Just clearing out the memory card here with some takeout revisits. Looking at my takeout "rotation" I quickly noticed a couple of consistencies in my choices. The places all open before 11. I get to work quite early in the morning and am not a big fan of crowds. So, if I can grab my lunch by 1030 or so, I'm happy. It seems like these places actually opened during the pandemic. And of course, it's not a far drive to any of these places for me.
So, here goes.
HFS at Centerpark Labs:
It's been a while since I'd done a post on HFS and I'd just got done making a final visit to Poke 8th and B recently (post upcoming). We had nice, almost late spring weather before the storm set in today; so it seemed like the perfect time to grab some poke from HFS.
I arrived five minutes before opening and got in and out in minutes.
Got the shoyu and the "Kilauea" which had some pretty good spice. This did hit the spot. Good quality fish, nutty brown rice……
HFS at Centerpark Labs
6835 Flanders Dr.
San Diego, CA 92121
Current Hours:
Daily 10am – 8pm
Sue's Korean Kitchen:
Sue's has been a regular Kimchi Fried Rice spot for me since my first visit in spring of 2021. I was a bit surprised at how much the serving size seemed to have shrunk on my last visit, so I needed to return to check things out.
They always seem so happy to see me here and are so nice. Which is one of the reasons I keep returning.
So, how was it? Well, it seems that my previous visit was just an off-day as the portion size returned to what I had on previous visits.
Rice was a bit mushier than normal; but I enjoyed the spam, the fermented spiciness of the dish.
Sue’s Korean Kitchen
6755 Mira Mesa Blvd. Suite 109
San Diego, CA 92121
Current Hours:
Mon – Sat 10am – 9pm
Tenkatori:
And last, but not least, yes yet another visit to Tenkatori. I've been a regular here since my first visits in spring of 2022. I always go at the 1030 opening time. That parking lot can be a horror show. I also will usually order when I arrive or call it in, ever since I noticed a $3 upcharge for online orders.
I had recently read Kat's post about getting tori nanban and was craving that. So, that's what I got.
Whoa, the tartar sauce here is a bit too rich for my taste. I felt like I needed a shower after eating this!
Yes, just like when I tried it before, there wasn't enough vinegar tones in this to cut all the richness. I gotta get back to Okan and see if I still enjoy their tori nanban.
On my next visit a couple of days later it was back to the same 'ol, same 'ol.
Yes, I'll often go twice in a week!
Tenkatori Miramar
6780 Miramar Rd. Suite 104
San Diego, CA 92121
Current Hours:
Mon – Fri 1030am – 2pm, 4pm – 8pm
Sat – Sun 11am – 230pm, 4pm – 8pm
Hope everyone keeps dry and warm on this rather wet weekend! Take care!
Man, I forgot how much mul kimchi is provided. These weren't as sweet as I recalled and provided and was a good foil for the sweetness in the wings.
As for the wings; well it's a personal preference; I prefer crisp over highly battered and too crunchy. I enjoy smaller wings with a good skin to meat ratio, rather than jumbo, meaty, and often dry wings. This is why I had enjoyed getting the wings from Bonchon. So, how did these fare? Well, it seemed to be more "sauced" than I recall, though it was evenly coated. The sauce seemed a bit sweeter as well, I would have enjoyed a bit more pungency. The coating was crisp, but I'm glad I had this onsite since I don't think it would have stood up as takeout. The wings were moist, the meat tender, though I did see some black spotting, which can lead to off flavors, but this was fine. And for some reason, it brought back memories of our "KFC" visits to places like 
The shredded beef was quite tasty. The broth had some nice spice, but was quite "flat" and one-dimensional in flavor. The glass noodles were too mushy. There was a rather greasy "mouth feel" to the dish and as a whole I felt it was quite mediocre.
So, the wrappers were on the tough and brittle side. The filling for the pork and chive was bland and chewy, though the pork and kimchi had the advantage of some good savory-fermented flavor and was definitely the better of the two.
That's what things looked like when I opened up the boxes back at the office. I did a quick taste of the tomato topping which was super bland, you couldn't even really taste tomato. The version of Mul Kimchi provided was weird as it had a real strong anise/clove flavor that wasn't very pleasant.
And not a hint of truffle flavor to be found.
The wings had held up better this time. I tried the sides first. The corn slaw was terrible, the "dressing" was really watery and this lacked flavor. Very little corn, you might as well just give me raw coleslaw mix.
The batter had peeled away from two of the pieces, which had been turned face down in the box. The sauce was not overly sweet, but I still would have preferred a bit more saltiness, this was much milder than the versions at other places. The chunks of chicken were on the dry and tough side.
I'm not going to beat a dead horse about that Mul Kimchi. I just don't care for the flavor.
Calling this a "bowl" is a definite misnomer as it's pretty hefty. There's the standard green salad with a sesame dressing plus some fairly standard and kinda mushy and pretty salty japchae. The rice was nicely done and the portion size seemed a bit larger than before.
The Mister and I returned the other day and were going to order from the regular menu, but the All Day Special Menu, which was All You Can Eat for $27 per person would cost about the same. We decided it would be fun to cook our own and eat all we could. 
The complimentary banchan (pickled 'sides)were brought out along with the sauces (and salad and rice we ordered from the menu). Everything is replenished when you ask.
First up-thin brisket, beef bulgogi and chicken BBQ.
You are given tongs and scissors to help cook and cut your meats. The bulgogi and BBQ sauces carmelized on the grill and gave some flavor to the brisket.
The 'corn cheese' is an excellent side to share. 
For our second round, we chose thin beef belly and thin pork belly…so we could compare. 
A clean grill had been brought out, so there was no flavor imparted from the bulgogi and BBQ sauces and we instead ate the meat with the pickled sides (the kim chee is excellent) and rice on top of salad: a completely different second meal.
The Bulgogi was quite tender, perhaps a shade sweeter than I prefer, but not bad at all. Richard enjoyed this as well, telling me that this was better than what had recently had at a Korean place on Convoy! Go figure.
