Category: Local Kine Stuffs in San Diego

It’s that time of the year again – HFS at Centerpark Labs Revisited

Local Kine Stuffs in San Diego, Poke

Ah yes……as we flip the pages of the calendar and the weather turns warmer, it's time for poke again here. I just checked and noticed I hadn't been to HFS at Centerpark Labs in over a year! How the heck can that be? Well, I think that two trips "home" got me my poke fixes. Though my recent visit to Makai Sushi had me wondering how HFS at Centerpark was doing. So, it was time to head on over……old habits kicked in and I arrived 5 minutes before opening, time enough to beat the lines.

HFS Rev 01

By five minutes of opening; there were already a dozen people in line.

As per my usual habit; I ordered a Medium Bowl with brown rice, which is still priced at $19 with the "Kilauea" and the Wasabi Ahi; mainly for the Missus, while I got a half pound of Shoyu Poke ($26.99/lb). Since I'd be taking this home, I asked that the poke and rice be separate. The nice young ladies working separated things and even put the fish on ice! Such great service. And of course, taking this home meant that the Missus needed Her "typical" poke set-up. Luckily, I had gone shopping earlier in the day and was prepared.

HFS Rev 02

HFS Rev 03

Man, that brown rice was nicely cooked, firm and so nutty-earthy in flavor!

HFS Rev 04

The Shoyu Poke was good; the fish of decent quality….like I tell folks here….HFS is about Foodland quality; while not top of the line "back home"; it's about as good as it gets here in San Diego. We really didn't need the shoyu sauce, which is provided on the side.

HFS Rev 05

As for the other poke…the Missus really enjoyed the Wasabi version this time….I also thought the quality of fish in the wasabi was better. While it was a mildly "sinus clearing", the pungency did not overpower the poke. The Kilauea was mildly spicy and the fish of decent quality as well.

HFS Rev 06

I detected a bit of a different flavor profile in the Kilauea….I'm wondering if they've started using a chili crisp in it?

Anyway, this hit the spot. And as the weather turns warmer, I'll probably be going more often. I know that HFS has opened a new location in Poway; but after my experience with the Liberty Station location, I'll probably just stick with the Centerpark Labs location. So, apologies in advance if you start seeing more HFS posts as things heat up!

HFS Rev 00

HFS at Centerpark Labs
6835 Flanders Dr.
San Diego, CA 92121
Current Hours:
Daily 10am – 8pm

Ahi Poke from Makai Sushi (Hillcrest)

Asian Fusion/Pacific Rim/Hawaii Style Fusion, Local Kine Stuffs in San Diego, Poke, Seafood

A couple of months back, I saw this "sushi" shop while driving down Fifth Avenue.

Makai Sushi 01

It wasn't the "sushi" sign that caught my eye, but the name, "Makai"….hmmm, in Hawaiian it means "toward the sea"….versus "Mauka" which means "toward the mountains". At least that's what struck me when I saw that sign. So, I got back home and did that Google thingy and read that the owner is originally from Kauai. And then he opened a shop in Hillcrest? Kinda interesting.

I've mentioned hating the parking in Hillcrest in other posts and even though I'm quite "niele", seeing a menu with all kinds of "rolls", and poke bowls, etc…..the only thing that I was curious about was the ahi poke. And since the place opens at noon and is closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays….well, I just wasn't that motivated to deal with the parking situation and the crowds. Until…..I recently had an appointment in Hillcrest which would be finished just before noon. Seemed like the perfect opportunity to check the place out. I walked on over arriving just after the clock struck twelve.

And like I said…taking a look at the menu, there was really only one thing I was interested in.

Makai Sushi 02b

I walked on into the tiny restaurant and the counter and placed an order for the Ahi Bowl ($20) with the sweet and very nice young lady that was working.

Makai Sushi 03

The owner, Matt, came on over and he spoke major pidgin! So, we wen talk story. He's from Poipu on Kauai! I asked him what brought him to San Diego and he told me that he one local kine sushi place in a market in Poipu (I found this in the online HAL guide) with the same name. And then Covid happened and his business was gone. He decided to move to San Diego and open up the same kind of place. But why Hillcrest? Well, he told me that he wasn't looking in the area, but Hillcrest found him! And he's doing good business here. Good for him!

