mmm-yoso – Page 368

Junz Teriyaki & BBQ

August 26, 2008 mmm-yoso Loco Mocos, Plate Lunch

**** Junz has closed

This one is for TanyaS who is always nice enough to let me know when She sees something "new".

It looks like North Park now has a plate lunch shop. Junz Teriyaki & BBQ opened in the beginning of July, and all it took was the mention of the word "Loco Moco" courtesy of an email from Tanya to get me in the front door of Junz.

If I recall, this was a Gyros & Fried Chicken Shop. But man, it's sure been "prettied up"(is there such a phrase?).

And, if you really need it, you can still get a Gyros or Falafel Sandwich…with a side order of Spam Musubi.

So what did I get? Well, being the consistent (a nice way of saying predictable) guy I am, I got the Loco Moco ($5.95). On the menu it's the "Loco Moco Hawaiian" which I think is kinda, well insulting…perhaps it should be the Hawaiian Style Loco Moco? This was the first of many signs that perhaps this was just another attempt at cashing in on "Hawaiian BBQ". The next indicator was when the Loco Moco arrived:

What the heck? I had not read the part that said, "Gravy Teriyaki Sauce"…..actually it was just teriyaki sauce. I did enjoy the egg, which was a very Bi-Bim-Bap-ish perfect, and for the price expected the preformed hamburger patty, which was unexpectedly cut into 4 pieces. But the rest of this was a train wreck. From the teriyaki sauce to the mixed peas, corn, and carrots mixed into the rice…to the soggy iceberg lettuce, to the mushy rice, this wasn't very good.

At least the Teriyaki Sauce wasn't overly sweet. This was just a bit strange. Just one more thing, on the menu it says "Hamburger Patties" and "Eggs". Last time I checked, those are plurals, as in "more than one".

Not that I need to do any additional damage to my cholesterol level……but perhaps this should be fixed in future editions of the menu? I'm still trying to figure out which "Island" this "Style" of Loco Moco is from. And here I thought that the Loco Moco that Kat posted about was a bit odd!

Still, that egg was mighty good, and in some very strange way I really wanted to like this place. I liked the decor, and the ladies are very nice. So I decided to give it another go. This time, because of the that egg, I thought perhaps there was some Korean roots to the food, and thought that perhaps the Spicy Chicken Teriyaki($6.95) would be a good item to try. I mean, a nice Dak Bulgogi style chicken with Kochujang for a tad of heat.

It was not to be, it was just "spiked" teriyaki sauce, on top of fast-foodish, food courtish, chicken. The 1 scoop of rice, was cooked perfectly this time, and the macaroni salad was a bit too runny, but tasted fine.

There was very little to separate this stuff from what you'd get at generic shopping mall food court…you know, the "same chicken, different sauce" syndrome. Perhaps I should have had a Spam Onigiri (Falafel Sandwich?).

It's kind of a bummer. Like I said, the ladies working here are really nice, and the place is sparkling clean and bright. As I looked at the take-out menu, I noticed that this place is run by the folks who own North Park Sushi & Grill across the street, and Hanaoka Japanese Restaurant, which I understand has been in National City forever. The menu has items like Saimin, Gyoza, Hummus(!), and Teriyaki in several forms. Maybe someone can tell me what I need to order from Junz!

Junz Teriyaki & BBQ
3010 University Ave
San Diego, CA 92104

Hours: Mon-Sat 11am – 9pm

Thanks for letting me know when you see something you think I'd be interested in Tanya!

Roadtrip: Be Thui from Cho Ben Thanh Market – Westminster (Orange County)

August 24, 2008 mmm-yoso Markets & Grocers, Orange County, Road Trip, Vietnamese Restaurants

A funny thing has happened since I’ve started this little ol’ food blog. Among the emails I receive, there’s always bound to be one naming some dish I’ve never heard of before. And it usually goes something like this: "Kirk, have you ever tried xxxxxx? I don’t eat it myself, but my (fill in the blank – Father, Mother, Uncle, Grandfather) just loves the stuff." I guess it’s just a sign of old age, I’m getting lumped in with what "Dad" eats. However, this one came from a good "FOY" (friend of yoso!!!), TammyC. The basic gist of the email was that her Dad loves what she called "almost raw baby cow meat dip" from Cho Ben Thanh Market in Westminster. Not quite the most appetizing of descriptions, but TammyC knows my "tastes" pretty well, and recommended I try it out. I understood that I was a bit out of my depth here, and perhaps needed a bit of help. This, of course, was a job for the man we simply call "Beach"! Of course he knew exactly what I was describing. Always generous with his time, Beach agreed to meet me, and in fact took me on a whirlwind little tour of some of Little Saigon’s little shops and eateries. It was a wonderful 2 hours, and will be the subject of a future post.

Our fourth (yes fourth) stop on the tour was Cho Ben Thanh Market…..and a plastic vat of pinkish meat covered with a powdery substance….. Be Thui. Beach explained that this version is roasted veal, dusted with rice powder, and is eaten with a ginger based dipping sauce and basil. The market itself is fairly busy, and the shoppers (mostly women) are pretty aggressive.

