mmm-yoso – Page 91 – 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.

White Rice Bodega

October 11, 2022 mmm-yoso Filipino Restaurants, Sisig

I had been wanting to check out White Rice in Liberty Station, but the place just always seemed too crowded. So I was happy to read that White Rice Bodega opened in Normal Heights. As a plus, the place opens at 10am on weekends, which seemed to fit right in with all my "errands".

The location is quite nice; though it's going to be interesting to see how it goes if they become popular as there is limited seating.

White Rice B 01

All of the seating is al fresco.

White Rice B 02 White Rice B 03 I like the fact that they have QR code menus; otherwise you'd have to ask at the window since there's no menu posted. I'd gotten so used to doing QR codes when visiting Mexico that I got kinda thrown off when we returned home!

The staff here is awesome; so friendly, always smiling, very helpful.

And for those "social media" mavens; they even have a "photo spot" marked off……

White Rice B 05

So you can be your most "instagrammable" self…..

White Rice B 04

White Rice specializes in "silog-ish" bowls and such. This is modern, sort of hipster Filipino food and the prices reflect that – $8.50 for five lumpia and all that. That's a buck-seventy per lumpia.

Of course, once I saw Sisilog ($14.50) on the menu….well you know me and Sisig, right? It did take almost 25 minutes for me to get my bowl to go. I'm thinking they are still working out all the procedures and processes.

White Rice B 06 White Rice B 09 I must say that the bowl looked quite good. The seasoning for the sisig was on the milder side in terms of sour tones and I didn't get much spice until I had a bite with three hidden slices of what looked like Thai Bird Chilies. Whoa…. I came across "groups" of chilies in the bowl. I guess they don't like being alone?

The egg was just perfectly done; still runny after the trip back home.

As for the lechon; while the pork and the fat was very nicely textured and flavored; the skin was hard and dare I say, rubbery?

White Rice B 08 White Rice B 07 Most problematic for me was the rice, after all this place is named "White Rice", right? It was terribly hard, dry, and there was hardly any garlic flavor at all. I mean, in addition to being called "White Rice", this was a silog, right? The "si" in the "silog" stands for sinangag -garlic rice. In terms of portion size, I usually have to tell those turo-turo places to give me "half rice", so this portion was fine with me.

So the following weekend, at the end of my shopping Saturday, I decided to stop by White Rice Bodega again….based on my experience with the sisig, I wasn't going to order the lechon kawale. I'm usually leery of Tocino at most places because it's usually quite dry; but I went with the Manok Tocino ($13.50). The wait time was about 20 minutes this time around.

White Rice B 11 White Rice B 12 This was a lovely looking bowl! And that fried sunny side egg was even better this time around with wonderful crisp edges! I loved the atchara and the almost VN style pickles as well.

The rice however, was just as bad as on my previous visit….so I guess this is the standard here?

The chicken however, was very good. Nicely charred, tender and moist, a bit mild in flavor for what I consider tocino to be. But that vinegar and garlic dip really helped things out.

White Rice B 13

This was definitely the better of the two items I tried.

The staff here are so friendly and welcoming. Now if only they'd get the rice straightened out. It's kind of ironic that at a place named "White Rice", my least favorite thing would be the rice.

White Rice B 14

You can read about Soo's visit to the Liberty Station location here.

White Rice Bodega
3586 Adams Ave. Suite 100
San Diego, CA 92116
Hours:
Mon – Fri 11am – 8pm
Sat – Sun 10am – 8pm

White Rice B 16

What’s My Craving – Bun Bo Hue “at” Mien Trung

October 10, 2022 mmm-yoso Bun Bo Hue, Vietnamese Restaurants

My lunch at Izakaya Sakura had me missing the "good 'ol days"….times when gas wasn't hitting seven bucks a gallon, when I wouldn't give a second thought to dining in, and all those places I used to frequent. I'd been craving the Bun Bo Hue from Mien Trung. I'd done takeout from Mien Trung a couple of times since the pandemic started, but for me; it just wasn't the same. With the recent cooler weather, I decided to head on down at around 9am and take a peek to see if they were busy.

MT Rev 01

MT Rev 02 MT Rev 03 The place was empty except for two "regulars" who were joking around (quite loudly) with Boo, the gentleman who has taken over running the place from his mom and dad.

He was quite pleased to see me actually sitting at a table that he came out and shook my hand, then chided me for not coming more often! After all; I'd been a regular customer here since 2006! Man, can you believe the Bun Bo Hue here used to be $4.99 back then? It's now $12; which in consideration of prices these days, I think is relatively reasonable.

Anyway, I placed my order….you know what I got, right? And Boo came over and we chatted about the last couple of years, how costs have gone crazy, and so forth.

MT Rev 04 MT Rev 05 When my Bun Bo Hue arrived he said "time to eat" and left me to enjoy my scalding, spicy bowl of Bun Bo Hue. It used to be that I'd have to add chili oil to my soup, but these days it's more than spicy enough. I think my tolerance has waned over the years. The veggies are added, I give things a good mix…….I love to track the change in texture to the veggies as the hot soup slowly works its magic. I do still add a bit on mam tom for that savory "kick".

The rustic slices of meat, the chewy pork hock, the firm but slippery bun………

In case you're wondering if I enjoyed this…..

MT Rev 05b

For a few minutes everything seemed right in the world. Perhaps I should have worn a light colored shirt in honor of Ed from Yuma who would without fail always wear some light colored shirt when we ate here. He'd leave full and happy, with red specks all over his shirt; a badge of honor, perhaps? Well, maybe next time. As I'm pretty sure and hope that they'll be many "next times".

MT Rev 06

Mien Trung Restaurant
7530 Mesa College Dr
San Diego, CA 92111

This post is for "FOY" – KT, who enjoys the Vietnamese food options in San Diego!

Mexico City (2022) – Taco Crawl – El Pescadito, Tacos Hola, La Guerrerense, and El Califa. And a Return to Panadería Almuerzos

October 9, 2022 mmm-yoso Bakery, Croissants, Mexican Restaurants, Mexico, Mexico City, Seafood, Taco Shops, Travel

Before our trip to CDMX, I had read a really nice cookbook named Made in Mexico by Chef Danny Mena. The cookbook featured based on the Chef's (who is from CDMX) favorite dishes from various restaurants and stands in Mexico City. I loved that there was a separate restaurant index in the back of the cookbook with all the locations. There were a couple that were rather close to where we were staying (Colonia Condesa) and I thought it would be nice to do a sort of taco crawl like we had done in the days before Covid.

We were a bit hungry after visiting the Museo Nacional de Antropologia. And El Pescadito was on the way back to the hotel, so we decided to stop there. I'd seen El Pescadito before as it is right across the street from Tacos Don Juan which we visited before.

Man, this place was quite busy; but they had a pretty awesome system. Order, get a number, find a table, pick up your food when called, and pay before leaving. It seemed like half the customers were non-locals here.

According to what I had read; this place specializes in Tacos de Marlin – smoked fish tacos, here it is smoked tuna. Something I really love. I ordered (left to right), a Tacochango (MarlinTun/Shrimp), MarlinTun, and the item in the book, the Chile Relleno Taco (MalinTun stuff in a Chile).

So, first the good; man were things fried here good! The batter on the shrimp was crisp and light; the shrimp plump, moist, and tasty. The poblano chile likewise. Sadly, the MarlinTun was dry, fishy, and not very smoky in terms of flavor. The tortillas were decent and up to the task at hand.

Sadly, I'd have to say I've had better tacos de marlyn here in San Diego!

And while the tacos may have been borderline disappointing; that "dude" to the right was not!

Remember that I've mentioned the amazing dog walkers of Mexico City before? Well this guy was "going for the gold". He had 9 pooches in tow…nine! He saw us jaw agape and even stopped for a photo. Take a look and count 'em…..9. And they were all pretty well behaved.

El Pescadito
Calle Atlixco 38
06140 Ciudad de México

We headed back to our hotel and relaxed for a bit; then headed back out. We got to Avenida Amsterdam and found what we thought was the correct address, but nope….we asked at a nearby shop and the nice gentleman pointed us in the right direction; to Tacos Hola; a tiny shop which was doing good business.

The Missus got the little table with the two kiddie stools, shades of Hanoi! I went inside to order and found that a bunch of items were sold out!

Luckily, the recommended item; the Tacos de Bistec en Pasilla was still available. And I thought the Missus would enjoy the Tacos Acelgas (Chard).

Tacos Hola specializes in Tacos Guisados, braised and stewed ingredients for tacos. So, even though it says bistec; it's actually braised beef; really tasty braised beef, with a very bright pasilla chile-tomato based sauce. The Missus really loved the beans here…She still mentions those beans, as in "why can't you make beans like those." The chard was quite tender, but quite mild in flavor….man, I could imagine this with collards! The tortillas were excellent.

I really want to return here.

Tacos Hola El Güero
Amsterdam 135
06100 Ciudad de México, CDMX, Mexico

Our next stop was in a familiar locale; the Parian Condesa Food Hall. Pasillo de Humo is located on the second floor. We've walked past La Guerrerense before.

Here it's the Tacos de Pescado and the Tacos de Camaron that are recommended, so that's what we ordered.

