mmm-yoso – Page 166 – As in, yoso-silly, yoso-hungry, yoso-full, or best of all; mmm-delici-yoso!!!!! A San Diego based food and travel blog. An Ex-Pat Kama'aina and Friends explore food, restaurants, and travel from San Diego and points beyond.

The Latin Chef, Now in the Liberty Public Market

May 6, 2019 mmm-yoso Peruvian Restaurants

After eating at Steak n Fries in PB, instead of heading right over to Grand to get out of PB, I drove up Garnet. I was shocked to see that Latin Chef had closed. Yes, they had really slipped over the years, especially after the original chef left and headed back to Cusco. But the place had sentimental value to me. Much like Sultan had inspired us to travel to Turkey; Latin Chef got us to head to Peru. I'd always enjoyed Peruvian food; the ever changing amalgamation of the cuisines of those who set foot upon its shores. It seems that Peru embraces the dishes and aims to do it "right". And while places like Maido might not do everything to our taste; I appreciate the honest, sincere combination of Nikkei-Tusan-Amazonian tastes and textures. So yes, I was sad to see Latin Chef close; even though it seemed like the writing had been on the wall for a while.

I was just as shocked upon walking through the Liberty Public Market on our way to El Jardin a few days later to see a sign up for "The Latin Chef"! Could it be? Anyway, I waited until that weekend to check them out. Located where I believe Meze Greek Fusion used to be, Latin Chef has assumed the small kitchen and counter.

I sidled up to the counter; there are two tables also available, and was handed a menu by the nice woman working. She introduced herself as the Chef's wife. I was suddenly full of questions, but just asked one…..and she confirmed, Fredy was no longer associated with Latin Chef, she and her husband, a Nikkei from Peru were now in charge.

The menu was chock full of Peruvian standards, Lomo Saltado, Chaufa, Tallarin, and so forth.

Of course the first thing on my mind was some Cebiche Pescado; but I noticed they used Swai. In spite of the various concerns about Swai (I'd eat it before Escolar); I just find most preparations; perhaps fried is the best, turns out mushy. So; I went with the Leche de Tigre instead to see how the fish was prepared.

And as you can see; some Chicha Morada, which was decent…not too sweet, cinnamon tones. Loved the good amount of chanchita; the nutty-earthy tones really match well with the sour lime. The leche de tigre was super bracing and sour; it was lime heavy. I'd grown used to some balance with the addition of more savory and pungent components. And no, I didn't expect the "nuevo style" Leche de Tigre dishes we had in Lima during our last visit. The shrimp was cooked by the book, plainly boiled like for a typical shrimp cocktail and the fish, small pieces were kind of mushy and flaky.

I also got the Anticuchos Corazon, the classic grilled beef heart dish of Peru.

This was also done pretty much by-the-book, achiote-cumin-salt. Luckily they gave me a nice little container of aji rocoto, which added some nice zip. While I wasn't expecting, say anything on the level of Panchita's; this version was tad too tough…I'm used the toothsome-chewiness, which I find rather pleasant; but perhaps just slicing things a bit thinner like like the former Latin Chef and Nazca Grill used to do. it also could have done with more aji and some good acid.

Again, I was thankful for the aji rocoto as it added some nice zip to things.

So, with that under my belt, I decided to head back the next weekend.

And, of course I ordered the Lomo Saltado.

While this was better than what I last had at Pisco; it lacked enough acidity from tomatoes and pungency from onions and just had way too much potatoes. The sauce was bit oily and it edged on being too salty. The meat, was toothsome but not tough. The rice was fine; but this was nothing like the balance that Latin Chef had at its peak.

After being served; the chef came out to chat. His name is Tony Kaneshiro and he is a full blown Nikkei from Peru. We talked about the food; he hasn't been back to Peru in ages and goes for basic, straight forward Peruvian food. In a very interesting coincidence, he told me he used to cook at El Rocoto in the mid-90's, which would be about the time we used to go there often! Small world.

The Peruvian stylings at this version of Latin Chef is quite straight forward. I found it to be somewhat inconsistent but will check back in a few months to see. I'm happy to see the legacy of Latin Chef being carried on, by two really nice folks. I hope they do well.

The Latin Chef (In Liberty Public Market)
2820 Historic Decatur Rd.
San Diego, CA 92106
Hours:
Mon – Sat 11am – 8pm
Sunday 11am – 7pm

Seaside Pho & Grill

May 5, 2019 mmm-yoso Chicken Wings, Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants

**** Seaside Pho & Grill has closed

A few weeks back, I recently had to run down to Point Loma to pick a package up at the Post Office for the Missus. I thought it a bit strange that the info given on the slip in our mailbox was for the Point Loma location, not the usual Midway Station. And to make things worse, that Post Office is only open from 10 to 1230 on Saturdays! So, I headed down at 1030, found some parking and headed into the Post Office and stood in line. Only to find out that I was given the wrong location….it should have been the usual Midway Post Office! Sigh…..

Well, I decided to grab some lunch in the area before heading back up Rosecrans to the correct Post Office. I decided to check out a place that had been on my "list" for a while.

An acquaintance recommended Seaside Pho & Grill to me for a specific dish. More on this shortly.

I walked on over and easily found a table as the place was totally empty on a Saturday at 11am. The Server was a bit disorganized and kept calling me "honey"…..ok. The vibe is definitely fusion, gastro-pub/bar, very modern. Looking over the menu; well, there's all types of Asian noodles; everything from Pad Thai, Drunken Noodles, Ramen, to Pho.

My source had recommended that I try the "Garlic Noodles" with Shrimp, not cheap at $16.75. I had pictured something like Crustacean's Garlic Noodles or Momofuku's Scallion Noodles. This tended more toward Crustacean's….though more like a version you'd make when you had midnight munchies and robbed the fridge.

The typical noodles were mushy; the sauce was gloppy-gooey with hardly any flavor and definite greasiness to them. The shrimp were nicely cooked but really bland and lacking in "shrimpiness". I added all the parmesan cheese and was definitely tempted to dump Hoisin and Sriracha on this….but I held back.

For some reason; I decided to head back and try the pho. So I returned a few weeks later. In contrast to typical pho shops there are limited options. So, I got the "Beef Combo" ($10.75 – small bowl). But first, some Garlic – Butter Wings (6 pieces – $9.95).

The wings had a nice crunch and were moist and very hot. Not a fan of all the broken bones and discolored flesh. Also, the garlic was too raw and was on the bitter side; the "sauce" was bottled lemon juice with black pepper.

This could have been a winner…..but no cigar.

I got the "Beef Combo" (small – $10.75); rare steak, brisket, flank, and tendon.

As I had anticipated, not much in terms of basil and sprouts; but at least it was fresh. That lime was much needed since the broth was super salty and like most "San Diego style" pho, on the sweet side. It lacked beefy-anise tones that I usually appreciate in a good bowl. The noodles; while in the typical clump were prepped nicely. The rare beef wasn't too rare by the time it hit the table; but it was more tender than the usual lousy top round I get at most pho shops; the flank and brisket were fine, both were fairly tender. The two pieces of tendon were slightly chewy, but passable as well.

In the end; another newish, modern "pho to not offend" shop. Fairly pricey with small bowls of pho near, or over ten bucks and limited options. And no; I'm not going to get the ramen here. The service was kind of; well, distracted, even though I was the only customer in the place during both visits.

And yes, this place is right next to Shanghai Bun…..still not sure if I should check that place out. What do you think?

Seaside Pho & Grill
1005 Rosecrans St.
San Diego, CA 92106
Hours:
Mon – Thur 11am – 9pm
Fri – Sat 11am – 10pm
Sunday Noon – 9pm

Anchorage – New Sagaya’s City Market, Anchorage Market & Festival, and the International House of Hotdogs

May 3, 2019 mmm-yoso Alaska, Hot Dogs, Markets & Grocers, Travel

It's been almost a year since we visited Alaska; I'd better get these posts done!

