I visited Uyghur Bistro and tried their Laghman hand-pulled noodles. I posted a review in the separate thread.
It’s a good dish and the stars are the noodles and the sauce.
And then there’s this:
Yeah. They’re having trouble sorting out just what it means too. 
Glad we’ve got it all figured out and know just what we’re doing here.
Pork belly carbonara at Liberty Kitchen on San Felipe. The peas are unconventional but there was no cream destroying the concept (as some would say but not me).
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Looks very good. I’ve never been to any of the ‘Liberty’ group of restaurants.
I stopped by World Market on Richmond @ 610 yesterday and did not find the product. I was pretty sure before I went in that was where I had found it but I’m less sure now. They did have a couple of varieties of the Nong Shin in multi-packs. I don’t want to buy that way until I know if I like it. Also some other brands, but not a big selection of the instant noodle brands as I thought I was remembering. I did pick up a Snapdragon brand Singapore Laksa Curry bowl. I’ve had some of that brand before - they’ re not as good but I thought I’d give it a try.
Have to try Hong Kong and Super H Mart and some of those big HEB’s on the West side, maybe the big HEB on Beechnut @ 610, right on the edge of Chinatown. They have a lot of Asian products as I recall.
I’m going to try to get over to Mein in Chinatown this week for this thread.
PHO BINH HEIGHTS LOCATION
It was finally a cold day and I was hankering pho. My trusty mobile Yelp app told me that the nearest pho to my location was Pho Binh in the Heights, so I headed there sight unseen. It’s on White Oak near Studewood, along with several other restaurants like one of the Creek restaurants, a Christian’s Tailgate, a BB’s and the like. It is formerly the space of Sale Sucre, a little French Bistro I visited once.
The parking situation is terrible, little lots that hold just a few cars, warning signs everywere, including one that advises the police to please arrest any tresspassers. Not very welcoming. I almost left, many people did, driving in one end of the tiny lot and out the other and speeding off down the street. The businesses here would have so much more patronage if they could figure out the parking. But just as I was leaving, someone left a spot right in front of the restaurant, and it appearing that the space was not subject to any warnings or hexes, I squeezed in.
Order at the counter - the bar - and take a number on a stick to your table. I ordered the shrimp pho, and it was served quickly, hot and fresh. The shrimp were sliced in half stem to stern (like they do for Vietnamese spring rolls) and were very fresh and tender. No chewy shrimp here. The herbs provided were scant but enough for me. The place is clean and bright and the staff were all very friendly without rushing people. The music was calming and kept at a moderate level. I was in and out quickly while others lingered with friends and small children and took selfies.
Back home, I looked them up and found that the original location, a trailer on Beamer, was once on Alison Cook’s top 100 list for the Pho Tai Nam Gau with crispy fat. Others in the cloud recommend the beef (ask for extra beef fat) and the bone marrow pho! BONE MARROW PHO! Another proclaimed the grilled shrimp from the grill menu the best ever anywhere in the universe. They also serve banh mi, vermicelli, and and endless number of teas and drinks, also beer and wine. So looks like I’ll have to go back again! Luckily, there are multiple locations all over town now, so I’ll find one with dedicated parking.
That’s it! 4 more days to noodle up. Then it’s February, so will we pick another dish or shall we join the HO one getting started? That might make more sense given the lack of enthusiasm.
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I think it’s been on Alison’s list several times and is also on Chris Shepherd’s list of 20 recommended restaurants that he hands out at Underbelly? The original trailer location I mean. I’ve never been to that one either but there’s one near me on 59, in a center with Maharaja Bhog and Peking Cuisine - a rare strip center in this part of town with not just one but three good restaurants! I’ve been a couple of times. It’s the closest Viet near me.
I’ve never become a big fan of pho (will have to try it at Les Bag’et). Around here, I prefer Tau Bay about a mile away. I always get it to go because of the crowds, the quantity served, and there’s nothing but very large tables.
I apologize for going AWOL on this thread this month. The truth is that I eat pasta several times a week.
At least.
This week, I had spaghetti and meatballs (homemade), pan-fried pork and shrimp dumplings (Dumpling King), mac and cheese, (again homemade), etc.
Here’s the pasta shelf in my pantry.
Believe it or not, that’s not even all of it.
Little bro and I have been known to get together and sling some home thrown stuff out there as well.
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I am speechless.
ETA: But I will add, i want to go to Dumpling King sometime.
'At’s a lotta pasta. I wish I could eat it several times a week, it’s a treat for me.
I had my phirst pho just a couple of years ago. The draw for me is the richly flavored broth. I could take that and some herbs and leave the rice noodles behind and be quite happy.
Pollo Vincente with fettuccine Alfredo at Nino’s on West Gray. My favorite fettuccini is at Carrabba’s on Kirby.
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Wow. You have really gone to town on this month’s DOTM. Thanks for all the reports.
someone is flipping over this on another discussion group. She found it at at an Asian grocery store chain in Canada called T&T. No help at all, I know.
I had the Singapore Laksa Noodle Soup at Banana Leaf today and was very disappointed. It was very bland and the shrimp were very small and there were only about half a dozen in the whole bowl. Funny, reading this over, one of my table mates at BL today ordered the soup on my recommendation and he was very pleased although he also commented on the lack of shrimp and he also made the off-hand remark it would have been better with some crisp bean sprouts - there were none!
Another table mate ordered the beef rendang and he was pleased and gave me a taste (he got a huge portion); it was okay, though not as good as what I’ve had at Mama Yu and I thought it looked very unappetizing.
Everyone loved the roti canai and I thought it was better than I remembered.
