Markets & Grocers – Page 21

Midweek Meanderings

September 17, 2014 mmm-yoso Markets & Grocers, Mediterranean Restaurants, Poke

Just a couple of quick things to get us over "Hump day".

Poke at Costco Mission Valley:

I've seen them in Costco's back home in Hawaii, but never in San Diego, until a recent visit to Costco in Mission Valley. Of course, other than gas, I really don't get to Costco that often. It just so happened that I needed enough toilet paper to last until the next millennium.

It looked to be part of the Seafood Fair. Did I buy any? Well, no….heck I don't even buy the stuff they sell in Costco in Hawaii. I did ask the guy if the fish was "gassed", that is, treated with carbon monoxide. They guy looked at me strangely and shrugged his shoulders….whatever that means.

Anyway, I guess Costco now has poke…..

Some new stuff at Nijiya:

I've noticed some interesting new stuff at Nijiya over the last year or so. First, they started selling their bentos with brown rice. I guess the "brown rice revolution" that I first noticed on one of my trips home to Hawaii, now has a foothold. Heck, even Okan offers brown rice as an option with lunch. Then I noticed Shio Koji chicken. And then it was….drum roll please……

And while you'll never catch me eating this stuff….though I've been known to have brown rice on occasion to please the Missus (don't get the Brown Rice Shio Koji Chicken…it's a double whammy), I thought it kind of neat that Nijiya is really working on keeping up with things.

I also noticed Chicken Karaage being sold with various sauces. I do enjoy chicken nanban – basically chicken seasoned with vinegar and, yep tartar sauce, though I try to get the sauce on the side when I remember to. A little goes a long way. I thought a sauce made with kurosu, a brownish vinegar made from unpolished rice might be really good on karaage. I was wrong; the sauce had been thickened too much, it was too sweet, without enough sour tones. Not my thing.

Still, it's quite interesting to visit and see new things, which seem to quite often….I usually grab a bento or something for lunch here about every other week.

Nijiya Market
3860 Convoy St Ste 109
San Diego, CA 92111

Can you guess the restaurant?

Had dinner with some good friends a while back….not my kind of place, though the portions were huge….. Much of it was dry, overcooked, tough, and seemed like it had been lying around for a while. I hadn't been here in ages and now I remembered why.

Enough to feed an army though…. Can you guess where?

Brno: The Cabbage Market, Spilberk Castle, and Sklizeno Foodie Market

September 13, 2014 mmm-yoso Czech Republic, Markets & Grocers, Travel

The Missus seemed a bit pooped on our first morning in Brno, so I decided to let Her sleep in a bit and took a walk around the neighborhood.

There were quite a few apartments in the area we were staying. A street parallel to ours seemed to be one of the main avenues in the area; with quite a bit of bus and tram traffic. There were a good number of little shops on the street, several bakeries, convenience stores, a burger place, and the little shop with the humorous name to the right….at least you can't accuse them of false advertising, can you?

I got a couple cups of coffee and a pastry for the Missus…no, not from Junk Food Cafe…..

Bolstered by caffeine, we soon headed off, back up the street named Husova. While walking up the hill, something caught my attention…..

I pointed out this mannequin seated on a chimney which looked like a commode.

We walked off to one of the side streets to take a better photo of…well, what was it, an art piece? A political statement? Or perhaps yet another example of the quirky, sometimes odd, but totally funny Czech sense of humor?

Before getting to the main intersection which heads up to Cathedral of St Peter and Paul, we headed up some steps on the side of the road and ended up in a nice little park. We came to find out the name of the park is Denisovy Sady – Denis Park.

The park is situated on part of what was the city walls and was built between 1814 and 1818….which is pretty significant. There's is a obelisk in the park which was built in 1818 to commemorate Naploleon's defeat. You can read more about the park and the French occupation of Brno here.

There were some nice views from the park; this one is facing the area where our apartment was located. Though, I'm not sure what it looked like from above.

A street or two above the park is the Cathedral of St Peter and Paul. Which I mentioned, along with a neat story about why the noon bells ring at 11am in this post.

We took a quick look inside…..

Then headed to the back area of the Cathedral…where we noticed gardens and terraces nad also a nice view. This is to the area at the intersection of Husova and Nadrazni….. I'm not quite sure why that tram goes right through the grass on the street, I thought it odd.

To the left you can see the train station, which we thought was kind of seedy. Also, the Tesco at which we shopped is also in view.

Notice also the stairs heading down from the former city walls. We knew that the Nadrazni went right around Petrov Hill, but never knew what a short distance it was….we'd found a faster way to Freedom Square! We ended up going down the stairs, past the still closed shops…passing Malinovsky Square along the way. On the square resides Mahen Theatre, a significant building….it was the first theatre in Europe to be completely lit by "Edison Bulbs", electric light bulbs. In fact, Thomas Edison actually designed the plans to light the theatre.

We were headed to a green belt/park area to the east of Petrov Hill….

It was along this area where Zdenek had indicated that the "Cabbage Market" had relocated while the original location was being renovated.. At the end of the park we noticed booths and tents set-up.

We ended up getting some tomatoes and headed off to our next stop; Špilberk Castle. Overlooking Brno, the castle has a long history.

The paths up were an easy little walk; though I was glad it wasn't raining anymore. The walkways would be pretty slippery when wet.

There were several monuments on the way up. This one is of Jean-Louis Raduit de Souches, who if you're keeping score saved Brno from the Swedes during the Thirty Years War.

The castle currently houses the Brno City Museum. I castle is quite understated and not quite what you'd think upon hearing the word "castle".

The view though is wonderful.

After a short visit, we decided to head back to the apartment for lunch. We stopped off at a market we'd seen earlier in the day.

Appropriately named, this little market chain has a nice collection of upscale and health food products, nice meats, cheeses, and beer. The folks here were really nice, even though no one spoke any English, it was easy communicating and getting what we wanted.

Sklizeno Foodie Market
Josefská 14
Brno, Czech Republic

With leftovers from the previous day, tomatoes from the Cabbage Market, and some salumi from Sklizeno, we ended up having a very nice lunch.

Which provided us a perfect reason for a nap!

Midweek Meanderings: Rumors about Hana Mart, growing mutant okra, and recently consumed

September 10, 2014 mmm-yoso Cooking, Markets & Grocers, yoso-silly

Rumors about Hana Mart:

Poor Hana Mart. I recently heard from two very reliable sources that the former U Mart will be changing hands again soon.

I find this kind of sad. Even though I believe the produce, meat, and other items are better than what Zion Market sells, the place just can't seem to get any traction.

Bummer. I did ask if the place was going to go through another name change, but no one knew….. I hope they eventually find their way. Competition is a good thing.

Hana Mart
4611 Mercury St
San Diego, CA 92111

We're growing mutant okra:

Our recent crop of okra kind of freaked me out.

We let them go for a couple of extra days and they went crazy. The plants that we're using drip irrigation on are doing much better than the ones being watered conventionally, in size and flavor as well.

These were a bit tougher, but super sweet and moist. Here are a few photos to give you some perspective.

Crazy, huh?

Recently Consumed:

It's been mostly lighter fare…….

On the top is a pork-jalapeno sausage topped with a stir-fried okra – ghost pepper relish on top of lettuce from our yard. On the bottom is a smoked scallop "roll". I quick smoked some smaller scallops from Catalina Offshore, finishing with a quick sear. I made a stir-fry for the Missus (see below), and put the rest in the fridge. The next day I chopped up what was left over, added in some scallions and celery from our garden, mixed in some mayo, and seasoned to make a nice refreshing dinner.

And then of course, we're really enjoying our latest batch of Utopenci. Nice and refreshing with a beer on a hot day…. which seems to be everyday over the last couple of weeks….

