mmm-yoso – Page 43 – 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.

Guadalajara – Tikuun Comedor Local

November 9, 2024 mmm-yoso Guadalajara/Tequila, Jalisco, Mexico, Mexican Restaurants, Mexico, Travel

I thought that this post was already done, but was mistaken. I'm so behind on travel posts, but just wanted to make sure to get this one done as it was our favorite meal in Guadalajara.

After a nice, busy day of exploring Centro Historico, we took a nice break. When it came time for our last meal, I went with a place that no less then five people, all locals recommended to us. A place located in our favorite neighborhood; Colonia Americana, which I briefly mentioned here.

The restaurant was described as Modern, yet very Mexican, relaxed, with an interesting menu. Tikuun Comedor Local. The restaurant was located near the University, closer to the Northeastern side of the district.

The restaurant had a nice outdoor patio area overlooking the quiet street, so we decided to dine there. The service was quite friendly, though it got a bit slower as customers started coming in. It's quite a popular place.

The menu featured traditional Mexican cuisine with international touches. Which can sometimes really disrupt the soul and key flavors of dishes. Here at Tikuun it seemed to work well in most cases.

I stuck with a couple of cervezas with dinner and the Missus enjoyed the house win here.

As we will often do; we went with a meal of all starters as those dishes seemed the most interesting to us. Like the Pellizcadas de Chicharron de Pork Belly.

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For those not familiar with Pellizcadas; it's masa based, sort of like a sope; though I believe these have the "boundary edges" like a like Picaditas. The maize tones came out so clearly; as did the porkiness. The black beans "grounded" the dish which had a bit of acidic heat. This was out favorite dish of the evening.

The Sea Bass Aguachile with Katsuobushi was a nice dish.

While we initially had doubts about the freshness of the fish; this was wonderfully fresh. The brightness of the marinade went quite well with the uber-savory, umami katsuobushi. Nice amount of spice in this one as well.

Of course, we couldn't resist ordering the Sweetbreads; even though it was prepared with Ssamjang!

While the sauce was a bit much for the dish, the pickled onions and radishes were essential in balancing things out. Still, the buttery texture of the sweetbreads contrasted nicely with the greens and veggies. The addition of the spicy-fermented-savory Ssamjang and the Chiltepin chilies made for an interesting heat. The blue corn tortillas were really good as well.

The Scallops were so sweet, tender, and briny.

The firm, nutty-earthy fava beans added an interesting texture and a nice layer of flavor. Good acidity as well. The gremolata had peppermint in it which kind of rendered pungent tones out of the equation.

As you can see; this was an interesting dinner, which we really enjoyed. The sometimes novel combinations worked more often then not. And heck, if Tikuun were here in San Diego we'd be eating here every once in a while.

Tikuun Comedor Local
Calle Emeterio Robles Gil 50
Americana, 44600 Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico

Well, we had really enjoyed our time in Guadalajara and really can't wait to return!

Yes, there are places that seem a bit on the "gritty" side…..

But folks were so warm, kind, and welcoming. We took a short walk after dinner. We started noticing some interesting places…..

As we walked thru Parque Revolucion; instead of heading back to the hotel, we headed north a bit up Calz del Federalismo. This busy district was again a total change from the other neighborhoods we'd visited on this stay. Which made sense since the metropolitan area of the city is home to over 5 million.

This had been such a fun stay!

We can't wait to return. But on this trip, our next stop was Tequila, the town, not the drink. Though we'd have our share of that as well!

Thanks for stopping by! Hope you're having a wonderful weekend!

Yomie’s Rice X Yogurt

November 8, 2024 mmm-yoso Australia, Desserts, Ice Cream/Frozen Yogurt, Sydney

It's funny how doing a bit of travelling will expand your life and even add new items into your routine. Take for instance, Yomie's Rice x Yogurt which opened off Convoy back in May of last year. Honestly, I'm not much of a Boba drinks kinda guy and I just put Yomie's into that "bucket". Plus, ever since our return from Taiwan, the Missus has gotten some major sticker shock regarding the prices in tea shops, with one notable exception. More on that in a future post.

