Sisig – Page 3 – mmm-yoso

Turo Turo Tuesday – Manila Fast Food and Desserts Revisited

February 27, 2018 mmm-yoso Filipino Restaurants, Sisig

Working long hours; but managed to escape for lunch, albeit on the early side and purely take-out from Manila Fast Food and Desserts. An early lunch here can actually be better since the steam table stuff might be fresher and less greasy.

On this day I got Beef Mechado and Sisig.

The woman behind the counter actually laughed at me when I told her to give me half the amount of rice. That's half rice in the photo above. There was a time when I thought MFF was pretty good; but they seem to have fallen off in recent years.

Case in point; the Beef Mechado was salty, lacked tanginess, and that beef was dry and tough. The sisig was dry, needed more of a vinegar punch, the lechon was hard, though it did have nice pungency from the onions, though there was way too much of it in the dish.

Sigh……mark another one off "my list" for a while.

Manila Fast Food and Desserts
8979 Mira Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92126

Turo Turo Tuesdays – Revisits to Mama Cinia Rice & Noodles and Nanay’s Best BBQ

February 6, 2018 mmm-yoso Filipino Restaurants, Sisig

Two places I'd been wanting to revisit; with two massive lunches.

Mama Cinia Rice & Noodles:

**** Mama Cinia has closed

I hadn't been back since the couple of visits when they first opened in 2016. I'd actually been wanting to go for the Mami; but still haven't made it there after 3pm. Anyway, we took the "long way" back to the office.

I actually bought this to share, which I did. It fed three. The lechon kawale was on the dry side and the skin was hard in some places and going soggy in others. It had been sitting too long. The Sisig was out of balance and in my opinion needed more vinegar tones, the pork was too lean and chopped too thick. It did have a decent spicy kick though. The item that surprised me the most was the kaldereta kambing, the goat stew. Nice tangy tomato, gamey goat. Which while a bit on the tough side, was not bad. The rice was a bit too dry.

Yeah, I still need to return for the Mami….if they still have it. Really friendly service. I understand that they've reduced their hours.

Mama Cinia Rice & Noodles
9178 Mira Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92126

Nanay's Best BBQ:

Another place on my "list". While I know it's still basically Tem's, I've only had the food here once since the name change and it was dropped off by a friend of mine.

I gotta say, the pork BBQ here was better than what I've had before. While still a bit on the chewy side, it had a nice sweetness from the sauce they pour over things. It's grilled so there that additional layer of light smokiness as well.

I didn't enjoy the Sisig as much.

It's basically the same pork as the BBQ chopped up and stir fried. Not much there in terms of vinegar or spice. It was basically a stir fry and pretty bland for sisig.

Like Mama Cinia, the rice here was on the dry side.

It was pretty much "all business" here.

Nanay's Best BBQ
6715 Mira Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92121

So there you go….just in case you're hungry…..way to much food for me these days, so I end up sharing with a couple of folks.

Breakfast Revisits – Zarlitos Family Restaurant, Elijah’s Restaurant & Delicatessen, and Poke Etc

July 19, 2017 mmm-yoso Breakfast/Brunch, Filipino Restaurants, Local Kine Stuffs in San Diego, Poke, Sisig

A couple of breakfast revisits.

Zarlitos Family Restaurant:

It's already been established that Zarlitos is the Missus's favorite breakfast stop. Basically, it's poke for breakfast. And the Missus can sometimes put away a pound of this stuff.

I however, had to still work and find the perfect breakfast counter-point. It became a real "Goldilocks" type of moment. No, not that Goldilocks; this Goldilocks!

The first time…well, I just had to try the sisig. But man, this was way to sour for breakfast.

As a whole not too bad in terms of sisig; but I wanted a bit more spice. The pork was crisp and not overly chewy, but it was just missing something….and perhaps was not the best choice for breakfast.

On another note; a friend sent me a bunch of postings last month….apparently Anthony Bourdain anointed Sisig as the next big thing. I dunno, I think my first post on sisig was way back in April, 2006. Hey, even an old fuddy-duddy unhip food blogger enjoys a moment where one of his favorites dishes; one with its own category list hits the spotlight. As for the next big thing? Hmm…….

