Dai Jang Kum

There we were, mulling around after our Monday night softball game. "Where are we going to eat?", pipes up Bear. Luckily, I had a list of varied options. I began naming each one followed by a short description. No one seemed all that interested in any of them. Until... I mentioned Dai Jang Kum... That drew giggles and smiles from everyone especially Milhouse. He emphasized the last word in the name... And for those who are unfamiliar, "Dai" in Chinese means big and "Jang" sounds similar to excellent (a la Wayne's World). If you put it altogether... well, you get the picture... Wait, maybe you don't want that picture! Without even knowing anything about the place, I found myself heading to Dai Jang Kum because everyone wanted to see what I would do with it as a post. Oh man... Reminds me of Zakkushi and Come Along.

As we pulled up the restaurant, it looked like Dark Helmet came first... er... Anyways, I reached for my camera to take a picture of the front (as I always do). For the first time ever, Milhouse took a picture as well. I guess he really wanted to remember Dai Jang Kum! We had a fairly large group of 9 and they put us in a room. This way, I guess we could enjoy in privacy... While perusing the large menu, I came across #23. Uh... Combo Special "Kum" (that is exactly how it is written too!). Really? Must they make it that easy?. Wow, $100.00. Must be some special stuff eh? Okay, before we get into that combo, the obligatory Banchan arrived consisting of stewed potatoes, seaweed, fish cake, pickled radish, bean sprouts, kimchi and daikon. "Look! there is Dai Jang Kum on all of the plates!", exclaimed Bam Bam. Uh... Pebbles was not impressed. Anyways, this was a varied selection which was above-average. The BBQ Meats (Short Ribs, Beef, Chicken and Pork), which was part of our combo, were quite bland and really needed more marinade. Other than that, they were okay.

After we started grilling the meats, everything came at us faster than we could eat them (this is what I said to the group and all they could do was laugh uncontrollably...). Presented on a long plate were the Gunmandu (panfried dumplings or in this case, deep fried). They were crispy and glistening with oil. The filling was moist and not-gritty. The accompanying sauce was quite sweet though. The Haemul Pajeon (Seafood Pancake) arrived on a plate rather than the usual cast iron pan. It was somewhat doughy, yet was crisp on both sides. We liked that it wasn't overly greasy, but there was a serious lack of seafood. Instead, there was a copious amount of green onion. Maybe it should've been called a green onion pancake instead. Up next was a large plate of Japchae (Sweet Potato Noodles). The noodles were wet and a bit too soft. Again, there was an obvious lack of ingredients as I could barely see any beef, mushrooms and veggies. One thing we did like was the balance as it wasn't too sweet.

We ended up with 2 orders of the Dolsot Bibimbap (Hot Stone Bowl Rice) and Boss Woman was not able to steal the egg this time around (see Jang Mo Jib). Well, she could've stole it, but it was raw (since it was the stone bowl version) and I'm pretty sure she didn't want a raw egg yolk! Although there wasn't anything inherently wrong with the ingredients, there was one issue. The rice never formed a crust at the bottom of the bowl. Either the rice was too wet or the bowl wasn't heated enough (or both). Disregarding that, it was alright. Dark Helmet suggested we go for the Ddeokbokki (Spicy Rice Cake) and it was a good call. It was a large plate of 3 Types of rice cake, veggies and a boiled egg in a sweet spicy sauce. There was a good kick which was not overbearing. Moreover, there was just enough sauce to coat everything rather than pooling up at the bottom of the plate. The rice cake were nicely textured riding the fine line between chewy and soft.

Interestingly, we got our 2 orders of soup at the end of our meal. This probably had something to do with the preparation time. First up was the Gamjatang (Pork Bone Soup). Since no one seemed that interested in the pork bone, I took one for myself. I tried to offer my bone to Milhouse, but he just chose to conveniently look away... Well, the meat was tender while the soup was quite mild. It was not as rich as I would've liked as it was slightly thin. The very last item that hit the table was the Soondubu Jjigae (Seafood Tofu Soup) that came with our Combo Special "Kum". This was a pretty large serving considering it was only a combo meant for 4 people. It was spicy, yet not too much so while being quite flavourful (MSG?). It was full of soft tofu and only had a modest amount of shrimp and mussels. I preferred this soup over the pork bone.

For roughly $23.00 per person including taxes and tip, this is pretty standard pricing for a Korean restaurant. We probably could've dusted off a few more dishes if we had to order again. In terms of the food, on the hole, er... sorry, I mean whole, was pretty average. However, it did the job for a relatively reasonable price. The service we got was pretty decent, which is an achievement in an Asian restaurant, let alone a Korean one. So it begs the question: would we "kum" again? Well, that would be depend on our mood.