We didn't care for these very much. The fish in the Taco de Pescado was the width of my pinky and not even as long. It's the batter that is supposed to be special; it's made with vodka which is supposed make a delicate, crisp crust. We couldn't make out much.

The shrimp was the better of the two, more flavor, better texture. The tortillas broke apart while eating our tacos.

It was strange; we were the only customers in the place.

La Guerrerense
Avenida Nuevo León 107
06100 Cuauhtemoc, CDMX, Mexico

For our last stop, we decided to go with a favorite from our previous taco crawl, El Califa.

We enjoyed the Al Pastor here on our previous visit, so we had two each. It did not disappoint.

The Al Pastor had that nice balance of sweet and salty; nice savory tones, the meat had a crispness to it as well. The onions added pungency and that pineapple was icing on the cake!

Still a favorite of ours.

Taquería El Califa
Altata 22
06170 Ciudad de México

We were tempted to do an Al Pastor comparison and head on over to El Farolito across the street, but we were full and that comparison will have to wait for another day. We were pooped; it was time to hit the hay.

The next morning we hit up our favorite croissant stop, Panadería Almuerzos. Man, there was a line! We'd never seen this before. Word must have gotten out!

It was interesting; the two guys in front of us just spoke English and didn't even try to speak Spanish, as did the woman behind us. Like I mentioned in my previous post; we saw many more ex-pat/tourists than we had seen before. Panadería Almuerzos had also spiffed things up. It used to just look like a garage before, now they had a bakery case and everything.

And then I got my croissant and was crestfallen.

It wasn't crisp and flakey enough, lacked butter, was too doughy.

Here's what it used to look like.

Man, this used to be my favorite croissant outside of France. What happened here? Have they lowered their standards?

I'm not sure, but I sure was disappointed.

Panadería Almuerzos
Av. Vicente Suárez 64A
Colonia Condesa, CDMX, Mexico

I truly hope this was just a bad day…..but I'm thinking it wasn't.

Well, I didn't have too much time to dwell on this, we had an Uber on the way and had to get to the airport.

Next stop, Oaxaca!

Mexico City (2022) – It’s Tout Chocolate and Pasillo de Humo Yet Again, Fonda Garufa, and a Private Tour of Museo Nacional de Antropologia

October 8, 2022 mmm-yoso Bakery, Caffeine Fix, Chocolate, Croissants, Mexican Restaurants, Mexico, Mexico City, Travel

**** I though I'd give you all a break from those really long Islay posts and do a couple on our recent trip to CDMX. I've posted on two of the places several times; so perhaps skipping down to our tour of the Museo Nacional de Antropologia might be worthwhile?

Yes, I know we'd already been to Mexico and CDMX earlier in the year. But the Missus had enjoyed that trip so much, San Miguel de Allende and especially Guanajuato was so much fun, that the Missus wanted to do another trip. This time to Oaxaca. However while Volaris, has 2 direct flights from TIJ, well, we really don't like flying Volaris. So, we decided that a layover would be fine one way and we'd go ahead and spend two nights in Mexico City. As a plus, I knew the Missus loved our visit to the Museo Nacional de Antropologia, though it was quite overwhelming, so I booked us a private tour. She was excited about that!

Getting in was the same 'ol routine. We stayed at the same place as on the last three trips. It was quite simple and easy. Like I said, we now had kind of a routine if you will. After checking in, we headed to Tout Chocolate so the Missus could get Her chocolates and some gifts.

Choosing Her chocolates was one of Her most difficult decisions of the trip.

Tout Chocolat
Amsterdam 154
6100 Cuauhtémoc, CDMX, Mexico

In keeping with the routine, we had dinner at a place I've posted on three times already, Pasillo de Humo. So, I'll spare you all the gory details. I will say, that unlike our last visit we weren't misted by vinegar to prevent Covid this time around.

We have an approach that works for us at Pasillo de Humo. We've learned to stay away from the entrees and go for smaller plates.

And we enjoy the cocktails as well.

Two of our favorite dishes, the Memelitas de Cerdo and the Hoya Santa Relleno, were good as always.

But this time we found something we enjoyed even more; the Tripas Tacos!

The pork intestines were fried perfectly; crisp and light……the texture was amazing!

One other reason that I purposely chose to revisit Pasillo de Humo was that we were headed to Oaxaca and I was interested in seeing how the food at our favorite restaurant in CDMX lined up.

Pasillo de Humo
Av Nuevo León 107
06100 Cuauhtémoc, CDMX, Mexico

It was a nice and relaxing start to things. Though I did notice many more "tourists/ex-pats" here then I recalled. And then I started reading articles like this one.

The next morning, before heading to the Museum, we decided to get a croissant from our favorite bakery in the area, but changed our mind when we noticed this place sold croissants and thought we'd try it out.

