Of course, we had more than one meal out while at Whistler, because who wants to cook after hiking all day? 

We went to Ohyama Ramen:

The stormy weather was perfect for a hearty bowl of pork chashu miso ramen. H had the Big Mountain (top right), and I had the basic with an added egg. Then, we added the gyoza and beer combo, which you can see on the top left corner. Adding the gyoza and beer was the best decision I made that day.


I would suggest that they heat the soup hotter, and use fattier meat, for an even thicker flavour and more soul warming texture. Eggs were good, but cost an extra $2.50. If you don't particularly like eggs cooked this way, then please don't order it, because this one won't change your mind either. For a ramen shop in the middle of a vacation resort town, I would say that the quality is pretty good and I'd come back next time, especially after a day of skiing or being in the cold.




I'm starting to get a feeling that something new is about to begin. Maybe it's the changing weather, which brings up memories of starting a new school year and I was also excited for new books, new classes, new opportunities... As H and I fall back into our routine after 2 weeks of vacation and getting married, I'm looking forward to having some quality time, doing nothing together.

 

After tying the knot (literally, performing a knot tying ceremony before signing our marriage license) with H, we went for our first adventure as a married couple. This wasn't a honeymoon, because we went with his family from overseas, and we were touring them around a bit (they're very self sufficient, and probably didn't need us, but it was good to spend time with new family). It was chaotic to prepare for this trip, since we left only 2 days after the wedding. There was still a few loose ends to clean up. For example, where did all of our Instax cameras end up? Who do we still owe money to? Who had all of our wedding gifts? 

Amidst all of this, we found ourselves packed up into H's trusty old 4Runner, and heading north along the Sea to Sky highway. We arrived fairly late the first day of the trip, and we were ready to eat. The post wedding versions of H and I were constantly ravenous. He was finally done with dieting and didn't have a suit to fit into, and I was finally getting my appetite back after the relief of no longer stressing out over the party planning.

Sushi Village was still open at 8PM, and when we walked in, there was still a packed room of diners and even a short line up. 

From left to right, Beautiful Roll, Caterpillar Roll, Agedashi Tofu, Squid. Small bowl contained a pretty much inedible gomae. There should have been a warning on it, for those with kidney problems to stay away, because of the high salt content. 

The Beautiful Roll, which I think was basically a chopped scallop roll with avocado wrapped around it, was really good, and I would order this again. The texture of the squid was that perfect crunchiness, but again, the salt level was extremely high, so I picked at the pieces that weren't swimming in the sauce. The other options were just OK, but for that Beautiful Roll, I'll give this place a 4 out of 5.

This will be a short post, because I'm getting ready for my wedding, and I barely have time to eat. 

After dim sum on Monday, we visited Exposure BBT, right across from the dim sum place: 

This was the OG milk tea, with pearls, and although I requested 50% sugar, it felt like I might get diabetes by the time I finished the whole beverage. The wait time was also 30 minutes for any drink order. For a not so spectacular $6 tea, I was disappointed.



Despite the disappointing beverage, I had a great morning of just relaxing and hanging out with friends. This was the eye of the storm, and now, as I write this, we're approaching the edge of the storm, exiting in 2 more days... Almost there!

S brought us to Sweet Memory for dinner this week. They're mainly known for their traditional Taiwanese dishes and desserts, like the pig intestine noodles that I tried (bottom right) since it came highly recommended by S's friend. It was extremely garlicky.

C had the braised pork on rice, which also looked legit and very greasy (dish at the top of the above photo).

H had the tofu pudding, which came with a small hill of brown sugar. Maybe anthill sized. No photo.



The complimentary tea had a surprisingly pleasant sweetness to it too, and I really did not hate it, but I was too tired after a long day to really enjoy anything. This seems to be the trend these days. It's not like I'm doing a lot either, but maybe it's just being anxious and worried about... stuff.

I usually default to negative feelings, memories, and that's actually built into us, as humans evolved by being aware of their surrounding dangers, and having a better memory of what made us felt bad, so that we can avoid death. Just the way our brains are built.

How do people stay positive in times like now, when our carbon sink, the Earth's lungs, are burning up, and when it seems like even developed cities, such as Hong Kong, become dangerous to visit?

Should I quit my corporate job, leave behind all the office politics, and go plant trees?

