Moody Garden - Cafe in the Park

Rise and Shine from Galveston!

The Sunrise and Sunset from their hotel room offers a beautiful view.  

I ordered Corned Beef Hash.  Since I was ordering off menu, the order took longer than usual.

I promise, there are meat underneath the eggs.  Doesn't the potato looks like funky hair do?

I ordered a side of bacon for my kiddo.  It was a lot of food for sure.  By comparison, the price for ordering off menu versus buffet, which is what Cafe in the Park is known for, is about the same.  The buffet has a great spread, with waffle bar and omelette bar, but since I'm on a diet, I'm very limited in what I can eat.  That said, I've been able to eat whatever, just need to do it in moderation.

Cafe in the Park

insides the Moody Garden Hotel 

7 Hope Blvd

Galveston, TX 77554

888-388-8484

https://www.moodygardenshotel.com/dining

Beard Papa

Since we were in Katy, I stopped by Beard Papa.

No crazy lines this time.

The atmosphere is way more relax and make you feel like you can sit, chill, and have a puff.

Loving the Merch!

*drool* this is why I'm here...

It is just lovely to see all of them lined up like that... I'm in Heaven!

Here's my chocolate one, this time I've asked for it to have chocolate cream inside.  Boy, lemme tell ya, chocolate on chocolate is divine.

This is Green Tea with Vanilla cream, it's nice and mild.  I just really like the green tea coating on the outside.  So yummy.

It's nice that now the craze has cool down a bit.  When I got there there were only couple of people in front of me.  Though, they were having huge orders.  I'd figured I'm out this way anyhow, might as well stop by and grab a few.  They are very delicious and mostly no one else has this, but do try other flavors when you come next time.

Side bar: been watching Wreck-It Ralph (the first one) with my kiddo recently.  We realized that Beard Papa was in the movie.  He was the guard of the car making factory, the game within the game.  Next time, check that out.

Beard Papa

23119 Colonial Parkway

Unit A 

Katy, TX 77449

832-913-1257

closed on Wednesday

http://beardpapa.com

Kata Robata

Was itching for some good Japanese food, so back to Kata we go!

Luckily, we caught Happy Hour.

Monday thru Saturday from 3p - 6:30p, lots of good deals.

Not something I usually get, Califlower, fried with mayo and soy sauce with bonita flakes.

Agedashi Tofu (my favorite)

Kobe Beef Taco - it's so yummy, I can eat this for days.

Every time I came in, I must get Uni Sushi.  So nice and fresh, never slimy or fishy.

Japanese Amberjack Sashimi with Foie Gras, one of my all time favorite here.  You really must wrap the sashimi, which is nice and thinly cut around the foie with a bit of the olive oil and hazelnuts and do it in one bite to get all the flavors from the dish.

Last but not least, we shared a bowl of Spicy Soy Ramen, luckily, it wasn't too spicy for a wimpy like me.  There's braised ground pork, noodles, egg, chives, sprouts, chili oil.  Very hearty and definitely warm for a cool night.  I highly recommend it.

As usual, for weeknights, I always make a reservation.  Call ahead or book online.

Kata Robata

3600H Kirby Dr

Houston, TX 77098

713-526-8858

https://www.katarobata.com

Luce Ave Houston

Been driving by the coffee shop, thought: why not.

Small little space facing Weslayan by Richmond Ave.

Don't think just because the space is small, there's quite a bit of offering here.

I'm a sucker for instagrammable places.

I got a Cafe Mocha, whatever the chocolate syrup they use are pretty nice and thick, makes it very flavorful, which is a plus.  They have soy milk and it worked out very nicely.

I see they also serve breakfast tacos, which is made by Liberty Taco down the street, so that's a quick pick up if need be.

Parking is not easy, if it's early, it's kinda ok.  If its' later please read the signs carefully, this shopping center does tow.

Luce Ave Coffee Roasters

3995A Richmond Ave

Houston, TX 77027

281-974-4588

https://www.luceavenuecoffeeroasters.com

Happy Thanksgiving!

Just want to say Happy Thanksgiving.  Eat lots, drink lots, and be with the people you love lots.

We'll be back next Monday.

Cafe Express

just wanted to have a small dinner.

