Wayne "Devastating" K.'s Profile

I have friends and family who adore SGD, though I'm personally much more mixed.  This is really the place to go for Korean food unless you're willing to drive down to Santa Clara, so really I need to learn to lower my standards or be willing to go further out.

THE GOOD:
- The tofu's good and hits the spot on a cold day.
- Very reasonably priced so you can come often with no guilt.
- They leave the water pitcher.
- The banchan appetizer side dishes include several of my favorites including marinated cucumber, kim chi, bean sprouts, and sweetened potatoes.
- Parking's never that fun but not terrible if you're ok with walking a little.
- I like the pack of melon gum that comes with the check.

THE BAD:
- They don't invest in top notch ingredients, which bothers me as a foodie:  The shrimp in the combo and seafood tofu is always tiny and never jumbo shrimp, the seafood pancake's seafood is fine but not the best stuff, the raw eggs for the tofu resemble the cheapest non-jumbo eggs you'll find at Safeway, and the beef the low-end beef you'd find from the supermarket.  It's more than edible, but I wish they'd spend a tiny bit more and take it to the next level.
- The non-tofu dishes are hit-or-miss.  I've enjoyed a bunch of their appetizers, I like the galbi, but found the bulgolgi (sometimes greasy and hard to chew) and bibimbap (sometimes bland or stingy) hit-or-miss.
- It's always packed when I go for dinner.  We usually have to wait at least 20 minutes and order before getting seated.  The waiting area can be cold, especially since cold days are the days best for visiting SGD.
- There are fewer banchan dishes than most Korean restaurants.  The banchan is also inconsistent where pretty often you end up with over-marinated kim chi or undercooked potatoes.
- The ambiance is a bit dumpy so this isn't a place for a first date.
- There's no cell reception in here for some reason.

TIPS FOR SUCCESS:
- Don't go too spicy on your tofu the first time you come.  It's pretty spicy.
- Request white rice if you're not too adventurous and don't want purple rice.
- Request a (free) banchan refill if there are any you particularly like.
- For Korean food n00bs: Break/add the raw egg right when the tofu comes so it cooks.  If you get bibimbap, pay the extra money for the stone pot since it causes the rice at the bottom to get nice and crispy.

This chain is the best place for hot pot in the Bay Area and I have several friends who crave coming here.

THE GOOD:
- Flavorful broths.  You could drink this by itself and walk away happy.  They do a good job with the Chinese herbs.  Get a half-and-half if you're not sure how spicy you want to go.
- Many unique ingredients like hand-made dumplings (even lamb, which they do really well, and shrimp), a mushroom platter with much variety (enoki, shiitake, oyster), seafood (oysters, shrimp, scallops), pigs blood sausage, and various types of noodles (include hand-made).  It'd be challenging to hit this kind of variety with hot pot you do at home.
- For a Chinese place, they have consistently great service with frequent water and broth refills.  This is especially cool cause you can take any extra broth home.
- The vegetarian broth isn't nearly as good as the regular broth, but this restaurant is very vegetarian-friendly so you can bring your vegetarian friends and have them eat out of their own half-pot while you pig out on meat.
- Great for large groups with reasonable privacy.
- Though you'll definitely walk out with a new smell (don't wear clothes you care a lot about), they keep the place relatively well-ventilated so it's not as bad as it could be.
- Dessert Republic and Tpumps are within walking distance if you want an Asian dessert afterward.
- Takes credit cards.

THE BAD:
- Paying per plate adds up so it gets pricy.  I usually leave having spent $30-40, which is more than I've ever paid for hot pot anywhere since most other places are all-you-can-eat.
- Rice costs money.  Dipping sauces cost money.
- Parking in this area is never easy and can take up to half an hour if you're unlucky.
- Though some like the meat pies, I found most of the non-hot pot items not too noteworthy.

