mmm-yoso – Page 394 – 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.

Monday Meanderings: Fresh Chanterelles from Nijiya, saying goodbye to a fellow blogger and other stuffs….

December 26, 2011 mmm-yoso Markets & Grocers

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas.

Here's one from the "I need to pay more attention when I'm shopping files." Walking through the produce department at Nijiyatwo weeks ago, something grabbed my attention….. I looked, then looked again, then read thelabel. Wow, it really was fresh chanterelles……..I don't recall seeing them at Nijiya before. I've seen Chanterelles at Bristol Farm and Whole Paycheck, where prices were pretty high. Here they were $9.98/lb, to me, perfectly affordable.

The Missus had never had chanterelles before….and now She loves them. I've had to go back every couple of days and pick up a pound or so.

Instead of chopping, I'll just "peel" the mushrooms ending up with nice sizes pieces.

I simply start the mushrooms in a cold, dry pan and over medium heat let all the liquid out of the mushrooms. After a few minutes I add a good amount of olive oil, garlic, herbs, then white wine bringing it to a nice bubble before tasting, adding salt and pepper, then cutting the heat. What's left can be used as a base for pasta, or perhaps like the Missus enjoys them; simply eaten with bread. Don't know how long these will be available…..but I'm making the most of it. I just saw FOY (Friend of Yoso) "Xiang Jiao" during my most recent visit.

I need to pay better attention, god knows what I'm missing…..

Nijiya Market
3860 Convoy St Ste 109
San Diego, CA 92111

Izakaya Sakura still not ready for business……

I drove by earlier today and it looks like a work in progress.

Saying goodbye to a fellow blogger:

About a week before Christmas, Dennis of A Radiused Corner contacted me with some terrible news. A bit later I read a post on Kat's blog about the passing of Nate, the author of Hwn Pake in Okinawa. I've always enjoyed Nate's no nonsense approach to food and life. Through the magic of blogging I was able to vicariously share in those meals and moments. Nate's "local" sensibility really struck a chord with me, and I can't thank him enough for sharing those moments over the years. Though I never met him, I could really relate to his posts and am thankful that he made space in his life to share them…

The ever-thoughtful Dennis was nice enough to organize a lunch in Nate's memory and kind enough to invite me. It was a nice moment, Dennis, Carol, Cathy, and I were able to share thoughts and memories……..

I did feel that I needed to order something appropriate, so made sure to have gravy all over my chicken cutlet and roast pork.

Goodbye Nate, we'll miss you…….

Christmas Eve Dinner: Pan Fried Duck Breast with Char Siu Glaze and Blanched Watercress with Asian style dressing

December 24, 2011 mmm-yoso Cooking, Recipes

The really nice looking duck breasts were calling out to me at Nijiya and I just couldn't resist buying them. This lead to something of a problem. The Missus doesn't believe that duck should ever be made without five spice….ever. In fact, until we got married, the Missus actually thought that duck naturally tasted that way! He-he-he…..five spice. While driving home I got the idea of doing the standard pan fry technique that I've used many times. I'd season the duck with salt, pepper, and a decent amount of the anise heavy, somewhat potent five spice we have from Qingdao. I decided to go with a glaze that is somewhat similar to what I make for Char Siu Lamb Chops and Chicken. The problem being, that was more of a marinade and glaze using sugar. I didn't want the texture of sugar, but wanted that strong Hoisin flavor. So I substituted mirin for the sugar, placed it over heat to burn off the alcohol flavor and added Kecap Manis, Honey, Hoisin, grated garlic, soy sauce, five spice, and ginger juice, reducing the glaze by about a fourth.

I cooked off the duck in the usual manner to render off the excess fat and crisp up the skin. At the end, I brushed on the glaze. Of course I spooned extra sauce on it….you can't have too much of it!

I served it with Purple Cabbage Slaw with Sesame Dressing and a namul like blanched watercress with a dressing made from rice vinegar, sugar, sesame oil, ground chili, soy sauce and water.

The Missus was taking a nap while I put this together…….

I did make an adjustment for the Missus' duck. The meat was pretty lean and much of the fat had rendered off….thus, it had a texture close to that of, say, venison. When I put together Her plate, I made thinner cuts on more of a bias. The Missus really doubted that I could make duck breast into something She'd enjoy…..but one whiff and one bite changed Her mind. And so things ended with the ultimate back-handed compliment; "it's much better than I thought you could do!" heh…..

I'm thinking that we'll be eating a bit more duck breast round these parts……

As darkness settles in on our street…….

And all the Christmas lights come on in the neighborhood……..

We wanted to wish you a……

Very Merry Christmas!

