Closed – Page 75

COMC: Surati Farsan Mart

April 9, 2009 mmm-yoso Indian Restaurants

**** Surati Farsan Mart has closed

*** A short update can be found here.

As I mentioned in my post on Punjabi Tandoor, we kind of have to be in the mood for Indian Food. And after our trip to Cambodia, the Missus found Herself wanting some Indian Food. But that window is usually pretty small, and after a couple of visits to Surati Farsan, it seems that the window has closed. So, here's another C(lean) O(ut the) M(emory) C(ard) post from visits back in June of last year. I'll keep it short and sweet.

From what I've read Surati Farsan specializes in vegetarian snacks, and sweets from the state of Gujarat, and you can find a ton of posts on Surati Farsan on Chowhound, and elsewhere. On our three visits from last year, all of the customers were Indian, though I'm sure much of that has changed.

There are basically two reasons we come to Surati Farsan…the Dosas…and the Dosas, and no matter how hard we try, we just can't break our habit of getting those Dosas. I did try to break away once, and tried the special "Thali of the Day." But was disappointed, both in the dishes, which I found a bit off-balance in flavor, and lacking in complexity, and myself, since Indian Cuisine fills me up quickly, and I could hardly put a dent in this.

The Missus always goes for the Masala Dosa, which seems to stretch from one end of the table to the other. The rice batter crepe is wrapped around what amount to a potato subzi. It is mildly spicy, fairly rich, and within all of this, the potato flavor is not lost.

Over the years it seems that both the Missus's and my tastes have converged. We tend to like the same flavors, and often reach the same conclusions about what we eat.

For instance, we both find the Sambhar which accompanies the Dosa to be very bland, and sometimes on the oily side. Pouring it over, or dipping the Dosas in it, does nothing…….

And for the Masala Dosa we find the overly sweet coconut chutney detracts from the flavor of the Dosa.

I usually get the Mysore Masala Dosa:

Wonderful Dosa wrapped around a fiery concoction.

In this case, the coconut chutney helps to cool the burn, and the sweetness of the chutney adds to the complexity of flavor.

As I've said many times, Indian Cuisine is still pretty much a mystery to me. Though the first time I tasted that Sambhar it rung a bell……I remember having a similar Sambhar in LA…and lo' and behold, Surati Farsan has a branch it Artesia…could it be?

We have had problems stretching our wings here. We love the Dosas, and don't want move on. Though we've tried, as in the case of the Bataka Vada.

Think of it as a croquette or fritter, made with a wonderfully flavored mashed potatoes. I enjoyed the cilantro chutney with these, but could only finish two of them, and half my Mysore Masala Dosa.

I'm not quite sure when the Missus will again want something from Surati Farsan Mart. But let's try this; I know there's a bunch of you out there who love the place….. why don't you help us decide what to order. We may visit next week, next month, or next year, but we'll make sure to try what you recommend!

Surati Farsan Mart
9494 Black Mountain Road
San Diego, CA 92126

Seafood Island – A first…actually a third look.

April 6, 2009 mmm-yoso Vietnamese Restaurants

*** Seafood Island has closed.

Sometimes the third time is a charm. Seafood Island is located in a bit of an odd location amongst all the home furnishing stores. When they first opened, the Missus and I dropped by for lunch and the place was half full, but it looked like the employees were running around like crazy. We were told at least half a dozen times that our table would be ready in "just a while", meanwhile half the tables in the place were empty, and the food coming out of the kitchen looked like pseudo Chinese fast food fare, a la generic Kung Pao Chicken. After 15 minutes or so, we told the folks, "that's ok, we'll be back next time." And left. I returned on a Sunday for lunch, and was seated. The young lady who served was very, very nice….but when I tried to order, first the Bun Mang Vit…negatory, then the Bun Bo Hue…sorry not today, Banh Mi Bo Kho….we don't have that today, Bun Rieu……sorry it is not ready yet. Yeow! I know the menu is huuuge, talk about "Vietnamese menu overload", this one is probably the largest I've seen. I ended up ordering a Com Tam(broken rice) dish, with Grilled Pork and Bi (shredded pork skin), and really ended up with just the grilled pork. Too bad, the grilled pork was pretty tasty, if a bit on the sweet side, and since this place also serves "Korean BBQ", I could make out the flavor transition. This place also goes pretty easy on the fish sauce. The broken rice was nice and fragrant, and the price was not bad – $5.25. And the Server, whose name if I recall was Desiree was fantastic, and was amazed that I like Nuoc Mam. She also told me that weekday lunches are the busiest, and gave me a flier with $4.99 Chinese lunch specials…..Orange Chicken and such. Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, my photos didn't come out….memory card malfunction. So I recently decided to check them out again. this time for a weeknight dinner.

