mmm-yoso!!!

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

Revisits - Spicy Lao Kitchen (Kearny Mesa) and Vientiane Lao Thai Restaurant (Garden Grove)

A pair of revisits to Lao Restaurants for your Monday.

Spicy Lao Kitchen:

The Missus was craving the Moo Tod and Goong Nam Pla that we had on our last visit to Spicy Lao Kitchen. So we headed on over. 

It was 1230 on a Tuesday, but the parking lot in the strip mall was pretty empty and the restaurant had only two tables of customers when we arrived.

I'm guessing that the soft opening crowds have now gone their way as the sign out front now says "Grand Opening". There was still one person working the front of house, but she did a good job and there wasn't as much of a wait as on our previous visits.

We ordered 4 dishes, three of our favorites here and one new item from the menu.

First to arrive was the Moo Tod thinly sliced pork belly, the crispness gives way to a nice almost creamy texture.

Nicely seasoned, good salt and savory components. For us, the rather salsa-ish Jeow Mak Len, pretty weak in heat and flavor is not needed. In fact, all the jeow we've had here has been pretty weak.

Next up was the Nem Khao. 

While still one of our favorite versions in San Diego, this hasn't been as good as what we'd had here on our first visit. The rice was in hard chunks rather than being crisp, there wasn't enough sour sausage nor spice as well.

Of course we got the Goong Nam Pla; the naked shrimp.

This dish was a winnah; good spice, the shrimp tender, nice acidic tones. The shrimp had no off flavors and this was quite a refreshing dish.

We decided to try the Crying Tiger. We were asked how we wanted our beef cooked and said "medium rare". What arrived was definitely not that.

The beef was on the tough side. Though the spice was decent it definitely needed more fish sauce, acid, and more toasted rice powder for that nutty flavor. This was pretty weak.

Still, even though it's still one server manning the front of house, our orders were taken in a timely manner and there wasn't an overly long delay for our dishes as on previous visits.

Spicy Lao Kitchen
5375 Kearney Villa Rd.
San Diego, CA 92123
Current Hours:
Tues - Sat 11am - 9pm
Sunday 11am - 7pm
Closed on Mondays

Vientiane Lao Thai Restaurant:

During our last Staycation, I had made plans to visit a locale in Carlsbad on the morning after our dinner at Jeune Et Jolie. Those plans however fell thru and after having our morning coffee, we had to decide what to do before check in time in Oceanside. The Missus had the idea of heading up to Westminster to visit our current Cha Ca Thang Long place, but we had just been there three times over the last couple of weeks. Then, I had the idea of revisiting Vientiane Thai Lao in Garden Grove. It had been almost 4 1/2 years since our last visit. It would be interesting to compare the nem khao tod there to what we'd recently had at Spicy Lao.

So we headed on over and arrived at around 1130. The place was fairly busy and we got one of the two remaining available tables. Looking at photos from our first visit back in 2009, the interior looks like a total different restaurant.

We placed our order and soon enough dishes started arriving. First thing to arrive was a large plate of lettuce and cilantro.

Which came in real handy for the Nem Khao.

The rice was crisp-crunchy and not in giant chunks like Spicy Lao, there was an abundance of sour sausage, and even pork skin! A hint of spice, a touch of coconut, perhaps even better than I recalled.

We had never tried the Lao Sausage here, so we ordered that. This was interesting in that it was sliced, then deep fried. Still it was much better than the overly dry and chewy version we had at Spicy Lao Kitchen.

There were three things we really enjoyed about this sausage; the sausage casing and fried portions were crisp, without being hard or chewy. The rice in the sausage added a wonderful soft, tender texture. And the herbs really gave it some "life".

We also ordered the Lao Beef Jerky, which was on the harder side of the scale, but wasn't overly salty and had an interesting lemongrass-soy-fish sauce-sweet flavor.

We saved most of this and actually ate it for breakfast! It keeps really well. Of course we need to try the version at Spicy Lao.

The one item we ordered that Spicy Lao does better is the Goong Nam Pla. What arrived at our looked nothing like what we'd had here on previous visits.

First off, the shrimp were really chewy and gummy. It also had a muddy after taste to it. The sauce was provided on the side and though it had decent heat, lacked sufficient acidity, and the garlic tones we'd noted during our previous visits. Bummer.

Still it was great seeing that the nem khao here was still good after all these years! Funny thing, we thought we ordered a lot, but the couple on the table next to us ordered 6 dishes! Service was friendly and efficient. We need to return soon.

