mmm-yoso – Page 397

Do you ever go back to restaurants? Latin Chef, Tsuruhashi, Asia Cafe, and Izakaya Sakura

A question posed in a recent email (thanks CVChow!), and of course the answer is a resounding yes! It’s just that I’m perhaps a little slower on “the trigger” with places I’ve already posted on. But once in a while I still take photos. But questions like this made me realize that I need to update my “rotation”, and I will do so in the upcoming weeks.

So here are some revisits, mostly photos…kind of what Uber OC Food Blogger Elmomonster would call a “photo super shoot”…in my case, it’s just a bunch of photos….

Even More Latin Chef:

**** Latin Chef has closed

**** Latin Chef has changed ownership and moved to Liberty Station

One of 3 restaurants I need to add to our rotation list. The Cebiche Pescado is a current obsession of the Missus:

She craves this once or twice a week, always finishing by sipping the Leche De Tigre (Tiger’s Milk) with a spoon.

Here’s a photo of the Tiradito:

Tiradito is, from what I’ve been told a Japanese influenced Peruvian raw fish dish. This version was made using the Aji Amarillo. The fish had been sliced into strips and slightly flattened with the blade of a knife. Hmmm, sounds really similar to some of the dishes a fairly well known Chef and Restaurant Owner named “Nobu” does. Nice, though not a refreshing as the Cebiche. BTW, did you know that the Sushi Bar in Lima that Nobu co-founded is still in business? It’s called Matsuei, and on our list of possible restaurants to visit for our trip to Peru later this year.

You can find previous posts on Latin Chef here and here.

Tsuruhashi, Again:

We’ve been eating there every other week or so. In fact, I need to revise my statement about the manager. From our second visit on, he’s been so very nice, and always comes by to chat or to say hello. In fact, as I left the other day, he stopped me, shook my hand, and in the very formal Japanese way, handed me his business card.

So here’s some other stuff!

The Prime Beef Tongue:

Pork Belly:

A current favorite of the Missus, the Prime Tongue w/Onion.

You only cook this baby on one side…

One of my favorite “cuts” is the Prime Skirt, it is also one of the most inexpensive at $5.25.

Though a tad more chewy than other cuts, it is still quite tender. The payoff is the nice beefy flavor.

Another one for our rotation, the original post can be found here.

Even more Asia Cafe:

**** Asia Cafe has closed

That doesn’t mean we still don’t visit some of our favorites. Here’s a few photos from Asia Cafe during a recent really fun meal with Ed from Yuma.

The Yum Asia:

Nem Khao:

With the full complement of Greens and Herbs.

The See Nam Tok:

As good as I remembered. Previous posts on Asia Cafe can be found here and here.

The $12 Lunch Bento from Izakaya Sakura:

So many posts on this place. Here’s a photo I had lingering around, Clayfu has a nice post.

You can read the Chowhound post here. It is a lot of food, almost too much for a workday lunch, if you know what I mean. I’ve heard complaints about the lunch not being very hot….methinks that person does not know what a “bento” lunch is all about. It’s a box lunch, whose history goes back to the 11th or 12th century. While digging around, I found a nice little post here. Other posts on Sakura can be found here, here, and here.

Finally, a bit of Saturday silliness:

Earlier this week, I was standing in line at the grocery check-out, and you know how some couples talk really loud, and sometimes you learn or hear a bit more than you really wanted. This young couple was in the midst of a conversation….

Young Lady: “I heard a joke that I really don’t understand….I think it’s really stupid, and not funny.”
Young Man: “What what is….”
YL: “Some of the guys were joking around, and said – Milk a bull, and make a friend for life…”
YM chokes and spits his gum out involuntarily: “Gasp…..”
YL: “What’s so funny…you can’t milk a bull!”
By now everyone in line is cracking up, the cashier is turning a nice red color.
YM: “Think about it, if you tried to milk a bull…..”
YL: “Hey, I’m not stupid, I know Bulls are male and you can’t milk them!”
YM: “Say, you tried to milk a bull?”
YL: “But you can’t milk a bull….”
YM, by now somewhat composed: “But if you really tried to, ahem, milk a bull…….”
YL: “That’s just dumb….”
YM, looking around at all the laughing people: “Must be a lot of dumb people in this line….”

Have a nice weekend…….

Portland: Pok Pok Whiskey Soda Lounge

June 20, 2007 mmm-yoso Portland, Oregon, Thai Restaurants, Travel

*** The Whiskey Soda Lounge has closed

Before our recent trip to Portland, there was not enough good things I could say about Pok Pok. And as time went by I became even more excited. You see, from the little "shed that could", the Whiskey Soda Lounge had evolved, with a more interesting and diverse menu(no worries…Pok Pok "to go" is still there). I could hardly wait. As I noted in my previous post, this was mainly a trip for my In-Laws, but the Missus and I made plans for at least one meal in each city just for us. And for us, this meant catching the #4 bus, and getting off on SE Division.

Knowing that the Whiskey Soda Lounge didn't accept reservations, we made sure to get there as early as possible. We saw the sign, and the path that traveled down a short cement path to the basement and the Whiskey Soda Lounge. It was quite interesting, the last time I visited this was just a ditch!

The tall gentleman met us at the little portable metal desk, and said simply, "this way", and walked us into the Whiskey Soda Lounge.

