Curious Notions

1. What is your favorite flavor of ice cream?

Pistachio gelato. Or coconut.

2. What is your earliest memory?

Living in a 2 bedroom apartment with my half siblings, younger brother, and parents. My brother and I slept on a queen bed and my parents slept on the floor. We moved to an actual house also when I was pretty young, but I think this is my earliest memory.

3. What is your earliest memory of a dessert?

As a kid, every time we went to an Asian market, my parents would let my brother and I pick one dessert to bring home. I always picked out this yellow and green dessert made out of mung bean and tapioca. I used to LOVE as a kid. It’s kind of gummy and really sticky. I haven’t had it since I was a kid. Revisiting it in 2009, I don’t really like it. It’s almost too plain for me. I think I must have liked just peeling it in strips and playing with it. Below is a picture of Dave scrutinizing it.

4. Do you have any recurring dreams?

Nope. I used to. I used to dream about my childhood best friend and him coming back to my life every 6 months or so but it’s about almost 2 years I’m guessing since I’ve had that dream.

5. Have you ever dreamed about dessert?

Yes. I forget who was feeding me, but someone in my life was spoon feeding me melted chocolate over and over again. And over and over again. Dream lasted about 10 minutes of this sequence. Best dream ever!

6. What is one thing (aside from a cell phone or computer) that you cannot go the entire day without?

Chapstick.

7. What is one dessert you could go your entire life without ever having again?

Anything lemony.

8. If you could go on vacation tomorrow, where would you go? (Assume someone else is footing the bill, but within reason…so “the moon” won’t work)

Paris!

9. If you could have any dessert tomorrow, what would you have (assume someone else is buying it for you. Within reason though, no “gold sprinkled ice cream cones.”)

Any kind of egg custards. Creme brulees. Flan. Egg custards from dim sum.

10. What was your first impression of your significant other? If you’re single, what was your first impression of your best friend?

The dude: First impression the very very first time: super quiet. He thought I talked too much, which I do.

My best friend: “This girl has a booger….” (This was back in first grade though, she’s better about the boogers now. (As am I.))

Lots of happy moments this weekend. Listed in chronological order: I saw Brit, Deesh, and Bing whom I haven’t seen in a while. We sat through a pretty atrocious movie (Obsessed). A group of nine of us tackled the biggest pizza we’ve ever laid eyes on. Jess, Brandi, and I had an in home spa night. Never held my face over a boiling pot of green tea before. I had brunch with the lovely Selina and our conversation was very thereauptic. Took a leisurely walk around our neighborhood wearing a skirt. It was warm enough to wear a skirt and flip flops! The weather climbed to 76 degrees. Of course we’re due for below freezing weather again. They say if you don’t like Texas weather, wait 5 minutes. Had lunch with and hugged someone I hadn’t seen in a while and missed. Tell me about YOUR weekend. What brought you joy?

Last week, I went to lunch with Tracey where she encouraged me to start an exclusive food blog. Right now all my food blogs are housed alongside my other miscellaneous entries in this blog and categorized under “savory.” The current count in my savory category is 200. I think it’s about time to create a food blog. So that’s what I did! There will no longer be new food blog entries posted on this blog and will instead be posted here: http://girleatsworld.curious-notions.net. I’m also copying over all 200 entries over from here to Girl Eats World. I’m working backwards and I’ve thus far transferred over February 2010 to September 2009. Oi!

I’ll still keeping this blog as a personal blog and I hope to have you keep me company at both Curious Notions and Girl Eats World.

Thanks :).

A progressive meal is where you go to more than one place for one meal. Some people like to do it by course: an appetizer at one eatery, the main course at another, dessert at a last place. My friends and I do it by what the restaurant is known for. This entry is the third (out of four) progressive stop of a lunch we had in Houston. If you missed the other entries here is a chronological list:

1. First stop: Niko Nikos
2. Second stop: Asia Market
3. Third stop: Straits

Photos used in this blog entry were taken by Thomas.

Straits

800 W Sam Houston Pkwy N
Ste 940
Houston, TX 77024

(713) 365-9922
www.straitsrestaurants.com/

If you click on their website, you’ll see that Straits also has a location in San Francisco, in Atlanta, and in San Jose. I’ve been to Straits before for drinks but have never thought to try their restaurant. Willis, a Houston foodie, recommended that we tried Straits because everything he’s had there he’s enjoyed. Specializing in Asian fusion, the restaurant certainly has a trendy and modern flair in both their cuisine and their atmosphere.

The Food

Our group of four ordered the Roti Prata, a pulled duck sandwich, and Indian street noodles.

Roti is a crisp griddled Indian Flatbread. It came with the a curry dipping sauce. My three eating buddies LOVED it. I thought it was good. It’s like eating puff pastry with a delicious dip and really, that’s hard to go wrong with. I like my carbs.

