Tem's BBQ

*** Update: Tem's is now Nanay's, the food seems the same though.

A couple folks have asked if I'd ever been to this little shop in the food court of the Plaza Sorrento Shopping Center. Which I think is a pretty good food court. Yes, there's a Subway and the Chinese Fast Food place, but you can also get Thai, Greek, not my kind of Sushi, and perhaps not not my favorite Pho shop. Throw in Indian, one of the places in our Mira Mesa banh mi crawl, and you've got yourself quite a variety....maybe not the best in terms of quality, but it's a combination that's hard to beat in one spot. And there's even Filipino Barbecue......which is where I'll pick up. I'd seen Tem's and had always meant to try them out. So I finally made it a point to grab a meal.

I've always thought Filipino "turo-turo" style food was perfect for a food court. As expected, the atmosphere is totally food court and the selection revolves around Filipino Barbecue, with an additional 3-4 additional offerings. The prices are reasonable....the 1 item and rice goes for $4.99. Here's an example with BBQ Chicken.

Man, talk about enough carbs to keep you runnin' for a while....it's like three scoops of rice. The chicken is grilled, but not dry, and is dark meat which has more flavor. I enjoy the different riffs on Filipino BBQ, salty, sweetness from sugar or even 7-up, perhaps a fruitiness from Jufran, sour of Kalamansi, a hint of garlic, a touch sweet-pungent onions.....the list can get fairly long. The version here is very mild, coated with sauce, and for me, occupies a level barely above the food court "same chicken with a different sauce".

The best item I've had here is the "Spicy Pork", which is a pseudo sisig-ish.

It's the 50% solution....not very spicy, but it is pork. There's a hint of sour and sweet, the pork has a bit of chew, but isn't bad. It's the most flavorful dish I've had here.

The BBQ Pork on the other hand was totally "the other white meat". Dry, touch, and with less flavor than the chicken.

 

The one item I would absolutely not ever get here again is the Chicken Adobo. Dry, lacking in the flavor of soy, vinegar, black pepper, this was adobo in name only.

Then there was the occasion when my rice on the two item combo.....a reasonably priced at $6.09, was terribly hard and dry. No bueno.....

 For some reason, the way the food is glazed reminds me of long defunct Eddel's, but with less flavor. Maybe someone with the inside scoops might know?

Tem's BBQ
6715 Mira Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92121

 

Comments

[TFD]

Wow, how can you go wrong with white rice and chicken adobo? I thought those two are easy to make. Mr. C works down the street and he sometimes eat the beef bbq. He says it's good.

[nhbilly]

Looks good and with all that white rice. It could have almost been a winner!

[Kirk]

Hi TFD - Strange, didn't see beef, only chicken and pork.

Almost Billy, almost....

[Faye]

This used to my FAVE place to visit for skewers back in the day! I think they actually used to be called Skewers? But yeah, most times the meats were dry unless they freshly grille the items for you.

I haven't had the spicy pork so perhaps it's worth revisiting this small place when I'm in the area. The parking lot is a mess during peak lunch hours though!

[Kirk]

Hi Faye - I'm not sure the spicy pork is worth going out of your way.

[Carol]

I noticed this place the last few times I was there. I had missed it before because I always enter from the opposite side of the mall. After your review, I'd doubt I would eat here when better choices are just a few minutes East.

[Kirk]

Hi Carol - It's a good place for a quick lunch. But you're right, the choices are better down the street.

[Charlesweird]

Tem's BBQ is my favorite.

[Kirk]

Hi Charles - Thanks for visiting and commenting. May I say your "handle" seems to suit you?