Pico's

Went to get some Mexican at Pico's.

We were smart, we got there before 6p and got a nice parking spot, nice table, and by the time we left, the waiting area was packed and people were driving around the parking lot hoping someone leaves.

Got the El Jefe margarita, which has Tequila, orange liqueur, lime juice in this cool shaker and on the rocks.  It is delish!

Chili Con Queso, just give me a straw and I'll just suck up this whole bowl.  Of course, I didn't, have to keep some kind of composure at a nice restaurant.

Got the smoked salmon quesadilla.  Let's try this other picture...

Tons of salmon, not to mention if you dip it in guacamole, that's very filling.  I tried the creamy chipotle sauce, it was just not as good as the guac.  Super filling, tons of salmon with chihuahua cheese, had to take half of it home.  Don't worry, did not bring the guac home.

The servers are super nice.  As a matter of fact, came by and checked on me while I was waiting for my friend.  And when we're both sitting down, he came and chatted with us a bit.  It was such an enjoyable experience, no wonder people are lining up to get in.

Pico's

3601 Kirby Dr

Houston, TX 77098

832-831-9940

https://www.picos.net

Bernie's Burger Bus

Went back to Bernie's...

They have moved a few tables around but still kitchy.  Love the menu!

Got the Strawberry Lemonade, it was a tad too sweet even for my taste.

Got the Pre-Schoolers, which is 2 mini cheese burger sliders with pickle, mustard, and ketchup.   I love how fresh their meat is, and love that mini bun.  Not because they're small and cute, it something about it very sweet.  Also got a side of fries, hand cut and all.

I love that everything is super fresh and it tasted it.  It is on the pricy side, but it was totally worth it.  Not that we come here everyday, just every so often. Worth it.

Bernie's Burger Bus

5407 Bellaire Blvd

Houston, TX 77401

713-349-9400

http://berniesburgerbus.com/

Nippon

Went to grab lunch at Nippon.

Sunday is great, because it's not busy and you can definitely find parking.  Have to get an iced green tea with the beautiful weather outside.

Agedashi tofu - just because I love it.

I had really wanted to get curry rice, because I saw it on Facebook's promotion.  Except, they only serve curry rice on Wednesday after 5p and all day Thursday.  Sadden, I got the curry udon instead.  It was not the same.  The curry is soup, not as thick as I'd like them.  The noodles is super slippery so it was more of a challenge to grab them, those slippery suckers.  It took a while to eat, but it was not bad.

I like coming here on the weekends, it's nice and quiet and you get excellent service.  Parking usually is a big deal but on Sunday it was super easy and quick, plenty of spots.  Maybe, I'll do Thursday lunch and try my luck with the Curry Rice.

Nippon

4464 Montrose Blvd

Houston, TX 77006

713-523-3939

http://www.nippon-sushi.com/

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Han Kook Kwan Korean Restaurant

Just trying a new place in Bellaire.

They are located at the old Bodard location. 

Inside, looks so different.  They have private booths and also big tables to accommodate big parties.

Seafood pancake. It has eggs, flour, scallion, octopus bits, shrimp, oyster bits.

Bulgogi pork, I love it, it is spicy but not too much.  It also have heat which is from the pan.

This is beef fried rice with an egg on top.  Traditionally, they crack an egg on top because the food is so hot that it'll cook it when you mix the hot food.  This one is all cooked.

Of course, the best part of Korean meal is the side dishes... I should've counted those food in my ordering....  We have potato salad, fish paste slices, kimchi-ed potato, and a grilled fish.

Plain veggie, kim chi picked cucumber.

Regular kimchi, and sprout for some balance.

The whole meal is on the higher end, but it it was worth it.  The staff is new, but they want to help.  They deliver everything on a little cart and even box your food in the little cart too.  If you want anything you just ring a bell at your table,  it'll ring a bell at the server station and get their attention.  

