mmm-yoso – Page 424

Jasmine – Never Get Dim Sum When You’re Angry

November 3, 2005 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Dim Sum

Totally ticked off (ok, we were PO’d), having just endured our experience at Lucky Star. We were determined to get some Dim Sum, even if someone died (not us) in the process. Having dealt with that terrible experience we were now totally drawn into the web of total obsession. We decided to take a chance on Jasmine. We had not been to Jasmine in nearly 4 years; the main reason being the terrible service we had experienced there on two previous visits. In retrospect; "what the heck were we thinking?" I guess we were spoiling for a fight. We rolled into Jasmine at about 1145, I expected a wait, but apparently our timing was perfect. We were seated immediately, but the place was pretty much full.

We were served almost immediately, and in a minute, tea and ice water were on our table. And the roasted meat cart rolled by; so we got some roast duck:

The Missus ate a piece and told me how tasteless this was. So I ate a piece, and man, it was soooo salty! The Missus didn’t believe, and grabbed another piece; bit into it, and made the ultimate "lemon face". Apparently, sauce is poured over the duck. So the top portion is bland, but the bottom pieces were like a salt lick.

The Cheong Fun was up next:

Man the shrimp were huge in this. But the noodles were really too thick and gummy.

We also got some Chau Zhou Dumplings:

The fillings were pretty tasty with bamboo shoots, water chestnut and peanuts. Though I’m used to having these with dried shrimp in them. The wrappers were not made real well, they stuck to everything, so the dumpling just tore apart, with the fillings going everywhere except it’s designated destination.

The next cart up had Har Gow and other shrimp dumplings:

Both of these had huge shrimp in them.

But as you can see, the wrappers were a problem, the first one was rather dry, and the second was overly sticky, cracking, and the dumpling fell apart. Either they were not prepared well, or not cooked well.

But also on this cart was the seafood wrapped in cabbage. This was probably the best dish of the day. Tender and moist fish, a piece of "Krab", and Pork wrapped in a piece of Napa Cabbage, topped with Egg, and steamed in chicken broth. All items were cooked to perfection. In addition, you could distinctly taste every ingredient. Delici-yoso! About this time the "Jook" cart came by and we got some Congee with Pork and Preserved Egg, this was excellent as well! (Sorry no photo) Even though it looked too thick, it was fairly loose, with a nice rich and balanced flavor.

I was still a bit hungry, and so when the Oysters passed by we quickly got them:

These oyster were topped with Black Bean sauce, green onions, red chili, and steamed. Nice and beany, and a bit salty, not over-cooked as is the tendency with these. I was in "brine" heaven, though I enjoyed them more then the Missus. The saltiness almost reminded me of a mild caviar in it’s briny saltiness. I enjoyed the oysters.

At this point we hadn’t gotten any of our "usual suspects" except for the Cheong Fun. So, based on previous experience, would I push my luck? Well I did, and asked one of the Waiters if he could get us the Glutinous Rice wrapped in Lotus Leaf. This was met with a stoic, unemotional nod. But within a minute it was delivered to our table:

I thought this tasted pretty darn good and balanced. The Missus believed it was just average. That kind of summed up our experience, a real "mixed bag".

But best of all, I thought the service was good. The Gals pushing the carts were very friendly and helpful, and they even smiled! So did the Gal who served us the tea, and made sure that our water was always filled. The Guys are a bit Stoic, though very professional. Oh, and we finished everything, except the god awful duck. Yes, the two of us polished off almost everything with ease. The total bill came out to $43.91, if I remember, small plates are prices at $2.20, Medium – $3.20, Large – $3.60, X-Large $4.20, and of course specials are priced at 6 bucks and up.

Oh, by the way, the Missus wasn’t done. She needed "something sweet to finish up the meal." So while I waited for the bill she exited Jasmine and walked next door to the take-out Jasmine Express, and she bought a good variety of goodies:

Don’t ask me how these tasted. They made my teeth hurt just looking at them. But she seemed to enjoy them.

