mmm-yoso!!!

Road Trip - Dinner at Doc Martin's (Taos)

After visiting El Santuario de Chimayo we headed onward to Taos. I had made reservations for two nights at the Historic Taos Inn, which is located right in the center of this charming town of 6,500.

We had arrived a bit early and our room wasn't ready yet. But we were instructed to park in the rear parking lot and take a walk around. 

It was May and things weren't too busy in town. We were immediately charmed by the quaint, artsy-funky-outdoorsy friendliness of the town.

The air was crisp and clean, the sky so bright. Charming adobe structures lined the streets.

No wonder folks like Georgia O'Keefe, DH Lawrence, and Kit Carson were drawn here.

We were only spending two nights in Taos and the Missus wanted to go hiking during our one full day, so we weren't able to visit places I had on my "list" like the Taos Pueblo.

 We were sent a text when our room was ready; which was in one of the buildings in back of the Inn, it was comfortable and quieter than the rooms up front.

We had reservations for the restaurant in the Taos Inn; Doc Martin's. The Taos Inn was originally the home and businesses of Thomas "Doc" Martin and his namesake restaurant is where the his offices were located. Upon Doc Martin's death, his widow turned the building into a hotel.

We were given the choice of a table in the dining room or one on the back patio area.

It was such a lovely day that we decided dining al fresco would be nice.

   The Missus really enjoyed the Gruet Brut and also the Gruet Chardonnay with dinner. Gruet is a winery based in New Mexico. We'd end up getting a bottle for the Missus from one of the shops in Taos the next day.

As to what we ordered; well, we wanted to try New Mexican Chile sauces again; so we went with the Pork Tamale Plate "Christmas style" ($24), that is with both green and red sauce. And I noticed "El Pastor" (Al Pastor) tacos ($20) as a special, which our Server also recommended. 

This time around, the Tamale was much better than what we'd had at the Shed, good moist hints of hominy, though the pork was on the dry side and kind of bland. The red and green chile was much better as well.

The green chile had an acidic-pungent heat, not very strong. The red chile was smoky and had more heft and richness to it. The sofrito rice was bland and very mushy and the beans were on the harder side of the scale with regards to texture, also a bit on the blander side as well.

The "El" Pastor Tacos looked pretty good.

    The pork was nicely charred. In terms of flavor; it had some sweetness and a bit of spice.....the nice crispy bits were pretty good. The tortillas were almost crisp and brittle without much flavor. The sofrito rice and beans I covered above.

This was an okay meal, much better than what we'd had earlier in Santa Fe. Service was wonderful and the Missus enjoyed the local wine.

Doc Martin's
125 Paseo Del Pueblo Norte
Taos, NM 87571

After dinner, we decided to take another walk around Taos. We really loved the vibe of this town.

Having Haggis at The Pub (formerly Dan Diegos)

Recently, I took a nice stroll down Milton to Morena. I decided to walk back on that current mess of construction called Clairemont Drive. While heading North on Morena passing The Pub, I suddenly had a hankering for some Haggis. Now honestly, how often have you heard that in San Diego? Back in 2023, right after my Bobby Burns night dinner, Dan Diegos changed its name to The Pub. The owners and menu is basically the same. One of the interesting things is that Haggis is now on the daily menu.

So, I'd already walked a decent distance and had the walk up Clairemont Drive ahead of me; so I thought a pint and some Haggis would suit me well.

The place was doing some good business on a week night. It wasn't even five yet.

I got me a Mulligan Red Ale, nice roasty-caramel tones.

I also ordered the Haggis Plate ($20). Which includes soda bread and The Pub's definition of Colcannon.

I do like the soda bread here; it's got a nice biscuity flavor, but much lighter than a biscuit, with a touch of graininess almost like cornbread. The "Colcannon" here is mostly cabbage, mixed with mashed potatoes, not as buttery as I would like; but heck, I got my veggies in right? As for the haggis; it's still milder than what we enjoyed in Scotland, but I think this was even better than what I'd had here before. A bit more offaly, nice balance of savory flavors, a bit less oatmeal, a decent amount of typical spices, and seemed to use less fat (i.e. suet is typical) making it a bit more gritty, but still decently flavored. It was also filling. I quite enjoyed this.

