mmm-yoso – Page 528 – 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.

Return to Vien Dong III – Part 2 Following Up

June 19, 2007 mmm-yoso Markets & Grocers

*** Vien Dong Market is now Thuan Phat Supermarket. And updated post can be found here.

I know that those of you who commented on the first part of this post have been wondering when I'd get around to doing the follow-up. Following the initial email from Daniel, I made several visits to Vien Dong, research I guess you could say.

Daniel provided a "list" of several key improvements, and I thought I'd verify them.

"The pungency factor is no longer a factor"

This one was strange. Each time I entered the market, there was the standard issue smell, not quite as strong as before, but it was there. But strangely enough, as I walked toward the meat department the smell would dissipate, growing more and more faint. Each visit was during a different time of the day…mornings are always the best, but there it was, the slight meaty-fishy smell. But several steps later, it was gone.

I don't know if my sense of smell made an adjustment, or if there was an environmental or other reason for this. One thing I did notice was that the cashier area is much brighter, and there's a feeling of "space".

Raised our ceiling added skylights and brighter energy efficient lighting

I'm wondering if the raised ceiling has in some way contributed to the pungency issue. Perhaps all of the smells collect in one spot. Still, on my 4 visits it was not nearly as bad as before.

Renovated the seafood department with newer more accessible tanks and freezers.

This one is quite obvious.

But there was one thing I wanted to check, what was in those vats. I was pretty impressed, the water is well circulated, and very clean. Usually most live seafood lives in poorly circulated, murky, sometimes filthy water. As you can see this wasn't the case.

Expanded produce department to include wider variety and volume of produce

I always thought of the produce department at Vien Dong to be quite good, though somewhat cramped and claustrophobic. I can't even begin to tell you the number of times I've been rapped in the ankles or almost run over by durian laden shopping carts pushed by little old ladies…..

Now the produce department has been spread out a bit, and the aisles are a bit wider, and it seems that the department has been brightened up a bit as well.

And then there's my favorite part….

Resurrected the food to go + deli and bakery area

I know it's really just steam table stuff, but you can't beat the prices (2 items and a starch – $3.50, 3 items and a starch – $4.50). And sometimes there some pretty good stuff to be had.

I'm partial to the fried chicken…it's not bad.

It's nice to get a hearty meal for the price of a burrito….

Thanks for restoring my faith in customer service, Daniel!

One last thing

Daniel sent me the URL for a website Originalpho.com that is being developed by Daniel's Company. Usually, I don't do stuff like this, but because Daniel was generous enough to let me reprint his email in my earlier post, this was the least I could do. So check it out, you can request free samples. And here's something interesting. Our very own Cathy actually requested some samples…..

And in her own words:

You sent me the *very nice* letter from Dan, dated April 28, on Sunday April 29, where he mentioned www.originalpho.com to request product samples, and I immediately checked it out. I know companies send out samples because they want you to try and buy. Good business.

I got to choose a flavor (savory chicken, traditional beef, garden vegetable and succulent seafood). I was torn, thinking I would get a chance to try one small "Cup O' Pho" (as in the photograph) and wasn't sure if I shoudl play it safe with vegetable or go for what I know- beef. I expected one of those Styrofoam "Cup O's" to show up someday in the mail. I know whenever I request a product sample, I end up forgetting about it and eventually, months later, it shows up and I am pleasantly surprised.

You can see from the photo that it was sent on April 30 (I requested it Sunday night) and I got the whole pack, like they sell in the store- 6 cups, 70 gram cups. WOW! I certainly did not expect that much at once. It was a *very* pleasant surprise.

The Mister and I got to try the Cup O' Pho in the plain, unadorned sense- eating it as it came from the packaging (after adding the boiling water to cook the noodles, of course)…and then following the recommended add ins- add 1.5 ounces beef, 0.5 ounce bean sprouts, and red onion with the 'optional' (like it is optional) add ins of lime wedges, fresh chilies, cilantro and basil.

I combined two of the cups/ingredients and the add ins from home and made a very nice meal for the two of us one night. (There is a beef bullion-ish seasoning packet; a dried vegetable packet with garlic/onion/chervil/carrot and a spicy oil packet -shallot oil, soy bean oil, garlic and onion).

The foldable fork is helpful and I always save them from wherever I get them. You never know. I have chopsticks and foldable forks in my car side doors at all times. (really)

I sent Daniel a follow-up email asking him if Originalpho.com really did always send out a 6 pack of samples, and here's his reply:

We plan to slowly introduce more products on the internet and this is sort of our first run at it. We are able to ship very quickly because we've setup a good shipping operation out of our warehouse and are able to ship very inexpensively to commercial addresses. We think it makes sense to send out 6 pack samples because they are already well packaged for shipping and are light weight. We also hope that people will share them, especially come lunch/snack time in the work place, and that people will really understand first hand how convenient and tasty they can be.

So all you instant noodle fans – Free Pho!!!

