mmm-yoso – Page 550 – 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.

Much Mahalo, Ed…ummm I mean Gracias!

April 5, 2006 mmm-yoso yoso-silly

Friends are great aren’t they? Rhetorically speaking, of course. The infamous Ed from Yuma is in town getting His San Diego food fix this week, and he was nice enough to pack us His very own Yuma care package. And man, was it some kind of care package!

In the filled ice chest were 4 packages of tortillas:

This is not the run of the mill stuff but the "good stuff" made in Mexico! I asked Ed what I was going to do with the leftover tortillas, and His reply, "well that’s why they have tortilla chips!" Duh…… Ed also gave us a Tortillero, a tortilla warmer, to keep those tortillas warm and moist before eating. There was also 4 tubs of salsa, including an super-spicy salsa roja, though the Missus enjoyed the chunky salsa roja the best!

Also included was a couple of pounds of Pork Adobada:

And some marinated chicken:

Now we’ve had some major rain and thunderstorms, but with this sitting in front of me I had to take my chances, and got the charcoal started.

The pork cooked very quickly, and the scent of "chili" permeated the air. I must admit that the bright red color of the chicken kind of threw me in the beginning, but then again, I eat Char Siu don’t I?

While I was grilling, the Missus was busy heating up the tortillas. The only problem with that was, She was eating a one tortilla for each one that made into the tortillero!

We did manage to beat the rain, and finally a made a "few" tacos, with some minced sweet onions and cilantro for garnish.

The Pollo (chicken) had more flavor, a nice chili-salty flavor.

The adobada was much milder, and the Missus stated that she could’ve used some lime. But the meat was very tender(I could strip them by hand), and went very well with the tangy Salsa Verde(green salsa made from tomatillo’s):

Soooo delici-yoso!!! If anyone has questions, I’m sure that Ed can answer them! Thanks for indulging me, I’ll be back with another restaurant tomorrow. Right now, I’m slowly sinking into a food induced coma……..

Thanks again Ed!

Panda Palace – Another ABCDE in National City

April 4, 2006 mmm-yoso Chicken Wings, Chinese Restaurants

**** Panda Palace has Closed

Can you dig the generic Chinese Restaurant name? If it has Pearl, Royal, Golden, Garden, Phoenix, and Eastern or something similar(dragon, ruby, panda?) in the name, it's likely a circa '70's style Chinese Restaurant, something like "Eastern Pearl Royal Golden Phoenix Garden Restaurant", you'll automatically know it's a Chinese Restaurant. Much like Royal Mandarin across the street Panda Palace Restaurant serves a combination of ABCDE ("American Born Chinese Dining Establishment") and Chinoy Food. However, unlike Royal Mandarin, whose Salt and Pepper Chicken Wings are almost legendary in the Filipino Community, nary a word has been said about it. So the Missus and I decided to see why…..

The bright and generic interior screams last century Chinese.

The menu was filled with San Diego Chinoy favorites, and we proceeded to order a few.

Upside Down Pan Fried Noodles($6.75):

Noodles fried to a crisp, topped with shrimp, chicken, beef, and vegetables. First the good, the noodles were excellent, not over fried to a brittle consistency, the noodles got nicely chewy as the sauce soaked through them. The Beef and Shrimp were well cooked, soft, and moist. The bad? This dish had virtually no flavor, even the beef and chicken had no flavor. Combine these noodles and the cooking technique with the brown sauce from the Upside Down Pan Fried Noodles at Mandarin Canton and you'd have a pretty decent dish.

The Missus has a Shrimp with Lobster Sauce($8.25) fixation:

I have an aversion to gloppy, pale dishes studded with frozen peas and carrots. So I asked the Missus how this tasted. Her verdict? B-L-A-N-D. While waiting for our order we watched in amazement, as a Young Boy poured almost a half bottle of soy sauce on his fried rice. I now understood why. In fact, at this point we were pretty close to needing a refill of our soy sauce.

Finally, we had to try the Salt and Pepper Chicken Wings($6.75):

So how did these measure up to Royal Mandarin or Golden Chopstick? Not even close. First of all, not enough salt, pepper, or green onions and garlic topping. Secondly, not crispy enough. One interesting thing; I could distinctly taste a sweet component, either sugar or honey, that made these wings a bit different.

