mmm-yoso – Page 173 – 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.

Point Loma Fish Shop

January 23, 2019 Cathy Seafood, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!, a food blog. Cathy is writing today while Kirk is researching something to write about.

The Mister and I wanted to go to Point Loma Seafoods, but the line to the parking area was backed out onto the street. We started driving around and saw what had opened in the old Charlie's Best Bread (Point Loma location) on the corner of Rosecrans at Cañon, just across the street from Harbor Town Pub. An open air dining concept, the space is quite large.
Walk up, order, pay, find a seat and your food is brought out to you. That's the whole menu.
There's a small bar area next to the cash register. Behind it is the 'Dog Friendly' area-bar height seating and essentially opposite from the low tables.
Since this was a first visit, we decided to try some 'basics', like the clam chowder (cup, $5). WOW. This was so rich; tasting of cream and butter and clams. If you've ever had She Crab Soup (and we have, many times, when living in Virginia), the bisque-like texture and and mouthfeel is the same…just no sherry (or crab).
The menu style is "1. Pick a fish, 2. Pick a marinade, 3. Pick a style". So, this was albacore with lemon butter as a salad ($12). Another WOW. The fish was rare-seared, moist, flavorful. The mixed greens salad had pickled onions and capers as well as cucumber and cherry tomatoes. We chose the house made ranch dressing, figuring it would be a 'neutral' flavor.
There were several ads for the 'Fish Shop Seasoning' on the tables and ordering area. We were curious about the description of 'a little sweet with a mild spice' and ordered the jumbo shrimp only-grilled with this seasoning ($11). There were seven shrimp which were plump and juicy-perfectly cooked. The seasoning was a Cajun dry rub-you can taste the smoky first, notice the sticky (brown sugar) and still can get the briny sweetness of good quality shrimp along with a nice spice end note. These were pretty much perfect. The house made side sauce (chipotle aioli) was complimentary and went with the shrimp. (I tried some bites of shrimp with the Ranch dressing, but it didn't 'go' with the other flavors).
We also decided to try something fried and this small side of onion rings ($3) was our order. I think you might be able to tell these were perfectly battered and fried to a good crunch. The thick slices of sweet onion were crisp/fresh.

As always, I researched after going home and having the meal. There's a sister location. The Pacific Beach Fish Shop has been on Garnet since 2010; I remember seeing it when working for the Registrar of Voters for the two Special Elections but never remembered to go back. cc was here, in 2014 (Happy Birthday, Bert!) Kirbie was at PB Fish Shop in 2014, too! Oh So Yummy was here in 2017. The Point Loma Fish Shop location opened about a year ago. Mary was here in March. We will be back; there's parking, fair prices and the food so far has been great.

Point Loma Fish Shop 1110 Rosecrans Street #100 San Diego, CA 92106 (619)794-2449 Website Open daily 11-9

Al Pastor Authentic Mexican Grill (Chula Vista)

January 22, 2019 Cathy Breakfast/Brunch, Mexican Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

The name has changed (Aqui Es Texcoco), the ownership is the same. Still great food.

mmm-yoso!!! is the blog name. Bloggers are (usually) Kirk and (today) Cathy. Posts are random: locations, type of food, liked or not. Today: Chula Vista, Mexican, liked.

I had heard of it: Kirk posted last June and again in October. It's owned by the same person who owns Aqui es Texcoco (where I've gone for breakfast). In late December, cc and I had a little 'food crawl', stopping here.

The clean 'Mexico City' decor has televisions scattered throughout and it's not busy in the early morning. The Mister and I returned a week later. This post shows both visits and breakfasts ordered.

The first menu page (top, far left) is 'breakfasts', but both menus are served all day.