I had a rather fitful night of sleep in Anchorage. I guess bars close at 4am; which by the way, is when the sun was rising during our visit. Folks got back to the hotel with much banging and noise…no it wasn't the ghosts. So, after a couple more hours of restlessness, we headed downstairs. The breakfast set-up looked rather dismal, so we just grabbed some coffee and headed out. Not sure where. Past schools and houses…I believe on A Street.

We then cut westward and somehow ended up at New Sagaya's City Market, where there is a location of Kaladi Brothers Coffee.

So while the Missus stood in the queue for our caffeine fix.

It was interesting walking those aisles. I was rather surprised to see some of items being sold; like Aloha Shoyu!

We sat and enjoyed our coffee. It was interesting; you could tell who the visitors were; we still felt a bit chilly in the 50 degree weather; while we saw folks in the market walking around in shorts!

After our fix, we headed back out. But not before giving this friendly fella' a nice head scratch.

New Sagaya City Market
900 W 13th Ave.
Anchorage, AK 99501

We walked back up I Street, through the large Delaney Park; an eleven block strip that used to be the airfield. It's a now a vast looking green belt.

We stopped to take a look at the Anchorage Veterans Memorial.

Soon enough we were back in downtown. We did a bit of window shopping; heading down 4th Avenue. We decided to head on over to the Anchorage Market & Festival, which takes place on weekends from 10am to 6pm from Mid-May to Mid-September.

Right at the turn to the head down to the market, is the start of the Iditarod, and this mural.

right down the stairs and across the parking lot was the Market and Festival.

There was of course entertainment…

Tons of shopping…..

Don't you want some "chimes to irritate your neighbors"?

And of course food.

And while we didn't find anything we especially felt like eating; this was a fun little stop for us.

Anchorage Market & Festival
225 E 3rd Ave.
Anchorage, AK 99501
Sat – Sun 10am – 6pm
Mid-May thru Mid September
From May 11th to September 8 for 2019

The Missus had wanted to check out the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail. So we headed west on 4th Avenue. I had a stop in mind for lunch. A place called IHOH – the International House of Hotdogs. Basically a trailer set-up right behind the very popular Snow City Café.

They were doing some pretty good business at 11am.

Having enjoyed reindeer in various forms over the last couple of years; I had wanted to try a Reindeer Dog; in this case the McKinley Dog, a Reindeer Polish Sausage. We also got an order of the Cilantro Fries.

For some reason the split sausage had been pretty much griddled to death and was on the tough side, The roll did a nice job and was nice and soft, and the griddled onions did quite well. The chipotle based sauce was a bit much, as reindeer, at least in my experience has a rather delicate flavor.

Loved the seasoning on the fries; but these "crinkle-cuts" were also fried too long, the interior of the fries were dry.

It was enough food for the Missus and I to share and the service was very friendly.

International House of Hot Dogs
415 L Street
Anchorage, AK 99501
Hours:
Tues – Sun 11am – 7pm

Now it was time for me to burn off all those fries……

Still Soup Weather! Mekong Cuisine Lao and Thai Revisited

May 1, 2019 mmm-yoso Lao Restaurants

**** You can find an updated post here

I'm a bit under the weather – so just a short post tonight.

Recently, while sitting at my PC wool-gathering; basically looking at photos from past trips, I opened my Luang Prabang folder and all the memories came flooding back. The sights and sounds of the Morning Fresh Market….the "River of Orange" as I call, more widely known as the "Saffron Circuit" as the monks collect their morning alms each morning.

Rain or shine…..

Which brought me back to one of our favorite places in Luang Prabang. We never knew the name of the place; it was simply a booth located at the end of the Fresh Market we called "Same-Same", because we'd stop by every morning and the woman running the place would look at us and ask "same-same"? Of course the answer was "yes". And we'd have our coffee and a bowl of Khao Piak, what I pretty much consider the Lao National Noodle Soup.

I'd forgotten how much I loved Luang Prabang……. And the recent cooler-rainy weather led me back to Mekong Cuisine Lao and Thai.

