mmm-yoso – Page 565 – 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.

Sam Woo BBQ – And a “Fish” Story

September 22, 2005 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants

I’m pretty sure that most San Diego Readers of this blog know of this location of Sam Woo Ba-Bee-Que! Over the years I’ve eaten at in at least 7 different locations of Sam Woo BBQ’s, located everywhere from San Gabriel to Las Vegas, often times next to or very close to an outlet of 99 Ranch Market, as is this location on Clairemont Mesa Boulevard. Since our favorite inexpensive Guangdong style restaurant Golden City closed about 2 years ago, about the only replacement we could find was Sam Woo.

Sam Woo BBQ’s have a reputation of decent quality dishes at a good price. In other words, you get your money’s worth here! Sam Woo BBQ’s also have another reputation, that of very abrupt, impatient, and sometimes downright rude service. Also, no matter how slow or busy, there’s always a "divey" feel to Sam Woo’s, dishes left to clean up, food stains on the table, etc. To their defense the Servers bust their butt here.

This location of Sam Woo features a Take-out section with the requisite hanging Roast Pork, Roast Duck, and Hot Table items on one side, and a small, pedestrian sit down restaurant on the other.

On this evening, the Missus was not feeling too well, and she wanted some of her comfort food – Jook. She ordered the Rice Porridge with Preserved Egg and Pork($3.75):

She got a large steaming bowl of fairly "loose" jook; just the way she likes it. She doesn’t care much for the thick, corn-starchy versions that many Cantonese Restaurants serve. There were large chunks of preserved egg and a good amount of tasty shredded pork; I know because I tasted some. This was actually more than enough for her, she couldn’t even finish this.

I ordered the Noodle Soup with 3 Roasted Meats ($5.75):

Otherwise known as my "Oink-Quack-Puck" noodle. This is a large bowl of flavorful broth, won tons, napa cabbage, and my favorite thin egg noodles. The broth had started to absorb the flavor of the roasted duck, chicken, and BBQ Pork. Can you say…Delici-yoso???? Good to the last drop!

A few days later before shopping at 99 Ranch Market we stopped by and decided to have a bite. We found out that Sam Woo’s has a Breakfast menu from 9am-11am during the week, and 8am-11am weekends. Most items are $2.95, including the same sized bowl of porridge pictured above.

I had the Stewed Beef on Noodle($2.95):

This was kind of a strange dish, and not quite what I expected. It was basically a de-constructed Beef Egg Noodle Soup. The beef was ok, Niu Rou Mein – spicy beef noodle soup is one of my favorite dishes, and these pieces of beef were similiar to those used in that dish; tender though seasoned with a bit too much anise, and also on the sweeter side. I really struggled trying to eat this, pulling up the noodles trying to dip in the broth and so on. Also, a strange thing happened after eating this; my hands and feet started to swell – not a good sign.

Fast forward a week, and for some strange reason I was craving gloppy-gooey Clams in Black Bean sauce. So we headed back up to Sam Woo’s again. This time we ordered off of the lunch menu; about 3 pages long, with an additional sheet of "specials", there was alot to choose from, and most dishes were between $4.50-$5.50 and lncluded a soup(terrible) and rice (starch mmmm….).

We started with Szechuan Shrimp ($4.50):

More like a sweet sour shrimp dish, it wasn’t very spicy, though the shrimp were plump, tasty and cooked well, nothing worse than over-cooked rubbery shrimp. We actually loved the onions in this dish; mixed with the sauce they were pungent and sweet.

Rock Cod Filet with Black Bean Sauce($4.50):

The fish filets were soft and tender, the green and red bell peppers were cooked through, but still tender, all put together in a gloppy, gooey, simple black bean based sauce, which tasted good on our rice.

The Clams with Black Bean Sauce ($5.50):

There was a generous portion of plump, juicy, slightly briney clams in the same black bean sauce as the rock cod. I was really surprised at the quality of the clams in this 5 dollar dish!

We basically "blew through" everything, including two pots of tea. Not bad for $15, huh?

Sam Woo BBQ Restaurant
7330 Clairemont Mesa Blvd Ste 103
San Diego, CA 92111

And how does a "fish" story tie into this? Well……

A few years ago I was watching a Chargers football game and the Missus happened to walk by…..