We ordered a Chicharron de Queso ($6.50). Simple grilled, rolled cheese along with simple guacamole. Excellent.
Al pastor ($2.50), costilla (rib meat)($2.75) and chuleta ahumada (smoked pork chop)($2.65) tacos. We liked the al pastor best; the spit grilled, pork based, chili/spice marinated, pineapple topped meat was moist, flavorful and satisfying. The costilla was good, basic quality meat, needing some of the tabletop condiments at some point. The smokiness of the chuleta was nice, but pretty much smoked ham (which I love, but this, too, needed some hot sauce to taste 'finished').
After having Alambres at Tako Factory, The Mister and I were curious to see what this version was like. We were able to choose two meats, so thought the bistek along with the smoked pork chop (The Mister loves smoked meats) would be good ($9.75) and we did add cheese ($1.25) just because. Well, the freshness of the tortillas, meats, bacon, grilled onion and peppers along with the creamy cheese was just about perfect. I can see why Kirk's Missus likes it here.
A mollete is a a fresh, split, toasted bollilo topped with beans and cheese ($3.75). You can add chorizo for $1 and we did (on both visits, choosing the milder green chorizo)(description of green chorizo is on this link-scroll down to Mexican Chorizo) (basically, tomatillo, chiles, cilantro and garlic). I remembered fondly having a mollete at Tropifruit, in 2014 and the version here is great.

All in all, a new favorite spot in Chula Vista for a quality Mexican breakfast, lunch and late night dinner.

Al Pastor Mexican Grill 520 Broadway Chula Vista 91910 Website Open Sun-Thurs 8 a.m.- 1 a.m., Fri-Sat 8 a.m.-2 a.m.

Grecian Cafe (Spring Valley)

January 21, 2019 Cathy Greek Food, What Cathy Eats!

Thanks for stopping to read mmm-yoso!!!, a blog about food. Kirk, who is usually here writing, is out of the state and Cathy is sharing a short post.

For more than 20 years, this corner storefront (it shares parking with Round Table Pizza and is across the street from Rana's, a block East and kitty corner from Butler's Coffee House and one block West of Fruity Loco) has been a mainstay in Spring Valley.
Walk in, there's a menu over the cash register where you order and pay.
Find a seat and everything is brought to you. This is a 'Mom and Pop' run place and sometimes they are very busy.
The Mister and I each wanted a salad (instead of soup) with our orders and these large plates were brought out. Standard toppings, house made dressing; the Feta was was Greek (sharp, salty, firm)(I've been buying Bulgarian or Albanian Feta lately-milder and creamy), which I haven't had in a while and the saltiness was just right (I didn't have to add any tabletop condiments).
Gyros pita (I ordered the Combo #1-Gyro with salad and drink ($9.49)). The pita is so soft, fresh, warmed on the grill. The gyros is plentiful and with the tomato, onion and (house made) tzatziki, has great flavor in every bite.
If you've paid attention to some of my posts, you might have noticed The Mister orders moussaka when he sees it on the menu. The eggplant based dish has variations in its preparation. The entree ($11.99) comes with sliced pita and some very flavorful, fluffy rice in addition to the salad (or soup)
The version at Grecian Cafe has a tomato sauce on top of bechamel along with ground beef, eggplant and soft sliced baked potato on the bottom. The flavorful red sauce (I could taste cinnamon) was complimentary to everything else in the towering casserole. This is a wonderful version of this Greek classic recipe.

It's always good to visit established restaurants.

Grecian Cafe 9676 Campo Road (at Conrad) Spring Valley 91977 (619)464-0385 Mon-Sat 11 a.m.-9 p.m., Sun 1 p.m.-8 p.m.

Boll Weevil (Lakeside)

January 20, 2019 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Burgers, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!!, a blog about food. Kirk is taking a break and gathering intel for future posts. Cathy is writing.

Back when Kirk, Ed (from Yuma) and I were writing "Burger Week" posts, Kirk wrote about Boll Weevil in 2006, and I wrote about it in 2010 along with another 2010 post. Since then, a Boll Weevil opened (and subsequently closed) only two miles from home. We went there regularly, yet I never posted about it. Now, the closest Boll Weevil is about six miles away, in Lakeside.

