mmm-yoso!!!

Hilo - Poke Market and Hilo Farmer's Market

The Missus and I were so excited about heading to the Big Island. We both love the amazing environmental diversity, the warmth of the people, and just the relaxed vibe on the Big Island. I had good friends who had resided in Hilo for almost a decade and another good friend whose family used to own property in Kamuela that we'd check on, so we had visited many times in the pre-blogging days. So when the Missus asked me when was the last time we were on the Big Island, I gasped; it had been a decade! Even though we had only a couple of nights, we felt comfortable with the Big Island and had seen much of it before, so we'd spend our time focused on a couple of things and just enjoy ourselves.

It was interesting flying First Class on HAL, the Premier Lounge is quite comfortable, but only has coffee, tea, soft drinks, and those little bag of snacks they give you on flights.

Still, things were quite mellow here and it was right next to the gate for our flight to Hilo. The first place the Missus wanted to hit when we landed in Hilo was Suisan. Sadly, this was a Wednesday and I had to break the news to Her that Suisan is closed on Wednesdays. Which led to the question, "where are we going to get poke?" Luckily, I had a back up plan. I'd read about a little shop on Waianuenue Avenue simply called the Poke Market. We lucked out and found parking in the lot on the corner of  Waianuenue and Keawe Street. The place was across the street. Ordering was done at a simple window and your food brought out from the door.

There was one young lady waiting to order at the window when we arrived and one rather disheveled old timer standing with his bike by the door. The young man running the place came out and handed the gentleman a poke bowl and simply told him, "you come back later and pay, okay?" I'm guessing this guy had no money and the owner of this place was really displaying true "Aloha". 

Anyway, two of the six featured poke were sold out by the time we ordered. Because we had a rather substantial breakfast, we decided to just get three 1/4 pound portions of poke. The Hawaiian Style, Ginger Sesame Soy, and one that I would usually never order, the Shiitake Salmon. I'm not a big fan of salmon in poke.

We then walked down Waianuenue and then onto Kamehameha and sat on the stone wall in front of the Tsunami Museum, which looked like it was closed and had our poke.

The Hawaiian was our favorite, though it was on the salty side. The fish was tender and of good quality. Could have used more ogo, but this as much better than what we'd had the day before.

The Ginger Sesame Soy also had good quality fish.

We were surprised at the Shiitake Salmon, the salmon was tender, it had a nice savoriness and umami. I'm still not a fan of mayo on my poke though. I think it detracts form the texture of the fish....but since this was salmon..... 

 This was a nice start to our stay on the Big Island. And the Missus was to even get Her "Suisan fix" over the following days as well.

Poke Market
41 Waianuenue Ave.
Hilo, HI 96720

We decided to head on over to the Hilo Farmers, a place that we both love.

It was good to see that the place hasn't changed much. The Missus got some rambutan which She enjoyed over the next couple of days.

It was comforting to see that things haven't changed much since our last visit.

Hilo Farmer's Market
Corner of Kamehameha Ave. and Mamo St.
Hilo, HI 96720

We dropped by a couple of shops as we wandered back to the car.

As we sauntered over to the vehicle, the Missus and I looked at each other and laughed. It was so good to be back on the Big Island. All the craziness of life on the mainland had been paused and we had settled into "island time" quite quickly. Something that usually takes a couple of days. It was a great feeling.

We smiled and looked forward to our next stop. Volcano Village and Volcanoes National Park!

Oaxaca - Barrio Xochimilco and Chepiche Cafe

We had enjoyed exploring Jalatlaco so much, that we decided the morning of our last full day in Oaxaca checking out the oldest neighborhood Xochimilco, which was founded in 1486. We started at the Templo de Santo Domingo de Guzmán area and headed North.

Passing what had now become some pretty familiar sites like Xochimilco Aqueduct. From here we headed North on Rufino Tamayo.

To say that the street art was amazing is an understatement.

