To you and yours from the gang here at mmm-yoso!
Best wishes for a delici-yoso and safe holiday!
Hope you all get some delicious fresh turkey…….
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Sakura’s Son of Different Mothers: Restaurant Kazu
I'll be the first to say that "Japano-Italian" cuisine has never been a favorite of mine. which I readily admitted when I first mentioned that Sakura was opening up a second restaurant, this one specializing in the Japanese-Italian hybrid. I've had this fusion several times, at a couple of places back home in Hawaii and at Spoon House and Akane Chaya in Gardena. Don't quite know what it is; but I've never really enjoyed Uni Spaghetti and such. So I really thought I'd just leave the posts on the place up to Dennis, who has affinity for this type of dishes. Sure enough, the ever dependable Dennis had a post soon after the very, very, soft opening. Which didn't make me get up and grab some napolitan….. Until…. a FOY (Friend of Yoso), "MichaelC" emailed me, telling me how he enjoyed his meal at "Restaurant Kazu". I call it that because….much like Sakura, the place has no sign.
I decided to visit on a quiet weeknight evening when the Missus was tied up elsewhere. There's just a simple chalkboard sign out front with today's specials.
The small dining area is somewhat intimate, mildly stylish, without being stuffy.
The menu reflects what's on the chalkboard outside with other dishes that I would come to know as the "standards" here….like the creamy uni spaghetti. Appetizers run $4-$12 with entrees going for $10 and up. The menu has been slightly different on every visit.
One thing that stays the same is the slice of bread and a little dish of balsamic vinegar with olive oil.
It's been basically the two same young ladies working here on all my visits. They are both friendly, have a great sense of humor, and are overall a joy.
I started with something a bit different I saw on the appetizer menu; the Squid Ceviche. This was a major surprise for me in flavor.
First off, the texture of the squid was up to Sakura standards. Light chew, but quite tender. The flavors took me by surprise, there was a bit of heat going on, along with a good deal of lime juice. It was a bit on the sweet side; almost palm sugar sweet, which I enjoyed. On another visit, I found it a bit too sweet, but this time it really woke me up. With the cilantro, it almost seemed like a Thai style dish, bold flavors, which I enjoyed.
I went with the carbonara, which was kind of runny.
I liked the portion size, not too massive. It was beyond any doubt, a carb bomb. The pasta was just cooked to perfection….something, along with all the dishes using the same pasta, I'd find on subsequent visits.
Overall, I thought this better than expected. It was a nice, unhurried, relaxed meal. The two servers were very friendly and answered, or tried to answer my questions….many of which, like "when is the grand opening" had no answer.
So, on another evening, I had to dine solo, what better place to go than back here, right? This meal was just the opposite of my previous, with the appetizer, the "Italian Chicken Wings" (you know me and wings, right?) being pretty much a fail.
This was too salty…even for me, it was also kind of greasy. One of the wings wasn't fully cooked.
On the other hand, I really enjoyed the Shishito Pepper with Mushrooms and Yuzu Pepper, Japanese style ($13). The secret to this dish….yuzukosho, a strong fermented paste of yuzu peel and chili pepper, which added a nice citrus zip to the dish.
The pasta again cooked perfectly, the shishito adding a nice crunch to the meaty mushrooms. Again, pretty high on the carb ratio and it did seem like something I could make at home, but I did enjoy it. Plus, that little seed, of using yuzukosho in a different way had been planted.
I again joked with my servers about the mysterious grand opening and when I was told that the place was going to actually have a sign, I couldn't help but laugh….I told them "I'll believe it when I see it."
A couple of days later, the Missus was tied up during a weekend day. On my previous visit, I was told that lunch is served on Saturdays and Sundays from 11 to 3. So why not? Same servers, same smiles, same laughs when I asked "where's the sign?" Lunch is prix fixe, in the typical Japanese "lunch set" way. You have a base lunch, which starts at $12, you can substitute items, or change items.
It comes with coffee or orange juice….I rarely drink coffee, but on this day……
It smelled familiar….and it did turn out to be Starbucks.
