After a long day, it's always nice to enjoy a good meal….here are some photos of items recently consumed…..
Though not all of it was great…..
I never left hungry.
I hope everyone is having a great week!
Category: Japanese Restaurants
Breakfasts of Champions: San Diego Edition – Hinotez, 777 Noodle House, Island Style Cafe, and Zarlitos
Whew, I'm pretty beat today, so I thought I'd just go with some recent breakfasts in photos. These were basically the photos I sent along with text messages to my FOYs that led to JohnL telling me to put them into a post. I'm pretty sure you'll recognize the places/dishes:
I still haven't gotten round to doing a proper post on this place.
Still waiting to check out the yakitori I guess. I mentioned the special place in my heart this type of dish holds. I still prefer whole raw eggs, but "hot spring eggs" (onsen tamago) will do, even if these were a bit more runny than other versions I've had. For $6, I consider this a real nice breakfast.
Hinotez
7947 Balboa Ave
San Diego, CA 92111
I've stopped by 777 Noodle House a couple of times while doing my weekend morning grocery shopping. The Hu Tieu Nam Vang Kho – Phnom Penh Noodles (Dry) is what I'll usually order. The price for this has gone up, but is still just $5.77.
I always look forward to the broth on the side, mainly because I really enjoy the sight of the pork leg bone in the broth. No offal in this version, but it is quite filling. One morning, as I sat and ate my breakfast, I noticed that all the tables were speaking different languages…one table Vietnamese, another Spanish, the one to my left Cantonese, right in front of me was a family that I think was Somali, the one in the corner Lao….the room was full of beautiful noises.
777 Noodle House
4686 University Avenue
San Diego, CA 92105
This next one needs no introduction…….
My quarterly loco moco………..well, actually a Kaloko Moco ($8.95).
Island Style Cafe
5950 Santo Road
San Diego, CA 92124
And it just wouldn't be right for me to do a breakfast post without a "silog" meal, in this case a Longsilog ($5.75) from Zarlitos.
The longanisa didn't look too good, but was nicely charred on the exterior. I can tell you that cooking longanisa can make a mess of your frying pan. This was a decent meal for the price. I enjoyed it more than the Spamsilog I had a couple of months back.
Zarlitos Family Restaurant
505 East 8th St.
National City, CA 91950
So there you go, a quartet of breakfasts…….have anything good for breakfast recently?
Midweek Meanderings: Hinotez (finally) starting Yakitori, Viet Bakery and Pho and Moby Dick Fish Market (I kid you not) coming soon
Hinotez finally starting yakitori:
Dennis has already mentioned this, but since I had started on a draft of this post I thought I'd follow-thru:
I've been to Hinotez several times, but mostly for breakfast. I'd been waiting for them to get their menu finalized and that looks like it'll take place soon. So they're starting up yakitori in spite of not having their beer and wine license yet.
One other thing that Dennis mentioned was that they're now doing bentos:
Which are prices right and looked pretty good. The young lady who always seems to be working when I have breakfast there told me that the Tonkatsu Sandwich is very popular.
Looking over the bentos, I had a nice laugh when I notcied that the "healthy" bento had potato salad in it…… I guess the term healthy is relative, right?
Hinotez
7947 Balboa Ave
San Diego, CA 92111
Coming soon to the Convoy area:
On the way out of the parking lot after having lunch at Swab Shabu World with Mr Z, I noticed this signage had just gone up.
Viet Bakery and Pho? Banh Mi and Pho? Not quite sure and my usual sources haven't been able to get me anything yet. This is in the space that Imperial Mandarin gave up when they cut their restaurant size in half. So for sure more Pho, not quite sure if it's more Banh Mi……
3904 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111
Right up the street is another change. There's a fish market called, I kid you not….Moby Dick Fish Market…..ahoy!!!
For some reason this scene came to mind, not sure why……
I did ask around a bit and found out that this is the same guy who used to own Convoy Sushi and Fish Market and North Park Sushi and Fish Market. Does he have a short attention span or what? I'll give him this much, he keeps on trying….. Dennis did send me a text noting the irony of the name. The place used to be a "Gentleman's Club"…….
