Here's a bunch of photos that have been languishing for a while. Not much else to say today!
And a couple more.
Hope you're having a great week!
Category: Filipino Restaurants
Midweek Meanderings: Little Piggy does Karaoke and Thanksgiving in August
Little Piggy does Karaoke:
I've often mentioned what a great bunch of friends I have. We all get along and always have great time. These guys are up for anything; like the "Amazing Graze" and our Porcine Party. Sadly, I haven't been to help plan or attend many of the recent events, work has kept me busy over the last year or so. So when one of our gang said she wanted to do karaoke for her birthday, it was naturally a "yes, of course." But there was a catch, she also wanted a whole roast pig as well! Not a big deal, right? I mean, I see folks dragging swine into karaoke rooms all the time….yeah, right? Anyway, it was easy enough to get the assignments done; YummyYummy with her connections and persuasive manner would talk the place into letting us bring an entire hog into one of their rooms, I swing the swine, and the rest would be gravy, or is that sauce.
Anyway, after polling some of my acquaintances, and my "Filipino Mom's" in the office next door to us, one porker rendered its way to the top, Porky's Lechon. Now, I gotta say, based on my visits and meals at the place this was a major leap of faith. But I gotta say, this was a very moist fifty pounder.
In case you don't believe that we actually brought a whole pig into a karaoke room, here's "Xiang Jiao" doing the honors as the disco lights dance around it's roasted body…… To paraphrase the lyrics on the screen…."This pork has taken its toll on me……"
Thanks to JohnL for sacrificing his van to transport said swine…..I hope it doesn't still smell like pork heaven. Big thanks also to TFD and MrC for getting the Hen Xuc Banh Trang and baking the cake, and of course "YY" and Quanito for coordinating the room.
Thanksgiving in August:
Recently "XJ", "YY", and their family moved into new digs. they've been wanting to do sort of a house-warming type of thing. "XJ" had also gotten a Weber Smokey Mountain…she's really BBQ Grrrrl I guess, and wanted to put it into service. So I brought my WSM over and we did a little BBQ kinda thing for the gang.
Of course BBQ takes a while and needed our strength, so their mom was nice enough to make us a delicious breakfast.
We timed things pretty well and everything was ready by 2pm as we had planned…..tri-tip, salmon, ribs….
And a whole lot more…..charcuterie and cheese board, TFD's mom made a delicious pork and jackfruit salad, roasted vegetables, salad, and of course dessert.
Around the time we were setting up, someone said "this is like Thanksgiving, but better!" And so it came to pass, Thanksgiving in August. I think we'll make this a tradition. A pretty good idea, don't you think?
Nothing like the power of pork to bring people together!
Hope you're having a great week!
Turo Turo Tuesday: Doing some “research” edition R&B Filipino Cuisine and Manila Fast Food and Desserts
Recently, "YummyYummy" who had her first real exposure to Filipino Food at Kamayan Night at Villa Manila asked me which turo-turo (point-point) place made the better lechon kawali and sisig in the Mira Mesa area; R&B or Manila Fast Foods. While I do believe that timing factors in with regards those two dishes, especially the lechon kawali, I felt up for the challenge….hey, it's deep fried pork, who wouldn't be up for it? At it's most basic, lechon kawali is simply pork belly that has been simmered in water with perhaps some bay leaf and peppercorns, cooled, seasoned, then deep fried. Still, there was quite a difference in the versions served at R&B and MFF, especially with regards to the lechon sauce.
Anyway, without further ado, here goes…..
R & B Filipino Cuisine:
The lechon kawali here has wavered substantially during my past visits. So what would happen this time?
The lechon was probably the best I've had at R&B. It's a bit on the drier side, but not dried out. I think time was on my side this time around. The skin was crisp, though it seemed a bit over-fried. I even enjoyed the lechon sauce, which was less bitter than I recalled, also having a mild sweetness to it. The sisig was good, a nice balance of sour and spicy, though there were some hard and chewy bits in it. Again, probably the best I've had here.
You know, after all these years, I'm waiting to try the hamonado……
R & B Filipino Cuisine
11257 Camino Ruiz
San Diego, CA 92126
Manila Fast Food and Desserts:
So, I've also had mixed results here as well, though I think MFF has been the more consistent of the two.
