mmm-yoso – Page 214 – 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.

Fung Fung Yuen

October 9, 2017 mmm-yoso Chinese BBQ, Chinese Restaurants, Dim Sum, Xiao Long Bao

**** Fung Fung Yuen is now Golden Island

Fung Fung Yuen opened this past summer (on the ever lucky 08/08) to quite a bit of hype and fanfare. My friends who visited soon after the initial soft opening told me the place really didn't live up to their expectations. So I waited about six weeks. We'd moved offices and was now a bit closer to the place. Three of us, Calvin, "BigD", and myself, made two visits, after which we decided to give it a rest.

The restaurant does remind me of those "Dim Sum Palaces" of my youth, a nice, rather large, space (formerly Hometown Buffet).

The place is set-up for larger "family style" parties.

During our visits, there only seemed to be 2-3 carts rotating at a time. During our first visit, we never saw the steamed dumpling cart, so no siu mai, har gow, etc. On both visits, we never saw any Cheong Fun.

I've decided to start with the best item we had; which coincidentally was actually ordered off the menu; the Roast Pork ($14.95).

The pork was moist, the skin, while a bit too thick was decent. A very nice dish overall.

A remote second was the tripe.

No off flavors, decently cooked, nice "crunch" the gooey sauce was a bit on the "sweet" side for my taste.

I think it's kind of sad that the two main reasons the Shrimp Siu Mai is number 3 was that it was hot and it wasn't overly tough.

The Soy Sauce Noodles was on the colder side, a bit greasy and overcooked.

Sticky Rice wrapped in Lotus Leaf was barely past warm.

The rice was nice and tender, though the pork was really tough.

One look at the Har Gow and you can tell this wasn't going to be very good.

Dried out wrappers, hard and overcooked shrimp.

The Eggplant stuffed with shrimp was quite cold and greasy.

That sauce which was cold really didn't help matters.

The Ham Sui Gok, the fried glutinous rice dumplings stuffed with pork was also cold, thus the dumpling had become rather gummy. Check out the (lack of) filling, which was cold and tough.

The Bean Curd roll was at least served at a decent temperature. But the strips of vegetables were cut too thick and was undercooked.

Calvin just wanted the Xiao Long Bao.

Looking at the photo; you can kinda figure things out; cold, no soup, really thick, hard wrappers.

And yet, there was something even worse than the XLB; the Pearl Balls, these made with shrimp.

Cold, tough, some of the rice was just plain hard.

There's obviously some kinks to work out here…..things like keeping your product at a decent temp in the carts…..which, by the way, only made one pass, and then was gone. It was a rather unsatisfying two meals. I'm hoping they get things straightened out. I'm hoping they work things out. Folks were telling me how busy the place was, but on our first visit the place was one-third full, on our second even less.

For balance, please check out Kirbie's and Faye's posts.

Fung Fung Yuen
10660 Camino Ruiz
San Diego, CA 92126

Sunday Stuffs – Baguette Bros Closes, Pizza Coming to the Poseidon Project, and Giovanni’s (Balboa) is moving to Linda Vista

October 8, 2017 mmm-yoso Sandwiches, Thai Restaurants

Some items for a beautiful San Diego Sunday.

Baguette Bros Closes:

"Xiāng Jiāo" mentioned this to me the other day. I happened to be in the area so I drove by.

Though they created a bit of hype when they opened a few years back, I never really took to the place during my visits.

"XJ" told me this was going to be another location of IC Monster (Read Kirbie's post here).

4698 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

Pizza Coming to Poseidon:

So, this sign is up and the oven has been delivered. I've been told it's a joint venture with URBN…..not my favorite pizza, so we'll see.

Still my favorite neighborhood watering hole.

Poseidon Project
4126 Napier St
San Diego, CA 92110

Giovanni's (Balboa) is moving to Linda Vista:

While taking the back way after fueling up; I noticed that this location of Giovanni's had closed.

Man, I hadn't been here in like 14-15 years! Though Cathy did a post on the Clairemont Mesa over a decade ago. Looks like this location is becoming a Mystic Grill and Bakery, which coincidentally, Cathy has also done a post on.

6133 Balboa Ave
San Diego, CA 92111

And so, I thought that was it for this location of Giovanni's. Until I drove past the former location of Pacific Time on Linda Vista Road. This surprised me.

So, I checked around a bit and yes, according to my sources, they are reopening here.

