mmm-yoso!!!

Sot BBQ

I first noticed that yet another Korean BBQ Restaurant was opening in the spot where Olleh Sushi was back in July of last year. Of course, the location has basically been a revolving door of places from back when Szechuan Taste occupied the spot. The name of the place is Sot BBQ and I really didn't give it much thought until I started reading about the style and the quality of the KBBQ. "Sot" is short for Sot Ddu Kung ("sotttukeong"), basically the cast iron cauldron lid, which is used to sear various cuts of meat. These days, we're really not into AYCE KBBQ, we're looking more for quality. So, after taking a look at various posts and being aware of the prices, we decided to head on over. We also liked the fact that Sot opens at 4pm from Mondays to Thursdays (noon other days). We're into eating dinner rather early these days.

We arrived to see the place rather full, even at 430pm! 

We were shown to a table and handed a menu.

As the sot stood in all its cast iron glory.

Our first interaction with one of the young folks serving us was so very friendly. We were looking at the Wagyu Sampler ($175), but she quickly informed us that it's quite a lot of meat as was the Prime Sampler ($129)...like for 4 people amount of meat! She recommended that since it was our first visit, that we start with the Sot Sampler, which was much more reasonably (it's all relative) priced at $89.  We also got the fried rice ($9) since I had read that it's made on the sot to finish the meal. The fried rice was one of our favorite items when we ate at Song Hak.

Soon enough all the "tools" arrived.

Surgery was soon to be in session! Gladly, we noticed that the folks working took charge of cooking everything. They worked so very hard and were so sweet about it. Key item were the scissors and the rack on which you could stack your meat once cooked.

And then all the sides and panchan started arriving; chili sauce, two types of salt, Yangpa Jjangachi; the pickled onions.

Bean paste and a pretty good and refreshing Oi Kimchi (Cucumber kimchi).

We quickly noticed that the panchan here was pretty good; that baechu kimchi had a nice fermented touch, the kkakdugi was sour-spicy-refreshing, the various radish kimchi were quite pickle-y and flavorful.

Soon enough even more kimchi was brought out; this time the baechu kimchi looked very "old style" and it was placed on the sot along with what looked like kongnamul muchim, bean sprout kimchi.

I had a taste while the young lady sliced it; and yes, it was nicely fermented and almost savory. The young lady told us that the flavor would get even more intense on the sot....which it did as it caramelized.

As the meat was brought out, the king oyster mushrooms were placed on the cast iron.....I don't know if you've noticed; but thus far, we really hadn't done any cooking!

We surprised at how much meat there was.

 Now, I believe that you're going to think I'm strange, but for us, the meat was the weakest part of the meal. The beef belly was tough as was the short rib; the pork belly did well, but again wasn't anything special; the rib eye was supposedly prime, and was adequately tender, but nothing special. At a point in time, I took over the cooking duties as the wonderful young folks, whom I'm sure were doing their best and working on their experience with other customers...can you imagine; they were doing the cooking on all the tables! Well, things were turning out overcooked.

The gyeran jjim (steamed egg) arrived, but it was sort of "deflated" and on the drier side.

And yet, the highlight of the meal was yet to come. At then end fried rice was made on the Sot, using all the drippings, the hot cast iron....

The nor, the kimchi......the heat...it all made for a nice kimchi fried rice...especially if you let it sit and develop a bit of a crust.

So yes, we came for the KBBQ and left enjoying the fried rice! Which left me wondering, this was so close, yet so far......... We were wondering about the actual wagyu and I had an idea about the fried rice! Which meant we decided to return.

It was a different day, same story. The panchan was just as good. 

This time around, we went for some Wagyu Rib Eye - 6 ounces, $79 and also some ribeye bulgogi $35, and of course the fried rice!

And things started off as before; except this little fatty bugger joined us at the table. Along with a cube of fat, and a "crown" of wasabi.

Strangely, this looked just like the wagyu you can get at Tokyo Central or sometimes at Nijiya. It was quite thin and cooked quickly; in fact, I again had to take over.

It was quite tender, but the rendered fat made everything else on the sot wonderful.