Based on the "specials" sign, I knew that today I'd be getting something other than Com Tam, Kung Pao Chicken, or Orange Chicken.

Like my previous visit, my Server today was a total joy. And I started with the Bun Cha Hanoi ($6.50), the wonderful grilled pork meatball and grilled sliced pork in a broth dish. The Bun and Garnishes arrived in a flash.

The Bun had been chopped into shorter pieces, and was on the soft and mushy side…..which amazingly was just like what we had in Hanoi! The herbs and greens were the appropriate purple perilla, mint, and lettuce, which was just North of wilting, but fine overall.

The Bun Cha was interesting….

The broth was quite sweet, the patties hard, and the sliced pork…in this case pork belly, was quite tough. There was a shortage of pickles, with daikon in place of the standard papaya and carrots. I hadn't expected this to be even close to what we had at Bun Cha Dac Kim(aka #1 Hang Manh) in Hanoi, or even Ha Noi Restaurant in Westminster, and I knew it wouldn't even approach what FOY Beach makes. I was just looking for a fair to middling Bun Cha, and I think this fell a bit short of that. Still, for $6.50, not too bad.

I also ordered the Goi Xoai Ton Thit (green mango salad with pork and shrimp – $9.99).

This looked lovely, thinly sliced pork, a bit on the bland side, but tender, a good amount of shrimp over shredded green mango and carrots, topped with chopped mint and basil. The dressing was again, a bit long on the sweet, and short on the savory, but it had a nice, not too strong, sneaky heat. In this instance, the usual sesame crackers were replaced with Chinese Shrimp Chips.

It was a decently put together dish, and quite refreshing. It may just bring me back again.

I like to think of the Vietnamese dishes at Seafood Island as being sort of Que Huong "light". The dishes I've had are on the sweet side, and seem to lack a savory-pungent punch. It is the "safer" choice if you are a bit hesitant to try out some of the more interesting Vietnamese dishes. For more on the Chinese dishes at Seafood Island, check out Kirbie Cravings, post, which you can find here. The service can be a bit disorganized, but all of the folks I've had contact with have been very nice. The restaurant is large, new, and clean.

Seafood Island Restaurant
7580 Miramar Road
San Diego, CA 92126
(619) 838-0571

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The Torta Factory

April 1, 2009 mmm-yoso Mexican Restaurants, Sandwiches

*** The Torta Factory has closed.

This little shop on El Cajon Boulevard opened up about three weeks ago. The balloons, and "Grand Opening Banner" beckoned me in.

The menu is simple, but growing everyday. On my first visit it had Tortas, Quesadillas, breakfast items, and Cemitas. They have now added tacos and huaraches, and I watch with glee as the ball of masa is formed and a tortilla is pressed out for its destiny as a huarache (huarache = "slipper", and is a slipper sized "tortilla" of sorts, topped with any number of items). The restaurant is pretty clean, and simply attired.

The salsa bar is standard, with all of the usual suspects.

My first visit was fun, the gentleman, who I believe is the owner is very friendly, and is eager to please. The prices are a bit higher than your regular taco shop, and watching the tortas being assembled, I knew this wasn't "just another taco shop."

I had Torta Milanesa de Res (breaded beef torta – $5.29):

What struck me about this torta was the bolillo (bread), it was light and airy, the crust was, well crusty, without being hard, and it was not overtoasted.

The milanesa was light and moist, but very mild in flavor. The smear of beans was just right, and most of all, this wasn't dredged in mayo.

It was a very balanced sandwich, one in which the sum of the parts worked together well. I can't say if it was the best Torta I've ever had, but I really enjoyed it. I left feeling satisfied, not like I'd been weighed down by a ton of grease and saturated fat, which has it's own rightful place in (and around) my heart, but this was very pleasant.