It was nice to see Dan Diegos The Pub doing well. The food seems to have improved since my first visits over a decade ago. The crowd skewed a bit older and folks seemed to be enjoying themselves. I should probably try more items from the menu, the walk might do me good too!

The Pub
2415 Morena Blvd
San Diego, CA 92110
Current Hours:
Mon - Wed - Thurs 330pm - 10pm
Fri Sat                        1pm - 11pm
Sunday                       10am - 3pm
Closed on Tuesdays

Viet Nom - A Soft Opening Visit

During my visit to Renaissance Towne Center to see what was going on, I had intended to getting a Chicago Dog from Chicago Fire Grill. However, I noticed a business that I hadn't heard a peep about named Viet Nom. And the place was open.

The sign said "soft opening" and things were 10% off until mid-April. So, I decided to head on in to check things out.

The interior is small, with just a few tables and a counter. The young lady who was working was nice and professional. She was also quite patient with the folks walking in to ask if they had sandwiches (they don't) and other questions.

The menu is small; three versions of pho and six sides, including youtiao, sesame balls, and such. The prices were also on the high side, but I decided to order their Pho Nom which was $19.50 and some Tamarind Wings, which was $16.50.

And then, while waiting, I saw this.

And then I realized what jogged my memory. I asked the young lady if this place had the same owner as Formoosa and Steamy Piggy and was told "yes". Ugh.....I haven't had much luck with the food from either place which just seemed all about concept. In fact, "FOY" Kenneth had asked me why I haven't gone to Flama Llama yet, knowing I love Peruvian Cuisine and I replied about having eaten at F and SP, which gave me pause when thinking about eating there and also at the company's new "KFC" place (you can read about Soo's visit here).

Anyway, it was too late to back out now and my wings soon arrived.

The coating on the wings were getting soggy quickly and ended up being more mushy than crisp-crunchy. The flavor of the glaze was extremely sweet, way too sweet for my taste, as it over powered all other flavors. The quality of the wings didn't seem too bad, though this was a bit much for me and I only finished two wings.

Soon enough the sprouts and accoutrements for the pho arrived.

I'm not sure if it's just me; but the portion sizes of sprouts, basil, and seem to have shrunk. The basil, as seems to be the norm these days was turning brown.

As for the bowl of pho; it was humongous.

   It was loaded with meat. The beef rib, their version of Xí Quách Suon Bò had also been seared a bit before service. The sliced "short rib" (as defined in the menu) was cut too thick, super tough, and lacked flavor. Strangely, what is usually not my favorite item in a bowl of pho, the squeaky meatballs was the item I enjoyed the most. Of course, there was no option for tendon or tripe. The rib meat came off the bone cleanly, was decently tender, but seemed to have had all the beefiness cooked out of it. Yes, it was a large portion of meat.

   The huge clump of noodles were mushy and over cooked. The broth was super bland....I do complain a bit about how pho broth in San Diego seems to be on the sweeter side of the scale....well, you know what, I would have gladly accepted that here! Much like the Niu Rou Mian broth at Formoosa, the soup here seemed to have been made using the "wave" method, whereupon a piece of beef was waved over some water to hopefully create flavor. The broth was super thin and watery. This seemed to be more about presentation and portion size.

Well, at least I got 10% off; even though the wings cost $16.50 and the pho $19.50. Viet Nom made Xin Chao seem like first rate pho. The thought that this is the future of pho depresses me. I usually do more than one visit; but since the place has just 9 items on the menu; three of them pho and one version of broth with the rib meat in it, I'm just going to say "Viet No" to "Viet Nom" for now.

