Hangen

While we had every intention of eating home for the majority of the weekend (we have a lot of leftovers), it didn't really happen. We woke up on Friday morning craving Chinese, so we planned to go downtown for some that night.

At the suggestion of one of Jonathan's coworkers, Chris, we went to Hangen, a Szechuan restaurant on the outskirts of downtown. It was pretty dead for 8pm on a Friday night, but there were still about six or seven tables occupied. The food there is served family-style, and the menu is very extensive. We went with "family dinner B," (which is denoted as the "spicy" meal) which started us off with fried shrimp (very bready) and vegetarian eggrolls. They were served with a sweet and sour sauce that had a very spicy mustard, almost like a horseradish. The eggrolls were fried to perfection, and were pretty good for having no meat inside. We were then served a pot of Hot & Sour soup, which was ladeled into our bowls. Neither of us had previously tried this type of soup, and found it interesting. The tofu was pretty general (we're not fans), and the egg was tasteless. It was strange to have a sour taste to soup, but we enjoyed it and each had seconds. As for the "hot" part, it wasn't hot in a spicy sense. We then had the Hangen Beef and the Kung Pao Chicken. We chose Chicken Chow Mein instead of white rice. This was a decision I was a little afraid of at first (seeing as the meal was being billed as "spicy"), but it ended up being fabulous. While the chicken was a bit hotter than the beef, neither were that spicy to us (although we are a little "tougher" when it comes to spicy than the average mouth). The beef was flavored with basil and green onions, and was so very tender that it was fabulous. I thought that the chicken was a little "dark sweet" like a molasses, but Jonathan enjoyed it just fine. I fell in love with their chicken chow mein, which was a great combination of noodles, egg, chicken, and vegetables. We had chow mein and chicken left over (we gobbled up the beef), so we have those in the fridge, awaiting our chomping tomorrow. The meal ended with fresh fortune cookies and orange slices. It was very reasonably priced, and the lunch specials seem simply amazing. I can guarantee we'll be back. Oh, and even better: they are one of the few places around that actually deliver!!

More Food: Jack in the Box

Now, Jonathan and I have been to a Jack in the Box before, but it's been a couple years. When we were in Seattle (the week we got engaged), we had Jack in the Box, and had a good experience. We have a few near us in Mountain View, so we gave it a try a week ago. I'm sure glad we did, because they really are good!

Jonathan got the Ultimate Cheeseburger, which has both American and Swiss cheese and a onion-mayo sauce. I had the Chipotle Chicken Ciabatta, that had a delicious sauce, bacon, and cheddar cheese (I got it sans lettuce, of course). We both really enjoyed our choices, and that of the other. I had the "seasoned" curly fries, but they weren't that good and I wouldn't waste money on them again. Jonathan got the Sampler Trio, which included two chicken eggrolls, a few mozzarella sticks, and a few jalapeno poppers. The eggrolls were okay, about what you'd expect from a fast food place. I didn't try the other items, but Jonathan said that the mozzarella sticks were dried out and not very gooey, as mozzarella should be. He'll have to tell you about the poppers at some point, because I don't remember what his reaction was. Oh, and I had rootbeer since they had Barq's and I was in the mood. The funny thing was, on the way home (we got it to-go), Jonathan went to have a sip of it and had the strangest look on his face, as he was expecting it to be Coke, haha. I can completely relate though, I absolutely hate it when I'm expecting one beverage and it's something else... the psychological affect on the taste is gross.

With the menu being so expansive (and some great looking breakfast options as well), I'm sure we'll be back.

Sushi Tomi

For dinner, Jonathan and I went to a sushi place downtown (off Dana), called Sushi Tomi (make sure you click on English so you can read the site, LoL). The place was packed, even though it was Sunday night at 7:30. We waited about ten minutes for a table, but it was well worth the wait. We both had the combination special, I chose sashimi and gyoza, Jonathan had the sashimi and the spicy tuna roll. We were first served salads, with the most delicious dressing. We couldn't quite pinpoint the taste, although it was very creamy and had sesame seeds. I thought it tasted a little like bacon and parmesan, but clearly that wasn't it. After that was the miso soup, which was not as salty as some miso, so I enjoyed it quite well. We hardly had time to finish it before our entrees arrived. My gyoza (deep-fried pork potstickers) were delicious, although I liked them better with soy sauce than with the wine-vinegary sauce with which they are served. There were six pieces, which matched Jonathan's six pieces of spicy tuna roll. And boy, were they spicy! Neither of us had previously had anything similar. This tuna was sort of ground up and made very spicy. The sashimi was eight pieces, three each of tuna and salmon, and two of another fish which greatly resembled tuna, but was a little darker and a little tougher (and also a little fattier). It was all very good, and I was definitely stuffed by the time I had my orange section as a finisher. We both agreed that it was a good deal, and might be returning before long.

