Hey Tea

Friend of mine and I were just comparing some of the new tea shops in Houston.

Hey Tea was one of the higher ranked one. 

I got the Coconut Mango Boom - it has mango puree, jasmine green tea, mango juice, coconut milk, jelly, sago, and topped with pomelo.  The taste is very good and well balanced.  It's very closed to Lomichi's Mango sago drink.  And it's not as sweet as the one from Hui Lau Shan.  Definitely will get that again. 

The other drink I tried, based on promo, was the Oolong Yuzu 

It has a slice of dried Yuzu on top.  But it is light and not too sweet, a bit of zing, the Oolong tea complements the citrus very well.  And if you are about to exit the mall and get one, that's perfect for this humidity. 

Hey Tea

inside Galleria

5015 Westheimer Rd

A1305 (on the side of Chik-fil-A)

Houston, TX 77056

346-406-4827

https://www.heytea.com/

 

Tumble 22

Went to meet up with a friend for lunch.

They suggested Tumble 22 - never been and seems like high time to try something. 

The server ask if this is my first visit, and after I got my Arnold Palmer, this little tray came out. 

It is a sampler of the sides.  It has collard greens, BBQ beans, cole slaw, broccoli salad, mac-and cheese.  They were also kind enough to gave us a piece of Painless Chicken tender, and a Mo Hot for us to try in case we needed to gauge how spicy the chicken can get. 

I landed on 2 piece tenders in Korean style, which means they used Gochujung sauce, which is sweet and spicy. 

Of course, I have to get the dirty fries, it has queso and shredded chicken on top.  Quite delicious. 

This is the size of the their sandwich.  The chicken is quite sizable, with claw and bread, it's alot of food. 

There's a big parking lot right out of the store front.  The staff are super friendly and get our food super quick.  They do serve alcohol here.  And also have pies and shakes for dessert, which is perfect for kids. 

The reason for calling it 22, it's because in order to achieve the perfect crunch, they have to tumble the chicken in the mix 22 times in order to achieve the perfect balance.  Hence the name.

Tumble 22

10403 Katy Fwy

Ste 100

Houston, TX 77024

832-675-9100

https://tumble22.com/

 

Jenni's Noodle House

I often forgot that Jenni's Noodles is there. 

I believe the Shepherd location is the only store front left. 

I forgot that they have these quirky decorations around the store. 

I got the Limeade, it's been a while since I had one, and forgotten how good they are.  Not too sweet and not too zingy.

I was craving pho, so it was nice to stop in a small shop for a quick fix. 

The broth is as good as I remembered them.  The meat quality is good, and I do appreciate the balance of scallion, onion, and meat.  The meat is cooked to the color I like, nice and soft.  I do add all the sprouts they give you to add to my veggie in-take.  Overall it's a quick and easy meal.

The staff here is super, friendly and on top of your order.  He saw that I was ready to go, he offered to give me a to-go cup.  Super sweet.  The parking can be challenging at the front of the store, but they do have some at the back of the building.  

Jenni's Noodle House

3111 S. Shepherd Dr

Houston, TX 77098

713-523-7600

https://noodlesrule.com/

 

Common Bond

Got some time on the weekend after errands, so decided to stop in for breakfast.

The Medical Center location has a large parking lot on the side.  So that shouldn't be a problem. 

Got a latte to start the day.  Much needed coffee.

Got the Chef's Scramble - it came with 3 eggs scrambled - it has pepper, cheese and tomato.  Hash brown and toast with jam.  

The hash brown is in the casserole style.  I like it all nice and dense.  The jam was strawberry and you really do get some strawberry bits in there.  Very nice. 

As usual, the good weather, folks sits outside, but don't forget to check beyond the espresso bar, there's more seatings over the corner. 

Common Bond

2278 W. Holcomb Blvd

Houston, TX 77030

346-327-8393

https://www.commonbondcafe.com/location/medical-center/

 

Annam

Right next door to Annabelle is Annam.

Didn't even know that they have a Michelin star.

The inside looks amazing!

Even their bathroom is pretty.

Seriously, that sink has so much detail to it.

Even there's details on the table.

