mmm-yoso – Page 244 – 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.

From Easter Island to Santiago

August 13, 2016 mmm-yoso Beer, Caffeine Fix, Easter Island, Santiago, Chile, Travel

Here's an interesting tidbit; mention Easter Island to someone in the Spanish speaking world and you might get a blank stare. The official Spanish name is Isla de Pascua. I mentioned Easter Island a few times in Santiago and got quizzical looks. Upon returning, I mentioned Easter Island to one of the folks in another department, she is Peruvian (Tusan!), and she had no idea what I was talking about until I said Isla de Pascua! She loves talking to me about Peruvian food and I'm definitely going to get some recommendations from her next time we travel to Peru.

Our The flight out of Hanga Roa didn't leave until 11, so we had some time to take a short drive and refill the fuel, and stuffs like that. While I was taking the trash out I heard the sound of hooves and took a look around the hedges! There was a guy riding a horse down the street….with a pony following! You sure don't see that everyday here in San Diego!

I quietly walked back to the cabanas, when, I was met by a familiar creature….dum, da, dum, dum……

He looked rather irritated and I'd had enough. I let the cat sit in my lap and gave it some attention. When I put the cat down….it got rather angry, but I moved quickly enough and avoided any parting shots.

Having escaped the clutches of the cat, we headed off and did a last short drive around Hanga Roa.

Man this place was beautiful!

Even the outdoor fitness park……

We made a last stop in town at our favorite little breakfast place.

We got the specialty of the house; the eggs and Nescafe. This time I got a polka dot cup…..

We then went to the gas station, filled up and headed back to the cabanas to relax before our trip.

Check-out went smoothly. When Vero, the wonderful woman at Marae – Cabañas went to call us a shuttle, we told her that we'd rather walk. The airport was just a 15 minute walk away.

Check-In and everything else was fine; a bit slow, but again…this is island life….you don't rush things. Once past security, while waiting we watched the excited visitors exit the place. This is where we were just a few days before.

Due to the time change, it was almost 9pm when we got into Santiago. Our flight to Lima left at 8 the next morning so there was no sense in heading into Santiago. There's a very convenient Holiday Inn right across the street from the airport. After grabbing a sandwich in the airport, this is where we settled in. We decided on a nightcap and went to the bar.

The guy working the bar was so nice and friendly that we decided to stay for a second drink. We talked about Santiago and he mentioned how busy the city is. We asked about classic Chilean dishes and he was nice enough to pull photos from Instagram and other sites, describing the various dishes. What a great guy.

He also made a decent Old Fashioned…..

Soon enough, it was time to head back up to our room. We'd try to grab some shut-eye before our flight to Lima in the morning……though I could still see Moai dancing in my dreams!

Easter Island – Revisiting Te Moana

August 12, 2016 mmm-yoso Easter Island, Easter Island Restaurants, Seafood, Travel

After a pretty hectic but exhilarating day we returned to our cabanas and had a short nap. Upon waking we relaxed…..the Missus fiddled around and I worked on a post. The Missus opened the front door and shrieked! The "Killer Pussy" was back! And taunting us!

I mean…there were lots of possible victims…..the chickens looked like fair game.

But no……this cat seem to want some attention, or else!

We decided to wait out the killer cat, who eventually lost interest and left. A few minutes later we headed out for a drive and dinner…..we saw the cat running toward us. Luckily, we made it to the car rather quickly.

We took a nice drive down along the ocean……ending at a nice patch of green. Man, the backdrop of the pacific makes all the photos look great.

Rather than search around for a dinner destination, we decided to head back to Te Moana.

It was much more busy on this evening, but we got the same table as the previous night. Same Server too.

This time I decided on the Ceviche Ika Mata. As before the fish was sparkling fresh, though this seemed a tad "over-cooked" by citrus.

While I wasn't a big fan of adding mustard, nor the sauce to my ceviche….red onions, cilantro, avocado, fresh fish….what's not to like? I also kind of enjoyed the garlic toast as well…..though it didn't seem to go real well with the fish.

The Missus wanted Her favorite from the previous night; the Ceviche Te Moana.

