Closed – Page 82

Sab-E-Lee Restaurant Part 1

August 11, 2008 mmm-yoso Thai Restaurants

**** This location of Sab-E-Lee has closed

It has been a pretty busy couple of weeks for me. It's during these times that I'm so thankful for having great FOYs (Friends of Yoso) like Cathy and Ed, who allow me a break. I'm pretty sure that mmm-yoso, would not exist without the help of Ed, Cathy, Mizducky, Vicky, and Omar. They, along with all of you, keep things humming along. It's also pretty easy to get in a rut, I mean really, after a while, mediocrity blurs things……I have a ton of photos of "eh" places, and even more places I need to visit a second time before doing a post. So it's great to be able to post on something the Missus and I really enjoyed. So we'll just have to push those other PIPs (posts in progress) to the back of the line here. I hope you don't mind. Now, it's off to the post:

I'm always amazed at how quickly, and how many, recommendations I get. Several days after I posted on a new restaurant in the former Linda Vista Food to Go, Mo Ngoc So 1, and Thai by Tara location I get an email. From "SomTommy" (you gotta love the name), who, in spite of the rather difficult to understand email, made it very clear that the new restaurant makes really good Thai food. Which meant that the Missus and I had to check it out.

The small sign in the front was in Thai, so I wasn't quite sure what the name of the place was. The interior looked exactly like Thai by Tara, with the same postage stamp sized dining area. But when the menu arrived we were surprised! Over 100 items, and stuff I've never seen on menus here in San Diego. The Gentleman running this tiny place was very nice and friendly. I noticed a few items on the menu I was interested in, so I inquired as to where he was from. "North Thailand", which made me even more excited. Next question, "what kind of food, Issan or Lanna?" This raised a big smile, as he replied "I'm Issan, and my cooks are also Issan!" Which got an even bigger smile from me. So I automatically went for a few items from the menu…unfortunately, they were out of the Issan Sour sausage and Koi Soi(raw beef salad). But we were told that the Pad See Ew and Som Tom(Papaya Salad) was really good.

So we started with the Pad See Ew with Beef($5.75):

When the plate arrived, I knew that whomever cooked this really knew what they were doing. The balance of soy to sweet was perfect for my taste. The dish was neither oily, nor where the noodles mushy. And what shocked me most of all, was the "wok hey"! The noodles had the wonderful smoky umami of a well seasoned wok…..

The beef was decent, and though the Missus liked the GaiLan, I thought it a bit undercooked. Still, the best Pad See Ew I've had in San Diego…..

When we ordered the Papaya Salad($5.50), the Gentleman asked, "Thai or Lao?" Then, he looked at me, and asked, "maybe Issan style?" Was that even a question?

A nice and simple Papaya Salad, just the way we like it. There was a pungency that approached, but did not reach the very strong and potent Lao style salad. There were bits of salted crab for flavoring…tiny pieces, I just crunched away. This was more of a savory dish…good with sticky rice. There were some good long beans and a few tomatoes. It was quite spicy…..funny, it didn't burn my lips, but it fried my tongue. It was not sweet enough for the Missus, as it lacked the palm sugar flavor the Missus enjoys in the Her Thai Papaya Salad…so I kept telling Her; "think Lao……"

Which meant more was in order. The Thai Sausage (Naem) Fried Rice($6.50):

The Missus loved this. A great combination of flavors, and the rice came out cooked exactly how She enjoys.

The Spicy Shrimp and Basil Noodles($5.95). The menu says "Mint", but there was Thai Basil in this dish:

Of all the dishes we had sampled thus far, this was our least favorite. On the good side, there was a good amount of Thai Basil, much more than the 2-3 leaves usually found in these types of dishes. The noodles were again cooked with expertise. We found the overall flavor to be on the bland side…but maybe it was because everything else had so much flavor. The shrimp were a bit overcooked as well.

Funny thing; to this point, I still hadn't bothered to get the name of the restaurant. So I asked, and the nice Gentleman told me laughing, "I forgot to have them put the English name on the sign". He then grabbed a business card and wrote:

So there you have it. No, it's not Lotus of Siam or Renu Nakorn, but the food is well prepared, and not your average American-ized Thai Food. The menu is large, so there is much to try.

Sab-E-Lee Restaurant
2405 Ulric St
San Diego, CA 92111

Which begs the question….where's the Koi Soi? Well there's more to come…….