Istanbul: Bosphorus Ferry Tour, Balik Ekmek, Yeni Camii, and Hotel Djem

December 22, 2011 mmm-yoso American/New American Restaurants, Istanbul, Travel, Turkey, Turkish Food

After a fairly hectic couple of days in Cappadocia we caught our flight back to Istanbul. We'd be staying one night then heading onward to Athens and Crete. By this time we had the metro and tram system pretty much down pat and made it to Sulthanmet Park and got out and made our way to the Hotel Djem, which is located across the park and the Hippodrome on the opposite side from our previous hotel. We enjoyed this hotel so much that we decided to make it our base for the rest of our time in Istanbul. Walking out into the street, you can see the back of the Blue Mosque rising into the air….there's something so exotic and exciting about Istanbul.

When we arrived the first thing the manager did was offer us tea while he checked on our reservation. The moment he found our reservation he told us to have some breakfast….and typical of Turkey, it was quite a spread.

There was a little guy who worked the breakfast buffet who was constantly in motion….he seemed to always be on a mission of sorts. Watching him work kept us entertained during our breakfasts.

We loved the gentleman who managed the place…when he found out we'd be leaving early the next morning, before breakfast service, he asked, well more like told us that we'd need something to eat…so they would have something ready for us if we wanted. We told him yogurt and some fruit would be perfectly fine….you gotta love Turkey!

While the Missus was freshening up, I asked the young man about cruises on the Bosphorus…….and really appreciated his honest advice. "You just arrived today and are perhaps a bit tired. Personally, I would just take one of the more inexpensive two hour cruises, the all day ones are a bit long……and after a while, all the buildings will start looking the same. You will stop enjoying it." We took his advice…… He would be our best source during our stays in Istanbul.

We caught the tram down to Eminonu as it started to drizzle and looked over a couple of the cruises near the Galata Bridge which I posted on before.

As we boarded it started raining a bit harder…..it was also fairly cold. The chestnut dude was doing great business though!

Here's what the regular ferryboats look like.

It turned out that two hours was just about the right amount of time for us. Here are some of the sights.

Üsküdar the Asian side of Istanbul.

The beautiful Ortaköy Mosque.

The gentleman at the hotel was right….by the time we hit Rumeli Hisari we had peaked and had our fill……though the cruise really highlighted how little we saw of Istanbul during our trip.

There was one thing that kept us form getting bored though….it was this lovely couple…..

Both were middle-aged. Neither sported wedding rings. The gentleman sported a very serious and conservative suit. The woman wore…well, I mostly remember her for the pointy tipped shoes like we saw in the souvenir shops. Both acted like teenagers in love. As the woman walked to the back of the cabin the gentleman trailed her filming her every move. In fact, he filmed just about every move she took. Once, I thought she had her fill and walked out of the cabin….but no, she was just stepping outside so she could do poses right out the window…..yep, you guessed it, just so the guy could film it! It almost seemed like something out of a comedy. It kept our attention for most of the return trip……it was sweet, cute, hilarious, and just plain bizarre all at the same time.

All along the area around the Galata Bridge are boats selling Balik Ekmek, the famous fish sandwich.

The boats have grills installed on them which already gets your attention, but many have eye-catching…well, almost gaudy design and ornamentation. Some of the hawkers even dress up in what I can only guess is Ottoman style garb…all the while yelling out "BAAaaaa-Liiiik". There's an area where several of the boats gather that have a fairly nice looking dining area set-up.

I walked on over and really didn't like the smell of the fish so I passed.

However, as we got off our boat, I noticed this little boat doing some serious business.

So I decided to try one….you can't beat the price, 2.5 TRY, about $1.25! This being Turkey, the sandwich had quite a bit of bread.

I made a mistake when I first got my sandwich; I had a taste of just the fish, undoubtedly mackerel,which tasted just plain fishy and off. Ick. However, when nestled in the bread, the pungency of the onions helped to cut the fishiness and oil. It tasted much better, but I didn't enjoy the aftertaste…it was not among my favorites from this trip. In fact, I'd take "fish curd" and even "fish poo" (fish preserved in it's own intestinal scrapings) that I had in Laos over this any day of the week.

As we walked to the underground crosswalk I saw the infamous mussel vendor. But after my Balik Ekmek I decided to pass…..

Whenever you're near the Galata Bridge, you can't help but notice the wonderful looking mosque across the street, next to the Spice Market.

The name of the mosque is Yeni Camii, "New Mosque", though it ain't that new being built in the 17th century.

In fact, the Spice Market was built as part of the mosque complex to create revenue for the mosque.

We had heard that the Mosque is quite beautiful and though we passed by several times it was suaully around one of the calls to prayer. We wanted to be respectful and not intrude…so perhaps next time.

There are women selling bird seed to feed the thousands of pigeons that flock around the mosque.

On one afternoon, we saw these men performing Wudu the sacred wash before prayers.

We walked back to our warm and dry room at the Hotel Djem, in need of a shower…..

And perhaps a nap…….

Man, did we love this hotel…….