You haven’t lived until you’ve seen an anxious group of women with tongs (not thongs) attack a steaming vat of intestines. The gentleman manning the register seemed to grow 2 extra pairs of arms as he deftly handled all of the transactions coming at him. Beach made sure I got what I came for, the gentleman covered his hand with a plastic bag, grabbed a handful of the meat, folded the bag over, and that was it. I paid, and fearful of what damage ladies with tongs could do, beat a hasty retreat.

After I arrived home, I opened up my little package and checked out my Be Thui.

Slices of very pink meat along with fat and skin, coated in rice powder and sesame seeds. I tried some straight out of the bag, and the meat had a chewy texture almost like that of cured meat. Being veal, the flavor was very mild, and though the fragrance had a bit of a "metallic" edge to it, it was not reflected in the meat, as the rice powder had absorbed much of the moisture of the meat, and provided a bit of a nutty flavor to the whole thing. The pieces of skin were on the crunchy side.

And so I made myself a plate.

The real star of the show was the dipping sauce, made with what Beach said was Tuong Cu Da, a fermented bean sauce. According to Wikipedia the sauce is made in a town in the Hà Tây Province, which as of 2008 is now a part of Hanoi. It was the ginger in the fairly salty sauce that really shown through. Though the Missus wouldn’t touch the Be Thui, she kept tasting the sauce. The combination of the dipping sauce and the basil gave the dish a very clean and refreshing flavor.

As Beach pointed out, this would be pretty good with a "cold one". Should you want to brave the "women with tongs" you can get Be Thui, and a whole range of Offal at Cho Ben Thanh Market.

Cho Ben Thanh Market
9172 Bolsa Avenue
Westminster, CA 92683

I’d never had thought to try this without that wonderful email from TammyC, and Beach’s(who should do food tours of Little Saigon) help. So thanks again to both of you!

Saturday Stuffs: No Moa Da’ Kine’s National City, What’s this about Drive-thru Banh Mi, A Surprise at Sammy’s, and other “stuffs”

August 23, 2008 mmm-yoso Banh Mi, Local Kine Stuffs in San Diego, Plate Lunch, Sushi and Sashimi, Vietnamese Restaurants

Just some Miscellanea for the weekend:

No Moa Da Kine’s National City, La Dat:

I’ve been thinking about doing another plate lunch week, and it seems that I always do at least one post on Da’ Kine’s. After all, they’ve been around over a decade. So, back in July I had a plate lunch at Da’ Kine’s, and decided to drop by one more time a few weeks ago. And to my surprise, this facade:

Was replaced with this:

Wow, so this is the third Da Kine’s to close. Only the new Liberty Station location is still open. Oh, I did have lunch here, but you’ll have to wait for that post. This is what I had at Da’ Kine’s in July:

I’m still contemplating plate lunch week….but all the Teriyaki – Hawaiian BBQ, blah, blah, blah, gets to be the same after a while. Maybe I should just intermingle them…..what do you think?

Nani Moku Hawaiian BBQ
1635 Sweetwater Road
National City, CA 91950

What’s this about drive-thru Banh Mi?:

A few weeks ago, "22cards" (thanks for letting me know), reported that Cali Baguette Express’s long awaited Banh Mi Drive-thru was open. And not only that, but they were now open 24 hours a day! So that very Friday, the Missus and I headed out to Cali Baguette Express, at about 930pm, and found the place completely dark, totally closed, not a creature was stirring. We were so disappointed, we headed straight to Golden City and had Peking Duck…talk about depressed.

Determined to get to the bottom of the "drive-thru" mystery, I took a serious detour, and hit up CBE at 630 am a recent morning. and indeed all the "signs" were in full display. It does say Open 24 Hours, looks like the Drive-thru is from 9pm to 6am, which would have been right in the ballpark. So I ordered a Banh Mi Trung ($2.59), and asked the young lady about the drive-thru. I had a bit of a problem understanding, but I believe the gist of it was, the store closes at 9pm, with only drive-thru service from 9-midnight Sunday-Thursday, and 9pm thru 6am Fridays and Saturdays…..I think. Maybe someone else will have more info.

As for the Banh Mi, the bread was better on this occasion than my previous visits. Warm, decently crusty, with some chew. The egg wasn’t dredged in Maggi, which is what I’ve gotten at a few places. It was not bad….of course it could have just been that I love Banh Mi Trung…especially when I’m starving.

Sure beats one of those egg mc-something’s any day of the week.

Cali Baguette Express
5215 El Cajon Boulevard
San Diego CA 92115

A Sammy Surprise:

I haven’t been to Sammy’s in a while, but on my last visit, not being too hungry, I just had a few pieces of Nigiri.

No big deal, right? Except for one thing; knowing that I don’t really use the usual rehydrated-dry-wasabi-powder-that-is-Coleman’s-mustard-in-disguise, Sam told me to try what he placed on my plate. It was real wasabi…..actually wasabi paste, probably from Pacific Farms. It’s still not as good as fresh ground wasabi…but it’s much better than the "other stuff". I’m not sure if Sam was just trying it out, or if he’s going to carry it from now on…….so it’ll be interesting to see.

Sieu Sieu BBQ Reopens:

I dropped by Barbecue’s Galore, and noticed that Sieu Sieu BBQ had opened in the former Maui Maui Hawaiian BBQ location on Clairemont Mesa Boulevard. I’m not quite sure if this is something to be very happy about. When we first moved to San Diego, we visited Sieu Sieu at it’s old location on Linda Vista Road a few times…..and had some of the worst Chinese BBQ I’ve ever experienced.

Dry roast pork and Char Siu, and some of the most bland Roast Duck I’ve ever had. But as I was walking past the place, I noticed how busy they were…..full of Chinese! It could be that they were all just checking things out. But maybe we should be too!

Sieu Sieu BBQ
7420 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92111

I hope everyone’s having a great weekend!

Bud’s Louisiana Cafe

August 21, 2008 mmm-yoso Cajun, Southern, and Soul Food

After what seemed like a very long wait, Bud’s Louisiana Food Shoppe has reopened in, of all places, Tierrasanta. You may have to look carefully, but you’ll find it, right there past the Roundtable Pizza.

Like the previous incarnation of Bud’s, this is a fairly tiny restaurant, and even though the tables are crammed in fairly close together, I think this location is much more relaxed.

The menu is pretty much the same, from the Cup’a-Cup’a-Cup’a (a cup each of Gumbo, Red Beans & Rice, and Jambalaya) to the various Po Boy sandwiches. The prices for the sandwiches are about a buck more, but the entree prices have remained the same.

Since I just finished watching Memento for umpteenth time, I think we’ll work a little reverse chronological thing here, and start with my latest meal. It was a Fried Oyster Po Boy($9.95):

A good amount of cornflour battered oysters, fried to perfection, crisp, and mildly "gritty", with a nice soft, molten center. The baguette was good, crusty with a bit of "chew". I’m not a big fan of the "Jalapeno tartar sauce" at Bud’s, I find it a bit too runny, but in this case it did no harm. This is probably my favorite sandwich at Bud’s.

Man, did I enjoy this, even at close to ten bucks. And I was glad to have eaten at Bud’s on that particular day. Why? Well, because the Missus And I had lunch at Bud’s a week earlier……

On that day, I started with a cup of the Seafood Gumbo ($4.95):

There was a good amount of seafood in the gumbo, though the flavor was a bit "flat"…..I added a bit of Crystal Hot Sauce, which pumped up the flavor a bit. All good except the okra which was too slimy.

I had thought about the Oyster Po Boy, but with the Missus’s "encouragement" went with the Fried Catfish Po Boy ($9.95):

The perfectly fried catfish was quite good, moist, with a nice, crisp crust. And with none of that muddy flavor which I’m not fond of. Everything else was not so good. There was too much of the runny tartar sauce, which ran out of the sandwich creating a little pool in the bottom of the paper liner. The bread was hard, and, well, hard….it seemed to be a bit past its "due date".

The Missus went with the Crawfish Etouffe ($11.95), which looked marvelous:

The dish had a ton of crawfish tails, and was quite rich. In fact, I’m sure that this version used a good amount of butter. It would have been a wonderful dish except for the disturbing starchy flavor that left a rather unpleasant aftertaste.

If this had been our first visit I may have never returned. But we’d been to Bud’s several times at their old location, and I thought I’d give it another go. Or maybe, like the main character in Memento, I suffered from a case of Anterograde Amnesia? If that was the case, I’m glad I did.

Bud’s Louisiana Cafe
10425 Tierrasanta Blvd
San Diego, CA 92124

Lunch: Tues, Wed, Thurs – 11am – 3pm

Dinner: Thurs, Fri, Sat – 5pm – 9pm

Hot Dog!!! A Chicago Dog Comparison: Viva Chicago Dogs, Lefty’s Chicago Pizzeria, and Chicago on a Bun

August 18, 2008 mmm-yoso Hot Dogs

Now I must admit, I'm not a real big hot dog fan….though I almost always must have a Dog at the movies…well, you know, just because. Or even one from Costco, it seems that I'm just unable to avoid a good deal! But the Chicago Dog has a special place in my heart. I'm not quite sure why, but the combination of a beef dog, onions, dill pickle, Sport Peppers(yes, even the type of peppers matter), mustard, tomato slices, and most importantly, celery salt, holds a special place in my heart. It is a bit odd….. And my introduction to the Chicago style Hot Dog was even more bizarre. After all, where does a kid from Hawaii get introduced to a Chicago Hot Dog? It was at, of all places, an Orange Julius location at Kahala Mall several decades, and some change ago. Now I have been known to grab a Chicago Dog every once in a while, but have never really documented my flirtations with the Chicago Dog until recently.