4805 Convoy St.
I hope everyone is having a great week!
Shabu World
**** Shabu World has closed
In my post mentioning that Swab ummmm, Shabu World had opened, good FOY (Friend of Yoso) the Zompus told me he'd love to check the place out. So that following week, I met MrZ for a meal at Shbu World. I gotta say, even close up, the sign still looks like it says "Swab World".
We entered the restaurant which is nicely done…..but looks pretty much the same as Shabu Shabu House.
From the counter with offset counters to the metal pots used for the Shabu Shabu……
The standard shabu shabu is basically the same as well….a small piece of kombu in rolling boiling water. I wish they'd just quit the kombu shibai. Mainly, boiling the kombu makes the water bitter….but there's such a tiny piece that it really makes little difference. Just serve straight up water already.
I got the prime beef ($13) lunch. Which was a decent sized serving, perhaps a bit less than what I had the last time I went to Shabu Shabu House.
The quality of the meat was also better than what I last had at Shabu Shabu House, very tender, but not too fatty….you really don't want anything too fatty as it will basically melt and fall apart when you do the brief dip.
There was also quite a bit of vegetables……
It was quite a bit….though disappointingly all the usual suspects, which had me again wishing for some shingiku or shiitakes, which would also add some nice flavor to the water. Too much napa cabbage for my taste…..like they are just trying to fill you up.
In the case of spitting images, and this is without a doubt almost exactly like Shabu Shabu World, I believe one should differentiate oneself, better meat, better produce, and better sauce. In this case, the dipping sauces tasted very artificial, like it was from a bottle.
These were actually pretty bad…… In the end, we were provided a bowl with basic bottled tsuyu base to finish off the udon. I could only imagine how the "miso" and "sukiyaki" broth would be.
It was kind of sad, MrZ and I were the only customers in the place during our entire lunch. As we left, one of the really nice women working there asked me first, if I was Japanese (yes)….then a more problematic question. The always tricky, "what do you think?" I'd say tricky because in my experience, 90% of the time folks running a business really don't want to know what you really think and saying what you think puts everyone in either an awkward or contentious position. But this time I went out on a limb and mentioned that even though the meat was decent in quality and the service was (perhaps a bit too) attentive, I felt the sauce tasted very artificial and processed. The young lady actually seemed concerned and told us that "we are always working on making things better and I guarantee you that the next time you come the sauces will be better." Maybe I should have mentioned something about the vegetables too?
In all honesty, we already have one of these standard grade Shabu Shabu restaurants a few blocks away. I'm wondering if we really need another one? I guess only time will tell.
Shabu World
3904 Convoy St #117
San Diego, CA 92111
Convoy Yakitori Story Part 3: It’s Yakyudori versus Koubou
During one of our too infrequent meals together, Jenne, Candice, Howie, and I discussed doing a two stop comparison of Yakyudori Ramen & Yakitori and Yokohama Yakitori Koubou. Jenne is partial to Koubou, Candice and I, Yakyudori……Howie, being the mellow un-confrontational guy that he is, was on the fence. I also thought that this final comparison would be a nice part 3 to the two posts I had done before. Plus, I do love meat on a stick. The only way we could really do this was to actually compare apples to apples, so Candice asked me to pick several menu items that are yakitori "standards" if you will. Items that would put the "tori" in Yakitori.
We started at Yakyudori, already almost in crisis mode even on an early Sunday evening; folks waiting in line, servers running madly, perfunctory service and all. Ending at Koubou, mellow, friendly, where they give you a shot of milk with your first beer to help coat that tummy……
So why not start with the Tsukune? Basically grilled chicken meatballs dipped in a sweet tare. Candice had never had these at Yakyudori before and was kind of freaked out by the almost mousse like, creamy texture.
Jenne thought the tare on Yakyudori's version was too sweet and preferred Koubou's, which was more like the standard issue Tsukune. I thought the tare at Koubou was still way too mild, but was in the minority on this one, 3-1 Koubou.
