Just last week my sister was telling me about Island Pacific and the other day, a friend had texted me that he was just there. I had to go check it out.
I'm glad I didn't go on the weekend because it was crazy packed with LONG-ASS lines. One of Bert's friends posted her visit on facebook and it was pretty chaotic.
Compare the above photo to this photo taken from nearly 10 years ago!
(photo from my "Fresh and Easy" post from Nov. 2007)
I remember being told NOT to take photos during that first visit to Fresh & Easy back then. They lasted until late 2015. :(
I am soooo glad that another store has taken it's place. It's about time and to make it even better, it's a Filipino grocery store which makes me really fkg happy. I don't have to drive out to Seafood City on Orange Ave anymore!
Island Pacific Seafood Market is a Filipino supermarket chain, based in Walnut, CA with stores in SoCal (Long Beach, Oxnard, Cerritos, Rancho Cucamonga), the Valley (Canoga Park), Central California (Fresno), as far north as Seattle) and as far east as Las Vegas, to name a few. This is the second location in San Diego, with the first one located in National City (circa 2013, which replaced the Family Loompya market; Y*** reviews were dismal and vicious for that location).
There is an in-house turo-turo (point point) eatery called Phil-House Sarap ng Lutong Bahay (sarap from the word 'masarap' which means delicious). The name means, "delicious homecooked food". The in-house bakery is called Bread Republic. This post is based on two separate visits. The market itself will be a separate post.
Mr. TJ, La Ley and I decided to come here for lunch yesterday, on Valentine's Day. The parking lot was nearly full at 11:45 and while the food line was pretty short, we didn't realize that customers were supposed to "order" at the front of the line, which made no sense because the trays of food were around the corner and if you didn't know what you wanted, you lost your place in line, which we found out rather crappily. As you walk in, you will see the open kitchen/grill where workers are basting meats, grilling skewers, etc.
The food service workers were mostly women (some of there were older aunties) and some didn't seem to be versed with customer service, helping folks behind us in line and ahead of us. I had to get a worker's attention a few times. Mr. TJ, who is white, started to raise his voice and become indignant but I had to tell him to "chill" because you know, this place just opened up, they are still working out their kinks, and also I felt bad because these were...my people. I don't think he was used to the lack of order. I told him to "roll with it" and don't worry, we would get our food, which we did. But OMG, I was feeling kind of embarassed because he was getting all snatchy about it. The service could have been worse but then again, I hate to say it, I am used to not so good service at some Filipino places. I'm hopeful that the food service line will run more smoothly over the next few weeks.
Pork and chicken kewers, which were not warm, sadly.
Their offerings looked pretty fresh and I was happy to see many of my favorites here. The dishes aren't labeled so for a non-Filipino, I can see how this could be confusing. But for me, I already knew which every dish was. It would still be helpful if the dishes were labeled for those unitiated to Filipino food. They had all kinds of dishes here such as (an in no particular order that matches the photos), pork menudo, beef mechado, whole fried and grilled fish, the infamous "chocolate meat" aka dinuguan, pancit bihon, sisig, mongo beans with spinach, sinigang, chicken, pork and squid adobo, pinakbet, and even arroz caldo.
At the end of the line they even had a gelatin dessert (the green stuff) plus taho (sugar syrup drink) and a cantalope drink.
Also near the end of the line, which moved ever so slowly due to there being only one cashier, fried shit galore! Pulutan foods.
Squid, crispy pata and CHICKEN SKINZ! The other half of the case had bulaklak (explanation here), fried fish and even smaller fried fish (dilis).
The utensils and condiments are also at the register, which slows down the line. I think this should be at separate area so people can pay and get seated instead of holding up the line getting their forks, napkins, and dipping sauces.
The food court is right when you enter with the market on the right hand side. It sure was strange seeing the market laid out this way with the memories of Fresh & Easy still in my mind. There are four cash registers for the actual market. My post of my market visit is coming up...more on this later.
About ordering food, they asked for my name which they wrote on my styrofoam container. They did not ask Mr. TJ and when it was his turn in line to pay, the incorrect container (another lady's) was about to be rung up. His stuff was mixed with mine. I had to ask them to separate his food from mine since we were paying separately. They weren't consistent with asking customers' names and/or labeing their food. Another glitch which I hope they will rectify in the future.
My friends played it safe and got what they were comfortable and familiar with. La Ley's pancit bihon with chicken adobo. Those were chopped thigh pieces and they gave her about five or six pieces! This cost less than $6.
Mr. TJ got pancit bihon and two chicken skewer which were foil wrapped and not warm at all. He was disappointed that the skewers were not warm.
Both co-workers enjoyed their food and really liked their pancit bihon. I thought the pancit was "okay", it was short on the meat (containing a few shrimp pieces and chicken bits). In my version, I add fish cake and Chinese sausage. Mr. TJ originally wanted lumpia on the side but he didn't want to deal with any more waiting so he stuck with what he had.
I chose the pork menudo (Filipino style) with rice, intending for leftovers. Both La Ley and Mr. TJ tried my menudo and said they wanted to get that next time. See folks? There's more to Filipino food than pancit, lumpia and adobo. Seriously though.
While at our table, I saw two friends and on my way out, another friend's dad (whom I refer to as "uncle" out of respect). I told my parents about this place and my dad and mom want to go here too to check it out, even though Seafood City is closer to them.
The very next day (today), I went back to shop for snacks as well as try out the offerings from Bread Republic. Yesterday they had flan on their counters (below).
But today they did not. Instead, they had yema (actually brazo de mercedes, a custard filled jelly roll cake), cassava macapuno cake and, to my surprise, espasol (rice flour cooked in coconut milk). It's not very often that I see espasol outside of a Filipino house party. My mom used to make espasol and one of my favorite aunties makes a really good version of it.
Here is a photo from one of my nephew's birthday parties featuring espasol (made by said aunt and cut into diamond shapes). Bread Republic's version is rolled up and covered with flour. I personally like espasol but it is an acquired taste since it's not too sweet and can sometimes be too dry.
(photo from my "Nephew's 1st Bday party - Epic food!" April 2011)
Everything on the counter was priced at $4.50 which I felt was a bit steep, but for the sake of "research", I bit the bullet. The cassava macapuno cake would end up being a food gift for La Ley. The "yema" was for us. I really love the topping on this cake - very caramelized due to the condensed milk poured on top.
These yema rolls were surprisingly good. I don't know why they called this 'yema'. Usually yema is an egg and condensed milk dessert that is rolled into balls or other shapes and wrapped with colored cellophane. In this case, the yema was the filling in these light and fluffy rolled cakes. When I asked the lady at the counter what the filling was like, she said, "It's like brazo de Mercedes" (another type of Filipino dessert which means, "arm of Mercedes"). Luckily, I knew what that was but was still puzzled why they called this dessert yema, when it really was brazo de Mercedes! Either way, this was enjoyed by us all later that evening.
As an afterthought, I also got a chicken empanada, which is listed as being $1.75, according to the paper taped on their wall. The polite young man at the counter (who kept calling me "ma'am", damn I felt old, ha ha) charged me $1.50. The empanada was fresh and I believe it was baked rather than fried, judging fro the egg wash on top of the crust and the texture of the crust. It didn't quite have that crisp exterior but I did like the chicken filling and the crust edges.
I am definitely coming back for their other items, both for Phil-House and Bread Republic. This place will come in handy for the upcoming Lenten season, when I can just pick up some grilled squid, grilled fish or even some crab legs.
Island PacificSeafood Market
865 East H St.
Chula Vista, CA 91910
(618) 754-6851
islandpacificmarket and so far, the sparse reviews from you know where. Two, count 'em two!
As mentioned earlier, the unorganized food service line could have run more smoothly but at least their offerings and price points were on par with other turo turo joints. The food was also pretty good. Their bakery seems promising as well with a few unique offerings. I'm thinking maybe they will be rotating desserts depending on the whim of the baker. My other co-worker went over the weekend and said they had ensaymada, whereas ironically, I didn't see too many bread related goods. Expect future follow posts! I'm just so happy this place is close by!
2 comments:
I can't wait to have the time to stop here! Thanks for explanations of 'new to me' foods. I can appear to be less white when I stop in. But...skinz!
Yes, you will definitely enjoy the food offerings (remember the "chocolate meat", heh heh) and going up and down the aisles. So much to look at.
To your credit, you are very open-minded food-wise! Skinz!!! Bulaklak!
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