Que Huong Revisited…many times Part 3 – Maybe it is all about the Jackfruit Salad?

August 7, 2008 mmm-yoso Vietnamese Restaurants

**** Que Huong has closed

After our previous visits to Que Huong, you'd have thought that we'd had our fill. But the Missus thought the menu had some potential, and so in future visits we tried a few different items. So here they are:

Banh Xeo($5.95):

This is something I remembered from our first visits to Que Huong way back in 2005. It was still delivered with a pile of fresh herbs and lettuce. It was still crisp, and not oily in the least. I do think that they've cut down on the amount of shrimp and other "fillings", but it's still my favorite in version in San Diego.

The Catfish Clay Pot($8.95):

It looks large in the photo, but it was more of a "personal sized" version. The strong fish sauce- maggi-lemongrass flavor was great, but the fish was a bit too "muddy" for my tastes. The Missus enjoyed it, and there was one added "bonus" that I liked. The bottom of the pot was lines with pork belly..soaked in the sauce and caramelized…delici-yoso!!! I ordered this during another visit with Ed from Yuma, and the most wonderful Tina (thanks for putting up with us!). I knew this was right up Ed's alley, so maybe we'll find out how he enjoyed it. You'll need some rice for this one.

The Jackfruit Salad ($12.95):

Most of the versions I've had of this dish(Goi Mit) tends to be on the milder side. And this dish would be as well, except that it has a nice amount of Rau Ram, peanuts, and a Nuoc Mam Cham that runs on the sweeter side. If you've never had Jackfruit before, and have some preconceived notions about taste and texture….the jackfruit is very mild, and has an almost "meaty" texture. There a nice amount of pork and chopped shrimp in the dish, and the portion size is pretty large. It comes with sesame-rice crackers. The only real problem, and I've noticed this with some of the dishes here….there always seems to be that "one thing". There are many hard peppercorns in the dish…real hard…chip your teeth hard, so tread carefully.

On one visit, we decided to try the Goat Hot Pot (small – $22.98). I had thought it was a bit on the expensive side, but it was enough for 3 people. The broth is laden with dried Jujubes, and has a very strong lemongrass flavor.

The best item is the taro, which has been fried before being added to the hot pot, giving it a nice texture and flavor.

I really wouldn't order this if you're a meat lover, the chopped goat was an after-thought, tough and flavorless.

A plate of Mi (egg noodles) is provided, along with some vegetables, in this case a plate of Bok Choy. The soup is "never-ending", in that you can request refills of the soup (but not the noodles or veggies…that'll cost you). After a refill, we needed to add some water to the broth, it was getting pretty salty. For the final refill, they provided a bowl from which we could just refill as desired. You can see how much "stuff" is in the broth, just by looking at the bottom of the bowl:

The jury's still out on this one.

It's an interesting crowd at Que Huong, during the earlier hours, it's Vietnamese families(for the hot pot, and other family style dishes), and an occasional Hispanic visitor (they seem to enjoy the fried rice and pan fried noodles). As the evening gets later, the group gets younger, and people start ordering the wings, and other smaller dishes.

One of the Young Men, by the name of Jay is fabulous. He'll come by and answer any questions you may have, and tell you about some of the other menu offerings.

Que Huong Restaurant
4134 University Ave
San Diego, CA 92105

BaLe Linda Vista Reopens

July 30, 2008 mmm-yoso Banh Mi, Markets & Grocers, Sandwiches, Vietnamese Restaurants

*** Bale has closed and is now Farm Sandwiches and Market.

So finally, Ba Le on Linda Vista resurfaces. The sign on the "old location" said the end of May, but when I took that photo it was already June! And when I shopped a Vien Dong Market a few days later, that sign was gone. This past weekend, I noticed that Ba Le had indeed taken the place of the old Dai Tan Supermarket, which had been there for quite a while.

In spite of the looks, there is quite a bit of parking further down the lot, where you're not packed in, and people aren't backing into you(I saw a little Vietnamese Lady driving a BIG SUV, hit another parked, BIG SUV, and she just kept on going…). As I walked in, I wondered what the heck Ba Le was doing with a market….but I guess that's the plan.

Seeing that the sandwich counter is not yet completed, I inquired about Banh Mi, and was told, that even though the counter, and seating area wasn't finished yet they were serving Banh Mi. And the current special is; buy 2 get 1 free. So I placed my order, and seeing the chaotic situation; a line of grocery customers, I took a walk around the market.

