mmm-yoso!!! is a food blog, written by friends. Today, it's Cathy's turn to post.
Since the onset of Covid-19, The Mister and I have made an effort to patronize local dining establishments. While doing so, I noticed a pattern arising: the outside signage.
Can't get much more generic than seeing something like this.
We had also stopped here (Thai Food) in 2021 and then here (Chinese Fast Food) in 2022, finding some great meals. Rarely do we 'research' where we are going to eat; we just drive and stop. There is plenty of common/all inclusive outdoor signage out there. Each restaurant does have a formal name. Chen Golden Palace, located on 2nd Street just south of I-8 in El Cajon, has Yelp reviews starting in 2010. We've passed it a few hundred times. Finally we stopped.
Sure, you could walk up and grab a menu…but walking up and reading the walls can be more fun. 
Walk to the corner, order and pay. Have a seat.
Condiments are brought out and you can hear the sounds of chopping and stir fry happening in the kitchen.
Soon, a large bowl of Wor Won Ton Soup ($11.99) was brought out. Chicken, shrimp and pork filled won tons (dumpling sized) along with a plethora of fresh vegetables made this a great meal in itself.
Every vegetable was fresh and crisp. The shrimp were plump, chicken pieces were moist and quite large and the dumplings/won ton were flavor filled.
Since this was a first visit, I had to order the Egg Foo Young ($12.99). The chef here had yet another unique way of preparation. 
The patties were batter dipped and fried to a crisp brown color, not filled with bean sprouts but instead, cabbage. Topped with the chicken (you could also order pork or shrimp EFY), ubiquitous peas and carrots and a good (not too salty) gravy, all flavors and textures remained bright throughout the meal.
We will return. What a great neighborhood place!
Chen Golden Palace 530 N. 2nd Street El Cajon CA 92021 (619) 442-2541 Open Mon-Sat 11-9:30, Sun 12-8:30 website
Lately, The Mister and I are making an effort to stop and enjoy some sort of 'treat' after lunch and the Matcha Cafe Maiko has been on our radar. The flavor of matcha-the finely ground powder of specially processed green tea leaves ("Specially processed" means shade grown for about three weeks before harvest) is unique/ has a strong tannin note and the tea powder has more caffeine than sun-grown leaves. The powder is consumed as a suspension in water or milk, not steeped as a tea leaf is consumed. 
Walk up, order and pay (no cash; cards only) and your order is prepared and your number called out.
The menu boards are straightforward. There are pastries also available to purchase as well as a few items made in the kitchen (bubble waffles, Basque burnt cheesecakes). We are here for the matcha.
A Matcha Frappe (premium matcha blended with ice) and topped with whipped cream ($8) is filled with matcha flavors- a sweet nuttiness, along with a grassy note as well as some slight tannin bitterness..a flavor explosion which is satisfying.
A matcha affogato ($8.90)- an excellent coffee blended with premium matcha and topped with a soft serve swirl of matcha and yuzu ice creams (there are four soft serve ice cream flavors offered daily). We added a waffle cone ($1.50) just because. Multiple flavors and textures. An excellent bit of dessert.
The location in Mission Valley, across the parking lot from the Trader Joe's (at the Northwest corner of Interstate 8 and Mission Center Road), inside the former Fuddruckers, is closest to home, so we stopped here for lunch. 
Clean and organized, with indoor and outdoor seating, it is spacious. 
I decided to try a cup of the Green Lentil Soup ($3.99)-wow! Made with organic lentils, tomato, garlic, carrot, onion, parsley, mint and a vegetable broth, this was a *wonderful* version! All flavors can be tasted, even the mint. I definitely will get this again.
I chose the Falafel Appetizer plate ($9.99) as my main dish. Again-wow! The falafel are made with fresh ground garbanzo beans and various herbs, lightly fried so there is a crisp crust and flavorful fluffy interior. It's served with hummus (also fresh made with garlic and lemon juice) and tzatziki (made with yogurt, cucumber, dill, parsley, mint and garlic) and grilled pieces of pita. So fresh and filled with flavors, plenty for a meal or to share. 
The Chicken Brie Panini comes with a choice of standard salads or soup for $13.99, but you can choose the strawberry date salad for an additional $1.99…and The Mister did just that. 
The sandwich is on grilled artisan bread, made with chicken tenders, tomato, basil and Brie. It is a large, tasty sandwich.
