They tried to open another fro-yo joint in Palo Alto. This is almost exactly like Yogurtland, but not as good. Not really worth a try as Red Mango across the street has better fro-yo. I guess the only plus for this place is the large amount of toppings.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/lamour-frozen-yogurt-cafe-palo-alto
Monday, June 29, 2009
Fat Kid Adventure #129: High Tech Burrito (Los Gatos)
Located in the strip mall at the corner of Blossom Hill and Los Gatos Blvd, next to the Bank of America, this joint has some really great burritos for lunch. I've been here several times to get something for a work lunch, and I always get my burrito in bowl form. Spicy Cajun Burrito with Shrimp, Thai Chicken Burrito, and this one BBQ Chicken burrito were all that I tried, and all of them are great. No dry meat up in this one, all were nice, juicy and flavorful.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/high-tech-burrito-los-gatos
http://www.yelp.com/biz/high-tech-burrito-los-gatos
Fat Kid Adventure #128: Icing On The Cake (Los Gatos)
Located just off the main strip in downtown Los Gatos, this cute little bakery is quite a bad ass. Neha, Phong, Mike and I used to come here all the time for mid-afternoon cookie breaks. They have a great selection, and I love the triple chocolate and the brownie chunks.
Recently, I took Baby Rar to this place and got the Pink Lemonade cupcake. WOW. In my humble opinion, this place can rival Sprinkles if only they had the exact same cupcakes. The frosty on the Pink Lemonade is not as thick as Sprinkles' but a bit more fluffy. At the same time, the cupcake itself had just the right amount of moisture and fluff. Compared to Kara's in Santana Row, it is more dense. The lemonade flavor definitely came and provided for a nice tang!
Highly recommended for cupcakes and cookies. Holler at it!
http://www.icingonthecakebakery.com/
http://www.yelp.com/biz/icing-on-the-cake-los-gatos - 4.5/5 on 267 reviews can't go wrong!
Recently, I took Baby Rar to this place and got the Pink Lemonade cupcake. WOW. In my humble opinion, this place can rival Sprinkles if only they had the exact same cupcakes. The frosty on the Pink Lemonade is not as thick as Sprinkles' but a bit more fluffy. At the same time, the cupcake itself had just the right amount of moisture and fluff. Compared to Kara's in Santana Row, it is more dense. The lemonade flavor definitely came and provided for a nice tang!
Highly recommended for cupcakes and cookies. Holler at it!
http://www.icingonthecakebakery.com/
http://www.yelp.com/biz/icing-on-the-cake-los-gatos - 4.5/5 on 267 reviews can't go wrong!
Fat Kid Adventure #127: Pedro's (Los Gatos)
Located in downtown Los Gatos, Pedro's is an all-age joint but we usually come down here for Happy Hours once in a while. Service is decent, and if you're just there to hang out order some Samplers from the Appetizer section and you'll be set. The food is great but not phenomenal. Pricing is fair. Come check it out if it's on your way.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/pedros-los-gatos
http://pedrosrestaurants.com/
http://www.yelp.com/biz/pedros-los-gatos
http://pedrosrestaurants.com/
Fat Kid Adventure #126: Carl's Jr.
Nothing special, just wanted to let yall know that the Kentucky Bourbon burger is NOT all that. I had the $6 Kentucky Bourbon Burger, and uh yeah you can taste a teensy bit of the Bourbon but the burger itself is not all that special. I guess I just let myself get carried away by the delectable commercials with that one surgeon dude that just straight up murder-grubs the Bourbon.
http://www.carlsjr.com/
http://www.carlsjr.com/
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Fat Kid Adventure #125: Roscoe's House of Chicken and Waffles (Hollywood)
** SPECIAL EDITION **
It was an epic weekend - the first of the Chiquitas tied the knot. It was an epic dinner - fried chicken and waffles galore for a party of 15 Chiquitas, Chiquitos and good friends.
This was the day before LiMin married Tony, and we all had a nice get-together at Roscoe's House of Chicken and Waffles in Hollyhoooood. Roll call - LH, Jennah, Jasmine, Elise, Tony, May, Florin, his friend, Baby Rar, yours truly - representing West Coast (babay baaaabay!) - Dawn, Jenn, Tina, John - representing East Coast - and Ruth representing that Dirty Souf. Probably the biggest Chiquita gathering since Alum Reunion in Oh-Six. Props to everyone for making it out!!
Special shout-out:
- to Tina for episodic clumsiness which really congeals the entertainment value of this trip. We love you just the same!
- to May for posing the idea in the first place
- to everyone who made the effort to fly in
- and to just everybody for a great time!
Lesson: When you're in LA, you NEED to sit ya ass down and eat some Roscoe's because it is part of the LA culture and identity. One of the fastest ways to make friends in LA is to suggest Roscoe's for a meal. You hearda Pink's? Well now you've hearda Roscoe's. Go ahead, chicken-n-waffle it up a li'l bit and comfort your souuuul. It may just make your day. And if you feel adventurous, Roscoe's got the hookup for those other parts of the chicken which aren't so mainstream.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/roscoes-house-of-chicken-and-waffles-los-angeles-3 - 4.0 out of 511 reviews don't lie.
http://www.roscoeschickenandwaffles.com/
Fat Kid Adventure #124: Uncle Frank's (Mountain View)
Let's do this review Dos Equis style.
His reputation precedes himself. His BBQ precedes his reputation.
Doctors prescribe his BBQ to treat depression.
Cows volunteer to be made into his famed brisket.
This off-Castro Mountain View joint is a local favorite. At the corner of Old Middlefield and Rengstorff and sharing a roof with Francesca's Bar, this little hole-in-wall BBQ joint is plain SICK (in the street sense). Went in for a little Friday lunch a while back, and I wisely opted for the brisket. Juicy, tender, sauceful, smoky. It was half a dozen slices of some of the best beef brisket I have ever had.
http://www.unclefranksbbq.com/ - please pay this site a visit, once you see Uncle Frank's face, you KNOW the man knows how to 'Que.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/uncle-franks-bbq-and-catering-mountain-view
His reputation precedes himself. His BBQ precedes his reputation.
Doctors prescribe his BBQ to treat depression.
Cows volunteer to be made into his famed brisket.
This off-Castro Mountain View joint is a local favorite. At the corner of Old Middlefield and Rengstorff and sharing a roof with Francesca's Bar, this little hole-in-wall BBQ joint is plain SICK (in the street sense). Went in for a little Friday lunch a while back, and I wisely opted for the brisket. Juicy, tender, sauceful, smoky. It was half a dozen slices of some of the best beef brisket I have ever had.
http://www.unclefranksbbq.com/ - please pay this site a visit, once you see Uncle Frank's face, you KNOW the man knows how to 'Que.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/uncle-franks-bbq-and-catering-mountain-view
Fat Kid Adventure #123: Palace BBQ Buffet (Sunnyvale)
Ever been high on Korean BBQ? If you haven't, then you should pay Palace a visit.
Why did we go? We've been giving up red meat and pork (as well as coffee and soda) for Lent. I joined in for the nutritional benefit. SO, deprived of those two tastys for 40 days, I HAD to have a feast on the day Lent was over just to celebrate. I've heard about this joint from some Korean friends back in school, and Easter was THE day to do it. Easter is about to lose the letter 's' - THAT, is how I do.
This is a fairly large Korean BBQ buffet, and while similar to Hot Pot City (a Chinese hot pot buffet) in Milpitas, the BBQ marinade and selection is definitely superior. Just to clarify, by BBQ buffet I mean that the meat is raw but marinaded, and you the eater have the responsibility of grilling it (in a grill right in front of you on your table). By the way, if you have a group of 4 or more celebrating someone's birthday, that someone gets to eat for free.
There's a whole lot of BBQ goodness that includes beef, pork, chicken, squid, and baby octopus. Excellent, excellent marinades. From short ribs to spicy pork to spare ribs to pork fat to pork tongue to squid to baby octopus to beef brisket to pork belly to tripe to oh-my-gracious! I couldn't see straight after I was done with the meats. I had to get some non-BBQ items - like fried chicken, chap chae, jellyfish, fried fish, etc. - to get me back to Earf. Yeah I said it, 'Earf'.
1.5 hours, and BOY we did a lot of damage for 2 people. Well it was worth the 20 minute within 30 minutes to closing. Anyway, y'all gotta give this joint a try - it will be worth your night, and YES come with an empty stomach. Oh yeah don't wear a nice shirt, you will be smothered with Korean BBQ scent aftewards.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/palace-bbq-buffet-sunnyvale
Why did we go? We've been giving up red meat and pork (as well as coffee and soda) for Lent. I joined in for the nutritional benefit. SO, deprived of those two tastys for 40 days, I HAD to have a feast on the day Lent was over just to celebrate. I've heard about this joint from some Korean friends back in school, and Easter was THE day to do it. Easter is about to lose the letter 's' - THAT, is how I do.
This is a fairly large Korean BBQ buffet, and while similar to Hot Pot City (a Chinese hot pot buffet) in Milpitas, the BBQ marinade and selection is definitely superior. Just to clarify, by BBQ buffet I mean that the meat is raw but marinaded, and you the eater have the responsibility of grilling it (in a grill right in front of you on your table). By the way, if you have a group of 4 or more celebrating someone's birthday, that someone gets to eat for free.
There's a whole lot of BBQ goodness that includes beef, pork, chicken, squid, and baby octopus. Excellent, excellent marinades. From short ribs to spicy pork to spare ribs to pork fat to pork tongue to squid to baby octopus to beef brisket to pork belly to tripe to oh-my-gracious! I couldn't see straight after I was done with the meats. I had to get some non-BBQ items - like fried chicken, chap chae, jellyfish, fried fish, etc. - to get me back to Earf. Yeah I said it, 'Earf'.
1.5 hours, and BOY we did a lot of damage for 2 people. Well it was worth the 20 minute within 30 minutes to closing. Anyway, y'all gotta give this joint a try - it will be worth your night, and YES come with an empty stomach. Oh yeah don't wear a nice shirt, you will be smothered with Korean BBQ scent aftewards.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/palace-bbq-buffet-sunnyvale
Fat Kid Adventure #122: Omogari (San Jose)
This is a highly rated Korean joint on Yelp, and since it was decently nearby in the northern side of SJ, we decided to give it a shot. It's a nice little place with a decent price tag, and the servers were very friendly.
We had this seafood pancake dish (Hae-mul Pa-jun), and as an appetizer it is simply huge. It's kind of like an egg-based pizza - thick with green onions spread throughout, but the stars of the show were the shrimps, scallops, crab meat, etc. Great start!
We ordered the Dol-sot Bi-bim-bab for entree. It comes in a stone pot over open fire, and it is filled with assorted veggies, chicken (you may choose beef, chicken, pork, or tofu), topped off with a sunny side up egg, and served over rice. Excellent dish! I love the crispy portions of the rice.
One thing I love about Dol-sot style dishes is the mixing. For one it makes the preparation pretty simple - you got the rice on the bottom, then you put the toppings in sections on top, and top it off with the sunny side up. For the customers, the appearance of the sectioned colors over rice in a black stone pot is pretty appealing, and then the mixing is a transformation of colors into swirls. As you mix in all the goodies together, you can pretty much guess how good the bowl is going to taste.
Great little place! Give it a shot.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/sj-omogari-korean-restaurant-san-jose
http://omogari.biz
Rachel and I caught a bunch of high school girls flirting with the waiter, doing that write-your-friend's-number-on-a-note-and-pass-it-to-the-cute-waiter's-notsocute-waiterfriend-so-as-to-be-unambiguously-ambiguous business. Reminds me of the middle/high school days.
We had this seafood pancake dish (Hae-mul Pa-jun), and as an appetizer it is simply huge. It's kind of like an egg-based pizza - thick with green onions spread throughout, but the stars of the show were the shrimps, scallops, crab meat, etc. Great start!
We ordered the Dol-sot Bi-bim-bab for entree. It comes in a stone pot over open fire, and it is filled with assorted veggies, chicken (you may choose beef, chicken, pork, or tofu), topped off with a sunny side up egg, and served over rice. Excellent dish! I love the crispy portions of the rice.
One thing I love about Dol-sot style dishes is the mixing. For one it makes the preparation pretty simple - you got the rice on the bottom, then you put the toppings in sections on top, and top it off with the sunny side up. For the customers, the appearance of the sectioned colors over rice in a black stone pot is pretty appealing, and then the mixing is a transformation of colors into swirls. As you mix in all the goodies together, you can pretty much guess how good the bowl is going to taste.
Great little place! Give it a shot.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/sj-omogari-korean-restaurant-san-jose
http://omogari.biz
Rachel and I caught a bunch of high school girls flirting with the waiter, doing that write-your-friend's-number-on-a-note-and-pass-it-to-the-cute-waiter's-notsocute-waiterfriend-so-as-to-be-unambiguously-ambiguous business. Reminds me of the middle/high school days.
Fat Kid Adventure #121: Yiassoo (Campbell)
This is sort of a chain Greek fast-food restaurant, and I have been here a couple of times for lunch during the work week. This one is right on Bascom in Campbell, and there is another in Cupertino somewhere.
The lunch specials are great and has enough variety for all appetites and diets. For about $7-$8, you can get a decent meal out of this joint without falling into the Itis back at work. I have tried the chicken souvlaki lunch special, and it's pretty good. The souvlaki comes with pieces of grilled chicken, the white/yogurty sauce, a tomatoey salad, and some fries. I hear the gyros are pretty damn good and filling. Fast and friendly service. Definitely worth a try.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/yiassoo-campbell
The lunch specials are great and has enough variety for all appetites and diets. For about $7-$8, you can get a decent meal out of this joint without falling into the Itis back at work. I have tried the chicken souvlaki lunch special, and it's pretty good. The souvlaki comes with pieces of grilled chicken, the white/yogurty sauce, a tomatoey salad, and some fries. I hear the gyros are pretty damn good and filling. Fast and friendly service. Definitely worth a try.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/yiassoo-campbell
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Fat Kid Adventure #120: La Bodeguita del Medio (Palo Alto)
Located on California Ave in Palo Alto's secondary downtown, this Cuban joint is a popular lunch and dinner hangout for the working class and the local residents alike. I have been here on several occassions, but tonight I invited Winona for dindin. She's the Assistant Dean of Students and Director for the American Indian, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Program at Stanford. My freshman year at Muwekma, she took me in and made me [feel like] an honorary native. :)
Tonight we meet up for a little reunion. The entrance to the restaurant portion bypasses the bar, where happy hour is apparently still going on. The ambience inside was very relaxing - dim with Latin music flowing lightly about in the room.
The complimentary bread was pretty good with the accompanied balsamic vinegarette. But soon, I pounced on my Arroz con Pollo - Cuban style braised chicken with spiced yellow rice and plantanos maduros. My pollo was actually huge - I believe it was a half chicken. Very tender and juicy, the chicken almost slid off the bones. I would have preferred a tiny bit of a kick somewhere in there. Winona ordered the Romaine Caesar salad with queso duro viejo, yuca croutons, aged manchego and chili ginger caesar. It was apparently delightfully refreshing!
Pricing is a little steep - $8 for the salad and $18 for the chicken. Service is pretty decent - our waiter was pretty attentive and not at all pushy. Definitely worth a try! For lunch, try the Carne Asada Sandwich - delish :)
http://www.yelp.com/biz/la-bodeguita-del-medio-palo-alto
http://www.labodeguita.com
Tonight we meet up for a little reunion. The entrance to the restaurant portion bypasses the bar, where happy hour is apparently still going on. The ambience inside was very relaxing - dim with Latin music flowing lightly about in the room.
The complimentary bread was pretty good with the accompanied balsamic vinegarette. But soon, I pounced on my Arroz con Pollo - Cuban style braised chicken with spiced yellow rice and plantanos maduros. My pollo was actually huge - I believe it was a half chicken. Very tender and juicy, the chicken almost slid off the bones. I would have preferred a tiny bit of a kick somewhere in there. Winona ordered the Romaine Caesar salad with queso duro viejo, yuca croutons, aged manchego and chili ginger caesar. It was apparently delightfully refreshing!
Pricing is a little steep - $8 for the salad and $18 for the chicken. Service is pretty decent - our waiter was pretty attentive and not at all pushy. Definitely worth a try! For lunch, try the Carne Asada Sandwich - delish :)
http://www.yelp.com/biz/la-bodeguita-del-medio-palo-alto
http://www.labodeguita.com
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Fat Kid Adventure #119: Falafel Drive-In (San Jose)
Yesterday, we decided to once again start off the day on a delicious note. And by start, I mean like 3pm. Anyway we headed down to Stevens Creek and Bascom corner for this little San Jose drive-in featured on Diners, Drive-Ins, & Dives on the Food Network - the Falafel Drive-In.
