Mango Mango

Went back to Mango Mango for something to drink.

I got the Mango Coconut Smoothie - majority of it is mango based, there's mango bits at the bottom, the blended part, and then coconut milk on top.  To top it off, they added mango chunks.  It was very nice for a humid day.  I just have a thing for mango when it's in season, delicious and quench thirst.

Mango Mango

10603 Bellaire Blvd

#B105

Houston, TX 77072

281-809-3723

https://www.mangomangodessert.com/

 

Captain Bang

Dragged my friend to the 2D cafe for dessert.

It is pretty neat, they have waffle-based dessert (Hotteok - Korean sweet pancakes) and...

sugar iced fruits for an element of health.

They have coffee and tea too, I got a mango tea.

I've been wanting to try the Red Bean Taiyaki - love these!  They're literally hot off the press.

I also got a Penny Bbang, which is penny shaped bread/bun.  Inside it has Oreo and Nutella, but obviously didn't eat it all in one setting.  Had it the next day after warming it up, still very good. 

They took over the old Beard Papa's location on Bellaire.  Parking is always challenging since all their stores are popular in all hours of the day.  But do try your luck at the parking structure.

Captain Bbang

9393 Bellaire Blvd

Houston, TX 77036

https://www.instagram.com/captainbbang/

 

Hamdam BBQ

Been meaning to try the Handam BBQ, so glad my friend is in town to go with me.

I got smart and booked ahead via Yelp waitlist and even though it told me to arrived 20 mins prior, which what is the point of of me booking it at a certain time if you want me to arrive 20 mins earlier.  I will say, it was nice that we walked up and they were ready to seat us.

We literally just sat down and all the banchan arrives. Seriously, it's like a meal all right there.  Salad, veggie, egg omelet, kimchee cucumber, fish cake, potato, kimchee, broccoli, japchae, tofu.

We got LA Kalbi, LA Kalbi Suwon Style (that's just means using salt instead of soy sauce as marinate), Bulgogi and Pork Belly. 

Another protein we got was the octopus.  Our server said that it's cooked, just basically reheat.  I can see why, it's not easy to cook octopus fully and you don't want to risk people not know how to cook it and get sick.  So here's the pre-cooked ones. 

If you get the $35 pp combo, you get 2 special items.  The night we were there, we got seafood pancake and kimchi stew, which in addition to the meat, the banchan and the miscellanies it's a lot of food.

You can order a la carte, or family combo or individual combo.   Each combo allows for different options.   Since the combos are technically all you can eat, there's a 2 hour limit and obviously they will not let you take a box.  To be honest, the a la carte item doesn't look bad but if we order the combo we could get the seafood pancake, so I was a sucker for it.   This is a KBBQ where you have to do the cooking.  I've gotten so spoil that places would cook for me, it's definitely distract me from eating.

Handam BBQ

6609 W. Sam Houston Pkwy S

#92

Houston, TX 77072

346-261-1500

https://handam-bbq.club/  

 

Sunday Press

Came back to Sunday Press.

It was super lucky to get a parking spot.

I love how colorful the case is.

Even for croissants it's super colorful and just brightens you up.

I got a Honey Lavender Latte, some Chia Pudding and Croissant.

Tara Blueberry Chia pudding.

It has pineapple bits at the bottom, blackberries, chia and blueberries on top.  It has taro, coconut milk, chia filled the gap.   It came with a little cup of granola, and it's a great add to the pudding and it's super filling. 

Here's the Mango Croissant.  It has mango curd as a swirl, and then a slice of mango on top.  It keeps the dry bits moist and it's not too sweet and goes well with a cup of coffee if you have a cup handy.

My complaint about that location is the parking.  It's does have a drive thru and people driving around to try to get to a spot, in addition to the lot behind the shopping center.  It can get aggressive.  If I find a spot, I'll go, but if not, I'll skip.  I like everything food-wise about here, but that piece will deter me from going.  Luckily, they are partnering up with Ginger Kale in Hermann Park, and strange enough, I can get there and park easily there.

Sunday Press

3315 Ella Blvd

Houston, TX 77018

713-532-9885

https://sunday-press.com/

 

Bori 2

So heard about the new Bori opening down in the Montrose area, had to go try them out.

It is truly nestled in the neighborhood because next door is the old KPFT station (before they moved to Caroline street) and Alliance Francaise Houston.  

Like the Bori this is a Korean BBQ place where they grill it for you.  You sit down and they bring over the banchan, we ordered Seafood Pancake, and they brought over kimchee, fennel salad, lettuce for you to wrap your meat like you see in Kdrama. 