You might think that plopping a hot dog on a bun, and covering it with said ingredients is a slam dunk. But there are some subtle differences in the 3 different dogs I had. So just to jog your memory, a Chicago Dog must fulfill the following criteria; the base is a steamed poppy seed bun, the hot dog must be all beef, the most well known brand being Vienna Beef. In fact, just as you'll see those Kronos brand Gyro posters in front of Gyro shops, you'll see the large and bright Vienna Beef posters adorning the walls and counters of places selling Chicago Dogs. The Dog is topped with Yellow Mustard, Neon Green Relish, Chopped Onions, 2 Tomato Slices, A Dill Pickle Slice, 2 Whole (they must be whole) Sport Peppers, and a healthy sprinkling of Celery Salt. Usually in that order. So let's get started.

Viva Chicago Hot Dogs:

*** Update Viva Chicago Dogs has closed

Located right off Miramar Road, it was the sign for Viva Chicago that first got my latest Chicago Dog craving going. The shop itself is small, but colorful, serving everything from Hot Dogs to Burgers, to Sandwiches.

All these "Chicago" Dog places dress themselves up with memorabilia, which I guess gives them an air of authenticity and charm. The unfortunate thing is, after you've been to a couple of them, you can't help but think that this is more a calculated marketing effort, sort of a calculated "kitsch" restaurant design. At this location I went with the Jumbo Chicago Dog (poster said 1/5(!) of a pound, not 1/4, but 1/5). I heard the distinct beep of the microwave, so I'm assuming this dog was heated in the microwave. And my Jumbo Chicago Dog($4.60) was served.

So how did this dog line up? I found the dog to be on the bland and tasteless side, and it lacked the "snap" that I enjoy from a good dog. The roll was warm, but on the stale side as it kinda crumbled. The Dill Pickle was nice, mild in flavor, though it had a great texture. The amount of onions was perfect. The peppers were hard and chewy, lacking in crunch. And I thought that the dog needed more celery salt. It wasn't bad, but for nearly 5 bucks…….

Viva Chicago Hot Dogs
6780 Miramar Road
San Diego, CA 92121

Mon-Fri 10am-9pm
Sat 10am-8pm

Lefty's Chicago Pizzeria:

Yes, I know, it's a pizza place. And they serve up some pretty good pizza. But they also serve up a Chicago Dog. There are no "size" choices, it is a Chicago Dog and Fries ($4.25):

Though the dog was the standard 2 oz dog, there was a ton of hand cut fries. This dog had the best "snap" of the three that were sampled. It was put together well, the bun was warm and soft, it was "Dragged through the Garden" with everything in good proportion, except for one thing…..where's the celery salt? The fries were scalding hot when they arrived. But really got soggy quickly. Still, a nice potato flavor, and with a liberal sprinkling of Malt Vinegar, they were okay.

This was without a doubt the best "bang for the buck" deal that I had.

Lefty's Chicago Pizzeria
3448 30th St
San Diego, CA 92104

Tues-Sat 12pm-10pm
Sunday 12pm-9pm

Chicago on a Bun:

*** Update: This location of Chicago on a Bun has closed.

I've posted on Chicago on a Bun before, so if you'd like to see more "stuff" you can find the post here. I hadn't been to this location of Chicago on a Bun in a good while, and have noticed that the prices have gone up a bit. On this day I got a combo, Jumbo Chicago Dog, Homemade Chips, and a Drink ($7.80):

I've eaten here several times over the years, and expected this to be the hands-down best. And as always there was a good amount of celery salt. But on this day I was a bit disappointed overall. The dog was good, just as always, and the dill pickle hands down the best. They have an excellent poppy seed roll, but on this day it was served to me cold, not steamed and fluffy. Also, instead of the mustard residing on the top of the dog, it was smeared on the bun. You may say that it's no big deal, but the mustard made the (cold) bun go soggy and break into mushy pieces. It is already a challenge to get the perfect bite of a Chicago Dog, it's no fun when it disintegrates. As for the chips…my advice is to stay with the fries. Two simple things would have made this the hands down champ….a steamed bun, which I'm hoping is an oversight. And placing the mustard on top of the dog. Looks like I'll just have to keep returning until it's done right!

Chicago on a Bun
8935 Towne Centre Drive, Suite 109
San Diego, CA 92122

Mon-Fri 11am-8pm
Sat 11am-7pm
Sun 11am-5pm

Have I ever had a Chicago Dog in….Chicago? Well, yes, sort of. On my last trip to Madison, I had a dog from Superdawg in Midway Airport. Like all airport outlets…it was less than stellar. Trying to convince my traveling companions that we "needed" to stop for "just a hot dog" (How dare they), was also not successful. So hopefully someday soon….

Sab-E-Lee Part 2

August 14, 2008 mmm-yoso Thai Restaurants

**** This location of Sab-E-Lee has closed

After our first few visits to Sab-E-Lee, we knew we had a "keeper". Even if we didn't find any other dishes we enjoyed than the few had tried, we'd still be coming back for more. As I got to know Koby a bit, I learned a bit more about him, and his crew. They had worked in the kitchen of a little restaurant in Thai Town(LA), and when the place was being sold, and the previous owner retired, they decided to move on.