The standard issue salad was a simple mix of arugula and romaine, which I enjoy.
Except that the vinaigrette was a bit too sour and this would have been much better with a sliver or two of some milky cheese to help cut the acid.
The standard issue soup was a surprisingly tart minestrone.
The vegetables were really on the crunchy side, which I don't mind at all.
For my main, I went with what MichaelC recommended, the Squid Ink Pasta which was a $2 up charge.
This is sauce made with squid ink, not the pasta. The better squid ink I've had has a mild briney flavor to it, but not much else to it. This one had a slight bitterness and bit more garlic than I expected. It also felt a bit on the rich side, so I was glad to have the tomatoes in the dish. Loved the way the squid was cooked and the pasta was again cooked perfectly.
I also noticed that the portion sizes seemed to have gotten larger during this visit. Overall, it was nice lunch……so when Candice, Ange, Peter, and I had to meet up to plan a little project we have, I thought why not?
We ended up having more food than I could document….mainly because we had such a fun time chatting. The Shishito Pepper with Mushrooms and Yuzu Pepper was again a winner, along with the Cod Roe, Salmon, Roe, Shiso Leaves, and Seaweed Cold Pasta ($14).
Though I really would have appreciated a bit more ikura.
We also enjoyed the Baby Anchovies and Japanese Bell Pepper Peperoncino ($13).
Sort of like a really mild aglio e olio.
As you can imagine, having the same pasta got a bit tedious. Several of the other dishes really didn't make a great impression; the Bagna Cauda was bland, the ribs not very good, and the seafood in the vongole biagno was overcooked, the mussels rubbery. Service was very nice and accommodating. Candice mentioned that the wine list looked way over-priced (a bottle of Kendall Jackson $42!), and the beer options were either the Budweiser of Italy; Peroni, or Asahi, which is what we had.
Oh, and still no grand opening or sign in sight! I realize that for someone who is not really into Japano-Italian food, I've sure eaten here quite a bit in the last couple of months. You can't say I didn't do my due diligence on this one. I do enjoy the lightness of some of the dishes, have enjoyed the servers, oh, and you can tell I really like my carbs, right? Don't go here expecting a meat-fest, you'll be disappointed. The portion sizes seem to have gotten bigger, though I think they can cut back on the pasta and make the dishes more well rounded.
Restaurant Kazu
3904 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111
Current Hours:
Dinner – Tues-Sun 5pm – 10pm
Lunch – Sat-Sun 11am – 3pm
Closed on Mondays
Thanks again for the email Michael!
Road Trip Weekend-(Pasa)Dena Burgers, some markets, meat by the side of the road and final 2013 Rose Parade float road test.
Thanks for reading mmm-yoso!!! on this week of preparation, travel and beginning of holiday celebrations. Cathy is writing today. The guys (Kirk and ed(from Yuma)) are very busy.
This past Saturday was a busy (and exciting) day for us. The Mister and I woke early, let the dogs out, drove North, encountered rain and sunshine and got to Pasadena to enjoy the final day of Rose Parade float road testing before the actual parade (photos at the end of this post) and then drove North on Arroyo Seco, headed East on Orange Grove and saw this signage…and had to stop. 
I liked the font…and right there on the corner of Orange Grove and North Los Robles, an angled building, to allow for drive through access while ordering from the passenger side of your vehicle- 
Dena Burgers looked like a place to investigate. 
Walk in, order and pay at one window, 
and pick up at the other window. 
We decided to go by the name of the place, and ordered a Breakfast Burger ($5.25)- a 1/4 pound burger, egg, cheese, lettuce, tomato and hash browns on a toasted bun. It was large and tasty, but kind of dry and we each added some ketchup at some point in eating our respective half.
A Machaca and eggs plate ($5.50) as well as some very good (Gavina) coffee completed this meal. The fresh tomato and crisp bell pepper as well as onion cooked with eggs and beef to a crusty brown, was really good (The salsa and onions on top were added from the condiment bar at the pick up window). The rice and beans were unusually tasty and the fresh, warm corn tortillas were a bonus.
