Guahan Grill, Imperial Beach

[Update - CLOSED as of 2020]

Yesterday we finally checked out the newest location of Guahan Grill in the new'ish Breakwater Town Center in IB...

We'd only been to the one in Oceanside years ago...

Random birthday freebie odds and ends

After my birthday lunch at Himalayan Curry & Grill...

I made use of my birthday offer...

Birthday coupon @ Chamorro Grill (3x) + drinks from Better Buzz

It seems like we are here once a year...

since birthday coupons are meant to be used you know...

Return to Matua's Sushi Bar & Islander Grill

[Relocated to the where Sushi on a Roll is, next to Cafe Virtuoso in Barrio Logan. However, the site says that they are temporarily "remodeling" and will reopen 28, 2017]

Another Friday without TC..

who was busy enjoying a school event (a music festival) so we had dinner on the west side of Chula Vista earlier this evening...

Chamorro Grill, coupon fail + Halo Halo revisit

Our first choice of dinner tonight was Cafe 21 on Adams. I had forgotten that they were remodeling so Bert and I headed down to Grantville...

to this stripmall located across from Kaiser Hospital on Zion...

Birthday dinner @ Chamorro Grill w/Astroboi

Astroboi hadn't been here before...

and it was ages since I'd last been here as well...

Tio Chino's

By this time, we were already hungry after having walked through the Japanese Gardens and the Botanical Garden in Balboa Park...

We headed over to Point Loma crossing over the PCH and seeing what looked like construction going on at Lindbergh Field (new parking structures perhaps?)...

There was a new'ish fusion restaurant that I heard of from a mutual friend and we were curious to check it out...

Matua's Sushi Bar & Islander Grill

[Relocated to the where Sushi on a Roll is, next to Cafe Virtuoso in Barrio Logan. However, the site says that they are temporarily "remodeling" and will reopen 28, 2017]

One of our high school friends posted some party pix on his fb page featuring a new Guamanian restaurant in Chula Vista...

Guamanian? My interest was piqued and then even more so when I learned that the owners of this place were the same folks that did the now defunct Yokozuna's in Chula Vista...

A visit was in order and in tow with me and TC were KD and her daughter...

Guahan Grill

Everyday during my vacation, I planned something different for everyday. Whether it was with TC, or all of us, or with a friend, there was something  fun to see or do and a good place to eat pretty much every day. This day was no exception. We thought we'd make the trip up to Oceanside to try out a Chamorro place in this strip mall...

Guahan Grill is a bit out of the way for us, now that Yokozuna's (before they turned into Yokoz and sucked completely; they are now closed) and Islander Grill are now gone.

Besides Guahan Grill, the only other Guamanian place is Chamorro Grill on Mission Gorge Road (by the Kaiser Permanente Hospital near Zion).

D Street Noshery - PDX 671, Fuego de Lotus & Bailey's

Our awesome lunch from one of Portland's food pods...

The D Street Noshery....

Let's take a look...

Musubi craving...

This weekend I was out and about thrift store shopping for candlestick holders (for future cake plate projects). Since I was in the area, I decided to stop by Chamorro Grill since I hadn't been here in awhile...

I really just wanted a small snack...

Back to the Grill...

Last week, we used up this coupon I had - $9 for $22 at Chamorro Grill. It was by America's Daily Deals which is like a wanna-be Groupon. I didn't care who it was from, I took advantage of it because we really liked the food here. It's on Mission Gorge Road in the strip mall across from Kaiser Zion Hospital.

TC and I hung out near the front while Bert ordered our meal...

Next door is a Polynesian dance studio:

The view from the front window:

That night was the Pacquiao vs Mosley fight. We all know who won that one. Now he just needs to fight Mayweather or someone who is WILLING to fight instead of running away like a Pu$$y. It seems like Pacquiao's talent is being wasted on boxers who don't really want to fight but just want the paycheck. Manny truly fights the good fight but it's kind of an empty victory if his opponents don't give their all. I'm not hating on Pacquaio, but am just disappointed that there aren't better fighters to fight him.