Things were very relaxed and quiet; even more so after we crossed the highway and the street became Calle José López Alavez . But things were no less colorful.

It was non-stop colors and textures...

By now we were getting a bit hungry. I had a place on my list close by called Chepiche Cafe. Tucked away on a side street, with an unassuming street facing storefront, you head thru a gate and then down some stairs and get to the lively, lovely courtyard dining area.

We were seated, the place had a definite modern, almost hipster vibe to it. Service was friendly and professional.

The Missus got some hot chocolate, which was kind of weak and watered down.

Our meals at Boulenc had gotten the Missus to focus in on Avocado Toast, which is what She ordered ($75/MX - $3.90/US). 

This was fine though nowhere as refined and tasty as the version at Boulenc. You can't beat the creamy, almost sweet avocados in Mexico. The toast was a bit on the burnt side and the Missus needed more salt for this, but it did the job.

Still being fixated on Hoya Santa, I ordered the La Santa ($105/MX - $5.50/US). Man, this was much more food than I expected.

 In some ways this really represented the neighborhood, bright colors and varying textures. The poached eggs were cooked to perfection, just wonderfully runny, with no off flavors. I really got to appreciate the peppery-minty-anise tones of hoya santa. The hoya santa rellena was filled with mildly milky and sharp queso menonita and even more tasty beans. Didn't care much for the "salsa" which was watery and weak. The plantains was an interesting addition, though perhaps it made things a bit too sweet for me.

Overall a decent brunch and no complaints about the portions or prices.

Chepiche Cafe
Genaro Vásquez 6 A
Barrio de Xochimilco, 68040 Oaxaca de Juárez, Oaxaca, Mexico

We enjoyed the splashes of color as we headed back to Centro.

For some reason, on the way to the hotel we decided to drop back in at a ceramic shop we'd visited earlier. As I mentioned in an earlier post, they didn't have anything the Missus wanted. All the items She saw was awaiting sale to businesses. When we returned however, the young lady remembered us and took us into a room. Apparently when they create works for various restaurants and such, they make extras, and the Missus found some cups She liked for hot chocolate.

Such thoughtful service!

Tierra Quemada
Labastida 115
Centro, 68000 Oaxaca de Juárez, Oaxaca, Mexico

From here we walked back to the hotel to escape from the afternoon heat.

It seems that even the street dogs are mellow and follow their own "code of conduct" here.

We stopped by the location of Mayordomo to get some chocolate to take home before relaxing back in our room.

There was something special about Oaxaca....the food, the colors, the sounds, and most of all the wonderful people.

Oahu - Fresh Catch (Pearl City)

We were finally visiting "home", the four years away seemed like forty. And it wasn't without some apprehension on my part. I wondered if Covid had changed the Hawaii that I knew. How were things going to be, what had changed, had I changed? 

It was drizzling as we left San Diego.

The remnants of the "atmospheric river" that pounded San Diego for over a week. On the other hand, back home, rain is seen as a blessing.....

We flew Hawaiian Airlines and while the food wasn't stellar, unlike most domestic first class, HAL seats will lay flat, so you can actually take a nap if you want to.

But I shouldn't have worried...once we landed, it felt like "home". And like the Missus says, "once you get here you walk different and talk different". Some things never change.

Of course as soon as we landed poke was on our minds. Unfortunately, due to our schedule, we weren't able to visit two of our favorites as Tanioka's was closed the day we arrived and Ono Seafood was closed on the day we went into "town".

Still, we wanted our poke fix, so I did some searching and found that Fresh Catch had opened a location in Pearl City at the end of 2020. So, we decided to head on over to grab some poke for an afternoon "snack" of sorts.

The young man working was really friendly. While looking at the offerings, the Missus pointed at the Oio Lomi, the scraped bonefish that's really an acquired taste. She wanted to try it....well, the Missus had really enjoyed aged poi, so I thought "why not" and got a quarter pound of it.

