What to Eat, Part I

Hmmm, what do I feel like eating today.

Luckily, because I live in the San Francisco Bay Area, which has a diverse population, I can usually find something that will satisfy any craving that I have. Indian food? Sure, there are North Indian and South Indian restaurants, bakeries and stores. Chinese food? I can find restaurants serving foods from its many regions and find most of the ingredients at huge supermarkets, such as Ranch 99 or Lion. Recently, there has been a trend towards Southeast Asian food. While Thai food has always been popular, restaurants serving Vietnamese, Singaporean and Malaysian food are cropping up.

I don't have a sophisticated palate and I don't consider myself a food snob, but I do appreciate food that opens up ideas on the different ways certain food can be used and excites my senses. For instance, who knew that the avocado could be used in so many ways? Before, the avocado was mainly used for making guacamole, but then I found out that in Southeast Asia (such as in the Philippines and Vietnam), it is eaten as a dessert and is sometimes used to make a smoothie.




What a rather strange way to use avocado, I initially thought, but I couldn't deny how good it tasted. The avocado is mixed with condensed milk and perhaps some ice and topped with some whipped cream. It wasn't on the menu, but Vietnamese restaurants have it when avocados are in season. The taste was sweet with a slight hint of avocado, the texture was smooth and it left my palate clean.

Not usually adventurous when eating foods (I do have an aversion to eating internal organs, but make a few exceptions) and I don't trust when people say, "don't worry about what it is, just taste it" (only to find out that I had eat some sort of intestine), but I love exploring how different regions cook and eat their foods and the reasons why food is cooked in a certain way.

Krung Thai

Krung Thai
580 S. Winchester Blvd
San Jose, CA 95128
(408) 248-3435
www.newkrungthai.com

Vitals:
M-F: 11 am - 3 pm, 5 pm - 10 pm
Sat-Sun: 12 pm - 10 pm
kid friendly
Reservations accepted for groups of 6 or more

Thai food is one of my favorite cuisines and after taking a Thai cooking class and traveling through Thailand, I’m become more critical of the dishes that are served at Thai restaurants. That being said, this restaurant serves some pretty authentic Thai food and has a extensive menu that will satisfy most tastes. New Krung Thai is a sister restaurant to the older restaurant down the street, but I prefer this location as it is nicely decorate, newer and seems cleaner. There is one large dining hall, which can get pretty noisy at night so I wouldn't recommend this place if you're looking for a quiet place to have an intimate conversation.

The Tom Yum Goong soup here disappointed me (ranges from $8.95 for the small to $17.95 for the extra large). Tom Yum soup is a hot and sour traditional soup that is found all over Thailand. Sweet, salty, sour and spicy tastes are all balanced in this aromatic soup. Generally, the stock is made from shrimp shells and lemongrass, shrimp paste provides the sweetness, fish sauce provides the saltiness, lime and tamarind provide the sourness and Thai chilis provide the spicy taste. The soup at Krung Thai didn’t have the right balance of sweet, sour, spicy and salty. It was a bit bland and definitely too sour. It basically tasted like lemongrass soup with some lime. Pieces of lemongrass floated in the soup (which should have been strained out). I want authentic darn it and I’ll keep searching until I find a perfect bowl of Tom Yum Goong soup.

The Tod Mun (fish cakes) is a good appetizer ($7.95). The fish cakes are patties of ground fish mixed with green onions and other spices and is served with a dipping sauce that is sweet and sour sauce with cucumbers and chilis. The fish is deep fried and has a slight saltiness and chewiness that is balanced by the sweet and sour sauce. The appetizers are generally around $7.95 and are good as well, such as the Satay (chicken, beef or pork) or the Angel Wings.

The curries here are adequate ($10.95 for the chicken, pork or beef, and $12.95 with prawns). Thai curries are generally made with coconut milk, which made the curries a bit sweet and cuts the spiciness of the curry paste. The Penang Fish Curry (red curry with basa) was particularly good, but any of the curries are good. However, the curries could use more vegetables and/or meat.

My favorite dishes are the ones with basil and chili (Pad Gra-Paw) ($8.95 for chicken, beef or pork, $9.95 for calamari and $12.95 for prawns). In particular, the squid with basil and chili is good as the squid is not too chewy and the sauce nicely complements the blandness of the squid. The flavors are strong and complex with the combinations of garlic, fish sauce, pepper and basil.

If you’re in the mood for noodles, the Pad Thai ($9.95) and the Pad See Ew ($8.95 with chicken, beef or pork and $9.95 with prawns) noodles are good. The Pad Thai noodles were slightly chewy and firm and was is covered in a savory somewhat sweet sauce and comes with tofu, meat (such as shrimp), bean sprouts and crushed peanuts. I really like that they make the Pad Thai the traditional way (it doesn’t look like they use ketchup when making the sauce). The Pad See Ew noodles are good as well. The rice noodles are soft and covered in a slightly sweet black soy sauce and mixed with vegetables and choice of meat.