Jasmine Seafood Restaurant
4609 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

K Sandwiches – What a Difference 2 Months Makes

November 2, 2005 mmm-yoso Banh Mi, Sandwiches, Vietnamese Restaurants

Way back in July, I posted on the impending opening of K Sandwiches. On August 25th, this shop on the corner of Mesa College and Linda Vista road finally opened. Driving by, I could not believe the amount of people standing in line for Banh Mi. My Buddy Jack, mentioned something like a 30 minute wait, for Banh Mi!?! So we waited a week, and finally made our way there during the first week of September.

With it’s bright facade, and menu offerings, ‘K’ seems to have alot in common with the Lee’s Sandwiches chain that is slowly making it’s way all across the Western United States. Hmmm….

On this day, the front of the restaurant was packed. But even though there were many customers, there seemed to be even more Employees! Most of which were standing(leaning), giggling, and generally loafing teenagers. I even saw one of the Girls write down a telephone number on a napkin, and hand it to a Young Man buying a sandwich, with the words "Call Me" scrawled along the top. What was even more surprising, was that she immediately turned around, and without putting on gloves, started to make sandwiches…..

I placed our order, and we had time to check out everything while we waited. Along with the sandwich menu; K serves up Boba-type drinks/tea, bakes their own baquettes and croissants, and also has hot table dishes for purchase.

We ordered 3 sandwiches in total. The first we tried was the BBQ Chicken ($1.99):

The chicken in the sandwich was very tasty, though the rest of the sandwich disappointed me. The crust of the bread was slightly crusty, but not crusty enough for me. There was a very small amount of Ca-rot(pickled veggies), that consisted only of radish, and no carrots? The cilantro was mostly stems, which can be annoying when you eat it. The thin julienned slices of green chilies were nice and hot, though all crowded to the middle of the sandwich.

The Deluxe (Dac Biet-$2.45)

consisted of 3 meats; basically what looked like a sausage, ham, and the Viet "pate". Again the same monotonic "garnishes"(but there was one piece of carrot in there), but this time the cilantro was piled on one side of the sandwich. Ditto for the bread.

The third sandwich we ordered was the BBQ Pork ($1.99):

The pork was very tasty, both slightly sweet, salty, and teriyaki-ish in taste, though there were too many pieces of tough connective tissue, that were really inedible. Again, the "one-note" pickled vegetables. In the end, it seemed that though the sandwiches were a bargain; the result was mediocre. It didn’t help that both the Missus and I got somewhat ill after eating here. I attribute that to the lack of hygenic supervision, and inexperienced Teens putting together the sandwiches. If Lee’s/K are trying to be the McDonalds of Vietnamese Food, they sure are on their way….

One really great thing about ‘K’, is that they open at 6am in the morning. Banh Mi, for breakfast anyone? So this past week, I decided to drop by ‘K’, and grab a sandwich. Things were alot calmer then on my previous visit, and the cashier and the person making the sandwich were quite professional and competent.

I ordered the Vegetarian ($1.99):

The bread was nice and crusty, much better then on my previous visit. And look, you can make out some carrots, even! The shreds of fried tofu were fairly tasty, though everything was piled to one side of the sandwich. The cilantro was mostly leaves, and the peppers were nice and hot. Not bad for 2 bucks.

In fact, I visited ‘K’ again this week, and picked up "breakfast" for a couple of people, and again got the Dac Biet:

There seemed to be alot more meat then before, as well as alot more pickles. It was pretty good, though I enjoy, Bale and Cafe Dore’ more. But for the price, you can’t complain. Also, I just found out that extra "pickles" can be requested at no charge. I also measured the sandwich, and it came in at almost exactly 10 inches. That’s a pretty long sandwich! The service and food were much better during these last two visits. Two months sure can make a big difference!

K Sandwiches
7604 Linda Vista Rd
San Diego, CA 92111
Mon-Sat 6am-9pm
Sun 8am-8pm

Ch-ch-chain: Popeye’s

November 1, 2005 mmm-yoso American/New American Restaurants, Chains

I think most of you know my Mutts, Frankie and Sammy:

Now why the silly look on Sammy’s face? well, he’s just heard his favorite word in the world; "Bubbles". You see, Sammy lives for his "Bubble Buddy" flavored bubbles; just mention the word and he’ll stick his head up "huh?" And run to the backdoor, panting, with his tongue hanging out, sometimes barking with a desperate "rawr-rawr-rawrrrr", or sometimes he’ll do all his "tricks", in order; down, sit, beg, shake hands, roll-over, give me 10. If we’re on a walk, he’ll grab his own leash and run home. It’s gotten to the point that we have to spell out, B-U-B-B-L-E-S whenever we talk, god forbid he learn to spell!

