Bite Macaron - Mother's Day Tea Recap

This is another Mother's Day delayed post... I had gone to Bite Macaron's  for Mother's Day tea.

Their menu was basically you get 2 course for $15 or 3 for $20.  Since we were splitting so we won't get sugar overload, 3 was fine.

This is the set up... tea plus macarons...

A closer look: we have Pistachio & Passionfruit paired with their Detox Tea.  At first, that was surprising, but the flavor does balance each other out.  So you're not overwhelmed by the citrus taste in the passionfruit.

Here's the 2nd course: the tea was St. Petersburg Tea.  Since I'm not a tea expert, I can't tell you what I taste.  I just can tell you that it's thicker in texture to match the macarons, which accomplish yet another balance.

Here's my attempt to be artistic on the shot... On this plate, there are Salted Caramel on top, and Chocolate.  Which, it makes sense to have a 'heavier' texture tea to mellow out the caramel and chocolate.  I think the would've been perfect for a cold winter day to warm you up with the macs.

Last but not least, we have Raspberry mac with Rose mac paired with Rose Green tea.  It was served cold, and personally, I like the bitterness of green tea but since this is infused with rose, it's not so strong.  The theme just nice, but I liked the tea so much I drank it all.  I'm also a fan of the Rose mac which is not too over-empowering on the rose flavor, so it's a nice mix.

It's nice of Bite to have special events for Mother's Day and such.  I hope they do more of these pairings.  Look out too!  I know they are rolling out bacon macarons!!!!

Bite Macarons

5172 B Buffalo Speedway

Houston, TX 77005

714-664-2483

http://www.bitemacarons.com/

Kata Robata

I'm a bit behind with all the posts, this one is from Mother's Day.

Went to grab a quick lunch at Kata.  

Aji - Horse Mackerel & Chopped Scollop

Spicy Salmon Roll

Salmon & Soft Shell Crab Roll, it's pretty good.  Then again, I never had any roll or sushi from here that I didn't like.

As a Mother's Day special, they gave all mothers at each table a creme brûlée.  Since I had my baby with me, that was an obvious one for our server.  Which is my favorite thing there, the servers.  They are always attentive, knowledgable and friendly.  Now, then again, we do go when it's off peak hours, which is a good time as any to get good food and good service.  Not to mention easy parking in a very busy parking lot.

Kata Robata

3600 Kirby 

Suite H

Houston, TX 77098

713-526-8858

http://katarobata.com/ 

Ramen in Common - BYOBowl event

This is the most recent Ramen in Common gathering.  

We were at Soma, and Chef Gabe were describing the tonkatsu ramen we're about to enjoy that evening.  

Carl Rosa (founder) was telling us that RIC has now over 800 members, and as the Ramen craze started to sip into Houston, there's more opportunity to be had and more ramen places for us to try and possibly more events too.  Yay!

Even though this is a Bring Your Own Bowl event, Soma gave us some yummy starter.  This is Ceviche with a twist.  This is more Filipino style ceviche with snapper, citrus & tamarind and coconut milk you see on the dots.  You do feel like you're enjoying a dish on the beach (without the sand).  Though, not sure how the tomato fits here, or in a normal ceviche either.  That was a bit of a head scratcher.

This is a Koteri Ramen - which has fatty braised pork fat, with seaweed, scallion, egg and of course the noodles.  The noodles is not house made, it's the Sun Noodle.  It's your basic egg noodle.  The soup is super fragrant, in a good way, very fresh, very fitting for summer.  My only complaint is that the pork and the soup is not harmonious.

This is the Hakata Kuro Ramen - which is a darker soup base made with black garlic.  This smell much more smokey than the first one.  And it's much heartier too.  In compare to the amount of fat in the soup, this one has more than the previous one, though he told us that would have more.  The pork is much more harmonious with the soup, and it's definitely brings out the taste of it.  Very delicious.  I'm not a big fan of the corn, but I know it's a big thing in Japan.  Keep in mind, neither of these are traditional Japanese Ramen, more a fusion creation.