I liked the dark and "divey" interior which does play on the imagination, I could almost imagine being in a foreign land.

This is where we hit a bump in the road. I can understand the close proximity of the tables in the WSL. I mean, it is a basement. When we arrived, only 3 tables were occupied, and there were several booths against the back wall, each unoccupied. We were taken to what must be the second tiniest table in the restaurant, right in front of the window where you could see some of the cooking done in the yard. Because the booths were empty, the Missus asked if we could have one of the booths. The tall gentleman looked down at us, and crossing his hands said, "no, absolutely not, the booths are for parties of 3 or more." Which was fine by us…EXCEPT, that not 5 minutes later a couple walked in, and was seated. They asked to sit at the very booth that we had been denied, and the host told them, "ok, no problem!" Go figure…..the Missus, a bit perturbed told me, "okay, you got your restaurant…we're going to eat, and leave, A-S-A-P!" She obviously felt slighted, and didn't appreciate the Host's somewhat gruff attitude.

So off to the food. Of course we started with the Papaya "Pok Pok" and requested Blue Crab…oops, correction, we were told Salted Black Crab($7.50 + $2.50):

As good as I remembered, very balanced in flavor, a nice refreshing salty-sweet-sour in flavor. Still one of my favorite versions of this classic dish.

The Kung Op Woon Sen($14.00). We could watch this clay pot dish cooking over charcoal through the window.

A nice dish, at the bottom of this clay pot was a layer of pork belly, nice and slightly charred, and several very large shrimp, though very mild in flavor, cooked to perfection. The flavor of soy came through quite well.

I was very excited to see Cha Ca "La Vong" ($14.00)on the menu. This dish is one of those, "to have before I die dishes." Of course it would have to be at Cha Ca La Vong in Hanoi.

In retrospect, I should have probably ordered something else, perhaps the Pork Ribs or Chicken Wings. I did enjoy the dill and all the herbs, but I found the "tumeric scented" catfish to be very dry, and the version of nuoc mam cham tasted very weak. I had expected some Mam Tom – fermented shrimp paste to be provided, but should have known better. Some friends recently had their Mom make some Cha Ca for the Missus and I, and it is an amazingly good dish. I did notice that the Cha Ca is no longer on the menu at Pok Pok WSL.

Would I return to Pok Pok? Of course, I think the food here is quite good. Though it'll probably be a solo visit. It seems that Andy Ricker's hard work has paid off, I found out courtesy of Guilty Carnivore, that The Oregonian has named Pok Pok it's restaurant of the year.

Pok Pok
3226 SE Division St.
Portland, OR 97202

You know, I think that what happened to us at Pok Pok was magnified, simply because of how nice people were in Portland. Case in point, we were waiting for our cab to Union Station from the Embassy Suites. It was raining pretty hard, and we had been waiting for about 15 minutes. Before you knew it, the Shuttle Van for the Embassy Suites pulls up, and the nice Bellman comes out and tells me, "we're going to take you to Union Station, your cab is taking too long!" Talk about service!

Return to Vien Dong III – Part 2 Following Up

June 19, 2007 mmm-yoso Markets & Grocers

*** Vien Dong Market is now Thuan Phat Supermarket. And updated post can be found here.

I know that those of you who commented on the first part of this post have been wondering when I'd get around to doing the follow-up. Following the initial email from Daniel, I made several visits to Vien Dong, research I guess you could say.

Daniel provided a "list" of several key improvements, and I thought I'd verify them.

"The pungency factor is no longer a factor"

This one was strange. Each time I entered the market, there was the standard issue smell, not quite as strong as before, but it was there. But strangely enough, as I walked toward the meat department the smell would dissipate, growing more and more faint. Each visit was during a different time of the day…mornings are always the best, but there it was, the slight meaty-fishy smell. But several steps later, it was gone.

I don't know if my sense of smell made an adjustment, or if there was an environmental or other reason for this. One thing I did notice was that the cashier area is much brighter, and there's a feeling of "space".

Raised our ceiling added skylights and brighter energy efficient lighting

I'm wondering if the raised ceiling has in some way contributed to the pungency issue. Perhaps all of the smells collect in one spot. Still, on my 4 visits it was not nearly as bad as before.

Renovated the seafood department with newer more accessible tanks and freezers.

This one is quite obvious.

But there was one thing I wanted to check, what was in those vats. I was pretty impressed, the water is well circulated, and very clean. Usually most live seafood lives in poorly circulated, murky, sometimes filthy water. As you can see this wasn't the case.

Expanded produce department to include wider variety and volume of produce

I always thought of the produce department at Vien Dong to be quite good, though somewhat cramped and claustrophobic. I can't even begin to tell you the number of times I've been rapped in the ankles or almost run over by durian laden shopping carts pushed by little old ladies…..

Now the produce department has been spread out a bit, and the aisles are a bit wider, and it seems that the department has been brightened up a bit as well.

And then there's my favorite part….

Resurrected the food to go + deli and bakery area

I know it's really just steam table stuff, but you can't beat the prices (2 items and a starch – $3.50, 3 items and a starch – $4.50). And sometimes there some pretty good stuff to be had.

I'm partial to the fried chicken…it's not bad.

It's nice to get a hearty meal for the price of a burrito….