New moons remind me to try new things, and this week, I stepped outside of my comfort zone and took my teammates with me. Instead of going to a new coffee shop or watching a new TV series, movie, or reading a new book, I went to a gym called Maki and did my first 30 minute session. My body is still sore from the 3 pushups that I didn't do correctly on Thursday, and the 17 remaining in the set where I just couldn't even push off the ground.

Maybe because I was still so tired from those brutal 30 minutes, I didn't feel so adventurous this weekend, and revisited Their There. I've been here a few times in the past, but it's always been too busy to actually sit down and really enjoy the ambiance. It's a bit of a pink jungle in there, where if you're brave enough to wander through the young urban professionals, sipping their coffees amidst the indoor plants, you'll find the counter to order at, as well as a display case full of fresh donuts and cronuts. H and I visited after browsing around the Patagonia store (his favourite store), and as luck would have it...

We found a spot right by the window. There were still plenty of blackberry peach cronuts left. 

While they looked small, the portion size of their cronuts ended up being a perfect serving. They're topped with a light cream, which were a fun mess to devour. The fresh peach jam and the cream would have been too sweet, but the tart berries came in to save the day. This didn't last more than 3 minutes. 

Their coffee game is truly unbelievable too. A must go if you love plants and coffee and pink. 

Another brunch date with P! 

Well, her other half, V was also there, so I guess it's not really a date, but a threesome.

We arrived a few minutes after 11AM on Sunday, just before the brunch rush, and watched the restaurant gradually fill up as we waited patiently for our $9.75 meal. Every main dish on the menu cost less than $10 from 11AM to 12PM, what a steal for the quality and quantity. Their waffles were crispy, their eggs were poached to the correct level of runniness, yolks flowed out smoothly over the avocado toast and the bacon. I'll order an extra side of the potatoes next time, because they somehow left the insides soft and fluffy, and not bland, but also did not burn the crispy skin on the outside. It was delightful.

Can't say the same about the latte, which could've used a stronger espresso shot. Please work on that coffee to milk ratio, and if you can draw in some latte art, it would be worth the $5.



Spent the rest of the Sunday playing MJ at P&V's place and NOT wedding planning. The noise of the mahjong tiles and my friends and future husband around me took up all the space in my mind and kept away any creeping worries of things that I may have forgotten to check off my to do list, and thoughts of not being able to pay off the bills. Sometimes, noise can be a good distraction, and background noise can actually help to focus your mind. Other times, it's tough to ignore the external chaos, and not let it wreak havoc on the inside.

When you're at yoga and a live band starts blasting the latest pop songs right outside, drum and bass booming, and you can't even hear yourself think. When you're trying to craft an eloquent email to a long time customer with a bad payment history, and your desk mates hold an impromptu meeting right beside you to chat about the world, using their outdoor voices. When the long time customer ends up not so happy, and calls you to talk at you for an hour, because they think that if they talk for long enough, and loudly enough, they'll get things to go their way. When the neighbors start banging pots and pans, before the alarm goes off. 

The list goes on. Some people just sound more passionate than others, and I'm tired of faulting them for it. Even though it might feel like there's no way to ignore what's happening on the outside, I think I'll have to learn to just breathe out all the ugly noises, and create space in my mind for the beautiful sounds in life that I want to treasure.

Either that, or Runaway.

We planned a very laid back "bachelorette" for TPL of outdoorsy activities in the Gibsons, Sechelt, and Halfmoon Bay area. My only regret was that there wasn't very much drinking on my part, because it was my car and I wasn't about to authorize any of the others to operate it (too much risk in case something did happen!). 

The trip started off with a long and tedious wait outside of Smitty's Oyster Bar. They don't take reservations, as we found out from their snarky voicemail message, and while we arrived at around 6 or 6:30PM, there were a few large parties who just would not leave, so we ended up sitting down at around 7:30 or 8PM. The real kicker was that the hostess told us that she'd text us if we wanted to wander, so we did... Except she never texted. I swear I saw other people who came by after us, go in before us. 

However, we were very determined to eat here, because TPL wanted to have raw oysters, and this place had some good reviews. Ended up just waiting, right in front of the restaurant. 

Was it worth the wait? 

While we did not receive prodigious amounts of food, what arrived on the plates looked presentable and appetizing. We ended up ordering the shrimp, salmon cakes, and scallop risotto, with raw oysters to share.