Luckily, they didn't ask us to bring bowls for dessert, because I was running out of bowls.  In keeping with the noodle theme.  Chef made the noodle nest, hosting a scoop of red miso ice cream, with pineapple chutney and coconut shaving on top.  Not to be a party pooper, but this is the least of all the dishes I like.  I'm not a fan of mixing savory into dessert.  In my mine, a dessert should be sweet to close out the evening and cleanse the pallet, that's just me.  The pineapple chutney was good, but the rest I did not enjoy, nor did I finish.  Good concept, not sure if it's fitting. 

Don't know how long this ramen wave is going to go.  In other cities, Ramen chains are willing to invest in them knowing there's a following.  Somehow Houston always gets the shaft.  Maybe they think no one would appreciate or that we don't know how to appreciate.  Let me tell you, good food translate to all cuisine and all people alike.  If it's good, people will go there.  This only give way to smaller companies and independent chefs a way to break into the market.  I, for one, is looking forward to couple more ramen places.  Can't wait for another Ramen In Common event!

Ramen in Common

follow them on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/398072076958707/?ref=br_tf

MF Sushi

I have never been to MF Sushi before the fire, but I tried to get there right after.

First impression at the door, it's super dark and we can't tell whether they are opened or not.  It's only a peek at the door to find that the hostess is waiting on us.  She probably thought what do people keep peeking in... we just can't tell if it's opened or not.

I was talked into a cocktail.  This is a Tokyo Rise, which has lime, wine, Grand Manier.  It is a bit sweet, but definitely has its share of alcohol.

This is a very traditional quick roll: the Kanpyo roll, which is a Japanese melon squash roll.  It is veggie type, so very easy and quick for starter.

Then we have the Osaka Box Style Roll #2.  Beware, there are 2 on the menu named exactly the same, this is the first one of its name.  The interesting thing is how the roll is composed.  A layer of rice, layer of spicy tuna, another layer of rice, then layer with Tuna/Salmon mix on top with masago, scallion, and sirracha for taste.  

First of all, the fish were super fresh.  The hot sauce wasn't overpowering.  Lastly, how this roll is compose you don't see alot around town, I definitely recommend getting this again.

This Madai.  I've been hooked on Madai wherever I got these days.  It is sea bream with ponzu sauce and some caviar on top.  Super fresh and you can definitely taste the rice has vinegar.  

This is their chopped scallops.  Though fresh, it wasn't as good as the Madai as a follow up.  But it's still good nonetheless.

All of their sushi is very Jiro-eques, small and dainty pieces.  Fit your mouth perfectly.  Don't ask questions, just eat.  They do an omakase for $75, and you must be seated in the bar.   While we were there, there was a couple seated near us that just came in for a drink.  While their cocktail is pretty good, it's a waste of the table if you are not eating there.  Then my friend overheard a table near us that the guest specifically said they're not interested in fish and wanted vegetarian.  First off, you're at a Japanese restaurant, why did you come in?  You could've figured it out at the parking lot.  Then, which they do have decent salad, there are so much more that are vegetarian friendly, why stick to just one thing.  That's just curious as a restaurant-goer.

MF Sushi

5887 Westheimer Road

(at Foutainview)

Houston, TX 77057

832-530-4321

http://mfsushihouston.com/

Cloud 10

Sorry, that's upside down, I took this on my way out.

Aside from the cute logo, I come here for the ever seasonal menu of ice cream.

I honestly did try the new flavors they have to offer.  But some reason, I keep defaulting back to the usual: Nutella Marshmallow, which is essentially a Rocky Road without the obvious nuts.  The subtile nuts in the Nutella is absolutely genius.  

Do try the other flavors too.  Couple friends and I tried their Banana Split and that is a great way to try different flavors.  Plus a split shared, is no carlores, right?!

