Trendy Dumpling

Went back to Trendy Dumpling...

... this time for a self prescribed Dumpling Night.  

Hot & Spicy Dumpling, it felt very unfair, because the dumpling itself is not spicy at all.  It's the sauce that makes it so.  It was the least favorite at the table.

3-colored dumplings, that is shrimp in yellow, beef in purple, and veggie in green.  My favorite was the veggie one, I like that one then is the shrimp one.  Definitely was doing it for the gram.

Alas, Xiao Long Bao.  So, I felt that these are more authentic than Tiger's.  You can tell that the chef is very skilled in making XLB.  You can tell by each piece.  Not too much soup but enough to have the flavor retained.  Still like mine in Chinatown, but for inner loop, this is a worthy stop.

Spun off of the Spicy Girl franchise, they kept the West U Location to keep the clientele nearby.  And true to the saying that if you see alot of Chinese people at a Chinese restaurant, you know it's a good place to try or go to.  That said, when it was Spicy Girl, I never went to this location.  They had several around town.  But I am liking this rendition of the restaurant.  The decor is lacking, the services is do-able but is the dumpling you're here for.

Trendy Dumpling

3285 Southwest Fwy

Houston, TX 77027

713-750-9398

http://www.trendydumpling.com

Common Bond - Medical Center

I love going to Common Bond in Medical Center

Plenty of parking, no lines out the door, and everyone is courteous.

I can eat everything in here, I swear...

Decided on something I don't usually see or get....

Kouign-Amann - which is like a combo of cro-nut plus stickie bun.  When you cut it open, it has multiple layer but the top is super stickie like a sticky bun.  Dubbed the most fattening cake and originated in Brittany.  David Lebovitz has a recipe from 2005.  

This is a Kugelhopf - Boston Cream version.  Popular from the Easter European region this is really their version of the bundt.  As a matter of fact, the pan that made these do look like a bundt.  This one in particular chocolate cake crumb at the bottom, cream in the center, and the cake is really a yeast based cake.  

Alright, for real brunch food... I got the lox and toast, but this is way fancier.  Slice of sunflower rye, topped with cream cheese, salmon caper, shredded egg topped the toast.  Basically, when you cut it apart, it's a mess, but it's good.  Then again, Lox and bread can't really go wrong.  It is fancy, however...

Of course, I needed to get the coffee to go, must do for my trip to CB.

Common Bond

Medical Center

2278 W. Holcomb Blvd

Houston, TX 77030

346-327-8393

https://commonbondcafe.com

Craftburger - Finn Hall

Went back to Finn Hall for lunch

Actually, I was lured in there by Craftburger's Instagram to be honest.

They were running a a special, which was Nashville Hot Chicken Loaded Fries.  That just all spells heavy, greasy, and delicious to me.

So, what do they have?  Basically loaded fries, which has obviously fries, cheddar cheese, green onion, bacon, and ranch on the side.  Now, what makes this Nashville Hot Chicken, is that they added fried chicken bits in the mix.  So, as you eat it, you don't feel any spice until it goes down.  Then, it kicks you from the gut.  It is very filling and it does have a kick.  Don't worry, I didn't eat the entire thing, too spicy for me.  I did get a lemonade to cool me down, that helped some, but not enough, needed more.

If Craft Burger sounded familiar, that's because they were on Food Network's Chopped.  Then, Chef Tune launched the food truck that sell drunken milkshake, which at the time, not too many places in town that does.  Now, they are located in Finn Hall, and you can find them any time you want to stop by.

Craft Burger

in Finn Hall

712 Main Street

Houston, TX 77002

832-995-6056

https://craftburgerfoodtruck.com

Jade's Teahouse

So was at Rustic Brush, and had intended to go eat Poke' but unbeknownst to me, it had just closed.

So, ended up at the Bubble Tea place... yes, they serve food... so why not?!

Lots of add-ons for your drinks, they have milk tea, fruit teas, coffee, slushie, smoothie, and then there's variations and combinations thereof, so knock yourself out.

And this is the type of food they have, mostly fried food, but they have hot dogs & burgers too.

This is a 1/4 lb hot dog, they automatically doused on ketchup and mayo.  Not bad, but wish I have that control, because I wouldn't have put so much on there.  That's for $3.95.

Sesame balls, which I got on a whim, and it's $3 for the order.  

I got a peach green tea, and it's not too sugary, which is fine by me.

Overall, this is a quick grab-n-go type place.  Don't expect too much out of that.  It is located right next to the community college and by Home Depot, so there are alot of traffic stopping in for a quick Bubble Tea.   I imagine when school starts back up, there'll be more students stopping in for a break.    It's not a bad deal if you need food in a pinch, I do like the variety of choices for tea.

