MexicaZn

1308 E Chapman Ave
Fullerton, CA 92831
(714) 879-5588

General:

I took advantage of their Taco Tuesday (rumored it is 99c-$1.25 everyday now), 99c each, to do a tour de cuisine: "one of each, please."

As a summary, some of these tacos were really delicious and, in my humble opinion, better than thinly-chopped-meat and cabbage-filled Kogi's.

I will come back for anything (taco, burrito, etc.) with Spicy Pork with Kimchi and Korean BBQ with Kimchi.

Details:

All tacos came  with flat-topped flour tortilla.  Garnishes available: diced tomato, onion, cilantro.  There were Salsa Roja and Salsa Verde.  I opted for red: it was thick and had a medium sourness.  I didn't think Salsa Verde would have fitted any of these well.

Carne Asada: carne asada cut.  Meat cooked to semi char, a bit dry.  A hint of bulgogi sauce sweetness, out of place and a bit weird.  I wasn't sure if it was a part of the marinade or it was because of it was cooked on the same flat top with the other meats.  3 stars.

Chicken: fragrant char. Mildly salty.  Chicken was cubed and properly marinaded. The only option here whose predominant flavor profile was saltiness.  Good but not nothing special.  3+ stars.

Korean BBQ: bulgogi cut.  Much more moist and substantial than the asada. Bulgogi marinade gave medium sweetness. Good but still a tad one dimensional.  3.5 stars.

Korean BBQ with Kimchi: same with above, added kimchi.  Sourness and Spiciness of kimchi somehow magically added complexity on the flavor profile. Delicious.  4 stars.

Spicy Pork: very moist and tender pork.  Gochujang-based marinade. Pronounced sweetness more than the other meats. A kick of spiciness.  Spicy pork by itself didn't work as a taco.  The sweetness dominated everything and the flavor profile became somewhat one dimensional.  The pork itself was delicious although nothing new.  It still deserved 3.5 stars, though.

Spicy Pork with Kimchi : same not as above.  However, again, kimchi magically added the complexity on the flavor profile by infusing its spiciness and sourness.  There was a development of delicious umami flavor.  My taco of the day.  4,5 stars.

An average of 3.625. 

Trieu Chau

4401 W 1st St
Santa Ana, CA 92703
(714) 775-1536

General:

Finally, I write a detailed note for this place after years of visit.

This place is best for their dry stirred noodles (Mi or Hu Tieu Nam Vang) although everything can be ordered in soup.  There are four noodles that you can choose: big flat yellow (egg), small yellow (egg), big white (ho fun), small white (pho-like consistency).

Overall conclusion: four and a half stars for the dish, minus a half star deduction for VERY dubious hygiene.  However, this place is still the real deal: the True Chow.

True Chow is the best dry noodle place in OC, and the second in LA/OC to Noodle Cafe in Monterey Park.

Although all of their toppings are home made, fish ball here is a stand out item.  Usually restaurants buy them frozen but Trieu Chau makes it in house.  It is delicious, chewy, with a hint of fishiness.

Notes:
-Price has gone up a bit.
-The place is quite hardcore for unsuspecting first timers: quite rundown and dirty and you might need to share your table with strangers.
-As much as I like this place, I always question the hygiene.  Both my wife and I always get a mild indigestion every time with eat here.
-Parking could be problematic during peak hours (later morning mid afternoon) as they are always full and there is a popular restaurant Tan Cang Newport Seafood right next door.
-They open until the soup runs out.  Sometime they close as early as 2-3pm.  Check first.

 
Details:

For tour de cuisine to get the whole she-bang of toppings of House Special. I suggest you to go dry with big yellow as it takes the flavors well.

House Special Big Yellow Noodle, dry: stirred flat egg noodle with fried garlic, fish sauce, oil, green onion. An array of toppings include roast duck, boiled chicken, fish balls, pork balls, beef balls, fried fish cake, pork, boiled shrimps, five spice soy chicken,pork liver. Oiling and spicing here ares on the heavy side. Add cooked bean sprouts, white pepper, and vinegar juice from pickled chili to elevate the flavors even more.  If you order dry, it comes with a soup on the side. 4.5 stars.

