mmm-yoso – Page 83

Midweek Meanderings – Red Moon Noodle House and Manna Rice Bakery Closes. Uncle Tetsu Japanese Cheesecake Coming to Convoy, and the Time Helen Keller Flew a Plane

October 19, 2022 mmm-yoso Bakery, Chinese Restaurants, Korean Restaurants, yoso-silly

I recently went and did a takeout revisit from Eastern Dynasty. Instead of sitting around and waiting for my order while the restaurant filled up, I went for a stroll. I do drive along Convoy quite a bit and will often see places closing and opening, but when walking you really do notice things. Another thing I noticed….perhaps it's always been this way, was how fast folks drive on Convoy. I swear, there were cars zooming by at over 50 mph! Taking turns with squealing tires! Yikes!

Anyway, I noticed a couple of things during my walk……

Manna Rice Bakery is Closed:

MM 10192022 02 MM 10192022 03 Right in the same strip mall as Eastern Dynasty I saw that Manna Bakery was closed. Man, this is an oldie. I've never posted on this place. I think my last visit was in pre-blogging days, but I know they had a very loyal clientele.

4688 Convoy St.
San Diego, CA 92111

Red Moon Noodle House is Gone:

Walking to the strip mall with what I think is the worst parking lot on Convoy, I quickly noticed that all signage for Red Moon Noodle House was gone.

MM 10192022 01

This closure kinda flew under my radar.

4646 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

Uncle Tetsu Japanese Cheesecake Coming to Convoy:

I walked down Convoy and managed to safely cross the street at Dagget and noticed some activity in the "other" infamous parking lot off Convoy where Jasmine, Dumpling Inn, and El Viejon are located. The sign is up for Uncle Tetsu Japanese Cheesecake right next to Mochinuts.

MM 10192022 04

So, it looks like a location of this chain from Hakata, Japan is making its way down to San Diego. I know there are a couple of locations is the LA/OC area already, including one in our old stomping grounds of Hacienda Heights.

So, now with YikoYiko, Sunmerry, and Uncle Tetsu it seems we're going the way of Hot Pot and KFC in the area. When it rains, it pours, right?

4609 Convoy St.
San Diego, CA 92111

And from the Cesspool of Useless Information Files: The time Helen Keller Flew a Plane

While walking I was listening to one of my favorite podcasts and the episode with the story of when Helen Keller flew a plane!

As stated in Britannica:

"In June 1946 an airplane traveled from Rome to Paris, crossing over the Mediterranean Sea. There was nothing unusual about this flight except one thing: for 20 minutes of the plane’s journey, one of its passengers became its pilot. The passenger was Dr. Helen Keller…."

And it's been verified by Snopes.

Amazing! And somewhat inspiring……

Bun Rieu From Phuong Nga Again

October 18, 2022 mmm-yoso Vietnamese Restaurants

Talk about a major rebound in weather. Just a few weeks ago we were experiencing record heat and then we get a cooler spell with temps ten degrees cooler than the norm. I really shouldn't be complaining since I actually prefer cooler weather and it gave me a chance to hit up some of my cool weather favorites. And of course, the Missus has Her favorites as well. And with another warm up headed our way, I wanted to make sure that the Missus "got Her fix". So, I headed off to Phuong Nga to get some Bun Rieu for the Missus. The young man working there and his mom already know what I'm there for….sadly, they didn't have bun rieu on this day! I was told that currently "no bun rieu on Tuesday and Thursdays" and on this Sunday they also were out. Oh well…. I decided to try again this past Sunday and got there at 930.

Phuong Nga Rev 01

I was greeted when I arrived; the only person there at the moment. I was told that I needed to return after 1130 for bun rieu. So, I placed my order. As I was talking to the gentleman no less than six people walked in!

Man, Phuong Nga is quite popular these days. Even if they're just doing takeout!

Phuong Nga Rev 02

I returned at 1130 and still had to wait another 20 minutes. I didn't feel too bad, three other folks were already waiting for their Bun Rieu when I arrived. And then when "mom" came out, she saw me and apologized! I guess I'm marked as the "bun rieu guy". And since I had ordered ahead of time, I got mine first!

On the good side, I made sure not to park below this "poop party"!

Phuong Nga Rev 05

And the Missus was so happy to get Her bun rieu before the our upcoming "warm up".

Phuong Nga Rev 03

Man, all the herbs and veggies were sparkling fresh! I'm not sure if it was on purpose but there seemed to be much more meat this time around as well.