Now what the heck does Sammy have to do with Popeye’s Fried Chicken you may ask? Well, not to long ago, a friend of mine told me; "You know, Kirk, there’s not much that differentiates us from animals. Just a few thin strands of DNA." Well I’ve found the truth in this when it comes to Popeye’s:

We’ll be watching television, and the Missus would say; "Popeye’s?", and I’d run to the front door keys in hand, panting, tongue half hanging from my mouth, saying; "Ok, ok, let’s go."(rawr-rawr-rawrrrr?) If she doesn’t think that we should go, I start doing all of my tricks; mostly hints like "Popeye’s would reaaallly be good", and such. (Maybe rollover might work?) It’s a darn good thing that I can spell P-O-P-E-Y-E-‘S, though if she said it in Mandarin, I may not understand.

I’ll put up with alot for my Popeye’s; the ever shrinking pieces of chicken, the blase’ service, even the fact that they regularly run out of spicy pieces. But for us, Popeye’s is only for chicken nothing else. Frankly the sides, suck. The fries are usually soggy in a minute, the cole slaw tastes funny, the mash potatoes and gravy has bits of pan scum, and though the Missus likes the Red Beans and Rice. We once left them in the frig, and when opened the next morning a whole layer of white waxy saturated fat was revealed. The onion rings used to be good, until they changed them to something called "Onion Stix", that look like left over pieces of onions dipped in batter and fried.

Yes, it’s just chicken, nice and juicy, spicy, with a streak of spices running down the inside, crunchy on the outside, chicken:

It’s usually the Dark Meat(w/Tabasco) for me, and the Breast and Wings for the Missus and the Boyz. The next day, it’s the leftover pieces and some Musubi (onigiri). Prices? Well there’s always some deal going on; 13 pieces for $11.99, 9 pieces for $7.99, 15 pieces for your old used car or boat.

Oh, and don’t get on my case about making fried chicken. I do know how to make it. But after 10 hours of work, and a week of oncall, I ain’t going to get the kitchen all greasy!

Just give me Popeye’s. I guess, Sammy and I are alot "closer" then I thought, maybe he really is my son?

Popeye’s – They’re everywhere!

Hey, don’t forget about me…..

Asian Noodles – I Want My Mami

October 30, 2005 mmm-yoso Filipino Restaurants

*** As of August 2011 Asian Noodles has closed

We pass this shop just about every time we go to Golden Chopsticks and Seafood City in National City.

And the Gal who works there is always waving us in whenever we're looking in the window. So I asked around about this place and found that they make their own noodles, and that the dish to order was the Pancit Canton(Chow Mein – $6.50).

And so one afternoon we gave in to temptation and decided to have a snack, and ordered the Pancit Canton:

What came to the table was a very large plate of stir-fried noodles with beef, pork, shrimp, chicken, and various vegetables. The sauce was very thin, soy sauce based, and very, very salty. And the noodles were much too soft, almost mushy. This was a dish that was really not to my taste. I found out later that the noodles were supposed to be cooked soft, so I thought this was pretty much the end of this. Just something that I would post about on when I had time. But that was not to be so.

You see, I made a point to make sure to see a Documentary called Chinese Restaurants on The Islands during the San Diego Film Festival. It was an engrossing film that looked at the Chinese diaspora, through the Chinese Restaurant. The film covered three different Families on the islands of Trinidad, Mauritius and Cuba. In each location "Chinese cuisine" had evolved to account for tastes and resources. During the film, the front window of Asian Noodles stuck in my mind:

It said, "Home of the Famous Ma Mon Luk Family", "From Manila Chinatown". I just knew that there was a story here. So again I asked around and mostly just learned that Ma Mon Luk was a famous figure in "Chinoy" cuisine, the blending of Filipino and Chinese food, that includes Siopao and Siomai, the Filipino version of Charsiu Bao and Siu Mai.

