Man, it has been pretty hot the last couple of days; at least for us, as Cathy says; "wimpy San Diegans". On the good side; this means revisiting some of my favorite places for dishes I enjoy during hot spells. I really do miss one of "staples", a good Sichuan Liang Mian, which just doesn't seem to exist in San Diego anymore. So, I stuck with other standbys.
The Original Sab e Lee:
I really haven't been much since they've relocated. Like I said previously, I've not a clue who the folks who work here are these days....except for the one young man who has been there for a while. Went with one of the guys from work....he said he could eat spicy, but then decided to order it a heat level three. I told him he needs to order at least a five or he just can't eat with me anymore. And so we did, and he did fine.
Nahm Tok.
Best dish of the day; though I think this needs more rice powder and I should have ordered it at least a 7 or something. Good citrus, nice fish sauce, not overly sweet....nice with sticky rice.
Issan Sausage:
Solid as always.
Nice sour and pork flavor....like I said in my recent Thai Papaya post; "while there might be better versions of Thai/Lao style sausage in San Diego these days....this is still a staple....." Some peanut, a sliver of ginger, wrapped in cabbage, yields nice porky-sour tones.
Koi Neua:
Sorry to say they've done something to what was once a favorite of mine. I had been hopeful that the version I'd had here on my last visit was a fluke, but sadly, it was not.
The texture was off and it seemed to have been "cooked" in citrus too long.
It was not nearly as good as in the past.
I remember the joy that Koby expressed when I asked about this dish way back when. I do miss Koby at times; things were simpler, the menu was there to please a smaller sampling, but times do change. I guess I'm sticking with Thai Papaya. Perhaps I'll run into Maylee one of these days and I can ask her about some of the SeL staples that are no longer on the menu.
The Original Sab E Lee
6925 Linda Vista Road
San Diego, CA 92111
Golden City:
So, one afternoon I had to buy a bunch of take-out for the Missus's coworkers. This netted me a $10 off card for Golden City.
With the Missus at work; I decided to get an old favorite, the Kwai Fei Ji....which, after the coupon was $3.49.
The ginger-scallion-sesame oil sauce was spot on; though the chicken was on the tougher side. Still, I whacked the whole thing......no rice, nothing....just Kwai Fei Chicken for dinner.
Golden City Restaurant
5375 Kearny Villa Rd.
San Diego, CA 92123
So, what have you been eating to beat the heat?
cold noodles...hope it gets cooler for you guys!
Posted by: kat | Wednesday, 21 June 2017 at 10:22 PM
That's a nice dinner.
Posted by: Soo @ hungryones | Thursday, 22 June 2017 at 08:52 AM
Lappert's dole whip.
McD's soft serve cone.
Shave ice.
Some of the newer places like Creamistry are good too but expensive.
Posted by: RedDevil | Thursday, 22 June 2017 at 09:33 AM
I need to try the cold tan tan from Ultra on one of these summer days. Hopefully the lines have eased a bit.
Posted by: Junichi | Thursday, 22 June 2017 at 10:55 AM
The ginger-scallion-sesame oil is what makes kwai fei chicken so delicious to me. I'll have to search your site to see if there's a recipe/ratio for that sauce.
Posted by: Faye | Thursday, 22 June 2017 at 02:48 PM
Soba and spring roll is how I roll during the scorching Tx heat.
Posted by: nhbilly | Thursday, 22 June 2017 at 07:13 PM
Sounds good Kat!
It was Soo!
You have a sweet tooth RD!
I was thinking about that too Junichi. I imagine the lines won't be so long earlier in the week with warm weather.
Hi Faye - I actually have a version of that sauce that I make:
http://mmm-yoso.typepad.com/mmmyoso/2011/07/weeknight-grilling-grilled-chicken-with-ginger-pesto-actually-cold-ginger-chicken-sauce-.html
A bit more scallion than what GC uses and not as much sesame oil....and no MSG.
Sounds good Billy. I'm sure it's much worse where you are.
Posted by: Kirk | Friday, 23 June 2017 at 07:03 AM