Alora

I saw someone promoting Alora on IG, and thought it was worth trying. 

It is located at the former location of Kau Ba down Montrose/Westheimer area. 

I got the Mojito mocktail, luckily, it's not super sweet like most places you get a mocktail. 

I'd ask for the bartender special mocktail, and they did something with chili and lime juice.  Pretty good for a hot day.

Got the Crispy Spring Roll - the sauce is like a kind of taro sauce. 

This dish I loved, Patatas Bravas - the potato is crispy enough, and the sauce is rocoto aioli flavor - so addictive, so good. 

This is the La Bajada Trio - it's a good Happy Hour dish.  They made their own goldfish, roasted their own  nuts.  The BBQ rice chips were so good, dish that they just have that as a dish.  Then you got some green mango and chili sauce. 

Had the Chaufu fried rice.  I've had some Peruvian fried rice before, but it was not as flavorful as I'd preferred. 

The cuisine is a cross between Peru & Vietnam, and I will say some dishes were out of the park.  Some it was meh,  since we're lucky enough to be in a town that diversity of food is so easily accessible.  Also, while they do ask for reservations, we went on a Thursday and it was not crowded at all.  The place is not big, there's plenty of outdoor seatings.  But they were no busy.  

The parking in the area is tight.  There's no valet for the place.  But plenty street parking, just be courteous to the neighbors. 

Alora

2502 Dunlavy St

Houston, TX 77005

713-485-4836

https://www.alorahtx.com/

 

The Union Kitchen

Met a friend for lunch on the Memorial area.

Union Kitchen seems to have the most variety for any kinds of musing. 

The Cajun Chicken Linguini was calling my name.  The chicken was good, and the sauce is Cajun Cream sauce, I like those because it has a mini-kick but nothing spicy.  There are some sausage hidden in there, it's all pretty good. 

The service is great, it has a great neighborhood feel.  Folks come here for lunch, some looks to be standing lunch, some brings the whole family here.  It's a cute spot even though the area is pretty busy.  You don't need a reservation, but if you plan on coming during peak meal time, it's best that you have one. 

The Union Kitchen

12538 Memorial Dr

Houston, TX 77024

713-360-2000

https://www.theunionkitchen.com/

 

Flower Child

Friend suggested to meet up at Flower Child, and to be honest, I've never been.

It was a very popular business lunch spots.  So do go before peak lunch time. 

I got the Avocado Caesar Salad with tofu.  These are some pretty Romaine lettuce.  For the protein, they give you slices of tofu, pretty hearty. Like a regular Caesar, you got bread crumb, parmesan, and for being vegan friendly - they have avocado caesar dressing. 

To my surprise, this combo was very tasty.  With the bread crumb and the tofu, mixed with the dressing it is actually its very delicious.  It was a good lunch.  My only complaint is that they constantly came by to clear tables and that was awkward.  Maybe I'll do to-go next time. 

Flower Child

in Uptown Park

1101 Uptown Park Blvd

#C6

Houston, TX 77056

713-730-4261

https://www.iamaflowerchild.com/locations/houston-tx/

 

Thai-Kun

Ended up at Post downtown. 

Thai sounded good, and doesn't seem to have a line at walk-up, that just made my decision on food of choice, easier. 

I got Pad See Ew - it has flat noodles, soy sauce, Chinese broccoli, chicken and chive.  I got a drink so the server was upselling me to a set.  It came with egg roll, so figured, why not?!  Welp! It should've been a no!  The egg roll was cold and it has no taste.  So, noodles was great, the mango drink was great, the egg roll - stay away!

The rest of the dishes looks good too, so maybe other food, not the egg rolls?!?!

Thai-Kun

in Post HTX

401 Franklin St

Houston, TX 77201

https://www.posthtx.com/eat/thai-kun

https://thaikun.com/

 

Basecamp Dinette

For brunch, we decided to go where the locals go...

Turns out, Basecamp is referred to the main production area of a movie or tv set.  Since alot of them have craft service that serve food.  But for us, just wanted coffee. 

I got a Horchata latte, it's nice and have a kick to it. 

I saw on the menu that they have Lavender Waffles, and curiosity made me get it. 

So beside sprigs of lavender to accompany our waffles, there's a hint of it in the butter and the syrup.  The good thing about the syrup is that it's not too lavender-y.  I do like it in the butter tho.  The sausage was good mixed in there. 

For book lovers: The Last Bookstore downtown LA is wonderfully quirky.  I really feel like a kid in a candy store.  Lots of books and the shelves are like a maze.  It's like a book wonderland, definitely worth stopping in for.

Parking are limited in the shop, so street parking is ok, but watch for the signs. 

Basecamp Dinette

1221 W. Riverside Dr

Burbank, CA

https://basecampdinette.com/

 

Yamadaya Ramen

One of the musts in LA is to go to Little Tokyo.

Since my traveling companion was starving, we walked into the first Ramen shop we saw. 

Luckily nothing a bowl of ramen can't fix.  I got a bowl of the Kakuni Ramen, it has Tokotsu soup base, nori seaweed, egg, noodles, braised pork belly slices, fried onion, shallot.

The soup is pretty thick is hearty.  The meat you can tell been braised for a while because it falls apart as you grab it.  The entire thing come together very nicely.  

From what I understand basically all the ramen places here are liked by the locals, just really a matter of preference.  But I will say, the service here is quick and fast.  All of them are super kind and turn a starving situation smooth out quickly.

Yamadaya Ramen

137 Japanese Village Plaza Mall

Los Angeles, CA 90012

213-265-7288

https://www.ramen-yamadaya.com/dlta-location

 

Grill & Brew at City Walk

Growing up Universal City Walks was where the kids get to pretend to be grown ups and hang out there. 

Now, it's more quality shops and big kids dining. 

One of the places we picked was the Grill & Brew. 

I got Ginger Berry Lemonade.  It has ginger beer, Sprite, berry puree, and lemonade.  I appreciate that, it's not super syrupy, and the ginger beer taper that off. 

Just took it easy and got a Pepperoni Flatbread.  Nothing fancy, after all the walking, I just need to refuel.  

Meal time in CityWalk is super busy because besides folks going to the park or exiting the park, there are just people coming here to hang out, since you don't need an entry fee to come in.  

In terns if Parking, if you're here for City Walk, you can get a discount.  But for the park, if you come early, you can get pretty decent parking.  If not, the various parking structures are easy enough to accommodate. 

Grill & Brew

inside Universal City Walk

https://www.universalstudioshollywood.com/web/en/us/things-to-do/dining/citywalk/nbc-sports-grill