All right, this is what we got. Red Rice. In the back, Chicken Curry. In the front, Kadun Pika (which we loved last time), Mac Salad, and 2 Kelaguen musubis.

That Kadun Pika was super awesome! I have a recipe for this that I need to experiment with. I need to find out what types of peppers they use in here. The chicken pieces were meaty (thighs). The sauce spicy ("Pika"). Tasted so good with the red rice or alone. Leftovers were enjoyed the next day.

TC really enjoyed this, the Chicken Curry. Again, thigh pices with green peas and diced carrots (I don't care if they're frozen - it was good!)...Delicious the next day!

I think I like this kind of Musubi now - Instead of regular white rice with Spam, it was red rice with Chicken Kelaguen! Two of these by itself would make a nice meal. Everything was enjoyed by all.

We also "lightly" doused our red rice with their housemade finadene sauce too.

I wish Chamorro Grill was closer to home (Chula Vista). It's the next best thing besides having a Guamanian friend who can make this stuff for you. Once I figure out the Kadun Pika recipe, I'll be posting that!

Hafa Adai!

This weeked we finally used my SignOn SD coupon (kind of like Groupon...) for Chamorro Grill. The Chamorro place near us, Yokoz (formerly known as Yokozuna's) suckz veiny hairy goat ballz now that their ownership has changed which seems to have affected the quality of their food and service. The other Chamorro place we tried in the past was Islander Grill on Park Blvd but I heard they are closed now (we went back in November 2006; we'd gone several times but that was the only one I'd posted).

Since I started this new nutritional plan this week (more on that in a separate post), little did I realize this would kind of be like my last meal, a send off so to speak before eating "clean" (supposedly) for the next three months. But enough of that!

 "Welcome to Grantville"- the neighborhood that's near East Mission Valley and Allied Gardens. This is the sign off Friar's Road as you head towards Mission Gorge. You can see the Kaiser Permanente Hospital at Zion in the distance.

Near the hospital is a strip mall across the street. There used to be a Vietnamese fusion joint there, Rice Jones. This was back in 2000. They opened up another location in Hillcrest but it lasted only a few years and I believe it is now another restaurant. Anyways, after reading about Cathy's posts on Chamorro Grill, it was time to finally go check it out! This is on the corner of Mission Gorge and Allied Rd. in the Village Square strip mall.

We got there around 12 noon...Parked right in front, so score!

Their menu board:

Ooh, I will have to come back in three months for that pork adobo! The kelaguen wraps are just kelaguen with tortillas (I asked). I'd love to try that escabeche next time too.

Love their "Hafa Adai" paper towel holder. They had a bunch of different carvings with "Hafa Adai" on it. Here are their specials. I like how they have "tinola" on their specials board. Tinola is one of my favorite comfort foods (it's a chicken and ginger based soup with chayote or green papaya and spinach); I love eating it on cold rainy days. I've never had a fish version though, only chicken so that might be worth trying in the future.

Nice sage green walls with islander decorations - a mix of Guamanian, Hawaiian and Filipino in there..as you will see in a few moments. Although you can't see the detail from the photo below the big framed poster in the middle is an illustrated map of Guam. A group of 20-somethings came in and were pointing out the places they knew on the map.

The blue reusable shopping bag was a gift from TC. She got it from the Uglydolls booth at the Comic Con last year (since I didn't go). It has Ice-Bat on one side (I "ice cube" you!) and a few of the other characters on the opposite side. The bag usually attracts attention from small children and teenage girls because of the cuteness factor.

All right, the Barrel MEN! Small and large versions. Or maybe the smaller one of them is the Barrel WOMAN (where the boobs pop out)?  There were tiny little nipa huts that said "Philippines" on them as well. Plus several Pittsburgh Steelers helmets on the shelves here and there.

So, I used my $10 for $20 coupon and paid about $2 more for all that you see here (except for the sodas which Bert covered as an afterthought).

