Dining Guide

By Andrew Hardenbrook

With a location in the Stanford mall and a slogan like "Slurp it up," Long Life Noodle Company and Jook Joint welcomes diners with high expectations.

The menu contains an interesting blend of Chinese and Japanese cuisine and, specializing in both noodle soups and jook. To the best of my understanding, jook is a soup/porridge, which consists mostly of rice and usually includes tofu or some kind of meat. Beyond just jook and soups, the restaurant also has various wraps and wok-tossed stir-fries.

My favorite thing about the restaurant was the names of the dishes. Saying "I'll take Buddha's Bliss and they're going to split the Double Happiness and Cultural Harmony," makes you feel like you are entering into a state of higher being instead of just ordering dinner. I had the Earthly Cultivations ($7.75), which came with chicken, quail eggs and a buckwheat noodle called soba, all in a dashi-bonito infused broth.

After reading this description I had no idea what to expect, but quail eggs sounded cool to me and I knew that "bonito" in Spanish means pretty (I have no idea what it means in Japanese), so I ordered it. Fortunately, the dish was both different and delicious. We also decided to try the Wok-Seared Szechuan Green Beans ($3.25) � green beans stir-fried in what tasted like a peanut dressing. Although I recommend the green beans, the main dish is so large that an appetizer is not really necessary.

Despite being incredibly full after the soup and appetizer, we all made room for dessert and ordered the Mochi Ice Cream ($2.45). Before coming to Santa Clara, I did not frequent Japanese restaurants and had never tried this. This ice cream comes inside a rice cake exterior called mochi. It has an advantage over normal scoops because the rice cake allows you to pick up the ice cream without it melting.

The Long Life Noodle Company and Jook Joint comes with a nice setting, good food and great ice cream. Being located in Stanford mall only adds to the restaurant's appeal and after blowing all your money on the latest J. Crew summer line, you can take it easy and stop off at a good, cheap restaurant. ***$

LOCATION

Long Life Noodle Co. and Jook Joint Stanford Location

393 Stanford Shopping Center

Palo Alto, 94304

(650) 324-1110