mmm-yoso!!!

From Israel to Jordan (Before Covid) - Masada, the Dead Sea, and the InterContinental Aqaba

**** Not much food in this one as I try to get our pre-Covid trip posts done.

We decided to use guides during our trip to Israel-Palestine-Jordan because things were a bit spread out and transportation a bit more complicated than we wanted to deal with. We also wanted to learn about the sites we visited and also just enjoy the ride. We contracted the company, Desert Eco Tours to help with coordinating our tours thru Israel and Jordan. They were wonderful to deal with and we got a private tour of Masada and the Dead Sea and some really fun group tours to Petra and Wadi Rum.

On this day, our guide, David was perfectly on time and we headed off. First visiting areas near Ein Gedi so we could get a bit more familiar with the area.

From our viewpoint we had wonderful views and could see folks headed toward the oasis and waterfall.

From here it was off to Masada, a place I was a bit fascinated in since I had to read a book for a book report waaaay back in Intermediate School (that would be "Middle School" for most folks). There are three different "paths" you can use to walk/hike up to the fortress, but we took the Cable Car to the Visitors Center and then out into the plateau and amazing views of the ruins.

There was one very interesting thing about David......he does his tours barefoot! He told us that it "keeps him in touch with the earth and history"....

Also, when we arrived he broke out a conch shell and just like Hawaii, proceeded to blow into it!

I came to learn that the "Conch Shell Trumpet" played a large part in many cultures!

And I was captivated by the crows who seemed to "guard" the area.....which belonged to them.

A lot of what is known about Masada was written and compiled by Josephus Flavius, who wrote that the first fortification of Masada began in the 1st century BC; though that has never been confirmed. Between 37BC and 31BC Herod the Great built two palaces. It provided a protected and fortified winter haven, which included cisterns, storerooms, and a casemate wall. If you're like me; the first time you really read about Masada was about the siege where a group of Jews, less than a thousand who then held off the Romans for 2 years before the walls were breached. According to the story, upon having the fortress breached, the Jews dispatched each other rather than surrender to the Romans.

You can still see the remains of the Roman base camps from the mountain.

We wandered the ruins from the Columbarium Tower Ruins.

To the Western Palace, to the Hanging Palace which had three terraces.

You could actually see folks hiking up the mountain. I'm quite glad that we chose the cable car!

The terraces were my favorite part of the ruins.

This complex, called the "Hanging Palace" was Herod's private residence. The views were quite dramatic.....

At least that's what this little fella' kept telling me.....

It was quite an amazing place to visit.

We had a quick bite to eat in the restaurant before heading to our next stop.

Where I got to swim....well, actually float in the Dead Sea. Because of the high salt concentration; over 30%, the water feels very "thick" and floating is easy....I did a back float and because of the density of the water, I had to work to stand back up. An interesting experience.

From here David drove us to the Eilat Border Crossing; where we crossed on over to Jordan.

A representative from the tour company greeted us as we crossed the border and then got us a taxi to our accommodations for the evening; the Intercontinental Hotel Aqaba.

A beachside resort.....the rooms were quite comfortable.

Dinner was a pretty standard buffet.

And we took a nice walk around the pool area after dinner.

We slept well and had a light breakfast.

Before checking out and meeting our driver. Next stop?

Petra!

Thanks for stopping by!

Revisits - Chicago Fire Grill and Gyrogrill

A couple of quick revisits.....

Chicago Fire Grill:

It had been a while since I last visited Chicago Fire Grill and I was wondering how the owner, George was doing. So, I decided to head on over.

Things weren't quite ready for "prime time" when I arrived and George was by himself.

I'm guessing those pandemic staffing issues have hit home here as well. On this day, I had time to wait........George had to get everything  started; but eventually I got my order....George wanted to give it to me...but heck no.......the Chicago Dog is a bargain these days at 8 bucks. Plus, I want to make sure he stays in business.

 Things weren't much different from my previous visits. Except that the fries were nice and crisp, which I really enjoyed.

While the price for this has gone up $2 over the last year....in terms of these days....well, what can you still get for $8 nowadays? I hope George hangs in there.