TIPS FOR SUCCESS:
- Order the combo platters like the meat plate, mushroom plate, seafood, tofu plate, etc.  Looking at the menu you'll be tempted to order individual items that jump out at you but unless you've been here a bunch, it's hard to predict what'll taste the best.  Variety is key so you don't get sick of eating 10 pieces of a meat you don't like that much.
- Don't just dump everything in there right away.  Some of the hardier veggies take a while to cook but meats and noodles usually require minimal cooking and you don't want to end up with overcooked meat and disintegrating noodles.  Try to go one item type at a time for as long as you can.
- Don't eat the garlic cloves or drink too much broth until the end.  They both taste awesome after they've had time to absorb flavors from everything else you dump in.
- Go in a party of at least 3 or 4.  If you go with just one person you won't be able to order much variety.  Usually I go in a group of at least 6.
- For larger parties make a reservation or you'll be waiting a while.  It's usually not too hard if you remember a few hours beforehand.
- They sell the broth mixes at Chinese supermarkets if you want to give this a shot yourself.

I've never gone for the running gear, but ZombieRunner makes some of the best coffeeshop drinks and is worth a special trip.

THE AWESOME:
- The latte art is hands-down the best I've seen in the Bay Area.  Take a look at some of the Yelp pictures.
- The drinks are just outstanding across the board.  I've had the espresso-based drinks, chai, hot chocolate, and seasonal specials, and loved all of them.  Every drink is made-to-order, has perfect foam, and there's a wide variety of sugars to add if that's your thing.
- The line is very rarely more than 1-2 people.
- They sell stroopwafels, these Dutch waffle-like cookies that many people love (google it).
- Friendly knowledgeable barista, but not so friendly that you feel uncomfortable or the need to make awkward smalltalk.
- Pricing is reasonable and they take credit cards.

THE BAD:
- As you can probably tell, this is a running store, not a coffeeshop, so it really isn't a place to sit and linger.  The running merchandise dominates most of the floorspace.  There's some nice seating (with some pretty funny reading material actually, including books about zombies), but it's not the kind of place where you'd linger for a few hours.
- The hours are very limited compared to most coffee places in the area.

Come at least once.

GOOD:
- If you haven't been, definitely come and try Piroshky Piroshky at least once.  This place is a Seattle classic that everyone who's come downtown has tried, and it's different enough to make for a memorable experience.
- When it's good, it's amazing: It melts in your mouth.  I thought it was weird to have savory ground beef in a flaky pastry for breakfast - I usually prefer eggs and fruit - but now I understand.
- Great location in Pike Place Market, with many places within a block to grab a drink to wash down your piroshky.
- Reasonably priced at under $5.
- Hand-held so you can nom while you walk.
- It's a popular place but the line moves fast.

BAD:
- When it's bad, it's bad: When they're fresh out of the oven, they're amazing, but they drop sharply in awesomeness as they get less fresh.  It's wildly inconsistent too.  I've visited quite a few times... 1-2 times it blew me away, the next time it was very mediocre.
- I wasn't too taken by anything other than the standard beef and cheese piroshky.  The others I've tried aren't terrible, but they aren't what make this place special.  The standard one is just so much better.

Not sure why I'm reviewing a Starbucks...

GOOD:
- Friendly Starbucks folk.  The standard experience... nice ambiance, they take credit cards, they have their spiffy rewards program, the line moves fast, and they have the great holiday drinks like peppermint hot chocolate and gingerbread latte.
- I've never had issues finding street parking on this end of Castro.
- Open til 10 or 11, which is reasonably late.

BAD:
- There's rarely ever seating inside -- I fail 9 times out of 10 -- and it's usually a bit chilly outside.  This is more a grab-and-go kind of place.
- You're in Downtown Mountain View within walking distance of Red Rock, Cafe Romanza, and Dana Street Roasting Company, which are all great independent coffee shops... seems lame to go to Starbucks.  There's also a Peet's nearby.
- It's Google WiFi, which is free but isn't too reliable.
- The bathroom's not great.

