Ok, ready for some interesting “stuffs” on this Monday?
Taste of Hong Kong is Now Grill N Malatang, or is it?:
Well, I knew that Taste of Hong Kong had closed and become yet another Hot Pot (of course) place. But this gets more interesting. Back in May, Taste of Hong Kong started a pseudo “all-you-can-eat” program. Of course the cynic in me thought this was the start of desperate measures by the business. I remember telling the Missus, “when they start doing hot pot, I know they are really desperate.” Well, guess what? A few months later I heard they were doing hot pot! Yikes! But like that sales pitch goes “but wait, there’s more!” After an interesting comment on one of my posts, I decided to head on over to check things out.
And yes, the signage clearly states “No Longer Taste of Hong Kong”……strangely, it does say to go the side door…I think it’s for unit 320 to enter whatever restaurant it is. Also, note the notice of application for ownership change!
So, what about the hot pot? Well, I found this on IG:
OK, so it’s now Grill N Malatang, right? But strangely, I saw this follow-up post.
It seems like Grill N Malatang is closed for a couple of weeks?
And then, in the comments of one of my posts Charles sends me a link about a sushi chain coming to San Diego.
So, I actually go to the chain’s website and check out the address of the upcoming restaurant?
Yep! So who knows right now? Don’t you love mysteries……oooohhhhh!
Thanks for the heads-up Charles!
4428 Convoy St.
San Diego, CA 92111
The Saga of Havana Grill’s Closing on Clairemont Mesa:
Well, I had heard Havana Grill had closed last week, so I dropped by and took some photos.
And when I saw the note posted on the door…….
It’s opened an interesting can of worms, because a couple of days ago the closing made CBS 8 News! Ok, now this is going to be interesting….
BTW, their Mission Valley location is still open.
5450 Clairemont Mesa Blvd,
San Diego, CA 92117
On a more positive note…..
Gong’s Noodle Coming to Clairemont Mesa:
I saw this sign in the newly renovated Madison Place, near where Kanna Thai is replacing Di-Chan.
Don’t know much more than what the sign says…..the Chinese writing is the same as the name. So will keep tabs on it.
It seems each business has it’s own address here, so I think this one might be:
5519 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92117
And finally……something interesting….
In one of her posts; our friend and fellow blogger Kat, in one of her posts, mentioned the story of “Kimi Chan” who it is said inspired a famous children’s song, Akai Kutsu. To quote Atlas Obscura on the story of Kimi-Chan:
“A single mother named Kayo Iwasaki moved to Hokkaido in 1903 with her daughter, Kimi Sano, but their life there turned out to be so hard that she could no longer raise the girl on her own. Eventually, she decided that she had to leave Kimi in the care of American missionary Charles W. Huett and his wife, who promised to take her back to the United States and raise her there.
However, what awaited the girl was a tragedy. Before the Huetts could sail for America, Kimi caught tuberculosis and had to be taken in at an orphanage in Azabu, where she died shortly after at the age of nine. Kayo never found out about her daughter’s death, believing for life that Kimi grew up to be a fine lady and had a good life abroad.”
There’s a statue of Kimi-Chan in Yamashita Park in Yokohama. But, on an interesting note, did you know that Yokohama and San Diego are Sister Cities?
And if you go to Shelter Island, there’s a red pagoda housing the Yokohama Friendship Bell.
And, if you look to the left of the Pagoda….well, guess what?
It the Girl in Red Shoes by Japanese artist Munehiro Komeno.
In the comments of her post, I promised Kat that I’d take some photos and post, so on my most recent visit to Tunaville, I stopped by to take these photos. So there you go Kat!
I had actually first read about this in one of the posts on Atlas Obscura, when I was going over my posts on the Statue of Bum the Dog in Edinburgh and we having a Statue of Greyfriars Bobby here in San Diego. Edinburgh and San Diego are Sister Cities as well.
Kind of neat, huh?
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.
The new president, Ed Morales, was introduced and he 
The artist rendition for the 2025 
Even moreso in real life! See the slot in the front hill? That is where the "Spotter" sits and can view what is in front of the float. The Spotter speaks to the driver via a headset and has a set of brakes there at the front, in case an emergency type of stopping is necessary.
Kiwanis International has the theme "Being Together" and is going to be even more beautiful when covered in natural materials and flowers. The slot for the Spotter to view is at the top of the honeycomb
The Service organization of Oddfellows and Rebekahs has their 2025 entry depicted 
Here it is in real life! so vibrant and, again, cute. You can see the rectangular slot in front. The Driver, who only follows the 'Rose Colored Line' on the street is situated near the middle of the float.
The drawing of the 2025 
This beauty is surreal and so detailed; everyone (on either side of the parade route) will see something different.
