The Best Bay Area Chicken Biryani

Biryani is an art, but really it's a rice dish made with meat, spices, and vegetables. This dish takes a lot of skill to make. It's like the Indian version of Spanish paella. (ish). Every South Asian kid will claim that their mom's biryani is the best Unfortunately, when you go off to college, there ain't no momma's biryani. This list is for those poor South Asian kids.

Side Note: I want to create an Indian restaurant with a biryani dish titled "This Ain't Your Momma's Biryani".

Biryani Ratings.

1= I could have eaten white rice and been fine. I didn't need the ghee. In other words, I wouldn't call this biryani.
3= Nothing special. I can recognize this food as biryani.
>3.5= I may go back.
5= My tastebuds dance when I eat this biryani. Also, I've spent all my money at this venue. The chicken was moist. The rice was flavorful. And it was an appropriate level of spiciness.

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Restaurant	Location	Biryani	Comments	Return for biryani?
India Express	Livermore, CA	1	It was mushy. Almost as if they poured chicken curry on rice.	No
Swagat	Concord, CA	1.5	I might as well have ordered some rice.	No
Amber	Mountain View, CA	2	Mushy rice with a flavor that is not typical of biryani.	No
Saroor	Walnut Creek, CA	2.5	Really spicy but didn't taste like anything. Their raita was sweet.	No
India Garden	Pleasanton, CA	2.5	Mushy rice with no taste.	No
My Favorite Indian Restaurant	San Ramon, CA	3	Spicey, had some flavor, but mushy.	No
Himalaya	Mountain View, CA	3.5	Pretty good take-out biryani spot.	Maybe
Naan N Curry	Concord, CA	3.5	Had some good flavor and spice. The chicken didn't taste fresh.	Maybe
Ajanta	Berkeley, CA	3.5	Unique take on Indian biryani. It was not spicy enough and did not satisfy my biryani craving. I tried really hard to like it.	No
Aasna	Milpitas, CA	4.5	Unique, complex ingredients. The rice is perfectly cooked. The dish is beautifully presented. The biryani could be spicier.	Yes, and I have many, many times - so much so it's preventing me from trying other Indian places.

Conclusion. There aren't places with good biryani in  East Bay. Note that this is called "The Search for the Best Chicken Biryani", not "The Best Chicken Biryani". This search remains incomplete.