What I Ate: January 25, 2009 (Stan's Donut Shop, Lee's Sandwiches, Madhuban Indian Cuisine)

We got up a little earlier than usual this morning and headed over to Stan's Donut Shop (2628 Homestead Rd, Santa Clara, CA‎ - (408) 296-5982‎) where, we have heard for years, they make the best doughnuts in Santa Clara. We had never been there before so we were really excited to try their doughnuts. I ordered a glazed donut for myself. It was still hot and the texture of the exterior was heavenly - just a little crispy with a nice glaze (but not overwhelmingly sweet). The interior was a disappointment to me. As far as yeast doughnuts go, this was not good - it was real doughy - to the point of gumminess. After swallowing it, it felt like a lump in my stomach. I could barely finish the whole doughnut. We're going to have to go back and try it again.

Oh, and we had to take it to go since they forbade photography there. I wasn't too happy about that.

After church, we were still feeling the doughnuts in our tummies, so we agreed we wanted something lighter for lunch. We drove past a bunch of places before I suggested Lee's Sandwiches (in Sunnyvale - 939 W. El Camino Real, Suite 108 (408) 774-0595) as I approached. We hadn't had Lee's in several months, so we stopped there and had a #11 Special Combination and #5 Grilled Pork sandwich.

We picked up Dave and Rachel for dinner and headed over to Dynasty Seafood in Cupertino only to find a huge line in front of us. After waiting about fifteen minutes, we realized there were still a lot of people ahead of us. So we left and drove to Shanghai Flavor Shop in Sunnyvale only to find it closed. Finally, I drove to Madhuban Indian Cuisine (544 Lawrence Expy, Sunnyvale, CA‎ - (408) 735-7448‎) where Dave and Rachel had eaten before and recommended.

I started with a Madhuban Lassi which is a mango lassi with honey and rose water. I'm not sure I tasted the extra honey or rose water, but it was a very good mango lassi - great yogurt and mango flavor with just the right amount of sweetness.

We shared Lamb Boti Kebab ("Chuncks [sic] of Lamb marinated in Yogurt and Indian Spices and grilled delicately in Indian tandoor"), Murgh Hyderabadi ("Chicken cooked on dum in rich smooth gravy with special spices"), Prawn Tikka Masala ("King prawns frilled and sauted [sic] in tomato and cream sauce, flavored with fenugreek"), and Gobi Bagicha ("Cauliflower and potatoes sauteed") with naan. The Murgh Hyderabadi was the best of the dishes - extremely tender and flavorful. The rest of the dishes were also quite flavorful but the lamb kebab was a bit too salty. We'll definitely try going back in the future.

Tina asked to split a Kajur Ki Kheer ("A rice flour dessert enriched with powdered nut and dates") and they brought us two bowls with generous portions. Dave and Rachel split a Gulab Jamun ("Dry milk based deep fried bowls [sic] dipped in sugar syrup").

The restaurant was nicely furnished with pretty displays of roses floating in water with rose petals: