mmm-yoso!!!

Max's Restaurant

Max's on Mira Mesa opened at the end of June of 2020. We have a rather long history with Max's, starting during our time living in LA in the late 90's...by the time we moved to San Diego, Max's in National City had become Villa Manila, which eventually became a favorite of ours for Crispy Pata and Kamayan Night. Though to be honest, we haven't been back to VM since way before the pandemic hit. Enough of that; this is about Max's. A few months after opening, I decided to see if the fried chicken at this location (because, having been to couple of locations YMMV) was any good. Since this was in September of 2020, I decided to do takeout. I went and did an online order....just a half chicken and fries.

So, I arrived and walked up to the counter; it was 1130 and no one was in sight. I waited about 10 minutes until a gentleman showed up. I mentioned my order and was told it was almost ready......and then cooled my heels for another 20 minutes! Now, I had placed my order at 11am, arrived at the designated time, and still waited another half hour for my order. Good thing I didn't have any meetings until 1pm; otherwise......

Anyway, I opened up the cardbox containers upon arriving back in the office. The fried chicken, which I believe is brined and thus is quite juicy was as good as I remembered, thin skinned, crisp, if a bit on the salty side.

Quite nice.

I used the Jufran, the banana ketchup on the really dry and limp fries......I'll bet this was just sitting on the side during the extra time I waited for my chicken.

This was not good eats.

After this visit; I decided that I'd wait awhile before returning.....thinking that dining in might be the way to go. Not realizing of course, how long I'd be waiting during the pandemic.

And then, there was a time, when we thought we good see the light at the end of the Covid tunnel, when we thought that perhaps the worst was behind us......Calvin, "M", and I decided to actually go out and grab some lunch. Of course we wouldn't be taking any crazy chances...."M" wasn't too familiar with Filipino food...other than the usual lumpia, adobo, and the like....we headed over to Max's, arriving right at 11am. And it would be fairly quiet until right before we left.

There was only one hard working young lady on duty...I felt for her as takeout and other customers gave her a tough time. Based on my previous visit, I set some expectations, which unfortunately was pretty much in line with how long things took after we ordered.

We did of course have the fried chicken....sorry no photo, which M really enjoyed. But then, there some other dishes, like the Chicharon Bulaklak.

This is basically the fat that wraps around the intestine. It had a chewy-crispness and was fairly mild in flavor....just the slightest offal-ness. M, not quite used to the earthiness was not quite into this dish.

Calvin loves pancit palabok and enjoyed this version, I thought the noodles were a bit overcooked and it lacked the deep shrimpy-fish savory tones that I enjoy.

It just seemed under-sauced, but heck Calvin never found a version of this he didn't like....so I was happy he enjoyed it.

Just to have our carbs covered; I ordered the Garlic Fried Rice.

Which nicely filled the carb gap.

I also ordered the Classic Sisig. Unlike many of the versions in San Diego which uses leftover lechon kawale, this one used pork cheek.

I haven't had this style of sisig in years. Good swiney gaminess; though I wished they used some other parts of the pig head for some textural variety. Not bad, but in need of more spice, sour tones, and pungency from onions. This came across as pretty greasy and of course "M" was not a big fan of this.

Just to cover myself I ordered the Beef Kaldereta as well.

Man, the beef was so tough, the kaldereta while beefy lacked the tangy-sweetness, with a hint of spice that I enjoy. I also like a hint of liveriness usually provided by lechon sauce (Mang Tomas) which seemed like was missing here.

And so, one would think that I'd end things here, but there was one item that I still wanted to try.

Little did I know that it would take almost half a year for this final visit.

With things slowly improving, the skeleton crew decided to do a takeout order from Max's and I had the honor of ordering.

The drill was basically the same. I ordered at 11, was given the designated time of 1135 for pick-up. The same really sweet, but over worked young lady was the only person working the front of house and there was an additional 20 minute wait for my order.

I got it back to the office and arranged the items in the middle of the walk way between cubicles, set out paper plates, napkins, and utensils and the guys took turns getting their plates.

Of course there was a whole fried chicken. Which when hot was every bit as good as what I'd had before; though it got soft and greasy fairly quickly.

The garlic rice didn't have as much flavor as on my previous visit; but with all this fried food, we needed some carbs.

Actually, with all this fried food and pork what I really needed was to be hosed down afterward, but would have to wait until I got home!

I ordered the lechon kawali sisig which was on the dry and tough side.

And like the other pork version needed more spice and sour tones.

And of course; what I really wanted to try....the Crispy Pata.

