Mama Papa Lithuania - Alameda - CLOSED

1241 Park St, Alameda CA 94501
(510) 522-4100
Parking: street parking
Hours; 11a-3p, 5p-9pm Daily
http://www.mamapapalithuania.com/

Last Updated: May 26, 2019

Food: 4 stars
Atmosphere: 3 to 4 stars
Service: 3 to 4 stars
Price: $$ to $$$

I first heard about Mama Papa Lithuania when watching Guy Fieri's Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives.  The potato pancakes featured looked so appetizing that when I found myself close enough to make a trip to Alameda, I couldn't wait to try it.  Mama Papa claims that it's the only Lithuanian restaurant along the West Coast!  It's been open since 2013 and is still going strong.

I called ahead to make a reservation since I planned to go on a weekend, but was told not to worry.  Parties under six people wouldn't be a problem - just arrive and they would make sure we had a able.  Upon entering the restaurant, you'll see a lot of wood.  It felt a bit dark initially, but one could call it a rustic atmosphere with a bright colored mural on one wall.  Fresh carnations adorned the tables.

The menu features lots of great comfort food - borscht, cream of mushroom soup, a variety of salads such as beet salad, carrot garlic salad, and green cabbage salad, and options such as dumplings, crepes, and cabbage rolls.  I hope I get the chance to go back soon to try out some more of this goodness.

- Potato Pancakes with Meat  - While these ended up looking a lot darker than what was featured on the television show, these two pancakes were stuffed with seasoned ground pork.  They had been pan friend and served with a dollop of sour cream.  The ultimate in comfort food, the potato was crispy on the outside and the meat was warm and delicious inside.  Loved this and would definitely get it again. Four stars and highly recommended. $16

- Three Deep-fried Pierogies  - If you've ever had a really good Chinese green onion pancake, these are quite reminiscent of that.  Stuffed with melted cheese, sautéed onions and mushrooms, and served with what looked like ketchup, with its beautiful browning, these were more bites of comfort and goodness in a pocket.  So crispy on the outside and slightly bubbly in its texture, these are so simple in their ingredients, and yet super delicious.  Another four star dish and I could eat a whole plate of these without any sauce.  Delicious.  $6

- Stuffed Cabbage Rolls - Two cabbage rolls are stuffed with seasoned ground pork, rice, and a homemade sauce.  The  rolls are then stewed and served with boiled potatoes, dill pickles, and marinated pickled garlic in chili pepper.  The cabbage rolls were tender with every bite and the sauce brings the entire dish together.  A sprinkle of fresh dill makes it a beautiful plate and adds a little extra flavor.  While it was still very good, I probably would try another dish next time (whereas I could easily eat some more potato pancakes and pierogies).  The pickles are a nice offset to lighten the palate.  $18

- Chicken Cutlets - Two cutlets are manually minced and baked.  They're served with sautéed mushrooms and onions and a salad made of grated carrots, garlic, and mayonnaise.  These were a huge surprise because if I didn't know it was chicken, I would have thought this was a different kind of meat.  Served on a bed of mashed potatoes, I could definitely eat more of these cutlets and you can't go wrong with mushrooms and onions.  The carrot salad was also lovely - the garlic flavoring was milder than I expected and was pleasant overall.  $19

Service was fine - we had opted to share all of these dishes and they were very friendly about it.  Sometimes it took a while for plates to get cleared, but nothing major.

For lunch, you can get a half order at half the price (11a-3p daily) which seems like an excellent bargain.  If you're ever in the Alameda area, I would highly recommend this place and I can't remember why, but I didn't get their most popular dish - garlic fried rye bread -definitely on my list for next time.  I also look forward to trying the potato dumplings and need to remember to save room for dessert - honey cake which looks like a lovely layer cake - how can you go wrong. Can't wait for my next visit!