Waygu Beef Betel Leaf - at the bottom is lettuce, vermicelli, carrot, daikon, peanut and waygu beef on top.  It's so delicious.  They should've have a bigger dish of that.

Shaking Filet Mignon - which is stir fry beef, garlic, lettuce, watercress, and cherry tomato.  The flavor is good and sturdy, highly recommend it.  It comes with lime and pepper on the side as a dipping sauce, it goes very well.  Definitely worth getting. 

Morning glory - garlic, wok stir fry and fish sauce.  Also great flavor, very happy with this dish.

Fried Whole Branzino - never had the entire branzino like that before. 

It's cut open on both sides and fried.  Easy to pull the meat out, and it was a great pick as well.  It has salad at the bottom.  And if you can imagine, this is only the small one.  

Definitely make a reservation.  If you self-park at the garage be sure to bring your ticket, they will validate.  Of course you should make a reservation for a place that has a Michelin Star.  They do have some bar seating for walk-in, but as usual, prime time is not easy to grab a seat.  Overall, our service was great, have a very nice list of cocktail and wine offerings.  But the food by itself stands out.

Annam

811 Buffalo Park Dr

Ste 120

Houston, TX 77019

346-571-7167

https://annamhouston.com/

 

Lúa Viet Kitchen

We went to grab a quick pho.

Of course, have to get a ca phe su da - It's the typical Vietnamese coffee and yes, fully jolted. 

Crispy pork egg roll - duroc pork (which is known for exceptional marbling, tenderness and rich), has noodles, and taro root.  Of course, you wrap it with lettuce, carrots if you like, and you dip it in fish sauce.  The flavor is good, I think next time I want to get the vermicelli and add the Cha Gio (egg rolls).

I got the usual Pho Bo - Beef Soup - beef stock with vermicelli, and slices Angus beef.  I like to add sprouts, some onion slices.  Can you tell they put in alot of cilantro?  The stock is good, the flavor is good.   So when you get the noodles and the beef in the bite, they all go very well together. 

This is such an easy meal.  Plenty parking behind the building.  The entry is really at the back of the building.  They have the cashier right there, so you can place your order, they give you a number.  You go grab a seat and they deliver the food.  They also sell alcohol, so if you want to imbibe, you can do that there with dinner too. 

Lúa Viet Kitchen

1540 W. Alabama

Ste 600

Houston, TX 77006

346-227-7047

https://luavietkitchen.com/menu/luavietkitchenmontrose

 

Doko

Yesterday I talked but Bar Doko.  Once you done your happy hour,...

... just conveniently walk across to have a full meal. 

Clean and sleek designs.

I got the Nisemono Highball, it's Peach bitters with sparkling ciders.  On the top is candied Shiso, which is a Japanese leaf it's a herb from the mint family.  It's a fun candy to try.

Love the details - it's the origami crane to hold your chopsticks. 

First course, we got the Masu Crudo - that's Cherry Trout in Japanese. it has Serrano pepper, Furikake seasoning, a bit of Vietnamese fish sauce, and bits of orange. 

Got a plate of shishito pepper, grilled, togarashi seasoning, shaving of smoked skipjack tuna on top.  I was enjoying it, but bit into a super hot one by accident.... gulp gulp on the water. 

I got the chef's nigiri 4pc - it has Masu, Yellowtail, Blue Fin Tuna, and Madai.  Super fresh and delicious. 

This is mushroom nigiri - it has a unique texture, it's harder in texture than the mushroom we are used to. 

This is the Negitoro Roll - it has Blue Fin tuna, chives, cucumber, and Kaluga caviar on top.  It has alot packed into a little bite.  This is definitely a must-get!

This is the Kawa Skewers - chicken skin.  The texture was harder than I thought. 

Of course, cannot miss the Pork Belly with wasabi mustard.  That's a must-order too.  Very delicious. 

This is Tebasaki - this is an interesting dish.  If you imagine like a chicken wing - no bone, except inside is stuffed with fat cooked rice and fried.  You dip it into aioli sauce.  That's totally make the dish.  It was alot of food by this point, even though they're all small dishes.  So it's easy to fill it all up. 

Doko

3737 Cogdell St

Ste 145

Houston, TX 77019

713-505-1282

https://www.sushidoko.com/