I’ve been late to the Dubai chocolate craze. Indeed, my first encounter with Dubai chocolates didn’t come until last week, when my husband gave me one of the Nutty Fruitty Dubai chocolate bars he had bought at Costco ($17 at Costco).
The bag came with 15 individually packaged square chocolates, approximately 1 1/2″ x 1 1/2″). The chocolates basically consist of pistachio butter in a milk chocolate coating. They are pretty good, quite tasty but I found them too sweet. As I’ve found pretty much every confectionary I’ve tasted in the last few weeks “too sweet,” I have to conclude that’s a me problem.
My husband liked them as well, but he was a little annoyed at the fact that they are not really chocolate, the chocolate covering is there as a wrapper, rather than to contribute much to the flavor. I’m not sure if that’s true with other Dubai chocolates, I’ll probably give another one a try at some point.
I love international snack boxes, but they are usually a bit too expensive for my pocketbook. Alas, I found this box of Universal Yums Germany snacks at World Market on clearance for $9, or 55% off its regular price, as they were near expiration, and decided to give them a go. Most of the snacks expired in December, so the box wasn’t really appropriate as a gift, but there is nothing wrong with gifting yourself.
The box comes with a little booklet describing the snacks, that includes some trivia about German food and even a recipe. There is also a sheet for rating your snacks.
The first snack I tried was this package of Waffelz cheesecake flavored wafers ($3.10 at Universal Yums). This seems to be a relatively new brand of wafers of an old German baking company, and I was somewhat surprised the whole packaging was in English – which suggests it’s manufactured for export. The wafers were just OK. They weren’t as crispy as we prefer – whether this was because they were near expiration or their style, it’s hard to stay – but the main issue was the flavor. It basically tasted like a sour version of a regular vanilla wafer. It didn’t taste of cheesecake, however. I wouldn’t buy them.
Second, I tried the Lorenz Pomsticks, in sour cream (geschmack) flavor. These are very crispy, thin and short potato sticks seasoned with onion powder, parsley and yeast extract, as well as buttermilk powder and sour cream. They don’t have the very strong sour flavor of American sour cream and onion chips; rather, it’s more subtle. They are also less salty than their American equivalent. They are just as addictive, however, and I had eaten half the 2.5 oz package before I realized what I was doing. All in all, I preferred it to American chips, both because of just how crispy they were and how mild the flavor was.
While the chips are made in Germany, this particular bag seems to have been imported to either the Philippines, Malaysia or Singapore before making its way to the US. They were sold out at Universal Yum (previously $3.70), but they are available from other German food stores in the US.
The third and fourth treat I tried was this yum bag which came with five Kuhbonbon salted caramel candies (I ate one before the photo) and four or five unbranded candies. I felt that Universal Yums was rather deceitful about counting this bag of small candies as two treats, particularly as even put together they don’t amount to a full size bag of candy! This con would make me reluctant to buy a box at full price.
Fortunately, both candies were pretty good. The Kuhbonbon candies had a very strong caramel flavor, which was almost too intense. They were a bit crumbly, perhaps because they weren’t very fresh. The unbranded little candies – which came in green apple, grapefruit and passion fruit flavors – provided intense bursts of delicious flavor. Sure, they had only a passing relationship with the flavor of the actual fruits, but they were delicious anyway. Unfortunately, they are very small.
The fifth treat were Halloren O’s fudge in “Brownie” flavor ($5.50 at Universal Yums). The package came with a dozen bite size bombons with a soft center and a chocolate cover.
I was very disappointed in these brownies. They had no chocolate flavor whatsoever and instead they were just super sweet. It was also a weird sweetness, probably because, in addition to sugar, they are sweetened with “wheat glucose syrup,” which I’m going to guess is even sweeter than sugar. I struggled to finish one, and I’m going to leave the rest for low-sugar episodes, where flavor doesn’t matter. Update: they worked exceptionally well for that.
The sixth treat was a nice-sized bar of Böhme Pfefferminz Creme-Schokolade ($3.60 at Universal yums). This was one of two treats that actually had German-language packaging. This is a chocolate bar with a creamy mint filling. I’m not a huge fan of mint chocolates, and I particularly disliked this one (you guessed it, too sweet), but my husband liked it very much.