Not sure how things are going as I had the place pretty much to myself during my visit. The young man serving me was pretty serious and stoic; until I started talking to him about the food. He became more and more friendly as my lunch went on.

I hadn't had the Khao Piak (Khao Peak Sen on the menu), so I decided to try that.

In many versions; like this one, the tapioca starch isn't dusted from the noodles and thickens the simple broth. This creates a rather thick soup….this one was perhaps the thickest I'd had in a while, almost like a potage. It was super hot and the density of the broth meant that it stayed lip singing hot for the entire meal. The noodles had a nice chew to them. The flavoring of the broth was very simple; I'm used to having more cilantro and perhaps lemongrass notes; but this one was fine. As I had figured; the chicken, it was white meat was dry and tasteless. But let me tell you, because of the viscosity, this is pretty filling.

And of course I had to have the Sai Ua (Sai Ou on the menu) as during my previous visits, I thought this place made a good Lao Sausage. And yes, it did deliver.

Lovely, slightly sour porkiness, nice lemongrass – kaffir lime leaf – gingery tones, a hint of spice. The rice in the sausage gives it a wonderful texture and every time I've had this here, the sausage casing had been crisped up nicely. As I've before; that tamarind based sauce really isn't needed for this.

The young man said; "it's good, yes? We make our own sausage here." He seemed quite proud, rightfully so. Now, I gotta find other dishes on the menu, because man does not live on sausage alone, right? Hmmm……

Mekong Cuisine Lao and Thai
3904 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

Soup Weather in April! Revisits to Facing East and Woomiok (Yet Again)

April 29, 2019 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Korean Restaurants, Xiao Long Bao

Good lord, is it really almost May? We've sure been on a bit of a weather rollercoaster this year, eh? Anyway, this rainy-cooler weather means I can get more "soup fixes" and here's a couple.

Facing East:

Man, has it been nearly two years since my post on Facing East? Time sure does fly. Based on those three visits, I was surprised to see Facing East still alive and kicking a few weeks back while I drove up Convoy. They must be doing something right. It was probably time for a revisit. After all, I revisited Steamy Piggy, right?

Upon arrival, I was a bit shocked at how much the menu had changed. Gone were all those gimmicky Xiao Long Bao and in its place was Ramen (?), Nabeyaki (??). I mean I expected the Asian-fusion Baos and heck even teriyaki chicken and the legion of fried foods….but Drunken Noodle?

Well, this was going to be interesting indeed.

The young lady who was my Server was very nice, though again the food took a while to come out. Even though I was the only customer in the place.

While there was no way I'd be having ramen here; I thought the Duck Noodle Soup, which looked like a play on Niu Rou Mian would work out well for me.

There were six nice slices of roast duck, which had been torched. The duck was fairly tender and retained a nice sweetness and gaminess that had carried through being added to the broth. The standard issue noodle were over-cooked and on the mushy side for my taste. The broth was like what I'd had in the NRM on my previous visit, slightly spicy, lots of pepper, more greasy than rich, lacking in enough savory and anise tones for me. I really enjoyed the pickled vegetable, which helped to cut the greasiness, though the bok choy was mushy by the time the bowl hit the table. The portion size was quite generous.

So, while there was no more Foie Gras XLB, the Pork and Crab XLB was still on the menu.

On the positive side, while the tips of the wrapper was too hard, the wrapper as whole was better than what I'd had before. It had a bit of pull to is and nothing leaked. There was also a good amount of soup in the XLB. The meat however, was tough with rubbery bits in it and I couldn't make out any crab! I had three and took the remainder back to the office where I had folks try them out….both Calvin and "YZ" mentioned how tough the meatball was…..and both were surprised that there was supposed to be crab in this. It even lacked the normal sweet-porkiness I expect from a good XLB.

So there you go. A revisit. The menu has changed a bunch, but I still found the dishes to fall short…..

Facing East
4647 Convoy St Suite 101C
San Diego, CA 92111

Woomiok (Yet Again):

A few drops of rain and the Missus wants to head back to Woomiok. Though I should be happy that Woomiok has become a favorite of Hers.