I got my poke bowl, thanked the both of them, and den wen hele…….

I really liked the folks at Makai, so I truly hoped this wasn't going to be one of those mainland "Chi-poke" kinda bowls, you know, 2 ounces of fish, and then all kinds of "stuffs".

Well, upon opening, even though there was avocado, some greens, sort of kimchi like cucumber, it was mostly fish. Though there seemed to be a bit more "sauce" than I usually like.

Makai Sushi 04  Makai Sushi 05  There was a good amount of decently cooked rice. I could have done without the "wasabi aioli" and the overly sweet unagi sauce. I guess I just wanted some good shoyu poke? The fish danced close to the edge of being over-sauced, but avoided falling off that cliff. I did enjoy the creaminess of the avocado and the mild sour-spice of the cucumber.

The fish was of decent quality, not the best, but tender, and most importantly, without all the "sugi"; the chewy connective tissue.

I enjoyed the addition of tobiko as it added another layer of textural contrast and some good, mild saltiness to the poke.

Makai Sushi 06

While not quite as good as It's Raw or HFS in my opinion….though I gotta return to HFS soon. I prefer this to 8th and B or Poke Etc, and definitely over all those "chi-poke" places.

If it were in my 'hood, I'd probably visit periodically. Especially since the folks here are so welcoming…..Matt does display that "Aloha Spirit"!

As it is; if I'm passing thru and hit the parking lot-tery, I'll stop by again.

Makai Sushi 00

Makai Sushi
3968 5th Ave.
San Diego, CA 92103
Current Hours:
Thurs – Mon 12pm – 7pm
Closed Tues – Wed

Revisits – HFS at Centerpark Labs, Sue’s Korean Kitchen, Ngon Ngon to Go, and Tenkatori

Filipino Restaurants, Japanese Restaurants, Korean Restaurants, Local Kine Stuffs in San Diego, Poke, Vietnamese Restaurants

So, I've noticed something about many of the places I head to during lunch. I get into the office rather early and start getting hungry at 10am or so. I also don't care much for crowds. Thus, I've developed a habit of heading to places that open a bit earlier than the usual 11am start time. Also, for these takeout visits, I usually don't stray too far afield.

Having done multiple posts on all of these places, I thought I'd just do a "COMC" (Clearing Out the Memory Card) post.

HFS at Centerpark Labs:

A regular stop on the rotation since my first visit back in August of 2020, HFS has since moved their retail location. It's still a stop when I want decent poke here in San Diego. And they've become quite popular. Heck, there were folks waiting at ten minutes before the opening time on this day.

HFS TO 01

HFS TO 02

For lunch I'll usually get the medium poke bowl with brown rice ($19) and can usually get out quite quickly. I stay with the ahi choices here. Not a fan of the salmon and stuff.

HFS TO 03

On this day it was the "Pearl Harbor", which had some good spice and the Shoyu Ahi which had a better quality of fish; quite tender and creamy.

It's still my first choice for poke in San Diego.

HFS at Centerpark Labs
6835 Flanders Dr.
San Diego, CA 92121
Current Hours:
Thurs – Tues 10am – 8pm
Wednesday 10am – 6pm

Sue's Korean Kitchen:

I've done a number of posts on Sue's since I first visited back in 2021. I like that they open at 10am and basically stick with one item on the menu, the Kimchi Fried Rice ($12.99). Though I've encountered "shrunken portions" at times, on my last two visits, things seem back to normal.

Sues TO 01

Sues TO 02

And though I've encountered "mushy rice syndrome" on a couple of visits, that was not the case this time around.

Sues TO 03_a

Sues TO 04

A nice Spam-i-fied, mildly spicy, fermented, carb load. The woman here cracks me up as she seems to remember me and what I order!

