mmm-yoso!!!

Midweek Meanderings - Champs Korean BBQ Replacing Seoul Korean Tofu House and Chicken Karaage from Tokyo Central (Marukai)

Just two quick things for a "heat wave Wednesday"!

Champs Korean BBQ Replacing Seoul Korean Tofu House:

I saw this while driving back from shopping at Nijiya.

I know that this used to be Convoy Tofu House, then it became Seoul Korean Tofu House. Now it looks like it's going to be yet another AYCE Korean BBQ. Because well, like KFC and Hot Pot we can never have enough AYCE KBBQ, right?

4229 Convoy St.
San Diego, CA 92111

Chicken Karaage from Tokyo Central:

I started seeing these signs posted when entering Tokyo Central (aka Marukai).

Hmmmm.......Ever since Nijiya went and changed the recipe for their karaage I've been looking for a replacement. And the price at $10.99 a pound isn't too bad. After all, the regular price on the frozen Ajinomoto Karaage is $10.99 if I recall.

So, after about the fourth or fifth time seeing the signs I decided to go for it. I walked over to the warmer and bought me a small portion.

Once home I opened it up and had a taste. I liked the flavor, decent soy tones, without being too salty. I did find that it was on the more soggy side.

So, I ended up putting it in the air fryer for like 6 minutes and it was like a whole different dish!

Nice and crisp/crunchy. Heck, even the Missus liked it! So, even though this won't stop me from getting my Tenkatori "fix", it's a good option when heating in the air fryer.

Tokyo Central
8125 Balboa Ave.
San Diego, CA 92111

I hope everyone is keeping cool and comfortable during this heatwave!

Road Trip - Charlie Brown Farms (Littlerock, CA) and Dinner at Cantarito (Lancaster)

So, if I said we'd be going to Littlerock and Lancaster, perhaps you'd think we'd be going Arkansas and Pennsylvania? Well, actually no. You see the Missus had a specific destination in mind for this road trip which started with a sort of "staycation" in Carlsbad and then took us to the SGV for a night. We took our time to our "destination" for this RT; the city of Lancaster in the Northern part of Los Angeles County. Why Lancaster? Well, the Missus had a specific reason which I'll reveal in an upcoming post.

We'd be taking the 210 to the 14 from the SGV to Lancaster. While doing a bit of research, I saw that there's one of those roadside stops like Eddie World and Bravo Farms that I enjoy so much fairly close by. So, we took a short detour on the 138 to Charlie Brown Farms.

While not as large as other places we've been to; I have to say, the amount of "stuffs" here was crazy!

Along with the usual nuts, peanut brittle, and varieties of candies and sodas that will bring a nostalgic smile to your face......

There was a huge variety of other food as well.

We ended up getting a bag of the fried garlic, which I really enjoyed.

And there are some interesting canned and bottled foods available.

Just in case you need some pig's feet, lips, & hocks in your life.

There's much more than food available as well.

All of those novelty items.

And you just knew that Elvis had to make an "appearance", right?

    As I took my bag of peanut brittle and the fried garlic to the register; the guy in front of me bought a $170 worth of bottled sodas! I asked the friendly cashier about this and she told me "it's totally normal"! Whoa!

There's a place that serves minidonuts, and a BBQ restaurant, funnel cakes, ice cream, and shakes.

This was a fun stop!

Charlie Brown Farms
8317 Pearblossom Hwy.
Littlerock, CA 93543

Our room at the Residence Inn Lancaster wasn't quite ready when we arrived, so we decided to head out for a stroll.

First thing we noticed was all the Air Force and Aerospace monuments.

Then I realized that Edwards Air Force Base was just a short distance from here! Duh!

There was also quite a bit of Public Art.

I came to find out that Lancaster is considered one of California's Cultural Districts, like Barrio Logan. There an Museum of Modern Art, but it closes at 4pm on Sunday, and would be closed on Monday so we missed out on visiting.

As we were checking things out on the "BLVD" I received a text message that our room was ready and we checked in.

We had but a small, early lunch, so I looked over my "list" of places in walking distance where we could have an early dinner. Cantarito, a Salvadoran restaurant was just two blocks away. Since it would be closed the next day, a Monday, we thought we'd dine here.

