What Did We Eat?

Nine-course Dinner at China Stix

Last Sunday, Joe and I had dinner at the China Stix Restaurant in Santa Clara, CA.  It was no ordinary dinner but a carefully planned "nine-course-dinner + cooking demonstration + book signing + entertainment" event.  One of Joe's coworkers told Joe about an "eating club" that arranges lunch or dinner events at a different restaurant every month.  We were intrigued and so, we decided to join them in this event. The club is called the "Association of Chinese Cooking Teachers" (ACCT in short).   At this dinner, there were 15 tables of food enthusiasts.  I was pretty amazed at the turnout.  Then I found out two ladies who sat next to me drove all the way from Sacramento (two-hour drive each way) to attend this event - I was floored.  Talk about having a passion for food!!

Upon arrival at China Stix, we saw a "two-tone dumpling" demonstration in progress.  A China Stix chef was giving a hands-on lesson to many eager "students".  After the demo, everyone at the dinner table got to try the dumplings.   Then there was a demo #2.  The chef was showing the audience how to make "thousand-layer" pancakes.   Afterward, we tasted the pancake at our table.

Then, the nine-course dinner officially started.  See descriptions below.

    

1)Four Seasons Cold Appetizers Platter (I thought the heart-shaped veggie was cute.)
2) Double Steamed Supreme Mushroom & Quail Soup (This herbal soup was my favorite because it was tasty and was served piping hot.  Joe noticed there were at least 12 different ingredients in the soup.)
3)Filo "Birds Nest" Seafood Cups (They almost looked too pretty to be eaten.)
4)Szechwan Fried Pork Ribs Delight, stuffed in a squash (Many folks at our table said they liked the squash a lot.)

    
5) Eight Treasures Stuffed Crispy Skin Boneless Duck (I liked the sticky rice.)
6)Jin Wah Style Ham Dried Scallops Sauce over Hearts of Napa Cabbage (We totally loved this dish. The sauce was not too salty at all.)
7) Chinese style Stewed Short Ribs in House Special Sauce (I was getting full so I didn't try this one.  But people who tried it said the ribs were tender.)
8)Suzhow Style Boneless Sweet and Sour Whole Cod (This one is all right.  I am usually not a sweet and sour fish lover.)
9) Sticky Rice with Sweet Fruit Served in a Pineapple Bowl (Actually it was sticky rice + red bean paste + a little bit of pineapple mixed in.)

It was a very good event.  Joe and I were happy to see so many food lovers like us.  And, I was NOT the only one there taking pictures of the food!  I think we are ready to attend the next event in December.

Tanto Japanese Restaurant in Sunnyvale

Last night, our friend and her family treated Joe and me to dinner at Tanto in Sunnyvale, CA.  It was an early birthday celebration for her and it was Joe and my first time to this restaurant.  The restaurant is small and was very busy (it was Saturday night after all).  So, that meant, "reservations highly recommended".  Good thing our friend made a dinner reservation and we didn't have to wait for a table.  Tanto has one small open dining room on the left hand side and several partitioned "semi-private" seating areas on the right hand side.  We were seated in one of those partitioned areas. 

Overall, I think food selections at Tanto were excellent but service could use some improvements.  The place seemed understaffed; so at times, we had to "self serve". 

My friend has been to this restaurant before so we asked her to order for all of us.  There were only five of us (actually four adults and one child) but we ended up with 15 different food items.  Boy, was I busy taking pictures.  See descriptions below.  *Sorry, I cannot fix that one picture below that looks out of alignment, because Typepad's WYSIWYG is not really WYSIWYG.*

 

