mmm-yoso!!!

Trining's Bakery & Cafe (Formerly Gemmae - Same Staff and Management)

A few weeks back I did a takeout revisit of Golden Island. I had heard that the kitchen staff had changed (which was true - post coming up) and saw that Gemmae's was now Trining's Bakery & Cafe. So, a few days later I decided to drop by to grab some lunch.

It was just before 11 and there was a steady flow of customers.....most of whom seemed like regulars.

   The woman working the front was quite friendly and when I asked about the name change, she smiled and said "don't worry, it's all  the same people!"

The drill for lunch is; you look at the white magnet board; whatever is ready is moved from the board on the right, to the board on the left. I had been wanting to try the sisig, but it wasn't available, so I made due with the Kare Kare and Beef Nilagang.

   I was kind of afraid of the "three scoops of rice", but it was a manageable amount. The rice was also decently cooked and fairly moist.

Sadly the beef in the nilagang was super tough and chewy and the soup was really salty....I really couldn't finish it.

There was one wonderful piece of buttery tripe in the kare kare, which was not bad if a bit on the greasy side. Maybe it was because the nilagang was so salty, but it seemed a bit on the bland side as well. I actually used up almost all the bagoong alamang. Well, at least this was edible.

While this was a less than stellar meal; I decided to return a week later; this time closer to noon. And this time there were more items "available" on the board.

And this time; I did manage to get the sisig, along with beef kaldereta.

 The kaldereta was pretty good, nice tanginess, mild beefiness, the meat fairly tender. It is by far the best item I've had here.

Because, well, I really didn't care for he sisig. The diced lechon kawale was super hard....not crisp, not crunchy...hard. I did appreciate the sliced red chilies, but this really didn't have enough spice or sour tones for my taste. 

I guess I'll have to stick with my regular stops for Filipino food in the area. Though I do recall having a decent "silog" here years ago when it was still Gemmae's. Perhaps that's the way to go? It would probably have to be on a weekend or day off though, since I'd probably head right back to bed after having all that rice early in the day. So maybe.....

Trining's Bakery & Cafe
10606 Camino Ruiz
San Diego, CA 92126
Hours:
Tues - Sat 5am - 7pm
Sunday 5am - 6pm
Closed on Mondays

Max's Restaurant- Cuisine of the Philippines (Mira Mesa)

Thanks for stopping to read mmm-yoso!!!, a blog about food.  Cathy is writing today; Kirk is elsewhere.  

Long story short:  in the late 1980's, not long after The Mister and I moved to San Diego, we were driving on Eighth Street in National City and saw a building with "Max's, The House That Fried Chicken Built" as the signage.  After one block, I stopped and made a U-Turn.  We regularly stopped at Max's, primarily to have the fried chicken skin appetizer, over many years.  That building is now Villa Manila and our memories of Max's have been fond and longing.

Well, we were in Mira Mesa, looking for someplace "new" and saw this building in the parking lot with Target,   Golden Island and our probable destination, Hong Kong BBQ and Dim Sum.

 We found Max's!
 We were seated in the larger conference room and given the simple menu.
 Ordering was simple for this decades old 'return' visit- Lechon Kawali ($14.29).  A good size portion of par-cut crispy pork belly with the only condiments needed; pickled vegetables and the traditional vinegar-garlic-sugar sauce.  We did order the small size garlic rice ($4.99), which is kind of perfect. This was the only leftover from this meal. 
 Since it had been so long (and also no chicken skins on the appetizer menu), I ordered the half fried chicken ($10.99).  The plate comes with fries and banana ketchup as the condiment.  The chicken skin was crispy and thin and flavorful  as we remembered, the chicken was moist and cooked perfectly.

We will be trying out the rest of the menu, soon.  What a wonderful find! 

Max's Cuisine of the Philippines 8265 Mira Mesa Blvd San Diego, CA 92126 (858) 397-2180 website

Saturday Stuffs - Mama Cinia Rice & Noodles Closes, Pho Lucky Still Closed, and Harmony Cuisine 2B1 Coming to Convoy

I recently decided to pick up some Filipino Food, it had been a while since I last visited Mama Cinia's and as a matter of fact; it had been a while since I'd been to this part of Mira Mesa. So I drove on over to Mama Cinia's........to find the place closed.

 Wow, I was kind of surprised, I hadn't heard that they had closed. In fact, other than the "Closed" sign there was no evidence that the place was permanently closed. So, I returned over the weekend and the place was still closed. So, I can only assume.....unless one of you has any other info, that Mma Cinia is another casualty of Covid-19.

Mama Cinia Rice & Noodles
9178 Mira Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92126

On the weekend visit, I decided to see if Pho Lucky has reopened, at least for take-out. But no, the place is still closed.