Before heading back to Oahu we stayed in Sydney for four days. Instead of staying right in the middle of CBD (not, it's not what you think, CBD = "Central Business District" here), we stayed right on the Southern edge of the district in the area known as Chippendale (and no, it has nothing to do with what just came to your mind either). It was close to transportation and I thought we might enjoy the area. Which we did immensely. We spend a good part; or even most of each day just wandering and exploring, and there seems to be a boba/tea/frozen yogurt shop on every corner; which totally reminded us of Taiwan.

Anyway, on one of our "walks" we passed this place.

Yomies Sydney 01

Look familiar? Anyway, the Missus was fascinated, it was a warm day, and so we went in and ordered two Jujube Yogurts, one with the purple rice, the other without. We both enjoyed it; though that Purple Rice is quite filling….well, it was quite filling period as we could only do half of each cup. It looked somewhat pricey at $6,7 AUD….BUT, with the exchange rate it was like $4.40 US! Anyway we returned a couple of days later and split the Haw version. Sadly, as we enjoyed our treats while walking, I never took photos. I actually never thought I'd post on the place as we were quite "busy".

Upon returning, I found out that this location was the original as Yomie's was started in Sydney!

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I mentioned to the Missus that Yomie's had a shop in San Diego; in Plaza del Sol off Convoy and She seemed quite interested! We also went to check out the location in Ala Moana Center and the prices looked good; being in the mid $6 range. Unfortunately, they didn't have Jujube or Haw which is what the Missus was craving.

To my surprise, after lunch one day, the Missus instructed me to drop by Yomie's Convoy. The place opens at 11 and I was thinking the parking lot might be crowded, but with China Max and other businesses having not reopened yet, we easily found parking.

Yomies 01

The place was quite empty….in fact, we've been the only customers in the place on all our visits….yes, we've been back like four times already!

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The menu looked similar to that in Sydney, which made the Missus happy. Though, we got major sticker shock at the prices.

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Most everything is over eights bucks? Yikes! More expensive than Ala Moana Center, how can that be? At that moment, we decided on the "Yomie's rule". Since the yogurt smoothies are pretty filling; we get one and share.

Here are our current favorites.

We always go with the "less sugar" option. Our current favorite is the Matcha Red Bean Yogurt ($8.50).

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The matcha adds a nice earthy-chlorophyllic flavor and is a good foil for the sweet-nutty red bean. We usually get this without the signature purple (forbidden rice). It's quite refreshing.

Other than that; we will usually get the Red Bean; sometimes with the purple rice ($8.50), sometimes without ($8.25).

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The Missus also enjoys the Jujube versions as well. We haven't tried any of the fresh fruit versions; perhaps during the summer?

Yomie's touts the health benefits of both the yogurt (the probiotics) and the purple rice (antioxidants) and claims everything is made fresh inhouse.

Well, it is the current favorite of the Missus and we've developed the "Yomie's rule" to deal with the price. And even though I don't have much of a "sweet tooth" I do enjoy the refreshing "less sugar" option. And heck, we've even been to the original location!

Yomie’s Rice X Yogurt
4688 Convoy St. Suite 109
San Diego, CA 92111

Takeout from Village Kitchen (Again)

November 6, 2024 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants

Recently, when we've been going out for our biweekly Chinese food "fix", it's been Taste of Hunan. Well, a few days back we wanted some takeout and didn't feel like making the drive out to Scripps Ranch. The Missus was wondering how Village Kitchen was doing, so, like on our last visit over a year-and-a-half ago we decided to do some takeout.

Upon arriving we went with our "regular" dishes and tried something new as well.

We were really feeling like a couple of dishes with La Rou, so we went with the LA Rou with Radish Skin ($19.75) and the La Rou with Bamboo Shoots ($19.75).

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These were dishes that we've ordered several times. It would be interesting to see how things were on this visit.

The Smoked Pork with Bamboo Shoos was the better of the two dishes.

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The smoked pork was a bit chewy, but imparted a good porky-smokiness to the dish. The bamboo shoots were nice and crunchy, while still being tender and moist. Most important was the flavor, good savory-umami soy sauce tones, not overly salty, it perhaps could have used a bit more "heat", but was not bad.

We've had the Smoked Pork with Radish Skin many times. It had earned a spot as an item we'd regularly order. But this time, it was not very good.

