Jinxi Eats

Misc Pics Post, September 2016

09/22/2016 by Jinxi Leave a Comment

Can you believe that today is the first day of fall? Time sure flies. It’s been quite a while since I’ve done one of these “Misc Pics Post”, so here we go for the September edition – a collection of what I’ve been eating lately…

Pokirrito

The poke craze hit San Diego – hard. I’ve visited several of the poke restaurants (poke stops?) around town, including Poke Go, San Diego Poke Company, Poki One N Half, Poke UTC, and Poke Subarashi, and found Pokirrito to be my favorite. Though the prices are a bit higher, I like their fish and the variety of sauces that they offer. Pictured above is one of my go-to orders, the Kauai Sands sushi burrito, which features salmon and tuna. I’ve heard good things about the yakiniku beef burrito and will be trying that on my next visit!

Pokirrito
4646 Convoy St #101-A, San Diego, CA 92111
http://www.pokirritosd.com/#eat-together

Davanti Enoteca

I’ve been to the Del Mar location of Davanti Enoteca before and checked out the Little Italy location recently. The menu is largely the same, but I tried some different items. In the first picture, Mascarpone Polenta with Ragu of the Day, which was a rich and flavorful lamb ragu. The creamy polenta was perfectly cooked and paired so well with the ragu – I might need to order this every time I visit from now on. In the second picture, Paccheri con Salsiccia e Pomodori al Forno, giant rigatoni with sausage, oven-roasted tomatoes, parmesan, and onions. While I didn’t think this one was as special as the polenta, it was still quite delicious. All in all, another lovely visit to Davanti Enoteca. I’ve still yet to try the Davanti Burger – it’s hard to bring myself to order a burger at an Italian restaurant, but since so many have recommended it, one of these days I’ll try it.

Davanti Enoteca
1655 India St, San Diego, CA 92101
http://www.davantienoteca.com/

Friend’s House

I’ve been eating a lot of Korean food lately. Something about the bold and spicy flavors of soondubu or the rich and comforting kalbitang have really appealed to me these days, and so I’ve been frequenting Friend’s House quite a bit. Pictured above is the Budae Jungol, spicy hot pot with mixed meats – and we added an extra ramen noodle. I believe the soup is a beef broth base with spicy soybean paste, and the ingredients include quite a generous amount of tofu, pork, hot dogs, spam, mushrooms, rice cake, kimchi, and green onions. I love this hearty hot pot, and the portion size is enough for a quite a few meals. I’m really looking forward to cooler weather – you bet I’ll be ordering this even more often.

Friend’s House
4647 Convoy St. #101-A, San Diego, CA 92111
http://friendshousekorean.menutoeat.com/

And now, a couple of things that I’ve made in the past few months:…

Crudo

09/19/2016 by Jinxi 4 Comments

Crudo, which recently opened in Del Mar, was one of San Diego’s most highly anticipated restaurants this fall. Executive Chef Pascal Lorange has worked in several Michelin-starred kitchens and finally opened his own restaurant in San Diego – Crudo, a fusion of Mediterranean cuisine with Japanese flavors. I was quite fortunate to be invited for a tasting!

The first thing that I noticed when I walked in was the absolutely gorgeous decor. Everything was clean, simple, and modern. I loved the marble counters, and the sleek glass and steel shelves atop the bar.

Jardin de Vie [$12]

The Crudo [$12]

My dining companion and I started out with a couple of cocktails, recommended by Laurent, one of the restaurant’s managers. The “Jardin de Vie” had cucumber vodka, bittersweet vermouth, St. Germain, lime, and muddled grapes with arugula. The drink was quite refreshing and definitely felt vibrant, fitting for its name which means “Garden of Life”. The other drink is the restaurant’s signature, The Crudo – white rum, plum wine, Calpico, muddled kumquat, lime juice, simple syrup, and garnished with shiso. I really enjoyed this one as well – the flavors were quite well-balanced, and I especially loved the hint of Calpico, hehe.

Bread & Condiments

Bread was served in a lovely glass, garnished with rosemary, garlic, and shallots. Our waitress also brought two condiment dishes that represented the Chef’s take on the traditional Japanese wasabi and soy sauce. Here, we were presented with yuzu soy sauce and a house-made horseradish sauce and chili paste, and our waitress encouraged us to try it with the bread to test the flavor. I liked the horseradish sauce a lot – it’s quite different from wasabi but had a nice kick.

Crudo Tasting [$19]

Since the restaurant is named “Crudo”, we knew that we had to try their crudos – but before we even had a chance to order, Laurent had this beautiful Crudo Tasting platter brought out to us! The fish from left to right are: branzino with seaweed tapenade, yellowfin tuna with heirloom tomato marmalade, and salmon with blood orange and lemon confit. Our favorite was the branzino with the seaweed tapenade, lemon, and Tuscan olive oil – the seaweed added a rich savoriness that we loved. The salmon was my least favorite, the citrus flavors overpowered the salmon a bit. However, all three featured excellent quality fish.