“Oh, it’s Jack Murphy Stadium”

“Well yeah, except now it’s called Qualcomm Stadium”

“How’s that?”

“I think nowadays the stadium sells naming rights, and some company purchases them”

She pauses, then adds, “Oh, like Sea World?”

Ok, now I’m totally confused, and scratching my head. “What do you mean, Sea World?”

As she turns to walk away and out of the living room, “Yeah, the whale….”

Now I’m hooked, I have to find out what Sea World has to do with all of this, so I follow her down the hall….

“Can you tell me what you mean by the the whale?”

“Yeah, Sam Woo, the Killer whale….”

I just totally lose it, and I’m laughing so hard my sides hurt…

“No, it’s Sha-mu the Killer Whale”

“Yeah, that’s what I said Sam-Woo the Killer Whale!”

“No it’s spelled S-H-A-M-U”

“Oh, I thought that maybe Sea World had sold naming rights to the Whale and Sam Woo purchased it…..”

“How long have you thought this?”

“Ever since I first heard of the Whale” Seems that the Missus had thought Shamu was named Sam Woo for years……….

To this day, every time we see a Sea World commercial with Shamu, we both look at each other and go, “Hey look, it’s Sam Woo the Killer Whale!!!”

And that’s why I love Her so……

Hope everyone is having a great week!

La Torta – And the Quest for a Carne Asada Torta

September 21, 2005 mmm-yoso Mexican Restaurants, Sandwiches

**** La Torta has closed

Since I've been living in San Diego, I've developed a taste for Mexican style Torta's, basically a Bolillo (Mexican Roll) cut in half and stuffed with some kind of meat, say Carne Asada, Pollo Asado, and such. One very popular local chain is La Torta:

La Torta specializes in what else, Torta's, and feature about 35 different Torta's on the menu, many of them very "Americanized", like the "Hawaiiana" that features, Ham and Pineapple. Not my cup of tea, but apparently someone must order it! The problem with having too many items on the menu is that it leads to major bouts of indecision; which happens to me quite often at La Torta. I've got my mind set on say, Carne Asada, and end up with say a Mole Torta ($6.75):

Though smaller in circumference than the "usual" torta, it makes up for it in height! To date this has been the best Torta that I've had at La Torta. Filled with moist shredded chicken in a mild chili based sauce; slightly spicy, very moist, and seasoned well. The roll which is baked in-house, was a bit on the dry side and the "Home Fries" tasted of stale oil. Pay attention to them "fries…."

On the following Saturday I arrived at the College location right outside of San Diego State University, just as the "rolls" were finished, and got a fresh one, with my ~~Carne Asada~~, ummm ooops, Chipotle Chicken Torta($6.75):

Again the menu got the better of me and I ordered this. Notice the "home fries" this time; guess they got them from a different home. They're totally different from the ones on my previous visit! The roll was nice and hot, toasted and crusty on the outside, and soft and doughy on the inside. The chicken was, bleh, tasted like shredded chicken with hot sauce, sure didn't have any "chipotle"(smokey jalapeno) taste. I did have alot of avocado on this sandwich which really tasted nice and creamy.

Now that SDSU is back in session, I don't dare go back to the College location and "parking hell". So now that summer is over, I switch to the suddenly laid back Pacific Beach location, this time with the Missus in tow:

As soon as she saw the menu she told me "I don't liiike it, too many choices!" "But they have pictures!" "Really now, how many different kind of tortas can there be?" Yes, too many choices are a bit of a problem, you should see her in Vietnamese Restaurants…"how 'bout number 190, please…."

She finally settled on the Jalapeno Chicken torta with no cheese ($6.75):

This basically was a grilled chicken sandwich with chopped jalapenos, no biggy really! Needless to say the Missus was not impressed. She did like the warm and toasted roll. She also enjoyed the potatoes, though we found that you better eat them fast, they got soggy real fast. But as a whole, no big deal. So what did I get? Well I finally got that Carne Asada Torta ($6.95):

The "Carne Asada" here tasted like thin sliced rib eye or a similiar cut, lightly seasoned, on a nicely toasted roll. I enjoyed the sandwich except for the cheddar cheese; I'd appreciated some other more creamy cheese, maybe provolone or something similiar. Hey a Philly Cheesesteak Torta sounds might good!