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This time around we really didn't enjoy this, as the dried radish had not been properly prepped; it was super hard….not crunchy, but really hard. Along with the chewy smoked pork, the overall textures just weren't pleasing. There was not enough heat in this and it just seemed bland overall, like it hadn't been seasoned well, nor stir fried properly and just "thrown together".

The one item we hadn't noticed before; I'm thinking it's a rather new dish is the Stinky Tofu with Pork Intestine ($18.75). A great "cloud" of offaly fragrance rose above our dining table when I opened this.

VK TO 04 VK TO 05 I'm thinking that the Chou Doufu is not really needed in this dish as it appeared charred, wasn't really overly funky-smelly-"toe jammy"-rotten smelling. It was quite mild. The pork intestine was very tender and had kept the funky-offal-ly flavor, it was quite savory. While this dish could have used more spice; it had good peppery-soy sauce tones and was quite enjoyable….if you're a pork intestine kinda eater. Which we are.

While not as refined, without a broad array of flavors, and not as spicy as what we've been having at Taste of Hunan; two of the three dishes were tasty and the portion sizes were quite generous. I'd say the food at Village Kitchen is a bit more rustic, the taste a bit more simple. It's not a bad thing at all. Sometimes that will just do fine.

Village Kitchen
4720 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92117

Thaipan Kitchen (In the Pyramid on Miramar Road)

November 5, 2024 mmm-yoso Asian Fusion/Pacific Rim/Hawaii Style Fusion, Filipino Restaurants, Japanese Restaurants, Thai Restaurants

It's funny how things sometimes turn out. In the comments of my post on the Cuisinery moving to Miramar Road, "FOY" Sandy happened to mention that there used to be a Chinese Restaurant in the Pyramid; currently known as the San Diego Innovation Center. I'm sure you'd recognize the structure if you've ever driven on Miramar Road.

Thaipan 01

A few weeks ago, when heading home after shopping at the Cuisinery, I noticed something on the signage for the Pyramid.

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Do you see it? It says "Thaipan Kitchen". Hmmm…… So, after doing a bit of research, I found that it's owned by the same folks as Ping Yang in the Market on 8th. I also noted that they are only open from 1030 to 330 Monday to Fridays.

I like the 1030 opening since I enjoy an early lunch these days. Plus, the Cuisinery now opens at 10, so I could coordinate my visits! A few days later, I dropped by.

Thaipan 03b

I saw the sign and decided to step into the Pyramid. Funny thing, we've lived in San Diego for over 20 years now and I'd never been in this structure. Never had a reason to visit I guess?

I opened the door and walked on in.

Thaipan 04

The bottom floor was a huge space. There didn't seem to be much going on, I'm not sure what the occupancy of the building is right now? There even seems to be coffee stand that doesn't seem operational?

The tiny shop was open and I walked on over.

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The gentleman was hard at work in the kitchen, so I had a look at the menu; which features standard Thai dishes like Pad Thai, Tom Yum, and also Japanese items like Karaage, Gyoza, and Tonkatsu.

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And looking at the register, it seems like they are venturing into Filipino dishes. Right now they do Spamsilog and Tocilog….it seems they also do Katsu Sandos. I asked the guy worknig about the hours and he told me that they tried to open at 830 but things were too slow. All of the dishes are available from 1030 to 330 in spite of what the menu says.

Thaipan 07

I mean, there's no way you can do "everything" well, right? So, knowing that the owners are Thai, I decided to stick with that side of the menu.

I wasn't feeling like Pad Thai or a curry; the Ka Prao with Pork Belly ($16.50) sounded good. It was also the most expensive item on the menu. I was given one of those buzzer things and just cooled my heels in the dining area.

Thaipan 08

Soon enough, my lunch was ready to go. I had decided on takeout…..I just didn't feel like eating at the cold and empty dining area.

Once home I unpacked the fairly hefty bowl.

Thaipan 09 Thaipan 10 The fragrance really got my stomach growling. In terms of portion size, this was way bigger than the takeout I'd had from Thai Test Kitchen. I got this medium spicy and it wasn't bad, not dumbed down for sure. Loved the crisp, sweet-anisey fried basil. I could make out a hint of fish sauce, it wasn't overly sweet, loved the flavor of the pork, which was a bit too chewy and tough though.

