Desserts – Page 15

Tunisia: Market day in Tataouine

October 13, 2012 mmm-yoso Desserts, Markets & Grocers, Travel, Tunisia, Tunisian Food

We left Ksar Ghilane early in them morning. We were headed to the final stop on our private tour, the island of Djerba. There would be a couple of stops along the way. We were headed to the town of Tataouine….yes, for those Star Wars fans, there really is a city name Tataouine. We traveled through some pretty inhospitable areas…..and yet, people have been living here for centuries. We passed by several ruins of Roman fortifications along the way.

Outside of Tataouine are several Berber hill villages. The most popular is called Chenini….yep, there's the Star Wars connection again. The village is known for it's distinctive white Mosque up on the hill.

We took about an hour to walk around the village. Many of the older homes built into the hillside had been abandoned and turned into storage.

Soon enough we made our way back to our transport and headed off to Tataouine. Since it was market day, the place was hopping.

Ben walked us to this little bakery.

Like Kairouan and Makroud, Tataouine also has it's special pastry called Corne de Gazelle, the gazelle's horn.

The pastry is in the shape of a gazelle's horn. I thought this was very nicely flavored, almonds and sesame seeds gave the confection a nice nuttiness. Like almost all classic Tunisian desserts the pastry was doused with a nice bit of honey. The Missus didn't care for it….I'm thinking it was the sesame seeds.

While Ben had a seat at one of the coffee shops, the Missus and I started walking around the market area. Here are some photos.

You know what this shop sells, right?

I was really enjoying the coffee culture in Tunisia and we decided to take a break at one of the coffee houses….it was a nice stop and gave us some time to take in the environment and people watch. They call espresso "cafe express" in Tunisia.

It was pretty calm driving from here on out, as we made our way to the island of Djerba. Soon we were driving over the causeway to Djerba which was the last leg of our tour. It had been a pretty hectic couple of days, but I was glad we did this…..there's just so much history in Tunisia.

Oahu: Leonard’s and Oxtail Soup from Kapiolani Coffee Shop

August 5, 2012 mmm-yoso Bakery, Desserts, Diner, Honolulu, Oahu, Travel

During my visits home, mornings are "my" time. I'll take a drive, fill gas, pick up stuff for lunch/dinner, find a wi-fi connection, and basically just drive around……..at 5-6am. I really wanted the D's to enjoy some of the "local" food I grew up eating. Of course, being raised in the Kaimuki/Kapahulu area, Leonard's is on that list. I'm still quite flabbergasted when I see tour buses and even a limo pull up to the very non-descript bakery that is Leonard's and the lines we experienced on our last trip home were just not fun. I'm sure you can go later in the evening…..but for me, malasadas were made to be eaten early in the day. The Missus and I tried the malasadas from the Leonard's wagon in Waikele and really didn't care for what they sold….cold, greasy, somewhat gummy. So it had to be a trip to Kapahulu. I didn't expect to encounter too many lines at 530 in the morning…….

There was a line, but only four folks in front of me. It seems that Leonard's is popular with the military as two groups of men in fatigues dropped in while I waited in line. There's something about the heavenly smells when I walk into Leonard's that just takes me back to "small kid time".

Over the years, Leonard's has expanded their line of malasadas to include filled versions. Being the old fuddy-duddy that I am, I still go for the original plain sugared version. Though I also bought a half dozen haupia filled as well.

Man, these always take me back…… MrD enjoyed having his with soy milk for breakfast, telling me it was like a sweet youtiao! You know, I never thought of that…..

Leonard's is one of those iconic places that you should check out at least once if you're ever in or around Honolulu. Here's a neat little trivia thingy, Leonard's is celebrating their 60th anniversary this year. Did you know that the original location that Leonard Rego opened his bakery is actually in the building where Ono Hawaiian Food (another iconic eating establishment) is located?

Leonard's Bakery
933 Kapahulu Ave
Honolulu, HI 96816

The trip for the day was Dole Plantation. Maggie seemed to really enjoy the maze……

This is the Ohia tree and the blossoms are called Lehua. I stopped Maggie from picking these, by telling her the legend of Pele and Ohia.

The story goes that Pele (the Godess of fire) fell in love with a handsome man named Ohia whom she wanted to marry. Ohia, however told Pele that he was in love with a maiden named Lehua and turned her down. Well, as you imagine, this didn't sit well with Madam Pele….she turned Ohia into the twisted looking Ohia tree. Lehua became heartbroken and the gods took pity on her by turning her into the Lehua blossom, so that she and Ohia would be inseparable. To this day, it is said that picking the Lehua blossom will cause rain…..tears falling because Ohia and Lehua cannot bear to be separated.

The late afternoon meant another shopping trip and my in-laws took the D's to a luau. I dropped them off and went to pick-up dinner. I had been wanting to check out Kapiolani Coffee Shop for their oxtail soup a long time favorite since reading about it on Reid's blog back in 2004. Never let it be said that I'm not a patient person…..since that time, Kam bowl has closed down and the shop is now located in Waimalu Shopping Center.