Thanks for restoring my faith in customer service, Daniel!

One last thing

Daniel sent me the URL for a website Originalpho.com that is being developed by Daniel's Company. Usually, I don't do stuff like this, but because Daniel was generous enough to let me reprint his email in my earlier post, this was the least I could do. So check it out, you can request free samples. And here's something interesting. Our very own Cathy actually requested some samples…..

And in her own words:

You sent me the *very nice* letter from Dan, dated April 28, on Sunday April 29, where he mentioned www.originalpho.com to request product samples, and I immediately checked it out. I know companies send out samples because they want you to try and buy. Good business.

I got to choose a flavor (savory chicken, traditional beef, garden vegetable and succulent seafood). I was torn, thinking I would get a chance to try one small "Cup O' Pho" (as in the photograph) and wasn't sure if I shoudl play it safe with vegetable or go for what I know- beef. I expected one of those Styrofoam "Cup O's" to show up someday in the mail. I know whenever I request a product sample, I end up forgetting about it and eventually, months later, it shows up and I am pleasantly surprised.

You can see from the photo that it was sent on April 30 (I requested it Sunday night) and I got the whole pack, like they sell in the store- 6 cups, 70 gram cups. WOW! I certainly did not expect that much at once. It was a *very* pleasant surprise.

The Mister and I got to try the Cup O' Pho in the plain, unadorned sense- eating it as it came from the packaging (after adding the boiling water to cook the noodles, of course)…and then following the recommended add ins- add 1.5 ounces beef, 0.5 ounce bean sprouts, and red onion with the 'optional' (like it is optional) add ins of lime wedges, fresh chilies, cilantro and basil.

I combined two of the cups/ingredients and the add ins from home and made a very nice meal for the two of us one night. (There is a beef bullion-ish seasoning packet; a dried vegetable packet with garlic/onion/chervil/carrot and a spicy oil packet -shallot oil, soy bean oil, garlic and onion).

The foldable fork is helpful and I always save them from wherever I get them. You never know. I have chopsticks and foldable forks in my car side doors at all times. (really)

I sent Daniel a follow-up email asking him if Originalpho.com really did always send out a 6 pack of samples, and here's his reply:

We plan to slowly introduce more products on the internet and this is sort of our first run at it. We are able to ship very quickly because we've setup a good shipping operation out of our warehouse and are able to ship very inexpensively to commercial addresses. We think it makes sense to send out 6 pack samples because they are already well packaged for shipping and are light weight. We also hope that people will share them, especially come lunch/snack time in the work place, and that people will really understand first hand how convenient and tasty they can be.

So all you instant noodle fans – Free Pho!!!

Thai Style Green Papaya Salad

June 14, 2007 mmm-yoso Recipes

It’s been a long day……so just a short post for tonight!

Lately, it seems that the Missus can’t get enough Papaya Salad, She has consumed the equivalent of 5 large green papayas over the last 2 weeks, sometimes having Papaya Salad twice a day!

This means that the "heavy artillery", our large mortar and pestle gets put to good use. The recipe itself is quite easy, and based on the recipe in David Thompson’s wonderful book Thai Food. I’ve varied the ingredients somewhat, mainly because the Missus and I have very different tastes when it comes to Papaya Salad. The Missus likes a lot of lime and fish sauce, and less sweet, with a ton of long beans. I enjoy mine a bit sweeter, with pungent garlic overtones and lots of tomato. Once you make it you’ll be able to adjust the recipe for your taste quite easily. Oh, and watch those Thai Bird Chilies, they vary from batch to batch! Oh yes, and on shredding the Papaya…the Missus insisted that my mandolin did not adequately shred the papaya, so I ended up going to the local Vietnamese Market and picked up a $1.99 plastic papaya shredder. She swears that She can tell the difference!

Green Papaya Salad

1-4 Cloves Garlic
2-4 Thai Bird Chilies
1 Tb Roasted Peanuts
2 Tb Dried Shrimp
2 Quarter Slices Lime
8-10 Cherry Tomatoes Cut in Half
4 Long Beans(aka Chinese Long Beans) Cut into 1/2" Lengths
3 Cups Shredded Green Papaya
1-3 Tb Palm Sugar
Juice of 1/2 lime(or more)
2-4 Tb Fish Sauce(we use Tiparos)

Pound Garlic, Chilies, Palm Sugar(works better for us this way) in a mortar.

Add peanuts and shrimp, and pound into a very coarse "paste".

Add lime and mash. Add tomato and long beans and pound gently until bruised.

Add fish sauce and lime juice and mix. Taste, and adjust seasonings.

Serve with cabbage wedges.

So easy!!!!

For me the ingredient that "makes" this Papaya Salad "tick" is the Palm Sugar. I think it adds a more complex sweetness to the dish.

It could be just me…….

Palm Sugar can be really hard like rock, and a bit difficult to separate and portion. But David Thompson, and the one and only Chez Pim have solved that problem.

Hinh Ky Mi Gia

June 13, 2007 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Vietnamese Restaurants

**** Hinh Ky Mi Gia is no longer

Want to meet the Missus’s favorite “duck” of the moment? Well, “hang”(like a roast duck) in there……

Hinh Ky Mi Gia is located in the same strip mall as Pho Ca Dao, right next to World Foods Supermarket on El Cajon Boulevard. In fact it’s kinda tucked away in a corner and pretty easy to miss.

