Korean Restaurants – Page 17

BBQ Chicken Revisited

September 4, 2012 mmm-yoso Chains, Korean Restaurants

*** BB.Q Chicken has returned to San Diego – updated post here.

*** BBQ Chicken has closed

If you've read my previous posts on BBQ Chicken, you probably already know that I've never been a big fan. A couple years back, I got into a slight disagreement with a fellow blogger on how this was notreally B(est) of the B(est) Q(uality). I found the chicken to have a bit of a fishy smell and am not a big fan of the batter either. Still, when I saw that BBQ Chicken had new ownership and was now open for lunch, I thought "why not try it again"…..hey, maybe my tastebuds had, ahem, "matured enough to appreciate the chicken". Or maybe you just need tastebuds that are super mature, i.e. dead, to really enjoy the chicken, in which case there would be no change.

What was nice was that I was actually acknowledged when I arrived, by a very nice young lady. Looking over the menu, I noticed that the lunch specials were nicely priced. Hey, even better……so I ordered a three piece "Olive Luxury Chicken Combo" ($7.99).

One of the positives about BBQ Chicken is that the chicken is cooked to order…..the negative to that is, if things aren't right in the kitchen, it might take a while. Fortunately for me, my chicken arrived sizzling…literally sizzling to my table. Also, the server endeared herself to me……she brought extra napkins! Telling me "you're having fried chicken, I think you might need some extra napkins." Perfect…..

On the good side, the chicken was very moist…and hot! But I'm still not a fan of the bland, crumbliy, somewhat greasy batter….and for some reason, it still smells a bit fishy to me. It could be that I'm just more sensitive to it, but there is something strange in the smell.

You get one side with the lunch and I chose the "corn salad", which was really bland, but at least didn't smell bad.

As for the Chicken……well, I'm still not sold.

BBQ Chicken
4768 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

Mon-Thu 11 am – 12 am
Fri-Sat 11 am – 1 am
Sunday 11 am – 12 am

COMC: Keeping Cool at Izakaya Sakura, Buga, and Yakyudori Ramen and Yakitori (plus a bonus)

August 15, 2012 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants, Korean Restaurants, Pakistani Food

Man, it was pretty hot and humid there for a couple of days, wasn't it? It sure does dampen your appetite. I don't know about you, but we tend to go with the tried and true when eating during weather like that. Here's places I've posted on a number of times, so we'll go the COMC (Clearing Out the Memory Card) route with this one.

Izakaya Sakura:

Well, the Missus has been cutting down on a bunch of things and Sakura is one of those places, with a la carte ordering where She can just get a couple of small items to eat. With the recent weather I'd go with something like Zaru Soba or Tempura Zaru Soba.

While the Missus can get any number of protein items like…..

Shishamo

Or a number of Shioyaki or Misozuke preparations…..

And even perhaps one of the few creatures She still eats that walks on land…..

Izakaya Sakura
3904 Convoy St #121
San Diego, CA 92111

Buga:

The other day, the Missus wanted to go to Buga, but not for Korean BBQ, even though She was craving some beef. Instead She went with the Yukkwe Bi Bim Bap.

So I guess She won't eat beef cooked, but will raw? Anyway, it was heavenly with a nice amount of Chojang…..very refreshing.

I went with the Bibim Naengmyun……

Of course there was panchan…….

Usually, there's no one at Buga before 5pm on weekdays, so we didn't have to be worried about all the essence of Korean BBQ. It was a nice meal…….and I didn't have Sammy and Frankie following me around the house afterwards.

Buga Korean BBQ Restaurant
5580 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92117

Yakyudori Ramen and Yakitori:

One evening, I didn't feel like crowds…..so what the heck was I doing going to Yakyudori? Well, they don't start yakitori until 530, so if you get there early, it's easy enough to get something light, like some Natto Gohan.

And some chicken karaage……

Which on this trip was pretty good……

And slink on away as the crowds start pouring in.

Yakyudori Ramen and Yakitori
4898 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

House of Khan pop-up:

Candice had been trying to coordinate a dinner for us here….unfortunately, a crazy schedule, which included my trip home and other stuff prevented me from attending until the last evening of this Pakistani pop-up.

I'd usually do a full on post, but since this was the last evening……hopefully, these photos will do until perhaps we get another run or the really nice young lady Selina gets a permanent location for a restaurant. This one was located in the California Kebab location off College.

Sad to see that we were just about the only folks there to enjoy the food.

I've been to a couple of pop-ups, but usually go myself and after seeing all the folks with their posse's and busting out all this gear…..I just keep to myself and try to enjoy the food.

There you go….I hope you're having a great "hump" day!

