Just a reminder

Every Friday at the MT Market.

In pursuit of bunly goodness

I love buns. I'm a bun woman. There is really no place in Austin to get fresh pork buns. It's a damn shame, and it's the only credit I give to Houston and their pretty awesome Chinatown.

I was at the MT Market this most recent Friday, oh and I should mention that as of late they've been having fresh rambutan and pitaya on Fridays - go and enjoy it before it stops coming. Fridays are awesome since they have fruit, fresh crustaceans, and a surplus of cakes come in.

One of the reasons why I can spend an exorbitant amount of time in grocery stores is the food talks. "I came from Brazil" "Mangosteen doesn't travel well." And most importantly, "this cake came from Lucky Bakery at 9616 N. Lamar." That was the most surprising information. Normally, the coconut leaf cake (half green, half white) comes from the Hong Kong Supermarket in Houston. It was very surprising to see a local place. There was also more variety, not limited to sweet buns and cakes, but also pork buns. I had to check out this place. For one thing, you never know how long buns have been sitting at the MT Market, if I have the opportunity to go to this bakery and get some fresh pork buns, I will.

I should really take down directions to new places, all I remember was that it was past E. Rundberg. I ended up wasting a lot of gas going up and down a stretch of Lamar only to eventually walk into the MT Market to look at a piece of cake to get the address.

What did I find? Selection is kind of small. But of what the Lucky Bakery does have, it all tastes good. While I could spend all day comparing here and Houston, there's not much I can do about it. Lucky Bakery has the Chinese Bakery monopoly in Austin currently.

#26: The schmucks at Google Maps

It really sucks to be the restaurant that happens to be located right next to one of the top restaurants in the city. Of course, I'm referring to Dynasty Chinese Restaurant which happens to be in the same strip mall as Asia Cafe.

It's like being the average girl that's friends with the hot chick. You have to do waaayyyyy more to get attention.

Today happens to be my sister's birthday and she requested eggplant with garlic sauce from Asia Cafe. My brother-in-law calls in to make the order only to find out later at Asia Cafe that they didn't have an order for him. He shows them the number that he called and it turned out to be the number for Dynasty. Dang! The situation was not cool on so many levels.

Moral of the story: don't put all your faith in Google Maps when it comes to looking up phone numbers.

#25: Why Austin rocks

I'm in Dallas right now. I was trying to find a grocery store earlier and having strong ties to Austin and San Antonio, my first inclination was to search for an HEB. What sucks about my current location is that the nearest HEB is 32 MILES AWAY!!! Pardon me, but WTF?

Next, I resorted to Yelp since it can be pretty useful in these situations. I'll admit, before I was always wondering why people would review simple places such as HEB, or any other regular grocery store. Seriously, I never saw a point in it because it was so common place, but now that I think about it, not all HEBs are created equal, likewise, not all grocery stores are created equal. HEB trumps Albertsons, Kroger, Tom Thumb, and Randalls. There's more overall selection. The produce quality is better. And the prices are much better. Back to Yelp, as a result of the lack of, what I would've considered over-Yelping. WHERE MAH AUSTIN YELPERS AT? Austin's Yelp scene is considerably more fleshed out. Thank You Austin.

#24: Pork Belly

I was at Central Market today looking for pork belly. I was going to attempt to grill it to make my ideal bacon steak...thing. Central market had pork belly, they just had to get it from the freezer (minus 1). After that, I started lurking around for some kimchi only to find that Central Market's Asian section is not as extensive and some of the other regular HEBs.

I ended up going to the MT mart to get my kimchi and then realized that I probably could have gotten better quality pork belly there too given the nature of the task I was going to use it for (minus 1 for me).

If you need pork belly, go to the Asian market.

#23: right-hand man

Truthfully, I haven't been going out much. Last time I went out to eat was, yep, you guessed it, crabs. I can only elaborate on the pleasures of eating crab for so long before I end up writing a manual on the pleasures of eating crab.

What has occurred to me is that there are places that I go out to eat on a pretty regular basis and I never write about them because they're so familiar to me that I don't even notice when I go there. It just happens. For instance, Kerbey Lane Cafe always slips my mind just because I'm there pretty often. It's always open when I'm hungry, and there's usually something on the menu I'll be in the mood for. I much prefer their winter menu with the boar chili and the pozole.

I've also mentioned this before, but Starseeds Cafe has a really good veggie wrap and also good vegetarian tacos. I have a feeling that their specials are no more than tv dinners, but their vegetarian fare is pretty good.