One thing I will say about Panda Palace, our Waitress was super efficient, there was absolutely no wasted motion, from taking our orders, to bringing take-out containers along with our check. As for the food? If we crave some ABCDE grub, I think we'll stick with one of the "Big Three".

Panda Palace Chinese Restaurant
1105 E Plaza Blvd Ste D
National City, CA 91950

One final item – one day soon I'd like to set-up a "taste-test", purely subjective of course, of several (4-5) versions of Salt and Pepper Chicken Wings. So Calvin, Howie, and Jack; you Guys game?

Asia Cafe Part II

April 3, 2006 mmm-yoso Lao Restaurants, Vietnamese Restaurants, What Ed Eats -You too can be like Ed!

*** Asia Cafe has closed

*** Return visits to Asia Cafe can be found here and here.

The day after a fun and interesting meal at Asia Cafe, we decided to drop by the restaurant again and grab some take-out. This time we were after a few of the more well known Laotian-style dishes. So I went in and ordered a few.

Green Papaya Salad(medium size-$4.00):

A nice size portion of sliced green papaya and tomatoes. We ordered the heat level at medium, but it was pretty mild. I thought the salad was much too fishy and briney for my tastes, much stronger then the version we had at Vientiane. Also, it was missing the wonderful flavor that peanuts bring to the dish, we had noticed a little jar of peanuts at each table, but apparently if you ordered the papaya salad "to go" you were on your own. I didn't care for it, but surpisingly the Missus enjoyed it, and scarfed it down! For those who have not had this style of Papaya Salad, please be aware; much more fish sauce is used, and not as much sugar or lime juice, making for a less sweet and more salty and "fishy" salad.

Beef Laab:

A very nice rendition of a classic dish, chock full of herbs, not dry, but not watery. The rather mild flavor let the texture of the slices of beef and tripe stand out, while letting the flavor of the herbs take a front seat. Beware the green peppers; they are very hot! The Missus didn't enjoy the slightly bitter flavor of the tripe, but that didn't bother me in the least. The overall flavor was on the mild side, but I enjoyed being able to taste all of the herbs.

The Missus had me ask about about the wonderful Laotian "Fried Rice" dish that she enjoys so much. So I described the dish to Johnny, who informed me that it was called Nem Khao. When I asked Him if they served it here, He told me "We'll make it for you, no problem!"

This wonderful dish of rice, fried garlic, pork, sausage, and other goodies, rolled in a lettuce leaf was delici-yoso! Slightly salty, with a nice nutty flavor, a very simple yet complex dish, and throughly enjoyable.

I needed one more dish, and Johnny recommended the Laotian "Beef Jerky":

I'm sorry that my photo doesn't do this dish justice. Wonderfully marinated and seasoned beef, slightly salty, slightly sweet, this was wonderful. The way to eat this is to have a piece of jerky in one hand, and a handful of sticky rice in the other.

So good! Since I went on recommendations and ordered items that weren't on the menu(as far as I know), all I can tell you is, that all four dishes and sticky rice for two(it's alot of rice) was $24.

Some Notes: There isn't a whole lot of parking in the small lot, though we never had a problem finding parking. The service is very helpful, both Johnny and Scotty want to make sure you enjoy your meal. Scotty told me that there are many dishes and daily specials that are not on the menu; we spied a fried fish with herbs and lettuce dish that another table was enjoying.

Asia Cafe
4710 Market St
San Diego, CA 92102

Asia Cafe Part I

April 2, 2006 mmm-yoso Lao Restaurants, Vietnamese Restaurants

*** Asia Cafe has closed

*** Part 2 of this post can be found here.

Set on the gritty corner of 47th and Market Streets, right behind an Auto Repair shop is Asia Cafe.

Asia Cafe had been on my "list" for a while, but after driving past the strip mall one Sunday morning, I had my doubts. No, it wasn't the bars on the doors and windows, or the location behind the auto repair, nor the somewhat rundown appearance. It was the 2 people sleeping on the sidewalk, and the other people who were hanging around that made me feel nervous. But this past weekend, we decided to give Asia Cafe a shot. The only thing I could think of when we entered Asia Cafe, was "what took me so long?"

The fragrance of garlic and herbs floated in the air through the small restaurant. From all of the discussion going on in the restaurant, it was pretty obvious that all of the customers were "regulars", a very good sign. We sat at a table and a Young Gentleman brought us a menu. The Young Man's name was Scotty, and he told us it was his Mom cooking the food in the back. After fumbling around the menu, we made our selections with the help of Scotty.