On to the food……

Thai Beef Jerky ($6.95):

The Beef was more tender than what I've had before. It was also fairly mild in flavor, though the fish sauce-chili dip added some decent punch. It goes well with sticky rice ($1.75). The sticky rice here is on the uneven side, some of it too dry and hard, and portions of it too mushy. The Jasmine Rice that is served has always been fragrant and cooked perfectly…though there's something to be said about grabbing a clump of rice, and using it to wrap around your food, than plopping it into your mouth.

Catfish Larb ($6.95):

The chopped catfish is so crunchy that I thought it was fried (the menu says grilled). Combined with the roasted rice powder, this dish was very nice texturally. The lime juice, mint, lemongrass, and other herbs made this a bracingly refreshing dish. It had nice spice, that wasn't overwhelming.

Pad Woon Sen with Beef ($6.25):

This was a disappointing dish. Very bland, and the "glass noodles" were a bit over-cooked and mushy.

Issan Sausage (Thai Sausage – Northeastern style. $6.95):

Though not made inhouse, this was good. This style of sausage, studded with rice, and a bit of pork skin, with a nice sour finish, is one of favorites. I've had this 3 times, and it has always been prepared perfectly.

Nahm Tok (Nahm Dtok – $6.95):

Why not Yum Nuea? This type of beef salad is a Northern Thai style beef salad, prepared much like larb, featuring a generous amount of rice powder and chili. I enjoyed that we weren't asked how spicy we wanted our food; it was prepared in the manner the cook thought was best. In this case the spice level approached incendiary! Still, I couldn't stop eating it. The name Nahm Tok means something along the lines of "water falling", referring to the meat juices that form and fall from the side of the meat away from the heat when it is being cooked. There is also a "Beef Salad" on the menu. i was told that it didn't use rice powder, and was prepared a bit differently.

Bamboo Shoot Salad (Sup Nor Mai – $5.95):

This is another Issan specialty, where the meaty texture of Bamboo Shoots is substituted for meat. In many ways similar to the Nahm Tok, except that the earthy flavor of the bamboo shoots added a nice depth to the dish. It was not quite as spicy as the Nahm Tok, which allowed for the lime flavors to come through…this is something I'll have quite often.

Of course, we just had to try the Pad Thai (with chicken – $5.95):

After the Pad Woon Sen, I had some concerns, but this turned out to be pretty good. Very tangy, the Missus loved the noodles. I thought the chicken a bit dry, but this was much better than Pad Thai twice the price. I think the Missus will order this again.

So just today, I walk into Sab-E-Lee to place a take-out order, and Koby tells me; "Kirk, I have what you want, I have it today!" What was he referring to? It was this:

It's Koi Soi (Spicy Raw Beef on the menu – $6.95). When I first inquired about the dish, Koby said he couldn't make it because he wasn't able to source the appropriate grade of meat. And having had a very good version of Koi Soi (at Lotus of Siam), which was good. And one bad version, at a restaurant in LA, that I've blocked out of my consciousness…it was that bad…take my word for it! So I wasn't about to insist on getting some Koi Soi before its time. So this evening I lucked out….Koi Soi. Now, the beef has been "cooked" a bit with the lime juice, and the quality of meat, spices, and herbs have cut out any metallic or "raw" beef flavor. In fact, if I served this to you, you probably won't even know it's raw beef. The texture is a bit firm, in fact it reminded me somewhat of Maguro(Bluefin Tuna). It was pretty spicy, but just as the Nahm Tok, I just couldn't stop eating. I'll be having this again soon, and hopefully Koby will have the Pork Tongue Jerky, I guess good pork tongue is hard to find.

The dishes at San-E-Lee tend to be more savory and spicy than the usual overly-sweet stuff that is served in San Diego. Mainly due to the Northeast Thai roots of the Owner and cooks. Even if you enjoy the standards, I think this place is worth trying, in fact I think it belongs on our rotation. The restaurant is small, and you never know who you'll run in to. I ran into Captain Jack this past evening. How was the Koi Soi CJ? San-E-Lee is a small restaurant, and sometimes there may be a wait…but you can't beat the prices, everything is under 7 bucks. Like I said before, it's not LOS or Renu Nakorn, but it's my favorite here in San Diego. You may even run into me getting my Thai food fix.

Sab-E-Lee Restaurant
2405 Ulric St
San Diego, CA 92111

Part one can be found here.

Thanks again for the rec SomTommy! I owe you one.

The Lamb Noodle Soup Experiment – Yang Rou Mein

August 13, 2008 mmm-yoso Cooking, Recipes

I usually don’t do cooking posts during the week, but since we seem to be doing "wall to wall lamb", I thought this would be a bit interesting. I’d grown weary of all the different Lamb Shank preparations, and wanted to try something different. About this time, I’d had some "eh" bowls of Niu Rou Mein. So after preparing some Lamb Shanks with Lemon, Tomatoes, and Olives for the Missus to take to work. I thought I’d try to make some Chinese style noodle soup. But with lamb instead of the classic beef. What the Missus dubbed "Yang Rou Mian". So I searched around, but could not find a recipe. So I simply "winged it". And the result is what you see here:

It’s not so much a recipe; I’m only going to list ingredients, and how I prepared the soup. I started trying to measure stuff out, but I had to make adjustments along the way. Overall, I think it was a good test to see if I could actually "cook". So I hope you don’t mind this type of post.

