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.
I was craving some Nian Gao (sticky rice cakes) and noticed that Chef Chin doesn't have it on the menu anymore. So I headed over to Tasty Noodle House since it had been over a year since I last visited. even though it was just past eleven (there was still parking in the worst lot on Convoy), the place was about a third full already!
Looking at the menu I decided to order a couple of items; even though the Mei Cai Kou Rou (steamed pork belly with preserved vegetable) wasn't very good the last time I had it; I ordered it again. I was a bit worried when it was the first dish to arrive….in like five minutes after I ordered it. Can you say microwave?
Still, while not particularly hot, this was much better than what I'd had here before. The pork was very tender, moist; though a bit underwhelming in terms of porkiness and soy sauce flavor. The preserved vegetable was basically cold, but had some saltiness, and a mild, pleasant bitterness. I actually took most of this home….the Missus heated properly in a microwave and proceeded to devour the whole thing……so I guess it must be pretty good?
I saw the Green Chilies with Black Bean Sauce on the menu and decided to try that. Man, the portion size was pretty large.
The mild chilies were nicely charred, but the sauce was way to sweet, obscuring the savory-fermented flavors of the black bean. The pork was on the chewy side and a couple of pieces….well, have you ever bitten into a piece of meat and felt like you got a toenail? There were several very hard, tooth chipping piece amongst the chewy minced pork.
As for the Chao Nian Gao…..well, it was not stir fried well; some pieces were really hard and others over-cooked and too mushy.
And I've noticed how stingy they've become with the Jì Cài (Shepherd's Purse), the green vegetable that adds a nice vegetal sweet-bitterness to the dish. The pork was actually not bad if a bit on the tough side. Decent seasoning; enough saltiness and a light hand with the sesame oil.
A fairly uneven meal, though the young man who waited on me was quite nice and friendly. And while I was tempted to order the Zui Ji ( Drunken Chicken), perhaps I should have.
I think these days it's all hot pots and meat skewers with regards to Chinese food in San Diego. We seem to be in a slump with regards to decent regional cooking.
Tasty Noodle House 4646 Convoy St San Diego, CA 92111
After exploring Ferrara for a bit and then a short nap, we awoke hungry. Since it was Easter Monday, a holiday, we were lucky to have been able to get reservations for dinner. Our B&B was right outside the city walls, so we left a bit early and just enjoyed sitting alongside Ex Chiesa Di San Romano, which was now the Cathedral Museum, facing Piazza Trento e Trieste. It was a beautiful night!
It seems that much of the crowd we saw during the day had left.
Soon enough, dinner time had arrived. Ferrara itself is an ancient city, the first recordings of a settlement in the area was in the 6th Century BC. Thus the city, a UNESCO World Heritage site, has city walls and warrens of alleyways. Down one of these is Trattoria da Noemi. There was quite a line in place when we arrived and folks were being turned away. Like I said, we were lucky to have gone earlier in the day and snag some reservations. The only thing we had really eaten for the whole day was some salumi, so we were starved.
The Missus ordered the Fiori di Zucca fritti ripieni di mozzarella – fried squash blossom stuffed with mozzarella to start.
These looked fairly dense, but were surprisingly light, the breading nice and crisp. The cheese added a bit of density to things and just the slightest bit of milky acidity.
You know what I ordered as my primi, right?
Yep, Culatello of course! This was Culatello di Zebello, so tender, almost sweet, with a touch of milkiness. In case you don't know what part of the pig is used for this…think of the name…."culo". The torta fritta here was light and crisp, a perfect match for the piece of….ahem, you get it right?
We had noticed an entire section of "special" pasta on the menu. Can you guess what was special about these?
The Missus ordered the Fagottini ripieni di faraona al tartufo. These tender "little bundles" were filled with Guinea fowl, which was quite mild, we expected something more gamey. The hand made pasta was quite tender. And this is the way pasta is in Emilia-Romagna, it shines on it's own, not drenched in sauce and in this case, topped with fragrant black truffle. All the ingredients shine.
I had wanted to try pasta al zucca (pasta stuffed with pumpkin), so I ordered the Cappellacci di zucca burro e salvia al tartufo. Stuffed pasta in the shape of a "hat".
Of course I got it topped with truffle. The pasta is finished in sage butter; which wasn't enough to balance out the sweetness of the pumpkin….this was just too sweet for us. The pasta was quite tender, with the slightest pull.
We had enjoyed our meal with a couple of glasses of wine.
