Beard Papa - Katy

I take any excuse to go back to Beard Papa.

As usual, yummy puff are all lined up ready to go.

Do check back often for any special features or discount.  They are pretty active on IG.

Hanging while we wait for our puffs to be made.

This is a S'more.  It's a puff, filled with cream of your choice (mine was choco creme), then they add a marshmallow and fired up a bit and viola!

This is a creme brûlée.  It is a vanilla puff, cut the top slightly, and then you can see them add some more creme and then sugar and fire up the top to create that layer a creme brûlée is known for.  But who cares, it tastes good.

Beard Papa

23119 Colonial Pkwy

@A113

Katy, Tx 77449

832-913-2257

https://beardpapas.com

Square Root Poke

Having a super late lunch and ended up in Katy.  

For something fast and quick, went to the poke place.

The bowl is not cheap, for a small like this is $10.25.  The ones in town are less than $9 usually.  Much like how the other ones work, you choose a base of rice, lettuce, zoodles, edamame noodles.  Then protein - fishes that you like.  Add sauce, mix-ins, sides and topping.  

I tried the zoodles, just because you don't often get that as an option.  Again, the price is on the high side, the quality is on par, the staff are friendly.  Definitely a quick lunch.

Square Root Poke

23119 Colonial Pkwy

#C9

Katy, TX 77449

832-437-7851

https://www.squarerootpoke.com

Phat Eatery

Been meaning to go to Phat's for some time now.

As a matter of fact, I was reminded when we ran into the chef/owner Alex Au-Yeung at Best Bites.  We were just telling him that he needs to get himself back into the Loop.

Love the details in the decor...

The 'street' signs are everywhere.

Got the Malay Iced Milk Tea, it's not too sweet, supposed to be made with condensed milk.  Nice and not too full in flavor, so I can save that for the food.

Roti & Curry sauce, you're supposed to dip the Roti bread, which is nice and flakey, into the sauce.  This is the Roti Canai, which doesn't have any meat in the curry, but they do have a version with chicken in it, in case you want more.

Got some satay, with beef and chicken.  Skewers are best with peanut sauce, which I always thought it was a Thai thing, but it is delicious.

My favorite of all, the Hainanese Chinese Chicken with comes with coconut rice.  I mostly love the ginger sauce that goes with it.  Doesn't matter to me that there were 2 other sauces on the dish.

This is the Char Kway Teow, that's more of a Teochow-nese cuisine, which is flat rice noodle, egg, proteins of sorts and veggies.  So here, I asked them to skip the shrimp.  The server was nice enough to give us more Chinese sausage.  

Our server was awesome, he noticed that I basically used most of the ginger sauce, he went and got another one, just for me.  When we were taking food to go, he got us extra coconut rice.  Talk about being nice.  Of course we tipped him extra.

Phat Eatery 

23119 Colonial Pkwy

Katy, TX 77449

832-913-6382

https://phateatery.com

Eight turn crepe

I basically just find any excuse to head out to Katy's Asian Town.  So much food to try, not enough stomach to go around.

I've been eyeing this creperie for a while... well when I go get my puffs at Beard Papa, because they're directly across from each other.

Very cute wall art.  Don't forget to stop for your IG pic.

They have gelato if the crepe dessert is too big for you.

But you're here anyway, why not?!

I got the Azuki Berries.  How cute is the Pokey sticks to go with the dessert!

Looking from the top: you have obviously the crepe as your cone, but it's floppier than a cone.  Azuki (sweet red beans) beans at the bottom, whip yogurt in the middle and the strawberries around.  They have the green tea gelato on top with some almond and a bit of the azuki beans and Pokey sticks.  

To be honest, now that I'm eating less, having this dessert seems like a lot.  This is really good enough to share, though if you want to or not is a whole different story.  Overall, it is really good.  Taste is not super sweet even though all components are sweet-based.  That is way easy-going on the tastebuds than overwhelming sweet desserts.

What I'm surprised about was that they also have savory ones too.  I was eyeing on the salad they have, the lox and the omelet I would like to come back and try (not at the same time).  Anyway, it comes to be $9 per crepe and watch out for the add-ons they are not cheap.  That said, they use rice flour which means this is wheat free for my gluten free friends who can finally enjoy something yummy, that's what you're paying extra for.

The only thing I would say is that the staff are pretty green, I hope that'll change over time.  Otherwise, the food is good enough for me to come back for them.