Dai Tan never struck me as being the cleanest looking market, but the place has been cleaned up a bit, and the lighting is much better. The produce looked fresh, and there was quite a steady flow of customers.

Which meant I'd probably be waiting a while, so I took a seat. Surprisingly, a few minutes later one of the Gentlemen comes walking out of the back of the market with 3 Banh Mi. Which I paid for, than proceeded to hightail it out of the parking lot, before a little lady in a BIG SUV had a chance to hit my car.

So, what did I get? Well let's start with the Dac Biet (special – $3.50):

In my visits after my post on the old BaLe location, I found the sandwiches to be inconsistent. There was a tendency to over-margarine, than over toast the baguette, making the bread crouton-hard…the stuff that rips up the roof of your mouth. This would obviously distract from the decent crust-to-bread ratio. Today, the baguette was okay, slightly crusty, but nothing special. The meats were piled to each side of the baguette…the ham on one side, the Cha Lua on the other…kind of strange. All of the meats, and the pate were very mild in flavor, if not down-right bland. The jalapenos were quite mild on this day. All in all, nothing special….

The Xiu Mai(meatball sandwich – $3.00):

The crumbled Xiu Mai(meatball) had a very mild flavor…sort of like what could be described as a "pork meatloaf". Not bad, even though I enjoy a more assertive flavor. Because of the juicy meatballs, this Banh Mi got soggy pretty quickly, but at least it wasn't dry.

As for the Banh Mi Bi, the Missus didn't feel like eating it, so I took it for lunch, well, breakfast the next day. I won't go into that, "Bi-cause" I wouldn't want to wish that decomposed sandwich on anyone. It just is not a fair assessment of the Banh Mi.

With regards to the Banh Mi, not much has changed at BaLe. If you enjoyed the sandwiches at the former location, you'll enjoy them here. But at least now you can catch up on some shopping while waiting for your sandwiches. All sandwiches run from $3 to $3.50.

BaLe Supermarket and Sandwiches(In the former Dai Tan Market location)
6959 Linda Vista Rd.
San Diego, CA

Que Huong Revisited…many times Part 2 – How about some Cha Ca?

July 24, 2008 mmm-yoso Vietnamese Restaurants

**** Que Huong has closed

I know you're wondering….why so many "short" posts. Work has been quite hectic, and though I meant to do these as a single long post, I just haven't been able to make the time. So my apologies…

After my Chicken Feet Salad visit, I mentioned that Que Huong had a new menu to the Missus. The menu was wide and varied, and it was obvious that not everything would "work", but at least the 2 dishes I had tried had flavor. The Missus had little use for boneless chicken feet, "what's the use? You take away the most fun part of eating chicken feet…the gnawing and sucking." But when I told Her they had Bun Rieu, She decided that She needed to check it out.

We arrived to an empty restaurant, and had a seat at one of the tables. The Missus noted that the place looks a bit more worn than when we first visited. Of course She got the Bun Rieu($5.95)

I thought the Bun Rieu broth to be very clear and mild, and the ground "seafood" had a pretty strong flavor. The noodles were fine, if a bit on the soft side. The Missus told me, this isn't too bad, in fact, this almost tastes like what we had in Hanoi. The Missus really enjoyed the fresh and sparkling herbs, and there was a generous portion of banana blossom.

Though nowhere as good as the Bun Rieu at Mien Trung, the Missus thought this to be a passable version.

Why did I want to return to Que Huong? One of the reasons was that they had Cha Ca Thang Long($12.95) on the menu. It wasn't cheap, but because I enjoy this dish so much, I wanted to give it a try. Cha Ca Thang Long is a turmeric-flavored fried fish dish, that uses what some consider to be some atypical ingredients when it comes ti Vietnamese Cuisine. That would be turmeric and dill.

Much like the version at Ha Noi Restaurant in Westminster, this was served on a sizzling plate, with dill, onions, and green onions scattered on top. One thing we noticed, was that, the version we had at Cha Ca Thang Long in Hanoi used the dill as a vegetable, and it was used in great quantity, at Ha Noi Restaurant, and here at Que Huong, it is treated like a garnish of sorts. This version used snapper as the fish, which added a bit more chew, and made it less moist, but flavor wise it was pretty close to other versions we've eaten. Another difference was that much less oil was used for this, which for me took away some of the richness and moistness from the dish. There was a huge amount of fresh herbs, bean sprouts, sliced cucumber, pickled vegetables(nice and tangy), but the amount of Bun (rice vermicelli) was a bit lacking. And what to do with the huge leaves of lettuce? This isn't Banh Xeo! The SOP sesame crackers and peanuts were made available, as was a bowl of Mam Tom(Fermented Shrimp Paste) mixed with sugar and chilies which was so good, the Missus asked for another bowl.

