Road Trip- Las Vegas- A day

December 6, 2009 Cathy Las Vegas, Road Trip, What Cathy Eats!, yoso-silly

mmm-yoso!!! is a blog about food written by a group of friends who eat. Today, Cathy is blogging about both food and an adventure.

Hi. The other day, my brother sent me an email that he had a pass to a convention Las Vegas and would be flying in, accompanied by his son, my 15 year old nephew, who couldn't go to the conventionor any adult ventures because of his age. and anyhow, he was wondering if "Aunt Cathy" maybe could drive out for a bit and visit. So I did.

I left Santee about 7 a.m. and drove, keeping the speed limit.

Soon I was at my destination, called my nephew on the mobile, announced I was hungry and was happy he was also ready for lunch.

We drove out of Sunset Staion, took a left and started looking and found a Sammy's California Woodfired Pizza place: Unique for my nephew. So we stopped.

We shared a small Caesar Salad ($7) which was fresh and not too garlic-y.

We asked for bread and a basket of fresh made white bread and some crackers was brought to the table.

Since we could not decide, the "New York" pizza was ordered ($10)- wood fired dough topped with sausage, pepperoni, salami, mushrooms and block olives. Very good.

My brother came back from his meetings and was ready for dinner. We went to Blueberry Hill, a 24 hour, Breakfast-Lunch-Dinner place and he ordered one of each of the soups of the day-a tomato turkey and a beef zucchini; both were very good.

My nephew ordered this- fried chicken, mashed and vegetables. Gravy came on the side.

Along with a breakfast of corned beef hash, poached eggs and ribbon cut hash browns (aren't they pretty?)

I ordered a breakfast, because I wanted a blueberry muffin, grilled.

My brother ordered chicken fried steak. Which came with the gravy on it.

I started noticing flooring in the hotel. Like this birds eye view of hot dogs in the elevator. I knew I needed to sleep.

The view from the hotel room was glorious the next morning, only to be set aside by my dear brother and nephew both telling me "don't fool yourself Aunt Cathy, you snore"…

With that, we went bowling.

There was time for breakfast at the 24 hour coffee shop (Coco's).

As well as lattes and pastries from the Casino Starbucks.

But I did need to start driving home, and greatly anticipated my next stop.

In Baker. The Mad Greek.

A gyros.

A banana shake.

Home before sunset.

We hope everyone is having a nice weekend!

Tacos El Poblano, and a South Bay Taco Crawl with Captain Jack

October 4, 2009 mmm-yoso Food Trucks, Mexican Restaurants, Taco Shops, yoso-silly

**** This location of Tacos El Poblano has closed

Here's the last of my series of South Bay Taco Shops. I was taking a one of my weekend "drives" a couple of weeks back. And while driving through "Downtown" Chula Vista, I noticed a new restaurant.

It would have been "just another taco shop" except for the sign that said "Los Authenticos De Tijuana Ahora en CA". Which got my attention. I decided to stop, even though I had just finished two tacos from Tacos Yaqui. The fairly modest storefront, hides a pretty large, somewhat cavernous restaurant.

As I walked up to the counter, I could see flames rising from the grill next ot the cashier. So ordering was pretty simple, it had to be Carne Asada, and "something"……

That something was a Birria Taco($1.75):

El Poblano serves you tacos the way they think it should be served. There's no salsa bar, though the pickled peppers and carrots (escabeche) is fabulous, refreshing, and almost sweet. The birria was very mild, as I enjoy a bit more spice and "wildness".

A minute later my two Carne Asada tacos made its way to my table.

I loved the crisp but still pliable grilled tortillas, which added a nice bit of smokiness to the equation. The simple, but effective guacamole added richness. The salsa was nice and spicy, but the carne asada brought this down. As you can tell by the grey pallor, this was not the carne asada I just witnessed being grilled. It was tasteless and rubbery, not good eats. Everything about this taco was spot on, except the carne asada. And I'd usually visit another time before doing a post. So check out the rest of the post below, because on my next visit, it was just perfect, smokey, with nice caramelization.

Tacos El Poblano
217 3rd Avenue
Chula Vista, CA 91910

The South Bay Taco Crawl……

I guess this was inevitable. I'd been hitting multiple taco shops in the South Bay in recent weeks. And after receiving an email from "Grace" who was visiting San Diego, and wanted some recommendations on doing a "taco crawl" I thought, "why not do this yourself". I tried this once with a good FOY, a small but mighty eater. Unfortunately, we never made it past two shops…….