As per before, I put the soup in a pot to warm up. I then put water in a thick sided bowl and heat for three minutes. I put the noodles in a small colander- we can only finish one order of noodles at a time; the rest is used for some other soup. I place the colander over another thick sided bowl and pour the hot water over the noodles to warm and loosen. The noodles here have never been overcooked so it handles the procedure well. I drain and separate the noodles and empty the water from the second bowl.

Voila! You have two warmed up bowls for your bun rieu!

Phuong Nga Rev 04

The broth on this day was a bit more savory and with a more hefty tongue feel than usual….the wait was worth it I guess. I use some mam tom and a squeeze of lime in mine. The Missus loves adding the chilies to Hers. The Missus loves the banana blossom, shredded morning glory, and the perilla leaves. She loves the tofu, tomato, and pork-seafood "cakes". I'll usually get the pork ribs. Like I mentioned earlier; there was a ton of meat on this day.

And all was well in the mmm-yoso household.

Phuong Nga 2
4016 54th St
San Diego, CA 92105

For my other posts on the Bun Rieu to go from Phuong Nga, you can go here, here, or here.

**** Note for 10/18/2022 – currently no Bun Rieu on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Pho Lucky Reopens

October 17, 2022 mmm-yoso Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants

I was quite happy to see that Pho Lucky was reopening. Once upon a time we enjoyed the pho so much at Lucky that it was on our regular rotation. Over the years it did "pho" out of favor with us (sorry, I couldn't help it) but, at least for me I replaced the pho with the banh mi bo kho which was was my favorite version in San Diego. I was quite excited at the possibility of having the bo kho so I headed over the first chance I had.

Lucky Reopen 01

Man, they've done a pretty nice job renovating the interior.

Lucky Reopen 02

Being used to the "old" Pho Lucky, I was a bit taken aback when I was greeted with a smile and lead to my table. Everyone was quite pleasant.

Lucky Reopen 03

I was given a menu…and sadly, there was no bo kho on it. When I asked, I was told that "maybe it might be added in the future". For now; it's almost all pho. So, since I was going to get the pho, I went with a small bowl of the #3 ($10.95)….which used to be the #4 in the good old days, the well done flank, brisket, tendon, and tripe….which they spell as "stripe" on the menu.

Lucky Reopen Menu

One left over procedure from before is the delivery of utensils and napkins in a basket.

Lucky Reopen 04

What was totally different from days of yore, is that metal bowls are now used to serve the pho.

Lucky Reopen 05

In terms of appearance, the broth wasn't cloudy if a bit overly defatted.

Lucky Reopen 05b Lucky Reopen 06 In terms of flavor, I took a quick sip of the broth just as it was delivered and…..sigh…..just slightly beefy and it had that feature of "San Diego Pho"…..the broth was overly sweet and quite thin.

I was glad to see not one, but two leaves of ngo gai….I must have hit the jackpot!

I then went to check the noodles….and sigh number two….it was in a clump in the bottom of the bowl.

Lucky Reopen 07 Lucky Reopen 08 I did notice something interesting as I went to add the bean sprouts to my pho. It was studded with ice! I guess this is what keeps those sprouts fresh and crisp? Not a great move to add to your pho though…..

As for the proteins….well, the two items I really enjoy were on the endangered list. The tendon was nice and tender; but only two small slices, and only two little wisps of tripe. I guess they might have a "two per customer" limit? The flank was decently tender and quite beefy, while the brisket was on the drier side.

Lucky Reopen 09

Sadly, the noodles were mushy.

Lucky Reopen 10

And sad kind of sums my feeling; though I did feel a bit out of sorts. When I thought about things, I wondered when was the last time I actually dined in and had pho…it was in March of 2020! Before the pandemic. Keep in mind that we have over 145 pho related posts. Geez, it had been so long. I'll give Lucky a "pass" this time around and drop by in a couple of months to see what's up.

Meanwhile, I need to drop by Duyen Mai, after all….

Lucky Reopen 11

Pho Lucky
9326 Mira Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92126

Have a great week everyone!

Lucky Reopen 12

Sunday Sandwiches – The Tri-Tiperia (Sweet and Savory Gourmet) Revisited

October 16, 2022 mmm-yoso Sandwiches

I usually drive on Mount Acadia Boulevard maybe 5 times a week. It's the easiest way to get to Genesee and Balboa for me. Recently, there's been some major construction going on along the 3500 block of Mount Acadia.

Tri-Tiperia Rev 01

More than two-thirds of the parking lot is being taken up by the construction. It looks like a Senior Living Facility called the Pavilion is being constructed here. It's going to be interesting since Mount Acadia is only a two lane side street. Anyway, I was wondering if the Tri-Tiperia was doing ok; or even if it was still in business since you can't even see it from the road anymore. It had been a while since I last visited so I thought I'd check them out. Which proved to be much harder than I thought. First off, the shop is now only open from Monday to Friday. The hours seem much more limited the sign says open from 1130 to 230pm and dropped by at around 130 on a weekday and the place was closed.