What I didn't get to take a photo of was the salad bar.  It was out of place for me, but they have a full bar.  Spinach, mushroom, sliced cucumber and all.  

Han Kook Kwan

Korean Restaurant

9140 Bellaire Blvd

Ste B

Houston, TX 77036

346-240-4600

House of Bowls

Haven't been back to House of Bowls for a while.  Not by design, but more by accident.  There's lots in the area in terms of food, so you can really make a round and not have to repeat for months.

Got my usual Lemon Iced Tea, it just missing some zing for some reason.... missed the sweetener.

Stir Fried E-Fu Noodles (aka Yi Mein).  I grew up eating that.  When you're a kid, it's just fun to slurp up those noodles.  They came with scallions, mushrooms.  I also love the lobster version if you ever see one, do it.

Pork Cha Siu fried rice.  It's really that, pork as the meat, with eggs, soy sauce, rice.  

Bok Choy stir fried with garlic.  Needed some veggie and that's just sounded just right between seasons.  

The whole meal was casual and quick.  The not quick part was getting the staff's attention to order, to pay, or to get to-go boxes.  They felt so bad that they ignored us for the most part that they quickly get us our to go boxes, boxed it for us.  Of course, it also means that's another table they can turn over, but it was nice of them to do that for us, where typically we have to do it ourselves.

House of Bowls

6650 Corporate Drive

Houston, TX 77036

713-776-2288

Asahi

Was at Asahi after an afternoon of shopping.  Weekend are happy hour all day long!

Pretty and simple decor.

Vegetable Tempura, lots of food, 6 big pieces.

Gyoza, they do pan fry them.  Not too shabby.

Agedashi Tofu, really wish they soak the tofu in the ponzu sauce.  It was actually too dry.

Salmon sashimi, there's actually 6 pieces.  

Yeah, I basically did tapas style for all of them.  Since it was happy hour, all of the appetizer dishes are $3 with the exception of sashimi, which was $6.  Service was good, food is decent, and price is right.  In a pinch, stop by.

Asahi Sushi

8236 Kirby Dr

#200

Houston, TX 77054

713-664-7686

http://asahisushi.net

Tokyo Treats - Snack box

I'm totally a junk food junkie.  And the land of junk food is really Japan.  They come in all shapes, sizes, flavors, new and traditional.  Talk about crazy.

 I got a discount code for TokyoTreats and as usual, curiosity just gets me.  So had to order one to try.  So I got the premium box, which cost $34.99.  Like I said, I got a discount code, that made it easier to swallow.  If not, they have Small Box for $14.99 (comes with 5-7 full sized items), Medium box for $24.99 (comes with 10-12 full sized items and one DIY candy), and of course Premium which comes with 16-18 full sized items, 1 DIY candy, 1 toy and 1 drink, shipping is included.  And in case you don't know what you're looking at, like a lot of us do.  They include their own zine that describe what came into the box, what was featured, how to make your DIY candy, some fun cute Japanese toys/snack, a feature of a Japanese tourist spot and its specialty, and of course feature of folks who got their box.

So what did I get?  Let's see.  Top row: Calbee Sewed & Salt Chips (grew up w/ Calbee & love their products), Baked Limited Edition Sweet Potato Flavor (it's a chocolate snack).  The Heart Shaped is a palmier cookie, and a DIY candy, that is fruit and veggie themed, and you make gummy out of the mode provided.  

Second row: (sideway) Kinako Stick which is a semi-soft chew candy covered with roasted soybean flour.  Next to it is Mayotara (as the name suggested, it has something to do with mayo) it is taro fish snack (think jerky) and you add mayo on top of it (not sure about that just yet).

Third row: Pocky sticks which I love already, but this is soft milk flavor, the circles are Ramune (think soda) but it double as a whistle too, the little box in the package is a toy.  Then it's Umaitama which is like a cream puff but with chocolate inside.  Then next to it (in similar package) is Sweet Potato Yokan (from what I read, it jelly consistency - again, not too sure about that).  Then at the end in a big package is Caramel Corn but Apple Pie Flavor, perfect for fall!

