mmm-yoso!!!

Spicy Lao Kitchen Revisited

The recent warm spell had the Missus and I craving some Lao and Thai food. So, we decided to head on back to what had become our favorite Lao Restaurant in the area, Spicy Lao Kitchen. I had heard that there had been some changes in terms of the management and kitchen, so I was interested to see if our favorite dishes still held out.

The one young man working the front of house was so very nice. Strangely, there was only one other table during our entire meal.

And sadly, the food didn't measure up. We actually ordered three of our favorite dishes! Which had enjoyed back in February. 

Since these were dishes we'd had several times during our visits over the last couple of years, and that we had ordered the same three dishes during our last visit, I thought it would be interesting to post first, the dish from this visit; than a photo of what the dish looked like during our February visit.

Things came out of the kitchen fairly quickly; starting with the Moo Tod, the "usually" crispy pork belly.

First off, this more thickly sliced and unevenly fried; some parts really hard, not crisp, other parts barely fried. It was on the bland side and missing the dusting of chili powder it used to have....like back in February.

Never was the difference more evident than in the Goong Nam Pla, which had been a favorite dish of ours since our first visit.

The shrimp itself was fine; but was sorely lacking in spice....we ordered medium spice like we always do and this was just plain overly sour. Also missing was that herbaceous-spicy-savory - fish sauce forward topping and sauce which I swear....I could dip my rubba' slippahs in and enjoy.

Less than five months ago, this is what it looked like. Look at the mint and other herbs on this version. All of this was MIA!

And of course the Nem Khao. Whenever that Missus and I would get a decent version of Nem Khao, we'd always talk about that wonderful meal we had on the banks of the Mekong all those years ago. Food can do that, spur memories, feelings, return you to a special time and place. And then to have it taken away.....

The charred rice wasn't crisp enough and on the chewy side. The dish lacked a sufficient amount of sour sausage, though it was super sour. It lacked seasoning and spice. This was truly a disappointing dish.

Especially compared to what we'd had in February.

I'm not sure what happened here. I know that business had been up for sale, but I thought it had been resolved. Though I've heard from sources that one of the owners is no longer involved and has moved out of state.

This was so disappointing, since Spicy Lao had become our favorite Lao restaurant in San Diego. I guess it's time to get back out there trying other Lao style places. 

Spicy Lao Kitchen
5375 Kearney Villa Rd.
San Diego, CA 92123

I know that "FOY" Junichi has also been a regular at Spicy Lao; I'm wondering if he's visited recently and if so, what his experience was like?

 

Tasty House Opens on Clairemont Mesa - Three Grand Opening Visits

Back in April, I noticed that a restaurant named Tasty House was replacing Tealightful Cafe in that strip mall on Clairemont Mesa Boulevard that houses EE Nami and Village Kitchen among others. I was interesting in what they would be serving. One day, while driving past, I noticed that the open sign was lit. It was around lunch time, so I decided to dive on in and visit.

The place was completely empty when I visited.

There was a really nice woman working. She pointed me to a seat and brought me a menu.

The nice lady didn't speak much English, but I saw the older woman behind the counter making jiaozi. Looking at the menu, it seemed like Northern style cuisine. There are even suan cai ("Sauerkraut") dishes on the menu. 

The prices seemed quite reasonable, so I ordered three items. I think there was a communication mix-up, as to my surprise I was brought a takeout order! Perhaps because I ordered so many items she thought it was to go? I had ordered three dishes so I could take the leftovers home to have the Missus sample. I just had to crack up and took my order to go.

The Red Oil Pig ears were cut too thick, making it hard rather than crunchy. It was also served hot....which was a bit strange as I thought it would be a cold dish.

It wasn't particularly spicy and cold have used more seasoning.

Of course I got some jiaozi. I had pointed to the menu and asked in my terrible Mandarin "jiaozi???" and the woman laughed and said "SanXian" (三鲜 - three delicacies). 

    It came with some chili oil and the appropriate (for the region) black vinegar.

The wrappers on several of the dumplings were broken, thus H2O had leaked in during the boiling process nullifying a lot of flavor.