Mediterranean Sushi Roll Sampler

…

H2O Sushi & Izakaya

09/16/2016 by Jinxi 4 Comments

Recently, I visited H2O Sushi & Izakaya, a newly opened Japanese restaurant in Hillcrest, to celebrate a friend’s birthday!

I really liked the decor here, with a sleek and modern feel. Unfortunately most of my interior pictures didn’t turn out so well, except for this one of a very pretty “curtain” of lights:

The menu here is quite extensive, but we were all in the mood for sushi and decided to order a selection to share.

Shishito Peppers [$6]

But first, we started out with a plate of shishito peppers, sautéed with garlic sauce and topped with shredded bonito. The peppers were cooked nicely, but the problem was that it was overly salty. I was quite sad because normally I love shishito peppers, but the salt in the garlic sauce just overpowered everything.

Yellowtail [$8]

Y and J were immediately interested in the yellowtail appetizer, featuring slices of yellowtail with truffle oil, jalapeno, sesame seeds, tobiko, and yuzu citrus sauce. There were five slices – perfect for our group of five! I enjoyed the fresh yellowtail and flavors of this dish.

Sashimi Roll [$15]

Everyone agreed upon the “Sashimi Roll”, which includes salmon, tuna, albacore, imitation crab, asparagus, avocado, and tobiko, wrapped in soy paper. This was quite a nice assortment of fish in one roll!

Angrytail Roll [$11]

I’m not sure what’s the reasoning behind this roll’s name – maybe to denote the spiciness? This roll includes spicy tuna and cucumber on the inside, and topped with yellowtail, jalapeno, and a dot of sriracha. I liked the fish, but was not a fan of the jalapeno slice and sriracha on top.

Dynamite California Roll [$13]

I’m normally a fan of baked rolls and was looking forward to this since the description sounded yummy – imitation crab, avocado, cucumber on the inside, with baked scallops, bell peppers, mushroom, and onions on top. Unfortunately, the sauce that they used was far too sweet, and there was too much sauce. This roll was a bit of a disappointment.

H2O Chef’s Special Plate [$24]

The Chef’s Special Plate includes six pieces of sashimi – 2 each of tuna, salmon, and and albacore, four pieces of nigiri sushi – yellowtail, snapper, shrimp, and eel, and a bowl of uni and masago over rice. I had a piece of the salmon sashimi and the shrimp nigiri, and both were nice and fresh. The rest of my party also seemed to enjoy this plate the most out of everything that we ordered.

Overall, we had a nice time at H2O Sushi & Izakaya. While the dishes were a bit hit-or-miss, I am hoping that the restaurant will work out the “misses” as they settle in from being newly opened. The atmosphere of the restaurant is quite nice, and I still had a wonderful time with my friends here.

H2O Sushi & Izakaya
3930 5th Ave, San Diego, CA 92103
http://h2osushiizakaya.com/

Peggy’s Kitchen Desserts at Infini Tea

09/12/2016 by Jinxi 2 Comments

Peggy’s Kitchen is a cake catering business by one of my dear friends. Recently, she began partnering with Infini Tea to offer some of her signature dessert items, and she graciously offered for me to go check them out.

Matcha Azuki 抹茶紅豆卷 [$4.50]

The matcha azuki roll cake is one of Peggy’s favorites, a green tea chiffon roll cake with whipped cream and azuki bean paste. The azuki beans were cooked in brown sugar for a nice depth of flavor. I really loved that the cake was light and delicate, yet held up well to the cream and azuki paste. The lovely matcha flavor was also quite strong.

Custard Pudding 雞蛋牛奶布丁 [$4]

This custard pudding was simple yet delicious. The custard itself was super smooth and creamy, and the caramel sauce at the bottom added a bit of sweetness and depth of flavor….

Poki One N Half

09/07/2016 by Jinxi Leave a Comment

I’ve got yet another poke post for you! The poke trend is in full swing, and there’s no sign of stopping. Poki One N Half opened up recently in the Mitsuwa Marketplace plaza, and after recommendations from a couple of friends, I went to check it out.

The pricing and format here is pretty much the same as every other poke place around town – pick your base, fish, sauce, and toppings. What I found interesting here is that the small, regular, and large-sized bowls all have pretty much the same amount of rice or whichever base you choose, and they only differ on the scoops of fish that you get. Small is $7.99 for 2 scoops, medium is $8.99 for 3 scoops, and large is $10.99 for 5 scoops. There is also a poke burrito option, which I haven’t tried yet.

The fish selection here includes salmon, tuna, spicy tuna, octopus, yellowtail, albacore, shrimp, and scallops – pretty decent selection. …

Yakitori Taisho revisit

09/05/2016 by Jinxi 4 Comments

It’s been a while since my initial (wonderful) visit to Yakitori Taisho, and when a yakitori craving hit the other day, I decided to stroll over for a “treat myself” meal. The restaurant wasn’t too busy when I arrived on an early Wednesday evening, and I was seated at the counter.

