mmm-yoso!!!

A5 Wagyu Beef Rice from Sizzling House & Noodle

One of the other victims of the China Max fire in 2020 was the Convoy location of Tasty Pot. The place was repaired with the same owners in place; but I'm guessing with all the hot pot restaurants dotting the area the proprietors decided to go in a different direction, deciding on a sizzling plate/pepper lunch concept named Sizzling House which opened in December.

I'd been trying to talk the Missus into visiting, but She didn't seem to enthusiastic about "feeding another fad", but She finally encouraged me to check the place out on my own.

So, I decided to head on over; arriving right after 11 on a weekday. The spacious restaurant had but one table occupied when I arrived and just two when I left.

As is the trend with many restaurants these days; ordering is done via QR code. Though I found the folks working to be quite attentive, which is probably pretty easy with just two tables occupied.

Funny thing; as I was looking thru the menu; the Missus sent me a text encouraging me to order the Japanese A5 Wagyu. When I said I thought it was waaaay too expensive, She kept insisting! Perhaps She was just feigning Her distinerest?

I finally relented and ordered the Japanese A5 Wagyu rice, meat medium rare, with an egg (of course) which had a $1.99 upcharge. This wasn't cheap by any means.

Though you did get a free green tea, with or without hot or cold, with or without sugar.

My plate came out, with a cardboard "crown" to protect the innocent fairly quickly. It was sizzling quite nicely.

 The portion of rice was quite large there was corn and edamame scattered about the hot plate. The beef, supposedly four ounces was topped with a small scoop of butter, which I thought wasn't necessary.

The pepper sauce came in a small gravy boat. I tasted the sauce; which was interesting as it was much spicier than the usual Taiwanese Black Pepper sauce. The sauce was rather rich in texture with some decent tangy tones, a mild sweetness, and a savory component. I think this kind of overpowered the black pepper component. For some reason, I thought it would go great with shrimp?

The beef was a rather thinly sliced and I got to moving it quickly so it wouldn't overcook.

With the beef sidelined to prevent overcooking; I worked on mixing the rice, other stuffs, and sauce to get things nicely coated. In some ways, I almost wished this was in a dolsot as some caramelization and crispy bits would add to texture and flavor.

As a whole, the sauce overpowered the beef which I'm glad I moved to the side and ate without contact with the sauce. You could cut it with the fork, but I don't think I'd get this again. As much as I thought that there was a good amount of sauce, I think I could have used even more! Though the rice did taste pretty good; and the corn added some sweetness and in combination with the edamame more textural contrast.

Then again, I'm not going to spent forty bucks for a "funky fried rice"; though, like I mentioned above, I do think I'll return to try with the chicken or perhaps have another sauce, mushroom and Japanese curry are offered.

The Missus didn't care for the leftovers as it was too "rich" for Her. Though I'm glad I tried Sizzling House out; as I thought it was better than expected. Service was very nice as well.

Sizzling House & Noodle
4698 Convoy St. Suite 107
San Diego, CA 92111
Current Hours:
Mon - Thurs 11am - 3pm, 5pm - 930pm
Friday            11am - 3pm, 5pm - 10pm
Saturday       11am - 10pm
Sunday         11am - 930pm

Niu Rou Mian from Zen Modern Asian Bistro (Sabre Springs)

In the comments section of my post on the Banh Mi Bo Kho from Pho Lucky, "FOY" Dereck mentioned the Beef Noodle Soup from Zen Modern. I found this interesting since Calvin had also mentioned enjoying the Niu Rou Mian from Zen Modern. So, I guess it was time to make my way to Sabre Springs to check things out. 

I found the location of the restaurant to be interesting, right next to the MTS parking lot, in a small strip mall with a tight parking lot, squeezed between a 7-11 and a location of March and Ash which was doing some major business.

As for the restaurant, well it was empty at a few minutes past eleven.

Once seated, I was handed a menu that had everything from Egg Rolls to Salt & Pepper Wings to Udon to Kimchi Fried Rice to Nigiri to a huge collection of "Rolls"....you kinda see why I hesitated in visiting. Both Dereck and Calvin advised me to only get the Beef Noodle Soup. Which I finally found on the menu below the Crispy Chicken Spring Roll and above the Chinese Chop Salad.

So, I placed my order for the Beef Noodle Soup ($19) and the default dining utensil was delivered to the table.....