5277 Linda Vista Rd
San Diego, CA 92110

Hope you're having a great weekend!

Paris – Breakfast, Notre-Dame de Paris, and the Marais

October 6, 2017 mmm-yoso Breakfast/Brunch, France, Paris, France, Travel

Like I mentioned earlier, we really enjoyed our stay at the Hotel Monge. Even Krista at Passport Delicious agrees.

Breakfast at the hotel was simple, but more than adequate.

I actually ate a bit more than usual as I was sure we'd be doing a good amount of walking on this day.

And breakfast acutally held us (other than a snack of gougères and coffee) until dinner later that evening.

And then we were off……..

We strolled up Rue Monge, onward to the Siene, crossing the Petit Pont (Little Bridge) to Île de la Cité, this island, which shaped like a ship, is considered to be the historical center of Paris.

In fact, if you head on over to Parvis Notre-Dame – place Jean-Paul-II, the square in front of Notre-Dame, you'll find Kilometer Zero (aka Point Zero), the point from which all distances are measured and, depending who you ask, either the center of Paris or France as a whole.

This is just the second Kilometer Zero we've actually visited; the other being in Madrid.

The main reason we were here was to visit Notre-Dame de Paris, one of the most well known examples of Gothic Cathedrals. With the two towers rising over 220 feet above the ground, it was quite a site to see. During the construction of the cathedral, as the rather thin walls were built higher and higher, stress fractures started to occur. To combat this, the architects decided to combat this by supporting the walls using flying buttress.

We were lucky; there was just a short line to get into the church on this day.

We entered and were engulfed by history.

For me, it was more about some of the more interesting items were in the chapels. Like this one.

This was in the Chapel of the Holy Childhood. Notice the hair on the sculpture of the young boy. This is the shrine of Saint Paul Chen who was executed at the age of 23 in 1861, one of the Martyr Saints of China.

This is the Chapel of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

And then there's the statue of Joan of Arc, hero to Parisians, who claimed to have heard heavenly voices and rallied the French to several swift victories. Captured by the Burgundians she was turned over to the English, she was burned at the stake in 1431. Pope Callixtus III found her innocent and declared her a martyr in 1456. She was Canonized in 1920.

Notice that Joan is looking upwards…..to this beautiful stained glass window.

Leaving Notre-Dame was crossed over to Île Saint-Louis, the other of the two "natural" islands in the Seine.

Crossing over to the other side of the Seine we entered the district known as Marais.

In the center of Place de la Bastille resides the Colonne de Juillet. Topped by a Statue of Mercury, which looked like it was reaching for the contrail in this capture.

From here we strolled up Rue Saint Antoine, pausing to take in the vibe……

This is the Temple du Marais. It was originally a Catholic Convent, but was given to the Protestants after the French Revolution. It remains a Protestant Church to this day.

From the 13th to the 17th century, Le Marais was home to the nobles who built their mansions (hôtel particulier) in the area.

One that I read about is the Hôtel de Sully.

The courtyard seemed so peaceful, a world away from the busy streets on the other side of the building.

We enjoyed watching this bird taking a refreshing bath…..

This sparrow must have really been having a great time as soon enough, a friend joined in the festivities.

Right out the back of the Hôtel de Sully is Place des Vosges. Originally known as Place Royale, this square was built by Henri IV in 1605.

The buildings that surround the square were once the home to the nobles and aristocracy of Paris.

From here we walked thru the bustling Rue des Rosiers (the Jewish Quarter) and past the Pompidou Center, then decided to head back to the hotel.

With a short stop at Hôtel de Ville (City Hall).

After crossing the river; the Missus wanted to make one more stop.

I'd promised Her that She could get a Hermes scarf during every visit to France. It was time for Her to collect on that promise. So we headed on over to the Hermes shop on Rue de Sèvres, which was a pretty long walk.

We passed this sculpture along the way; it's named Le Centaure de César.

From the Hermes Store back to the Hotel Monge was a bit of a truck and we were rather tired.

We had some late afternoon plans, after all, we had only one full day in Paris on this leg of the trip and the Missus wanted to make the most of it.

But first, a nap!

Cross Street Chicken and Beer (Pre-Soft Opening)

October 4, 2017 mmm-yoso Asian Fusion/Pacific Rim/Hawaii Style Fusion, Beer, Chicken Wings, Korean Restaurants

Cross Street has fascinated me since I first noticed that Your Story was closed back in June. I'd heard that the place was going to do KFC….you know K(orean) F(ried) C(hicken), which was confirmed by Eater a few weeks later.