The wrappers were too thick (I still think Dongbei style jiaozi has thicker wrappers) and on the hard side.

   As was the filling. Really chewy and tough. 

I saved two for the Missus, who took one bite and said "you can have it....."

The best item was the Suan Cai with Glass Noodles. Which also came with pork.

The main feature of this was the very sour-fermented tones of the suan cai. This was definitely not a "shrinking violet"! The glass noodles were overcooked and mushy and the pork on the chewy side. But man, that sourness....whoa! 

Well, this was interesting. The Missus was even a bit interested....so much so, that while driving past the place She determined that we should stop in, take a look at the menu and perhaps order some takeout.

By this time, the Grand Opening sign was in place.

While talking to the very nice woman, the Missus determined that their from Dongbei and She proceeded to order two very typical Dongbei Cai dishes that are quite hard to find on menus here in San Diego.

First was the Dōngběi Luàn Dùn which is on the menu as One Pot Out of the Farm ($15.90). It's basically whatever veggies you have stewed with pork.

A large portion size, very home style, potatoes as the base........quite a bit of pork.

This was kinda bland...versions I've had before also used Doubanjiang or something similar to add a nice savory component, this was very plain. A very generous portion though.

The other dish was Páigǔ Dùn Dòujia on the menu as Pork Ribs Stewed with Beans ($15.90).

Man, as if things couldn't get more bland......

Very much simple country cuisine. The beans were still crisp; the pork tender, but the dish was really in need of flavor.

All in all very much like home cooked, simple, country dishes.

The Missus was done with the place...and I was kinda not impressed. But, I thought the folks working here was so nice, that I decided to do one more visit and to actually try to dine in.

It was quite charming; the woman saw me parking my car and actually waved at me....you know I had to give the place one more try, right?

On my previous visit, I saw this sign. A quick Google translate and it said "noodles".....

Which, along with the dumplings, they make inhouse.

So, okay.......this time, I did have a seat and actually dined in.

I really enjoy Zi Ran Yang Rou - Cumin Lamb, so I decided to try the version here. I noticed that the price on the menu had been reduced by a dollar.

This was by far, my favorite dish that I've had here.

While on the salty side; the lamb was decently tender, there was a good amount of earthy-savory cumin. This was by far my favorite dish.

And of course I wanted to try a noodle dish and saw this.

No, it's not the savsage, ahem, probably sausage noodle....but what the heck was Spam Fried Noodle? Well, I was really interested to find out!

Well, this was another "interesting" dish. The noodles were a bit too mushy for my taste. The simple seasoning, soy sauce based, was just like home cooking. As for the "Spam"...well, it was this.

It was beef! I sent the Missus a photo of the menu and She said it said beef in Chinese.....I'm guessing that whatever translation tool was used for the menu....like the "savsage", was perhaps a bit off? The beef was on the chewy side and could have been a bit more "velveted". It lacked the wok hay that I expect with restaurant level food.

In the end; well, to repeat things once again, this is like home cooking and lacks the attributes that separates what one makes at home with what one expects when dining out. It's kind of a bummer since the folks that work here are so nice and the prices are quite reasonable...but really, I'm not going to spend that amount for something I can make at home!

Tasty House
4726 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92117
Current Hours:
Wed - Mon 11am - 930pm
Closed on Tuesday

Ahi Poke from Makai Sushi (Hillcrest)

A couple of months back, I saw this "sushi" shop while driving down Fifth Avenue.

It wasn't the "sushi" sign that caught my eye, but the name, "Makai"....hmmm, in Hawaiian it means "toward the sea"....versus "Mauka" which means "toward the mountains". At least that's what struck me when I saw that sign. So, I got back home and did that Google thingy and read that the owner is originally from Kauai. And then he opened a shop in Hillcrest? Kinda interesting.

I've mentioned hating the parking in Hillcrest in other posts and even though I'm quite "niele", seeing a menu with all kinds of "rolls", and poke bowls, etc.....the only thing that I was curious about was the ahi poke. And since the place opens at noon and is closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays....well, I just wasn't that motivated to deal with the parking situation and the crowds. Until.....I recently had an appointment in Hillcrest which would be finished just before noon. Seemed like the perfect opportunity to check the place out. I walked on over arriving just after the clock struck twelve.