Some notes on La Torta; most Torta's come with "The Works", that would be lettuce, tomato, and onion. Most also have a pretty generous amount of avocado. The food can vary wildly and are pretty pricey as Torta's are concerned, from $6.50 to $7.75. But at least they come with some type of "fries". So if you've got a hankering for some almost Gringo style Torta's, give La Torta a try!

La Torta
5854 Montezuma Road
San Diego, CA 92115

4864 Cass St
San Diego, CA 92109

yoso-nosey: Where the Dim Sum Starts

September 20, 2005 mmm-yoso yoso-silly

As Elmo and Reid both noted, it seems like everyone has been eating Dim Sum over the last week or so. What I also noticed was that we each have our "standard bearer", that is the dish that serves as the basis for judging whether a specific restaurant serves "good" or "bad" Dim Sum. So, I’d like to see what your baseline Dim Sum dish is:

The survey has closed – results are here.

Feel free to comment away..

BTW, I did leave Siu Mai out, sorry my mistake – you can vote for it as "Other"

I’ll close out the poll on Sept 30th!

China Max – This Time it’s Dim sum

September 19, 2005 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Dim Sum

I know I’ve done China Max already. In fact, China Max was my first post back on May 26th, almost 4 months ago. We ended up at China Max because of a terrible visit to our favorite Dim Sum restaurant Emerald which I’ll post in the near future.

Because that visit did not satisfy our craving, we needed to get some Dim Sum ASAP. I really wasn’t in the mood for the hustle and bustle and Darwinist tendencies that are displayed in a "cart-style" Dim Sum restaurant, so this left China Max as our only choice.

I had tried the Dim Sum at China Max on a previous visit, and had not been overly impressed. All the items were very well presented, but I thought that the flavoring of the Dim Sum was very mild and bland. We entered the restaurant hoping that this visit would be more successful than our last Dim Sum experience. At China Max you order your Dim Sum by checking off items on a sheet of paper. You can make your choices by using the colorful menu as your guide (ooooh pictures!!!). We made our selections and waited:

The first item to arrive was the Taro Gok. When we opened up the taro we noticed nice chunks of pork and the nice and light exterior. There was a problem with this, though; it was lukewarm, almost cold. Served in this manner the dish is most unpalatable. The Missus would not stand for this! She called the Waiter over and explained the situation; the Waiter very nicely insisted that this is the way this is served. Of course my Wife would not stand for that! I could see her hand starting to grip her chopstick; in other words if the Waiter kept up this line of BS, he’d be leaving the table with a pair of chopsticks sticking out of his neck. Luckily, for his sake he decided to replace this dish and all was well.

The Salt and Pepper Squid were next:

Slices of squid are battered and fried, then fried again with garlic, chilies, and pepper. Though some of the pieces were burned to a black, this dish was good. The squid was tender and the seasoning was perfect.

The Shark Fin dumpling were next:

These dumplings were stuffed with bean thread, Krab, and other goodies. As with most items here, the taste was fairly mild, but in this case it worked perfectly! You could taste all of the ingredients. My only gripe is that the wrappers were a bit dried out, but the filling was really nice and moist.

Next up, my Wife’s favorite. Steamed sticky rice wrapped in Lotus Leaf:

This is one of The Missus’s "baseline" dishes, along with the taro. This version had a generous amount of pork, along with an egg yolk and lup cheong. The flavoring had permeated the rice so that it was completely seasoned though very mild in taste. About this time our replacement Taro Gok was brought to the table. This time it was steaming hot, with large chunks of pork. And not a trace of oil! There was a bit of bitterness from the taro, but as a whole it was very light and good.

Next up was what I was waiting for; the Pan Fried Chive Dumplings:

The wrapper of these dumplings were nice and crusty with a little bit off pull. The dumplings were stuffed with alot of chive and shrimp. The chives were perfect, not bitter in the least bit. I chowed these down in a minute!

The Fried Seaweed rolls were next:

Two of the rolls were badly burnt, and thus bitter. At this point we didn’t feel like complaining any more so we just left these alone.