I'm not sure if it was the drive home, but the egg was overcooked for my taste.

The rice was fragrant, but on the chewy side.

Thaipan 11

Overall, this was not bad, definitely not overly "Ameri-Thai" and in terms of flavor and all that basil in line with Thai Test Kitchen in my mind.

A couple of weeks later I returned. This time, I went and placed my order then went to the Cuisinery to shop before returning. But that's not before I saw something interesting. If you look closely at the photo below. You'll see the microwave below what looks like a portable griddle. Well, I noticed as I walked toward the entry to the building that a large plastic bag of rice was bein put in the microwave. That explains the texture of the rice.

Thaipan 12

Anyway, this time I went with the Thai Omelet over Rice ($13.50). For some reason I was just craving some Kai Jeow!

This really looked lovely when I unpacked it at home.

Thaipan 13 Thaipan 14 It usually has Sriracha drizzled on the egg, but the gentleman nicely asked if I'd prefer to have it on the side. I really didn't even need it. The egg was slightly crisp and quite fluffy. Nice savory tones; the ground meat used, I'm thinking it may be ground chicken was moist and tender. Nice savory tones; quite "eggy" without any off flavors. Quite nice!

The rice though, as you can see was dry and chewy.

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Overall, not bad. In spite of the rice, I enjoyed the omelet enough that it managed to push the dish over mediocrity.

I'll probably be back. As for a comparison to Thai Test Kitchen; I think the overall quality at TTK might be better, though the prices and portion at Thaipan seems better. Thaipan 16

As for the location; well, wouldn't having a food hall in the Pyramid be a great idea? Not sure if it would make it; but I believe there are so many businesses in the area, along with MCAS Miramar that perhaps it would succeed?

I do need to make it down to the Market on 8th one of these days. I tried twice, but the parking situation was terrible.

As for Thaipan; well Sandy, you see, there's an actual restaurant in the Pyramid now!

Thaipan Kitchen
7310 Miramar Rd. Suite 105
San Diego, CA 92126
Current Hours:
Mon – Fri 1030am – 330pm
Closed Sat/Sun

Thaipan 17

London – Afternoon Tea at the Terrace at The Dilly, Westminster Abbey, and The Church of St Margaret

November 3, 2024 mmm-yoso British/Irish/Scottish Restaurants/Pubs, Desserts, London, Sandwiches, Travel

It was still fairly early when we crossed the Westminster Bridge. We had afternoon tea scheduled for 230pm, back at the hotel where we were staying.

I had always wanted to check out Westminster Abbey It was just before 10am. Because I wasn't sure what our schedule would be, I didn't purchase advanced tickets. It was just past 10, the line to get in didn't seem very long, so we decided to see if we could get tickets. Surprisingly, there were tickets available. I went ahead and got us tickets for 1030 entry into the Abbey. We decided to check out St. Margaret's Church which is on the grounds of the Abbey.

According to Britannica, there had been a church on this site since the mid-12th century. But that structure was demolished and this church was built between 1486 and 1523. It is the "official" church of the House of Commons (i.e. the Parliament), which happens to be right next door. In fact, Winston Churchill married Clementine Hozier in this church in 1908. They were married for 56 years, until Churchill's death in 1965.

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The church is also known for it's windows. The famous East Window has quite a story.

It was also interesting to see who's been entombed here.

Speaking of entombed. Well, according to Wikipedia, there are over 3,300 people buried or commemorated in the Abbey, which was housing Benedictine Monks back in the 10th Century!

There's so much that has happened here; every coronation, since that of William the Conquerer in 1066 has taken place here; the High Altar is where those take place. This post could be many pages long; so I'm just going to keep it simple.

Of course, I was much more interested in who was buried here. It's a who's who of history.

There are a total of 17 monarchs entombed here. For instance, Elizabeth I and Mary I are buried next to each other.

There are familiar names everywhere and folks seemed to be entombed together in sections.

Poet's Corner features some familiar names.

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Remember I used the term buried or "commemorated" above? Well, I found it even more interesting folks who have memorials or statues here, but are not buried at Westminster.

Like this rather well known fella'…….

I really appreciated some of the "pairings"….for instance, Stephen Hawking.

