Tuesday, November 1, 2016

Houston - To Eat 29Oct2016 (E Tao, Wholefoods Brewing Company, Smash Burgers)

Houston - To Stay
Houston - To Do
Houston - To Eat
Houston - To Buy
Houston - To Eat
E Tao
(Located at lvl 2 of the Galleria)
 

Ordered On:
29Oct2016 
Vancouver Calamari 14.99USD
*It sounded great on paper, but its alright. I suspect it to be frozen squid. The only thing that really worked for it was the sweet onion and capsicums on top. The dish could use a little more seasoning, but the plum sauce served along side worked well together. The plum sauce pairing is something that's worth incorporating in one's home dishes. The basket in which is served, I doubt its really edible.*
Half HK Roasted Duck 17.99USD
*Pretty decent standard. Sure its no duck found in London's Gold Mine, but its better than mnay ducks served in Singapore and pretty comparable to Hong Kong standards. The only strange thing is that they serve the neck and butt of the duck here,
bonus cuts for those who love it!*
Salted Fish with Brinjal (Eggplant) USD13.99
*The star. One can really taste the salted fish, mixed with the chicken and brinjal. Goes beautifully well with rice.*
20USD each with tips, fed 3.
Note that each dish ordered already comes with a rice. The wait staff are tentative and have loads of Chili (not that sauce or chopped kind) to offer which was fantastic. Pretty decent place for your Chinese dining fix and conveniently located in the galleria, perfect for a short pit stop and continued shopping. 
Take away one fried rice at USD14+
(Huge Serving size)
 
They were nice enough to allow us to take some Styrofoam boxes in order to use for reheating of smaller portions of food.
Whole Foods
Brewing Company
(650m away)

 
What!? Whole foods has its own brewery? Sure its no little creatures brewery in Perth Freemantle, but man they make good beer. They also served hot food at their brewery.
ABBATip:
Definitely go if for their daily specials as you can get top-ups at only 2USD  hit! How great a deal is that! Deal board pictured above.

Ordered On:
31Oct2016
Post Oak Pale Ale USD5
*Very similar tasting to the double hop IPA but a
little less hard hitting due to its alcohol content.*
Melvin's Wings USD8
 *A re-fire of the chicken wings at the whole foods to-go section. The wings are too vinegary and not that spicy at all. The blue cheese dipping sauce was pretty good, but that's pretty much the end of it.*
 Wood Grilled Shrimp Tacos USD12
*This dish sounds better than it taste. The shrimps are salty
and seemingly water logged (frozen). In fact we didn't finish it.*
Grilled Pork Belly Mac & Cheese USD12
 *Again another dish that sounds better than it tastes. Sure its really cheesy and full of pasta but it is a little blend and needs a little more seasoning. The pork itself adds little to the dish and ain't that great. 
Fed2 at about 30USD each.
Ordered On:
29Oct2016 
Double Wet Hop IPA 6USD 8.6% alcohol
*Served nice and cold. A good malt flavor to it. A fruity full flavored beer that packs a punch at 8.6% alcohol. Fruity with a bit of bitterness as the accent.
A micro brewery serving up good beers. Looking for a watering hole that's organic and wholesome. Check out wholefoods brewing company. Closed at 10pm on our visit with last orders at about 9.30pm.

Wholefoods also serves eats which can be had, either at the bar or on-site. The food served here is passable, but its not all that great. In fact, beers a yes, but the eats, maybe not. 
 
Smash Burgers

(1.5km walk away)
 
This place came recommended by others and said to be better than five guys, so we took a walk down to check out this new joint!
Ordered On:
01Nov2016
 Spicy Cowboy (reg) + 3.99USD for fries and drink set USD11.45
Applewood smoked bacon, grilled jalapenos, melted aged cheddar, haystack onions and BBQ sauce on an egg bun. 
*Lovely char on the smashed patty. A little too salty cause of the bacon, but still good overall. Though the order had been placed earlier, they were still able to change the fries order to sweet potato fries which was great. Love the touch of Jalapenos.*
Truffle Mushroom Swiss (reg) USD6.39
With sauteed crimini mushrooms and truffle mayo on an egg bun.
 *You can really smell and taste the truffle flavors in this burger and was the preferred burger of the two. A much lighter eat than the Spicy cowboy.*
The orders comes in small, regular and large sized patties. Burger sizes are just nice for a meal really. As in their company moto, the patties are flat top grilled to a caramelized finish and their sweet bun, toasted with butter makes all that difference. Greasy goodness in a reasonable sized burger.

The closest description and comparison is its very similar to SFO's Superduper burgers . "Thin-ish" beef patties, with a sweet buttery bun. Superduper is only edged out slightly by Smashburgers mainly because of the variety that this place has to offer. Both their blue and goat cheese options are thoroughly enticing. Based on their truffle mushroom burgers, its a good indicator that the others should be of good standing too. Its a great stop for a pre/post meal to shopping at the Galleria. I'd return to try some of their other offerings!

Click here for ABBA location of Hilton Houston Post Oak, 2001 Post Oak Boulevard, Houston, TX 77056

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