mmm-yoso!!!

Paris - Those Familiar Places Café du Centre and Maison de Chengdu

Well, during our trip to London, the Cinque Terre and Genoa, and Milan, you knew I had to include my favorite city in Europe, right? Yes, we were staying in Paris, though only for four days this time around. Since we'd been on the go during our trip so far; we just wanted to mostly hang out in Paris. This was our seventh trip to the "City of Lights".

Our flight from Milan to Paris was just briefly delayed. And we had a decent lunch on the flight.

To make things easy for us, we stayed at the Citadines Les Halles. It was easy to get to from CDG via the RER Blue Line. From there, it was just a short walk to our favorite little street in Paris, Rue Montorgueil, which I've posted on many times. And of course, we had a seat at our favorite cafe, Café du Centre to just watch time pass us by.

It was pretty late in the day for a Cafe Allonge, so the Missus had a glass of wine and I had a Kir.

My goodness, it was great to be back in Paris!

Café du Centre
57 Rue Montorgueil
75002 Paris, France

When dinner time arrived, we decided to head on over to our favorite simple little Sichuan Restaurant, Maison de Chengdu. Which we first discovered when we stayed in Paris for two weeks and our apartment was just a block away. We strolled up Rue Montorgueil.....

Then taking a right on Rue Réaumur...yes, it was kind of the long way, but we enjoyed passing all those familiar places, including the apartment we stayed in during that two week visit. A right on Rue Volta and we had arrived.....

The restaurant was pretty quiet on this evening.

Though they had a ton of food delivery orders.

This time we took a seat on the ground floor and basically ordered the same items as on our last visit. And of course, we started with a Tsingtao.

The only item that was not as good as on our previous visit was the Stir Fried Mountain Yam as it was missing the red and green bell peppers and had hardly any woodear.

The Intestine Dry Pot was nicely cooked; the intestine actually had a bit of "crunch" to it, along with a decent amount of numbing tones from the Sichuan Peppercorn.

The Green Beans had a bit more pork this time around and was stir fried nicely.

The Missus got Her Chinese food fix in. All of this came out to about 42€.....let's say $50/US, which along with the minimal tipping in France, this was a bargain.

You can read about all about our previous visits in the links.

Maison De Chengdu (古味成都)
16 Rue Volta
75003 Paris, France

We took a nice long after dinner stroll, thru all those familiar streets, doing the Flâneur thing. In Paris, it's quite easy getting your "steps" in. You just don't realize how much you walk.

It was a joy to be back in Paris!

Me Sen - In 99 Ranch Market Clairemont Mesa

In yesterday's post on Sam Woo becoming San Wo I indicated I'd noticed two big changes in businesses within the 99 Ranch Market on Clairemont Mesa. The second one was this little shop, that has taken over the space previously occupied by the longstanding Sau Voi Deli. I walked on over and took a look.

A very nice young lady greeted me and told me they had just opened the past weekend and currently open at 10am. She also gave me a menu to view.

It's a nice and tight menu, just seven items featuring Thai Noodle Soups. Seemed like a nice change of pace for the area, so I decided to return. I arrived at a quarter after ten and there were already three of the five tables filled. I took a seat and the young lady brought me a menu and some water to get started.

I decided to get the Boat Noodles ($15.95) medium spicy, which turned out to be just right as I didn't have to add any chili oil or chilies.

It was nice and fragrant.

    It came with a variety of "cuts"; I went for the chicharron right away. 

The broth was quite soy-savory, I'd say almost beefy, with a decent amount of spice and anise-cilantro tones. Lots of flavor in this.

There was one large cut; it looked like brisket. I enjoyed the tendon, which looked tough, but was quite tender. There were two whisps of tripe which were nice a crunchy. Even the two pieces of liver were not bad.

   The Server recommended I get the rice noodles with this which reminded me of pho. It was perfectly prepared with a nice stretch to them.

Not the largest portion, but enough for me. I thought this was quite good and decided to return for a menu item.

I think it's really hard to find a good version of Khao Man Gai in San Diego, so I was excited to check it out so I returned a few days later. Unfortunately, they were out of the dish, so I had to find something else on the menu to try. 

I decided on the Kway Chap ($14.95)

   I was happy to note that they actually use the appropriate noodle, the curly-rolled rice noodle sheets known as kway chap in this. Nice and chewy! 

Als of note; the eggs while hard boiled weren't overcooked and did not have that greenish-grey tint. Decent soy sauce flavoring as well.

