Jang Su Jang--Santa Clara, CA

Pork belly

Earlier this week I enjoyed Korean barbecue at Jang Su Jang, where we ordered pork belly and prime rib. The Korean barbecue experiences I had previously were all-you-can-eat, grill-it-yourself affairs. Even on the weekends, you could get out of there for less than $30/head.

So, I was a little surprised to see a plate of pork belly for $27 and our prime rib plate was $45. And, there was nothing all-you-can-eat about it. The big difference is the service. You don't have to lift a finger (and I didn't) and the meat goes from the kitchen to the grill to your plate--cooked to perfection (or at least pretty close) and cut.

Pork belly

Remember that because of this level of attention, there's a two-person minimum for barbecue. (One person is fine if two dishes are ordered.) And, the level of attention is highly personal indeed. Throughout the two-hour meal, servers passed by constantly to make sure our needs were tended to.

Prime rib

I wrapped up the dinner with a seafood soon tofu. The "seafood" was clams and shrimp (shell-on) and the tofu was soft, soft, soft--almost impossible to pick up with chopsticks. When you get the soon tofu, make sure you have rice to go along with it. This dish is spicy, about the highest level of spiciness as you'd find in a typical Korean tofu house.

Prime rib on the grill

I had a great time at Jang Su Jang and if invited as a guest I'd love to go again. However, while I appreciate the high level of service at Jang Su Jang, when it comes to Korean barbecue, I'm an all-you-can-eat guy. Also, I don't mind grilling meat on my own. So, coming back on my own, I'm afraid, is unlikely.

Seafood soon tofu

Jang Su Jang
www.jangsujang.com

The Table--San Jose, CA

Roasted Bone Marrow -- $13

Jenny and I took the kids to The Table in San Jose. I wanted to go largely because I was curious about the bone marrow. I have to give credit to the honesty of our server, who, since it was 9:00 in the morning, recommended against the marrow. He said it was more of an afternoon dish. As it had a greasy consistency, I can understand his point.

Ricotta Beignets -- $6

If I were the server, though, the real recommendation would be to order a meal in addition to the marrow. It simply wasn't filling enough for brunch or even breakfast. (To get that sated feeling I went to Manley's Donuts down the street afterwards). To scoop the marrow out of the plate you're given a marrow spoon. You then dump some marrow onto a piece of toast and enjoy. (By the way, the kids loved the toast plain.)

"Kids Eggs"--The bacon makes this a worthwhile purchase at $7.

Sugar coated and as light as air, beignets kicked off our breakfast. The delightful pastries bore a very similar to the Hong Kong style egg puffs you'd find at Cooking Papa. The beignets arrived with a lemon dipping sauce and had the texture of pudding.

Anson Mills Grits -- $15

As commonplace as eggs and bacon are at breakfast, Tyler and I marveled at the thick slab of bacon and how lean it was. Ever since, we've had our eye out for similar strips whenever we shop, but we have yet to find them.

Jenny had the Anson Mills Grits. For her, the experience was a textural affair that she enjoyed but wouldn't specifically seek out.

If you're looking for food a little out of the ordinary in a very pleasant, bright environment, come to The Table. You won't get filled cheaply, though.

The Table
www.thetablesj.com

Sauteed sea scallops by Gobble

Jenny prepared a meal tonight with ingredients delivered by Gobble. I liked it a lot! The scallops tasted surprisingly fresh, without even a hint of the bitterness that can plague scallops that are too old or not constantly kept cold in transit. The pea puree added a creamy sweetness to the dish. I even enjoyed the radish, which was nice and crunchy! All the ingredients shown in the photo were provided by Gobble, who delivered the food to our door.

www.gobble.com

Noodle Talk--Sunnyvale, CA

Stewed beef noodle soup

Noodle Talk is one of those overcrowded restaurants that left us wondering, "Why?" We just couldn't understand the popularity when we went there last weekend. I'll get to the point: Noodle talk: is expensive (the cheapest of the bowls shown here is $10), will leave you hungry with their small portions, is skimpy on the meat (what you see is what you get--all of maybe four pieces of beef in the stew above) and prepared ribs bowls for the kids that were too oily and salty for one of them finish (the other twin had a different reason, which I'll get to later). This last point isn't something to trivialize. Tyler LOVES grease and salt. For him to push the bowl away with the nauseated look on his face because of its being too oily and salty was impossible for me to fathom. To make matters worse, Dylan found a hair in his soup. We knew it couldn't have been ours since it was long and brown. 

Stewed pork rib noodle soup

It was the first time in memory my wife and both twins would not finish their meals because of distaste. I felt bad for everyone.

