Hui Lau Shan

So happy that there's a Hui Lau Shan inside the loop.

This one is located inside of MKT, pretty close to Mana actually, so you can definitely make a night out of Chinese cuisine there.

I got the Mango Sago, which has diced mango, sago (which is like tapioca) mixed with mango puree.  So to say that there's tons of mango goodness is an understatement.   This location is just as busy as the one in Chinatown, which is great seeing that I do love the dessert.   They also have some warm desserts, so you can definitely come back when the weather is cooler. 

Hui Lau Shan in MKT

600 N. Shepherd 

Ste 458

Houston, TX 77007

https://huilaushan.us/

Blue Sushi

Went to dinner at MKT and made a reservation at Blue Sushi as a fall back, and lucky that we did.

Indeed the reservations served us well.  Dinner on a Saturday night is tough going there if you don't plan ahead.

Anyway, the place is kitschy, has lots of lantern at the bar, which is kinda impressive.

To start, we got the charred edamame and crispy Brussel sprouts.  The edamame is charred and they added spicy powder there so it gets spicy quick.  The sprouts are doused in lemon sauce, which has a little tang to it. 

I got the Hibiscus Squeeze - it's a tad too sweet for a zero proof.  It's nothing but sugar, save your calories.

We got the rainbow roll, which seems to be pretty popular.  You have salmon, tuna, and yellowtail on top, and crab, avocado, and cucumber in the center. It's pretty good.

For dinner, we got 4 pretty large rolls: Godzilla Bomb,  Spanish Fly, Lion King, and Super Asparagus.

I will say they are very heavy handed on the cream cheese.  The Spanish Fly is one of the better ones, the rest I can take it or leave it.  

While the menu is huge but mainly Maki's (rolls), even if they have nigiri (individual pieces of sushis) the choices are limited, nothing too inspiring.  At any rate, I'm grateful to have a place to eat on a busy night, but I'm not sure I'll be coming back here any time soon.

Blue Sushi at MKT

600 N. Shepherd

Ste 500

Houston, TX 77007

https://www.bluesushisakegrill.com/locations/m-k-t-heights

 

Agnes Cafe and Provision

Went back to Agnes for breakfast.

I love that in the morning, there are plenty parking for breakfast and I love it!

But first! Coffee!

Got a latte and they have a lot of offer in terms of milk alternative and flavors.  But I chose the Brown Sugar latte.  It's like a warm sugar cookie hugging you.  When it's cooler, I'm definitely coming back for it. 

Got a croissant to nosh on.  Of course, it's chocolate.  I guess they can stand to warm it up a bit though.

But for the main course, I'm here for the ham and cheese quiche.  They give you a pretty huge portion.  I was thinking the quiche was going to be small that's why I got the croissant.  But turn out, that was not needed, so I had to doggy-bag that home.  The salad was nicely complementing, and with my cup of coffee, that just hit the spot.  Also did not need lunch since the portion is so big, which I'm not complaining. 

They do have a patio and plenty of seating inside.  The parking lot is tight, but down a bit there is a lot between the buildings that has PARK on blocks, you can park there and walk back a little bit.

Agnes Cafe & Provision

2132 Bissonnet

Ste 100

Houston, TX 

713-714-0078

https://www.agneshtx.com/

 

Bowl & Barrel

It's been a few years since I've been to Bowl & Barrel.

They always got some good drinks and food.  Full bar and bowl, what can go wrong?

Mean and cheese board? YES please!  2 kinds of meat, 2 kinds of cheese, and some trail mix with toast.

There was Spinach & Artichoke dip, which is also very yummy mainly because they add these bread crumbs on top, to die for.  What's not pictured is the Giant Pretzel with beer mustard, so good and you can definitely have me noshing the entire event that I'm supposed to be bowling.

If you need to pre-game, you can go to General Public next door. They definitely have a fuller menu, but worth stopping by.

Bowl & Barrel

797 Sorella Ct

Ste 118

Houston, TX 77024

https://www.bowlandbarrel.com/houston/

 

Mo Better Brews

Was looking for a new brunch place and recall driving by this place.

Keep in mind their parking lot is not big, so do keep your eyes peeled for street parking and street signs.  Most importantly respect the neighbors. 

First thing first, let's get some coffee!!!  Got a regular hazelnut latte, and should you want to spike it, they do have options for you. 

Did the Pancake Flight: far one is Strawberry Cheesecake, middle one is Peach Cobbler, and the closest one is Pecan Pie with chocolate sauce.  I'm a huge fan of the Cobbler for the texture.  The second fav was the strawberry.  Not sure if by the 3rd one I was already filling up, but I did not finish the Pecan Pie one.  The sauce is not exactly chocolate sauce, it has a hint of it but definitely cinnamon-y.  Each stack has 2 pancakes, so next time, just sample and not finish all, that's my advice. 

The place is cute, they also sell vinyl.  There's also a patio out front and the side for seating.  So when the weather gets nicer, definitely worth coming here again.  Friday night, they are opened till 10p and you can check out their special Friday Night menu.  Worth checking out. 

Mo Better Brew

1201 Southmore Blvd

Houston, TX 77004

832-740-4297

https://mobetterbrews.com/

 

Ninfa's Original

Went to brunch at The Original Ninfa's.

I used to go to Ninfa's alot when I worked downtown and they had a restaurant in the tunnels.  But since then, haven't been to one for some time. 

I got the Pozole Rojo, and read it is.  It's Pork in spicy broth, it has cabbage, tostada, onion, scallion.  It is actually a pretty big bowl, so should you worry if it's filling, between the salsa and chips and this, you can be sure that you'll be filled up.  

On weekend, brunch gets busy there.  Highly recommend you getting there early.  Once you're done eating, great idea to check out the market out at the Esplanade, there's a ton of cute shops and vendors showcasing goods from their home country.  Not only that, you already ate at the restaurant, you can park your car there for a bit.  If not, there's a parking lot nearby as well. 

Original Ninfa's

2704 Navigation Blvd

Houston, TX 77003

713-228-1175

https://ninfas.com/ 

 

Dim Sum Box

So excited to finally get to try Dim Sum Box.

I'm not normally on that side of town, but since I was stuck in traffic, figured I'd detour and fill my tummy.

Was super lucky that happy hour was till 7pm, just in time for my din din. 

I got 2 kinds of rice roll, the Char Siu (pork) and the duck.  The rice noodle texture is a little different but your taste buds gets the gist.  My only thing is that the duck one was on the dryer side and they paired it with the plumb sauce which typically is fine with dryer rice noodle, but somehow it did not hit the spot like the pork one did.  Hard to say why, just did not arrive there. 

I got the Lotus Leaf Sticky Rice, which is delicious and has tons of filling with pork and chicken in them.  I also ordered the Soup Dumplings.  It's cute that it came with the heart saucer, the soup dumpling doesn't have as much soup as I'd like but the meat inside is tasty, so that makes up for it. 

Here's the piece de resistance - my little piggies.  They are mango pudding, and the schtick here is that they're so gelatinous that if you use the spoon to spank the back side, they shake, which is adorable.  And yes, tasty - in the non-gutter sense.  The mango pudding is good.  They also have a bunnies version which is with coconut pudding, super cute. 

That said, the sad thing about going to dim sum by yourself is that you can't eat as much as you can with other people.  And like tapas, it's fun with more people to get more things to try.  But don't feel too sad, I did made sure I'd take half to go, so I can enjoy these for one more meal. 

Dim Sum Box Katy

1223 Grand West Blvd

B107

Katy, TX 77449

832-835-0981

https://dimsumboxkaty.com/