Score: Koubou 1, Yakyudori 0
Next up was the "momo", this was simple thigh meat, there would be no hiding quality, seasoning, and skill here. The clear winner was Yakyudori, simply seasoned with a very tasty sea salt, the flavor of bincho came though…perhaps a bit strong for some, not for us.
Yakyudori was also the moister and more tender of the two, while Koubou's version had been dipped in tare, you could barely taste it. The chicken was a bit dry as well…..good thing we didn't get breast. I recall Howie rhetorically asking, "why does the salt from Yakyudori have that almost sweet complex flavor, while at Koubou it just tastes salty….."
Score: Koubou 1, Yakyudori 1
Third comparison was the easiest….all I have to do is show you the photos of the Teba – chicken wings. First is Yakyudori's:
Next Koubou's……
Yikes!!! One thing I noticed when passing passing the grill at Koubou is that they grill on a grate placed a pretty good distance from the bincho charcoal. It seems perhaps a bit too far from the binchotan.
Score: Yakyudori 2, Koubou 1
Next up was the Negima, your basic chicken with scallion. Same result as the momo. Yakyudori's was moist, smoky, wonderfully salty…….
While Koubou was dry, tough, and looked haphazardly put together……
One looks like the straight, well maintained teeth of a super-model, the other, "meth-mouth". Which would you rather eat?
Score: Yakyudori 3, Koubou 1
Candice thought (rightfully so), that we should include at least one non-chicken item for comparison and the unanimous choice was Gyutan – beef tongue. Personally, I preferred Yakyudori, which was thinner, more evenly grilled and seasoned. Still, I prefer my beef tongue cut a bit thinner, so the edges are crisp and the center is chewy, giving you a nice contrast.
Jenne preferred the thicker slices at Koubou…….
Though you can tell the grilling was uneven. My skewer was sorely lacking in salt, while Howie told me that his had way too much. Don't know what to say, but I'm satisfied with this being a tie.
Score: Yakyudori 3, Koubou 1, 1 even.
One last item I feel needs to be included. Execution and quality were not the only two ways the restaurants differed. The atmosphere at Yakyudori is very, well…."urban". You feel like you're in a big city robata restaurant; the lights are bright, folks waiting in line or sitting elbow to elbow on the bar, plates of meat-on-a-stick and bowls of ramen flying pass you. Hustle and bustle……. not all the time mind you, just most evenings after 530. Koubou is more relaxed, the lighting is darker, folks seemed to be hanging out having beers with their friends. I'm not sure it's always that way, but that's what I noticed the three times I've been there. It's really obvious once you visit both on the same evening.
Conclusion….well not too much really….this being totally anecdotal and all. But the way I look at it is; if I'm after decently executed yakitori, it's Yakyudori. If it's a chill good time and some drinks I'm after and food is secondary to relaxed conversation, Koubou might fit the bill.
Here's some of the other items we had…….
Yokohama Yakitori Koubou
3904 Convoy St.
San Diego, CA 92111
Yakyudori Ramen and Yakitori
4898 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111
Convoy Yakitori Story Part 1: Yakyudori Ramen and Yakitori can be found here.
Convoy Yakitori Story Part 2: Yokohama Yakitori Koubou can be found here.
Monday Meanderings: Shabu World Opens, Izakaya Sakura Reopens, a visit to the new Northgate Market, and stuff recently consumed
My list of odds and ends is just getting bigger and bigger so I thought I'd better do one of these posts.
SwabShabu World Opens:
I swear to god, the first time I saw the sign, I thought it said "Swab World". And doesn't it look like the place swiped the Nike Swoosh?
I gotta say, this place opened rather quickly. I recall emailing Dennis about just maybe two weeks ago. For some reason, the Missus wasn't too keen on checking the place out…..I guess I'll have to wait and go solo.