Makeup & Crabs

My sister got married 4 days ago. At this time, 4 days ago, I was dancing to "Rhythm of the Night" by El Debarge. So, I haven't been around for a while. I accept that. I also haven't eaten out at too many new places. Right now I'm addicted to crabs and makeup, so that's where my money's been going to.

Crabs have been my $10 a week habit as of late. See: Crawfish Shack. It's been good to hear that the oil is moving away from the area where they get their Blue Crab from. Silver lining? All I can say is that offshore drilling should be more heavily regulated. It's off shore for crying out loud. Think of those crabs. Please, think of the crabs.

As for makeup, that's something I can review. Lately, I've been finding that Sephora is a place where I can drop $50 real easily. When you're addicted to eyeshadow and lipstick, you can justify buying ANYTHING. Also, I'm at the development stage in my makeup usage where I'm trying to find uses for any color and I'm also developing my eyeshadow color palette. I'm not too picky, I'll pick up any cool color that looks interesting. So why pay retail for that?

Semi-recently, I wrote about the staying power of two different brands of eyeshadow and MAC won over certified organic Smashbox. Aside from eBay and having an insider at MAC, my most convenient option for reduced price MAC eyeshadow is the Cosmetics Company Store. For about $10 a pop (vs. $14.50), I can get eye shadow from previous seasons that's been discontinued or it was a part of a seasonal promotion. No, it is not defective or old, or testers for that matter. It's also very easy to find pink lipstick.

If you live in Austin, you're in luck. There happen to be TWO Cosmetics Company Stores in the outlets surrounding Austin in San Marcos and Round Rock.

When I first started messing around with makeup about 2 years ago, my cousin's boyfriend who's a makeup artist at MAC suggested that I go to Sally's Beauty Supply to get some makeup brushes to practice with before buying the more expensive ones. I was able to get a pretty nice starter set of MAC brushes at the Cosmetics Company Store for $36. Considering that some MAC brushes alone can get that high, it really isn't bad for a starter set. The cheaper prices allow me to get more for my money...it's not like I'm going to spend less anyway.

# 21: WTF Whole Foods

Sometimes, I just don't understand vegetarianism. Food...yes, to a much greater degree, but vegetarianism - not really. Let that be the disclaimer.

I understand liking animals enough not to eat them. I get that some people think eating meat is just so close to eating people, it's like cannibalism. If it's for religion reasons, fine by me.

I understand the veggie wrap at Starseeds Cafe to be a very fine specimen of of good vegetarian fare.

What I don't get is tofu stroganoff. Seriously, it's food like that that gives me the impression Whole Foods thinks vegetarians care more about the statement their food makes than how it actually tastes. For one thing, the stroganoff flavor relies on the beef a good deal. It needs meat. Why would you want something that shows you're willing to stoop to low levels to get something that's so meat like, but probably tastes like ass. I suppose in general, I just don't get meat-like vegetarian products. I understand that some people transition into the lifestyle, but in that case, if there's no appeal in meat, drop it like a bad boyfriend.

#20: It's Blackberry Season!

I feel bad in that I've been slacking in getting out the time sensitive material. Blackberry season is well underway and as such, blackberries are on sale everywhere :D!

The inspiration for this posting is my dear boyfriend who, in claiming that all the berries looked the same, brought home a rather sour pint of blackberries. I, on the other hand, examine the berries, open pints, and (if no one's looking) pick out berries to switch into other pints. It's most certainly a longer process for me. Being someone who's rather anal when it comes to produce picking, for the benefit of everyone:

+How to pick out sweet blackberries+

The main things to consider are:

color
overall berry size
globule size
globule packing

1) Color

~ Look for all black ~

blackberries with any specks of red in them are going to be more sour than the berries that are all black

2) Size

~ the bigger, the better ~

if given a choice between berries with specks of red, the bigger one will be less sour.



3) Globule Size

~ look for big and soft (right) ~

I call each little round fruit that composes a blackberry a globule. Smaller ones are more likely to be sour, uptight, and unpleasant.

4) Globule Packing

~ look for somewhat loose and soft globules ~

In conjunction with the thing to look for above, you'll find that big soft globules are highly incapable of packing as tightly as the smaller, sour, less juicy ones.

Overall, you're looking for something big, all black, and soft.

And now you should be set. I might actually regret doling out this advice since blackberries are always on sale now and I may be left with all the small sour berries if people want to go and test out their berry picking skills. Such is life. Happy berry picking!

