Hong Kong Food Street in Houston

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I've complained repeatedly to friends about the lack of good Chinese food in Austin relative to cities with a large Asian population.  Check out Hong Kong Food Street in Houston, which I tried earlier this summer that specializes in Cantonese food.  It has a huge menu with dishes I haven't even heard of!  They offer dishes that range from simple but addictive street snacks to banquet-style cuisine.

Remember the steamed crab over glutinous rice that I raved about in New York?  Well, HK Food Street has a lobster version over seasoned rice.  It's really decadent and oh so good!

Steamed Lobster with an Egg Sauce over Seasoned Rice

I'm addicted to stir-fried green beans (they're like green french fries but not starchy!), so of course I had to have a plate at the table if it's on the menu!  I don't think I've had a bad version at any Chinese restaurant.

Stir-fried Green Beans with Ground Pork

My parents craved clams so we ordered a hot pot of clams doused in rice wine.  This was ok.  I think I prefer sauteed clams in spicy black bean sauce except in the case of Japanese sake clams.

Clam Hot Pot

The best dish of the day was the fried tofu covered with dried scallop gravy.  The fried tofu soaked up the sauce like a sponge so that each bite was an explosion of scallop juice, but the outside retained the dry texture of fried foods.  YUM!

Fried Tofu with Scallop Gravy

99 Ranch Market in Houston

We stopped at the new 99 Ranch Market in Houston (1005 Blalock Road, Houston, 77055) on the way from Galveston to Austin for amazing groceries last weekend. It's my new favorite place for nearly all groceries. The variety, freshness, and prices of the fruits and vegetables are unbeatable. Ok. So I heard an elderly Caucasian couple complain about 99 having no tomatoes. Sure. Tomatoes are some of the few things you would expect all supermarkets to have, but you don't really go into an Asian market specifically for tomatoes. How can you be picky when there are all the following goodies?

Green Daikon!!! I'm the biggest daikon fan and didn't know green ones existed!; Chinese Okra


3 different kinds of mangoes, all in beautiful condition...unlike the expensive crap I find in even the *fancy* grocery stores in Austin

A gigantic mound of coconuts from Thailand. I bought a box of SIXTEEN. They're the best coconuts I've ever had!

What also sets 99 apart from other Asian grocery store competitors is its cleanliness. That truly is a rare feature among Asian grocery stores.

I saw workers constantly wiping display cases and straightening packages to keep the place nice and spotless

It makes me feel more at ease about buying seafood and meats here. Ah, the glorious seafood and meats! I actually bought a big box of frozen uncooked soft shell crabs for only $19.99, an amazing deal. The lean beef tenderloin and 7 duck legs were gorgeous. Just because this store appears clean, does not mean it's a watered down version of Asian stores. They still sell various animal innards and other Fear Factor worthy items. It's a gourmand's paradise!

Live King Crab (When I was in Alaska, everyone told me that it's nearly impossible to buy LIVE king crabs...Lo and behold, they sell them at 99 in Texas!); Box of Frozen Soft Shell Crabs

Frog Legs; Whole Geese (One is around $55. I didn't know that geese are so expensive.)

My favorite part about the store is how they knew that going down the aisles of dizzying amount and variety of foods would surely work up the shoppers' appetites. I noticed how many shoppers would munch on freshly baked Asian breads and buns (all brioche-like texture) and sip a cup of coffee from the on-site bakery before commencing their shopping adventures. 99 even has a food court with an impressive dim sum selection, a standard Chinese fast food section, a Chinese BBQ window, a Taiwanese bento and beef noodle soup section, a prepared Chinese cold dishes section, and ready-made sushi, sashimi, and unagi rice bowls section. When I was there, a man was also serving samples of homemade Korean potato noodles and kimchee made and packed by his wife that very morning.

99 Food Court; Prepared Chinese Cold Dishes

Dumpling Samples; Korean Potato Noodle Samples and Homemade Kimchee

$3.99 Unagi Rice Bowl

I dare you to come out of 99 empty-handed and on an empty stomach.

They're opening another store in Dallas soon! (131 Spring Creek Parkway, Plano, 75023)

Tan Tan Restaurant: Awesome Chao Zhou Cuisine

Tan Tan Restaurant

Tan Tan is located in a crime-ridden area of Houston, so although I highly recommend this restaurant, I urge you to take precautions and go in the day time.