The meal was enjoyable and we attempted to make reservations for lunch the next day, but the place was booked solid.
Trattoria da Noemi Via Ragno 31 44100 Ferrara, Italy
We awoke the next morning and had a light breakfast. We went back to our room to relax until check-out time. Our train didn't leave until after 4pm and we didn't have to do anything other than return out rental car. The folks running the B&B kindly allowed us to park our car in their lot after we checked out. We decided to take another walk around the city.
Things were fairly quiet. We just wandered the various alleyways and streets taking in the charming cobbled streets and warrens that circled the town.
Things started picking up as the clocked edged toward eleven. Many places were closed; I guess to recover from the Easter rush, all the other were booked, and even take out panini places had an hour wait….for paninis to go!
We decided that lunch just wasn't in the cards for us and just decided to return the rental car. When determining our route and timing for the rental car return, I noticed that our rental office in Ferrara was just a ten minute walk to the train station.
The woman at the rental office was so warm and friendly!
As I walked back out to the street, I noticed this place next to the rental office.
We got a couple of Americanos and shared a sandwich to kill some time. What was really interesting were the three guys sitting on the other side of the al fresco "palette", they had obviously gone thru a couple of beers each. One of the guys had that "glow" if you know what I mean….his face was bright red. He finished beer number who knows…..got up…shook his friends hands….and got into a delivery van and drove off! Sheesh….
We got up, returned our cups and saucers…..and took the short walk to Ferrara Train Station.
We'd had a fun time in Ferrara. I'd randomly picked Ferrara because of an extra day we had between cities and noticing how close the rental car office was to the train station. Part of this was driven by some dinner reservations and other things. Ferrara entertained us and exceeded our expectations. We just might return some day…..though I'm going to make sure it's not around a holiday!
**** Ramen Menma – Basso Drillman Oceanside has closed
Now here's a ramen spot with origins in Japan that I had read about several years back. Ikebukuro's Basso Drill-Man ramen is fairly well known by ramen junkies, mainly for the Tsukemen and Abura Soba; basically "oil noodles" in which thick and hefty noodles are coated in "oil" in many cases rendered pork fat with various seasonings. I was quite happy that another ramen shop with a true ramen background was opening up. The catch; Ramen Menma – Basso Drillman was opening in Oceanside. Oceanside!
I find the location interesting, it's not quite Convoy or even Mira Mesa as the restaurant, which has a rather spartan interior is basically across the street from Swami's.
I arrived just as the open sign was turned on and lead over to the bar area. I recall being told that this used to be an Americanized sushi bar. The two women working were quite nice and friendly.
Ordering for me was a no-brainer; being a lover of Sichuan Liang Mian and still make my version of "Oil Noodles"; I just had to try the Abura Soba, which they call Aburasso here. I ordered the "deluxe" version, not cheap at $15.75.
I'm glad I also got the Chicken Karaage, which at $4.25 for four pieces was not cheap. But let me tell you; this is the best karaage I've had in a while. And I got five pieces instead of four.
The coating was so crisp and lightly crunchy, and the dark meat chicken was so moist that it basically exploded when I bit into it…..it was more juicy than the recent XLB I had at Din Tai Fung. It had been marinating for a while as there was a deep soy flavor; perhaps edging on being too salty, with a definite lightly acidic tone, I'm fairly certain they use shio koji or something similar. There was a slight hint of ginger as well. This was quite good.
The Aburasso was soon passed to the Server who brought it over to me. I had seen the medium-thick noodles being mixed with the oil base. I had also seen one of the egg yolks fall out of the white and the poor fellow wrestle with getting it back into place.
The noodles were topped with the afore mentioned egg; nicely flavored, and for once, not served cold as it was nice and warm. The chashu had a very nice soy-slightly sweet flavor and while nice and fatty was on the more chewy side. Not sure about the blanched cabbage, as it brought nothing to the dish.
The flavored oil was on the bland side, with a hint of spice and smokiness. I was looking for a more intense, maybe porky essence. But this wasn't bad at all and several levels above the Abura Soba at hipsterish Nozaru Ramen.
It did a great job of coating the noodles though. And those noodles….you'll either love them or hate them. I enjoyed the wonderful toothsome chewiness….these were noodles with heft and would obviously be great if they were also used in the Tsukemen. Very nice noodles, it looks like you won't have to worry about the noodles being mushy here!
As much as I was looking forward to he ramen here, it was the karaage that fueled my return the following weekend.
The karaage this time around was even better than on my previous visit. A bit lighter, less salty, but still with a deep soy flavor.