Fourth row: The orange box is Milk Caramel, apparently been around since 1913.  Then next to it is semi-hard orange gummy.  The can with a peach on top is peach juice in a can (they were not kidding when they say it brings intense flavor.  It was a tad intense for me).  The sideway sticks is chocolate pie bar (tasted much like a chocolate cookie but in a bar shape), and the triangle with a circle in the middle is a Japanese Rice Ball keychain.

So, it came with 16 things and a zine introducing all of them with brief description.  It is a fun little present.  They have a sister site called Yumi Twins that sell only toys.  So, no need to go to Japan, bring Japan to you in a box.

Tokyo Treats

https://tokyotreat.com

Avalon Diner

Haven't been to Avalon even longer.  Not that I don't want to, but with a mobile toddler, it is hard.  Now that he can sit still (for 5 mins) it makes the trip a little easier.

 I miss my diner coffee.  Something about them that have that special taste... burnt bottom, too much ground... what is that secret tip? 

 Got my usual Corned Beef Hash with 2 eggs.  If you go back to my post 2 yrs ago, you'd notice (as I did) that the portion of corned beef hash is about the same as the hash brown.  As you can see here, that's totally not the case.  As a matter of fact, by the time I finished the eggs, the hash brown, I was able to eat 1/3 of the corned beef hash that had to box it home.  It was a lot of food.

As usual, the place was packed, you wait your turn on the bench.  And as soon as they can turn your table, they do and get a move on.  Food pretty much stayed the same, except with the aforementioned portion increase.  Otherwise, same diner feel that you don't get at much of the places any more.  

Avalon Diner

2417 Westheimer Rd

Houston, TX 

713-527-8900

http://avalondiner.com/locations/river-oaks/

Tiny's Milk & Cookies

When one of my Mom's group alerted us about the new place, I was all googly eyes about it.

 Milk and Cookies, who doesn't like milk & cookies?  Not to mention, it's Tiny Boxwood's famous chocolate chip cookies.

 When you walk up, you realized it's just a window.  But they packed a lot of things in the display.  They have a full size Italian espresso maker for your coffee needs, cookies (of course), ice cream, I didn't really see milk, but did see scones and other pastries.

 1 scoop for cup size, and it's not cheap.  It was $3 something for the ice cream.

 Flavors available so far: milk and cookies, coconut milk chocolate (dairy free option), vanilla, strawberry jam, peanut butter, salted caramel, honey lavender, orange sherbet to name a few.

Of course, their famous cookie.  I just love the logo.  Too cute.

This is a super cute concept.  The walk up window is located on the side of the building if you're used to going to Tiny No.5.  So it's between the bank's entrance and the restaurant's entrance.  I can see it gets busy during morning coffee run, or after school when the kids stop by for a treat.  I do wonder how the traffic and parking would be during brunch or lunch hour, as it is already a busy spot though tucked inside a neighborhood.  I would stop back by for some coffee next round.

Tiny's Milk & Cookies

3636 Rice Blvd

Houston, TX 77005

713-352-3086

http://www.tinyboxwoods.com/tinys-milk-and-cookies/

AGU Ramen Bistro

As soon as Carl from Ramen in Common posted a soft opening notice, I was super excited. 

 Even though it's a trek for me, the curiosity killed the cat and got me to trek out that way.  

To start, got Gyoza.  Ironically, our ramen came before the appetizer, but once it got here, you can taste that it was fresh.  I can't detect any frozen bits, heck, they even pan fry them to be crispy at the bottom.  The inside filling I haven't quite made up my mind just yet, but it is ground pork with cabbage.  And I don't dislike either of those, just something about the combo made me do a double take in a very neutral kinda of way.