Carnitas’ Snack Shack

December 21, 2011 mmm-yoso American/New American Restaurants

**** This location of Carnitas' Snack Shack has closed

I first heard about this place from FOY (Friend of Yoso) Candice, who mentioned that Hans Cavin was opening a pork-centric farm to table shop in the spot that used to house Vo's at the end of the strip of University I call the "dead zone"….. Now I'm not really a chef groupie, as a whole I really don't follow much of who's cooking where and think that folks are sometimes more interested in the personality than what they're consuming, though who's cooking what sometimes catches my attention. Chef Cavin used to head up the kitchen at Kensington Grill, where the Missus and I had some good meals in the past. Combined with a pork theme (the shop is named after Carvin's pet pig…Carnitas) and a very casual easy to handle menu, how could I not want to check the place out?

I do love what they've done with the al fresco eating space in back of the place; which I found warm (literally so with the heaters on) and inviting.

It looks like a nice neighborhood place for sucking down some saturated fat, especially once the weather heads toward spring and summer.

The menu changes from time to time, though I'm thinking that some of the core dishes will probably be the same. Prices are on the low end for farm-to-table joints, so meat-huggers will love this place. And there was even a vegetarian offering as well.

Of course I could not resist the Pork Belly ($7):

It was a nice slab of belly with a frisee-apple salad as a counter-point. The pork had a nice crust and though it was a tad more chewy than I prefer, it was still nicely done. The glaze, which I didn't find very spicy, has a fruity component which is teeth rattling sweet eaten solo, but actually complemented the pork nicely. The frisee and apple I found too tannic and puckery for my taste. I realize that one would need something to cut the sweet-richness but it was just too much, sending me on this rather unpleasant rollercoater ride……

Having had it a couple of times North of the border, I love poutine. Here ($7) it is seasoned fries topped with pulled pork, a Vermont Cheddar gravy, crowned with a really, really, delicious julienne of bacon.

For me, this was a case of the parts being much more tasty than the sum. The pulled pork itself was very tender with a mild smoke flavor that is completely overwhelmed by the cheese in the sauce…which had attained a glue like texture by the time it hit the table. The fries were nice, but the seasoning just added more interference to the dish and combined with the cheese in the gravy made this pretty salty as a whole. Having bacon just made this a bit too over the top for me…..

I will say that the dishes didn't make me feel like I needed a shower or anything, so that's a good thing. The portions aren't humongous, though that pork belly was more than enough for me.

The woman manning the front counter, whom I believe is Sara, Carvin's partner in the shack, was a joy. I would suggest checking them out, though you may want to go when they open as the place seems to fill up quickly.

Carnitas' Snack Shack
2632 University Avenue
San Diego, CA 92104

Hours: Wed – Mon 12pm – 12am

Oahu: Let’s do lunch, Pineapple Room, Nico’s Pier 38, Poke Stop, and The Alley

December 19, 2011 mmm-yoso Asian Fusion/Pacific Rim/Hawaii Style Fusion, Honolulu, Oahu, Plate Lunch, Seafood, Travel

Waaay back when, I started making a list of places I wanted to try when I got back "home"…..as years went by, there just never seemed to be the opportunity to take a trip…and when, after nearly ten years we got back to Oahu it was on the way to and from China and there were family things as well. In fact, I just plain adding to the list since it had pretty much gotten outta control. Happily, the Missus and I managed to hit a couple of places on our last trip…here's a round-up of lunches.

The Pineapple Room by Alan Wong:

**** The Pineapple Room has closed

One of my favorite places to eat is the Chef's table at Alan Wong's. I'm not sure how I first heard of Alan Wong's restaurant in Macy's Ala Moana Center, perhaps it was Kathy or perhaps Reid. Either way, the Missus and Her cousins wanted to go to Ala Moana on Black Friday…yikes! I've never been there on Black Friday, I will usually sneak to Ala's the back way run in to grab my omiyagi stuff (Honolulu Cookie Company or whateva's) and get the heck out of the place ASAP. Since it was going to be a major pain, I decided to get something out of it and made reservations for the Pineapple Room. Man, it took us about 45 minutes just to get into the mall! Luckily, I found a free valet parking on Black Friday coupon online…otherwise I'd probably still be circling around looking for parking…..

Surprisingly, the Pineapple Room was just half full when we arrived. Folks were just too busy wrestling each other for deals I guess. Having been to several of those Nordstrom/Macy's/etc restaurants, I found the service here to be top notch, from the timing of the dishes to the knowledge of the servers, it was quite impressive.

On to the food……

The unanimous best dish of the day was the Pan Seared Monchong (Pomfret) on Sea Asparagus with Pesto:

The Missus loved the Sea Asparagus, it was fairly tender, with a ice clean oceany flavor. The monchong was cooked perfectly; it flaked, but was very moist, mild in flavor, the pesto added a nice bit of richness and a savory touch. By the look and flavor (it was light and lacked that strong "green" – pinenut backbone flavor) it seemed more of a coulis.

The Kalua Pig BLT was probably second; mainly because cousin Long Hui absolutely loved her first taste of kalua pork.

The onion roll was nothing special as was the Caesar Salad.

I was really looking forward to the Loco Moco…….

