What Did We Eat?

Noodle House Foo-Foo Tei in Hacienda Heights, CA

   
 
My brother Richard is a big fan of the Foo-Foo Tei noodle house.  When Joe and I went to LA to visit mom during the Labor Day weekend, Richard asked mom to take us to Foo-Foo Tei (Richard had to go on a business trip so he could not join us).  Foo-Foo Tei's location is kind of odd.  It's a restaurant by itself in an industrial/residential area.  It's a humble, not-fancy-looking restaurant.  Service was efficient although not exceptionally friendly. During lunch and dinner time, the place is usually packed with customers.  But since we went in around 4pm on Sunday, the place was not too crowded.

Foo-Foo Tei is known for its wide selection of Japanese ramen noodles.  Richard's favorite is #17 (ramen noodles in pork bone soup).  We ordered #24 and #25.  Mom told us that #24 is exactly like the #17 but has more veggies. And #25 is hot and spicy noodle soup.  Joe and I both liked #25 better, because we usually prefer spicy food.  The spicy soup was good, it has a pretty heavy sesame taste to it.  The noodles were just typical ramen noodles, but I would not mind going back for it.

 
 
Mom recommended two more items.  First one was the fried burdock.  The burdock tasted like garlic french fries but had a tougher texture than potato.  Mom said burdock has a high fiber content so it is good for one's health (well, not so much about the "fried" part but it surely was tasty).  The second item we ordered was the stuffed fried tofu.  Yes, another fried item but it was very good.  The tofu came with a dipping sauce.  When eating the tofu, don't be skimpy on the dipping sauce.  Pour a lot of the sauce over the tofu and then eat it.  It's super yummy!  I bet these two items would go really well with beer if you are a drinker.  We don't drink at all so we only had tea to go with them.

Afternoon Tea at The Tea Station

       

 
 
Do you like tea?  If yes, go try some at the Tea Station.  The Tea Station is a chain store with locations in So. Cal, No. Cal and Vegas.  My mom took me, Joe and Joe's mom to this one in Hacienda Heights in Southern California.  The place was clean, spacious and not very crowded - definitely a nice, quiet tea spot.  The tea menu was very extensive with lots of tea selections, as well as rice plate, noodle soup, and pasta entrees.  But because we just finished lunch and were still full, we decided to order something light. 

Joe's mom ordered the honey fruit tea.  It was excellent!  Since we didn't see the fruits in the tea pot, we "guessed" the tea was cooked with apples, oranges and pineapples.  I would highly recommend the fruit tea.  What did I order?  I like the taste of lavender and rose.  Between the rose milk tea and lavender milk tea, I picked the lavender.  Turned out the milk tea was also pretty good.  It has just a hint of lavender taste, not too overpowering.  Joe ordered the strawberry toast (which we all shared) and a foamed iced green tea. Joe liked it, but I didn't.  I prefer the "bitter" taste of green tea and this one lacks it, possibly because of the honey in it.  Maybe if they take out the honey, the green tea would taste more like green tea.  My mom ordered another kind of iced green tea, the non-foamed kind (we forgot to take a picture of it).  Mom's green tea has some "bitter" taste to it, which was nice. But again, the tea was sweetened.  I would have prefer it non-sweetened.  

I like the Tea Station, it's gonna take us a while to try the many tea options.  Joe and I will visit the one in the North Cal (Fremont or Newark) next time.  

Seafood Village Restaurant for Fried Garlic Crab

       

 
 
Sunday noon time, we went to the "Seafood Village Restaurant" in Monterey Park for lunch.  This restaurant offers Cantonese as well as "Chiu Chow" cuisine.  I would not say the Chiu Chow cuisine is really authentic but there were a few items that were pretty good.  

The first must-try item was the fried garlic crab.  It's the restaurant's signature dish.  Almost everyone ordered it. The garlic bits were perfect to go with white rice.  And the fresh crab was fried to perfection.  The meat was extremely moist and tender.  Fried garlic crab is a common dish and can be found in many Chinese restaurants but not all Chinese restaurants can make it well.  This Seafood Village Restaurant has mastered this dish.  

Another interesting item was the Chiu Chow congee.  It's a great alternative if you do not feel like eating plain white rice.  

Want some vegetable?  I would recommend veggies simmered in pork bone soup.  It's served in a little wok with a small fire lighted underneath it to keep it piping hot.  The soup was creamy-yummy and the veggies were extremely tender.  

Unfortunately the remaining two dishes were not as exciting.  We ordered the oyster omelet. The egg was a bit overcooked so it was too dry for me.  And then we ordered another veggie dish with crab roe. That one turned out a bit too oily for Joe. 

One thing to note, parking space in front of the restaurant is very limited.  So be prepared to spend a few extra minutes looking for a parking spot.

FFY Tianjin-style Noodle House

 
 
This past Labor Day weekend, Joe and I went to visit my mom in Los Angeles.  That also meant, we were going for a non-stop eating frenzy because LA is known for its large variety of tasty Asian foods. We arrived at lunch time on Saturday.  Mom took us to lunch at FFY 福方園 Noodle House in Rowland Heights, CA.  

 

The Noodle House advertises for its "Tianjin-style" 天津 (Northeastern China) noodles.  We ordered two kinds of noodles to try. First one was the "Spicy Beef Noodle Soup".  The wide noodles were hand-pulled. The waitress asked us to specify the spiciness for the soup (small, medium and large), and she told us "small" is already very spicy to her.  So we asked for "medium".  When the Spicy Beef Noodle Soup came, I tasted the soup but it was not spicy enough.  So we asked the waitress to give us a separate bowl of the original "large" spicy soup.  If you like spicy food, I would say go for the "large" spiciness.  The second noodle soup we ordered was non-spicy with mostly veggies as the ingredients. The noodles in this bowl were the regular "thin" kind. I personally prefer the "wide" noodles.   

   

In addition to the noodles, we also ordered some pancakes.  First one was the green onion pancakes and second one was the beef rolls.  I always love green onion pancakes, especially if they are served hot and fresh. These green onion pancakes were very tasty.  I noticed there were three layers in each piece, which was pretty unusual.  Then came the beef rolls.  I didn't try the beef rolls at all, because I saw there were parsley in them.  I am not a fan of parsley, so I skipped the rolls.

   
 
Mom also told us that the hand-made dumplings are also the restaurant's specialty.  I looked at the menu, there were about 20 different kinds of dumplings listed!  We ordered the "Pork with Celery" dumpling and the "Shrimp with Pumpkin" dumpling.  I really liked the celery and pumpkin fillings, although I wish there were less pork/shrimp and more celery and pumpkin. The dumpling skin was a bit too thick for my taste, but the fillings were pretty good.  Go give this restaurant a try if you like noodles and dumplings!
 
 
 

Chez Sovan Cambodian Lunch

 
 
Recently I took a Friday off from work because my mother and brother came from LA to visit me and Joe. For lunch, Joe and I took them to try the Chez Sovan Restaurant on Oakland Road, San Jose for some home-cooked style Cambodian food.  Chez Sovan opens only from Monday to Friday for lunch and it is a popular but small restaurant (so be prepared to wait a little bit for open tables).  The place is sort of a "hole in the wall" but the food and service are good. (BTW, my apologies for the poor picture quality)

     
 
One must-try menu item is the "Amok" (boneless fish wrapped in leaves).  This is the restaurant's specialty dish.  Almost all the restaurant patrons order it. The fish is extremely moist and tender.  But to me, the portion is way too small for a $9 dish - but still worth a try if you never had it before.  In addition, we ordered the beef kabobs, pretty tender chunks of meat as well.  We had the chicken curry to go with white rice. The curry is not spicy at all (Joe and I usually prefer the more spicy kind).  Then we had the pan-fried noodles, very much like pad thai but more on the sweet side.  To those who are used to Thai food but willing to try something a bit different, I would recommend Chez Sovan (and remember to order the "Amok").

Malaysian Hawker Event

     
     
   
 
Last Sunday Joe and I attended the "A Taste of Malaysian Hawker Delights" Event at the Sunnyvale Baylands Park. This event was organized by the good folks from the Malaysian Professional and Business Association (MPBA).  Part of the proceeds from this sold-out event went to the "Support Against Cancer" charity.  The many hard-working volunteers planned the entire food menu, as well as cooked and served the food.  Joe and I were amazed by the variety and quality of the different food items.  We were also impressed by how organized the volunteers were.  Upon arrival, each event attendee was given a food card.  The card had the menu on it.  The attendee then took the card to each food station to claim the food and the server would cross out the item from the card.  We could even vote for our favorite food item(s).  This process gave us a chance to meet and mingle with all the volunteers and learned about their food preparation.  Here is a look at the menu....

     
            

• Nasi Lemak/Beef Rendang
• Curry Puffs
• Roti Jala (Net Bread) with Chicken/Veggie Curry
• Tofu Sumbat (Fried Tofu) with Peanut Sauce
• Har Mee (Prawn Noodle Soup)
• Chow Kuey Teow (Wok Fried Flat Rice Noodles)
• Banana Fritter (Friend Banana)
• Chicken Satay
• Penang Rojak (Malaysian Fruits Salad)
• Tradition Malaysian Nyonya Kuih
• Pulut Hitam (Black Sticky Rice) with Coconut Milk
• Teh Tarik (Malaysian Milk Tea)
• Cincau (Grass Jelly Drink) - that's me in the picture, filling up my cup of grass jelly drink!

    
 
GOOOOAAALLLLL!  Since Sunday was also the World Cup final day, the event volunteers even planned ahead and brought two TV screens to the venue so that World Cup fans can watch the game, while enjoying the hawker food!  Impressive.  I know. :)

Liou's House Chinese Restaurant in Milpitas

     
 
Last Friday Joe and I had dinner with our friend Angela and her family at the Liou's House Chinese Restaurant in Milpitas.  It was our first time there.  When we looked at the menu, we saw an item we wanted to order right away, it was the "honey ham squares" - honey baked ham served with slices of bread. This item is popular in Asia but it's very rare to see it offered in Chinese restaurants in the States.  So we really wanted to try it but our waiter told us this is a chef's specialty item and we were supposed to order it in advance. Since we didn't know about that and didn't order it in advance, we had to resort to other menu items. 

Angela said she heard from her friends that the Shrimp Lettuce Cups are good.  Although Angela and I are both not lettuce cups fans, we ordered this item anyway just to try it.  Turned out, it was chopped shrimps with bits and pieces of Chinese donuts served in lettuce cups.  I ordered some dark vinegar to pour into the lettuce cups.  The shrimps tasted better with the vinegar (btw, this is a very "Shanghainese-style" of eating stir-fried shrimps and I am Shanghainese).  If you ask me, I would rather just order the plain stir-fried shrimps entree instead of this lettuce cup item, because I was not crazy about bits and pieces of non-fresh Chinese donuts mixed with the shrimps (if I eat Chinese donuts, they have to be whole piece, fresh from the wok).

For soup, we ordered the Fish Filet in Spinach Soup. I thought they could have used a little more spinach. The soup was a bit too watery and tasteless to me.  For entrees, we ordered the Fried Mushrooms with Imperial Sauce (the Imperial Sauce was actually a brown-colored sweet and sour sauce), stir-fried veggies and Steamed Pork in Brown Sauce.  I thought the mushroom dish was quite good.  

 

We saved room for desserts.  We ordered the "Eight Treasure" sweet rice in Orange Cups and Sesame Taro Rolls.  The taro rolls were not impressive to me.  Too little taro, too much deep-fried batter.  The sweet rice, on the other hand, was my favorite. The orange flavor made the sweet rice so divine!  If I were not already full, I would have ordered another one.
 

Japanese Dinner at Yuki Sushi in Willow Glen

     

Thursday night I had dinner with my hula sisters at the Yuki Sushi in Willow Glen. This restaurant is owned by one of our hula sisters, Jennefer (lady in the middle of picture above).  Yuki Sushi is a popular restaurant, the place was packed when I arrived. Good thing our group had a reservation.

     

Yuki Sushi has a pretty extensive menu, from appetizers to sushi rolls to combination dinners.  And if you like sake, you will love their premium cold and warm sake selection (ask Jennefer or one of her staff to show you how to make a sake bomb drink!).

       

     
 
So what did we eat? For appetizers, we had edamame, chicken kara-age, gyoza and sushi rolls.  Each of us was also given a small cup of cold buckwheat soba noodles, complimentary of the restaurant. The soba noodle has a hint of wasabi in it, so if you don't like wasabi, ask for one without it (which I did).  For entree, I ordered the "Ten Zaru Soba" - green tea soba noodles served cold with a basket of shrimp and vegetables tempura.  The noodles came with a dipping sauce.  I like the green tea soba.  It has a slightly bitter taste to it, like the real green tea.  I could not finish my entree, so I took the leftover home.  This restaurant is good. The servers are efficient and friendly.  Food items are reasonably priced and the entree portions are rather large.  If you have not tried Yuki Sushi, come try it!

Sweet Breams for Chibi Taiyaki

     
 
Angela told us about this cool little dessert place in San Mateo called "Sweet Breams".  So we went there after dinner at the Champagne Seafood Restaurant.  Sweet Breams has a very simple menu - chibi taiyaki and soft serve ice cream.  What's chibi taiyaki?  It's a Japanese dessert cake, usually filled with red beans. Sweet Breams chibi taiyaki is shaped like little fishes, and you get to choose the fillings: traditional red bean, vanilla cream custard or chocolate cream custard.  We ordered all three types.  The fishes are made-to-order, so it is served piping hot - be careful when you bite into the fillings. Can't decide between the chibi taiyaki or soft serve ice cream?  Order a combo! A taiyaki sundae comes with 16 oz ice cream plus 6 chibi taiyaki on top.  A kid's sundae (shown in picture, modeled by Angela's son) is 12 oz ice cream with 3 chibi taiyaki.

Celebrating Angela and Chi's Wedding Anniversary at Champagne Seafood Restaurant

 
 
Last Sunday our friends Angela and Chi invited us to dinner at the Champagne Seafood Restaurant in San Mateo, CA.  It was to celebrate their 13rd wedding anniversary. This restaurant is Hong Kong style, with Cantonese-speaking staff.  Our waiter, Dennis, was friendly and efficient.

     
 
Angela ordered many food items.  We started with the soup of the day - watercress and pork soup.  For appetizer, each of us got a whole abalone.  Then for a second appetizer, we shared a mixed platter of suckling pig slices, jelly fish and BBQ pork.  We asked our waiter Dennis what he would recommend for entrees.  He mentioned the "Tea King" Chicken and Jade Black Bass Roll.  So we ordered those two, plus stir-fried veggies and spareribs "Wu Shi" style.  The kitchen staff was very quick in preparing all the items. Before we knew it, our table was already fully loaded with everything we ordered (next time, we will have to ask for a bigger table).  The "Tea King" Chicken tasted very much like the shoyu chicken. Not enough "tea" taste but still flavorful and tender. The fish item was a pleasant surprise.  It was actually whole fish cooked in two ways. The fish head and tail were fried, with boneless fish fillet rolled with veggies.  The spareribs "Wu Shi" style had an excellent sauce.  Good idea to pour the sauce over white rice and eat it with the rice. After dinner, Dennis gave us free desserts!  We got two types of Chinese pastries and a couple bowls of "Champagne's Special Baked Milk".  This restaurant is pretty good.  We like the food, as well as the service.

Joe and I bought a special wedding anniversary for Angela and Chi (and their son).  Since Angela enjoys cooking, we got her a bamboo steamer, three plates and three soup bowls (chopsticks included) from Crate and Barrel.  Thank you for a nice dinner Angela and Chi, and congrats on your wedding anniversary!