Lou MC Yelps a Lot

This was my first time to host a Chinatown Crawl event within 24 hours and away from home. It only took me 20 minutes to plan an improv event and post it on Facebook . During my vacation to San Jose Bay Area last August, family members got interested with my food crawl style meetup in Houston. But there is no way for them to experience it. So, I decided to host a Chinatown Crawl in San Jose to give them a firsthand experience. It also gave me an opportunity to test this concept. After the successful Asian Heritage Celebration @ North Golden Sun Plaza  being outside of Chinatown, I knew this would be a breeze. First, I asked my nieces and family friends where they would like to eat. I told them about my fond memories from a longest running crawl event - Year of the Dog UYE @ 75+85 ChinatownCrawl . My focus would be about BBQ and Hotpot in San Jose. Originally, we planned to crawl Silver Creek Market Place on Story Road. We can dine at Q Pot Korean BBQ & Hot Pot  ...

Here is a newfound strip mall that resembles a strip mall in Chinatown. It's called North Golden Sun Plaza ( Google  |  Yelp ) in North Houston. The zip code should be 77014, but many still using 77068 because it's separated by a street. The street address is 3645 Cypress Creek Parkway, aka FM 1960 W, between TC Jester and Walter Road. According to an article on  Chron.com , North Golden Sun Plaza was established when Sun's Club moved in 2015 after Wal-mart moved across street (zip code 77068). Then, the lot owner expanded from one building to this horseshoe-shaped 3 buildings. Thanks to the Facebook folks who live around this area for the history and the proper street name of Cypress Creek Parkway. FM 1960 was renamed within last few years ( article on ABC13.com ). Therefore, you'll see some newer businesses are using Cypress Creek Parkway on their business cards. Either way is correct. However, not many business owners attach their suite number on their marketi...

Past weekend was the final week of HAAPI Film Festival. It was my pleasure to attend the screening of MELE MURALS and meeting the film director Tadashi Nakamura. I'm a big fan of his work. I watched his earlier film Jake Shimabukuro: Life on Four Strings on Xfinity on Demand in April, when it was available from CAAMFest sponsorship . So glad to pose with my favorite Asian film director, Tad Nakamura I couldn't believe he is a fourth generation Japanese American lives in LA and never lived in Hawaii. But he was able to bring the best of his ability to help the audience to experience the actors' reality. Both movies are based on true stories with a documentary format. However, it requires more knowledge about Hawaii when you watch Mele Murals. I asked someone after the movie as if she knew certain cultural references. But without those Hawaiian terms, the movie will not make sense. Tad was at CAAMfest in SF. So...Same feeling with Kumu Hina from last year's sc...

3 years ago when Brian D hosted his first meetup at Xinjiang BBQ, I already set my eyes on hosting an UYE (Unofficial Yelp Event) myself. This is not a remake. Instead, this unique traveling experience will take your taste bud around the western, northeastern and northern regions of China. Today's cuisine is from Xinjian to Dongbei to Jiangsu. Geographically speaking, Xinjiang is in the far west of China (light brown shaded area on the map) It's close to Mediterranean. So, the food tends to have more spices, but not pungent like Sichuanese food. Charcoal grilled skewers are made popular in this region. Let's begin our journey with two of each  Lamb Skewer  ($11 per 10) 新疆羊肉串 and  Beef Skewer  ($11 per 10) 烤牛肉串 per person. I do not recommend eating every skewer flavor on the menu. Because it lacks variation with spices. It will be extremely boring at the end. Trust me. I don't want to disappoint you as I did this before. Instead of a typical stir fried...

Did you know my Chinatown Crawl UYE (Unofficial Yelp Event) made one year? It started with a trial last May during Asian Heritage Month Celebration . The response and popularity were increasing on Yelp and Facebook. Managing guests list has been a chore using Yelp Events. I am experimenting a new system by posting my meetup on more event sites like Google and invited Google Local Guides to attend. Extended my invitation to Local Guides The hardest part of hosting a popular meetup event is attendance headcount. It has always been above my original expectation. But by how much? Finding a suitable restaurant with enough seating is important. When my count of 18 guests at December's Night Market UYE grew to 22. Sherry at Yummy Kitchen was able to find solution at the last minute. Again at February's Hotpot UYE , 12 guests became 16. I had to rely on restaurant to accommodate expandable crowd. Speaking of accommodation, creating a good relationship to restaurant owner ...

I was among thousands of people to attend Holi Festival last Saturday, March 25. I enjoyed that perfect day drenched with vibrant colors and endless Bhangra music. The weather couldn't be better then a quick spring shower rinsed spring dusts away the day before the festival. Holi powders were on sale by the entrance Everyone was covered with color   Lots of children also take part at the festival. Catching some shades next to a fake car I was novice to Holi Festival. I've only seen the Holi Festival photos online. It's definitely a different feeling when I was among those friendly strangers, everyone was in good spirit. I love that hand print on her jeans. The festival was held at Houston Farm & Ranch , which houses Harris County Fair and many other festivals. The organizer used the huge grassy area for live performances. Tented booths from the community and food vendors lined along the edge. Children's moon walk was in the shaded area wher...