For me, the veal demi glace made this dish, as the fried rice was very "local style" and not very impressive. Loved the eggs which had nice flavor, but that all natural beef patty was tremendously dry and grainy, even though it was cooked medium-well. I've had more than my share of grass fed beef in my time, but this was exceptionally dry, without the flavor I'd been expecting.

Our least favorite dish was the Steamed Chinese-style Onaga:

Personally, I love onaga (long tailed red snapper), the "Fish of Kings". This one was starting to taste "sour", which to me means it's going south, its not spoiled, just not very fresh. It was also overcooked and a bit dry as well. The sweet soy with sesame oil tasted fine, but the fish did in the dish.

Again, the service was excellent and perhaps I expected too much since the place had Alan Wong's name attached to it. But for over a hundred bucks for lunch, I think the dishes could have been better.

The Pineapple Room by Alan Wong
Macy's Ala Moana
1450 Ala Moana Blvd
Honolulu, HI 96814

Nico's Pier 38:

This was another place that folks raved about, so the Missus and I headed over on one of the days we had free. I love the location on pier 38…plus it's right next to a fish wholesaler, you can't get much closer to your purveyor than that.

This place is pretty busy for lunch and at it's heart, it is a plate lunch joint…though the offerings seem decidedly more upscale. It also works on the buzzer system…you know, after you pay for your order they give you one of those coaster looking thingamajigs that scares the daylights out of you when it goes off……

The Missus loves the rather recent "brown rice revolution" in Hawaii…..at meny places you can now get brown rice as an option along with mixed greens. I hadn't had Aku Belly ($9.80) in ages so I ordered that, and though I'm not a big fan of brown rice, I ordered it as well to keep the Missus happy.

Loved how the Aku Belly was fried, the texture was perfect, the oils from the belly gave a nice, almost luxurious texture to the belly. The salsa was on the bland side, it had a touch of heat, but not much else. For some reason the tomatoes didn't give the dish as much acid to cut the richness of the belly, which was seriously under-seasoned as well. Some S&P would have gone a long way here. The brown rice seemed like a mix of brown and white here and was too mushy for me.

We also ordered the Ahi Poke Salad ($8.15):

The greens were wonderfully fresh, but I didn't care for the plum dressing which wasn't that great. The Ahi was seared nicely, the fish still raw in the center, but much like the aku belly, there was some serious seasoning shortage here as well.

Prices are great, food was a bit under seasoned and lacking in flavor for us.

Nico's Pier 38
1133 N Nimitz Hwy
Honolulu, HI 96817

Poke Stop:

**** This location of Poke Stop has closed

We ordered a trio (Furikaki Mahi Mahi, Coconut Shrimp, Seared Ahi) along with our poke:

This was pretty good overall, the ahi and mahi mahi were on the salty side, but the Missus loved both fish. She's not a fan of coconut shrimp so I had those, which were nice and hot, and not fried to death. The brown rice here was super hard, but the Missus wasn't complaining as She scarfed up all of the fish. On this visit, the cooked food was much better than the poke.

Poke Stop
94 -050 Farrington Hwy, E4
Waipahu, HI 96797

The Alley Restaurant Bar & Grill:

This was one I really wanted to hit up ever since I read about it on Kat's blog a couple of years ago. Now a bowling alley doesn't seem like a great place for a stellar meal, but Oxtail soup has a long history in bowling alley's though Kapiolani Coffee Shop has moved to Waimalu since Kam Bowl closed down. This little restaurant is actually located in Aie'a Bowl, one of the few bowling alleys still left on Oahu. If you doubt that, you can just check out what's going on from your table…..

The folks waiting on us here were very friendly and efficient. There was so much on the menu that I wanted to try, but I had but one stomach to give for my lunch! The Missus made me a deal, She'd order a combination with the furikake ahi and tasty chicken (I wanted to find out how tasty that chicken was) if I shared my oxtail soup with Her. Of course She knew I really wanted the oxtail soup and that chicken ( remember no chicken and turkey for the Missus).

I gotta say, the brown rice here was made just (the only way) I like it….. Loved the portion control with the rice as it left room to attack the okazu. The Missus was less than pleased with the ahi which was more sesame seeds than furikake, for some reason the Missus is not particularly fond of dishes with too much sesame seeds or sesame oil. The quality of the fish was not quite as good as the other places we had visited as well. As for the chicken….well, I scarfed it without taking a breath. The batter was light, like an airy karaage, even though it was sauced after frying with a nice sweet and very mildly spicy sauce it held texture quite well. I thought the flavor was assertive without being too strong……..I really want this again.

My oxtail soup ($13.75) was delivered disguised as the leaning tower of "china". So what was in those bowls? One held rice, another ponzu sauce (which we thought really didn't go with the soup), and one was empty for your eating pleasure. There was the requisite grated ginger and green onions as well.

I really couldn't believe the amount of oxtail in this bowl. The oxtails were also prepared well, they held form and the cooking was timed well as they were tender without being mushy. The soup here is not the "clear style" but like what I make at home "shoyu style".

