Revisits: Pho Ca Dao (El Cajon Blvd) and Homestyle Hawaiian

Just a quick post on a couple of revisits for Friday:

Pho Ca Dao - El Cajon Blvd:

I don't know what's up with the Missus.... but summer has finally truly broken here in San Diego... and She wants Pho! Go figure. We were in the El Cajon area, and decided to stop by Pho Ca Dao. Nowadays with locations in both Mira Mesa and Rancho Bernardo, you really have to specify. One thing I've noticed about the other locations of Pho Ca Dao...... the broth seems to have less "oil", and is not as rich.

 

I've posted on this place a couple of times before so I'll keep it short and sweet. On this day, the broth was on the "scummy" side, which is a no-no for Pho. The flavor was decent. What Pho Ca Dao does best, at least for me, is tendon. And on this day it was as good as always.

 
The noodles, in the standard clump-in-a-bowl was fine.

I tend to visit whenever I'm in a tendon mood...... ;o)

Pho Ca Dao
5223 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA 92115

Homestyle Hawaiian:

I hadn't been back to see Mo at Homestyle Hawaiian in over six months! So I decided to see how he was doing, and ordered a combo plate - Chicken Katsu and Korean Chicken.

Geeez, I'd forgotten how huge his plate lunches are. The katsu sauce here is ketchup based, and though not quite like Grace's, it does bring back memories of home.

Even though Mo gave me extra sauce for the Korean Chicken, it didn't quite taste the way it used to.

It was still good, but milder in flavor.... perhaps it hadn't marinated long enough. Still, you sure get your money's worth here. Much like Tita's, I've never been able to polish off a plate solo. Luckily, on this day I split it with my coworker. This was more rice than I saw on my entire trip to China!  

Mo is still nice as always, though I wish he'd give the place a good scrub down. I do understand that he does it all, takes orders, cooks, and serves the food, so I tend to cut him a bit more slack.

Homestyle Hawaiian Island Style Food
7524 Mesa College Drive
San Diego, CA 92111

Happy Aloha Friday to everyone:

Comments

[kat]

love this song!

[Tammy]

Isn't all Friday an Aloha Friday?

[Lynnea]

Please tell the missus, she's not as crazy as all that =) It got hot and I had a sudden craving for pho as well. I didn't actually go out and eat any because I knew I wouldn't be able to convince matthew that I was sane =)

[Dennis]

I agree with Kat, great song Kirk! I found out the part where he's actually saying "get one hot concert too man".. I thought he said "And go get some hot Katsu!" Haha, maybe that's something what I'd do.. ;)

[Kirk]

Me to Kat!

Yes Tammy...... so isn't it about time that I referenced that? ;o)

Hi Lynnea - I dunno, it was pretty hot!

Hi Dennis - It's one of my favorties too.

[Carol]

Now I'll be singing "do do do, do do do do do do do" all day long. :-) Crap, now I'm craving Korean Chicken and Chicken Katsu.

[Eat. Travel. Eat!]

Gee, that plate is huge! The korean chicken looks quite interesting...or is the photo just tricking me. LOL. Me like tendons!

[Kirk]

Hey Carol - You can't help but sind along, can you?

Hi ETE - The korean chicken is probably the best thing at Homestyle Hawaiian. It's marinated in a sweet-soy mixture, floured, then fried, and covered with more of the sauce when it's done.

[Minh]

Pho Ca Dao's soup for vietnamese is just "water" lol, normally pho cook the right way is quite rich, you see the yellow fat floating around, it's really good and fatty :). now a day it's rare to see any place does it like that any more (1 is health concern and 2 is that it's gonna cost alot more making a soup that rich), but take my word on it, it's out of this world compare to the crappy pho places.

[Kirk]

Hi Minh - Thanks for your two cents. I've had good home made Pho, and have also had Pho in VN, so I do know what it is. But like you said, it'll cost a lot more.... and sort of like your Yum Cha Cafe - it's economies of scale at work. And even though the Pho is inexpensive, it shouldn't be scummy.