This seemed like a good option so we walked on over. We were the only customers in the place on a warm Sunday in March. The woman working was very friendly.

We ordered three pupusas and the yuca frita o sancochada.

First to arrive was the salsa and the curtido.

The salsa was the typical thin, not overly spicy version tat we're used to at Salvadoran places. But that curtido was awesome, it was fermented, nicely sour-savory-tartness, with hints floral-anise-citrus hints. I'm thinking they use a good amount of Mexican Oregano? We went thru two bowls of the stuff. The woman working got a kick out of the fact that we enjoyed the curtido so much....we could eat it like we would kimchi!

And then my cerveza arrived. It was simply a Modelo; but the Missus saw that frosty mug and immediately took control of it.

It was so refreshing on a rather warm day! Talking about "hitting the spot!"

As for the pupusas? Well, the Loroco version had too much cheese, we didn't care for the texture as it was a bit on the chewy-doughy side. The chicharron was actually ground pork. The best one was the hongos as it provided some earthy-mushroomy goodness, though it was suffering from some "leakage".

As for the Yuca Frita o Sancochada, well, this was an interesting dish.

   This was a huge, but interesting dish. The menu said pork rinds, but this was fried chunks of pork. Man, it was quite porky and full of flavor, but really hard and chewy, like chunks of fried jerky. Make sure your teeth are in good shape if you order this. We enjoyed the yuca. While the exterior was crisp, the interior just melted in your mouth, the texture was amazing! I don't think they do the usual "boil and fry" here. I'd gladly get the yuca again!

Overall, a decent dinner; not impressed by the pupusas, but the curtido and that yuca was so good!

Cantarito Salvadorian Restaurant
730 W Lancaster Blvd. #102
Lancaster, CA 93534

After dinner we took a stroll. It seems that Sunday evenings are pretty quiet in downtown Lancaster.

There was one place that we dropped into that was quite lively.

It seems that this is a Craft Beer - Underground Bowling Alley.

We popped in to take a look, but didn't hang around.

There was one other place that looked pretty lively and we'd end up having dinner there the following evening.

On this evening, we just took a stroll around town and enjoyed the public art.

Thanks for stopping by! Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Mexico City - Mora Mora (La Condesa) and a Journey thru La Merced

After spending a busy day exploring and eating in Centro Historico we spent some time exploring La Condesa. This is the area in which we've stayed in since our very first trip back in 2019. And this was our fifth time visiting since then! We've noticed quite a few changes since that first visit. The one biggest thing, which I noted during our previous visit was the large number of ex-pats. And there seemed to be even more this time around.

On Avenida Amsterdam we passed this interesting shop.

It looked like a natural foods/vegan/vegetarian shop, with a coffee bar and restaurant. It seemed quite popular.

The Missus was particularly interested in the Mushroom Coffee, something which She buys on occasion back home.

They even have funky "swings" to eat and drink on in the dining area.

Mora Mora
Ámsterdam 171
Colonia Condesa, Cuauhtémoc, 06100 Ciudad de México, Mexico

The next day, we had a nice, light breakfast at Red Tree House, we both knew that we'd be eating a bit during the day because I'd booked a small group tour of Mercado la Merced. I had read that the market, the largest in CDMX is large, vast, and confusing, thus I booked a small group tour. Our "small group" consisted of one other couple, who both claimed Mexican ancestry and were from El Paso. Our guide was Yimnah, who is a former chef. 

After introductions we were off. First thing we noticed was how crowded things were.

Traffic here was crazy and to be frank, kinda scary. Yimnah actually used the assistance of one of the guys who help folks cross the street, for a tip of course.

We passed the flower market on the way in.

Once in the sprawling and confusing market, Yimnah directed us past all of the booths to this one.

Hmmm.....that logo seems familiar? This is Tacos McTeo. You gotta love it.

And the specialty tacos have....well, you guessed it, papas fritas on them. We got a very delici-yoso taco with cesina. Them "golden arches" ain't got nothin' on this place.

Though I'm wondering if a "cease and desist" might be around the corner.....