So, this might sound a bit strange, but we had enjoyed the fried rice so much during our last visit. But I thought it would be even better with more savory sweet tones. And heck, I did want to try the marinated meat here as well, so we got the bulgogi. 

Now to be perfectly honest, I was really disappointed when this arrived as I was wondering, "where's the marinated beef"? So, this was sliced beef on top of a pool of marinade. Hmmm.......

Once mixed together and put on the sot, it wasn't too bad....still a bit more chewy than I expected, but not bad. We placed most of the bulgogi on the side rack.

Now the reason I ordered the bulgogi was actually for the fried rice. I thought that having the soy-sweet-savory base would make the fried rice even better.

And in combination with the fat from the wagyu and the crust from the sot...oh my......

And yet, one would have to pause at this point and think; "did I just spend over a hundred bucks for awesome fried rice"? Hmmm........

To put things into perspective; we weren't overly impressed with the meats....it is perhaps a step above the norm but heck, I can get better quality wagyu at Tokyo Central. The panchan is very good and that fried rice..... The service is awesome, though I'm still wondering if the meat is worth it?

Sot BBQ
8199 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92111
Current Hours:
Mon - Thurs  4pm - 10pm
Fri - Sunday   12pm - 10pm

Pho Hoa Linda Vista Revisited - Is it still the "fastest pho in the west?"

These days I need to plan tings around JJ's schedule. Recently, after a jaunt to the farmer's market, well JJ had burned up a lot of his puppy energy. So, I thought I'd go ahead and grab something to eat. Of course it couldn't be too far, it was still fairly early for many places, and most of all, I didn't want to leave him too long before heading back to feed him lunch.

Suddenly, Pho Hoa Linda Vista came to mind. Remember when I declared them the "fastest pho in the west"? Duh...... Of course, things have mellowed over the years, but based on my last visit dining in, back in February 2020, when it took 3 minutes and 45 seconds to get my bowl, well, it was still amazingly fast.

My last visit was for takeout during Covid. Yes, it's been that long. So much has changed since then. It left me wondering how things were these days.

Well, it started pretty much the same. I walked in, a table was pointed to me. A nice woman brought me the menu; she actually smiled and said hello. The other woman returned less than a minute after the menu was provided, which was fine since I knew what I wanted.

The place wasn't very busy and it was 10am on a Saturday. And my bowl of #4, now $12.25 ($10 on my last visit) hit my table in 4 minutes 10 seconds...hmmm...... a whole 25 seconds slower than on my last dine in visit, it seems like they are slipping, huh?

The bean sprouts were starting to brown, though were acceptable, those leaves on the basil were huge, but there was no ngo gai! A sign of the times I guess?

    The soup was lip meltingly hot, with mild anise-beefy tones, but it had that attribute of a lot of the pho in San Diego; the "mild sweetness". It was msg heaven cause I was chugging water like crazy when I got back home.

The well done steak and brisket were really tough and dry, the tripe had a nice crunch and the flank was beefy and decently toothsome. Sadly, tendon was MIA.

I liked that the noodles weren't in the typical clump at the bottom of the bowl, but was a bit overcooked and heading toward "mushy land", so I tried to eat it as quickly as I could.

Overall, definitely not as good as I recalled, though the price is quite reasonable for these days. And I was out of the place in 20 minutes and made it home to take JJ for a nice walk and rest, before making him lunch.

Still, not as good as I recalled, and not what I expected from one of the "OG" pho shops in San Diego. I guess I need to start making my "rounds" again!

Pho Hoa Linda Vista
6921 Linda Vista Rd.
San Diego, CA 92111
Current Hours:
Daily 830am - 830pm

COMC - Mad For Cheesecake Revisited, NYE Dinner at Et Voila, Dinner with Friends, and an Update on Zion Market's Move!

Just doing some cleaning of my photo folders here...so it's time to C(lear) O(ut the) M(emory) C(ard). Just short posts...

NYE Dinner at Et Voila:

The Missus wanted to something special for JJ's first New Year, so we decided on going to Et Voila for the NYE dinner. We had NYE dinner there before Covid and they have an small outdoor area with heaters. The one thing being, you can't make reservations online for that. So, we took JJ and dropped by to make reservations in person. Not wanting to be out on the road too late during the eve, we made reservations for the first seating at 430pm.