Of course, with my luck, a couple of days later there's a post on Eater about Viet Nom. If only it had been posted before my visit. Though there was one tidbit of information in that post. Looks like the owner of these places that makes everything from Dumplings to Taiwanese to Peruvian/Latin American to Korean Fried Chicken to Pho is now going to open a ramen shop.......

One last, somewhat humorous item. I brought the remainder of the wings back to the office and told folks about it. One of the guys really enjoyed the wings. I was fascinated and asked him why. He told me "this tastes just like Panda Express....I love Panda Express!" 'Nuff said....

Viet Nom
8895 Towne Centre Dr.
San Diego, CA 92122
Current Hours:
Sun - Thurs 11am - 930pm
Fri - Sat        11am - 1030pm

Leilanis Attic

So recently, I wanted, nay needed some Chili Peppah Wata for some kalua pork. Now, in the past my usual stop would be Marukai. But since Don Quijote bought Marukai, the stores and what they carry seemed to have changed. There are certain local kine items I know I can get reliably at Marukai, like Aloha Shoyu, but since the change, there are items that are not always available. So, this time around I just decided to hele on over to Leilani's Attic which opened in March of last year. They had Parks Chili Water in stock, the folks working are always friendly, and I like supporting these local businesses anyway. Anyway, I went looking for my post on Leilanis and there wasn't one! What the heck....senior moment creeping in.

So, I decided to drop by at the tail end of my usual Saturday shopping errands (Leilanis opens at 10), just browse a bit (and get some taro chips), and sneak in a few photos. The shop is located in the strip mall that contains Sipz, Di Chan, and Ma's House.

And in case you're wondering, this is the shop that was next to Leilani's in PB. They also have an outlet in Vegas now as well. It's a small, but well organized shop, food one side, all the other "stuffs" like Local Motion, Hilo Hatties, one another side.

To be honest, I don't really spend much time in this area.

I'm looking for grocery stuff when I come here. What I've noticed during recent visits is that the crack seed displays, while still yielding a decent variety are kind of depleted.

Of course there are all the standards....

And if you need to Noh, this is wea' you can go!

The one thing I really enjoy about L's Attic is that there are always things that "take me back"; that bring on that warm nostalgic feeling. Just looking at the cold and freezer case for instance.

Would have me smiling thinking about debates my friends and I would have; "are you team Purity, or team Redondo's"? As I've noted before, I'm totally "team Purity". As for Gouviea, well that was for special occasions, since we could never depend on getting that during small kid time.

Check out this shelf.

It's amazing what little thing can bring on all those feelings. Like the time I saw that Leilanis carries Good News.

 In case you haven't heard of this, Good News was created back in the 70's. I believe that Good News is mainly sold back in the Islands these days. This was my late Mom's favorite guilty pleasure. She would get me to walk to Kaimuki Sundries or Lau Market to get one for her every once in a while. Every time I see it within the confines of a small neighborhood store or market, I can't help but think of my walks (she never did learn to drive and we had no car) around the corner to get one for her.

Enough of that. Yes, there are places where you can get local kine stuffs these days. For some reason, I enjoy the shopping experience at Leilanis. Also, the nice guy working told me he can order Parks Brand Kim Chee Sauce for me. You don't get that kind of service at large markets. I haven't been able to get that here or in OC for a while. So perhaps it's time for me to make my Chicken Alice Fried Chicken, which I call the "OG KFC" soon.

I'm glad to have a place like Leilanis in a more convenient location for me!

Leilanis Attic
5505 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92117
Open Daily 10am - 7pm

Road Trip - Railyard Artisan Market (Santa Fe) and El Santuario de Chimayo (Chimayo)

**** Not much food in this one; but if you're interested in one of the most important pilgrimage sites in the United States, read on.

On our last morning in Santa Fe, we woke and partook of the breakfast in the hotel's restaurant. I really enjoyed the red sauce, smoky, slightly spicy, that smothered my eggs.

We then checked out and since this was a Sunday made one stop on the way out of Santa Fe. We had always wanted to check out the Railyard Artisan Market, so we headed on over to the artsy Railyard District.

