86638 Wed Dec 22 12:31:49 -0800 2004 19 3 California 0 478221 For me, dim sum is a fairly new experience, so when Daantaat recommended Emerald, I thought it would be interesting to try it. Last Saturday I went there by myself and was warmly welcomed. It had been ages since I last had congee, so when the congee cart came rolling by, I couldn't resist. I was expecting like a cup, but I got a full bowl. It was heavenly, the rice had been reduced to smooth creaminess and the whole soup had a wonderous porky flavor. They even topped the soup with 3 or 4 pork skin crunchers. Wonderful. But I could only fit in a couple of other dishes - a shrimp and mushroom dumpling thing and steamed pork ribs with chocolaty black beans. So the next day I rounded up a couple of friends and was back for more dim sum feasting. Almost everything was outstanding. The squid tentacles and a mysterious cold crunchy green veggie were the highlights (anyone know what that veggie is?), but we all enjoyed the food and ate until we were more stuffed than the dumplings. And again, the staff was friendly, helpful, and welcoming. Thanks for the rec!! Wed Dec 22 12:31:49 -0800 2004 0 e.d. 1 478222 At 3709 Convoy in San Diego. Wed Dec 22 12:33:19 -0800 2004 478221 0 e.d. 2 478235 Ed - Glad you enjoyed Emerald - it's usually our choice for Dim Sum in SD - though some like Jasmine better - both places are chaotic on the weekends though. Also, have you tried Shirahama yet for sushi - I've heard they're pretty good though the service is terrible and the prices are a bit on the expensve side? Wed Dec 22 16:36:54 -0800 2004 478222 0 KirkK 3 478256 No. Where is it? I noticed that Sammy Sushi was doing good business next to Boo Cho. How is it? Thu Dec 23 12:11:40 -0800 2004 478235 0 e.d. 4 478263 Shirahama is in the same strip mall as Phunog Trang - have been told it's good but quite expensive, also the service is somewhat "brusk". Sam's been doing good business, have noticed that the quality of his fish is a little better than it was at Katzra, let me know the next time you're in town and I'll set something up. Thu Dec 23 18:04:28 -0800 2004 478256 0 KirkK 5 478270 could you elaboate more on Sammy Sushi? How does it compare to Sushi Itto in PB, Edo Sushi in UTC or Sushi on the Rock? Fri Dec 24 00:24:24 -0800 2004 478263 0 daantaat 6 478297 Sammy's is more of a neighborhood joint, not in the class of Sushi Ota or Sakura. I'm assuming that you mean Sushi Ota, not Sushi Itto - which is a sushi chain based out of Mexico City. There are a few items that he does well, Ankimo, Fresh Uni, Kaki, and he sometimes has awabe(abalone). If I'm in the mood for these I let him know ahead of time and he'll try to get these for me. The key is in alot of these smaller places you can develop a relationship with the chef and thus he'll inform you of what's "good" on any given day. If I want great sushi I go to Sakura or Ito, I almost never go to Sushi On the Rock - too much of a "scene" for me. If I want decent reasonably priced sushi I go to Sammy's. Sat Dec 25 18:42:41 -0800 2004 478270 0 KirkK 7 478305 thanks, yes I did mean Sushi Ota, not Itto. I realized that after I sent my post. I did eat at Sushi Itto once and was so not impressed. Very expensive for small pieces that weren't so hot. Sun Dec 26 14:09:34 -0800 2004 478297 0 daantaat 8 478332 Try Ono Sushi in Hillcrest. I enjoy Sushi on the rocks but our favorite is Ono off University Tue Dec 28 14:31:32 -0800 2004 478305 0 happyeats 7 478308 Kirk, thank you for clearning up a mystery for me. I had a layover at the airport in Mexico City back in October and being a little hungry I went trolling for a snack. I had some momentary confusion when I came across a Sushi Itto that looked identical to the ones in San Diego . I couldn't figure out what they were doing in the D.F. airport. I did not know that they were a chain out of Mexico, I assumed it was the other way around..........silly me :-) Sun Dec 26 15:37:17 -0800 2004 478297 0 Gayla 7 478351 I was wondering if you were referring to