The strawberry date salad is so very flavorful! Mixed greens and strawberries are tossed with candied walnuts, chopped medjool dates and Gorgonzola. This 'side' portion was more than enough for us to share and experience the flavors and freshness.
Park in the fairly large parking lot in front of this building and step inside. It's open to the public. The Pro Shop is to the left, the restaurant to the right and straight ahead is the Nine Hole Golf Course, which opened in 1955 and was re-designed in 1981.
It's a challenging course that you get to walk twice. 
The restaurant has seating inside and outdoors. Menus are on each table, in the condiment rack. Many people walk in to 'Grab and Go' food and beverages for the course, or just to take home. A local place.
Breakfast here is pretty basic. Coffee is $1.86. It's a good coffee.
The Meat Lovers Omelette was listed on the black board as a special this day ($12.95) and was made with three eggs, bacon, ham and sausage and topped with cheddar. Quite large. It was accompanied by toast and fried potato squares. A very tasty and filling breakfast. 
The French Toast Combo ($12.75) was just the right size for me- one slice of thick French Toast: crisp on the exterior; fluffy interior. It was served with two eggs (poached) and a choice of two bacon, two link sausage or one sausage patty- which was excellent in flavor. 
We came back for lunch one Friday, hoping to try the Friday ONLY Special of Fish & Chips, but the fryer would not be ready until about 1 p.m.. 
The Chowder of Clam- we each had a cup (the photo is deceptive; it's a deep cup and filled with many clam pieces, potato and celery). An excellent New England style clam chowder.
I had ordered a half sandwich and soup ($10.50) and the sandwich was tuna salad-mostly tuna, very light mayonnaise and great quality-on toasted rye with lettuce and tomato and a pickle spear. Quite enough food. 
The Mister chose the Grilled Fish Plate ($15.95). Seasoned white fish served with rice pilaf and mixed "Normandy" vegetables. This was a very unexpectedly great meal! A very large, thick piece of fish, nicely char-grilled and kind of fancy. 
The eggs were nice and runny, though it needed salt. The country style potatoes were on the dry side, though I did like the beans. The shredded beef which in this case was stir fried with red and green peppers, onions, and a scant bit of tomato were fine; though I prefer the more salty, beefy, toothsome, and intense flavor of the Machaca Sonora.
The the outrageous price of NT$45….yes, I'm kidding, this equates to about $1.45/US we got a bowl with a large dumpling which was fried before entering the thick miasma of a sauce. The wrapper had a pleasant, somewhat glutinous chewiness. The sauce was thick, quite savory, with a hint of sweetness. The meatball was very tasty, though a bit on the tough and chewy side. The combination of flavors was excellent. And this was pretty filling.
Does the presentation of the sashimi look familiar? Well, it should. When I sat, I was told "Sashimi Kirk-san…." it wasn't a question, more of an affirmation.
my 
And this was just what I needed at this moment. Don't get me wrong, this would be just decent poke back home; but it sure beats all those "chi-poke" places out there. And it made for a nice lunch.
The opening gate looks a little different, going with the theme:
'Explore the outdoors and get s'more of what life has to offer' is the idea behind the simple entrance decor.
The Theme building, to the right when you walk in, has a friendly looking entrance.
Not much was set up as of last Wednesday. The rides and food booths had been at the Los Angeles County Fair during most of May until Memorial Day and all had been packing up for the move to San Diego.
Home Made (formerly Home and Hobby, formerly Home Arts) was setting up.
Displays are finalized after judging, so as to focus on the Competition participants and winners.
2023 San Diego County Fair June 7-July 4. Closed Monday and Tuesdays in June. 
The Theme of "Heroes Reunite" was a continuation of the canceled 2020 Fair with the "Heroes Unite" theme. 
It turns out that every booth on Thursday had a $3 special. There were pieces of paper, most handwritten, with a $3 Thursday special listed and taped to the booth behind the cash register. There was nothing written on the Website nor on the Daily Fair Events handouts listing this pricing. I highly suspect the same will be happening on Thursdays during the Fair this year and will update asap. If you notice, most of the $3 specials are small (battered veggies, mini cream puffs, mini Dole Whip, fried pineapple and fried Oreos), but that fried pineapple from Chicken Charlie's was the whole $9 item! I hope that remains the Thursday special. (Remember there are five Chicken Charlies booths; each had a different special).
Of course, we also purchased our 'regular' items, which included fried pickles, grilled vegetables, the artichoke sandwich and an apple tower.