Based on the menu, I'm pretty sure that this is one of the originals when it comes to oxtail soup…..

Funny thing is, I remember having my first bowl of oxtail soup at a restaurant on Kapiolani, next to where Aloha Motors was……could it be? I couldn't find any information on that.

The restaurant is quite small and very, very, old school.

The oxtail soup ain't cheap, almost $14 for a bowl, which comes with two scoops of rice….oh, as old school at KCS is, they did ask me if I wanted brown rice! Man, my soup arrived at my table in like two minutes…..

The standard condiment is some grated ginger and shoyu(soy sauce). I thought the broth was a bit too salty, even for me, very mild anise tones, and frankly, I prefer a bit more "fat" in my broth. This one was very clear. Lots of cilantro and green onions…..

The oxtails were excellent….not falling to pieces, but just tender enough. Personally, I prefer some nice fatty bits and gelatinous goodness, these had been prepped to remove a good amount of that stuff.

I still prefer the oxtail soup I had at The Alley to this and the portion to price ratio seemed a bit on the small side. Still it was good to be able to finally get that oxtail soup off my "list". Plus, I enjoyed the old school feel of the place.

Hey…..is that waitress calling me an Ox?

Kapiolani Coffee Shop
98-020 Kamehameha Hwy
Aiea, HI 96701

Istanbul: The Grand Bazaar, Kara Mehmet Kebab, Haci Bekir, Hafiz Mustafa 1864, and Rami Restaurant

June 13, 2012 mmm-yoso Chicken Wings, Desserts, Istanbul, Travel, Turkey, Turkish Food

That title long enough for you? I considered not finishing the Istanbul posts of our 2011 trip, but thought I should probably do them because they influenced our most recent trip. Of course, probably the most serious omission in our posts was not mentioning the Grand Bazaar, spread over nine acres, with over 60 streets, and over 550 years old, of course we had to check it out, if only for a couple of hours. We decided to enter through the main gate of the Bazaar……

Depending on what your source is, it is said that there are somewhere between 3,000 to 4,000 shops in the Grand Bazaar. That's a lot of stuff……stuff that was also more expensive than elsewhere. I guess the overhead must be pretty high here. since we travel pretty light there wasn't much room for "stuff". So of course we were here in search of something to eat! I'd read a post on Istanbul Eats about a kebab shop in the Bazaar area. The Bazaar itself contains many "Hans", which used to be inns which is where travelers would stay. If you're interested in more about the Grand Bazaar as well as a walking tour, you might want to get this book. And while walking navigating the bazaar might seem a bit of a task, we had little trouble finding CebiciHan….you walk through a short, low ceilinged, passageway and find yourself there……just a few yards in distance, but seemingly a universe away from the bustle of the Grand Bazaar.

In a tranquil courtyard, next to a tea shop with a large group of older men were socializing and playing cards was the shop I was looking for called Kara Mehmet Kebab.

It was a peaceful and relaxing place, the guys running the show were friendly….and quite mischievous. When the borek vendor came by, hands filled with a pile of borek above his head, they started tickling him and slapping his behind….trying to get him to drop all his profits. Funny thing, we later saw a photo of the borek guy in the book I mentioned above!

I started with a refreshing glass of Ayran.

The Missus wanted some tea, which was brought from the tea shop next door.

Ordering for me was pretty easy….I just went with the Karisik Izgara…the mixed grill. The Missus wanted to try the Adana Kebab. Things started off with a nice Coban Salatasi, shepherd's salad, which was quite good as it was dressed with what tasted like balsamic vinegar.

The Missus enjoyed Her Adana Kebab. Though it was milder than She expected, it was very moist and tender……..which is where many of the kebab places here in the states fall short.

My mixed grill turned out to be quite a bit of food (duh!).

Strangely….well, knowing me, maybe not…..I really enjoyed the grilled chicken wings which were moist and full of flavor…smokey, salty, sweet, and mildly spicy. The skin was even fairly crisp.

This turned out to be the best meal of our time in Istanbul.

Kara Mehmet Kebap Salonuu
Iç Cebeci Han No: 92
Grand Bazaar, Old City, Istanbul

It was also a lot of fun watching the old men argue over a game of cards……one gentleman slammed his cards down and started to walk away in a huff while all the other guys tried to get him back. Some things are universal and we couldn't help but laugh. The other men were cracking up and pointed at us saying something in Turkish……the guy sheepishly smiled, waved at us, and went back to the table where his smiled disappeared, pointing to another gentleman, the one who probably beat his rear end off, and the game resumed.

Soon enough it was time to hit the bustling streets of Istanbul again.

We still needed to pick up some small gifts to bring back to us. One of the guys back at the hotel told us to get Turkish Delight from Ali Muhiddin Haci Bekir.

According to the story, back in 1777 Bekir Effendi created Turkish Delight and this shop has been in existence since then. We were told that it was the oldest continuously run business in Istanbul at over 230 years. I'm not a big fan of lokum, but heck, if you're going to get it, it might as well be from the originators, right?

