$1 Boba!

It's true. Right next to the cluster of Asian restaurants on Durant, are two competing boba stores that have bargained their boba down to $.49! Ah yes, but the catch is that with tax it comes to $.64. And if you want pearl's it becomes $1.19. But, it's such a deal! You can get either the regular milk tea or Jasmine green tea. And it's good too. I guess it's not that hard to make Pearl Milk Tea in the first place, though.

Thai Basil

2519 Durant Ave, Berkeley, CA

I was at Berkeley this Saturday for a meeting and grabbed lunch in the infamous Asian ghetto (Lee calls it a Grotto) where there's a small cluster of Vietnamese, Chinese, Japanese, Thai, and boba restaurants. Thai Basil was the one I checked out today and I was quite impressed. I ordered the Pad Thai, a traditional favorite at Thai restaurants, but for a price of $6.30 with tax and a more than ample plate of noodles, chicken, egg, bean sprouts, and prawns, it was definitely worth every cent. The food is cooked fresh and unlike most restaurants in Berkeley that take only cash, Thai Basil takes credit card! The menu is cheap but the portions and quality of food is excellent. I caught sign of a bunch of "Best of Berkeley" awards posted on the door, and the food certainly confirmed that. We ate there for lunch and it was packed by the time we left; always a sign of a good restaurant. It's not the most romantic place to eat, but if you're on a budget or looking for something quick to grab, Thai Basil is you place.

1221

[exerpt from an email I wrote Reid]

I went out with Jon to dinner tonight. So first we were set on this one restaurant called 1221 that was in all the guidebooks. It's on the other side of town, and it took us both quite a bit of time to find the place. It's this very suspect spot that's in almost a back alley with a unprofessional-looking entrance, but I'm sure it was the spot we were looking for because everyone inside was either white or with someone white. Sadly we were turned away bc we hadn't made a reservation ahead of time, even though most of the tables were empty! Agh, I had no idea so many restaurants in Shanghai these days need a reservation. That seems very unchinese. Anyways, I took Jon to my favorite japanese restaurant and we stuffed ourselves silly there. By the end, we were looking at the tables on both sides of us, and one had delicious smells of shabu-shabu meating wafting at us, and the other table was happily slurping on udon noodles. Both looked incredibly tempting but by then we were on the verge of bursting. Jon was very conscientious; he ate all the chicken and steak pieces even though we had ordered too much and didn't want them anymore. Man, he's a restauranteur's dream.

Bottomline: Although we never had the chance to try it, 1221 is likely not good judging by the lack of local Chinese customers, the three customers who were there at peak dining hours, and the fact that they were all tourists who were lured there (as we were) by guide book dining suggestions.

Chatea

Red bean shaved ice
Address: all the trendy shopping areas
Price: 29 RMB

Chatea is a chain restaurant in Shanghai that I have mixed feelings about. I've come here once for dim sum and was not at all impressed. In addition, their service is fairly inattentive and all of their restaurants have a trend of being very dark almost to the point of feeling cavernous. However, they make fantastic cold drinks (albeit pricey ones), and featured here, the best red bean shaved ice concoction that I've had in Shanghai. This shaved ice is huge! About a foot tall. And it's incredibly flavorful compared to other ones that I've tried. Some people might wince at the 29 yuan price for a cold snack, but it's meant to be shared by two or three people. I tried to finish one by myself, and got 3/4 down before I had to admit defeat.

Home cooking!

I do miss going out to eat with Reid who not only likes food almost as much as I do but he also gets excited about writing these reviews and reminds me to do them.

After three weeks in Shanghai now, it's starting to get a little boring enjoying food by myself. That's why I'm very happy I live with a host family. They're absolutely wonderful people who invite me to dinner every night. And I do join them every now and then; it's a relief to not always ponder where I'm going to go for my next meal. It's nice to eat at a family table again. Usually my host grandma makes four dishes plus a soup. And invariably it's something delicious that I will never be able find in restaurants.

[Tomato and egg soup, green peas, bitter melon with pork, braised short ribs, a vegetable that I've never heard of before, and edamame beans with dried fish]

Hehe every night, I can always expect my host mom to come into my room and hand me a plate of fruit too. Oh I'm getting too spoiled here.

Misc. Shanghai Yummies

Mango and Taro Ice Cream Scoops
Address: Inside Raffles Shopping Mall, Ren Min Guang Chang
Price: 5 RMB




Chocaccino
Address: TZG office
Price: 0



Bento Lunch- Pepper spareribs over rice + soup
Address: Free Delivery!
Price: 12 RMB



Banana Chocholate Crepe
Address: Basement of Trust-Mart, my neighborhood supermarket
Price: 12 RMB

Din Tai Feng

After hearing how sad Reid feels about Manz dining, I feel rather evil posting up pictures of all the food I've been eating, but since our only reader seems to want pictures, up they go! I have been getting much odd looks from neighboring diners who are wondering who is that girl eating and taking pictures by herself, so I hope the efforts are appreciated.




