Burma Place

So after a long day at the San Diego Safari Park (we stayed until the bitter end!), we had to pick up our car at Escondido Lexus.  They had done the repairs on the tire and we had to return our loaner.  Even with all that going on, food was still on our minds and we decided to deviate from our original plan.  We'd had enough of burgers and sandwiches, hence we took a chance at a random place in Burma Place.  Burmese (Myanmar) food is rather hard to come by (and this one is apparently the only one in San Diego), so we put our name on the Yelp wait list and got a table once we arrived.

Naturally, the one dish we had to get was the Tea Leaf Salad.  Widely considered as one of the most popular Burmese dishes, this version consisted of romaine lettuce, fried yellow beans, garlic chips, sesame & sunflower seeds, peanuts, tomatoes, jalapenos and crushed dried shrimp tossed with fermented green tea leaf dressing.  I've had this a few times before and I've never seen romaine lettuce as an ingredient.  However, I enjoyed the fresh crisp lettuce as it broke up some of the heaviness of the ingredients.  Beyond the obvious tea flavor, the salad featured layers of texture including the firm crunch of the fried yellow beans, peanuts and garlic chips.  There was also a wealth of flavors including tangy, salty, aromatics, brininess and a touch of spice.  

Onto a relatively simple dish, we had the Salt & Pepper Fried Tofu with scallions, jalapenos fried and garlic.  Cut into bite-sized cubes, the tofu was fried beautifully where the outside was super crispy and light while the inside was delicate and airy.  There was enough seasoning that the side of sweet and spicy sauce was not necessary (although I did still use it).

To go with our orders of rice, we selected a few dishes that were rather impactful.  The first was the Garlic Pork with fried garlic, onion and fish sauce. Oh this was an explosion of rich saltiness and aromatics.  Definitely good with the rice as we could taste the soy, garlic and fermented brininess of the fish sauce.  Add in the ample amount of tender slices of pork, this was very addictive.  Didn't hurt that there was considerable amount of wok caramelization too.

Next up was the Burmese Chicken Curry, which was stealthily the best dish of the meal.  I mean, by looks alone, this was monochromatic and didn't elicit much excitement.  However, when we ate this with rice, the flavors were rich and delicious.  Loved the balance of the sauce where we definitely got hits of cumin and turmeric, but the earthiness and slight brininess ensured layers of flavor.  The chicken itself was tender and took on the spices within the curry.  Loved the potatoes too as they were tender and soaked up the curry as well.

If the Sesame Beef looks rather familiar to you, like say, ginger beef...  You are right.  This had all of the elements of the Americanized Chinese dish.  Hence, we found crisp slices of tender beef bathed in a sweet and tangy sauce.  Now unlike ginger beef, this wasn't exactly gingery, rather it was tangy in a vinegary sense.  It was nicely balanced and of course went well with our bowls of rice.

In addition to our white rice, we also go the Garlic Noodles with chicken.  Similar to a Chinese lo mein where noodles are tossed in a sauce, this one featured a bevy of fried garlic and onion as well as julienned cucumber on top.  The side of sauce was tangy with some spice.  As for the wide egg noodles, they were al dente with a nice chewiness.  Loved the crunch of the fried garlic as it added texture.  The small strips of chicken were tender despite being white meat.

Our last item was the obligatory veggie dish and it happened to be the Broccoli with Garlic.  This was a simple stir-fry that was nicely executed.  Broccoli florets were cooked through but still crunchy and topped with fried garlic and onions.  There was enough wok caramelization as well as seasoning.  Overall, we really enjoyed our meal at Burma Place.  Sure, some of the dishes weren't really Burmese, but they were delicious nonetheless.  Something a bit different than what we had been eating on this trip so far.  If we actually lived in San Diego, we'd go back in a heartbeat.

The Good:
- Well-executed and tasty food
- Friendly staff
- Lots of parking

The Bad:
- Gets pretty busy, staff are doing their best but hard to flag down

The Watering Hole (San Diego Safari Zoo)

So you might be wondering why I'm writing about a restaurant located in the San Diego Safari Park...  Well, after much research before we went, apparently The Watering Hole was a recommended spot for lunch.  This outdoor cafe is so popular, I had to make Opentable reservations one month prior.  The real draw is the unobstructed view of their Savannah habitat with all of the animals roaming free.  But what about the food?  Well I'm going to get to that right now.

