a destination worth knowing! D April /May 2017 85 diced celery and carrot. It’s like the ultimate tuna salad. These unorthodox combinations continue into the remaining sections of Kumino’s menu. Take the category simply called “others,” which includes fork-tender Chinese barbecued ribs in honey glaze that marinate for two days, an excellent version of chicken karaage, and a couple of outstanding, generously portioned salads. Roasted beet salad with oranges will never appear on an Asian menu but it pops up here for a miniscule price, while Liu’s signature dish is warm eggplant salad in which the soft fried vegetable is enrobed with bell pepper puree and miso butter. This dish first appeared on Manresa’s tasting menu and it flies out the door at Kumino. Rice and noodle bowls are frequently amazing, led by a pristinely fresh poached salmon rice bowl with colorful pickled cucumbers, more of that terrific miso butter and a poached egg. In a totally different direction is roasted duck leg rice bowl in which the super-tender fowl wears a yogurt tonkotsu sauce (tonkotsu is a longcooked Japanese pork broth) with raisins and jam while a nicely executed Greek salad sits adjacent. This creation involves the cuisines of at least four countries. The noodle bowls are rapidly approaching signature status, with “seafood noodles” doubling for a top-notch Provençal fish soup by way of China. The vegetable soup noodle bowl is mushroom based and contains truffle oil. Liu’s spicy beef dandan noodles pile complexly spiced beef ragu with sweet corn and cabbage slaw on the toothy noodles and tender beef slices while his garlic noodles combine garlicky linguine with broccoli and just-spicedenough char siu pork. The restaurant is named for a translation of cumin, Liu’s favorite spice and a flavoring that rarely appears in Asian food. Given his all-over-the-world cooking style, the name seems apt. KUMINO, 580 N. Rengstorff Ave., Mountain View; (650) 964-3300 Facebook: kuminorestaurant HOURS: Tuesday–Sunday, 11:30–2:30, 5:30– 9:30. Closed Monday. No reservations. PRICES: Buns: $3.50–4.25; salads/starters: $7–7.50; rice bowls: $11.50–14.50; noodle bowls: $11–14; sides/snacks: $2–5.50. n taste estate wines where the grapes are grown, enjoy live music and bring a picnic weekends 11–5, weekdays 12–5 music at the vineyards on sundays 1–4 22645 garrod road, saratoga 408-867-7116 cgv.com
South Bay Accent - Apr/May 2017
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