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Roadtrip – Kalani’s Revisited, South of North Brewing Company, and the Echo Lake Trail (Lake Tahoe). A revisit to The Alchemists’ Garden (Paso Robles)

American/New American Restaurants, Asian Fusion/Pacific Rim/Hawaii Style Fusion, Beer, Dog Friendly, Lake Tahoe, Paso Robles/Cambria/San Luis Obispo County, Road Trip, Travel

On our last full day in South Lake Tahoe; the Missus chose the Echo Lakes Trail, which you need a permit for. It was a pretty easy trail.

There’s an area called Echo Pass which has wonderful views.

The trail is basically along the lake.

JJ’s not fond of the heat and direct sunlight, so we’re glad we made an early start.

Another benefit of getting an early start is that we easily found parking. The lot isn’t very big and was full to the brim upon our return. The trail was starting to get busy, so we were happy to leave and head back to the hotel.

For lunch, we just stopped by the Whole Foods and got some prepared food and it enjoyed it on the porch and relaxed. And of course we had a nice nap!

When dinner time arrived, we strolled on over to Heavenly Village. This was a Tuesday evening so things weren’t quite as hectic.

We had enjoyed Kalani’s the previous evening; so we decided to head on back.

We walked in, fully intent of doing HH in the bar area again; but strangely, it was quite busy. The wonderful hostess just sat us in the dining room. As it was just past 5pm, we were the only customers.

I only got a mocktail on this evening….which was quite refreshing.

The Missus wanted those Brussel Sprouts again, which were just as good as what we’d had the previous evening.

And of course that crisp; then buttery textured pork belly.

Though we tried it with the sauce again….well, it’s still “no bueno”. The lovely pork belly was just perfect for our taste as is.

The Missus wanted one more dish and decided to try the Baby Back Ribs.

The Ginger-Soy-Garlic sauce was pretty good; if a bit strong in terms of ginger flavor; but the ribs were super tough and chewy. We probably should have stuck with the Miso Chilean Sea Bass.

Still, if we’re in the area, we’ll definitely return to Kalani’s. Here’s some history on Kalani’s if you’re interested. The founders are from Oahu.

Kalani’s
1001 Heavenly Village Way
South Lake Tahoe, CA 96150

On the way back to our room…..well..to give the Missus a break I took JJ to South of North Brewing.

It was a nice outdoor, really mellow area.

And we had a nice Blonde Ale……

And all seemed right in the world…….

South of North Brewing Co.
932 Stateline Ave.
South Lake Tahoe, CA 96150

The next day we had head back home……

But my goodness, a direct 7-8 hour drive wasn’t going to do it for us. So, we stopped in an area we had been to several times…….Paso Robles.

And then, after doing some shopping, had dinner a a place we’d been to many times before….The Alchemists’ Garden.

And while there were other places we’d prefer to dine at; the rail here was so very convenient. And having been here so many times; things were kind of easy.

The cocktails here are “king”….. I had the Nicolas Flamel…nice and spicy…..

The Missus got the Fifth Heaven, Mezcal with Dragonfruit and apricot…..

The last time we’d been here we thought the food was pretty good. So, we had dinner here.

This time though, it wasn’t quite as enjoyable.

The Yellowfin Tostadas were really fishy.

In fact, the Missus had one bite and couldn’t bear with anymore. It was on the very “pungent” side and quite assertive in flavor.

And then there was the Deviled Eggs.

Very strong tumeric tones….on the bitter end of the scale.

At least the bone marrow was still as good as before.

That cherry onion jam went really well with the rich, fatty, savory bone marrow.

Still, one out of three wasn’t really great for us…..we’ll need to find other options next time we’re in the area.

The Alchemists’ Garden
1144 Pine St.
Paso Robles, CA 93446

As for where we stayed….well, the Missus has developed an affinity for boutique style motels….and the Stables Inn really was that.

I mean…..it was a very hipster style motel…..very convenient.

I guess we’ll be staying here whenever we’re back in Paso Robles.

Road Trip – Dinner at Kalani’s, Hiking Big Meadow, and Ha Noi Pho (Lake Tahoe)

Asian Fusion/Pacific Rim/Hawaii Style Fusion, Dog Friendly, Lake Tahoe, Pho, Plate Lunch, Road Trip, Vietnamese Restaurants

We really enjoyed our stay at the Landing Resort & Spa. It wasn’t right in the middle of everything and was still on Lake Tahoe. There was a beach right across the street and like I mentioned in my previous post, we loved the view from our patio.