Sue’s Korean Kitchen
6755 Mira Mesa Blvd. Suite 109
San Diego, CA 92121
Current Hours:
Mon – Sat 10am – 9pm

Ngon Ngon Food to Go:

Ngon Ngon might be as far as I would usually wander for lunch. They open at 9am, though are closed on Mondays and Tuesdays……need to remember that. I've kinda stuck to one item since my first set of visits when they opened a year ago, the Bo Luc Lac.

They've kinda rearranged things in the small space within Vinh Hung Market.

NgNg 01

I'll call in my order for #27, the "Cubed Beef Filet Mignon with Steamed Rice" ($16). Now while the though of comparing this to gourmet filet mignon might be a stretch, the beef is not bad. Slightly toothsome, edging on a bit too salty, with a touch of savory-sweetness.

NgNg 02

I'm not the biggest fan of the salad as at times the greens have been starting to brown, but this time it wasn't bad.

NgNg 03

NgNg 04 (2)

NgNg 04

Ngon Ngon To Go
10550 Camino Ruiz
San Diego, CA 92126
Current Hours:
Wed – Sun 9am – 8pm
Closed on Mondays and Tuesdays

Tenkatori:

And finally, Tenkatori. Another regular stop since I first visited two years ago. The place opens at 1030 on weekdays, which is great since I hate that parking lot. There is one key thing when I do take out. I always call in my order when they open at 1030. The online ordering ordering, even though it says no service fee adds on $2-$3. For instance, I ordered the Mega Karaage Don on this day. I called in my order which was $17.30, using Uber Eats for Pick-up it's $22.80! Ordering Door Dash pick-up it's $22.50. For pick-up!

Tenkatori TO 01

Actually, I'm not sure why I ordered the Mega Don as it was way to much food….but what the heck; the chicken heats well in the air fryer.

Tenkatori TO 02

Tenkatori Miramar
6780 Miramar Rd Suite 104
San Diego, CA 92121
Phone – (858) 200-2016
Current Hours:
Mon – Fri 1030am – 2pm, 4pm – 8pm
Sat – Sun   11am – 230pm, 4pm – 8pm

So there you go…my recent early takeout lunch habits. I'm going to do turo turo in a separate post.

In your opinion, am I missing out on anything? And what have you been getting for lunch recently?

Leilanis Attic

Local Kine Stuffs in San Diego, Markets & Grocers, yoso-silly

So recently, I wanted, nay needed some Chili Peppah Wata for some kalua pork. Now, in the past my usual stop would be Marukai. But since Don Quijote bought Marukai, the stores and what they carry seemed to have changed. There are certain local kine items I know I can get reliably at Marukai, like Aloha Shoyu, but since the change, there are items that are not always available. So, this time around I just decided to hele on over to Leilani's Attic which opened in March of last year. They had Parks Chili Water in stock, the folks working are always friendly, and I like supporting these local businesses anyway. Anyway, I went looking for my post on Leilanis and there wasn't one! What the heck….senior moment creeping in.

So, I decided to drop by at the tail end of my usual Saturday shopping errands (Leilanis opens at 10), just browse a bit (and get some taro chips), and sneak in a few photos. The shop is located in the strip mall that contains Sipz, Di Chan, and Ma's House.

Leilanis Attic 01

And in case you're wondering, this is the shop that was next to Leilani's in PB. They also have an outlet in Vegas now as well. It's a small, but well organized shop, food one side, all the other "stuffs" like Local Motion, Hilo Hatties, one another side.

Leilanis Attic 02

To be honest, I don't really spend much time in this area.

I'm looking for grocery stuff when I come here. What I've noticed during recent visits is that the crack seed displays, while still yielding a decent variety are kind of depleted.

Leilanis Attic 03

Leilanis Attic 04

Of course there are all the standards….

Leilanis Attic 05

And if you need to Noh, this is wea' you can go!

Leilanis Attic 09

The one thing I really enjoy about L's Attic is that there are always things that "take me back"; that bring on that warm nostalgic feeling. Just looking at the cold and freezer case for instance.