As you can tell by the sign, this used to be an outpost of Tan Ky Mi Gia. Apparently an ownership change occurred back in October….I’m sure there’s an interesting story behind this! This is a bare bones Mom and Pop operation, as you can see it’s now June, and the Tan Ky Mi Gia sign still hasn’t been replaced. The interior of the restaurant is bright and pretty clean, and though we’ve never seen the place packed, there always seem to be at least a few tables occupied, and a stream of take-out orders.

We first visited Hinh Ky a few weeks back, when it was still unseasonably cool for May. I was in the mood for some Egg Noodle Soup, and as you can tell by the name (Mi = Egg Noodle), this is one of those Chinese Vietnamese Soup joints. Which usually means decent portions at low prices…..

As we grabbed a seat, the Missus noticed that several older gentlemen were all having the same thing. With typical aplomb, the Missus asked the Owner, a really nice guy, “what are they eating?” He pointed out the dish on the menu….and this is what She got, the Egg Noodle Soup with Roasted Duck ($5.50):

Well that’s the soup portion, nice medium broth, not overly salty, with a mild hint of seafood (i.e. slight almost shrimp like flavor). The noodles were serviceable, nice and crunchy, but will get slightly softer as time passes…so the Missus’s solution? “You have to eat faster if you want crunchy…o-KAY!!!”

Want to meet the Missus’s latest duck obsession? This is the duck that came with the noodles:

Not the most beautiful roast duck, the skin perhaps not as crisp as I would like. But, man this duck had some flavor! It was also doused with a good amount of “drippings” making it extra moist. The flavors of five spice were very “upfront”, and the fat to meat ratio was good. I don’t know if they make this inhouse, but whomever makes it sure knows what they’re doing. This was a very pleasant surprise, especially for less than 6 bucks.

I decided to order the Beef Sate Egg Noodle Soup($5):

When this bowl hit the table, I thought this was going to be really good. It wasn’t bad, but very weak in flavor, and not the least bit spicy. The beef was nice and soft, and had a decent flavor, but this was overshadowed by the duck.

I’ve detailed the Missus’s “obsessions” in an earlier post, so in typical fashion we were back a few days later.

This time I tried the Dumpling and Won Ton Egg Noodle Soup($4.75):

The broth was the same as the Duck Noodle soup on the previous visit, the Char Siu had good flavor and was pretty tender. The dumpling and won tons were not as good, I’m used to dense dumplings in Mi Gia restaurants, but these were extra hard, and lacked flavor. Still, I find it very difficult to complain about a good sized bowl of noodle soup for under 5 bucks…..

This time the Missus ordered one of the “most expensive” items on the menu. The Roast Duck on Rice ($6).

Along with the nice plate of duck on fragrant jasmine rice, and little bowl of “broth”(same as the noodle soup) arrived. And a few seconds later, a bowl of duck drippings with lily buds. The Missus enjoyed this, to the last bite…to the very last bite, I’m talking about every bite. In other words, I never had a shot at it. She did tell me it was good…….let’s see, “good”, “wife”, “duck”, all very nice four letter words, but believe me I could add a few four letter words of my own!

So on to our next (yet another!) visit. The Missus had Her Duck on rice, which She said was not quite as good as on previous visits(so I actually got to have some), but also asked the Gentleman if we could just have a side order of the Five Flavor Duck. By this time he was used to seeing us, so he smiled and said, “yes, yes, anything you like, we make for you……..”

This was just ok, basically a soy sauce duck, nothing really special. Lacks the rich flavor of the Roast Duck.

I ordered the Beef Stew Rice ($5.75), which was a nice bowl of Beef Stew.

As Beef Stew goes this was just okay, I thought the flavor of the stew was very mild and lacked “richness”, though the beef was soft. The generous amount of tendon was just a tad too hard. It was still a good amount of food.

So on our most recent visit(still with me out there???), the Missus had Her Roast Duck Egg Noodle Soup, but I had to try something new, and decided on the Pork Rib Egg Noodle Soup($5):

I really enjoyed the broth, flavored with tomato, beef stew seasoning, and colored by annatto oil. The broth also had a mild touch of spice. The pork ribs looked kind of strange, very pale, and I expected the ribs to be tough, but they were pretty soft. The ribs did not have a great deal of flavor though. The shrimp, were well, shrimp in soup…….

In case you were wondering what the Missus’s strategy is: “In these types of Asian restaurants, I look to see what the older men are eating” Why, you may ask? She will look directly at me and say, “most times, older men are losing their sense of taste, and will order stuff with lot’s of flavor……just like you, heee-heeee-heee……”

So our suggestion? Try out the roast Duck here, I don’t think it’s for everybody, because the flavor can be on the strong side, and it’s the fatty drippings that really contribute much of the flavor, but the Missus loves it. This is a real Mom and Pop shop, run by a very nice couple, there are times when a Young Lady who I assume is their daughter very, very, reluctantly helps out. It cracks us up. The Ladies in the kitchen are also very nice. Once one of them came out to tell us they were out of something and apologized! What can I say about the prices…………

Hinh Ky Mi Gia(The business card I have says Hing Ky Mi Gia)
5237 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA 92115

Open Daily – 8am-8pm

This story always “quacks” me up:

The Missus actually used to believed that ducks naturally had the roast duck five-spice flavor. Really! Because that was the only way She had ever had duck, Chinese Roast Duck or Peking Duck, so She thought that all ducks tasted that way! After having duck in a “European” restaurant, She still believed that most ducks tasted like roast duck. So what was the difference? She told me “must be because it’s free range!!!” he-he-he

I hope everyone is having a great week!