The meats again included chicharron, the rough cut of the tendon, some intestine, various other beef cuts and what tasted like stewed pork.

 The broth didn't have any spice, seemed a bit more porky and rich than the boat noodles. I ended up using the chili oil, which also had some nice acidity, and some chili flakes to help cut the richness.

Not a bad soup either.

I appreciated the fact that the portions skewed toward more Thai-sized. They seemed to be doing a pretty good takeout business. The folks working were very nice. I'm glad that we have a place that offers something a bit different in the area and that the prices aren't bad.

Now I gotta try that Khao Man Gai.....

Me Sen
7300 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92111
Current Hours:
Tues - Sun 10am - 8pm
Closed on Monday

It's San Wo, not Sam Woo, Tasty House Replacing Tealightful Cafe, Itacho Sushi Replacing Mikami, and other "stuffs".....

Just a couple of things for this Monday.

Itacho Sushi Replacing Mikami:

I saw a sign up on the former location of Mikami Sushi, so I drove on in to take a look.

Looks like another AYCE sushi place is taking the spot.

7319 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92111

Tasty House Replacing Tealightful Cafe:

On the same drive I saw another new sign while driving West on Clairemont Mesa. This one in the former location of Tealightful Cafe....I didn't even know they closed. Seems like the owner has been having health issues....

The sign had me wondering if this place would have anything to do with Tasty Noodle House (more on that below), which folks told me had closed. But the Missus and "FOY" Xiāngjiāo both said that based on the Chinese name it's unlikely.

4726 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92117

And what about Tasty Noodle House?:

I had heard and been asked if Tasty Noodle House has closed. Even though I https://mmm-yoso.typepad.com/mmmyoso/had a very mediocre visit back in February, the place was doing some good takeout-delivery business when I visited.

On my next foray to Convoy, I dropped by and noticed the doors to the restaurant were open.

But the hand written sign on the door said "Sorry! We Closed".

I then noticed, at the top left of the window, out of direct line of sight, this sign.....

Yikes!!!!!

Tasty Noodle House
4646 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

And Finally, It's San Wo, not Sam Woo:

I recently went to the Clairemont Mesa location of 99 Ranch Market....this was actually on the same drive where I noticed Tasty House and the Itacho signs. Since the location on Balboa opened, which is closer to home, I seldom visit the legacy location any more. I quickly noticed a couple of changes....one of which will be in a future post. For some reason, I looked up and I noticed that the sign for Sam Woo BBQ had been "modified".

And now said "San Wo BBQ". What they heck? I had last visited in September of last year and I believe the sign still said "Sam Woo". What the heck is going on? I know that Sam Woo's are kind of a loose conglomeration of places based on a single family. I also know that the owner of the LA location was sentenced to prison for tax evasion, but this was news to me! Again our good friend Xiāngjiāo did tell me it's the same ownership....so I dunno. The Missus said the name in Chinese is the same, they took off the last character, but it's still the same.

Sam Woo San Wo BBQ Restaurant
7330 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92111

Man, so much going on in Kearny-Clairemont Mesa!

Road Trip - Queen Cup Coffee, The Baker's Table (Santa Ynez), and a revisit to Industrial Eats (Buellton)

Even though we were staying in Solvang, we decided to head on out during the day and drive around a bit. Santa Ynez is less than ten minutes from Solvang by car. We'd driven thru and made a quick stop in the town on a previous visit, but this time we waned to take JJ for a walk and explore a bit.

I recalled a coffee shop in the little corner off Meadowlark Road where we stopped to do some window shopping last time. So, we decided to stop there.

While the Missus took JJ to stretch his legs, I went in and ordered us some coffee.

The menu cracked me up......and no, I didn't get anything off the "Fancy AF" menu; just a latte for the Missus and an Americano for me.

There's something quite charming about this shop and Santa Ynez as a whole. The young man working was friendly and effcient.

The Missus enjoyed Her latte and my Americano was fairly smooth and woke me up gently.

Queen Cup Coffee
1095 Meadowvale Rd.
Santa Ynez, CA 93460

After our caffeine fix we decided to take a walk thru downtown Santa Ynez, which has an "Old West" flavor to it. It's the second oldest town in the Santa Ynez Valley, established in 1882.

I cracked up when I saw that the Maverick Saloon has a free shuttle! You gotta love it!

