mmm-yoso – Page 231 – 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.

Seville – A Return to La Azotea (Zaragoza) and Other Stuffs

March 8, 2017 mmm-yoso Seville, Spain, Spanish Restaurants and Cuisine, Travel

It was our last evening in Seville. And to be perfectly frank; this wonderful gem of a city really charmed us….relaxed, friendly, warm, and fun. For our last dinner, we headed back to the scene of our favorite meal in Seville, the Zaragoza location of La Azotea.

Like I mentioned previously; if you want tapas sized portions at La Azotea, you need to sit at the bar. We arrived right after opening and was greeted with a smile from the very efficient bartender Pablo, who recognized us from our previous visit.

After having some really delicious navajas (razor clams) on our previous visit, the Missus was all about the seafood here.

We started with a media racione (half portion) of Coquinas a species of Donax (small clams) served with fried baby artichokes.

That garlicky white wine sauce was so good and the clams nicely sweet, briney, and tender.

The Calamares was the weakest dish of the evening. Tender, but really nothing special in terms of flavor or how it was fried.

Sticking with the bivalve theme, the Almejas (Clams) en su Salsa (cooked in their own juices) was excellent.

Nice oceany flavor, cut with a bit of acid. The clams were very tender as were the shrimp. Another sauce just made for bread!

And of course, our favorite from the previous evening; the Foie Gras ala Plancha.

Which was just as beautifully rich and decadent as what we had previously. Great balance of sweet and earthy tones, crisp on the outside, molten and quivering inside. Just lovely.

We finished with a nice Vermut. What a nice way to end our stay in Seville!

La Azotea – Zaragoza
Calle Zaragoza 5c
Sevilla, Spain
Open Daily:
130pm – 430pm, 830pm – Midnight

It was Saturday night and Seville was happening. We headed back to the apartment, but decided to stop and enjoy this early (in Spanish terms – like 1030) evening. The Missus had been eyeing out this Helados (Ice Cream) and She decided to step in and get something.

And got the Goat Cheese and Quince Jelly Ice Cream!

Yikes!

I had a different notion….something from across the street.

I think there was some kind of student initiation or something going on here……

I had no idea what was going on, but it sure was festive…..

Though it seemed that most of the guys here just wanted to watch the football match…..

I had my one beer and left. It was time to hit the sack. Our train was to leave early in the morning.

We were a bit sad to leave Seville…..our trip to Spain was almost over. Just one more night in Madrid, then it was back to work.

Here's my requisite Jamon Bellota Iberico Pata Negra shot.

Actually, we shouldn't have been concerned. I had snagged really cheap first class train tickets form Seville to Madrid.

And this being Sunday morning and all; things were really quiet….like "Japan quiet". We were the only passengers in First Class which meant that we got a decent breakfast……and then were able to catch some shut eye!

With dreams of Foie Gras ala Plancha dancing in our heads!

Tasty Pot – Convoy

March 7, 2017 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Taiwanese Food and Restaurants

**** Tasty Pot is now Sizzling House & Noodle

Our good friend “Xiāng Jiāo” first noticed Tasty Pot was coming to Plaza del Sol on Convoy. And a few weeks later, I noticed a Tasty Pot location was opening on Mira Mesa Boulevard. I did some quick research and found that Tasty Pot was a chain based in NorCal. After a rather long wait, I noticed back in January that TP was ready to open. Since this is Taiwanese style hot pot, I wasn’t surprised that Kirbie made it a point to visit right away.

I waited a couple of weeks…..but if there was any month that was just perfect for hot pot, it was this past February. On a rather chilly day, I headed over to Tasty Pot. And was surprised to see one of the “guys” from Village North! We saw each other and cracked up….apparently, he is a good friend of VN’s owner and will help out when necessary. The young lady serving me on this day was really very nice as well.

And they also had one of my favorite hot pot condiments….fermented bean curd.

The menu boasts “combos” for lunch and dinner. Numbers 1-8 is $11.99 for lunch and $12.99 for dinner. Number 9 – 12 is $14.99 for lunch and $15.99 for dinner. And comes with rice or glass noodles and iced tea (unfortunately only sweetened) for lunch.

I went with the Taiwanese Supreme Spicy ($14.99) at medium spicy. These hot pots come loaded with stuff.

As you would imagine, this is more about quantity, but you can’t say you’re not getting variety. Which ranged from “meh”, the clams were hard as rock and kind of messy, surimi, cuttlefish rings like rubber, to decent, the fried tofu puffs, the pork, which was sliced nicely thin, but had no flavor. I enjoyed the bean curd, the blood cake, and the tendon the most.

And I must say, even at medium, this was a lot more spicy than I thought it would be. But not much numbing tones or the thicker, richer hot pot broth that is more to our taste.

Overall, you couldn’t complain about the portion size, there was no way I could finish all of this. I ended up taking leftovers home, but not until the really nice young woman partially refilled my broth! How nice. I do think the overall flavor while decent, didn’t have a good a “ma-la” as what I had at Boiling Passion….though it’s hard to argue with the portion size and variety at Tasty Pot.

On one rather rainy day, Calvin and I headed back to Tasty Pot.

Calvin decided to get the Stinky Tofu version ($11.99). Man, that intestine was delicious.

And I got some broth, which was pretty weak and a slice (one of only two) of chou doufu (stinky tofu), and while I didn’t expect it to be anything like what we had in China (to my relief), but it was pretty bland, not even close to say, what you’d get at random places in our old neighborhood. The preserved vegetables were also appreciated.

I got the Lamb Hot Pot ($11.99).

This was scaldingly hot, though not too spicy, and mild in flavor….until I dumped a good amount of fermented bean curd into it. The very thinly sliced lamb was very tender, but didn’t have the gameyness associated with good lamb that I enjoy. As with most hot pots, it’s those bean curd products I enjoy, along with mushroom and this was no exception.

Again, really generous portions….it’s nice and warming on a cold day, the service was very nice. Like Boiling Passion, I’m not sure if I’ll be a regular customer, but this wasn’t bad at all.

Tasty Pot
4698 Convoy St.
San Diego, CA 92111

What’s the Missus Craving? Gyokai Natto Don from Izakaya Sakura

March 6, 2017 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants

I know, yet another post on Izakaya Sakura, though it's been a couple of months. I'm not sure if any other customers notice, but the service here had started to tank over the last couple of years. On a recent weekend however, the Missus was craving the Gyokai Natto Don…..which is usually something I crave. So we headed on over. Man, this parking lot was a horror story. We ended up parking on the street past Nijiya.

Well, at least this time things were good. The service was decent and the Missus got Her fix.

While She did notice that the portion size had gotten significantly smaller and the quality of the fish was not what it used to be, She was still satisfied. And with all the other dishes; this ends up being pretty hefty.

I got the Katsu Curry.

The curry itself was better than I'd had here previously. Rustically thick, with a nice touch of beefiness, a slight sweetness, a mild umami that I believe is probably Worcestershire, with a nice kick. The tonkatsu was on the dry side, but ok. The rice perfect. We both enjoyed the miso soup, which wasn't as watered down as other places. It was a pretty chilly day….by San Diego standards, so this filled the bill for me.

As we were walking out of the parking lot, the Missus turned to me and said; "ok, now I'm ready for Japan again……"

Izakaya Sakura
3904 Convoy St #121
San Diego, CA 92111

Circling Back to Cafe Dore

March 5, 2017 mmm-yoso Vietnamese Restaurants

**** Cafe Dore is now Da Nang Restaurant

While heading off to Rolando/City Heights to do some shopping for the Missus, I decided to grab some breakfast. Unfortunately, my first choice had closed up shop. Instead of heading off to the usual suspects, Minh Ky, Ly Heng, Hoai Hue, Pho King, Nhu Y, Tu Thanh, or 777 Noodlehouse (whew…). I decided on heading over to Café Dore. It had been a quite a while since I last visited and even longer since I'd actually had noodle soup there.

Usually the hang out of those Vietnamese "Coffee Guys"……you know, Vietnamese coffee culture, just like they do in the Old Country. There were just a few guys on this day and guess what? No one was smoking….and gasp…all those machines, you know, the ones for "entertainment purposes only" were gone!