Hmmm.....luckily there were packs of wooden disposable chopsticks in the container on the table. 

This is what the niu rou mian looked like.

    This was actually not bad. The soup could have used more anise and beef flavor for my taste, but it had a mild peppery spice, a balanced sodium content, good soy sauce tones, and was not bad at all. In fact, I've definitely had worse in the Convoy District and at a popular chain from Taiwan in Mira Mesa...this was definitely better in my opinion. The richness and texture of the soup was on par with what I've had in San Diego.

The noodles were slightly over cooked, thus they lacked a good "QQ" springiness but were fine.

The beef were a mixed bag, some really under cooked and tough pieces, while some bits were very tender and tasty.

Overall, I was rather pleasantly surprise considering the almost Americanized Asian Fast-Foodish looking shop and menu with dishes from all of East Asia. The price at nineteen bucks wasn't a bargain, but like I said, I've had worse in the "Asian districts" of San Diego. If Zen was in my 'hood, I'd probably have the NRM every once in a while.

Who knew; NRM in Sabre Springs!

Zen Modern Asian Bistro
13510 Sabre Springs Pkwy Suite 103
San Diego, CA 92128
Current Hours:
Mon - Thurs 10am - 9pm
Friday            10am - 10pm
Saturday       11am - 10pm
Sunday          11am - 9pm

Thanks for the recommendation Dereck!

Bei Yuan Tea & Boba (Just Drink) (former Tea Station)

mmm-yoso!!! welcomes you (back) to our food blog.  Cathy has some time to write about a local spot today (she has been crazy busy) while Kirk has been unable to connect to wifi, elsewhere in the world. 

I think my most recent post on Tea Station was in 2021.

The San Diego franchised locations seem to have disappeared and 'our' location (on Clairmont Mesa Boulevard)  has been re-named Bei Yuan Tea & Boba.

There are two self-serve kiosks in this lobby area as well as the walk up cash register where you can order snacks and beverages "to go", or you can have a seat and soon you will have a person drop by to take your order. 

The menu is very similar to Tea Station.

We ordered a pot of hot original green tea ($4.95 plus $1 for the large size).  It is an excellent fresh flavored tea.

The pork dumplings with the added side dish of three sides ($18.97) make a great meal.  The dumpling skin is not too thin nor too thick and the pork filling is plentiful and very flavorful.  The sides change daily and usually one is warm with meat and two are chilled. 

We decided to try the popcorn chicken with fruits ($8.98).  It arrived with sliced (sweet) onions on top.  If you haven't paid attention, The Mister hates onions.

So, they were removed, allowing the fruit and chicken to be exposed. 
The chicken pieces were quite good; larger pieces of dark meat, lightly breaded and with a proper fry (not greasy).  This was quite enjoyable. 

Since we were here, a Shaved Ice was ordered.  Strawberry milk with mixed jelly and 50% sweet (not as much condensed milk) ($7.73). This was an excellent dessert. 

Bei Yuan Tea & Boba 7315 Clairmont Mesa Blvd San Diego 92111 (858) 268-8198 Open daily 11:30 a.m.-midnight

As we were paying, I noticed this stainless cabinet with dry tea leaves and mesh bags in the lobby area.

 

I filled a bag and have it inside the car; a nice, subtle reminder of the scent of tea.

 

Bopomofo Cafe - A Grand Opening Quick Look (the Food)

**** Well, much like my post on the recently opened Zhengxin Chicken Steak, this was kind of a spur of the moment stop.

The Missus and I were talking about our trip to Taiwan, we'd had such a great time. That's when I made mention of Bopomofo's Grand Opening in San Diego. We've passed Bopomofo so many times in the SGV, it's in the same strip mall as Golden Deli on Las Tunas Drive, where our favorite location of Tasty Noodle House used to reside and had always seem busy. So, of course, now the Missus was interested. I had heard of crazy lines and such, so I told Her we'd wait for a while before visiting, but She insisted on me checking things out.

So, I said I'd drive by when the place opened and if there was a line I'd bail. Well, guess what? It was right at 11 and there was no line!

Sigh.....

So, I decided to head on in and it turned out I was the fourth person in line! I wasn't going to be getting any tea or boba here; that's the Missus's thing. I looked over the food offerings.

Like the Eater's post mentioned, there's a good deal of fusiony items on the menu. And hailing from one of the hotbeds of "regional fusion", I've come to believe that "base/foundation" dishes are just as, or even more critical than the fusion stuffs. So, before trying out the Beef Noodle Soup Sandwich or the Mapo Tots, I thought I should try the Lu Rou Fan and the Taiwanese Popcorn Chicken. But, on a interesting note; the guy behind me started chatting me up and he recommended the Hainan Chicken Tacos. So, I thought why not?

I placed my to-go order, paid, and waited. By the time I paid and walked to the stand up table to wait, the line was creeping to the door.

It did take 40 minutes for my to-go order, so I'm glad I went early. By the time I left, the line was out the door.

So, here's what I unpacked at home.

First up, the Hainan Chicken Tacos ($13.75). These were kinda tiny tacos for almost $14.

 The tacos were served on blue corn tortillas, that were very dry, tough, and really didn't add anything to the dish. Likewise the sweet chili sauce provided. 

I first tasted the chicken itself, which was not bad; though on the dry side; the "fowl-ly" ginger tones came thru nicely. But it was just lost when using the sauce and the cardboard like tortillas just made things blander.

As for the Lu Rou Fan ($14), you can tell this ain't Taiwan by the prices right? Well, I wasn't expecting Jin Feng Braised Pork Rice. And this wasn't close, but it wasn't terrible.

 

In terms of texture, the pork was on the tougher side, the rice was hard and dry, and they actually stretched things out with mushroom, which isn't a bad option. The mustard greens really woke you up since it was super bitter. The egg was warm, perfectly cooked, and seasoned. The flavor of the pork was quite anise-cinnamon forward and a bit on the saltier side of things.

Overall, not bad, but I'm not sure if this is worth $14.

And finally, the Popcorn Chicken ($12.50), I chose the "classic version" with dark meat (of course) chicken. I thought this was a decent portion for the price.

Sadly, the chicken had lost all it's crispness during the drive home. It was also on the dry side of the scale. Even after doing the air fryer "revive" step, it was still not as crisp as I like. Like the pork, this was a bit on the salty side of things; but I was happy to note that a decent, peppy pepperiness and the flavor of basil; not sure how that was since there was but a string of fried basil in the box, came thru nicely. I believe the the version from Soup du Jour (funny, I thought I did a post on the place, but I guess not?) is better both in texture and flavor.

The staff here were very nice. Wait times and such are rather long right now, but I'll attribute that to being newly opened. It seems, with places like Zhengxin and the soon to (hopefully) open Juewei, Convoy is in its next phase with these fast-casual places that are more targeted to the younger generation. I'm hoping that Convoy district will still cultivate mom-and-pop restaurants though.

As for Bopomofo; my next visit will have to wait, as I didn't think the food was enough to deal with the crowds. Unless of course, the Missus want to get Her tea/boba fix here.

Bopomofo Cafe
7951 Othello Ave. Suite 106
San Diego, CA 92111
Current Hours:
Mon - Fri 11am - 8pm
Sat - Sun 12pm - 8pm

Taipei - Fuzhou Ancestral Pepper Cake and Returning on EVA Airlines

After an early dinner at Kao Chi we took a round about way back to our hotel room. While walking up Chongqing South Road the Missus noticed a food stall. She had remembered how much I enjoyed the Hujiao Bing ( Pepper Bun) at the Wenhua Road Night Market and pointed out the stand to me. It is named Fuzhou Ancestral Pepper Cake. 

The pepper buns were actually made on the spot. And then cooked in a tandoor style oven.

Even though we had just finished dinner, I just had to have one!

I couldn't wait to tuck into the pepper bun. Heck, this isn't Japan, it isn't taboo to walk and eat, so I just went for it.

 The bun is thin with a slight pleasing crispness to it. The filling was scalding porky heaven, with nice hints of black pepper, mild sweetness, and savory tones. This was delici-yoso!!!

I jokingly told the Missus that I'd return to Taiwan just for the Pepper Bun and Pork Chops! Actually, I'm not really joking!

Fuzhou Ancestral Pepper Cake
No. 13, Section 1, Chongqing South Rd.
Zhongzheng District, Taipei City, Taiwan

Well, this was it. Our flight out of Taoyuan International Airport was leaving for LA at 10am in the morning. Luckily, our accommodation was right next to the Z2 Exit for Taipei Main Station. Even though the station is still confusing for us, we found the ticket office, and got on to the Taoyuan Airport MRT Express which takes 35 minutes to get to the airport.

And since we were flying Business Class we were able to access the lounge. 

Which was quite busy....but it was a nice stop for breakfast.

And the flight back to LA was quite interesting.

It was a nice end to our trip. And it had us thinking about the next time we'll be back here!

Thanks for stopping by!

Taipei - Kao Chi Xinsheng Restaurant

On the way back from our Tea of Taipei tour, our driver/guide started asking about what we had enjoyed eating in Taiwan. Of course we mentioned Lu Rou Fan, Turkey Rice, and how I could not get enough pork chops! And inevitably, the subject of Xiao Long Bao came up. We mentioned going to the original location of Din Tai Fung on Xinyi Road which got a nice nod. Then he quickly asked if we'd been to Kao Chi. Kao Chi? Both the Missus and I had never heard of the place. He then wove us a story of how Kao Chi was started by Kao Su-mei (高四妹) 8 years before Din Tai Fung, back when DTF's owner was still only selling cooking oil. And Kao Chi should have been the famous Xiao Long Bao, but there came a moment when some international news outlet; I couldn't find much to corroborate my story except this, the owner of DTF got the interview instead and the rest, like they say is history. 

You know how much we like a good story! We decided to head to Xinsheng South Road, where the restaurant had moved from it's original location on Yongkang Street and check things out.

It's a nice, bright, and modern storefront. There's a case in front of the shop selling snacks. The restaurant is definitely not as packed in as DTF, more relaxed, and the Missus told me that the customers seemed to be overwhelmingly Taiwanese.

The Missus placed our order which soon started arriving. 

We had enjoyed all the veggies in Taiwan and when we saw white bittermelon on the menu we had to order that.

We loved the texture of this; slightly firm, yet tender. And for some reason, at least to us, white bittermelon while still being quite "puckery" is not a strongly bitter as the green species. 

And of course, we had to get the Pork Xiao Long Bao.

   So, how did this match up? Well, the wrapper was not as tender and more brittle than what we'd had at DTF. The "soup", the aspic based liquid was porky and flavorful. The filling was tender, though not quite as flavorful as DTF in our opinion. Though, it could be that having been to several locations of DTF around the world we've been indoctrinated?

What we really did enjoy was the Shen Jian Bao.

The buns arrived in a metal pan and really didn't look too impressive. But, with a slight adjustment of turning them over.....

At first glance, the tops didn't seem to be as fluffy as we'd prefer our SJB, but we were surprised when biting into them. The dough had a nice mild sweet-savory-yeastiness and that pan fried bottom really added to the textural contrast.

The filling was moist, slightly soupy, tender, porky goodness.

We'd gladly have this again!

Kao Chi Xinsheng Restaurant
No. 167號, Section 1, Xinsheng S Rd.
Da’an District, Taipei City, Taiwan

Man, we were so sad that our tirip to Taiwan was coming to an end. We'd be leaving in the morning. We decided to take a longer walk back to the hotel, walking all the way to Chongqing South Road. And this is where we came across one last, wonderful, surprise!

Stay Tuned!

Taiwan - Maokong Gondola, Shiding District, and Tea

Our time in Taiwan was nearing an end. We had one last day before leaving. The Missus had become a fan of tea over the last decade, so I decided to book a small group Tea of Taipei tour for us. It turned out that no one else had booked the tour for that day, so we had our guide/driver David to ourselves. It was a fun day, I'm going to mostly post just photos, otherwise this would be a super long post.

We got picked up at our hotel and immediately headed on out. David was amazing, had so much info for us. We were provided tickets for the Maokong Gondola at the Taipei Zoo and were told we'd be met at the top.

It was a fairly clear day, so the views were wonderful.

At the top we were met and taken for a nice stroll....

There are quite a few trails in the area and we were taken to a few of them.

All were easy to traverse.

After which we were taken to the Taipei Tea Promotion Center.

Which went over how tea is produced, the differences, and how to taste and approach tea.

The Missus really enjoyed this.

Taipei Tea Promotion Center
No. 8之2號, Lane 40, Section 3, Zhinan Rd.
Wenshan District, Taipei City, Taiwan

Seeing that the Missus was so interested in tea, David made a couple of stops so we could walk and admire  the fields of tea.

It's quite beautiful!

We then headed to Bitan and walked along the river and on the famous suspension bridge.

There seemed to be a number of hiking trails and walks in the area. I'm sure the Missus wants to return and go hiking here.

It was time for lunch and David asked us if we wanted to eat along the river.......which seemed a bit touristy. The Missus explained that we enjoyed typical, simple Taiwanese food and mentioned Lu Rou Fan. We walked over to nearby Xindian Road to this stand.

Which was ok, not as memorable as Jin Feng.

And then headed of to the picturesque Shiding District.

Making several stops along the beautiful Shihding Ciandao Lake (aka Thousand-Island Lake 千島湖) which is not a lake nor does it have a thousand islands, but is quite lovely nonetheless.

We visited a temple.

When I noticed some abandoned buildings along the shoreline, I was told about the creation of Feicui Dam which created this "lake" and also submerged part if Bishan Village, which was eventually abandoned.

The last stop for the day was the town of Shiding and Shiding "Old Street" which I was told dates back to the Qing Dynasty.

It was quite an interesting rustic town. Our destination was this tea shop.

Where the Missus got schooled in the traditional tea ceremony and tasting by a certified Tea Master.

The Missus really enjoyed this and of course we ended up buying some really great tea as well.

Fongchun (逢春茶莊)
No. 28號, Shiding E St.
Shiding District, New Taipei City, Taiwan

This was a fun day and as we were driven back we had a nice chat with David and he told us an interesting XLB tale and made a recommendation for dinner.....

Stay Tuned!

Taiwan - Dongshan River Forest Park, National Center for Traditional Arts (Wujie), Bajia Fish Farm 八甲休閒魚場 (Yuanshan), and Kavalan Distillery

**** This is a pretty long post so I'm not going to spend too much time on food (and whiskey), so if you'd like to return tomorrow I wouldn't hold it against you. But, if you'd like to see more of Taiwan, read on....

Time was flying. It seemed like we had just arrived yesterday and here we were leaving in two days! Wanting to make the most of our remaining time in Taiwan, I went ahead and booked two private tours/drivers. On this day, I wanted to visit one of my favorite whiskey makers while exploring a part of the island we hadn't been to yet.

Our driver was right on time and while she spoke no English, the Missus's Mandarin came in handy. Our driver had an end destination and we left it up to her to make stops along the way.

The first stop was in Yilan. A rather newish "Ecopark", the Dongshan River Forest Park. Opened in 2016, it was a wonderful green space, with art installations along the way. And the railroad still passes thru the park as well.

We enjoyed wandering around and just taking in the art and the beautiful sunny day.

We had some coffee and then headed off to our next stop. Apparently, our driver just got a sort of "vibe" from the Missus for our next stop.

We stopped in Wujie Township at the National Center for Traditional Arts. This 60 acre "town" is devoted to preserving and accenting the heritage of Taiwan, be it crafts, arts, music, and so on.

The various structures represent various architectural styles of Taiwan as well.

There are even temples onsite.

And performance areas as well.

And of course art abounds.

While one could take in the art.....

Or perhaps take a boat ride in the lake.....

There was some serious shopping to be done here.

There ere workshops with artisans in residence actually doing their "thing"!

And you were free to watch.

The one shop were I wish the Missus actually bought something was the one dealing in Black Jade.

Some of the item were just plain stunning.

In the end, after being tempted so many times......

We found something we both liked.

This was fun. We actually spent almost 3 hours here!

And when we left; it was time for lunch. Our driver headed into Yuanshan. We parked and then were led past pools of fishes and other creatures being raised.

This was the restaurant of Bajia Fish Farm. As a whole, a tourist type restaurant.

The interesting thing being that the main product of this "fish farm" is Ayu, also know as "sweetfish". I was quite interested to see how it would taste.

I had read about the fish smelling like watermelon, being sweet and fruity and so on. Basically, this tasted like a milder version of sanma to me.

I was glad to have tried it here, but it wasn't anything special to me. Perhaps being farm raised changed things a bit?

Bajia Fish Farm 八甲休閒魚場 (Yuanshan)
No. 1之10號, Bajia Rd
Yuanshan Township, Yilan County, Taiwan 26444

After lunch we headed down the road a bit, soon arriving at the Kavalan Distillery.

When planning our trip to Taiwan, I had really wanted to visit Kavalan. I first had Kavalan in, of all places Paris at Arnaud Nicolas. The Missus and I really enjoyed it, when having it again at Seven Grand and found that Old Town Liquor carried Kavalan, though I really didn't get the expensive stuff. Over time, I found that I really enjoyed the Solist Amontillado Sherry Cask, but heck, I ain't spending $500 a bottle for it. Anyway, our driver dropped us at the front of the distillery. And we headed in.

Because of the amount of time we'd spent at the National Center for Traditional Arts, it was getting later in the day, and we decided not to do a tour. Instead, we went to the "main" tasting room.

And the Missus and I shared the "World Championship Series" tasting.

And with a touch of water to "open things up", the Amontillado Sherry Cask, with the rich, slightly smoky-nutty-stone fruity flavor was again our favorite.

We really enjoyed this stop!

Kavalan Distillery
No. 326, Section 2, Yuanshan Rd
Yuanshan Township, Yilan County, Taiwan 264

Soon after, it was time to head back to Taipei. It had been a fun day, but now the question was; "what's for dinner?"

Stay Tuned!

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

Taipei - Mountain and Sea House Restaurant

While planning our trip to Taiwan, I came across a Michelin listing for a place called Mountain & Sea House, which had one Michelin Star. But what really got my attention was the restaurant served Taiwanese dishes that harkened back to the 1930's. In addition, the restaurant sourced their ingredients from their own farm, their swine from a ranch that raises indigenous breeds and so forth. Honestly, I could've spent the entire trip eating Lu Rou Fan (and of course pork chops), but that wouldn't be any fan fun, would it? A big plus is that Mountain & Sea House did online reservations, which I took advantage of.

The walk from our hotel was about 25 minutes where we ended up on Ren'ai Road and a lovely looking structure. The really knowledgeable staff told the Missus that the building is in the style of the Japanese Meiji Taisho period, which coincides with the time period of Japanese rule in the country and what is considered the heyday of Taiwanese banquet cuisine by many.

The interior is austere yet classy.

Of course, it was only the Missus and I, so ordering huge banquet dishes was not a possibility, but there is a huge "family menu" for 8 people that needs to be ordered in advance; a bunch of set menus, whole suckling pig, chicken cooked in pork stomach, and a bevy of seafood offerings as well.

We just ordered a couple of interesting items off the a la carte menu.

What was interesting is the the restaurant had it's own beer, barrel aged in wine barrels.

This had some nice tart-fruitiness to it; but wasn't as strong as say, a Belgian (of which I've had a few).

The Missus started with a Rose from Weightstone and winery in Taichung.

Which She really enjoyed. She would have a glass of white from the same winery, which was exclusive to the restaurant later during the meal.

After our tea service....

Our food started arriving. First up, was the eye catching "White Flowered Mountain Gourd".

The zucchini and carrot laced parcel was filled with a concoction of dried scallops, black pork, and several different type of mushrooms. It was a bit milder in flavor than we had anticipated, but man, the velvety chicken stock, seasoned perfectly, studded with sweet-earthy mushrooms was fantastic.

Next up were the Oyster Fritters.

It was the two types of greens; bitter-vegetal-crunchy that made this dish. The oysters and pork were quite mild in flavor and the fritter batter not as crisp as we would like.

My favorite dish of the evening was the Three Cup Pig Tail Stew. What seems like a bajillion years ago, I had my first taste of Taiwanese food in a restaurant in the SGV. One of the dishes was Three Cup Chicken. It was love at first bite! It was strange for us to not come across that dish in restaurants we visited in Taiwan? Regardless, this was amazing.

At first glance, the pork looked really dark, but it wasn't overly salty, loved the whole cloves of sweet-pungent garlic, a hint of ginger wafted through the air. The earthy mushrooms added another "meaty" dimension to the meal. The pig tail was swiny, the skin soft, the pieces of cartilage perfect for gnawing. The fragrant basil added the necessary herbaceous-anise tones to the dish.

The "Maqaw" Roast Pork was fine if a bit underwhelming.

Love the tender - porkiness; but the pork seemed to have not been marinated long enough for our taste.

I had our wonderful, friendly Server order me a glass of local Whiskey, he told me it was Lychee Flavored. It was quite nice.

This was a fun meal. We enjoyed the service and watching the families, many multi-generational enjoying their meals here. While we could have easily stuck with smaller restaurants, night markets, and street food; I'm glad we made time for places like this!

Mountain and Sea House Restaurant
No. 94, Section 2, Ren'ai Rd.
Zhongzheng District, Taipei City, Taiwan