This was not enough for us, starving travellers, so we ended up adding the chicken trout (note: this is not chicken):

Not sure if I'd go back for the main dishes again, but if I had to, I'd order the chicken trout again, because it was so light and crispy. The risotto was still crunchy, but I'll give them props for trying. Risotto is hard to get right! The rest of it was decent, nothing too memorable about the shrimp or the cakes. The oysters were better than what I've had at other places, very sweet and fresh. This would be a nice spot to hang out by the docks, sipping on a beverage of your choice, and slurping up freshly shucked oysters, at $3.50 a pop. 

So, was it worth it? 

I mean, we ended up eating it all, every last crumb of crunchy risotto. Probably from hunger after waiting so long, in combination with the small portions. 

Sometimes, I'll judge people on their food choices, and I did question some of the food decisions we made collectively, on this trip. I mean, it's so hard to not be doubtful with strangers who are just becoming new friends. I'm sure I'm not the only person out there making flash judgments about strangers, friends, even family members. This guy is too old for her, he doesn't have a real job, she wears too much makeup, and they're so stingy with their money. He associates with him or her, so that makes them a bad person... Where do these judgments take us?

It's the final sprint to the end, the last leg of the race to finish planning H and my big day. With only 6 weeks left, there was no time to take it easy this weekend, and we were going to need all the energy from the universe to keep us shopping, so P and I sweated out our stress toxins from the work week, and went to fuel up at Glowbal before the shopping began.

Both P and I ordered the West Coast bennys (rock shrimp & roasted peppers, poached eggs, hollandaise, potato hash) and a coffee:

Here were the cons of the meal: 

*bland Hollandaise sauce 

*shrimpy shrimp

*slightly wilted salad

Here were the pros:

*the eggs benedict were only $12 and came with a pile of very crispy potatoes

*free donuts and smoothie shots

*coffee was decent

*friendly server

Overall, there were more pros than cons, and I would go back to try out some of the other items on the menu. It's a convenient spot for a quick bite, the prices did not terrify me, and the restaurant could seat a large number of guests. Maybe that's the reason we didn't have to wait, but when there are no lines at a restaurant that serves weekend brunch in the heart of downtown, I get the sneaking suspicion that the lack of a queue might indicate that it's not such a hot spot for the Sunday brunchers...

I really hope I don't have to shop again at another mall until after the wedding.

I work with a group of coworkers, who are very tight knit, because of our common goal on the job (take over the world with our cameras), and our shared love of food. We frequently lamented the lack of good bubble tea spots in the area, so when we found out that ZenQ was opening up shop nearby, it was no surprise that we immediately put a meeting in our calendar with ZenQ Ironwood as the location, on July 18th. 

We went again the day right after, on the 19th, which was their actual grand opening day. I'm going to go backwards and talk about the 2nd experience first, because I had the original milk tea with pearls, one of their signature drinks, and it wasn't that great:

 

They use similar recipes as Chatime, because they're sister businesses. I shouldn't compare this regular milk tea to the roasted milk tea at Chatime, but I'd say that the roasted milk tea has a more well rounded, fuller flavor. 

The day before the grand opening, when we held our meeting at ZenQ, I had their brown sugar pearls tofu pudding with soy milk:

In comparison to the original milk tea, ZenQ has really created a winner with this BBT flavor. The pudding really hit the spot, and the sweetness level did not make me feel sick afterwards. I'm sure we'll be back, and I'll just order this one over, and over, and over, even though there are many more shaved ice and tofu pudding desserts there to try out.




Before I can really splurge on a $6-7 bubble tea though, I've got to get my finances in order.

As I looked at my BC Hydro bill of $63.42 this past week, I suddenly realized that the sum of my bills is the price for my freedom. On top of these daily bills for living, I keep incurring expenses, like the cost of a new. I dropped my phone on Sunday and the screen now turns on only when it wants to. Then, there are the wedding expenses. H is very good at keeping me in check and reminding me that we did have a budget when we first started planning this day, which is only 45 days away!

Photo credits: SoWedding

Last chance to run, H? 

After the beers at Moody Ales, we strolled over to the closest food truck, which ended up being BC Taco: 

The bright blue truck is hard to miss. We ordered the fish tacos and a pulled pork burrito bowl, and the total came to about $30. 

Molly probably would have enjoyed this more than I did. The fish used in the tacos were pretty crispy, but there wasn't actually much meat. The flavor was also not quite there, and after a few nibbles, I moved on to the burrito bowl. The burrito bowl was still not the best, but it was a step above the fish tacos, just because there was more sauce and cheese. What type of bozo could screw up with sprinkling processed shredded cheese on top of meat? 

