Bori

Finally got to try Bori, been drooling at their menu for some time.

They have a huge building, and there's parking both front and back of the building. 

There's a lot of space inside the building.  There's also a separate bar area.

And an art gallery that feature Korean artists.

Let's head to the dining area, even though there's screens, it's quite spacious.

Let's sit down...

This is a KBBQ place, meaning grilling our meal today.  Here's the banchan, as traditional Korean meals serves.  I would say that it was skimpy by portion.  We had 4 in our party, that doesn't seem to be enough.  Luckily, they will bring you as you request.  

Some more barchan and a salad.  That was pretty good for starter.  Not pictured, Seafood Pancake, it's a great app and ask them to make it crispy, it's delicious.

We got the Butcher Feast, you can Pork Belly, Short Rib, NY Strip, Filet Mignon.  The beauty of it is that they cook and cut it for you, which I appreciate. 

For sides, we got Kimchi Stew, which does have a kick to it. 

Corn Cheese - which I'm not a huge fan of corn anyhow, but if it's in front of my face, I'll eat it.

Lastly, steamed eggs.  It comes in nice and piping hot.  So be careful when you dig in.  It goes well with the kimchi stew and anything that's pickled.  

This is a very nice place, definitely can tell their cut of meat is fresher than other places and of quality.  Definite will come back and try their other soups and stone pot dishes.

Bori 

1453 Witte Rd

Houston, TX 77080

832-740-4350

https://www.borirestaurant.com

 

Christo Mio

Was dying for something to drink, so popped into Christo Mio.

They have aqua Fresca and Pecan Milk.  I've never had Pecan Milk before.  It's very much like Cashew milk with the consistency, definitely filling.

They also have some baked goods.  I was late coming in, so it was slim picking.

Here's the cute coffee area, they also have some merchandise you can check out.  

Got a thumb print cookie with apricot jam.  It's pretty good, definitely used fresh fruit as preserve.  Yummy every bite.

They have limited parking at the front, but tons in the back behind the car repair place.  Back of the building by the parking also has a nice outdoor seating area.  Definitely expecting a large crowd out there when the weather is better.

Christo Mio

2523 Quenby St

Houston, TX 77005

713-528-6508

https://www.christomio.com

 

No. 28

Went to a new place called No. 28

It's tucked behind Crate & Barrel in Highland Village.

Place is small but also has covered patio seating.

We started out with Calamari - my only complaint is that they went ahead and squeezed the lemon on there.  So some of it is soggy and not crunchy and definitely more zingy than the other ones.  I guess that's the other bit, either have it everywhere evenly or don't do it.  Wasted a good dish.

Then we got the meatballs.  It was really good and we saw how much sauce that came with we went and ordered the bread basket.  They charged $9 for the bread basket.  Reason being it's really just plain pizza bread with olive oil.  So, you decide if that's worth it or not.

Then, the piece de resistant!  I came here just for this.  It's Cacio de Pepe.  They really brought the whole wheel out.  

Then they twirl...

...and twirl.

Here's the result.  I'm not unhappy seeing this much cheesy goodness and she scraped the melty cheesy for us.  YUM!  Sadly, this is probably the only thing I would come back for, so that will be a short visit.

When we got here, there were more servers than clients.  Almost all of them were training.  I was surprised that they didn't have experienced servers applying to work there.  A lot of them, seems very green when it comes to service industry.  

They do have a decent wine list, and pizza and pasta are good for grown ups and kiddos alike.  In the evening, the shopping center do get filled up so get there a tad early to get a parking spot.  There's a few, just have to have patience and look. 

No. 28

3974 Westheimer Rd

Houston, TX 77027

713-485-5248

https://www.n28highlandvillage.com

 

Tiramisu snack

Here's another random snack review.

I picked up the Baked Tiramisu pack from the Japanese grocery store.

They come in their individual slot.  It's pretty tiny and moist, not individually wrapped per se, but this will do the job too.  I will say, this is more like a burnt tiramisu, not like an American tiramisu with that strong coffee taste.  Theirs has like a egg custard texture, but still sweet.  Definitely worth trying with a cup of coffee.

 

Sonoma Wine Bar

Went to Happy Hour with the girls at Sonoma.

There are a lot of menus there, but worth going thru to get a something good out of it.

Started with Popcorn with Parmesan and Ancho Chili.  It's a good chat and snack.

Got the Pepperoni Pizza.  That's pretty good, wouldn't mind having another one.

Top: Bruschetta - not as good as I had hoped.  Having it in a jar is messy and don't get even amount of tomato and sauce.

Bottom: Baked Artichoke Dip, I don't mind ordering larger size on that one.  It's great, and the serving size for Happy Hour is too small, so fork up the money and get the larger one.

Sorry it got sideways, this is their 3 cheese charcuterie board.  It has 3 kinds of meat, 3 kinds of cheese, 2 bread, 1 cracker, honey, olive, and pickle.  It is a lot of food even there's 3 of us eating all of this. 

Happy Hour here gotten easier, not sure if its because we picked a weekday, and finished 2 bottles of Moscato.  The staff are attentive and it is great to sit and catch up with friends over snack and wine.  Just remember to order by 6pm.