Leilanis Attic 06

Would have me smiling thinking about debates my friends and I would have; "are you team Purity, or team Redondo's"? As I've noted before, I'm totally "team Purity". As for Gouviea, well that was for special occasions, since we could never depend on getting that during small kid time.

Check out this shelf.

Leilanis Attic 07

It's amazing what little thing can bring on all those feelings. Like the time I saw that Leilanis carries Good News.

Leilanis Attic 08 Leilanis Attic 10  In case you haven't heard of this, Good News was created back in the 70's. I believe that Good News is mainly sold back in the Islands these days. This was my late Mom's favorite guilty pleasure. She would get me to walk to Kaimuki Sundries or Lau Market to get one for her every once in a while. Every time I see it within the confines of a small neighborhood store or market, I can't help but think of my walks (she never did learn to drive and we had no car) around the corner to get one for her.

Enough of that. Yes, there are places where you can get local kine stuffs these days. For some reason, I enjoy the shopping experience at Leilanis. Also, the nice guy working told me he can order Parks Brand Kim Chee Sauce for me. You don't get that kind of service at large markets. I haven't been able to get that here or in OC for a while. So perhaps it's time for me to make my Chicken Alice Fried Chicken, which I call the "OG KFC" soon.

I'm glad to have a place like Leilanis in a more convenient location for me!

Leilanis Attic
5505 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92117
Open Daily 10am – 7pm

8th and B Poke (National City)

Hawaiian Food, Local Kine Stuffs in San Diego, Poke, Seafood

At the end of May last year, I heard about a poke shop opening in National City, but we were between trips and I never made it until September. 8th and B Poke is located; well, off of 8th Street and B Avenue in one of the new residential buildings.

8th and B 01

I had heard that the shop will sometimes sell out of poke, so I made sure to go before they opened. As a whole parking can be a bit "interesting" in this area as well.

The shop is small, with a small counter and a listing of the poke available posted on the "board". What can be confusing is that different sizes of poke "bowls/plates" are listed, but it doesn't tell you how much poke is involved with each. 

8th and B 02

On the counter is a list of what kind of tako poke and salmon is available that day.

8th and B 02a

I figured, correctly that a Medium Plate would have two different poke and since it's really hard to find decent tako poke here in San Diego, I got the kimchi tako along with the ahi limu.

8th and B 03 8th and B 05   The texture of the ahi was good. Not too much connective tissue. The fish was highly sauced, and the sauce was on the sweet side. There wasn't a huge amount of limu and the sweetness of the sauce pretty much overshadowed any of the briny-oceany flavor provided by the seaweed, though the textural crunch provided much needed contrast. The fish was of decent quality and nicely prepped.

The rice had some shoyu based sauce and furikake on it and was decently cooked on all my visits.

There was surimi and seaweed salad; routine stuff. But for some reason what they called "fish mash", tuna scrape looked really familiar, but I couldn't put my finger on it at the time.

8th and B 04

The tako was just prepped octopus with sauce squirted on it, not marinated at all, thus without much flavor. It was also overly chewy.

8th and B 06

The ahi was not bad at all, better than most other places in San Diego. I downloaded my photos and made a note to return. I must be getting old, because we went on a couple of trips after this visit, and I totally forgot about the place. And then on my last post on Poke Etc, "FOY" Jack mentioned 8th and B! Yikes, I had forgotten about the place. I was off on that Thursday and headed right on down to National City.

8th and B 07

Same gameplan; I arrived right before opening and ordered a Medium Plate. I got asked if I'd like to add some Shrimp Tempura ($3) and I acquiesced.

8th and B 08

I probably should have passed on the shrimp as I saw it pulled from an air fryer.

This time I got the Spicy Garlic Ahi and the Shoyu Ahi.

8th and B 09  8th and B 10 As I walked back to the car, I realized I forgot to ask the folks the burning question about the place I had in mi cabeza. Sigh! Anyway, on this visit, the Spicy Garlic Ahi, wasn't particularly spicy, nor was it garlicky, at least to me. The fish was on the chewy side but decent. As with my previous visit the Ahi was swimming in sauce.

