The last time I was here and asked for a sea salt coffee, the girl said to "come back later" because the person who made it wasn't there which kind of irked me since I'm of the belief that everyone who works the front should be able to make every drink they offer. Is that so unreasonable? But griping aside, I thought I would try my luck today...
We used to eat here often but haven't done so in awhile. I think the owners changed. They are quite popular with the afterschool crowd (Otay Ranch High School and nearby Heritage elementary) and the surrounding Otay Ranch neighborhood.
I couldn't understand why the Sea Salt Coffee was listed as such when it was presented as "coffee". The poor harried girl was the only one working the counter and was trying to explain that it was "coffee powder" and that they served it as a "blast", which is kind of like an ice cream type drink. I probably should have gotten something else had I known the end result, but I forged ahead.
This is what the Sea Salt Coffee looked like, a frapp-like drink I wasn't asked if I wanted whipped cream or not and I actually wasn't expecting it so I scraped it off for the second photo. The drink had a faint coffee flavor and was cloyingly sweet. What's that? Sweet? No salt taste whatsoever. This was pretty bad but not as bad as the so called "iced coffee" they served me at Aunt Emma's PancakesI didn't even finish it. This so called sea salt coffee drink is now in our freezer. Maybe it'll taste better the next day. Or not.
Note to self - NEVER order this again. They should just call this coffee-flavored swill. I guess I was thinking it would look and taste like the version from 85C. Wrong. So very wrong indeed.
We wanted an early dinner but when we got to Gunco Ramen, there was a closed sign (it wasn't yet 5 pm), so plan B was to go to Utage in this little stripmall off Oxford St, which also has this place, Kaga Sushi (blogged by Kirk, "The enigmatic Kaga Sushi", Feb. 1, 2013), which always looks like it's closed...
and this place, Utage, which has been here FOREVER.
As has this place (since 1983)...I figured we'd pick up a few pieces of mochi for dessert before our dinner at Utage. This evening I had the pleasure of speaking to the husband (his wife was helping another customer), Mr. Masa Takeda. As we selected our pieces, a random choice of the coconut flavored mochi square led to a rather involved but fascinating conversation in which he told us of how his father immigrated from Japan to the Philippine prior to WWII but left during the War because he didn't want to fight against the Filipinos whom he considered to be his friends and business partners (chickens and tobacco were his businesses).
Mr. Takeda said he almost could have been born in the Philippines had his father stayed there (he eventually returned after WWII). He recounted how his father learned about the many uses of coconut products which is why he thought to try making a coconut flavored mochi. I found out that he is younger than my dad since he was born post WWII. The coconut mochi was the starting point of learning more about the good folks who make these artful morsels by hand. It is truly an art form and they are the only folks in San Diego who make this by hand. It's well worth your while to visit the shop while they are still around, plus the mochi tastes better fresh from the store rather than refrigerated at Nijiya and Mitsuwa.
I noticed they did not give us a box for these four pieces (which was fine); instead it was bagged. Her were our selections - the coconut mochi square, two fruit shaped pieces (one filled with red bean, the other with white) and a pretty wrapped baked mochi which is covered in cinnamon. In trying to find old posts to link, I saw that I actually had bought this before but it was given as a gift to Kirbie, so I never tried it until today. It was bought mostly for Bert's sake but also because I was curious. Everything looked so pretty...
My favorite was the supersoft coconut mochi square. My least favorite was the cinnamon coated piece; I thought the cinnamon flavor was too strong.
As we listened to Mr. Takeda, I mentioned that we were planning to eat at Utage since Gunco was closed. He replied, "Oh, they should be open now since it's after 5 pm!". That was such a relief because I was worried about why the restaurant was "closed". We wanted to make it for their Happy Hour prices for their appetizers. So, instead of Utage, we hauled @$$ back to Gunco (just a few blocks away).
Bert and I both ordered bowls of ramen. This time, I tried something new, the salt base topped with bbq pork, which was so soft and tender. Bert got the shoyu base with seaweed. Both soups had distinctly different flavors; I liked mine better. The shoyu, we learned, is the default flavor if a customer doesn't specify what base he or she wants.
Bert's t-shirt is the newest design from Velveteria (bought from our last mini road trip which I still have to post on). The shirt features a black velvet painting of Tarita Teriipaia by Edgar Leeteg, a master of the art form. Tarita later became Marlon Brando's wife and it was in her home island of Tahiti where they met during the filming of "Mutiny on the Bounty". Bert had been waiting for this design to finally be released; it is now one of his favorite shirts.
She's in this scene here:
I felt kind of creeped out watching this. Seeing those gross horny looks that Brando exchanged with the woman who he would later marry and be estranged from. Imagine conservative white America, in early 1962 when this film was released. I'm sure this was quite the jaw dropping, palm sweating and boner inducing scene. This scene clip had practically NEKKID women and I'm sure the men were desperately hoping for a glimpse of side boob when watching these "exotic" beauties doing the Tahitian twerk.
Whenver we're here, I always order the fried oysters. They're not on the Happy Hour menu but I don't care, I like them that much. TC had the seaweed salat with a crunchy tempura and California roll (not pictured) while Bert had the baked mussels from the HH menu (as we have done in the past).
These are always good! Our favorite waitress was there and we were able to sit at our preferred table. By the time we left, the dining room was getting crowded and thankfully, we were spared the screechings of a nearby table with unruly children.
Previous visit to Tastea Grill:
September 2010 - Wow, I didn't realize it had been that long. Actually Bert and TC go here more often, for the boba drinks.
Previous visit to Hogetsu:
September 2013 - when I bought a box for me and a box for Kirbie...
Previous visit to Gunco:
November 2014 - we pretty much order the same thing every time but there were two new meat dishes we tried that night...
Looking forward to next week which will be a four day work week. Thank you Abraham Lincoln and George Washington!
5 comments:
that's too bad about that coffee. Mmm, I haven't had Hogetsu mochi in so long. I need to go back!
My friend worked at a cafe once. She said when she first started no one trained her on how to make special 'whatever'coffee. So this one time a customer came in, asked for a drink, my friend shrugged, made what she 'thought' the coffee drink was supposed to be, and then handed it to customer. Friend said the customer liked the drink too! So we always laughed about that.
I love fried oysters too (but only when it's served w/ tonkatsu sauce for some reason). Bert's shirt is so vibrant -the girl looks so alive and real. Kinda cool as it looks like she can take a bite of the ramen noodles.
hi kirbie - yeah, i kind of felt sorry for the girl because she was the only one. she was a different worker from the first time I came in asking for the drink and was told to "come back" (but i didn't). hogetsu is really a treasure. i hope these folks don't retire.
faye - haha, that's funny. at least the customer liked the drink. everytime i see fried oystes at a japanese place, i always feel compelled to get it. yes, it must come with tonkatsu sauce too! :) i like Bert's shirt; i actually have the same shirt (but the women's cut version not the boxy men's) but haven't worn it in public yet.
Geez, they should take the time to train everyone to make all the drinks! Too bad she was the only one working, too. Someone probably called in sick, maybe. That's weird they listed it under "sea salt cream". It totally looks like ice cream.
Jake's kids now live closer to Hogetsu and I keep forgetting to stop by and get some more mochi. It's so good. Gunco always looks like it's closed when we drive by it so I've never been. Maybe next time we're nearby we'll check it out.
no shit man. that was one of the crappiest drinks i've ever had.
Give Gunco a try next time. It shares space with Kanpai. We like both restaurants. :)
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