Yum Yum Spice Asian Cuisine, Denver

When hubby and I moved home the fall of 2016, among the things that made me really sad was the lack of good Chinese food. Say what you will but after Tokyo and a whirlwind tour of Taipei where J., hubby, and I stuffed as much yummy food as our tummies could handle, coming home to this "House Special Chowfun" below was down right depressing, to say the least. 

I'm not going to name this offending restaurant but suffice to say I never went back :( Boo. Hiss.

On one particular sad Friday night, I was desperate for something, anything, reminiscent of the yummy food we'd enjoyed in Taipei. J. also happened to be visiting from SF that weekend and so I took to the internet and came upon this Yum Yum Spice Asian Cuisine in Denver.

Chef Zhao Kitchen, Palo Alto

On our first trip to Mountain View, we had a mini reunion with college friends whom we haven't seen for over a decade. We kept in touch via email and social media, sure, but this was the first time we all sat down together in person, had a meal, and caught up with each other's life. Knowing Chef Zhao's Kitchen would be busy, I called weeks ahead for a reservation and, boy, was I glad I did. It was a week night and there was a long line out the door at 6pm.

 

Chef Zhao Bistro, Mountain View

Prior to our trips to Mountain View, I solicited restaurant recommendations from friends who live and work there. When asked what kinds of food hubby and I like that we don't get much of where we live, both of our answers were: good Chinese food, preferably the spicy and tongue-numbing variety. We got three recommendations in return: Chef Zhao Bistro, Chef Zhao Kitchen, and Hunan Impression.

I checked them all out online of course. We were planning a mini reunion just like those we had in Taipei with our college friends. With everyone's work schedule, Hunan Impression was too far out of the way and so we were left with two Chef Zhao restaurants. Since I was just down the street from Chef Zhao Bistro wandering around downtown Mountain View, hubby zipped back from his office to meet me there for a quick lunch as soon as the place opened at 11:30am.

Mountain View, California

Last year, hubby had to make a few short work trips out to California, once to SF in late July and twice to Mountain View in the fall (beginning of September and end of November). I tagged along each time and took some photos while wandering about (and yes, I'm still perpetually behind on posts...).

Both of the trips were super short. Each time, I had just a couple of hours in the afternoon to explore and get myself some snacks while hubby got some work stuff done, then we met up with old friends for dinner and went home the next day. So I ended up just wandering up and down Moffett Boulevard/Castro Street (downtown Mountain View) and took pictures of the shops that caught my eyes (mostly food :P).

M.Y. China (Chinese cuisines), San Francisco

There were two nights while hubby and I were in SF where I had to hang around the Westfield Mall for a few hours starting in the early evening. It wasn't just for the convenience of having a chair and table to sit and write but also for the sake of staying near hubby. His work conference was just a couple of blocks nearby.

So I asked my pal J. to dinner with me one night and she recommended M.Y. China on the 4th floor of the mall. She works down the street from the mall and would come here with a gf and colleague a couple of times a month whenever they work late.

R & G Lounge (Chinese Cuisine), San Francisco, Part II

On one of the nights in SF, hubby and I decided to go back to R&G Lounge for that delicious baked black cod I'd been craving since we left the city.

Tokyo Eats - Nakameguro Area

From our time living in Yokohama, aside from Nabezo our neighbor S. also introduced me and hubby to Junkadelic in Nakameguro. Interestingly enough, when we arrived in Tokyo, we realized our then-new home wasn't too far from Nakameguro at all, just several subway stops away on the same Metro line! How convenient was that? We could go eat Tex-Mex anytime we wanted without having to dread the 2hrs. train ride there and back!

And what do you know, a couple of weeks into opening the new office, hubby's boss wondered out loud, "Does anyone know a good Mexican place around here?" Hubby and I looked at each other and he replied, "We do know of a decent one." And off the whole office went.

On the way to Junkadelic from Nakameguro Station.

Tokyo Eats - Roppongi area Part VII

The last of the Roppongi food posts :(

Hubby and colleagues were super excited when Blue Bottle Coffee opened yet another branch in Roppongi (they're up to 6 branches in Tokyo now!), in the spanking new Tri-Seven Building across the street from Midtown. It made their daily coffee run much easier than, say, Omotesando (will post soon!). Hubby loved going there, and he loved to drag me along. I was more, umm, indifferent. Sure, I like coffee, but more so the flavor than the actual beverage, which can sometimes be too strong and bitter for my unsophisticated taste buds.

Taipei Eats - Yongkang Street area Part III (永康街)

On our second day in Taipei, hubby and I wandered around Yongkang Street (永康街) and snacking through brunch. We'd planned a hotpot dinner with J. that evening you see, so we were trying to be strategic.

Ding Wang Spicy Hotpot (鼎旺麻辣鍋, Chinese Cuisine)

My friend M. who recommended Kiki's to us also recommended Ding Wang Spicy Hotpot (鼎旺麻辣鍋). She said whenever she visits in Taipei, this is the first meal she'd have with her friends and family the day she arrives.

But here's the funny story: there are actually two Ding Wang's! M. told me about a Ding Wang, with the name in Romanized letters instead of the Chinese name in characters. So I unwittingly googled "Ding Wang" and found a Ding Wang Spicy Hotpot (鼎旺麻辣鍋) with 2 locations and an official FB page. I called and made a reservation for a super early dinner at 5:30pm.

Shin Yeh Part II (Taiwanese Cuisine)

J. arrived into Taipei early the morning after hubby and I did, so we all went out to lunch together at Shin Yeh. It was a beautiful, clear, and sunny day before a typhoon hit the city. Great timing for a short vacation, right? ^.^"

We picked the Shin Kong Mitsukoshi branch on the 8th floor of the Shin Kong Mitsukoshi department store. I'd made an advance reservation so we didn't have to wait. The moment we got there, we were ushered in right away and placed at a table by the window. Here's the nice view that came with our lunch.