Loving Hut Milpitas

What do you think when you hear vegan restaurant? If you're a meats afficionado like me who has spent some time around Berkeley, it's possible you'll think "kale hell topped with self righteousness and flaxseed." - because that's what came to my mind when it was suggested to me by my coworker BQ that we eat vegan for lunch. Vegan?! Me?! Please, learn to tell better jokes...

But to my surprise, Loving Hut in Milpitas turned out to be a gem. Loving Hut is actually a chain but each Loving Hut location has its own specialized (but apparently mostly Asian inspired) menu. The Milpitas location has both Asian and western foods, and the Chinese dishes were our focus. They have vegetable only dishes and also several vegan versions of traditionally meat-centered dishes using "soy protein."

Szechuan eggplant, a dish seen in normal Chinese restaurants too. Eggplant is nicely cooked, though it could be spicier.

Mongolian Delight - I guess a vegetarian version of Mongolian Beef, very tasty and the soy product used has great texture.

Szechuan Strips is their soy protein in a slightly spicy sauce. I thought it was too mild to be considered Szechuan flavor (spicy to tears or bust!) but it was quite flavorful.

"Clay Pot Sensation" is a faux-fish dish. The picture doesn't look too impressive but the seaweed wrapped soy actually tastes like a delicious, Asian style clay pot fish dish.

"Divine Light" is soy protein with peppers, sprinkled with brewer's yeast. Unlike the other dishes, this did not have a sauce - still tasty, but the soy protein is a bit dry.

This is quite likely one of my favorite lunch places - fast, delicious, guilt free (hey, I might have had heavy cream in my coffee and a donut this morning, but at least I'm being healthy for lunch, right?) and so delicious even the most dedicated carnivore would forget they're in a vegan restaurant...

... except for maybe when they see a cheesy front wall plastered with pictures as kind of a (possibly unintentionally funny) shrine to veggie celebs. One of my faves and I'll continue to update as I make my way down the menu.

Loving Hut (Milpitas)

Loving Hut Yelp

Milpitas, CA

Gochi

FT and I went to another Japanese Tapas place in Cupertino (what is it with Cupertino and Japanese tapas?) for a special occasion and massively pigged out.

My favorite of the night was also presented at the start of the night: hamachi carpaccio. Despite being called a carpaccio, the fish was slightly cooked, possibly due to a hot drizzle of oil. The ponzu and the jalapenos sauce were a great kick but still mild enough to let the yellowtail show its fresh flavor - absolutely delicious!

We asked our waiter for a pork recommendation and got a pork belly. This was really thin sliced chasiu with a heaping of spring onions. Very nice, though a typical kind of taste profile.

Yaki onigiri (roasted rice ball) with ume (plum) and tuna. Very crispy, though it's hard to eat the topping and bite through the crunch at the same time.

We ordered risotto stuffed squid mostly for the novelty factor. It was tasty though much heavier than I expected.

Garlic steak? This was tasty and tender, but, as FT shrugs, "nothing super special."

Chazuke is rice in dashi soup. I personally prefer to take my rice dry or in nice yaki onigiri form, but FT enjoyed it as a light ending to the meal.  

Lastly, a green tea creme brulee. Nice and crispy.

Overall, Gochi was delicious! For it's portions, it trends of the pricier side, but it's worth it for a treat. We saw others digging into huge portions of their clay pot rice, which we unfortunately didn't have the stomachs for anymore. The ambiance is nice, and the place was packed on a weekday, so reservations are a good idea. Highly recommended for a small splurge if you're in the south bay area! 

Gochi Japanese Fusion Tapas

Gochi Japanese Fusion Tapas Yelp

Cupertino, CA