The last dish was Cheong Fun with shrimp:

These were stuffed with large shrimp, and the "noodle" was prepared and cooked perfectly. There was just the right amount of "pull" in the noodle. If I were to have one complaint about this dish, it would be that there was not enough "sauce" provided, what little there was tasted nicely sweet and salty. A very good dish otherwise.

If I were to use one word to describe the Dim Sum at China Max, it would be "light". All the dishes are pretty mild in flavor, and not oily in the least bit. Our lunch set us back $32, not bad at all! Other than the burnt Fried Seaweed Roll and the Taro Gok "blip" the dishes were good enough for a return Dim Sum visit in the future.

China Max
4698 Convoy Street #C101
San Diego, CA 92111

El Salvador Pupuseria y Restaurante

September 18, 2005 mmm-yoso Salvadoran Restaurants

*** A short update can be found here. And another post with updated prices can be found here.

One evening while driving on University we noticed this Salvadoran Restaurant, occupying the shell of what probably was a Pizza Hut, or some similar business:

So this morning instead of heading down to El Salvadoreno we decided to give El Salvador a shot. It really didn't look very promising at first, the windows of the restaurant noted items like Nachos and taco's, not quite what I thought of as Salvadoran food. After a brief discussion we entered the Restaurant.

The first thing I noticed was that the menu consisted of two parts; the left side listed typical Mexican fare, such as burrito's, taco's, and chips. The right side listed the Salvadoran items, which is what we came here for. The dining room was a bit odd, especially since 5-6 arcade games lined one wall, the plastic parrots and such gave the place a bit of a kitchsy flavor. After speaking to the very helpful Young Lady, the Missus started ordering, and didn't stop for a while. The Waitress kept giving me looks, sort of indicating if we were sure we wanted all of this. I know better than to stop my Wife when she's on an "ordering tear".

As is the usual the curtido and hot sauce was delivered, along with some "blah" chips. It really didn't look like a good start.

Within minutes the Pupusas were delivered. I'd ordered 2 combination pupusas; pork, cheese, and bean($1.75/ea), and the Missus ordered a potato pupusa ($1.50).

The pupusas were very good, with a pretty large amount of filling. The Missus really enjoyed her potato pupusa. The curtido was nice and fresh, though not as "pickled" as the curtido at El Salvadoreno, the salsa roja was routine, and nothing special. I like the filling here at El Salvador better than Salvadoreno, though the exterior of these were not as good and crunchy as those at El Salvadoreno. These were also a bit smaller, but still delicious!

Our Tamal de Elote Frito con Crema (Corn tamale with cream $1.95) was delivered next:

This was semi dense sweet corn tamale. A bit too sweet for me, but with a nice gritty texture, it was served with Mexican sour cream. I kinda wished that this was served after our meal, because it seemed more of a dessert. Think sweet cornbread, without butter, and you've got the taste.

Our Empanadas de Leche ($2.95) was served next:

Three lovely fried pastries were served, they were, without a doubt delici-yoso! The crispy and golden brown exterior guarded the creamy custard-like interior just waiting to ooze out! To me the pastry had a very familiar banana-like taste. I found out later that plantains were used in the dough. These were a very nice treat.

Up last we were served the Tamales de Gallina ($1.75):

This chicken tamale was served in a banana leaf. The reason this was served last was that it took about 15 minutes to prepare. I really don't care much for tamales, but my tamale loving wife had ordered, so we got this. And let me just say, this was wonderful! The flavor and fragrance of the banana leaf had permeated the masa and chicken, giving it a wonderful "green" taste. Much like collard greens or the luau leaf in lau lau, the slightly bitter and sweet richness made this a very revelatory dish. The tamale was very moist and the chicken was tasty and beyond fork tender. I could eat this quite often.

So all of this with a glass of Horchata (watered down) and a Passion fruit drink (refreshing), came out to about 18 bucks! Talk about a bargain. I can't wait to come back and have another tamale and maybe the Sopa De Pata (Beef Shank Soup) which looked very delici-yoso!

