mmm-yoso!!!

Yummy House Revisited

After my fiasco of a visit to Yummy House (no hot tea, no tendon hot pot, no ong choi, no rice!!!!), I decided to give the place a "rest". I mean, really, the signature Peking Duck really didn't impress me very much. And while the kitchen seemed a total fail during that last visit, the folks working front of house, tried their best, and it really wasn't their fault. So, six months down the line, as we hit another streak of cooler weather, I decided to revisit.....solo of course....just in case of another total fail.

The gentleman working didn't understand much English but was very nice....the current menu is a copy of a take-out menu in a plastic cover....with a good amount of writing on it.

I decided to just order what were my two favorite dishes from my previous visits.

Starting with the Suan Cai Yang Rou. Of course, the Missus would enjoy the left-overs, with our own suan cai; both the fermented cabbage and juice added.

This was not bad; the suan cai was on the mild side and there wasn't a bracing fermented savory-sourness; but I'm thinking that folks might not enjoy that as much as we do. The lamb was decently tender and really added a nice gaminess to the soup that worked real well. The sour cuts the barnyard, while adding it's own layer of cheesy-sourness to the whole thing.

I was interested to see how the Beef Tendon Stew; what I thought was the best item I'd had at Yummy House would fare this time around....and yes, they actually had it.

This was much thicker than what I'd had before; but it was really good. Great acidity from the tomatoes, the beefiness from the meat came through nicely. Well seasoned, with a mild touch of spice. My only complaint was that the larger chunks of tendon were too hard. Rich and hearty and even better than what I'd had before.

Of course there were leftovers. The Missus enjoyed the doctored up suan cai yang rou and the stew. When I showed Her the photos of the menu, She looked at the Chinese name of the place, took in what I knew about the cooks, and made a recommendation. Calvin had been wondering about the tendon stew since our last, terrible visit when they were out of everything. So, one day, when our lunch hours were synchronized we headed on over.

We did have the same two dishes from the previous visit. This time there was less tomato in the tendon stew, but the chunks of tendon was much more tender.

We also ordered the Green Beans; which were a tad over-cooked.

It was also on the oily side, but unlike the previous version of this I had, was seasoned nicely.

And then the dish the Missus told me to order; something we'd had at banquets in China, "Four Joy Meatballs"....the Northern version of Lion's Head. The Missus told me to make sure there were four...….and there was.

These were surprisingly good, a nice porkiness, with a hint of five spice. The meatballs were moist, with obviously a good amount of filler; which, in this case, helped the cause making the meatball tender and very moist. The brown sauce wasn't too salty and had just enough ginger to help cleanse the palate of the richness of the meatball.

Funny thing; in spite of the number four being bad luck (four in Chinese sounds like the word for "death" - which is why we'd never catch Yellow Cab - 619-444-4444!); but in this case it symbolizes the four joys of life. The round meatball symbolizes a "gathering".....so basically the gatherings where the four periods in life are celebrated.

So, here's the thing, we enjoyed our meal, but if you want to check this place out you may want to do so soon. It may be because I visited during lunch, but during both meals, there were no other customers in the place.

Yummy House
4633 Convoy St.
San Diego, CA 92111

Nhà Hàng Chay Hoa Từ Bi Tâm

A few months ago, I drove past the latest incarnation of a restaurant at 4591 El Cajon Boulevard.....and did a double take. It looked like yet another restaurant has taken the space; the last three, including a location of Saigon Sandwiches moved in and out so fast I never got a chance to check them out. What got my attention was the "Organic - Veggie" lettering on the sign.

I really wasn't too keen on checking this place out but "FOYs" (friends of yoso) Elle and Phuong both mentioned this place in the comments section of my Banh Mi Boulevard post. So why not? The following weekend, I drove over. Hoa Từ Bi Tâm opens at 8am, so I decided to head over for breakfast.

They've really "greened out" the place and one thing clued me in.....that this was a real "vegetarian" place; there's a bit of Buddhist literature around. This ain't no hipster - tree hugger joint. there's even floor seating available; just don't ask me to do that, I've gone though my lack of flexibility, which has turned into a bit of a phobia over the years. Well, here you can sit on the floor if you want to.

Another interesting thing.....just about everything on the menu (the Banh Xeo is $6) is five bucks!

I decided to start with the Banh Beo, something I hadn't had in a while.

The tapioca - rice cake was way too soft and was ungainly...it also strangely lacked the mild hint of sweetness. While there was a good amount of toppings; it was quite bland and sorely in need of a more savory component. The faux nuoc mam cham was super sweet and amplified the need for something savory in this dish.

In looking over the list of noodle soups; two were quickly eliminated; Bun Mam is only served on Thursdays and frankly, since that soup is a major umami bomb, I'm not sure how things would manage to hold up without seafood or meat, and the version of Bun Rieu which might have been a possibility, was only served on Tuesdays. I chose something that I thought would do well in a vegetarian format; Bun Mang; dried bamboo soup.

The highlights of this soup were the noodles; while the portion was rather small, was prepped perfectly, it shows that they really take care with what is being served. The rehydrated bamboo shoots had a nice crunch and earthy flavor. Unfortunately, not enough of that flavor was given to the broth what was surprisingly salty and on the "sweet" side. The bean curd items were standard issue....and I'm not a big fan of some wheat gluten products; which has a weirdly chalky-"off" meat flavor to me. And those items; especially the faux cha lua tasted that way.

Still; this wasn't terrible and I decided to return this past weekend to try a few other items.

I started with the Bo Bia; Jicama Spring Rolls.

I think these had been sitting a while for a couple of reasons; unlike my previous visit, where things took a while to hit the table, this came out in five minutes. In addition, the wrapper was dried out and really chewy. Third, in addition to the crunch of Jicama, I usually detect a pleasant light sweetness, which was missing here. The dipping sauce; which tasted peanut based was actually quite good; it held up well, and was nice and thick, coating things well.

Not quite knowing what to order in terms of noodle soup, I went with the Hu Tieu.

Which turned out to be a good choice. The broth, while still edging on being too salty, was fine. Because it was on the milder side, I could really make out the flavors; the lightly sweet cauliflower, the vegetal broccoli, the sliced king mushrooms, earthy and meaty. The bean curd items were fine, though I'm still not a fan of the wheat gluten stuff here. The noodles were cooked perfectly this time as well. I also enjoyed a squeeze of lime to tame the sodium and the addition of crunchy bean sprouts. This was not bad at all.....especially for five bucks!

The folks here are really nice. I noticed that all customers were a bit older; except for one table where a very unhappy young lady sat with her smartphone not eating anything while the two older women with her had noodle soup. I'm glad I tried the place; it looks like they already have a decent customer base and are trying to put out a good product. I hope they do well. I just may return one day for another breakfast...

Hey, maybe if they have one of the those "ear cleaning guys" like at Wenshu Temple? Just kidding....once in my life is enough!

Nhà Hàng Chay Hoa Từ Bi Tâm
4591 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA 92115
Hours:
Thurs - Tues 8am - 8pm
Closed on Wednesday

Thanks for the recommendation Elle and Phuong!

The Tri Tiperia (Sweet and Savory Gourmet)

On a recent drive up Mount Acadia, I noticed a new sign in the strip mall on the corner of Mt Acadia and Acworth. So, I took a quick left turn into the parking lot.

The sign read "The Tri Tiperia", which really got my attention. As I got closer I saw "Sweet and Savory Gourmet" in smaller lettering. So, I guessed that Sweet and Savory Gourmet had done a bit of rebranding for their take-out business.

I took a quick look at the hours and saw Monday to Friday noon to four pm. This was a weekend, so they weren't open. Still, I took a quick look at the posted menu and noticed that the Tri-Tip sandwich I'd had before was now called the "OG" and had three other versions available. Along with the four sandwiches, there were three salads on the menu and that was it. The tri-tip I'd had here before had been decent, so I made a mental note to return.

I had a Doctor's appointment near noon recently, so I dropped by once I was done. And heck, after all the poking and prodding; well, I definitely wanted some meat.

These days you no longer walk into the shop. Rather, you walk up to the window and place your order. With seven items on the menu, it's not hard at all to decide. The sandwich is made to order; things are heated in the small kitchen, wrapped and ready to go. The sandwich comes with a cookie that was confiscated as I walked into the office.

In many ways; this was a better sandwich. I had ordered the "Fuego" and in retrospect I should have gone with the "OG" to really compare. But, the standard issue ciabatta had been heated on the griddle and was still warm as I opened the sandwich at my desk. As was the meat. There seemed to be more tri-tip on this sandwich than on the previous version I had. It was moist and very tender. It was hard making out the seasoning on the beef since all the peppers and the chipotle mayo; which had a bit of kick really over-powered the sandwich.