Ugh...& Crabs

There might be an observable slow down in the output of this blog only because...bearing the brunt of being a college graduate in a recession, I really just haven't been going out as much for budgets sake. I'm saving up for a rainy day and despite the sunny days we've been having, I'm always expecting rain.

I've been thinking about crabs most of the day. For the past week, I've been contemplating going down to the Crawfish Shack and getting a pound of crawfish and a pound of crab before that mess in the gulf starts to take effect. I had their boiled crab not too long ago and it was awesome! Given that me and my sister are addicted to crab, seriously, at the Crawfish Shack it's like crack. Given my current economic situation, I'm going to have to cold turkey eating boiled crab until my sister offers to pay. (sigh)

You know you're a poor college graduate when you think "hmmm, that dollar I'd spend in the vending machine could buy me 3 apples at the grocery store." I really want to kick this recession's ass.

#19: Furniture Around Austin

I've been living with my sister since the beginning of April and my room is still a mad swamp of clothes. I've been in the market for a chest of drawers or a small dresser that would fit in my closet, but due to my previous experiences, my standards have risen from a particleboard box to something with a little more structure and better material that won't cave in; however, with my rising standards, my price range hasn't risen as much ($100 +/- $50).

It was a bit of a surprise to see at the places that sell "real" furniture, the prices were high for good quality in bad style. Given that I live close to IKEA, in trying to find a good chest there, I found some lower quality for prices that were not that much lower than the high end places. The best looking chest also happened to be the highest quality and the most expensive out of all the suitable ones...how do I say this? I'm a woman, perhaps if I just went there just looking for something to put my clothes in, I would've picked the cheapest thing and went home. End of story. But no, I need high quality, low price, good style. At IKEA...I felt like I was trying to pick the best out of the reject pile and I just can't do that. So what are my options?

Secondhand stores, flea markets, vintage stores, Goodwill, and the Salvation Army.

As of late, I've found that chests of drawers happen to be one of the less commonly carried items at flea markets oppose to chairs and desks...yeah...this is a college town. On top of that, flea markets are kind of hard to come by in this town.

Second hand stores are a little less conspicuous in this town. Slowly driving up Burnet, I discovered that it's a haven for furniture shops. I found this furniture consignment shop called It's New To Me. Upscale furniture consignment they say. For one thing, upscale furniture just means someone else paid a lot for it, it doesn't necessarily mean it's in good taste. I also found the welcoming crowd rather unsociable and unfriendly. Or perhaps they're shy. Either way, the rather boring furniture and unwelcoming staff made me cross this place off of places to consider.

Exposure to a lot of places is important, you never know what you're going to find. So, near the intersection of Pasadena and Burnet, I found this place called Second Hand (unfortunately, no website.) The man in there is nice, easy to talk to. I've visited this place a number of times and I see how the stock changes daily. They have a lot of wooden furniture, good quality, shelves, chests, dressers. The prices can be a little high at times and some can be reasonable, but, as the man will tell you, they all can be reduced. This place is worth multiple visits.

Goodwill and the Salvation Army are great places. I've found more often that Goodwill doesn't carry bedroom furniture as much as the Salvation Army. Salvation Army can vary from area to area. I've been to the one off of 45 and I tend to never find anything there. The Salvation Armies in San Antonio (if you're willing to do the drive) are goldmines for good quality vintage pieces just shy of being dirt cheap (for furniture). I'm not really sure how this happened, but I'm not complaining either. What's the downfall with the Salvation Army? If you see something you like that's part of a collection, you have to buy the whole collection. It's still reasonably priced and could easily be $100 more at any vintage shop, but do you need the whole collection? I was looking for a chest that would fit in my closet.

Given the non-sucesses listed above, I resorted to one of my go to places: Room Service Vintage. Given the style I was looking for, it could've gone two ways: pay a lot of money for a new reproduction or pay a moderate amount for something used. Contrary to the thought that vintage places sell old, used things at beyond retail prices, if you take into account style and quality - many of Austin's vintage stores are quite reasonable. The good thing about Room Service Vintage is that they have a website that updates the stock in the store. It saves gas. It also allows you to see when something goes on sale. That said

SCORE!

Solid wood, there are shelves in the cabinet, I'm going to sand it and re-stain it. It was also on sale.

More general commentary on why crawfish is awesome

First off, while I don't know if it's cheaper to buy live crawfish and boil them yourself, I do know that the smell make any outdoor party become heaven, but any indoor kitchen becomes hell. I don't have any experience with crawfish in my kitchen, but I do know that crabs can make any kitchen smell for days.