There's a tiny library in town, which I later read, claims to be the Oldest Branch Library in California. The little 12 by 14 structure was built in 1912.

It's only open on Saturdays from 1pm to 4pm.

And of course JJ had to get into the act.....

It was a quiet morning in the town, though we saw two guys with some major photography gear walking up and down the street taking photos.

I had read about a bakery in town named The Baker's Table that was supposed to be pretty good. When doing the "Google thing" I aw several bakeries with that name across the country, so I thought it was a chain. Though on later searches, I found that there are several businesses in different cities that share the same name, but are not affiliated.

I thought it would be a nice morning for a croissant, so while the Missus took JJ around for photos, I dropped on in.

The place was fairly busy. I saw this pup in the courtyard to the side of the bakery. I guess the pooch belongs to one of the employees?

And while the croissant didn't look very impressive; it was pretty good!

   While the exterior could have been a bit more flaky and crisp; there was a nice balance of butter and salt flavor. The interior was light, fluffy, and nicely honeycombed. This was a pretty good croissant; and would probably be in the "top 3" here in San Diego.

Needless to say, I was quite happy with this! In Santa Ynez! We'll definitely be back!

The Baker's Table
3570 Sagunto St.
Santa Ynez, CA 93460

We went back to the shop we had visited the last time we were in the area. They welcomed JJ in and gave him "some pets" as well.

We might consider staying in Santa Ynez next time if we can find pet friendly accommodations.

We next drove over to Los Olivos. We love exploring Los Olivos, though it seems more boujie on every visit.

This time around we noticed the little library here as well.

This one is only open on Saturday as well; from 10am to 1pm. I cracked up as I asked the Missus if there's only one librarian in Santa Ynez who worked one day a week shuttling from the Los Olivos library from 10am to 1pm and then going to the Santa Ynez location from 1pm to 4pm?

We then drove back to Solvang and took JJ on the Hans Christian Andersen Park Trail.

A quick mile-and-a-half trail which took a bit over a half hour.

The loud woodpecker got JJ's attention.

And I got JJ to pose for a photo I named A "Shrimp on the barbie".

Poor JJ has to put up with all the dad jokes.....

Even though it seemed like we'd done a lot; it was just getting to close to lunch time. There was a place that we had really enjoyed and had been wanting to return to since our last visit. So, we headed down Highway 246 to Buellton and back to Industrial Eats. We arrived at a quarter to 12 and found parking in one of the few spaces in front of the converted warehouse.

We times things well because by the time Industrial Eats opened a line had formed behind us! 

We ordered two item we'd had before and the Missus surprised me by telling me to order another item!

The two "repeats" were the Smoked Duck Salad ($18) and the White Shrimp, Pancetta Garlic Toast ($18).

 We enjoyed the Smoked Duck Salad even more this time around; the duck was more tender, had a nice gamey-smokiness. The dressing had a nice acidity and the Missus enjoyed the tart-sweetness of the apples....She usually does not like the addition of fruit to salads, but this changed Her mind. A nice refreshing salad.

The White Shrimp was not as good as we recalled however.

The shrimp tasted fishy and were severely overcooked; the "sauce" was thin and watery. I did enjoy the garlic bread and the chilies though.

I was surprised that the Missus ordered the Miso Cod ($18), something that we usually only make at home. The cod was really delicious.

Man, that cod was so tender. moist, and buttery! The miso glaze was full of sweet-umami. The greens were a nice bitter counterpoint. Though we're not sure about the addition of avocado and the water-salty sauce really didn't add much. Still, the Missus wants to return for this dish!

I always think of our good friend Candice who first recommended Industrial Eats to us! We are so thankful and can't wait to return!

Industrial Eats
181 Industrial Way
Buellton, CA 93427

There's also a market next to Industrial Eats that we had never noticed before named Sunrise Organic Farm. Not sure if it's affiliated with the restaurants.

We picked up some cold pressed juice for breakfast and then headed back to our room.

It had been a fun morning, but now it was time for a serious nap before dinner!

Road Trip - Whiskey n' Rye, Exploring Solvang, and Bell's (Los Alamos) Yet Again

As soon as we got back from our last road trip with JJ, the Missus had me planning another one. Looks like we're doing one and month? Anyway, JJ had so much fun in Solvang and it was the slow season, so She wanted to stay there. I managed to find a dog friendly motel close to the edge of the "main drag" and we were set!

Of course, the Missus wanted to have lunch at Bell's yet again, so I made reservations for lunch and called to make sure we had a patio table. This time, even though it was on a Monday, I had 1pm reservations, so things were a bit more busy.

Still the service was great as they immediately brought JJ his own bowl of water when we were seated.

Lunch was as expected. Not going to go into much detail since I've done so many posts on the place before.

Though I will say, that even though the beef cheek in the beef cheek sandwich was delicious; we didn't care for the "rye-ish" bread that really messed up all the flavors.

Perhaps I should have stayed with my favorite here; the beef tartare. Still, this was a nice lunch.

Bell's
406 Bell St.
Los Alamos, CA 93440

After lunch we headed straight over to Solvang to see if our room was ready. And yes, it was! So we were able to check in an hour early.

We stayed at the Viking Inn on Mission Drive.

We liked the outdoor space with a fence right outside our door. The room was comfortable. I had read about street noise, but that wasn't a problem at all. Later that evening, the Missus, JJ, and I sat and relaxed outside for a bit. We had the whole area to ourselves. Being on the first level made taking JJ out at 4 in the morning a lot easier!

It seemed like the place was only half full, so no parking or similar issues. The only time we dealt with folks was when we checked in; the rest is done by code and text messages. While these accommodations were quite different from where we stayed in Solvang before, we enjoyed it.

Not sure how it is when things are busy, but this was really relaxing!

Viking Inn
1506 Mission Dr.
Solvang, CA 93463

After unpacking, we took JJ for a walk. On our last visit to Solvang we found a really nice Pet Store, which just happened to be across the street from where we were staying.

And then headed down 246 and did some shopping. While there seemed to be traffic heading out of Solvang......I found out later that all the folks working in the town head on home....the opposite happens in the morning, there we hardly saw anyone walking!

We enjoyed ducking in and out of shops!

It was quite entertaining.

Folks working at these shops were very friendly. I'd usually stop at the front of the shop with JJ and let the Missus walk in if there's no "dogs welcome" sign. Most of the time we got waved in.

This soap shop was interesting.....

Mainly because of this sign.....

I asked the young lady working about it and she told me that every once in a while they'd find teeth marks or a chunk bitten out of the soap when they close up! 

We ended up at the Mission Santa Ines, which we visited before.

We walked JJ along the grounds where dogs are allowed. JJ seems to be fascinated by statues. I call this one "JJ meets JC"!

I love the view from the Mission.

As we headed back you could see the line of cars heading out of Solvang.......

We got back to the room, took a short break and then headed out to dinner. One things about Solvang, it seems that many places are closed on Monday and Tuesday, so we had rather limited options when it came to dog friendly establishments. We decided to stay close and went to a place named Whiskey 'N Rye Smokehouse which was down at the end of Atterdag Road.

We were surprised to see that the entire interior of the restaurant and the bar was packed. I guess folks eat pretty early here? But we lucked out as the entire patio area was empty. I guess folks thought it might be too cold? The really nice Server was shocked when we said that he didn't need to fire up the heater.

As the name says; the place has a huge list of Bourbon, Scotch, Rye, and similar spirits; but I just wanted a beer.

The food offerings were BBQ/Meat/Burgers based, you know what I mean right?

The Missus had seen photos of the Brisket Dirty Fries ($22) and was fixed on ordering that.

While I don't think this was worth twenty-two bucks; it was the better of the two dishes. The fries had been "dusted" thus it was able to retain crispness thru the whole meal. The brisket wasn't very smoky and sort of stringy and chewy. I wish the cheese mix had more Gouda in it than Mozzarella, but it was great at making a gooey mess. The pickled onions and jalapenos were good as it added spice, pungency, and acidity. I thought this was decent "beer food".

We also got the Filet Mignon Tips ($34) which was a mixed bag.

 We ordered the meat rare. but only the large piece was rare, the rest were medium-well, skewing things to the tough side of the scale. The meat was well seasoned, though the "sauces" really didn't go well with the proteins but was necessary for the really dry "garlic bread" bites in our opinion. The Bloody Mary aioli was interesting, but pretty bland; the BBQ Sauce was too sweet. 

We were hoping for something in line with Shalhoob's, but this was more in line with "chain/tourist" food. At least the service, while a bit slow, which I can understand based on the crowd was quite nice. Not too many places open on this day so we had limited choices.

Whiskey 'N Rye Smokehouse
442 Atterdag Rd.
Solvang, CA 93463

Still, Solvang has it's charm and we were enjoying ourselves.