I was quite surprised.

I ordered the combination noodle soup that I enjoy, Hu Tieu Mi Nguoi Hoa ($7.25).

Stretchy Hu Tieu and slightly crunchy Mi, I enjoy the contrasts of textures. The soup was passable; a lot of black pepper, not too salty, pretty straight forward…simple. The BBQ Pork was tough and lacked that sweet-savory-salty flavor I enjoy, the shrimp was passable, not the best quality, but not over-cooked and rubbery. My favorite item was the chicken which had a wonderful, deepness to the flavor, sort of like Hainan Chicken. I'd actually come here to try the Hu Tieu Ga, which I was told was good, but couldn't find it on the menu.

Along with the usual sprouts and lettuce, Tong Ho (Garland Chrysanthemum – Shingiku) was provided. But for some reason, the usual "green"-dill taste wasn't very strong. All were crisp and fresh.

Not bad overall.

I'm wondering if this is the "newer and gentler" version of Café Dore. Or did I just happen to drop by on that odd day.

I need to start revisiting some of these places around here…..though my schedule will need to get a bit less hectic to do that.

Cafe Dore
4135 University Ave
San Diego, CA 92105

Saturday Stuffs – Okan Diner Replacing Izakaya Kanpai, Gourmet City Under New Ownership, and Pho 87 Opening Soon.

March 4, 2017 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Japanese Restaurants, Vietnamese Restaurants

Here's a couple a of places I passed on my way to and from work and one that I had intended to check out, but had already closed.

Okan Diner Replacing Izakaya Kanpai:

Driving home down Clairemont Mesa Boulevard, I noticed that the signage for Izakaya Kanpai had changed. I took a closer look and to my surprise; it said….Okan Diner!

I guess Okan's Empire is expanding yet again. So now it'll be a threesome, with the original Okan (Mom), Oton (Dad), wouldn't it be funny if they named this shop "Bozu"?

Be interesting to see what the menu's going to be like.

With Havana Grill and Private Kitchens opening in the last two years; the complexion of this strip sure has changed. I'm sure that the parking situation will probably become a bit tenuous as well.

5430 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92117

Gourmet City Changes Ownership:

The sun is rising a bit earlier these days. And on my typical 6am drive to work, I noticed a new Grand Opening sign on Gourmet City.

My sources tell me they now serve Cantonese fare in addition to the previous menu.

5541 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92117

Pho 87 Opening Soon:

A few weeks back, the Missus wanted me to pick something up from Northgate Market. I ended up having breakfast at Café Dore (post upcoming). On my way back home I noticed that the signage for Pho & Banh Cuon Ha Long Restaurant had changed to Pho Huong Viet. And while my sources told me it was still under the same ownership, I made a mental note to check them out. Having to make a return trip to Northgate Market, I turned into the parking lot at the corner of 54th and University.

And found that the place was being renovated. The sign on the door said "Pho 87 Noodle House. Coming soon in 2 weeks."

Man, talk about some quick turnaround since the Van Hoa days.

4016 54th Street
San Diego, CA

Sadly, the rather large spot last occupied by Pho Da Kao still sits empty….man, it's been closed for over two years already!

Hope you're having a great weekend.

Kyoto – Ginkaku-ji, the Philosopher’s Path, Honen-in Temple, and Obanzai at Mimasuya Okudohan

March 2, 2017 mmm-yoso Japan, Japanese Restaurants, Kyoto, Travel

The Missus was rarin' to go during our first full day back in Kyoto. We'd put in a it of mileage on this day, but She did let me (us) catch the Keihan Line two stops to Demachi Yanagi. We got out, had a quick cup of coffee and headed East. Thru a few winding streets somehow ending up at Hyakumanben Chion-ji Temple.

From which we were to get our bearings and head back down Higashioji-dori taking a turn onto Imadegawa-dori.

In spite of being a pretty large street, things were very quiet on this morning, with very few people, and this rather unhappy fellow around.

We knew we were getting close as the street went over the river…..

And then we were on a path with signs…..the beginning of the Philosopher's Path.