For hike that morning; the Missus chose Big Meadow to Round Lake. There was a 1,200 foot elevation gain, but it didn’t seem to bad and about 6 1/2 miles out and back.

And JJ of course, handled it like a champ….always making sure that Daddy is not going too slow…..

The starting portion is near a main road, that goes uphill. And yes, the trail goes to a lovely meadow area.

And the lake is indeed “round”.

It was quite a way to start the day.

On the way back to the hotel, I noticed a Vietnamese Restaurant and decided to make a stop for lunch.

We weren’t too hungry, so we went with the pork spring roll and the combination pho.

The Nem Cuon was interesting. The pork was nicely griddled.

It was quite hefty, but lacking in herbs….no mint, basil…..just basically lettuce. The dipping sauce seemed like it was out of a bottle and was much too sweet.

Still, that was much better than the pho……

Broth was made by what we call the “wave method”…where upon you wave beef bones above boiling water….it was so thin and lacking in beef flavor. Lots of white pepper and quite salty.

Noodles were overcooked and mushy……

The tripe wasn’t bad at all; but the other cuts of beef were really lean and tough….totally lacking in beefiness.

Man, this was even worse than what we expected.

Service was fine….but this is a no-go pho…..

Ha Noi Pho
3330 Lake Tahoe Blvd.
South Lake Tahoe, CA 96150

We made a couple of stops on our wat back to our accommodations….doing a bit of shopping; then had a nice siesta in our room.

When dinner time came along; we headed back to the very touristy Heavenly Village.

There was a restaurant in Heavenly Village that I’d actually read about….years ago in Bon Apetite…and of all things they served Hawaiian Regional Cuisine…in South Lake Tahoe! The owners are from Oahu and the place is named Kalani’s.

I know…in Lake Tahoe? Anyway, we walked on over…the place is dog friendly and we actually had a table in the bar….named the “Puka Lounge”….now this was getting kinda cliche for us, but still; the Ginger Rye Old Fashion was quite good!

As for food’ we decided on one app, a main, and a side……

First up were the Lemony Brussel Sprouts. You know hoe the Missus loves Her Brussel Sprouts; except She doesn’t care for how most places make it. In most cases it’s mushy, overcooked, and over sauced. This however was quite good.

Not overcooked, this had a nice crunch to them. Not over sauced, simply seasoned, citrus tones, good acid, perfect amount of salt. Well, we found some Brussels that the Missus enjoyed that weren’t made at home!

The one dish that I’d read about here at Kalani’s was the Chilean Sea Bass Miso Yaki. So, you know we had to try this, right?

Decent miso yaki flavor…perhaps a bit on the mild side, with a bit more sweetness than we like, but still nice and savory. It as the lovely, rich texture of the Chilean Sea Bass that made this dish….so lovely, almost creamy….it basically melts on your tongue! The ponzu butter sauce was fine….we expected a bit more fruity acidity, but it wasn’t overly rich. The mased potatoes had nice anise tones from Thai Basil. Overall, a good fusiony dish.

The one menu item we really enjoyed was the Crispy Roasted Pork Belly. Think “crisp and rich”.

The the light crispness of the batter that gave way to the rich and tender pork belly. Nice and porky, perfectly seasoned; it went well with a squeeze of citrus. We didn’t care for the basil puree which almost had a greasy tongue feel to it and just over powered the flavor and texture of the pork belly.

Kalani’s was a totally unexpected, nice surprise for us. We’d end up going back the next evening.

Kalani’s
1001 Heavenly Village Way
South Lake Tahoe, CA 96150

We made our way back to our accommodations. I went to refill our water and saw this.

Interesting, huh?

And of course, just like the night before, we watched the sun set over the lake!

Thanks for stopping by!

Stuff from Nijiya and Tokyo Central

Cooking, Markets & Grocers

Just some odds and ends for today.

Stuff from Nijiya:

Nijiya is probably a twice weekly stop…along with Tokyo Central (see below) for me/us. And I’ll often see some newer items in the deli case. Like this…..

Though there are maybe one or two sushi items I might get at Nijiya, I’m not the biggest fan of most of their fish based sushi items. But this one was interesting.

Especially based on the name and yes, the price as well!

