Asian – Page 14

Mother-Daughters Day

February 24, 2018 by Mellie Dee Leave a Comment

[2018] 055/365: Mother-Daughters Day

Scruffy and Luna left this morning and I went with Mum to pick up Sissy from the car dealership since she was getting so much done to her car. We went to 99 Ranch, picked up El Pollo Loco to bring home for a late lunch and after a shower, we headed out to get our nails done. Mum and I got pedicures while Sissy got Shellac on her hands.

We stopped by Kim’s Tea House for some delicious drinks bringing one home for June and Dad. YUM!

It’s been a chill day and I love it. I wish for more mother-daughter days but they’re tough to come by so I cherish them a lot.

Serenity Nails & Spa
1830 S Mason Road, Katy, Texas 77450 | (832) 437-9965 | Website | Yelp

Kim’s Tea House
1519 S Mason Road, Katy, Texas 77450 | (281) 646-0002 | Website | Yelp

I Love My Boys

February 21, 2018 by Mellie Dee Leave a Comment

Saigon Pho and Grill Vietnamese Noodle House | Sugar Land, Texas | Crawfish

Crawfish | $8.99

Crawfish at Saigon Pho and Grill Vietnamese Noodle House while Scruffy got pho for lunch. It was cooked to perfection, flavour was great, but the size wasn’t amazing, especially for that price. Sigh, sucks. I am excited about crawfish season. Cheap, big, and DELICIOUS!

Since one pound wasn’t anything, we went to OG Tea for some Hazelnut Milk Tea and Strawberry Banana Smoothie. YUM! The smoothie surpassed my expectations.

I especially loved the covers on the drinks. Scruffy calls me a Panda and it was so cute that on mine, there’s a panda and a pup = RIzzo and I!

And Scruffy had a panda and a boy hugging it = Scruffy hugging me. hehe

Scruffy ordered some bahn mis for Ashy and Korman and I went for popcorn chicken and fries with ranch. Everything was a bit too sweet but fried to perfection. I’m not too certain if I’d get this again. Maybe when I’m extremely hungry and it’s the only thing.

Korman cooked us all dinner and Rami and Caitlin came over with Peyton. The dinner was delicious and it was great to finally see the little baby since the end of December. It has been a long while. She’s grown so much!

[2018] 052/365: My Boys

My boys. Scruffy giving Rizzo kisses. #heartmelt

Saigon Pho and Grill Vietnamese Noodle House
4645 Hwy 6, Sugar Land, Texas 77478 | (281) 491-2988 | Yelp

OG Tea
5730 New Territory Blvd, Sugar Land, Texas 77479 | (281) 886-2577 | Yelp

I Finally Got Scrabble in Scrabble!!!!!!

February 16, 2018 by Mellie Dee Leave a Comment

Happy Chinese New Year! Year of the Dog. It just made sense to go to the dog park, right? We met up with Paola and Soncco this morning after I grabbed an iced coffee from Starbucks because I was T.I.R.E.D.

After the dog park, I gave the pups a bath and here they are taking a mid-day nap. So freaking adorable.

While they napped and I worked on my computer, Scruffy went to pick up some tacos for our late breakfast/lunch, from Las Tarascas. I used to go here a lot with Tony when we were at our old job. They are still delicious, but El Jarro Cafe still beats them by a lot.

Later that night, we all went to Thai Cottage to celebrate the new year. I got the delicious Curry Noodles and shared two plates of Wings of Paradise.

Scruffy and I went to Texas Mesquite Grill so that he can have some beers. I saw crawfish on the menu and had to get, especially since I didn’t eat all my foods. Although this place isn’t seafood boil type of place, it was still delicious so much so that we I ordered another pound!

[2018] 047/365: Scrabble in Scrabble

We’re back home now, playing Scrabble and OH MY GOODNESS I cannot believe it! I finally got to use all my letters on a turn which means it’s a Scrabble which means I automatically get 50 points on top of whatever the original score is! I never knew that was a thing until I played Scrabble with Scruffy and his family.

He keeps telling me that the game is over after every turn we have but I want to see how high my score can really be since this NEVER happens to me!!

Las Tarascas
1025 S Mason Road, Katy, Texas 77450 | (281) 579-9994 | Yelp

Thai Cottage Katy
19610 Katy Fwy, Houston, Texas 77094 | (281) 398-0701 | Website | Yelp

Texas Mesquite Grill
20095 Katy Fwy, Katy, Texas 77450 | (281) 829-0444 | Website | Yelp

2018 Chinese New Year’s Eve

February 15, 2018 by Mellie Dee Leave a Comment

Scruffy and I went to Laikh House Gourmet Cafe for lunch since there were such great ratings.

Laikh House Gourmet Cafe | Houston, Texas | All American Burger with Parmesan Fries

All American Burger [beef, American cheese, mayo, mustard, pickle, tomato, onions, lettuce] | $5.99 • Parmesan Fries | $3.99

We shared the burger and fries and were quite surprised to find that it wasn’t bad. I was even more surprised when Scruffy said he’d come back.

