Jinya Ramen

So we have heard about the downtown ramen spot opening...

I grabbed Julia for lunch.

Nice set up... everything is set nice and pretty... can't wait for the food.

This is Jinya Tonkotsu Black.  Sounded exotic enough on the menu, had to give it a try.  The broth wasn't as thick as I had hoped.  They said it's a pork broth, so I had expected to be thicker and fattier.  It was neither.  The pork itself was good, fall off the chopsticks good.  You see here, green onion, seaweed, fried onion, garlic chips, the noodle wasn't as chewy as I had hoped.  The egg was the most upsetting... it was cold, but the thing doesn't even taste good... I would opt out next time.  The hot sauce was good, and if you like spicier, tell your server.  They're very on top of it.

We went during lunch time, and parked in the garage in the back for free.  The building does have a valet, so not hard to find if you drive to the restaurant next door.  They also have a full bar, and if you come at night, I'm pretty sure it'll be hopping.

Jinya Ramen

3201 Louisiana St

Houston, TX 77002

832-925-8596

http://www.jinya-ramenbar.com/

Ding Ding HK Tea House

I saw it on my friend's FB feed that there's a new place opened up... of course, I have to go check it out.

This is same style as HK Cafe.  Tea Restaurant, which was invented during war time.  You can read the Wiki here.

 This is their Lemon Tea, you need to stir it up real good.  

 This is the Curry Brisket Rice.  It's actually pretty good, the meat is tender and the sauce is not too spicy.  It's goes well with the rice.  Frankly that broccoli may as well be a parsley because I didn't even touch it.  My only thing is that I'd would love to have more sauce to go with my rice.  Not to lick the plate or anything, but just finish the rice would be great.

How this works is that you go in, feel free to grab a menu and study it.  Then go to the cashier to order, and they do accepts credit cards.  Grab yourself a glass of water, utensils, napkins at the water station. Then find yourself a seat.  Within minutes, seriously, it's a few minutes, food shows up.  Service is quick.  And they open for breakfast at 7:30a, lunch begins at 11a, and dinner till 9p.

Ding Ding

9398 Bellaire Blvd.

Houston, TX 

832-649-2230

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ding-Ding/1405400513098715

Tout Suite Macarons

This is such a good message for everyone to get up in the morning~

Wake Up, Kick Ass, Repeat!  I just find it poetic to be under a banana... because everyone should have some potassium for the day.

I came here on St. Patrick's Day, and of course here for the special Shamrock Macs.

They even have a special decoration for the green and white macs... even put them in the shape almost like a shamrock.  Squee!

Thought I was going to get some coffee to go with the macs.  This is their nicely packaged Cafe Su Dai.

Here's the beautiful macs.  Very nicely shaped.  I tried it, not easy to do.  So we have the brown ones are salted caramel.  The green middle one is Chocolate Cream.  The light green is pistachio.

Don't you think that this slim looking coffee is any weak, they are plenty strong with a kick!  And afterwards, the bottle can be used for single flower.

Here's the Rose, just because that's one of my favorite flavors.  The macs are so beautifully made.

The shamrock macs aren't shabby either, it has the feet, may not be as high as the others, but sure is pretty... and yummy!

Tout Suite isn't exactly easy to get to, but once you park and stuff it's well worth while.  Food is great, dessert is great, and of course the macs.

Tout Suite

2001 Commerce St.

Houston, TX 77002

713-227-8688

http://www.toutsuite.co/

Potato Corner

So I was itching for some salty snacks and been walking by the Potato Corner and highly curious.

And yes, they are in a corner... which actually was under the stairs.  I'm not sure how the ventilation works for them because where they fry the potato and the office is in the same space... 

Anyway, they can do fries, curly fries, potato chips, tator tots, sweet potato waffles fries and baked potato.  So, what you can do here is that they have different flavors, so you tell the guy what type of potato you want, and what flavor you want.  They put it in the container, shake it real good...

And viola!  You get the end product here.  This is the small version, it comes in 3 different sizes.  And the salt they shake them in is highly addicting... so eat at your own risk.  LOL.

Potato Corner

Food Court

5085 Westheimer Rd.
Houston, TX 77056
713-840-1374
http://potatocornerusa.com/

Tiny Boxwood's

For my birthday, I decided to treat myself to a nice breakfast...

 Went over to Tiny Boxwood's for a quiet breakfast. 

 Orange Julia, which is orange juice blend with honey.  Some recipes I've seen have egg whites and milk too.

I got Migas, which was super good that day.  It's scrambled eggs with cheese, sausage, potato, tortilla chips (which are super crunchy), and tomatillo sauce (super yummy).

It's nice to have a nice breakfast at the bar, they are very attentive and bring your orders quickly.  You can also get one of their newspaper and spread out when there's no one around and enjoy your morning breakfast.  Highly recommend it.

Tiny Boxwood's

3614 W. Alabama St.

at Saint Street

Houston, TX 77027

http://www.tinyboxwoods.com/

Hong Kong's Cafe

Couple of visits at my usual place...

For afternoon tea: ramen noodles with egg and spam.  It's like breakfast and lunch mix together.  Nothing out of the ordinary, the soup is clear and the breakfast on top.  For $6.50, it comes with the main dish and a drink.

For lunch: I had the Chashu Fried Noodles, it's dried stir fry, so sauce is mostly soy sauce for the color and taste and it has pork and bok choy.  Pretty good for a quick lunch.

As usual, they only accepts cash.  But they do have quick turn around and dishes are good and comfort food for those of us who are far away from the original place.  The waitstaff and owners are super friendly and definitely a good reason for me to return time after time. 

Hong Kong's Cafe

9108 Bellaire Blvd

Houston TX 

713-772-9633

River Oaks Donuts

So, I was craving for some donuts...

It's on the way, anyways... this is actually 2 different trips.

One trip, I had gotten half dozen donut holes.  There were Nutella holes, 2 Chocolate Cappuccino Holes, 2 cake, and one plain.

On a separate trip, I had Fritter Bites, which are miniature Apple Friters.

Chocolate Cake Donut.  Pretty awesome as far as cake donut goes, I still like Shipley's cake better.  The frosting, however, it's pretty good, and that's what makes me come back.  Go check them out.

River Oaks Donuts

3601 Westheimer Rd

Houston, TX 77027

713-961-9458
http://www.riveroaksdonuts.com/