Dena Burgers 445 E. Orange Grove Blvd. Pasadena, CA 91104 (626) 792-7035
When we finished, we walked across the parking lot to this grocery store. 
Baja Ranch Supermarket was magical. I didn't take many photos inside, because it was quite crowded. There is a large steam tray area, deli area, excellent meat/poultry/seafood selection, tortilleria, bakery and produce area. There were extensive displays of chiles being sold here- dried in bags, in bulk and fresh. There items sold here include Mexican as well as Peruvian, Cuban and Salvadorean…and some American staples. We spent $21 and filled five cloth bags we had brought from home (this part of LA County charges for grocery bags).
Baja Ranch Supermarket 475 Orange Grove Blvd, Pasadena 91101 website
We continued East, got to Sierra Madre Boulevard and 
stopped at the Pasadena Farmers Market again.
We chose a few seasonal items…
Pasadena Certified Farmers Market, Sierra Madre at Paloma, next to Pasadena High School website
Then we headed East on the 210…and, remembering that H Mart was opening in San Diego that day, decided to check out what we figured would be an uncrowded H-Mart located close to where we were… 
Upon entering the Diamond Bar location of a Super H Mart and turning to the right, 
we encountered a large Food Court area… which included this little franchise-Deli Manjoo 
which has a window where you can watch this conveyor belt baking system 
making sweet treats. We were given samples fresh off the griddle! You can get a mix of eight for $3… 
You can see the walnut shapes are filled with red bean paste as well as a walnut. For Lucky Fish we chose two filled with custard and two filled with cream cheese. Deli Manjoo Website
We also picked up savory treats at The Tous les Jours franchise. Excellent and so very fresh! The young ladies working here were very helpful and the selection was amazing. Website
There were other vendors in the food court area..and small shopping areas on other walls of this large store- then there was the H-Mart store itself. 
Clean, fresh, friendly. One thing we noticed that the ladies giving samples were set up at the aisle ends, which were specifically sample areas- outlets on the floor so electric pans could be easily heated for sampling. Combined with the available items in the 'regular' food aisles, H Mart is a great store. I can't wait to visit "ours". Generic H Mart website link.
Since it is Thanksgiving, we needed to pick up our smoked ham, or "meat by the side of the road" as I have fondly termed it. 
Once again, the Valley Center Optimists have their trailer set up in front of Fat Ivor's and are selling smoked hams (whole and half) for Thanksgiving. They will also be selling hams for Christmas and Easter. We wait for this time of year to be able to purchase this ham.
Here is a cross section view of the smoked half ham ($35). My friend from Valley Center, Ms. T., picked hers up and warmed it so The Mister and I could have a slice when we drove by to pick up ours. Valley Center Optimists 760-390-4173
Oh. So this day began with the last day to see 2013 Rose Parade floats do their final road test of the year. I've posted about previous road test days…all the floats need to pass three tests before being allowed to drive down Pasadena streets on New Years Day. 
When we got here, the Lions Club float was finishing the test drive. 
The Honda float, very long and intricately detailed was parked and waiting in line to be tested. Those are steps leading to a slide that people will be sliding on during the five mile long parade route. 
Here's a better view of the slide. 
Here's an unusual view of another float…
and another float from a high viewpoint…
and here is another perspective of the front of the Honda float (see the slide?).
Those viewpoints are from above ground, because I was standing on-ON- the front of The Lutheran Hour float! Yes, The Mister and I were asked to participate in the road test and fire drill.
Here's the float after the fire drill. It had started to rain when we were testing…but had to pretend there was a fire anyhow.
We've never made a "Bucket List" of things we wanted to do, but if we had, this would've been on it- and checked off!
If anyone wants to know about volunteering to decorate a Rose Parade float, information is available HERE.
I hope everyone has a non-hectic week ahead.
#GoBlue
Sunday Stuffs: Eater San Diego, Two more places opening near Morena, and Zion has a sign.