Uji Time - Dessert, San Mateo

106 S B St, San Mateo CA 94401

(650) 235-9229

Parking: street parking

Hours: Sun-Thurs 12:30pm-9:30pm, Fri-Sat 12:30pm-10:30pm

http://ujitimedessert.com

Last Visited: October 28. 2018

Food: 3 to 4 stars

Atmosphere: 3 stars

Service: 3 to 4 stars

Price: $

Green tea and black sesame soft serve?  Who doesn't love the sounds of that?  Taiyaki cones and the scent of waffles wafting into the street?  

Uji time dessert is a welcome addition to the San Mateo Asian dessert scene.  Uji is a city on the southern outskirts of Kyoto, Japan and is known for producing green tea.  Inspired by this, the menu is pretty simple with a limited number of options - cup ($4.50), cone ($4.50), or taiyaki cone ($6.50); a limited number of flavors - matcha, black sesame, and tofu (which tastes plain), including a seasonal option (during my visit, it was peach), and several creative topping selections ($0.50 each) including Azuki red beans, poppy seeds, and Pocky sticks. You can also mix soft serve flavors.  If that's not interesting to you, there is also mochi ice cream ($2.50 each or 3 for $7).  The music playing is a bit loud and during this afternoon visit, there were a lot of people in the small area that contains several tables - think pastel colors and outdoor furniture like metal tables and chairs. 

I opted for a black sesame soft serve in a taiyaki cone and it was tasty, but remember that you're eating soft soft serve.  The black sesame soft serve was rich and creamy, and it also melted fast. The taiyaki cone is essentially a fish shaped waffle filled with red bean paste - as such, it does tend to take longer to make because they have a limited number of taiyaki irons.  Also, the cone will get soft quickly because it's a waffle after all and it already has filling in it.  While a tasty concept, note that it also leaks, so if you have small children, or even big kids/adults, or you plan to walk around, you may want to request a cup to hold it all.  Still, it's yummy.  Give it a try.

Dumpling Era - Chinese, San Bruno

354 El Camino Real, San Bruno CA 94066
(650) 737-9899
Parking: street parking

Last Visited: January 13, 2019

Food: 3 to 4 stars
Atmosphere: 3 stars
Service: 2 to 3 stars
Price: $$ to $$$

I first noticed Dumpling Era as I was driving by the restaurant on El Camino Real.  Since my visit in 2018, they have already updated their menu (initially a laminated menu with a pen to fill in the quantities you desired and now with more options, but no more fill in the blank).  This also means prices have gone up at least for some of the dishes.

The decor is pretty simple, but you'll find in the back that there is a glass enclosed area where you can watch the chefs make dumplings, noodles, pancakes, and more.  While both of my visits were at the very start of the lunch hour, they didn't seem quite ready for us as they were still setting up or cleaning the floor.  The good thing is that you know that they clean. 

A high top table in the center divides the room of regular height tables.  The dark tables and bright lights, and posters make the place a bit lacking in warmth, but you soon forget this when the food arrives.

During my first visit, I tried mostly noodles and dumplings. 

- Beef Noodle Soup -  This is the most instagrammable noodle dish because when you lift out the noodle, it's supposed to be one single handmade wide noodle that fills the bowl.  However, when I ordered it, it was actually two noodles because it was too short.  A bit disappointing for that reason and not much meat except for those few cubes you see in the photo.  A good amount of bok choy and scallions, but where's the beef.  At least the broth was good, but more meat is needed.  $8.90

- Beijing Style Bean Paste Noodles with Pork -  While the strips of vegetables (cucumber, carrots, and bean sprouts) were fresh and cut the same size, and the sauce was good, we were surprised that handmade noodles weren't used here - it was packaged knife cut noodles that you can find from the Asian grocery store.  This would have gotten a better review if it had been hand cut instead of the packaged stuff.  $7.90

- Scallion Pancake - Great presentation and very tasty - Lovely crisp texture on the outside and lots of layers on the inside.  I saw them make this during my second visit and watched how they take a giant roll of pancake to make these little ones.  Get this. Four stars. $6.50