Some notes; nobody, but nobody ordered any Mexican food while we were here, so I'm guessing that it's probably better to stay with the Salvadoran food. The timing of our dishes were kind of strange, the sweet dishes were served before the savory, probably due to the amount of time it takes to prepare the tamale. The Gal who took our order and was our Waitress was very, very nice and helpful. She was also very funny; when she delivered our Chicken Tamale, she told us "I'll have your last two dishes ready in a few minutes", when we looked up jaws agape, she laughed and said "just kidding…." After our meal, I mentioned to the Missus that the Pork Tamale might taste a bit like lau lau, she went up and spoke to this same Gal, who described the taste and texture to her, so it looks like I'm trying that next time as well.

El Salvador Pupuseria y Restaurante
3824 University Ave
San Diego, CA 92105

Local Kine Stuffs in San Diego – From Nijiya Market

September 17, 2005 mmm-yoso Local Kine Stuffs in San Diego, Markets & Grocers

Today while shopping for ingredients for Sukiyaki at Nijiya Market I noticed quite a few "Local Kine Stuffs". Luckily, I had my camera, and took a few photo's of the "stuffs".

One of the most important "local" cooking ingredient for me is 'Alaea, a red/orange sea salt:

From what little I can remember; this type of unprocessed seas salt is mixed with red clay which enriches it with ferrous oxide. The Hawaiians used to reserve it for important feasts and ceremonies, and the salt was said to hold special medicinal properties. The salt has a mellower salty taste, with a touch of sweetness. This is an indispensable ingredient for my Kalua Pork and Poke. Alaea also adds a nice flavor to steaks, and grilled meats. The price at Nijiya is quite high, and I'll usually pick mine up at Marukai, but it's good to know that I can get some if I'm in a pinch.

Hawaiian (sea) Salt is also sold at Nijiya:

And there's actually two brands available, "Kama'aina" and "Old Time". I've never used Kama'aina brand, and have always used Old Time; don't ask me why – it's just brand loyalty. In the 1800's salt provided income to the Hawaiians. If you're interested in a Food Anthropologists take on salt, or Hawaii's Culinary Heritage, Rachel Lauden has a interesting book called The Food of Paradise.

In the "snack" isle I found two items of interest. The first were the boxes of Kauai Kookie:

I've actually started to see this in other Asian Markets in the area. I'm really not much on sweets, so this didn't make much of an impression. The other item did though:

I was amazed! They actually had Diamond Bakery Saloon Pilot and Soda Crackers. Diamond Bakery was founded in Hawaii in 1921, and is probably the only company that still makes Saloon Pilot crackers; large, round crackers which I understand was based on Hardtack and sea biscuits. Ah, Diamond Bakery Saloon Pilots, the sweeter Cream Crackers, and the crispy Soda Crackers, were staples of my "small kid time", back home. These soda crackers are not as light and crisp as the standard saltines that most are used to, but thicker, and better designed to withstand the humidity. I'm sure most kids from Hawaii would remember sucking and chewing on Soda Crackers and mushing them up in your mouth, calling your Mom or some other victim, opening your mouth to show the world its contents!!! I didn't buy any because of the price. And frankly, a case of crackers would probably last me a decade; I'm better off buying the single packages from Marukai, but the memories were nice.

One final little story that I'm sure some will relate to. Soda crackers and 7-up was one of the universal treatments for Gastrointestinal ailments (I'd put it in simpler terms, but it would be kinda gross) when I was growing up. 7-up, or any carbonated beverage was not the norm in the household of my youth, so I'd actually not feel so bad when I got sick, since then I'd be able to drink some "soda". Another "special" elixir of my youth was 7-up with a special "medicine", which was the treatment for chest colds and such. Well I never found out what the medicine was, but it sure made me feel nice and warm, and most of all made me sleep comfortably. Fast forward about a decade. While at a party, a friend of mine hands me this "sissy-drink", telling me to try and taste this, that it's not really half bad. So I take a sip, and something goes off in my head. This really tastes familiar….then "Damn, this is my medicine-drink"!!! So I asked them what is it that I'm drinking. It was Southern Comfort and 7-up! Tasted terrible, but exactly like my medicine. It's really funny if you knew my Mom. She was a a complete teetotaler, and allergic to alcohol. How she figured this would work was beyond me. But it sure worked, I guess…..

