Weekend MOUNTAIN VIEW VOICE
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ou might have missed it while zooming down El Camino Real in Palo Alto, unless the bright turquoise exterior or makeshift plywood signs advertising $1 tacos and boba caught your eye. If they did, you might have already discovered one of Palo Alto’s least expensive and most unique eateries: Valencia Asian Market. Worlds collide at the diminutive 3487 El Camino Real space, sandwiched between a yoga studio and the Orthopedic Sports & Spine Center. What used to be a Mexican market (Valencia Market) now has the touch of New York native of Thai descent Zen Bunchien, his 14-year-old son Audi (a Gunn High School freshman, lover of Taiwanese milk tea, engineering and music) and many of Audi’s friends.
Bunchien took over the space about two months ago, wanting to show his son how to build a business from scratch and also to create a fun, supportive place for Gunn students to hang out. The brother of a former customer of Valencia’s Market, Orlando Perez, who is a native of Mexico, is now the chef, cooking up traditional chicken, carne asada and al pastor tacos and burritos as well as Chinese BBQ pork with pineapple (the recipe is Bunchien’s father’s). Soon, there will be more fusion tacos: chicken teriyaki, Mongolian beef, crispy duck. An orange-chicken-fried-rice burrito is also on the horizon. And because Bunchien and Audi are passionate about milk tea, customers can also build their own tea for the insanely low price of $1. (Comparatively, the same size milk tea goes for about
Above: Valencia Asian Market is a family affair, offering low prices on boba drinks and tacos in an effort to create a community gathering spot. Top: The chicken tacos are served on house-made tortillas with avocados. May 8, 2015 Q Mountain View Voice Q MountainViewOnline.com Q
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