mmm-yoso!!!

Roadtrip: Shanghailander Palace (Hacienda Heights)

I took some time off at the end of last week. We had an appointment in LA and since I'd been working pretty hard over the last couple of months, I thought it would be good to take an extended roadtrip. Our first day would be in our old neighborhood of Rowland/Hacienda Heights and then we'd move further "North" for a few days.

Since this was a multi-day trip, we stopped at HK Plaza to stock up on some snacks and tea for our trip.

We also took the time to see what was going on here.....

We weren't too hungry, but of course we also didn't want to squander a lunch, so we headed to a place that caught the Missus' attention the last time we stayed in the area. According to what I've read, Shanghailander Palace was aiming to be the area's equivalent of Shanghai No. 1 Seafood Restaurant. So we stopped by to have a light lunch.

Arriving at almost 2 pm on a Wednesday, we were shocked to see how busy the place was! The crowd was composed of mostly older folks and larger groups. I really could have done without the middle aged woman dressed almost "cosplay" style in a short plaid skirt, blouse, and schoolgirl like sweater....yikes, it gave me the heebies!

The service was rather slow, but it could be understood since the place was slammed.

We started with the Xun Yu - "Shanghai Style Smoked fish", which as I've often explained, isn't really smoked. In what seems like the "new style" of Hu Cai (滬菜), this is served warm (deep fried after marinating) rather than as a cold dish.

I enjoyed this version as it was light, mildly "winey", not too sweet (though still too sweet for the Missus), with a nice soy flavor. Even though this was obviously fresh water fish; it lacked the muddy flavor I find unpleasant. This was much better than the version at Shanghai Number 1. I also thought the portion size was nice for an appetizer.

I will say that the tea we ordered - Ti Guanyin, a favorite of mine was just plain insipid.

I didn't see one of my favoite dishes; jellied pork on the menu, so we went with the mutton version instead.

I loved the texture, but the sauce provided was just wrong. I ended up opting for black vinegar instead.

Of course we had to get Xiao Long Bao. We went for the Pork and Crab version.

These were average at best. The tuft at the top was too hard, the wrappers ok....no leakage here, if perhaps a bit too thick and gummy. I thought the filling had decent flavor; not too sweet, but you could definitely make out the crab. Not enough soup though.....hardly any soup.

Some of the other dishes....stuff we could order if we could handle left-overs like the Braised Pork looked really good. So I think we'll probably be back.

Overall, this was a nice start to our roadtrip, which would be taking us North, culminating with dinner in San Mateo at Michelin Starred Wakuriya. Man was I going to enjoy this roadtrip!

Shanghailander Palace
1695 South Azusa Ave
Hacienda Heights, CA 91745

 

Liang's Kitchen Revisited

As the year started winding down, I've found myself thinking that I needed to circle back at some of those places that, well, really didn't impress me too much over the years, just to see.

This short and sweet post on Liang's is probably a good start since I hadn't been here in a while. Even though it was perfect soup weather, the place seems a bit slower than when I first visited.

I started with the Stewed Bean Curd Skin.

Not the prettiest dish in the world, this really looked like offal, and for some reason the decorative bit of tomato and cilantro leaf really didn't do much for the presentation. The flavor, though mild, had just enough soy sauce flavor to push this up to decent. The yba was kind of hard in some of the thicker pieces, but this wasn't bad at all.

I went with the Beef Tendon Noodle Soup with handmade noodles. The broth was very slightly beefy, better than on previous visits, which really doesn't say much. But what this terrible was that there was a pervading taste bleach. I tried to explain to the Server who nodded, walked away and never returned. Then I tried to explain to the young lady who brought me my check, but no go...... I just cut my losses. I don't think they rinsed this off after sanitizing, or something of the sort.

Anyway, the tendon was plus/minus, some tough pieces, some pretty good. The pieces of beef were dry. I like the pickeld mustard greens and the noodles, though still too gummy and over-worked for my taste, were actually an improvement over previous visits.

I left and went and had some ramen........