I know…..all you ex-pat Kama’aina’s are thinking “Ohana“! And one that I showed this to, went, “what, baka ohana” (i.e. “stupid family” in pidgin). Well, nooooo….. I think that Ohana Batake means something along the lines of “field of flowers“, probably based on how the bowl looks? I’m sure “FOY” Junichi will correct me if I’m mistaken. Actually, this was not bad….I enjoyed the ikura which added some nice, briny “character” to the dish. And I think the price was quite reasonable for these days.

If you recall, I used to enjoy the karaage from Nijiya. Until they changed their recipe a couple of years ago. Well, last week, I noticed that the karaage looked a bit different.

It’s still doesn’t look like it used to, but I was curious so I bought some. Crisped up in the air fryer, I had it with some soba I made with some Moroheiya (GreeNoodle).

Much better than what I’d had previously, but still not as good as what Tokyo Central now has….so long you get the “correct” karaage. Still, with more shoyu flavor, better texture, this was an improvement.

Nijiya Market
3860 Convoy St Ste 109
San Diego, CA 92111

Speaking of Tokyo Central……

I was doing some shopping at Tokyo Central last Sunday morning and walked over to the deli case. I must not pay enough attention because I never really noticed that they sell Yakitori. Not that I would really get some….but on this morning it was 20% off. I’m guessing that it was leftover from the day before? A no-no with regards to most items….but since we have the air fryer…..

So priced at $6.39, I thought it might be worth a try.

It looked fairly mediocre, and I had a taste of the tare, which was ok….truly bottled stuff, but decently salty-sweet.

What I did was microwave the skewers for a minute…then rub in whatever sauce had dripped off and what was left in the container…then went full blast in the air fryer. The result of which was definitely worth the six dollar price.

I thought the “momo” and negima…both the chicken thigh skewers were pretty good. The Missus actually enjoyed the very chicken-y tsukune.

Well, with prices these days, I’m going to be on the lookout for those 20% off specials.

Tokyo Central
8125 Balboa Ave.
San Diego, CA 92111

Like I said, current prices have had an affect on our shopping and eating. Have they had the same effect with all of you?

Sumo Go

Japanese Restaurants

Remember back in February I noticed that a place named Sumo Go was taking over the spot formerly occupied by Bunny Chow? Recently, I was having lunch with my wonderful friends “LL” and “JP” and I mentioned this place. They live close by and told me the shop had actually opened. So, I made sure to put it on my “list”. And then, by fate, I decided to check out what was going on with Gourmet Artisan…which had closed. So, I thought it might be the right time to “go” to Sumo Go.

Even though it was before eleven, the shop was open. Walking in was interesting as this was obviously an offshoot of the “konbini” craze. You know, those Japanese convenience stores like Lawson or 7/11, now all over social media, much of it thanks to a certain gentleman who loved the egg salad sandwich at Lawson. Now, it seems like we’re getting our share of similar places.

Walking in, I noticed shelves full of Japanese snacks…..

And the typical cold case with cakes and such. Two types of sandos….katsu and tamago (of course).

What’s interesting….and really not typically “konbini like” was the menu of rice bowls and sides as these were made to order.

In the mood for something a bit more substantial than a katsu sando and having just had a pretty mediocre donburi in National City; I decided on the Gyu Don, not cheap at $18.

It turned out to be a pretty hefty bowl.

First thing I did was do a “rice check”. The rice was hot and fluffy, quite acceptable.

The beef was decent; perhaps on the sweeter end of the scale, but the texture was good, slightly toothsome, enjoyed the flavor the onions, which were quite tender, brought to the bowl.

Pretty much by-the-book, but better than what I expected based on previous experiences elsewhere. And better than what I can get from the cold case at Nijiya or Mitsuwa in my opinion. Though it is eighteen bucks and in some ways makes Tenkatori seem quite reasonable.

A few days later, I dropped by again….this time much earlier. On this visit, I took a photo of the eating area hidden behind the shelves.

I decided to get the Katsu Sando ($8.95), which was almost half the price of the version at Momo Sando.

And, to be perfectly honest, not even half as good. Starting with the Shokupan…the bread was too dense and lacking in the rich-mild sweetness I enjoy. The crusts were still on as well….a quick sign when looking at a typical sando.

The katsu had really dried out and was too chewy; though the panko still had a bit of crunchiness to it. The cabbage was fine and it wasn’t overly sauced.

Perhaps I’m too picky about my sandos….but I wouldn’t get it again. The gentleman working was very nice, and had me wondering about the background of this place. So, doing a bit of digging, I came across this.