This meant I needed to bring in the "heavy artillery". There was only one person that I know of, who could handle this…… and I wasn't even sure that I'd be able to keep up. That person was….. "the man, the myth, the stomach….." my Urasawa eating buddy, Captain Jack. And of course, he was up for anything. So things started off this morning with CJ in my car, making our way down to the border…..

I had everything planned; we'd start off with Tacos Yaqui. Unfortunately, when we arrived in San Ysidro, we found that even though the sign said they open at 9am, and it was 930, they weren't open. It was time for "plan B". I headed up the I-5 and ended up in the now-all-too familiar RTA/Toys R' Us parking lot, and Mariscos El Pescador.

I figured we'd grab a Gobernador and a Tacos de Pescado (fish taco) and we'd be on our way. Pretty filling, but delicious, and we'd still be able to go on. But after the consomme and two tacos, the Owner, Cruz Vazquez, who we chatted with before the crowds, decided that we just had to have the "Tacos de Mariscanos", a mixto (mixed) taco. The size of which was daunting…..

This was like an over-stuffed mixed seafood version of the Gobernador, with sauteed fish, scallops, pulpo (octopus), along with the wonderful shrimp. With some of the spicy pickled onions, this was excellent. If the Gobernador, is "the Governor", this is "El Presidente"……

As an exclamation point, Captain Jack had a torta from the Torta Ahogadas truck across the parking lot. (A eating on the hood of your car post is coming up soon) I abstained, because this was a taco crawl, right? Talking about wiggling out of a tight situation.

After which, we headed off to Internacional 2000 for some Al Pastor, only to find that they weren't ready….. which led me to "plan C", and a visit to El Poblano. We grabbed a Adobaba Taco and a Carne Asada Taco. This time around, the Carne Asada was excellent, nicely caramelized, with a wonderful smokey flavor. Good stuff. I of course, kinda did the "four corners" here, engaging CJ in small talk. I also found that I eat pretty fast, so the delay gave me time to digest and adjust. After about fifteen minutes of small talk, CJ said the faithful words, "we're not done yet, are we?"

Which meant it was time to move on, and return to Tacos Yaqui, where we put down a Perrones Taco each, and some chips. Comparing the carne asada from Yaqui to El Poblano is like apples to oranges. Yaqui's carne asada is like eating steak, it is beefy, but milder in flavor, and served on a grilled flour tortilla with melted cheese, El Poblano's carne asada is smokey, and crisp.

Again, I finished several minutes ahead of CJ, and had time to digest.

We ended (taco) things at Internacional 2000 Taco Shop and had two Al Pastor tacos each. A nice, tasty, greasy end to our "taco tour". Funny thing, at the end, we both weren't full, but we were satisfied. I had an inkling to make a stop at Tacos El Gordo, but decided that I'd had enough. CJ on the other hand, decided otherwise, and we made a last stop a Panchita's for some sweets……

This "taco tour" was pretty easy, at no time did I feel uncomfortable. I'm not sure if it qualifies as a Food Marathon, but I'll tell you that I didn't have any dinner tonight…….

Sunday Silliness

September 13, 2009 mmm-yoso Local Kine Stuffs in San Diego, yoso-silly

It's been a pretty long day for me, so just for a little levity, here's what I found while doing some shopping:

Unbelievable….. Primo Beer in my neck of the woods. For those who don't know anything about Primo, here's some info. For many years Primo was THE Local beer in Hawaii. Several generations of "locals" were raised on the stuff, and most of my friends have watched "Uncle get all 'yota'" after over imbibing on a six pack or two, or three…… I remember Primo being the "secret ingredient" for an Uncle's Chicken Hekka recipe, of course by the time the Chicken Hekka was being started he's already completed a couple of cycles…..

I had read the Honolulu Advertiser article mentioning Primo's return, and Pomai's post , but the last thing I expected was to see this stocked on store shelves in San Diego.

But there it was, and I'm glad they kept the original logo…..