A soup called Kao-Lao($6.00):

A fairly lite lemon infused broth, with cilantro, fried shallots, green onions, and garlic(yum). There was alot of beef slices, some tripe, and a ton of meatballs in the soup. I enjoyed this much more then the Missus, who didn't care for the meatballs which she said were rather rubbery. Of all of the dishes served, this one most closely resembled "home cooking."

Scotty had recommended the Yum Asia($6.50):

Scotty also had this made in a "special" way for us; he had this wonderful refreshing seafood salad served on a bed of cellophane noodles which soaked up all of the delicious fish sauce-lime juice-lemon grass-sugar-sweet chili sauce "dressing". Mint, basil, and peanuts gave the dish that extra "zip". All the seafood was prepared in an excellent manner. A wonderfully flavored, yet balanced dish, not too sweet, not to salty, not too spicy, just good eats.

Black Tiger Shrimp($6.50):

Perfectly prepared shrimp in a garlic and black pepper sauce, topped with cilantro. But totally pedestrian compared to the Yum Asia. Unanimously unremarkable.

The Seen-Nam-Toke($5.00):

As we were eating the Yum Asia and Shrimp, the wonderful smell of meat "grilling" filled the restaurant. When the dish arrived I was rather surprised, I had though this was a salad, but instead, it was a perfectly cooked, well seasoned medium rare steak. Obviously quickly marinated in lemon juice and fish sauce, the steak was beautifully caramelized. I realize, that the cut of steak was not the best, but the slices were pretty tender and the flavor was excellent; I barely needed any of the dressing. I could eat this almost every day. I was impressed, it's not easy to make, a two-dollar steak taste like a hundred bucks!

The Missus never really cared for sticky rice other then for desserts, so she ordered steamed rice, I on the other hand love sticky rice, and made sure to get an order($2.00):

The sticky rice was served steaming fresh, still slightly moist, and very fragrant. In fact, the Missus had never had sticky rice served perfectly cooked, and she enjoyed it so much that she put a pretty big dent in it! The steamed rice sat uneaten; I think She's changed Her opinion of sticky rice.

Overall, a good fairly inexpensive meal.

The Missus also purchased this for dessert:

It's a large bag of Fried Bananas($5.00). Unfortunately, Asia Cafe doesn't make these with sugar. No problemo, when we got home the Missus made some simple syrup, and coated the fried bananas with the simple syrup, and let them dry out a bit, and had a nice dessert:

While munching on Fried Bananas we talked about how enjoyable our meal was, and also how friendly and helpful the service was. We also decided to return the very next day, for a few more "traditional" Laotian dishes.

To be continued…….

Asia Cafe
4710 Market St
San Diego, CA 92102

Road Trip: Hong Kong Market – Rowland Heights(LA), A Trip to the Old Neighborhood

March 29, 2006 mmm-yoso Markets & Grocers

We made our way to Hong Kong Plaza in Rowland Heights after deciding to stick around LA after our dinner at Sushi Gen. We marveled at all the "new" buildings and restaurants in the area. As we drove around all those street names; Colima, Nogales, Hacienda, Gale, brought back memories of the almost 5 years we lived in the area. During that period we lived within walking distance of Hong Kong Plaza, and shopped regularly at Hong Kong Supermarket.

The first thing that struck us were all the new restaurants and businesses that we hadn’t noticed on our previous visits. When we lived right down the street Hong Kong Plaza could have best been described as a bit worn, dirty, and a bit seedy looking. In the years since, efforts have been made to clean up, with somewhat mixed results. Hong Kong Supermarket has been totally renovated though, and is no longer as "fragrant", nor as dirty looking.

A couple of things hadn’t changed though, and one of them is the terribly rude service. Ah, don’t you just love consistency! The Market was humming, even at almost 9 pm! We really couldn’t remember seeing it this busy so late in the evening. In fact, the entire mall was almost completely full.

We headed for the snack aisle, and the Missus made several selections.

One thing I do miss from the "older" version of Hong Kong Market, are the fresh deli items. The Market used to have good smoked duck and chicken, and the best Dao Ko Chicken I’ve ever had, all made in-house. These have been replaced.

What I find interesting about Asian Markets is the availability of both packaged meat:

As well as a meat counter, I guess they want to cover all bases.

And requisite fresh seafood department.