I’ll probably return to try the karaage and other hot items. It’s good to have some options for an early lunch in the area. Next time I go to “Sumo Go”.

Sumo Go
7128 Miramar Rd.
San Diego, CA 92121
Current Hours:
Mon – Fri 9am – 7pm
Sat – Sun 11am – 7pm

Thum SD – A Soft Opening Visit

Lao Restaurants

A few months back, I noticed a Cambodian – Lao Restaurant was opening on ECB just East of the 15 right past Vallarta Taco Shop. I wasn’t quite sure of the name since the sign made it kinda hard to read. Then in my Donburi Rice Bowls post; “FOY” Elle who is nice enough to keep me informed of new openings in the City Heights area mentioned that Thum SD had opened! So, I made sure to check the opening hours and made time to visit at around 1115 on a Thursday…to find that the place was closed….sigh….. I did wait around until 1130, but there was no activity within the place, so I left. Still, I did want to try the place out so I returned on a Saturday, to find that they were indeed open.

Upon entering, I quickly noticed that this was one of those order at the counter places…..the menu board only had around 8 items on it. The really nice young lady working also informed me that they were out of several items as well.

And as far as I could tell, there was only one menu item that was Cambodian; a soup made with Kroeung, the foundational Cambodian seasoning paste that we had run into when visiting Cambodia all those years ago. In the end, I decided to just order two of my favorite Lao dishes to go. Nem Khao (of course) and Sai Oua….Lao sausage. With regards to the sausage, you have two choices, regular or spicy. This was when the really nice woman working on her laptop chimed in saying “I prefer the spicy version”. Turns out she was one of the owners. Her husband, who is Thai-Lao and co-owner is also the chef. We had a nice little chat while I was waiting. Turns out that she is Cambodian. She was so very friendly and sweet. She apologized for not having a full menu at this time, saying that many of the ingredients they needed were still in transit. She did say however, that the week of May 3rd will be grand opening, so they should have a full menu by then.

Here’s the Nem Khao.

Nice sour tones and there was actually some coconut flavor in this; something missing in most versions we’ve had here in SD. There’s also some thin slices of pork skin as well.

On the other hand, the rice was too soft and fluffy’ lacking the crisp crunchy bits and also was devoid of sausage.

Rice was not evenly coated as well.

The Spicy Lao Sausage on the other hand was a winnah! The filling was so porky, moist, and tender. It also had some good spice to it. The casing had a bit of “snap” to it.

While the Missus thought it could have used even more herbs and Makrut Lime leaves, I thought it was fine. The Missus also loved the dipping sauce which along with typical fish sauce flavor had a ton of garlic in it.

It also came with a large portion of rice.

We’ll definitely have that sausage again, though I’m going to wait to revisit until they’ve been opened for a bit.

As I mentioned above; I was told their grand opening will be this week.

Thum SD
4151 El Cajon Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92105
Current Hours:
Tues – Fri 11am – 7pm
Saturday 11am – 5pm
Sunday 11am – 4pm

Thanks again for the heads-up Elle!

Sunday Stuffs – Coco Bomb replacing Juewei, La Perla has replaced Super Mario, and Gourmet Artisan has closed

Chinese Restaurants, Mexican Restaurants, Sandwiches

A couple of things I’ve noticed while doing my “rounds” recently.

Coco Bomb is now replacing Juewei:

Well, while doing a recent takeout revisit to Eastern Dynasty, I noticed that the “coming soon” sign over what used to be Juewei had changed. Back in March, I noted that LA Hot Duck was replacing Juewei, but I guess that’s gone awry. Now it says that Coco Bomb….which I believe has a location in Linda Vista is replacing Juewei.

Which leaves me wondering if the opening of Spicy Duck in the 99 Ranch Market Food Court affected this decision? Kind of a bummer, because personally, I think we need more of those types of businesses here.

4690 Convoy St. #103
San Diego, CA 92111

La Perla has replaced Super Mario’s:

On my most recent shopping trip to Nijiya, I noticed a “Under New Ownership” sign over what was….for a short time Super Mario’s…and for what was for a longer time Palomino’s. Kind of a bummer….

So, it looks like the La Perla empire is expanding. We’ll see how this goes; because it seems, at least to me that La Perla has been quick to open….then suddenly close their shops….