While driving by last week, I noticed that the place looked open. I sent a text to "YummyYummy" who through her connections verified that they were in "Pre-soft" (???) Opening mode. Soon enough, "YY" and "Xiāng Jiāo" and I decided to meet up.

The place is dressed up in the very modern; industrial style that is popular these days. Lot's of staff on hand….super friendly young folks. This being "before" the soft opening, I expected some mishaps, but there were none. Some scrambling, but these folks seem up to the task.

The menu is mostly made up of fried foods, with Chicken Wings (of course) being the focus. It's basically $11 for 6 wings prepared in one of six "styles".

But first that popular Korean drinking snack, Corn Cheese ($8).

These were pretty dull for corn cheese, not enough cheese, the corn not sweet enough.

And some Beer Battered Fries ($6), which I found to be ok.

I thought these could have been more crisp and the fries got soggy fairly quickly.

So, what about those wings. Well, before folks freak out about the $11 for six wings thing; I'll say this, the wings are pretty large, in my opinion too large as I prefer a small to medium size wing….better skin to ratio. The wings were good quality; tender meat, juicy, no broken bones, no off colors.

As to how these compare to the KFC we had at, say, Mirak or Kkanbu in Seoul? Or even Gala, "Bee-Bee-Q", or Kyochon? Well, let's take a look.

The Original……

I was told these were the "signature" wings, but though while it had enough salt, it needed some zing. The wings are so large that I think the double fry method doesn't work as much magic here as all of the fat under the skin did not render down all the way and the batter got soft rather quickly. This was the only wings we had that were served with a "salad" rather than the traditional mul kimchi….which would have done good in this case.

Salt and Pepper…..

Royal Mandarin, Mandarin Canton, and the rest have nothing to worry about for now as again the coating didn't hold out too long. It also wasn't very light and crisp on this version. The flavor was very mild for S&P wings and was a bit greasy as well.

Here's the classic, very typical, sticky, Spicy Korean style wings you get at many places.

I expected a bit more heat, but we were told that they were worried about it being too hot and scaring away the non-Korean customers. It was sweet and sticky. This got soggy really quickly and the young man who I think is one of the owners really apologized about that and tried to take it off the bill. But that's not our style…..hey, they're not even in Soft Opening mode!

I thought the best wings we had was the Soy Garlic…..

While on the mild side with regards to garlic flavor; it wasn't too sweet, had a decent bit of saltiness, the batter was a bit thick, but held up the best of all the wings. This ain't no Kyochon, but I'd take this over "BBQ Chicken" and Gala.

The owners were very nice and gracious….they asked us our opinion….usually we'd balk, but this time we were very honest. We were thanked for our opinion and told to please return because they're hoping to "get better every day"! There was such sincerity in that declaration, that having to run some errands for the Missus, I returned the very next day…..

They were a lot busier this time around, but the service was still very friendly….everyone smiles here. At least on my visits they did.

This time around I had Max Cream, an all malt beer, brewed by Hite. This wasn't too sweet, very light, unobtrusive, slightly winey (cat pee), easy to drink.

I actually ordered way too much food, but really enjoyed myself.

Starting with the Fried Pickle Spears ($8).

While I thought the breading was really hard; I really enjoyed the tart-sour of the pickles….it really got my attention; especially when I took a big first bite.

The Beer Battered Fries were better this time around.

Staying nice and crisp.

I ordered the Original Wings again.

While the flavor was still rather plain and the wings didn't quite have that signature light crispness of good KFC; in terms of keeping a nice crunchiness throughout the meal; this was much better.

As were the Soy Garlic wings.

A bit more garlic; lighter crisper coating that held out well, this was much better than the previous day. They just need to get a handle on rendering out a bit more fat and I think this is a keeper.

So, I guess the really nice folks here weren't kidding when they said things "get better every day". At least it did for me.

I like these folks, I hope they do well. Though I'll wait until or maybe after their upcoming Soft Opening.

I also need to order the Garlic Parmesan wings that Kirbie enjoyed in her post on Cross Street.

Cross Street Chicken and Beer
4403 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

Bushfire Kitchen (Del Mar)

October 3, 2017 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

This is mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog. Kirk is having technical difficulties today, so Cathy is writing this post.