We ordered every item available, one of each when there were a choice of two courses.

We didn't think much of the amuse and the first course and were quite disappointed that they didn't serve the typical baguette either!

That "faux" foie gras was very disappointing as it was mushy, metallic-too livery in flavor.

But things turned around with the second course; the Bay Scallop Gratinee.

And the mains were quite good.

Especially the Veal Loin; you can see JJ peeking at it in the background.

We took the desserts home as we were quite full.

And I think JJ enjoyed his first New Year Eve.

Et Voilà!
3015 Adams Ave
San Diego, CA 92116

Dinner with Friends:

I've been blessed with having some great friends like Candice, "Yummy Yummy", and "Xiāng Jiāo". I've even posted on some great meals I've had with friends over the years! They are such wonderful folks, thoughtful, kind, generous....

JeffP who I've mentioned in several posts and who even shared in doing the One Chip Challenge with me one year is such a person, as is his wonderful bride "LL". I've been honored to get to know them! They are both so kind, fun, and generous. And it was in true display when they invited me out to dinner! At their "special place". As it's a small, intimate, setting that's already pretty darn full, I'm not going to give it away. But since I do use our little blog as a food-travel-personal diary of sorts, I thought I'd just post the photos here.

That LL and JeffP, who both have busy schedules, their careers going full blast, thought of having dinner really touched me!

Friends enrich our lives, broaden our horizons, bring joy, and laughter to us, and create wonderful memories.

Thanks so much LL and JeffP for a wonderful, memorable, and fun evening!

And Mad For Cheesecake is still the Missus's favorite in San Diego:

So, we've been doing the Japanese cheesecake rounds again, revisiting several places again.

And in the end, the Missus's favorite was still.....

Yep, it's still Mad for Cheesecake.

We even got one for our neighbor, who is also from Honolulu, and she agrees with the Missus, that this is the best she has had in San Diego.

Mad For Cheesecake
1420 E Plaza Blvd Suite B-5
National City, CA 91950

One last note - news on Zion Market's Move from Candice:

I'm not sure folks know this yet, but our good friend Candice is now on Instagram. And just announced that Zion Market is opening in their new location on Thursday, January 23! Well, finally!

8330 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92111

Hope everyone has a fabulous week!

Cinque Terre - Back to Monterosso al Mare, Aperitivo at Ananasso Bar, and Dinner at Gambero Rosso (Vernazza)

After enjoying our time in Riomaggiore and Manarola, the Missus decided She wanted to revisit Monterosso. Which was not a big deal since it was just a 12 minute train ride to Monterosso and boy was I happy we weren't hiking there! My knees were still stiff from that one! Like before, we got out at the station in the New Town and walked thru the tunnel to the Old Town. This time we went further up the main street, Via Roma.

Along the way, we came across something that kinda reminded us of Japan in a way. A vending machine. This one is like a portable pharmacy!

We enjoyed doing the "Flâneur" thing. After a busy morning, just wandering in the largest village of the Cinque Terre with a "massive" population of 1,300, away from the major tourist stops was relaxing.

It gave us time to really appreciate the beautiful colors of the Cinque Terre.

As we got closer to the train tracks and the shoreline more businesses appeared, but because this was the winter season, things seemed quite sedate.

Sometimes, just meandering around can be more fun then having to see all  the required sights.

As we headed back to the New Town and the train station, the Missus decided She wanted another gelato from Gelateria La Scogliera. And of course we needed to sit and have that view of the bay as well.

Gelateria La Scogliera
Via Fegina 20
Monterosso al Mare, Italy

Back in Vernazza, we climbed those stairs back to the apartment and relaxed, before heading back out. We strolled down Via Visconti toward the breakwater to get that "typical" view of Vernazza Harbor and Piazza Guglielmo Marconi.

It seems that more than a few folks had the same idea in mind.

Then it was time for something I'd really taken to during our stay in Milan; aperitivo time. And the lovely Piazza Guglielmo Marconi seemed like the perfect place.