Jade's Teahouse

5475 West Loop South

Ste 170

Houston, TX 77081

281-974-1437

Flower & Cream

So, when there's dessert near me, I really pay attention.

Not to mention a lot of the 'influencers' on Instagram was going ga-ga over this place.

Mainly for this....

and this.  Mind you, this Swing is bolted down, but I've heard from the moms groups that smaller kids have sat on them and fell over.  So, don't let the little ones sit on there unless they have a good balance.

This is the Andes chocolate mint ice cream, and the green cone is green tea handmade waffle cone flown in from New York.  OOOhhh ahhhh.

Another type of ice cream is their ice cream sandwich made with macarons as the 'cookie' part.  It is really chocolate brownie inside with the chocolate macarons.  Needless to say, you need a bigger mouth to eat that ice cream sandwich.  Haha, just kidding.

Met the owner briefly and he's very aware of the competitions in the area, but has faith that with the pizzeria next door that they may get some business from the eatery.  There are also a salad place in the same shopping center, another Italian place behind and a Chinese & Ramen shop caddy corner.  So, definitely hopeful and we wish them all the luck.

Flower & Cream

2617 W. Holcomb Blvd

Houston, TX 77030

832-667-8412

www.facebook.com/flowerandcream/

www.flowerandcream.com

St Regis Tea

It's been a while since I had tea at St. Regis, especially since the hotel got bought out by Marriott.

We started off with amuse bouche of salmon foam version of deviled egg

I always love the tea set, so fancy and pretty.

Here's our tea sets.

We have here: (top) pimento cheese sandwich, salmon sandwich, cucumber sandwich, chicken salad sandwich, and ham and swiss sandwich.  Frankly, my favorite was the chicken salad, it was freshly made and then the second is the salmon sandwich.

Then, they brought us the cranberry scone.  The clotted cream was not super fresh, but the scone was warm and it went well with the jam.

In between, they were serving us Earl Grey, which they gave us a choice of Earl Grey or a non-caffinated tea, subject to the season and availability.

For dessert, we got: (top) fruit tart - the shell was soft.  The chocolate banana cake, which was pretty delicious and then the round tart was a mini apple tart.  The apple inside was ok but the shell was too hard for my taste.  To bring home, we were all sent with a box of macarons too.  How lovely!

You definitely need to book in advance, and tea starts at 3pm, and is expected to come and be seated then.  They have 2 butlers, but definitely not as good as service as the one I've had before.  These two were missing our queue for needing our tea refilled, or ready for the next course.  

In terms of the food, some were good and some were not.  That, to me, is their quality not being to maintain their once top notch quality.  I used to enjoy all of the food that were sent with the set, but this time I find myself either trying to trade or pick at what was in front of me.  Either way, this is an unique experience and if you like tea, you should at least come and enjoy the harpist which you have your tea.  Even the valet guy was kind to us tea patrons.

Tea at St Regis

1919 Briar Oak Ln

Houston, TX 77027

713-840-7600

https://www.marriott.com/hotels/hotel-information/restaurant/houxr-the-st-regis-houston/

Tiger Noodle House

Went back to Tiger Noodle House, since my friend was trying to eat all that she can before her move.

I talked her into having the twice cooked pork, which is my favorite.  They have pickled veggie at the bottom, pork belly, and stew for a long time, so the juice is super delicious.

Got the Sweet Garlic Eggplant, which has the sweet soy sauce and the eggplant was mushier than I'd thought they'd be, but not bad.

Ahh, finally, the reason to come here... the Xiao Long Bao.   They're pretty meaty, and the soup is mild.  Of course they were steaming hot, so we took our time.  Of course they're enjoyable nonetheless.  

As usual, they're packed shortly after we arrived.  The trick is to get there a little before 6pm, before the dinner rush starts.  Even if you have to wait, they move pretty quickly.  They bring the food out pretty fast and turn the table over pretty fast too.

Tiger Noodle House

2424 Rice Blvd

Houston, TX 77005

281-974-4083

https://tigernoodletexas.com

Square Root Poke

Having a super late lunch and ended up in Katy.  

For something fast and quick, went to the poke place.

The bowl is not cheap, for a small like this is $10.25.  The ones in town are less than $9 usually.  Much like how the other ones work, you choose a base of rice, lettuce, zoodles, edamame noodles.  Then protein - fishes that you like.  Add sauce, mix-ins, sides and topping.  

I tried the zoodles, just because you don't often get that as an option.  Again, the price is on the high side, the quality is on par, the staff are friendly.  Definitely a quick lunch.