We then headed on over to Cafe Toscano, our usual morning coffee stop.

Unfortunately, the croissant was overly doughy and lacked the butteriness we like in our croissants.

Fonda Garufa
Avenida Michoacán 93
06140 Cuauhtémoc, CDMX, Mexico

Creatures of habit that we are; we had our typical morning coffee at Cafe Toscano.

Nothing amazing mind you, but a nice way to start the day.

Cafe Toscano
Calle Michoacan sn Mercado Condesa
Hipódromo Condesa, Cuauhtémoc, CDMX, Mexico

After our caffeine fix we headed out to the Museum. As always, it was a fine walk.

We had really enjoyed our previous visit to the Museo Nacional de Antropologia, so I went ahead and booked a private tour with Mexico a Pie Walking Tours.

Our guide was Andres and he was amazing. The tour was so full of info!

We met Andres at the Tlaloc Statue that sits outside the museum on the corner of Reforma.

IMG_0582 (2) Andres met us and after introductions and an overview of what was going to be covered in the tour today, he went over Tlaloc, the Aztec god of water and rain. He noted the key features, the round eyes, the fangs and said that we'd be seeing several different status of Tlaloc during our visit and that many folks think it's of a different go, but keep in mind the key features and it's easy to identify.

Andres covered exactly what we were interested in; the Archaic to the Contact Period. It was so much info; I'm just going to go over a couple of things that really stuck with us.

Andres quizzed us as we moved along the museum.

IMG_0615 (2) And yep, if you're thinking that's Tlaloc above, you'd be right. Check out the eyes and the fangs!

Another interesting story was that of King Pakal of Palenque (K'inich Janaab' Pakal). It is claimed that Pakal ruled for nearly 70 years and in 1952 a tomb was opened in the Temple of Inscriptions in Palenque. In it was found a skeleton with an intricate jade mask and clothed as you see to the right. The actual jade mask can be found close by in a replica of the tomb.

We got to another interesting topic was when I asked Andres if Jade was actually found in Mexico and he told us that items like Jade, Turquoise, and Cacao which are not endemic to Mexico. We were then brought to this map which detailed how trade occurred between different peoples!

Turquoise actually came from what is now the American Southwest! Cacao and Jade from what is now Guatemala.

Andres went over the amazing Aztec Codex with us.

And even dispelled a couple of things we thought were true; like this famous object; the Aztec Sun Stone, which many people believe is a just a calendar.

It is now believed that the stone is actually a sacrificial altar! Here's something I read after returning from our trip.

It was an amazing nearly four hour experience, with so much information that I've forgotten more than I remember; but those few items stick with me. And we just covered half the museum! I guess we'll have to get the other half done the next time we're in CDMX!

Museo Nacional de Antropologia
Avenida Paseo de la Reforma y Calzada Gandhi s/n
Chapultepec, Mexico City 11560, Mexico

After the tour we took a short break and then we were off. It was time for a taco crawl!

Stay Tuned!

Scotland (2022) – More Meals at the Port Charlotte Hotel

October 7, 2022 mmm-yoso British/Irish/Scottish Restaurants/Pubs, Scotland, Seafood, Travel

We had some extra time on our hands after visiting Bunnahabhain and Bowmore Distilleries, so Sean drove us back past Port Charlotte to the southwestern tip of Islay and a quaint little village named Portnahaven. It as a quite peaceful and sleepy, with a population of 150….we saw not a soul during our visit.

There was a little seaside trail called "Rathas nan Iasgairean" and you know the Missus and trails, right? It was a short and pleasant walk.

On the drive back to Port Charlotte, Sean, knowing that the Missus was charmed by the "Heilan' Coos" stopped a couple of times so the Missus could take some photos and "ooh and aah" over them.

They didn't seem to care about their paparazzi moment….

We got back to the hotel and decided to take a stroll. We headed up the road in the northerly direction.

Past the Loch Indaal Lighthouse.

And past Saint Kiarins Church.

Completed in 1899.

And on up to the Kilchoman War Memorial.

There's a bench and table nearby with the following tag.

From here we headed back. Though we took a short detour up one of the side roads. Because who could resist the adorable sheep and lamb…..

Unlike the "Coos", the sheep seemed a bit curious…..

And the views walking back to to the main road were amazing.

The air so fresh and crisp, the grass so green…..

We got back to the hotel and I saw Sean having a drink at the bar, so I decided to join him while the Missus freshened up. Sean knew the owners of the hotel and one of them was tending bar on this evening. Sean mentioned the Missus's love of really peaty Scotch and the gentleman pulled a bottle of what he called the "most peaty" and it was still sealed. "No one dares drink this….." It was a brand named Octomore. He told Sean he's open it so that we could have a whiff. When he took the seal off, the cork just blew off the bottle! It was hilarious. And man, it smelled like I'd been rolling around on the floor of a cigar factory!