Chicago Fire Grill
8935 Towne Centre Dr.
San Diego, CA 92122
Current Hours:
Mon - Fri 11am - 9pm
Sat - Sun 12pm - 9pm

GyroGrill:

I had meetings scheduled thru the normal lunch hour; I was hungry and decided to head on over to GyroGrill which opens at 10am.

When I arrived a quick glance at the sign gave me pause:

The Gyro meal is now $12.99; back when they opened in October of 2020, it was $7.99, which honestly was a bargain. On my last visit, in October of 2021, it was $10.99, which I thought was reasonable. But now, three months later it was $12.99....wow, guess it's just a sign of the times.

I had though about heading back to the car and going somewhere else....but I needed to get back to the office, so I stuck it out. The fellow working was....and has always been very nice.

 If anything, like I've mentioned before, I do like the hand cut potatoes which are fried to order and are so crisp and crunchy.

As for the pork gyros....while I don't expect this to be on the level of Zgara, on this morning it was very disappointing. Even after being heated on the flat top, it was barely lukewarm, lacking moisture, bland, gummy in texture. I seemed to have been sitting in the hotel pan too long....but the place had just opened a few minutes before I arrived.

I do love those potatoes; so perhaps I need to change things up a bit here....though I'm not sure what prices will be like when I return.

Gyrogrill
6780 Miramar Rd.
San Diego, CA 92121
Current Hours:
Mon - Fri 10am - 630pm
Sat 10am - 530pm
Closed Sunday

Midweek Meanderings - Yum Yum Africa Coming to Old Town and Bristol Farms (UTC) Closing at the End of the Month

Yum Yum Africa Coming to Old Town:

I saw this on a recent visit to Taqueria Tuetano (post upcoming) right across the street from was this banner:

In the former location of El Charro Grill.......it seems like Old Town is going thru many changes; hope this will be a good one!

2543 Congress St.
San Diego, CA 92110

Bristol Farms Closing at the End of the Month:

I pretty much saw this coming with the mall being renovated. Even though I've basically done two posts on Bristol Farms  (Cathy has done quite a few) it's a regular shopping stop on the way home form the office.

So, after not dropping by in a couple of weeks; I visited last week on the way home from work.....

I went in to take a peek and man the place was pretty empty and quite depressing.

I spoke to a couple of the folks that I knew from all my visits over the years and was told that they were closing at the end of the month. I asked about all the employees (I've known quite a few that have left over the last few months) and was told that many are being transferred to Lazy Acres locations in Encinitas and Hillcrest. I'll probably still see some of them as Lazy Acres is a regular stop on the way home from the Little Italy Mercato.

Even the return of Bristol Farms after renovations of the mall is not certain. I was told that Bristol Farms had successfully made preliminary negotiations with the mall's owners; but that went down the tubes when the mall was sold to new ownership.

Sad to see Bristol Farms go....yes, the prices were on the high side; but it was always a good stop for certain items.

Still, if you want to make a last stop at Bristol Farms, all remaining inventory will be sold at 50% off starting tomorrow, January 20th.

I'm hoping they do return....

Bristol Farms
8510 Genessee Ave
San Diego, CA 92122
Limited Hours:
Daily 10am - 7pm

Yang Rou Pao Mo to go from Shann Xi Magic Kitchen

My apologies for the lack of posts. The last two weeks have been super busy for me. After finishing up work, I'd just be so fried that the last thing I really wanted to do was sit down at the PC (again, after having it in front of me the whole day). I finally actually had some time to rest this weekend....so hopefully, things will start getting better in the upcoming weeks.

Though getting this text yesterday morning did put me in that "good lord, what next" kinda mood.

Anyway, I was doing some shopping at 99 Ranch Market; the Missus was working and I decided to get something for dinner at the food court to take home with me for dinner. After taking a quick look; I decided to trying some Yang Rou Pao Mo from Shann Xi Magic Kitchen. After all, I hadn't visited since before the pandemic. Plus, after a couple of days of unseasonal warm weather - we hadn't had temps in the 70's since November, things had cooled off and we even got some drizzles....so it was good weather for some soup.