Din Tai Feng
Address: Xin Tian Di, the very back building, second floor
Price: ooh quite pricey- 100 rmb at the very least

This restaurant is part of a chain in Taiwan but it's been much touted in the NYTimes and other news sources as being a completely undiluted source of tasty xiao long bao. Its location in Xin Tian Di is beautiful and spotless, and the service is one of the finest I've had in China. I felt so at home and comfortable here, and best of all the xiao long bao were just as good as people said, the best I've had in Shanghai so far. However, the other foods- the meat buns, and the drunken chicken in wine sauce-- were only ok and the prices did raise my eyebrows a bit. So I had a very "jia chang fan" or a comfort food meal for a rather expenisve price in China, but again, the restaurant won me over into believing that you pay for what you get, and that includes the setting and the service.

On the homefront at Stanford...

Things have been quite tame at Stanford, since I've been just saving money and twiddling my thumbs, waiting for Jenny to come home before we can go on our food adventures together. I don't know about you, but reading about Jenny's experiences in China is sure making me jealous, because Manzanita Dining is certainly not as appealing. Excitement ensued yesterday for me when we got Cinnamon Toast Crunch for cereal! Yeah, I had two bowls of that for dinner, because nothing else was good.

Sigh.

Independence Day Pride

MSN's Top 10 American Foods

This article makes me feel so happy to be an American. Oh I forgot how wonderful American cuisine could be! Happy Independence Day!

Happy sushi hangover

Kisshin Restaurant
Address: 1168 Nanjing Xi Lu, 2nd floor of mall
Price: 158 yuan

Hmm I've noticed that all the recent for the past couple of weeks have been mine. Reid's been very bad, or very good however you might see it, about going out to resturants. On the Shanghai front here, I'm reeling from a sushi hangover. I got the all-you-can-order deal from Kisshin, this sushi restaurant I've been planning to go to ever since I stepped foot on Shanghai soil, and last night, I finally couldn't wait anymore for someone to go with me and charged in there myself.

It was amazing! Two hours of all the handrolls, sashimi, shrimp tempura, teppan steak, grilled unagi, egg custard, gyozas, plum wine that I could eat. They were all wonderfully prepared and I definitely had my fill of all. My bottomless capacity for salmon, unagi, and uni seems to have finally been filled. The service was also nice and fast. The place is located next to my workplace...dangerous, oh so very dangerous.

Lao Ban Zhai

Lao Ban Zhai
600 Fu Zhou Lu

When I first came to Shanghai, I had scoured Chowhound, the NYTimes, and all other websites to find the must-go-to restaurants. This one was recommended by Chowhound, and so I took a fellow Stanford CEAS friend here.

In short, it was pretty bad. We ordered the braised eel that was recommended, a small garlic-stirfry vegetable dish, and a Mongolian beef. The beef was soaked in that spring-roll dipping sauce, and both the other two dishes were nothing special at all. The restaurant also closes by 8pm, which was the strangest thing.

Haagen-Daz Cafe in Shanghai

Haagen-Daz
Addres: Nanjing Lu, every other Shanghai popular shopping area

Haagen-Daz has gotten pretty innovative in China. They have created these beautiful looking ice cream pastrie dishes that even come in dim sum themes, Japanese bento themes. Their menu is absolutely beautiful, I was tempted to photograph every page. Unfortunately that was only because their ice cream doesn't look nearly that nice in real life. I ordered an Italian ice cream concoction that should've looked like a delicate French high-end dish, but it had a glop of ice cream here and there in a pool of strawberry syrup. The fruits accompanying the ice cream were also frozen. Happily, the passion fruit sorbet and ice cream scoops were actually quite good, but I had paid 72 RMB for the presentation, not for two small scoops of Haagen-Daz ice cream.

I would only recommend coming here to get regular Haagen-Daz ice cream cones, not their creations.

Chai Ze

Chai Ze
Address: Shi Men Yi Lu, next to the Four Seasons Hotel
Price: 20-40 RMB
Chinese Dining Lesson #1) Avoid lunch crowds, bring a book just in case, and also bring a camera to capture all the pretty food.

This cafe is next to where I worked. I came here on my first day of work for lunch. I honestly didn't know where any restaurants were, and so I tried the never-fail plan of following a large crowd to wherever they were going to lunch, which happened to be here.