During our next pause Yimnah expounded on the glories of what she described as a specialty of CDMX; the fried tamal. We got a nopales-queso version. We weren't sure what to expect, but this was super good.

The earthy, maizey-lishceousness of the masa, along with slightly mucilaginous, sweet-green beanish flavor of the nopales, the milky queso, all wrapped in a crisp, slightly crunchy exterior was masterful. I gotta see if there's a version here in SD.

This was washed down with some atole.

From this stand.

There were just so many stands here, it would have been crazy to attempt to explore ourselves.

Next up were tacos, from this busy stand.

We got the suardero and tripas.

Which were fine, if not as god as what we'd had the previous day.

The couple that was with us were surprised that we had tripas....according to them, non-Hispanic folks where they hail from won't touch the stuff. I explained that most Asians will try anything and that statement would prove to be especially true later on.

Our next stop was to be for some quesadillas, but the place was packed and busy. 

So Yimnah placed our orders and took us through a tour of various fruits.

Where we got to sample several varieties of avocado and other fruits.

We then headed back to the quesadilla stand. Yimnah explained that in Mexico City, most of the traditional stands will use blue corn quesadillas, the use of blue corn dates back to prehispanic times.

Cooked on the comal, it seemed like blue corn was a bit softer and more tender than other versions.

Man, we had eaten quite a bit at this point, so it was time to do a bit more exploring. We were guided thru the chili stands, with Yimnah pointing out various species, many of which, like the habanero I'm quite familiar with; though there were some, like the mirasol, that I wasn't too familiar with, until Yimnah explained that these are the chilies that are dried to make guajillo chilies, which I usually have stocked at home.

We next moved on to a stand that even I had heard of. The famous Moles Dona Balbi which stocks what seems like a hundred different moles.

We ended up getting some mole pinole.

And then after touring a few more stands we came across this one.

And an amazing tasting of everything from Chapulines, gusanos, cocopaches, to acocil. That wrapped thingy on the right in the photo above is a fermented fish, which was full of umami flavor.

This was the protein source for many in prehispanic times. There was one thing that caught my eye, it's on the left of the gentleman in this photo.

Looking like a pile of tubular pasta, we could actually smell it from where we were standing. We asked Yimnah what it was and were told "fermented chicken intestines". These have been cooked. We asked if we could taste some. Yimnah said most folks are kinda scared of it....we wanted to try it. So Yimnah had them get us a sample; that couple from Texas, who had been so proud of their heritage backed off. Actually, it was chewy, very strong poultry flavor, quite savory, and we're glad we tried it.

We were glad to have taken this tour. There's no way we'd have been exposed to, nor have tried so many dishes and had learned so much about the cuisine, which is a big part of history and culture. There was so much we learned on this tour.

We had a coffee before Yimnah led us to the best area to catch our Uber and we headed back to La Condesa and the Red Tree House where Romeo was "waiting".

Lest you think Romeo didn't know what was going on. Everytime we'd see this wonderful pooch we'd give him a nice rub and scratch and his tail would go a wagging'. On the next morning as we checked out, Romeo was lying near the front door. We gave him an enthusiastic last rub, whereupon he lifted his head and then with one paw closed the door so we couldn't leave! "Oh Romeo!"

Such is what CDMX is to us! We can't wait to return.

But Guadalajara was waiting.....

Thanks for stopping by!

Midweek Meanderings - Shaka Coffee (Balboa) Closes, the Meaning of "Meat Day", and a Pandemic Flashback

Just a couple of odd and ends for "hump day".

Shaka Coffee on Balboa Closes:

I recently did some takeout from Noble Chef. I parked and noticed the coffee stand in the strip mall had closed.

And the reason was made clear a split second later.

Sigh.....

I mean aren't there already 3 other Starbucks locations within a couple of blocks?

The Meaning of "Meat Day":

So, I did a quick stop at Nijiya for "Meat Day" which is the 29th of the month.

A customer looking at some pork asked her companion why meat day was always on the 29th. Which got me thinking.....I hadn't even thought about the reason.

And then it came to me; 29 in Japanese is something like "ni-kyu/ku" if I recall, and I'm sure you know that "meat" in Japanese is "niku" (肉). Duh, how many years have I been going on meat day and didn't realize this.  I guess I'm not the "sharpest knife in the drawer".