On this visit, we noticed that there have been dishes added to the menu, though the Missus got Her usual Seolleontong. I went with the #7 which had Brisket, OxTail, Ox Knee, Cheek, and Shank.

The panchan has also been enhanced with the addition of japchae. Unfortunately, it's pretty weak in flavor. We noticed that folks on other tables didn't finish theirs as well. Though, to be perfectly honest, I think the baechu (napa cabbage) kimchi has been getting better on each visit.

As always, the Missus enjoyed the the kkakdugi and the squid panchan.

As for my version of Seolleontang, well, I thought it was quite large. Enjoyed the strips of egg and the king mushrooms.

The broth coated my tongue nicely, and with the perfect amount of salt and scallions added it was quite nice. The meats were fine; though I really missed the tendon. I'll be going back to the regular mixed meat next time. Also, we might tell them to just hold off on the thin noodles which always seem to be overcooked….we just like to add rice to the broth….it becomes like a comforting porridge of sorts.

So that's it….I promise; no more Woomiok posts for a while.

Woomiok
3860 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

Hope you had a great Monday!

Hong Kong BBQ & Dim Sum Revisited

April 28, 2019 mmm-yoso Chinese BBQ, Chinese Restaurants

A few days ago; in the comments of my Yummy House revisit post; "DerekR" asked me for some roast duck recommendations. I mentioned having had a decent roast duck from Hong Kong BBQ & Dim Sum a few months back (sorry; no post on that one; but here's one from a few years ago). A couple of days later, that question, and my recommendation was still on my mind. So, with some time for lunch; Calvin and "Big Daniel" and I decided to head on over to see how things were.

We ordered four dishes….one of which made me crack up…..

The first to arrive was the House Pan Fried Noodles. Man, the potion size was quite large.

The noodles and the gravy were fine….the noodles crisp and crunchy, slowly softening from the gooey gravy, which wasn't overly salty. The proteins were a mixed bag; typical low quality dry chicken and the fish, while decently velveted had that muddy flavor of low quality fresh water fish. The shrimp were quite tender and moist, but basically flavorless. Not terrible.

"YZ's" sources had told her that along with the roast duck, the roast pork here was good. So, we ordered that.

This was the best dish of the day; thin and crisp skin, tender fat, that wasn't waxy in texture, tender meat. Good seasoning, not too salty, pretty good overall. Maybe a tad better than the roast pork we last had at Golden City.

Next up was a second carb dish….Calvin saw Minced Beef Fried Rice on the menu and got it into his head it was Wadan Oyok Fan; Cantonese Minced Beef and Egg Rice….but, there was no false advertising here as what we got was Beef and Lettuce Fried Rice.

This was so bland, the beef tough, the rice hard……iceberg lettuce brought nothing……

And last, but not least, the Roast Duck.

This was not terrible, but definitely not as good as what I'd had a few months back. The skin was crisp, the fat rendered nicely, it was on edging to the salty side, and the meat was rather tough.

So, I guess I'll wait a couple more months and try again. If that doesn't work out, it's back to the drawing board.

Overall, large portions, good prices, perhaps a notch below Golden City.

Hong Kong BBQ & Dim Sum
10550 Camino Ruiz(Inside of Vinh Hung Market)
San Diego, CA 92126

Today’s Cheese Board and then Dinner

April 27, 2019 mmm-yoso Cheese, Cooking, yoso-silly

I've got a bit of a backlog of posts…..but have been kinda tired.

So, it's just a photo of today's cheese board.

Smoked duck breast and some Foie Gras Pate we picked up in Riquewihr, France. As for the cheeses? Well, right to left; Picco Affine Germain from France, Queso Leonora from Spain, Foxglove from Tulip Tree Creamery in Indiana, and the very popular Red Hawk from Cowgirl Creamery, potent and funky.

For dinner; cumin crusted skirt steak with harissa kale.

Hope you're having a great weekend! Be back tomorrow.