The last treat was a full size bar of Porta amarena kirsche ($5.50 at Universal Yums), chocolate with cherry flavored filling. None of us in the house are fans of cherries, so I think it will take a while before anyone tries it.
My daughter picked up this tiny jar of Luscioux Pistachio Spreadable Cream at World Market, and we all liked it. It had a strong and pleasant flavor of pistachios, though it was a little on the sweet side. I don’t have much experience with pistachio butters, though I know they are all the rage now because of the popularity of Dubai chocolate. Still, I preferred this one to the one we’d bought before.
At over $10 for a 7oz jar, it’s rather expensive – twice the price than in Europe (thank Trump’s tariffs), but still cheaper than most of the pistachio spreads you can buy on Amazon. As other spreadable, sweetened and emulsified nut butters, this product contains vegetable oils – sunflower and cocoa butter in this case. It is about 45% pistachios – which is much lower than the 90% nuts required to be called a “butter” here in the US (until Trump changes these regulations), thus the name “spread”. It’s till higher than the 13% hazelnuts Nutella has and it doesn’t have palm oil. Other ingredients in the label include powdered milk and whey (so it’s not vegan), olive oil, soy lecithin and “flavors”.
In all, I enjoyed it on top of a crumpet but it’s too sweet for me at my age, and I wouldn’t buy it again. My daughter might, however.
Disappointing fare at this once SF Valley favorite
A Thai restaurant has been operating in the strip mall on Topanga Canyon and Lassen, in Chatsworth, for over a quarter of a century. I’ve never noticed the change of names and ownership of said restaurants, but I’ve frequented them all as they are very close to my parents’ home. Alas, it’s the end of an era. Not only because life and death means we won’t be visiting the area for much longer, but because our last visit to the restaurant in the space, now named Amazing Siam Thai Restaurant, was less than amazing to say the least. Given the quality of Thai restaurants in the San Fernando Valley, I can’t imagine Amazing Siam has long for this world.
The restaurant itself looks as it’s always looked: it’s a rectangular space with booths on one side, some next to the window, and a wall bench on the other with tables and chairs facing it. It’s decore is muted, which has been the trend for Thai restaurants for at least a decade or two now. It’s a nice, casual place to stop by. The menu is pretty standard and prices are on the affordable side, with most dishes in the high teens – low for 2025.
We started with the beef satay ($14), five little skewers of pounded and marinated beef served with toast, peanut sauce and salad. I love beef satay, but it’s practically impossible to find it in the Bay Area – it’s a staple of LA Thai restaurants, however. This one was just competent. The meat wasn’t particularly tender and while it was nicely flavored, it needed a bit more salt. Indeed, that was my complaint about all the dishes at Amazing Siam. I liked the peanut sauce, though it was very sweet. Diabetics might want to stay away. The toasted bread was just that: toasted sliced white bread, but it worked for soaking up the leftover peanut sauce.
As my entree, I had the Golden Curry with beef ($19), and here is where things went completely awry. The curry consisted of slices of beef and large chunks of potatoes and carrots. It tasted as if each ingredient was cooked independently, unseasoned, and then just added to the curry. That meant that none of the food was able to actually soak up the flavor of the curry, and instead every bite was insipid. The curry itself wasn’t great either. It neither looked or tasted like a yellow curry, rather it resembled a watered down panang curry. There was no depth of flavor and while it was somewhat spicy, it was very underseasoned. There was no salt at the table to help it out either.
Mike ordered the Pra Ram chicken ($16). Here again, the chicken and spinach had been cooked on their own, unseasoned, and served with the peanut sauce. Once again, the peanut sauce was tasty, if very sweet, while the chicken was insipid – though as the sauce was thicker, it was a better conduit for it than the beef in the yellow curry had been.
The one highlight of the meal was the Pad Thai ($15), which my daughter ordered with tofu. The noodles were well cooked and the sauce was as delicious as one could expect, hinting also toward sweetness (which is not a bad thing unless you are avoiding sugars). If I went back to the restaurant, this is what I’d order.
Service was unremarkable, though the kitchen sent dishes when they were ready, which means the appetizer came after the curries (I’m guessing because the beef satay had to be cooked rather than just plated).
Before the invention of the air fryer, I would not have even bothered buying a frozen snack like this. I don’t like turning the oven if I don’t have to – toaster ovens annoy so much that I put mine away -, and I hate having to pan-fry anything that is store bought. If I can’t microwave it effectively – and microwaving something with pastry like this, will turn the pastry soggy -, I rather not eat it. The air-fryer has changed all that.
These snacks are small, and therefore perfect for an even small air fryer like mine – cook them for 10 minutes at 375F. They come out with a nice, think and crispy shell and a flavorful but not too spicy filling. There is a good ratio of filling to shell. The are pretty tasty by themselves but you can dip them on anything you want. I used honey mustard dressing, as I was going through a honey-mustard-on-everything phase.
Brazilian style cheese bread had a moment in the US, probably around the time Brazilian steak houses became popular in the country. Due to a very old prejudice, I missed that moment and visited my first Brazilian steak house only last year, when my daughter’s boyfriend mentioned he wanted steak for his birthday. While I didn’t write a review at the time, we very much enjoyed the experience, though my memories of the cheese bread are too vague to refer to it.
Meanwhile, chipá, Guaraní cheese bread, had been having its own moment in Argentina. I tried it at my lodge in the Iberá wetlands and was so unimpressed as not try it again. Judged by the Trader Joe’s version, I should have.
Chipá or Brazilian cheese bread (the Guaraní people live in a vast territory that includes all of Paraguay as well as parts of Bolivia, northeastern Argentina and southern Brazil) is made with tapioca flour, milk, egg and grated cheese and usually shaped as little rolls. Trader Joe’s sells its version frozen with instructions of baking them in the oven. I air fried them (for 7 minutes from frozen at 360F, without preheating) and they were perfect. They had a nice, crispy shell with bright, not-too-salty Parmesan, and a wonderful chewy, elastic interior with a subtle cheese flavor. They are naturally gluten free for those who care about that. I really think you need to eat them warm to enjoy, as the elasticity of the dough is the best part.
Not only did I enjoy these buns very much, but I learned something knew. I already knew that cassava, yuca and manioc were all different names for the same root. What I didn’t know was that tapioca was the name of the starch of said root – thus tapioca flour refers to cassava starch while cassava flour refers to the flour made from the whole root. If you make your own chipá, make sure you use tapioca flour. But given how good Trader Joe’s frozen Brazilian cheese bread is, you really don’t need to go through the trouble.
Some weeks ago, my husband and I decided to go on a lunch date and thought we’d give Farmhouse Kitchen a try. We had been there before, during the pandemic, and had had a lovely lunch on the patio – except for the noise from the construction next door. The restaurant had closed and reopened since, and we were hoping to have better luck – though as the weather was turning, we figured we’d have to eat inside this time. As it happens, Farmhouse Kitchen in San Leandro – part of a small chain – has turned into Farmhouse Kitchen Express and they no longer have indoor dining – the whole of the restaurant has turned into a kitchen. Indeed, they don’t even have waiters or even checkers to take your order: you have to order and pay online (better have a credit card). They do have a terminal in the restaurant you can use to order, however, though it’s a little bit clunky.
We did hang out in the patio while we waited for our order, and it’s nice-enough, though it seems in need of care. Of course, this has been a very rainy spring, so they might be waiting for the weather to turn nice before they work on their patio (I know that’s what I’ve been waiting for myself). Weather you eat there or not, the food comes in to-go containers.
I got the yellow curry with rice ($16) with beef ($4). It was good, but a bit on the spicy side. The curry that depth and it was well developed, but it wasn’t anything extraordinary. I think for the price, it should have been better. I also got a couple of crispy roti ($3) to go with it, and these were pretty good but they were swimming in oil. They were crispier and denser than others I’ve had, but they were still very nice with the curry. The oil, however, made limited how much of them you could eat.
Mike had the roti mataba ($15), a “crispy roti stuffed with curried potato and ground chicken,” which came with yellow curry, ajad (Thati cucumber salad) and a samosa. He enjoyed all of them very much. They were too spicy for my taste, but I’m a lightweight.
He also had the pad thai ($15), which comes with shrimp. He thought it was quite good for a pad thai, though nothing mind blowing.