Which meant that I had to bring the Missus along on my next trip. The Missus wasn't very hungry, and is a bit picky about the amount of cheese (minimal) and sour cream (none) on Her Mexican food. She decided on the Quesadilla de Flour de Calabasa (zucchini blossom quesadilla – $3.99), and requested it light on the cheese, and with no sour cream. I watched as the tortilla was again formed by hand. It was a simple, but delicious looking dish:

And it was a good idea to get this easy on the cheese…since it was mozzarella cheese. The Missus loved the Guacamole, and told me She could really taste every ingredient in the Quesadilla clearly.

This time I went for the Torta de Bistec Ranchero ($5.29):

Thin sliced beef (a la Carne Asada) browned, than simmered in a mild tomato based sauce. the flavor of the onions and garlic came through. And the beef was very tender. As you can see this was dressed a bit differently from my previous Torta:

No chredded lettuce this time, and the cheese was pretty much an afterthought and added nothing to the sandwich. Again the bolillo was light and airy. In fact, I enjoyed this more than the Torta Milanesa. It could be because the gentleman told me to try some of his "chili paste", which is not on the salsa bar. He gave us a small container of what I believe is a Chipotle based paste.

It was smokey with a nice slow burn…….

On my last visit, I was determined to try something different, and went with the Cemita de Pata ($7.99). Cemitas are a type of sandwich which differentiates itself from Tortas mainly by the type of roll used. It is a round sesame seed crusted roll. The cemita I had previously was toasted, but nice and fluffy. This one was toasted, and on the crumbly side. It was pretty big……

The roll was also fairly dry, I prefer the bolillos here. If you read the menu, and think this is beef shank…be aware…..this is gelatinous, tendon like material from cows feet.

It had been cooked low and slow in a very potent vinegar and citrus mixture, making it very puckery and sour. There was a good deal of bitterness going on as well. On this day, all the customers were Hispanic, and one of them took an interest in what I had ordered. when my Cemita arrived, he asked me what I ordered. when I informed him that it was the Cemita de Pata, he laughed and told me that he is from Puebla, where Cemitas originated. He loves his Cemitas, but even he won't eat this. He did tell me that, "this place makes good stuff." So I'll take his word for it.

To me, The Torta Factory is not the place to revive yourself with a greasebomb from an all day drinking binge, or to kill your hang-over with protein overload. It does a nice job with light and well prepared food. For the other stuff, perhaps you'll do best grabbing your California Burrito from one of those 'Berto places.

The Torta Factory
4595 El Cajon Boulevard
San Diego, CA 92115
Open Daily – 7am – 8pm

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Some Revisits: Do Re Mi House and Leilani’s Restaurant

March 30, 2009 mmm-yoso Korean Restaurants, Local Kine Stuffs in San Diego, Loco Mocos, Plate Lunch

**** Both Do Re Mi House and the Serra Mesa location of Leilani's have closed

Do Re Mi House:

Hard to believe that I hadn't been back here for over three years. Sometime during that period the lettering on the windows have been redone, and now in addition to the Korean Food, it says they serve "Japanese Traditional Food"?!?? The menu looked pretty much the same, as did the restaurant, though they've removed the back partition to the place. And lunch is still pretty cheap, the Bulgogi Lunch Special at the time of my visit (December) was still $5.99. Looked exactly the same as well.

Funny how tastes change, I found the Bulgogi to be on the sweet side, though it was fairly tender, and the mandoo were better than on my last visit. Still, not bad, if the price is still $5.99.

And I still love the potatoes here. If this visit is any indication, service has now become the typical "dump and duck"…..

Do Re Mi House
8199 Clairemont Mesa Blvd Ste M
San Diego, CA 92111

My previous post on Do Re Mi House can be found here.

Leilani's Restaurant:

Also from back in December. I got my Loco Moco fix from Leilani's Restaurant. This of course meant a Hilo Loco for me:

In some ways it was the same dependable Loco……nice gravy, hand formed patty, lean, and perhaps on the tough side, but the same as usual, as were the eggs, which could have been a bit more crisp, but were decently runny……

And there was a good amount of gravy over everything. But on this visit, I felt like something was missing…….there was a good amount of Kielbasa and Portuguese Sausage in the fried rice, which was cooked just right, but the entire package tasted strangely bland…….like they forgot to season things……

With this costing ten bucks, maybe I'm just expecting more, or maybe it was just an off day? Though the mac salad was really, really, good on this day…so good I forgot to take a photo! Maybe I need to head back to PB, and see how Leilani is doing?