So, what did I like? Well, my goodness, these were some pretty hefty pieces of pork….it had just come out of the kitchen and were very moist. As you can see, there are no complaints regarding the fat being rendered off (though I'd say that isn't a bad thing). The skin was a bit too hard and man, this was fatty. Yet it was quite enjoyable in that "this was nice, but I'm glad we're not having this again for a while" kind of way. Not as seasoned as R&B, but much more moist and decadent. Not a big fan of the lechon sauce this time around as it tasted watered down…..though the pork was not.
The sisig was much more mild than I recall, though the texture was good. For me, it needed at bit more spice and vinegar, but was very tender and moist without being mushy.
The folks here have always been really friendly….I've been cutting down on rice and carbs, the gentleman who served me was very funny as we determined the amount of rice I wanted. In the end, I was declared, "you can't be Fiilipino"…. which they found funny. But ,they did go easy on the rice for me. The folks here are really friendly and nice.
Manila Fast Food and Desserts
8979 Mira Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92126
So there you go "YY", it's all about timing and what you enjoy….part of the fun is figuring that all out!
Turo Turo Tuesday: Erlinda’s Filipino Cuisine & Ice Cream Parlor
**** Erlinda's has closed
I hadn't been down to National City in a while, at least it seemed that way. So this past weekend I headed down with no real plans, I actually was taking one of my scenic drives….you might like evergreens, giant redwoods, an ocean view…….for me, well, it's seeing a new turo-turo shop and the smell of sisig in the morning!
This one was a surprise; I was taking the 8th Street drive from the 5 and was shocked to see Conching was gone! After how many years? It was now something called Erlinda's Filipino Cuisine and Ice Cream Parlor.
Well, the interior looked the same, the food looked the same…….I decided to have a two item combo.
Now, I've cut down severely on my rice intake in recent years. I even asked them to go easy on the garlic rice….I didn't need too much. I guess this is going easy on the rice?
In retrospect, I should have just gotten pancit or nothing at all since the rice was terrible; mushy, the garlic burnt and bitter, and in dire need of seasoning…….
As you can see; it was pork adobo and sisig.
Once upon a time, Conching made one of my favorite versions of sisig, though it was terrible and disappointing the last time I had it. This version was good, not as good as the best I've had at Conching, but it was pretty close…it was still on the mushy side, but at least there was enough sour-salt-spice to make it enjoyable.
The adobo needed more vinegar and black pepper flavor and a ton less sodium as it was unpleasantly salty. In terms of texture it was fine, a couple of tough pieces, but adequately tender. It was just much too salty…..
I haven't been a real regular at Conching's over the years so I'm not sure if the cooks and staff are the same….based on the sisig, I'd venture that some if not most of the folks here are still the same Conching folks.
Anyway, there you have it……. RIP Conching.
Erlinda's Filipino Cuisine & Ice Cream Parlor
3400 E 8th St.Ste 115
National City, CA 91950
Chic-Boy (Filipino sit down fast food) (National City)
Here you are, back at reading mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog. Today's adventure takes us to National City, because that's where Cathy drove. Kirk is still on vacation and Ed(from Yuma) is still clearing out his office.
So, let's get some things cleared up right now. A) Baboy is Tagalog for pig/pork. The name of this restaurant is a shortened version of Chicken-Baboy, or Chicken-Pig, which are two of the primary items served here. There also is fish on the menu (Isda in Tagalog), but that word doesn't fit the signage in a non-double entendre way. {I'll wait while you go through the possible combinations in your head} 2. There are three tables (with a total of eight chairs) to sit at inside this tiny shop, so if you are here and can't find a place to sit and eat, don't be surprised. 
Located in a a mall anchored by Popeye's and Starbucks, across the way from a McDonald's, Chic-Boy is one of more than eight Filipino owned businesses in this mall near the South East corner of 805 at Plaza Boulevard. Despite my tendency to blog about places and food items that nobody else has blogged about, I was happy to find Faye did blog about Chic-Boy last year. Now I don't feel too far out of the loop and am glad to share one of her (an my) (and cc's) snack food favorites with you (hint: last photo of this post).
Yep, that's pretty much the entire menu on the wall (there is a sandwich board out front, listing some specials) and the other three photos are the entire counter, showing items available. We were here early, so everything was available.
Above is a "BBQ Pork Stick Combo"($3.78)[The combo includes a choice of canned beverage]. The rice is jasmine and very good, the BBQ pork stick is moist and has good flavors (there is vinegar in the marinade, making it not so sweet, which I like).