What caught our attention is an aisle marked as "Gourmet Chinese", of course we had to check it out. XO sauce flavored items seem to be in fashion.

As well as about eight brands of XO Sauce.

And other "stuff".

For some reason, I get a bit paranoid around all the fermented tofu. All it would take would be a single cracked jar….and you get the picture, right?

Can you see the Missus flagging me down with a bag of garlic?

There’s a reason for that. Here’s a good example of prices in Los Angeles.

Sheesh, just 49 cents for a whole bag of garlic!

After making our purchases, we headed to our favorite places. The Missus went over to the "Jerky" stand.

The Lady here is always very nice, and it is also one of the few places that gets an ‘A’ grade in the whole plaza!

The Missus always gets a nice variety.

Meanwhile, I was across the hall at Yi-Mei Deli.

I have great memories, of grabbing the steamed buns for breakfast. You’d pay and the Lady would heat them up, and you’d have a nice breakfast.

I grabbed several pork and a couple of mushroom and meat. I did notice that the price of these had gone up from 75 cents to a dollar since I last visited, but it’s still good cheap eats. And somebody has to pay for the ‘B’ restaurant grade, the last time I was here, they had gotten a ‘C’ – just kidding of course!

Looks like Hong Kong Plaza is doing well. We’re planning on several meals in the area in the near future. For another example of good cheap eats in the plaza, check out Elmo’s post on Hong Kong Fishball House.

Hong Kong Supermarket/Hong Kong Plaza
18414 Colima Rd
Rowland Heights, CA 91748

Pho’ Lucky

March 28, 2006 mmm-yoso Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants

During my visit to Lucky Seafood Supermarket, I noticed the adjoining restaurant.

And so I made my way to Lucky Pho' during a recent weekend. The dining area is fairly large and there is pretty good spacing in the wide open dining room.

I was seated very quickly; and on this visit was handed a menu, and the Gentleman stood pen and pad ready for my order. I hadn't even opened the menu yet, yet he stood there with an deadpan inscrutable look on his face, ready for my order. Ooookay! Two can play this game! I slowly opened and glanced through the menu, and took my time. And placed my order, the #1 Pho Dac Biet(Large Bowl – $4.75):

Everything arrived within minutes, and at the same time; my garnish, tea, and Pho. The amount of garnish was adequate, not the most I've ever had, and not a skimpy amount. Ngo Gai was also provided. I've started trying to really "taste" my Pho' broth, so instead of adding all my garnishes, I always taste the broth. In this case I kept slurping spoonful after spoonful, and made myself stop. The slightly dark broth was very hearty, but not rich or oily, but I could make out hints of clove, anise, and what almost tasted like cinnamon. I must say that I really enjoyed the broth. After adding the basil, Ngo Gai, bean sprouts, and peppers, I started working on the rest of the bowl. The portion of meat provided was adequate, though short on tripe. The fat on the brisket was on the tough side, though the meat itself had good flavor. The rare steak was okay, and the tendon had some overly tough, and crunchy parts.

The noodles were a perfect al' dente, slightly chewy, with a nice "pull" to them, and was in a "loose" clump in the bottom of the bowl, which is an improvement over the tight clump of noodles that is the standard at most places. I must say I really enjoyed this bowl of Pho'; the flavor was really "to my taste". Some may enjoy a light, "refreshing" Pho', some may enjoy a broth heavier in oil, or maybe a very rich dark beefy broth, this bowl was to my taste.

I returned recently with My Buddy Jack, for a quick lunch. Jack had Pho', but I ordered something I saw someone else eating during my last visit; the Beef Stew($4.50):

The beef stew was served in a small bowl with a baguette. The beef stew may scare some people off, since there is a layer of oil lying on top of the "broth". The portion size may seem small, but there was enough fork tender and moist meat, combined with the very rich anise and curry like broth. The meat was not overly fatty, and not inner-tube tough like version I've had in other restaurants.

The cilantro and onions helped cut through the oil, though I'd really have enjoyed some lime and mint; I think I'll see if I can get some next time. Though this seemed like a small dish, the combination of bread and meat did the job of filling me up.

On this visit, the service was completely normal. We weren't rushed to order, and were provided with as much time as we wanted. Jack must really have scared them!!!

I really enjoyed the Pho' here, and will be sure to have it again in the near future. Good prices, good broth are a nice combination!