- Shanghai Soup Dumplings - I like how the tops of the dumplings weren't tough because there wasn't a ton of dough at the top which you often find is the problem.  Juicy inside - good amount of soup.  Four stars. - $7.90


- Szechuan Wonton  - These were really good - tender wrapper, flavorful wontons.  Just the right amount of filling.  Four stars.  $6

- Seafood Dumpling with Cuttlefish Ink - These were great tasting and it looks like they actually give you more dumplings now than when I ordered them because the new menu shows 10 pieces (versus only 5 before which made it seem very expensive).  Four stars for taste, especially if you get more now - my photo shows it coming with a salad, but I've seen them come without a salad or sauces now.  $12

- Sweet Egg Puff - Comes with two sauces - nutella and jam/berry.  The egg puffs were disappointing, especially since I wanted to like them so much.  When they arrive with their sugar dusting, they look so appetizing, but after a bite, you notice they're not light and fluffy, but more chewy than a crunchy outside. Their competition does a better job with these. Skip it. $8

From my first visit, I found the service to be ok - a bit slow to take our order, but they were friendly.  They don't really check on you though, so if you like to be left alone, you'll like this.

For my second visit, I repeated ordering a few of the dumplings, but tried some new items.

- Pork & Shrimp Dumpling with Green Chives - Ten dumplings with super tender wrappers and fresh filling.  Can't go wrong.  Four stars.  $7.50

- Beef roll pancake: This beef roll pancake is actually pretty juicy.  While there are only four pieces after it's been cut, I like how the thin cut of beef is not dry inside the lightly pan fried pancake roll - probably because of the cucumber ;  they also drizzle a little sweet sauce on top when it's served. Of all of the recent places I've been to that serve beef roll pancake, I like the flavor here the best, even if the serving is small.  Good.   $ 8.50

- Vegetarian Chow Mein - There aren't too many vegetables in this vegetarian chow mein, but the flavors are good.  Besides the bean sprouts, carrots, and scallions, there are a few strips of black fungus and braised fried tofu.  Sesame tops the dish.  Good, but it would good if it came with more vegetables, but I guess they described it as vegetarian, so just know what you're in for.  $8.90

- Yangzhou Fried Rice - The yangzhou fried rice comes with  mushrooms, egg, pork, shrimp, scallions, and some frozen vegetables - lima beans, peas, carrots, and green beans.  Since they plate it in a bowl and overturn the bowl onto a plate, the rice actually stays warmer than when it's just served directly onto the plate.  The rice was done very well and I would definitely get this dish again.  Kids also seem to really like the mushrooms. $11

Dumpling Era is a solid place for dumplings, and their noodles and rice are generally good too.   Definitely try the scallion pancake.  This place is also very kid-friendly - there were lots of kids during my recent visits and if they are making stuff in the glass enclosed area, it's a great way to keep the kids entertained.

Shiroi Sushi - Japanese, Los Gatos

14103 Winchester Blvd, Suite C, Los Gatos CA 95032
(408) 340-5965
Parking: shopping center parking lot
Hours: Mon-Sat 11:30am-2:30pm, 4pm-9pm; Closed Sundays

Last Visited: January 12, 2019

Food: 3 stars
Atmosphere: 3 to 4 stars
Service: 3 stars
Price: $$ to $$$$

I was looking for a good Japanese restaurant in Los Gatos and happened upon this one.  The rolls looked quite appetizing in the photos, and I needed to be fairly close to downtown Los Gatos, so this fit the bill. 

I arrived at 5pm, just when they opened, and there was already another family there waiting.  While you might think this is an authentic Japanese restaurant from initial looks, a closer examination will reveal the influence of another source.  Aldo's, the Italian restaurant in the same shopping center, owns this place, and from the decor, you can see how the fishing boat print that hangs on two of the walls, the display of a rather large bottle of what would likely be wine (not sake) if it were full, and the tea towel napkins being used, shows that this restaurant isn't owned by a Japanese person.  A further look at the menu where something called a Tokyo to Milan roll contains pesto and Aldo's roll has prosciutto and mozzarella seem to confirm that you may have Italian influences here.  It's not a bad thing, but you should know what you're getting into.

