Pho – Page 10 – mmm-yoso

So what do you do on a hot and sticky day? Well, get a $10 cup of coffee, have some pho (at Pho Lucky), and end your night at Izakaya Sakura of course!

September 7, 2014 mmm-yoso Caffeine Fix, Japanese Restaurants, Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants

The Missus has a style all Her own. She keeps me on my toes; I never know what Her latest obsession will be. Recently, She's become a bit of a coffee nerd, pour over coffee to be precise. One morning She sent me a text telling me She's ordered V60 "stuff"…..my response was "what do you need a missile launcher for?". I came to find out that She wasn't planning on taking out any tanks, but rather, was ordering the gear she needed to make pour over coffee at home. Of course, what's coffee without beans, right? Which is how we started visiting places like Dark Horse and Portola, with me having stuff like Kyoto Drip Coffee. Anyway, Her favorite current source of beans and a nice cup of coffee is Bird Rock and on this morning She was thrilled…..they had something called Panama Geisha, supposedly the best Panama has to offer. It was ten bucks for V50 pour-over, yikes! Still, I believe it was important for Her to try it….once….since She's really enjoying Her coffee. The guy working here was really nice and told the Missus, "it's perfect……I want to make sure you enjoy every last drop!" Which She did….It's really smooth and fruity….a bit too smooth for me…it is quite lovely, but I like a bit of acid and bite in coffee. I am glad She got a chance to try it. She also bought some Kenyan to grind (by hand) at home….She's started to keep the labels of the various beans She buys to remember what She enjoys. My goodness, I'm married to a coffee nerd in training.

Bird Rock Coffee Roasters
5627 La Jolla Blvd
San Diego, CA 92037

Then it's off to Pho Lucky:

So it's like in the 80's at 8 in the morning. What does the Missus want to have? Well, pho of course…. wha???

We actually ordered the same items as on this visit. Today the broth wasn't too salty and loaded with MSG, there was a nice clove-5 spice backbone to the broth. Lot's of tendon which the Missus gave to me…..along with all those perfectly cooked noodles….She stayed with the broth and meat. I'm still not a fan of the Missus dumping all those jalapenos into Her broth, but hey, it's Her soup, right?

I ordered the combination broken rice; most of which (except for the Bi, which the Missus inhaled) came home for a light lunch. I was too full after eating all those noodles.

Things were divided up as follows, pork chop and rice for me, shrimp stuffs for Her. She also had the "cha" which seemed like it had been sitting around for a while, it was too dry for my tastes, but the Missus enjoyed it. Such is how couples who have been together forever eat I guess…..

Pho Lucky
9326 Mira Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92126

Gyokai Natto Don from Izakaya Sakura:

I was on my own for dinner. All this hot and sticky weather has me craving certain "comfort" food…..specifically natto. I hadn't been here in a while, and not for dinner in ages.

In fact, I hadn't been here since they cleaned up their menu….it's much more easy to read now…it made it so easy to find the Nankotsu Karaage – fried chicken cartilage. I love the crunch of well prepared chicken cartilage and this was fried perfectly.

The coating was nice, light, and crisp, though I think I'll need some togarashi next time as it needed a bit of umph…..

The combination of raw fish and ika (squid) combined with the sticky stringy natto was just what the doctor ordered. Soy sauce and wasabi just brought everything together for me. The agedashi tofu that comes with this wasn't cooked properly, the coating was gummy and didn't hold up…. otherwise, this was the perfect meal for today.

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

So. You see what we've been eating during this hot and sticky weather….what have you been eating?

Pho DaKao and Grill

June 23, 2014 mmm-yoso Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants

**** Pho DaKao has closed

It seems that I'm finally getting back into some semblance of a routine and I finally got back over to City Heights/Rolando for a look see. It's probably been about 2 months since I was last around here. Turning on University from 54th I quickly noticed that Pho Tay Do was gone, replaced by a very familiar name.

Dakao….wow. I'm not sure of the whole backstory of Dakao, but I do understand that it is one of those treasured "brands/names" that evokes reactions. The neighborhoof of Đa Kao in Vietnam is reknown for the Pho Ga – chicken noodle soup. In fact, the last time I had a decent bowl of Pho Ga was at DaKao in Little Saigon…it was quite good, I believe the place even had it's own poultry shop on Bolsa.