The Creamy New Potato soup sounded good.  It has new potato, carrots, onion, green onion, cheddar, bacon.  It's not baked potato soup, vaguely reminds me of Bennigan's Potato Soup, it's lighter in the creamy texture, which I preferred that more.

I also got the apricot green tea, I don't taste much of the apricot, but the green tea was pretty nice.  If you ever in a pinch, give that a try.

Cafe Express

1422 West Gray

Houston, TX 77019

713-522-3100

https://cafe-express.com

Roastery

Heard alot of hub bub about the new fancy HEB on Bellaire Blvd, had to come check it out.

Plus, I can get coffee while I shop, heck, why not.

You can watch them as they work.  Please, no shopping cart in there, it is very tiny.

All their staff working quickly on your beverage.  I did see a wine chiller on the back counter, so they must serve wine at some point.

What did I get?  Well, I saw the Apple Cider Donuts, seeing it was gloomy and rainy, kinda felt perfect as I pretend it's Fall somewhere.  I got the Aztec Spiced Cocoa, it is spicy, it does have a kick, but it's not over powering the rest of the cocoa, totally up my alley.

The Apple Cider Donuts, it is in cake donut form.  You do taste the sweet of apple plus sugar and the sour from the cider.  The order usually comes in 3s, but I got 4 somehow, I'll take it.  It's so good that I was dreaming about it days later.  Highly recommend it.

As my friend, Julie, pointed out: their cups tells you to have a Great day.  Well, ok, I'll do that!

If you're here to go grocery shopping then park at the garage underneath and when you're done, you can watch your shopping cart take an escalator ride down to meet you.  But if you're here for the coffee, drive on up to the 2nd floor of the parking garage, that'll take you to the front door of the grocery store and to the Roastery.  

According to their website, they'll be opening more Roastery at different HEB locations.  While that confused me because not all HEB has room to accommodate, I do welcome the add.  They also serve breakfast and lunch in forms of salad and sandwiches.  They also have smoothies, gelato on top of coffee.

The Roastery

5106 Bissonet St

Ste C

Bellaire, TX 77401

281-888-5528

https://www.theroastery.com

Go Go Curry!

Rushed over to try Go Go Curry as early as the 3rd week of their opening.

Good thing we went right before the lunch crowd hit, found a good parking and no lines in the store.

True to Japanese fashion, they have sample food display of the dishes they have to offer.  Frankly, growing up, I've been seeing those at the restaurant windows, it is only coming to the States the seems to be out of fashion.

Actually, the store is tiny, so don't be surprise that you have to wait for a seat during peak meal time.  Cute mural, very 'Space City' of them.

Alright, what did I get: I got the vegetable tempura with my curry.  I happened to see that on their rotating menu, but the problem is the staff wasn't familiar and was surprised that I didn't order something with meat on it.  Granted, having a piece of fried meat with the curry and rice is delicious.  Sometimes, a girl just wanted some thing that's non-meat fried.  The cashier made the tempura sounded small, so I order 4 pieces, turned out it was tallied up by pieces.  It was $1.55 per piece.  I also got a side of shredded cabbage, which is very good to soak up with the curry sauce.   Basically for this medium sized dish cost over $9.  

The dish itself is not complicated but I was very much looking forward to the Japanese sweet curry.  This is sweeter than say Indian or Thai curry, but it's not as I had expected.  That's all good.  Tons of rice, which is perfect for the curry they gave you.  I ordered some cabbage as a side of vegetable, really.  But they turned out to be great for the curry as well.  To be honest, it is alot of one person, but seeing it's my first time, that's just a beginner's mistake.

My tip, either go with the pre-created dishes, which they have just curry and rice (that's original), with chicken, with sausage, with shrimp, with one of each plus egg, and more.  All of them come in Small, Medium, Large and Extra Large dish size.  Next time for me, I would've gotten a small size because medium size is a lot of rice.  Topping you can have extra sauce, or extra toppings, which is $1.55 per piece.

You will find alot of things that ends with 5.  For instance, the store hour is 10:55a - 9:55pm.  The reason is: in Japanese 5 is pronounced go, which is perfect for Go Go Curry, which can be viewed as 55 curry.  So much so that if you go there on the 5th, 15th, or 25th of the month, they'll have some kind of special or coupon for your next visit.  It's cute.

