School's out for summer! Had this year gone as planned, we would have been gearing up for our now-canceled vacation. It seemed like as good a time as any to get back to reminiscing about the vacation we did have.
Day 7 in San Diego was pretty laid back. We spent some time lounging around Mission Bay before heading to National City. Located immediately south of San Diego proper and adjacent to Naval Base San Diego, National City is a diverse area full of interesting restaurants. What brought us to National City was the Wild Foodies tour. Our guide walked us around the area and we sampled items from his favorite spots.
We started at Tortas Oasis, a casual spot featuring one of the more underrated parts of Mexican cuisine. Tortas are sandwiches consisting of a variety of different fillings on a large roll. We tried the lomo pork torta. We were pretty hungry, and the torta was so good I was unable to take a picture. I did get a shot of the menu, which also has a lot of interesting Mexican drinks.
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| Tortas Oasis |
The next stop was Royal Mandarin, a restaurant with a good mixture of Americanized and traditional items that I think is a real key to success for Chinese restaurants. Royal Mandarin is apparently famous for their salt and pepper chicken wings. I have to admit, for all I go on about authentic Chinese food, I am a huge sucker for these things. The combination of crunch, salt, and a little heat from the white pepper is a winner, and these were a good example of the style. I will probably try making them at home some time.
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| Salt and Pepper Chicken Wings |
Next, we made a quick stop at Chinese Canton Bakery for a coconut bun. The fact there are two Chinese bakeries in walking distance (stay tuned) makes me intensely jealous of the people who live in the area.
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| Chicken Adobo |
Lisa's Filipino Cuisine was next, where we filled up on chicken adobo (chicken braised in a vinegary sauce) and sisig, a crispy pork dish. This actually inspired me to try making chicken adobo in the Instant Pot at home.
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| Sisig |
For dessert, we tried some Filipino ice creams. The cheese and corn flavor was interesting, but a bit too weird for us. Ube ice cream, on the other hand, was a hit. Ube is a yam with a startlingly purple color popular in many Asian cultures. I'm surprised I had never heard of it, but now I've started notice it in Asian grocery stores. We recently picked up a package of frozen ube. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with yet, but I'm sure it will be interesting!
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| Ice cream at Lisa's |
Our next stop was 85C Bakery Cafe, a Taiwan-based chain that has spread quickly all over the west coast. They serve a wide variety of Chinese buns and pastries, as well as a selection of coffee and tea. We picked up a few buns to bring back to the hotel. The tour finished up with a walk through the local Asian market, which definitely made me miss the access we used to have back in West Lafayette.
I have one more San Diego post coming soon, on our final, action-packed day.
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