Soon enough Sean had to take leave and the Missus joined me for dinner. We just got a table in the bar area this time.

Of course we got the oysters.

And the Mushrooms….

Just like last time.

I also ordered the Fish and Chips to share.

It was a bit overdone for our preference and on the drier side. The potatoes were awesome though.

When dessert arrived……

I had an idea! I asked the owner if the Missus could have a "wee dram" of the Octomore and even though he looked at me in disbelief he gladly obliged.

We paid and took the dessert and drinks out to the front area of the hotel, after all "smoking is illegal in public enclosed spaces in Scotland, and the Missus got Her Octomore…and more!

I could see the owner peeking out the window seeing if the Missus would actually drink the stuff; which She did. It was quite funny.

We enjoyed watching folks taking their evening stroll from the al fresco table…..

It was just a perfect end to the day!

The next morning we had breakfast before we headed on back to the mainland.

The Missus had loved the Smoked Kippers I'd had the day before so She ordered that with some poached eggs.

Meanwhile, I went for it and ordered the Full Scottish Breakfast….which was no joke….

It had Baked Beans, good texture but a bit too sweet for my taste, Stornoway Black Pudding, good, a bit gritty, the acidity from the grilled tomato and the lovely fried potato scone really tased good together. The smoked back bacon was quite meaty though tender if a bit on the salty side. I wish the pork sausage was actually Lorne Sausage, but you can't have everything, right? I enjoyed the mushrooms with the toast. And of course a sunny side up egg. Whew……..of course this was going to hold me until dinner!

Port Charlotte Hotel
Main St.
Port Charlotte PA48 7TU, Scotland

As we headed on out, Sean turned the music on and the perfect song, one from the days of my youth came on:

"Smiles in the sunshine and tears in the rain
Still take me back to where my memories remain
Flickering embers growing higher and higher
As they carry me back to the Mull of Kintyre

Mull of Kintyre
Oh, mist rolling in from the sea
My desire is always to be here
Oh, Mull of Kintyre"

Mull of Kintyre by Paul McCartney and Wings.

A perfect way to end our stay on Islay.

It was time to skedaddle.

Of course we still had most of a day ahead of us and Sean had a couple of stops prepared!

Thanks for stopping by!

Takeout From De Cabeza/El Único

October 6, 2022 mmm-yoso Mexican Restaurants

Well, it seems we've finally gotten some cooler weather around here and are really enjoying it! Of course that meant that the Missus started craving some of Her favorites. And first on the list? She wanted the Cabeza en su Jugo from De Cabeza. While De Cabeza had been on the "rotation" for a while, due to the heatwave(s), gas prices, etc, we hadn't done takeout in a while. Even though gas looks like it's hitting almost seven bucks a gallon at places (it was $5.99/gallon at Costco!) we'd been waiting for a break in the weather to get some takeout.

I'm glad they open rather early, I encountered no traffic during my drive down to Chula Vista and got to De Cabeza around 820.

De Cabeza 01

Jesus saw me, smiled and then chided me for not having been here in a while. He immediately went to work on my order…….I didn't even have to order! What a great guy.

De Cabeza 02

My order was ready in no time. I paid, thanked Jesus and headed back home.

The Missus wanted to have right at it when I got home. The soup was still hot so it took minimal time to heat a bit and I didn't have to warm the tortillas.

De Cabeza 03 De Cabeza 04b As I stared at our food, take a look at the photo to my right, I was suddenly reminded of something. Back at the end of August, we went to CDMX and Oaxaca. The Missus had really enjoyed our visit to the Museo Nacional de Antropologia and so I got us a private tour. One of the things we learned was how to identify different versions of Tlāloc, the Aztec God of rain and water. It's mainly by the large circular eyes. So, for some reason the angle just made me think of that. Weird.

Ok, let's return to planet Earth shall we? This really hit the spot; the deep beefiness with a hint of offal, the wonderful various textures of the different parts of the cow's "cabeza". The soup is thick and rich. And this time it had a good amount of "zip" to it. The tortillas were nice, such good corn flavors. A hit of lime to cut that wonderful richness and we knew why we always return. Even if we wait until cooler weather.

De Cabeza 04 De Cabeza 05 Add to that the wonderful, gracious service of Jesus and his gang…..well, I'm sure we'll be back again soon.