The joint looked so beat down but it was crowded - good sign. It looked like it used to be a drive-thru - got a canopy for cars to drive under and thru, the old food pass-thru window got patched up and turned into a AC installation wall.
Anyway we ordered falafel sandwiches, a banana shake, and some pita chips. All in all, this was probably one of the healthiest dives out there, since most dives feature some really unhealthy but irresistably delectable specialties.
The falafel was very simple and pretty yummy, and you can kind taste the healthiness. The pita bread was stuffed with 4 or 5 falafel balls, then loose lettuce and tomato cubes, finally seasoned up with some yogurt sauce and sweet chili paste. The entire thing is vegetarian as the falafel balls are essentially breaded hummus balls, and really good ones at that!
The banana shake was delicious - don't know where they got the banana ice cream or maybe it's just vanilla ice cream + bananas.
The pita chips were a bit of a disappointment because they looked like they've been seasoned with a lot of stuff - oregano, rosemary, pepper, salt, maybe even a wee bit of paprika. However, the flavor of it wasn't strong at all, maybe it wasn't meant to be, but the large amounts of seasoning that appeared to be on the chips did not attribute to much flavor compared to regular pita chips from Safeway. I mean it wasn't bad, but it wasn't spectacular neither.
Falafel sandwich is definitely worth a try at this little Middle Eastern drive-in, and don't forget the banana shake - a combo is just $7.50!
http://www.yelp.com/biz/falafels-drive-in-san-jose
http://www.falafelsdrivein.com/
The joint looked so beat down but it was crowded - good sign. It looked like it used to be a drive-thru - got a canopy for cars to drive under and thru, the old food pass-thru window got patched up and turned into a AC installation wall.
Anyway we ordered falafel sandwiches, a banana shake, and some pita chips. All in all, this was probably one of the healthiest dives out there, since most dives feature some really unhealthy but irresistably delectable specialties.
The falafel was very simple and pretty yummy, and you can kind taste the healthiness. The pita bread was stuffed with 4 or 5 falafel balls, then loose lettuce and tomato cubes, finally seasoned up with some yogurt sauce and sweet chili paste. The entire thing is vegetarian as the falafel balls are essentially breaded hummus balls, and really good ones at that!
The banana shake was delicious - don't know where they got the banana ice cream or maybe it's just vanilla ice cream + bananas.
The pita chips were a bit of a disappointment because they looked like they've been seasoned with a lot of stuff - oregano, rosemary, pepper, salt, maybe even a wee bit of paprika. However, the flavor of it wasn't strong at all, maybe it wasn't meant to be, but the large amounts of seasoning that appeared to be on the chips did not attribute to much flavor compared to regular pita chips from Safeway. I mean it wasn't bad, but it wasn't spectacular neither.
Falafel sandwich is definitely worth a try at this little Middle Eastern drive-in, and don't forget the banana shake - a combo is just $7.50!
http://www.yelp.com/biz/falafels-drive-in-san-jose
http://www.falafelsdrivein.com/
Fat Kid Adventure #118: Manresa (Los Gatos)
So I've been putting yall onto the dive game for a minute, but a while back when life wasn't so broke we were chillin' at some pretty fancy-with-a-side-of-schmancy joints. Back in December, for our 17th monthliversary, we dined at Manresa in Los Gatos. It holds a 2-star Michelin rating (it's out of 3) for its American and Spanish basque-inspired fusion style, and its executive chef, David Kinch, recently beat Bobby Flay on Iron Chef. That right there should say something about this joint.
Located in the heart of Los Gatos, but off the main strip, Manresa is tucked away on a tiny, quiet street. We went at night, so I didn't take note of the outermost architecture, but the inside is very elegant and prim-n-proper. Our host brought us to our table, and sitting there was a welcome card - how nice!
If you do visit Manresa, keep in mind that you are going for an experience and not for a meal, because if you are looking to get stuffed you may be disappointed. What's this experience? Well, it involves the sight, smell, and taste - the art of the plating and the story that it tells, the smell of the dish and the ingredients being used, and the taste of the small, exquisite concoctions. Since the servings are very small and unique, one should really take time to taste slowly so as to really appreciate the taste and possibly the painstaking creation of each course. And of course, you're paying big bucks for this experience - half a grand for dinner can make anyone sad.
One special feature about Manresa is its seasonal menu, which means what I'm about to describe may not apply to your experience. Each seasonal menu has a theme, and every dish is created with that theme in mind.
Onto the food! So we decided on the tasting menu, which is a ginormous 16 courses. They are as follows:
Appetizers
1. petit fours "red pepper - black olive"
2. garden beignets, vinegar powder
3. horchata and lightly toasted parsnips
4. oyster with sea urchin, nori croustillant
5. arpege farm egg
Entrees
1. Japanese sea bream sashimi with olive oil and chives
2. butternut squash veloute, naturtium ice cream
3. "into the vegetable garden"
4. autumn tidal pool
5. roasted black rod, clam vinaigrette and a brown butter emulsion
6. roast squab with chestnuts, artichoke
7. beef bavette in its own fat, parsley roots and yellow foot mushrooms
Desserts
1. red beet cloud cake with mandarin sorbet, coconut granite
2. meyer lemon vacherin with almond biscuit, dried apricot
3. moscavado sugar custard, salted butter ice cream, banana
4. petit fours "strawberry - chocolate"
Look at that crazy ass menu - there are so many vocabs... The meal lasted over 3 hours, and it opened and ended with the petit fours. They are gummy candy-esque tasties which whet the appetite and also refreshens the pallette.
This note is long enough, so I will just mention one of each category that is most memorable.
For the appetizers, the oyster with sea urchin was a very unexpected dish. The sea urchin sat as a orange paste atop the raw oyster which sat on a bed of sea salt. It reminded us of roe on sushi, but it tasted more moist and compact. The oyster was a very cold and jelly sensation, in perfect contrast with the texture of the sea urchin but at the same time in seafoody harmony.
For the entree, the "into the vegetable garden" was the most unique. As a matter of fact, this is almost like the star dish at the restaurant at the time. I do not remember the ingredients that well, but the plating essentially brought out the essence of the Manresa garden (also in Los Gatos), which is where the restaurant grows and harvests its own fresh ingredients for every meal. The plate included leaves, flowers, fruits, vegetables, and dirt. Of course the dirt is not literal; it is based on roasted chicory root and dried potatoes. It presents a very interesting semi-dry and particular texture, that makes you think wow this is some good tasting... dirt. Sounds weird to say, but the recreation of dirt is unexpected and difficult. However, the point is driven home - every component of the dish was from the garden and portrays an aspect of the garden.
Now to be fair to the rest of entrees, every single one was very special in both presentation as well as serving style. For example, the butternut squash veloute with nasturtium ice cream involved the ice cream being brought out first and then the butternut squash soup was pour gently on and then around the ice cream to semi-melt it to create a very nice soup with great temporal and textural contrast. The rest were just great on the taste buds and pleasing to the eyes. Moving on!
Finally for the dessert, we enjoyed the vacherin (a type of cow's milk cheese). Its presentation was quite special as it was kind of busy. The color contrast between the dried apricots, the cheese, the lemon slices, and the almond biscuit was pretty wild and interesting, not to mention the shapes that these things came in. Anyway - definitely worth looking forward to!
The service was fantastic overall - very attentive staff that really knows how to take care of you. For example, we had a questiona bout how the top of the egg shell for the arpege farm egg dish was so nicely take off, our host actually went back to the kitchen and brought out the tool and explained it in detail. It was apparently a custom-made tool inspired from some random trip the chef went on. Anyway, I thought that was pretty cool.
At the end of the night, we asked for a copy of the menu for keepsake, the host returned with two envelopes containing the tasting menu, personally signed by the chef, the great David Kinch, himself. Awesome! :D
In summary, go with an open heart and lots of money, and don't treat this place like a restaurant but rather an adventure. You will have a wonderful time!
If you want some visuals, visit this blog entry (http://tangbro1.blogspot.com/2008/11/manresa-11222008.html) - this guy had a similar experience there!
http://www.yelp.com/biz/manresa-restaurant-los-gatos
http://www.manresarestaurant.com/
Located in the heart of Los Gatos, but off the main strip, Manresa is tucked away on a tiny, quiet street. We went at night, so I didn't take note of the outermost architecture, but the inside is very elegant and prim-n-proper. Our host brought us to our table, and sitting there was a welcome card - how nice!
If you do visit Manresa, keep in mind that you are going for an experience and not for a meal, because if you are looking to get stuffed you may be disappointed. What's this experience? Well, it involves the sight, smell, and taste - the art of the plating and the story that it tells, the smell of the dish and the ingredients being used, and the taste of the small, exquisite concoctions. Since the servings are very small and unique, one should really take time to taste slowly so as to really appreciate the taste and possibly the painstaking creation of each course. And of course, you're paying big bucks for this experience - half a grand for dinner can make anyone sad.
One special feature about Manresa is its seasonal menu, which means what I'm about to describe may not apply to your experience. Each seasonal menu has a theme, and every dish is created with that theme in mind.
Onto the food! So we decided on the tasting menu, which is a ginormous 16 courses. They are as follows:
Appetizers
1. petit fours "red pepper - black olive"
2. garden beignets, vinegar powder
3. horchata and lightly toasted parsnips
4. oyster with sea urchin, nori croustillant
5. arpege farm egg
Entrees
1. Japanese sea bream sashimi with olive oil and chives
2. butternut squash veloute, naturtium ice cream
3. "into the vegetable garden"
4. autumn tidal pool
5. roasted black rod, clam vinaigrette and a brown butter emulsion
6. roast squab with chestnuts, artichoke
7. beef bavette in its own fat, parsley roots and yellow foot mushrooms
Desserts
1. red beet cloud cake with mandarin sorbet, coconut granite
2. meyer lemon vacherin with almond biscuit, dried apricot
3. moscavado sugar custard, salted butter ice cream, banana
4. petit fours "strawberry - chocolate"
Look at that crazy ass menu - there are so many vocabs... The meal lasted over 3 hours, and it opened and ended with the petit fours. They are gummy candy-esque tasties which whet the appetite and also refreshens the pallette.
This note is long enough, so I will just mention one of each category that is most memorable.
For the appetizers, the oyster with sea urchin was a very unexpected dish. The sea urchin sat as a orange paste atop the raw oyster which sat on a bed of sea salt. It reminded us of roe on sushi, but it tasted more moist and compact. The oyster was a very cold and jelly sensation, in perfect contrast with the texture of the sea urchin but at the same time in seafoody harmony.
For the entree, the "into the vegetable garden" was the most unique. As a matter of fact, this is almost like the star dish at the restaurant at the time. I do not remember the ingredients that well, but the plating essentially brought out the essence of the Manresa garden (also in Los Gatos), which is where the restaurant grows and harvests its own fresh ingredients for every meal. The plate included leaves, flowers, fruits, vegetables, and dirt. Of course the dirt is not literal; it is based on roasted chicory root and dried potatoes. It presents a very interesting semi-dry and particular texture, that makes you think wow this is some good tasting... dirt. Sounds weird to say, but the recreation of dirt is unexpected and difficult. However, the point is driven home - every component of the dish was from the garden and portrays an aspect of the garden.
Now to be fair to the rest of entrees, every single one was very special in both presentation as well as serving style. For example, the butternut squash veloute with nasturtium ice cream involved the ice cream being brought out first and then the butternut squash soup was pour gently on and then around the ice cream to semi-melt it to create a very nice soup with great temporal and textural contrast. The rest were just great on the taste buds and pleasing to the eyes. Moving on!
Finally for the dessert, we enjoyed the vacherin (a type of cow's milk cheese). Its presentation was quite special as it was kind of busy. The color contrast between the dried apricots, the cheese, the lemon slices, and the almond biscuit was pretty wild and interesting, not to mention the shapes that these things came in. Anyway - definitely worth looking forward to!
The service was fantastic overall - very attentive staff that really knows how to take care of you. For example, we had a questiona bout how the top of the egg shell for the arpege farm egg dish was so nicely take off, our host actually went back to the kitchen and brought out the tool and explained it in detail. It was apparently a custom-made tool inspired from some random trip the chef went on. Anyway, I thought that was pretty cool.
At the end of the night, we asked for a copy of the menu for keepsake, the host returned with two envelopes containing the tasting menu, personally signed by the chef, the great David Kinch, himself. Awesome! :D
In summary, go with an open heart and lots of money, and don't treat this place like a restaurant but rather an adventure. You will have a wonderful time!
If you want some visuals, visit this blog entry (http://tangbro1.blogspot.com/2008/11/manresa-11222008.html) - this guy had a similar experience there!
http://www.yelp.com/biz/manresa-restaurant-los-gatos
http://www.manresarestaurant.com/
Fat Kid Adventure #117: Cafe San Jose (San Jose)
Rar and I went out to this little dive (sorta) at Meridian and Hamilton at the edge of San Jose. Result = awesome start to a Saturday morning. This is a very unassuming place with low-profile decor and an open kitchen. The setup is a diner, and the waitresses definitely sport the 50s diner friendliness. We went for a late brunch at 2pm (they close @3p), so the tiny joint was a bit opened up.
We ordered 1 strawberry milkshake to share, a California Omelette for me, and a Cinnamon Roll French Toast for her. All three were fantastic - both in terms of portions and the quality.
Strawberry milkshake - genuinely blended with ice cream not some crazy crap with food coloring. It was nice and thick, you can really taste the ice cream in there with the strawberry shreds. Very simple and very delish. Also, we were sharing one order and it came in two full glasses topped off with whipped cream. That is a LOT of milkshake for one order.
California Omelette with hash brown and buttered raisin toast - hash brown took up half the plate and the other half was the omelette, and the toast came separately. The hash browns I'll skip - nothing special, tasted well with pepper and ketchup. The omelette was stacked 4 inches high, fluffy with 4 eggs and perhaps a lotta milk, and filled with turkey, tomato, avocado and jack cheese. Solid yet soft, every forkful was accompanied by some Tabasco and ketchup for a nice kick. The buttered raisin toast was just a single slice cut into fours, and I jammed every one of them. Since this dish was so big, I ate in "rounds" - every round was a bite of toast with jam, a little bit of hash brown, a sip of the shake, and a forkful of omelette. Simply tasty goodness.
Rar had the Cinnamon Roll French Toast, which turned out to be 4 cinnamon buns served french toast style and lightly sprinkled with powdered sugar. Damn that dish was sweet - the syrup was NOT necessary. Since it was a cinnamon roll was french toasted, it was more dense than fluffy, brown sugar glaze at the bottom. The apple compote that came with the dish had a very creamy taste and homemade feel to it. Feels like the inside of a very well made apple pie. The dish was certainly meant to be shared - HUGE, and a bit too sweet.
Overall the experience was fantastic - great service, great food. No view or anything but the focus is completely on the food. I would take anyone here who is a fan of American breakfast. Come to think about breakfasts, I believe I'd prefer American style out of all ethnic styles. 100% worth checking out!
http://www.yelp.com/biz/cafe-san-jose-san-jose
http://www.cafesanjose.com/
We ordered 1 strawberry milkshake to share, a California Omelette for me, and a Cinnamon Roll French Toast for her. All three were fantastic - both in terms of portions and the quality.
Strawberry milkshake - genuinely blended with ice cream not some crazy crap with food coloring. It was nice and thick, you can really taste the ice cream in there with the strawberry shreds. Very simple and very delish. Also, we were sharing one order and it came in two full glasses topped off with whipped cream. That is a LOT of milkshake for one order.
California Omelette with hash brown and buttered raisin toast - hash brown took up half the plate and the other half was the omelette, and the toast came separately. The hash browns I'll skip - nothing special, tasted well with pepper and ketchup. The omelette was stacked 4 inches high, fluffy with 4 eggs and perhaps a lotta milk, and filled with turkey, tomato, avocado and jack cheese. Solid yet soft, every forkful was accompanied by some Tabasco and ketchup for a nice kick. The buttered raisin toast was just a single slice cut into fours, and I jammed every one of them. Since this dish was so big, I ate in "rounds" - every round was a bite of toast with jam, a little bit of hash brown, a sip of the shake, and a forkful of omelette. Simply tasty goodness.
