Fast & Hearty Food Court Lunch

Normally, I pack a lunch for work, but every now and then I do go out for lunch and one way or another, I end up on El Camino Real, which can be considered the K-Town of the Bay Area. It’s nothing in comparison to the one in Southern California, but it’s probably the closest thing for now. It’s basically a street filled with an assortment of Korean shops, restaurants and supermarkets.

I like stopping over in the Lawrence Plaza Food Court where they have a selection of food stalls. Just imagine your local mall’s food court, but with Korean Food. Seoul Jung is located in the same plaza as Paris Baguette, Galleria Market, Jang Su Jang and the roasted sweet potatoes stall (you know which one!). This place is a very popular area for lunch and parking (for the most part) is a nightmare. The spots are tight and the drivers and people can be inconsiderate in the parking lot.

A while back, I had lunch with a coworker and we chose to eat at Seoul Jung. I opted for the Bibimbap that day because I felt like eating something simple but carb-filled that day. Never underestimate those Korean ahjummas and ahjusshis. You always get what you paid for and sometimes more. 

As seen in the photo above, I had an entire platter of food. I like how they offer the purple rice in this location. As for the bibimbap ingredients, you have your usual assortment of veggies and your choice of meat (I chose beef) and topped with a fried egg. The egg was overcooked. I prefer one with a runny yolk, but I wasn’t too bothered. 

Not pictured is the gochujang (pepper paste) on the side of the tray that goes in with the rice. For banchans (side dishes), we have your standard kimchi (spicy for my taste buds, but bearable. I still prefer the one from the Tofu House in Milpitas), marinated bean sprouts, jap chae (glass noodles) and broccoli (random, but you see them sometimes). Last, but not least, you have a light broth to wash everything down. I say that, but I ate only half of my bibimbap and took the rest home.

You get what you pay for and it gets the job done. Large portions and decent quality food.

Has anybody tried the sushi burrito stand in the food court? I want to try it, but my friends tell me it’s not worth it. 

Seoul Jung
3561 El Camino Real
Ste 30
Santa Clara, CA 95051

File #003: Hot spot at night for tea and coffee enthusiasts

I just want to say ‘Happy First Day of Summer’! Now if only the weather outside is a bit more summer-like. While it’s relatively warm, the skies are overcast. I have returned from my extremely short trip from South Korea and I have plenty of food photos and stories. I’m thinking of writing a cumulative post one of these days once I have successfully sort all my photos as well as myself out.

Jet lag is a cruel mistress. I was not prepared to wake up disoriented not knowing the time, date or location of where I was. It was extremely unsettling, but now that I do know, I’ll be better prepared for next time.

Where was I? Right, the Review!

Today, I have another addition to the Boba Files. This time, it is Café LaTTea located in the heart of Cupertino. Café LaTTea has been opened for about a year and is a fairly small café located close to the Valco Mall. If you’re not careful when you’re driving by, it’s very easy to miss it due to the location. It sits out in front of an apartment complex, so parking can be difficult during high traffic times.

It’s a brightly lit during the morning, thanks to the many windows and welcoming during the night. The café is decorated in a minimalist fashion with white chairs and simply adorn portraits on the walls. They recently switched some of their tables out for high tables so that people can stand around while waiting for their drinks and just to free up more room. 

Their menu is displayed on several flat screens and I want to say they were one of the first milk tea places in the Bay Area to offer “crema/sea salt foam”. For their drinks, they also allow you to customize the sweetness level as well as how much ice you want in your drink. They offer a variety of tea, coffee, honey bread, desserts and macarons, but I have only tried their teas and honey bread before. 

Snowfall Green Tea

For their cold drinks, they only offer it in one size and it’s bigger than the average milk tea cups. As for their lattes, if you plan to drink it in the café, they give it to you in their porcelain latte cups, but you can also request it in a regular take-out cup.

Oolong Milk Tea with Coffee Jelly

Caramel Milk Tea

Their honey bread is humungous and I recommend that you do not attempt to eat the entire thing yourself. In fact, I don’t think I ever seen anyone completely finish the entire plate of honey bread. Usually the shell of the bread box is left over.

Matcha Temptation

The few times I have been here, it is an extremely popular spot to hang out at night. The crowd is primarily young people in college or in their twenties hanging out with friends. Expect long lines and difficulties finding seats on Friday to Sunday nights. Much like most boba places around the Bay, they close at 11 PM. During the morning and afternoon though, it’s a great place to study since the foot traffic is much slower during those times. They also accept Five Stars, so don’t forget to swipe your card when you’re there.

Café LaTTea
19501 Stevens Creek Blvd
Cupertino, CA 95014

It’s just my luck that I won a $25 gift certificate to Willow Street Pizza during an Easter Egg Fundraising event. Normally I have to argue that I’m absolutely rubbish when it comes to these things, but my friends would now beg to differ seeing as though I’m going to Korea in a few days after winning an event sponsored by the South Korean government.

Anyways, while I could do the whole “stuff-your-face-until-your-stomach-explodes” route and order $25 worth of food, I decided to opt for the “take-your-friends-out-with-you” option. Having lived in San Jose my entire life, I have never eaten in any restaurants in the Willow Glen area. I know of the area, but it’s not a neighborhood I frequent. 

From first glance, I thought you looked charming

Willow Street Pizza has what I call a rustic American restaurant. The interior is very warm and dimly lit with brick walls. On these walls are antique posters from movies and ads. When you first enter, they have a bar on your left while the tables are on your right. It’s not a big restaurant, but it feels spacious enough and cozy. 

Our server gave us a table right next to the window facing the street and that was well enough to snap a few photos in the fading natural light. Bear in my mind, I’m taking photos from my Samsung Galaxy S2, so the quality isn’t going to be great, but it’s tolerable.

Order’s up! Says the girl who felt ballin’ that night

We ate well that night. And I mean, I was stuffed, but I still had room for the huge regular sized cup of Café LaTTea, but we’ll get to that in another time. 

For our appetizer, we ordered the Cajun Calamari Steaks, which came in an interesting pieces that oddly reminded me of French Fries—but chewy with a kick. It wasn’t what I was expecting after being so used to small bits of fried calamari legs and heads. Flavor wise, it was good and the calamari came out hot and ready for us from the fryer. 

We also ordered a pasta entrée: Linguini with Fresh Manila Clams. Now this was delicious. The clams were huge and the garlic butter sauce was light and refreshing. It accompanied the linguini and clams well. 

Lastly, we ordered the Garlic Chicken pizza. How could we not? They’re called Willow Street Wood-Fried Pizza. It’s like if I went to Baskin Robbins and ordered a cake, but no ice cream. And what did it have on it that I absolutely love? BACON. I was a happy camper. Anything with bacon on it is a thumbs-up with me.

Overall, I think this would a nice place to come with friends, family and/or a date. Willow Street Wood-Fired Pizza is located in a great location surrounded with other restaurants that I would like to try and seems like a fun place to hang around with the upcoming summer nights. I can pretend for a moment that I’m not living in San Jose (where the population is estimated to have hit a million again. A million..) and instead back at Davis where the summer nights always passed by slower and people poured out of their apartments and dorms to seek some relief from the blistering heat in the fading daylight.

Poetic words aside, what are your favorite restaurants in Willow Glen?

Willow Street Wood-Fired Pizza
1072 Willow Street
San Jose, CA 95125