Next visit; I went the ex-pat local boy route…..the Spamsilog.

Man, talk about too much of a good thing……I expected like maybe two slices, max. But this was three fairly substantial slices. Way too much saltiness. Even though the Spam looked undercooked; it was strangely crisp. I think it was dumped in the fryer. In spite of this not working out, I did find part of the equation. First off, I'm not a big fan of the standard garlic rice here…and they do give a lot of rice. I got steamed rice and found that the Missus sharing a good amount of it….and one of my eggs to boot.

So we were at two out of three here…….almost there.

And then I ordered the Chicksilog; the fried chicken quarter, rice, and eggs.

The chicken is simply fried; but the fat has been rendered out from under that crisp skin. It's obviously been double-fried. That skin was nice, light and crisp, with a enjoyable level of greasiness that just goes well with some vinegar…..yes, vinegar is a must as it really cuts the fattiness.

That's two easy-over eggs hiding below the fried chicken. I share one egg and about a third of the rice with the Missus, along with a bit of the chicken….of course She loves that skin dipped in vinegar. I place the egg on top of the rice; break the yolk, and add shoyu.

As Goldilocks said; "this one is just right"…….

Zarlitos Family Restaurant
505 East 8th St.
National City, CA 91950

Elijah’s Restaurant & Delicatessen:

I'd managed to bring back a pound of Schwartz's smoked meat from Montreal and the Missus wanted me to track down some Rye Bread. For some reason; I recalled that Elijah's sold their own rye bread. "AlanH" had also recommended the goulash soup, which was a Wednesday special at Elijah's, so I got there right before 11am on a Wednesday to check it out.

This being a breakfast posts; you can kinda figure out how I fared. The really nice gentleman informed me that they weren't serving the goulash soup at this time.

So I took a look at the menu.

Breakfast I believe is served all day….for some reason the Reuben Omelette ($10.95) jumped out at me. So I ordered it. Man, talk about a load of food.

And to be perfectly honest; I kinda enjoyed it…….slight sour and crunch from the sauerkraut; sliced corned beef added meatiness and saltiness, the Swiss cheese a blanket of milky comfort, and for some reason Russian Dressing…..now, when I used to work in a restaurant during my younger days; we added a dollop of mayonnaise to our scrambled eggs for extra richness…here it's the ketchup in the dressing, along with the mild acidity from the cheese that really helped things along.

The potatoes were nicely fried and seasoned….the Missus really likes the potatoes here, so I saved most of it for Her. Along with half the omelette which I had later on for dinner.

So I struck out on the goulash soup, but didn't do badly at all.

Elijah’s Restaurant & Delicatessen
7061 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92111

Poke Etc:

I know poke at Zarlitos and Longanisa at Poke Etc? What can I say? I'd actually been wanting to try the Ilocano Longanisa, something that I haven't had since my days "back home". Like I mentioned in my Poke Etc post last year. My Filipino friends back home were Ilocano and that was the type of longanisa I was used to. Man, when I had my first Longsilog here on the mainland!

Anyway; the Ilocano Longanisa here comes with eggs and rice, with an amazing price of $4.95! So finally, a year later, I made my way back and ordered it.

For some reason I expected easy over eggs; but man, that's a lot of eggs and longanisa for five bucks. The eggs weren't seasoned and were on the gummy side. The rice was better than on my previous visits. Maybe because it was 10 in the morning. Something was not right with the longanisa; I'm used to garlic hints with a sour, vinegar bite….but these tasted, well, almost rancid, bitterness. It also smelled kind of strange…..sort of cheesy…which I love in cheese….but not quite here. I'd actually taken this home before eating or I'd ask the really nice woman about it. So basically decided to cut my losses.

I'll probably go back to the poke here during future visits.

Poke Etc
916 E 8th St
National City, CA 91950

Revisits – Lavang Restaurant, R&B Filipino Cuisine, and Tim Ky Noodle

December 29, 2016 mmm-yoso Filipino Restaurants, Sisig, Vietnamese Restaurants

A couple of revisits from Mira Mesa-land.