Actually, I remember thinking that this was pretty heinous stuff that was best suited having a brown paper bag wrapped around it. But I hit drinking age during Primo's waning years, I believe Primo was on the decline from the early eighties. Still, for old times sake, I made sure to grab a couple and this on the other hand was not bad, very light, mildly sweet, nothing to write home about, but like the old Primo slogan went – "chance 'um"……. or was it, "no can hea, get beer in my ear"….. or something like that…..

I hope everyone had a great weekend, I'll be back with something a bit more substantial tomorrow!

Monday Meanderings……

September 7, 2009 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Local Kine Stuffs in San Diego, Taco Shops, yoso-silly

I hope everyone had an enjoyable Labor Day. Here are a few tidbits……

New Taco Cart:

This one in an interesting location. The Shell Station on the corner of Clairemont Drive and Denver Street. Because gas at this station is usually more expensive than other station in the area, I really don't pay much attention to the place. But on this day, feeling awfully lazy, I decided to grab some gas here. And to my surprise……..

Unfortunately, I'd already had lunch. Now you can get some Cabeza with your smog check! I'm sure to be trying out the tacos soon.

2606 Clairemont Drive
San Diego, CA 92117

Leilani's Restaurant Closes:

On September third, FOY JenniferB sent me an email informing me that Leilani's Restaurant in Serra Mesa had closed. Earlier this weekend I dropped by and noticed that the Leilani's sign has been removed:

As "Right Cow Left Coast" mentions in a comment on this post, August 25th was the last day of business in this location. The Cass Street location in Pacific Beach is still open. I'm kinda sad that Leinlain's couldn't make a go in Serra Mesa, this strip mall really needs a shot in the arm. I can't say I'm surprised though, during my last few visits, the place was empty, and Leilani was not to be found…. busy with the PB location I guess.

Bummer…..

Chin's on Convoy looks almost ready to go:

The termite tent is off, and a new sign is on…..

This is one I'm looking forward to.

Speaking of Chin's:

I had lunch with some FOYs this past weekend at Chin's on Miramar, and noticed this sign. They'll now be opening for Chinese Breakfast at 930 am on Saturdays and Sundays. I guess they're doing pretty well!

Chin's Seafood & Grill
9355 Kearny Mesa Rd
San Diego, CA 92126

Other Stuff:

I've been kicking back and enjoying reading a couple of other blogs this weekend. It seems everyone is traveling; Judy of Tinker with Food has just returned from New Orleans, and shares some of her eats with us. Foodhoe shares her Alaska Cruise with us. And Kat is sharing a whole passel of posts of their Palau trip with us. I know I'm missing someone……

It's been a nice weekend for reading blogs……..

Road Trip: Hong Kong Fishball House – “Fried Pork Rectum” redux – Rowland Heights

August 15, 2009 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, yoso-silly

I'm always wondering how my tastes have changed over time. And what better way to check than to try something that I've found… ummm….. "undelicious" (is there such a word?). So on one of our trips back to the "old neighborhood" I decided to try a dish I found somewhat "undelicious" back in 2006.

Yes, it was time to return to Hong Kong Fishball House and retaste a dish that I thought was appropriately named; the Fried Pork Rectum. Yes, I know it really is just Deep Fried Pork Intestine which it seems that I've been consuming quite often recently.

Hong Kong Fishball House looks just about the same, same greasy patio furniture, the potted palm looks much taller, and of course prices have gone up. The Fried Pork Rectum has gone up 50 cents to $2.75. I also noticed that the Fried Pork Rectum sign has developed a thicker layer of grease over it.

The Missus placed the order, and while I waited for my rectum (ok, this one is too easy, so I won't add anything to it), She took a stroll.

After a few minutes, my rectum was ready. As before, it was placed in a styrofoam container. While waiting for the Missus, I opened the container and took a whiff!

First off, it didn't smell quite as dank as I recalled. When picking up a piece, I noticed that this was pretty greasy. I popped the sliced piece of intestine into my mouth. I quickly noticed how bland it tasted. The fried slices of intestine needed more salt. The initial mild sweetness was still present, but this was lacking the earthy tones that I've become used to. On the good side, the unpleasant film that often coats your mouth after eating fried intestine was missing. No nasty sour aftertaste as well.

In the end, this was pretty anti-climatic. But it was a nice little study in how my tastes and preferences are constantly changing.

Hong Kong Fishball House
18414 Colima Rd
Rowland Heights, CA 91748

So tell me, how have your tastes changed over the last two years?