Is buried next to…..

And nearby resides….

From people I've read about in history class.

To those who future generations will read about in their history classes.

And even those whom I just remember for certain things; like the quote "Doctor Livingston I presume?"

I really enjoyed just wandering thru Westminster Abbey. There's an Audioguide available, but we just decided to "wing it".

I'm thinking we'll return and perhaps do a private or Verger tour. This was a lot of fun.

Exiting Westminster Abbey, we headed up Parliament Street.

Passing the Cenotaph, a memorial to those who died in the First and Second World Wars. Unfortunately, those photos didn't turn out.

My photo for the Monument to the Women of World War II did.

As did that of the Field Marshal Earl Haig Memorial.

Whitehall is indeed a street with so much too see.

At the intersection of Whitehall and Horse Guards Avenue is a very popular gate. This is where one of the ceremonial entrances to Saint James and Buckingham Palace is. This is also where the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment guards the gate. You can figure out what the draw here is, right?

Everyone wants a photo with the Equine Soldier, but like they say for the Tube, you need to "mind the gap" as some of the horses, like the one above enjoy their "personal space". It was quite a crowd.

This is also where the entry to the Household Cavalry Museum is located, along with the Horse Guards Parade. It had quite a line on this day.

We walked thru the passage to Horse Guards Avenue. And came upon the Guards Memorial.

Like I said. There's so much to see that it can be overwhelming. By this point we had seen so much that it was time to head back to the hotel and take a short break before Afternoon Tea.

I put my phone away and we took a nice stroll back to the Dilly.

I had made reservations for Afternoon Tea at the hotel's restaurant, the Terrace. One thing I did learn was the difference between High Tea and Afternoon Tea. Afternoon Tea is earlier with supposedly lighter fare….you'll see why I say "supposedly" soon. The Terrace is a lovely, somewhat stylish, very bright restaurant.

Since we wouldn't have time for dinner until later this evening; I thought 230 might be a good time for Afternoon Tea. The restaurant was busy, but not super crowded. We thought the prices were quite reasonable as well.

We really weren't prepared for how much food this was. That said, nothing was memorable; the sandwiches dull, the scones quite bland….

The "sweets" tasted like mass produced chocolate; though we thought the theme and presentation was charming.

The service was quite attentive; though we were underwhelmed at the quality and flavor of the food. Still, you were in London, you had to do Afternoon or High Tea, right?

Terrace at The Dilly
21 Piccadilly
London, United Kingdom

London – Le Deli Robuchon and a Walk Around “the Mall”

November 1, 2024 mmm-yoso Bakery, Croissants, Desserts, London, Travel

One of the main reasons the Missus wanted to stay in the Piccadilly area was to check out Le Deli Robuchon. She had been following a ton of influencer/social media posts hyping up the "Cube Croissants". I really don't follow those, but the Missus really wanted to try them. Which is why I went and booked the Dilly for our initial stay in London….though I'm fairly certain the Missus would have preferred the Ritz.

On weekdays this location of Le Deli Robuchon opens at 7. We walked on over and arrived at about 730am. The place was fairly busy, but not crowded.

Ordering is via a line, first past the regular pastries; I decided on some Gougeres and Coffee, Double Espresso for the both of us. You then go to a separate counter for the "cubes".

The Missus decided on the Pistachio version of the Cube which went for 9£; about $12/US at the time. We took our pastries to the table and soon after our espresso were delivered.

The espresso was a nice "jolt" to the system. The gougere were too doughy and sweet for my taste.

As for the "beast"…..

Well, I wasn't a fan, it was too sweet and doughy for me. I'm for lighter, flakier, less sweet desserts. The missus agreed as well.

On the table next to us, the woman, exclaimed in the finest British accent, "My god! This is terrible!" So, I'm guessing we weren't alone in not caring for this. At least on this morning.

In case you're wondering what story is behind the "cube", you can read this article. We would go to several places hyped up by the "gram" and the "tok" during this trip and not enjoy any of those meals. Since then, the Missus has double checked places hyped up on these sites.

Le Deli Robuchon Piccadilly
82 Piccadilly
London, United Kingdom

This being our first full day in London, we decided to just enjoy and explore before our reservation for high tea.

