Chongqing Noodle

Needing to get a quick lunch before we headed out for the day, we made the short drive to Chongqing Noodle closeby to the nearly-deserted Newpark Mall.  For those who are unaware, Chongqing Noodles is a popular dish from, well, Chongqing in China.  For me at least, there aren't many places to get this dish in Vancouver, B.C., but it is nice to see there is a restaurant dedicated to it down here in the Bay Area.

Before we got to the noodles, we had a couple of cold dishes to whet our palats.  The first was the Spicy Cucumbers which were devoid of their skin.  That made for a muted crunch, yet at the same time, the marinade penetrated into each piece more effectively.  Hence, there was noted spice and some tanginess.  I would've liked a bit more salt though.

I was so delighted to see Spicy Beef Tripe on the menu and yep, that was a no-brainer to order it.  Consisting of thin slices, the honeycomb tripe was tender, yet still maintained a soft chewiness.  To me, this is the ideal texture for this type of tripe.  There was textural contrast from the crunchy celery and added aroma from the cilantro.  Unlike the cucumbers, this was more savory and spicy.

Here we are with the Chongqing Noodles.  The most distinguishing feature of these noodles is the inclusion of tender yellow peas.  For this version, they were served whole rather than being smashed.  We also found some the usual minced pork as well.  When combined with the chewy white noodles, this bowl had numbing spice and nuttiness.  Some creaminess was provided by the soft peas.

We also had another bowl of noodles in the Stewed Pig's Feet Soup Noodles.  Cooked until the skin was soft and gelatinous while the fat being rendered, the pig's feet also featured melt-in-my-mouth meat.  These were flavorful on their own, but the mildly spicy broth helped things along with some nuttiness to go with the heat.  Noodles were al dente and stood up to the broth.

Lastly, we went for the Vegetarian Buns.  These featured a fluffy bun that was fairly thin.  Hence, there was a wealth of tender, yet not mushy, greens in the middle.  They were seasoned just right to provide enough flavor for the entire bao.  Overall, the food at Chongqing Noodle was solid and reasonably-priced.  People were nice there and the portion sizes were generous too.

The Good:

- Solid eats

- Well-portioned

- Nice people

The Bad:

- Limited menu

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

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

Pan-Fried Dumplings

In 2017, we took my cousins out to Din Ding Dumpling House and introduced their kiddies to Xiao Long Bao.  Well, apparently, it was such a big hit, they kept requesting for them after we returned to Vancouver (we were back in 2019, but didn't have any dumplings).  Since then, they have discovered a place called Pan-Fried Dumplings out in Newark that boasts some pretty good XLBs.  Now that we are able to travel again, we made the trek back out to the East Bay to visit family.  However, instead of meeting up with them for some XLBs, we met up with Areta (who happened to be vacationing nearby) instead!

Predictably, we over-ordered and ended up with 5 steamers of Xiao Long Bao including the 3 pork, 1 chicken and 1 shrimp.  This is the picture of the pork and really, the chicken and shrimp looked almost exactly like this except a bit lighter in color.  All of them featured a fairly thin dumpling skin that was delicate with some elasticity.  There was plenty of soup that was sweet but the pork XLBs were pretty greasy.  The meat was tender and bouncy though.  I found the chicken to be lighter in texture and also easier on the greasiness.  The shrimp had a sweet briny taste while also being not as greasy.

Of course we had to order the Snow-Flake Pan Fried Fried Dumplings (kinda the restaurant's name) and it came out golden brown with a considerable skirt.  Both the bottom of the dumplings and the skirt were crispy and nutty.  The overall dumpling skin was medium-thick and not dense.  I found the filling inside to be, you guessed it, greasy.  However, using such fatty pork also ensured that the meat was tender and moist.

Continuing on with the dumplings, we also had the Soup Pan Fried Buns (Sang Jeen Bao).  These sported crunchy tops that had been pan fried in a good amount of oil.  The bun itself was light where they kept the dough to a minimum.  Hence these did not eat heavy despite the ample soup inside being, once again, greasy.  Like I said, this is a double-edged sword, because for the meat to be juicy and tender, the fattiest mix is the necessary.