I bought 3 good sized lamb shanks from Siesel’s. I’ve found them to be pretty large, and have good gaminess. I also purchased 4 pounds of lamb bones. I decided to make both a stock out of the bones, as well as braise the shanks. I’d strain and mix the liquid from the braise with the lamb stock. Mostly because I needed a good amount of broth…since I knew I’d have a good quantity of meat. I’m sure you can make this in one pot, but I enjoy the texture of slow cooking shanks in the oven. In addition, the bones need to be simmered for a good long time. Because of the amount of fat, I made this a 2 day project. I skimmed off the fat on the second day before reheating. Plus, it always tastes better the next day, doesn’t it?

For the broth:

4 lbs Lamb Bones
2 stalks Green Onions, the white parts only, very coarsely chopped
2 1" slices ginger smashed
6 cloves of garlic coarsely chopped
3 Star Anise
2 tsp Five Spice Powder
2 Tb Toasted Whole Sichuan Peppercorns
1 tsp Ground Red Chilies
2 Tb Dark Soy Sauce with Mushroom
2 Tb Light Soy Sauce
Chopped Cilantro stems
Salt and White Pepper to taste.

– Cover lamb bones with cold water and add green onions, ginger, garlic, star anise, five spice, sichuan peppercorns, ground chilies, and cilantro stems.
– Bring mixture to a light simmer(do not bring to a hard boil), reduce heat to keep at a low boil.
– Simmer for 3-4 hours.
– Once the stock is ready, strain the broth.
– Pour back into the pot, add dark and light soy sauce, salt and pepper. Taste and adjust seasoning as necessary.

Meanwhile…….you need…..

2-3 Large Lamb Shanks, or 5-6 Small
Salt
Pepper
Cumin
Ground Sichuan Peppercorns
Ground Red Chilies
1-2 Tb Canola Oil
1/2 Cup Shaoxing wine
3 Stalks Green Onions Chopped
3 Cloves of Garlic Chopped
1 Tb Ground Red Chili
3 Star Anise
2 tsp Five Spice Powder
Water
Dark Soy Sauce with Mushroom
Light Soy Sauce
Salt and White Pepper

Heat your oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit
– Season Lamb Shanks with Salt, Pepper, Sichuan Peppercorns, chili, and cumin (my salute to the Uygher)
– Heat a Dutch Oven or similar pan (I used an old wok) over high heat, and sear the lamb shanks.
– Once lamb shanks are nicely browned, remove the shanks a place on a large plate.
Pour off excess oil, leaving just about 1-2Tb of oil in the pan.
– Add Green Onions, Garlic, and Ground Chili. Stir and cook for about 1-2 minutes.
– Add Shaoxing wine and deglaze the pan, making sure to remove all the nice brown bits from the bottom and sides.
– Add water. There should be enough liquid to cover all but about an inch to an inch and a half of the lamb shanks. Bring liquid to a boil, add soy sauces, five spice, and star anise.
– Place lamb shanks back into pot, and cover well. Place in the oven for about 2 hours.
– Once Lamb shanks reach desired tenderness, remove the shanks from the stewing liquid.
– Strain liquid and add to stock. This will be your broth. Taste and adjust seasoning. Add in any other flavorings you desire, chili, ground sichuan peppercorn, sugar, more cumin etc….
– Remove meat from bones (this should be really easy if the meat is soft and tender). Place bones back into broth.
Place meat into a container along with 1-2 cups of broth. This will keep meat moist, and prevent drying out. Leaving the meat separate makes it much easier to portion out, and the meat will not break up as much.
– Once the broth is cool, place in the refrigerator overnight.

Before reheating broth for serving, skim off as much fat as desired. I heat the meat in the microwave, but you can do whatever you want. I used some store bought Shanghai style noodles that I think is pretty decent. In the North, where the Missus is from, they like their noodles a bit al dente, with a doughy chew.

Garnish with whatever you wish. I used thinly sliced onion, green onion, cilantro leaves, and because this was for me, baby bok choy(the Missus hates Bok Choy in soup). The soup was rich and hearty, and the Missus ended up taking my bowl away and started eating it all up. You can even make a hot pot with Napa Cabbage, Tofu, and bean thread. This little experiment turned out pretty good. I hope you enjoyed it.

