Curry House

Civic Park Cupertino
10350 S. De Anza Blvd.
Cupertino, CA 95014
(408) 517-1440
website


Vitals:
Mon - Thu: 11:30 am - 2:30 pm, 5:30 pm - 9:00 pm
Fri: 11:30 am - 2:30 pm, 5:30 pm - 9:30 pm
Sat: 11:30 am - 9:30 pm
Sun: 11:30 am - 9:00 pm
kid-friendly
takes credit cards
$$
****

This place doesn't have the best tasting food, the service sometimes leaves something to be desired, and the restaurant decor is a bit sterile, but there is something about this place. I just like the curry. It's like comfort food. The curries are satisfying - they taste good, the portions are large and they just make me feel warm and fuzzy afterwards.

Most of the curry dishes come with a choice of a side salad or soup (miso or corn potage). The corn potage is basically creamed corn - it's ok, but not great. I usually opt for the side salad. The salad is a small with some lettuce, green beans, kidney beans, corn and a slice of carrot and the dressing is good but slightly vinegary.

My new favorite dish here is the Keema Curry Rice ($11.70). It's a ground beef curry with shimeji mushrooms, carrots, potatoes, garlic, red chili peppers and either a soft boiled or hard boiled egg. With the recent salmonella scare, I got it with a hard boiled egg, and it was still good, but I really missed the soft boiled egg. The soft boiled egg is just so yummy and it's so nice and gooey. There's a nice mix of meat, veggies and sauce.

My other favorite is the Stone Grilled Curry Rice with tonkatsu (above - $15.50). I had been coming for about a year before one of the waiters asked me if I wanted him to mix it for me. What? I didn't know that they did this! I was a bit peeved as no one had ever mentioned it to me before! This is one of the reasons why I think service is a bit spotty here. The other curry dishes just seem a bit skimpy to me. A piece of meat, some sauce and rice? I want some veggies as well! The stone is hot when it comes out, and there is your meat of choice, some veggies and an egg (the egg usually cooks in the stone pot). I usually smush the rice against the side so that the rice gets a bit crispy. The combination of a fried crispy tonkatsu on top of curry rice is so good.

Hubby likes the Chicken and Ginger Curry ($11.60). At least I know one thing about this place, and that is all the curries don't all taste the same (a lot them do though), and this one has a distinct taste. It has a more peppery taste and it is definitely more spicy than the rest.

Spaghettis and gratins are ok here, nothing special. I know it's a curry AND spaghetti house, but it's mainly a curry house, and I'm going to stick with the house specialties.

The kids plates are also pretty good ($4.95 or $5.95). There is a choice of either a spaghetti plate, teriyaki chicken or curry rice plate. They all come with some corn potage, french fries and some cantaloupe. The big bonus is the toy that comes with the the kid's meal.

Afterwards, I like going to Red Mango, which is located in the same complex, but around the corner, for some dessert. A nice complement to a filling and good meal.

Easy Tomato and Mozzarella Salad

Since the tomato season is starting to wind down, I had to make one of my favorite salads.

Sometimes my favorite things to eat are also the simplest. This salad starts with good and fresh ingredients. To make this salad (I chose to cut up the tomatoes and mozzarella, but I could have also sliced them evenly to create a nice presentation), I just picked up a few tomatoes (variety of heirloom tomatoes), some fresh whole milk mozzarella, some basil and some garlic. That's it.

Recipe:

3 heirloom tomatoes
a handful of basil leaves
1 tbsp olive oil
1/4 tsp sea salt
1 clove garlic (optional)

Crush and mince up the garlic into very fine pieces. Put in a bowl with the olive oil and let the garlic season the oil. Add basil (I chose to chop it up into fine pieces as well). Chop up the tomatoes and mozzarella and put it on the bowl with the olive oil and garlic. Mix together. Add salt (flavor to taste).

This salad is light, refreshing and full of flavor.

Santouka Ramen

675 Saratoga Avenue (located in the Mitsuwa market)
San Jose, CA 95129
(408) 255-6699
website

Vitals:
Mon-Sun: 11:30 am - 7:30 pm (or until they run out)
Cash only
kid-friendly


I've been on a hunt to find really good ramen in the Bay Area. I've tried the ramen at Santa Ramen, Orenchi, and Halu, and they have all been fab, but then I heard about Santouka and had to try it. If you don't mind eating in a cafeteria-like place or a food court, then you're in for a treat. Some friends don't understand my obsession with ramen, they wonder why I would pay around $10 for a bowl of ramen noodles when I can just buy a package of ramen noodles for 25 cents, add a few veggies and some meat and have the same thing. Au contraire, it is SO not the same thing.

Ramen, when done well is so satisfying. I prefer noodles to be slightly chewy, the meat to be tender and fatty, and the broth to be rich and flavorful. Don't come here if you're on a diet though, it's the trifecta of bad - oily, salty and so good, you'll forget about portion control. The atmosphere is a bit sterile, but the focus is on the food.

Pictured here is the Salt Ramen special (with a side plate for the pork and other sides), and the Soya ramen. As you can see, they usually provide a small slice of fishcake (the white thing with a swirl of pink), some green onion, some pork, bamboo shoots and some cloud ear fungus (black fungus). While the regular bowls of ramen are skimpy on the meat (although you can order extra meat), it is a highly satisfying meal. What's good about this place, is that right before you order, they have a window display that, in typical Japanese style, has replicas of what your food will look like.

The salt ramen, while slightly salty is surprisingly not too salty. The broth has a milky consistency (maybe from adding egg to the broth), and is rich and very flavorful; the ramen noodles were soft, but not too soft, and slightly chewy; and the meat was tender and fatty. My kids love the ramen here (again a sign of good food) and eat up most of my noodles and meat.

The soya ramen seems saltier and has, of course, a taste of soy sauce. It's still good, but my favorite is still the salt ramen.

We've occasionally ordered the meal which comes with a bowl of rice (we choose the one with stewed pork and green onion, haven't tried with one with salmon roe) and a boiled soy egg. The meat is flavorful, but it's a bit of a disappointment. I'd rather just stick with a bowl of ramen.

Happy eating!