Fusion or Con-Fusion Part 2: Jiggle Jiggle Korean Grill

August 6, 2012 mmm-yoso Asian Fusion/Pacific Rim/Hawaii Style Fusion, Korean Restaurants

*** Update: This restaurant has closed.

Yes, i'm finally getting around to doing this one…..which I promised with "part 1" on fuze. I had actually stopped and looked over the menu when JJ first open, some Korean standards, fad following Korean tacos……a carne asada fries knock-off, which is kind of redundant because CAFs are a knock-off itself….so what is a copy off something that's a copy? My friend Candice even mentioned the place in a text, to which I replied, the "the name and the menu makes me giggle giggle".

And yet, there were a couple of folks I knew who liked the place. My usual query would be the one where I asked whether it was a location thing (Midway) or not. Several folks assured me that wasn't the reason. They also told me the Korean tacos were ,"the bomb". And even faced with the fast-food looking facade who am I to judge. If this place could be half as good as….say Gina's BBQ in Honolulu, I would be happy. Sorry to say, it ain't quite that……so if you decide to stop reading here, I wouldn't hold it against you.

On my first visit, I did order "the trio" ($8), one each of the kalbi, dak bulgogi, and daeji bulgogi.

It was a bomb all right; a gut bomb, a lettuce and spicy mayo-fest. I gotta say, if it's pure capacity you're trying to fill, then these might do it. The tortillas were the worst this side of El Pollo Loco, as they just fell to bits and had almost no flavor. I tasted each protein separately and the kalbi was by far the worst, pale, flavorless, and really tough "LA Kalbi" type shortribs. The pork was tough, but at least it had some heat, but all was really lost in the wilderness of lettuce. The chicken bulgogi was probably the best of the trio, decent, but again just covered with "stuff". Let me say however, if you're looking to fill yourself up….this might do it.

So I figured that would be pretty much it……but, the folks running the place were really nice, so I decided to visit one more time. This time I started with the Yaki Mandu ($4).

I really liked the way these were fried….light and crisp. The dipping sauce was a bit watered down and the filling really bland, otherwise this would have been a winner.

My curiosity got the better of me and I decided to try the Korean Fries, which, priced at $5.50 are really worth it. But man, this was a mess……

On the good side, I enjoyed the interplay of the kimchi and the fries. On the bad side kimchi and nacho cheese…..that's a bad partnership. I did wonder why the menu said Spicy Mayo and Korean Aioli, which seems to be somewhat redundant. Too much mayo and cheese for my taste and the bulgogi….well you could see it, but not really taste it. Though I did have sort of an epiphany while trying to eat this….if we had a category on the blog for "stoner food", this would be right up there! After all, it was salty, tons of fat, interesting textures…..hmmmm…

To me, the food at fuze is executed better, with higher quality ingredients. Still, the prices here are reasonable and if anyone could give me a recommendation that's not kalbi, spicy pork, bulgogi, chicken bulgogi, or mandu oriented, I may just check them out again. Though I might recommend Jiggle Jiggle to you at the end of a hard night of drinking a la "grease-berto's"….but JJ closes at 9 during the week and 10 on Friday and Saturday.

Jiggle Jiggle Korean Grill
3146 Midway Drive
San Diego, CA 92110

Fusion or Con-fusion Part 1: fuze restaurant & lounge

June 25, 2012 mmm-yoso Asian Fusion/Pacific Rim/Hawaii Style Fusion, Korean Restaurants

*** Update: This place has closed

I'd gotten a couple of recommendations for this place, but really hadn't given it much thought. The menu seemed, well bulgogi sliders and kalbi tacos, it just smacked of a fad-following restaurant. Heck, I really never bought into the food truck thing (has anyone seen Roy Choi actually in one of his trucks recently?)….I mean, I love loncheras and all, but most of them seemed more hype than hope. So I really didn't get too excited when a couple of places opened up selling kalbi tacos and such. Still, after reading FOY (Friend of Yoso) and super food blogger Kirbie's post on fuze (yep, that's how they spell it….little 'f'), I thought why not? Heck, I'd even make it a twosome and do a second part on the other place that folks had mentioned to me……"Jiggle Jiggle". After all, I can claim to have eaten kalbi tacos back in the late 90's….of course, it was Alan Wong making those tacos……

If I recall, this place used to be Mr Wasabi, right?

The interior is still rather spartan.

There was no one around when I first visited and the young man was very nice. In fact, on both visits I thought the service was decent and the guys quite friendly. The menu seems an amalgamation of straight ahead dishes Kalbi Jjim, Pajun, and Kimchi Jjigae. Combined with some fusion-ny dishes, Fuze Pajun, Bulgogi Philly Cheesesteak, Dduk Bok ki?

I decided to start things out with the "Fuze Pajun"($7.95), supposedly a riff on the traditional Korean savory pancake.