By the time we were headed back to our hotel the heat and crowds were starting to wear us down. The Missus noticed a shop with a second floor dining area and decided that it would be a great time for a break.

We ordered a snack and some tea downstairs then walked up the narrow stairwell (the norm for Istanbul) to what turned out to be a very nice dining area.

It turns out that the name of the place was Hafiz Mustafa 1864….I guess for when it was established. This was the perfect little break we needed.

While looking at the photo of the street below, I recalled how crowded and busy things seemed.

And yet, when we returned home, we missed the lively, vibrant, and very social environment……much like we missed China when we got back from our trip there.

Of course, right at that moment, I could more clearly empathize with this fellow we passed on the way back to our hotel room.

This was nothing a nice shower and a short nap couldn't cure and I was ready to go. The front desk folks had recommended at restaurant called Rami to us earlier. It was called very nice and classy…well, we had been travelling with just backpacks and really weren't in the position of visiting anyplace too fancy. We were assured that we'd have no problems with the restaurant which is located in a charming little house a few blocks away.

Well, the house may be charming, but the gentleman who seated us was far from that. The pace was empty, but he was quick to tell us where we couldn't sit….nothing on the second floor, no tables with a view….all reserved, even though the place was totally empty and would remain so during our entire meal.

It did seemed like the spacing of tables were a bit cramped, but of course that didn't bother us since no one else was there.

Our Server promptly dealt us our menus and proceeded to disappear for a good long time. No water, no nothing……. When he returned, I think we made our second "mistake"……..we'd had a good amount of food for lunch. To us, it seemed that just have a combination of starters for dinner would just be the perfect thing. His response, "humph……."

We went with the cold starters combination (TRY 29 – about $18 at the time).

All I remember after tasting this was how bland and ice cold this stuff was. It was like cafeteria food.

We also ordered the "Hot" Starters Plate (also TRY 29)……hot was just being used in the broadest of terms I suppose as most of this was also cold and somewhat greasy.

That lahmacun was plain nasty and we quit after one bite each.

Believe me when I say it was far from what as written on the menu.

As we were almost(thankfully) through our meal the Server plunked down some bread at our table……I mean really, if you're going to get all stuffy and pretentious on us, at least show me that you know how to time things and do your job. After all the great experiences we had in Istanbul, this was a rather sad way to end our trip.

As I sat at the window of our hotel room and listened to the last call to prayer for the evening I realized something. I usually work a little harder when researching places to eat when we travel. All the sites and history of Istanbul had taken over and we had stayed with places close to the Old City. I would have to fix that next time we were here. And based on how much we loved Istanbul, there would be a next time.

Current Obsession: Mango, Chamango, Mangoneada.

June 2, 2012 Cathy Desserts, Mexican Restaurants, Sandwiches, Stuff, What Cathy Eats!

You are reading mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog. Kirk is busy (with things to do and eat in an exotic part of the world), ed (from Yuma) is busy (with things to do and eat in Yuma) and Cathy is busy (blogging about things she did and ate recently).

So. I was cleaning up 'my' area of the kitchen today and noticed something about my current snacks. There is a commonality in all of these items.

I'm not a chocoholic; never was. Sugary sweets don't interest me. I am currently a craver of a combination of tangy mango with salty-savory-pickled-sour with chile powder heat and occasionally the sweet of gooey tamarind candy. Every possible receptor cell taste bud being active in a single food item. How did this happen?

In December I went on a Major Food Crawl with fellow Bloggers caninecologne (Pink Candles at Ridgemont High), Carol (CAB Cooks) and Dennis (A Radiused Corner)-no, I never wrote about the eight or so places we stopped at; I started to and the post got *huge*. Instead, I have returned to each of the eateries we stopped at and have been enjoying the specialties enjoyed at each. There will be more posts.

This is where the spicy and mango comes into play. We stopped at Teresita's Fruiteria.

Teresita's is located in a mall anchored by a KFC and McDonald's on the Northwest corner of I-805 and Palm Avenue. Technically, it is in San Diego City, but it is way South.

There is an extensive menu, however, not only was it late in the very long day for the four of us, but CC knew what Teresita's sold that nobody else does- Chamango. We ordered four.

A frozen mango smoothie-with chunks of mango, swirled with chamoy liquid and topped with bits of Chaca Chaca– a gooey tamarind candy. The combination of sweet-tart mango with the pickled sour saltiness and chili heat of the chamoy and the gooey fruit candy bits of tamarind was delightful, refreshing and a combination of flavors I had never tasted (and those who know what I do around this time of year know that I have tasted a lot of bizarre stuff). I have returned many times to Teresita's, even though it is a long drive from home.