 Tonkotsu Ramen is their game and the owner is from Okinawa, so they try to stick to as traditional as possible but with their own spin.   I got the Kotteri Tonkotsu, which means, it is pork-bone broth, with pork char siu, 60 degree egg, fried garlic chips, black garlic oil, bamboo, and scallion.  Price is $14, which is higher than normal, but worth the money.

So, you have to watch the exclusive interview Carl had w/ the owner of Agu.  The owner was describing how they made their ramen.  Soup is cooked for 22 hrs, chicken broth for 9 hrs, char siu cooked for 18hrs, and you can taste it.  As suggested, I tasted the broth by itself, then again after mixed everything all up.  You can tell there's texture to the soup, they really did put in the time.   Noodles is a little different than the ones you get around town, but the soup is really why you're here for.  They give you 2 pieces of pork, which as your chopstick touch it falls apart.  It does blend it.  Again, you're here to taste their broth, which I do, and frankly, the only ramen place that after I finished with my noodles, I went back to slurp the soup.  The other place I do that was at Ninja Ramen.  The difference here is that the noodles is not as elastic, but definitely egg-y.  Soup is cooked longer here and everything does go well, all but the egg.  You can definitely tell the food is not same ingredients that the other restaurants uses.  As a matter of fact, if you watch the video, a lot of their ingredients are shipped here.  Definitely something different.

This place just soft open since Friday, November 11; and it is already busy and packed.  While we were there right at lunch time, as the time progress, more and more people showed up and waiting for a table.  That said, there were a lot of 2-tops and they weren't filled but since it's the weekend, people came in droves.  I know it's soft opening, but currently, they have 3 staff at the front of the house and 2 in the back.  The 3 staff up front is the host, bust, server, and the 2 cooks are doing EVERYTHING in the back.  So, things are a tad slow, and they are short-handed.  But I see great things for them once they're fully up and going.  Definitely go back.  

Agu a Ramen Bistro

1809 Eldridge Pkwy So

Houston, TX77077

http://www.aguramen.com

https://www.facebook.com/AGURAMEN/

BiBiJo

Went back to HMart, not for grocery, though I can use some of those import coffee that has a cute packaging.  I came back for lunch.

I was there for bibimbap, but ended up with bulgogi rice.  So, decided to try out Bibijo in the side.  I'm basically eating my way down the each of the food stall there.  

Sadly, the bulgogi wasn't marinated with the spicier sauce.  As a matter of fact, the upper right corner's sauce is for the spice.  The meat didn't have the 'heat' to it at all.  It's pretty much mildly marinated meat, rice, turnip, carrot, cucumber, and sprout.  Of course, it was accompanied by miso soup.  It was kinda disappointing because my taste buds were ready for something with a 'kick'.  It's ok, next time go back to ask for more clarification.  And they were right, don't touch the bowl!  It's a stone bowl, keep heat very well, so well that the rice at the bottom get stuck to it.

Bibijo

inside H-Mart

1302 Blalock Rd

Houston, TX 77055

713-568-9511

Little Liberty

Late lunch on the weekend, went back to Little Liberty.

I like going off peak time, always able to find parking.

Got me an Arnold Palmer, yum!

Got the Fried Chicken Slider, of course with the Buttermilk biscuit.  YUMMO.  There's of course fried chicken, which is never greasy.  Their house made pickle, and little mayo.  It was relish and hit the spot.  Of course, I can never finish the fries, so much food.  Delicious but lots of it.

The only thing about going off time is the servers never knew if that's their table or not because it's between shifts.  We had the hostess took and got our drink order, the manager took the order and another server deliver them.  So, there was a bit of confusion.  Another confuse thing I was curious about was they seated a party of 5 at the booths (4 adults and 1 highchair).  If you've been there, the booths are raised and the high chair is not.  So, basically, one parent is eating and feeding their child like a puppy and the kid is never part of the conversation.  That was just weird to me, especially there are tons of tables available.