Unfortunately, She found it much too gooey and "fishy" for Her taste.

I, on the other hand had eaten my share of this growing up and thought this was a decent version. I enjoyed he tongue coating texture...yes, it does "taste like fish". It was a bit on the salty side as was everything else we got from here.

The "Hawaiian Blend", basically Ahi Limu was really salty and the fish was on the more "chewy" side.

Too much salt, too much shoyu. Some really tough pieces with too much "tsuji" - connective tissue.

The Ahi Wasabi was a bit better.

Though again, we thought the quality of the fish wasn't quite up to what we enjoy. Still a bit overly salty which muddled the heat from wasabi, a bit too overly sauced as well.

Kind of a bummer overall as we'd enjoyed our visits to the Kaimuki location on previous visits.

Fresh Catch
98-371 Kamehameha Hwy.
Pearl City, HI 96782

Of course, we had jiaozi for dinner. We had really missed my MIL's handmade jiaozi! Over the years it's become comfort food for me. I basically ate this whole plate. In fact, when my MIL asked us what we wanted for breakfast, lunch, or dinner, it was jiaozi! We can't get anything close to this in San Diego.

And then we had baozi for breakfast!

With some potstickers!

Before we headed off to the Big Island.

It was so good to be "home"!

Thanks for stopping by!

HitH - Robert Burns Supper at Dan Diegos

Here's another H(anging) i(n) t(he) 'H(ood) post. 

Sometimes things work in rather mysterious ways. For some reason, I was feeling like taking a nice walk and I hadn't been to Dan Diegos since before Covid. So I figured it would be a good walk, about two-thirds of a mile and I headed on down. "ST" had sent me a recent email recommending the Lamb Sandwich at Dan Diegos so that was the purpose of my visit. But when I arrived, I was waylaid by the special of the day.

The sign said "Bobby Burns Night - Dinner: Haggis with Neeps and Tatties". Shades of Scotland! I consider DDs to be sort of an Irish pub, so the last thing I would expect would be a Burns supper, which celebrates Scottish Poet Robert Burns, author of such works as Address to a Haggis. But here it was...and here I was.

The folks here have always been quite friendly and all the folks sitting at the bar seemed to be regulars. And they were quite curious to see me order the Haggis, Neeps, and Tatties. The woman working the bar told me that the chef had been working weeks trying to get the Haggis "right". And I was more than happy to be the first to order it.

So, how was it? Well, it nicely seared, this had a ton of oatmeal in it. I'm not sure if it had much offal as the flavor was quite mild....no, this was definitely not like what we had at Drover Inn along Loch Lomond. It was nicely seasoned, with some earthy tones, and quite filling. Sort of like "Haggis not to Harm"? The neeps (mashed turnips) were good as were the "tatties" (mashed potatoes), though I wasn't a fan of the gluey-bland gravy. I didn't need the mustard or horseradish sauce at all.

To be perfectly honest, I'd have this again. Perhaps I'll call before going to see if they have it. Or maybe I'll have to try the Lamb Sandwich.

This was a fun, serendipitous meal, surrounded by nice folks.

"Auld Scotland wants nae stinkin ware,
⁠That jups in luggies;
But if ye wish her gratefu' pray'r.
⁠Gie her a Haggis!"

Address to a Haggis - Robert Burns

Dan Diegos Pub
2415 Morena Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92110

And I do have a question for you. In terms of distances, what do you consider "your 'hood"? Is it a few blocks, a half mile, a mile, or (god forbid) over a mile?

Niban (again)

mmm-yoso!!! is a blog about food.  Cathy is writing today.  Kirk and His Missus are still on vacation.

My most recent post about Niban was in January 2022.  It's time for an update. Walk up and you can read the menu in the front window.  The weekly specials are on the White Board at the bottom; each is $1 less than the menu price.  Walk in, order, pay and find a seat.  Beverages will be brought to your table. 

A clear-er picture of the menu.  Prices are about one dollar more per item than last year. 
 Bento A ($13.50)-Baked salmon, chicken teriyaki, fried seafood, California roll. Rice, salad and
 this really wonderful miso soup are included.  (You can order a bowl for $1.75 if it's not included with your meal; worth it) 
  The Ginger Seafood Bento ($11.25).  One salmon piece, one squid piece, two fish
 and two shrimp.  All cooked well and coated in a really refreshing ginger sauce.  Edamame, chilled noodles, rice and salad are included.
 I have found myself ordering the Vegetable Delight Bento ($11.50) quite often.  Eight pieces of tempura, eight pieces of Garden Roll, edamame, salad and rice.  Of course, everything is properly fried and so very fresh.
 Hot tea ($1) is a good quality green and the cup is kept refilled. 
 The chicken katsu salad ($8.50) can be a meal. The chicken is plump and juicy with a crunchy-light fried coating.
 The fried calamari ($7.50) serving is now only four pieces, but each is quite large.  Again, expertly fried crunch batter and the squid is so tender.
 The vegetable tempura  appetizer (or side order, as the case may be) ($7.50) has eight pieces and light, non-greasy fry.
 I can't believe we had never tried the mix yakisoba ($10.50) until 2022!  Shrimp, chicken, beef, veggies and quality eggy noodles.  This is served with rice or salad.  A really nice meal. 

Always efficient and friendly service, good quality food.  Part of our 'rotation' again. 

Niban 7801 Clairmont Mesa Blvd., Suite 101, San Diego 921110(858) 268-0465  Open Mon-Sat 11:30-2:30 Mon-Thurs 5:00-9:00 Fri-Sat 5:00-10:00 Sunday 4:30-9:30

Lucky Chinese Food (Santee)

Thanks for stopping by to read mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog.  Cathy is writing.

During the height of the pandemic, when "eating out" was kind of scary, The Mister and I had many "to go" orders from Lucky Chinese Food, a Szechuan-Cantonese restaurant located near our home since 1996.  Recently, we have been able to enjoy eating inside the restaurant.  

 Walking the door, the area to the left is where you order To-Go; the original 'footprint' of Lucky.  The restaurant expanded to having Sit-Down in 2014.
 Wonton crisps along with house-made sweet and sour sauce are brought out while you peruse the menu.  A pot of hot tea (choice of jasmine, oolong or green) is $4.50.

 The one item we always ordered to-go are these lettuce cups ($10.79).  Minced chicken, water chestnuts, carrot, white and green onion, toasted almonds served with a half head of lettuce, hot mustard and hoisin sauce.  This appetizer can stay in the refrigerator and still tastes good later in the day.  It was our Covid-19 staple.
 The wonton soup ($9.99) has a rich, deep flavored, chicken-pork broth and is filled with chicken, shrimp, vegetables and large pork filled wontons.  As you can see, more fillings than broth- a meal all by itself.
 Spicy pork ($14.79).  The pork is stir-fried with bell pepper, bamboo shoots, zucchini, carrot, celery and onions in a house-made Kung Pao sauce.  The pork is tender, the vegetables are still crisp; this is such a perfect melding of flavors and texture.  (Entrees are served with a choice of steamed rice, brown rice, chow mein or (as above) Singapore noodle).

Seafood Chow Fun ($16.99) was a recent order.  The wide noodles have the smokey 'wok hei' flavor and the shrimp, fish, scallops and bok choy/peas/carrots are each distinctly flavored.  This is a large serving, easily shared and satisfies a craving.
 Sesame chicken ($15.79) is properly fried so the batter remains light and crisp even on the bottom pieces of the serving dish.  The sweet and spicy sauce has a bit of heat (not too much; you can taste the batter as well as the chicken with each bite).

A great spot in East County.

Happy Lunar New Year to everyone, especially all the rabbits (or cats) celebrating their year.

Condolences to all impacted in Monterey Park. 