Cloud 10 Creamery

5216 Morningside

Houston, TX 77005

713-434-6129

http://www.cloud10creamery.com/

Uchi

It has been a while since I've been to Uchi.

I'm still doing the Happy Hour, simply for a quick bite, that's the way to go without the dinner competition.  We can take our time and not feel rush.

Eggplant sushi - pretty and delicious.

Machi Cure - just as good as I remembered it.  You have to remember to put the pear, yellowtail on top of the yucca chip in a bite to get the full effect.  So good...

Yaki Imo - it's fingerling potato, dashi flakes, bonito and tamari.  Sadly, that's not one of my favorite this round. 

Spicy Crunch Tuna roll - it has tuna, avocado, cucumber and jalapeno.  I'm not usually a fan of the avocado and jalapeno, but once you dip the sushi into the sauces, you just can't help to love it.

Shiromi Zakana Fry - it's a fish in coconut milk, with carrot and watermelon radish.

This is a Shag roll, which has salmon, sun-dried tomato, avocado.  You need to dip that sushi into those sauce, which is hoisin sauce-like, because it that is what made the sushi.

Anchovy sushi, just because it sounded interesting.  It is not bad tasting either.  Not too salty or too fishy.  Then there's avocado sushi, which is super delicious.  I highly recommending this, even if you may turn your nose up away from it.  The way they did it, there is not denying how good it is.

Brussel Sprouts, which is a known delicious dish that can never go wrong.

This round, we didn't go crazy, mainly we weren't super hungry.  But that said, by the count above, we did some damage.  Amazingly, it didn't hit our check as much as we anticipated, so we tip the server extra.  Next time definitely skip lunch so we can eat some more.

Uchi

904 Westheimer Rd

Houston, TX 77006

713-522-4808

http://uchirestaurants.com/houston/index.php

Gyu-Kaku

First of all, I'm going to warn you, this is a picture heavy post... if you don't want to read words but look at pictures.  Have had it.  If you want words, scroll down to the bottom.

The outside... when I went they were still in soft opening mode, it's already quite popular.  Now they are officially opened and while they do not do lunch, you can still drool over it via pictures.

They have two value BBQ Courses, that is a good deal instead of ordering bit by bit.  The $60 for two is actually good enough for 3 people.  They have a mix of meat, seafood and veggie.  For the meat lovers, they have value deal for $55.

To start: edamame

Cup of miso soup

Nice salad

Spicy Tuna Volcano.  It's rice, in sushi shape - fried, topped with tuna and seaweed.

In these mystery pouches are: 

Spinach, which they don't give it enough credit because it's very delicious.

In the other pouch, it's mushroom medley.

Bibimbap - which is very good.  The rice is super nice because of the sauce that they mix it with.  The beef isn't that good... the good stuff is to come.

Short ribs

Skirt steak - it was a tad dry.

Yaki-Shabu

Garlic Shrimp

Once cooked - looks like this.

Garlic Chicken, they are selling it with the cheese fondue.  It's really a cubes of Velveeta and you put that on the grill to melt.  Once you melted them, you're supposed to dip the chicken in it.  The chicken was a tad dry, and I did try it with the cheese.  Just not my thing.  But, good idea in concept. 

For dessert: S'More

It's been awhile since I done it, but it's not that hard to figure out, right?!

If you do go, I suggest you try to go during the early seating because it does get crowded quickly and easily.  They now accepts reservations, so do that before you go.  Parking can be a challenge, the shopping center is not that big and there's alot of shops already in place, so they have limited spaces.  You can drive around the block and try to find a spot, but with all the bars in the area, you are competing for space.  I parked a couple blocks down, which seems far on the way in.  But, after a big meal that walk back to the car helps with digestive.  

Gyu Kaku

510 W. Gray St

Suite A

Houston, TX 77002

713-750-9520

http://www.gyu-kaku.com/tx/houston.htm