mmm-yoso – Page 379

Mid-week Miscellanea

January 30, 2008 mmm-yoso Blog

Just a few mid-week meanderings…..

Cay Nhan we hardly knew ye:

I was preparing a post on a Vietnamese soup shop called Cay Nhan, located at 4155 University, when I realized that I hadn’t taken a "front shot" of the restaurant. So this past weekend, I drove by to get a shot…imagine my shock when I realized the restaurant was gone!

On the good side, Asmara is reopening after an absence of a few years. On the bad side, Cay Nhan left us much too soon. The Missus and I had questioned whether Cay Nhan would make it…the dishes were of high quality, but more expensive, but we loved the decor, and thought the Owner was so very nice.

So here’s a few photos, just for the heck of it….

Good Mi(egg noodle), and decent Hieu Tieu, the Owner once told me that She could take up to 3 days to make the broth for her soup. She was very proud of the food created at Cay Nhan….

Here’s hoping that Cay Nhan re-emerges someday soon.

Totoya we never knew ye:

I had heard of an Izakaya/Yakitori joint that had opened up in Chula Vista, and a few months ago I drove past Totoya:

Unfortunately, while I was in the area this past weekend, I found that Totoya was no more. This is going to be the new location for Sushi a la Kaz.

Where in the world is Captain Jack?:

I had gotten a few emails, regarding my Urasawa eating Buddy, Captain Jack of San Diego Restaurant Reviews. Well, I thought I’d just everyone know not to start checking milk cartons yet. Captain Jack…aka CJ is just taking a short hiatus, and wanted to let everyone know that rumors of his demise were greatly exaggerated. CJ has been very busy with work, and has a healthy backlog of posts for us to enjoy. So look for a return soon. Like I told CJ on the phone yesterday, "it’s bad enough that people are wondering how you’re doing, in comments on your blog. But when they start emailing me asking if you’re ok……well, something has to be done!"

See you soon CJ!

Anna’s Mondu – Garden Grove(OC)

January 28, 2008 mmm-yoso Korean Restaurants, Orange County, Road Trip

**** Anna's Mondu has closed

This ever happen to you? I'm having dinner at Sammy's, and in keeping with the neighborly atmosphere I start up conversation with a nice young fellow, whom I've never seen before. And of course, the conversation drifts to food…..and to Orange County(where this young man is from), with sights directly set on Garden Grove(where this fellow lives). During the conversation, he mentions a little hole in the wall that makes hand made Mandu(aka Korean Dumplings). Talk about getting my attention…not having paper handy, I quickly scribble the name down on the back of my hand near my wrist. Oookay, I get home, grab some paper, and as I'm ready to write down the name of the place….and I notice that part of it is smeared…so it looks like "Ahn's Mandu" or maybe "Ann's Mandu". No problemo, the Internet is such a great tool, so I start typing this stuff in, and several combinations, and nada! So I check all my favorite Orange County Food Blogs; Chubbypanda, Monster Munching, Wandering Chopsticks…but again, nothing! Egad…what to do?? I'm left crying over smeared ink, or lost mandu….like two dumplings passing in the night….. After stewing for a few weeks, I finally had to make a trip down to Orange County, and vaguely recalling the directions; "22 freeway West, exit Brookhurst, it's on Garden Grove", I arrived in the area I call "Koreatown South", the Korean Business District that runs along Garden Grove Boulevard. Boy, is this place growing like crazy….looks like at least 2 new "gallerias", as they call 'em, are under construction.

After a short drive on Garden Grove Boulevard, I see this sign:

Geeez no wonder…..it's spelled Mondu, not Mandu like I'm used too. And right in the front window was a large laminated copy of Gustavo Arrellano's OC Weekly Article…… I entered the tiny hole-in-the wall, the dining area consists of 4 tables, 3 four tops(I'm being very generous with the term "four"), and one sorta, kinda communal table. There was one young man reading a magazine, and an older woman with a warm smile who greeted me in Korean….to which my response was a fumbling, "sorry, I don't speak Korean", etc, etc, etc….. The woman smiled and pointed to the "menu" posted on the wall:

I recognized a few items like Dduk Bo Ki and Kimbap(think Korean futomaki), but I had come here for Mandu, or if you prefer Mondu. So I asked the lady, who half answered, half pointed to the "combo A"($7.95), as well as the nice photo on the opposite wall. Which looked great to me.

I had a seat, and a battered old tea pot with a tea bag tag sticking out arrived. And after a while, the young man's Dduk Bo Ki arrived, as well a a couple of dishes of panchan. A few minutes later a large steamer arrived at my table:

As I removed the steamer lid, the smoky-woodsy smell of a well seasoned bamboo steamer met my nose…a scent so warm and comforting, that I wanted to give that 'ol steamer a bear hug. The steamer contained 5 pork and vegetable steamed mandu, and 4 large rustic looking mandu that I've never had before. Later I would learn that these are called Wang Mandu.

Along with the steamer, 3 plates of panchan arrived:

The best of the lot was the Water Radish Kimchi, which was so very refreshing.

The wang mandu is sort of like Baozi, the filling was a pretty tasty combination of various vegetables and pork. I'd have preferred my dough a bit more light and fluffy. The steamed mando was also pretty good, nice wrappers were a bit on the dry side, but there was nice home made feel to it. These were fine with a light dip in soy-vinegar-chili powder.

For me the best item was this:

Once, a friend of mine back home in Hawaii, made some home made Fried Mandu for my Birthday, the likes of which I'd never had before. This was the closest I've ever had in terms of texture; initially crunchy, with a good chew, and well flavored filling to boot. Not the most photogenic mandu, but I loved the rustic and home made look. The woman, who I'm assuming is "Anna" enjoyed watching me eat….and asked me how the food was several times. When I mentioned that everything tastes good, and hand made, she stuck her hands out palms down and said with a proud smile, "yes, everything made with this…."

While I continued eating, "Anna" sat down with what looked like some Japchae, and started eating. A minute later she, asked me, "you eat squash?", and proceeded to pass me a little bowl of panchan. Sticking her hand out and putting her index finger and thumb parallel with a space of about an inch-and-a-half between them, squinting one eye, she told me, "this small squash".

This was actually squid, and it was delici-yoso, spicy, sweet, umami…..surprised that I enjoyed it, my bowl was refilled twice…..just like Mom would!

The damage….a grand total of $8.50. I left Anna's stuffed and satisfied. For me, decent hand made mandu is a rarity. And I thoroughly enjoyed the homestyle service. This was a one man, or more accurately one woman show, at least on my visit. Things may take some time…..but you wouldn't rush Mom, would you?

Anna's Mondu
9972 Garden Grove Blvd
Garden Grove, CA 92844

Marukai San Diego now open

January 27, 2008 mmm-yoso Local Kine Stuffs in San Diego, Markets & Grocers

**** Updates for Marukai San Diego can be found here.

Well, as reported by FOYs (Fred and Carol) in comments to this post, Marukai has gone forward with a "soft opening" to shake out bugs and get people trained. The signs out front still say "Opening February 1st", but as the Missus noted this past Friday in a hurried cell phone call, "the lights are on, and people look like they're shopping."

I drove by later that evening and saw people pushing shopping carts filled with grocery bags in the parking lot. This meant one of 2 things; either Marukai had gone the soft opening route(as the West Covina did years ago), or this was one heck of a training drill!

Having a full plate most of the weekend, I managed to drag my wind-burned and rain soaked self to Marukai this morning. I arrived at about 930am, to find the place empty. I grabbed a shopping basket, and started walking……

On my first lap, I just did a quick check of "what wasn't there"….fish department and prepared foods. I've always had good luck with the fish I've purchased at Marukai, and was a regular at West Covina, where I could ask the Fishmongers to cut my maguro, or hold ogo for me when we lived in LA. The meat department didn't look fully stocked either.

After looking through the Japanese offerings – 3 brands of Shiokara, anyone? Which was adequate…and the prices which are as a whole cheaper than the other 2 large Japanese markets in San Diego. I started going through my mental lists of "Local Kine Stuffs"…….

Purity and Redondo's Portuguese Sausage – check.

S & S Saimin – but no Okuhara's – but Sun's Okinawa Soba – maybe three-quarters of a check???

Frozen Zippy's stuff – check.

Frozen Okuhara Kamabuko(it doesn't taste quite the same…but it's still ok) – check.

2 Brands of Lau Lau(both of which I hate….but if it floats your boat) – check.

Coral Tuna – but only water packed, not oil packed – one-fourth of a check.

Pa'akai and another brand of Hawaiian salt – but Auwe! No moa' Alaea! (red sea salt) – kinda, sorta a check!

Aloha shoyu and other sauces – check!

Hawaiian Sun Jam and Jellies – check!

Malolo Syrup – but all lemon lime, and one lonely strawberry – a reluctant check.

Diamond Head Bakery Soda and Saloon Pilot Cracker – check.

Enough Chocolate covered Macadamian Nuts, cookies, and sweets, to keep all of San Diego's Dentists in business till the next century.

No moa Maebo's One Ton Chips which I was looking for.