So, no brainer right?

The interior has been pared down and looks even more spartan that Tay Do.

Of course I got the Pho Da Dakao (small $5.95).

This is a basic bowl of white and dark meat chicken with some offal thrown in for good measure.

The white meat chicken was surprisngly tender if lacking in flavor.

The broth was much too light, falling short with regards to having a nice poultry flavor, and was super salty……and I like salt and MSG, but in appropriate amounts. This one made my feet swell after just a couple of sips.

If I recall, it's normal to get a version of a sweet chili sauce for your chicken with pho ga. What I had here was a remnant of Pho Tay Do, the garlic-ginger sauce.

The noodles were horrendous, really mushy, not very pleasant to eat at all.

The young lady serving me was very nice as was the young lady working the cash register. I was on the fence about coming back, but I try to do my due diligence with places like this so I decided to return.

This time around I paid a bit more attention to things and noticed something on the front cover of the menu….apparently, this location of Dakao is a franchise that looks like is from Texas….so nhbilly, know anything about these guys?

Since I thought the chicken in the Pho Ga was okay, why not go for the Com Ga Hai Nam…..Hainan Chicken Rice ($6.25). It's actually a pretty good looking dish.

The chicken was very moist, of course it was bony, it's a leg after all, so it was a bit ponderous eating it. The flavor was pretty straight forward and lacking any flavoring from aromatics. It was nicely poached though.

The rice was a tragedy, it was hard, dry, and worst of all, lacking in the true flavor of the rice that should be served with this dish…..there was a faint chicken flavor…very faint. Usually the rice is cooked with the poaching liquid of the chicken, along with some chicken fat, then garlic, ginger, shallots, and sometimes lemongrass is added for depth. This had none of the above.

That was pretty sad because I consider the rice to be just as important as the chicken in this dish.

So I don't know……I'll probably drop by again in maybe a couple of months? It's slim pickins with regards to pho ga in San Diego. But as you know, I'm not the kind of guy who is "just happy to have it"…… Hopefully, things will get better…there's potential, so we'll see. Will it remain one of those places with untapped potential as Pho Tay Do did?

Pho Dakao And Grill
5296 University Ave
San Diego, CA 92105
Hours:
Open Daily 8am – 9pm

Noodling around – Revisits to Ristorante Kaz, Mien Trung, and Pho Lucky

June 9, 2014 mmm-yoso Bun Bo Hue, Italian Restaurants, Japanese Restaurants, Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants

I tried to get my fill of noodles before our trip; here's a rundown of a few of those revisits:

Ristorante Kaz:

It had been over a year and a half since I visited "Sakura's Son of a different Mother", the Japano-Italian Ristorante Kaz. I'm not super fond of that fusion. Though, while I thought having the same type of pasta for almost every dish a bit tedious, I did enjoy a couple of items I had. So I decided it was time for a return.

It's good to note that the lunch prix fixe menu still has a base price of $12 for a salad, soup, and pasta. There are upcharges for various substitutions for each course. This means that top price for the lunch would be about $18….kind of pricey.

I decided to try some of the substitutions this time around, starting with the marinated vegetables in the place of the standard salad, a $1 upcharge.

I'd say save your money here; this is more like a couple of grilled vegetables and one that should have been roasted (the red bell pepper), but was not, with some vinegar and olive oil thrown on it.

The potato soup ($1 upcharge) was not bad.

This version was a bit less thick and creamy, lighter in texture overall. It needed a bit more salt.

I went with one of my favorites here the Shishito Pepper and Mushroom with "Citrus" Flavor.

The pasta, as in my past visits was nicely done. I did notice some fairly significant changes; there was a lot less shishito and mushroom. I also think they aren't using much, if any yuzukosho, as I couldn't detect anything but a very strong and bitter white pepper flavor which detracted from the dish.

Too bad I guess. I will say that when I left the place was packed….with women and infants; the Japanese National version of "women who do lunch" with strollers, highchairs, and such. Perhaps they've found their niche. For me, it was just a bit too much carbs………

Ristorante Kaz
3904 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

Mien Trung:

Yes, yet again, for maybe the zillionth time.