As always, the young ladies working seem to not really want to be here, but I guess I expected that. The menu now seems skewed to Sichuan dishes rather than Shanxi (Jin) dishes...hmmm..... Still I went and ordered the Yang Rou Pao Mo ($12.99) and went shopping. When I returned, I waited and asked a couple of times; before finding out that my order had been lying on the counter for a while.....

I unpacked the container upon arriving home; the soup was still nice and hot. And so I poured everything into a bowl.

 And to be honest, this was better than what what I'd had before. I'm not going to beat that "too bad the pao mo here in San Diego is nothing like how it's supposed to be" dead horse anymore. If I ignore that; then I can easily say the lamb was super tender and gamey; there was nice amount of frozen tofu and bamboo shoots and best of all; the broth wasn't overly salty and had just the right amount of white pepper and muttony flavors. This might be the best version I've had in San Diego...perhaps I need to try the version from Green China Grill again?

What was interesting is that; even with the crazy price increases; the Yang Rou Pao Mo was just a dollar more than what I last paid for it in 2019......though now they charge you 50 cents for takeout containers.

Shann Xi Magic Kitchen
5950 Balboa Ave (In the 99 Ranch Market Food Court)
San Diego, CA 92111

Thanks for visiting; I've missed you all and it felt great doing a post again! Have a great week!

More Takeout from Golden Island

During the fall, I received news that the kitchen staff at Golden Island had experienced some turnover.....the interesting news was that the "new" folks were from China Max...which BTW, still looks quite far from any construction, even though they said they would be reopening this year (2022). 

I decided to place a takeout order and headed on over.

There were actually people dining in and it just seemed quite "normal"......

For whatever that would mean. One of the reasons I keep returning is the manager, Michael is such a nice guy. I asked him about the staff change and he confirmed that yes, the kitchen staff had changed over.

So, I went ahead and ordered what I believe is one of the two items they do well; the Shrimp Siu Mai.

This was actually better than what I'd had here before; moist, tender, and just toothsome enough. Good shrimp flavor without "muddiness", the wrapper wasn't as dry and tough as before, though it's now $7.45!

I also went ahead and ordered something that was recommended to me, the Baked BBQ Pork Bun ($4.99).

   Not a big fan of these; though the bun is nice and fluffy, it's quite dry and bland. The cubes of char siu are really tough and the "sauce" also seemed quite bland as well. Even though it's one of the most inexpensive items on the menu, there's a bit of a shortage of filling as well.

Well, it seems like there was some improvement; so I waited a few weeks and did a revisit. This time I ordered  an item I wasn't very happy with before, the Har Gow and a recommendation, the Sticky Rice in Lotus Leaf.

The Har Gow ($7.45) was a bit better.

 The wrapper was a bit more pliable, the shrimp was still on the drier side, but this had a nice "shrimpiness", with no off or muddy flavors. Nice large pieces of shrimp, but I bit more chewy than I like.

Still this was definitely better than what I'd had before.

I also got the Sticky Rice in Lotus Leaf ($8.69).

This just wasn't very good.

You can easily see the issue I had with this, right? First off, the seasoning hadn't permeated the sticky rice.....plus there were some undercooked rice in this; really hard and not good eats. There was a whole shrimp, which was on the hard and chewy side. And there was just not enough filling to give this much flavor. I brought one home for the Missus. After heating; She opened it...there was no real fragrance, She took a look at the fillings and gave me a look, telling me; "well, this one is for you....."

Sooo.......I decided to return in November. I had been craving Kwai Fei Chicken and the version I'd had from here on an earlier visit was one of the two items I enjoyed. 

I also got the Soy Sauce Noodle ($12.99)....because you know....I needed some carbs to balance out that chicken.

This was pretty good, though I would have preferred a bit more soy sauce. Still, all the noodles were firm to crisp and well coated. The bean sprouts were also still crisp; but the dish could have used a bit more "wok hay" as well.

As for the Kwai Fei Ji ($17.99).