Vientiane Lao Thai Restauarant
10262 Westminster Ave.
Garden Grove, CA 92843
Current Hours:
Thurs - Tues 11am - 730pm
Closed on Wednesdays

So, even though Spicy Lao is improving, we think they've got a bit to go to catch up to Vientiane. Though the shrimp there was much better!

COMC, The Road Trip Edition - Revisits to Bistro Na's and Canton Restaurant - Cháo Cá Chợ Cũ

During the late fall and early winter, we made several road trips to revisit Mountain House. We decided to stay the evening and make a stop for lunch on the way home. We revisited places I've already posted on, so I thought I'd just post mostly photos of those meals. So, here I go C(learing) O(out the) M(emory) C(ard) again

Bistro Na's:

Good lord, how many posts have I done on the place since our first visit in 2019? There have been some changes over time. Bistro Na's lost their Michelin Star in 2022 and many of the dishes we'd enjoyed in the past are no longer on the menu. We've also noticed some inconsistencies in execution and quality as well.

But, on this visit, the Tofu Skin and the Smoked Duck Breast were as good as ever.

What we consider to be their signature dish, the Crisp Shrimp was not however.

The shrimp lacked the plump tenderness of what we'd had before and the shells seemed to have been fried differently as they were hard instead of being light and crisp.

And did we really spend $22 for a tiny portion of under seasoned Ong Choi? It was listed as having fermented bean curd, but there was not much of the cheesy-salty-savory-sweet flavor present.

After this visit, we decided to give Bistro Na's a rest for a while. There's no much more to explore in the SGV.

Bistro Na's
9055 Las Tunas Drive
Temple City, CA 91780

Canton Restaurant - Cháo Cá Chợ Cũ:

Well, this is now our default stop for Cha Ca. Ever since that initial visit, the Missus has been wanting to return. We've been back three times....I basically have stopped taking photos here. The food has been consistent on all our visits.

Tons of fresh herbs and veggies.

Funky mam nem, a generous portion of bun......extra onions which we put on the sizzling plate.

And we usually get the Cha Gio as well.

Plus, they open at 930am, which is great for our return trip home.

Canton Restaurant - Cháo Cá Chợ Cũ (Cash only)
8550 Westminster Blvd.
Westminster, CA 92683

Roadtrip - Revisiting the Torrance Farmers' Market and Canton Restaurant - Cháo Cá Chợ Cũ (Westminster)

We slept well after our dinner at Mountain House, we thought our room at the renovated Best Western wasn't bad, except for the terrible WiFi, but heck, we were here to relax, right?

We got up rather early (for a Saturday) since we had three stops in mind. The first being Porto's in West Covina, we used to go to the Buena Park location when I was doing work in OC and you can read all about Cathy's visits in her Rose Parade float posts. We just basically stop for two things the Missus wants, the dulce de leche cookies.

Next stop was a place we used to drive the 90 mile round trip to almost every Saturday when we lived in LA, the Torrance Farmers Market, which I've posted on several times already. Though it had been over ten years since our last visit! Sheesh, time sure does fly! We found parking where we've always have and was surprised to see that the Farmer's Market has grown a bit since the last time we were here!

We ended up buying quite a bit of produce and stuffs! Which was great since I was missing my usual Saturday shopping.

Torrance Certified Farmers' Market
2200 Crenshaw Blvd.
Torrance, CA 90501
Saturday 8am - 1pm

As for our last stop?

I mentioned that I had another place for Cha Ca Thang Long in my last post on Song Long. I had done a bit of research and the name Canton Restaurant - Cháo Cá Chợ Cũ kept appearing.

The restaurant is located in a strip mall on Westminster Boulevard along with Stater Brothers, Seafood Paradise, a Shabu Shabu place, a Pho Shop, and a score of other businesses and homeless folk.

The place is known for their Cha Ca Thang Long and Chao (rice porridge).

It opens at 930am. We arrived at 945 and there was already a large party seated in the place.

An older couple run the place, the gentleman the front of house and the woman swings between the kitchen and the dining room.

We placed our orders and soon enough a large plate of herbs and veggies to accompany our Cha Ca arrived. The gentleman placed the plate on our table and I took a look noticing that there was a lot of brown and wilted produce on the plate.

This didn't seem like a good start. But a minute later, the woman came out of the kitchen and did her "rounds", quickly noticing the state of our plate, swooping in, and replacing it immediately. We didn't have to say a word! Good save!

Soon enough, all the other accoutrements made their way to our table.

And good lord, that mam nem was serious business.....whoa was did it smell potent.

The Cha Ca was quite lovely......

The portion sizes are quite generous, the fish very moist and tender. The seasoning is on point and that mam nem takes it to another level. Wish the onions were a bit more caramelized, but I didn't order this for the onions. The dill just helps to restore the palate while adding a citrusy-anise flavor to things.

