mmm-yoso!!!

Natural Style Chicken (Point Loma)

Here you are, looking at mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog.  Kirk and His Missus are really enjoying themselves on their well deserved vacation (I have photographic proof).  Cathy is writing this post. 

I posted about Natural Style Chicken in 2007.  Kirk posted about it in 2014.  It's been more than seven years, the restaurant has survived through Covid and it's time for a revisit post. At the far (Northeast) end of the mall on the Northwest corner of West Point Loma Boulevard at Sports Arena Boulevard, a few doors down from the original location of Gaglione Bros, is the longstanding (more than 40 years) location of Natural Style Chicken.
 The menu is pretty simple, primarily consisting of rotisserie cooked chicken  which you can see spinning in the oven at the front window if you arrive early in the morning.
 A chicken teriyaki plate ($11.99) weighs close to (if not more than) one pound.  Rice, an iceberg salad and chicken- a LOT of boneless, skinless, tender, juicy rotisserie chicken.  Served with a warm, house-made teriyaki sauce that isn't too sweet and not salty; just right.  An easily shared meal.
 But, the owner is Korean and there are both kalbi and bulgogi plates offered.  The bulgogi ($14.99) plate is wonderful, with thin sliced, marinated beef, griddled on a stovetop with cabbage, carrot and onion slices.  So tender and so much flavor!  This day we opted for the vegetable/fried rice (+$2) which was made to order with carrot, onion and egg.  Very good (again, the plate was heavy and shared). 
 There are a few side dishes on the menu.  The onion rings ($4.99) are an excellent choice.  Hand battered, expertly fried, light, crunchy, not greasy.
 Chicken Kyoza (Korean gyoza/mandu)(five for 5.99, ten for $8.99) are also perfectly fried dumplings , filled with chicken and cabbage and served with a tart, vinegar-based sauce.  

You can't go wrong here.  Nice people.  Fresh, tasty, good food.  

Natural Style Chicken 3944 West Point Loma Blvd San Diego 92110 (619) 223-9887 Open daily 11-9

Sue's Korean Kitchen Revisited

I had an "out of the blue" hankering for some Kimchi Fried Rice today and since Sue's Korean Kitchen opens at 10am, it made for ideal takeout stop for an early lunch. When I arrived, I realized that it was basically a year ago that Sue's opened in the Plaza Sorrento "Food Court".

The same really kind woman greeted me and took my order....in fact she told me; "I haven't seen you in a while......" Wow, she remembered me? 

And while some of the prices on menu items have gone up; especially those that are meat based; my Kimchi Fried Rice with Spam is still $9.99. 

I had a short wait while my fried rice was made to order.......then paid, grabbed my bag and headed back to the office.

 Man, the fried rice seemed spicier than I recalled.....or maybe I'm just turning into a weeny in my old age? The portion size seemed a bit smaller, but it was still enough for two meals. The kimchi was cut into smaller pieces which I actually liked. There was a good amount of my favorite canned meat product so all was well. I enjoy the kimchi they use for the fried rice; it has some decent fermented flavor.

All-in-all it did the trick. Just like your favorite aunt would make.

The most interesting thing about this was my "wool gathering" as I waited for my fried rice. Three thoughts came to mind:

1 - Did "FOYs" Loren and Dereck ever get and share the Jokbal as they mentioned in the comments of that post?

2 - It suddenly hit me how much guts these folks had to open up a food business in the middle of a pandemic! I know that I wouldn't have been brave enough guts to do that! There must be a story to this.

3 - And for some reason; I thought about "Chicken Alice"; Alice Yang who passed away in 2015. Her chicken was a big part of my life in the 80's and 90's. You can read that part of the story in my original Chicken Alice post. And if you can get your hands on some Park's Brand Kimchi Sauce; you can make my my updated recipe.

And then I heard; "hello...hello...." Well, I guess I had really zoned out....my kimchi fried rice was ready.

It was time to head back to the office.

Funny the things that go thru your mind when you're waiting for some kimchi fried rice!

Sue’s Korean Kitchen
6755 Mira Mesa Blvd.
Suite 109
San Diego, CA 92121
Hours:
Mon - Sat 10am - 9pm

Have a great week!