The crafts portion of the market is contained in a large hangar like building. Santa Fe has a reputation as an artistic haven. We got a taste of it while walking along Canyon Road on our way to dinner at Geronimo.

The artisans were very welcoming and seemed to really enjoy chatting and talking about their products.

We ended up making a few purchases and had a fun time.

We'll be sure to return when we're back in Santa Fe.

Railyard Artisan Market
1607 Paseo De Peralta
Santa Fe, NM 87501
Sunday 10am - 3pm

Our next destination was Taos. But there was one stop I wanted to make on the way. There are two basic routes to Taos, the shorter "Low Road" or the scenic "High Road". On the way to Taos we decided on the taking the High Road for one simple reason. I wanted to visit El Santuario de Chimayo. Now, I don't know of many folks who have heard of Santuario de Chimayo, which is kind of strange since it is considered one of the largest pilgrimage sites in the United States. Each year, on Good Friday, up to 300,000 Pilgrims make their way to the church. Where it is said that the "Holy Dirt" of the church can perform miracles.

It is said that this area has been sacred ground since the times of the Pueblo Indians in the 12th Century. After the Spanish gained control of the area; there was an influx of Spanish and Mexican settlers in the Potrero area. According to one of the stories, in 1810, a member of the Penitentes, Don Bernardo Abeyta, saw a light emanating from a hillside. Upon finding the source of the light he began digging with his bare hands and found a crucifix, which was dubbed the crucifix of Our Lord of Esquipulas. According to the legend, the cross was moved to Santa Cruz, but the icon would then disappear, then reappear where it was unearthed. After the third instance of this happening, the cross was left at the site and a church was built there. It is said that the earth from that original pit performs miracles.

In fact, one of the rooms of the chapels is filled with crutches, canes, braces with photos and letters testifying to the miracles.

One of the other rooms contains the pit with the miracle producing soil. It was Sunday and quite busy, so I decided to not take any photos inside the chapels out of respect for those visiting.

But for us, one of the most fascinating things we saw was this......

Our Lady of Lavang? This was something new to me. I had never heard of this. I quickly sent texts to some of my "FOYs"; which led me to this - site. Apparently, when those of Catholic faith were prosecuted and outlawed in Vietnam, some escaped and sought refuge in the forests around Lavang. Whereupon, on one night, the vision of Mary came upon them. Whoa, like you can't make this stuff up!

It's quite a story. The woman who cuts my hair these days is Vietnamese-Catholic and I mentioned this to her, she went ahead and told me the story. When I told her about visiting El Santuario de Chimayo, I was told that it is an "important place" that she has visited several times!

It was an interesting bit of history that I never knew about.

Look, for a good part of my childhood I was raised in what I consider a "cult". It is neither here nor there, but I find belief, faith, and how it drives history fascinating. And coming from Hawai'i I think here's something innate that has us respect different beliefs and cultures.

Our last stop was this shop.

Where we picked up some beans and ground chili that I use to "liven up" dishes.

Taipei - Chia Te and the Taipei 101 Food Court

So, now that we were back in Taipei, it as time to resume our hunt for Pineapple Cake for my MIL. We had a specific target on our schedule; but first....well, the Missus needed Her tea and I wanted a cup of coffee. Que in Wilbeck, a shop right around the block from where we were staying.

A decent Americano for $50NT - $1.25/US and the Missus got some tea as well.

Interesting place.....

And then we were off.....we had started collecting Pineapple Cake in Taichung at Dawncake and a couple of other places in the city, then at another place in Chiayi. But the one place the Missus was looking forward to getting pineapple cake from was this one.

Google best Pineapple Cake in Taiwan and Chia Te will just about always be on the list. Established in 1975, Chia Te has won best Pineapple Cake at the first Taipei Pineapple Cake Festival in 2006 and from what I gathered four more times after that. Add to things that Chia Te has only one shop, located in Taipei (though I understand you can order delivery and get boxes at the airport), you can understand this:

Yes, a line of course. We had arrived at around 815, Chia Te opens at 830, but the line already stretched all the way down the block and around the corner. Unlike typical lines in Taiwan; this one didn't move quickly. It took us nearly two hours to get into the shop.

