Happy Hour at Foundation

As we walked back to our hotel from the Festival, we came across Foundation Restaurant & Bar, located at 400 L Street. They advertised a Happy Hour on Saturday, beginning at 4 pm. We needed a cold drink and dropped in.

Sangria--$6.50. Nice and refreshing on a hot day.

Margarita on the rocks--$6.

2016 09 24

Slightly Skewed

At the Farm to Fork Festival, there were also many food trucks.

This was Slightly Skewed, featuring grilled Asian street food.

Ginger Scallion Chicken--$3. Bulgogi Beef--$3. Fried Rice Balls of Chinese Sausage, Scallions, Shiitake Mushrooms--$3.50. The beef was the best--juicy, tender and flavorful. The chicken was okay but I didn't like the rice balls--too mushy and not enough flavor.

Grilled String Beans with Oyster Sauce, Sesame Oil and Black Pepper--$3.50. This was good. The string beans were cooked well and not too salty.

2016 09 24

Farm to Fork Festival, Sacramento

This last weekend was the Farm to Fork Festival in Sacramento.

The Farm to Fork Festival showcased where our food and drinks come from.

The festival was held on Saturday from 11 am to 6 pm and was free. There were over 75,000 attendees but it didn't feel crowded because the festival was spread out over several city blocks near the state capitol.

There were farmers. This was an endive farm and they gave out free endives.

Grocery stores were also represented. This was a display at the Raley's booth. They're the official sponsor of the event. At their booth, Raley's sold beautiful local fruits and vegetables that were inexpensive. There was a beautiful basket of figs for $3.

SaveMart also had a giant booth. You walked through their display which highlighted local farmers, and got 3 free tacos--this was swordfish with strawberry jalapeño salsa. They also had a lamb taco and a chicken taco. All of them were delicious.

Breweries and wineries were present. This was a truck with Crispin hard cider. You could get free tastes or buy a pint for $5.

I loved the festival. There were cooking demonstrations, free giveaways and free tastings. Although it was nearly 90 degrees, it didn't feel that hot because half the festival was in the shade of the buildings. There was free iced water at several booths. I'm already planning to attend next year's event.

2016 09 24

Kong Tofu & BBQ Korean Cuisine

Kong Tofu & BBQ Cuisine has become my go-to place when I crave Korean food. It's located at 19626 Stevens Creek Blvd in Cupertino

I love their banchans, especially the chap chae (Korean noodles), tofu (upper left) and sea weed.

I'm not as big a fan of their bean sprouts, zucchini, potatoes or kim chee.

I always get the Clam Soft Tofu Stew--$11.99. I just love the flavors. Mild is plenty spicy for me.

2016 09 02

Friday Night Dinner

I couldn't make it to Thursday night dinner at Flavor Bistro this week but was able to make it to Friday night's dinner. Friday night's dinner is a 5-course dinner with 7 wine pairings, now for only $34.95. It used to be $49.95, so this is a great deal.

 Saumon Fumé--Smoked Salmon Carpaccio Served with Sweet Onion Flatbread, paired with 2013 North by Northwest Riesling, The Benches Vineyard, Wallula Gap, Horse Heaven Hills, Columbia Valley. The Riesling had a petroleum nose but had a nice mouth feel.

Coquilles Saint-Jacques--Pan Roasted Day Boat Scallops Served in Citrus-Sauternes Sauce Garnished with "Fennel Marmalade" & Crispy Potatoes, paired with 2014 d'Arenberg Viognier-Marsanne, The Hermit Crab, McLaren, Australia

Macaroni Au Fromage--"French Mac & Cheese"--Petite Organic Pasta, Roasted Garlic-Cheese Sauce Flavored with Shallot Confit, paired with 2014 Château Mont-Redon, Côtes Du Rhône, Provence, France & 2014 E. Guigal Côtes Du Rhône, Provence, France. The Chateau Mont-Redon was a much better pairing with the mac & cheese but the Guigal was better by itself.