Lavang Restaurant:

**** Lavang has closed

I hadn't been back to Lavang in nearly two years and I had been wondering how the place was doing. I had also gotten a couple of emails mentioning the Bun Cha here, so I dropped by to check things out.

Man, the place was empty when I arrived, with no other customers during my entire visit. The folks here are very nice though.

I had "some reservations" (no pun intended) when I saw a sheet of paper with a photo of Anthony Bourdain and President Obama having Bun Cha in one of those episodes of Parts Unknown. Another sheet explained what Bun Cha was…….hmmm…..not sure about this one, but I went ahead and ordered the Bun Cha.

As always, the presentation here is always quite nice.

Now, to be perfectly honest; I didn't expect anything close to what we had in Hanoi or even Westminster. But this was pretty bland; especially the sauce which was really watered down and really bland. The meatballs were hard and dry as well. The grilled pork was fine, on the chewy side which is fine for this dish.

The bun was really done well, exceptionally good stretch to them, but were chopped into short pieces. The herbs were fine; the pickled papaya was given a nice little flower presentation.

Overall, I was underwhelmed with this dish. I'll stick with the version from Nhu Y.

Lavang Restaurant
6755 Mira Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92121

R & B Filipino Cuisine:

It had been over two years since I'd been to R&B, so I decided to drop by and get my entire days worth of fat and calories in one meal. I actually had this at 10am and didn't eat again until dinner which was a salad.

I'm rarely able to resist sisig, so I got that. On previous visits, the sisig here had been decent. It still is, except for a few things; it's kept on the side and when served is ice cold. The sour flavors were quite good, but for some reason this time around it was missing spice. There were some really hard bits of lechon kawale in this as well.

I also saw something different this time around; the Paksiw na Pata, basically braised pork leg…it looks deceivingly like adobo. The flavor was interesting, I liked the vinegar tones and unlike adobo this doesn't have much soy sauce and wasn't very salty. I saw a lot of garlic, but strangely the flavor didn't come through. I also enjoy the gelatinous pieces, but not much of that and man, there was this huge slice of pork and fat. Some of the pieces of pork were on the dry side and the overall mouthfeel was a bit on the greasy side. Just a few strands of banana blossom.

The sinigang was pretty good, nice and bracingly sour.

The rice was on the mushy side, but in total, this wasn't bad at all.

R & B Filipino Cuisine
11257 Camino Ruiz
San Diego, CA 92126

Tim Ky Noodle:

Driving aimlessly on Christmas Day, I decided to stop in to have a bowl of noodle soup Tim Ky. While what I had on my last visit wasn't particularly good, I'd had some pretty good bowls here in the past.

Deciding on turning a new leaf and all, I went with something totally different. The Hu Tieu My Tho, which besides the BBQ Pork is a bowl of offal.

This really didn't look very inspiring when it arrived….but how often does a bowl of guts and porcine organs really want you to break into song?

Loved the hu tieu which were robustly elastic. The broth started fairly flat, but as it soaked up the flavor from the offal, started tasting quite good. The best of the lot was the intestines, clean and chewy…the thin slices of offal were nice, just enough earthy, bitter tones, but the pig liver tasted a bit off, and not being a big fan of pig liver, unless it's really fresh, it was not my cup of tea. There were two small, rubbery shrimp in the soup.

Not bad. I was surprised at the large groups of customers, most of which weren't Asian! Folks gotta eat on Xmas Day I guess.

Tim Ky Noodle
9330 Mira Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92126

Revisits – Tu Thanh and Manila Fast Food and Desserts

August 9, 2016 mmm-yoso Filipino Restaurants, Sisig, Vietnamese Restaurants

A couple of revisits for you……

Tu Thanh:

I was surprised that Calvin, who's missus is from Westminster, like Bun Mam, had never heard of Bun Mang Vit. They had to ask an aunt who knew all of these Vietnamese dishes. So a couple of months back, I was craving Bun Mang Vit again.

It seems that everytime I visit, something has changed at Tu Thanh. Still, it the Bun Mang Vit I'm after.

And while this was good; it wasn't quite as good as what I've had in the past. The duck was haphazardly cut, some slices too thick, others with slivers of bone. The flavor was still the same though. The broth was a bit lighter in flavor and seemed to have a bit more msg…..I still enjoy the rehydrated bamboo shoots.