Now the greasiness wasn't exclusive to the dumplings.  I found the Ground Three Delight (featuring eggplant, green and red peppers) to be pretty much coated in oil (lots on the bottom of the plate too).  Beyond that, the dish was good though with plenty of wok hei that gave the dish delicious caramelization.  Texturally, the eggplant was perfect, being cooked through without being mushy.  There was plenty of seasoning that was balanced between sweet and salty.

Even though the Beef Wrap looked appealingly flaky, I wasn't a huge fan of it.  The pancake was thin and not overly heavy, but I found it dry and overly flaky.  I would've preferred it to be chewier.  The sliced beef shank inside was tender and flavourful, but that was partly negated by the lettuce.  I know there are versions that have lettuce, yet I'm not a big fan.  It takes away from the beef and the hoisin sauce in my opinion.

I did enjoy the Spicy Red Oil Wontons though as there was a good amount of spiciness that was balanced.  What I mean is that I could taste the savoriness of the pork filling while also the nuttiness of the oil in addition to the spice.  It wasn't one-note.  Furthermore, the wontons themselves were pretty good since they were cooked just right with a tender wrapper with juicy (and surprisingly less greasy, but they were sitting in oil...) pork filling.

Now onto the noodle portion of our meal, we first got served the Tomato Beef Noodle Soup.  I wasn't a really big fan of this as the broth was a bit bland and lacking depth.  I have to give it to them that I could taste tomato though.  I also wasn't too fond of the thick noodles as they reminded me of udon.  We should have chosen the regular noodles instead.  As for the beef, it was okay as it was tender and fairly moist.  

One noodle that I really enjoyed was the Pork Dan Dan Noodles.  Now it didn't look anything close to the picture in the online menu (as there is a brothy sauce).  This was served dry with only the minced meat topping and veggies.  However, when mixed together, the spicy and numbing flavors were super tasty and impactful.  Due to the lack of moisture, the noodles remained al dente and the flavors were more concentrated.

Now the Old Peking Minced Noodles were not as impactful, yet they aren't supposed to be either.  This was more for the kiddies, but it wasn't super popular either.  Not that there was anything particularly wrong with it.  Once again, the noodles were al dente and there was just enough sauce to coat them.  I found the sauce to be not as salty as I would've liked, but there was still flavor.  Maybe there was just a tad too many veggies that watered it down.  Would've just liked the cucumber rather than also including carrots and sprouts.  In the end, the thing we enjoyed the most was the Xiao Long Bao.  Other items were hit and miss.  Prices were on the higher side but portions were generous.  Prepare yourself for some oily lips as things are really greasy here.

The Good:

- Excellent XLBs

- Large portions

- Other dumplings are good too

The Bad:

- Very greasy

- Dishes are hit and miss

Gourmet House

Guess what?  While in Fremont with relatives, we had...  wait for it...  Chinese food again!  No surprise here.  This time, we made it out to Gourmet House, tucked in a corner of a shopping complex.  It has changed hands a few times, but apparently, it continues to serve solid Chinese food at reasonable prices.  Despite having a big menu with all sorts of Cantonese dishes, we decided to mainly go for Dim Sum, especially it was lunchtime.

Since my daughter was longing for some congee (porridge on this menu), we decided to order both the Minced Beef & Egg and the HK Chiterlings.  The bowls in the pictures were regular-sized portions (wonder how big the large is?).  I thought the congee base was decently thick while having that home-cooking feel to it.  Now it was seasoned enough to make it "restaurant-tasting" though.  The beef congee was actually more like loosely hand-chopped beef, so it was quite meaty and naturally textured.  The chiterlings congee featured pork blood, liver and kidney that was generally cooked well.

Keeping with pale-colored foods, we also had the Shrimp Rice Noodle Roll.  This featured a fairly thick noodle which wasn't exactly dense, but it was a bit heavier than most I've had recently.  Despite the thickness, there was still some elasticity which meant it wasn't floury.  Hidden inside, the shrimp were of a good size and nicely seasoned.  They were cooked just enough that they still retained a moist snap texture.

Yes, the pale-theme didn't end with the rice noodle roll as we also had the Steamed BBQ Pork Buns.  These were pretty textbook with the cracks in the dough thanks to the strategic pleating process in the formation of the bun.  The bun itself was fluffy and fairly light.  Inside, the ample amount of BBQ pork was generally lean.  It wasn't as saucy as I would've liked, but it was still appealingly sweet.

