Chef Chu's - Los Altos

5/5 stars 

I'm actually not sure if I've ever had *real* Chinese food, but the Americanized chow from Chef Chu's is super tasty and I want to stuff it in my mouth. That's what matters when it comes to food, right?

I liked this place so much we went twice during my birthday weekend. Btw, that's the how I deal with getting older. I have birth-weekends where I eat whatever my heart desires. And what I wanted were mai tais. And Chinese takeout to take home so I could spend the rainy evening in with my dog. 

I can't think of any other place that serves greasy Chinese food and solid cocktails. I adore the mai tais at Chef Chu's. They're no Smuggler's Cove, but they're well made and go down easy. Waaay too easy. That's the problem with mai tais. You always think it's a good idea to drink another one. 

Gary made our mai tais this time and he's a very nice man. He even serenaded me! Everyone we've met there has been nothing but nice and friendly. They even surprised me with green tea ice cream and a candle even though we were getting takeout. It's the little things that matter in the end. 

My favorite things to order are: 

+ Peking duck! (But you need to order this in advance) 
+ BBQ chow mein (the chow mein is a little different than other places because it has shiitake mushrooms in it and that's why I think I love it) 
+ Basil beef clay pot (the beef is really tender) 
+ Miso-glazed chilean sea bass (this is a splurge... for a special occasion) 
+ Hunan-style smoked pork belly (one of my hubby's favorites... it's a Chinese dish we've never had before so try it if you want something different!) 
+ Braised eggplant in garlic sauce (I always order this)

Ramen Izakaya Yu-Gen - Mountain View

5/5 stars

I loved everything I slurped here!

The curry & rice was the best I've had in the South Bay. The red curry was not too salty. It was yummy and flavorful with bits of meat and went perfectly with the sticky, Japanese rice. The pickled radish added a nice crunch.

And I lovedlovedloved my Tsukemen (dipping noodles). It was delicious AND fun to eat! It came with a pile of cold ramen noodles, sliced pork, an egg, bean sprouts, green onions, and mushrooms. You warm the noodles by dipping them in a deep bowl of broth that was hot and spicy. Yum-o.

I've never had Tsukemen before, but I'm in love with the concept!

Omee.J Fusion Sushi Bar & Grill - Santa Clara

4/5 stars

Omee.J Fusion was excellent! First off, everyone was really nice. Second, the place is great for a date. Third, and the best part, their menu was super fun to read. It's huge and they had rolls with creative ingredients like potato chips and shredded coconut. Lots of fun sushi to choose from if you're into rolls.

We started with the Garlic Chicken Karaage and were surprised by how much chicken we got! Enough to feed 4 people! The portion size at Omee.J is extremely generous.

The chicken came with a tasty, spicy mayo and was fried perfectly. Not oily at all. Even though we filled up on the chicken, I also ordered the Crunch (crab meat and avocado inside, shrimp tempura and eel sauce outside) and the Shiitake Mushroom (shiitake mushroom and cucumber rolled in seaweed with sliced avocado and shiitake mushroom on top). The tempura was slightly sweet which was different, but in a pleasant way. And the Shiitake roll is a mushroom lover's dream roll. Mushrooms, mushrooms everywhere!

(2015)

Q Sushi - San Jose

5/5 stars

If anybody can build a castle made out of sushi, it's Chef Billy and Jackie.

Q Sushi is a SUSHI POP-UP in downtown San Jose. Talk about hidden gem. I adore pop-up restaurants because it's all about crazy-delcious food by crazy-talented chefs who are super passionate and driven.

Q Sushi didn't disappoint! It was the BEST sushi I've had in the Bay Area. And I'm not saying that lightly. You know how many sushi restaurants there are in the Bay Area? I bow down in reverence.

I don't think I can pick the best part. It could be how incredibly fresh everything is. The only place I've had fresher sushi is at the fish market in Tokyo. The salmon on the Lion King is sooo rich and good... maybe that's the best part. Or... it could be the fact that the terriyaki steak is made with RIB-EYE. I also liked how the chicken karaage wasn't oily at all.

Honestly though, the best part of Q is how freakin' innovative the sushi chef is. You NEED to get the Red Eclipse... it's like a sushi art sculpture! Everything is too jaw-dropping to eat. Almost.

Come! Live in my sushi castle with me!

(2015)

Gaonnuri - New York, NY

4/5 stars

I was a bit worried that Gaonnuri was going to be all view and no substance. But it wasn't! Yes, the view was amazing (how could it not be from the 39th floor), but the food was pretty good too. It's fancy-Korean, which I've never had before, but it was delicious and that's what matters. And there was a TON of it. Seriously a lot of food.

1. crispy fried calamari tossed in a sweet n' spicy sticky honey wine go-chu-jang sauce
2. super tasty jap chae with beef
3. dumplings
4. galbi with caramelized onions
5. incredibly buttery broiled black cod in deonjang sauce (this was the group favorite)

By now, you're probably wondering how I could possibly eat anything else. I was wondering that too. But somehow, I was able to find room for sticky rice & spicy kimchi stew with pork, tofu & vegetables. It was fun dipping spoonful after spoonful of rice into the tasty, flavorful broth.

I didn't have room for dessert, but I did try their Korean pear margarita but it was waaay too sweet.

Thank goodness we walked back to the High line after that. I was still full the next morning!

(2015)

Ippudo NY - New York, NY

5/5 stars

I was in NY Mon-Fri for work, but only had 1 lunch and 2-3 dinners unaccounted for so I had to choose wisely. I have a mile-long list of must-try restaurants in NY and Ippudo was at the top. They didn'tdidn'tdidn't disappoint.

We arrived 30 mins early before they opened Monday and there was noone in line so we decided to adventure to Milk Bar instead of waiting outside. When we came back, there was a line, but it wasn't bad. We made the first lunch seating and got to sit at the bar. It's the BEST place to sit. You get to watch pork buns being built, fish being torched, and fresh noodles being boiled. Everyone is sooooo nice too!

Of course I had to try the hirata buns filled with pork, mayo, and lettuce. It was most certainly the best pork bun I've ever had. The bun itself was steaming hot and pillowy. The pork was fatty and glistening. The mayo and lettuce a nice touch. I would've ordered another plate if I had another stomach. The ramen was extremely filling. For ramen, I chose the akamaru modern which is their perfect Tonkotsu with "Umami Dama" miso paste, chashu, cabbage, kikurage mushrooms, scallions, garlic oil, and a seasoned egg. Their Tonkotsu was incredible. Some Tonkotsu broths can be salty, but Ippudo's was perfect. The flavors were so deep. It was clear that this broth had been simmering for hours on end. The noodles here are on the thinner side, which I don't normally prefer, but they were fresh and springy.

Ippudo was a dream foodie destination for me and I'm so glad I got to cross it off my list. Even though there are a hundred other restaurants to try in NY, I'll be back to Ippudo.

(2015)

Hokkaido Ramen Santouka - San Jose

4/5 stars

I felt like I was transported back to Japan!

Small and booth-like, Santouka lives inside a Japanese supermarket called Mitsuwa. We arrived 10 minutes before 11 AM and there was already a line. The menu was a delightful display of plastic food behind a window. Super easy to pick what you want. The ramen came in small, medium, or large bowls, with or without a rice accompaniment. You order at the counter, cash only, and then wait a little bit (15+ minutes) for them to call your number. You pick up the ramen yourself.

I decided on the tokusen toroniku, which is made from pork cheeks. The toppings were served separately. The medium bowl was plenty! Hubby went with the spicy miso and was pleased with the slow burn.

My ramen was a delicious sight! It looked uber rich and creamy - and tasted like it looked! Almost a touch too salty for me, but it was still mouthwatering. The ramen came with a generous serving of jowl and, my favorite ramen topping, wood ear mushrooms. I added an egg even though it was hard-boiled (I prefer soft-boiled). The noodles were neither thick or thin, but somewhere in the middle. I would have to say I like Orenchi's noodles better.

It was fun finally trying this place and we'll probably be making a stop every time I need a new bag of rice!

(2015)

Ma’s Restaurant - San Jose

5/5 stars

Even though we live in The Land of Chinese Restaurants, it's mostly medicore fare. It's hard to find a place as good as Ma's!

This was my first time having dough-sliced noodles and it was my kind of noodle. They were thick and chewy... super yummy and comforting. I wanted to order it again even before we were done eating it. I wish more places served dough-sliced noodles.