This location, approximately a mile from the Lakeside Rodeo grounds, is appropriately themed. It's very large inside and has various areas where parties can be held.

The Mister and I tend to order the same thing on each visit. This is unusual for us because at other places, we like to order different things and share. When we go to Boll Weevil, it is for this:
1/2 pound Steerburgers, medium rare, no cheese ($8.69). This is a very satisfying meal when using the (photo at bottom) tabletop condiments.
A 'complete' burger sort of looks like this, before the soft, toasted bun is smashed so as to be able to fit into my mouth.
The Mister got all wild and crazy on the last visit and ordered a Buffalo Chicken Salad ($10.99) with Bleu Cheese dressing. The nuggets of chicken are lightly floured, fried and tossed in a nice Buffalo sauce. The lettuce, crispy, provides a nice cooling effect along with the chunks of bleu cheese in between bites. The Texas toast, slathered in garlic butter, is a nice accompaniment. On that visit, I ordered a half pound steer burger, medium rare. It's what I do.
One day, there was a tabletop special of a double cheeseburger with fries ($10.49). It was two 1/4 pound patties, so sort of the same as our 'usual' order but with cheese. Different for us, anyhow. It was good.
There are plenty of sides to choose from here, but the Frings (fries and rings) ($4.49) are a fallback order when we are hungry.

There are only five locations of (the 1966 founded, originally named Cotton Patch) Boll Weevil. Still a good, unpretentious burger.

Boll Weevil 9741 Wintergardens Road Lakeside, CA 92040 (619) 334-1718

Chopstix Too (one more time)

January 19, 2019 Cathy Japanese Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

Thank you for stopping by to read mmm-yoso!!! Kirk is taking a short break and Cathy is writing several short posts.

Kirk and I first wrote about Chopstix Too on the same post in 2006. I wrote some follow up posts: 2008, 2018 and probably other times. (Vicky wrote a post in 2009). Fast, casual, fresh, Japanese.

It's been raining for the past few days and I have more than several bowls of soup to show you, but last week, we changed it up.

Here is photographic proof that it does rain in Southern California.
We arrived before noon and the tables were not filled (they were by the time we left).
The Mister chose the plate of Ika Katsu with Mabo ($9.45). You may not think this is a big deal, but if you peruse my previous posts, each one of those shows a bowl of Mabo Ramen; this was the first time ever when it was not ordered. The Mabo sauce was great; it goes with rice, too! The fry on the squid was light, crispy, not oily-very tender squid. The miso was well made. The crisp salad was refreshing; we've only been eating cooked (in soups and stews) vegetables the past few weeks.
I chose the seafood yaki udon (instead of soba) ($9.95). Mussels, squid, shrimp, fresh vegetables (broccoli, cabbage, carrot, bean sprouts, green onion) and the fat udon noodles, stir fried was just comforting, texture and flavor filled bites throughout the whole plate.

The rain should be over by today, but we need some sunshine (and heat)-so much needs to dry to get the chill gone. It's still soup weather, though. Future posts.

Chopstix Too 4380 Kearny Mesa Road San Diego 92111 (858) 565-1288 open Sun-Thurs 11 a.m. until 9 p.m., until 9:30 p.m. on Fri-Sat website

Bun Mam from Nhu Y

January 17, 2019 mmm-yoso Vietnamese Restaurants

The recent cold and wet weather had me craving some Bun Mam. And for me….at least so far; the only place for that in San Diego is Nhu Y.

In a post of my last visit to Nhu Y, I documented the changes in the Bun Mam over the years. So, I was wondering; a year and a half later, what would the Bun Mam be like?

Because of the rain; there was parking to be had in the lot, since it was too wet for all the old timers to be hanging out in front of the restaurant.