The benefit of going out for crawfish is the money and time you save on having to buy everything and then prepare it...then clean up a massive smelly mess afterwards that will lurk in your kitchen. When you go out, you can make a mess outside of your house.

I know that there are a number of people out there that find crustaceans to not be worth the work involved in eating them. Maybe I'm just an oddball who doesn't like having a plate of food just placed in front of me so I can easily gorge, but I feel that the work makes the eating process even more enjoyable. It's like eating a meal that you've cooked, or a treasure hunting game. Or maybe I'm just addicted to crustacean meat.

Messy food just tastes better. Things that are a little more safe and convenient just aren't...fun. You can't have great success without taking a risk: crawfish, ribs...I don't order food because it won't make a mess, I get it because it tastes good.

#18: Finger exfoliation - it's crawfish season!

Ever since my first crawfish boil about 2 years ago, I've made an effort to go out and eat a pound or two of boiled crawfish. My original go-to place was Fish City Grill in the triangle area, but they unfortunately have closed down.

I'll admit, I didn't take moving out of my old neighborhood very well and now it seems the more I get the know this area, slowly but surely, I'm starting to like it; however, one thing that severely sucks is how this new place seems to be far away from everything...except IKEA.

Irritated by both the move and the lack of a new place to indulge in crawfish, on my way to work I was very surprised to see the words "Boiled Crawfish" and "Crawfish Shack." Not only do I have a new resident seafood joint, it is a crawfish shack - anything with "crawfish" in the name has got to be special.

So, I had my seasonal 2lbs of crawfish and as a bonus, I also broke in a pair of jeans in the process of eating. Crawfish, does take some effort and when your fingers feel spicy, you've broken some skin. When I had finished thoroughly washing my hands, the first layer of skin was peeling off. I really regretted not bringing my camera. It's one of the most awesome feelings to be at a crawfish shack and the people there lay out a large sheet of paper because you ordered the boiled crawfish. What's even more exciting is if they ask you if you need a bib! I thankfully had my mess hoodie on for that purpose.

Here's a pic borrowed from Yelp:

heck yeah!

I know normally I post up the link to the websites of the places I go, unfortunately, the website for the Crawfish Shack & Oyster Bar is down, but here's their menu:


It should have everything you need.

#17: Chicken Tortilla Soup

So, this isn't a critique of any place in particular. I'm sure that Austin Java is a place that most people have been to and enjoyed to some degree...oh fine, I'll make it a critique.

I suppose we don't think twice about the places we constantly go back to, the fall back, the plan b. Well, I'll give some homage to Austin Java today. They have really good deserts. Normally, I feel iffy about 3 different flavors in a cupcake, but pumpkin, chocolate, and cream cheese go together awesomely! Austin Java also has a very awesome Eggs Benedict. I think their pasta dishes are good, though a little overpriced, but anyway, the main point: I make a better chicken tortilla soup!

My Pumpkin told me so after he had tried their soup: "Ugh! I shouldn't have gotten this, the one you make is a lot better!"

Now, this took me by surprise because I didn't even know that he ordered the soup because I was busy giving my little sister a hard time about my paying for her food. Anyway, upon asking why, Pumpkin responded that theirs was kind of thick and spicy...and then just said that mine was better :) Now, I've had my fair share of chicken tortilla soup, the thinner ones and the really really thick ones (Twin Sister's, San Antonio TX) and I must say that anything in between just doesn't taste as good as one of the extremes.

One of the best tortilla soups is Don Pedro's in San Antonio, TX. The soup is thinner and it has avocado floating on the top when you open it - seriously - nothing is better. My recipe was based off of this soup and really it was a sort of crack recipe that I put together really fast, so - to not leave my Austin folk hanging - here's my tortilla soup:

Fast & Dirty Chicken Tortilla Soup:

(in the pot)
1.25 - 2lbs chicken (amount is a matter of preference)
28 oz can diced tomatoes (the big one)
1.5 Tablespoons of oil
1 onion (diced)
1 zucchini (cubed)
1 yellow squash (cubed)
1 large hass avocado (cubed)
2 pouches of Goya Brand chicken & tomato boullion
1 pouch of Goya Brand chicken bouillon
approximately 6 cups of water (more or less)
fresh cilantro (chopped)

(serving)
tortilla chips
shredded Mexican white cheese

What to do:

Ok, first off, the chicken makes the biggest time difference here and this is probably the only time I ever use chicken breast meat.