Liang’s Kitchen
4681 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

 

Comfort Food Roadtrip: Qing Dao Bread Food (Monterey Park) and Shen Yang Restaurant (San Gabriel)

We hadn't been down to the SGV since before our vacation in May. I've been pretty busy with work and had been craving some jiaozi (dumplings) for a while. Unfortunately, there isn't a place in San Diego that makes anything remotely close to a decent jiaozi, xiao long bao, or even dim sum. It's a shame. I was missing jiaozi so much that I actually went to Dump(ling) Inn, which was a big mistake. The Missus also wanted some hearty comfort food as well. So a couple of weeks ago, we headed on up to the SGV.

Qing Dao Bread Food:

Folks that read the blog long enough know that while I love a good jiaozi, I'm partial to the Shandong style; specifically QingDao style dumpling. The wrappers have to be rolled by hand, those edges have to be thin enough so that the texture of the wrapper will be even after folding. The texture of the wrapper has to have a bit of stretch, almost like a good al dente noodle. It should glisten when cooked. I know, blah, blah, blah......

What it basically comes down to is that I enjoy the mutton jiaozi from Qing Dao Bread Food. It's the style I enjoy the best and also the city the Missus is from. The Missus always laughs after talking to the guy here....according to Her; his accent is "totally, one hundred-percent Qing Dao" which has its own unique accent ( "Qingdao Hua" (青岛话)).

Since we were folding two meals into one, this was going to be something light....all the Missus wanted was millet porridge, which is something like 50 cents here.

I'm not a big fan of this, but for the Missus, it's comfort food.

Over the years, we've noticed that there are new specials offered; many of them examples of typical, traditional, Qing Dao style "soul food". On this visit; the Missus and I were amazed to see housemade Chinese Sausage. Not just any Chinese sausage, but stuff that really looked like the style made in Qing Dao. So we just had to try it.

According to the sign, it's a "special, secret recipe". I can say this though, the flavors are pretty much spot on. While I'm not certain if the attributes of this sausage is unique to Qing Dao, or if it is more of a regional style, I will say that the strong flavor of wine in which the pork is marinated in, and the five spice was there. In fact, the five spice had the potent fragrance and flavor of the stuff from Qing Dao; which is what I use at home. Interesting tidbit; in QingDao, you don't go to the market to buy five spice. Rather, you go to the pharmacy to get it! In terms of texture; it wasn't quite as "air dried" as I'm used to, making it more moist. Also, the meat was cut in larger chunks. It was also a bit more salty as well. Still, this was a taste of home for the Missus and comfort food for me. It's obviously hand made and not cheap at $20 a pound ($4 each), but totally worth it.

Of course I had to have the Lamb Jiaozi:

I won't go too much into detail, since I've written about this, several times before. I will say, that on this visit, while still good, it wasn't quite up there with what I'd had previously. That sheen was missing; the wrapper was a bit more brittle, lacking the slight pull I'm used too. It's still among my favorites though.

Qing Dao Bread Food is an interesting shop; they were quite busy on this morning, I think they've found their niche, the soul food of Qing Dao. Lots of guys coming in and buying mantou (which is the classic starch for the sausage) on this morning. I'm sure we'll be dropping by to pick up some sausage on future trips to the area.

Qing Dao Bread Food
301 North Garfield Ave.
Monterey Park, CA 91754

Shen Yang Restaurant (San Gabriel location):

I'd been wanting to check out Shen Yang for a while. Since we were in the mood for the hearty type of Northern Chinese, we headed up to Shen Yang Restaurant.

There's something very "old school" SGV about this place. The service is pretty much all business, the customers older Chinese....not a single word of English heard from anyone other than us the whole visit.

We started up with the Stewed Pork Bones (Jiang Gutou).

There something so wonderful about picking through tasty pieces of meat, tendon, and other connective tissue around bones. The flavor of the bones have been passed to the meat; the stickiness of the tendon and other connective tissues, along with the varying texture of the "good bits" make this a great dish with a couple of beers. The flavor was straight ahead and I could probably pull this off at home, but this wasn't bad at all.

Since we're talking about Shenyang style food here, I had to try the Suan Cai. So we got the Shredded Pork with Pickled Sour Napa.

Not the prettiest looking dish, but this was very good. The suan cai was prepped well; neither salty, nor too sour. The texture was spot on. The Missus was told that they make their own suan cai, which takes about a month. This was very warming and hearty. The portion size was typical of Northern Chinese, very generous. The pork was tender and the flavors for this type of dish well balanced. Think of it as a sauerkraut stir-fry if you will.