Leading us to the gate to Ginkaku-ji.

And a sign I love……"No Selfie Sticks"!

Basically named the "Silver Pavilion", patterned after the Golden Pavilion (we'll get there one of these days), Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu built his retirement home on he grounds.

After Yoshimitsu's death the complex was converted into a Zen Temple. That's the Silver Pavilion above……strangely, there's not much "silver" going on here.

However, we found the grounds to be quite impressive; especially the "Ginshadan".

Actually, we found the grounds to be quite tranquil and lovely……there comes a time when I need to stop typing and just let you enjoy the photos.

Looks just like a movie set.

And the view from the hill behind all the structures is quite pretty as well.

We left feeling relaxed…..

And headed down the Philosopher's Path.

And coming across this sign…..

Headed up the zig-zag road…..

To the gate of Honen-in Temple.

Which seemed to frame the fall colors perfectly.

And spent a few minutes.

Before heading back down that street and to the Philosopher's Path.

The path ends in the Nanzenji neighborhood and we walked on over to Sanjo Dori, crossing over the Kamo River. I was in search of our lunch destination.

Before we were interrupted by Typhoon Vongfong on our previous visit. I had planned having a lunch at a place that did Obanzai; basically a place that made seasonal dishes, many of them simple, rustic, and vegetable based, created to minimize waste. The dishes I saw just reminded me of stuff I ate growing up. this was almost the antithesis of the very popular Kyoto Kaiseki.

Just simple, home style dishes….soul food, if you will.

The place I chose was Mimasuya Okudohan……which had a display of "yasai" (vegetables), displayed outside a typical Machiya in the area north of Nishiki Market and the shopping arcades.

There was no one waiting when we arrived at opening time. The fragrance of steaming rice permeated the air as we were seated.

There was a simple two multi-course menu for lunch.

Like the "okazuya" I grew up doing take out from, things were prepped and set-up for a quick service.

And the place filled up fast.

We got one of each of the two lunches.

So many of the flavors were so familiar to me…and the Missus, since I make quite a bit of Japanese nimono style dishes at home. What we really remember is how good the rice was here….I mean, really fragrant, slightly nutty, just amazing.

And the miso soup….more of a red (aka) miso, with a savory bite to it.

And of course those items the Missus loves so much like Kabocha. I really enjoyed the nasubi (eggplant), which had so much savory and earthiness to it.

One of the lunches came with a not so traditional dessert…..which the Missus enjoyed as well.

As we left, we noticed that quite a queue had developed outside the restaurant. It's nice to see folks wanting to try obanzai. For me, it was like stepping into Baban's kitchen. And that's priceless.

Mimasuya Okudohan
318-3 Sanjocho, Nakagyo Ward
Kyoto, Japan

Bistro Kaz Revisited

March 1, 2017 mmm-yoso Asian Fusion/Pacific Rim/Hawaii Style Fusion, Italian Restaurants, Japanese Restaurants

I was having one of those long days….and it was only 1130am! I wanted a bit of solitude during lunch and wondered where to go. I just got in the car and drove….thinking of maybe Sakura or Okan. But those places were just going to be too hectic for me. I pulled into the parking lot and walked past Bistro Kaz and turned around and headed right on in. It had been a couple of years since I last visited. And it looked like there was now some overlap on the menus between Kaz and Sakura; but the place was quiet. I started noticing over the last couple of visits that this seems to be the kind of place that the "Japanese ladies who do lunch" visit. No different on this day.

The menu here seems to have evolved from the Japano-Italian pasta heavy initial incarnation; into more of a diverse offering. Though pasta is still at its core. The pre-fixe lunch menu is still in place as well. On this day; I decided on the Beef Tongue Stew, which sounded nice and comforting.

The bread was warm and crusty and when the young lady asked me if I wanted more I should have said yes…..

This was a bit more than I bargained for. The tomato sauce was heavy and quite thick….and while definitely not bland, was really missing seasonings to balance things out. The texture of the three large and fork tender pieces of beef tongue was excellent. Though I was expecting a more assertive, pure beefiness that I love from beef tongue. This could have been a regular cut of beef. This dish actually could have used some penne or something similar to help with what was more of a gravy than a stew.

