Legit reasons to crave buffet

After a weekend of working out (aka Summer Fest) all I can think of is some good food. Buffet does not come to mind... usually ever. But like I said, I had a weekend of working out so I could do some eating. My extended family has frequently visited this one Chinese buffet called V Star. They raved about the fried crab that was "just like mom and dad's". No one cooks like my mom and dad. You know the spicy fish sauce (nuoc cham) that you eat at every Vietnamese restaurant? Yeah, it tastes like watered down fish sauce to me. There's no flavor and it's not spicy, not like my mom's. So no, no one can cook like my parents.

After having to turn down two really tempting invitations to eat crawfish this weekend I was really itching for some crab and crawfish. So I called my sister and I met her family at V Star to really chow down.

freshly made crawfish

fried crab

The crawfish ranged from small to large but there were quite a few large sized ones. It was flavored with lemon and spices but not too spicy. The fried crab was more like salt toasted crab (or maybe it really was). It was pretty good. Dad doesn't do crab where the shell is really soft and the flavor was just right, not too salty and not bland but still not the kind of flavor that dad makes. I checked with my parents and they confirmed the crab is not soft shell crab but it is softer than the usual. The three adults ate more than our money's worth. Of course they have other things like the usual Chinese crab puff rangoon, sushi, mussels, shrimp with jalapeno, stuff crab shells, etc. And to top it off, the bathroom was nice, clean and big. THANK YOU V STAR STAFF!

V Star women's bathroom

I hardly ever crave buffet mainly because I can not stand seeing people pile enough food for five people onto a plate that was meant for one. It's not even that I can't stand seeing this but more that I get disgusted by sitting down to eat my one person plate full of food next to a person or people who are eating piles of random food for five on their one person plate. Or it's just because they're too lazy to get up again. And if I see this and get disgusted I tend to stop eating and therefore waste my money's worth for the buffet. Reasons why I like sitting in corners at buffets. But for the crab and crawfish like this... for $10.50 for dinner? I'll ask for a corner seat.

V Star

6969 Gulf Freeway, Ste 350

Houston, TX 77087

713-645-8885

Tonkotsu Shoyu Ramen

Let's roll back time to Spring 2002 when Edwin and I decided to rent a car for a road trip to LA. We spent approximately five days there. We met up with my cousins who introduced us to Shin-Sen-Gumi, a Japanese restaurant. I was told they were known for their Tonkotsu Shoyu Ramen, a pork and ginger flavored soup with various toppings you can add. The noodles were freshly made. You could order the noodles hard, medium or soft. We actually saw the noodles being made and cooked which made me even more excited. Once I tasted the soup and asked for a second helping of noodles, I knew my quest for finding it in Houston would begin once we drove back a few days later.

So time now equals a few days ago. Oishii was again busy with a long wait and no parking. So naturally, option II was in effect. As we drove down 59 towards Bellaire I remembered Kubo's Cafe was open. When we walked in, it was surprisingly cute and casual. We stood around like dorks until we saw the "order here" sign at the counter. What do I see on the counter as a new item on the menu? Tonkotsu Shoyu Ramen ($6.99). Are you freaking kidding me? I thought, "I should keep my expectations low." You know what happens when someone tells you something is really good? You expect too much and then you get disappointed. And then, you remember it. "Remember when so-and-so told you to try that dish or that restaurant and it was just "eh...ok"? Yeah, let's not rush over there to try it today."

The smell of the soup brought back memories of the many times I visited Shin-Sen-Gumi. The soup was extremely hot but flavorful. The noodles was almost the same but since I haven't had the dish since September 2009 I couldn't really tell there was a big difference. The cha-shu was round and tender with some fat. Fresh was evident and surprisingly delightful. I was quite surprised. Even to the bottom of the bowl, the noodles and soup were worth the wait for the find. Though the soup was a tad on the salty side at the end, I walked away wanting more even though I was stuffed. All these years of looking for Japanese food that didn't include sushi and this is what becomes of my search. AWESOME!

I won't be waiting for Southwest's LA flights to go on sale so I can go visit Shen-Sin-Gumi (and my brother and cousins)... that also doesn't mean I won't stop by if I'm in the area.

*Available at Kubo's in the Rice Village ($8.50) during lunch and after 5pm at Kubo's Cafe ($6.99).

Update: I was really curious if Kubo's in Rice Village would be as good or the same as Kubo's Cafe on Bellaire. Unfortunately it is not. For some reason the broth is not as flavorful. I found that disappointing since I was looking forward to having lunch there sometimes. On a brighter note, Kubo's Cafe does serve it all day during the weekend. Even if the noodles don't seem as fresh as Shin-Sen-Gumi, it's still pretty damn good.















Tonkotsu Shoyu Ramen @ Kubo's Rice Village

Hong Kong ... boots boots part II

Edwin and I were finally on our way to Hong Kong. I can't tell you how excited I was to be visiting the city and even more so seeing my good friend Billy. Billy and I hung out quite a bit while he was living and working in Houston. When he left Houston a year ago I was painfully reminded of when my first childhood friend moved away in elementary school. I find it difficult to really connect with people you can trust and confide in and also have them be honest with you and you with them. When I find these people, I really treasure them. Anyways, finally able to see Billy again was something special that I probably will not get to do often. I have to thank Edwin for agreeing to make this our one big travel trip for the year. He has to put up with me and that's not easy because it's an every day responsiblity.

From Beijing to Hong Kong we flew on Dragon Air. It was the best flight experience I ever had. The flight crew was nice with many smiles for each encounter. The seats were comfortable with enough leg room. The food was better than other flights although I can be biased since the food was Chinese cuisine. I also can't complain that they played "500 Days of Summer." Overall, it was a very pleasant trip.