I really only want the Chamango (small is about $4) but also order a small pico de gallo ($3.50) (the long white pieces on tope are slices of fresh coconut) (really good) and, on this visit a grilled cheese sandwich ($2.50) so as to appear to be eating a healthy meal. The pico, topped with Tajin, or a Tajin-like mix of salt, red chile and lime is a wonderful combination of fruit, vegetable and heat. The grilled cheese is particularly addicting for me. There is only one bread, no choice. It is a *really* nice, chewy whole wheat that is crisped up and…filled (you can see) filled with an unusually high quality sliced processed American cheese. Really. I *hate* Kraft slices and don't even want cheese on burgers, but this cheese, slightly melted with this bread…heaven. Creamy and salty and a great sandwich.

Teresita's Fruiteria 4370 Palm Ave, Suite 5 San Diego 92154

So. I have posted about Tropical Fruit Paradise, a fruiteria right down Mission Gorge Road, closer to where The Mister and I live.

I do enjoy fruiterias because the whole concept of a fruit shop is fascinating. Growing up in colder climates, the idea of walking into a store and finding fresh fruit, much less having it prepared in various ways was never considered by either myself or The Mister.

In addition to the torta sandwiches mentioned in my other post, wraps are offered here.

The chicken wrap costs about 50¢ more than a turkey or ham wrap. All are made with a spinach wrapper and simply filled with lettuce, tomato and Ranch dressing. But the chicken is heated on the grill and tastes that much better.

As with most fruiterias, Tostilocos is (are?) available ($3.99). The version here uses regular cucumber as well as jicama and the hot sauce coating everything is quite spicy hot. A bit different and very good.

The mango-chamoy beverage here is a Mangoneada. It is made with frozen mango chunks and orange juice. The chamoy is nicely distributed as the beverage is poured in the cup. BUT instead of being topped with tamarind pieces- the straw is coated in Chaca Chaca, the chewy, salty tamarind candy…

That's a small Fruit Salad Freeze ($3.75). Also very good -strawberries, peaches and banana.

I hope everyone is having a good weekend and satisfying current cravings. Thanks for introducing me to this one, caninecologne!

Tropical Fruit Paradise 10387 Friars Road San Diego 92120 (619) 584-4786

25 Forty Bistro and Bakehouse (Old Town)-revisit for lunch

May 17, 2012 Cathy Bakery, Buffets, Desserts, European Restaurants, Los Angeles County, What Cathy Eats!

25Forty has closed. It will be missed

Well, you've found mmm-yoso!!! and we'd like to welcome you to our blog about food. Kirk usually blogs here and sometimes so does ed(from Yuma). Cathy usually chimes in about meals she has enjoyed when the guys are busy. Today, it's Cathy.

Hello again. I posted about a few lunches at 25Forty Bistro last year. 25Forty has changed since then; it's still open for Brunch and dinner on weekends, closed on Mondays and now is open for lunch on Thursday and Friday only. As part of that lunch offering, one of the menu choices is an all you can eat buffet at an affordable price of $8.

A few weeks ago, The Mister and I had some time and drove to Old Town for lunch here. The seating outside is the same, as are most of the tables inside, but along the back wall is a small buffet area.

We started lunch with iced tea and water. The water, as always, is brought out in glasses and with a large chilled bottle for refills at will. The iced tea is a good, strong brew.

The Mister ordered the All You can Eat buffet. As it was crowded, I did not want to get up to take a photo of the buffet area, but it is not large and on the tables looking like a nice buffet you'd have at a friend's home over the Holidays. This is a bit of everything available: cheeses, olives, pasta salad, salad with chicken, sliced ham, plain salad ) I do like the dressing here), rigatoni with meat sauce (very nice), roast pork (excellent) and mashed potatoes (perfect). The plate is very large and The Mister's second trip to the buffet area only brought back a bit more cheese and walnuts, which he said was his dessert…

I chose the $10 lunch combination, which includes a beverage, a baked dessert and either a salad or sandwich. As in my other post, I chose the steak salad, which I crave. The meat is so tender and perfectly seasoned and placed on top of balsamic dressed mixed greens. The heirloom tomato had wonderful flavor.

The selection of desserts was slightly overwhelming. I walked over to the counter and saw a selection of cupcakes as well as pastries. I noticed that people can order a coffee beverage to go (there were 'to go' cups stacked next to the espresso machine) as well as pastries and apparently lots of people do so. After a bit of time, I chose this Nutella® filled pastry.

As you can see, the pastry was fresh and flaky and filled with the chocolate-hazelnut spread. We shared this. It was a delightful end to this pleasant lunch. We walked around Old Town and "played tourist" before returning to the car. San Diego is a very nice place where we are fortunate to live.

25Forty Bistro and Bakery 2540 Congress Street San Diego 92110 (619)294-2540 Closed Monday. Website

Antalya: A walk around Kaleiçi, Can Can Pide Yemek Salonu, Gul Restaurant, and Marti Borek Manti

May 10, 2012 mmm-yoso Desserts, Travel, Turkey, Turkish Food

We'd had an interesting night in Antalya and I was really enjoying the city. From the hotel, to the the people, it was working out well. After a typical no need to eat until next week Turkish breakfast, we decided to take a walk around "Old Antalya", the Kaleiçi, surrounded by city walls, it is protected from development. There are still Ottoman and Roman style homes in the area.

