El Salvadorian Food – El Chalateco

955 Saratoga Ave San Jose, CA 95129

I was incredibly happy to discover an El Salvadorian restaurant in the Bay Area. I highly recommend El Chalateco, the restaurant, and open kitchen are exceptionally clean and up to COVID protocol. They also have outdoor dining. The flavor of the food was fantastic and authentic. I grew up eating El Salvadorian food thanks to my step-dad so I’m picky about flavor. We ordered two pupusas de chicharrón y queso, pupusa de queso, chicken tamales, and tamal de elote (plain sweet corn).

Korean BBQ Truck – BBQ Kalbi Food Truck

305 El Camino Real, Santa Clara, CA 95051

This is a new BBQ truck run independently by one woman. She makes simple Korean BBQ dishes like pork with rice or kimchi fried rice. Her portions are big enough to share and her prices are incredibly low. She also adds plenty of vegetables like zucchini!

Upscale Korean Dinning – Chungdam Restaurant

My dining experience at Chungdam was whimsical and memorable. We ordered spicy octopus, short ribs with pumpkin, and the pork belly appetizer. The short ribs with pumpkin had roasted chestnuts and veggies it was sweet and fall-off-the-bone. The pumpkin tasted addicting. They offer outdoor dining under umbrella-covered tables and cell phone scanned menus.

Bubble tea, Red Velvet to Tiramisu – Toco Tea

3074 El Camino Real, Santa Clara, CA 95051

The bubble tea at Toco Tea is next level liquid dessert. I loved the tiramisu boba with cream cheese foam and the red velvet flavored boba. Both were as satisfying as eating a bowl of ice cream.

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Vegan Ice Cream recommendation: Valsoia Gelato Cones

I picked up these cones on a whim from the supermarket. I had to list them here as a recommendation because they are delicious and dairy-free. I’ve struggled to find dairy-free ice-cream that tastes rich rather than like ice chunks, but this is it. This dairy-free milk ice cream tastes just as velvety as regular ice cream. The bottom of the cone has chocolate too! ❤