 I'm hoping they reopen...maybe on June 15th, when California is supposed to allow businesses to open to full capacity.

Pho Lucky
9326 Mira Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92126

Harmony Cuisine 2B1 Coming to Convoy:

I was making my usual stop at Nijiya when I noticed new signage at 3904 Convoy.......so, I drove in.

I had noticed back in March that Sushi Hachi by Kimura was not opening in unit #117. So, looks like something called Harmony Cuisine 2b1 is opening in it's place. The onyl thing I could really find was this in SanDiegoTown.

So, it looks like another Sushi Place....interesting name......

3904 Convoy St #117
San Diego, CA 92111

Circling Back to Fredcel Lumpias & Catering

I took last Friday off. I needed to take my car in for service and decided to just take the day off. Amazingly; they finished up my car in half the usual time! I'm guessing they've really dialed back on the amount of appointments. The Missus had been craving the Salvadoran Tamales from El Salvador Pupuseria y Restaurante. So, since things wrapped up early, I decided to expand my Covid-19 "footprint" and head up to grab the Missus some tamales. I was a bit hungry and it had been quite a while sine I'd been to Fredcel so I decided to check them out.

Fredcel had just opened when I arrived. They've blocked off most of the area inside the restaurant and the "steam table" is not accessible by customers. Instead, they post what items are available on a menu sign.

I decided to get the menudo and Bicol Express, along with a few pieces lumpia (of course).

The Styrofoam box felt pretty darn hefty and when I opened it at home, I was surprised at the amount of pancit it held.

The pancit was very plain and bland.....I know why they give you that packet of soy sauce....though the portion size edged on ridiculous.

Opening up the menudo and Bicol Express and looking at the dishes really didn't whet my appetite.

The Bicol Express was more like a greasy curry. It lacked the deep savory-pungent tones of bagoong, wasn't very spicy, and seemed to use a ton of curry powder instead of coconut milk. As I mentioned earlier; it was also quite greasy instead of creamy and didn't have much pork in it.

The menudo was also sorely lacking in protein, was quite tangy, and needed more salt.

To me, both dishes were more like soups, quite thin and watery.

What saved the day was the lumpia; I got six for $3.

This was every bit as good as what I'd had here before. Still crisp and crunchy after the trip home....which is why it holds up well for catering. Not oily, the filling was moist, with a nice porkiness. That neon red sauce is way too sweet for me though.

I must be getting old; after eating the six lumpia, I needed a nap.

So, I guess I'm sticking with the lumpia from Fredcel. There were four people behind me in line as I left, so it seems that the business is doing ok.

Fredcel Lumpias & Catering
3876 38th Street
San Diego, CA 92105
Current Hours:
Tues - Fri 11am - 5pm
Saturday   11am - 4pm
Sunday     11am - 330pm
Closed on Monday

I Finally Get the Chicken Wings from Nanay's Best BBQ

So, one of the folks I know who I know loves Nanay's Best BBQ sent me a text telling they had the Salt and Pepper Chicken Wings available. It was just after 10am and I had meetings coming up at 11. So, instead of heading to what would be my usual choice and headed a bit further down the road back to Nanay's.

I did notice they had a tray of Chicken Wings out; which were a lot darker than typical S&P Chicken Wings.....no spicy pork this time ("today is chicken....tomorrow we have pork" so I guess they alternate).

Frankly, I think I enjoy the spicy chicken more than the pseudo-sisig spicy pork. The chicken was more moist and tender. It also did better with the rather mild spice. I do enjoy the atcharang sili (pickled peppers) which really "wakes the dish up". Other than that; it's a basic turo-turo dish.

As for the chicken wings; well the three wings provided were still a bit crunchy; not crisp, more like crunchy. The meat was a bit on the dry side and there definitely wasn't that "magical crack-like savory-saltiness" of decent salt and pepper chicken wings, no hints of garlic either. I guess these were passable for steam table wings; but I doubt I'll have them again.

I guess I'm going to have to "bust out" of my Covid-19 range and head on down to Royal Mandarin.

Nanay's Best BBQ
6715 Mira Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92121
Current Hours:
Mon - Fri 10am - 5pm

Turo Turo Tuesdays - Nanay's Best BBQ

A couple of folks were quick to point out in emails that when I did my "last" of the Mira Mesa "Turo-Turo Tuesdays" with my post on Mama Cinia, that I'd forgotten Nanay's Best BBQ....well sheesh, they were right. Must be one of them "senior moments" coming on. So, I decided to head on over. I'd also heard about Nanay's Salt and Pepper Chickens Wings.....which I had never seen....even more reason, right?

I arrived, stayed on my "social distancing marks" and sigh....no Salt and Pepper Chicken Wings.

I decided to go with the BBQ Chicken and the "sisig-ish" Spicy Pork. Man, I'd forgotten what the portions are like at Nanay's.