And like I said...taking a look at the menu, there was really only one thing I was interested in.

I walked on into the tiny restaurant and the counter and placed an order for the Ahi Bowl ($20) with the sweet and very nice young lady that was working.

The owner, Matt, came on over and he spoke major pidgin! So, we wen talk story. He's from Poipu on Kauai! I asked him what brought him to San Diego and he told me that he one local kine sushi place in a market in Poipu (I found this in the online HAL guide) with the same name. And then Covid happened and his business was gone. He decided to move to San Diego and open up the same kind of place. But why Hillcrest? Well, he told me that he wasn't looking in the area, but Hillcrest found him! And he's doing good business here. Good for him!

I got my poke bowl, thanked the both of them, and den wen hele.......

I really liked the folks at Makai, so I truly hoped this wasn't going to be one of those mainland "Chi-poke" kinda bowls, you know, 2 ounces of fish, and then all kinds of "stuffs".

Well, upon opening, even though there was avocado, some greens, sort of kimchi like cucumber, it was mostly fish. Though there seemed to be a bit more "sauce" than I usually like.

    There was a good amount of decently cooked rice. I could have done without the "wasabi aioli" and the overly sweet unagi sauce. I guess I just wanted some good shoyu poke? The fish danced close to the edge of being over-sauced, but avoided falling off that cliff. I did enjoy the creaminess of the avocado and the mild sour-spice of the cucumber.

The fish was of decent quality, not the best, but tender, and most importantly, without all the "sugi"; the chewy connective tissue.

I enjoyed the addition of tobiko as it added another layer of textural contrast and some good, mild saltiness to the poke.

While not quite as good as It's Raw or HFS in my opinion....though I gotta return to HFS soon. I prefer this to 8th and B or Poke Etc, and definitely over all those "chi-poke" places.

If it were in my 'hood, I'd probably visit periodically. Especially since the folks here are so welcoming.....Matt does display that "Aloha Spirit"!

As it is; if I'm passing thru and hit the parking lot-tery, I'll stop by again.

Makai Sushi
3968 5th Ave.
San Diego, CA 92103
Current Hours:
Thurs - Mon 12pm - 7pm
Closed Tues - Wed

Road Trip - Erick Schat's Bakkerÿ (Bishop)

On the way back from Lake Tahoe, I wanted to make a stop at an iconic Bakery in Bishop. I had been reading about Erick Schat's Bakkerÿ for ages. Originally working at the Bishop Bakery established in 1903 by the Schoch family, Jacob "Jack" Schat an immigrant from Utrecht, who's family has a long history in baking came to Bishop in 1950 and found work at the Bishop Bakery, eventually buying the business and naming it after his son. The bakery has become an institution. It is said that it has over 2 million visitors a year! Atlas Obscura mentions that the bakery produces 25,000 loaves of bread a day. Considering that the population of Bishop is around 4,000, that would be 6 loaves per person....that's a lot of carbs!

We headed on thru Bishop and stopped entered the crowded parking lot, and voila! A car was just leaving a space! Must have been fate, right?

We had decided to stop in for an early lunch. The place was bustling, even in the middle of the week! The shop is packed with loaves of bread, cookies, and a sandwich section. The Missus decided to go bread and cookie shopping.

While I decided to get a sandwich for us to share. Calvin had told me his favorite was the turkey on the special bread of the house Basque Sheepherders Bread which has been trademarked since 1938.

I stood in the queue, placed my order, and picked it up when ready. The Missus was still shopping so I found us a table outside.

It was a nice morning, the heat hadn't settled in yet.

As for the sandwich....well, the bread lives up to the hype. The crust had a mild chew to it; the bread was so soft and almost fluffy, with a light yeasty-sweetness.

Loved the sprouts and tomatoes, but that turkey was so try and tasteless......

I'll pass on sandwiches from here in the future.

And the Missus went with a sourdough loaf instead of the Sheepherders bread! Though we'd get that on our next trip thru Bishop.

And the Missus really enjoys the cookies from here.