BB.Q Chicken Returns to Convoy

Back in the fall of last year B(est of the) B(est) Q(uality) Chicken returned to San Diego taking the spot of a Convoy institution Ichiro's. Now honestly, I wasn't all that thrilled as my experiences  with the chicken at the former location. The chicken had a strange fishiness, that even the Missus could make out. So I really wasn't in a rush to check them out.

But then, my good "FOYs" Candice and "Xiāngjiāo" mentioned how much they enjoyed the chicken from bb.q; though that was tempered on the other end of things by my other "FOY" ChrisR who was kind enough to email me:

"Too much breading and not enough meat on the wings, though the proportion was okay with the legs. The soy-garlic sauce was blunt, overpowering, and, bizarrely, faintly sweet."

So, ok....looks like I had to check them out.

Just to be clear; each time I visited, I placed online orders......and each time I still had to wait when arriving at my given time; actually, on my last visit, I purposely arrived 10 minutes late....which made me worried about my wings just sitting cooling their heels....well, I guess chicken don't have heels...let's call it "cooling their metatarsals"....but I ended up waiting another 10 minutes for my food. Guess lunch business is booming?

On my first visit; I really wanted to "taste the chicken". That is, just breaded and fried without all the sauces and such. Unfortunately, wings were not available prepared that way, so I ordered the Golden Original Boneless (8 pieces $13.59). I also was curious about the Kimchi Fried Rice ($12.99). Man, almost thirty bucks for lunch!

I actually really enjoyed the Kimchi Fried Rice.

 It looked quite dark and that egg was overcooked for my taste, though the edges were nice and crisp. I really enjoyed the smoky spice, it was nicely seasoned, good pickly-fermented tones and decent saltiness. This was a nice version that I'd gladly have again.

As for the chicken......

 On the good side; unlike the chicken at the former "bb.q" there was no fishiness. The chicken was somewhat unevenly breaded, though it was nice and crunchy. In my opinion, this needed more seasoning as I thought it to be fairly bland and it seemed to have been fried fairly "hard" as the meat was on the dry side. At least it wasn't greasy.

The pickled radish, while a bit on the sweet side helped to cut the "fry-o-lated" flavors....

In some ways, at least in my opinion this was a much improved version of BB.Q Chicken. And of course, since I try to do more than one visit before posting, I returned and this time ordered the Ddeok-Bokki ($12.99) and got the Soy Garlic Wings (8 pieces $14.99)....man, who'd have thought we'd see the day when 8 wings cost like fifteen bucks???

As for the Ddeok-Bokki.

This was seriously not to my liking; the rice cakes were under-cooked and hard. I also like a nice coating on the Ddeok-Bokki, but this was more like a broth, which other than having some spice was really weak and watery. I'll pass on this in the future.

As for the wings.

The wings weren't evenly coated in sauce and I found the breading to be more hard then crunchy. The sticky sauce had barely any garlic flavor and was more cloying sweet than anything else. I'd prefer a more balanced flavor and more savory tones as well. The chicken, like on my previous order was also on the dry side. The drumettes were on the large side which threw off my preferred batter/skin to meat ratio, especially since the meat was on the dry side.

Still, my friends really liked this place so I decided to give them one more try. I wasn't in the mood to dish out thirty bucks for lunch so I just ordered the Spicy Galbi Wings.

Perhaps in some way, the third time was the charm. The wings were still more hard than crunchy, though the meat was quite moist this time around. While still being on the overly sticky and sweet side, things were somewhat balanced out by a mild spiciness and savory notes. Also note that the drumettes on this visit were on the smaller side which I prefer. So, if I ever come back, I'll try something inline with this flavor profile.

