Cloud 10 Creamery

Thank goodness to my friend Angie for telling me about Cloud 10 soft opening.

 Sure enough, on Facebook, they were announcing hours to the soft opening!  Wohoo!

 You can see Chris Leung is on hand to scoop ice cream to customers.

 They are showcasing their Fall flavors instead of the Summer's favors.  Some of them are: Gingersnap, Lemon sorbet, Toasted Rice, Nutella Marshmallow, Mango Sorbet, PB&J, Poached Pear Sorbet, Maple bacon, Cafe Su Da... just to name a few.

 Chris was on hand to train the staff and help scoop ice cream, and serve them too.  He was way nice, and when we asked him about the soft opening.  He was definitely flattered and honored that friends and family and fans all came out in drones to support the shop.  His staff were great and are super friendly too.  

So, what did I get?!  I got the Poached Pear Sorbet and Nutella Marshmallow.  I know naturally they don't mix well, but they both tasted good, so there you go.  This is the small size and they can fit 2 scoops and let you do different flavors.  It was $3.45 for 2 scoops.  They also have medium and large of course.  They also have milkshake, adult milkshake, bottled soda, bottled floats, banana splits... just to get you started.

On a Sunday night, parking is easy to find, that makes standing outside pleasant.  We got there in time while most people are having dinner at Torchy's or Coppa's, so our line was inside.  By the time we got thru the line, the line was out the door and different blogger from different publications are all present for a taste.

Cloud 10 Creamery

5216 Morningside

Houston, TX 77005

281-310-1662

http://www.cloud10creamery.com/

Soma

So, my friend Angie got a gift cert burning a hole in her pocket, so we decided to go. 

During weekends, they have great Happy Hour Specials. I kept forgetting that they have a great special. But now, have to make an effort to go there more often. 

We both had the Black Bean Ramen. It does have kimchi, braised short rib, tamago on top, and of course black bean soup. What made this different type of noodle than when we first tried it with Ramen in Common. In that, they have used a different type of noodles. They've made tgeir own Soma Noodle, which doesn't have yolk in the noodle, which is chewy-ier, more elastic. It can withstand the black bean soup nicely. You've got to try it. 

Beware of the parking signs at the shopping center. We went during a non-peak hour of the day, and plenty of parking to be had. But, the new signs segregate which spots are for Soma and which are for other businesses. So, watch out. 

Soma

4820 Washington Ave

Houston, TX77007

713-861-2726

www.somasushi.com

Macaron by Patisse

We were running errands around town, and since we were in the neighborhood, we stopped in for some macarons.

I always liked going to Patisse, always classy, and always friendly service.

Beautiful displayed case.  See!  They are refrigerated... Unlike Sweet, which allow their macs melts and warp out of shape.  Just embarrassing to try to sell it to customers.

Colorful shells.  Would be cool to have one.

Colorful macs.  Here are: Apriot, Green tea, Cappuccino, Nutella.

Here's green tea, you can definitely taste a bit in the shell, but definitely in the ganache.  Which, by the way, was not melting on you.  Nice and soft shells.

Cappuccino, you can taste the espresso mixed in with the ganache,  I enjoy that one very much.

Macaron by Patisse

2033 W. Gray

Houston, TX 77019

713-965-7359

http://macaronbypatisse.com/

Panera

I always forget that there's a Panera near me.  I like them for their baked goods, between them and Corner Bakery, you really have a great selection within reach.

When I go there, I always get the Iced Green Tea, which taste nothing like the real green tea, of course.  It's sweeten and it just taste more like a fruit tea than a green tea.  If you drink real green tea, you'd know that it's bitter.  And this is not it, but it tastes good nonetheless.  

They, like Corner Bakery, has a half and half for lunch.  You can do 1/2 sandwich with a small soup, 1/2 sandwich with a 1/2 salad, or 1/2 salad with small soup.  Apparently, certain sandwich may ask for an up charge, so ask the counter before hand.

I would say for a fast joint, they have some quality people that works there.  I had my baby with me, fiddling with things, keeping the baby entertained.  All this going on, the lady behind the counter was super patient.  She helped me to my table and helped with getting water, since she saw how clumsy I was.  And she didn't have to do that, but she did anyway.  So, I'll come back just because they went above and beyond.

