The Rice Box

Last night my dad and I decided to try out one of Houston's well known chinese food trucks, called The Rice Box. I had been meaning to try the food for awhile now because the truck parks close to my house every weekend, but didn't get to it until yesterday!

The Rice Box!! Courtesy of riceboxtruck.com

My dad and I were really hoping to try the Golden Doomba which has gotten tons of rave reviews from food critics all over Houston. What is the Golden Doomba you ask? Well, basically it's fried chicken but instead of just taking the chicken and putting flour on top and then frying it, they first grill it on the stove, cook it another way (I'm really not sure), and then cover it with Corn Starch and FRY IT. Can I say YUM? Well, unfortunately for us they didn't have the Golden Doomba special last night, and won't for a few more weeks. Cue sad face. The employee at the food truck said that they are currently experimenting and perfecting their dish, which was at first supposed to be a joke, but has now turned into their most well-known dish. So if you're only heading to the truck for the Golden Doomba, don't, BUT their other foods are SUPER GOOD as well.

The Golden Doomba!!! Maybe not the healthiest meal.. but can somebody say YUM!?

My father and I ordered the Sesame Chicken, Fried Dumplings, Steamed Dumplings, and Kung Pao Chicken. The dumplings come with about 5-6 dumplings each, and both of the "entrees" came in a rice box (SURPRISE), mixed with vegetables on top of rice (surprise again), with a side of an Eggroll. Basically it's A LOT of food so plan to have some for lunch and possibly dinner the next day.

The Sesame Chicken!! Picture courtesy of Patty and David Said...

For me, someone who really isn't that big of a fan of Chinese Food, my meal was DELICIOUS. I would go again in a heartbeat to get everything!! I didn't try the Kung Pao Chicken however, because when I finished with my sesame chicken and dumplings I couldn't eat anything else I was so full! The employee at the Rice Box was super friendly and kept up a conversation with us while our food was getting ready, and made sure that we had everything we needed before we left. The truck itself had a bunch of other stickers for other food trucks in the area like Bernie's Burger Bus, Eatsie Boys, etc... which I think, shows good character for the owner and the employees that they are willing to support their competition!

I highly suggest The Rice Box and hope that you all make it over to wherever they are camped out for the day sometime to try it! The service is really fast and the employees are super amicable, so it makes for a great experience altogether.

Hope that this post persuades some of you guys to go out and try some new foods. If so great, and if not, maybe the next one will....

Until Then,

-Brigid

Pondicherri

Hello everyone! Hope to find you all doing well. Recently (2 days ago), Brigid and I ate at Pondicherri, an Indian restaurant in River Oaks village. As a girl who rarely experiences Indian food, it was quite the adventure!
Not knowing what any words on the menu meant, I chose to order the keema beef frankie, because I dare anyone to tell me that does not sound exciting! AND LET ME TELL YOU, it was exciting. It was spicy, but as someone who is sensitive to spices I can tell you it was very manageable and I suggest it.
Brigid ordered the butter chicken, which was significantly spicier than my meal option, but nevertheless delicious. She also got Naan, and who doesn't love indian bread?!
Anyways, I would rate this restaurant an 8/10. It was clean, there was good service, and CUTE WAITERS (a very important part of any dining experience ;) ). The food was good, so for anyone looking for an exciting dining experience with good indian cuisine I suggest Pondicherri.
Until later,

Paige

Stay classy and keep eating. Love yall.

MAM'S House of Ice Snoballs

Paige and I first tried Mam's Snoballs about a month ago. I personally had heard of Mam's Snoballs before, but had never made any effort to go out of my way from the center of Houston to the Height's area which MAM's is typically parked. For those who don't know, Mam's works like a food truck, but is really just a small kitchen in the shape of a small cottage that is attached to a larger vehicle in order to be transported around.

The transportation of MAM'S really isn't the most important aspect though. What is important, are the SNOBALLS!!!! Our school's field hockey team somehow convinced MAM'S to park in the lot next to one of their games as an attempt to garner a larger crowd and more support. Well.... it convinced me to go, and I convinced Paige to come along with me!

When Paige and I first approached the "House of Ice," we were both incredibly overwhelmed with all of the choices that MAM'S provided. Below is their menu that they have online and as you can see there are TONS of options!

MAM'S House of Ice's Menu

One thing that is not included on the online menu, is their natural flavor. As the name shows, this particular syrup is all-natural and doesn't include any chemicals or toxins, which I think is AWESOME. The natural flavor changes day by day and usually depends on what is in season.

My Snoball mixture of Tiger's Blood and Natural Flavors and Paige's mixture of Natural Flavors and Grape.

So, of course, Paige and I both went with the natural flavor. My order consisted of a Large Snoball with half natural flavor and half Tiger's Blood. I'm honestly not sure what the mixture was that made up Tiger's Blood, but I believe it was a mixture of Cherry and Strawberry? I'm not a reliable source for saying what the Tiger's Blood really is, but what I do know is that it was GOOOOD.

Most of the criticism I've heard about MAM'S are arguments over paying so much money for ice and syrup, when you can make your own snow cones at home or buy them for much less somewhere else. What people don't know is that these particular snow cones are not like the carnival "snow cones" that we are so used to. These snow cones are "New Orleans Style" shaved ice and this process creates a much lighter and fluffier, and SNOW LIKE kind of ice. Because the ice is much lighter and fluffier, it is able to actually soak up the syrup, rather than having the syrup fall to the bottom of the cup immediately.

All in all, the MAM'S experience was in my opinion fantastic, and since then I have continued to have cravings for more snoballs!! Unfortunately, Mam's is closed until March of 2013 as they don't make enough profit during the winter to continue their business. However, as soon as they come back, I suggest everyone go to try Mam's! Something I just recently learned is that they actually do home deliveries if you order 24 hours in advance, live in the Houston area, and buy at least one large 16 oz snow cone.

If you want to find more information about Mam's check out their website at http://www.mamshouseofice.com/

One last thing... I really don't suggest the condensed milk! It tastes weird with the ice and just isn't worth the extra cash spent! Unless you are a huge fan of condensed milk... just don't do it. And I'm hoping there really aren't major condensed milk fans out there....

Anyway, I highly suggest Mam's to everyone, especially on the hot and humid Houston days! It's a perfect cooling treat that also does not have that many calories, and helps hydrate you!!!!!

Hope this first blog post is helpful! Keep checking back for another one.

Until then,

Brigid