FM Kitchen & Bar

Ended up in the Washington Ave area and by suggestion, ended up at FM Kitchen & Bar

I must've driven by it many of times, just didn't take notice.  Turns out the place is pretty cool.

Chips and Queso, because I'm a queso addict.  Chips are not flimsy, has hold ability for sure.  Queso is median in terms of taste, consistency.  The salsa, however can be on the hot side.

Then, we have Frito Pie, we were just commenting how you can taste the beer, they must've used beer in the chili.  That said, I was reminiscing how growing up, we would get it at school's cafeteria in the Frito bag and eat it from there.

Main course, it's portobello burger.  It was amazingly good.  The sauce, I think, really did the trick.  They have the feta cheese sauce really did the trick for me.  Plus the mushroom wasn't too chewy, that worked for me.

The entire tab amongst 3 people came out to be $39, I'd say that's damn good included drinks.  It was good price for a full meal.  The service is also good, the servers were courteous and came and checked on us.

FM Kitchen & Bar

1112 Shepherd Dr

by Nett Street

Houston, TX 77007

832-804-6006

https://www.fmkitchenandbar.com

River Oaks Donuts

Haven't been back to River Oaks Donuts a while now...

 Not for any reason, just that the kiddo doesn't want Donuts, you just find something else.

Haven't had an old-fashion for a while.  Went to grab one.  It's nice and thick, you can taste a little bit of sour cream, but mostly I just like the cake portion of the donut.  I can't explain it, it is less guilty feeling than the regular donuts.

I will say, now that it's summer, the lines are shorter and it's easier to get in and out.  But then, it is still busy, sometimes 3-4 cars deep at the drive thru, so bring patience.  They will do special order donuts with alphabets that spell your name, which is pretty cool.

River Oaks Donuts

3601 Westheimer Rd

Houston, TX 77027

713-961-9458

http://riveroaksdonuts.com

Bodega

Thursday in Houston is a great evening for free museums.  While that's true, if you want to see some headlining shows, you do need to pay.  But for hungry tummies, you can go grab a taco after you get some culture.

Embedded in a medical building, Bodega Taco Shop is between Museum of Fine Arts and the Bicycle Museum/Childrens Museum/ and Health Science Museum.  Not to mention, within blocks from Hermann Park and Natural Science Museum.  Thursday night, this joint is busy.

For $9.95, you can get tacos and drinks that comes with rice and beans.  I got the pulled pork.  It's better than Chipotle, let's say, but not better than a good taco truck.  But it comes with 3 tacos that is piled on with meat, veggie, pico, and rice.  What more do you want?

I will say, this is not my first visit here, after all, my doctor is in the same building.  That said, this is the first time I saw a little unwelcome friend crawling on the counter.  It had me worried there for a little.  I understand, no kitchen is fully immaculate, but it does makes me wonder.  Since I don't frequent there, perhaps it's not so much a concern, but it does makes me wonder about a lot of establishments...  

Bodega Taco Shop

1200 Binz #160

Houston, TX 77004

713-528-6102

http://www.bodegastacoshop.com/

Cloud 10

Haven't been down to Cloud 10 for some dessert.

I just can't help myself when I'm down the street.  I'd figured, I'll be walking around the Village anyway, can walk off the calories.

This time I got Cafe Su Da, it does taste like the jolted Vietnamese Coffee that it's named after.  Sadly, it doesn't have the caffeine that the drink delivers, but the taste is definitely there.  So yummy, especially when it's hot out, it's definitely a great summer companion.

In case you don't want to deal with the parking in the Village.  They are on Grubhub which will deliver to you.

Cloud 10

5216 Morningside

Houston, TX 77005

713-434-6129

http://www.cloud10creamery.com

Coppa

It was nice to take a break and grab lunch with friends.

 Haven't been back to Coppa for a while, not for any reasons, just haven't been by that neck of the woods.

 Lunch with Arnold Palmer, so cool when it's before the mixing.

 Burrata Arancini, so yummy with the cheese, risotto type filling, topped with marinara sauce and cheese.... yumm-o.

There's my fav.  Ragatoni with prosciutto and parmesan cream.  Of course, what do I do?  I top it off with more cheese.  That's the thing to do, right?  LOL... yummy, creamy and cheesy.

Love their food, and service.  They were quick and tend to us pretty quick.  Don't have much complaint about the place.  Just yummy goodness.

Coppa Osteria

5210 Morningside

Houston, TX 77005

713-522-3535

https://www.coppaosteriahouston.com/

Tout Suite

Went to Memorial City a tad too early, so decided to grab breakfast instead.

Came back to Tout Suite.

Grab a croissant and milk tea.

The croissant has filling, it's strawberry and creme.  Nice and flakey.

The top of the milk tea cover said: Life Begins After Caffeine, and boy is that true or what.

They are opened before the rest of the mall opens, so you can enjoy the warm dishes or their pastries. Of course, coffee on the ready.  Feel free to enjoy that before your shopping.

Tout Suite

Memorial City Mall

303 Memorial City

#571

Houston, TX 77024

713-322-8686

http://toutsuitehtx.com/

Deco Latte

And now, for something completely different...

So I subscribed to a monthly box service called Yumi Twins.  Total fan of all cute things... and wouldn't it be from Japan, the land of a lot of cute things?  Of course!  

This month, my box came with Deco Latte.  I've seen these around, just didn't want to splurge the money for it.  So it's serendipitous that it came with the box.

 You open up the bag, it has a tray of 2 of these strips of deco.

 Totally grateful that it came individually wrapped, so you don't waste anything.

You lay it on top of your hot drink and wait for a few minutes then viola!

It's a totally cute idea.  They come in Snoopy, Hello Kitty and the like.  It only works for hot drinks.  And when you stir, it will melt off.  I was curious and didn't wait for it to melt all the way thru, so it swirl up a little film, but otherwise would've melted it all the way.   How does it taste?  Frankly, I can taste my mocha coffee just fine.  Couldn't say if the Deco Latte added any flavor or not. 

Overall, great idea, cute and fun.  Having 10 per pack seemed a bit much unless you're a huge fan and drink lots of coffee.  But it's fun and definitely add some character to your cup.

Deco Latte

How it works: https://youtu.be/ezQ_em-jst0

Buy on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/TAKARA-Rilakkuma-Latte-Coffee-Sheets/dp/B017KB16EA

Yumi Twins Monthly Box Subscription

https://yumetwins.com

BW3s

Another Happy Hour!  This time is at BW3s

They sure have came a long way from a little neighborhood joint to a classy chain.

First time trying the Karbach Ginger Lemon Radler.  To my surprise, it's very refreshing on a hot a stuffy day.

Happy Hour special, Chili Queso Dip, it came with pico de gallo and great fun shareable.

Fried mushroom, never had that before, not too much batter and not too hot either.  Thumbs up!

Mozzarella Sticks.  Cheeeeeeeeeseeeeeeeee.

Got the Boneless Buffalo Wings with Honey BBQ sauce.  Guys, this is a small.... gasp!  There's 12 pieces in a container.  Next time go for Snack Size, which has 8 pcs or grab a friend to share.  I ended up having to take half home.

Of course, I can let the potato wedges pass me by, and of course, it was way too much food and took it all home.  

Food is exactly the same, maybe, should've gone back to the good o' wings.  I do miss going there for trivia or watching a game.  That said, by the time we left, the place really gets busy.  Families bring their kids there, they get to have wings, the adults can watch the game, works for all.

Buffalo Wild Wings

3651 Weslayan St

Ste 210

Houston, TX 77027

713-581-7955

http://www.buffalowildwings.com/

HK Dim Sum

So excited to meet up with another Mom Friend to go to dim sum.  

 While we mostly talk about cute kids stories, we also got to know about each other's background.  I'm telling you, nothing like food that brings people together.

 First thing arrived is the Lotus Leave wrapped chicken sticky rice.

 The rice was good this day, not dried, it was soaked in soup before cooking, and they put a piece of Chinese dried sausage in there.  There's shredded chicken in it, I promise.

 Turnip cake, which was a tad too cooked... hmm.

We also got Har Gow (steamed shrimp dumpling), pretty good, big chunk of shrimp and the skin is nice and glassy, doesn't taste that way, don't worry.  But it's thought to be great if it is almost see-thru like on the skin.

Then, Char Siu Bao (steamed BBQ Pork bun).  I wish they give you more meat in there, but otherwise not shabby.

Also not pictured was Rice Roll with shrimp, they don't skim you on the shrimp.  They give you big chunks for sure.  And also not pictured, Egg Custard Tart.  Their shell for the tart is cookie shell, which holds up better but sweeter base along with the taste of the egg custard.  Pretty delightful.

My suggestion about going is that go early, we arrived at 10:30a was perfect, there were people there already but still seats available, by the time we were leaving there were people waiting outside to go in.  Don't be scared by how fast they clear tables, they needed to turn tables over for the next guests, and you do feel rush off, but they are just so popular to maintain that business.

HK Dim Sum

9889 Bellaire Blvd

Houston, TX 77036

713-777-7029

http://hkdimsumcity.com/

Ramen Tatsu-ya

Went back to Ramen Tatsu-ya, this time no wait... 