Above , the BBQ chicken breakfast bowl ($4.99). The BBQ chicken stick, is also moist and not overly sweet. This is also served with a good amount of jasmine rice, some stir fried bok choy (the only vegetable I've ever seen here) and an over-medium egg. Just a perfect mesh of ingredients for a hearty meal. 
Those greasy bags to the left in the glassed in area? Fried dilis (anchovy), fried bulaklak (pork intestines) and, above, fried chicken skins(the snack of choice by both Faye and myself). Each priced the same, ($8.99/lb) and served with a cup of garlic infused vinegar, a perfect, tasty, non-carb snack.
This is a great place to stop for good, fresh food.
Chic-Boy 2220 E. Plaza Blvd, Suite T National City, CA 91950 (619)472-2449
The Food Court at Seafood City (Tapioca Express, Filipino Desserts Plus, Valerios and Grill City)
Thanks for stopping by to read mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog. Usually Kirk is writing posts about food, but right now He is very busy 'researching' so he will have some interesting posts. Ed (from Yuma) is also in a 'researching' mode. Today, Cathy is writing.
More than 14 months ago, I started to write a post about an epic day of visiting a plethora of places to eat in Chula Vista with fellow food bloggers, cc, writer of Pink Candles at Ridgemont High, who has taught me so much and Dennis, who writes A Radiused Corner, another blog that is so informative as well as fascinating. That post seemed frighteningly long and I have left it 'on hold' for all this time. One of the places we stopped that day was the "new" Seafood City, on Orange at Melrose in Chula Vista. 
This still is the newest location in the County (new in 2011) and since discovering it, The Mister and I shop here fairly regularly, always having a bite to eat in the adjacent Food Court area before shopping.
Yes, it's a Food Court with nice, heavy wood picnic table seating; so much nicer than plastic seating. Standard Filipino chains are here (I've posted on Chow King, in various ways more than once and Kirk has posted about Jolibee in various ways). The other places here are also interesting…
The colorful wrapped candies are pastillas and made with milk; a favorite.
Other desserts are sold here also. Mostly made with rice flour, I've tried bites of many of them at parties and visits with friends and really like the selection.
The steam trays here are fascinating.
As are the grab and go foods.
On a recent visit, we shared this ukoy (fritter)($2). Onion, potato, plantain and a head on shrimp, fried into a neat patty and served with black vinegar. This is a current craving.
We also grabbed one of these to share ($1)-the cashews are very good, crispy and the cookies were not too sweet. Filipino Desserts Plus Website multiple locations
At Valerio's, we bought this still warm bibingka ($2.50), a coconut milk/rice flour based cake that is baked inside a banana leaf. It's a special item for us. Valerio's Bakeshop, multiple locations, no website.
Almost every visit here ends up with something from Tapioca Express. Snacks of fried chicken nuggets, tofu and squid rings, seasoned as spicy as you wish and served with either ranch or sweet and sour sauce along with some sort of beverage is always a meal. Tapioca Express, multiple locations. Website
A more or less new addition to the Food Court is the freestanding Grill City grill (not in this photo) and steam table area. A chain, all locations are inside Seafood City stores.
Above, fried chicken skins, a pork adobo kabob and a whole stuffed squid. All are really good items; I am always up for fried chicken skins as a snack. Pay attention to that statement.
The squid stuffing is a wonderful mix of vegetables: tomato, onion and bell pepper.
On another visit, a slice of grilled swordfish and a grilled stuffed eggplant (inihaw) was our meal. So good and so fresh. The fish is served with a fresh mango salsa; a perfect condiment. (Prices for a la carte veggies are $3, $6 or $9, depending on size)(Prices for a la cart meat and seafood are $3.50, $6.50 and $9.50).
We enjoy this Food Court area and look forward to our drives to Seafood City market.
Seafood City (also a link to Grill City) website 285 East Orange Chula Vista 91911 (619)621-2050 Open 8am-9 pm daily
Carin de Ria – A quick first look
**** This location of Carin de Ria has closed
Soon after Eater San Diego's announcement that a new Filipino "fast casual" concept restaurant named CARiN de RiA opened in Escondido, I had couple of folks ask me if I'd tried the place. I'd pretty much had my fill of "concepts" and fast-casual style places at that time so I just waited for a while. Recently, I found myself in the area and decided to drop by and check them out.
I liked the lay-out of the restaurant….on the small side, but very clean and simple. I especially liked the gentleman manning the counter, who I believe is the owner; very warm, but also very professional. He just seemed like someone who has a restaurant background and also really cared about his customers.