Which looked hard and dry; but wasn't too bad. It's was not nearly as good as my favorite version, but the skin was crisp, there were nice, gelatinous, gooey bits under that skin and the meat was tender. It was milder in flavor than other versions, but was still decently porky. In fact, this was the first tp be wiped out! Good job guys!

Speaking of wiped out; I think I've had my share of fried foods for a while....at least that's what my Cardiologist told me (jjk)!

To me this last meal, even though we ate in our cubicles, there was no one else in the office so we could joke around and chat quite loudly, gave us a taste of how things used to be...... the camaraderie of sharing a meal; good or bad, the bonding of breaking bread (or scarfing down fried pork), something that has been sorely missing in our lives for the last two years!

Cheers!

Max's Restaurant
8285 Mira Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92126
Current Hours:
Wed - Mon 11am - 9pm
Closed on Tuesdays

You can read Cathy's post on Max's here and Soo's post on Max's here.

Valerio's Bakery (Mira Mesa)

Since 2005, mmm-yoso!!! has been a blog about food.  Today, Cathy is writing while Kirk and His Missus are gathering good memories together. 

Tucked in the corner anchored by Lucky Seafood (no, Lucky Pho has not reopened) and next to Tim Ky Noodle  is one of four locations of Valerios City Bakery (two in the LA area). The original location, "Home of the Finest Oriental Bread and Pastries", family owned and operated bakery opened in 1979 in National City.  
When you walk in, you'll be greeted by one of the nice ladies who works here.  You'll see a wall of some ready to grab pastries: some sweet, some savory.  To the left, there are steam trays with a menu just behind.  This is our excuse to stop here; for a meal. 
 Valerio's opens at 6 a.m.  There's breakfast, XXX si-log. Some sort of meat and eggs and garlic rice for $7.99 (meats to choose from  are Longanisa (a Filipino sausage), Spam, Tocino (thick cut bacon), Daing Na Bangus (fish) or Hot Dog) (for $8.95, you can get Tap si-log, beef jerky).  This is Long si-log, with a *great* garlic rice, perfect over easy eggs and a wonderful sweet longanisa (there are several varieties of longanisa, savory as well as sweet, depending on the region of the Philippines.).  Breakfast is served all day, or until ingredients run out.  A two item entree with rice is $9.99.  Chicken adobo was placed in the box with the (plain) rice and pork menudo was in its own container.  Each had excellent flavors.

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Filipino adobo is a cooking process. The meat (or vegetable) is browned in oil then simmered in a mix of five items:  vinegar, garlic, soy sauce (or fish sauce or salt), whole black pepper and bay leaves.  

Filipino menudo is a tomato based stew.  In this case, pork was marinated in lemon and soy then stewed in the tomato sauce with potato and carrots (tediously cut) and bell pepper.  

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Also available on the steam tables, depending on the time of day, are empanadas($1.99) (this is chicken) and Turon (85¢) (banana in a fried wrapper).  Always fresh.

On the other side of the cash register is a bakery display case.  The merengues (five for $2) are crisp, light and are vanilla flavored-delicious.  
 There are ube (purple yam) Bibingka ($3.99) sold here.  The dots of white are cream cheese.  The rice cake treat is made fresh daily and a great mid-afternoon snack.

One day, The Mister and I were having breakfast and in walked cc and Bert, (who are friends) and they ordered some treats and offered some bites.  This sweet, soft bun had ube jam filling. This sweet cheese roll is also soft and a great snack.   A great place to drop in for a meal and a snack. 

Valerio's City Bakery 9396 Mira Mesa Blvd San Diego 92126 (858)527-1834 Open daily 6 a.m.-5 p.m. Website 

 Filipino shops have an image of Santo Niño somewhere in their establishment.  

Turo Turo Tuesday - Revisits to Nanay's Best BBQ, R & B Filipino Cuisine, and Manila Fast Food and Desserts Revisited

Back in the office; I decided to do the "rounds" and check out some of the turo-turo ("point-point") places around Mira Mesa. Sadly, there was one place that  became a "casualty of Covid" - Mama Cinia closed earlier in the year.

So, packing a good appetite I headed on out.

Nanay's Best BBQ:

I'll be honest and say that Nanay's has been my least favorite of these places (except for Grill City....where I had a "reaction" to the food) even back when it was Tem's. I looked over the offerings and ordered back in June of last year; the Chicken BBQ and Sisig-ish Spicy Pork, with "half rice".

 So, if this is what they consider "half rice"....yeeesh. This was indeed a carb-meatfest. But, to be perfectly honest, this was probably the best plate I've had from Nanay's.

Other than the rice which was on the dry side as usual.

The pork was moist, though it's still on the overly mild side with regards to spice and sour tones. 