- Hamachi Carpaccio - It seems that this is one of their most popular appetizers.  Ten slices of yellowtail are topped with a very thin slice of jalapeno and green onions and sit in a light soy sauce.  A very small bunch of  kaiware sprouts accompany the hamachi.  The fish is fresh and the jalapeno doesn't overpower the fish.  Probably the best of all the dishes of the evening, but a bit on the expensive side for what you're getting. The slices are really thin and makes me think I should just go to a Japanese market to get hamachi and try to mimic the same. $17

- Unagi Lover (shown in the front of the photo) - The roll is filled with deep fried unagi and topped with unagi and tobiko.   While it's tasty for a bite or two, the unagi sauce gets too sweet at the end.  Okay.  $17

- Spider Roll (shown in the rear of the photo) - Soft shell crab is deep fried.  Cucmber and avocado fill the inside of the roll and it's topped with unagi sauce and tobiko.  I liked the legs as they were not oily/greasy, but the body of the crab was a bit mushy, so that was less enjoyable.  $15

- Salmon Skin roll - Of all the dishes, I found this one to be the most disappointing.  A good Japanese restaurant can make the skin crispy and keep the meat moist.  In this case, while the cucumber gives this roll a good crunch, the salmon itself was too dry.  It's also pricy for what you're getting and you don't feel better when you see it used to be $7 three years ago.  Overpriced and dry.  $10

Service was pleasant, but with just two people serving the sushi bar and quite a few tables, as the room filled, we saw the servers less and less.  They tried their best, and did a good job handling a rather surly couple that didn't want to sit anywhere except at a four-person table. 

Overall, the rolls are okay, but avoid the salmon skin roll.  If you're going to go, try the hamachi, but maybe go for sushi instead.   

Morning Wood - Brunch, Hawaiian, Asian Fusion, San Bruno

260 El Camino Real, San Bruno CA 94056
No phone number listed
Parking: very limited parking spaces in parking lot; street parking recommended
Hours: Tues-Fri 8:30am-2pm, Sat-Sun 9am-2pm
https://eatmorningwood.business.site/

Last Visited: December 22, 2018

Food: 3 stars
Atmosphere: 3 stars
Service: 3 stars
Price: $$ to $$$

Open as of December 2017, Morning Wood quickly gained lines out the door with its appetizing Hawaiian/Japanese fusion breakfast and brunch menu.  The husband and wife chef team have certainly created dishes that will cause your mouth to water, but somewhat synonymous with island life, you'll have to get used to a slower pace, including a long wait, even if you arrive before opening time.

I arrived at 8:40am for their 9am opening and there were already a lot of people waiting outside of the restaurant on this brisk morning.  Although I was on the sidewalk, a lot of the parties sent a representative, so there had to be at least 40 people's worth of seats on the clipboard list that everyone was signing in on.  Due to their way of seating where they take a table in at a time and stagger seating, the first seating itself was not complete until almost 9:45 am.  Some patrons had already finished their meal before all seats were actually filled.  Due to some people on the list having incomplete parties, I got in after about an hour of waiting.

Inside, the restaurant has light blue hues and some wood decorations that are reminiscent of Hawaii.  There are also two televisions showing different channels. You'll also find that each table has a roll of paper towels and a wood box containing condiments and a mason jar of utensils.

The menu regularly changes - some days, you'll find a fusion version of Chinese porridge, matcha mochi pancakes, and other things that I couldn't find on today's menu.  Instead, there were variations like the Hapanese breakfast (miso soup and a bowl of rice topped with sous vide eggs with a choice of sides),  matcha bread pudding, corncheeseorice, and choconut macdaddy french toast.