The broth had good oil and star anise flavor, with peanuts strewn throughout. The Missus would have a couple of bites of Her fish then tell me "switch" and grab my bowl of soup!

This was by far, my favorite meal of the trip. It was also quite filling as I couldn't eat dinner that night…….. We're coming back here…..

The Alley Restaurant Bar & Grill
in Aiea Bowl
99-115 Aiea Heights Dr, Ste 310
Aiea, HI 96701

Man, this has been a long one; thanks so much for reading….let me leave you with a photo of a landmark that I remember from "small kid time".

Daddy’s Hot Dogs

December 18, 2011 mmm-yoso Hot Dogs

I was driving along University when I noticed a little window and a sign for a shop called Daddy's Hot Dogs. For some reason the name rang a bell….then it came to me, I'd read a short blurb about the place on sdurban, though I don't recall Paul having checked out the place yet. A hot dog seemed like a pretty good idea, something that would hold me until dinner.

There's just a simple counter in front of the mustard yellow(how appropriate) storefront, where you can "lean and eat" and a window to order.

The menu seemed simple with four items, a 100% all beef dog, a bison dog, a veggie dog (?!?), and a "special" which on this day was a buffalo chicken dog. I say "seemed" because you can order all sorts of toppings and additions to your dog (didn't see no ketchup, though!). The dogs are also butterflied and griddled to order….there are those who waffle at waiting more than two minutes for your dog, this ain't the place for you. No hot dog lying in a steamer, dirty water, or on a hot dog roller here……

The wind seemed to be picking up and rain drops began to fall, so the owner "Daddy" whose given name is, I believe is William, invited me into the back of the restaurant where there's another counter and a couple of seats.

Here I watched the self proclaimed "hot dog chef" in action. All dogs are served butterflied, all items are heated on the griddle, the buns are warmed (thankfully not split and griddled), to order. Daddy told me that temperature and the dog is king here, he doesn't like to overdress his pups.

My all beef dog with deli mustard, griddled onions, and kraut – three bucks, perhaps high for New York or Chicago, but pretty much in the pocket for San Diego.

I wasn't sure how I'd like the butterflied and griddled dog, but it had that nice all beef dog and seasonings flavor which completed the mildly pungent onions and mustard, the kraut, nice and warm added the nice acid component to the deal. The only thing I had qualms with was the roll, which was too big…the bread to protein ratio was off. Also because it was place whole on the griddle, the interior was cold. Personally, I'm partial to lightly steamed rolls, which seem to impart a light fluffiness to the whole deal. Still, this was decent, I'd have it again…..of course then I had to ask Daddy what kind of dog he used. He gave me a wry smile and told me, "I'm not going to tell you, no one else in San Diego serves these and I want to keep it that way." Though after chatting with Daddy a bit, I got some clues…Daddy is a New Yorker who favors Papaya King and Gray's Papaya, so I have feeling he uses a Sabrett type all beef frankfurter…..honestly, I don't need to know any more.

Overall, a decent hot dog…….

Daddy's Hot Dogs
1281 University Ave
San Diego, CA 92103

Tues-Wed 11 am – 8 pm
Thurs 11 am – 10 pm
Fri-Sat 11 am – 2 am
Sun 11 am – 6 pm

A sad and gloomy Friday……..

December 16, 2011 mmm-yoso Blog

It was indeed quite gloomy enough today; dark angry clouds hovering above, leaves thrashing about due to the wind.

Things didn't get better when I received a text from Candice delivering some very sad news….. San Diego's most respected and perhaps feared food critic Naomi Wise had passed away. In shock, I quickly accessed the Reader's Food Blog and found out that it was true. I must admit I felt quite sad……it's not that I really know Naomi or anything, over the years we've exchanged emails, going back to when I first moved to San Diego, and she always took the time to reply. I only met her once, but I'll never forget it. For someone who managed her anonymity to near perfection, she was quite a character, witty, with a tongue as sharp as her pen. In a world where it's getting to be more about a "personality" than food, she could weave a story while keeping us interested in the restaurant she was writing about. All the while she understood the food critic's separation of church and state, something which I have always tried to do, but without as much success as she(luckily, I'm just an eater!). She was a "real" writer, able to convey the sights, sounds, tastes, and ideas, from a wide range of eating, cooking, and travelling experience, in an entertaining format.

I'm not sure you know this, as I really try to keep it separate from the blog, but on occasion I write a column for the Reader. Naomi was instrumental in both broaching the question, which I faintly remember, and getting me to accept when I was stunned to receive an offer from the Reader. At first I was worried that Naomi was being pushed aside, that someone was doing an "end run", having seen this done many times in my career I made sure to contact her, but she reassured me:

"When we were at dinner, we briefly discussed my idea to have you write something that would run occasionally in the Reader. It was obviously an idea whose time had come."

