mmm-yoso!!!

Our Pandemic Takeout Rotation

I was recently pondering what our Pandemic Takeout Rotation is....that is, the places we've done a bunch of takeout from over the last year......I'm guessing that this post is somewhat timely since (not a great thing) the WHO declared Covid-19 to be a pandemic on this day a year ago.

What I did notice is that things like weather, work, cravings, or indecision kind of drove the decision process. So I've categorized places by that process

So here goes.....

For cold weather - Menya Ultra and Woomiok:

Like I mentioned before, I'm not if it's because we're spending more time at home; but this fall and winter seems to be much colder then I recall.

So, of course Menya Ultra's Stay at Home Kit...….so well and thoughtfully put together; love the fresh noodles (i.e. fresh made and uncooked) is our rotation.

It's basically at least two meals......there often is too much noodle; so I'll often use it for another dish.

Menya Ultra Ramen
8199 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92111
858-571-2010

When the Missus or I feel somewhat tired......we enjoy the Emporer's Soup along with an extra side of bone broth from Woomiok.

We enjoy the restorative effects of the bone broth....even if it might be "all in our heads".

This was especially nice after the Missus or I felt some of the side effects from our vaccines.

Woomiok
3860 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111
(858) 737-4599

And then when we're experiences unseasonal warm weather - it's the Market at HFS:

That's an easy one, right? It's also a handy fix when I'm missing "home".

Of course, you know the Missus right? Eating poke just ain't the straightforward for Her......there's a bit of prep involved. Can you imagine when I actually deliver this for Her lunch at work?

And I blew this one because one thing was missing....shiso leaves...sigh....

Hawaiian Fresh Seafood Fish Market
6491 Weathers Place
San Diego, CA 92121
(858) 282-0591

For that "special" takeout dinner - it's Tadokoro:

I guess this one should be pretty obvious based on some of my previous posts.

Sushi Tadokoro
2244 San Diego Ave
San Diego, CA 92110
(619) 297-0298

And when we can't make our mind up? Well, it's probably Noble Chef or Sizzling Pot King:

For those times when we don't really know what to get.

The Noble Chef
6159 Balboa Avenue
San Diego, CA 92111

Though I think we've been getting Sizzling Pot King weekly now.

It's usually two meals for us.....and heck, if you're wondering what I do with those leftover noodles form Menya Ultra.....

 I save all the drippings from the dry pot and use it as a sauce for the noodles....I know, kinda weird, but I like this strange version of Liang Mian…..

Sizzling Pot King
8058 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92111
(858) 279-0088

The Missus's weekend coffee fix from Birdrock:

I'll usually drop off pour over from Birdrock on Morena.

She loves the fruity acidity of African beans and of course when there's Geisha (caution - over $12 a cup for pour over)…..

The folks there already know me by name and make an awesome pour over......even though their spelling can be a bit iffy......

Bird Rock Coffee Roasters
1270 Morena Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92110

And then, there's my weekly reward for working from home - Zgara Greek Grill:

Another pretty obvious pick. I'm not the biggest fan of all this WFH stuff; but Frankie needs and deserves the attention and care. So, once a week I'll reward myself.

Zgara Greek Grill
1229 Morena Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92110

You know looking at this list makes me wonder why other places from my usual rotation like Mien Trung aren't here.....there are some obvious reasons for others; like Yakitori, Yakiniku, Korean BBQ, and some of my regular Japanese restaurants....well, I just think takeout wouldn't do justice to the food.....though maybe EE Nami might make this list soon.

Anyway; here's looking to brighter days....I'm hoping the light at the end of the tunnel is coming into view.

And of course, I want to know, what has your takeout rotation been?

From Winter to Summer in a Week! Revisits to Menya Ultra and The Market At HFS

Well, so far the first couple of weeks of the New Year has been quite hectic....not only work, but sadly, Frankie had a seizure on New Year's Day. He's doing fine now, eating, drinking, pooping....going on walks. He's been blind for a while and has dementia, but hanging in there. We've set-up sort of a "senior living" area for him, with an indoor/outdoor rug, several beds, indoor dog gates, and one of those indoor wifi cams with pet motioned detector, and such. He's doing as well as possible considering the circumstances.