Eight Turn Crepe

23119 Colonial Pkwy

Suite C-8

Katy, TX 77448

832-913-3461

https://eightturncrepe.com

Chung Wang BBQ

Driven around Asian Town in Katy a few times and saw this and curious.

It's super casual, you order at the counter and you grab a seat.  They mostly do to-go order, but they do have a few seatings at the shop.

I got the Jasmine tea, they do have a few drinks for sell, changes between a few different ones.

Got my 'go-to' dish: BBQ pork with chicken over rice.  They threw in a few bok choy in there.  I will say the Char Siu (BBQ pork) was done very well.  Very authentic and highly recommend.  The Chicken maybe because I got mostly bones and not much meat, but can't really say the taste is to par or not.  Usually, when they drizzle the ginger vinegar on top of the chicken, I cannot resist and would finish it all, but I didn't get that feeling.  That said, the pork did make up for it.

We ordered food to take home as well.  It was stir fry beef rice noodle.  It has lots of heat from the Wok, but sadly it has the color but not the taste.  Hopefully it'll improve overtime.

Chung Wang BBQ

23199 Colonial Parkway 

Suite B-1

Katy, TX 77449

281-783-8383

https://www.chungwangbbq.com/menu.aspx

Bing Su

Was walking around Katy Asian Town, there's just so much food that you can't possible try them all in one setting.

Saw a Taiyaki - fish waffle where traditionally has red bean inside.  Was curious what they're doing here.  How are they different than the ones we had in New York.  I must find out...

They show off what kind of fishy they can make... Like I said traditionally, it's red bean, they are offering custard, Nutella, or for savory - ham and cheese, that ought to be interesting.  I've had had cheese in Japan, but it's a very mild non-flavored cheese, so it's not overpowering but that sounded interesting.

Ta da!  Here's my ice cream.... with the fish mouth holding it wide open!

Close up: what is in here... Inside the cone, it's Nutella filling, then it's Matcha Ice Cream (luckily not too sweet), with Oreo crumbs, Oreo cookie and a Cookies n' Cream Pocky stick. 

Shaved Ice is really the name in the game at Bing Su, but they also offer ice cream cones.  How this works is, you can choose from Milk, Taro, Matcha, Black Sesame ice cream.  With a fish cone, pretty flower looking cone or in a cup.  If you get the fishy, you can pick either Nutella or Custard in the middle.  And your toppings are sprinkles, graham cracker crumbs, Fruity Pebbles, Cocoa Pebbles, and Coconut Flakes.  To top that off, you can pick a cookie: Oreo or Macaron.  There's a lot going on, but it's yummy nonetheless. 

They boast that they use 100% organic milk.  In case you have any questions, the staff there are very patience even if I saw that they got a lot of tickets lined up for order.  Next time I'll definitely save room for shaved ice.

Bing Su

Katy Asian Town

23119 Colonial Pkwy

Ste B-16

Katy, TX 77449

832-920-7802

Beard Papa

Since we were in Katy, figured we might as well swing over to Katy Asian Town.  Of course we MUST stop at Beard Papa.

You can read their originating story here.

Cute chachki decorations around the shop.

Look at those beautiful puffs... YUM!  Not alot left.

The weekend they were running a special, so it's worth checking that out.

What special do they have this month?  The cheese based flavors.  

(upper L): Peach with Cheese, Apple with Cheese, Creme Brulee

Vanilla with Strawberry, Chocolate with Vanilla, Green tea with Vanilla.

This is the apple with cheese.  It started out like the creme brûlée but instead of the creme, it has cheese base, which you can taste it but it's so milky that it is not over empowering.  Then, chunks of crunchy apple diced on top with syrup.  Not messy, decent flavor and taste super fresh.  Since they are made to order.

Nowadays, they don't have the crazy lines like when they open.  But the cafe is still busy with diners who are enjoying their puffs after their meals nearby. 

They are also looking to open a spot in Chinatown, can't wait till open so I don't have to make that trek.

Beard Papa

23119 Colonial Parkway

Unit A-13

Katy, TX 77449

832-913-1257

https://www.facebook.com/beardpapaskaty/

Sushi 9

So, under Mom's request, she wanted to go to an All You Can East Sushi, since Tokyo One near us had closed.

I know what you are thinking, like I did, and that's when you shutter the thought of All You Can Eat, especially Sushi.

Well, after checking around, we came to Sushi 9, be sure you get the location correctly, this is on Mason Road, not by Pin Oak.