We'll be back to try the suan cai yang rou soon. The prices are reasonable, though I'm not certain that unless you've been exposed to this type of cuisine, you'll really enjoy it. For me; it's hearty, comfort food.

Shen Yang Restaurant
137 S San Gabriel Blvd
San Gabriel, CA 91776

 

Bristol Cafe (inside Bristol Farms market) (revisit)(lunch)

mmm-yoso!!!  Food blog. Friends share blogging time.  Today, Kirk is enjoying chilly weather elsewhere.  Ed (from Yuma) is enjoying chilly weather in Yuma.  Cathy is chilly too and is the author of this post.

This easily could be another 'eat in the store, shop in the store' post, but I didn't take photos of our purchases or store displays (it was too crowded; day after Thanksgiving) (know that we bought by-the-pound poke, by the pound olives, a chunk of Bleu cheese, a wonderful aged rib eye steak (40% off that day), a cardoon, a coffee pot and cups gift set (also 40% off) and a fresh baked sweet from the bakery); it would be sensory overload to photograph the displays and variety of items sold here.  Bristol Farms is an upscale high end  grocer located in La Jolla that has a sit down cafe inside the store.  I posted about a breakfast here in 2010.

There is a grab and go area, salad bar area and steam trays as well as the menu above the Cafe cash register, so you can grab, choose, pay and have a seat in the Cafe area or on the patio, and enjoy your meal.

Or you can have a seat and have a menu brought out to you, for full service.  

There are Daily Specials listed on small placards on the table, and this was the Special on the day we were here- tomato soup and grilled Cheddar on sourdough ($6.99).   This is no ordinary tomato soup: it was chunky with tomatoes and it was spicy -in a good way-.  This is a great soup on a cool day.  The fresh sourdough grilled cheese was really nice on its own and went well if you dipped it in the soup.  

As our waitress brought out our waters, I asked about the soup choices (there are five or six soups a day). Cabbage soup, something I crave from childhood, would be part of this meal. It was very well seasoned, had some tomatoes and beef in it and very, very good. 

 One of the menu items was  a cup of soup and quiche ($7.99).  There were also five quiche choices and  mushroom was the only word I remember hearing and ordering.  This was *so* good.  Really flavorful crust, fillings, custard, cheeses.  Our waitress mentioned that we could purchase a whole quiche, made fresh daily in the store.  I will be doing so, next visit.

A very satisfying, flavorful meal in a nice setting.

Bristol Farms 8510 Genessee Avenue 92122 (858)558-4180 7 a.m.-10 p.m. Website

Terra American Bistro- local & sustainable (lunch) (almost in La Mesa)

You've stumbled (back) onto mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog. Today, Cathy is writing while Kirk is enjoying a bit of a vacation and Ed (from Yuma) is enjoying a bit of Yuma.

Below is a photo of Terra American Bistro, its parking area and entrance door. The photo was taken from 70th Street.  Those other buildings you see are on the North side of El Cajon Boulevard.  Two more blocks East and you are in La Mesa.  A lot of people think that Terra (which was on Vermont Street in Hillcrest from 1998 until the move here in 2011) is in La Mesa (and therefore "East County"), but according to the post office and various maps, the City location is San Diego. 

In any case, once you've found this Farm to Table gem which focuses on local, sustainable and organic ingredients, you will be impressed with the comfortable interior. I have no story as to why we decided to eat here: we were passing by following an errand, saw it was open, were hungry and just stopped.

 

The small waiting area wall is lined with various newspaper articles, photos and awards as well as an enlarged photo on canvas that is the cover of  From Terra's Kitchen, Chef Jeff's cookbook.  

There is a chalkboard listing Daily Specials just above the Hostess Stand.

The regular lunch menu and specials menu are simple and concentrate on currently available ingredients.

The Beverage Menu is on the opposite side of the regular menu. The fruit and herb-infused vodkas are made in house and I have heard only good things about the hand crafted non-alcoholic beverages. 

The table decor is simple yet elegant.

 We chose to share a mini jar of chicken liver ($8.50), made with thyme, brandy and onion and served with a flavorful grilled bread. This was *wonderful* and really quite large. 

