♪♪ Sbrocco: Beautiful brunch bites almost too pretty to eat in San Carlos... Woman: It was easily the best waffle I've ever had.

Sbrocco: ...traditional Colombian empanadas in San Jose... Woman #2: The crust, it is so delicious.

Sbrocco: ...and delicate soup dumplings in Union City.

Man: Oh, my gosh, I fell in love with the dumplings.

So good.

Woman #3: You weren't joking.

It's spicy.

Sbrocco: "You've Gotta Try This!"

Sbrocco: Hi, I'm Leslie Sbrocco.

Welcome to "Check, Please!

Bay Area's" new spin off, "You've Gotta Try This."

We have three guests, and each one recommends the one dish they can't get enough of and the other two go check them out to see what they think.

Along the way, we take a deep dive into the stories behind those dishes, learning the special ingredients and techniques that make them so delicious.

Joining me virtually at the "Check, Please!"

table today for a special teen edition are Caitlynn, Amelie, and Richard Amelie: Thank you.

Sbrocco: Are you excited to be here?

Amelie: Yes.

Caitlynn: I'm excited.

Sbrocco: Alright.

Caitlynn's dish starts us off.

It's a rose and strawberry waffle with toppings fresh from the owner's family garden.

It's just one of the many colorful creations at a chic little cafe in San Carlos called Mint & Honey.

♪♪ Dorothy: Our cafe name is Mint & Honey.

We want to create this gathering space that not only kids, but the parents and everyone can like and feel like home.

So my sister and I started a floral design company in 2005, and it was doing great.

Unfortunately, in 2009, we found out she has a brain tumor and at the time we need to do the surgery right away.

So we have to put the business aside until she is better.

Then a few years later, things got better and we started to talk about we want to start something new.

And at the time, we have kids and we thought, why don't we have a party space, but also a cafe?

Because we like to make pretty things.

You know, when we do weddings, when we do the dance, you know, when we do the dessert tables.

And that is the experience we want to bring to our customers.

Canna: The first thing for me is how are the colors going to come out, like, in the drink.

Yeah, and even the food, too, how are you going to mix the color mixtures healthy but also the colors, is it going to turn out nice like, you know, when we do the flower arrangement.

Dorothy: Can it be a Instagram picture, right?

Canna: Yeah.

I love rose jam.

So I was just trying to think, okay, how can I put this on with the waffle?

Dorothy: So the rose strawberry waffle consists of Greek yogurt, strawberry, rose jam, lemon zest, and honey.

♪♪ Canna: And with the rose jam, it's pretty simple.

It's just like how you make a strawberry jam at home.

Dorothy: I think what makes it special is actually we make it from the real petals, and having be able to find the petals and the right color and the right taste, that's the key.

Canna: Just boil the water, you know, and pour in your petals.

Simmer for 20 minutes and start to put in your sugar and real lemon juice.

And that is the time you can see the color change.

And then putting in pectin.

Dorothy: When she's steaming... Canna: You can really smell the roses.

Like, the -- it's like fragrance in a whole kitchen.

Dorothy: Yeah.

And I think that's the best -- the best experience we have is like, you know, when you make it, it smells so good.

It's almost -- You have the perfume in your house, right?

Canna: But it's natural.

Dorothy: We really want to show to our customer that, you know, we care.

You know, we actually handcraft everything.

This is the little details we put in because we were making something special for you.

And I think that's the idea we have is somewhere you can just go enjoy the food and enjoy your time with each other.

Especially after the brain tumor and the surgery, I think this is a big thing to us.

And being able to support each other and spend time, you know, this is something very precious.

♪♪ Sbrocco: So, Caitlynn, this is such a beautiful spot and the food is so pretty.

Tell me how you found that dish that you loved so much.

Caitlynn: One time I was with my friend and we decided to get breakfast one morning and I wanted to go beyond what I'm usually used to trying.

So I was like, okay, wow, this looks so good.

I didn't know you could eat roses.

So when you take a bite of it, all the sweet flavors from the strawberries and the rose jam contrast with the bitterness of the Greek yogurt, and that's like one of the things I really like.

And the waffles themselves are super fluffy, which I think all comes together very well.

Sbrocco: So, Richard, did you like the dish as well?

Richard: Oh, my gosh, it was so good.

The waffle is nice and fluffy and crisp on the outside, and everything just balanced together very nicely.

The honey and the rose jam complemented the strawberry, and also the Greek yogurt gave it a little bit of nice bitterness.

But it's not too bitter.

It was sweet.

And it was absolutely amazing.

Sbrocco: Well, I have to go to Amelie next because she's been shaking her head and saying, "Yes.

