mmm-yoso!!!

Ngon Ngon To Go

Back during June of last year, I saw this signage on the side of Vinh Hung Market when I first noticed Paris Sandwiches was opening in Mira Mesa.

Ngon Ngon Food to Go? Well, that was interesting. Then of course, we did a bunch of travelling. And then, on one of my visits to see if Paris Sandwiches was open yet....they weren't, I decided to check things out.

Ngon Ngon has one of the shops down the hallway, before you get to Song Huong, right across what I think is a Filipino Bakery that never seems open?

Even though the name of the shop includes "Food-To-Go" there are several simple tables for those who want to dine in.

One thing I liked right away was the menu....this ain't your typical pho shop.

I went ahead and did a take-out order for something I hadn't had in a while, Bo Luc Lac. I then went and got some 85 Degrees stuff for the few folks in the office. When I returned my order was waiting. These folks are pretty darn fast.

Here's my Bo Luc Lac ($16).

   This was actually not bad. The large salad did have some brown leaves, but while the rice looked dry, it wasn't.

The beef was pretty good, with a pleasant toothsomeness. The sauce was a bit on the saltier side, but not overly so. I do like a hint of sweetness and deeper savory tones in my Bo Luc Lac, which was missing here. I usually expect a bit more green and red bell peppers, but really enjoyed the onions in this as it added a much-needed pungency to the dish.

This was actually better than what I expected.

So, I fully intended to return; though I guess with my schedule, trips, and such, I kind of left this place on the back burner. And when I did return to the plaza, I usually ended up going to Paris Sandwiches. Of course, it took one of our great "FOYs" to wake me from my slumber. In my post on Kumo Japanese Sandos, "Elle" inquired if I'd ever be doing a post on Ngon Ngon. Oh, yes! Thanks for the reminder Elle!

I really wanted to try a couple of dishes. So, on one of the days Calvin was actually in the office, we decided to head on over for lunch.

We started off with the Garlic Butter Chicken Wings ($9). These came out super-fast.

So, I believe the wings were being kept warm then fried quickly again before serving. The interior was on the dry side, but the batter was quite crunchy. Not much in terms of butter, but there was more than enough garlic to ward off any possible vampire attack. Good amount of salt as well.

Of course, we had to try the Bun Cha Hanoi ($15).

  A generous plate of fresh-looking bun, basil, mint, et al was provided. The nuoc mam cham was on the sweeter side of things. The sauce for the Bun Cha was on the sweeter end of things but wasn't too bad. Loved the pickled veggies, which helped to cut the sweet and saltiness. There were two good size pork patties, which were on the chewier end of things. The actual pork slices were much more flavorful in my opinion.

This was a pretty good version of the dish. I'd order this again.

The last item to arrive was the Cha Ca Thang Long ($17). This looked pretty bad.

While it arrived on the typical sizzling plate....well, it wasn't sizzling. The dill and onions were soggy and wilted, and the fish cold. This was quite strange. Totally a far cry from our favorite version in SoCal. The fish tasted slightly muddy as well.

It did come with the usual accoutrements and the Mam Tom wasn't bad at all. 

A pair of women came in a bit after us and ordered the Cha Ca and it arrived sizzling; so perhaps this was just a mistake? Perhaps our plate was sitting for too long? Still, even if it was an "oopsie", this is bad quality control.

I'll give them a pass this time.....

The woman brought us some rice pudding for dessert which was a nice touch.

As things stand; I'd have the Bun Cha and Bo Luc Lac again and I may try a couple of other dishes at this no-frills stand. The woman working is very nice and with Bolsa closing, this place fills a niche.

Ngon Ngon Food To-Go
10550 Camino Ruiz
San Diego, CA 92126
Current Hours:
Tues - Sun 9am - 8pm
Closed on Mondays

Chamorro Grill Revisited

A while back FOY "ChrisR" sent me an email recommending the PSER at Chamorro Grill. That would be Portuguese Sausage, Eggs, and Rice for those who haven't spent much time in Hawai'i. I had meant to drop by; but PSER is kind of a breakfast thing for me, and Chamorro Grill doesn't open until like 11am. Recently, I needed to take my car in for servicing in the Mission Gorge area and by the time my vehicle was ready it was nearly 11. So, I thought it would be a good time to check out the PSER at Chamorro Grill. 