Just a couple of things for a lazy Sunday.
Welcome to Eater San Diego:
I've had the pleasure of meeting and getting to know quite a few great folks during my time doing our humble little blog. One of the nicest by far is Candice Woo. Who I'm happy to note is now the Editor-Writer-Jack of all trades for the newly launched Eater San Diego. It's nice to see the Eater expand to San Diego, I often read and even link to Eater LA. So take a look when you have a chance.
Two new restaurant/lounge/bars coming to the Morena area.
This morning I was driving back from my weekly tank filling ritual at Costco, when I noticed that the taco shop on Avanti Drive right off of Morena was now something called, Oasis Restaurant and Lounge. It's in the same strip mall as Boll Weevil.
I took a peek inside and I'm pretty sure this ain't a taco shop. Interesting location.
4033 Avanti Drive – Right off Morena Blvd.
Further down the street construction is going on at this place.
Dan Diegos? It's good to see new places popping up…….soon this will become Morena's restaurant row. So far, I haven't been too impressed with a couple of the places that have popped up. Hopefully, this will be a winner…..
2415 Morena Blvd
San Diego, CA 92110
And now to give Zion Market sort of equal time:
I drove by and saw the Zion Market sign is finally up….and on the week of H Mart's grand opening. Must just be a coincidence, right?
I heard they are opening early next year.
7655 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92111
H Mart opens in San Diego
I'd gotten quite a few emails from folks since the post about H Mart opening in San Diego. It seems to have created a bit of a buzz……..which was enough to actually get my crowd-o-phobic rear end down to H Mart today….opening day. Predictably, the place was packed, so I'm going to do mainly photos with this post. It'll be easier to see what this location of H Mart has to offer once the masses are gone.
We managed to pick up some prepared food which was pretty bland….especially the Japchae. The kimchi station wasn't ready yet upon this visit, probably by design.
They use all the marketing tricks in the book, from misting…….
To open prep stations……
To my disappointment, there's only a tiny little food court with looks like a single booth in the market.
The Missus was really impressed with the availability of organic and vegetarian products….. She's really into tempeh now and told me the selection and of course the prices were much better than Whole Paycheck. I wouldn't know…..
Decent seafood department…..
There was a nice selection of meat, with American Wagyu chuck roll and ribs available. I'm going to have to spend a bit more time here when things normalize.
We didn't even bother with Paris Baguette as the line was crazy long…….
In spite of the masses, every cashier station was open, so it was really fast once you got past the logjams at produce, the food court, meat, and seafood. I'm sure folks are happy to have another option in San Diego. Though not everyone looked thrilled……
As could be predicted, parking was an absolute nightmare….we parked on the street and walked into the mall. I'll do a folllow-up post in a couple of weeks when things slow down a bit.
H Mart
9440 Mira Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92126
Po & Pho -Next to H Mart in Mira Mesa (part 1: pho)
Po and Pho has closed. There won't be a part 2.
Hi. The page you are reading is mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog. Kirk and ed (from Yuma) are busy with Thanksgiving planning. Cathy appears to be organized for Thanksgiving, so she is blogging today.
The highly anticipated Korean Grocer, H-Mart, will have a Grand Opening on the 17th (in the old Ralphs location on Mira Mesa Boulevard near the 15). The Mister and I were thinking there might be a 'soft' opening a few days sooner and drove there the other day, but the store was still getting organized. Since we were already in that parking lot and it was close to lunch time, we decided to try the newest restaurant of the six in that parking lot. 
There- all the way on the left of the above photo- the small storefront "Po and Pho". Seven tables inside and one table out front, seating for about 20, this clean shop serves a combination of New Orleans-Po Boy sandwiches, gumbo and Vietnamese-pho, noodles and rice plates. There is also a small breakfast menu, extensive beverage menu and the menu includes catering items that are not offered on the regular menu. 