Tri-Tiperia Rev 02

I tried to return at noon a couple of days later and they were open….but weren't making any sandwiches because they hadn't gotten their bread delivery. Well, at least they were still open, right? I waited a couple of weeks and returned at noon and the third time was a charm.

Tri-Tiperia Rev 03

They're doing soft serve nowadays as well as the heat and eat meal kits, salads, and tri-tip sandwiches. The guy was busy working on a couple of items so I didn't have a chance to ask how business was doing, but it looked pretty good on this day.

As with my previous visits, I went with the "O.G.", which is now $10.25, it was $9 in May of 2021, and $8 "BC" (Before Covid). As usual, it came with a cookie which this time was almost the width of the sandwich!

Tri-Tiperia Rev 04

The sandwich had more meat than I recalled.

Tri-Tiperia Rev 05 Tri-Tiperia Rev 06 The tri-tip was pretty tender, though mild in terms of smokiness. It's nicely seasoned with a good amount of black pepper, though I'm going to ask them to go easy on the lemon-garlic mayo. Which, while it adds rich-creaminess and a mild acidity, was too much of a good thing this time around. I really like the use of Gouda on this sandwich, you can actually taste it.

And while the ciabatta isn't heavily toasted, it holds up well.

Tri-Tiperia Rev 07

Not the biggest sandwich mind you, but enough for me.

And I'm glad they are still making a go of it, in spite of the pandemic, location, and construction.

The Tri Tiperia (Sweet and Savory Gourmet)
3574 Mount Acadia Blvd
San Diego, CA 92111

Oaxaca (2022) – Breakfast at Boulenc, Templo de Santo Domingo de Guzmán, and La Cosecha Mercado de Organico

October 15, 2022 mmm-yoso Bakery, Breakfast/Brunch, Markets & Grocers, Mexico, Oaxaca, Travel

As I mentioned in my previous post, we were pretty full after our food tour and ended up not eating dinner. The next morning we decided to grab some breakfast before heading out on our explorations for the day. There was a bakery and restaurant named Boulenc on my list and Betsy from Me Encanta Oaxaca recommended it as well. It was just three blocks up the street from our hotel and pretty much on the way to the sites we'd be visiting.

The restaurant had a few folks waiting for seats when we arrived, but things moved quickly and we got a table upstairs in about 15 minutes.

Service was efficient and the folks here work hard, running up and down the stairs. The Missus got a Machiatto and I got an Americano, both serviceable.

The Missus, who had never really enjoyed avocado toast, strangely ordered the Aguacate y Cilantro ($70/MX – $3.50/US).

This was love at first bite! First off, the toasted sourdough bread at Boulenc is outstanding, wonderful yeasty-sour balance, nice and not overly chewy bread, it's a perfect foil for the perfectly ripe and abundant avocado and the wonderful hints of chloropyllic-citrusy tones from the cilantro and microgreens. The Missus loved the inhouse fermented, pickled beets. She loved this so much that we returned two more times during our stay!

I wanted some fruit and yogurt so I got the Turkish Yogurt with Fruits ($80/MX – $4/US).

Loved all the fresh and ripe fruits, nuts, and the yogurt. A perfect breakfast for me and just what I wanted.

Like I wrote earlier; we both really liked Boulenc and ended up coming here three times during our stay. That sourdough bread is fantastic.

Boulenc
Calle Porfirio Díaz 207
68000 Oaxaca de Juárez, Oaxaca, Mexico

Here's an interesting post on Boulenc.

After breakfast we headed up to Plaza Santo Domingo. We had already checked out the Cathedral and wanted to do the same with the Templo de Santo Domingo de Guzmán.

Construction on this church started in 1551, but the final construction was completed in 1666.

The interior and ceiling were very impressive!

No wonder it took so long to complete.

I was fascinated by the bas relief of the family tree of Santo Domingo de Guzman (aka Saint Dominic), who founded the Dominican Order.

Along with the temple is a structure that used to be a Convent and is now a museum. We didn't have enough time to visit, but I'm sure we'll go the next time we're in Oaxaca.

From here we headed over one block and walked past the plaza.

And came across this…..

It was a cute little organic market and food stalls.

I decided to get some cucumber-lime juice from this stand.

It was quite refreshing.

Cheers!