Here are the menus:
Shabu Shabu World
3904 Convoy St #117
San Diego, CA 92111
Izakaya Sakura reopens:
Perhaps the reason that the Missus didn't pay much attention to Shabu World is that after closed for repairs for over a month Sakura has finally reopened. I actually knew about it for almost two weeks, but made the Missus wait…..I wanted the place to work out any "kinks". So the Missus was really trying to scratch Her Ten Don itch. I guess we'll be back eating here once a week again.
The place looks much brighter and clean, making it look larger and more spacious.
A bar/counter area now occupies the window area across from the sushi bar adding more seating.
And my Negi-Maguro-Natto Don was as good as ever…….
Izakaya Sakura
3904 Convoy St #121
San Diego, CA 92111
A visit to the new Northgate Market on University:
I'd heard this place opened so one morning, after doing some shopping at North Park Produce and Minh Huong Market, I drove down to the corner of 54th and University to check the place out. Look at the vans for the free shuttle service offered by the market:
The place is not as humongous as the store on 43rd street, but it is big enough.
You gotta excuse me if I spent most of my time in front of all the prepared food……
This stuff just seems to be trying to speak to me….I gotta find myself a "pork whisperer", though I'm pretty sure of what it was saying to me.
I managed not to turn to stone at the sight of the fried medusa and went over to the meat department to pick up some beef liver for Da' Boyz…… but it doesn't mean I wasn't sorely tempted.
Don't fret my fair chicharron, I'll be back to free you on another day….
Northgate Market
5403 University Ave
San Diego, CA 92105
Recently consumed at home:
Just some simple stuff…don't even know why I took photos. But I was pretty lazy over the holidays…..
I made some kalua pork for a pot luck and saved some, which I ended using for a sandwich or two.
Earlier in the year, the Missus and some coworkers were eating at Sipz a lot. Curious, I wondered what the heck they enjoyed so much and was shocked to find out…..and then they told me the prices. I told the Missus that the dishes they enjoyed were no big deal…really, for ten bucks and up??? So She told me to prove it….which I did. But now I'm stuck making stuff not only for Her, but some of the folks She works with too….here's a black-bean tofu dish…the ingredients (other than the oil) cost about $2.50……
I didn't even have to use the Big Kahuna for this. I've made fake pepper steak with broccoli and other stuff as well. As for the oil, I'll filter then reuse for as long as I can. Start with tofu and in the end do your fish and shrimp dishes…..
And of course, not wanting to waste some leftover baguette…..here's a SPAM™ fritatta sandwich….
Silly, I know…but it tasted pretty good……
And finally, just some other silliness:
I'm not sure you know this, but I enjoy some music now and then. I've got a bit too much of it, like about 5,000 songs on my iPod…a bit crazy I know. A good amount are from the thousand or so CD's I own, but I'm always on the hunt for music. The list is slowly shrinking; every year I find a couple….this past year was no exception. I'm really dating myself, but here are a couple that I'd been hunting for years and finally found this year:
I was stoked when I found out that Seawind's music from the mid-late 70's was finally released. I guess the music was tied up…… But man, I saw them play several times and really think they were ahead of their time.
I'm not sure why I really like this one by a band named Q…….but I remember it fondly:
Lastly….well I hated the movie this was from, Xanadu. I remember seeing it and calling it Xana-du-du. But I really enjoyed this piece by Olivia Newton John and the Tubes.
Kinda Embarassing…but heck, I'm too old to really care anymore! The Missus hears this stuff and doesn't quite know what to make of it…….it's kinda funny. Though at least these have words…you should see the look on Her face when I listen to Hank Garland or The Haggis Horns…..
It goes to show, you never can tell: Revisits to Okan and Kayaba
We all have our rotation of restaurants that we hit. Not all of them are stellar, but whether it's convenience, price, service, or something else, it ends up on our rotation. And no matter where it is, chances are, unless the place makes just one thing (something that perhaps more places should do), you'll run into a clunker as you work down the menu. The Missus and I always joke about Lotus of Siam which is one of our favorite restaurants. The one funny thing being, that on every visit, we've into one real clunker of a dish. LOS isn't alone in that aspect, as here are a couple of places I really enjoy and have posted on before…..but recently have encountered 1 dish that just didn't sit well…….