Lucky Chinese Food 9740 Mission Gorge Road #8 Santee, CA 92071 (619)596-2978 Website

Where in the world are we?

Greetings! Right before Covid happened we were planning a trip that got derailed. Three years later, we finally made it. It's been four years since we've been "home". We're here to take care of family "stuffs", but of course we're getting our "fixes" in!

Man, how I missed my MIL's jiaozi!

We're mostly sticking to stuff we've been craving....

We managed to squeeze in a three-night stay....which we were planning on visiting earlier as well. Hard to believe that it's been 10 years since we last visited.

It was good to know that our old favorites are still good!

And perhaps it was fate as we were able to have what could be considered be a once in a lifetime experience.

Perhaps this was meant to be, or someone was looking out for us!

And we managed to find a new favorite "spot".

And squeeze in a wonderful meal as well.

I'd forgotten how much I missed the beauty, the warm and friendly people, and even the little things here......

We've got a few more days left and hope to do a bit more catching up!

Thanks for stopping by!

2023 Rose Parade Floatfest and Portos for lunch

mmm-yoso!!! is a food blog.  Sometimes the post explains why we got to the food.  Today is one of those days; Cathy is writing.

 The 2023 Tournament of Roses with the theme "Turning The Corner" has concluded.  The Rose Parade was held on January 2 (the Parade is never on a Sunday; the first parades in the 1800s had floats that were horses pulling carriages and horses were needed for church on Sunday; the tradition stands).  Following the Parade, the floats line up at the end of the five mile Parade route, end to end, and are displayed after the Parade and the next day.  This year, I drove up with my friend, cc (The Mister had to stay home).  It had rained overnight.

 The Sweepstakes Award, for the most beautiful entry encompassing float design, floral presentation and entertainment, went to the float sponsored by Donate Life, "Lifting Each Other Up".   A spectacular asian street dragon is the centerpiece of the float.  There were 44 memorial floragraphs representing those who had given the gift of life.  Those were removed before the rain, so the families could have a memory. 
 You can see the empty circles, where the floragraphs had been, in this photo.  

   Trader Joe's entry, "Onward" won the Wrigley Legacy Award for most outstanding display of floral presentation, float design and entertainment. The three piece float was magnificent and whimsical. 

 Walking along the floats: an alligator, a shark and crested birds were some of the many details not seen during the television broadcast. 
 The Kiwanis entry, "Catching the Wave of Service" was so beautiful.
 The City of Alhambra entry, "Together We Rise" received the Tournament Volunteer award.  
 Elks U.S.A entered "Elks Investing in Our Communities"- a magnificent float. 
 More details- hummingbirds, snails and bees might have gone unnoticed during the quick TV viewing.  Yet so much work was put into the design and decoration of each and every one of the 39 floats in the 2023 Parade.  (I have photos of all the floats if you want any specific pictures).

Now, it is time to start planning for 2024.  Yesterday, the President of the 2024 Parade, Alex Aghajanian, was introduced and he introduced the Theme and logo of the 2024 Rose Parade:

 "Celebrating a World of Music: The Universal Language".   The float designs are being submitted and construction will begin.  As an aside, each float always has recorded music while it drives down the Parade Route.  This theme will have the floats designed and coordinated with the music.  It should be fun. 

If you would like to see the 2023 Rose Parade Float Road Tests, This Post links to all.

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 cc was looking forward to going to Portos after our morning of walking. 
 She and I needed lunch.  A cubano sandwich, cuban style black bean soup, turkey and cheese croissant and (to go, for The Mister) a rustic chopped chicken salad (which includes house candied bacon-yum!).  There were, of course a few bakery items.  However, we were here on January 3-just before Epiphany, the 12th night after Christmas and the 'end' of the holiday season. 

 Traditional celebratory sweets to celebrate Three Kings Day were for sale; however the Rosca de Reyes was already sold out.  We each purchased a Galette des Rois.
 Puff pastry filled with a layer of almond frangipane cream as well as a touch of guava jam (for a Cuban twist).  The 'baby' could be hidden into a slice by us (if there were more than two of us sharing this tart) and whoever found it could wear the crown.  The Mister and I shared wearing the crown. 
 There were no Roscas, but the seasonal Rosquitas, a sweet bread topped with dried, candied fruits made some nice bites for us this year. 

Portos Bakery, multiple locations in Los Angeles County. Website

 Honda is a Sponsor of the Tournament and their float is not judged; that's why it is not completely covered in organic materials.

Hong Kong BBQ and Dim Sum (again) (inside Vinh-Hung Supermarket)

Thanks for stopping to read this food blog named mmm-yoso!!!  Kirk (and His Missus) are gallivanting elsewhere while Cathy is writing. 

My most recent post about Hong Kong BBQ and Dim Sum was in 2019, before Covid.  Here's an update. 

 The former movie theater, now a Vietnamese Market, with the Cantonese restaurant in the former lobby has survived Covid-19. 
 You can see where the snack bar had been located in the last photo of this post. 
 From the small Dim Sum menu, we ordered XLB-soup dumplings ($6.38).  A nice bite and, as you can see, not quite perfect, but no soup was actually lost because of the creative steaming system.
 From the 'appetizer' portion of the menu, we ordered the 'Double Delicacy' ($19.95) because we couldn't decide on roasted pork or roasted duck and this was a way to get both (there were leftovers) (both of these meats are really good; tender meat, crisp skin, not too salty.).
 Lately, Chow Fun fulfills the craving I've been having for noodles.  The wide, flat, rice noodles, stir fried to get that smoky 'wok hei' flavor always seems perfect.  (This order was shredded pork with preserved vegetable chow fun ($14.95).  I enjoy the briny 'pickle-ness' of preserved vegetables in any dish and combined with the smoked noodles, each bite was delightful).

Always a nice stop before grocery shopping.

Hong Kong BBQ Kitchen 10550 Camino Ruiz San Diego 92126 (858) 408-4888 Website Open daily 10 a.m.-8 p.m.
 Hot tea is always free.  We did have to ask for chopsticks.

Krab Bros-Boiled Seafood (and another meal at Zion Market Food Court)

mmm-yoso!!! is being written (again) by Cathy, while Kirk is not writing, but is, instead, researching.

I wrote about every eatery in the Zion Food Court in a July 2021 post.  There were changes in July and again in August of 2022.  Here's another one.

 In the far corner, the former Sinjeon Food Sys (prior it was CDD Tofu and Grill) has turned into Krab Bros- a boiled seafood restaurant. 
 A simple menu is always appreciated. 
 The lunch shrimp platter ($14.99) with chosen flavors of original butter, garlic parmesan and Bros Cajun was an excellent choice.  This platter has ten shrimp, a boiled egg, sausage, corn and tiny whole potatoes, all coated in the chosen flavors.  The shrimp were quite large, very plump and had good flavor when I tasted a bit without any flavor coating.  I liked the sausage, egg and corn and especially the small, skin-on potatoes; it was a well balanced meal and quite enough to share.

Krab Bros website Closed daily between 3-4

 I walked over to Boba Bar and ordered a mango slush ($5) for us to share.  We had already shopped inside the Zion Grocery store.

We had chosen some 'snacks', from the heat trays at the back of the market between the meat and fish counters.  (There were leftovers, which would become dinner).

Batter fried squid; always good.  Mushroom pancake; eggy.  Light battered fish filets.  Pickled radishes.  In total it was a bit less than $20- the prepared food is sold by the pound.  When you are paying at the checkout, the cashiers have chopsticks and napkins. 

Zion Market 7655 Clairmont Mesa Boulevard San Diego 92111
 Now, the piano as well as the teddy bear are gone from the Food Court platform.  Damn Covid-19!