We headed down St James Street to Pall Mall……

Then headed toward Buckingham Palace, making a stop at the Queen Victoria Memorial.

And taking a quick look at the Royal Residence; Buckingham Palace.

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We then turned around and decided to head down The Mall, the ceremonial route to Buckingham Palace. This is where you'll see all the royal processions on television.

Lots of lovely ornate gates and a wide tree lined road.

And on this morning; not only were the police marching down the avenue….but it seemed like the ducks were as well!

Down the street we noticed this column.

This is the Duke of York Column, a monument to Prince Frederick the Duke of York, the second son of King George III. It is said that Prince Frederick was King George's favorite son and did much to reform and modernize the Army.

In fact, shortly after Prince Frederick's death, in 1827 all British soldiers donated one day’s wage for the building of this monument which was completed in 1831.

We took a right on Northumberland Avenue and headed toward the River Thames. There's just so much to see in London! From the Golden Jubilee Bridge we had an awesome view of the London Eye.

We then walked along the East side of the Thames to the Westminster Bridge where we proceeded to cross back over the Thames taking in a classic view!

Crossing over, I noticed that we still had a good amount of time before our reservations for Afternoon Tea, so we decided on making one more stop.

At a place I had always wanted to check out!

Stay Tuned!

Have a fun…and safe Halloween

October 31, 2024 mmm-yoso yoso-silly

Something we've noticed over the last couple of years. Not sure if you've noticed it too?

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It seems like decorating has really grown in size and scope! Man, some of the yards in our neighborhood!

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Of course, we were out of the country last Halloween, but I think it's been really expanding ever since the times of Covid. I've noticed the same with Christmas as well.

Even the one house that really used to go all out, now has the entire corner going and even the roof!

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And they've got this "show" going on at night?

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Though perhaps this represents a change in demographics and gentrification?

Perhaps you've noticed the same thing where you live?

Regardless, we here at mmm-yoso want to wish you a Happy and Safe Halloween!

Thanks for hanging around…..

Halloween 2024 04

And I know everyone is kinda busy. And when you gotta go…..well, you gotta go!

Halloween 2024 06

Happy Halloween!

Nhu Y Revisited – A “Com-tam-plation”……..

October 30, 2024 mmm-yoso Vietnamese Restaurants

The Missus was really disappointed in the Com Tan Dac Biet from Pho Duyen Mai. She immediately made it my mission to find a decent Com Tam. One of the first places I had in mind was Nhu Y. It had been a while since I last dined there….man it was in 2019! Of course, most of my visits to Nhu Y was for the Bun Mam, though I recalled the place had a decent Com Tam Dac Biet….but that was years ago and "FOY" Elle had mentioned that portion sizes at Nhu Y had gotten smaller recently, so when deciding to visit, I didn't set my expectations too high.

The parking lot where Nhu Y is located can be hit or miss, but we managed to find parking in the lot on this morning.

Nhu Y Rev 01

The outdoor area of the restaurant was filled with those "guys doing coffee", but the dining room was empty except for two other parties.

Of course the Missus got the Com Tam Dac Biet ($13.25).

Nhu Y Rev 02

This was very "old school", which the Missus appreciated. The Bi was sliced thin and dusted with roasted rice powder and was nice and porky. The "cha" the egg-pork "loaf" was on the dry and chewy side. The pork chop was nicely flavored, salty-mildly sweet but was also quite chewy. The Tan Hu Ky, crisp bean curd with shrimp paste, was nice and crisp. The broken rice was quite rustic, but decently textured. The nuoc mam wasn't overly sweet as many versions are these days. Not bad overall and decently priced for these days.

When we walked in, there was a petit woman just destroying the Bun Cha Hanoi. It was quite impressive. So, I decided to get that ($14.25).

Nhu Y Rev 03 Nhu Y Rev 02b I know that Elle said that the portion sizes here have decreased, but I thought this was pretty generous. Lot's of bun and a good amount of lettuce and herbs,

In terms of the proteins; the sliced pork was the better of the two this time around, nicely marinated, good savory-sweet balance. The meatballs were on the tough side of the scale. But when wrapped in the bun lined lettuce, garnished with mint, cilantro, cucumbers, bean sprouts, and pickled radish, dunked into the nuoc mam, this made for a very nice bite. I do wish there was more pickled veggies though.