Go Go Curry
9889 Bellaire Blvd
C 317
Houston, TX 77036
281-888-3062
https://gogocurryamerica.com

Viet Express

Here's a cautionary tale of what not to do...

We saw a Vietnamese place between a cajun place and a burrito place.  And as the saying goes, curiosity kills the cat and this is the time that it does not pay off.

I ordered a Thai tea, I took two sips literally gave it back.  It just tasted horrible not just as a Thai tea, as a regular drink.

Got a regular pho with beef.  There was hardly any taste in there and the beef was over cooked, and as a regular pho connoisseur would know they want to leave the beef not too cooked because the broth is supposed to cook it some more.  Anyway, the entire experience food-wise was not good.

The server guy was a med student and I see him trying to give good service and get back to his chapter.  But let's just say the food is so bad that there's no helping him.  He asked how's everything I was just very truthful, not mean, telling him all that I just mentioned and he was taken aback some and apologized.  I told him, it's not his fault but it's just not good.

Viet Express

8057F Kirby Dr

Houston, TX 77054

832-968-3643

Tamashi

For a quick ramen stop, went back to Tamashi.

This time we decided to get a sushi platter to start.  They give you 6 pcs of salmon roll sushi, we got another 6 pcs of nigiri.  

Of course, once again, eye bigger than the stomach.  Good thing we split everything, so that I wasn't such a gluttonous.  Got the Shoyu Ramen this time.  The broth is clearer, has cabbage (underneath), 60 degree egg, chasui, and fish cake and of course the ramen noodle.  The noodle is thicker than the regular Sun Noodles that I'm used to most places use, but the broth is not bad.  Definitely thinner than the Tonkotsu, less fat, but it's still flavorful.  Not bad at all.

Tamashi Ramen & Sushi

2518 Holcombe Blvd

Houston, TX 77030

346-204-5523

https://www.tamashiramensushi.com

Batanga

It has been a long time since I've been back to Batanga.

I vaguely remember that they're known for their tapas.

And a very instagrammable patio for happy hour.

They run all sorts of Happy Hour specials, so make sure you go check it out.

Got the Beef Taco and Fish Taco - which by the way, the Fish Taco I highly recommend.

Also a special on Flatbread, I have here Argentinian sausage (L) and Serrano Ham (R).

They were running a promotion on Wagyu slider, well, I will tell you don't waste your calories, it tasted like a regular slider to me.  So, just save it for something else like alcohol.

Patata Bravas - diced fried potato, but the special thing about this is their aioli sauce, it is super addictive.

Grilled beef skewers, it's the skirt steak but chew-y-er than I'd like.

We split some empanadas, there's Carne and Chicken here.  I really liked the Carne one.

Bacon wrapped date.  It's pretty good and if I wasn't full at this point, I would've eaten more if I could  fit them in.

So, I think this is one of the last place that has a payphone in their place and not for ironic or art reason.  I think they are functional, the problem I think most of us have nowadays is that we don't remember people's numbers like we used to.  Not to mention trying to find a quarter.

Batanga

908 Congress

at Travis

Houston, TX 77002

713-224-9500

https://batangahouston.com

Yokushi Robata

I was craving for some curry, and the closest one I can think of that's near me and don't have to wait till dinner.

So I ended up at Yokushi Robata.

Got a Lychee Ramune, which I also called the marble soda.  You have to push a marble thru the opening and it'll catch at the neck of the bottle in order to open it. 

As usual my eyes was bigger than my stomach, and I ordered more than what I should.  I got the shishito peppers just because I like them.  And also got the pork belly skewers.

Here's the katsu curry, which is fried chicken with curry sauce over rice.  I just really wanted the curry.  Their version of the curry was a tad too watery for my taste.  It tasted fine, the sauce mix with rice almost because soup-y.  Otherwise, it's fine.  

I like coming down to Yokushi just because if you come when they open they're not very busy.  At night however, they do get swamp and since they do skewer to order, it may take a bit longer with the volume of guests in the house.  Like I said I usually eat during non-prime time to avoid crowd and faster service.

Yokushi Robata

3837 Richmond Ave

Houston, TX 77027

832-933-6888

https://www.yokushirobata.com