Filet Au Poivre--Sliced Black Pepper Crust Filet Mignon Served in Cognac Reduction Finished with a Touch of Cream, Garnished with Glazed Vegetables & Roasted Mushrooms, paired with 2012 St. Francis Winery & Vineyards Merlot, Sonoma Valley & 2014 La Posta Angel Paulucci Malbec, Ugarteche Vineyards, Mendoza, Argentina. I liked the Merlot much better than the Malbec.

Poire Napoléon--Chardonnay Poached Pear, Chocolate Wafers & Vanilla Custard, paired with 2013 Terre Rouge Muscat-à-Petits Grains, Shenandoah Valley

  

2016 09 23

Koi Palace

We were celebrating a special birthday and the birthday girl wanted to have suckling pig. This was available at Koi Palace. They have several locations. We went to the one in Daly City in the Serramonte Plaza, 365 Gellert Blvd.

The suckling pig menu is $728 Mon-Fri, $888 Sat-Sun & Holidays. This is a banquet for 10 but there was enough food for 15-20 people. Not sure why such a big differential depending on day of the week.

There was a small bowl of peanuts and pickled radish for all of us to share. This wasn't enough, especially since it took 40 minutes before the first course arrived.

We had several kids with us and ordered beef chow fun for them. This was one of the better dishes of the night.

Fried rice was also pretty good.

Hand Roasted Whole Suckling Pig. This was the star of the evening. The skin was crispy and had little fat. It was paired with buns and hoisin sauce. After we finished the skin, the pig was taken away and cut up.

Crispy Fried Jumbo Prawns Glazed with Garlic Sauce. This was terrible. The shrimp came with shells and heads and they were all clumped together. There wasn't much flavor and some of the shells were missing the shrimp meat.

Stir-Fried Scallops and Tender Beef Cubes with Color Bell Pepper and XO Sauce. I was also not impressed with this dish. While the beef was indeed tender, the scallops were average size and the dish didn't have much flavor.

Double Boiled Bird's Nest with Smoked Ham, Wild Bamboo Pith and Dark Chicken. The broth was flavorful but I couldn't appreciate the bird's nest, bamboo pith or dark chicken. I don't understand what the big deal is with these ingredients.

Bailing Mushrooms over Napa Cabbage. I wasn't a fan of this either. Non-descript mushrooms in a bland sauce.

Chopped pieces of the suckling pig. I liked this. The meat was tender and the skin was crispy.

Whole Abalone and Fish Maw in Oyster Essence. The whole abalone is that tiny abalone on the right. Another bland dish with nondescript brown sauce.

Steamed Fresh Catch of the Day. This was good. The fish was well prepared and the sauce actually had flavor.

Whole Maine Lobster in Cream Sauce Over Crispy Noodles. Another unimpressive dish. Not much lobster meat.

The banquet ended with steamed buns with custard inside and mango jello, which were both quite good. There was also steamed sponge cake but we were so full by then, we couldn't even eat it.

Overall, this banquet was not worth the cost. It was so disappointing. Most of the dishes didn't have much flavor. Yes, there were expensive ingredients but they didn't showcase them well. Skip this banquet.

2016 09 16

An Anniversary Dinner

We celebrated a special anniversary and my husband prepared dinner. He even pulled out the fancy china.

Quail in a Cranberry Sauce. He brined this first and it was so moist and tender.

Panzanella Salad with homegrown tomatoes, cucumber, green peppers and croutons.

Ribeye Steak with Sauteed Mushrooms. The ribeye was very marbled and tender but it didn't have much meat flavor. I think it needed the bone. The mushrooms were sautéed in wine and had depth of flavor.

Lemon Gelato in Lemon Shell. This was very smooth.

2011 Hartwell Cabernet Sauvignon. This still had a lot of tannins and can age a little more. 

2016 08 19