stop there…… explaining to me that there were several Pho shops in Oceanside. And he had a point, why shouldn't I grab some Pho in Oceanside…. even though the names of the restaurants were kinda cheesy, like "I Love Pho" and "Yummy Pho"….. I guess a simple name like "Pho Oceanside" just would not do. Well, it wasn't the most provocative name, but still, "Mr Pho?" I tried to keep a straight face when I entered the parking lot and saw the huge "I Love Pho" sign…. though to think about it; I do love Pho.

**** I Love Pho has closed

This fairly large shop was nicely decorated, and even had a faux ("Pho" ?) pond and bridge set-up at it's entrance.

The menu had all the basic items on it; Pho, Bun, and Com(rice). Knowing that this would not be the place serving decent "Tai" (rare steak), I went with the Well Done Steak, Flank, Tendon, Brisket, and Tripe ($5.75).

One look at the pitiful garnishes, and I knew that this wasn't going to be the place for me. And the broth proved me right, being fairly cloudy, and pretty weak with regards to any other flavor than sodium.

The flank was tender and had decent flavor. The same with the brisket. Which had obviously been simmered in something other than this broth.

The tripe was pretty tough, and there was only a tiny piece of tendon in the bowl. The clump of noodles was prepared decently, and not over cooked like many places.

And as a bonus, I got this piece of inedible cow…..

During my meal, I watched the very nice gentleman work the room, engaging all the customers with small talk. He seemed a really nice guy, but still, I don't think I can bring myself to walk across that "faux" pond and bridge for another bowl of Pho. Too bad, because I really wanted to like this place.

I Love Pho
3809 Plaza Drive
Oceanside, CA 92056

Make a U-turn, and head up and over the 78, and eventually you'll hit Oceanside Boulevard. The first Pho place I came across was Yummy Pho. Unfortunately, they weren't open yet. So I headed up Oceanside Boulevard until I came across Mr Pho.

Squeezed in between a taco shop and a Thai Restaurant, Mr Pho is the antithesis of I Love Pho, it is small, simply and spartanly decorated, and truly bare bones. The logo of "Mr Pho" features the caricature of a jolly smiling man with a chef's toque holding a bowl of with wisps of steam rising into the air. Don't bother looking for him among the employees, he ain't here…..it's all business. The typical Pho shop business model seemed in place here.

I placed the same order here, it was 25 cents cheaper.

When my plate of basil and bean sprouts arrived fresh and shining, I thought I'd take a chance. I asked if they had Ngo Gai (Saw leaf herb) which was met with a puzzled look…. I'm guessing I was just of the wrong nationality. Finally, the young man nodded "no" and walked off.

The broth here was more to my taste, with hints of anise and clove. It was a bit on the salty side, so I had to use a bit of lime to cut the salt. The broth was a bit richer than I Love Pho's version, though both were pretty low on oil.

The noodles were over-cooked and mushy, but the most of the meat was well prepared. The tripe was especially good on this day.

The only thing that I didn't care for was the tendon, which was too hard and tough.

Still, this wasn't a bad bowl, and if you don't mind the typical "A-B" (All business) model, you might get a decent bowl here.

Mr Pho Vietnamese Cuisine
4750 Oceanside Blvd
Oceanside, CA 92056

On the way back to the freeway, a shop caught my eye.

It looks like maybe Chamorro Food in Oceanside? Maybe I should get up here more often……..

Sagmani’s Restaurant – El Cajon

September 19, 2010 mmm-yoso Iraqi Food and Restaurants, Mediterranean Restaurants

**** Sagmani’s is no longer

It had been while since I had a kebab, so I thought I’d head on down to El Cajon, home to the second largest Iraqi population in the US (next to Detroit). The mostly Chaldean Iraqi community has turned El Cajon’s Main Street into a parade of Halal meat shops, markets, and kebab shops, providing a kind of ethnic vibrance, albiet a very laid back vibe, to the street. My initial thought was to hit my favorite spot, Village Grill. I gave my good friend JohnL a call, but he was tied up with work, so I headed down to El Cajon solo. While driving, I decided to check out someplace I hadn’t been to. I drove past a restaurant I’d seen a few months earlier, but it had shut down, and was being replaced by “Nahrain Fish and Chicken Restaurant”, which was not yet opened. Then I recalled a place I saw during one of our visits to Athena Market….. the shop was behind the market, away from the main drag. It is called Sagmani’s Restaurant.