Tell me, what have you been doing to stay cool?

The Haunted Looking Aisles of Hana Mart

August 12, 2014 mmm-yoso Markets & Grocers

**** Hana Mart did not last long either.

Well, U Mart sure didn't last long, did it?

By the end of the first quarter a change over was already occurring. I felt really bad for the folks who started up U Mart, who used to have small, mom-and-pop First Korean Market. Just think, you close up a shop that has been surviving for years, taking a shot at the big time….and going down in flames. Kind of sad. I asked around a bit and one thing really stuck out…..I was told that among the really bad decisions made, the worst was putting all the produce in plastic…folks like to touch, smell, feel, and I guess sometimes even throw the fruits and veggies around? Anyway, I was told that the former owner of U Mart was still in the picture helping to manage Hana Mart.

The Missus and I visited one weekend afternoon and the place was deserted…..as in, "you could hear a fish fart" quiet.

The prices, even for produce was competitive and I'd say of better quality that Zion Market, where I've been less than satisified as of late.

I felt kind of sad, which soon turned to creeped out….this seemed like a set for an Asian horror flick. I expected to hear a young girl laughing, catching a glimpse of a pony tail and school uniform which turns the corner. Curious, I'd follow only to be startled by a faceless apparition, making strange clicking sounds, which then sucks the life out of me! Yeow…..

There was not a single customer in the place…….

Eerie, yeah?

Finally, I saw a flash of yellow….what was it? Some kind of alien creature that feeds on human flesh? No, it was only the cashier…whew….

We ended up buying bunch of stuff, including some baechu kimchi which was better than the stuff we get at Zion. It's kind of sad, I'm hoping that business picks up.

Hana Mart
4611 Mercury St
San Diego, CA 92111

We heard a bunch of laughing when we were paying for our groceries. At least Happy Family, which Cathy posted on seems to be doing well.

Prague: Havelske Market, a walk along the Vltava River, and the Dancing House (Tančící dům)

July 26, 2014 mmm-yoso Beer, Czech Republic, Markets & Grocers, Prague, Travel

So what does one do after a hearty and filling lunch accompanied with a liter of beer? Well, think about what we'd be having for dinner of course!

Actually, we had quite a bit of leftovers and decided to drop a place we passed early in the morning.

So we decided to dodge the raindrops on the way back to the apartment and see what the place had to offer. Havelské Tržiště (Havel's Market) is the oldest market in Prague, dating back to the 13th century.

Two-thirds of the market stalls seem to be dedicated to souvenirs, which looked pretty inexpensive compared to other places. Stalls at the other end are dedicated to mostly fruit, with some vegetables.

We managed to find some good cherry tomatoes and lettuce for dinner.

Back at the apartment, we did most of our packing, we'd be headed out to our next stop in the morning. After a short nap we decided to take a nice walk along the Vltava River. I just love the buildings in Prague……there's no uniform nod to any one style, which makes each structure unique.

There are a couple of islands in the Vltava River, the largest being Slovanský ostrov. The island was gradually formed by deposits from mills in the area. It is a pretty good sized island.

There actually was an objective to all of this. The Missus wanted to see the building named the Dancing House (Tančící dům). This distinctive structure was designed by Vlado Milunić and a very familiar name – Frank Gehry. I've been to two Gehry designed structures, the Walt Disney Concert Hall in LA and the Experience Music Project in Seattle, so this made it a nice trio.

I guess it does kind of look like a couple dancing, thus the nickname, "Fred and Ginger". Perhaps tilting your head a bit brings a bit more life to the structure?

Well, maybe not…..

Having reached our destination, it was time to head back…..at this point, the Missus decided that we should have a last beer in Prague. So we found Minipivovar U Medvídků, a microbrewery owned by Budvar

The place was packed, so we decided to just grab a couple of beers to have after dinner.