Yes, yes."

Amelie: It was easily the best waffle I've ever had, and I can't wait to go back because it was just so good.

And I don't usually like Greek yogurt, but I really liked how it went with the rose jam and also the edible flowers on top.

Caitlynn: My friend was like, "Are you actually going to eat the flower?"

I'm like, "Yeah, they're edible and they're actually like, pretty good."

Amelie: Yeah, I was surprised to enjoy those.

Richard: This gives it nice texture.

Caitlynn: Another dish I really liked is the hummus, cucumber, avocado toast.

And actually, it's the place that got me to like avocados because I never used to like avocados before until I tried this toast [indistinct] and honey.

It's just so good.

In terms of drinks, I love to get this coconut mango drink and I usually add boba into it, and it's just so yummy because you can really taste all the, like, coconut in the mango flavors.

Sbrocco: Richard, what about you?

Richard: Yeah, so I got the avocado toast, and it was like one of the best avocado toasts I've actually ever had.

The crust of the bread was nice and crunchy, and the avocado was nice and fresh and cool.

And I also got the butterfly coconut mango drink, too.

And it was so good.

The closest thing I can compare it to is like having a day on the beach.

It's nice and refreshing.

And the coconut gives it a little bit calmness, and it even looks like a sunset on a beach too.

It's orange, white, and then blue.

Sbrocco: And, you know, this place is such a pretty spot, isn't it?

Amelie: It was so cute.

It was such a surprise when we pulled up because I was like, oh, my gosh, I love the way it looks, and the atmosphere was super fun and we actually ended up sitting outside in the back.

They have a really nice, like, back area with cute like colored chairs and tables, and it was really fun.

Sbrocco: Is this a dish that you would go back to try?

Do you crave this dish now that you've eaten it once?

Richard: Yes, definitely.

Amelie: Definitely.

Caitlynn: That's my favorite ever.

Sbrocco: So, Caitlynn, I understand also that you're a baker.

So does that help you decide whether you like a dish or not?

Because, "Oh, is this something I would make or something I wouldn't make"?

Caitlynn: Yeah, well, I'd say like, I have a really, really sweet tooth, so I tend to usually go for the sweeter items on the menu.

And I definitely really kind of find the flavors in the dish because I'm doing that when I'm adding different flavors in my desserts.

Sbrocco: And do you have a specialty?

Caitlynn: I'm probably like -- I make a lot of cake and cupcakes, so I'd say my chocolate cake is really good.

My family loves it.

Sbrocco: Amelie and Richard, would you like to try her chocolate cake?

Amelie: Absolutely.

Send it over.

Sbrocco: Alright.

If you would like to try the rose and strawberry waffle at Mint & Honey, it's located on El Camino Real in San Carlos, and Caitlynn's pro tip, get the coconut mango drink on the side.

Amelie's dish is a savory and hearty beef empanada.

It's just one of a huge variety of Colombian pastries made fresh daily at her San Jose's spot, Milohas.

♪♪ ♪♪ Mireya: We're going from Bogota, Colombia, South America.

And we have been here for 16 years now.

Lina: Empanadas are very popular in Colombia.

We have them street food, delicious finger food, and it's great at any time of the day.

You mostly will find the fried version in the street stands.

But we actually do the baked ones.

That's what my grandmother used to make.

And we think they're more versatile.

Like, you can have them in the morning with like a cup of coffee or hot chocolate for your breakfast.

You can even have it on the go, or you can actually have it with the side salad or a soup or something as a more substantial meal.

Milohas is a word that means a thousand layers -- mil, ohas -- and it resembles the consistency of our dough.

Mireya: Everything is by hand.

Every day, everything is fresh and natural.

These ladies in the back since 3:00 a.m. in the morning till we close at 7:00.

It's a lot of work.

All day long.

Lina: On average, we produce about 600 per day.

Mireya: More beef.

Lina: My dad was the person who inherited those recipes from my grandmother.

He's very meticulous.

He's an architect by training, so it's all like almost with a ruler, if you could.

But he weighs everything out and he makes sure that he's always sticking to the process because consistency is key.

Man: [ Speaking in Spanish ] Mireya: My husband, he really loves what he does, and every day I say, "Don't go so early.

We don't have to get up so early."

He says, "No, I had to be there.

They need me.

I have to be there."

Lina: He's also very protective of the family recipe.

I think a lot of people make the assumption that it's my mom cooking.

Mireya: Yeah, everybody congratulates me.

"Oh, your recipes!"

Well, no, no.

I'm not the one.

It's my husband.