They kept posting signs listing items they were out of.

The actual shop is tiny, we got our act together and ended up getting all of this.

I will say, that I really enjoyed this. I wish I got more than one small box.

You can get Chia Te in the states; but it is $$$. Though I'm not sure I'll want to stand in that line again when we return to Taipei.

Chia Te Bakery
No. 88, Section 5, Nanjing E Rd.
Songshan District, Taipei City, Taiwan

By the time we finished it was time for lunch. Being on this side of the city, Taipei 101 was a 30 minute walk away.  I thought it would be fun to check to grab lunch at the food court there. Yes, I said food court. I know most folks would head to Din Tai Fung here, but we'd already been to the original location of DTF in Xinyi and as tempting as that was; I'd read about a Chinese BBQ Hawker with a Michelin Star having an stand in the food court. So, we headed to the basement of Taipei 101.

It was just past 11am when we arrived, so the place wasn't overly busy, though that changed quickly. And we quickly found the shop I was looking for.

And the Missus ordered some Roast Duck and Char Siu.

We saw this stand.

And we'd been wanting to try an oyster omelet, so we walked over and ordered that; along with another item....

We had no problem finding a table. We were lucky because in what seemed like a few minutes later, the place was packed.

First up; the Oyster Omelet and of course a pork chop.

We enjoyed the oyster omelet, even the sweet-sourish gooey sauce which added a nice acidity. The eggs were nicely tender, the small oysters meaty-briney; there were some nice greens mixed in. Overall, really savory and good.

And of course, the pork chop.

Nicely pounded, salty-peppery-porky; some mild garlic tones, mild crispness. Yes, I know, "I didn't meet a pork chop I hated in Taiwan".

On that note; the duck and char siu were diappointing.

The duck was dry, lacking in fattiness, the skin hard, not crisp, without enough five-spice flavor. That pork was tough as leather the edges strangely bitter, and also lacking in flavor.

Well, you can't win 'em all. Though about that Michelin Star thing......

No.45 City Hall Rd.
Xinyi District, Taipei City 110, Taiwan

All was not lost though as we saw this on our way out.

 And yes, more pineapple cake to carry back with us. 

I'm sure we'll be back to the area. We need to check out the observatory at Taipei 101.

From Taipei 101, it was a 30 minute metro ride back to the hotel. 

We had time to rest and relax. And wonder....we had reservations at a Michelin starred restaurant for dinner. How would that fare?

Taipei - Jin Feng Braised Pork Rice

After returning to Taipei from the Taroko Gorge we relaxed a bit at our hotel. The location of Sky 19 Hotel might seem a bit odd, occupying only the 19th floor of an large business building, but the location, right out the exit from Taipei Main Station was great. All the stores and shops in the area didn't hurt things either. Of course the subject of dinner came up. The Missus was wanting to get Lu Rou Fan, a classic braised pork on rice dish. I had a couple of places on my "list" and one of them had come up in the Missus's discussions with various drivers; Jin Feng Braised Pork Rice. The shop was located about 2 kilometers from our accommodations and after having my TR Pork Chop Bento on the train back from the Taroko Gorge, I thought a nice walk might help me burn off the pork.

We arrived at the busy corner where Jin Feng stood in about 25 minutes or so.

Good thing the Missus reads Chinese and speaks Mandarin as there are two queues; one for takeout orders and one for dining in.

Like just about everywhere in Taipei, the lines move quickly. There's no dallying, we got a table, which could be easily divided by plexiglass for single diners in less than ten minutes.

The menu has quite a bit of choices.

But we were after one thing; the Lu Rou Fan, braised pork on rice.