Yuma Taco Truck Update

June 18, 2007 ed fromyuma Food Trucks/Carts, Mexican Restaurants, Taco Shops, What Ed Eats -You too can be like Ed!, Yuma

Hello, this is Ed from Yuma. I know many of you think that I am just a fictional character who exists only in Kirk's imagination and on his blog, but on my good days, I am actually a real functioning in-the-flesh human being. In a moment of folly (or perhaps just laziness), Kirk has asked me, ed from Yuma, to write a post for this wonderful blog of his, so here goes.

Careful readers of this blog will remember that Kirk visited Yuma a while back and sampled some of our unique taco truck cuisine. Considering how much the taco truck scene can change literally overnight, it is remarkable that Kirk's posts are still very relevant in 2007 – though some trucks are closed for the summer. In this post, I will look at the best of the new taco trucks and revisit some old favorites from Kirk's trip here.

Tacos y Mariscos Juanita's

The most important new addition to Yuma taco truck choices is Juanita's. It is located in a lot just west of Avenue A on 8th St. Unlike many taco trucks, Juanita's is more than just the truck. There is a covered ramada with five small tables each offering plenty of hot sauce choices. In addition, restrooms for men and women are provided as well. Not only do these come in handy for obvious reasons, but they also provide a way to clean taco sticky hands.

During Yuma's main season, there is also an outdoor grill next to the truck, preparing meat for carne asada tacos, but seafood is the specialty of the truck. Both shrimp and fish tacos are available ($1.25 each):

The fish taco is on the left, and the shrimp is on the right.

The fish taco (taco de pescado) contains a generous portion of fresh meaty white fish. The lightly flavored white sauce adds a bit of moisture and a little tang , the diced cabbage adds crunch, and the chopped tomatoes add a nice color contrast. While numerous bottled sauces are available, I always use Juanita’s own homemade salsa, and a squirt bottle of this spicy and powerful sauce sits on every table. My only complaint about the fish taco is that its breading is not crunchy. Normally I'm not a huge fan of shrimp tacos (tacos de camerones), but Juanita's version is outstanding. Each small shrimp is individually breaded, and these have the required crunchiness that makes them a delight to eat. In this case, as you can see, I squirted too much of Juanita's great salsa over the taco so that some of the shrimpy taste was lost in picante overload. Very tasty nonetheless.

My favorite item at this truck, however, is the campechana "con todo," with everything, meaning with all the seafood choices and chopped red onions and cucumber ($11):

Juanita’s serves one of the most outstanding campechanas I have ever eaten. The mildly flavored tomato water (who knows exactly what is in it, along with tomato juice, lime juice, and perhaps a little Clamato) provides an outstanding backdrop for the fresh and tasty seafood. One or two squirts of salsa and I am ready to devour. The shrimp here are large and perfectly cooked – completely succulent, juicy, and flavorful. The octopus chunks (pulpo) are not at all tough and rubbery; instead the pieces of octopus are tender and almost soft, having just enough chew to provide some complexity in mouth feel with the other ingredients.

But there is more than just octopus and shrimp:

Yes, your eyes are not lying. This seafood cocktail also contains raw and extremely fresh bay scallops, squarish chunks of canned abalone (thanks Melanie), and three flavorful oysters. For some reason, the oysters are always my favorite as, in my mouth at least, the briny and slightly funky oyster flavor perfectly complements the tomato water while the soft texture contrasts with the crunchy onions and cukes.

If I have any complaint about Juanita's, it is that it is too popular. At peak times during the winter, there is no room at any of the tables, and I have to stand in line to order. However, the food is quickly prepared – and tastes great even when eaten in the front seat of my car.

Taco Trucks Redux

In this part of the post, I just want to add some information about three of the trucks that Kirk visited in Yuma. First, Tio Juan is still making an outstanding mixed seafood cocktail (campechana) although they are closed now for the summer – which is why I have no pictures (sorry). But twice this winter when I visited the stand, the coctele contained unusual and very flavorful black clams. While the exterior of the clam is grayish, the interior is solid black like coal. No matter how strange they looked, the firm textured flesh was clammy sweet. The young man who made my campechana told me the clams came from Los Mochis.

I also watched carefully as he made my campechana and was surprised by the complexity of the liquid. He used small amounts of ketchup, lime juice, Clamato, canned tomato sauce, and dashes of bottled hot sauce. He then ladled shrimp water (“this is the water we get from boiling the shrimp,” he said) into the mix. The liquid was much fishier tasting than in other cocteles I've eaten. My only complaint was that the shrimp were hammered, so overcooked that their texture was not ideal.

Of course, I have returned often to Mariscos el Nayarita as no one can get enough of their wonderful shrimp empanadas. There are, however, at least two other dishes that are done very well at this stand. One of them is whole fish:

This perfectly fried whole tilapia is served with corn tortillas and salsa. The outside of the fish has a nice crunch, but most of the flesh was still moist and juicy. There was no greasy aftertaste whatsoever. As you can see, we liked the fish:

We also tried a very special dish at the truck, pescado zarandeado, a traditional style of fish preparation common along the eastern shore of the Sea of Cortez. Here the whole fish is split in half, sprinkled with Mexican spices, and grilled outside over charcoal:

This type of fish is served only at the height of the winter season, and often one needs to let them know an hour or more in advance so that they can prepare the coals. Again, the fish was served with salsas and corn tortillas. The Mexican spices add a flavorful touch to the fish although this one was slightly overcooked for my taste.