 What the heck happened here? This was so disappointing. The chicken had all these weird and somewhat bitter "brown spots" and was very dry, the overall flavor was a bit off. The "sauce" tasted a bit off and lacked assertive ginger tones. This is basically why I ended up trying the Kwai Fei Chicken from Eastern Dynasty.

Needless to say, I was quite disappointed. 

It's too bad about the inconsistency as I really like the manager here; though not quite sure on the service as I always arrived at my assigned time and always had to wait for my order. 

Though they do have "Jazz Night" if you're into that sort of thing.

Golden Island
10660 Camino Ruiz
San Diego, CA 92126

2022 Tournament of Roses Rose Parade floats and a few meals

mmm-yoso!!! is being written by Cathy today.  She's the one who does these Rose Parade posts. Kirk is taking a break.

So, it's 2022!  Happy New Year.  A time to start anew, change habits.  For starters, most of the photos in this post were taken on December 31, unlike when The Mister and I attended the Showcase of Floats-following the Rose Parade in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019  and 2020.  

With Covid-19, not many people were volunteering to decorate the floats and we had been receiving daily emails and noticing all of the float builders asking for volunteers.  We had helped decorate floats in early December, and were wide awake around 1 a.m. on December 31, saw a live video of the float barn and how much help was needed, especially since final judging is around 10 a.m. on the 31st.  We got in the car and drove to Irwindale.  

Here are some photos of floats and details at the Phoenix Decorating Company barn.  

 Trader Joe's, "You're Invited"
 Kiwanis International, "Dream To Achieve"Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day, "Seeding Tomorrow"

Lutheran Hour Ministries, "Jesus Teaches"
 Oddfellows and Rebekahs, "Arctic Adventure"
 The Century anniversary of Shriners Hospitals for Children, "Celebrating 100 Years of Believing in Dreams". This float depicts a young girl with scars from Spina Bifida repair, spinning in a looking glass, dreaming of being the spinning ballerina in a jewelry box.  There were three color florographs on this float, celebrating the providing of care to children with complex medical conditions regardless of their ability to pay.

 "Wild Kingdom" by RFD-TV and Mutual of Omaha. 
The Closing float, reminding people of the Rose Bowl Game.
Rotary International, "Changing Lives Through Education"

Lions Clubs International, "Quest For Kindness"


Best wishes to you and yours. Dream, Believe, Achieve.

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It was after 11 a.m. and The Mister and I still had not had breakfast so we left and began driving to a favorite stop, The Peppertree Cafe. Another Covid-19 survivor.

 Since it was a Friday, the regular menu (and specials) were available.  We were so tired and overwhelmed.  The Soup, Salad Half Sandwich ($9) was great- clam chowder, ranch dressing, turkey sandwich. There was a half order hot beef sandwich available ($9) so I tried it.  Just enough food.  A very long day. Peppertree Cafe website

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In November, we finally made it back to Porto's, where we had not been since October, 2019. So happy it survived Covid.

 The menu (bakery and meals) is limited,  dine in capacity is at 50% (tables removed), most cold beverages are bottled but the food items are consistent.
 Torrejas (Cuban French toast) was just perfect-crisp exterior, fluffy interior. 
 Pan con Lechon- slow roasted pork with pickled onion and a green garlic mojo sauce on the fresh Cuban bread was a nice, salty contrast for breakfast. Portos Bakery Website

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Also in November, The Mister was craving a good pastrami sandwich, so we drove up the 15 to The Hat, which also survived Covid-19. 

  Things are about the same, other than you have to ask for condiments.

 The sides are still enough to share-a large serving.  The pastrami is still kind of perfect. The Hat website
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Niku Dofu

Since I wanted to start the New Year on the right foot......FOY "Som Tommy" mentioned wanting the recipe for Niku Dofu in my NYE post....he also mentioned that I really hadn't done a true recipe post in ages which is kinda true. These days, most of my cooking is pretty much by "feel"; though I will try to do a couple of recipes of items where I need to measure stuff out and such. Anyway, here goes one of those now rare recipe posts!