The Roasted Beet and Goat Cheese salad ($9) was so very fresh and flavorful.  Those are toasted hazelnuts  and a miso-based dressing accompanying the vast array of fresh lettuces. 

One of the lunch specials-Beer battered fresh local Ling Cod served with thin, crispy bistro fries and a really nice citrus slaw ($11). A house-made sort of tartar sauce made with lemon and capers was very complimentary to the fish (and its light, crispy batter). Of course the catsup was house made. 

Terra is a wonderful, down to earth yet elegant restaurant serving fresh food and with wonderful service, located very close to the border that is considered "East County".  It is very nice for a lunch, brunch or fancy dinner.  

Terra American Bistro 7091 El Cajon Boulevard, San Diego 92115(619) 293-7088 Website Open Monday 11:30-2, Tues-Wed-Thurs 11:30-9, Fri 11:30-10, Sat 4:30-10, Sun 9-9

Sima's Grill & Deli (Miramar)

mmm-yoso!!! is a blog about food.  Kirk and Ed(from Yuma) and Cathy do most of the writing here.  Cathy is the Blogger du Jour. 

The North side of Miramar Road is pretty much a solid mass of strip malls and storefronts from the I-805 to the I-15, whereas the South side of Miramar Road is Marine Corps Air Station Miramar.  Between the signal lights of Distribution and Carroll, (East of the McDonald's and  West of the Taco Bell/KFC), you should see this storefront.

Many, many friends have told me of the quality Dietz and Watson based sandwiches made at Sima's by the husband and wife owners, who have been in this location since 1984. Each of those friends has also made certain to mention that each item is made to order and at times, there is a wait. 

 The Mister and I happened by on a Saturday, after the lunch hour rush and didn't order sandwiches. 

The rustic knotty pine lined walls and wood tables and chairs and random wall decor make it feel like home. There is a television in the corner; college football was on.

 Soon enough, our orders were brought out to the table.  The Greek chicken salad (~$7) was made with crispy mixed greens, cucumber, tomato and olives, topped with plenty of Feta, an herby oil and vinegar based dressing and the chicken was freshly grilled with onions and herbs-served warm on top of the lettuce.  Really, really good.  The pita bread was warm and fluffy, served with a nice tangy tzatziki sauce and really went well with everything. This was a very large meal.

Barely noticeable on the menu- to the far right, under the heading "Hot off the Grill"...The 1/2 lb char-grilled pastrami burger with cheese ($6.75).  Did I say *char* grilled?  Perfectly, magnificently, wonderfully flavored burger, complimented by the also grilled Dietz and Watson pastrami, topped with crispy lettuce, fresh tomato, raw onion, a nice size wedge of pickle all on a toasted sesame seed bun.  This burger was the best I have had in years.  Memorable. 

There is a breakfast menu in addition to the sandwich selections. The quality of our non-sandwich meal lets me think that breakfast here is also of very high quality.  We enjoy family owned businesses, especially when the quality and care in preparation is consistent and has been, for decades.  

Sima's Grill & Deli 7160 Miramar Road San Diego 92121 (858) 578-2582 M-F 7:30-4:30, Sat 10-4 Closed Sunday

Sagmani's Restaurant-Mediterranean (El Cajon)

mmm-yoso!!! is a food blog.  Both Kirk and Ed (from Yuma) are on well deserved vacations. Cathy's well deserved vacation will be starting in a few days, so she is blogging about food.

On the hypotenuse side of a triangular corner in El Cajon (Douglas Avenue intersects El Cajon Boulevard which turns into Main Street) is a small strip mall containing a Barber shop and Tire Store, all across the parking lot from a gas station) as well as the (now faded) signage for Sagmani's Restaurant. Sagmanis has been here since 2010. Here is a link to Kirk's post.

Five tables inside and one or two tables out front, neat and clean with a one page menu, Sagmanis is not pretentious.

You can have a pitcher of water or bottled water.  Hot tea will be brought out after your meal. There are two televisions, which I've never seen on at lunch time. 

 Warm bread is brought out with your meal. 

 

The lentil soup ($4), made fresh daily, is always our order here.  It is excellent, made with plenty of lentils, onions, vermicelli noodle bits and fresh spices.  Unique for such a seemingly basic soup. That bowl, by the way, is deceptively large; this is enough soup to share.