Like the other Bori - the banchan are small in portion and in few choice.  Now, that said, there's a lot of food coming.

Left side has all the sauce to dip, and meat from the Combo set.  We chose, Pork Belly, Boneless Short Rib and Bulgogi. 

This is Beef Tartar that is only available at this location.  It has avocado and a fried seaweed, but to be honest, just the beef tartar alone is just fine.  It sides on top of a fried chip, but again, without it, it's just fine. 

For ordering the combo, it came with a Kimchee Stew and Steam egg, both are super hot because those rock bowls capture heat like nothing else.  With all of that, that is alot of food.   

I will say, Bori 2's meat quality is not as good as Bori 1.  I recall the quality was superb, which made me happy to pay the price that I did, but here is just ok.  Now, that said, they're still in soft opening phase, so until they fully open, we get a discount on the tab.  That's a welcome sight, since they have pretty much all new staff, not alot of staff came over from the OG.

They are surrounded by residential houses, so be careful and look out for the signs.  Also be courteous to the residents nearby because they don't have anywhere else to park.  They do have a valet onsite if you need to, but if you go early enough, you can park on the street.

Bori 2

501 Lovett

Houston, TX 77006

346-980-8110

https://www.borirestaurant.com/

Baby got Mac

Out of the blue, decided to do some baking.

Got a tube of Gianduioso - the description is Hazelnut Chocolate, so I immediately have to get it, because that's Nutella in a tube - DUH!

This time, I put some edible dried flowers on top.  I think it would've been better if the filling was fruity based instead of chocolate based.

Ah well, either way, we're doing this... p.s. look at that beautiful pied.

Leone Gianduiotto - made out of Italy, taste very close to Nutella, but taste nuttier.  Mainly because it's made with gianduja cream which already blended in the hazelnut.   All natural ingredients.

Anyway, just putting them aside to enjoy later.

 

Charcuterie

We did our own charcuterie for girls night.

I got an appetizer kit from Crackerology.  We've sampled from them during the Nutcracker Market this past November. 

We got Brie and party tray cheese from the grocery store.  They have Swiss, Mild Cheddar, Monterrey Jack with Jalapeños, and also Monterrey Jack with Colby.

We added prosciutto and salami.  We added White Wine Basil cookie, Brioche Pasquier Mini Toast.  Match with cheese and meat perfectly. 

This plate we added spreads: Goat cheese, Eggplant Spread and Artichoke Spread.  All are great for the toasts.

Nothing like the presentation, if you make it pretty, everyone would enjoy it.  Just have to take the time. 

We also added a plate with strawberries, Sweet Karoline Blackberries.  We added Dark Chocolate Covered Pretzels to add some texture.

With some bubbly and some good company, that is a good night make!

 

Salty

Got thirsty while walking ton SoCo - saw the little shop.

Didn't realized this is a chain, but it looked very busy from the outside and the lines was to the door.

Didn't realize the array of donuts, kolaches, and what not that they have to offer.  They all looked delicious. 

And a Star donut?  I've never seen one before.  Too bad I was too stuffed to try it.

I got the Strawberry Hibiscus tea.  It's truly hibiscus tea with strawberry syrup, but it's not too sweet because there's lemon in there to curb the taste.  Overall, pretty refreshing for a humid day.

Salty

2000 S. Congress

Austin, TX 78704

https://www.saltydonut.com/locations/south-congress

 

El Alma South

For a TexMex in Austin, this is what we found.

This location is on the South side at the Westgate mall location. 

We got the Blanco y Rojo Queso - I definitely wouldn't mind if we have more umph in the queso.

I got the Cantaloupe Aqua Fresca  - sadly, not a lot of flavor in there.

This is the Tinga Chicken enchilada with Mole Verde sauce.  I was totally in love with the sauce though.  It made alot of the stuff taste 10X better.  

We splatted the Espresso Tres Leches cake - it has slices of mango in the middle, but the cake is too dry for a tres leches.  Also I think because they named themselves Espresso, I was expecting some coffee flavors but didn't find any. 

The Chocolate Creme Brûlée, however was a hit.  It has little chocolate on top and its flavor came thru super clean and nice.  It was one of the better ones there. 

The meal overall is super mix.  There are stuff that they have flavors for a TexMex is not there, but then they excel at some other dishes which was a surprise.  So this is a split for me.  As far as TexMex go, this is more water-down than most that I've had, but the place is popular.  So book a table ahead of time is worth your while.   Next time, we'll make sure we get the Barton Spring location, they have a bar on rooftop that looks over downtown.  