In all, we felt the quality of the food was pretty high, but also that the prices were on the high-side and not really justifiable for take-out food. We probably wouldn’t go back, given other alternatives in town. But if we did go, we’d order from home first.
This Hayward Unicorn serves delicious and very affordable Indian food.
Shahi Darbar is one of the many restaurants which opened in suburbia towards the end of the pandemic, though I only learned about it a few weeks ago when I started researching restaurants to go with my friend group this month. I tend to look for restaurants close to San Leandro that are reasonably priced, vegetarian friendly and get good reviews. Shahi Darbar fit all of those requirements. And, indeed, it was a great choice. The food was delicious, the service excellent, and it was cheaper than most of its competitors.
My friends and I visited Shahi Darbar on a Wednesday evening. They don’t take reservations, but we didn’t need one. The restaurant is large and was relatively empty – they do seem to do quite a bit of to-go business, however. The menu is quite ample, including not only the Indian staples you get at all Indian restaurants in the West Coast, but a wider array of appetizers, breads, kebabs and vegetarian dishes (don’t miss the ones listed as “meals”), in addition to Indo-Chinese specialties. They also have monthly specials which includes dishes that I’d never heard of before. What they don’t have, very unfortunately, is my favorite: pasanda.
We started dinner by sharing two orders of fish pakora ($15). The little pieces of fish were very good. The breading was very crispy, perhaps a tad too salty but very flavorful. The fish had that melt-in-your-mouth quality that makes this dish so wonderful. We all enjoyed it.
I had the lamb korma ($15). It was probably the least successful dish of the evening, mostly because it was unlike what Indian restaurants in the West Coast usually serve as such. Kormas here are usually nut forward, creamy and with mild, somewhat fruity flavors. This dish tasted far more like a tikka masala sauce. It was average-to-good as that, but it’s not what I was expecting or wanted. The lamb itself was a bit tough, so probably from a leg rather than shoulder, but it was well cooked. I did order a chicken tikka masala ($14) to go, and this one was, surprisingly, nuttier (both in flavor and texture) and crispier, though it also lacked sweetness. I liked it better than the korma, however. Both dishes were ordered mild but they had a kick to them. It was fine for us, but it wouldn’t be for someone who can’t handle any spice.
Mike had the butter chicken ($14). He was very happy with it, and would give it an 8-9 in a 10-point scale. That’s quite generous, for him. I wouldn’t go as far as that, but I thought it was pretty good. I definitely liked it better than the korma. This one did taste like a butter chicken sauce. He ordered it “medium” but it was probably on the mild side of that, barely more spicy than our other two mild curries.
My friends Elektra and Donovan both had the Shahi Darbargoat curry ($15), one of their specialties. They both seemed to like it well enough, but I didn’t taste it.
Parker ordered the bhindi masala ($12), which included okra, onions and other vegetables, and she was very, very happy with it. She thought it was delicious.
But it was Katrina, who ordered the chole bhature ($13), a dish of puffed up bread served with a chickpea curry, who was the happiest. Indeed, she was close to deigning this dish the best thing she’d ever eaten. It was the combination of the flavorful curry with the bread that made it work so well. I wouldn’t be surprised if she became a regular for this dish alone.
We also got jeera rice ($5, for a portion large enough for two) and a bunch of butter nan ($3 each), which were pretty average but did their job.
I had a very tasty sweet lassi ($5), which seems to be sweetened by some red syrup. Whatever it was, it was good, if a tad sweet.
In all, we had a very good meal and we closed the place down – we only felt a tad guilty, but we did leave when they turned the lights on. The restaurant itself is quite plain – the darkness does help give it an ambiance -, but comfortable. Service was very attentive. We learned that they will do individual bills, if you tell them before you order.
In all, though we have several closer Indian restaurants to us, I’m sure we’ll return.
Shahi Darbar 26953 Mission BLVD , Suite F Hayward, CA (510)363-9286
This Hayward Himalayan restaurant has very good food
Last night, my friends group got together for our periodic “girls night out” – which now includes “boys” from time to time – and we decided to try The Gurkha Kitchen in Hayward. It had reviews, the prices were reasonable, and it’s relatively close. I’m glad we did, we were all very happy with the food, the service and the experience. I didn’t take photos, however, as I didn’t want to impose my hobby on my friends.
