I had heard so many accolades from the Daikokuya in LA so I was really excited to hear they had opened up an outpost in OC. Unfortunately, the word on the street was that this new Daikokuya didn't live up to the reputation of the popular one in Los Angeles.
I visited recently, and though I haven't tried Daikokuya in LA, I can say that I was pretty disappointed in my bowl of ramen. The best part of it were the noodles which were cooked perfectly and had a nice chew to them. The pork was also nice, but besides that a lot of the other components of the ramen were lacking.
The broth looked promising with its milky consistency, and it had a decent flavor, but it was not nearly hot enough. Also it seemed to lack depth present in the best ramens. The worst part was the hard-boiled egg, which cold in the middle, and was not really hard-boiled, but halfway between soft and hard.
It's really a shame since it seems they could easily fix some of these problems, but they don't care enough about the little things to get it right. So I'll probably stick to Santoka for my OC ramen fix.
I had the great fortune of traveling to Thailand 4 years ago. Being a food fanatic, my fondest memories of the trip all involved food. I've never had Thai food like that before - spicy, sour, salty, sweet all at the same, all intensely strong yet perfectly balanced.
In the four years since, I've searched in vain in San Diego for those same elusive flavors that I experience in Thailand. But now I've finally found a place that gets it right - Sab-E-Lee. Sab-E-Lee has the most authentic Thai food I've had in San Diego.
I visited recently with a bunch of foodie friends (Kirk from mmm-yoso, Candice from SD CityBeat, and Josh formerly from SD CityBeat). We started off with a Bamboo Shoot Salad - the bamboo is lightly stir-fried in a pungent spicy sauce with a lot of lime and chili. They served it with a wedge of cabbage. You can take a leaf of cabbage and pick up some bamboo with it and shove it in your mouth. One bite of this dish took me straight back to my trip to Thailand.
We also ordered a catfish larb and raw beef salad are similar to the bamboo salad in that lime, chili, and fish sauce are prominent, but the dishes are still distinct and delicious. The catfish larb adds a nice meatiness to the mix. And the raw beef salad is wonderful. The raw beef has a great texture and the addition of toasted rice powder adds crunch and slightly nutty flavor to the dish.
Next up was the Northeastern-style sausage. The sausage had an intriguing tangy note to it. They serve it with slices of ginger, peanuts, and lettuce. You wrap them all together, and the result is fantastic. The ginger adds a bit of zip and hint of sweetness. Again the balance of flavors is what makes the dish work so well.
Sab-E-Lee also serves some less exotic dishes. I tried the Pad See Ew and Panang Curry, and they are also very well executed. But don't neglect ordering the larbs and salad dishes, which no one in San Diego does even remotely as well.
Sea Rocket Bistro recently opened in the space formerly occupied by The Linkery (which moved a few blocks down the street). Sea Rocket Bistro seems to be trying to apply the admirable tenets of locavore eating to seafood. I believe all of their seafood comes from local waters.
I visited recently with my parents and was pleased to see that it retained a lot of the "nice-little-neighborhood-restaurant" feel from The Linkery days. The walls are lined with pictures of nearby farms in homage to Sea Rockets locavore roots.
We started off with a bunch of appetizers. The first to arrive were the Grilled Sardines. I love the idea of this, but it really needed some salt and acid. I enjoyed the lima bean salad underneat the sardines though. I'm not an especially big lima bean fan, but this won me over with its garlicky kick.
The Fish Cake Bites were next, and I found them to be unmemorable. The idea sounds good enough - raw chunks of fish coated in panko and deep fried with a creamy sauce. Perhaps the fish they used wasn't strong enough to stand up to the breading.
If you're an especially adveturous eater, the Live Sea Urchin is the dish to order. It's a a huge spiny creature almost as big as a cantaloupe - the biggest sea urchin I've ever seen. My mom told me later that its spines were still moving, but I, Mr. Non-observant, didn't notice it. It's times like this that remind me that I should resolve to slow down and always keep my eyes open for life's little wonders.
The bottom of the sea urchin is cut out and you can see the delicate golden orange blobs floating in a dark, slimy substance - was it the sea urchin equivalent of blood? The orange lobes are the edible gonads of the sea urchin - this is what's known as "uni" at the sushi bar. I liked the uni itself but found the black stuff scary. Being new to eating live sea urchin, I'm not sure what it was, but it coated my tongue with an odd metallic flavor that masked the delicate uni. I think I would have liked this dish had the uni been rinsed. But like I said, if you're into the exotic, you have to order this just to say you've plunged your spoon into a still writhing creature and then ate its gonads.
Sea urchin bisque - I didn't get a decent taste of this one, just a quick taste, and I didn't realize until afterwards that the uni was at the bottom. Doh! What I did try though could have been smoother and creamier (and warmer). This seemed more like a pureed veggie soup than a bisque. When I hear "bisque", I want ultra-rich, ultra-creamy.