De Cabeza/El Único
1043 Broadway
Chula Vista, CA 91911
Hours:
Daily 8am – 8pm

Golden Chopsticks – Mira Mesa

October 4, 2022 mmm-yoso Chicken Wings, Chinese Restaurants

So, while I was between trip Golden Chopsticks finally opened in Mira Mesa….well, I'm thinking they took long enough. Upon returning from our last trip, I read Soo's post on GC's soft opening. I know by buddy Calvin was waiting for his shot at Salt and Pepper Chicken Wings and not having to drive down to National City for his fix. We quickly arranged for an all important, ahem, "lunch meeting".

Gold Chop MM 01

We both arrived just before 11 and they actually waved us in early! The place filled up quickly. The service was the typical "all business" menu down, what's your order kinda thing.

The dining room is of pretty good size and still filled up quickly.

Gold Chop MM 02

Of course man does not live by salt and pepper chicken wings alone…..well maybe you could, but in this case we needed to order a couple of other items for lunch as well.

The menu is full of "ABCDE" (ab-cee-dee, American Born Chinese Dining Establishment something I coined back in 2005) classics. Which, when done well can be quite enjoyable.

So, it ended up that I selected what I recalled was a decent dish from my visits way back when, along with what our dining companion in absentia "LeahA" recommended to go with our wings.

I recalled that the Sizzling Shrimp/Beef/Chicken combo was pretty good on former visits.

Gold Chop MM 03

Now this had enough flavor; the beef was surprisingly tender, as was the chicken. Nice soy sauce tones, not overly sweet or gooey, crisp veggies…perhaps the broccoli was a tad undercooked; but not bad at all. This was the best dish of the meal and I'll gladly order it again.

And then came the dish we were waiting for.

Gold Chop MM 04 Gold Chop MM 05 Now, the batter on the wings from GC back in the day was on the lighter side and was also quite thin and the wings got soggy quickly. In this case it was the opposite; the batter was almost hard; not crunchy…hard. Also, I'm not sure if I'm rubbing off on Calvin (good lord, I hope not), but after our first bite we both said "where's the salt and pepper"? Barely any garlic, pepper was MIA, a few slices of scallions. I mean, this was bland, and while the wings were moist, there was just too much batter. The wings were large…but heck, I could have used some "salt" on my Salt-and-Pepper Wings……..

If you're wondering what the wings used to look like – here's a photo from "the vault".

Goldensticks01

Our starch came out last "LeahA" told Calvin to order the Shrimp "Chow Mein", which I remember being pretty decent.

Gold Chop MM 06 Gold Chop MM 07 The noodles were nicely cooked and coated. But we both noticed something right away when biting into the shrimp. You can tell by the color. It seems the shrimp were blanched and just dumped into the dish. It had absolutely no flavor.

Perhaps it's the soft opening blues……maybe we'll try again in the future; though Calvin did say that the wings at QT Pot were better than these. He is Cantonese, but his Missus is not, there was no way the Missus would eat the leftovers, so I told him to take it home.

One might say that at least the less salty wings means less MSG….well, I don't know about that….I ended up drinking like five glasses of H2O immediately after lunch. On the bright side, Calvin's Missus enjoyed the noodles and sizzling plate (the wings she said tasted like cardboard). I guess it measured up with her favorite "Chinese food"……she loves Panda Express.

Gold Chop MM 08

Golden Chopsticks
8155 Mira Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92126
Hours:
Daily 11am – 9pm

Sandy, I know you were looking forward to Golden Chopsticks opening, I hope your visit was more like Soo's than mine.

Monday Meanderings – It’s Honeyjam Chicken Not JJ’s and Olleh Sushi Replaces Old House Hot Pot

October 3, 2022 mmm-yoso Chicken Wings, Korean Restaurants, Sushi and Sashimi

Just a quick post for a busy Monday.

It's Honeyjam Chicken not JJ's:

So, first off a big "THANK YOU" to "FOYs" Patty and Rena who gave me heads-up regarding what was going on with the spot that was initially indicated to be JJ Chicken. Patty was nice enough to comment on my it appears that JJ is not coming to Renaissance Center and on the very same day Rena sent me an email with a photo (Thanks so much Rena!) mentioning the same thing! So, of course I needed to do an update and a couple of days later I headed on down (up??) to Renaissance Towne Center and yes indeed it looks like Honeyjam Chicken and Beer is now taking the spot that was planned for "JJ".

HoneyJam MM 01

And since there's a sign up, it looks like this one will actually happen!

8895 Towne Centre Dr.
San Diego, CA 92122

Thanks so much Patty and Rena, I appreciate the time and effort you both expended. You know, I don't think our little blog would exist without wonderful folks like you!

Olleh Sushi Replaces Old House Hot Pot:

I noticed this when I was driving to Daiso. Looks like Old House Hot Pot is gone. Sorry to say I never had a chance to check them out.

