"Dude, Like Where's All the Asian Food...."

So sayeth an email I received yesterday. You gotta love those emails...... Funny thing is, the writer of the email is correct; just by coincidence it does seem that Cathy and I have done a little role-reversal! I've been doing burgers and tacos, and Cathy has been doing Chinese, Japanese, and Filipino food! How odd......

I'd just like to say, that the Missus and I are still eating up a storm, and I've got the photographic evidence to prove it. These are all revisits, so I won't bore you...I'll keep the writing to a minimum. So let's get started, shall we.

Dim Sum at China Max:

I've done posts on the Dim Sum at China Max before, just like to say, that on this visit the Dim Sum was not quite as good. As noted before, Dim Sum here is served "menu style".

The filling for the Sharkfin Dumplings was on the tough side, and the sides of the wrappers were soft and mushy, probably due to improper steaming.

The Pan Fried Shrimp and Chive Dumplings were probably the best items we had.

The contrast between the crunchy fried portion and the chewy pull of the remainder of the wrapper was excellent.

The filling of Shrimp Dumplings were fine, but the wrapper was tough and dry.

The Dried Shrimp Cheong Fun tasted a bit "off", and overly fishy, like the dried shrimp wasn't prepared properly.

We ended with simple Soy Sauce Noodles, one of my childhood favorites.

No complaints about this...so simple, but so good.....

My previous posts on China Max can be found here, here, and here. I'm pretty sure that this is just a little blip on the radar screen.

I'd also like to dedicate this post to Captain Jack, for only reasons he knows.....

China Max
4698 Convoy Street
San Diego, CA 92111

Palabok from Tita's Kitchenette:

This Missus had a craving for some Pancit Palabok, those wonderful seafood flavored noodles. Tita's Kitchenette makes Her favorite version, so I picked some up on a recent morning.

I'm not quite sure what happened, but these tasted really "flat", lacking any flavor. I dunno, any ideas?

Tita's Kitchenette
2720 East Plaza Boulevard
National City, CA 91950

Pho Dac Biet and Hu Tieu from Lucky Pho:

Every once in a while I need to recheck and verify...so when we were in the Mira Mesa area recently, I decided to grab a bowl of Pho from Lucky Pho. And I was again reminded of why I really enjoy the Pho here.

It's mostly about the broth, which is to my taste with hints of different herbs and seasonings. The Missus, not a big fan of Pho even had a taste, and said it was pretty good.

She ordered the Seafood Hu Tieu(Rice Noodles)

Nothing to write home about, really........

My previous post on Lucky Pho can be found here. Along with a Pho retrospective.

Lucky Pho' in Lucky Seafood Supermarket
9326 Mira Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92126

A Quick Meal at Luong Hai Ky:

**** This location of LHK has closed

On this visit, I had the Missus in tow. I wanted Her to try the Won Ton and Dumpling Soup.

She enjoyed the broth, and agreed with me, that there was a hint of seafood flavor in it, though it's always been denied when I ask.

I tried out the Beef Sate Noodle Soup, and really didn't think much of it.

Nice bit of spice, but very weak in flavor overall. I rather have the version at Tan Ky Mi Gia. Still, as with most of these Vietnamese-Chinese Noodle Soup restaurants, the prices are very reasonable.

Here's my previous post on Luong Hai Ky.

Luong Hai Ky Restaurant
4633 Convoy St Ste 107
San Diego, CA 92111

You Gotta Love Filipino Parties!

A few months back we attended a party at a friend's house. It was a combination Birthday(two of us) and House Warming, Karaoke party. You can imagine the fun.

Here are some photos I took.

We brought a combination tray from Da' Kitchen half Teriyaki Chicken, half Korean Chicken.

Salt and Pepper Chicken Wings are required at these types of parties. Though this one was not from Royal Mandarin, Golden Chopsticks, or Mandarin Canton. Of course any Salt and Pepper chicken wing aficionado could tell you this by just looking at those wings.

Where is it from....stay tuned!!!

Of course you need Lumpia:

The Missus's favorite, Filipino style Empanadas. She enjoys these the best. She ate at least 5 of them....

And you must have Pancit Bihon.

There was much more food, but about that time it was my turn to sing my really, really, bad version of Love Potion Number 9. And after that, I totally forgot to take any more photos.....but you get the picture, right?

Last, but not least:

Here's something that will warm the coldest pork lover's heart:

What is it? It's a dish called Golden City Roast Pork($10.95), and it's made with Pork Belly. How can you resist?

I think I already have too many posts on Golden City, so I'll stop here.

So to answer your question Eric; "Dude, all that Asian food is like in my stomach!" LOL!

One final item(I promise). We'll be off on vacation for a few days, trying to complete our aborted vacation, I hope we make it this time. I may pop in, for a bit, but otherwise mmm-yoso is in the fine hands of our favorite "Chee-Fee" eater, Cathy. See you in a week or so!

Comments

[clayfu]

the roasted pork, the skin is crispy on the top? cause that is sooooooooo good.

[Alfred]

Hi Kirk, once again, I love your blog and have relied on it heavily during our year in San Diego. I have complete respect for you and appreciate your friendliness and your generosity with recommendations and reviews. I try not to be critical about what others do, but could you rethink eating sharks fin? I'm not sure if you realize what they do (ie cut off the fins and throw the live animal back into the sea to die, pretty much overfishing them in much of the world), but it's part of Chinese culture that I'm ashamed of (and I've eaten it many times in the past). Especially since so many people read your blog (it also sounds like the dumplings weren't very good). Hope I'm not too sanctimonious, but some food for thought.

[Reynila]

That Filipino food looks exactly like the food we just had at my nephew's party this weekend! Pancit, lumpia, empanada and wings are party staples!

[Ellen Brenner]

Gorgeous stuff, Kirk. Especially that pork belly. Major yum.

[elmomonster]

I noticed the role reversal too. But that just means you guys are influencing each other as all bloggers do! Keep up the great work, no matter what you cover.

[nhbilly]

Menu style dim sum not worth it, I think you would miss out on the whole experience, the confusion, the yelling and the rude cart pusher. Then again maybe menu style is the way to go? ;-)

Any Asian party will inspire you to gorge, been there and done that! When is the next one and where is the sign up sheet? ;-)

[b-boy]

After looking at all that Filipino food I'm starving...!!! Only one more hour until I leave for lunch...

[Penny]

hahah, I concur with b-boy. Reading your blog Kirk, right before lunch, is not the smartest idea for a hungry gal like myself. Everything looks so delicious! What's the filling on the Filipino empanadas?

[howie]

Oooh, I'm a sucker for pork belly. That roast pork looks very nice. Is it nice and crispy?

[Ed]

It makes me wonder what the origins of the salted pepper chicken wings are. I suspect that a Filipino cook somewhere in San Diego sold/inspired the idea, but that might just be my crock theory...

[CharSiuBao]

*drool*
maybe if i concentrate really hard on the pictures of that food, then eat my sardines and rice really fast, i can taste the goodness. it's good to be kirk.
*me eat everything!*

[Reynila]

i always thought the salted pepper wings were chinese, but they're at every Filipino party I go to

[Ray]

Golden City Roast Pork is heavenly... yes, the top is super crispy and the meat soooo luscious!!!

[Mrexplainall]

pork = cat = yakkame = gross/ All other pics look excellent & edible mmmmm

[Quest4GoodFood]

Where did you get your empanadas???!! And where is Golden City Roast Pork? Thank you in advance. I have been searching forever for the best empanadas! I am hoping you can help me since those look like the ones I've been searching for!