And like I said, we take a couple of walks during each day and I'm surprised that there are places within two blocks of home that I had never discovered before.

And then of course; there's been the weather! From the mid-40's around New Year to record breaking highs in the 80's this past week.

Our eating definitely reflects that.

We started with our usual takeout from Menya, during the first week of January with temps dipping into the high 40's and low 50's; adding in a "ahem" snack for me, some Negipon; which the Missus also enjoyed.

I've gone thru "my drill" with the stay at home kit before; so I won't beat that dead horse. I will say that I used the leftover noodles to make a nice Japanese curry noodles for one of my lunches.

Menya Ultra Ramen
8199 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92111
858-571-2010
Current Hours:
Mon - Thurs 1030am - 2pm, 4pm - 8pm
Fri - Sun   1030am - 8pm

And then this past week happened....man, I don't recall having the mercury hit the mid-80's where we live in January. So the Missus was wanted Her "fix" from HFS.

I had to work a couple of hours during the weekend anyway and then headed off at around 935, getting to HFS right before 10.....and there were already 3 parties ahead of me in line!

Regardless, things went quite quickly. I hadn't been here since winter hit.....now HFS has two registers and things go a bit faster.

The Missus got Her fix....though one of these days I'll go through "the drill"....as the Missus has Her poke "done" a certain way.

In my opinion, still the closest I can get to "home". Though "FOY" ChrisR, who is from Hilo told me things can be slim pickins' around closing time at HFS......which makes sense; we wouldn't go to our poke places near closing as all you going get is da leftova's….

Anyway, we're hoping you're hanging in there. My true hope is that we're seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.

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

Take care and be safe!

New to the Rotation (You can probably guess) - The Market At HFS and Zgara Grill

Yes, you can probably guess which places are now on our "rotation". And, I'm pretty sure after this pandemic is over these two places will still be frequently visited by us that I didn't even write "Pandemic Rotation" in the title.

I'm sure you already read my initial posts on HFS and Zgara as those two posts probably had the most comments I've seen in a while.

Anyway, here goes:

Hawaiian Fresh Seafood Fish Market:

Geeez, the Missus has me going at least twice a week, sometimes three times, you can tell She's been missing "home". Here are a couple of things I've noticed.

1 - There's more variety on the weekends.

On Saturday, they have two lines for poke. And, there's often something different on offer; like on this particular weekend.

Yes, it's the "Pretty Much Just Ahi"...….just seasoned with salt, sesame seeds, green onions. The quality of this fish was quite good.

The Missus added a bit of shoyu and wasabi to Hers......I didn't need anything.

On one weekend there was bluefin shoyu poke.....that was ono!

The item I've seen every weekend was the Hawaiian Ahi. It has a bit of limu in it, not much, but enough for you to get a taste.

2 - Of course weekends are also kinda busy.

I usually get to HFS right before they open and have noticed over the last couple of weekends, there's a line to get in before they open. It's getting longer every week.

I guess word is getting out.

3 - Don't forget to get Da' Card.

HFS has a card that will earn you a stamp for every $10 purchase.

After 10 stamps; you get a free medium poke bowl.

Sad thing is; that you gotta be ova' the increment of $10...….if you spend $29.99, you only get two stamps. Oh well.

Still, that's my third full card ready to go.

4 - Speaking of Medium Poke Bowls.....

If you're not going to eat the bowl right away - get them to split it for you. They'll separate the rice from the fish.

There's no way I can finish all that rice. In fact, the Missus and I will split the rice, so this works out perfect......only thing is, She is making me order brown rice now!

Also, this is a nice way to try smaller portions of other "stuffs" like the tako or albacore....the sesame albacore isn't bad and once they had kimchi tako that was pretty good as well.

So there you go.....I know I missed something, but heck, that just means I can do another post, right?

Hawaiian Fresh Seafood Fish Market
6491 Weathers Place
San Diego, CA 92121
(858) 282-0591
Covid-19 Hours:
Daily 10am - 4pm

Zgara Greek Grill:

Right now, since they've reopened on Morena, Zgara has been a twice weekly stop for me. I know I'll eventually try some of the other stuffs on the menu....but the pork gyros was already my favorite from their days in PB. And upon walking into the shop, I'm fixated on that beautiful rotating pile of pork.

So, I'm sticking with that for now.....

I'll let you folks tell me what else is good on the menu.....

Not much else to say. And while I've heard that "ChrisW" said I had a moment of "uncontrollable incontinence" (my translation) when confronted with my pork gyro; to be perfectly clear, I didn't. Though it did get mighty close there. I'm not quite that old yet.

Still, his might be well worth peeing in my pants for.....

I spoke to the owner on my last visit since I've seen him there every day. He told me that finding someone who can make his food the "right way" is difficult to find; so he's working everyday for now. A definite win for us, but I hope he doesn't burn out.

I had a "FOY" who asks to remain anonymous send me this screen shot a few weeks back (thanks!) - from back in 2015! I had forgotten all about it. It still holds true today:

Hmmmm…….I think I know what's for dinner.

Zgara Greek Grill
1229 Morena Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92110
Hours:
Sun - Thurs 11am - 9pm
Fri - Sat   11am - 10pm

So, there you go....I think you'll be free of more posts from HFS and Zgara for a while......I've just kinda stopped taking photos since I've been going to both places so often.

Hope everyone is keeping safe and in good health!

The Market At HFS (Hawaiian Fresh Seafood) - Finally, Some Decent Poke!

I'm not quite sure how I heard about Hawaiian Fresh Seafood.....having combed thru my emails, I'm thinking it was via the "coconut wireless". Anyway, I decided to head on over to a business park in Sorrento Valley, off of Mira Mesa Boulevard, to this Seafood Wholesaler's retail market; a la Catalina Offshore.

This is one of those places that you probably wouldn't stumble across. There is a small outdoor dining area and on the side of the building you'll find the retail entrance.

And from here you just follow the signs to the retail area.

I recall being told that during these times; and I'm referring to Covid-19, the Seafood Market operation will sometimes run out of product. So, I made it a point to get there just right after they open at 10am. And wouldn't you know it; there was already four people ahead of me at different stages of being served.

I'm not sure what the Hawaii connection is with this company; I read that they have their own fishing fleet. And guess what? The really nice young man taking care of me is from Ewa Beach! As I spoke, he immediately asked me where I was from...… He is currently going to college here in San Diego.

I took a look at what was offered....it's kinda obvious that I wasn't going to be getting any salmon.....I was, after all, missing "home" and was to get something with Ahi.

So, I got the two scoops poke for $12.99. It's so simple; just like our favorite places back home, this ain't no "chi-poke" shop. It's just poke and rice. I got the Shoyu Ahi and the California Ahi.

First thing I noticed was the quality of the fish; no "sugi" (connective tissue), the fish had the perfect, slight buttery-meatiness to it. The Shoyu Ahi had been nicely seasoned, not overdone, but well coated, not overly salty; the texture as quite good. There was a bit too much mayo on the California Ahi for me; and just a bit too much "stuff". But man, the texture of the fish is what got me. Let's not get too overblown with this....this isn't as good as our favorites back home; but it's good enough to be at what I call "good supermarket" level for the islands.

To put it frankly; this makes the stuff at the place that claims to be "1-1/2" to be closer to "1/3"...….you know the word "one" and the word that sounds very much like "third".

I decided to return the next day and hit the place up on my way back home to check on Frankie to grab some poke for the Missus. She's been kind of bummed that we can't travel and especially aren't really able to go back home to visit Her parents. Spending our entire time (14 days) in quarantine would just not do it for us.

This time I even took notice of the fresh fish available......that premium grade ahi looked pretty good.

I ended up getting four 1/2 pound portions for us to sample.

Clockwise from the top - Kilauea Volcano Ahi, Spicy Ahi, Spicy Cilantro, and Shoyu Ahi.

Of course, the hands down favorite was the Shoyu Ahi. Even though it was "less dressed" than before, we just loved the meaty-tender Ahi, no off flavors...….I looked on that "four lettered" site and someone complained that the Poke only had soy sauce flavor to it....well, duh.....

The "Volcano" was quite spicy, fish was good, in fact, it was good quality across the board.

Fish nicely coated, not overly salty.

Both Spicy Ahi Poke had a bit too much mayo for my taste. I'm not the biggest fan of this style, but the Missus enjoys it, and of course has "trained me well" in making the stuff.

In the end; it's all about the fish for me and this place has delivered on both my visits. And I've been told that they sometimes have Ahi Limu, which I'm hoping is true. For now, I'll be happy with getting the Shoyu Ahi Poke.....which, for me, an ex-pat Kama'aina who isn't able to have a fruitful visit "back home" right now, means the world.

Hawaiian Fresh Seafood Fish Market
6491 Weathers Place
San Diego, CA 92121
(858) 282-0591
Covid-19 Hours:
Daily 10am - 4pm

It's Raw Poke Shop

I'd been hearing about It's Raw for a while; first when they opened in various Farmer's Markets, then when there was a truck for a while. After the brick and mortar shop opened, I had thoughts about checking them out, which I mentioned in various posts. I'd heard that it was real-deal poke; not one of these mainland "chi-poke" places.

But finally, I was missing poke, even though it had been not that long since I'd been home and had poke just about every day, even a couple of time on Lana'i. Now that Zarlitos was no longer an option for poke, I decided to finally head on down to OB and It's Raw.

Of course, this would be a weekend, so traffic in and out of OB was bad and finding parking....well, that was a total horror show.

 

Finding It's Raw was interesting as well.....the address says Newport Avenue; but the "true" entrance to the shop (you can walk through the corner store to find another entrance in the back) is actually on Bacon Street.

 

I liked the look of the fish in the trays. Not too many options, which was fine with me. I just got a Poke Plate ($15) which comes with two choices of poke. I also went with one scoop rice, one scoop mac salad.

The rice was nicely made. The mac salad was actually spaghetti salad, very plain, not too much mayo, nicely chilled and seasoned.

The shoyu poke came with sauce on the side. It was super salty and lacked depth, but even thoguh the fish was a bit "dry", I couldn't gripe about the fish quality. The wasabi poke was better; well sauced, but overly salty, and fairly light in terms of wasabi. While there was some "sugi" (connective tissue) on several pieces, this was the better of the two poke.

This was solid; good fish, though not great poke in terms of flavor. I had seen kalua pig on the menu and the Missus also wanted to try the poke so I returned the following weekend....oh my, even worse traffic, and I eventually had to pay for parking in the CVS lot since none could be had. I guess I could have headed on down early; like a couple of hours before the noon opening time of It's Raw.....

Anyway; I got the "Pig and Poke" ($20), and selected the Kimchi Poke and the Furikake Poke. I got a half pound each of the kimchi and wasabi poke for the Missus....$45 for take-out.....whoa.

This time I got two scoops of rice; which was actually a good move. In terms of moisture and texture the kalua pork is better than the recent version I had at Da' Kines. It was however, much too salty and could have used more smokiness. It was not bad though.

The best item was the furikake poke; which they didn't have last time. A nice balance of salt-shoyu-a slight sweetness, along with the nutty-savoriness that furikake provides.

The kimchi poke was salty and lacking in a savory-umami-spicy kimchi flavor. The fish was even better quality this time.

That was a huge portion of kalua pork.

The Missus was not impressed by the kimchi or the wasabi poke; though She did think the furikake poke was much better. And while She also thought the fish quality was good; I don't think She'll be craving this.

As for me; well, maybe if I'm off during the week or can find myself in OB during some reasonable hour where I can actually find some parking I'll return. Or maybe they'll open a bit earlier. Still, It's Raw might be the best option for poke in San Diego right now.

 

It's Raw Poke Shop
4991 Newport Ave. (the storefront is actually on Bacon St.)
San Diego, CA 92107
Hours:
Tues - Sun 12pm - 6pm

Clearing Out the Memory Card - Revisits to Ono Seafood (Kapahulu) and Tanioka's (Waipahu) and Jiaozi for Dinner (of course)

Just a quick post for tonight!

During our last full day back "home"; we headed out to do some shopping, you know omiyage stuffs. We also went to Foodland Farms in Ala Moana Center and of course ogling the Park Lane Condos. I made the Missus promise if we ever hit it big in the lottery (though it would have to be pretty big), we'd get a place there!

As for grindz; well, it was a rerun of places we posted on many times before. We'd already hit up Fresh Catch, but the Missus was really missing Her favorite poke stop, so we had to go to Ono Seafood. And, I can say, that after devouring the wasabi poke on brown rice; it's still Her favorite.

Ono Seafood
747 Kapahulu Ave.Apt 4
Honolulu, HI 96816

We made a few more stops; then headed back to Ewa Beach....but of course, I had to stop at Tanioka's for our last poke fix.

We got the Hot Alae and the Ahi Limu bowl and ate it when we got back to my In-Laws.

Tanioka's Seafood and Catering
94-903 Farrington Hwy
Waipahu, HI 96797 

Regardless of what the folks who love those "Chi-poke" places in San Diego say.....there's nothing even close to what we have back home.

As is the family tradition my MIL made jiaozi for our last dinner together.

We ate way too much!

And then the next day; after a light breakfast, it was time to leave.....for now.

Though a part of me will always stay here and I'll never forget where I'm from. As the years go by; I've gained a greater appreciation for this special place.

I still shake my head when I think; how the heck this poor kid from Kaimuki, who never left the state of Hawaii until the age of thirty, took a consulting job from a Mainland Firm a few years later. On the way to his first gig in Fort Smith, Arkansas he met his future wife on the first leg of that flight from HNL to LA. Life is funny that way, huh?

Thanks for stopping by!

Poke Etc Revisited

OK, so no more poke at Zarlitos, huh? I was in National City; so I decided to revisit Poke Etc to see what was up. There's been some adjustment to the menu; but I decided to grab some lunch. I also got Calvin the Haupia mix his Missus likes so much.

I got the Lau Lau Combo.

Which was ok for "mainland Lau Lau"....that would be; too lean, no salted butterfish. But man, I do miss the smokey flavor of luau leaf and I guess I got my fix in this case. It's actually better than some of the other versions I've had on the mainland over the years.

The rice was same as before; on the dry side.

I ordered the Basic Spicy Ahi; but what I got was weird, not spicy, way too much sesame oil, the fish was fairly low quality, kind of mushy.

The following weekend I needed to go into work....so, of course I headed into the opposite direction....you can call it procrastination, denial, passive-aggressive, or what have you. I needed to grab something to eat, so I decided to give Poke Etc another shot. This time I got the Poke Salad, with Ahi Limu.

The quality of the fish was much better than on previous visits. Maybe because it was something like 945 in the morning? The poke wasn't combined with the shoyu real well and the limu was mushy and all stuck together. The "salad" was a typical mixed greens, which is what I kind of expected. At least the fish was better this time around.

Not sure if I'll be back again soon though. I still need to get to It's Raw in OB. My sources tell me it's more "real", not the typical "chi-poke" kind of place....

Poke Etc
916 E 8th St
National City, CA 91950

Hope you have a great weekend!

Honolulu - Ahi Assassins and Walking Around Shirokiya Japan Village Walk

Our first full day back from Lana'i was spent doing a bit of shopping. And of course we wanted to get some grindz. Since we don't visit "Home" very often these days; it's quite easy to fall into the "I gotta get all my favorites" mode....just like the previous evening when we hit up the Alley.

On this day though; I wanted to try someplace new. I'd heard about a newish shop that opened up in Moiliili. One that serves fish from the waters around the islands; Ahi Assassins. Funny, when I read the address, I thought, where the heck in that small strip mall are they? Well; the shop is on the second floor. Just look for the Fish Flags!

There's something wonderfully "neighborly - old school" about this place. Like a small hole-in-the-wall that could have been in your neighborhood in the islands growing up.

There are several poke on offer....when it's gone, it's gone. Kind of reminds me of Ray's Café before they moved to Kalihi (btw, we miss you Reid! Hope all is well), when they were on the corner of Smith and Beretania. They had a hand written sign that said; "when the door is open we open, when its closed, we closed". But I digress.

Anyway, the really friendly guy behind the counter got us trying....well, just about everything.

We ended up spending like almost fifty bucks here on poke!

If you're keeping score; from the top left clockwise; The "Secret", basically a riff on Shoyu Poke, a bit sweet, perhaps a bit too salty, the ahi had a real good texture. The "Lunatic" a mayo-less (yay!) version of spicy poke, a bit too salty, with nice touches of garlic. It wasn't too spicy and the Missus didn't care for what She said was "too chewy and overly sauced". The Hawaiian, very traditional definitely my favorite, great balance with regards to salt - onions, though I really couldn't make out the inamona. Excellent texture with regards to the fish on this one. And, for the Missus, a very typical sriracha-mayo based spicy ahi.

Could not fault the quality of the fish; though some of the preparations seemed a bit over done for us. Still, I'd gladly return.

Ahi Assassins
2570 South Beretania St. #204
Honolulu, HI 96826
Hours:
Mon - Tues 10am - 5pm
Wed - Sat  10am - 6pm
Sunday     10am - 2pm

We actually took our fish down to Ala Moana Beach and just had a nice lunch.

Leaving Ala Moana Park I noticed these window washers working on I believe it's Waiea. Sheesh....talk about a spooky job! Definitely not for me!

One of the reasons we headed down to Ala Moana Beach was to do some shopping at Ala Moana Center. After buying some "stuffs"....well, we weren't through with shopping, but had pretty much done enough for the day, I wanted to check out another newish place that I had read about in the Star-Advertiser and then in post by Kat. Shirokiya, now how's that for a blast from the past, opened up it's own version of a Japanese Food Street called the "Shirokiya Japan Village Walk". So, we just wanted to check it out.

No, we didn't eat here on this trip, but it was fun exploring. We actually did return the next day to pick up some stuffs from Foodland Farms. But as always, so much food, so little time.

Thanks for stopping by!

Monday Meanderings - Smack'n Guamanian Grill Coming to Miramar, No Moa' Poke at Zarlitos, and Some Snackage

I haven't done one of these for a bit, so here are a couple of things I saw this past weekend.

Smack'n Guamanian Grill Taking Over the Bann Bann Cutlet & Teriyaki Location:

Noticed this as I drove past the old Bann Cutlet & Teriyaki location on Miramar. In case you don't know; Bann has reopened in the new H Mart.

I'll miss Bann, but it looks like some Kelaguen is coming our way?

9506 Miramar Rd
San Diego, CA 92126

No Moa' Poke at Zarlitos:

I was hoping to grab some poke this past weekend so I drove down to Zarlitos, which I thought made some pretty decent poke, it had become a favorite of the Missus, and I enjoyed having a "Poke-silog" from time to time. First thing I noticed was a sign on the door announcing that Zarlitos was raising their prices. I walk in and quickly noticed no poke in the fridge and a sign that said there has been a management change and no more poke.

Looks like I'm going to have to work on a replacement.

Zarlitos Family Restaurant
505 East 8th St.
National City, CA 91950

And finally......

A Bit of "Snackage":

During my last trip to the SGV for an appointment; I stopped by Hong Kong Plaza, which has gone thru so many changes since we lived in the neighborhood in the late 90's. I quickly noticed how much HK Market had changed; especially the snack selection. So, when we recently drove up to the SGV for lunch (that post is coming soon), I convinced the Missus to drop by the market.

At first She wasn't too keen on the idea......but then

She saw the snacks and had a pretty good haul.

The salted egg fish skin is pretty heady stuff; deeply savory, and not cheap at almost ten bucks a package.

We did have a good time.....and because I was curious, I also got a bottle of the 3 year aged black vinegar ($8.29!!!) for my jiaozi as well.

While I was there, I actually saw a customer grab that bottle on the left, open the cap, and pop the tab to have a whiff. Sigh.....some things never change.

Hong Kong Supermarket
18414 Colima Rd #1
Rowland Heights, CA 91748

Gaya Gaya - A First Look(s)

***** Gaya Gaya has closed

About a week-and-a-half ago, one of the folks in the office told me that Sarap had changed owners.

A day later, I read in the Eater that DJ Tangalin had taken over the spot and renamed it Gaya Gaya.

While I thought my meals at Bivouc Ciderworks were a bit of a mixed bag, I was interested in checking the place out. As were a couple of other folks so we headed on over.

The interior looks a bit more spacious; the rather huge benches and tables had been removed and things spaced out a bit better. Other than that things looked pretty much the same. The "Sarap" signage is still up, but one look at the menu and you know it ain't the same place. The names of the dishes are familiar, but reading the descriptions, well, it was now a different world. There seemed to be fusion touches to many of the dishes.

Of course; there were those that were excepted.

It had been ages since I've had decent Balut….but man five bucks! Whatever, I decided to try it. No one else around the table wanted to join me though.

In most cases; I've had it overcooked, which really didn't help texturally. Also, the nice "fowl-ly" flavors are lost. This was nice, soft, juicy, savory, with a light mustiness. I have a couple of stories about the first couple of times I had balut back home in Hawaii; but I'll save that for another day. I really enjoyed this version as it wasn't over-cooked.

The Bicol Express ($15) here is served with mussels.

While I missed the spice (thus not really Bicolano in my mind) and the usual good dose of bagoong; the mussels were tender and those twice cooked potatoes did well in the dish. This dish seemed more Thai than Filipino to me. Still, not bad.

The Bagoong Fried Rice ($6) on the other hand was terrible.

The rice wasn't coated well; there were many clumps and some really hard pieces of rice. Not enough bagoong for our tastes. All of us had eaten the bagoong fried rice at Sarap, which was much better than this.

Calvin just had to order the "Award Winning" Tuna Poke ($13).

Maybe it's because I just got back from visiting "home"; but man, this was bland. It seemed so good while reading it through on the menu; but the fish wasn't coated well enough, not enough white shoyu. The fish itself was fine, moist, tender, but was just so bland.

Next up; the Crispy Pata ($19).

This was interesting; the pata seemed brushed with a slightly sweet glaze. It was served with a pseudo atsara which had masago in it. The soy concoction was interesting as it had a good balance of salty and sour. Sadly, the skin of the pata was really hard....not crunchy or crisp, hard. The flesh was also quite dry...not sure why the mint-dill garnish was necessary. It was disappointing.

So, a bit disappointing, but I wanted to do a revisit a few days later....sadly, I had no takers so I headed over by myself.

I decided to go with the Adobo Rice Bowl ($12). This was quite good.

The pork belly was cooked just the way I like; not falling to pieces, but super tender and moist. The sauce was a perfect balance of salty to mildly sour, with just a hint of sweet. The porkiness of the pork belly came through nicely as well. The rice was decently cooked, perhaps a bit on the dry side. The pickled cucumbers helped to cut the richness of the dish. No, it's not your typical "gut-busting" portion; but more quality than quantity.

I also decided to the order the Pinakbet ($9).

This was decent; the eggplant soft and buttery; the pumpkin was slightly firm and not mushy, with a touch of sweetness. Loved the bagoong in this....it added a wonderfully pleasing savoriness and saltiness to the dish. I did sorely miss ampalaya (bittermelon); which I think adds tannic-bitterness to pinakbet.

Overall, a decent visit. Which had me wondering; was the first visit just a fluke? So, I decided to drop by one more time. Not being particularly hungry; I just went with the Chicken Tocino Rice Bowl ($11).

Not quite sure about this....the chicken thighs didn't seem to have been marinated enough. It had a decent amount of saltiness; but really needed that fruity sweetness (usually from pineapple if I recall), and some tanginess. The color was really light and the chicken was on the dry side. The egg was overcooked for my taste; I'd have preferred easy over. The rice was moist and fragrant.

Well, not sure what to make of my visits. The Servers working, a different one on each of my visits are very friendly; but man, the space is so large, so I'm hoping they'll staff a bit better. I feel the prices would be fine for elevated Filipino food; but I'm not sure if that's what is happening here. Still, things are still on soft-opening mode. The chef was either meeting with folks or doing paperwork in the dining area on each of my visits.

I'm going to revisit in a couple of months; hopefully things will just keep on improving.

Gaya Gaya
7580 Miramar Rd
San Diego, CA 92126
Hours:
Daily 11am - 3pm, 5pm - 9pm