So, we were back at Ananasso Bar, where we'd had our morning espresso. We actually sat at the two top right out the door of the shop. And guess who decided to take a "break" below my seat?

Yep, it was the ferocious feline we saw earlier in the day! Of course, I wasn't going to try to make it move, nor even bother it at all!

As for our aperotivo.

The Missus ordered the "non si sa", the "bartender's choice"! In this case an interesting aperol with tequila and mezcal, which was right down the Missus's alley. I got the  Negroni Basilico; made with Cinque Terre Basil and Cocchi Americano which added a nice bitter-sweet tone; the basil added some interesting peppery-anise flavors.

Ananasso Bar
Piazza Guglielmo Marconi 30
Vernazza, Italy

We also got some free entertainment, courtesy of this fellow.

I guess he's one of the caretakers of the piazza. He came on down singing, greeting everyone, playing "air guitar" on his broom!

Such a nice and friendly fellow.

By this time, the waves started picking up.

Quite dramatically.

At one point, the first couple of tables nearest the beach on the piazza got splashed. I'm glad we sat where we did!

For dinner, we picked a spot next to Gianni Franzi where we'd had dinner the previous night. We were told that Gambero Rosso was the "finest" restaurant in the area, so we had to check it out, right?

It had started drizzling and the waves were pounding the shore, so we dined in the warm, stone walled dining room.

The service was a bit rushed, but the place was pretty busy. Prices were a bit more than on the previous night. Sticking with local seafood/products and uncomplicated dishes had served us well thus far so we weren't going to deviate.

First up was the Misto de Acciughe alla Gambero Rosso. The house style anchovies. Basically both fried and filet of anchovies.

These were fine; the fried version crisp and savory, the salted filets fine, though not as full of umami as we'd had the night before.

The Trofie al Pesto was better than we'd had the previous night, though not as enjoyable as what we'd had at 5 Terre Bistrot.

The real "winnah" of the evening were the Mussels. Oh my, so plump, mildly sweet - oceany, not a bit of grit to be found!

 Cooked simply and perfectly. We plowed thru this in no time!

Like I said, simple and local.......

Ristorante Il Gambero Rosso
Piazza Guglielmo Marconi 7
Vernazza, Italy

Things were quite damp when we left the restaurant. And not all of it due to the mild drizzle.

Looking between the buildings you could see what the waves had brought ashore. In fact, waves were hitting the window of the living room of the apartment! I wish I had taken a photo of that!

We were really enjoying ourselves. The charming and colorful villages, the views, the wildness of the sea....but, to be honest, it was those little special moments that really made our stay memorable!

Cinque Terre - Morning Coffee at Ananasso Bar, Checking Out Riomaggiore and Manarola

**** No food in this one, but if you'd like to see where we visited in Riomaggiore and Manarola read on!

We woke early on our second morning in Vernazza. We walked on over to Piazza Guglielmo Marconi and took a look at the waves breaking. Yes, it was fall and it was pretty rough out there. Right at the end of the piazza and on the harbor is the popular Ananasso Bar, which serves coffee in the mornings and cocktails during the evening.

A nice espresso.

We'd end up stopping by on our next morning as well.

You get a front row seat of the harbour as well!

Ananasso Bar
Piazza Guglielmo Marconi 30
Vernazza, Italy

Speaking of a front row seat. During rough seas, the fishermen will bring their boats ashore and while passing among the boats we heard a loud whimper and saw a large Golden Retreiver run to it's owner for comfort. What was the cause for this distress. Well, the source soon walked out from among the boats.....

Like I mentioned in a previous post, these cats have no fear and apparently are not to be trifled with. We saw this feline hiss at a couple who tried to pet it making them back away, it also scared away a fairly large mutt on the next morning. After my previous experience with a "Killer Pussy" on Easter Island, I knew better than to mess with them!

After our coffee we headed on out. We decided on visiting the two southern most villages of the Cinque Terre, Riomaggiore and Manarola. We went and purchased the two day train card at the stop in Vernazza. This gave us free access to the La Spezia - Cinque Terre - Levanto railway line, free use of restrooms, etc. It took us just 10 minutes by train from Vernazza to Riomaggiore, the second largest of the five villages. It's an interesting train station, overlooking a ravine. You access the village via a tunnel.

