🍜🌉 South Bay Food Tour – Hits & Misses

None really fully met expectations... My favorite one will be introduced separately in the next post! 1️⃣ Haidilao Hot Pot 🍲 📍 Multiple locations ✅ Its status in the hot pot world goes without saying～A safe choice to avoid disappointment! We arrived at 7 PM on a weekday and still waited 10 minutes for a table for two. Their complimentary side dishes are really great～especially the cabbage in kimchi, seasoned bean sprouts, and rambutan❗️So sweet and juicy～ I was almost half-full just from the appetizers😂, and we even had to pack up some of the hot pot ingredients we couldn’t finish～ 🍜 The "Sprite Cold Noodles" are forever my favorite! But the noodles weren’t as chewy the next day💔 💡 Suddenly learned a money-saving trick: for two people, order a four-compartment pot with three plain broth compartments, so the base is only $9! We basically only used the spicy butter broth, and the golden soup broth was just for drinking～We also used the golden broth to cook unfinished ingredients to take away🥡 2️⃣ Cascal Spanish Restaurant 🇪🇸 📍 Mountain View We arrived around 8 PM on a weekday, and the place was still packed inside and out～ We ordered takeout—maybe because of that, I didn’t find the highly recommended paella that great... The rice was dry and hard😅 But the seafood was indeed plentiful and fresh～The bread paired with olive oil was super delicious! ⚠️ Reminder: Never order the large portion for two people—it’s enough for four! 3️⃣ The Mandarin 🏮 📍 San Jose It’s really expensive...$78 for sweet and sour mandarin fish and $98 for pork head meat? Didn’t dare to order😳, and even stir-fried vegetables cost $28! No matter how delicious, it’s hard not to complain💸 Honestly, the only dishes worth praising were the "Wind Sand Shrimp" and the "Pork Neck": The breadcrumbs on the Wind Sand Shrimp were super fragrant—I ate them all with rice (picked out the peppers🌶️) The pork neck was incredibly tender～ Everything else was just standard for a good restaurant～The taro duck dish had almost no duck meat, just novelty—the solid taro paste felt like eating rice cakes🍚 We ordered very cautiously, and five people were just full, averaging $60 per person. 4️⃣ Nagi Ramen 🍜 📍 Palo Alto I’m not usually a fan of Japanese ramen, but I quite liked this place～ Went alone for a weekday lunch, closes at 2:30 PM, arrived at 2:10 PM and still waited 10 minutes for a seat👥 Ordered the popular "Black King"—the broth wasn’t overly salty, but finishing the whole bowl still felt a bit salty～Those sensitive to salt can choose "light salt"🧂 The bean sprouts provided at every table were also delicious～Affordable prices, and the weekday lunch queue was acceptable. ✅ Summary: Haidilao and Nagi are worth trying～ Cascal and The Mandarin are a bit overhyped/overpriced... My favorite spot will be revealed in the next post!✨ #BayAreaFood #SouthBayEats #SanFranciscoFood #RestaurantReview #FoodAdventure 🥢🍣🍲