**** Sizzling Pot King is now Zhang Liang Malatang
So, after a recent road trip, I really didn't feel like making dinner….I mean, an almost 6 hour drive back? Well, I must say, JJ was in much better shape than I was. So, we ended up doing something we hadn't done since the trips we made at the end of the pandemic; we decided to do takeout from Sizzling Pot King, which had been a regular stop for take out when we were too tired to go out; until prices got too high and portions smaller and they removed items from the menu. It had been two-and-a-half years since our last visit.
I drove over and was surprised to find that even more items were off the menu; no more tripe, no more tendon…so I went with our usual pork intestine with lamb and of course some frozen tofu. All said this came out to $45….which I gotta say does not seem so bad for these days.
While waiting, I decided to get the Missus a treat from Yiko Yiko…which even though we thought was seriously over priced, the Missus had enjoyed.
So, while walking over, the young lady from Sizzling Pot King actually chased me down. I stopped wondering what was going on. And she said "sorry, you ordered frozen tofu….most of our Korean customers order fried tofu…I want to make sure!" Lol! I had to crack up…..and also, I appreciated the effort. Though I did tell her that I'm Japanese not Korean, which kind of embarrassed her….but also mentioned that my wife is Chinese and She is the one who instructs me to order. I also told her that I really appreciated the effort she made to get the order right!
As before there was major sticker shock when looking at the offerings at Yiko Yiko. And after perusing what was in the case, I decided on the Durian Basque Cheesecake. In spite of the price – $14.35 a slice. Ouch!
The Missus did actually enjoy this. The young lady took the slice back and had it "torched"; though it was so lightly done that didn't really create a great crisp – burnt top like a typical Basque Cheesecake.
Still, the Missus said it was creamy, light, and there was a faint flavor of durian. Though once I told Her the price I was instructed not to get this again!
Yiko Yiko
8008 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92111
I walked back to Sizzling Pot King and my order was ready. Like I said earlier, $45 these days doesn't seem so expensive and the portion size was much larger than on our last visit or two.
Decent ma-la; there's a lot less veggies; especially broccoli than there used to be. The intestine was nice and "bungy" though the Missus didn't think it paired well with the lamb. There was quite a bit of sliced lamb….way more than the veggies. Which got me to wonder if we're living in a time when vegetables are now more expensive than meat???
This was fine for two meals for us…which now makes the $45 price seem more reasonable.
Sizzling Pot King
8058 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92111
This got me wondering…..for all you "FOYs" out there; what your experiences with places on your takeout rotation have been like recently?
Well, in her comments Ayaka describes it as "perfect flaky crust outside, right amount of butter to have moist and chewy texture with light and airy layers." Almost sounds like our 
She even provided two forks without me asking! This was pretty good, sweet-savory, nice crisp top, creamy-rich interior. Well worth the $5.75 to me!
The Cold Brew was ok, on the milder side. The scone was pretty good, not overly dense, nice chunks of corn, and not too sweet. I did not find it to be overly salty. Quite filling to be sure.
Slices of pork belly wrapped around cucumber; looking at it, we were reminded of what we’d had 
The pastry was quite flakey and crisp. The interior a bit wet and on the doughy side, but acceptable. The amount of salt was good, but it was sorely lacking in butter.
Which turned out to be true…at least for me. Man, look at all that pork! The pork was nicely seasoned; though, at least for me, I'm all about proportion and balance of flavor and frankly, this was just too much pork, and where's the jamon? And the bread was just not up to the task as it got really mushy plus all of the pork muted the pickles. And was there even mustard on this….I do like a good counter-point to the rich pork. Still, if you want a very porky sandwich, here it is….. It's just not the kind of Cubano I enjoy.
Though it looked over-baked, the exterior wasn't flakey and crisp. The interior was on the doughy-bready-chewy side and the croissant, in my opinion really lacked butteriness. This was mediocre at best and was the same as what I'd had before from their stand. Well, at least they're consistent, right?
But the Missus cut into it and took a bite and made a face. She made me have a taste. The crust was doughy, gummy, and lacking in crispness. It was on the thick side. The filling was too sweet for my taste as well.
It was soft and doughy, lacking in that flaky-crispness that I enjoy. I'm not sure why they call this a "Butter Croissant" as sorely needed more butter flavor. The interior was a bit too "moist" for my taste as well. 
Overall, this was quite disappointing. I was looking forward to Izola reopening. I'm thinking I'll try the place in a couple of months and am hoping that this was just an off day. And at seven bucks a croissant….man, how would Parisians react to a six Euro croissant? I can only imagine!
Wayfarer tends to over bake their croissants; but this wasn't bad, quite flaky and crisp, the interior a bit on the dry side, but light and fluffy with a decent butter-salt ratio.