We walked in, fully expected frozen tables to keep sad sushi cold.  BUT NO!  Nothing of the sort, as a matter of fact, it looks pretty like any other sushi restaurant in the area.  Bar, Sushi Bar, tables, kitchen, hostess stand.  Wait, where's the All You Can Eat part of the scenery? 

We sat down, and were given menu with no price.  But a big banner across that said, there will be a surcharge of 20% for any wasted food.  Now, that's interesting.

First, we ordered a Rainbow Roll, and I ordered an Unagi Handroll.  So far, pretty normal.  The rolls were made to order.

Well, the BBQ Unagi Fried Rice looked interesting, and as it arrived we realized why they do the surcharge for wasting food.  It came in a regular rice bowl size.  But don't worry, they did not skim on the ingredients.  There are chunks of unagi, rice, eggs, onions, and veggie in there.

Our fried items arrive next: Cheese Puffs (it as really hot, fresh out of the fryer).

Sweet Potato Tempura - Let's face it, it's the only thing I want from the dish anyhow.  I liked that it's lightly battered, you're not eating mouth full of batter when you pick this up.

Tempura mushrooms, 'cause why not?!

Ordered a piece of mackerel, and it was way fishier than I like my fish.

Salmon Roll, that's pretty normal besides the aesthetics.

Got the Curry Beef Rice, again came in a rice bowl portion.  But don't be fulled, it has alot of stuff in it, not enough room for rice.  I mean, there are a bit of rice at the bottom, but then it's veggies, then fried egg, then the fried beef piece, then the curry.  It's all there, just compressed into a small bowl.

For weekend, lunch is $20, and you order as you go.  Again, they do emphasize the 20% surcharge for wasting food.  Drinks are extra, not included.  And as we were about to go, our server asked if we want ice cream.  Well... I'll be fooling myself if I did that.  But they are available should you have room in your tummy.

From what I read other reviews, dinner is $25, and they do get a few more items that is not available at lunch.  Again, drinks are extra.  I will say, our servers are nice and attentive, even if it's not their table, they still make sure we got what we need.   

If it's like that, everything is called to order, I wouldn't mind.  That said, the quality of food is no different than any other American Japanese restaurant around town.  It will pass the mustard, but not super excel in any particular way.  But if you think about it, some of these places by the time you order what we did, it would've been more than $20 per person, easily.  So, that's not a bad deal.  However, if you have a big family, you're going in to the $100 for a meal.

Sushi 9

1830 S. Mason Rd

Ste 150

Katy, TX 77450

281-391-8898

Tea Top

While in Katy's Asian Town, found a cute place called Tea Top.

Since I just had lunch, I didn't go crazy and get a bubble tea.  They do sell them. They have traditional type tea like Oolong, black tea, earl grey.  Milk tea, Matcha (Green) tea, Slushy, and of course, hot tea.  Duh!

You can add Tapioca, agar jelly, mung bean, adzuki bean.  They also have Pop Boba, which is an explosive (I imagine pop rock-like) tapioca.  Very curious!

This is the Cold Brew Osmanthus Oolong Tea.  It comes with this cute container, very slim, and a tea bag inside ready to drink.

I'm not going to lie, after I finished mine, I refilled it several times and tried to get more out of the tea bag.  It does last long enough for me to enjoy during a scorching hot day.

Tea Top

23119 Colonial Pkwy

Ste C7

Katy, TX 77449

832-437-8786

https://www.facebook.com/teatopkaty/

Phanh Ky

While in Katy Asian Town, we saw a noodle house, figured, why not.

The place is decent size in space, but it was packed.

As the name goes, they are a noodle house, and sell ... noodles.  There's half and half noodles (egg noodles & vermicelli), there's with soup, without soup (aka dried), think noodle, thin noodle.  They come with pork, pork liver, shrimp, rib, and sprout.  There's a reason why it's $9 a bowl.   

I got a Pandan Soy milk.  The soy milk is like a lightly flavored, not too sweet.

I got the thin egg noodle, and they come with shrimp, pork, pork liver, scallions, sparerib.

There's noodles, I swear.  See!  I also get to pick regular size or large size.  The regular size is really plenty enough.

Don't expect service to be top notch, they are mom and pop run, so they are already all hands on deck.  They're not fully equipped to have a full house for a long time.  I will say though, they put your order in their app, and then the food shows up less than 5 minutes.  Well, of course, the variation are limited, so they can do that.  They do have a Bellaire location if Katy is too far for you.

Phanh Ky

23119 Colonial Parkway

Ste C11

Katy, TX 77449

832-437-4703

https://www.facebook.com/PhanhKyKaty/