mr_darcy's Profile
Kahoo Ramen - New (additional) Location in Santa Clara
On El Camino and Lawrence, across El Camino from Jang Su Jang - it takes the place of a diner. Haven't tried it yet but just wanted to alert everybody to its existence :)
Michelle's Pancake House in Cupertino (northern Chinese)
Thanks - means a lot coming from you!
Just tried some of the frozen dumplings today - excellent, although the filling was not as solid as the ones we had at the restaurant. Not sure why.
Michelle's Pancake House in Cupertino (northern Chinese)
Wanted to alert everybody to Michelle's Pancake House in Cupertino. They just opened last Sunday - they're a franchise from Socal. The franchisee is Taiwanese but the owner of the franchise is from Shandong and it shows.
Dumplings were some of the best I've ever had. We got the pork and napa ones. It's handmade (you can watch them in their beautiful clean kitchen) - the skin is thin yet chewy. There are excellent dipping sauces - the standard soy sauce and vinegar but also a more unique garlic-based one as well as a hot sauce that seemed to have essence of peanut (or almond?).
My girlfriend was a huge fan of their red bean pancakes - the bean paste was not sickly sweet and definitely let the true flavor of the red bean come through. The skin was extremely thin and the pancake was well-pleated - those who have tried to make these before will recognize the amount of skill this takes. We also got beef and green onion pancakes, which were excellent and very juicy (though I think they contain chives, which the whole restaurant smells of).
Finally, the zha jiang mian was excellent - the noodles are clearly house-made, though I think through a machine (not hand-pulled). The dish was actually unlike I've seen before - with pickled baby corn and carrots, but the flavor the dish was spot on. Well executed.
Picked up a bag of frozen dumplings on our way out. Love this place. They're having a grand opening on the 30th but they're open and packed now already.
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Michelle's Pancake House
19060 Stevens Creek Blvd, Cupertino, CA 95014
Soong Soong (San Jose) - home style northern Chinese food
Didn't see mention of this place on this board, so thought I'd write a post about it. It's kind of in a weird location, which I think might account for its lack of traffic.
We went there for a Chinese breakfast and were impressed with the dou jiang and you tiao. We ordered zha jiang mian - the noodles were nice and chewy. The sauce included seafood, interestingly. The guo tie were okay but they're not handmade. The service was very friendly - waitstaff had a northern accent.
Anybody else try this place?
edit: looking at Yelp, it looks like it may have once been Taiwanese and/or Sichuan... perhaps an ownership change? We were wondering about the curious English name (thought it was a Korean restaurant at first!).
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Soong Soong
3680 Stevens Creek Blvd, San Jose, CA 95117
Redwood City and surrounds
I think it used to be a Chinese-Hawaiian place - as far as I could tell, it's the same owners as before. I think they're Cantonese. The food was definitely not authentic to Beijing - perhaps the Cantonese dishes would be better, but I'm skeptical.
Redwood City and surrounds
Are you talking about Beijing Kitchen? The lady there is super nice but I found the food mediocre at best, sadly.
Morimoto Napa
More than a year later, but I just had the ramen tonight - excellent! It's not like most other ramen though - the noodles are white, medium width, and straight. They're slightly chewy - dangerously close to being too soft, but thankfully not. The chicken is good - nothing too notable. The broth is really good - strong chicken flavor without being overly salty.
Where to buy honey roasted satay fish sticks in Bay Area?
Can't find these at any of the typical Asian grocery stores:
http://www.alibaba.com/product/bukseng-11846226-11118631/Satay_Fish_24_X_80_Sticks.html
high end dinner in napa and SF
I was just at Bushi-Tei for dinner last night. The food was superb and on the level of a one-star restaurant (the service was adequate but not on the same level as the food). Not the same kind of restaurant as Manresa, etc. though.
Would be curious to hear what made it a travesty for you.
Crestfallen at Shanghai Flavor Shop
Interesting... so your relatives confirm that shen jian bao used to be made frying on the bottom in Shanghai? I did some digging and began to wonder if the ones I am used to are actually shui jian bao. I think frying on the pleated side might be considered to look better, since the "clean" side is nice and smooth. I'm not sure about the seal though - if you're worried about juices staying in, it seems like it'd be better to fry the bottom since turning it upside down may cause juices to leak out the top (which is the only place there would be holes, if any). Then again, maybe the concern is around losing moisture as steam?
Crestfallen at Shanghai Flavor Shop
Damn, this is like my worst nightmare coming true. I'll have to do more research into SJB...
In any case, I would assume (based on the OP's comment about Dumpling Kitchen) the OP is more accustomed (as am I) to SJB that are fried on the bottom:
http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/BI40rGhpngLNPacrjWpseQ?select=w_KL1eyTGgNiidp0LCSkTA
Having only had the Shanghai Flavor Shop - style SJB only once, it's hard to generalize, but I would say the main differences would be less cavernous space in the middle, the bottom is fried instead of the top (and is not as heavily fried), and the dough is softer.