Thanks for stopping by!

Breakfast with JJ - Flora (North Park)

During one of our walks with JJ in North Park, we noticed that Truffle Neighborhood Cocina had been replaced by a restaurant named Flora. After doing a bit of research, I found that the place was dog friendly, so we decided to head on over for brunch one morning.

The outdoor area, while on busy University Avenue was separated from the sidewalk traffic by planters. 

We were greeted and seated in the nice patio area. The folks working here are wonderful, they immediately brought JJ some water while delivering our menus. He got served before us! Like I said; there's a difference between "Dog Allowed" and "Dog Friendly". Flora is definitely in the latter as the Servers came out to meet and greet JJ.

I think I've been out of touch with regards to breakfasts and brunch. There was Shashuka on the menu; one of my favorite dishes. We'd end up having Shakshuka three times in two weeks! When did that become mainstream?

The Missus got the Avocado Toast ($18), which came topped with poached eggs (a bit overcooked) and a pile of arugula.

Taking a closer look we noticed that the mashed avocado (the Missus prefers slices) was turning a bit brown. The highlight of the dish for the Missus was the sourdough which was toasted to crisp perfection.

Of course I got the Shakshuka ($17). The menu said the eggs were "sunny side up", but these seemed to be have been just cracked into the tomato-bell pepper sauce right before serving.

   The toasts were again really good. The tomato-bell pepper compote was over processed and runny; I prefer something more rustic and thicker. It also lacked the seasoning I like; cumin, smoky tones, harissa, herbaceous flavors, and garlic. This had a decent acidity, though I'm not quite sure about feta cheese in my shakshuka. I really wasn't expecting anything close to what we had in Tunisia or Jerusalem, and I tend toward Tunisian style Shakshuka when I make the dish at home. But this was just mediocre to me.

Of the three versions we had; this was my least favorite. We were told that they use sourdough from Bread and Cie and also that the ownership is the same as when the place was Truffle Neighborhood Cocina. The Missus told me the interior of the restaurant is quite nice; but I didn't have a chance to check it out. And to be completely honest; I'm more about food than the "vibe".

We enjoyed the service and JJ had a nice visit to the park afterward as payment for being a "good boi" while we ate.

Flora
3021 University Ave.
San Diego, CA 92104
Current Hours:
Sunday        8am - 3pm
Mon - Wed 9am - 3pm
Thurs - Fri  9am - 3pm, 4pm - 10pm
Saturday     8am - 3pm, 4pm - 10pm

Road Trip - Loquita Santa Barbara

After lunch at Bell's we headed back to the hotel and took a short nap. Upon waking, the Missus was ready to go once again. What She had in mind was taking JJ for a "walk" to the Mission Santa Barbara, which we had visited before. I had some reservations about this; first, yes we had walked to the Mission before but were a lot closer. This time, it would be a 2 1/2 mile walk each way and I was worried about how JJ would handle things. Well, I should have known better.....he was a total champ!

We headed under the 101 and up familiar State Street. But from there it was unfamiliar territory, where we hadn't visited before. Thru lovely and quite peaceful...at least on this day, Alameda Park.

Before getting to the Mission.

Where J enjoyed lying in the cool grass. It was still February when we took this road trip, so the rose garden wasn't in bloom, but JJ seemed to enjoy himself. As for the Missus, well once we arrived, it was "mission accomplished" and time to head back.

We enjoyed looking at the historic homes on Garden Street as we made our way back. Though it wasn't quite as diverse and fun as what we had enjoyed in Pacific Grove. We did make a nice stop at Alice Keck Park Memorial Garden which is right next to Alameda Park. Lovely trees and ponds, JJ was especially fascinated by the turtles.

Before heading down on Garden, then on State, ducking under the 101, to get back to our hotel to freshen up.

Our destination for dinner was basically two buildings down from the Moxy. I had tried to make reservations for Loquita the night before, but none were available. This was because Loquita was one of the places closed for Employee Appreciation night on Super Bowl Sunday. We saw folks dancing and having a great time when we passed on the way back from Shalhoob's! It seemed like a fun place and was dog friendly, so JJ could hang out.

We had a table in the lovely outdoor patio.

The Missus started with a Sangria and I had one of the specialty Gin and Tonics; the "Costa Blanca" which had kaffir line infused gin; it was quite refreshing. JJ got a nice bowl of water.

