asian food

Hungry in Houston

Houston for Lunar New Year, two very short days, lots of delicious meals and quality time with my family. When can Atlanta get some of this amazing Vietnamese food? Below acts as a pretty good visual checklist of all – well, most – of the things I can only find in Houston. I’m sorry, I probably should have taken note of WHERE all these dishes are, but I’ll do the best I can…

These crazy sausage spring rolls (I think it’s nem nuong cuon). These are like your normal Vietnamese spring rolls EXCEPT there’s also grilled sausage inside along with a crunchy fried stick thing. It’s a very difficult thing to describe, but so unbelievably scrumptious. And I have no idea what is in that yellow dipping sauce. Egg? Someone who is more Vietnamese than me, please help me out.

2. Banh Xeo (in various forms). I actually do think you can find this in Georgia but I don’t think it’s as good? I’m not sure.

3. Vietnamese Chinese Food. There are like LOTS of restaurants that are like a hybrid? Vietnamese food with Chinese accents. Either way I like it all.

4. Che. Specially RED BEANS. Again, another thing you actually can find in Atlanta on BuHi BUT it pales so much in comparison to Houston that I cannot even bring myself to get it. Every time I try, I end up throwing it out. And in Houston, I get one like every single day. Happy hour is che hour.

5. Banh mi. SO. This is the one thing I’m proud to say we actually have a really great option for (Quoc Huong) on BuHi. The banh mi we get in Houston is a little different – more butter. Lots more butter. Which is awesome in its own way.

6. Papaya Salad with Beef Jerky. I have a feeling this is in Atlanta but I just haven’t found it yet. Anyone know something I don’t? This, like most of these other dishes is just about ingredients. I don’t know if anyone does this jerky, I don’t know if anyone does the sauce.

Long story short is that I love Houston for family and food; two of the most important things in life! Sorry this blog writing is not more finessed. I’m just dying to get these pics out there.

Asian Supermarket… literally.

In a Buford Highway plaza named “Asian Square”, you’ll find the “Asian Supermarket”. Yes, that’s what it’s named (in English anyways). This is where I’ve found one of my favorite wonton noodle soups! And it’s also where Ben can find some seriously numbing Sichuan fried chicken.

This is the roasted duck that also goes into my wonton soup. Because wonton soup is not wonton soup without some roast duck! Ugh, I’m getting hungry again just thinking about it. This night in particular we went with our friends Molly and Andy and they went the custom route – choosing random ingredients for a Sichuan stir fry. I’m so glad they did it because I never would have tried it and now I know, this is a delicious option. Thank god for Buford Highway.

vivi bubble tea

I’ve made it my mission to expand my horizons on Buford Highway. Obviously I love Asian food and I love exploring new restaurants, but I can easily get into a rut where I visit the SAME places every time. I can’t help that I have specific cravings! Once I find something I like, it’s really hard to switch to something new.

Vivi Bubble Tea has all the makings of a good instagram, so I was skeptical about the quality of their bubble tea. Thankfully my new friend Helen (@atlanta_noms) got me to try it for our first IRL meeting and now I’m so happy we did! I’ve only been there twice now, but I was surprised by how much I liked their tea. I thought it was going to be too sweet for me, but it was on par with Kung Fu Tea.

I ordered this tiramisu bubble tea so I could get this cotton candy topping. Yes, for instagram. But again – to my delight – the bubble tea was delicious. I enjoyed the boba and also drank that little mason jar of extra tea. Probably not the healthiest thing for me to do, but you only live once right? I think my favorite bubble tea is still Tea House Formosa, but cheers to trying new things and making new friends!

jang su jang

Oof. I’ve been taking some long breaks in between blog posts. To some degree it’s willful but I also think that time has just been zooming past me. Since the last time I wrote, I’ve been breaking in a “new” job. Well technically it’s an old job I used to have, but I’m new to it again. I’m in the process of figuring out my true routine and also wondering if there exists such a thing. But that’s for another post.

THIS POST is centered around a delicious Korean dinner I had out in Duluth. I’m trying to get back on the train of trying new stuff instead of wading in my comfort zone. Tasting and experiencing new things is a big part of my life and something that really motivates me to blog, to instagram, and ultimately to make art. I can’t make new work unless I feel new myself.

Jang Su Jang. SO GOOD. I’m not an expert in Korean food – like by far one of the asian cuisines I’ve had the least experience with – but this shit was bananas. We were a table of two but we ordered four dishes because… because. Thankfully I had a friend of mine who is actually Korean guide us in our choices. This led us to try many a dish we definitely wouldn’t have just picked out ourselves.

yet tuh

Okay so I’m Asian and I love food, but that doesn’t mean I’m an expert on all Asian food. Of all the variety of Asian cuisine out there, I undoubtedly have strong opinions about Chinese food and Vietnamese food because that’s my heritage and that’s what I’ve been eating all my life. What I don’t know much about is Korean and Japanese cuisine. So when it comes to trying new Asian restaurants, it’s those that I’m going to go for because I want to continue broadening my experiences with each. Being in Atlanta, I have plenty to choose from! Last week I tried Yet Tuh, a small little spot off of Buford Highway. Thanks Instagram!

We got there extremely early so the place was completely empty. Its location is definitely off the beaten path but it’s well worth the trip. Again, I remind you that I know nothing about what good Korean food is supposed to be like. But I very much enjoyed most aspects of this dinner. It was tough to only be a two-person party because of how many items we ordered (we just had to try them), but that made for plenty of leftovers to carry me through the week. Of all the dishes, my favorite was

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