Sang Dao

September 15, 2005 mmm-yoso Lao Restaurants, Thai Restaurants

*** Sang Dao has moved, and updated post can be found here.

I've been keeping my ears and eyes open for a good Thai/Laotian Restaurant here in San Diego, and have been given a few leads. Sang Dao had been recommended to me by a friend. So here we are at the dusty East end of National Avenue in Logan Heights:

Sang Dao is located next to Muang Laos Market #1, across the street from a 99 cent Chinese Food restaurant. The bars on all the doors and windows tell you what kind of neighborhood you're in, but this is where you sometimes find the best food. Enter the restaurant and you immediately know it's a real "Family" business; at a table in the back people are chatting, teenagers are watching television, and the youngsters are playing catch in the middle of the restaurant.

As we sat, I noticed the comprehensive condiment tray with everything from the standard Sriracha to shrimp paste; so far so good. A very serious, stoic, Young Lady took our order, and soon we could smell the garlic in the air, and the sound of a spatula stirring a wok!

The first dish served was the Drunken Noodles with Shrimp ($5.95):

The shrimp were fresh and tasty, the heat was very nice, and the noodles were cooked well. We also enjoyed the Chinese Broccoli in the dish. To us the dish was much too "wet", and lacked flavor beyond the heat. There seemed to be a good amount of garlic, but we really couldn't taste it, a bit more sweetness would have made this dish much more enjoyable. As we were eating the noodles the Spicy Catfish was delivered ($6.95):

The Missus had ordered this and thought it was pretty good. I however thought that it was too oily and muddy tasting. The dish featured slices of catfish that were fried, than stir fried with a sauce, I could make out the taste of galangal, but not enough to cancel out the muddy taste. Overall we thought this dish was the weakest.

Our Beef Salad (Yum Nua- $5.95) was served next:

This dish was delici-yoso, and easily the best dish of the evening. The dish had a nice, sweet, spicy, salty, and sour flavor. The beef was cooked to perfection, and was not so hot as to start cooking/wilting the vegetables. A very balanced, very nice plate. One thing is that the "appetizer/salad sin" was committed here. That is, the salad was served after some of the main courses. Didn't matter much with us, we polished this one off.

The Spicy Fried Rice with Chicken ($6.95) was served next, as you can tell, we were on our "reverse-Adkins" tonight:

Now I ate almost the whole plate, the Missus only had a few spoonfuls, she thought the taste of shrimp paste over-powered everything, she's also not a fan of dark meat chicken, which was present here. I thought it was good, not great, but good. Yes, there was alot of shrimp paste, but I enjoyed the spiciness, saltiness, and thought the green onions added nice flavor. I think a bit of lime might have balanced out the dish a bit more.

Overall, I thought that this was really a good "home-cooked" meal. The food had that "homey" feel, and if thought of in that way, it was not bad at all. Also, the prices are really good by San Diego standards. The other thing I totally forgot was to order Larb, which is probably the best known of Laotian dishes. During the whole meal we were the only customers in the Restaurant. Service was efficient and fast, food is simple and very "home-style".

Sang Dao
4212 National Avenue
San Diego, CA 92113

Open Tues-Sun 10AM-8PM

Road Trip – Marukai Costa Mesa & Meat Jun in the OC?

September 14, 2005 mmm-yoso Korean Restaurants, Markets & Grocers, Orange County, Road Trip

Returning to San Diego from Market World, I noticed that the traffic was unusually light, so I decided to take a chance, and head on over to Marukai Costa Mesa. This was done in typical SoCal fashion, that is, via multiple freeways. So it was the 60 East to the 57 South, to the 5 South, to the 55 West, to the 405 North…..that was easy, wasn’t it!

I found Marukai Costa Mesa on busy Harbor Blvd, in a building that was obviously some other Supermarket in a previous life. The parking lot was busy, and so was the market. I just took a short trip around the perimeter, and the "Hawaiian" section caught my eye:

All of the usual suspects where in display; the Hawaii Miso, Portuguese Sausage, Zippy’s Chili, etc. The one thing that really caught my eye was the Park’s Brand Chili Pepper water, a real rarity here on the mainland.

Over in the fish department, there was very fresh Maguro and of course, Ogo!