The ceviche was just as lovely this night as well. The touch of coconut milk added a nice counter-point to the citrus and also added a mild creaminess to the lovely fish. The Missus also enjoyed the shrimp. And just like the previous night; that rice was terrible. Of course we didn't order this for the rice.

I also wanted to try the octopus; which was nice and tender, very mild in flavor.

Wasn't a fan of the rather odd tasting sauce, nor the mushy, slightly water-logged mashed potato either.

Overall, Te Moana delivered, the seafood wonderful.

That sunset was fantastic as well.

Te Moana
Policarpo Toro
Hanga Roa, Easter Island, Valparaiso, Chile

There's a playground just outside the restaurant. Where kids were playing and dogs were hanging out.

The Missus decided to have a bit of fun and a friend joined Her!

He followed the Missus all over the park. Even standing guard while the Missus had fun on the swings.

We wanted to bring him home! But a few minutes later, the pup left for greener pastures.

We took the long way back. Easter Island was an amazing experience. Definitely "bucket list" stuff. But even though we hadn't seen everything, it was time to move on. Tomorrow we'd be flying back to Santiago.

Thanks for reading!

Boulder, Colorado: Dushanbe Teahouse and The Med

August 11, 2016 ed fromyuma Colorado, Mediterranean Restaurants, What Ed Eats -You too can be like Ed!

While Ed (from Yuma) posts about eating on vacation today, Cathy and Kirk are busy. The world is like that.

You don't need a weatherman to know that July and August are good times for Yumans to go on vacation, so I flew to the Denver area to see an old friend and cool off for a few days. The focus of the visit was not gastronomy, but Jane wanted me to try some of her longtime favorites. Who was I to complain about that? And she let me bring my camera, hence this post.

Boulder Dushanbe Teahouse

This teahouse is one of the most unusual spots I've ever posted about. A gift from Dushanbe in Tajikistan to sister city Boulder, Colorado, it even has its own Wikipedia page.

The building was originally constructed in Tajikistan (with no power tools), disassembled, and sent to Boulder where it took about 10 years to find a proper location, secure funding, and reassemble it. The distinctive interior – walls, ceilings, columns – all display wonderfully carved and painted wood surfaces:

Though they serve lunches, dinners, and even high tea (if ordered in advance), we just dropped in for a little pick me up. Jane enjoyed her chilled hibiscus tea:

and I had a pot of superior grade Dragonwell:

Loved the egg timer tea timer:
We enjoyed the beverages and the ambience.

The Med

Later we headed over to The Med for dinner:

As Jane explained, The Med has become a very popular dining spot in Boulder and has expanded over the years so that it stretches from that corner all the way back to its entrance:

We were no sooner seated at our table when a basket of truly excellent bread arrived. I really enjoyed the sourdough – nice crust, nice crumb, nice flavor – but the olive bread was good as well:

We decided to focus on tapas. The menu offered around a dozen cold choices and 20 warm, generally priced around $5. We tried to order a variety, selecting three of each.

The Escabeche arrived first:

It was an interesting approach. The yellowfin had been combined with a lot of avocado, mild green chilies, and pico de gallo and some citrus and the combination placed atop a small tumulus of cucumber strips. While certainly okay, I thought it lacked pizzazz. I expected a more assertive citrus flavor, and the cucumber strips just didn't seem to work together with the rest of the dish.

The roasted beets arrived next:

This was a very attractive plate – the golden beets contrasted nicely with the pickled onions, chevre, micro greens, and fried capers. Overall, a pleasant beet salad. Beety.

The bruschetta was enjoyable:

The toasty slices of excellent bread were spread with a white bean paste and topped off with an artichoke tapenade. A nice range of flavors and textures. Very Mediterranean.

The pastillas were the first warm tapas served:

The pan fried flaky filo crust was wrapped around a curry flavored interior of chicken, vegetables, pinenuts, and raisins. Then the savory little pastries were dusted with cinnamon and powdered sugar. Cut into, a pastilla looked like this:

Different and distinctive flavor/texture range.

Our favorite item of the evening was the grilled polenta topped with a wild mushroom ragout:

The julienned vegetables – carrots, turnips, and scallions – provided nice contrast to the colors and textures of the polenta and mushroom sauce. Even though the shrooms look more domestic than wild, the ragout had overtones of porcini, and the polenta was crispy creamy.