This is for my guests at  Hotpot Year of the Rooster UYE @ 75 Yummy Kitchen .  Today’s menu is based on a popular hotpot style in Beijing with Sichuan spices. It’s only available at 75 Yummy Kitchen. In Chinese 羊蝎子火锅 literally means “Sheep Scorpion Hotpot”. No worry, there's no scorpion in our food. But the shape of goat spine resembles scorpion.  Sheep Scorpion hotpot menu at 75 Yummy Kitchen The chef at 75 Yummy Kitchen prepares the goat meat by the pound and cook up the soup with Sichuan spices. Our guests can indulge in a hot pot with the following ingredients: Fresh vegetables like: Napa cabbage, lettuce, shredded potatoes, chrysanthemum 茼蒿, cilantro, dried tofu skin, enokitake mushroom, youzai 油菜, black fungus 黑木耳, button mushroom, sweet potato slices, lotus root, konjac 魔芋, taro, lunch meat, kelp, tofu cubes, daikon,   We can order additional meats: duck's gizzard, intestine, shrimp, sheep, beef, fish ball, shrimp ball, pork blood pudding 猪血, fi...

For many year, I was a champion in fundraising for United Way at work. I decided to share my idea on how to manage a coffee stand to raise money. The idea is to "bring the cafe to your desk" - save your colleagues' time from going to the break room to get coffee and cookies. To further your profit, you may use supplies from your break room. For the most part, I go to  JKS Houston Restaurant & Equipment Supplies  for serving stuff and Kroger Store in Spring Branch for baked goods. I have used this logo on all communications. Supplies Needed: Ground coffee about $5 per bag; Cookies from local bakery ($10 per dozen); Foam cups and lids from restaurant supply store ($5); Containers of sugar, creamer and sugar alternatives ($5); Hot chocolate package ($1.75/box per 10 bags) Hot cider packages ($2.00/box per 10 bags) Energy bars ($3/box per 18 piece value pack) Napkins ($2/ pack store brand) Stirrers ($2/pack from dollar store) Material Needed: ...

After weeks of searching and conversations, my passion for meeting Yelpers in SF Bay Area has diminished. I have reached out to CM in San Francisco, East Bay and South Bay. There isn't any UYE or OYE or YEE during my visit. That's okay. I'll find another way to meet Yelpers - go virtual. Thanks for a fellow Yelper John D of San Jose. I followed his specialty in poke - Hawaiian fish salad. I had no idea the concept of "California-style poke bowl" is in. No wonder we don't have any in Houston, unless someone come up with the idea of "Texas poke bowl". Ah, I don't think so. We may get away with Texas BBQ. Not sure we can get fresh ahi tuna and salmon in sashimi quality in Houston. My goal of one poke a day has met. This " Let's Catch some Poké, man! " was a note-to-self event. I was not intended to invite anyone to join me like an UYE, but I wanted to be able to share locations on the fly. My goal was to have a daily dose of r...

Hana Hou! Can you imagine a spectacular Polynesian dance performance with a luau dinner without leaving Houston? Perfect facility for a Polynesian Venue That's my way to show my appreciation by attending a well-coordinated event at  Seabrook Community House  last night. Happy Hula Polynesian Dance Group of Provo Utah took the stage. The delicious luau-style lunch plates were prepared by their connections locally. The room was packed with a hungry crowd. We were hungry for an island-style entertainment. It started with dinner and live music. Sorry, I arrived late. I didn't catch the gentlemen's names. Then, the show started promptly at 7:30. My favorite part of the evening was the fire dance. Everyone concentrated on the twirling fire while the room was peach black. This was my first time seeing it live. I first noticed this event posted on  Aloha TexFest Houston  on Facebook in mid-May. I was thrilled by the idea. So, I posted it...

Ladies and gentlemen, I'm proud to announce this year's Asian Heritage Month UYE in Houston. It's my pleasure to introduce the growing popular UYE year after year, besides my Lunar New Year celebration. In the past 2 years, we've dined at Thai/Chinese @ Thai Jin  in 2014 and Vietnamese @ Pho Binh 59  in 2015. I want to bring Asian Heritage to Chinatown this year. I want to showcase a few of my favorite businesses with my Chinatown Crawl UYE model - Dine, Dessert & Shop on one day. Do you know any of these regional food types in Houston? Dine - The main focus of the evening is eat authentic noodle soup at  Strings Noodle . You get to watch how the hand-pulled noodles are made in front of your eyes.  Shop - we are climbing a few steps above Strings to shop at  Fit Japanese Store .  Dessert - we are going to Six Ping Bakery next door. After that, I'll guide you to find tapioca drink among 10 bubble tea joints at Dun Huang Plaza. ...