From there we got onto Via Telemaco Signorini and walked on up to the village.

It's a fairly steep hike, but the views are quite fabulous.

We took a turn around the bend and found the stairs (yep more stairs!) up to Castello di Riomaggiore.

The hulking structure, built in the 13th century, has some pretty nice views, though it wasn't open to visitors. There's also an interesting small church the Oratorio di San Rocco which was built to commemorate the end of the plague.

Walking inland along Via Pecunia, you'll get some nice views of the town.

Via Pecunia ends at a piazza where the Church of San Giovanni Battista stands.

The grey stone church stands above the village. While originally constructed in 1340 and dedicated to John the Baptist, the church went thru a huge renovation in 1870.

From here we headed down to the main street of the village; Via Colombo.

At the end of Via Colombo was one of my favorite spots on this trip. As you approach the train tracks, you'll find stairs leading up to a square. This is Piazza Vignaioli and is right above the train tracks. 

And also nice views of the lovely pastel colored buildings in the town.

But what really caught our attention were the views of the "harbor"....I'll just use quotes on that. Because of the rather rough weather, the boats had been pulled up onto the square...which really look like the street! It really look like the waves are breaking on the village streets.

Quite dramatic looking, huh?

On our next stop, we were going from the second largest, to the second smallest village in the Cinque Terre, Manarola with a population of about 350. And in keeping with the number 2, the train ride from Riomaggiore to Manarola takes about 2 minutes! The village is tucked into a ravine and to get to it from the train station means a 200 yard walk thru a tunnel. The tunnel opens right up in the center of town, which was pretty busy on this day.

The view from the harbor was lovely and you can see the trail that we took along the vineyards to the cemetery...with of course, a wonderful view a short time later.

We then headed back up the main street, lined with shops and restaurants, for some reason, this seemed to be the most touristy of the villages.

The higher up into the the village, the less tourists we saw. 

As you get to the bend in the road you'll come across a large water wheel.

Manarola is the oldest of villages in the Cinque Terre, supposedly dating back to the 13th century founded by the Romans. The town was built alongside a large creek and according to the story there was a large waterwheel (magna rota in Latin) in the village from which it got it's name .

Things seemed a lot quieter here.

And so it seemed like a nice time for a Limonata break.

Before heading onward.

We finally came upon the trail we were looking for. It was right next to this church.

This is the Church of San Lorenzo which dates back to 1338.

The namesake of the church is Saint Lawrence, who is the patron saint of the Cinque Terre. I found the ceiling fresco to be quite "interesting". It has San Lorenzo holding a grill.....

The grill "gridiron" is the symbol of San Lorenzo as he was roasted alive on it. It is the symbol of his martyrdom!

To quote the Wikipedia page:

After the martyr had suffered pain for a long time, the legend concludes, he cheerfully declared: "I'm well done on this side. Turn me over!"

Thus Saint Lawrence is not only the patron saint of Cooks, but also the patron saint of comedians as well!

Turning back down the street, next to a wine bar you'll see the sign for Trail 502C. This trail heads up past lovely vineyards to the cemetery, which of course means that the best views.

I mentioned that cemeteries were moved out of villages for hygienic purposes and many seemed to have ended up on hills with wonderful views.

From the cemetery, you can take some stairs and end up with amazing views!

Check out the harbor and breakwater!

We then took Via di Corniglia back to the town and the train station.

Since it was still fairly early, the Missus decided that we should head back to Monterosso before calling it a day!

Niu Rou Mian from Zen Modern Asian Bistro (Sabre Springs)

In the comments section of my post on the Banh Mi Bo Kho from Pho Lucky, "FOY" Dereck mentioned the Beef Noodle Soup from Zen Modern. I found this interesting since Calvin had also mentioned enjoying the Niu Rou Mian from Zen Modern. So, I guess it was time to make my way to Sabre Springs to check things out. 

I found the location of the restaurant to be interesting, right next to the MTS parking lot, in a small strip mall with a tight parking lot, squeezed between a 7-11 and a location of March and Ash which was doing some major business.