Sushi Time

June 10, 2007 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants, Sushi and Sashimi

**** Sushi Time has closed

A few months back, I was having some sushi, and since eating at the sushi bar is very much a "social" activity, the nice gentleman to my left struck up a conversation. As with many of my conversations, the subject ended up being steered toward food (If anything, I'm consistent), and in particular, sushi. Toward the end of the conversation, he leaned toward me, and in the most conspiratorial tone, started whispering the name of "his" favorite sushi bar. Was it Ota? Maybe Shirahama? Or Sakura? The conversation went something like this:

"Sushi…..in Lemon Grove, huh?"
"Yeah, it's my go-to place in East County for sushi…."
"What's the name of the place?"
"It's called Sushi Time, I know, I know, don't let the name fool you"
"Really? Sushi Time, in Lemon Grove…."

And so, a few months later, here I was on the corner of Federal Boulevard and College Avenue. I guess it was sushi time…

I had seen this place before when visiting a nearby taco shop, but never, ever, thought I'd be eating here. I entered the dark restaurant which was pretty busy, and quickly noticed 2 things; first, I was the only Asian customer in the entire restaurant, and number two, there was the ubiquitous sheets of colored paper with names of various "rolls" taped across the back of the sushi bar……

I found a seat before two of the Itamae working, and started up a conversation with the young man. I was given a check-off sheet for sushi, SOP in most of these type of places, but decided to ask and see what was "good" this evening.

Me: "So what's good today?"
Young Itamae: Looks at me, and after taking a brief pause, "What do you eat?"
Me: "I eat anything…."
Young Itamae: Shrugs his shoulders, and gives me a small grin, "Well, we have most everything on the menu…"
Me: "Toro?"
Young Itamae: "Oh sorry, no toro…."

Somewhat nonplussed and realizing I was going nowhere, I did strategy two, and bought the Itamae some beer. Which made things quite friendly all around. I never did find out what "was good", but I did find out that the two really nice "kids"(Joe from the Valley, and Sho-go from Okinawa) were both students at San Diego State. The older gentleman was the Owner, but during my visits I never had the chance to sit in front of Him, though we had a nice conversation. It seems that he's also from Okinawa, and knew both Jou(former Owner of Sushi Ishikawa) and Kuni (former Owner of Katzra).

So I placed an order "to start" and after watching about two dozen rolls go by, the first part of my order was handed to me. And I was in shock…

It's hard to discern from the photo, but these were the largest nigiri I've ever had, in both the amount of fish, and rice…..

The Hamachi "Toro"($5.95) was quite good, creamy, with nice fat.

A far cry from the amazing Buri Toro I once had, but I was quite pleased. Much better than expected.

The Albacore "Toro"($5.95) was not quite as good, a bit on the stringy-tough side.

I'm not a big fan of Sriracha on nigiri, and made a mental note to ask to have it left off next time.

I'd asked for Hirame (Flounder) but they were out. By this time, the Young Itamae making my sushi suggested something called "white tuna"($4.95) on the menu. Now, I'm in the habit of calling Albacore "Shiro Maguro"(White Tuna), but they already had Albacore on the menu. This is what arrived:

After a bit of questioning, Joe explained that this was Escolar. Now I've had Escolar cooked, but never raw. Also, Escolar is banned in Japan, why, you may ask? Well, you can read about it here. Looks a lot like Chilean Sea Bass, but it didn't have much flavor, and I could tell that this was "saku" (cut and refrozen) fish. It had that mushy-watery texture of "saku" fish. If you're wondering, I had no side effects, even though Sam later told me, "Kirk-san do not eat that fish, people die from eating it!"(I think a bit over dramatic on his part) It seems that after consuming Escolar a percentage of people suffer from Keriorrhoea, nuff said, you can read about it yourself, after all this is a food blog, so let's get back to the food.

By this time, I was pretty full from the jumbo nigiri, but still had one more item coming. The Amaebi:

This was fine, not overly sweet, but okay. The Atama(deep fried shrimp heads) were a bit too hard and chewy.

By his time, I had hit the wall, I was totally stuffed. I was still a bit surprised at the size of the Nigiri. Thinking that perhaps I got preferential treatment because of the "beer", I asked him if the size of the nigiri (I was the only person who I saw eating Nigiri that whole evening) was the norm. He replied that this was the "normal" sized nigiri sushi. The sushi was fine for neighborhood sushi. As you can tell, the cutting of the fish was not done with an immense amount of skill, but the rice was uniform in size.

When I returned home and downloaded my photos, realized that it was hard to determine the size of the nigiri. That when I decided to make another visit to Sushi Time…more research, you could say! This time it was on a Friday night, and the place was fairly busy, I could see various rolls practically flying out to hungry patrons sitting in the dining area. I managed to grab a seat in the exact same spot as my previous visit.