Chicken Kelaguen with red rice. We thought it was okay and couldn't really taste the coconut. The rice was really good - not mushy or sticky. Loved the color and the flavor too.

Pork Kalua. This was just a side order. It was all right but I'm not sure if the smoked flavor is real or if it's liquid smoke. I'm not the best judge of that. My husband really enjoyed this and practically finished it all.

A side of red rice (because we weren't sure if the rice with the kelaguen would be enough):

A side of Mac salad - This helped cool down the heat from the Kadun Pika. TC had most of this. I liked how it wasn't so creamy and overladen with mayo but I wished there was fruit in here (like apple bits or pineapple).

A side of Shrimp Patties:

This wasn't what I was expecting because the version I had long ago at Yokozuna's was shaped like an actual patty and I was disappointed because it was so dry. This, however, was a golden brown fried nugget of awesomeness with ground shrimp with peas and carrots inside. It was like a savory donut with shrimp. More please.

We'd never had this before, the Kadun Pika:

This was braised chicken thighs - you could taste the onions, garlic and most of all, the chili peppers in there. The peppers, along with the somewhat soothing counterpoint of the coconut milk made this our favorite dish of the day (except for TC because she didn't like the spiciness). This is something I am going to learn how to make because I want to be able to make this whenever I want instead of driving my sorry ass all the way up to Chamorro Grill! Seriously though, this was quite filling and would have tasted great with white rice as well.

We brought home our leftovers (kahlua pig, red rice, kelaguen and Kadun Pika) since there was so much food.

There was a condiment tray at the front counter and I noticed that the guys who own this place also sell a few products. They have their own finadene bottled finadene sauce and a finadene spice shaker.

They are $5 each. When I go here again, I'll get one of these...

Who else ate at Chamorro Grill?

Well, of course, Cathy from Mmm-Yoso who went here last May 2010 ...
and Kirk himself went there a few months later and had their kelaguen
Plus the mixed bag of Yelp reviews here

The girl working the counter was really nice. The cashier brought our food out to us and, like you saw in previous photos, it was all in styrofoam containers. I wish they were on regular plates instead of using styrofoam which is seems wasteful and is bad for the environment. But I'm sure they have their reasons for it like maybe not having to wash dishes. I like how casual it was here and how diverse the clientele was. I saw people of all kinds there - white, black, Latino, Asian, and Filipino (us), people eating alone, in groups and as families. Very nice to see that.

We would definitely go back here again and try their other dishes. I really liked that Kadun Pika so I'm searching for a recipe out there so I can make it for myself anytime!

Guamanian Red Rice

A few weeks ago, I was talking to one of the ladies at the gym. She's an older lady, like my mom's age (late 60's) and is Chamorro (Guamanian). We got to talking about food and I asked her about red rice. She was nice enough to let me know how to make it and even nicer to give me this item (see below), which she calls it her secret ingredient, although I guess it's not secret anymore since I'm posting it):

Man! This is so hard to find anywhere - she said it's not in the stores here. She gets hers mailed to her from her neice who lives in Seattle. I tried looking online, but only saw it on the manufacturer's website as one of their products. It didn't say where to purchase it online. Well, the lady gave me one of her tubs of the roasted chicken base (it was almost done), just so I could try making red rice for myself. What makes the rice red is the "achiote" (also known as "annatto" powder). You can use the powdered form which is easier. Or, you could use the seeds, but you'd have to soak the seeds in hot water to get the color and then strain the seeds out. More work.

I've made this recipe twice already and it was a big hit with my husband and daughter as well as my nephews and siblings. I was surprised with my nephews because I thought they wouldn't like the celery in the rice! Wrong! One of them had three servings! Warning - This ain't no lazy man's recipe - you cook this in a pot, not a rice cooker and yes, you do have to stand there and check on it from time to time.