This was overall an unsatisfying meal in terms of food quality, but being in good company with B&R and the beautiful Molly made the day feel complete. Even if I haven't checked off all the items on my To Do list for that day (and everyday, the list continues to grow as the wedding day looms nearer), spending time with friends and family might be all it takes for me to find meaning in that day. Especially as time becomes more valuable, and it's harder to find the time to meet with these special people, I don't want to waste efforts being around the people or doing things that aren't important to me. 

How do you fill your days with intention and meaning?

Mondays got you feeling moody? Not at Moody Ales!

H and I made double date plans with R&B last Monday. We hadn't seen them since Iceland in November 2018, and they were starting to think that we were only trip friends. Sometimes, it's hard to make plans with friends who live farther out, or coordinate a couple of hours to catch up when the To Do list just keeps on growing (I foresee home renovations and more furniture shopping in the near future...). No way were we going to let R&B accuse us of becoming trip friends though. 

We started off our date at Moody Ales, intending to eventually meander down the row of breweries along the same block as Moody Ales, and investigate the food trucks that were parked in front of the breweries (more on this in the next post).



H and I ended up sharing a flight, which got us 4 mini glasses for $7, and we picked mostly fruitier, lighter options, including their feature Sublime Pineapple Hefeweizen. I personally like stouts and porters more, and will tolerate these lighter ones if I have to, so it does not surprise me that they did not blow me out of the park.

Surprisingly, R liked our choice of the Lavender Sour, which both H and I found to be disgusting and could not even force ourselves to down the rest of the small glass. She doesn't usually enjoy beer or strong alcoholic beverages, so this was just the drink for her. It was VERY sour, like a lemonade without sugar, mixed with a bottle of lavender essential oils. Not for me, thank you, but before I blacklist this brewery, I'll give their feature stouts a try next time.

They also brought their delightful English bulldog, Molly,  out with them. They're emotionally invested in our next choice of pet now. R has been trying to convince H and I to get one of the British bloodlines, instead of the French kind, which I originally wanted. I'm slightly leaning more towards the English now, because they look even lazier than their French cousins. I'm OK with my puppy staying home and napping. Taking care of it will be another excuse for me to stay home be lazy.

One of my favourite ways to spend a Saturday in Vancouver is to visit the Trout Lake farmer's market, pick up some fresh sugar snap peas from a local farmer, run the rest of my errands, and find a chill place to get coffee and pastry. This weekend was one of those, where I had time to stroll down through the stalls at the market, and eventually ended up at Caffe La Tana. 

I thought it was more of a grab and go coffee shop, but clearly, I should have done better research on Italian style cafes, and planned ahead for their fresh pasta, made in house. Instead, all I had time to do was order a bombolini with Nutella cream and cappuccino to go. It was hard to leave behind the beautifully decorated cafe, and the bench out front was calling to me to sit and relax, but I had to go. I brought my treats home to enjoy, while I did the laundry. Adulting means sacrifices, and sometimes, that means sipping coffee in between loading the washer and folding the socks.

The coffee was apparently a special roast by JJ Bean (not sure if this is still true? Fact check me, please), and I liked how strong it was. Pow, woke me right up. The little bombolini was really too small. I'm used to American sized portions after all the traveling to the south! Each crumb was delicious, while it lasted.



I felt like I had to learn more about this place, and did a bit of research into its origins. Turns out they're part of the Savio Volpe group. As I check off one place from my list of places to go, another one gets added... There isn't enough time in a day to work full time, plan a wedding, and do all the other extracurricular activities!

Time to quit the full time to make way for doing things I love? Maybe not yet, because I'd rather just take a break instead of quit, and eventually, the problems will get fixed (not necessarily by me, but like Justin Trudeau said, "The books will balance themselves"). But just like the restaurants on my list, once a problem gets fixed, another one pops up. It never ends. Did they even use their brains to think about it first? It still amazes me when I meet these big picture thinkers and talkers, some who are running the show, because I feel like I have a lot to learn in terms of forgetting how to double check the finer details.

It's been a week of ups and downs, and amidst all of the drama, at least I had the comfort of lots of new food experiences. We had H's birthday dinner at Fets Whiskey Kitchen:

They have a full wall of different whiskeys, from floor to ceiling, any type of whiskey your heart could desire! I had the negroni (bottom left corner), because it was negroni week, and all the advertisements pasted on their bathroom walls, and inserted into the front of the menu, looked pretty delicious. It was pretty delicious.