Rar had the Cinnamon Roll French Toast, which turned out to be 4 cinnamon buns served french toast style and lightly sprinkled with powdered sugar. Damn that dish was sweet - the syrup was NOT necessary. Since it was a cinnamon roll was french toasted, it was more dense than fluffy, brown sugar glaze at the bottom. The apple compote that came with the dish had a very creamy taste and homemade feel to it. Feels like the inside of a very well made apple pie. The dish was certainly meant to be shared - HUGE, and a bit too sweet.
Overall the experience was fantastic - great service, great food. No view or anything but the focus is completely on the food. I would take anyone here who is a fan of American breakfast. Come to think about breakfasts, I believe I'd prefer American style out of all ethnic styles. 100% worth checking out!
http://www.yelp.com/biz/cafe-san-jose-san-jose
http://www.cafesanjose.com/
Fat Kid Adventure #116: Thai Pepper (Campbell)
We went out for lunch to celebrate Phong's birthday at this Thai joint in Campbell near the Pruneyard recommended by Neha. Modestly decorated with a nice waiting area proudly displaying a reclining Buddha, Thai Pepper welcomed us to a full lunch crowd - ahhh yes good sign, good sign. After asking the waitress to fridge the cake we got for Phong, we sat down to chitchat and order. They have wide selections on the menu and pretty nice selection on the lunch specials!
Ordered the Pineapple Fried Rice with Chicken and shared with Michel's See Aw Noodle with Prawns. Some sour curry-ish soup on the house to whet the appetite, and the entrees came about 15-20 later. Service is good - the Thai waitresses are very polite and nice.
The salad that came with the meal did not have dressing, but apparently the Tabasco-looking bottles on the table contained the sweet and sour dressing for the salad. The Pineapple Fried Rice was great - nice moisture on the rice contributed by the sauteed pineapple cubes, and their tangy goodness is always a plus. Rice is that nice fluffy and loose. The prawn noodles were pretty good - noodles (pad thai) not too dry and grease not too strong. Number of prawns wasn't impressive, but flavor taken.
Overall good quantity and decent quantity. Good for lunch!
Happy Birthday, Phong!
http://www.yelp.com/biz/thai-pepper-cuisine-campbell
http://www.thaipeppercuisine.net/Home.html
Ordered the Pineapple Fried Rice with Chicken and shared with Michel's See Aw Noodle with Prawns. Some sour curry-ish soup on the house to whet the appetite, and the entrees came about 15-20 later. Service is good - the Thai waitresses are very polite and nice.
The salad that came with the meal did not have dressing, but apparently the Tabasco-looking bottles on the table contained the sweet and sour dressing for the salad. The Pineapple Fried Rice was great - nice moisture on the rice contributed by the sauteed pineapple cubes, and their tangy goodness is always a plus. Rice is that nice fluffy and loose. The prawn noodles were pretty good - noodles (pad thai) not too dry and grease not too strong. Number of prawns wasn't impressive, but flavor taken.
Overall good quantity and decent quantity. Good for lunch!
Happy Birthday, Phong!
http://www.yelp.com/biz/thai-pepper-cuisine-campbell
http://www.thaipeppercuisine.net/Home.html
Fat Kid Adventure #115: Southland Flavor Café (Cupertino)
Tucked away in the Cupertino Village (which means awesome for pre- or post-Ranch 99 meals), this authentic Taiwanese cuisine "xiao chi," or snacky appetizer, house is small and definitely flavorful. We definitely got the hole-in-wall feel, and the service is actually surprisingly friendly for a Chinese/Taiwanese joint like this. I'm Chinese, and I should know.
Cultural note: Southland refers to Tainan (as you will see in the resto's URL), which is a big city on the southern tip of the Formosa Island, aka Taiwan. So this little joint should be a pretty authentic cuisine of a pretty specific neighborhood.
Small as it is, the menu is friggin' huge. Interestingly, there is an appetizer section, and then a "snack" section. The "snack" section is actually kind of like appetizers, but I think the difference here is that the appetizer section is actually pre-made since most of them are pickled dishes. The "snack" section is probably the cooked appetizer-size sections. Speaking of size, most dishes are generous in portions. At least for two people.
We ordered green onion jelly fish for the appetizer, and it came in a clear plastic bowl that looked like a take-out box - looks very pre-made. Delicious nevertheless! The jelly fish is crispy and tangy - great for whetting the appetite.
For entrees we had a nice plate of sauteed pea sprouts - a very simple, healthy and traditional dish, and a plate of mixed seafood and egg fried rice - mussels, clams, scallops, shrimps. The meal was very balanced and tasted great. The pea sprouts were fresh and crisp - every bite was juicy! The fried rice was excellent - y'all know how good fried rice taste like so I'm not gonna go adjective happy with this.
There are some very special dishes at this joint that I will definitely try once Lent is over - a lot of delicacies involving interesting parts of beef and pork = oOoOoOoOoOoOoooo :D
http://www.tainancafe.com/aboutus.html
http://www.yelp.com/biz/southland-flavor-cafe-cupertino
Cultural note: Southland refers to Tainan (as you will see in the resto's URL), which is a big city on the southern tip of the Formosa Island, aka Taiwan. So this little joint should be a pretty authentic cuisine of a pretty specific neighborhood.
Small as it is, the menu is friggin' huge. Interestingly, there is an appetizer section, and then a "snack" section. The "snack" section is actually kind of like appetizers, but I think the difference here is that the appetizer section is actually pre-made since most of them are pickled dishes. The "snack" section is probably the cooked appetizer-size sections. Speaking of size, most dishes are generous in portions. At least for two people.
We ordered green onion jelly fish for the appetizer, and it came in a clear plastic bowl that looked like a take-out box - looks very pre-made. Delicious nevertheless! The jelly fish is crispy and tangy - great for whetting the appetite.
For entrees we had a nice plate of sauteed pea sprouts - a very simple, healthy and traditional dish, and a plate of mixed seafood and egg fried rice - mussels, clams, scallops, shrimps. The meal was very balanced and tasted great. The pea sprouts were fresh and crisp - every bite was juicy! The fried rice was excellent - y'all know how good fried rice taste like so I'm not gonna go adjective happy with this.
There are some very special dishes at this joint that I will definitely try once Lent is over - a lot of delicacies involving interesting parts of beef and pork = oOoOoOoOoOoOoooo :D
http://www.tainancafe.com/aboutus.html
http://www.yelp.com/biz/southland-flavor-cafe-cupertino
Fat Kid Adventure #114: Ramen Halu (San Jose/Cupertino)
Another hole in the wall on the edge of San Jose, Ramen Halu is nested in a strip that also features an empty Taiwanese wonton joint, a barbershop that serves up Playboy mags, an Indian grocer, and a place that has its sign completely backwards. On Saratoga, immediately north of Kiely.
ANYWAY, this is our second time here. Not a bad place, but unfortunately it is cash only. Small joint, got private parties on the left side, and open ones on the right. Regular wooden tables. 2 young Japanese guys serving. Good enough for me.
Halu features 4 types of ramen - thick: Halu and Tsuke, and thin: Shio and Syo-yu. What's cool is that on the menu they really try to capture the essence of each of the four dishes. On the website, there's even more detail on the 2-part soup which is unique to Halu. I didn't know this but the heart of ramen is the soup, but I had always thought it was the noodles (since ramen in Chinese loosely translates to long noodles). The soup is apparently one part pork - extracting from pork backbones and thighbones and boiled with dried veggies for about 10 hours; and one part chicken - boiling 2 whole chickens, chicken stock, chicken feet (momiji), thighbones, dried and fresh veggie for about 8 hours. Both portions are supposed to retard aging of the skin, maintain skin tone and luster, as well as to flush cholesterol out of the body. So really this is quite a healthy choice!
Now the food.
First, agedashi eggplant to whet the appetite. Agedashi is magic. So far, it has made everything taste great for me. Last time at Ringer Hut the tofu, and this time at Halu the eggplant. So The appetizer came out like this: agedashi sauce/soup on the bottom, 4 chunks of petalled, chilled eggplant sits within, and on top fish flakes. Fish flakes are thin, thin flakes of fish (but you won't recognize that it's fish until you dip and soften a chunk of it in the agedashi - THEN you taste the fish). Anyway the taste was great - it was a juicy, semi-greasy, hint of a hit (from eggplant), tempera soy sauce-ish, and overall very soft and refreshing.
We both tried the Halu last time, but this time I tried the Shio. The Halu is a bit on the salty end, but decent size with decent contents and both the garlicky soup and the noodles are thick. The shio ramen was new to me - both noodles and soup are a bit thinner. So each bowl has these basic ingredients: seaweed paper, scallions, menma, kikurage (Chinese black fungus - if you don't know what it is, it looks nothing like the fungus you're thinking of), spinach, and chashu pork.
Pretty good ramen in general, though we'd both prefer a chill on the saltiness. The portion is not as big as other places, but costs only $5.50, so not that bad. Definitely great for lunch as it is super quick and pretty healthy it appears. I wrote a lot up there, but this really only took about 30 minutes TOPS.
http://ramenhalu.com/halu_main_english.html
http://www.yelp.com/biz/ramen-halu-san-jose
ANYWAY, this is our second time here. Not a bad place, but unfortunately it is cash only. Small joint, got private parties on the left side, and open ones on the right. Regular wooden tables. 2 young Japanese guys serving. Good enough for me.
Halu features 4 types of ramen - thick: Halu and Tsuke, and thin: Shio and Syo-yu. What's cool is that on the menu they really try to capture the essence of each of the four dishes. On the website, there's even more detail on the 2-part soup which is unique to Halu. I didn't know this but the heart of ramen is the soup, but I had always thought it was the noodles (since ramen in Chinese loosely translates to long noodles). The soup is apparently one part pork - extracting from pork backbones and thighbones and boiled with dried veggies for about 10 hours; and one part chicken - boiling 2 whole chickens, chicken stock, chicken feet (momiji), thighbones, dried and fresh veggie for about 8 hours. Both portions are supposed to retard aging of the skin, maintain skin tone and luster, as well as to flush cholesterol out of the body. So really this is quite a healthy choice!
Now the food.
First, agedashi eggplant to whet the appetite. Agedashi is magic. So far, it has made everything taste great for me. Last time at Ringer Hut the tofu, and this time at Halu the eggplant. So The appetizer came out like this: agedashi sauce/soup on the bottom, 4 chunks of petalled, chilled eggplant sits within, and on top fish flakes. Fish flakes are thin, thin flakes of fish (but you won't recognize that it's fish until you dip and soften a chunk of it in the agedashi - THEN you taste the fish). Anyway the taste was great - it was a juicy, semi-greasy, hint of a hit (from eggplant), tempera soy sauce-ish, and overall very soft and refreshing.
We both tried the Halu last time, but this time I tried the Shio. The Halu is a bit on the salty end, but decent size with decent contents and both the garlicky soup and the noodles are thick. The shio ramen was new to me - both noodles and soup are a bit thinner. So each bowl has these basic ingredients: seaweed paper, scallions, menma, kikurage (Chinese black fungus - if you don't know what it is, it looks nothing like the fungus you're thinking of), spinach, and chashu pork.
Pretty good ramen in general, though we'd both prefer a chill on the saltiness. The portion is not as big as other places, but costs only $5.50, so not that bad. Definitely great for lunch as it is super quick and pretty healthy it appears. I wrote a lot up there, but this really only took about 30 minutes TOPS.
http://ramenhalu.com/halu_main_english.html
http://www.yelp.com/biz/ramen-halu-san-jose
Fat Kid Adventure #113: Pinkberry (San Jose - Santana Row)
No doubt this joint is popular with people, and it just made its NorCal debut at Santana Row in San Jose. Lines out the door, but then again the whole venue is TINY and people stand around to eat when its too cold outside.
A bit of -berry ending froyo shop history. So there is Pinkberry and Yogurberry. Not sure whether anyone has heard of Yogurberry, but it began around 2000 and has since spread to USA, Korea, China (mainland and Macau), Malaysia, Brazil, UAE, The Philippines, Vietnam, and Sudan. (Sudan, really?!) In contrast, Pinkberry, which probably has a great marketing team since Pinkberry sounds so much better than Yogurberry, started in SoCal in 2005 in West Hollywood and then spread to New York and now established presence in Bay Area.
Pinkberry features only 3 flavors of froyo, which is very different from its competitors, who typically sport anywhere from 8 to 16 different flavors. Original, Pomegranite, and Green Tea make up the "refreshingly simple" menu, and of course you can mix two for swirls. For those of you still wondering why this whole FroYo thing is so big - well ONE it's fat-free (marketing for healthiness), and TWO it's simply pretty damn tasty (marketing for the palette).
My favorite is the Green Tea flavor, and I add mochi (for sure and always) and either choco chips or strawberry. Blackberries are pretty great too - they're definitely a lot more to chew than just strawberry slices.
Definitely enjoy, and definitely worth trying if you haven't hopped on the bandwagon yet.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/pinkberry-san-jose
http://www.pinkberry.com/
A bit of -berry ending froyo shop history. So there is Pinkberry and Yogurberry. Not sure whether anyone has heard of Yogurberry, but it began around 2000 and has since spread to USA, Korea, China (mainland and Macau), Malaysia, Brazil, UAE, The Philippines, Vietnam, and Sudan. (Sudan, really?!) In contrast, Pinkberry, which probably has a great marketing team since Pinkberry sounds so much better than Yogurberry, started in SoCal in 2005 in West Hollywood and then spread to New York and now established presence in Bay Area.
Pinkberry features only 3 flavors of froyo, which is very different from its competitors, who typically sport anywhere from 8 to 16 different flavors. Original, Pomegranite, and Green Tea make up the "refreshingly simple" menu, and of course you can mix two for swirls. For those of you still wondering why this whole FroYo thing is so big - well ONE it's fat-free (marketing for healthiness), and TWO it's simply pretty damn tasty (marketing for the palette).
My favorite is the Green Tea flavor, and I add mochi (for sure and always) and either choco chips or strawberry. Blackberries are pretty great too - they're definitely a lot more to chew than just strawberry slices.
Definitely enjoy, and definitely worth trying if you haven't hopped on the bandwagon yet.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/pinkberry-san-jose
http://www.pinkberry.com/
Fat Kid Adventure #112: Straits Cafe (San Jose - Santana Row)
This semi-trendy franchise is sprinkled around the country. Trivia: Ludacris co-owns the Atlanta joint. There's one in Palo Alto that I used to go to - pretty good. This one sits in Santana Row and turns into a semi-lounge around 10-11ish. We celebrated Germaine's getting into UCSF - props to the girl doing big things - aaaaaaay. Christy, her cousin, was also there for the occasion. For those who haven't been, Straits sports dons a fusion coat around a pretty Singaporean/Indonesian/Malaysian cuisine.
The waiting service is a bit problematic. We had a res at 7.30pm. We got here 2 minutes late, and the host said "several reservations checked in before you, so it's going to be 15 more minutes." I don't really get how that works - what was the point of getting a reservation then? 15 minutes later, we got "oh there is still another table ahead of you, so maybe another 10-15." Okay now you're just being ridiculous. Almost lost our business, but another host suggested that outdoor seating was available and we could be seated within the next minute. Lucky them.
So we went with 3 appetizers and 2 entrees.
Appetizers: Chicken lollipops, calamari, and roti prata. The breading on the lollipops were thick and crispy, and the sweet sauce complimented the taste of the chicken. Tiny bit rough, but overall pretty tasty. I gotta say - I stay loyal to the lollipops from Sino (also in Santana Row). The calamari gets no complaints from me. I mean I'm always good with calamari - love it love it love - but this one also came sweetly fried! Cool beans. Roti prata is always a nice dish to holla at, especially that peanut sauce for the dipping - just fab.
Entrees: Butter chicken and Chow Kway Teow. Butter chicken was a buttery chicken masala - Indian dish. The butteriness made the tender chicken pieces very nice atop a bed of jasmine white rice. I love chicken and I love this particular Indian dish, so no complaints there. The Chow Kway Teow is saute'd wide and flat noodles (almost like chow fun) with shrimp and Chinese sausage. It's got a nice kick and the shrimps and sausage were skimped on (proportionately, anyway). Just wish overall the portions could be bigger. I remember the Straits in PA gave more food.
