Cycle 15 – Item 180

3 (Wed) July 2024

Classic Beijing Duck

4.0

at Chef Chu’s

-Los Altos, California, USA-

with W and IZ, Hahn’s family

Summer Holiday in USA (Day 8 of 11)

• • Day 1 (15.173 Sauteed Pea Sprouts with Garlic)
  • Day 2 (15.174 White Clam Chowder (in a Sourdough Bread Bowl))
  • Day 3 (15.175 Giants Dog)
  • Day 4 (15.176 Prime Rib)
  • Day 5 (15.177 Snow Pea Prawns)
  • Day 6 (15.178 Albacore Tataki)
  • Day 7 (15.179 Chicken Tacos Regular)
  • Day 8 (15.180 Classic Beijing Duck)
  • Day 9 (15.181 Surf (& Turf))
  • Day 10 (15.182 Top)
  • Day 11 (15.183 Turbot Fillet)

In the San Francisco Bay Area.  With the Family.  Their first time in Northern California.  The immediate objective was to escort DJ and three of his friends to compete in the finals of a global logic competition at Stanford University, while taking advantage of the opportunity to show the family my hometown/region, including San Francisco, Silicon Valley, and Berkeley, and visit my best friend Hahn, who lives in Los Altos, maybe even drop by my childhood home in Saratoga.  The itinerary is packed, nearly every hour scheduled with activities.  Stay tuned.

After three nights at a hotel in downtown San Francisco, then 4 nights at a rented house in Redwood City, the final 2 nights at Hahn’s place in Los Altos.

LUNCH

Chef Chu’s is a Chinese restaurant.  Offers a wide array of mainstream fare, including Mandarin, Cantonese, Sichuanese, and of course American.  A local landmark – the wall of fame features a framed letter of thanks from the mayor of Los Altos, as well as countless newspaper and magazine features; the website shows Tweets from celebrities, including Justin Bieber, Serena Williams.

After dropping DJ and his friends off at Stanford for the final Day 3 of the competition, we checked out of the house and met up with Hahn at his place in advance of lunch.

I suggested Chinese – “something mainstream, you know, like at a place named ‘Golden Dragon’ or ‘Wok Palace.'”  Hoping to make up for disappointing experiences at other Chinese restaurants on the trip, such as Harbor View (see 15.173 Sauteed Pea Sprouts with Garlic) and Crouching Tiger (see 15.177 Snow Pea Prawns).  On the way to Hahn’s, we’d driven by Chef Chu’s – “Is Chef Chu’s any good?”

The food was awesome.  Each dish in the spread synergized to perfection with the next – in particular, the duck, the mushu, the noodles.  Exactly what I’d hoped for, the best meal of the trip thus far.

SHOPPING

In preparation for tomorrow’s Independence Day feast, we dropped by Dittmer’s Gourmet Meats & Wurst-Haus, where I purchased a rib roast.

As suggested by the inordinate number of establishments referenced in recent posts with addresses on it – 6, including Safeway (525 El Camino Real), Mama Coco (1081 El Camino Real), Harry’s Hofbrau (1909 El Camino Real), MJ Sushi (2305 El Camino Real), Sogong-Dong Tofu House (4127 El Camino Real), Dittmer’s (4540 El Camino Real) – El Camino Real is a major route in California, running 600 miles (965 km) from San Francisco to San Diego, originally linking the Spanish missions along the state’s coast.  Especially in the Bay Area, El Camino Real is the central commercial thoroughfare (like Broadway in New York City) and geographical point of reference (e.g., “just 3 blocks north of El Camino”).

It’s a street that I heard millions of times growing up – and now I’m driving on it myself (El Camino doesn’t run along the East Bay, so I never encountered it while at Berkeley).

Through my on-going exploration of roast beef back in Korea, I’ve felt handicapped to achieve greatness simply because I can’t get the right piece of meat.  Various cuts of Australian beef abound – bland (see for example 15.127 Roast Ribeye au Jus).  Only cheaper cuts of American beef – tough and gamy (see for example 15.152 Roast Cuck Eye Roll au Jus).  And Korean beef – too expensive, too fatty.  All falling short, in one way or another.

When Hahn and I had agreed to do something at home for July 4 dinner, my first thought was to a attempt a true Prime Rib with USDA Prime Ribeye – the ultimate cut.

Took it back to the house, trussed it, seasoned it with whatever they had on hand (improvised blend of A1 Steak Sauce + Kirkland Steak Seasoning), and placed it in the fridge for an overnight marinade.

DINNER

The Cheesecake Factory is an American restaurant.  Offers a wide ranging menu of Americanish dishes (e,g., burgers, steaks, tacos, pastas), as well as their eponymous cheesecakes for dessert.  Started as a bakery in 1972 then expanded into a restaurant in 1978.   Currently 336 locations worldwide.

After lunch and grocery shopping, Hahn went home, while W, IZ, and I returned to Stanford to pick up DJ and his friends, following the conclusion of the competition (they didn’t win).    As the friends were flying to Korea on an evening flight, we went to Westfield Valley Fair to hang out and eat dinner until they took an Uber to SFO.  Made the mistake of waiting until dinner time to eat dinner, at which point all the good places (e.g., Din Tai Fung) were fully booked with 2-hour wait times.  Had I planned it out – the first lunch upon our arrival, lunch today, and this dinner were the only meals on the itinerary where the venue hadn’t been researched and decided in advance – I probably would’ve gone with King’s Fish House.  But The Cheesecake Factory was right there, and had tables, so there we were.

The only other visit to The Cheesecake Factory that I can recall was on our trip to Las Vegas, when we ended up there (the one in Caesars Palace) under similar it’s-right-here-and-we’re-too-tired-to-go-elsewhere circumstances.  Apparently, the meal had been so unremarkable that it didn’t even warrant a mention in that day’s post.  I might’ve eaten there during college, while visiting Hahn in Southern California (who was at UCLA then), but can’t remember, probably because the food was unremarkable.

The food was worse than unremarkable.

(See also GLOBAL FOOD GLOSSARY)

(See also RESTAURANTS IN USA)

(See also BOOZE)