Revisits - Woomiok and Pho Duyen Mai

Well wouldn't you know; it's cooling off a bit for the next couple of days. Time to get in a post with soup in it, right? Here are a couple of revisits for ya'

Woomiok:

In my post on Woomiok, I mentioned trying to get the Missus to check the place out. Plus, I wanted to try out the Galbitang. The weather in the following weeks gave us a good opportunity. And Woomiok is open all the way through from 11am until closing on 9pm, so we headed over right before 5pm.

The Missus really enjoyed the kkakdugi and the squid panchan. The baechu (napa cabbage) kimchi was a bit better than on my previous visits.

The Missus instantly loved the container of scallions; which reminded Her of Seoul.

So, of course I tried the Galbitang. I enjoyed the presentation, with a dried jujube swimming around in the broth.

As a whole, this was not bad, the soup a bit thinner and not as beefy as I prefer, it was also on the salty side. A decent amount of galbi, which was adequately tender. It didn't hold a candle to what the Missus got....

The Seolleontang with Mixed Meat of course....

I had a taste and it was a bit richer than on my previous visit. There was a good amount of mixed meat, especially tendon, which She generously shared with be. It was soft and buttery. The only complaint was that the rice wasn't as good as on my previous visits and the noodles were a bit overcooked.

Still, I believe this is the way to go here. And I think the Missus is sold as well. A week later we had rather quick rain storm....guess where the Missus wanted to go? Yeah, you got it. This time we both got the Seolleontang. It hit the spot. I took my coworker SJP here; she said it made her homesick for Seoul.

So get it while the weather is milder...….

Woomiok
3860 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

Pho Duyen Mai:

**** Pho Duyen Mai is under new ownership

Man, has it been over a year since I last visited Duyen Mai? I guess that moving our offices really affected things. What really got me to revisit was a text and photo from a good friend of mine. She noted that even though she had ordered the ribs; there really wasn't very much meat. One the good side, PDM opens at 9; even on weekends. So this past weekend I headed on over and got "them bones", which is now $4.99.

I also got a small pho. A few minutes later the ribs came out, it's now four ribs instead of three....which looked fairly hefty.

The basil and sprouts were very fresh.

While waiting for my pho, I scraped as much meat off the bones as I could. The meat wasn't as tender as before; though it was still nice and beefy. I then went to town on the connective tissue and meat on the bones.

I appreciated that the rare steak was still "rare" when the bowl hit the table. It was also fairly tender. The flank and brisket were decent, tender, but mild in flavor. The tendon was a bit more chewy than I prefer, but wasn't bad. Neither was the tripe.

The broth wasn't as salty as on previous visits; though it was still "sweeter" than I like. It could also stand to be richer, but it was clear, with slight beefy-anise tones.

But of course, I really wanted it to work with this.

The noodles were nicely cooked and for the first time wasn't in a clump at the bottom of the bowl!

This was probably too much for me to eat at 9 in the morning. I was stuffed.

"Them bones" had way more meat than I should eat. And Duyen Mai is still probably the best pho in the area. Though I've got to make my "rounds" again.

Pho Duyen Mai
5375 Kearny Villa Rd
San Diego, CA 92123

Comments

[kat]

nice ways to warm up in cool weather!

[Kirk]

It sure is Kat!

[Jason]

Have you tried the spicy seolleongtang at Woomiok? I wonder if it's like a yukgaejang.

[Kirk]

I dunno Jason, I've never even seen anyone order that yet.

[Soo]

That's good you get lots of meat!

[Faye]

Them bones! Never would have I considered that had I not seen this post. It it meant to be eaten with the pho (broth) - or does it have enough flavor on it's own to eat alone? I haven't been to PDM so will have to try it soon.

[Junichi]

Glad to hear they're both still good.

[Kirk]

It is Soo!

I prefer eating them with the broth Faye.

I know Junichi. Based on how things have been going recently, I was relieved.

[Derek R]

Wow - I've been by that shop a ton of times going to Golden City (though I haven't been to GC in ages)... never knew it was decent. Will have to give it a shot (and Woomiok was already on the "to try" list).

[Dereck]

My good friend owns Quantum brewing, so I will definitely take dem bones one door over next time I head to Quantum!

[Kirk]

Check them out Derek!

Have fun Dereck - make sure you get a bowl of pho with that!