I finished things off topping the bun with meat, veggies, and pouring on the nuoc mam cham. I did not leave hungry!

Nhu Y Rev 04

This was a decently priced meal and the Missus thought the com tam was pretty good, but She still wanted to try a few other places. Well, it was time for some additional "com-tam-plation"!

Nhu Y Restaurant
4712 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA 92115

Nhu Y Rev 05

Stay Tuned!

The Curry Club (Formerly Zen Curry)

October 28, 2024 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants

Back at the end of July, I thought that Zen Curry, which had been "temporarily closed" since summer of 2023, had permanently closed. As always, our great "Friends of Yoso" (FOYs) came thru, as Elle notified me that Zen Curry was becoming something named "Curry Club". It was the same owners and the place had their soft opening in the middle of August. In the beginning the place was only opened for dinner; so I decided to wait until lunch hours were available. A couple of weeks back, I noticed that the Curry Club now had lunch hours, but only on weekends. On a recent weekend, I finally decided to check the place out, to see the state of the curry.

Curry Club 01

I arrived right past the posted opening time of 11am and easily found parking. I quickly noticed that the sign for the business has not been put up yet.

Curry Club 02

It seems that the interior has been changed a bit, though it still looks simple and functional.

Curry Club 03

There were folks already in the place when I arrived.

The menu seemed similar to what I recall at Zen Curry, but this difference caught my attention.

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Interesting……it seems like the Curry Club has created a mechanism for controlling the spice and associated flavors.

Curry Club 05

Curry Club 06

My experience with the tonkatsu over the years had not been very good; so I decided to stick with the "meat product" I had enjoyed the best here, the Spam® Katsu.

Asking about the various chili powders I was told that the best approach to determining which spice level you enjoyed was to take a spoon of the curry and sprinkle a bit of the chili powder in it, starting from the mildest of the three, and determine which suited you the best.

I thought that was an interesting approach, so as soon as my plate arrived, I started the process…..

Curry Club 07

As soon as I seasoned that first spoonful, I stopped…..well sheesh; what about the blog???? I guess I got a bit too excited……

Anyway, here's the Spam® Katsu Curry, minus one spoon of the sauce.

Curry Club 08 Curry Club 09 In the end, I settled with the Cayenne Pepper seasoning as it had a nice bit of heat, mild smokiness, a bit of a "bite" if you will, with a touch of sweetness. I actually tasted the seasoning by itself!

Zen Curry had a habit of "over-frying" the Spam Katsu and this looked basically the same. Still it was crisp without being hard. The meat product was nice and salty….heck, it was Spam®, whaddya expect?

One of the things I disliked about the curry at Zen was how pasty and bland it had been on some visits. This version was smoother and creamier; it was still a bit weak in terms of beefiness, but was not overly sweet, and not very pungent overall.

Curry Club 10

I enjoyed the "add your spice" step, I think it's a bit more than a gimmick. I'll probably return somewhere down the line and try the tonkatsu or maybe the "Curry Moco". And maybe add in some garlic chips?

Until then, I think it's getting to be curry season(ing) around here. I need to start my "rounds" again! Any suggestions on where to start? Does Hinotez still do curry? They used to be a favorite of mine….though they're only open for dinner these days.

The Curry Club
7309 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92111
Current Hours:
Tues – Fri 5pm – 9pm
Sat – Sun 11am – 3pm, 5pm – 9pm
Closed on Mondays

Curry Club 00

London – Dinner at A Wong Part 2

October 27, 2024 mmm-yoso Asian Fusion/Pacific Rim/Hawaii Style Fusion, Chinese Restaurants, Fine Dining, London, Travel

**** So, this is part 2 of our dinner. If you haven't read part 1, you can find it here.

After the "Banquet" and the "Dim Sum", the next set of items up were named "Fish".

Anhui Province Red Braised Fermented Wild Seabass, I'm thinking that this was supposed to be a homage to Chòu Guì Yú, which uses a brine based fermentation technique?

We enjoyed the textural variations within the dish. The ikura like fish roe presented a savory-brininess. The fish was tender, not overly salty.

The "Why We Don't Need to Eat Shark's Fin Soup" was interesting, subbing agar for the shark fin.