Luckily we did make a rez because there was quite the lineup.  However, that didn't mean much since we waited over 20 minutes just to be acknowledged after we sat down.  I know there are staff shortages, but our server seemed more interested in chatting with her colleagues rather than bringing us water and taking our order.  Completely unacceptable.  Once we did get our order in, it took another 30 minutes to get our food.  Yes, we did get a good view of the park, but it gets tiring when people are hangry.  I guess the wait was not worth it as our Nacho Queso Dip with chicken was laughable.  Sporting stone-cold tortilla chips, this was topped with luke-warm soyrizo queso, corn, avocado, pico de gallo, jalapenos, cilantro, green onion, cotija and chicken.  Now the actual ingredients were fine, but the fact everything was cold, made this very hard to eat. 

Viv stuck with something simple in the Watering Hole Caesar with Chicken.  In addition to the usual romaine hearts, garlic croutons and parm, this featured capers and grated egg.  Now you might've noticed I didn't mention the dressing.  Well, if you take a closer look, there wasn't much dressing to begin with.  Hence, it was bland while the chicken was cold and rubbery.  You might be wondering why we just didn't get more dressing.  Remember the lack of service?  We couldn't even flag down our server to get water (and at the start, cutlery), let alone more dressing...

My son went for the Pulled Pork Sandwich with BBQ sauce, slaw (he asked for it on the side) and beer mustard with pickles and house-fried chips.  He found this sandwich acceptable with plenty of pork that was somewhere in between dry and moist.  BBQ sauce was mild and there wasn't enough of it.  Bun was soft and held things together.  The side of chips were actually quite good being crunchy and nicely salted.

My daughter had the Open Faced Tuna Sandwich with bacon, sliced tomato and arugula on levain sourdough.  A good amount of melted jack cheese was on top.  This was also okay with a decent amount of tuna salad with red onion.  It could've used more salt though.  Sourdough was a little bit too chewy and cold, hence it was difficult to eat.  The red onion was sharp, so it dominated the flavor profile of the sandwich.

Now for myself, I had to wait and wait.  Oh and wait some more!  They forgot about my order.  Like who is running this place?  Fortunately, this was the best item we had in the Beef & Cheddar Sandwich featuring thinly sliced roast beef, horseradish sauce, beer cheese and hot sauce.  With plenty of beef, it was tender and moist.  Loved the ample amount of cheese sauce as it was salty enough with a bite from the beer.  Messy, but I enjoyed it.  However, this is the only thing that went right for this meal.  Service was non-existent (took another 15 minutes to get our bill and pay) and they even forgot my sandwich.  Food was mostly forgettable and almost laughable given the price.  Yes, the view is awesome, but not for 2 hours because that cut into our time at the park.  I would recommend you skip this and save your money for a wildlife safari to get up close to the animals.  We did and that was awesome.  This meal wasn't.

The Good:
- Outstanding view

The Bad:
- Crappy service
- Slow, slow, slow
- Food is mostly terrible and cold

Menya Ultra (Mira Mesa)

Initially, I wasn't planning to check out Menya Ultra while I was in San Diego.  You see, I wasn't exactly staying anywhere close to it and it required me to drive in possibly rush-hour traffic.  However, when I was in the Bay Area, my uncle was raving about the place non-stop.  So after switching hotels from Downtown to Escondido, we decided to head over to the Mira Mesa location.  Pro tip, make sure you put your name on the Yelp wait list before you leave the house.  So what exactly is Menya Ultra?  It is a chain out of Odate City in Northern Japan where their first locations in the US have been in San Diego.

Before we got to the ramen, we started with the Nagoya Fried Chicken with house made sweet soy and black pepper.  Think KFC (Korean Fried Chicken) and you will get the gist of it (but it isn't KFC because purists will argue this).  I would say the batter on this was pretty light and beautifully crunchy.  Beyond that, the chicken leg meat was juicy and bursting with natural sweetness.  What made this dish was the impactful glaze where it was salty, sweet and peppery.  A real flavor explosion.