Saute the onion.

Slice raw chicken meat into small pieces and add to the pot. Cook until it's no longer pink.

With cooked chicken (leftover or whatnot) pull it apart or shred it - this is ideal, you can also use less oil to cook.

Now, add the water (6 cups) and bring to a boil, then simmer. Add all the bouillon pouches, stir, then bring the soup back to a simmer.

Add the can of diced tomatoes, juices and all - then stir and bring the soup back to a simmer. At this point the simmering time is dependent on the use of raw or cooked chicken. You'll have to make sure the chicken is cooked if you used raw so let the soup simmer for about 10-15 minutes and test the chicken. If you used cooked chicken, just bring the soup up to a boil and then back down to a simmer. Also, taste the broth, if it's too salty, add more water. You may want to taste the broth as you add more ingredients from this point on.

Add zucchini & yellow squash - simmer 3-5 minutes

Add approximately 1/2 a cup of cilantro (more or less depending on taste), simmer 30 secs to 1 minute. Turn off heat and add cubed avocado.

Pour soup in a bowl and add cheese and tortilla chips. Enjoy.

#16: SXSW

So, as I've been mentioning on and off, SXSW was just two weeks ago. I've always seen it as something to do vs. a must do. I've always been more into the music portion oppose to just looking for free booze, though any party that might be good usually has free booze.

I must say, one of the best events I went to During SXSW was the OBEY showcase from 2008.


I tend to listen to a lot of hip hop. I originally went there because I was checking out Flying Lotus' myspace page and found that he was playing SXSW. Freaking awesome! (I just checked his page again and -sigh- I missed him this year :'( ) My assumption was that he'd be playing with like similar acts and really, my assumption was better than anything music map could pull up. I also ended up with a 45' remix copy of the Gaslamp Killer's sample. Overall, an awesome night.

Perhaps it's just me, but after having been in Austin a while, the thought of SXSW is...just tiring. There's just too much to pick from, and then, of course you have to research everything and RSVP to parties. Part of the beauty of SXSW is that you don't have to go to everything, you have choices and you don't have to go to anything. There's something cool about discovering a new cool underground band, there's also something nice about being able to stay home and not feel like you should be out. Been there, done that. And another cool thing:

you could see GWAR!

#15: Crepes

If I remember correctly, last Saturday was the last day of SXSW. Honey Plum (otherwise known as Pumpkin) and I are not fond of cold weather which really was killer on the last day. We were getting hungry and we went to the nearest place that was indoors with food. It ended up being Le Cafe Crepe.


I'd say one of the main appeals of this place is having savory crepes in addition to the sweet ones. It's not exactly steak and kidney pie, but it'll do. I'd been here once before when this place was a Brazilian joint. I guess it didn't do too well. Anyway, if you ever happen to be here in the area, try a moderately priced crepe. They're a decent size and they have a very nice house blend coffee that goes well with it. It's a cozy place to escape the cold from.

# 14: Pancakes!

Wow it's been a while. There's just been a lot going down, SXSW in particular - I also helped rescue some puppies this past Monday. Nothing but a lot of spreading the love.

I have a link to my Yelp page on this blog. I don't normally update my reviews because I plan on it and never get to it. Recently I paid a follow up visit Cafe Java with three guinea pigs (my friend, sister, and sister's boyfriend.) I've touted this place as having the best pancakes when compared to Magnolia Cafe and Kerbey Lane. As a result, everyone ordered the pancakes except me because I'm a genius. What's the new consensus? I took the time to record some of the things my friends said:

sister's boyfriend: "I've never enjoyed pancakes so much."

friend: "I'm glad I didn't order the waffles."

Yep. Cafe Java is the best place for pancakes and if you go there - only order the pancakes. I ordered the corned beef hash.

Me: "Definitely not like mom and dad used to make."

I think it's just a textural thing in the case of the corned beef hash. My parents just make it better.

Things to NOT get at Cafe Java: Corned beef hash, Migas

They have the best pancakes and a pretty good BLT. Can a place survive just based off of that? Their pancakes are really that good.

#13: Specialties

I was in San Antonio not too long ago and I found myself craving bubble tea from Tong's Thai - the 1st place in San Antonio to ever sell bubble tea. In particular, I was craving their Thai-Grrr drink which is an awesome combination of mango, papaya, and coconut milk. Aside from making it yourself, really, the only place you can get it is Tong's Thai.