Overall, a mixed bag. The mayo, katsuobushi(bonito flakes), and sauce made this seem more like okonomiyaki, which suites me fine, since okonomi pretty much means "as you like it". The pancake itself could have been browned a bit more, it was pretty gummy. I believe there were three shrimp in the whole thing….but in a really gutsy move, this was a pretty sneaky pajun/okonomiyaki. There were strips of roasted jalapeno in it, giving it a bit of a sneaky heat….you never knew what you'd be getting in your next bite.

I also ordered the Kalbi Tacos ($7.95).

So, of course the first thing I did was fish out the kalbi to see how it tasted. It actually had some flavor….what we in Hawaii call "local kalbi", more sweet and closer to teriyaki than kalbi. Of course at this price point it was "LA Kalbi", cross cut beef ribs and on the tough side.

Didn't care much for the tortillas which were I believe were white corn. They had been either grilled and griddled, but with no fat attaining a rather dried cardboard like texture. The kochujong based aioli was mild, but did no harm, ditto the tasteless and toothpaste textured guacamole.

The fact of the matter was that I could still taste the kalbi, even though there didn't seem to be much of it present.

The cabbage provided what I thought to be a decent counter-point.

The meal turned out to be decent….enough so, that I decided to return, just to see…..

On this visit I went with the dish that Kirbie enjoyed the most, the Bulgogi Sliders ($9.95). Just a word of warning; if you're expecting a meat-fest, this ain't it. The sliders are two (or perhaps even one for some of you out there) bite deals. The amount of fries dwarfs them……

But I'll tell you what, the beef is very tender……still tending to the sweeter side, but very tasty. The scallions add a very mild pungency, the aioli, well, I could just do with a good mayo. The rolls are typical store bought deals and ended up getting kinda soggy.

If I were to have this again (and I very well may), I'd tell them to pass on the crumbled dry herbs…I believe it's thyme, which just adds to much to the flavor of some perfectly decent natural fries. As for the ten buck price tag….I'll let you decide on that one.

Speaking of price tag, I also could not resist ordering the Chicken Wings ($8.95), the sweet and spicy version.

Well, let's just say, Kyochon this ain't…though at over a buck a wing (8), they sure are charging that way! Heck, this ain't even the napalm like wings from BBQ Chicken. Compared to those two….this would be, well, almost bland. The batter was also a bit less crunchy than I would have desired. It seemed dipped into sweet chili sauce with a bit too much sesame oil for my taste.

Overall, my impression of fuze is a fairly positive one. I didn't expect haute, or even great food, but a couple of the items were fairly good.

The kalbi may be beat suited for tacos because it is on the tougher side, though I may want to just have the bulgogi straight up. The young men were quite nice…..but of course my meals were during slow periods, but they seemed like pleasant guys.

So fusion or confusion? One thing I'm pretty sure of, the person heading up the kitchen can cook, though I'm thinking some of the dishes were kind of "just thought up". The price point for lunch may be high, but if you're having drinks and pub grub this might do the trick.

fuze restaurant and lounge
9379 Mira Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92126

Hours:
Monday – Friday: 11am – 11pm
Sat – Sunday: 11am – midnight

You can also check out Mary's post here.

Stay tuned for part 2…..do I giggle giggle at Jiggle Jiggle!

Chicago: Ttowa (Arlington Heights)

September 19, 2011 mmm-yoso Chicago, Korean Restaurants

On my way back from Madison, I decided to drive back to the Chicago area and stay in the Arlington Heights area again. Arriving at about lunchtime, I decided to drop by a place that was recommended to me by the same person who mentioned Johnnie's Beef and Peep's, a place that supposedly made their own Mandu by hand called Ttowa. I did a quick check before I left and noticed that the restaurant had moved to sort of the downtown/old town area of Arlington Heights, which looked nothing like the strip mall dominated area where my hotel was located, along with Mitsuwa and other shops.

Under a large multi-level building stood the little shop…….

It just seemed a bit out of place looking, but as I entered I could see the kim bap (aka sushi bar) in the back of the restaurant, which was spartan but very clean looking.

A very nice and friendly young man greeted me upon entering the restaurant and guided me to a seat. Unfortunately, I decided upon visiting during lunch and the menu was limited to starters, various Bi Bim Bap, and what they called their "Boonshik" (which if I recall means something like comfort food – homey restaurant or something like that) combo. I didn't find out until later that if I'd have wanted the Ssam Gyup Sal (pork belly) or Bo Ssam that they'd have made it for me.

I went with a combo which featured Dduk Bokki (I choose kimchi dduk bokki), Kim Bap, and the traditional mandoo ($9).

