mmm-yoso!!!

Takeout from Village Kitchen

The rather recent cooler weather had the Missus craving some spicy food.....that meant it was time to start doing takeout from Village Kitchen.

Of course the Missus couldn't be bothered with actually calling the place. Luckily, I had of copy of the takeout menu.

I called and managed to get my order in.

A few minutes later I was on my way.

The restaurant actually has a couple of tables set-up; the front it almost blocked off and I stood and was handed my order and was on my way. As a bonus, the really nice woman from Kangxi is Coming was now working here! It was nice to see her.

I was interested to see how this was going to be since our last couple of visits had been rather lackluster.

Man, the portion sizes were pretty hefty.

Of course the Missus had to have the Eggplant and Green Chili with Preserved Egg.

Man, there was a ton of pidan in this! In terms of flavor; it was fairly good; smoky eggplant, not enough green chili for me. It was however, super greasy.....man, how much oil did they use on this?

One of the Missus's favorite dishes; the La Rou (Smoked Pork) with Cucumber Skin was pretty good.

Decent spice, a good amount of La Rou; the crunchy, dried cucumber skin added a nice palate cleansing mild brininess, and this had a decent amount of spice as well.

My favorite dish of the meal was the Stinky Tofu "Stew".

Well, I think this might be a better look?

I always heat this on the stove; it just does better.....the slightly chewy, funky, savory chou doufu….just stinky enough for me...….which, of course meant that it just wasn't smelly enough for the Missus. Loved the savory tones, so pretty good heat here. Nice dish.

A week later, the Missus wanted me to order from VK again. This time, I noticed that the dried radish with La Rou on the menu....they'd been out of this several times on previous visit....along with the version with the smoked bamboo shoot version as well.

I decided to try and order this....which was interesting.....I called, a woman answered in Mandarin. As soon as I spoke English she hung up on me! Usually, I would just quit right here....but the Missus was at work and was looking forward to having VK when She got home. So I called again and managed to place my order.

We got the Eggplant again (with less pidan, but still just as greasy) and the Stinky Tofu Stew (even more spicy this time.....).

And of course the La Rou with Dried Radish Skin.

This was quite good; the smoked pork was not overly waxy; great smoke-salty-savory flavors. Good variety of textures. Nice spice, perhaps a bit too salty, but pretty good overall.

There are aspects of doing take-out from VK that we prefer to eating in the restaurant......service has always been a weal spot; though now that my favorite Server from Kangxi we might enjoy eating there more. But who knows when that will be as we're definitely not ready to eat out yet.

The portions we've had for takeout are quite large, the eggplant is not nearly as good for take-out; but the La Rou dishes and that smelly tofu seem to do real well for takeout.

Village Kitchen
4720 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92117

We're hoping everyone is staying safe this July 4th weekend. With the way things are going, bars and other places closing, Oceanside closing beach parking lots, restaurants closed for indoor dining in OC along with beach parking lots closed, beaches closing in LA, but staying open in San Diego...…..well, 'nuff said.

So, please, stay safe!

Takeout from Noble Chef

The Missus had been missing the roast duck from Noble Chef as the place closed completely in March. Everytime we'd drive past She'd look out the window and wistfully whisper "roast duck".....really. I had to remind Her that even if they reopened, it would only be for takeout and as I mentioned in my previous post on Noble Chef, the food at dinner when eating in was definitely superior to takeout or lunch. But we'd come to the point that She'd take whatever She could get from Noble Chef. Then, as I mentioned in my Golden City post, we were driving by on June 1st and saw the open sign lit up.....oh the joy on the Missus's face.....I made a U-turn and dropped by, just to confirm that they were open....just for takeout, just from 11am to 7pm at first.

The next day I called in an order....our days of stalking Noble Chef were over.

I ordered the Soy Sauce Chow Mien, Steamed Pork with Salted Fish, and of course, a half roasted duck.

The noodles were a bit on the hard and chewy side...…..I've had better from there.

The Missus actually enjoys taking most of the Steamed Pork with Salted Fish home and heating it up the next day to put over Stir-fried veggies. I stir fried some ong choi on the Big Kahuna.