A few months back, I was talking to someone about all these Iraqi/Kebab Restaurants in El Cajon, and was taken aback when told, “I’d be afraid to go there….. I don’t think I’d be welcome.” I explained that my experiences, like what happened at Ali Baba were just the opposite of what she thought. Even though many of the men were fairly stoic, the women are warm and welcoming…. which turned out to be untrue based on this visit to Sagmani’s. I was greeted by a jolly gentleman, who smiled and said “welcome….have you had kebob before?” I answered in the positive, and looked over the menu, which like many of these restaurants is compact, but deceivingly varied, with tekka, kebabs, stews, kubba(kibbeh), and even grilled quail and cornish hens. Looking over the menu, I just couldn’t make up my mind….so the gentleman made it easy for me…..”I’ll make you one beef, and one chicken, and you can tell me which you like better…. how does that sound?” Well, it sounded just right to me.

The interior of Sagmani’s is much smaller than it appears from the outside, only a couple of four tops, and two large, almost communal tables. But based on the table-tops laying against the corner, I’m guessing that they can accommodate a pretty sizable crowd if necessary.

I had a seat, and the very nice, but quiet young lady brought me some water, and asked me if I’d like to have some tea. And soon enough I was brought some.

Here’s my Beef and Chicken Kabob:

Let’s work around the protein first…… I really liked the “turshi” aka pickle, which was the pickled tumeric cabbage, which was really good, not too sour, and full of flavor. The salad was your basic plain lettuce dressed with a bit of olive oil and vinegar. The rice was moist, and had a nice savory flavor, almost like some kind of stock was used to make it.

On to the Kabobs…….

I really couldn’t decided which I enjoyed more; the beef was fairly mellow, with just a touch of herbaceousness…. but man it was moist and tender. I could cut it easily with a fork. I loved that sumac was sprinkled liberally over the kabobs as that added even more flavor to them. On occasion, I’ve had a kabob that has what I call a “negative gamey flavor”, which is that slightly off flavor of meat that is starting to head South….. this tasted clean. The chicken had more flavor, and did well with the char. It was also moist, but as with chicken, it was not as tender as the beef. It did have good flavor, though!

The only major item I didn’t care for here was the bread.

Which were basically pita, and were pretty tough……..

I would like to mentioned the service, which I thought was wonderful. When the young lady saw me finish my water; she brought me an entire pitcher. I was checked on twice by the young lady, first to see if I wanted more bread; second to see if I wanted more tea. The gentleman came by to make sure I was enjoying my meal. I was surprised to find that I wasn’t charged for my tea….. the entire meal came out to $7, the price of a sandwich in most of San Diego……. And from the various signs, they’ve got a slew of deals going on, from 99 cent kabobs to Monday and Tuesday lunch specials….. there’s quite a bit of competition in the area.

So where do I place Sagmani’s compared with the other Iraqi Kabob shops in the area? I still think the bread at Ali Baba is the best, followed by Hammurabi. For protein, my favorite with regards to flavor is Village Grill(and they make the best okra stew). Still the kabobs here were the most tender I’ve had to date, and I thought the rice was very good. And I’ll go back, I’d like to chat with the really nice guy who made my kabobs…….

Sagmani’s Restaurant
478 West Douglas St
El Cajon, CA 92020

Iceberg Lettuce Salad with Blue Cheese Dressing

September 18, 2010 mmm-yoso Recipes

Have I ever mentioned that I sometimes prefer cookbooks with no photos? You see, the Missus doesn't give cookbooks with little or no photos the time of day. But when She gets Her mitts on cookbooks with great photos, She'll get fixated on one, or more of the recipes, and request, nay demand that I attempt to make what was requested. Most of the time I'm able to pull off a reasonable facsimile of the dish…. but nothing sends chills down my spine when I see Her grabbing one of Thomas Keller's cookbooks. Lucky for me; this time around it was Ad Hoc at Home, and not the French Laundry Cookbook or Bouchon. I've made a couple of things from Ad Hoc at Home, and find that many of the recipes are very accessible. And if you want mighty fine fried chicken, check out the Buttermilk Fried Chicken recipe in the book.

