Tag: Houston

Kolache Factory: First Stop of Progressive Lunch in Houston

December 9th, 2009 · · holidays, Houston, savory, videos 5 comments - Tags: , , ,

If you missed the previous entry, you can read it here. It’s a quick introduction to our progressive lunch in Houston.

So I met Thomas and Willis (of Skissors Eats) for lunch the day after Thanksgiving. Willis was originally supposed to introduce us to Little Bigs, a sliders eatery and I said something about how I want to eat the world. I often say how I want to eat the world. Willis suggested we add three more places and that he had three more places he’s been craving. (He lives and plays in Houston, unlike Thomas and me). Willis wanted to go to Kolache Factory to eat their special flavor of the month: turkey and stuffing kolache. Turkey and stuffing in a kolache? I’ve been to Kolache Factory but usually in the early morning when I’m half awake and never thought to stray from my usual sausage, cheese, and jalapenos. So this is where we started our food trek.

We each ordered one and then shared a Philly Cheesesteak kolache. The Philly Cheesesteak one was sub par but the turkey and stuffing one rocked our socks off.


This photo taken by Thomas.

So here are the ingredients we gleefully discovered as we chewed through our kolaches: cranberry sauce, turkey, stuffing, and gravy. Doesn’t it look gorgeous? I must remember to come back next year. In hindsight, we should have kept focused on our goal and not order that Philly Cheesesteak kolache. Our bellies were hurting by the time we finished our back to back eating extravaganza.

Here’s a video that I love. Willis was being a little shy (surprisingly) and I was prying to get him to give me a better introduction/reaction to the kolache. Wait for Thomas’s interjection.

Another Wonderful Reunion at Chocolate Bar

December 3rd, 2009 · · Houston, savory, the grind, the not so single life 2 comments - Tags: , , , , ,

I’m a little disconnected and fragmented today.

The last two days I’ve hardly been online online mainly due to starting a new job and then going to an night job right after. I wake up at 6:30am (after going to bed at 3am last night) to go to work at my new job and I get off at 5pm after which I sit in traffic for 1.5 hours or 2 hours to go to my night job. By the time I make it home it’s 10:30 pm, I’m hungry and a little exhausted. I just had an eleven o’clock pork chop dinner with Alan. Brandi baked chocolate chip cookies. Though I’m pooped, it’s a good day. Alan cut up my pork chop into bite size pieces. Haha. Spoiled.

My Google Reader is backed up. I currently have 87 unread entries. I did manage to read Selina’s new blog post. She hardly updates anymore and I promised her a plug. ;) I always try to comment when friends start blogs as to encourage them to keep entertaining me/updating.

Another blog entry I read is Mary Ellen’s blog entry about word abuse. It echos a lot of my recent annoyances.

The good thing about just coming back from a packed weekend is that I have photos to blog without really haven’t to use my spent brain.

Today, I bring you photos from a high school reunion I had last weekend in Houston. I saw Hillary and Alex for the first time in a while. We’re lucky to see each other on holidays. I found some pictures of us that are duplicates of us from high school so I gifted them to the girls over Chocolate Bar’s hot chocolate. The BEST chocolate of my life STILL. I love that Chocolate Bar is purply. When I went over to pick up Hillary, she was wearing a purple shirt as well and her two sisters were in purple! Amused, her dad took a picture of us, all graduates of the same Catholic high school.


We forgot to take a picture of our hot chocolate before it turned ugly.


We asked a stranger to take a photo of us. It was kind of awkward. Note the folded hands and the nervous smiles.


So we took a self portrait. I wonder if that offended our photographer stranger.

Interestingly enough, December 2, 2007, exactly TWO years ago I blogged about my first time at Chocolate Bar.

Brunch Buffet at Hugo’s: A Plate by Plate Play by Play

December 1st, 2009 · · Houston, new thing(s) of the week, savory, videos 5 comments - Tags: , , , , , , ,

1602 Westheimer Road
Houston, TX 77006

(713) 524-7744
www.hugosrestaurant.net

Back in July, Kim and I had Hugo’s for the first time and fell in love. Sunday, we went back for brunch and fell deeper. My friend, Elizabeth saw my Hugo’s pictures on facebook and shared that not only is Hugo’s her favorite restaurant but also the tres leches cake which is served only at brunch is her favorite. This Thanksgiving weekend was my first time back in Houston since then and I had to make sure I experience their brunch and this tres leches cake. So who better to go with me than Kim?!

We each ordered the Sandia Mimosa. We love champagne in the morning. This mimosa has watermelon juice in it and aguave nectar. It was refreshing and a nice twist from the usual orange juice.

Here’s a view of my first plate from their marvelous buffet. Their buffet is nicely presented. No metal buffet tins over heat lamps here. No spit guard here! If you look to the right on my plate, that is squash pudding. It was so delicious I had to get more. Light, fluffy, sweet. I’m tempted to look up a recipe!

My second plate is pictured above. More squash pudding, a tamale, something good with fried egg on it, a cheesy spicy cauliflower, lamp chop, grilled oysters, right next to the grilled oysters is beef tongue! I never had beef tongue and was excited to try. It was super tender (a good thing). I never had my oysters grilled either. I’ve only had them fried and raw. Grilled is a nice option! It’s a nice alternative for those of you who can’t stand the slimy texture of raw oysters.

Kim commented on how adventurous I was to try beef tongue. She said they actually do look like tongues which is not aesthetically appetizing. I must agree but I talked her into eating a bit of my beef tongue and videoed her experience for your viewing pleasure.


Toasting to another good plate.

My third plate: fish enchiladas, slow roasted pork, brisket, and a stuffed pepper (stuffed with chicken). The pork was so good. Brisket falls apart in your mouth like it should. After our third plate, we gleefully agreed it was time for dessert!

My happy dessert plate. If you notice, the biggest piece of cake I got was the tres leches. Also pictured is a churro, some rice pudding, a chocolate cake, and a chocolate raspberry cake. The only thing I didn’t love was the raspberry chocolate cake and that is because I don’t like raspberry. I guess I got overexcited at the dessert table.


I washed everything down with Mexican hot chocolate. Mmmm. I’ve roped Kim into agreeing to brunching with me here every time I’m in Houston.

She agreed! Lookit the joy in her eyes.

L.A. Burdick Chocolate Cafe

September 21st, 2009 · · Houston, savory, wanderlust 3 comments - Tags: , , , , ,

L.A. Burdick Chocolate Cafe
Harvard Square Cafe
52-D Brattle Street
Cambridge, MA 02138
Phone: 617-491-4340
www.burdickchocolate.com

Saturday morning, we started off our day at Burdick Chocolate Cafe. A day can’t go wrong if you start it off with chocolate. Mary Ellen and I each picked something to eat and split later. I chose a hazelnut orange cake and she chose the yogurt parfait. I really enjoyed the yogurt parfait which surprises me. I’m not usually the yogurt parfait kind of girl but the honey was a perfect match to the yogurt and the crunch of the granola was the perfect amount of crunch. It wasn’t too cold or tart which are the two most common complaints I have about yogurt parfaits. The hot dark chocolate was.. alright. Good but it doesn’t come even near how good Chocolate Bar’s (Houston, TX) hot chocolate is. The hazelnut orange cake was my favorite. Soooo good. If you’re ever in Boston, this is definitely a must stop if you’re a chocolate fan.

Now for the photos!


Have I told you lately that penguins are my favorite animal? I like to drop that in conversation at least thrice a year.


I got a demi cup of the hot dark chocolate.


I made my own shoddy version of latte art. Do you like my heart?


We each picked one thing and split it. I gleefully chose the hazelnut orange cake.


Our breakfast. Makes me wish I could go back in time.