 A side of hummus ($5) is also fresh made, topped with olive oil, sumac and cumin as well as parsley and and olive.  This large portion could be considered a meal, especially with the large soup and all the bread.

On this day a beef shish kabob plate ($7) was part of our shared order.  Served on top of fresh sumac topped rice mixed with vermicelli  and with lettuce, tomato, onion, cucumber and yellow (turmeric) pickled cabbage (not hot, but more vinegar-y) slices, the kabobs are cooked to order.

Made with coarse ground meat, fresh herbs and spices before grilling, the juicy meatiness of these kabobs are flavor filled. Really, the kabobs here are my favorite. The daily stews are also very good. 

 As mentioned, hot tea is brought out when your meal is finished. 

This is the sign you'll see if you are heading West on Douglas, toward the El Cajon signal light; you'll have just passed the row of storefronts in that parking area and will be seeing the gas station.

Find your way here. Good, fresh food. Stay warm!

Sagmani's Restaurant 478 W. Douglas Ave El Cajon 92020 (619) 440-0077 

Bountiful Birria at Fernandez Restaurant and Catering

Fernandez Catering isn't one of those places you drive past and impulsively stop and grab a bite. In fact, just finding the darn place was a bit of a challenge. Located on Flower Avenue, right off Hollister in Nestor, my coworker who recommended the place couldn't even recall the name, nor the street, which had me driving fruitlessly around the area. Finally, one day she googled and found me the address of the place.

Located in what looks like an apartment building in a lot next to a smog shop, things were quite hectic on my visits there. There always seemed to be customers coming and going; many a bleary eyed gentleman grabbing birria to go. Ah yes, the birria de res. It's the only item on the menu. You can get it in different shapes and forms; queso taco, consomme con carne, tacos, quesadillas....in the end it's all about the birria here and rightfully so. It's also the only protein on the menu.

The customers all seemed like regulars....they all knew the main man here; Jorge. And as much as these places are sometimes somewhat insular, here I was greeted with smiles, and left to multiple handshakes. There's something very warm and hospitable about my visits here, even though they were quite busy.

I went full speed ahead on my first visit and got a full order of the birria de res.....which turned out to be quite a bit. In fact, I didn't eat again until well past dinner time. The birria is beefy and the broth rich with fat. The flavors also reflect said bovine heritage. I was told that I'd need to adjust the flavors so I wasn't surprised when this arrived lacking salt, which was easily added, along with the salsa, and lime to cut the richness and add some acid to the dish. No, this isn't health food; but it's truly soul food.

Add the fact that the hand made tortillas seemed to have been dipped in the birria juice and oil before heating on the griddle, and this just seemed too much of a good thing.

And yet, I couldn't get all that beefy goodness out of my mind. Add in how welcomed I was made to feel, plus advice from my coworker, "the order of birria is too much, go for the tacos......" I just had to return a couple of weeks later.

It was less busy on this visit and I was greeted with smiles and handshakes, which made me really feel welcomed. This time I was better versed and more prepared. I went with three tacos and some consomme. Along with a bottle of water, this set me back $8.96.

I knew this was going to be good good when I was advised to "have some tendon on your tacos..." Are you kidding me!

The consomme was piping hot, and with the help of some salt and lime, it just hit the spot. This is my kind of breakfast.

The tacos followed soon after.

The beefy flavor and mild spices came through quite well in the taco format. And yes, there were some very nice pieces of gelatinous tendon, very tender and sticky.

When I was asked (twice) about which I preferred, I had to go with the tacos....though you need to get some consomme as well.

Overall, the spices are mild. You will need to add salt, but the flavor of the long cooked beef does shine through. And if you need some spice, you can always have a couple of bites of this:

I wish I lived a bit closer, I'd have breakfast here once a week if I did.

The hours are rather limited; Wednesday thru Sunday 8am to 2pm. I visited at 8am and it started getting really crowded as I left. There's a rather limited amount of parking in the lot, but more street parking.

In the end....for me at least, this place was worth the effort to find.

Fernandez Restaurant and Catering

2265 Flower Ave. San Diego, CA 92154

Hours: Wed - Sunday 8am - 2pm