I was unusually touched as we walked by the Keike Minare (the broken minaret) which is part of the ruins of the Korkut Camii, which was in my previous post. An elderly gentleman, very well dressed, probably in his eighties was walking on the other side of the street. He started toward us, smiled, walked up to me and extended his hand…… I didn't quite know what to say other than to smile and shake his hand. For me, it was such a welcoming gesture……

The streets themselves varied in width, some wider than others, some quite narrow, all of them exuding character.

It was also quite nice that the streets were empty at this hour, which is why we really enjoy our morning walks.

In this day of cookie cutter construction and having seen the "condo farms", buildings sprouting like corn in China, this was quite a change. You could feel the history of the city oozing from the cracks in the walls.

The doors of various building were particularly fascinating. Each one different, they all seemed to have a story to tell.

After a bit we wandered North, then toward the direction of Ataturk Caddesi, the main street in the area, right outside the city walls where the tram runs. To get out of the walls you walk thru Hadriyanus Capisi (Hadrian's Gate) which was build to honor the Roman Emperor Hadrian for his visit to Antalya in the year 130AD.

Walking south, past all the older men drinking tea in the park, we headed down Ataturk Caddesi, past all the shops, banks, and business buildings….and even past the ATM Farm. I don't recall ever seeing a place where competing ATMs are line up in such a manner.

We walked past what looked like government buildings, had a short stop for tea, then around the edges of a very large park.

We ended up here…….

The views were quite beautiful…….

To our right was Hıdırlık Tower, built by the Romans in the first century. I guess to keep watch over the Antalya Bay.

Right to the north was the colorful Roman Harbor.

We walked down to the harbor, past all the colorful tourist boats, then back up what must have been a cliff wall way back when…….

Climbing back up those steps I recall turning around and looking and marveling at how wonderful the "strands of clouds" looked.

Sort of a like a cloud version of the aurora borealis…….

After this we just kind of wandered around and somehow ended up at the Clock Tower.

Funny thing happened as we walked past the Tekeli Mehmet Pasha Camii…..an elderly gentleman walked out and waved us into the Mosque. I pointed to the shorts I was wearing….I really didn't plan on visiting a mosque. But he just shook his head and waved us in.

Down a nearby street is the Shopping Bazaar, mostly full of tourist stuff.

We eventually made a complete circle all the way back to Hadrian's Gate. By this time I was starting to get hungry. We headed away from Kaleiçi and ended up near a shopping area. We saw this place on the street. I'd read about it somewhere, so we decided that this was the place for lunch.

This place was doing some major take-out business and the Pide looked really good!

The prices seemed right and the Missus liked the menu which offered a good variety of items.

I'd noticed that the food in Antalya seemed more aggressively spiced than what we had in Instanbul. I actually enjoyed this. I tried a pepper from the bowl on the table and it was indeed fairly spicy.

The Missus enjoyed the dolmasi…one pepper, one eggplant.

But She really enjoyed the Patlican Musakka. It's not like Greek Moussaka. This was spiced stewed lamb on a roasted eggplant.

I had the Karisik Pide, which turned out to be quite filling.

Those roasted peppers were delicious as well.

Of course, this is Turkey and there was that basket of bread available……

Of course we headed back to the hotel and immediately took a nap….awakening a couple of hours later. After just lounging around for a couple of hours we headed back out. Near the main street and traffic control gate to the old city was this little restaurant.

Folks eat fairly late here, so we had the entire restaurant to ourselves and took a small table in the very pretty tree lined back courtyard.

I'd pretty much had my fill of meat and just wanted a variety of mezes for dinner. The server, a very nice young man was quite accommodating and we just had bread (of course), lavas, and a nice variety of mezes for dinner.

It was a light, but very satisfying meal.

Of course we took an after meal walk. This time we followed the tram line away and west of the Kaleiçi. This took us to a residential/business area that looked fairly expensive.

We followed the road to the water's edge, then turned back…..

By this time the Missus wanted an "after dinner sweet" and this place looked like it would fit the bill.

I had ayran, the Missus had tea, and we settled at the outside table. It was a nice place to people watch as we shared some baklava.

Meanwhile, a gentleman with a handsome dog walked down the steps. He left the dog there while he went to get his hair cut next door. I guess the pooch is pretty well known. The owner of the shop put a napkin in front of him and placed a piece of baklava on it.

I guess it's good being king, or at least a prince. He was so well behaved and waited patiently for his owner. Meanwhile, across the street we saw a beautiful golden retriever, so proud and happy….suddenly stop, turn around, and try to drag his owner in the opposite direction. We wondered what caused this…then we noticed that the dog had stopped a two doors down from a Vet! Of course it was to no avail as the owner tugged his suddenly unhappy dog into the Vet.

One more interesting thing……..