Overall, I find the breading on the wings here to be on the overly hard side. I also think the glazes used are on the sweeter side and lacking balance. Though I guess it's all about personal preferences. You just might enjoy the wings here like Soo does. So, give them a try and let me know what you think.

bb.q Chicken
4344 Convoy St.
San Diego, CA 92111
Hours:
Mon - Thurs 1130am - 9pm
Fri - Sat 1130am - 10pm
Suday 12pm - 9pm

Prime Grill Revisited

I've been approaching dining out with some trepidation as we enter the post-Omicron period. We're still a bit cautious, preferring to dine outdoors, except when that option is not available and the Missus is craving something. In those cases, we go as early as possible. The Missus was craving the Dolsot Bi Bim Bap from Prime Grill and also the Dak Bulgogi. So, we arrived right around 4pm and while the place was busier than I expected, we were seated all by our lonesome all the way in the far corner.....which was just fine by us.

The Missus ordered the Dolsot Bi Bim Bap and though I would usually order the Bi Bim Naengmyun, it was much too chilly for that, so I went with the combination Gopchang Jigae and Dak Bulgogi (for the Missus).

Soon enough the panchan arrived.

Man, it seemed that the panchan here was on the weaker side during our last visit; you remember when San Diego hit the yellow tier and there seemed to be a light at the end of the tunnel? This was even more bland; especially the baechu kimchi and kkakdugi (radish kimchi) was especially bad; look how pale it is.

And then we had our Prime Grill "moment"; there always seems to be one when we eat here these days. When the gyeran jjim (the steamed egg) arrived, the Missus asked for some sesame oil. The woman's response?

"Why....what do you need that for?"

"For the gyeran jjim"

"Humph....." At which time she walked away.

We did get our sesame oil though.....

    You gotta love it! Soon enough our food arrived. The Missus enjoyed the no frills but tasty dak bulgogi. I enjoyed the funky elasticity of the gopchang. The mild spice from the jjigae and the molten temperature of the tofu. It warmed me up nicely.

I also had fun kidding the Missus.....She finally got a taste of what it's like....you, similar to my "Why you buy so many" moment at Zion Market!

And as usual, the Missus enjoyed Her Dolsot Bi Bim Bap.

She always lets the bi bim bap "rest" to develop a nice, nutty, crisp crust. Then mixes the bowl pouring in some cho-jang and even some of that hard fought sesame oil. It's all there, mild spice, salty-savory tones from the bulgogi, slight bitterness, crunchy textures, mild sweetness...aaahh....a "bowl like life".

Prime Grill
4620 Convoy St.
San Diego, CA 92111

I was just thinking as I looked back at our post from June of 2021, how optimistic I felt....and then...well, you know what happened. I've been gone form the islands for over 25 years now; but still believe in bachi (bad karma)......I hope I didn't open up another can of worms with this one!

It's Getting to be Soup Weather Again - So it's Emperor's Soup from Woomiok

Usually, during normal times; I really look forward to cooler weather where I can avail myself of various soups.....of course, with the pandemic....well, I don't think I'll be dining in at your local neighborhood pho shop for a while. But that doesn't mean "no soup for you (me)" during this time. We've found what works (and doesn't), though there's still much to try. And Woomiok does real well as takeout. And it had been a while since I'd done takeout. So, it was the typical drill, head on over, place my takeout order, then head to Nijiya to do some shopping. By the time I'm done shopping, my order is ready.......two birds with one stone and all of that.

We've got the drill down at home as well.

   The set-up with our dolsot and Iwatani Butane Stove at the ready. The panchan was quite good this time around, with the baechu kimchi having some nice fermented tones.

I tend to eat more rice with my soup, with the Missus enjoying the tendon, trumpet mushrooms, and leaving most of the rest of the meat to me. The Missus enjoys more salt in Her bowl, while Ill go for the carbs.

Man, having this at almost a rolling boil really does provide that "aaaah" factor.

Sure did hit the spot!

Woomiok
3860 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111
(858) 737-4599
Current Hours:
Daily 11am - 9pm

So, what have you been eating/craving now that the weather is cooling off?

COMC, The B(ack) I(n) T(he) O(ffice) Edition - The Market at HFS, TJ Dumplings, and Sue's Korean Kitchen

Here's a round-up of places I've been catching up on since I've been "BITO" (back in the office). I hope you don't mind a few "reruns".....

Another interesting observation is that all of these places opened just before or during the pandemic. Kudos to them for being agile enough to survive for over a year-and-a-half.