We were told to pour the soup, which had a nice gelatinous richness onto the Braised Abalone with Shiitake Mushroom and Sea Cucumber which was part of the "set". It was a bit of overkill. For some reason the abalone tasted somewhat bitter?

And then there was the Garlic Steamed Tiger Prawn, Mung Bean Noodle, with "Superior" Soy. Not sure why they needed to add the Superior Soy to the name…..I use it in my dishes all the time and think of it as a kitchen staple?

Nice balanced garlic-ginger tones in this; but the tiger prawn was over-cooked and tough.

Next up were the "Snacks".

Starting with the riff on Rou Jia Mo; something we loved during our trip to Shaanxi.

A very interesting put it together yourself presentation. The mantou was a bit too doughy; it should be more crisp as well. The lamb had really been stewed in the juices and sauce, but was quite mild in flavor. It seemed a bit "tame"…which I think was the issue we had with many of the dishes here.

Soy Chicken with Ginger Oil and Oscietra Caviar. Man Ossetra Caviar, with Soy Sauce Chicken?

It was accompanied by some soy sauce for dipping. The caviar and soy sauce did a great job balancing out the dish which skewed sweet.

We did enjoy the texture of the Pulled Noodle Cracker with Japanese Wagyu and Shrimp Chili Oil.

But the Wagyu seemed a bit lost here. The chili oil was savory, but wasn't particularly spicy.

Next up were the "Five Flavours"; now you know how much I reference suan–tian–ku–la–xian, the sour-sweet-bitter-spicy-salty metaphor for balanced dishes.

Gong Bao Chicken, Roasted Peanuts, and Hot Pot Essence.

This was a nice bite as the ma-la (numbing spice) came thru cleanly.

We were provided with Nashi Pear edges with Sichuan Peppercorn as a palate cleanser for the final dishes.

The presentation of the Sweet and Sour Corn Fed Chicken, Thai basil, Pineapple and Candied Walnuts was eye catching.

But like many of the other dishes, the "Emperor had no clothes". It was too sweet; the chicken was not crisp enough and bland. Not enough basil to really add that anise goodness to the dish.

Not sure why the Roasted Cashew, Tamarind, Dried Shrimp and Coriander Cheung fun wasn't on the "dim sum" menu.

The Missus enjoyed the crisp youtiao that crowned the dish; it again skewed a bit sweet, though the cheong fun was nicely texture with a nice "pull" to it.

The silken tofu in the Chrysanthemum Tofu and Lemongrass Broth was beautifully silken.

The dish came with a very nice soup spoon of sauce on the side.

We were told to eat the tofu in combination with the Yunnan Seared Beef with Mint, Chili and Lemongrass.

Which was fine. As you can tell, we were getting a bit worn down by this time.

And my notepad on my phone was getting quite full.

On the bright side; the last "main dish" was quite interesting. The Young Coconut with Madagascan Black Pepper Sauce.

I know, doesn't look like much from this angle. But turn the plate around a bit……

Yes, there's more black truffle here. We were surprised that it went well with the slightly sweet and nutty coconut. The black pepper sauce really balanced the dish out with the fried shiso leaf adding in that touch of minty-anise-vegetal tones.

As you all know, I'm not much of a dessert guy, but I found the Coconut Water Ice to be quite refreshing. Especially after so many items.

The Candied Walnuts with Blue Cheese was an interesting, very non-Chinese item for dessert.

The Missus enjoyed the version of Dragon's Beard Candy provided.

We took the Petit-Fours with us. The Missus enjoyed them with coffee the next morning.

So, if you've made thru both posts, I'm sure you can figure out what we thought of the meal. The service was a bit hovering, but very nice. The presentation of the dishes were quite excellent; but we don't eat with our eyes. For a place whose owner claims to be a "Chef-Anthropologist", many of the dishes really didn't capture the essence and soul of the cuisine of the various regions of China to us.

As for the price; it was 200£ per person plus another 200£ for the wine pairing….which the Missus liked BTW. So, all told including service charges/tips the bill came out to about $1k US!

We'll have to mark this one up to "well, at least we finally tried A Wong".

A. Wong
70 Wilton Rd.
Pimlico, London, United Kingdom