The rice was status quo for Nanay;s….it was on the hard and dry side.

I think I'm giving up on the "spicy pork".....like on my previous visit; the pork was tough, there's not enough sour tones, nor spice and the texture is on the "gloppy" side as well.

The BBQ Chicken was a pleasant surprise; definitely better than what I'd had here before. It could be that they had just finished grilling and chopping the chicken while I was in line. Fairly tender, moist, not overly sweet, which was balanced out with a decent savory-saltiness. Not bad.

I'm still of the opinion that it's really more about quantity here.....so if you want volume....have at it!

Nanay's Best BBQ
6715 Mira Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92121
Current Hours:
Mon - Fri 10am - 5pm

So well, looks like we're in reversal mode now....with bars, breweries, and wineries that do not serve food shutting down as of midnight tonight.

Please be safe and take care!

Turo-Turo Tuesday, the Covid-19 Edition Part 3 - Mama Cinia Rice & Noodles

Sorry for the gap between posts...….I just didn't feel like posting after the events of the last couple of days.

But here's one that I need to finish; the last of the trilogy of turo-turo take-out from Mira Mesa - Mama Cinia.

Like other places, they've blocked off the small area where tables were. The folks here are really nice and friendly, marks on the floor for social distancing, though not quite as good as Manila Fast Food and Desserts. Still, things worked out fine. I decided on the Sisig (of course) and the Pinakbet looked pretty good.....and just "half rice".

The sisig was pretty good, meaty, with nice crunchy bits. In terms of texture, this was the best of the three I sampled. I still think it needs more "umph", needs to be more spicy and more vinegar, though on this visit, it was definitely better than Manila Fast Food. The pinakbet wasn't bad either, though the eggplant was a bit over-cooked and while the bittermelon had that wonderful tannic-bitterness, I think it could have used a bit more bagoong.

Still, not bad at all.

Mama Cinia Rice & Noodles
9178 Mira Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92126

All three places had processes in place, which while perhaps not perfect, did the job. So, Spam comment dude, you got it all wrong man. Enough with all this stuff already.

Food should bring us together; my grandparents working on the plantation enjoyed an interesting variety of dishes.....because, even though the plantation management tried to keep all the nationalities apart to control them, they all had lunch together in the fields. A shared experience, one where in spite of the jokes we make about natto, balut, and harm ha, respect for each other is gained, smiles and food are shared, a wonderful cultural exchange. As travel has taught me....we are more alike than we are different.

Turo-Turo Tuesday, the Covid-19 Edition Part 2 - Manila Fast Food and Desserts

To continue with my "turo turo Covid-19" explorations; having not been to Manila Fast Food and Desserts in a while and having meetings starting at 11am, I headed on over knowing that MFF usually opens around 830-930. I got there at 10 and they were doing some pretty good business. Of the three Mira Mesa Turo-Turo places I visited, MFF had the best system, at least on my visit.

The employees made sure everyone was spaced out nicely, took orders in an orderly fashion; were masked and gloved up, took cash in a basket and returned it to you in a basket. I saw the woman working behind the counter change her gloves once...….even though she did not come into contact with customers at all.

I got the two item combo, Sisig (of course) and Beef Kaldereta, with a half portion of Pancit.

The Kaldereta was the better of the two items; the beef was surprisingly tender....it's a cheaper cut, but had a nice beefiness, the sauce was seasoned well, not overly salty, and had a nice acidic tanginess.

The Sisig had some nice crisp bits in it, but was on the waxy side and lacked spice and was kind of mild in the vinegar department.

The pancit was plain and while it had a nice texture; good al dente pull to it and not mushy, was on the bland side, but heck, as a rice replacement it did ok.

Overall, the most efficient Covid-19 process of the three turo-turo shops I visited in the Mira Mesa area. You can read about Soo's visit here.

Manila Fast Food and Desserts
8979 Mira Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92126

Turo-Turo Tuesday, the Covid-19 Edition Part 1 - R & B Filipino Cuisine

One good thing about not being the most "popular kid" in the San Diego Food Blogging Class is the lack of Spam emails....at least these days. Though once in a while I'll get a couple....they're mostly rather harmless and annoying, but occasionally there would be one like I caught about 3-4 weeks ago. It really ticked (off course I was more than "ticked" but you get the point) me off because it was somewhat racist in content, actually describing Filipino "turo-turo" joints as the breeding ground for Coronavirus, and finished off with a "slogan", you can guess what it was. For some reason, it really bugged me, because as a whole I haven't run into any real xenophobic/obnoxious/racist folks during this pandemic....except for the one guy at Costco who yelled at me "your kind are causing Coronavirus"....while (of course) driving away....there's always once, right? So, instead of letting it stew, I decided to do what would probably bug this individual the most. I'd go and check out those turo-turo places and let's see how they're doing. And to stretch things out; I'll probably do this in two or three parts.