The Market at HFS:

A favorite from the first time I walked thru those doors. Real poke, not some concept "Chi-poke" kinda place.

I have noticed that prices have gone up a bit on my last couple of visits....for fish by the pound. The poke bowls are priced the same.

These days I get my poke bowls with half the rice....they tend to give a ton of rice and I can never finish. In fact, when I order for the Missus and I; I just get one medium poke bowl and two half pound containers....of course the Missus needs all the other "stuffs" for Hers.

The Market at HFS
6491 Weathers Place
San Diego, CA 92121
(858) 282-0591
Covid-19 Hours:
Daily 10am - 4pm

TJ Dumplings:

I just wanted something small for lunch; so I decided to head on back to TJ Dumplings.

 Of course I got the Baozi. Opening the box back at the office I noticed two things. First, unlike my last visit, there was no leakage. Second, there's now only six baozi instead of eight. The filling was more moist and tender than what I'd had on my previous visit and the baozi was lighter and more fluffy. It's not going to make me forget my favorite; but these are ok.

TJ Dumplings
6780 Miramar Rd.
San Diego, CA 92121
Hours:
Tues - Sun 11am - 830pm
Closed on Mondays

Sue’s Korean Kitchen:

Like the Market at HFS, I like the fact that Sue's opens at 10am as I often have meetings that stretch thru lunch.

It's funny, the woman working here....I think it might be "Sue" remembers me. She told me; "it's nice to see you, it has been a long time"......I guess a bit over three months can seem like quite a while.

 Of course I got the Kimchi Fried Rice with Spam ($9.99). Rustic, hearty, lots of Spam. I like the kimchi they use; there's some nice fermented tones. This is always more than I can finish, so I'll take the rest home and have it for breakfast during the weekends with a couple of eggs.

Good prices, portion size, and the woman who works here is so nice.

Sue’s Korean Kitchen
6755 Mira Mesa Blvd.
Suite 109
San Diego, CA 92121
(858) 352-6511
Current Hours:
Mon - Sat 10am - 9pm
Closed on Sundays

So there you go......it's nice getting back into sort of a routine.

Hope everyone is having a safe and productive week!

Zion Market Food Court-eating in

Today, mmm-yoso!!! is being written by Cathy. 

Before The Mister and I go food shopping, we try to have a small meal.  Most markets have a steam tray area or nearby restaurants with the same ethnic foods, so we get an idea of what we might buy inside the grocery store.  Zion Market does have a prepared foods area, as well as a food court area (the building used to be a K-Mart and is very large).  We can buy inside the market, pay, then sit at a Food Court table. 

However, during Covid and all the restrictions, we chose to give our business to the storefront restaurants in the Food Court area. All of them.
  This post began in late June of 2020. As of now, just assume most every entree is around $12. 

Wok Bar- Mabo Tofu.  Plentiful, spicy hot and good on a rainy day.  The soft tofu and ground pork, along with the creamy spicy sauce is very satisfying.
 Gala Chicken (it used to be inside the Market).  The three piece leg combo (or you could get wings or chicken strips) is a perfect size.  The chicken is lightly breaded and crispy. The Mac salad is lightly dressed and the shredded cabbage and its dressing are just the right sides to go with the rice. $1 for the side of radishes because it tastes good.  
The generically named storefront has a great version of Bibimbap.
 When it was packed 'to go', it was just as tasty and plentiful as the 'for here' version.
 The pork katsu is a good choice when you are craving crispy. The Mister loves the choices at Poke U.
 The medium size bowl is quite large, includes four scoops of marinated seafood, a base of rice and/or salad, cucumber, seaweed and krab.  There are about six sauces and eight shakers of seeds and spices you can have mixed and matched on top.    There are also Bento box options  as well as some appetizer-ish sides (takoyaki) for about $5. 
  The former CDD Tofu and Grill changed hands sometime in 2020.  
 The bulgogi platter is quite large, very flavorful and the side of calamari ($4) made for an easily shareable meal.   The Bibimbap here is wonderful and almost always a choice... But there was this day when I thought...'hmmm, a Tuna Mayo Bowl", let's try that.  Then I ordered the side of sweet potato.
 Oh my!  Tuna, mayonnaise, rice and lots of seaweed.  Perfect, simple, wonderful.  The sweet potatoes were lightly breaded and fried and just, well just all of this was a perfect meal.  This place.  The menu is loosely translated.  Number Seven. The receipt says Tangsuyuk.  Get it. 
 No, that isn't styrofoam.  It is magic surrounding tender pork.  It is addictive in texture and flavor.  The vegetable dipping sauce that comes with it is warm.  It's really good.  The yellow things are radishes.  A wonderful surprising meal. 
 Paris Baguette.  So many choices.  We have been stoppng here and picking a dessert to take home. The lemon meringue croissant is one of the seasonal choices.  Get it.  The coconut cream croissant, also seasonal, also wonderful.
 Everything here is good. 