We also ordered the beef & green onions and the deep fried fish with spicy garlic sauce. They were both lip-smacking, slightly greasy deliciousness. The beef and fish were perfectly cooked. The mushrooms that came with the fish were a bonus! I think they were wood ear.

The place was recently remodeled so it was clean! Yay! And the service was super friendly and efficient. And hubby was utterly delighted that you could get a soft serve cone at the end of the meal. He would come back just for that.

(2015)

GOGO Pho - Santa Clara

1/5 stars

Even though it was 80 degrees, we were craving pho. Unfortunately, our favorite Pho Wagon was closed due to the 4th of July holiday, so we decided to try GOGO for the first time.

I won't be coming back for a few reasons:

1. This place is not the cleanest. My chair had crumbs on it, the floor had a bunch of scuff marks, the baseboards were filthy, and the silverware could be cleaner. When a restaurant doesn't even look clean, I worry about how the food is prepared. Also, I HATE it when employees decide that the time to SWEEP the floors is when I'm trying to eat. It's not appetizing watching dust and other particles get kicked up in the air and wonder if it's going to land in your food. Please wait to sweep when there are no patrons in the store.

2. Though the portions were generous, the broth was not very flavorful and the pho dac biet was missing some standard things, like tendon. Also, the Vietnamese iced coffee was too sweet.

3. Our food took forever to come out. It shouldn't have taken that long. Pho broth is cooked ahead of time. I know this. You make a big pot of it. So when someone orders pho, all you have to do is cook the noodles (which doesn't take long) and arrange the meat in the bowl. This process does not take long. So why did it take ~20 minutes for our food to come out? This was not a fast meal even though it should've been.

(2015)

Tee Nee Thai Cuisine - San Jose

4/5 stars

This place reminds me of my husband and I.

Except I'm not Thai.

My hubby, on the other hand, LOVES Belgium beer. I think his affections go:

1. Me
2. Our puppy
3. Belgium beer

One of our favorite wine enthusiasts from Ridge told us about Tee Nee Thai. It's a great place for a date!

I knew that this place was known for their beer list, but their wine list was even bigger! It was fun trying to find fruity whites to pair with the spicy Thai food. And man, was their food spicy! Their "medium" is what other Thai restaurants in the area would call "hot." We tried their pad thai and a red curry with pork. Both were fresh, tasty, and well-made. The food also didn't seem as sweet as Krung Thai's.

Service was lovely. The ladies are super, super nice and even let me try the white wine before ordering it.

Even though the prices were high for the portion size and the wine pours could have been a bit more generous, we'll most likely come back because there's nothing else like it. I wish more Asian restaurants had better wine, beer, and cocktails lists.

(2015)

China Stix Restaurant - Santa Clara

4/5 stars

I've never eaten at the restaurant, but we get take-out here all the time. We recently ordered a huge amount of food because we had friends over and there were some things I wanted to note:

1. They got the order right. When you order A LOT of food over the phone, mistakes can happen. But not with China Stix. They're always so pleasant over the phone.

2. The food is not greasy! And the vegetables (like asparagus) always taste fresh.

3. The kung pao chicken is really tasty.

4. You get free chow mein if you order over a certain amount.

5. I love the crab rangoons.

We haven't had a bad dish here! I wouldn't say it's super authentic or incredibly tasty (the sauces/seasonings need work), but it's definitely above-average. The only downsides are (A) they don't deliver and (B) they're a bit pricey.

(2015)

Vung Tau - San Jose

1/5 stars (2015)

UPDATE :)

Quality has gone WAY down hill. I won't be coming back.

***




3/5 stars (2007)

Beware the long review, read on if you want to learn a lil' sumthin'sumthin bout Vietnamese cuisine :)

MY MOM EATS HERE: In my eyes (and tummy), no Vietnamese food beats my mom's homecooked meals. So if she thinks this place is good, then this is a Vietnamese restaruant you should eat at.

ATMOSPHERE: I haven't been back since they remodeled. Vung Tau used to be crowded, not the cleanest, and had that "second hand, but the food is awesome" look. Now, I feel like they're trying to be Straits second cousin, twice removed or something, minus the bar and the chic look. I like the clean chairs, the bamboo color, and the vibrant paintings. It's also a whole lot quieter now - could be in part because the prices have been raised way up (tea used to be only 50 cents). At least the quality and taste of the food is the same. I hate it when restaurants get a makeover, jack up their prices, and then suck at the food part.