Some notes: It gets really crowded here on the weekend. And as noted service can be somewhat abrupt at times.

Lucky Pho' in Lucky Seafood Supermarket
9326 Mira Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92126

Ooops, I almost forgot – thanks to "Minote" for the initial recommendation!

Lucky Seafood Supermarket/Express Deli

March 27, 2006 mmm-yoso Banh Mi, Markets & Grocers, Sandwiches, Vietnamese Restaurants

Lucky Seafood Supermarket is the very popular Vietnamese Supermarket on Mira Mesa Boulevard.

Once you enter the Market, even though Lucky Seafood is clean and the aroma is kind of kept to a minimum, there is no way you’d confuse Lucky Seafood with the now defunct Lucky Supermarket chain! Maybe the produce department from this view looks just like any other.

But once you look a little closer…..well I don’t think you’d find Ngo Gai(sawleaf herb) in one of those Supermarkets.

As with many of these Supermarkets, there is a good variety of produce, from plantains:

To purple sweet potatoes:

Though the interior of these sweet potatoes reminded me of "Okinawan Sweet Potatoes" back home in Hawaii, they were much larger in size, and not as "sweet".

As with World Foods, or Vien Dong III Supermarket, the meat and seafood section occupies the entire rear section of the market.

Today, there was a small crowd gathered around the fish tanks, for the free show called; The Fishmonger versus the Carp. It seemed that the Carp had the upper hand at times, but eventually the Fishmonger prevailed.

After watching all of the splashing, you’ll know that the warning sign is for! As I turned to look at the various relatively fresh fish, I noticed some really nice looking "Uhu", also known as Parrotfish, which I really haven’t seen in a while.

All of the usual suspects were in view; from the wall of fish sauce:

And the aisle of noodles:

Now what was I doing wandering around Lucky Seafood? Well, it’s because of this:

Express Deli, is the not so little Take-out operation located in Lucky Seafood. And with everything from Spring Rolls, to Salt and Pepper Shrimp, to Fried Fish, to Stewed Pig’s feet, there was quite a nice variety of Vietnamese and Chinese-style food available. You can purchase items ala carte or get a 2 item combination plate(with starch) for $3.89, or a 3 item combination for $4.89. But today I opted for the Banh Mi which Express Deli also makes.

I ordered the Banh Mi Thit Ngoui($2.25) and a BBQ Pork Banh Mi ($2.25). The Thit Ngoui, basically a lean pork sausage and "head" sausage sandwich:

I saw them place the sandwich in a toaster, and that created a nice crisp crust, though the bread was kind of soggy and gummy. There was a nice smear of pate’, just enough for a nice balanced flavor. There was also a good amount of "pickles", in fact, just about the most pickled veggies I’ve had. Two slices of Jalapeno added some nice heat; though I’d have enjoyed a single thin long cut so the heat would be spread through every bite, much like the cucumber spear. The cilantro had stems which were tough, and you couldn’t help but pull out all the cilantro when you bit into the sandwich. The sandwich was a bit skimpy on the meat for my taste, the slices were almost paper thin. Still, not bad for $2.25.

The BBQ Pork sandwich was basically more of the same:

This 8 inch sandwich did have a good amount of soy-fish sauce-sugar flavored pork, though there were several really tough pieces of inedible fat in the sandwich. Still, a decent Banh Mi, and it’s really hard to complain for a sandwich that costs two-bucks-and-a-quarter!

The Young Lady who manned the cash register, as well as the one who assembled my sandwich were very nice, smiling, and both apologizing for having to wait for a sandwich.

So, you can get some good looking deli food, shop in a clean "environment"(if that kind of stuff bothers you), and wait; it’s not over yet! Check out this sign and you’ll know what’s coming up next:

Lucky Seafood Supermarket
9326 Mira Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92126

As I ate my Banh Mi, I couldn’t help but laugh. I’d mentioned Lucky Seafood to someone, who wrinkled Her nose, and said: "that place is so gross, they even have live fish that they catch and clean and chop up, and all of that kind of stuff in that place." She had entered the place thinking that this was one of the other "Lucky’s" Supermarket. I was going to ask her if she knew that fish didn’t live in the wild in filet form, or in cans…..but I held my tongue! Imagine a beautiful school of salmon filets………

Road Trip: Sushi Gen – Little Tokyo(LA)

March 26, 2006 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants, Los Angeles County, Road Trip, Sushi and Sashimi