No Halm's or Park's brand stuff either……

By this time the handles to the shopping basket were digging into my hands, and I got tired of shooting my photos one-handed, so I decided to call it a day.

Tonight I'm taking a trip back into time, and having something I haven't had in years:

Something simple…..it is just frozen stuff, and some pretty bland Char Siu, but for a somewhat homesick Ex-Pat Kama'aina…a little slice of heaven.

Marukai Market
8151 Balboa Ave
San Diego, CA 92111

A couple of notes: Marukai is a membership market, though you can pay $1 for a one-day membership. The manager on duty said that I didn't need a membership to shop on this morning, because I wanted to renew my card. But after speaking to Cathy today, I found that they had her purchase a membership – which is $10/year(and in my mind more than worth it) so I dunno. This parking lot is going to be a horror……it is not nearly big enough for Daiso, Marukai Living, and Marukai Market…… The Manager also told me, that not everything has come in yet, so there are more items to be stocked.

El Roberto’s, The Battle of the ‘berto’s, and a contest

January 26, 2008 mmm-yoso Taco Shops, What Howie Eats - Where the Foodie from Foodieview Eats, yoso-silly

If you’ve been in San Diego long enough, or are an ex-pat San Diegan, all you need to do is mention the name of a taco shop that goes “Something” – berto’s……be it ‘Ai’, ‘Roi’, or the one and only Roberto’s, and the first thing that will come to mind will probably be a representation of the quintessential San Diego Taco Shop. Serving up stuff like California Burritos(carne asada & fries), Rolled Tacos(aka Taquitos), and the classic Carne Asada Burrito…or what Jay, proprietor of The Linkery, calls the ‘CAB’. I guess it just shows the power of branding….you can just add whatever prefix you want(within reason – I don’t think Rodent-O-Bertos would work real well, though the name Shigella-bertos has a ring to it), and suddenly you are a San Diego Taco Shop. Just looking at a list of current “Something” – berto’s goes to prove my point….they range from rather tasty(Hamberto’s anyone?), to something with a bit more action(Ramberto’s), to places I may give thought to before entering(Rigoberto’s). I can’t think of anything else quite like this….I mean there is 97 Supermarket, which looks strangely similar to 99 Ranch Market, and perhaps a few other examples, but nothing to the extent of the berto’s. I’ve personally tried to cook up a few similar schemes that have never panned out. I had the idea to hire a bunch of surly Chinese wait staff, buy as many “San Gabriel” sticky tables as I could, and bring in white paper-hatted Cooks with questionable hygienic habits, and open my Chinese BBQ, calling it Sam-my Woof BBQ, but that never panned out. I had the great idea(or maybe it was just brain freeze) of selling super tart fro-yo…..2 oz frozen yogurt, which you top, nay bury, with 6 ounces of various toppings (which you can buy in bulk from Henry’s), and selling it for $8 a cup….calling it Pink-buried. But as with many of these bright ideas…it just never took off.

Which leads me to El Roberto’s:

There I was minding my own business, in a strip mall on the corner of Murphy Canyon Road and Aero Drive, when I saw this sign:

Geez, I didn’t know there was a Roberto’s here…..my stomach started growling. As I walked up to the shop, the truth was revealed:

Hmmm, I didn’t see an L, um ‘El’ in front of Robertos on the large sign in the front of the restaurant. I got a chuckle out of that. Still, I decided, or my stomach decided, to grab a bite. The interior of El Roberto’s is simple, but man is that counter built high…..

The menu listed a good 15 or so burritos……..

I decided to order a Texas Burrito($4.10). A Texas Burrito, by San Diego Taco Shop standards is a Pollo Asado(chicken) and French Fry(yes, french fries) burrito, sometimes with Pico de Gallo(basically a tomato and onion condiment), and sometimes guacamole.

This was not a very good version of a Texas Burrito. The fries were fine, but finding any chicken in the burrito was an experience akin to finding “gold in them dere hills”…… What was worse was the very sour hot sauce….

But heck….something more than the “Something” – berto’s name keeps this place in business, right?

El Roberto
3755 Murphy Canyon Rd.
San Diego, CA 92123

Have I told you about my latest project? It’s a chain I’ll call Cuy-potle, specializing in burritos featuring free-range, alfalfa fed, Cavia porcellus, humanely slaughtered. The burritos contain 1 ounce of Cuy meat, along with 16 ounces of various pseudo-Mexican sauces, rice, beans, and salsas..creating a boat-sized burrito that defies the term healthy eating! Hmmm, looks like I’ll need some help with this one…maybe the team of wordsmith Elmo Monster and marketing genius Eatdrinknbmerry will come on board…..we’d be unbeatable!