Leilani's Hawaiian Restaurant
3232 Greyling Drive
San Diego, CA 92123
858-565-4637

My previous post on Leilani's can be found here.

Which Wich ? – Hillcrest

March 26, 2009 mmm-yoso Sandwiches

**** This location of Wich Wich has closed

After reading this post by Paul Jamason of SD Urban, I've been following the progress of a new Sandwich Chain setting up shop in San Diego. But apparently, I hadn't been following close enough, because I didn't know the place had opened until I read another post by Paul in late February. Located on Fifth Avenue, in the Guild Theatre location, this chain asks the eternal question, "Which 'Wich?"

And even though the "sandwich assembly line" looks pretty generic….

But the concept is a bit different. Only sandwiches are served, and all sandwiches are priced the same, $5.25. There are 10 categories of sandwiches, ranging from "Turkey" to "Seafood" to a "Comfort" category(more on that one later). Doing the math that's 50 basic sandwiches. And there are only two types of bread available, white or wheat, and 8 different types of "cheese".

From there it can get a bit crazy…..there are what seems to be an endless combination of spreads, veggies, spices, and oils. All of which (or 'wich) you fill out on a brown paper sack. Once you've designed your 'wich, you hanedthe bag to the person at the register who clips it to a line and it makes its way down the assemble station. When your name is called, your 'wich is ready.

Pretty neat concept, huh? Kinda fun, maybe a bit entertaining…. Which 'wich says it creates "Superior Sandwiches", which (or 'wich) leads to the question, what is a superior sandwich? All I could get from the Which Wich website is a bunch of marketing babble, about being superior because of the innovative ordering "system", and employees commitment to 100% satisfaction.

On this day, I got a BLT on white with provolone, and just for kicks horseradish mayo. All the sandwiches come in one size, and is toasted. In fact, it does look a lot like a Quizno's sandwich, in shape and size:

So what's to like? It's a decent sized sandwich, and I like the hot pepper mix, and the horsradish mayo had some kick. I'm glad the nice gal who made my 'wich cut it in half because it was pretty messy.

The bread was meh, the turkey was pretty much the same semi processed stuff as Quizno's and Blimpies, and the bacon was chopped into bits that fell all over the place. They had also slathered a bit too much mayo over everything. It was better than Subway, perhaps a bit better than Quizno's…but not by much. In the end, it seemed more a nice concept than anything else.

But oh what a concept it is…….. There's a whole section of 'wiches called "Comforts".

And you can see what I saw, right? It's right there……not just Spam, but in case you're worried that you're getting some inferior canned meat product like Treet (you should never name your canned meat product something that rhymes with 'feet'), or even, god forbid, gasp… SPAM® Lite, you can take comfort in knowing you can get the one and only, SPAM® Classic.

The question remains, how do I complete this superior sandwich masterpiece? Feeling a bit of guilt, I checked off the "wheat" column. But when faced with the selection of cheeses, I just couldn't resist….. what do you do when the world is your oyster?

After all what could possibly be a more perfect partner for a canned meat product, than a processed cheese spread? I finished off the sandwich in a likewise schizoid manner, partnering the "crispy onion strings"(deep fried onions) with "fat free mayo", and finished the sandwich off with lettuce, tomato, and pepper mix. To her credit, the gal on the register didn't bat an eye when she saw what I ordered. There was a bit of a confusion finding the SPAM® Classic from the guys in the assembly line. But I did receive my sandwich.

I'm not going to go into detail about this "superior sandwich", other than to say that it was a mess, and made a mess because it wasn't cut in half, and the 5 slices (!) of SPAM® Classic(I'm thinking they had some canned meat they needed to "Spam-off") didn't look nor feel like it was heated.

Some Whiz on my Spam….a truly superior sandwich indeed!

All kidding aside, Which Wich may not be a bad choice if you're looking for a quick, inexpensive sandwich. Just remember it is a "chain sandwich". The concept is fun, and as you see you can be pretty creative (or a knucklehead), and get whichever 'wich your heart desires.