♪♪ Lina: So for the beef empanada, it's a process that takes several hours because we have to make the filling.

You make the dough, and you have to roll it out, you have to put the butter on it.

After that, you fold it in a certain pattern.

And then that needs to chill in the fridge for about 10 minutes.

And we repeat this process four times for each batch of dough that we make.

So a lot of layers of butter that go into making the crust flaky and delicious.

Woman: [ Indistinct ] Mireya: Every day for seven years in a row, he eats a chicken empanada every day at the same time.

At 10:30 in the morning, he'll say, "Oh, my empanada."

Lina: I don't think there is a right or wrong way to eat empanada.

I cut it in half and then I pour the sauce inside.

I eat it with my hands.

A lot of people just dig in with their hands, you know, and some people just like to -- Mireya: Some people just bite.

Lina: [ Indistinct ] Just fork and knife, and that's perfectly acceptable as long as you're enjoying it.

♪♪ Sbrocco: Now, Amelie, this looks like a big, hearty, wonderful thing to eat.

How did you peg it as your favorite?

Why do you like it so much?

Amelie: My dad is Colombian, so that's why we had originally discovered it.

It was great to find Colombian food near us, and it is just so amazing.

Sbrocco: And Milohas means a thousand layers, so you get that with the pastry crust.

Tell us about the crust.

Amelie: And so when you bite down, you get the thousand layers like in the name and it's just a really flaky pastry.

And it's always baked to perfection.

It's always golden brown, and it's wonderfully crisp on the outside.

Even if it didn't have filling, I would still eat just the pastry because I love it so much.

Sbrocco: And Caitlynn, let me ask you, since you're a baker, what did you think of the dish?

Caitlynn: I love empanadas, so this was such a good dish.

Like, when I saw that we had to try this, I was like, oh, my gosh, yes, I love empanadas.

The crust, like Amelie said, it is so delicious.

I especially like love the little corners of it because like you get like a big chunk of crust, and it was so good.

And especially the flavors within the beef are so good and it's so tender and you can just really, really, really taste all the flavors that come through.

Sbrocco: And, Richard, I'm seeing a smile on your face.

Richard: Yeah.

So the crust of the empanada was amazing.

It was crunchy, and then inside the beef was nice and tender, and it was juicy, too.

Sbrocco: So there is a special sauce that you have to get.

Is that true, Amelie?

Amelie: Absolutely.

It's called an aji sauce, and it has lots of cilantro and onions and chili peppers, lots of chili peppers.

And it's amazing.

You have to get it.

Lina: Our special sauce is called aji.

And aji is also the name for a chili peppers in Colombia.

The one that we have here is on the milder side.

The secret is basically a lot of cilantro, a lot of onion, and the chili peppers.

But it is interesting because even though I have the recipe and I've seen it be made my entire life, I can never replicate it.

Mireya: People love this sauce.

They want more and more.

"Can you add more?

No, a little bit more."

Lina: Yeah, it's good.

Mireya: It's really good.

Sbrocco: So, Amelie, talk a little bit about what else they make there.

Sbrocco: When you walk in there, it's mostly empanadas, and there's a wide variety of the types of empanadas you can get.

There's chicken, there's potato.

I think there's like a pizza one, and they're all great.

And for dessert, what my family gets every time is that guava fingers.

You have the same like flaky pastry.

And then inside there's obviously guava, and it's so sweet and it's like this big, but it's amazing and it fills me up every time.

Sbrocco: Alright, if you would like to try to be beef empanada at Milohas, it's on Meridian Avenue in San Jose, and Amelie's pro tip -- be sure to top the beef empanada with plenty of aji sauce.

Ever since he tasted traditional handmade soup dumplings in Shanghai, Richard's been on the hunt for the best version he can find here at home.

He and his family think they've come incredibly close with the Xiao Long Bao at Union City's Din Ding Dumpling House.

♪♪ Scott: I grew up in a family where my parents would make delicious food, and dumplings is my favorite.

That's the main reason I want to open up the dumpling business myself.

For our family, we all have the passion to make dumplings, On our menu, there is the Xiao Long Bao The Xiao Long Bao got two flavors -- the original flavor and the crab flavor.

And then we got the veggie dumpling.

We have fish dumpling, we have the shrimp and pork dumpling, and then we have the pot sticker.

And all those dumplings looks different.

So for the XLB, or Xiao Long Bao, [indistinct] soup dumplings.

So that means that "little basket bun."

So that was first introduced in Shanghai back in 19th century.

So Din Ding style, we make our dumplings focus on the details and all the dumplings on our menu are handmade only.

