Lou MC Yelps a Lot

2017 was a thrilling year for me. I spent a lot of time on taking better photos and sharing more with the communities. Not just Yelp, I also Google a lot.  Funky YES! Here is my status on Yelp : Completed 111 reviews in 2017 Updated 14 reviews in 2017 Uploaded total of 8025 media files (7549 photos & 476 videos) since the day I started Yelping, March 2011.   As of December 30th, I had 6 Baronies. Somehow, it's no longer visible in 2018 (Android). I could never broke my record of 300 reviews from 2016. Due to reviews disappearance, I've included a counter at the end of each review. I also saved the direct link to each published review with my archive. This process was extremely time consuming. I completed my 111 reviews in 2017. You can only see 110 reviews because 13th review was removed. Here is my story .  As of January 2, 2018, before I added more stuff. As for Google, I joined Local Guides sometime last year. I am currently Level...

For those of you familiar with my #ChinatownCrawl UYE (Unofficial Yelp Event), there is a scenery change. You won't see my UYE on Yelp Event page at the beginning of my announcement. In a perfect world, my Yelper friends receive notification on the app when I create an event and interested in an event. But lately, I don't see any response after the UYE page sitting there for 2 weeks. I guess there are too many notifications on their app. You may not know this. It's very time consuming to use Yelp Event page to invite my Yelper Friends. On average, it takes about 2 to 3 hours to "share" my event to everyone lives in Houston from Event page. This share actually sends an email to their personal email address. But some people are invisible most of time or they don't check emails as often or get notified with incoming emails. Then, I have to use another method to get their attention - private message, compliments or check-in message. Other than that, they are ...

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...

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...

Yummy Kitchen 柒伍龙虾 as known as 75 Yummy Kitchen is our featured restaurant of #ChinatownCrawl UYE on Friday, December 9, 2016 . The following is the menu items we selected to fit the #NightMarket style street vendor dishes. Red doodles are the selected menu items. I first discovered Yummy Kitchen was when it changed ownership. That was when I met Sherry, the owner. I told her about Yelp. And, I quickly wrote a review and posted photos on Instagram. Initially, they only serve Malatang, all-you-can-eat buffet and crawfish in 4 different flavors. Then, she found a different way to attract customers. She hired two reputable chefs "flown" in from Sichuan in June. She invited me to try the new menu but I was travelling. I met her last Friday to discuss my idea of night market 夜市 food crawl. I want my guests to try their trademark item Sichuan Grilled Fish 四川烤鱼 with Spicy Garlic Sauce as a centerpiece. She said they use striped bass 鱸魚, not tilapia because they want the int...

As much as I love Yelping with my app, I have to slow down on checking in everywhere. Because check-in slows me down with my daily routine. First, I have to take time to pull out my phone. Second, the moment I turn it on, it started to use cell phone data. Third, I don't mind using phone data much but some apps start to synchronize to their servers (such as Google Maps app), which slowing me down. Moreover, I'd rather spend time enjoying life than getting distracted with the apps. I can live without technology when I really don't have the time. This was captured a year ago.  As you may have seen I claimed so many baronies before. At one time, I had 8. Now, I only want to focus on Baron of Chinatown. It's the neighborhood I know best and the area I explore often on my days off. I want to be the go-to person or the Local Guide in Chinatown. If Yelp offered an ambassador position in Houston, I would apply. Starting 2017, I have a few projects lined up to help ...

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: ...

Last Saturday, I went to an event called "Red Carpet Meets Chocolate". My massage therapist Stan McDonald invited me to this celebration. Umar emceed Red Carpet Meets Chocolate. I didn't think much about the name until I saw the setup. It started with belly dancers by Sahara Dances and a fashion show provided by its next door neighbor Guyz 'N' Style and RF Lifestyles Boutique. As the models walked down the red carpet, they showcased some fabulous fashion. Some I've never seen on streets before. The host is Beauty by Umar, a talented young hair design artist. He moved to this tiny strip mall a year ago with Stan's Hands Massage and Wellness . The celebration was to demonstrate these successful black American business owners to the small business community. If I had hair, I'd come to get my hair done. Look at the beautiful style from Umar and his team on the website and on Yelp .

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...