The shoyu Ahi was quite good, not overly sauced, nor excessively sweet, good texture, nice soy overtones, not too salty. Looks like I found a winnah!

8th and B 11

As for the shrimp, well, it hadn't held up well on the drive home. The shrimp was fairly small, though who would complain about $3 these days? It was soggy and really lacked seasoning.

8th and B 12

And so, I was ready for a post….until "FOY" Mar commented on Friday, just a day after my visit telling me that 8th and B had LauLau on Sundays! Ok…… Of course, I miss having good LauLau, so I waited and visited on a Sunday. And yes, there's a LauLau plate ($19), which comes with one scoop of poke.

8th and B 02b

I must say that I understand folks' confusion here, there's no indication of how much poke comes with each plate, nor does it say that the LauLau plate comes with poke…..I did ask and was told I had one choice. So far, my favorite had been the Shoyu Ahi so I went with that.

It was interesting to see a line forming, which stretched out the door when I exited. I guess weekends must be pretty busy here!

8th and B 14  8th and B 15 This time, I didn't forget that question, you see, that "fish mash" brought me back to a place that won the I love poke festival in OC in 2015. Yes, for a time we thought that Zarlitos had some of the best poke in San Diego. Sadly, they stopped serving poke around late 2018 or so. 

I asked and was told that this was indeed the same folks. Ohh-kay! That fish mash; think of how the old school places used to take bone scraping and make spicy tuna; it's actually quite tender, not fishy, at least what this place makes….in fact, I asked not to have seaweed salad and they gave me an extra scoop of the fish mash.

The fish in the shoyu poke was quite tender on this visit, but was much more "sauced" and sweeter than before. 

8th and B 16

As for the Lau Lau, as you can see, the Luau leaf was undercooked and fibrous. The meat was….well, as expected lacking the salted fish and pork fat.

8th and B 17

It was so lean, dry, and tasteless. I'll pass on this from now on.

But, that poke is pretty good; it's miles ahead of what I'd recently had at Poke Etc. So, if you enjoyed the poke that Zarlito's used to served, here's the remedy. Of course for me, HFS at Centerpark is still my go-to. But I'll definitely drop by 8th and B again if I'm in the area, if only to see what's going on.

8th and B 18

And for even more opinions….because I guess great minds think alike; please check out Denver's and Joy's posts on 8th and B!

And thanks to Jack and Mar for the reminders about 8th & B!

What would I do without our "FOYs"!

8th and B 19

8th & B Poke
806 B Ave.
National City, CA 91950
Hours:
Wed – Mon 11am – 7pm
Closed on Tuesdays

Midweek Meanderings – Da Kine’s Back to Only Catering and Green China Grill is Officially Lanzhou Noodlelicious

Chinese Restaurants, Local Kine Stuffs in San Diego, Plate Lunch

Two quick items for a lazy (me) Wednesday.

Da Kine's Back to Only Catering:

Well, the saga of Da Kine's continues. As I'm getting older, I really can't put it away like I used to. I now kinda space out my plate lunches. I thought I'd head on down to La Mesa and see what was up with Da Kine's. I did a quick check to verify hours, when I noticed that the address was different as was the name – it now said "Da Kine's Hawaiian Catering". I went and checked Nelson's Facebook site and yep…..man, things ended at the La Mesa shop back in June! I must be losing my touch!

Da Kines 01

I quickly contacted "FOY" Kerri who verified that Nelson was just doing catering for the time being while looking for a new location.

Da Kines 02

I'm guessing you can contact Nelson via Facebook if you have any ideas.

In the meantime, if you need some catering:

(619) 581-5613
6334 El Cajon Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92115

Hope he finds another location soon!

Green China Grill is Officially Lanzhou Noodlelicious:

Remember, during my post about my last visit to Green China Grill, I mentioned that the business was listed as Lanzhou Noodlelicious? Well, I did a quick stop to see what was up with the reconstruction of China Max since the fire.

Passing the former Green China Grill; the sign now says……

Noodlish

Lanzhou Noodlelicious……so I guess Green China Grill is now officially Lanzhou Noodlelicious. Not sure about this name change.