1) Various kinds of sashimi
2) Grilled Beef Tongue (It might sound a little "exotic" but the tongues were sliced very thin and they really just tasted like regular grilled beef.)
3) Steamed Egg with Eel
4) Chicken in broth, served with grilled rice on sticks
5) Sea Urchin and Scallops
6) Gyoza
7) Grilled Lotus Roots with Shrimp Paste (This one is a "must try". Everyone at our table loved this dish.)
8) Grilled Seabass
9) Scallop Gratin (Awesome cheese but could not really taste the scallops, mostly just onions)
10) Grilled Rice Balls stuffed with Salmon Roe (This one is another "must try".  They actually are shaped in triangles, instead of "balls".  We loved the slight burned rice, very crunchy.)
11) Sliced Squid stuffed with rice, cooked in a creamy squid sauce (This dish is our friend's favorite but Joe didn't quite like it because of the sauce.)
12) Shrimps in spicy mayonnaise (A "borrowed" idea from a Chinese recipe but making the sauce a bit spicy.)
13) Udon Noodles (not pictured)
14) Dessert 1: Vanilla ice cream with mochi, topped with brown sugar
15) Dessert 2: Vanilla ice cream with sliced apples, topped with cheese puffs

Brunch and Dinner at Lexie's in Siena Reno - A customer satisfaction success story

This Saturday, Joe and I were in Reno to see "Joey Yung in Concert" at the Peppermill Hotel.  The concert was great.  Then, I was looking for a spa.  Since, the new spa at the Peppermill is not opened yet, I have decided to try out the massage service at the Siena Hotel in downtown Reno.  Before the massage appointment, we had champagne brunch at the Lexie's Restaurant in the hotel.  It was our first time to Lexie's so we looked forward to a new experience.
        
Joe and I were seated by the window and we had a good view of the Truckee river.  So, that was nice.  The food variety at the brunch was all right.  But for some reason, almost all the hot entrees I ate were cold (or, lukewarm at best).  Towards the end of the meal, I had to go get myself a made-to-order waffle (even though I don't care for waffles) and a hot tea, because I was tired of all the cold food there.  At that point, I was ready to write off this restaurant - I don't want to go back until they figure out how to keep their hot entrees hot.

Then things changed.

After my massage (which, I have to say, was very nice), I joined Joe at the Siena casino and we were ready to go back to the Peppermill Hotel for dinner.  The two Siena pit bosses were chatting with us and we told them our strange "cold food" experience at the Lexie's.  Next thing we know, the two pit bosses (Mike and Valerie) talked among themselves and then they quickly offered us a complimentary dinner at Lexie's.  Turned out, Lexie's has a 2-for-1 early bird dinner special - a three-course meal for $18.95 for two people.  Mike and Valerie advised us to try that out, plus order wine, on the house.  So Joe and I decided to stay on and played a bit longer at the table until 5pm (that's when the early bird dinner starts).  We ended up losing money at the casino table while we were waiting for dinner to start.  But Joe didn't mind that because he felt that the two pit bosses were really nice and personable.  "We don't get that kind of attention at Peppermill." Joe said.

To our surprise, our second try at Lexie's was quite pleasant (yes, this time the food temperature was just right).  For first course, we both ordered the field greens with apple honey vinaigrette.  For entree, I ordered the top sirloin with polenta and Joe had the veal scallopini with risotto.  For dessert, I had the flan caramel and Joe had the orange chocolate cake.  Joe also ordered one glass of red wine; while I had my usual iced tea.  The food was good but one thing we really liked during dinner was the service.  Our waiter, Lee, was nice and professional; and our waiter's assistant (I forgot to get his name but he is an Indian young man) was extremely courteous and efficient. 

There was one additional thing that Joe mentioned to me during dinner.  At the casino table, the cocktail waitress came up to him and asked him if he wanted to order a drink.  Usually Joe would order either water or black coffee.  Somehow this time, he wanted a cappuccino.  The cocktail waitress told him that she would need to get the cappuccino from the restaurant, not from the bar.  Joe asked her if that would be ok.  With pride, she answered "Of course!  We are Siena!".  I thought that was really awesome to hear.