This definitely not as tender or juicy as what we get when eating in - here's a photo of what it looks like during dinner.

It was however, much more pungent....they didn't skimp on the salted fish. And when heated, enough liquid was extruded and lent some additional flavor to the simple stir-fried greens.

And last, but not least, the duck.

The wonderful earth-gamy flavor and nice anise tones were there, the meat moist, with just the right amount of chew......the skin though.....in comparison to eating in.

So, I went and used a hack that I haven't gone to in years....since we lived in the SGV as a matter of fact. I busted out the toaster oven and first used the back setting and finished with the "broil". I then brushed the jus (we always request extra) over before serving. The Missus was pleased.

So, of course I ended placing another order later in the week....then again last week. This time I ordered the Salt and Pepper Pork Chop....which I knew wouldn't travel very well.

But I again used the toaster oven to heat and crisp; though to a lesser effect than the duck. Still......I realized how much I had missed this dish.

And this time a whole duck.

Here's what it looks like coming out of the toaster oven....I'm sure you could use a broiler to get the same effect.

Just brush with the sauce and you're good to go.

And then of course; all the overly fatty, bony, skinless pieces, along with the leftover sauce and rendered fat is the base for the Missus's favorite fried rice.

The Missus is glad that Noble Chef has reopened, as I'm sure quite a few people are. On my most recent visit; there were at least seven or eight take0ut orders lined up on the table.

As for eat in; the gentleman working said they aren't quite sure when they'll be ready for that. And to be honest; I don't think we're quite ready for that either.

The Noble Chef
6159 Balboa Avenue
San Diego, CA 92111

Takeout from TJ Dumplings

I started typing "way back on March 10th"......and then stopped, realizing that the 10th of March does seem so very long ago.....like a different year.

When leaving the Philadelphia Sandwich Company, my eyes drifted and TJ Dumplings came into focus....the sign saying "We're Open for Takeout". I was wondering how they were doing; so a couple of days later I called and placed an order. It was somewhat humorous as the really nice woman taking my order kept drifting between Mandarin and English. But, it's not hard to place an order at TJ (as in "Tianjin" not what someone from San Diego would automatically think) Dumplings. And I was told my food would be ready for pick-up in fifteen minutes.

Which was the perfect amount of time for me to head on over.

Entering the place I quickly noticed how the dining area has become excess storage......I guess that's one way to prevent folks from having a seat, right?

Arriving back to the office, I opened my little Styrofoam box, and was slightly disappointed; there was some leakage.....

Several of the baozi had juices leaking through and were mushy and doughy. The filling wasn't as moist as on my previous visit and not as tender. It was also lacking in the nice "porky" flavors as well.

This was rather mediocre....thank goodness for the black vinegar....

Here's what the Baozi looked like just 3 months ago.....

Still, this was more than I could consume, so I shared some with GK.....who did enjoy it.

After my previous post on TJ Dumplings, FOY "Som Tommy" paid the place a visit and said the Shao Mai (Siu Mai) was pretty good......which I really wouldn't have thought to have order - especially at $3.99 for four Shao Mai.

But this was not bad; quite hefty.

In terms of texture this was quite good, moist, tender, the wrapper not hard or brittle. Like the baozi filling; it lacked a good porkiness, but this wasn't bad at all.

It does look like TJ Dumplings is hanging on; there were several orders ready on the Grub Hub table, so I'm happy they are surviving. I do hope that if I return, the Baozi would be back to what they were like during my first couple of visits.

TJ Dumplings
6780 Miramar Rd.
San Diego, CA 92121

Covid-19 Takeout - Golden City

I'm starting to work from home on some afternoons now that things are settling down a bit. The main reason being Frankie is getting up there; he'll be 17 in three weeks. We'd rather not leave him alone for long periods of time. So, on the days when the Missus isn't off, or is working a long shift; I've arranged the work from home stuff during the afternoon.....it's not that much mind you; after all, I get into the office around 515on most days....so, by the time 1130-noon rolls around..... The one thing this has let me do, is to order lunch to pick-up on the (somewhat round about) way home.

The Missus was missing roast duck, and at the time of this visit Noble Chef hadn't reopened yet (they have for takeout as of June 1). So, I decided to do an online order for my favorite item at GC, the Kwai Fei Ji and also order a lunch special of Roast Duck for the Missus.

This was an interesting visit.....as the guy working....I think he's the dining room manager, I've seen him many times before seemed totally out of sorts...…...like in total chicken-without-a-head mode. He quickly told me "too busy....too busy....."; in other words they weren't doing walk in take-out. I told him it was an online order and he displayed five different pieces of paper for me....I explained what I had ordered and he said; "going to be a while...…" and then busted out two order slips; one for $297 and the other for $210.....and said "only me and two cook...." Who the heck orders nearly three hundred bucks of food for lunch from GC?

Sadly, all walk-in orders were turned away, like that poor woman above who was left just standing and cooling her heels until the guy made an appearance out of the kitchen to tell her that ordering take-out wasn't going to happen....luckily, I had placed mine online....so, they had no choice but to make mine.

As for my Kwai Fei Chicken....well, it was nice a juicy....I actually took it out of the container, put it on a plate, placed it in the fridge while I booted up my remote desktop, and got things going in my home office. When things were ready, I put everything on a plate, poured the juices back over the chicken, along with the wonderful ginger-scallion sauce, busted out my chopsticks and had lunch while on my conference call.

It was just what I needed and wanted.

For the Missus, who would not be home until later in the evening, I tried an old hack of mine that I hadn't used in a while.

I took the duck out and placed in a container, the rice in another....poured the drippings out separately. When the Missus got home and wanted Her duck; I turned the toaster oven up to broil, brushed just a bit of the sauce over the skin of the duck and broiled for 3-3  1/2 minutes on high to crisp up the skin. While not the best roast duck we've had; a bit too salty, it was fairly tender, mildly gamy, and the skin was slightly crisp. Pour the fat back over an voila! Dinner for the Missus.

Since Noble Chef is back in action, not sure the Missus will wanting anything from GC....so it'll be Kwai Fei Chicken for me for now.

Current Covid-19 Takeout only hours - Daily 1130am - 830pm

Golden City Restaurant
5375 Kearny Villa Rd.
San Diego, CA 92123

 

And if things weren't depressing enough - Fire at China Max

So, we got Covid-19 going on, had a moderate earthquake five days ago....what else? Well, you all probably know about the fire at China Max...….though it had been a while since we've visited, this still made me quite sad. You see, the first post I ever did, nearly fifteen years ago, was in China Max.

Regardless of how you did or did not enjoy China Max....yes, we've had some not-so-great meals there over the years; you never want to see this happen.

And I understand neighboring businesses like Tasty Pot sustained damage as well.

China Max....may you rise again. 

TJ Dumplings - Almost Gou Bu Li (and no "TJ" does not stand for Tijuana)

It's been a busy couple of weeks, so not much time to have lunch. I headed out to grab a sandwich and noticed a new business in the former location of Lai Chen and BT Chinese Kitchen, so I headed into the parking lot.

TJ Dumplings????? Even though the sign said they open at 1130; it was 11 and the place was open, so I decided to head in.

The menu was quite small; Xiao Long Bao, Baozi, Guotie, Jiaozi, and stuff like Pineapple Fried Rice and Kung Pao Chicken? No Chinese, all in English.

I asked the nice gentleman behind the counter about the name and was told; "it's our hometown". To which I asked "Tianjin?" He immediately brightened up and let out a sigh; "I know, we didn't think when we named the place....people think we mean Tijuana!" I was also told that they had just opened two weeks prior.

I immediately asked if the steamed bun was "Gou Bu Li" (the famous baozi of Tianjin)  and he smiled and said; "it is based on Guo Bu Li; even the amount of folds!" So, of course, how could I resist. I got an order of the steamed buns and potstickers to go. I liked that the baozi took about 15-20 minutes, it meant they were steamed to order. I was happy that they packed Chinese black vinegar with my order.

When I got back to the office, I noticed that Calvin had finished his lunch, but still seemed hungry, so I shared some of this with him. It was too much for me. The bun was decent; it was slightly fragrant and fluffy, the filling by the book; moist, porky, good savory tones (slight ginger/scallion), fairly tender. Not bad at all.....no, it's not the best I've had, but perfectly fine for lunch.