Loquita features Spanish influenced dishes. It had been a while since we'd had some of these dishes, so it was fun ordering.

We started with the Jamon Tasting ($35) which featured Jamon Serrano, Jamon Iberico, Iberico de Chorizo, and Pan con Tomate.

While we would usually enjoy the Jamon Iberico (especially if it's Jamon Iberico Pata Negra), this time the "white pigs" (i.e. Jamon Serrano) won out as it was more tender.

And was also cut thinner, so we enjoyed the texture of the Serrano more, even though the Iberico was more marbled, it was quite chewy. The Missus loves Spanish Chorizo, so that goes without saying. The Pan con Tomate was served on pan de cristal, the traditional bread and was quite good, even if it wasn't quite as honeycombed as what we had in Barcelona.

The tomato still had that wonderful "flavor of sunshine"! Sweet-acidity, with a touch of tartness, the olive oil lifting the flavors.

The Missus, always the egg lover, really enjoyed the Tortilla Espanola ($22).

Lots of flavor in this one; from the smoked tomatoes to the garlic aioli foam. Very tender, especially the potatoes. 

Our least favorite item of the night was the Pulpo ala Gallega ($28).

The pulpo was really tough, they really laid on the aioli, which had strong sour tones that we didn't enjoy.

At first glance, I thought the Gambas al Ajillo ($24) was over sauced. But we ended up really enjoying the acidic-sweetness, a nice amount of garlic, along with some sneaky spiciness of the dish.

The shrimp were sweet and tender and in spite of the assertive sauce, you could still taste them. They even bought us extra bread for sopping up that sauce.

The service was friendly and effcient; very nice folks here. Before doing this post, I found out that Loquita was designated as a Bib Gourmand restaurant by Michelin, so good for them.

Loquita Santa Barbara
202 State St.
Santa Barbara, CA 93101

We then returned to the Moxy. I have mixed feelings about the Moxy Santa Barbara. The staff was great, love the funkiness, the rooms were a bit small, but comfortable, but of course the freeway noise and if you needed a fridge you'd have to use the one in the shared kitchen.  Good thing we have a portable freezer for JJ's food. I believe they serve pastries and I do know there coffee in the lobby which I had before we left the next morning.

I read that the Moxy brand is directly aiming for Gen Z customers and I could tell by the decor.

I'm probably the wrong target audience! 

Like many boutique hotels these days; the check in counter doubles as a pseudo "bar" of sorts. And as a bonus, upon check-in you receive a token for a free cocktail from a list. After our nice dinner, I took JJ out to the lobby and had a decent Gin and Tonic.

It was the quiet time of the year in Santa Barbara, so it was relaxing to hang in the playfully designed lobby with JJ. A nice way to spend our last evening in Santa Barbara.

Moxy Santa Barbara
12 East Montecito St.
Santa Barbara, CA 93101

Yes, I was learning to take time to "stop and smell the flowers".......

Thanks for stopping by!

Fish With You

I first noticed that a shop named "Fish With You" was opening in the former Shentang BBQ (remember when it was Pho Paradise for a minute?) location back in July of last year. I took the Missus to have a look at the sign and She got kind of excited, telling me the place specialized in Suan Cai Yu - literally "sour vegetable fish". She also mentioned the "fun-pum" in the Chinese name.

If you recall; the Missus, being from QingDao grew up eating Suan Cai and it is a staple in our household. So I was pretty excited to try the place once it opened. And after reading this post on Eater, I was even more interested. It's a chain from China with many locations around the world. Looking at the original posted ABC notification, the business name was supposed to be "Wei's Fish" which is located in Cupertino, but I guess eventually the place took on the name of the chain. It has the same owner as Yin Tang Hot Pot and Zhengxin Chicken Steak (which I need to return to) two other chains that have entered the Convoy "sweepstakes".

The restaurant finally opened in March and I was excited to try it. Except, for some reason, the Missus was suddenly not? Go figure. But I finally talked Her into visiting during a weekday at an odd hour figuring the place would be busy. And of course, that parking lot at 3904 Convoy, the strip mall with The Original Pancake House, Izakaya Sakura, Tsuruhashi, Bistro Kaz, Yakitori Koubou, Mekong Cuisine, and several more restaurants is no vehicle's friend when it comes to parking.

We did find parking and entered the brightly lit restaurant. There were still several tables filled, even at this odd hour. Ordering was done via QR code and phone.