Anyway, it was a very nice meal, and the outdoor seating with the heat lamp worked out. We were just the right amount of full and ripe for a round of Pinkberry to follow :)
http://www.yelp.com/biz/straits-restaurant-san-jose
http://www.straitsrestaurants.com/
The waiting service is a bit problematic. We had a res at 7.30pm. We got here 2 minutes late, and the host said "several reservations checked in before you, so it's going to be 15 more minutes." I don't really get how that works - what was the point of getting a reservation then? 15 minutes later, we got "oh there is still another table ahead of you, so maybe another 10-15." Okay now you're just being ridiculous. Almost lost our business, but another host suggested that outdoor seating was available and we could be seated within the next minute. Lucky them.
So we went with 3 appetizers and 2 entrees.
Appetizers: Chicken lollipops, calamari, and roti prata. The breading on the lollipops were thick and crispy, and the sweet sauce complimented the taste of the chicken. Tiny bit rough, but overall pretty tasty. I gotta say - I stay loyal to the lollipops from Sino (also in Santana Row). The calamari gets no complaints from me. I mean I'm always good with calamari - love it love it love - but this one also came sweetly fried! Cool beans. Roti prata is always a nice dish to holla at, especially that peanut sauce for the dipping - just fab.
Entrees: Butter chicken and Chow Kway Teow. Butter chicken was a buttery chicken masala - Indian dish. The butteriness made the tender chicken pieces very nice atop a bed of jasmine white rice. I love chicken and I love this particular Indian dish, so no complaints there. The Chow Kway Teow is saute'd wide and flat noodles (almost like chow fun) with shrimp and Chinese sausage. It's got a nice kick and the shrimps and sausage were skimped on (proportionately, anyway). Just wish overall the portions could be bigger. I remember the Straits in PA gave more food.
Anyway, it was a very nice meal, and the outdoor seating with the heat lamp worked out. We were just the right amount of full and ripe for a round of Pinkberry to follow :)
http://www.yelp.com/biz/straits-restaurant-san-jose
http://www.straitsrestaurants.com/
Fat Kid Adventure #111: Dia de Pesca (San Jose)
So this joint kinda belongs in Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives. After passing thru a rather tagged up neighborhood with a bunch of car part shops and broken down looking... things on Bascom toward Stevens Creek, I make an illegal left turn into a small plot of land with a glorified taco truck and some outdoor stone tables and arrive at this local favorite. Dia de Pesca, translated as "gone fishing" for marketing purposes, is a celebrated fish taco joint. With a sign that's suggestive of an airport strip bar, fully featured with half-broken flashing light bulbs, and neighboring businesses gloomy to suffocating, this little fish taco heaven is an unexpected surprise.
If you're ever overshopped at Westfield, just hop on Stevens Creek and get to the other side of the 880 and get some of this Mexican "si food" goodness.
We had the breaded halibut taco, tilapia taco, and red snapper enchiladas. The tacos were $3.50 each and the snapper dish was about $12. For the price, the breaded halibut is definitely worth the try. The crispy goodness with some habanero sauce (not actually THAT hot). It's filled with usual cabbage-tomato-onion mix, and dressed with tomatillo sauce and this other orange sauce, and BAM the fish pieces (generous) - topped off with a little piece of lime. Perfect. The soft shell is about 5-6 inches in diameter, and every mouthful is satisfying. Plus the fish is really fresh. The enchilada was covered in the tomatillo sauce and sauce with salad and rice. We both agreed that we should have gotten something more unique when we sauce someone on the other table with this giant glass of this salsa-looking soup. Anyway it looked us ordering enchiladas look like n00bs.
So this place obviously has more than just enchiladas and tacos, also have burritos, soups, special coctail dishes, and a bunch of variety dishes. Pretty affordable stuff. The seafood selection: tilapia, salmon, snapper, halibut, tuna, shark, shrimps, prawns, crabs, octopus, and scallops. The regular poultry and meat options also hold. Give it a shot! Yelp has plenty of pictures of the aforementioned goodness.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/dia-de-pesca-san-jose
http://www.pescasifood.com/ - looks like crap but A for effort since the menu is there so functionality is served.
If you're ever overshopped at Westfield, just hop on Stevens Creek and get to the other side of the 880 and get some of this Mexican "si food" goodness.
We had the breaded halibut taco, tilapia taco, and red snapper enchiladas. The tacos were $3.50 each and the snapper dish was about $12. For the price, the breaded halibut is definitely worth the try. The crispy goodness with some habanero sauce (not actually THAT hot). It's filled with usual cabbage-tomato-onion mix, and dressed with tomatillo sauce and this other orange sauce, and BAM the fish pieces (generous) - topped off with a little piece of lime. Perfect. The soft shell is about 5-6 inches in diameter, and every mouthful is satisfying. Plus the fish is really fresh. The enchilada was covered in the tomatillo sauce and sauce with salad and rice. We both agreed that we should have gotten something more unique when we sauce someone on the other table with this giant glass of this salsa-looking soup. Anyway it looked us ordering enchiladas look like n00bs.
So this place obviously has more than just enchiladas and tacos, also have burritos, soups, special coctail dishes, and a bunch of variety dishes. Pretty affordable stuff. The seafood selection: tilapia, salmon, snapper, halibut, tuna, shark, shrimps, prawns, crabs, octopus, and scallops. The regular poultry and meat options also hold. Give it a shot! Yelp has plenty of pictures of the aforementioned goodness.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/dia-de-pesca-san-jose
http://www.pescasifood.com/ - looks like crap but A for effort since the menu is there so functionality is served.
Fat Kid Adventure #110: Fantasia (Cupertino)
***UPDATE***
Went for Guava Green Tea Milk w/ Pearls. Definitely a bit of a thicker drink. A but not A+.
-------------
So after all o' dim summy goodness, we went over to Ranch 99 to do a tiny bit of shopping, and of course we were enticed by the boba shops. Tony was drinking one before we went to Pan Tao, so we decided to get one too since we have never been to the Fantasia in Cupertino Village.
ANYWAY, it's just like any other boba shop these days offering at least a dozen different flavors of pearl tea milk. WiFi offered so people be surfin' on there and enjoying themselves while sippin on some bobizzurp.
This note is really just a real, quick shout-out slash props to Fantasia for putting REAL lychee in our Lychee Green Milk Tea. Try it out, y'all. Worth the $3.20.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/fantasia-coffee-and-tea-cupertino
Another Fantasia is in Santana Row at the edge of San Jose.
Went for Guava Green Tea Milk w/ Pearls. Definitely a bit of a thicker drink. A but not A+.
-------------
So after all o' dim summy goodness, we went over to Ranch 99 to do a tiny bit of shopping, and of course we were enticed by the boba shops. Tony was drinking one before we went to Pan Tao, so we decided to get one too since we have never been to the Fantasia in Cupertino Village.
ANYWAY, it's just like any other boba shop these days offering at least a dozen different flavors of pearl tea milk. WiFi offered so people be surfin' on there and enjoying themselves while sippin on some bobizzurp.
This note is really just a real, quick shout-out slash props to Fantasia for putting REAL lychee in our Lychee Green Milk Tea. Try it out, y'all. Worth the $3.20.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/fantasia-coffee-and-tea-cupertino
Another Fantasia is in Santana Row at the edge of San Jose.
Fat Kid Adventure #109: Pan Tao Restaurant (Cupertino)
One of 3 dim sum joints in Cupertino that I have visited, Pan Tao serves up dim sum and seafood to a medium-sized crowd. Today the focus was on Elise Tran whose birthday was yesterday, so Rar and I treated Elise and Tony out to a dim summy (or as I would sometimes say dim-a-lot) Sunday morning. Since we were on no red meat diet for Lent, we mostly chomped down on seafood goodness. The dim sum was pretty good, but Koi Palace in Daly City still takes the cake.
We had shrimp dumplings, shrimp-scallop dumplings, shrimp/chives dumplings, chashu buns, shrimp fen-si, Chinese broccoli, giant crab croquettes, fried banana shrimp rolls, and some egg custards. Yeah so now having written all of that I realized that "seafood goodness" was really just shrimps. Everything tasted pretty good, my favorite was the giant crab croquettes - well breaded and generously fried on the outside and dungeoness crab goodness on the ins, but of course I can't turn down any dumplings with shrimp neither. But when Lent is over, I will go back and open up to the meat selections - I am always interested to see what weird snacks dim sum places have from different animals! So far the best are a bowl of pig blood cubes and a soup made of innards (think tripe, intestines, etc.). But for Pan Tao, I think the selection is quite large, especially on the weekends.
The service is as expected - the Chinese waitresses will yell and promote the dishes and it doesn't really matter if you understand their dialect. We actually asked one of the waitresses what this one item is, and she replied almost really defensively - "how the hell am I supposed to know, I ain't never had this!" Pretty hilarious. Anyway, that's like standard dim sum service, so whatever.
After our main dim sum session was over, we chatted and chatted and drank three to four pots of tea. It was very relaxing and done the way dim sum was to meant to be done. Ended up staying there for about 2 hours. Great start to my Sunday!
Happy [belated] Birthday to E-Tran!
http://www.yelp.com/biz/pan-tao-restaurant-sunnyvale
Culture Note on Dim Sum: Dim sum directly translates to "lightly touch the heart" and meaningfully translates to "snacks" (cuz they tickle the heart like hehehuhu) in Mandarin, and the activity of going to get dim sum is actually called "yang cha" in Mandarin, which directly translates to "nurturing tea" and just really means "drinking tea." So the point of dim sum is really to drink tea and have a buncha little goodies to accompany the tea to make it a more fun and relaxing experience. This is why all the plates are tapa style, with not many servings provided since everything is supposed to be snack-size.
We had shrimp dumplings, shrimp-scallop dumplings, shrimp/chives dumplings, chashu buns, shrimp fen-si, Chinese broccoli, giant crab croquettes, fried banana shrimp rolls, and some egg custards. Yeah so now having written all of that I realized that "seafood goodness" was really just shrimps. Everything tasted pretty good, my favorite was the giant crab croquettes - well breaded and generously fried on the outside and dungeoness crab goodness on the ins, but of course I can't turn down any dumplings with shrimp neither. But when Lent is over, I will go back and open up to the meat selections - I am always interested to see what weird snacks dim sum places have from different animals! So far the best are a bowl of pig blood cubes and a soup made of innards (think tripe, intestines, etc.). But for Pan Tao, I think the selection is quite large, especially on the weekends.
The service is as expected - the Chinese waitresses will yell and promote the dishes and it doesn't really matter if you understand their dialect. We actually asked one of the waitresses what this one item is, and she replied almost really defensively - "how the hell am I supposed to know, I ain't never had this!" Pretty hilarious. Anyway, that's like standard dim sum service, so whatever.
After our main dim sum session was over, we chatted and chatted and drank three to four pots of tea. It was very relaxing and done the way dim sum was to meant to be done. Ended up staying there for about 2 hours. Great start to my Sunday!
Happy [belated] Birthday to E-Tran!
http://www.yelp.com/biz/pan-tao-restaurant-sunnyvale
Culture Note on Dim Sum: Dim sum directly translates to "lightly touch the heart" and meaningfully translates to "snacks" (cuz they tickle the heart like hehehuhu) in Mandarin, and the activity of going to get dim sum is actually called "yang cha" in Mandarin, which directly translates to "nurturing tea" and just really means "drinking tea." So the point of dim sum is really to drink tea and have a buncha little goodies to accompany the tea to make it a more fun and relaxing experience. This is why all the plates are tapa style, with not many servings provided since everything is supposed to be snack-size.
Fat Kid Adventure #108: Ringer Hut (San Jose/Campbell)
Initially we wanted to hit up new rebuilt Sumiya Yakitori, but I called and found out they're all full until 9pm. The foodiebooties can't wait! So we decided for quick ramen but at a new place. We've actually seen Ringer Hut quite a few times on our way to Zeni (mmm!), but, because the resto logo reminded me of the Pizza Hut logo, I had completely disregarded the "Japanese Restaurant" subtext underneath the logo. Located on Saratoga just south of Williams at the edge of San Jose (close to Cupertino), it's in a semi-boring neighborhood that's kind of close to Westgate.
Since we've never been to this place, and it looked not so much like the regular hole-in-wall ramen joints, we had to look around the joint for some "verficasian." It's the same thing people do at any ethnic restaurants when they wanna know if it is authentic - if the natives are there, then bingo! I say Ringer Hut is different from a hole-in-wall because 1) it's a diner setup (maybe they bought the previous diner out - who knows), 2) it's a standalone Denny-like property, not a crazy little hole-in-wall all crunched up in a strip mall, and 3) because the name contained no recognizable foreign terms nor the word "ramen".
Ringer Hut, whose website is apparently in Japanese with that .jp URL ending, features ramen from Nagasaki, and I get the "Hut" part but why "Ringer?" They call it "champon" ramen, but half the time they misspell it as "Champion" - really makes me wonder which one is the misspelling. Anyway, the Champon ramen is a spaghetti noodle thickness, relatively chewy, in some semi-velvety beef-based broth, a lot of stuff thrown in there to accompany the noodles themselves - cabbage, shrimp, bean sprouts, and what seems like a bunch of other stuff that I can't really remember. We both ordered a combo of small Champon ramen (we asked for mildly spicy and it came completely non-spicy) and chicken donburi, and we also had agedashi tofu as appetizer.
Agedashi tofu is badass. It's a giant couple pieces of fried tofu that is then soaked in some soy sauce-dominant sauce and then brought to the customer immediately. The tofu is fried only on the outside, so the inside is still smooth. So you cut off a portion, dip it in the sauce, and consumption! It's great.
The chicken donburi on the side was almost as much as the main entree. Chicken was good, and rice was decently drenched in whatever the chicken was cooked with. There's something about holding a little bowl of rice that's covered with teryaki chicken with my left hand and shoving the rice into my mouth with recyclable chopsticks with my right hand that I really enjoy. I found myself eating faster and faster.
In summary - portion is great, quality is decent - like 3 oout of 5, and service is excellent. Worth a try if you're hungry and in the area.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/ringer-hut-san-jose
http://www.ringerhut.co.jp/ - real talk mayne, Nihongo to the bone.
Since we've never been to this place, and it looked not so much like the regular hole-in-wall ramen joints, we had to look around the joint for some "verficasian." It's the same thing people do at any ethnic restaurants when they wanna know if it is authentic - if the natives are there, then bingo! I say Ringer Hut is different from a hole-in-wall because 1) it's a diner setup (maybe they bought the previous diner out - who knows), 2) it's a standalone Denny-like property, not a crazy little hole-in-wall all crunched up in a strip mall, and 3) because the name contained no recognizable foreign terms nor the word "ramen".
Ringer Hut, whose website is apparently in Japanese with that .jp URL ending, features ramen from Nagasaki, and I get the "Hut" part but why "Ringer?" They call it "champon" ramen, but half the time they misspell it as "Champion" - really makes me wonder which one is the misspelling. Anyway, the Champon ramen is a spaghetti noodle thickness, relatively chewy, in some semi-velvety beef-based broth, a lot of stuff thrown in there to accompany the noodles themselves - cabbage, shrimp, bean sprouts, and what seems like a bunch of other stuff that I can't really remember. We both ordered a combo of small Champon ramen (we asked for mildly spicy and it came completely non-spicy) and chicken donburi, and we also had agedashi tofu as appetizer.
Agedashi tofu is badass. It's a giant couple pieces of fried tofu that is then soaked in some soy sauce-dominant sauce and then brought to the customer immediately. The tofu is fried only on the outside, so the inside is still smooth. So you cut off a portion, dip it in the sauce, and consumption! It's great.
The chicken donburi on the side was almost as much as the main entree. Chicken was good, and rice was decently drenched in whatever the chicken was cooked with. There's something about holding a little bowl of rice that's covered with teryaki chicken with my left hand and shoving the rice into my mouth with recyclable chopsticks with my right hand that I really enjoy. I found myself eating faster and faster.
In summary - portion is great, quality is decent - like 3 oout of 5, and service is excellent. Worth a try if you're hungry and in the area.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/ringer-hut-san-jose
http://www.ringerhut.co.jp/ - real talk mayne, Nihongo to the bone.
Fat Kid Adventure #107: CocoaBella Chocolates (SF - Westfield SF)
Yesterday, we went to SF Westfield for some light shopping, and our wondering foodie eyes locked in on a chocolatier like an F18 on an enemy aircraft. CocoaBella Chocolates - nice ring to the name, but unfortunately it does not make chocolates and serves simply as a distributor. We tried 3 pieces of chocolates: Jeanette, Yuzu, and Lychee (yall know how I get down wit'em fruit flavors! Do not read too much into that...).
