Suspiro

It is no secret that my uncle loves Chinese food.  Although he dabbles in other cuisines, Chinese is his go to whenever we meet up when we are in the Bay Area.  Since I wanted to treat him back for dinner, it was up to me to decide on the place this time around.  Originally, we were going quite off-the-board by choosing Texas Roadhouse.  LOL.  Yah, we quickly changed gears and headed to Santana Row for some Peruvian tapas at Suspiro.  Coincidentally, we found some discounted gift cards while shopping at Costco from inKind.  Score!

One of the biggest draws for establishments located in Santana Row is convenience.  This comes in the form of free parking for the first 2 hours and easy access to all the restaurants.  Onto our meal, we started with the Ceviche de Atún.  This was a fairly large portion where the cubes of tuna were of a decent size and meaty.  As you can see, the plate had plenty of the leche de tigre which was tangy, briny and a bit spicy.  Although I appreciated the bright flavors and the nuttiness from the peanuts and sesame seeds, the other components partially obscured the delicate tuna.

The ceviche we had chosen was one of five on the menu.  Right above it, we found three choices for empanadas.  We opted for the Empanada de Carne.  This was quite good where the pastry was crispy and nicely browned.  Inside, there was a wealth of tender shredded beef which was natural tasting.  On the side, the huancaina sauce added some spice and tang to the dish.

Onto our next dish, we had the Croquetas de Jamón.  This could be had as a 4 piece or a 6 piece.  Since we had 5 people, we got the latter.  These  spheres were fried until golden and crispy.  Inside, it was more meaty than creamy since there was a good amount of Iberian ham inside.  Flavors were rather mild but the ham did provide a rich muted saltiness.  There was a bit of aioli on top adding creamy garlickiness.

Underneath all that manchego cheese sauce, the Berenjena y Salsa featured whole roasted eggplant.  The eggplant was tender, but a little bland.  I guess the generous amount of manchego cheese sauce did help providing nuttiness and savouriness.  The small streak of huancaina added some spice.

Whenever I see Patatas Bravas on the menu, it is a given I'll order it.  This particular version (which is a Spanish dish) was pretty solid.  The cubes of potato were medium in size sporting crispy exterior.  As a result of being a bit larger, the potato pieces were soft and fluffy in the middle.  I liked how there was just enough brava sauce and aioli on the outside for effect without drowning the potatoes.

Another classic Spanish tapas offering is the Tortilla de Patatas.  It consists of an omelette with potato and caramelized onion.   As much as the outside looked a bit overdone, the inside was still somewhat eggy and almost creamy.  The layered potatoes were tender but still had some texture while the onions added sweetness.

We ended up with the Ensalada de Betabel, which was a beet salad atop yogurt.  The assorted roasted beets were tender while varying in range of sweetness and earthiness.  These were tossed in a citrus vinaigrette which provided brightness and the silkiness of EVOO.  In addition to the tangy and thick yogurt underneath, we found sweet orange segments and crunchy crostinis.

Another classic Spanish tapas is the Pan con Tomate.  This version sat atop a thin slice of toasted focaccia.  Personally, I would've liked to see a thicker cut as this became more of a cracker and didn't hold up to the tomato as well.  Tangy and slightly sweet, the tomato was bright and enough to have in every bite.  

If you've noticed so far, the portion sizes have been rather large and un-tapas like.  Well, that continued with the generous portion of Pulpo Asado con Patatas.  If you couldn't tell from the picture, this was grilled octopus with potatoes.  Even though the octopus was tender with pleasant bite, I would've liked to see more charring and smokiness.  It was decently seasoned though and accented by pimenton aioli which helped add some smoky sweetness.

For our big meat dish, we had the Ribeye Tacu Tacu.  We asked for the steak to be prepared medium-rare and it was closer to medium.  It was still tender though, but it may have needed to be rested longer.  Nice seared on it though and there was enough char and seasoning.  As its name suggested, there was a side of tacu tacu (crispy rice & bean cake).  It was firmly crunchy with a nutty flavor.