The first impression was how lovely the cafe looked, with western small tables covered with white linen and lounge-styled chairs, and black marble walls. And best of all, they had Chinese rather than Western pop songs playing softly in the background. The size of the menu could give the Cheesecake Factory a run for their money. Unfortunately this restaurant did the one thing that I absolutely hate- seating someone else at my table. Now eating alone in restaurants is already quite uncomfortable with other people staring at you, but it's quite another level of awkwardness altogether when you have a man across the table from you who is either staring at you or determinedly looking anywhere but you. That day, I had forgotten to bring a book so I could only sit in silence with him while I waited for my food.

I got the curry fried rice with chicken (12 RMB) and a liang feng (8 RMB), or cold rice noodle cubes dish. The rice noodle dish was good, and the curry fried rice didn't quite have the curry taste, but the portions were both huge, and I also got complimentary soups and watermelon slices. So my huge lunch kept me happily occupied from having to look up at my across-the-table lunch partner. It all cost 23 RMB, or the equivalent of $3. Pretty nice.

I also came back here for dinner the next night, around 5pm when the restaurant was happily empty, and got their Beef with Onion on Stone Sizzler (36 RMB), plus a Cold Cucumber dish (8 RMB). Both were just ok, so overall I concluded that this restaurant is good if you're in the area and want a restaurant that's not too Chinese, but it's not a can't-miss Shanghai destination.

Reporting from Shanghai

I'm in Shanghai from June 21st til August 25th, so expect many many restaurant reports as I will be eating out most of the times. Happily, Reid will still continue eating his way through Norcal.

The first thing I did when I landed in Shanghai was scour through Chowhound, the NYTimes, and other food websites that mentioned good eats. I made my little list, and have been slowly trying all of them, as well as other places that happen along my way.

Xin Ji Shi
Address: Xin Tian Di, Building 9, #2

This place was recommended by the NYTimes. And it is EXCELLENT!

Backstory: I had gone to Xin Tian Di, the most notorious expat hangout in Shanghai, because I was craving a steak and a friend of mine had mentioned finding a good deal there the other day. However I hit up every restaurant and could not find this freakin holy grail slab of meat. Discouraged, I wandered around for a drink instead. It was happy hour when I arrived and everywhere was advertising half-priced drinks, so I bounced into one place, and tried a watermelon juice. The sticker price was 40 RMB and I thought, dang, 20 RMB for a small juice, that's still pricey. Terrible choice. The watermelon wasn't sweet at all, the size of the cup was tiny, and sadly, this one bar of all the bars in the area was NOT having happy hour. 40 RMB for a drink, omg. Now left with a bitter feeling towards all the Westernized overpriced restaurants in Xin Tian Di, I looked for the one Chinese restaurant that I had heard about.

The place is very small but intimate and has an authentic Chinese feel to it, which deserves praise since it easily could've gone the tacky commercialized route to cater to expats. Another wonderful thing was that they seated me right away even though I didn't have a reservation, and they didn't seat me with another person to save tables, which Chinese restaurants have no qualms about doing.

I ordered the Hong Shao Rou, or the braised red fatty meat, that the NY Times recommended (38 RMB), and also this Nuo Mi Hong Zao, gluttonous rice in Jujube (28 RMB) that was one of their more famous dishes. The meat was VERY good, not too oily and contained a good balance of fatty to lean meat.

The Jujubes were even better, it's one of the best new dishes that I've tried in China. The restaurant also provided two small appetizer plates of peanuts covered with dried seaweed which were fantastic, and edamame beans mixed with pickles. They provided a really good balance to the two heavy dishes. Each dish was fairly small, more than enough for one person, and perhaps just enough for two people.

The service was quick and efficient. Really the first little treasure that I've found here in Shanghai.

Colonel Lee's

Type: Mongolian Buffet
Location: 304 Castro St. (between California St. and Dana St.)
Price: $$
Rating: 6/10

Jenny and I decided to check out this restaurant to try something new on Castro Street [we always go to Pho). We went right before closing, so the restaurant was pretty quiet. To be honest, this restaurant just wasn't that good, and I feel bad saying that, since the people who ran it were so nice. Getting food is easy - you grab a bowl, fill it with lamb, beef, chicken, or pork, add some noodles and veggies, and an assortment of sauces (curry, spicy bbq, soy, or ginger) and give it to the chef who cooks it in front of you on a giant grill. So if your food is bad, it's your fault. I'd recommend going with the ginger/soy if you're looking for something with flavor but not too spicy.