Which Wich
3825 Fifth Avenue
San Diego, CA 92105

(619) 574-9424

Birrieria Don Rafa

March 24, 2009 mmm-yoso Mexican Restaurants

**** Don Rafa has closed

Brrrr, it was a pretty cold weekend! The first day of Spring (March 20th this year) brought in some cold, wet, and windy weather. I really needed something to warm me up, and I think I knew the spot. On my visit to Pho 888, I noticed this sign:

No, it wasn't the Mobile Auto Glass shop that caught my attention, but the colorful little shop in the same strip mall.

As I entered, the wonderful and intoxicating smells of Birria filled the air. The menu was small, with just three basic items Birria de Res, Birria de Chivo, and Menudo. The sign also says "Estilo Jalisco"……."Jalisco style." It is said that the Mexican State of Jalisco is the birthplace of birria. This made ordering easy…..Birria de Chivo of course($8). Well not that easy, the two really nice ladies working the place didn't speak English. They understood "Birria de Chivo", but then asked me a few (probably) basic questions, which was answered through pointing and nodding. The hardest one was when I was told to have a seat, and pay after my meal…… Finally, they called upon the very nice, tall gentleman in the back, who explained everything to me.

I took a seat on one of the stools, and soon enough, all the accouterments arrived.

Finely minced onion, chopped cilantro, lime, a "muy picante" salsa, and a shaker of oregano. Some pretty decent corn tortillas, nice and warm, were dropped off as well.

And soon enough a steaming plate of Birria de Chivo arrived….the brime of the plate spilling over at the edges. It smelled heavenly. I did notice the beans were also totally immersed in the broth along with the meat.

I knew instantly that I was going to enjoy this. Rich and hearty, with a wonderful gamey flavor, a hint of smokiness, with onions and the upfront heat of the salsa to cut the richness this was a perfect remedy for a cold day. For my tastebuds, no lime or salt was needed.

I even enjoyed the beans!

This was one hearty meal. And unlike some of the Birria de Chivo I've had in the last year, this one didn't fall short. Watch out for the sneaky bones though. It could have been the perfect dish at the perfect time, but I really enjoyed this. Also, not having been to Jalisco, I couldn't tell you if this was the real deal or not. But it sure hit the spot. It's just a matter of time before Masa Assassin eats here, and I'm looking forward to hearing his opinion.

Not much English spoken, but everyone is very nice and helpful. Only a few items on the menu. Generous portion sizes. I can only tell you that after this meal, I was ready to tackle my first really big chore of the weekend……a nice nap!

Birrieria Don Rafa
631 Broadway
Chula Vista, CA 91910

Pho 888

March 19, 2009 mmm-yoso Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants

**** Pho 888 has closed

In my Pho Hiep and Grill post, "Joe" mentioned another Pho restaurant in Chula Vista named Pho 888. I'd had another email mentioning the restaurant back in January, so on the weekend before our Vegas trip, I took the drive down the I-5…took the H street exit, turned right on Broadway, there I was.

The interior belies the strange "giardi-ish green" color of the exterior. It is large and fairly clean.

In addition to the Pho at '888', both Joe and the email mentioned the Cha Gio (eggrolls), so I decided to get 3 pieces ($3.75, 5 pieces are $5.75). Man, Cha Gio ain't cheap eats no more, are they?

When these arrived I wasn't too thrilled. I prefer my Cha Gio to have the crisp and thin rice paper wrappers. The Nuoc Mam Cham (dipping sauce), though a tad on the sweet side was adequate, and provided a bit of heat. Not expecting much, I bit into one, and was pleasantly surprised….these weren't over-wrapped, and had a light, pleasant crunch to them. The filling wasn't too dense, and was moist and tender. Lot's of cloud ear fungus, and some, but not too much filler.

I was very pleasantly surprised, and couldn't wait for my bowl Pho (combination – small, $5.75) to arrive.

First things first. The garnishes were routine, fresh basil, limes, jalapenos, and bean sprouts. When I asked if they have Ngò gai, I was given a bit of a weird look, and the really nice young man told me they don't carry it. As much as the Cha Gio was a pleasant suprise, the Pho was a bit of a disappointment. It wasn't bad, the broth was much too "salty", and just a bit more beefy than the version at Pho La Jolla. This was a very "middle of the road" bowl of Pho, and the broth lacked any nuance.