My daughter went for her favorite with the Miso Ramen.  The pork broth was accented by housemade Miso, fish flavored oil and garlic oil.  On top, we found pork chashu, bean sprouts, green onion, wood ear mushroom, grated ginger, roasted sesame seeds and red pepper.  The fermented flavor of the miso really came through with a deep salty richness (without actually being salty).  There was plenty of umami and aromatics.  Noodles were al dente and the chashu was sliced thin and tender.

My son and Viv both had the Tonkotsu Ajitama Ramen with the same pork broth base (of course without the miso).  This way, we could really get the porkiness of the broth as well as background taste of the fish oil.  Broth was rich but not thick, so it could be completely drinkable (which my son did and finished it).  Being fatty enough the chashu easily melted in his mouth.  Ajitama egg was custardy and marinated just enough where we could taste the mirin, but was not salty.

For myself, I went for something different in the Paiko Tantan Men.  This broth was much more robust with the addition of miso, sesame paste, chili oil and vinegar.  Mildly spicy, the broth had depth and umami with the nuttiness of sesame.  A little dollop of seasoned minced pork added more body to the dish.  This completely flavored the chewy noodles. For my choice of protein, I chose the chicken cutlet which was a touch dry, but still delicious.  So was it worth the drive to visit Menya Ultra (as per my uncle)?  I would say yes.  The ramen was really good with the broth being the highlight.  Loved the richness without being too thick while the flavors were pronounced without being salty.  Service was on point too.

The Good:
- Flavorful broth that was not overly salty
- Well-prepared components
- Excellent service

The Bad:
- A little rushed since they are super busy
- Always a lineup, but you can get on the Yelp waitlist  

Happy Singh Street Eats

There is certainly no shortage of great Indian restaurants near and along Scott Road on the Surrey/North Delta border.  Choices range from higher end such as Tasty Indian Bistro and Yellow Chilli to smaller spots like Mirch Masala and Rama.  Of course, we have the big daddy of them all at the expansive buffet in Tandoori Flame as well.  However, what if one wanted something inexpensive, yet trendy where you can take the family almost any day of the week?  I introduce you to Happy Singh Street Eats with their counter-service setup with different stations offering up a huge variety of food.  There is a little for everyone including the kiddies.

It is always nice to start a meal with some chaat and we did so with the Mixed Punjabi Chaat as well as the Aloo Bhaaji Khasta.  The mixed Punjabi chaat consisted of papdis, bhel mix, chickpeas, tomato, onion, house special chutney, spices and topped with sev.  If you can imagine, this was a bit tangy, a bit crunchy, a bit creamy and of course sweet.  A really appetizing plate.  The aloo bhaaji khasta was trending in the same direction except with the robust texture of potato and lentil puffs.  Of course with the curry, flavours were more rich, yet the chutneys and pomegranate seeds leveled it off with tang and sweetness.

Over to some dumplings we had both the Steamed Momos and the Garlic & Chili Momos.  Featuring medium-thick dumpling skin, the momos featured a light and tender chicken filling.  I found the wrapper to have a decent amount of elasticity, hence there was nice bite to each dumpling.  As for the garlic & chili momos, you can clearly see that there was plenty of sauce.  Therefore, flavours were intense and impactful.  Good mix of sweet, tang, spice and savoury.

Moving onto the some larger items, we tried the Tandoori Chicken Leg with mint & coriander chutney, red onion and lime.  This was well-marinated being flavourful and juicy.  The meat was super moist and unlike many other versions of tandoori chicken, we couldn't find any dried out portions.  However, we would've liked to see a bit more charring on the outside.

From a meat we move to meatless with the Malai Soya Chaap marinated in yogurt and North Indian spices, then cooked in a tandoor.  This was rather creamy with all that yogurt.  It kept things moist and the spices did come through.  Again, I would've liked to have more impact from the tandoor, but then again, the soya chaap would not have been as tender.  In addition to the soft texture, there was also some meaty bite to it even though it was not meat.

For our bread selection, we had the Paneer Paratha.  This was stuffed with marinated paneer and cooked on the grill.  Nice leoparding that resulted in caramelized smokiness.  Texturally, the paratha had a nice chew while still fluffy and soft. I enjoyed dipping the paratha into the creamy (and buttery) dal makhani.  If we actually needed any more, there was some butter (makhan) on the side as well as sweet cane sugar (gur).  Some pickles (aam ka achaar) provided salty tang to break up the heaviness.