The take out business was bustling when we were here, but when we sat down to read the take out menu, a nice Young Lady walked over to take our eat-in order. I'm not sure if we were supposed to order and pay and sit down or not…
In any case, since it was a chilly morning and the sun still had not peeked through the clouds, I ordered a bowl of chicken pho (one size only $6.25). 
This was a very good, very large bowl of pho. The broth was clear, not too oily and had good flavor on its own. The noodles were mostly loose, barely in a clump. The chicken was plentiful, included the liver and was accompanied by the fresh dipping sauce (nuoc cham) made of lime juice, fish sauce, garlic and sugar. The onions and cilantro and ground pepper toppings, when mixed part way through my meal, along with the (very fresh) add-ins transformed the the bowl into even more fresh flavors. 
The Mister was torn about what he wanted to order- there are 13 sandwich offerings in addition to three types of Po'Boy offered (shrimp or chicken or fish). We saw a *very* large sandwich being shared at another table and the bread was not close to bahn mi in size and decided we could share one at another meal. At the bottom of the "Noodles and Soups" section of the menu Seafood Gumbo ($5) was listed. That also sounded good on this cold day. The bowl is smaller than my bowl of pho, but it should be. The rich sauce, filled with crawfish, shrimp, crab and smoked sausage covers a good amount of broken rice and fresh okra. This was one of the best gumbos I've tasted in a long time.
We'll be stopping here again, for a Po'Boy, ideally avoiding crowds.
Po & Pho 9430 Mira Mesa Boulevard, Suite 5C San Diego 92126 (858) 271-8988 Website
Nhat Vy Vietnamese Restaurant
**** Nhat Vy has closed
Back in December of last year, I posted on Taqueria Aqui es Jalisco. The meal was not quite up to par and the place looked really, well, almost temporary. In fact, I wrote "I'm not sure how this place is going to do……." in the last paragraph of the post. A couple of months later they were gone and a sign went up for a new Vietnamese restaurant, which opened this past summer named Nhat Vy.
Driving past, I have to honestly say I didn't get too worked up about the Pho-Banh
Mi-Coffee sign. I mean, it's not like we're short of places that serve the stuff in the area, right? About a week later, my curiosity got the better of me and I decided to check them out. I remained uninspired when I entered the place and saw the steam table set-up. But changed my mind when I was handed the menu. Banh Hoi….Banh Cuon…Bun Rieu…. my pulse quickened. Only to come crashing to earth when told they didn't have any of those dishes on this morning. Man, I really wanted some Banh Cuon. I had been going through photos of our trip to Vietnam and kept running into photos of Banh Cuon, in Sapa, Hanoi, and even Bac Ha. I was bummed….
So what to do when your first three choices aren't available? I went with the sign and the Pho Dac Biet ($6.99).
Which was pretty unremarkable. I recall the broth being kind of "scummy" and cloudy, the flavor being very mild, and the noodles a bit too soft.
The meat was just about average….total middle of the road stuff, nothing to get excited about. Plus, it was a thousand degrees even at 8 in the morning, which really didn't help matters.
This being the middle of July, I really couldn't bring myself to go back. Here was a one-shot deal that would end up in one of my COMC (Clearing Out the Memory Card) posts.
And yet, the menu stuck with me……seeing the other items kind of kept nagging away. Until almost exactly three months late
r, when things had cooled down, I decided on dropping by for an early breakfast. By this time the menu had morphed into a multi-page deal with photos. Sad thing was there was no Banh Cuon to be seen.
This was pretty early in the morning and I wasn't feeling like Bun Rieu, so I went with Bun Rieu's lighter cousin, Canh Bun ($7).
My first impression of the broth was really positive, it seemed light, not too "crabby", I did add some mam nem which is kindly provided, this really added some umami punch. The herbs were fresh and the quantity good. The noodles were firm and wonderfully slippery, the ong choi (water spinach), added a nice crunch and substance to this. Loved the fried tofu, the shrimp cake didn't have enough flavor for me, but was veyr light in texture. I could have done without the "oc" (periwinkles), of which there was a generous amount….these were just too chewy.