Still, this was a nice sandwich for eight bucks....it didn't look like much, but I was quite full afterwards.

I'll definitely return and report back what I find. No, I'm not expecting anything like I make at home, but this was quite nice. I love little shops like these, totally a one man operation and hope they do well. We need more little mom-and-pop places that make decent food.

The Tri Tiperia (Sweet and Savory Gourmet)
3574 Mount Acadia Blvd
San Diego, CA 92111
Hours:
Mon - Fri 12pm - 4pm

 

Chicken Wing Wednesday - Krispy Krunchy Chicken Revisited

Just a short post for "hump day".

I had just finished a meeting and it was nearly noon.....a terrible time for lunch in the Kearny Mesa area....unless you love crowds. It was one of those times when I just wanted something....fried. So, I decided to head on over to the 99 Ranch Market on Balboa, which was pretty sedate as usual and decided to get lunch at Krispy Krunchy Chicken. I'm glad they ditched the terrible ramen here a while back.

I didn't want heat lamp wings, so I did what the young lady who works here told me back when they opened; if you order the ten piece wings, they will be made to order. If you order waffle fries, they will be made to order. So, I did both and ended up with way too much food.

These were hot, moist, and indeed c(k)rispy and c(k)runchy. The seasoning and batter still reminds me of Popeyes, nothing wrong with that. Though I find the meat itself more moist and with a definite "saltiness" without the spice like Popeyes. Just a little dip into Louisiana hot sauce, the vinegar and spice really helps cut any richness....but not the guilt I'm afraid.

While I'm not the biggest fan of waffle fries; these were at least crisp. Though I'll just stick with wedges next time.

One of the folks in the office was the beneficiary of a half dozen wings and a ton of waffle fries.

Well, I got my fried food fix in...…..until next time.

Krispy Krunchy Chicken
5950 Balboa Ave (Inside 99 Ranch Market)
San Diego, CA 92111

Charlie's Best Breads (Pacific Beach)

mmm-yoso!!! is a food blog with posts about random eating places in and around San Diego and the world.  Today's post is in San Diego.  It's written by Cathy.  

On one of those rainy days earlier this year, a client and I decided to meet at Charlie's Best Bread (instead of the usual Starbucks) in Pacific Beach.  I hadn't been here since the 'expansion'.  In 2011, I had posted about a second Charlie's Best Bread location in Point Loma, which has since closed and is currently Point Loma Fish Shop.This is the same location in the mall on Garnet between Lamont and Kendall as has been for more than 30 years...but it used to just be a small walk up joint where you could get a sample, order and pay and go.  



Now, you can walk in, see displays, still get samples AND you can have a seat, some artisan (Cafe Moto) coffee and...
order one of the sandwiches or toasts, displayed behind the glass there and enjoy yourself and a quick meeting with a friend.
On this visit I did grab a loaf of raisin cHalla to go (it's Challah; a 1.8 lb loaf ($8)).  This Jewish egg bread is always a favorite for The Mister and I at home; just with butter, sometimes toasted and occasionally made into French toast. 

One  of the sandwiches this day was turkey, on a (fresh baked) ciabatta loaf ($6.75). A good quality turkey, Swiss, arugula, tomato, avocado and spicy aioli was just the right size and combination of flavors to satisfy.
 I brought half home for The Mister and we will be going back soon.

Charlie's Best Bread  1808 Garnet Avenue San Diego, CA 92109 Open Mon-Sat 7-7, Sun 8-7 Website

Road Trip - Bistro Na's (Temple City)

One of the main reasons I was really excited about our road trip to the SGV, was our reservations at Bistro Na's. I'd read about the opening of Bistro Na's; supposedly serving "Imperial Court Cuisine", in places like Food Talk Central and various blog posts over the last two years. I'd had a taste of this style of cuisine during a our final meal in Beijing. And since this restaurant was an extension of Beijing's Najia Xiaoguan (那家小馆), I was quite excited.

And overall, even though the menu wasn't exactly totally Chinese Imperial Cuisine; at least in the way I've read about it, there was an interesting balance of flavors and textures with mostly excellent cooking technique. Also, one of the key elements of Jing Cuisine was the ability to blend the techniques of the Han, Manchu, Hui, and other ethnic groups as well characteristics of all other various schools, including the "Four Major Cuisines", the "Eight Great Cuisines", and all things in between.

Service was the best I've had in a Chinese eating establishment in years. It was gracious and efficient, and our main Server was amazingly warm and friendly, while being a total professional. Man, Ed from Yuma would have loved this place.