The Oldgott Barique Ležak 13° seemed to be a higher alcohol version of the "half and half", half dark, half pilsner. The aroma was on the sweet side, but the beer was woody and bitter, not my favorite combination.

The X33 was basically a doppelbock, kind of funky, almost sour scent, foamy, but with a mild fruity initial taste.

Hm. We were still looking for something in the Czech Republic we liked. And we'd sure keep trying until we found it!

Prague: A little self catering and Wenceslas Square

July 5, 2014 mmm-yoso Beer, Cooking, Czech Republic, Markets & Grocers, Prague, Travel

We had intended on getting the the Charles Bridge from the Old Town Square but had ended up at the the Manesuv Bridge. As we headed down toward the Charles Bridge storm clouds could be seen above the Castle Quarter. Indeed, by the time we reached the very gothic Bridge Tower we could tell that it was going to start pouring. Umbrellas started opening and in a matter of a minute or two it started coming down….our little travel umbrella came in quite handy. As I started to walk toward the bridge, the Missus told me to wait, "let's go back to the apartment and save the bridge for early tomorrow morning…." So we turned around and crossed the street in front of the "Klementinum", the National Library.

We made our way down the side streets and suddenly ended up right in front of what became our major landmark and daily stop for us, the giant Tesco Department store.

After our heavy lunch, we decided to grab some head cheese, cheese, and makings for salad for dinner….and a couple of beers as well of course! The lower level of the department store houses a large supermarket with just about everything you would need.

Our apartment had a huge living and bedroom, plus a serviceable kitchen area. Our flat was on the third floor with a view of tiny Odburu Street below. We found the amount of "security" a bit over-the-top, the deadbolt on the door to the street was super heavy duty….it nearly broke your fingers to turn the key. Then, once in the building there was a security gate, which was heavy-duty, making me feel like we were headed into a super-max. The door had a knob lock, deadbolt, and alarm system. One can never be too secure I guess.

Nevertheless, the place was large, comfortable, and dealing with the folks at PVH Odburu was a joy. It was nice to be able to come back after a long day and hang out here. The location was great, not in tourist hell, but just a 15-20 minute walk from everywhere.

We've come to enjoy apartments when traveling, this one had a washer/dryer as well. Of course, we tried to take full advantage of the kitchen.

This was a nice, light, and satisfying dinner. Of course the Missus had to have Her cabbage. Later, on our return trip to Prague we found a decent specialty shop down the street with a better selection of charcuterie and cheese.

Having just been in Brussels, the beer in Prague had been a bit too "light" for our tastes. Though I bought this as sort of a novelty…..

I saw this and knowing the history just had to check it out. No, it's not who you think it is. You may think that Budweiser is an "All-American" beer, but there's been a fight over then name for 108 years. Anyway, České Budějovice (aka Budweis) is actually a city in the Czech Republic. You can imagine what an ugly trademark war has been taking place. I'm not sure you even know that Anheuser-Busch is actually owned by a Belgian Company, InBev. Well, whatever, this "Premier Select" was actually pretty good….it was in fact, the best beer we had in Prague our first time around. Light, but not "lightweight", mildly hoppy, with a sweet finish.

Dinner done, but with a good stretch of daylight still in front of us the Missus decided that She wanted to walk around a bit. The skies had cleared up a bit, so we headed out.

The Missus wanted to go back to Wenceslas Square, which is more like a boulevard that stretches from the National Museum to Na Prikope which basically borders the New Town and the Old Town.

It's a lively place, full of tourists and locals alike.

We loved the varying architecture, each building was unique, like snowflakes. Like the Art Nouveau Hotel Europa.

With all this historic architecture, it's easy to forget that "Czechoslovakia" was a Communist, single party government until 1989. From November to December of 1989, the event called the Velvet Revolution took place, with demonstrations and strikes leading to a transition from single party rule to a parliamentary republic. According to what I read, crowds of hundreds of thousands gathered here when it seemed that a new age was at hand.