Little Liberty

2365A Rice Blvd

Houston, TX 77005

713-807-7224

http://littlelibertyhouston.com/

Sozo

Been eyeing on the Japanese restaurant in BLVD for a long time, and its finally here.

Their website and the actual space is vastly different, so it does make me question about the food too.

Met up with a couple of friends for lunch.  If you go early, it's easier to get a table as it does fill up quickly.  I got the bento, and it is kinda like pick from column A and pick from column B to comprise your bento.

What I have here?  (clockwise) Top left corner: sashimi which had tuna, salmon and yellowtail, nice size and pretty decent size.   Some seaweed salad to go with the fried pork chop.  Nice orange for after your meal, California Roll, and a fried wonton.  Altogether, it is very filling as far as lunch goes.

My issue is that they had 2 server, one bartender, 4 sushi chef, one hostess, and one manager.  Our server was running all around, so much so that he worked up a sweat, really dripping down his face.  Poor guy.  His manager wasn't doing much to help.  However, the bartender stepped in and help with taking order and delivering food.  The service seems to be very disorganized, for instance, I ordered an iced tea, which I didn't get until after I'm done with my meal.  My friend added to her order, we truly waited for 15 mins because it's an add-on and it is outside of the menu.  To me, those are kinks that should've worked out by now.

I did get to check out the bar, which is very impressive and of course the place is very modern decor.  But take a look at the private room, you're stretching your head because they use fluorescent light in there.  I looked at Yelp before heading out, and was curious why every one gave the place such high ratings.  The fish is good but not supremely fresh.  Service is subpar and the decor doesn't feed you.  So, not quite sure about the hype.

Sozo Sushi Restaurant

1700 Post Oak Blvd

Ste 250

Houston, TX 77056

832-659-0613

http://sozosushilounge.com

The Dough Cone

So while running errand saw a new ice cream truck...

What is a dough Cone?  Well, the side said something about Nutella, you already got me there.

The owner is super nice and was telling me all about the cone.  Though it is doughnut type base (think Turkish doughnut) shaped like cone, it is baked not fried.  And the outside has cinnamon sugar to help give it a crunch.  The cone is not thick like a donut, just thicker than a normal waffle cone you're accustomed to.

Their ice cream, unlike the soft serve that is made from powder, theirs is really made from milk, vanilla bean, and sugar.  When you order a cone, he will first put an organic strawberry at the bottom of the cone to serve as a stopper.  Then, fill the cone with Nutella inside, yum!  Then pour on the ice cream.  It is really pure ice cream, you do taste the difference from say froyo.  Then, you get to put unlimited amount of topping and they are all from Whole Foods.  They have sprinkles (that, I'm not sure WFM sells), sliced almond, nuts, dried fruit.

So, I got sliced almond on top, it's less 'messy' as compare to the other options.  And he's nice enough to give me a color changing spoon too 'help'.  

So how does it taste?  Well, the ice cream is definitely more premium than say what you get from Baskin Robbins.  It's not quite gourmet like Cloud10, but the ingredients are as simple as it gets.  The owner was saying that his family runs an organic food business, so to him pure ingredients are very important.  He does get his stuff from Whole Foods, and he does read the labels to make sure they are good before putting it on the truck.  

Price point of $6.99 a cone seems a tad high, but seeing that he uses premium on the ingredients you'd understand the price point.  Kind of make me feel better paying that price.  If we were to go to Picugo  or Amorino for that size it would've been about the same price-wise.  I like to support local and small businesses, so definitely will come back to support.

Interesting tidbit, this truck was formerly Monster PBJ.  Yes kids, sadly Monster PBJ is off the market, as they focus on working on some retail aspect of their business, but have no fear, truck is going to to go use.

The Dough Cone

parked at Rice Village on Times & Kelvin (in front of formerly JoAnn's Clothing)

https://www.facebook.com/thedoughcone/

832-910-9643