- Crack Potatoes - This was the first dish to arrive and these beautifully roasted potatoes seasoned with a little bit of paprika, spice, seaweed, and black sesame, then topped with chopped green onions, were super tasty and quite addictive.  I had to pace myself so that I would leave room for other dishes.  The name is appropriate.  Get these.  $7

- Hawaiian Hot Fried Chicken - Ginger slaw, pickles, jalapenos, fried egg, and hawaiian sweet rolls.  This is labelled as "very spicy - order at your own risk, no returns!" I should have listened to the waitress when she said it is spicier than Thai-spicy, but I have a weakness for fried chicken.  I should have gotten the mochiko chicken instead.  A heavily breaded chicken cutlet is drenched in a ridiculously hot chili oil that will cause you to stop eating.  This chicken is served on top of a pickled ginger slaw that sits on a sweet roll.  While one may think that the mayonnaise-based slaw would cool the heat, you would be wrongly mistaken since the pickled ginger still creates more heat.  Under the fried egg is a pile of canned jalapenos, and you'll also find a few pickle slices sprinkled over the whole dish.  There's really no reason to offer a dish this spicy unless there is a contest for whom can handle the most heat. One bite, and I downed two glasses of water.  I don't understand what the chefs were thinking about this dish.  Most people have to bring this chicken home because they can't finish it.  The heat and reminders of the dish last throughout the day for hours - so uncomfortable in so many ways.  When we took it home as a leftover, we removed all of the breading, and therefore all of the oil, and an extremely thin cutlet was found under it all.  Not recommended unless you want some sort of bragging rights with your buddies or a memorable experience that you wouldn't wish on your enemies.  $16

- Yuzu Talkin' to me? - Two yuzu butter mochi pancakes are topped with blueberries, li hing mui powder, powdered sugar, and a dollop of yuzu honey butter with a slice of strawberry.  The menu says that these take "a LOT more time. If you can't wait, don't order it." While the pancakes are large, the yuzu flavor doesn't quite come across in the pancake or the butter (or maybe there just isn't enough butter).  I found that they had a nice toothsome texture because of the mochi, but actually tasted better the next day.  Since these came after the chicken, they rescued my taste buds.  Okay, but I wouldn't necessarily order it again. $18

In general, service is okay once you're in the restaurant - at least 2 people are working the room regularly, but as forewarned, food can take a while to arrive.  They also don't make menu modifications.  Note also that parties greater than six may be split up.

While I guess they are staggering seating the tables so that the kitchen doesn't get overwhelmed, bthis can be frustrating because you'll see an available table and still not be able to sit down.  If you're lucky, you'll be standing in line next to some cool people whom you can strike up a conversation with, or you can get some quality time in with your phone.  Don't be surprised to find a line.

Stick and Steam - Tapas, Dim Sum, Chinese, Millbrae

350 Adrian Rd, Millbrae CA 94030
(650) 239-9240
Parking: in parking lot

Last Visited: December 29, 2018

Food: 2 to 3 stars
Atmosphere: 3 stars
Service: 3 stars
Price: $$ to $$$

Stick and Steam opened last month and has an interesting menu of snacks/small plates, skewers, noodles and rice, and different versions of Hainanese chicken.  You can also try unusual concoctions such as beef kimcheese (yes, cheese) fried rice and salted egg fries.  Rita mentioned that there is 10% off through the end of the year, so it's a good time to go in and check it out.

The restaurant has been nicely remodeled to have a more modern look than before (it used to be a Hong Kong style restaurant) with wood tables, black chairs, and even a neon S S sign (which you can see in the window in the photo above). 

The model is simple - you arrive and receive a menu with photos and a menu for you to check off what you want to order.  There are a number of drinks on the menu - from soju to boba, you'll find a lot of additional options, but hot tea wasn't listed as one of them.