Panera Bread

3151 Holcomb Suite A

Houston, TX

713-821-1065

https://www.panerabread.com/en-us/home.html

Nippon's

Since I'm making up for lost time, we're going back to our favorite Japanese places.

Nippon's is always one of my favorite, simply that they make good food.

If you get a rice dish, they come with a complimentary salad.  This one comes with the ginger vinaigrette.  The vinaigrette is definitely zingy.

I got the Chirashi, I like it because you get a sampler when you cannot make up your mind on sushi, this is the best solution.  Also a good deal for the price too.  If you're ever like me, want to try them all, and can't make up your mind.  Try this!

I love going to Nippon, but the parking can be a hassle.  They have a small lot behind the building, but some times, during prime time, you may have issue with getting a spot. You may have to go across the street and park on the street.  But it's not impossible.

Nippon's Japanese Restaurant

4464 Montrose Blvd

Houston, TX 

713-523-3939

http://nippon-sushi.com/

closed on Mondays

Blacksmith Coffee

I've been meaning to go try Blacksmith Coffee a while, just needed an excuse.  

 Here's the ordering counter.  You walk up, order, or there's a few seats at the bar.  There's a few more 'bar' seats by the window and by the bar, then there's about 5 tables.  So, this is not the place to bring a big crowd.  I can only imagine when it used to be Mary's on Montrose.

 Instead of coffee, I got the Jasmine Pearl tea.  It's really just jasmine tea.

I got a modified Croque Monsieur - ham, gruyere cheese, egg, béchamel sauce.   It came with chips and mini pickles.

I'm not sure if it's that day or not, but the guy at the counter was a bit miffed when I told him that this is the first time and asked for recommendation.  Like: dude if you don't know what you're walking into, why bother coming.  See, this is what I usually do, I ask the person behind the counter, or server, what their favorite or what they recommend.  Usually, they are very enthusiastic about telling you what they like.  This guy was like, well, it's all sandwiches.  Urm... yes, I'm just asking what he liked, it wasn't a pick up line.  Anyway, he ended up settling on the Croque, so I went with it.  It's good, tasted good.  But maybe I'll try going there when another person at the counter.  

If you worry about parking, don't have to.  They do have a small bit of parking next to the building.  Another small triangle behind the building.  Then you can also park at Underbelly's and Hay Merchant's.  So, don't worry about parking there.

Blacksmith Coffee

1018 Westheimer Rd

Houston, TX 77006

832-360-7470

https://www.facebook.com/blacksmithhouston

Sweet

Since I was in City Centre, thought I'd stop by Sweet.  

Seems like it's becoming a once a year event... the last time I was here was a year ago.

The display case still hasn't improve.  By that I mean, macarons should be refrigerated somewhat.  Unless you sell out so quickly that you don't need to.  But the space does warm up quickly, having it refrigerated just ensure the quality of the cookies.

When I was looking for something to buy, I asked the server which she recommends, knowing that the flavors are rotated.  She said their popular seller is the Rose.  Yes I'd like that too, but if you look at the picture (next to the green), it's all smeared and not put together like a mac should, I would hesitant to buy it.  I'm embarrassed for her for even recommending it, since it looked so sloppy.

Since my friend bought something, I decided to give them a shot.  After all, you'd hope they've improved since the last year I was here.

They definitely kept the cute bag, and improved by having a professional logo sticker... let's see about the macs.

This is their version of Earl Grey.  They sprayed the silver on top.  The flavor was in the middle filling as opposed to Bite, which has the flavors in the cookie shell.

This is their espresso mac.  The shell is nicely decorated, just wish they let the filling and the cookie set before selling.  You can tell the buttercream is about to be mushed and it's not because its so fresh, it's because it was melting and the cookie is coming apart.

To say I was disappointed is an understatement.  They were the first shop in Houston to sell macs, and while the flavor is awesome, the finishing is subpar.  If someone's defrosted macs taste better than their 'fresh' ones, and looked more presentables, this is just embarrassing.  Definitely remind me that once a year visit is enough.

Sweet

801 Town and Country Boulevard

Suite A120, 

Citycentre Way, 

Houston, TX 77024
(713) 647-9338

www.sweethouston.com/‎