It was on the balcony of Number 36 that Václav Havel and Alexander Dubček made their appearance signaling an end to single party rule.

We soon realized there's so much history here, that if/when we're back in the future, we'd look into getting a private guide and do this right.

There's a statue of Saint Wenceslas….yes it's Wenceslas I, aka "Good King Wenceslas". Which stands across the street from the National Museum, which was closed for renovation during our stay.

05312014 D60 073

Darkness started to fall as we headed back down the square. We paused to listen to the really talented guy playing what I believe is a Cimbalom. This dude was really good; he was jamming to the standard "Autumn Leaves" and doing some pretty good improvisation. The Missus thought it funny that I could recognize the music being played by street musicians and small bands.

There was one more place the Missus wanted to check out before heading back….yep, Old Town Square.

Though the crowds had thinned, there were still a good number of people milling about.

We then headed back and settled in for a nice night.

The place had great wifi, so I went ahead and did a post, and opened up the two beers I had gotten earlier at Tesco.

I really didn't care for either. Did you notice the "degree" values on the beer? No, it doesn't mean percentage of alcohol, rather, it's a percentage on the Balling Scale measuring the sugars in the wort before fermentation. There is an indirect correlation to alcohol content; a 12 degree beer will be stronger than a 10 degree beer, but the alcohol content of a 10 degree is about 3.5%.

We'd had a pretty busy day which led to a wonderful night of sleep. Which was good since the Missus had a busy day aplnned for us!

Thanks for reading!

Happy Family (Korean food)(inside Hana Mart)

June 18, 2014 Cathy Korean Restaurants, Markets & Grocers, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! Food blog. Kirk and Ed(from Yuma) are busily researching subjects for posts. Cathy is posting results of her research.

A few weeks ago, driving to U Mart for some weekly groceries, we noticed a change in the exterior signage.

The Mister and I had been here (the building was the original San Diego location of Zion supermarket) several times since UMart had opened in December and noticed construction going on inside each time. We were told there was a new owner of the building who wanted the name change.There are now cash registers facing each doorway and the 'hallway' of other stores has been widened. As Kirk mentioned in February, Happy Family reopened.

The Mister and I try to grab a bite to eat before each shopping trip and this day was a perfect chance to have another meal at Happy Family.

The menu has been simplified further, with ten total offerings.

The Mapo Tofu ($7.99) is always a favorite. It comes with the red pepper paste soup as well as the pickled sides and the black bean paste.

There were a few ounces of ground pork, some wood ear fungus and a lot of very good tofu in this dish. The flavors were not Americanized at all -the way we like it- with a few numbing peppercorns used in the sauce.

The pepper paste soup was made with onions and zucchini and the broth seemed to have a saltiness to it (no condiments were needed with this meal other than what was served).

We also shared an order of fried dumpling ($5.99). These gunmandu were made fresh here (not frozen) and fried to a very crispy (yet still chewy level). The dumpling skins were a bit thick in a good way; there was no leakage of the filling.

The filling, mostly chives with some ground pork: so fresh and the chive greens still crispy. The right amount to balance the fried dumpling dough. These were the nicest version we've ever had. A great way to start our shopping trip.

Happy Family inside Hana Mart 4611 Mercury Street San Diego 92111 (858)279-8713 Open 10-8 Tues-Sunday

2015 Rose Parade Rose Parade float road test #1-and a food road trip

June 8, 2014 Cathy Bakery, Breakfast/Brunch, Festivals & Events, Los Angeles County, Markets & Grocers, Orange County, Road Trip, Stuff, Thai Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!, yoso-silly

mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog with posts centering around food, sometimes sharing the process which the acqusition of said food occurred. Kirk is busy, Ed(from Yuma) is busy and Cathy is writing.