We had the cornbread pulled pork sliders, the jambalaya, and the mussels (the dish is officially named Moules Marnière.. fancy!). I would not order the sliders again, unless I also had a large beverage to wash it down with, since corn bread is so dry. It's just an inherent trait of corn bread to be dry, and I would not fault them for it. Where does one find moist corn bread?

The only complaint I have about the mussels is that they should have told me to order one for myself, instead of sharing with H.

The jambalaya was perfect, the rice was cooked through and soaked up all the sauce, which takes some patience. It was spicy, but not to the point where I didn't want to go back for more. This really satisfied my jambalaya craving, and I'm glad we discovered this dish here so close to home.







And after a great Tuesday, I could feel things sliding downhill. What else happened this week?

Maybe I've been working too much (or not efficiently enough), and it's just exhausting to not connect with real people that I actually know. Also, there's a lot of people creating noise about the changes around the workplace, and I don't have the capacity to empathize with them. Nothing against conversations about non-work topics, but if the conversation lasts 30 minutes or more, perhaps take it down a notch or take it outside. Perhaps it's social media, which apparently also diminishes the ability to empathize, and comparing my experiences with what I'm seeing on the screen (FOMO is real).

Anyways, happy birthday to my lovely future husband. Thanks for putting up with me this week, while I numb my emotions by catching up on all the latest episodes of Jane the Virgin.

D officially left the company, and announced his new job. Reminds me of the time we had dinner at Charlie, Don't Surf. Here's a photo of the dry ribs and a sliver of the plate of calamari that we devoured, while chatting about the news: 

Clearly, these appetizers were good, because they disappeared quickly, and I almost forgot to take a photo. The calamari were some of the crispiest that I've had recently, and the dry ribs were not too chewy, fell off the bones easily.

The service did not move as quickly as we ate those delicious ribs. It felt like an eternity before this plate of average jambalaya (flavor? hello? where were the chorizo slices?) appeared in front of me.

Good thing we had good company and interesting topics to discuss, and did not mind the wait. H had the ahi tuna club, which I took a few bites of. I don't remember tasting the ahi tuna, because the bacon and sauces were overpowering.

Closed the meal off with this chocolate brownie and giant scoop of vanilla ice cream (no complaints about this, it was good):

I would come back for the appetizers, but would not expect too much from the rest of the menu, including the drinks, and definitely low expectations for the service, which was probably exceptionally slow because the restaurant was packed. This area usually gets too busy when the weather starts to turn nice, as it is a beautiful spot to stroll along the pier in the evenings and catch the sunset.

Other than eating, I've been going to yoga, getting fresh air, really trying to work out my happiness muscles lately. Forget the stressful moments, stop wasting time remembering the embarrassing things I say or do, and practice being happy... Maybe this helped me survive this week, which turned out to be a productive one for wedding planning, starting with a wedding dress fitting, sending out wedding invites, and going for an engagement photo shoot at Lynn Canyon. The work never ends. 

JK brought over a bag of Elysian coffee beans for our house warming, and I've finally had a chance to try them out. The first brew method I used was with the Aeropress, which was pretty good. I also tried the French press, which was not too bad either. 

This reminded me of all the times during my university years, when I would stop at the actual coffee shop on Broadway for their mochas and lattes, along the commute to school. These trips to the coffee shop were a real comfort back in the day, because the commute to UBC could be dreadfully long. I no longer have to commute to UBC, but Elysian is actually still sort of along the way to work. I finally remembered to take the long way around and visited them this morning. 

It cost $3 for a cup of brewed coffee!

I think I had the brewed coffee in a 12oz cup, and I had the Columbia, just like the bag of beans that JK gave me. It tasted slightly better than the coffee that I made at home, using the same type of beans, but I don't think the taste difference would justify $3 a cup. They've designed a cozy aesthetic inside the cafe, with a few good looking plants, so I guess take advantage of this, have your coffee in a mug, and hang out for a while. No wifi though. I wouldn't say their service was spectacular either (smile a little, hipster coffee shop baristas!). At 7AM though, I wouldn't want to talk to me either.



I also had a headache for the rest of the day...

Had a few minutes to catch up with an ex-coworker the other day, and it sounds like her new workplace is going through the same situation that she left behind. This week, we also had a new person join the team, and it's been refreshing to get his perspective of our gig. Apparently, he came from a worse environment. My point is that the grass is green enough right here. Can I stronger grass if it's watered with coffee?