The noodles were done right, not too mushy.

The meat was the biggest disappointment. I'm used to really dry Tai (rare beef) which this was, but the rest of it was dry and tasteless as well.

Too bad. I really like the Cha Gio, and the service was very friendly, the young man was quite nice. So perhaps this was an off day? I understand that the place will undergo a name change soon, I was told that it'll probably be called Pho Kim. Having the egg rolls made this visit "a wash", and I also found another place close by that I'll post on later.

Pho 888
635 Broadway St
Chula Vista, CA 91910

(619) 585-0886

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Imperial Thai Cuisine

March 9, 2009 mmm-yoso Lao Restaurants, Thai Restaurants

*** Thai Garden Restaurant (actually a Lao Restaurant) is now at this location.

It seems that this location on 47th Street changes owners as often as I visit the area. Back in 2006, it was Vientiane Food to Go. In 2007, it became Mekong Village, with the small steam table and take out business, along with an attached market. The market has been abandoned (hopefully, only for now), and the little restaurant is now called Imperial Thai Cuisine. And….they serve everything in the book…Chinese, Thai, and Lao!

And if you haven't noticed…Pho….more about this later. As I parked my car, and walked through the door, and older gentleman greeted me with the all-to-familiar "sa-bai-dee…." And that's when I knew, the Owners were Lao. And a sign on the flourescent green painted wall, confirmed my suspicions.

There were construction paper signs with Chinese stir-fries and the like on the wall, a menu that featured various noodles soups, and a steam table. Talk about covering all your bases!

Because I responded to my greeting with a Sabaidee of my own, the very friendly, jolly, older woman started talking to me in Lao. At which time I shook my head vigorously, I said, "oh no, I only know Sa-bai-dee…." Which cracked the woman up. It turns out that the woman hails from outside Luang Prabang, and we started discussing, well, food of course. Jeow Bong, Khai Pene, Or Lam…and all sorts of stuff. But of course I was here to eat….and the woman insisted on making me, "big bowl of Lao noodle soup". How could I resist?

In my minds eye I could see a large bowl of Khao Pak Sen, the wonderful soup we had every morning in Luang Prabang hitting the table. But instead it was a humongous bowl of Lao "Foe", the style of Pho you'll see in Laos.

In Laos, Foe is pretty much a create your own bowl of soup kind of thing. This bowl had a large amount of meatballs, "squeeky", but not overly tough. The meat, as expected in the homestyle soup were the tough flank cuts….rather tough, but with good flavor. A big difference was the quantity of meat in the soup….it would have been enough for 3-4 bowls of soup in Luang Prabang. The noodles were routine rice noodles, and the broth was fairly straight ahead, and mildly beefy in flavor.

In Laos you'd have a plate of basil, cilantro, perhaps green beans, "kapi"(Shrimp Paste), etc, at your disposal….here it was some bean sprouts and lime. But luckily, the woman brought me, "something special" for my Foe…..a little dish full of her home made Jeow (dip).

This was a wonderful Jeow, sweet, tangy, sour, and mildly spicy. It added life to the somewhat mundane soup. I had no doubt that this was an off-menu "MP" (market price) item, it was quite filling, and came in at $8.

As I was paid, and was about to leave, I noticed that the Young Man who took care of the steam table items, brought out some fried chicken:

I did a double take….it looked like…could it be? "TFC" (Thai Fried Chicken???) I could not take my eyes off the pile of poultry. I asked the woman what this was, and of course she said ("LFC"), "Lao Fried Chicken". Four pieces $5. So, of course I bought some.

Unfortunately, the chicken was very greasy, and lacked flavor. It was also tough as heck. Sigh…..my search for TFC goes on.

The woman who runs the place is quite talkative, jolly, and quite the saleswomen. I believe she found this little Asian guy who can only say hello and thank-you in Lao, but will talk your head off about Khai Pene, Jeow Bong, An Thao, and Or Lam, kind of strange and amusing. The gentleman, who I assume is her husband is more quiet and serious. The restaurant isn't the most sparkling clean place…though I'm sure when you shut off the lights it'll glow in the dark. The food was pretty much homecooking so I'm not quite sure if I'll be back….but the woman's last words to me, "next time maybe we have Or Lam", sure has me considering it.

