Mika'ele Keni'

My first visit to an Uji Time was to the SF Japantown location. I thought it was OK, but I've became a fan after visiting the San Mateo location, and was able to buy pints of Ice Cream there. I was sad they closed the San Mateo location. I'm glad I stumbled upon this one in Concord. I do wish we had a closer location in the South Bay.

#Sugar:
~ Black Sesame & Vanilla Cola Swirl - 3/5.
This one is tough! Individually both flavors are brilliant, however they don't work well in a Swirl. The Black Sesame dominates and overpowers the Vanilla Cola, as it's a much lighter flavor. The Vanilla Cola has a pleasant light mix of cola and Vanilla, not like Vanilla Coke; that's a Coke flavor I can't stand. I should have ordered the Vanilla Cola by itself

~ Uji Special - Matcha Red Bean - 3/5
Interesting little treat. Waffles on a Skewer with filling, except they most definitely forgot to put the Red Bean inside and my friends ate half of it before I had a chance to tell the staff about it.

I'm not so sure about these high ratings. I've had Uyghur Cuisine before in China and thoroughly enjoyed it. I can't say the same about this place. Service is something to be desired as well. We asked for an extra plate, but instead got for bowls...which we definitely didn't need. they didn't have enough glasses for water, so ended up handing out plastic cups.

#Uyghureats:
~ Eggplant With Mashed Garlic - 2/5
I don't know what happened here...This was no bueno! The eggplant dish was odd. Almost like having diced raw eggplant; chopped up raw eggplant Salad is the best way I can describe this.

~ Big Plate Chicken - 4/5
Talk about generous portions! This dish was massive, not as many noodles in there though. We ended up ordering another extra side of noodles. The chicken was good, but they served all sorts of extra pieces, like the neck...not used to eating such parts. It did have some good flavor.

~ Polo - 3.5/5
Maybe the kitchen had an off day? The beef dish was bland, lacked flavor or spices. Good size portions tho...

~ Braised Lamb Shank With Naan - 5/5
The Lamb Shank was excellent! Great flavor, cooked to perfection, just fell off the bone...not gamey at all!

~ Dumpling - Beef with Celery (10 Dumplings) - 3/5
Dumplings were just mediocre, nothing really to it. Had a of a tough exterior.

Perhaps we went on an off day...
I doubt I'd return

I came across J Winston while perusing for some Wineries I haven't visited. It's one of the newer wineries in the area...

The owner has a construction background... and it shows; looks like a lot of thought was put into the construction of the outside and inside patio areas. Nice and clean venue...has that brand spanking NEW look and feel to it...even thought I believe they've been open for around three years or so...

Michelle helped us out this Friyay. She gave us a breakdown of the tasting menu and some facts about the Winery. The owner insisted on sourcing grapes from as many local areas as possible.

Vino Vino:
~ Chardonnay, Central Coast - 2017 - 4/5
Easy to drink

~ Grenache Rose, Santa Clara - 2022 - 4/5
Good flavor. Very Unique flavor

~ Pinot Noir Reserve, San Benito - 2019 - 4/5
Good Pinot. Smooth Easy to drink

~ Zinfandel, Paicines - 2019 - 5/5
Our crowd favourite! Bold and rich yet easy to drink!

~ Meritage, Santa Clara - 2018 - 3.5/5
Good, but I had better Meritage before

The wines are lovely...
We literally didn't have a bad one!

The Zinfandel was the winner of the day...hands down everyone's favorite...
In fact, after going through the tasting menu, we ended up purchasing a bottle and enjoying it there as well as getting a bottle for later! In addition the Grenache Rose also made it's home with one of my friends...

I'll be back...