Our last tapas were gambas, griddled shrimp:

This was a classic version. The shrimp were firm and flavorful. A squeeze of lemon and the parsley/scallion salsa provided accents. This was about the shrimp.

I had a glass or two of a pleasant Rioja rosé and Jane chose a Pinot Noir. The restaurant seemed lively with a lot of younger folks, and our server Henry was helpful and personable. We had a very good time.

Sizzling Pot King

August 10, 2016 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants

**** Sizzling Pot King is now Zhang Liang Malatang

I'd been meaning to visit Sizzling Pot King since I noticed they had replaced Qi Wei Kitchen back in December of last year.

But for some reason, I just wasn't very excited about eating here. Perhaps it was the very lackluster visits we had at Qi Wei and the menu didn't seem that much different at all. What finally got me visiting was meeting up with Xiāngjiāo and her hubby MichaelFC. We had drinks at Poseidon and XJ brought this along for the ride.

This was actually pretty good! Decent spice, some definite numbing (麻) going on. Not too salty, loved the frozen tofu, and tripe and tendon just seemed a good fit for this. Nice job XJ!

They had me take the leftovers home; the Missus really enjoyed it!

So guess where we went a few days later?

The place looks pretty much the same as Qi Wei, except for all the "stuffs" on the walls. Also, it seems the cooks eat pretty well here.

So here's the drill for us; Large Dry Pot ($30.99), with Beef Tendon and Tripe (you get two "meats" – $10.99 for additional, not worth the upcharge IMHO), Medium Spicy, Ma-la, with frozen tofu ($2.99 extra). Delivered over a heating element, just like hot pot, you give it a couple of good stirs to mix all the flavors together.

Seems on the pricey side; but consider that it's 2-3 meals for us, which breaks down to $10-15 a meal and I'd say it's not priced too bad. This is a total 180 degree turn from Qi Wei, from the decent spice….medium isn't too much; you can still make out all the flavors, to a decent numbing from the Sichuan peppercorn. The tendon has a nice texture, as does the tripe. The frozen tofu soaks up all of that chili oil based sauce. For some reason, the Missus really likes the potatoes and cauliflower in this. I'd love a bit more celery though.

Still, not bad.

So basically, this has turned into a nice take-out option for us. I also took Calvin and JohnF to lunch here, and even though we had John who destroyed a Bandejas Paisa with us, there were left-overs.

I did also try the Won Tons with Hot Sauce ($5.99), which was fairly mediocre, slightly spicy, but quite one dimensional, lacking the rather nuanced flavors and the "kǒugǎn", the "mouthfeel" if you will of really good wontons.

The sauce was also a bit too thin for me; I'm still looking for a good version locally.

In the end; this is sort of like comfort food for the Missus and I. Nothing fancy, but good grub that's great take-out….it gets even better the next day as the spice settles and that frozen tofu sucks up all the sauce. I think tripe, tendon, and intestine are probably the best meats, since beef and chicken would tend to dry out a bit.

The service can be rather uneven, but one of the young men there is quite nice. Not sure about some of the other dishes as I've never seen folks ordering anything other than the dry pot.

Sizzling Pot King
8058 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92111

Revisits – Tu Thanh and Manila Fast Food and Desserts

August 9, 2016 mmm-yoso Filipino Restaurants, Sisig, Vietnamese Restaurants

A couple of revisits for you……

Tu Thanh:

I was surprised that Calvin, who's missus is from Westminster, like Bun Mam, had never heard of Bun Mang Vit. They had to ask an aunt who knew all of these Vietnamese dishes. So a couple of months back, I was craving Bun Mang Vit again.

It seems that everytime I visit, something has changed at Tu Thanh. Still, it the Bun Mang Vit I'm after.

And while this was good; it wasn't quite as good as what I've had in the past. The duck was haphazardly cut, some slices too thick, others with slivers of bone. The flavor was still the same though. The broth was a bit lighter in flavor and seemed to have a bit more msg…..I still enjoy the rehydrated bamboo shoots.