My goodness, where have you been all my life. The rice was cooked nicely and fragrant; that sauce was rich, porky-soy sauce deliciousness. A nice collection of tender meaty pieces, along with rich, fattier pieces that basically melted in your mouth. And for a medium bowl at $40 NT; that's about a buck-twenty-five.... you get the picture, right?

We also got the pork belly; which came out looking dark and somewhat foreboding.

This was quite silkenly tender; surprisingly so. It wasn't overly salty, with hints of anise, and a touch of sweetness. 

And of course, after punishing our arteries; we needed some veggies. We had enjoyed all variations of Bamboo Shoots during our time in Taiwan and this version was no different.

Crunchy and earthy with a touch of sweetness, the preserved vegetable added a bit of oomph to things.

The Ong Choi was also crisp and fresh.

A touch of soy and garlic, to bring out the chlorophyllic - nutty notes.

This was a nice, comforting meal, and if I recall, came out to around $4.50/US! No wonder we've been grumbling about the prices here in the US recently. In some places five bucks would get you little more than a cup of coffee here!

Jin Feng Braised Pork Rice (金峰魯肉飯)
No. 10, Section 1, Roosevelt Rd.
Zhongzheng District, Taipei City, Taiwan

After dinner we took a different way back to the hotel, exploring the area a bit more.

We had started to learn some interesting things to note about everyday life here. You'd hear some music, it was always the same song emanating from a truck. Well, this was the signal to folks that trash pick-up was occurring. We'd see folks rushing to the curb to deliver their trash for pick-up.

Further up the street we walked past the Judicial Building.

Where this little "soldier" was hard at work doing drills led by his Mom....who seemed to be filming from her phone. Perhaps for Taiwan's version of Tik Tok?

There was a kind of lively, yet orderly sense to things here.

And of course, every time the Missus saw a line She needed to investigate.

We were really enjoying our time in Taipei!

Thanks for stopping by!

Midweek Meanderings - Mama Lin's Replacing Saigon 5, it's now Ujin Ramen instead of Hanyuzu Ramen, Honeyjam Chicken Looks ready to open? And the new sign for Golden City

So, here's some "stuffs" I found while driving around. Actually, this is just a couple of places, there's much more, but the title of the post was getting too long!

Mama Lin's Replacing Saigon 5:

So, on a previous visit to 99 Ranch Market on Balboa, I noticed that Sip n' Cluck was replacing Krispy Krunchy Chicken. Imagine my surprise on my last trip to 99 Ranch when I went to the restroom and saw that a stand named Mama Lin's was replacing Saigon 5!

Makes me wonder if business in this food court is not particularly busy. The place never seems busy.....

5950 Balboa Ave (Inside 99 Ranch Market)
San Diego, CA 92111

It's now Ujin Ramen instead of Hanyuzu Ramen:

So, I've been avoiding Renaissance Towne Center because of all the crazy road work. Heck, I have to deal with the ever changing traffic patterns on Clairemont Drive; why would I want to expose myself to more of the same? Still, after 7 months or so of avoiding the area, I decided to to head on over to Chicago Fire Grill to see what's going on. In the end, I ended up trying a new place that opened up there (post upcoming) and got to see what was going on.

Since I arrived before 11, I took a stroll around the strip mall. It was quite interesting. Back in August of 2022 it seemed like a shop named Ramen Hanyuzu was coming to this mall. In June of 2023, ditto. But now, in March of 2024, it looks like Ujin Ramen is coming to this spot?

My goodness......

8935 Towne Centre Drive #113
San Diego, CA 92122

And what about Honeyjam Chicken?:

Good question. I mean way back in 2021, this spot was going to be JJ Chicken. Then, in October of 2022, "FOY" Patty and Rena alerted me to changes. Apparently, the place was now going to Honeyjam Chicken. Of course, it's now March of 2024. 

Well, there seems to be some work going on here. Still, not sure if or when they will open. It must be so frustrating for folks in the area who are looking forward to these businesses open. But can you imagine; that we're hiring sign has been up since I first saw the place in October of 2022. I mean, really, you want staff.......do they think folks will wait a year-and-a-half for work? It's quite sad....

