Pho Fusion

Returning back to my Fall Break posts, aka Coupon Adventures with TC...

We were once again back in the Convoy/Kearny Mesa area. This strip mall also has two other places I want to check out because I have a coupon, Aria Kabob Cafe and Mercury Grill.

K Sandwiches revisited and Vien Dong III

One week later and here we were again...
This time, all of the corner tables facing the big screen TV were occupied so we headed to the opposite corner where there was an open table. Man, it comes in waves here. They'd be packed one minute then dead the next. But one thing's for sure, service is fast here! We were #33 and when we left they were already up to the 90's.
Bert and I ordered the mocha and the cafe sua da (iced coffee for me). TC was sad that I "stabbed" the baby's butt with my straw.

TC and I got the same thing, the #10 Grilled Beef Sandwich ($2.55 - you can't beat these prices!). I took out her jalapenos and put them in my sandwich and Bert's. I was hoping that she would only eat half of hers, but she was pretty hungry and ate most of the full sandwich! Yikes! Bert's sandwich (not shown due to crappy picture quality) was the #1 Dac Biet Sandwich ($2.55). I didn't really like the sliced meats inside because they tasted a little funky to me. I wasn't too adventurous that day. The meat was hidden under the pickled daikon and it tasted just as good the second time around. This is my new favorite sandwich besides Serrano ham and Manchego cheese!

Not feeling quite full, Bert and I bought another sandwich to split, the "Shredded Pork" ($2.55):

We didn't really like this. There were these long stringy and elastic-y pieces in there along with bits of shredded pork (hidden). I suspect the stringy bits were tendon, but I could be wrong. Gack. It was hard to eat this because every time I would take a bite, the long strings of whatever it was would come out. It was akward for me. I wouldn't get this again.

Since we were in the neighborhood, we went to Vien Dong III after our lunch. Here's MMM-Yoso's 3 part review here . The last time I was here was when I went to buy ingredients for the Spring Roll dinner at Lotus' place in September. What I liked about Vien Dong III was that their clientele was truly international (see lady below). There were people of all cultures in there, from Vietnamese, Filipinos, Africans, African Americans, Latinos and Caucasians and whatever else in there that day!We have to try this place next time - Ba'le French Sandwiches. It's right next to Vien Dong III (and yes, Foxy Hair Designs --- woo hoo! Foxey! Foxey lady!).

Doesn't this look cute? It looks like crude wooden animals humping each other. Actually these are coconut graters. The sharp serrated circular blade is covered with newspaper and a rubber band. My parents have one of these! My mom used to sit on this and grate a cracked coconut by hand for her kutsinta (brown rice cake). Grating coconut is hard work!

The Horton Plaza Fountain near Broadway and 4th. We were on our way to Cost Plus Imports to return a pancake mix. I bought the wrong kind - Pumpkin; I grabbed that instead of the plain.

I've never eaten here - Rei Do Gado, but Bert has with the guys. It's heaven if you are carnivorous. I don't think I would get my "money's worth" here. I like meat but sometimes too much of it can be sickening. Here are some reviews from Yelp's.

We passed by the Horton Grand while on our way to Cost Plus Imports. Isn't this a beautiful hotel?

I 'd like to try this place - Royal India. It's fairly new but the owners have other restaurants in San Diego. Here are some of Yelp's reviews of Royal India.

Sun Cafe is another place that I'm curious to try. Actually not because it's a foodie mecca but because I've always admired the facade. It's also important historically as one of the older Asian American owned establishments. So one of these days, we'll take a walk through the neighborhood and check it out. Too bad they do not have the old Filipino restaurants from the 60's anymore - the Luzon Cafe, the Manila Cafe (on 5th), and the Bataan Cafe. According to my dad who was a Navyman back then, the Filipino sailors would go there for a homecooked meal. If they didn't have any money to pay, then the owners would sometimes let them eat on credits. These Filipino establishments, sadly, do not exist anymore. Back then, the Gaslamp was the red-light district and an area relegated to minorities (anything south of Broadway).And here are Yelp's reviews for more info...We're on 5th and Market here (I think...). The Hostel is located above Blue Point Coastal Cuisine Restaurant (one of the Cohn restaurants). I just wanted a photo of the mural.

The Gaslamp Quarter has changed so much. It's totally gentrified. Twenty years ago, nay, even in the early 90's, it was still pretty dicey to drive down there. There were still a lot of places of ill repute. The movie marquee you see on the right used to be the Aztec Theater (Bancroft Building) SE corner Fifth and G. Now it's a Ghirardelli's chocolate place. According to the Journal of San Diego History, "this 500-seat theatre was built in 1905 as a meat market and entered the show business in 1919 under the grandiose name "California Theatre". It became Fox Aztec 1930-1935". For you Simpsons fans, Springfield also boasts an "Aztec Theatre".