Jeanette comes from Knipschildt Chocolatier in the United States, and it is a white chocolate with minty mint chip ice cream inside - so dark on the outside and minty green on the inside. The inside is very soft and creamy, and it looks pretty cool when split in half and pulled apart slowly. Not ice cream cold at all, the mintiness is noticeable but overshadowed by the sweeter outside. Not completely effective in contrasting flavors, it is simply a sweet little chocolate.
Yuzu comes from Oriol Balaguer in Spain, and it is a white chocolate infused with Yuzu fruit. Yuzu is apparently an Eastern Asian citrus fruit that's the lovechild of a mandarin and a lemon. Like the Jeanette, the yuzu fruit flavor was barely noticeable because white chocolate is really sweet in itself. Otherwise, it was great to look at, it bearing a gradient of white-orange-white in the shape of half an olive with three curvy lines surfacing the top face.
Our favorite, Lychee, comes from Thomas Haas in Canada, and it is a dark chocolate ganache with a lychee pate de fruit on top. This square little piece carries a cocoa darkness, but the top face sports a square, thin layer of white, hardened lychee[-flavored] paste. The flavor was excellent. As half the chocolate is bitten and rested on your tongue, both the lychee and the dark chocolate begins to melt. In this case, however, the lychee pate melts first as it is thinner and more starchy/sugary, while the dark chocolate melts just a bit slower. This allows the lychee pate to liquefy and stimulate the taste buds first. It is thin but a pretty flavory dosage! And THEN - BAM! - the dark chocolate hits and takes you to the other side and snatch some o' that bitterness. Both flavors are experienced and nothing is overpowered! Fun little one, no?
Well, these are just 3 of about 150 different pieces on display. Lychee is definitely recommended, but as with all these little chocolates - taste slow, taste carefully, and taste with happiness!
http://www.yelp.com/biz/cocoabella-chocolates-san-francisco
http://www.cocoabella.com/
Jeanette comes from Knipschildt Chocolatier in the United States, and it is a white chocolate with minty mint chip ice cream inside - so dark on the outside and minty green on the inside. The inside is very soft and creamy, and it looks pretty cool when split in half and pulled apart slowly. Not ice cream cold at all, the mintiness is noticeable but overshadowed by the sweeter outside. Not completely effective in contrasting flavors, it is simply a sweet little chocolate.
Yuzu comes from Oriol Balaguer in Spain, and it is a white chocolate infused with Yuzu fruit. Yuzu is apparently an Eastern Asian citrus fruit that's the lovechild of a mandarin and a lemon. Like the Jeanette, the yuzu fruit flavor was barely noticeable because white chocolate is really sweet in itself. Otherwise, it was great to look at, it bearing a gradient of white-orange-white in the shape of half an olive with three curvy lines surfacing the top face.
Our favorite, Lychee, comes from Thomas Haas in Canada, and it is a dark chocolate ganache with a lychee pate de fruit on top. This square little piece carries a cocoa darkness, but the top face sports a square, thin layer of white, hardened lychee[-flavored] paste. The flavor was excellent. As half the chocolate is bitten and rested on your tongue, both the lychee and the dark chocolate begins to melt. In this case, however, the lychee pate melts first as it is thinner and more starchy/sugary, while the dark chocolate melts just a bit slower. This allows the lychee pate to liquefy and stimulate the taste buds first. It is thin but a pretty flavory dosage! And THEN - BAM! - the dark chocolate hits and takes you to the other side and snatch some o' that bitterness. Both flavors are experienced and nothing is overpowered! Fun little one, no?
Well, these are just 3 of about 150 different pieces on display. Lychee is definitely recommended, but as with all these little chocolates - taste slow, taste carefully, and taste with happiness!
http://www.yelp.com/biz/cocoabella-chocolates-san-francisco
http://www.cocoabella.com/
Fat Kid Adventure #106: Fresca (SF - West Portal)
In the SF jazz district on Fillmore is this little nouveau Peruvian joint called Fresca. There are actually 3 different locations in SF, but apparently each has its own culinary agenda via menu. Rar and I gathered with Georgia and an old friend of both from Guam for a late brunch (@2pm). The joint is cozy-small and the overall decor is classy traditional.
So yall know how I'm a sucka for calamari so we had that to start. The breading was wonderful and really gave the little things a nice crunch. The tartar sauce that was served was bland though, but whatever the cocktail sauce is always a-okay with me. For entree, I ordered a dungeness crab omelette (forgot the actual name). The crab meat itself was VERY fresh - I smelled the freshness right when the plate was brought before me. However, the overload on cheddar cheese was like getting shot with a bullet made of the Itis. Before you know it, I felt like I was high and my eyes drooped down. But you know what, a foodie is a foodie all the way to the end so I sucked it up and Soulja-Boy-told em crab meats that I was the boss, that I was the man, and that I was gone finish 'em ALL off. Done deal.
So not really. I ended up having to get half of my omelette to-go. But whatever - everyone else had to take half their meal to go. In general, everyone enjoyed the meal, but it was just a bit heavy.
In summary, it is worth checking out because of the brunch selection. Beware that this is nouveau Peruvian so it does diverge from the traditional Peruvian. Nevertheless, the ceviches are on the menu and they should be worth a try - no bad ceviche experience from yours truly here so knock yourself out. The neighborhood is also pretty happening so a walk down Fillmore should be fun as well :)
http://www.yelp.com/biz/fresca-san-francisco
http://www.frescasf.com/fillmore/index.php (menu not up to date)
So yall know how I'm a sucka for calamari so we had that to start. The breading was wonderful and really gave the little things a nice crunch. The tartar sauce that was served was bland though, but whatever the cocktail sauce is always a-okay with me. For entree, I ordered a dungeness crab omelette (forgot the actual name). The crab meat itself was VERY fresh - I smelled the freshness right when the plate was brought before me. However, the overload on cheddar cheese was like getting shot with a bullet made of the Itis. Before you know it, I felt like I was high and my eyes drooped down. But you know what, a foodie is a foodie all the way to the end so I sucked it up and Soulja-Boy-told em crab meats that I was the boss, that I was the man, and that I was gone finish 'em ALL off. Done deal.
So not really. I ended up having to get half of my omelette to-go. But whatever - everyone else had to take half their meal to go. In general, everyone enjoyed the meal, but it was just a bit heavy.
In summary, it is worth checking out because of the brunch selection. Beware that this is nouveau Peruvian so it does diverge from the traditional Peruvian. Nevertheless, the ceviches are on the menu and they should be worth a try - no bad ceviche experience from yours truly here so knock yourself out. The neighborhood is also pretty happening so a walk down Fillmore should be fun as well :)
http://www.yelp.com/biz/fresca-san-francisco
http://www.frescasf.com/fillmore/index.php (menu not up to date)
Fat Kid Adventure #105: Tartini (Cupertino)
A cute name, a chic layout, and a tasty selection of froyo puts Tartini on the map. Right here in downtown Cupertino, Tartini is located in the City Center square next to Le Boulanger. Competing against Yogurtland down the street and Pinkberry at Santa Row, Tartini stands out with a decent selection of 8 tarts - raspberry, mango, pom, lychee, strawberry, cappuccino, vanilla, chocolate, and original - and a ton of great toppings. My favorite combos are half lychee/half mango and half lychee/half original, topped with mochi and strawberry. Nice and simple. The swirling of the froyo is an art in itself, but I like half on each side and toppings down the middle OR layering toppings and froyo so you never run out of toppings. Now the froyo is not that creamy, icier than typical (tastes more grainy compared to Red Mango), not that tarty (compared to Red Mango or Fraiche, which is more soy-tarty) - feels great on my palate! The lychee flavor, though, is what does it for me. Sometimes I get lychee on lychee froyo, and it just makes me go Kodak moment like ly-cheese!
Anyway - definitely a gem in downtown Cupertino. Good neighborhood, frequently visited, typical froyo bar size, price by weight. Pay a visit! They also do froyo crepes!
http://www.yelp.com/biz/tartini-frozen-yogurt-bar-cupertino
http://www.tartinifrozenyogurt.com/
Anyway - definitely a gem in downtown Cupertino. Good neighborhood, frequently visited, typical froyo bar size, price by weight. Pay a visit! They also do froyo crepes!
http://www.yelp.com/biz/tartini-frozen-yogurt-bar-cupertino
http://www.tartinifrozenyogurt.com/
Fat Kid Adventure #104: Kahoo Ramen (San Jose/Cupertino)
In Mountain View there is Maru Ichi and Ryowa, in SF there is Genki (and a sheistload others), and in Cupertino there is Kahoo Ramen - props to Rar for finding this one on Yelp! A definite hole-in-wall, this little ramen house is nestled in an inconspicuous corner of a square strip mall located on the corner of Moorpark and Saratoga (near the entrance to I-280). (It's not really Cupertino, but close enough to Cupertino that we don't wanna call it San Jose.) The "Kahoo" part of the store name isn't even that visible from afar; it just looks like a sign with "Ramen" all big.
Coming in for dinner at 9-ish, this place still had a small line. Inside, the kitchen is open to view, and the smell of ramen permeates the air. The noodle bar seats just about 10 people, and there were just 5 or 6 tables. This is definitely ideal for a meal for two.
The ramen here is different from the ones served at Maru Ichi since they originate from different places in Japan. For appetizer, we ordered a Kimchi Salad with Boiled Chicken - cabbage, scallions, yellow/diced onions, chicken slices, bean sprouts, mayo (we didn't really mess with that). It was a nice but very spicy start. It was one of those appetizers that got you semi-sweatin - you know, when you feel like your pores are opening, but they teasin' you? Yeah that feeling. Anyway, pretty damn spicy, but so good that you forget how hard you will be hit when the hot, hot ramen comes and amplifies that explosive spicy feeling in your palate, accentuated on the lips. Like, oh maaaaaaaaaaan.
By the way, the menma, though not the main attraction, is very cool and crisp. It actually served as an alternate to the edamame (which this joint apparently did not offer) to cool us both from the crazy spiciness.
Our main orders came fast. We both got the spicy ramen with minced pork, menma (bamboo) strips, scallions, and half a boiled egg, and bean sprouts in a SPICY base. Yes, we had spicy appetizer, and then SPICY and HOT ramen. We felt courageous. The noodle was thin but kinda chewy - it felt substantial, and the portion was huge (there are no size distinctions for ramen here). Usually I don't completely empty the ramen bowl, just because there's really not that much happenin' after the meat and noodles are eaten. BUT, this one had minced pork and it was ALL OVER THE PLACE - so you know I had to down that bowl of pizzazz. Spicy, but definitely worthy. This was the kind of spicy that wasn't too overwhelming because you can still taste the distinct flavors of the pork and menma, and the spiciness was just challenging enough so that you find yourself drinking it again and again. I gotta say, pork (soft), menma (crisp), and bean sprouts (juicy) makes for a fun and fruitful mouthful.
ANYWAY - if you like ramen, you're gonna like Kahoo. Not all of their noodles are spicy, but we just chose to be soldiers. Also, they don't just serve ramen - they also have a small assortment of rice dishes. You can see their entire menu on Yelp - link below.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/kahoo-ramen-san-jose
Coming in for dinner at 9-ish, this place still had a small line. Inside, the kitchen is open to view, and the smell of ramen permeates the air. The noodle bar seats just about 10 people, and there were just 5 or 6 tables. This is definitely ideal for a meal for two.
The ramen here is different from the ones served at Maru Ichi since they originate from different places in Japan. For appetizer, we ordered a Kimchi Salad with Boiled Chicken - cabbage, scallions, yellow/diced onions, chicken slices, bean sprouts, mayo (we didn't really mess with that). It was a nice but very spicy start. It was one of those appetizers that got you semi-sweatin - you know, when you feel like your pores are opening, but they teasin' you? Yeah that feeling. Anyway, pretty damn spicy, but so good that you forget how hard you will be hit when the hot, hot ramen comes and amplifies that explosive spicy feeling in your palate, accentuated on the lips. Like, oh maaaaaaaaaaan.
By the way, the menma, though not the main attraction, is very cool and crisp. It actually served as an alternate to the edamame (which this joint apparently did not offer) to cool us both from the crazy spiciness.
Our main orders came fast. We both got the spicy ramen with minced pork, menma (bamboo) strips, scallions, and half a boiled egg, and bean sprouts in a SPICY base. Yes, we had spicy appetizer, and then SPICY and HOT ramen. We felt courageous. The noodle was thin but kinda chewy - it felt substantial, and the portion was huge (there are no size distinctions for ramen here). Usually I don't completely empty the ramen bowl, just because there's really not that much happenin' after the meat and noodles are eaten. BUT, this one had minced pork and it was ALL OVER THE PLACE - so you know I had to down that bowl of pizzazz. Spicy, but definitely worthy. This was the kind of spicy that wasn't too overwhelming because you can still taste the distinct flavors of the pork and menma, and the spiciness was just challenging enough so that you find yourself drinking it again and again. I gotta say, pork (soft), menma (crisp), and bean sprouts (juicy) makes for a fun and fruitful mouthful.
ANYWAY - if you like ramen, you're gonna like Kahoo. Not all of their noodles are spicy, but we just chose to be soldiers. Also, they don't just serve ramen - they also have a small assortment of rice dishes. You can see their entire menu on Yelp - link below.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/kahoo-ramen-san-jose
Fat Kid Adventure #103: Jamba Juice aka Hamba Hoose
(Originally posted on September 2, 2008)
Mango Peach Topper - ehhh.. not so good. Too little granola and the granola is too crunchy not enough substance - IT DON'T FEEL LIKE BREAKFAST! Also, the smoothie being freezing cold does more to cut down my taste buds than to pleasure them. JJ should stick to the smoothies and leave the breakfast stuff alone.
Mango Peach Topper - ehhh.. not so good. Too little granola and the granola is too crunchy not enough substance - IT DON'T FEEL LIKE BREAKFAST! Also, the smoothie being freezing cold does more to cut down my taste buds than to pleasure them. JJ should stick to the smoothies and leave the breakfast stuff alone.
Fat Kid Adventure #102: Starbucks
(Originally posted on September 2, 2008)
That new fruit smoothie they promoted - Mango Peach something-or-other.. yeah NO. Too thick, dominated by banana, bubbly. Jamba Juice woulda rocked this one. 1.
That new fruit smoothie they promoted - Mango Peach something-or-other.. yeah NO. Too thick, dominated by banana, bubbly. Jamba Juice woulda rocked this one. 1.
Fat Kid Adventure #101: Auntie Anne's Soft Pretzels (Santa Clara - Westfield Valley Fair)
(Originally posted on September 2, 2008)
To celebrate the 100th post, I am going to check myself befo' I wreck myself. I am going to find a scale and weigh myself. I don't feel heavier, but if I am indeed the weight of a SmartCar then maybe I will cut back on these yummy aventuras.
Onto the note: Got a Glazin' Raisin pretzel. In the picture on the menu, it looks like the pretzel comes already glazed, but it came to us as a dry raisin pretzel and a little glaze "sauce" pack on the side (kinda like those little cream cheese things that come with bagels). At first I felt betrayed by advertising, but as I stuffed my face with pretzel dipped in that sugary goodness I quickly forgot. That glaze was pretty good. Not healthy, but recommended if you're craving, dying of starvation, or being adventurous at Valley Fair.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/auntie-annes-santa-clara
To celebrate the 100th post, I am going to check myself befo' I wreck myself. I am going to find a scale and weigh myself. I don't feel heavier, but if I am indeed the weight of a SmartCar then maybe I will cut back on these yummy aventuras.
Onto the note: Got a Glazin' Raisin pretzel. In the picture on the menu, it looks like the pretzel comes already glazed, but it came to us as a dry raisin pretzel and a little glaze "sauce" pack on the side (kinda like those little cream cheese things that come with bagels). At first I felt betrayed by advertising, but as I stuffed my face with pretzel dipped in that sugary goodness I quickly forgot. That glaze was pretty good. Not healthy, but recommended if you're craving, dying of starvation, or being adventurous at Valley Fair.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/auntie-annes-santa-clara
Fat Kid Adventure #100: Korea Tofu House (Cupertino)
(Originally posted on September 2, 2008)
This is not the Tofu House in Palo Alto. This one is in Cupertino Village in the Ranch 99 plaza. We went there because we realized we had already tried A&J.
We ordered the seafood veggie dol sop bap and spicy BBQ chicken. Of course the endless sides marched on it, and it is pretty much the standard armada of goodies except this place added in 2 fried fish and a little dish of seaweed with radish in the mix - sweet!
The dol sop bap was pretty good. It's a party of shrimp, bean sprouts, clams, zuchini, seaweed, carrot shreds and bottomed out with rice.