Recently, I was driving along 8th St, trying to locate any new trucks and see which ones were still open. Well, okay, I was also hungry, so this wasn't purely a research exploration. Unfortunately, one of the new trucks I was looking for had vanished, and a couple others are closed for the season. So that brought me back to Deliciosos del Mar, the wonderful little truck that makes the tasty caguamanta, stingray soup. At first it looked like it was not going to be my day as the nice lady at the window finally was able to communicate to me (her English being worse than my Spanish – and that means almost no communication at all) that the soup was not ready yet.

Well, I was too hungry to look for any place else, so I ordered two tacos:

The taco on the right is a decent shrimp taco though I prefer the ones from Juanita’s. The taco on the left was the revelation. It had never before occurred to me to try a cabeza taco at a truck that seemed so focused on seafood. Now I have learned my lesson as this was the best cabeza taco I have ever had in Yuma:

Look carefully at the chunks of Cabeza here. Each one was like a tender flavor bomb, full of meaty and beefy goodness. If you look carefully, you also can see some of the fat that added so much to the richness (and, no doubt, cholesterol) in this taco. The chopped cabbage and red onions and the leaves of cilantro contributed flavors and textures and helped make each bite a true joy.

So even now, a person can find good taco truck cuisine in Yuma, and with temperatures reaching around 110°, the town has plenty of parking places and no lines at the taco trucks. Come visit.

Al Salam Halal Meat and Restaurant

June 16, 2007 Cathy Mediterranean Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

Al Salam has closed.

Hi. Its a Saturday night and mmm-yoso is tired. This is a short post on a favorite place Cathy and The Mister like to go to when they want something healthy and tasty. Kirk isn't posting anything tonight anyhow.

Hi. This will be short; I don't have a photo of the menu- it is one piece of paper kept at the cash register. Also, the camera died…well, the batteries did, anyhow.

Joseph E. asked me about my favorite place or two when I responded to a question about Mediterranean foods on a Forum earlier today. I pretty much have kept this one to myself for a very long time. They have good business mostly from the same local families and walk ins. There are many Mediterranean places in El Cajon, due to the large Chaldean population (when Iraq was having elections, one of the four places in the USA to vote was right down the street from this restaurant on Main Street in El Cajon). There were a lot more places on Main Street, seemingly one on top of another, but they have now spread out over the City of El Cajon. Nonetheless there are many small markets that are very ethnic and I saw a few that are both Arabic and Mexican in inventory on Main Street. (Main Produce Market as 1255 East Main, near Second has a "Coming Soon" sign and writing in Arabic and Spanish).

So, this little place…Most people come in here and get food to go, or just buy some Halal meats from the one refrigerator case, filled with Halal meats (I think the easiest way to describe Halal is "Muslim Kosher".) The menu is mostly written in Arabic with two columns for prices- it is less expensive to get something to go than to 'have service' as the owner says. Nevertheless, we are willing to pay the extra dollar or two per item and sit down at one of the 8 tables.

The building used to be a Doctor's office.

If the lady is working, she speaks good English, if it is all men in there (as it was on Saturday night), be patient. They speak broken English but they cook very well. They have a hard time explaining things if you ask a question-(we tried asking about the ingredients in the salads)- so order something simple (hummus appetizer, lamb kabob, Greek salad) or point and say "yes, I want that". It will be good.

It is clean inside, no air conditioning. They will bring you a pitcher of ice water.

The menu has appetizers, salads, main courses and kabob sandwiches.

We ordered the Shawarma (lamb/beef cooked on a spit with spices, shredded . The taste and texture is a little different than Gyros) and a Greek salad and one hot tea. The hot tea is served in a small glass and there is no refill; it is nice mint flavor and goes well with the food.

You get this GIANT piece of bread- round and hollow like pita, whole grain in texture. A good 12 inches plus in diameter, toasty warm and cooked on one side and folded into a basket.

The condiments on the table are salt, pepper, sugar, olive oil and sumac. (Sumac is a powdered spice, kind of lemony/tart in flavor so it sort of also substitutes for salt). You know my camera died, don't you?

Here is the photo of the Shawarma plate. $8. A good pound of shredded, cooked, nicely flavored and still lightly game-y tasting lamb/beef served with sliced raw onion, tomato, parsley and pickled turnips.

The Greek salad was $6- chopped tomatoes, sweet Persian cucumbers, lettuce and a good amount of a very nice salty, fresh Feta cheese. The dressing is a red vinaigrette. Nice and thick, but not too much; you can toss it more so it spreads over the ingredients. I sprinkled sumac on everything- the salad, my pieces of bread…

The Mister gave me a lot of his lamb to put onto the salad, made himself lots of little bites on top of pieces of the torn bread and I had a lot of the bread also and there was still some leftover. Total bill was $15.70

The men were all there tonight and did not interfere with our meal, even to ask how it was going. When we were leaving, all of them asked us how we liked it and when were we coming back…so, don't be offended if you go and they seem to be staring at you. They are more used to the 'to go' orders, and having the lady working there.