Sadly, Cocohodo closed in May 2021.  We would stop to enjoy a small, sweet treat if we were not going to go to Paris Baguette. This was where I saw the infamous 2020 Covid Concoction, Dalgona Coffee, being sold. I never was sure I made the simple recipe correctly at home and really liked the thick version here.

Always interesting and always good.  The Food Court here is unique.

Zion Market Food Court 7655 Clairmont Mesa Boulevard 92111

   Our dear piano playing teddy bear has gone into isolation.  Damn Covid!

 

Food Court Kimchi Fried Rice - Bann Korean Cuisine versus Sue’s Korean Kitchen

I was working from home recently and just needed to get out of the house. Luckily, I had some time to grab some lunch. For some reason, I was craving Kimchi Fried Rice....now granted, I could have just made my own at home.......but that wouldn't be any fun, would it?

I decided to head on over to the H Mart Food Court; I hadn't been to Bann since 2019. And I thought they made some decent kimchi fried rice. The food court was fairly busy; even at a few minutes past 11.

But there was only one person ahead of me in line at Bann.......

I quickly noticed that the price of the Kimchi Fried Rice with Spam had gone up in price; by $2 since my last visit and was now over $13!

Anyway, it was ready in a fairly quick amount of time and I headed home.

   First thing I noticed was that the egg hadn't travelled real well and the usual runny yolk was now solid. There was an abundance of Spam and large slices Kimchi in the fried rice. It had a decent "kick", perhaps a bit more than I prefer as it kind of over powered the Spam. The rice was nicely coated, moist, and there were no complaints. Like I mentioned in my previous post, the portion sizes here at the H Mart location is a lot larger than when Bann was on Miramar Road. It's also a lot spicier as well. And I did appreciate the amount of Kimchi and Spam.

Bann Korean Cuisine
7725 Balboa Ave. (In the H Mart Food Court)
San Diego, CA 92111
Hours:
Tues - Sun 11am - 730pm
Closed Mondays

I couldn't help but wonder how this compared to Sue’s Korean Kitchen. So, the very next day at the office, I headed out between meetings. I like the fact that Sue's opens at 10. I can get there early and get my food rather quickly.

I guess I've been coming here fairly often; the really nice woman working remembers me......."no jokbal, today?" Was the question presented on this morning. I told her that I was only getting lunch for me today and she laughed.

Of course, the first obvious thing is that the Kimchi Fried Rice here is $9.99. 

The prep is much more rustic than the version at Bann. Also, as you can see by the shade of red on the rice; it's not as intensely flavored, though make no mistake about it; there's some decent sour-fermented tones and a mild spice to things. Not as much Spam or large pieces of Kimchi in this version and of course it's just julienned egg instead of a golden orb crowning the rice. 

Still, I think it's one of the better things on the menu and I really like the friendly folks that work here as well. I think of this as being a more homey version of kimchi fried rice....like what my friend's mom would make for us back home. And you can't complain about the portion size as well.

I'm also glad that it seems like they're doing some good business. There was one customer in the place when I arrived. She picked up a rather large order....it came to $150!!! Good for them!

Sue’s Korean Kitchen
6755 Mira Mesa Blvd.
Suite 109
San Diego, CA 92121
Current Hours:
Mon - Sat 10am - 9pm
Closed Sundays

So, pick your poison....a more spicy, refined fried rice, with a generous portion of Spam and Kimchi....or something homey and rustic, that makes you feel like your Auntie made it. I think they both have a place in my lunch rotation....and my stomach!