The Missus has a strange affinity for Blue Cheese Dressing and Wedge Salads, so when She saw the photo of the iceberg lettuce slices….. it was all blue cheese dressing and iceberg lettuce salad all of the time. This time I didn't just jump up and run to the market grabbing the closest head of lettuce, which made the Missus kinda wonder why……. perhaps She envisioned that we'd fanned the flames of our love of food a bit too hard and it had gone out. But that wasn't really the reason, which I'll detail a bit later. About a week later, on a Sunday, when I grilled up a mess of veggies for the Missus to eat on sandwiches for the upcoming week, I made my dressing (actually the night before) and the Missus had Her salad.

You see the reason that the Missus didn't get instant salad was that I had something brewing up in the deep and mildly warm recesses of the mmm-yoso household. Looking over the Blue Cheese Dressing recipe in Ad Hoc, I noticed something that I thought would really make this dressing…… creme fraiche. So while the Missus was stewing, the creme fraiche was, well, fermenting.

The recipe for the dressing is pretty much the same as what's in the book. I omitted the flat leaf parsley, and adjusted the flavor for our taste. I could have made my own aioli, but decided on not messing with eggs right now. In his book, Thomas Keller uses his Buttermilk Dressing as the base for the Blue Cheese Dressing. We both loved the hint of mint in the dressing, it really worked well.

Blue Cheese Buttermilk Dressing

1 cup Best Foods mayonnaise
1/3 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup creme fraiche
1/2 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
1-2 tsp minced chives
1 tsp minced mint leaves
6 oz decent quality blue cheese (please, no prepackaged crumbles ok?)

– Put the mayo in a bowl and whisk in the buttermilk and creme fraiche.
– Add the rest of the ingredients except the blue cheese and mix well.
– Taste and adjust flavors.
– Crumble the blue cheese. It might be kind of sticky and messy, but that's ok.
– Stir in the blue cheese and whisk together. You can use the whisk to break down the Blue Cheese.

I'd say allow for the flavors to meld overnight. If the dressing is too thick, you can add in buttermilk to thin it out.

As for the salad……..

You'll notice those tomatoes don't look very pretty……. during my grilling session I cut two tomatoes into about 1 1/2 inch slices, rubbed them with garlic olive oil, seasoned with salt and oregano and grilled them up. Thomas Keller uses oven roasted tomatoes, but this was during the time when it pretty warm around here, and I just didn't feel like using the oven.

The missus prefers her bacon crisp, so I deviated from Thomas Keller's technique of rendering the fat off of the lardons without making the bacon too crisp.

Instead I used thick cut bacon from Seisel's.

The bread was interesting. I'd bought the usual double loaf of the routine roasted garlic La Brea Bakery loaves with the intent of making croutons, and using the rest for the Missus's sandwiches. Unfortunately, the Missus was adamant about NOT wanting croutons, or pretty much any bread near, or around Her salad. So to "fix Her wagon", I rubbed roasted garlic olive oil on some slices of bread and toasted them. When the slices were toasted, I drizzled Truffle Oil on them……. and of course the Missus couldn't resist that! Who could? Slices of avocado finished the salad, and we finished all the dressing in three days…….

And the veggies I roasted on the grill didn't last too long either…….

And in case you're feeling bad for me having to eat all this salad… don't.

Looks almost like fairly well marbled beef, doesn't it? When buying the bacon I had thoughts of making some thick cut pork chops with a spicy hoisin glaze…… when I saw these beautiful looking Eden Farms Berkshire (Kurobuta) Loin Chops, which made all the "other white meat" around them look positively pale and weak. These were delicious… and no, I didn't ruin them with any glaze; I just seasoned with sea salt and fresh cracked pepper, and after giving them some nice color, I threw some soaked oak chips on the coals and covered the chops up for the last seven or so minutes……. man, these were good!