Marinated Cod Roe (Mentaiko) [$5.50]

I was in the mood for something salty and savory, and this little dollop of mentaiko whet my appetite perfectly. I didn’t order any alcohol that day, but I imagine that this would go well with a beer.

Chicken Wing (Tebasaki) [$2.75]

This is something that I haven’t tried before – the chicken wing, splayed out and grilled to perfection. The skin was crispy, and the meat was juicy and moist. Quickly became my new favorite item here!

Chicken Meatball (Tsukune) [$2.75]

I used to think that tsukune (or any chicken meatball, really) was weird, but now enjoy the taste. The version here is quite tender, and brushed lightly with sweetened soy sauce (tare) that’s been caramelized by the grill. Simply lovely.

Pork Neck [$2.40]

The pork neck was seasoned with salt and also grilled nicely. Not a stand-out dish here, but still delicious….

Poke Subarashi

08/31/2016 by Jinxi 2 Comments

As I’ve mentioned before, poke is San Diego’s latest food trend, and poke restaurants are popping up everywhere. Even though I already have a couple of favorite places, I’m still trying out new places. Recently, I received a coupon in the mail for Poke Subarashi, located in UTC, so I went to check it out.

This place used to just be “Subarashi” and was a casual Japanese place. I’ve never been, but I never heard raving reviews for it. It was under renovations for a while, and I had thought that they went under and were being taken over, but it seems like the owners simply converted it to a poke bowl restaurant.

The pricing and assembly here is pretty comparable with other poke places in the area – $8.95 for a regular bowl, which allows you to choose 2 scoops of fish. The large bowl (4 scoops) is available for $12.95. The fish selection here is a bit smaller than some of the other poke places, though. They also offer tamago as a protein option. Also, one of the toppings that I was excited about was corn! I’m a corn fanatic and was really excited to see the option.

…

iDessert by Jean-Philippe

08/29/2016 by Jinxi Leave a Comment

iDessert by Jean-Philippe opened up in San Diego a couple of years ago, and I recently went to check it out. Unlike the Jean-Philippe Patisseries in Las Vegas, which serve more traditional desserts and chocolates, iDessert is a new concept that allows you to customize your dessert.

I loved the meringue shells hanging from the ceilings! It was a really creative decorative touch, hehe.

You can choose whether you want to create a “Dessert”, “Sundae”, or “Milkshake” – there are iPads along a counter on one side of the store where you can customize and send your order. I definitely wanted to try one of their signature meringue desserts and since it was my first visit, I decided to choose one of the chef’s creations: “Cozy”, which features a chocolate crust, mocha gelato, vanilla cream, vanilla cake, caramel sauce, caramelized hazelnut crunch, served in a Vegas bowl – which means it’s filled with dry ice to achieve a dreamy, ethereal look.

Cozy [$8.95]

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PizzaNometry

08/19/2016 by Jinxi 2 Comments

I am a big fan of the build-your-own pizza concept that’s been trending for a while. I’ve tried out several of the shops that have opened up in the past couple of years – Project Pie, Pieology, Blaze, PizzaRev… Recently, I was alerted to the opening of PizzaNometry in Mira Mesa and headed over to check it out.

The pricing is pretty much on par with the other BYO pizza shops, and there are a few pizza creations on the menu if you don’t want the hassle of picking out your own toppings.

…

Poke UTC

08/15/2016 by Jinxi Leave a Comment

Poke is definitely the new food trend here in San Diego. Of course, it totally makes sense here – SD has great seafood and, perhaps more importantly, a receptive audience to so-called “fusion” cuisine that’s fresh and healthy. I think there has been at least 7 poke places that’s opened up in the last several months – and I’m sure that I’ve missed a few. I am definitely trying to eat my way through all of them, and Poke UTC is one of my latest ventures.

Poke UTC is located in the Towne Center Plaza near I-805/Nobel Dr. I visited shortly after they opened, and yes, this post is super late…

The pricing here is comparable to other poke places, but they only offer one size and charge you extra for additional scoops of fish.

There’s a decent selection of fish here. More interestingly, the toppings include pickled daikon and potato salad.

…

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Pokirrito

Davanti Enoteca

Friend’s House

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Jardin de Vie [$12]

The Crudo [$12]

Bread & Condiments

Crudo Tasting [$19]

Mediterranean Sushi Roll Sampler

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Shishito Peppers [$6]

Yellowtail [$8]

Sashimi Roll [$15]

Angrytail Roll [$11]

Dynamite California Roll [$13]

H2O Chef’s Special Plate [$24]

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Matcha Azuki 抹茶紅豆卷 [$4.50]

Custard Pudding 雞蛋牛奶布丁 [$4]

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Marinated Cod Roe (Mentaiko) [$5.50]

Chicken Wing (Tebasaki) [$2.75]

Chicken Meatball (Tsukune) [$2.75]

Pork Neck [$2.40]

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Cozy [$8.95]

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