This gentleman was the shoe guy right in front of the snack shop. One of my shoes was starting to come apart at the sole. We got him to fix my shoe, which lasted until we got back home!

It's easy to fall into the flow here, but it was back to Istanbul in the morning. We did have a relaxing two days, though…..

One last thing. For some reason, I just loved this sign…….

I'm not sure why……

Nahrain Fish and Chicken Grill (with a short visit to Shakira)

February 29, 2012 Cathy Bakery, Desserts, Iraqi Food and Restaurants, Mediterranean Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

Welcome (back) to mmm-yoso!!! the blog of food. Sharing meals with you is what we do. Today, Kirk and ed(from Yuma) are lurking while Cathy is sharing.

Hi. The Mister and I have noticed signs for Nahrain and Shakira while on Main Street, whenever we are going to Valley Foods Mediterranean Market, where we shop (and eat in the store) fairly regularly and finally decided to stop one day. This is the view from the parking lot, but from the street, while stopped at the signal light at Ballard, you may only notice "Shakira", the top sign for the mall right next to the parking lot flower stand. Shakira is a bakery.

Over there, to the right, on Main Street is Nahrain- the blue sign.

When you walk in, the fresh fish are in the counter next to the cash register. Those on the far end, next to the catfish, under the tray of shrimp are yellow pompano, which are only served fried with rice according to the menu. All the other fish are sold by the pound.

To the far left are the very large Grass Carp fish.

On the side of the dining room is…a fountain.

It's filled with even fresher fish.

Just so you know, the live catfish are $8.99/lb, the ones in the counter are $5.99/lb. The live tilapia are also $8.99/lb and the ones in the counter are $6.99/lb. Strip bass are $8.99/lb, Grass Carp are $5.99/lb and the red snapper are $7.99/lb.

On our first visit, we weren't certain what to order, asked about the tandoori chicken (because we noticed a Halal certification for the restaurant) and were told it would take 40 minutes to prepare, so we ordered this side of hummus ($3.99) was very good, fresh and not too large.

Then we each ordered a sandwich. These were served on fresh sammoon bread.

My Chicken Cream Chop sandwich ($4.99) was freshly fried and crispy. Cream chop is a chicken breast (or beef ) marinated in a seasoned cream sauce and 'chop' means then rolled in bread crumbs and fried (I've seen potato chop on menus). The rest of this sandwich was onions and tomatoes. All the flavors melded perfectly.

The Mister ordered a beef tikka kabob sandwich ($4.99). Finely ground beef mixed with onion and parsley and seasonings and grilled. This was very moist and flavorful. This sandwich was served with all those pickles, tomatoes as well as onions and flat leaf parsley.

When we were leaving, the owner came over and told us we can always call in and order a tandoori chicken, masgoof chicken or masgoof fish and it would be prepared and ready by the time we got there.

Masgoof. We had to research. Masgouf. The national dish of Iraq. The fish(or chicken) is split down the middle, leaving the back intact, sort of a large circle. Then the animal is coated in olive oil, salt, turmeric and tamarind then cooked over fire. (Masgouf was the downfall of Saddam Hussein)

We called in that Friday, telling them we were driving in and would like a tilapia, around 2-3 pounds; that there would be two of us sharing a meal inside the restaurant. We arrived pretty quickly and the food wasn't quite ready and so we decided to order a salad. We could not decide on fatoosh or Arabic salad, and since both are $3.99, we were offered half of each.

The Arabic salad, on the left, is mainly lettuce, cucumber, green pepper and tomatoes and a delightful dressing that has fresh mint. The Fatoosh salad has fried pita bread croutons and an equally delightful, fresh and different dressing. This is a large plate.

Soon, a giant flat folded wheat bread as well as plates and sides and hot tea (which was brought out early because we asked, but it is included in the meal and usually brought out at the end)

The condiments (in that cute fish shaped platter) are tomatoes, onions and pickled mango…mango chutney..salty and not too sweet and it is complimentary to the fish:

The tilapia was proudly presented to us by the chef. Beautifully cut, seasoned and cooked, this meal was wonderful, fresh, filling and..less than $20. Yes. Everything is included and the fish ($6.99/lb) was less than three pounds.

Here is (the now) obligatory photo of The Mister's fancy fish carcass cleaning work. The skin of the fish was not as tasty as other fish skin I've had, but the fins were crispy good. Also, this was tilapia, a fish with a double skeleton going on…so not as easy to eat as other fish.

So. We walked next door, to Shakira and were overwhelmed with choices. We were not hungry after that awesome meal-but knew at some point we would be hungry again.

We decided to take home one of the cheesy flatbreads. This is not as large as the bread that accompanied our meal, but more the size of a very large pita bread. It is $1. It was a fresh and soft bread topped with a soft mild cheese. There were several differently topped flatbreads, all vegetarian and all $1 each. I will be returning.

