Closed – Page 24

Sizzling Pot King Revisited

November 3, 2017 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants

**** Sizzling Pot King is now Zhang Liang Malatang

Thank goodness for the recent cool weather. The Missus wanted something "a bit" spicy. She chose Sizzling Pot King. And we ended up going back two more times!

There's something comforting about the simple, just spicy and numbing enough dry pot that SPK makes.

It's pretty much the same thing all the time; the Large Dry Pot ($30.99); we've found that stuff like chicken, beef, and pork just don't hold up well after a while and the portion size here makes for three meals! The tendon had gone downhill over the course of several meals last year. So, we just stick with tripe and pork intestine….oh, gotta have that frozen tofu ($2.99) to suck up all the nice spice as well.

Nice and numbing. Someone mentioned to me once, that cauliflower and potatoes had no place in Chinese cuisine. I told the young man that the Missus grew up eating stir fried potato and cauliflower with tomato….in China! We both wish there was a bit more mung bean sprouts; but I think the majority of "give me more meat" folks would disagree. Anyway, fragrant, generous portions, nice spice, decent flavor, you'll definitely need some rice.

In the course of a week we revisited Village North, Village Kitchen (posts upcoming), and SPK……. this is where the Missus wanted to return to. Go figure.

Sizzling Pot King
8058 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92111

So, what are you enjoying with the recent cooler weather?

Trying to Beat the Heat – A Revisit to La Miche Kabobgee

October 24, 2017 mmm-yoso Lebanese Restaurants

**** Sadly, La Miche has closed

Good lord; triple digit temperatures. Just getting into the "100's" in Bay Park is bad enough….but at the end of October? What the heck is going on this year?

So, instead of doing a post on Pho and Bun Bo Hue; I thought I'd spare you and do a quick post on tonight's dinner. the mezze at La Miche is a favorite during hot weather and tonight was no different. We had the usual.

Baba Gannoush.

During our earliest visits, the Missus didn't care for the version. But over the years, She has grown a bit fond of it. Less smoky flavors, very smooth, a good amount of sesame paste. The pomegranate seeds add a nice tangy contrast.

Of course we got the Muhamarah.

Wonderful sweetness from the red pepper, nutty-earthy flavors from the walnut, slight tanginess from the pomegranate. Thickened with bread…..eaten with bread.

The Missus especially enjoyed this mixed with something new we tried. The Mujaddara.

A filling lentil and rice dish. Loved the fried onions.

And of course; the funky-salty-cheesy Shaankleesh.

I really like this dish.

So there you have it; a very satisfying meal, almost vegetarian, and just what we needed tonight.

La Miche Kabobgee
9350 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92123

What did you eat to beat the heat?

Sunday Sandwiches – Bistro 24

October 22, 2017 mmm-yoso Sandwiches

**** Bistro 24 has closed

Since we moved offices a few weeks ago; I've been trying to find a dependable lunch stop…..it seems the world around here is mostly about sandwiches. And the closest place is located on the first floor of One La Jolla Center, in a glassed off area of the first floor – Bistro 24.

According to Eater, Bistro 24 is a "mini-chain" of eateries which has five existing locations in OC.

There are sandwiches, burgers, salads, and even entrees on the menu. What's quite interesting is that in the short while wince we've moved up here, the menu has changed a couple of times.

Take the Steak Sandwich for example.

On my first visit; this was a short steak sandwich. It was nicely browned though a bit over-cooked and on the tough and stringy side. nice flavors though; I enjoyed the pickled onions and while there was a shortage of veggies, the crumbled feta added a nice touch. The roll was decently toasted and crisp. At almost twelve bucks, I'd say this was on the high side pricewise.

I added a pasta salad to make it a combo; which was dry and pretty bland, like stuff form the supermarket salad bar.

A couple of visits later I noticed that it had changed on the menu. So this is what it looks like now.

It has "graduated" to become a short rib sandwich on a very nice buttermilk bun. The roll really didn't hold up well on the short walk back to the office. The short ribs had quite a nice beefy flavor, but was dry and stringy. The melted gruyere was ncie as it added a light milky-saltiness to the sandwich. I would have appreciated something to cut the richness of the sandwich.