Let's keep this pale-train going with the Ha Gau (Steamed Shrimp Dumplings), albeit with some translucency.  Therefore, we could see the slightly pink/orange color from the shrimp filling.  These were decent with a relatively thin dumpling wrapper with good elasticity.  The filling was generally moist with a meaty snap.  It was slightly overdone where the shrimp could've been more buttery.

Of course we had to have the Siu Mai (Steamed Pork & Shrimp Dumpling) as well since it is the yin to the yang of the ha gau.  Similar to the ones at Pearl Bay, these featured cooked tobiko on top.  I much prefer raw tobiko on top, mostly for the aesthetics and crunch.  Despite this, the dumpling itself was decent with a rebound texture and tenderized pork.  It was juicy and also had some shrimp that had a good snap.

Back to an off-white dumpling, the Xiao Long Bao (Juicy Soup Dumplings) were served in little metal tart tins.  This theoretically keeps the soup from spilling all over the place if the dumpling punctures.  However, there was no soup to be found in these XLBs though.  Moreover, the dumpling skin was extremely thick and doughy.  Even the meat filling was loose and didn't have much texture.  To be fair, we didn't expect much out of XLBs at a Cantonese restaurant (this is a Shanghainese dish).

Moving away from dumplings, we had the classic Steamed Pork Spareribs with black bean sauce.  Unfortunately, the pieces of spareribs were not very good.  As you can clearly see in the picture, most of the pieces were cut too large and were of the fatty cartilage variety.  In terms of texture, the desirable rib pieces were decent with a rebound texture.  However, the other pieces were tough and chewy.  The dish was seasoned enough though.

Okay, after 2 consecutive below average dishes, we found the much better Bean Curd Skin Rolls.  Although looking oversauced, these were on point with tender fried bean curd skin that still had a nice chew.  Despite the appearance of too much sauce, it was actually welcomed since it helped soften the bean curd skin.  Moreover, the sauce was decently thick and flavorful.  Inside, the pork filling was tender and moist with the crunch from wood ear mushrooms and shrimp.

Now we were on a roll because the Steamed Chicken Feet with black bean sauce were also quite good.  The chicken feet were generally plump with skin that had a bite but was still tender.  The trick is to fry the chicken feet enough so that the skin doesn't break when subsequently braised and then steamed.  Underneath the skin, the cartilage and fat was intact while soft.  There was a good garlicky saltiness to the dish.

Apparently shrimp spring rolls aren't a thing here in Fremont, so we were forced to order the Vegetable Spring Rolls ones instead.  Also, we much prefer Worcestershire sauce rather than sweet n' sour, so we asked for that after the fact.  These were not bad with a crunchy wrapper that was slightly greasy.  Inside, the veggies were still slightly crunchy while not overly wet.

To get some more filling dishes into the meal, we included the Lo Mei Gai (Sticky Rice in Lotus Leaf) as well.  However, it took quite awhile to arrive (near the end of the meal).  It was pretty typical with sticky rice, sauced ground pork and cured sausage.  This was also textbook with the rice being soft yet glutinous.  I found the pork to be tender with enough starch-thicken sauce for both moisture and flavor.

Another starchy dish was the Pan Fried Rice Roll with XO Sauce, but it was not really what we were expecting.  This looked more like broken rice noodles than the typical tubes of plain rice noodle rolls.  Furthermore, the dish was really greasy (partially forgivable due to the addition of XO sauce) and ate as such.  There was good spice to the dish though but not much brininess.

For our one sweeter item, we selected the Steamed Golden Egg Yolk Buns.  As you can see, they arrived with the initial round of dishes.  No matter, these were pretty good with a fluffy bun encasing a liquid egg yolk center.  It was sweet, nutty and had the umaminess of salted egg yolk.  So overall, the Dim Sum here at Gourmet House was acceptable, yet not as good at Pearl Bay.  Yes, this is a smaller spot and less expensive, so that needs to be taken into consideration.