Wa Dining Okan:
We've done a number of posts on Okan over the years. Perhaps not as many as Dennis's multi-part offerings, but quite a few….. There are quite a few things that Okan does well, simmered items, some fried items like the chicken gizzards…..
The gobo salad, even the daikon salad……
But once I had to go and order the Salmon Belly Carpaccio……carpaccio?
Granted, I do a maguro carpaccio, but I'd never think of taking a fatty piece of high oil fish and taking a blowtorch to it making it seem slimy and greasy, combined with a sauce that made it seem even more fishy……then throwing capers on it. This was just a bit too much for me.
There is alot to like here…….but that dish didn't do it for me…it more like did it to me…
Wa Dining Okan
3860 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111
Kayaba:
**** Kayaba has closed
I usually enjoy my meals at Kayaba, which usually consists of Tonkatsu.
It's priced, at least for me, quite reasonably. I was itching for some tonkatsu recently….the Missus was depressed since Sakura was still closed for renovations and She couldn't get Her weekly Ten-don fix. I told the Missus that I thought Kayaba made Ten-don……..I should have kept my mouth shut…..
First off, the tempura were barely room temp and overcooked. It had apparently been left around since we were both surprised that my dish took a good fifteen minutes and the Missus' was up in less than three! The rice was hard and the Donburi tsuyu was really dark and salty….as if they took bottled tsuyu and forgot to dilute it with water.
Man, I'm still feeling the repercussions from this one…..
Kayaba
4240 Kearny Mesa Rd Ste 119 – In the Mitsuwa Marketplace
San Diego, CA 92111
I guess like the song goes: "C'est la vie", say the old folks, it goes to show you never can tell….. I know it's a Chuck Berry tune, but this is my favorite version…maybe because it has Albert Lee on guitar.
Of course you might be more familiar with this scene…..
Shizuoka-La Mesa (revisit)
Hello again. You just found mmm-yoso!!! and probably are looking for some sort of blog post about food. Kirk and ed are still too busy to write, so Cathy is posting.
I wrote a post about Shizuoka in June 2007 and took it for granted, not posting again. Yet The Mister and I do eat here. It's located at the La Mesa-El Cajon border, next to the Michael's in the same mall as Souplantation and Weevil Burger on Fletcher Parkway.
Shizuoka has been here more than 20 years. The interior has not changed much. There are 16 chairs to go with six tables tables and 6 four-person booths. There is a wait to get in almost every evening.
The menu is not extensive. The prices have not increased much since 2007. Good food prepared well. I suppose it's a neighborhood place and not a destination. It could be.
The miso soup is pretty standard, made from miso paste. It has a deep flavor and the tofu cubes are a firm consistency and always tasty.
The teriyaki chicken broiled mackerel plate is still $6.20. The Mister always orders one of the mackerel plates. The mackerel is particularly good tasting large piece of fish, broiled and placed on top of shredded cabbage so the bottom stays crispy and doesn't get soft when the juice flows from the cooked meaty mackerel. The teriyaki sauce on the grilled chicken is not too sweet and made here (not from a bottle). The chicken is placed on top of bean sprouts, again so the meat does not wallow in sauce. A lettuce salad, cold noodle salad and three freshly steamed edamame beans round out the plate.
My usual meal here is centered on the chicken karage ($4). Lots of dark thigh meat lightly coated and fried and always perfect.
This time I rounded my meal out with a (shared with The Mister) seaweed salad ($2.75) and Sunomono salad ($3.50). Both are tasty, fresh made and hit the taste points I want for lunch. The seaweed is apparently 'foreign' to diners here, and free samples are offered. The sunomono has a sweet vinegar-fresh ginger dressing and is made with that fake krab stuff. The plentiful amount of shredded radish, cucumber and (different than in the other salad) seaweed makes this salad a perfect compliment to the karage.
This is a small, not fancy, great neighborhood place, serving really good food.