3860 Convoy St. Suite 10
San Diego, CA 92111

Gourmet Artisan has closed:

It had been a while since I’d been to Gourmet Artisan…so I thought I’d order a sandwich; but strangely, their website wasn’t working. So, I thought I’d drive past to see what was up….well…it seems that they have closed.

I guess I shouldn’t be overly surprised as the last time I visited, they were using their location as a pseudo commercial kitchen of sorts. Still, it’s a place that I had visited on a regular basis before….but I guess just not often enough.

7094 Miramar Rd.
San Diego, CA 92121

Road Trip – Shangrila Himalayan Kitchen, The Landing Lakeside Dining, and Sugar Pine Point State Park

American/New American Restaurants, Dog Friendly, Indian Restaurants, Lake Tahoe, Nepalese/Himalayan Food, Road Trip, Travel

After spending two nights at the Forest Suites Resort, we checked out. We’d be spending the next three nights at the place I really wanted to stay at; the Landing Resort & Spa. Of course we had to figure out what to do before checking in….which was really easy. The Missus really enjoyed our stay in Tahoma on a previous road trip and while the small town didn’t have dog friendly restaurants or accommodations, we headed back up so She could do some paddleboarding at Sugar Pine Point Beach. The drive there was of course quite beautiful.

And once we got to Sugar Pine State Park, well, the Missus got to doing Her “SUP” thing ASAP. Which initially included JJ.

Who soon got tired of the whole thing. After which, I just took him to explore the area, which I was somewhat familiar with from our previous visit.

He enjoyed the walk and exploring.

Though he did miss his “mom”.

And then I saw this sign……which was indeed a “sign” for us to take our leave…..

On the way back into South Lake Tahoe, we decided to stop for lunch. The Missus waned something “different” so I found a place named “Shangrila Himalayan Kitchen”, a bit off highway 50 for lunch.

There was ample outdoor seating…..

And though the place was quite busy, the folks working were really accommodating as we sat outside.

We started with the Vegetable Pakora, basically vegetable fritters.

We enjoyed the sauces, because the fritters were on the bland side and the texture was quite “gummy”.

The Garlic Naan was fine, if a bit doughy. At least it had some nice garlic flavor.

The Lamb Curry was fine. Though the lamb was on the tougher side, at least it was quite aromatic, with a decent savory-richness. And quite hearty.

Really thick in texture…and we would have enjoyed a bit more spice.

We didn’t leave hungry though.

Shangrila Himalayan Kitchen
1142 Ski Run Blvd.
South Lake Tahoe, CA 96150

We stopped to do some shopping on the way to check in…… We both cracked up when we saw this shirt.

And were tempted to get for….well…someone!

We then went over and checked in at the Landing Resort & Spa. I just wanted to stay here for the location. I enjoyed the view.

While JJ enjoyed…….

We just really enjoyed the fact that it was across from Lake Tahoe.

We decided to dine at the hotel’s restaurant; the Landing Lakeside Dining. The menu was no joke with entrees hitting the sixty dollar mark. Luckily, we weren’t very hungry and just did some cocktails and two apps.

The Duck “Nachos” were really like two tostadas.

The butternut squash sauce seemed a bit on the “thin” side and was too sweet. The duck confit tasted fine; good savoriness, but was on the chewy-dry side.

The Pork Belly just had too much going on.

With the yuzu emulsion clashing with the passionfruit glaze. Not sure why this needed chorizo, since the pork belly was nice and porky, and quite tender. The little dollops of parsnip puree was not enough to really contribute to the dish.

Really nice service with a good view of Lakeside Beach, but the dishes were a bit too over-the-top for us.

The Landing Lakeside Dining
4104 Lakeshore Blvd.
South Lake Tahoe, CA 96150

But staying right across the street from Lakeside Beach had its benefits.

And dogs are allowed on the beach during the summer months; which is when we were here.

JJ does love the sand!

This was a lot more relaxed and peaceful than the busy Heavenly Village area. We enjoyed watching the sun set over the horizon!

Roast Duck from Noble Chef and Tacos from the Tacos La Chorreada Truck

Chinese BBQ, Chinese Restaurants, Food Trucks, Mexican Restaurants, Taco Shops

I’m still kinda “feeling it” from all the recent driving so just a quick post on some recent takeout revisits.