While waiting for my food, the young man, by the name of Terry came by and chatted. Terry had returned to Arlington Heights from New York, where he was working as a restaurant manager to help his parents who decided to move their restaurant to this space. Because of the varied clientele, he described the food as "Korean with a twist", which automatically sent alarms ringing thru my cabeza. I've always approached places that do "fusion" with caution….there's much more "con-fusion" than good fusion out there. After all, it's one thing to approach a cuisine with respect and understanding, another to throw almost disparate flavors together in a mish-mash. Though I do really enjoy when it works and after all, I'm from Hawaii…home of chili-spaghetti-hot dogs with rice and mac salad.

The panchan got me kinda worried……

Other than the baechu kimchi (napa cbaage) everything was on the very mild side. But I changed my mind when the bone soup arrived, which, when some salt was added, coated my belly and just made me feel all warm and comfortable.

Soon after the rest of the meal arrived.

The Kim Bap was, well, Kim Bap….I'm not much of a fan as I usually see it as second rate maki-sushi. At least this wasn't stuffed silly with rice and nori was crisp instead of rubbery. The mandoo was quite good, the filling was nice and had good flavor and the wrappers were nice with a good pull, but not brittle and overly sticky.

What was the real winna' was the dduk bokki.

Man this was good….the only way I can describe this is by how rich it was….it was almost like a dduk bokki bolognese, but had no meat in sight. The rice cakes had a perfect chew to them and while it wasn't very spicy, it had enough to let me know…… When I mentioned how nicely rich this was, Terry told me what made this so good, but made me promise not to tell, so I won't. Let me just say….this ain't vegetarian, ok?

As I was eating my meal, Terry approached my table and dropped this off saying, "I know you enjoy food, so this is for you on the house."

He seemed truly surprised when I said, "ah, it's a Wang Mandu." I told him this was the reason I came to Ttowa, but I didn't see this on the menu. This was very nice, the steamed bun fluffy, the filling substantial. And it is on the menu; I just didn't see it….old age you know.

As my meal was ending, Terry came by with a cup of tea, telling me: "thanks for visiting all the way from San Diego."

You know, Terry doesn't know I have a food blog. Nor did he see me take any photos (there's a reason my photos aren't very spectacular I guess), those were done while he was tending to other customers (I counted 70% Asian/30% not). He just thinks I'm someone from San Diego who enjoys eating. I believe he is a wonderful ambassador for his family's restaurant and makes me want to return. Not everything was a home run, but his attention and manner makes up for all the minor details.

Ttowa
161 W Wing St
Arlington Heights, IL 60005

Hours:
Mon-Thu 11:30 am – 9:30 pm
Fri-Sat 11:30 am – 10:30 pm

Chicken Wing Thing: BBQ Chicken, Golden City, Homestyle Hawaiian, and Empirehouse Urban Palate

June 20, 2011 mmm-yoso Chicken Wings, Chinese Restaurants, Japanese Restaurants, Korean Restaurants

Wow, it’s almost been a year since I did my last “Chicken Wing Thang” post, I guess I better do some catching up. Here’s a round-up of some (but not all) of the chicken wings I’ve had since then.

BBQ Chicken:

As a whole, I’m not a big fan of B(est of the) B(est) Q(uality) Chicken, I’ve found the the flavor, and Q(uality) just wasn’t the B(est) I guess. I’ve been back a couple of times since my post back in 2008, and am really just not wowed by the chicken.

However, a couple of years back…… yes, I can’t remember where I park my car in the morning, but when it comes to food my memory is sometimes quite sharp. I recall a conversion with my good FOY (friend of yoso) Howie, who passed on a terrible tale of having to eat the Sweet and Spicy wings from BBQ Chicken. He likened the experience to being helpless in the grasp of sticky napalm, unable to move with sauce burning a hole on his face and his fingers in fire. I laughed so hard I almost fell off my chair…. sorry Howie, I know it ain’t right to laugh at someone else’s misfortunes, but the expression on your face as you told us the story was priceless!

And after all those years, I decided to give those wings a try. First off, you gotta remember, this ain’t fast food, even though it looks like it. It’ll take a good 20-30 minutes or more for your chicken…..which is why I thought it was really funny when they actually had a drive-thru. They don’t have one any longer do they? It was pretty late when I got there, so I didn’t notice. Anyway, the wings aren’t cheap at almost ten bucks…..at ten wings, they’ve crossed into “Kyochon” pricing territory.

I will say the wings are pretty large and the bright red color looked quite impressive. Though I’m fine with smaller wings since the skin to meat ratio is sometimes better.

The chicken had retained a good deal of crunch on the drive home, and as I mentioned before these were some pretty hefty wings. In terms of flavor, these are more spicy and sticky wings……upfront spicy, kind of sweet, but lacking in any real savory component. The lack of of complexity in the flavor really makes this a one trick pony…. it is spicy (though not even close to Quaker Steak and Lube), but that’s about it in my opinion. It just seems to need something more and lacks that “I need to keep eating because I think they put crack in these wings” factor.