Mom was less heavy handed with the MSG this time around and the lemongrass flavor and the spice up front.

The Hen Xuc Banh Trang – Stir Fried Baby Clams with Rice Crackers was a spicy-peppery joy to eat. The left-overs come home with us and we eat it with rice the next day……I believe this was the last time I ate rice until tonight, something like 6 weeks!

Mien Trung Restaurant
7530 Mesa College Dr
San Diego, CA 92111

Pho Lucky:

Yeah, I know, yet another post on this place. This time was different though. We both thought they went a bit too far with the MSG…..I know that San Diego is notorious for glutamic overload, but this was the first time I noticed it here. I hope this was a one-off….otherwise I'll have to stick with the Bo Kho.

Pho Lucky
9326 Mira Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92126

Finally got around to Pho from Pho Nhu Y Clairemont

April 13, 2014 mmm-yoso Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants

**** Pho Nhu Y is no longer

Taking advantage of that last couple days of rain we had a few weeks ago, I finally made it over to Pho Nhu Y, the Clairemont version for some Pho….well check that. I actually did want the Bun Mam, but had totally forgotten; I was the ummmm, "Korean Guy", that wanted to order Bun Mam before 3pm and scare off all their lunchtime customers. My bad….

I think the garnishes….the single sprig of basil and small amount of bean sprouts are an good indication of Pho in the area and San Diego in general….

The actual bowl of pho looked pretty good. I got number 19; rare steak (usually a mis-steak), well done steak, tendon, tripe, and flank.

The bowl actually looked pretty good when it hit the table. The broth was dark, but clear, and I liked the amount of fat. Another hallmark of San Diego pho is a totally defatted product, which just kills the richness.

Another unfortunate hallmark of San Diego pho is the sodium/MSG level. And of all the bowls I've had recently, this was probably the worst, way too much MSG…..it made the broth unpleasant. Too bad, because the color looked right and all….but man, I really couldn't taste much.

There was an amazing amount of noodles in this bowl….which was a "regular" ($6.69). Which was way too overcooked and mushy. Man, I really couldn't get a break here.

The proteins were decent, though the tendon was way tough and the tripe really hard. The rare steak was even ok.

In total, a disappointment. I'm not going to beat that "can't get decent bowl of pho in Kearny Mesa" dead horse…..well, I'm going to try not too do that.

So yep, 300 more words of pho……

I'm going to stick to the Bun Mam here.

Pho Nhu Y Vietnamese Grill
5375 Kearny Villa Rd
San Diego, CA 92123

Pho Royal

April 6, 2014 mmm-yoso Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants

**** Pho Royal has closed

I tried to hit as many Pho places as I could during the recent cooler weather. I happened to be down in Chula Vista and drove past this place. I last visited when it was Pho 888. Now it's Pho Royal….so that makes it; what, 3 different Pho joints in the last 6 years? Pho-real?

The exterior looks much better now that it's no longer giardia-green. The interior look basically the same, except for the wall of water and the elephant planters…which made it seem more like a Thai Restaurant. There were two young girls working….I assume they're the owner''s daughters….very nice kids.

The menu is interesting; regular or large bowl, then you can choose up to 7 different proteins for your bowl. I went with a small bowl – $5.95 and went with "C,D,E, & F"….that would be brisket, flank, tendon, and tripe.

As is the standard nowadays; the plate of garnishes is kinda sparse, mostly bean sprouts, a sprig of basil, a couple of slices of jalapeno…..

The broth was too light in flavor, slight anise, almost no beef flavor, a bit of sweetness, but not too salty. The noodles perfect, which was nice since most bowls I've had recently included over-cooked and mushy pho banh.

The tendon was MIA, there were but a few strips of tripe which tasted fine. The brisket and flank were cooked to death, just falling to shreds and the brisket tasted a bit "off"….a residual "ice-box" flavor permeated the meat.

The prices here seem in line, the bowl is "pho-not-to-offend" much too light in flavor, but at least it isn't a MSG bomb. I still think Pho Hiep makes the best bowl in the area….let me know if you think there's something better!