Imperial Thai Cuisine
110 47th St
San Diego, CA 92102

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Turning up the heat part 1 – Revisits to China Chef and Dede’s

March 2, 2009 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants

*** Both China Chef and Dedes' has closed

It's supposed to get pretty cool by San Diego standards over the next few days, so I thought I'd do a Sichuan food post…and finally use some photos that have been sitting around.

Even though I grumble about lack of variety in "America's Finest City", I'm the first to say that San Diego has come a long way in the few years since we moved here. Now, you can get Mongolian Hot Pot one day, good Issan food the next, drop by an Izakaya on "hump day", get some good Bun Bo Hue on Thursday, and even finish off the week with two decent choices for Peruvian food to boot. Of course, I'll still grumble about the lack of a good Northern Vietnamese Restaurant, "real" Hunan food, and we do need better choices when it comes to Jiaozi, Xiao Long Bao, and the like. What is quite interesting is that there are four pretty good choices with regards to Sichuan food in San Diego. WellSpicy City is a Yunnan-Sichuan hybrid, which used to be a Beijing-Sichuan hybrid,but I'll let that slide. And like they say, "variety is the spice of life" in this case literally. So I thought I'd start with revisits to two Sichuan Restaurants…..

China Chef:

Our favorite dish at China Chef is the Spicy Tea Smoked Duck, which I think has made it on to the regular menu:

China Chef makes a good smokey, mildly salty, yet still soft tea smoked duck. And done in almost a "twice-cooked" technique, stir fried with chilies and Sichuan Peppercorn, this dish is a winner.

On this visit, the Missus ordered the Water Boiled Fish (Fish Boiled in Hot Sauce):

In spite of looks, we didn't find this to be very spicy. The fish was more flaky, than buttery-smooth which we prefer. The dish also needed a good dose of Sichuan Peppercorns. It was decent, but not great.

We finished things off with a stir fried lamb dish from the specials menu:

The lamb was cooked well, soft in texture. But it lacked the gamey flavor we enjoy. In other words, this could have been beef. It was not greasy, but could have used a bit more heat.

The food at China Chef is not bad….in fact, if I worked in the area, I'd drop by once in a while. We like the tea smoked duck here, it is prepared well.

China Chef Restaurant
9225 Mira Mesa Blvd #110
San Diego, CA 92126

Previous posts on China Chef can be found here and here.

Dede's Chinese Cuisine:

It was the first thing I noticed on the menus, it's no longer Dede's Teajuice City. The second thing were all the specials.

Another new touch, many Chinese Restaurants start with some pickles (or if you're Gringo-ized fried won ton strips), here at Dede's they started with a small sampling of cold appetizers.

And even though we found these to be fairly mediocre, it was a nice touch.

Going against our usual ordering pattern of not ordering a vegetable dish (because most of it I can make at home). The Missus ordered the Sour Chili Napa Cabbage ($7.99):

Growing up in Shandong province, without electricity, the vegetable that got families through winter was the humble Napa Cabbage. Stacked in a cool, but not an area exposed to too much frost, and covered with burlap, Napa Cabbage was it during the cold months. It's no wonder that the Missus never, ever asks me to make anything with Napa Cabbage. As to why She ordered this, who knows? It was much like a home style dish, nothing special, needing perhaps a bit more Chinkiang vinegar.

We also ordered the Dry Cooked Duck (Duck Dried Pot on the specials menu – $11.99):

This was a good sized plate of chopped tea smoked duck, stir fried with chilies, sliced garlic, red bell peppers, and onions. The duck was fine, but lacked the real smoked-cured flavor we love. This dish could have used a good dose of Sichuan Peppercorns. It was not bad, but the version at China Chef was much better.

I told the Missus I was craving La Chao La, which for me is minced preserved pork, smoked bean curd, and chilies….often called "Spicy-Spicy" on menus. The Missus ordered La Chao La, and the really nice lady serving us, ordered it, and came back to ask how spicy. The Missus said "very spicy" in Mandarin. I guess something was lost, because we got La Rou Chao La:

La Rou (wax meat) is smoked or preserved pork belly (think bacon), stir fried with chilies, in this case dried and jalapenos. For some reason, this wasn't that spicy. The pork was hard and lacked a good smoked flavor, maybe I'm spoiled because I've had good Hunan smoked pork belly. Merely, meh…..