Mercado Organico La Cosecha
Calle Macedonio Alcalá 806
68000 Oaxaca de Juárez, Oaxaca, Mexico

Refreshed and revived we walked thru Plaza Cruz de Piedra.

To Calle de Manuel García Vigil and the aqueduct that we had seen the previous day.

We headed up the street to where it turns into Rufino Tamayo and took time to admire the street art that we had only glanced at the previous day.

And then we came across this fella' hanging out at the gate of one of the courtyards.

Little did we know that he was just the "lookout". When he spotted another pooch ambling up the street he sent out "word" and the whole "gang" appeared for a "bark session".

It was hilarious.

There was so much to see if you took your time.

I had planned checking out Xochimilco later on the trip so we'd be heading further up Rufino Tamayo then. So we cut back thru the plaza, then back down Macedonio Alcalá, taking a left down Humboldt.

And came to a park named Parque Juarez El Llano, with a Monument to Benito Juárez in it's center.

We passed folks relaxing in the nice green space as we crossed over to the opposite end. I was looking for a specific street. There is a neighborhood that I read about that was called a "secret jewel" and was named the 17th coolest neighborhood in the world by Timeout in 2019….Jalatlaco. I had seen photos of the street art and it looked so very charming. Betsy had also told us we would enjoy the street art and the "vibe". Two blocks past the park, at the corner of Republica and Miguel Hidalgo, there it was.

Barrio Jalatlaco!

So how was it? Well, you'll have to stay tuned and I'll cover that in my next post on Oaxaca!

Oaxaca (2022) – Me Encanta Oaxaca Food Tour

October 14, 2022 mmm-yoso Markets & Grocers, Mexican Restaurants, Mexico, Oaxaca, Travel

One of the things I learned during our trip to Emilia-Romagna was the value of a good food tour when visiting the culinary centers of countries. Not having had too much exposure to the cuisine of Oaxaca, I thought that finding a good food tour would do us good. And after doing some research, I found Me Encanta Oaxaca. It just seemed like a good fit for us, so I made reservations. This would turn out to be a fantastic tour as we learned a lot, not only about the cuisine, but the history, and other fun "stuffs" about Oaxaca. One of the owners and the person who would lead our tour Betsaida ("Betsy") contacted us several times to give us info on the tour and also some advice beforehand……"don't eat breakfast….or just enough so that you will be hungry, but not 'hangry'." Along with safety guidelines, etc.

The meeting place was in front of Templo de Santo Domingo de Guzmán and Betsy was easy to find. We loved that there were only five of us on the tour. We sampled and covered a huge amount of food; so from this point on, I'm going to keep it brief.

First stop was just a block away.

Tacos del Carmen, a very popular street stall.

Man, that Empanada de Mole Amarillo con Flor de Calabaza y Hierba Santa was soooo delici-yoso!

We also got to try the "Taco" de Chile Relleno.

Tacos Del Carmen
Jesús Carranza 110
68000 Oaxaca de Juárez, Oaxaca, Mexico

We then headed up a block-and-a-half to the colorful Mercado Sánchez Pascuas.

Here Betsy went over some of the more interesting produce and we had tastes of Aguacate Criollo, Nanche, Curuba, Tuna Roja, and Jiotilla which you see below.

Betsy took us to various stands and we got to meet the folks who made what we'd be tasting….

The tamales were delicious; though the Missus still didn't care for the mole negro….

We got our caffeine fix from one of the stands along with some dulces.

The tour wasn't just food; there was history and sights as well. In fact, Betsy would quiz us on some of the history. I actually answered one of the questions correctly. Of course, I'd already learned a bit about Porfirio Díaz when we were in Guanajuato.

We headed off a block away to Rufino Tamayo.

Did you know that Oaxaca has an aqueduct?

And to go even beyond the history, this "famous" movie was filmed in the area.

In fact you might just recognize the scene filmed here.

We walked over to Plaza Cruz de Piedra.

Where there's an interesting stone cross.

As we headed down to Mercado Benito Juárez Betsy went over some history and quizzed us.

Once we got into the bustling market we headed to a bustling stand.

Where we got to try Tejate which was soooo good.

And Betsy took the time to show us some of the other vendors she likes in the market.

We then headed across the street to Mercado 20 de Noviembre where Betsy said "I hope you're hungry now!" And soon enough we were in the famous "Pasillo de Humo" ("Hall of Smoke"). Yes, this is the place that one of our favorite restaurants in CDMX is named after. And when say "hall of smoke" they ain't kidding.

Here you can choose your meat…..

And they grill it up for you…..

Betsy got us a table and we just enjoyed…well, pasillo de humo……

And soon the food started arriving…..

