mmm-yoso!!!

Yoso-Silly - LA Roadtrip: Hong Kong Fishball House and a Very Special Dish

*** You know......tastes change; and I now find this stuff kinda bland, who'd have thunk???

We just got back from LA, so I thought I'd do a short post. Elmo from Monster Munching mentioned a very special dish during the course of a comment on my post last Saturday.

The special place that sells this dish is the Hong Kong Fishball House, and is covered in detail on Monster Munching.

HK Fishball House specializes in very, very, reasonably priced(usually under 3 bucks) soups and other snacks. But there was a special snack that the Missus just had to try.......

How could you resist the temptation of Fried Pork Rectum, and only $2.25! So while I waited for my frozen Xiao Long Bao from Yi-Mei Deli, the Missus waited for Her Fried Rectum from the Fishball House - why does that sound so wrong? It didn't help any, when the Gentleman frying what is actually Pork Large Intestine told the Missus, "Oooh, this smells so good!!!"

So what did it look like?

Nicely fried and seasoned with salt and green onions.

So how did it taste?

I think it's an appropriately named dish.......after all the large intestine is attached to the?????

The initial taste was a fairly pleasant sweet and salty flavor, with a crisp and "spongy" texture. But as you kept chewing the hard to describe, very earthy and strong  "intestine" flavor came through, along with a slightly unpleasant aftertaste that lasts for a pretty long time. The intestine also left my mouth with what felt like a slimy film. Definitely an acquired taste, and I don't think I've been exposed enough to similar flavors to appreciate it. I'll stick with the fried calamari!

Hong Kong Fishball House
18414 Colima Rd
Rowland Heights, CA 91748

Trieu Chau - The Meal

In Part I of this post, we made our way to Trieu Chau, and sat, only to open the menu, and discover that most of it was not in English (there was a handwritten section with stuff like pork fried rice). So as the Missus tried to decipher the Chinese portion of the menu, and little plate of Youtiao(Fried Dough, "Crullers") found it's way to our table.

These were cold and dense, not crunchy and light; a very inauspicious start. At this point, the Missus had gotten through much of the menu, but still could not figure out what some of the dishes were. This is when our intrepid "guide" Kathy appeared. She patiently explained that the dishes we were having problems with were dishes with specific types of noodles. She started in English, went to Cantonese, and finally was able to explain some of the dishes to the Missus in Mandarin. At one point, she thought that the Missus was Laotian, so she started speaking in what I think was Lao. Talk about a humbling experience, I barely speak one language well (that would be English), and Kathy just jumps from language to language without hesitation. Needless to say, we were impressed. Finally,  the Missus decided to go the "small plates" route, instead of ordering noodle soup and ordered a few dishes that She had already picked out, and Kathy helped fill out the menu.

First up was the Missus selected the Beef Stew:

The Missus picked this out, because she knew how much I enjoy a good Beef Stew. This was almost a hybrid Chinese - Vietnamese style Beef Stew. Beef colored by annatto oil, nice hints of anise, cinnamon, and garlic. The meat was pretty tender, and the fat content was pretty low. What I really enjoyed about this dish, was the large amount of buttery, melt in your mouth tendon, cooked to perfection. Also, the usual layer of oil coating the top of the sauce, was minimized. An average dish, brought up to good by the delici-yoso tendon.

The Missus also selected the Soy Sauce Duck:

Nice, meaty and tender, soy sauce flavored duck leg, served with pickled vegetables. What made this dish work was that the salty duck was tempered by the pickled vegetables and pickle "juice."

Kathy had selected the rice noodle with seafood for us:

I could smell the fragrance of this dish as it was cooking; thinking to myself; "that must be for us...." Wide rice noodles, egg, bok choy, and seafood, in a brown sauce. First off the shrimp were over-cooked and tough, and the squid was like rubber. The sauce though a tad on the sweet side had quite a bit of garlic which balanced it out a bit. The interesting thing was that I could taste a hint of a slightly smokey flavor in the noodles; I think there was a bit of Wok-hey going on.

Strangely, Kathy also ordered Lup Cheong(Chinese Sausage) and Shrimp Fried Rice for us. I think she was hedging her bets a little, just in case we didn't care for anything else we ordered.