If you've never had it before, this isn't a bad introduction. Not the best, but much less oily than other versions……

By this time, we'd become a bit of an oddity here, and had gotten to know one of the young men who ran the place. He brought us a sample of the Ốc len xào dừa. Snails braised in coconut milk.

He also gave us a quick demo on how to suck the snails out of the shell. I must say, these were fresh and tender. Forget about the rubbery Ốc we usually get with Bun Rieu. The coconut milk based broth had a little bit of a chili kick to it.

As we drove out of the parking lot, the Missus looked at me and said…"man that fermented shrimp paste tastes so good when you're eating it, but the after taste is hell!" She then turned to me and said; "we're coming back in a few days."

Stay tuned for part 3!

Que Huong Revisited…many times Part 1 – Boneless Chicken Feet Salad Anyone?

July 22, 2008 mmm-yoso Vietnamese Restaurants

**** Que Huong has closed

In case your wondering where we've been the last couple of months, it's been at Que Huong on the corner of Malborough avenue. I'd posted on Que Huong before, way back in August of 2005. Our meals were pretty mixed, and so I kinda left it alone for a while. But recently, thanks to some comments about the food at Que Huong (thanks Y-Y!), and the various dishes offered at Que Huong, I found myself back in front of the restaurant behind Burger King.

The first thing I noticed was a chalkboard menu of specials, I recognized a few of them – Ốc len xào dừa, snails braised in coconut milk, but as a whole, I understood much less than I knew. As I entered the empty restaurant, it looked like it had been in a time warp for the last 3 years.

Except for a few things…..

Have you ever written on a greaseboard with the "wrong" type of pens, and the darn thing wouldn't erase? For some reason, several specials were written on the mirrors lining the walls of the restaurant.

The other dramatic change was the menu. It had been pretty long and diverse before, with stuff like Crocodile.

But now I noticed many more dishes…..and an entire sheet with various noodle soups like Bun Mam, and Rice Porridge(Chao – which has always been popular here). Much of it was probably due to my increased exposure to Vietnamese cuisine over the last few years.

So what to eat? There were 2 dishes that were mentioned to me. The first was mentioned by several persons, and I thought it was just a "natural". Fish Sauce Chicken Wings($9.95):

I'd been warned that these sometimes edged on being "too salty", and that it was a "weird" combination. But I found these to be pretty good, perhaps a tad too salty, with a mild sweet flavor. And these were nice and crisp. The nice young man running the place on this day told me to eat these hot since they don't stay crisped for very long, and he was right. I didn't finish them, and by the time I got home they were starting to get a bit chewy. I'd have them again, though I think they are a bit on the pricey side. When he packed them for me, he told me to make sure the lid stayed "open". There are several types of chicken wings on the menu, including Chickens Wings in Tamarind, which I was told is a sweet-sour wing. The small order is $9.95, the large order $12.95.

The other dish, mentioned to me by FOY "Y-Y" was Gỏi Chân gà rút xương – Boneless chicken feet salad($9.95)! How could I resist?

The photo is kind of deceptive, this was a pretty large salad. First off, the Chicken feet are boned, (how'd you like that job? ) so you really can't tell it's chicken feet. In fact, if you wanted to "punk" someone, you could tell them this was…say tripe…but well, most people I know who wouldn't eat chicken feet, wouldn't eat tripe either, and visa versa. The chicken feet had no taste, and seemed to just be here to add some crunch to the dish. The overall flavor of the salad was nice, sour-salty-mildly spicy. The Nuoc mam based "dressing" had a ton of ginger in it, and every bite had its own flavor and texture. Every so often you'd run into some Rau Ram, and the powerful peppery-spicy flavor would hit you. There was quite a bit going on here, and though it wasn't a "homerun", it kept me interested. At least interested enough to want to return. The only thing is….