The Battle of the Berto’s:

So what about the Carne Asada Burrito at L El-Roberto’s, you may ask? Well, I did manage to try the CAB at El Roberto’s…recently, the one and only Howie who does the excellent A Foodie Eye’s View. Invited the Missus and I to what he called the Battle of the Bertos. We managed a tasting of 10 different Carne Asada Burritos, from random “Something” – berto’s around San Diego. It was a fun and interesting time…though I don’t think I’ll be having another CAB for a while!

So to quote Howie; “Which Berto Reigns Supreme?” You’ll just have to check out the results here. You can also vote on your personal favorite “Berto”. In case you were wondering, the Missus(otherwise known as The Missusberto), and yours-truly-berto came up with almost the exact same results in our blind tasting…..

And to add even more “cred” to the project, the Arbiter, was a vegetarian! Who deserves major props for first, dealing with a group of “crazed carne asada Psychos”. And secondly, for dealing with the “smell of grilled beef” permeating our very being……

And just in case you wanted to know what the post-bertos scene was like….this is the aftermath:

The Name Your (Faux)Berto Contest:

I’ve always poked fun at the proliferation of these “Something”-berto places. It is quite entertaining when driving to think up stuff like:

Vito-Bertos – “You better like our meatball burrito, or else….”

PETA-Bertos – At least you can be sure that the fur growing in your burrito didn’t come from a living creature…I’m sure that would be comforting!

I’m also sure you’re much more creative than I am, so come up with your best “Something” – berto’s name and tagline, and/or menu item, and send it to me via email at mmm-yoso@hotmail.com, I’ll pick my 3 favorite names, and I’ll also forward the list to Howie, to pick his 3 favorites…and I’ll send the winners a Peet’s Ecup of coffee. One winner per IP address, and try to keep it clean, ok? I’ll list the winners mid-week. The contest closes midnight on Sunday, 01/27/08…after all, I know you’re all creative geniuses, with an unending flow of ideas….and my personal CPU can’t deal with that!

So let’s see what Faux-berto’s you come up with.

Bolsa Vietnamese Restaurant

January 24, 2008 mmm-yoso Vietnamese Restaurants

**** After many years Bolsa has closed

All these photos……sheesh…… After looking through them, and realizing that many had been languishing for months, I thought that I'd better get my act together and post now, or not at all. Bolsa had been recommended to me several times by various people, so I thought I'd better give it a try. Located in a strip mall(what else) on Mira Mesa Boulevard, Bolsa has been around for quite a few years.

The menu at Bolsa is quite large……120+ items! Talk about Vietnamese menu overload! At least the folks here have always been pretty nice to us, and it's not the "dump the menu on the table, and stand right in front of you with pencil at the ready" type of place. The menu has everything from Banh Xeo(Vietnamese Crepe) to Rice Dishes(Com Dia) to Porridge (Chao) to Egg Noodle(Mi) dishes. And of course there Pho' which I had on one of my visits, (Pho Bo Dac Biet – the special, $5.95):

The garnishes were very fresh, but on the skimpy side.

One person I know describes this Pho as "fresh", in fact I've heard many people describe their Pho of choice as being fresh…sorry, but if you want your Pho really fresh, drop some beef bones into water, and go at it. I'll take mine simmered for hours. This broth was light, low oil, and pretty middle of the road as flavor goes….nothing really stood out. What did stand out was the amount of meat I was given:

By far the most meat I've ever had in a bowl of Pho. The rare steak was okay, and not too tough, the best by far was the brisket, which was moist, tender, and had decent beef flavor.

One this visit, the "appetizer sin" occurred…that is, my Pho arrived before the Goi Cuon(spring rolls – $3.75) arrived:

Which I thought was odd, since the wrappers were on the dry and tough side. No wonder they provide a serrated knife. Other than wrappers, this was fine, decent amount of herbs in addition to the standard lettuce, and the Bi(pork skin) had nice flavor.

On another occasion I tried the Bun Thit Nuong, the Cold Vermicelli with Grilled Pork($5.95):

The char grilled pork looked lovely, the flavor wasn't bad, a mild sweet-salty, it was tough as heck though. I enjoyed the addition of Bi(pork skin), in the bowl, especially since it wasn't listed as part of the dish on the menu. As a whole a decent amount of food, fairly refreshing, and nothing to really complain about.

On a recent visit, the Missus was driven to analysis paralysis by all the items on the menu, so She asked the Owner what to order. She recommended the Pho Ga (Chicken rice noodle soup – $6.25), telling us "everybody come here to eat my chicken soup":

This time they were generous with the garnishes…I guess they liked the Missus!

