Ascension

Went back to Asension to have breakfast.

Their breakfast offering is quite large.

But first thing first, nope not coffee, because I got a cold.  Instead, got a Golden Milk.  For those who are unfamiliar, Golden Milk is turmeric and milk.  Here,  they add some spice to it, so it has some kick to it.  They have been known of cure for a few things like hay fever, sneezing, running nose from allergies; indigestion, depression...etc.  I just like it for the kick to help my scratchy throat. 

I got an omelet with ham, so they called it the ham and cheese omelet.  It has eggs, cheese all folded in the middle.  The side has sweet potato hash, with some onion in the mix.  That's a very full breakfast, didn't need much after all that.  

The place is very casual, basically if you want to-go order, walk up to the counter and place your order.  If you want to dine-in, just grab a table and sit down.  They will have someone bring over the menu and start that process.  If you work there, you can place the order online and then come down and pick it up.  Super convenient.

Ascension Coffee

200 Crescent Court

Ste 400

Dallas, TX 75201

469-941-4542

https://ascension.coffee/pages/crescent-court

 

Meet Fresh

Went to Meet Fresh for some post dinner dessert.

Parking in the shopping center can be a challenge, but keep your eyes peel sometimes spots are hidden behind big cars that maybe exactly what you're looking for.

Stopped in to have some dessert to warm up the night.

We shared Red Bean (adzuki beans) soup with taro and boba.  I will say there's more boba than I'd thought there'd be.   Since the soup is dark red the boba blended in just so.  The taro, however, was perfectly done.  Nice and soft and goes very well with the dessert.  

I think Taro (aka ube) doesn't get the street cred that its' due.  It appears in alot of Asia and Southeast Asia desserts and dishes.  It is not only widely used by the Asian dessert, it's also highly regarded by the medical field as being one of the tools to bring down blood pressure, highly nutritious, and rich in antioxidants.  Give that a try next time. 

Meet Fresh

9393 Bellaire Blvd

Ste I

Houston, TX 77036

832-582-5994

https://meetfresh.us/

 

Shabu Zone

Came back to Shabu Zone for dinner.

It's $32 for dinner and $22 for lunch.  The difference is that they don't offer certain meat dishes at lunch.

Here's the seafood.

veggies, dumplings, and what nots.  There are still noodles and sauces and banchan to choose from.  Not to mention there's dessert and fruits too.

I got some different kinds of mushrooms, tofu cakes, fish, vermicelli, dumplings. 

There are 7 kinds of soup base to choose from, 11 kinds of meat.  When you sit down to order, you can get up to 6 kinds of meat and if you want more you can order more after.   That was actually plenty to go by.  I do love how the quality of meat, they're not shabby at all, the taste is there and quality is good.  Do pay attention if you order meat with more fat on there, that seems to be a crap shoot.  One time we got it marbled perfectly, another time there's more fat than meat.  So if that matters to you, air on the side of ordering something you can count on.   

As a shabu adventure goes, you cook your own meal.  Keep in mind, the weather gets colder, more folks comes out to have something warm for their bellies.  So do go early.  I like to do it this way, so if everyone has different tolerance to the spiciness or whatever you wanted to add, you can do your own thing.  

Shabu Zone

11201 Bellaire Blvd

Ste #2

Houston, TX 77072

832-850-7849

https://www.shabuzone.com/

 

8 Turn Crepe

It's been a while since I've been back to Eight Turn Crepe.

Always enjoy the made-to-order crepe and gelato on site.

I ordered a Strawberry and Banana with Nutella crepe, and I do miss having that on a regular basis.   You can of course make your own too.  And normally they serve it in the Harajuku cone style but I'd like to not make a mess so asked them to put it on a plate.  Much easier to eat.

Eight Turn Crepe

23119 Colonial Parkway

Katy, TX 77449

832-913-3461

https://eightturncrepe.com/

 

Taco Pegaso

Another food vendor in Fareground: 

Taco Pegaso is a Mexican street food fare.

I got Brisket Bowl - it's pico, lettuce, super tender brisket over a bed of Mexican rice.  The flavor is legit, it's nice and super tender.  I imagine fall off the bone nice.  

Again, super easy, you order online and you see them preparing for it, just start over and it's ready for pickup.  At Fareground, everything made easy when ordered online.  Definitely easy for the office worker. 

Taco Pegaso

111 Congress Ave

Austin, TX 78701

512-465-2107

https://www.faregroundaustin.com/taco-pegaso

 

Four Brothers

The Fareground is super close to my office and under the recommendation of coworkers, I went there for lunch.