So this time, I ordered with some caution. And started with some Chu-Toro, the piece of fatty tuna toward the end of the belly. It's not quite as fatty or rich as O-Toro, but usually good nonetheless.

This was not bad, I've had better, and I've had worse. It pretty low in the fat department, but I was satisfied. I also got the last of it. I can see how that happened, thought these were not as large as the nigiri on my last visit, it was still quite large, and you can't get too many nigiri from one piece.

I tried to figure out a way to communicate the size…I think a comparison to my index finger came out the best:

Or maybe my cellphone(this was the smaller of the two pieces)

This time they had Hirame($4.50), but I forgot to tell them to not put on the Sriracha:

The fish was fresh, firm without being too tough and chewy.

Albacore($4.50):

Just so-so.

As before the Hamachi "Toro" was the best item of the night.

When you think about it, Sushi Time does a pretty good job for a place that does everything from Donburi to Teriyaki to Sushi. The clientle is as diverse as the menu. The service I received was very nice, even though the poor Itamae were slammed…I've never seen so many sushi rolls in my life. Personally, I'm not a big fan of super-sized sushi, preferring the perfect bite, and quality over quantity, but Sushi Time does a pretty good job, and the fish varied from decent to good. Plus, Sho-go and Joe were both really nice guys.

Sushi Time
6950 Federal Blvd
Lemon Grove, California 91945

St. Spyridon’s Greek Festival 2007

June 8, 2007 mmm-yoso Festivals & Events, Greek Food

In keeping with my attempt to be as up to date as possible, I sacrificed my precious….ummm, precious….ummm… aww forget about it! If you’ve been checking out mmm-yoso over the last two years, you’d know that we almost never miss St. Spyridon’s Greek Festival. So to spare you, you can read about it 2005 here, and 2006 here.

But for us, this year was a bit different. The Missus had to work the entire weekend, so I was on my own. Luckily for me, I found that this year St. Spyridon’s started on Friday, and to kick things off had what they called the "TGIF" which stood for ‘Thank Greeks it’s Friday’. For me it was a double bonus. Not only was admission waived on Friday, but I felt better knowing that I’m not the only person in the world who spends his/her time formulating bad puns!

As with every year, there’s the "dining room" with ala carte items presented in a more "refined" environment.

But it’s always the wonderful fragrances outside that draw me in….

But in case you need more info, the "menu" is available here.

This year, I felt a bit out of place, since it was a solo visit, and the Missus was working……as they say "guilt, it’s the gift that keeps on giving" or something like that. And yes, it’s true, I felt guilty being here without Her. Which I’ve just realized can turn out to be rather rewarding for Her in the long run…. take the long line at the "Taverna" which is where we usually get our food.

I think She’ll be rather happy with what I got…

And of course there’s the pastries. On this day there was only the courtyard line, but everyone was smiling and having a good time.

And hopefully, I’ve done a good job for the Missus in absentia…what do you think?

Here’s my dinner for the evening, I didn’t recall a booth selling Souvlaki(2 for $5) and Fried Calamari($5) last time. So I decided to check it out.

The Calamari was nice and hot when I got it, and the seasoned breadcrumbs added some nice flavor. I swear that there some "cheese" going on in there….there was a bit of "stringy-milkiness" going on. But maybe I was just hallucinating????

Check out the meat…two people asked me if it was "beef"…but it’s chicken souvlaki, very mildly seasoned, but moist. This was decent chicken on a stick. You gotta remember, it festival food!

Here’s some of the other "stuff"….

Just so you’re prepared for all the pastries, here’re the prices:

Why do I enjoy this festival? Other than the food and the upbeat atmosphere, St. Spyridon does a great job on logistics, like traffic control and free parking and shuttle service (At Roosevelt Jr HS – Upas and Richmond St), plus everyone has always been very nice to us. Most of the other info can be found on this banner:

St. Spyridon Greek Orthodox Church’s Greek Festival
3655 Park Boulevard
San Diego, CA 92103

Portland: Voodoo Doughnuts, Stumptown Coffee, and other “stuff”

June 5, 2007 mmm-yoso Caffeine Fix, Desserts, Portland, Oregon, Travel

For people who don’t like to eat in restaurants, the In-Laws sure did enjoy the breakfast buffets at the Embassy Suites. I on the other had other things in mind. And though several people mentioned that the location of the Embassy Suites in Downtown Portland was right on the "edge" of the more "scary" part of Downtown Portland, we had no problems. In fact I loved that we were just a block away from two of my favorite places in Portland.

The first being Voodoo Doughnuts.

This small and dark little doughnut shop with the edgy-punk look makes up some pretty good doughnuts.

And though there are many "fun" and offbeat names….stuff like the "Triple Chocolate Penetration", the "Arnold Palmer", and the ah..ahem, "Cock-n-Balls", being the unhip and boring Guy that I am…I just order the Old Fashioned Glazed. Now the Missus needs to undergo some serious Krispy Kreme deprogramming, She found the doughnut too light and fluffy, and gasp"…. old fashioned", but not so bad that She was able to hold off taking a bite until I took a photo.

As you can see it is good stuff! Reminds me of the doughnuts we used to get at this little renegade doughnut shop in Honolulu Chinatown. The shop located in a tiny doorway would only open from midnight to about 6 am, and made some great doughnuts.