About halfway through I started feeling the effects of MSG….not over-powering, but enough to know it's there. Still, I thought this was decent and even sent a photo to my good FOY (Friend of Yoso), "YummyYummy". I guess the photo must have looked great because they marched right over and ate.
YY reported back that the Bun Rieu was quite good and the Banh Cuon, which they make in house and takes a while, was also worth a try. Banh Cuon?
But I hadn't seen that on the menu? What the heck? So a couple of weeks later I headed over for some breakfast. The dining area is tiny and I've only seen other customers on one occasion.
Having arrived ravenous, I ordered the Bun Moc ($7) and then attempted to order the Banh Cuon, which isn't on the menu to the very sweet woman serving me. I say attempted because it took me four tries to get the pronunciation even close to where she could understand me. Yet she patiently stood there and helped me work this through.
The weather was just driving my sinuses into the ground, so this nice, clear soup was just what I needed.
The herbs where ever so fresh, the broth was indeed pretty mild and I really couldn't make out the "mushroom" flavor. There was a ton of protein in it, cha lua, meatballs, and a fairly surprising piece of pork spare rib. I looked at that piece of meat, which should have had "Goodyear" written on its side and then took a bite…..I was surprised at how tender it was.
And then of course, there was the Banh Cuon ($6). At long last.
It wouldn't be a stretch(no pun intended) to say that this is the best Banh Cuon in terms of texture in San Diego. The rice noodle is nice and thin and not too sticky. There's just the right amount of "pull" to it. The pork is fairly bland and while I like cha lua, this one is fairly bland. The nuoc mam cham has good spice, but other than that is fairly bland. The rau ram and blanched bean sprouts complemented the dish well, as did the fried shallots.
It matches up favorably with what I've had before.
Before leaving, I mentioned that banh cuon was not in the menu….the woman picked up a menu and looked through it. And sure enough, it isn't! We both had a laugh and she walked me to the steam table and pointed to the photo of the banh cuon and told me, "you come and point next time, ok?" I couldn't help but crack-up.
So there you go….I got my banh cuon, time to move on, right? Well not so fast….this past weekend the Missus was sleeping and YY and her hubby, MrQ had mentioned that they really enjoyed the Bun Rieu here……so of course:
I got the bun rieu. What I really like is that different sets for herbs are served for the pho versus the bun moc, versus the bun rieu. This was a fresh assortment of rau ram, perilla, banana blossom, and even some fishy-funky diếp cá.
As for the broth, it's much lighter and less complex then the rather heady version at Mien Trung. Personally, I prefer the stronger seafood-tomato flavors in that bun rieu. On the flip side, this one seems to have a lot less MSG….at least on this day.
For some reason I like the fried tofu here; it's nice a creamy. I'm still not a big fan of the "oc" in this as well.
It was "three for three" as again the noodles were prepared well….they also used the thinner bun, the appropriate noodle for bun rieu.
I'd easily have this again…….
I'm hoping this place does well. The folks here are really nice, but there's a real shortage of parking on the street….actually there's a couple of stalls in the back of the place as well. This location is not the best, as proven by Aqui el Jalisco's short run and the previous shop at this location, The Torta Factory.
Over the years I've seen my share of Vietnamese Restaurants that I've enjoyed going to, that are just not able to make it. Sometimes, like Huynh Hoa Tuu, they serve great stuff, then suddenly shut down and leave town. Or like Nam An, they start strong but are not able to sustain the quality, service, or portions….I'm still fairly certain that they won't reopen. I hope I'm wrong. And I hope that Nhat Vy sticks around…..
Nhat Vy Vietnamese Restaurant
4595 El Cajon Boulevard
San Diego, CA 92115
Tire Siga and Kitfo from Awash Market and Restaurant
We've been enjoying our meals at Awash Market and Restaurant, the Missus really enjoys the injera here, it's not too sour, and not too thick. The place runs kind of on the slow side but the folks are really nice. The restaurant, which is in the rear of the market has sort of a "speak-easy" feel to it.
