Thanks, I’ll add that to the list for upcoming visit to the far east bay.
Anyone try Curry Kona? Notable items at vegan Baagan? How is April 8?
Hiroshi Ramen in Walnut Creek has had lines out the door in the past, so we checked it out today. I’m no ramen expert, but found the ramen lacking.
Lotus root with cod roe— the mayo cod roe mix was a dead ringer for taramosalata , and went great with crisp lotus root.
We got two ramens based on the tonkotsu broth. The broth had plenty of umami and salt, but was weak and lacked any pork flavor. The Hiroshi Tonkotsu lacked heavy emulsification, but I liked the braised pork belly. The Tantanmen, advertised as spicy, wasn’t spicy, and any potential depth of flavor was bogged down by an overuse of tahini. The half of soft boiled egg was creamy in both bowls, but it appears to be pre-prepared—- it was unpleasantly cold in the Tantanmen.
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Hung’s kitchen closed a while back, so I tried April 8 in San Ramon this week. Taiwanese and Japanese snacks fill most of the menu. It’s nice to see an indendent business amidst the chains throughout the strip mall.
The batter of their Jian bing, a folded crepe spread with egg, scallions, and black sesame seeds is made from wheat flour, and is less hearty than ones made with the traditional mung bean flour. But the gluten added enough stretchiness to hold tight around the stack of crispy wontons I chose as my filling. I would definitely get this again – –this isn’t as complex as Taichi Jian Bing’s version, but it beats a recent version I had at Boiling Beijing, which was too dry and had unevenly applied sauces.
Buns, which had a hard time unsticking from their paper, come with pickled cabbage (suan cai). The crispy chicken was pretty good
Salt and pepper tofu was greaseless and custardy inside, but the salt and pepper (and garlic) elements failed to season the crust.
Minced beef noodles were pretty basic. The ground beef needed more seasoning.
For one dollar, you can get eggs cooked in the pork belly cooking liquid. Very tasty, I wish I’d brought a few home.
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The Altamiranos also own Parada in Walnut Creek, Mochica and Piqueo in San Francisco, and the Sanguchon food truck. Busy folks they are.
Ha, glad I didn’t go—- Piqueos is fairly close to where we live in SF 
Well, San Ramon is going to get Charles Phan.
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