So if this next dish looks eerily familiar, let me say this wasn't the momos again.  Rather, this was the Dry Chili Chicken from the Hakka Chinese section of the menu.  This was almost exactly like the momos except it appeared to me that it was a tad spicier?  The chicken itself was in good sized chunks where it was moist while still having a somewhat firm exterior.  The sauce was sweet, spicy and tangy.

Also very similar was the Chicken Lolipops seemingly dressed in the same sauce.  Once again, I'm pretty sure this was different as the spice level was a touch lower while there was definite hits of ginger.  With that being said, this was absolutely similar with tang, spice and sweetness.  As for the chicken drumettes, they featured rendered skin and fairly tender meat.  There was not absence of flavour here.

Staying with chicken but moving away from chili sauces, we had the Chicken 65 Roll.  Now you are wondering what's with the number...  Well, it is deep fried chicken originating from Chennai in 1965.  This particular version was tender with plenty of flavours from the marinade including spice, aromatics and sweetness.  It was a bit crispy and wrapped in paratha along with peppers and onions.  Reminded me of a cheese steak except with crispy marinated chicken.

Now the following dish also reminded me of something else.  If the Keema Pao looks like a sloppy Joe to you, it isn't far off.  Yes, the filling is traditionally made with mutton rather than the beef you'd find in a sloppy Joe, but it ate quite like it.  Being interactive, we spooned the keema into the soft pao (the buns).  Naturally, being a Mumbai specialty, the spices did pop such as cardamom, chilis and cumin.  I'd imagine myself eating this as a snack often if I had more access.

Heading to a classic South Indian item, we tried the Masala Dosa with a side of sambar and coconut chutney.  To fit onto the recyclable plate, they had cut the dosa in half.  So it wasn't as majestic as the whole dosa that we are usually accustomed to.  Nevertheless, the lentil crepe was still crispy and light.  Inside, the potato and onion mixture was tender and flavourful with ginger notes as well as some spice.  Side of sambar was mild with background tomato notes.

One of my favourite items was the Amritsari Fish Pakora with mint/coriander chutney.  I liked how each piece of fish was fairly large, hence, they were moist and flaky.  That also meant the batter was crispy but not too hard.  Therefore, the dish ate light despite being fried.  Flavours were great from the marinade, but even better when dunked into the chutney on the side.  Some brightness was added because of it.

Onto desserts, we tried their Cheesecake on a Stick (Smurfette) that featured a hard sweet coating on the outside.  This one was blue and somehow it ate like it was blue (only way I could describe it).  The cheesecake inside was definitely cheesy and only semi-sweet.  We also got one of their crazy shakes in the Sticky Toffee Bite, with a piece of toffee cake on top.  As for the shake itself, it was creamy and had a rich sweetness that was a bit of smokiness.  Lastly, we had the Jab Mango Met Lychee Shake which was my favourite.  It was creamy and fruity where it was like a mango lassi, except with lychee.  Even though it was rich, I still found it refreshing and just sweet enough.  Oh man, now that was a lot of food...  But generally, it was all pretty good and well-priced.  Definitely accessible for family dinners and take out.  A good variety too so that no one gets left out.

*All food and beverages were complimentary*

The Good:
- Nice variety
- Well-priced
- Overall solid

The Bad:
- Since it is a casual counter-service spot, the plating will be very basic

Cesarina

After one night in Downtown San Diego, we were on our way out to Escondido so we were closer to the safari park for the next day.  However, upon loading up our vehicle, the TPMS alerted me to a flat tire.  Wonderful.  Well, that didn't prevent us from honoring our lunch reservations at Cesarina.  Hey, we still had to eat!  We could always deal with the tire later... Priorities...  Besides, I had a portable tire compressor and that bought us some time.  With that time, we were determined to try one of the best places, if not the best, in San Diego to dine on freshly-made pasta.  Furthermore, they have excellent vegan options as well.