Man, would you believe it's been almost 13 years since I last visited! Yeow.

The place looks basically the same. I went and placed my order at the counter, the Portuguese Sausage, Eggs, and Rice ($13) and a small side of Kelaguen ($3). I ordered my eggs easy over. About 15 minutes later my food was ready.

 I got my plate with Red Rice instead of white. The rice was done quite well, moist, good texture, there was another scoop of rice hiding under the eggs. There was a good amount of Portuguese Sausage, which was really crisp and hard, almost like it was deep fried! While I do like the exterior of my sausage crisp; this had taken it a bit far. The sausage was dry. The eggs were a nice easy-over and that egg yolk flowed beautifully over the rice. No off flavors: though I needed to get some salt as it seems that they don't season the eggs. I also like my eggs crisp around the edges.

I was curious as to how the Kelaguen would be.

While lacking in chilies, the chicken was much more finely chopped than what I'd had here previously. It was moist and tender, good sour tones, perfect sodium level. The finedene was strange; quite salty, but not sour enough. Still, this was a decent version.

The folks working were nice, they told the thank you and goodbye as I left. I'll need to make sure not to wait 13 years to return!

Chamorro Grill
6628 Mission Gorge Rd.
San Diego, CA 92120
Current Hours:
Daily 11am - 8pm

Thanks for the email and recommendation ChrisR!

Big Island - The Volcano Thursday Market, Revisiting Halemaʻumaʻu, and Dinner at Kilauea Lodge Restaurant (Again)

After lunch at Suisan we headed back to the Kilauea Lodge and took a short break. I also made late dinner reservations at the restaurant, this would allow us to spend more time revisiting Kilauea Caldera. We decided to head back out before sunset so we could easily find parking and relax and watch the "show". Before heading back there, I had one more stop in mind. It was Thursday and Volcano Village has a local food and crafts market at the Cooper Center. So, we headed there first.

It's a quaint little market and it seems that a lot of the folks there were locals as folks were having fun socializing.

Food and craft booths were set-up thru the community center.

It was a nice little stop.

Volcano Thursday Market (At Cooper Center)
19-4030 Wright Rd.
Volcano, HI 96785

We then headed back to the Kilauea Overlook and easily found parking adjacent to the lookout. There were folks just arriving to check out the "show".

Folks even brought beach chairs! We chatted with a few folks and they were all locals; some driving all the way from Kona!

Several folks brought offerings for Madame Pele.

We just stood and watched Halemaʻumaʻu doing its thing.

As the sun slowly set the bright red colors became the star of the show.

You could even make out the spatter cone!

We just loved this! We stood our eyes fixated on the crater, just as amazed as we were the night before. Heck, if we stayed another night, we would have returned again!

As it was, we felt blessed to have been able to have a once-in-a-lifetime experience twice!

More folks started arriving and the parking lots were closed. It was time to head back for dinner.

We just wanted to take things easy on this evening and had made dinner reservations at Kilauea Lodge Restaurant again.

The staff here are wonderful, so warm and friendly.

This time we started with the Coconut Brie which came with the bread made inhouse.

 The coconut crust was a bit too sweet for us. There were also spots where the coconut was burnt, adding a rather unpleasant bitterness to the dish.

We enjoyed the bread.

The Missus had the same main as previous night, Crispy Tofu.

Again, we thought the star of the dish was the cauliflower and mushrooms.

This time around, I kind of went against my better judgement and got the Seafood Risotto.

The risotto was the standard par cooked version and some of the arborio rice was under cooked and hard in the center, it was also on the salty side. The Kaua'i Shrimp was outstanding, sweet and briny, cooked perfectly. The mussels were overcooked and dry; but the clams were nice and tender.

Overall, based on our dinner the previous night, we got what we expected. Of dishes, made better by the fantastic staff.

Kilauea Lodge Restaurant
19-3948 Old Volcano Road
Volcano Village, HI 96785

And most of all, we got to witness the glory of Madame Pele and nature!

