Soong Soong Restaurant (Xiaoer Youyijia) in San Jose

I'm only putting that photo up there because I was amused by the little silver pastry cups that these xiaolongbao arrived in. This was from an old-school Chinese place called Xiaoer Youyijia (3680 Stevens Creek Boulevard, 408-243-8868); the little cups were effective in managing the broth inside, but it wasn't anything that I particularly liked given that it was fatty and sweet. I was happier with their doufunao, which was a bit like hot and sour soup with silky douhua tofu inside. They also sold soybean milk alongside the dumplings here.

The "SRC Bibimbop" from SGD Tofu House San Jose

It turns out that the Blossom Hill outlet of SGD Tofu House has some menu items that the other outlets don't have. One of those is this "SRC Bibimbop" above. I should have asked what SRC stood for, but presumably it is a Special Recipe Chili yangnyeom sauce that they pre-mixed into your bibimbap before throwing it onto a flat hot plate.

The pre-mixing wasn't the notable thing for me, nor was that "SRC" sauce, which didn't seem that unique to me either. But leaving the rice on the Pepper Lunch-style flat plate for more than five minutes did provide a pleasurably scorched nurungji rice texture. That made up for all of those crudely sliced carrots and such that they tossed on top.

Gilan Persian Kitchen & Grill in San Jose

This Persian place is across the street from Cambrian Park Plaza, and it was pretty packed on a late Saturday afternoon (2041 Woodard Road, 408-628-4171). The koobideh above was tender and grilled just right, while the chicken alongside it was decently moist and smoky too. The rice was fluffy but more moist than I was expecting. I'm not sure if that was intentional or not, but we still wolfed it down easily after melting some butter in there.

Mar y Tierra Mexican Restaurant in San Jose

That might look like just a plate of chips and salsa, but it's actually a rather generous serving of ceviche. And best of all, it was free during happy hour as long as one ordered a drink at this unassuming little place (1373 Kooser Road Suite B, 408-613-2534). What particularly excited me was how their menu specialized in food from Mazatlan, which meant that it was very seafood-centric: fish, shrimp, oysters, scallops, and octopus in all sorts of grilled, fried, raw, and cured forms. Admittedly, the freebie above filled me to the point where I couldn't eat anymore. But I'm definitely heading back, preferably with others to hit up one of those gigantic aguachile platters. I'm so excited!

Pho Luc Lac at Branham Center, San Jose

I didn't realize the meaning of this shop until afterwards (1705 Branham Lane B3, 408-622-8115). See, they have the usual Vietnamese dishes that you'd find at a strip mall in San Jose. But they also had their namesake phở lúc lắc above, which the menu said was served in a house special soy sauce-based broth that is different from the normal phở broth. Only later did I realize that this is basically a marriage of bò lúc lắc shaking beef and phở, thus explaining the very tender cuts of filet mignon in there. But it also ended up putting minced garlic in the bottom of the bowl, which I wasn't a fan of despite the depth of the broth. I don't need to get it again.

Mountain View’s Casa Mia Restaurant

I grabbed those chilaquiles above this morning. Admittedly, it was from a slightly dressed-up breakfast place whose menu even included a Cobb salad and patty melt, so I wasn't getting my hopes up. But the quality of the chips was pretty good, and I ate this easily. I was also able to get a spiced coffee called café de olla, which was served in a cute little clay vessel.

Blue Line Pizza in Campbell, California

Hey this place was pretty good (415 East Campbell Avenue, 408-378-2800). That's a deep dish pizza above, but it wasn't Chicago style. They used cornmeal, which gave it a wonderfully gritty texture that made the thick buttery crust fun to eat. Their namesake version above featured spinach and ricotta underneath those tangy tomatoes. Sure, the roasted garlic was a tad pronounced, but I was still happy to eat it, especially when washed down with suds from their impressive array of taps. I should spend more time exploring this downtown Campbell area by the way.