- Beef Noodle Soup - By far, this was the best dish of the night.  Three large pieces of beef brisket and two large pieces of beef/tendon are braised until super tender so that it melts in your mouth.  The noodles are fine, but nothing special.   Although the menu says its egg noodles, and the photo on the menu look like egg noodles, these look like flat noodles that aren't egg-based.  Three romaine leaves along with some cilantro garnish the soup.  A sauce and minced preserved turnip/radish also accompany the five-spice based broth.  This would be even better if you could choose the type of noodles you wanted.  This dish gave the food rating three stars. $9.50

- Hainan Chicken Plate - The menu describes this as slow-cooked, served with fluffy short-grained rice, ginger-garlic, and sweet soy sauce.  The mound of rice is big and has more color than flavor - it's pretty bland.  The chicken is actually mounded on top of cooked cabbage, so there is less than what you think.  Most of my chicken was white meat - only the wing and another piece was dark meat.  The spinach salad comes with shredded carrots and candied walnuts which are good, but the dressing was not to my liking.  It has a strong flavor that reminds me of shiso, but it leaves a funny aftertaste.  A number of spinach leaves were also wilted, so I couldn't enjoy them.  The best thing about this dish was the accompanying sauces - the sweet chili sauce has a bit of kick and the ginger sauce was good, but there wasn't enough of it.  I would suggest you go to the nearby competitor around the corner that serves more chicken for a lower price instead.  I wouldn't order this again. $12.75

- Pork Belly with Charcoal bun - The steamed buns are tender and if it weren't for them being black, you would just call them fluffy and well-executed.  In a blind taste test, I don't think I would detect any charcoal.  The two glazed grilled pork belly skewers were tasty, but there was far too much fat compared to meat.  From the photo, you can see that one piece is virtually all fat - not a good ratio.  The pieces with a good portion of meat to fat were nicely glazed and juicy.  The strange spinach salad comes with this dish too. Okay skewers, but where's the meat?! $7

- House Potstickers (4) - Pork and ginger potstickers are served on a layer of rice paper.  In my book, these are not potstickers.  They're dumplings that got boiled and pan fried, and not even to the point of the wrapper drying out sufficiently on what is the underside of the rice paper.  The dumpling skin is quite different from that of real potstickers.  There is also insufficient browning so that the rice paper had no purpose.  What's a bit ironic is that when you make real potstickers at home, you can often get this rice paper skin as a byproduct of putting water into the pan and slowly frying the dumplings - here it's considered a novelty. At least the meat was juicy.  Even still, not recommended.  $6.75

- XLB Trio (original - white, crab - yellow, and truffle - black) - These Shanghai dumplings were pretty good - all juicy on the inside with sufficient amounts of soup and a supple wrapper.  The crab dumpling could taste more like crab, but it was still okay.  When I try these at most places, I like the truffle one the best and this was the case here too.  $5.75 

Service was okay, but not profound.  You can tell that the servers have been trained to state the name of the dish when delivering it to the table, to thank you for your patience when you've been waiting for a period of time, and to thank you as you leave.  Things that showed that it's still a new establishment - once our order had been taken, we were asked to relocate tables to fit in a larger party.  The patrons at the table next to us that arrived when the restaurant got a little fuller had to wait significantly longer for their order to be taken (about 15 minutes after receiving a menu).  Getting the check required flagging down a server several times, so there is still room for improvement. 

Other things that I found to be strange - during my first course, the beef noodle soup dish, I smelled this overwhelming scent of soap.  I couldn't figure out where it was coming from, but I don't think it was the food.  Nevertheless, it throws you off and makes one think they're eating some kind of cleaning product. 

Better get going if you want your 10% off. 

Ipoh Garden - Malaysian, Millbrae

100 El Camino Real, Millbrae CA 94030
(650) 652-9588
Parking: street parking
https://ipohgardenmalaysiancuisine.eat24hour.com/

Last Visited: December 9, 2018

Food: 2 to 3 stars
Atmosphere: 3 stars
Service: 3 stars
Price: $$ to $$$

Rob recommended Ipoh Garden as a good Peninsula alternative for Malaysian food and from his perspective, shared that it is more authentic than other places nearby.  As Rob is from Singapore, I trusted his determination of Ipoh's authenticity.  This location was previously a bar, so it's not much to look at from the outside, but inside, they did a nice remodel and the restaurant actually fits quite a few tables.  The colorful walls and long bar and the whimsical painting on the wall of a boy reaching for his paper airplane (which is actually the 3D part of the art) show the character of the owners.  The first four dishes were ordered in April, and then I visited again for in December.


- Roti Canai - Just about every table ordered this.  Two rounds of slightly crispy roti is served with a spiced curry sauce.  These are served very hot and are a little bit flaky.  The dough inside is soft and you can see the many layers within the round.  I wasn't too crazy about the sauce - not enough curry flavor since the spice sort of conflicted with it.  I also found the roti thicker than I prefer.  Okay.  $4.95

- Crispy Calamari - This was easily the best dish of the meal.  The batter on the calamari was light and the calamari was tender and fried to a light golden brown.  Pieces of red and green bell pepper and red onions had been cooked with a little bit of spicy red sauce.  All was lightly stir-fried with the calamari so that every few bites, you would get a little extra kick of flavor.  Four stars.  $12.95

- Laksa Mee - The noodles in the laksa mee were pretty standard - yellow noodles, but the flavor of the broth was just okay - nothing outstanding, maybe even slightly bland.  Considering that it's a red coconut curry based broth, it should have been spicy and rich. Usually, a hot broth that has good flavor makes me pretty happy - here, it was nothing to write home about.  Tofu, chicken, and okra accompany the noodles. The freshness of the vegetables was good.   $10.95

- Pad Thai - Of all the dishes ordered, I found this one to be the most disappointing.  While the tamarind based sauce was pleasantly stronger than many other local restaurants, the wide flat noodles had too much moisture causing them to be pretty broken even before we stirred the bean sprouts and lettuce into it.  There was also very little meat - two shrimp and very few pieces of chicken.  The tofu strips were ok, but overall, the noodles were falling apart so much that it was pretty disappointing and getting to the point of being mushy.  This dish also took a long time before it finally arrived.   $11.45

On my second visit, the food experience was slightly improved.

- Beef Satay - Four skewers of marinated beef are grilled and served with peanut sauce.  It's served with slices of cucumbers and red onions.  While the beef is tender, it's not as good without the sauce.  The sauce was flavorful, but could use more ground peanuts. Good. $6.95

- Kang Kung Belachan - A hearty amount of kang kung is sauteed with a belachan sauce.  The greens were tender and the shrimp paste sauce was fine.  Jalapeno slices add extra spice to the dish.  Okay.  I personally prefer the version that one of their competitors in the next city over makes.  $11.95

- Hainanese Chicken - Served with fragrant flavored rice which you can notice in the flavor, not just the color, this steamed chicken comes with two dipping sauce - one is ginger-based and the other is chili-based. All of the chicken sits in a light version of soy sauce.  The dark meat was tender and juicy, but the white meat could have been more moist.  It's a good portion, but the chili sauce is not hot, so you end up gravitating towards the ginger sauce.  The rice was fragrant, but I wouldn't have minded more salt.  Good value for the price.  $10.95

- Chow Koay Teow - It's probably unfair to do a review of this dish after coming back from Singapore.  While the stir-fried flat rice noodles held up significantly better than the pad thai noodles from my last visit, the flavoring was too light.  Of the dishes tried this evening, this one stood out the least.  Shrimp, squid, bean sprouts, chives, and egg are served with the noodles. $11.45

- Singapore Chili Tofu - Large pieces of tofu are fried in a chili tomato sauce with strips of red onion.  The tofu was good, but the dish as a whole is a bit on the sweet side for my tastes.  Okay.    $13.95

Service during my first visit was fair - while we weren't neglected, it just took a while for food to come to the table after the order.  We added the pad thai at the end, but it took a lot longer than expected to arrive.  It also took a while to get a bill.  During the second visit, we sat a lot closer to the register, so the servers passed by much more frequently.

Ipoh offers some dishes that its competitors don't, and if you're craving this style of food, they have a good variety.  Try the crispy calamari and avoid the pad thai.