The spicy BBQ chicken was dry and not spicy. It was good for maybe a couple bites, but nothing special after that. Not really what I expected. I wanted JUICE, I wanted CHEWY, and I wanted SPICY.
It's an okay place. Yep, just "okay."
http://www.yelp.com/biz/korea-tofu-house-cupertino
This is not the Tofu House in Palo Alto. This one is in Cupertino Village in the Ranch 99 plaza. We went there because we realized we had already tried A&J.
We ordered the seafood veggie dol sop bap and spicy BBQ chicken. Of course the endless sides marched on it, and it is pretty much the standard armada of goodies except this place added in 2 fried fish and a little dish of seaweed with radish in the mix - sweet!
The dol sop bap was pretty good. It's a party of shrimp, bean sprouts, clams, zuchini, seaweed, carrot shreds and bottomed out with rice.
The spicy BBQ chicken was dry and not spicy. It was good for maybe a couple bites, but nothing special after that. Not really what I expected. I wanted JUICE, I wanted CHEWY, and I wanted SPICY.
It's an okay place. Yep, just "okay."
http://www.yelp.com/biz/korea-tofu-house-cupertino
Fat Kid Adventure #99 [Vegas Edition]: Cook's BBQ
(Originally posted on September 2, 2008)
This little (has only 7 tables and no outdoor seating because LV is 400F) BBQ house in Las Vegas situated next to I-15 near downtown in a shady looking spot has celebrities posted all over its wall with autographs to accompany. It's pretty hole-in-wall, with public bathroom floor tiles as the wall and disregard of the store front presence. This is a good sign.
How did I find it? I got hungry and asked Rar's Garmin to direct me to the nearest BBQ, and voila. (By the way, that's how you gauge whether a GPS is good - let it lead you to your favorite category of cuisine. If the food ain't hittin' the spot, then the GPS is garbage.)
I got the lunch special - very simple: a bunch of ribs and 2 pieces of soft wheat bread with homemade BBQ sauce on the side. That sauce is something else. I don't have the technique of making BBQ sauce down, so I can't comment too much on it. But it's one of those sauces that just makes you give the middle finger to the fork and napkin and go bonkeroni with the finger-licking.
Anyway the ribs were juicy, and the wheat bread dipped in BBQ sauce was surprisingly tasty. I found myself just devouring the slices. Simple, tasty, no more than 20 minutes, and cost less than $7 including taxes. The sauce and ribs came in a disposeable take-out box, and the bread came in a zip-lock.
I don't know why but the cooks in the back were cooking in the dark - don't know what that's about.
Pretty good for a quick lunch and the meat ain't bad. Give it a shot if you're in Vegas.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/cooks-bbq-las-vegas
This little (has only 7 tables and no outdoor seating because LV is 400F) BBQ house in Las Vegas situated next to I-15 near downtown in a shady looking spot has celebrities posted all over its wall with autographs to accompany. It's pretty hole-in-wall, with public bathroom floor tiles as the wall and disregard of the store front presence. This is a good sign.
How did I find it? I got hungry and asked Rar's Garmin to direct me to the nearest BBQ, and voila. (By the way, that's how you gauge whether a GPS is good - let it lead you to your favorite category of cuisine. If the food ain't hittin' the spot, then the GPS is garbage.)
I got the lunch special - very simple: a bunch of ribs and 2 pieces of soft wheat bread with homemade BBQ sauce on the side. That sauce is something else. I don't have the technique of making BBQ sauce down, so I can't comment too much on it. But it's one of those sauces that just makes you give the middle finger to the fork and napkin and go bonkeroni with the finger-licking.
Anyway the ribs were juicy, and the wheat bread dipped in BBQ sauce was surprisingly tasty. I found myself just devouring the slices. Simple, tasty, no more than 20 minutes, and cost less than $7 including taxes. The sauce and ribs came in a disposeable take-out box, and the bread came in a zip-lock.
I don't know why but the cooks in the back were cooking in the dark - don't know what that's about.
Pretty good for a quick lunch and the meat ain't bad. Give it a shot if you're in Vegas.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/cooks-bbq-las-vegas
Fat Kid Adventure #98: Dancy Sushi (Mountain View)
(Originally posted on September 2, 2008)
I went to this place twice in four days. This joint is like the Zeni's of sushi places. A gem sacked in an unassuming and shitty looking little plaza at the corner of California and San Antonio on the western edge of Mountain View, Dancy Sushi used to be Monster Sushi used to be TGI Sushi. I have been to both of its predecessors and I must say Dancy is one hell of a newborn.
When it was TGI Sushi, the selection was small and there was too much rice, which was why the rolls were big. When it moved on to Monster Sushi, the selection grew and became a bit more creative, but the overriceage was still a problem. Today, Dancy Sushi says goodbye to all that sucked and unleashed all that is joyous for sushi lovers. Rolls are still huge, but rice dramatically lessened. Sashimi are fresh, and its cool texture tickles the taste buds. The selection is now huge and very creative, and the presentation is quite nice. Try one of the Dancy Special Rolls - you won't be disappointed. The remodeled atmosphere is icing on the cake.
On Friday night's reunion with Arvid, I had the Prospect Roll and got Rar the Spring Collection. On Monday night, Rar and I had Yummy Yummy, Wakame, and Bom. These rolls aren't just traditional ones with new names, they are unique and their tastes distinctly different.
The serving style is also unlike any other sushi restaurants I have been to. Maybe because its ownership is Korean (not sure), but the meal begins with free appetizers - radish salad with strawberry and cucumber slices, fried tuna balls with spicy sauce, and good ol' miso soup. We also ordered corn tea - not bad, tastes like the hot version of the barley tea from Ryowa. The meal is concluded with kiwi to refresh the palate.
Now the rolls I tried:
Prospect roll (soft shell crab, crab meat and cucumber with ebi and avocado on top) is a unassuming 8-piece roll that packs in quite a load. I pretty much ate this roll and some of the appetizers and was done for the night.
Spring Collection (don't have the full description but it was nicely decorated with a gangload of tuna and salmon sashimi pieces on top spiked with some creamy and spicy sauce as well as avocado, the rolls themselves were mainly salmon and tuna as well) was a decked OUT 8-piecer. It is one of the 5 or 6 ultra-special rolls that Dancy offers. These rolls are delicious, contain a pretty sizable variety of seafood and veggie, and are ginormous.
Wakame (spicy tuna and cucumber in the roll, seaweed salad on top) is an artistically assembled 8-piecer. The generous amount of wakame provides a nice green canopy atop the rolls, and the orange roe piled in the middle provided an interesting contrast of green/orange. Though the rolls were a bit smaller than the regular ones, they were still spicy. As you eat it, the massive amounts of the wakame compounded with the actual roll makes each bite quite the mouthful.
Yummy Yummy (shrimp tempura, spicy tuna and cucumber in the roll, tuna sashimi laced with creamy spicy sauce on top) was delightfully spicy - it makes you sweat and smile at the same time, sorta like what I do when I get pulled over. Hmm... Anyway, it is a pretty substantial 8-piecer that will make you giddy with the cool sensation of the sashimi and make you go oOoOoOo with the tempura crunch.
Bom (tuna, salmon, hamachi, unagi and nuts) was fish-studded roll that was unfortunately just 4 pieces. It's not spicy and you just feel a mouthful of fish and intermittent crunches from the nuts. This the the type of roll that you would wanna wasabe dip it and ginger top it.
The only problem, which isn't big at all, is that they sometimes forget to put a wad of wasabe on the side. But just ask and you shall receive. Speaking of the wasabe, it actually isn't that spicy. I had to add a lot before getting that nasal hit - yeah yall know what I'm talking about, it's that sensation that makes you ask yourself whether you just burped up dr pepper air through your nose.
Anyway, the friendly staff is going to make your visit there enjoyable, so please pay them a visit - it is totally worth it!
http://www.yelp.com/biz/dancy-sushi-mountain-view
I went to this place twice in four days. This joint is like the Zeni's of sushi places. A gem sacked in an unassuming and shitty looking little plaza at the corner of California and San Antonio on the western edge of Mountain View, Dancy Sushi used to be Monster Sushi used to be TGI Sushi. I have been to both of its predecessors and I must say Dancy is one hell of a newborn.
When it was TGI Sushi, the selection was small and there was too much rice, which was why the rolls were big. When it moved on to Monster Sushi, the selection grew and became a bit more creative, but the overriceage was still a problem. Today, Dancy Sushi says goodbye to all that sucked and unleashed all that is joyous for sushi lovers. Rolls are still huge, but rice dramatically lessened. Sashimi are fresh, and its cool texture tickles the taste buds. The selection is now huge and very creative, and the presentation is quite nice. Try one of the Dancy Special Rolls - you won't be disappointed. The remodeled atmosphere is icing on the cake.
On Friday night's reunion with Arvid, I had the Prospect Roll and got Rar the Spring Collection. On Monday night, Rar and I had Yummy Yummy, Wakame, and Bom. These rolls aren't just traditional ones with new names, they are unique and their tastes distinctly different.
The serving style is also unlike any other sushi restaurants I have been to. Maybe because its ownership is Korean (not sure), but the meal begins with free appetizers - radish salad with strawberry and cucumber slices, fried tuna balls with spicy sauce, and good ol' miso soup. We also ordered corn tea - not bad, tastes like the hot version of the barley tea from Ryowa. The meal is concluded with kiwi to refresh the palate.
Now the rolls I tried:
Prospect roll (soft shell crab, crab meat and cucumber with ebi and avocado on top) is a unassuming 8-piece roll that packs in quite a load. I pretty much ate this roll and some of the appetizers and was done for the night.
Spring Collection (don't have the full description but it was nicely decorated with a gangload of tuna and salmon sashimi pieces on top spiked with some creamy and spicy sauce as well as avocado, the rolls themselves were mainly salmon and tuna as well) was a decked OUT 8-piecer. It is one of the 5 or 6 ultra-special rolls that Dancy offers. These rolls are delicious, contain a pretty sizable variety of seafood and veggie, and are ginormous.
Wakame (spicy tuna and cucumber in the roll, seaweed salad on top) is an artistically assembled 8-piecer. The generous amount of wakame provides a nice green canopy atop the rolls, and the orange roe piled in the middle provided an interesting contrast of green/orange. Though the rolls were a bit smaller than the regular ones, they were still spicy. As you eat it, the massive amounts of the wakame compounded with the actual roll makes each bite quite the mouthful.
Yummy Yummy (shrimp tempura, spicy tuna and cucumber in the roll, tuna sashimi laced with creamy spicy sauce on top) was delightfully spicy - it makes you sweat and smile at the same time, sorta like what I do when I get pulled over. Hmm... Anyway, it is a pretty substantial 8-piecer that will make you giddy with the cool sensation of the sashimi and make you go oOoOoOo with the tempura crunch.
Bom (tuna, salmon, hamachi, unagi and nuts) was fish-studded roll that was unfortunately just 4 pieces. It's not spicy and you just feel a mouthful of fish and intermittent crunches from the nuts. This the the type of roll that you would wanna wasabe dip it and ginger top it.
The only problem, which isn't big at all, is that they sometimes forget to put a wad of wasabe on the side. But just ask and you shall receive. Speaking of the wasabe, it actually isn't that spicy. I had to add a lot before getting that nasal hit - yeah yall know what I'm talking about, it's that sensation that makes you ask yourself whether you just burped up dr pepper air through your nose.
Anyway, the friendly staff is going to make your visit there enjoyable, so please pay them a visit - it is totally worth it!
http://www.yelp.com/biz/dancy-sushi-mountain-view
Fat Kid Adventure #97: Amato's Cheesesteaks (San Jose/Campbell)
(Originally posted on August 28, 2008)
For lunch today, we went to Amato's in Campbell area at the intersection of Saratoga and San Tomas Aquino since one of the project managers said it was so good. So this Adventure will argue the opposite - this place is not impressive at all, at least from the example I tried. I got the Pepper Cheese Steak. Not enough pepper as I don't really taste any spiciness and the steak meat was not juicy at all - Xs on two ESSENTIALS for cheese steaks. This place is definitely quantity over quality - I had the Shorty size sandwich - equivalent for small - and it is 7" and FILLED with meat. Surprisingly a lot of people were there for lunch and a look on Yelp yields a solid 4.0 , so I guess it deserves a second shot - next time maybe with chicken - looked juicier.
http://www.amatoscheesesteaks.com/
http://www.yelp.com/biz/amatos-cheesesteaks-san-jose
For lunch today, we went to Amato's in Campbell area at the intersection of Saratoga and San Tomas Aquino since one of the project managers said it was so good. So this Adventure will argue the opposite - this place is not impressive at all, at least from the example I tried. I got the Pepper Cheese Steak. Not enough pepper as I don't really taste any spiciness and the steak meat was not juicy at all - Xs on two ESSENTIALS for cheese steaks. This place is definitely quantity over quality - I had the Shorty size sandwich - equivalent for small - and it is 7" and FILLED with meat. Surprisingly a lot of people were there for lunch and a look on Yelp yields a solid 4.0 , so I guess it deserves a second shot - next time maybe with chicken - looked juicier.
http://www.amatoscheesesteaks.com/
http://www.yelp.com/biz/amatos-cheesesteaks-san-jose
Fat Kid Adventure #96: Jubili (SF - Western Addition/NOPA)
(Originally posted on August 26, 2008)
So it turned out we weren't full enough to turn down desert (from last note). We Goog411-ed nearby froyo places and found Jubili on Fillmore. Ain't never tried, but that's about to change. Full name is Jubili Frozen Yogurt and Cereal Bar, but on Goog411-ed it was totally different - the machine had said the word "oyster" somewhere in that name, I swear.
This joint is like a bigger version of Fraiche in Palo Alto - same style of menu in sans font printed on a slab of glass, wavy pattern on the wall, and clean-beige on sophistica-black furniture. Nice. It's another rendition of the fad-satiating hip froyo joint in the middle of town - perfect for a young crowd to enjoy an old-fashioned dessert with a contempo twist.
We ordered limited time offering peach froyo with mochi and Captain Crunch. I meant to get Fruity Pebbles, which btw is also a very good sweetness to add onto a soury cup of froyo, but I uttered Cap'n Crunch - good decision anyway. The complimentary idea is the same - sweet to tend to the sour. The mochi's softness and chewiness always makes for a fun time in the palate. Overall a good dessert!
http://www.jubili.com/
http://www.yelp.com/biz/jubili-frozen-yogurt-and-cereal-san-francisco
So it turned out we weren't full enough to turn down desert (from last note). We Goog411-ed nearby froyo places and found Jubili on Fillmore. Ain't never tried, but that's about to change. Full name is Jubili Frozen Yogurt and Cereal Bar, but on Goog411-ed it was totally different - the machine had said the word "oyster" somewhere in that name, I swear.
This joint is like a bigger version of Fraiche in Palo Alto - same style of menu in sans font printed on a slab of glass, wavy pattern on the wall, and clean-beige on sophistica-black furniture. Nice. It's another rendition of the fad-satiating hip froyo joint in the middle of town - perfect for a young crowd to enjoy an old-fashioned dessert with a contempo twist.
We ordered limited time offering peach froyo with mochi and Captain Crunch. I meant to get Fruity Pebbles, which btw is also a very good sweetness to add onto a soury cup of froyo, but I uttered Cap'n Crunch - good decision anyway. The complimentary idea is the same - sweet to tend to the sour. The mochi's softness and chewiness always makes for a fun time in the palate. Overall a good dessert!
http://www.jubili.com/
http://www.yelp.com/biz/jubili-frozen-yogurt-and-cereal-san-francisco
Fat Kid Adventure #95: Brother's Restaurant (SF - Inner Richmond)
(Originally posted on August 26, 2008)
With much to celebrate for, Rar and I headed north into San Francisco last Friday night. But no we weren't looking for the razzle dazzle of some newly opened eatery, but rather the down home cooking of eastern Asia. And so, we drove into Inner Richmond this semi-hole-in-wall Korean do-it-yourself BBQ joint nestled in between some nondescript venues on Geary between 5th and 6th. I drove around for 20 minutes looking for parking, and as I was circling I realized I was in the New Chinatown - a block north of Geary around 4th to 7th. Totally paid off.
Sign of awesome food: when you walk into the restaurant and it's smokey like Snoop Dogg's pipe room but ain't nobody scared off. As a matter of fact, there were a TON of people waiting on this joint - parties of 2, 5, 7, and 10.The atmosphere was the typical busy Asian place. The place had maybe a dozen tables, many equipped with a BBQ grill for the DIY meals, and at the time (8pm) all were crowded with people. Although you don't see that many Asian people there, I can guarantee its goodness.
