O'Cabanon - NYC

Took a Momcation with couple of my mom-friends.

Just landed and it's past lunch time, grabbing a quick bite...

... nice aerial view of the NYC Metroplex.

This is the Tartare de Thon - fancy French way of saying Tuna Tartar.  It has tuna, avocado, in a soy sauce/wasabi mix, and sits on top of a bed of seaweed salad.

A personal size Quiche Lorraine with a side salad that has mango in it.  Very normal combo, perfect for one person. 

This is my favorite for this meal, Coucous Merguez, which has coucous in vegetable stew with lamb sausage.  They even set aside a bit of the chili sauce in case you needed to kick it up a notch.  Truth is, it is fine the way it is.  The sausage, if eaten by itself, is already a tad spicy.  But in case you're interested, it is Hot Harissa sauce.

This place is really a wine bar, they have alot of selection in terms of wine, food is a good accompaniment, but not focus.  That said, food was not bad, it is also very French in their way and coming from the middle of the country, you do get the international feel of the City.

O'Cabanon

245 W.29th Street

Btw 7th & 8th

New York, NY 10001

646-669-7879

http://www.ocabanon.com

After eating, what's to do in NYC but to take a stroll.  This is all new at the WTC area.

Faux Street art: since there's no wall around to contain this piece, it worked out on a banner though.

WTC 4 site

Nearest metro train (subway) stations are Cortland St., Fulton St. and Chambers Street

Honey Art Cafe

Needed an activity to do for a rainy afternoon and came to Honey Art Cafe.

Decided to grab some dessert and get some art in our system while we're at it.

I got a classic bubble tea.  I like that the tapioca is not stale and the tea is not too sweet.

Got the chocolate mousse cake.  It has cake as the base, the chocolate mousse is a bit harden, but it has a banana in the middle.  Ideally, it sounded good on paper, but it was harder than I imagined, like it's been thawed.  

So, we came to kill some time and do some painting.  For $14, you can rent their art supply for two.  It comes with this cute try of supplies that has: paint brushes, water color, pencils, eraser, sharpie, paper towel, and 4 watercolor quality cards, and a small thing of water.

A tip from a friend of mine who comes here with her kid too, is that you can also bring your own supplies, either to just use or to supplement.  That actually makes sense because they are very art-centric, so if you brought your own art to work on, is not uncommon or unusual.  On top of that, they offer different kinds of art or lettering classes.

Honey Art Cafe

3516 South Shepherd

Houston, TX 77098

832-582-0672

http://honeyartcafe.com

Mitsuwa

Ever since I found Mitsuwa on my last trip, I basically find any excuse to go.

While the grocery shopping part is not big, but they do try to squeeze in alot in there.

One of my favorite parts of the Japanese grocery store, is the prepared food section.  I was there for dinner.  Unbeknownst to me, they start to mark down prices after 6pm.  I just happened to walk up at 6pm.  I got the Unaju and fried calamari.  I didn't pay more than $6 for my dinner.

Now granted, I spent way more in grocery because they have stuff that aren't usually found in Houston, but! In terms of dinner, that's pretty good.

I really like the Mitsuwa, they have a bakery, confectionary, food court, bookstore on top of alot of deals that you don't usually get.  So, totally worth a trip.

Mitsuwa

100 Legacy Dr

Plano, TX 75023

972-517-1715

http://mitsuwa.com/tp/

Monkey King - Legacy Hall

Been hearing alot about the Legacy Hall in Plano.

Sounded very cool, had to check it out.

It's packed with people, but more than 21 foodie goodness, and at least 4 bars I saw.

I wanted some noodles, so went up to the 3rd floor for Monkey King.

Very simple menu, noodles, dumplings, sides and drinks.

Dumplings combo and Scallion Pancakes

What is a dumpling combo, you'd ask.  You pick 2 of the dumplings on the list and that is your combo.  I picked the Edamame & Tofu Dumpling (left ones) and Soup Dumpling (right ones).  It came with their respective sauces, and it is definitely filling.

The Scallion Pancakes is not the other kinds that I'm accustomed to, which is pan-fried.  This one is deep fried.  This was a bit dry and dipping in the sauce doesn't help either.  Sigh, I so wanted to love them, but it was just not cutting it for me.

I so wanted to try other stuff too.  Like the craft beer next door, the dessert downstairs, and the popsicles they have.  But alas, I can't fit them in.

Legacy Hall is pretty cool.  They have a Box Garden where you can sit out and watch bands, and if you couldn't find a seat, don't worry, there's more out on the balcony on 2nd floor.  They have food of any kind you want on a wimp.  They have lobster roll, pizza, taco, bao, donut, dessert...etc you name it.  Go check that out.

Monkey King Noodles

http://monkeykingnoodlecompany.com

Legacy Hall

7800 Winrose Ave

Plano, TX 75024

https://legacyfoodhall.com

Oporto

Went to Happy Hour with my mom-friends, and boy did we needed it.

I love that we have a big group, you get to order a bunch of stuff and try them all out.

Caprese Salad, pretty fresh and yummy.  Can't go wrong with this one.

Deviled eggs, not too over-empowering, as a matter of fact, it's pretty tamed.

Mushroom and Goat Cheese pizza

Salmon Crosstini - what you don't see is the goat cheese underneath.  Very delicious.

Spinach and artichoke crostini - this is a very good vegetarian option except it does have cheese in it.  

My friend recommended Batata Bravas - which translates to yummy potato cubes.  It has potato, tomato, and their piri piri sauce.

Crispy Chicken Wing

Eggplant and Feta Crosstini - not my favorite out of all the ones we picked, but not a bad choice.

Tomato and Pesto Pizza.  

The lovely thing about their Happy Hour is that all pizzas.  The rest of the appetizers aren't expensive either, most are $5 and some are $6.  Of course, they have drink specials too, most are also $6 a glass.    If you have a big party, do call ahead.  They were pretty accommodating for a large group.

Oporto

3833 Richmond Ave

Houston, Tx 77027

713-621-1114

http://www.oporto.us 

Corner Bakery

Grabbed a quick lunch at Corner Bakery.

Got my iced tea.  Ready for my lunch.

Got a 1/2 sandwich and 1/2 pasta.

I love their Chicken Pomodoro.  The half is just perfect.

The other half is pesto cavatappi it has chicken bits but my favorite part was the twisty pasta mix with the cheese.  That's is my favorite part, twisty pasta and cheese..... ooey gooey cheese.

Not too overwhelming of lunch, that is definitely a lot of food for lunch, but it came with pickle and chips. 

Corner Bakery

2615 Southwest Freeway

Ste 100

Houston, TX 77098

713-520-8211

https://cornerbakerycafe.com

Kona Grill

Went to meet up with a friend for lunch at Kona.

Got my Arnold Palmer iced tea.

I got the Tuna Naruto.  Instead of wrapped in seaweed and rice, it is wrapped win cucumber thinly diced, with avocado in there somewhere.  But with the spicy tuna and a dab of sriracha and the eel sauce, totally live up to the flavor.

Kona Grill

5061 Westheimer Rd

Houston, TX 77056

713-877-9191

https://www.konagrill.com