Misoya

Mom wanted some noodles, and we were heading towards I-10 and Bunker Hill, figured we'd stop at H-Mart.

We like going there, there's always good food and at least 5-6 vendors to choose from, and it's all at a reasonable price.

 I got the Ome Rice, which is inspired by Japanese's Omurice.  Basically, it's omelet over rice.  The rice is fried rice with ham.  Separately, they cook this thin omelet, supposed to be as smooth as possible, and then put the fried rice in the middle and wrap it around.  Of course, their schtick is the ketchup mix, so it's decorated as such.  

You can see the fried rice up close, and how thin the omelet is.  What else I like about Korean dishes is that they give you those side dishes.  It has kimchi, picked turnip, spiced fish cake (which is not really spicy), and chilled cooked sprout.  It's nice because this dish is on the heavier side and you can add the veggies in the mix to balance things out.  They even give you miso soup.  The entire tray was less than $8, well worth the price.

Misoya

inside H-Mart

1302 Black Rd

Houston, TX 77055

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Misoya/655801501131790

Giacomo's Cibo e Vino

A bunch of mom's and I decided to meet up sans kids.  We were ready for a break and this was the perfect spot.

 I've driven past here for years, but finally got an opportunity to try them out.  I was thinking of a casual Italian, which seems to be popular with everyone.  Turns out it was a good choice!

For starters, we ordered a bunch of the small plates like tapas, and then talk and eat as we go.

 This was the lamb meatballs, which we all agreed this was the best tasting thing at the table.

 This, you cannot see very well, but it's Ratatouille with egg and cheese on top, this is a warm dish.

 Not very well photographed, but this is a chicken skewer with zucchini and onion, and you can dip into the green goddess sauce with yogurt.  Chicken was moist but the sauce was not my thing.

 This was shrimp with hot pepper sauce has garlic and olive oil.  Not bad at all.

 Since we tapas-ed so much stuff, we decided to order a small plate of pasta.  I love how they have half order, so you don't feel like stuffing yourself and having to roll yourself out of the place.  This is actually smaller than it looks.  The pasta is fresh, you can taste that they homemade that, and definitely can taste the egg, but the pasta connoisseur at our table gave it a B-/C for the pasta.  Not al dente or spectacular, but not too shabby either.  I tend to agree.

 This is a cold ratatouille, it's like a being served like a cold veggie stew.  It's pretty good for a cold dish, and seeing that I don't like gazpacho, this is way above that.  Personally, I still prefer my food warm, so I'll be sticking to my warm ratatouille.

 This is the Pollo Guido, which is a stuffed chicken with prosciutto, mozzarella, tomato, basil, garlic with a white wine sauce.  It's pretty delicious.  And being shared amongst the four ladies, that was perfect amount of food.

Of course, I can't say no to dessert, even though I don't need it.  I got the affagato, since I was ordering coffee anyway.  They just pour a shot of espresso on top of 2 scoop of vanilla gelato.  Pretty yummy, not as strong as I'd thought it'd be like they do at Paciuco.

Overall, the place is intimate but has plenty patio space.  Parking is also not too much of a concern, the parking at the back of the building and nearby buildings as they're closed for business was perfect if you don't want to park in front.  Even the side street on Bammel is friendly for parking.  

Our server was friendly and patient, she explained the menu and answered our questions.  We do feel bad for the patrons nearby as four moms sat there and exchange war stories and laughing up a storm.  Well, for sure we were the funnest people there that night.  Go early, as they do not take reservation.

Giacomo's Cibo e Vino

3215 Westheimer Rd

Houston, TX 

713-524-1934

http://www.giacomosciboevino.com

Five Guys Burgers & Fries

We were out in Katy with the kiddo, stopped by to grab a burger.

 I love Five Guys, they always have shelled peanut for you while you wait in line.  But there has yet to be a time where I have time to grab the peanut and wait.  They get thru the line very quickly.

 You MUST get their fries.  It's full of salt and seasoning, but it's so fresh and so good.  What you see here is just the Little size.  The Regular size, in my experience, you have to share between 2 adults and 2 kids.  

Not the most pretty in terms of presentation, but the meat pattie is fresh, and they let you customize the burger with how ever condiments you want.  Combo is endless.

The wait is not terribly long, you grab your drink sit and and chat a few and they're already calling your number.  You can have as fancy as customized burger as you like, or as plain as your liking is fine too.  Either way, these guys get you in and out in no time!