After googling Ma Mon Luk, I found an article in The Manila Bulletin Online about Ma Mon Luk. In short Ma Mon Luk, was a poor migrant from Canton, who traveled to the Philippines in 1918. Though trained as a teacher in his homeland, he found his fortune creating and peddling what is now known as Siopao and Siomai; and most importantly, the dish now known as Mami; the Chinese based noodle in broth. My favorite quote from the article: "In prosperity Ma Mon Luk was dressed in a felt hat, de hilo amaricana cum vest and glittering gold watch chain across his chest. It hid the fact that his left shoulder was lower than his right, a result of supporting the pinga (carrying pole) in the hard beginning days of his youth. Tango shoes hid his feet calloused from a once-daily routine of walking over the bridge to the ice plant to save 5 centavos on caretela fare."

So what did this mean? It meant I had to pay a visit to Asian Noodles, and get me some Mami! So I found myself in the restaurant, and again the Ultra Energetic Liza, the Gal who always tried to wave us into the place, took my order. This time for the Beef Mami ($5.50):

In all honesty I was expecting to be underwhelmed. But to my surprise, this was a decent Beef Noodle soup. No, it wasn't Niu Rou Mein. The broth was a light beef broth, just faintly beefy, I'd been expecting the noodles to be mushy, but they were pretty good. Think somen in flavor and width, with a little bit more "pull", not bad, really. There were 3 "won tons", that could have been a bit more flavorful; but the beef made up for it all. The pieces of beef were very tender, with a bit of fat and tendon on each piece, and because of the nice soy and sweetness was obviously braised separately. Though it was not an especially large bowl, it filled me up. I'd definitely have this again. This beef noodle soup with a history…….

Asian Noodles
1430 E Plaza Blvd
National City, CA 91950
10am – 8pm Daily

Local Kine Stuff in San Diego – Oh Poi! A Revisit to Orient Bowl/First Korean Market

October 29, 2005 mmm-yoso Local Kine Stuffs in San Diego, Markets & Grocers

On one of my recent visits to Dumpling Inn, I decided to check out Orient Bowl Market again, here’s a post I did earlier. On my last visit there were Redondo’s "Winners", yes it’s called "Winners", not wieners, as well as Redondo’s Portuguese Sausage, and S&S saimin. So, I dropped by to see if they still carried all of these. And to my surprise there was even more "local kine stuffs". But the item that surprised me the most was Da’ Poi:

Yes, it’s poi! It was frozen though, it’s pretty much the first time that I’ve seen Taro Brand poi in San Diego($5.99). So if you’re willing to buy frozen poi, you can find it here.

Along with S&S Saimin, there was Okahara Saimin(79 cents):

I actually prefer Okahara to S&S, and bought few packages. Boy did this make my day!

And now Orient Bowl stocks more then the Redondo’s Portuguese Sausage. They have Purity(my favorite brand) as well as Gouvea’s($3.49) brand:

I think I’ll do a Port Sausage comparison in the near future, just to "jog my memory", if you know what I mean. They also have Frank’s and one other inferior brand sausage. Also Keoki’s brand Laulau and Kalua Pork are available, though I really don’t care for "Keoki’s" brand products.

As I walked the isles I kept finding "stuff", Hawaiian Sun and Aloha Maid Juices:

And even Diamond Soda, Saloon Pilot, and Creme Crackers:

So I picked up a package of Soda Crackers ($3.99) for the people at work. And of course it wouldn’t be complete without the Guava Jelly:

Oh, and of course they have Aloha Shoyu($8.99/Gal):

So a pretty impressive visit, I guess I don’t need to drive to Los Angeles for these anymore. I tried to find out what the Hawaii connection with this place is, but the Cashier really didn’t understand what I was asking so I’ll save that for another day. So, if you’re looking for these "stuffs", you can find it at:

Orient Bowl/First Korean Market
4625 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

Lucky Star Restaurant – Unlucky Visit

October 29, 2005 mmm-yoso Blog

This morning we decided to pay a visit to Lucky Star Restaurant:

Lucky Star is known for reasonably priced Dim Sum, Seafood, and Cantonese dishes. We’ve been here more then a few times. In fact, we call it the "Big Red Barn", due to its large size, and reddish-shingled roof. The interior is cavernous, and there is a stage and dance floor for those ballroom type events and celebrations. In fact, I’ve recommended Lucky Star to more then a few people. But today, they’ll be no food in this post. Why? Well because we never got to that point. Let me explain:

We got to Lucky Star at around 1045 this morning, and were seated promptly. We quickly noticed that the restaurant was less then a third full. Well, the table we were seated at was covered with a layer of oily residue, which meant that it really hadn’t been cleaned well. But heck, I’ve eaten under worst circumstances. So we sat….at 1050 I looked at my watch, I noticed that most of the staff were busy cleaning up tables, even though the place is basically empty. And no had yet even acknowledged our existence. The table next to us with Four Guys sitting there obviously knew someone, because they were getting their water refilled. Next time I looked it was 1053 and the servers were milling around, and it still seemed we were invisible. At 1055, the Missus flagged down one of the Servers and asked for Tea and Water, she was told "Well, what kind tea?" So we said Jasmine is fine. 1059, our tea was dumped on our table with a simple "Here…tea". Funny, still no Dim Sum carts at our table, and where’s our water? 1105, we noticed people who got seated after us are getting served, tea, water, the carts are there…. At 1109 we had seen enough. As we walked out the Missus had a few words with the Hostess, so I intervened. I explained what the situation was, and she asked if I wanted to speak to the Owner. I asked if it would really make a difference, and she said "No, not really". So we left. I also said if your servers think it’s more important to bus tables in a restaurant that is two-thirds empty, then to get tea and water for patrons who have been sitting and waiting for 15 minutes, you’ve got some problems.

To put it bluntly, Lucky Star will never, ever see, another dollar of my hard earned money. period!

Seoul BBQ Restaurant

October 27, 2005 mmm-yoso Korean Restaurants, What Ed Eats -You too can be like Ed!

**** Seoul BBQ has closed

Before Buga, there was Boo Cho, and before Boo Cho, there was Seoul BBQ:

Nowadays, I mostly go to Seoul BBQ for the lunch specials, which range from $6.99 – $13.99. Seoul BBQ went through a major renovation about a year or two ago, which has made the interior alot more appealing and comfortable. And of course there are those two plasma televisions going:

Seoul BBQ is also home of something else; the infamous “dump and duck”. That is several times I’ve had the Waitress show up take my order, “dump” my food, deliver my check while I’m eating, and totally disappear! Well attempting to go against odds I dropped in for lunch and had the Combination Kalbi/Naengmyun ($13.99). Things go as usual, water is dropped off, my order taken and the panchan delivered without a word:

The panchan was average, the Baechu(Nappa Cabbage) was better than the radish or the namul.

Soon the Naengmyun and vinegar is dropped off without a word:

Truly unremarkable, and fairly bland, I needed to add a ton of vinegar. The portion was rather large, but overall, not the refreshing dish I was anticipating.The Kalbi was also dropped off at the same time, along with the check, and the Waitress was never to be seen again, not that I would’ve recognized her……

For lunch cross-cut ribs are used for the Kalbi, for dinner the more traditional cut is served. Many people I know, enjoy the Kalbi at Seoul, probably because it’s more on the “sweeter” side than most other places. The Kalbi was nice and tender, cooked perfectly. In all there were 6 “bones”, the equivalent of two pieces. I really didn’t think this lunch was worth $13.99, and the “dump and duck” was in fine form on this day. I never even got a water refill!

So just to push my luck, I found myself at Seoul again. Yes, a true glutton for punishment, or perhaps just a martyr to the devotees of the “dump and duck”! On this day I just decided on the Bulgogi lunch special ($7.99), first up, water and my order, then soup was delivered to my table as well as the two tables in front of me – bang, bang, bang!