When in season, try to save some room for the dessert made of mangoes with sticky rice. I think that this is one of the more perfect desserts in terms of texture and taste. The glutinous rice complements the texture of the mangoes and the sweetness of the mangoes mixes well with the sweet coconut flavor in the sticky rice.

Tomatina

Tomatina
3127 Mission College Blvd
Santa Clara, CA 95054
Phone: (408) 654-9000
Fax: 408 654-9009
www.tomatina.com

Vitals:
Mon-Thurs: 11 am - 10 pm
Sat: 11:30 am - 11:00 pm
Sun: 11:30 am - 10 pm
Good for groups
kid-friendly

Tomatina is named after the festival in the village of Bunol, Spain, where for one day each year, there is a town food fight using ripe tomatoes. Tomatina is a casual pizza joint that serves some good thin crust pizza (although the pizza crust reminds me of naan bread, which is fine by me), which is baked in a brick oven that makes the crust bubble up and crispy. I really like this place as the food is good, cheap and it's a convenient place to go to before you check out a movie.

Starters are pretty standard, garlic rolls, bruschetta and soups (which generally range from $3.50-$8.50). They also serve pan-roasted mussels, which are particular good. The mussels are fresh and the sauce is made of garlic, white wine, some spices and tomato sauce. I don’t know what they put in that sauce but it’s delicious (I even like to dip my bread in the sauce).

Interestingly, they also serve piadines (pronounced like “pee-ah-dee-nees”), which is essentially a flatbread topped with your choice of salad that you fold in two and eat like a huge taco (generally run around $9-$10). When I first ordered one, I couldn’t imagine how anyone could finish the whole thing (they are pretty large), but once you start eating one, you can’t stop and lo and behold, you are left with an empty plate and a full stomach. My favorite piadines are the caprese (the bread has a slight drizzle of pesto and it's made with romaine lettuce, roasted tomatoes, fresh mozarella, parmesan and topped with a balsamic vinaigrette dressing, but instead of romaine lettuce I ask for baby spinach) and the chicken (the bread is spread with some garlic paste and it's made with baby spinach, roasted red peppers, mozzarella and parmesan cheese and topped with a citrus vinaigrette) .

I’m not a pizza aficionado, but the pizzas here are pretty good as well but the pizzas are a bit on the small side. My husband and I can easily finish a medium sized pizza (although I’m sure we could do some damage on large pizzas as well). Pizzas range from $11-$24, but personal pizza starts at $8. My favorite pizza here is the “Spicy” Three Cheese pizza. It’s a simple pizza that packs a lot of flavor in each bite - it’s made of a blend of feta, fontina, parmesan and mozzarella, with pieces of proscuitto, roasted garlic paste, peppercinis, onions and fresh parsley. The blend of cheeses is decadent and provides a good salty base that nicely complements (and doesn’t overpower) the pieces of proscuitto and is highlighted by the spicy kick provided by the peppercinis. I’m not a big fan of the parsley, so I just pick those out. I have to stop talking about this pizza…. The Pesto Chicken is also good, which is made of tomato sauce, mozzarella and parmesan cheese , with pieces of roasted chicken, roasted red peppers and drizzled with a sun dried tomato and basil pesto sauce.

Pastas are adequate, but not memorable (prices range from $9-$11). Can’t say when I’ve ever been impressed by a pasta dish. I’ll keep searching for that perfect plate.

This is one of my favorite cheap South Bay Eats!!!!

Layang Layang

Layang Layang
1480 South De Anza Blvd.
San Jose, California 95129
(408) 777-8897

Vitals:
Monday: closed
Tues-Fri: 11am-3 pm, 5 - 9:30 pm
Sat: 11 am - 10 pm
Sun: 11 am - 9:30 pm
kid friendly
good for small groups

It looks like a hole in the wall, a small building on a busy street near a freeway, surrounded by other stores that sell industrial supplies (its right next to Kelly Moore), but surprisingly, the inside is an oasis, a tropical setting that is warmly and richly colored with fake tall palm trees that sets you at ease the instant you walk in. The waiters are friendly and helpful and seem to be very eager to please. While the portions are slightly on the small side, the flavors were great and made up for the lack in portion size.

The menu is informative with pictures of popular dishes. If you're not familiar with Malaysian dishes, it gives you an idea of what to expect. The inside cover of the menu also features the top twenty dishes. The ingredients used are fresh and the flavors are strong, yet subtle. While they mainly feature Malay dishes, the menu also includes popular dishes from Thailand.