THE GOOD:
- Delicious fajitas.  The beef, chicken, and shrimp were all cooked perfectly and were delicious, the warm tortilla was the perfect quasi-thin-but-sturdy thickness, and all the included sides and sauces they gave me to slather on there were awesome.  These were probably the best fajitas I've ever had.
- Excellent, strong margarita.
- Portion size was ridiculously awesome on everything.
- Friendly services.

THE BAD:
- The free chips were warm and crispy but the two dipping sauces, salsa and baked beans, were very average.  I'm not sure I could distinguish them from canned sauces in a blind taste test.
- Getting your food can take a while.

SUMMARY: Sushi preferences tend to be highly personal, but Akane is my favorite sushi restaurant in the South Bay and I will be back for years to come.

THE GOOD:
I love sushi and I'm a snob about it:
- My regular order here is the Deluxe Nigiri, which is around ~$18.  Take a look at the many Yelp pictures to see what this looks like.  The fresh fish, the nigiri construction, and the presentation is executed spot-on at a fairly affordable price (I love when it comes on a wooden board that I'm always tempted to karate chop).
- I usually pair that with an Akane Roll II, some buttery, melt-in-your-mouth fish sprinkled with crunchy panko coating.  It's a great filler when you're slightly hungrier and nigiri isn't enough to fill you up.
- They execute well on other Japanese restaurant staples like chirashi don, tempura udon, and tombo tataki.  The chirashi is my fallback when I'm not in a nigiri mood.
- My friend Henry speaks highly of the nigiri hand roll.
- Their sukiyaki is noteworthy.  If you order it with at least one other person, they bring out a pan with some sizzling fat on a hot plate, a plate of meat, and a plate of veggies and you cook it up yourself at the table... a fun spectacle.  It doesn't compare to Little Sheep hot pot, but it's a great alternative when most of the group wants sushi but a couple people don't want to eat raw fish.  Don't do a solo order; it just comes out pre-cooked.
- Excellent toro nigiri, though super pricy at $15/pair, so I've only gotten it once.
- It's a minor thing, but I like how they bring out hot towels to wash your hands before the meal begins, and everyone gets a free small bean sprout appetizer.
- Classy decor which got even better when they remodeled recently.
- Plenty of water/tea refills.
- Easy to park.

DOWNSIDES:
- Hot tea isn't free... it costs a couple bucks.
- It's impossible to have a group larger than 25 here, as much as you'd want to, and it's hard to bring any large group if you don't have a reservation.  They're awesome about accommodating groups up to that size though with a reservation.
- I admit not being a huge fan of their assorted sashimi dinner.  The sashimi itself is great, but just repeats 4 kinds of fish.  I like my variety so I usually go with the nigiri or chirashi, which have fewer pieces of different kinds of fish, plus they're slightly cheaper.
- Not open for lunch on weekends.
- The service is reasonable but not amazing.  Also food comes out when it's ready, not necessarily in a sane order or at a sane pace.
- You frequently have to share menus since they don't have enough.
- The "live scallop" is kind of a ripoff.  I didn't find it that much awesomer or larger in portion size than their scallop nigiri (hotate) and it's considerably more expensive.

All in all, I highly recommend Akane.  Thanks, jfrank, for recommending this place to me years ago!

SUMMARY: I've never been here for dim sum and it's not really a place I'd return for dinner, but I could see why people like it.

THE GOOD:
- As the many other reviews have mentioned, the ~$30 Peking duck is amazing with crispy skin, tasty buns, and tortilla-style wraps.  I could have scarfed down two orders of that just by myself.  You're making a huge mistake if you don't order this when you're here.
- Fancy banquet-caliber digs.  It's not a hole-in-the-wall place and I could see why people do wedding receptions here, though it's slightly dingy.
- A family restaurant where they'll get to know you over time.  You're treated well as a regular.
- I thought they did soups pretty well, including a duck soup and a winter melon soup.