Not bad, but I'm going back to the pasta dishes here next time.

Bistro Kaz
3904 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

Chopstix / Chopstix Too – more revisits

February 28, 2017 Cathy Japanese Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

Thanks for stopping to read mmm-yoso!!! Cathy is posting today, to complete a trifecta of ramen posts for this cold and wet San Diego week.

Kirk and I have posted about Chopstix and Chopstix Too many times over the years (just type in 'Chopstix' in that search box at the top left of this page). The service is fast, the food is good and the locations are convenient. The menus are the same.

It was ready to rain again this weekend when we got to the original location of Chopstix.

Sometimes I only order off the appetizer menu. The cold tofu is served with a salad ($5) and is enough on some days. Although, I've been known to also order just a side of Yasai Itame (stir fried vegetables)($5) and mix it with the cold tofu.

The Mister always peruses the menu and ends up ordering the mabo ramen ($7.45) – a pleasant, chili and bean based spicy sauce, made with tofu and ground pork served in (in this case) miso soup base. There are various choices of soup base (tonkatsu, soy sauce or miso) and add ins here. The noodles are nice and chewy and the broth always is served quite hot, with the temperature still warm even at the bottom of the bowl.

The mixed tempura appetizer ($6) includes two fried shrimp along with vegetables.

The chicken sesame (no sesame) salad ($7) is also enough to be a meal. Fried properly crisp and not oily. A tangy, mustard based dressing is served with this and is quite good.

Vegetable ramen ($7) is another choice on those days when I have to watch my cholesterol intake before the semi-annual blood test. This was with the soy sauce broth (even though I really wanted tonkotsu) and was filled with a variety of cabbages as well as onions, some carrots and sprouts. It was very good, again served quite hot and with nicely chewy noodles.

Stay warm and dry this week!

Chopstix 4633 Convoy Street San Diego 92111 Open daily, 11-10

Chopstix Too 4380 Kearney Mesa Road San Diego 92111 Open daily, 11-9 Website

Ajisen Ramen in San Diego

February 27, 2017 ed fromyuma Japanese Restaurants, Ramen, What Ed Eats -You too can be like Ed!

Kirk and Cathy are crazy busy now. Ed (from Yuma) is gainfully unemployed (also known as retired), so he has time for a post today.

I was in San Diego recently, staying on Clairemont Mesa Blvd, and I noticed a new large ramen location not too far from its intersection with Ruffner:

With the cool weather, I had been thinking about getting ramen on the trip, and when I saw that neither Kirk nor Cathy had posted about it, I thought I'd give it a try – probably taking one for the team since Kirk had been unhappy at Ajisen in Orange County.

So I arrived shortly after 11 AM. There were already a few cars in the sizable parking lot, and a few folks scattered in the modern, well-lit restaurant, which featured a variety of eating arrangements to accommodate individuals and groups of different sizes:

I was planning on having iced tea, so I was delighted to see a range of fruit flavored iced teas. This one is mango:

It was really good. Fruit sweet and full of mango flavor. Served in a covered to go cup along with a straw with one end cut at an angle making it easy to push through the lid.

The attractive menu was wide-ranging, including sushi and other Japanese dishes, but I was here for ramen. I ordered it with tender pork ribs (at lunch special prices). When it arrived at the table, it looked like this:

Up in Orange County, the Ramen was served warm, a real disappointment for Kirk; mine in San Diego was piping hot with little wisps of steam across the surface. At first the noodles were too hot for slurping, and when I finished, the broth was still warm and pleasant.

The noodles are not standard ramen (Kirk says Kumamoto style). They were, I thought, perfectly cooked, however. Not too soft and not too hard. Goldilocks style.

The cloudy broth was lightly porky with wakame overtones. Not as intense or rich as Santouka, but plenty good enough for this gaijin:

The wakame added color and flavor, and the cabbage provided a nice crunchy contrast to the other elements in the bowl.