Olleh Sushi 01

Looks like the Olleh Kingdom is expanding. They already have a AYCE Korean BBQ in the Old Seoul – then Roadem BBQ spot on Convoy. This one is a AYCE Sushi….I guess they specialize in what my good friend calls "All You Cannot Eat"…..

8199 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92111

And finally……

My apologies for the blog being down almost a whole day over the weekend. Apparently there was an issue with Typepad's servers. It had been happening intermittently over the last month or so and this time; things went down for all their customers.

Now Typepad has notified me that there will be another downtime this month. But haven't been clear on specifics yet.

Hope everyone has a wonderful week!

Scotland (2022) – Breakfast at Port Charlotte Hotel, Bunnahabhain and Bowmore Distilleries, and Lunch at The Lochside Hotel & Restaurant (Islay)

October 2, 2022 mmm-yoso Breakfast/Brunch, British/Irish/Scottish Restaurants/Pubs, Distilleries, Scotland, Travel

On our first full day in Islay, we got up early, and decided to take a short stroll around Port Charlotte.

It was a charming town.

We headed back to the hotel for breakfast.

I saw something that I've always wanted to try on the menu.

It's hard to go wrong with any smoked fish in Scotland and the Missus ordered the Loch Fyne Smoked Salmon with Poached Eggs.

There was a bread, dairy, and cereal station available. The salmon was quite good and the eggs perfect.

I had always wanted to try Kippers and here I finally had a chance. I ordered the Loch Fyne Smoked Kippers.

Man, with the fried potato scone, this was so good. Deeply savory, wonderful smoked fish flavors, perfect salt. A squeeze of lemon to help cut the richness and we were good to go. The Missus had a taste and was sold. In fact, She would order this the next morning for breakfast!

Port Charlotte Hotel
Main St.
Port Charlotte PA48 7TU, Scotland

As usual Sean was on time for our pick-up. One of the benefits of having a private driver/tour is the flexibility. We found that doing three tastings in a day was a bit much for us and asked Sean if he could cut it down to two for this day. Which was no problem.

The first stop was just a quick one. Ardnahoe Distillery was fairly new, opening in 2019. Sean had never been there so he asked us if we'd like to take a look.

It was very modern and sleek looking. It was a nice stop to stretch our legs a bit and the Missus enjoyed all of the portraits of Her favorite animal; the Highland Cow….which they call "Heilan' Coo".

The next stop was Bunnahabhain Distillery. It was quite a drive to the distillery.

Our visits on this day revolved around tastings, though we were given an short walking tour of the distillery.

Bunnahabhain Distillery is known as the most remote distillery on Islay. We were told that the village of Bunnahbhain was created to actually house the distilleries employees! Their Scotch is also unique as they are known for their unpeated Scotch Whiskey.

When it was time for our tasting were were each given an impressive "tasting kit"!

There was no way the Missus and I would finish one each; so we split one and brought the other home, which I gave to "FOY" JeffP.

The Missus thought this a bit on the overly "sweet" side; while I really liked the 18yo and the Amontillado Cask versions.

We had quite the drive to our next destination; Bowmore and Sean made a stop at a wonderful ceramic shop named Persabus Pottery which the Missus loved.

She ended up buying a beautiful looking cup

And it looks like cats are loved and most welcomed here!

It was about a half hour drive to the town of Bowmore. Which, after staying in Port Charlotte, and visiting the distilleries and villages seemed like a big city (it's the Administrative Captial)….with a population of…..700!

We made a quick stop at the pharmacy, before heading off to Bowmore Distillery.

The Visitor Center seemed a bit more fancy than the other tasting rooms. And instead of a tour there was a video presentation. Bowmore was the first "legal" distillery on Islay, founded in 1779.

Which came with 2 free tasters of our choice.

It's nicely balanced, with nice fruity tones.

After this tasting we stopped for lunch at the The Lochside Hotel & Restaurant. We'd eaten quite a bit for breakfast, so the Missus and I went with some smaller, starter items.

The Missus enjoyed Her Stornoway Black Pudding.

Which was fairly crumbly, but pleasant to eat, quite moist, not overly "iodiney", and nicely seasoned, perhaps a bit on the salty side, which made it go good with the poached egg.

If you noticed; I've been looking for dishes I'd read or heard about during my meals on Islay. And here I got the Cullen Skink.

Basically a smoked haddock cream soup….think of it as a less thick smoky chowder if you will. Actually, I enjoyed the rustic bread the most! This was nice and filling.

The Lochside Hotel & Restaurant
20 Shore St.
Bowmore, Isle of Islay PA43 7LB, Scotland

Sean had noticed that we took a bit on interest in the rather unique looking church in the town. So after lunch we drove on up to Kilarrow Church.