40 minutes later, we got a table - by that time, I was wearing LaBBQoste and she was wearing J. BBQrew. We ordered Pork Gol Gi and Bul Gol Gi - sexily marinated spicy pork and beef, as well as Korean Dumpling Soup with Rice Cake and Chop Chae (glass noodles!). Soon, a dude came over with 2 boxes of charcoal and lined up the bottom of our BBQ grill with it. The excitement was about to begin. Before we know, the Endless Sides were unleashed: kim chi, seaweed salad, pickled radish, dried tiny anchovies, pickled cucumber, spicy pickled bean curd, sour bean sprouts, seaweed paper, and some jello - this is my #2 favorite thing about Korean restaurants.
Few minutes later, the meat came. YAY-YAAAAH. The waitress, who was very nice by the way, helped us put several pieces onto the grill and spread them out. The sizzling and the savory scent immediately had me in a trance. I tuned out everything Rar said until I heard "okay it's ready to eat!" JK. We had nice convo as we waited [and drooled all over our little plates]. I don't really know how to describe the marinade except to recommend the spicy beef one which really did it for us. I made a little sandwich out of 2 pieces of spicy Pork Gol Gi, a big piece of lettuce, and some bean sprouts - excellent! The Pork Gol Gi was of course also very good, but imo not as good as the Bul Gol Gi.
We drank the soup and ate some chop chae as we waited for the meat to cook. Both are pretty good. The soup was light but had enough taste to be enjoyed, but I think maybe too much on the rice cake - it was maybe 70-80% rice cake slices. The chop chae was awesome - the nice and healthy dark golden color suggests success. In my mouth it was slippery and warm, and all the vegetables that was stir-fried (I think they were all stir fried...) with it gave it a crunchy punch.
To our surprise, our waitress also brought us a dish of sauteed squid (Squid Bok Kum), which is usually featured as a lunch item. She said the magically sweet words, "on the house." Sometimes that just makes a dish that's so-so THAT much better. Regardless, the squid was pretty damn good - the tentacles are my favorite. Tender - so it's easy to chew, well-sauced - so it's not overwhelming with flavor, and well-portioned - so it was 50/50 with the vegetables that were sauteed with it.
SO FULL, SO GOOD. Tipped them 20%. Holy shit go try it - but expect a long wait, especially if you have 5-7 people.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/brothers-restaurant-san-francisco
With much to celebrate for, Rar and I headed north into San Francisco last Friday night. But no we weren't looking for the razzle dazzle of some newly opened eatery, but rather the down home cooking of eastern Asia. And so, we drove into Inner Richmond this semi-hole-in-wall Korean do-it-yourself BBQ joint nestled in between some nondescript venues on Geary between 5th and 6th. I drove around for 20 minutes looking for parking, and as I was circling I realized I was in the New Chinatown - a block north of Geary around 4th to 7th. Totally paid off.
Sign of awesome food: when you walk into the restaurant and it's smokey like Snoop Dogg's pipe room but ain't nobody scared off. As a matter of fact, there were a TON of people waiting on this joint - parties of 2, 5, 7, and 10.The atmosphere was the typical busy Asian place. The place had maybe a dozen tables, many equipped with a BBQ grill for the DIY meals, and at the time (8pm) all were crowded with people. Although you don't see that many Asian people there, I can guarantee its goodness.
40 minutes later, we got a table - by that time, I was wearing LaBBQoste and she was wearing J. BBQrew. We ordered Pork Gol Gi and Bul Gol Gi - sexily marinated spicy pork and beef, as well as Korean Dumpling Soup with Rice Cake and Chop Chae (glass noodles!). Soon, a dude came over with 2 boxes of charcoal and lined up the bottom of our BBQ grill with it. The excitement was about to begin. Before we know, the Endless Sides were unleashed: kim chi, seaweed salad, pickled radish, dried tiny anchovies, pickled cucumber, spicy pickled bean curd, sour bean sprouts, seaweed paper, and some jello - this is my #2 favorite thing about Korean restaurants.
Few minutes later, the meat came. YAY-YAAAAH. The waitress, who was very nice by the way, helped us put several pieces onto the grill and spread them out. The sizzling and the savory scent immediately had me in a trance. I tuned out everything Rar said until I heard "okay it's ready to eat!" JK. We had nice convo as we waited [and drooled all over our little plates]. I don't really know how to describe the marinade except to recommend the spicy beef one which really did it for us. I made a little sandwich out of 2 pieces of spicy Pork Gol Gi, a big piece of lettuce, and some bean sprouts - excellent! The Pork Gol Gi was of course also very good, but imo not as good as the Bul Gol Gi.
We drank the soup and ate some chop chae as we waited for the meat to cook. Both are pretty good. The soup was light but had enough taste to be enjoyed, but I think maybe too much on the rice cake - it was maybe 70-80% rice cake slices. The chop chae was awesome - the nice and healthy dark golden color suggests success. In my mouth it was slippery and warm, and all the vegetables that was stir-fried (I think they were all stir fried...) with it gave it a crunchy punch.
To our surprise, our waitress also brought us a dish of sauteed squid (Squid Bok Kum), which is usually featured as a lunch item. She said the magically sweet words, "on the house." Sometimes that just makes a dish that's so-so THAT much better. Regardless, the squid was pretty damn good - the tentacles are my favorite. Tender - so it's easy to chew, well-sauced - so it's not overwhelming with flavor, and well-portioned - so it was 50/50 with the vegetables that were sauteed with it.
SO FULL, SO GOOD. Tipped them 20%. Holy shit go try it - but expect a long wait, especially if you have 5-7 people.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/brothers-restaurant-san-francisco
Fat Kid Adventure #94: Little Lou's BBQ (Los Gatos)
(Originally posted on August 20, 2008)
There was a company financial meeting today at 11.45am for all the employees, and I was naively duped by the calculating scheduling of this event - I thought there was going to be food afterward. As my anticipation climbed, my nose started to sniff. Nowhere was food to be smelt, and the ultimate realization of the lack of food made my ears, cheeks, mouth, and stomach sag. I was had.
At my nadir, the existence of restaurants came to the rescue. So pretty much I was forced to buy lunch today. Went to Little Lou's on Los Gatos Blvd and had the Lunch Special. These specials are always a great deal - 6 Washingtons and a quarter gets you garlic bread, 2 sides (I got potato salad and corn bread - didn't even get to finish them), quarter chicken (drumstick and breast) and a soda. Great for quick lunches. The actual chicken is just decent - the sauce is great, the meat is nice, and the size is okay. Overall a pretty popular place for quick lunches. Not much seating inside, but good outdoor seating compensates. Definitely liked the local meat shop better.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/little-lous-bbq-los-gatos
http://www.littlelousbbq.com/
There was a company financial meeting today at 11.45am for all the employees, and I was naively duped by the calculating scheduling of this event - I thought there was going to be food afterward. As my anticipation climbed, my nose started to sniff. Nowhere was food to be smelt, and the ultimate realization of the lack of food made my ears, cheeks, mouth, and stomach sag. I was had.
At my nadir, the existence of restaurants came to the rescue. So pretty much I was forced to buy lunch today. Went to Little Lou's on Los Gatos Blvd and had the Lunch Special. These specials are always a great deal - 6 Washingtons and a quarter gets you garlic bread, 2 sides (I got potato salad and corn bread - didn't even get to finish them), quarter chicken (drumstick and breast) and a soda. Great for quick lunches. The actual chicken is just decent - the sauce is great, the meat is nice, and the size is okay. Overall a pretty popular place for quick lunches. Not much seating inside, but good outdoor seating compensates. Definitely liked the local meat shop better.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/little-lous-bbq-los-gatos
http://www.littlelousbbq.com/
Fat Kid Adventure #93: Los Gatos Meats & Smoke House (Los Gatos)
(Originally posted on August 19, 2008)
A couple of weeks ago, I ventured down the other end of University Ave in Los Gatos to the meat shop. This placed was well dug on Yelp, so I figured it can't hurt. I had one of the specials with pulled bbq pork. Portionwise - huge, especially if it's just lunch. The flavor of the pork is fantastic, compounded with lunchtime hunger pangs the taste becomes astronomical. I don't really remember what was in the sandwich, but I am definitely sure that pulled pork took over more than 50%. There are tons of meats to purchase at this place if you are a do-it-yourselfer; otherwise, the sandwich selection ranges from run-of-the-mill to local specials - knock yourself out, it's quite worth it. It's a small place set up like a small convenience store but had a couple of tables outside. Quite busy so prepare for lines since everything is made on the spot.
Oh yeah, I totally went into food coma for like half an hour after this sandwich. Reminds me of good ol' bio core when I nodded off 75% of the time.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/los-gatos-meats-and-smoke-house-los-gatos
http://www.losgatosmeats.com
A couple of weeks ago, I ventured down the other end of University Ave in Los Gatos to the meat shop. This placed was well dug on Yelp, so I figured it can't hurt. I had one of the specials with pulled bbq pork. Portionwise - huge, especially if it's just lunch. The flavor of the pork is fantastic, compounded with lunchtime hunger pangs the taste becomes astronomical. I don't really remember what was in the sandwich, but I am definitely sure that pulled pork took over more than 50%. There are tons of meats to purchase at this place if you are a do-it-yourselfer; otherwise, the sandwich selection ranges from run-of-the-mill to local specials - knock yourself out, it's quite worth it. It's a small place set up like a small convenience store but had a couple of tables outside. Quite busy so prepare for lines since everything is made on the spot.
Oh yeah, I totally went into food coma for like half an hour after this sandwich. Reminds me of good ol' bio core when I nodded off 75% of the time.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/los-gatos-meats-and-smoke-house-los-gatos
http://www.losgatosmeats.com
Fat Kid Adventure #92: Blowfish Sushi (San Jose - Santana Row)
(Originally posted on August 17, 2008)
This is not my death note because I did not eat blowfish. It's called Blowfish because it's sushi "to die for." Very trendy sushi joint down in Santana Row with an anime theme. The waitress was kind of odd, but the sushi rolls were pretty good. We ordered: Blowfish Coolers - lemonade and cranberry flavors, Godzilla roll, Polynesian roll, and Ritsu roll.
The coolers were whatever - nothing special.
Godzilla roll was good - sweet shrimp, mango, avocado, caramelized cashews, roasted coconut, and aonori (green seaweed that wraps around sushi). The mango and sweet shrimp is a good combo, avocado made it a creamier mix, the cashews and coconut provided for mild crunchiness, and finally the aonori kept things from falling apart.
Polynesian roll was second best - flash-fried salmon, bbq eel, mango, papaya, and avocado. The fruits added sweetness to balance the saltiness of the bbq and fried salmon. I really like the idea of flash-frying. The avocado brought the mixture creaminess and it was a pretty good feel in the mouth. Tasty one!
Drum roll for the most baller roll we had - Ritsu roll. This one melts in your mouth, and I know sushi isn't really supposed to, but this one feels good to you while the magic happens. Starring 2 types of tuna, avocado, tobiko (red caviar aka roe), and nori (seaweed) - slightly battered in tempura and flash fried. Served with ponzu sauce. This one is great! It's kind of flat, so it's a more manageable roll, and the fried-ness keeps it all together. The taste is quite nice because the softness of both tunas mix in with the creaminess of the avocado. It feels like slightly crunchy sashimi but with less rawness. The ponzu replaces soy sauce in this case and provides a lighter salty taste. Great roll - definitely worth trying!
This is more like a work up your appetite place than a full meal, but worth a try especially for that Ritsu Roll.
http://www.blowfishsushi.com/webform1.aspx
http://www.yelp.com/biz/blowfish-sushi-to-die-for-san-jose
This is not my death note because I did not eat blowfish. It's called Blowfish because it's sushi "to die for." Very trendy sushi joint down in Santana Row with an anime theme. The waitress was kind of odd, but the sushi rolls were pretty good. We ordered: Blowfish Coolers - lemonade and cranberry flavors, Godzilla roll, Polynesian roll, and Ritsu roll.
The coolers were whatever - nothing special.
Godzilla roll was good - sweet shrimp, mango, avocado, caramelized cashews, roasted coconut, and aonori (green seaweed that wraps around sushi). The mango and sweet shrimp is a good combo, avocado made it a creamier mix, the cashews and coconut provided for mild crunchiness, and finally the aonori kept things from falling apart.
Polynesian roll was second best - flash-fried salmon, bbq eel, mango, papaya, and avocado. The fruits added sweetness to balance the saltiness of the bbq and fried salmon. I really like the idea of flash-frying. The avocado brought the mixture creaminess and it was a pretty good feel in the mouth. Tasty one!
Drum roll for the most baller roll we had - Ritsu roll. This one melts in your mouth, and I know sushi isn't really supposed to, but this one feels good to you while the magic happens. Starring 2 types of tuna, avocado, tobiko (red caviar aka roe), and nori (seaweed) - slightly battered in tempura and flash fried. Served with ponzu sauce. This one is great! It's kind of flat, so it's a more manageable roll, and the fried-ness keeps it all together. The taste is quite nice because the softness of both tunas mix in with the creaminess of the avocado. It feels like slightly crunchy sashimi but with less rawness. The ponzu replaces soy sauce in this case and provides a lighter salty taste. Great roll - definitely worth trying!
This is more like a work up your appetite place than a full meal, but worth a try especially for that Ritsu Roll.
http://www.blowfishsushi.com/webform1.aspx
http://www.yelp.com/biz/blowfish-sushi-to-die-for-san-jose
Fat Kid Adventure #91: Isa (SF - Marina/Cow Hollow)
(Originally posted on August 17, 2008)
Drove into SF last night and tangoed with the misty fog in the process. One of Rar's closest friends - Matt - dropped in from Guam - that's right, "dropped in," from GUAM, so crazy! haha - and we all went up to have dinner - Matt, Germaine, Bora, Rar and I. Great little place, just wish the servings were larger so we didn't have to order as much, but who doesn't like variety?
Right in the Marina District on Steiner off Lombard, Isa seems to be a pretty popular with almost a full crowd at 9pm on a Saturday. We dressed up nice not formal, and we were doing quite all right. This joint is a trendy little French-Asian fusion tapas bar ensconced in dim lighting but a semi-rowdy atmosphere. Its dishes are towards the smaller end but semi-pricey. We ordered 9 dishes - lots to taste so here we go!
1. Dungeness Crab Salad with haricot verts, grapefruit, mango, arugula & citrus vinaigrette. This dish is pretty good - reminded me of the seafood tower (but shorter and flatter) from Lattitude in Monterey. The mango did it for me. The rest mixed in well. Not too good of an analysis here, but it's worth a try.
2. Seared Grade A Foie Gras with poached pear in port & vanilla custard brioche. The star of this little dish was the poached pear - LOVED it. It melts in your mouth. Did not try the brioche, but the foie gras was pretty good - just kind of over-greased.
3. Tuna Ceviche. This one came with little crostinis, citrus-marinated raw tuna carpaccios, and topped off with cilantro. The crostinis were great in neutralizing the vinegary taste of the well-marinated tuna, keeping each bite juicy but not overwhelming.
4. There was one more appetizer that I cannot remember...
5. Baked Butterfish in Paper with truffles, king trumpets & haricot verts. Awesome dish - fish just slides off in your mouth. Haven't had butterfish much, if at all, but the "buttery" taste comes through while the actual seasoning is relatively light. It comes wrapped in cooking paper with mushrooms, capers, and some other unintelligible seasonings. Really good!
6. Potato Wrapped Halibut with capers, tomato confit, lemon & beurre noisette. Totally forgot to try, but from the responses of others, I'd say it was bangin.
7. Rocky Jr. Range Chicken with fresh herbs under crispy skin, mashed potatoes & jus de poulet. Comes in a small portion of dark meat and a bigger portion of white meat. Skin = crispy and well-seasoned (you can see herbs all up in its business). Meat = VERY juicy and tender, especially near the skin. The middle part was a bit dry and flat on taste, just because the piece was so thick. Overall pretty good!
8. Grilled Natural Flat Iron Steak with summer squash, potatoes, moutarde verte & bordelaise sauce. That bordelaise sauce is pretty good on the steak. 8 little slices gave everyone a chance at a bite. Tender and medium-well (I think?), the steak was well grilled on the outside - hard but with lots of strong flavor. The potatoes were great, too!
