The Club at SJC

I had an extra week of vacation in November 2019 and decided to go to London. I booked through American Airlines Vacations--business class nonstop and 7-nights hotel for $3550.

The flight was on BA from SJC to LHR. SJC only has The Club for all business class travelers.

It's a nice space but nothing like SFO's Polaris lounge.

The food was sad. There were green salads and prepared salad choices but there was only 1 hot option--overcooked penne in tomato sauce.

They did serve pretty decent wine though.

Wasabi peas and gummy bears (not Haribo).

2019 11 16

Southland Flavor Cafe

Southland Flavor Cafe is located at 10825 N. Wolfe Road, in the Ranch 99 shopping mall in Cupertino.

Sauteed Pig Ears--$7.50. Love this. Good flavor and just the right crunch from the cartilage and tenderness from the rest of the ear.

Oyster Pancake--$8.25. This was over fried. The oysters were good and the sauce was good but it was too crisp. This had napa cabbage but also had green onions. I hate green onions!

Sauteed Pea Sprout--$12.50. How can you go wrong with sautéed pea sprouts. Tender and flavorful with the garlic.

Vegetarian & Mushroom Sauteed Rice Noodles--$9.75. I love rice noodles but I have trouble making it. This was so good. Good flavor, nice veges and not mushy.

2020 01 04

Taiwan Porridge Kingdom

Taiwan Porridge Kingdom is located at 20956 Homestead Road in Cupertino. They have a great lunch deal Mon-Fri--$11 for 3 items. Porridge or rice included. At dinner and on weekends, you pay for each individual dish.

I love their braised bamboo shoots, pig ear and ground pork with pickled cucumber. My sister wanted the gluten, which I found too dry.

I also love the braised squid (complete with egg sac), sautéed string beans and stir-fried fish.

Pick out your selection at the counter and they will deliver it to you, along with a pot of porridge or rice. It's comfort food.

2019 12 22

La Pizzeria, Campbell

Had craving for Italian and went to La Pizzeria in Campbell. It's located at 373 E. Campbell Avenue.

Caprese Vegetale--$12. Grilled eggplant, zucchini & tomatoes with sundried tomatoes. The eggplant was tender.

Insalata Mista--$8. Fresh green mixed salad served with balsamic vinaigrette. This was boring.

 Caesar Salad--$9. This was the better salad.

Prosciutto Arugula Pizza with Shaved Parmesan--$21. The crust was Neopolitan style and chewy.

Spaghetti Bolognese--$19. The spaghetti was al dente and the bolognese was delicious--just the right portion of tomatoes & meat. If I get a craving for Italian again, I would head here and order this dish.

Gnocchi with bolognese sauce--$20. This isn't on the menu--you have to ask for it. This was quite good. The gnocchi was well cooked and not mushy. 

2019 11 30

Kong Tofu

I still love Kong Tofu, located at 19626 Stevens Creek Blvd, in the Merlion Mall in Cupertino.

Banchans served to everyone. If you run out, ask for more. There was one more dish than in times past. My favorites are the fish cake, chap chae and seaweed.

I always get the Clam Soft Tofu Soup--$13.49 plus $0.49 for the purple (mixed grain) rice. I just love the flavor of this soup. I get mine mild because that's spicy enough for me. 

2019 11 29

Famous Dumpling House

We tried Famous Dumpling House for their xiao long bao. It's located at 4996 Stevens Creek Blvd in San Jose. Overall, I wasn't impressed.

Chinese Style Cucumber Salad--$6.50. This had a nice crunch but it needed more flavor.

Burmese Tea Leaves Salad--$11.95. This was like no tea leaves salad I have ever had. This tasted like pesto had been added and that was not the right flavor. Definitely won't be ordering this again.

Pork Xiao Long Bao--$9.50 for 8. These were the classic soup dumplings. The skin was thin enough and the filling was flavorful but it's still not Din Tai Fung.

Pan Fried Buns--$11.95 for 6. These were actually the best thing we ordered. I liked the nice fry on the bottom and the pork filling was flavorful.

Shrimp Stir Fried Noodles--$10.95. The noodles were the right chew but this needed a little more flavor.

Stewed Beef Noodle Soup--$11.95. The noodles were homemade and the broth was good. The meat, though, was tough.

Shan Dong Bean Sauce Noodle--$9.50. The bean sauce was just okay.

2019 11 29

Falafel Drive-In

I just love Falafel Drive-In in San Jose. It's located at 2301 Stevens Creek Blvd.

Large Falafel Sandwich--$7. The falafel here is the best I've had. Moist inside, crispy outside and full of flavor.