Big Island - Koana and Mountain View Bakery (Mountain View), Chain of Craters Road, and Suisan (Hilo)

We had a wonderful first day and evening on the Big Island. Man, it's hard to believe that it had been a decade since we last visited.

And since we were staying in Volcano Village, we wanted to resurrect an old tradition we had. But first, the Missus wanted a nice cup o' joe. I had done a bit of research and found a place in Mountain View, about a 15 minute drive from Volcano Village that just seemed perfect for the "coffee snob" in the family. A place named Koana.

This specialty coffee shop only did pour over....like I said, this place would be perfect for the Missus, right?

The bright, rustic space was quite welcoming.

As was the owner; who kindly took time to explain everything they had for the day. 

In addition to the local coffees the place sold....

There were other local kine stuffs as well.

The Missus immediately homed in on the Paradise Coffee Kona Geisha Champagne Natural. The owner of Koana, Brian, told us that this coffee won the 2022 Hawaiian Coffee Association competition. Oh-kay.....

While we waited for our coffee we took a quick look around...the place has a real "old time" feel to it and reminds me of Honolua, way back in the 60's and 70's.

Meanwhile, I felt a bit peckish, so I walked on over to Mountain View Bakery. Man, the last time I was here was back in 90's, before I met the Missus.

This place is famous for their Stone Cookies and has been around since 1936! It's got a real old time, small town feel to it.

I got a taro mochi donut and a Spam Musubi. Breakfast of champions!

The mochi donut is made from glutinous rice and has a bit of a chew to it. It wasn't overly sweet. I liked it, but the Missus did not.

My musubi was perfect!

    The Missus loved Her coffee and wanted to buy a bag. So, we went in and took a look around and could not find the coffee. So we asked Brian who told us he had two bags left behind the counter. He sold us one. It was $95! The Missus just absolutely loved this coffee.

Thus is life in the mmm-yoso household. The Missus gets Her $95 Kona Geisha coffee and I get a......Spam Musubi! Sounds like a fair deal, right?

We also bought some other stuffs as well.

Koana
18-1325 Old Volcano Rd.
Mountain View, HI 96771

Mountain Vewi Bakery
18-1319 Old Volcano Rd.
Mountain View, HI 96771

From here we headed back into Volcanoes National Park and proceeded to do what has become sort a tradition for us; a drive down Chain of Craters Road.

It's something we've done on every visit to the Big Island since we got married years ago.

It all seems familiar, and yet, different on every visit.

It's a reminder of how amazing this "Blue Marble" we live on is. We make stops along the way. At familiar places, like the Hōlei Sea Arch.

And there's another tradition we have or at least had, which I mentioned in my post from all those years ago:

" We always drive to the end of Chain of Craters Road, park, it used to be that you'd park just a couple of yards from the flow, but now you walk about a half mile or so. I always take a photo of the Missus at the point where the lava is covering the road.

When we look back at the older photos, we've noticed that the flow has moved and even though things might seem the same when the picture is taken; looking at the photos all lined up reveals that nature never stays still. For us, this is a nice timeline of sorts....the Missus on the lava flow, moving, maybe at an imperceptible speed, but nevertheless, still slowly moving."

Well, with time comes change. What used to be this:

In 2012, is now this in 2023. Though it's chained off.

Of course soon enough the question of "what's for lunch" came up. Well, the Missus had Her heart set on Suisan, which has long been a favorite of Hers. We'd arrived in Hilo on a day when Suisan was closed. So off we went on an hours drive into Hilo!

    We were interested to see what effect the "time of Covid" had on Suisan and it was soon evident. Gone are the tables out front. You wait in line in front of the shop, there's a limit to the amount of folks they let into a shop at any one time.

Gone are the cold cases and the selection of poke is much smaller now.

We got a poke bowl with the Ahi Hawaiian and Shoyu Ahi ($15.50), a quarter pound Ahi Mango Habanero, and even went and tried the Scallop Lemon Shoyu and the Butter Garlic Prawns. We took our stuffs to the former location of the restaurant outside Suisan which is now closed and went for it.