Postscript: The redone HK2 Food District has opened. A post is forthcoming……

Sunday Stuffs: Eddels is now Chibugan, a Noble Chef revisit, and a couple of “stories”.

August 9, 2009 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Filipino Restaurants, yoso-silly

Just couple of things for Sunday……

Eddels is now Chibugan:

As reported by FOY Toshiko. Eddels is now Chibugan.

I was in the area this afternoon so I dropped by. Chibugan is indeed open, but looked to only have four or five offerings. I had already eaten lunch, so I'll grab a bite on another day.

Thanks for letting me know Toshiko!

Chibugan (In Vinh Hung Supermarket)

10550 Camino Ruiz
San Diego, CA 92126

A COMC post on Noble Chef:

Last week, another FOY (Friend of Yoso), RossC sent me a really nice email. Ross has relocated, and said, "I now have a much greater appreciation for what San Diego had to offer". One of the places Ross mentioned was Noble Chef. I realize that I've done a few posts on Noble Chef, but I had these photos saved for no reason in particular, so I thought I'd just do a quick COMC (Clearing Out the Memory Card) post. This one's for you Ross! The "old" Noble Chef was one of our favorite haunts for cheap eats. The older Gentleman who worked the wok sure knew his stuff. The Shrimp with XO Sauce Fried Rice was great, "wok hey", great garlic (and I'm sure MSG) flavor, a touch of spice! When the folks finally retired and the new owners took over there was something missing. The "breath of the wok" was gone, and the food seemed underseasoned. That's not to say that the food was terrible, it was still decent, but having eaten there quite frequently, I could tell the difference. On the other hand there were some changes that were for the good. The place had been freshened up, the prices were still reasonable, and I detected even more of the "good stuff" (i.e. shrimp) in some of the dishes. So now, every 8-9 months, I drop by to see how the food is progressing at Noble Chef.

I will always order the Shrimp with XO Sauce Fried Rice. For me this was the dish that put Noble Chef on our list. There was a ton of shrimp, at least ten in the fried rice. It was still priced at $7.55, very reasonable.

It still lacked the wok hey, spice, and garlicky goodness of the version the old Noble Chef version. It was not bad, just not as good.

I also ordered the Shrimp with Tomato Sauce Rice, which had gone up a buck to $7.55, but you really couldn't complain based on the portion size.

Now this was much improved over the version I had on my previous visit. It could've been that the tomatoes were of better quality since there was a nice "tang" to the sauce. I counted a whopping eleven shrimp in the dish. The shrimp were cooked with much more finesse, they were tender, not overcooked. The sauce was nice and velvety, and I even detected a bit of spice….nice…..

I hope the things just keep getting better. I'll keep checking back every couple of months. I'm waiting for the Shrimp with XO Sauce Fried Rice to get back to where it once was.

The Noble Chef
6159 Balboa Avenue
San Diego, CA 92111
(858)278-8688

Thanks again for the wonderful email Ross!

A North Park Produce Story:

A couple of weeks ago, I dropped by North Park Produce to pick-up some Feta for the Missus. As I was being rung up at the register, I noticed that the previous customer had forgotten his milk. I handed the young lady some cash, and told her to hold my change while I go and find the gentleman who forgot his milk. I jogged out the back of NPP, and saw the gentleman turning the corner on El Cajon Boulevard. I yelled out, "hey, you forgot your milk"! At the sound of my voice the guy started off at a sprint down ECB!!! Caught up in the moment, I, for some reason gave chase! A few things you need to know…..the gentleman was almost a foot taller, and maybe twice the size of me. He was bigger than Captain Jack. So picture a little Asian Guy chasing a six foot five inch monster down El Cajon Boulevard waving a carton of milk……. Dude must be in some beeeeg trouble! About a block and a half later, dude suddenly realizes that I'm just trying to get him his milk. He stops. Totally out of breath, huffing and puffing, I hand him the carton of milk. Not only is he twice my size, but he is obviously in better shape as well………. Sweating profusely, I walked back to NPP to retrieve my feta cheese and my change…….

A Bronx Pizza Story:

The fellas at work love Bronx Pizza. So one day, we decided to order a whole pie from Bronx. The place is quite close to work, so I volunteer to call in the order and pick up the pie.