The soup was nothing special, lots of onion flavor, but the Missus said, "you can do way better at home…." There was a good amount of chicken, all white meat, very moist, very tender, though quite bland.

I decided to just order the Bun Cha Hanoi($6.95):

Our wonderful experiences with Bun Cha Hanoi has been covered before both here and on other food blogs. And things did look right, lots of veggies, grilled meatballs, grilled pork, bun, and so forth.

But the devil was in the details…the bun was too soft and mushy, the meatballs too lean, and not well marinated, the nuoc mam cham too mild for my taste. The grilled pork was exactly the same as what was on the Bun dish I had on a previous visit, and though really chewy, tasted fine…I had a feeling that those meatballs pulled at least "double duty" and was used for other dishes as well.

The Missus thought it was pretty good, I thought it to be mediocre…..but I had expected mediocre so you could say I wasn't disappointed. It did fill me up, but didn't do much for my Bun Cha Hanoi craving.

You could spend a few months working through the menu at Bolsa, and you may find a few gems….if you do, let me know!

Bolsa Vietnamese Restaurant
9225 Mira Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92126

Open 9am – 9pm Daily

Nha Trang Vietnamese Food

January 21, 2008 mmm-yoso Vietnamese Restaurants

*** Nha Trang has closed.

On a recent trip to Asia Cafe I noticed that a Vietnamese Restaurant had opened up in the strip mall across the street. I don’t think there are too many Vietnamese Restaurants in the area, so I decided to check it out.

The name of the restaurant is Nha Trang, and is located between a donut shop and Mexican Bakery. The interior had obviously been recently "freshened up", and though the furniture seemed a bit on the crowded side, the restaurant was nice and clean.

The menu is small, and consists of mainly Pho Bo(beef) and Pho Ga(chicken). The gentleman running the place dropped off a menu, basically a two page laminated sheet, and I placed my order.

I started with Goi Cuon(spring rolls – $3):

This version came with a little dish of Nuoc Mam Cham, which was nicely spiced, if a bit on the sweet side. The ingredients of the spring roll was very fresh, and you could tell it was rolled when ordered. I thought the spring roll was short on herbs, and was almost all lettuce and bun(rice vermicelli), making it rather "blah". It was also rolled too loosely.

As is my habit when trying Pho for the first time at any restaurant, I ordered the Dac Biet (special – large $5.25). Based on the Goi Cuon, I was ready to be underwhelmed. And when the bowl arrived I was not dissuaded in the least bit:

My initial reaction was that this bowl was on the small side, and the broth looked very light and low in oil. The very skimpy amount and variety of garnishes was also uninspiring.

But as I dug into the bowl I noticed something….though the broth was not especially "rich" it was also not heavily salted, and I could taste a hint of a pleasant sweetness. The noodles were perfect, and though in a clump, the texture was great, a bit of pull, and not mushy. The meat, other than the tough and rubbery meatballs, was excellent….the slices of rare steak were soft and tender, same with the mildly beefy fatty flank. The two tiny strips of tendon was soft and buttery, I only wished that there was more of it.

I managed to speak to the Owner, who is very nice and pleasant. He and his wife used to run the Chinese Fast Food restaurant at this location, but decided to go back to their Vietnamese roots. He also told me that they take pleasure in serving fresher foods, and were planning to expand their menu. Since they had only been open for 2 weeks at the time of this visit, I’m sure they are still straightening things out. I just may check them out again in the future.

Nha Trang Vietnamese Food
4676 Market St
San Diego, CA 92102

Sunday Stuffs

January 20, 2008 mmm-yoso yoso-silly

Just a random "potpourri" of stuffs……

The latest sign at Marukai:

The latest sign says February 1st for Marukai Market. I hope so.

Chilango’s Reopening?

When we first moved to San Diego, we visited Chilango’s in Hillcrest several times, and really enjoyed ourselves. I was getting a post ready, when I found out that the Owners of Chilango’s had hired some Itamae, and opened up what amounted to a Japanese Fast-Food restaurant. Today, during the usual trip, I noticed the sign was gone, and the Chilango’s sign was back up!

So is Chilango’s reopening? A second "I hope so" for this one.

The Bard of Banh Mi:

One of the FOY (Friends of Yoso) who often keeps me informed of his various adventures in Bun Bo Hue, and Banh Mi is Jon Oropeza, IT pro by day, writer by night. He recently sent me this, which tickled me….you can also find it here. I now proclaim Jon, the Bard of Banh Mi:

bánh mì gà

i surprise the woman
by ordering ‘bon-my-gah’
because that’s what I want
a chicken sandwich.

the alien lah-dah-lahs
of her man on his cell
yelling about a smogging –
‘la la la Test Only
do doe way Test Only,’
he’d say –
‘Test Only.’ ‘nah-no Test Only!’
‘gue go way you-win’ –

(my blabber transcription)

‘ – la lo mben Test Only.’
‘la mben do doe-lay’.

we think of languages discrete,
they’re melanges aren’t they?

