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

Sazon

Sazon is a highly rated Peruvian Restaurant located at 1129 Sebastopol Road in Santa Rosa.

Tasting of Ceviches--$28. You can choose 3 ceviches and we chose Ceviche Mango, Ceviche Mixto and Ahi Ceviche Nikei. The Ceviche Mixto had the best flavor. Nice and limey. The ahi was good in the past but tonight's ahi wasn't as fresh.

Lomo Saltado--$21.95. Wok fried tenderloin steak strips (you can also get chicken), onions, tomato, cilantro, soy sauce served with house-cut fries and rice. This had good flavor.

Arroz con Mariscos--$$26.95. The Peruvian paella version. This was just okay. It was loaded with seafood but the rice was overcooked.

If you have a group of 6 or more, beware that gratuity is added to the check.



2019 08 28

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

Monti's

My favorite Stark Restaurant is Monti's, located at 714 Village Court in the Montgomery Village Shopping Center.

Escarole & Radicchio Salad, Granny Smith Apples, Candied Walnuts, Dijon Mustard Vinaigrette, Point Reyes Blue--$10. This is a large salad and enough for 2-3 people.

Sole Almondine, French Green Beans, Fingerling Potatoes, Radish, Caper, Brown Butter Vinaigrette--$23. This is my favorite entree on their menu. The sole is well prepared.

Niman Ranch Pork Shoulder Chop, Roasted Fingerling Potatoes, Greens, Bacon-Onion Marmalade--$24. This was also quite good. The chop was thin but it was a good portion and because it had been brined, it was moist.

2019 08 20

Downtown Bakery & Creamery

I love the sticky buns at the Downtown Bakery & Creamery.

It's located at 308  Center Street in downtown Healdsburg.

Sticky bun--$2.75. Nice crispy exterior and soft interior.

2019 08 20

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