The grand finale was of course, the Paella de Mariscos.  The thin layer of bomba rice had somewhat of a socarrat on the bottom.  There was enough seafood in the form of mussels, shrimp and squid rings.  They were cooked in intervals so that nothing was overdone.  Of course, we found dollops of aioli as well.  The result was a decent paella with chewy rice that was a touch salty but fragrant and briny.

We ended with a Flan Clásico with chantilly cream.  Well, this wasn't the prettiest flan we've ever seen, but it did eat decently.  I found it to be rich and creamy with the aromatics from the caramel.  It wasn't overly sweet and was a nice end to the meal.  Overall, I thought this was a good meal, but not great.  Obviously, this place is for the masses and does its job well.  I found the tapas to be rather large in size and although that makes it a better value, it makes it difficult for a smaller group to share a larger variety of dishes.

The Good:

- Decent tapas

- Attentive service

- Free parking

The Bad:

- Maybe the portions are too big?

Tram Cream Coffee 5

After constant urging from my cousin, we finally relented and visited Tram Cream Coffee 5 in Newark (California).  This is one of their newest locations and it happened to be conveniently located near our hotel.  As their name suggests, they specialize in cream coffee, specifically Vietnamese cream coffee.  We did 2 visits to the place in order to get a decent variety.

To get a baseline, I had to order the Cream Coffee from their signature series.  This particular cup was a small and believe me, that was more than enough for me.  That Vietnamese coffee was predictably strong, intense and rich.  It wasn't as bitter as other versions I've had while it did have a slight chocolaty finish.  Of course the coffee was balanced off by sweetness provided by the cream.  Naturally, it diluted the strength of the coffee with the cream itself too.

We also had something from their Creamliner series in the Sesame Cream Coffee.  In addition to the sesame cream, we found Vietnamese coffee and also whole milk.  This itself made the coffee less of the focal point.  Rather, we got the full brunt of the nutty and aromatic black sesame (when mixed that is) and also the cool creaminess of the milk.  Coffee only added a bit of aroma to the drink.

On another visit, we had the Tiramisu from their signature series.  Of all the ones we tried, this was probably the sweetest of the bunch.  Due to the sweet cream, it more than balanced off the strong Vietnamese coffee.  I'm not sure if I necessarily got Tiramisu vibes from this drink.  However, it was creamy and sweet, which is great for those who want less bitter coffee notes.

The best drink in my opinion was the Creamy Hanoi from the signature series.  This was super creamy and with the addition of egg cream, it was richer and thicker.  I thought this was the best balance of the rich coffee and cream.  With some grass jelly, this added another layer of texture and a different bitterness.  In general, the drinks at Tram are solid and there are plenty of options.  Lots of locations for you to check them out!

The Good:

- Vietnamese coffee is impactful without being overly strong

- Lots of options including more coffee-forward to more creamy drinks

- Lots of locations

The Bad:

- Can be a bit sweet

Phở Kim Long

"Let's go to the Pho place with the lineup!" exclaimed my uncle.  "Oh Phở Hanoi?" I replied.  No, he wasn't referring to the social media darling in San Jose.  Rather, he was going ol' skool with Pho Kim Long.  They have recently renovated, so it isn't dumpy anymore.  It is actually quite nice, at least inside that is.  Sure, the lineup is still there, but is the food still solid?  One cannot argue that it isn't good value, but the food has to stand on its own too.  So we did have to lineup and yes, it was difficult to get a parking spot in the crazy parking lot.

Once seated, the service was hurried and efficient.  We ended getting a Salad Roll to start and although it wasn't the biggest, we found it fresh and carefully prepared.  It was wound up tightly enough that things were falling all over the place, but not so it was dense either.  Inside, I liked that they added basil as it was herbaceous.  The noodles were firm but not hard while the shrimp had a nice meatiness.  The thin layer of pork was tender too.