So crunchy and moist, it was a joy to eat.
I had thought of going with the Tsukemen, but in the end, I chose the Deluxe Shoyu Ramen ($14.75). And while my main motivation was to see how the broth was at Menma, I regretted not getting the Tsukemen as this was less than satisfying.
While the egg and chashu was better this time around, both in terms of texture and flavor, I'm not a fan of the thinner noodles here as it lacks the springiness and toothsomeness of the thicker noodles.
The broth was very one-dimensional, it just seemed dashi heavy and salty, lacking any real savory tones. And while it appeared rich enough it strangely lacked that wonderful tongue coating "aaah" appeal.
My favorite component was strangely the menma, the bamboo shoots were initially crunchy, with an almost meaty finish, making it very satisfying to eat.
The two women working on both visits were very pleasant. And man, that karaage. But all of this comes with an investment for someone living within San Diego. Think of it as being about thirty-five bucks if you include gas and tip. And I was eating solo.
And yet, that karaage beckons me…….and perhaps that tsukemen…….just to see how it compares to Rokurinsha.
When I did my original post on Al Pastor back in June I mentioned waiting a couple of months before checking in with "Al Pastor". It just so happens that a month or so ago, the Missus wanted breakfast from Talavera Azul. we were running late and by the time we drove down to Chula Vista there was a long line outside the restaurant. It was just before 10am so I suggested checking out Al Pastor. The Missus enjoyed Her meal and we've returned a few times since. The menu at the restaurant is humongous, like generic Vietnamese Restaurant menu sized. We've tried a few items on the menu and here's the rundown.
The Missus loves the simplicity of the Guacamole here. There is always a glowing freshness to it.
It's a nice base, a palette of sorts to which the Missus can add various salsas, cilantro, onions, and a squeeze of lime to suit Her taste and mood for the day.
It also goes nicely when a little dollop is added to the Al Pastor Alambres……you have your choice of meat, but it's the savory-sweet flavor of the Al Pastor that goes well with this riff of the traditional grilled beef-bacon-green peppers dish. She usually forgoes the queso.
And of course there's the Al Pastor, pork of course. Here I tried the Chuleta Ahumada, smoked pork chop, which didn't bring much flavor to the table.
Love the mixture of thin slices of pork and the caramelized "crispy bits" of Al Pastor, the pineapple adds a nice fruity-acidic touch. I'm usually not a big fan of fruit in savory dishes, but it works here. I didn't care much for the texture of the Chuleta Ahumada as it was weirdly "mushy" and it just didn't have enough smokiness, richness, nor pork flavor to make it really shine in a taco.
As much as we enjoy the Al Pastor; there have been occasions when it's been cut too thick, the spices have been pasty and gummy, and perhaps, thinking we're not worthy gringos, there were no nice, crisp pieces added to our tacos. When that happens, like below, the Al Pastor tacos really don't stand out from what I can get elsewhere.
The Chorizo Tacos are a nice "plan B", except we really didn't enjoy the radioactive looking Chorizo Verde – green chorizo. We actually didn't order that Green Chorizo…more on that later.
Usually made with green chilies; beyond the shock of the color…..green and meat (ecxept in a stew) are not something I think humans gravitate towards, the chorizo had a weird texture and while it is traditionally made with Serrano and Poblano Chilies; there was basically no spice in this, just that green-chlorophyllic flavor. The regular chorizo has that combination of spice-saltiness-slight smokiness that folks would be familiar with.
Some other items. On a whim I ordered the Nopales Asados….because we both love Nopales. We received a plate of stir fried nopales and cebollas.
Which very plain…….you'll need tortillas for these. Those aren't provided.
Ditto the Frijoles Charros, which was too salty, and was quite thin while still having a greasy mouthfeel. And yet; if it were thicker and you were provided tortillas, this would maybe be passable.
Still, when the Al Pastor is on….or anytime the Missus is craving those Alambres, the time on the griddle brings out the best in the Al Pastor, we'll be headed back over to Al Pastor. Service has always been friendly, though sometimes a bit…well, spacey? We had ordered Alambres, with Chorizo, but somehow got the Chorizo Verde taco, go figure?
Al Pastor Authentic Mexican Grill 520 Broadway Chula Vista, CA 91910 Hours: Sun – Thurs 10am – 1am Fri – Sat 10am – 2am
**** Sadly Lucky Wong passed away at the end of 2024
After a particularly brutal week, I recently revisited a place that holds a special place in my heart. It had been a few years since I'd eaten and even longer since I last posted on Lucky's, that little former Chinese restaurant, cum diner, cum greasy spoon, to me a steady, dependable beacon in the ever changing North Park scene.