Favorites here include the following: for an appetizer or salad, start with the roti canai (indian flatbread with a side of curry sauce) and the green papaya salad. Satay chicken is also pretty good, especially when it is dipped in the sweet, slightly salty peanut sauce.

If you've never had green papaya salad, it's not what you expect (I expected pieces of ripe papaya). The slivered pieces of unripe papaya (hence, the "green" part) are slightly crunchy and on their own don't have much flavor except for the sauce that accompanies the salad. The salad is refreshing and light and the salad dressing is a slightly sweet and sour fish sauce.

For the main course, choose from the many seafood choices, such as Sarang Seafood (fried taro nest with seafood), Ikan Bakar (grilled striped bass wrapped in banana leaf), or try Beef or Chicken Randang (Beef or Chicken covered in a thick curry sauce). The Sarang Seafood is a mix of seafood (shrimp, scallops and squid) and vegetables that are covered in a savory brown sauce and nestled in a fried taro root bowl. The taro root is crispy on the outside and warm and soft on the inside and the sweetness of the taro root is enhanced by the saltiness of the brown sauce. The seafood portion is quite small, but the variety is good.

If you want a vegetables dish, try the KangKung Belacan (Ong Choi sauteed in shrimp paste) or String Beans or Eggplant. If you want a starchy dish, try the noodle dishes such as the Chow Kueh Teow (spicy fried rice noodle with shrimp, squid and bean sprouts) or the Pad Thai (somewhat sweet and salty noodles with tofu, shrimp and bean sprouts).

The tofu dishes are also notable here as they are homemade, fresh and very silky. The Sizzling Princess Tofu dish is one of my favorites.

If you want to have a soup, I would probably skip the Seafood Tom Yam Soup. I'm pretty picky whenever I order this soup, and their version is too sour and somewhat bland at the same time. I haven't tried the other soups, but perhaps I was turned off by how they made this soup.

Layang Layang is a member of restaurant.com, and you can buy gift certificates to Layang Layang for a discount. For instance, you can buy a $10 gift certificate for $3 or a $25 gift certificate for $10 (sometimes if you look online you can get these even cheaper by using another coupon!). The gift certificates may only be used for dinner/dine-in and requires a minimum purchase (for instance, to use the $25 gift certificate you need to purchase at least $50 worth of food (excluding alcohol and gratuity of 18%)).

Enjoy!

Sonoma Chicken Coop

Sonoma Chicken Coop
200 E. Campbell Avenue
Campbell, California 95003
(408) 866-2699
www.sonomachickencoop.com

Vitals:
M-Thu: 9am – 10 pm
Fri-Sat: 9 am – 11 pm
Sun: 10 am – 10 pm
Kid friendly
Good for groups

“Casual Excellence” is their motto. This casual restaurant serves a range of food, but mostly American fare. You begin by looking over their pretty extensive menu, then order at the counter. You will be given a number and a buzzer, and then you can look for an open table. Once your order is ready, they will call it over the speaker system and your buzzer will buzz and then you can pick up your order at the pick up counter. This place is good for groups as they have a large upstairs area that can accommodate a lot of people.

If you don’t mind not having service, then you will be treated with some good food at very reasonable prices. I usually come here for brunch when Stacks down the street is crowded as the brunch is pretty good and they have a good selection of brunch-type foods.

The Coop Basics, Scrambles and French Toast are good choices. Favorites include Chorizo, Eggs & Tortillas (pictured below) and the Spinach & Mushroom Scramble. There is a fair amount of chorizo in the eggs, so the scramble is meaty, fatty but not greasy. The French Toast is also good as it is grilled in butter.

If you’re here for lunch or dinner, try the Roasted Chicken. You get a choice of sauces and I generally prefer the warm Lemon Vinaigrette (pictured below) or the Booster BBQ. The Lemon Vinaigrette is a bit on the oily side and the capers do tend to overpower the subtle lemon flavor of the bird, but it is still tasty. The BBQ sauce is sweet, but not overly sweet, and it complements the tenderness of the chicken. I like that you get a choice of a side with your chicken (below is the side of pasta with pesto sauce, which was somewhat bland). I would skip the pasta and pizza dishes, which are just average.

Try to save room for dessert. I enjoy the dark chocolate fondue the most. There is a good selection of fruits, pound cake, cookies and marshmallows to dip into the thick dark chocolate. Yummmmm…….Of course, this doesn’t even compare to La Fondue, but who could?

Fall and Comfort Foods

It's Fall. There's something about Fall. The sun sets earlier and rises later, and there is a certain chill in the air. The leaves start to change color and fall off the trees. The tress are left standing naked with twisted branches and try to retain some modesty against an overcast sky.