The menu now is a lot, well up to date, though the tables are still on the sticky side. I had to actually look to find the "dac biet" page and the Bun Mam, which was a whopping $6.95 in 2006, was now $10.99.

Things started well…..

And stayed the course. Pretty much the same as the last time; perhaps with a stronger funky-fermented flavor and less sweet and spicy.

The broth still has that reddish-murky color, with swirls of mysterious and tasty goodness. I still remember the time that I went to Nijiya after eating this and the young guy standing next to me started sniffing the air and actually took whiffs of his armpits! Or that Sammy used to follow me around the house after I'd get home from having a bowl. The bun had a perfect stretchy goodness. The fish wasn't muddy tasting this time around; though the eggplant was under-cooked. The shrimp was nothing to write home about….and then there that nice and spicy stuffed pepper and the pork belly.

All-in-all a satisfying meal. Just what I wanted on a cold and damp day.

Nhu Y Restaurant
4712 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA 92115

If you're curious about Bun Mam thru the years, you can check out my previous post on Nhu Y.

Modena – Osteria Francescana

January 15, 2019 mmm-yoso Emilia-Romagna, Italy, Fine Dining, Italian Restaurants, Italy, Memorable Meals, Travel

You could say that even though I as surrounded by great works of art at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam I was distracted. You see, while we had planned on visiting Florence, I had really wanted to check out Emilia-Romagna. And so we made plans; but one of the key elements to this was trying to get reservations to the restaurant proclaimed to be "the Best Restaurant in the World", Osteria Francescana, which in fact has now won that title more than once. So there I was, on my smartphone, surrounded by the works of Van Gogh, on the first day on the month at 10am trying to get reservations. I managed to get us dinner reservations; not on the exact day I desired, but a day later. It kind of messed up my planning a bit, which turned out to be a blessing since I tweaked my plans to include Ferrara for a night which we really enjoyed.

And so, after having already had an enjoyable time in Modena, we headed off to dinner at Osteria Francescana.

Things start off when you walk up to the colorful, but discreet doorway to the restaurant….and ring the doorbell?

And are greeted by….a Security Guard? Actually a fake security guard, a life-sized, and quite real looking statue.

Let me just say; the service was flawless, just the right balance of professional, yet amiable, there's nothing stuffy about the place. Dishes were brought out perfectly timed, yet you felt relaxed. The wine pairing we had with our tasting menu was excellent according to the Missus; yet only one of them was from Italy.

There's also something I like about the austere, yet tasteful dining room; well spaced, lighting sets a good mood. Yes, you can tell, Osteria Francescana has three Michelin Stars.

The bread was interesting as it had a really nice texture, but was quite plain in flavor.

Ah, this was really traditional bread, no salt added, which went nicely with the olive oil.

Soon after; the dishes started arriving.

Starting with the Aula in carpione, "re-imagined fish and chips" (above). A crisp enrobes a small fish topped with a fish flavored ice cream. Nice umami tones; for some reason this really reminded me of the flavor of various Japanese snacks…..so perhaps that's why we weren't really blown away by the flavors.

Next up were the Cuttlefish and Caper puff topped with a very tasty tomato powder.

The macarons were really mild in flavor and seemed to be a case of perhaps getting a bit too out there. The parmesan crisp added a much needed milky-saltiness to things.

Talking about reminding me of Japanese drinking snacks; the "Sardine that is not a Sardine", eel cream inside a fish skin bread, really tasted like Japanese fried fish skin snacks.

Which kind of made us crack up.

The "Tribute to Normandy" was an interesting play on a place and a theme. There's an interesting, yet clean and refreshing flavor to this "oyster" which is topped with a nice apple granita. The texture is interesting as well. According to the story, Massimo Bottura first had an oyster when he was a teenager in Normandy. Along with the oysters, he had lamb and cider. So this is a dish that celebrates that time; the granita is apple (cider), the foam, which was a bit too salty, is oyster water, and the oyster…is not an oyster, but lamb tartare.

Next up was an interesting dish….I mean literally, the plate looked charred as did the "paper" that topped the sole prepared three ways.

The edible "paper" was made out of dehydrated sea water, then scortched…it made for a dramatic affect and the fish was perfectly cooked, but the dish proved to be much too salty for us.

One of Massimo's signature dishes; "An Eel Swimming up the River Po".

I can sum up the flavor of the Eel in one word; "anago"….it tasted totally like anago. I did enjoy the polenta cream flavored with onion, but the apple jam really clashed with the sweetness of the eel.

"Green over Brown, over Black: camouflage rice". Basically three risottos in one, a porcini (brown), vegetable (green), and oyster (black).

We fond the risotto to be too hard for us and though on occasion you'd get a nice bite of all three working in harmony, it was just a bit too much going on.

"From Cervia to Modena – Leeks, Shallots, and Black Truffle".

Wonderful combination of pungent-sweet and earthy flavors. Great "nose" on this dish as well.

The "Crunchy Part of the Lasagne".

Think of it as a fried noodle cracker on top of Ragu Bolognese, which nice a velvety.

"Suckling Pig, Tender and Crunchy".

Like the sauce stenciled piggies? The pork was fabulous; skin perfect, meat tender, nicely seasoned. The sauces ruined the wonderful pure taste of the swine. Bad thing was; you get three pieces, so don't make too many mistakes with sauces!

About this time, the Chef came out to chat and take a zillion selfies with customers. He is quite energetic, friendly, and really knows how to work the house.

Much like our experience at Azurmendi, we were kind of at a loss when the chef came to our table…….so we chatted about, well, what else…food! I mentioned how amazed we were at the Emilia-Romagna's bounty, it was more then we expected. When Massimo asked me what I was most impressed with….I'm sure he expected something like Balsamico, Prosciutto, or Parmesano-Reggiano. So when I said that culatello had been a revelation to me; he smiled widely, patted me on the shoulder, and said something to one of the Servers. He walked into the kitchen and brought this out to the table himself.

"It is our own Culatello…aged 46 months" he said. He smiled tapped me on the shoulder and said, "enjoy"…… Man, it looked really lean, but it had such a deep, cheesy-porky flavor, and just melted in my mouth that I almost uttered a profanity. So, I now have a story…… the cranky old man can now say, "did you hear the one about when Massimo Bottura served me salumi?"

I have an even better one. "Did I tell you about the time we spent a grand for dinner and the best bite I had was a salad?" Yes indeedy. This is called the "Caesar Salad in Bloom". It is amazing layer of various crunchy textures, flavored powders, various herbs and edible flowers, mounted on a leaf of lettuce.

It is to be eaten in two wonderful bites….I have a thing about textures; this was a symphony of varying degrees of crunchiness, along with bitter-sweet-sour-pungent…. We were amazed at the complex mélange of tastes on a singe leaf of lettuce. By far our favorite item of the evening. (of course for me it was the culatello….but that wasn't on the menu).

Did I mention that Osteria Francescana serves "popcorn" for dessert?

And of course more dessert for the Missus.

So, was it worth almost a thousand bucks for dinner? I often say that at this level it can sometimes be more about the experience. The presentation are like works of art; there is playfulness, transformation, and creativity. Whether that makes for an amazing meal is truly a personal opinion. The service was among the best we've had. The personal touch was amazing. So, while I don't think we'd do this again; I'm glad we did.

Do you really need the address of Osteria Francescana? Ok, here it is….. And no; I haven't seen "A Chef's Table"….

Osteria Francescana
Via Stella 22
41121, Modena, Italy

And yes; Modena is stunning at night……

Machu Picchu Bar and Restaurant

January 14, 2019 mmm-yoso Peruvian Restaurants, Seafood

**** Machu Picchu Bar and Restaurant has closed

A few months ago, one of my coworkers mentioned a Peruvian place he and his wife loved. They are, like me, big fans of Peruvian food. I was surprised at the recommendation. It was a place in the Gaslamp, named after one of the places I'll never forget; Machu Picchu. He highly recommended the Pescado alo Macho; so I headed on down soon after.