At a dollar a wing this really ain’t worth it in my book.

BBQ Chicken
4768 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

Golden City:

**** Golden City has closed

You know after all my posts on Golden City you knew that someday I’d have to relent and actually try the salt and pepper chicken wings here, even though I really didn’t have a good feeling about it. So here it is, in its bitter garlic, kinda soggy, dry meat glory.

Not enough salt, or I daresay MSG, hardly any spice……… it won’t keep me from ordering Kwai Fei Chicken that’s for sure…..

Golden City Restaurant
5375 Kearny Villa Rd.
San Diego, CA 92123

Homestyle Hawaiian:

Say what? Yes, according to the sign it said Salt n’ Pepper Chicken Wings. And Mo couldn’t wait to have me try them…..

At the time I tried them; this was late last year, about the time I had the Roast Pork Loco Moco, I thought they needed a bit more leavening since they got soggy fairly quickly. The flavor had an interesting sweet tone, but not enough salt…. Mo did tell me, that at that time he wasn’t using MSG….. Needed some kick to it as well. I believe that the price is now $7.50, but I did see these still on the menu.

Homestyle Hawaiian Island Style Food
7524 Mesa College Drive
San Diego, CA 92111

Empirehouse Urban Palate:

**** Empirehouse has closed

A FOY asked me to check out the Red Miso BBQ Wings ($7) at Empire House Urban Palate, a newer restaurant located at 127 University, a location that has been through several restaurants in recent years. Ed from Yuma did a post on The Better Half which was in this location a couple of years back. Taking a cue from the various back to comfort food style cuisine that is big in gastropubs and fusion style food typical of food trucks, this place serves a line-up of burgers, hot dogs, along with chicken karaage, tacos, and of course chicken wings. Kind of an interesting stretch….. and a lot of territory to cover.

But this is a chicken wing post, so let’s get down to those wings.

These weren’t bad by any stretch of the imagination…. I just wish that there had been a bit more imagination…. these tasted more like a usual BBQ sauce, with perhaps a touch of Hoisin for some very mild beany savory flavor and sweetness. Where was the deep salty-savory flavor of Aka miso? The wings were on the smallish side which wouldn’t have been bad if the skin had been a bit more crisp.

A bit more spice, maybe sweetness, or perhaps the kind of assertive flavor like those of Que Huong’s Fish Sauce Chicken Wings…… What these did do for me is make me wonder what kind of miso glazed wings would I make? Hmmm…. folks do enjoy the Spicy Garlic-Soy Chicken wings I make……

I will say that the young ladies working here are very friendly and enthusiastic and made eating here a pleasure.

Empirehouse Urban Palate
127 University Avenue
San Diego, CA 92103

There you go the latest installment of chicken wings! Thanks for dropping by!

Halmouny (Grandma Tofu and BBQ) a revisit

March 13, 2011 mmm-yoso Korean Restaurants

The Missus and I finally made it back to Halmouny a couple of weeks back…… it was cold and rainy, and the Missus was craving the Seolleongtang from here.

It does seem that something always changes on every visit. Now Halmouny is going for the late night Soju crowd.

And another sign near the door announces breakfast! Man, this place is trying to cover every meal. Throwing every idea at the wall to see what sticks. To me, this seems a bit discouraging……

Prices here have also risen a couple of bucks. I was considering the Galbi Jjim but decided against that since I wasn't sure what was going to come out of that kitchen. In the early days of the restaurant I thought the Galbi Jjim was decent, but something changed, and on one visit with Ed from Yuma it had become a whole different dish. I probably would have still ordered it, if only to see what had become of that dish, but it was now $18.99, four dollars more than at the same time last year.

Soon after placing our order, the panchan came out.

I know folks often wish for different and creative panchan; but most times I'm happy with the standards if they are done well. I still think the Baechu Kimchi, the standard Napa Cabbage kimchi is missing a level of savory flavor. Still, the gamja jorim (simmered potatoes) here are one of my favorites, and I'll admit tastes better than my version (for now).

In spite of the ever changing food here, the panchan, and the very nice service has always been a constant for us. The young lady serving us kept asking us if we wanted refills, and we went through for bowls of the potatoes.

When our bowls of rice came out, the Missus peeked and exclaimed, "oh no, I hate this stuff…."

I'm not sure when Halmouny started serving the "healthy" purple rice (rice with adzuki beans)…. It turned out that the Missus actually kinda enjoyed this version.

Her Seolleongtang ($9.99) was a different story. This dish looked like a totally different dish from what we had a year ago. It was impressive looking though……

I guess the additional two bucks tacked on in recent months meant you got huge rib bones sticking out of your soup? This dish tasted off, the meat had a flavor reminiscent of that stale refrigerator taste. That flavor permeated through the broth, making this rather unpleasant.

