Straits (Santana Row)

333 Santana Row
San Jose, California 95128
(408) 246-6320
website

Vitals:
Sun-Tues: 11 am - 10 pm
Tues-Sat: 11 am - midnight
not particularly kid-friendly
accept credit cards
***

This is the place to go if you want to mix, mingle and people watch (hence, not a particular good place if you want to bring the kiddies). It was recently expanded and it is crowded most days. As for the food - if you want good Singaporean food, some of its dishes are actually pretty good, but the prices are rather outrageous considering the small portions (no real value here).

I actually prefer its prior location in Palo Alto (I believe it's been closed). The atmosphere was quieter, I had a chance to enjoy my meal at a reasonable pace and I was able to converse with my friends. At Santana Row, the noise can be deafening.

Singaporean food melds a lot of different flavors likely because it is at the cusp of different regions. Indians, Chinese, Indonesians, Malaysians and other people of Asian descent make up most of the population and that likely had an influence on the food. When I look at the menu at Straits, I see different dishes spiced up with different herbs and spices, especially curry. It's very similar to Malaysian food, and there is a liberal use of shrimp paste, curry and soy sauce to add flavor to dishes. The flavors can be rather powerful.

Favorites here include the Roti Prata (Indian flatbread with yellow curry dipping sauce $7), Singapore Satay Sticks ($9), Origami Seabass ($24) and garlic noodles ($10). The Origami Seabass is particularly good - it is artfully presented in a parchment paper basket and the fish is so tender and flavorful (but again, the portions are rather tiny considering the price).

If you're in the mood for Singaporean place, I guess this is the place to go (don't know many other Singaporean places), but if I wanted good food at a good price, then I'd probably pass. The food can be good, but there isn't much value here as the prices are just too high. If, however, I wanted to people watch, then this is probably the best place to hang out, get a drink and just people watch to my heart's content.