The menu is pretty tight with 5 "braised/stew" style dishes, 3 items off the grill, plus pancit (of course), and lumpia (of course…of course) and a couple of other items.
I started with some lumpia ($3).
It becomes immediately clear that you're not in a "turo-turo" ("point-point") steam table joint. First the prices….which are definitely in the "fast-casual" range. The lumpia were very small. However, they were hot, freshly made,light, and crisp. The filling also had very good flavor…..I could even make out some garlic-porkiness. This was probably the favorite item I had.
Now for most folks, the first item they's try would be either Adobo, Bistek, or Inusok…..what most places call BBQ Pork. One of my favorite dishes is Kaldereta….here it's Kaldereta Baka, basically a beef stew. Well actually, it's Caldereta ($8) on the menu and comes with two sides. I like that you have a choice of brown or white rice, but you know what I choose, right?
For my sides, I chose the "charred corn salad", which was the better of the two sides, even though it didn't have much charred color, nor the development of the sugars that a good grilling of corn would. Good salt and the tomato added a nice acidic touch to it. The eggplant and tomato salad; basically ensaladang talong. Good garlic flavor here, but it was pretty flat overall, the eggplant was too hard and chewy, and versions that I enjoy have a touch of vinegar, which was lacking here.
The rice was a tad hard for my tastes as well.
The caldereta was nice and tangy, but needed a bit more salt and lacked the complex flavors of a long braised dish. The carrots were almost raw and hard and some of the pieces of beef were really dry, like both items had been cold stored and added at the end. I also missed other ingredients I'd find in various versions of this dish; olives, red or green bell peppers, that kind of thing. It seemed like a caricature of the intended dish.
Like many other of these "fast casual" concepts; there seems to be that "soulful" component missing; though I enjoyed some of the dishes here a lot more than say, Green Shallots. As a plus, that gentleman behind the counter was very pleasant, so I'm hoping they do well. This is not the place to get your turo-turo fix; but if you want something a bit lighter you might want to give them a try. I'll probably drop by again if I'm in the area in a couple of months.
Carin de Ria
3440 Del Lago Blvd
Escondido, CA 92029
You can read Lynn's post here.
Revisits: Pinoy Fiesta, Grandma’s Tofu & BBQ , and Tan Ky Mi Gia(yet again!)
Here's our monthly dose of revisits……
Pinoy Fiesta:
It had been a while since I last visited, so I thought I'd drop in and grab a bite. Nothing really called to me and I wasn't super hungry, but then a tray of lechon kawale came out of the kitchen, so I went for that.
It was hot, the exterior hot and crisp, but there was something strange about this…..the meat was on the spongy side and very bland….actually the texture of the meat wasn't very pleasant. I just can't quite put my finger on it.
Pinoy Fiesta
550 E 8th St
National City, CA 91950
Grandma's Tofu & BBQ:
I know, I just did a post on the Heokyumso Jeongol – the black goat stew a couple of months back. But the recent rain and colder weather had us craving this again. Instead of going on and on about the dish, I'll let you in to a little secret….our "goat strategy" if you will. As good as the Heokyumso Jeongol is, it's even better when spiced up a bit….so when the panchan comes, we quickly, but sneakily dump all the baechu kimchi and the sauce from the cucumber instantly into the broth….it makes it that much better! The nice ladies then bring us refills…we eat the kimchi, but make sure to dump the sauce into the stew….and so forth. We usually take home about 2/3 of this…..and we hit Zion on the way home for sesame leaf or wild spinach, then I'll get some tofu from Nijiya on my way home from work the next day….we always have Korean bean paste and gochujang and this ends up being two more meals.
Which is why we'll usually get something like the Kimchi Dolsot Bi Bim Bap with our meal.
Sshhh, don't tell anybody……
Grandma's Tofu & BBQ
4425 Convoy St.
San Diego, CA 92111
Tan Ky Mi Gia:
**** Tan Ky Mi Gia has closed
Here's another one we've posted about in the last couple of months. Work has been brutal, but I've been enjoying the challenge. Still, I had been feeling a bit run down, meaning I needed something on the salty side to give me that "aaaahh" effect. During that time we hit up Tan Ky Mi Gia.
For me, this is comfort food……
For some reason, the Beef Sate Egg Noodle "dry" does the trick for me
Though the Bot Chien really wasn't worth the effort……
I guess I'm still chasing what I had at Kang Lac Bakery in Westminster. Instead of being crisp on the outside and soft on the inside, this had a hard exterior with a cardboard like texture and flavor. They probably bought it at Lucky Seafood next door.