I went with something I hadn't had here before, the Ttukbaegi Bulgogi ($15.99):

Basically a clay pot – stew usually consisting of bulgogi, vegetables, and cellophane/glass noodles. I just love the dramatic bubbling cauldron action as it arrived…

I had imagined a flavor close to Yook-soo Bulgogi, but this was way too sweet. The beef was also not as tender as I recalled.

Overall, this wasn't the most stellar meal we've had at Halmouny. It also got me wondering if the gul and jokbal bossam is still as good. Walking out of the restaurant, I noticed they had a lunch special menu…….

Personally, I just wished that the food here was more consistent.

Halmouny – Grandma Tofu and BBQ
4425 Convoy St.
San Diego, CA 92111

Saturday Stuffs: Honey Pig is now Old Village and Silver Ark is gone(or has been for quite a while), and would you hold it against me if I ordered a Ma-ka-ka Burrito?

February 5, 2011 mmm-yoso Korean Restaurants, Taco Shops, yoso-silly

Honey Pig is gone:

Man that was quick. I first heard about it from "YY", and saw that a new business had quickly moved in. It's now a place called Old Village… and the sign says "Korea's best Chef in twenty years!"

It makes me wonder what the saturation point is for Korean Tofu Houses…. well, I guess it's much higher than the saturation point for Korean BBQ's, huh?

Silver Ark has been gone for a while:

A couple of days ago, the Missus asked if we needed to do a revisit of Silver Ark after our last not so good visit. I told Her that Silver Ark has been gone for a while, and is now a Thai Restaurant. I then displayed photographic evidence. Which made Her ask me why I hadn't mentioned anything…..

She had a good point…… so here's a mention several months after I actually took a photo of what was Silver Ark and is now Siam Nara. I've heard that they are associated with Amarin. Anybody been there yet?

And finally…….

I've been waiting months trying to figure out when to do this post. And have come to the conclusion that there really wouldn't be a perfect time. It involves Vallarta Express on Genesee, a place Cathy has posted on. I really don't eat too much taco shop fare anymore, perhaps I'm still suffering from post tramatic shock from Howie's "Battle of the 'berto's", but I just have kinda stopped eating Carne Asada and California Burritos. But to paraphrase a much more interesting man then me, "I rarely eat Carne Asada Burritos, but when I do, I prefer Vallarta Express." Well kinda…… for some reason, when the carne asada is on it's quite good, I think they use soy sauce……but I've had my share of clunkers as well. The last time I stopped in at Vallarta Express was back in October. I was tired, on my way back home from a long day at work, and a trip to Henry's, and I just decided to grab a California Burrito….. I hadn't had one in a while. I even took a photo of Vallarta Express….which I think came out pretty peachy-keen and neato-rooney….

It almost says….. "aaaah Vallarta Express at sunset", huh? But on this day, the food was really secondary…and knowing me, what I eat rarely takes a back seat. I was in the drive thru, behind a Lexus SUV. The woman sticks her head out and orders a "Cho-rye-zo burrito". The disembodied voice blares from the speaker "so that will be a chorizo burrito?" The woman, using her best "outside voice" says "ummmm yes, and one more thing, can I get a ma-ka-ka burrito?" I'm laughing so hard I almost take my foot of the brake. The Lexus doesn't move, mainly because not an utterance comes out of the little speaker box. Perhaps they're searching for some "ka-ka"? Having worked in restaurants and fast-food, I can only imagine what is currently going on in that little shack…… Yes, one could only imagine……

The woman finally moved forward, puzzled look on her face and eventually made her way out of the drive-thru….. I hope she got her "ma-ka-ka", or reasonable facsimle.

In comparison, my CAB…. that's a California Burrito, not you CAB was totally anti-climatic.

OK, so I "set-up" the burrito by taking my photo of it leaning up against a container of brown rice…. perhaps it's a Jungian duality statement….. but maybe I just needed to lean my burrito against something.

This wasn't the best burrito I've had from Vallarta….too much sour cream in this one.

But just having that moment was, at least to me, worth $5.25………

Have you ever had one of those moments?

Vallarta Express
4277 Genessee Ave.
San Diego, CA 92117

Open for "Ma-ka-ka and Cho-rye-zo" 24 hours a day.

Scenes from A Taste of Korea Harvest & Wine Festival

September 26, 2010 mmm-yoso Festivals & Events, Korean Restaurants

I'm sure you could tell from this post, that I was fascinated with the "Taste of Korea Harvest and Wine Festival". So yesterday, I parked in Old Town, and took the trolley down to the Gaslamp.

And got off at the Convention Center stop, which is but a few steps from the San Diego Wine & Culinary Center.

The event was combination of a wine tasting, cooking contest, and a celebration of Chuseok, the Korean Harvest Festival.