Of course I had to order the Cumin Lamb ($9.50):

At Dede's they used cumin powder, so you''ll get a nice cumin flavor without the hard seeds. I love the salt to cumin to gamey flavor of this dish. It is not Sichuan, more Uyghur in origin, regardless, this is my favorite version in SanDiego. The meat is perhaps not as smooth and buttery as other places, but the flavor overcomes. The lady working told us that most people don't like this dish because of the strong flavor.

One other thing about Dede's; you'll find that the dishes use much less oil. So if that is a concern of yours, you may want to check this place out.

Dede's Teajuice City
4647 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

You can find my previous posts on Dede's here and here.

So if you need to warm up over the next few days………

NaniMoku Hawaiian BBQ

February 20, 2009 mmm-yoso Local Kine Stuffs in San Diego, Loco Mocos, Plate Lunch

*** Nani Moku has closed

I realize that over the last couple of years, I've kinda gotten away from all da' plate lunches, and stuff like that……. Still, once in a while, I just need a plate lunch. And in spite of the many Hawaiian BBQ joints in San Diego, a good plate lunch is hard to come by. As I mentioned before, for me, all Hawaiian BBQ is a subset of plate lunch. And most Hawaiian BBQ places do not offer the variety, nor quality of food that an old school plate lunch joint would.

I wondered, what exactly would Nani Moku be….just another Hawaiian BBQ rehash, or perhaps a good solid plate lunch.

I had made a trip to Nani Moku's back in September of last year, thinking I'd be visiting Da' Kine's. I was shocked to find Da' Kine's gone, and Nani Moku in its place. But after looking at the menu, it looked just like Da' Kine's with a new name. Even the staff looked the same, as did the "daily specials….. Except for a little placard that had "Loco Moco" specials….. did you say Loco Moco specials? I was so there, tucked in the pocket of my personal, gravy laden, comfort zone. I ordered the Chicken Katsu Loco ($6.95). Which to me was basically what we call a "Chicken Cutlet" back home. In Hawaii, the term Chicken Cutlet is synonymouswith Chicken Katsu with Gravy. Which this was, except for the easy over egg…….

And I enjoyed the very runny easy over eggs. Many places nowadays are starting to hard cook their eggs, but this was wonderfully runny, if unseasoned. I'm sure the eggs could have been a bit more crisp around the edges, but that may have been asking a bit much. The cutlet was full on Da' Kine's, thin, with lots of breading. It was moist, which was nice, and the gravy was dark and seasoned. The macaroni salad was chilled, though still lacking in salt, but better than it usually is.

Can you tell that I enjoyed it? I told myself to hang in there, save the photos, and return later on. Soon enough, it was a new year, and I still hadn't returned to Nani Moku. One day, I was going through and deleting photos, when I came across the Chicken Katsu Loco….. and I knew where I'd be headed for lunch……

I returned to Nani Moku, walked up to the counter……

And no moa' Special Loco's…. and what the heck is a "Kaluha Plate?"

You may say; "you know what they mean……" To which I'd reply, "oh, like ordering some Dung Pao Chicken?" At this point, the menu was Da' Kine's recycled, which, if done well is not a bad thing.

So I ordered a Three Item Mix ($8.75) to get a taste of several menu items, which was a good amount of food:

The Chicken Katsu was a safe bet, and was fine as always, along with the ketchup based Katsu sauce:

You can tell by the photo the problem with the Kalua (not Kahula) Pork and Cabbage:

Once upon a time, this might have been half decent, with a good pork to cabbage ratio, but what I got served was the stuff scrapped from the bottom of the chafing dish…hard and dry.

The Teriyaki BBQ Chicken was moist, but lacked a nice marinated flavor.

The Mac Salad was again, nicely chilled, with a perfect amount of mayo, but lacking in salt, or a good savory flavor.

Overall, pretty much typical inconsistent Da' Kine's…except for one thing….the rice. Da' Kine's had a bad habit of serving mushy rice. On both visits to Nani Moku, the rice was good….at least that was consistent. As to whether I'd be back…. I dunno…..

Nani Moku
1635 Sweetwater Road
National City, CA 91950

Sun – Thurs: 11am – 8pm
Fri – Sat: 11am – 9pm