I’m going to make this a short post, because the photos speak for themselves, and I’m quite "bushed". We took a drive to Los Angeles last night for the Missus’s "sushi-fix". Though San Diego has quite good sushi, the Missus will only eat sushi in LA. So we drove to Little Tokyo and quickly headed to our usual sushi destination in Little Tokyo; Sushi Komasa. Sushi Komasa gets very little publicity because it’s really just a good old fashioned sushi bar. But today, as we stood waiting for the 530pm opening, a Young Man came out and told us that there was a water pipe problem within the restaurant, so we had to head elsewhere to eat. Since I’ve heard some really good things about the prices and quality of fish at Sushi Gen, we took the short walk over to Honda Plaza and walked into Sushi Gen.

It was 535pm and the place was almost full, we were able to get one of the few remaining tables. The scene was controlled chaos, there seemed to be as many Employees as customers! In fact, I’ve never seen as many Itamae(Sushi Chefs), at least 8 of them! We quickly scanned the menu and the Missus ordered Her Nigiri and Makezushi by indicating amounts on the "order sheet." I had my sights on something else.

The Missus and I watched the Servers flying back and forth delivering good looking food, and making remarks like, "Hey, maybe I shoulda’ ordered some tempura." And soon enough the Missus sushi arrived:

The Missus loves Albacore Nigiri, I’ve even seen her eat 6 orders of it in one sitting. She bit into the first one and…..not even a change in expression. So I had a piece of the Hamachi, and though the fish was good, the rice was very, very dry, and not even a taste of any "awase-zu" or vinegar flavoring. Also, there was much too much wasabi, taking away from the wonderful silkiness of the Hamachi. You must realize that I use no Wasabi, and just a drop of Shoyu with my Sushi, and it still overpowered the Nigiri. That said, all of the fish was of excellent quality.

Still, good quality fish, though not my favorite preparation.

When my dish arrived, my heart skipped a beat:

I had ordered the Deluxe Sashimi that cost $30, and worth every cent. The fish was so fresh, and of good quality. Not a loser in the bunch, and the Missus loved the little piece of Mirugai! The two items that really ranked the lowest were the "spicy tuna" and "negi-hama", I couldn’t help but compare them to poke, which to my tastes they could never measure up to. I could go on ad nauseum, about the melt in your mouth toro, and the rich and smooth hamachi, but I think the photo speaks for itself.

I’d say, that this was the best sashimi I’ve had in a while, and even the Missus(we shared everything) who doesn’t care for Toro was amazed at how good it was. Perhaps not a decadent as my Live-Uni Meal nor as interesting as our Maguro Yamakake – Aji – Shiokara meal at Izakaya Sakura, this was still a very delici-yoso!!!

Our total bill came out to a very reasonable $70, and I was sooooooo very happy! I think we’ll go to Komasa for our sushi and a more laid-back vibe, and stick with the sashimi, and other items at Sushi Gen. The atmosphere at Sushi Gen on this night was a bit rushed, and there was a line out the door of people waiting for tables, I guess they know a good thing……

Sushi Gen
422 E 2nd St
Los Angeles, CA 90012

We took our time strolling back to our car, and wandered through various shops, and the "new" Nijiya Market which replaced Enbun Market. We always walk through Yamazaki Bakery, and sometimes grab something small.

And though the Young Lady serving us was rather rude (she looked like she had a long day, and couldn’t wait to close up), I pointed out something to the Missus that she just had to get:

It’s a fruit tart ($1.10). But you know why she had to get it, right?

Yamazaki Bakery
123 Japanese Village Plaza Mall
Los Angeles, CA 90012

Under Pressure: Lamb Stew Experiment

March 25, 2006 mmm-yoso Cooking

Our "brand new" pressure cooker, is not so brand new anymore and has been sitting around since December. Every time I’ve thought to use it, my exploding pressure cooker phobia takes over. But it had gotten to the point where the Missus finally told me "use it or get rid of it since it’s just taking up space!" It just so happened that She was craving Lamb Stew, so seizing upon the opportunity to justify keeping the beast, we thought that we should give the pressure cooker a shot. After all, Lamb Stew in a half-hour? No way!