 In terms of fish quality the ahi in the Ahi Limu and the Mango Habanero was excellent, tender and almost buttery. Some of the pieces in the Shoyu Ahi had "sugi" that made it chewy. I wish there was more limu in the Ahi Hawaiian, though the flavoring for all three poke was spot on, not too salty, but well prepped and seasoned. The Mango Habanero was a nice surprise, fruity spice, perfect salt, without being too sweet.

As for the "pupus", well, the Butter Garlic Prawns were really tough, not much garlic flavor.

The Lemon Shoyu Scallops were also really chewy and there was an amount of "grit" in it that we didn't enjoy.

Still, that poke did "hit the spot". We'd return one more time before leaving the Big Island; though we'd stay with just poke on that visit.

Suisan Company Limited
93 Lihiwai St
Hilo, HI 96720

mmm-yoso makes 18!

I was just going to start another post when I looked at the date and realized there was some significance to this day....at least for me.

On this date 18 years ago, we did our first post. Geez, 18 years, perhaps it's time to send the blog off to college, right?

Never in my wildest dreams would I have ever thought we'd still be around 18 years later.

And in typical fashion, I'm really not prepared for this post. So, how about some photos of neighborhood flowers from my walks?

Or maybe some utility box art?

In all seriousness, we'd like to thank each and every one of you, for the visits, comments, emails....the wonderful recommendations! We've had the honor and the privilege of "eating, then writing about it" for  5010 posts now. 

Hopefully, we'll have some delici-yoso posts coming up......

The last few years have been sometimes strange and difficult....things have changed so much, but it has made me appreciate more than ever being able to keep up with the blog.

I know I'm not up to date with technology. At some point, I'll have to either get up to date or say goodbye. Hopefully, it will be the former.

Until then....we'll keep rolling along.

Thanks again for helping to keep this little blog going!

GyroGrill Revisited

I was recently told that GyroGrill had won some kind of "Best Greek Food in San Diego" award. Whoa, that was a bit of a shock. It had been a while since I last visited, so I decided to head on over for lunch.

The good thing about GyroGrill is that they open at 10am as I'm not a fan of the "squishy" parking situation in the lot here. When that lot gets full, it's a pretty tight squeeze.

 And to be perfectly honest, I was interested to see what the price of the Gyro Combo was these days. And the sign said the combo was now $15. In case you're keeping score, in October 2020 it was $7.99 by January of 2022 it was $12.99. During my last visit, in April of 2022 it was $14. Well, now a year later it's $15. I guess I should be happy that it's "only" gone up a buck since last year, right?

And both the A-frame chalk sign and a page posted near the counter said something like "Awarded San Diego's Best Greek Food 2022".

By something called "the San Diego Award Program"? Well, talk about a generic sounding name. But seeing that GG is on the ballot again this year, I followed the link from the business website and it leads to this page on a UT website.. I quickly noticed an omission, can you figure it out?

Anyway, I ordered my usual, the Pork Gyro Combo. The really nice guy  from my previous visits was working and I took my order back to the office.

 Upon opening up the Gyro, I quickly noticed that things had changed. This was no longer marinated pork cut from a spit into thin slices. This was more like chunks of marinated grilled pork shoulder. Along with being chunks of pork, the meat was a lot darker in color than what I'd had previously. It was also tough and dry. In terms of flavor, this was on the salty side.

Lest you think I'm having a "senior moment", this is what it looked like on my previous visit.

I actually have enjoyed the cross-cut, chip like, fries even more than the Gyros at GG, crisp outside, creamy inside. These had changed  as well.

These were cut lengthwise and much thinner. They didn't stay crisp as long and were on the drier end of things.

Man, I miss the way those potatoes used to be......here's a photo.

Bummer.

Now, I know that there's more to Greek Food than Gyros, after all, we've had some nice meals in Greece. But still.......

GyroGrill
6780 Miramar Rd.
San Diego, CA 92121

Bolsa Vietnamese Restaurant Closing at the End of May

In the comments of my post on Cafe Dore closing, FOY "Jessica" asked if I knew about Bolsa in Mira Mesa closing. Well, I didn't know and the news caught me by surprise.