I place the order on the phone, and the final part of the conversation goes like this:

BG (Bronx Guy): Name?
Me: Kirk
BG: David??
Me: No Kirk, K-I-R-K…
BG: It'll be under David…
"click" He hangs up the phone……..

David? What the heck? Did I just walk into a Seinfeld episode??? So I go to pick-up the pie….

BG: Name?
Me: It'll be under Kirk or David…
BG: No pie for Kirk or David….what didya order?
Me: A Porko
BG: We got a porko here for xxx (I can't remember the name)…..

Now I know all about the Bronx attitude, and most of the time it's all fun and games, but come on. But I decide that two can play the same game, so as I leave:

Me: Hey
BG: What
Me: No wonder Lefty's and Luigi's is kicking your …!

Guess I won't be going back to Bronx for a while, huh?

I hope everyone had a great weekend!

Saturday Stuffs

July 18, 2009 mmm-yoso Markets & Grocers, Peruvian Restaurants, yoso-silly

Just a few items for a pretty warm Saturday.

Nazca Grill:

Signs have gone up in the old Aji Seco/Nieto's Taco Shop location on Genesee. Looks like this will be a Peruvian restaurant called Nazca Grill.

Sounds good to me!!!

Costco Stuff:

I try not to spend very much, if any time in Costco, because of the crowds. My mission is to time things right, and get in and out ASAP. But on a recent visit, I took some time to look around and was rather surprised at finding a few interesting items.

As I navigated my way into the produce section….one does not stroll in Costco, what one does is push a cart the size of an aircraft carrier, dodging other massive shopping carts or six wheelers, and hope for the best. I've always hoped that traffic lights and turn signals will become standard equipment in Costco, but I don't think that'll be happening in my lifetime. To be honest, Costco is invaluable for stocking up on those necessities, I can always get a pack of toilet tissue that would make my late, TP hording Mom proud. The one thing with Costco is not just buying stuff you'll never use, or don't need, but buying said items in bulk! Luckily, my phobia of ravenous crowds trying to sample stuff in little cups, and crazy folks at the helm of shopping carts (it's a "Long's" story) keeps me away unless we need something. So of course, browsing at Costco cost me a few bucks more, but I was satisfied with what I purchased.

I was surprised to find Donut/Saturn Peaches.

The Missus grew up eating these in China, and She really loves these fragrant, and sweet peaches. I was shocked to see them in Costco, as until a few years ago they were usually only found in Asian Markets. These were huge, and fragrant, though not as sweet. Pretty cheap too, 2 pounds for $3.49.

I was also lured into buying a package of cedar smoking planks. Because of the amount of grilling we've been doing in the last few weeks, I thought I'd try these out. There were 6 thin planks in the package.

I wanted to take these for a test run, so decided to use some shrimp I had in the freezer.

I soaked the boards for about an hour, marinaded the shrimp in Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Garlic, and Salt, for about 15 minutes, lines up on the board, and placed it on the grill at the end of my grilling session (like I said, I want to milk every single bit of heat from my charcoal), and placed the lid on my Weber.

I think twelve minutes was a bit too long for the shrimp, but the flavor was excellent. The Missus loved the smokiness. So maybe this was worth it.

Costco always finds new ways to separate me from my money……

Some interesting links:

I remember reading this a couple of weeks ago, and for some reason I couldn't help but laugh.

This one is not about food, but I found it funny as well!

I hope you're all enjoying your weekend!

The 2009 San Diego County Fair, Part Two

July 2, 2009 Cathy Festivals & Events, What Cathy Eats!, yoso-silly

mmm-yoso is the blog written by Kirk and ed (from Yuma) and Cathy, who is today's blogger.

Well, we finally made it to the Fair.

The Theme this year is "Music Mania" and the entrance gate is decorated like an old jukebox.

Don Diego, the Official Greeter is more advertising that the Fairgrounds may be sold to a private owner if the current fiscal situation in our state is not cleared up.

Inside, the Fairgrounds look the same as always.

All of the traditional County Fair events are happening.

The beef cattle, which will be up for auction on July 4 along with the dairy goats (although the kid born at the beginning of the Fair will not be sold just yet) and pigs and sheep were available for purchase if you did not want to bother with the auction.

(If you want to know auction details, send an email or comment below)

The Preserved foods, as well as the baked goods, which were all judged before the Fair opened, were on display with the ribbons that were awarded.

