Parcel 104. Again.

Here I was again, at one of my favourite restaurants of Silicon Valley.  I am glad to report that Parcel 104 at the Marriott Santa Clara continues to delight.  From my two visits recently, I can see they have other fans too, especially from the large tech community who gather in this Silicon Valley hotspot for  conferences and meetings.

Bradley Ogden's restaurant boasts of fresh ingredients always.  In fact, they say they do not have an in-house freezer!  So, everything here tends to be seasonal, from local farmers' markets.  In short, a very Californian experience.

Incidentally, the happy hours are very popular here; their drinks have a reputation of being stronger too, which is goodness!

For my starters, I tried the Kona Kampachi Crudo on one day. The dish came with apricots, sesame and mediterranean cucumber and made for a good start.  However, what really made for a memorable starter was the peach and lettuce salad I had on my second visit.  A medley of bright colors, and the tastes and textures of the peach, lettuce and the dressing were fantastic together!



From the entree menu, I tried the Modesto Game Hen on the first day.  This dish was served with fried green tomatoes, chicken and apple sausage and a buttermilk 'gel'.  The chicken was pretty good and flavorful.



The next time, I tried the Hawaiian Tombo Tuna which was seared rare and served with oven dried early girl tomato, pole beans and a black olive devilled egg.  I loved this one!



For desserts, I ordered Berries and Cream, three small dessert samplings: Tahitian vanilla terrine, strawberry cannoli and berry with frozen cream.  Made for a nice ending.







Like I said earlier, Parcel 104 is a safe choice when you are near here.  Also, there are few good dining choices around, and that ensures I keep coming back here regularly. :)