Next, we added sides of Grilled Honey Garlic Pork Chop and Short Ribs as well.  These were really good since they were marinated and it penetrated throughout the meat.  Hence, there was enough seasoning that they were a bit salty and sweet.  Nice caramelization and smokiness from the grill.  Best of all, due to the marinade, the meats were tender and especially in the case of the short ribs, it was buttery with a tender chew.

For the soup noodle portion of the meal, Viv went for the Phở Sườn Bò while my uncle had the Tô Xe Lửa.  As you can see, they didn't skimp on the meat.  For the beef bone, it was super tender and fatty while the sliced brisket in my uncle's bowl was tender.  The beef bone broth itself was meaty and flavorful, but maybe there was a decent amount of MSG.  Overall, a decent bowl of Phở though.

For myself, I went for the Bún Bò Huế and I thought it was tasty.  The broth was briny and a bit spicy.  Sure, there was probably MSG in it, but I found it tasty and not overly salty.  The ingredients were legit with pork knuckle and pork blood along with the ham and sliced shank.  Came with all the condiments (except for banana blossoms) but would've preferred lime over lemon.  Overall, the food at Phở Kim Long is good and served in large portions.

The Good:

- Large portions

- Reasonable prices

- Generally good food

The Bad:

- Good but not great

- Parking lot is a disaster

Kong Sarang Tofu & BBQ

Here we were back in the Bay Area to visit family.  As such, we always make time to go for food.  We ended up staying in Newark (in the East Bay and not in NJ) and stayed close to our hotel when it came to eats.  We met up with my cousins (and their kids) at Kong Sarang Tofu & BBQ.  This bustling Korean restaurant is well known for their generous portions and wide array of Banchan.

With eleven different types of Banchan, there was a little of everything for everyone.  We found bean sprouts, fish cake strips, stewed beef, kimchi, broccoli, potato salad, nokdu-muk, eggplant, potato, cucumbers and seaweed.  Really loved the stewed eggplant as it was flavorful and a bit spicy.  Texturally, the mung bean jelly (nokdu-muk) was slippery and had a nice mouth-feel.  Everything else was quite good and we got seconds!

Normally, you'd find the Seafood Pancake served on a cast iron plate, but this was sitting on a plain ol' plate.  But don't let that fool you though.  This pancake was legit.  You will notice how crispy the outside looks.  It certainly was uniformly crispy.  It was also not too thick, hence the inside was not doughy or dense.  Rather, it was quite fluffy with a good balance of onion and seafood.

We got 16 pieces of Fried Chicken Wings in soy & garlic.  As you can clearly see in the picture, there was too much sauce and hence, the wings were a bit soggy and not as crispy as we would've liked.  Furthermore, the wings were not dry per se, but not juicy either.  Therefore, they had a denser texture.  Flavourwise, they did taste good with a balanced sweetness to saltiness ratio.

We ended up with one of their combos and for our choice of soup, we had the Seafood Soft Tofu Soup.  This thing was loaded with seafood and soft tofu.  So much so, there was barely any broth.  As advertised, the tofu was silky and delicate while the broth itself was a bit spicy and plenty briny.  Lots of depth here where we wished there was more broth!

As part of the combo, we were able to select a main dish as well.  For that, we went for the Galbi.  This was a generous portion where each slice was rather meaty with only minimal fat.  Meat was tenderized enough so that it was buttery and tender while maintaining that unmistakable short rib chew.  Flavor was also good with a salty sweetness that also resulted in caramelization.  This came with a bowl of rice too.

We added one last dish in the Japchae.  Unlike most versions where the beef is mixed into the noodles, this one featured the meat on top.  So really, it was Japchae with beef bulgogi.  It was good though with the noodles being chewy and not overly greasy.  Sweetness was in check while the meat was tender.  Overall, the eats at Kong Sarang were mostly good where the selection of Banchan was great.