How would I convince the Missus? Stay tuned…………

Siem Reap: Khmer Noodles

July 21, 2008 mmm-yoso Cambodia, Siem Reap, Travel

Even though the previous day had been pretty full, from sunrise until our afternoon trip to Lake Tonle Sap, we were ready to go the next morning. I was especially rarin’ to go, since Narin had told me we’d stop at his favorite noodle stand on the way to our first stop Kbal Spean, which was a bit out of Siem Reap.

We stopped at a crossroads village outside of Siem Reap. The place was colorful and bustling, dusty and yet somehow alluring. And tons of tourists and visitors in sight….except these were mostly from Phnom Penh. There were several mini-buses parked alongside the road, along with SUVs, and motorbikes.

This place was doing some major business.

Narin ever so concerned with our welfare, first stepped out and checked the well water….

This is the noodle dish that arrived:

A very nice and mild coconut milk based fish noodle soup. The noodles provided were rice noodles, which looked just like the "Bun" we had in Vietnam.

Along with the noodle soup several garnishes arrived. At the bottom of this bowl are some of the most amazing long beans we’ve ever tasted. So very sweet.

A bowl covered with a plate arrived at our table. On top lime and chilies.

Underneath was a brown fragrant sauce, that at first glance I mistook for some tamarind based sauce. Until I tasted it, a strong and complex sweet flavor, with pungent, savory undertones. I was told it is called Tik Pha Em, and is a basic sweet fish sauce.

I also had Narin write down the name of the noodle dish, he called it Num Banh Chok. The only real reference I could find to it was a recipe found here. Apparently, what makes this dish unique to Siem Reap is they way it is served, with the sweet sauce, and with all of the herbs, many of which I hadn’t tasted before. No it’s not table decoration, it belongs in your Rice Noodle Soup!

It was a staggering variety of herbs, some tasting peppery like cilantro, some had a celery like saltiness to it. The most amazing were the green leaves, which tasted almost like curry leaf:

I asked Narin to write the name of it down for me. Poor guy, he must think I’m a nut! He spelled it Kantrop. I found several citations of it, in English it’s called Wampee, or Chinese clausena. It is the leaf of a certain type of citrus fruit tree. In Vietnam it’s called Hồng bì, I had never had anything like it before. We even saw the trees growing on the trail up Kbal Spean.

All of the herbs like the Lily Stems added an amazing flavor to the dish, making it unforgettable.

We were also told that dish was famous in Khmer legend. After searching a bit, I found a post, here. The story of Thun N’chey and the Chinese Emperor. Who’d have thunk, revolutionary noodles, in a little village outside of Siem Reap.

Narin insisted on paying for the meal, telling us that, if we paid, they would overcharge, and would not take reimbursement. I was determined to make up for this later.

Meanwhile, the Missus had wandered away……I just knew She was up to no good!

Beard Papa – Plaza Bonita

July 19, 2008 mmm-yoso Desserts

**** This location of Beard Papa has closed

What would I do without all of my FOYs(Friends of Yoso), the minute Beard Papa opens in San Diego, I get 3 emails letting me know! So thank you, thank you, EdL(a longtime FOY), Sam, and Ricki. Ever since, I first read about Beard Papa in a post by Reid, I've been fascinated by the phenomenon. Though unlike Kathy, I don't have much of a sweet tooth, which I think is my saving grace, we really didn't hunt Beard Papa down during our road trips to LA….well, I didn't need to. Before you knew it, a Beard Papa opened in the food court at Marukai Gardena. The Missus and I shared a single vanilla cream puff:

And in spite of my lack of a sweet tooth, it was quite good. The shell(Choux) was thin, light, and crisp, and filling was not too sweet, but still rich.

And that would be it, for the next time we went to Marukai Gardena, Beard Papa was gone, and a "post for a rainy day" went down the tubes. And even though I ran into Beard Papa in other places, like San Gabriel and in Costa Mesa, I never really had the urge to visit. I'm just surprised that I hadn't deleted these photos.

So being in the vicinity of National City recently, I dropped by Plaza Bonita, and headed to where I thought the most likely location of Beard Papa would be. And there was no Food Court…at least where I thought it would be! It had been a few years since I'd been here, and the entire food court had been moved. They sure are trying to pretty the place up.

The set-up looked kind of haphazard, but there it was the signature Beard Papa yellow. The prices, were $2.50 a cream puff, a bit more expensive than I remembered. I did purchase 6 cream puffs($10.50 for 6), 3 vanilla, and 3 of the other flavor of the day, chocolate.