Nijiya Market
3860 Convoy St Ste 109
San Diego, CA 92111

Having a Pandemic Flashback:

Well, this one has nothing to do with food or drink. I made a quick run to our local Rite Aid on the way home today. I walked in and went to the section with cleaners and couldn't believe my eyes.

I then walked thru a couple of more aisles.....

I immediately had flashbacks to March of 2020! I did find what I needed and went to the cashier. I asked him what was going on, was this location of Rite Aid closing? He told me it's just a "supply issue." Well no kidding.

Now to make this even more interesting; I'm wondering if he was actually an employee of Rite Aid or perhaps an apparition? Well, because when I looked at my receipt.....

Hope everyone is having a wonderful week!

Roadtrip - Brodard (Fountain Valley), Wing Hop Fung, and Mandarin Noodle House (Monterey Park)

A few months back, what is now several road trips ago, we decided to head on back to one of our favorite lunch restaurants in Santa Barbara County. Instead of making it a single over night stay, we decided to stretch things out into three nights. We'd be doing a bunch of shopping along the way and be able to take our time. We'd spend the first night at the huge Courtyard by Marriott again, then head off the next morning.

We started off early, with thoughts of hitting up Canton Restaurant - Cháo Cá Chợ Cũ again. But we had gotten an early start and the Missus changed Her mind and suddenly requested a visit to Brodard. Brodard! I told Her that Brodard had moved since we last visited over a decade ago(!). Cathy has visited the "new" (it's all relative) location a couple of times. 

We arrived a shade past 9am.

The place was almost empty, with one two top occupied.

The restaurant is quite large, with a dedicated takeout area. The space is modern and clean.

I could never have imagined Brodard being this quiet.

Service was quite pleasant and relaxed.

Of course we had to order the Nem Nuong Cuon. These days you can order just two rolls if you want for $2.50 each!

   These seem a little smaller than I recall, but the sausage was nicely grilled and the proportion of ingredients seemed right, so one could enjoy the salty-sweet-savory flavors of the "bouncy" nem nuong and the crunch of the crisp egg roll wrapper. The wrapping was done perfectly, neither too loose nor too tight which would make the rolls tougher, creating what I'd call "bad botox spring rolls". The sauce was as before slightly sweet-sour, with garlic and umami tones. I does seem a bit more watered down than I recalled.

We also got the Banh Khot ($14.95).

   I did notice that one of the shrimp was "MIA". Still, the Missus enjoys the crisp rice flour cup/shell, which has a hint of coconut. The shrimp were plump and tender, nicely cooked. These are quite a treat with the mung beans, pickled veggies, the anise-citrusy tiet to (perilla), and the slightly sweet-chili-fish sauce concoction.

We're glad we stopped by and will make sure to visit more often.

Brodard Restaurant
16105 Brookhurst St.
Fountain Valley, CA 92708
Hours:
Daily 8am - 9pm

We then headed off to the SGV. We did some shopping at the TS Emporium off Rosemead (I'll do a bunch of shopping/misc posts later) and some other stops before heading to the Courtyard. We were lucky enough to be able to check in early and spent the rest of the afternoon napping.

We hadn't made any plans for dinner. We were just going to play it by ear. It was a Wednesday, so we didn't expect things to be too crowded. The Missus wanted to walk to our dinner destination, so we headed down Atlantic, pausing at Daikokuya, then crossing over and taking look at a couple of places. We crossed back over Garvey and noticed Wing Hop Fung in the strip mall that housed 99 Ranch Market.

We had passed by many times over the years, thinking this was something along the lines of TS Emporium. But once entering....whoa....

The Missus made a beeline for the teas.

And really took Her time checking out the Pu-Erh. Well, this was no cheapo shop.

It seemed like some good quality products here.

And in case you have $1800 lying around.

And the wine/liquor section was no less intense.

They also carry a good selection of Kavalan, one of our favorite brands. My favorite over time has been the Amontillado Sherry Single Cask Malt Whiskey. Our visit to the Kavalan Distillery affirmed that it is still my favorite. You can get that here. It's ahem, "only" $549 a bottle. I'll just admire it from afar for now....