The Good:
- The service we got was not bad
- The washrooms were clean
- Passable

The Bad:
- Passable
- A little stingy on the ingredients

Sushi Land (Lynnwood)

Arriving into SeaTac from San Jose, we headed over to Goose's house to pick up the many items we had purchased online. Yes, his house is shipping central for all of the great deals we find on the Net, including a set of snow tires. (yes I realize it is not Winter yet, but it was a great deal!). Now talking about deals and shopping, Viv was not done yet. She wanted to head to a few places to do some power-shopping. Oh great, that was exactly what I wanted to do after a plane ride and needing to still drive back to Vancouver. Okay, before the shopping could materialize, we needed eats. So without much of a plan, we just went to the most convenient place near Alderwood Mall - Sushi Land. Okay, okay, please don't laugh.

When we walked into the place, the sushi on the conveyor belt looked novel and suited us just fine as we were pretty hungry. So much like grocery shopping on an empty stomach, we began randomly picking plates and chowing down. The trick here is the plates are marked with a price and at the end, you pay for what you ate (they add up the empty dishes). As I was busy eating, I noticed out of the corner of my eye that they were stuffing sushi rice into a machine. And a few minutes later, out popped formed sushi rice for nigiri! I sat there stunned. Did I really just see that??? Okay, "reasonable expectations", I repeated to myself. So the selection of Nigiri we ended up with included Salmon, Tamago, Seared Tuna, Tai, Vegetable, Seared Tuna, Spicy Salmon and Tempura Fish Cake. Machine-formed sushi rice withstanding, the texture was not bad being slightly dry. The rice was on the blander side, but did exhibit some vinegar. Overall, there was really nothing particularly awful with the nigiri, it was just average.

While we were beginning to move onto some Maki Roll Sushi, I was further shocked to see it being made free-hand without a sushi mat. Therefore, some of the rolls were very sloppily constructed. Okay, "reasonable expectations" I reminded myself. We had the California Roll, Salmon Skin Roll and Spicy Tuna Roll (with a Takoyaki for good measure). If I had to describe these rolls, they were like the premade ones you'd find in a grocery store. Edible, yet not really all that good either. The Takoyaki was your typical fried frozen ones. They were not bad though with large pieces of tender octopus inside. We ended off with 2 fried items in the Fried Gyoza and Ika Karaage. The fried gyozas were okay being mostly crisp. The filling wasn't bad (not gritty). The Ika Karaage was not very good though. The squid was leathery and chewy while the batter was oil-soaked and not crispy at all.

If I sound a bit indifferent about our meal here, it is because there was nothing to get excited about. Now to be fair, the food was edible, so it did the job. Of course there were a lot of short cuts taken and let's not even get into the topic of authenticity. With a place such as this, "reasonable exceptions" must be employed. No, you won't find legit Japanese food here. And honestly, who really cares? The food was very inexpensive. We got out of there for around $20.00 and were stuffed. Would I come back? Probably not, however, it filled us up for cheap.

The Good:
- Inexpensive
- Conveyor belt is a novelty
- Edible

The Bad:
- Lots of shortcuts taken
- If you are a sushi snob, you won't want to come here

Country Way

With a morning flight from San Jose to SeaTac, Viv and I needed to grab some breaky nearby. Being in Fremont, finding a cool breakfast place was out-of-the-question. We didn't have time to swing by San Francisco. Hence, we ended up at the most popular breakfast joint in Fremont - The Country Way. Don't expect anything fancy here. Walking into the place, it seemed to be stuck in a time warp circa 1975. Lots of wood and dark-as-can-be, The Country Way does not offer glitz, style nor anything remotely modern. What it does have is big portions at reasonable prices. Normally, that would be a recipe for long lineups. However, we were here on a Monday morning. As you can clearly see from the picture, there wasn't anyone there! Yay! The restaurant all to ourselves!

We were greeted by the friendly "mature" staff and seated by the window. No, that didn't mean really good lighting either. When I said it is dark inside, it is dark even right next to the window! When we got down to ordering, Viv went for their famous French Toast with 2 eggs and sausage. I'm not sure if I've ever seen a French toast such as the one that was presented on our table. The darn thing was big enough to feed 4 people, let alone one. It was a hybrid of French toast, pancake and fritter. The outside was crispy while the inside was fluffy. Not healthy in the least (due to the copious amount of grease), but pretty tasty nonetheless. The eggs were perfectly sunny side up while the sausages were meaty.

For myself, I had an Omelet with ham, bacon and sausage. I was a bit surprised to see it topped with 2 slices of processed cheese (I later found out you can choose real cheddar as well). Due to the massive amount of meat and cheese, the whole thing turned out to be quite salty and overbearing. The hashbrowns were nice though - crisp on the outside and soft on the inside. With 2 large plates of food, we didn't have a hope in the world of finishing. That seems to be the main draw here since the food is very ol' skool. In fact, the whole place is the epitome of ol' skool. So if you want a lot of food at reasonable prices, go the Country Way.