This was the weakest dish of the meal. Again the shrimp were over-cooked, and some of the Lup Cheong were charred, and nothing about the dish stood out. As we were eating, the Missus, said "didn't you make this last night." I had indeed made fried rice with leftovers the night before, and this was no better then what I had thrown together at home. But still, nothing terrible about the dish.

All told the "damage" was $20, for 4 dishes(we had the leftovers for dinner) and tea, not bad at all! The service was very efficient, and Kathy was very patient and helpful. While the Missus went to the Ladies Room, I chatted briefly with Kathy, who recommended the Lemongrass Chicken, and a few other dishes for our next visit. Though I'm sorely tempted to try some of the Beef Stew Noodle Soups......

Trieu Chau Restaurant
4653 University Ave
San Diego, CA 92105

Trieu Chau - The Teaser

While sitting here realizing it's pretty darn late, and that I'll never finish this post before I just plain "crash out", something popped into my "head" (that in itself is a fairly unique event). You see Diet Chili Cheese Fries just sent me something he calls a "teaser" for His movie Asian Stories (Book III). Which led me to wonder if you all would buy into a "teaser" post????? So here goes.....

Recently we had heard of a Cambodian-Vietnamese-Chinese Restaurant on University called Trieu Chau, and finally managed to get there.

Since there was no available parking in the lot, we parked on a a side street and noticed that the restaurant was pretty full. Though the exterior and interior of the restaurant was a bit worse for wear, there were wonderful smells all through the dining area. This was probably due to the configuration of the restaurant, a small "L-shape" with the kitchen separated by a "bar-counter" from the dining area. As we were seated, I noticed the usual condiment tray:

Thing were looking up.....until I opened the menu:

There was nothing in English!!! Talk about cutting this Third - generation (Sansei), only English speaking(I can cuss in several languages), American of Asian ancestry down to size. All items in everything from Sanskrit to Chinese, but not English......wait a minute, there's the Chinese portion of the menu whew! Until, the Missus(born and raised in China) said; "You know, some of this stuff, I can even read, but it doesn't make sense to me. I don't know what it's saying!" Oh-uh........

Talk about feeling a bit nervous.........

So now for the tease. Would our intrepid eaters fail? Would they get kicked out on their butts onto University Avenue? Would they die of starvation? Would they at least get a spot of tea? Would the Missus have a sudden revelation and decipher the menu? Would my facade of Banana-Asianism be revealed? Would the Missus please call Her Mom for some GUIDANCE!!!!!

Stay tuned tomorrow........And RONW, this menu's for you. Can you help us decipher it?

Manila Fast Food and Desserts

*** Manila Fast Food has changed owners. An updated post can be found here.

The Missus had heard of Manila Fast Food from one of Her co-workers, who told Her that the food there was pretty good, and worth a try. So on a recent weekend morning we headed over to Mira Mesa. Manila Fast Food is located in the same strip mall as the Mira Mesa location of Seafood City.

For some reason I recall another restaurant being in this location.

When we entered the restaurant, there was quite a crowd of people waiting for the "turo-turo"(point-point) type dishes, even though it was 10 in the morning. And they looked really hungry.

We decided on each ordering a single entree plate with rice which goes for $3.49 (Two choices is $4.99), and "something else". On this morning I felt like some Sisig:

As with most of "turo-turo" joints in San Diego, Sisig is usually left over Lechon(roast pork), stir fried with onions, lime or vinegar, and chili pepper or other flavoring. Not to get off the subject, but many Jazz Musicians use something called the "Real Book", which is actually a "Fake Book"(a story for another day), now the "Real Book" consists of a large collection of "standards" that every Jazz Musician should know, usually consisting of only a "lead sheet"(the melody) and the chord changes. After that, it's up to the Musician(s) to decided how to make Autumn Leaves, Alone Together, or Days of Wine and Roses interesting.  Likewise, it can be a real challenge creating a tasty dish from what is essentially "left-overs"(a standard). Like any good "number" performed by a trio or quartet, harmony is important, as is the support(rhythm section), not only is it important that the "lead instrument"(in this case the lechon) be very clear, but the rhythm needs to keep everything in time preventing the whole creation from becoming a "train wreck". The rhythm section should never become the lead except for perhaps a "solo", not only is it important to know what to play, but also what NOT to play. If this Sisig were a Jazz Quartet playing a standard, I'd say that the rhythm section is driving a bit too hard, too much sour and sweet. And the Lechon(the lead) too passive, on the soft and soggy side, I'd prefer the pork to have a bit more "chew" with hints of crunchy "goodies". I did enjoy the spiciness, though I'd say that even that over-shadowed the pork. One the positive side, this version of Sisig was not very greasy.