From outside, it might look simple, but for the taste itself, the simpler the thing is, it's the most difficult thing to make, you know?

Queeny: We take about three to six months to learn how to roll the wrap, and six to one year to do how to make it to the dumpling.

My mom teaching me how to do this.

My mother is, you know, make a much better than me.

For the wrap, we make a finger outside, then the inside.

Yes, it has a ground pork meat and the gelatin, also the onion inside.

We leave one part [indistinct] and pinch it all together.

18 to 20 folds.

And then at the end, we seal the dumping.

I really love to do it, you know, a dim sum like that or... other dumplings.

I don't know why, but I just love it.

Maybe I'm, you know, I'm big eater.

[ Laughs ] Scott: We go through about 300 orders Xiao Long Bao for every single day.

Sometimes on the weekend, about 400 or 500.

At first, we saw people that never had any experience with Xiao Long Bao.

I saw them pour soup out of a dumpling.

I know.

They were quite surprised.

And then I will tell them, "You can drink the soup first and then eat a meat."

They're really like, "Wow.

How do you make it?"

I mean, that's my secret.

[ Chuckles ] ♪♪ Sbrocco: Okay, Richard, how do you narrow in and find the perfect Xiao Long Bao?

Richard: So we used to frequent a Mexican restaurant in the same plaza, and we saw that they were opening, so we decided to give it a try.

And when we ordered the Xiao Long Bao, their signature dish, oh, my gosh, I fell in love with the dumplings.

It was so good.

The wrapper was nice and chewy.

The pork and the green onion is nice and flavorful, and the soup broth inside is nice and rich.

Sbrocco: So, Richard, tell me about this dish because it is very unique flavors and you have to eat it a certain way, don't you?

Richard: Yes.

So, what I like to do is I hold it by the little container they give you, and I sit the soup through a straw.

You can also eat it in a oyster movement where you put it up to your mouth and you bite a little bit of the wrapper off and then you just slurp it.

And also, you've got to add the vinegar and ginger sauce.

It gives a little bit of kick, too.

Sbrocco: What did you think about them, Amelie?

Amelie: It was definitely a surprise.

I was not expecting the soup, and so I bit into it and I was like, "What is happening?"

It was so good.

And the soup definitely kept the inside nice and moist and soft.

And the actual dumpling itself, it was really soft and a little chewy, which I actually like.

So when you bit into it, it had a little bit of a pull.

It was really, really good.

It was a total surprise too.

Caitlynn: I was also surprised kind of when I bit into it, but I usually go for the normal pot sticker.

So it was good to venture out and try like a soup dumpling like this because I've never had anything like it before.

Sbrocco: And how authentic are these?

You've been to Shanghai.

Richard: Yeah, they're like virtually indistinguishable from the ones I've had in Shanghai.

They really keep to the original recipe, and they're very authentic.

Sbrocco: And, Amelie, did you get a chance to see how these are made?

Amelie: I did.

They have a cool little window, and so my family kind of went over and peered in just to look at that.

It was really cool.

Everyone in there was really focused and there was definitely a specific technique.

And one of them even held up to show us, you know, how they do it.

It was really cool.

Sbrocco: And is there anything else that you get at Din Ding Dumpling?

Richard: I get the nice Thai iced tea, which is like a smoky, sweet favorite compared to a [indistinct], which is gunmetal tea.

It's supposed to take a smoky.

And it's very different from the Thai iced tea you would usually get at like a boba shop.

But it's amazing.

It's refreshing, too.

Caitlynn When I went, I didn't get anything for dessert, but I got chow mein on the side and I got their chicken fried rice and they were both really delicious.

Like, I love chow mein and I love fried rice, so it was really good to kind of get an extra thing on the side just to try for fun.

And it was really delicious.

I brought it home to my family, and they all loved it.

Amelie: I also got the fried rice, and we got shrimp dumplings as well.

Those were really good.

I loved those.

I think we ate all of them.

Richard: If you want to be super adventurous, there's this beef tongue which is chilled, and you eat with hot chili oil.

It sounds gross, but you've got to try that too, because it's really good.

Sbrocco: It sounds gross, but you got to try it.

Richard: Yeah.

Sbrocco: [ Laughs ] Alright.

If you like to try the Xiao Long Bao at Din Ding Dumpling House, it's located on the Decoto Road in Union City.

Richard's pro tip, add the ginger and vinegar dipping sauce to your dumplings for an extra kick.

Now we've got even more ideas for Bay Area foods you've just got to try.

Producer Cecilia Phillips is on the hunt for off the grid dining experiences and having a little fun along the way.