We enjoyed our time in Wing Hop Fung, it looks like the herbs/tea are high quality and the selection is vast. I understand that for many years Wing Hop Fung had a very popular store in LA's Chinatown. Though I really don't recall that.

Wing Hop Fung
725 W Garvey Ave.
Monterey Park, CA 91754

We walked out of the store suffering from a bit of sticker shock. We decided to get something comforting and simple for dinner. We had passed a Taiwanese place right around the corner named Mandarin Noodle House many times over the years . It had been around back in the days when we lived in the SGV! I was really missing the pork chops I'd enjoyed in Taiwan, so I thought it would a great time to finally stop by. We turned the corner and there it was.

The restaurant is simply adorned, a typical mom-and-pop type establishment that immediately made us comfortable. The prices seemed so reasonable.

The gentleman working was nice and efficient. Ordering was a breeze as we immediately set our sights on two dishes.

Of course I wanted the Pork Chops. At $14.95, this seemed a bargain for these times.

The rice was decently cooked, the pickled greens were fine. The soy sauce egg had been cooked to death, the yolk dry. I enjoyed the Taiwanese spinach. The pork chops had a good amount of pepper, but not enough five spice flavor, was on the salty side, and really tough and chewy. Sadly, it did not remind me of Taiwan.

The Missus got the Pig's Feet ($14.95).

Which came with the same cooked to death soy sauce eggs. But after that, things got so much better. The wonderful porky-sweet-savory-soy based sauce had been poured over the rice. Oh man, talk about comforting! The pigs feet had been cooked perfectly; still intact, but the skin was so tender, the flavor of the cooking liquid had permeated every nook and cranny of the trotters. Once the skin was off, the meat fell of the bones, porky deliciousness. We got a winnah here!

By this time, folks had started coming into the restaurant. Different nationalities, all classes, from guys in workwear and boots speaking Spanish, to three guys in suit and ties, an older couple who knew the guy working. All converging on this little business, it was great to see. Looks like Mandarin Noodle House might be what I call a "thread in the fabric" of this neighborhood! 

Mandarin Noodle House
701 W Garvey Ave.
Monterey Park, CA 91754
Hours:
Daily 1030am - 9pm

Eurofood Depot/Cuisinery Food Market Now on Miramar Road

A week ago I saw this in my Instagram Feed.

Which caught me totally by surprise. Eurofood Depot had been fairly regular stop for a while, though when winter hit, I had stopped going. This really caught me off guard. I was wondering what was going on, so I decided to head on over after work. On ae positive note, this shop was a bit closer to work for me.

As for the address, well it seemed familiar. If you've ever driven on Miramar Road, you'll know the location in an instant.

Yep, the shop is located in the Miramar Metroplex, home of the Pyramid. Interesting location as there aren't any other food related businesses in the mall. The mall is large, so I drove along until I saw the "Gourmet Market" signage, which is currently rather discreet.

The vast parking lot means that I don't think you'll ever have a problem finding parking here.

Walking into the store, the first thing that hit me was how much larger this place was compared to the previous location in the office building on Lusk Boulevard. One of the owners appeared out of the back doorway and greeted me. Whoa, I guess she remembered me from the previous location.

The shelves and cold units aren't totally full yet.

But most of the usual products I purchased at the old location is in stock.

The nice woman told me that Eurofood is now associated with Cuisinery Food Market which has several markets across the US and does a strong mail order business. I was also told that a large shipment will be coming in at the end of the month with items like vol au vent and seasonal specialties. She let me peek into the huge back warehouse space as well.

I did some quick shopping.

And was handed the Late Spring Catalogue, to help me "plan for future purchases". Lol!

I'd had never tried the escargot before....it's so easy to make....the gastropods are from Burgundy. These turned out good. And you know the Missus and Her snails, right? Turns out, that I had to return and get more escargot. We've had this four times so far.....

Funny thing, after those escargots, I had to return two more times in one week?

I need to return again for more Boudin Blanc and yes, that's truffle butter. Having this took us back to a wonderful meal in Paris.