Once you enter; you know….this ain't hipster central.
From the rather tacky, now considered "retro" Chinese restaurant décor, to various bits and pieces of the history of Lucky's, which in turn is probably the history of North Park, the place has grown on me.
Just sitting for a breakfast on this morning; the customers were like characters from central casting….a young couple, a hipster in his 'hat with 'tats", two older guys grumbling about how the bus is always late. Like I said in my first post a decade ago, "I'm sure thousands of stories have echoed off the walls" of Lucky's.
And the prices? Yes, this is North Park, where you can get a $17 bowl of pho a few blocks away. And yes, this is 2018.
Four bucks for two eggs with bacon, hashbrowns, and toast. Don't forget to finish your toast….Lucky doesn't like waste. Lucky sees everything. If he sees that you've finished your toast, he'll ask if you want more.
The coffee….well, it's "authentic"……100% Folgers. Still under a buck.
This is a one man show, Lucky has no wasted motion, he moves with deceptive efficiency and my breakfast is on the table within minutes.
The eggs are a perfect easy over, the toast is great for sopping up all the drippy egg yolk……the hash browns are SYSCO heavenly and the bacon crisp. This cost me $4.10 mind you. Also notice the bottle of Tabasco. I recently went to Island Style Café and just like Leilani's Café they didn't have Tabasco. Except that instead of telling me they didn't have Tabasco, when I asked for it, they just silently dropped off a bottle of Sriracha.
I mentioned having Tabasco to Lucky, who told me that even though he could get a gallon of Tapatio for the same price of a couple of bottles of Tabasco, things just wouldn't be right without it. I like that; it just "wouldn't be right".
Eating at Lucky's always remind me of the places Mom took me to, we didn't have much money and didn't eat out much. It was always a treat. To me, eating at Lucky's is a treat.
And then there are always Lucky's "words of wisdom"….not too much on this day; though he did encourage the young lady to butter her toast since butter was "good for your complexion".
And to file under the "Lucky sees more than you realize". After I paid my bill; Lucky always rounds things off, he told me "you haven't been here in a while" and handed me this.
World Peace & Happiness…….in recent months, I've heard, folks at work, and even some friends of mine surprisingly spout some of the most hateful and resentful rhetoric. We could use some peace and happiness….as usual Lucky has hit it on the nose.
As for the fortune cookie?
I hope so……
Lucky’s Golden Phenix 3804 Grim Ave San Diego, CA 92104 Hours: Mon – Sat 730am – Noon
It was probably not the best plan on my part. I had thought Easter Sunday might be a problem and was kind of worried about finding places open. We did luck out with a gigantic meal at Osteria Carducci in an almost sedate Piacenza. Which pointed out two things I didn't know about Easter in Emilia-Romagna; folks in the big city head out to smaller towns; like Ferrara, to celebrate and enjoy life. Two, the Monday after Easter is a holiday and places would be packed. We searched for a decent place for lunch but every place was booked, or just served stuff like pizza and panini. We did manage to snag reservations for dinner.
Ferrara Cathedral dominates Piazza Trento e Trieste considered to be the center of the city. While there was a lot of restoration work going on, we decided to check out this structure which dates back to the 12th Century.
The interior is quite grand in a rather foreboding kind of way; as it is rather dark.
There were services going on; so we decided to just take a quick look around…..
It would be interesting to see the Cathedral after all the restoration work is complete.
As we slipped into the quite street behind the Cathedral we saw this place.
Like 583 years old! So now for the name dropping; Copernicus studied at the University of Ferrara in 1503. While matriculating, he actually had a room right above Al Bridisi.
So, if it was good enough for Copernicus; it must be good enough for us.
Being a bit later in the afternoon; we just decided on some Culatello (of course) and a couple of glasses of wine. A red for the Missus and a white for me.
Along with the Culatello, we were served the famous and typical bread of the city; Coppia, which means "couple" has a unique shape, two strands of rolled dough are connected like a cross, with four "legs".
This was fairly dry and crumbly, though very "yeasty"…..it's not something we'd search out.
The Culatello was decent, not quite melt in your mouth, but still satisfying.
There is a definite porky-cheesy flavor to culatello which I really love.
So, are you ready for our Al Brindisi story? It's about the Missus's red wine….first of all, it was turning a bit skunky to the nose….