French sandwiches and tenseless Khmer
like a grid shaking hands with a sphere.

in the rear their gorgeous
stick-figure daughter
wriggles on her chair
agog by my big bites into
Chicken, Gà, same
Viet-name and my

Thanks for sharing, and the dedication Jon. I forgot to ask, where the inspirational Banh Mi was from, so I took a photo of a Banh Mi Ga Nuong from Song Huong(now costs $2.50). I’m guessing it must be Song Huong?

Finally, a funny YouTube from Andy the ABC:

He even mentions mmm-yoso!!! Enjoy:

Thanks Andy! We love it! And one day we hope to be in Taiwan, though I’m not quite sure I’d have what you did…….

You never know what you’ll find on Imperial Avenue:

I was driving along a few weekends ago. I’d already grabbed some tacos from El Compita, but in the parking lot of the former El Comal, now called something like Casa el Pepe(2822 Imperial Ave), was some major Polo asada being grilled. If I hadn’t already grabbed some tacos, I’d have stopped. I did manage to snap a quick photo:

I’m hoping to check it out in the coming weeks……

I hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Thai Style Chicken Cutlets – And how tastes change over time

January 19, 2008 mmm-yoso Cooking, Recipes

I remember when I was little, call it "small kid time" as many of my friends would say. We didn’t have much(and many times no) money, barely enough for survival. So eating out was a real treat; just having Chinese take-out was a something saved for Birthdays, and other "special" occasions. One of my favorite memories was splurging for the fried chicken from the now defunct Woolworth’s(aka F.W. Woolworth’s). It may have just been a thigh or drumstick, but when you bit into that wonderfully juicy chicken, it was like you’ve just had your own little piece of heaven. Woolworth’s you may ask….I know it sounds strange, but I faintly remember something along the lines of "You do the pickin’ when you buy chicken at Woolworth’s"? Of course time marches on, and Woolworth’s became sort of an after thought….until I heard that Woolworth’s was closing down, at which time I marched myself down to Woolworth’s to grab that one last piece, and it was terrible, icky, tasting like that Banquet frozen stuff you reheat. Which made me wonder, had the food quality and recipe deteriorated so much over the years, or had my tastes and preferences changed? I think it was probably a little of both. I had sort of the same dilemma a few years back, albeit not to the same extent when I tried the Chicken Alice recipe. As with all things…time and taste move on. So what does this have to do with some Asian fusion-ny chicken cutlets?

More than a few years ago, there was a series on the Discovery Channel called Great Chef’s of the World which I used to make a point to watch every chance I had. I really enjoyed that series, and I guess it’s still shown….but I haven’t run into it in a few years. One of the fun parts was watching all the "local" chefs from Hawaii, like Alan Wong, Roy Yamaguchi, et al cooking up some really interesting stuff. During one segment I saw this recipe, it was called Crispy Thai-style Chicken, and seemed like something even I could pull off, which I managed to do pretty successfully. For some reason, I hadn’t made this since we moved to San Diego, now almost 7 years ago. So when the recipe recently reared it’s head in the mass of confusion called my Grey matter, I thought it would be an interesting study of just how much our tastes have changed.

As I started making the marinade, I noticed something right away…..it smelled really mild, so I decided to use a whole bulb of garlic, and double up the amount of fish sauce. The dressing needed a bit more zip so I added some chopped onions.

Thai Style Chicken Cutlets

Marinade:
2 stalks lemongrass finely minced
1 bulb garlic minced
1 Tb grated ginger
4 Tb Thai Fish Sauce
6 stalks green onions(white parts included)finely chopped
2-3 Tb cilantro minced
1/2 Mochiko(sweet rice flour)
2 Tb cornstarch
1 tsp Salt
2 Egg whites

Dressing:
1 Cup rice wine vinegar
1/2 Cup sugar
1/3 Cup water
1/3 Cup Thai Fish Sauce
1/2 onion, minced
2-3(or more) Tb chili paste

2-3 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Canola Oil
Finely Sliced Green Onions for garnish & Salt to taste

– Combine marinade ingredients in a large bowl. Mix well.
– Add the chicken, make sure all pieces are well coated
– Marinate over night
– Heat about 1/3-1/2" oil in a saute pan
– Fry chicken cutlets, 5-8 minutes each side, until the chicken is completely cooked
– Combine dressing items, and mix until sugar is dissolved.
– Remove chicken from oil, drain, plate, and drizzle a few tablespoons(or more) over chicken. Use the remainder as a dressing for a green salad.