Did we find my favorite restaurant in Houston?!

July 13th, 2009 · · Houston, new thing(s) of the week, savory 8 comments - Tags: , , ,

Friday night, I had a date with miss Kim and we were initially going to do something crazy and try grasshoppers at the famed (and RIGHTLY so) Hugos. We ended up not going with the grasshoppers for appetizers when we got there but man was I surprised. I had no idea the best restaurant I’ve been to in Houston would be MEXICAN. First of all, I’ve never had Mexican done up like this. My experience with Mexican is pretty limited to quesadillas, fajitas, tacos, and enchiladas. Holy crap did Hugo’s open up my world to Mexican cuisine and rocked it.

Squash Blossums are apparently in season. It’s funny because I’ve only just heard of squash blossoms on the Food Network when they featured it on a show about Italy. Here there are, featured in a special menu for squash blossums.

We went with the squash blossoms crepes for appetizers. They had squash blossoms, huitlacoche (fungal delicacy that grows on ears of corn), mushrooms and cheese topped with poblano cream and gratineed. We liked. Yum. Never had huitlacoche or squash blossoms. Great first experience.


Kim ordered one of the specials that was featured Friday, soft crab and some kind of corn bread that tasted like a done up fancied up Rudy’s cream of corn. Funny, because we bought thought of Rudy’s cream of corn at the same time. The soft crab was delicious! She did good in ordering as always.


My entree: Mariscos al Aijillo.


Mine comes with rice. This makes me want to do some rice sculpting.

My entree was the Seafood plate.. or at least that’s how I translate “Mariscos al Ajillo.” Mariscos al Aijillo has shrimp, scallop, lobster, mussels, clams, oysters and octopus, sautéed in olive oil with roasted garlic, chile de arbol and lime. I’ve never had octopus. My thoughts on octopus: like squid, it’s okay the first 4 seconds of chewing, afterwards the texture really gets to me. The dish on the whole was AMAZING. There’s a little bit of sauce from the olive oil, chile and lime that served as a great broth to eat with the rice. The seafood in it was fresh and I’ve never had a scallop as big or as juicy as the scallops they had. Kim and I poked at it with our forks and oohed and aahed at its extra plump texture. The lobster tail was succulent. Seriously, this restaurant blew me away. It’s a bit pricey. Runs 40-70 dollars a person without alcohol but very much worth the money.


Our waiter suggested we have the churros because it is “very Mexican.” It’s filled with dulce de leche filling and served with chocolate icecream (always a winner) and their famed Mexican hot chocolate. I’ve never had Mexican hot chocolate, after having Hugo’s, I vow to seek out Mexican hot chocolate more often. It was a lovely treat. Don’t be too shy to dip your churro in the hot chocolate. It’s like a crisp cinnamony donut.


My lovely date. I like this picture. She’s pretty AND quirky.


Do you see how high the ceiling is? Loved the ambiance.

Next time I’m in Houston, we’re definitely going back and this time for brunch. If you ever find yourself in Houston, do yourself a big favor and make this restaurant a food priority.

Golden Palace & some popular dim sum dishes

July 8th, 2009 · · Houston, savory 6 comments - Tags: , ,

8520 Bellaire Blvd
Houston, TX 77036

(713) 776-8808

Houston dim sum trumps Austin dim sum by a mile. I’ve tried 6 dim sum places in Houston and the one that my family and I always go back to is Golden Palace located next to a surplus restaurant supply store on Bellaire. Just nothing beats it. Not even Fung’s Kitchen which has a lot of hype and is a bit more showy and flashy than our humble but delicious Golden Palace.

I forgot to post pictures from my last trip a few weeks ago to Houston. I did promise to take more individual photos of dim sum favorites.


Very popular and very mandatory dish you must order: Shrimp dumplings.


Mandatory and popular again: dumplings with pork or prawns or both


Nisreen always orders this when we go eat dim sum. Good because greens are good for you. Steamed Chinese brocolli.