Since the Costa Mesa location of Marukai is a little closer I may end up shopping here instead of driving to Gardena. The selection is good, and I was surprised at all of the "Local Kine" people everywhere.

After doing a bit of shopping I stored all my "Stuff" and took a walk around the Food Court. Suddenly I was caught totally off guard and surprised:

Not by that sign, but by this:

Yes, that is Meat Jun that you see on the "menu board". I’ve never seen Meat Jun on the Mainland! I was fairly surprised, after all I had always been pretty sure that Meat Jun was more or less a Hawaii thing. Meat Jun is marinated rib eye beef, coated with an egg and flour coating and fried. It is usually served with a sweet-salty dipping sauce. Reid on his site Ono Kine Grindz has a great photo of what Meat Jun should look like.

So, overcome with nostalgia, I had to order it ($5.95). And what I ended up with was this:

As you can tell the Meat Jun is totally burnt! Can you imagine how egg batter tastes burnt? Bitter, and totally gross. The Jap Chae had no flavor. The only thing edible on this plate was the egg and rice. "The Boyz" ended up with the meat; I had to scrape all the batter off before they’d eat it though! I guess they really DON’T make Meat Jun on the Mainland…..

A funny note; if you’ve ever "read" any of my other posts, you’ll notice that I try to include a picture of the store-front of all the places I visit. I tried to do this as I was leaving; but a very persistent Security Guard kept following me around. He kept looking at me and talking on his "radio". I’d stop, and he’d stop, and start talking on his radio. Never said a word, but he really creeped me out! I felt like I was at Fuddruckers again!!! So I just decided it was probably best to leave without photographing any "state secrets", geeez!

Marukai Costa Mesa
2975 Harbor Blvd
Costa Mesa, CA 92626

Korean Kitchen
Marukai Market Food Court
2975 Harbor Blvd
Costa Mesa, CA 92626

Road Trip: The Boat – Rowland Heights

September 12, 2005 mmm-yoso Los Angeles County, Road Trip, Thai Restaurants

**** The Boat has closed

In need of a “quick” lunch I decided to drop by The Boat in Diamond Plaza off of Fullerton Road. We used to live relatively close to The Boat, and ate here quite often. So I kinda just wanted to see if perhaps my tastes had changed since I last ate there.

It was 10 til 11 and Diamond Plaza was absolutely packed! Unbelievable! I managed to find a parking spot at the far end of the mall, dodged the crazy drivers honking at each other and cutting each other off, and made my way to The Boat, which was very quiet:

I was quickly seated and my order was efficiently taken. The first item I ordered was the Pad Kee Mao ($5.25):

As you can clearly see; the Pad Kee Mao doesn’t even look like it’s been cooked in a wok! Though I enjoyed the chilies and the amount of basil, that’s all I could taste. There was really no other flavor at all. Also, the chicken was dry and tough. This dish was a disappointment, I’d never order it again. I took most of it home, where the Missus asked me, “where’s the flavor?” I gave her a bottle of Soy Sauce, and said “here’s the flavor…”

I also ordered the Papaya Salad ($4.95):

This was an okay dish. Nice flavor, good spice, and the shrimp added a nice salty, briny taste along with a good texture counter-point. The sauce needed, a bit more fish sauce, there was a bit too much lime juice in this dish. But decent overall.

In comparison to our meal at Krua Thai this was a very mediocre meal.

Some notes on The Boat. The service is fast and efficient, though friendly is not in the vocabulary. Most of the clientele are Chinese, but the people working looked to be Thai. I don’t think I’ll be coming back again, I left wondering what is was about The Boat that I enjoyed so much in the past?????

A little side note. This is the Restaurant that people were literally running each other over to get into; New Capitol Seafood. When we lived here it used to be Ruby Palace (?), or something like that. Maybe Elmo or Mealcentric can tell me what the deal is with this restaurant? There was a line all the way down the stairs! At 10 til 11 in the morning!

The Boat
1390 Fullerton Rd
Rowland Heights, CA 91748
11:00 A.M. – 12:00 A.M. Sunday to Thursday
11:00 A.M. – 1:00 A.M. Friday and Saturday

Pho Convoy Noodle House

September 11, 2005 mmm-yoso Bun Bo Hue, Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants, What Ed Eats -You too can be like Ed!