It tasted like it was on its way to becoming a nice vinegar. We motioned our really nice Server over and explained to him that the red wine was going south. His response? He flashed us an uneasy smile and said "SOOO-rrreeee". And walked away never to be seen again! You couldn't help but laugh!
Oh well, we cut our losses…this red was really inexpensive.
And we now have a story about the oldest wine bar in the world, right?
Enoteca al Brindisi Via Guglielmo Degli Adelardi 11 44121, Ferrara, Italy
After our snack we headed out and stretched our legs.
Ferrara was indeed an "interesting" town…..looks like this fellow is trying to sell his books?
Just a few blocks from the center of town; things were a lot quieter. This is the Piazzeta Sant 'Anna
This was once the sight of the first hospital in Ferrara, dedicated to Saint Anne.
We headed away from the city center……just taking in some of the wonderful structures along the way.
That's the Chisea del Gesu above, a Jesuit church built in the 16th century.
You kind of get the idea that they measure time in centuries here. In need of a nap before dinner we headed back, past the Castello Estense di Ferrara.
We checked out of our lodge fairly early in the morning. The Missus really wanted to hit the road. We had some reservations to keep at 2pm and the Missus still wanted to enjoy the scenery.
While Denali National Park gets all the headlines; I have to say, for us, the unadventurous type, the views along Denali State Park are wonderful.
A couple of three hours or so later, we made it to Denali National Park. But not before watching this moose cross the road.
After wandering around the shops and displays at the visitors center; the Missus wanted to take a short hike. We chose the McKinley Station trail, which took us along Riley Creek, under train trestles, and down a really nicely groomed path.
It was a nice, easy hike.We got back to the visitors center and headed off to the strip of tourist shops called "Glitter Gulch" (Nenana Canyon), yikes! We soon headed on out to a pick up spot for our next stop for the day. We'd made reservations to visit Jeff King's Husky Homestead. A mini bus came to pick us up and take us to Jeff King's Iditarod Training Center……I'm hoping you folks know what the Iditarod is. Jeff King is a four time winner of what is called "the Last Great Race on Earth". I was looking forward to seeing the dogs, the training, learning about life and preparation for the Iditarod, learning about the Alaskan Husky. All of which was answered. But first….some puppies!
We were told that they have visitors meet the puppies to help socialize and get them used to being around people.
It became apparent quite quickly what great shape these dogs were in….they were athletes. They got so excited when the handlers came around….think of school kids going "pick me…pick me."
We quickly found out that "Alaskan Huskies" are not considered pure bred….they are not recognized by the AKC. These are dogs bred for their abilities to be able to pull, work as a team, run, lead….
They are also quite affectionate and each has its own personality. They also love attention…..
It was quite obvious that in the same way Frankie is made to eat snacks; these dogs are, well, to paraphrase the Bruce Springsteen song, they are "Born to Run". They seem most fulfilled and happy when working.
It was amazing watching them training on the custom treadmill pulling an ATV.
As soon as they were hooked up….they just wanted to go. Check out this video:
What was even more entertaining was watching the treadmill turned off. The team just pulled the ATV into the woods and then back around and up the hill. While all the other dogs just wanted to be part of the spectacle.
The outdoor presentation was wonderful; we learned about the breed, met the lead dogs, several of which were brought out to meet the audience.
We learned how the dogs were named….and yes, there was even a Sammy!
The indoor session was even more fascinating; at least for me….plus; the presenters, who have actually done the Iditarod; since Jeff King was out of town, had a pretty funny schtick.
Seriously though, topics like Vet care, how many dogs they take for each race, staging food……each dog consumes about 12,000….yes, twelve thousand calories a day during the race. Each musher is responsible foe feeding his or her team, with no help! They need to schedule the dogs time pulling, rest time, prepare their food…..I was told that to make the most of what time they might have to sleep; 3-4 hours, they'll often forgo shelter and just sleep in the sled…..rinse, repeat.
In other words; the dogs are noble athletes, it is about them….the mushers, well, they must be nuts…..
The average age an Iditarod sled dog lives to is 12-15 years….which is pretty amazing for a 60 pound dog.
There was so much covered in the time at Husky Homestead……regardless of your belief on the Iditarod, I learned a lot about the Alaskan Husky. The folks at Husky Homestead are great.
After the tour we were dropped off at our pick-up point and we headed to where we were staying for the night; McKinley Creek Cabins. Really nice, friendly folks…..
Originally, I wanted to have dinner at the nearby 229 Parks Restaurant, but they were still closed during our visit. So, instead we ate at the McKinley Creekside Café, which I read good things about.
This low keyed spot had a simple menu of basic fare…..
We ordered a couple of things off the menu. First up was the Reindeer Sausage Vegetable Soup which was on the greasy side.
It was also overly salty.
We also ordered the "Alaska Sampler" ($23); which was basically an appetizer plate.
So here's the deal; if you like basic, say, TGI Fridays fare, you'd like this. The calamari was tough, the halibut was fried too long and dry, the Reindeer sausage was also over-cooked, tough, and dry. The item the Missus thought She was not going to like; the Smoked Salmon Dip was what we enjoyed the most, smoky, almost crab like flavors; which went well with the nicely toasted, we were told, house made bread.
We also got the Bacon – Jalapeno Deviled Eggs.
The egg whites were too rubbery and the egg yolk mixture was very runny….not much bacon, nor jalapeno tones in this and the runny mixture just didn't look very appealing.
On the good side; the staff was wonderful…..
McKinley Creekside Cafe 224 Parks Hwy Denali National Park and Preserve, AK 99755
Still a bit unsatisfied, we walked across the bridge to Panorama Pizza Pub.
Went and ordered a couple of beers and a cheese bread. The young lady working the bar was amazing.
As was just sitting on the porch and chilling……
Though it seemed that our cheese bread was taking quite long….another round of beers….. I then went in and spoke to the young lady nicely, it wasn't her fault. I got talking to one of the guys sitting at the bar, who it turns out is a chef, for one of the nearby more fancy places……he told me, "things are kinda rough right now in these places……the season has just begun and the staff is getting used to things, but there's no excuse for cheese bread taking an hour".
We decided to take our cheese bread to go…….
Panorama Pizza Pub Mile 224 Parks Hwy Healy, AK 99743
We left the cheese bread in the room and went for a walk….it was nearly seven pm, but the sun didn't set until nearly ten and this is what McKinley Creek looked like.
We got back to the room….and there was no cheese on the cheese bread….whatever….we really didn't care. Would you have if this was right outside your door?
I haven't done one of these in a while; so let's ketchup catch up.
Taste of the Himalaya's Coming to Renaissance Towne Center:
I wanted something fast and just thought I'd grab some lunch to go and catch my favorite "character" in Renaissance Towne Center. When I headed back to my car, I noticed that the pizza place is being replaced with another outlet of Taste of the Himalayas
That pizza place lasted maybe 2 years?
It is good seeing a bit variety in the area.
The address is:
8895 Towne Centre Dr #115 San Diego, CA 92122
About Fish Replacing Nozomi on Convoy:
I was revisiting a certain business in this strip mall and was just trying to survive both the crazy people trying to park and the over zealous parking lot attendant. I didn't even notice that Nozomi was gone until I had backed out of my space.
I've passed by several times during what should be service hours and the place looks closed. Though I find it weird that those chairs are still outside.
Another place that didn't last too long. We had actually attempted to visit in April of 2017, and even though the open sign was lit, they told us they weren't open for another hour.
3860 Convoy St San Diego, CA 92111
And just in case you want to buy something for that special someone……I saw this at Marukai.
I already know what a couple of folks are getting for Christmas this year…….
I believe it was summer of last year; when I heard the first official announcement that the XLB mega-chain Din Tai Fung was going to open at UTC. I know folks who have been waiting with bated breath, patiently awaiting the opening…for those that I know it seemed like the place would never open. And then last week; Eater announced when DTF would be opening their doors, October 1. It would be reservations only for the soft opening period; which I thought was a prudent move…..get your systems in place, fine tune the product, and then open up the floodgates.
One of the young ladies in the office; "K" from the Beijing area will often stop and chat with me about Chinese food. Late last week; she mentioned hearing that Din Tai Fung was finally opening and if I was going. I told her "probably not, since things would probably fairly chaotic, the crowds would be insane, and I don't think the product would be up to par." She smiled and said, "maybe not….din Tai Fung has so many outlets, they have opened many shops, I think they may have systems in place for a grand opening." Hmmmm……the seed was planted; though I hadn't really planned on making reservations. Until my dear friend Candice asked me if I'd like to join them for lunch….on the first day of business. As a plus; I'd see my good friends, who I just don't see enough of these days, so I was in.
