Shanghai Delight

Shanghai Delight
218 Barber Court
Milpitas, California 95035
(408) 434-6888

Vitals:
Hours: Mon-Sun: 10 am – 3pm, 4:30 pm – 9:30 pm
Cash only up to $20

This is a casual, no frills restaurant that serves some good Chinese food from the Shanghi region. I’m not that familiar with Shanghai cuisine, but the food here is good (it’s Northern Chinese cuisine, which isn’t spicy and some dishes may be on the sweet side). We were looking for a place to eat in Milpitas (the restaurant we were going to was actually closed that night) and then wandered into the Milpitas Square (with the 99 Ranch), which has a wide variety of restaurants serving food from many different regions. We chose to try Shanghai Delight because unlike other restaurants, this place was full and there were people waiting to get in (this is usually a good indicator that a restaurant is good).

Since this is a typical Chinese restaurant, turnover was quick and we were seated quickly. Don’t expect great service. If I’m not that familiar with the cuisine or the restaurant, I generally do a survey of what other people order and also ask the waiter what the most popular dishes are. This was especially important here after after looking over the menu, which had over 180 items!

Most people seemed to order the Shanghai Style Rice Vegetable and Salt Pork ($6.95, item #144). The rice was soft but not mushy, with a slight saltiness to it and it had a generous amount of slightly crunchy vegetables (bok choy) and some salted pork. It was a good dish and was one of my favorites of the night (perhaps because it was like comfort food to me).

We saw many people order the Beef with Black Pepper on a Sizzling Plate ($8.95, item #73) and decided to try it. The beef was tender and it had a good flavor to it (very well marinated). The dish only had a hint of the pepper and it didn’t overpower the dish.

Since we wanted a vegetable dish, we order what the waiter recommended, the Sautéed Shanghai Style Vegetable ($7.95, item #112). The vegetables were not very leafy and it was very salty and oily. We couldn’t finish this dish, but had a few helpings. Definitely will try something else the next time.

Overall, it was a good Chinese place - the food was tasty (I think that they use MSG) if a bit oily , but the prices were really good. I would come back here again.

99 Ranch

99 Ranch
Multiple locations throughout the South Bay
Cupertino (10983 North Wolfe Road, Cupertino, CA 95014, (408) 532-8899)
San Jose (1688 Hostetter Road #E, San Jose, CA 95131, (408) 436-8899)
www.99ranch.com

Vitals:
Hours: Sun-Thurs: 9 am- 9 pm, Fri & Sat: 9 am - 9:30 pm

If I need to grab dinner for the family and I'm not in the mood to cook, then I can easily find the fixings for dinner at the local 99 Ranch market. The usually have a hot deli section in which you can pick up a small to large entree (prices range from $4-$10) and a medium rice ($1.85), which is large enough to feed about 2-3 people. The best part of going to 99 Ranch is that I have a choice protein prepared in different ways.

Barbeque pork is usually one of my favorites. It's a funny color (red) on the outside, but the pork is tender and has a sweet and salty taste and you can easily get up to a pound and you have dinner (aroun $6-7 per pound). They also have roast duck or roasted chicken if you prefer (you can ask for half a duck or chicken as well). The duck and chicken are taken off a hook in the window and cut in front of your and both are seasoned with a salty soy based sauce.

If I'm in the mood for fish, I can go to the fish section and select a fish. What's good about this place is that they will clean the fish, and if you want, they will even cut and fry the fish (you can choose between regular fry and deep fry). You just pay for the fish (price per pound) and everything else is included. The cost is dependent on what type if fish you select and how heavy it is.

Above is a bass type fish that was caught in the wild in Canada. It was on sale for $2.99 a pound, and this cost about $3.37. At first, I found it to be intimidating to pick out a fish because it's sometimes hard to tell if a fish is fresh, but from what I'm been taught, there are a few things to look for:

• skin - the skin should be shiny
  
• eyes - look for clear looking eyes (don't go for ones that have cloudy eyes)
• gills - the gills should be red (not pinkish or greyish)
• flesh - the flesh should be firm and bounce back a bit when you press the skin (it shouldn't stay sunken).
  

I generally also look fish caught in the wild (not farmed fish) from countries that have strict or ok environmental standards. I read this article in the N.Y. Times, "In China, Farming Fish in Toxic Waters", which discussed the fish farming techniques in China, its poor environmental standards and how it affects their fish. Now I generally refrain from fish that originate from China (among other products).

So on a day that I don't feel like I want to cook dinner, I can pop into 99 Ranch, pick up a small side of a vegetable (around $3), a medium rice ($1.85) and a fish all for under $10. Hard to beat this deal.

Panera Bread

Panera Bread
20807 Stevens Creek Boulevard
Cupertino, CA 95014
(408) 996-9131
www.panerabread.com

Vitals:

Kid friendly

This seems to be a new franchise that serves some good food at good prices. Their specialty, not surprisingly centers around bread. They have a lot of different types of sandwiches, whether they are standard cold or hot sandwiches or paninis. They also have a variety of salads and soups. This is not a full service place, but it is like many sandwich places.

Ordering is pretty simple. You go to the counter and place your order and they give you a buzzer when your order is ready. A good value is the “Pick Two” combination in which you can choose two of the following choices – bowl of soup, half sandwich and half salad. I’ve always been partial to the half sandwich and half salad (around $7). The portions are generous and you can choose any sandwich, soup or salad that is available. Favorites include the Frontega Chicken Panini (smoked and pulled white meat chicken, mozzarella, tomatoes, red onions, chopped basil and chipotle mayonnaise) and the Turkey Artichoke (smoked turkey breast, spinach artichoke spread, asiago parmesan cheese and onions) Paninis. I like the Paninis because they are served warm and the heat melds the flavors together. The salads are not ok, and I generally go for the grilled chicken Caesar or the Asian Sesame Chicken (although the salad dressing for the Asian Sesame Salad is definitely too sweet). If you want something warm, then the soups are ok (although the French Onion soup is actually pretty good for a place like Panera Bread – the broth was rich and full of flavor, but more cheese would have been good). Below are two combinations. One is with a half Turkey Sandwich with a half Ceasar salad, and the other is a half of a Frontega Chicken sandwich and a French Onion soup. Each combination came with with a choice of a side (piece of French or whole grain baguette, chips or apple. A fruit cup can be substituted for an additional charge).

If you don’t want a combination, then the sandwiches are substantial and are served with a spear of a pickle and a choice of sides.

A new menu item is the Crispani (thin hand crafted pizzas). I have to say that I was a bit disappointed with this. I ordered the Tomato and Fresh Basil Crispani and the bread was a bit soggy (not crispy as it should be with thin crust pizzas) and the toppings were very sparse and not that flavorful. Even after I ate everything, I was still hungry as the portion was very small.

If you need a casual place to eat with kids, then Panera Bread is a good place. They have a kid’s menu that includes some favorites with an organic twist. Whole grain sandwiches with grilled organic American cheese, standard peanut butter (all natural) and jelly or a deli meats (roast beef, smoked ham or turkey breast) with organic cheese are available and the set meals come with your choice of organic apple juice, chocolate milk or milk. The meal also comes with an organic lowfat squeezable yogurt. Pictured below is the grilled cheese sandwich, which was fine except that the cheese wasn’t melted all the way through.

Overall, this is a place where you can get good, filling sandwiches at a decent price. Definitely a Good South Bay Eat.