I'm not sure that leavened dough is the sole explanation for the air space - there are plenty of examples of buns that are made with leavened dough that do not have such space (like BBQ pork buns).
Redwood City and surrounds
Yea, the list is a little out of date. It's a pity the author didn't make it a wiki or something like that. Try the quesadilla de maiz - it's something you can't get at most taquerias :)
Crestfallen at Shanghai Flavor Shop
I whole-heartedly agree with you. I was initially baffled at why this place had received positive reviews. The only explanation I can find is that there are two kinds of SJB - the right kind and the bastardized kind Shanghai Flavor Shop serves, which they apparently excel at ;)
I'm personally a huge fan of the SJB at Little Shanghai in San Mateo. The ones at Beijing Restaurant in SF aren't bad either.
Looking for Ritter Sport Milk Chocolate Bar with Yogurt Filling
Not in Marin or East Bay, but I'm pretty sure I've seen this variant at Rhea's Deli in the Mission.
Redwood City and surrounds
I've heard that RWC has the most taquerias per capita of any city - I don't know if this is true, but I wouldn't be surprised if it were. Mexican is the way to go, in terms of an area specialty, in my opinion. My favorites are Los Gemelos and Bravo Taqueria. A lot of people like La Casita Chilanga. I think the Mexican here is among the best in the Bay Area, a distinction I haven't been able to discern for other types of food.
If you're looking for fancier food - there's Village Pub (1 star) and Station 1 (lost their sole star this time around) in nearby Woodside. I think Village Pub is okay for dinner personally, but I do think they have one of the best Sunday brunches around. Haven't been to Station 1.
Has the quality of the meat at Jersey Joe's declined?
I used to love the sandwiches at Jersey Joe's, but in my past two visits, the meat has been noticeably tougher / chewier. Has anyone else noticed this?
Shabu restaurants serving real Kobe beef?
Replying to my own question - I still haven't found one serving real Kobe beef, but I have found one that has meat quality I'm satisfied with - One Pot in Cupertino. Taiwanese-owned - they have an interesting soy milk broth that is worth trying.
Where can I find shelled pistachios?
Safeway (at least the one near me) has them in their roasted nuts stand.
Favorite Cakes in the Bay Area
I happened upon it by pure fortunate circumstance - someone brought it to a birthday celebration I was attending. The whole night, I was asking people "have you tried this cake... I'm normally not a cake person, but this one is really good!" I had no clue it was semi-famous at the time.
@RWCFoodie - RWC represent...
Shabu restaurants serving real Kobe beef?
Are there any restaurants in the area serving shabu shabu with real Kobe beef (not the American Kobe)? I've been to Shabu House - it was alright (especially for the price, with the all-you-can-eat-and-drink), but I crave higher quality meat. I did a search but only found three threads (none of which were really relevant).
Thanks!
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Shabu House
5158 Geary Blvd, San Francisco, CA 94118
Southern Thai?
Just for purposes of contributing to the discussion, here is the Jonathan Gold review (think the OP's link is broken):
http://www.laweekly.com/2007-08-16/eat-drink/flame-war/
And here's the original BB post that brought the Southern Thai menu to fame, which offers one view of what defines Southern Thai:
http://lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=13933
Southern Thai?
Jitlada being the only self-defined Southern Thai restaurant I've been to, it's hard for me to say definitively, but I see a few dishes under "Curries" and "From the Grill" that seem familiar from Jitlada's menu. #54, the grilled salmon, sounds like the dish I had last night (but much cheaper).
Southern Thai?
I'd like to know as well... I just had a meal at Jitlada (the one Gold wrote about) and it was spectacular. Easily the best Thai meal I've ever had.
Best Chow in Guangzhou
I assume you've already gone - what were your experiences?
Guangzhou Restaurant (don't remember which location) was probably one of the best dinners I've ever had. Just about everything we executed perfectly. The only disappointment was the roast suckling pig, which they are famous for. I guess it's because I was expecting more than just the skin of the pig...
Yin Ji is good - maybe the best cheong fun I've had. That said, it wasn't transcendent and is a little out of the way. If you're a hardcore lover of cheong fun, then I would go - otherwise, it might not be worth it.
Best egg custard tarts in Hong Kong and Macau?
I'm taking a trip to HK and Macau and am very excited because egg custard tarts are a favorite of mine, and these are the birthplaces of the two major styles of egg custard tart. What are the must-try places?
Intensive weekend cooking classes?
Any recommendations for weekend cooking classes in the Bay Area? I'm specifically looking for classes where I can hone a specific technique to perfection and really get a solid grasp of the scientific principles behind it, rather than the more fun-focused classes where you cook a meal with everyone and eat it at the end, which seem more designed to just get your feet wet.
Thanks!
