ABC Music Humpday Videos - "V" is for Val Kilmer (as "Nick Rivers" in "Top Secret!")

Now who doesn't love YOUNG Val Kilmer back when he was a young 20-something? Here he is in his debut film role as teen idol Nick Rivers in the 1984 cult classic, "Top Secret!" (a mashup parody of Elvis and WWII films). Incidentally, Val Kilmer really sings all the songs in "Top Secret!", foreshadowing his role as Jim Morrison in Oliver Stone's, "The Doors":


From the Wikipedia entry on "Top Secret!"

"The film tells the story of Nick Rivers (Kilmer), an American pop singer (whose songs sound suspiciously like those of Elvis Presley, The Beach Boys and Little Richard), who goes to East Germany (but the film also parodies films set in Nazi Germany) to perform at a cultural festival. While there, he becomes involved in a resistance movement and helps the beautiful Hillary Flammond (Gutteridge) rescue her father (Gough), a brilliant scientist being held by the Germans and forced to build the deadly Polaris mine.



The film also features short performances by Omar Sharif as Agent Cedric, and Peter Cushing as a Swedish bookstore proprietor, in a scene filmed completely in reverse."

This movie was all kinds of hilarious! There was a funny scene with Hammer Horror films regular, the great British actor Peter Cushing (better known as the Grand Moff Tarkin for you Star Wars geeks) holding a magnifying glass to his eye. When he removes it, his eye really IS huge!!! Ha ha! I also loved how  everytime Nick Rivers and his love interest would make out, fire places would show up. It's the silly kind of movie you'd expect from the creators of "Airplane!" another cult classic.

Val Kilmer, what happened to you?

From the Ultrahot Iceman...to modern day Sasquatch!!!

And as a palate cleanser...

OMFG, here he is as Jim Morrison..."I am the Lizard King!!!"...."Mother!!!!! I want to......"

Only four more letters left..

Heaven Sent Desserts

So, after Asia Cafe, we headed over to North Park's Heaven Sent Desserts.

It was around 5'ish and pretty dead. I had the Passion Fruit iced tea while she had the Tahitian Citron tea.

Some of the desserts in the display case...

More desserts...

This is what I had, the Heaven Sent Chocolate Lux:

The Lux  has a chocolate almond orange cookie base with with layers of milk chocolate and dark chocolate mousse with a cherry in the center! Loved it, especially the dark chocolate shell and the cookie base! My dessert looked so lonely on a giant plate. On one of the corners, they sprinkled cocoa powder. It looked pretty sparse. Normally in the past, this was plated on a smaller rectangular or smaller square plate with two different sauces swirled into marbelized heart designs. Fail for the presentation.

My friend's Tiramisu (so pretty!):

Tiramisu cross section:

We ended up taking home our leftovers since we were all sugared out!

Asia Cafe for the umpteenth time!

A few days ago, I went to one of my favorite places on our "rotation", Asia Cafe. Actually, my friend and I were supposed to go to Sab e Lee 2 in Santee, but it was closed on Mondays. For some reason I thought it was only the Linda Vista location was that closed on Mondays. Kicking myself for not having called, we headed back down south to Chollas View.  Here's our iced coffees...exciting, eh!

This was the lettuce/herbs plate for the Nem Khao...

I'm sure almost all of my Asia Cafe posts have Nem Khao in them. I love it so much - it's crunchy from the fried rice and peanuts, sour from the pork sausage, and spicy with the herbs and lettuce...My friend ended liking this as well her dad who ate our leftovers later that night!

Since it was only two of us, we didn't order too many dishes. We were also saving room for dessert later...This was the Yum Asia, a "salad" with shrimp, squid, fish cake, thinly sliced cucumber, carrots and who knows what else. The dressing had lime juice and fish sauce and the whole thing was topped with crushed peanuts....

This next item was something I hadn't ordered in a while, the Seen Nam Toke, which is a cheap cut of beef marinated in lemon juice and fish sauce, then grilled until caramelized. The dipping sauce (infused with cilantro) was also quite good with the meat and the Nem Khao.

It was pretty dead at Asia Cafe when we went, just us two  and another table with two other girls. My dinner companion was a former student of mine (we are 10 years apart) and we hadn't seen each other in nearly two years. She recently moved back to San Diego after having lived and worked on the East Coast for nearly a decade. She is an awesome as a public speaker (spoken word/poetry, keynote speeches) and is truly someone who I feel will change the Filipino American community through her efforts at organizing and mobilizing youth.  I've known her for roughly 16 years and over this span of time and am proud to see how she's grown into this confident young lady.

So, the young guys working there, Johnny and Scotty (sons of the owners/cook) seemed amused (or maybe irritated) by our foul mouthed shit talking! We were pretty loud exchanging gossip and all!  But, hey, I like how it's really chill over here...No pretentiousness at all. I'll be back again really soon!

Que Huong

After having a Banh Xeo for the first time at Pho Hiep Grill Chateau (seriously, that unwieldy name cracks me up), I decided to try a banh xeo at a less gentrified Vietnamese place. I checked on trusty Kirk's blog and saw that he really liked the version at Que Huong in University Heights (see his all of his QH posts here). Sold! Here are the reviews from Yelp and two from City Beat (Sibelman) and Candice Woo's review.

Que Huong is in a tiny strip mall with shitty ass parking; it's on University Ave between 41st and Marlborough. We got there after the lunch rush, around 1 pm.

It was pretty dead when we got there. The young guy working there was the owner I think. Here's daily specials board outside the front door:

It's pretty big in here. There's a fish tank in a corner as well. The color scheme reminds me of Miami Vice. All that's missing is a Vietnamese version of Don Johnson in a white suit and no socks with his huaraches. All the tables in the middle had lazy Susans. Since we were just three, the guy sat us at a regular 4-top table in the back.

View from our table...the whole time we were here, only one other guy came in.

When we were handed this menu, I was a bit confused. Where the fk were the dishes I'd seen on Kirk's blog? The Banh Xeo? The quail? The non-Americanized items?

I didn't care about their lunch specials...I was sure this was a mistake!

Ah ha! The dude must've seen me looking at the menu over and over with confusion and maybe, just maybe, overheard me saying, "I don't think this is right. I could've sworn they serve other things here besides pho and bun!".  To our resuce, he came in and gave us the good menu. This is the one you want, not the one above. I was so fkg relieved! I was practically ready to walk out!

Check out their offerings:

We didn't get this, but I think I just might next time! My birthday is coming up! They also serve Deer, Goat, Frog Legs, Eel, and all kinds of fish here too.

This is what I wanted....the Goi Ga Hoac Vit Bap Chuoi/Banana Blossom Salad (small $9.95/large $12.95) which was "choice of chicken or duck meat with fresh shredded banana flowers and green cabbage, fresh mint, basil, onion and peanuts in a special vinaigrette" (description taken straight from their take out menu); served with fried shrimp chips and fish sauce. We chose the chicken; the waiter advised us that the duck was kind of bony and I remember reading Kirk's post about biting into several bone chips and getting paranoid about eating this. So, chicken it was. By the way, there were also lotus stems in this dish (I asked)...they were whitish and cut on the bias. You can see a few underneath some onion strips....

This was so delicious! I'd order this again. It was a tossup between this or the Jackfruit Salad. If we come back, we're going to order BOTH!  The salad is not your conventional American style salad with lettuce leaves. This was pretty savory and could have been a meal in itself. I wish there were more chips served with this though.

Surprisingly, the Banana Blossom Salad was also served with a porridge (for us Filipinos, it's basically Arroz Caldo), thick with rice and flavored with ginger and cilantro.

I actually wanted the Char-Grilled Shrimp with Vermicelli as well as this, the Banh Xeo (Vietnamese crepe). Unfortunately, they were out of the char-grilled shrimp, so we went with the crepe. It was much bigger than the version we had at PHGC (abbreviated for your pleasure). It wasn't as crispy either. Not being a crepe connoisseur, I couldn't accurately compare it...It was filled with bean sprouts, mushrooms, thinly sliced pork and whole shrimps. It was a bit on the softer side (kind of eggy even); I prefer the crisper version. I should probably try some other place's banh xeo's to get a feel for it.

These were the greens for the crepe: green leaf lettuce, tia to (purple perilla), and mint...

And if that weren't enough food, we also ordered  the Tom Cang Kho Tai/Caramel Prawns ($12.95). This was amazing! The dish consisted of four large water prawns simmered and reduced with garlic, black pepper and onion in a claypot (although it must have been removed from the claypot for this presentation). Even though we polished off the prawns, the sauce was so good that we took it home so I could eat it with rice the next day!  The heads were so good - sucking the fat and juice out was fun too! Mmm, shrimp brains (say that in a Zombie voice)! Nice and red! Ha ha!

But wait, there's more! Here are the Canh Ga Chien Nuoc Mam/Chicken Wings in Fish Sauce.  This is billed as Que Huong's "Most Popular Dish". These fried wings are golden fried and tossed over a bed of shredded cabbage, onion, green onion, crushed pepper, and sliced tomatoes. There was also a tiny footed container (ooh fancy!) with salt and pepper that you could dip the wings into. Salt overload!!! The small is $9.95; the large is $12.95. We got the large! If you go here, you must try this!

As we paid up at the front counter, we noticed this cool money dragon which was made by a friend of the owner. Very intricate...

Check out the face. The dragon even has red gems for the eyes!

The counter had a money tree with all kinds of folded bills in really neat shapes...

We took home our leftovers (no wings though) and headed home. I didn't eat too much at lunch since I was going to meet up a few hours later with a friend. Our verdict? Que Huong for the Win! The guy who helped us (his name is Jay) is very cool too. He was very gracious and answered many of my questions about the dishes on his menu. To be honest, I don't even know how one cook can do all the shit that's on their menu! There are so many dishes on there, it's mind boggling to my overwhelmed brain.  Jay even said there were more new items that weren't on the menu. Well, we're definitely going to have to come back to try those items and some other dishes I had my eye on! Fkg A man!!!!

On a different note, today is our anniversary of when Bert and I started dating. Can you guess how long we've been together?

25 years!

We were in high school and only 15. Yikes huh! We were so young...

We got married 10 years later in 1995. This year will be our 15th wedding anniversary...

All together now...

Awwwww....

"Tito pass me some tissues...Jerome stop teasing!"

  

(reference above is from Eddie Murphy's classic un-PC bit on Michael Jackson's sensitivity from the comedy album, "Delirious").

ABC Music Humpday Videos - "U" is for U2

Let's bring this gem back from the vault, shall we?

This is the Kevorkian remix of "New Year's Day" by Irish rock band, U2. It was the third song on their third album, the most excellent "War" (1983). What's cool about this remix is that there are extra lyrics on this version that are not on the US single version.

According to wikipedia's entry on "New Year's Day" (song):

"New Year's Day" was written about the Polish Solidarity movement...and driven by Adam Clayton's distinctive bassline and The Edge's keyboard playing. It was the band's first UK hit single, peaking at #10 on the singles chart... In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine placed the single at #427 on their list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time".

The lyric had its origins in a love song from Bono to his wife, but was subsequently reshaped and inspired by the Polish Solidarity movement."

For a young teen like me at the time, listening to U2 songs was an educational experience. None of that "party til you puke" mentality there. They were intelligent and didn't dumb down their songs for the lowest common denominators. They threw in their politics and weren't afraid to do so.

I thought this bit of trivia about the video was quite cool:

"The video was one of their first to see heavy rotation on MTV. It was filmed in Sälen, Sweden in December 1982 and directed by Meiert Avis. The band only appeared in the performance scenes of the video as it was filmed in the dead of the Swedish winter. U2 guitarist Edge revealed in the official U2 biography that the four people riding on horseback in the video that appeared to be the four U2 members were in fact four Swedish teenage girls disguised as the members of U2 riding on horseback with masks over their faces. This was done as the band were frozen from shooting the video in sub-freezing temperatures the day before. Their biography states that Bono refused to wear any headgear despite the cold weather and had a lot of trouble mouthing the lyrics. The video also features footage of Soviet troops advancing in winter during World War II."

U2 was one of my favorite bands back in the 1980's. As you already know, my musical tastes are pretty much stuck in a time warp. As for U2, I only like their stuff right before 1987's "The Joshua Tree" , which I didn't like at all. Everything before that is gold to me: these includet heir debut album, "Boy", followed by "October",  "War",  the live album "Under a Blood Red Sky", and "The Unforgettable Fire".  While they've changed their musical style and direction over the years, I still respect U2 as a band, but I still hold a candle up to their earlier albums.

About this video, I love the extended piano intro and the visuals...very haunting. If you know the original song, you will notice that the lyrics are a little different:

"You won't hold me, hold me down
You won't break this heart
I, I will be free again


A stone cold night on a cold stone floor
A pulse of light on a prison door
I want to be with you,  
Be with you night and day
Nothing changes
On New Year's Day


I will begin again
I, I will begin again


Though I want to be be with you, be with you 
Night and day

Nothing changes
On New Year's Day...
On New Year's Day..."

The DJ Kevorkian remix totally skips these lyrics:

"Under a blood-red sky
A crowd has gathered in black and white.
Arms entwined, the chosen few,
Newspapers say, it says it's true." and so on and so forth!

A classic song by one of THE best bands in the world. "New Year's Day" features Bono's impassioned voice, The Edge's masterfully atmospheric guitar playing, the unforgettable bassline of Adam Clayton, and the sparse drumming of Larry Mullen Jr.. (who was a mere 22 year's old at the time of the single's release; OMG! He's  still the cutest one in the band!). Check out this old photo of U2 below! Bono was rocking that mullet. Larry Mullen Jr. looks like a baby! And the Edge isn't wearing a beanie! Sorry Adam Clayton, you're like the Ringo of the group! As Jimmy Kimmel would say, "Not handsome!"

Me thinks that Larry has aged well...

I just realized, I'm all the way up to "U"! Only 5 more letters!

Pho Hiep Grill Chateau

Occupying the space of the former craptacular Trophy's at Eastlake's Village Walk (same complex that houses Henry's, Border's, Trader Joe's, etc)...Pho Hiep Grill's 3rd location is finally open. I think it's hilarious that the word "chateau" is tacked on to the name. Conjures up other types of images instead of the sleek hipster decor you see in here. Reminds me of the scene in the cinematic classic flick, "Harold and Kumar Escape Guantanamo Bay" where Harold and Kumar go to the trashy trailer park, but when they see the inside of the trailer, it's all modern and very hip inside.

Looks like the new location got written up already on yelp; check out the 11 (so far) reviews here.

We'd known of the 3rd location since early Fall 2009 when Kevin, the owner of Pho Hiep Grill on Telegraph Canyon Road (just a few miles down in the Vons shopping center) told us he was opening a more spacious location...Like the Telegraph location, there is an impressive water feature in the entry way. If I had a big enough house, I'd want this too!

Lucky for us, this was the first day they opened up their bar service (last Friday, 3/12). The bluish tint comes from these wave panel installations, which change color every few seconds. These are the same panels found at JRDN in Tower 23 in Pacific Beach. The interior is very sleek and modern. By the way, there is also an outdoor patio and with the weather being almost summerlike in San Diego, a great place to dine al fresco.

 

They sat us by the perimeter near the bar. The walled off area is in the middle, which has larger tables and are also lined with nice booths. In the far back, there is a semi-private dining room with fixed wooden doors. Kind of cool, but  it would be akward for me to share that space with strangers. So, if you have a large party, it would great.

We'd actually gone to Pho Hiep Grill "Chateau" (say in a snooty French accent or an exaggerated "roh roh roh" Maurice Chevalier growl!) the week before. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera! What kind of fkg food blogger am I to not even have my camera? The first time we went, the  service was a bit spotty as they were still probably trying to figure out the kinks. For example, several people asked us what we wanted but took forever giving it to us. I was wondering why they needed three people to ask us if we needed water when one server would have been sufficient.

Props to one of our Vietnamese servers who used his Tagalog skills (better than my non existent Vietnamese speaking skills). When I said "Thank you", he replied, "Walang anuman" (which means, "You're welcome") He also asked us later into our meal if the food was "masarap" ("delicious").  Here's their menu:

And here's the Drinks Menu:

The prices her are about $1 - $2 more than their Telegraph location and I'm sure more expensive than their original location on Linda Vista Road. Let's just say these prices are going to help them pay the rent at this location...I honestly hope that this branch stays in business as it offers folks out in East Chula Vista another dining alternative. Certainly, much better than the shiteous Pho Vien Dong across the ways in the Eastlake Vons shopping center.  Never go there, I say! It sucks big time!

Here's Bert pouring his beer...

Although this is a Vietnamese beer, Chau Tien is  manufactured in the U.S. Bert thought it would be lighter since the waitress said it was a pale ale...Kevin's wife came out later and told us that it wasn't sold in any of the Vietnamese stores in San Diego. They got their supply from somewhere up North (the brewery I would assume?).

From the Chau Tien website's FAQ section:

Q:Is this made in China?

A. No. It was originally born at the Sierra Nevada Brewing Company (AKA: Asian American Brewing Co.) in Chico, California from 1985-1987. It was a joint venture between Cháu Tiên® USA and Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., and it was not a contract/private labeling arrangement as it is often being misled or misunderstood. Sierra Nevada sold Cháu Tiên® to its network of distributors and shared a profit with Cháu Tiên® USA.

Here's another view of that bar...

I ordered their signature drink, the Miss Saigon which had Kai lychee vodka, triple sec, lime and cranberry juice. Bert thought it tasted medicinal, but I thought it was just so so. It wasn't like the best cocktail ever but it was just okay. There was a maraschino cherry in the middle...

For starters, we had the calamari served over a bed of shredded cabbage and ganished with sliced green onions and fried garlic along with a dipping sauce (not pictured):

Here are the herbs for the Banh Xeo, green leaf lettuce, mint, and tia to (the purplish leaves, which are also known as purple perilla), and pickled radish and carrots.  Underneath the pickles were long strips of either flat chives or green onions. Someone correct me if I'm wrong...

This was the Banh Xeo, a Vietnamese savory rice flour crepe filled with bean sprouts, shrimp and pork. Since it was a Friday, I'd requested no pork in my crepe which the waiter noted twice. Guess what? The crepe came with pork. I had to ask for another one and they apologized several times for the mix up. I thought I was pretty clear when ordering because I wanted to make sure it was meatless.

Bert got their Bun with grilled shrimp. We liked the presentation in a more shallow bowl. The ingredients were laid out quite nicely instead of the vegetables being on the bottom, hidden by a mound of vermicelli and the shrimp.

Another dish we had our first time here was the Ca Kho To, the Caramelized catfish with chili sauce in a clay pot. When we ordered it our 2nd time, the waiter was confused and thought I ordered the grilled catfish. He came back several minutes later and said they didn't have any small catfish, only big ones and that the dish would be $49! WTF! He and I sorted out the entree request and it turned out that they had the catfish for the small claypot entree not the big ass grilled one! I had my heart set on it too so I was  initially disappointed when he told us they didn't have it. 'Twas a simple misunderstanding...

The banh xeo came with a clear ginger and chicken flavored soup...

Here was my catfish in all of its caramelized glory...

I've hardly ever ordered anything from a clay pot before so we got this last week and this second time that night. There were 3 small cross cut sections of catfish simmered in a caramelized sauce with shallots. The sauce was really delicious, especially spooned over rice. The catfish was not muddy tasting (thank goodness) and despite the bones, I really liked this dish, so much so that I may just try replicating it at home so I don't have to buy it. And just my luck, I happened to come across  Wandering Chopstick's version of this dish.

As I mentioned earlier, I hope this restaurant stays in business. I'm hoping that the folks who live out here will like it and patronize it instead of the boring old chain restaurants that litter our landscape.