I'm sure as the weather turns warmer; I'll be headed back for pate and cheese.....

    For now, we're in need of more escargot and boudin blanc. I like the folks here, they are friendly, and are always ready with some tips and recommendations on using the products they sell.

It's always great to be able to vicariously travel while dining at home. For us, Eurofood Depot is one of those places that allows us to do that.

Cuisinery Food Market / Eurofood Depot
7340 Miramar Rd Suite 105
San Diego, CA 92126
Current Hours:
Mon - Fri   10am - 6pm
Saturday    10am - 4pm
Closed on Sunday

 

Road Trip - Devisadero Peak Trail, Lunch at Manzanita Market, and Strolling Around Taos

After our meal at Doc Martin's we took a typical after dinner stroll. Downtown Taos was indeed quite charming.

While most of the shops were already closed, the relaxed, tranquil vibe gave us time to appreciate the town. We loved the public art.

And as the sun headed down, the adobe buildings just came alive. It was indeed the "golden hour"!

With nary a person in sight, it was a wonderful stroll.

We slept well, woke early, and headed off to the do some hiking. I gave the Missus a couple of choices and She picked the Devasidero Peak loop trail. It was a quick 5 minute drive to the trailhead. The trail started off a bit steep, but the views were lovely on this morning in early May.

And while we didn't run into any other folks on the trail, there were indications of folks who had come before us.

And the signage on the trail was pretty good.

The Missus is all business when hiking; She wants to get it done ASAP.

I on the other hand, like to enjoy the views and on this hike, the little splashes of color provided by the wild flowers.

We enjoyed the hike and finished in a shade over two hours.

We headed back to the hotel, parked, and decided to grab an early lunch. We had walked past a little sandwich/juice bar/health food shop the previous evening called Manzanita Market and decided to pop in.

It was a cute little shop with a hipster-hippy-ish vibe. The staff was very friendly.

We placed our order and the Missus had a seat, while I took a look at some of the local items available for sale.

I loved the name of this hot sauce brand, Taos Hum. 

In case you hadn't heard of the Taos Hum, it's a low frequency humming/buzzing noise that certain residents of Taos have heard since the 1990's. There have been studies into the hum over the years, but it still remains a mystery, and has been reported in other places around the world. And this Taos Hum Hot Sauce would remain a mystery to me as well as I ended up not getting a bottle. I can and may order it online; or perhaps wait until we next visit Taos.

The Missus had ordered the Mediterranean Vegan, which came from Sage Bakehouse (Santa Fe) Sourdough.

The sourdough was quite good. This was bit on the blander side in terms of flavor in spite of the pickled onions and lime-garlic spread. The textures were very nice; the creamy tahini, crisp veggies and bread. The greens had a pleasant bitterness to them as well. So very healthy!

I got the Naples which also came on that good sourdough bread.

This was a pressed sandwich and was served hot. The bread was a nice crisp-crunchy and I loved the milky-gooey carneros cheese and the nicely spiced-salty sopressata. The mildly assertive feta-garlic sauce and the surprisingly good tomato jam really made this sandwich a winner!

Such a nice place for a light lunch!

Manzanita Market
103 N Plaza
Taos, NM 87571

In retrospect, we should have spent at least another day in Taos, but we'd try to make the best of our last evening!

 

Leilanis Attic

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

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

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

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

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

Of course there are all the standards....

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

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

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

Check out this shelf.

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

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

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

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

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

Zion Market Now Moving in 2024?

I was doing some quick shopping at Zion Market....I try to get in and out of the chaotic place as quickly as possible. I took a detour to the restroom and walked thru the food court.

For some reason, I hadn't noticed that Monnani Kkwabaegi had closed!

In fact, three of the seven food court stands are now closed. I wondered if Zion's (supposedly) impending move had something to do with this?

Back in August of 2022 I noticed the Zion Market Coming in 2023 sign on Clairemont Mesa Boulevard, which caught me by surprise. Of course, 2023 in now in the books! Last month Eater had an update on Zion's relocation. Which had me wondering how the construction was coming along. I hadn't been east of Mercury Street and Clairemont Mesa in a while, so I took a quick drive after shopping and swung into the parking lot at 8330 Clairemont Mesa Boulevard to take a look.