I recently received an email that made me crack up……I won't reveal the persons name because they didn't want me to. But the gist of the email was along the lines of "you're the only person I know who can write 300+ words about a bowl of frgiin' soup". Yes, it's true….I can and have done so again!

Pho Royal

635 Broadway

Chula Vista, CA 91910

Hours:

Mon – Sat 10am – 9pm

Sunday 12pm – 9pm

Pho Ha Noi

April 1, 2014 mmm-yoso Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants

As I mentioned last week, the unusually warm winter makes me feel like there's some unfinished business out there….. I really never got my share of soup, specifically soup this past year! So now that we're getting some cooler weather, I thought I'd take full advantage. I also received two very nice emails from "John", the first after my post on Pho 46 telling me about a place right down the street on Miramar Road named Pho Ha Noi, he was nice enough to email me about the place again after I mentioned the Brodard knock-off nem nuong cuon at Pho Ban Mai, telling me that Pho Ha Noi also made a similar version of the spring roll and wanted my opinion on it. So why the heck not, right?

Admittedly, I usually have a place in mind when I'm around this part of Miramar Road and really don't pay enough attention…..Geez Louise, I'd probably not have found this place at all if not for John. I'm trying to recall what used to be here before. Some kind of Chinese Fast Food joint? The steam table set-up is still in place.

Anyway, the nice young lady handed me a menu and I started with the Nem Nuong Cuon ($6.99).

Now if the version at Pho Ban Mai is, say a cousin of Brodard, this would be some distant relative twice removed. It's not very good, too loosely wrapped, the meat was kind of greasy, along with being kind of sparse with salad mix carrots and such. There was that little crispy strip, but the sauce was kind of bland as well.

As for my pho, I ordered the #9 – Well-done steak, Brisket, tendon, tripe ($6.99). For some reason, I just didn't feel right ordering rare beef here, better to try the other proteins first.

At first glance, I didn't find the look of the broth to be very impressive; too cloudy, too low in oil, it just kind of reminded me of Pho T Cali. Like the appearance, the flavor was light, slight anise flavor, and not quite savory enough for my taste. At least it wasn't too salty. The noodles were perfect, nicely prepped, with a mild pull to them. The proteins were passable; the tendon was chewy, but not too bad, the brisket was tough, and the tripe had that mild, almost soapy aftertaste of something that hasn't been prepared the way I like.

I thought this was ok, nothing to go out of my way for, and I think Pho 46 has a ever so slightly better broth, though the noodles here were better.

Still, it was nice to try someplace new……I'm hoping to try a couple more places while the weather is still on the cooler side.

Pho Ha Noi
6904 Miramar Rd
San Diego, CA 92121

Pho 46

February 18, 2014 mmm-yoso Chicken Wings, Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants

On my way back to the freeway from one of my meals at Motor City Deli, I noticed Pho 46. I recalled eating here when it was Cafe Kashmir, which was not a good experience and I was kind of glad those photos never turned out. Pho, on Miramar…….I wasn't quite sure since my experience with pho on this stretch of road hasn't really been good. Still, nothing wagered, nothing gained, right?

So a couple of days later I dropped by for lunch.

And the winner of the "most generic pho shop design is….." I mean really. However, I wasn't here to admire the feng shui, design, or anything like that, nor was I here to enjoy The Price is Right which was blaring away on the television.

The guy working here; who really looked familiar was quite friendly, the prices for most (not everything) was quite inexpensive. I'm sure you could get a mixture of proteins, but as a whole, it's either rare beef OR well done beef OR meatball. When I mentioned this to my good FOY (Friend of Yoso) "Yummy Yummy" she said, "just like Vietnam….". I'd gotten so used to American Pho, I'd forgotten…..

So I got the Pho Chin ($5.75):

I was somewhat surprised by this bowl, it caught me off guard. It was much better than I thought it would be. The broth, though light on beef flavor, was fairly low on salt/msg, which made all the other flavors, be them ever so faint come through. The beef seemed ot be brisket, had not fallen to pieces, and had good flavor. The noodles was a tangled, overcooked mess, and the sprouts and herbs sparse, but I expected that. Still, this was not bad at all.

