Lou MC Yelps a Lot

I have been asked by a foodie friend where to buy niangao (年糕 aka Chinese Rice Cake). I usually tell her to find them at Asian grocery stores. But there is a difference between locally made and mass produced cakes at grocery stores. Because they have to be shelf stable, those at grocery stores contain preservatives. Nowadays, I become more health conscious and I really wanted to seek out freshly made CNY rice cakes. So, search is on. Imported Niangao vs Locally Made This year, the Chinese New Year's Day is on January 29. Most bakeries are not selling them until a week before the day. For me, I crave for this rice cake months before the new year. It's either I cook myself or buy it when it's time. In order to produce a video about how to cook CNY cake, I started searching at DiHo Square on January 14. I found a locally made Brown Sugar Cake ($7.99) at the deli section. Unfortunately, there was no source. Not sure where it was from nor when it was made. I took a chance by buy...

Let me explain hot pot in one sentence. Hot pot is a traditional meal with a group of people seating at a table equipped with a bowl of boiling soup. I started my hot pot UYE since last Winter Olympic Games. It's not difficult to prepare. But it can be humbug to shop and expensive to make it at home. Thanks to 75 BBQ & Hot Pot Buffet in Houston Chinatown. They made it easier for people like you and me to indulge a feast without costing a fortune. When you arrive at my  Year of the Dog UYE @ 75+85 ChinatownCrawl Sequel , let me find your table. Tell wait staff what you would like to drink and proceed to the buffet line. If this is your first time to this restaurant, be sure to watch the videos on the items at the buffet line  https://youtu.be/WGZkyPlZSgo and  sauce bar   https://youtu.be/sI0koJDkMuk . Sauce Bar It can be crowded when everyone is at the buffet line. You can start with a bowl to mix your dipping sauce at the sauce bar. There will be some...

We love Six Ping Bakeries in Chinatown. I received a message from Yelper Que N. as she notice a Six Ping sign at Saigon Plaza. It is technically not inside of Chinatown on the east of Beltway. So, I went to investigate. Six Ping has 4 location in Houston Chinatown area On their website, there isn't any information about their 4th store at 10623 Bellaire Blvd Ste C120 (Next to Pho Dien & UT Medical). Then, I went to the Dun Huang Plaza bakery and asked about it. The store clerk said, it will open sometime early December. I went back to check daily. It finally opened on Saturday, 12/5/15. Then, I thought to write a blog to have a collection of the stores in one location: Bellaire Six Ping - 9384 Bellaire  yelp.com/biz/six-ping-houston Viet Hoa Plaza - 8388 W Sam Houston Parkway, Ste 184  yelp.com/biz/six-ping-houston-2 Dun Huang Plaza - 9889 Bellaire Blvd, Ste D246  yelp.com/biz/six-ping-houston-5 Saigon Plaza - 10623 Bellaire Blvd...

First of all, I am not affiliated with Yelp and I write reviews on Yelp for fun. Secondly, I don't ask for special treatment from businesses because I write reviews for fun. Third, I am a hard-core Elite Yelper. I always encourage Yelpers to write reviews. Now, let’s go to the featured presentation. Many ideas created this UYE . Since my ROTD (Review of the Day) on 2/11/2014, I have been a regular customer to Eatwell Bakery Cafe for my yogurt fix and remain in contact with the owner, Ziad. The more I talk to him, the more I like to feature Eatwell in my UYE choices. Ziad has a passion in promoting healthy gourmet with a Mediterranean twist. It was perfect timing to wrap up the challenge while Eatwell celebrates its anniversary in October. The UYE was named "Zoom Zoom 100 & Beyond" as a result from a Talk thread . This UYE was dedicated to the Yelpers who participated in the  2015 Yelp Challenge . I started the cyber event as a challenge to encourage my fellow Yel...

What's is special about Sunday, September 27? This is the traditional Chinese moon festival, as well as the Total Lunar Eclipse only happens once every 2.5 years. I created an Event on Yelp http://www.yelp.com/events/houston-celestial-event-total-lunar-eclipse-2015  just to entice and remind people of such great celestial event. I also want to promote local grocery stores and bakeries in Chinatown. They're selling some yummy moon cakes, whether it's imported or freshly baked. You should give them a try. Low sugar low fat variety moon cake purchased at Yin Wall City Grocery Stores: Welcome Food Center -  http://www.yelp.com/biz/welcome-food-center-houston-2 H Mart -  http://www.yelp.com/biz/h-mart-houston Viet Hoa International Foods -  http://www.yelp.com/biz/viet-hoa-international-foods-houston Jusgo Supermarket -  http://www.yelp.com/biz/jusgo-supermarket-houston Dynasty Supermarket -  http://www.yelp.com/biz/dynasty-supermarket-houston Spe...