As for the restaurant, well it was empty at a few minutes past eleven.

Once seated, I was handed a menu that had everything from Egg Rolls to Salt & Pepper Wings to Udon to Kimchi Fried Rice to Nigiri to a huge collection of "Rolls"....you kinda see why I hesitated in visiting. Both Dereck and Calvin advised me to only get the Beef Noodle Soup. Which I finally found on the menu below the Crispy Chicken Spring Roll and above the Chinese Chop Salad.

So, I placed my order for the Beef Noodle Soup ($19) and the default dining utensil was delivered to the table.....

Hmmm.....luckily there were packs of wooden disposable chopsticks in the container on the table. 

This is what the niu rou mian looked like.

    This was actually not bad. The soup could have used more anise and beef flavor for my taste, but it had a mild peppery spice, a balanced sodium content, good soy sauce tones, and was not bad at all. In fact, I've definitely had worse in the Convoy District and at a popular chain from Taiwan in Mira Mesa...this was definitely better in my opinion. The richness and texture of the soup was on par with what I've had in San Diego.

The noodles were slightly over cooked, thus they lacked a good "QQ" springiness but were fine.

The beef were a mixed bag, some really under cooked and tough pieces, while some bits were very tender and tasty.

Overall, I was rather pleasantly surprise considering the almost Americanized Asian Fast-Foodish looking shop and menu with dishes from all of East Asia. The price at nineteen bucks wasn't a bargain, but like I said, I've had worse in the "Asian districts" of San Diego. If Zen was in my 'hood, I'd probably have the NRM every once in a while.

Who knew; NRM in Sabre Springs!

Zen Modern Asian Bistro
13510 Sabre Springs Pkwy Suite 103
San Diego, CA 92128
Current Hours:
Mon - Thurs 10am - 9pm
Friday            10am - 10pm
Saturday       11am - 10pm
Sunday          11am - 9pm

Thanks for the recommendation Dereck!

Lunches with JJ - The Crack Shack (Little Italy)

So, now that we have JJ I've been looking at places that are pooch friendly. I quickly noticed something; there are several places that I had actually visited years back, but really weren't too impressed. In those days I would always try make at least two visits before doing a post. These places were pretty much a "one-and-done". So those photos just ended up in the recycle bin. These days, with prices and such, I feel less tied to having to make multiple visits. Plus, with JJ in tow, it makes for additional points of interest, right? I did my one visit to the Crack Shack in Little Italy probably somewhere back in 2015, I recall the portions being large, but not being too impressed with what I'd had and not bothering to return (BTW, even Juniper and Ivy met that same fate as well).

But now, with JJ in tow, perhaps there's a new wrinkle to my priorities. And perhaps the food has improved? Plus, since I go to the Little Italy Mercato almost every Saturday, parking on Ivy Street, this location is in my view every week.

I liked the fact that the place opens at 10am daily, so I decided to see how it would be at 10 on a Sunday. I found parking on Kettner and was surprised how quite things seem. Perhaps folks were still recovering from New Year?

So, it was time to finally return to see how things were. I was greeted as I strolled up to the ordering window by a very cheerful young lady, who also smiled and greeted JJ when she saw him. She was very nice and friendly.

Looking at prices, I was pretty surprised that they hadn't gone up too much since my visit way back when. It looks like about a $2-$3 increase in like 9 years? 

In the end, just wanting an idea of the how the chicken sandwich is compared to what I recalled, I went with the Coop DeVille ($14) and the Fries in Schmaltz ($4.50), which I didn't order last time. JJ and I had a seat overlooking Kettner.

The gentleman who delivered our tray to the table was very nice and even said hello to JJ.....so this place is obviously dog friendly, at least it was on this day. JJ of course, just wanted to play with everyone!

  Man, those were quite a bit of fries! Unfortunately it was over fried and super salty...way too salty to enjoy. I love the richness of schmaltz, which also has a savory component to it; but this was just too salty. I couldn't finish the fries.....

As for the sandwich. Well, the brioche handled the mayo ridden slaw well; I do wish for a bit more acidity and the cabbage was chopped too thick for my taste. More pickles would have also been a nice touch. The batter did well and held up even with the generous amount of slaw.

