Gaesung

I go to San Jose several times a year to get my fix on some Vietnamese food and visit friends. When I'm there for an extended time, I long for a taste of home and so does my baby: Korean food.  I found this restaurant in the bay area when I was really craving some soon du bu.  What a good find.

Panchan   $Free with meal

Korean side dishes starting with top left going clockwise: marinated shredded beef (tasted like juicy, tender beef jerky), spicy pickled radish (my baby and my personal favorite), kimchee (spicy pickled Chinese cabbage), bean sprouts (lightly steamed sprouts seasoned with sesame oil, salt, sesame seeds), kelp salad (seasoned thinly cut kelp)

Bin Dae Duk    $11.50 approximately   

Bin Dae Duk: mung bean pancake with seafood, vegetables and topped with bacon. It was OK, probably wouldn't order it again

Mushroom Soon Du Bu   $9.50 approximately for lunch

The main dish, Soon Du Bu: a hot pot of soft tofu with your choice of meat, veggies and spice level.  They always give you a raw egg on the side that you could add.  As you can see I chose to add it.  Mmm...more protein.  I ordered the mushroom soon du bu mild (because I was sharing this with my baby, otherwise I would order it medium to spicy).  I don't know if it's because I've ordered it mild the two times I've been here but the soon du bu tastes really refreshing (I know, odd choice of word for a hot pot).  I could taste all the subtle flavors of the broth and ingredients.  My baby and I throughly enjoy this place.  Their side dishes and soon du bu are good.  My girlfriend ordered Mool Naeng Myun and the Bin Dae Duk which she enjoyed but I have had much better.  Gaesung House of Tofu is a tofu house so I would stick to the soon dubu for a sure thing.

Gaesung House of Tofu

2089 El Camino Real

Santa Clara, CA 95050

(408) 248-TOFU (8638) 

Yum Meter: **

Portola Cafe

I love the Monterey Bay Aquarium! Now there's even more to love, Portola Cafe. The aquarium itself is no longer the only draw.  This yummy cafe & restaurant is ingenious; feeding hungry aquarium visitors quality food for a decent price. Can't wait to go back.

California Club $7.95

My hubby and baby enjoyed this delicious sandwich. I ordered clam chowder for my little one but she wanted nothing to do with the soup once dad came to the table with this.  We ate in the cafeteria side of the restaurant.  They had different areas: grill for hamburgers & fresh fish, soups & salads, pizza, beverages and sandwiches cooked to order.  Despite being so crowded you could barely stand in line, the crowd and wait were well worth it.  The clam chowder was cooked with bacon and really good but the sandwich by far stood out. You could skip the garlic fries, those were not worth the long wait at the grill.  Among the bevy of beverages, they offer Clover brand milk, which in my opinion is the best tasting and my baby agrees.  So next time you head to the aquarium, take some time to enjoy the Pacific ocean views while grubbing on some fine food at Portola Cafe.

Portola Cafe & Restaurant

Monterey Bay Aquarium

886 Cannery Row

Monterey, CA 93940

(831) 648-4870

YUM Meter: ***

Tacos Marquitos

When I first walked in and saw the pictures of the food on the wall, I got really excited because they carry things I don't normally see in Mexican restaurants. They offer corundas, tacos de papa (or as I refer to them papa tacos), enchilada Michoacan, pambazo and pozole just to name a few.  

The Gamma Burrito $4.25

Handmade flour tortilla

Carne asada, french fries, lettuce, tomato and sour cream. Looks really good but I thought the carne asada was too salty.

 

Corundas $6.50

This was my first time trying corundas.  I was not impressed.  The masa was too salty.  At least the castillo de puerco that accompanied the masa was good.

Pina (Large 44oz) $1.85

You can rarely go wrong with pina.

Oddly they keep the salsa behind the register.  I asked for spicy. It had heat but lacked flavor. It was too bad the food didn't live up the the pictures on the restaurant wall.  I mean even these pictures look pretty tasty but unfortunately these dishes looked better than they tasted.

Tacos Marquitos (Barstow & Cedar)

1772 E. Barstow

Fresno, CA 93710

559-447-5569 

YUM Meter: *

Don Pepe Taqueria

Don Pepe's just opened a second location across the street from my work.  Yah for me, boo for my waist line and wallet.

Carne Asada Taco & Al Pastor Taco $1.85 each

The tacos usually come with whole pinto beans in them but I always request "no beans."  Don't really dig beans in my taco.  As you can see, they don't go skimpy on the meat.

Chicken Enchilada Plate $6.50

In all the years I've been coming here, I just now tried these fabulous enchiladas. Corn tortilla is filled w/just cheese and then they top it with the meat of your choice, tomatoes, onions, crema and queso fresco. They also give you a side of crema.  The sauce has spice which I like but it's not spicy. I always think you can tell a good Mexican restaurant by the simple things such as salsa, rice & beans.  I really like Don Pepe's rice and beans, they're flavorful but provide a nice neutral taste to a spiced dish. I also like their salsa verde which I'm normally not a fan.

Don Pepe Taqueria (Woodrow & Shaw)

4950 N. Woodrow Ave., Suite 101

Fresno, CA 93726

(559) 292-3188

OG location 

4582 N. Blackstone Ave. (Blackstone & Gettysburg)

Fresno, CA 93726

(559) 224-1431

YUM Meter: ***