Silicon Valley Weekend

The Sunday morning brunch at Hobees was terrific like my last time here. This time too, I was meeting an old friend after a long gap. This time too, the highlight was clearly the heavenly blueberry coffee-cake that accompanied my main dish: The Benedicto Siciliano, a creative version of Eggs Benedict with a melange of fresh sweet basil, roma tomatoes and avocado tossed lightly with olive oil and lemon juice atop two poached eggs on a grilled English muffin with a special marinara sauce and Parmesan cheese.

There are few places you can enjoy a better breakfast or weekend brunch than here at Hobees! They have multiple locations in Silicon Valley, but I like the one in Cupertino the most.

After that filling brunch, I didn't have the appetite for anything substantive during dinner later. I was meeting with a friend in the vicinity of Santana Row and we decided to try Sino, a Chinese fusion restaurant that opened a couple of years back. Sino is a creation of Chris Yeo, who also runs the popular Straits Cafe in the Bay Area. Gleaming red walls with a crackled glaze, metallic bead curtains, and colorful bar area makes for a quirky and interesting ambiance.


We decided to sample their selection of sakes. Of the three varieties, I particularly liked the flavors of the Cherry Bouquet and Crysanthimum Meadow. We shared a plate of wild mushroom dumplings and followed it with crispy snapper in a spicy pepper garlic sauce with Dan Dan Mien, flat noodles with szechuan peppers, garlic and scallions (and chicken).


The dumplings were excellent! The taste of the mushrooms was enhanced by white truffle oil. The snapper was lightly batter-fried and had a spicy, tangy sauce. The Dan Dan Mien is usually made of pork, but they were willing to substitute it with chicken for my friend. Pretty spicy stuff, but then I like spicy!

Santana Row is designed to look and feel like the European promenades replete with cafes, pedestrian-friendly sidewalks and store-fronts. This is a great place to stroll around in the evenings, watching people and dining al fresco. Smaller than, but similar to, the wonderful 3rd Street promenade in Santa Monica.