RAMEN HALU

Ramenticize

Ramen Halu is arguably the best ramen house in the Bay Area.

If you like authentic ramen, this restaurant needs to be on top of your list.

Chef Kumao Arai (a surfer and a ramen lover) worked for a ramen house in Japan before migrating to San Jose a few years ago. You'll notice the surf theme through out the restaurant.

For starters, I recommend the Hiyayakko - cubes of very fresh cold tofu w/ Japanese seasonings. Pour a dash of soy sauce over the tofu and enjoy with the shaved pork, fresh scallions and ginger (to marry all the flavors).

For the main course - RAMEN!

You have three styles of broth/noodles to choose from (low sodium and low fat options are available upon request).

1. Halu - Very special rich broth w/thick noodle

2. Sho-yu - Traditional soysauce flavored broth w/ thin noodle

3. Shio - Golden clear seasalt-flavored broth w/ thin noodle

I've tried all three and tend to favor the Halu ramen

Lately, I've been ordering HALU Cha-shu Ramen, the portion is just right.

Cha-shu ramen is garnished with a slice of very tender pork, sea weed, and scallions.

If you're adventurous when it comes to your ramen, run - don't walk to Ramen Halu!

The restaurant is on Saratoga Ave. (near Stevens Creek), situated in a mini mall across the street from Garden City. The restaurant is closed on Wednesdays.

Cash Only.

Ramen Halu

http://www.ramenhalu.com/

375-M South Saratoga Ave.

San Jose, CA 95129

408.246.3933

KRUNG THAI

Thai Heaven

It's always a good sign when you have 2 locations, and both have a waiting list almost every night of the week.
We've been eating at both Krung Thai restaurants for over 10 years, it's still our favorite Thai restaurant in San Jose.
I had dinner here last week, and I'm happy to say that the food is even better.

For starters, I recommend ordering some Chicken Satay - Marinated chicken or beef or pork on skewers served with peanut curry sauce and Thai cucumber salad or the delicious Angel Wings - Chicken wings stuffed with ground chicken, shrimp, bean thread noodles, deep fried; served with plum sauce. You can actually order this as an entree.

For soups, we really enjoy Tom Kha Gai - Spicy and sour chicken with coconut milk, galanga and mushrooms.
For the seafood lover, you'll enjoy the Po-Tak - Spicy and sour combination seafood soup. This soup has an abundance of calamari, prawns, scallops and mussels.

For the main course, we normally order their combination Pad Thai (the best in the Silicon Valey) of chicken, prawns and pork.
Last week, we ordered the Roast Duck Curry - Red curry with pineapple, cherry tomatoes, and raisins in coconut milk with basil; served in pineapple shell. This dish is very rich, and stands out from a list of delicious curry dishes (such as panang curry, mussaman and ka-ree gai).
For a beef dish I suggest trying the Prik King Neua - Beef with chili paste and green beans.
Gai Ga Prao is a consistent chicken, basil and garlic dish.

Save the best for last, Sweet Sticky Rice with Mango - Warm sticky rice topped with coconut syrup and fresh sweet mango.

This is my wife's favorite, best to order when mango's are "in season."

Krung Thai

580 S Winchester Blvd. San Jose (behind Westfield Valley Fair) - 408.248.3435

640 S Winchester Blvd. San Jose - 408.260.8224

They accept cash and major credit cards.

SUSHI CALIFORNIA

Fresh Phish!

My buddy Tom and I just had dinner here last night, I just love it here! We hung out at the sushi bar chatting with Sushi Chef John Baik (former sushi chef of Sushi-o-Sushi on El Camino).

He opened Sushi California (over a year ago) and his loyal fans followed!

The Fish is impeccably fresh here!

His MAKI selection is very impressive. Try the Rainbow roll and the Flying Dragon roll, they're both excellent!

NIGIRI rules at Sushi California.

The Toro (fatty tuna) is the very best I've tasted in the area! It's beautifully marbled and melts in your mouth.

The Hamachi (yellow tail) and Maguro (tuna) are both excellent!

Chef' Baik's fish is flown in from all over the world and delivered directly to his restaurant.

The crowd is a mix of sushi lovers and wine geeks. Last week we enjoyed his sushi with a bottle of CAVA (from Tom's collection).

Two tables away from us were some employees from The Wine Club enjoying some Kiwi wines (Cloudy Bay) and a few bottles of domestic Sauv Blancs with their nigiri.

When you bring your wine, give Chef Baik a taste. He loves wine pairing!

SUSHI CALFORNIA

4477 Stevens Creek Blvd.

at The Woodhams Shopping Center (between Lawrence and Kiely).

(408)243-8282

Web Site: www.sushi-california.com

AQUI CAL-MEX

Au Naturale!

We eat here at least once a week! They have the best inexpensive fine dining food in San Jose!

The chef is very creative when it comes to mixing California, Southwest, Latin America and Asian cusine. I love all his specials - they are very innovative and very inexpensive for what you are getting. He uses fresh greens and organic meats with most nightly specials.

Some of my favorite specials include - Natural Angus Beef Colorado, Natural Turkey Breast Chili Verde, Salmon Enchiladas and Crisp Corn Crusted Tilapia.

Their regular menu has many offerings that I also love (including small plate sizes).

Try their small plate selections if you're not too hungry - crab cake, chicken flautas, and grilled salmon polenta.

Their full size large plate selections includes Southwest Chicken taquitos (one of my favorites), Ropa Vieja (very tender shredded beef that melts in your mouth), and the BBQ Ahi Tuna with a spicy peanut sauce.

They also offer delicious vegetarian selections (warm veggie tostada, jalapeno corn tamales and Sonoma goat cheese quesadilla).

Don't forget to try their Orange Agave Margarita and their Oliver Rocka Margarita. They offer an impressive line up of premium tequilas.

They have 2 locations - Willow Glen and South San Jose (coming soon to downtown Campbell). They're both very popular spots for the neighborhood. You'll find all sorts of groups in their big patio (such as families, teachers, techies, pop warner teams, etc.)

AQUI is a great place to eat, easily one of the best restaurants in the Bay Area!

AQUI CAL-MEX

www.aquicalmex.com

Willow Glen · 1145 Lincoln Ave., San Jose CA · (408)995-0381

Blossom Valley · 5679 Snell Ave., San Jose CA · (408)362-3456

Downtown Campbell · 201 E. Campbell Ave., Campbell, CA

SONOMA CHICKEN COOP

The Coop

Have kids? Like good food? Looking for "family friendly"?Good cheap brunch?

It's all here. My wife and I support this eatery (in Campbell) simply for it's consistent food, family friendly atmosphere, and our old friends Gary Kjolhaug and Moises Montano (from Bella Mia Restaurant).

I love their SPIT Roast Chicken with warm lemon caper sauce. My wife enjoys their hearty, fresh salads. My son loves everything they serve.

I recommend these...

Calamari (tossed with garlic and served with creamy horseradish and cocktail sauce), Roasted Chicken with warm lemon caper sauce, all pasta dishes are delicious!

Lime Grilled Chicken - Boneless skinless breasts grilled with marinade
of crushed limes, roasted chile powder &
cilantro; herbed rice & roasted garlic puree

Sonoma Chicken Cob - Roast chicken, avocado, warm goat cheese& bacon over house salad greens

Greco Spaghettini - Al dente pasta tossed with olives, mushrooms,
tomatoes, capers, olive oil, crushed garlic, oregano & goat cheese

Chicken & Prawns Picatta - Plump prawns & boneless chicken
breast pan fried with capers, lemon & wine; rosemary & green beans

Try the Banana Phylo Sundae and the Butterscotch Bread Pudding for dessert!

They also serve a delicious "a la carte" brunch...

Dutch Baby Pancake - European style apple pancake baked & topped with powdered sugar; served with yogurt on the side.

Almost Traditional Benedict - Grilled foccacia topped with Canadian bacon, swiss cheese, poached eggs & hollandaise; served with potato hash.

Smoke Salmon Scramble - Fluffy eggs scrambled with smoked salmon slices, cream cheese & scallions; served with grilled foccacia bread & potato hash

Try "the Coop," you'll enjoy the food, the price, and the service!

Sonoma Chicken Coop

Address: 200 East Campbell Avenue

Campbell, CA 95003

Phone: 408•866•2699

RED CHARCOAL

Seoul Food

This is one of my favorite lunch spots in San Jose. This is not your typical Korean BBQ restaurant, no table top grills. Some of my favorite dishes on the menu...

Spicy Beef noodle soup - has tons of fresh vegetables along with tender sirloin tips. This is a huge bowl accompanied with pickled daikon radish, peanuts and cucumbers.

BBQ Chicken combo with shrimp skewers - served with seasoned rice and "leafy" sauteed bean sprouts.

Spicy Jabche - glass noodles tossed with shiitaki mushrooms, cabbage, pork and carrots.

The chef is a CIA (Culinary Institute of America) graduate and his food presentation shows it.

Give it a try, I'm confident you'll enjoy their food.

$/Credit Cards accepted.

RED CHARCOAL

1701 Lundy Ave.

408.392.8246

MARU ICHI NOODLE HOUSE
Top Ramen

Craving authentic ramen? Check out this Japanese noodle house in Milpitas (it's not quite Ramen Halu, but worth checking out).
Glenn (my co-worker) and I checked it out for lunch, and was pleasantly surprised. They offer 4 different broth based ramens (Kuro, Tonkotsu, Shoyu, and Miso). Each Ramen includes soft boiled egg, very tender roasted pork, seaweed and green onions. I ordered the "Combo A" ($8.25) which included the ramen, rice, and 3 pot stickers. I chose the house specialty KURO or "black" ramen (and requested low sodium). The ramen was delicious! Even with low sodium, the roasted pork and browned garlic broth gave it plenty of flavor. All noodles are made in-house.

The restaurant is tiny and floor plan is very interesting, it looks like a runway for a fashion show.
Lunch is crazy and parking is a nightmare - I still recommend it.
Slurp away!

MARU ICHI has 2 locations.
$/Cash Only
530 Barber Ln in Milpitas and 368 Castro St.
408.434.5991