The "BBQ" Chicken was a pleasant surprise. I did mention in my June 2020 post that I thought the chicken was getting better here and this was undoubtedly the best I've had either Nanay's or Tem's.

Fairly tender and moist, nice balance of sweet to salty; it went real well with the rice.

So, it seems that Nanay's keeps getting better!

Nanay's Best BBQ
6715 Mira Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92121

R & B Filipino Cuisine:

R&B had long been a favorite of mine since I first visited in 2008. In fact, when I received that racist email about these type of places back in May of 2020, R&B was the first place I visited to make a point.

I usually get the sisig, which while being flawed still has my favorite overall flavor profile of the turo-turo joints in the area. Along with that; I'll get what looks like just came out of the kitchen...in this case, the beef kaldereta was just brought out while I was waiting in the two person line.

 The woman always asks me if I'm "on a diet" when I order half rice here; it cracks me up.

The rice was fine; somewhat moist.

The beef in the kaldereta was on the tough side. Also, all the pieces of meat and veggies were really large which made for a ponderous eating experience . The flavor was decent, definitely not bland, though a bit on the greasy side.

The sisig was on the dry side and cut too large as well. But it still had the amount of sour-salty tones with adequate spice. While not on the same level as what Conching or Ed's Bistro used to serve,  this is my favorite in the MM area.

And look at the spiffy new menu at R&B:

 And our own Cathy has recently been here as well.

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

Manila Fast Food and Desserts:

Man, have I really been going here since 2006 (albiet under different ownership)? Even though it was just past 10am; the place was pretty busy.

I saw the pan of kare kare come out as I was waiting, so I got that along with...duh, sisig of course. The folks here added sinigang, I would usually have to ask for it. Along with the perfect amount of rice I requested.

 Of the three places, the rice here was the best; soft and fluffy.

I terms of texture; this sisig was moist, but waxy and could have used more crispy bits. It was nice and full of porkiness, but could have used more sour and spicy tones...it definitely needded more onions and chilies....but of course, lots of folks want all that meat.

   Much like the kaldereta at R&B, the pieces of meat and vegetables were cut very large in the kare kare. Though I have to say; the everything was so tender; I especially loved the buttery texture of the tripe. I wish the kare kare had more flavor, I ended up using all the bagoong alamang. 

   Actually, the item I enjoyed the most was free....it was the sinigang which was bracingly sour.....it perked me up.....made me feel alive!

And these days....well, if there's anything I want to feel; it's alive!

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

You know, I was looking at my initial Covid-19 turo-turo posts and remembered that it was a racist, xenophobic email that set it off. 

Which just leads me to what I wrote at the end of this post on Mama Cinia:

"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."

"We are more alike than we are different" - which I believe with all my heart.

Take care and have a great week!

R&B Filipino Cuisine (again)

mmm-yoso!!! thanks you for stopping by to read about things, primarily food.  Kirk is busy with work and this is a short post by Cathy.   

As is our habit, on Saturdays The Mister and I jump in the car and start driving without a plan.  We randomly got to Mira Mesa Boulevard before 8 a.m. and found most restaurants were not yet open. When we got to Camino Ruiz, I decided to just drive by and see if R&B Filipino Cuisine was open-and it was!   

 We saw one person walking out with a large catering order and figured there would be something to munch on.
 The steam trays were filled and we were the only ones ordering (so I did not take any photos).  Closer to the end of the steaming trays, I saw a large tray with cooked eggs and next to it, longanisa (sausage), beef jerky (tapa), da (fried, dried baby milkfish) and tocino (cured pork-sort of like bacon to us caucasians).  Since I know there are many types of longanisa (Wikipedia link), I wanted to try it here (we usually buy four or six fresh links from the meat counter at 99Ranch or from the fish counter at Lucky Seafood).  
 Longsilog is the name of the breakfast:  Longanisa with two fried eggs (pritong itlog) and (really good) garlic rice (Sinangag).  ($8).  What a wonderful, flavorful, filling breakfast! But wait, there was more..
 I just pointed at this chopped lechon (fried pork) mix with vegetables selection in the steam tray and asked for a small container size. ($4) 
 We purchased a calamansi pouch (sort of like lemonade) from the refrigerator.  The sauce that goes with the pork was brought out to the table.  Soy, vinegar and onions, the sauce cuts through the fattiness of the pork and is very complimentary.  Wow, really great deep fried pork and sauce to go with the large amount of garlic rice.  This was memorable. 

Breakfast is only available on weekends here and it is worth the stop. 

R&B Filipino Cuisine 11257 Camino Ruiz San Diego 92126 Open Mon-Fri 9 a.m.-6 p.m., Sat & Sun 8 a.m.-6 p.m.(858) 695-8455

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!