Stir fried pork with green pepper and noodle

From the look of things, though, Noodle Talk will thrive. At least for a while. Prepare to stand in line if you go. And, if you've never been to Noodle Talk before and don't know what to expect, the waiting will be the best part.

Noodle Talk
www.noodletalksunnyvale.com

Golden Sun Palace--Milpitas, CA

Being in the semiconductor equipment business for more than fifteen years, I've had my share of delightful business lunches and dinners here in the Bay Area. However, the one I enjoyed a week and a half ago at Golden Sun Palace in Milpitas was easily the best of the bunch.

Although it certainly helped to have been hosted by a native of Hong Kong, I felt like one could have picked anything swimming in their tanks and wouldn't miss.

We ate their specialty seafood dishes, which included crab, rock cod ("hong long" or "red dragon") and lobster.

The crab and lobster were both sweet and cooked to perfection. I left the restaurant almost sad because I knew it would be a while before my busy personal life would allow me another chance at such a feast.

I especially appreciated how the staff at Golden Sun Palace went out of their way to make the meal easy and enjoyable. They constantly refreshed our plates, taking shells away. Also, in the photo below you'll notice how the crab legs are cracked in such a way one can easily use a utensil to push out the meat, eliminating the need for wrestling with a crab cracker.

I was told that Golden Sun Palace has been terrific for at least the past five or six years. They changed ownership about six months ago, but the food remains outstanding. We ate here on a Thursday and the restaurant was only about half full. So, if you have the time for it, come here on a weeknight and enjoy a seafood feast that's top of the line. They'll fit you in!

Golden Sun Palace
1678 N Milpitas Blvd.
Milpitas, CA 95035
(408) 263-3888

Sno-Crave Tea House--Cupertino, CA

The "Taiwanese Spicy" hot pot

I caught on pretty late to the shaved snow craze, which hit here in the Bay Area in 2012. Once I tried it, though, it immediately became one of my favorite desserts. There's nothing quite like that soft fluffy spoonful of snow melting into a firm, gummy, delicious wad. But, more on that later.

Sno Crave in Cupertino is known as much for their hot pots as their desserts. However, the hot pot I ordered was a disappointment. I ordered the spiciest of the three levels for their "Taiwanese Spicy" soup base. To make it spicy, Sno Crave just dumped a heaping cupful of hot chili oil, which dominated the texture and appearance of the dish. There was so much oil that I took the leftovers home and I've been using the soup as a condiment at dinner.

Though Jenny chose the Japanese Miso soup base, the hotpot didn't feature miso. Still, the broth was flavorful and was even tastier when I ate it as a leftover a day or two later. The dish was a great value--it was packed with delicious protein--and more than enough for even the hungriest diner, especially given one has to save room for the shaved snow. In speaking of which...

 ...we got the honeydew flavored shaved snow with mango popping juice ball topping. Yes, it was delicious and I'd love to come back to Sno Crave again to have some more. However, the texture was just a little hard when it first entered the mouth and it wasn't quite the religious experience I had at Snow-Zen in Mountain View.

The big bonus for the kids--actually, the main draw for them--was that the restaurant played Spider-Man on their multiple flatscreens. The boys loved it and we lost them because of it for most of the dinner. Oh, well.

Sno-Crave Tea House

www.snocrave.com

Ajito--Cupertino, CA

Soboro Don

With the kids away at a birthday party at De Anza College, Jenny and I tried the nearby Ajito in Cupertino. Wanting to try several different items, I started with a couple of skewers. I had the chicken skin skewer with "Sauce" as opposed to "Salt". It was nevertheless very salty. I also had the pork belly skewer, which was a bit spongier than what I was expecting but otherwise fine. Overall, the skewers were small and of questionable value, even at two dollars each.

Chicken Skin skewer

The chicken, rice and egg dish Soboro Don) was, just like the chicken skin skewer before it, quite salty. Also, the egg, poached, was the tiniest I'd ever seen coming from a chicken.  Jenny and I independently thought the ground chicken tasted a lot like pork sung, which isn't necessarily a bad thing--I'd just never had chicken that tasted so much like pork.

Pork Belly skewer

Salmon Avocado Tartare featuring homemade potato chips was a delicious, though. I'd never even thought of potato chips and salmon going together, but it was a combination that worked.

Salmon Avocado Tartare

As surely as boys from Indiana know how to shoot free throws, chefs in Bay Area Japanese restaurants know how to grill fish. Ajito was no exception with their grilled black cod (Gindara Misoyaki), which tasted good just looking at it.

Grilled cod

We finished with a sashimi salad, which wasn't in the same league as the similar offering at Rokko Sushi in Sunnyvale. But, it was a valiant attempt. The sashimi was great, but the presentation was a mish mash. We had no regrets.

Sashimi salad

Ajito
www.ajitoizakaya.com