8895 Towne Centre Dr.
San Diego, CA 92122 

The new sign for Golden City:

This is an interesting one. I saw a change of signs occurring for Golden City earlier in the week. Then "FOY" Derric sent me a message asking what was going on.

When I first saw the sign, I drove into the parking lot and peeked into the restaurant.....the guy working and the decor looked the same. My one source said it was still the same with a change in the Chinese name of the place. The Missus said that in Chinese the name is now something along the lines of "Prosperity Palace". So we'll see.....

5375 Kearny Villa Rd.
San Diego, CA 92123

And there's more; but I'll save that for a future post. Hope you're having a wonderful week!

Spicy Noodle (Kearny Mesa)

I really wasn't too interested in checking out Spicy Noodle when I first noticed the place back in September. The restaurant had been Sunny Noodle for what seemed to be a blink of an eye. I had thoughts that perhaps the place had just changed names and redirected the "ship" to another destination of sorts. But, while looking at some info on the place a few months back, I noticed that the place opened at 1030 am, which for me, not being too interested in crowds, seemed like a good time of the day. So, I decided to head on over to Mercury Village Shopping Center to check the place out.

It was a rainy day here in San Diego, so I thought it would be a perfect time to get some Niu Rou Mian.

The interior looks basically the same as when the shop was Sunny Noodle, except for the pictures of various dishes and the menu and ordering process is still QR code based. The woman working is quite friendly, at least to me.

I ordered my Beef Noodle Soup ($15). Soon enough it was delivered to my table.

 This was a fairly straight-forward bowl. The broth had a decent beefiness, hints of five spice, and was not as spicy as it looked. The broth was not very rich either.

There were five "chunks" of beef in the bowl, the beef was mildly flavored, though it was more tender than it looked. It could have used more flavoring and been simmered longer.

The big difference between what I'd had at Sunny Noodle and Spicy Noodle was...well, the noodles. These were thicker, with a decent "spring" and pull to them if a bit on the doughy side. Much better than what I'd had at "Sunny".

This was fine, if not outstanding. Of course I needed to return, but wasn't quite sure what I would order. Then the Missus and I drove past and I pointed to the shop. The Missus told me the name in Chinese is "Chongqing Spicy Noodle", so perhaps I needed to try that on my next visit. Of course, the Missus wasn't going to join me for that visit!

The woman remembered me from my previous visit and seemed happy to see me. I decided to try an appetizer as well as the Chongqing Xiao Mian. I was tempted to order the cucumber or kou shui ji, but those are more like "summertime" dishes for me. I decided to try the Spicy Crispy Pork ($9).

    Man, this as a mistake. The pork, which seemed like strips of super lean, pounded pork chop were really tough, almost hard and dry. The batter was on the chewy side as well. The strips were lightly seasoned and not particularly spicy. I ended up using the dried chilies and a big splash of chili oil to help me consume this. I had a ton of it left over.

I also got the Chongqing Spicy Noodle ($12) and added an egg ($2). 

 In retrospect, the egg was also a mistake, it was ice cold, the yolk severely overcooked and dry.

On the interesting end of things; I'm thinking that the pork sent some kind of telepathic message to this bowl of noodles as it was serious spicy! Not much in the "ma" (numbing) end of things, but definitely "la" (hot and spicy). Being that Chongqing Xiao Mian differs form the usual dan dan mian in having a broth, this got me sweating in no time. The woman working saw this and cracked up, bringing me an entire pitcher of H2O.

Not a fan of the ground pork mixture as it was mealy and kind of bland....in total contrast to the broth!

The noodles were the same as on the previous visit and did a great job of picking up the broth; to the detriment of my sweat glands!

Well, at this point I thought having two visits meant I'd get a post done. However, I noticed a dish ordered on the only other table occupied during my visit. It seemed like something I'd enjoy. So, a couple of weeks later I returned.

