yimay's Profile
2 nights in Austin.
i second the franklin reco. however you will have to go very early.
enoteca vespaio for italian.
personal favorites are Parkside, Uchi
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Uchi Restaurant
801 S Lamar Blvd, Austin, TX 78704
best item at Sunflower
shaken beef.
i also think sunflower may have the best spring rolls of all the viet restaurants in town.
ISO Asian Sesame Balls filled with sweet red bean paste
shanghai dim sum serves them with their regular dim sum fare on weekends. you can order them a la carte on weekdays during lunch time. imho go on the weekday to order so they are freshly fried.
there are no asian bakeries in austin, that i know of.
authentic chinese w/ banquet rooms in austin?
pao's mandarin house, din ho, possibly first chinese will do most of those dishes.
don't know about the red bean soup. i bet pao's will make stuff to order for you though.
Soups in Austin
apple annie's tomato brie
pho van's pho noodle soups (i suppose just get the broth, maybe add some rice!)
hyde park's lentil soup
Sushi Kyu
i've been to sushi kyu a few times. it seems to be discount quality sushi that is not even mediocrely satisfying for a quick sushi fix, yet the prices are pretty high in comparison to the quality. the sushi rice is awful, the fish is tasteless. veggie tempura was good. also tried the udon once, it was very salty, kinda flat. i'd go back for the veggie tempura except that it's $10.
Pao's in Lakeway
a lot of chinese restaurant owners that may serve authentic dishes still have the notion that americans won't try the more unique offerings. that's why they separate them. they don't want to offend.
here are some photos from an egullet society chinese new year dinner at Pao's in february. a lot of this stuff is not on the regular menu.
http://flickr.com/photos/yi/sets/72157603891476402/
Shanghainese or Northern Chinese cuisine in Austin?
Pao's Mandarin House out in Lakeway is run by people from Beijing. They also offer sichuan-style food but have a lot of beijing style and northern dishes. They even have northern-style dim sum/brunch (you-tiao, dou-jiang, shao bing). It may be one of the most authentic Chinese restaurants in the area. Make sure you ask for the Chinese menu.
Coconut Cake Recommendations?
this seems really weird, but Fuego's on north lamar, that specializes in "cali-mex" has the most delicious coconut cake. also tres leches, but i think the coconut cake is the best.
What happened to Din Ho?!!
i went maybe a month ago in march. i noticed the menu was not as i had remembered (some dishes were missing, or i was just not paying attention) but didn't seem to be totally different. the old crew was still there and we ordered and got the same good food. weird.
Raw Oysters in Austin- April 2008
quality seafood on airport. although i think theirs are from louisiana as well.
Scallion Pancakes?
asian groceries will have them in the frozen food section that are quite good. easy to fry up in a pan, and will be better freshly cooked than sitting in a takeout box on its way to your house.
Best Tres Leches cake in Austin
i recently had the tres leches at cabana soco location. i usually am not a huge fan of tres leches, but this one was delicious!
Where to Eat DOWNTOWN During SXSW 2008
there is a smaller sweetish hill on san jacinto. it's like a block over from the convention center where the four seasons hotel is.
Where to Eat DOWNTOWN During SXSW 2008
sorry i didn't read your list thoroughly. so long!
Where to Eat DOWNTOWN During SXSW 2008
have we forgotten about habana calle on 6th? remember the pork sandwiched between plantains and the virgin mojito sodas?
Where to Eat DOWNTOWN During SXSW 2008
warehouse district is too far? isn't everyone from new york? they are too lazy to walk our tiny streets?
apple annie's in the basement of the chase building on 6th and colorado. i still really like this place a lot. they have delicious salads and soups (tomato brie!) and lunch specials. they have a killer meat loaf then serve them up as sandwiches the next day. only mon-fri though. i think this is a great place for a light, healthy lunch. http://www.appleanniescatering.com/
mike's pub for really greasy burgers. also only mon-fri i think.
sweetish hill bakery on san jacinto at cesar chavez has fresh baked goods and sandwiches/salads. good for breakfast and lunch. http://www.sweetishhill.com/the-cafe.html
marakesh is not spectacular but has decently good food for really good prices. probably best for quick lunch. this used to be longhorn poboys which i've been eating at since college. i haven't had a poboy sandwich here since discovering the falafel back in the day but i remember they were fine. shawarma/gyro is decent too. they also have sampler plate (hummus, baba ganoush, tabuoli, dolmas, pita etc). it's probably pretty good for mixed crowd of meat/veggie eaters.
i know your feelings about manuel's and i feel for what they did to dj, but their food is really tasty. i
oh, i forgot. habana calle on 6th. super close and good prices for lunch. remember we had the pork sandwiched between plantains and virgin mojito sodas?
Healthy frozen yogurt?
no fat, but full of sugar. there's nearly 5 teaspoons of sugar in the small size. does taste yummy though stay away from coffee flavor.
Best Vietnamese Sandwich in north Austin?
i really like pho van's broth as well. tan tan has really good broth too.
i'm not sure which one was ba le, but if it was the was on north lamar, and closed now, i think it was severely lacking. pho van is the only place that i've had where the banh mi has truly chargrilled pork. tam deli's pork has no char on it and the bread is all wrong, as is the "mayo" sauce.
Lunch time dum sum?
really? i think shanghai may have some of the best dim sum in austin. i especially like weekday lunch dim sum because they cook everything fresh when you order from the menu. sometimes if you go on the weekend after 12, the items are cold/not as fresh
Best Vietnamese Sandwich in north Austin?
i still stand by pho van as having the best grilled pork báhn mi in austin
curd cheese
i sampled cheese curds from one of the cheese makers at the formerly westlake farmer's market. he sells them in tiny batches. spensive.
Chinese Dumplings
what kind of dumplings?
i have to say i am not a fan of TC Noodle House. most of their dishes i don't find tasty and i think they may have the most bizarre chinese food served in Austin.