El Alma South

at Westgate Mall

4521 Westgate Blvd

Austin, TX 78745

512-351-8010

https://www.elalmacafe.com/

 

Midnight Cowboy

Been hearing about various speakeasies in Austin, and came upon this one.

Since one of the girls in our party has been here before, so we decided to come here.

To maintain the speakeasy-ness, you have to reserve ahead online.  Once your reservation is near, there will be instructions as to how to get in.   The place does not look like a bar like the others on Sixth Street, but once you get in, it is very much a bar.

We were seated in our booth, very interesting, it has a light for when you need your server, which match it's seedy backstory of the place.  

They have a long list of house specialty drinks, and they also have a list of zero proof. 

I got the Moontower, which match the red-light history here.  I've never had Slow Luck 'liquor' before, but  it has citrus and floral taste to it.  That mix well with the Blueberry, Lemon and sage.

Overall it's a great place for a drink, it has a fun history and an added layer of fun with the speakeasy aspect.

Do make a reservation ahead of time, they give you a 90 minute time-slot for your session.  They even make drinks in a cart table side.  I will say, sitting in a booth at the back has its disadvantage, you do feel like they've forgotten about you.  Our first round took 45 mins to get our drinks.  We didn't have enough time for round 2.   I do love the secretive aspect of the place.  

Midnight Cowboy

https://midnightcowboymodeling.com/

 

Choo Sando Omakase

I've been waiting for this for a loooooong time.

Finally made it here in person.  Last time was a quick grab and go back to work. 

This time, we properly ordered ahead of time.  And seeing how pretty this is, I was just ecstatic.  You are truly getting a present here.  Just love the meticulous details.

Cue the heavenly music, this is one heck of a beautiful box of Sando.  There are 9 kinds of Sandos here, and let me tell you, even with 5 people we could not finish it all.  What do we have here: in no particular order, Egg Salad, Salmon, Bulgogi Beef, Katsu (pork cutlet), Fried Chicken, KFC (Korean Fried Chicken), Lobster, Fried Shrimp, and Strawberry.

We have 5 people, of course the 2 Strawberry wasn't going to be enough, so we added mixed fruit Sando.  This is Strawberry- Mango mix.  Very delicious, they use house made Hokkaido Milk Bread, the whipped cream is also made in-house, definitely less sweet than your normal whipped cream. 

As the name said, they also do Omakase, I just ordered this mini Chirashi, it has Bluefin Tuna, Salmon, Mad, Yellowtail, scallop, sweet shrimp, roe and uni - all over a bed of rice.  Everything here is supremely fresh, and don't know how they do it, but they did it well. 

Also ordered the seared salmon, oh my gosh, it was torched on top and the flavors are all there, truly amazing dish. 

Then we impulse-buy a few things when we're in line.  Such as this, this is milk toast with Yuzu sauce.  We thought it would be like French Toast, but this was more like crunchy toast.  But never mind that, the Yuzu Sauce was amazing.   Definitely would love to have that on all breakfast from now on.

This is like a mini poke bowl if you would, you have this mix of sashimi, veggie, egg, and roe all over a bed of rice underneath.  Perfect for anybody's lunch.

This is fish liver, which no one touched but just as delicious.  Frankly don't ask me which kind of fish and what kind of liver.  It tasted good and that's all I needed to know, as the same for you.  It was soaked in house-made soy sauce too.  The soy sauce is not too heavy in texture and not too salty in taste, which brings out their sashimi that much more.   Giving an awesome experience.

Why not get a Yuzu Soda to match?!  They do have a few kinds of import sodas and tea for drinks . 

So here is what we learned.  First of all, an H Mart is about to be opened in the same shopping center, which means it will get extra popular and busy as people see this shop.  Good for them, but not for me, because it means longer lines and what not.  As it is, they are pretty much sold out on the days they are opened with people waiting in lines about 30 mins before open.  Now, there's a solve for it, and thanks to my friend who gave me this tip: that is, definitely order online a day or two ahead.  You don't skip the line, per se, but at least you can rest assure that you will get what you want.  That said, it's' still fun to stand in line and see what offerings they have and gawk at all the sandos and sushi boxes they made.  So much fun!

Choo Sando and Omakase

5222 Burnet Rd

#535

Austin, TX 78756

512-800-0119

https://www.chooatx.com/