The restaurant is located on 5th Avenue, next to Rockin' Baja Lobster. The interior is quite wide open and really looks like a sports bar with an additional dining area upstairs.

This being 1130 on a Sunday, the place was totally empty. The person tending the bar told me choose any table and I had a seat. A menu was provided and I started with a Chicha Morada; which wasn't overly sweet, though the cinnamon-clove flavor was also slightly muted. It was fine though.

In a short while my pretty generous plate arrived. The gentleman told me to be careful of the Aji sauce….which he pronounced Ah-Gee, rather than the correct Ah-hee…oh well.

The dish as a whole wasn't too bad at all. The fish, sea bass, was fried nicely, light and crisp, moist flesh with no off flavors.

Machu Picchu Rest 04 The rest of the seafood was a mixed bag; the calamari rings were tough and rubbery and the mussels overcooked. The shrimp edged on being dry and overcooked as well. The sauce was very thin; but quite spicy….it definitely was "macho".

I prefer my sauce for pescado alo macho with a combination of aji Amarillo and aji rocoto; this one was quite one-dimensional and could have used perhaps a bit more tanginess from tomato and some pungent-savory flavors. It wasn't too salty though.

And while the rice was on the dry side and the "salad" was quite simple….looking at it I was thinking some sarza criolla would be a nice pungent, slightly spicy way of helping things along….even though that sauce…and the Aji was quite spicy, it would help to refresh. But it was just a salad with a simple dressing.

Still, the fish was the star, and was not bad at all.

So, a little over a week ago, when I took the trolley and visited the Little Italy Mercato and the Tuna Harbor Dockside Market, I decided to head on over to Machu Picchu. This time, the young man working was obviously Peruvian. Again the place was empty, except for two couples at the bar having mimosas.

This time, I started with the Causa Limena which was huge.

The sauce again had a good amount of spice. It was a bit too cold, the potatoes were on the mealy side. I like the potatoes in my causa to be moist and slightly creamy, this more mealy. The chicken filling had enough celery, but way too much mayonnaise for my taste. Lots of chicken though. Not my favorite version…..though it was quite hefty.

I couldn't help but order the cebiche pescado. The fish again was decent quality, but it had been in the citrus a bit too long and was starting to get mushy. The marinating liquid, the leche de tigre ("tiger's milk") was too thin and was much too sour. I prefer a bit more balance in my leche de tigre, a bit of oceany fish stock, pungent onion, cilantro, you get it. The sauce was again spicy Aji Rocoto based. I asked the young man if this was just Aji Rocoto; or if they snuck in some Aji Limo as well. He told me it was just Aji Rocoto. I wished for a bit more Canchita, but I really wouldn't have enjoyed eating it my favorite way….with a spoon of leche de tigre.

The camote was mushy and lacked the sweet and sometimes cinnamony tones of those in Peru. And corn on the cob replaced the wonderful large kernel "choclo", Peruvian corn.

Not a terrible version of cebiche pescado, but lacking in some of the details that make this dish one of our favorites.

Service was a bit slow, but friendly. The portions are quite generous but with typical Gaslamp prices.

Machu Picchu Bar & Restaurant
314 5th Ave
San Diego, CA 92101
Hours:
Sun – Thurs 11am – 10pm
Fri – Sat 11am – 11pm

After that lunch, it was easy getting on the Green Line back to pick my car up. Perhaps I need to check out other places in the area when my car in in for service.

Thanks for reading!

More Ramen Ruminations – Revisits to Karami Ramen and Ramen Ryoma (Clairemont Mesa)

January 13, 2019 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants, Ramen

Two ramen places I promised to return to. The Missus calls me "boring"; I call it consistency….but, on these visits, I decided to have something I hadn't ordered before.