Down the same block two stores West is the El Cajon International Foods Market. They sell cooked kabobs inside the store. You could get a kabob at Al Salam and then one at the Market to compare…

Al Salam Halal Meat and Restaurant 550 East Main Street El Cajon 92021 (619)585-5374

Cathy’s Trip Part One- A short, late, spring vacation…with food

June 15, 2007 Cathy Travel, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso is a blog. About food. Sometimes other stuff creeps in here. But it all comes back to food. Cathy is blogging while Kirk has no time to do much writing about food.

Hi. I left San Diego on Southwest Airlines last Friday morning. Early. Got to Phoenix and had to find the other gate in another terminal and waited. This is the rug on the floor in the Phoenix Terminal It is a neat pattern, don’t you think?

So, anyhow, you know I eat and blog about it…but what does Cathy pack to eat on board the plane? Do I merely buy something outrageously expensive in the terminal? Ha!

Smoked salmon pate in a can; two slices of buttered rye bread; raw Spanish peanuts; the bag of Mediterranean herbed olives from Trader Joe’s; Banana Crisp Bonanza Trek Mix from TJ’s; hot tea and a glass of ice from Southwest ( I make my own iced tea; that canned stuff is insipid) and my ever-present (and x-ray undetectable) chopsticks.

I’d just like to let you know this isn’t any sort of special meal; I have flown on Southwest a *lot* (to the point that I get birthday and Christmas cards from them) since 2001 and I want some part of my lengthy in-air time to have luxury. This is, however, the first time I photographed my take aboard meal.

And I flew back east. Here are some of the sights, as well as some more "native" hints at foods to be blogged about.

Some sports fans out there might recognize where I was.

OK, I’ll show some native foods.

A coney- hot dog- an a loose hamburger. Each topped with chili (no beans)(never any beans), mustard and onions (never *ever*cheese). That, on the right, a package of …City Chicken.???

Galabki (gah-whoump-key) sometimes called stuffed cabbage, topped with a tomato sauce, which is also on the mashed potatoes .

Chrusciki- Angel Wings..?

Still no idea? Well… The consumption of potato chips by the people in the county this city is located in is the largest, per capita, in the world (according to the pamphlet at the airport, which I memorized, while waiting, because the plane got in 50 minutes EARLY).

There are Still Big Boy Restaurants in town.

As is the case everywhere I live, or lived, here is one of many taco trucks…

I know, not many who read this blog are actually from here, nor do they particularly choose this as a place to visit for vacation.

OK, easiest clues.

More to follow…

Thai Style Green Papaya Salad

June 14, 2007 mmm-yoso Recipes

It’s been a long day……so just a short post for tonight!

Lately, it seems that the Missus can’t get enough Papaya Salad, She has consumed the equivalent of 5 large green papayas over the last 2 weeks, sometimes having Papaya Salad twice a day!

This means that the "heavy artillery", our large mortar and pestle gets put to good use. The recipe itself is quite easy, and based on the recipe in David Thompson’s wonderful book Thai Food. I’ve varied the ingredients somewhat, mainly because the Missus and I have very different tastes when it comes to Papaya Salad. The Missus likes a lot of lime and fish sauce, and less sweet, with a ton of long beans. I enjoy mine a bit sweeter, with pungent garlic overtones and lots of tomato. Once you make it you’ll be able to adjust the recipe for your taste quite easily. Oh, and watch those Thai Bird Chilies, they vary from batch to batch! Oh yes, and on shredding the Papaya…the Missus insisted that my mandolin did not adequately shred the papaya, so I ended up going to the local Vietnamese Market and picked up a $1.99 plastic papaya shredder. She swears that She can tell the difference!

Green Papaya Salad

1-4 Cloves Garlic
2-4 Thai Bird Chilies
1 Tb Roasted Peanuts
2 Tb Dried Shrimp
2 Quarter Slices Lime
8-10 Cherry Tomatoes Cut in Half
4 Long Beans(aka Chinese Long Beans) Cut into 1/2" Lengths
3 Cups Shredded Green Papaya
1-3 Tb Palm Sugar
Juice of 1/2 lime(or more)
2-4 Tb Fish Sauce(we use Tiparos)

Pound Garlic, Chilies, Palm Sugar(works better for us this way) in a mortar.

Add peanuts and shrimp, and pound into a very coarse "paste".

Add lime and mash. Add tomato and long beans and pound gently until bruised.

Add fish sauce and lime juice and mix. Taste, and adjust seasonings.

Serve with cabbage wedges.

So easy!!!!

For me the ingredient that "makes" this Papaya Salad "tick" is the Palm Sugar. I think it adds a more complex sweetness to the dish.

It could be just me…….

Palm Sugar can be really hard like rock, and a bit difficult to separate and portion. But David Thompson, and the one and only Chez Pim have solved that problem.

Hinh Ky Mi Gia

June 13, 2007 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Vietnamese Restaurants

**** Hinh Ky Mi Gia is no longer

Want to meet the Missus’s favorite “duck” of the moment? Well, “hang”(like a roast duck) in there……

Hinh Ky Mi Gia is located in the same strip mall as Pho Ca Dao, right next to World Foods Supermarket on El Cajon Boulevard. In fact it’s kinda tucked away in a corner and pretty easy to miss.