Guamanian Red Rice

(Auntie Mary's recipe)

Ingredients:

annatto powder (the amount depends on you - a couple of teaspoons? less? how red do you want your rice?)

water (the amount will vary depending on how many cups of rice you cook - in this case, 3 and 1/2)

1 big tablespoon of the Knorr roasted chicken base (you could use more to taste)

4 cloves garlic - minced

1 small onion - diced

celery leaves - chopped (this was also one of her "secret" ingredients)

**if you don't have celery leaves, you could also use finely diced celery (I used both)

3 cups of rice (I used Calrose short grain but you could probably use another kind, but for the love of Bourdain, just don't use Uncle Ben's!!!)

• First, soak the annatto powder in the water. I also threw in the roasted chicken base (it's like a paste) to liquefy it.
• Next, saute the chopped garlic, onion and celery leaves (or chopped celery) in a tiny bit of oil (I don't know what amount, but just eyeball it, ok?) for a few minutes to make it "sweat". Your kitchen will be fragrant from the aroma!
• Then, after you saute those ingredients, add the annatto-colored/roasted chicken base water into the pot, along with the rice.
• Bring to a boil first, then let it simmer for 20 -25 minutes. Maybe longer - just keep checking the rice and make sure it doesn't burn. If there's not enough water, add more. Also, stir the pot ocassionally so the rice doesn't get clumpy.

The first time I made this, I used only the chopped celery because I'd thrown away the leaves. The second time I used both the leaves and the stalks. Mary told me that the basic recipe is just rice and the annatto powder, but she kicks her up by using the roasted chicken base, garlic, onion, and celery leaves. That rice tasted a lot better than the kind they serve at Yokozuna's. Makes it plain by comparison. She also said that her daughter doesn't use the chicken base but uses the Knorr powder (or bouillon cubes) instead. Mary doesn't like the powder because she thinks it's too salty, but since the roasted base is hard to come by I may need to resort to the powder/cubes.

Yokoz?!

[Closed as of early 2012 and to be a new restaurant called "iSushi"]

Here's yet another restaurant entry. I'm on a roll here...I went to the newly renamed Yokoz (formerly known as Yokozuna's) last week with my GBF. This is located in the strip mall across from Southwestern College. I hadn't been there in more than three months. They not only changed their name, but also revamped their menu. Well, the menus are new and their bento format has also been changed.

See? New Menu...More colorful I see. When we got there around 12 noon, it was kind of dead. I was expecting it to have more than 10 patrons or at least packed. Hmmm. When we left about a little more than an hour later, it was still kind of dead. That was strange. It's usually packed at Yokozuna's, oops, I mean Yokoz.

Below is the sushi bar...

Their bentos used to be $6.95. Then over the years, they raised the prices to $8.95. Now, since they changed things around, bentos are either $5.95 of $6.95. You used to be able to pick out 2 entrees and have it with either red or white rice, green salad, cucumber salad or macaroni salad and it all came with a few pieces of pineapple and 4 pieces of sushi. No longer. Now, there is a fixed $5.95 menu (you pick the protein) and a fixed $6.95 menu. Gone are the pineapple pieces which is replaced with miso soup. : ( This was my friend's order. He had the teriyaki salmon bento.

Close up of Teriyaki salmon - looks like the sauce was just brushed on it. Don't know if the salmon was actually marinated in it, not that it has to be...

This was my Bento - the Sesame Chicken. The server must not have been taking good notes because I ended up with white rice when I wanted red (it's red because of the achiote or annatto coloring). She ended up serving it on the side for me.

I liked my Sesame chicken - nice and crunchy, although I really shouldn't be eating a lot of fried foods. I'm not a big fan of miso soup. I miss having the choice of cucumber salad and macaroni salad. They made their mac salad island style, with fruit bits, just like how my mom makes it. Served also on the side was the finadene sauce, which is soy sauce, lemon and/or vinegar with green onions and chili. This was spooned on top of my rice. I also dipped my chicken in it. That was my salt quota for the whole week. In all, I was surprised with this visit. Maybe we caught the restaurant on a really dead day, but it's usually crowded during lunch. I was also disappointed because they didn't have any Spam. I ordered their Spam musubi (4 pieces for an appetizer) but they were out! How could an Islander place be out of Spam???