Interesting tidbit- every morning there is a job of cutting away mold or slime from the baked goods on display.

When entering items, at least six cookies and whole cakes and loaves of bread are entered for judging. By the end of the run of the Fair, there are many signs indicating the item was 'too good to last!'…really though, it molded away.

Now, why you are here (on the blog). Food. Go to this building, which houses the "Designs in Wood" entries.

Yes.

Go on. It's $4.75

The small 'leftovers' box is pulled from the freezer. It contains three strips of dark chocolate covered bacon.

This was by far my most favorite item here. The bacon is thick and salty and cooked well. The dark chocolate, frozen, compliments the saltiness. It was the perfect treat.

The fried cheese curds ($6) were lightly breaded in a garlic powder crust and had a nice crunch.

The cheese was squeaky and good.

The char broiled corn is always good.

The Midway is a maze of gadget selling booths.

There is a plethora of tempting sights, smells and sounds.

But I was here. And I had to.

Look at the top ad, next to the Frog Legs, which "taste like chicken". Yes. A Zucchini Weeni.

$4.75.

Good idea. Poor execution.

I admit I have *never* had a corn dog in my life. The batter on this was not corn though. It was donut batter.

The hot dog really had no flavor and all of it needed to be dipped in the ranch dressing to have any flavor.

I had such hopes for this weeni…

Instead, go next door for a "Texas Twister"

A deep fried skinned sausage deep fried with a twist of potatoes. ($8)

Much more flavorful.

Other things we bought included gelato, inside the Bing Crosby Hall. excellent. (Small, $4)

The Indian Fry Bread- strawberry cheesecake. Fresh fried bread topped with whipped cream cheese, strawberries and whipped cream ($6.50)

One chocolate and one vanilla cream puff. ($3 each). They make the pastry in the booth daily and the filling is real whipped cream. This is the only "have to" item I get. I can't get this fresh anywhere else all year.

Artichokes on a stick satisfy that salty craving I have. ($6)

As does Pizza on a stick.($4)

The Footsie Wootsie machines are scattered everywhere and still only 25 cents for a few minutes of unusual pleasure.

Enjoy the Fair. It closes this Sunday!

Website Opens 11 a.m. weekdays and 10 a.m. on weekends.

Salt and Pepper Chicken Wings: The Challenge – A comparison of Salt and Pepper Chicken Wings

June 24, 2009 mmm-yoso Chicken Wings, Chinese Restaurants, Memorable Meals, yoso-silly

You can't attend a Filipino party in San Diego without them, those miniature deep fried limbs, full of MSG goodness. Pulling yourself away from the aluminum tray of Salt and Pepper chicken wings sometimes takes a Herculean display of will power. I had long contemplated doing a comparison of Salt and Pepper wings, and after all these years, with the help of Howie, who having done comparisons of everything from Carne Asada Burritos from 'Berto's to New York style Pizza to Fro-yo i n San Diego, is master of organizing such events, I finally managed to do a tasting.

For the tasting, I had an enthusiastic crew, who displayed no fear of the MSG bloat; Howie, Candice, Sarah, Jenne, Mr & Mrs Zompus, and Dennis. I had a list of five places, one of which was closed and had to be replaced by a last minute substitute due to sad and unfortunate circumstances.

The rules were simple, each person would try at least one drummette, and one wing. They would than rank each sample from first to fifth. The lowest total amount of points would be number one.

The results are startling, and I'm sure will be quite controversial. At the end, I'll list my picks which seemed to go totally against the trend. So without further ado.

#5 – Royal Mandarin:

Yes, the mecca of Salt and Pepper Chicken wings ended up dead last by a large margin. Some of the comments: "more like American fried chicken…." "rating of meh…." "underwhelming in flavor…." "overcooked…."

This one was a surprise, and I'm sure will raise eyebrows…..

Royal Mandarin Restaurant
1132 E. Plaza Blvd
National City, CA 91950
(619) 477-4151

#4 – Golden Chopsticks:

Yep, the other popular Salt and Pepper Chicken wing joint finished second to last! "bland….." "soggy……" "not even spicy in the least…." "don't like the light color…."

Another big surprise!