♪♪ Phillips: So tell me a little bit about why this area has such a big concentration of Indian food and this sort of cuisine.

Patel: So Sunnyvale, there are more than 50,000 Indians.

So when we started here, we are the only food truck.

And we have really good times with the owner ourselves of our food trucks and the bonding with each other, so we support each other.

Phillips: And you basically created a little community here.

Patel: Exactly, yes.

You know, there's a saying goes in India that do your best and God will do the rest.

Outside of India, people have a huge misconception that when they think about street food, they just see the chaat.

Chaat is just one segment.

Chaat is from the northern part of India, but every part of India has distinguished street foods.

So my particular food originated in Mumbai.

It's the pav bhaji.

Pav means literally bread, and then the bhaji means curry.

the big massive iron pan is called tawa -- T-A-W-A.

So, the slow cooking and the way the iron infuses the flavor, you cannot replicate at home.

And you can see the butter melted on the top.

And this dish uses lots of butter.

Let's have fun.

And the best way to enjoy this is with the hands.

Phillips: This is gonna be messy.

But you know when it's messy, that means it's really good.

Kaur: This is that the dahi batata sev puri.

These are puri shells that you put different sauces in.

There is red chutney, green chutney and yogurt.

The yogurt is basically sweet.

Phillips: Oh, this is weighty.

This has some weight to it.

Alright.

Cheers.

Kaur: That's the reason I picked the small one.

Phillips: Crunchy on the outside.

And then it's just like a burst in your mouth.

Gulavane: [indistinct] That's [indistinct] beans over there.

There's different kinds of chickpea crisps.

And again, the [indistinct] bread.

And there's onion and chilis and lime oil.

And when you take a first bite, you get a flick.

Like [coughs] like coughing.

So that [indistinct].

You should have a cough first.

At least first.

Phillips: So, if I don't cough, it's not missal pav.

Oh, my gosh.

Whoa!

Wow, that is hot.

You weren't joking.

It's spicy.

Really good.

Gulavane: So we eat like at least five times more spicier than this.

Phillips: Five times more spicy?

Gulavane: I'm being modest.

Phillips: I'm good.

Gulavane: 10 times more.

Phillips: Oh, my God.

Woman: This is your bun, which is likely roasted.

And then they have topped it with the raw onions, pomegranate seeds, and it's food for the soul.

It hits you at the right spot, especially when you're tired on a Friday evening.

It's just perfect.

Man: My go to fish is vada pav.

It's comfort food to me.

So whenever I'm feeling down or whatever, I just come here and give this place a visit.

Phillips: Are you going to eat some food?

Girl: Yeah, I'm getting chicken momos.

Phillips: Chicken momos.

I was wanting to try that one.

What's a momo?

Girl $2: So it's basically like this dough which is wrapped around something inside it and they pinch it together on the top.

And basically, you eat it.

It tastes really, really good.

Phillips: So let's just say you only had one spice that you could use for the rest of your life.

What spice would you pick?

Man: Oh.

[ Chuckles ] So,Indians, we use a lot of spices.

Phillips: That's why the question's hard.

[ Laughter ] Man: Not really a spice, but I would choose garlic.

I love garlic.

Man #2: It would be turmeric.

Man #3: It has medicinal properties, so that's why I like turmeric.

Woman: Turmeric and red chili powder.

Phillips: Turmeric and red chili powder.

Okay.

What are you cooking with those?

Woman: I can cook anything with those.

Girl: I would take chili pepper.

Girl #2: I really like cardamom.

It tastes good.

Phillips: Delicious.

I love the flavor.

And it's spicy, but it's not too spicy.

Patel: If you want spicy, we can get you spicy here.

Phillips: I think I'm good.

Girl: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Sbrocco: Well, that's our show, and I have to thank the wonderful guests on this week's show.

You guys were awesome.

I'm Leslie Sbrocco, and I'll see you next time on "Check, Please!

You've Gotta Try this."

Alright.

Come on in, guys.

Whoo!

[ Laughter ] Which of these dishes would you try?

Follow us on Instagram or like us on Facebook and let us know what you think.

♪♪ Phillips: What is the name of this?

Boy: [ Indistinct ] It takes four hours to make it.

It's fully organic.

It's frozen in a cone shape.

Then we take it out and put extra [indistinct], which is what the [indistinct] is made of.

Man: In [indistinct], when two friends meet, and they say, "Let's go have [indistinct]."

It means chai.

In Mumbai, we say [indistinct].

[ Both speak indistinctly ] Boy: You've got to try this.

Phillips: That was a great answer, and you are well on your way to becoming a movie star.

Girl: Yeah.

[ Laughter ]