At the end, I am glad that we stayed for dinner.  And, we are considering staying at the Siena Hotel next time we visit Reno.  This is one of the greatest success stories I have seen - the pit bosses Mike and Valerie and the Lexie's restaurant staff totally turned the tide - changing us from a Siena detractor to a Siena supporter, all within a matter of hours.  Wow.

Team Dinner at Zibibbo in Downtown Palo Alto

Tuesday night, my coworkers and I had an awesome team dinner (in a private room!) at Zibibbo.  Zibibbo offers a pan-Mediterranean menu and it's located in downtown Palo Alto.  Downtown Palo Alto is a very nice place but finding a parking space there could be challenging.  Zibibbo offers valet parking for a fee, which comes in handy at times.

    
    
There were quite a number of us at the dinner table and the amount of food we had was tremendous.  I lost count of how many appetizers and entrees we had (good thing I took pictures).  At our table, dinner was served "family style", we just passed the dishes around to share.  I managed to taste almost everything.  My absolute favorite one was the black pepper steak.  I will need to remember to order that when I visit Zibibbo again.

Dinner at the Elegant Alexander's Steakhouse

On Monday, I had dinner with some of my managers and coworkers at the Alexander's Steakhouse in Cupertino, CA.   Alexander's has always been one of my favorite steakhouses.  This was probably my third time there.  The place is truly elegant in terms of its decor, service and food presentation.  If you are a red meat lover, you will like this place.  We were told that the owner is half American and half Japanese; so in addition to traditional American steaks, the menu also offers exciting Asian-influenced fusion items.

The first item our server brought us was a complimentary appetizer - a small piece of scallop sandwiched between two pieces of thinly sliced radish.  For dinner, I ordered something light because I had hula practice that night. The soup of the day was buttersquash.  I always like buttersquash cream soup so I ordered it.  It tasted a little bit too sweet for me but not bad overall.  Then we all got a complimentary raspberry & blood orange "refresher" drink.

Instead of ordering steak this time, I wanted to try one of the small plates - buta Kkkuni with escargots; plus a side order of the mac & cheese with truffle oil.  Since I had to rush off to my hula class, I only had time to eat a couple of escargots.  I asked the server to pack up the rest of my food to go and I handed them over to Joe when he picked me up at the restaurant.  Joe tried the buta kakuni (pork) but he didn't like it.  This item was definitely too fatty for him.  He didn't eat the mac & cheese at all (another fatty item for him) so I took the truffle-oiled mac & cheese to work for lunch the next day.  The mac tasted pretty good to me.  I am not a truffle fan (it's definitely an acquired taste) but a hint of it did make the mac taste special.   

Unique Thai Dish at Thai Cafe in Milpitas

Tonight Joe and I went to try out the Thai Cafe in Milpitas for the first time.  We have walked by this restaurant many times before, but never paid attention to it.  Tonight Joe was browsing our Entertainment coupon book and saw a coupon for this restaurant.  At the back of the coupon, it mentioned two special dishes - scallops in yellow curry and Chiang Mai chicken noodle soup.  So, we have decided to give it a try.  Turned out, it was a pleasant surprise!

The restaurant is small but the decor is very nice - mostly in red color.  We followed the recommendation on the coupon and ordered those two special dishes.  In addition, we also ordered the Lahb salad with minced pork and sticky rice (the sticky rice is inside the little bamboo container).  For the scallop curry entree, we specified "medium" for spiciness.  Well, we should have ordered "hot" because the medium level was too tame for us. 

The Lahb salad, on the other hand, was just perfect.  This dish is very refreshing (make sure you eat it with the mint leaves). 

Our favorite was the Chiang Mai chicken noodle soup.  First of all, the portion was huge!  They gave us so much noodles and chicken - this dish is definitely meant to be shared.  The chicken meat was extremely tender and the noodle soup had a very unique taste to it.  This was the first time Joe and I tasted something like this in a Thai restaurant and we liked it a lot.  I am guessing we will be coming back to order this again.