We've learned to do as the customers do, go to the restroom and wash your hands before your meal; after all you'll be making use of the "most basic eating implement" and using them to eat. So after having several nice meals, we decided to really go all in and try two dishes we'd been wondering about for a while….kitfo, which I've had before and tire siga, which I had not.
If you're into raw food, you'll probably love it.
The kitfo was delicious, we ordered the Kitfo Special, which is hand chopped and served with collard greens and cheese. We asked for it to be almost raw, so that the butter poured over it would not make it lukewarm, as I somehow find warm almost raw meat a bit uncomfortable I guess.
Even though it's slightly heated, I loved the coolness of the dish. There was just enough butter to add a creaminess to the dish without disturbing the flavor of the mitmita, the spicy powder made of chili pepper, mustard seed, and salt. Think of it as a spicy beef tartar if you will, wrapped in some injera, perhaps with a touch of cheese which strangely seemed to add sweetness to the dish.
If you enjoy the kitfo, perhaps you'll try the tire siga, a real delicacy. It's very basic…..cubed raw beef.
You can get the meat fatty or lean, since the Missus would actually be eating some beef, we went lean. It's very easy to eat, you wrap the meat cubes in injera, then dip into mimita or awaze, a nasal clearing berbere (chili based spice) paste and have at it. The meat is good quality and fresh, there's no metallic flavors or disturbing aftertastes, and I expected none, since the clientele seems quite particular about the food. If you want, they'll sear off the meat for you and you can have it "blue". This was quite a bit of meat and eating it got tedious after a while….I think I'll stick with the kitfo, though it's always great to expand ones horizons.
Oh, and if you're not into this stuff, there's quite a few items we enjoy on the menu as well……
We really like the injera they make here, it not too sour or heavy. They seem to sell a ton of it in the market.
It's a real small operation, so things might take a while, but they seem to prepare the food with some care. They are also very nice and the guys up front will always take time to explain things to you. You end up paying up front at the cashier, who always seems to have some tidbit about the food for us. Tonight we were told that kitfo and tire siga became popular during the second world war. The Ethiopians were battling the Italians and had to eat "under cover", that is, without creating a fire to give away their position. Thus they acquired a taste for seasoned raw meat…hence kitfo and tire siga. Not quite sure about the story, but it was fun hearing it!
Awash Market and Restaurant
2884 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA 92104
Hours:
Mon 830 am – midnight
Tue-Sun 830 am – 1am
It's always great to expand your horizons and try something new….what have you tried for the first time recently?
Recently Consumed
I'm still in "long weekend mode" so I hope you don't mind this post of stuff I've recently made at home. I'll have something new in San Diego tomorrow!
I mentioned working with leftovers from China Islamic, especially the suan cau yang rou, which really wasn't ready for prime time. By the next day however, the sour flavor of the preserved vegetable had permeated the broth and also tenderized the lamb. We added some frozen tofu and it was a very "cleansing" and hearty lunch served hot pot style.
As for the deep fried duck leftovers; I diced the meat and skin, crisped it up, then went at it "sisig style"…..which, at least to me, sounds much better then "gundam style", or as the Missus calls it "condom style"…..
Sour, spicy, salty….good stuff.
The "back up" canned goods we had was starting to get on the Missus' nerves, so it was time to use and replace them. Time to clear out the cupboards. The baby corn and straw mushrooms were the target of Her wrath, so I needed to use them up. The Missus hates the "tin-ny" taste, so I pour boiled water over them. Did a quick stir fry using both dried and red chilies as my base, hit it with white pepper and shaoxing wine…thickened with a combination of premium soy sauce-sugar-oyster sauce-sesame oil-cornstarch and topped with sesame seeds and cilantro.
We finally had enough left-over mushroom trimmings to make some mushroom stock….so of course that meant mushroom risotto. This time I further fortified the stock with old romano and parmesan cheese rinds….the hard parts, making it richer then ever. The Missus wanted pan seared halibut, so I went with a porcini crust…….