Then we exercised restraint and each of us chose one sweet piece of dessert. The top/square piece is filled with chopped pistachios and topped with shredded filo. The bottom round one has whole pistachios. Sold by weight ($8/lb) the price for these two pieces was $1.08. These were not too sweet and made with a light syrup rather than honey. The filo dough remained crispy until the next morning.

All in all, this is yet another great place to eat in El Cajon.

Nahrain Fish and Chicken Grill 1183 E. Main Street #A El Cajon, CA 92021 (619) 334-3222

Shakira Pastry 1183 E. Main Street #B El Cajon 92021 (619)440-6068

Coffee, tea and sweets and snacks. A few photos.

May 13, 2011 Cathy Desserts, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is a compilation of food. All sorts of food, whether prepared in the home or purchased outside the home. Cathy is COMC(Cleaning Out her Memory Card) today.

Hi. I just wanted to share some nice moments I have had by taking the time to sit down with friends and share snacks.
Open Face sandwiches (salami, Havarti, chopped liver all on whole grain) with hard boiled eggs and coffee. With Mrs. P, who is from Denmark.
Olive assortment, salami, a sheep's milk cheese with olive oil and crackers with Mr.& Mrs. D. There was wine involved.

A selection of baklava from Babi's Bakery, which had been in El Cajon but has closed. The Kanafa is on the left. The top is orange colored shredded filo topped with chopped pistachios. The filling…the heavenly filling… is a *very* soft sheep's milk cheese, Nabulsi. The cheese is mixed with or has a pour over of a simple syrup which is flavored with rose water. Subtle and heavenly. The wheels of pistachio filled baklava were excellent. Neither of these items was too sweet. Another bakery has taken Babi's place and I will be posting on it soon.

Mrs. B made me an assortment of cookies for us to have with tea, and extra for me to bring home to The Mister. The cookies were made with real butter as well as lemon peel and orange peel and almonds. Mrs. B knows I don't crave chocolate.
Mr. C and I met at Yogurtland in Mira Mesa. I like the tartness of the yogurts here. Bonus! the spoons are biodegradable.
Breakfast aebelskiver with Mrs. P. Similar to a small popover, this round pancake is simply topped with sugar. (This Mrs. P is from Copenhagen.)

I met up with Mr. S for a coffee and chat in person and not online. Starbucks has recently begun selling "Starbucks Petites". Very small servings of sweets, each less than 200 calories, each $1.50. This is the peanut butter mini cupcake, 180 calories. There seems to be a lot of frosting in proportion to cake. It's good and the size-two or three bites- is more than enough to satisfy any sugar cravings I may have.
Mr. and Mrs. P are French. This is a photo of the remnants of what was left after I stopped by for what I thought would be a brief visit. Always traditional, there was a salad, bread, stew, wine, coffee and sweets.
Caffe Vergnano 1882, an international Coffee Shop, has just opened their first stand alone shop in California, in Hillcrest, on the West side of 5th close to University. Most Caffe Vergnano locations are inside other stores and not stand alones. Walk inside, and you feel as if you are in Italy. There are small snacks and excellent coffee.
I met up with Mr. S a bit more than a week ago and he snapped this photo of a medium cappuccino with the stenciled logo (and the other cup is a double shot topped with a 'kiss' of milk foam, a macchiato). Just ordering a coffee here gets you one of the wrapped "biscoffee" cookies you see on the plate. A post about the varied snack selections available (pastry with Nutella, panino, fococcia) is being 'researched'.

Here is a Caprese salad The Mister made for us the other day. Burrata from Trader Joe's, tomatoes and basil from our yard, all topped with olive oil, salt and pepper and sided with some seedy buttered bread from Charlie's Best. Again, with some wine…as an afternoon snack.

In compiling the items for this post, I realized how fortunate I am and what a variety of friends I have. Of the above visits, only two people I shared a coffee and/or snack with were born in the United States. I am glad we know how important it is to stop and take the time to share time…an easy way to share is with food.

I hope everyone will have a really good weekend.

Road Trip- Shau May (Hi Pie) Restaurant, San Gabriel

January 25, 2011 Cathy Chinese Restaurants, Desserts, Los Angeles County, Road Trip, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is a food blog. Today, Cathy is blogging. Kirk and ed (from Yuma) are "researching" places to blog.

Well. The day was fairly mundane, chilly, the first day of the year. The Mister and I were going to Pasadena to see the Rose Parade floats after the parade ended. We drove North on the 5 instead of the 15…a bit more of a drive, but we hadn't taken that route for more than three years. It was all new and interesting for us. We missed our exit. But since we knew the general direction we were heading, had no interest in turning around. Suddenly, the freeway ended and we were in Alhambra. Then the street had a sign welcoming us to San Gabriel. I had no idea we were heading or even near the San Gabriel Kirk always talks about. We saw this:

Hi Pie Restaurant. That's what the sign says. We parked, stood out front. A nice lady opened the door and said "Happy New Year" with a heavy accent and held the door open. We went in.

Steam trays. Menu above the trays.

Menu on the wall. There are tables inside and out, including two eight person communal tables in the center.