Gusanos, Chicatanas, and Chapulines. Good stuff!

The proteins….Tasajo, carne, chorizo, tripa…..

A huge Tlayuda…..

A sampler of Mole…..well, the Missus still didn't care for mole, it was too sweet for Her tastebuds, so this was going to be interesting.

She did enjoy the Pan de Yerma and Chocolate de Agua……in fact we'd go shopping for some of that before we returned home.

This was a fantastic tour.

We even got a list of places to try and areas to visit. And best of all, we asked Betsy where to buy hats…….and she gave us a recommendation. So here's the deal, I've never looked good in hats…..never, ever. But we headed to the place she recommended after our tour and I found a hat!

We ate so much that we didn't even bother with dinner. We just took a short walk.

Of course I wore my hat…….

So, if you're ever in Bay Park and you see some middle aged Asian dude wearing a Cowboy Hat and a "Ojai Psychic Friends Network" t-shirt…..well, that would be me.

Make sure to say hello, ok?

Oaxaca (2022) – We Arrive, Cafe Brujula, and Dinner at Los Danzantes

October 13, 2022 mmm-yoso Caffeine Fix, Mexican Restaurants, Mexico, Oaxaca, Travel

Our flight and transfer from Mexico City went quite smoothly. Our good friend "Alle" had mentioned that Benito Juárez Airport was a hot mess these days; but we didn't encounter any problems. Our transfer was waiting when we arrived and we made it to our hotel; the Hotel Casona Oaxaca with no problems right past check-in time. The hotel's location was great for a first time visit to Oaxaca as it was centrally located, just a block from the Zocalo, basically the heart of the city. The courtyard was quite beautiful and though the room was a bit dated and there was a bit of noise, we had a small balcony of sorts with good natural light.

After freshening up, we headed out to take a quick look at the city. The city was quite vibrant and full of energy. I had read that 60% of the population of Oaxaca is under the age of 30. We decided to just take a stroll and familiarize ourselves with the area a bit.

Like I mentioned above, the Zocalo, officially named Plaza de la Constitución is pretty much the heart of the city. It's a nice public space, with shaded areas, restaurants and shops in the potico lined buildings, and vendor stalls….and of course, there's always something going on.

To the North of the Zocalo is the Cathedral.

It was a pretty warm day, so we decided to duck in for a quick look.

Construction of the Cathedral commenced in 1535 and was reconstructed several times because of earthquakes.

There's some nice stained glass windows in the cathedral and it was a good place to cool off a bit.

After a short break we headed up Calle Macedonio Alcalá, which eventually turns into a pedestrian only street.

We decided to take a caffeine break at Cafe Brujula, which I believe has six locations in the city.

There was nice courtyard seating…many tables were taken up with folks working on laptops and such. But the Missus enjoyed Her Iced Matcha and I thought the cold brew was decent.

Café Brújula Alcalá
C. Macedonio Alcalá 104
68000 Oaxaca de Juárez, Oaxaca, Mexico

Once Calle Macedonio Alcalá becomes a pedestrian only street, things really pick up.

And this is where we first really started noticing all the amazing street art.

Yes, there are quite a few tourists; but it's very lively and there seemed to be many locals as well.

We got up to the Templo de Santo Domingo de Guzmán. We had a food tour the following day and we just wanted to make sure we could find the meeting place which was right in front of the church.

From here we headed back to the hotel and relaxed sort of like this fella'.

After a short break we headed out to dinner. We again walked thru the Zocalo and stopped when we saw this.

The police were actually teaching kids how to ride bicycles!

And were also doing a puppet show on bicycle safety.

And a couple of the officers were singing and playing music. It was quite a scene and for some reason I found it so sweet and heartwarming.

I had made dinner reservations at a highly regarded restaurant right on Macedonio Alcalá named Los Danzantes which is named for the famous Bas Reliefs of "Dancers" at Monte Alban which we would see later during the trip.

The main dining area was in a lovely courtyard area.

The menu used a QR code something that we found everywhere in Mexico. The food seemed a bit of a modern, lighter affair. The service was a bit of hit and miss. As you can see, the customer base seemed to be more tourists/ex-pats though nothing wrong with that if the food is outstanding.

The cocktails seemed to be a bit short in terms of alcohol.

I enjoyed the different versions of Oaxacan style tortillas, but the Missus didn't care for the crisp, cracker like texture.

The Missus loves Hoja Santa, so we started with the Hoja Santa with Local Queso, and Tomatillo ($155/MX – $7.75/US).