Bushfire Grill is a family owned and operated restaurant with locations in La Costa, Temecula and Del Mar. There's an 'About Us' poster near the condiments: "Farm Fresh Food Made the Old Fashioned Way – affordable, top shelf ingredients, local and organic (when practical) cooked simply with bold flavors". The Del Mar location opened a year ago this month. The Mister and I dropped in for lunch on a weekday. The Northwest corner of Interstate 5 at Del Mar Heights road is the location of this obscure mall. Anchored by Vons, AAA and some other interesting (future posts) eateries, right next to a Starbucks. You are directed to walk along the food preparation area then order and pay. Menus (Breakfast and Lunch/Dinner) with prices are above the open area (and at the bottom of this post) Take a number, find a seat and your order is brought out.

When I saw that Zumbar coffee was sold here, I ordered a press pot ($4) and it was brought out first, with a pitcher of half and half. Zumba is my favorite local roast coffee and this was just so perfect. The Mister ordered the half chicken plate ($11) and it came with a house made peri peri sauce (crushed chillies, citrus rind, onion, salt, pepper, lemon juice, bay leaves, paprika, pimento, basil, oregano and tarragon). It was a bit spicy. The chicken had been coated in a very nice spice blend already…very moist and the addition of sauce 'interrupted' those flavors.

I decided to try an entree portion of mixed sides ($12.95) Clockwise from 12:00: Grandma's Mac & Cheese; quinoa, beet and wild arugula salad; Kaleslaw; baked sweet potato. Each of these sides were flavorful and unique. Of course the mac & cheese was the favorite…each item was so fresh and went with the chicken.

Other sides choices include: bacon & beans; butternut squash; seasonal grilled veggies; garlic mashed potatoes; potato chips; french fries; sweet potato fries; rustic greek salad; caesar salad; spinach & strawberry salad and mixed seasonal greens. Both the chicken and the sides entree came with a piece of house made focaccia-light, fluffy, soft, warm…with a side cup of champagne vinaigrette infused with chopped chives-unique and another burst of flavor.

Service was outstanding, even though it was getting busy. The food was really great. We are planning a follow up visit.

Who else has been here? Soo was here about six months ago, so was Faye, about ten months ago.

Bushfire Kitchen 2602 Del Mar Heights Road Del Mar 92014 (858) 461-0946 open daily 8 a.m.-9 p.m. Website

Chris’ Ono Grinds Island Grill (North Park)

October 2, 2017 mmm-yoso Local Kine Stuffs in San Diego, Loco Mocos, Plate Lunch

After several years; I finally made it to Chris' Ono Grinds in North Park. I'd been meaning to ever since, sadly, a couple of years after visiting the Mission Gorge location, it was consumed by fire (here's a video). I'd actually been thinking of revisiting the Mission Gorge location about the time of the fire. I put the North Park location on my "list" and well, call it old age, promptly forgot about it. Until recently when one of the guys at work, "BigD from Georgia" told me how much he enjoys the place. Well, even though "BigD" wouldn't know a plate lunch from a slate lunch, I thought it was about time.

It was a nice weekend morning, about eleven-thirty-ish, when I parked and crossed the street into the tiny shop.

The folks here are quite friendly, very hospitable. It was close enough for breakfast for me to order the Loco Moco ($11).

Well, other than the perfect easy-over egg (it was overcooked last time), this was basically a replay. The burger had some nice beefiness, but was really tough and rubbery. The gravy had a sour-bitterness to it that I found rather unpleasant. The rice was fine.

That mac salad was the best thing about this meal. Edging on a bit too sour, it was served nicely chilled, the macaroni was perfectly cooked, the amount of mayo was hitting that top end, but was still within parameters.

Too bad about the gravy, because that egg was lovely.

A couple of weeks later, I was in the neighborhood, so I decided to drop by. This time I went with the Huli Huli Chicken – Teri Steak ($12). One thing you can't complain about is the portion sizes at Chris's.

Well, be it ever so humble, once again, that mac salad was my favorite thing about this meal.

I gotta give it to Chris's though, the beef, while cut thicker than usual for teri beef was fairly tender. I just wish it was better marinated and had less of the salty-heavy ginger glaze.

The Huli Huli Chicken was as before, too sticky sweet for my taste and this time it was really charred to death.