When I arrived home, I opened my little yellow box, and checked out the cream puffs all snuggled in.

I had one vanilla, and noticed something; either my tastes have changed, or the filling is a bit sweeter than I recalled. It was not quite as rich as well.

It was also a bit more "lumpy" than I remembered. The shell had not traveled well, it was soggy, and the bottom hard like a pie crust.

The chocolate was too sweet for my taste.

Though I found the shape of this cream puff to be a bit amusing.

I'm not quite sure if it was just grand opening inconsistencies, or if Beard Papa has lowered the quality control standards, but these were not as good as I remembered.

EdL mentioned in his email, the interesting choice of locations for the first Beard Papa in San Diego. EdL thought, like I did, that Beard Papa would open up somewhere around the Kearny Mesa/Clairemont area. But at least you can now get your Beard Papa fix locally if you need it.

Beard Papa, in the Plaza Bonita Food Court
3030 Plaza Bonita Rd
National City, CA 91950

One Meal at Karinya Thai

June 15, 2008 ed fromyuma Seafood, Thai Restaurants, What Ed Eats -You too can be like Ed!

Who knows what Kirk and Cathy and the rest of the yosoers and FOYs have been doing for today? All we know is that ed (now from Yuma) is sharing his return to one of his ol' stompin' grounds.

10 years ago, when I was ed (from PB), one of my favorite restaurants was Karinya Thai, located just a couple of blocks from the beach on Garnet. While I never much liked the stirfries that ask one to match a particular meat or tofu choice with selected vegetables, I regularly enjoyed dishes like the papaya salad, some of the curries, and the whole fish.

Recently I realized that I had not eaten at this restaurant in at least five years, so I decided to try it once more for old times' sake.

As before, the fairly large multi-roomed restaurant was nicely decorated with Siamese knickknacks, creating a pleasant atmosphere that is highlighted by classical music playing in the background:

One major difference in the restaurant today compared with 10 years ago is the relative lack of business. Throughout the time that I dined, only one other table in this room was occupied, and few other tables anywhere in the restaurant had customers.

I began with the papaya salad ($6.95), and it was as good as my memory of it:

While Kirk might like a little more funkiness, a hint of fish sauce pervaded the dish. In terms of spicy hotness, I had requested it to be seven (on a scale of one to 10), and the salad did not disappoint. As you can see from this picture, the entire salad was flecked with chips of red and green Thai chilies:

My eyes watered, my nose ran, and my mouth burned. It was good.

The dressing finished with a slight note of sweetness and was a perfect match with the crunchy green papaya strips and even brought out the taste of the bits of peanut scattered throughout.

Service this evening was excellent. The helpful young man who waited on the table recommended a good selection from the modest wine list, kept refilling my water glass, and even brought me a full carafe of water. Several times during the meal he came by to make sure that everything was fine.

For my main course, I ordered whole fish with spicy three flavored sauce. On this evening, the fish was a striped bass priced at $18.95. When it arrived, it looked beautiful – in a fried and sauced dead fish sort of way:

The sauce was supposed to be spicy hot (again I had requested a seven), but very little picante fire was discernible. Instead, the primary flavors were garlic, diced bell peppers of various colors, and a sour note that contrasted with a background sweetness:

When I began eating the fish, I started with fleshy part of one side, giving me several bites of flaky moist fish:

Quickly, however, I ran out of flaky moist fish. Large parts of the fish had been fried to crunchy doneness:

As I was eating the fish, I was reminded of a recent trip to Mar Azul in Yuma, where the waitperson asked if we wanted the whole fish fried light or fried hard. At Karinya, this fish was definitely fried hard. Except for the fleshy central filets on each side, the fish was generally crunchy and not especially fishy in flavor. The following pictures illustrate the condition of most of the fish:

I have to admit that I was somewhat disappointed in Mr. Fish. I always say that I prefer whole fish preparations that yield flaky, moist, and tender morsels of fish. OK, that's what I say, but on this evening, the culinary puritanism in my brain was overwhelmed by the hedonism of all this deep fried crunchiness in my mouth. And in fact, I couldn't stop eating the fish until all that was left was head, tail, and bones:

Even with my conflicted feelings about the fish, I would happily return to Karinya. I wonder if the curries are still good.

It would be nice to finish the record of this visit to Karinya with some conclusions. Instead, like Mr Fish, this post doesn't have conclusions, just an ending.