Really easy to do…..I ground up a couple of pieces of dried porcini mushroom with sea salt and added that to my usual seasoning. I dusted one side with potato starch to give it some crispness.
The dish needed some color and also something to cut the richness. So I sauteed some diced vegetables seasoned with dill and lemon juice. I used the leftover mushroom powder and the tomatoes worked well with the dill.
I reduced the leftover mushroom stock combined with onions, oven-dried tomatoes, and garlic confit left over from the risotto to make a nice pasta for me.
It was of course, made with garlic oil…….
And then there's this…..it's that time of the year. Can you guess what the Missus wanted a couple of weeks ago?
I hope everyone had a great long weekend!
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Roadtrip: China Islamic Restaurant – Rosemead (Los Angeles)
Both the Missus and I have a special place in our hearts for Northern style Islamic Chinese. The Missus even worked at the well known, but now closed Tung Lai Shun which was a fixture in Focus Plaza in San Gabriel for a short while. We used to eat at VIP Restaurant a couple of blocks from where we lived in Rowland Heights, several owners ago, when it was still Halal, and before they started serving "Jung Hwa Yori" (Sino-Chinese/Korean Chinese) dishes.
On a recent roadtrip, the Missus and I planned three stops, and decided to start at the very old school China Islamic on Garvey.
I was told a few years back that this place has been around for probably 20 years or so and after entering the fairly dark restaurant, I gotta say, it's starting to look it. The tables have that unique "San Gabriel sticky" feeling to them, which I actually have some fondness for……
Since the Missus doesn't eat beef, pork, or chicken nowadays, this was almost the perfect menu for us. Historically, many of these restaurants served a dual population, those that ate following certain dietary restrictions and the Chinese. So you'd have to look through the menu and bypass the chow mein, beef broccoli, and stuff like that to get to the heart of the cuisine. I'm not sure if China Islamic serves Halal, I didn't see it noted anywhere.
Of course we needed a lamb dish. Instead of the usual lamb with scallions, I went with lamb with sa cha sauce, basically a dried seafood, chili shallot, garlic, and oil sauce, often called "sa-te" sauce, but which has nothing to do with Southeast Asian sate sauce.
In retrospect, I should have ordered the classic lamb with scallions. Though the meat was on the chewy side, we both loved the really gamey flavor. We were indeed eating lamb. The flavor of the sauce was very mild, watered-down, and almost too slimy for us. The presentation brought back memories…."what presentation" you might ask? Exactly….no presentation…..
Next up was the crispy duck.
For some reason, we've had some pretty good fried duck in Islamic Chinese joints and this was no exception. This was the best dish we had during our visit. Though everything was just dumped on a plate, the duck wasn't greasy, the skin was light and crisp. It could have used a bit more in the flavoring department, or at least have some pepper-salt or sauce. As served it was pretty plain.
I actually went ahead and made fried duck sisig with the leftovers….which tasted really good.
One of the reasons we came here was for Suan Cai Yang Rou, preserved vegetable and lamb hot pot. For some reason, this has become one of my "comfort dishes". My Chinese friends find it amusing that I really enjoy this dish, which historically used the fatty parts of the lamb and napa cabbage that had been preserved to last over the winter….in other words, it's "poor people food".
The first thing the Missus lamented was the lack of frozen tofu in the dish……tofu, when frozen then thawed becomes sponge-like and really absorbs all the flavor. But most of all, this wasn't ready for prime time. Everything had just been put together, so the broth had no flavor and the meat was really tough. We ended up taking almost all of this home. We bought some tofu at Hong Kong Market and put it into the freezer when we got home. By the next day, the sour flavors of the suancai had permeated the broth and also helped to tenderize the lamb.
Overall, we felt this was pretty pricey at over $45. We'd heard that service here was on the rude side, but I tend to think that it's more of an "all business attitude". The two guys that served us were efficient and actually quite nice. Still, I don't think we'll be back, I think the suan cai yang rou at Tianjin Bistro is much better.
China Islamic Restaurant
7727 Garvey Ave
Rosemead, CA 91770