The Good:

- Lots of tasty Banchan

- Large portions

- Well-priced

The Bad:

- Wings were too saucy and a bit dry

Stone & Flow Asian Bistro

You've heard me say and I'll say it again, we have a dizzying array of Chinese food in the GVRD...  But it is overwhelmingly Cantonese cuisine.  For those who not familiar, Chinese cuisine is usually grouped into "Eight Great Traditions" that consist of Sichuan, Shangdong, Cantonese, Jiangsu, Fujian, Zhejiang, Anhui and Hunan.  However, if you want to be specific, there are many more than that.  I mean, there are some obvious omissions such as X'ian, Shanghainese, Xinjiang, Macanese, Taiwanese and the list goes on forever.  This brings me to the latest food adventure at Stone & Flow Asian Bistro.  It specializes in another cuisine which is Guizhou.  Unfortunately, it gets grouped into Sichaun at times due to the use of spice and its proximity to Chongqing.  In addition to spice, Guizhou cuisine is synonymous with fermented sour flavours as well. 

Therefore, the first dish we tried was completely representative of these flavours in the House Special Pounded Chicken Feet.  This was prepared tableside with all of the ingredients starting in separate plates.  Everything was literally pounded in a wooden mortar by a wooden pestle.  This ensure all the flavours were activated (and juiced).  We got plenty of sour and spice while also plenty of sharpness, aromatics and herbaceousness.  The chicken feet were gelatinzed being a bit crunchy and plenty bouncy.  My only wish would to be more chicken feet in this dish.

Something that was neither spicy nor sour was the Crispy Tofu Balls with Shrimp.  Honestly, these didn't look that appetizing and it took me awhile to actually try one.  Turns out, they were actually delicious!  They were indeed crispy with a crumbly tofu interior.  On its own, the flavours were pretty mild, so I went ahead and dipped it into the sauces.  Naturally, I went for the hot one.

We also tried the Stone & Flow Spicy Noodles with Beef.  We had 2 slightly different versions of the dish with one of them having thicker rice noodles.  These had a passing similarity to Chongqing Noodles with spicy and savoury beef mixed into the rice noodles.  I found the one with thicker rice noodles to have a bit more liquid, hence it was slipperier and a bit more spicy.

All of the food up until this point was good, but in reality, we were waiting for the Hot Pot.  We chose the both the Signature Kalli Sour Soup as well as the Sichuan Mala Peppercorn Soup.  Definitely loved the fermented sourness of the Kalli Soup while the peppercorn soup was only mildly spicy.  I felt the beef went better with the sour soup while the dumplings and fish were better with the peppercorn soup.

On that note, let's talk about the beef we had.  We tried the AAA Prime Rib Beef Slice and also the Australian Wagyu Beef.  Meat quality was great as the prime rib slice was tender and a bit buttery.  However, the Wagyu was even more buttery and yes, it almost melted-in-my-mouth.  I thought the prices for the beef were reasonable, with the Wagyu being $28.99.

We had the Hand Made Shrimp Paste (Balls) and also the Hand Made Beef Meatballs.  These were both excellent.  The shrimp had the desired bounce texture where the meatballs themselves were not dense.  There was a butteriness to them too.  That was the same for the beef as they had an airiness to them.  Just like the shrimp balls, the beef was buttery and required very little chewing. 

The most surprising items were the Shrimp Blossom Dumplings and the Shrimp & Crab Blossom Dumplings.  Not only were they striking to look at, they were large and fully-stuffed.  When cooked through, the texture of the wrapper was spongy (in a good way).  It was as if they used fish paste to make them.  Rather, it was probably due to the egg.  Inside, the filling was bouncy and airy, just like the shrimp balls.