FOOD: Vietnamese food is so unique. It's not as greasy as Chinese, or as spicy or curried as Thai, or as fishy and terriyaki heavy as Japanese. The menu at Vung Tau is pretty spectacular in size - you can really try all sorts of things - noodles (banh hoi or hu tieu), rice plates, soup (canh). Today, my mom and I ordered:

+the banh hoi bo nuong (thinly sliced beef rolled around onions)
+the banh hoi nem (grilled pork meatballs)

Banh hoi is steamed rice vermiccelli - it's really light, slightly sticky, and extremely thin. Drizzled with green onions and some well-made fish sauce mixed with chili and it's wonderful. One of my favorite things about Vietnamese food is that a lot of dishes come with a huge plate of fresh vegetables. The ban hoi came with a huge pile of green leaf lettuce, bean sprouts (still wet, which means they were washed, yay!), cucumbers, and carrots and daikon soaked in vinegar (I recommend you soak these in your own fish sauce before eating them). We also ordered an extra plate of rice paper (to wrap everything up, sort of like a soft taco). Wrap with goodies, dip in fish sauce, yumm!

Eat this:

+hu tieu ba nam sadec or nam vang - translates to rice flour noodle soup with shrimp, crab, and pork. Ask for it DRY, which means the soup comes in a separate bowl... it's different and the tomato-like sauce the noodles are topped with makes for a very delicious noodle experience. What you do is either eat some noodles, then spoon up some soup, or gradually pour some soup into the dry noodles as you eat.
+canh chua tom vietnam - it's light, sort of sweet n' sour, and 100% drool-worthy. It's a tamarind soup chock full of things like shrimp and bean sprouts and you eat it with white rice.

BBQ Town - Santa Clara

3/5 stars

Been on a Korean food kick lately. Actually, it's more like a japchae kick. I love those glassy noodles!

BBQ Town is one of the stalls at a food court. It's fairly clean. My complaints: the parking lot was a clusterfuck and they need more than 1 person busing tables. There were a lot of tables that were uncleaned for a very long time and there's no way for people to clean them themselves.

Overall, tasty, fast, semi-cheap Korean food. The japchae was flavorful and a good size portion. My short-ribs, however, were kinda dry and the portion was small for 11 bucks. It was also pretty tough. The rice was perfectly cooked and I enjoyed the salad. The meal also came with unmemorable miso soup. My hubby's spicy pork was not spicy.

Not sure if we'll be back. The atmosphere was not really my thing, but I can see us grabbing stuff to-go.

(2014)

Kong Tofu & BBQ Korean Cuisine - Cupertino

4/5 stars

I was craving tiny, Korean side dishes so we finally made it to Kong for the first time. I love those little things. Trying each side dish is like opening a present!

Service was super friendly and efficient. Restaurant was clean. We arrived around 7pm and they were busy. We left around 8 and they were PACKED. Line almost out the door!

Hubby had the tofu soup and loooved it. He would definitely come back for that. I had the Korean ribs and they were really tasty, albeit expensive ($16). Quantity was good, though. I had to take some home.

Pro: I really liked that they re-filled the side dishes complimentary!

(2013)

Kung Fu Tacos - San Francisco (closed)

3/5 stars

It was close to closing time at the San Francisco Beer Week Opening Celebration and hubby and I were in dire need of "post-drinking" food. I had high hopes for a pork belly burger, but since they were out, we found ourselves in Kung Fu Tacos' line.

We got the LAST two Asian-style carne asada burritos in the building. Woo! And even though we're die-hard Mexican fans, these Asian ones were really tasty. I enjoyed the flavor of the meat (hoisin?) and was a fan of the salsa. It melded well with the steak. The black beans were creamy and it all just came together. It was probably the best Asian-inspired burrito I've had yet.

At $9, it was expensive (burritos are usually in the $6-$7 range), but it make sense they bumped up the price for something like Beer Week.