Nice portions, nice people, not my kind of loco moco or plate lunch. In thinking about things; Chris's has the potential to be something along the lines of Diamond Head Market and Grill. Man am I missing home right now.

Chris’ Ono Grinds Island Grill
4506 30th St
San Diego, CA 92116
Open Daily
1130am – 9pm

2018 Tournament of Roses Rose Parade float road testing, breakfast at Aroma Craft Coffee (Walnut)

October 1, 2017 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Breakfast/Brunch, Caffeine Fix, Festivals & Events, Los Angeles County, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!!is a blog about food. Todays post includes activities leading to consumption of food. Cathy is writing.

The Mister and I were on our way to Irwindale at 5 a.m. on Saturday, arriving at Phoenix Decorating Company after 7. Four floats were being road tested for the January 1, 2018 Tournament of Roses Rose Parade, which has the theme "Making a Difference".

The float sponsored by Western Asset, an investment company, with it's title "Oceans of Possibility" will have no riders and will appear to be underwater (see the concentric circles on the larger dolphin nose? There are also a few more at the tips of the taller pieces of seaweed, to depict breaking the water surface) (also, water reflections on the backs of the larger mammals).

"Armenian Roots", sponsored by The American Armenian Rose Float Association (click the link to see the artist rendition of this beautiful float) was in the second phase of testing. You can see the slotted out area where the float 'spotter' will be seated. (The driver looks down, at the rose colored line down the center of Colorado Boulevard; the spotter communicates with the driver with instructions and also has their own set of brakes in case of an emergency). "Transforming Lives with Hope" is sponsored by the City of Hope Hospital system and will be a beautiful with its florals hanging from above.

The United Sikh Mission will have its third entry in the Parade in 2018. (photos of the two previous floats are at this link).
Peeking in the float barn, we saw a bit of construction happening…and then were off to find breakfast.
Last month, after leaving BMC Pho (following float road testing), we stayed on the side roads and stopped at a Starbucks in Walnut before jumping on the 60 to drive home. After leaving the Starbucks, we drove through the parking lot and had noticed

Aroma Craft Coffee, made a mental note and remembered to stop in on Saturday.

The Diedrich coffee roaster in the front window had me intrigued; it was being used to roast fresh, green coffee beans by the time we were leaving.

Walk in, order and pay, find a seat and your beverages and food are brought out to you. A perfect espresso ($3), accompanied by sparking water, was brought out first. This is how an espresso should taste; the strength yet slight sweetness of the beans came through. The Mister ordered the Prosciutto Benedict ($12). The toasted english muffin had a layer of baby spinach 'protecting' it from not getting soggy, being topped with (a generous amount of ) thin sliced, quality prosciutto, topped by perfectly poached eggs, topped with a lemony fresh made Hollandaise sauce.

I saw this item being delivered to a table while waiting in line to order. Avocado Toast ($10). Since I've never ordered avocado toast before, I technically can't give a comparison of flavors. Since I know what I like, I can say this was absolutely wonderful. The toast: multigrain-I could taste rye- there were seeds and texture and flavor to the thick slice of toasted bread, which was protected by a layer of spinach and mixed lettuces and topped with a great portion of soft scrambled eggs, topped with sliced avocado, topped with a mild soy based sauce with fresh dill.

We weren't done:

There were several these Siphon Coffee makers at the ordering counter. We ordered a cup ($7) made with this week's special roasted bean, Columbian.

This turned out to be about three (proper, 6 ounce) cups of coffee. A small shot glass 'snifter' of the grounds was provided. This was a beautiful, clear smooth cup of coffee.

A wonderful meal on a beautiful day.

Aroma Craft Coffee 20265 Valley Boulevard, Suite Q Walnut, CA 91789 (909) 869-0001 Website Open Mon-Fri 10 a.m.-7 p.m., Sat-Sun 9 a.m.-7 p.m.

Paris – A Walk Around the Left Bank, Eric Kayser, and Dinner at Terroir Parisien (Since Closed)

September 28, 2017 mmm-yoso Bakery, France, French Restaurants, Paris, France, Travel

While I was sad to leave Beaune and Burgundy behind, the Missus was excited about returning to Paris. We were staying in the Latin Quarter at the Hotel Monge which I ended up really enjoying. I really enjoyed the area around the hotel; Arrondissements 4 and 5. Did you know there's a Roman amphitheatre in Paris? The Arènes de Lutèce is in the 5th arrondissement and was one of the first places we saw after arriving since it was basically right behind the hotel.