When it comes down to it; perhaps it's the sauce that makes everything tick; the garlic-ginger-sweet-salty tones just brings things together.

Which is what it did for Calvin, who had never had Bun Mang Vit before.

The menu seems to be ever expanding here now.

Perhaps someday I'll try something different. But not on this day.

Tu Thanh
4804 University Ave. #A
San Diego, CA 92105
Hours:
Thurs – Tues 9am – 9pm
Wednesday 9am – 5pm

Manila Fast Food and Desserts:

So, "FOY" (Friend of Yoso) and periodic commenter "SomTommy" sent me and email after my post on Mama Cinia asking me which Chicken Adobo I prefer; Manila Fast Food versus the rather new Mama Cinia. Hmmmm…..good question. Chicken Adbobo isn't usually the first thing I choose. So I decided to head on back to Manila Fast Food. I hadn't been there in a while. I got the combination with Chicken Adobo and, well, sisig of course.

As you can see, the portion size, typical of these "turo-turo" places was quite generous. That chicken adobo, other than being salty was pretty bland….no nice vinegar, nor black pepper flavors.

The sisig was, unlike previous visits, pretty weak. Too little vinegar, too little spice for my taste. Also, much too waxy in texture.

Kind of a bummer since the sisig, while not traditional, and the kaldereta kambing (which I haven't seen in a while here) were the dishes I enjoyed the most. I actually prefer the sisig at Mama Cinia to this.

Manila Fast Food and Desserts
8979 Mira Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92126

Turo Turo Tuesday – Mama Cinia Rice & Noodles

August 2, 2016 mmm-yoso Filipino Restaurants, Sisig

**** Mama Cinia has closed

I was quite surprised when Christy's Bakery closed, after all they were pretty much a Mira Mesa institution having been in that spot for a quarter century. Then it seems like overnight Mama Cinia opened. I decided to drop by and check them out.

First off, I have to say I really like the folks here, so warm and friendly. They've really freshened up and renovated the interior too.

They've got a variety of typical combos from the steam table, desserts like halo-halo, and also serve Mami from 2pm.

I dropped by between meetings to pick up an early lunch on the way back to the office. A 2 item combo with Garlic Rice.

I was surprised to see Bicol Express, something I just don't see often enough at these turo-turo joints. The very ncie woman was surprised I knew what it was. I also got the sisig (of course).

First off, the rice was on the dry side and the garlic a bit burnt. I liked that the sisig wasn't your typical "San Diego sisig", which is basically lechon kawale. Loved all the nice bits of pork, nice textures, a bit smoky, but for my tastes, in need to more spice and vinegar.

I was pleasantly surprised at how tender the pork in the Bicol Express was; but it was really greasy, and lacking in spice and I would have appreciated more bagoong as it was fairly bland.

A week later, having to attend the same meeting, I decided to return. This time I got the two item combination, chicken adobo and kare kare, with pancit instead of rice; they didn't even charge me the $1 extra…perhaps they forgot. Again, it was a load of food.

The flavor of the pancit was decent; enough soy sauce for a change, but it was a bit mushy in texture. Much like the Bicol Express, I was impressed at how tender all the meat and other bits were in the Kare Kare, but it was really, really bland….even that bagoong wasn't enough. This was also a bit on the greasy side as well.

The pieces of the chicken adobo were quite large and this could have used a bit more vinegar as it was pretty salty and now that I think about it, I like mine with a good amount of black pepper as well. I actually enjoyed the potato the most.

I did enjoy the fact that all the food I got was quite hot; perhaps it was because of the time I got there. The people are ultra friendly, so I'll probably drop by again. Maybe one evening to try the Beef Mami, after all, it's been ages since I've had a decent one. The portions are quite generous, so I don't think you'll be leaving hungry here.

Mama Cinia Rice & Noodles
9178 Mira Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92126
Hours:
Wed – Sat, Mondays 9am – 8pm
Sundays 9am – 4pm

Revisits: Mama’s Bakery & Lebanese Deli and Pinoy Fiesta

June 6, 2016 mmm-yoso Filipino Restaurants, Lebanese Restaurants, Sisig

A couple of revisits from last month. Places I hadn't been to in a while.

