Sunday Stuffs: Eddels is now Chibugan, a Noble Chef revisit, and a couple of "stories".

Just couple of things for Sunday......

Eddels is now Chibugan:

As reported by FOY Toshiko. Eddels is now Chibugan.

  

I was in the area this afternoon so I dropped by. Chibugan is indeed open, but looked to only have four or five offerings. I had already eaten lunch, so I'll grab a bite on another day.

Thanks for letting me know Toshiko!

Chibugan (In Vinh Hung Supermarket)

10550 Camino Ruiz
San Diego, CA 92126

A COMC post on Noble Chef:

Last week, another FOY (Friend of Yoso), RossC sent me a really nice email. Ross has relocated, and said, "I now have a much greater appreciation for what San Diego had to offer". One of the places Ross mentioned was Noble Chef. I realize that I've done a few posts on Noble Chef, but I had these photos saved for no reason in particular, so I thought I'd just do a quick COMC (Clearing Out the Memory Card) post. This one's for you Ross! The "old" Noble Chef was one of our favorite haunts for cheap eats. The older Gentleman who worked the wok sure knew his stuff. The Shrimp with XO Sauce Fried Rice was great, "wok hey", great garlic (and I'm sure MSG) flavor, a touch of spice! When the folks finally retired and the new owners took over there was something missing. The "breath of the wok" was gone, and the food seemed underseasoned. That's not to say that the food was terrible, it was still decent, but having eaten there quite frequently, I could tell the difference. On the other hand there were some changes that were for the good. The place had been freshened up, the prices were still reasonable, and I detected even more of the "good stuff" (i.e. shrimp) in some of the dishes. So now, every 8-9 months, I drop by to see how the food is progressing at Noble Chef.

I will always order the Shrimp with XO Sauce Fried Rice. For me this was the dish that put Noble Chef on our list. There was a ton of shrimp, at least ten in the fried rice. It was still priced at $7.55, very reasonable.

 

It still lacked the wok hey, spice, and garlicky goodness of the version the old Noble Chef version. It was not bad, just not as good.

I also ordered the Shrimp with Tomato Sauce Rice, which had gone up a buck to $7.55, but you really couldn't complain based on the portion size.

 

Now this was much improved over the version I had on my previous visit. It could've been that the tomatoes were of better quality since there was a nice "tang" to the sauce. I counted a whopping eleven shrimp in the dish. The shrimp were cooked with much more finesse, they were tender, not overcooked. The sauce was nice and velvety, and I even detected a bit of spice....nice.....

I hope the things just keep getting better. I'll keep checking back every couple of months. I'm waiting for the Shrimp with XO Sauce Fried Rice to get back to where it once was.

The Noble Chef
6159 Balboa Avenue
San Diego, CA 92111
(858)278-8688

Thanks again for the wonderful email Ross!

A North Park Produce Story:

A couple of weeks ago, I dropped by North Park Produce to pick-up some Feta for the Missus. As I was being rung up at the register, I noticed that the previous customer had forgotten his milk. I handed the young lady some cash, and told her to hold my change while I go and find the gentleman who forgot his milk. I jogged out the back of NPP, and saw the gentleman turning the corner on El Cajon Boulevard. I yelled out, "hey, you forgot your milk"! At the sound of my voice the guy started off at a sprint down ECB!!! Caught up in the moment, I, for some reason gave chase! A few things you need to know.....the gentleman was almost a foot taller, and maybe twice the size of me. He was bigger than Captain Jack. So picture a little Asian Guy chasing a six foot five inch monster down El Cajon Boulevard waving a carton of milk....... Dude must be in some beeeeg trouble! About a block and a half later, dude suddenly realizes that I'm just trying to get him his milk. He stops. Totally out of breath, huffing and puffing, I hand him the carton of milk. Not only is he twice my size, but he is obviously in better shape as well.......... Sweating profusely, I walked back to NPP to retrieve my feta cheese and my change.......

A Bronx Pizza Story:

The fellas at work love Bronx Pizza. So one day, we decided to order a whole pie from Bronx. The place is quite close to work, so I volunteer to call in the order and pick up the pie.

I place the order on the phone, and the final part of the conversation goes like this:

BG (Bronx Guy): Name?
Me: Kirk
BG: David??
Me: No Kirk, K-I-R-K...
BG: It'll be under David...
"click" He hangs up the phone........

David? What the heck? Did I just walk into a Seinfeld episode??? So I go to pick-up the pie....

BG: Name?
Me: It'll be under Kirk or David...
BG: No pie for Kirk or David....what didya order?
Me: A Porko
BG: We got a porko here for xxx (I can't remember the name).....

Now I know all about the Bronx attitude, and most of the time it's all fun and games, but come on. But I decide that two can play the same game, so as I leave:

Me: Hey
BG: What
Me: No wonder Lefty's and Luigi's is kicking your ...!

Guess I won't be going back to Bronx for a while, huh?

I hope everyone had a great weekend!

Comments

[sawyer]

lol forgot about these stories. i once looked for noble chef but couldn't find it when i was back in school. but i saw it randomly last weekend. and btw, whatever happened to captain jack?

[santos.]

:hissing: it's gina, witch!

your retort was perfect, and even better that you declined to review the pie.

[santos.]

also, laughing at the NPP fugitive milk story. did you just hand the guy his milk and walk away?

[kat]

lol on the milk story!

[Judy Lee]

HHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA... shoulda kept that milk and had it with your pizza... ok maybe not.

[Eat. Travel. Eat!]

HILARIOUS milk and pizza story! Why do people react in such a way? The only similar experience I can have is when I said hi to a teacher. Instead of replying he just turned and ran away in the other direction!

[Kirk]

Hi Sawyer - CJ is still around, just taking things a bit more slowly nowadays.

Hi Santos - I was so out of breath when I gave the dude his milk that I couldn't say much. He did tell me, "thanks"......

Hi Judy - Heartburn and Lactose Intolerance at the same time..... ;o)

Hi ETE - What kind of student were you to cause that reaction? ;o) I dunno why he reacted the way he did.....

[The Food Ho]

Ha Ha Ha......ROFL! I can picture you chasing the guy down the street... you're such a good samaratin! You will take your milk if I have to chase you and pin you down. And then I disagree about the Bronx Pizza story... Kirk sounds exactly like David. Thanks for making my insomnia laden morning!

[Carol]

HAHAHAHAHA! snort-chortle! Love the stories.

I'll have to check out Chibugan and see how it is compared to the old Eddels.

[foodhoe]

heehee! ok that made my monday morning and now I'm craving shrimp

[Kirk]

Hi TFH - LOL! I guess I'm funny in that way.....

Hi Carol - People are funny, aren't they?

Hi FH - I'm glad I could bring some levity to your Monday morning.

[tram]

Chibugan restaurant is very Filipino dishes.. I can't help myself but to laugh on the story of milk and pizza, nice one you got there...

[Lynnea]

that's so funny because my experience with Bronx pizza has vastly improved over the last 6 months. maybe it was an off day.

[Alice Q. Foodie]

Those stories are HILARIOUS Kirk. I am sorry I missed seeing you run down ECB with a carton of milk for that guy. He probably thought you were his parole officer.

I also have a few choice words for Bronx, but this is a family blog. ;-) Leftys is almost as close now!

[Kirk]

Hi Lynnea - I'm used to the wise... and grumpy service at Bronx, but this one is in a league of its own!

Hi Alice - Geeez, I hope no one else saw that....could be embarassing...say it made it YouTube. Yikes. I've yet to make it to Lefty's Mission Hills location, but I think that's where I'm getting pizza the next time! ;o)