For my main course, I had the Seared Sea Scallops with Mashed Potatoes. The scallops themselves were a slight disappointment. They didn't have that hint of fresh sweetness I liked, and this dish was crying for a little bit of lemon and more salt. The mashed potatoes were delicious though - by far my favorite dish of the whole meal. The potatoes had a nice creamy, smokey flavor; I'm guessing they added some gouda to them - delicious!
My parents split the special Yellowtail with zucchini and mashed potatoes. The yellowtail was not bad - maybe just a tad overcooked, and again it could have used some acid. I'm surprised they didn't serve it with a wedge of lemon. The mashed potatoes were the same yummy, smokey, creamy ones that came with my dish.
So overall, the meal was average, even considering the modest price point (most entrees were about $16). I respect Sea Rocket's interest in local, sustainable eating, but ultimately it's about how the food tastes. Though nothing was terrible, almost every dish had some little issue that made the food less enjoyable. I think if they could just fix the seasoning and brighten more of their dishes up with citrus, it would be a huge improvement. Even just sticking a salt shaker and wedges of lemon on the table would help a lot.
Until recently, my only experience with ramen had been with the instant kind to which you add hot water and flavor packet. This was a staple during my college days since it was both cheap and fast.
It was kind of odd to realize years later that there's a whole ramen sub-culture. There are whole blogs devoted to ramen on the internet, and movies like Tampopo discuss the quest to find the perfect ramen. It wasn't until Santouka ramen opened recently in the Mitsuwa Marketplace food court that I'm starting to "get" ramen. It's nothing like the crappy instant noodles you get at the supermarket.
My first trip to Santouka was revalatory. I tried the Salt (Shio) Ramen, which seemed to be the most basic. The broth was milky white and on top of the noodle lay some beautiful slices of pork. My first sip of the broth and I was a believer; it was simple, yet so rich and deep in flavor. The slices of pork were delicious and tender with just the right amount of fat. And the noodles had a nice little chew.
I loved it so much that I ended up going back to Santouka 4 times over the next two weeks. There are several flavors including miso flavored, soy sauce, and hot miso versions. They have all been delicious, but my favorite is still the salt ramen, for its zen-like simplicity.
They also have a few other interesting items besides ramen. You can get a soy flavored hard-boiled egg to accompany your ramen. You can also get rice bowls topped with salmon roe or even natto, the strange substance made of fermented soybeans and something that looks like ectoplasm from the Ghostbusters.
If all you've had is instant noodles, you really owe it to yourself to try the real thing. Santouka could completely change the way you look at ramen.
Marche Moderne serves French bistro fare for weary shoppers in South Coast Plaza. They offer a $20 3-course prix fixe lunch - a salad, a choice of two entrees, and dessert. I went there a couple of weeks ago with my family, and we all got the prix fixe lunch, and also ordered the Seared Foie Gras with Mango appetizer to share.
The foie gras was rich and decadent, made more so by creamy mango sauce that accompanied it. It was better with a bit of tart mango to cut through the richness. The salad was composed of lightly dressed greens dotted with dried cherries and hazelnuts.
My mom ordered the Bay Shrimp & Scallops with Couscous. Those tiny bay shrimp are admittedly not my favorite, but even then I thought they were slightly overcooked. The scallop was nicely done, but the chive aioli seemed bland, making the overall dish a bit dull.
But I absolutely loved my Braised Lamb Cheeks - melt-in-your-mouth tender and not too gamy. The napa cabbage and cauliflower mixed with the gravy from the lamb was a delicious, earthy accompaniment.
We closed with an almond cake with mango sorbet - a light, delicate dessert.
The prix fixe lunch menu for $20 is a great deal for this quality of food. The amount of food is not overwhelming, which is probably a good thing for on-the-go shoppers.
I had read on Alice Q Foodie's blog that Cafe Chloe had started an afternoon tea service. For $25, you will be treated to a pot of tea, a selection of finger sandwiches, pastries, and desserts.
I went there recently to check it out and it's a great way to try a selection of Chloe's offerings. We chose a black tea with longan fruit and a white tea. They brought us a tray of the savory snacks: smoked salmon on pumpernickel, a mini-mushroom tart, a cucumber and watercress sandwich, and a lentil soup served in a demitasse. I especially liked the mushroom tart with its flaky, buttery crust.
After we finished the savory treats, they brought out a selection of pastries and desserts: a scone, pear-rosemary galette, a chocolate pot-de-creme, and an espresso shortbread. All of the desserts were delicious. I'm a sucker for chocolate so my favorite was the pot-de-creme. The galette was wonderful too; as evidenced by their mushroom tart, Chloe really knows how to do pastry crust. If I wanted to pick nits, I would say that the scone was more like a muffin or quickbread than a scone, but it still tasted good.
Overall, it's a great experience for a good price. Most tea services are much more expensive, and likely in a fancy hotel where you might feel compelled to dress up. Cafe Chloe gives you an opportunity to have a similar, but more casual experience with great food (and tea, of course).
Ritual Tavern is one of the newest entries in the growing North Park restaurant scene. The unassuming exterior on 30th St hides a charming upscale pub interior. It's a cozy place for a casual-but-not-too-casual meal.
My friends and I started off with their beer-battered deep-fried vegetables. They had a crisp, well-seasoned crust and went very well with a slightly spicy remoulade.
Since they've opened they've become famous for their vegan Shepherd's Pie- mashed potatoes on top of a rich stew of tofu, root vegetables, and green beans. Meat lovers, feat not, since they have a version with beef and lamb as well. We ordered one of each.
For both the vegan and non-vegan versions, we agreed that the shepherd's pies were enjoyable, but lacking somehow. For me, the stew portion of the pie seemed a touch under-seasoned, and it lacked complexity - maybe it could use better wine or stock.
Still it was an enjoyable meal, and Ritual Tavern has other intriguing options on the menu - including another vegan option (the portobello burger). It's another great addition to the neighborhood.
I asked my friend if she wanted to try Pho King this afternoon, and she seemed hesitant. But after telling her that I would pay for it, she said OK. I had been meaning to try Pho King for a while, but just never got around to it, so I was psyched.
We started with Shrimp And Sugar Cane Wrapped w/ Rice Paper. It's kind of like a make-your-own spring roll. The Pho King waiter gave us a bunch of hard rice paper wrappers, a bowl of warm water, and plates with shrimp, noodles, lettuce, bean sprouts, mint, jalapeno. Then you dip the wrappers in the water to soften them, put the ingredients of your choice inside, roll them up, dunk them in the sweet fish sauce dip, and eat them.
I really liked this dish. It's very fresh and light with all the veggies and mint. Plus making your own rolls is kind of fun. It harkens back to childhood when it was OK to play with your food.
My friend ordered the pho with brisket. I tried some of it, and I thought the broth had a little too much cinnamon and clove. It was also a bit sweet for my taste, but not terribly so. The meat had decent texture. It wasn't fall-apart tender like the best versions, but it wasn't what I would call tough.
I had the Grilled Pork Rice Dish. The char-grilled marinated pork had a decent slightly sweet flavor, but again it wasn't as tender as other versions I've had. The little bowl of broth they give you on the side was again a bit too heavy on the cloves and cinnamon.
All-in-all it was a positive experience. While not everything was stellar, I would give Pho King another shot.
Los Reyes has slowly become one of my default Mexican stops over the years. I usually go to Adalberto's just down the street, but Los Reyes does some dishes better and offers some that are not as common like birria and menudo.
I've really enjoyed most of the beef and pork dishes that I've tried at Los Reyes. The carnitas is luscious. The pork adobada and carne asada are flavorful and juicy.
On a recent visit, I tried birria, a spicy, soupy goat stew, for the first time. As such, it's hard for me to do a comparative analysis with other birrias, but I will say that I really enjoyed mine. The chunks of goat meat were very tender almost falling off the bone along with bits of soft tendon. The fiery red soup was rich and not too spicy. The Chinese in me wants fill it with noodles and rice and slurp away.
I've had a couple of items that I didn't love though. The guacamole here (like at most SD taquerias) is sub-standard. It's bad enough that it will ruin a dish like carne asada fries. The refried beans lack the creaminess present in the best versions.
Still these are minor faults. Los Reyes is a great place for a Mexican food fix.
I was disappointed to hear a while ago that Da Kines in PB had closed down, but I recently heard that they had opened up a new location in the Liberty Station, the naval training center turned shopping center.
It was quite a challenge finding it. After a long weekend run, I thought I would treat myself to a nice plate lunch. I ended up wandering around the NTC for almost half an hour with aching legs before I found a map that showed where Da Kines was (hint: it's tucked in the back corner).
My first trip I ended up trying the grilled mahi mahi, and the teriyaki chicken plate. The mahi was simple and well-prepared - a good choice for the health conscious.
The teriyaki chicken was less successful. It was dry and stringy as if it had been sitting out for an hour. The chicken was also quite flavorless as if it had barely been marinaded. L & L (the McDonald's of plate lunches) serves much moister and flavorful chicken.
Another pet peeve, the rice was mushy; that always annoys me. How hard is it to measure the proper amount of water and dump it into a rice cooker?
On a subsequent visit, I tried their fried ahi poke. I love a good poke (hehe), so Da Kine's cooked version sounded appealing to me. When I got it home and opened it, it looked very unappetizing - a mass gray cubes (the tuna) mixed with seaweed coated in gray residue. When I tasted it, it was kind of slimy. I admit that this could all be my fault for bringing home a dish that should be eaten immediately, but I also thought the flavors were off - it was bland. The saving grace was the macaroni salad, which was light and had a nice pepper accent.
I remember having better meals at Da Kine's in PB so this was kind of disappointing. But I still enjoy a few items here, and it's convenient for the area. I'll just try to stick to the items I like.