 

Prime Grill

Well, after a rough 15 months we here in California are on the cusp of reopening, yes, tomorrow the capacity limits for businesses ends and mask requirements will be modified for those vaccinated....though I truly doubt that many businesses will be asking for proof of vaccination. Does this mean things get back to normal? I really don't know how to answer that one....I mean 3700+ deaths and 280,000 cases later, a fifteen month lockdown, politicization of what should have been a public health emergency......what is normal?

As for rushing out to grab a meal at restaurants.......I think we're in "wait and see mode". As a whole we're not big on crowds anyway......so we may just lie low until after Father's Day. But who knows. I will say we had our first indoor dining experience last week as San Diego entered the Yellow Tier allowing for 50% indoor capacity. It's been getting kinda hot...in fact, I think tomorrow we may have record temperatures. I was working from home and the Missus finished work early. I was craving some Bi Bim Naengmyun and the Missus, a Dolsot Bi Bim Bap. And after I tried and failed to order Bi Bim Naengmyun to go from Prime Grill and since they were open straight through from 11am, we decided to give the place a shot. Prime Grill had stopped doing outdoor seating a while back, so indoors was the only choice. It was however, only 430pm when we arrived and we didn't expect the place to have customers.....but we were wrong and the place was about 1/3 full.....we requested and got a table in the far corner.

The Missus of course wanted Her Bi Bim Bap and I went for the Bi Bim Naengmyun....the Missus asked me to order some Dak Bulgogi as well. So, the older Korean woman came over to take my order.....and when I tried to place my order, she shook her head, "no...no....better for you to order the combination....you save money." I suddenly recognized her voice; she was the one who told me not to order the Bi Bim Naengmyun to go the last time! Well, I pointed out that the menu said "Naengmyun" and I wanted Bi Bim Naengmyun.

To which she answered "no worry, we make bi bim naengmyun for combo." You gotta love it!

And while it looked like the gyeran jjim (the steamed egg) had pretty much collapsed due to over work, the rest of the panchan was quite good....the baechu kimchi looked like it wasn't fermented enough, but it was good.

And the Missus got Her Dolsot Bi Bim Bap.

Which She let "rest" to develop the rice crust from the hot stone bowl, while devouring the gyeran jjim and also the Dak Bulgogi, which was much better eating here as it got some nice caramelization....use the takeout photo to compare. In fact, She ended up taking half of the Bi Bim Bap home to eat the next day.

As for me....well this was just what I wanted...heck, needed after 15 months. The stretchy naengmyun, cut to an edible length with scissors, the spicy sauce.....

A shot of sweet-spicy cho-jang, a squirt of vinegar to get those salivary glands to pucker up. The Asian Pear brings a bit of sweetness and helps cut through all that spiciness. Aaahhhh.....

Just what the doctor ordered......

And even though we felt a bit out of sorts eating indoors after so long, just for a few minutes; there was no pandemic in sight....we were having a nice meal......what would be a "normal" warm weather meal for us, and all seemed right in the world. During these times it's a feeling I've come to treasure.

Prime Grill
4620 Convoy St.
San Diego, CA 92111
Current Hours:
Daily 11am - 10pm

So, here's a question for all our "FOYs" (Friends of Yoso). With the reopening happening tomorrow are you making plans to go out? To eat, to a movie, your favorite watering hole, perhaps the gym...a museum? Or are you going to adopt a "wait and see" position? 

Sue’s Korean Kitchen

It was Good Friday and I decided to run out between meetings and grab some lunch. I thought I'd give Nanay's another shot. Unfortunately, Nanay's was closed for Good Friday. So, taking a quick look around I noticed Sue's Korean Kitchen....hmmm.....don't remember seeing this place before. So I thought why not?

   It was around 1030 or so; there was just one very kind middle aged Korean woman working. The menu consists of Korean standards; though there was one item that looked interesting. More on that later. There are lunch specials and also a basic menu.

In addition, the coolers are full of various panchan.....the woman told me it's all made inhouse. In fact, while waiting for my order, two older Korean women came by and just bought Kimchi.