After frying up the chicken, I thought it looked as good, or better than what I made before….all those years of chicken katsu had paid off! The chicken was very moist and tender. However……man did it taste really mild to us, even with a ton of the dressing. The Missus agreed, it seems our tastes have changed sharply over the last 7-8 years. Nothing was more telling than when I turned to the Missus and said; "you know, I’d take a marinade with Vietnamese fish sauce, a batch of Nuoc Mam Cham, like we had a Beach’s for a "dressing", I’m sure Wandering Chopsticks must have a recipe, along with a good amount of "Bun"(Rice Vermicelli), and some really fresh herbs along with the greens in the salad….and it would be Vietnamese style Chicken Cutlets……

Since a good friend of mine has called my mind a "cesspool of useless information" here’s another one for you…."don’t cook tonight, call Chicken Delight!!!"

Hope you’re having a nice weekend!

Eddels – Who you calling Puto???

January 17, 2008 mmm-yoso Filipino Restaurants, Sisig

*** Eddels has closed and is now Chibugan.

With a name like Eddels Deli, you'd think perhaps a European Deli….bakery…..hmmm… And that name does look out of place on the sign for Vinh Hung Super Market on Mira Mesa. Though if you've taken the opportunity to check out Eddels, you'd know that it's a Filipino turo-turo (point-point, steam table fast food) and dessert joint.

Oh yes, In fact, you don't have to walk through Vinh Hung Market to get to Eddels….you just follow the sign:

Yes, that little sign.

You'll enter the little turo-turo joint and your senses may be overwhelmed by the various wonderful fragrances wafting through the air. The signage says that Eddels specializes in Cebuano Cuisine, food from the island of Cebu. And though I've had some of the specialties like Tinola, I'm far from an expert on regional Filipino Cuisine.

The fairly dark, interior of Eddels has that slightly organized, but disorganized, look that many turo-turo joints like Point-Point Joint have, the ubiquitous television running FTV soap operas, the Pepsi clock, the large map of the Philippines, next to a hanging planter with faux plants…..

To say that the prices at Eddels are reasonable would be an understatement. 1 item and a starch is $3.99, 2 items and a starch, is $4.99, and looks something like this:

First off, let me just say that I like the Pancit Bihon at Eddels. I think they use a good amount of broth or stock to flavor the pancit…even the Missus thought it was pretty good. Texture was decent, not mushy.

On this day I had some Paksiw na Baboy. Paksiw, if I recall correctly is a way of cooking that utilizes vinegar-sugar-soy, and usually uses leftover pork or lechon…or even pata. This version had nice sweetness, if a bit short in in the flavor of vinegar. And though the pork was a tad on the tough side, I enjoyed it.

Of course, once I saw the Sisig, I had to have that as well:

The Sisig was very moist, and not oily. There was much more "stuff" like red bell peppers, a few chili peppers, than I'm used too. And though Cebuan cuisine is known for the use of sili (Chili Pepper) I didn't find this to spicy at all. It was not bad, not great…too little vinegar and spices, but not bad. This version of Sisig, as is typical in San Diego uses left over Lechon….it just struck me, I ate two dishes of leftovers! It was very good leftovers though!

I had been told that Eddels was also known for their Puto…no NOT that kind of Puto….this kind of Puto:

Basically a rice cake, in this case steamed in a banana leaf. The Missus really enjoyed it, I didn't get a shot…..in short She told me, the "flavor of the banana leaf, and the fact that it isn't too sweet, and very moist makes this."

There's another version, that is caramelized, available as well. Both are $1.99:

The people at work enjoyed this version, but the Missus prefers the steamed-only version. Regardless, I've been told, this really good Puto!

On another visit this is what I decided to get:

To bad the Lechon Kawali had all the life sucked out of it by the heat lamps. It was more like dry, flavorless chicharron.

On this visit the really nice lady who appears to run the place started handing me samples. Noticing my non-Filipino-ness, She told me, "You know, I make the best BBQ" while handing me a piece of BBQ pork on a toothpick. And it was indeed pretty good…so I had some of that as well.

A bit on the sweetish side, and maybe too chewy, but overall not bad.

In case you aren't totally fried on the food at Eddels….here's BBQ Chicken and Pork Adobo:

The pieces of pork in the adobo was cut too big, making it very dry, and the meat flavorless. I also enjoy a bit of black pepper flavor in my adobo which this lacked.