The Missus decided on Beef Sinigang(Sour Soup):

Though not as oily as versions I've had before, I thought that other then a vinegar "sour"(I prefer more tamarind - tangy) flavor, there wasn't much going on. There was quite a bit of fairly tender meat though.

Of course we weren't through. The Missus also ordered a Crispy Pata ($9.99 + a 15 minute wait). Well, if the Sisig was the Jazz Quartet, this should be the entire "Big Band"!

We got it sizzling hot just out of the fryer and brought it over to our table. The skin was nice and crisp, though there was not very gelatin, nor dark meat. I think this "Baboy"(pig), might have been on a bit of a diet. The flavor was very mild, and the richness somewhat muted. Like all of the dishes we ate, the Pata was not very greasy at all.

In the end, nothing outstanding. No amazing Pat Martino single line guitar solos or Jim Hall harmonic solos. More like a good garage band playing Louie-Louie, but hey, that's a "standard" too, right?

Manila Fast Food and Desserts
8979 Mira Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92126

Sorry for all the silly analogies.....I don't know what came over me! In case you're wondering if some music was driving me over the edge; yesterday I was listening to Corrinne May, and today Tal Farlow and Lenny Breau, strange how music can affect your posts!

Han Bat Restaurant

A while back, knowing how much the Missus enjoys Korean Black Goat Casserole, Calvin told me about Han Bat. Calvin said he noticed signage in the front of the restaurant mentioning Black Goat Soup. So we made a trip to Plaza Del Sol, and Han Bat.

Han Bat is a fairly small, Mom and Pop type operation, with a brightly colored and well lit interior. In what was a ominous sign, Han Bat was also totally empty, on a Friday evening!

The limited menu had about 20 items, all of them some type of soup or casserole. We saw several Black Goat soups and casseroles, and attempted to order, but was told that they were out of goat. When I asked when they'd have goat again, I got a shrug of the shoulders. So no goat. In one instant, twenty percent of the items on the menu weren't available. We did find something interesting, and placed our order.

The Lady dropped of our panchan, which consisted of only 4 little plates of very routine panchan. Nothing earth-shattering, and a little on the chintzy side.

Since they were out of Goat, we ordered the Duck Casserole for two ($26.50):

A portable stove was placed on the table and a smallish sized cast iron pot of broth and vegetables was heated. First off the broth had a very high oil content, as you can clearly see by the distinct yellow color. Strangely enough, as rich as the broth was, it was lacking in flavor, and spice. The Missus kept adding sea salt from the little jar on the table to Her broth. The duck meat resembled tough slices of beef with gristly, tough, fat. The Missus couldn't bring Herself to eat it, but it was fine to me, though really lacking in flavor. I ended up using all the dipping sauce for the duck and vegetables.

Though we got charged $2.00 for tea, served in a small beer glasses, we never got refills. Even when we asked....

It really did seem that Han Bat was in full cost-cutting mode. Maybe someone else can tell me how good their Black Goat is, I don't think we'll be back. We'll stick with Ko Hayang Jip.

I actually went home and made tacos.

Han Bat Restaurant
4690 Convoy St Ste 108
San Diego, CA 92111

PWTSDS: Umenoya - And other Sunday Silliness

After some thought, I've started a new category of posts. I'll call the these PWTSDS (sounds like putdz). There are just some eating establishments where I'm unable to take photos, usually from lack of adequate light. So I've come to call them my "Posts Where the Sun Don't Shine" or PWTSDS. There have been many potential posts that have been discarded due to terrible photos - Parallel 33 and Balboa Tofu House come to mind. But I thought I'd do the ones that are somewhat salvageable. Please understand that the real PWTSDS is me, for being unable to take even remotely decent photos, and do not reflect upon the quality of food and service of the restaurants I'm eating at.

