certifiedfoodie

About certifiedfoodie

CertifiedFoodie is a food enthusiast in Houston. She's a fearless adventurer whose palate will bravely taste absolutely anything (!) once. A motto which have led to profuse tongue-scrubbings, cussing, and back-to-back food poisoning. When not eating and/or traveling, she's a loving wife and mom and a career woman involved in healthcare. View all posts by certifiedfoodie →

This has been a rough week. I had a bout of what I initially thought was flu, which I soon realized was just a bad reaction to greasy food. When I started this blog, I wrote in my author description that my being a foodie has brought me lots of adventures, both good and bad. This was definitely a bad adventure from some breakfast place in Clear Lake which I will not name. I was throwing up for two days. On the second day, I had to leave the clinic. For those who have worked with me, THAT is a big deal. On the flip side, this puking galore made me lose three pounds. Yey!

Today is Saturday and instead of resting and sleeping in, I had to wake -up early to bring B to his Regional Band Competition. The days leading up to this event has also not been easy. There was a daily sectional practice which meant I had to bring him to school even if I felt like crap. (Welcome to the US; I am not Kim Kardashian, I don’t have a driver )And then there’s the individual practice. If you have a kid who wants to play percussion in band but you, as a human being with ears, value your sanity, then just say no. The sound of the snare and drums and my endless retching has been anything but musical.

By noon, competition is done and B got a 1. I was told that it’s the highest score and he’s getting a medal. I should be proud but then it means he will qualify for the Divisional Round. Great, more days of practice….I’m turning into my mother. I remember growing up when my Mom used to stop me from practicing piano because it was too loud.

B was too exhausted with his victory to go anywhere so D and I went out for lunch. I wanted some nice soup so I thought of ramen. There’s a lot of good ramen places in Houston but they usually open at 5pm. Those that open for lunch usually don’t have a bar. After Googling and calling every ramen restaurant, we settled on Kata Robata. Their bar is technically close for lunch but I was assured that they will get me whatever drink I would need.

Baird Kurofune Porter---dark beer with hints of chocolate and coffee — Baird Kurofune Porter—dark beer with hints of chocolate and coffee

Appetizer 1 - Salmon and Soft Shell Crab Sushi — Appetizer 1 – Salmon and Soft Shell Crab Sushi

Appetizer 2 - Seared Blue Fin Toro. This is amazing. Takes me back to my Tokyo days — Appetizer 2 – Seared Blue Fin Toro. This is amazing. Takes me back to my Tokyo days

Truffle Cold Soba with Black Truffle and Uni. This is serious truffle flavor, highly recommended.

The ramen really rejuvenated me. There’s nothing like rich broth to rejuvenate your taste buds. All the food was delicious but service was underwhelming. Appetizers and entrees were served within 5 minutes of each other. Too much of a “rookie-mistake” for a restaurant which has been around for years. The waitress was aware of the misstep and was kind enough to send us complimentary dessert before we can raise a fuss. Smart move, sister.

Green Teas Souffle with Red Bean Ice Cream — Green Tea Souffle with Red Bean Ice Cream—made more yummy because it’s free!

I had a couple of errands to run and D was nice enough to drive me around. D is great company. He makes my most mind-numbing errands exciting. This time, I needed to get something done for my sister and I had to get some stuffs from Whole Foods. Unfortunately, Whole Foods has ran out of imagination in the dessert department. We decided to stop at Truluck’s to get some carrot cake.

Truluck’s is our go-to place when we are in the mood for crabs. They also happen to have the most awesome carrot cake. When we got there, we passed a table where stone crabs were being served. So barely three hours after our ramen lunch, we sat down again to eat some crabs…. well, I DID lose three pounds…

I had my usual sangria and D found another coffee porter

For "veggies" we had soft shell crab lettuce wrap — For “veggies” we had soft shell crab lettuce wrap

When we paid the bill, the waitress noticed our last name and she said that they have a special function room with the same name.

We were shown the interior and looking at the wine-filled wall…yep, it's aptly named Naples! — We were shown the interior and looking at the wine-filled wall…yep, it’s aptly named Naples!

So here's the carrot cake we were originally here for. — So here’s the caramel-drizzled carrot cake we were originally here for.

We had it wrapped to-go because I already started sneezing. Whenever I’m full, I start sneezing. Just one of my very many idiosyncrasies…

Safe to say, I gained back the three pounds I lost, with interest. Life is not only good, it’s absolutely delicious! Have a great weekend!!!

In an ideal world, my house would smell like Neimann Marcus. By the entrance of Neimann Marcus from Galleria is a huge Jo Malone section, hence the heavenly smell. I don’t have enough financial artillery to have Jo Malone candles all over this beast of a house, so that thought will just be tucked away in a folder in my mind labeled, “You Wish!”

Out of all the kitchen smells, fish is the one that I despise most. So all my fish dishes are usually grilled (outdoors) or as soup (heavy pot with an even heavier lid to trap cooking-fish smell). Here is one variation that doesn’t involve frying or sautéing fish. It’s called Fish En Papillote.

Roughy translated, fish en papillote means “fish in paper”. Fish, along with herbs and vegetables, is wrapped in parchment paper, then baked. This enables all the flavors to come together and saturate the fish. And because it is sealed, the cooking-fish smell is almost non-existent.