Normally, I don't really talk about complimentary Bread, but the assortment we got was actually really good.  Loved the airy foccacia that had a slightly crispy exterior.  Even without the butter, it was tasty on its own with rosemary and enough salt.  What was the most surprising of all was the slices of vegan bread.  I quite enjoyed them and especially the herb & buckwheat loaf.  We actually asked for a second helping since it was so good.

To start, we got the Frittura di Paranza with deep fried calamari, shrimp, paranza, purple potatoes, lemon and sage.  This was a huge portion served on a beautiful decorative plate.  We enjoyed the thin crispy batter which was properly seasoned.  The light crunchiness gave way to tender (yet with a bite) calamari rings and tentacles.  Shrimp were meaty with a snap while the delicate little fish were a real treat.  In the middle, there was a big dish of creamy peperoncino aioli.

As a second appie, we had the Caprese Salad with a whole fresh burrata, heirloom tomatoes, red onions, caper berries, arugula, pesto and basil.  As much as we enjoyed the creamy burrata, the rest of the salad was a bit overdressed.  Now, we've had Caprese salads that have been completely underdressed before, so this one was actually fine.  However, the beautiful tomatoes were a bit lost in this one.

For my pasta, I went for the Papparedelle al Sugo di Spuntature.  This featured tender ribbons of pasta that still held a healthy bite.  It was bathed in a rich and mildly tangy tomato sauce that had plenty of body from the slow cooked pork ribs.  Hence, there was also considerable meatiness as well.  That was further elevated by the piece of fork-tender braised pork shoulder.  A light dusting of pecorino romano and fresh mint finished the dish.

Viv decided to create her own dish choosing the Paccheri in Arrabbiatissima.  This innocent-looking sauce was actually impactfully spicy consisting of fresh tomato sauce, Calabrian peperocino and traditional Calabrian pork "nduja" topped with burrata and parsley.  So if you can imagine, not only was this sauce tangy and spicy, it had some real meatiness as well.  Great add on the burrata as it cooled things off a tad.  The choice of pasta was robust enough to stand up to the sauce.

Disappointingly, the kids opted for the same dish (less variety!!!), but it was a good move as it was delicious.  It was the featured Tortellini with prosciutto, burrata, potato, rosemary and thyme paired with their choice of pomodoro fresco.  Large and completely stuffed, the ravioli ate well with tender yet al dente pasta.  Inside, the ample filling was tender with subtle flavors even with the prosciutto.  The tangy and fresh tomato sauce with a touch of burrata was simple enough to compliment the ravioli without overwhelming it.  So as you can tell, we really enjoyed our meal at Cesarina.  It is no wonder that they are super busy and so highly regarded.  Freshly-made pasta with delicious sauces at fairly reasonable prices.  A must visit while in San Diego.

The Good:

- Delicious hand-crafted pasta

- Pretty place

- Plenty of vegan options

- On point service 

The Bad:

- Need to plan ahead with a reso or you aren't getting in

 

Kettner Exchange

The kids really are beginning to enjoy any restaurant that features share plates.  The variety of good eats makes the meal much more interesting and diverse.  From tapas to dim sum to izakaya, they love taking bites of every dish.  So when I was deciding where to eat for dinner in San Diego, especially in Little Italy, Kettner Exchange shot to the top of the list.  Featuring progressive Westcoast cuisine with Asian influences, Executive Chef Brian Redzikowski isn't afraid to take some risks.  Add in a lovely dining space that has an outdoor spot with views of the harbor, Kettner Exchange offered up everything we wanted in a dinner reservation.

We started off with the Hot Oil Seared Salmon with soy, sesame, crispy sunchokes and shiitake.  One taste and this brought back memories of my childhood where my dad would pour hot oil and sweetened soy atop steamed fish.  In this case, it was buttery salmon belly that was only lightly scored on the top by the hot oil.  Classic ginger and scallion flavors permeated the soy/oil mixture.  Adding texture to the dish was the ample amount of crunchy sunchoke chips.

Also quite tasty was the Baja Blue Fin Tuna Belly Sashimi with crushed avocado, radish and kaffir-soy.  Sliced into small strips, the tuna belly was buttery and had the natural sweetness of the sea.  It was nicely accented by the tangy kaffir soy that was not overly salty.  The fresh avocado was creamy and soaked up some of the soy.  The addition of sliced radish was not merely a garnish as it added the necessary crunch to an otherwise soft-textured dish.