Shizuoka Japanese Restaurant 9118 Fletcher Parkway La Mesa 91942 (619)461-1151 (in the mall with the Souplantation and Michael's)
Tues-Fri 11:30-1:45, 4:30-8:45 Sat and Sun 4:30-8:45 Closed Monday CASH ONLY
Wa Dining Okan- Lunch (again)
mmm-yoso!!! is a food blog. Kirk, ed(from Yuma) and Cathy write about meals, cooking and sometimes vacation adventures. All of us are unusually busy. Let's just say that one of us is on vacation and gathering photos and meals to write about, one of us is busy working and planning a vacation so blog posts can be written and the other one of us has a lot of upcoming activities revolving around the holidays as well as a vacation so that interesting blog posts will be written. Today, Cathy is blogging.
Hi. I did write a post about lunch at Okan in July 2010 and have been back a few times, but didn't take photos. Kirk has put up many, many, many posts about dinner. At one point, Kirk, ed(from Yuma) and I enjoyed a dinner here together. Anyhow, a friend was in town, had seen the post about lunch and wanted to try Wa Dining. We walked in at just before 2 p.m., when they take the last lunch order- Okan closes from 2:30 and reopens at 5:30 for dinner.
Located in the corner of the mall at Convoy and , in the corner next to Nijiya Market-one of few markets which sells an extensive amount of fresh and packaged organic foods as well as ready to eat food, Okan is easy to overlook. 
The small interior means making reservations for dinner is pretty necessary, at lunchtime not so much. There are 31 seats in the whole restaurant.
When you sit down at lunch, a cup of cold (no ice, not hot, just room temperature) tea is brought to your table.
The lunch menu consists of ordering a "set" ($6.50). This is what our recent one looked like-(from 5:00, going clockwise) a vegetable filled miso soup, pickled cucumber and radish, rice with seaweed and a tray of small 'tapas'-nishime, a potato salad and chilled stewed vegetable.
This is a wonderful, filling item and you can just have this as a vegetarian complete meal. However each day there is a selection of add-on protein items.
My friend ordered this grilled beef dish, which seems to be topped with kim chee ($4). She said it was very good. (I'm sorry, I wasn't overly reading the menu, we were chatting).
I tried the house made tofu topped with a miso/soybean sauce($3.50). Not a sweet sauce, quite hearty and the tofu was really nice, fresh and tasty.
The lunch choices (and really, most of the dinner choices) change daily here. Because it is always current and fresh, I really enjoy whatever choices are offered.
Wa Dining OKAN 3860 Convoy Street, Suite 110, San Diego 92111 (858)279-0941
Lunch M-Sat 11:30-2:30(last order 2:00 p.m.)
Dinner starts 5:30 p.m. and ends 11:00 p.m. M-T-W, 12:00 a.m. Th-F-Sat and 10:00 p.m. Sun (last orders 30 minutes before closing all days). Website
COMC: Oodles of Noodles……..
It's time again for me to C(lear) O(ut the) M(emory) C(ard)….and while doing that I just noticed something. I believe I'm actually eating more noodles than rice nowadays. Boy times have changed. Anyway, here it is, in all shapes, sizes, and nationalities…..
Guess where??
1:
It's Pho King!
2:
This Pho meatfest brought to you by Pho Saigon Star.
3:
Man, I remember when this was like $12.95…..it's now $16.95, as a lunch special! We didn't even get decent service on this visit…sad, quite sad.
4:
From our weekly lunch visit to Izakaya Sakura.
5: Now think of this one as an eye test….which is better…
Number one:
or number two…..
If you picked number one…..well, it was quite obvious, right? Granted, number one is from Lucky Noodle King in San Gabriel while number two is from the newly opened Liang's, but they might as well be galaxies apart. To add injury to insult, bowl number two is $2 more expensive, or maybe more since between my two visits two weeks apart, it seems that prices have already gone up..and they just opened. A post is upcoming.
By the way number one was just ok…….
And a couple more for good measure…otherwise these would have just been deleted.
I know, Chao Nian Gao are stir fried "rice cakes"…… but that's almost noodley, right?
I hope you had a great Tuesday!