...and even parking in the parking lot on the side.

They're running a special on yuzu lemonade, you can make it virgin or not.  But let me tell you, having the virgin version this can easily be made into the alcoholic version and I wouldn't be able to tell the difference.  It is a good summer drink, I'll say.  The stuff not the rim is like a salt but purple.

Got the original plus the extra char siu.  In reality, I just really wanted one more slice but since they came in 2 slices, just have to 'endure' it.  Haha.  The soup base is thick and it's decent.  The noodles is the typical Sun noodles that is widely used by Ramen shops around town.  To my knowledge, I only know of Samurai and Tiger Den that make their own noodles, everyone else uses Sun Noodles.  So, what really makes the ramen dish stand out would be the soup.  This one definitely have some texture to it.  And after mixing it up and enjoying it with the noodle and all the fixin's, everything pretty much neutralizes.  I liked the egg, wish they gave me the other half, but having the extra meat really is more than enough.

They were super quick with serving us.  By the time we were seated, our ramen came out before our edamame did.  Talk about fast!  Like I said, we got thru no problem, no wait.  Parked on the provided lot got in and out no issues.  Even though it's really tucked in behind DaMarco's, you cannot miss the giant Neko (cat).  Don't forget to read signs if you're going to park on the street.

Ramen Tatsu-ya

1722 California St

Houston, TX 77006

http://ramen-tatsuya.com/

Golden Dim Sum

Took my dad to dim sum, and went to Golden's.

Even though we arrived during peak time, parking and wait time was pretty reasonable.  They have such fast turn over that by the time we sat down, we were then 141th ticket they've done that day.  While their space isn't exactly huge, but that's a testament about how fast they are.

This is lotus leaf wrapped sticky rice with chicken and mushroom.  Forgot to take a shot of it after I opened it, and of course, I was hungry and ate it.

Har Goa - shrimp dumpling, pretty nicely done the wrap doesn't get torn apart easily as some places do, I much appreciate that.

(L) Malaysian Sponge Cake, it's pretty close to texture and taste, it might be a tad sweeter than I remembered, but it's pretty close, now only if the appearance is like the olden day, which is taller and serving was 1/4 slice, I'm all good then.  

(R) Char Siu Bow - steamed bbq pork bun

Pan fried red bean paste pancake.  The 'pancake' is really rice gluttonous cake.  So, the texture is very much mochi-like, which is sticky, made of rice, and thick.

Two types of Rice Rolls here, the top is pan fried rice roll with XO sauce, it has a kick to it, but boy it was so good that I didn't care and kept eating it.

The bottom is rice roll with bbq pork and soy sauce, it was a good stable in any good dim sum place.

Lasts but not least, egg tart.  They're one of the few places that has egg custard tart that the shell is done in layers.  Lots of places either use cookie shell or just one layer shell.  The multi-layer gives it the crispy factor and bakes nicely as a whole.  Definitely a must!

Not shown, the Egg Custard Bun with Egg Yolk, it's a trend, where you bit into it, and the egg custard flows out.  And it's a sweet dish.  I was too full to eat any of it, took it home and re-heat it later, well, the effect was gone, but it tasted pretty good.

Like I said, they have pretty quick turn around time and very fast on their service so they can turn more tables.  So, while the wait might look intimidating, it is not so horrific.  But do remember to bring patience.

Golden Dim Sum

10600 Bellaire Blvd

Ste 105

Houston, TX 77072

281-495-1688

http://goldendimsum.com

Yokushi Robata

Quickly went back to Yokushi for dinner...

 Since we kept hitting it during off time, parking was easy and the service is quick.  Totally great dinner before madness of the parking lot drives you to drink.

 Decided to try Shishito Peppers, just because I've had great experience elsewhere.  It wasn't bad, but I would've liked for it to cook a little bit longer.

 Bacon wrapped asparagus, of course, you wrap anything with bacon, it'll be good... no argument there.

 Beef and Squid skewers.  The beef was on spot, the squid was a tad spicier than my taste, but not bad.  

 Chicken Gizzard - a bit chewy, more chewy than I like.  Had to give up half way.

Chicken Tsukune - which is a fancy chicken meatball on a skewer with eel sauce and sesame seeds on top.  Pretty filling and it is packed with meat.  

Overall, quick service, they input the order on iPads and the machine is printing the ticket to the chef to put together the skewers before the server walk back there.  They are super quick too, so it is truly the cooking time that you're waiting on your food.  No food sitting on the counter and waiting for people.   If skewers not your thing, my dad had the curry rice and he said it's pretty decent.

Yokushi Robata

3837 Richmond Ave

Houston, TX 77027

832-933-6888

http://www.yokushirobata.com