Lanzhou Noodlelicious
4688 Convoy St.
San Diego, CA 92111

I'll drop by again soon just to check in to see how "noodlelicious" things are…..

Poke Etc. Revisited

Local Kine Stuffs in San Diego, Poke

Recently, the Missus sent me to National City an urgent mission to get an ahem, "essential item". So off I went. I really don't get to the area as much as I used to….you know, when we used to complain about gas being $3.50 a gallon? Since my destination didn't open until 11, I decided to pick up lunch….but the question was where? It was a rather warm day for November and I decided that a revisit to Poke Etc. would be in order. I knew I hadn't been there in a while; but man, it had been over 7 years since my last visit! Time sure has flown by, hasn't it?

Poke Etc Rev 01

I was surprised to see the parking lot only half full….on a weekend! It looks like they've refreshed the sign since I last visited and now even call themselves a "Hawaiian Restaurant". Hmmm…..

Poke Etc Rev 02

Well, at least from what I remember, they aren't one of those "Chi-poke" places…you know 2 ounces of poke and all kinds of other "stuffs" for twenty bucks….

I just went with the "create your own bowl" priced at $14.95. I'm glad the guy working asked me how many scoops of rice. I only wanted/needed one scoop. I got my plate and headed on home.

Poke Etc Rev 03 Poke Etc Rev 05  I saved the seaweed salad for the Missus, not a fan of the stuff. The rice was moist and cooked decently.

I had checked out the poke and ordered the Spicy Garlic Ahi and Ahi Limu.

The ahi in the spicy garlic was really chewy and tough, not great quality fish. It was however, decently spicy, so much so that I really couldn't make out any garlic.

The quality of the fish in the ahi limu was better, though not great. But at least it didn't have too much "sugi" (connective tissue). I love the crunch and the oceany with a slight touch of salty-iodine flavor of good ogo. I do wish there was more of it. The seasoning wasn't overly salty; I could taste a bit of sesame oil and of course shoyu. Overall this was not bad. I'll put the place in the "etc" category.

Poke Etc Rev 04

My curiosity abated; it's back to HFS at Centerpark Labs for me.

Poke Etc
916 E 8th St
National City, CA 91950
Current Hours:
Mon – Sat 10am – 730pm
Sunday 10am – 7pm 

Kalei’s Kitchenette

Hawaiian Food, Local Kine Stuffs in San Diego, Plate Lunch

A couple of months back I heard about a plate lunch place opening in Rancho Penasquitos named Kalei's Kitchenette. I noticed that the place opened at 10am, so I decided to take the drive on over and get there before the lunch crowds. 

The shop is quite tiny with just a few indoor and outdoor tables and counter seating.

Kaleis 01
Kaleis 01

And the menu is quite concise as well with basically six items available not including poke bowls on the weekends and specials.

One thing that quickly caught my attention were the photos and the chef's story. He's a real local boy from Maui. What really grabbed me was the photo to the right of the story. The Chef, Andy Mangiduyos graduated from the same High School as my mom (many decades later of course), Lahainaluna!

Kaleis 03

Of the menu items, four of them can be made into a mixed plate, called "Kalei's Plate" ($17).

I decided to get the Huli Huli Chicken and Garlic Chicken to start things off. You can also choose your "sides", two of them for your order. Of course I got rice and mac salad.

Kaleis 04 Kaleis 05  The plate was quite heavy on the proteins. Personally, I liked having only one scoop rice as I will often tell the folks at turo-turo places to give me "half rice" these days. 

The rice was cooked fine. The mac salad wasn't coated evenly and was quite bland.

The Garlic Chicken was the better of the two proteins as it was crunchy, much like Taiwanese "popcorn" chicken. Though I would have liked a heavier garlic flavor, it was seasoned decently, good salt and pepper and was far from bland.