The location; right off Rosemead Boulevard was an area I hadn't been to in maybe 20 years! Man, has it changed. The last time we were in the area, at Xiang Yuan Gourmet, we came up Temple City Boulevard instead.

The parking lot for this strip mall is terrible, we ended up parking on the street across the way.

The interior is quite a sight to see....with warrens of rooms and booths. The décor is quite what I'd call traditional in concept. The menu; with every dish photographed is thick as a college textbook.

And of course, dishes are "social media" ready....though I'd never seen anyone take 12 photos of a single black cod dish until this day.....

The first dish up was the signature "Crispy Shrimp".

Man, this really set the stage for the meal. The texture of the shells, delicately thin and crisp, in contrast to the perfectly cooked flesh, plump and tender, was amazing. The sauce had some sweetness, but there was just the lightest touch of spice to move things along. The Missus preferred eating Hers separate, meat from shells, while I preferred mine together. If you have these, please eat those shells. Don't be like the "Black Cod Girls" and leave those behind. Excellent dish.

My favorite dish of the night would seem to be the most humble; the Chili Tofu Skin; yep bean curd skin.

The cilantro in this was really amazing...I know, that sounds weird, but it had a nice slight anise, that went along with almost a minty-celery flavor. The bean curd skin was so very crisp, yet light, the dressing, which had both a touch of cumin and what seemed to be a bit of Sichuan peppercorn, along with just the lightest touch of sesame oil just brought things together so well. It was so refreshing.

The one clunker for the meal was the Jellied Pig's Feet.

The texture was excellent, but the flavors seemed a bit off. It just didn't have enough porkiness for us. This was rather mundane.

What wasn't mundane was the "Secret Tofu". This was basically an steamed egg-tofu, laid on a bok choy leaf that's sliced, dusted, and fried.

Crisp and light, with a nice, pleasant egg flavor. The bok choy layer added a nice contrast in texture and a mild bitterness to the dish. The sauce added a mild sweetness and savory tones to the dish.

The Dry Braised Sea Bass was cooked perfectly; it was buttery and moist in texture. Our really nice Server kept warning us about how spicy it was....but it wasn't very spicy at all.

The sauce was fairly mild and straight forward, the topping which included mushrooms, bamboo shoots, scallions, and pork was nice as it added some contrast. The Missus enjoyed it, but I guess I wanted something with a bit more oomph? Though I've got to say, this tasted better then next day.

For dessert; there's a combination snack platter that has all those treats the Missus loved when going to school in Beijing. And even though it was a ton of stuff and $36, I told Her to order it. However, She decided just to go with this.....

It's "Milky Cheese"; basically milk pudding with cheese in it in the shape of a fish. The Missus enjoyed it; I'm not a big fan of milk pudding and the cheese aftertaste wasn't my favorite thing in the world....this coming from a cheese lover.

The Missus really loved this meal. I expected it to be much more expensive than it was....we regularly spend more at El Jardin. Of course we didn't order any of the really meat heavy items on the menu.

We'll definitely be back. Muslim style dishes are quite common in Jing Cai; and we saw several on the menu we'd like to try.

If you do decide to check out Bistro Na's; at least on the weekend, make reservations. There was a huge line of waitlisted folks outside when we left.

Bistro Na's
9055 Las Tunas Drive
Temple City, CA 91780
Hours:
Sun - Thurs 11am - 230pn, 5pm - 9pm
Fri - Sat   11am - 230pm, 5pm - 930pm

Road Trip - Northern Cuisine Restaurant (City of Industry)

We had missed one of our yearly appointments back in our old "neck of the woods" last year. So, we needed to catch up and get that taken care of this year. We decided to use some of our "points" and make it an overnight stay. Our appointment ended right before noon, so we decided to grab lunch close by. I had Northern Cuisine, a restaurant that opened at the beginning of 2017, in the same mall that used to house Cost Plus when we lived in the area.

The restaurant is good sized with rather large tables. Looking at the menu, it was quite obvious that large parties would fit in well. And even though there is stuff like Song Shu Gui Yu (松鼠桂鱼), "Squirrel Fish", and Peking Duck on the menu; there was just one item I really wanted. more on that later.

We weren't super hungry so we just ordered three items and it was still too much for us to finish. Luckily our room had a mini-fridge and I'd brought an ice chest along.

First dish up was the "Big Plate Cauliflower"......the Missus loves Her cauliflower and I often make a cumin - "ma-la" version at home so we were interested in how this would be.

This was pretty good; there was a light dusting of Sichuan Peppercorn which highlighted the mild sweetness of the cauliflower. All items were cooked nicely. The pork belly was very tender and while not exactly "la rou" (Hunan smoked pork), it did have a mild smokiness to it. The chilies added a sneaky heat to things and the leek a mild pungency. Pretty good dish.

The Boiled Bamboo Pot was interesting for one main reason.

It was the presence of a certain canned meat product....though I'm thinking it wasn't the most popular brand. It actually did well in this as the earthy and crisp bamboo shoots needed some saltiness and more depth. The shredded pork was tender, but didn't really add any flavor. Overall, a bit on the bland side.

And then there was the item I'd been craving.

The Tianjin Baozi. According to the menu and our server, this is made fresh to order. I hadn't had a decent Baozi in ages and have recently been craving the Tianjin Baozi from the Tasty Noodle house location in San Gabriel. We wouldn't have time to visit there; so I thought getting my baozi fix in at Northern Cuisine might work out.

And while I wouldn't consider this to be traditional Tianjin Guo Bu Li Baozi ("stuffed buns that even dogs would not eat") it was quite good. The bun, while not overly yeasty in fragrance was light and tender. Both the filling and dough was a bit sweeter than what the Missus's "Shandong - Beijing" palate enjoys, but we quickly found that a drizzle of black vinegar really balanced things out and even added another dimension to the porky goodness of the filling. So, even though I wouldn't consider these to be close to traditional Tianjin style Baozi, I enjoyed them. It was prepared fresh, both the dough and fillings were light, and the black vinegar worked magic in balancing the flavors out. And we could only finish five.....

The service was decent; much more friendly than what we're used to at Chinese places in our old 'hood.

Northern Cuisine Restaurant
17515 Colima Rd.
City of Industry, CA 91748
Hours:
Mon - Fri 11am - 3pm, 5pm - 9pm
Sat - Sun 11am - 9pm

And those who are wondering how Frankie was doing while we were gone....well, "Auntie Ale" took good care of him....heck, he even made it to an "after-party"!

Thanks Auntie!

A Loco Moco from Kona Kakes

Recently, I had just finished up my errands on a nice Saturday morning and was heading home down Linda Vista Road. As I drove past the strip mall, you know where Ballast Point is located, I saw Kona Kakes. It had been over five years since I last visited (yeesh!) and tried their plates. I was really hungry, so I decided to stop by. For some reason, the place seemed a bit cleaner and brighter than I recalled.

Being quite famished; I decided to get what is a guilty pleasure these days, the Loco Moco ($10.99). It did take a while to arrive, but I got to watch all of the happy folks coming to pick up cakes for various occasions. The loco moco made its way to my table and was fairly hefty.

Since getting just downwind of a loco moco is means for celebration these days; I decided to bust out the "Rubio scale", a scoring system originally developed by James Rubio on his now defunct "Big Island Grinds" blog way back in 2005. I modified the scale back in 2005; man, fourteen years ago, and hadn't used it in over six months. So, you ready? Hea' goes......

BURGER: Was supposed to be 1/3 pound, but seemed thinner and smaller than expected. Too lean and tough, but well seasoned. Studded with green onions. Beefy with a decent char. 3.0

EGGS:  Perfectly runny, though not seasoned, and it would have been a winnah' if the edges were crisp. 4.0

RICE: A bit on the dry side, but adequate. 2.5

GRAVY: Very dark, though not too gluey, salty, I definitely don't think this is made from scratch. Bitter bits in the gravy. And no Tabasco either! What's up with all these places not having Tabasco???? 2.5

STUFF: The Mac salad was much better than what I'd had before and served nicely chilled. Could have been seasoned and fairly standard. Standard is also the word for the green salad. 2.5

Overall score - 14.5. Decent, but nothing to go out of your way for. Considering that a typical L&L usually scores a 10, this ain't bad, but it's definitely not in the same league as Island Style Café.

Really friendly, nice woman working about my age, who spent her high school years on Oahu. It was nice chatting with her and I got a couple of to go treats for my friends....who loved the guava cake the best.

So, at least I got my Loco Moco fix in!

Kona Kakes
5401 Linda Vista Road Suite 402
San Diego, CA 92110
Hours:
Mon - Tues 11am - 3pm
Wed - Sat  11am - 6pm
Closed Sundays