First up, R & B Filipino Cuisine, which in my opinion has the most consistently decent Sisig in the Mira Mesa area.....feel free to disagree; because it gives me an excuse to keep eating sisig.

Instructions where clearly marked as I arrived.

They were doing some decent business when I arrived.

You need to find your box...…..it's ok to think (and dream) outside the box....but if you want your food....stay inside the box.

So, you can see that things are pretty well organized. The only issue I saw was that even though there's space for one at the register and one at the steam table....folks are used to walking back and forth....so the customer at the register wanted to look at something on the right, while the person now at the steam table wanted to check out how the sisig was doing on the left and they kept passing each other. Well, at least they had face coverings on.

I decided on the sisig and a nice hot tray of Bicol Express came out while I was in line so I got that.

The sisig, while not perfect, is my favorite in the MM area. The Lechon Kawale is not overly waxy and has a decent texture and there's more spice and a nice amount of vinegar.

I wasn't as fond of the Bicol Express as it had a strong "livery" flavor, lacked spice and not enough bagoong. It was also, as you can see, really greasy.

Overall, I was just happy to have sisig. And as you can see; there are procedures in place to handle spacing and other issues.

Heck, I just might need another sisig fix soon....so, if you see a middle aged Asian guy sporting a "Covid-19-in-need-of-a-visit to-the barber mullet" that might be me! On second thought, that might not be a rare sighting these days!

R & B Filipino Cuisine
11257 Camino Ruiz
San Diego, CA 92126

Lisa's Filipino Cuisine

One of the guys in the office was getting married and folks wanted to do a pot luck....so, I was asked if I could get some of "those chicken wings....you know THOSE chicken wings!" So, I headed down during lunch to put in an order.....I know it's kind of a haul, but I needed to get out of the office for a bit anyway.

After placing my order for pick-up; I was a bit hungry and decided to check out the turo-turo shop in the same mall; Lisa's.

Looking back at old posts; I swear that I've posted on this place before; but the only thing I could find was this "coming soon" post. I know I visited once when they had first opened; but I guess I never did return afterward.

The restaurant is split into two sections; a dining area on one side.....

Which transitions to the BBQ station, then the hot table....

The place was fairly busy as I got to the line where a little old Filipino Grandma walked up and pushed a couple people aside to get into the front.....she must have been pretty hungry! Seems like everyone knew her, so I guess that's the norm here.

The woman working was all business and very efficient. I saw a couple folks getting pretty much the same thing; so I followed their lead and got the Pork Barbecue and the Sisig.

The one thing the woman did that I really liked was she made sure that I got some sinigang. Most places don't even bother if you either aren't Filipino or don't actually ask. The soup had a good amount of the wonderful sourness going on which I appreciated. There was a nice super soft piece of pork and a surprisingly spicy chili. I though the broth was a bit greasy; but heck, for free.....

I did enjoy the barbecue pork which was toothsome, but not tough; the sauce used wasn't too sweet, nor salty, and the savory tones really made it pretty good.

The sisig was not bad either; a bit of spice, not overly waxy, could have used more sour tones, but this wasn't greasy, though I would have appreciated the lechon kawale a bit more crunchy. But, like the pork, this wasn't bad at all.

A couple of weekends later, I had to run some errands down in National City and it was fairly early at around 8 or so. I had earlier noted that Lisa's opens at 7am. I'd be up to Kearny Mesa after this stop to pick up a couple of things, so I decided to drop by and grab something to go. 

The woman working on this day was very nice. I really didn't care for the selection on this morning and just went with the Chicken Adobo and the Bistek.

Man, that bag seemed quite hefty. I knew I'd be getting to Nijiya before they opened, so I sat at a table and decided to have breakfast.

Sadly, my favorite item was the garlic rice....while it had some bitter burnt garlic in it. most of it was edible.

The chicken adobo was nice and tender; but it was also greasy and way too salty, in need of more vinegar tones. I just didn't care for the greasiness.

If anything, the bistek was even worse. I'm used to fairly chewy bistek, so that didn't bother me. It was the bloody-metallic taste and the sodium level that did. I'm used to a touch of sour-citrus in bistek, which was lacking here; or perhaps the salty-metallic flavors just cancelled it out.

As with most of these places; the portion size was generous. I'm not sure which of my visits was more indicative of Lisa's. I'll probably stick to lunch when I revisit though. After my arteries recover.

Lisa's Filipino Cuisine
1210 E Plaza Blvd.
National City, CA 91950
Hours:
Daily 7am - 8pm

In looking up the address for Lisa's; I noticed that the Otay Lakes location; which CC has posted on in the past seems to have changed name and owners.