The real hero of the soup, this ramen's main character, was the meat. Browned and nicely braised, the porkribs had toothsome chew. And a lot of tendon and cartilage and connective tissue:

Just look at this piece:

The service was professional, efficient, and reasonably friendly. I appreciated the bill arriving before I finished eating, making timely payment easy, and I appreciated the bottom line:

For 2017, this seems very reasonable.

Would I come back again?

For sure – at least for the fruity teas and the ramen with those ribs. The San Diego Ajisen Ramen, one of the over 700 branches of this large Chinese owned chain, seems to perform better than the shop Kirk visited in Orange County. And when I looked around the room, it was obvious that Ajisen has a wide appeal. On one side of me there was an older Asian couple and then a man from Charlotte, North Carolina, here on work, who'd never had ramen before. On the other side of me was a student from Japan. I am no expert on ramen; in fact I am pretty much a novice. For that reason, I enjoyed the clear menu and the table service, much easier for me than standing in line and trying to figure out the option grid at Santouka. Your mileage may differ.

Ajisen Ramen, 7398 Clairemont Mesa Blvd., San Diego 92111, (858) 277-1380. Website

Menya Ultra Ramen – A First Look

February 26, 2017 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants, Ramen

I'd been following the progress of this spot on Clairemont Mesa Boulevard for a while now. A few weeks back, I noticed the sign had gone up. There wasn't very much hype about this place as there was when Nishiki opened. But the questions and mentions I did get were interesting….it seems that folks in the Japanese community were quite interested. Heck, even Taka at Taisho mentioned this place to me! Word had got around that this ramen chain from Odate, Akita had won some awards. Also, the owner of this shop, Takashi Endo, the Director of the Ramen Assiciation of Japan was in partnership with the guy who owns San Diego's Nishiki. Along the way there was a, from what I heard, acrimonious split, but the owner of Nishiki kept the name. That's all I'm going to say about that.

I guess that didn't stop Mr Endo from opening a ramen shop here in San Diego. And yet, there wasn't too much hype about the place. But based on what I had heard, I was keeping an eye on the shop's website and "FOY" Junichi was apparently keeping up with Facebook. In fact, he posted the soft opening and grand opening information in the comments of this post.

So there I was two minutes to five, one of the first ten people in line at Menya Ramen Ultra. Folks that know me will think it rather strange, as it's not my thing to get all worked up about places opening.

I was seated at the counter….all the customers were Japanese speakers except me…..but I guess I looked the part as my order sheet was in Japanese.

It wasn't hard to decipher what I wanted…just the simple Tonkotsu Ajitama Ramen….but when I opened my mouth, the very nice young lady immediately turned the sheet over to the English side….even though I had already filled out my order.

The kitchen was going through its paces….Takashi Endo actually passed by and gave me a nod. Kind of funny. I'll give them this; they really staffed well for this.

My ramen arrived scalding hot. The fragrance was definitely that of tonkotsu paitan and really reminded me of Japan. There's certain funkiness to the smell of a good tonkotsu that I enjoy. I believe this version is a combination of pork and chicken as there seems to be a real hint of fowl in the broth. It's a bit lighter in the collagen area, but still fairly rich. It's very nice, not overly salty, and possibly my favorite version in San Diego right now.

The egg had a nice flavor, though I would have been happy with it being a bit less cooked. Also, it was served almost ice cold.

The noodles were just perfect in texture, at least for my taste, slippery with a nice chew, and look how the broth just coated those noodles. I didn't even have to order it "katame", firm.

The chashu as a single thin slice, but it had a nice balanced flavor and wasn't tough.

The overall impression of the bowl was that this was a good textbook version of tonkotsu ramen, which means it's already better than 99% of what out there. It's not flashy, there's no crazy hype, no exotic ingredients, which suits me just fine.

If they hold the course, I now have a place where I can enjoy a straight-up good bowl of tonkotsu ramen. Though that might be a bit more difficult based on the line of folks waiting for seats as I left last night. We'll see what the future holds.

I understand that Ultra's grand opening is tomorrow, they'll be open from 11am – 3pm and 5pm to 9pm daily. However, if you need your ramen fix tonight, they are still going though their soft opening paces from 5pm to 9pm tonight.

Menya Ultra Ramen
8199 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92111