Sab-E-Lee Restaurant Part 1

August 11, 2008 mmm-yoso Thai Restaurants

**** This location of Sab-E-Lee has closed

It has been a pretty busy couple of weeks for me. It's during these times that I'm so thankful for having great FOYs (Friends of Yoso) like Cathy and Ed, who allow me a break. I'm pretty sure that mmm-yoso, would not exist without the help of Ed, Cathy, Mizducky, Vicky, and Omar. They, along with all of you, keep things humming along. It's also pretty easy to get in a rut, I mean really, after a while, mediocrity blurs things……I have a ton of photos of "eh" places, and even more places I need to visit a second time before doing a post. So it's great to be able to post on something the Missus and I really enjoyed. So we'll just have to push those other PIPs (posts in progress) to the back of the line here. I hope you don't mind. Now, it's off to the post:

I'm always amazed at how quickly, and how many, recommendations I get. Several days after I posted on a new restaurant in the former Linda Vista Food to Go, Mo Ngoc So 1, and Thai by Tara location I get an email. From "SomTommy" (you gotta love the name), who, in spite of the rather difficult to understand email, made it very clear that the new restaurant makes really good Thai food. Which meant that the Missus and I had to check it out.

The small sign in the front was in Thai, so I wasn't quite sure what the name of the place was. The interior looked exactly like Thai by Tara, with the same postage stamp sized dining area. But when the menu arrived we were surprised! Over 100 items, and stuff I've never seen on menus here in San Diego. The Gentleman running this tiny place was very nice and friendly. I noticed a few items on the menu I was interested in, so I inquired as to where he was from. "North Thailand", which made me even more excited. Next question, "what kind of food, Issan or Lanna?" This raised a big smile, as he replied "I'm Issan, and my cooks are also Issan!" Which got an even bigger smile from me. So I automatically went for a few items from the menu…unfortunately, they were out of the Issan Sour sausage and Koi Soi(raw beef salad). But we were told that the Pad See Ew and Som Tom(Papaya Salad) was really good.

So we started with the Pad See Ew with Beef($5.75):

When the plate arrived, I knew that whomever cooked this really knew what they were doing. The balance of soy to sweet was perfect for my taste. The dish was neither oily, nor where the noodles mushy. And what shocked me most of all, was the "wok hey"! The noodles had the wonderful smoky umami of a well seasoned wok…..

The beef was decent, and though the Missus liked the GaiLan, I thought it a bit undercooked. Still, the best Pad See Ew I've had in San Diego…..

When we ordered the Papaya Salad($5.50), the Gentleman asked, "Thai or Lao?" Then, he looked at me, and asked, "maybe Issan style?" Was that even a question?

A nice and simple Papaya Salad, just the way we like it. There was a pungency that approached, but did not reach the very strong and potent Lao style salad. There were bits of salted crab for flavoring…tiny pieces, I just crunched away. This was more of a savory dish…good with sticky rice. There were some good long beans and a few tomatoes. It was quite spicy…..funny, it didn't burn my lips, but it fried my tongue. It was not sweet enough for the Missus, as it lacked the palm sugar flavor the Missus enjoys in the Her Thai Papaya Salad…so I kept telling Her; "think Lao……"

Which meant more was in order. The Thai Sausage (Naem) Fried Rice($6.50):

The Missus loved this. A great combination of flavors, and the rice came out cooked exactly how She enjoys.

The Spicy Shrimp and Basil Noodles($5.95). The menu says "Mint", but there was Thai Basil in this dish:

Of all the dishes we had sampled thus far, this was our least favorite. On the good side, there was a good amount of Thai Basil, much more than the 2-3 leaves usually found in these types of dishes. The noodles were again cooked with expertise. We found the overall flavor to be on the bland side…but maybe it was because everything else had so much flavor. The shrimp were a bit overcooked as well.

Funny thing; to this point, I still hadn't bothered to get the name of the restaurant. So I asked, and the nice Gentleman told me laughing, "I forgot to have them put the English name on the sign". He then grabbed a business card and wrote:

So there you have it. No, it's not Lotus of Siam or Renu Nakorn, but the food is well prepared, and not your average American-ized Thai Food. The menu is large, so there is much to try.

Sab-E-Lee Restaurant
2405 Ulric St
San Diego, CA 92111

Which begs the question….where's the Koi Soi? Well there's more to come…….

Que Huong Revisited…many times Part 3 – Maybe it is all about the Jackfruit Salad?

August 7, 2008 mmm-yoso Vietnamese Restaurants

**** Que Huong has closed

After our previous visits to Que Huong, you'd have thought that we'd had our fill. But the Missus thought the menu had some potential, and so in future visits we tried a few different items. So here they are:

Banh Xeo($5.95):

This is something I remembered from our first visits to Que Huong way back in 2005. It was still delivered with a pile of fresh herbs and lettuce. It was still crisp, and not oily in the least. I do think that they've cut down on the amount of shrimp and other "fillings", but it's still my favorite in version in San Diego.

The Catfish Clay Pot($8.95):

It looks large in the photo, but it was more of a "personal sized" version. The strong fish sauce- maggi-lemongrass flavor was great, but the fish was a bit too "muddy" for my tastes. The Missus enjoyed it, and there was one added "bonus" that I liked. The bottom of the pot was lines with pork belly..soaked in the sauce and caramelized…delici-yoso!!! I ordered this during another visit with Ed from Yuma, and the most wonderful Tina (thanks for putting up with us!). I knew this was right up Ed's alley, so maybe we'll find out how he enjoyed it. You'll need some rice for this one.