The potato salad suffered from mayo overload.

For my third visit; I went with the Green Chili Chicken ($8.45) and some fries (with a drink, and $3.45 upcharge).

In terms of overall flavor, this as decent, a slight bit of heat, nice acid from the semi-roasted tomatoes, which I could have done with more of. The aioli, pepper jack cheese, and roasted pasilla peppers gave this sandwich a bit of zip. There's a reason I usually don't order grilled chicken sandwiches; the dryness factor, which unfortunately, was the case here.

The fries were crisp, though on the dry side as well. Very routine.

Service was very courteous and efficient. The vibe and product is very "corporate". The prices on the high side. Not terrible, but every item fell short of enjoyable.

I'll probably get around to the salads and burgers one of these days. After I search around a bit more.

Bistro 24
4655 Executive Drive
San Diego, CA 92121
Hours:
Mon – Fri 7am – 4pm

Le Bistro de Louisa (Rancho Bernardo)

October 12, 2017 Cathy French Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

Le Bistro de Louisa has closed. It will be missed.

mmm-yoso!!! is blogging about food again today. It's Cathy, not Kirk, with this post.

In the space occupied by Bernard'O for 24 years, Le Bistro de Louisa opened in April 2016. 'French casual' dining, opposed to 'fine dining' is the theme to this restaurant.

Located in a strip mall anchored by an Albertsons in the mid-County area of Rancho Bernardo, the eclectic interior has an interesting vibe with added music for ambiance. It's so nice not to see a television when enjoying a meal. The French onion soup ($8) has a lamb based broth; probably because lamb chops are on the menu (at the bottom of this post) as both a "Starter" and a "main". It is wonderfully unique in flavor and combined with the melted cheese, bread and mild onions; a filling appetizer. The "Planche de Fromages' ($10), an assortment of cheeses (three hard, two soft) served with crisp and (soft, warm,fresh, wonderful) bread, also an appetizer, completed my wonderful meal. That far right cheese is breaded and fried Camembert with honey and can be ordered as an appetizer. Those 'dots' at the bottom of the plate are a slight smokey-tart-sweet aged balsamic.

The fish and chips plate ($15) is the best we've ever had. The perfect 'frites' were addictive. The breaded then fried cod was delicate in flavor, perfectly fried and quite hearty in size.

As you can see from the below menu, there is Sunday brunch here and we will be trying it. A wonderful find.

Le Bistro de Louisa 12463 Rancho Bernardo Road (At Pomerado Road) San Diego 92128 Tues-Fri 11 a.m.-9 p.m., Sat-8 a.m.-9 p.m., Sun 8 a.m.-8:30 p.m. Closed Monday

Fung Fung Yuen

October 9, 2017 mmm-yoso Chinese BBQ, Chinese Restaurants, Dim Sum, Xiao Long Bao

**** Fung Fung Yuen is now Golden Island

Fung Fung Yuen opened this past summer (on the ever lucky 08/08) to quite a bit of hype and fanfare. My friends who visited soon after the initial soft opening told me the place really didn't live up to their expectations. So I waited about six weeks. We'd moved offices and was now a bit closer to the place. Three of us, Calvin, "BigD", and myself, made two visits, after which we decided to give it a rest.

The restaurant does remind me of those "Dim Sum Palaces" of my youth, a nice, rather large, space (formerly Hometown Buffet).

The place is set-up for larger "family style" parties.

During our visits, there only seemed to be 2-3 carts rotating at a time. During our first visit, we never saw the steamed dumpling cart, so no siu mai, har gow, etc. On both visits, we never saw any Cheong Fun.

I've decided to start with the best item we had; which coincidentally was actually ordered off the menu; the Roast Pork ($14.95).

The pork was moist, the skin, while a bit too thick was decent. A very nice dish overall.

A remote second was the tripe.

No off flavors, decently cooked, nice "crunch" the gooey sauce was a bit on the "sweet" side for my taste.