As you can tell by the sign, this used to be an outpost of Tan Ky Mi Gia. Apparently an ownership change occurred back in October….I’m sure there’s an interesting story behind this! This is a bare bones Mom and Pop operation, as you can see it’s now June, and the Tan Ky Mi Gia sign still hasn’t been replaced. The interior of the restaurant is bright and pretty clean, and though we’ve never seen the place packed, there always seem to be at least a few tables occupied, and a stream of take-out orders.

We first visited Hinh Ky a few weeks back, when it was still unseasonably cool for May. I was in the mood for some Egg Noodle Soup, and as you can tell by the name (Mi = Egg Noodle), this is one of those Chinese Vietnamese Soup joints. Which usually means decent portions at low prices…..

As we grabbed a seat, the Missus noticed that several older gentlemen were all having the same thing. With typical aplomb, the Missus asked the Owner, a really nice guy, “what are they eating?” He pointed out the dish on the menu….and this is what She got, the Egg Noodle Soup with Roasted Duck ($5.50):

Well that’s the soup portion, nice medium broth, not overly salty, with a mild hint of seafood (i.e. slight almost shrimp like flavor). The noodles were serviceable, nice and crunchy, but will get slightly softer as time passes…so the Missus’s solution? “You have to eat faster if you want crunchy…o-KAY!!!”

Want to meet the Missus’s latest duck obsession? This is the duck that came with the noodles:

Not the most beautiful roast duck, the skin perhaps not as crisp as I would like. But, man this duck had some flavor! It was also doused with a good amount of “drippings” making it extra moist. The flavors of five spice were very “upfront”, and the fat to meat ratio was good. I don’t know if they make this inhouse, but whomever makes it sure knows what they’re doing. This was a very pleasant surprise, especially for less than 6 bucks.

I decided to order the Beef Sate Egg Noodle Soup($5):

When this bowl hit the table, I thought this was going to be really good. It wasn’t bad, but very weak in flavor, and not the least bit spicy. The beef was nice and soft, and had a decent flavor, but this was overshadowed by the duck.

I’ve detailed the Missus’s “obsessions” in an earlier post, so in typical fashion we were back a few days later.

This time I tried the Dumpling and Won Ton Egg Noodle Soup($4.75):

The broth was the same as the Duck Noodle soup on the previous visit, the Char Siu had good flavor and was pretty tender. The dumpling and won tons were not as good, I’m used to dense dumplings in Mi Gia restaurants, but these were extra hard, and lacked flavor. Still, I find it very difficult to complain about a good sized bowl of noodle soup for under 5 bucks…..

This time the Missus ordered one of the “most expensive” items on the menu. The Roast Duck on Rice ($6).

Along with the nice plate of duck on fragrant jasmine rice, and little bowl of “broth”(same as the noodle soup) arrived. And a few seconds later, a bowl of duck drippings with lily buds. The Missus enjoyed this, to the last bite…to the very last bite, I’m talking about every bite. In other words, I never had a shot at it. She did tell me it was good…….let’s see, “good”, “wife”, “duck”, all very nice four letter words, but believe me I could add a few four letter words of my own!

So on to our next (yet another!) visit. The Missus had Her Duck on rice, which She said was not quite as good as on previous visits(so I actually got to have some), but also asked the Gentleman if we could just have a side order of the Five Flavor Duck. By this time he was used to seeing us, so he smiled and said, “yes, yes, anything you like, we make for you……..”

This was just ok, basically a soy sauce duck, nothing really special. Lacks the rich flavor of the Roast Duck.

I ordered the Beef Stew Rice ($5.75), which was a nice bowl of Beef Stew.

As Beef Stew goes this was just okay, I thought the flavor of the stew was very mild and lacked “richness”, though the beef was soft. The generous amount of tendon was just a tad too hard. It was still a good amount of food.

So on our most recent visit(still with me out there???), the Missus had Her Roast Duck Egg Noodle Soup, but I had to try something new, and decided on the Pork Rib Egg Noodle Soup($5):

I really enjoyed the broth, flavored with tomato, beef stew seasoning, and colored by annatto oil. The broth also had a mild touch of spice. The pork ribs looked kind of strange, very pale, and I expected the ribs to be tough, but they were pretty soft. The ribs did not have a great deal of flavor though. The shrimp, were well, shrimp in soup…….