Sticky rice cooked with all sorts of things. Usually some pork in there, sausage, chicken. The rice is steamed and cooked with all the other stuff with it while wrapped by the lotus leaves. You don’t eat the lotus leaves but it does infuse flavoring into the rice. One of my favorites. We used to eat this for breakfast when I visited Vietnam.


Nino and I have to get our own plates of this when we go. He orders a plate, I order a plate, and then the rest of the table get their own plate. It’s steamed rice noodles filled with some kind of meat. We like the shrimp. It’s then doused in sweetened soy sauce. My ultimate favorite. It’s called cheong fun. Don’t ask me how to pronounce it. I usually just point to everything when we order.


Katambra and I like our egg cream dessert bun. A steamed bun with egg cream filling. Yum!

I’ll try to remember to snap photos of other dim sum dishes next time I have dim sum. In (dim) sum, Golden Palace is the way to go for dim sum in Houston, Texas.

Related Blog Entries:
- T&S Seafood Dim Sum (Austin)
- Shanghai Dim Sum (Austin)
- Jung Fung (NYC)

Feast at Feast!

June 18th, 2009 · · Houston, new thing(s) of the week, savory, still-frames 3 comments - Tags: , ,


While visiting Houston last weekend, Kim and I had the pleasure of trying out Feast. We were on our way to have our first experience of real grasshoppers at Hugo’s but unfortunately, it was around 7:30 and the next available reservation was 8:45. So we called Willis since he seems to know Houston pretty well. He recommended us a slew of recommendations but finally it was between Fabio’s and Feast. Both on Westheimer and directly across the street from each other. We checked out Fabio’s but it looked like it would have been a wait so we walked across the street to a CUTE restaurant that is Feast. I am a big fan of restaurants that are houses. (East Side Cafe, Kerbey….). We didn’t know anything about this restaurant, didn’t read up, didn’t really hear much from Willis other than he hears “nothing but good things” about Feast and also they do speciality meats.

Our host was also our server. Red headed bloke from England. We are taken by him immediately when he lets us in without reservations. He hands us a menu and we are tickled that they make up a new menu every day!



The menu for the June 13th. Click for a bigger picture.

If you click, you’ll see that day they had everything from rabbit to calf’s liver to beef tongue (not on the menu but being served that day). I did some further research when I got home and apparently food critics have been raving. The menu is always changing! I really like that. Here’s a food review about Feast from the NY Times.

English bloke explains the menu to us and as he’s explaining, it dawns on us that this is an English restaurant! The pig motto, Old English font, the menu, and the decor finally makes sense to us. Funny because after he left, we worried for a brief moment that since it is an English restaurant it wouldn’t be good. (I’ve been to England and the cuisine is bland!) We quickly dismissed that notion when we remembered Willis stressing to us that he’s heard “NOTHING but GOOD things.” Remember, we haven’t heard about this place quite yet.

Here’s the decor:


Kim ordered the pork belly.



I loved her order so much better than mine. Reminds me of Asian pork belly! It was delicious.



I ordered the lamb, duck, and pork pie. I was expecting something like shepherd’s pie or something flattened like Asian pies. It ended up being a soupy pot pie.



I didn’t really like it much. I’m pretty certain it’s just because of my personal palate. Not my taste.

For dessert, we had our second molten cake (first one was the day before) of the weekend. I loved it. It was served on top of either plain milk or cream. It really didn’t add to the taste but I like the swirl effect it gave the liquid chocolate. The photos below were taken in very sub par lighting and I don’t like using flash when others are dining.






My dinner buddy and me. Chilling at Willis’s before leaving for dinner.