The schedule looked pretty jam packed, with the tasting of three wines, entertainment, food, and three culinary challenge matches.

Arriving early, I had a chance to chat briefly with Cathlyn Choi. Energetic, with a great sense of humor, Cathlyn managed doing several things at once, all while dressed in a formal Hanbok on one of the hottest days of the year!

There were three different wines featured during the event; first a Makkoli, a rice wine.

Which was quite refreshing. This wine is made by fermented rice and water, and looks very much like Nigori Sake. It is not quite as sweet, and the alcohol content in Makkoli is a bit lower than Nigori. In fact, I like this a bit more than Nigori Sake. It is easy to drink.

The second wine was a Bek Se Ju, made from glutinous rice flavored with ginseng and other herbs, this was quite medicinal, but ok overall. The last wine was a Bok Bun Ja, a raspberry wine that was a bit too sweet for my tastes. It was fun trying these out, and I think I'll be getting some Makkoli for the Missus one of these days.

Of course there was food……

My favorite item was the Dduk Boki which Cathlyn made, there was also food provided by some pretty familiar names……

There was also entertainment, which included a Gayaguem performance.

And a very enjoyable performance by Fairfax High School's Korean Drum Group.

Of course, I was most interested in the cooking contest. Even though the six Chefs competing aren't quite household names, by the end of the evening it was pretty obvious that they all had some cooking chops.

I snagged a seat at the table right behind the judges, the most well known to food folks might be Myung Sook Lee, who is most well known for Her appearance on the original Japanese version of Iron Chef. You can see a video of her match against Chen Kenichi in the "Liver Battle" here. Chef Lee, is also the Executive Chef of Soban Restaurant in Rancho Bernardo. She is also a force of nature, and was all over the place during the matches, often stepping behind the counter to sample and sniff sauces, give advice, and watch what the chefs were doing up close.

She also looked like one tough customer who could snap me in two over her knee should she so desire. Folks in San Diego would probably also recognize C S Keys.

My personal favorite judge was FOY (Friend of Yoso) Candice Woo.

The rules of challenge itself was fun. Each of the six chefs picked a slip from a bag. A different traditional Korean Dish or food item was on each slip. The chefs were divided into twos with thirty minutes to make the dish. A basket of ingredients was provided for each chef. What was very entertaining was that several of the chefs had never seen nor eaten the dish assigned to them!

The first two up were Jean-Michel Gottlieb who owns Bella Catering and Phillip Soriano Sous Chef at the Marine Room.

So how's this for a challenge, Chef Jean-Michel was to make Japchae, but he had never even heard of the dish! Given the ingredients, Chef Jean-Michel made what looked like deconstructed Japchae, with all the ingredients prepared seperately. The two other Judges, Sookhee Jung, Food Columnist for The Korean Times and Ena Yu, Columnist for The Korea Daily, found his dish a fascinating take on Japchae.

Chef Phillip was to make BiBimBap, and by the look of his dish, it was quite apparent that he's had his share of BiBimBap as his version looked the most like the traditional dish.

The next pair up were Lance Roll, aka The Flavor Chef, who is quite a character. He had selected KimChi…… and had to pull that off in 30 minutes! Alongside Chef Roll was Pam Schwartz, CIA Graduate and Program Coodinator for Sur La Table.

Chef Pam used a handy dandy Vacu Vin Instant Marinator to get her selection of Bulgogi ready in fifteen minutes. She got positive nods from the Judges for her addition of Sesame leaves for wrapping the bulgogi.

Chef Lance, who had the task of making KimChi, used a quick saute with garlic and oter seasonings to get his Kimchi started. He also added bell peppers, utilized the freezer to bring everything to temp, and a creative presentation to complete his dish.

His dish was most surprising, as I got a taste of it. It was quite good, and tasted like good tsukemono! Pretty amazing for something made in 30 minutes! He really got the judges attention with his effort.

Next up were Chef Maria Sparks, co-owner of Cork and Platter, and Rene Fernandez. Chef Maria had Dak Galbi, and had no idea what that was! Still she was a very good sport, and seemed to have fun with the dish.

She added a very different ingredient to her chicken stir-fry……. Curry! Which drew some ooohs from the Korean women sitting on the table behind me.

In the end, the finished product was very tasty, and I really loved her presentation.

Chef Rene had Dduk Boki on his hands……

And I enjoyed his hearty, soulful version of this dish the most of what I was able to taste.

I'm not going to tell you who won…. since this is going to be televised, I'll ask Cathlyn if I can reveal the winner.

Though the event ran pretty long, I hope Cathlyn does this again…. and lets me know about it!

So I can let you all know about!

Royal Mandarin reopens and Honey Pig revisited.