The baozi had 15-18 folds which puts it in gou bu li territory.

I didn't enjoy the guotie much though.

It was mostly about the wrapper and cooking technique than the filling; which was basically the same as the baozi. The wrapper was too thick; chewy, and it had a certain greasiness to it that I didn't particularly care for. Call me spoiled by QingDao Guotie....yes, I've been indoctrinated.

Still; those baozi were pretty good. So, on one of the days where I was able to get away and Calvin had a meeting running thru noon, I headed back over to TJ Dumplings for baozi. Upon entering I quickly noticed all the "Peach" insulated bags on the tables and seats.

So, I guess delivered food is a big part of the business here.

I got the baozi, jiaozi, and Calvin was really curious about the Xiao Long Bao, so I ordered that as well.

First things first; the baozi on this visit was better than on my previous visit. The dough fluffier, though it also had a bit of sweetness this time; not sure if they are stilling trying to get their formula right. The filling tasted the same; but there was a bit of "soup" in the baozi making it very moist. Also, the meat in the baozi wasn't formed as tightly, making it very tender.

The jiaozi was just ok.....here's one I'm not going to order take-out in the future as the wrappers stuck to the take-out container. The wrapper were fine, a bit more doughy-chewy than I prefer.

While not even close to being my favorite or my MIL's, this would have been decent home-made jiaozi. One funny note; the lady working asked me how I knew the Chinese names of the dishes and I told her the Missus is from Qingdao. As I took my package to go she told me; "sorry, no pounded garlic for you." Which cracked me up. Pounded garlic with black vinegar is the signature accompaniment to jiaozi in Qingdao.

As for the XLB.

I was surprised they made it back to the office intact. The wrapper is thinner than most; but a bit too brittle and lacking in a nice pillowy pull.

The filling was basically the same as the jiaozi, but with a tad more sweetness and just a few drops of soup in them.

This wasn't bad; I've had worse, but it's definitely not the headliner here. For me, it's the baozi.

Which is not bad. A solid version.

And so, I'll try to drop by and actually eat in the place when things slow down a bit.

So there you go; it's "TJ" as in Tianjin, not Tijuana. And almost Gou Bu Li.

TJ Dumplings
6780 Miramar Rd.
San Diego, CA 92121

Noodling Around City Heights - Trieu Chau Revisited

After doing my Hu Tieu Nam Vang Kho comparison post, I realized that I hadn't revisited Trieu Chau in years. So I made it a point to revisit and have some noodle soup in over the last couple of weeks.

The service here is all business.....an older woman helps in the kitchen and busses, either a gentleman or a woman who I think is his wife takes orders, waits tables, cooks, and works the register.

The noodle soup menu is quite long. I soon realized that I had never had the egg noodle soup at Trieu Chau; so I decided to go ahead and get the House Won Ton Egg Noodle Soup ($7.50).

This bowl had way more than just won tons in it. It had some shrimp (nicely deveined and fairly plump); slices of pork (good flavor, but tough), ground pork, and a piece of rather tough chopped chicken, in addition to won tons, which were on the tough side; though nicely flavored.

The broth was salty and overly sweet; though it had a slight porkiness to it. It was delivered absolutely steaming hot with a decent amount of tongue coating richness. The lime came in handy.

The egg noodles were of the thinner type and prepared decently; it had a nice crunchy-chew to it.

A few weeks later, on a rather cooler and somewhat wet day, I decided to drop by on my way to Northgate Market.

I had my eye on the "Duck Soup with Egg Noodles" ($8.00). I was pleasantly surprised by this bowl.

The broth was much more fragrant and darker than my previous bowl. It became obvious that the drippings/sauce from the duck was used to help flavor the soup. While the broth was still on the saltier side; the added flavor boost did a nice job adding a bit of complexity and savory tones to the soup. It was also pleasantly rich.

There was a good amount of sliced duck; including the leg in the soup. All the bones and such made it somewhat ponderous to eat. The duck was fairly tender, the skin was soft, and the meat still had some gamey-savory tones to it.