Five Guys Burgers & Fries

Westgate Marketplace

1150 N. Fry Road

Suite A

Houston, TX 77084

http://www.fiveguys.com/en

Arturo Boada Cuisine

Went out for a work dinner, and ended up at Arturo Borda

 It was neat to meet the Famous Arturo's Nephew, who is stepping in to help with the family business.    Did not know the Arturo besides Uptown, also had 3 other restaurants at the same time.  Talk about overly ambitious.

 For starter, we got the prosciutto and melon. I just love prosciutto, no complaints here.  

Then there's brarrata with these flat breads.  Not as good as I thought it'd be, but definitely different.

Rigatoni with grilled chicken.  It has mushroom, prosciutto, and the red sauce.  Of course, I had them doused parmesan all over too.  There's not much I don't like if you put that much cheese on there.  But the sauce itself is very nice, the entire dish is delicious.  The chicken definitely has a kick to it. 

The entire restaurant is very intimate, it fits a lot of tables for the space that its in, but it also creates a very European feel.  Every servers there are top notch, know their wines, polite, and service to the nines.  You can even get their private room at no charge, however the room only seats four, so make that a very special people at that table.  That said, reservation is highly recommended for normal dining.

Arturo Borda Cuisine

6510 Del Monte

Houston, TX 

713-782-3011

http://www.boadacuisine.com

Chuy's Sugar Land

Needed to grab a quick to-go lunch while in Sugarland, and ended up at Chuy's.

Figured I know their menu, and I know they would be fast.

 Ordered the quesadilla, which is not the types that we're accustom to seeing.  They came in soft taco form.

Inside I got cheese and chicken.  These are fajita chicken, so it has an extra kick to the taste.  Since I got to go, the guacamole, sour cream, pico de gallo, purple lettuce, are all separated.  Of course, my favorite creamy jalapeño was my jam.  I basically doused it on every bite.  Yes, if you give me a straw I would drank the whole thing.  It's THAT good.

The only thing about this location is that, it's at 90 and Hwy 6, not my usual 'hood.  So, I was a bit disoriented getting there and getting out.  Turns out, it's much closer to 59 than I thought.  While we were seated right away, our server seems to be all over the map.  She had a few tables out at the patio, which was not very shaded, and a few tables indoor.  I kept not being able to track her down.  Felt like my food took extra long for some reason, especially the entire dish was easy to make and easy to fix for to-go purposes.  

Chuy's

320 Hwy 6

Sugar Land, TX 77478

281-277-0156

https://www.chuys.com/locations/houston/sugar-land

BRB

Going to take a quick break and go eat more stuff and report back.  Check back Monday!

I promise, really went to go eat more stuff....

Kuen Noodle Soup

So we saw a new noodle shop in Chinatown, and was curious...

... Lan Chou is not somewhere I know in  China, but what the heck, we'll give that a shot.

 Very straight forward menu, noodles, some cold dishes, and some snack.  

 I got the Thai Tea (guess Christmas cup was in the order), and Sour Plum Soup tea.  They do have small size, ask for that if you're not up to the challenge.  

 I got the Stew Beef Ramen, it's very similar to the one at Ding Tai Fong.  Here's the difference: the soup base is very light, as opposed to the thicker soup stew.  The meat is very nice and soft, once you chew on it, it immediately falls apart.  The noodle, they definitely made in house.  First of all, there's a window, and you see the chef making the noodle.  Second, it tastes as such too.  Soup is not spicy, it's nice and smooth.  Definitely worth trying.

Green Onion Pancake, one of the best I've ever had in this town.  Can't describe it, it was fresh, and not frozen.  And it wasn't too oily too, which I always appreciated.  It's a MUST TRY!  Just take my word for it.  

The rest of the menu is really noodles, noodles, and more noodles.  We also ordered, the stir fried beef ramen, it comes out very much like the Canton Style Dry Stir Fried Beef Ho Fun, but not so oily, and Ho Fun Noodle is rice based versus the ones here are egg noodles.  Again, it's noodles made in house, so you get the difference.  But you should really try it for yourself.  It's very fresh and different. I will say this, if you were expecting the Japanese Style noodles, this is not.  This is closer to Shanghai style than anything else.  Keep in mind that all the noodles are made in house.  So, pay a visit to see that for yourself at least, you owe it to yourself.  P.S. they do accept credit cards, just not AMEX, you've been warned.

Kuen Noodle Shop

9140 A Bellaire Blvd

Houston, TX 77036

281-888-9236