The soup was a mild beef soup with miso(!!!) and spinach. This was actually a pretty nice combination, though the bitterness of the spinach was amplified. Oh, and the Waitress; well she made me crack up. As she delivered the soup, she said “You’re Welcome”. The only thing was I didn’t even have a chance to say “Thank You”, I guess she was just being proactive…..going down the aisle repeating “you’re welcome, you’re welcome, you’re welcome” as she dropped soup on each table.

The “Bento” style box along with the ubiquitous metal bowl of rice was delivered in no time.

In this “box” were four types of panchan; the baechu and fishcake were decent, the spinach and cucumber were terrible. The “namasu-like” pickles were very, very sour; and I must’ve made quite a face. The Waitress just “happened” to show up when I ate this. In my conspiracy filed paranoiac thoughts, I actually think she did this on purpose. A single drumette was provided, it had me thinking Chicken Alice, but in reality, it was more like Chicken Al. Not quite tasty enough.

4 pieces of Tempura and some dipping sauce were served. The eggplant and potato were very bland and the dipping sauce really did not do anything to help. The shrimp was pretty good, though the batter on it was a bit soggy, but the piece of squid was very tasty, in a oceany, briney kind of way.

The Bulgogi was soft, but could have used more flavor. It tasted under marinated, but overall was fine. I thought when taking into consideration the amount of food provided, that this lunch was worth the $7.99 price. Next time though, I’ll order the Daeji Bulgogi, it looked really tasty. As I was eating our checks were delivered, all in a row again, “bam-bam-bam”. And our Waitress even made an additional pass, going right down the row “You ok? You ok? You ok?” That’s when I got it! Today was “Flight Attendant” day! I must’ve looked strange, sitting there with a stupid grin on my face. But suddenly I understood it all. As I left, I must have looked like a very satisfied customer, with that stupid smile on my face. Two of the Waitresses walked me to the door, and told me “Thank you, come again”, though I was expecting “Have a nice trip……” But no “dump and duck” today, so I guess your mileage may vary!

To be fair and honest, one of the servers spent alot of time with a very indecisive couple, and really helped them out. Seoul BBQ is a very popular dinner destination with some of my Ex-Pat Kama’aina friends, they like the sweeter taste of the Kalbi and (Dak)Bulgogi. During dinner hours Seoul reverts back to the typical Korean gas-brazier type Korean BBQ, it seems that the quality is better during the evening as well. Seoul BBQ’s new menu is almost like an instructional booklet, with pages on “What is Korean BBQ?” and “What is Kim Chee?” for the uninitiated. I don’t quite know what to make of that.

Seoul BBQ Restaurant
4344 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

Wow, Laulau! And why Reid has Become a Legend

October 26, 2005 mmm-yoso Cooking, Hawaiian Food, yoso-silly

I was really thrilled this past Saturday; I received a package from Reid of 'Ono Kine Grindz. In that little box were gel packs and 3 wonderful Laulau from Young's Fishmarket:

For those who don't know what Lau Lau is, it is cubes of pork, usually shoulder and a cube of fat, sometimes a small piece of salt fish wrapped in lu'au (young taro leaves), finally wrapped in Ti leaves, in sort of a neat bundle. The Laulau are then steamed for 4 hours or more. After heating them up this is what they look like when you open them up:

The aroma of Laulau is amazing! The leaves are moist and have a slightly "al dente" texture, the taste is close to say, collard greens without the bitterness. The pork is moist, and has absorbed the taste of the lu'au leaf – delici-yoso! This taste of home really made my weekend!

Reid you are an amazing guy, thanks so much!

I'm so amazed at how Reid managed to send this to me through the mail. And that's how Reid's become a sort of legend in our household. The Mother of a good friend of ours is also pretty much a Legend in our home. For the sake of this story let's call her "Lola". When visiting "home" we'd have a meal with our good friends, their two wonderful Boys, all made by Lola. Lola absolutely adored the Missus, basically because the Missus adored Lola's cooking. Whether it was Kare Kare (Filipino Ox Tail Stew), Lumpia, or Her Adobo, Lola would watch my little 100lb Chinese Wife chow like a Longshoreman. Lola, like most "Lola's" are consumed with a desire to give and provide. So we'd be back home in Los Angeles, and receive one of those flat "shirt boxes" in the mail, and be totally amazed when there would be a pristine Bibingka(Sweet Rice Cake) all wrapped up in the box. Or the most amazing thing of all, we once received a small box. When we opened the box amid the crumpled up newspapers was a round ball of tape(???), after several minutes of unwrapping the tape, there was a little bottle of home made Bagoong Alamang(Shrimp Paste), Lola had remembered how much the Missus enjoyed her Bagoong in the Kare Kare, and sent us some! We always considered Lola to be the "Legend of Postal Dexterity"; but now with Reid's feat of sending me the Park's Brand Kim Chee Sauce, and now Laulau from Young's Fishmarket, he's joined Lola as a "Legend"…..