When I mentioned that I wasn't a "real writer", nor did I consider my self one….I always say, "I'm an eater not a writer." She fired back quickly:

"Everybody there already knows that, but your prose is plain, simple, grammatical. That's all we want. But don't forget there has to be a story."

"But don't forget there has to be a story……."

That phrase came to mind as I watched the fast moving clouds passing overhead. I'm truly hoping that Naomi's spirit has retired to the place she wished, Chiang Mai…with occasional side trips to the sandy beaches of Phuket.

Thanks so much for spending those few hours with us Naomi, as well as all the encouraging emails. The San Diego food scene is much better because of you……

Rest in Peace.

Taqueria Aqui es Jalisco

December 14, 2011 mmm-yoso Mexican Restaurants, Taco Shops

*** Aqui es Jalisco has closed and is now Nhat Vy

Back in October as I was driving around after my meal at Lee's Deli and noticed that The Torta Factory was gone. In its place was a shop called Taqueria Aqui es Jalisco….Jalisco? Pictures of birria and tortas ahogadas danced in my head. That evening the Missus was tied up doing things with friends so I jumped in my car and headed back up to the shop…….

Walking in, I noticed that the place had a real "temporary' look, as if someone had just moved in and was still setting things up. The old counter stood alone, more of a wall than a counter.

I took a look at the hand written menu and was a bit disappointed…….it was pretty basic fare, tortas, tacos, and such, with pretty standard stuff.

The young woman working told me they had just been open for two weeks and was very nice. I would have felt terrible just walking out so I decided to get a taste of the different beef offerings and went for four tacos ($1.25/each).

The Cabeza and Lengua came out first.

There's no salsa bar here; I was asked how I wanted my tacos and told them with everything. The cabeza was the better of the two, beefy, but not overdone. The lengua was mushy and had a real liver-y flavor to it. The salsas were relatively mild.

The suadero, which has been descried as "shoulder, but is actually the meat from between the belly and leg was fairly good. Tender, but mild in flavor. The pale carne asada looked like it was going to be terrible.

It turned out to be more tender than it looked, but it was salty and lacked the introduction of flavor from any other seasoning or cooking (i.e. carmelization).

Overall, this wasn't a particularly good meal, but the investment was just five bucks and you've gotta give these places a shot.

I'm not sure how this place is going to do…….

Taqueria Aqui es Jalisco
4595 El Cajon Boulevard
San Diego, CA 92115

Honolulu: Royal Kitchen and Nam Fong

December 13, 2011 mmm-yoso Chinese BBQ, Chinese Restaurants, Honolulu, Oahu, Travel

My Father In-Law thought it would be a great idea to have the Missus' visiting cousins a taste of an "American Thanksgiving" so he ordered the basic heat and eat Thanksgiving meal from Zippy's. My job was to provide "back-up" if you know what I mean. No offense against Zippy's or any other of the heat and catered Thanksgiving meals, but they really aren't known for great flavor and quality if you know what I mean. We weren't arriving until the wednesday afternoon before T-Day so making anything was pretty much out of the question. So I dug into my "black book" looking for something that might suffice. Several folks had recommended Nam Fong in Chinatown to me, so I called from San Diego and reserved a duck and some pork for Thanksgiving Day. Nam Fong opens pretty early which worked out well as I made a nice 530 am drive from Ewa Beach to the Chinese Cultural Plaza at the edge of Chinatown in downtown. Arriving at about 6am on Thanksgiving morning I was surprised at how busy things were. There was a large group doing Tai Chi on the plaza alongside the River Street Canal. Now those that know where Nam Fong is located may ask what the heck am I doing at the CCP? Well, I drove up extra early to hit up this place:

Man, it has been at least a dozen years since I'd been to Royal Kitchen. I remember first having a baked manapua from Royal Kitchen waaay back in the early 1980's! What is manapua? It's Hawaii's riff on the Char Siu Bao which I mentioned in my post about Char Hung Sut. Why is it called manapua? Depending on what source you get your info from it could come from Hawaiian phrase "mauna pua'a", which means "mountain of pork"……now what non-vegetarian could resist a mountain of pork, eh? Or perhaps it's from the phrase "mea ono pua'a" which means something along the lines of "delicious pork thing", "mea ono" could also be translated to mean "cake" and "pork cake" would be a apt description, right? Whatever the origin, it's all good. Royal Kitchen changes things around when they started making baked manapua, they then put it sidewards by replacing the pork mixture with a whole lup cheong (Chinese sausage – my favorite) and Chicken Curry. Stuff like Portuguese sausage and kalua pork came later.

The shop is tiny and sells noodles and Chinese Barbecue as well.

But of course, I was all about the manapua, still priced pretty well at $1.15 each. Three trips ago (circa 1999), I bought a couple of these to eat on the trip home from Honolulu. Unfortunately, we forgot the package in the rental car….man was I bummed. So to set things right, I bought a box of eight. I even called from San Diego to make sure they'd be open on Thanksgiving.