The Good:
- Freakishly large portions
- Friendly service
- It's got an old charm to it

The Bad:
- Food is ol' skool and greasy
- Kinda dark inside (very 70's)

De Afghanan

Did you know that Fremont, CA has the largest concentration of Afghan people in the US? Heck, I didn't know that, especially since I live in Vancouver, B.C.! We only have like 3 Afghan restaurants! As such, we took up my uncle's suggestion that we eat at one of the many authentic Afghan restaurants in town. His preference was De Afghanan, rather than the more well-known Salang Pass across the street. We actually ended up driving past the place because of its inset front entrance. I guessed using the GPS would've been a better idea? Geez, I visit Fremont every 2 years, I really thought I could do this freestyle. I guess it is a guy thing... Anyways, we were a fairly large group and the staff rearranged some tables to accommodate us. They were friendly and helpful throughout dinner.

As for the food, we were presented with some Afghan Bread to start. I'm sorry to say that the bread was terrible. It had the texture of day-old pita bread that had been sitting out on the counter. It was really chewy and some parts were practically impossible to break down. I've had much better Afghan bread before. Fortunately, it got better when we were presented with the Mantu. These fluffy dumplings were filled with a tasty filling which featured moist ground beef and sweet onions. The sprinkling of corn niblets provided a nice sweetness and crunch. The dumpling skin was thin and super easy to eat. There was just enough yogurt and sauce for flavour and moisture.

Next up, we had a really large plate of Bolani, which are leek & potato pastries baked on a flat pan and served with yogurt and cilantro chutney. These were pretty good with a nice golden crispy exterior yielding to a soft center. There was an underlying spiciness to it and when combined with the soothing yogurt chutney, the flavours were harmonious. Moving along, the Bodinjon arrived. What amounted to essentially roasted slices of eggplant topped with garlic yogurt and mint, it was enjoyable to eat. As simple as it appeared, the eggplant was moist without being mushy while the flavours were mild and pleasant. A squeeze of lime seemed to liven things up a bit.

Onto the mains, I attacked the Qabili Pallow first. Hey, I just can't resist lamb shank! The lamb shank was pretty large and beautifully prepared, the meat was super moist and tender while not being all that gamy. It was buried beneath basmati rice, julienned carrots and raisins. I've had this dish several times before and this one is the best by far. In addition to the beautiful lamb shank, the rice was flavourful with the desirable texture that rode a balance between soft and chewy. The raisins really brought everything together as they were plump and sweet.

Continuing on the lamb theme, we had the Lamb Kabob which featured grilled lamb chunks, basmati rice and a small salad. I liked how there was a fair amount of charring on the outside which added both flavour and texture in the form of smokiness and crunch. The lamb itself was moist and tender with very little gaminess. In addition to this, we had ordered beef and chicken kabobs as well, but to keep it simple, I'm only posting a picture of the Combination Kabob which included both of those as well as Chapli (beef patty mixed with green onion, eggs and spices). The beef kabobs were on par with the lamb being moist and tender. Once again, the charring on the outside helped heighten the flavours. As for the chicken, it was pretty moist for breast meat and as evidenced in the picture, the spots of charring were welcomed. The chapli was rather dry and flat. I realized that it should be flat, but this version was far too thin and it became more of a meat crisp than anything.

Nearing the end of the meal, we had plenty of leftovers. The food, in general, was prepared nicely (excluding the bread and the chapli). The experience was further enhanced by the friendly and efficient staff. If De Afghanan is any indication, I guess the next time we're in Fremont, we need to hit up the other Afghan restaurants.

The Good:
- Well-prepared meats
- Good service
- Filling

The Bad:
- It could've been a one-off, but the bread was awful
- It gets quite warm inside

Naglee Park Garage

On the day of my cousin's wedding, I thought it would be a good idea to get some breaky since we weren't supposed to be at the church until 2:00pm. So we drove down I-880 into San Jose on another Triple D's food adventure. We pulled up to Naglee Park Garage to find out... it was closed! Epic fail... Since we had to go to the mall anyways, we resorted to... wait for it... food court fare. Yes, some Chinese and Japanese food. Well, at least we thought it was Chinese and Japanese food... Fate would have it, the wedding reception ended up to be only 2 blocks away at the San Jose Women's Club. The significance? We could drop by Naglee to find out exactly when they would be open the next day. That's right, we were determined to eat there!

Tagging along was Rice-O-Ronnie who really wanted to try the place out since she loves Triple D's. Funny how someone from out-of-town finally brought her here. Looking over the menu, the Leek & Sausage Bake caught my eye. When it arrived, it looked like a frittata with stuff baked on top. The egg was crispy while soft in the middle. The general texture was a bit chewy and the whole thing was kinda greasy. There was plenty of sausage, leeks, cherry tomatoes, onions and goat cheese on top to make this a filling meal. It was very mild tasting though. The accompanying potato wedges and their famous house-made ketchup lived up to hype as they were very good. Although the ketchup didn't have much zing, it tasted fresh and tomatoey.