In case you were wondering what the Missus’s strategy is: “In these types of Asian restaurants, I look to see what the older men are eating” Why, you may ask? She will look directly at me and say, “most times, older men are losing their sense of taste, and will order stuff with lot’s of flavor……just like you, heee-heeee-heee……”

So our suggestion? Try out the roast Duck here, I don’t think it’s for everybody, because the flavor can be on the strong side, and it’s the fatty drippings that really contribute much of the flavor, but the Missus loves it. This is a real Mom and Pop shop, run by a very nice couple, there are times when a Young Lady who I assume is their daughter very, very, reluctantly helps out. It cracks us up. The Ladies in the kitchen are also very nice. Once one of them came out to tell us they were out of something and apologized! What can I say about the prices…………

Hinh Ky Mi Gia(The business card I have says Hing Ky Mi Gia)
5237 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA 92115

Open Daily – 8am-8pm

This story always “quacks” me up:

The Missus actually used to believed that ducks naturally had the roast duck five-spice flavor. Really! Because that was the only way She had ever had duck, Chinese Roast Duck or Peking Duck, so She thought that all ducks tasted that way! After having duck in a “European” restaurant, She still believed that most ducks tasted like roast duck. So what was the difference? She told me “must be because it’s free range!!!” he-he-he

I hope everyone is having a great week!

Major Market- your “other than Asian” grocery store

June 12, 2007 Cathy Markets & Grocers, What Cathy Eats!

Editor’s Note: Major Market is no longer affiliated with the Independent Grocer’s Alliance and is a freestanding market, with some supplies (mostly dry goods and some refrigerated products) still being purchased from the IGA.

Kirk eats, Cathy eats. Each of us blogs about what we eat, where we eat and where we get supplies for eating when we do eat at home. Enjoy this episode of mmm-yoso!!!.

Hi there. Cathy here, just adding some variety in your day.

About 3 years ago, my Friend, Mr. G., told me about this *really cool* supermarket in Escondido. I had seen it, actually, and ignored it, and had gone to the Trader Joe’s in the same parking lot. Big mistake. Huge.

See, it’s an IGA. There used to be an IGA in Santee…the building it was in turned into a church; it wasn’t a fun place to shop, had a lot of store brand (Springfield) stuff and the prices were not competitive and really, it was not interesting.

Now, I know that there are five IGA’s called "Food Land" out there and they have great Panderias (bakeries) and Tortillerias and even Taquerias inside…but those are in El Cajon and National City and South San Diego. This is in Escondido- Centre City Parkway(the next exit after North County Fair)- and, well, I wasn’t thinking there would be anything interesting…WRONG. Oh, so wrong.

Kobe hamburger? Here is the meat counter…and then the sign over the meat counter.

USDA Prime.

3 lobster tanks, sold by size.

Oh, this isn’t all. I could not take photos of everything…

Here- the fresh baked stuff.

I like the fresh baguettes and scones. The pastries are wonderful and there is a whole coffee bar area next to the bakery area, with tables (the ham and cheese croissant is wonderful, BTW). Next to this area is the meat/salad/deli area, where they will make sandwiches for you. Dietz and Watson meats. (I did not take a photo- I promised the two managers on duty there would be no people in any pictures) . There is a small (made in store-fresh) Sushi area, a hot foods/steam tray area. This, rotisserie chickens and carnitas area…BBQ and side dishes.

None of these photos are of the complete areas. Keep that in mind.

For example, in the aisles…this photo is not quite the complete selection of canned fish.

There are many unique items throughout the store, as well as everyday items.

An example of something unusual is this- Isboks- boxed water from Iceland, $10 for 5 liters…I dunno. But it is there, if you want to try. Of course, the most interesting things are on end units-Food from other countries, arranged by Country. Frozen foods from Great Britain (see the flag above the display?)

Italy, Scandinavian countries…there are whole end units of German and French products also, along with more unrefrigerated stuff from Great Britain.

Oh, and this is about half of all the marinated by the pound stuff- although mostly olives sold, the rest of the marinated veggies are in this photograph…

This is just a fun place to go for your general groceries, fruits and veggies, as well as maybe some special stuff.

Here are photos from our latest shopping trip.

Thanks, Mr. G, for telling me to stop in here. It’s the most fun Supermarket around!

Major Market Escondido 1855 S. Centre City Parkway (760)741-7827

Major Market Fallbrook 845 S. Main Avenue (760) 723-0857

website

Pho Pasteur Anh Hong-That Vietnamese place in the same mall as K Sandwiches

June 11, 2007 Cathy Vietnamese Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

Hello again, mmm-yoso readers. Cathy here, blogging because I want to and Kirk doesn't.

Good morning, or afternoon, or evening, whenever you are reading this. Cathy here, with a confession and interesting observation. I somehow always assumed Kirk had posted on this place, and he hadn't. I have referred to it as 'you know, the place in the mall with K Sandwiches, the one with pink tablecloths' and assumed everyone knew what I was talking about. Silly me.

Well, here is one meal The Mister and I had, but trust me, we have have gone here pretty much regularly, because of one item on the menu…it is 123D, on this paper "To Go" menu…in fact, if you can read this menu (there are 197 items on this two sided paper), it isn't all of what you can possibly order once you get inside. There are a few 'variations' and sides and paper words taped over the menu.

So, anyhow, on this visit we got the #55 appetizer- Squid stuffed with ground pork and mushrooms.($4.99)

Not fried, not crispy. More baked… and flavorful with a warm sweet-salty sauce o the bottom (which went went with the lettuce, tomato and onions).

The Mister decided to go for more of a Chinese dish this time, # 141-Pan fried rice noodle with shrimp and vegetable ($7.49)

Most of the thick rice noodles were pan fried and had a nice crispiness crust on them and the shrimp had a good, sweet, full flavor. The vegetables (broccoli, carrots, bok choy)were not overcooked and the sauce was more salty and had a heat we had not experienced before…not Szechuan, but definitely a red chile…it was good and different.

Then, I got my "usual" Bun Tau Hu Ky ($6.29) #123D, if I haven't said it enough.

Salad on the bottom (made with mint and cucumber shreds), cold rice noodles and the usual toppings of mint, peanuts, shredded carrot and daikon and then the topping- bean curd skin wrapped around ground shrimp..and fried. See that cross section? Oh how I crave this stuff. I look for it at every Vietnamese place I go and have only found it at three so far: Here, Convoy Noodle House and Pho Saigon Star. I have had it as an appetizer at all the places, even though it is not listed on the menu that way. Here, at Anh Hong, they charged us $4.99 or four large pieces. Worth it.

So, if you are in the Mesa College area, and don't want to go to one of the many other places in the parking lot, try this one; it is good.

Anh Hong Pho Pasteur 7612 Linda Vista Road San Diego 92111 (858)569-7515

Website

Afterwards, walk on over to K Sandwiches (in the same parking lot)

Go to the back, to your left, and pick up a couple of pastries…then do what we did-drive to a Starbucks (there are at least three within 3 miles), get some coffee in "for here" cups , sit down, and enjoy your dessert. (That is a chocolate cream cheese croissant and a raisin custard swirled pastry. Each one costs $1 and is fresh made at K Sandwiches).

Sushi Time

June 10, 2007 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants, Sushi and Sashimi

**** Sushi Time has closed

A few months back, I was having some sushi, and since eating at the sushi bar is very much a "social" activity, the nice gentleman to my left struck up a conversation. As with many of my conversations, the subject ended up being steered toward food (If anything, I'm consistent), and in particular, sushi. Toward the end of the conversation, he leaned toward me, and in the most conspiratorial tone, started whispering the name of "his" favorite sushi bar. Was it Ota? Maybe Shirahama? Or Sakura? The conversation went something like this:

"Sushi…..in Lemon Grove, huh?"
"Yeah, it's my go-to place in East County for sushi…."
"What's the name of the place?"
"It's called Sushi Time, I know, I know, don't let the name fool you"
"Really? Sushi Time, in Lemon Grove…."

And so, a few months later, here I was on the corner of Federal Boulevard and College Avenue. I guess it was sushi time…

I had seen this place before when visiting a nearby taco shop, but never, ever, thought I'd be eating here. I entered the dark restaurant which was pretty busy, and quickly noticed 2 things; first, I was the only Asian customer in the entire restaurant, and number two, there was the ubiquitous sheets of colored paper with names of various "rolls" taped across the back of the sushi bar……

I found a seat before two of the Itamae working, and started up a conversation with the young man. I was given a check-off sheet for sushi, SOP in most of these type of places, but decided to ask and see what was "good" this evening.

Me: "So what's good today?"
Young Itamae: Looks at me, and after taking a brief pause, "What do you eat?"
Me: "I eat anything…."
Young Itamae: Shrugs his shoulders, and gives me a small grin, "Well, we have most everything on the menu…"
Me: "Toro?"
Young Itamae: "Oh sorry, no toro…."

Somewhat nonplussed and realizing I was going nowhere, I did strategy two, and bought the Itamae some beer. Which made things quite friendly all around. I never did find out what "was good", but I did find out that the two really nice "kids"(Joe from the Valley, and Sho-go from Okinawa) were both students at San Diego State. The older gentleman was the Owner, but during my visits I never had the chance to sit in front of Him, though we had a nice conversation. It seems that he's also from Okinawa, and knew both Jou(former Owner of Sushi Ishikawa) and Kuni (former Owner of Katzra).

So I placed an order "to start" and after watching about two dozen rolls go by, the first part of my order was handed to me. And I was in shock…

It's hard to discern from the photo, but these were the largest nigiri I've ever had, in both the amount of fish, and rice…..

The Hamachi "Toro"($5.95) was quite good, creamy, with nice fat.

A far cry from the amazing Buri Toro I once had, but I was quite pleased. Much better than expected.

The Albacore "Toro"($5.95) was not quite as good, a bit on the stringy-tough side.

I'm not a big fan of Sriracha on nigiri, and made a mental note to ask to have it left off next time.

I'd asked for Hirame (Flounder) but they were out. By this time, the Young Itamae making my sushi suggested something called "white tuna"($4.95) on the menu. Now, I'm in the habit of calling Albacore "Shiro Maguro"(White Tuna), but they already had Albacore on the menu. This is what arrived:

After a bit of questioning, Joe explained that this was Escolar. Now I've had Escolar cooked, but never raw. Also, Escolar is banned in Japan, why, you may ask? Well, you can read about it here. Looks a lot like Chilean Sea Bass, but it didn't have much flavor, and I could tell that this was "saku" (cut and refrozen) fish. It had that mushy-watery texture of "saku" fish. If you're wondering, I had no side effects, even though Sam later told me, "Kirk-san do not eat that fish, people die from eating it!"(I think a bit over dramatic on his part) It seems that after consuming Escolar a percentage of people suffer from Keriorrhoea, nuff said, you can read about it yourself, after all this is a food blog, so let's get back to the food.