When having Hoja Santa, I expect anise-minty-pungent-grassy tones, but this was on the milder side. The cheese was like mozzarella and not quite milky enough for our taste. The tomatillo salsa ruled the dish; tangy with a pleasant sourness.

We also ordered the Pulpo Dobladas ($275/MX – $13.75/US).

The octopus was on the tough side, again the Missus doesn't care for Oaxacan style tortillas; though the blue corn version is mighty tasty to me. Loved the avocado, but this was served with a "matcha sauce" that was really mild in the flavor.

It was pretty warm during our visit in Oaxaca and the Watermelon Salad ($125/MX – $6.25/US) sounded quite good.

For some reason I thought this would be compressed watermelon, which intensifies the flavor and gives it textural "heft", but it just cubed watermelon, seeds and all. Since it was just cubed watermelon, the ponzu style sauce and orange "gel" overpowered the dish. Spherification was used to create ikura looking strawberry spheres. The best part of the dish were the tomatoes which were sweet and acidic.

The last item we ordered was the Ancho Chile Relleno with Huitlacoche and Tamala Pumpkin Puree ($ 245/MX – $12.25/US)

The roasted ancho chile was delicious, smoky with just a tad of heat, but there wasn't enough earthy-mushroomy huitlacoche in the filling. The pumpkin puree was too sweet for our taste.

Not the best meal to start off our stay in Oaxaca for us. Just a bit too much going on, which did not bring out the best in the ingredients.

Los Danzantes
C. Macedonio Alcalá 403
68000 Oaxaca de Juárez, Oaxaca, Mexico

Oh well…….

We headed back to our room. We walked thru the Zocalo and by now they were taking down the puppet stage and cleaning up. But there were several officers still singing to entertain….hmmm….maybe themselves?

Things seemed so festive on this Thursday night.

And we were looking forward to our food tour the following day!

Scotland (2022) – Dunchraigaig Cairn, Nether Largie Standing Stones, Inveraray Castle, and Dinner at Monteiths (Edinburgh)

October 12, 2022 mmm-yoso British/Irish/Scottish Restaurants/Pubs, Edinburgh, Scotland, Travel, yoso-silly

**** This is a long one! So, if you're not interested in mysterious stones, castles and such, you can go ahead and scroll down to the food.

We had a great time on Islay, from the Scotch tastings, to the wonderful sights and people, it was a trip we'll not soon forget. But in was now time to head back to Edinburgh. We must have been more tired than we thought…or perhaps our hearty breakfast got the better of us? Both the Missus and I took a nice nap on the ferry back to the mainland.

Since, we were returning rather early in the day, Sean had a couple of stops planned for us. The first two stops was in the Kilmartin Glen area.

We parked in a small designated parking lot and crossed the road where Sean led us to this pile of rocks.

This is Dunchraigaig Cairn. In case you're not sure of what a cairn is, it's basically a pile of stones used as a marker, be it a burial site or to identify a path, or some other purpose. Dunchraigaig Cairn had its first documented excavation in 1864, though it said to have been "badly robbed". It was a very impressive cairn.

IMG_2712_b

Many photos I've seen of this cairn show the entrance, or cist open. On our visit it was closed and I was rather glad, because in 2021 the first Prehistoric Animal Carvings ever found in Scotland were discovered here! Pretty awesome huh?

Our next stop made our day. You know how the Missus and I love the mysterious and unknown, right? Well, after parking we were walked over to a group of standing stones in sort of an 'X' formation.

Whoa, these are the Nether Largie Standing Stones.

The central stone is the largest and covered with lichen. It has cup like indentations.

The outlying stones are aligned in northeast to southwest, so perhaps to mark the solstice or something of that nature?

Just Googling "Nether Largie Standing Stones" will deliver you a wealth of theories; everything from a tool to predict the solstice and eclipse, to burial rituals, to this being a ball court! You gotta love it!

And if that wasn't enough; our next stop was very impressive……

That's Inveraray Castle, home of the Duke of Argyll, who is chief of the Clan Campbell….which means all Campbell's in the world!

It was quite stunning, walking down the path to the castle.

This really looks like something out of a movie, doesn't it? Touring the estate, the Duke of Argyll and family still occupy part of the structure, was very impressive. The foundation stone of the castle was laid in 1746 and the castle has gone under renovations after two fires. After the fire in 1877, the third floor and the four conical roofs were added. In 1975 another fire engulfed the castle.

What was probably the most impressive room of the castle is the Armory Hall, with its huge collection of weaponry. The ceiling of this hall is 21 meters – that's almost 69 feet high and is said to be the highest ceiling in all of Scotland!

Of course the thought of being in here when a earthquake hit and getting impaled by one of the pole-arms entered my head…..