THE BAD:
- Aside from the aforementioned highlights, most of the food here is very bleh, especially for a restaurant in this caliber and price range.  It's not terrible, but it's completely forgettable and they misexecute on classics like sizzling black pepper beef and pea sprouts in garlic sauce.  It's pretty salty/MSG-loaded as well.
- The decor is getting a bit dated and the rooms didn't smell great.
- I found it amusing that they had this giant TV and the only purpose it served was to loop the Yan Can Cook's visit.

IN A SENTENCE
A unique hotel I'd visit again.

THE GOOD:
- Very unique, hip, industrial design.  Looks very modern and reminded me a lot of a San Francisco nightclub.
- The hotel had one of the craziest in-room shower contraptions I've ever seen.  There were four dials: The top one controlled water coming from above, the second one controlled water shooting at you directly from the panel perpendicular to the above water, the third dial controlled water from a handheld, and the bottom knob controlled temperature.  I had a lot of fun with this thing.
- They weren't stingy with soaps and towels and I got new stuff each night.
- Everything's really new.  I hope it stays this awesome a few years from now.
- There was a fun TV in hall to watch while waiting for the elevator.  Too bad it didn't have sound or closed captions.
- They were great about calling taxis, which were all charged to your room (no tip required even).
- Very friendly reception desk.  They greeted me in a friendly manner every time I passed through the area, gave restaurant/bar recommendations, and we got free local chocolate when we checked in.
- Great bar area.  It was almost always deserted, but the bartender was friendly, and the drinks were unique and good.  The seating was comfy.
- We put on a company event in the restaurant downstairs.  The food was really good for a hotel... skewers, ahi on crackers.

THE LESS GOOD:
- I found the decor very industrial.  It was like living in a hip nightclub rather than at home, which isn't really what I'm looking for in a hotel.
- It was a bit cold in general in the room.  As an Asian person who likes to walk around barefoot, it wasn't fun walking on cold concrete.  Turning on the heat helped, but then the air got really dry.
- The bathroom isn't fully enclosed so there's a large gap above bathroom conected to the bedroom.  This is well above eye level and helps air out the bathroom, but it means (1) you better trust the person in the bedroom isn't going to peek while you're taking a shower and (2) it's very hard for one person to get up earlier than the other person and take a shower, since everyone in the entire room can hear it.

Due to the close proximity, you can can't help but compare Shalala to the other two Downtown Mountain View ramen places Ryowa and Maru Ichi, which are nearby just a few blocks away:

COOL:
- Shalala's roughly a buck cheaper a bowl.
- The ambiance is a little nicer.  It's not fancy, but a clear step above the hole-in-the-wall ambiance of the other two places.  On the other hand, Shalala feels a little sterile since everything's so new.
- Plenty of seating and no wait.
- Never had sesame seeds in ramen before; it was interesting.
- Having a ramen place is way better than Tina's Kusina, which was in this location before.

LESS COOL:
- The broth had a fighting chance, but didn't hit awesomeness levels.  The shoyu wasn't very distinctive, the miso seemed like it was trying too hard with the spices, and both were pretty fatty so it's not like Shalala had fresh veggies or the health angle going for it.
- No free kimchi appetizer to nom on while you wait for your ramen.  Most ramen places don't have this, but both the Downtown Mountain View competitors do.
- I thought it was pretty strange to have iceberg lettuce in my ramen.
- An egg cost extra.
- It was neat that they were included, but the pork belly slices was a bit overcooked and required a bit of chewing to get down.  It didn't have the melt-in-your-mouth feel that the best places do.
- Cash only.

I really wanted to like Shalala better since I love ramen and it'd be awesome to put some pressure on Ryowa and Maru Ichi.  I'd probably come again if my friends wanted to come, but I don't see this place as a regular stop for me yet and wouldn't lead another trip here myself.