This time eating was top priority so no views of the fillings. I seem to recall the exterior to be a bit more baked. I've never considered the char siu version to be stellar and it's still not my favorite. This time around the kalua pork overtook the lup cheong and Portuguese Sausage. Who knows what will win out next time? I'm looking forward to that……

Royal Kitchen
100 N Beretania St, Ste 175
Honolulu, HI 96817

Mon-Fri 5:30 am – 4:30 pm
Sat 6:30 am – 4:30 pm
Sun 6:30 am – 2:30 pm

I packed my box in the car, walked along the canal, crossed the street, then down Maunakea Street, the heart of Chinatown. The area has been cleaned up over the years, but there are still homeless folks sleeping in the doorways and it's easy to imagine how the area must have been when the area was the entertainment district or during the post World War II era (remember all those stories about Club Hubba Hubba?) or even as I grew up in Honolulu.

I was told that Nam Fong would be opening earlier than usual and I found the place doing a steady business when I arrived at about 615am.

Though there are a couple of places doing Chinese BBQ along this stretch of road, the ducks in the window sure looked good.

NamFong02

The roast pork hanging inside the shop didn't look too shabby either! There was a makshift set-up with what looked like a dozen Chinese style roasted turkeys that looked really delicious. The woman working the counter was really friendly and my order was ready when I arrived.

Anyway here's the rundown, first off the Roast Pork wasn't bad, it was moist with good flavor, but too chewy and the skin hard.

I ended up chopping up most of it and doing a saute with vinegar, chilies, soy sauce, onions, and scallions a la sisig which turned out rather good.

The Char Siu was pretty good, most places here in San Diego make it really salty and overly sweet, pouring sauce over it to keep it moist. This was mildly sweet, but not salty and I could make out the flavor of the pork for once.

A whole roast duck here costs a very reasonable $16,and while the skin is not quite up there in terms of texture, this duck was very good, much better than anything we have in San Diego. You can just tell by the look of the meat in this photo……

The meat was very tender and moist, the flavor of the duck came through. Initially, even though I could make out a mild five spice-bean paste flavor, I thought the duck too mild. Until I poured some of the jus on the duck, which immediately brought all the flavors out. It was delici-yoso!!! Thanks to everyone who recommended this place to me!

I'd like to revisit on my next trip home to see if the duck is just as good….then I'll be able to make recommendations of my own.

**** Sadly Nam Fong has closed

Nam Fong Restaurant
1029 Maunakea St
Honolulu, HI 96817

Mon-Sat 7 am – 4:30 pm
Sun 7 am – 1 pm

One thing I realized as I drove back to Ewa Beach…..I really enjoyed these morning drives….on days when there was no morning traffic.

"Round and round up and down
Through the streets of your town
Everyday I make my way
Through the streets of your town"

Streets of Your Town – Go-Betweens

Rose Parade 2012 float decorating and Plate 38-Pasadena

December 12, 2011 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Festivals & Events, Los Angeles County, Road Trip, What Cathy Eats!, yoso-silly

Welcome back to mmm–yoso!!! the food blog. It's the time if year filled with many holidays and Kirk, ed (from Yuma) and Cathy have been busy with activities other than eating. Cathy is posting about one of her busy days.

Hi. This past Saturday began with a 4 a.m. wake up and quick cooked breakfast.

Ham and cheese inside the flat omelet, sauteed spinach and mushrooms and crispy fried Bacon SPAM along with the only coffee I had that day.

It was still dark and the moon was beginning to eclipse when The Mister and I hit the road.

Soon, the sun was coming up, the moon had disappeared and we were passing giant Manger scenes along Interstate 5, the "General Hospital" building and got to Pasadena, finding a parking spot on the street, behind a Tournament of Roses vehicle.

We were at the Rose Palace, 30 minutes before our volunteer time was to start with our group, the Petal Pushers, which coordinates over 5,000 volunteers each year. There were many groups meeting this day to help decorate floats which were designed in February, when the theme of this 2012 Rose Parade was chosen- "Just Imagine". It was 42º outside and chillier inside. We were told to wear warm clothing that we were not afraid to get dirty. I wore three tshirts and an XL sweatshirt. As did most everyone else. This was a "Dry Decorating Day"- the fresh flowers won't go on the floats until 3 days before the parade on January 2, 2012. In other Rose Parade float posts, I've shown you how every visible part of the floats must be covered in living or previously alive materials. These dry decorating days are just as, if not more, important for the complete float to be built.

The assignments for Petal Pushers were given. We work on a few different floats in this barn, with various duties. Some people cut the purple petals off of these beautiful Statice flowers. All day. At the end of the day, all the five gallon buckets were empty-after being refilled one time- and the amount of flower petals gathered was less than one five gallon container.