This is an Austin blog, so mirroring this "I can only get this here" theme in Austin is Short 'n Sweet's Kurazzee drink (Crazy). Probably the craziest thing about this drink is how it's a mixture of puddings, jellies, and tapioca floating around in some kind of refreshing...tea? juice? I hear it's winter melon juice. Anyway, the moral of this story is, if you ever go to a restaurant or cafe, get their special. Seriously, they're good at making it, and they like making it (isn't that the definition of a specialty?) Among other things, if you can only get your certain something at a specific place, they don't want to be remembered for being screw ups (especially on something they claim to be good at.)borrowed from yelp

To all the Red Lobster's out there

Could you serve some seafood with that butter? Seriously.

Yesterday night I indulged in the lobster lover's feast and while both lobsters were great, the pasta was a blend of lots of shrimp, bits of lobster, and a heaping ladle of buttah!

Coming from a butter lover, this is too much >:(

Having finally indulged in lobster fest, I can say that it's overrated - much like Valentine's day. Now I'm going to relay a lot of my time towards finding a good crayfish place since my go-to place closed down. Tis the season for crayfish :) and I need to get my 5 lbs in. Any suggestions?

#12: Cake Day!

Score! I was a woman on a mission earlier today. For the benefit of anyone who wants to know, Friday is the day to get your cake fix at the MT Market. I think only two of these you can get anytime of the week at the Oriental Grocery and Bakery - the sapin-sapin and the ensaymada, but everything else comes in a once a week shipment from, I'm assuming, the Hong Kong Food Market in the HK City Mall off of Bellaire Ave in Houston, TX. If you have the opportunity to go there - do it.

#11: Street Meat Culture

One of the things I like about festivals is the high concentration of food booths in a small area. Contrary to mall food culture, in my experience, there's always been some degree of cultural identity with food trailers and booths that leaves one with the feeling "this is awesome and I can't get this anywhere else.

Austin, as of late has been banking on the trailer food culture. Or maybe it's because we're in a recession and they can't afford to lease a building. My honey plum forwarded me this blog on a pan Asian booth at the back of a bar on the East side of town. Everything looked good, I'll give it that credit. The beet fries were fabulous in both flavor (mildly sweet) and texture.

The pork buns were a scam. Seriously. It may not look like your typical Char Sui Bao - but it is. With cucumber. It's Chinese food in overpriced, "pan Asian" clothing. What sucked more was getting less and paying more for it. Really, to people who are actually amazed by this, go to a dim sum place and get Char Sui Baos and ask for some cucumber on the side.

The Curry Buns tasted like some odd kitchen experiment that my little sister could have crapped out. I think the main challenge with those is to achieve the crispy texture while not maintaining all the grease involved. Even then, the innards were not that impressive. You know the peanut sauce that comes with spring rolls? Slather that on a deep fried bun and top it with some of those greens that come with your Pho.

I'm not fond of the gourmet street meat movement. I'd imagine there's more discontent to come.

addendum:

I failed to mention that my great white pumpkin of a boyfriend has been around my family eating events long enough to discern what good Asian food is and even he agreed that East Side King was over-hyped. Next time, we're going to the trailer that blares out the tejano music. >:)

#10: MT Supermarket saves the day!

I had an appointment today in an area very close to the Chinatown area of Austin. After my appointment, I decided to go to the MT Supermarket to get some cake - which, unfortunately, they didn't have. I decided to go looking for pandan extract for my buns.

You know, you should never assume that other cultures are vastly different from your own. I finally found the rack that said "pandan extract" on the pricing, but I couldn't find anything that looking like it might be it. I don't understand Indonesian and I assumed a bottle that said "vaneli" to be the pandan extract based on the smell. Only later did it occur to me that it was surrounded by vanilla extract and that pandan extract is mainly known by the name pandan. Sigh. Well, just when I was ready to go, I decided to look around the cash registers because unlike regular impulse buy sections, oriental markets have a bunch of weird stuff there - lo and behold, my madness worked and I found my pandan extract.


Of course I wasn't brilliant enough to think that the bottles were not sold in packs of 6.


So I ended up buying 5 bottles more than I needed due to sheer ignorance. Anyone interested in a bottle of pandan extract? $2 per bottle +s/h. Among other cool things I found:


Yes. Octopus flavored chips. They're awesome.