The Arènes de Lutèce was constructed during the 1st Century and could hold as many as 17,000 spectators. It was sacked in 280 AD and even though the area was still called les Arènes, the location was lost to time. Until the 1860's when it was rediscovered while building Rue Monge.

It kind of looks like a simple park. More on Arènes de Lutèce here.

After checking in, the Missus was ready to explore. As mentioned earlier; I really enjoyed the vibe of this area. It just seemed a bit more "real" to me, while still being very French.

The Missus was feeling a bit puckish, so we headed up Rue Monge to the branch of Maison Eric Kayser right up Rue Monge.

The place was doing good business. The Missus went for the Almond Croissant and we both had espresso.

And while the croissant looked beautiful; it was a bit too sweet, and the texture of the croissant wasn't to the Missus's liking.

Eric Kayser
14 Rue Monge
75005 Paris, France

We actually enjoyed the croissants and especially the gougères from this nearby corner bakery more….sorry, no photos this time around….

Bolstered by the espresso we headed off; the Missus wanted to see the Pantheon, so we headed up Rue du Cardinal Lemoine, turning on Rue Clovis, passing Église Saint-Étienne-du-Mont.

And then hitting the crowds around the corner at the Panthéon.

Where many famous French citizens such as Victor Hugo, Marie Curie, and Voltaire are interred.

There are quite a few impressive structures nearby; like this one, the Mairie du 5e arrondissement de Paris.

Which is the town hall.

A few blocks away is Jardin du Luxembourg (Luxembourg Garden), the wonderful green space of Luxembourg Palace, where the French Senate meets. This being a laid back Sunday afternoon, it was a great place to relax for a bit and people watch.

Like I've said many times….folks in Europe really know how to relax and enjoy a leisure day……

From the Gardens, we headed toward the Seine, passing Église Saint-Sulpice.

The church's distinctive round towers reaching to the sky. It's interesting to note that the South Tower, the one on the right in the photo above is actually unfinished. I was told that the an event; one might have heard of, called the French Revolution interrupted the construction and the tower is left unfinished.

From here we wandered the back streets, passing places like Le Deux Magots (The Two Chinamen) Café.

Where folks like Hemingway, Camus, Picasso, and even Jim Morrison used to hang out.

There's quite a bit to see around here; the Hotel where Oscar Wilde died, places where George Sand and Richard Wagner lived…..and even a statue of Voltaire.

There's more than enough history to go around……

That's the view across the Seine from the Pont des Arts.

We decided to head on back to the Hotel Monge and take a short break before dinner. Place Saint Michel was bustling. There were quite a few soldiers patrolling the streets in this area, as crowds gathered around the Fontaine Saint Michel.

There was something happening on every corner it seemed.

After a nice break we headed out to dinner. The place I chose was Terroir Parisien which had been highly recommended.

Strangely, we fond the menu and preparation to be nothing special and very pedestrian. Also, the service was on the brusque side. Terroir Parisien was touted as being a chef driven locavorian (is there such a word?) bistro. For some reason, we weren't particularly drawn to the food here. Since Terroir Parisien has since closed, perhaps others shared our opinion?

Anyway, here's what we had.

Perhaps we'd been eating so well on this trip that we'd become jaded? I'm not quite sure, but everything except the oeufs au plat, lard de Paris (basically two eggs and bacon) was really underwhelming.

Terroir Parisien (Closed)
20 rue Saint Victor
75005 Paris, France

Still, we were enjoying the liveliness of Paris.

And tomorrow was going to be our last in the City of Lights. We intended to make the best of it!

Revisits – Mignon Pho + Grill and Red Moon Noodle House

September 27, 2017 mmm-yoso Chinese BBQ, Chinese Restaurants, Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants

So, our office was set to move after years in the Serra/Kearny Mesa area. We'd be heading a bit North. Thus, I decided to revisit a couple of places before we left.

Mignon Pho + Grill:

Or as Calvin's wife calls it; "pho for folks who don't like pho". I dunno, it had been a couple of years, so I decided to check them out again.

I went with the "Trolley Bowl" ($10).

The noodles were decent, though in clump, and the herbs and such were sparse though fresh. Still not sure why they serve ngo om (aka rice paddy herb), with its distinct flavor with the pho here.