One friendly couple were given the assignment of breaking down redwood bark- over the 8 hours they were given about 12 six foot long pieces of just bark,

which they shredded down into manageable thin pieces to be glued onto the HGTV float. They filled at least five of the large boxes and too many to count of the smaller one for volunteers to use to cover the trunks and branches on all the pine trees on this float, which has a replica of the HGTV Dream Home that somebody will win next year. In the background of the above photo, the young ladies are gluing bulghur wheat or some grain material onto the window frames. The spaces between the wood planks of the exterior have been filled with glued on poppy seeds.

You can see some of the glued on bark at the base of this pine tree. The tree is lying in the position it will collapse to during the parade- when the float passes under street and signal lights.

That box in front has a few poppy seeds left over. The HGTV home was built inside this barn and lifted onto the float 'body'. It is unusual to have such a structure on a float, since it is so heavy, but they wanted to build an accurate replica for this, their second float in the Rose Parade. HGTV will be doing a special before the Rose Parade showing how a float is built. It should be interesting.

You'll see this elk on the HGTV float, because he is on the 'camera side' of the float. Right now he is only partially covered in dry material. The undersides of the pine trees are covered in glued on dried parsley.

These powerful blenders are used to pulverize many of the flower petals so the powder can be glued onto some of the pieces of floats…

Like the giant flowers which will surround the Lions Club International float, "A World at Peace".

The 100th Anniversary of Loyola Marymount University will be celebrated with this tall(see the steeple in the back ?) float which is using the more blue-colored flower petals of the Statice flowers. It will have real palm leaves attached to the wires on those palm trees.

The back of the Shriners Hospital float looks like it has chickens exploding in the exhaust

which is coming from the bear-driven airplane. It's titled "Soaring for Kids".

The City of Los Angeles float has a few ancient creatures, with their textured skin made more visible with all sorts of beans. It honors the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County with the title "Dinosaurs in LA's Backyard"

There were a lot of volunteers working on the City of Glendale float, "Just Imagine the Music, Fun and Freedom"

The Lutheran Hour Float, in its 63rd appearance in the Rose Parade, is as detailed in the back as it is from the front. (Do you see two volunteers in this photo?)

The Farmers Insurance Group float looks like a giant game of "Mousetrap" and is called "The Unimaginable"

This is the back of the Odd Fellows and Rebekahs float "Shining Knights Still Exist".

At almost 5 p.m., we left. You can see the Sierra Madre Mountains and sunset in the distance…and the volunteers from the schools waiting for their buses to pick them up. There were more than 300 volunteers this eight hour day.

If you'd like to see artist's renderings of all the Phoenix Decorating floats, click on this link. There are a total of 55 floats in the 2012 Rose Parade and Phoenix is one of three companies which made them.

Anyhow, it was a LONG day and The Mister and I started driving through Pasadena looking for a place to have dinner (we brought lunch with ourselves; I did not take photos). We ended up on Colorado Boulevard

We were stopped at the signal light on Colorado at Sierra Madre and the side of this building on the Northeast corner had a sign about 'proudly serving Peets coffee'. We figured it was a Breakfast-Lunch-Dinner place and pulled into the parking lot.

Looking in the front door, it seemed Plate 38 does take out also. There were fresh, house made pastries in that display case.

We found a seat on the other side of the Christmas tree and admired the beautiful, solid wood table. We noticed the menu noted the food was made with local ingredients, no preservatives, organic fresh baked goods and also microbrews and Napa wines were offered.

The below photo turned out particularly blurry; I must have somehow channeled my exhaustion through to my iPhone and both photos of this same dish were just not good.

It is the Fritto Misto appetizer plate, which I chose to be my main dish. Quite large (it was at least 8×8 inches square) and filled with perfectly fried lightly breaded calamari rings, butterflied large shrimp and artichoke hearts and zucchini (both yellow and green), topped with a handful of mache lettuce and with a side of fresh made, wonderful lemon caper aioli, this was a perfect meal for me. The bonus was that since it was an appetizer, and between 4:30 and 6:00 p.m., the price was $2 off. Regularly $11, the $9 price tag was very much worth it.

The Mister ordered garlic marinated skirt steak plate ($18). The meat was tender and flavorful, not overpowering. The 'gravy' was a brandy peppercorn sauce. The fresh asparagus was not overcooked and had a nice crunch to it, I think it was braised in olive oil…the thin cut garlic fries were not overpowering and crispy, but not over-fried.

All in all we would like to come back to Plate 38 and try their other menu items. You can see the menu on the link below. For an all locally sourced, preservative free and organic baked goods, Plate 38 offers an excellent Return of Investment for your money. If you happen to be in this part of town. We will return. Maybe on a day when we aren't working and are all sawdust covered…

Tournament of Roses website

Phoenix Decorating Company website

Petal Pushers volunteer decorating information website (I just got an email- they still need volunteers for this Saturday (December 17) and from Dec 26-Jan 1)

Plate 38 2361 East Colorado Boulevard (at Sierra Madre) Pasadena 91107 (626) 793-7100 Sun-Th 7 am-10 pm, Fri-Sat 8 am-1am Monday 8 am-3:30 pm website