The Salon was a very nice room.

It is said that Lerner and Loewe actually composed some of the songs from My Fair Lady at this piano while staying at the castle.

This is the Drawing Room.

This is the Victorian Room, located on the first (second floor in the US) floor.

Of course every castle has at least one ghost, right? Inveraray is noted to have several. The most well known one occupies the MacArthur Room. It is said that a young harpist was murdered by the Duke of Montrose's men in 1644. The the ghost of the harpist is attached to this bed, must be one heck of a bed! And according to the legend, when a family member is about to die you will hear the music from a harp coming from this room!

And there's the "Grey Lady" often said to be the ghost of a former kitchen maid who can only be seen by daughters of the Duke of Argyll!

Nothing like some good "Obake stories" for the month of October, right?

I also enjoyed touring the kitchen in the basement.

Which was last used in the 1950's.

The grounds of the castle are immaculate.

And there must be hundreds, if not thousands of stories…..

That millstone above is said to be cursed.

This was a enjoyable stop!

Sean got us to our AirBnb in Edinburgh in perfect time. The flat was fantastic, just meters from High Street, but still fairly quiet.

Soon enough, it was time for dinner. We originally had dinner reservations at Forage & Chatter, but the restaurant cancelled our reservations a week before the date. Luckily, I managed to get reservations at Monteiths, which was just around the corner from where we were staying a few days before we arrived in Edinburgh. Like Devil's Advocate, Monteith's was located in a Close. In case you are wondering what a "close" is.

And of course Monteiths is located on Monteiths Close.

The restaurant serves "modern" Scottish cuisine and cocktails. Serves was friendly and efficient. The restaurant was a bit on the dark side so please forgive the photos.

We started with the Beef Tartare.

There was what seemed to be shaved cured egg yolk on this though it didn't add much to the dish. The beef was tender and if a bit coarsely chopped. Nice clean flavors overall.

We also got the Smoked Duck.

The duck had a nice smokiness to it and was on the toothsome side, but still quite tasty. The goat cheese added a bit too much acidity for our taste.

The Potato Dumplings, Wild Mushroom, and Truffle.

Nice mushroom flavors, mild truffle, and the potato dumplings, which were pretty much gnocchi were really rubbery.

The best dish of the evening was the Hot Smoked Salmon.

The salmon was wonderfully smoked, good balance, just enough salt. I wasn't sure about the Hazelnut Bearnaise sauce, but the rich creaminess, along with the herbaceous tones really balanced out the smokiness of the salmon. The nutty buckwheat pancakes was a nice accompaniment as well.

Overall, a decent meal and the staff was very nice.

Monteiths
61 High St.
Edinburgh, Scotland

After dinner we headed out for a stroll. I thought we'd head up Calton Hill As we headed up, we saw Old Calton Cemetery, something I had on my "list" of things to see. The Missus humored me and we decided to check the place out.

That obelisk is the Political Martyrs Monument. There's even a American Civil War Memorial, with a statue of Abraham Lincoln. Sad to say that photo didn't come out.

Quite a few notable folks are buried here.

Man, look at the dates!

Man, if these tombstones could talk….the stories that could be told.

Instead of heading up Calton Hill, we decided to head on back down. The view was very nice.

We walked down the stairs….

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Then crossed over Waverly Station. Took took a short walk down the Royal Mile. Before deciding to head back to the apartment and call it a night.

Of course we got to Deacon Brodie's Tavern before we decided to turn around. And here was yet another story. You gotta love this one!

"He had designed the gallows that were to eventually seal his fate." Can you say ironic?

White Rice Bodega

October 11, 2022 mmm-yoso Filipino Restaurants, Sisig

I had been wanting to check out White Rice in Liberty Station, but the place just always seemed too crowded. So I was happy to read that White Rice Bodega opened in Normal Heights. As a plus, the place opens at 10am on weekends, which seemed to fit right in with all my "errands".

The location is quite nice; though it's going to be interesting to see how it goes if they become popular as there is limited seating.

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All of the seating is al fresco.

White Rice B 02 White Rice B 03 I like the fact that they have QR code menus; otherwise you'd have to ask at the window since there's no menu posted. I'd gotten so used to doing QR codes when visiting Mexico that I got kinda thrown off when we returned home!

The staff here is awesome; so friendly, always smiling, very helpful.

And for those "social media" mavens; they even have a "photo spot" marked off……

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So you can be your most "instagrammable" self…..

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White Rice specializes in "silog-ish" bowls and such. This is modern, sort of hipster Filipino food and the prices reflect that – $8.50 for five lumpia and all that. That's a buck-seventy per lumpia.