We had seen another table order the Cha Gio, so we ordered that as well.

    Man, these were super stuffed, full of porky goodness, hint of sweet- savory tones, and wrapped with rice paper. It was slightly more chewy than I prefer, but man, the overall package was much better than anything here is San Diego. This also heated up well in the air fryer!

As we walked out the Missus said to me, "looks like we have a new place for Cha Ca, huh? I think I want to come back here next week!" Whoa......

Canton Restaurant - Cháo Cá Chợ Cũ (Cash only)
8550 Westminster Blvd.
Westminster, CA 92683

Well, we were two for two on this overnighter. As for returning the following week....well, we'd have to wait an additional week for returning!

Thanks for stopping by!

Roadtrip - Qing Dao Bread Food (Monterey Park), Bistro Na's (Temple City), and Song Long (Westminster)

Recently, the Missus and I was wondering how some of our old favorites were doing in LA and OC. We decided to drive on up and stay the night at the Courtyard by Marriott on Atlantic.

So, we headed on up and arrived at area on Garfield near Garvey just after 11am. And easily found street parking! On a Saturday? What the heck?

Qing Dao Bread Food:

Even though we hadn't been back here in over five years it looks basically the same.

QDBF had long been a favorite of ours for Jiaozi and there's an endearing quality to the place for the Missus. After all, She's from QingDao. She gets a kick from hearing the "Qingdao Hua" (青岛话) - the unique accent of Her home town. And every time we come here we recall the story of my MIL calling the place when the Missus told her that I thought the Jiaozi here rivaled hers! In case you missed it:

"the Missus called Her Mother....and guess what, Her Mother actually called QDBF! Among the things my MIL did find out was that the Owners are from the same neighborhood as the Missus's family. What She didn't find out was the recipe to their Jiaozi dough! Even using small talk and the "La Guan Xi" (doing the buddy-buddy thing) method didn't work. The response to the recipe request? "You come here eat, and we'll tell you the recipe!""

She never did get that recipe.......

Anyway, we ordered the Pork Tongue, the Shrimp, Pork, and Leek Jiaozi, and the Lamb Jiaozi (of course).

We were served glasses of water. Not really paying attention I took a sip....it was boiled water! We cracked up; it's how they serve water in China!

 The pig tongue was as expected, fairly chewy and very porky. Quite typical.

The one thing that has changed over the years at QDBF is the garlic. Garlic is the traditional condiment served with Jiaozi and other dishes in QingDao. Mixed with black vinegar, I always call it the Missus's "little dish of memories". When we first visited, it was done the traditional way, pounded in a mortar and pestle, the bruising releases the oils and flavors, and the garlic is surprisingly rich and mellow. Sadly, on our last visit, it had been minced in a food processor. You may think it's strange, but the flavor and texture is totally different, it's much more bitter in our opinion.

The jiaozi arrived in tandem.

 We quickly noticed that on this visit, the dumpling wrappers were very soft, lacking in the slight "pull" that we enjoy in jiaozi wrappers. The filling of the shrimp, pork, and leek was very moist and actually had a good amount of "soup" in them...very nicely flavored, though a bit short in the shrimp department.

The wrappers on the Lamb Jiaozi was the same.

 But man, that filling was so gamy, moist, juice just poured out of it when I took a bite.

While the wrappers were not "perfect" on this visit, we still have to find jiaozi we like better. It was also quite fun to take this little trip down memory lane. Hopefully we won't wait another five years to return.

Qing Dao Bread Food
301 North Garfield Ave.
Monterey Park, CA 91754

After lunch we decided to take a stroll and were surprised to see how quiet things were; especially in the shopping plaza on the corner of Garfield and Garvey. Also, most folks we passed were of the older demographic. We hadn't been around here since before Covid and the place seemed to be missing the vitality that we remember. It seems that younger folks have moved on and away from the area, or did the shooting in January of this year have even more of affect of things? We stopped by Ten Ren Tea Time and the Missus got some Oolong for Her collection.

We got to the huge Courtyard by Marriott and was able to check in early. We went and took another stroll across the street to Atlantic Times Square and found that other than AMC, Daiso, and a couple of restaurants, many of the businesses were empty as well. What the heck? This had the Missus wondering how Focus Plaza, i.e. San Gabriel Square was doing. One of the Missus's first jobs waaaay back when was located here. We were shocked to easily find parking and then while walking around.....

Of course, the 99 Ranch Market was going strong. It seemed that all the businesses surrounding this mall was doing good business, so I went online to check and found that the mall will being undergoing renovation starting in August and will be rebranded as TAWA (the owners of 99 Ranch Market) Gateway. Whew.....