When it comes down to it; perhaps it's the sauce that makes everything tick; the garlic-ginger-sweet-salty tones just brings things together.

Which is what it did for Calvin, who had never had Bun Mang Vit before.

The menu seems to be ever expanding here now.

Perhaps someday I'll try something different. But not on this day.

Tu Thanh
4804 University Ave. #A
San Diego, CA 92105
Hours:
Thurs – Tues 9am – 9pm
Wednesday 9am – 5pm

Manila Fast Food and Desserts:

So, "FOY" (Friend of Yoso) and periodic commenter "SomTommy" sent me and email after my post on Mama Cinia asking me which Chicken Adobo I prefer; Manila Fast Food versus the rather new Mama Cinia. Hmmmm…..good question. Chicken Adbobo isn't usually the first thing I choose. So I decided to head on back to Manila Fast Food. I hadn't been there in a while. I got the combination with Chicken Adobo and, well, sisig of course.

As you can see, the portion size, typical of these "turo-turo" places was quite generous. That chicken adobo, other than being salty was pretty bland….no nice vinegar, nor black pepper flavors.

The sisig was, unlike previous visits, pretty weak. Too little vinegar, too little spice for my taste. Also, much too waxy in texture.

Kind of a bummer since the sisig, while not traditional, and the kaldereta kambing (which I haven't seen in a while here) were the dishes I enjoyed the most. I actually prefer the sisig at Mama Cinia to this.

Manila Fast Food and Desserts
8979 Mira Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92126

Vancouver – Mean Poutine

August 8, 2016 mmm-yoso Canada, Canada Food and Restaurants, Travel, Vancouver, Canada

The Missus and I have been pushing hard at work. And while there was no way I'd be able to take any extended time off for a while, I was able to squeeze out a few days off. Naturally, both Portland and Seattle were in the mix, but in the end, we decided on Vancouver. I'd been through the airport twice, on flights to Edmonton and Toronto, but had never been to the city. I'd been itching to visit for awhile, since the food scene seems interesting, there seems to be tons to do, and frankly, just about every Canadian I know (my best friend from "back home" married one), are just plain mellow, friendly, and well…..appropriate. Anyway, we flew up on Delta….which is why the last 48 hours has been kind of a horror….but Delta has always delivered previously, so I'll give them a pass.

I recall my first trip to Canada….it was actually the first time I left the state of Hawaii! My good friend got married and I'd always promised him that I'd be there for the wedding. We were very poor growing up and I'd never had the chance to leave the islands….my first trip outside the state? Canada. I also remember being handed a little cardboard "boat" outside a Dairy Queen….it was French fries, gravy, and white stuff (cheese curds); poutine….now I grew up eating loco mocos, so this just seemed so natural and good. We were staying right off Granville, Seymour and Robson, right in the middle of it all. I wanted the Missus to have a shot at some poutine. And just a few blocks away was a take out window, of a place named Mean Poutine.

The place specializes in hot dogs and poutine, which are available in several combinations. The Missus was ever so distracted by the "Mean Supreme", but I told Her we'd be having dinner in a few hours and I'd like Her to try a fairly classic version.

So we went with the "Classic" ($7CAN – about $5.25US). The only thing different from versions I've had is when asked if I'd like "onions" I said "yes". Which meant scallions in this case.

This was pretty good; the scallions actually added to things, with a nice mild pungency. The frites seems to have been dusted with flour or cornstarch and were quite crisp on the outside, mildly creamy inside. The gravy was nice and creamy, beefy, falling just short of too salty….quite unlike the glooey, gloppy stuff here. Didn't care much for the cheese curds, which were cold, and lacked flavor….and also didn't melt into a nice stringy mess.

I did learn one thing; the Missus was a closet poutine lover……She kept mentioning poutine during our time in Vancouver….though Her poutine fantasy was topped with a fried, easy over egg. So TofuGirl, got a place that might fill the bill the next time we're in Vancouver?

Mean Poutine
718 Nelson Street
Vancouver

We were staying at an AirBnB…the location was amazing. As was the view from the Solarium.

Very responsive host, awesome building security, perfect location. The only thing that would be a cherry on the top would be A/C as it was pretty hot during the first two days of our stay.