Here is a collection of all of my Time for Taiwan experiences in 2016. In order to appreciate Time for Taiwan Restaurant Month, I created events on Yelp in Houston and Dallas . I carefully edited out incorrect information and add what I know to post. Making it easier for Yelpers to simply click on the restaurant link and proceed to check-in or whatever they want. This is my 2nd year promoting Time for Taiwan on Yelp.  I didn't have enough time to recruit my Yelper friends to do the same in their cities. It's a very time consuming process and organizer made the announcement so late. They used last year's date to be the special promo day. It should be July 17, not July 11. There are so many restaurants in Houston, but not many serve Taiwanese food. Every weekend I visit one restaurant: 7/16 - Boba Lounge  - I tried Guaboa 割包 and Oden 關東煮. 7/23 -  Star Snow Ice & Teriyaki - I tried tofu soup 豆花 and braised pork over rice 滷肉飯. 7/29 -...

One day, I wanted to produce a photo collage from all Around the World UYE's. I came across this page - Best Unofficial Yelp Events in Houston . Wow. I'm so honored.  UYE: Asian Heritage Celebration @ Strings Noodle made on the list. This is why we need to get in the culture of attending UYE's and writing reviews on the UYE biz pages. We promote each other's events when it comes to event planning. Another benefit is to use reviews as a feedback. This is only seen on desktop version. I believe reviews posed on UYE (unofficial Yelp event) or OYE (official Yelp event) are not eligible for ROTD (review of the day). So you can write anything to your desire, just don't be rude.

I would love to nominate Belly G as Yelper of the Year in Houston, if there is a place for it. We've been to Indonesia, Peru, Bosnia, Poland, Ethiopia & Belgium. This brilliant man with plenty of ideas started the World Travel UYE since January 2016. Every month, the world travelers went from one country to another trying different cuisines without leaving Houston. Check out the chart below for the places we've been to so far. Event Page Reviews 01/16/16 UYE: Around The World @ Rice Bowl II - Indonesia 02/06/16 UYE: Around The World @ La Guitarra Con Sazon - Peru 03/09/16 UYE: Around The World @ Cafe Pita - Bosnian 04/20/16 UYE: Around The World @ Polonia Restaurant - Poland 05/18/16 UYE: Around The World @ Lucy Restaurant - Ethiopia 06/15/16 UYE: Around The World @ Cafe Brussels - Belgium 07/21/16 UYE: Around The World @ Emporio Brazilian Cafe Stay tuned w...

It's been in my wildest dream to host a Cross+Cities UYE with a road trip. I always want to try something exotic, exciting and unique to link Yelpers across the Lone Star state. From Houston to San Antonio takes about 3 hours. After reading a blog  Seattle & Portland Yelpers Swap Cities Road Trip , I posted my idea on a  Talk thread . I found Phillip B of Austin hosted a BBQ Crawl UYE in Lockhart on July 26, 2014. Yelpers from Houston, San Antonio and Austin (maybe Dallas) met at the center of these major cities. That was an epic. ( Reviews ) I am not able to pull something like his scale without Yelpers from other cities. In November 2015, I hosted a  Cross+Cities UYE - Austin Edition . Since I didn't have many Yelper friends in Austin, we had a small party. ( Reviews ) After my recent trip to San Antonio, I saw the city's beauty and tourism opportunity. I want to revisit the idea. I am hoping the Yelpers in San Antonio could help me put to...

I would never imagine such beautiful and meaningful Easter celebration in Houston. This is a unique service called "Salubong" on Easter Sunday at  Notre Dame Catholic Church . Powerful presentation by the Filipino Catholic Community Salubong means "meeting" in Tagalog. It was a traditional Filipino devotion to reenact the Risen Christ's meeting with His mother. This was my first time attending an early morning service. I arrived a little after at 4 am as the parking lots were already full. I was directed by the attendant to a parking spot. I saw candle holding parishioners, mostly women, queued up behind a Virgin Mary's statue surrounded by priests and alter staff. They sang like chants. There was another group in the rear parking lot holding a Jesus statue in the same formation, except they were all men. A small stage setup in front of the church for the angels (dressed up by the church youngsters). I arrived after the ceremony already started. I cou...

My Facebook friend tagged me on Pinoy Street Food in Houston Presented by Filipino Cuisine got me interested to try some Filipino food this weekend. . Line wrapped around the dining area to behind the buffet line. I am familiar with this  Filipino Cuisine  in Alief neighborhood as when it held a grand opening a month ago. My Yelper friend Brian validated it by posting a tip. So, this is a legit Filipino restaurant came with some well-known background and history. Live music during the event. Since the event didn't start until 5 pm, I purposely planned my grocery shopping to be in the afternoon. I thought to check up on Brian via message on Yelp. He alerted me with long wait. I also read the posts on Facebook. People were complaining about no parking, long line and left unhappy. I arrived about 8 pm. Yeah, the line was wrapped on 2 interior walls and outside of restaurant. It didn't deter me from waiting. I was more curious than looking to fill my c...