UTC is fairly close to the office; so it was snap getting there. There wasn't much of a line, a product of the soft-opening reservations only policy. Several parties were turned away for not having reservations, some of whom, especially one rather persistent Chinese gentleman were rather unhappy.
The set-up was fairly typical of DTF; at least the shops we've been to. Front desk, window display of folks making the XLB, and dumplings.
The dining room was lengthy and could hold up to 200 I was told.
We received a menu while our table was being readied; the four of us; Candice, Xiāngjiāo, TFD, and I had all been to DTF, both here in the states and abroad before, so we all had items we wanted to order. In the end it seemed like a lot; but we finished almost everything! TFD's little boy did a great job helping us as well!
So, enough verbiage; lets get to the food shall we?
First to arrive was the Truffle and Kurobuta Pork XLB ($23.75). Yep, twenty four bucks for 5 XLB.
The tops of the wrappers seemed a bit on the dry and hard side, there wasn't very much "soup" in the dumplings. You got the truffle flavor upon first bite, then it dissipated rather quickly. Not sure if I'd have these again.
Next up; the comfort dish, Taiwanese Cabbage with Garlic ($10.25). This was nicely done, enough salt, the cabbage was tender, nice garlic tones.
Though this is something I can easily make at home with Big Kahuna. We did enjoy the dish and needed some veggies, right?
Next up; the Kurobuta Pork XLB ($11.50). Maybe it's the Kurobuta Pork, which DTF is now using in all its dumplings, but the filling was on the drier side and there was a lack of soup.
The wrapper was rather dry and brittle. The filling had a mild pork flavor, but was more chewy than I prefer. As I mentioned above; there was a lack of soup in both orders of this. I'm so used to biting the ends of the wrapper to let out the steam before dipping into black vinegar and eating the dumpling; but that really wasn't necessary as well.
Next up; some nice and crisp, slightly spicy "Cucumber Salad" ($5.25) and rather bland, under seasoned Soy Noodle (Bean curd noodle) Salad ($5.25).
Shrimp and Kurobuta Pork Shao Mai ($8.75).
The tops of these were on the hard side; the shrimp had very nice flavor, but were overcooked. This just didn't do it for any of us.
The guotie – potstickers were another non-starter. They looked really nice, the bottoms of the wrappers were nice and crunchy; but the fillings fell out of the tops.
Kimchi and Kurobuta Pork Mandu Dumplings ($10.75)…..were really like mild kimchi mandu. These were not spicy in the least; even though we were told they were.
The wrappers were fine; if a bit stiff; the filling was too mild, not enough fermented-sour-savory-spicy kimchi flavor, which would have been fine if there was a decent porkiness to these; but there was none.
I was looking forward to the Crab and Pork XLB ($14.50).
Though there wasn't much soup in these, there was a nice sweet-crab and pork flavor. The filling was a bit on the dry side however as were the wrappers; which were again on the dry and brittle side.
I had been craving Chao Nian Gao($11) and couldn't help but order it; the version with pork.
This was perhaps the most unsatisfying dish of the meal. The nian gao, rice cakes, had been over-cooked, as you can easily see, and were very mushy. The pork was tough; too much soy sauce….just not good eats. We each had a taste and left the rest on the table.
TFD recalled a nice version of Sichuan Liang Mian at the Taipei location of DTF; so we ordered it ($9).
Hardly any spice; the noodles were too soft, the sauce lacked any depth of flavor (i.e. suan-tian-ku-la-xian)…I mean I was looking for something; Sichuan Peppercorn, black vinegar, sesame paste, garlic…..something……
Our savory dishes ended on a high note though, as our second round of the crab and pork XLB arrived. This was much better; though the wrappers were still a bit too stiff, they were moist and had a touch of pull. The crab and pork was juicy if still without enough soup. This was quite nice….perhaps this is what we have to look forward to?
Though I'm still looking for this in the XLB – from a DTF in Asia. I'm wondering if the flour is making some difference?
We ordered the XLB with Red Bean for dessert. Think of it as a sorta, kinda, red bean manju…..
A bit too sweet for my tastes.
Overall, we really enjoyed the service, it was with a few hiccups….which was to be expected, very nice….really nice folks working here. The consensus was also pretty much unanimous; we'd had better at other DTF locations, though that was also to be expected.
Regardless; we still thought that this is the best XLB in San Diego without a doubt.
It's going to be interesting to see how things evolve here. I'm hoping the service and really nice staff remains the same and am expecting the XLB to get better over time; a bit more moist and tender wrappers with a decent "pull". Of course, I'm picky like that. And, I'm going to have to wait a while before bringing the Missus or my Shanghainese coworker "YZ" here.
