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I Restaurant (Chinese cuisine)  $$

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JaT Rating

20007 Stevens Creek Blvd, Cupertino, 95014  (Directions)


408.777.2988


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Cantonese and Sichuan restaurant with an interesting menu
7.5
Agent Rating


Reviewer: takeru
Total Reviews: 31
Reviewed: 2/23/2009
Rating: 7.5
My photo gallery		 Finally tried iRestaurant for lunch w/ jason, terry, and dominic, but until j&t stop gambling on stocks and playing video games long enough to catch up on their reviews, mine will have to do.

Initially wasn't quite sure what to make of this place. It's decked out w/ upscale decor, but the menu runs the gamut from americanized dishes you'd find at mandarin gourmet to down to earth peasant food you'd find at asia village.

We were given 3 entirely differently menus: lunch specials, 'regular' menu, and chef's recommendation photo album. We all had to share the latter two which made it a pain to figure out everything they had to offer.

Am glad jason took pics, it's helping jog my memory about what we ordered:

egg flower soup - decent, very similar to what you'd get at other places, although this version had pieces of carrot and broccoli which added some nice crunch and color.

lotus root in syrup - this dish was mostly about looks and texture. The flavor was very subtle and mainly sweet from the syrup. But the crunchiness of the root was appealing and a nice contrast to the rest of the dishes.

BBQ octopus - very similar to what you can get as a cold plate at dim sum houses. Sort of an acquired taste and texture. Thought this was just ok, detected a slight fishiness that put me off.

salt and pepper calamari - good, not great. The calamari was perfectly cooked and very tender, but batter coating outside could have been slightly crisper. Pleasant garlic/pepper flavor.

curry vegetables - at least decent but only had a small taste, not enough for a fair evaluation. Will defer to terry on this.

BBQ pork - this was surprisingly good. Much better flavor than what you'd get in a Lees sandwich or hanging in the deli at marina foods - possibly because it was sauteed or somehow 'cooked' a second time.

roast chicken in hot stone pot - this was our consensus winner. Crispy, garlic infused skin, tasty meat, caramelized onions semi-seared to the pot. Would order this again though maybe the duck option next time.

Throughout lunch we kept checking out the incredible looking seafood dishes that were being served to several tables of old school chinese folks around us. That's probably the ticket as far as what to order here.

Service was brisk and efficient, and while not cheap, prices are line w/ other 'upscale' chinese places. And the food was good and varied enough to warrant a return visit.
 
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Dilbertic ate...

Garlic Chicken

“I have to say maybe it was a bad day atthe place, no soup since the soup chef didn't show up and the garlic chicken was like shake and bake”

8/26/2009 11:20:30 AM