Continuing on with raw fish, we had the Spicy Tuna Crispy Rice with radish, cilantro, scallion, spicy mayo and eel sauce.  Sometimes, this type of dish can be unappealing since the rice is either too thick or not crunchy enough.  Well, this was prepared perfectly with just enough chewy sushi rice that featured a crispy exterior.  It did not fall apart even after it was cut into quarters.  On the top, there was a balanced layer of buttery tuna that was just spicy enough for a kick without going overboard.  The addition of unagi sauce added some sweet tang to the dish.

Now the Caesar "Twinkie" was something I was not expecting.  I must give it to them for being creative as they stuffed a large crouton cube with creamy caesar dressing, parmigiano-reggiano, romaine hearts and girl & dug kale.  This was a polarizing dish as the kids were pretty indifferent about it.  For me, I thought it was something different and completely out-of-left-field.  Sure, the crouton was a bit greasy, but it was crunchy with a super soft center (like a Twinkie) and the dressing was delicious.  My only wish is to have less dressing as it was a bit overwhelming.

Up next, the Whipped Buttermilk Ricotta was pretty yummy with balsamic glaze, olive oil, dill, tarragon, lava salt and charred bread.  As much as this didn't seem like the most interesting dish, it turned out to be one of our favorites.  Texturally, the ricotta was creamy and light while blessed with the charcoal saltiness of the lava salt.  Extra richness was provided by the EVOO as well as the sweet balsamic glaze.  Some understated flavor was thanks to the sprigs of dill and tarragon leaves strewn throughout.  The star of the show was the smoky and nutty charred bread.  We had to ask for more since the 2 strips was not nearly enough.

One dish that was not a fan-favorite was the Roasted Chinese Eggplant with Moroccan spice, bulgar, pine nuts and lemon yogurt.  As much as the Moroccan spice was very much at the forefront with its tangy and earthy flavors, the actual texture of the eggplant was a bit too stiff.  If it was only a bit softer with a less chewy exterior, it would've been a better dish.

Although I would've chose a different noodle other than spaghetti, the Hot & Spicy Garlic Noodles with Maine lobster, broccoli, cilantro and scallions was still very good.  It featured al dente noodles that were bathed in just enough "sauce" to create impactful flavors.  This included a bit of numbing spice to go along with garlic and the saltiness of soy.  I liked how there wasn't too much moisture to completely soak the noodles.  There was also no shortage of lobster in the dish.  Those nuggets were sweet and full of lobster aroma as well as exhibiting the classic rebound texture.

Impressively large and served in a cast iron dish, the Duck Meatball was topped with a parmesan cracker sitting atop Anson Mills grits and an heirloom tomato sauce.  Wasn't expecting as gigantic of a meatball, but it turned out to be great as it was very moist and meaty.  Loved that it was not dense and almost crumbly (but not actually crumbly).  The meat was tender and had a very ducky flavor to it.  The intense tanginess of the tomato sauce added plenty of zip and brightness to the dish.  It melded well with the creaminess of the grits.

Onto our larger items, the Niman Ranch Pork Chop was a huge and double-cut.  It was perfectly prepared being just barely cooked-through. Hence, it was juicy and tender with plenty of natural pork essence.  It was covered in a Peruvian sauce that had some spice and was tangy.  Loved the chunky hybrid-mashed potatoes on the side.  Lots of texture and it was well-seasoned.  As much as it was only a side, the brussels sprouts were cooked through while still crunchy (if not a bit salty).  Roasted carrots were sweet and had great bite.

Possibly the best dish of the night was also the last one - Grilled Mary's Chicken with black urfa chilli, pickled red onion and Scintilla Farms pea tendrils.  Deboned and flattened, the double chicken breast (with drumettes) was super moist and tender.  It was well-seasoned and featured nicely charred and somewhat rendered skin.  As you can tell, the meal at Kettner Exchange was solid and enjoyable.  Love the Asian influences done right.  Service was on point and can't beat the rooftop.

The Good:
- Asian influences done right
- Well-prepared food
- On point service

The Bad:
- Share plates mean you will be spending a bit more money, but it was fair
- Taking risks might lead to some misses, but only a few