Amarin Thai

For my birthday, Jonathan arranged for a few work friends to join us for lunch at Amarin Thai Cuisine in downtown Mountain View. I was excited, as it was our first Thai in California, and that's one of my favorites. We arrived about ten minutes early, and while I was hoping for one of their tables that's on the floor with cushions, it seems those are only available during dinner. We did get a large table though, and it was nice that Andrew & Kit and Vanessa & Emmanuel were able to join us. Jonathan had some chicken pa-nang curry (a reddish-brown kind), with basil and I had the grilled scallop with garlic, cilantro, onion, two kinds of peppers, and corn. It was in a tasty marinade sauce, and we both enjoyed the white rice that it came with. Everyone else at the table also got various kinds of curry, except Emmanuel, who had the mango chicken special. My scallops were delicious, but the vegetables were a little odd (too heavy on the corn). Jonathan enjoyed his curry, and is looking forward to trying other varieties while we were there. Overall, though, I don't think we'll be heading back to this Thai place, when you consider the many other possibilities there are here! Vanessa and Emmanuel had been there before and weren't impressed with their pad thai. And if you don't have good pad thai, you can't be a good Thai place, in my opinion.

Mongolian Hot Pot

Jonathan's friend Andy had his girlfriend in town this week (she lives in NJ), so the four of us went to Union City to have Mongolian food at Little Sheep Hot Pot. While Jonathan and I have been wanting to try 'hot pot' since we went to New China Delight, and this was definitely a place we probably wouldn't have wanted to try alone. We didn't really know how to order, so it was a good thing we had Andy and Kristine.

For anyone who might not know, Mongolian Hot Pot is kinda like an Asian Melting Pot. There's a burner in the middle of the table, and the server puts a big bowl of soup there. You can get original, spicy, or a divided bowl with both (which we went with). You also check off a front-and-back sheet with tons of different meats and vegetables. We got a beef and lamb platter, tiger prawn shrimp, cabbage leaves, pork dumplings, king oyster mushrooms, cuttlefish meatballs, udon noodles (really thick) and an assortment of pork/beef/shrimp meatballs. The way it works is where the 'Melting Pot' part comes in... all of this stuff is raw. You use tongs to grab the items and toss them into the broths to cook them, either just in there or on little ladles (mostly for the smaller items and to fish everything out again).

The beef and lamb were both good (especially in the spicier soup). The tiger prawns were only okay... it was a little plain since there were not herbs or anything on the shrimp. Jonathan ate the bulk of the cuttlefish balls... I found them a bit rubbery. I really enjoyed the shrimp meatballs, and the others were a hit with the group as well (although I should note that they took much longer to cook than most of the other items). Make sure not to keep the mushrooms in there too long or they get rubbery. The pork dumplings were my favorite, although they did take a while to cool after pulling them out of the pot. I didn't care much for the cabbage leaves, but everyone else liked them quite well. While I am a fan of pretty much any type of pasta, the udon noodles were definitely delicious, and I am glad that we added them on at the last minute.

It's definitely something neat to try, and I think that it would be a hit with a lot of our friends... specifically the Melbourne crew comes to mind...

In-N-Out Burger

In-N-Out Burger is a chain, and is pretty big out here. I had been to one before, last time I was in the Bay Area (May/June 2006), but I didn't really remember it, and Jonathan had never been. We just beat the lunch rush (arriving at 11:45am), and we are sure glad we did! The menu is very simple (as you can see, there's not much "public" variation to the options), and we ordered a #1 and a #2. We both found the burgers to be great (I had the cheeseburger, JB had the double), the sauce/spread gets two thumbs up, and the buns were nicely toasted. They were heavy on the onion, but we both like onion so no problems there. I didn't really care for the fries (felt they had no flavor), but now I know. Oh, I bet you're wondering why I used the term "public" menu before... they have a secret menu, just for insiders. Because their motto is simplicity, you have to be "in the know" that you can get a few different things, such as an "animal burger" or "fries well-done." We wanted to try their original menu first, but next time we'll definitely study the secret menu and order from that.

TOGO'S

TOGO'S is a sandwich place, very similar to Subway. They're a chain, so perhaps you've been to one before. We hadn't and were in the mood for subs, so we gave it a try. I felt like a soup-and-sandwich combo, but the soups of the day were not appealing, so I went with a regular Turkey Club on "dutch crunch" bread. Jonathan tried the Hot Pastrami on white. He enjoyed the pastrami, noting that we see it often so it must be popular in this area. Mine was pretty good, although the bacon could have been crisper. Dutch Crunch bread is a white bread with little "crunchy" pieces in the crust. However (maybe because it was late in the day), my crust wasn't crunchy, so it was very similar to plain white bread. Interestingly, neither sandwich had cheese on it. There were a lot of things on the menu, so I imagine we'll try it again sometime.