Pictured above is the slow roasted pulled duck sandwich that comes with a dipping sauce. Seriously, out of all the dishes we’ve tried that day (I’m also including a dinner that is not included in this lunch), if I could only have one thing over again it will be this pulled duck sandwich. It was heavenly. The Asian Slaw and Shiitake Au Jus with the pulled tender hearty duck, dipped into that sauce was such a powerful fusion. You could taste everything! All the flavors and textures contrasted in such a harmonious way that it’s STUNNING. Shit. I’m not kidding when I say of all the delicious food I had that day, if I could only have a repeat of one, it’ll be this sandwich. The fries, dusted with garlic and Parmesan, were a nice complement.

Our last tasting from Straits was the Indian Street Noodles (“Mee Goreng”), wok fried spicy egg noodles,
fried with cabbage, tofu, prawns, tomatoes. This was pretty decent. It sounds perfect after a night out drinking. I guess it was overshadowed by the fabulous pulled duck sandwich. The prawns and tomatoes were especially satisfying.

The Bathroom

One quality I realize I cherish in my friends is their ability to have fun (almost shamelessly). Thomas left us girls to use the bathroom and came back reporting that the bathroom was “awesome.” So we three girls left Thomas to check it out. To our utter childlike amusement, we were delighted that in addition to the hot pink lighting, the bathroom was also a UNISEX. Party in the bathroom! So we came back and fetched our boy, Thomas and proceeded to have a photo shoot.

All in all, I’m pretty impressed by Straits and cannot wait for my next opportunity to come back. (Again, for that pulled duck sandwich!)

Next up and last for this progressive series, dessert at Juicebox!

11410 Century Oaks Terrace Suite #104 Austin, TX 78758 (512) 339-9463 www.cruawinebar.com Yesterday, I met up Jamie and Lily, old coworkers and dear friends of mine at Cru Wine Bar for happy hour. They’ve both been but I have never. Happy hour ends at 6 which I think accounts for us having the whole place to ourselves with exception to one table next to us. I’m sure if they extend to 7pm they’ll have more patrons. Not that I’m complaining, it was really nice and dare I say romantic even, to have such a cozy and beautiful place to ourselves. The interior is just gorgeous. We all ordered wine. Jamie got the white wine and Lily and I both got a Shiraz. I loved my wine. Smooth and not too heavy. Through the years, I’m surprised to say I’ve actually aquired a taste for wine. The waitress is holding the bottle for me to snap a picture of. She got that fantastic bracelet as a birthday gift last Friday. Jamie and her white wine. The Food Now for the fun part. Our food tastings! Chicken and Shrimp Potstickers These potstickers were unlike any I’ve ever had. Pretty unique flavor and delicious. The crispy wontons were good to nibble on as well. The sauce tasted similar to oyster sauce. I’m not certain on whether it is or not though. Three Cheese Fondue with Truffled Oil I normally don’t eat veggies but if you give me this fondue recipe to dip in, you’ll find me happily munching on those snap peas and carrots. I was surprised on how taken I am with veggies if you just let me have cheese with them! Steamed Mussels These steamed mussels were SO good we ordered a second. It came with a little garlic bread that was good to dip in the sauce. Sauce tasted like a thin white wine sauce. I’d come back to Cru again and again just for these mussels. Tuna Tuna. Tasty. I admit, compared to the rest of our menu, I was least impressed by the tuna. A fresh tomato and mozzarella salad. I was quite pleased with this wine bar and know this is now on my personal list of great happy hours in Austin. If you can managed to come here early for their happy hour, I highly recommend it. Can’t wait to come back. Happy Girls. (Sans Lily, she’s camera shy.)

Last weekend, Thomas, Kim, and Jessica and I embarked on a progressive lunch in Houston. Except for the photo of him and Jessica, photos used in this blog entry were taken by Thomas.

A progressive meal is where you go to more than one place for one meal. Some people like to do it by course: an appetizer at one eatery, the main course at another, dessert at a last place. My friends and I do it by what the restaurant is known for. Follows is the list of entries in series in chronological order.

Progressive Series
1. First stop: Niko Nikos
2. Asia Market
3. Straits

Asia Market

1010 W Cavalcade St Ste D
Houston, TX 77009
(713) 863-7074
asiamarket-hou.com

Asia Market was actually Willis’s recommendation and was supposed to be our last stop of a progressive meal the previous time we did a progressive in Houston. Willis took Thomas and me there but they were closed for Thanksgiving. You can see Willis’s review of Asia Market here. He wanted us to try the pastry puffs that were stuffed with curried chicken. (Willis couldn’t join us again this round because he went to LA. Funny, Thomas came to Houston from LA and Willis went to LA from Houston.)