Mama's Bakery & Lebanese Deli:

So here's a blast from the past. It's been over 3 1/2 years since I last visited.

And I was surprised to find that in addition to the simple, rather divey dining area…..

They've added additional seating out on the street, where there once were some 15 minute parking. They call it a Parklet and I rather like it.

I had my usual, the Garlic Chicken Wrap, now $7.25. You can tell I've been doing this blogging thing for a while….at the time of my first post on Mama's, the wrap was $4.99!

And while I had mentioned that the chicken in this wrap had gotten rather scarce back in 2012; there seemed to be even less of it on this day. And while I do enjoy the garlic paste and claim that it would make cardboard tasty, this is still a "chicken wrap". It just seemed to have less of everything, though the flatbread/wrap, made fresh on the "Sajj" was still warm when I opened it up and had a nice stretch to it.

It just didn't have enough filling. And as the saying goes; "Man does not live by bread alone".

I did notice another thing. I'd always thought that the "hot sauce" here tasted a lot like Louisiana style hot sauce. These days they leave the hot sauce dispenser out….it's Trappey's. I do like the way the hot sauce works with the wrap.

Mama's is one of those places that seems to have been around forever. We used to drop by every so often when we first moved to San Diego. A bit before my first post on the place in 2005, the place changed hands, to what seemed to be no detriment to the quality of the food. The folks here have always been pleasant. But it seems, at least in my mind, that the garlic chicken wrap has not aged well.

Mama's Bakery & Lebanese Deli
4237 Alabama St.
San Diego, CA 92104

Pinoy Fiesta:

I've been having to work weekends sporadically over the last couple of months. On those days, because I'm able to take my sweet old time going into work, I'll often take the "really long route" to the office. On one of those mornings, I stopped by Pinoy Fiesta. Another place I haven't been to in a while.

I noticed that a pan of kare kare had just come out, so I got that….and in a moment of weakness, even though I didn't care for the sisig during previous visits, I decided to give it another shot.

Man, that kare kare was really bland and the meat super tough, not a fan. And while the flavor of the sisig wasn't bad this time around, denotes, though it could have had a bit more spice, it was ice cold and super waxy…."fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice……"

Still, nice folks, but I'll wait a while before coming back here.

Pinoy Fiesta
550 E 8th St
National City, CA 91950

Clearing out the Memory Card: Do you know these places?

February 4, 2015 mmm-yoso Bun Bo Hue, Burgers, Chicken Wings, Filipino Restaurants, Japanese Restaurants, Ramen, Sisig, Vietnamese Restaurants

Here's a bunch of photos that have been languishing for a while. Not much else to say today!

And a couple more.

Hope you're having a great week!

Turo Turo Tuesday: Erlinda’s Filipino Cuisine & Ice Cream Parlor

July 8, 2014 mmm-yoso Filipino Restaurants, Sisig

**** Erlinda's has closed

I hadn't been down to National City in a while, at least it seemed that way. So this past weekend I headed down with no real plans, I actually was taking one of my scenic drives….you might like evergreens, giant redwoods, an ocean view…….for me, well, it's seeing a new turo-turo shop and the smell of sisig in the morning!

This one was a surprise; I was taking the 8th Street drive from the 5 and was shocked to see Conching was gone! After how many years? It was now something called Erlinda's Filipino Cuisine and Ice Cream Parlor.

Well, the interior looked the same, the food looked the same…….I decided to have a two item combo.

Now, I've cut down severely on my rice intake in recent years. I even asked them to go easy on the garlic rice….I didn't need too much. I guess this is going easy on the rice?

In retrospect, I should have just gotten pancit or nothing at all since the rice was terrible; mushy, the garlic burnt and bitter, and in dire need of seasoning…….

As you can see; it was pork adobo and sisig.

Once upon a time, Conching made one of my favorite versions of sisig, though it was terrible and disappointing the last time I had it. This version was good, not as good as the best I've had at Conching, but it was pretty close…it was still on the mushy side, but at least there was enough sour-salt-spice to make it enjoyable.