There was a smaller portion of egg noodles in this bowl, but like my previous visit, it was prepared nicely.

This was not bad and I'd surely order it again.

So, it looks like Trieu Chau is on my noodle rotation in City Heights. There's still much to try from the menu. Like Lotus Garden, I need to try the Beef Sate Egg Noodle here.

Trieu Chau Restaurant
4653 University Ave
San Diego, CA 92105
Hours:
Daily 8am - 8pm

Noodling Around City Heights - Lotus Garden

While making my way to Northgate Market to get some pig's feet, I noticed that there was a "Pho" sign on the awning of Lotus Garden. Looks like the Lotus Garden was expanding the menu from the seafood and the typical Chinese dishes served there.

Since Lotus Garden opens at 9am, I decided to visit when finishing up my shopping in the area.

As it was fairly early in the morning; it was easy finding parking in back of the building, where it shares the lot with Minh Huong Supermarket. looking at the sign above the doorway; I guess it's now Lotus Garden Seafood and Pho.

I walked in and the friendly young man directed me to a seat. It's a pretty nice dining area and I believe they have even more space in the back dining room as well.

Man, the menu here has over 120 items on it.....and there's a second menu with pho on it as well. I was going to order the pho, but noticed all the egg noodle and hu tieu items. And seeing that this place is a (sorta) Chinese restaurant; I decided to get the BBQ Duck Egg Noodle Soup ($8.99). I really didn't expect much, but was quite pleasantly surprised at what I got.

The blanched bean sprouts was a good first move. The broth of the egg noodle soup, while being on the salty side also had some savory notes to it; with a heck of a lot of oniony-slightly pungent and a light, almost seafood like flavor. The fried shallots was also a good move aa was all that scallion.

The noodles were decently prepared, with a nice pull to them.

The most surprising thing for me was the duck.

While being perhaps a tad on the dry side; the skin of the duck had been crisped up nicely, no rubbery skin here, and there was a nice salty-sweet flavor to the skin. I also enjoyed the quite gamey flavor of the duck...perhaps not everyone's cup of tea; but I enjoyed it. This was actually not bad at all and really didn't need any sauce, or jus on it at all.

I really liked the young man working; I believe his name is "Tu", he was quite friendly and we chatted about Little Saigon....I believe he's from the OC, and he even told me he knew of a place in his 'hood that made pretty decent duck...."Lien Hoa?" I asked and he seemed surprised. And then I mentioned always getting a side of the "jus" with my duck from there....he cracked up.

I decided to return the following week to try the pho....and of course, when I first try a place's pho...it's the dac biet ($9).

The basil and sprouts arrived; even though a few of the basil leaves were starting to discolor; there was enough of it so that it didn't really matter. And of course the Ngo Gai was present, crisp, fresh, like a pungent cilantro with a hint of sweetness.

The broth however, was underwhelming. It was cloudy, severely defatted, lacking in beef flavor and....as is typical in San Diego these days, too sweet and overly salty.

The rare steak was tough and dry, the flank too chewy and flavorless, though the brisket was fine, tender with a mild beefiness, the tendon was soft and buttery, and the tripe was crisp and crunchy, without any off flavors.

The typical clump of noodles was decent as well; edging on over-cooked, but okay. Still, I don't think I'll have the pho here on future visits.

I had taken a closer look at the menu on this visit and wanted to try something I saw on the menu so I returned the following week.

This time I had the House Combination Egg Noodle Soup ($7.99), which was pretty much fishball city.

The bean sprouts weren't as well blanched on this visit. The soup was also more salty; with that annoying "sweetness" to it. I needed all of the lime to help temper it.

The noodles were prepped perfectly; nice al dente pull to them.

There were some pieces of meh shrimp in the broth, fairly muddy in flavor....the item I enjoyed the best were the pleasantly toothsome and mildly funky pork stomach.

But the item I had really come to try was the Salt and Pepper Chicken Wings ($8.99)….well, there's a "Doritos" version as well, but I stuck with the, ahem..."classic".