Baba Ghanouj with Pita--$6.75. Loved the smokiness of the eggplant. This is so good.

2019 11 09

Orenchi Ramen

I haven't been to Orenchi for quite some time. It's still as good as ever.

Orenchi is located at 3540 Homestead Road in Santa Clara. It opens at 11:30 am. Get there by 11 am to put your name in.

Orenchi Salad--$9.30 for large. Romaine lettuce, mizuna, red cabbage, baby corn and mushrooms. You have your choice of boiled pork or tofu. This was enough for 3 people to share a small portion. I thought there was too much dressing but otherwise, it is tasty.

Karaage--$8.50 for 6 pieces. Kind of expensive for 6 small pieces of boneless chicken but this is amazing. The chicken is tender and juicy and the skin is crispy. There isn't a hint of grease. Love it!

Orenchi Ramen--$13.80 for regular. Add $2.50 for the large (I estimated it is 25% larger). Ramen in tonkatsu base, topped with soft boiled egg, pork, green onion, bamboo shoot, mushrooms, sesame and nori seaweed. It was a tad salty but I still love it. The noodles are toothy and perfect. The broth is rich and the egg is perfectly soft on the inside. Still my favorite ramen!

2019 10 05

Yoshida

It's been a while since I've been to Yoshida, a Japanese restaurant in Cupertino. It's located at 10700 S. DeAnza Blvd.

Agedashi Tofu--$7. This wasn't the best Agedashi I've had. It needed a better sauce.

One of the dinner specials on offer--$16.50. This included Saba (fish) or pork katsu, seafood hotpot, tempura (shrimp, zucchini, sweet potato and carrot), tsukemono (cucumber salad), California roll and rice. It was a big meal. The saba was much better than the pork katsu, which was too dry.

2019 09 07

Pho Ha Noi

Found another Vietnamese restaurant on Yelp. Pho Ha Noi is located at 10100 S. De Anza Blvd in Cupertino, It's located in the old Armadillo Willy's.

Imperial Crab Roll--$14.75.  There were 4 rolls, vermicelli noodles and greens. wrap a roll with noodles inside the greens. Tasty.

Beef Rib Pho--$12.95. This had intense meat flavor but there was just too much meat and the meat was not fall-off-the-bone tender.

Special Hainanese Steamed Chicken & Rice--$12.95. Meh. Nothing special. I still prefer Nong's Khao Man Gai in Portland.

Tamarind Prawn with Garlic Noodle--$17.95. This had good flavor but the noodles were heavy with butter.

Turmeric Grilled Fish Rolls--$6.95. This was not memorable.

2019 09 02

Harbor Villa Restaurant

Harbor Villa Restaurant is located at 5238 Diamond Heights Blvd in San Francisco. It's in the Safeway shopping mall so parking is easy to find.

The dim sum is divided into sizes. We apparently didn't get any Small Dim Sum. An example of the Medium Dim Sum:

Steamed Bean Curd Skin Roll

Large Dim Sum:

Steamed Pork Siu Mai & Shrimp Dumpling

XL Dim Sum:

Pan Fried Shrimp & Chive Dumpling

Jelly Fish with Seaweed

XXL Dim Sum:

Pancake Roll with Beef Shank--This was on the dry side and needed more hoisin sauce wrapped inside.

BBQ Pork Belly--This was good. Not too fatty and the skin was crisp.

Black Fungus with Dry Bean Curd.

Overall, it was good but not spectacular.



2019 08 25

XLB Kitchen

XLB Kitchen is located at 10235 S. De Anza Blvd in Cupertino. It's a small restaurant but there is outdoor seating.

The restaurant opens at 11 am and by 11:30, there's a long wait.

Fuqi Feipian--$8.95. Tendon & sliced beef with spicy Szechuan pepper. Last time, I thought it was good. This time, I didn't like it. It left a funny taste in your mouth.

Mixed Cilantro and Dry Shredded Tofu--$5.95. This is a nice refreshing dish.

Fried Tofu--$6.95. This was good. Despite being thin, the tofu was soft inside. This was a bigger portion than what we got last time.

Salt & Pepper Fish--$13.95. There wasn't much of a coating and the fish was good.

Eggplant with Hot Garlic Sauce--$9.95. Flavorful and tender but spicy.

Xiao Long Bao (steamed pork dumpling)--$6.95 for basket of 6. These were very good. Thin skin and juicy pork inside.

Shrimp & Pork Dumpling with Chives--$9.95 for 12. These were delicious.

Shrimp Fried Rice--$9.95. This had good flavor but it was loaded with green onion.

Be sure to order all your dishes at the same time. The kitchen is very small and can't accommodate last-minute orders.



2019 08 17