The 2025 entry for the Luthern Hour Ministries and 
There will be 'stained glass' windows on the church, all created with natural materials. This float will be magnificent with it's theme "Behold! Jesus the Savior is Born". The Petal Pushers volunteers assist with decorating about eight floats during decorating days.
The Fraternal Service Organization of Elks will have another float in the 2025 Rose Parade.
"Cherished Memories" is the theme. Remember that all floats must 'fit' down the parade route, so the Elk at the back of the float must be able to collapse down to the maximum allowable size.
Shriners Children's 2025 float will feature a working waterfall!
So far, in it's basic stages, I can see that the two parrots will be lifted up to go down the parade route, then lowered as it gets to the tight spots along the route. 
I have not seen any drawings for the City of Alhambra entry, but it was also tested on July 13. 
A cortadito ($3.39) was a nice alternative to coffee. The espresso with sweetened condensed milk really hit the spot. 
A new beverage is an iced passion fruit, yuzu pear lemonade ($5.45) and we just had to try it. Topped with edible violas and mint, this was a very pleasant, not overly sweet treat.
A peach target ($4.55) and a matcha raspberry eclair ($3.90) were our choices to try later that day. Wonderful crust and pastry and fruit and cream. Very nice indulgences.
A walnut-raisin batard ($4.65) is a must purchase item. Crisp crust, an almost sourdough base and walnuts and raisins; a perfect snack or breakfast.
Two cheese rolls ($1.19 each). were enjoyed in the car on the way home. Crisp and flaky and sugar topped with a whipped cream cheese filling. Another perfect item.
We ordered Torrejas (Cuban French Toast) ($9.15), a wonderful breakfast item, especially with the cream cheese and fresh fruit.
Instead of an eggy sandwich, we shared a lechon sandwich ($8.69) Roasted pork, so tender and topped with pickled onions, served on fresh, pressed bread that was spread with a wonderful house made chimichurri sauce. This satisfied the cravings I had for about half a year.
The 2023 Tournament of Roses with the theme "Turning The Corner" has concluded. The Rose Parade was held on January 2 (the Parade is never on a Sunday; the first parades in the 1800s had floats that were horses pulling carriages and horses were needed for church on Sunday; the tradition stands). Following the Parade, the floats line up at the end of the five mile Parade route, end to end, and are displayed after the Parade and the next day. This year, I drove up with my friend, 
The Sweepstakes Award, for the most beautiful entry encompassing float design, floral presentation and entertainment, went to the float sponsored by Donate Life, "Lifting Each Other Up". A spectacular asian street dragon is the centerpiece of the float. There were 44 memorial floragraphs representing those who had given the gift of life. Those were removed before the rain, so the families could have a memory. 
You can see the empty circles, where the floragraphs had been, in this photo. 
Trader Joe's entry, "Onward" won the Wrigley Legacy Award for most outstanding display of floral presentation, float design and entertainment. The three piece float was magnificent and whimsical. 
Walking along the floats: an alligator, a shark and crested birds were some of the many details not seen during the television broadcast. 
The Kiwanis entry, "Catching the Wave of Service" was so beautiful.
The City of Alhambra entry, "Together We Rise" received the Tournament Volunteer award. 
Elks U.S.A entered "Elks Investing in Our Communities"- a magnificent float. 
More details- hummingbirds, snails and bees might have gone unnoticed during the quick TV viewing. Yet so much work was put into the design and decoration of each and every one of the 39 floats in the 2023 Parade. (I have photos of all the floats if you want any specific pictures).
"Celebrating a World of Music: The Universal Language". The float designs are being submitted and construction will begin. As an aside, each float always has recorded music while it drives down the Parade Route. This theme will have the floats designed and coordinated with the music. It should be fun. 
cc was looking forward to going to Portos after our morning of walking. 
She and I needed lunch. A cubano sandwich, cuban style black bean soup, turkey and cheese croissant and (to go, for The Mister) a rustic chopped chicken salad (which includes house candied bacon-yum!). There were, of course a few bakery items. However, we were here on January 3-just before Epiphany, the 12th night after Christmas and the 'end' of the holiday season. 
Traditional celebratory sweets to celebrate Three Kings Day were for sale; however the Rosca de Reyes was already sold out. We each purchased a Galette des Rois.
Puff pastry filled with a layer of almond frangipane cream as well as a touch of guava jam (for a Cuban twist). The 'baby' could be hidden into a slice by us (if there were more than two of us sharing this tart) and whoever found it could wear the crown. The Mister and I shared wearing the crown. 
There were no Roscas, but the seasonal Rosquitas, a sweet bread topped with dried, candied fruits made some nice bites for us this year. 
Honda is a Sponsor of the Tournament and their float is not judged; that's why it is not completely covered in organic materials.
Things looked pretty much the same with no large notices or signs. Until I took a look at the note on the door.