July 20, 2010 mmm-yoso Chicken Wings, Chinese Restaurants, Korean Restaurants

Royal Mandarin reopens:

I thought it would be fun to do an ABCDE (American Born Chinese Dining Establishment) post, in the midst of my posts on China. And the reopening of Royal Mandarin would do just fine. I first posted on Royal Mandarin waaay back in 2005. Most folks who have been in San Diego for a good number of years tell me that Royal Mandarin was the first place to sell the very popular version of Salt and Pepper Chicken Wings in San Diego. These wings have become a staple at Filipino (and other) parties across the South Bay. Of course popularity breeds imitation, and now there are many imitators. By the time I held a Salt and Pepper Chicken Wing comparison in June of 2009, Royal Mandarin’s rings had seemed ot have lost some luster. Then, on December 30th, “Johari” left a comment, and a link which detailed that Royal Mandarin had burned down. I dropped by during the beginning of January, and the sign posted said that Royal Mandarin had not given up the ghost, and was to reopen in March. On April 3rd, I dropped by and found that while the place was being worked on, the sign now said the place would reopen sometime late in April. Of course I was gone from late April through the end of May, and since returning, the last thing I really wanted was ABCDE food…. Then on June 21st, FOY “Sandy” commented telling us that Royal Mandarin had reopened. So about a week later, the Missus and I decided to drive down and see how, or if things had changed at Royal Mandarin.

The front counter looks the same, and they’ve even rebuilt the divider/waiting area that blocks the view to the dining area. For some reason the interior, though it has been brightened up, with new tile, and some strange paintings of fruits and vegetables (c’mon, when you think of Royal Mandarin, do you really think about fruits and vegetables?), it still looks like Royal Mandarin. It is, without a doubt, a good example of “lipstick on a pig”.

The Missus had some concerns about the food. You see after Mandarin Canton reopened following the tragic murder of the owner. The Missus took some friends to eat there, and was disappointed. The one strong point of many of these restaurants are the fried items, and everything seemed very pale, and underflavored. After mulling theories, the Missus came up with the possible reason the food lacked color and flavor. She told me, “they must’ve changed their cooking oil!” In Her mind, there’s a vat of well seasoned cooking oil that has seen batches of shrimp and chicken wings, and like a good wok, it had become well seasoned. Actually, if you think about it…… that would be kind of scary. But since that day, we’ve called examples such as that “changed oil syndrome.” We both truly hoped that Royal Mandarin didn’t suffer from changed oil syndrome.

Frankly, there’s only one thing I really like at Royal Mandarin….. and you know what that is, right? The Salt and Pepper Chicken Wings:

I was very pleased, these were even better then the last few orders of wings I’d gotten before the fire. It’s like crack I tell ya’……… it was also crisp and fairly light. And yes, the full pleasures of salt and MSG is brought to it’s ultimate glory…..

The Missus ordered the upside down pan fried noodles which I found disappointing.

It suffered from too little “gravy”, and the noodles had a strange, almost powderiness to them. They were also too tough and chewy, and the afore mentioned lack of sauce meant that the noodles never got softer. I also can’t recommend anything with chicken that’s not fried. The Missus in total contrast to me, liked this.

One of the Missus’s favorites here, the Salt and Pepper Shrimp with Shell, was much lighter than I recalled.

The flavor of the shrimp came through, and it was cooked well, still soft and tender, and not overcooked.

So there you have it…… Royal Mandarin…. you can still get your ABCDE Fry-o-rama on here.

Royal Mandarin Restaurant
1132 E. Plaza Blvd
National City, CA 91950

Honey Pig revisited:

*** Update: Honey Pig has closed and is now Old Village ***

Recently, the Missus wanted some Korean BBQ. And She really didn’t want to spend fifty bucks, which seems to be the usual lay-out at Buga. We both thought that it would be a great time to revisit Honey Pig.

Not too much to say that I didn’t cover in my previous visit. The portions are about 1/2lb, Honey Pig serves Certified Angus Beef, prices run from $8.99 to $15.99 – which is for the bulgogi which is a double portion.

There’s a bit more in terms of panchan served, and the service has gotten better. All the items for “bossam” are delivered on time, and seconds are brought out on request.

The bulgogi here is decent, fairly tender, not overmarinated.

By San Diego standards this was pretty good…. not too sweet.

The one surprise was what FOY “YY” recommended. On the menu it is called “Natural CAB Finger Meat”, and reminds me, in flavor of Tsuruhashi’s Prime Skirt, a usually tough cut. In this case, it dies have a good chew, but has a nice beefy flavor to it.

The food is perhaps a step (or two) behind LA standards, but is a good alternative to the higher priced Korean BBQs in town. And it seems to be getting better everytime we visit.

Honey Pig
4681 Convoy St Ste B
San Diego, CA 92111