Roast Duck from Noble Chef:

I was in Balboa Crest Shopping Center checking on something, when I decided to pop into Noble Chef to see what roast duck prices were like. It had been a while since we’d been to Noble Chef. The prices and our visits to Eastern Dynasty have basically kept us away. The last time I’d had roast duck from Noble Chef it was a whopping $28 for a half duck! What the “duck” is going on? I was curious so I popped my head in…..

And to my surprise; on this day the half roast duck was $20.95. Like the same price as Eastern Dynasty. Hmmm……I’m wondering if there’s some competitive pricing going on now?

So, here’s what it looked like.

The skin was nice and firm and most of the fat had been rendered off nicely.

The meat was toothsome and moist-juicy. It did seem a bit short in flavor, really lacking in the five-spice/anise tones, sweetness, though it was nice and savory. Also, the duck seemed a bit leaner then on previous visits.

Still, perhaps our favorite roast duck in San Diego……I guess I’ll keep popping in and doing price checks for duck. The other dishes here just seem over-priced still.

The Noble Chef
6159 Balboa Avenue
San Diego, CA 92111

I’m always up to try some roast duck if anyone has a current favorite!

The Tacos La Chorreada Truck:

On a recent hot afternoon; the Missus just wanted a light dinner and figured three tacos from the La Chorreada Truck would fit the bill. I actually had not visited since the truck moved two lots over back in November. So, JJ and I walked on over. I ordered my tacos “para lleva” and JJ and I went to have a cerveza at BHT. We then returned for my tacos.

They actually have a pretty nice sitting area set-up now.

Anyway, here’s our taco threesome…..

From left to right. Lengua…nice and waxy, fatty-beefiness. The cabeza…the best of the bunch on this day, very beefy, great with the salsa verde. And the smoky-savory-lightly spicy chorizo and the “neba-neba” of the nopales.

This was a nice and light dinner for us. It fit the bill since we weren’t hungry in the least on this day.

The Tacos La Chorreada Truck
3040 Clairemont Dr
San Diego, CA 92117

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Where on the road were we?

Mendocino, CA, Monterey/Carmel/Santa Cruz - Monterey Bay/Peninsula, Road Trip, Santa Barbara County, Travel, Ventura County

Well, we’re back from road trip number three for the year in case you’re keeping score. All places we’ve been to before.

From this city…..

A favorite of JJ’s which I think he’s been to four times already? We ate at our favorite place, actually the bar of a Michelin listed restaurant. They serve the same menu as the restaurant.

Then back to a city we visited during the end of Covid. We had really enjoyed the varied architecture, dating back from the city’s establishment in 1874. The city has done a great job preserving historic houses and buildings. We even took a wonderful self guided architectural tour when we visited back in 2021.

We actually stayed in one of the cottages on the property which was built in 1889 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Of course a waterfront walk is a must do when visiting.

Our next stop was one of JJ’s favorite locales. But first we made a short lunch stop in a town we hadn’t been to since 2015.

And the Missus, now in major “farm mode” thought She had won the lottery when I pointed out this shop.

Which She ended up spending a good amount of time and money in.

Our main destination was a lovely town we visited last April. We absolutely loved it and decided to return and spend three nights this time around.

Which meant, that along with the coastal trail which we loved, we could do some additional exploring. And we got to visit the beach along the coast and river which JJ loved.

And we also hiked along the river during one of the mornings.

Three nights gave us time to try some new things. We found a Pub with an outdoor patio, that served a really nice pour of Guinness.

The staff were so nice and friendly. And JJ made sure my beer was safe from Da’ Gnomes!

Our favorite restaurant here is still that. It was our favorite meal of the road trip! And cheaper than prices in San Diego!

Folks are very dog friendly…and they told us about a Pup Palooza happening close by….so of course we had to attend.

We had a fun time; we got to meet the two candidates for Mayor. Bodhi and Milo.

And JJ got to try his hand…umm…tail at painting!

Friends I sent photos to of JJ’s work thought it was pretty good.

Maybe I need to change his name to “Paw-blo Picasso”? But then we would call him “P-P”…not sure about that!

By now, the Missus needed Her Asian food fix…so we stopped for two nights in a city we really enjoyed. Which has a surprisingly decent Chinese Restaurant.

And this is where JJ’s love of croissants actually evolved……so you know how that goes, right?

We managed to hike on a recently opened trail as well.

Our last stop was a place we actually went to last month. There’s a restaurant there with a nice Happy Hour and the Missus loves all the Thrift and Consignment stores in downtown.

