Tokyo Central

Whenever were around the Clairemont Ave area, this is our go to place for a quick fix on any Japanese food craving. From sushi to bento boxes, $25 can go a long way, enough for 2.

Coffee to the MAXXXX

Forget Amazon's Prime free shipping nor Netflix's binge watching. There's a new subscription in town.

Just discovered Panera's unlimited coffee for $8.99/mo. Any size and you can get one every two hours. Thats not a bad deal, since their drip coffee would run you at an average of $2.50

My only gripe is, since coffee is not their forte, it's very inconsistent on how we like ours made/customized. We still have to tweak it a bit to our liking. But overall, this would be the deal of the year for me. At least, something nice came out of 2020. And by the end of the day having 4 large servings of iced coffee,

Curiosity killed the dog

Went to Ikea to buy stuff for the kids to have things organized before school starts with distance learning. And on our way out, I had to pick up some essential things like the meatballs, but then, it was almost lunch time and their veggie dog caught my eye. THe most logical thing to do was to go ahead and buy it. We then ate the thing in the car. The size was decent, around 5 inches and since this was not keto, Anna and I shared. It had those crunchy onions, pickled radish (I think) mustard and the veggie dog itself. For 75 cents, it was good for that price. The taste was something that we both cant really describe in a way that every bite tends to represent its ingredients. But this wont replace my regular hotdog, Costco would still get my vote.

Bibigo

After coming from a kids birthday party, we went over to Fashion Valley to get us our Nespresso supplies. My decision to head over here instead of the one from UTC La Jolla was mired with regret. It was our first to buy here, and thinking that Bloomingdales had a huge section for Nespresso. It seems that the supplies here are limited and the line for purchasing and trying out sample were only one.

It took us a good 20mins to get through everything. And with that, that was the last time we'll go here.

Beef Mandu
Another first was when we caught a glimpse of a new opened up Korean restaurant called Bibigo. Place looked interesting. We then headed inside. It's not the type of a sit down restaurant but the ambience feels like it.


Interestingly, it the same place that Anna normally goes to when we're at LA Jolla UTC. But this place seems fancier. Menu also looks different and they have more choices here. Since our diet restricts us with a limited amount of carbs, it was a challenge.

Serving was small and looks fancy. But for the price, I would not hesitate to choose any of the Korean restaurants over at Clairemont. I would get the same quality, more portions, for less the money I paid for here. I admit that I'm cheap (and my family and friends knows that), but when it comes to food, I don't mind paying hundreds for a meal as long as it's justified.

Korean Fried Chicken Wings
I had mixed reactions with this place. Majority of them are negative. But one thing is for sure. No repeat for me.

Price: 2 out of 5. It's one of those fast food restaurants that's contemporary in style
Customer Service: 3 out of 5. No table service. You order in front, pay and then the bring you your food.
Food: 3 out of 5. The kimchi seems it was just made hours before
Parking: 4 out of 5. It's packed during the weekend and don't bother goin here when it's raining, unless you have a boat

Address: 7007 Friars Rd. #357B, San Diego, CA 92108

Manna (Po) Bbq

Our one and only AYCE (All You Can Eat) Korean Bbq place in the south, closest to us would be Manna by Southwestern College. It's been years since we last came here and this was the second time. It was not impressive on our first visit considering that a lot of people we know have been raving about it.



I may not be the best critic when it comes to Korean Bbq, but we've had our fair share of places we've eaten at. And by far, Manna [East Lake] is at the bottom of our list. The only reason we went this time was because I wanted meat and I insisted we go despite Anna's warnings of possible disappointment.  She even added we might as well drive over to Clairemont I really want good meat.  But I wanted to give this place another chance and see if there might be any redeeming factor.




I was mistaken.

It was a Saturday and normally, K-Bbq restaurants have premium prices on weekends, even during lunch time. Given that, even the cheapskate in me was willing to fork out that much $. Beef brisket is a staple and a popular favorite on our K-Bbq table anywhere we go. But this time, it was a disappointment. What was supposedly described as thin on the menu was thickly cut and naturally became chewy when cooked. Since I was being generous on that day, I ordered another plate of it thinking maybe the first plate I was handed was a fluke. 

But fluke it all was.