The BBQ Chicken was okay, and bit too tough and dry this time. I enjoyed the nicely flavored charred bits though.

I wish I had brought my camera along on a subsequent visit…I was starving, and had a wonderful Kanding Caldereta(goat stew). I'll bring my camera next time…and hopefully they'll have that caldereta.

The Lady who runs Eddels is very warm, always smiling and nice. The Gentleman who works there is a bit of a grump, but is okay. The prices are very reasonable for the area(Mira Mesa) and portion size. For less than the price of a bowl of Pho at most places in the area…you can have 2 meals.

Eddels Deli
10550 Camino Ruiz
San Diego, CA 92126

(858) 527-0072

Hours to the right:

Tacos El Compita

January 15, 2008 mmm-yoso Mexican Restaurants, Taco Shops

*** El Compita is gone….to where who knows…..

I'll let you in on a little secret right now. If I'm deeply engrossed or otherwise distracted….perhaps concentrating on the ratio of soup to meat in a Xiao Long Bao, or some other similar task, there's a way to get my complete, and undivided attention…..you simply whisper "Barbacoa de Borrego", "Birria de Chivo", or maybe "Cabeza" into my oreja, and you will have an attent, straight backed, wide eyed, slobbering, taco lover on your hands. Or you could simply wave a banner….perhaps like this one, in front of my face:

My eyes were instantly glued to this sign…..affixed…..in fact, I'd even say that my head rotated a complete 360 degrees as I drove past, a la the Exorcist. At that moment I knew…that I must, no needed, to check this place out. I had driven by the corner of 25th and Imperial dozens of times, but never noticed this taco truck. Probably because it is covered with a tarp when not in service.

I parked on a side street, and walked toward the taco truck. As I entered the parking lot, I saw the 6 tough looking gentleman sitting at the portable tables set-up in front of the truck stand up, all eyes were fixed on me……I noticed that none of them were eating, which made me a tad uncomfortable. The first thought that crossed my mind was "uh-oh, this must be a front for some illicit business." One of the Guys starting walking up to me, and I quickly said "you have Barbacoa????" The Guy stopped in his tracks, stared at me suspiciously, tilted his head, and said, "Si, goooood Barbacoa!" He turned and walked into the doorway into one of the strip mall's "offices". I could hear a flurry of Spanish, and soon enough a lady walked out, and started talking to me….and I couldn't understand a darn thing, She didn't speak English…… But once it got to food, I had no problems, "Dos Barbacoa…….Cabeza, Lengua." She walked into the taco truck, opened a container of masa, and proceeded to make tortillas with the skill of an Itamae making Nigiri sushi.

So here they are……2 Barbacoa de Borrego, 1 Cabeza, and 1 Lengua taco – each cost a mere $1.25! Four tacos – 5 bucks.

First off, these were the best tortillas I've had in a while, great texture, great flavor. The cabeza had a nice beefiness to it, but was a bit on the dry side. The Lengua was a bit too greasy for me, but had decent beef flavor, and some gelatinous goodness. The Barbacoa de Borrego was nice, very moist, mildy "wild"….great roasted flavor. The one thing that the meat lacked was salt, but with the addition of one of the salsas it was very good.

Four different salsas, and the usual garnishes are provided on what looks like a retired taco cart. The only problem I had was that the onions look to be a bit on the "sour" side. Still, these tacos were very good, and well worth the price.

I had visited on a week day during the Christmas long weekend. On a recent weekend, I decided to head on down to El Compita. On this day, the woman was working on the "cart", and the Taco Truck was empty.

As I waited, I could see the various trays in the steam table being opened, and the wonderful aroma of the various roasted meats hit me, which got my salivary glands going.

On this day I ordered 2 Barbacoa, 2 Birria de Chivo, and 1 Adobada(marinated pork):

I saved one Barbacoa, and one Birria for the Missus, and consumed the other 3. I found the Adobada to be a bit too oily for me, and the flavor was surpisingly mild. The meat was very tender and moist.

The Birria de Chivo was nice and gamey, but lacked the spicy bite that I've had with other versions. As with all the other meats, it was very moist and tender.

The Barbacoa on this occasion was even better than my previous visit, rich, moist, tender…with a nice dollop of salsa, some onions and cilantro…things don't get much better than this. In fact, though the tortillas were not as good this time around, I'd say all the meats were much more succulent. Looks like weekends are the way to go. And I'll be sure to be back soon.

Overall, it's hard to feel ripped off when you pay $1.25 for tacos. And these are much better than those that start with the word 'Del' or end in 'Bell'. Light years better…….in fact, it is of a completely different universe.

Tacos El Compita
2586 Imperial Avenue
San Diego, CA 92102