While I was eating, three Vietnamese women came in, one of them was really loud. apparently they had ordered before arriving and once the food came out proceeded to attack this plate of chicken wings with loud, somewhat scary, finger-lickin' good aplomb. I had ot find out what they heck that woman was attacking so I asked the guy. He told me it was Butter Wings. Based on how the trio were enjoying their wings, I just had to have me some of that, so I did. The wings ain't cheap, $4.25 buys you four. They are very standard in crispness, perhaps a bit on greasy side and mild in flavor. By no means bad, in fact decent, but definitely not worthy of such a reaction by the three woman wrecking crew. If I were the owner, I'd have these three back everyday….they'd either get you the upsell, or nauseate the heck out of you.

As I left, the gentleman told me that the best wings they have are the Chicken Wings with Spicy Salt…..hey, talk about just up my alley.

So I decided to return a couple of days later……..the television yet again tuned to the Price is Right.

I ordered my wings, but it was too hot for soup so I went with te Shrimp Fried Rice ($6.50).

Much like the pho, this fried rice left me surprised. It wasn't fantastic by any means, but was a good by-the-book fried rice. There were 8 shrimp and though I thought it needed a bit more soy sauce, I felt it was a good value for the money; I'd have it again.

As for the Wings ($4.25):

These were much better than the other wings I'd had; a lot more flavor, less greasy, though I could have done without the wok-scald. It won't make me forget about other versions I've had, but was definitely not bad…..though at this price, over a dollar a wing, I'm not sure it's worth it. Still, not overly battered, a bit of spice, decent flavor, these weren't bad at all.

So, if you have hankering for some pretty inexpensive shrimp fried rice and some kind of expensive wings, or have the need to watch the Price is Right, this might be the place. Nothing fancy, nothing amazing, but many items are simple and a decent value. The guy working here is on the friendly side, though he wasn't too amused when he revealed where I'd seen him before; Com Tam 75….I had a real foot-in-mouth moment when I replied, "oh, is that place still open???"

Pho 46
9508 Miramar Rd
San Diego, CA 92126

A revisit to Pho Lucky

February 2, 2014 mmm-yoso Filipino Restaurants, Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants

It's been a wonderfully fun and busy weekend for me, here some stuff that I've had queued up while I catch up on things.

Pho Lucky:

Yes, yet another post, among perhaps a half dozen or so done by myself and Cathy over the years. This little shop ajoining Lucky Seafood has been our go to shop. So naturally, when the Missus wanted some pho recently, this was where we headed to.

Notice the jalapenos that the Missus adds to Her version…….not something I enjoy, but at least She doesn't dump in a boatload of hoisin or sririacha….

My intent was to have pho as well; but while walking from our car the fragrance of grilling pork permeated the parking lot. So I order the house special broken rice.

And while the rice wasn't as fragrant as I prefer, the pork chop was well flavored and fairly tender, the "bi" had been tossed with rice powder and was also good….the Missus poached the shrimp, which She enjoyed. We probably had good timing on this one…….and I'm not complaining.

What good stuffs did you have to eat recently?

Pho Lucky
9326 Mira Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92126

Pho Thyme and Pho Little Saigon

January 27, 2014 mmm-yoso Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants

There seems to have been a little "pho-splosion" in the Midway/Sports Arena area. I really don't get down here very much, so I tried to pay a bit more attention when I drove down to Embargo Grill. I noticed two, well actually three (more on that later) more pho shops in the area. Since I had already done a post on The Pho Shop and Pho Point Loma, I thought why not do the other two, right?

Pho Thyme:

*** Pho Thyme has closed

Pho Thyme? Why? Well, I guess there's already a Pho Time in PB. I truly hoped that they weren't putting thyme in their pho. This place was strange enough when it was Jiggle Jiggle Korean Grill.

The interior of the place is pretty much the same.

The menu is a single sheet thing; you can order Pho Bo or Pho Ga and add 3 proteins for $6.25 for a small bowl, $7.25 for the large. Or you can be lazy like me and order the Dac Biet, which ain't cheap at $8.25. Remember those salad days when Pho was like five bucks?

The herbs and sprouts were limited as expected.

