We were shopping at Valley Faire and thought that we would eat at Santana Row. We were disappointed in the Left Bank there (the one in Pleasant Hill is better) and Blowfish and Straits opened up since we were last there.

We opened the door to Blowfish and the pounding mind numbing noise made us walk right out, so we tried Straits.

I believe that this is the second location with the original in SF. The place is relatively small and we were seated in the back - a good thing because a DJ appeared near the entrance/bar and started to play what appeared to be mind numbing jungle music.

We missed Singaporean food (I have made 7 trips and my wife 2 there) so we were happy to see some familiar items on the menu.

We had Chile Crab (excellent sauce, but be prepared to shell a whole crab with goopy sauce all over it). Way too much work, but the crab was fresh and the sauce made it all worth while. The satay (chicken) was also excellent and again the sauce was great. I ordered a ginger salad with the ahi tuna. The salad was well made with nice greens, bits of red ginger and thinly sliced taro root fries that were nice and crunchy. The tuna was dipped in hot liquid (to cook a thin layer outside) and slided to show the raw inside. These three dishes were really great and made the whole meal. Unfortunately, I also ordered a dish recommended by the waitress which was marinated beef wrapped in grape leaves, which were deep fried, served with lettuce (for wrapping) and think slices of carrots and daikon. The veggies were refreshing, but the deep fried, marinated beef in grape leaves were pretty bad. My daughter also ordered a dish which was basically chow fun (wide noodles) with Japanese style fish cakes (kamaboko) and shrimp. This dish had good flavor, but eating fish cakes is like eating "meat" in a vegetarian restaurant. We shared a nice dessert which was like a brownie with ginger flavored ice cream.

We asked for a doggie bag so that we could take the leftover sauces home - they were that good.

Overall, a fun experience. Fortunately, we sat in the back away from the DJ. And fortunately, we ordered two Singaporean dishes that we loved in the past and we were not disappointed.

$115 out the door for 3 with no wine (a good riesling would have gone nicely with the spicey hot food). I would definite go back for the chile crab, satay and the ginger salad. But I would take a nice bottle of riesling with me.

Sorry to hear the Left Bank Santana Row disappointed. I tried the Straits Santana Row right after it opened and thought it was only ok. Straits is usually very popular so I suspect Straits Santana Row is performing much better now.

We went to the Left Bank Santana Row right after it opened. That could have something to do with it since we enjoy the one in Pleasant Hill. We will give it another shot.

I can certainly understand a wide range of opinions on Straits Cafe. Of the 6 dishes, we loved 3, liked 1, thought 1 was okay and really hated 1. Another factor is that my days in Singapore was like being in paradise and I really missed the food. Two of the dishes we loved took me back to those times.

We did Strait's about a month after they were open. The crab was great but, like you said, very messy. All in all we thought it was just ok. We haven't been back. Nobody goes there anymore because it is too crowded.

I remember the place as being fairly big.

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Nobody goes there anymore because it is too crowded.

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i've had a bit of wine tonight & i'm having a difficult time getting my brain around this statement .

That is a Yogi Berraism.

Ithat's exactly why I don't go there There's a Straits in Palo Alto also.

We hit some bars at Santana Row when I was back there in August, forgot which restaurants but one was probably Blowfish. A lot of young people drinking (many looked underage) or maybe I'm just getting old. After a few entertaining conversations at the bar with a few passer-bys, my buddy and I were glad to have grown up ...some. He did say he would go back to try some food next time.

You were in San Jose?

Yeah back in August. I had posted about my trip and sought recommendations and I think you and GATC had responded but then we had the big VC server crash episode and I wasn't able to get back onot the board until after I returned.

I'll let you know when I go back out.

Damn!

I do remember that.

I forgot to add a prologue. A couple of nights after, we warmed up the leftovers and the crab sauce with the rice was heavenly. But, I had also brought home a couple of the grape leaf wrapped meat and was shocked how good it was warm. I guess we had spent so much time eating the crab that the meat got cold and it wasn't very good at all. When warm, it was very nice.

DavidN, that is a good one. Actually his sayings are quite brilliant. They sound ridiculous on the surface, but there are deep underlying truisms. His sayings like, "It (a baseball game) ain't over until it's over" shows the difference between baseball and other sports which are based on time limits.

When we went, they said that it would be a 45 minute wait so he hung out at Borders and the time flew. After we finished, there was even a longer wait. Your comment is quite insightful.