So, when I had a some time I drove on over to the location of this long time, local Vietnamese Restaurant.

 And while from a distance everything looked like the status quo, there was this long note taped to the door.

And so it is true, Bolsa will be closing at the end of the month. You can also see a copy of the note in their Facebook page. I thought I'd go ahead and do this post quickly in case folks want one more chance to eat there. After all, if I recall Bolsa has been around for over two decades.

Bolsa Vietnamese Restaurant
9225 Mira Mesa Blvd Suite 118
San Diego, CA 92126
Hours:
Sat - Thurs 830am - 9pm
Friday 830am - 7pm
Closing permanently at the end of May 2023

Another long-standing local restaurant closing.....

Thanks for letting me know about this Jessica!

O-To-San Kushiyaki And Ramen

***** O-To-San is now Otori Yakitori

I first noticed the sign for O-To-San back in December in the former location of Dduri Ba. I also noticed the logo under the sign and indeed Eater confirmed my suspicions, the shop was to be run under the same ownership as the AYCE Korean BBQ and AYCE Sushi Olleh shops. Not quite a great sign in my opinion, but while driving by on a recent morning at 1130 I decided to stop by and see what was going on. 

 On this morning the parking lot was empty. I walked on over and took a look at the posted menu and noticed the opening time was noon. I also noted that there were donburi and ramen lunch specials going for as low as ten bucks! In these days that's a bargain. I decided that I'd return on another day and check the place out. As I started walking away the "open" sign came on and the really friendly gentleman who runs the front of house waved me in. My lucky day I guess.

I really liked the rustic interior. They did a nice thematic job here. 

And the prices for the ramen and donburi for lunch were beyond reasonable for these times. So, it allowed me to try something from the kushiyaki menu. You know me; I tend to look at Tsukune, the simple Japanese chicken meatball as the bellwether for yakitori. It takes some skill working with minced chicken and fat to come up with something tender, moist, and unctuous. And whether it's in San Diego or in Japan I look to it as a guide of skill and care when it comes to yakitori. So, with the ramen for lunch being so inexpensive, that's what I ordered ($4). Good lord, was it a mistake.

  I would go on record to say this was more sausage than tsukune. It was hard, rubbery, tough.....I'm sure there are more synonyms I could come up with given time. Not much flavor at all....I guess that's why salt was provided.

This got me really worried about the ramen. I had ordered the tonkotsu ramen ($10).

 And my worries were well placed. Ok, so  since the ownership is under Olleh, my expectations were low, but this was even below that!

The broth, while it displayed globules of fat was insipid, devoid of any flavor save that of sodium. It lacked the richness of a true tonkotsu broth.

The overcooked tamago....well, I'm thinking O-To-San wants to give Santouka competition for the most overcooked egg.

 The chashu wasn't bad, nicely marinated, tender, decent porkiness. The noodles were standard issue, curly, a bit overcooked and mushy...which did nothing to enhance the dish. It had me thinking....at ten bucks what should I have expected?

This was quite underwhelming. But I decided to return for a follow-up visit. This time around noon, where the same kind and friendly gentleman guided me to a table. My thought was "perhaps the ramen wasn't to my liking, but I should try a donburi". And at ten bucks the risk level was fairly low, at least for 2023.

My ten-dollar dish allowed me to try something else from the menu, though I wasn't going to go for anymore yakitori here. I went with a order of Chicken Karaage ($7). What arrived was a much larger portion than what I expected.

In terms of the dish, it reminded me more of what Taiwanese/Chinese boba places serve as "popcorn" chicken then karaage. The chicken was enrobed with a lacquer style batter, quite crisp, though the chicken itself was quite mildly seasoned and on the bland side. It also started to soften up fairly quickly. The typical shoyu based dipping sauce was not quite up to the task. Strangely, what I think is sesame dressing for the shredded cabbage did much better, which led me to think, the whole dish might do ok as tori nanban?

I ordered the Gyu Don ($10 lunch special) as my main.

 I loved the presentation. And overall, I enjoyed this dish the most. Nothing fancy, just a by the book beef bowl. The beef was on the chewy side, flavors were quite typical, soy sauce - mirin - sake, which is not bad at all. A generous portion of rice....I wish there was more egg, but this was a decent donburi.