The Jackfruit Salad ($12.95):

Most of the versions I've had of this dish(Goi Mit) tends to be on the milder side. And this dish would be as well, except that it has a nice amount of Rau Ram, peanuts, and a Nuoc Mam Cham that runs on the sweeter side. If you've never had Jackfruit before, and have some preconceived notions about taste and texture….the jackfruit is very mild, and has an almost "meaty" texture. There a nice amount of pork and chopped shrimp in the dish, and the portion size is pretty large. It comes with sesame-rice crackers. The only real problem, and I've noticed this with some of the dishes here….there always seems to be that "one thing". There are many hard peppercorns in the dish…real hard…chip your teeth hard, so tread carefully.

On one visit, we decided to try the Goat Hot Pot (small – $22.98). I had thought it was a bit on the expensive side, but it was enough for 3 people. The broth is laden with dried Jujubes, and has a very strong lemongrass flavor.

The best item is the taro, which has been fried before being added to the hot pot, giving it a nice texture and flavor.

I really wouldn't order this if you're a meat lover, the chopped goat was an after-thought, tough and flavorless.

A plate of Mi (egg noodles) is provided, along with some vegetables, in this case a plate of Bok Choy. The soup is "never-ending", in that you can request refills of the soup (but not the noodles or veggies…that'll cost you). After a refill, we needed to add some water to the broth, it was getting pretty salty. For the final refill, they provided a bowl from which we could just refill as desired. You can see how much "stuff" is in the broth, just by looking at the bottom of the bowl:

The jury's still out on this one.

It's an interesting crowd at Que Huong, during the earlier hours, it's Vietnamese families(for the hot pot, and other family style dishes), and an occasional Hispanic visitor (they seem to enjoy the fried rice and pan fried noodles). As the evening gets later, the group gets younger, and people start ordering the wings, and other smaller dishes.

One of the Young Men, by the name of Jay is fabulous. He'll come by and answer any questions you may have, and tell you about some of the other menu offerings.

Que Huong Restaurant
4134 University Ave
San Diego, CA 92105

Siem Reap: Palm Sugar, and Everybody has a Durian story, right?

August 5, 2008 mmm-yoso Cambodia, Siem Reap, Travel

As I noted at the end of my last post, we had just finished a repast of Khmer Noodles (Num Banh Chok), and the Missus had wandered off. It seems that She had been unable to ward off the temptation of fresh Durian. And having been suitably tempted, She purchased a nice fresh Durian. I’m sure that all travelers to Southeast Asia has at least one Durian story, and here’s ours.

The Missus has this Durian, the smell of ripe compost wafting in the air so thick I could have cut it with a chainsaw. She brings it into the car…now you must remember that we have a whole, hot, humid day ahead of us.

And though Narin thought it humorous that the Missus would be so excited over Durian, I was kind of worried about having the smell of stewing sewage permeating the car for the entire day. Which led to a conversation:

Me: Did you really have to buy that Durian?
The Missus: Looks good, huh? And I didn’t see any "no Durian" signs around the hotel.
Me (lowering my voice): You realize that this car isn’t Narin’s, right? He’s probably renting it. And he’ll return the car smelling like Durian.
The Missus: Oh…..

Suddenly, the Missus brightened up…it had all become clear, a solution presented itself. The Missus reached over, opened my backpack, placed the Durian into my backpack, and zipped it up tightly. I should’ve kept my mouth shut. To this day, Sammy will be walking past my backpack, he’ll suddenly stop, sniff, and look up at me with an expression that says: "Daddy, did you poop in your backpack?"

Along the way to our first destination Kbal Spean, we passed numerous stands; each with woks, or pans simmering over fire. Narin, seeing our interest, stopped. These stands were making Palm sugar:

Narin showed us the various Palm Sugar products.

And even went over the fruit and differences between the male and female palm. Unfortunately, I flunked Palm anatomy and physiology, so I don’t know which is which.

There was also a Cashew Tree, which fascinated me. I’d never seen one up close before.

The nice lady even had the Missus taste a cashew fruit…..I could tell by the sour look on Her face, that I wanted no part of it.

As our way of thanking the lady for being so gracious, as we found most all Cambodians to be, we ended up buying two tubes of palm sugar.

This palm sugar is darker than the palm sugar I buy at the market here in San Diego.

The flavor is a much more condensed "complex" sweetness. I used some in a Beef Salad I made, and because I used the usual amount of the stuff, it overpowered everything else in the dish!

As we headed up the 25 or so kilometers to Kbal Spean, it started raining pretty hard. Narin smiled, turned to us and said: "this is quite unusual, it is early for the rains to start, you must be good luck."

Here’s another Durian story, some friends of mine have a bunch of siblings…so many that I think I’ve lost count. When they were young, their Mom, always so resourceful, used to lock up the Durian in a cabinet with chains and a padlock!

So what’s your Durian story?