The nice Lady, who spoke broken English, asked us what we wanted and I told her noodles with shrimp. She told one of the young girls working behind the counter what I wanted. The Mister pointed to some items and the nice Lady told us what they were.

We sat near the steam trays at one of the communal tables and saw how quickly items were replenished and replaced. Seems everything is always fresh and a brisk business was going on.

The Mister ordered a three item combination ($4.99)

Really good steamed rice, Ma Po tofu, on the bottom right, (excellent soft soft tofu, with a spicy different than I have ever had, no meat-in fact at least half the menu is vegetarian); ground pork stuffed tofu, on the bottom left, (again, nice light spices and wonderful flavor, tofu firm)and pork belly, in the front on the photo below…

Not crispy pork belly. Flavorful, wonderous, melt in your mouth pork belly…on top of heavenly chopped vegetable something sauce. Seriously good.

Still, we wondered about the name "Hi Pie". I grabbed a business card, and my order came from the kitchen.

See the upside down business card in the top corner?-"Hi Pei Corp." At the top was "Shau May Restaurant" Somebody orders signs. Somebody is dyslectic. Or maybe they got a good deal…

ANYHOW This noodle dish($5.95). Heaven. The shrimp really tasted like they were sauteed in butter. The mushrooms were soft and flavorful. The cabbage, carrots and onions were great and crispy. Oh, and the noodles- not mushy, cooked, but firm. The way I like them. The sauce was not overpowering, but complimentary.

We could get extra rice from pots against the wall, and our own soup, as much as you want…

This one was vegetarian-winter squashes in a plain broth.

This one had a very rich, meaty broth and the green vegetable was not spinach, but more of a cabbage-an older bok choy maybe…

Then, since The Mister was kind of planning on dessert of some sort, and since there would be no pie..I walked over to the other side of the cash register. These were toppings you could select, for shaved ice. Three toppings, $3.95 with tax. I was asked if I would like brown sugar and/or sweetened condensed milk on top. I only chose the milk (New Year Resolution was still in effect). I could get more shaved ice if I wanted…

Oh. My. You can see one of the lychees by the spoon there…and some black tapioca (boba) and then the green apple jelly. So delightful and refreshing.

The food here was really very good. The restaurant is definitely frequented by locals who are knowledgeable about the unlimited rice and soup options. The dessert was a bonus for us and a great start to moving forward in 2011.

Shau May Restaurant – Hi Pei Corp. 830 E. Valley Blvd. San Gabriel CA 91776 (626) 569-9600

Opera Patisseries Fines- Part Two-Lunches

September 30, 2010 Cathy Bakery, Breakfast/Brunch, Desserts, What Cathy Eats!

Welcome (back) to mmm-yoso!!! the food blog. Kirk and ed(from Yuma) are busy finding things to write about and Cathy has things to write about. Here you go.

Hi Again. When Kirk and His Missus were on vacation in China, I wrote about breakfast at Opera Patisserie and told you I'd write about lunch. Quick like a bunny, in my painstakingly methodical way, here are photos of some of those non-breakfast meals. Opera is only open six days a week, for breakfast and lunch and serves its breakfasty menu items after 1:30 in the afternoon. We have never had a bad meal here and this was one of our 'joint' choices of meals to share the week between our birthdays.
One item I did not mention, which is usually sold out by lunch time is the house made almond croissant ($2.49 and so worth it).

Flaky, crispy and billowy layers and layers of buttery goodness, filled with a delightful not too sweet marzipan. An excellent treat or meal…
My other post had shown an egg white omelette filled with mushroom, asparagus and tomato and here is a photo of a 'regular' (eggs with yolk) omelette with the same fillers (same price of $8.95). I actually like the egg white omelette better…but am not complaining about this one, which was a lunch for me one day, served with a salad and fried Yukon Gold potatoes topped with a parmesan cheese.
The Quiche Lorraine can be a breakfast or lunch dish here. It is perfect. The buttery, flaky crust. A thin layer of just enough nutty flavored Swiss cheese. The pancetta. The nutmeg flavor in the custard. Bits of onion…wonderful!
The crepes- Chicken curry ($8.50)…that is a curry white wine sauce. The crepes are thin yet don't fall apart.
They were filled with pieces of roasted chicken breast, red bell peppers, cooked tomatoes, Gruyére cheese and some fresh herbs. Nicely flavored, not spicy. Not too rich. The spring salad is topped with a mustard vinaigrette.
Here is a better photo of my half order of Ahi Niçoise Salad ($ 6.50). It is served in a rather large bowl. The spring mix of lettuces is also mixed with Yukon Gold potatoes, green beans, cherry tomatoes, hard boiled eggs, red bell peppers, olives and topped with a Dijon mustard vinaigrette.

Opera Patisserie 9254 Scranton Road San Diego 92121 (858) 458-9050 Mon-Fri 7 a.m.-2:30 p.m., Sat 8 a.m.-2 p.m. Website