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Claudette Aug 16, 2011 01:47 PM

Any recs for Hayward/Newark/Union City areas?

Our two families are trying to find a decent dinner venue between Oakland and Cupertino that will accommodate 10 people. Price and ethnicity not a concern; chains are also okay, since there are teenagers involved. So far, we only know of Asian Pearl in Fremont, but would like to hear of other options. TIA!

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Asian Pearl
3288 Pierce St, Richmond, CA 94804

  1. ckshen Aug 17, 2011 08:34 PM

    Yum's Bistro- great cantonese food at a moderate price point. the place is run by a chef who used to be the head chefs at top restaurants. hounds have had chowdown there before.

    And its right next to Newark and Union City.

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    Yum's Bistro
    4906 Paseo Padre Pkwy, Fremont, CA 94555

    1. m
      MARmaladee.Jay Aug 17, 2011 12:13 PM

      Buon Appetito in Hayward is good. The dip the serve with the bread when you're seated is delicious. Just make sure you save room for the more yumminess of other dishes. For starters the Polenta con Funghi is delectable. The sauce they serve with it is so yummy! One of my favorite main dishes there is the Petto di Pollo con Funghi e Marsala. I don't know how they make their sauces there, but that seems to be the highlight to a lot of their dishes. The service is spot on, servers are pretty attentive. They also have a small bar and television if your party wishes to watch a game.

      Sala Thai #1 in Fremont. For starters, the Tud Mon (fish cakes) give you a sample of the falvors of Thailand sans the spiciness. If you want spice, get Tom Kha Gai (spicey and sour soup with chicken in coconut broth). For noodles, their Pad See Ew is one of my favorite dishes there. I like it with either chicken or tofu. For dessert, try the sticky rice with mango. Service is OK. They can get extremely busy for both lunch and dinner time. I would call ahead and reserve.

      La Pinata in San Leandro. This location will accommodate your party of 10 and not to mention is open until 3AM. This is just good home cook comfort food. The meats are tasty, service is fast and they have a full bar for the non-driving adults. My favorite dish is their Chili relleno. Pure comfort food.

      Cascal in Mountain View. Excellent service. It's tapas and the servings are a bit small, that's my only complaint. Other than that, my favorite dishes there are the wild mushroom empanadas, roasted chili relleno, any of the paellas, crab and shrimp tostaditos, and of course their sangria and selection of wine for the non-driving adults.

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      Cascal
      400 Castro St., Mountain View, CA 94041

      Buon Appetito
      917 A St, Hayward, CA 94541

      Sala Thai
      39170 State St, Fremont, CA 94538

      1 Reply
      1. re: MARmaladee.Jay
        Robert Lauriston Aug 17, 2011 12:39 PM

        La Piñata is fun and they take reservations for 8 or more. Wait can be long without one.

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        La Piñata Restaurant
        2699 Merced St, San Leandro, CA 94577

      2. s
        shanghaikid Aug 16, 2011 08:07 PM

        Cooking papa has 2 locations
        hong kong style cooking, diverse menu, teen agers will love the egg puffs
        -2830 Homestead , santa clara, place packed like sardines, go early or skip
        - 949 edgewater foster city, lines here too, go early, mechanized numbering system makes lines go faster

        Mama Chen (taiwanese food)
        excellent, cheap food, drawback-kind of small. if can't go early, skip
        5275 stevens creej santa clara

        Curry up Now (indian)
        -food truck phenom has physical location. i haven't been here but worth considering.
        129 B st. san mateo, ca.

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        Mama Chen
        5075 Stevens Creek Blvd, Santa Clara, CA 95051

        1. a
          acetaminophen Aug 16, 2011 03:45 PM

          Mayflower Seafood Restaurant in Union City is a tiny bit expensive, but good for pretty authentic Chinese dishes. In that same complex, there are some other restaurants, but I'm not sure they're good for a group of 10.

          In Union Landing, which is right off the freeway, there are a whole bunch of chains that are okay for groups, as long as you don't mind waiting. TGI Friday's, Applebee's, Chili's, Tony Roma's, Chevy's.

          Also in Union Landing, Tribu Grill serves Filipino food that's pretty delicious, but the service is spotty. They have long, communal tables that will be good for your large group. The wait can sometimes be long, but I'm sure you can call in and avoid all that!

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          Mayflower Seafood Restaurant
          34348 Alvarado Niles Rd, Union City, CA 94587

          Tony Roma's
          32135 Union Lndg, Union City, CA 94587

          Chili's Grill & Bar
          32120 Dyer St, Union City, CA 94587

          Chevys
          31100 Courthouse Dr, Union City, CA 94587

          Bj's Restaurant
          5699 Mowry Ave, Newark, CA 94560

          Tribu Grill
          32208 Dyer St, Union City, CA 94587

          5 Replies
          1. re: acetaminophen
            Robert Lauriston Aug 16, 2011 07:13 PM

            Gerry's is another good Filipino place that can handle groups.

            Chaat Bhavan's good southern Indian, I've seen big groups there, too.

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            Gerry's Grill
            31005 Courthouse Dr, Union City, CA 94587

            Chaat Bhavan
            5355 Mowry Ave, Fremont, CA 94538

            1. re: acetaminophen
              a
              acetaminophen Aug 17, 2011 08:54 AM

              I forgot to mention--Darda Seafood Restaurant is also good. There's one in Milpitas and one in Newark. They're known for their delicious sesame and green onion bread--be sure to order some to go! Lots of lamb on the menu. Weekends see lots of families ordering soy milk and a fried pastry.

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              Darda Seafood Restaurant
              296 Barber Ct, Milpitas, CA 95035

              1. re: acetaminophen
                Robert Lauriston Aug 17, 2011 10:02 AM

                I thought of Darda in Milpitas but that's a lot closer to Cupertino than Oakland.

                The other branch is in Fremont, near Newark. Have you been there? I went to the old Fremont location and it wasn't as good as the Milpitas original.

                http://www.chow.com/restaurants/92511...

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                Darda Seafood Restaurant
                296 Barber Ct, Milpitas, CA 95035

                1. re: Robert Lauriston
                  a
                  acetaminophen Aug 17, 2011 08:54 PM

                  I've been to the Fremont location but it was only for the weekend special of soy milk and fried pastry (my parents were craving it because it's a street food in Taiwan, where they were born). So I can't really compare the two.

                  The original in Milpitas is solid though. I agree that it would be a far drive from Oakland.

              2. re: acetaminophen
                Melanie Wong Aug 18, 2011 07:40 AM

                Two months ago I was passing through Union City during Friday rush hour and decided I might as well stop for a dinner break instead of fighting traffic. I'd tried the dim sum at this location of Mayflower when it opened a few years ago and this was my first time back. A sign in the window beckoned with a roast squab special on the order of $10 or so. I ordered that and Malay chow fun. Both dishes were quite disappointing. The squab was dry and tasteless with but one redeeming quality, the golden brown skin. At dinner time on a friday, I'd expect the bird to be freshly roasted but this seemed to have been cooked ahead and reheated, maybe more than once to be that cottony. The Malay noodles had gritty yellow curry powder, watery vegetables, dried out strips of char siu, and sulphurous near-raw onions. It was a huge serving . . . but that couldn't compensate for the poor quality. Stay away from these two dishes.

                Roast squab special
                http://www.flickr.com/photos/melaniew...

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                Mayflower Seafood Restaurant
                34348 Alvarado Niles Rd, Union City, CA 94587

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