Reims – Reims Cathedral and Dinner at Restaurant L’Alambic

April 24, 2019 mmm-yoso Champagne Region, France, France, French Restaurants, Travel

The Missus and I mulled through several travel options during our last trip to France. As you might gather from our posts; I enjoy train travel in Europe and especially Japan. I find it low stress, minimal hassle (though trains in Europe aren't nearly as prompt as Japan), and basically a rather relaxing way to travel. The Missus shares the same thoughts….except….She gets really bored and really does not want to do more than 3 – 3 1/2 hours on a train. So, while doing some research for this trip; we had decided to just do France, I was rather surprised to find out that Reims, the Capital of Champagne was basically a 45 minute train ride from Paris! And so our plans started coming together…..

We arrived promptly at Gare de Reims and walked….it was a lot shorter than it looked on my map to our hotel; the Ibis Styles.

Our room was ready when we arrived; so we dropped our bags off and decided to explore a bit. Reims was very laid back in comparison to Paris. And the walk to the rather grand Reims Cathedral is a straight shot down Rue Libergier.

It was mid-November and we could see all the booths being set-up for the upcoming Christmas Market as we approached the Cathedral.

The Cathedral itself is very impressive; built in the Gothic style.

And from the time the first stone was laid in 1211; it has had quite a history; Clovis I, who united the Franks, was baptized at Reims Cathedral in 496. From 1027 to 1825, a total of 30 Kings of France were coronated at Reims Cathedral!

Being such an important symbol made the cathedral a major target during World War I where it sustained major damage. Several of the 13th century stained glass windows were saved however, as glass makers removed the stained glass piece by piece and stored them. And many of those destroyed were replaced by works of Marc Chagall.

There's a lot to see here; in fact we'd return one more time before leaving Reims.

That's the Chapelle du Rosaire (Chapel of the Rosary) above.

On this visit; I was fascinated by first this statue…..

And then this one outside the Cathedral.

Yes, it's Joan of Arc (Jeanne d'Arc). So what's the story of Joan of Arc and Reims Cathedral? Well, in 1415 Henry V and his English Army defeated the French at the Battle of Agincourt and Northern France fell into the hands of the English. In January of 1429, a 17 year old girl from Domrémy who saw visions and received divine orders to liberate the French. Joan of Arc. She managed to convince Charles VII of her divine mission and over the course of 5 months the French fought it's way to Reims. After Reims decided to ally itself with Charles VII and Charles was crowned in the Cathedral where 16 kings were coronated before him; sealing his claim as the rightful King.

And the rest, like they say….is history.

We walked out of the Cathedral and down Cours Jean-Baptiste Langlet. We needed to buy some gift for folks and I knew just the thing. Biscuit Roses de Reims is the classic snack of Reims, in fact it is said that the origin of the word "biscuit" ("bis-cuit" – "twice cooked") originated here. And the classic place to get these are at Fossier.

Which is what we did.

Maison Fossier
25 Cours Jean-Baptiste Langlet
51100 Reims, France

From here we explored a bit more.

And then headed back to the hotel to relax a bit before dinner.

I had made dinner reservations at a place a few blocks away named L'Alambic, a place that serves regional cuisine and booked a table in the "caveau" (the cellar)downstairs.

The customers were a combination of locals and visitors. A group of Spanish ladies in a nearby table were having a great time. The atmosphere seemed celebratory and festive….and this was Champagne, so of course we had our Server recommend and get us a bottle of bubbly.

We started with two appetizers; the escargot….in trendy "foam" was fine.

Decent richness and pungency, with a touch of decent acidity. The snails were a bit tough though and nothing like our favorites in Burgundy. This was not bad though.

The Portefeuille de Magret de Canard au Foie Gras, in spite of the temperature being a bit too cold for our tastes was quite good.

The rich, smooth foie gras, folded into a duck breast. I could have used a tad more sweetness to balance out the richness, but the duck, in spite of looks was pleasantly toothsome, and the dressing had the requisite acidity.

The Missus ordered the Filet d'Agneau, a filet of lamb.

Man, that lamb was wonderfully gamey and it went so well with the romarin gastrique; rosemary sauce, not too much rosemary, just enough red wine in the sauce. The herb topping had just enough pungency and chlorophyllic flavors to balance things out. The potatoes were wonderfully flavored, but the tops were a bit too hard for us. The vegetables were so delicious.

