Dinners with Friends - Revisits to Mariscos Los Koras and Halmouny (Hal Mu Ni), and some well wishes for Ed from Yuma....

I don't know if you can tell, but I've been in a bit of an "eating rutt" since returning from China, where every meal, good or bad, was at the least interesting. Since returning from our trip, I've been cooking at home a lot. Whenever I get into these dips, I can always count on my friends to help lift me up. And having a monthly "eating club" consisting of Candice, Howie, and Jenne, is a sure remedy. This month, Howie was in the mood for Mariscos, so it was......

Mariscos Los Koras:

I've posted on Mariscos Los Koras before, this Nayarit styled seafood restaurant lies right off the I-805 Martket Street exit, sort of standing all by its lonesome. I'm fairly certain the very nice lady working here didn't quite know what to make of us. She did find out something fairly quickly.... we like to eat, as after placing our order, she moved the four of us to a larger table.

Howie wanted to taste the Aguachile, so we started with that.

The citrus cooked shrimp came out in a large molcajete, which I could barely budge. This place tends to make some pretty bracing cocteles, and this was no exception.... it was quite sour, but wasn't very spicy.

I've always wanted to try the Sarandeado (Grilled whole fish) at Los Koras, so what better chance than on this day, with Howie on hand?

The flavor of smoky mesquite permeated the fish, which I think was a bit under-cooked. It was moist though. Unfortunately, the largest fish on hand on this day was 1 1/2 pounds, and Howie can do that solo.....

Of course it comes with all the fixins', salsa, tortillas(which were refilled a coupla times), and beans...... beans that we all found quite good, very tasty, better tasting than beans should be....

Until Candice said, "I know why..... I just bit on a piece of pork."

A couple of years.... well sheesh, now nearly five years ago, I visited Ed in Yuma. And the one item I clearly remembered were the empanadas from Mariscos El Nayarita. So of course I couldn't help but get a couple of orders of Nayarit style Shrimp Empanadas, right?

These weren't bad, but were a far cry from those empanadas. While those were light... you could eat them by the dozen, and crisp, these were almost flakey, and filling as heck. One was more then enough.

Funny thing was, the item everyone enjoyed the best was the one item I didn't take a photo of. Mainly because you can see it on my previous post. It was the Filete Los Koras, that green sauce is fantastic. The flavors emanating from that sauce.......

Sharing food, laughter, and stories amongst friends is always a great time. Of course, a couple of Micheladas, that beer-lime juice-chili concoction, sure helps as well!

Mariscos Los Koras
4297 Market St
San Diego, CA 92102

Halmouny (Hal Mu Ni) with Ed from Yuma:

A couple of weeks back, Ed from Yuma rode into town. We managed to grab a bite at Halmouny. I broke out the camera, even though I've posted on the place a couple of times already. The new shop looks pretty nice, much better than the modified fast-food look of the previous location one door down.

 
Funny thing, I always thought Kabul Market was pretty large, but looking at the space since Halmouny took over, it really looks pretty small. Must be all the dividers. 

The panchan were all the usual suspects, but done pretty well. Our favorites (gamja jorim) were refilled.....

Knowing what a pork lover Ed is, I ordered the Gul Bossam - steamed pork to be wrapped, in this case, with cabbage leaves.

I've had this a couple of times here, and I gotta say, this was best so far. On occasion the pork has tasted flat and bland. Today, it was mildy sweet, and, can I say it? Actually tasted like fatty pork. A nice dab of bean paste and some radish and oyster, wrapped up in the napa cabbage leaf, this was pretty darn good. There were several moments when Ed was pretty close to doing the "delici-yoso dance".

The Galbi Jjim was a different story.

 
This was totally different from what we had before. In fact, check out the photos in my previous post and compare. On the good side, the meat on the thick beef ribs were tender, and of course that egg.... well say no more. This dish lacked the tangy-beany savory flavor of the previous versions, and wasn't nearly as spicy. Which led me to believe that either some of the cooking staff or the recipe has been changed.

The service was friendly as usual, and I think Ed even revisited after this meal, and enjoyed himself. I'm thinking of checking this place out again soon.... i'm wondering how many of the other dishes have changed?

Halmouny
4425 Convoy St.
San Diego, CA 92111 

We'd like to send out get well soon wishes to Ed from Yuma:

Unfortunately, Ed from Yuma is out of action for a bit. He was working on a post for us when the accident occurred which makes me feel kinda bad..... 

Rushing to finish a post, Ed's arm broke....

Damn, tripped up by a  Dangling Participle.... those always get you! Seriously, Ed got tripped up in "some computer cords" and fell hard, resulting in a broken arm. Ouch! The good news is Ed is alright, and he did let me know that modern medicine is a wonderful thing. I'm also sure that Tina is taking good care of him. Lucky for Ed that it is his left, non-eating arm, otherwise he'd be sharing a bowl with Lucy. 

We wish you a speedy and successful recovery Ed! Take it easy my friend.

What's the deal with the broken arms here.... a couple of years back Cathy breaks her arm, and now Ed. Wait a minute.... that means I'm next.... I think I'll go out and prophylactically get a full body cast.....

Comments

[bill]

What a feeding frenzy...

[kat]

what a feast! hope Ed feels better soon!

[Ken]

Look both ways before crossing the kitchen floor.....

[Kirk]

Hi Bill - It was quite an amount of food.

Hey Kat - Me too!

Sage advice Ken! ;o)

[janfrederick]

I've broken several bones, and I must say, the easiest to deal with was the tip of my pinky (long story).

Get better soon Ed. Thank goodness it was your left arm. Hope it was a clean break.

[Rosa]

Mmmm...Gul Bossam...

I've never had egg in my Galbi Jjim...hrm. Then again, I'm pretty sure I make a "hacked" version of it, guesstimating what my Mom does since I've never been around to watch her make it; I just eat the result. :D

Awww, poor Ed! Hope his arm mends quickly.

[Rosa]

Oh and I'm curious...what exactly does the "delici-yoso dance" look like?

Wonder if it's anything like my "happy kitty" dance...

[Kirk]

Hi Jan - Hopefully Ed recovers quickly.....

Hi Rosa - This Galbi Jjim was ok, but not as good as what I had before.... I've never had boiled egg in mine either. As for Ed's "delici-yoso dance", I first described it in this post:

http://mmm-yoso.typepad.com/mmmyoso/2005/08/buga_korean_bbq.html

Basically, "he closes his eyes, raised his arms to a perpendicular angle, goes "mmmmm", and sways back and forth"

[Jenne]

Hi Kirk! Gorgeous pictures from Los Koras, and I didn't even take any of them! ;-)

[ed (from Yuma)]

Thanks everyone for the nice comments. Maybe that fall will teach me to not be so clumsy, I hope, maybe. It certainly keeps me from doing the mmm-yoso dance at the present time!! I really did enjoy the Korean food with Kirk, and Tina and I went back last weekend and had another good meal at that restaurant. Very friendly service. Well, I've got to get back to working on that other post for the blog. You know what they say, you have to get back on the horse after it's bucked you off.

[Tammy]

Was there hot sauce?

Feel better, Ed!

[Carol]

Looks like a good meal! Glad to hear you're on the mend, Ed.

[Kirk]

Hi Jenne - I'm sure the photos would have been even better had you taken them! ;o)

Hey Ed - Rest and get well..... I think we've got a whole new generation of folks who never saw the "dance".

Hi Tammy - Where? Tons of different hot sauces at Los Koras. You can always get kochujang, but just dumping hot sauce on something isn't always the solution.

Hi Carol - Dinner with friends is always fun.