Just the bread and the cookies makes this a regular stop for us when we're in the area.

Erick Schat's Bakkerÿ
763 N Main St.
Bishop, CA 93514

 

Road Trip - Hellman-Ehrman Mansion, Sugar Pine Point State Park, and a Return to the Dog & Bear Tavern (Tahoma)

**** Not much food in this one, so perhaps you'd like to return tomorrow!

I had decided to create a category for our Sierra Nevada road trips, when I suddenly realized that I never finished my posts on our stay in Tahoma. So, I decided to do something rather quick. Here goes.

We had strolled down to Sugar Pine Point State Park the previous afternoon and Lake Tahoe looked so beautiful and calm. So this is where the Missus decided to do Her paddleboarding the next morning. We drove over early; the place was so serene; paid our $10 entrance fee and parked in a space that was strategically placed with shore access. While the Missus did Her paddling; I decided to take a stroll around and just enjoy the serene beauty of the park.

Lovely trails/paths and views.

I walked past the pier with a boat house in the distance.

There was a cabin alongside the boathouse. I came to find out that this was the cabin of William "General" Phipps, who was the first non-native settler on the west shore of Lake Tahoe.

Who settled here in 1860. His original cabin burned down, but this one was built in its place. 

I walked to the area where General Creek empties into the lake.

And then decided to turn around. On the way back, I ran into this. 

An honest to goodness Ice House!

So, this really got my attention. You see, right up from the pier is this mansion.

The is the Pine Lodge, better known as the Hellman - Ehrman Mansion. Designed by Walter Danfroth Bliss, completed in 1903, financed by San Francisco banker Isaias W. Hellman, who made it his summer home. It is said that the area reminded I.W. Hellman of his homeland Bavaria ,so he started buying up property. So, what about the Ehrman part? Well, upon his death in 1920, Hellman's daughter, Florence, who managed the property for her father, inherited it. She was married to Sidney Ehrman and thus added her married name to the estate.

The view from the porch of the property is quite lovely.

And there were quite a few structures on the estate.

At this point I was quite interested in taking the 330 tour of the mansion. So, I decided to head on over to where I would meet the Missus and see if She was interested.

As I waited near the parking lot area, one of those amazing little incidents happened. A woman walked by with a sweet Rottweiler who I just needed to pet. After a short chat, she asked me if I'm from Hawaii!! I guess I still have that accent! Well, wouldn't you know, this woman and her late husband used to own a small cattle ranch in Waimea on the Big Island! Of course we both called it Kamuela! I mentioned that Kamuela is one of my favorite places! I had a blast talking story! I'm not going to mention her name since Tahoma has a population of just over 1,000 and I'd like to respect her privacy! She walks her pooch to the park daily during the warm months. During the winter you'd need skis or snowshoes! She also introduced me to one of the Park Rangers.....she knows them all by name!

I met the Missus and we stowed Her paddleboard. I then mentioned the possibility of doing the 330 tour of the Pine Lodge and She was all for it! So, while the Missus showered and stuff, I walked over to the Nature Center/Gift Shop....which I think used to be a water tower to purchase tickets for the tour. Which were $15 a piece.

There were some signs with interesting tidbits of history along the way.

We met our guide, Lindsay on the porch. The place was quite a "summer home".

Loved the wood siding and the spiral staircase.

Check out the wood paneling in the dining room!

The second floor features 8 bedrooms and 7 bathrooms! I found the circular bedrooms on each side of the lodge to be the most interesting.

Another thing that caught my attention was the elevator. I asked Lindsay about this and she told me it was installed in 1958 as Florence Hellman Ehrman was 76 years old and starting to have a hard time climbing all those stairs.

Of course I was interested in the kitchen. Lindsay told us that until 1945 they still used an "icebox" (aka cold closet) and the stoves were wood burning. A "state of the art" kitchen was installed in 1945.

During the summer season there were 27 staff on hand and 2 full time chefs! The butler and the maids actually have their own cabins on the estate.

    We had a fun time on this tour.