Of course, once I saw Sisilog ($14.50) on the menu….well you know me and Sisig, right? It did take almost 25 minutes for me to get my bowl to go. I'm thinking they are still working out all the procedures and processes.

White Rice B 06 White Rice B 09 I must say that the bowl looked quite good. The seasoning for the sisig was on the milder side in terms of sour tones and I didn't get much spice until I had a bite with three hidden slices of what looked like Thai Bird Chilies. Whoa…. I came across "groups" of chilies in the bowl. I guess they don't like being alone?

The egg was just perfectly done; still runny after the trip back home.

As for the lechon; while the pork and the fat was very nicely textured and flavored; the skin was hard and dare I say, rubbery?

White Rice B 08 White Rice B 07 Most problematic for me was the rice, after all this place is named "White Rice", right? It was terribly hard, dry, and there was hardly any garlic flavor at all. I mean, in addition to being called "White Rice", this was a silog, right? The "si" in the "silog" stands for sinangag -garlic rice. In terms of portion size, I usually have to tell those turo-turo places to give me "half rice", so this portion was fine with me.

So the following weekend, at the end of my shopping Saturday, I decided to stop by White Rice Bodega again….based on my experience with the sisig, I wasn't going to order the lechon kawale. I'm usually leery of Tocino at most places because it's usually quite dry; but I went with the Manok Tocino ($13.50). The wait time was about 20 minutes this time around.

White Rice B 11 White Rice B 12 This was a lovely looking bowl! And that fried sunny side egg was even better this time around with wonderful crisp edges! I loved the atchara and the almost VN style pickles as well.

The rice however, was just as bad as on my previous visit….so I guess this is the standard here?

The chicken however, was very good. Nicely charred, tender and moist, a bit mild in flavor for what I consider tocino to be. But that vinegar and garlic dip really helped things out.

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This was definitely the better of the two items I tried.

The staff here are so friendly and welcoming. Now if only they'd get the rice straightened out. It's kind of ironic that at a place named "White Rice", my least favorite thing would be the rice.

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You can read about Soo's visit to the Liberty Station location here.

White Rice Bodega
3586 Adams Ave. Suite 100
San Diego, CA 92116
Hours:
Mon – Fri 11am – 8pm
Sat – Sun 10am – 8pm

White Rice B 16

What’s My Craving – Bun Bo Hue “at” Mien Trung

October 10, 2022 mmm-yoso Bun Bo Hue, Vietnamese Restaurants

My lunch at Izakaya Sakura had me missing the "good 'ol days"….times when gas wasn't hitting seven bucks a gallon, when I wouldn't give a second thought to dining in, and all those places I used to frequent. I'd been craving the Bun Bo Hue from Mien Trung. I'd done takeout from Mien Trung a couple of times since the pandemic started, but for me; it just wasn't the same. With the recent cooler weather, I decided to head on down at around 9am and take a peek to see if they were busy.

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MT Rev 02 MT Rev 03 The place was empty except for two "regulars" who were joking around (quite loudly) with Boo, the gentleman who has taken over running the place from his mom and dad.

He was quite pleased to see me actually sitting at a table that he came out and shook my hand, then chided me for not coming more often! After all; I'd been a regular customer here since 2006! Man, can you believe the Bun Bo Hue here used to be $4.99 back then? It's now $12; which in consideration of prices these days, I think is relatively reasonable.

Anyway, I placed my order….you know what I got, right? And Boo came over and we chatted about the last couple of years, how costs have gone crazy, and so forth.

MT Rev 04 MT Rev 05 When my Bun Bo Hue arrived he said "time to eat" and left me to enjoy my scalding, spicy bowl of Bun Bo Hue. It used to be that I'd have to add chili oil to my soup, but these days it's more than spicy enough. I think my tolerance has waned over the years. The veggies are added, I give things a good mix…….I love to track the change in texture to the veggies as the hot soup slowly works its magic. I do still add a bit on mam tom for that savory "kick".

The rustic slices of meat, the chewy pork hock, the firm but slippery bun………

In case you're wondering if I enjoyed this…..

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For a few minutes everything seemed right in the world. Perhaps I should have worn a light colored shirt in honor of Ed from Yuma who would without fail always wear some light colored shirt when we ate here. He'd leave full and happy, with red specks all over his shirt; a badge of honor, perhaps? Well, maybe next time. As I'm pretty sure and hope that they'll be many "next times".

MT Rev 06

Mien Trung Restaurant
7530 Mesa College Dr
San Diego, CA 92111

This post is for "FOY" – KT, who enjoys the Vietnamese food options in San Diego!