We got some veggies as well in the form of the Assorted Mushroom Platter, Pea Shoots and Crown Daisy.  Things were definitely fresh, as you can clearly see in the pictures.  Once again, prices were reasonable considering the portion size.  For the mushrooms, we had a selection including woodear, king, oyster and enoki.

To end our meal, we got a few of the Hand-Smashed Lemon Tea with green peppercorn.  That was quite the interesting flavour.  It was light and refreshing with only a bit of sweetness while the peppercorn added some bitterness and bite.  The dessert that you see was the Guizhou Ice Slush which was more pudding-like with some mochi textures.  It had a toasted wheat flavour that was aromatic and a bit yeasty.  This was not sweet at all.  In the end, our Guizhou meal was delicious and had some unique flavours, in particular, the fermented sourness.  Although it shares some similarities with Sichuan cuisine, it is different in a good way.  Worth checking out!

*All food and beverages were complimentary for this blog post*

The Good:

- Unique flavours, in particular, the fermented sourness

- Love those dumplings

- Food quality is decently high

The Bad:

- Table turnover is somewhat slow, so there will be a lineup

Man Tung Cafe (Dinner Combo Menu)

Yes, this is not a repost of the last blog entry on Man Tung Cafe.  We have already established that they have a good selection of HK-style cafe dishes.  Prices are reasonable (generally under $20.00) and the portions are generous.  But similar to other restaurants of the same ilk, they also offer full-on Chinese multi-course meals.  Since they have Chinese BBQ as well, their Dinner Combos feature one of their BBQ dishes and a choice of either 2 or 3 dishes.  They range from $59.00 to $128.00.

We opted for the Man Tung Half Roast Duck Dinner Combo.  Hence, we started with the Roast Duck.  Nice colour on the skin with a lacquered finish while being crispy and fairly rendered.  There was an aromatic roasted flavour with both the skin and the meat.  Juicy and tender, the meat was also well-brined.  Overall, a solid BBQ Duck when compared to others in town.

The first of the 3 dishes we chose was the Chicken with black truffle sauce.  This was also quite good where the free-range chicken was moist with that classic firm meatiness.  In an appealing shade of yellow, the skin was gelatinized and was flavourful.  As you can see in the picture, the amount of truffle sauce was conservative and I didn't mind it as it was just enough.  The chicken itself was bordering on salty, but as such, it wasn't devoid of flavour.

We selected a veggie dish so we could feel a bit healthier.   It came in the form of Stir-Fried Scallops with Broccoli.  As you can see, they used the reformed scallops once again.  Personally, I'm not a fan of these as the texture is quite different than an actual scallop of that size.  However, since this combo was only $88.00, I shouldn't be complaining.  With all that being said, they were still cooked well with a nice wok sear and still being soft and bouncy.  Broccoli was on point too being cooked through but still crunchy.

The best dish of the bunch was the Satay Beef Claypot with vermicelli.  This one was loaded with tenderized slices of beef that still had natural meat texture.  The satay was briny and somewhat spicy.  Underneath, the chewy vermicelli was fairly loose and not clumpy.  Yet, they didn't achieve this by adding more oil.  Hence, it was easy to eat and took on the sauce evenly.

We ended up adding one more item to get a sense of their BBQ meats.  The Rice Plate that you see in the picture was topped with BBQ Pork, BBQ Duck, BBQ Goose and Free-Range Chicken.  With a balanced amount of fat, the BBQ Pork was juicy and tender.  The marinade mostly penetrated the meat with plenty of sweetness and slight smokiness from the bark.  Roast Goose was quite good since it was juicy and tender.  Skin was also nicely lacquered and crispy.  The chicken was very much the same one found in the truffle chicken, so the texture was gelatinous and meaty.  Lots of flavour from the saltiness.  Overall, this was a good meal with well-prepared food at a reasonable price.

*All food was complimentary for this blog post*

The Good:
- Solid eats
- Large portions
- Well-priced

The Bad:
- Once again, I would like to see an option for real scallops as the reformed ones aren't the same