Brittania Arms Almaden in San Jose, California

From what I could tell, not every outlet of Brittania Arms serves corned beef and cabbage. The one at Robertson Square does though (5027 Almaden Expressway, 408-266-0550). It didn't look like much when it came out, but I was happy with the crumbly yet savory texture of the meat as well as the soft cabbage that it came with. These guys have a decent selection of beers on tap too. We originally came here for nostalgic amusement, but I might actually go back regularly for this, especially since the service is super friendly.

La Playita at Redwood Plaza in San Jose

I originally thought this was a small taco counter that I could grab a quick bite at (1169 Redmond Avenue, 408-997-7201). Instead, it turned out to be a family-run sit-down restaurant serving old school plates of things like burritos and chile relleno. It was still pretty fast though, and I cleared the food quickly despite the fact that the carnitas inside that enchilada above was a bit dry and thick. Still, it was neat that the sauce on top was a little creamy, and that the meat was a little citrusy. The super thin chips and fresh salsa were nice as well.

Chalateco in San Jose, California

I think the only thing that I know about Salvadoran food is pupusas. So when I went to an outlet of this small San Jose chain, that's what I was looking for. And in particular, I wanted to try one featuring loroco flower buds, which sounded interesting. But then I noticed that they also did loroco with eggs, saying that it was a Salvadoran breakfast staple. I quickly changed my mind and got that plate above instead.

I have to admit, I didn't really taste the loroco. Granted, it's supposed to be pretty mild, and I should have slowed down to try to detect its allgedly nutty aroma. But in my haste to consume it, I could really only taste the eggs, with those little green loroco bits seemingly like nopales cactus in that it was more about bulk than bite. The more memorable thing for me was the mild-tasting blocks of queso fresco that it came with.

Walia Ethiopian Cuisine in San Jose, California

I'm finally getting around to checking out more of the Ethiopian restaurant corridor in San Jose, with this one being a restaurant on the other end of San Carlos Street at the intersection of Bascom Avenue (2208 Business Circle, 408-772-9113).

We went for this two person meat and veggie combo, featuring beef, chicken, and lamb done in a tibs wot style. If I understood it correctly, that means that the meat is pan-seared first before being put into the traditional stew-like sauce. It tasted a bit like an Indian curry, but thicker and deeper without as much breadth. I particularly liked how the chicken was seared, and suspect it would be even better had we opted to pay a few bucks more for the option to make it less saucy. I loved the presence of those collard greens, lentils, and cabbage, and could have used more of that injera flatbread to mop it all up (although my hand skills need more work).

Next time I want to try some of the dryer styles like the grilled and sauteed varieties. It looks like they also serve breakfast from 9 AM - 3 PM, and that breakfast menu includes ful. These guys even have some platters named after some famous tech executives who have visited.

Birria Phở from Pho Hoa + Jazen Tea in San Jose

Now here's a chain that I haven't seen in ages. I had to come to this specific dual-branded outlet at Lion Plaza today because they are one of the few shops around here doing that dish above (1834 Tully Road, 408-238-1481). Specifically, it's birria phở, or birria de consomé combined with rice noodles and the usual range of phở accompaniments. The combination of Mexican and Vietnamese ingredients sounds like the epitome of San Jose to me, and yet it's surprisingly not common at all, perhaps because birria ramen is simpler. Even Tacos y Birria el Chole didn't serve it anymore today despite my previous sighting.

Anyway, the bowl was an interesting break from typical phở, as The broth was not as spicy as its red hue made it out to be, but it was savory and fun to drink with things like bean sprouts. The meat was cut into gigantic cubes that were tough in some parts and yet fatty in others. Any meat that was attached to that bone was obviously the tastiest, but it required hands-on work. Either way, I wonder how Taqueria Azteca up in Dublin does it, as they would be approaching it from the perspective of a Mexican restaurant rather than a Vietnamese one.