Most of my PWTSDS photos have long been discarded. But for some reason I still had a couple of photos from Ume No Ya Japanese Restaurant on Miramar Road. I don't really know how this place manages to survive, it's pretty difficult to find, blink your eyes and you've passed it. The location is kind of strange as well; next to a Truck Accessories shop and in the same strip mall as a stri, ummm "gentleman's club". The interior of Ume Mo Ya is quite dark, with Japanese posters, and other "stuff" adoring the walls, and a small television always tuned to the eternal infomercial channel. But the wonderful smell of shoyu and mirin is always floating in the air.

The food at Ume No Ya is strictly homestyle Japanese. If you're looking for sushi and other items you'll be best off trying elsewhere. The only Server I've seen here is a Little Old Lady, so if there are several patrons, the service might be a bit on the slow side. I've never had dinner at Ume No Ya, but I've had lunch there a few times, and the dishes can be hit and miss, but are very reasonably priced, usually between five to seven dollars(US). All lunches come with the "de riguer" green salad, and miso soup which often a bit on the salty side. I'll usually get the Katsudon ($5.00):

Simply done; a deep fried pork cutlet and egg over a bowl of rice, with some dashi-soy sauce-mirin type broth poured over it. Nothing fancy; I've had it on days when the broth was much too sweet, or too salty, but it's never been terrible. The portion size is decent, and Ume No Ya can be a nice change of pace from the other restaurants in the area.

The one thing that always gets me when I have lunch at Ume No Ya, is when exiting, from the dark dining area, you open the door, and "Wham!!!"

The bright sunshine always blinds me.....and I have to stumble around, luckily, the parking lot only holds about 10 cars.

Umenoya Japanese Restaurant
8650 Miramar Rd Ste B
San Diego, CA 92126

Some Sunday "stuffs":

Doesn't "Poulet Sel et Poivre" sound so very refined? What is it? Ha, you'll love this, it's Salt and Pepper Chicken Wings! This goes to prove what I've always believed; it always sounds better in French. Lately, one of my favorite Food Blogs has been Emily K's "What's For Lunch" emanating from Paris. There you'll find some very interesting "lunches" and even the Poulet Sel et Poivre. I just love the Chinese Restaurant named, "Delices Celestes". I'm telling you, it always seems to sound better in French. I wonder what would happen if I dropped by Royal Mandarin and asked for some Poulet Sel et Poivre?

Amanda, on Her Food Blog Too Many Caesar Salads recently featured a few pages from vintage recipe booklets and cookbooks. My favorite is something called Spork. Seems that one man's Spam, is another's Spork........

I'd also like to congratulate Robwonton on the birth of his daughter Maya.

I recently had the pleasure of some wonderful company for dinner, Ed from Yuma, Howie from A Foodie's View, mizducky who often posts on eGullet, Gayla who often posts on eGullet, as well as Chowhound, Calvin who often gives me great restaurant rec's, and his friend Diane, all sat down and broke bread (more like shells) at Saigon Restaurant. I must say, the food on this occasion took a back seat to the fun and lively conversation. Thanks for a great time everyone. What a great group of people!

Finally to get your work week underway - here's an interesting bit of "Engrish" from Nijiya Market:

Don't ask me what part of the pig this came from......

North Park Produce - Fixing a Feta Fixation

"So whaddaya feel like for dinner tonight?"
"Some feta cheese would be nice."
"Okay, feta and....."
"Feta"
"Feta and Feta?"
"Maybe some bread would be nice...."

This called for a visit to North Park Produce:

Located on the corner of  El Cajon Boulevard and Wilson Street, North Park Produce is quite unique, even when ethnic markets are the subject. North Park Produce is sort of a combination Middle Eastern - Mexican Market, and covers alot of ground in between.

Along with the reasonably priced and great variety of produce:

There is a small but good meat department.

All the meat at North Park Produce is prepared using the standards of the House of Halal. North Park Produce is also on of the few Markets that constantly provides fresh ground lamb, as well as other "fresh" lamb cuts.

A look at the variety of  "breads" available at NPP also clearly illustrates the diversity of products.

The tortillas are located on the shelf right above the lavosh.

You can imagine the great variety of snacks and confections.

The great wall of olive oil.

After wandering around the market a bit, I headed to the Deli counter to see what the Missus was up to.