(2013)

Red Hot Wok - Cupertino

3/5 stars

5 stars for the service! The girls there: 1) spoke English, 2) were super friendly and personal, 3) gave me a free dessert because it was Christmas!

The food was good, but not my favorite Chinese. The chow mein was not as saucy as I like. The noodles had a sort of dry rub which was really strange to me/ different. The meat was plentiful, though, and the veggies crisp and fresh. The pineapple shrimp was tasty, however way way way overly mayo-ed. I did like how the shrimp was not overcooked.

I'll probably try them again. I'm curious about their shaved ice!

(2012)

Mizu Sushi Bar & Grill - San Jose

5/5 stars

My sissy-poo works for a sushi catering company (they cater a bunch of tech companies -- legit!) BUT she hates sushi (lol)! She's the one who recommended this place and for someone who doesn't eat sushi, she totally got it right.

+ baked scallop roll
+ they have a WHOLE section dedicated to non-raw sushi - yeeesss!
+ their salad dressing
+ my mom digs their sweet potato fries (the sauce that comes with it is delish, too)
+ their Korean food is really good, too
+ hip/ clean/ large space
+ cocktails! (but the bar area is quite small)

Only cons: price + you have to make reservations. But (!) those two reasons won't stop me from coming back!

(2012)

Cooking Papa Restaurant - Santa Clara

5/5 stars

Oh man. Easter dinner here was SO AWESOME! We ordered so much food, the servers had to be creative on how they stacked our dishes on the small, round table.

I have very many favorite Asian dishes, but I have to say that Peking Duck is way up there. Unfortunately, even though I live in what feels like Asia-ville, Peking Duck is sooo hard to find! Now I have to look no more! For as long as Cooking Papa shall live, I will have a place to go for my Peking Duck fix. It comes with hot, cushy steamed buns and sliced green onions. Combine the bun + onions with some greasy duck (no seasoning needed because duck fat is scrumptious enough) and a piece of crispy duck skin and - oh, smack those lips!

The rice noodle with crispy chinese donuts tucked inside was super unique and tasty and the pork belly *almost* too rich to handle. I'm excited to come back to try their Chinese BBQ rice dishes and get my rice noodle rolls and Peking Duck!

(2012)

Orenchi Ramen - Santa Clara

5/5 stars

I don't usually HAPPILY wait 45+ minutes for any place.

I've been to Japan and this place is authentic in every way possible: the wait, the look, the service, but most importantly - the ramen.

The only problem, aside from the wait (which I have no control over), is that I always order the same thing because I CRAVE it at least 2x a week. The tonkotsu is creamy, savory, pork-y, chicken-soup-perfection. It comes with a single slice of pork, an amazing soft-boiled egg, mushrooms, scallions, and seaweed. I always order an extra egg because the egg = win. Oh, and the noodles? Thick and chewy.

I've also had the chicken karaage (must order), the rice and pork (decent), the bamboo shoots (decent), and the egg rolls (OK to skip).

The service is quick, loud, efficient, and friendly.

I'm glad they're doing so well, but really, I wish there wasn't a 45 minute wait EVERY SINGLE TIME. That won't stop me from going, though. Best ramen in the Bay Area IMO.

(2011)

Shabu House - Burlingame

4/5 stars

There were 12 of us. We were loud. We ate and drank A LOT! A LOT! A LOT! But the service was awesome. They were attentive and polite. Great place for big groups. It was a modern, clean space. Wear a t-shirt, though. It gets super hot!

I got the all-you-can-eat-and-drink for $41 and I thought it was great. You can choose from 3 broths (water, spicy miso, and chicken ginger) and 3 meats (beef, pork, and lamb). Dessert - green tea or red bean ice cream - and soda is included.

The veggies plate was clean and fresh. There were two kinds of mushrooms, cabbage, spinach, udon noodles, and tofu. You could also ask for white rice. When you asked for anything extra, they brought out a ton of it. Shabu House is definitely NOT skimpy.

I really enjoyed the two sauces that came with the meats. One was a soy and tasted great loaded up with garlic and green onions. The other was a creamy peanut.

There were three beers to choose from (I prefer Kirin) and house sake.

Thank you, Shabu House. We had a great time celebrating my dear friend's 30th birthday here.

FYI: unlimited alcohol apparently has a two-hour time limit.

(2011)