Our little eating group of four trekked to Asia Market after our satisfying tasting at Niko Nikos. We each had a curry pastry (priced at under 4 dollars for a box of 4) and we sat our bottoms down at the very modest Asia Market and nibbled. We even shared a Dragon Fruit drink. I’ve confirmed with my parents that I’ve never had Dragon Fruit, a tropical fruit you can find in Asia. Very seedy, that fruit.

Yes. Kim and I totally inadvertently wore the exact same outfit. Leather jacket, leather boots, jeans, and striped shirt. What?

The puffs were tasty. The pastry was nice and flaky and buttery and the curried chicken, flavorful.

They had a Thai restaurant in the market with entrees for very reasonable prices. I’m tempted to come back to this place and try out their kitchen menu. It’s quite tiresome trying to eat the world.

So this concludes our trip to Asia Market. Next up, Straits! Stay tuned for stop number three of our progressive lunch.

Recently, I reposted a Valentine cookie misadventure from 2007. In case you missed it and don’t want to click on the link, here’s a picture of how these cookies turned out in 2007. Broken hearted cookies of 2007 :( Aw. The irony. Well!! Brandi and I tackled these cookies again this year. They didn’t come out broken or smoking this time. Hurray. And are more tasty than I remembered! Irony might still be there, though. If you missed it, first tip of the hat to Valentine’s day this year here.

A progressive meal is where you go to more than one place for one meal. Some people like to do it by course: an appetizer at one eatery, the main course at another, dessert at a last place. My friends and I do it by what the restaurant is known for. Follows is the list of entries in series in chronological order.

1. Niko Nikos: First stop of Progressive Lunch
2. Asia Market: Second stop of Progressive Lunch
3. Straits: Third stop of Progressive Lunch

This past weekend, Thomas, Kim, and Jessica and I embarked on a progressive lunch in Houston. Our first stop was at Niko Nikos. Photos used in this blog entry were taken by Thomas.

Niko Nikos

2520 Montrose Blvd
Houston, TX 77006

(713) 528-1308
www.nikonikos.com

Thomas alerted me that Guy from Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives went to Niko Nikos, one of my favorite Greek restaurants. He had the lamb shanks and honey balls. I haven’t had either but I LOVE lamb. Thomas nominated that as one of our stops and it ended up being our first eatery. Interestingly, the first time I ever went to Niko Nikos was in 2008 with Thomas! Our whole eating group has been to Niko Nikos numerous times but the famed lamb shanks and honey balls were new for all of us.

I’m a big fan of lamb. When cooked right, the meat just falls off the bone. We watched in anticipation as Thomas easily cut away the meat with a plastic knife. We all shared the plate because Thomas and I learned from the last time we did this, it was best to watch our portions. The lamb came with a side of the potatoes I always get when I go to Nikos. Buttery, lemony, soft potatoes.

Beautiful, isn’t it?

For dessert we had the honey balls. Tasted like donut holes that are dipped in honey and dusted with powdered sugar. Delicious. The four of us had 2 balls each. ;)

All in all, I’m a little upset that I loved the lamb so much. I don’t live in Houston, my stomach lining can only stretch so much, and I already love Niko Niko’s menu so much…. to add yet ANOTHER favorite from here? Torture.

A picture of our photographer.

Video Clip of Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives at Niko Nikos

14 more days til my favorite holiday. I had my first celebration tonight with roommate.

I bought some ready to bake Nestle Toll House chocolate chip cookies. I got two packages to be exact. Baked 1/2 of one tonight almost as soon as I got home from my weekend in Houston.

My roommate made a Strawberry Poke Cake. Those pink stripes were made possible by poking the cake with a fork and then pouring strawberry jello onto the cake, letting it seep and set in the refridgerator. Tasted so light and delicious!

1219 South Lamar Blvd
Austin, TX 78704

One of my close friends, Cindy came up for a visit (first visit to Austin in a very very long time) this weekend. I met her up at Madam Mams for lunch on Saturday and then for a delightful second trip to Gourdoughs on Sunday. She was enamoured with the pictures posted from my first visit and insisted we go. How can I deny my friend?

I got to add 2 more donuts to my list of donuts (now at 9!) tried at Gourdoughs. I’m moving on up their menu.

Cindy, her boyfriend, and her boyfriend’s brother.

Bromance! That’s Cindy’s best friend, Vince and his old roommate, Daniel. I’ve recruited them to be my food buddies.

Mm. Black Out Donut – Brownie batter, chocolate icing, and chocolate covered brownie bites. It was so fricking rich. Pictured next to Son of a Peach.

Bring the Heath: cream cheese icing and Heath chips

I look extra chinky squinting at the sun….