Voodoo Doughnut
22 Sw 3rd Ave
Portland, OR 97204

It was my plan to take my doughnut down the street and grab a cup o’ joe from my favorite coffee shop in Portland(the doughnut never made it):

Stumptown Coffee Roasters.

Now from what I understand Stumptown hand roasts all their own coffee beans in small batches. Just watching the Baristas hard at work, you can tell they’re pros.

And though the crew is rather "detached" and the room cavernous(better for the afternoon DJ, I guess) and loud. The coffee is always rich and smooth. All three cups I had there were excellent. The Missus even thought the coffee was "too smooth", and lacked character….sounds like She needs some Starbucks deprogramming as well!

Stumptown Coffee Roasters
128 Sw 3rd Ave
Portland, OR 97204

After breakfast we met up and walked the 2-3 blocks to the Portland Saturday Market, which I’ve posted on before , so I thought I’d just do a few photos.

Now the In-Laws are not big on lunch, so I managed to sneak in a "snack" from this booth:

I ordered some Pierogies($4.75). You know me and dumplings! A friend’s Mom used to always make us fresh pierogies when she visited, and boy did I love them! These however, were not that good.

The toppings were much better than the pierogies. The potatoes were really dry. But still this was more than enough carbs to keep me going.

You see, the day was just beginning. With the help of FOY ("friend of yoso") Guilty Carnivore(thanks, man!), I was able to plan our day to the last detail. Some timing was involved, you see, even though the Max Light Rail ran every few minutes to Washington Park, the Washington Park Shuttle wasn’t beginning service until later in the month. So we had to coordinate our arrival with Route 63, or wait up to an hour between buses. As it happened we did well, and made to our destination…..first

The International Rose Test Garden.

And though we were a bit early in the season, and many of the roses weren’t in bloom, we still enjoyed the beauty of it all.

We also made time for the Portland Japanese Garden which is right across the street, also worth a visit.

I was surprised at how the photos turned out from my little ultracompact camera……

We managed to catch the Bus back to downtown and after getting the In-Laws settled and a short break went out for dinner……

To Be Continued!

Portland: More Foodcarts, Mio Gelato, and Kell’s Irish Restaurant & Pub

June 3, 2007 mmm-yoso Desserts, Indian Restaurants, Portland, Oregon, Pubs and Pub Grub, Thai Restaurants

When I asked my In-Laws where they wanted to visit on this trip to the Mainland, they said Seattle. They also said they wanted to go by train……. Which was no problem really, I've taken Amtrak's Coast Starlight several times, though my trips have always been from Seattle to LA. So what we did was send off the In-Laws on Amtrak, and leave on a flight the next morning since the Coast Starlight takes about 36 hours to reach Portland. We arrived a bit early, and got to our hotel at about 1pm. Since the standard check-in time is 3pm, I thought we'd check our luggage, get a bite to eat, and stretch our legs a bit. When we arrived I went to the Bellman and asked to check my bags. In the typical Portland manner, he told me, "that would be fine, but why don't you just check at the front desk, your room might be ready." And to my surprise our 2 bedroom suite was ready. Seems like my lucky day. After freshening up a bit, we were starved, and just wanted something quick to eat…and I knew just the place!

Yep, we headed to the food carts that line SW 5th Avenue. Now I had told the Missus about these food carts, and she saw my photos and my previous post, but there's nothing quite like being there yourself. The only problem was deciding what to get…..

The Missus settled on some Indian Food, not from the New Taste of India…

But from the "Real" Taste of India a few carts down. Talk about competition!

Now this food cart had a 9th anniversary special going on….some chicken-something or other, but the Missus was in the mood for lamb, and ordered the Lamb Saagwala, cubes of lamb cooked in a spinach, garlic, and ginger sauce/stew($7.00).

The portion size was quite large, and we weren't able to finish it. There was an abundance of well prepared and moist lamb. Didn't quite know what to expect, and this was better than what I had anticipated. I thought that the pieces of ginger were too large and disrupted my tastebuds at inopportune times, but the Missus loved it! In fact, She told me it was Her best meal in Portland….She was kidding….I think…….

In the midst of ordering paralysis, I decided to grab something from this Food Cart, called Thai Sky(????):

Since we had plans for a nice dinner, I decided on the Daily Special, Pad Kee Mao(Drunken Noodles) with Tofu($5.00):

I ordered this at medium heat, and it was a bit hotter than what I consider medium. The noodles were done well, they where a nice al dente. The flavor was interesting, I'm used to Pad Kee Mao that's had a bit of a sweet flavor, this version just had a mild soy(not fish sauce) flavor. Still, it did the job, which was to hold me over until dinner.

There's a ton of construction on 5th and 6th avenues for a new Max rail line called Green Line which will connect Portland State University to Union Station. So signs like the one on the right are on Evey corner listing the businesses. Did I mention that I love the public transportation system in Portland?

At about this time the Missus got a call from Her Mom telling Her that their train had been delayed about 2 hours. so we decided to take a walk around Portland. And after doing a bit of window shopping, the Missus told me that She needed "something sweet". Which was no problem since we were just up the street from Mio Gelato.

This coffeeshopish looking Gelato joint had always been full everytime I passed it on my last trip to Portland, so I figured it must be worth a try. The Missus did the ordering, so we don't remember the prices. But She got one scoop of Grapefruit, and one scoop of Mango.

Not being much of a "sweets" person, I found the Grapefruit to be very much to my liking ( all credit to the Missus here). Refreshing and palate cleansing, it was very nice. Both the Missus (who has a sweet tooth) and I found the mango gelato to be overly sweet and rich, which overpowered any mango flavor.

Still, I can see why this place is very popular.

**** Mio Gelato has closed

Mio Gelato
25 NW 11th Ave
Portland, OR 97209

As we made our way back to the hotel, the Missus received another call from Her Mom saying that the train is further delayed…bummer! And though the Missus's Parents were not as late as we thought, by the time we got them settled, and something to eat (they have an aversion to eating in restaurants), we were very tired. So with some reluctance we crossed Biwa off our list, and walked on over to Kell's 2 blocks away.

Having been to Kell's in Seattle, I knew more or less what to expect, and really won't go into details here. Though as always, the Missus asked if they had some rice for Her Irish Stew(maybe one of these days they will) which was pretty good. And She enjoyed the soda bread.

Everyone was ordering sandwiches and burgers, but I ordered the Fish and Chips which were pretty bad. The fish dry and flavorless, and the chips are basic "industrial" fries.

Still, that draft Boddington's was nice, not overly chilled, but a perfect "cool", nice and mildly creamy, with a sweet finish. After a sip, the Missus decided that She wanted the Boddington's, so I ordered a Harp, which I thought would be too bitter for Her, but after a sip She decided that "this" was Her beer. So I finished with a draft Guinness, which I know the Missus won't touch. Strangely, it tasted over carbonated and very dull in flavor. Oh well, we were still in Portland, and had another whole day ahead of us!

Kell's Irish Restaurant & Pub
112 Sw 2nd Ave
Portland, OR 97204

Postscript: The Kindness of Portland Part 1

You know, I've written about the sincere kindness of the people of Portland before. But still, I'm always surprised…….

We were taking a break at Pioneer Courthouse Square, just having a seat to rest our feet a bit. And we noticed amongst all the construction, there seemed to be a major "to do" being set-up.

We were wondering what this event was. Just about that time, a Police Officer happened to walk past, and the Missus decided to ask him. Now usually we'd get a gruff "I don't know", or some distracted answer…. But this Gentleman replied; "I'm just on duty, so let me find out, I'll be right back…" Which made me feel really bad, I didn't want to be taking up His time. A few minutes later, He's walking back to us, and is talking on a cellphone. As he walks up to us, we can overhear that he's asking someone our question! Now, I'm really feeling guilty, since I'm sure he has more important things to do….. By the time he reached us, I could tell that he'd made a few calls, and he explained to us, what this was. Funny thing is, neither the Missus nor I can remember what event this was. But we sure remember that police officer! As I tried to mutter an apology for taking up his precious time, he smiled and told me, "well, you may be the first person who asks me what is going on here, but you probably won't be the last. So I better know what's happening." As he left, he introduced Himself and shook our hands….. So here's to you Officer Thompson! You're a great ambassador for the City of Portland!

15th Annual City Heights International Village Celebration

June 2, 2007 mmm-yoso Festivals & Events

I thought I’d do this post as early as possible, so if you do read it today (June 2, 2007) you’ll still have time to make on over to the 15th Annual City Heights International Village Celebration. The event is put on for the racially diverse community of City Heights by the City Heights Community Development Corporation. This year the festival has moved from University Ave to City Heights Urban Village Park located on the corner of Fairmount Avenue and Wrightman Avenue.

And though this year, the "May Grey" has turned into the "June Gloom", the festival was still as crowded as ever.

As always, the fair hosts a very large career fair and also provides health screenings, as well as other health related information.

060207_025

And as always there is a "Kid-Zone" with rides and other games for children.

But of course, this is a food blog……and even though I thought this year’s offerings, food-wise were not as abundant, or diverse as last year’s, there was enough to keep one in a constant state of needing a nap.

If you remember last year’s post, I was torn when faced with this……

The "hungry me" on one shoulder told me to "get it! How often do you eat TJ-style hot dogs…." The "responsible me" on the other shoulder said; "come on, can’t you hear your arteries screaming for mercy…you’re killing me, literally!"

So what to do….. Well, I needed to make a closer investigation…..

Which in retrospect was a big mistake….because you know which "me" won out!!!!

So this is the way I rationalized it. Last year "responsible me" won out, so this year, in the spirit of giving equal time…..

So next year, it probably back to "responsible me"….or maybe not. The bacon wrapped hot dog($4), was nice and moist, the crisp bacon wrapping the dog added good flavor(the Missus specifically chose a dog with an abundance of crisp bacon), and the onions, jalapenos, and peppers added some nice flavor. We did draw the line on the mayo though….

We hurried home and I kinda wrote this in a rush, so you’ll still have time to make it since the Fair runs until 6pm.

The favorite photo of the day?

San Diego’s Finest, at their finest. Seems like everyone enjoys a good fair!

You can find last year’s post here.

15th Annual City Heights International Village Celebration
Saturday, June 2, 2007
10am-6pm
Location: City Heights Urban Village Park