The Server, remembering my previous perspiration filled visit smiled and instantly brought me an entire pitcher of water! I guess I must now have a reputation, eh? I had actually brought a handkerchief this time and showed it to her which cracked her up.

On the previous visit, the bowl I had seen is called the Fat Intestine Noodle ($15), which is what I ordered.

    I don't know if they went easy on me, but this wasn't particularly spicy...I mean, it did have some heat, I actually enjoyed the funk induced broth, which was lightly permeated with the flavor of the "fat intestine". The broth edged on the salty side but was by far my favorite of the three visits. I enjoyed the offal-ly, funky, earthy pork bung. Yes, it was a bit chewy, but in a pleasant way.

The noodles seemed a bit different on this visit.

Thinner a straighter, lacking in the nice broth lifting springiness that I enjoyed. It was cooked adequately, but I would prefer something with a bit more pull and heft. I'm hoping if I order this again, I'll have the other noodles.

Yes, I said order this again. I'll probably return when the weather turns warmer to get some of the liang cai and perhaps a bowl of bung noodles...... I think Spicy Noodle is a definite improvement over Sunny Noodle.

Spicy Noodle
8046 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92111
Current Hours:
Daily 1030am - 230pm, 5pm - 9pm

Sovereign Thai Cuisine Revisited

I guess the weather's warming up a bit since the Missus said She was craving Sovereign. It had been a while since my last post and though the Missus refused to catch the trolley there, we thought we'd check to see if we could find some decent parking. Which, for the Missus meant north of K Street and West of 15th Street. I will say that it looks like things have been cleaned up a bit in the area since my last visit and after finding parking on Island, between 13th and 14th we weren't accosted by folks like on my previous visits to the area.

We arrived at Sovereign and the place was doing some decent business at 330pm on a Sunday. We were given a nice table and looked over the menu. Our old favorites were there as well as a couple of items that caught our attention. Two of the items we'd had on previous takeout visits; which I hadn't posted on; the grilled chicken tail and the sour Lao sausage, both of which we enjoy weren't available.

We started things off with the Crispy Pork Belly ($14). We had enjoyed the spicy pork belly on our previous visit, though the rest of the dish wasn't to out liking. We thought just having that pork belly might work out well.

And man, were we right! It doesn't look like much, but the thick slices of pork belly was wonderful. The skin crisp and crunchy, the fat melted away to a wonderful, rich velvetiness on your tongue. The sauce, which wasn't overly sweet or spicy helped to cut all the swine-a-licious goodness adding some balance to each bite. Though I don't think it would reduce your Cardiologists bill. Talk about a guilty pleasure.

The other new dish didn't fare as well, the Crispy Chive Cake ($14). I really didn't know what to expect.

The coating was more hard than crisp. The filling was what seemed like a combination of overly gummy-glutinous, sticky rice and chives, of which more was needed for flavor. This was really bland, even with the sweet-savory sauce provided. Man was it chewy.....this reminded me of pan fried mochi. It really needed a savory boost in flavor.

From here it was our usual go-to dishes.

The Hat Yai Fried Chicken ($24).

Crisp skin, tender flesh, the shallots add a nice pungent-sweet-crunchy layer to the dish. Nice mildly sweet-savory flavors from soy sauce-fish sauce-sugar. Always a favorite.

The Missus's favorite vegetable dish is the Stir Fried Eggplant with Basil ($14).

Tender eggplant, I think more Thai Basil was needed this time around; but the dish has always been a favorite of the Missus.

And of course, the Thai Sausage ($13).

Still our favorite in San Diego, crisp casing, tender pork filling, studded with herbs, with a slight spicy "kick" to things.

As you can tell, we enjoyed this meal. And while Sovereign doesn't provide that spicy "Issan" or Lao heat we enjoy, we have dishes here that are favorites of ours. And while there's still some environmental grittiness to the area around the restaurant, it seems like things might be changing for the better in the area.

And we found a new "favorite" dish to add to our typical order at Sovereign as well.

Sovereign Thai Cuisine
1460 J Street
San Diego, CA 92101