Karami Ramen:

I'd heard that the menu had changed up a bit since I first visited in August. In fact, "Som Tommy" recommended the Curry-Shoyu Ramen……which I would probably never order on my own. I recalled the curry being okay…so on a pretty cold day (insert "by San Diego standards" disclaimer here), I thought it might be worth a try.

The same funny young lady….who warned me about the (not so) Triple Super Spicy Chashu Shio Ramen last time was working. I went ahead and ordered the Curry-Shoyu Ramen.

So, this was kind of interesting. Apparently, the ramen broth is poured in first; then the curry in the center so it's separated. The curry was barely lukewarm while the shoyu broth was just slightly hot, mixing it together made it colder than I prefer overall. The curry here is actually not bad; though again, the beef is really dry. This was ok; if you like curry flavored ramen broth, or runny curry, you'll love this. I had tasted the broth and it was less salty than I recalled, but really lacks any depth of flavor….so maybe the curry is doing you a favor. The noodles were the typical type you'll find everywhere; though it was cooked nicely, and was actually hotter than anything else in the bowl. Enjoyed the thick sliced menma, nice crunchy and earthy flavors. As before, the egg was cold and the chashu dry.

I was the only customer in the place. I believe we're hitting "critical mass" with regards to ramen in San Diego. I'm wondering how long Karami is going to last?

Karami Ramen
3860 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

Ramen Ryoma:

**** This location of Ramen Ryoma has closed

Another shop I promised to return to. With their second location now open in PB and a third coming soon, I thought it might be a nice time to return. I visited on a Sunday right when the place opened and like Karami, it was pretty quiet.

Having tried both the Shoyu and Shio ramen; I decided to go with the Miso Ramen, with tamago.

While the broth edged on being a bit too salty; it was fine in this framework and was overall less salty than what I'd had here before. It wasn't very miso forward; just a hint of umami and was fairly rich while not being greasy. While I didn't find the broth thick enough to coat my tongue it did cling really well to the perfectly cooked curly and chewy noodles. This might be the best of the three versions of ramen I've had here. The chashu was too tough and salty. The egg was nicely done and not cold.

Not bad, definitely worth another visit….one of these days.

Ramen Ryoma
9119 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92123

Back to Golden City

January 11, 2019 mmm-yoso Chinese BBQ, Chinese Restaurants

**** Golden City has closed

Golden City is one of those places that Cathy, Ed from Yuma, and I, have posted on a number of times. I’ve been going to Golden City from my pre-blogging days when the place was on Convoy; to the reopening in October of 2005, thru changes in ownership and so on. It’s always been a convenient place to grab a decent lunch, if you choose right.

And so; right before Christmas, we had some time on our hands and Calvin was starving, so we headed on over to Golden City.

I got my usual favorite; the Kwai Fei Chicken.

Which was sadly, not very good this time around. The chicken was dry and tough and that sauce had way too much scallion in it….it had turned green! Bummer….it had been a while since I’d had this and I was looking forward to it.

We also got the Chee Cheong Fun (rolled rice noodle) with XO Sauce.

Uneven cooking technique doomed this dish. The rice rolls were tender; but weren’t evenly coated in XO sauce. Burnt bits didn’t help things at all either.

The best dish of the day was the Roast Pork.

While not nearly as good as the “Macao Roast Pork” when it was on the menu….I don’t know how many chefs ago; the skin was crisp; if a bit unevenly roasted. The pork was moist; with a good bit of fat, and not overly salted….you could enjoy the flavor of the swine.

You know; I’d always thought that Golden City in some form would easily outlive me……who knows; it still might. But this was definitely not up to expectations. Hopefully, things will be better next time I visit.

Golden City Restaurant
5375 Kearny Villa Rd.
San Diego, CA 92123