Karinya Thai 4475 Mission Blvd San Diego (enter from Garnet), CA (858) 270-5050

Chow Noodlehouse

June 10, 2008 mmm-yoso Asian Fusion/Pacific Rim/Hawaii Style Fusion, Chinese Restaurants, Thai Restaurants, Vietnamese Restaurants

**** Chow has closed

I'd been thinking about trying out Chow Noodle House for a while, but have been hesitating. You see, when we first moved to San Diego in '01, this was the location of the reincarnated Celadon Restaurant. And the young Owner, Alex Thao, at that time still a student at San Diego State, was a thoughtful and energetic young man. His father had Owned the original Celadon, now the location of Hash House, and after deciding to retire and close the restaurant, the ambitious Alex had talked his father into reopening Celadon, and turning over the keys to him. The space that Chow now occupies once held a Thai Restaurant called Thai-phoon, or something like that. I won't go into the food at that restaurant, but I think the name more than describes it. Alex is a smart Guy, he kept the original chef on staff at Celadon, and we thought the food to be pretty good. We'd often run into Alex's Mom running the front of house, and Alex would always come by and chat. Over time the food went on a downhill slide. It seems that the original Chef, Songsri Thammasuckdi, who, I was told, once cooked for Thai Royalty, decided to retire. About the same time, Alex Thao became quite the Restaurateur, first opening Rama in the Gaslamp, then moving Celadon to newer digs, and opening Chow Noodle House in the former Celadon location. Which brings us to the here and now.

The interior is simply modern, neat and orderly, if perhaps a bit on the "cold" side.

The menu though simple in concept; noodles, salads, and other similar items, is a challenge. Chow has chosen to straddle 4 different Countries. The menu consists of everything from Pho and Bun, to Yakisoba, to Chow Fun and Pad Thai. It is hard enough doing one cuisine justice, but four?

Back in January, I decided to check out Chow for lunch. The very nice young lady ushered me to a table, and after looking over the menu, I chose the Drunken Noodles(with chicken – $8). I thought this would be a nice dish to try since I enjoyed the version that Celadon used to make. Something in the back of my mind made me order it "spicy", something I'd never do at say, Yai Restaurant. Come to think of it, they serve it to you, their way, and don't even ask you how spicy you want your food. I kinda like that.

I was first served a bowl of a pseudo, egg drop soup. I say pseudo, because the one very strong flavor in this was that of Kaffir Lime Leaf. To me this wasn't a bad thing, because at least it had flavor.

Considering that I was paying the "Hillcrest premium", this didn't look too bad. On the good side, the noodles were cooked adequately, and the chicken wasn't dry as I expected. On the bad, this was cloyingly sweet. I expect my Pad Kee Mau to be on the sweet side, but this was really much too sweet. Also, it was not spicy in the least, not at all. It was hard to make out any flavor beyond the sweetness of the dish.

Another day, I was having lunch with an acquaintance, and decided to order the "Vietnamese" Grilled Beef Salad($10):

The "lemongrass grilled beef" was adequately done, but it had no lemongrass flavor. The menu says hothouse cucumbers, but none were in sight, not a big deal, at least there were some cherry tomatoes mixed in with the shredded cabbage and carrots. The dressing was very bland, I'd have killed for some Nuoc Mam Cham. Funny thing, this was one of my first meals out after returning from vacation, and I couldn't help but think…..160,000 VND!

Recently, I decided to give Chow one more shot. This day, being a bit brighter than most, I noticed that Chow was showing some signs of wear and tear.

This time I ordered the Beef Chow Fun($11 – I just noticed that I spent more and more $'s on each visit). I didn't quite know what to expect, perhaps a nice version of Thai style thick noodles with gravy, maybe I'd get a decent Chow Fun.

Chow Fun with Gravy does not mean mushy noodles. The noodles were horribly over-cooked, and improper cooking temperature made them greasy as well. Though the fragrance of ginger wafted up from the dish, it was all I could really make out. This was very bland. At least the Gai lan tops were cooked properly. The meat was cut too thick, and didn't match the thickness of the noodles, a no-no in Chinese cooking.

At this point, unless anyone has a really stellar recommendation for Chow, I think I'll pass for a while. It seemed like everything started at mediocre, and went down hill from there. I will say this, though my Server was different on every visit, I had very accommodating service. Also, I was never charged for my Diet Cokes.