Since this was an experiment, I decided to go the budget route, and ran to Costco and found the smallest boneless leg of lamb, about 3 1/2 pounds, trimmed off most of the fat, and cut it into cubes. For those interested, here’s our "recipe":

The Pressure Cooker Lamb Stew Experiment
3 1/2lbs Boneless Leg of Lamb cut into 1 1/2" cubes
2/3 cup Red Wine
2 Tb Tomato Paste
4 cloves Garlic
1 1/2 Onion Quartered
1/2 onion sliced
2 Bay Leaves
1 Bottle Guinness
3 large Carrots chopped into large pieces
4 Russet Potatoes
1 cup Celery chopped
2 Tb Balsamic Vinegar
2 Tsp Dried Thyme
1 Tsp Salt
Black Pepper to taste
Cilantro for garnish
1 Tb Canola Oil

1 – Heat oil and stir in sliced onions and garlic, and stir over medium heat until translucent.

2 – Add Red Wine, Balsamic Vinegar, Bay Leaves, and Tomato Paste, stirring to combine, until liquid is reduced .

3 – Add beer, thyme, salt, and pepper.

4 – When liquid returns to a boil add lamb and mix.

5 – When lamb is browned, add vegetables, and lock pressure cooker lid into place. Bring cooker to high pressure over high heat, then reduce heat to maintain high pressure. A quick observation here; for all of the ridicule the Missus gives me regarding my "Pressure Cooker Phobia", as soon as I locked that lid into place, She (and the Boyz) were no where to be found.

6 – Cook for 15 minutes, then remove from heat, and let sit for 10 minutes. Release pressure and open lid. Adjust salt and pepper if necessary.

7 – Serve with Cilantro for garnish.

The result? Very tender, though not as "gamy" as the Missus would’ve liked, also too much Thyme. Next time I’ll cook the lamb under pressure first(for a shorter amount of time), then after using the pressure cooker I’ll move the meat and broth to another pot and combine with the vegetables – all of the onion and celery had disintegrated, and the potato and carrot were too soft, but the flavor of the broth was excellent. I’m also getting the book "Pressure Perfect" by Lorna Sass to use as a guide.

Here’s Sammy and Frankie waiting to see if "Daddy" was going to "blow-up":

Sorry Boyz, maybe next time……

Ko Hayang Jip Part II

March 23, 2006 mmm-yoso Korean Restaurants

*** Update: Ko Hayang Jip is now Go Ba Woo, but the menu and the food seems to be the same.

We were mulling over heating up our leftovers from our previous night’s meal at Ko Hayang Jip, when we decided that it would be to our benefit to gather even more leftovers….. So we found ourselves back at Ko Hayang Jip. We had made mental notes of a few items that we wanted to try, and so placed our order. Being a real Mom-and-Pop operation, the Lady who I’m assuming is the Owner, recognized us immediately. Also, I don’t think they get very many non-Korean customers. As with the night before we were given 8 plates of panchan.

No lotus root this time; but at least we got the green peppers, I don’t know the Korean name for this, but we call it Shishito Peppers. Makes a really good panchan.

I also enjoy the potato salad. This version has quite a bit of boiled egg in it; but very creamy and rich tasting.

The Missus ordered the Spicy Beef Soup($8.50):

The broth was similar to a slightly beefy and not as spicy jjigae style broth, very velvety in texture, and not as spicy as it looked. A boiled egg, gosari(fiddlehead fern), dangmyeon (sweet potato starch noodles), and a few thin strips of beef stood out. The Missus thoroughly enjoyed Her soup, though she’s not a big fan of the Korean style "mixed"(black and short grain) rice that is served here. She even asked for white rice, but was told that they only serve this type of rice here. Also, she was told "it’s good for you".

I ordered the Dol Sot BiBimBap($10.50):

This version was served on a hot cast iron plate, with a small portion of bulgogi, mung bean sprouts, shiitake mushrooms, and other vegetables, all topped with a sunny side up egg. We both thought the portion size was quite small, and the overall taste was pretty much on the bland side; I ended up using up the entire dish of Gochujang provided. I much rather have my BiBimBap served in a hot stone bowl which forms a really nice crust; we weren’t too impressed with this.

Overall, Ko Hayang Jip provides a pretty good alternative to all the other Korean Restaurants in town. The ingredients are fresh, the prices in line, if not a bit more inexpensive, and I also noticed that except for the Mandu, all the dishes were not oily at all.

We didn’t have the chance to try the Korean BBQ at Ko Hayang Jip, but Calvin was kind enough to provide a photo for our viewing enjoyment: