some quick thoughts:
Kobe Pho - never been
Red Hot Wok - awesome Taiwanese food. non-xiao ci, ie the stinky tofu, gua bao, type stuff. more focused on dishes. Their renditions of basil, sha cha beef, bittermelon and salted egg, and 3 cup chicken for example are exemplary. If you’ve ever been to cafe fusion in LA or something similar, this is the same type of restaurant. love this place.
Taiwan Porridge kingdom - new branch of a milpitas mainstay. basically, you go to a counter of 20 pre-made and then a whole menu of fresh-made dishes and pick what you want. each dish is about 5 - 8 bucks and you eat it with yam porridge. for the price, the food is very well executed, very fresh and $30 can feed a family with ample leftovers. They are all very simple, homestyle dishes, but very satisfying. again, very taiwanese (as the name implies) so a bit different from thet ypical shanghai, cantonese, szechuan, etc that permeates the area. love this place
Gochi Japanese - covered by others
All That BBQ ( korean ) - never been. LA transplant. gets decent reviews.
Dosateria - never been.
Mitasu Ramen. never been.
Kong Tofu & BBQ korean - very family friendly. not a grill your own type of place. my kids love it because the food comes fast and is flavorful. i think their marinade is way too sweet. i’d never go there if it were up to me. but some nights we just want fast and easy, so we end up here.
Cooper Vino - never been. good name!
Gokaku japanese (gyu-kaku?) - izakaya. its ok. food is fine (although we were there last week and felt hte execution had silpped). but expensive and pretty limited menu.
Shanghai Dumpling ( been - love the SJB ) - solid execution of shanghai classics. the xlb are pretty decent but not great.
the other place we go a lot is mama chens. this is taiwanes xiao che (little eats), so the type of stuff you get at hte night market and street side stands. the execution isn’t perfect, but its as good as you’ll get in the bay area and we go here frequently. you sort of just have to try the menu. for example, their rendition of a zou mian xian ismediocre, bu then their intestine vermicelli soup is spot on. their stinky tofu is great. some of their soup / casseroles are awesome. their offal (kidney / liver) preps are actually very good - fresh, crisp and not at all mealy…