Hellman-Ehrman Mansion (Sugar Pine State Park)
Tahoma, CA 96142

When dinner time came along, we decided to just walk on over to The Dog and Bear Tavern again. This time we just sat at the bar and who would we just happen to sit next to? Well, it was the woman we met earlier. She was wonderful; in fact, since she's a regular here, she ordered for us!

Never would have thought of having Hamachi Crudo in Tahoe, but heck she lived on the Big Island for decades so we trusted her. And yes, the two fish dishes were quite good!

I made sure to order her a drink to show our appreciation.

The Dog and Bear
7000 West Lake Blvd.
Tahoma, CA 96142

And as we were leaving she asked us if we'd like to see where she lived! After her husband passed away, after moving a few times, she found Tahoma and bought a condo on the water's edge.

I got to play fetch with her lovely pooch!

We had such a lovely time in beautiful Tahoma!

Na Tart (Clairemont) - A Soft Opening Visit

On a recent visit to Aldi, I noticed that Na Tart, which I had first noticed back in May seemed to be open.

The doors were open and it looked like some games and stuffs were out.

So, I walked on over and peeked in. I was told that they are indeed in a soft opening phase, With currently only Egg Tarts available for $3.50 a piece.

Though prices are cheaper when ordering in volume. All the other flavors were currently not available. Pardon the photos of the signs...the reflection really didn't do my photos good.

I decided to get two tarts for the Missus. It seemed like they are still getting their processes set as I stood cooling my heels for about ten minutes with staff standing right in front of me. When I asked if I could get some tarts the six people behind the counter looked at each other blankly as if trying to figure out who was tasked with waiting on customers....it was kind of funny.

Anyway, I got two tarts and brought them home.

Of course I dare not touch them until the Missus got home!

So, the tarts are fairly "eggy" and on the sweeter side. The crust is light and initially crisp, though it does deteriorate over time. I think we could have done with something a bit more buttery.

Not bad, but not sure about these being $3.50 a piece.

Now for some good news. In case you want to try some of the other flavors of egg tarts, Na Tart's first California location, whose headquarters is based in Flushing NY, will be celebrating their grand opening tomorrow, the 4th of July. And it appears the first 50 customers will get a free tart. 

So, in case you needed any motivation to, ahem "egg" you on and have a "tarty" (sorry, couldn't help myself) 4th, tomorrow's your chance.

Na Tart
5252 Balboa Ave
San Diego, CA 92117
Posted Hours:
Daily 10am - 9pm

Ly Heng Restaurant Revisited (City Heights)

Man, has it been almost 6 years since I last visited Ly Heng? Well, there's kind of a reason for that....first Covid kinda minimized visits...but then for I dunno how many years, there was some heavy road construction taking place on University Avenue. It made an already crazy driving and parking situation worse. I can only imagine how it affected the businesses in the area. Well, I read the road work has completed....well, not totally since it has moved west and Fairmont s kind of crazy. 

Well, now there are roundabouts to slow traffic instead of lights. I'm fine with roundabouts, but I'm interested in how other folks feel about them?

I did manage to find parking on Wightman Street behind the strip mall that contains El Super. I then walked on over to Ly Heng, which I first visited back in July of 2014. Just for kicks, do you remember when this location used to house Hao Vi? Another change for Ly Heng are the hours. They used to open at 8am...I enjoy Hu Tieu Nam Vang Kho for brunch, but now open at 10am. But here I was...happy to finally get a chance for a revisit.

When the menu arrived, I quickly noticed a difference from my previous visits. And no, it wasn't the $14 price for the Hu Tieu Nam Vang (FYI....it was $6 on my last visit). No, it was that the menu was completely in English and was now one of those "pick your style" and pick your "noodles" kinda place.

I'm guessing the demographics in the area has changed a bit over the years? Anyway, the Hu Tieu Nam Vang is the Phnom Penh noodle soup, which comes in two sizes, and you can request it as a soup, or "dry" which is the way I get it.

The young lady working room was very sweet...even in the face of two older couples on other tables who were quite rude and demanding. Bless her!

    My dishes arrived and it was interesting noting the changes since my last visit and the things that have stayed the same. First off, the Hu Tieu Nam Vang Kho is still served in a shallow, almost pasta bowl, which is fairly unique for the places that serve the dish round these parts.....tho' perhaps things have changed at other places. Also, the bean sprouts served here aren't blanched so are quite crunchy.