The soup always seems to have kind of a bitter – tinny flavor to me. It's also quite weak and overly defatted. The proteins were tough and lacked flavor.

But, this place still seems to do good business. Perhaps it's the service which has always been friendly. Or perhaps it's the Lemongrass Fries, which is the best (only decent) thing I've had here.

Mignon Pho + Grill
3860 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

Red Moon Noodle House:

**** Red Moon has closed

Another place that I haven't been to in a while and haven't had great luck with. Though one of the folks that I used to work with really enjoyed the Singapore Noodle at Red Moon. So why not?

The really nice guy working brought me a fork to start? I had to ask for chopsticks? The dish, when it arrived, piping hot, looked quite impressive as it was topped with fried eggs.

Once you got past that though, it was a disappointment. The pork in this was really tough, almost hard.

There was way too much curry powder….it was definitely powder because it left a grainy, bitter residue on my tough. This was actually rather unpleasant to eat.

The noodles were too hard as well.

I took most of this home and had the Missus taste this……big mistake.

Folks have mentioned a "secret menu" (I've had the XLB, it's definitely bought frozen from somewhere else), but I've never received recommendations. So guess what? Singapore noodles….maybe that fork should have been a clue?

Really nice folks here too though….

Red Moon Noodle House
4646 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

I really liked the folks working at both places; but man, the food really didn't and hasn't been my thing here.

Pho 7 Cow

September 26, 2017 mmm-yoso Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants

Guess I really don't get around that much anymore. I didn't see this shop until I dropped by Royal Mandarin to pick up some salt-and-pepper chicken wings for a pot luck.

It was close enough to lunch time like 10:15 or so and I was feeling a bit hungry.

In spite of the rather "old school" name and logo, this place is really nicely put together. Well spaced tables, none of which are sticky, brightly lit, clean….Servers smile and wave you to your tables.

The menu has all the usual suspects. And while I'd usually go for a bowl of pho during any maiden voyage, it was still really hot and unusually sticky. And I saw someone having the Bo Kho as I walked to my table, so I went with the Banh Mi Bo Kho.

This was not bad at all. While not quite as rich as I prefer; there was a hint of beefiness to the broth. Anise and black pepper tones were more pronounced. Likewise, more of a soup than a "stew". I'm thinking things were done to not offend as there was only one piece of tendon to be had, but it was decently tender. Lots of beef, some with rather chewy connective tissue, but still rather tender, moist, no off flavors.

The bread was standard issue, but prepared well, crusty, nicely hot and toasted.

So it comes down to the "little things"; the two pieces of carrot were basically raw; I could have used more onion, and the broth was a bit too thin. But overall, this was pretty good, better than most I'd say.

I made a note to return…well, because you know how I am, right? Though I waited until things cooled down.

And I went with good 'ol number 1……while I'm usually not a big fan of the rare steak served at most pho places in San Diego (even my favorites), I usually order this just to get a view of how all the various proteins are handled.

I was rather surprised when I noticed there was Ngo Gai along with the usual basil, spouts, jalapeno, and lime. It was also very fresh, crisp, and fragrant.

The broth was on the thin and light side, though it wasn't as sweet as many versions I've had recently. Very faint beefiness and like the bo kho, nice anise tones. No MS-heebie-geebies for me.

A decent, passable, albeit overly defatted broth.

As for the proteins; the rare steak was passable, not overly dry, but still without much flavor. The flank and brisket were good, nice beefy tones, not overly tough. The meatball was the standard issue squeaky orb.

There was but one piece of tendon, which was nicely prepared, adequately tender.

The tripe had that somewhat soapy flavor that I'm not very fond of. And like the tendon, there was but one (thankfully) strand of it in the bowl.

Catering to their customer base I guess.

The noodles were done perfectly; decent chew, not mushy, and not in a tight clump at the bottom of the bowl. Some folks don't understand, that yes, it does matter to me. And yes, I will write 200 words to describe that bowl of pho I just had….. Because it does matter to me.

And, I was pleasantly surprised. As this was a totally decent bowl of pho. Man, it does seem like pho in these parts is getting better.

Nice service, there quite a bit of staff to customers, so things seem to get done quickly. The folks are pleasant. They seem to cater to kids and families. There was a play area at the back of the restaurant.

I'd certainly come here every so often if I lived in the area.

Pho 7 Cow
1025 Highland Ave
National City, CA 91950
Hours:
Open Daily 10am – 9pm