I think it's kind of sad that the two main reasons the Shrimp Siu Mai is number 3 was that it was hot and it wasn't overly tough.

The Soy Sauce Noodles was on the colder side, a bit greasy and overcooked.

Sticky Rice wrapped in Lotus Leaf was barely past warm.

The rice was nice and tender, though the pork was really tough.

One look at the Har Gow and you can tell this wasn't going to be very good.

Dried out wrappers, hard and overcooked shrimp.

The Eggplant stuffed with shrimp was quite cold and greasy.

That sauce which was cold really didn't help matters.

The Ham Sui Gok, the fried glutinous rice dumplings stuffed with pork was also cold, thus the dumpling had become rather gummy. Check out the (lack of) filling, which was cold and tough.

The Bean Curd roll was at least served at a decent temperature. But the strips of vegetables were cut too thick and was undercooked.

Calvin just wanted the Xiao Long Bao.

Looking at the photo; you can kinda figure things out; cold, no soup, really thick, hard wrappers.

And yet, there was something even worse than the XLB; the Pearl Balls, these made with shrimp.

Cold, tough, some of the rice was just plain hard.

There's obviously some kinks to work out here…..things like keeping your product at a decent temp in the carts…..which, by the way, only made one pass, and then was gone. It was a rather unsatisfying two meals. I'm hoping they get things straightened out. I'm hoping they work things out. Folks were telling me how busy the place was, but on our first visit the place was one-third full, on our second even less.

For balance, please check out Kirbie's and Faye's posts.

Fung Fung Yuen
10660 Camino Ruiz
San Diego, CA 92126

Asia Cafe (new owners; same food)

September 25, 2017 Cathy Lao Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!, What Ed Eats -You too can be like Ed!

Thank you for stopping to read mmm-yoso!!! We write about food. Today it is Cathy writing. This is uncharted territory; Ed has died, memories flow. Thanks to everyone for your kind messages about our dear friend.

I remember reading Kirk's two-part post, as well as a third visit, all in 2006, about Asia Cafe.

The first time I went to Asia Cafe, it was in July 2008- I met Ed (from Yuma) when He stopped here *before* checking into his Point Loma motel. He didn't have a mobile phone then and we had to coordinate the meeting time. Neither of us posted about the meal. {We did however, write this post about lunch the following day}.
Other than some new(er) tables and chairs, the exterior and interior haven't changed much. The owners have. The menu (at the bottom of this post) is similar, with the 'off menu' items now listed. Ordering hot tea ($1) gets a nice size mug delivered.
The Mister is back into his spicy cravings mode and ordered the papaya salad ($6) at a heat level of '3'(out of 5). Good thing he did; this was a just right amount of heat for him, while I was still able to taste the freshly shredded green papaya. The tomatoes added a bit of calming flavor as did the savory salty fish sauce in the base. I was here for the Nem Khao ($8) and it did not disappoint. The crispy rice with fried garlic and sour sausage dish was just about as I remembered, although the sausage was a bit more chopped up/in finer pieces than I remembered. The flavors (I could taste the lemongrass in the sour sausage) were all there. As our third dish, (we try to order one for each of us plus 'one for the table'), The Mister wanted to try the Phad See Ew with chicken ($6.50). Crisped pan fried wide noodles with egg, broccoli, carrots and mushrooms made this dish a flavorful combination of comfort.

Some good friend and good food memories recalled today.

Asia Cafe 4710 Market St San Diego, CA 92102

Ban Lao Cuisine

September 12, 2017 mmm-yoso Lao Restaurants, Thai Restaurants

**** Ban Lao Cuisine has closed

Ban Lao opened up a couple of months back. Located next to Que Huong, I believe this used to be a taco shop if I'm not mistaken. Anyway, the place sure took its sweet ol' time opening up. Since their opening I've visited about 6-7 times.

The interior is bright and clean….and nicely air-conditioned; a big plus over the last couple of months.

On one of my visits, I looked up…..and noticed that they'd built a little platform for their offerings and such. Interesting.

The menu is diverse; with all the usual suspects.

So of course on my first visit I ordered the Nem Khao ($8.95) and Lao Sausage.