The outside of the Aztec Theatre was also the scene of a murder. In October 1992, an escaped prisoner, Johnaton George (no, his first name is not misspelled - that's how it really is spelled), shot and killed Michael Champion, 29, a North Park electronics worker. The murderer is now on death row. During his trial, he represented himself and upset the victim's family during his death penalty phase. That must have been awful for his wife and friends to have been interrogated by his murderer.
I don't want to end the note on a downer, so here's a few older pix of stuff from Ranch 99:
Magnolia brand ice cream rules! Their flavors are awesome. This is one of favorites, Coconut (Macapuno). My absolute favorite however is "Ube" (purple yam). If you're feeling adventurous, they have a Corn and Cheese flavor (Queso con Mais). There's even avocado. I prefer Jackfruit over those last two flavors.

China China and K Sandwiches

Bert's mom was in a generous mood and had wanted to take us out to dinner earlier in the week. Since the air quality was still bad midweek, we waited until last Friday. Also, because we wanted to eat someplace close by and not too "fancy" or too expensive for his mom, we thought revisiting this restaurant we hadn't been to in years would be okay. Chinese food is also "safe" for older Filipino parents since they're more familiar with it than other cuisines.

So...we ended up at China China which is located in Terra Nova Plaza right off the East H Street exit and the 805 in Chula Vista. After that night's dinner, Bert and I remembered why we never went back. Our last time to eat there was in the early 90's. I hate to say this, but I would have rather eaten at Pei Wei than China China! At least they have more flavor! Man, this was kind of bad. China China is next to Bento Noodles, a Japanese food joint which is owned by the same family who owns China China. The Bento Noodles place used to be Thaigo which only lasted a few years in the late 90's. At the time, Thaigo was the only Thai (or place remotely remotely resembling and tasting like) restaurant in the South Bay.
This is the "lobby" or waiting area. The color scheme is straight out of the late 80's. Peach and beige walls and shiny black chairs with gold accents throughout. I kept expecting to see Patrick Nagel paintings on the wall.

We ordered four entrees to share. This was the Seafood Combo ($12.95) which totally wasn't worth it. It had shrimp, fake crab (yuk), calamari strips and I think sliced scallops (or some sort of mystery seafood meat). I didn't really like this at all because it was so bland and tasteless.

This was the Almond Chicken (forgot the price, but who cares at this point). Lots of almonds were thrown in there. It was generic chicken with celery, mushrooms, carrots and canned baby corn and soy sauce. I could have done this better myself.

This was the Vegetable Medley, which looked just like the Seafood plate except without seafood. I didn't eat too much that night...

And here is the Honey Walnut Shrimp which was the only thing I kind of liked (the shrimp only) but that's not saying too much. I like the version at Panda Inn (in Horton Plaza). The honey/mayo sauce looked so thick and gross. I did not like the pineapple in there either. I was also wondering why the candied nutz were on the side instead of incorporated into the dish. The next day, us 3 (me, Bert and TC) went to K Sandwiches for lunch. This used to be a Pho place and I'd read good things about K Sandwiches from other food bloggers. This is the view from the corner table. I'd never had a banh mi sandwiche before, not being a big sandwich fan, but this won me over. Bert has had banh mi before but really liked the bread on their sandwiches because it wasn't rock hard and didn't cut the roof of his mouth! The crust of their bread was nice and crunchy and the interior was light yet chewy. They had a French pastry corner there as well as some pre-made Vietnamese food in wrapped plastic. I wish they had labeled those in English as well as indicated the price.

Our drinks: Mangosteen soda, lychee soda (I'm a sucker for packaging and I was attracted to the 'clear' can!) and TC's Jackfruit w/boba shake. Man, the Jackfruit shake tasted kind of strange. It also cost more than my sandwiche ($3.50) . TC's sandwich was egg and bacon in a croissant ($1.99) which I didn't bother photographing. It was pretty standard. She ate only half and the other half was destined to be her breakfast the next day (today as I write this).

My choice - The #10 Sandwich - grilled beef with pickled vegetables, cilantro and 2 slices of jalapeno. Don't worry, there was meat in there, I just didn't pull open the sandwich enough for the photo. And yes, my skin is way dry! We cut our sandwiches in half so we could handle them a little easier. Plus, I didn't want to look like Dagwood Bumstead while chowing down.

Bert's choice was the #13 Sandwich ($3.95) - your basic ham and turkey with lettuce, cheese and tomato which he liked. Next time, he wants to try the grilled pork.Our service was pretty fast. We got our order in less than 5 minutes. They were doing very brisk business and at times the line was out the door. The clientele, while largely Asian, was mixed which was cool. It was pretty noisy in there with conversations going on and the flat screen tv in the bakery section blaring some college football game. We'd go here again just to try the other types of sandwiches. I'm sure it gets pretty crazy after school since it's next to Kearny High and nearby Mesa College. One thing that majorly sucks about going here is the parking. The parking lot is way too crowded and the spaces are tight - well, that and people here suck at parking their cars within the lines.