This leads me to a conversation I had with the young Alex Thao, way back in maybe 2002. Just back from a visit to Thai Town, I inquired about dishes using ingredients like Thai Eggplants, Jackfruit, or even Gapi(Thai Shrimp Paste). His response was that using the unfamiliar in San Diego is "economic suicide" and those dishes would just take up menu space and never sell. I guess he's right, after all, the Thao Empire is now so large it calls itself the "Celadon Group".

Chow Noodle House
540 University Ave
San Diego, CA

Read Alice Q Foodie's post on Chow here.

Read Gil's post from what We Dig here.

From the no good deed goes unpunished files:

So, I'm walking after lunch, and see an Older Woman using a walker, dragging a shopping basket, muttering to herself while crossing the street. I notice that a shopping bag full of "stuff" fell from the cart while she was crossing the street. So, I run into the cross walk, get honked at by some "gangsta's" in an Escalade who in addition to throwing a Big Gulp Cup at me, obviously cussed me out…luckily, they were screaming at me in "gangsta" so I really couldn't understand what they were saying. Thankfully, I managed to pick up the bag, caught up with the woman, and handed it to her. Unfortunately for me, she was grappling with whatever demons are haunting her, and proceeded to scream profanities at me. And if that wasn't enough, she started spitting at me! Needless to say, I dumped her bag into the cart, and beat a hasty retreat. Goes to show me…you never know what'll happen to you on the corner of 5th and University……..

China Chef: A Revisit

June 3, 2008 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants

**** China Chef has closed

What would our humble little blog be without you all. Well, I don't think we'd be much at all without our FOYs(Friends Of Yoso), who always take time out to keep me informed of changes. Case in point would be the reason behind our recent visit to China Chef. Back in November of 2006, we visited China Chef, and found what we basically thought was a Dede's clone. It was okay, but nothing to go out of the way for. But thanks to FOY ReneeC, who always keeps me apprised of any activity on Her culinary radar, we decided to take a drive up to Mira Mesa, and grab a bite at China Chef.

The reason?

Need a closer look?

Some "specials" written on construction paper in front of the cash register. #1 Sweet and Sour Crispy Skin Fish. #2 Tea Smoked duck. #3 Chongqing Beer Duck.

What about #4? Well that's Rock Cod and Tofu Clay Pot:

This hot pot dish was just average. The cooking of the fish was mediocre, it was on the dry side, and crumbly, instead of flaky. The overall flavor of the "gravy" could have used more ginger, and some salt. Also, the addition of a vegetable component; maybe Napa Cabbage or lettuce on the bottom of the pot would have added some nice textural contrast. A very bland dish.

#5 Spicy Tea Smoked Duck.

This was a nice dish. Much better than any duck dish I've had at Ba Ren. The tea smoked duck was done well, and had a decent amount of meat. Many versions of tea smoked duck are salty and tough, this one had a nice smoky flavor, and a good chew. No, it's not your Cantonese Roast Duck, but smoking adds a very nice smokey-cured flavor and texture. This was double bonus, the duck was briefly stir-fried with green peppers, dried chilies, celery, and Sichuan peppercorns. And the whole thing was topped with peanuts. There was some numbing heat, but it wasn't very spicy.

Of course I couldn't leave without having some Cumin Lamb($9.95), that classic Xinjiang/Uyghur dish that has been absorbed by many regional Chinese Cuisines. I was once told that the Uyghur(Muslim turks) have spread throughout much of China, and you can find street stalls selling skewers of lamb seasoned with cumin in many large cities through China.

This version was quite interesting. It was rather light on the Cumin Powder, and could have used more salt. What the dish had in spades was that flavor which a friend of mine once called, "the flavor of the wild pasture". In other words, it was nice and gamey. That in and of itself made this a satisfying dish. The meat had a decent chew, I hate mushy lamb. Also, this was the least oily version of cumin lamb I've ever had. I'm still wondering if that's a good thing or not.

The total bill, including rice, tea, and tax, came out to $41.35. I can't tell you how much the specials were, no price is posted, and only a total was circled on our check. I was rather satisfied with our meal. It was much better than our previous visit to China Chef. I've heard that people think there's a new Chef at this restaurant. I wouldn't know, but I can tell you that there are some new dishes like Sweet Corn with Pine Nuts, and such on the menu.

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

Thanks for always keeping me "in the loop" Renee!