The side of soup wasn't quite as salty as what I've had here in the past and that pork is basically now a small "cap" bone and has quite a bit of tender, porky, meat.

  There were two pieces of rather tough shrimp, which at least had been deveined, the squid was well "squid pro quo", a large piece of "krab", and as usual a slice of Hainan Chicken....which is the reason I don't get the Hainan Chicken here as it is pretty flavorless. The ground pork does have some good flavor though. The dish is not protein deficient....

As always, it's all served on a huge, rather unwieldy lettuce leaf.

To me that pork and the noodles (when did you see me say that before) were the highlights of the dish. There was a huge portion of noodles. And while it was in the typical clump resting on the leaf, it still had a nice stretch to it and had been nicely sauced....good savory-soy-mild sweetness permeated things.

This was pretty good overall. And while I did text my friends "CY" and Jack telling them that I never thought I'd see the day when spending fourteen bucks for some hu tieu nam vang kho was considered reasonable, this is the reality we live in!

And now that most of the road work is done in the area, I'll probably start revisiting places in the area again.

Ly Heng Restaurant
4451 University Ave
San Diego, CA 92105
Current Hours:
Thurs - Tues 10am - 3pm, 5pm - 8pm
Closed on Wednesday

Buckboard's BBQ & Brew (El Cajon)

Recently, the Missus was invited to a Birthday/Happy Hour with coworkers. Since we've had JJ for 8 months now and he's getting a bit older, we thought we could leave him for a couple of hours so the Missus could attend. Since I'd be just dropping the Missus off then killing time; I thought I'd take JJ with me; but since it was in El Cajon, it just seemed a bit too hot for the little guy. Plus, I had a place in mind that wasn't dog friendly. So, I dropped the Missus off and then headed to get dinner at the restaurant on my "list"; to find the place (Brothers Turkish) was closed, even though their website, Google, and the four lettered site said they were open! Sigh...... So, I needed to find a plan B....which ended up being Buckboard's BBQ & Brew.

Which is located in a mixed residential - business area on Greenfield Drive. The place was fairly busy, the folks quite friendly.

And quite kitschy as well......

The folks working were quite friendly. This is one of those order at the counter, pay, and they'll bring the food out to you. I initially wanted the sausage plate, but they were out of sausages, also out of beef ribs, it must have been a pretty busy day.....I understand that they do Santa Maria style BBQ, so tri-tip seemed like the better "consolation choice".

I got an order of Tri-Tip ($23), some street corn ($6), and sweet potato fries ($6). I took a seat in the bar area and my order arrived in like 15 minutes.

This was interesting as the signage said the tri-tip was served medium, which this was not. I read that the tri-tip is dry brined for five days. The beef was quite juicy and tender, though it lacked a mild smokiness that I enjoy. It could have used more seasoning and lacked a smoke ring. It's pretty good, though not nearly as good as what we get at Firestone Grill or even what I make at home. The horseradish sauce was nice and creamy, though on the milder side. I do like my horseradish sauces to have some nice sinus clearing pungency. The butter toast could have been toasted a bit more as it was quite soft. Still, the portion size was quite large, I could only finish half. Though I saw the woman several seats down from me polish off her entire meal, including her sides!

Speaking of sides.

The Sweet Potato Fries, were thin slices, slightly crisp, but got soggy quite quickly.

The starchy-sweet flavor did come thru nicely though.

As for the "Street Corn". Well, much like the version at Shalhoob's Funk Zone Patio, there was way too much aioli.

Though the portion size was quite generous.

In the end; Buckboard's seems like a fun stop, nice employees, with generous portions. Glad I had a chance to visit, though I still want to try Brothers Turkish! 

Funny thing, when I did that Google thingy, I noticed that both Mary and Soo have posted on Buckboard's, so please check out their posts as well!

Buckboard's BBQ & Brew
975 Greenfield Dr.
El Cajon, CA 92021
Current Hours:
Thurs - Sun 11am - 8pm
Closed Mon - Wed