The Gurkha Kitchen serves Himalayan and Indian cuisine and has four locations in the Bay Area. The restaurant in Hayward is relatively small and pretty informal but pleasant enough for a casual dinner. They seem to have an outdoor space but it was a chilly night.
We started by sharing the fish pakora ($12) and buffalo momos ($16) appetizers. They were both served from the kitchen pipping hot. The fish pakora came in two-bite chunks. It had the right amount of breading and the fish was nicely seasoned. It was, however, pretty spicy – it left my mouth numb, though I have quite a low tolerance for heat. I’d order it again. I was quite impressed by the buffalo momos. These were larger and a different shape than the momos I’ve usually had and had a good amount of very tasty filling. The dough was chewy and thin, perhaps made with rice flower?, and it came with a bright and creamy “momo chutney” that we all enjoyed.
I hesitated between ordering the gurkha chicken ($18) and the Kashmiri lamb ($20). I was intrigued by the former as I don’t think I’ve had it before. However, I’m not a fan of bones in my curries and this included bone-in chicken. The Kashmiri lamb, however, was boneless so I ordered that – as did my friend Donovan. The Kashmiri lamb had a tomato based curry and omitted dairy. It was quite tasty, with the right amount of spiciness for me. It wasn’t quite as good as my yougurt-based rogan josh, however. The curries are served with plain rice.
Parker ordered the Thakali Thali Goat ($21) which came with small servings of goat curry, raayo ko saag (mustard greens), kalo dal (split black lentils), vegetable, rice, and achar (a condiment made with pickled veggies). She was very pleased with all the food and couldn’t finish it.
Aamani had the Aloo Bodi Tama ($15), I believe. She also quite enjoyed it.
We didn’t get drinks, but they have complimentary unsweetened chai which two in our party enjoyed.
We also got some butter and garlic nan. The butter nan didn’t seem to have any butter on it – not that I minded – and it was thinner than most nans I’ve had.
Service was very friendly and we enjoyed our time there. They also have a lunch buffet for $15, which includes momos on weekends. I’m sure we’ll try it.
A second visit to this popular San Leandro brewery
Last week, we met our friend William at Fieldwork Brewing in downtown San Leandro for a long awaited catch up. It’s amazing how time flies.
William suggested Fieldwork as he frequents its Berkeley location and we were game. Mike and I tried it a year or two ago, with our friend Elektra, and while we weren’t impressed by its expensive pizzas, we did appreciate the patio-like atmosphere.
Fieldwork is a small but expanding chain of tap rooms situated in the Bay Area and surrounding counties. They offer a wide variety of beer as well as pizza and other bites. The San Leandro location is at the Washington Plaza, in front of the downtown Safeway. It features a large enclosed patio, with both picnic-style tables and benches and lounge-type chairs around gas fire pits. It’s open air, though they have a retractable roof they can close down when it rains. They also have some indoor table and bar seating.
We were there before dinner time, so we just got some beers and appetizers. William had a tasting of 3 beers, and I went for a 1/2 glass of Hills & Valleys American pilsner ($5), which I enjoyed very much. It was a bright, easy to drink but balanced and flavorful pilsner, without the bitter tones often found in this style of beer.
We shared some Honey Calabrian Wings ($16), which were very spicy and quite messy. They probably weren’t sweet enough, but they weren’t bad. the portion was quite generous (or we weren’t that hungry).
We also got the Brussel sprouts ($13) and they were a hit at the table. They were nicely caramelized.
We had the pizzas once before and we also felt they were OK but overpriced – their small pizzas are $19 to $25. They are now offering all their pizzas in “Detroit style,” with a thicker crust, so I might enjoy them more. I’m usually not a fan of “Neapolitan style” thin crust pizza, their other choice.
What annoys me most about Fieldwork is their ordering system. You have to scan a code and order and pay online. You can also go into the restaurant and order at the bar, but of course that means waiting in line (if there is one). Waiters bring your food and drinks, but if you need anything you need to go inside the restaurant to get it.
Fieldwork Brewing 100 West Juana Avenue, San Leandro, CA (510) 564-4298
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