Daimo Restaurant in San Leandro revisited

I hadn’t been to Daimo for several years, because I was disappointed in the food during my last foray there. So when Lola came to visit a few days ago, I thought we might give Daimo another chance. The results were quite mixed.
We went to Daimo for lunch, and partook of their lunch specials which include a dish of your choice (for their list), soup, salad and rice for $7 – a pretty good deal given how huge the portions are. I also ordered an appetizer of a green onion bread (I forgot what they call it) for $4 – this was a large, flaky, pancake, reminiscent texture-wise of a Malaysian roti canai – sprinkled with green onions. It was pretty good by itself, but it would have been great with some kind of dipping sauce.
Lola had the beef with tofu, and she was quite happy with the dish. It included large chunks of tofu, and very tender slices of meat in a nice, balanced sauce. She enjoyed the dish at the restaurant, and Mika enjoyed the leftovers.
I had one of the worse versions of sesame chicken I’ve ever had the displeasure to eat. There was very little chicken under the thick breading, and what was was there was more akin to chicken fat than flesh. The thick, glutinous sauce wasn’t too sweet, but had nothing going for it either. The portion was large, but I barely ate any of it. Sesame chicken is such an easy dish, that I can’t understand why they couldn’t make a more palatable version.
I had a coke, Lola had water, and lunch came to $25, including tip.
I won’t be hurrying back.
Daimo
1456 E. 14th Ave
San Leandro, Ca
510-351-8131
Open daily 11 am to 12 am

Original Review
San Leandro Restaurant Reviews