The Missus strangely had a Banh Xeo which She enjoyed…….the pork in this version is braised which makes it more tender than others…..still, it's far from my favorite.
We came back a couple of nights later and I had the Egg Noodle Soup with Roast Duck…….
The duck can be hit and miss….on this visit it was super tough, definitely a miss, but the hot and salty soup really did the trick.
Tan Ky Mi Gia
9330 Mira Mesa Blvd #A
San Diego, CA 92126
Kamayan Night at Villa Manila
A couple of weeks ago, our good friend "MG" whom I hadn't seen in a while told me that Villa Manila was doing a "Kamayan Night". For those who haven't heard that term before, kamayan literally refers to eating with your hands. In short, for the Filipino's I know, it also refers to a fairly festive occasion where family and friends get together and eat like crazy!
MG had great timing as my good friends, the twins, Pete and John's Birthday was rapidly approaching. Ange was nice enough to coordinate and since the four of us had been here together before, Ange knew everyone's preferences….in other words, pork, pork, and more pork. Since there would be 8 of us, Ange ordered the "Fiesta" and we supplemented with two (small) orders of Crispy Pata and Chicharon Bulaklak.
As you can gather, it's imperative that you make reservations in advance, unless you want to wait for a couple of hours for food. You can then supplement again if the need arises. Also, note the fine print that adds charges if you have excess people and don't supplement.
Also, those bowls don't hold soup, ok? It's water and lemon for your hands….you'll be needing them, since you'll be eating with 'em. So don't drink that!
Anyway, having made reservations, our banana leaf draped table was ready when we arrived. And they quickly got our first supplement, the bulaklak, fried pork intestines, out to the table. Love the version here and can't get enough of it.
Soon enough, our Server, whom I shall call "Iron Hands" because he didn't even flinch when placing our steaming rice on the banana leaves.
"Iron Hands" also displayed his overall strength when he brought the proteins out to be served.
Here's the progress……so in case you're keeping score, you can see the the Inihaw na Baboy and the Halabos na Hipop (steamed shrimp), along with the Adobo….
Fried Chicken (supplement), bicol express, crispy pata (supplement), etc, etc…..
On a funny note, XiÄng JiÄo couldf not get enough of the Crispy Pata and Lechon Kawale…..she even got a pork "high" feeling a bit light headed near the end of the meal.
In case you were worried about our vegetable intake, dinner came with Inihaw na Talong (grilled eggplant) and the green stuff at the end of the table….though I think it was mostly a garnish. Those preserved eggs were pretty heady, but was nice combined with the mango and the atchara.
You can kind of tell what everyone was missing here right? Crispy Pata, bulaklak, lechon kawale, bicol express, adobo, and inihaw na baboy…it sure wan;t pork…..
This stuff is obviously great pulutan….beer food. Unfortunately, Villla Manila does not serve alcohol, nor allow BYOB. I was told it was because of the church across the street.
Initially, we thought we'd get a "mega" halo-halo, but there just wasn't much room after the cake.
Happy Birthday guys! We should do this again soon!
Villa Manila
500 East 8th Street
National City, CA 91950
619-477-8512
Kamayan Night only on Thursday – I suggest calling and making reservations.
Because everyone was itching for a nightcap. Candice, who has a deep affection for old-school and dive bars, suggested La Maze. Remember, this was the group who hit up Albie's. It was a nice old-school ending to a wonderful evening.
A revisit to Pho Lucky
It's been a wonderfully fun and busy weekend for me, here some stuff that I've had queued up while I catch up on things.
Pho Lucky:
Yes, yet another post, among perhaps a half dozen or so done by myself and Cathy over the years. This little shop ajoining Lucky Seafood has been our go to shop. So naturally, when the Missus wanted some pho recently, this was where we headed to.
Notice the jalapenos that the Missus adds to Her version…….not something I enjoy, but at least She doesn't dump in a boatload of hoisin or sririacha….
My intent was to have pho as well; but while walking from our car the fragrance of grilling pork permeated the parking lot. So I order the house special broken rice.
And while the rice wasn't as fragrant as I prefer, the pork chop was well flavored and fairly tender, the "bi" had been tossed with rice powder and was also good….the Missus poached the shrimp, which She enjoyed. We probably had good timing on this one…….and I'm not complaining.
What good stuffs did you have to eat recently?
Pho Lucky
9326 Mira Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92126