And, for some reason, it's the wonderful veggies I remember the most about my Pave de Cerf, basically venison. I believe a cut from the rear thigh.

Very tender, pleasantly gamey; the sweetness balanced things out nicely. But those seasonal vegetables….man, it was good!

Overall a nice meal. The service was warm and friendly.

L'Alambic
63 B rue de Chativesle
51100, Reims, France

After dinner we took a nice walk around the quiet streets of Reims. It drizzled a bit; which just added to the atmosphere.

It was a nice change of pace from Paris.

Thanks for stopping by!

Yummy House Revisited

April 23, 2019 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants

After my fiasco of a visit to Yummy House (no hot tea, no tendon hot pot, no ong choi, no rice!!!!), I decided to give the place a "rest". I mean, really, the signature Peking Duck really didn't impress me very much. And while the kitchen seemed a total fail during that last visit, the folks working front of house, tried their best, and it really wasn't their fault. So, six months down the line, as we hit another streak of cooler weather, I decided to revisit…..solo of course….just in case of another total fail.

The gentleman working didn't understand much English but was very nice….the current menu is a copy of a take-out menu in a plastic cover….with a good amount of writing on it.

I decided to just order what were my two favorite dishes from my previous visits.

Starting with the Suan Cai Yang Rou. Of course, the Missus would enjoy the left-overs, with our own suan cai; both the fermented cabbage and juice added.

This was not bad; the suan cai was on the mild side and there wasn't a bracing fermented savory-sourness; but I'm thinking that folks might not enjoy that as much as we do. The lamb was decently tender and really added a nice gaminess to the soup that worked real well. The sour cuts the barnyard, while adding it's own layer of cheesy-sourness to the whole thing.

I was interested to see how the Beef Tendon Stew; what I thought was the best item I'd had at Yummy House would fare this time around….and yes, they actually had it.

This was much thicker than what I'd had before; but it was really good. Great acidity from the tomatoes, the beefiness from the meat came through nicely. Well seasoned, with a mild touch of spice. My only complaint was that the larger chunks of tendon were too hard. Rich and hearty and even better than what I'd had before.

Of course there were leftovers. The Missus enjoyed the doctored up suan cai yang rou and the stew. When I showed Her the photos of the menu, She looked at the Chinese name of the place, took in what I knew about the cooks, and made a recommendation. Calvin had been wondering about the tendon stew since our last, terrible visit when they were out of everything. So, one day, when our lunch hours were synchronized we headed on over.

We did have the same two dishes from the previous visit. This time there was less tomato in the tendon stew, but the chunks of tendon was much more tender.

We also ordered the Green Beans; which were a tad over-cooked.

It was also on the oily side, but unlike the previous version of this I had, was seasoned nicely.

And then the dish the Missus told me to order; something we'd had at banquets in China, "Four Joy Meatballs"….the Northern version of Lion's Head. The Missus told me to make sure there were four…….and there was.

These were surprisingly good, a nice porkiness, with a hint of five spice. The meatballs were moist, with obviously a good amount of filler; which, in this case, helped the cause making the meatball tender and very moist. The brown sauce wasn't too salty and had just enough ginger to help cleanse the palate of the richness of the meatball.

Funny thing; in spite of the number four being bad luck (four in Chinese sounds like the word for "death" – which is why we'd never catch Yellow Cab – 619-444-4444!); but in this case it symbolizes the four joys of life. The round meatball symbolizes a "gathering"…..so basically the gatherings where the four periods in life are celebrated.

So, here's the thing, we enjoyed our meal, but if you want to check this place out you may want to do so soon. It may be because I visited during lunch, but during both meals, there were no other customers in the place.