Laikh House Gourmet Cafe | Houston, Texas | Honeymoon Latte

Honeymoon Latte | $3.50 • Almond Milk | $0.50

The guy did forget to serve me my coffee but when I walked to the counter, he remembered before I had to say anything and had it out soon after. It was actually not bad but not sweet enough for my taste.

The only complaints I have is mostly that the floors were sticky and there were sewer-ish smells when you walk in. Not enough to deter us though.

[2018] 046/365: Chinese New Year’s Eve Dinner

Now that my Dad’s retired, he wants to go all out and be more traditional so ten dishes for five people. Everyone helped out in making this dinner happen. We have SO much leftover. It was delicious though and I was so happy to see that Scruffy ate more than he usually does.

We’re going to watch Megan Leavey together after the adults get home from buying flowers. haha

It’s been a great day.

Laikh House Gourmet Cafe
1856 Barker Cypress Road, Houston, Texas 77084 | (832) 321-4562 | Yelp

RECIPE | Taiwanese Popcorn Chicken

February 14, 2018 by Mellie Dee Leave a Comment

Happy Valentine’s Day, lovies!! I started off the day with a lip mask from Sephora. It actually worked pretty well in my opinion. Perfect for Valentine kisses. haha Just kidding.

Scruffy came over and he walked into his room to drop off his things and found this pile of goodies.

[2018] 045/365: Valentine Rice Krispies Treats

One of which was heart-shaped rice Krispies treats Juhi and I made last night that I was hesitant to post in case he checked the blog for once. I’ve been asked if they were professionally made by a few people and was surprised when he also asked. I guess I should start a rice Krispies business. It might actually help me rake in some money since I’m unemployed.

He let me chose the restaurant, treating me to Cafe Caspian. We started off with Hummus, Sabzeh, and Tandoori Bread.

By the time our main meals arrived, lamb shanks for me and Kubideh for him, we were a bit stuffed and nibbled on a bit packing the rest to go.

I decided to try out Mum’s new fryer and made Taiwanese Popcorn Chicken, recipe below. I was surprised how well they actually turned out. I thought it would have been a hot mess and everyone complaining.

I was surprised every single piece of chicken was polished off along with other foods we had on the table!

Taiwanese Popcorn Chicken

Course: Appetizer, Main Course, Snack

Cuisine: Asian, Chinese, Taiwanese

Servings: 6 servings

Ingredients

Marinating

1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 medium head of garlic
1/2 inch ginger
3 green onions white and 1-inch of the green part, minced
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp mirin or rice wine
1 tsp potato starch or corn starch/flour/breadcrumbs
1/2 tsp Chinese Five Spice
1/2 tsp ground white pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

Coating

1 eggs
1/2 cup cold water
2-3 cups potato starch

Frying

3-4 cups peanut oil or vegetable oil

Serving

Leaves from 1 bunch of fresh Thai Basil
1 tbsp salt to taste
1 tbsp white pepper to taste
1 tbsp cayenne pepper to taste
1/2 tbsp sugar to taste

Preparations

Remove the fat and cut the chicken into 1-inch chunks. Place in large bowl.
Make the marinade by adding all the ingredients to the bowl of chicken. Mix to coat all the chicken. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to overnight.
Once the chicken is done marinating, beat the egg with the 1/2 cup of water in a bowl. Place the sweet potato starch in another bowl.
Heat the frying oil until it reaches 350˚F.
While the oil is heating up, dip the chicken in the egg mixture first, then in the potato starch.
Once the oil reaches the right temperature, fry the Thai basil leaves for 30 seconds or until they darken.* This helps flavour the oil. Scoop them out and lay them on a wire rack or a plate lined with paper towels to drain off the excess oil.
Fry the chicken pieces for about 5 minutes or until golden brown. Make sure not to add too many pieces into the pot. Scoop them out and lay them with the leaves.
Immediately toss with generous amounts of salt, white pepper, cayenne pepper, and sugar, to taste.

Notes

*When frying Thai basil leaves, keep in mind of the big splash back due to the moisture in the leaves. I used a fryer and had a lid I quickly closed as I lowered the basket into the oil.

Serenity Nails & Spa 1830 S Mason Road, Katy, Texas 77450 | (832) 437-9965 | Website | Yelp

Kim’s Tea House 1519 S Mason Road, Katy, Texas 77450 | (281) 646-0002 | Website | Yelp

Saigon Pho and Grill Vietnamese Noodle House 4645 Hwy 6, Sugar Land, Texas 77478 | (281) 491-2988 | Yelp

OG Tea 5730 New Territory Blvd, Sugar Land, Texas 77479 | (281) 886-2577 | Yelp

Las Tarascas 1025 S Mason Road, Katy, Texas 77450 | (281) 579-9994 | Yelp

Thai Cottage Katy 19610 Katy Fwy, Houston, Texas 77094 | (281) 398-0701 | Website | Yelp

Texas Mesquite Grill 20095 Katy Fwy, Katy, Texas 77450 | (281) 829-0444 | Website | Yelp

Laikh House Gourmet Cafe 1856 Barker Cypress Road, Houston, Texas 77084 | (832) 321-4562 | Yelp

Cafe Caspian 12126 Westheimer Road, Houston, Texas 77077 | (281) 493-4000 | Website | Yelp