Every Friday at the MT Market.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
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.
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.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
#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.
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.
Sunday, July 11, 2010
#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.
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.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
#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.
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.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
#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.
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.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
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.
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.
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