And check out the construction across the street!

Looking at the construction of Zion Market, it seems that things are moving along.

The Eater post claimed that Zion will relocate and open in the Summer of 2024. Hmm...... Like "FOY" Kenneth said in the comments of my previous post:

"Just take the developer's projected time frame and triple it and that's about when they'll complete the job......"

Lol!

And guess what? The "Coming Soon 2023" sign is still up!

So perhaps it's been decided not to make any more ambitious projections?

8330 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92111

Honolulu - Fort Ruger Market a Quarter Century Later

The Missus and I were looking at some of my old photo albums and flipped the page to my third grade class photo. I started cracking up and the Missus gave me a quizzical look. I then pointed something out to Her. All the boys were wearing long pants (no shorts were allowed in those days), Aloha Shirts (after all, it as class photo day), the girls Mumu's, but.......most of us were barefoot! I explained to the Missus that until the fifth grade, many of us actually did walk to school barefoot (though not uphill both ways). I mean this was the late 60's, early 70's, and things were different then. Plus, as I mentioned in my post on my "old neighborhood", Ali'iolani Elementary was just a block away from where we lived.

And this kinda brings me forward to this post. On our last trip back "home", the Missus asked me when I first remember having poke. We had just finished doing some stuffs at Ala Moana and I decided to show Her. Way back, when I was in the 5th or 6th grade, my Mom had an appointment in the Fort Ruger area. I was raised by a single parent and my Mom never ever drove, so we had to catch the Ruger bus and I waited while my Mom did her thing. After the appointment, we walked over to Ruger Market, and that's where I first remember having poke I really liked, over 50 years ago! I'd probably had it before; of course during the holidays there was sashimi and stuff, but I remembered the poke from Ruger Market clearly. Later, when I was older, my friends and I would drive on over after going to Cromwell's (I can't believe the cove is still around, though maybe not for long) and grab some poke, then go for a drive around Diamond Head Road and eat at the lookout or hele on over to Kapiolani Park or Paki Park and grind there.

So, we drove on over....and heck, I hadn't been to Ruger Market since before I left the islands; which would be over 25 years, but the place looks pretty much the same.

Though it's more of a seafood- Filipino/Hawaiian restaurant these days. When I was growing up, this was the neighborhood grocery for the area.

Different grades of Ahi is available, you can get poke made with  pre-frozen Ahi (nah) or with fresh Ahi, what is called "Auction Fresh Ahi" on the sign.

You know what we got, right?

We'd already had some small stuffs to eat at Foodland Farms and this was a kind of a spur-of-the-moment thing, so we didn't go too crazy. We got one poke bowl, with brown rice, the chicharrons looked really good, so we got that, and also some boiled peanuts.

And then we headed off.....just like those hanabuddah days, I drove around Diamond Head Road to the lookout.

You can find the Amelia Earhart Plaque here as well.

As well as the "best seat in the house"....at least on this day.

And the local "security detail".

We headed on down and found parking and a table at Kapiolani Park and proceeded to dig in.

I was surprised to find that the kimchi was decent; not overly fermented, but still quite refreshing. The brown rice added a nice nuttiness to the bowl. The quality of the fish was good; tender and buttery in texture without connective tissue. We preferred the restrained, classic, soy-saltiness, with a hint of oceany sweetness of the Local Style Ahi. The Spicy Shoyu wasn't very spicy and was a bit on the salty side. Still, the quality and prep was way above anything here in San Diego.

The Chicharron was as good as it looked.

Crisp, with a slight crunch; porky and savory, which just enough salt. Talk about a guilty pleasure.

As for the boiled peanuts, well, the Missus was saving them for later. Though this little fella tried to make a move on the legume.

The Missus loves Her boiled peanuts, so he didn't stand a chance!

It was good to know that Ruger Market still makes decent poke.

The older I get, the more I treasure and appreciate those times and the chances I get to reflect on them. And it was wonderful to share a bowl of memories with the Missus.

Fort Ruger Market
3585 Alohea Ave.
Honolulu, HI 96816

And I also want to thank you for sharing in those memories with me! Thanks for stopping by!