The wings were fried fairly well; being quite moist and tender. The batter was  bit too soft and got soggy quickly. The garlic was burnt and bitter, not great eats in my book. It wasn't overly salty and could have actually used more seasoning....though no more of the bitter garlic. Not sure I'd have this again, but it wasn't terrible.

In the end, Lotus Garden was not bad....I mean, I'd eat here every so often if it was in my neighborhood as it's better than the options that I have near by. I enjoyed the young man who served me on my first visit and there are still items on the huge menu to try.....heck, I haven't even gotten to the Beef Sate Egg Noodle yet.

Lotus Garden Restaurant
4007 Euclid Ave.
San Diego, CA 92105
Hours:
Open Daily 9am - 10pm

 

Spicy House

mmm-yoso!!! is being written by Cathy while Kirk is busy with a short vacation.

Kirk's most recent post about Spicy House was in 2016.  The Mister and I have gone here, but I never posted.  The Mister has been craving spicy foods for the past few months ever since several of his medications were changed and we've had a couple of recent visits.  The nondescript storefront (in the same parking lot as Nijiya Market, Koon Thai, Cafe Hue, Wa Dining Okan, Sage French Cake and Pho Mignon). Belies the glory 
 which is the interior of Spicy House.
  At the far end of the dining area, closer to the kitchen, is the refrigerated appetizer selection (three for $7).
 We choose items which might 'cool down' some of the spicier meal selections: Smoked chicken, (sesame oil) mustard greens and smacked (garlic-y) cucumbers.
On one visit, we tried the onion pancake ($3.99) and really enjoyed the layered dough as well as mild green onion flavor.  
   The Chungking Style Wonton ($6.99) appetizer has been ordered at every visit.  The sauce is unique, tart, hot and addictive in flavor.  If you don't want the sauce, the wontons alone are well filled and two-bite sized; a good serving.
 Szechuan Fish Filet ($10.99) offers a completely different spice and flavor point.  Not quite 'numbing' but great flavored sauce which goes well with rice ($1).  The bit of eggplant, fungus, onion and pepper which is stir fried with the (large quantity) of fish is nicely balanced. The walnut shrimp ($14.99) order is substantial, fresh made, with large shrimp having a crispy coating, mayonnaise based sauce and sweet, crispy walnuts throughout.  Not spicy; very tasty.
 The cumin lamb ($13.99) is a new favorite.  Just enough cumin which doesn't overwhelm the gaminess of the lamb and enough greenery to even out the heat.  

Spicy House 3860 Convoy Street #105 San Diego 92111 (858) 278-5883 open daily 11 a.m.-10 p.m.

"The spiciness is adjustable, please choose a suitable spicy scale" (we have never been asked what level of spiciness we would like and take what we get; it has always been great).

Little Sheep-revisit

mmm-yoso!!! is being written by Cathy today; Kirk is busy.

Kirk introduced us all to Little Sheep in 2007.  I visited and posted in 2015, 2016, and 2017.  Kirk mentioned LS opening a second San Diego Location in 2017, also.  It's been about time for a revisit, especially in this chilly weather!  This time, dinner.

We selected the Yin-Yang (House Original and House Spicy) soup base ($3.75 each) which was brought to the table and the induction heater was turned on, bringing the soup to a rolling boil. 
The actual menu only has photos of each item.  When you order, the prices are on the sheet.  (This meal was $46.39 with tax; hot tea is free)
The 12 ounce beef and lamb combo ($10.95) is probably enough meat for a light meal for two. 
 However, I wanted the fish filet ($6.95) (full order)
The Veggie Combo Platter ($8.95) is pretty much always ordered; a good variety of vegetables which cook quickly in the hot soup. 
However, mushrooms are not included with the vegetables, so a small order of Shiitake ($2.75) was chosen.
 The lamb wonton ($5.95) gave us some carbohydrates without needing to also choose noodles.  

Always fresh, a tasty and filling meal here. I hope your week is going well!

Little Sheep Mongolian Hot Pot and Grill 4718 Clairmont Mesa Blvd, San Diego 92117 (858)274-2040 Opens 11:30 a.m. daily.  Closed between 3 and 5:00 p.m. M-F.  Closes at 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 9 p.m. other days. Website