We then headed off to dinner. We last visited Bistro Na's on our way back from Monument Valley and Sedona. One Michelin Star Bistro Na's has become a favorite of ours since we first visited back in 2019 and we've revisited half a dozen times since. Though we hadn't been back in over a year.

Unlike where we had visited earlier, Camellia Square and the surrounding area was quite busy.

Bistro Na's:

As always, the service at Bistro Na's was top notch. Sadly, several of our favorite dishes were no longer on the menu. Though our "key" dishes were.

Like the refreshing Chili Tofu Skin.

And the smoky and tender Beijing Style Smoked Duck Breast.

The Crisp Shrimp is a must order here.

 We did notice that the dish has changed since our last visit. The shrimp shells and the shrimp seems to have some coating; like the tofu skin, the portion size is smaller. The shrimp is not quite as delicate as it used to be. But the flavor is still there and the shells and tail are a pleasure to eat.

As for new dishes; well, we ordered the Bittermelon with Pickled Garlic.

This was delici-yoso! Totally suan-tian-ku-la-xian! Sour and mildly sweet tones, tamed the bitterness initially. There's some Sichuan Peppercorn in this to numb you. The bittermelon comes on strong at the end for an interesting finish.

The Intestine with Laba Garlic was not quite at the same level.

The intestine was cooked perfectly, great texture and offal-ly flavors. But the sourness overpowered the dish and that garlic was potent and very bitter. Still, not a bad dish.

We did miss the okra and crispy lamb brisket. Hopefully, those dishes will be back on the menu soon.

Bistro Na's
9055 Las Tunas Drive
Temple City, CA 91780

We took an after-dinner stroll before heading back to our hotel to relax.

As the sun went down, we looked out at Atlantic Times Square and noticed that many of the residential units seemed empty as well.

The next morning, we were up in the air about where to eat before heading home. I noticed that there was a Dim Sum place in the hotel named Chef Tony.

I did some research and found that Chef Tony is owned by Tony He of Sea Harbour. Hmmm.....while a bit fascinated, our last visit to Sea Harbour was not very good. We decided to pass. Instead, we decided to drop by another old favorite that we hadn't been to in a while, Song Long. In fact, like QDBF, we hadn't been back to Song Long in over five years!

Song Long:

We arrived around 930 on a Sunday and the place was empty when we walked in. The staff looked like they've put on some years as well.

We had to chuckle when the bread was brought to the table.

We ordered our usual; the Cha Ca Thang Long.

 Soon enough the large plate of bun, herbs, and veggies. And of course the Missus enjoys the Banh Trang Me dipping it into the mam nem. As for the Mam Nem, we noticed that it's not quite as potent as it used to be.

But, if we had any reservations about the Cha Ca, those were soon quelled when our sizzling plate arrived.

From the caramelized shallot to the tender fish, which almost had a mild sweetness to it, this was quite good.

The place filled up as we were finishing up our meal.

And though I have another location for Cha Ca in the area on my "list"; this really hit the spot.

Song Long Restaurant
9361 Bolsa Ave Suite 108
Westminster, CA 92683 

We enjoyed this little road trip. It was good to know that our "old favorites" were still serving up food that we enjoy.

Thanks for stopping by!

Seafood Cove #2 (Westminster)(Dim Sum)

Here you are, reading mmm-yoso!!!  Cathy is writing the food adventure for today.  Kirk is elsewhere, with His Missus.

It was early on a Sunday and The Mister and I started driving North with the intention of having another Brodard breakfast.  At some point, I remembered this breakfast from October  and told The Mister to look for 'Dim Sum' on his phone.  Siri sent us one more exit West to this crowded-before-9 a.m. parking lot.  
 It's self check-in at a touchpad at the hostess stand.  Soon, a text message arrived that our table was ready.

  We were seated, hot tea ($2) was promptly brought out and we could order from the photo menu as well as from the passing carts. 

 Additional beverages were also available from a cart. 

 Shrimp Noodle Roll ($5.99) came from a cart and was filled with large, plump, flavor filled shrimp.  Slippery and  satisfying. Our order from the kitchen (each item $5.99) was delivered quickly.  The Shrimp Har Gow was filled with the same large shrimp and wrapped in a not too thick nor too chewy tapioca based dough.
 The steamed Tofu Skin Roll was filled with pork, carrot, mushroom and crunchy water chestnuts.  
 The Black Mushroom Sui Mai was really tasty.  The Sui Mai filling (pork/shrimp/ginger/mushroom/scallion/water chestnut) was a large serving size to facilitate holding the large black mushroom.  Flavors in every bite! 
 We ordered  the soup dumplings from a cart.  None were leaking.  The dough was chewy, especially at the top folds but overall the filling was quite nice.  
  The fried shrimp balls ($7.99), ordered from the kitchen, were a great choice.  Very large, cut in half and simply a mass of cooked shrimp formed into a paste then rolled in breadcrumbs and fried, this serving could be a complete meal if I could control my cravings. 
The picture menu  had this "Sweet Tofu-available only on Saturday-Sunday", so I had to order it.  What a great way to end the meal!  Soft, warm, fresh made tofu served with a sugar-ginger  sauce. It was quite perfect. 

 Our Order Card.  Seven items plus the hot tea ($49.95).  A very nice special meal. 

Seafood Cove-2  9211 Bolsa Ave, #106 Westminster, CA 92683 (714) 893-1976 Website Open daily 8:30 a.m.- 9 p.m. (dim sum 8:30-3)

Road Trip efficiency: Brodard (breakfast menu!) and Ochoa's Chorizo

mmm-yoso!!! is being written by Cathy today, while Kirk is busy with work. 

Almost every post I have written has been part of some other errand or event, even before the crazy surge in fuel prices.  Usually, the 'other part' of the trip is a separate post or remains unwritten.  The second part of this post will reveal a long time favorite stop.   Kirk wrote about Brodard in 2013 and  I wrote about a visit to the original location in 2014 and the new location in 2019. 
 Since Covid-19, we had driven here a few times, during the week to avoid crowds.
 The menu has condensed, is easily wiped down and has no prices.  
 Nem Nuong with pork (3 rolls, $7.50) is an automatic order here.  Brodard is  known for these rolls.   Pretty much made to order (the rolls are constantly being prepared (because they are constantly being ordered) in an 'open kitchen' area), the flavorful grilled pork sausage with lettuce, cucumber, carrot, cilantro, daikon and chive wrapped with rice paper bundles with the crisp wonton in the center makes the rolls unique.  The warm, pork based sauce accompanying the rolls is just the perfect bit of savory.
 The Banh Khot Tom- Moon Cake shrimp ($12.95) are mini crisp rice cakes flavored with coconut milk and turmeric. 
 Each is filled with one shrimp, mung beans and scallion.  Served with a variety of greens and a lime-chili-fish sauce for dipping, every delicate bite is filled with flavor.

We were here on a Saturday, around 8 a.m. and noticed this placard on the table-

A breakfast menu.  We had to.  
 The top item: Bo Ne Trung ($17).  Chateaubriand -with pate (on the top left of the platter), sate sauce, onions, mayonnaise and two eggs, served sizzling.
 It's served with a piece of banh mi.  (You can sort of see the corse pate a bit better in this photo). (It is a *wonderful*, flavor filled pate). 

  The egg whites crisped from the heat of the cast iron platter, while the yolks remained runny.  The beef tenderloin was quite perfect; buttery-tender with flavor complimented by the sate sauce (as well as occasional bites of onion and mayonnaise). 

It looks like the breakfast menu has been available on weekends since the end of March.  We hope to go back soon to try the other items available on the special menu.

Brodard Restaurant 16105 Brookhurst Street Fountain Valley, CA 92708 (657) 247-4401 Website Open daily 8 a.m.-9 p.m.

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We leave Brodard and know that the Interstate will eventually be found and we can head home.  The new location of Cream Pan is only about a mile from Brodard.  One signal light South of Brodard is Warner.  We took that street one day in 2018 and found this business.  Now it is a destination. This small, nondescript storefront houses quality.  Family owned, Ochoa's has been selling fresh made, perfectly spiced chorizo for more than 35 years.  
There are two refrigerator display cases. Pork, chicken and soy chorizo with various spice levels are the primary choices.  
The pricing?  The plain and spicy pork chorizo is available in bulk.  All are available by the meter (scroll back up and look at that photo again).  There are a few other meats available.  
A meter of green pork chorizo, (medium spice/heat level) ($9) is simply placed in a paper bag for the trip home.  We also purchase a pound of bulk mild spice pork chorizo ($4.25).  Once home, the green is cut into three inch chunks and frozen, while the mild is divided into three ounce small flat shapes and frozen, ready for breakfast cooking.

We cook the sausage, then add eggs and scramble it all and enjoy many, many breakfasts with the best chorizo.

Ochoas Chorizo 220 West Warner Avenue Santa Ana, CA 92707 (714) 850-0052 Open Mon-Sat 7 a.m.-7 p.m. Sun 7 a.m.-6:30 p.m.  

 

Laguna Beach - Top of the World Loop Trail, Dinner at Sapphire Laguna, and Sunsets

One of Frankie's favorite Aunties; "Alle" recently gifted us with a two night stay in Laguna Beach! So, after an early dinner on a Friday, we headed up to Laguna Beach. We parked downtown and scoped out places I had on my list and also places Uber Blogger "Elmo" had provided for me for the following evening's dinner. Sadly; we just weren't particularly impressed with the offerings......

But that was ok; we were staying at the charming La Casa del Camino; which was built in 1929.

Which has Spanish-style rooms....but our gift certificate specified staying in one of the "Casa Surf Rooms". Each had been designed by different designers and sponsored by various sports and activity companies like Billabong and Rip Curl. We got the very unique Roxy Room.

It was quite comfortable and the staff was very friendly. The hotel has a very popular restaurant and an even more popular Rooftop Bar with wonderful views and a zillion people doing alcohol therapy! We saw quite a few middle aged folks walking kind of unsteadily down the stairs during the evening. We just wanted to relax with the A/C on!

La Casa del Camino
1289 S. Coast Highway
Laguna Beach, CA 92651

We headed down one of the streets to watch the sunset.

The next morning the Missus decided She wanted to go on a hike. We had gone to the visitors center downtown the previous evening and the nice gentleman working recommended the Top of the World Loop Trail. So we headed up to Alta Laguna Park and spent a couple of hours on the easy hike......

It was a pretty hot and humid weekend and the views were pretty hazy.

Lots of mountain bikers and dogs were doing the trail. One really funny Retriever refused to even start the hike; he just laid down on all fours. The owner told us; he doesn't like the sun, so I guess we're not going past here today. It was really funny.

There were quite a few critters on the trail, a ton of rabbits, and this one actually shook his rattle at the Missus!

We were done by 930 and the Missus decided that She wanted Vientiane Lao Thai, so we drove over to Garden Grove for an early lunch. We then headed off to Rowland Heights to buy some snacks and other stuffs. We got back during the early afternoon and walked the mile or so to downtown, did some shopping, and scoped out a few more restaurants. In the end, we decided to have dinner at one of the places that was both on my "list" and had been recommended by Elmomonster. Sapphire Laguna; which was also a block away from our hotel. 

The place was booked up; but we took some seats at the bar; which turned out to be an excellent decision. There's a Happy Hour menu, in addition to the regular menu at bar, even on weekends. The lead Bartender was an awesome young man named Paul. He was so friendly and it would turn out quite a mixologist. The Missus started with a glass of white wine and I had a Macallan 12.

The menu at Sapphire is very....well, global fusion.

We started with the Octopus Aguachile.

The pulpo was very tender and the Missus loved the avocado. It was, of course, bracingly sour, but also quite salty. This was not bad at all.

I saw the Burmese Fermented Tea Salad on the menu and had to try that. The presentation was very "Burma Superstar" if you know what I mean.

I eagerly mixed everything together. This was not bad; though it did miss the mark a bit; it was sour, though for some reason, it lacked the bitter-savory-slightly tanic tones that make tea leaf salad so addictive. The tomatoes weren't ripe enough to add acidity and there was too much lettuce in comparison to the laphet. Still, like the octopus, this wasn't bad.

At about this time, we'd gotten to know the two local guys sitting next to us on the bar. They were really friendly and we had a nice chat about local restaurants and bars....they both snorted when I mentioned the Rooftop Lounge...."it's only for tourists!" "And so crowded....." They seemed to know the bar staff quite well. I'm guessing they were regulars. About this time, the really busy, but friendly bartender, asked me if I wanted another drink. I said sure, but wondered if he could make me something....I described my tastes, smokey, smooth, bourbon or mezcal, bitters..... And he came up with the perfect cocktail for me.....all my favorite flavors in balance. It was amazing!

I asked him what the name of this cocktail was, and was told "it has no name....I just made it up for you right now". Awesome.

The Missus was still a bit hungry, so just for the heck of it, I ordered the Sonoran Dog off the Happy Hour menu. The Missus just loved this.

I mean, the bun and onions were just decoration. The Missus loved the snap and flavor of the hot dog; which had a mild spice to it; smoky, with a light oregano and perhaps cumin tones....the bacon didn't hurt at all either.

She loved it so much, I ordered another..... and also another "Paul's a Genius"....when Paul asked me what that was, I told him, "I just named that cocktail you made for me!" He cracked up. During a pause in the action, we had a nice chat. He had worked for a while in Seattle and made some recommendations for our next trip up there.

We loved the folks at Sapphire. And the bartender....and that (those) cocktail(s) was perhaps the highlight of the trip for me. We'd made the right choice for dinner.

Sapphire Laguna
1200 S, Coast Highway
Laguna Beach, CA 92651

We had no plans for the rest of the evening. Yes, I know the Pageant of the Masters was going on, but we just wanted to relax, without crowds and such.

We walked south along Coast Highway, past all the hotels and motels.....and headed down to the beach at Woods Cove.....it was beautiful.

The next morning we headed out early. We had lunch reservations and also needed to do a bit more shopping in the SGV.

We'd had a nice relaxing time in Laguna Beach....it's not quite our kind of crowd there; but all the locals and folks working were very nice. I'm glad we had a chance to check things out.

And those sunsets......

Thanks for stopping by!

2020 Tournament of Roses Rose Parade Float Road Test #3. Food from Cream Pan (Tustin), Portos (West Covina) and The Hat (Murietta)

mmm-yoso!!! is a food blog.  Still, there are so many reasons we end up eating the meals that we share here with you.  Cathy is writing today.

Link to Road Test #1 

Link to Road Test #2 

Link to Road Test #4

Link to Road Tests # 5 and #6

The 131st Tournament of Roses Rose Parade (and 106th Rose Bowl football game) will occur on January 1, 2020; the culmination of a week of many other Tournament events.  Preparation begins in mid-January, just after the prior parade is concluded.  The Theme for 2020 is The Power of Hope.  Some floats for the parade are built by Phoenix Decorating Company, which has monthly road tests noted on their website and Facebook page.  The website also notes where you can sign up to volunteer to decorate floats. This Link to The Rose Examiner has a lot of current happenings surrounding the Tournament of Roses.

Last Saturday, a few floats were tested for mechanics and maneuverability.  "Hope Keeps Us Going", the entry for the City of Alhambra looks to be ready for detailed decorating. SInce you see the artist rendition here, I thought that showing you the back of the float might be interesting. 
This float, ridden by the Royal Court (who will be chosen and announced soon) will be the same float as last year, with fresh decorations. 
The same is true for the 'Closing' float- the last in the parade (there's usually someone singing on it). The float reminds everyone to tune in to the Rose Bowl football game, which starts about four hours after the Parade ends.  The Opening, Closing, Royal and Honda floats are never in competition for the awards given for float design and decoration. 
The Huntington is celebrating its 100th year with a float in the 131st Rose Parade.  This was a first Road Test. You may recall this wonderful post, written by Ed (from Yuma) about the lovely visit he and Tina had at The Huntington in 2014. 
 The City of Hope will enter a float for 2020.  It sort of looks like a large tree, with doves, flowers, butterflies and bees randomly scattered in the tree limbs.  I bet it's going to be beautiful.  Hopefully there will be an artist rendition and more details next month.  A quick peek inside the Decorating Barn is showing quite a progression being made on float construction.  

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On to the food portion of the blogging.  

We leave our home at 5 a.m., get to Cream Pan by 6:20.   I have been afraid we are taking Cream Pan for granted and barely even post about our stops here.  Not to fear; there was a notice inside that they are hiring for their new store in Fountain Valley! This morning, we chose a ham and cheese croissant ($2.80) (always good, meaty, cheesy and flaky), a (still warm) crispy cheese bread ($2.50) (fulfills cravings) and an 'orange chocolate' ($2)-new to us-It's almost like croissant dough in torn pieces mixed with dark chocolate bits and a great zip of orange flavor; now another favorite.

Cream Pan 602 El Camino Real Tustin, CA 92780 Open daily 6 a.m.-7 p.m. Website

Watching floats and then leaving, we were six miles away and had to stop at Portos, again.  (My third ever visit, The Mister's second).  Underneath that egg is a wonderful light, soft masa with whole pieces of corn, filled with shredded, slow roasted pork accompanied by a great salsa verde, the Tamal a Caballo ($4.75) is kind of a perfect breakfast.
Since we haven't tried the whole menu (yet), a Medianoche (Midnight sandwich; same fillings as a Cubano, but a different bread) ($5.99) was shared.  Fillings are slow roasted pork, ham, Swiss cheese, Cuban dressing and pickles.  Great flavors and another good choice any time of the day. 
We also shared a ham croquette (95¢)-smoked ham and parsley in a roux, coated with a crispy layer of bread crumbs.  Also one of the trademarked Potato Balls ($1.05)- mashed potato filled with a picadillo (seasoned ground beef with red bell pepper and olives).
Because we were eating in, the Porto's cortadito ($2.69) - two shots of espresso and sweetened condensed milk- was delivered to the table in this cute plastic espresso cup with its own tiny spoon (yes, I brought it home).  We also shared an iced coffee ($2.25). There were also lists made of what else to try, both for us and for cc, Bert and TC.

Porto's 584 S. Sunset Ave., West Covina 91790 (626)214-3490 open Mon-Th 6:30 a.m.-8:30 p.m., Fri-Sat 6:30a.m.-9p.m., Sun 7 a.m.-8 p.m.  Website

The Mister and I weren't really hungry until at the split of the 15 and 215, in Murietta.  The last (or first, if you are heading North) exit is the closest location of The Hat,  just East of the 215 exit.  The Hat started in Los Angeles in 1951.  "World Famous Pastrami Dip" is the primary food item here.  But, there are a few other items on the menu.  

There's a beef dip sandwich ($10.49)
There are also onion rings ($4.99) (whole onions, a nice crunchy breading and quite a large size).
But no.  The Mister has begun looking at photos online.  This.  This is: chili fries ($6.99) (The chili here is noteworthy, the amount of fries you get in a regular 'small' order fills a paper bag) add cheddar cheese ($1.69) add pickles and tomatoes (20¢) add pastrami ($4.99).  It weighed more than two pounds.  After ten minutes, with both of us eating, maybe 1/4 of it was gone.  We took it home.  There were small bites taken for dinner, there were fried potatoes and pastrami for breakfast the next day...
 The Hat 40476 Murietta Hot Springs Road Murietta, CA 92563 (951) 304-2244 open daily 10 a.m.-10p.m.Website 

Road Trip - Vientiane Lao Thai Restaurant Revisited (Garden Grove)

We were in the OC and it felt like a bazillion degrees. It was 10 in the morning and we were getting hungry, so where to go? I had a couple places in mind; though it was just too hot for most of what I had in mind. The Missus had a favorite of Hers, Song Long in mind. And then it came to Her....what would be perfect on a hot and humid day; it had been a while since we'd been to Vientiane; no not the city (though we loved it there); but Vientiane Thai Laos, which we had first tried in 2009 and really enjoyed. So, we drove on over to Westminster Avenue and the strip mall that hosts this little restaurant. Man, has parking always been so bad in this strip mall?

Anyway, the restaurant has changed over the years; it looks much more up to date, though we were hoping that the food would still be the same.

The young lady who served us was adorable, so sweet, and nice.

And of course we started with what was perhaps my favorite version of Nem Khao outside of Vientiane (the city).

Everything was so sparkling fresh. The Missus loved the amount of pork skin and sour sausage in the dish. I wasn't so thrilled as this was not quite as good as what I'd had here before. I thought the rice, instead of being crisp, was on the harder, more chewy side....not bad mind you; just not as crispy, though it was crunchy as what I'd had here on previous visits. There was till that nice sour-sausage-smoky-savory thing going on; but it didn't have the light, faint coconut flavor I recalled.

The Missus wanted Her favorite dish here; the Koong Chae Nam Pa, raw shrimp salad.

These days; the wonderful garlic-lime-fish sauce-chili sauce is now served on the side. Of course it was poured over everything. The shrimp were chilled, with just the amount of toothsomeness you'd want. The tomatoes were perfectly ripe and sweet and tangy. This was every bit as good as what we remembered.

The Missus also wanted Her Lao Style Papaya Salad.

By the time my attention went to this dish, the Missus had almost devoured the whole thing. Not as much salted crab as I recall; but man, this was so perfectly funky and savory; with a stiff spiciness....and again those tomatoes; though this time it had been perfectly bruised in the mortar and was so tender and sweet!

We had decided to add one more dish for the meal and asked the young lady for a suggestion. She recommended the beef salad. Asked how we'd like it done, I said "raw"....she looked up in surprised and said, "are you sure?" And I said, that's how it is traditionally, right? To which she nodded......and it turned out to be the right decision.

And it turned out to be the right decision. Unlike other versions where the meat is minced or chopped and served; this one was pounded in the mortar, making the texture wonderfully tender; like a good tartare. The rice powder added a nice nuttiness; the citrus the acid. The real bonus was the tripe which was surprisingly soft and buttery.

This was just the perfect meal for a hot and humid day. While other tables were getting pad thai and curries (and one dude seemed so hungry he was eating a plain bowl of rice!); we were cooling off with traditional Lao dishes.

It's good to know Vientiane Thai Laos Restaurant is still doing well nearly ten years since we first visited.

Vientiane Lao Thai Restaurant
10262 Westminster Ave
Garden Grove,CA92843
Hours:
Mon      11am - 9pm
Tues     10am - 9pm
Thurs    10am - 9pm
Fri- Sat 10am - 10pm
Sunday   10am - 9pm
Closed on Wednesdays