#9: Hot and Spicy Pickles

Happy Valentines Day! Happy Lunar New Years! I've been in San Antonio lately as is the tradition with my family during the Lunar New Year. I would've liked to do a piece on things to do in Austin during the Lunar New Year, but that will probably never be the case. Picking up off this, Chinese cuisine, as experienced by my family has this strong, but not quite excessive, focus on crazy flavor combination. As such, it takes an experienced and open palate to appreciate hot and spicy pickles.

For future reference, whenever my friend and I end up at Phil's Icehouse our new approach towards narrowing down the menu has come to: look for hot and spicy pickles.

Like many things in life, greatness is in the details. Before, I would look for well seasoned meat, meat that could stand alone. In retrospect, even the best meat patty never stopped me from smothering it with ketchup and mustard - there's not much point in searching for meat that stands alone if I refuse to let it, it's like going to the best sushi place in town only to cover the work with a disrespectful amount of soy sauce.

The thing about pickles, dill pickles in particular, is that they're already a little sweet and a little sour to begin with. When you add hot and spicy to that mix, your taste buds go crazy and have a fiesta.

#8: Monk Parrots

picture from www.foreverwherever.com

I was driving back from the HEB in the Hancock Center earlier and as I was heading towards the parking lot exit, I saw a little green parrot. It' been a while since I've been to the inter-mural fields where, according to my biochem teacher, a colony of parrots has taken over the trees. The Hancock Center is not that far from the inter-mural fields. Once I turned out of the parking lot, about 10-15 more green parrots flew from the ground up into a tree. Nothing like seeing some green on a cold, overcast, sucky winter day like this.

#7: Apartments?

I'm coming to the end of my time here with Rainier Management and I know I'm going to miss it here mainly because I know I won't enjoy every second living with my sister in such close quarters. I'm expecting a fair amount of my clothes to disappear for a period of time and then comeback in a pile on my bed smelling like pit (as in arm). Anyway, given that I haven't been out lately, I may as well dwell on the past and this post is dedicated to all the places I've lived before and management companies I've had to deal with.

The first apartment I ever lived in was Oak Hollow Apartments (Managed by the Lynd Company). It being my first apartment, my big deal was equity. Most apartment places have a setup where there's one master bedroom and a sort of guest bedroom, I wasn't going for that. What I liked about Oak Hollow was that they had a fairly equal two bedroom setup, also a very awesome canyon view. Another good thing, if you don't have pets, but want some - they also have raccoons.


Sometimes, the water pressure would drop and the water itself would trickle out. The time it took for maintenance to fix these things was a little long also. The management people were always nice though. A rotten potato of mine that had turned black actually stained a pantry shelf, but my roommate and I had no extra fines.

This experience taught me that I get motion sick on buses real easily. I had to move closer to campus and this resulted in my involvement with Marquis Management. All of their properties are within walking distance of campus, which I liked - I was able to get in a good morning walk and occasionally a good morning run to class. They responded to service calls fast and the management was easy to talk to. When I had a problem with a stove, they just replaced the stove. Tub peeling? they replaced the tub. One thing though, that I was also aware of while signing the lease, I knew that no matter what, my roommate and I would get back the full deposit.

Knowing that I didn't need to live so close to campus anymore, I was brought into contact with Rainier Management. So far, they've been great, maintenance is few fast. There are so many apartment cats I've been in contact with. The management people are nice to me. I get holiday treat bags too :) No word yet on the deposit since I haven't moved out yet. Truthfully, I wish I wasn't moving out. I like my big empty dance floor of a living room, but money dictates and beggars can't be choosers.

#6 Ho! Wheat Starch

One awesome thing about the size of Austin is the variety of Asian grocery stores all within 20 minutes of each other. Needing to get some special ingredients for some sweet potato dumplings, I headed out early in the morning for the mega MT Supermarket. Since it's the largest market in central Texas, I figured it would be one stop shopping, right? WRONG!!! Despite the varieties of starch they had, they were missing my bloody wheat starch! One good thing to know is that when ingredients are that difficult, you have to even further specialize the market. What do I mean by that? Contrary to popular opinion, Asian is not another word for Chinese and my friend told me the MT Market is run by Vietnamese, if you get my drift. A little north of my place is a Japanese market: Asahi Imports I wouldn't go there looking for Chinese ingredients. Further north is a Korean market that probably couldn't offer me help as I am not familiar with the need for wheat starch in Korean cooking (or Korean cooking for that matter). I have to go for the hardcore stuff, and there's only one market I know that also happens to supply the most hardcore Chinese restaurant I know and that's Asia Market. While I can't declare it the only place in Austin that carries wheat starch, it's the only place I know of that definitely sells wheat starch. The cafe is now next to the market instead of inside. Go there and have some eggplant. As for the market - try the sesame seed balls and the crispy chicken dumplings, they make life nicer.