More than a month ago, friend and fellow food blogger, cc, asked (another friend and food blogger) CAB and I to accompany her on a celebratory (beginning of vacation) food crawl 'Up North'. CAB unfortunately had a change in plans and couldn't make it. I discovered on Wednesday before our scheduled crawl that the first Rose Parade float road testing was also going to be held that Saturday morning. Checking out the road testing is something The Mister and I do and share here on the blog ( I also share decorating and other 'behind the scenes' posts about float consruction). I felt guilty, A) Because The Mister wouldn't be able to come with us and 2. For asking for a slight change in 'plans'. Except our plans included and lot of 'maybe here and maybe there' places to visit and eat..so I added one in. Of course it had to be the first thing we did that day, because testing begins at 7 a.m.. In Pasadena.

At the end of this epic day (I was at cc's home at 5 a.m. on the dot and got back to my home at 6:35 p.m.), I was exhausted, had driven 314 miles and had 327 photos on my camera (many were the same subject from different angles) and so this post is mostly photos. Details in future posts.

First the 2015 Rose Parade. The floats tested this day were all sponsored by service (volunteer) organizations. The theme of the Tournament of Roses parade is "Inspiring Stories". The Grand Marshal will be Louis Zamperini, WWII POW, Olympian and the subject of soon to be released movie, Unbroken. Each float is the interpretation of the theme by each participating organization.

Rotary International (the color coded float, depicting a wishing well and candles). Lions Club International (in it's rebar and partial coccoon stage)(can you see a wave of water and surfboards?).

Odd Fellows and Rebakahs, their float is depicting the Unknown Soldier Tomb.
Kiwanis International (being parked back into the Phoenix Decorating Company barn)(the doorway is the maximum height and width a float can be, or collapse down to, to be able to pass under street and signal lights along the parade route).
Lutheran Hour Ministries. This float is titled "The Bible, God's Story".

This will be the Donate Life float. It's in the basic stage of construction and testing. Those detailed butterflies are just so beautiful. You can see the float driver in this photo.

Now, to the food portion of this post. In order: what we ate and did. One photo from each place.

Yep. We did a LOT in a few hours. It was fun, educational, tasty and only slightly exhausting. The details will be revealed in future posts. Feel free to guess or ask questions. Hope you are having a good week!

Where we ate: First photo (Cream Pan) 2nd photo (Jones Coffee) third photo (Euro Pane) 4th photo (Galco's) 5th photo (Mae Ting's) Next photo (LAX-C) Next few photos: Velveteria, Chinatown, Queen's Bakery, Brodard, 85C, The Snowflake Factory, and finally The above photo, a Jesuit.

Brussels: Shopping for dinner, “Chinatown?”, Pierre Marcolini, and Moeder Lambic

June 7, 2014 mmm-yoso Beer, Belgium, Brussels, Chocolate, Markets & Grocers, Pubs and Pub Grub, Travel

Lunch had been a wonderful, but pretty rich meal. Since we had an apartment, we decided to self cater dinner and dropped by a couple of the nearby shops.

Some nice cheese from the cheese shop, tomatoes, head cheese and prosciutto from the nice gourmet shop on Rue St Catherine. There's a good sized Delhaize Supermarket on Anspach where we picked up greens for a salad……we just needed some greens after all of this. And beer of course……

And so we headed back to the apartment with dinner all set. It would be nice to relax since we'd bee flying to Prague in the morning.

Funny thing, I hadn't even heard of a "Chinatown" in Brussels, but then we passed a short strip of Chinese restaurants and markets right across the Stock Exchange Building (the Bourse), so of course we had to check at least on of the markets out…..man, it was sticker shock.

Try almost 17 Euros for a small bag of frozen Jiaozi…..

The Asian vegetables seemed pretty scarce and did not look in very good shape as well…..

The Missus couldn't help but laugh when She saw this……

Man, it would be tough if we lived here……

We also checked out the menus and offerings of some of the Chinese Restaurants on the street…..