Stranded in Seattle

August 7, 2016 mmm-yoso Seattle, Washington

Yep, that's us. Long story for another day. Anyway, after spending a good part of they day in airports, we're stranded here for the night. So we decided to make the best of it and have managed to get reservations at one of our favorite restaurants here.

Things are always a bit better after a nice cocktail.

And the food did not disappoint.

See you all soon!

Where in the world are we?

August 5, 2016 mmm-yoso Canada, Travel, Vancouver, Canada

Yes, we'e at it again.

Taking a very short break, since any extended trips are off the table right now because of work.

We're making the best of it though.

In a city that I've flown through several times but never took the time to visit. Shame on me……this is a wonderful place. With lovely sights.

The folks are wonderfully friendly and easy going.

Even the four-legged ones.

And you never know who you'll run into.

We've eaten well as always.

Though I've got to say; I'd never bought Cinese BBQ in a parking lot before.

It was quite good.

Tonight we visited what I believe is the largest night market in North America.

It was a blast!

Night has settled in and I thought I'd do a quick post.

I believe tomorrow will be another full day before heading home on Sunday. So thanks for stopping by. We'll see you then!

Recently Consumed

August 3, 2016 mmm-yoso Cooking

It's been a strange couple of weeks; unseasonably humid, hot, not very comfortable. And what we've been eating at home was just as strange.

The Missus has been craving my Red Cooked type dishes…in this heat! I've made either red cooked short ribs or red cooked oxtail four times in the last four weeks. And each time we've gone through a dozen eggs to boot. Go figure!

I also noticed that some of the stuffs we've been having just reminds us of Spain…..

BTW, I really enjoy that Dry Sparkling Cucumber Soda…..

Other than that, it's been fairly normal around here……

What have you been eating recently?

Turo Turo Tuesday – Mama Cinia Rice & Noodles

August 2, 2016 mmm-yoso Filipino Restaurants, Sisig

**** Mama Cinia has closed

I was quite surprised when Christy's Bakery closed, after all they were pretty much a Mira Mesa institution having been in that spot for a quarter century. Then it seems like overnight Mama Cinia opened. I decided to drop by and check them out.

First off, I have to say I really like the folks here, so warm and friendly. They've really freshened up and renovated the interior too.

They've got a variety of typical combos from the steam table, desserts like halo-halo, and also serve Mami from 2pm.

I dropped by between meetings to pick up an early lunch on the way back to the office. A 2 item combo with Garlic Rice.

I was surprised to see Bicol Express, something I just don't see often enough at these turo-turo joints. The very ncie woman was surprised I knew what it was. I also got the sisig (of course).

First off, the rice was on the dry side and the garlic a bit burnt. I liked that the sisig wasn't your typical "San Diego sisig", which is basically lechon kawale. Loved all the nice bits of pork, nice textures, a bit smoky, but for my tastes, in need to more spice and vinegar.

I was pleasantly surprised at how tender the pork in the Bicol Express was; but it was really greasy, and lacking in spice and I would have appreciated more bagoong as it was fairly bland.

A week later, having to attend the same meeting, I decided to return. This time I got the two item combination, chicken adobo and kare kare, with pancit instead of rice; they didn't even charge me the $1 extra…perhaps they forgot. Again, it was a load of food.

The flavor of the pancit was decent; enough soy sauce for a change, but it was a bit mushy in texture. Much like the Bicol Express, I was impressed at how tender all the meat and other bits were in the Kare Kare, but it was really, really bland….even that bagoong wasn't enough. This was also a bit on the greasy side as well.

The pieces of the chicken adobo were quite large and this could have used a bit more vinegar as it was pretty salty and now that I think about it, I like mine with a good amount of black pepper as well. I actually enjoyed the potato the most.

I did enjoy the fact that all the food I got was quite hot; perhaps it was because of the time I got there. The people are ultra friendly, so I'll probably drop by again. Maybe one evening to try the Beef Mami, after all, it's been ages since I've had a decent one. The portions are quite generous, so I don't think you'll be leaving hungry here.

Mama Cinia Rice & Noodles
9178 Mira Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92126
Hours:
Wed – Sat, Mondays 9am – 8pm
Sundays 9am – 4pm