The Missus was still waiting for Her feta, so I got to check out the nice variety of olives, as well as the 11 different varieties of feta cheese.

In a few minutes I was handed 6 small bags of feta cheese. The Missus had ordered a variety of feta cheeses! When I asked Her which 6 She chose, she told me, "The six on the right. Next time I'm getting the five on the left!" You gotta love it!

So the Missus had a feta tasting dinner this evening. From left to right; Romanian, Akhcvi(not quite sure of the spelling), and Bulgarian.

From right to left; Deli Feta, Sandek, and Classic Feta.

All of this along with some Lavosh, snacks, and produce? $12, not bad! In what was a very interesting occurrence, both the Missus and I enjoyed the Romanian feta the most (nice slightly creamy taste and texture, good salt, with a slightly tangy finish), with the Bulgarian coming in second.

For dessert the Missus had some prickly pears:

So next time you're in the area, you might consider dropping by North Park Produce. Who knows, you may end up getting some good feta(or six).

North Park Produce
3551 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA 92104
Store Hours: Mon-Sat 9am-7pm
Sun 9am-5pm

12342 Poway Rd.
Poway, CA 92064
Store Hours: Mon-Sat 9am-8pm
Sun 9am-6pm

Much Mahalo, Ed...ummm I mean Gracias!

Friends are great aren't they? Rhetorically speaking, of course. The infamous Ed from Yuma is in town getting His San Diego food fix this week, and he was nice enough to pack us His very own Yuma care package. And man, was it some kind of care package!

In the filled ice chest were 4 packages of tortillas:

This is not the run of the mill stuff but the "good stuff" made in Mexico! I asked Ed what I was going to do with the leftover tortillas, and His reply, "well that's why they have tortilla chips!" Duh...... Ed also gave us a Tortillero, a tortilla warmer, to keep those tortillas warm and moist before eating. There was also 4 tubs of salsa, including an super-spicy salsa roja, though the Missus enjoyed the chunky salsa roja the best!

Also included was a couple of pounds of Pork Adobada:

And some marinated chicken:

Now we've had some major rain and thunderstorms, but with this sitting in front of me I had to take my chances, and got the charcoal started.

The pork cooked very quickly, and the scent of "chili" permeated the air. I must admit that the bright red color of the chicken kind of threw me in the beginning, but then again, I eat Char Siu don't I?

While I was grilling, the Missus was busy heating up the tortillas. The only problem with that was, She was eating a one tortilla for each one that made into the tortillero!

We did manage to beat the rain, and finally a made a "few" tacos, with some minced sweet onions and cilantro for garnish.

The Pollo (chicken) had more flavor, a nice chili-salty flavor.

The adobada was much milder, and the Missus stated that she could've used some lime. But the meat was very tender(I could strip them by hand), and went very well with the tangy Salsa Verde(green salsa made from tomatillo's):

Soooo delici-yoso!!! If anyone has questions, I'm sure that Ed can answer them! Thanks for indulging me, I'll be back with another restaurant tomorrow. Right now, I'm slowly sinking into a food induced coma........

Thanks again Ed!

Panda Palace - Another ABCDE in National City

**** Panda Palace has Closed

Can you dig the generic Chinese Restaurant name? If it has Pearl, Royal, Golden, Garden, Phoenix,  and Eastern or something similar(dragon, ruby, panda?) in the name, it's likely a circa '70's style Chinese Restaurant, something like "Eastern Pearl Royal Golden Phoenix Garden Restaurant", you'll automatically know it's a Chinese Restaurant. Much like Royal Mandarin across the street Panda Palace Restaurant serves a combination of ABCDE ("American Born Chinese Dining Establishment") and Chinoy Food. However, unlike Royal Mandarin, whose Salt and Pepper Chicken Wings are almost legendary in the Filipino Community, nary a word has been said about it. So the Missus and I decided to see why.....

The bright and generic interior screams last century Chinese.

The menu was filled with San Diego Chinoy favorites, and we proceeded to order a few.

Upside Down Pan Fried Noodles($6.75):

Noodles fried to a crisp, topped with shrimp, chicken, beef, and vegetables. First the good, the noodles were excellent, not over fried to a brittle consistency, the noodles got nicely chewy as the sauce soaked through them. The Beef and Shrimp were well cooked, soft, and moist. The bad? This dish had virtually no flavor, even the beef and chicken had no flavor. Combine these noodles and the cooking technique with the brown sauce from the Upside Down Pan Fried Noodles at Mandarin Canton and you'd have a pretty decent dish.

