**** Kumo has closed
The Missus has been a fan of Japanese Supermarket Sandos ever since our visits to Japan. Strangely, I don’t have a post on the sandwiches we’ve gotten from Lawson over the years. Perhaps we just gobble them up too fast. And of course, the egg salad version has been quite hyped up; especially after this Tweet all those years ago.
The Missus’s preference is the Katsu Sando of the pork variety and after trying out the Katsu Sando at EE Nami She was looking forward to what Kumo had to offer. I was just waiting for the place to finally open. Which they did, though on weekends only. I hopped on down and took a look at the menu and had to deliver the bad news to the Missus, they didn’t do tonkatsu; only chicken katsu sandos. Which the Missus really didn’t want. The line on that day was rather long so I decided to wait until after our trip to Taiwan when the shop would have more regular hours.
When I finally had another opportunity, I arrived just as the very friendly young lady was folding up the blinds on the front door. And as during the soft opening, only one party is allowed inside the shop at once. I recall seeing chicken karaage on the menu when I did my aborted visit, but that was no longer offered. There are four sandwiches on the erase board menu; chicken katsu, menchi katsu, egg salad, and fruit and cream.
And since I had actually made it in the door, I decided to order the three savory sandwiches and split them with JeffP back in the office.
Like I said, the young lady working was very nice. I ordered and was told to wait outside for my sandwiches.
I was intrigued to know that the bread came from MamMoth Bakery. We’ve been to their location in Marukai (now Tokyo Central) in Gardena.
A few minutes later my sandwiches were ready and I headed back to the office.
You want to see what $40 of sandwiches looks like from Kumo? Have a gander.
So how were they? Well, let’s go from “first to worst”.
For me the best was the Egg Salad ($12).
Compared to the Japanese version; this was chopped too coarse, there wasn’t enough mayo. There was a bit too much black pepper and it edged on the sweeter side. Liked the visual of the quarter tamago. The bread was slightly moist, but a bit too firm and chewy for me. Like I said before, I prefer my shokupan fluffier and softer.
The breading was not good on the Menchi Katsu ($13) as it was peeling off and soggy. The patty was very thin and overly chewy. This threw the bread to protein ration off in my opinion.
It was also quite dry. This did the bread no favors. There was some flavor though it was quite mild. I could have used with a bit more katsu sauce to added a nice savory-umami-sweetness to things. It’s a sad day when I think that the shredded cabbage is the best part of the sandwich.
And yet, the Chicken Katsu Sando ($13) was our least favorite. I was thrilled to see that it was chicken thigh which would usually mean more flavor, but not in this case as it was rubbery and very bland. Look at the color of the breading.
Which was soggy and peeling off the protein. Man, this was not good eats at all. It seems that the only thing I could taste was the katsu sauce. Again it was the cabbage that was the headliner of the sandwich, bummer!
I spoke to JeffP a bit later and got his thoughts…..not surprisingly, his first to worse was the same!
It’s kind of sad, I was really looking forward to this place opening. I’m hoping that they do improve. But for now, I’m sticking with Sue’s next door when I’m in the area.
Kumo
6755 Mira Mesa Blvd.
Suite 108
San Diego, CA 92121
Hours:
Tues – Sun 11am – 5pm
My goodness, this was a lot of noodles. I moved the noodles to a large plate, which turned out to be a good idea. Because when I poured the sauce over it there was all this "stuff" on the bottom.
The broth looked very light, yet cloudy, and had what I call the "San Diego sweet" pho broth flavor. At least it wasn't overly salty, but it also lacked beefiness.
There were two strips with nicely done tripe and some very thinly sliced tendon which also wasn't bad. And of course there was that beef rib. The meat on the rib was quite tough and as you can see trying to get it off the bone resulted in the meat peeling off in one large piece. It did have a decent flavor, but was quite chewy. It definitely wasn't like 
Of course, in typical fashion, when there's just too much to see, like when 
The fat on this was quite velvety, but the meat kind of dry. The flavor was a lot milder, lacking in the sweet-soy, ginger, and slightly pungent tones I'd used to in this dish. It also had a bit too much of a greasy mouthfeel for us as well.
We'd enjoyed the vibe at the Ningxi Night Market, though I think the Missus had gotten Her share of fried food and really wouldn't order much for the rest of the trip!
This was fine, the beef tender if a bit on the salty side. The guacamole is the "MVP" here as it helps to temper and balance the flavors. The tortillas are standard issue, brittle, and not especially strong in terms of maize flavor. This is a very hipster type of item. The salsa verde has decent heat and acidity.
One of five city gates in the city, it is the only one of the gates that still maintains its Qing-era appearance. 