9. Maple Leaf Duck Breast with grilled spring onion, young mustard greens, wild huckleberries & port. Good dish here that came out last for Germaine. Duck came in 8 little slices, and it is tender and well-seasoned. There were some beets on that dish - had this interesting smokey taste/feel to it.
So all those dishes later, we did not have room for dessert. Overall did not feel that whole French-Asian fusion feature, but it's a good place to try some cool dishes!
http://www.yelp.com/biz/isa-san-francisco
http://www.isarestaurant.com/index.html
Drove into SF last night and tangoed with the misty fog in the process. One of Rar's closest friends - Matt - dropped in from Guam - that's right, "dropped in," from GUAM, so crazy! haha - and we all went up to have dinner - Matt, Germaine, Bora, Rar and I. Great little place, just wish the servings were larger so we didn't have to order as much, but who doesn't like variety?
Right in the Marina District on Steiner off Lombard, Isa seems to be a pretty popular with almost a full crowd at 9pm on a Saturday. We dressed up nice not formal, and we were doing quite all right. This joint is a trendy little French-Asian fusion tapas bar ensconced in dim lighting but a semi-rowdy atmosphere. Its dishes are towards the smaller end but semi-pricey. We ordered 9 dishes - lots to taste so here we go!
1. Dungeness Crab Salad with haricot verts, grapefruit, mango, arugula & citrus vinaigrette. This dish is pretty good - reminded me of the seafood tower (but shorter and flatter) from Lattitude in Monterey. The mango did it for me. The rest mixed in well. Not too good of an analysis here, but it's worth a try.
2. Seared Grade A Foie Gras with poached pear in port & vanilla custard brioche. The star of this little dish was the poached pear - LOVED it. It melts in your mouth. Did not try the brioche, but the foie gras was pretty good - just kind of over-greased.
3. Tuna Ceviche. This one came with little crostinis, citrus-marinated raw tuna carpaccios, and topped off with cilantro. The crostinis were great in neutralizing the vinegary taste of the well-marinated tuna, keeping each bite juicy but not overwhelming.
4. There was one more appetizer that I cannot remember...
5. Baked Butterfish in Paper with truffles, king trumpets & haricot verts. Awesome dish - fish just slides off in your mouth. Haven't had butterfish much, if at all, but the "buttery" taste comes through while the actual seasoning is relatively light. It comes wrapped in cooking paper with mushrooms, capers, and some other unintelligible seasonings. Really good!
6. Potato Wrapped Halibut with capers, tomato confit, lemon & beurre noisette. Totally forgot to try, but from the responses of others, I'd say it was bangin.
7. Rocky Jr. Range Chicken with fresh herbs under crispy skin, mashed potatoes & jus de poulet. Comes in a small portion of dark meat and a bigger portion of white meat. Skin = crispy and well-seasoned (you can see herbs all up in its business). Meat = VERY juicy and tender, especially near the skin. The middle part was a bit dry and flat on taste, just because the piece was so thick. Overall pretty good!
8. Grilled Natural Flat Iron Steak with summer squash, potatoes, moutarde verte & bordelaise sauce. That bordelaise sauce is pretty good on the steak. 8 little slices gave everyone a chance at a bite. Tender and medium-well (I think?), the steak was well grilled on the outside - hard but with lots of strong flavor. The potatoes were great, too!
9. Maple Leaf Duck Breast with grilled spring onion, young mustard greens, wild huckleberries & port. Good dish here that came out last for Germaine. Duck came in 8 little slices, and it is tender and well-seasoned. There were some beets on that dish - had this interesting smokey taste/feel to it.
So all those dishes later, we did not have room for dessert. Overall did not feel that whole French-Asian fusion feature, but it's a good place to try some cool dishes!
http://www.yelp.com/biz/isa-san-francisco
http://www.isarestaurant.com/index.html
Fat Kid Adventure #90: Bangkok Spoon (Mountain View)
(Originally posted on August 1, 2008)
In the Castro district in downtown Mountain View on the corner of Hope and Villa sits this awesome Thai joint. Went there for a ME382 Abbott Vascular team reunion. Dinner was on Abbott so of course we pigged out over funny stories, catching up, and teasing Atia. Here I give shout-outs to Tanya, Atia, Linus, Jeff, Melissa, and of course Rar for GREAT company.
The server slash owner of the joint was fantastic as always. He took our orders with his deep movie-preview-voice, as if our dishes will come each with its own set, actors, and extras.
First off - appetizers and drinks: Roti and Sampler to start, accompanied by young coconut juice and Thai iced tea. Best combo to whet the taste EVER. Well, not ever, but it's up there. The roti was flaky, crispy, and very soft on the inside. Good dough, good times. The sampler had crab cakes, fried shrimp roll, chicken satay, and chickeny spring roll. Pretty standard stuff, but very good!
Entrees: Sea Bass Mango Red Curry, Beef Bamboo, Chicken Mango Curry, Veggie Eggplant Basil, Pineapple Fried Rice. Everything was mildly to intermediately spicy. Since Rar and I had been training with Sriracha, we were unfazed. Sea bass with mango was by far the best - it was a special of the day. Tender, fall-apart-in-mouth-on-bite sea bass marinated with mango-y sweetness countered with red curry spiciness - it is just fantastic when it's on some pineapple fried rice or just plain jasmine rice. And since mango is such a baller, cooking it with chicken in a curry isn't such a bad idea neither! The eggplant dish was pretty good, especially because the eggplant did not get all mushy - still had a semi-crisp texture near the skin. Pineapple fried rice came inside of half a pineapple shell - made everyone googoo-gaga-happy.
Dessert: Winning streak for mango continued with Mango w/ Coconut Milk Sticky Rice. This time the mango was harder, but it made great contrast with the soft sticky rice. Interesting how the tang in mango, although sweet, was served as a contrast to the sweetness in sticky rice. Next up is the Roti Banana with Ice Cream. Banana roti style = banana breaded and fried = awesome. It's hot, and eating it with cold, cold vanilla ice cream is great play for your tongue :) And since we ordered so much already, the owner gave us a Coconut Ice Cream on the house. Standard coconut ice cream, but still very good.
Overall - great company, great host, great food. What's not to love? Fourth time I am here. Never fails to make me wanna come back. Check it out for yourself.
http://www.bkkspoon.com/
http://www.yelp.com/biz/bangkok-spoon-mountain-view - they say 3 stars, i say bullshit.
In the Castro district in downtown Mountain View on the corner of Hope and Villa sits this awesome Thai joint. Went there for a ME382 Abbott Vascular team reunion. Dinner was on Abbott so of course we pigged out over funny stories, catching up, and teasing Atia. Here I give shout-outs to Tanya, Atia, Linus, Jeff, Melissa, and of course Rar for GREAT company.
The server slash owner of the joint was fantastic as always. He took our orders with his deep movie-preview-voice, as if our dishes will come each with its own set, actors, and extras.
First off - appetizers and drinks: Roti and Sampler to start, accompanied by young coconut juice and Thai iced tea. Best combo to whet the taste EVER. Well, not ever, but it's up there. The roti was flaky, crispy, and very soft on the inside. Good dough, good times. The sampler had crab cakes, fried shrimp roll, chicken satay, and chickeny spring roll. Pretty standard stuff, but very good!
Entrees: Sea Bass Mango Red Curry, Beef Bamboo, Chicken Mango Curry, Veggie Eggplant Basil, Pineapple Fried Rice. Everything was mildly to intermediately spicy. Since Rar and I had been training with Sriracha, we were unfazed. Sea bass with mango was by far the best - it was a special of the day. Tender, fall-apart-in-mouth-on-bite sea bass marinated with mango-y sweetness countered with red curry spiciness - it is just fantastic when it's on some pineapple fried rice or just plain jasmine rice. And since mango is such a baller, cooking it with chicken in a curry isn't such a bad idea neither! The eggplant dish was pretty good, especially because the eggplant did not get all mushy - still had a semi-crisp texture near the skin. Pineapple fried rice came inside of half a pineapple shell - made everyone googoo-gaga-happy.
Dessert: Winning streak for mango continued with Mango w/ Coconut Milk Sticky Rice. This time the mango was harder, but it made great contrast with the soft sticky rice. Interesting how the tang in mango, although sweet, was served as a contrast to the sweetness in sticky rice. Next up is the Roti Banana with Ice Cream. Banana roti style = banana breaded and fried = awesome. It's hot, and eating it with cold, cold vanilla ice cream is great play for your tongue :) And since we ordered so much already, the owner gave us a Coconut Ice Cream on the house. Standard coconut ice cream, but still very good.
Overall - great company, great host, great food. What's not to love? Fourth time I am here. Never fails to make me wanna come back. Check it out for yourself.
http://www.bkkspoon.com/
http://www.yelp.com/biz/bangkok-spoon-mountain-view - they say 3 stars, i say bullshit.
Fat Kid Adventure #89: Bangkok Cuisine (Palo Alto)
(Originally posted on August 1, 2008)
Apparently this place in Palo Alto is one of Ryan's favorites. Ryan, Ling, Rar and I had a little Roble 2B reunion outdoors under some tropical looking canopy setup. I'd say this place is excellent for some mid-summer dinner hangout. Ryan fell in love with this place after eating some pad thai that satiated his thirst for spiciness.
On this day, Ryan and Ling spilled great juicy gossip as we filled our tummies with Thai goodness. Rar and I both had some seafood dishes with brown rice on the side - delicious. I believe mine was some type of curry, which is why I wanted rice. Anyway, the food is definitely good if you stick with the House Specialties list. Remember, curried sea bass is always ballin if it is available.
Service is excellent. Multiple checkups and no problem splitting the bill. Next time I go, I will remember more distinctly what I had.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/bangkok-cuisine-palo-alto
Apparently this place in Palo Alto is one of Ryan's favorites. Ryan, Ling, Rar and I had a little Roble 2B reunion outdoors under some tropical looking canopy setup. I'd say this place is excellent for some mid-summer dinner hangout. Ryan fell in love with this place after eating some pad thai that satiated his thirst for spiciness.
On this day, Ryan and Ling spilled great juicy gossip as we filled our tummies with Thai goodness. Rar and I both had some seafood dishes with brown rice on the side - delicious. I believe mine was some type of curry, which is why I wanted rice. Anyway, the food is definitely good if you stick with the House Specialties list. Remember, curried sea bass is always ballin if it is available.
Service is excellent. Multiple checkups and no problem splitting the bill. Next time I go, I will remember more distinctly what I had.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/bangkok-cuisine-palo-alto
Fat Kid Adventure #88: The Red Crane (Cupertino)
(Originally posted on July 23, 2008)
Nice little place in Cupertino within a strip mall near the intersection of De Anza and Bollinger. At lunch today there was barely anyone there - why? I don't know, because the food was pretty good. True, I did not look at the price since David was treating, but still. This is supposed to be a fusion Japanese restaurant.
I got the lunch special for $12 - miso soup, Red Crane salad (spinach, bacon bits, some fruity vinaigrette, and cucumber strips), and char sui black cod with bok choy. So the portions are tiny - the black cod was literally a triangular piece of cod looking 2" x 2". It rested ever-so-carefreely on several pieces of baby bok choy. To the right were some garlic noodles. I have to say, the presentation was there, but the quantity wasn't. The noodles weren't as gooey-greasy as Castro Point, and was still thick and well-flavored - good job. The cod was incredibly tender - mmmmm! Its color is grilled red, and the red sauce gave it a seafood bbq kind of flavor.
For dessert, I ordered the Panna Cotta sampler, which contained 3 shot glasses, each filled with a lightly sweetened eggless custard, and topped off with mandarin orange, green tea, and red bean paste respectively. Pretty good - surprisingly the green tea one is the sweetest. Again, the presentation was definitely there.
Wesley had the shaved ice and it measured about 10 inches in height - ginormous. In the shaved ice are different flavors of ice cream. Wesley picked vanilla, blackberry, and pomegranite (you can choose from around 15 different flavors). His tasted SO much better than mine. The shaved ice was truly shaved so there isn't anything to chew. It was like eating ice cream flavored ice crumbles - really cool, lightly sweet, and tastes delicious.
I would go there again for the trendy looking desserts, especially the shaved ice. Otherwise, the quantity is too little for me, even though the presentation is nice.
Most people go there for the tenderloin and kobe beef, as you will see if you read the Yelp reviews.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/the-red-crane-cupertino
http://www.theredcrane.com/
Nice little place in Cupertino within a strip mall near the intersection of De Anza and Bollinger. At lunch today there was barely anyone there - why? I don't know, because the food was pretty good. True, I did not look at the price since David was treating, but still. This is supposed to be a fusion Japanese restaurant.
I got the lunch special for $12 - miso soup, Red Crane salad (spinach, bacon bits, some fruity vinaigrette, and cucumber strips), and char sui black cod with bok choy. So the portions are tiny - the black cod was literally a triangular piece of cod looking 2" x 2". It rested ever-so-carefreely on several pieces of baby bok choy. To the right were some garlic noodles. I have to say, the presentation was there, but the quantity wasn't. The noodles weren't as gooey-greasy as Castro Point, and was still thick and well-flavored - good job. The cod was incredibly tender - mmmmm! Its color is grilled red, and the red sauce gave it a seafood bbq kind of flavor.
For dessert, I ordered the Panna Cotta sampler, which contained 3 shot glasses, each filled with a lightly sweetened eggless custard, and topped off with mandarin orange, green tea, and red bean paste respectively. Pretty good - surprisingly the green tea one is the sweetest. Again, the presentation was definitely there.
Wesley had the shaved ice and it measured about 10 inches in height - ginormous. In the shaved ice are different flavors of ice cream. Wesley picked vanilla, blackberry, and pomegranite (you can choose from around 15 different flavors). His tasted SO much better than mine. The shaved ice was truly shaved so there isn't anything to chew. It was like eating ice cream flavored ice crumbles - really cool, lightly sweet, and tastes delicious.
I would go there again for the trendy looking desserts, especially the shaved ice. Otherwise, the quantity is too little for me, even though the presentation is nice.
Most people go there for the tenderloin and kobe beef, as you will see if you read the Yelp reviews.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/the-red-crane-cupertino
http://www.theredcrane.com/
Fat Kid Adventure #87: Classic Burgers (Los Gatos)
(Originally posted on July 22, 2008)
This burger joint in downtown Los Gatos are also ran by ladies, and they are even faster than The Sandwich Maker. It's like they have an internal competition going on. Anyway, I ordered a Salmon Burger with fries and a drink - whole thing for $6.28 so it's an okay price. Salmon burger, while pretty tasty, does not give you the satisfaction of biting into some real meat because 1) it's not, and 2) the filet is too soft to register a true feeling of "biting." Fries are normal. On the whole, it is an okay place for the working lunch crowd.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/classic-burger-of-los-gatos-los-gatos
This burger joint in downtown Los Gatos are also ran by ladies, and they are even faster than The Sandwich Maker. It's like they have an internal competition going on. Anyway, I ordered a Salmon Burger with fries and a drink - whole thing for $6.28 so it's an okay price. Salmon burger, while pretty tasty, does not give you the satisfaction of biting into some real meat because 1) it's not, and 2) the filet is too soft to register a true feeling of "biting." Fries are normal. On the whole, it is an okay place for the working lunch crowd.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/classic-burger-of-los-gatos-los-gatos
Fat Kid Adventure #86: The Sandwich Maker (Los Gatos)
(Originally posted on July 22, 2008)
The Sandwich Maker is a tiny little sandwich/pho place in Los Gatos. I went there for lunch yesterday, and it is a fast little joint. Lots of people lining, but but the shop ladies just keep churning them out. Main ingredients in sandwiches include chicken, turkey, roast beef, ham, etc. I got a BBQ Beef sandwich - totally did not see that it had no veggies. So it was a toasted bun with some serious beef inside smothered in BBQ sauce. It was good for maybe 5 bites, and it got kind of heavy. Anyway, an okay place I'd say, good for quickies in the middle of a busy day.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/the-sandwich-maker-los-gatos
The Sandwich Maker is a tiny little sandwich/pho place in Los Gatos. I went there for lunch yesterday, and it is a fast little joint. Lots of people lining, but but the shop ladies just keep churning them out. Main ingredients in sandwiches include chicken, turkey, roast beef, ham, etc. I got a BBQ Beef sandwich - totally did not see that it had no veggies. So it was a toasted bun with some serious beef inside smothered in BBQ sauce. It was good for maybe 5 bites, and it got kind of heavy. Anyway, an okay place I'd say, good for quickies in the middle of a busy day.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/the-sandwich-maker-los-gatos
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