The Nem Khao was decent; better than the version at Mekong Cuisine in my opinion. Though it was a bit more chewy than I enjoy; I could actually make out the hints of coconut in this, there was also a good amount of sour sausage as well. Strangely, the dish was served on the cold side and there were only two leaves of lettuce provided.

The Lao Sausage ($6.95) was decent, nicely charred.

The sausage had a nice chew, though it didn't quite have enough lemongrass and herb flavors. So in this case, I think Mekong Cuisines version is better. That jaew; the dipping sauce had a nice citrus kick to it.

I really liked the folks working here, they were mellow and friendly. So, I ended up coming back quite a few more times. Here's a rundown on some other dishes.

Kha Pao Thousand Year Old Eggs ($9.95).

This really had me wistfully thinking of Yai Cuisine, as the eggs weren't fried right, the batter had turned gummy and the eggs were rubbery and still slightly cold inside. Not enough basil to really give this umph.

Sour Sausage Fried Rice ($9.95).

The rice was a bit more "wet" than I prefer, but man; there was a ton of sour sausage in this. Nice flavors, though some of the chunks of sausage were on the large side and could have been chopped a bit better and more evenly incorporated into the fried rice. Not bad though.

I'm on the fence with regards to the Crying Tiger ($9.95).

At this price point I don't expect a really good cut of beef, but this was better than I expected; a bit toothsome, but not too bad. The beef, while still lacking in a good amount of seasoning (I'm looking for sweet-savory flavors), had a nice crust. And darn if this didn't go real well with a dip in the jaew and a ball of sticky rice.

Lao Style Papaya Salad ($7.95) was cut much too thick.

Man, this was pretty heady stuff; even more pungent than the version at Thai Papaya. It was bit too rustic for my tastes and wasn't very spicy (I ordered spicy). Strangely, I find the pungent flavors from whatever they use for Padek here in the states to be mainly pungent, sometimes almost bitter and lacking in the savory nuances like what we've had in Laos. Of course at the markets in Laos, there are many different versions on Padek available; at different stages of "fermentation". There was a good amount of preserved blue crab in this as well.

The Chicken Wings ($7.95) was another dish that came close.

The wings were nicely fried; though there was a good amount of blackening around the bone, the meat was tender, the skin fairly crisp. Seasoned "salt and pepper" style. I really didn't care for the bitter fried lemongrass that topped the wings.

The Beef Jerky ($7.95) though, was good.

The Sien Savanh, though not totally dried, which might have been a good thing, was pleasantly chewy, the flavors had permeated the meat nicely. This was delicious with sticky rice…and it didn't even need the jaew.

The Stir Fried Pak Bong with Garlic (Ong Choi/Water Spinach) looked over-cooked, but it was not.

Nice and crunchy; with the perfect amount of salty-savory notes and a light hint of sweetness.

By now, I thought it was time to just go for it. I went ahead and ordered the Beef Larb ($10.95). The really friendly woman working was shocked when I said "Lao style" and nodded yes, when she asked me if I wanted it "rare".

As you can see; by "rare" she basically meant raw. There was a good amount of nutty rice powder on this, though I wish it was more spicy. What really made this "Lao" for me was that it had no citrus, but a good amount of puckery-bitterness, which goes really well with the mint and other herbs. I'd learned of the importance of beef (water buffalo) bile in koy and larb during my cooking class in Luang Prabang. Though no one else in the class would even try the stuff, I found the flavor quite interesting. Here, I could have used a touch of citrus as well; I'll have that done the next time I have the dish. As for the bitterness? Well, I had a nice discussion with the woman working and was told they pick up fresh beef bile from a specific farmer once or twice a week.

In the end I enjoyed several dishes from Ban Lao and will gladly have them again. when the weather turns cooler, I'll try some of their soups as well. While it's not quite on the level of Vientiane in Garden Grove, it'll do in a pinch.

And sometimes, because I try not to do "just one visit", things turn out well for me.