Sonoma Wine Bar

2720 Richmond Ave

Houston, TX 77098

713-526-9463

https://www.sonomahouston.com

 

Beard Papa

Was jonesing for something sweet and made a trek to Chinatown.

I've always like coming to Beard Papa.

They started to roll out these mini's.

One cup comes with 6 mini puffs.  You can pick whichever shell they have available.  I got Chocolate, plain, and strawberry.  The filling you can mix and match, Vanilla, Chocolate, and Green Tea, they also have seasonal flavor too, they had Mango.

These are quick and easy and I don't feel like a pig eating so many.  I can also enjoy one or two at a time.  Super cute.

Beard Papa

9393 Bellaire Blvd

Houston, TX 77036

https://www.beardpapas.com

 

Mia's Table

Went to Mia's for onion rings.

I love how they have so much space for kids to run around.

Got the good o' Cheeseburger, and swap the fries with onion rings with a bit of surcharge but so worth it!  The batter is nice and thick and the onion rings holds up very nicely.  I almost just ate my onion rings and not touch my burger.  

That said, I did dig into my burger.  It has a very fresh patty and definitely has half pound of quality meat. It comes with lettuce, onion, mayo, tomato, mustard and cheese.  It was all very good together and definitely worth a cheat night.  Not to mention, there's soft serve at the end, definitely worth having.

Mia's Table

1035 Gessner Rd

Houston, TX 77055

281-857-6939

https://miastable.com/

 

Snowy Village

Was waiting for a friend and decided to grab a dessert while I wait.

Walked into Snowy Village ...

...to get my good o'l standbys.

First, the Taiyaki with Red Bean Paste and almond on top.  To be honest, I can use more almond, but I do love that warm flaky waffle.  The only complain I have is that sometimes the oil seep thru the paperbag.  Best enjoy it as soon as it cools down.

Went back for my Red Dragon.  Grenadine with Topo Chico and strawberry + raspberry bits.  To be honest, it does taste like you're drinking maraschino cherries but not sweet but you are reminded of the sweetness from the fruit, just not artificial or overwhelming.  So that's nice too.

Those are quick and easy for them to make and it always comes out quickly.  That's why that's my go-to.  What are yours?

Snowy Village

9600 Bellaire Blvd

Ste 103-A

Houston, Tx 77036

832-740-4182

 

Poolside Dining in the Hill Country

Last days of summer, we ended up at Hyatt Hill Country.

Pool side service is way better than Woodlands Resorts.  They come by frequently and got my order right every time.   People do take the drinks with them on to the lazy river.

I got the Signature Mac & Cheese.  It sounded so fancy, my mouth was watering just reading the description.  There are briskets, cheddar, herb crust, bbq sauce and onion strings.  Let me tell you, all Mac and Cheese with crust, I would lap it all up.  It's all so good together.  Alas, I can only hack about half of it but I was determined to have all the briskets. 

Day 2, another frozen drink by the pool.  Tip: Pina colada is too sweet, and it attract bees. 

I got the Cesar Chicken Wrap.  I don't know what they put in there, but it's super delicious.  I was pretty full, but it was so good that I can't stop myself from eating.  It has chicken, lettuce, the key here is the parm.  They were heavy-handed a bit on the parmesan cheese; not that I'm complaining, but I think that's why it is like crack, I can't stop having.  The fries are nice and filling, but the wrap was the bomb!

Hyatt Hill Country

9800 Hyatt Resort Drive

San Antonio, TX 78251

210-647-1234

https://www.hyatt.com/en-US/hotel/texas/hyatt-regency-hill-country-resort-and-spa/sanhc

 

Tenko at Pearl

Searching for food and recalled that they re-did Pearl Brewery.

This was truly a brewery, probably less chic and not much grass patches everywhere.  If you ever had Pearl beer, it was the cheapest beer we had after I turned 21.  And actually it's not easy to find Pearl Beer in Texas even today.

On the campus, they re-purposed the Bottling Department into a Food Hall.  There are about 6 of 7 stalls, definitely not as many as I had pictured.

One stall stood out, was Tenko Ramen.

Never heard of them before, but they have what the kid would eat: noodles.

You can see the price is on the higher end.  Let's see how the food comes out.

Got a bowl of noodles (for the kiddo) and a sandwich for me.  I've never paid for $10 for a bowl of kids noodles before.  It literally has noodles and broth.  The noodles they used is Sun Noodles, which is known for their egg noodles.  The broth is a chicken miso broth.  You can really taste that.  But hey, he can polish half a bowl by himself.

The sandwich was a Chicken Katsu, which is fried chicken.  It has some kimchi mayo, some pickles, lettuce.  The chicken has a kick to it, it's not like a Nashville Spicy hot, but it does have a kick on its way down.  The bread does help, and I did finish the entire thing.

You can order ahead and pickup if you want to have an easy picnic sitting outside. Otherwise, they ask for your phone and text you when your order is ready.  Most all of the stalls are cashless.

Afterwards, we just walked around a bit and see how they restore so many parts of the brewery to it's former glory.  Would've love to back here once it's less hot.  It is really meant to be an outdoor activity place.

Tenko Ramen at Pearl

312 Pearl Pkway

Ste 6112

San Antonio, TX 78215

210-267-2996

https://www.tenkoramen.com