A couple of notes before I get started. The Missus is all about the tofu, daikon, and boiled eggs in this recipe....and of flavor. I've found that using the Kurobuta Pork Belly from Nijiya works the best for Her tastes. I have even snuck in fried shrimp to add another dimension to things. As always, please adjust the recipe to your taste.

Also, feel free to substitute veggies - you know shiitake mushrooms, that kind of stuff. Because, to be perfectly honest, I started making this as a low(er) maintenance way of keeping the Missus happy when She wanted Sukiyaki.

As for the tofu, I do one block at a time. I add the second block the next day. I found that soft tofu will start breaking down and the Missus prefers intact squares that are still super soft and moist.

I do put in one chili de arbol, which actually does make a difference in flavor and adds a bit of heat to the dish.

Also, I found that She prefers the straight forward "heat" from white pepper.

Anyway, here goes....

Niku Dofu:

1 1/2 Cup Soy Sauce - a neutral flavor like Aloha or Yamasa
1 1/2 Cup Mirin
1 Cup Dark Brown Sugar
3 Cups Water
1/2 Cup Sake
3/4 tsp Dashi No Moto(optional)
2 cloves garlic either grated or ground into a fine paste (optional)
1 Chili de Arbol (optional)

12 Ounces thin cut pork belly (you can substitute beef) - sliced into 1/2 inch pieces
1 1/2 - 2 Pounds Daikon peeled, cut into 1/2 - 2/3 inch rounds, edges rounded off
1 Medium Onion Sliced into thin strips
2 Packages Shirataki(Yam Noodles), open packages and place in a colander. Pour boiling water over Shirataki to remove the "smell".
2 Blocks Soft Tofu (see note below)
6 Soft Boiled Eggs
2-3 TB Avocado or a neutral cooking oil
White Pepper to taste

• Open one block of tofu, drain, place a clean dish cloth, cheesecloth, or paper towels around and then a plate on top to remove moisture.
  - In a pot heat the oil until it starts to shimmer add chili de arbol if using to flavor the oil
  - Add pork belly and saute until the pork just starts to cook through - season with white pepper if using
  - Add onions and garlic cook until onions are soft and translucent
  - Add mirin and sake and bring to a boil and stir occasionally to burn off alcohol
  - Add soy sauce and sugar, stir well and return to a boil. The miasma should be quite fragrant right now. If you have a taste; it will be very salty and sweet....thus
  - Add water and return to a boil. Let simmer for a few minutes and lower the temperature.
  - Add Dashi no Moto if using; stir well
  - Add slices of daikon and simmer for 20-30 minutes until the daikon start absorbing the sauce and soften. Use a skewer to check doneness. If you have a drop lid you might want to use it now. Or place parchment paper to make sure the daikon is completely submerged.
  - Add shirataki and combine
  - Once daikon reaches desired tenderness; cube the tofu and gently add.
  - Let simmer
  - A few minutes before serving; add the boiled eggs

So there you go....kinda easy. "Niku" basically means meat, so feel free to sub your favorite....I mean really; this is "meat and tofu".....

Hope you enjoy ST!

Happy New Year!

Or is it really? Well, it been a pretty rough two years.......unlike last New Year when I kept away and did my Osechi search on the 30th....this time, like I'd done every year since it seems forever, I decided to head on over to Nijiya today at 9am. Somehow, I must have missed the memo and found the place packed when I arrived at 5 to 9.....apparently, they decided to open at 8am!

Needless to say; it was a zoo around the osechi and I gave up taking photos after taking a few of the seafood....

I quickly grabbed some Osechi for a good friend whose mom and dad is visiting from Italy and went to look to make something for the Missus.....but go figure; they were out of daikon and tofu??? What the heck. Oh well, I guess it just kinda fits into the pattern of the last two years?

I headed on over to Marukai....which, just like Nijiya, decided to open at 8am as well....they've recently renovated, probably due to being acquired by Don Quijote, and changed the whole layout....but no decent Osechi, but I did get tofu and daikon.

And so, the Missus got some humble Niku Dofu for dinner....which She had been craving anyway. And like usual we plan a quiet New Year anyway.....

Anyway, we'd like to wish everyone a safe New Year...with our best wishes and hopes that you are all safe and in good health.