Though the really nice folks working will bring you a paper menu if requested. We also noticed the nice young lady taking the order for a four top with older Chinese folks as well.

There are four versions of Suan Cai Yu, a version of fish with lemon, a version with tomato, several versions of beef soup, and one chicken and tomato stew. Along with several side dishes and desserts. You can add sides to dishes. Two types of fish are available; except for the "Signature Soup" which will have Snakehead, which are quite popular in Asia, but an invasive species and illegal in California and and cannot be imported, transported, or possessed without a permit. The other fish available for the soup is Basa, which to me is more commonly known as Swai, not a favorite of mine.

On this visit; the Missus was interested in one of the desserts, a side dish, and two versions of the Suan Cai Yu. So, we placed our order on our phone.

Strangely, the first item to arrive was the dessert! The "Sweet Pumpkin Cake ($6.95).

 Think fried mochi/manju. The exterior was crisp, giving way to a chewy interior along with a filling that was a bit too sweet for us. We tried one when it arrived and saved the rest for after the main courses were finished. Unfortunately, by that time it had started getting soggy. We ended up taking the rest home to heat in the air fryer. Still, I don't think we'll have this again.

We also ordered the Crispy Pork ($6.95). The Missus thought the portion was on the smallish side, but I thought it was ok based on prices these days.

It was crunchy, more tender than similar versions I've had recently. Crisp-crunchy, the Missus didn't care for the seasoning which She said didn't have enough spice and was on the sweeter side for Her.

All the soups come in two sizes. We chose the smaller size so we could try two different versions. In what was a surprise for these days, one bowl of rice is included for each soup free! Yes, you got that, no two-dollar charge for rice. The rice is supposedly Wuchang Rice from China; though it wasn't as fragrant as I would have liked, it was ok. Things can get pricy quickly though as every "extra" you add is $3.99 - like what looks like 4 quail eggs???

Our favorite of the two soups was the Signature Suancai & Fish (regular size - $17.95) that came only with Snakehead. The portion size was quite good.

Don't let the chilies fool you; this was pleasantly spicy (with one caveat I'll mention later) but not overwhelming, you could make out the fermented cabbage flavors, good salt and acidity, and every once in a while you'd get a peppercorn to wake you from your slumber. It had that suan-tian-ku-la-xian thing going. The fish was tender, with a mild flavor, and absorbed the taste of the soup nicely. We both really enjoyed this.

We also got the Laotan Suancai & Fish (regular size - $14.95) with Basa. We didn't care for the fish, even though it was meatier, the texture was mushy and the flavor had hints of muddiness.

Don't let the photo fool you. The bowl is quite shallow; seems like just over an inch deep. We didn't care for this soup as much either; the flavor was fairly straight forward, the spice level not bad, but for some reason we really couldn't make out the flavor of suan cai in this.

The Signature Soup was quite good and the service very nice. And the prices were quite reasonable for these days. Heck, the bowl of pho I had before this was more expensive than the Signature Soup!

And more importantly; the Missus was sold! So we returned a few days later. It was Sunday and I lucked out and found a parking space right before they opened.

There were already four tables full when we arrived. They had seated people, but no one was able to put in orders until 1130.

This time around we wanted to try a beef dish; so we got the Golden Soup Beef ($16.95).

The sliced beef was the typical thin sliced stuff you can get at the Asian grocer, not a big deal. The soup had very little spice and was actually on the bland side. It was also not hot when it arrived to the table, thus giving the broth a greasy tongue feel. Not sure what happened with that.

Luckily, we got the Signature Suancai & Fish again. And just like before it delivered!

And lunch, with leftovers for the two of us was less than $40! A note regarding the Signature Soup....you see all those chilies? Well, they add them right before delivering the bowl to your table; so there's a decent spice. If you do have leftovers however and are not having it until the next day; I'd remove the chilies, cause it gets quite spicy!

Anyway, we found a dish we really enjoy and can't wait to try out a few more items from the menu. In spite of wanting more mom-and-pop restaurants in the area, we're glad to now have Fish With You and Juewei. I see both as fairly regular stops for us in the land of endless Hot Pot, KFC, AYCE K_BBQ, and Cantonese Restaurants.

If you do try Fish With You out; let me know what you think and what are the dishes you enjoyed!

Fish With You
3904 Convoy St. #101
San Diego, CA 92111
Current Hours:
Daily 1130am - 10pm

I know "FOY" DerekR was wondering about this place - so here's the post!