Sakura in Hillcrest or Sakura 1 on Convoy? Wed Dec 29 16:14:20 -0800 2004 478297 0 jrettny 8 478363 Izakaya Sakura on Convoy. Wed Dec 29 23:35:08 -0800 2004 478351 0 KirkK 1 478229 The veggie is probably Gai Lan, or Chinese brocoli. Was it served with oyster sauce? Yes dim sum is best as a group experience. Wed Dec 22 15:47:24 -0800 2004 478221 0 Peter 2 478232 It was very lightly sauced - I thought perhaps with sesame oil. I don't recall much of a dark color. There was a whole lot of Chinese broccoli being served hot that day also. But the cold veggie didn't look like it. It was a little lighter in color than the broccoli, and there were no leaves. From a distance it almost looked like green beans - being about the same size as chopped green beans usually are. (of course, on closer inspection, it was nothing like green beans) Maybe this is a different way to serve Ch. broccoli? I'd sure like to know how it was done. It was truly delicious. Wed Dec 22 16:13:37 -0800 2004 478229 0 e.d. 3 478245 first, you are welcome for the rec! And yes, dim sum is best experienced with a lot of people b/c then you can get lots of different dishes before you get stuffed! another hint for dim sum is that you can also order things like chow fun (stir fried rice noodles with meat) from the restaraunt and they'll bring it fresh for you. Another addition to the dim sum carts. I am racking my brain over the green veggies. My first thought was ong choy (aka water spinach), which is distinguishable by the hollow stems. However, it has leaves. My second thought is Chinese long green beans, but they look like beans on closer inspection (med dark green slightly lumpy skin with small beans. they are about 0.4 cm in diameter). Another idea is maybe it was Chinese chives, which are about 8-10 inches long in the grocery store but usually cut up into various lengths for cooking. They are around 0.4 cm in diameter, either round or roundish with points (when cut crosswise). One idea I have is that you could take a tour of the produce section in Ranch 99 and you might recognize the vegetable there?? Wed Dec 22 23:32:46 -0800 2004 478232 0 daantaat 4 478255 I know long beans and ong choi and it was neither. Perhaps it was some odd preparation of Ch. broccoli; it was like the stems maybe had been cut into thirds and then cut into 1-2" pieces?? I was surprised by its crunchiness and it did not have a very assertive vegetal flavor. Thu Dec 23 12:09:43 -0800 2004 478245 0 e.d. 5 478269 hmm, sounds mysterious. will have to look for it the next time we're there. let us know if you figure out what it was! Fri Dec 24 00:23:01 -0800 2004 478255 0 daantaat 5 478292 It sounds like it was the stem of a vegetable I've tried. I was at Ranch 99 and started a conversation with the man stacking the vegetables. I asked what was fresh and "special" and he showed me a vegetable with a large stem a few leaves on top. The stem ranges from 1/2 to 1 1/2 inch in diameter. The skin looks like that of the horseradish root but is more symmetrical or organized. The grocer told me to peel away the outer skin and cut away the leaves. After peeling, the the edible stem looks like a peeled brocoli stem but is more translucent. He tells me that it can be eaten raw, but is good stir fried. I stir fried it with some 5 spiced tofu and a bit of sweeten soy sauce. The texture was very "snappy" with a light sweetness to it. Sat Dec 25 14:51:21 -0800 2004 478255 0 Nathan Lee 6 478298 Are you talking about asparagus lettuce? A very common Vegetable in Hunan? My FIL is from Hunan, and when visiting he went beserk after seeing this in 99 Ranch Market. He says eaten raw, or cooked in stir fry with Chinese smoked pork. Link: http://www.agrohaitai.com/rootstem/celtuce/celtuce.htm Sat Dec 25 18:48:02 -0800 2004 478292 0 KirkK 7 478302 Yep that's them. I didn't remember seeing an English name. That's my guess at what the OP was referring to, but of course the pictures don't look anything like what they ate. Sat Dec 25 23:16:00 -0800 2004 478298 0 Nathan Lee