 Nothing fancy mind you; but for a ten buck for lunch...I wouldn't pay $15 to have this for dinner, this might work out fine for you. After all, how much is a bento from Nijiya these days?

Still, while the prices are right, at least for lunch, I see no reason to go out of your way to visit. The place seems like more of a group of concepts. In design and even in the name which is a play on words. When I asked if the place was named after someone's father, the really nice guy told me it "sort of is?" I was also told it is a play on words - O(saka) - To(kyo) - San (Diego). He didn't elaborate further and I didn't really ask. I'd had enough of "concepts" for a while.

O-To-San Kushiyaki And Ramen
4425 Convoy St.
San Diego, CA 92111

Saturday Stuffs - Cafe Dore is now Da Nang Restaurant and Coffee and Farmer's Table (Bay Park) Becoming La Pastaia

Just a couple of things I noticed this past week.

Cafe Dore is now Da Nang Restaurant and Coffee:

I received an email that caught me off guard. It asked me why Cafe Dore had closed. What?!? I didn't know anything about this. So, last Sunday I took a shopping detour and headed down the 15 to check things out. And wouldn't you know it. The place is now called Da Nang Restaurant and Coffee.

Looking at the sign I was wondering when this change took place. Notice that it's been long enough for the "R" in "Restaurant" to apparently fall off the signage.

Our friend Google didn't seem to be much help either.

Kind of sad to see it's no longer Cafe Dore. My posts go back to June 2005, I remember seeing all the old timers drinking coffee in the place and playing those, ahem, "video games" (wink, wink) in the back of the shop. When I last visited back in November of 2021 things seemed to go the status quo. And even in the days of Covid, old-timers were gathered in the place and lighting up the 'ol cigarettes even!

Much like another closure of a long time restaurant, it feels like the end of an era. 

Da Nang Restaurant and Coffee
4135 University Ave.
San Diego, CA 92105

Farmer's Table (Bay Park) Becoming La Pastaia:

During one of my recent shopping trips up the block to Sprouts I noticed that Farmer's Table was empty so I walked on over.

   I was surprised to see construction going on and the note to the right. Well, I just posted on Farmer's Table in January! Looks like it's becoming a Italian Restaurant named "La Pastaia"?

Not too excited about this one as it looks like just a change in concept. I'm hoping the food served loses its overly corporate approach.

3055 Clairemont Dr.
San Diego, CA 92117

Gusto Grocery Italian Market

It's kind of funny how we run into things. I was leaving Costco on Morena after filling up on gas when I noticed a sign for an "Italian Market". When I did that "Google thing" I recognized the address. It was in the same business park as Rose Canyon Deli!

From what I could gather Gusto Grocery opened during Covid as a online store and has recently opened up what they call a "fulfillment center" and brick and mortar shop for folks who want to actually shop for "stuffs". In need for ingredients for my pesto chard, I decided to stop by instead of heading down to Little Italy and Mona Lisa for the Pesto Genovese that we like.

The actual shop is tiny; think half the size of Eurofood Depot. It's almost like a cubicle in size.

However, it is a cubicle stuffed with a nice variety of products with familiar names; like Bartolini, Rummo, San Giuolano, and Rigoni.

The location is quite interesting. It's actually located in the same structure as Rose Canyon Deli, just on the East side. There's ample parking and you can tell by the sign where the shop is.

Unfortunately, while they stock the Pesto we like, they were out.

Still, it's nice to not have to deal with the parking and such in Little Italy.

And while the selection of salumi and cheese looked rather small.

 I'm sure if you ordered online things would work out fine. And that guanciale looked really good.

I'm happy to have another option for specialized shopping.....close to home. Though the hours are rather limited, it looks like I won't have to go out of my way and struggle to find parking to get some of the Italian products we like.

Gusto Grocery Italian Market
4901 Morena Blvd Suite 314
San Diego, CA 92117
Current Hours:
Mon - Thurs 9am - Noon
Friday 9am - 6pm
Saturday 10am - 3pm
Closed on Sundays