Saratoga News

Photograph by George Sakkestad

The Perko Cafe features daily lunch specials, such as the teriyaki chicken, beef stew, grilled scallops, steamed rice and salad enjoyed by co-owner Ken Perea.

Perko Cafe offers food that's adventuresome

By Suzanne Cristallo

For less than $6, your taste buds can visit China, Japan or Mexico at the newly opened Perko Cafe in Los Gatos. The tiny restaurant on N. Santa Cruz Avenue across from Safeway, in the former location of the Santorini Cafe, specializes in lunch and dinner orders to go at prices meant to encourage customers to be adventuresome.

While the cafe is designed for the speed and ease of carry-out orders, there is room enough inside and on the front patio for a dozen or more diners to stay awhile. As a late-morning diversion, they can watch chef Aston Cheng create his whim-of-the-day lunch box special.

Cheng, a native of Taiwan who worked his way to San Jose by way of restaurants in Shanghai, Japan and Seattle's Chinatown, creates his specials according to what he feels is right for the day. It could be beef stew or grilled scallops with fluffy white rice and a green salad. Whatever he fancies is displayed in a lacquered red and black box, placed in a window for customers to view.

Reserved about himself, the 31-year-old resists placing any emphasis on his own hard-earned expertise and instead says, "It is the food which is special."

The food includes the soups, pot stickers, salads and rice dishes of China, made "without grease," Cheng emphasizes, with main dishes such as steamed sea bass garnished with green onions and black beans or chicken with pineapple, potatoes and carrots simmered in a sweet-and-sour sauce.

Noodles and fried rice from Japan can accompany baby corn and asparagus or soft, cold tofu with soy sauce topped with dried fish flakes.

For a south-of-the-border touch, burritos and soft or rolled tacos served with beans or rice can be filled with beef or chicken.

Customers can mix or match entrées, which never cost more than $6, with side dishes that run from $1.95 for a green onion pancake to $2.25 for a mixed green salad. The lunch box special is served with chef Cheng's special green teas, which come in eight different flavors, from honey to passion fruit, for $4.75. Wine and beer are available, as well as soft drinks and desserts.

Joyce Kuo and Ken Perea of Scotts Valley, a husband-and-wife team, chose Los Gatos as the home of their first restaurant venture because they feel "it is a worldly place." The name Perko comes from a combination of their last names.

"We felt the concept we wanted to present--a Chinese presentation with small dishes and a variety of selections at low cost--would be more accepted here," Perea says. "We visualize customers trying several dishes and sharing them among their group."

Perea is a native of New Mexico with a Mexican heritage, and Kuo was born in Taiwan. The couple plan to draw more on their family backgrounds for recipe choices as they go along, while introducing more Southwest and Japanese dishes.

Perko Cafe, 453 N. Santa Cruz Ave., Los Gatos. Open daily, 11 a.m.-9 p.m. 354-3144. Orders may be faxed to 354-3194.

[ Back to Contents Page | Saratoga News Home Page | Archives ]