It's quite an eye catcher to be sure. Built in 1767, Kilarrow Church is still used to this day, making it the oldest church still in use on Islay.

There's a cemetery right next to the church that caught my eye.

This is a Commonwealth War Graves site.

I was rather shocked to see many "Unknown" tombstones. According to this website there are:

"36 unknown seamen of the Merchant Navy"

Buried here. Very sad.

We started heading back to Port Charlotte, taking in the views….

Because it was still rather early in the day; Sean had one more stop in mind before dropping us at the hotel!

Stay Tuned!

Scotland (2022) – Ardbeg, Lagavulin, and Laphroaig Distilleries. Dinner at Port Charlotte Hotel (Islay)

October 1, 2022 mmm-yoso British/Irish/Scottish Restaurants/Pubs, Caffeine Fix, Distilleries, Scotland, Seafood, Travel

After a nice day in Oban, we headed off early the next morning to catch the ferry to Port Ellen on Islay. It was a bit of a drive and I was quite fascinated with the whole thing as I hadn't ever been on a ferry this large before. I mean the ferry could hold buses and semi's, heavy construction equipment. It let cars in first, then had the cars lifted to the ceiling. I'd ridden the Washington State Ferry several times; but this was much larger.

We were entertained by this pup while waiting to get our van onto the ferry.

It was drizzling a bit and the pooch just wasn't into going to do his business or even a walk. He refused to move until finally; his "Dad" let him back into the car! It was pretty funny. We knew who ran things in this family!

The ferry was quite spacious and well equipped and had several designated areas.

Sean our driver told me to meet him back at the van a few minutes before docking; so we headed out to relax.

We saw the pooch sitting with Dad and eventually napping away in the pet friendly area. It must have been a pretty tough morning! The seats and sofas there were quite comfortable.

After a while, we headed off to the coffee kiosk for a caffeine fix.

There was some pretty comfortable seating here as well.

And the coffee decent as well.

Soon enough we had arrived at Port Askaig…..

Sean had arranged for three distillery visits and we'd be hitting them right in a row.

But first, we stopped here…..

What in god's name is this you might ask? Well, this is what gives Islay Scotch Whiskey its unique character. It's peat, basically an accumulation of decayed organic matter.

The peat is dried, then slowly burnt to give Islay Scotch it's smoky flavor.

And then it was time for our stops. Like many of the tours we do these days…most private or small group, there's just so much information…..I'll just do quick recaps of our visits.

First stop Ardbeg Distillery.

Most of the distilleries we visited had a similar look; the white washed buildings and some had wonderful views as well.

We loved Ardbeg's "mascot"!

We did a tour of the grounds and got a nice history; Ardbeg was established in 1815! We then got a tasting.

Quite peaty; though a good amount of sweetness came thru.

Lagavulin was next. The setting was amazing as there are ruins of a castle right in the bay in back of the distillery. This is Dunyvaig Castle.

We got a nice rundown of the machinery here; some of it unique and almost one of a kind.

The tasting here was quite diverse; everything from really strong with a "bite" to quite peaty. We were told that the pot stills are filled to the maximum at Lagavulin; thus the contact with copper is lower than most other brands creating a unique flavor profile.

The Missus's favorite Scotch is from Laphroaig, so She was looking forward to our visit. And overall, the Laphroaig tour was the most comprehensive as well.

We actually got to go into a malting room.

Saw peat being "burned"…..

And was basically walked thru much of the process.

As for the tastings….well, the Missus still likes Her Laphroaig 10! And perhaps the Quarter Cask. I'm more of a Sherry Oak kind of guy and I had a taste of the 16…oh my!

Looks like some other folk like Laphroaig too!

Perhaps our favorite part of the tour were the "opinion tiles" which detail the love-hate polarizing opinions of the Laphroaig. These are at the entrance of the distillery.

It details at the bottom of the tile details what the person tasted.

My favorite one was…..

There were a group of Frenchmen….wearing kilts and all the gear on a Scotch pilgrimage! Sean went and took photos of them.

You gotta love this place!

Islay was indeed beautiful; the folks warm and welcoming. And the scenery……

But man, we were bushed. Sean dropped us off at out accommodation, the very comfortable Port Charlotte Hotel.

And after doing a bit of research before our trip; I figured that the most suitable meals for us would be in the hotel.

And it would turn out to be a good choice.

We started with 6 Loch Gruinart (local) Oysters.

My goodness; these were so good! Not overly briny; with a sweet-cucumbery aftertaste. We ended up ordering another half-dozen.

The Wild Mushroom Salad was also quite good.

Good earthy flavors; loved the addition of pine nuts added that unique, almost sweet flavor. The truffle oil dressing didn't hurt things at all either.

The Seafood Chowder was interesting; tomato based.