Granted, the seasons are not as dramatic in California, and I shouldn't complain because I don't have to deal with the snow storms or icy conditions, but there is a certain nostalgia that I feel whenever Fall comes around. I start to think about the long Summer days and the feeling of freedom whenever I was outside, where the air was full of life and longing and I was happily walking around drenched in the sunlight. Then the rain starts and the twilightish light casts a long shadow on everything. I say a long goodbye to heirloom tomatoes and summer fruits like peaches, strawberries, nectarines and plums.

Fall is the beginning of a hibernation period for me. I want to eat comfort foods. I want to hole up in my home and either make a big batch of chili or some lasagna or snuggle up under a blanket on the couch with a large bowl of macaroni and cheese and not leave my little cave.

I can't complain too much though. It is the start of the holiday season. Thanksgiving. Christmas. Occasions that center around family, friends and food. There is a reunion of sorts as family members that were gone on vacation are now back in town. My husband comes from a large family and I look forward to indulging in most of my favorite comfort foods during these large family-centered occasions - turkey with gravy and cranberry sauce, prime rib, mashed potatoes and desserts galore. Sometimes there are other dishes such as bahn cuon (rice noodles stuffed with meat), egg rolls and Vietnamese curries. There is enough variety to appeal to even the pickiest of eaters and certainly enough food for all. It's like going to any banquet, you have to pace yourself, just so that you can have a taste of everything. Then, you can go back for seconds for your favorites.

There is one good reason to look forward to Fall though and that is, the beginning of DUNGENESS CRAB SEASON! Generally, the season starts sometime around Thanksgiving. We have a tradition of going to the docks in Half Moon Bay and buy crabs directly from the boats. Half Moon Bay is a beautiful area and it reminds me how lucky I am to be living here. The smell of the ocean and the wind invigorates me a bit and I like the process of selecting my crabs and knowing that they are fresh from the ocean. I find that the crabs have much more tomalley (the yellowish green runny material in the body cavity, which is the liver) than the ones I buy at the supermarket. Although the taste of tomalley is a bit strong by itself, it adds a great flavor to the crab meat, or to any rice dish. Unfortunately, with the oil spill, this may temper my enthusiasm for buying crab, but I don't think that the oil spill will affect the areas where the crab fishermen harvest the crab.

I prefer my crab plain. It's so easy: step 1 - just pop the crabs in a steamer and let them steam for about 20 minutes and they're done, step 2 - cover the table with old newspaper and put a set of nut crackers or crab tools at each setting and put an empty bowl for all of the shells in the middle, and step 3 - dig in! Just to provide some balance, I make some white rice and some veggies.

What can be better than this?

Lee's Sandwiches

Lees Sandwiches
Multiple locations

Cupertino (20363 Stevens Creek Blvd, Cupertino - (408) 446-5030)
Sunnyvale (939 W El Camino Real, Sunnyvale - (408) 774-0595)
San Jose: (260 E Santa Clara St, San Jose - (408) 286-8808)

The McDonalds of Vietnamese sandwich places and they have expanded aggressively. Vietnamese sandwiches (bahn mi) are made from French bread and filled with different types of meat (usually pork), cilantro, pickled carrots and radishes, some chilis and mayonnaise.

The bread here is soft on the inside but the outside is fairly tough and chewy. Many options are available, such as the combination with different types of pork (such as cha lua, a type of pate of pork steamed in a banana leaf), or you can choose different sandwiches made with grilled pork, barbecue pork and chicken. There are so many different sandwiches here that you can usually find something to your liking. If you’re not in the mood for a Vietnamese sandwich, then they have other more American style sandwiches.

For the price, you can’t beat Lee’s. This is a good cheap Southbay eat. You can walk away with a decent sized Vietnamese sandwich for around $3 (around $4 for the American style sandwiches). Although these sandwiches are not as authentic or tasty than the sandwiches at Huong Lan Sandwich in San Jose or Saigon Sandwich in San Francisco, they are adequate. I can’t make it to these other places often as they are out of the way, so I have to settle for Lee’s Sandwiches to satisfy my bahn mi cravings since they have multiple locations throughout the South Bay.

Maybe I'm being picky but the surrounding seem a bit sterile to me. Sure, there is a clearly defined area to stand in line and the bright lights and open kitchen assure the customer that the place is clean, but I'm used to the hustle and bustle of a typical Vietnamese sandwich shop. Sure, there is a typical efficiency and a gentle push out of the door, but the sterility of the environment was a bit jarring. This nagging feeling disappears once I bite into my bahn mi and chomp down on a chili. Yum.