The Missus has a Shrimp with Lobster Sauce($8.25) fixation:

I have an aversion to gloppy, pale dishes studded with frozen peas and carrots. So I asked the Missus how this tasted. Her verdict? B-L-A-N-D. While waiting for our order we watched in amazement, as a Young Boy poured almost a half bottle of soy sauce on his fried rice. I now understood why. In fact, at this point we were pretty close to needing a refill of our soy sauce.

Finally, we had to try the Salt and Pepper Chicken Wings($6.75):

So how did these measure up to Royal Mandarin or Golden Chopstick? Not even close. First of all, not enough salt, pepper, or green onions and garlic topping. Secondly, not crispy enough. One interesting thing; I could distinctly taste a sweet component, either sugar or honey, that made these wings a bit different.

One thing I will say about Panda Palace, our Waitress was super efficient, there was absolutely no wasted motion, from taking our orders, to bringing take-out containers along with our check. As for the food? If we crave some ABCDE grub, I think we'll stick with one of the "Big Three".

Panda Palace Chinese Restaurant
1105 E Plaza Blvd Ste D
National City, CA 91950

One final item - one day soon I'd like to set-up a "taste-test", purely subjective of course, of several (4-5) versions of Salt and Pepper Chicken Wings. So Calvin, Howie, and Jack; you Guys game?

Asia Cafe Part II

*** Asia Cafe has closed

*** Return visits to Asia Cafe can be found here and here.

The day after a fun and interesting meal at Asia Cafe, we decided to drop by the restaurant again and grab some take-out. This time we were after a few of the more well known Laotian-style dishes. So  I went in and ordered a few.

Green Papaya Salad(medium size-$4.00):

A nice size portion of sliced green papaya and tomatoes. We ordered the heat level at medium, but it was pretty mild. I thought the salad was much too fishy and briney for my tastes, much stronger then the version we had at Vientiane. Also, it was missing the wonderful flavor that peanuts bring to the dish, we had noticed a little jar of peanuts at each table, but apparently if you ordered the papaya salad "to go" you were on your own. I didn't care for it, but surpisingly the Missus enjoyed it, and scarfed it down! For those who have not had this style of Papaya Salad, please be aware; much more fish sauce is used, and not as much sugar or lime juice, making for a less sweet and more salty and "fishy" salad.

Beef Laab:

A very nice rendition of a classic dish, chock full of herbs, not dry, but not watery. The rather mild flavor let the texture of the slices of beef and tripe stand out, while letting the flavor of the herbs take a front seat. Beware the green peppers; they are very hot! The Missus didn't enjoy the slightly bitter flavor of the tripe, but that didn't bother me in the least. The overall flavor was on the mild side, but I enjoyed being able to taste all of the herbs.

The Missus had me ask about about the wonderful Laotian "Fried Rice" dish that she enjoys so much. So I described the dish to Johnny, who informed me that it was called Nem Khao. When I asked Him if they served it here, He told me "We'll make it for you, no problem!"

This wonderful dish of rice, fried garlic, pork, sausage, and other goodies, rolled in a lettuce leaf was delici-yoso! Slightly salty, with a nice nutty flavor, a very simple yet complex dish, and throughly enjoyable.

I needed one more dish, and Johnny recommended the Laotian "Beef Jerky":

I'm sorry that my photo doesn't do this dish justice. Wonderfully marinated and seasoned beef, slightly salty, slightly sweet, this was wonderful. The way to eat this is to have a piece of jerky in one hand, and a handful of sticky rice in the other.

So good! Since I went on recommendations and ordered items that weren't on the menu(as far as I know), all I can tell you is, that all four dishes and sticky rice for two(it's alot of rice) was $24.

Some Notes: There isn't a whole lot of parking in the small lot, though we never had a problem finding parking. The service is very helpful, both Johnny and Scotty want to make sure you enjoy your meal. Scotty told me that there are many dishes and daily specials that are not on the menu; we spied a fried fish with herbs and lettuce dish that another table was enjoying.

Asia Cafe
4710 Market St
San Diego, CA 92102