Korean Food

Korean food has become one of my favorite types of Asian food. Everything is always really flavorful, and you can't go wrong with the cute side dishes called banchan that come with your meal.

Galbi/Kalbi with banchan

I went to the Korean Grill in Chinatown Austin for my Korean food fix while I was visiting. I ordered the Galbi/Kalbi (different restaurants spell it differently), which is marinated pork or beef short ribs that come out on a sizzling plate with onions, similar to how fajitas are served at Mexican restaurants. You can really smell the aromas when the plate is making its way to your table.

A fun thing when it comes to Korean food is that most entrees are served with banchan. Banchan are various small appetizers ranging from kimchi, pickled cucumbers, tofu, bean sprouts, daikon, egg omelet roll ups (I'm pretty sure that's not the correct name) etc. Don't be fooled by how small they are, most restaurants will refill them!

 

My favorite out of all of the side dishes are the pickled cucumbers on the bottom right corner of the photo above.

I'm Cookie Monster!

Fresh, warm, gooey cookies delivered to your door. What more could someone ask for?

Tiff's Treats was always so tempting when I lived in the dorms at UT, especially if there was a lot of studying involved. It was a great snack and excuse to eat sugary things when I was studying hard for exams.

Their packaging is always really nice.

  

My favorite are their chocolate chip cookies...a classic! What's your favorite kind of cookie?

Oh So Fulfilling

I first tried Sao Paulo's when I was a student at UT. I used to only stick with the Tex-Mex they had because I was intimidated by the Brazilian part of the menu, plus I really didn't understand what a lot of it was. Thankfully, I finally started trying items from the Brazilian entrees, and I haven't gone back to the Tex-Mex side since!

Feijoada (black bean stew)

Feijoada shown above is a black bean stew with a mix of sausage, beef, and pork. It is served with a side of rice, collard greens, farofa (toasted maize flour), and pao de queijo (cheese bun made with tapioca flour). The Bife A Milanese pictured below is a lightly breaded pan fried steak covered with ranchero sauce and served with a side of mashed potatoes, vegetables, and pao de queijo as well. The vegetables are a mix of corn, tomatoes, collard greens, and mushrooms; and is a great balance against the steak. I usually end up eating all of the vegetables before everything else. 

Bife A Milanesa

Sao Paulo's has such a great atmosphere in the evening. They dim the lights and each table has a small oil lamp. It's a great romantic spot for dinner!

Madam Mam's

Madam Mam's has a huge menu now! It's pretty much a book. They seem to always change something every time I go back. Last time it was their choice of tofu; they now have a choice of fresh or fried. I always go with the fried.

They have some of the best Thai tea, though it is really sweet. I usually like to let the ice melt down a bit before drinking it. I also love the color of Thai tea...maybe I'm just easily amused.

Thai Tea

One of my favorite go to dishes is the Pad Sea Ew with the flat noodles. This time I got fried tofu with it, but I also like the beef and shrimp versions as well.

Pad Sea Ew with fried tofu

With their new menu now, it feels even more intimidating to decide on what to order than before. It's great they have such a great selection of Thai food, better than many other restaurants, but it takes me forever to choose something.

If you have a SWEET tooth

Cold sweet treats are always great if you don't want something too heavy. Rita's Italian Ice is just the place to satisfy that sweet tooth and to cause a brain freeze.

Gelati = frozen vanilla custard and key lime Italian ice and mango Italian ice

Their Italian ice is made fresh daily with fresh fruit, which adds some dimension to the texture and flavor. It doesn't taste fake like many ice cold treats. They also have a good variety of frozen custard flavors compared with other places. The frozen custard is very smooth and creamy, but it's a bit too sweet for my taste. I can only take small doses at a time.

The highlight of Rita's is definitely their Italian ice!

It's Sushi Time!

Anytime I'm around the UT campus, I'm nostalgic. 

I have to go to Sushi Niichi whenever I'm around campus. It has always been one of my favorites because of their great lunch specials and happy hour. Of course they're not the best if you compare them with places like Uchi, Mushashino, etc. but for the price, they're fantastic. At least for me.

My favorite roll is the Blue Moonlight, which has spicy tuna and tempura shrimp inside, and salmon, tempura flake, and spicy Japanese mayo on the outside.

Blue Moonlight

We were too hungry and I forgot to take a picture BEFORE we started eating. We got the Blue Moonlight and Dragon (crab stick, avocado, cucumber on the inside, and grilled eel and avocado with teriyaki sauce on the outside) rolls; and a few nigiri pieces (Unagi - grilled eel, Binnaga - white tuna, and Masago - fish roe).

Do you like sushi?

Your Mom's!

"Get Stuffed at Your Mom's!"

If you want to go somewhere quirky, I recommend Your Mom's Burger Bar. They're known for their unique stuffed burgers. These burgers are fairly messy, especially mine because not only did I have a 1/2 lb. stuffed beef patty with monterey jack cheese and chorizo, but also a fried egg with lettuce, tomato, onion, and a guacamole and chipotle lime spread. I chose to have it on white bread, but you can also get your burger with wheat.

Frida Kahlo with fries

The Marie Laveau was more Cajun in its flavors. This burger was stuffed with monterey jack cheese and boudin, blackened Cajun style, with lettuce, tomato, onions, and a roumalade sauce.

Marie Laveau with onion rings

Overall, I liked the quirkiness of this place and the variety of burgers you can choose from, but did not really like the atmosphere. The seating is in a covered outdoor area that gets insanely hot, especially during the summers and also on top of the heat coming from the kitchen...it's not very comfortable. I recommend getting take-out instead.