When we landed in the Hong Kong area, the new airport was roughly an hour away from Kowloon which is where we stayed. Our hotel was a few months old and a few minutes from the old airport. Edwin noticed traffic was different first. First, the bus door is what would be America's driver side. The driver sits on the right which would be the passenger's side. Traffic is opposite from the US. It doesn't affect you much until you're a pedestrian. Thank goodness there were messages on the road directing you where to look. If not for those... well, let's not think about that. Everywhere we went, we saw girls in skirts, tights and boots and of course scarves. Boots were in: knee high, ankle, flats and heels. Hong Kong girls are quite trendy. Reminds me of New York.

We headed out to meet Billy for dinner. Of course when I see him, he's standing on the street corner working. Who knew Hong Kong street walkers were so high tech with laptops. HA! He took us to a noodle shop that had about 5 tables with 2 to 3 seats each. I am all about noodles that cost less than $2 USD and "hole-in-the-wall" type eateries (that describes about half of Hong Kong). I am not complaining. Later we headed to Lady Street where it's just booth after booth of t-shirts, belts, wallets, bags and bartering. I thought I was doing pretty well but Edwin did not agree at all. We did walk in with a strategy: "Don't be committed. Walk away." It's definitely a game. You have to act like you're not committed to buying. Make them committed to selling and you're golden.

The next day we headed to the East Asian Olympic Games to watch a couple volleyball matches. We watched Macau get destroyed by Japan. Honestly, watching a dominating team demolish another team is not fun. The second game we watched was China vs Hong Kong. Billy's friends were on the Hong Kong team. They put up a good fight against the real Chinese Olympic volleyball team. It looked like men (China) playing against college kids (Hong Kong). It was more exciting. The Chinese team is ridiculously tall. I wonder where they grew up. I can arrange a marriage for my future daughter, can't I?

We hung out in Times Square for dinner. Dinner was delightful. The waitstaff was entertained by me taking so many photos of food (at least they were nice). For dessert we headed to Lucky Dessert. All I can say is, fried crepes with mango and lady fingers is YUM! We actually went twice during our stay. We also went to Lan Kwai Fong. It's like 6th street on a hill. I take that back. It's like the Warehouse District in Austin, TX but on a hill. It's there that we saw the most diversity. Coming from the US and Texas it's odd not to see a diverse community.

The next day we had dim sum with Billy's friends and family. I sat next to a very adorable girl and spent most of my time getting her to warm up to me. She was so well behaved and sweet it made me want to have a child soon but that's still not likely. Billy took us up to his home where he has an amazing water view from every window. I've never seen a view like this from any home. It's absolutely beautiful. That view was ended quickly when Billy rushed us out to go visit the Peak. Of course the night wouldn't come to an end without dinner. Did someone say SUSHI? I don't know about you but there's no sushi restaurant in Houston where three people could eat, be full, spend about $50USD and still have left overs.

Our last full day in Hong Kong would be the last day I would see Billy for a while. I'm so glad he met us for lunch at Shark Fin City in Times Square. I absolutely love shark fin soup. I know it's terrible to kill sharks and I shouldn't eat it. I know! It's so delicious though. After lunch, I said good bye to Billy. I'll be honest, there were tears. They were all from me. Thanks to my love, Edwin, he cheered me up. We found a bakery and we found Lucky Dessert and he helped me flood my sorrows of sadness in food. Then, my love took me shopping. Shopping in Hong Kong is fabulous. If I could go shopping in Hong Kong when ever I had the urge I would be in love (minus the space travel). Lucky for me, most of everything was "one size fits all". You can't try anything on mainly because there is no space for fitting rooms. I did find this amazing mall with a lot of boutiques that were screaming for me. Thank goodness for being small.

Hong Kong is like New York City except with all Chinese people, better food and better shopping at a lower cost. Travel to Hong Kong is not cheap so I guess it evens out if compared to New York. If Hong Kong was closer, I would definitely go back often. Although since Billy moved to Beijing I guess it means I have to go back to Beijing one day. There's a lot of British influence in terms of traffic, architecture, public transportation, etc. I can't imagine it any other way. It makes me wonder where China would be if not for isolationism. Not that I wanted China to be ruled by the British but again, China probably would be farther along (in my optimistic mind).

Now to answer my curious brain:

• How much do I stand out from other Asians? Not much or at all
  
• Am I really that much smaller than other people? Is Edwin that much taller than other Asians? I am pretty small period. I would consider Edwin tall in Hong Kong.
  
• How American are we really? We're pretty American but not so much that Hong Kong realizes it. Compared to China, we're very American.
  
• Is the food better in the "mother" country? I couldn't tell if Beijing had good food since we ate at all the tourist places. Peking duck in Beijing is pretty darn tasty. Hong Kong for sure had good food. Edwin and I think that Houston has great food too and just as affordable. There is more Asian variety but Houston is getting there.
  
• Will we get a cultural shock that some people talk about? Not as much since we are Chinese but a tad... not enough to be like... "WHOA!"
  
• Will we be able to get around with the amount of Chinese we know? Not too shabby. Edwin knew enough Mandarin to get around Beijing. Our English helped us through Hong Kong. Note: When ordering bubble tea in Asia, it's better to ask for "zhing zhu" instead of "boba". Just a bit of funny "haha-ness" for my Mandarin speaking peeps. ~_^

If my words were too much, here's some photos of Hong Kong.

Miss you Billy! Thanks for taking us around Hong Kong. I hope this won't be the last time I see you (minus gchat).