PACIFIC PEARL
Pleasanton shopping center an 11-acre mecca for Asian food
Pleasanton’s Pacific Pearl is a suburban shopping center, a foodie mecca and — depending on who you are and where you’re from — either a convenient one-stop shop for groceries and familiar restaurant fare, or an exotic cultural extravaganza with enough variety to keep you coming back to learn, explore and devour.
The 11-acre Pacific Pearl is making a serious push as a destination for Asian cuisine, from novelty desserts to delicious ramen, seafood, Korean barbecue, Vietnamese fare and plenty more. There are about a dozen eateries so far, and more set to open in the coming weeks.
Pulling into the large parking lot at one end of the U-shaped lineup of buildings, we plotted a simple exploration strategy — walk counterclockwise and eat whatever caught our attention. We had 112,000 square feet of possibilities. And geographically, dessert was up first.
Snowflake Dessert House’s artistic bowls are not quite ice cream and, with a creamier mouthfeel, not quite shaved ice either. They’re essentially ice cream-style crepes with origins in Taiwan, colorful, sweet and very Instagram-worthy. This family-friendly spot has nondairy options, too, so we went with the strawberry ice milk crepes, garnished with fresh strawberries and blueberries.
Snowflake also has a variety of savory dishes worth trying. The curry and rice plate was well made and balanced, with subtle peppery notes, a creamy, comforting mild curry sauce to pull it all together and your choice of meat.
Next up: 99 Ranch Market, the Asiancentric grocery store that anchors the Pacific Pearl. This spacious market, for the uninitiated, doubles as a foodie education experience, with exotic fruits you may not have seen before, more kinds of bok choy than you knew existed, jars upon jars of fermented foods and plenty of surprises. We bought bunches of longan, which are shaped like grapes and require peeling. Inside, the fruit tastes much like lychee, with a small pit that is a beautiful burgundy hue.
As we walked out, I noticed the display of gourmet decorated cakes, but we were leaving room for another dessert stop in the far corner of the center. (Although on the way there, we couldn’t resist a bowl of steaming hot ramen on a chilly autumn afternoon.)
What’s most interesting about the 85 Degrees C bak-
ery is how it functions for the customer. As soon as you walk in, grab a cafeteria-like tray and start hunting for your treats. Try the coconut twist, the lemon mint cake and cranberry cream cheese buns. Most of the desserts are $2 to $3. If you’re in a splurge frame of mind, the $14 Napoleon layer cake is an excellent offering of textures, flavors and sugar overload. For a savory option, get the barbecue sausage bun.
One of the most anticipated restaurants in the center, the very large King Wah Seafood Restaurant, promises to be a big hit, with decor that promises an upscale experience. And if you’re looking for a casual little foodie adventure, try the quirky and entertaining Kura Revolving Sushi Bar. Anyone who has visited Japan has likely seen these fast-food-style sushi bars where the food is displayed on conveyor belts that transport the offerings around the room. See something you like, grab it.
Jinya Ramen Bar, the Tokyo-based ramen shop that opened its first Bay Area outpost last year in San Jose, has opened its second here, offering pork, chicken or veggie broth simmered for 10 hours to achieve its depth of flavors. If you’re under the weather, think of it as a supercharged chicken noodle soup.
We don’t give medical advice, but you just have to feel good after slurping down a big bowl of ramen and broth with some chile oil. Grab the chopsticks and spoon and have at it.
With full bellies, we return to our parking spot, but we’re already plotting our return trip. Maybe we’ll hit Fiery Shanghai and its hearty — and hot — spicy crawfish-loaded platter. But do we hit that before or after noshing fried chicken and bite-sized pieces of fish at Poke Moana?
Either way, we’ll return soon to explore, learn and devour.