Ban Lao Cuisine
4126 University Ave
San Diego, CA 92105
Open Daily
11am – 930pm

La Miche Kabobgee Revisted

September 6, 2017 mmm-yoso Lebanese Restaurants

**** Sadly, La Miche has closed

I'd been wanting to revisit La Miche for a while, it's a favorite of ours during hot spells. For some reason, I'd had bad timing and gone when the place was closed. Finally, with a normal lunch hour at hand, I was able to return.

It seems that La Miche has done away with the lunch specials menu. So, I would be able to order mezze during….though mezze for one just didn't seem right, so I went through the menu and ordered the Makloubi (Makloubeh).

As is the norm, things started with a nice refreshing salad.

And hummus with flat bread. I think the bread here has gotten better over time, but it's still not in the league of, say, Alforon as it gets hard quite quickly. The hummus is very mild in flavor, but perhaps that's how folks like it.

The main course is quite substantial. Makloubeh literally means "upside down" in Arabic and this dish is presented in that manner.

The dish is a nice mélange of flavors and textures. The base of cauliflower and a very tasty eggplant is quite good; the rice is moist and full of flavor. The chickpeas, peas, and almonds add a nuttiness and a nice textural contrast to things. The lamb; well, I thought it the weakest link in the dish, decent gamey flavor, but it was dry and in all honesty, if the rice was cooked in the lamb stock, I could have done without it.

The portion size was pretty large so I brought the leftovers home. The Missus loved he veggies, but said She said the lamb was too dry.

In the end, I was happy to see La Miche had their regular menu available all day; I'll be bringing folks over to share mezze. I still believe it's those dishes that shine here.

La Miche Kabobgee
9350 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92123

Red Card Cafe Revisited

September 5, 2017 mmm-yoso European Restaurants, Gastropub, Salads

** Red Café has closed

A few months back; Red Card Café brought on a new chef. Looking at the Chef's Bio we were intrigued at some of the places mentioned. We had enjoyed our New Year dinner at Red Card and was already happy to see things were looking up in our neighborhood. So with this news we decided it was time to head back to Red Card. Instead of making just one or two visits; we've been back almost ten times as we found the menu interesting, at times a bit strange, but with some really good dishes.

The current menu; which was fully implemented in August is much more grown up. It also seems more seasonally focused.

Over the last five or six years, we've often found that appetizers and small plates are the way to go for us. Kitchens will often take a bit more chances and stretch out a bit. Our strategy at Red Card was no different.

So, what are our favorites?

The Missus's numero uno, to the point that She's had it probably four times is the Braised Spanish Octopus ($13).

The octopus has always been perfectly fork tender, though on one occasion it was too salty. The Missus is a big fan of puy lentils and these have always been cooked to a pleasing texture, holding their shape well, with a slight green-peppery flavor. The Romesco sauce is nicely balanced; not too much garlic, but very nice. The only thing we think is just okay are the toasts which have been really hard on several visits.

We enjoy the salads….pick one; we've enjoyed them all, though I think the Missus's favorite is the Arugula & Stone Fruit ($9).

Perfectly dressed; the white balsamic dressing had that hint of sweetness, the crisp arugula and the frisee balanced the scales with peppery bitterness. I'm not a big fan of fruit in my salad; but I thought the nectarines really added a bit of tart-sweetness to the salad. I'm also glad that feta was used with some restraint.

I realized that I said I'm not a big fan of fruit in my salad; but my favorite is the Prosciutto and Fig ($10).

Great salty and complex fruity-sweetness, along with the wonderful nuttiness of the pistachios made this very enjoyable. The cheddar wasn't too sharp and added a little milky-smokiness to the salad.

We also enjoyed the Beet Salad ($10).

Sweet beets, tart-sour-anise-crisp pickled fennel; frisee nicely dressed.

I mentioned how much we enjoy the salads here and was told the produce comes from Chino Farm.

An item on the menu that caught my attention was the Watermelon Poke ($10). I've seen it floating around on websites; a trendy take for vegetarians on the poke bowl. Frankly, I didn't expect much, but this was better than I thought it would be.