Square Root Poke

23119 Colonial Pkwy

#C9

Katy, TX 77449

832-437-7851

https://www.squarerootpoke.com

Bouchee

Since I was over at the H Bar for happy hour, thought I walk around this very posh hotel.

And came up to their patisserie.

Look at the colorful macarons.... LOVE!

They have other stuff too...

Like the pan aux raisin.  They definitely put enough butter in there, I can attest to that.

Here's the macs: (clockwise -top left) Salted Caramel, Pistachio, Passion Fruit/Mango, Strawberry Lemonade, Chocolate, Pistachio.  They're pretty good and fresh quality, which is surprisingly since the shelf is full and each cost $3.50 each and they're not moving them out quickly.

The whole place is very cute and great for enjoying breakfast or cup of coffee.  If they serve high tea here, it'll be just perfect for the setting.  Again, keep in mind, there are limited self-parking here at Post Oak Hotel, so you'l have to valet and pay for that fee.  Which means, your macarons are one of the most expensive in town.

Bouchee

inside Post Oak Hotel

1600 West Loop South

Houston, TX 77027

346-227-5131

https://www.thepostoakhotel.com/restaurants/bouchee-patisserie/

H Bar

So I have not yet gotten a chance to step into the posh Post Oak Hotel.

Finally gotten a chance.  I just love how gaudy that arrangement is.  Not something you see everyday.

To the side of of the lobby is H Bar.

Got a mocktail of the Pineapple Mule, which has ginger syrup, lemon juice, and ginger ale.  It's not too tart, but not too gingery either.  I'd go back for that again.

While you sit down, they bring out some nuts and olive for munchie.

So, they offer wood fire pizza, which is essentially a full size pizza.  I will say, theirs is super cheesy.

Then we got a cheese and meat board, which came with 3 kinds of meat and 2 kinds of cheese with nuts, ginger and olive.

Overall for the price and this type of setting, it is on par.  Quality is not bad, but also expected a bit more on the pizza, even though we did order a pepperoni pizza, was hoping they'd do something more rustic style than Domino's style.  I do applaud the cheesiness of the pizza but the comparison stops there.  The meat board aren't shabby, again, I've had better ones for that price point.  

From what I understand, if you come on a weekend night, this is a seen or be seen type place, the age range immediately gets pull down than from a Happy Hour group.  In terms of parking, there are some self-park area on the side of the hotel and side of Willie G's.  There's also a few spots in front of their cafe, but good luck with that.  Do expect you have to valet.  You do have to pay for it which they have a kiosk with a person that is doing the in-take.

I will say for hotel this caliber I expected top notch service wherever I go.  The folks at the door was nice, the server at the bar was ok.  I think she was disappointed that our table had more women than men.  The person at the parking kiosk was nowhere to be seen for a good few minutes before I grab a bell-person to get someone to attend to the station.  This would never happen at Four Seasons or Peninsula, which is the caliber Post Oak is aspiring to.  There are service points that are deducted for that.  Just be prepare when you go that you'll be paying for one thing or another.

H Bar

inside Post Oak Hotel

1600 W. Loop South

Houston, TX 77027

346-227-5137

https://www.thepostoakhotel.com/restaurants/h-bar/

Smashburger

Went for a quick burger and shake.

I love how they give you a full shake and then the left overs.  I just needed the water to wash it down.

So what did I get on my cheat meal.  I got a classic Smash and sans the pickle.  But that's still alot of food.  I can definitely taste the beef patty is much more fresh than other burger places.  I forgot to ask them to skip the cheese, but it wasn't bad at all.  Again, the freshness of the food was top notch.  The fries, I forgot to ask for Smashfries, the plain ones were ok.  I guess my eyes was hungrier than my stomach.  By the time the food arrived, I scuff all of the burger down, I had no room for fries, but the idea was good.

Smashburger

5220 Buffalo Speedway

Houston, TX 77005

713-343-0191

https://smashburger.com/menu/

Hong Kong's Cafe

Since I've been on a diet, I haven't been by Hong Kong's Cafe.  Of course, I have to get their breakfast.

Of course the breakfast set comes with noodle.  This is thick noodles with shredded pork and mustard green.

Then the main entree is 2 eggs, protein and toast.  So, I got my sunny side up eggs.  2 slices of spam, insert judgey-ness here.  And toast that are already buttered.  Judge all you want, this all are very filling.

Not shown: an iced lemon tea, Hong Kong style.  For less than $7, you get all of that and the noodles can have variations, where can you find a deal like that?

Hong Kong's Cafe

9108 Bellaire Blvd

Suite A

Houston, TX 77036

713-772-9633