 Now I understand that Jidori chicken is a bit chewier, but this was very tough and rather leathery. Also, having had my share of Jidori, which flavors differ from region to region, I expected some interesting poultry flavors. None were to be found.

It was a good size sandwich, priced reasonably, though I think the version I had back in 2015 was better! With locations in Las Vegas and the OC, has CS taken on the chain restaurant model?

Though JJ did enjoy the service! The staff was wonderful and it was a nice, sunny, San Diego winter day.

Still, unless my "FOYs" can come up with a recommendation of what to order....and please; no "Mexican Poutine" which is basically pollo asado fries and has no cheese curds! I think I need to find other options to check out.

The Crack Shack
2266 Kettner Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92101
Current Hours:
Sun - Thurs 10am - 10pm
Fri - Sat        10am - 11pm

Revisits - Spicy Noodle and 777 Noodle House

I don't know if it's old age or what, but for some reason it just seems colder this year? Well, at least it's good weather to get  some noodles and noodle soup. Here are a couple of revisits for ya'.

777 Noodle House:

I was actually trying to head to Ly Heng, since it had been a while since my last visit. However, there's some crazy road work happening on University between 44th and 46th. They seem to be putting in roundabouts in the street. Anyway, there was just no parking to be had, so I headed further down University for my next choice, Tu Thanh, but again no parking near the restaurant, even on side street 3-4 blocks away. Which left me with one choice....

Well, I wasn't too sure about this since my previous visit was not very good. Still, I've been coming here since 2010 and the same folks are still working the front of house and all, so why not give it another shot, right?

There was only one table occupied when I arrived. I was waved to a two top and handed a menu, though I knew what I was going to order.

The Hu Tieu Nam Vang Kho of course, which is now $11.97, kind of cheap for these days, but I still remember it was $4.77 when I first visited back in 2010!

It looked like the same ol', same ol'.

    But, any doubts were soon dispelled when I started mixing things and eating. The shrimp was decently plump with no off flavors. There was more ground pork than on my previous visit. Of course the sliced pork is chewy and quite rustic, but it flavor. There was still only a single lonely fishball in the bowl.

The hu tieu was decently al dente and well coated with the savory-sweet-salty sauce.

   The pork hock has gotten smaller over the years, but the meat on this one was more tender than on my previous visit and the soup, while still heavy on the msg, had a bit more flavor and a dose of white pepper.

The bean sprouts were nicely blanched and still had a bit of a crunch to them.

While I did mention to my friend "CY" that I never thought I'd see the day when I'd consider a $12 bowl of noodle soup to be inexpensive, that's how things are these days. I'm just glad that my Hu Tieu Nam Vang Kho was satisfying on this chilly day. I'd been here so many times and would you believe this is my 29th post on the place?

777 Noodle House
4686 University Avenue
San Diego, CA 92105 

Spicy Noodle: 

From a place that I've done nearly 30 posts on to one that I've only done one previous post on in March of last year, Spicy Noodle. I was looking for a fairly early lunch and I recalled that Spicy Noodle opens at 1030, so I headed on over.

And yes, they were open.

I had a seat and placed my order via the QR code. The nice woman brought me a pitcher of water. 

There was one item I enjoyed during my previous visits, the Fat Intestine Noodle which is still priced at $15. I was shocked that my bowl arrived in less than 10 minutes after I placed my order.     But a quick bite of the "fatty" intestine assuaged my doubts. It was tender and full of "bungy" goodness. Don't stare at the intestines too long; you might start seeing things.... Nice mild funky-savory tones.

The broth doesn't strike me a being too spicy; there's a bit of ma-la going, on this visit it was decently rich, if a bit on the salty side of the tracks.

The noodles were nice and stretchy-chewy, it was a good vehicle for picking up the soup.

Overall a decent visit; I do wish the soup had a bit more "kick", but did fine on a cold morning. The folks working were very nice. While there seemed to be several takeout orders, I was the only person dining in during my entire visit. I'm hoping they do ok.

Spicy Noodle
8046 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92111