By this time, I was pretty full from the jumbo nigiri, but still had one more item coming. The Amaebi:

This was fine, not overly sweet, but okay. The Atama(deep fried shrimp heads) were a bit too hard and chewy.

By his time, I had hit the wall, I was totally stuffed. I was still a bit surprised at the size of the Nigiri. Thinking that perhaps I got preferential treatment because of the "beer", I asked him if the size of the nigiri (I was the only person who I saw eating Nigiri that whole evening) was the norm. He replied that this was the "normal" sized nigiri sushi. The sushi was fine for neighborhood sushi. As you can tell, the cutting of the fish was not done with an immense amount of skill, but the rice was uniform in size.

When I returned home and downloaded my photos, realized that it was hard to determine the size of the nigiri. That when I decided to make another visit to Sushi Time…more research, you could say! This time it was on a Friday night, and the place was fairly busy, I could see various rolls practically flying out to hungry patrons sitting in the dining area. I managed to grab a seat in the exact same spot as my previous visit.

So this time, I ordered with some caution. And started with some Chu-Toro, the piece of fatty tuna toward the end of the belly. It's not quite as fatty or rich as O-Toro, but usually good nonetheless.

This was not bad, I've had better, and I've had worse. It pretty low in the fat department, but I was satisfied. I also got the last of it. I can see how that happened, thought these were not as large as the nigiri on my last visit, it was still quite large, and you can't get too many nigiri from one piece.

I tried to figure out a way to communicate the size…I think a comparison to my index finger came out the best:

Or maybe my cellphone(this was the smaller of the two pieces)

This time they had Hirame($4.50), but I forgot to tell them to not put on the Sriracha:

The fish was fresh, firm without being too tough and chewy.

Albacore($4.50):

Just so-so.

As before the Hamachi "Toro" was the best item of the night.

When you think about it, Sushi Time does a pretty good job for a place that does everything from Donburi to Teriyaki to Sushi. The clientle is as diverse as the menu. The service I received was very nice, even though the poor Itamae were slammed…I've never seen so many sushi rolls in my life. Personally, I'm not a big fan of super-sized sushi, preferring the perfect bite, and quality over quantity, but Sushi Time does a pretty good job, and the fish varied from decent to good. Plus, Sho-go and Joe were both really nice guys.

Sushi Time
6950 Federal Blvd
Lemon Grove, California 91945

St. Spyridon’s Greek Festival 2007

June 8, 2007 mmm-yoso Festivals & Events, Greek Food

In keeping with my attempt to be as up to date as possible, I sacrificed my precious….ummm, precious….ummm… aww forget about it! If you’ve been checking out mmm-yoso over the last two years, you’d know that we almost never miss St. Spyridon’s Greek Festival. So to spare you, you can read about it 2005 here, and 2006 here.

But for us, this year was a bit different. The Missus had to work the entire weekend, so I was on my own. Luckily for me, I found that this year St. Spyridon’s started on Friday, and to kick things off had what they called the "TGIF" which stood for ‘Thank Greeks it’s Friday’. For me it was a double bonus. Not only was admission waived on Friday, but I felt better knowing that I’m not the only person in the world who spends his/her time formulating bad puns!

As with every year, there’s the "dining room" with ala carte items presented in a more "refined" environment.

But it’s always the wonderful fragrances outside that draw me in….

But in case you need more info, the "menu" is available here.

This year, I felt a bit out of place, since it was a solo visit, and the Missus was working……as they say "guilt, it’s the gift that keeps on giving" or something like that. And yes, it’s true, I felt guilty being here without Her. Which I’ve just realized can turn out to be rather rewarding for Her in the long run…. take the long line at the "Taverna" which is where we usually get our food.

I think She’ll be rather happy with what I got…

And of course there’s the pastries. On this day there was only the courtyard line, but everyone was smiling and having a good time.

And hopefully, I’ve done a good job for the Missus in absentia…what do you think?

Here’s my dinner for the evening, I didn’t recall a booth selling Souvlaki(2 for $5) and Fried Calamari($5) last time. So I decided to check it out.

The Calamari was nice and hot when I got it, and the seasoned breadcrumbs added some nice flavor. I swear that there some "cheese" going on in there….there was a bit of "stringy-milkiness" going on. But maybe I was just hallucinating????

Check out the meat…two people asked me if it was "beef"…but it’s chicken souvlaki, very mildly seasoned, but moist. This was decent chicken on a stick. You gotta remember, it festival food!

Here’s some of the other "stuff"….

Just so you’re prepared for all the pastries, here’re the prices:

Why do I enjoy this festival? Other than the food and the upbeat atmosphere, St. Spyridon does a great job on logistics, like traffic control and free parking and shuttle service (At Roosevelt Jr HS – Upas and Richmond St), plus everyone has always been very nice to us. Most of the other info can be found on this banner:

St. Spyridon Greek Orthodox Church’s Greek Festival
3655 Park Boulevard
San Diego, CA 92103