It's super easy.  I place the order online, and they allow you combine order from all the vendors into one online order, makes it super convenient. 

I got sliced plantain & mango juice.  I will say the mango juice was a tad too sweet.

I love the soft ones, but the sturdier ones are harder to chew.  They gave me the sour cream.  But what is superb out of this box are the 2 square pieces of fried cheese int he corner.  Those are golden crust, somewhat melty inside, that is so delicious, next time must get an order of it.

Four Brothers

inside Fareground

111 Congress Ave

Austin, TX 78701

512-465-2107

https://www.faregroundaustin.com/four-brothers 

 

Arlo Gray

Called for room service and it's catered by Arlo Gray

They actually delivered pretty quickly. 

This is the Crispy Rice, it's really rice paddy but fried on both sides. It has curry sauce on top. Aioli, green beans, a hint of crab and bits of bacon.  This is a crispy dish, didn't see any crab, saw bits of it around, but not like a lump of crab meat.  

Got a side of fries.

This is the Coconut & Pistachio mousse.  It has fruits, lime meringue, rose tapioca.  The mousse is like a melon mousse and you get bits of pistachios in-between.  It's pretty good.  Very much a Summer dish as opposed to Fall, but it's Texas, that'll work. 

Arlo Gray

inside Line Austin Hotel

111 E. Cesar Chavez St

Austin, TX 78701

512-478-2991

https://www.thelinehotel.com/austin/restaurants-bars/arlo-grey/

 

Choo Sando & Omakase

 Saw this place on my friend's IG, and curiosity took over.

Luckily, this place is less than 6 minutes from the office.

There's a few seats available for sitting down.

Plenty of sando to pick from.  From those who are unfamiliar, it's the Japanese way to Sandwich.  Difference is that they use milk bread and holds up a sando very well.

Don't worry, they have sushi and couple don's available. 

Lovely array of Asian drinks and tea and what not.

Alright, have to go back to the office to eat.  Our lunch boxes comes with soup, house-made soy sauce, wasabi, and ginger.

Not only are we appreciative of the box is not your styrofoam to-go boxes, it's little bamboo box.  But it comes with a list of sushi to tell you what's what.

So there's Bluefin Tuna, Salmon, Yellowtail, Seabream, Sweet Shrimp.  Second row, Tai (porgy?), Scallop, seared salmon, snow crab leg, and eel.

What's so lovely about this besides the presentation is that every single piece are fresh, not fishy, and great quality.  

For dessert, we split the Fruit Sando's.

We got the strawberry and the strawberry-kiwi sando.  It was nice and soft.  The cream are made in-house, not sweet at all.  That way, it let the natural sweetness of the fruit comes thru and not like a cake icing.  The bread is nice and soft, you really think that you're having a cake for dessert.

The thing about Choo is that if you can pre-order, do it.  Otherwise, get there early before the doors open.  We went during the weekday, and arrived right at the open and items for rice dishes or sushi are gone.  So you can imagine how popular those are.  And imagine the food and quality are all legit for the price that they are, truly worth while. 

Choo Sando & Omakase

5222 Burnet Road

#535

Austin, TX 78756

512-800-0119

https://www.chooatx.com/

Hui Lau Shan

I know Hui Lai Shan has been opened a while, finally gotten around to go.

Mainly because on weekends, the lines are crazy long, and just don't have the patience. 

Came on a weekday, it was much more tolerable and easy going.  So, what did I ordered?

First, got the mango pudding . Growing up, I do remember having this, and you pour the condensed milk over (in the container) it to add flavor and texture.  Very flavorful not too sweet but definitely have the mango flavor coming thru, and mini mango chunks too.

This is the red bean soup.

Growing up, definitely to not recall having mochi inside the red bean soup.  Also the bits of flower were not in the soup too.  Mainly it's adzuki beans and the remnants of it after being cooked for hours.  This one the texture is too light and the mochi took up more than the red beans.  Cannot say that I like it even though I'm a huge red beans fan. 

Then I got the Mango Pomelo Sago dessert.  It comes with mochi and a scoop of ice cream, like I needed any motivation.  I think with mochi and the ice cream is alot seeing how they give you big chunks of mango already.  The dessert tastes good, but again felt like too much.  I think for this dish, Sweethoney in Katy did a better job.  Not necessary the size is smaller, but with all these extra stuff kinda got in the way, and I couldn't tell if I actually gotten any sago in there.