Yummy House
4633 Convoy St.
San Diego, CA 92111

Nhà Hàng Chay Hoa Từ Bi Tâm

April 22, 2019 mmm-yoso Vegetarian and Vegan Restaurants, Vietnamese Restaurants

**** Nhà Hàng Chay Hoa Từ Bi Tâm is now Thanh Tinh Chay

A few months ago, I drove past the latest incarnation of a restaurant at 4591 El Cajon Boulevard…..and did a double take. It looked like yet another restaurant has taken the space; the last three, including a location of Saigon Sandwiches moved in and out so fast I never got a chance to check them out. What got my attention was the "Organic – Veggie" lettering on the sign.

I really wasn't too keen on checking this place out but "FOYs" (friends of yoso) Elle and Phuong both mentioned this place in the comments section of my Banh Mi Boulevard post. So why not? The following weekend, I drove over. Hoa Từ Bi Tâm opens at 8am, so I decided to head over for breakfast.

They've really "greened out" the place and one thing clued me in…..that this was a real "vegetarian" place; there's a bit of Buddhist literature around. This ain't no hipster – tree hugger joint. there's even floor seating available; just don't ask me to do that, I've gone though my lack of flexibility, which has turned into a bit of a phobia over the years. Well, here you can sit on the floor if you want to.

Another interesting thing…..just about everything on the menu (the Banh Xeo is $6) is five bucks!

I decided to start with the Banh Beo, something I hadn't had in a while.

The tapioca – rice cake was way too soft and was ungainly…it also strangely lacked the mild hint of sweetness. While there was a good amount of toppings; it was quite bland and sorely in need of a more savory component. The faux nuoc mam cham was super sweet and amplified the need for something savory in this dish.

In looking over the list of noodle soups; two were quickly eliminated; Bun Mam is only served on Thursdays and frankly, since that soup is a major umami bomb, I'm not sure how things would manage to hold up without seafood or meat, and the version of Bun Rieu which might have been a possibility, was only served on Tuesdays. I chose something that I thought would do well in a vegetarian format; Bun Mang; dried bamboo soup.

The highlights of this soup were the noodles; while the portion was rather small, was prepped perfectly, it shows that they really take care with what is being served. The rehydrated bamboo shoots had a nice crunch and earthy flavor. Unfortunately, not enough of that flavor was given to the broth what was surprisingly salty and on the "sweet" side. The bean curd items were standard issue….and I'm not a big fan of some wheat gluten products; which has a weirdly chalky-"off" meat flavor to me. And those items; especially the faux cha lua tasted that way.

Still; this wasn't terrible and I decided to return this past weekend to try a few other items.

I started with the Bo Bia; Jicama Spring Rolls.

I think these had been sitting a while for a couple of reasons; unlike my previous visit, where things took a while to hit the table, this came out in five minutes. In addition, the wrapper was dried out and really chewy. Third, in addition to the crunch of Jicama, I usually detect a pleasant light sweetness, which was missing here. The dipping sauce; which tasted peanut based was actually quite good; it held up well, and was nice and thick, coating things well.

Not quite knowing what to order in terms of noodle soup, I went with the Hu Tieu.

Which turned out to be a good choice. The broth, while still edging on being too salty, was fine. Because it was on the milder side, I could really make out the flavors; the lightly sweet cauliflower, the vegetal broccoli, the sliced king mushrooms, earthy and meaty. The bean curd items were fine, though I'm still not a fan of the wheat gluten stuff here. The noodles were cooked perfectly this time as well. I also enjoyed a squeeze of lime to tame the sodium and the addition of crunchy bean sprouts. This was not bad at all…..especially for five bucks!

The folks here are really nice. I noticed that all customers were a bit older; except for one table where a very unhappy young lady sat with her smartphone not eating anything while the two older women with her had noodle soup. I'm glad I tried the place; it looks like they already have a decent customer base and are trying to put out a good product. I hope they do well. I just may return one day for another breakfast…

Hey, maybe if they have one of the those "ear cleaning guys" like at Wenshu Temple? Just kidding….once in my life is enough!

Nhà Hàng Chay Hoa Từ Bi Tâm
4591 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA 92115
Hours:
Thurs – Tues 8am – 8pm
Closed on Wednesday

Thanks for the recommendation Elle and Phuong!