Since I had some chicken thawing I made a little Chicken Katsu, Laulau, mixed plate:

I even made my own Tonkatsu Sauce for the Chicken:

1/2C Worcestershire Sauce
1/4C Sugar
1/4C Soy Sauce
1/3C Ketchup
Dash of 5 Spice Powder
1Tb Dijon Mustard mixed with 1Tb Water
Pepper

In a small pot combine first 5 ingredients. Reduce over low-medium heat, until reduced by 1/3. After reduced add mustard and pepper, mix well. Remove from heat, and let sauce cool. Will keep up to 2 weeks in a well sealed bottle.
Makes about 1 cup.

Sun Cafe and a Little Walking Tour

October 25, 2005 mmm-yoso Breakfast/Brunch, Diner, Exploring San Diego, Farmer's Markets/Night Market, yoso-silly

Ah, yes, another beautiful Seattle morning:

Just kidding…although the drizzly weather this past Sunday sure did remind me of Seattle. When I'm on vacation I enjoy getting up early and watching the City "wake", I especially love going down to Stockton St in San Francisco, or Pike's Place Market in Seattle, early in the morning, and just watch the area slowly come alive. So this morning I decided to head down to our own Gaslamp District and give it the "tourist treatment". Also, I'd received this little brochure and map during one of the movies at the San Diego Asian Film Festival, and took some time to read it. I'd known that San Diego once had a "Chinatown" but didn't know that it had been declared a Historical District. There's also a Sunday Farmer's Market in the same area, so that sealed the deal.

I had no problem finding parking on this misty Sunday morning; but I'd arrived at about 830, so the Farmer's Market stalls were still getting set up. I just decided to grab some breakfast and take a short "tour". I started at the corner of 3rd and J Street, at the location of the San Diego Chinese History Museum.

The Museum is located in the former Chinese Mission Building. As I walked up the street I was fairly surprised at what I noticed; like the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association Building:

These buildings really stood out, standing beside all the downtown Condominiums and development. This area at 3rd and Island Street was the heart of Chinatown in the late 1800's and early 20th Century.

As I walked up Market Street, my stomach started growling. It was time for some grub. It was my intention to grab a bite at the The Field, my favorite Irish Pub. I'd been looking at trying one of their "boxty" breakfast's. But Sun Cafe on Market Street caught my eye:

According to what I read this building was built between 1873 and 1883, and is one of the oldest buildings in the area. The Obayashi family ran a shooting gallery and confectionary at this location, but by 1926 the soup that was served here became so popular that Sun Cafe became strictly a restaurant. The Jeong Family bought the business in 1963, and still runs the Cafe. When you enter you quickly notice the old Soda Fountain counter and the old wooden booths, it's like entering a little retro time capsule diner, circa 1950's:

I sat in one of the booths and ordered Two Eggs, Hash Browns, and Corned Beef Hash ($4.90). The food is strictly diner, and carried out in efficient form. The eggs scrambled, and there was a nice crust on the Hash. And of course, I had to have a good diner quality Cup O' Joe (70 cents):

A bit of trivia; Sun Cafe is featured in several scenes in the movie Almost Famous.

I left refreshed and ready to head over to the Farmer's Market, and so I headed back. On the way back I noticed another Museum on the corner of 4th and Island. It was the William Hearth Davis House, a saltbox style house that was built in 1850. William Hearth Davis was one of San Diego's early pioneers; but did you know he had ties to Hawaii? Well it seems that Mr Davis was 1/4 Hawaiian, his grandmother Mahi was a ward of Kamehameha I. In fact he was known as "Kanaka" Bill. His full given name was William Hearth Ko'olaupoko Mahi-Davis. Amazing what you learn by reading brochures.