But, besides the bowl of food, there's not much else. The buffet means you can get unlimited trips to the Mongolian stir line, but there's not much else you get. They give you some Chinese bread (not sure what it's called but it's nothing special), tea, and a bowl of rice. However, beer is $1 off everyday and you can get a 40 oz of Tsingdao for pretty cheap. And the buffet itself isn't too bad - about $10 per person after tax for dinner. So it's a cheap eat but I wouldn't come back here unless I hear that things have drastically improved.

Darbar's Lunch Buffet

I didn't go in with the highest of expectations because I love Darbar's regular menu and didn't think their lunch buffet was going to be up to par, but it was AMAZING. So much food and variety, and just the same quality as dinner. They give complementary nan, and their rice is as good as ever. The entrees include tandoori chicken, butter cauliflower, vindaloo chicken, the green/red sauces, etc etc etc. We ate our hearts out, and I swear I declared "OMG this is so good" at least three times. So the lunch fixed price is $8.99. Quite a bargain for all that food.

[something something] Dumpling House

Location: Cupertino Village
Price: $$
Quality: Excellent!

Jenny and I went to check out this Shanghai style Chinese restaurant in Cupertino Village this weekend. Given that we had to wait 20 minutes for a table and that there were tons of Asian people in the restaurant, I knew we had come to the right place. Their dumplings were probably the best - you know, the kind with some sauce inside that you suck out before dipping it some soy/ginger sauce and then eating. The dumplings didn't break either, so I guess that's why they're so good. Anyway, so that was our appetizer. We then got some hot chicken with peanuts, beef with onion, and some shanghai style rice. I'm no expert on Chinese food, especially since Jenny did all of the ordering in Chinese, but the food was excellent and I would definitely recommend this place for anyone with a large or small group. We actually ran into a group of about 7 Stanford kids we knew. The beef was tender, the rice was tasty, and better yet, the tea was refilled quickly.

All in all, an excellent choice restaurant. Plus, the prices aren't bad - we paid about $30 (including tip) for 4 dishes. Oh, and if you pay with cash, you get 5% off your bill!

Doh nvrmind

I agree with Reid, but don't come to Paxti's if you're starving. The last time we came, the 30-minute wait for the pizza seemed like eternity when you're seriously in need of some sustenance. The wait can be even longer than 30 minutes if the restaurant is busy. Unfortunately, the only other thing on their menu is salad, which doesn't offer much in hunger-alleving area. However, the wait is well worth it, so tough it out!

EDIT: Ummmm I just thoroughly read Reid's update on Patxi's again and realized my 2-cents was completely redundant. Off to remedial reading!

Paxti's Pizza

Location: 441 Emerson Street, Palo Alto, CA 94301
Phone: (650) 473-9999
Website: http://www.patxispizza.com/

If you're looking for great Chicago style (deep dish) pizza, look no further than Paxti's Pizza. If you're in a rush I would not recommend coming here, since it takes 30 minutes or more for them to make a pizza. You can get anything imaginable on your pizza - a favorite of mine is pesto, pepperoni, and mushroom. The ingredients are actually under the sauce, meaning this isn't your typical Dominos pizza. Even though a 10 inch pizza might seem small, it does feed 2 people because the crust is thick and there's so much cheese in it. For you lactose intolerant folks out there, Paxti's will use Soy Cheese for $1 extra, meaning anyone can enjoy their pizzas.

The atmosphere in Paxti's is lively and friendly, so this is a great place for groups or a quick date. Jenny and I have come here a few times and we've always gotten the Special - onions, green peppers, sausage, and mushrooms. We have yet to branch out because this pizza is always so appetizing when we see it on the menu. Eating the pizza and getting it off the serving platter is always an adventure, since the cheese is stringy and will stretch to a couple of feet if you really try. The prices for the quality of their pizza is very reasonable, so expect to pay around $7-12 per person.

This is definitely the best pizza restaurant in Palo Alto.

Sushi Tomo

Sushi Tomo (El Camino)
Price: $$

So far, the best sushi restaurant I've found in the Palo Alto vicinity. The slices of sushi that they serve are huge by any standards and fresh. It was such an awesome moment the first time coming here and seeing the size of the salmon nigiri. Bypass Miyake, Sushiya, Brown Rice Sushi, or Sushi Tomo on University for this restaurant. It's just as cheap. Yes Miyake's and Sushi Tomo are (barely) tolerable if you don't have a car, I've eaten at there too 10+ times. But if you have a car, please please please don't go to the Sushi Tomo on University just because it's closer under the assumption that you'll get the same fare. Everything about that restaurant is sad and blegh, including the fact that it still looks exactly like World Wraps.