Golden Chopsticks
1430 Plaza Blvd #E/22A-23A
National City, CA 91950
(619) 336-1888

3 – A & D Hawaiian BBQ – National City:

**** A&D Has closed

Another surprise. The darkhorse last minute replacement came in a respectable third, and missed second place by one point! Yikes! "most flavorful by far…." "thinner crust but better taste…."nice spice, lots of garlic, but too salty…." "right amount of spice…."

A&D Hawaiian BBQ
Grove Plaza Center
2220 Plaza Blvd
National City, CA 91950

2 – Panda Palace:

**** Panda Palace has closed

Well what do you know…another surprise. This one was all over the board with three fourth-place votes, and two first place votes. It managed second by one point.

The comments were the most entertaining of all the entries: "tastes like Panda Express smells…." "someone didn't change the oil after frying all that shrimp" "too sweet…" on one hand, "very flavorful…." "like the garlic and spice…" "not greasy…." on the other.

Panda Palace Chinese Restaurant
1105 E Plaza Blvd Ste D
National City, CA 91950
(619) 336-1725

#1 – Mandarin Chinese Restaurant:

The favorite overall by a whopping six points, and voted the best by four! Some of the comments; "lightest and crispy-est…" "good crunch, but meat a little dry…." "definitely the best, the only one I wanted seconds of…." "nice and light batter".

Mandarin Chinese Restaurant
945-A Otay Lakes Rd
Chula Vista, CA 91913
(619) 656-8080

So there you have it folks! Surprised? I sure was……

The gang did a great job going from this:

To this:

It's amazing what you can learn while chomping on wings with one another. For instance, Candice makes a mean Cucumber granita and Mango Sorbet which helped to keep our palates fresh, I never knew Librarians can sing so well, and there were moves attributed to the movie Flashdance that I don't recall….or umm…maybe I don't want to recall????

My thanks to everyone who participated!

Oh yes, how did I see things?

#1 – Royal Mandarin

#2 – Mandarin Restaurant

#3 – A & D

#4 - Golden Chopsticks

#5 – Panda Palace

Let the debates begin!!!!

Everything Tastes Better in a Banh Mi, Right? Sunday Edition – Uni (Sea Urchin) and Egg Banh Mi

June 21, 2009 mmm-yoso Banh Mi, Cooking, Sandwiches, yoso-silly

If you've read my previous post, you'll recall my testing the limits of that phrase. I can't recall who told me that, but it has stuck in my head. This'll be a short post….'cause you know that you should be spending time with Dad on this Father's Day, not checking out some silly "Everything Tastes Better in a Banh Mi" post!

The Banh Mi itself looks fairly innocuous.

I became a big fan of Banh Mi Trung (Egg Banh Mi) during our visit to Vietnam….and I still crave it from time to time. While looking through the recipes in Izakaya: The Japanese Pub Cookbook, I came across a recipe for "Scrambled Eggs with Sea Urchin in Lobster Sauce". It really wasn't the recipe that hit me, but the photo. Along the side of the dish, was a baguette! In the sometimes strange way that my mind works, I thought this to be a great idea. I've had a wonderful "Oeufs Brouillés aux Oursins" (scrambled eggs with sea urchin), and even "Oeufs Brouilles Au Caviar D'Oursin" (scrambled eggs with caviar and sea urchin) a couple of times. Uni, egg, and Banh Mi sounded just wonderful. So why not?

My objective was to not "kill" the wonderful, unique, and delicate flavor of the Uni. I wanted everything to be in harmony, yet not boring. I guess you'd call it "fusion" without "con-fusion".

The bread I picked up from Paris Bakery.

In homage to the Vietnamese Banh Mi Trung, I added some Maggi to the eggs, because as we all know, "Maggi makes everything taste better"! And some sea salt.

For texture, and to balance out the richness, I used the ubiquitous Vietnamese pickled radish and carrots. In addition, instead of cilantro, I added some Kaiware (daikon sprouts). I think a touch of mayo might have been nice, but pate would have killed the sandwich.

There's not much more except for some photos:

Wow, this was "killer", I was amazed at how good this was. The pickles cut the richness, the sprouts added a bit of "spice" and bite, the Maggi added a nice "umami", and you could still taste the wonderful "soul of the ocean"! Not a cheap Banh Mi, but man was it good!

So no Kimchi and Peanut Butter Banh Mi this time around. But the saying still runs true; everything tastes better in a Banh Mi!