And, it's always great to see my good friends "hanai family"…..
So, let me know how you're enjoying DTF now that they've arrived in San Diego!
Din Tai Fung 4301 La Jolla Village Dr (UTC) San Diego, CA 92122
We got back into Paris at around 330pm. The Paris metro system is fairly easy to navigate and we got to what I consider to be one of my favorite hotels; the Hotel Monge in the Latin Quarter by 4pm. Check-in, as always with the folks here is a breeze. Hotel rooms are fairly small in Paris and I've learned to get the Deluxe Double Room. Which at first worried me because it over-looked the street, but the windows do a good job of muffling out the noise.
We aim for one blow-out meal when visiting Paris; the first time around it was David Toutain, the last time at Sola. Because the Missus loved Sola, I tried to make reservations for a revisit; but they were closed during this time. There was something about French cuisine with Japanese touches and sensibilities that really got to us. And I think many other folks as well as there seems to be a revolution going on where Japanese Chefs are running Michelin Star level restaurants in France. After doing a bit of research; I settled on Restaurant Alliance which is located a short walk from where we were staying.
We took in the holiday season sights at Notre-Dame de Paris, before crossing back to the very discreet location of Restaurant Alliance on Rue de Poissy.
There are only 9 tables in this discreet restaurant; only one of which was filled when we arrived.
The simple décor belies the nice spacing; comfortable seating, the sound dimming qualities of the place. As for the staff; they were amazing, not obtrusive, very genial, professional, and most of all they really knew their stuff. They Missus and I got the tasting menu, with one tasting, and the Sommolier, Shawn Joyuex, one of the partners, really made the Missus happy with our pairings.
We loved the pacing on the dishes; each looking pristine, not overly done, and to the point.
Starting with the Anchovy and Tomato. This amuse was wonderful; the savory-salty anchovy perfectly balanced with the sweet-tangy-acidic tomato paste.
The Brioche with Fennel Cream doesn't sound like something I'd enjoy; but the light, mildly sweet, buttery brioche found a wonderful dancing partner, one with a rich little anise kick to keep things moving along.
One of my favorite items of the meal was the Beignet Seafood. This was basically a Karaage, a pristine, perfectly fried, perfectly seasoned, karaage, the lieks of which I'd never had before.
A lovely crunch, nice seasoning, savory-sweet, with a very mild smokey spice, and I believe there was a light touch of shio koji or something similar going on. This was just amazing.
Caviar with Champagne was fine. A bit austere, but perhaps with something like this, simpler is easier.
Uni with Kampari Foam and Sea Asparagus was another amazing dish with flavors I would have never though would have gone together well.
I'm not the biggest fan of foams; but this light, tangy-acidic-fruity foam did so well with the rich, oceany uni. Really creative combination.
The Beets with Dulse was a good dish to bring us back to earth after the uni.
The almost salty "bacon of the sea" flavor of dulse was nice in really balancing out the earthy sweetness of the beets.
When we were seated; one of the Servers came around with a glass container….as soon as he opened it the entire room was filled with the fragrance of white truffle. So, being on vacation, how could we not order it? The container would make it to every table and we'd be assaulted with the intoxicating aroma of truffle. There was a table of four across the room, one of the young men seemed to be a regular. Everyone knew him and chatted with him. When the glass container started making its way to his table; he raised both hands in surrender and said "c'est bonne…c'est bonne"!
Not the biggest fan of the pasta per se; but you could have given me shoe leather and I'd have gladly consumed it with the truffle and that perfect funghi based sauce.
The Scallops, kaffir lime, and coconut milk was a symphony of familiar flavors that worked well together.
The scallops were as to be expected in a place like Alliance. Perfectly seared, perfectly rare, perfectly sweet and mildly briny.
The wonderful buttery texture and mild sweetness of the lobster was the star of the Lobster, kumquat, and spinach, in red wine sauce.
The dish could have used a bit more tannic-bitter flavors as it approached being perhaps a bit too sweet.
The desserts? Well, that's the Missus's department. I will say that I really enjoyed the Vanilla Mousses that was served with black olives, where the saltiness of the olives just balanced out the sweetness off the vanilla. The Missus loved the chocolates with jellies in the center.
This was a wonderful meal; perhaps the best we've had in Paris thus far. The Missus is still talking about this meal; not just in terms of single dishes; but mentioning the pace, the staff, and of course, the wine!
I