At this point, I headed back to the tiny Farmer's Market:

There really wasn't much going on, and only 2 vegetable vendors, and one flower vendor, though the Crepe booth was doing good business. I did get some Dog Biscuits for Sammy and Frankie:

By this time it was almost 10am, and I started seeing alot more people. It was time to leave.

Isn't it amazing what a little pamphlet can provide. I'm looking at the stuff I usually discard quickly, a bit more closer in the future! (Except those that are handed to me in Vegas!)

Sun Cafe
421 Market St
San Diego, CA 92101
Open Daily 7am-230pm

San Diego Chinese Center Sunday CFM
4502 33rd St
San Diego, CA 92116

Oven Kalua Pork

October 24, 2005 mmm-yoso Cooking, Recipes

A few weeks ago Reid from Ono Kine Grindz, and I exchanged a few Emails about Kalua Pork. Reid, it seems had planned to do a few "theme" posts, and asked if I’d like to participate….and viola’ another "joint cooking post" is born. Here’s Reid’s photgenic version.

So a few weeks ago, I took a trip down to the local 99 Ranch Market, and picked up a nice Pork Shoulder:

I picked up a good size roast that came in at a bit over 5 pounds. It’s also good to get one with a good amount of fat on it. The main items I use for seasoning on my Kalua Pork is Hawaiian (Sea) Salt, and Wright’s Liquid Smoke. The only ingredients listed on the liquid smoke bottle should be smoke and water. I usually get a bit of flack whenever I mention using liquid smoke; but look through Alan Wong’s New Wave Luau and you’ll notice that he uses Natural Liquid Smoke as well.

Oven Kalua Pork

3-5 lb Pork semi fatty piece pork butt/shoulder. If pork is very lean, get a piece of fatty pork belly to add.
3-5 Tb Sea Salt – I use Alaea & "Hawaiian Salt"
6 Tb Liquid smoke (check the bottle – the only ingredients are smoke & Water)
Pepper(optional)
4 cloves garlic(optional)
water

Score the pork deeply on all sides – rub with 3Tb salt and 3 Tb liquid smoke. Add a few turns of black pepper if you desire.

Wrap tightly in aluminum foil. Pour 1/4-1/3" of water into a roasting pan with 1Tb Liquid Smoke – you can add cloves of garlic into the cooking liquid if you want.

Place wrapped pork into pan and cover pan with foil, seal well, and leave a little "tent space" at the top. Place into preheated 325 degree oven – 4hours for 3lb roast – add 1/2 hour for each additional pound. No, there will be no burying in the ground(imu) cooking for me!

When roast is done remove pork "package" to another pan.

Pour off about 1-2 cups of fatty liquid from roasting pan into a bowl.

Open pork package and shred with a fork. At this point taste the pork. It should be a bit on the "bland" side. Add additional salt and liquid smoke to the drained fat and liquid in bowl and mix until salt is completely dissolved.

Add liquid back slowly to pork and shred until desired taste is achieved.

A few notes; when I’m "home" I use Ti leaves to wrap the pork before wrapping in foil, but I’ve had two bad experiences with Ti leaves here on the mainland, so I’ve stopped doing that. People don’t seem to notice, even those Ex-Pat Kama’aina’s I’ve given this to!

Now why do I make this? Well I’ve found that a couple of the people at work love this! So I’ll make this once or twice a year, and I’ll send out an Email letting the "pork-lovers" know that I’ll be making this. One of the guys (Bruce…) will then send out an Email changing the date, to select people, so that they won’t attend the pork-fest, leaving more for him….. I’ve even learned of a new Kalua Pork combination, that’s Kalua Pork in a toasted Pan De Sal(Filipino Rolls); it’s delici-yoso!!!

I really don’t eat much of the pork myself, I’ll do something like make a macaroni salad, and on this day I also made those Chicken Alice Wings. So I ended up having a nice "plate lunch"