The adobo needed more vinegar and black pepper flavor and a ton less sodium as it was unpleasantly salty. In terms of texture it was fine, a couple of tough pieces, but adequately tender. It was just much too salty…..

I haven't been a real regular at Conching's over the years so I'm not sure if the cooks and staff are the same….based on the sisig, I'd venture that some if not most of the folks here are still the same Conching folks.

Anyway, there you have it……. RIP Conching.

Erlinda's Filipino Cuisine & Ice Cream Parlor
3400 E 8th St.Ste 115
National City, CA 91950

What we ate during the hottest 2 weeks of the year: Revisits to Izakaya Sakura, The Original Sab E Lee, Grandma Tofu and BBQ, Manila Fast Food and Desserts, and Champions Mariscos Truck

September 5, 2013 mmm-yoso Filipino Restaurants, Food Trucks, Japanese Restaurants, Korean Restaurants, Mexican Restaurants, Seafood, Sisig, Thai Restaurants

Man, the last two weeks have been brutal….call me a soft San Diegan, but I've been feeling the heat and humidity. I told Cathy that I wish it would just storm like crazy so this weather would break. No such luck so far!

Well, regardless of the weather, you've got to eat, right? So here's some of what we had during the last two weeks.

Izakaya Sakura:

It had been a while and I was craving some Ebi Kakiage cold noodles, so Izakaya Sakura it was.

This time it was the cold udon version, which hit the spot.

This really hit the spot!

Though I could have done without having to listen to Wilson Phillips Greatest Hits throughout my meal….

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

The Original Sab E Lee:

**** This location of TOSEL has closed

Spicy Thai food is a natural for us during hot muggy weather…..not sure why.

The usual suspects at the Linda Vista location.

Man, that Grilled Duck Larb just hit the spot…right between the eyes.

I swear, I recall TOSEL having A/C? Well, not on this day. The result of spicy food with no A/C had me wondering if it was the Salted Fish Fried Rice….or was it me?

The Original Sab E Lee
2405 Ulric St
San Diego, CA 92111

Grandma Tofu and BBQ:

I wanted some Bibim Naengmyun, but Buga was closed for renovation (they've since reopened). So I ended up going to Halmouny…Grandma Tofu and BBQ.

Love the flavors….bracing and refreshing. The noodles however, seemed were really rubbery, like rubberbands, I mean, naengmyun is always rather elastic, but these just would not give way!

Grandma's Tofu & BBQ
4425 Convoy St.
San Diego, CA 92111

Manila Fast Food and Desserts:

I was up in the area and decided to grab lunch. I hadn't been back in here in almost 9 months or so.

A quick look at the steam table made selecting what I wanted easy.

The Beef Mechado was much more tender than the last time I had it. The flavor was also better, much more tangy flavor and decent salt. It was on the greasy side though.

The sisig was not bad; nice pungent, sour, spice, salt….. would have been nice to have a bit of crispness in it since it was typical "SD Sisig", left-over lechon kawale. But overall; no complaints, better than I've had recently.

Manila Fast Food and Desserts
8979 Mira Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92126

Champions Mariscos Truck:

So, just as in the previous four weeks, I broke out the smoker during Labor Day weekend. I needed something fairly close by before I started the ribs, so I headed over to Champions Mariscos Truck in the parking lot of Toys R' Us on Morena.

Consomme might seem to be a bit much on a scortching day, but I can never turn it down. This was a bit too water for my taste, with a bit too much celery flavor. Not as good as my previous visits.

I went with the Arrachera y Camaron…the surf and turf taco. Not enough caramelization on the beef, but it was decently tender. The shrimp were moist and flavorful.

I decided to go with the Taco de Marlyn again.

Man, they really loaded this thing! Unlike my previous visit, it didn't seem to have too much queso…perhaps due to the amount of filling! All this "stuff" seemed to water down the flavor of the smoked fish though….but this wasn't too bad.

Champions Mariscos Truck – In the parking lot of Toys 'R Us on Morena Boulevard

So there you go….we may be overheatin', but we're still eatin'. Hope everyone is staying and keeping cool!