There was something about this place that just reminded me of those places "back home" like Gina's BBQ. 

And what did I order? Well, the Kimchi Fried Rice ($9.99) with Spam (of course) sounded like just what I needed on this day.

 I really enjoyed this. There was a nice fermented tone to the dish.....I think the baechu kimchi might be worth trying. Not overly sour or salty; it had a decent spicy kick and tons of savory goodness. A generous amount of Spam and pork as well. Chunks of kimchi.

This hands down was the best dish I've over the course of my visits. Quite rustic and enjoyable.....like your Halmeoni (grandma) would make.

I returned the very next week to try something else from the menu. I was greeted by the really nice woman who took my order the last time. This time she was working in the back and another really nice woman was working the front counter.

This time around I ordered the Cup Bap (i.e. BiBimBap) Lunch Special with Bulgogi ($9.99).

The portion size was quite generous. I do prefer my bulgogi to be marinated a bit more as this was quite mild in flavor. At this price point, I didn't expect the beef to be of the highest grade and it was indeed a bit on the dry and tough side.

I did enjoy most everything else provided. The rice was perfectly cooked, loved the eggs....I need more veggies in my life so the salad was perfectly fine. The kongnamul (marinated bean sprouts) and sigeumchi namul (marinated spinach) took me down a nostalgic road.

   This totally reminded me of the little mon-and-pop Korean takeout places of my youth. The one's where you'd pick a protein and three side dishes (panchan); what I call Hawaii's version of the "meat and three".

That following Friday, I decided to try "that item" I had seen on the menu. It was the jokbal, pig's feet cooked in shoyu and other ingredients. I was quite curious about how a little shop would handle this. I fully intended to put out out the jokbal ($30) and a couple of other dishes in the walkway and share it with folks who could grab a plate and head back to their office. On the funny side; there were only three people in the office on this day! Still, it was full speed ahead. I hedged my bets and got kimchi fried rice and kimchi pajeon (kimchi pancake - $7) to hedge my bets. The same woman was working; alone again, she told me that the other folks start coming in around 1030 or so. She was quite surprised that I ordered the jokbal and very happy as well. She also gave me a container of Kkakdugi (radish kimchi), which I forgot to take a photos of. It was quite good; with some mild fermented tones. The Missus enjoyed it as truly fermented kimchi is hard to come by.

Anyway; the jokbal is premade and kept in the fridge. I brought it back to the office, opened it, and cracked up!

Jesus......this was enough for a large family! It came with some kimchi and the saeujeot (salted fermented shrimp) was pretty good.

And of course the other "stuffs".

  And of course the kimchi fried rice and pajeon. I was shocked at the portion size of the fried rice....maybe it's because I ordered it with the jokbal?

The fried rice was again quite good; a bit spicier than on my previous visit with huge chunks of kimchi.

The pajeon was ok; I enjoy mine a bit more crisp than this....but it could have been the 15 minute travel time. 

As for the star of the show.....

No complaints from me. While the flavor wasn't quite up there with our favorite version in San Diego; it was far from bland. Nice swiney goodness. Love the contrast in textures. The saeujeot really cut through any collagen stickiness. There was also the actual pig foot; or what remained after all the meat was sliced.....just in case someone wanted to do some gnawing. There was quite a bit leftover; so I split the rest with JeffP....hope they enjoyed it. JeffP told me that he was going to bust out the beers at home with this.

I think I might order this again........the leftovers did quite well in noodle soup.

And I'm for sure going to get my Kimchi Fried Rice fix here again....and perhaps try out some other items on the menu. I have a special places for these little mom-and-pop shops and hope they do well. The folks that work here are so kind and warm...they make you feel welcome. No tables in the shop; but lot's of outdoor seating in the Plaza Sorrento Food Court area.

I'm glad that Nanay's was closed on Good Friday, because I found Sue's! Sometimes things just seem to happen for a reason, huh?

Sue’s Korean Kitchen
6755 Mira Mesa Blvd.
Suite 109
San Diego, CA 92121
(858) 352-6511
Current Hours:
Mon - Sat 10am - 9pm