A2 tier Menu

The rest of the meat were ok.  So-so. But then again, I'd rather drive and be satisfied with the food I eat with  the money I pay for. I would only consider coming back a third (and last) time just because I'd want to go with my food buddies and be able to criticize and prove that Manna should be, and stay for that matter, at the bottom of our list.


Price: 2 out of 5 ($25 per person/lowest tier)
Customer Service: 3.5 out of 5. We had to call somebody to have our grill replaced all the time compared to most of the places we've been to. It's good they have a "ringer" if we need anything instead of waiting for a staff member to pass by.
Food: 3 out of 5. Quality of the meat is as not a good considering their price against other better places we've been to.
Parking: 4  out of 5. There were a lot of parking space. However, even our Mini barely fit in the slot. You'd see a lot of SUV taking up two spots and not judge them.

Address:  724 Otay Lakes Rd. Chula Vista, CA 91910 b/t H St and Canyon Dr.

Website: Manna Korean Bbq

Our #100chowdownchallenge

We're out on a mission: after our Benihana experience, we decided that we will not be eating in the same place twice until 101st. We have to chow down in a different one each time we decide to dine out.

#100chowdownchallenge all began about a couple of days ago when we wanted to  eat at Kula but the typical one to two hour wait was just unbearable.  So option two was next door -- Dumpling Inn Shanghai Saloon.



One down side of this challenge is if we end up ordering one that we'll end up not liking, or something we would really like and crave but will have to take a while before repeat since the challenge prohibits it.  Double-edge challenge of our own choosing.

So far, we've these for are crossed-off:

1. Dumpling Inn Shanghai Saloon
2. Donut Bar
3. Paris Baguette
4. Ajisen Ramen


Ajisen Ramen

Another down side would be including fast food chains in the challenge like Micky D's which is our staple quick fix joint and our typical caffeine booster when out and about, Starbucks.  

Kula revolving sushi

Last time we've been to one like this was in LA a few years back. The first one we've been to was Genji-Greenhills back in PI.

They've been around in Cali, but most of their restaurants are located in LA. It's their soft opening and the line was an estimated 45 minute wait. I could just imagine what it's gonna be like on the grand. For me, it's another joint that serves sushi and maybe this is just a hype that San Diegans are clamoring about. Then they have a neon sign right by the door that says "$2.25 per plate". That made me think twice, just because the cheapskate in me kicked me in the nuts.

It's a lil on teh hi-tech side compared to the fancier one we've been to in LA. What i like about here is that they also serve ramen. You just order it through the screen. It's nothing fancy like in Tajima or Under Belly but a more straight forward one served in small portion.

There were three of us so we chose the booth but there's also a bar typically seen in Japanese restaurants.

Salmon skin roll

Garlic tuna steak
The concept is nothing new, but their technology is very innovative and practical. There's very little contact with the customer and staff anymore. Maybe the occasional buzz because you just want to ask what's the ingredients on a particular sushi and the checkout part where they would bring you your receipt.

Golden crunchy roll

Tamago

And since the food goes around, it's practically in your face all the time. And if you're super hungry, you would just constantly grab every single plate that would fancy your palate. Next thing you know, you've already reached 10 plates. Good thing about this is, after 15, you get a prize. A small red ball with some novelty item inside. For us, it took 11 plates till we said quits. But we're so close, we had to stuff our bellies with four more.

Real crab meat


Seared scallop japanese mayo
Fried takoyaki

Philadelphia tempura roll
The choices for the desserts were very limited and a bit pricey. Correct me if I'm wrong but I did see some 2 scoops of ice cream for $2. I would just go to Walmart and grab me a Ben and Jerry's instead.

Warabimochi

Crispy rice with spicy tuna
Price: 4 out of 5 ($2.25 per plate, except a few items that may range from $2.50 to $5)
Customer Service: 4.5 out of 5  
Food: 3.5 out of 5 (since it's going around in a belt, some items may have been there for more than 5 minutes)
Parking: 2 out of 5 (really bad, very limited specially during lunch and dinner hours)

Andres Restaurant

I've been wanting to go to this place a long time. My co worker was the one that told me about it.

 It's Cuban and Puerto Rican Cusine. We haven't tried any authentic ones and since we havent had a decent restaurant eat out recently, might as well go for this.