The best thing about this bowl was the broth; while the kitchen went a bit too far in defatting it; the broth had a nice clear, rich color. The flavor was on the mild side, but you could make out the beef flavor, and it wasn't very salty.

The worst thing about this bowl were the noodles, which were terribly overcooked and mushy.

The protein was a mixed bag. The rare steak was ok, but the flank was really tough, and the brisket mushy, with a slightly "off" flavor. There was however, to my surprise, a couple of pieces of decent tendon, perhaps a bit on the chewy side, but not bad.

This was a fair bowl, very middle of the road, but not terrible. A safe choice.

Actually, the best thing about this place was the very friendly and accommodating young lady who was so nice, even to some really trashy and rude customers. And then there was the guy who looked like Larry the Cable Guy on a bad day, who ordered his pho "dick bite". Now if you don't even have a chance at pronouncing it right, why bother? Though I almost snorted broth out of my nose…….I wish they would have given him "dick bite". I won't go into the parents who left their kids in the car while they shared a bowl of pho…..

Pho Thyme
3146 Midway Dr
San Diego, CA 92110

Pho Little Saigon:

Man, this one is easy to miss, tucked between a Payday Loan and a Acupuncture Shop.

This shop is very tiny, though it could really pass for some generic pho shop anywhere in the US, it seemed to have all the trappings, from the wooden tables, to the green chopsticks and combo spoon holder…..I'm sure there must be a number and name for it in the pho owner's catalogue somewhere.

The gentleman running the place was very reserved but efficient.

Of course I ordered the Extra Large Combo – $6.95.

To get to the point; this broth was not to my taste, it had that bitter flavor that happens when the shallots and onions are too charred when making the broth. It also lacked even the mildest of beef flavor and was on the salty (msg) side. This had ot be the worst bowl I've had since Pho Mignon. The color and the murky look of the broth should have been a warning sign.

The beef cuts were ok and the noodles were prepared adequately.

But when all of that is in a broth like this it's hard……

Nice enough folks and all….but perhaps less said the better, huh?

Pho Little Saigon
3445 Midway Dr
San Diego, CA 92110

So for my money in this area it's:

1 – The Pho Shop

2 – Pho Thyme – corny name and all

3 – Pho Point Loma

4 – Pho Little Saigon

So what about the other shop…..well for some reason, I'm having a mental block…..

Sushi Pho Sure? Pho-real?

Noodling around: Pho Hoa revisted

November 24, 2013 mmm-yoso Pho

It's been over five years since I posted on Pho Hoa…well this Pho Hoa, not that Pho Hoa, so I figure it was time for another post on what I consider the oldest, of the old school type pho shops in San Diego.

Not much has really changed except the prices have gone up a buck. The low ceilings, sticky tables, banquet chairs, rather dark atmosphere……a great place for a zombie apocalypse horror movie set. For some reason, on this day, it smelled kind of dank in the place. In shops like these you can usually smell the "Eau de Pho"….on this day the place just smelled off.

Still, the place was the same in most ways. Like the placement of the bean sprouts, herbs, and lime on the table along with the menu.

I guess this kind of makes sense since what else are you going to order here? They do pho. Unlike the decor and atmosphere, everything on the plate is sparkling fresh, especially the Ngo Gai (culantro) and the amounts were generous, totally the opposite of most places these days.

The bowl was a perfect illustration of the inconsistency of the place. A couple of months back I visited for a quick bowl. I was in a rush so didn't bother to take photos. That bowl had a decent beef flavor, decent fat, with perhaps a bit too much MSG. This bowl was fiercely defatted, though the color was dark and clear. The flavor had a mild beefiness to it but was over-shadowed by an unpleasant burnt bitterness. The noodles were overcooked and mushy as well. The protein was decent, especially the flank and brisket cuts, as well as the tripe. The tendon was a mixed bag, a couple of moderately tender pieces and a few pieces tough as a rubbah' slippa'. That has been Pho Hoa's M.O. over the years. Though the place is the model of consistency in other areas; the efficient service that borders on indifference and that old and worn atmosphere that seems to be beloved by the old timers who eat here.

Pho Hoa Restaurant
4717 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA 92115