This is about a biz page I added 2 years ago - Melita's Restaurant . One day, I was driving to James Lee Park and saw this untapped treasure. I thought they should be on Yelp. I started to take photos and the bartenders got nervous. I told them I just wanted to share my dining experience with my friends. I think they were nervous because they never seen Asian guy speaks Spanish and eat Salvadorian food. I grew up in South America and this ain't nothing new to me. I don't remember how I told the owner Melita about Yelp. It might be after I took a photo of storefront or after I wrote the review. I also added photos to Google Places. I was over there few months ago. Upon check in, I noticed 4 more reviews and a "From the Business" section on the bottom. I think her daughter may have claimed the business. Not bad. They are catching on. I'm going back this spring after daylight savings time start. I got my Fitbit. I will walk the park and eat pupusas at M...

My Mr Magoo look Do you like my UYE's? These Unofficial Yelp Events are uniquely designed. I welcome your feedback. As usual, I incorporate cultural events and local businesses to interact with the guests. There is always trinkets offering at my UYE. 2016 is going to be a busy year for me. I'd like to plan my UYE far in advance. It is very time consuming to send invitations on Yelp. So, please pay attention to your friends' feeds on mobile app, Talk posts or Events page for the latest announcement. Remember, it takes 2 to have an UYE. If no one replied "I'm in", the event is likely to be cancelled. I need your support to promote my events by your "Sounds Cool" votes. Date Name Purpose Sun, 1/31 Year of the Monkey UYE Celebrating Lunar New Year at Jinya Ramen on Louisiana (moved due to schedule) Early March Cross+Cities UYE – Dallas Edition Similar to my Austin Edition March ...

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...

To tell you the truth, I lived in Houston for almost 10 years and I thought I would never see any folks from the Islands and listen to the familiar melodies. Last week, just so happened that I was poking around on Yelp Events and found Aloha TexFest during Labor Day Weekend. Oh yeah! I'm in! Mahalo to Nina P. for the posting. I, for one, waited 8 years for this one-and-only Aloha Festival since I heard about it. Suddenly, it disappeared from the cyberspace. According a long-time vendor, there were a few missed years due to hurricane and other emergencies. Various vendors showcase their crafts, talents and cuisine. The event was an eye-opener for many people who never seen live hula dancers and fire performers. For me, it was my opportunity to network with people of common interests and to get out of Houston to see Clear Lake for the first time. My impression was like, "wow, ocean!" (Not really, it was a lake close to the bay.) I didn’t stay for the entire show due ...

So, what is a Yelp List? List is a feature to group reviews to tell a story. I didn't know about List until early 2014 from a Talk topic. Then, I began to use List to group reviews. However, I don't like the user interface to organize it. I spent a lot of time organizing my " Yelp Challenge 2014 " to look correctly by rating. In 2014, I also created these lists: Sincere Apology  - These are my below-average reviews - 1 or 2 stars. My Firsts List - Only shown the biz with First to Tip from the app version. Events I Yelp About - My love on the OYE, YEE and UYE. Be Kind to Your Mother (Nature) - My love with our environment. Crowd Pleasers - Lots and lots of people. Auto 'n Mobile of Houston - My experiences in car shopping is over. Soups Made from Scratch - Yummy. I love real soups. I plan to create more lists in 2015, including: From Outside Looking in - Being a tourist, I view the businesses differently than the locals. I plan to trave...

Who is not excited with street festivals or block parties in Houston? For a city of 40% Hispanic population, you ought to love Puerto Rican and Cuban Festival in late September. I'm all about cultural festivals. This festival covered 5 spokes: 2 music stages, food vendors, porta potties and kids playground. The entrance fee $13 was well worth it. I was very glad that they expended ticket vendors to include all Fiesta stores. As previous years, there were only selected few. Just like any outdoor events, we need good weather and mild temperature to draw the crowd. Lucky us. The sky cleared out right before the first day of festival. This event was held at Tranquility Park for many years. I think it was the renovation caused them to move to the streets. Non-stop entertainment and delicious regional foods from local restaurants were the main focus of Puerto Rican & Cuban Festival. Watch a short video on Instagram to see salsa dancers everywhere. Parking wasn't a proble...

I started a " post cultural events" thread 5 months ago on Yelp. It's going strong.  I just posted a "happy Ramadan" greeting and started to have strange feelings. It's a religious event not a cultural event, right? I also noticed a deleted reply and thank you messages.  I have no regrets. It's my respect to people who practice Muslim as a religion. This is America, we have the freedom of religion. my experience with Ramadan was rejection when I offered food to some people before sunset. After reading some articles, I understood how everyone live their lives. We need to respect each other and live in harmony and peace. Ramadan runs different dates, just like Chinese New Year based on the lunar calendar. This year, it starts 6/29 and ends 7/28. So, don't be offended if someone don't eat your food offering before sunset. Plan your party after sunset will allow more participants.