Fufu’s Cafe

June 15th, 2009 · · Houston, new thing(s) of the week, savory 4 comments - Tags: , ,

I’ve been to Fufu’s once before with Cindy, Thomas and Chris almost two years ago. We originally went for soup dumplings but they ran out. I haven’t been back til this past weekend. Thomas was in town from California and we met up over lunch and then I spent the rest of the day with him and Kim. I’ve had soup dumplings only once before and it was during my 2nd trip to NYC with Kym, Nam, Meffy at Joe Shanghai’s way back in 2005. Here’s a picture I still managed to have.


Joe Shanghai’s soup dumplings, NYC

So here we are, 4 years after my only experience of soup dumplings (amazing experience) and 2 years after my first trip to Fufu’s Cafe in Houston. They had soup dumplings this time!

Soup Dumplings at Fufu's Cafe, Houston
Fufu Cafe’s Soup Dumplings, Houston

The main difference is that in NYC, Joe Shanghai’s dumplings only had broth in it. Fufu’s had some meat. The winner by a mile is NYC. Kind of disappointing as I don’t know when the next time I’ll be in NYC. The broth in Joe Shanghai’s is much more flavorful and I really like their crab broth. However, Fufu was still tasty and it was nice to catch up with an old friend. Pictures of the rest of our feast.

Soup Dumplings at Fufu's Cafe, Houston
The inside of their soup dumpling.

Dumplings at Fufu's Cafe, Houston
Regular dumplings

green onion pie
Green Onion Pie

houston plugs

December 2nd, 2007 · · Houston, new thing(s) of the week, savory, still-frames One comment - Tags: , ,

Long overdue, some plugs and photos from my stay in Houston.

T’afia
Love this place. I have to go back.

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Accolades. We had the pleasure of meeting Monica Pope and her daughter. She’s quite down to earth and had just opened a new restaurant called Beaver’s. Her 5 year old daughter does NOT want to go to college. Just so you know.

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Aside from the delcious drinks and the delectable happy hour menu, there’s also an adorable waiter who was at the time taking a course on miracles.

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I brought my journal to write down our predictions for 2008.

After T’afia. We chilled at Chocolate Bar where I had the best hot chocolate of my life thus far. THE BEST OF MY LIFE.
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Ever heard of the song “Monkey on a Stick?” It’s Monky on a Spoon! That’s my plant pet Chris gave me a month or so ago. He’s a-growing.

Then we hopped on over to one of the eight bookstores I’ve visited during my week’s stay.
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Bookstop

Boop!

October 22nd, 2007 · · Austin, Houston, new thing(s) of the week, savory, still-frames 2 comments - Tags: , , , , ,

I went to Houston last weekend to visit family and friends. Thomas took me to a new Thai place which he said was his favorite in Houston. Tony Thai. I had the Chicken Kee Mao. It was a little sweet for me and I am still very partial towards Madam Mam’s Kee Mao (also known as the “F5 with flat noodles”) in Austin.

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Photos courtesy of Thomas. I make sexy faces sometimes. They have a water wall. I appreciated that. I really do love Thai food and can eat it every day.

After dinner we went to see a documentary which I’ll write about in a little bit. We ended our night with other boys at Pub Fiction in Midtown Houston. I have yet been before that night. Loved the vibe and the people. Diverse group of people and an awesome band and DJ mixed fun dance songs. I like.

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Photos again courtesy of Thomas. The one of them pointing at each other? Have you seen Superbad? Remember when one dude went to the other dude, “I love you, man” and then tapped him on his nose and said, “boop!” Yeah. Boop!

Last week before seeing Lars and the Real Girl, (My favorite movie so far of 2007) as part of the Austin Film Festival, Dave, Kym, and I ducked into the Hideout on Congress. I was told about the Hideout the weekend before and lucky me found it not but days later. Hideout is a very Austiny coffee shop. They also have a theatre in the back that I’ve yet to experience. I had a spinach and cheese croissant and a mango freeze. Delicious. The croissant was cheap. 2 something.. drink was 3 something. Affordable and cute.

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Dave had the Amy’s ice cream. Kym had the ham and cheese croissant.