Kusan Uyghur Cuisine — Restaurant in San Jose

At its best, dining should be an adventure and it should be educational. Last night, it was both, thanks to dinner at Kusan Uyghur Cuisine restaurant in San Jose. I must admit to never having had a Uyghur meal before. I have enjoyed a wide range of styles of Chinese cuisine, experiened a variety of local dishes in Mongolia, and been pleasantly surprised by the unique flavors of Uzbek food. I guess I expected Uyghur food to be somewhere in between, a blend of all of these. And while last night's dinner exhibited hints of influence from these eastern and central Asian sources, it presented a dining experience that, for me, was something quite new and unique.

The meal opened with Samsa, a pastry filled with hot seasoned lamb and onion. This was delicious!

The Black Fungus Salad sounded irresistibly strange. It surpassed all expectations! The inky dark, succulent mushrooms were accented by goji berries, onion, garlic, cilantro, soy sauce, chili oil, sesame oil, and vinegar. It was outstanding!

The Sliced Beef With Sauce is served cold and features big, broad, thin slices of cooked beef in a delectable sauce of green onion, cilantro, dried red pepper, salt, sesame oil, chili oil, and Sichuan pepper oil.

The Lamb Kabobs were a classic central Asian preparation, with chunks of lamb served on long metal skewers and seasoned with cumin and chili powder.

The main course was the Laghman, thick, long, homemade noodles, mixed with lamb, cabbage, potatoes, tomato, green onion, green pepper, and black fungi. You choose your preferred level of spiciness in this dish. There was so much to love about slurping up this specialty!

Dessert was the Homemade Amine, freshly-made yogurt simply served with honey and almond slices. It proved to be a refreshing and satisfying end to the meal, complementing and contrasting with the spices of the previous dishes.

No alcohol is served. Beverages do offer a wide selection of variations on yogurt though. I went with and enjoyed a drink featuring yogurt blended with honey and yuzu.

As you may have gathered, lamb figures prominently on the menu. There are other options though including chicken and a few vegitarian dishes. Last night's selections just scratched the surface of the menu. There are many other fascinating-sounding dishes that are guaranteeing a return visit.

The staff was very friendly, helpful, attentive and instructive. The dining room is basic with accoustically harsh surfaces that amplify the volume of every conversation at every table in the restaurant, with the exception of the one being had at your table. The prices are modest, providing excellent value for your money. There is a parking lot behind the restaurant, with additional parking on the street. Kusan Uyghur Cuisine is absolutely...

We had the pleasure of ordering out from this restaurant last week. I've heard about Uyghur food before but never did I imagine there's a restaurant so close to where we live.

We had the opportunity to try it during SIP. We had ordered appetizers of sliced beef with sauce and the samsa. An order of the big plate chicken and a need noodle soup.

The sliced beef appetizer was delicious. It's meant to be eaten cold. Thin slices of beef (maybe shank) with scallion, chili peppers/sauce, and cilantro. It was so herbaceous. The chili brought just enough heat to a cold side dish to balance out the flavors and temperatures. I gave that a 4/5. I think it could be a little saltier simply because I like the bold flavors.

Next we had the samsa. Perfectly flaky pastry sprinkled with black and white sesame wrapped around a minced beef/lamb mixture. The meat was incredibly juicy while the crust was crisp and flaky. I thought it would've gotten soggy during the transport but I think we ate it just in time. 5/5.

The big plate chicken... It was definitely a big plate. The braised chicken pieces were succulent and tender, potato just melted in the mouth, with slices of jalapeño peppers and dried red chilies cascading over some chewy knife cut noodles. That was SO good. It reminded me of a Chinese braised chicken dish that grandpa use to make but this was better because it had chilies in it to bring out the spiciness. Definitely another winner. We had ordered extra noodles so that there would be left overs the next day for lunch and it tasted even better the next day! 5/5

Last was the beef noodle soup. Hubby said it almost tasted like a pho soup without the spices. The soup tasted very meaty. The thin round noodles were coated in the beef broth topped with thin slices of beef and daikon along with scallions. I gave that a 4/5 because I think it would've tasted better if we ate at the restaurant. By the time we assembled the noodles and soup into the bowls, it was luke warm. I can see potential in that soup if it was serve right out of the kitchen, piping hot...

We definitely had fun trying a new cuisine we both have never tried before. Everything was good, some excellent! Will definitely go back. Remember to support small businesses! You'll want them around when the...

Second time at this restaurant, and I must say, Uyghur cuisine holds a special place in my heart. However, this establishment falls short in terms of culinary execution. While they offer all the traditional Uyghur dishes, this restaurant doesn't quite rank among the best. During my last visit, I sampled the laghman, plov, and samosas, but none of them impressed me.

Nonetheless, I decided to give it another shot and opted for the beef noodle soup this time. To my surprise, it was quite flavorful, although it's possible my hunger influenced my opinion (just kidding). Unfortunately, both my wife and friend weren't as pleased with their choices.

My friend's chicken wrap was excessively spicy, with an overwhelming amount of jalapeños filling nearly 20% of it. He spent half his meal picking them out. It seems he isn't accustomed to such heat. Meanwhile, my wife specifically requested her chicken noodle soup without chili peppers. Despite this, when her food finally arrived after a 20-25 minute wait (she was served last), it still contained chilis. She promptly informed the waitress of the error and requested a replacement without chilis. After a brief apology, the waitress returned with the same soup, supposedly sans chilis, though remnants were still visible. Upon tasting, my wife found the dish overly salty and sour, a sentiment I shared upon trying it myself.

Overall, while my experience was salvaged by the beef soup, it was far from enjoyable for my friend and wife, particularly disappointing as my friend had traveled from Chicago for vacation. I'd tentatively recommend trying the beef soup, but for true Uyghur cuisine enthusiasts, this place may not meet expectations.

It's unfortunate that this is the only Uyghur food option in the Bay...