Kaleis 06  Kaleis 07  I've yet to find decent Huli Huli Chicken outside of Hawaii and versions I've had here in San Diego have not been very good. Too much ketchup and sweetness to things. And while this version was better than what I'd had previously, it was still not my favorite. The chicken is supposedly marinated and smoked, but I really couldn't detect much smoke flavor. They tangy sourness of the sauce was a bit too much for me. The texture of the chicken was fine and the flesh was fairly moist.

That visit was back in July. I had meant to return, but the distance from work was a bit of a hinderance. Finally, I found a window of opportunity for a takeout revisit. This time I decided on the combo of the Teriyaki Beef and Kalua Pork. This felt even heftier than what I'd ordered before and upon opening…..

Kaleis 08  Kaleis 09  The mac salad, though a bit over-mayo'd was nicely seasoned this time around. I could make out hints of vinegar which really elevated it. 

Man, look at all that beef and pork!

The teri beef was nicely marinated, though it was a thick and chewy cut. It didn't need the extra sauce on it as it had enough flavor. I used the leftovers of this to make a teri-beef sandwich for dinner!

Kaleis 10  Kaleis 11 I liked the kalua pork, it was moist and tender, not overly salty, with a decent smokiness to it. In fact, the Missus tried the leftovers and said it tasted familiar. Hmmm……. This is probably the best version I've had in San Diego.

I do wish Kalei's was a bit closer to home. But the distance is probably better for my waistline and cholesterol, right? The young lady working on both visit was very nice. The shop is small and other folks I know have complained about the wait time during peak periods, so that should be accounted for. As for the loco moco? Well, I'm saving that for another day!

Kalei’s Kitchenette
9926-F Carmel Mountain Rd.
San Diego, CA 92129
Currnt Hours:
Tues – Sat 10am – 6pm
Closed on Sundays and Mondays

Kaleis 12

Postscript: As you all probably know, there was a tragic event that occurred between my two visits and Andy (Kalei is Andy's son) being from Lahaina coordinated the transport of donated non-perishable items flown to Maui on Alaska Air. I loved seeing the HFS truck in the video on Kalei's Instagram page. They've currently paused the donations of supplies, but different options are noted on their Instagram page.

The Market at HFS has Moved and is Now Hawaiian Fresh Seafood (HFS) At Centerpark Labs

Local Kine Stuffs in San Diego, Markets & Grocers, Poke, Seafood

A couple of weeks back, I decided to head on to the Market at HFS. For some reason I went to their website and noticed the name of the place had changed to HFS at Centerpark Labs? I took a look and noticed that the address had changed as well! Strange because I had been to the Weathers Place location just a couple of weeks before! Anyway, I headed on over to make the 10am opening time. The "new" location was one traffic light further east on Mira Mesa Boulevard at Flanders Drive. Driving in, I found the new location with minimal problems because they were setting up as I drove into the parking lot.

HFS Centerpark 01

I parked and walked on over. There a large outdoor eating area at this location.

HFS Centerpark 02

And I saw a familiar face setting things up. It was Hope the manager who is from Aiea.
HFS Centerpark 02

After setting up, it was still before opening time and Hope saw me, waved and came on over to chat! It was great seeing her. Hope told me they had just completely moved things over a couple of weeks before and things were now busier than ever with an expanded menu and hours. The Weathers Place shop still did wholesale and Hope was in charge of both places! Yikes! She was working long hours, but was trying to find some manager candidates.

HFS Centerpark 04

Meanwhile there was line forming, but I didn't care since I was enjoying my chat with Hope. She even guided me into the shop and had the young lady running the register hand me a menu. Hope told me that they had really expanded the menu with cooked items, I'd already tried the fried ahi belly, but she recommended the Ahi Kama, the collar, which I'll make sure to try on one of my future visits.

Meanwhile, I gave "JeffP" my copy of the menu since he's a fan of HFS and didn't know they had moved, so here's a copy from their site.

HFS Centerpark Menu

These days, you can gaze at the seafood offerings like before…..

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But you order at the register, where they also have the available poke as well.

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On my two visits, I just went with my typical poke bowl, I always get the rice separate from the fish and I usually avoid the salmon items.