With all the changes around the office, it was an excellent time to go for a team lunch. Eating our stress away? YES.

S picked Co'm (means rice in Vietnamese), even though CC didn't want Asian food because she had it too frequently in the last week, and CL does not usually enjoy Vietnamese food at restaurants since he gets it at home all the time. Hey, I'm Chinese, and I still prefer going out for Chinese food. What's the problem? 

I really hoped they wouldn't like it, but other than the AC blasting away too strongly, it turned out to be a very satisfying meal. I had the BBH (bun bo hue! Come on, I've mentioned this before).

Pretty sure I've had better, but I'm not going to complain too much about this. It was still very tasty and flavorful, but maybe just not... dirty enough? For me, BBH should be a bit heavier, and greasier, and the best ones are from restaurants that look a bit dirty on the outside. Just a bit, because if it's too dirty, you might get sick. 

C had the banh xeo, which pulled up my rating of this place. It was lightly crispy, with a soft touch of coconut, and the lettuce was fresh.

We also had great butter garlic chicken wings (not as good as Phnom Penh, but comparable), the pork spring rolls and the salad roll. There weren't enough spring rolls to go around the first time, so we ordered another batch.




Yum. Tastes as good as it looks. Too bad the BBH was lacking a little bit, but I can see them getting lots of business from the inhabitants of the surrounding apartments. Free parking in the side lot too, so it's perfect for these Richmond folk who drive everywhere.

More changes are happening soon, so we should get a a few more pity lunches soon. July should be an interesting time, with Mercury retrograding hard, and the wedding coming up soon. Looking forward to it...

Spent the weekend cleaning out H's old room, and sorting the clutter that's already accumulated in my little apartment. We took a brief bubble tea break at The Oolong Tea Lounge, found just underneath the Aberdeen skytrain station. It's a beautiful cafe, with high ceilings and great lighting, perfect space to get some work done, with a very photogenic bubbletea on the table next to you. 

We had the Sakura Matcha Latte: 

The pearls taste like flowery gummy bears, adding a hint of floral sweetness to the matcha tea latte. I would have preferred a stronger matcha taste, and perhaps a hint more sugar, but I did ask for 50% sweetness so my bad.



The problem is that this small beverage cost $7, and I'm not a big enough tea lover to afford it. They have a few other interesting flavors, like a Purple Yam Milk and a Bitter Melon Pineapple Fruit Tea, which I'll probably try when I'm feeling adventurous.

It's therapeutic to throw stuff out, open up some free space and create more room to grow. Let's see where this next week takes us. My horoscope is telling me that I should start looking for a new job, starting June 3rd, and that I'll likely want to take a position that's similar to what I'm already doing... Do I even need to look anymore, or is change going to just find me, even if I sit right where I am?

The day right after the Last Fling Before the Ring was my 6AM flight to Austin, Texas. Yay, work travel (not.) It was my first time down to that Southern tip of the US, and I expected it to be huge, but apparently, this was the "small" part of the state. With less than 1 million citizens, the city is still growing and sprawling over the hills. 

I landed at 2PM, was at the customer's door by 3PM, and after that, I was starving. Good thing III Forks was just around the corner from where we were staying.

I had enough of steak houses, but P was into it, so we went to a restaurant that specializes in beef, and I had seafood. This was the halibut on a bed of risotto, one of their specials that day. A server also came by with a large platter of tomatoes, (by large, I mean probably the size of a small coffee table) and asked if we wanted a few slices to go with our meal. I needed vegetables, and so that's why there are 3 slices of tomatoes behind the little hill of food. 

Bread is a defining part of the meal. This was crispy on the outside, sweet chewy bread on the side. Give us more butter please!

P had a Prime New York steak, which came in a healthy serving size of 16 oz. I think the server mentioned it was 28 days wet aged? Not what I'm used to hearing, after all the dry aged beef back in Chicago just a month ago. 

Really though, it was the promise of chocolate cake for dessert that I agreed to come to this steakhouse. They had a chocolate cake with coconut flakes just along the back of the cake. Not too into coconut, so P ate that part for me. It was just what was needed to round off my day. 

There were a couple of other places that might be worth a mention from this trip to Silicon Hills, so I might hop in with another post in the near future. The tech industry seems to be booming (er... echoing?) in the gentle hills of this neighborhood. Not a bad place to set up shop for a little while, but there's no place like home. I also did not have enough time to find a good coffee shop in Texas, but next time... I'll be back for you, hipster coffee shops in Austin!