*** This location of Pho Convoy Noodle House has closed

*** You can find updates on Pho Convoy Noodle House here, here, and here.

Ed from Yuma had told me about Convoy Noodle House awhile back. He’d had a good bowl of Pho’ there. So since it’s now getting a bit cooler I thought I’d give it a shot.

Convoy Noodle House is located in another strip mall on Convoy Street. The only business I’ve ever gone to here is Dede’s a Sichuan Restaurant/Tea Place. The restaurant is spare and seems alot larger than it actually is.

The other great thing about the restaurant, was that there was spot lighting above each table, almost as if they knew I was coming, and would need some light for my photos’!

I had made my mind up before hand that I’ll be ordering Pho’ – so I chose the Large #1($5.25) – basically Dac Biet, with everything.

Within 5 minutes a nice sized bowl of Pho’ was delivered. The broth was very dark and rich, and I could make out the distinct taste of cloves. I really enjoyed the brisket and the generous amount of tripe. The rare steak tasted fine. There was two types of “tendon” in this; the first nice, jellied, fatty tendon – delici-yoso. The second were thin slices of tendon that almost looked like they’d been fried, they were really tough and inedible. My only other gripe was the really chintzy amount of “garnishes” provided. I had to ask for more basil, and I wish there was a bit more variety; maybe some ngo gai. But I thought the broth was excellent, very full bodied and the bun pho’ were done well, though the noodles were a bit on the thinner side than I’m used too.

A few days later I was in the mood for some Chinese-style Egg Noodle soup, but since I was close by I decided just to eat here instead. And ordered the “House Special” egg noodle soup $5.25:

This dish had a strictly routine chicken based broth, though there was a generous amount of egg noodles along with Lettuce, green onions, BBQ Pork, Fish Balls, Fish Cake, and very over cooked shrimp. The fried garlic and shallots added a nice flavor, and the noodles were perfect. Strangely, I’ve never had “garnishes” delivered for egg noodle soup in a Vietnamese Restaurant before, but here they are! Again, the portion was very small.

So having enjoyed my previous experiences, I’d finally decided to try the Bun Bo Hue ($5.25). I’ve had some really horrible Bun Bo Hue, and will usually check out how other dishes are before trying. So today as I walked in; I noticed the Lady usually manning the cash register (The Owner?) was eating a bowl, so I though I’d give it a whirl:

As the soup was being delivered I noticed a distinct “fishy” smell. It just so happened that along with the garnishes (lettuce, mint, bean sprouts, chilies, and lime), a little bowl of shrimp paste and chili oil delivered. The bowl was steaming hot, and the broth was pretty routine, almost like the broth I’d had with the egg noodles, except with chili oil added. There was a good amount of the spaghetti like bun, and the dish was topped with onions, green onions, and cilantro. I also noticed that the brisket used in this dish was cut alot thicker than what I’m used too, this was very tasty and enjoyable. There was also alot of fat and tendon from the brisket – delici-yoso!!! After doing an initial taste of the broth I added a squeeze of lime, some of the shrimp paste, and the bean sprouts, and proceeded to dig in. Then I stopped, there was something missing! It’s not the “blood”, I’d ordered it without blood, call me a wuss, but I really don’t enjoy the taste. Where was the pig’s feet or pork shank that’s standard for this dish. After some “fishing” I found it, the pork leg was alot smaller than I’ve usually had, somewhat disappointing. I also took to dipping the brisket into the shrimp paste, and the blend of the salty, the spiciness, beefiness, and the texture of the meat was great. Overall a nice dish, that I’ll be having alot over the winter. Unless I find a better Bun Bo Hue.

Some notes on Convoy Pho’ House. Service is very fast, I can usually get out in under 30 minutes. The “appetizer sin” is also committed here; I’ve seen soup some out before the Cha Gio several times. Most of the customers are Asian, and there were alot of Vietnamese on the days I visited.

I guess I have one for my current rotation. Today I saw the Com Tam 7 Mon being brought out, and it looked pretty good, so I’ll be having that on a day that I’m really hungry.

Pho Convoy Noodle House
4647 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111