While the last time we had 15 days to for a similar road trip; this time it was only 7, so I’m kinda pooped. But, we did have a really fun time!

Back tomorrow with a new post. Thanks for stopping by!

Joyee Noodle House Opens in Renaissance Towne Center

Chinese Restaurants, Dog Friendly, Taiwanese Food and Restaurants

During my revisit to Chicago Fire Grill, I noticed a fairly large turnover of eateries at Renaissance Towne Center. I had Boker Kitchen on my “list”, but never made it before they closed. It’s now going to be a location of Mr Moto’s Pizza. The place that did catch my eye was the business that replaced the Rubio’s in the strip mall. A location of Joyee….which I would not be too interested in; but instead of being Joyee Dumpling House, this is a Joyee Noodle House. I’d actually been to the former location in 99 Ranch Market, which I visited once and had some really bad Jiaozi and Baozi…it was a one-and-done, so I never did a post on the place….though you can read about Cathy’s visit here. Eventually that location closed, with most locations located further North. I was actually going to do a visit to the Poway location, but was stopped dead in my tracks…..you can see why looking at the first photo of this post.

What I did notice is that this location had some outdoor seating and also that they opened at 9am from Friday thru Sunday. This parking lot can get kinda nuts, so that gave me the chance of easily finding parking.

So, I returned on a Sunday morning at around 10am with JJ and easily found parking. I walked over to the doorway and a nice young man greeted me. I pointed to JJ and a table and he smiled and gave me the thumbs up! And soon brought me the menu and some treats for JJ! Talk about getting started on the “right foot”, huh?

There’s an interesting Breakfast Menu which skews toward Taiwanese style, with Dan Bing and the like on the menu. But, this is Joyee “Noodle House”……

So, I ordered the “Signature” Beef Noodle Soup ($15.99). This is a clear broth version.

Which is known for having slices of daikon in it!

Awesome amount of cilantro, which helped since the broth didn’t have much anise – five spice tones. It was also not very beefy. Decent fat content, but super high on the sodium scale…..overly salty for my taste.

It looked like beef shank was used; the proper cut for this type of beef noodle soup, but unlike other versions I’ve had, the slices of beef was tough and dry.

The noodles were run-of-the-mill…seemed like something out of a package; lacking in “body” and texture.

I didn’t care for this much……

But, it was a good thing I ordered another dish; which I’d seen on the menu of other Joyee, but never ordered; the Salt and Smoked Duck ($19.99). I’m thinking that because of the name; this is more of a typical Taiwanese style smoked duck which is salted and rubbed with Shaoxing and other seasonings and held overnight.

While the skin wasn’t crisp and this was a bit on the saltier side; I enjoyed the winey-anise-slightly sweet tones along with the light smokey flavor. You can even see a sort of smoke ring on the meat.

Even though it looked dry; I enjoyed the toothsome texture. And when crisped up a bit in the air fryer…with the fat rendering slightly…well, the Missus really enjoyed the leftovers.

They also were so nice to JJ!

So, a week later, the Missus sent me a text asking me to pick up some duck on the way home. I went and got a couple of other dishes.

I’m glad we did takeout; you’ll find out below.

The Duck this time was even better. Deeper flavor; not as salty, more moist as well.

I saw that Popcorn Chicken was just $11.99. So I ordered it. The portion was quite large for the price.

I opened and took a look and a taste in the car…..while there flavor was fairly spot on; white pepper, a hint of spice, anise tones, perfect amount of salt….the texture was gummy and the coating lacked crispness. I was happy we were doing takeout, because I could fix the texture….you know how, right?

Yep, I removed all the fried basil and it went into the air fryer. Looks much better, huh? Much more crisp-crunchy and for some reason it seemed more moist as well. While not as good as the version at Soup du Jour, it’s cheaper and there’s that duck too.

I had also gotten the Bamboo with Pork ($16.99), which was another generous portion.

But was nothing special. While the julienned slices of pork were decently velveted, there were some pieces of the bamboo that were really hard and fibrous. The seasoning was a basic soy sauce based stir fry, it could have used more overall flavor.

Still, the Missus enjoyed that duck and I’ve figured out how to heat that popcorn chicken, The prices are quite reasonable as well. Though, I’m still not sure if I should retry the jiaozi? What do you think?

Joyee Noodle House(UTC)
8935 Towne Centre Drive
San Diego, CA 92122
Current Hours:
Mon – Thurs 11am-9pm
Fri – Sun 9am-9pm