The Good:
- Decent eats
- Reasonably-priced
- Friendly staff

The Bad:
- Not enough staff, so service is lacking
- Some duds, be careful what you order  

 

Full House Dumpling

Originally, we were going to hit up some eats in Berkeley once we made it to the Bay Area.  However, with an SUV full of our precious belongings, we weren't too confident in leaving it parked for a few hours on the street.  Hence, we decided to head straight to my aunt's house in Fremont.  That way, we could drop off our valuables and then go for some eats.  As always, we ended up going for Chinese in the form of Full House Dumpling (at least we weren't going to eat here 3x straight like Pearl Bay).

The thing to get here is, of course, the dumplings.  Specifically, we are talking about their Xiao Long Bao (Juicy Pork Dumplings).  We got both the regular ones and the Crab Xiao Long Bao.  I thought these were excellent featuring fairly thin dumpling skin that had some elasticity.  There was plenty of soup to be found inside which was clean and sweet.  I thought the essence of crab was apparent.  The pork filling for both was tender and moist while not crumbly.

Sticking with dumplings, we also ordered the Shrimp Pork Siu Mai.  Somehow I was thinking Din Tai Fung when I saw this on the menu.  However, it really was just Cantonese-style shrimp siu mai.  So no, these were not XLBs with a shrimp plugging up an open top (maybe it was something else on this menu).  These were okay with a fairly loose, yet tender pork filling.  There was a bit too much green onion in it, which didn't make much sense.  The shrimp had a nice sweet snap though.

Moving away from dumplings, we tried their Water-Boiled Fish served in a clay pot.  Typically, this is a Szechuan dish, but it appears the Full House serves a variety of Chinese cuisines (including their main focus - Taiwanese).  Although not particularly Szechuan-like, their version was quite delicious regardless.  It had good spice while not being burning hot.  There was no shortage of tender fish fillets (probably basa) that were flaky.  

One of the more under-the-radar items was the Salted Egg Yolk Silken Tofu.  Each cube of tofu was fried just enough to retain its shape while still being silky in texture.  It was carefully wok-tossed (so nothing broke apart) in salted egg yolk, garlic, green onions and peppers.  Although not really all that salty, the aroma and essence of salted egg yolk did come through.  The nuttiness and also the rest of the ingredients were evident.

I wasn't really sure why I was ordering Spicy Stir-Fried Cabbage but it was a pretty solid dish.  Despite some moisture at the bottom of the plate, there was still decent caramelization due to ample "wok hei".  Hence, the spice from the chilis did announce itself throughout the dish.  However, there was still the natural sweetness of the cabbage coming through.  Also, the cabbage was still crunchy despite being cooked through.

One of the more average items was the Braised Beef Noodles.  Now by looks alone, this was quite good with lots of braised beef and wide thick noodles.  Indeed the noodles were al dente and well-portioned.  However, the beef was a bit chewy and lacking impact.  The soup itself was a bit too mild for my liking as it lacked depth and was rather one note.  Possibly if this was the spicy version, it would've been better.

Now on the other hand, the Garlic Pork was very impactful.  That garlic sauce on top was potent and I wouldn't go near anyone with that garlic breath after eating it.  I personally thought it was fantastic despite some thinking it was too garlicky.  There was enough salt and sweetness to make the sauce complete.  As for the sliced pork belly, it was a touch chewy given that there was a decent amount of fat.  However, it was still easy to eat.

I'm not particularly fond of the Green Onion Pancake, but Viv loves it, so yes we had that too.  Turns out that she should've not ordered it because it was also rather average.  On the positive side, it as nicely browned with a crispy exterior.  There was also a balanced amount of green onion.  However, the pancake itself was rather dense and chewy.  Furthermore, it was pretty much soaked with oil, so every bite was far too greasy.  

For no other reason than we didn't have any rice dishes, we ordered the Shrimp Fried Rice.  I would say this was an okay plate of fried rice.  There was decent caramelization, but the rice itself was more fluffy than nutty and chewy.  It was also rather bland needing salt.  At the very least, the shrimp were done right with a sweet snap.  Overall, the food at Full House was decent with some highlights, in particular, the soup dumplings.  Stick with those and you can't go wrong.

The Good:

- Soup dumplings are legit

- Reasonable-pricing

- Spacious seating

The Bad:

- Other dishes are hit and miss

- Service is hit and miss