Since I wasn't sure, I went ahead and ordered a drink.  This also has a scoop of ice cream on top, with chunks of mango and a layer of sago in the middle.  This is kinda like a parfait more than a drink.  But it worked nonetheless.  Instead of boba tea, this is chunky mango drink, does the trick.  Every sip has mango so I liked it for that reason.

Hui Lau Shan is a popular brand in Hong Kong.  Once upon a time, they are in every street corner.  They truly started as a street vendor that sells various teas for busy people who has no time to make it at home.  Those were prevalent when I was little.  But overtime, they added dishes and what not and became a sit down dessert shop.  Story goes, the 2 sons were to inherit the family's business.  One of them took his share and gambled it as way but also sold alot of franchise in Asia.  The other one worked his bones to maintain the family name in the business.  And when it comes to head that they cannot agree on the business, they both made the matter very ugly and public.  At one point, all the HLS were shops were closed.  Alas, a third party swooped in and continued the business and allow for franchises out of Asia and now we have this. 

This is definitely not what I remember Hui Lau Shan to be.  The dessert variations were based on sago and the variety of it - they have hot and cold dishes, coconut, ube, watermelon, cantaloupe... etc.  But this generation is all based on mango.  Not that I'm complaining, I like mango and if it's available, I go straight towards it, but that's definitely not how I remember them.   On its own, it's fine, nice to have option close by, because my other options are to go to Mango Mango or Mia's Goodies.  

Hui Lau Shan

9889 Bellaire Blvd

Ste C317

Houston, TX 77036

713-234-7719

 

Tofu Village

Been watching alot of Kdrama, and invoke the Korean food craving.

someone recommended Tofu Village, and I've never been before, so very much looking forward to it.

I ordered the set and it came with a small salad first.

I ordered the set with entree and soup.  And it's full size on both.... yikes.  It comes with rice and soup you can choose from many variation.  They all come out piping hot.  Also, they give you an egg, and as it arrive bubbly hot, you are to break the egg and let it 'cook' when the heat is hot enough to cook it.

I love the entree + banchan.  I love all of these.  They have kimchi, fish cake, veggie, kelp, bean sprout, tofu, and pumpkin.

For entree, I got the beef bulgogi, it comes with a little pot of rice.  As you can see, that plate of meat is huge as well with the banchan, so pretty much ate that for 3 days, because I wanted to finish the soup first. 

All of this is for $24.99, and as you grab your check, they give you a little Yukult as digestive.  Since there's so much food, asking for to-go boxes is not a new thing and they're accustomed to people asking.  Overall, the meal came out fast and piping hot.  Even though it's hot, the flavors came out.  In case you're afraid of spice, you can ask them to do mild.  I did medium and everything came out beautifully.

Tofu Village

9889 Bellaire Blvd

Ste 303

Houston, TX 77036

713-777-9889

https://tofuvillagehtx.com 

 

Magnol Bakery

Came back to Magnol, hoping for some raisin bread, but came in too late.

But the line is still long given that it's 'late'.

They still have alot of bread available and the kitchen staff were busy still making more. 

Got some goodies....

Top is the pumpkin tart, not too hard, the center is pumpkin mousse and topped with golden pumpkin seeds.  Tart has custard and soft shell.   Then Opera cake on the right, it has multiple layers for the chocolatey goodness.  Then we have the Paris Brest, it's like a sandwich where you have choux bottom, cream, and choux top with almond slices and powdered sugar.  The middle cream is hazelnut almond praline, so good every bite.  Now I just need some more coffee.

Magnol Bakery

1500 North Post Oak

Ste 160

Houston, TX 77055

281-846-6661

https://www.magnolfrenchbaking.com/

 

Le Cafe Josephine

Driving around and found Le Cafe Josephine. 

They have parking on the street and parking lot on the side of the building. 

It's also very spacious inside, decent amount of space for parties big or small.

Brunch is here!

Got a Peppermint Mocha - Nice texture, not too much on the flavor, bring out good coffee.

Got the Omelet - it has cheese, mushroom, and sausage.  It comes with a side salad with vinaigrette and potato wedges.  That's actually alot of food for breakfast.  The omelet is nice, sturdy, stuffed alot of fillings in there, so definitely filling for brunch.  

Service is quick, even when they're busy.  You walk up to the counter, place your order, grab some water and utensils and have a seat.  It's a great neighborhood joint, and people do walk up on the weekends.  Definitely a nice hole in the wall.

Le Cafe Josephine

201 E. 20th Street

Houston, TX 77008

281-888-5130

https://lecafejosephine.com/