And decided to stop after seeing the 6,80 Euro ($9.25) price for 4 pieces of Shiu Mai…..then of course those places that serve Chinese-Vietnamese-Thai-Sushi……

We headed back to the apartment and took our usual afternoon nap, awakening a short while later. It was time for us to shake off our grogginess. The sun was out and wasn't scheduled to set until almost 10pm, so we headed back to Place Poelaert and the Upper Town.

We passed by several sections of Brussels' midievel city wall and Eglise Notre Dame a la Chappelle, which is Brussels' oldest existing church.

We got to the Marolles neighborhood and took the elevator up to Place Poelaert. All the rain and dreary weather had been chased away, it was now a bright and sunny afternoon. Too bad we were leaving the next morning.

The view from here when the sky is clear is quite nice. You get to appreciate Brussels….

We strolled around the Upper Town area, antique and designer shops, and some interesting cafes and restaurants as well. Love Joel Robuchon, not sure about his sushi though…..

My MIL loves chocolate….we were in Belgium, so we decided to get her a collection of chocolate from our travels….but not just ordinary stuff…i.e. Godiva, Neuhaus, Leonidas….no we'd try and get her a variety with a little meaning, not just the usual tourist stuff. It just so happens that Pierre Marcolini's flagship store was right along our path back to the apartment.

Winner of the 1995 World Cup of Pastry and known as a master chocolatier, this would be a good start for my MIL's collection. The variety of flavors and chocolates of various regions made this quite an interesting experience for us, which would suite us well later on.

The shop actually looks more like a fine jewelry shop, boutique, or gallery than a chocolate shop. So we made our first purchases for my MIL here.

I think it was a nice start…..

The day was so bright and beautiful, folks were out and about, the cafes (the beer cafes) seem to be doing great business with folks enjoying the weather. It was a perfect chance to check out the Fontainas location of the legendary Brussels' beer bar Moeder Lambic.

The Missus and I immediately loved the place….there are no airs…what few tourists who came in and stared in awe at the beer list of unfamiliar and familiar brews were treated graciously and there was harmony with the locals….who seemed to appreciate the fact that folks were making the effort to find the place…which isn't hard, but like Le Fin de Siècle, you pretty much either just run into the place or have to seek it out.

It's easy to just stare off into space at the listing of beers familiar and unfamiliar. The Servers were really nice with the 2 parties of tourists we saw….

The Missus and I, knowing how analysis-paralysis would be, just went for it. She ordered a Gueuze Tilquin and I a De Ranke Guldenberg.

We've had Tilquin here in the states, but this was a bit different; you could make a out a bit more fruitiness, though it was still pretty funky and puckery-dry. The Guldenberg was a nice tripel, a bit more hoppy than what I expected, with almost the feel of a boozy saison. A very nice beer. This place should be on any list if you're in the area and enjoy beer. We'd go to the original location of the Moeder Lambic on our way back, which we laso loved.

Moeder Lambic
Place Fontainas 8
Brussels, Belgium

It was a beautiful afternoon. On the way back to the apartment we passed a bar that had a street musician playing an electric violin, I wish I recorded it…….he started playing as we passed…I recognized the music right away. I Love Rock and Roll…..a Joan Jett classic! It seems like all the places we visited (in both the Czech Republic and Belgium) loved American and English music…whether rap, death metal (Moeder Lambic in St Gilles), Jazz, or good 'old Rock n' Roll. Honestly, I think it might be our greatest export. As the violinist hit the chorus, the entire street broke out and sang with unbridled joy and spirit:

"I love rock and roll
So put another dime in the jukebox, baby
I love rock and roll
So come and take your time and dance with me….."

It was just the cherry on top of the sundae for us…..ending a very nice afternoon.

We returned to the apartment we were staying at smiling. Like most of these type of units we've stayed at; there's no lift, the stairs can be narrow and somewhat steep. We were rewarded in that this was a single unit above a a gallery that was closed the two days we were staying there. There was also a wonderful, older cat named "Sushi", mellow and sweet, he was a good ambassador for the place. The bedroom and bathroom was on one floor with a kitchen nook above.

It was a nice place to make a quick breakfast, or do a quick post, like I did, or have a nice little dinner, like we did on this evening.

With of course, some beer…….most stores sell singles here; and those Belgian's go for less than 2 Euros a piece, so how could we resist?

The Missus prepped a quick breakfast for us, we'd be heading out early for our next stop…..Prague and the Czech Republic…..

The Food Court at Seafood City (Tapioca Express, Filipino Desserts Plus, Valerios and Grill City)

May 17, 2014 Cathy Chains, Desserts, Filipino Restaurants, Markets & Grocers, Stuff, What Cathy Eats!

Thanks for stopping by to read mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog. Usually Kirk is writing posts about food, but right now He is very busy 'researching' so he will have some interesting posts. Ed (from Yuma) is also in a 'researching' mode. Today, Cathy is writing.

More than 14 months ago, I started to write a post about an epic day of visiting a plethora of places to eat in Chula Vista with fellow food bloggers, cc, writer of Pink Candles at Ridgemont High, who has taught me so much and Dennis, who writes A Radiused Corner, another blog that is so informative as well as fascinating. That post seemed frighteningly long and I have left it 'on hold' for all this time. One of the places we stopped that day was the "new" Seafood City, on Orange at Melrose in Chula Vista.

This still is the newest location in the County (new in 2011) and since discovering it, The Mister and I shop here fairly regularly, always having a bite to eat in the adjacent Food Court area before shopping.

Yes, it's a Food Court with nice, heavy wood picnic table seating; so much nicer than plastic seating. Standard Filipino chains are here (I've posted on Chow King, in various ways more than once and Kirk has posted about Jolibee in various ways). The other places here are also interesting…

The colorful wrapped candies are pastillas and made with milk; a favorite.

Other desserts are sold here also. Mostly made with rice flour, I've tried bites of many of them at parties and visits with friends and really like the selection.

The steam trays here are fascinating.

As are the grab and go foods.

On a recent visit, we shared this ukoy (fritter)($2). Onion, potato, plantain and a head on shrimp, fried into a neat patty and served with black vinegar. This is a current craving.

We also grabbed one of these to share ($1)-the cashews are very good, crispy and the cookies were not too sweet. Filipino Desserts Plus Website multiple locations

At Valerio's, we bought this still warm bibingka ($2.50), a coconut milk/rice flour based cake that is baked inside a banana leaf. It's a special item for us. Valerio's Bakeshop, multiple locations, no website.

Almost every visit here ends up with something from Tapioca Express. Snacks of fried chicken nuggets, tofu and squid rings, seasoned as spicy as you wish and served with either ranch or sweet and sour sauce along with some sort of beverage is always a meal. Tapioca Express, multiple locations. Website

A more or less new addition to the Food Court is the freestanding Grill City grill (not in this photo) and steam table area. A chain, all locations are inside Seafood City stores.

Above, fried chicken skins, a pork adobo kabob and a whole stuffed squid. All are really good items; I am always up for fried chicken skins as a snack. Pay attention to that statement.

The squid stuffing is a wonderful mix of vegetables: tomato, onion and bell pepper.

On another visit, a slice of grilled swordfish and a grilled stuffed eggplant (inihaw) was our meal. So good and so fresh. The fish is served with a fresh mango salsa; a perfect condiment. (Prices for a la carte veggies are $3, $6 or $9, depending on size)(Prices for a la cart meat and seafood are $3.50, $6.50 and $9.50).

We enjoy this Food Court area and look forward to our drives to Seafood City market.

Seafood City (also a link to Grill City) website 285 East Orange Chula Vista 91911 (619)621-2050 Open 8am-9 pm daily