Frequent patrons know what they like and don't and can customize the toppings.

Feeling carnivorous? Order the pork bone soup: purely pork shoulder bone soup with a little salt and pepper seasoning.  This is the soup base that they use for everything. Delicious. 4 stars.

House Special Big Yellow Noodle, dry

Pita Hot

1343 E Chapman Ave
Fullerton, CA 92831 (714) 449-0100

General:

Two visits and I have given up on this place.  Only some of the sides were good, the others were just so so.  What puzzling was, for a kabob place, they couldn't grill meat if their lives depended on it: 3 of 3 of my orders were overcooked.

Considering the price, I was thinking to give it a 3 stars rating.  However, I thought about it again, it would not be okay.  I don't want to buy overcooked meat however good the sides and rice are: I enjoyed the sides more than the meat.  It was like a promising foreplay but then ...., you know.  *puff*

So, I think it is a 2.5 stars place.  I know it is like comparing Washington to Red Delicious apple, but I still prefer DonerG.

Details:

Pistachio baklava: crunchy and layered with a strong crushed pistachio note. Right amount of sweetness. Pretty good.  4 stars.

Hummus (side): good texture, sufficient aroma, but was too sour.  3- stars.

Cucumber Yoghurt Salad (side): nice cucumber crunchiness.  However, the yoghurt sauce itself was very watery and rather flat (lacking of acidity).  2 stars.

Sumac Onion (side): I thought: "they have onion sumac? bring it on."  I love sumac flavor as I am used to its flavor profile that, from a Sino-centric perspective, is like dried plum (Xi Mui for you esteemed Viets).  The flavor profile was sauteed natural onion sweetness sprinkled with sumac's sharp sourness and mild saltiness.  Delicious. 4 stars.

Baba Ganouj (side): akin to eggplant puree although the texture of it was still detected.  Tons of smokiness note combined with yoghurt sourness palate. Also delicious. 4 stars.

Rice Pilaf (standard side): The rice pilaf had a strong chicken stock and onion undertone, mildly salty, with a texture that was similar to sticky rice. Quite good, too. 3.5 stars.

Pita (standard side): strictly grocery-grade quality.  Why bother to rate?

Lamb Chop: spices and flavors were okay.  However, it was cooked medium-well done: overcooked and on the dry side although wasn't as bad as the next two.  2.5 stars.

Beef Kabob: again, spicing was okay but it was beyond overcooked: way well done.  Cardboard-like texture. Very disappointing.  1 star.

Kefta (Shis Kebab): a strong gaminess with strong cumin and pepper flavors among other spices. However, it was also sinfully dry.  1.5 stars.

Lamb Chop with Hummus and Sumac Onion

Beef Kabob with Baba Ganouj and Cucumber Yoghurt Salad

Rubalcava

506 W Chapman Ave

Placentia, CA 92870

(714) 524-0117

General:

This is a half neighborhood market and a half fast food place, of course, of the Mexican persuasion.

79c Taco Tuesday specials include three choices: pollo, chicarron, and al pastor. Normal pricing for all others are at $1.25, including those 3 on a normal day.

Since they displayed the chicarron quite in my face, it was a natural choice.

There is a make-shift dining area but eating there is not recommended.  That room always has a temperature at least 10-15F hotter than the ambiance temperature. 

Details:

Taco de Chicarron: corn tortilla as the market is proudly selling Masa by the weight.  Onion and cilantro garnishes.  Weak Salsa Verde that was almost undetected except to provide some moist and chili kick.  Chicarron stuffing was very generous and the taco was very thick.  House-made chicarron here was not the airy light type you'd get as a snack at your local convenient stores.  Think of it more like the 3-layer Chinese bacon cut, fried to the max such that meat and skin were very crisp (hence also a bit dry  and tough for the meat) while the fat was very much gone immersed to the frying oil (ah, they also sell mantega pork lard by the weight btw).  Flavor profile of the chicarron was saltiness and some fat oiliness with tons of crispy texture.  Garnishes supported the flavor.  It was AOK to fit a crispy pork fix, that after normalize for price.  Definitely quantity over quality with a very strong value proposition. 3 stars.