#5 Botanical Gardens & Uncle Billy's Brew & Q

Being a nice day and all, Frederick and I went out to the botanical gardens. One good thing to remember is even though the weather may feel like Spring, if it isn't Spring - it will show. When we got there some of the pools were not filled with water and there was more brown than green. Texas Winters, when they happen, are something to not be underestimated. When I went to Portland, about two weeks ago, it was much colder in Texas - freezing. I was able to enjoy nice 40-45 degree weather in Oregon. Point being made - comeback when it's been warm for a while and raining. Among other things, the Rosemary was growing nice - rub some between your fingers and smell away.

We decided to eat in the Barton Springs area , ultimately deciding on this place that had "BREWERY" in giant letters. We later found out that it was Uncle Billy's Brew and Q - Q referring to barbecue. I normally don't have much of an opinion of barbecue, it's just meat - right? First off, this place has more variety than your average barbecue place - burgers and chicken fried chicken, also a vegetable plate with decent options. They have a good selection of desserts - more than just peach cobbler. It's also a microbrewery and that served as the initial attraction. I tried the Agave Wit, which is an awesome Belgian style brew made with orange peels and coriander. The orange hits you immediately while the coriander leaves a great after taste. I must say, coriander goes well with meat whether it's cooked with it, or it's in a beer. You can really taste it after smelling a lot of rosemary laced fingers, I tell ya.

#4Texas, really?

After having been to the great state of Oregon (trees, marion berries, hazelnuts, Powell's Book Store) I've recognized one of Texas' great failings: clay based dirt. I feel as though I can get as muddy as I want in Portland without worrying that the mud will clump - which was the case. I went for a walk today in the park around Walnut Creek just off of N. Lamar. past the Chinatown area. Well, it had completely escaped my mind that it had been raining 24 hrs straight a few days ago. There were some muddy areas that didn't phase me, after all, I'd been to Oregon. This first step isn't bad, but when you realize that dirt is continually clumping to the ends of your shoes - 5 minutes in, you have a cement block equivalent and sore thighs. Combine that with many dogs, that finished swimming, that are way too happy to see you and life is grand for a second and clay dirty for half a day. It should be nice come springtime and summer when there's less rain. Just remember, dogs like to swim all year.

Among other things, I just found out today that I find Dobermans extremely intimidating. I like Rottweilers and Pit Bulls, but wow - slim pointy ears = I'll stand up on my hind legs and rip out your esophagus.

#3 Pumpkin Ice Cream

I don't know if this is the case at other HEBs, but there's a limited edition Dreyer's half gallon of Pumpkin ice cream at the HEB on Burnet and 2222. Does that sound good? or does that sound GOOD? I would've bought it, but I'm still working on a box of taro popsicles I bought some time back. I'm also on a budget as well as the "I'm on a budget" diet.

$4 gets you what could be some awesome creamy pumpkin goodness. Tell me how it is :(

#2: Discomfort

I recall approximately six years ago there being an article in the San Antonio Express News about Twin Sisters Bakery and Cafe being a restaurant that belonged in Austin.

- you see, even us San Antonians can feel when something wandered onto the wrong side of the tracks -

What is it about Twin Sisters that made it so Austin like? Sweet potato muffins, the chocolate zucchini cake, and the short lived beet cake. It's healthy. It's healthy all over. Their zucchini cake consists mostly of zucchini by weight!

Austin provides a very different atmosphere from San Antonio. Everything boasts being organic, eco-friendly, and healthy. Despite that, coming from an emerging foodie, Twin Sisters really belongs to San Antonio for one reason: Twin Sisters hasn't sacrificed taste.

Things in San Antonio just taste better. It's currently 1:38AM and I know two places in San Antonio where I can get a good chicken fried steak. Austin? 0. In Austin, I'd have to resign myself to eating some kind of vegetarian taco or over priced burger, both of which I find very irritating. Austin lacks comfort food. Being organic, and healthy just doesn't compensate for a lack of taste. Twin Sisters can make that compromise in San Antonio, and it has to because the competition in San Antonio dictates, if a place has nothing that tastes good - it goes out of business.

Twin Sisters Bakery and Cafe (San Antonio)

Star Seeds Cafe (Austin) Has a chicken fried steak, but some of the meals here taste like TV dinners, and by some, I mean the meatloaf. Try at your own discretion.