Kinda looks like fish, huh? The cubes of watermelon had been transformed and the flavor of sesame oil and a touch of sourness (ponzu sauce) had been infused into the watermelon. Seems like perhaps sous vide at work? The watermelon ends up being only slightly sweet with nice savory tones. The Missus didn't care much for this…….the texture and the flavor kind of threw her off. Hence, you know why there's not too much molecular gastronomy going on in the mmm-yoso household.

The Duck Liver Mousse ($8), seemed perfect for us.

There is however, the concept of "too much of a good thing". The mousse was very rich with a pronounced sweet-livery flavor.

A bite or two would have been perfect. A jar of it was way too much and it became a bit of a chore trying to finish it.

Also having only four crostini for a jar of this size was too little….you'd be basically having to eat one-fourth of a jar of the mousse on every slice of toast.

Fine at first……way too much at the end….even when trying to use the cornichons and cherry jam (the mousse was already sweet and the jam took it too far) to cut the richness.

The Umami Wings ($9) were a bit interesting.

Actually "strange" might be more apt since the "secret" seasoning really tasted like some versions of Guai Wei Can Dou (guai wei = "strange flavored") I've had.

The powder seemed to detract from the crispness of the wings. These were also a bit too salty.

As you can tell, these are smaller wings, which I don't mind since the skin to meat ratio is increased.

On one of my solo visits I ordered the Cauliflower Gratin ($10).

There was too much cheese for my liking in this and the overall dish came across as too salty. In fact, the overall milky saltiness reminded me of the Mousse tiede d'epoisse we had at Aupres du Clocher in Pommard. Again, too much of a good thing. As luck would have it, I also ordered the Beef Tallow Fries ($6). Which when dipped or mixed into the gratin tasted really good. How ironic; my dish ended up being sort of a potato gratin in the end. This was so rich that I finished only about a third of the dish.

There's only been one item on the menu I totally didn't care for. The Spam Mususbi Arancini ($9). Now, coming from the islands, I was kind of interested to see how this would turn out.

First off, as you can tell, these were fried too "hard". To me arancini should be crisp with a certain lightness to it. The breading was hard as rock. Second, I couldn't taste the Spam….I really didn't like the salty-teriyaki flavor. The sriracha mayo just made things worse as it covered up all the other flavors…….pass.

Still, once we've found the items we like at Red Card, it's been smooth sailing.

Red Card Rev 17 There's a nice neighborhood feel to the place. The owners and staff are very friendly. The food sure has risen to another level. It's great to see things in our neighborhood are looking up.

Now, I'm wondering if they're going to have New Year's dinner this year? I hope so…..

Red Card Café
4140 Morena Blvd
San Diego, CA 92117

Bolsa (revisit)

August 26, 2017 Cathy Vietnamese Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

Here you are, reading mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog. This is a quick Saturday post, since Kirk, Ed (from Yuma) and Cathy are each out and about (in their own way) and still, there is some sort of food item that should be shared. This is Cathy posting.

Cha Ca Thang Long, turmeric coated, pan fried fish. This is one of my favorite meals, so much so, that I chose it as one of my birthday meals during 'birthday week' last year (the Mister and I were born seven days apart and our tradition is to go out to eat on each of those eight days).

We were on Mira Mesa Boulevard, avoiding traffic, and decided to stop at Bolsa before the final few miles home.

On this day, my dill and onion topped freshly pan fried turmeric coated fish plate ($15) was accompanied by the 'traditional' sides- lettuce, mint, chilled rice noodles, peanuts and a few pieces of Bang Trang Me (sesame rice crackers). Again, everything was perfect. The individual as well as combined flavors of this dish are cravable. The Mister wanted a salad of some type on this (another) hot day, and the shrimp, pork and jellyfish salad ($8) matched his cravings. The jellyfish is marinated in a vinegar/fish sauce and the resulting salad is sweet, spicy and sour at each bite. The lettuce, cucumber, mint and peanuts round out the vivid flavor combinations.

I hope your weekend is relaxing and not too hot!

Bolsa 9225 Mira Mesa Boulevard San Diego 92126 (858) 693-3663 open 9-9 daily Website