Viv ended up with the Tri-Tip Hash with 2 perfectly poached eggs on top. A rich, peppery Hollandaise sauce completed the dish. It could've stood for more lemon as it was mostly smooth and one-note in flavour. The tri-tip sausage was moist and tasty, but there wasn't enough of it. Rice-O-Ronnie went for the Bacon & Spinach Egg Lasagne. As the name suggests, it was a layers of fluffy egg with bacon and spinach in between. It was finished off with cheese on top. This wasn't bad per se, but could've been a whole lot more if there was some sauce with a kick or something. It ended up to be quite bland with chewy bacon. Despite this, we felt the food as a whole warranted another visit for dinner. I guess that would happen the next time I'm in the Bay Area.

The Good:
- Decent portions
- Interesting ideas
- Triple-D's effect

The Bad:
- Good, but suffers from the Triple-D's hype
- Parking is at a premium

Crawdaddy

With the sting of my visit to Crawfish King fresh in my mind, you'd think I'd avoid all things crawfish for awhile right? Wrong. On our recent visit to San Jose for my cousin's wedding, I made it my mission to test out a similar Southern boil just to make some comparisons. Naturally, with one being in Vancouver and the other being in San Jose, it would not be exactly fair. However, it would at the very least give me a sense if the stuff at Crawfish King was bad... or really bad... So let me set this up: both have as similar menu and both are Vietnamese-run. We met up with Cable Car Guy and AZee which gave us 2 other opinions and some eating assistance.

With AZee expecting twins, she decided to opt out of the shellfish fest and decided to try their Chicken Strips and Cajun Fries. This was a large portion for the price with moist, tender chicken strips. The cajun fries were crisp with lots of spicy seasoning salt. As boring as this might've sounded, it was actually quite good. Now onto the main event - the Crawfish. They had a special where if one orders 4 lbs. of crawfish, they throw in another 1 lb. So we essentially got 5lbs. of crawfish for $44.00. I'm not sure if they were generous with their measurements, but it sure seemed like more than 5lbs. In addition, we added 4 corn and 3 sausages for 60 cents each. Not wanting to blow our tastebuds, we went for mild. Okay, for mild, this was pretty spicy. Not sure if they made a mistake, but we liked it. Notice that the crawfish were not covered in grease like Crawfish King. The crawfish were mostly large and cooked nicely. The corn was really half of a cob while the sausage was of a decent size (that sounds wrong doesn't it???).

Overall, it was a good experience where the service was friendly and attentive. Our water glasses were never empty while we were asked about the food at least twice. Let's see here... Good food, reasonable prices and attentive service - a pretty good combination right? Seems like Crawfish King needs to learn a thing or two. And yes, it is not a completely fair comparison, but at the very least, I've seen something done the right way which further exemplifies how bad Crawfish King really is. As for the locals, Cable Car Guy thought Crawdaddy was better than the Boiling Crab as it provided better value.

The Good:
- Reasonable pricing
- Pretty good service
- Enjoyable eats

The Bad:
- Usually a lineup
- It gets quite messy (I didn't mind it though)

In-N-Out (Gilroy)

Last year when we arrived in San Diego at midnight, guess where we went right after leaving the airport? The hotel? Nope. McD's? Uh no. We went to In-N-Out of course! Hey who cares about sleep! And the kiddies? Nah, we're on vacation, they could sleep in until whenever. Besides, they'll be happy with the stuff we got from In-N-Out anyways. This time around, within a few hours of landing at San Jose International, we headed out to Gilroy for some outlet shopping. As I was enjoying my free internet from Starbucks (that's what I do on every trip), the familiar yellow and red of In-N-Out caught my eye. There it was. The thought of a double-double staring me right in the face. What should I do? I wasn't particularly hungry, but it's In-N-Out for heaven's sake! I tweeted my predicament out and I really had no choice - go and have a Double-Double Animal-Style with some fries.

For those unfamiliar, Animal-Style is on the (not-so-secret) secret menu where you can add lettuce, tomato, extra sauce, pickles and sauteed onions to anything (even the fries). So why do I flock to In-N-Out whenever there is one nearby? Well, for the price, it is a pretty darn good freshly made burger. There are better out there, but not at that price. As for the Fries, they are fresh cut and only slightly crispy. For those who like it crunchy, ask them to fry them longer. I personally don't like it Animal-Style because it just gets soggy. Once again, a satisfying meal at In-N-Out. I will miss you until the next time...

The Good:
- Well-priced
- Everything is fresh and freshly-made
- Focused menu

The Bad:
- Long lineups every time anytime (but it goes fast)