We bought a bunch of food to bring back to Austin so I can enjoy some Chao Zhou (Southeast China) food before flying off to Northeast China.

I didn't appreciate this restaurant until this revisit. I always thought that this was just a joint that serves up late night nosh for Chinatown clubbers rather than a respectable culinary establishment. It saddens me to think that it took me 7 years to realize Tan Tan's excellence. It's even more discouraging to face the fact that there isn't a Chinese restaurant of this caliber in Austin.

If you're new to the Chinatown in Houston, definitely begin your food adventures here.

Vietnamese Eggrolls; Yang Zhou Fried Rice

Hmm...what can be inside this lotus leaf?

...A big fat dungeness crab!!!!

...AND steamed rice with scallops, crab meat, shrimp, scallions, and ginger in a seafood sauce!!!!

Delicious dungeness crab from the lotus wrapped steamed rice

Jungle Cafe and Patisserie

Jungle Cafe and Patisserie

Everytime I'm in Houston, I make sure that I bring at least 2 rectangular cakes from Jungle Cafe back to Austin with me. Their Chinese/Taiwanese takes on French desserts are almost as good as Japanese take on French dessets. In other words, Asian takes on Western desserts are tastier than desserts made by Americans. Ouch. There, I said it. And dare I say that sometimes, they're even better than desserts made by the French because it's just as tasty but healthier? Chill. The sky won't fall because the Asians can trump the French at their own culinary undertakings. I'll be fair and say that this isn't an absolute rule. The Chinese take on Western cooking can sometimes be disasterous as I've written on my post about Wang Ping Steakhouse in Taiwan.


What's so great about Jungle Cafe's desserts?


1) The cakes are light as air. You know how madeleines are supposed to be light as air? The lightest of madeleines can't touch Jungle Cafe's cakes. They are like angel food cakes, but more moist. Angel food cake tastes great at first, but it gets stuck in my throat as the air and tiny bit of moisture are mushed out of the morsel.


2) There is no trace of icing on any of their desserts. Before you bombard me with "but icing is the best part of a cake," you should just buy a tub of Betty Crocker ready-made icing from the grocery shelf and dig in rather than eat a cake to support your argument. Icing is utter junk. I'll only happily eat the icing on cakes made by Fickle Foodie (example 1, example 2, example 3, and this can go on for quite a bit).


3) 很精细 (finely prepared)

We're addicted to three dessert flavors: coffee, green tea, and mango. In order for another flavor to divert our attention away from these three, it'll have to be super sumptuous, unusual, or present in the absence of the trinity.


That's how I picked out the following goodies on this trip:

Coffee Cake with Raspberry Jelly

Mango Mousse-with almond biscuits, mango orange mousse, mango gelee, and chocolate; Emeraude-Chocolate almond, pate a feuilletine, almond biscuit, pistachio cream, and diced nuts

Amour-coconut dacquiose, orange, almond biscuit, pate a feuilletine, and chocolate cream

They even have macarons! (these are all tea flavored)

Jungle Cafe will move to the Dunhuang Plaza just down Bellaire Blvd. soon.

Cafe Express

I'm leaving for China soon for an internship, and I took a day trip to Houston to obtain my visa. This was a great excuse to museum hop around Montrose and eat a bunch of yummy food while I waited for the Chinese Consulate General to give me my visa. That's what you get with a foodie who's a former art geek!

While at the MFAH, we snacked on the Shrimp Campeche with Avocado & Chipotle Sauce at Cafe Express. I did not taste one bit of chipotle...just a bunch of ketchup. At least the shrimp and avocado were very fresh and the tortilla chips were delicious.

Shrimp Campeche with Avocado & Chipotle Sauce

My dining partner and I shared the Mediterranean Salmon and the Pasta Capri. The Pasta Capri brought back great memories. We used to eat their Pasta Capri practically every other weekend in Houston. Alas, Austin has done well in patronizing local businesses, and Cafe Express has not penetrated this market...yet. Austin may succumb to the powers of the chains with the development of places like The Domain and the gentrification of East Austin. The surprising fall of the popular Shuggie's at the South Austin Trailer Park and Eatery may be a bad sign that Austin will soon be assimilated. (please excuse the Borg talk).

Mediterranean Salmon-with green beans, spicy lemon parsley sauce & roasted artichoke hearts; Pasta Capri-linguine with shrimp & sauteed spinach and creamy roasted tomato sauce