Where to eat and support L.A. wildfire relief efforts
The devastating Los Angeles wildfires continue to spread, with the Eaton and Palisades fires declared by Cal Fire as the most destructive and second-most destructive wildfires, respectively, in the history of Southern California. At least 25 are dead, 92,000 are under mandatory evacuation orders and 89,000 are under evacuation warnings. Some Peninsula eateries are donating portions of their sales to help with fire relief efforts.
- On Saturday from noon to 4 p.m. at La Honda Winery in Redwood City, Kitchen Table Travel will donate 10% of all its sales to the Pasadena Humane Society.
- Through Jan. 20, Hobee’s will donate $5 from all mini coffeecake tins sold and $10 from full coffeecake tins sold to World Central Kitchen.
- Through Jan. 31, Flea Street in Menlo Park is donating half of all cocktail and mocktail sales to World Central Kitchen.
- Redwood City’s Feast and Floral will be donating 10% of all proceeds for the month of January to L.A. fire relief.
- A crab feed benefiting first responders who’ve been affected by the fires in L.A. will be held on Jan. 25 at 1 p.m. in Half Moon Bay.
In lighter news, assistant lifestyle editor Karla Kane talked with three local spice purveyors offering Parsi, Lebanese and Indian seasonings, as well as tea blends like Parsi choi with lemongrass, mint and rose petals. Meanwhile, I spoke with Ettan owners Srijith Gopinathan and Ayesha Thapar about their newest restaurant (opening tonight!) and with China Live owner George Chen on his latest project.
Stay tasty,
Adrienne
Spice it up! Check out these local companies offering specialty spices, seasonings and teas
They say variety is the spice of life, so this week we’re mixing it up and exploring three local companies offering spices and tea blends in various configurations.
A much-anticipated Menlo Park opening, a new food emporium is coming to Valley Fair and a bevy of closures
- The owners of Ettan are opening their debut concept Eylan in Menlo Park tonight. The Cal-Indian restaurant will focus on live-fire cooking.
- An “Asian Eataly” is coming to Santa Clara’s Westfield Valley Fair. Asia Live is a two-story food emporium with a marketplace, cafe, full-service restaurant, bar and more.
- After 20 years in Menlo Park, Shiok! Singapore Kitchen will be forced to vacate its current location by the end of the month.
- The Palo Alto City Council has unanimously voted to continue to allow restaurants to extend their parklets beyond their frontage without their neighbor’s permission.
- It is now legal for licensed cannabis dispensaries in California to offer food and beverages, but it’s up to local jurisdictions to decide if and how they want to implement cannabis cafes.
- Amara, a Mediterranean restaurant from the owners of Rasa and Saffron, is hosting its grand opening in Belmont on Tuesday.
- Want free candy? See’s Candies is hosting the grand opening of its Daly City shop on Saturday. The first 50 customers will receive a special gift, and customers shopping between 9:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. can enter a raffle to win a year’s supply of lollipops.
- Harajuku Lumpia Fest, touted as “the Bay’s cutest foodie marketplace,” is on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Cow Palace. Expect food, merchandise, photo ops with characters, karaoke and lots of lumpia.
- After 38 years in Los Altos, Armadillo Willy’s will have its last day of service on Jan. 31. The local barbecue chain will continue to operate its other locations, including those in San Mateo, Sunnyvale and Santa Clara.
- Menlo Park cocktail bar Loretta has postponed its opening to Feb. 3.
- After over two decades in downtown San Mateo, Draeger’s Market will close at the end of February, according to the San Mateo Daily Journal. The grocery store will be replaced with a mixed-use development.
- Kitchen Therapy, a Japanese cafe in San Bruno, is permanently closing after six months in business. Its final day of operation will be Jan. 29.
- Shekoh Confections is closing its Palo Alto chocolate shop the third week of January and relocating to San Francisco.
- Tong Sui, a boba and dessert chain, opened a new location in Cupertino Jan. 4.
- Korean food complex Jalgachi has pushed back its grand opening at Serramonte Center in Daly City to March, according to KRON4.
- Mikiya Wagyu Shabu House, an all-you-can-eat wagyu shabu restaurant, opened its second Bay Area location on Tuesday at San Mateo’s Hillsdale Mall.
Mars ramen at Ramen Wakusei
A galaxy-themed ramen restaurant recently opened in Sunnyvale, and it’s “inspired by the wonders of the universe,” according to its website. Ramen Wakusei serves five types of ramen, each named after a planet, and is offering complimentary chicken karaage during its soft opening.
The theming is subtle; if there wasn’t a large glowing moon on the wall of the restaurant and the names of the ramen were altered, Ramen Wakusei would be similar to most other ramen spots. I think it would have been cute if the bowls themselves resembled the planets they were named after, but I did appreciate that the Mars ramen came with chili garlic broth, giving it a red tint, and the Earth ramen had green and brown hues with green noodles and plant-based steak.
The chicken karaage was simple: crispy on the outside, juicy on the inside and topped with a drizzle of Kewpie mayo. There was nothing revolutionary or exceptional about it, but it was a nice freebee.
For my ramen, I opted for the Mars, which came with chili garlic broth, four slices of pork belly chashu, half of a seasoned soft-boiled egg, wood ear mushrooms, green onions, sweet corn and pickled radish. I had the option to upgrade to the premium version ($21.98), which came with an extra three slices of pork belly chashu and a whole soft-boiled egg, but I opted to stay with the regular ($18.98).
I quite enjoyed the chili garlic broth, which was at a medium spice level for my taste and packed a punch of garlic flavor. But the pork belly chashu wasn’t very flavorful and was sliced paper thin (about the thickness of what you’d get at hot pot, but at hot pot, you’d get a lot more meat for the price). I loved that the ramen had pickled radish in it, which added a bright acidity and a pop of tang and sweetness. The soft-boiled egg was perfectly cooked and wasn’t cold, which is a pet peeve of mine that I often encounter at ramen spots.
While the speed of service at Ramen Wakusei is very expedient and the theme is creative, the prices are too steep for the value, with non-vegetarian ramen priced at $17.98-$30.98.
Ramen Wakusei, 585 E. El Camino Real, Sunnyvale; 650-338-1988, Instagram: @ramenwakusei. Open daily from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
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