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And the portions seem a bit bigger, but the poke is as good as always.

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HFS Centerpark 07

And it makes me miss "home". 

If you have trouble finding the shop, look for the big "6835" on top of the building, or the outdoor eating set-up, and there are signs strategically placed.

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And yes, you can get poke for dinner since they're open until 8pm these days. Though I'm not sure what the selection will be like then.

Maybe "FOY" Jason who mentioned stopping by this location as well might know?

HFS at Centerpark Labs
6835 Flanders Dr.
San Diego, CA 92121
Current Hours:
Daily 10am – 8pm

HFS Centerpark 08

Having a Hilo Loco at Leilani’s Cafe

Local Kine Stuffs in San Diego, Loco Mocos, Plate Lunch

I recently had a morning appointment in North PB. I decided to skip my usual breakfast….I've been doing a lot of Overnight Oats recently. I skipped breakfast because I'd be close to Leilani's Cafe and it seemed like a good time to have a Hilo Loco. It was a tad past 830 in the morning, most of the morning coffee folks had gone, and the remote workers have started hitting up the coffee chops in the area, so Leilani's wasn't busy at all.

Leilanis Rev 01 Leilanis Rev 03  It had been over 2 years since I'd last had a Hilo Loco from Leilani's and it was (of course) a takeout order. This time, with no one eating outdoors, I felt comfortable having my Hilo Loco at one of the (farthest) tables on the lanai. In terms of prices, the Hilo Loco had gone up a buck since October of 2020; it's now $13.75.

There's something about the vibe I get from Leilani's that always takes me back to the "old days", you know, when Da Kine's was in PB, Kealani's in Encinitas was still open. And whenever I do a post on Leilani's I often get too wordy. From my Leilani's Hawaiian Restaurant post, when they had a place in Serra Mesa (I believe this spot was being renovated):

"I've noticed that here on the mainland, we have been inundated with a number of "Hawaiian BBQ" joints. So it goes without saying that most people I've met think that Hawaiian BBQ is the ubiquitous "plate lunch". Nothing wrong with that, but the plate lunch is much more than the corporate Hawaiian BBQ, which when done well, is a good value(there are several L&L locations in Honolulu that I like), but when done with only the profit margin in mind(which happens often), is really lousy. If you grew up in Hawaii, you're sure to have your favorite(s), whether it's Rainbow Drive-In(my personal favorite), Masu's(RIP Masu's), Richie's, Zippy's, Cafe 100, Grace's, or any number of places, and there are many. You'd also realize that there is life beyond the BBQ Chicken, BBQ Beef, and all the generic items served in those Hawaiian BBQ places. Each one of the places mentioned above have their own versions of the "standards", each with it's own "food personality" of sorts. In addition, other "standards" like Beef Stew, Sweet Sour Pork, Chili, Mochiko Chicken, etc, are also available."

Ok, 'nuff said.

Leilanis Rev 02

You know, I totally expected to be called to the window to pick-up my locomoco, but the really nice young lady brought it out to me.

Leilanis Rev 04  Leilanis Rev 05 So, how was this? First off, the rice isn't as well coated as before, though it still has a decent spiciness and some nice chunks of Portuguese Sausage. The burger has always been lean and without filler, which makes it nice and beefy if a bit more chewy than others.

I had thought that the gravy at Leilani's tended to be on the "gloppy" side, but this was nice and smooth with a creamy tongue feel. There's some beefiness to it, though it was on the ssalty side for my taste.

The egg, well this says it all……nice and runny….just perfect.

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In the end Leilani's delivered pretty much as expected. Not a perfect loco moco, but one that's comforting and for some reason always brings back memories. Hard to believe I first did a post on Leilani's back in 2006! Man, what were you doing in November of 2006? Well, maybe I don't want to know……it'll make me feel "REALLY" old!

Leilani's Cafe
5109 Cass St.
San Diego, CA 92109
Hours:
Daily 7am – 2pm

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This one is for "FOY" ChrisR who went to UH Hilo and is always nice enough to let me know where he is finding (or not finding) good grindz in town!